Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.

Hi all,

Here's the next chapter. Harry continues to work in his workshop as the days inch closer to his return to Hogwarts.

Chapter 35

Harry emerged from the gymnastics class, overwhelmed by exhaustion and burdened with a sore body that accompanied an intense workout session. The difficulty of the class caught him off guard, leading to a newfound respect for all gymnasts. He discovered muscles he hadn't been aware of until now.

The girls trailed behind him, looking just as exhausted. There was an unforeseen advantage to having them in the class. They shielded him from the attention of some of the teenage girls who had eyed him with interest. Plus, standing behind Daphne during their lesson gave him quite an amazing view.

They joined Helen and her grandfather, who were waiting in the seating area among the other parents.

"Did you enjoy yourselves?" Helen asked with a smile.

"It was torture," Hermione cried.

"Don't be so melodramatic," Daphne said, casting her a derisive glance. "It could have been much worse."

"Excuse me!" Hermione glared at her friend. "I could have sworn that I saw you lying on the floor at one point, complaining loudly about the pain."

"It was actually a lot of fun," Susan smiled. "I'm sure it will benefit us in the long run. I will have to ask my auntie to sign me up over the summer holidays. It's too bad they do nothing like it at Hogwarts."

"Are you finished, or would you like to try some weight training?" Charlus asked his grandson.

"Actually, I want to sign up for the karate class," Harry said. "The instructor incorporates bojutsu into his karate, which I am interested in learning."

"That could be an excellent alternative to weight training," Helen agreed, glancing at her watch. "Do we know when the next class is? I have to leave in thirty minutes."

"Not for an hour, but you don't need to wait for us," Harry said, glancing at his grandfather. "We can find our way back home from here."

"Oh, really?" Charlus frowned. "What am I supposed to do while I wait for you to finish class?"

"Why don't you join me?" Harry suggested, before smirking at him. "Unless you're too weak to handle the exercise, old man."

"Have you forgotten that you can't keep up with me when we run?" Charlus asked. "I will show you, brat."

"Well, I suppose it's time to take the girl's home," Helen said. "Daphne and Susan's guardians will pick them up from the house within the next hour."

"When will I see you next?" Daphne asked, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. "On the Hogwarts Express?"

"Can you come to my house on the sixth? I would really appreciate your and Gabrielle's help with a task before we return to Hogwarts."

"Okay. I will see you then," Daphne smiled.

Harry and Charlus bid their farewells and headed towards the room where the karate class was taking place. The instructor was still there, seated behind his desk at the corner, engrossed in some paperwork.

"Let's hurry and sign up," Harry said. "I hope the class is not at full capacity."

Harry and Charlus entered the room, catching the instructor's attention.

"Welcome. Please remove your shoes."

After removing their shoes, they walked across the mat towards the instructor stationed behind his desk. He stood up to greet them. Looking at the instructor up close, he didn't appear to be physically impressive. The man had a lean build and stood at around five feet six inches tall. The man's appearance didn't fool Harry, though, as he had seen the man's abilities firsthand.

"My name is Issac, the karate instructor. Are you interested in signing up for the class?" the man asked Charlus.

"My grandson, Harry, is interested," Charlus said. "I would like to join him, provided there is enough space available in your class."

"I can fit the two of you into my class," Issac replied. He directed his attention towards Harry. "Why are you interested in my class? Have you received any training in martial arts previously?"

"I don't have any martial arts training," Harry answered. "The reason I'm interested is that of your skill in bojutsu. I want to learn how to wield a bo-staff."

"That is quite a niche skill to have an interest in," Issac remarked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. "May I ask what sparked your interest?"

"I am a huge Gambit fan," Harry admitted.

"Ah, I see," Issac said with a grin.

"Who is Gambit?" Charlus asked with confusion.

"He is a fictional character from a comic book," Harry said.

"Are you interested in learning bojutsu specifically, or karate?" Issac asked.

"Bojutsu," Harry replied. "But I don't mind if I learn some karate as well."

Issac retrieved a pair of contracts from his desk and passed them to Charlus. "Before anything else, you'll need to complete the paperwork. I'll also require an upfront fee to cover the cost of the uniform and the first lesson. There is a class scheduled to begin in an hour, so stick around after I have given your uniform."

Harry joined Charlus and sat down in the seating area while he filled out the paperwork. While he waited, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold watch that Lewis had gifted to him. He kept the watch with him and occasionally took it out hoping to uncover its secrets. It appeared to be a regular pocket watch, but he hadn't opened it yet to explore its internal mechanisms. Lewis could have been messing with him, and it could just be an ordinary watch.

An idea occurred to him. Harry glanced around to ensure no curious eyes were upon him before he infused a touch of magic into the watch. He observed with curiosity as a glowing rune materialised on the back. Specifically, it was the dagaz rune, which took the form of a butterfly shape. He waited for something else to happen, but the rune simply vanished within a few seconds. When he infused more magic into the watch, the rune reappeared again. However, just a few seconds later, it vanished once more. What was he supposed to do now?

There were multiple interpretations of the rune, but one specific example was its representation of hyper-consciousness. This rune embodied the concept of ideas transitioning into actualised forms. Maybe he was supposed to derive some clue from it. Harry tucked the pocket watch away, intending to experiment with it further hoping to spark some new ideas.

Once they had completed the paperwork and paid the fee, Issac guided them to the changing rooms. They wore their dogi, a uniform traditionally used in karate. Both of their belts were white, signifying the beginner rank. After equipping themselves, they made their way back to the classroom. Harry made his way towards the weapon rack positioned against the side of the room. The rack contained a collection of wooden bo-staffs.

"It is going to be a while before I allow you to wield one of those," Issac said, coming to stand beside him. "They can do a lot of damage in the wrong hands."

"I am trying to find the right length for myself," Harry explained. "I plan to make a staff of my own in the future, but realised I overlooked the importance of choosing a length that suits my height."

Issac grabbed a staff and stood it next to Harry's. The staff was a few inches taller than him. "The easiest method for determining the suitable length of a bo-staff is by measuring it against your own height. Ideally, it should be roughly the same length or a few inches shorter than yourself. Don't use a bo-staff that exceeds your own height. It will make it difficult to perform some techniques like sweeps, wrist rolls, spins, and low strikes that require bringing the tip of the Bo close to the ground."

"Sure," Harry nodded, "Are these bo-staffs available for purchase? It would be helpful to have one at home."

"These bo-staffs are not for sale, as I use them for class,' Issac replied. "But I can provide you with the contact information of the shop that makes them."

"That would be great."

The students started arriving, and the class began half an hour later. Harry and his grandfather introduced themselves to the rest of the class before engaging in core-strengthening exercises led by two senior students. Following that, they practised some basic techniques for the rest of the lesson. Although the activities were enjoyable, Harry couldn't wait to start his bo-staff training. He would have to be patient.

The issue was that he would be stuck at Hogwarts for an entire school term. Perhaps he could persuade his grandfather to bring him here on the weekends.

4th January

Harry held the iron knife up to the light to better look at his handiwork. The knife featured a straightforward drop-point blade, making it perfectly suited for various everyday tasks. Since he lacked the tools to fashion a wooden handle, he had wrapped the iron handle in hardened leather. The most challenging aspect of crafting the blade was the hardening and tempering process. Initially, he had to recycle the iron a few times because of simple mistakes. Still, he learned a lot and didn't consider it a waste of time.

After working tirelessly all day, he had, at last, crafted a knife that satisfied him. The Source seemed to agree, as it was the only knife among the many attempts that gave him experience points. The others had been failures. Perhaps he should have expected that the level of difficulty would escalate after fashioning a few basic items.

Harry grabbed the wooden staff that he purchased and examined it. He would use it to build his first prototype staff, as it was more accurate than his initial design. The prototype would be simple, with no additional features. This would allow him to focus on mastering the core aspects of the staff first.

In the comics, Gambit used his powers to charge his bo-staff with kinetic energy. He still needed to experiment with enchantments to see how close he could replicate it. He thought about adding a stunning enchantment to the staff, which would help him take down opponents quickly and with non-lethal force. The bo-staff would only have so much capacity for holding magic, though. He couldn't afford to add too many enchantments to the bo-staff. Although, he wasn't sure how much the materials would contribute to the bo-staff's magical capacity. The metal he was using would be a combination of steel and unicorn horns.

The horns would add some much-needed magical capacity to a magical inert metal like steel. But he didn't even know if the two materials would blend properly. He still needed to experiment and find the right combination between the two. There was only a limited supply of unicorn horns after giving some to Daphne, so he couldn't afford to waste them. He probably wouldn't get another supply of them for a few months.

Speaking of the unicorns, he still needed to complete a task for them in exchange for the materials they gave him and would provide him in the future. They had asked him to retrieve something from the Forbidden Forest, which they had left behind while fleeing from the creature that was hunting them. The challenge was that the object lay deep within the forest, where dangerous magical creatures lived. There were rumours of strange phenomena lurking in its depths, and not even the centaurs dared venture deep inside. He didn't want to enter the forest unprepared, so he would leave it until the end of the school year at the latest.

Harry placed the knife on the table and then checked his magical reserves. Since they had completely replenished from earlier that morning, it was time to practise the protego spell again.

Summoning his wand, he cast the spell. A transparent barrier appeared before him. He had made progress with the spell, resulting in a considerably thicker shield compared to before. The speed at which it materialised had also improved, which was important considering its purpose in a fight. The spell could not reach its full potential until he mastered silent incantations.

It was too early to determine if the spell would help increase his magical reserves. Until now, there had been no change to his magical reserves. The mechanics of how it worked remained a mystery to him. Did it update every day? Or did it require a longer span of time before showing any results? Regardless, he would continue to practise the spell until he was proficient with it, before moving on to another spell.

Harry cast the spell repeatedly, persisting until his reserves dwindled to around ten per cent. Afterwards, he made his way up to the house for dinner.

5th January

Harry had finally found the correct mixture of steel and unicorn horn that was both strong and flexible. He experimented by making several metal rods with varying proportions of the two materials. Some were too brittle, while others were too rigid. But he found a nice middle ground between the two. It surprised him at how well the horns combined with the steel.

He didn't believe that he was the first person to conceive of the idea of merging these two materials to form a hybrid metal. In the absence of any proof to the contrary, he intended to stake his claim on this metal and name it Stelion. While the name wasn't that original, it would suffice for his purposes. The Stelion ingot gave him some decent experience, though. Probably because it's a metal with magical properties.

Now, he was ready to craft the prototype bo-staff. The process itself was straightforward. First, he made a clay mould from the wooden bo-staff. Then he melted the Stelion and carefully poured the molten metal into it. After it had cooled and hardened, he polished the metal until it had a smooth finish.

Harry lifted the staff, testing its weight with a few practice swings. He winced at the heaviness of it, knowing that wielding it for long periods would quickly exhaust him. He already expected this issue and planned to add a feathering enchantment to the staff in the future.

He used steel for the bo-staff instead of wood because the metal provided superior strength. This allowed for more impactful strikes and increased durability. It would be more difficult for an opponent to transfigure it, and certain spells would have minimal to no effect on it. He intended to add an enchantment to reinforce it but strengthening the staff itself was also important.

Harry ran his hands along the bo-staff's length. He realised he needed to improve its grip by wrapping some leather around the shaft. The last thing he wanted was for it to slip out of his hands while swinging it around.

The other thing that he needed to test was its magical conductivity. He needed to know how many arrays it could hold Time for some further experimentation.

6th January

It was the late afternoon, the day before Harry and his girlfriends had to return to school. They were in his workshop, on the second floor, where he had transformed the space into a spare bedroom and a small kitchenette. There was still a task pending from the Source that needed to be completed, where he needed to furnish his workshop. He wouldn't be able to complete it before returning to Hogwarts, but he made some headway.

They spent the morning shopping for furniture, decorations, and appliances. Instead of crafting everything himself, he purchased what he needed. His girlfriends provided valuable help, having a more discerning eye for this type of thing.

"This is looking a lot more cosy," Gabrielle said as she sprawled on the sofa beside Harry. The sofa was spacious and cosy, featuring rounded edges that added to its comfort.

His second room had a minimalist aesthetic, characterised by an abundance of exposed wood. The colour scheme of the room predominantly comprised soothing neutral tones such as green, brown, and blue. The girls had selected an enormous king-size bed, which he tried not to make any assumptions about in order to avoid being smacked. It was too large for him to occupy by himself.

"It is all because of my impeccable taste," Daphne said, sitting down on Harry's other side.

"So, how did your trip to the conclave go," Harry asked.

Gabrielle wrinkled her nose. "Don't ask. Some of the veela are a bunch of blaireau."

"Translation?" Harry asked.

"Assholes," Gabrielle huffed. "There is a segment of the veela population who believe that veela should only interact with humans for procreating."

"They don't like humans?" Daphne asked. "So, there is a prejudice among the veela as well."

"There must be something else," Harry speculated, noting her angry expression. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be this upset."

Gabrielle sighed and looked away. "One elder said to me I should ditch the English pig. She believes that a veelas virginity is sacred, and I should not give it up to outsiders."

Harry frowned. "I take exception to being called a pig. What does she mean by outsiders?"

"I believe what she's referring to is offering her virginity to one of the male veela living at the conclave," Daphne explained. "They are so rare that they must get a lot of attention from the female veela."

"That's disgusting," Harry growled.

"Don't worry," Gabrielle said, snuggling up to his side. "My Maman put that putain in her place."

"I know the meaning of that word," Harry grinned. "It's great to see how my French vocabulary is already expanding."

"Knowing the French word for whore is not an accomplishment," Daphne said, rolling her eyes.

"Enough about me," Gabrielle said. "How was the gym? Did Susan make any moves on Harry?"

"What?" Harry looked at them with a confused expression.

"Surely, you are not that clueless?" Daphne asked. "Susan has a major crush on you."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, feeling hot under the collar. "Well, I noticed a few things, but I didn't think it was serious."

"Well, it is serious," Daphne said. "I noticed you couldn't help but stare at her dressed in her outfit."

"I was mainly watching you," Harry protested.

"But you enjoyed watching her as well."

"Yes," Harry admitted. "I can't deny that Susan has an amazing body for her age, but I was only staring at her a little. I have no intentions of being unfaithful to either of you."

"We don't believe you would," Gabrielle replied, "but we must determine the course of action for the future. Should we permit Susan to join the three of us, or should we discourage her crush before she gets hurt?"

Daphne and Gabrielle looked at Harry, wanting his opinion, but he just had a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Well?" Daphne asked impatiently.

"I'll leave this decision to the two of you," Harry said after a thoughtful pause. "While I must admit that the idea of having Susan join us is incredibly tempting, I want to avoid causing any problems to our current relationship. If we decide to include her, then it should be the last one. I don't think I could survive a fourth girlfriend."

"We need to take our time before deciding," Daphne stated. "I must admit that having three witches instead of two seems more helpful from a magical perspective. After all, three is a powerful magical number."

"You sound like you want an easy excuse to accept Susan into our relationship," Gabrielle playfully accused Daphne.

Daphne shrugged. "I like Susan."

"I will trust your judgement but I will decide for myself when I meet her," Gabrielle said.

Harry watched them with bewilderment. How did they arrive at this current situation?

Gabrielle glanced up at him, coyly batting her eyelashes. "Harry, I'm really craving some quality time with my adorable furry companion. I won't be able to spend much time with him for a while when I head back to school."

Harry sighed but stood up and transformed into his Animagus form. Gabrielle squealed with delight and scooped him up in her arms. He would be stuck there for a while.

7th January

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station, and Harry and the others rode the carriages up to the castle this time. They arrived at the front entrance and disembarked from the carriage. As Harry looked up at the brilliantly lit castle, a sense of unease washed over him. There was a strong sense of foreboding that some kind of danger lay ahead and telling him to turn back. He had grown accustomed to these types of warnings, so he didn't dismiss the feeling. It took away the excitement of returning to Hogwarts and dampened his mood.

It wasn't only the castle that gave him an uneasy feeling. Harry noticed several upper-year students, particularly from the Slytherin house, giving him hostile looks. He wondered what he had done to upset them, but then he remembered the article that was published a few days ago. He appeared to have made some enemies at school.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" Daphne inquired, noticing the look on his face.

"Nothing," Harry said, shaking his head to dismiss his heavy thoughts.

They followed the stream of students making their way into the Great Hall. Harry joined Daphne, Hermione, and Tracy at the table and exchanged greetings with his fellow Gryffindor housemates.

The twins waved at him from the other end of the table.

"Hey, Harry! Here's hoping for an even more thrilling term!" Fred exclaimed.

"Perhaps vampires will invade the castle," George suggested.

Fred snapped his fingers. "Maybe the Giant Squid will grow legs—"

"—and waltz into the castle—" Charlie continued.

"—an eat a couple of ickle firsties,"

"Maybe the house elves will revolt and—"

"—murder us while we are sleeping—"

"—as revenge for having to clean up after our messes."

The twins exchanged glances before speaking in unison, "Nah, it's much easier to poison our food."

Harry laughed, but the sound rang hollow after the vibes the castle gave off when he first arrived. The feeling had disappeared, so maybe he was letting his imagination get the best of him.

"It's not a joking matter." Hermione huffed. "Last time, two people died. What if something else were to happen?"

"Lighten up, Hermione," Tracy said. "It doesn't pay to dwell on such things. It was beyond our control."

"Master Karlsson is still here," Daphne noted, looking up at the head table. "So, they haven't solved the Enchanted Wall yet?"

"He has temporarily addressed the issue," Harry said. "But the Enchanted Wall remains in place."

Everyone seated nearby who heard his comment turned their heads in his direction.

"When were you planning on sharing this information with the rest of us?" Daphne asked with a raised brow.

Harry shrugged. "It must have slipped my mind."

Before she could reply, the headmaster stood up to address the students. He had one important message to deliver — the third-floor corridor was still strictly off-limits. As soon as he resumed his seat, the food appeared on the tables. With an exuberant cheer, Ron eagerly dived in, shoving food into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Ron," Hermione said. "Please use some table manners."

Ron glanced up from his meal, his cheeks bulging with food. Judging from his expression, he was on the verge of uttering something impolite when he noticed the disapproving stares from the others gathered at the table. He raised his shoulders in a gesture of apology and deliberately slowed down his eating.

After dinner, Harry followed his housemates towards the exit to the great hall. As chance would have it, the Slytherins moved at the same time which led to a congestion.

"Think you were being smart with that article, Potter?"

Harry groaned in annoyance. Dealing with the blonde ponce was the last thing he wanted to do, but he turned to face him. Standing before him was Draco Malfoy, flanked on either side by Crabbe and Goyle. These two hulking gorillas seemed to have inexplicably grown a couple of inches over the winter holidays. How was that even possible? Maybe they had some family ties to Hagrid. Wait, did he just insult the friendly giant?

"Hello, Malfoy. It's nice to see you too," he said. The girls stood behind him, offering silent support, while the other students had stopped in their tracks, eager to witness the impending confrontation. Neville, of all people, pushed through the crowd to stand beside Harry.

"What were you trying to accomplish?" Draco sneered. "Perhaps you should move somewhere else where half-breeds and Mudbloods are more welcome. While you're at it, take that American whore with you, before she finds herself in deep trouble for upsetting the public with her slander."

Some of Draco's housemates, along with several students from Ravenclaw cheered at that statement, while others booed in opposition to Draco's words.

"Was that a threat?" Harry asked, playing with his heir's ring. "I don't think Lord Black would appreciate your comments regarding his partner. He may even disown you from the family. Oh wait, I believe that has already occurred."

"Bastard," Draco reached for his wand.

"Mr Malfoy, I suggest you do not summon your wand," Professor McGonagall strode towards them, her voice filled with authority. "Ten points from Slytherin. If you do not leave within the next five seconds, you will get detention as well."

Draco glared at her, but he didn't utter a word. He stormed off, with the two gorillas right behind him.

"Why is everyone else just standing here?" McGonagall addressed the crowd with a stern expression. "You are holding up the rest of the students."

Everyone hastily squeezed through the door, wanting to escape her wrath.

"Mr Potter," McGonagall said. "The headmaster wishes to speak with you in his office."

"I did nothing," Harry protested.

"You're not in trouble," McGonagall sighed. "It's related to what you discussed with him during the winter holidays."

"Oh, alright then," Harry grinned. He turned towards the rest of the group, offering a nod of acknowledgement to Neville for his support. "I will see you in the common room."

Harry trailed behind his grandmother as they made their way up to the headmasters office. His eyes darted in every direction, feeling as if there was a presence watching his every move. The intensifying paranoia was fraying his nerves with each passing moment.

"What's the matter?" Minerva asked.

"Just an overactive imagination, I'm sure," Harry murmured. He rolled up his sleeves to give him access to his wand holster and gauntlet, just in case.

Minerva raised an eyebrow at his strange behaviour but said nothing. "Where is Fawkes? Didn't he come with you on the Hogwarts Express?"

"That lazy thing?" Harry scoffed. "What's the point of spending eight hours riding a train when he can travel here in an instant? I'm sure he'll arrive later tonight."

They stopped as they reached the statue, where Minerva spoke the password. In response, the statue moved, unveiling a staircase that spiralled upwards. After knocking on the door, they entered the room to find Headmaster Flitwick seated behind his desk. His grandfather and an unfamiliar goblin sat across from him. The goblin rose from his seat as they entered and turned to face them.

The goblin looked old, with only a few strands of grey hair left on his head, and deep wrinkles on his face. He looked even older than the headmaster. His eyes, however, still had a penetrating gaze as he silently observed Harry.

"Minerva, Mr Potter, I would like to introduce you to Master Footshredder," Flitwick announced. "He is the one who trained me to master the Velocier ability."

"Master Footshredder," Minerva greeted him. "I am surprised you agreed to meet my grandson."

"I wasn't going to, but the words he spoke in the article changed my mind," Footshredder grunted, before turning to address Harry. "Did you plan that? To win favour with me through my student."

Harry shook his head. "How could I when I never knew you existed before today? Lauren wrote that article a week before I even met with the headmaster to discuss the ability I discovered."

"It is unusual that a human can use Velocier," Footshredder said. "But if you are fortunate if to be gifted with the ability, then you deserve the opportunity to learn how to wield it properly."

Harry silently celebrated after hearing Footshredder's agreement.

"My grandson is fortunate to have the benefit of your expertise," Charlus stated, standing up and bowing to the goblin. "I understand that this may be inconvenient for you, so name your price."

"That's not a smart thing to say to a goblin," Footshredder grinned, displaying his fangs. "But I don't require payment. Only lodging here while I train Harry, along with a magical contract that explicitly prohibits him from sharing the technique I will teach him with anyone else without my permission."

"I can agree to that," Harry said before he noticed something was off with the headmaster. "Is everything alright?"

Flitwick appeared to be unwell with a pale complexion and excessive sweating.

"What is the matter?" Footshredder demanded.

"I have lost control of the Hogwarts Wards," Flitwick said weakly. "Something is wrong."

A loud gong reverberated throughout the castle.

"Hogwarts is going into lockdown," Minerva cried out in alarm.

What the hell?

So, what do you think? Is this the work of the Enchanted Wall? Looks like it may not have been restrained as they initially believed.

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Thanks for reading.