Majo Kon-ki The Marriage of Tanya the Witch
(The marriage chronicles of a witch)
Arc 1 - Philosopher's Stone – part 8 and final
June, AD 1992, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Tanya was slowly regaining consciousness. Her body was heavy and she wished to rest a little more, but it was no time to lay around. She had to get up and resume the search for the deathly hallows and finally go home.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
"How long was I out-" Her drowsiness was over the instant she saw Harry Potter bringing his face to hers, his eyes closed.
"I-is he trying to kiss me?"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Tanya screamed and shoved him so hard that he fell on the next bed.
"Wha-? YOU WOKE UP!" Harry quickly got up and embraced her.
"I was worried sick!"
Tanya finally noticed she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts.
"Why I am- Voldemort, Quirrell, the stone! What happened?!"
Harry told her they were knocked out by the explosion of the philosopher's stone. The headmaster arrived a moment later and carried the two unconscious children to the hospital wing. He regained consciousness two days ago but Tanya wouldn't wake up. Madam Pomfrey explained that she had somehow exhausted all her magic and would need extra time to recover.
"Probably the effect of the killing curse." Tanya guessed that even if she could block the curse, her shield still needed an absurd amount of mana to fully protect her.
"Still better than the alternative."
"No one knew how long you were going to sleep. Madam Pomfrey said that if you didn't wake up soon, she was transferring you to St Mungos!" Harry looked a little disturbed by this idea.
"So what? I would receive better treatment at a hospital."
"But we wouldn't see each other until the next term in September!"
"Right! It's almost the end of the school year."
"Is it so bad to feel so relieved? I don't think I could survive being around this troublemaker for another month!"
"Wait! Is it wise for you to leave the school? Voldemort could go after you!"
"About that, it seems that as long as I am close to my aunt nothing will happen!" Harry said begrudgingly.
He told her what the headmaster explained about the 'bond of blood charm'. A special protection his mother left to him but for it to be fully active, he would need to stay close to a blood relative for some time. He also told her about the magical defense he had against Voldemort in particular.
"So, that's how a baby was able to defeat Voldemort. Actually it was Lily Potter all along! Ah! That reminds me…" Tanya grabbed her own hair and started to pull.
"FUCK! WE HAD VOLDEMORT AT OUR MERCY! IT WAS AN UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY! If I had already started to train Harry- No, all it was necessary was for him to touch the creepyand it would all be over!!" Her frustration was so great that she began to pound her bed.
"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! How the hell was I supposed to know he would appear so soon? And in our first year here?!"
"Err, Tanya? Y-you alright?" Harry was watching this spectacle not knowing what to think or do.
"Dammit!I also got complacent! I became too dependent on my new and improved shield! I was starting to delude myself that I had becomeinvincible!" Now she was hitting her head against her pillow.
"T-Tanya?!"
"Ah!" She realized she was making a fool of herself in front of the boy.
"D-don't mind this- No! Forget you saw anything alright?!"
"F-fine. It's better for you to rest a little more. I am gonna call madam Pomfrey. She may want to examine you-"
"Hold on! You still owe me an explanation for trying to k-kiss me!"
Harry turned beet red.
"S-sorry! I didn't mean to do that disgusting thing to you! Fred and George said you would wake up if I did!"
"And you believed?! More importantly, why were they here in the first place?"
"They come to tell me we lost by default…"
"Aff! Knowing those two, they probably wanted to trick you as revenge for the team's defeat."
"Oh, no! They said everyone was sorry for how they treated me. And gave this advice that if I wanted to wake you up, all I had to do was…" He didn't need to finish.
"I am no Sleeping Beauty! Neither Snow White!" Tanya gave half a glare to the boy.
"I didn't believe it at first, but then I remembered how you helped Mrs Lovegood."
"I didn't kiss her! It was- Just a sec! Were you going to shock me if I didn't wake up?!"
Harry averted his eyes, desperately trying to hide the two wands he was holding.
"THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE COULD DO WHAT?!"
As if the shock of learning how easily Harry Potter could have finished Voldemort was not enough, now she discovers that the philosopher's stone was quite literally a gold mine!
"I heard of the philosopher's stone's many magical powers, but never about turning lead into gold! Shit! I could have used the money to hire people to do all the searching of the hallows! Talk about a wasted- no, TWO wasted opportunities!"
This time it was professor Snape who was visiting Tanya. Harry was discharged, but madam Pomfrey decided to keep Tanya in observation until the school end-of-the-year. She was visited by Hermione, and even Ron came to apologize for insinuating that she was an adult man.
"Seeing me sleeping for days must have convinced him that I am not using any polyjuice potion."
Harry already told her most of what had happened after the stone explosion. But professor Snape brought up some interesting facts.
"My apologies for being so late. A long time was wasted until I finally understood what that stuttering imbecile Longbottom was trying to say! I still had to get Hagrid to take his three-headed dog out of the way. By then, the headmaster had long reached you."
"Actually, that was the plan. Because I thought it was the resurrection stone, I had to make sure nobody would be present to try to stop me from stealing it.So I sent Longbottom after the professor I knew he was afraid of."
"Years ago, when we first met, you blocked my Legilimency Spell. I theorized you could also block the three unforgivable curses. I am really glad I was right! Tell me, should I call you the-girl-who-lived?"
"This is not funny, sir! Besides, I am more the one-who-barely-survived." She reminded him how exhausting it had been.
"Just to make sure, is there another philosopher's stone somewhere?"
"No. Nicolas Flamel is the only one to ever be successful in making one. And the headmaster once mentioned that he tried to make more but failed."
"… and the Flamels won't live long?"
Snape shook his head.
"Constant use of the elixir of life is the only thing keeping their bodies from decaying."
"I wish I had the time to make one or two gold bars."
"If you ask me, it's better this way. They already lived more than anyone and that thing wasn't worth the risk." The professor softened his features and she could see a tinge of concern in his eyes.
"It wasn't worth your life!"
"Sorry."
"No! It wasn't your fault…" He said with a very soft tone in his voice…
"… IT WAS POTTER'S!" … that turned into pure venom at the mention of the boy's name.
"Ahhh! Here we go again!" Tanya was reminded just how much the professor disliked Harry Potter.
"I told you that he was a troublemaker just like his father!"
"I-I know! Forgive me!"
"I am not angry with you, but if the headmaster didn't arrive at that exact moment-" Professor Snape took a deep breath to calm himself.
"We are very fortunate that Dumbledore always knows what is happening in this school."
"Err, what happened to Quirrell?"
"That fool? By what Potter told us, his body was too damaged. The dark lord probably discarded him. He certainly was reduced to a pile of ashes."
"… and Voldemort?"
"From what we understood, the dark lord is now a sort of 'specter'. He can't do much against beings of flesh, but he also can't be killed. Just like you can't kill a ghost."
"Does this mean that even Harry won't be able to kill him?"
"He will someday come back for the boy. That's why you should keep your distance from him."
"Sorry, it's not happening."
"Why?"
"'WHY'?! ISN'T IT OBVIOUS BY NOW- Ah! I-I mean…"
Tanya lost her cool with this question. She understood that if she wasn't around, Harry Potter would have died. This must be the real reason Peverell wanted her in Hogwarts. There was no way he could have escaped from Voldemort alive if he was by himself.
"S-sorry, but I-"
"No, it was a stupid question, indeed. He is, after all, 'important' to you…!" The tone of his voice almost hid the disgust she knew he felt.
"But be watchful! He will keep attracting trouble for himself and for those around him. And for Merlin's sake, don't try to fight the dark lord ever again! Even in such a state he is too powerful. As I said before, you can't kill him. That is Potter's task."
"Huh? Harry's task?"
"I-I mean, i-if he keeps looking for trouble his bound to fulfill- attract! Attract the dark lord's fury!"
"Weird…" Tanya never saw the professor so flustered.
"By the way, congratulations! Slytherin will certainly win the cup tomorrow." Tanya changed the subject since talking about Harry Potter always put the teacher on edge.
"…" He didn't seem as happy as she thought he would be.
"Something wrong, sir?"
"It's just that I know the headmaster. He probably will award last-minute points. Just to make Potter's house win!"
"Eh? He can do something like that?"
"I repeat: Dumbledore always knows what is happening in this school! Maybe even outside! He will find an excuse to award him points!" Snape let out a groan.
"After I made my house work to the bone, to end like this! IT'S INFURIATING!"
Tanya should be happy. Her house would win mainly because of the points she earned. However, this would be problematic in the long run.
Now, which scenario would be most beneficial for her? The answer was so obvious that she only took a second to decide.
"Professor, listen well to what I am going to say."
"… ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom."
The Gryffindor table erupted in noise. They were all commemorating the victory over Slytherin, all save one little girl.
"It was exactlyas professor Snape predicted."
Slytherin was about to win with four hundred and seventy-two points. Gryffindor was a close second with four hundred and sixty-five. But the headmaster awarded them with two hundred and ten points! It seems it wasn't enough to just win, he wanted them to have a great margin.
Tanya was impressed. Apparently Dumbledore really knew exactly what transpired in those walls. She could guess how he discovered about the actions of Harry and his friends, however to know Longbottom had stood against the three of them? How'd he do that?
Then a disturbing thought came to her.
"Could the headmaster actually know about Quirrell and Voldemortall along? But then, why expose the students to such peril?"
"… we need a little change of decoration-" The headmaster was about to change the green hangings to red when professor Snape stood.
"Before that professor Dumbledore, I also have a few events that I want to bring to light. If you allow me?"
"Oh? Of course Severus! Please proceed."
The Gryffindor table immediately ceased their commemoration, almost predicting what was about to happen.
"First, Mr Ronald Weasley. For what I understood, your game of chess was never properly concluded. This means that the fifty points you were given will be taken back. And in the matter of the chess board, I believe you actually got past thanks to a powerful cutting curse which damaged the pieces beyond any chance of repair. I take twenty-five points for damage against school property." The professor only forgot to mention that it was Tanya who destroyed the pieces using a curse that he taught to her in person.
Tanya almost pitied Ron Weasley. He had to take the full brunt of the angry stares of three combined tables. Even his own brother Percy, who just a few moments ago was gloating how proud he was of his brother, now gave him a glare so cold that it seemed to say: 'you are not my brother!'
"Second, miss Granger. You burned the Devil's Snare that professor Sprout took the entire summer recess to grow. Again, I take twenty-five points for damage against school property. Third, as much as Mr Longbottom was brave, this incident shouldn't have happened in the first place! I take twenty points from miss Granger for cursing a fellow housemate."
Just as it was with Ron, Hermione was now the victim of the merciless glares of the combined three tables. The little girl felt less sympathetic to her, as unlike Ron, this was all her doing.
"Finally, I agree with the headmaster that these four demonstrated outstanding courage…" Despite saying this, Tanya saw him looking direct and only at her.
"… but the third-floor was still forbidden! I take fifty points from each!"
This time, it was the Slytherin table that erupted in celebration at the same time that groans of frustration came from all the other tables. Gryffindor lost the first position and it was now down to third place.
Reverse to how Dumbledore awarded points, professor Snape took them all and managed to reduce their position to one even lower than before. And he did it all following Tanya's advice.
Her motivations were simple: To keep in professor Snape's good graces. He had been a wonderful ally, and Tanya could sacrifice the school cup. After all, she was already regarded as a role model. Maybe it would even make her look better if her house was considered inferior. It would only mean she could shine even in the shadow of an 'incompetent' house. But the most important reason was that she needed Harry Potter to not be rewarded for his behavior. She almost died protecting him this year! If the headmaster pampered him, who knows what sort of trouble he might get into in the years to come?
"Sorry Gryffindor! Don't mistake bravery for recklessness!"
"Oh! And lastly…"
"Huh? There is more?"
"Mr Potter! A boy shouldn't try to kiss a girl as she lay sleeping! For trying to assault miss Degurechaff, more twenty points will be taken!"
"He saw that?!" Immediately, all eyes were on her and Harry.
"Shit! Why me?! I really, really hate this place!"
And that is how Gryffindor ended as dead last in the house cup.
"The school year is finally over. I felt so tired that it looks like ten years have passed instead of only ten months." These were the thoughts of Tanya Degurechaff as she prepared to board the Hogwarts Express.
"This school is nuts! It makes one wonder if the Rhine was not safer!" She was longing to return to the orphanage. There, she could not eat chocolate, but at least there were no ghosts, or dark lords, or annoying brats monopolizing her hand. And both Harry Potter and the invisibility cloak would be safe thanks to his 'blood charm thing', so she wouldn't need to worry.
"His uncle's house should be at least safer than this place! What school guard a dangerous artifact bound to attract a dark wizard-" Tanya came to a halt.
"Wait. Just wait a sec! They don't usually keep the philosopher's stone here.Why now?" It was actually a very simple question: What made this year any different?
"This year had Harry Potter, the one fated to kill Voldemort or die trying, attending!"
Harry Potter had a very important destiny ahead of him. Tanya knew this thanks to Ignotus Peverell.
"No, no! Only I know about his fate! There is no way that anyone else-"
'… you can't kill him. That is Potter's task.'
She thought at the time that professor Snape's remark was strange, but what he said next confirmed her fears.
'… his bound to fulfill-'
"… his destiny! HE KNOWS!"
'Dumbledore always knows what is happening in this school!Maybe even outside!'
"And the headmaster probably knows too! Professor Snape respects and trusts him. If he knew, he would surely tell Dumbledore!" Tanya could not see how they knew about Harry's destiny but it all fitted perfectly!
Like she thought before, the headmaster knew about Quirrell and Voldemort. The stone was brought to Hogwarts as bait to attract the dark lord in the same year that Harry Potter began attending. It was all in order to make them fight, to fulfill their destiny. Even Tanya thought this was a golden opportunity to settle everything as soon as possible.
"But would the headmaster purposely put an eleven-year-old kid at such a risk? I mean, could I be overthinking this?"
A manipulative headmaster, a spiteful teacher, grudging relatives, fascist enemies, the dark lord, a school with danger lurking at every corner and a talent for trouble-making…!
Tanya was struck by the realization of just how low Harry Potter's chances of survival were!
"And if he dies,my way home is as much as closed!" Reaching this conclusion, Tanya did what any rational being would do in such a dire situation: she panicked!
"HARRY!" She screamed trying to find him between the other students.
"HARRY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Harry Potter was feeling down. Even Hagrid's present did not help improve his mood. He knew it was mostly his fault that Gryffindor didn't win the house cup and was scared of his house mates hating him again. So far, no one was bothering him and it was a great relief, but then another thought came to him. What about Tanya? Did she blame him? She wasn't as obsessed with grades as Hermione, but she worked so hard to earn points. Could she be angry with him?
Harry just sighed. He wanted to talk with her but his worry was making him avoid her.
"Harry!"
At first he was afraid that it was Tanya but it was Hermione with Ron coming in his direction.
"We have something for you." Hermione said.
"Consider this a consolation prize for not winning the house cup." Ron gave him an envelope.
"What you- !" His heart skipped a beat.
In the envelope was a copy of the photograph taken of Tanya during her photoshoot.
Harry couldn't stop the blush from his face as the Tanya in the photograph smiled tenderly at him.
He noticed Ron and Hermione smirking at him.
"W-why are you giving me this?"
"Hagrid told us that you now have an album and we thought: Bet he will love to have a picture of his girlfriend in there!"
"Gah! Are we back to this talk?!"
"Come on mate. Remember what I told you: a girlfriend is someone you fancies, you will want to snog, put your mouth in hers and start sucking-"
"I don't want to snog Tanya!"
"That's is not what Snape told everyone…"
"I already said that it was a misunderstanding! A prank from your brothers!"
"Harry! There is a limit to how shy a boy can be!" Hermione berated him but was also smiling.
"Y-you two…! Don't start weird rumors again! Please, I am asking!"
"But, it's such a waste. I mean, you two are crazy about each other-"
"I am not crazy about Tanya! I already said that we are like family!"
"Do we need to have that conversation again? Tanya doesn't want to be your mum! Now, the mother of your children, that's something I believe she would love to be someday!"
"!" This comment reminded Harry the last time he looked in the mirror of erised. The visage of the adults Harry and Tanya plus their children.
"No, no, no!I don't think of her like that! it was some sort of mistake, the mirror must- Ah! The mirror must've broken because it was holding the stone! Yeah! That's the only explanation!"
"Hey! You keep pushing your opinion on him but why not just ask Tanya if she really fancies Harry?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Ron, that's…!" Hermione began to say…
"A brilliant idea!" Harry immediately gave his approval.
"No! That's the worst idea ever! Tanya is too proud to admit the truth. She would be too embarrassed because it would look like she is desperate for companionship. Girls are like that. Believe me, I know!" Hermione completely dismissed Ron's suggestion.
"Well, I tried. Have a nice married life with her, mate."
"W-w-what?! Could she… Or maybe I-"
"Wait a sec!Could those two be making fun of me? Now that I think back, it was because of baseless rumors that I fought twice with Tanya!" Harry had a serious expression as he thought this over.
He decided to convince them that he had no such nasty intentions towards Tanya. She was like a mum- scratch that. She was like a sister to him! This and nothing else!
"Now you two listen: No more rumors about Tanya! I am not going to fight with her again because-"
"HARRY!"
Harry turned around by the call of his name. And there Tanya was breathing hard, probably from looking for him. Before she could see, Harry quickly hid her picture inside his album.
"Oh! Tanya, please listen-"
"No! You listen!" The tone of her voice made him wonder again if perhaps she was mad at him for costing Gryffindor the house cup.
"You are going to hold my hand and not let go! You won't be out of my sight until we arrive in London!"
"… eh?"
"Now, come with me!" Harry found himself having his hand stolen and being dragged to the train.
In a last instant of confusion he turned and moved his lips in a soundless question to Ron and Hermione.
'What is going on?'
Ron just averted his eyes but Hermione gave him a dreamy look and moved her lips to give a wordless answer.
'She already misses you! How cute!' Was what Harry thought she said.
"Tanya already misses me? Could it be that Hermione is right?! Could this wonderful girl really fancy me? And do I feel the same?"
Unfortunately, Harry was still too immature in the matters of the heart. He didn't truly understand what love was. Still, he made a promise to himself to give this a full contemplation. The entire summer if necessary!
He was concerned about what the future would bring, what would become of them. But the warmth of her small and soft hand still comforted him and like always made his worries vanish. Exactly like when they first met. Unconsciously, a small thought was taking root in his heart…
"Maybe, just maybe, it would not be so bad to have a girlfriend…"
End of Arc 1
AN: Hope that no one got offended that I made Gryffindor lose the house cup. But this was a promise I made myself… I always thought that Gryffindor winning was very unfair. Like, just because they are the 'heroes', they can do anything! They didn't deserve to win! So, my promise was that should I ever make a fanfic about this moment, I would correct this. Oh! And I hope I did the mathematics right!
About Dumbledore knowing about Quirrell and Voldemort. This is a theory I had for years, and I don't think I am the only one as many fanfics turn him into another villain.
Also about Dumbledore. Originally, I was thinking of making in this chapter a part were he expose his thoughts about Tanya. But I think I will only do this in year 3.
As I was writing the last chapter, I came to a conclusion: Harry didn't save the stone. Actually, because of him, Voldemort almost got it! Because Quirrell and Voldemort would never have gotten past the mirror defense, Dumbledore would have arrived and fought them. But because Harry was there, he was able to take the stone out of the mirror and Voldemort almost got it, not to say that he also almost died. So, the three solving each challenge and finally reaching the stone… was all for nothing!
Oh! And still no new season of Youjo Senki…!
I don't know if I will make that extra chapter after all… If I finish the next draft early, I will consider, but expect a very 'crackish' and short chapter.
The next chapter will take a while to be updated, as I will research the chamber of secrets book to assemble a draft of the entire arc. I plan to finish this before July, but it could take more time.
Reviews:
Lubber: Thank you for always taking the time to leave a review!
Amon34: Thank you and I am sorry, but I'd rather go fast than go slower. I read lots of good fanfics in the past that suffered this. And even if I go too fast, it will still take at least two more years to finish this story. But, I do agree about the part of lack of description of the setting. I will try to do better in the future, okay?
Wedgegeck: Thank you. Poor Tanya will see all her plans fail miserably…
Ocansino: Thank you for always reviewing! Sorry about the spoilers, it's just that I am very eager to reach the good parts. But I will tone down, please keep reading my notes.
Guest: Thank you.
Najex: Thank you very much. I am looking forward to more of your comments.
Alexc123: Thank you. I am better now. I guess I was lucky compared with others that had a really bad time with covid 19…