Welcome back one and all, to the set-up chapter for the first task of The Heir and the Champions, in which The Lieutenant of the Hunt meets a Goddess of Death, Scáthach passes something on to her new student, we get a peak at Angelica strange hobby that she picked up from her mom and dad, and finally, get to see Harry's armor.

But before all that, I'd like to talk to you all about a topic near and dear to my cold dead heart, and that is:

Dragons.

I fucking love Dragons, I've loved them since I first learned about them in kindergarten, they were the main reason I started to play DnD. But the Dragons from Harry Potter had left MUCH to be desired. When I think of Dragons, I think of these titans of destruction, things that could wipe out cities and sack castles by themselves. Natural disasters given form in scale, fang, claw, and fire, and are damn near unstoppable by all but the greatest of heroes. Symbols of power, greed, and evil are known to every culture across the world in one form or another.

But I can't just throw the Champions against challenge rating 30 Great Wyrms and expect it to be believable that they somehow came out Victorious against them. So, when in doubt, we turn to the classics, now each Dragon isn't going to be based on the Dragons from Harry Potter because they disappoint me, instead, they'll be based on Dragons of myth and Legend from each of the champion's homelands. The only one who will not is Harry, he's going to have a vastly different beast of scale and fire.

The point is, I want my Dragons to be Dragons, not some modern interpretation, but Dragons.

I really need to go back over the last chapter and clean up the ending a bit and add the tarot card description, I'll do that before posting this chapter so go back and reread it. I may have added more stuff because I was fried when I posted the last chapter.

Rant over.

On with the show!


Dún Scáith

"I do not like this," Zoë says for the sixth time since Harry had told her of the Gate of Skye and what lies beyond it, she was once again dressed in her normal clothes, "How do you even know you can trust her? If she is of the Gaelic Pantheon, she'll be up to no good," Zoë says, her hand resting on her blade eyes looking around the throne room of Dún Scáith with mistrust in her eyes, looking for any signs of a threat.

Harry sighs, "She's not like that, Zoë," he says walking deeper into the throne room, it was currently empty, which while odd, wasn't a big deal, Harry knew Scáthach took trips down into the chasms below the castle to thin out the number of monsters that called it home, "She doesn't have any nefarious Motive behind helping me, she's a teacher, it's what she does," Harry explains for the fourth time before cupping his hands over his mouth and yelling, "OI, TEACHER! I'M BACK AND I BROUGHT A PLUS ONE!" Harry yells, his voice echoing through the empty grand halls of Dún Scáith.

"Foolish brat, do not yell in a place like this," Zoë hisses at him and quickly walks up behind Harry to cover his back in an unfamiliar place, "You don't know what may jump out and try to attack us, Like-" but before Zoë could finish berating Harry, another voice speaks up from behind Zoë.

"Me," it's spoken like a malicious Whisper, causing the older Hunter to jump, spin in place and draw her sword, the point leveled at the throat of the blood-red-eyed being that was the Queen of Dún Scáith. There is a moment of tense quiet after Harry spins around to see Zoë pointing her sword at the throat of Scáthach, Zoë's eyes narrowed at the Goddess, her body tense and ready for a fight while Scáthach was looking at her with amusement dancing in her blood red eyes and dressed as the Queen she was.

"Hey, Teacher," Harry says, raising his hand and waving to the Goddess, the corner of his lips quirking a bit.

Scáthach looks at Zoë for a few more moments before her eyes drift over to Harry and a soft smile grows on her face, "Hello, Graeca, it's good to see you return so soon, and you even brought a guest this time," she says looking back at Zoë, eyeing the hunter up and down, "How wonderful," she says with a purr and a smile.

"Um, yeah, I hope you don't mind," Harry says as his eyes flick back and forth between the two women looking at one another, "This is Zoë, Zoë Nightshade, she's the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, and Zoë, this is Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows and my teacher," He introduces the two women but neither move nor say a word.

"Well, ah, I came because I have a problem," Harry says, looking between the two before he tries to step around Zoë, only for her to stop him and shove him behind herself, putting her in between Harry and Scáthach.

Scáthach's amusement grows as she watches what Zoë does and chuckles, "A girl in a silver jacket wielding a silver weapon being protective over you, Graeca, you draw the most amusing people to you," Scáthach says as she turns and begins to walk around them, Zoë moves with her, the point of her sword never leaving The Witch-Queens neck, as Zoë drags Harry with her, keeping him behind her.

"Do put that away, Hunter, it tempts me so," Scáthach says, her grin turning wicked as she steps past them and begins walking to her throne.

"Zoë, stop, I'm serious," Harry whispers from behind her, "She isn't a person you want to mess with, she's fought Artemis to a standstill," Harry tells her while trying to step around her, but Zoë would just move back in front of him as soon as he tried.

Zoë scoffs at Harry's words, "Let me guess, she told you that," she says, eyes never leaving Scáthach's retreating form, "She probably told you that to save face, as if some minor god could fight Lady Artemis to a standstill," Zoë says, defending her Lady's pride as Harry looks at her with wide eyes filling with Horror, and Scáthach stops, a foot on the steps up to her throne and slowly turns her head back to look at Zoë, all amusement gone from her eyes.

"Why is it," Scáthach says, her voice flat and sharp, "That other than the Graeca, you Greeks don't seem to have any manners till they are beaten into you?" She asks, with a raised brow, "Because when Artemis came here, to my castle, in my realm, she started demanding things from me like a fool," The Witch-Queen says, her voice edging on anger as Harry slowly starts to back away slowly.

"And she put you in your place, didn't she?" Zoë says with a smirk, but it drops as Scáthach starts to Laugh.

"If memory serves me correctly, I shoved my big hard throbbing lance deep inside her," Scáthach says with a bloodthirsty smirk as Zoë's face twists in rage, the insinuation not being lost on her, "and my oh my, how she screamed for me, like a common, Graecion, whor-" the Witch-Queen tries to say, but before she could finish, Zoë screams with rage and charges at the Mistress of the castle, her sword drawn back to split the Witch-Queen from shoulder to hip. But before the blade could meet flesh, it's stopped by the blood-red spear that materializes in the hand of Scáthach, the blade is stopped and even with the power of the Hunt behind her swing, Scáthach doesn't even look bothered by the blow as she, with an almost lazy air about the movement, knocks the Moontide aside with the same smirk as she looks into the dark golden, almost amber eyes of a surprised Zoë with a hungry look of her own.

"Very good, you went straight for the kill, but," The Battle Maid says as her eyes light up with the lust for battle that all Gaelic gods had, "Not good enough," she says before her leg lashes out, catching Zoë in the chest and kicking her across the throne room with a laugh. As Zoë rolls to a stop with a groan, Scáthach looks down at her leg where a long gash from Moontide has connected with her.

"Not good enough Lieutenant, but not bad either," Scáthach admits as the wound heals with shifting shadows before the spear she was holding dematerializes before she holds out her hand, summoning her true divine weapon before the Witch-Queen is once again wreathed in shadows, her clothes changing to the outfit she wore while training with Harry as she turns to face the downed Lieutenant, "If I was mortal that last strike would have hobbled me, a shame for you, that I'm not, now get up Lieutenant, I'm not done with you yet!" Scáthach yells before charging at Zoë.

Zoë rolls to the right, moving out of the path of the hooked and barbed spear that planted itself into the stone floor, before hopping to her feet, bringing up Moontide just in time to watch Scáthach swing her lance, carving out huge chunks of stone and flinging them at Zoë, the Hunter batting away the stones before deflecting the thrust from Scáthach and taking her own swing at the goddess, but the Witch-Queen ducks the swing before spinning on her heel with a laugh, and lashing out with the same momentum she had trusted with.

"Marvelous form and speed, Lieutenant!" Scáthach compliments Zoë as the Hunter blocks the strike, reposting it to try and impale Scáthach with Moontide. While moving quickly and stepping into her thrust, Zoë growls as Scáthach defects the Lieutenants thrust with another conjured lance, "But how do you dance with a partner?" Scáthach asks as Zoë tries to back peddle away from the Witch-Queen, but she isn't quick enough as Scáthach kicks her again in the chest, sending her flying directly into Harry.

The two Hunters are knocked to the ground in a mess of limbs, before Zoë pushes herself off the ground, readying her blade to defend herself and Harry, but only sees Scáthach standing still spinning one of her spears in her hand looking at the picture of calm and amused.

"Leave him out of this, Bitch!" Zoë yells as she stands up.

"Yeah," Harry says from the ground, "She started it, take it out on her!" he says pointing at Zoë as Scáthach just laughs.

"No," Scáthach says, sounding every bit amused as she looked, "I don't think I will do either of those things, you come here to learn, Graeca, and here we have an excellent opportunity to teach you how to dance with a third partner," she says as she stops spinning her lance to rest it on her shoulder, "Now get up! You have until I say stop to try and land a killing blow on me using any and all methods you have at your disposal, or else it's to the chasm with you both without your weapons," the Witch-Queen tells the two Hunters, one confused and the other gulping in fear.

"Oh, I'll give you a killing blow alright," Zoë growls out through clenched teeth and calls on more power from the Hunt as Scáthach charges once again, the Lieutenant and the Witch-Queen meet with a clash of spear and sword, a flurry of swift blows and parries that Harry could barely follow as the Lieutenant and the Witch-Queen try and land a blow on each other. The sound of silver meeting ivory echo throughout the throne room before Zoë knocks away Scáthach's divine weapon and steps into a swing to try and cleave into the Goddess of Swift Death. The Witch-Queen hops back just in time to avoid the strike before lifting the conjured spear and throwing it at Zoë who bats it away but leaves herself open as Scáthach pirouettes and catches Zoë in the side before flinging her with casual ease across the room, all of it happened in a matter of a few seconds.

The Witch-Queen charges Harry, who was still on his back, lances poised to puncture him and pin him to the ground. Harry rolls back, throwing his legs up and feet behind his head, standing on his hands he pushes off the ground as Scáthach lances meet the stone and turns the floor around them to rubble, Harry flips through the air, flicking his wrist out with Scáthach's own words echoing through his mind "Always play to your strengths, Graeca, utilizing the skills you have is the only way to overcome an opponent, if you know you do not have the upper hand create one," and catches his wand that shoots out of its holster before aiming it at Scáthach.

"Do you not remember what happened last time you tried magic, Graeca!" Scáthach yells at him, "Use your head!" she tells Harry before stabbing forward with her lance.

"Aguamenti Maxima!" Harry yells before he yelps as a stream of water blasts from the tip of his wand with the force of a fire hose and all the water of one. The blast of water knocks Scáthach back as much as it did Harry, she hits the ground and rolls back to her feet, wiping her hair back and out of her face with a smile as she watches Harry hit the ground as well, sliding with the force of his spell he was barely able to control.

"Points for thinking outside the box, Graeca, but a poor choice if you can't control it for you to use," The Witch-Queen says as she tries to charge the downed boy, only having to stop to defend herself from the other Hunters masterful swordplay. Harry finally stands back up, aiming the stream of water near the feet of the two warriors, soaking them, Zoë grins as Scáthach narrows her eyes at the silver sword in Zoë's hands that begins to glow a soft silver.

The water that surrounds the two women begins to surge up and lash out at Scáthach in pressurized streams causing the Witch-Queen to defect Zoë's incoming sword strike and back peddles, dodging and avoiding the streams of water that were cutting in the stone of her castle, while her divine armament could disrupt the streams, her conjured spear could not and was reduced the chucks before it dissolved back into raw magic as Scáthach is forced on the defensive.

Every time Scáthach tries to twist or spin from the assault of the swordswoman, Zoë steps into her way with a way lay of strikes to keep her from building up the momentum needed to continue her dance, forcing the Witch-Queen once again on the back foot. Scáthach's smile only grows larger as she is forced to use her Battle magic to finally gain distance, with a flex of her magic, the Witch-Queen conjures six lances above Zoë before firing them straight down at the Lieutenant, forcing the girl to jump back to avoid the strikes. To have forced Scáthach's hand into using her own style of battle magic when the goddess had no intention of using it during this fight was simply astounding to the Witch-Queen, her laugh that echoes throughout the throne room just shows how much fun she was having. Scáthach conjures six more spears, all aimed at the Silver swordswoman before firing them off like arrows from a bow one at a time.

"Glacius Scutum!" Harry yells, twisting his wand and jerking it upwards as soon as Zoë lands and the spears are fired. The water on the floor raises, creating eight interlocking shields of ice that surround Zoë that defect the incoming spears, Harry then moves his wand in a reverse J motion before spinning the tip into a spiral and stabbing it forward with the cry of "Glacius Leones Capiens!" and from the water around Scáthach's feet Lions made from ice burst from the pool fully formed sinking fang and claw into the Goddess holding her still as Zoë charges forward as Harry moves the interlocked shields of ice out of her way before banishing them at Scáthach at high speed.

Lances forged from magic twist into existence before they slam down onto the lions of ice, scattering them into chunks before Scáthach own divine weapon destroy the banished shields and blocks the incoming strike from Zoë, tendrils of water lash out trying to sever the limbs of the Witch-Queen. "Saxum Caipio!" Harry cries out and the stone beneath Scáthach's feet becomes like soft mud before she sinks into it thigh-deep, but still, the Witch-Queen bats away Zoë with the butt of her spear after losing her left arm to the water tendrils.

"Saxum Hastis! Glacius Hastis! Supernatet!" Harry calls out flicking his wand in an upwards motion before slashing it to the side at the apex of the motion, causing spears of Ice and Stone to form from the water on the floor and the stone floor itself, Scáthach looks up at them, eyes widening as she takes in their shape, and then they soften a bit as Harry brings his wand down with a scream of "Cadere!" and the replicas of Scáthach's own divine spear come crashing down onto the very Goddess who held the original.

Harry's core burns with the strain of so many spells in such quick succession, Elemental Battle Magic may be easier to pull off compared to the pure conjuration version of it, but it still puts a lot of strain on his core. The burn from pushing so much magic through his core so quickly makes Harry fall to a knee, a hand pressed down to just below his breastbone, Hermione had once called something, Manipura, where determination and power sit or in other words, his magical core. It burns so badly that it almost makes Harry throw up, he really shouldn't have done the Ensnaring Lion modifier with the freezing charm, it took too much magic to form the lions out of medium like ice. Water was never a great medium to use battle magic with anyway, it represented flux and an ever-shifting nature and took way too much magic to shape and keep in the shape you want it to be used in conjunction with battle magic, and when forcing that much magic through his core when there was no moon in the land of shadows was not a very fun time for Harry because it fucking BURNED.

At the sound of cracking stone Harry looks up just in time to see Scáthach in front of him, her spear raised over her head to pierce him, a wild smile on her face and looking no worse than when she had started the fight, but before the Witch-Queen could bring down her spear a blur of movement deflected the strike and Zoë was in front of Harry and in the soft light of Moontide, the burning in Harry sternum is snuffed out and his eyes glow silver just before he whips his wand about.

"Saxum Hastis!" Harry cries out, and from the floor from behind Scáthach, rips a stone spear and he guides it with unnerving accuracy right through the Witch-Queens back as he reaches up and yanks Zoë back by the collar of her leather jacket before the recreation of Scáthachs divine weapon rips through the Goddess' back in an explosion of gore.

Harry lets out a sigh as Scáthach starts to laugh and relaxes, "Battle Magic!" she says with a grin as the stone spear vanishes from her chest and the damage Harry inflected heals in twisting shadows, "I had not expected that Graeca, and the way you conjured water to give yourself and the Lieutenant the advantage, excellent!" she tells him with a smile before turning to Zoë, who was getting to her feet, sword poised to continue their bout, "And you Lieutenant, I have not fought such a master of the sword since Manannán came calling upon me when my school was still standing," she says much to Zoë confusion, "I, Scáthach, Warrior Maid and Queen of the Land of Shadows can find no flaw in your skills, and if it wasn't for your oaths, I would take you here and now and give the Graeca a show!" the Witch-Queen says with a feral grin that confuses Harry and has Zoë blushing from head to toe.

"But alas, I will have to settle those urges later," Scáthach says as she walks past the two to sit on her throne, her spear laying across her lap.

"That's it?" Zoë asks, shocked by how casually Scáthach was acting after losing a fight, "Are you not going to continue?"

"It would be an exercise in futility, Lieutenant," Scáthach says dismissively, "While I am in the Land of Shadows, I can not be killed, and I would not fight my students nor my guests at my full power unless one was a god or goddess in the last case," she says as she leans back onto her throne, "But, Graeca, you had originally come here with a question that, with how you phrased it, sounds more like a request, speak, and let me see if I can help you," The Witch-Queen says with a soft smile at Harry, who picks himself up off the floor to stand before his teacher.

"Well, do you remember the tournament that I was enter into?" Harry asks, and with Scáthach nods, he continues, "it has three tasks, the first one is in two days, and it involves a Dragon, and-" Harry tries to continue but is cut off by his teacher.

"It will rampage as soon as it catches your scent, and the Beast of the Völsunga will kill many to get to you, but will die at the hands of the Lieutenant with the help of two others," Scáthach says as if it was a simple fact.

"Vol-" Harry begins to say but shakes his head, "Yeah, but we're trying to avoid that, I was wondering if you knew of a way to kill it before that happens," Harry asks, looking hopeful.

Scáthach is quiet for a moment, her eyes studying Harry intently as a hand caresses her spear, "I do," she says simply.

"I feel like there's gonna be a but here," Harry says, and Scáthach smiles down at Harry.

"But I require something from you, Graeca," She says as her hand travels up to the head of her spear and snaps off one of the Hooked and Barbed points.


Gate of Skye

Harry and Zoë stepped from the Gate of Skye, they had stayed in the Land of Shadows for two weeks as Scáthach resumed Harry's training, turning it more ruthless and difficult than ever, she even had him spare with Zoë far more than with her to gain experience fighting someone with a sword and, in Scáthach's own words, closer to his own level. She once again enforced the rule that he wasn't allowed to use the Hunt, though Zoë had no such restrictions placed upon her and would take every opportunity to savagely beat Harry into the ground. Scáthach had questioned why he wasn't using battle magic in the fight, but unlike her, Harry had to use a wand, and trying to wield his spear with one hand and a wand in another wasn't very conducive to how Harry normally fought.

Harry used battle magic to set up the battlefield to his liking before using Serpent-Hunter for the rest of the fight, the Shield conjuring spell Sirius had shown him saved his ass in his fights with Zoë more times than he could count, but he still needed time to cast the spell and, well, Zoë was fast, not as fast as himself or Atalanta, but still pretty damn fast.

It honestly wasn't all bad, normally Harry and Zoë couldn't stay in the same room for more than five minutes before they started to argue about something or another before it devolved into a fight, but, to Harry's surprise, Zoë had fought with Scáthach more than with himself. The Witch-Queen would needle Zoë with little comments or slights that would throw Zoë into a rage before the two (Technically) immortals tried to kill one another, sometimes Harry would get dragged into it by Zoë or Scáthach, but most of the time they were happy just trying to kill one another by themselves, But more often or not he would get a meal and a show. Harry had thought, privately, that Scáthach was enjoying having someone she could fight without holding everything back for once, and Zoë was easy to rile up once you knew how.

As soon as Harry's foot hits the earth, the faint feeling, weakness, and bone-deep exhaustion hits him, he tilts forward about to fall on his face before he is caught by Zoë, his right arm pressed against her chest which makes him hiss out in pain.

"Hades riding a fucking unicycle, Zoë!" Harry says through gritted teeth as he feels his knees give out.

"Sorry!" Zoë says quickly maneuvering him to where his right arm was no longer touching her, "Now tell me what's wrong?" Zoë asks a touch of concern in her voice.

"Nothing," Harry mumbles out, "Just…tired," Harry says as his head jobs a bit.

"Harry, you look like you just crawled out of the pit," Zoë says, moving him to her other side so she can throw his left arm over her shoulder, "Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing," Zoë says with a sigh as Harry mumbles out a weak no, "Stop being a brat, all you did in there was push your limits, sleep, and eat, never taking a break in between, and don't even get me started on that stupid deal you made with that infuriating woman, look at what happened to your shoulder, it's still bad even after a week, it still looks like you just used-" before Zoë could finish her rant, a sharp crack fills the Chamber of Skye, and two tennis ball sizes green eyes are looking at Zoë out from under a large Witch's hat.

"Missy Nighty-Shade? Would that be you?" The voice of Dobby fills the Chamber of Skye.

"Dobby," Zoë says, surprise coloring her tone, "What are you doing here?" she asks.

"The Heady-Master asks if Dobby could watch over the spooky gate till you and Harry Potter comes out of it, and to bring something," Dobby says as he quickly makes his way over to the pair of Hunters and pulls out two small bars of Ambrosia.

"Artemis bless you, little Fae," Zoë sighs out before taking the pieces of divine food and coaxing Harry to open his mouth to feed it to him, After a few minutes Harry finally has color back in his face and the strength to stand on his own, though he was still cradling his right arm.

"Thanks, Dobby," Harry tells the small elf with a smile, "You're a lifesaver," he says before the little Elf sequels in Happiness.

"Dobby is always happy to be helping the great Harry Potter, sir, you can always count on me," the house elf says with a smile.

Harry smiles back at Elf, "I know, Dobby," Harry tells the House Elf before the three of them leave the Chamber of Skye and make their way back to the castle. Dobby leaves them at the entrance hall to report back to the Headmaster about their return before Zoë helps Harry back to Gryffindor Tower, while he would happily give Zoë a tour of it on any other night, he was dead tired and wanting nothing more than to slip into his bed and sleep for the next two days, so after wishing Zoë a good night, he climbs the stairs to his dormitory to do just that. Pulling out his pajamas he had gone into the bathroom to change, stripping out of his jacket and clothes with one functioning arm was harder than he thought, but after a quick shower and pulling on his pajama bottoms, Harry stops and looks into the mirror on the wall.

Narrow, red, and angry-looking red scars started at his wrist and worked their way down his forearm before bulging and growing thicker from his bicep, crawling across his shoulder and rooting themselves into the middle of his chest.

"Those will mostly fade in time, Graeca, after you leave this place, but I fear the ones on your shoulder and chest will remain for the rest of your life,"

Harry sighs before pulling on his shirt, they were just more curse scars, nothing he couldn't deal with, Harry was a very self-conscious person on the best day, the only curse scar he actively hated was the one on the forehead, and only because wouldn't stop looking at the damn thing. Harry turns around to head off to bed, only to stop to see Ron standing in the doorway, eyes full of concern as he looks at Harry's right arm. They stand there for a moment, neither saying a word as Harry shuffles awkwardly back and forth before wincing slightly in pain as Harry tries to roll his shoulders.

It was Ron who spoke first, "You okay?" he asks, concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah," Harry says harshly, before flinching at his own tone, Ron just nods his head before sighing.

"Yeah, just I deserve that a, well, a lot really," he mutters, "Listen, Harry,..." Ron trails off a bit before sighing and scratching the back of his head, "I'm sorry," he finally says, "Me and 'Mione fucked up, I fucked up, we fucked up pretty bad," he says, stumbling with his words as he spoke.

Harry just stands there, looking at Ron, conflicting emotions battling in his chest as Ron continues to talk, "I was being stupid," He admits, "I had thought you entered without telling me, I thought-I thought you didn't think you needed us anymore, as I said, I was stupid," Ron says looking at the floor.

"Yeah, you were," Harry says quietly, "Because it doesn't take someone as smart as Hermione to figure out I'm pretty hopeless, Ron," Harry tells him and Ron snorts out a laugh.

"You still believe that?" He says with a raised brow, and as Harry shuffles again and looks away Ron shakes his head, "Harry, you are one of the scariest, most accomplished pieces on the board," he says in a serious tone, "Hell, if I had to do half the stuff you did alone, I would be dead twice over, and I'm not counting the demigod stuff, then I'd be dead at least six times over," he says shaking his head. Neither speaks for a few more moments, "Just so you know, Mum and Dad send their love and luck, though Mum told me to watch out for that Zoë bird," he says that last part with a roll of his eyes, "Me and Hermione will be rooting for you, just so you know," he says before stepping into the bathroom with his towel, "You do have a way to deal with the dragon, right?" he asks worriedly.

"Yeah," Harry says softly, his left hand coming up to grip his right bicep, "Just,.." Harry begins but trails off for a moment, "Just be near an exit when it's my turn to face one, you and Hermione both, Okay?" he tells Ron.

Ron looks at him with a raised brow, "Come on mate, we both know that I and Mione aren't going to leave you hanging," he says, the "again" was left unsaid but echoed throughout the bathroom before Harry leaves to crawl into bed, stopping only when he finds three books tucked under his covers, post-its marking pages with familiar handing writing on them, and when flipping one open, Harry finds the pages already translated to ancient greek, all about dragons.


Transfiguration Wing, 23nd of November.

Angelina Johnson was humming to herself as she danced to a tune in her head while inspecting the sword that her father had sent to her two days ago with a note explaining how and where he had got it and how he thought it was of Wixen origin. The blade was currently stuck in the Scabbard, none of her dad's tricks and tools could get the damn thing out, and with her mum out of the country doing a dig in Rome, Ahab Johnson had set the sword to his only daughter.

Angelina had to agree with her dad on this one, the sword was definitely magical in some way, and her dad had gotten the thing dated to the early iron age after he got it from an estate sale in Greece almost a month ago. For being so damn old it was in amazing condition, like, "This shouldn't be possible" type of condition from the handle and scabbard alone. The handle was a beautifully carved ivory with bronze inlays and a wide pammal, the guard was ivory as well, with remnants of flaking gold on it, and the scabbard had some type of silver for its caps and bands that held it together with soft, from what Angelina's spell work had told her, boar hide. It was a beautiful piece for being over two thousand years old, and currently frustrating the hell out of Angelina because the damn thing wouldn't come out of the damn scabbard! She's tried everything, from charms to transfiguration to even trying to vanish the scabbard, but none of her normal tricks were working. Her current theory was that the thing was Enchanted, that it could only be drawn by a specific person or type of person, which, while annoying, had a few ways around. Because the thing about magic is that there was always a workaround to any problem, you just had to be clever enough to figure it out.

Angelina was only doing this to take her mind off what was to come tomorrow, the first task. She had no idea what was going to happen, but come hell or high water, she was going to relax before she had to stress about it again, she had spent the last few weeks with the Twins, Kate Bell and Alicia Spinnet practicing all the spells they could find, from curses and hexes, transfiguration and charms, even useful joke spells that the twins had cooked up themselves. The team had tried to get Harry to come practice with them, but every time they had gone to look for him, Harry seemed to vanish like a ghost in the castle, and when Harry Potter didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be, Angelina just hoped that Zoë chick was helping him with it all, hang the rules about the Representatives not helping the champions.

So it was a surprise when someone came knocking at the door to the empty Transfiguration classroom Angelina had set up as her personal lab with McGonagall's permission, and the person who had poked their head in was none other than her lost Seeker.

"Harry!" Angelina says with a smile when she looks up from the sword to see who it was, "There you are mate, been wondering where you've been," she says.

"Oh, ah, were you looking f-for me?" Harry asks, sounding a bit confused.

"Well, yeah," Angelina says, "Been looking for you the last two weeks, no one has been able to find you,"

"Why?" Harry asks, confused.

"Because I wanted to invite you for some training for the tournament with me and the rest of the team," Angelina says as she walks around the desk and over to the boy who was her seeker.

"Oh," Harry says, before rubbing his right arm and looking away for a moment, "I'm, ...Already getting help, but, ah, thanks," He says looking at his feet as Angelina frowns a bit, but nods.

"Alright, that's fine," She tells him, unhappy with not having her full team with her, and put off a bit by Harry turning her down, "But the offer still stands, we've been getting together every night after dinner on the third floor, just in case you want to swing by, okay?" she tells him and Harry nods before dropping his arm.

"So, ah, I found out what the first task kinda is, or well a part of it, err, a feature of it?" Harry blurts out, not knowing how to segue into something like that, but Angelina raises her brow as she turns her head and narrows her eyes.

"How did you find out?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest, Angeline wasn't one for cheating, and she wasn't about to start now.

"Ron, or well, his older brother Charlie," Harry says, shuffling in place and frowning as Angelina's eyes shoot wide open as Harry says the name of the twin's older brother.

She sighs before she brings up her hand and begins to rub her eyes, "Harry, please tell me that I'm getting them confused and Charlie is the curse breaker," Angelina almost begs.

"Nope," Harry says, popping the end of the word like a piece of bubblegum, as he looks away from her gripping his right arm tighter.

"Okay, Okay, Okay," Angelina says in quick secretion before taking a deep breath through her nose and blowing out of her mouth as she starts pacing, "Dragons? Fucking dragons!? Are they insane, how are you going to take on a fucking dragon!?" Angelina hisses through her teeth.

"Huh?" Harry says, shocked at her words, "Aren't you worried about yourself?" he asks.

"Me?" Angelina says, surprised, "Harry, I signed up for this, I've been practicing for the last two weeks on my best areas, not to mention that I have two years more experience than you do," the Captain tells him, "No offense meant, Harry, I'm sure there not expecting us to kill them, but still, to have a fourth year take on a fucking Dragon" Angelina says with a sigh, looking at Harry with concern.

"Do you have a plan?" Angelina asks, and Harry simply nods, unsure what to say or do with Angeline's little rant, "Is that Zoë girl helping you?" the Captain asks.

"Y-Yeah," Harry says with a nod, "We've got a plan, just,..." Harry pauses, lips pressed into a thin line as he looks back at Angelina with fear and concern in his green eyes, two very rare emotions that Harry shows, "Just, just make sure the team is by the exits for when things go sideways," Harry says before he turns around heading to the door.

"What makes you think things are gonna go sideways, Harry?" Angelina asks.

"With me, it always does," Harry says with a sigh of good humor before walking out the door.


Harry Potter, 24th of November, outside of the champion's tent.

"Are you ready?" Zoë asks as she watches Harry straighten the Vambrace on his right arm before he pulls his jacket sleeve down to cover it as he nods, rolling his shoulders and hoping in place a bit as an outlet from the nervous energy he felt coursing through him. The armor he had been given by Zoë was without a doubt one of the coolest things that he had been given, it was easily in the top five, it consisted of a set of bracers, a set of Chausses (or shin guards with knee pads), a breastplate that Zoë called a {lorica segmentata}, and a set of Pauldrons and elbow pads. The armor was as black as night with silver trimming and different phases of the moon set across them in the same color as the trimming and when Harry would shine light into each piece at just right the angle he could make out the now dull veins that once had molten rock coursing through it when the Scorpio once lived.

Each piece was custom-made just for him, while the bracers could fit under his jacket sleeves with the one on his right arm made to have room for his wand holster, the elbow and shoulder armor went over his jacket, and the buckles and straps made sense when Zoë started she show him how each piece was strapped to the jacket, and made to sit tightly but comfortably to it. The Shin guards and knee pads were tide on over his pants, and created to not get in his while Harry was running, the {Segmantata} was bands of leather, and the Scorpio carapace folded over and pulled almost skin tight over his chest and stomach so he could wear it under a shirt, and the shirt in question was a big black one with a large holographic golden lion on it, no doubt from Atalanta, which had made Harry smile when he saw it.

The armor itself was more like hardened leather with the carapace of the Scorpio shaved down impossibly thin to cut down the weight of the armor, it was trading the traditional defense when it came to armor for it being much lighter, but thanks to the carapace there were very few things that could cut or pierce through it, all Harry really had to worry about was something hitting it with enough blunt force damage to destroy the carapace that sat as the main layer of armor. He had even got a pair of cool fingerless gloves with small sections of carapace on his knuckles to make him hit harder while fighting hand to hand, though the fingers on his right thumb, index, and middle finger were full to help when shooting.

The only extra editions to his armor were the button he had stolen from Malfoy, and the pin that Scáthach had given him before he and Zoë left the Land of Shadows, it was a simple thing made from Fen Iron which was the Celtic equivalent of Celestial bronze, the pin was a simple red tree branch over a large circle, Scáthach had told him an old student had left it behind and was a symbol of the Knights of the Red Branch from the birthplace of the Dé Dánann, Ireland. Harry didn't really feel right wearing it, but it was a part of his deal with Scáthach, so he would, for his teacher.

"The Headmaster told me that he modified the Terrain inside the stadium," Zoë tells him, "So if push comes to shove I'll be able to put the beast down if needed," she says, but worry and concern were set deep in her eyes as she looks at Harry.

"My Spear?" Harry asks, looking up at her.

"It should be close enough to come when you call it, I just do not know if the wards set around the arena will interfere with it," Zoë admits as a grumpy look settles on her face, but Harry just nods, because he was hoping it wouldn't either.

"Okay, Okay," Harry says bouncing in place, "Fuck, this such bullshit," He says with an aggravated sigh, Zoë places both hands on his shoulders causing Harry to stop moving and look at her confused.

"Listen to me, Harry," She tells him as she leans down, "Lady Artemis does not care if you win this stupid tournament or not, she just wants you to survive, that's it, so don't focus on winning, the focus of making out in one piece," she tells him looking at him in his eyes, her golden eyes full of fear, fear for him, she reaches behind him and pulls his head forward, pressing his forehead to her own, "Stay safe little brother, if you can't kill the Dragon, send up silver sparks and I'll do it myself, Okay?" she tells him, and Harry smiles and does a slight nod.

"I will, big sister," Harry tells Zoë and she smiles at him, they both close their eyes, one sending a prey to her Lady to watch over and protect her little brother, and the other enjoying the warmth that spreads through his chest at his sister's words.

"hem-hem" a voice to the left of the pair of siblings coughing out to interrupt their moment, Harry turns his head and sees the last person he thought he was going to see.

"Daphne," Harry greets the blonde girl with an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks as he steps away from Zoë.

Daphne's eyes flick between the two, narrowing a bit at Zoë before she speaks, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," she says flatly.

"Oh, um, N-no," Harry says as he scratches the back of his head looking at his feet, "C-can I help, um, y-you?" he says, kicking a rock away.

"I was hoping to steal a few moments of your time before you go in," Daphne asks, her tone polite and level, but she was still glaring at Zoë, who was looking back at Daphne with an amused look before the Lieutenant turns to the blushing boy who lived.

"I need to make my way up to the judge's box anyway, I'll give you a few minutes with your friend," Zoë says with a smile at Harry then she turns and eyes Daphne for a moment before entering the tent. The pair of teenagers are quiet for a moment as Daphne walks over to Harry, her hands crossed in front of her as she eyeballs the back of Zoë as she disappears into the tent.

"So, who was that?" Daphne asks stiffly, turning to look at Harry, her face calm but her eyes had growing anger in them.

"Oh, that was the Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, Zoë Nightshade," Harry says as he shuffles awkwardly before looking up at Daphne.

"And, ...who is she to you exactly?" Daphne asks, her voice cracking a bit as anger leaked into it before she regains control of it.

"Ummm," Harry had a feeling that this was one of those questions that if he answered wrong would end in a world of hurt for him, so he decided to answer truthfully, "She's like a big sister," Harry says, "One that I fight with, a lot," he says with a slight smile.

"Oh!" Daphne squeaks out, pink coloring her cheeks, "I see," she says before looking away from Harry, taking a breath and sighing it out, "I-I came to wish you luck in what's to come, in whatever that may be," Daphne says looking back into Harry's eyes.

"Dragons," Harry says nonchalantly and with a shrug, hiding his own fear, as Daphne's eyes widen a bit, before sighing again and shaking her head.

"You get into the craziest situations, Harry," she says with a small smile.

"You don't know the half of it," Harry says with a shake of his own head.

"So, the Gallant Knight rides off to battle against a creature of Legend," Daphne says, smiling a bit wider, "I feel like I'm a fairy tale for some reason,"

"I'm no knight, Daphne, and I'm definitely not Gallant, just dumb enough to do the brave things," Harry says with a scoff.

"Well, if you're no knight, then what are you?" Daphne asks, with a coy smile and a tilt of her head.

Harry smiles a wicked smirk, "I'm just a Hunter," he tells her, and Daphne laughs.

"Well brave Hunter," Daphne tells Harry before reaching up and taking off the scarf from around her neck, before winding it around Harry's neck, "A token from a fair maiden, to be returned upon your inevitable victory," she says with a smile, her hands not leaving the scarf, "and you better return Harry," she whispers before pulling him in and kissing him softly on the lips, "I'd hate to go to Hogsmeade without my boyfriend," she says with a soft smile, and the warm feeling in Harry's chest became like an inferno as he let of a sigh into the cold November air as Daphne steps back, and turns to leave, just to be stopped by Harry grabbing her arm and pulling her back in for a deeper more passionate kiss that feels like it lasts an eternity.

Until it ends when they both turn their heads when they hear someone else talk, "Mother-Magic frosty tits!" both turn to see a girl in a checkered black and white beanie with a "Support Angeline" pin attached to it looking at both of them with wide eyes and jaw hanging open along with Daphne's little sister, Astoria, looking between both of them with the biggest grin on her face.

"Tracey! I told you to watch Astoria!" Daphne snaps at her.

"You're snogging Harry Potter," the other girl, Tracey, says shocked before she notices said boy looking at her or, more specifically, at the pin. She quickly reaches up and taps it and the pin morphs into something other than "Potter Stinks" it now said "Roar, Hogwarts, Roar!" in the school's colors as she smiles at him awkwardly.

Daphne sighs as she steps away from Harry, "Go give them hell, Harry, I need to stop my little sister from planning our wedding and Tracey from running her big mouth," she tells him before giving one last kiss on the cheek before rushing off with the other two girls. Harry rubs his cheek smiling to himself before taking a deep breath and walking into the Champions tent, thoughts of Daphne and what's to come next with her, of Ron and Hermione, of everything else being pushed away, he could worry about that later, for now…

For now, he had a hunt to start.


The Chariot

On this card, the borders are filled with Celtic knotwork with pictures of three small dragons of different types, one has two heads and a tail of a fish, another has the head of a lion and the shell of a tortoise, the third has a long serpentine body and wings. It shows three people in the middle, a dark skin girl on the right in robes of red and gold in the middle of transfiguring stone, on the left, a stoic-looking boy in leather and steel armor with an axe coated in lightning, and in the middle of them a girl with blonde hair holding up a thin sword between her eyes with a smirk showing off three sets of fangs, one eye is a powdered blue color while the other is a horizontally split pupil set in an orange Iris, and below them…


Chapter done!

So how did y'all like the first look at battle magic? I've been thinking about it for ages, if any of you have any thoughts about it, please feel free to share, I thrive off of constructive criticism.

About the Manipura comment, in headcanon, magical cores can be found along the classical chakra line, does that mean anything? No, it's just where they most commonly form.

Also, ScáthachxZoë, I'd ship it.(but I won't)

What did Scáthach show Harry? Well, remember all the way back in the Land of Shadows arc back in Under of the Hunters Moon when I said she wanted to pass something down? She did that.

What's up with the scars that Harry has? Well, I'll explain that in the next two chapters.

As for how Scåthach knows what's going to happen before it does, she's a bit of a clairvoyant, she's not a seer, she can just see events as they could play out with the events going as is.

Kingsaxcul, out!