Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no profit.
Author's Note: Rpeh for the beta work.
Chapter 3
"Tell me. Did you think that was going to work?" a soft voice said from behind him. He turned but there was nothing there, just a vast emptiness.
"Yes, I did," Harry said to the void.
"And what did you learn?" the voice asked again.
"Not to take a poisoned cutter to the shoulder?" Harry responded.
"Do you think that's why you lost fight?" the voice asked.
"It played a large part," Harry said, turning around again to stare into the void from another angle. The speaker was nowhere to be found.
"You've learned nothing," the voice sighed.
"Oh? And what should I have done differently then?" Harry asked, feeling quite annoyed at being chastised by a specter in an invisible void.
"Not rushed headlong into a situation where you had no chance of victory," came the calm response.
"No chance? Please," Harry said.
"You've seen him fight before. You've read about him. You've researched him. Do you think he was trying?" the voice asked. Harry frowned. He focused on what he knew of Grindelwald, on what he'd seen of Grindelwald. There hadn't been a bright and powerful aura like he often displayed in combat, there had been no focus, there had been no urgency from him. All that Grindelwald had displayed was amusement.
"Perhaps not," Harry said.
"You hit him with enough power to kill most normal men. And all that managed to do was singe his robes. All you've done is proven you aren't a threat to him," the voice said.
"If I'm not a threat to him. Then no one is a threat to him. No one will be able to beat him," Harry said.
"Perhaps. Perhaps you shouldn't try to beat him in one on one combat. It's a romantic notion, sure, but a stupid one," the voice said.
"No one else should need to die while I clean up Dumbledore's mess," Harry said.
"Again, a noble notion. But I fear a stupid one," the voice said.
"If Dumbledore could beat him I can beat him," Harry said.
"Probably," the voice agreed. "But there's a lot we don't know about that battle, now isn't there."
"What, are you saying Dumbledore didn't beat him?" Harry asked.
"No," the voice responded.
"So why are we arguing about it?" Harry asked.
"You're arguing with yourself," the voice responded. "Perhaps you should figure that out yourself."
"Great, so I'm going crazy," Harry said.
"No more than normal. But it is time to wake up now," the voice said. And the void faded. There was blackness. But then, for the briefest of moments, he saw nothing but ice and tundra and billowing snow before his eyes opened to the dim confines of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He shot upward in surprise as his eyes adjusted.
"Lay back down," a familiar voice said.
"Priya?" Harry asked. He looked around the room as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. It was the Headmaster's bedroom, the highest room of the staff tower in the palace. A tower so magically protected from the students that Harry hadn't even realized it existed until he'd gotten the job. He'd always assumed that whenever he couldn't see a Professor on the Marauder's Map that they were off campus. But he'd since learned that there were still some secrets that Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs hadn't discovered.
He made a mental note to tease Padfoot about that the next time he saw him. Which, given Sirius's current interest in lounging on the beaches of Brazil, might be a while. Oh well, he could write him a letter.
"Yes," Priya Patel responded. She'd been a Ravenclaw two years ahead of him and had gone on to become a certified healer. She'd spent three years as the head nurse at his school in Japan before returning to work under her grandmother at St. Mungo's.
"Why are you here?" he asked. His voice didn't sound right. It sounded weaker than it should have, and talking seemed to hurt. Neither of those were particularly good signs.
"Because someone walked in on me as I was stepping out of the shower claiming that you were dead," Priya responded.
"Sorry," Fumiko said from the corner of the room. Harry's gaze shifted to her and he saw her blushing.
"And I'm supposed to be in Mumbai in six hours for a girlfriend's wedding. So next time you get yourself killed, can you check my calendar first?" Priya scolded.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'm more disappointed I wasn't invited to the wedding," Harry said, sitting up again.
"Don't," Priya scolded, placing her hand on his chest and pushing him back against the pillows. "The last thing I need is some weird white boy wandering around my family."
"Your grandmother likes me," Harry said.
"And I'm still not sure why or how because she doesn't like anyone. Who you remind her of is a mystery," Priya scoffed.
"How's Neville?" Harry asked.
"Better than you," Priya said. "Poppy is taking care of him. She'll probably keep him on bedrest for the entire night but I would think he's mostly healed by now."
"What's still wrong with me. I can't feel my left arm," Harry said. He reached over with his right arm and could feel it was still there. But it couldn't feel his touch. So he hit it harder to see if that had the desired effect. It didn't.
"Don't do that. Whatever poison you managed to get into you was incredibly difficult to remove. It stayed in the flesh through all healing attempts and even amputation and regrowth," Priya said.
"That's impossible," Harry said.
"You'd think that," Priya responded. "Yet here you are. Alex, Fumiko, Poppy and myself all had to go in and fight it on a basic level in each inch of your muscle and then regrow it. As is you should recover. But it's a very good thing that you made it back as soon as you did."
"You let Avery operate on me?" Harry frowned. His head still felt a little bit fuzzy and he suspected he'd consumed quite a few medical potions while unconscious.
"I did," Priya said.
"Gross. How long was I out?" Harry asked.
"It's still Saturday," Avery said, peering at his watch. "Evening, but still Saturday."
"So Hermione isn't utterly furious at me then," Harry said.
"Oh, no. She is," Hermione Granger said. Harry winced and turned toward the desk in the corner of his bedroom. Hermione lifted her head from the desk and stared at him. Tears had smeared her makeup and her hair was an utter mess.
"Well I didn't explode," Harry said.
"You nearly got yourself killed!" Hermione yelled.
"I'm fine," Harry said.
"No, you nearly died," Priya said with as much force as she could muster. "A few minutes later and you would have croaked for sure. I don't care how durable you think you are."
"Maybe," Harry said, as if he didn't believe the possibility of that. Both Fumiko and Alexander eyed him carefully for a moment. Before looking at each other.
"There is no maybe, Harry! You ran off and nearly died. What even happened!" Hermione shouted.
"What I said would happen," Harry said.
"I remember listening quite intently to what you thought would happen," Avery said. "And nowhere in that do I remember you saying, 'And then I'm going to nearly die,' so forgive us for thinking that you may be fibbing a bit."
"We showed up. We were met by some French official and his underlings who showed us around town and to where the relief efforts were being stationed. Neville and I got bored and decided to wander the town a bit. The aforementioned Frenchie decided that he would accompany us. Turns out he was Grindelwald in disguise. Neville took care of the underlings and I fought Grindelwald," Harry explained.
"Fought?" Priya scoffed.
"I'm assuming that you didn't win," Alexander said.
"I did not," Harry said.
"Was it close?" Fumiko asked, her voice sounding quite small.
"That doesn't matter!" Hermione scoffed. "You can't just go rushing off trying to kill dark wizards. If you wanted to do that you should have become an Auror!"
"In fairness I don't think they can just go rushing off to kill dark wizards either. I think they need like governmental approval and stupid things like that," Harry said.
"Now you're just being flippant," Hermione said.
"And not answering the question," Avery said.
"I think the condition of he and Mr. Longbottom answered the question adequately," Priya said.
"It was not close," Harry agreed.
"Was it at least a good fight?" Avery asked.
"I'm sure it looked like one," Harry responded.
"So no," Avery said.
"He kicked my ass," Harry said.
"I see," Avery said.
"I did hit him with some blood magic just before Apparating away. If I'm lucky it melted through his skull and problem solved," Harry said.
"Fred and George rushed toward the light during your duel. A few others followed them. They saw Grindelwald but, thankfully, not you. They've put two and two together when you were nowhere to be seen. But others haven't yet," Hermione explained.
"So Grindelwald survived," Harry said.
"Yes. But disappeared when more people showed up," Hermione said.
"I'm surprised he didn't just kill them," Harry said.
"That would have made the most sense," Avery agreed.
"Grindelwald's platform didn't often include senseless slaughter of magical people," Hermione said.
"Yet he blew up a town," Harry countered.
"We don't know that for sure," Hermione said.
"Oh, I'm sure it was the non-magical terrorists then," Harry rolled his eyes.
"Harry," Hermione groaned. "While I do think your hunch is right. The truth is, we don't know who did it."
"Then why was he there?" Harry asked.
"Posing as a French official aiding the relief effort? Perhaps he just wanted to help. He could spin it that way," Hermione said.
"She has a point," Priya interjected. "Grindelwald can't just show up and help. He's a wanted man for the violence perpetrated against muggles. But he can hide and help."
"And jump Harry Potter who showed up to help?" Harry asked.
"That is harder to explain away. But Grindelwald had a history of liking duels with powerful people. Perhaps you were just amusing to him," Hermione said.
"Amusing enough to try to kill me?" Harry laughed. "I have a hard time believing that."
"Yes, because no one else has ever acted that way," Avery scoffed.
"Point," Harry sighed.
"So, what did you accomplish then?" Avery said.
"Well, at the very least, I think I convinced Grindelwald I'm not really a threat to whatever he's planning. If I'm being optimistic that means he won't bother doing anything about Hogwarts for a while which gives me some time to lick my wounds," Harry said.
"And if you're being a pessimist he'll decide that you're weak and show up here with another one of his magical bombs," Avery said.
"Well, he might. I think the Hogwarts defenses would be able to take one and come out standing," Harry responded.
"You must have gotten hit on the head. You're being oddly positive tonight," Avery said.
"I am going to pretend that you didn't just entertain the notion of Gellert Grindelwald blowing up the school and all the students in it," Hermione said.
"And I'm going to go take a power nap before my portkey to Mumbai," Priya said.
"Can I eat?" Harry asked.
"You can do whatever you want," Priya said. "I would just try to get some sleep. If your arm turns green again you're going to have to go to the hospital because then it's beyond my or Poppy's abilities to heal. Past that I would say just don't go running off to duel any dark wizards."
"Thanks for your help," Harry said.
"I'll walk Healer Patel out and fetch you something from the kitchens," Fumiko said.
"Make sure you don't mention to Dobby that I'm hurt. I really don't want to deal with that," Harry said.
"I should make you deal with that for being so stupid," Fumiko said as she and Priya left the bedroom.
"I can't believe you'd go running off like that, Harry," Hermione said.
"I'm not really sure what's surprising about that," Harry said. "Given that running straight into situations I shouldn't be near is pretty much what I do."
"Oh, don't be flippant with me," Hermione said.
"This is, at least, better than his usual reaction," Avery said. "Normally he sulks more after he gets his ass kicked."
"Well you know," Harry shrugged. "Can't always be negative about everything."
"Yes, you can," Avery said.
"You're just giving him an excuse to not talk about how stupid his plan was," Hermione scoffed.
"It was a great plan," Harry said. "I just didn't think Grindelwald would be that much more powerful than me."
"There's no way," Avery said. "I've seen you. I can't fathom that."
"And yet he just smacked me around and has me on bedrest for now," Harry said. He figured by then Priya wouldn't pop back in and scold him, so he sat up on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.
"Except you were probably being you and not taking the fight serious," Avery said.
"Do I ever not take a fight serious?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Fumiko said as she entered the room. She was carrying a covered tray.
"I'm hurt," Harry said.
"Yes, you are," Fumiko said. "That's why we called the healers. Alex might be onto something with the head injury. You seem slower than usual."
"That's not what I meant." Harry said.
"I know," Fumiko said as she placed the tray down on Harry's bedside table and lifted the top from the tray to revealing a hearty looking beef and potato stew and a large chunk of bread.
"I can do that," Hermione said quietly.
"It's fine," Fumiko said. Harry reached for the bread.
"You shouldn't be up," Hermione said.
"Hungry," Harry retorted.
"Let him eat," Fumiko said.
"He'll be easier to pry on a full stomach," Avery said.
"Pry?" Hermione asked.
"He's in too good of a mood," Avery said. "He figured something out that he doesn't want to share."
"I have no problem sharing," Harry said.
"So, share," Avery said.
"Can't, eating," Harry responded through a mouthful of potato.
"Love?" Fumiko asked.
"Yes?" Avery responded.
"What was that dessert the elves made tonight?" Fumiko asked.
"A peanut butter cheesecake," Avery said.
"Right it was phenomenal. I think I'll summon an elf to get me another slice. What was that one's name?" Fumiko asked with a faux sweetness.
"Dob-" Avery started.
"Just let me finish eating in peace!" Harry gagged out through a chunk of bread.
"Oh alright," Fumiko sighed.
"What are you hiding, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"The door opened," Harry said. Hermione looked toward his closed bedroom door. Fumiko froze, Avery whistled.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"When?" Avery asked.
"Oh no," Fumiko frowned.
"When I was out," Harry said. "It closed again. But that doesn't matter. It was open long enough."
"And so you want to chase that again," Avery said.
"Yes," Harry said. "As soon as I'm done eating."
"You're in no condition to travel," Fumiko said. "You just said you can't feel your left arm!"
"Well, sure, but my right arm is fine," Harry said.
"Not funny," Fumiko muttered.
"No," Hermione said.
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"You are not leaving again! You are the Headmaster of Hogwarts! You can't just go running off constantly chasing down Grindelwald!" Hermione said.
"I'm not going to chase him down. I have a completely different plan in mind," Harry said. "And if it works I won't need to chase down Grindelwald."
"What?!" Hermione yelled. "No! I don't care. You're not doing it. You need to stay at Hogwarts!"
"Fine," Harry sighed.
"Really?" Hermione asked in disbelief.
"Really," Harry said as he turned his attention back to his stew.
"You're just going to send Alex," Hermione responded.
"He can't," Avery said. "I would refuse to go."
"Why?" Fumiko asked.
"Because I think he's making a terrible decision if he chooses to go down that path," Avery said. "And one I do not agree with."
"What?" Harry asked.
"I don't think we…you..should go down that path," Avery said.
"You didn't think that in Canada," Harry said.
"Canada was a decade ago," Avery said. "I thought we were on the same page."
"We were," Harry said. "But circumstances have changed."
"No. They haven't," Avery said.
"Grindelwald is back," Harry said.
"And we can deal with that. Through the proper channels," Avery said.
"The proper channels are worthless," Harry said.
"Maybe," Avery said. "But you always talk about wanting to facilitate change. This could be a step to do that. This could be what the ministry needs."
"And how many would have to die before that happens? That's unacceptable," Harry said.
"And throwing yourself at it repeatedly is an acceptable solution?" Fumiko asked.
"It certainly isn't a solution that's going to spur the government into action. Hell, it wouldn't shock me if Fudge just saw it as a way to rid himself of Harry Potter," Avery said.
"So, you suggest I drag my feet like Fudge and hope it goes away?" Harry asked.
"No," Avery said. "But you were there. And you're Harry Potter. Use that. Expose him. Go international. Try to rally people to you. Create a force that can fight him. Don't just rush in and attempt to fight him on his terms."
"I'd just be leading more people to their deaths," Harry said.
"That happens in wars," Avery said.
"I'm not going to sacrifice people," Harry said.
"Then you're not going to be an effective leader," Avery said.
"Alex," Fumiko scoffed.
"I don't want to lead people," Harry said. "I just want to solve the problem."
"It's hard to solve the problem if you aren't going to lead against the problem," Avery said.
"You thought this was a good idea a few months ago," Harry said
"No," Avery said. "I thought it was an interesting solution to a particular problem. If you recall, I placed it at third of our three solutions."
"Traitor," Harry said with a scowl. Avery scowled right back.
"What are you two talking about?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," Harry said.
"It doesn't sound like nothing," Hermione said.
"I need to pack," Harry said as he slipped from the bed. He wobbled a bit on his feet as the room spun around him, but he managed to keep his balance.
"Harry you shouldn't be getting up!" Fumiko scoffed.
"I'm fine," Harry said, doing his best to hide the sudden vertigo. Fumiko frowned at him, but Avery shook his head.
"Do you think you should leave tonight?" he asked.
"I don't have much time. But it finally makes sense. I need to chase it again. Before it's too late," Harry said.
"It will always be too late, Harry. It's just Canada all over again. And I'm not sure you can take that again. I'm not sure that I should let you. I made a promise," Avery said. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. He unfolded it and stepped toward Harry.
Harry paused for a moment and stared down at the piece of paper. The three words on it were written in a purple ink that contained flecks of silver. He shook his head as he stared.
"Protect the boy," he read aloud. "That wasn't a promise, Avery. It was an order."
"All the more reason to follow it then," Avery said, folding the paper back up and tucking it into his pocket once more.
"One problem. I'm not a boy any longer. And I really don't need protecting from anything," Harry said.
"Except Grindewald, apparently," Hermione commented.
"Sass from Hermione?" Harry laughed in surprise.
"She has a point though," Fumiko said.
"Ouch," Harry sighed. "Also, weren't you going back to London to come scold me about my review next Sunday?"
"I was going back to London but then Fumiko and I got into your wine and then you and Neville showed up dead," Hermione said. "And it was this Sunday. As in the one hours away not days away."
"Next Sunday will be better, I should be back by then," Harry said.
"Harry, please don't do this again," Hermione said. "Look at what happened to you last time!"
"Well this time I won't be going toward someone that wants to kill me," Harry said.
"Debatable," Avery said.
"Please you know I'm right," Harry retorted.
"Is he?" Fumiko asked.
"Maybe," Avery shrugged his shoulders. "And I don't think we'll be able to stop him."
"He can barely walk!" Hermione said.
"I'll be fine in a few hours," Harry said. Thankfully the act of moving was starting to invigorate him. And he was starting to feel his left arm again. Although he could tell that was going to hurt immensely when the feeling returned. "I'm not that beat up. And I'm sure a potion or two on the way will help out."
"You shouldn't do this," Avery said once more.
"Maybe not. But I'm going to," Harry said.
"You can't possibly have to do anything other than rest right now!" Hermione yelled. Harry shook his head and thought that it was a good thing the staff rooms were all soundproofed so Hermione shrieking couldn't wake up any of the professors. Granted, they'd probably just all get the entirely wrong idea. But still, Harry was glad he could avoid that.
"No, Hermione. If I don't do this we're all as good as dead," Harry said
"God damn it Harry!" Hermione cursed. "Now you're sounding evil."
"I have to, Hermione. You don't understand. I lost. I know that to you that might not seem like much. But even now, after getting thrashed and just waking up, I could beat all of you together," Harry said.
"Hey now," Avery said, tensing as he spoke.
"And it wouldn't even be difficult. A week ago I wouldn't have hesitated to say I am the strongest wizard on the planet. And now, compared to Grindelwald, I am nothing. If we continue on like this, we will lose. I have a plan. And that plan requires me to leave immediately."
"What is running off again going to accomplish?" Hermione asked.
"Everything," Harry said.
"What if it doesn't?" Avery asked. "I know your theory. But you can't possibly have it all. And what if it backfires on you?"
"Then Grindelwald wins. Do what you can to keep everyone safe," Harry said. "But I do have one favor to ask."
"What's that?" Avery asked.
"Take off your shirt," Harry said, holding his wand up as he turned to face Avery.
"What are you two doing?" Hermione asked as Avery nodded his agreement and stepped toward Harry.
"Nothing," Harry said. "But you are going to have to wait some time before your review. Just tell Fudge that I was being uncooperative. I'm sure he'll empathize and it'll go a long way toward making him think you're on his side."
"Harry, please," Hermione frowned.
"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said as Avery hesitated but pulled his shirt over his head and turned his back to Harry. "But you're probably going to want to leave before this."
"Come on," Fumiko said, taking Hermione's hand and leading her out of Harry's room as Harry leveled his wand on Avery's shoulder.
Four days later and Harry wished he was back at Hogwarts. The Arctic chill was one of the most annoying things he'd ever encountered. He could warm himself, sure. But once the charm wore off it was only moments before he simply wanted to die rather than cast it once more.
His progress was annoyingly slow. He'd thought it would have taken him a day or two. Sure, he'd told Hermione a week, but that was mostly so she wouldn't hang around the castle and pester Alex and Fumiko. Instead, four days later, he found himself no closer than he was when he left Hogwarts. Well, at least he was on the right continent now.
He started each morning by summoning Dobby to his tent. The creature's eagerness always irritated him. But it would bring and make food without question and then he could send it away as he dressed in the warmest clothing he had with as many warming spells as he could before he'd exit his temporary home.
Next, he'd step out into the tundra and pack away the tent. He liked the way that sounded more than, 'waved his wand to shrink the tent.' Of course, sometimes he didn't bother with the wand.
Once that was done he closed his eyes and retreated. It took almost all of his focus to force himself to a door that wasn't really there. And one that was locked tightly shut. One that seemed to be harder and harder to get to with each passing day.
But, he would eventually find it. He couldn't open it. He didn't even try. He didn't need to. Once he'd find it, he knew which direction to go. And he would move in that direction. He'd brought a broom to start. But flying through the icy air was unbearable. So instead he walked.
Every hour or so he'd close his eyes and repeat the process. Every day it would take him less and less time to find the door. And he assumed that was because he was getting closer and closer to it.
While walking he'd think of just what led him to this point. It reminded him of his time with Avery. They'd been in Montana when it first happened. Harry had finally mastered the ghostly wraith form and they were set to move on toward California the next morning when the dreams bothered Harry.
When he'd woken up he'd made Avery turn north. He wasn't sure just where they were going. But they both knew just what they were after. And so, they made their way north. Until they came to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Alberta. A town that had been rocked by three mysterious animal attacks in the previous week.
Avery hadn't been that interested in the town, but something about it seemed odd to Harry. Of course, at that point, he was pretty sure Avery was more annoyed with his station than interested in helping Harry. So, Harry decided they'd stay there.
The next two days had been completely uneventful. Avery had complained about the food, the weather, Canada, and everything in between while Harry prodded around in the nearby forests and looked for signs of anything.
What irked him the most was that he found absolutely nothing. And he meant absolutely nothing. There were no signs of any sort of wildlife in the woods nearby. It confused him. And when he went to Avery, the older man just shrugged and figured the animal stayed away from the village.
Their third night marked the change. It started with howling. More howling than Harry thought a thousand dogs could have made. But nonetheless it continued. Everyone hid inside, men and women gathering firearms and blades of all types. Everyone except Harry.
When Avery found him, he'd been standing in the middle of the main street, gazing out toward the forest. They hadn't said anything. There seemed no real reason to talk. The villagers had screamed at them, told them to take cover, offered weapons. But Harry and just shook them off and taken out his wand.
The howling continued for what felt like an eternity before a line of shadows broke through the trees. He didn't remember exactly what he and Avery said. He did remember that the older man whistled when he saw them. And he remembered feeling terrified.
Perhaps it was stupidity. Perhaps it was just because he was barley sixteen at the time. But the sight of a mass of ten to fifteen foot tall wolves walking toward the town in perfect synchronization scared him.
When they charged, Harry froze. At least until Avery hit him on the shoulder. After that the light barrage started. They both fired curses at what they could only assume were amaroks. But their spells had no effect. The creatures continued to charge until they were right on top of them.
Harry threw up the biggest shield he could muster, a blinding white dome surrounded them. The wolves crashed into it and vanished in puffs of black smoke. It took them a moment to realize that the wolves had been ghosts.
More creatures came from the forest then. Giant abominations of all types. Harry raised the shield dome around the entire town as if it was second nature and walked toward the edge of it. The creatures all died aimlessly on his shield. Avery eyed him as the townsfolk came out to investigate. Most just stared in awe either at Harry or the shield.
Harry remembered being confused. Why would shades of magical creatures be attacking the town? Especially a town this far remote? And what about that had drawn him here? That didn't make sense. He wasn't chasing something that could draw him here? Was he?
It took Avery nudging him to snap him out of it. He stared off toward where Avery was gesturing on the tree-line and see what the old man saw. Two figures stood there. They appeared to be waving wands toward the town and seemed quite confused about just what had stopped their onslaught.
Harry and Avery simply looked at each other, and then apparated straight toward the other two wizards. One fled immediately. Harry had the distinct urge to follow, but the first one cast a spell that made the trees in the forest attack them. So, they took the easy way out of disenchanting them. They killed the caster.
With his death, the shades all vanished. The townsfolk joined them a moment later. Harry remembered wanting to flee. But an old man thanked them for their efforts and insisted they rest the night.
But that wasn't the same. Sure, he'd been chasing something. And he would continue to chase it. But he'd felt closer and closer every day when they'd been doing that. But now, here, on the fourth day in the Arctic. He felt like he was accomplishing absolutely nothing. The sun would set over the horizon and the search would become pointless. He'd toss the tent on the nearest suitable location and enlarge it.
He'd make himself some dinner with whatever Dobby had left from breakfast, have a drink or two, and then spend an hour or so in a warm bath, loving every second of the warmth the water provided compared to the chill of the outside air.
After that he'd throw himself on the bed think about how he managed to accomplish nothing on the previous day. It shouldn't have bothered him nearly as much as it did. But he felt like he had a limited window. He felt like every day it took, was one day closer to his excursion being a failure. And deep down he knew there would be dire consequences if he failed.
He'd drift off to sleep as he reflected on his failure. And when the morning came around he'd continue.
On the morning of the fifth day he continued east. Perhaps, he thought, for no other reason than it was the opposite direction that he'd gone all those years ago in Canada. But he knew that wasn't true. Something was pulling him east. So, he continued east and reflected on his trip to Vancouver all those years ago.
He and Avery had tailed the wizard all the way to a warehouse in the harbor district. Harry had wanted to go in immediately. But Avery had talked him out of it. Instead they observed for a few days.
Long enough for them to figure out what the wizards there were doing. Or at least getting the gist of it. They were killing people. Mostly muggles. With spells that Harry couldn't identify. But in doing so the pulled the spirits out of the bodies. At best, Harry would have called them ghosts. But they didn't seem to have the same agency as the ghosts.
It seemed they used the animal attacks as a guise for kidnapping. But Harry never really figured out if there was a logical reason for it, or if the wizards the encountered were simply entertaining themselves.
It didn't really matter, because all the ghosts died too. But they did so violently, shredding them to pieces of ectoplasm. And then after all of that they, took the remains and mixed it into some capsules that they sold.
Harry and Avery followed one of the dealers. They found him selling the capsules to a man who could barely stand. But he paid for them eagerly and consumed them almost immediately.
The man made it home, barely, before he started vomiting up blood. And then his intestines.
Harry left before he could see more, for fear of losing his own lunch. They spent the evening in a hotel bar arguing over whether or not they should act. Instead, Avery's logic won out, and they gave a tip to some Canadian ministry officials and determined to be on their way. But Harry had insisted on going back the next day. Something about it still seemed to be calling to him. Avery thought it was pointless, but he followed. And they watched once more.
But this time it was different. This time, there were far more wizards there. Probably nearing forty. And this time, they all seemed to be stationed around something. Harry snuck in for a better look, Avery at his side.
They'd contained something in the middle. They were attacking it, trying to take from it. Harry watched carefully, trying to see exactly what they were doing, trying to determine what their cause was. This ghost seemed far more potent than the ones that they'd seen before. And, judging from the number of wizards they'd, it wasn't their first attempt to break this one down.
Ten or so of the wizards cast on it at the same time. And it shrieked as soon as the spells hit it. It was blood-curdling. Harry remembered clutching his ears and trying to get the noise out of his head. When he looked up at the wraith, pieces of it floated off of the whole. Ten more wizards gathered them up and moved them toward where they were making the drug.
Harry watched them for a moment. Avery appeared next to him a moment later and placed his hand on his shoulder. Harry remembered him whispering something about how they should leave before the Canadian ministry showed.
Harry turned to go, but his attention was immediately pulled back to the wraith. And then it hit him. He understood what the wraith was. He understood why he was being drawn here. And he acted without thinking.
He didn't remember it. Every now and then he got pieces of it. But mostly he could just vaguely recall what happened when juxtaposed with the memories Avery had shown him after the fact.
He knew he landed in the middle of them, between the main cultist and the wraith. And he knew a killing curse made quick work of the man. But past that it was a blur of power and spells. He knew he used a shockwave that blasted quite a few of them away from him. And he knew he used a lot of the metal containers in the warehouse as weaponry. And he knew that, eventually, Avery joined in.
It was over before the Canadian ministry joined in. There wasn't much left of the cultists when Harry was done with them. But Harry didn't even look at that. It was entirely irrelevant to him. Instead he just stared at the wraith. It only took him a moment to see how it was bound in the center of the warehouse. And it only took him a moment to destroy those bindings.
It floated near him, looking so very transparent. He could hardly see it as it floated near him. He heard Avery talking behind him. But his attention was focused entirely on the wraith. He reached for it and it shrieked once more. This time the pained noise was enough to bring Harry to his knees.
Avery pulled him to his feet and turned him from the wraith to the Canadians. They gasped when they saw him. And then the questions flooded in. Harry tried to ignore them. He tried to let Avery answer them. But they attention kept coming back to him.
And sometime during it the wraith fled. He knew when it happened. He saw it rush away. None of the Canadians seemed to notice. But it was so faint it was hard to see if you weren't looking for it. It dived straight into the water and Harry lost any sense of it.
After that he just talked to the Canadians. They weren't happy with the carnage they saw. But they seemed afraid to move on Harry. And the drug had been killing people indiscriminately in the city and surrounding areas. They were going to have to move on it eventually. And Harry had provided the tip that allowed them to prepare to move. And then had handled the situation for them. Albeit not quite in the manner they'd intended.
For a while Harry thought for sure they were going to be arrested. But then Avery struck a deal.
Three months. The agreed to give the Canadians three months. They'd help with all of their efforts figuring out what the drug was doing, give them all of their information about Mitsue and how they worked their way to Vancouver, and do everything in their power to assist the end of the investigation. The only caveat was the Canadians had to say they left immediately and couldn't acknowledge their presence in the country.
Harry remembered being surprised when they'd agreed to those terms. But Avery explained later that the Canadians were too shocked that the issue had been resolved to really want to delve deeper into it. And their solution was going to be nearly identical to that of Harry's, so instead they were going to try to learn what was going on rather than dole out punishment.
Harry had been more fascinated by it than Avery. The Canadians put them up in a penthouse in Vancouver and after the first couple of weeks gave them pretty much free reign. Harry spent quite a lot of time poring over the spell books left behind by the cultists and determining just what they were doing.
Something about the ectoplasm of ghosts and wraiths was incredibly addicting to muggles. The head cultist had only been able to theorize about just what it was. But he'd suspected it had something to do with the magic in the ectoplasm reacting with the lack of magic in the muggles. And it made them crave it.
Unfortunately, it also had the side effect of destroying their insides and rotting away their intestines. Of course, it did that to magicals as well. And without the high and addictive factors. So they marketed it to muggles and had done quite well for themselves.
It only took a couple of weeks for the investigation to close. The Canadian Ministry decided that their records didn't need to be overly public for fear of imitators. So instead they released a very vague report and that was the end of that.
But they let Harry and Avery stay for a while longer. Harry spent his days training with the Canadian Aurors and otherwise enjoying the city. It didn't take him really long to realize he was better than them. But he enjoyed the training. Avery joined them a couple of times a week.
The months passed quickly. Harry enjoyed himself. He and Avery found they had a lot more common ground than they thought. They hung out more in the downtime and Harry thought it was during that period that Avery shifted from more of a protector to a friend.
Hell, the man even set him up with a cute chaser for the Vancouver Vampires one night. Although Harry was pretty convinced that was purely because Avery wanted to spend more time with her older beater friend. But he didn't complain.
He filled in his free time by venturing to the harbor and staring at the water. Nothing pulled at him in the same way that it had when he arrived. Or in the same way it now was in the Arctic.
He pulled himself out of the past and continued walking through the snow. He frowned to himself as he could start to see the sea on the horizon. But he kept walking toward it. He had no real plans for when he got there past probably setting up camp once more.
Maybe Avery was right. Each step he took closer to the water made it feel more like a wild goose chase. He frowned as the water drew closer. His steps closed, as if taking longer to get there would help his cause.
At least, he thought as he stepped up to the shoreline, the view was rather incredible from here. He sighed and took out the tent, tossing it toward the ground nearby and enlarging it. He started to cast his defense spells and then suddenly something tripped in his brain and the hair on his neck stood on end.
Harry slashed his wand around behind him and felt the spell connect with a shimmering object. He quickly erected a magical cage around it. The object was smaller than he thought it should be. It bounded against the walls of his cage and shrieked each time it made contact. Harry stared at it for a moment and then ducked into the tent.
He emerged a moment later with a cauldron and a package. He set the cauldron up to simmer and waited a few moments. The wraith in the cage had stopped fighting and instead was positioning itself as far away from Harry as it possibly could.
Harry focused on the cauldron for the better part of an hour. Once he decided that was ready he opened the package. He levitated a chunk of white bone and tossed it into the cauldron. It bubbled for a few seconds and then returned to normal.
Next he took a switchblade from his pocket. It opened with one push of the button on the side of the handle. He pressed the blade into his palm and let the blood drip into cauldron. He waited until it bubbled the same amount as when he added the bone and then figured his first donation was done. He healed his hand and turned his attention back to the package.
Avery's donation was next. A small chunk of flesh he'd magically preserved. He levitated it into the cauldron and waited as it bubbled once more. He took a deep breath as he stared at the cauldron.
His second donation was harder. He knew it would be more time sensitive. He paused and took the last item from the package. It looked vaguely human, except the material it was sculpted from seemed to melt despite the chill in the air. He levitated it toward the cage.
The creature inside shrieked once more, trying to avoid the humanoid object. But it failed and Harry forced it inside the chunk of melting flesh. It collapsed onto the ground, the eyes opening slowly. It collapsed to the side and curled up as if it wanted to immediately die.
Harry turned his attention away from it and went back to his second donation. He took a deep breath, staring at the bubbling cauldron that smelled mildly of rotting flesh. He took one last deep breath and then pressed his head into the concoction.
His head exploded. Pain shot through every part of him. But he kept his head submerged. His scar felt like it was ripping open. Like something was bursting forth from his head. He was reminded, gruesomely, of Athena springing from Zeus. But, despite all of it, he kept his head in the potion. And eventually, the pain lessened and he felt a part of him, a part that never should have been in him, slip from his skull and into the cauldron.
When he lifted his head from the liquid he felt oddly empty. He sat down next to the bubbling cauldron and caught his breath. The horizon spun around him and it took a moment before he could compose himself.
He turned his wand back to the creature in the cage and caught it with his wand. It fought him, but it was too weak to do more than roll away from the magic and squeal as he lifted it upwards. It took him a moment to steady it and drop it into the cauldron.
Harry collapsed a few feet away and watched it bubble more. He could feel the power welling inside the iron. He stared at it as he pulled himself to his feet. He stepped forward as he felt the magic plateau.
He raised a shield as the cauldron exploded. He felt shards of iron impact against it as smoke filled the air
When the smoke cleared his eyes rested on the figure standing there. She looked younger than he remembered. And thinner. Her muscles seemed weak and it looked like she was struggling to stay on her feet as her legs wobbled uncertainly. He noticed strips of flesh missing from her body, and scars over all of the rest of her. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse.
"You stupid, stupid boy," Lord Voldemort said as she staggered toward him. Harry felt magic well up from her, an immense power that tasted almost like victory. And then she collapsed into the snow.