LAST TIME
'Getting frustrated won't help. I need to concentrate on the task. The intent. Come on. Heal. The burns. I want them gone. Restore her face. Heal.'
Magic tingled through his fingertips and immediately, fresh skin began to stretch over Wendy's burned face. The burns began to lessen and heal.
Harry's breath itched. 'It is working. come on. Heal. I want the left side of her face to look properly like her right. HEAL.'
Magic obeyed, catering to Harry's wants. Wendy's face began to heal. New skin, as fair as her original, stretched over her burned face and neck as Harry willed it to.
Harry felt the pulse thrum in his bicep as he continued to hold his hand still till the skin was all but restored.
Only her fake eye remained as Harry let his hand drop, taking a ragged breath.
He had never used magic in such a way as he just had.
The stone was no longer burning warm against his chest, having returned to a normal temperature.
'What great bloody help it was,' Harry thought sarcastically, knowing he had used magic and not the stone to heal her.
How had he used magic? He had no idea.
"What happened?" Wendy breathed feeling her face again, her eyes wide.
With a smile, Harry conjured a mirror for her to see her face.
The resulting expression on her face and the sparkle in her real eye made Harry know that it was all worth it.
Ch.6 The Astral Plane
31st December 2004
Harry's Home, Bleecker Street
A weak yellow sun threw a faint light across the frosted glass from a sky streaked with faint, white clouds. Thin patterns of frost melted and trickled down the glass of the window, causing a small, faint rainbow to appear at the window sill.
With a touch of Harry's finger, all the frost turned into steam which hissed, curling up into spirals and drifting upwards.
The little rainbow at the windowsill vanished as the steam cleared.
'I already miss the rainbow.' Harry drummed his fingers across the rainbowless window sill. 'But the window looks much better. And the sunlight is coming into my room. Hermione always said that having natural sunlight was better than warming charms. But then again, sunlight is a rarity in Britain for most of the year.'
Harry let out a long sigh, his eyes drifting to the man below, who was shoveling the snow away.
The faint noise of cars and the delighted shrieks of the twins running down the street drifted through, making him smile.
'Maybe this is how Fred and George looked like as kids,' Harry tittered. 'They would probably create a hell lot more ruckus though. And the snow would've probably been colored. Or unremovable once it stuck.'
With a lasting glance at the children below, Harry turned around and walked out of his bedroom toward his kitchen.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter," a voice called, making Harry jump.
The Ancient One stood in his kitchen, a spatula in her hands as she flipped a pancake. Next to the stove, was a kettle, with steam pouring out of its spout.
The aroma of tea, honey, and a myriad of spices tickled Harry's nose.
"Ancient One," Harry's heart hammered in his chest. "What a pleasant surprise, ma'am."
She smiled slightly before carefully flipping the pancake that had been cooking.
"Most would've asked me what I was doing here," she grinned. "Though, I am pleased that you're happy to see me."
"The thought did cross my mind," Harry replied offhandedly. "And that smells wonderful."
"Why, thank you," she said, as a cup— one of her special earthen pots appeared in her hand.
Setting it down on the kitchen counter, she poured the tea into it from the kettle.
Steam drifted down the rim of the cup and onto the platform, curling in silvery white fumes.
Harry watched as the Ancient One, with practiced ease, flipped the pancake again before serving it on a plate.
"Since I intruded without informing you prior, I cooked you breakfast," she gestured to the plate and the cup of tea. "I hope it is to your liking."
"I am sure it is," Harry took a whiff of the food. "Let us go to the table. Would you like something? Cause you haven't—"
"As I said the last time I was here, I have already had my final meal for the day," she said. "But you must break your fast now before it gets cold."
"Right," Harry nodded, picking the plate and the cup up. "And while I have breakfast, you can finally tell me what brings you here."
She gave a nod as she trailed behind Harry, who laid his plate and cup at the table before pulling out a chair for her.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter," She sat across him, folding her hands on her lap.
Cutting a small piece of the pancake-like dish she had made, Harry tried it out.
Rich flavors of spices— much different than what he ever had flooded his tongue.
"Wow," He breathed. "What is this dish?"
"It is an Indian variant of pancakes usually made for breakfast. I am glad you liked it." She smiled. "Now, you must be wondering why I am here."
Harry nodded, cutting a bigger piece of the pancake and forking it into his mouth.
"I heard what happened yesterday."
"The Shadowfiend incident?" Harry questioned, waving his fork through the air.
"Amongst other things, yes. Master Hamir said you handled yourself admirably even if their screams got you once."
A smile bloomed on his face.
"He also told me about how you're yet to read upon the shadow realm," she added, making Harry's smile fall.
A sharp pain tugged under his chest, like someone had twisted a knife beneath his ribs.
"I am sorry," He said, looking down at his plate. "They were really depressing. I will read upon them, I swear."
"See to it that you do, Mr. Potter," she said, drumming her fingers on the table. "You were rather fortunate that Shadowfiends are one of the lesser monsters of the Shadow Realm. Not to mention, most spells work on them. Had it been one of the most dangerous monsters, it was less likely you would've come out of the confrontation unscathed as you were yesterday."
The image of the cloak of levitation throwing two daggers past him flashed in front of his eyes as he nodded hastily.
'No need to tell her what she doesn't know.'
"I promise I will read up on them. Today itself, in fact." Harry vowed.
"See that you do, Mr. Potter," she hummed. "I've given them to you in a sequence for a reason. The sooner you learn about some things, the better— and that is not to mention, if you skip one book, leaving it for the end, you might fail to understand something in the next book or worse, misunderstand it."
Harry bobbed his head. "Yes, ma'am."
She gave a nod before gesturing to his breakfast. "Please continue your meal, Mr. Potter. I would hate for it to get cold."
"Oh, yeah," Harry nodded, cutting another piece of the pancake before taking a sip of the tea.
"I also heard about Miss Mckinney's miraculous healing," she added after a moment. "I don't think I have ever seen her as happy as she was the night you returned her after the incident."
"I am happy to help," Harry took another sip of his tea. "I tried and I was successful."
"Was it a spell or was it—"
"Not exactly a spell," Harry said. "It was my magic but not a spell. It obeyed my will and healed her."
She drummed her fingers, eyeing down Harry's neckline, where the amulet was.
"It was not the Soul Stone. I tried to use it— but it didn't work. I know it was my magic." Harry insisted.
"Interesting. Sorcery is rather lacking when it comes to the field of healing. Healing deities are far and few for us."
"Magic was rather great at healing in retrospect," Harry replied waving his fork. "I once had my bones regrown overnight."
"Regrown?"
"It was a potion. Skele Gro. Tasted horrible, really. But, it regrew the bones of my whole arm in a single night."
"Most interesting. Was it to replace a broken bone?"
"Not exactly," Harry muttered. "We could heal broken bones with a simple spell. No, one of my teachers— a pompous git, tried to do the spell on me and ended up vanishing my bones instead. Did more harm than good."
"Sounds like a tale," She hummed. "Tell me, Mr. Potter, do you know these healing spells? Or can you create the potion you talk about perhaps?"
Harry chewed on the pancake before replying.
"I do not know a lot of healing spells. Basic ones like healing cuts, bruises? Sure. But I have no idea about the advanced spells the healers performed. And I was pants at potions— which is ignoring the fact that we won't get half the ingredients here."
The Ancient One nodded, continuing to hum slowly, her eyes staring into nothingness.
"Ma'am," Harry called, shaking her out of her thoughts.
"My apologies. I was lost in my thoughts." She murmured. "I think it is high time that I finally let you do this."
Golden sparks fluttered down her fingers as a thick book appeared in her palm.
She slid the book across the table toward Harry, making him put his cutlery down, the last small piece of the pancake remaining uneaten on his plate.
A moment later, the letters floated, turning to English in front of his eyes.
"The Astral Plane: Study the Soul," Harry's finger traced the outline of the faded Sanskrit letters as the letters rearranged themselves in English to his eyes.
"Well, close enough translation," The Sorceress Supreme nodded. "Nifty, that spell of yours."
"It is a translation charm. We used it a few times to read content that was written in different languages." Harry licked his dry lips. "Hermione taught it to me."
The Ancient One nodded.
"I want you to begin reading it. Word to word." She instructed. "This is the book that will perhaps be the most important to you."
Harry's finger drifted to the soul stone around his neck, his fingers brushing against the pulsing metal.
"Right," Harry nodded. "Astral projection."
"We will have to plan when we do it," The Ancient One continued. "The Soul Stone coming into the Astral plane is something I am not quite sure I fancy."
"Are you afraid that something will happen? Something bad?"
"We cannot say for certain, Mr. Potter. We know frighteningly little about the Infinity Stones, let alone the Soul Stone which has been only mentioned amongst them. All we know about it comes from speculation."
"It deals in life forces, that's for sure. Souls, as the name suggests." Harry mused. "We will have to see, won't we?"
"That we would, Mr. Potter. That we would."
6th January 2005
Kamar Taj, Kathmandu
A warm breeze tugged at his robes, whispering through the hanging roots and green leaves of the banyan tree in the courtyard.
Master Hamir walked toward him, Mordo following a step behind, his face set in a stoic mask.
"Good evening, Master Hamir," Harry greeted before looking past the Nepalese man. "Hello, Mordo."
"Potter," Mordo nodded, the orange pink glow of the sky casting shadows across his face.
"I wished to test how far Mordo has come in the Mystic arts. And Daniel told me you could do with a practice spar as well."
Harry nodded, his eyes turning back to Mordo while Master Hamir moved to a side, his long robes fluttering in the breeze.
Harry eyed the other man, who took a deep breath and squared, preparing himself. Mordo's feet moved, causing slight golden sparks at the heels of his boots.
'Right. The Boots of Valtorr.'
Harry's fingers trailed over the side of his own robes.
'It would raise questions if I use my cloak,' Harry grimaced. 'And I don't think it is quite needed.'
Harry kept eyeing the man as he prepared.
'He is going to sprint toward me. Probably jump and use his boots to attack from a higher ground.' Harry deduced as he saw the man tense.
"BEGIN!" Master Hamir ordered.
Mordo didn't waste a breath, sprinting toward Harry. A small glimmering disc formed under his boot as he rapidly climbed through thin air, his fingers curling into a fist.
Harry's hands moved on instinct, shaping dimensional energy into a golden lasso.
The golden rope writhed in the air, sparking with golden energy as Harry waited for Mordo to get nearer.
When Mordo was only a few feet away, and several meters high, Harry threw the lasso.
The golden rope wrapped perfectly around Mordo's ankle, making Harry's lips curl as he yanked with all his might.
Mordo's breath hitched as his arms flailed, as he fell to the solid tarmac with a resounding thud. The man grunted in pain, panting as he tried to catch his breath.
Harry let the whip dissipate into golden sparks and took a step back, waiting for Mordo to get back to his feet.
Mordo stood up, his breathing heavy as Harry waited for him to do something.
Mordo made a rumbling sound from his throat, his arms quivering before he charged at Harry his fists raised high.
Harry ducked under the fist, as he hit Mordo below the midriff with his palms, pushing the man away.
Mordo grunted before throwing yet another punch, catching Harry on the shoulder.
Harry barely gave it any heed as the pain only flared for a quarter of a second before vanishing, healed by the power of the Stone.
A punch nailed Mordo squarely in the jaw, making the man stumble back.
Moving his hands in quick movements, Harry breathed. "Wind of Watoomb!"
A hand-fan like bluish energy construct formed in Harry's hands as a powerful gale ripped through the courtyard, sending Mordo airborne. Barely a moment later, Harry ended the spell, the wind ceasing, allowing Mordo to crash painfully into the ground, across the courtyard.
The Winds of Watoomb was one of the most powerful spells that Harry currently knew. If used properly, it could produce gusts of winds powerful enough to blow away small villages and scatter armies.
Mordo stood up feebly, his legs wobbling under his own weight. His breathing was ragged and he winced everytime he breathed.
"We can take a break if you want," Harry whispered. "You seem—"
"Tis but a scratch," Mordo grunted, an energy disc forming in his hand.
Harry rolled his eyes as Mordo threw the energy disc at him, the energy construct whirling as it arced toward Harry.
Harry stepped out of the way, allowing the disc to whizz past him, golden sparks sputtering out as they touched his robes.
A moment later, two more discs soared toward Harry, as Mordo tried to overwhelm him.
Harry moved his hands, forming a dimensional shield.
The discs clashed against his shield in a shower of sparks which rained around.
"Beams of Berylla!" Mordo yelled, as a dozen burning beams of red energy shot forth from his arms, curving toward Harry.
Harry threw his hands out, golden lines crisscrossed in front of him, glowing with a green tinge as they formed a circular shield, allowing the beams to crash against it harmlessly.
'My turn now.'
A bolt of lightning shot at Mordo just as the golden-green lines faded away, making the man abandon his half-formed spell and dive out of the way.
The bolt crashed into the solid tarmac, leaving miniscule cracks on the spot it hit.
Mordo rolled on the ground before getting to his feet, only to be hit with a disc of dimensional energy, sending the man sprawling back on the ground.
'Let's end this.'
Forming a whip of dimensional energy, Harry threw it at Mordo, breaking through his barely-made energy disc, the rope wrapping around the man.
With a tug, the rope tightened, binding the man.
Mordo grunted, trying to wriggle out of the rope.
"Surrender, mate," Harry said, tugging the rope slightly.
Mordo slumped down on the ground a moment later, breathing deeply.
"You surrender?" Harry asked for confirmation.
"Yeah man, I surrender," Mordo sighed and Harry let go of the energy, freeing the man.
Taking a few steps forward, Harry proffered his hand to Mordo who took it and helped himself up.
"A fight well fought," Master Hamir said approvingly. "Mordo, you need to work more on your magic. Your speed of casting is slow and you rely too much on raw strength."
"Yes, Master Hamir." Mordo bowed.
"Potter, you dragged this fight out unnecessarily. Dragging a fight out is reckless and dangerous when facing mystical threats."
'It was a spar. Not a fight for my life. Had I wanted to end it, I would've just stunned him one second in.'
"Yes, sir," Harry nodded.
"Good. Now, again!"
18th January 2005
Kamar Taj, Kathmandu
A bright sun shone down on the courtyard of Kamar Taj as a group of disciples chattered away in a corner, underneath the shade of the banyan tree.
Harry let the portal dissipate behind him as he stepped through, golden sparks spluttering out at his feet.
His eyes drifted toward the other students as he gave them a jaunty wave before making his way through the courtyard.
"Excuse me," Harry called, as he saw Wong hurry down the stairs, a huge tome in his hands.
The man looked up sharply, his face contorting into a slight frown.
"Mr. Potter," He greeted. "Is there something you need?"
"Yes. Do you know where the Ancient One is?"
"In the Inner Sanctum as she always is," Wong said, shifting the book under his left arm.
"Thank you," Harry said.
Wong gave him a short bow before hurrying into the courtyard without a word.
'Well, he's a cheery one.'
Harry shook his head before climbing the flight of stairs.
The Ancient One sat in the middle of the room in a lotus position, her eyes closed. Her hands were folded on her lap.
Harry knocked lightly on the open wooden doors, making her eyes snap open.
"Mr. Potter," She smiled. "Do come in. What brings you here on this fine day?"
"I just needed to tell you that I think I am ready," Harry said, his boots clicking on the marble floor.
The Ancient One raised an eyebrow in response.
"For Astral projection, I mean. I think I have enough grasp on the theory by now."
The Ancient One said nothing, as she rose to her feet, patting down on the yellow robes.
Harry felt a small bead of sweat trickle down his neck, making his stomach twist into a knot.
"Are you sure, Mr. Potter? Are you absolutely sure you wish to go through with Astral Projection?" The Ancient One asked. "You know that you cannot remove the stone from your person. And we have no idea of what will happen if the stone interacts directly with the Astral Plane."
"We have got to do it at some point, don't we?"
Her jaw tightened as she gave him a brisk nod.
"Very well," she said, touching the Eye of Agamotto around her neck. "If you give me a minute, I would return the eye to its resting place. It wouldn't be a good idea to have another Infinity Stone around when we attempt something like this."
Harry bobbed his head as the Ancient One made her way out of the room.
Harry let out a deep sigh before wiping his brow.
He was in uncharted waters here. Of the six Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone was the one the Sorcerers knew the least about. Through their existence, the other Stones had been encountered by some Sorcerers like Agamotto or the Ancient One— or heard of in the myths.
The one they knew most about was of course, the Time Stone. The library of Kamar Taj had several books that documented its powers and use.
Harry also knew for a fact that the Space Stone had its powers well documented, by the Ancient One herself, no less.
How or when had she encountered the Space Stone? Harry had no idea. Neither was she willing to tell him.
The books on the use of both the stones too, were kept away, locked in her personal collections, accessible to only the Sorcerer Supreme— the Ancient One herself.
When Harry had requested access to them, she had blandly told him that the books were far too advanced and dangerous for someone without years of experience in Sorcery. No one less than a master could hope to understand what was written within the tomes, some as ancient as civilization.
Harry had not argued further.
But it did not change the fact that he was no closer to understanding the stone around his neck than he had been when he had first seen it.
All he knew was that it had the power to heal any and all injuries inflicted on him within minutes, including dozens of broken bones.
Yet, he couldn't use the power to heal others.
Magic was apt at healing injuries— even the grievous ones. Most could be healed with a wave of a wand the right spell.
But the power of the stone was something else when it came to healing.
Harry felt it whenever it got injured.
The unbridled power the stone held. A vortex of power so potent that it could be used to accomplish anything.
And this was but a trickle of its power that he felt.
Death had created the amulet to restrict the Stone's power— To make sure Harry didn't burn to ashes by its mere touch.
And Harry was grateful for it.
His attention was drawn to the doors as the Ancient One walked in, the eye of Agamotto no longer around her neck.
She closed the doors behind her, locking them with a twitch of her fingers.
Instead of turning to him, she faced the walls, as golden lines began to form in front of her, golden sparks fluttering to the floor.
A runic circle.
Harry watched, wide-eyed as the complexity of the runic circle increased, geometric shapes and runes forming in the mid air till the runic circle stretched from the floor to the ceiling.
The golden light burned harshly against his eyes as the circle began to rotate in a haze of golden energy. Harry shielded his eyes as the Ancient One joined her wrists before tugging her arms upwards sharply.
The runic circle followed her movements, rotating above their heads, golden sparks raining down on them.
Suddenly, the golden circle over them began to stretch and droop, forming a dome like structure around them, Breaking into dozens of smaller runic structures, criss-crossing over one another in a beautiful pattern.
The dome pulsed with energy, the runes flaring all around as the Ancient One threw out her hands, allowing the dome to expand.
As the dome touched the walls, the runes and crisscrossing shapes faded into the structure of the sanctum, as a thrum of magic reverberated through the room.
Harry blinked his eyes, golden lines still flaring on his eyelids in moments of brief darkness.
"What was that?" He breathed, rubbing the light out of his eyes.
"A precaution, Mr. Potter," She replied, breathing deeply as she examined the walls. "Kamar Taj has many protections, but in cases like such, it never hurts to be more precautious."
"Right," Harry said, watching the Ancient One take a look around the room until her gaze settled on him.
"Let us not dally, Mr. Potter," She said with finality. "Whenever you're ready."
Harry nodded, taking a deep calming breath.
He could do this.
Channeling energies within, Harry felt his Astral form before willing it to separate from his body.
He watched as his golden hands emerged from his flesh ones, leaving them behind, as he floated out, his mortal body falling to the ground.
His body fell in slow motion toward the ground, as he examined his golden arms.
'This is the Astral plane.'
He became aware of the Ancient One's presence in the room, a few feet away from him.
Yao. Daughter of Aodh.
'No one knows the Ancient One's real name. I do. Yao. But— how?'
Harry clutched his head as his senses expanded.
Suddenly, he knew.
He knew that outside the room, there were twenty-three people within Kamar Taj. He knew where everyone was. What they were doing. He knew their names. He even knew the names of their parents.
There was a ringing in his ear, faded through the sounds of millions of thoughts.
His head began to spin.
The ringing increased. So did the noise of the thoughts.
'Stop. STOP!'
He began to feel the presence of people outside Kamar Taj. Thousands of people spread over Kathmandu.
'No. No. Too much. Help.'
He couldn't speak. His head was spinning. His vision went blurry, his vision taking a hue of pure gold.
His mouth opened in a silent scream.
Suddenly, everything went black.
AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the chapter.
I wished to update this earlier, as I should have but unfortunately exams and assignments are a pain. But, here you are, and I hope you enjoyed the update.
A huge thanks to Mughil and Nanu for betaing this chapter.
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FrozenColt: I am not planning on Harry getting a Relic in the story. He already has the stone and the cloak. But occasionally, he might use something if I deem it necessary. As for Dr. Strange, he will definitely be in the story that's all I will say.
Ulttoanova: I am curious as to why many of you want Harry to have a sword. It is not just you but I have got these types of comments before that Harry should get a sword… so, just, why?
Felab: I am not really considering bringing X-men here anyway. I am already digging deeper into sorcery and might be including a little of the Agents Of SHIELD… or so I think right now.
Suesrep: That is a loaded question. Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful characters of the MCU. Maybe, the most powerful as per the current MCU. Only Thor and Captain Marvel could stand up to her or have a chance of defeating her imo. So, it is tough to say anything. I can only say that Harry would be way more powerful than Wanda during the events of Age of Ultron. After that… I am not sure myself who would win. Wanda was way too powerful since Endgame and that is not considering Phase 4 at all.
AMidsummerknightsSlumber: Wendy is an Original Character of mine.
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Thank you all for your reviews!
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I have also created a discord server with the help of my two very good friends. I really hope to see you all there and have fun with you all. There, you can communicate with me, ask me questions regarding my fics, look at the character images, get sneak peeks, give your own theories, and even... wait, why should I tell you everything here? Come over and check it all out yourself!
Discord Server Invite Link: discord . gg / 4qfP3fxdQ4 [Remove the spaces please]
I will love it if you guys come on my server and interact with me there. If you have some of your own theory or wish to see something in this fic as the journey progresses, you can tell it to me on the discord server!
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