A/N: another week, another chapter. Thanks to HowInMadeHowie for another great work revising this chapter and adding some important parts after we bounced some ideas around once more.
Also, normaly i write the Reviewers directly via PM, but in the case of Zadenados it was not possible, as he has this function turned off. Understandeble, as some like the privacy. Now, to answer his question for Chapter 27, me and HowInMadeHowie like to point out that between the Attack on Harry and the end of the schoolyear were a few month's time, and Severus Snape would give some extra points to the students of his house to fill the gap once more, and also he would have told them that they should just do their best to win more points during classes. I hope that answers that Question, Zadenados.
And now, back to the story, which has now...40 Chapters. i hope you all like it.
As Oliver still wanted to train and giving Colin the opportunity to take pictures with his camera to practice for the game ahead. The clicking of his camera was a good sign that it was working, as he learned to take multiple pictures and see later which turned out good. But his work already paid off for him, as some other students heard that he can take good photographs and asked him to take some with them in special places with their friends. Colin was happy to oblige, as some Hufflepuffs even paid him for those pictures, not that he even asked once. The only house that shunned Colin was Slytherin after they heard that he was a muggle-born. Except Daphne and Tracey of course, who regularly were also photographed in the library while Harry and Hermione helped some first years to study. And as long it would not disturb the other students, Madam Pince did not speak against it, especially after Colin did give her a photo of her while she was sorting some books.
While the weeks moved in a fast pace, the weather got worse before Halloween as another practice ended with Harry being soaked through thanks to the rain coming down in buckets. As the pitch was already soaked through, Harry had to be careful to not drag the mud too far into the castle before he could clean himself enough. But to his bad luck, as his other teammates had already left to get some dry clothes, Filch came around the corner and screamed at him and threaten him with punishment for dirtying the castle before Harry could even defend himself. Filch even wanted to drag him down to his office so he could give him said punishment, but Harry pointed out that he just entered the castle.
"If you would give me some time, I could clean myself up enough so I would not drag the mud to much around." Harry pulled his wand out, casting a cleaning charm that Hermione had shown him on himself. Filch was still looking at him angrily and mumbled something about cheeky children and that he would talk with the headmaster about it.
Harry still wondered what Filch had against the students in the castle as he observed Filch and his cat walking back up the stairs while following some dirty footprints on the staircase. After Harry had removed the dirt from his robes, Harry asked Callie if she could remind him to look up a heating charm, as he was now beginning to get cold. She was almost laughing at him as she put the spell required on his HUD on his glasses as they had learned it already, but the cold weather seemed to hinder Harry's memory. Or he had not to use it for a long time and just forgot about it. Harry was now grumbling too about cheeky AIs, when he heard a voice coming from the staircase that caused him to groan loudly.
"Ah, Harry, I see you are training hard for the upcoming game. You know, I was a very good seeker myself, so if you would need some pointers, I would be happy to oblige." Lockhart was striding down the stairs, with his cyan colored robes billowing behind him. When he arrived in front of Harry, he wanted to grab his shoulder in a friendly manner, but Harry just took a step back.
"Professor Lockhart, must I remind you that I don't like to be touched against my will? Also please refrain from calling me by my first name, as you call the other students also by their family name and I do not want to be treated specially. Now if you would excuse me, I want to go back to the common room in the Gryffindor tower." Harry left Lockhart left gaping at him while climbing up the stairs, to finally put some dry clothes on after a shower.
When he arrived in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, he heard a voice whispering. First, he thought that Peeves would try once more to make him afraid, but this voice was much more coarse and more menacing.
"Let me kill, I want to kill, was asleep for far too long."
Harry looked around to see where the voice came from, telling Callie to use her sensors to locate the being and even telling Cortana about it, as if the owner of this voice wanted to make sure that this threat would be come true. But Callie could not locate the source, as according to the sensors the voice came out of the walls and were now getting farther away. But Cortana and John were informed and were now on a patrol route through the castle and looking for the source. But even then, Harry was now on guard and just hoped that whatever that was, they would find it before it could really kill someone. But for now, he would keep this for himself, as the others could panic when he would tell them now.
John walked through the corridors of the school in his full armor and rifle at the ready, as the report from Harry's AI was specific that the suspect is dangerous. He watched every corner of the corridors, as this being could be the danger the house-elf Dobby was talking about when he came last summer. He also checked the empty classrooms, while Cortana tried to pinpoint where the source of the voice had gone to. They found someone else though, as John turned around another corner and stood in front of a small blond girl in the colors of the Ravenclaw. John could read on his display that it was Luna Lovegood, a first-year student and according to Harry, had a special ability as she was asking Harry about his heightened senses after the ritual, even if Harry kept that information to himself.
"Miss Lovegood, I would suggest you return to your common room; I was alerted that something dangerous is moving inside the castle." John wanted to stand to the side, as he noticed that Luna looked at the place in his HUD where Cortana was projected. So, this part of Harry's and Callie's report was correct.
"Oh hello, I thought I heard something hissing in the walls. Can I ask you something Chief? Can I talk with the blue lady?" Luna was looking at him with the innocence of a young girl that did not really know what she was asking. John was looking at Cortana and told her through his neural interface that she would have to report this to the Captain on the Infinity, as he had to decide what to do with this. Then John had an idea and asked the girl if she wanted to come with him to talk with Triss, as she may know what was going on with Luna.
When they arrived at her office, where Lockhart luckily was not present as he was giving out autographs in town today, Triss looked up from the paperwork when she heard a knock on the door and called them to enter. She smiled when she saw John coming in, but he told her that he had to go out again to finish his patrol and only came here to bring Luna to her, so they could talk with eachother. Triss wondered why, but then remembered that John told her that Callie reported something interesting that involved Luna, so she agreed to watch over her for a while.
"Well, you are not the blue woman I wanted to talk with, but as you know Chief and Harry, I think it will work out." With this sentence alone, she told Triss more than she bargained for. This girl was a true seer, not like Professor Trelawney who was introduced to when she began her work as assistant for Lockhart. Triss was still wondering how Sybil, as she wanted to be called by her colleagues, got the job as the divination teacher was beyond Triss as she knew some seers that where better than her, and all they could do was predicting the weather or where they should plant the crops to get a good harvest.
"Now, Miss Lovegood. John told me that you noticed some things that must be kept secret. Please promise me you will keep that too." As Luna nodded to this inquiry, Triss asked her who her parents were and how good she could control this ability.
Luna answered as good as she could, hoping that it would not sound weird. But to her surprise, Triss really was interested in her, and even asked if she would agree to come to Kear Mohen over Christmas. They even could invite her father if there would be an issue. Luna happily agreed, as her feeling was telling her that she would need to be there as soon as possible. They talked some more until John came back to escort Luna back to the Ravenclaw tower, as he did find nothing in the castle.
Cortana did send a report to the Infinity, as somehow she could not contact the In Amber Clad II and thought that this new ship could explain what was going on. To her surprise, another AI answered her, telling her that the captain was busy right now. At the question who he was, he introduced himself as Roland, the onboard ship AI with all the upgrades that she had. But he had nothing but respect for her, as she was the reason that all the AI in UNSC inventory were now being upgraded so the society flourished as they even got now rights like living beings. Cortana was happy to hear that, as this would mean that they were allowed to have feelings at last.
Soon Halloween came around, and Harry once again found himself wandering through the castle, not wanting to celebrate on the day his parents died to protect him. But he was thankful as Hermione and Daphne were with him as they sat outside in the grounds on a day that was dry for a change. Harry was going over some obstacle courses while the girls sat beside it and talked with each other. As they were also alone for now, Harry could get more serious in his training and did speed up a bit.
While Harry was running down the courses at a faster rate than he would normally move he heard the quiet discussion between Hermione and Daphne as they watched him run. He had to be mindful not to go full Witcher speed.
Hermione was amazed how much faster Harry was and was wondering why he was holding back so much when he trained around others. She brought this observation to Daphne who nodded thoughtfully. She quietly told Hermione what her father told her about Witcher's.
"Nobody really knows how fast a Witcher is. Nobody alive anyway. You saw him train at Kear Morhan when we were there. And we know he's not a Witcher. But I think Harry holds back because he doesn't want to draw too much attention to himself. From what my father told me, Witcher's do not do what they do for glory and fame. They do it to protect people. Yes, they get paid but they also are hired to deal with monsters that the Ministry can't handle."
Hermione nodded, she remembered Geralt telling them he had to put down a manticore. A manticore was listed as a XXXXX creature that should be avoided if possible.
While Harry was training, Callie got contacted by Cortana, telling her that she would get an update in her software directly from the new ship in space. As the AI were programed to keep the presence of the UNSC secret, this would not be an issue so far, but their restriction on the information network would still be in place. The AI got in their digital realm and waited for their new boss as Cortana did call him.
"Allow me to introduce to you, our new companion and the AI of the new flagship up in Space, the UNSC Infinity. He is called Roland and is the AI designated to the captain of the ship and with that, the commanding officer of this operation. Now he will give us the updates necessary for this Operation. Roland, if you will." The male AI, Roland, bowed to Cortana and addressed the other two in this realm, as he relayed the orders.
"As you know, Captain Lasky still in command of this operation, as his intended replacement did not want to follow the orders issued by HIGHCOM on keeping a low profile. As such, he was relieved from the command and send back by Captain Lasky, who then got the necessary authorization to command the new ship at his full capacity. So, the structure of Order stays the same, the only difference is that I need direct access, if needed, to your memory cores. Don't be afraid, I do not have the clearance, or the computing power to alter anything about you or your memories; it's just that it may be needed that we must gather the information faster than we could get them by asking you. Now, to the matter at hand in regards of Miss Lovegood, ONI wants her investigated and sent the agent in the ministry to do a background check as well another one to talk with Xenophilius Lovegood, her father. Doctor Halsey meanwhile wants to speak with her directly, so Callie please tell Harry that he should invite her to Kear Mohen at his earliest convenience. That would be all for now. I will contact you again if needed. Have a nice day." Roland then disconnected from their realm and returned to his main unit on board the Infinity.
"Orders delivered Sir." Roland saluted to the captain at his desk, causing Lasky to chuckle at the antics of his AI.
"Thank you, Roland. Did you also inform Catherine Halsey about the situation of Miss Lovegood?" Lasky did not want to tear a family apart only because ONI wanted to do some experiments on the girl, and that was the only compromise they could agree together. Roland nodded and gave his affirmative when to communicator beeped, showing the captain that Doctor Halsey wanted to talk with him to make sure that everything would be correctly taken care off. He was glad that she decided to stay all those years ago and continued her work even in this world, as all the information they had gathered on this world just confirmed that humans did travel into different galaxy's all those millennia ago and how the surroundings does influence the evolution of life.
Back down on the planet, Harry was still running through the courses. He was beginning to feel the fatigue in his muscles as he decided to finish up soon. But as the day was not even close to evening yet, Harry did not want to walk through the castle just now and wondered if the girls would accompany him on a walk around the lake when he saw a Thestral standing by the boundary of the forbidden forest. Something about this was strange, as it even looked left and right as if was searching for something. With his thoughts Harry told Callie to scan the surroundings, if the reason for this behavior could be potential dangerous.
Callie was looking at the readings she got from the sensors and did not find anything dangerous, but somehow there were a lot of spiders on the ground moving away from the castle and towards the forest. But that could not be the reason for the Thestral to stand there and looking around for something, but she would save this to her memory just in case.
As Harry heard form Callie that she could not see what the Thestral was looking for, he decided to walk over to it and try to speak with it, as he knew thanks to John's reports that this herd was tamed and would not attack him if he would not provoke them. When he got closer, he heard Hermione and Daphne asking him what he was doing.
"Over there is a Thestrale looking for something, and it looks like it is afraid to not find it. But Callie could not find it close by, so I thought I could just walk over and ask it what it is searching for."
"Wait, you see a Thestral? That means you saw someone die?" Daphne was astounded, wondering how Harry could be so calm about it, but soon put it down to his upbringing with the Witcher's. Thanks to her father telling her and her sister some old stories about them, she knew that being around them would give you enough death to see for a lifetime. Not that the Witcher would just kill anyone in front of them, but sometimes they could not help the people soon enough and the monster they were hired to kill would have already killed half of a village before they would arrive. Of course, taking Harry with them on such a contract would be heinous, but when they were travelling, they also could just stumble into such situations.
Hermione meanwhile was thinking where she did read about this creature once, as they had no Care of Magical Creatures until their third year. Something she was still a bit miffed about, as they had to buy the book for it in the first year only to hear that they would have to keep it until they would choose this class for their third year.
Harry soon stood before the horse-like creature, it now looking straight at him. So it knew that Harry could see it as it lowered its head to place it on the same level as Harry. Harry saw in the eyes wisdom that no one would give this creature, but left Harry with the question what it was looking for. But this question was answered as another, smaller Thestral came from the forest and walked up to him, with a Unicorn just behind it. Harry recognized it as the one he saw in the forest during his first year. It seems that the Thestrale was looking for him but would not be allowed to leave the forest except when attached to a carriage.
As Daphne and Hermione could only see the unicorn, Daphne also recognizing it like Harry, they look in awe at the wonderful creature walking out of the woods with his pure white coat almost shining in the evening light. It also walked towards Harry, something a unicorn would normally never doo as it was known that grown unicorns would normally not get so close to a man, or boy for that matter. But it seemed to recognize the fact that Harry was also there on that evening to protect it, even if the most work was done by Geralt and Yen.
The unicorn now also lowered his head, allowing Harry to stroke his mane. Somehow Harry was thinking that the unicorn knew what this day was for him and came here to cheer him up. So far, he knew those creatures were very intelligent, so it may have picked up something while it was in Kear Mohen waiting until it was fully healed. He was glad that it tried to cheer him up on the anniversary of his parents' death as it pushed its head into Harry's hand to say goodbye as the sun sank beyond the mountains, telling them that they should go back to the castle.
As it was still not time to go back to the common rooms, they walked towards the library, hoping that they could get some books to read from it for the next weekend. Hopefully, Madam Pince would still be there as the library would be closed if she was at the Halloween feast. While they walked up the stairs, Harry heard the voice again, that demanded to let it kill someone.
"Did you hear that?" When he asked this question to the other two, they just shook their heads and asked him what they should hear. "Someone is about to get killed, I have to go." And with this, he took off with greater speed that Hermione or Daphne thought possible, even with the training he did since he was seven years old. When they caught up to him, they would have to ask him how he did that. The girls ran after him and were struggling to keep him in sight. If not for the regular exercise they would be wiped out and out of breath when they finally caught up with him.
Soon, they arrived in a corridor where some torches were extinguished and did cast some long dark shadows along the walls. Harry sharpened his senses and watched for any signs of something strange, the floor was flooded with water when he noticed that something was hanging on the wall opposite of a door. And right below was something written in what looked like blood.
"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IS OPENED AGAIN. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE"