A/N: and here i am again with another chapter with the great help form HowInMadeHowie. You may notice that this chapter is once again much longer than i usualy upload, as we wanted to write what happened this month for Harry and his friends before returning back to Hogwarts.
Edit: For those who wonders where chapter 70 is, as you may have gotten a notification, it was just a test upload as i did not see my story on the list anymore. That is now resolved, I hope that this edit in the A/N clears things up.
As always, i hope that you like the story and have fun reading it. Until next time.
Sitting at the table, Harry's adopted family and friends enjoyed the breakfast that Dobby brought from the kitchen and talked with each other. It was a nice atmosphere, the pile of gifts next to the table growing unnoticed. Hedwig and Sarina were sitting on their perches, eating their bacon while Cindy slithered over the floor towards Harry, wanting to climb up his leg to snuggle with him. She succeeded and was now curling up on his lap and enjoyed the warmth.
After everyone had their fill, Hermione placed her gift in front of Harry and smiled at him expectantly.
Harry shook his head and smiled at his friend's antics. "A bit pushy today, Hermione?" Harry opened the gift and was surprised as it was not a book as he had expected, but a broom servicing kit. It was full of polish for the broom handle, tweezers for clipping the tail end from any stray twigs and a brass compass to clip it on the handle. It also had a small booklet about how to do the servicing with all the materials provided.
Harry grabbed Cindy from his lap and placed her next to the kit, so he could stand up and hug Hermione while thanking her for that gift.
Leaving a blushing Hermione standing while she mumbled something about it was all right, Daphne grabbed her gift and handed it over to Harry. "I hope you can use it well; my mother helped me find it. I noticed that you are well versed in potions, so this small kit with most used ingredients and all the equipment to make potions while on the move should be beneficial for you." She also was hugged by Harry after he tore away the wrapping paper and looked at the leather satchel inside. When he opened the satchel after letting Daphne go again, he saw that there was a tiny cauldron inside it, just big enough to make enough potion for the small vials next to it.
Susan was next, as she gave Harry her gift. It was a book about battle tactics for professional duelists. "I thought that you might like this book. It should be beneficial to put up a better show in the dueling club next term. I did read it already, that was the reason why I could beat you sometimes." Harry hugged Susan too after flipping through the pages.
Doctor Halsey was looking at the three girls, all blushing up a storm after Harry had hugged them and Catherine snickered at that sight, which was picked up by Ciri who was sitting right next to her.
"I told you all when we took him in, he will be a ladies' man. And look at him making girls blush just by hugging them." Ciri whispered so only Catherine and Triss on the other side of her could hear her.
Harry wanted to open the rest of his presents when four owls flew through the window and landed in front of each teenager, in case of Harry on top of the unopened present. The owls then stretched their legs in unison and waited for the recipient to take them off. Harry just had the parcel from Hagrid in his hands, so Dobby took the letter from the brown owl and placed it next to the presents while the girls opened theirs. "Thank you Dobby. Oh, in case this present is a small wild beast, can you stop it so we can put it in a cage?" Harry saw Dobby nod as he tore the wrapping paper off.
A small thud was heard as a book fell down on the table, surprising Harry. Just as he wanted to grab the book, it opened and tried to snap at him. Dobby was ready and used his magic to freeze the book in the air before it could bite down at something. After thanking Dobby for his fast reaction, Harry took his time to read the title of the book. He laughed at the irony. "Only Hagrid would send a book called ´The Monster Book of Monsters´. But why would he send me this book though?"
"Well, it is also on the list of books for this year. As it has something to do with magical creatures, I think that the teacher for this subject wants that book for their class. But seeing how it tries to bite everything around it, I hope there is a way to make them behave without using a spell." Hermione looked up from her list and looked at Harry, his letter still on the table.
Geralt's amused voice had all the teenagers look towards him. "Of course there is a way. I have the same book in our library here, it has some useful information for our line of work. Just stroke it over the spine." Geralt walked to the book still hovering in the air, grabbing it so that his hand kept it closed. As soon as he touched it, Dobby dispelled the magic he had used to make the book hover and the book tried to escape, but it suddenly stopped as Geralt stroked it just as he had told the teenagers. Now holding it at the spine, it opened just like a normal book. "There, you just need to do that every time it tries to bite you. Someday, it will lose this aggressive nature and be just a book. But still, I wonder who would require students to get that book."
Harry thanked Geralt for this information as he took another gift from the pile. It was a leather jacket made out of dragon hide from Geralt and Yen, which he tried on after thanking them. As his back was turned towards the girls, he only heard them take in a sharp breath before turning around. "How do I look?"
Susan was the first who found her voice, saying that it suits him. "It gives you a dashing look. And now it is obvious how much you have grown over the summer. And seeing that we have our booklists, I would say that we have a shopping trip to look forward to. Oh Harry, can I borrow Hedwig? I have to send this form to my aunt so she can sign it." She held up a small parchment, causing Harry to open his own letter now.
His envelope was a bit thicker in comparison, as next to the normal booklist and that form there was a letter from McGonagall wishing him a happy birthday. Reading the letter from Hogwarts, he saw that third years were allowed to visit Hogsmeade at certain weekends, requiring a signature from his guardians. Handing the form over to Yen to sign, there was a small commotion as a very old owl came down to the table and landed so badly that it laid flat on its back, unmoving.
Harry heard its heartbeat as well as its breathing and he could calm down Hermione who wanted to see what was wrong with it. Taking the parcel from its leg, he picked up the owl with his free hand and brought it to an empty perch where normally Hedwig sat. Hedwig allowed it, so the old owl could eat some treats and drink a bit of water when it was ready.
Looking at the freshly delivered parcel, Harry took the envelope attached to it and opened it. Reading the letter, he explained who the owl is from. "It is from Ron, his family had won a prize from the Daily Prophet and the whole family traveled to Egypt for a visit to the oldest son, Bill. Ron even sent the newspaper clipping so we could see him and his family in the photo. To be honest, I am glad that they won the prize, but Ron could have told me that some other time. Oh, Percy is made Head Boy for his last year. And Ron also sent me a present." Harry opened the parcel, taking out the device that was described in the letter. Hermione was in her curiosity mode, asking things that Harry had no time to explain yet.
Harry gave his friend a patient smile and tried to get her to calm down. "Hermione, calm down and breathe. Yes, I agree that Ron could learn much in Egypt, but let's be honest he will not if it is not thrust into his face. Most likely he will eat and sleep all the time when he would not be dragged around with the rest of his family. And as for this device, according to the letter it is a sneakoscope. I read about those in a book, it works well if it is a good one. I never saw one myself though. Maybe I should have it inspected in Diagon Alley when we go and buy our school supplies, just to make sure it is not a flashy paperweight."
Harry once more surprised the girls with his mature behavior, making them question if Harry really was thirteen years old. But they almost tossed this out as he grabbed his next present, which were some nice boots made out of basilisk skin from Triss and John, causing Harry to look at them with a raised eyebrow. "Is that from the same basilisk I killed, the one which is above our fireplace?"
In the Ministry in London, Amelia was groaning in her office, after she had received an urgent summons and had to leave Kear Morhen in a hurry. When she arrived in the Ministry, she was not ready for the work that the Minister had put on her, demanding to find out how Sirius Black could escape Azkaban.
Flashback
"Get out there and find Black, or so help me you can look for a new job. This man is dangerous even without a wand, or tell me how he got out of the prison otherwise." Fudge stormed out of the DMLE office and left the Aurors there standing with shocked faces.
Flashback end
The whole night through, Amelia was working in the Ministry and putting out fires left and right, while she was also looking over all the reports from her younger Aurors who were looking through the files to find something that would help them find Black. But one report caught her attention the most, as it was a report to the "trial" Black was put through.
Amelia frowned as she reread the report, murmuring to herself she tried to process what she read. "The date when it was written does not match the date when he was brought to Azkaban. In fact, it was written years after he was put in there. Now, what does this mean? There are just so many discrepancies in this story. Why, for example, did Dumbledore tell the Wizengamot that Black was the secret-keeper to the Potters since they were hiding, what was a whole year and You-Know-Who…" Amelia shook her head annoyed with herself. "Dumbledore is right, why don't we call him Voldemort when he should be dead?" Amelia ignored the small shiver from the senior Auror in her office, while the young recruit next to him was standing still with a serious look on her face.
"If my mother's cousin was put there without a proper trial, he could have left ages ago. My father was already looking into it, after the suspicion about a misuse of power from the Ministry took shape. But that being said, what will we do when we stand in front of Black?" Tonks stood in a proper stance in front of her superior, something some of the older Aurors would not do. They heard a small grunt from the man that was standing next to Amelia, holding a staff so he could stand steady.
"We see what he wants to do when that happens. If he wants to fight, the case is clear and we fight back with everything we have. But if he wants to talk, we should offer him a cell in the Ministry to question him." Master Auror Moody, being one of the few who would cast a spell first and ask questions later, was humbled multiple times in the past few months from the young recruits meeting his standards and even exceeding them. He saw the error in his old ways and tried to adapt, but soon he would retire and wanted to make a difference in the last job he had to do.
Amelia nodded and wrote down the rest of her orders, so the senior Auror could deliver them to the rest of the force. She then felt a small vibration from the pin that she had under her DMLE badge, signaling her that something else was afoot. After dismissing the others, she took the small pin from her chest and placed it on the table. Taking her wand out she quickly cast a privacy charm on her door. She had found out that it could project a small picture with the logo of the organization which gave her the pin and also emit sound so she could listen to it.
"Madam Bones, we received information that Lucius Malfoy is on his way to Minister Fudge. We think that he will try to use the incident with Black to put fear into the Minister and make Fudge decide something that would not be beneficial to the safety of the community. Please investigate and then place the report in the usual spot." Amelia listened to the strange voice coming from the pin, still wondering how that was possible and what kind of magic it used. Taking the pin again and placing it at the usual spot; she dispelled the privacy charm and walked out of her office and told the rest of the still present Aurors that she was going to see the Minister.
When she arrived at her destination, Mrs. Smith asked Amelia if she had an appointment. Looking at the secretary's desk, Amelia noticed the top of the form that would allow Dementors to be removed from Azkaban and travel to another place. "I do not, but I need to speak with Minister Fudge on an urgent matter. I will wait for you to tell him that before I come inside his office myself." As Mrs. Smith left her desk, Amelia used the levitation charm to lift the papers up straight without touching them to see if her suspicion was correct. The form was still empty, but it being here caused her a small distress. 'If the Minister really orders the Dementors to hunt Sirius, we have a big problem.'
The door to the office soon opened again, so Amelia lowered the papers back down before Mrs. Smith had seen Amelia doing something she was not supposed to. She saw the small, disappointed look on the secretary's face. "I'm terribly sorry Madam Bones, but Minister Fudge told me with no uncertain terms that you must wait until he concludes this meeting. Would you like to have a cup of tea?" Mrs. Smith was walking to a small cupboard and grabbed a cup so she could pour some tea into it.
After a full hour, Amelia was finally allowed to meet the Minister. But before she entered his office, she saw Malfoy and Umbridge leaving it. Amelia noticed Malfoy's sickly sweet smile telling her that he got his way with the Minister even in the presence of a witness, which also meant that the witch was also bribed to follow his wishes. Amelia just wondered how long she had to endure this man's machinations and when she could finally arrest him for his illegal activities; even if he was smart enough to not leave any evidence. She really hoped that her new allies could help her in the future.
The moment she saw Fudge, she knew that he would not waste any time with pleasantries today. "Madam Bones, do you want to tell me that you found Black already?" Fudge was sitting at his desk, not even inviting Amelia to sit down to talk with him.
Amelia took in a deep breath and answered that even with their magic and the whole might of the DMLE behind her, she could not work miracles.
Amelia sighed in exasperation as she explained the situation with tired patience. "Sirius Black is a strong wizard, which was proven as he had escaped Azkaban. So, no, we are not any closer to catching him as we were yesterday with the small force we are allowed by the budget, a budget I should remind you that you are responsible for. And as Black is the first wizard who escaped Azkaban, I also want to know how he did that and after the investigation make changes that are clearly needed. Speaking of Black, you told me that you would send me the old warrant papers and court records, as I told you that without them it would be illegal to send Black back to Azkaban." Amelia was still standing in front of the Minister, seeing with hidden glee how his face became redder with every second.
Fudge managed to calm down and collect his thoughts before he responded, clearing his throat as he tried to think of the situation. "I see your problems, Madam Bones. But you must understand, as Black was a high-ranked Death Eater, he is too dangerous as we could spend time with all the bureaucratic things you are bogging yourself down. I also suspect that Black is after Harry Potter to kill him, as according to the report from the warden Black was heard mumbling that he's at Hogwarts' multiple times since the day before yesterday. He must mean Potter, as I have given Black the Daily Prophet when he asked me if I had finished with it while I was inspecting the prison. In this paper, there was an article about Arthur Weasley and the rest of his family. I think that Black then knew what Hogwarts house Potter would be in and where he could find him now. For this reason, to protect the boy and every student in the school, I will order Dementors to protect the school." Fudge grabbed the form that appeared on his desk, the same one she had seen on the secretary's desk.
Now Amelia really was getting angry. She even forgot to show any respect for the Minister anymore. Even if it would cost her the job, she wanted to let her anger out. "Are you really so foolish Fudge? Firstly, Dumbledore will never agree that Dementors patrol the school grounds, as the students cannot protect themselves from those foul creatures."
"Secondly, even if they caught Black, as long as you do not send me these papers I mentioned before, his capture would be illegal. So if you want to go through with this plan, I would suggest that you look for the paperwork before Black is back in custody, or the DMLE will look into your dealings with more interest as before." Amelia saw Fudge react to that point, so she got some satisfaction from that small barb.
Now Amelia's tone hardened and got cold as ice. "And thirdly, if the Dementors attack a single student because they could not be kept under control, it will be you that has to stand in front of the victim's family." Amelia just turned around, storming out of the office.
While walking back to her department, she was thinking who she could detach from the rest of her force to help protect the students from Black, as well as keeping the Dementors back should they fall out of control. Just as she collected herself and called for Scrimgour, Shaklebolt and Moody, she thought that she may do good when she wrote this news to the Witcher and his companions.
The next day, as Harry was preparing himself for the shopping trip they had arranged today, he asked Dobby if he could enlarge his clothes so they would fit him better. "Master Harry, Dobby would suggest that Master Harry get new clothes, as Dobby can only do so much without damaging the fabric of Master Harry's clothes. That would also allow Master Harry to request even better fabric, that would be able to be enchanted to grant Master Harry more protection."
Dobby's suggestion did have Harry considering the potential in the idea, Harry looked at the house elf and nodded his understanding. He then let out a sight. "Shopping for clothes with three girls? Lets just hope they are better than Ciri and Keira in holding back their shopping fever. Can you tell them to come down when they are ready?"
Dobby vanished from Harry's side to look for his friends. Meanwhile Harry grabbed his new jacket, which was enchanted by Yen to have cooling, warming, cushioning and autosizing charms added into the jacket. Yen pointed out that Harry was still growing so thought making the jacket grow with him would be useful. But as they were in the mountains, it was nice and cool even with his jacket on.
When he arrived in the main hall, Dobby appeared beside him again, saying that the others would also arrive shortly. "And please tell Dobby next time that Dobby should watch if Master's friends are decent. Dobby must now check his ears. Miss Hermione was very loud as Dobby told her that Master Harry is waiting in the main hall."
Harry laughed, as he noted that the scream he heard was not his imagination then. After apologizing to Dobby, he walked further into the hall and waited for the rest to arrive.
When he arrived at the table where Yen and Geralt were sitting, he saw they looked angry at a letter that had arrived during breakfast. Geralt turned towards Harry and asked him if he had his blade with him.
Harry frowned at Geralt's odd question, but answered anyway. "Yes Geralt I have my blade in the switchblade form in my pocket. Why do you ask? We are only going to Diagon Alley, right?" Harry looked over to Yen with a raised brow.
"Yes, that is the plan. But just to make sure, keep the blade with you this year." Geralt looked sternly at the young Witcher in front of him, knowing that he would take this order seriously.
Harry nodded, asking himself if it had something to do with the news of the man on the run. According to the Daily Prophet, Sirius Black was a dangerous man, who had killed thirteen people the day after Voldemort vanished. Thanks to Callie and Yen, he knew that Sirius was his godfather and that he was in prison without a trial, something that was strange to him too even if everyone believes that his Godfather was guilty because of the many eyewitnesses.
Yen then smiled and told Harry that he should not worry for now. "It is a very low possibility that Black is in Diagon Alley, because he must know that almost every magical is on his trail. To be honest, Geralt, I wonder why the Ministry did not ask you to help them find him."
Geralt grunted, his angry eyes looking out the window. "They know that before I work with these things, hell freezes over. I still remember well, as do you, the night we took Harry with us. That is another reason why Harry should carry his blade, so he could protect himself at least until another wizard can help him. Dementors are still a mystery, as no Witcher ever had written anything about them. We still need to investigate them." Geralt shut up as he and Harry heard the footsteps from the girls coming closer.
Hermione was walking in front of the other two girls, clutching a letter in her hand with a smile on her face. "Hey Harry, my parents allow me to finally have a pet. They had noticed that I took good care of our new owl, so they wrote to me that I could finally get my own pet. If the new pet is compatible with Bruce I can buy it."
Daphne pointed out that usually most magical pets, owls included, don't have issues with other animals. "If anything the pet will need is to be compatible with people, don't underestimate the intelligence of them. Kneazles, for example, are known to be highly perceptive."
Hermione thanked Daphne for her insight on magical animals. She made a mental note to explain that insight to her parents, depending what kind of pet she would get.
After everyone was ready to go, Yen opened a Portal to travel to Diagon Alley. "Will we arrive at the apparition point in Diagon Alley this way?" Susan was curious if this worked the same way as the almost instantaneous teleportation magic her aunt can use when she is summoned by her work.
Yen smiled as she looked down to Susan, explaining the reason why they were arriving at this particular point. "Yes, we will arrive at the same point so we do not cause any suspicion. If you think about it, even if the Ministry knew about Witcher's, very few know where to find us or how our kind of magic really works. So, are you all ready for the trip?"
When they arrived in Diagon Alley, Hermione grabbed Harry by his hand and dragged him through Diagon Alley towards her target. The others all thought that she would drag them to Flourish and Blotts first for their school books, but they were surprised as the brown-haired witch stopped in front of an animal shop called 'Magical Menagerie' and opened Magical Menagerie with a smile on her lips.
"Wait Hermione, if we go and buy your new pet now, you would have to carry it around the rest of the day. Would it not be better to wait until we have everything else so we could keep the stress your new pet may experience low." Harry wanted Hermione to see the potential problem, and her pout showed him that she reluctantly agreed with him, even if she wanted to get her pet now.
They were first going to Madam Malkin's, as the new robes needed to be worked on after taking their measurements, and during the time they waited they would go and buy everything else. So now they walked through the different shops to get their ingredients in the apothecary and their writing supplies, before they walked towards Hermione's favorite shop.
Entering Flourish and Blotts, the owner was scared that they needed the Monster book of Monsters, but that changed rapidly after Harry told him how to calm the books down so they could be displayed like normal books. The only difference to the presentation of the books was that there was a small plaque under the books, explaining that the customer should stroke its spine to keep them docile. "Thank you so much for that help, how about I give you a nice discount on today's purchase?" They smiled at the offer and took it, after all all those books were an expensive purchase.
After they left the book shop, Hermione was getting nervous once again, as it was now time for her to choose her pet. The robes still needed some time to be finished, so she walked in front of her friends again, now grabbing Harry's hand with a nervous tremble when they arrived in front of the shop again.
Since not all of them could fit in that shop, Yen walked with Susan and Daphne back to Madam Malkin's to see if their robes would be finished already, so Hermione was entering the pet store with Harry alone. The small bell over the door jingled and some animals were stirring from the sound and looked at the visitors with some apprehension. Hermione did not mind, as it would be obvious that the animals would not like to get their hopes up to be adopted, just for it to be some people looking around without taking anything with them in the end.
One cat was sitting atop of a shelf, looking down at the visitors. It watched them walk around the shop and look at different animals that caught their attention. The girl was a bit disappointed at the choices, but something called the cat to the girl. It jumped down the shelf and came closer to the girl, who noticed the cat walking over to her. "And who might you be?"
The cat looked at Hermione, its curious eyes fixated on the young witch's eyes. It then looked at the boy next to her; noticing the boy had a different, almost otherworldly, aura than other humans. He would like to find out if his theory was correct that this boy was a Witcher, and if being with the girl would give him the time to find out why such a young boy had to become a Witcher in this time, then the cat would gladly be the pet of the girl.
As the cat began to purr at the witch's touch, Hermione squealed in delight and asked the owner what kind of cat it was. Hermione suspected It had to be a magical one, as it looked a bit different then a cat she was familiar with.
The old wizard stroked his beard, looked at a book on his desk. "Ah yes, this is Crookshanks, a half-kneazle. He will live long enough for you to finish school, although he could live past that time if taken care of properly. I have had him here for a long time, I think it was around 5 years since she arrived at my door, and I took him in. And since then I had a hard time selling him, because he was hurt back then and I could not heal him completely so he would look nice and healthy again. Sadly, almost every possible owner wanted one that looked cute. Do not worry, he is healthy, only his fur is a bit all over the place." The wizard smiled at the girl, hoping she would give Crookshanks a home.
Harry heard from the owner's tone that he wanted to have this cat out of his store, but at least he was not mean enough to just toss him out.
Soon afterwards, Hermione was carrying a wicker basket with Crookshanks in it who was now watching the surroundings with great interest. Hermione and Harry soon found the others by Madam Malkin's shop, where Daphne and Susan were waiting for their robes to be finished. Hermione introduced her new cat Crookshanks to Susan and Daphne, before walking into the stop to get their new robes.
—-
As the afternoon came and the small group returned to Kear Morhen, Hermione knelt down to let Crookshanks out of his basket and asked Dobby to give him water and some food they also had bought from the shop, the teens moved to the library to work on their homework. Harry noticed that Hermione was looking at him and asked if she had a question about something.
Hermione bit her lip as she tried to contain her curiosity but she gave in and just asked the question that has been on her mind since they arrived in Kear Morhen a few days ago. "As a matter of fact, yes I do. I was wondering, as you're a Witcher you would have a sword to kill that basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. But I never saw you with one, even after you left the Chamber when Daphne and I came into the bathroom. Can you explain that?"
Harry blinked, only now noticing that he never showed them his blade that he received from the sorting hat in Dumbledore's office. He then pulled his switchblade out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "This is my blade. It can change into any bladed weapon, hence why I call it my blade. After I killed the basilisk it was imbued with its venom, so I have it normally in this form so it would not cut me by accident as I have no scabbard for it. Originally, it was like this." Harry picked up the switchblade and changed it back to the form he had seen it for the first time, including the ruby in its hilt.
Hermione was fascinated by the magic displayed as the sword changed from a switchblade, but she noticed something on the sword itself. She looked closer at the blade, as she had noticed that something was engraved across the length of the blade itself and gasped. "This is the Sword of Gryffindor, a relic from one of the Founders. Where did you find it? And how can you change its form so easily?"
Daphne perked up, from her knowledge of the founders, this sword was lost after Godric Gryffindor's death. She tried to recall everything she once read in stories and as she concluded what it meant that Harry has this sword, she slammed her hands on the table, shocking the other two girls, while Harry blinked again. Daphne looked at him directly with a serious tone and needed to know the truth. "Harry, please be honest with us, are you a descendant of Godric Gryffindor himself? That is the only explanation how you can change the swords from like that, otherwise it would just stay as it is right now."
Harry smiled and congratulated Daphne for her deduction. "You are right, after I claimed this sword, Professor Dumbledore explained what it meant for my future to be able to wield this blade. When I become of age, I have to go into all these politics that I look not forward to." Harry paused as he let that information sink in. "However, whilst I can wield it and utilize the magic in the Sword of Gryffindor, it does not mean I want to advertise that I am his descendant." Harry looked at all three girls who were now listening to him closely. "That means, you can't tell anyone this information."
The girls looked amongst themselves and all three nodded in agreement. Hermione spoke up first. "Of course Harry, we understand and we respect your privacy. We have all demonstrated we haven't shared with anyone you are a Witcher after all."
Daphne bit her lip, knowing that Harry was the heir to Godric Gryffindor was just adding a name to the growing list of families Harry is heir to. But she would not betray her friend's confidence by revealing this to her father, as much as she'd love to have this information over her father she valued Harry's trust more and didn't want to risk it. Daphne nodded her head at Harry and accepted his request of silence.
—-
Down in the main hall, Geralt sat together with Yen, Triss and John to discuss the latest letter from Amelia. Triss shook her head worriedly at the implications of this news. "When the Minister really wants to send Dementors to Hogwarts to protect us from Black, we have to discuss what we do when one of these monsters decides that the students are an easy target for them. Do we know how to kill them yet?" Triss was looking at Geralt, who shook his head.
Geralt grimaced, having looked through the library and asking different people to find a solution for an emergency. "Based on what I can find, the only way to keep them away from you is the Patronus charm Dumbledore and McGonagall had used when they gave us Harry. But maybe Harry has a way now, since I did not find any records about using a goblin made weapon that has basilisk venom imbued on it. Maybe Harry must defend himself and his friends with his blade, and then we will know if that works." Geralt did not like to endanger Harry this way, but the young Wizard was the only one who could use his sword like that. Geralt had heard from Ciri how heavy it was for her while Harry lifted it up like it weighs nothing.
Yen leaned on the table, looking at the notes Geralt had brought them to review it. She also had a sneer on her lips, reading about those creatures and what they could do. "Let's just hope that the Minister knows what he is doing. Even if we know that he was bribed to act like that." She then looked at the wanted poster in the Daily Prophet that showed Sirius Black angrily yelling at the photographer.
John was sitting in silence, thinking about how much information they had about these Dementors as well how much of a threat Black was. Something did not add up, a sentiment that Cortana also shared. "We have to apprehend Black before he comes even close to a Dementor and question him. Geralt, can you use your skills to find him? I have to attend my position in the school again, but I can ask Captain Lasky to use our technology to help you." John looked at Geralt, who thanked him for the offer.
Triss stood up, stretching herself and sighted. "How about we wait on what happens and just watch out for any danger along the way? Harry and his friends should be protected well enough with us and Dumbledore told us that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be on the train. If something happens during the ride we will fight with whatever we have at our disposal."
John snorted, something that caused the other adults to look at him with a surprised look on their faces. "I must be a bad influence on you Triss, you just sounded like Linda from my past, another Spartan that fought with me against the Covenant. But you are right, we have to see what we can do now since the last time we have fought those beings we prepared as much as we could thanks to the recording from Cortana she made back then. Speaking of which, I should soon receive another shipment of experimental ammunition for my weapons, maybe there is something that can kill those dementors. If not, then I am sure that as soon as it is proven that a weapon made of goblin steel imbued with basilisk venom is effective, that my people will do everything they can to recreate the effect without breeding a small army of basilisks for the venom."
—-
The rest of the summer break flew by, with Harry and his friends enjoying the sun at the lake during the last day of their break. Soon they would be back to school, causing Daphne to sigh. "I really do not look forward to being back at Hogwarts with the rest of my house, well except Tracey, she is at least tolerable. Harry, do you think we can come again next summer? It was really nice to be here." Daphne could see that Harry wanted to tell them that he has to ask the other residents from Kear Morhen for their plans.
Susan pointed out that the Quidditch World Cup would be next summer hosted in England and that it would be interesting to watch the match. Harry jumped at that idea, causing the girls to have a small giggling fit.
"I wonder how professional players fly. And sorry Daphne, but Auntie Catherine wants to take me somewhere in the first half of the next summer break, so we would return just as the World Cup would begin. So I don't think that I can invite you all next summer." Harry knew he couldn't tell his friend's the real reason he would be busy next summer and he knew the augmentation won't take an entire month but relearning how to do things afterwards coupled with his Witcher abilities is the real reason why it will take time to acclimate to the changes. That and the other reason with
The girls nodded, and after Dobby popped in and told them that dinner would soon be ready, so they grabbed their towels and headed back to the castle. Even if Dobby had already washed their clothes, they wanted to pack their trunks tonight so they would not have too much stress tomorrow. And Hermione still needed to look for Crookshanks to remind him to be in her room tomorrow so she could put him in his basket.
The next day would come soon enough, and the girls hoped that they could enjoy the last dinner in this castle for the foreseeable future.
—-
Hermione laid in her bed, thinking back on the time they had in this ancient castle while cuddling with her cat, who had picked up the habit of jumping into her bed and curl up right beside her so Hermione could place her arms around Crookshanks and pull him closer.
Hermione stroked Crookshanks' fur and spoke quietly to him as she reflected about her time here in Kear Morhen. "You know Crookshanks, this is the first time that I am not afraid of returning to Hogwarts after the summer break. Everytime this time comes near, I am glad that I can learn more but also afraid of what could happen. But as for this summer, Harry had shown me many things that could help me defend myself. And shooting a shotgun on the range showed me what he meant about Divination being either hit or miss. But it was thrilling to shoot it, I could see myself in the future coming here more often so I could train more."
Crookshanks was purring in Hermione's hug, thinking to himself what had transpired for him since he decided to accompany the girl. One thing was about the other animal companions that lived in this castle, most importantly the two familiars of the boy who was a Witcher.
Even in all these years Crookshanks had lived, he never had heard of a human magical having two familiars, but when he had arrived in the owlery to look for some mice, he saw the white snow owl staring down at him while behind her was a small snake hiding from him. He could understand why the snake was hiding, as it would be a prey for him to eat. But after some assuring words, the snake relaxed in his presence as they ate some mice that Hedwig and Sarina had brought into the owlery.
Crookshanks then asked if the other animals knew what was down in the dungeons and if the blue people were really friendly. After Sarina, as the oldest owl was called, assured him that they were friendly and that Harry has his own blue companion, but also warned Crookshanks that the blue people are secrets of the humans here.
Crookshanks accepted the situation and promised the other animals that he would keep it a secret. The next few weeks he enjoyed laying in the sun on a wall and hunted mice to eat. It was nice. The most interesting part of his stay in the castle was watching the boy train his Witcher abilities. Crookshanks now understood why Witchers were respected even amongst the animals, magical and mundane.
—-
Daphne turned in her bed, hugging her pillow while she smiled because of the memories she made over the past four weeks. Being with Harry made her happy and when she found out that she was very good with the small Beretta Jetfirel Harry had used to train with, she had asked John if it would be possible for her or her parents to have a similar weapon at home.
Seeing him shaking his head subdued her enthusiasm a bit, but after he had explained to her that all the laws in England forbid for civilians, except for instance hunters and collectors, to have firearms; so she let it drop. But she wrote to her father if he would not like to get a license to have a gun, just in case something happened and magic would not help them enough because Daphne had to acknowledge that those guns were powerful and accurate.
—-
Susan laid on her bed, looked at the ceiling and sighted. She really had learned many things during the past few weeks that caused her worldview to adjust a bit. Watching Harry train his endurance and strength instead of his magic was nothing new to her as she had seen him doing that in Hogwarts, but seeing him train with such an intensity when he had all day was something that made her wonder how strong he really was. Even as a Witcher, and sadly she did not have many people to compare Harry to, he would be stronger than the average one.
And when they were at the shooting range, she was flabbergasted at what weapons muggles had at their disposal to fight each other and how easy it was to use them if you knew what you were doing. She smiled as she reminded herself how good it felt to use the small caliber sniper rifle, which was used to hunt small game according to Mr. Wulf. She had eyed up the biggest sniper rifle in the weapons locker when Mr. Wulf retrieved the smaller one, but after a small explanation she understood that the big gun would be powerful enough to push her back even if she laid down on the ground. When she took a break, she saw Harry using almost every weapon with a proficiency that it was frightening how accurate he was. At least it was only training that day, but she hoped that she would never be the target of such a weapon.
As she drifted off to sleep, she smiled when she thought about how she would meet Hannah tomorrow. She only had to keep quiet about some details at least.
—-
Harry laid in his bed, his hands folded behind his head as he looked at the empty fireplace in his room. He was remembering the trip where they had traveled to muggle London once more after buying their school supplies, as Hermione asked her friends if they wanted to see the muggle side of London after they watched Mary Poppins, a movie that was set in London, but it was an old version of the city. So the day after, they were walking out the Leaky Cauldron and into the part of London where Hermione was more familiar with.
Harry remembered seeing her smile so brightly, which caused him to feel something strange in his stomach, making him wonder if he had eaten something strange for breakfast that morning. Seeing Callie facepalming in his glasses did not help him figuring out what was wrong with him, as she did not answer his question if she knew what it was that caused the strange feeling.
But he put it into the back of his mind when they arrived at the clothing store where Hermione had led them and pushed Harry to sit down on a chair, with Yen standing beside him grinning. What followed was a small fashion show where he was asked if the clothes that the girls tried on were suitable for them.
It was when Daphne came out of the changing room, wearing a knee length skirt and a loose shirt under a jeans jacket, when he felt the same strange feeling in his stomach when he saw Hermione smile before. And when they walked through London with all the bags being carried by Harry, he noticed the wondrous look on Susans face when they walked past a store where they sold electronics. Seeing this also caused him to feel that strange feeling rising in his stomach, so he now wondered if he was getting sick. He was also getting irritated when Callie began to laugh in his mind as if she had a secret that she did not want to tell him just yet.
After they came back from their shopping trip, they gave Dobby the bags so he could wash them for the first time. Harry told his friends that he wanted to talk with Doctor Halsey about something and walked down to her laboratory. He explained to her what he felt and if he was getting sick, but her answer left him with more questions than he had answers for.
"The human body has an interesting way of telling us things; does it mean you are sick? No. It's your mind and body's way of telling you one thing for certain. In short, you're growing up."
Catherine's amused smile seemed to match Callie's for some reason and Harry wasn't sure if he got the joke.