CHAPTER 10:

DAILY LIFE WITH FAE GIRLS

Ever since she got her Hogwarts letter, Hermione's life was never free of interesting and bizarre occurrences. Before she learned she had magic, the wonders of science were more than enough wonder for her. Yet the Moonlit World had many wonders, and many horrors.

Though at least she was able to still see the wonders, as jaded as she had become. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever believe she would get to meet Leonardo da Vinci, even if the Renaissance Man, out of curiosity and a broad mind, chose to become a Renaissance Woman. Or King Solomon, even if his true personality, once he was no longer a sockpuppet for God or whatever posed as Jehovah, was flaky and wimpy. Still wise and compassionate, but if the average follower of the Judaeo-Christian religions learned of Solomon being a lazy otaku obsessed with a virtual idol (that looked suspiciously like a genderflipped version of an image of Merlin Hermione had seen in Clock Tower once), well, they'd probably flip their lids.

And now, she had encountered something very interesting. Namely, a pair of Fae, both from an oxbow timeline originally deleted by the World for being a dead-end timeline, but forced back into place in another alternate timeline where Chaldea existed, even if the wizards and witches of the wizarding world were another matter. Both of whom had been knights in service to an alternate version of Morgan le Fay, ruling over a version of Britain where the Fae were dominant.

It sounded utterly fascinating, but tempering this interest was a number of things. Harry, Barghest, and Melusine's words yesterday showed that this alternate Britain was a dystopia, filled with capricious Fae, with humans as an underclass. It said a lot that Barghest, despite being an enforcer for Morgan and having participated in ruthless military campaigns, was disgusted by her own kind, as was Melusine. Barghest's last sane moments were witnessing her fellow Fae torture and murder humans, despite her explicit edicts, all because they felt she was a hypocrite in devouring her lovers, never mind that she was cursed to do so. Melusine, meanwhile, had unrequited love for a twisted monster of a Fae woman who could not stand anyone else but herself to be the 'fairest of them all', and believed her own self-delusions, no matter what atrocity she committed or ordered.

However, Harry and Delphi trusted them, and after Hogwarts, Hermione knew that Harry was a pretty good judge of character. The only person he had been truly wrong about had been Dumbledore, and Dumbledore fooled so many. If Harry trusted Barghest and Melusine, Hermione would trust them, to a point. And learning more about them was a good distraction from the utter clusterfuck the next few weeks would be, having to deal with Clock Tower and its inquiries into Marisbury Animusphere, his death, and his crimes.

The two Fae were a study in contrasts and similarities. The similarities included obvious and not-so-obvious ones. They were very much warriors, and yet, intelligent and compassionate. Neither trumpeted their power obviously, they were calm, and they were both scarred by their experiences before the Lostbelt was destroyed. They were also ancient, with Barghest being over four centuries old, and Melusine, while her humanoid body was a little over a hundred years old chronologically (back in the Lostbelt, anyway), was formed from a piece of Albion's flesh, and Albion had been speculated to exist since at least the Hadean Eon, over 4.5 billion years ago (though it was possible Albion was older). And they were cursed to become the Calamities that were prophesized to lay waste to Fae Britain.

Yet the contrasts were striking too. The physical ones were the most obvious. Barghest was an Amazonian blonde, yet her muscled body didn't detract that much from her regal and solemn beauty. She could have been one of the Queens of the Amazons from Greek myth, like Penthesilea or Hippolyta. And despite her physicality, she was actually quite calm and intelligent. While she followed a form of Social Darwinism (not that Darwin existed in her Lostbelt, or Francis Galton or anyone who would espouse even positive versions of Social Darwinism), to her, the strong were meant to protect and shepherd the weak, not dominate or destroy them. When she fought, it was out of necessity: although she loved a good fight, she did not fight needlessly. True, she could also be rather blunt, and callously and rudely so, but otherwise, she acted with rather excellent manners.

Melusine, on the other hand, had a child-like petite body, in her early teens in appearance at most, with long silvery hair framing delicately beautiful features. If Barghest was Amazonian, then Melusine was like an actual Fairy, childlike and adorable. Yet she was bloodthirsty in her own quiet way, and enjoyed battle in a way even Barghest didn't. She was also less intelligent, though she was far from stupid. She was also a touch on the slothful side. Yet she also seemed more overtly melancholy.

Her first impression the next morning enhanced that. Harry had allowed Barghest to cook, and to Hermione's pleasant surprise, the hulking Fae cooked a rather lovely breakfast. True, the portions she cooked for herself and Melusine made Hermione stare in shock at the sheer quantity of the food piled on their plates, especially Barghest's, but the meal itself was immensely enjoyable. Not quite on the level cooked by a House Elf or in a snazzy hotel or restaurant, but it was getting there.

She also noticed things that Harry may not have noticed himself, or even Barghest for that matter. The looks, the gestures, even the small touches, all so little, and yet they added up. The two had a strong bond despite only knowing each other for a month, and while they dated to try and deter the people spamming Harry with marriage contracts, Hermione felt there was substance behind the ruse. She really hoped that Luna and Cernunnos' claims were correct, that Barghest's curse had been removed. Being literally devoured by a lovestruck Fae hound in the form of an Amazonian woman would be an immensely embarrassing end to Harry's life after all he went through.

She also noticed that Delphi was perfectly at ease around them, Barghest more than Melusine. The teenaged daughter of Voldemort, while not as good a judge of character as Harry, was nonetheless wary around strangers. Yet she treated Melusine as a sibling, and Barghest as a maternal figure.

The irony was, Hermione could only meet these two because, in one timeline at least, one of Marisbury's insane plans succeeded. Daybit described Marisbury as an ally of humanity, but an enemy of the universe at large, and having glimpsed enough of Marisbury's plans in the man's mind, Hermione could only agree. Securing the future of the Human Order in such a way would only cause problems later, and she only knew what it was dimly. She only hoped that the Chaldea of that timeline could stop Marisbury's plans and CHALDEAS. And that she had shut off CHALDEAS' systems that would enact Marisbury's plans for him posthumously.

But to meet two Fae, and relatively benign ones at that, was something to marvel at. True, the House-Elves were technically Fae, but they were engineered servitors, she had learned, kept dependent on magical energy from their masters or their surroundings. The wizards and witches were (sadly) better masters on the whole than the Fae the House-Elves originally served, who had twisted their own prisoners, guilty or not, into that shape, according to the research of the Magi. The wizards and witches didn't bother to keep such records for the most part, feeling entitled to their servants.

Whereas Barghest was an honest-to-Merlin Fae, a Fairy hound in the form of an Amazonian woman, while Melusine, while technically a Dragon, was also effectively a Fae herself, even if it was to emulate the woman who gave her new life. Aurora sounded like a nasty piece of work, standing head and shoulders above most other Fae in that Lostbelt. Thankfully, Melusine emulated Aurora in looks, not character, if what the two Fae had hinted at was true.

Hermione didn't want to rush into asking questions, though. The two Fae were still haunted by their traumas and their actions in the Lostbelt. And the fact they got so much out of them yesterday was great.

Still, she wanted to further observe their interactions with Harry. And on a trip to Carnac, a Magus-run department store in London, she was able to do so…

Harry wasn't fond of Carnac. It was basically an even gaudier version of Harrods and the like, with an Ancient Egyptian theme (hence the name, a variation of the name of a famous Ancient Egyptian temple complex). It was also run by the Edelfelt family after its prior owner got arrested over nearly violating the secrecy of the Moonlit World, a case Waver delighted in relating to Harry. And the Edelfelts were pretty much exemplars of the average Magus: even if they weren't involved in human experiments that wouldn't be out of place in Auschwitz or Unit 731, Magi were often arrogant and wont to show off their supposed superiority and wealth.

However, because it was run by the Edelfelts, Carnac also had sections that catered to clients from the Moonlit World, sections that allowed them to talk shop with relative impunity. Harry may not have liked the Edelfelts, but they at least had a strong sense of pragmatism when they weren't preoccupied with showing off their wealth and status. Even wizards and witches could do so, as long as they didn't cause any trouble. But mostly Muggleborns and Halfbloods tended to come here, with the old guard still preferring Diagon Alley.

It was actually the first time he'd been since Barghest came into his life. True, he didn't go that often because of that lack of fondness, and because much of what he could get at Carnac, he could simply get from Harrods, Selfridges, or Marks and Spencer. But occasionally, they did go.

Barghest was looking around in interest. While she had been in mundane shopping centres and department stores before, one run by Magi was novel, and once they were in the exclusively magical sections, she remarked, "Did you notice the Bounded Field and enchantments?"

"We know about them," Harry said.

Delphi nodded. "Long story short, it used to belong to some vicious old sod of a Magus by the name of Gurdoa Davenant. Davenant was an idiot who wanted to be top dog in the Zoology Department at Clock Tower when that position became vacant, so he decides to run some experiment that involved kidnapping people and draining electricity. Unfortunately, Waver noticed because his favourite tearoom where he came to relax was closed up thanks to Davenant's actions, so…"

"So Waver, with the help of Grey, Svin and Flat, confronted Gurdoa, with Waver bluffing pretty hard that he'd drawn too much attention, and that he was about to be arrested. Oh, he wasn't bluffing that much, the electricity use was through the roof and the Muggles were worrying about people vanishing in the area. He was just bluffing about there being an order for Gurdoa's arrest," Harry said. "Of course, Gurdoa was later put on trial for endangering the secrecy of the Moonlit World like the arrogant berk he was, and the Edelfelts got part of the spoils like the hyenas they are. They added some new enchantments, tweaked the existing ones, all to ensure customers buy more, and ignored the fact that Muggles have been studying how to improve revenue in shops for ages."

Hermione chuckled. "You should have seen Luvia's face when I showed her the Wikipedia page for the Gruen transfer. Not the Australian comedy show, but a real phenomenon in retail(1)."

"We did not have department stores like this," Melusine remarked. "Though Muryan often held auctions at her seat in Gloucester, and Baobhan Sith loved to attend them. She would have loved the variety of the high-heeled shoes they have here."

Barghest wrinkled her nose in disgust. "She would also have caused havoc on mere whims, or on not having them tended to, like a toddler not getting a toy. She acted without the dignity of a knight, never mind the princess Morgan elevated her to be. A knight should protect the weak, not torment them like a cat playing with a mouse!"

As Barghest tensed up during her tirade, Harry briefly glanced around. Barghest had not been loud during her rant, but an Amazonian woman tended to draw attention anyway, and her magical energy was beginning to spike a little, enough to potentially put the store's Bounded Fields nearby on alert. On an impulse, he reached out and clasped her balled-up hand in his own, gently and soothingly. Barghest looked sharply at him, before her features softened, and she even blushed, partly at the intimate gesture, and partly out of embarrassment. "Forgive me," she said, "that was unseemly of me."

"It's okay, I get that you're angry about her. From what I heard of her, and what I glimpsed in your memories, I'd hate her too," Harry said gently. "I mean, didn't she like chopping other Fae's feet off for their shoes or something? That's all kinds of messed up."

"Indeed," Barghest said. But as he gently released her fist, it opened up, her hand latching onto his own.

You would think a hand belonging to a seasoned knight would be rougher, with callouses and scars marring it. But while dwarfing his own hand and filled with taut muscles and ligaments, the skin of the hand itself was smooth, almost flawless, thanks to her ability to regenerate wounds to a degree. The few scars on her body were from either magical attacks, cursed weapons, or cold iron. And the hand's grasp itself was soft, gentle even, despite belonging to a being who could crush his hand into a bloody meaty pulp and every bone in it into powder with all the ease of the average human crushing a polystyrene cup.

He met her blue eyes again, and while she was still blushing, she asked, quietly, "Please? Just hold my hand for a little while longer."

And that's when it hit Harry. The two of them had been growing closer, their friendship strengthening. Yet they had remained wary of each other, because of Harry's issues with his prior relationships, him having seen Barghest's memories, and Barghest's curse.

Yet Barghest, at heart, was something of a hopeless romantic. Part of what made her curse all the more tragic was that she tended to fall for people, human or Fae, male or female, as long as they gained her attention and affection. Most of them were strong warriors or mages, as the curse demanded. Yet she fell in love with a weak young man, Adonis, and hoped that it would break the curse.

Tragically, it didn't.

Was the Fae woman actually falling for him? If so, he felt ambivalent about that. On the one hand, there was no getting away from the fact that she had been a ruthless and brutal enforcer for that alternate version of Morgan le Fay, with the blood of too many innocents on her hands. And of course, she had devoured her lovers without exception.

But on the other hand, she was a good-natured soul beneath that, courteous, gallant, gentle, and empathic. Despite being a Fae, and having a Social Darwinistic mindset, she genuinely cared about people. And she was, despite her Amazonian build, intelligent and beautiful. Her lovers had been devoured only because of the curse, the curse now supposedly removed.

But was he falling for her? Well, he wasn't so sure. Oh, he was attracted to her, but that was only part of love, and could be part of infatuation or lust. And he was still shying away in some way, consciously and subconsciously, because of his own experiences, to say nothing of her curse. But the same could be said for her.

Hermione had told him before of the Hedgehog's Dilemma, a philosophy espoused by Arthur Schopenhauer, and popularised by the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Hedgehogs huddling together for warmth will inevitably hurt each other through their spines if they get too close, and so keep something of a distance, an analogy for personal relationships. And both Harry and Barghest had long spines indeed.

Yet the best of relationships were worth the pain they could bring. And Harry already believed that he was good friends with Barghest. Maybe, just maybe, they could be more, if they could allow themselves to try.

So, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze in response to her request, and her smile deepened a little, as did her blush. Then again, he was blushing a little sheepishly himself. "Shall we, my lady?" he asked, his tone gently flippant.

"But of course," she replied, and the pair of them, along with their friends and loved ones, walked on into the store. If nothing else, today would hopefully be a good day…

CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:

Just a bit of filler, fluff, and the true seeds of Harry/Barghest.

But holy fuck, this chapter fought me. I did have Hermione warning Harry to be cautious in being so close to Barghest, but it didn't feel right. Before that, I thought of having Hermione and Barghest discuss things, but it was a repeat of stuff that had been stated elsewhere before in this fic. Yet this version not only flowed somewhat better, but actually allowed me to move the pairing forward.

Review-answering time! waytodawn0: Canonically, FATE was unstable until the Fuyuki Singularity. Episode 0 of the Babylonia anime clarifies this: Marisbury feels that Mash's shield (after seeing it during her post-Galahad summoning rampage) could be used as a catalyst to summon Servants. This implies that he may have deliberately summoned Galahad into Mash, somehow knowing Galahad's shield could summon all kinds of Servants and stabilise FATE. Even if he didn't, he clearly believed Galahad's shield could help after the fact, but as Galahad refused to come forth until Mash was almost dead during the bombing of Chaldea, FATE remained unstable.

Only three Servants were successfully summoned by the FATE system before then: Solomon, Galahad (with Mash's body as a vessel/anchor), and Da Vinci (who nonetheless needed to anchor himself to a body that could act as his own Master, and decided he wanted to try out being a woman: I actually wouldn't be surprised if the real Da Vinci did so anyway under the same circumstances). Don't worry, come the Fuyuki Singularity, FATE will start working properly.

1. For those of you who don't live in Australia, The Gruen Transfer, now just called Gruen, is an Australian comedy series that pokes fun at advertising and marketing, and is named for an actual phenomenon used in retail stores, particularly shopping centres and department stores.