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Children of Prophecy

Chapter Five: Fire in the Night

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For Harry, the time he spent in Naga Nagri seemed to speed by and before he knew it he was planning to move on. He had met Chandra every morning for tutoring and they branched out from healing spells and elemental magic to combat spells and even potions. Harry was honestly surprised when he turned out to be a decent brewer after only a little instruction. Without Snape and the Slytherins' distractions and sabotage I'm doing rather well. I wonder… the I.C.W. sets the standards for O.W.L. exams, if I took the exam and passed it in Japan, could I quit attending Snape's class? Somehow, the thought of getting out of Snape's classes kept a smile on Harry's face as he brewed potion after potion under Chandra's watchful eyes. The Lamia had chosen to specialize in healing, and potions knowledge was a big part of that. The best part was that each potion he brewed successfully was simply bottled up and placed onto the shelves he'd transfigured in his trunk and tent. Harry had a growing collection of India's twist on Pepper-Up, a dozen different healing potions, and even a few of his more interesting and dangerous mistakes carefully bottled, some of which he even used in the traps he set up every night.

He'd even reached the point where his Fuinjutsu skill was able to store two spells on his body; an angular design on his right forearm that terminated in a starburst pattern on his palm held a Wand-lighting charm while a more complex twisting shape that took up his entire left arm from the shoulder down held a Serpent-Summoning Charm. Both spells simply needed a flex of intention to cast. Activating, and more importantly, not activating a seal on his skin had been a difficult trick to learn and the accidental misfires had been annoying. Still, at least those failures had been outdoors. (Harry was tempted to store a blasting curse on both palms, but had decided to wait until his 'trigger finger' was a little more steady.)

For the first time since starting Hogwarts Harry had rediscovered his interest in potions and his passion for learning magic in general. I remember being so excited to learn magic before my first year. What happened? It only took a few moments of thought to remember the stress from every student constantly staring at him and the rumors that constantly spread around Hogwarts, the way he'd latched onto Ron as his first friend and how desperate he'd been to not rock the boat. And I had so many bad habits from Little Whinging. Petunia and Vernon never did anything to encourage me and Dudley got violent whenever I outshone him so I just didn't see the point in pushing myself. I should have started pushing myself at Hogwarts, but I didn't realize I even had bad habits. The way the classes were so dull didn't help either. Bah. When I get back to school I'll put a little more effort in, but mostly I'll just keep learning on my own. My Fuinjutsu is getting better, and if I find a tutor and books in Japan I can keep learning it when I get back to Britain. Not to mention all the books I've collected. With my collection and the school's library, I'm sure I can find enough useful spells to keep me busy learning all year.

Not all of Harry's time had been spent furthering his magical knowledge however. After Samira had given him his first blowjob, she had sought him out as he studied in the inn every night for a repeat performance. The physical sensation was great, and Harry certainly felt less stressed as he enjoyed regular release, but the physical act still felt hollow and a little meaningless. (Despite being a teenage boy, Harry often didn't have the privacy to relieve himself. Doing so in a dorm was less than ideal; privacy was rare in Hogwarts. The less said about Private Drive the better.)

At first, Samira had begun encouraging him to pursue a relationship with Chandra and one of the Lamia's sisters, apparently eager for him to lay down roots in Naga Nagri. Despite the manipulation, Samira's honesty had been refreshing when he called her on it. {"Of course I want you to stay here. I don't know what they did to break your spirit back home, but you are a wizard of uncommon power and talent. I want you to stay here, build a family, and allow me to join your harem often. Do you know how succubi reproduce?"} After Harry's negative response, Samira continued. {"When my kind have a stable and abundant food supply, our bodies start a reproductive cycle. Then, for a year some of the seed we absorb during intercourse is used to create a new life."} At Harry's expression, she continued. {"At least half the men in Naga Nagri helped sire me and my mother's womb combined their seed to make me who I am."}

(Harry was learning all kinds of things in India, and he often amused himself by picturing Hermione's face as he explained some of the more 'interesting' facts he'd learned. He often found himself wishing he'd brought her with him, just for the companionship.)

On his eighth day in Naga Nagri, Harry sat down in the town's version of a diner, which was just a little more posh than the town's inn. Taking Samira's advice, Harry had asked Chandra about what it meant to be a magically created species which led to him sitting down to a meal with the fully-human Fariha, her mother Ahana, and Chandra and her Lamia mother Adhira. Harry knew he had flubbed a few cultural niceties, but he didn't think he'd given any major insults yet. When they were all seated and sipping beverages, Harry spoke up as he turned his full attention to the adult Lamia. {"Thank you for meeting me, Ma'am. I was wondering if you could tell me about being a magically shaped species. It was suggested that I try to create my own companion after leaving India, but I'm unsure about the responsibility and the way the ritual creates slaves."}

Adhira smiled at the polite young man as she responded. {"I admit I am a little disappointed that you might be creating your own Lamia instead of settling down with Chandra but at the same time I am always happy to see more of my kind in the world. Chandra said she explained that Samarth shaped me, but as a born Lamia she will never truly understand what that means."} The black-skinned Lamia paused for a moment in thought before she continued. {"I met my husband and master when he found me in the White Mountains in western America. Samarth had researched serpents for his first few years of school and decided he wanted a California Mountain Kingsnake as his familiar. He offered me a place at his side and I never looked back. Samarth's Parseltongue gifted me with intelligence and over time it became permanent; back then my mind was simple but I was always happy to spend time with him, even if it was just riding on his shoulder as he attended class. In his seventh year of schooling he asked me if I wanted to be more than I was, and four months later he shaped me into my new form under the careful watch of Ekta's Dean. Six months after meeting Samarth I had gained permanent intelligence, but it wasn't until he reshaped me that I gained a soul."}

At Harry's expression, she continued. {"The shaping ritual is Soul Magic, but probably the most benign you'll ever encounter. Samarth gave of himself and his magic, heart, and his very soul breathed mine into being. You're worried about creating a slave, but you misunderstand: Because of what he's done for me, my greatest wish is to see my husband happy and content. I would do anything for him, and I will always be his, before anything else. That is simply what I am and I have never regretted meeting Samarth or anything that followed."}

Adhira's eyes looked away, caught in a memory. {"If you've done any research at all, you'll know that love is the most essential part of that ritual. That doesn't just mean the romantic love; compassion, friendship, familial, sexual, even possessive love will all do."} A smile graced the Lamia's face. {"I am the product of a mix of compassion and a more possessive love. Samarth is a kind man, fair and always willing to help those who will work for it but behind closed doors Ahana and I are his, and he leads our family without question. And honestly? Neither of us would have it any other way."}

Harry was quiet for a moment before he continued. {"Is that what the silver collars mean? That you and your daughters are property?"}

Adhira just smiled indulgently while her daughter laughed for a moment. When she calmed down Chandra replied. {"No. Our collars have a different purpose. Do you know about Europe's house elves?"} At Harry's nod she continued. {"Good. My mother and I are not exactly like them, but the desire to serve, to be helpful is part of what we are. The silver collars protect my sisters and I from unscrupulous wizards; until we truly bond with a wizard it is possible for a bond to be formed against our will. The bond can even form accidentally if we spend too much time around a human we really like. My mother's collar is simply ornamentation, while mine and my sister's are enchanted."} Chandra gave Harry a teasing smile. {"To be honest Harold, without the collar I might have bonded to you already. You've been a great student, you're kind, and I can tell you're so desperately lonely and hurt that I just want to wrap you tight and hold you until you feel better."}

Both Chandra and Harry were quiet for a while after that, nibbling at their lunch red-faced and embarrassed. Adhira spoke again after taking a bite of one of the many curry dishes Harry had really come to love recently. {"That is part of what it means to be a created species, Harold. While we are truly alive, have thoughts and opinions and even souls, we simply are not human. Helping our creators is our purpose, and if they treat us with love our loyalty is absolute. If you choose to go through with the ritual, you just need to remember that loyalty begets loyalty and love begets love. Or, to put it another way, you reap what you sow."}

As the meal continued, conversation ebbed and flowed. After finishing her meal Adhira spoke again. {"Don't worry about getting the magic wrong. The book you mentioned is a good one, as long as you follow the instructions you will do fine. You will need to study a bit of anatomy though; if you're starting with a serpent you'll probably want to use anatomy like mine."} The Lamia gestured to her human torso. {"Most of my organs are in different places than you might expect. My human torso only really has one of my two hearts, lungs, and reproductive organs; the rest is further down, which makes use of my tail for more than movement. Part of the reason is because I need larger lungs for my body mass and the rest was from Samarth wanting to make me the best creature possible."}

Harry leaned forward, his dessert forgotten. {"Could I get a copy of his notes? I wouldn't follow them fully, but it might give me ideas or help me avoid mistakes."}

The two adult women looked at each other for a moment before Ahana spoke up. {"We will ask our husband, however those notes are deeply personal and it is his decision."} After Harry thanked her, she continued the informative lecture. {"There are a few things you should probably know if you're going to create a Lamia that you won't find in those books. A healthy relationship with your creation will include sex, especially at first. Semen is a powerful reagent, as powerful as blood though its properties are wildly different: Unlike blood semen is most often used in magic that creates or nourishes life. A male's contribution to new life doesn't just carry your magic, but your very essence; regular 'contributions' will help your creation stabilize."} Ahana smirked at her sister-wife and her tone became teasing. {"After the first few months, a created Lamia's sexual drive will fall off drastically. One of the biological purposes for sex is building a bond between people but the magic that shaped Adhira built a stronger bond than any hormone could produce. My sister-wife enjoys our husband's attentions whenever he seeks her out, but she doesn't have the desire to seek him out for sex for her own pleasure. The exception to that is once a year when her base species reproduces in the wild. What species are you planning to use as a base?"}

{"Saska is a hybrid of Indian Wolf Snake and Horned Serpent; I admit I've only really researched what she needs to be healthy, not her reproductive cycle."}

Fariha spoke up. {"Wolf Snakes reproduce once a year before the monsoon, but Horned Serpents can lay eggs twice a year if there's enough food."} At Harry's raised eyebrow, she continued. {"What? My oldest brother is applying for a permit to create a Lamia and he's been researching the hybrids Creature Companions started selling. It's interesting."}

Harry understood. Turning an animal into a loyal companion was the kind of magic he wished Hogwarts taught, it was so much more interesting and useful than charming a pineapple to dance or turning a mouse into a snuff box. After lunch Harry followed Chandra and Fariha back to a covered pavilion in the park reserved for tutoring. (Apparently Chandra was the best brewer in her family and Fariha wanted to do better in the coming year at Ekta.) Today he was brewing a 'dry run' of the potion needed to create a Lamia. He'd been surprised at Chandra's idea to let him practice without potentially ruining rare ingredients; she had simply cast a series of Duplication charms on them. The duplicated ingredients had no magical properties but they were good enough for Harry to practice with. As Harry worked through every step of the potion, Chandra watched carefully and took notes on mistakes or places he could improve, not that there were many; his brewing really had improved away from Snape.

When he was finished and his new cauldron was filled with something that looked like vegetable mush instead of a completed potion, Chandra had a wide smile as she told Harry that if he'd been working with the actual ingredients the potion would have been a success. He had a smile on his face as he returned to the inn that night, enjoyed the usual 'encounter' with Samira when the inn emptied, and set up all the traps in his room. When the dawn rose again, Harry had no idea this would be his last peaceful day in Naga Nagri.

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To the annoyance of the Order, with the exception of Sirius, their efforts to locate Harry had ground to a halt after obtaining the records of portkey purchases. Sirius had been insufferably smug at his godson outwitting the entire Order, at least until Remus had gotten his hands on Vernon's financial information. With that it had been a rather simple errand and a slew of spells to obtain a copy of Vernon's credit card purchases. With that information it was clear that Harry had purchased the portkey to India, then dropped his relatives off in Mumbai. The newest purchases were in Japan, so off the Order went. Moody was in charge of the group heading to Japan since he had some local contacts and spoke the language. Sirius' mood improved once more when Harry was not with his mundane relatives; Moody's patronus reported that the Dursleys had no idea where Harry was, only that Vernon had given him permission to spend the summer with 'his kind' and that Harry might be joining them at their hotel in Tokyo.

So while Moody's group staked out the Dursleys and started looking for Harry, Dumbledore provided language potions and sent Remus, Emmeline Vance, Daedalus Diggle, and Severus Snape to India with an unregistered portkey that bypassed the nation's portkey terminal. For several days the team made no progress at all, thanks in part to the sheer size of India and Harry's diligent efforts to touch up his hair color and hide his scar. However, as Harry's ninth day in Naga Nagri dawned Remus overheard two locals in Mumbai discussing the tutors for traditional Indian magic that could be hired in Naga Nagri. Remembering Sirius arguing with Molly that Harry had the right to hire a tutor with his own galleons if he wanted, Remus had a suspicion of where Harry had gotten to. With no better leads, the group got out their map and began apparating towards where Harry had been spending his time.

When they arrived, even Remus was shocked by the number and diversity of the locals in what was just one of India's all-magical towns. After pausing outside of town to apply glamour charms to conceal their identities they headed into town to look around. (Severus argued that if Potter recognized them he would make things more difficult.) They did indeed see close to a hundred students and their tutors in the park, learning everything from simple charms to advanced potions but none of the students looked like Harry. So the group split up, each of them going to a different business and asking if they recognized Harry from the only color photos they'd been able to dig up, something a Gryffindor named Colin had taken the previous year. To their dismay, the photo was obviously one Harry hadn't known was being taken.

All four of them agreed that if Harry was here he would have been purchasing things to take home, so the group split up and began visiting the various businesses. Severus visited the apothecary, mentioning that he might as well find something useful while they were here, Emmeline headed to the town's inn, Daedalus chose to wander the park, and Remus took the town's bookstore. As he walked inside, Remus decided to browse and buy something before he questioned the clerk. The store was big, larger than anything in Britain thanks to an expansion charm. Remus wandered for a while, picking up a few local books on Defense and three books on weretigers. He could admit he found himself intrigued by one of the titles: 'Control and You: A Were's Guide to Getting Along With Your Other Half.' Even if it was a scam or only a slight help, he couldn't resist the temptation.

To his surprise, Remus heard a familiar voice as he browsed the stacks. Making use of a mirror, he saw a teenager that despite the dirty blond hair and lack of visible scar still had the right face-shape and eye color to be Harry. Still, Remus was… unsure if he'd found the missing boy or not; it didn't help that the last time he'd heard Harry speak his voice hadn't started to change. Also Harry had always seemed hunched and shy, this young man was more outgoing and confident than he'd ever seen Harry before. And… he'd never seen Harry this happy and energetic before. For the first time, Remus started to have second thoughts about fulfilling Dumbledore's orders. He was close enough to overhear the conversation with the clerk, and the subject of conversation made his head spin.

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After a long tutoring session in the morning of his ninth day in Naga Nagri, Harry made use of the longer lunch he'd agreed to. His first stop was the apothecary, where he picked up a good sized supply of ingredients, including everything he'd need to brew three batches of the potion for the species creation ritual. Even with my new brewing skill, I still expect to make mistakes. Harry smiled as he stepped outside. And of course if this works Hedwig would never let me exclude her. I wonder what shape she'd be happy with? I could make her a harpy very easily, but maybe something more… refined?

With a shrug, Harry stepped into Creature Companions and picked up the order that took most of his remaining Indian currency. Despite the cost, Harry was sure the purchase of two male kneazle cats as large as a lynx or bobcat, two new terrariums, and dozens of meat rabbits to keep them fed would be worth it. Harry couldn't help laughing to himself as he introduced himself to his new pets; cats would be cats, and he could see both males, one with the dark orange, white and black fur of a Bengal Tiger and the other with the golden fur and black spots of the Indian Leopard didn't think much of him. Still, Harry showed them into their new enclosure and fed them some of the unfortunate mice he'd killed while learning healing spells. I need to name them, but I can wait to find the right names.

Walking into Secret Knowledge, Harry waved to the clerk. {"Good afternoon, miss Reshmi! Were you able to get 'Magicks of Trust and Faith' in? If you can't have it by tomorrow morning I'll have to cancel."}

The clerk just smiled at Harry and returned his wave. {"This is the finest book store in all of India, boy. Of course your book is ready. Mrs. Libras got the original last night and printed you a copy before she started translating it into Hindi. The book is written in an older dialect of English but you should be able to read it with a bit of effort. Lucky for you there was a lot of interest in this book after that business with the end of Britain's civil war and some new copies got printed. The spell you wanted, the Fidelius Charm, is in here but there are other spells too. Are there any other books I can tempt you with?"}

Harry glanced around the store, his eyes glancing over Remus' new appearance. {"I think I have a copy of every Parseltongue spellbook you have, along with a bunch from the other subjects I wanted. Hmm… Can you recommend a book of Indian magic? Something fun or interesting?"}

Reshmi was quiet for a moment, tapping her fingers on the desk in thought. {"I think we have books on traditional textiles and sculpture, if you're interested."}

Harry thought for a moment before he responded. It occurred to him that Acromantula silk robes were sold in Diagon Alley for more than he would ever spend on clothing and that the Forbidden Forest was full of the damned man-eaters. I could collect the silk without too much danger then brew the potions to treat it; I wonder if Parvati or Lavender would be willing to help me for a fair cut? Hmm, with some work I could make as much coin as I spent in India. {"Yes, I'll take them both. And also… I would like to apologize to a young woman for being a poor date last year, what would you recommend?"}

As coins changed hands and Harry slipped three new books into his trunk, Reshmi replied. {"Just before you get to the residential side of town there's a confectioner's shop, they sell western chocolate and Indian sweets. With a preservation charm they would make as good an apology as anything else."}

Harry thanked her and moved on. He'd been so stressed at the time, but he realized that he and Ron had really disappointed their dates to the Yule Ball last Christmas. Maybe I should get one for Padma too? I think she only went with Ron because I asked Parvati for help. As he walked through town, a store he hadn't noticed before caught his interest. A gardening store that promises seeds for any plant native to India and anything that grows here? Well after that one year Petunia had me grow a vegetable garden, I know how much better home-grown vegetables are than the stuff in stores. Seeds should be cheap enough; if nothing else I'd like to bring some of these spices home with me just to annoy my aunt. I can plant the seeds in the snake's terrarium, maybe dig in some fertilizer too? Actually, that can wait; there's a shop in Diagon that sells composted dragon dung from the Hebrides Sanctuary cheap. That stuff works wonders.

By the time Harry returned to the park, distracted by some kind of altercation at the apothecary, he'd collected a truly impressive collection of seeds and two 'apology specials' from the confection shop. (Also a large sampler box; the things he'd already tried had been fantastic.) In hindsight, Harry would realize he really should have paid more attention to the fuss, and probably left town immediately. Naga Nagri was a rather safe town, but they still dealt with the occasional drunk or thief. Harry simply assumed the commotion was another thief learning that the shopkeepers in this town knew how to use their wands.

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Like Remus, Severus Snape had decided to make the most of this visit to a foreign land. As he browsed through the apothecary's potions supplies, he noted which ingredients were less expensive or simply unavailable in Britain and collected as much as he could afford with the local coin he had on hand; not only were some of the ingredients difficult to find anywhere else, the ones being offered were incredibly fresh. Unlike Harry, Snape recognized everything being offered for sale and even knew a number of potions they could be used in. And like Harry's thoughts on Acromantula silk, Snape intended to make a profit where he could. After he had tucked his new purchases away, Snape showed the clerk a photograph. To his surprise, the young man began asking questions instead of answering Severus'. Far too used to getting his own way despite the way he acted, Snape responded to the pointed questions of 'by what authority are you searching for this boy' and 'why don't you want to involve the town's peacekeepers' with insults and veiled threats. In Snape's normal life, this strategy always managed to cow anyone he dealt with. In a foreign town whose economy depended on tourism and the gold from students seeking tutors however, suspicious people stalking teenagers were not welcome.

Half an hour later the Order's group gathered in the jungle clearing they'd concealed before entering town, only to be glared at by an irate Severus Snape as he finished picking glass out of his wounds and began applying a burn salve to his arm. To his surprise, the townsfolk had watched him run out of the store while trading spells with the clerk and promptly decided to join in. Severus was a good duelist, one of the better of his generation; in fact he was almost good enough to take down Moody in a fair fight. (Something that was much easier now thanks to all of Moody's old injuries.) Against an entire town's worth of wands throwing unfamiliar spells? Simply escaping became difficult.

Once the group settled and began eating cold sandwiches under a preservation charm, Remus spoke up. "I think I found Harry; he's changed his hair color and he's using something to hide his scar, but I'm pretty sure it's him. I saw him in the bookstore and followed at a distance with the Supersensory Charm." After a moment where Snape expressed his bad mood and the others applauded Remus, he continued. "He was one of the people in the park who hired a tutor. I think he was trying to learn some kind of healing spell in Parseltongue. I didn't approach him because if he ran we'd lose him, but I overheard that he's staying in the inn. We can talk to him tonight and bring him home."

The four members of the Order of the Phoenix made plans to ensure that Harry returned to Britain, no matter what the teen wanted; Dumbledore had been clear, Harry needed to return to Britain. It never occurred to any of them that they were kidnapping a teen across international borders. Despite his many titles, Albus Dumbledore was not Harry's guardian and while the old man would claim to have Harry's best interests at heart, his actions made that claim… problematic.

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Harry felt melancholic as he and Chandra walked back to the inn that night. The Lamia had become a good friend and he found himself wishing that they could be more, but the sad fact was he couldn't stay. No matter how kind or how beautiful Chandra was, he couldn't risk staying and her getting hurt. He would be leaving in the morning, flying the second-hand carpet he'd bought back to Nagpur's international portkey terminal. (Which turned out to be the best place in India to purchase an international portkey.) His carpet could carry three comfortably, was twice as fast as the one he'd rented to get here in the first place, had all the same charms for comfort and safety, and bore a handsome mosaic pattern in burgundy, white, and teal on the top side, and a solid dark blue on the bottom. It wasn't nearly as fancy as some of the others for sale, but it was sturdy and handled well.

Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he never even noticed the group of four watching him from a corner, even if Samira did when she joined them. Harry had a smile on his face as he paid for the group's dinner and led the friends he'd made up to his room. As they walked, Harry turned to Samira and asked a question he'd been wondering for a while. {"Samira, if you don't mind me asking, why do succubi only seem to feed on men?"}

The succubus shrugged, drawing both his and Chandra's eyes to her breasts as they bounced. {"Despite what most people think, succubi don't really feed on sex. We feed on reproductive material and its inherent magical properties, plus the extra we take during sex. We can feed on blood too, but only if we're very desperate. Blood is disgusting. Men give us what we need and I can feed from you every night with no damage or mess."} Samira glanced at Chandra, who was slithering up the stairs on Harry's other side. {"If I wanted to feed on Chandra here, I'd have to cut her open and tear out her ovaries. No thank you. Even before my people joined the magical community, it was really rare for a succubus to do that: When we feed off a male there's a… rush that we don't get from females. Some kind of instinctual thing that ensures we reproduce and don't destroy our food supply I suppose."}

Chandra replied with a shudder. {"Let's change the subject. I'm sorry to see you go Harry, but we'll keep in touch."}

Harry nodded and replied with a sad tone in his voice. {"I wish I could stay. I admit that I am very tempted to transfer to Ekta, but I doubt I'd be allowed to. And I'll try to stay in contact but messenger animals won't be able to find me until I get home and I receive a suspiciously small amount of mail. I'll be looking into that and as soon as I find out the trick to casting a messenger Patronus I'll share it with you. You've made progress on learning the base spell already Chandra."}

As Harry and Chandra stared at each other, Samira rolled her eyes and spoke up. {"Oh, quit it with the whole star-crossed lovers thing. Chandra, Harold will either grow into a great warrior or die young. Harold, Chandra is not suited for the level of danger in your life. You could let her bond to you, but she wouldn't be herself anymore once she became the warrior you need at your side. Buck it up and move on."}

Harry shook his head and sighed, then opened the door to his hotel room. A few whispered commands and the day's conjured Serpents slithered out the door, taking positions up and down the hallway. Harry had continued to practice with the Serpent-Summoning charm and he'd created new and interesting variations; some were similar to mundane animals but others could only exist with magic. In any case, as the last serpent left his room Harry closed his door and Chandra pulled a blood-drawing kit and four vials out of her messenger bag, arranging them on the bedside table. Once she was done, she spoke up as she used a flurry of spells to isolate one of her veins and stick herself with a needle. As the vial filled, she spoke again. {"Be sure to let me know how your plan works Harold; most of my brothers will probably create their own companions eventually and they might steal your ideas. Have you decided on the third donor for your attempt at a Lamia?"}

Harry replied as he accepted the vial of Chandra's blood and carefully, reverently, placed it into a transfigured box that would fit in a chest he'd transfigured. The chest would be hidden inside the bedroom of his tent and would destroy the contents if anyone besides him opened it. (Sure, the enchantment wasn't perfect, and someone like Dumbledore could easily bypass it, but it would work for now.) {"If I didn't need either one or three donors for the ritual I'd only use the blood from the two of you. I'm either going to find a witch or use blood from one of my kneazles."}

Chandra cleaned her kit with a number of spells, then replied. {"A kneazle could work. One male sample won't cause problems with a female animal and two female donors, but the result will be more aggressive against any threats. You might be able to work in their ability to sense intentions or their perfect night vision."} Chandra paused for a moment. {"Actually, the kneazle blood is probably best since it would probably blend well with Samira's."}

With that, conversation paused for a moment while Chandra took three vials of blood from the succubus. Harry stepped away for a moment, locking the four enchanted vials away safely before he returned to see his Lamia tutor blushing fiercely and the succubus he'd befriended with a smug smile on her face. (Harry's friendship with Samira was… odd. They both knew that the succubus was mostly interested in feeding from him and convincing Harry to have a large family. She wasn't a friend of a lifetime, more of a summer acquaintance that had grown on him. Honestly, half the reason Harry enjoyed her company was that she never tried to pretend to be anything other than what she was.)

Harry was quiet for a moment as he looked between the two girls. In return for her blood, Chandra had only asked for him to sign a binding contract to only use it for the spell to create a Lamia of his own, but predictably Samira had made her donation contingent on an evening meal. To his surprise, Samira nudged the Lamia forward and spoke up. {"Go ahead Chandra, you know you want to. If the world was perfect the two of you would be good for each other, but you can enjoy this at least."}

With a sad smile on her face, Chandra gently pushed Harry backwards until his knees met the bed. As she gently unbuckled his belt and slowly slid his pants down, Chandra gave Harry a sad smile, her eyes wet with tears that didn't fall. {"I've really come to like you, 'Harold.' I wish I could stay by your side, but I don't want to become an entirely different person. All I want is heal people and raise a family, but you need companions willing to fight and kill."}

When Harry's pants fell Chandra began dropping down, as if she was falling to knees she didn't have. As he sat down on the bed he gently caressed her face, wishing that he didn't have a dark lord hanging over him, wishing that he could just be himself, not what the world needed him to be. {"I wish things were different too Chandra, but I can't walk away, they would never let me. Please, call me Harry tonight."}

Chandra smiled up at him as her warm breath brushed his manhood. {"Life just isn't fair, Harry. I know you'll be gone in the morning, so let me leave you with one more fond memory of Naga Nagri."}

Harry was silent, simply watching her surprisingly long serpentine tongue taste him while he trailed his fingers through Chandra's soft, silky hair. With one last smile, the Lamia took him inside her mouth. Compared to Samira Chandra was obviously a complete novice, but even though her teeth scraped more than once Harry decided he preferred Chandra's loving inexperience to Samira's business-like expertise. Unlike with his succubus friend, the Lamia really cared about him and he could see honest affection in her eyes. (Even Harry knew it wasn't love, but if things had been different their relationship could have easily bloomed in time.) Before too long Harry reached his peak and Chandra locked eyes with him and swallowed, smiling as she rose. After a few moments Samira took the Lamia's place and applied her well-practiced skills to earn her evening meal.

It was an emotional goodbye after Chandra conjured another copy of Harry with a serpentine tail, proving her mastery of the Serpent-Summoning charm by stretching the spell to its limits. Harry quickly gave his duplicate two sharp knives coated in one of his potion mistakes and placed a mostly-empty bottle of a common sleeping potion next to the hotel's bedside. Before too long the two female teens left Harry behind and he locked the room's door. A few more hissed instructions and Harry donned his invisibility cloak and slipped out of his room's window; he knew he should have packed his things, including the clothes he'd left on the floor, but he'd worry about that in the morning. He didn't fly his new carpet very far, only to a roof across the street and several businesses down; after landing he managed to conceal his trunk under his invisibility cloak and slip inside. As he got ready for bed, Harry considered the serpents he'd collected in India. Daant, the Indian Cobra Harry had met ten days ago, was the only one he'd given a name; he had decided to keep him as a pet. Naming a cobra 'fang' in Hindu might not be terribly original, but it certainly fit. The rest of the serpents he was planning to leave at Creature Companions before he left the next morning; Mr. Mondal had said he'd add them to his breeding program if the Parseltongue-boosted intelligence was permanent or release them in a nearby field if not. As Daant took his place guardian his trunk along with the last of the conjured serpents, Harry stretched out on the rather comfortable bed at the bottom of his trunk.

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As night fell, Remus and the others made their way back into Naga Nagri. They'd long since learned that the town's inn was the focal point for the town, where people went to enjoy a drink or eat with friends and family. They arrived in time for Remus to notice Harry leading two girls up to his room, and for the werewolf to snap a tracking spell that tagged Harry's pants. While Emmeline and Daedalus panicked at Harry taking a lamia and a succubus upstairs, Remus just remembered the month the Marauders had spent in Mumbai after James' parents died. Despite Hogwarts' curriculum teaching about how dangerous succubi were, all four of the Marauders had come to appreciate their charms during their own trip to India long ago. Remus decided the naturally predatory species must be doing something right; not only was that brothel still there but it had tripled in size and now included an extremely well-stocked adult store. (It was, in fact, the best-stocked adult store he'd ever stepped foot in.)

Because Severus had been run out of town earlier the group decided to wait until the crowd thinned and the town went to sleep. Snape had also changed his appearance once more. Unlike the others, Remus kept a Supersensory charm active as they ate an exotic meal and sipped at alcohol made from fermented coconuts. So when the two girls who'd followed Harry up to his room returned, he paid very close attention to their conversation as the succubus bought the lamia a series of drinks and comforted her as they commiserated about life's injustices, especially that 'Harold' couldn't remain and live a peaceful life. Remus spoke up in a whisper to his companions. "I think Harry's planning to leave in the morning."

Eventually the room emptied and at midnight the bar closed. The two creatures who had been with Harry were still there, the lamia having drunk a little too much and fallen asleep against the drowsy succubus. Severus led them over to the inn's counter and promptly confounded the clerk, then Remus led them up the stairs to the third floor. As they quietly began moving down the hall, all of them were unnerved by the dozens of decorative serpent statues. There were snakes of every kind lining the hall, each one shaped from polished metal or some semi-precious stone; there were even larger statues that seemed to depict clockwork serpents, like something from a steampunk novel. Remus intended to knock and wait for Harry to open the door, but Snape, already in a bad mood, ignored him and began trying spells until one of more advanced versions of the Unlocking charm opened the door to the hotel room. The group quickly went inside, closing but not locking the door behind them.

Inside, they found Harry asleep on the bed and Snape snatched up the vial on the bedside, quickly sniffing the remaining drops of potion. "It's a sleeping potion. Not as strong as Dreamless Sleep, but not as addicting either. We can wake him, but he'll be groggy on the way out."

Before Remus could say anything else, Daedalus reached out and shook Harry. Quick as a snake, 'Harry's' eyes snapped open, revealing reptilian slits as he moved like a whip and buried a knife into Daedalus' gut. Suddenly the room vibrated with hissing as serpents seemed to boil out of every shadow and crevice. Emmeline screamed as three or four venomous serpents bit her, dumping as much venom as possible into her bloodstream. Remus flinched backwards as the snake-eyed teen pulled his knife out of Daedalus' gut and lunged at him with a knife in each hand. Remus was glad for Dumbledore's portkeys as they automatically whisked Daedalus and Emmeline away; with luck both of them would get treatment in time. Snape acted quickly and threw a binding spell at the teen even as Remus flicked his wand and bolts of enchanted flame sought out the snakes advancing on them. Snape joined in and after only a few seconds the room was clear. Both men turned to Harry and noticed for the first time that he had a long, green-scaled tail coming out of his tailbone.

With a satisfied sneer, Snape spoke in triumph as he looked at the snarling thing trying to escape its bindings. "I always knew Potter was useless! Look what he's done to himself in less than two weeks using magic without the Professors to hold his hand at every turn…"

Remus was about to speak up, to argue that this wasn't Harry at all, when the door was broken in behind them. (While he might be willing to believe that Harry had drastically altered himself, after watching Harry and Severus interact, not to mention Snape's efforts to see Sirius kissed just over a year ago, Remus refused to believe that Harry would lunge at him when Snape was there as well.) Remus managed to get a shield up to deflect a charge from a giant python made of metal, but as his eyes tracked it and the others rushing in from the hall he heard a clicking sound a split second before something pierced his shoulder. A flick of his wand made his reflexive half-dome magical shield spread to a full dome, but he still ended up with four small darts sticking out of his back.

Remus reached behind him and ripped out a dart out of his shoulder. His sense of smell told him there was a problem and as he took a closer sniff he cursed. As his vision started to waver Remus apparated away from the inn and into the hiding place the group had used earlier as he cursed inwardly. Damned moonstone! I'm always so careful to avoid it but whoever brewed this poison didn't neutralize it! Remus stumbled away from the warded area and into the jungle as his breathing became strained. A moment's thought reminded him to throw his wand and belongings into a pile in the warded area, stripping as fast as he could. As he started to lose himself, he could only remember with horror that heavy moonstone use was why Fenrir Greyback had gradually become more wolf than man. As he lost his struggle to suppress the curse, a long howl rang out through the trees.

=[\'*.*'/]=

Back in the town's inn, Severus was furious as he fought off a small army of serpent constructs. Given that they were made of stone and metal he never even considered using the spell he'd used to banish Draco's snake during that farce of a dueling club. (The fact that quite a few living snakes were lying on the floor bleeding seemed to prove that Potter had been breeding dangerous magical snakes.) Not only were the snakes fast, strong, and surprisingly tough, but some madman had created clockwork serpents that spit darts and he was damned if he could figure out the rhyme or reason behind the poisons lacing every projectile. Still, he was making headway and none of the snakes had been able to breach his shield.

The fact that he'd been paired with three failures for this task wasn't helping his mood any which led to him switching to his most lethal curse with abandon. He was so distracted by the snakes slithering in the door and window he missed the small snake with sharp teeth slithering over to the bound boy on the floor and biting through the ropes he'd conjured. When the boy reclaimed his knives and leapt at Severus, clearly going for his throat, he reacted without thinking. "Sectumsempra!"

Despite his blind, burning hatred of James Potter's spawn, Severus had no intention of actually killing him. (Tonight, anyway.) In fact he could only feel cold terror at the sight of the teen quickly bleeding out on the floor, the consequences of offing the golden boy dancing through his head; neither Dumbledore or Voldemort would accept excuses when the boy had died by his signature spell. As he almost negligently wiped out the rest of the snakes, he felt a profound sense of relief as his eyes started picking up details that he'd missed at first. It was bleeding wrong, in fact, Severus would go so far as to say that it was bleeding like a conjured creation instead of a living being. That led him to the conclusion that Harry wasn't in this room and must have left at some point. His mind immediately jumped to the two creatures who'd come up to his room. Of course this is their doing, there is no way Potter could lay a trap like this.

Deciding that this was not the time for subtlety, Severus quickly scanned the room for evidence and collected the two knives used by the construct. Both were simple hunting knives, mass produced muggle tools with a few charms added after and both were coated in some kind of poison. Besides the remains of the constructs and native snakes, Severus saw nothing of interest so he cast a dark flame curse on the rented room to destroy the evidence of the battle and the spells he'd used. The flames would burn quickly enough to destroy the evidence but slowly enough that the inn's patrons could escape before burning alive. (Probably. He wasn't terribly concerned about public safety at the moment.) With that done, Severus tossed a blasting curse on the exterior wall and jumped out. It was trivial to slow his fall and dart into an alleyway where he could see the inn's patrons fleeing the building that was just starting to burn. It had been a long time since he was so furious but he wasn't a fool; he would keep his anger cold. He would be patient and wait for Potter or those creatures to flee the inn. After five minutes his patience was rewarded as he saw the lamia and succubus stumble into the night and walk down a mostly-deserted road, away from the townsfolk trying to extinguish the flames. With complete confidence, Severus Snape stalked after them.

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After Daant had woken Harry with a shout, he had quickly thrown clothes on and drawn his wand. As soon as he'd seen the spells flashing through the room he'd rented, Harry began casting the Serpent-Summoning charm repeatedly to gather an army in case it was needed. Then he gathered himself and cast one of the elemental spells he'd been working on, creating a hawk composed of flames. With the hawk waiting for a command he stuck his head out of his trunk in time to see the last of his summoned creatures fall through his invisibility cloak. When the only remaining attacker set fire to the room and jumped out the window, Harry considered letting him escape. Then again, capturing a Death Eater for India's authorities to interrogate might help convince them something's rotten in Britain.

Walking to the edge of the roof with his father's invisibility cloak wrapped around him, Harry watched the attacker slink into an alleyway where he could watch the people fleeing the burning inn. Harry was trying to work out the best way to ambush him when the man started moving away. Hopping onto his flying carpet, glad the dark underside made it difficult to see at night Harry followed the man from above silently. A quick command and his conjured reinforcements were waiting for him to cast the first spell before leaping off the roof and onto the Death Eater. He wasn't sure why the man was stalking away until he saw Chandra and Samira stumbling away from the inn together. Dammit, they must have been watching me in the inn.

Anyone who knew him would be completely unsurprised that Harry immediately acted to protect his friends, even at the risk of his own life. Purging his mind of emotion except for the cold rage at this filth who threatened his friends burning in his gut, Harry urged his carpet forward and whispered a spell with all the force he could manage. "Expelliarmus."

Harry's Disarming charm splashed against the man's magical shield, accomplishing nothing, so Harry switched to a more dangerous spell. Magical shields could only take so much damage before failing; if there was a better way to bring one down, Harry hadn't heard of it. "Pala."

A spear of black ice formed in front of his wand and sped towards the Death Eater, but the ice failed to bring down his shield charm. Harry quickly sent another at the killer before shouting. {"Run! Get out of here!"}

Harry didn't recognize the flame spell the man returned fire with, but he did recognize the second one as an area-effect human detection charm. All of the constructs he'd created charged off the rooftop, trying to distract or injure, but a slash of his opponent's wand conjured some kind of fire that left the constructs as ash. (In the future, Harry would practice making his creations fire-resistant.) The man was briefly distracted by his fire-hawk, especially when the hawk's talons narrowly missed his face and the bird collapsed into elemental fire, burning off his eyebrows and disrupting the man's glamour. (Not that Harry could make out his face in the darkness.) Harry raised a shield that absorbed a stunning spell and cast another of the elemental spells he'd been practicing, this time in Parseltongue. "Ka Gola!"

Instead of the normal ball of fire, Harry sent a disc flying at the man, which he dodged when the relatively slow moving spell ground against his shield. Snape's shield still shattered when Harry ordered the disc to detonate. Unfortunately, the Death Eater's response was a spell Harry had never seen before. "Sectumsempra!"

Harry dodged, mostly, and it was a good thing because the dark cutting curse shattered his shield easily. His flying carpet was not so lucky however. His carpet's enchantments failed as the curse cut it into three pieces and Harry dropped eight feet to the ground where he collapsed, a glancing cut from the cutting curse bleeding on his thigh. Harry was a little dazed from the fall and fumbled for his wand. Seemingly assured of victory, Snape spoke for the first time, giving away his identity. "So arrogant, Potter. Give up, you're coming with me or I'm dragging you back to Britain like a screaming toddler."

Harry blinked stupidly for a moment, dazed by the fall. Then he recognized the voice and he remembered exactly what kind of person Snape was. "I should have known you really were a Death Eater. Go to hell Snape, I'll die before I let you drag me back to that pathetic, lying half-blood piece of shit Voldemort."

Snape summoned Harry's wand silently and replied in a snarl. "The Dark Lord…"

That was as far as the unpleasant potions professor got: Since Harry had struck he'd ignored the inebriated non-humans he'd followed away from the inn; that turned out to be a mistake when two spells slammed into him from behind. Samira nailed Snape's back with an angry orange vitality-draining spell while Chandra managed a glancing blow with a purposefully-miscast medical severing charm. Snape suddenly had trouble remaining upright from fatigue while at the same time he was bleeding heavily from his left shoulder; Chandra's spell normally prevented blood loss but after seeing Harry go down, she found herself wanting to hurt this man. Snape dropped Harry's wand from his suddenly unresponsive left arm while he spun halfway around and leveled his own wand at the two. "Sectumsempra!"

Harry saw the white spell leap at the two friends he'd made in Naga Nagri and to his horror Samira lost an arm and a wing while Chandra was cut in half, just below her pelvis. A wordless scream of fury and loss tore from his throat. As Snape turned back to him with a smug sneer on his face Harry raised both his arms at the man. Harry's incandescent fury attracted the attention of the entire town as he triggered the seal on his right palm. The first spell he had ever learned illuminated the dark as a beam of light as bright as a star was born in his hand, blinding Snape. The professor went to cast a spell blindly, but Saska revealed that she had been practicing the abilities of her Horned Serpent ancestry; with the use of invisibility and flight, she darted in and sank her fangs into Snape's wrist, causing the man to drop his own wand. Then Harry triggered the seal on his left arm. As the stored Serpent-Summoning charm flared into life Harry wanted Severus Snape dead more than he'd ever wanted anything before in his life and his magic heeded that call. A serpent made of black smoke with gleaming metal teeth darted away from his arm as fast as any spell, never breaking the connection to Harry's arm and magic until its fangs sunk deep into Snape's neck, tearing out his jugular.

To Harry's surprise, Snape disappeared as his snake shredded the killer's throat. Harry staggered forward, ignoring his injured leg as he rushed to where his friends were bleeding to death, pausing only to sweep up his own wand. With a practiced motion, Harry focused his will on preventing his friends from dying and spoke one of the incantations he'd learned in the last week. "Remain! Remain!"

As he reached the two downed teens, Harry snatched up Chandra's wand. She'd mentioned her wand was especially good at Parseltongue spells thanks to the Horned Serpent Horn sealed in delicately carved ivory. This was perfect for what Harry needed to do. With the borrowed wand in his right hand, Harry spoke again. "Perceive!"

Thankfully the borrowed wand didn't fight him and Harry quickly sorted through the information. The worst of it was that his friend had been cut in half and the lingering magic from Snape's cutting curse kept Remain from completely stopping the bleeding; if nothing was done she'd die in minutes. Harry snapped out another Perceive and frowned; Samira only had a little longer to live; there were some major arteries flowing through her wings. He took a moment to gather his magic and brace himself. Touching his holly wand to Samira's exposed midriff and his friend's ivory wand just above Chandra's bleeding wound, Harry threw everything he had into his next spell. "Reject!"

Compared to the minor curses he'd practiced on, Snape's was vicious and vindictive, much like the man himself. The lingering magic was malignant and cruel, it wanted to kill both teens. Still, Harry would not be deterred; he refused to let the two die, he refused to allow the best week of his life to be forever tainted by their loss, he refused to fail. Harry's magic pulsed into the two teens, bolstering their failing organs and forcing them to keep working even as he fought against the magic that wanted to kill them. For what felt like hours Harry made no progress at all, and he could feel them slowly slipping away. Even as he kept his focus he started to weep as a wave of hopelessness and despair washed over him. But he did not give up. Harry seized the emotions flooding through his mind and forced all that turmoil into his spell, turning despair into resolve and using it to strengthen his spell. And inch by inch, Snape's lingering curse began to recede.

Harry was entirely focused on his efforts; he did not, could not, focus on anything else. Even when the town's healers found him and stepped in, Harry barely had the attention to spare to follow their commands. 'Keep it up' was something he fully intended to do until both girls were safe. With three fully trained healers working together, the odds of saving both dramatically improved. An assistant forced a pepper-up potion down Harry's throat and bandaged his leg while the other three forced blood-replenishing potions into the girls and joined Harry's efforts to counter Snape's curse. Eventually Harry felt the curse recede as the healer's surgical efforts weakened its hold and let his own efforts bulldoze the remnants away.

Despite being given a second potion, Harry felt his strength waning. Around the time the healers began to reattach Chandra's tail he lost the battle with exhaustion and slumped, asleep before he hit the road. Harry's rest was blissfully dreamless, marked only by the relief that his friends would survive.

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(The ivory in Chandra's wand came from elephants raised in expanded enclosures; unlike poachers the Saha family regularly harvests the ivory without harming the animals.)

A/N: So, that's another chapter down and our first bit of action too! Harry really isn't on Snape's level of dueling yet, but he's learned he can win an unfair fight; which should be a lesson going forward: Never give your enemy a fair fight if you can help it. Harry's reflexive disarming spell also did little, which might be another lesson going forward.

Some people might say I'm misrepresenting Snape, but in the books the man was nothing but a cruel, petty bastard right to the point that Rowling made him a martyr. My memory isn't perfect, but I can't recall Snape ever regretting his actions for any reason other than how they drove Lily away and got her killed. Meh, if I'd been in Harry's shoes I certainly wouldn't have named a kid after him.

Anyways, leave a review if you enjoyed it. This summer's killing my ability to write and I'm posting faster than I'm writing/editing my backlog, so things might slow down until I get more time and motivation. (And a little less heat wouldn't hurt either.)