Beta: Digitize27
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The Familiar-bonding ritual was arguably the simplest of rituals. It required merely wand movements and a proper incantation, but it formed a permanent bond between a wizard and an animal. Especially animals bred for the task. Hedwig was such an animal and, like many witches and wizards before him, he had been quick to perform the ritual even if it wasn't strictly called as such by the ministry.
Of course, he hadn't thought through the implications at the time. He'd been young and excited when he'd pointed his wand between them both, enunciating the words perfectly, and since then his mood had been linked to Hedwig's, and hers to him.
"Be patient," he told the bird, to which she simply rustled her tail feathers. The words were for as much his own benefits as Hedwig's. He wanted to get to work, his fingers itching for something to do.
So, he could feel her annoyance as she watched him sift through a literal pile of mail. Some of it was fan-mail or quick thank you notes for defeating the Dark Lord at the tender age of one. Others, and this was what Daphne was interested in, were invitations.
"This is part of playing the game," Daphne reminded him from where she sat on his bed while he sat on the floor. "You need to make appearances, and in all honesty, you should probably do some sort of interview."
Noticing Harry's expression, she soldiered on. "How about something academic? Look at this, you were invited to Germany to a conference on Arithmancy. Someone must have seen those temperature spells you designed."
Harry nodded his head and hummed in response. It was to be expected. Dumbledore too had been invited to such things, though, even he had been older then than Harry was now.
He looked back at Hedwig. He could feel the subtle magical bond between them, stronger for the lack of distance between them now.
Had he left his mind vulnerable?
It was an alarming thought. Especially if what Dumbledore suspected about the strengthening connection between himself and Tom was true. What other potential gaps had he left open?
He was certain. The connection could be reversed. While nowhere near as strong as a true legilimency link, an empathic one could be established using the familiar. In fact, it didn't need to be mind magic at all. With someone's familiar you could do all kinds of nasty things to them. A ritual using the familiar-
"-Harry?"
He shook his fears away and looked back at his… Daphne. Whatever she was to him. The word 'girlfriend' lacked something that their partnership had. "What did you say? I was lost in thought."
"I asked if you wanted to go to this conference."
"Do you think I should?"
Daphne hesitated. She seemed to struggle with telling him what to do. He didn't mind if she did, at least not in this or by her.
But he could hear her thoughts, even absently. The connection between their minds was even greater than the one between him and Hedwig, though it had different origins. It was a behavior they had learned as they grew. Both his and her minds grew intertwined as they developed and matured.
"I'll write back, tell them I'll go," he answered his own question. "How about this one." He passed the letter to her.
Dumbledore usually handled Harry's mail by some means, mostly to prevent cursed objects from making it through to him. At Daphne's behest however, Harry had requested that the mail be passed on to him, provided that he made sure to check all of it thoroughly.
Dumbledore had been worried at first, but after watching Harry sort through the mail for a while must have concluded that Harry was sufficiently paranoid and returned to managing magical Europe from behind the scenes. There were those who fear Dumbledore's influence, and they were wise to do so.
In truth, Harry was likely more paranoid than was strictly necessary, but after Barty Crouch Jr. he was taking no chances, especially where Daphne was concerned. He would probably need to spend the time or money making some dark-detectors to automatically sort his mail, though that was a project for later.
He had been wary. Wary enough that he had begun construction of a new mirror system to keep him connected to his friends and allies. He still wasn't sure where to draw the line between those two groups just yet, in part because nothing had happened through which he could test their loyalty. He did have the advantage that he could just read Susan and Michael's minds, but the fact of the matter was that anyone could think they were loyal but they could still be wrong.
Only time, or a true crucible could test that.
"I've already checked these for curses if you want to go through them." Harry indicated a pile. "We'll sort them into groups depending on whether we will respond, then by how we will respond."
"I didn't realize I was going to be your secretary," Daphne grumbled, but nonetheless began looking through the sizable stack.
"I'll bet one of Dumbledore's tools sorts the mail automatically," Harry wondered aloud for Daphne's benefit.
"His tools?"
"The things he's invented. His office at school is full of all kinds of devices. The enchanted kind."
"Should we make one ourselves?"
"I'll bet you certainly could. It would probably be fairly easy if we did it together."
"I'll work on it alone then. Despite my power, I'm not as good with runes as you are," Daphne admitted, somewhat begrudgingly. "If I want to be as good as Dumbledore, I'll need to master both."
Harry liked that about her. She wanted to be challenged and to challenge him. Even if only in one area.
"Do you plan on being around here for Christmas?" She asked.
"Well, I was going to ask you to the Yule Ball."
"When?"
Harry frowned. "Didn't I ask you just now."
Daphne sighed before shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Her hair waved in time with her head. Not quite the snow-white blonde of either of the veela Harry had met, but still a pale shade. "Is that really how you ask a girl to a dance?"
Yes?
"No?" The half-hearted glare she was giving him implied as much, even without reading her. A small upturn of her lips turned into a smirked as she gave a firm nod. "Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"
"Of course I will, Harry. All you needed to do was ask." She gave him her brilliant smile. "So, what's next?"
"I need to talk to Neville again; and the others. They need to be ready."
"You want to give them the new mirrors, too," Daphne correctly interpreted.
Harry nodded along with the words. "And I need to talk to Neville about Barty Crouch Jr. as well as start teaching everyone the basics of Occlumency." Harry felt a familiar but muted flash of jealousy from Daphne. She wanted to keep that moment between them unique. "Not like that, just lessons. You don't need to worry."
"Like you offered Michael?"
Harry nodded. He'd told her how he began to entrench Michael into his own inner circle. Leaving out some of the minor details like how he encouraged the reaction he wanted using legilimency. Daphne would probably understand, but it wasn't really that important.
What was important was getting into Nurmengard, and for that he needed to tell her about Grindelwald at some point. There was also the inevitable conversation about Voldemort, and his soul, and-
Well, there was a lot. It wasn't like he didn't trust her, he did. More than anyone else, but…
It was hard to share problems like that.
Plus…
"I'm worried about our mind-magic connection." Harry broke the silence. "I'm especially worried about the effect I'm having on your mind. Additionally, Dumbledore seems to think that as You-Know-Who grows stronger the connection between him and I will grow as well. My presence in your mind is causing problems, potentially leaving your mind vulnerable."
She didn't want to hear that. She didn't like it. Harry could feel a rush of anxiety from her.
"It's nothing you did and it's not permanent," he promised, meeting her eyes. "I'm just worried about you. We need to redouble your Occlumency training and dueling."
"Harry I'm safe here. I can-"
No you're not.
Harry made the words reverberate in her head. Louds enough to shake her thoughts. She almost collapsed from the pressure he put her under. He removed himself and watched as her breathing slowly became less labored. She gave him a weak glare that didn't have any real heat in it.
"You didn't need to do that."
"I could have made it much worse. Easily."
"Still though." She crossed her arms. He reached back out gently with his mind and after a moment she put up her defenses.
"What if You-Know-Who did that. Or someone else. The Death Eater Rookwood was a powerful legilimens too. Malachite is here with her hitman and she has a vendetta. She already threatened you once." Of course, Harry knew her mental buttons better than some random legilimens, no matter how powerful, but the point remained. She was vulnerable, and in a way, she was his weak point.
Harry briefly wondered if Voldemort had ever had something like he had with Daphne. He doubted it. Tom had little interest in those around him. Dumbledore believed that was a weakness, however, there was a certain strength in independence. More than that, though, there was also something to be said of partnerships too.
"She wasn't threatening me." Daphne was shaking her head. Filled with a certain kind of certainty. "I think she pities me or maybe she's..."
Harry frowned as Daphne trailed off. "What do you mean."
"She was warning me to stay away from you. That it's dangerous."
Harry nodded. That wasn't inaccurate, but Harry would much rather Malachite buggered off and stayed away from Daphne, thank you very much.
Daphne reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'll be alright. You won't let anything happen to me."
"I want you to start carrying my Father's cloak with you," Harry insisted. "Just to be safe." He wouldn't have it himself like Dumbledore wanted but…
"Fine." Daphne agreed easily. "If it will get you to stop worrying, I'll keep it with me."
Harry gave a firm nod.
Daphne turned back to her pile. She didn't bother to open them at first. Instead she sorted them with a simple touch, feeling the contents with her power to get information that just couldn't be gleaned from just reading them.
Daphne's was an amazing ability, really. Her mental barriers had grown enough that she could control how much she saw and not be overwhelmed. It was still slow, but it was careful and a lot less risky.
Harry turned back to his own work, sorting through the last of the mail before beginning to pen his responces.
"Harry this one is a court summons from the DMLE. It's from Amelia Bones' office." Daphne finally opened it and began to read. "It's about your custodianship, you need to appear in early December."
Harry frowned. "What should I do?"
"I suppose a judge will review your case and then decide who gets custodianship of you? Do you know who the options are?"
"Well there's Dumbledore for one, then my godfather, Sirius."
Daphne nodded along, she had probably already figured as much. "Do you know anyone else who might put their name in for it?"
Harry shook his head. "You would know better than me."
Daphne let out a low considering hum. "If only we were more closely related, we could put our name in." She made a face. "Ugh, forget I said that."
Harry nodded his agreement. Seventh or eighth cousins was enough, thanks.
They were quiet for a while as they worked in companionable silence until Harry finally broke it.
"I want to hold a meeting."
Daphne paused in her work. "A meeting?"
"For all the people who will oppose Voldemort and our friends back in Scotland." He pressed on. "Voldemort has spent the last decade cheating death and I'm not sure we can stop him from getting a body back. He won't keep making mistakes. Eventually he'll win through sheer attrition."
"Is there a way to beat him?"
"I don't know how he's keeping himself alive. Some guesswork maybe, but little more. I'm not sure that Dumbledore knows much more about it than I do. Since we don't know how he's doing it, it makes him difficult to stop." Almost impossible, really.
"And you want this meeting to…?"
"Warn them, make allies, gather our resources." Harry shrugged. "We need organization."
"You're talking about imitating Dumbledore's Order."
Or Voldemort's Death Eaters, Harry thought but didn't say.
"Yes I am."
"I think I know how we can get started with that."
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"Focus," Harry encouraged. "Your wand movements need to be faster."
Susan trembled, gripping her wand with both shaking hands as Harry barraged her shield with spells. A network of spider-web cracks ran along the barrier after a short volley of bludgeoning charms. The spell broke and not a moment later Susan collapsed, breathing hard.
She lay back on the grass panting and Harry let her have the rest. She worked hard enough that she deserved it.
"What am I doing wrong?" Frustration leaked into her tone.
"Nothing," Harry answered easily. "You're doing fine. Stopping me isn't the focus of these drills. Your opponents in the dueling pits won't shatter your shield like I can."
"What about opponents outside the dueling pits?" Susan grumbled.
Harry considered her. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"My Auntie and I aren't stupid," she replied coldly. "You and Dumbledore are both up to something."
"Your Aunt asked you to keep an eye on me, then," Harry analyzed. Susan winced minutely and he noticed. "It's fine. Were these training sessions her idea or-"
"They were mine. I still need to get stronger, too. It wasn't like-" she began to try to defend herself, but Harry just waved his hand dismissively.
"You can have more than one motive for doing something." Harry paced and thumbed his jawline. "Wise of her. If you have a question for me, then ask it..." Harry trailed off, his tone wasn't unkind.
"Why is Dumbledore getting his Order together? Auntie Amelia says he's not the type to jump at shadows."
"He isn't," Harry agreed. "Dumbledore and I both suspect Voldemort will try and return to power."
"He's alive, then? You-Know-Who?" Susan remained propped up on her elbows on the ground beneath where he paced. "I have the right to know. He killed my parents too."
"You have the right to know nothing." Harry snapped back harshly. Almost spitting out the words. Susan flinched below him. He ran his fingers across her mind and went back to pacing. "I don't know if he's alive," Harry murmured honestly. "He certainly isn't dead. Not vanquished, at any-rate." He cast a glance over at Daphne on the far side of the field, but she was wrapped up in her studies.
"My Aunt will want to know about that," Susan breathed. "I need to write a letter. What else can you tell me? Anything?" Susan wasn't afraid. Harry would have to give her that. The thought of Voldemort returning to his former strength wasn't a pleasant one. Harry and his peers grew up in a country mired in the shadowy aftermath that Voldemort's presence had cast.
Harry hesitated. There was a great deal that he could tell her, but that would only lead to questions that he didn't yet have answers for. Perhaps that was why Dumbledore kept the knowledge of Horcruxes from him. Besides, Daphne saw something useful in Susan and she was obviously talented enough to make it to Beaux batons. He didn't want to overestimate her usefulness, though. He hummed softly.
"Please," Susan begged. "Death-Eater's killed my family. I need to know about this and I need your help. What if they come back and I'm not strong enough? The dueling pits is one thing, but you beat a Death Eater, at our age. You killed him."
"Your Aunt told you about what Barty Crouch Jr. became in the end."
She nodded. Her Aunt probably wasn't supposed to tell her about the goings on at the DMLE but all families exchanged secrets. Whether in confidence or just at the dinner table after work.
Besides, it had probably been an interesting day for the Aurors. He could imagine it now. From 'What? The Boy-Who-Lived returned to his old childhood house and broke the laws against the use of underage magic?', to 'What? He's not stopping? Even around Muggles?', and even, 'What? He killed a thought to be dead, Death-Eater cum cyborg?'
He smirked at the thought and returned to Susan.
Power and information. She wanted it from him. Needed it from him. "Daphne?" Harry called softly. Daphne heard him and set her books aside to get up and walk over to him. "I think she wants in."
"Wants in to what?" Susan wondered.
"We want to do something about Voldemort," Daphne explained slowly, giving Harry a questioning glance. "Something to do our part."
Susan nodded along. "And you want me?"
"We want to share information. It only makes sense in the face of You-Know-Who."
Susan licked her lips nervously. Her eyes glanced between them. "What were you thinking?"
"Nothing too different from our previous arrangement, though it will be more… ongoing. I'll ask you for information and you ask us. Plus, we'll help you with your dueling."
"Sounds like a sweet deal," Susan sounded like she was ready for the other shoe to drop.
"We don't want you to tell anyone. It needs to be kept secret. We'll give you a way to talk to us."
"You want me to spy on my Auntie." She looked up at Harry and Daphne. "Right?"
"A little. If it makes you feel better we'll also be spying on Dumbledore's Order."
Susan frowned. "Is that all?"
"Pretty much," he affirmed with a shrug. Reaching out with mental fingers. Memories like a dust devil swirled into the forefront. A twist here and there...
"Do we have a deal?" Daphne pressed.
With determined eyes Susan stood up and shook Daphne's hand.
She then stood there awkwardly before Harry raised his wand. "Now are we ready to continue?"
Susan nodded and raised her wand.
Harry struck first, summoning a series of icicles before banishing them at her. Only a few. If he so wished he could have covered her in ice like he had the Tarasque. But Harry had been trained by the greatest two wizards of the first half of the century. Judging her or anyone else based on what he could do wouldn't be fair.
She summoned a wave of fire as fiercely colored as her hair. It sublimated the ice entirely. Susan wasn't weak. She would likely be a great witch if her own skills and those of her Aunt were any indication. Mediocre witches did not become the head of the DMLE, and it seems the Bones' didn't produce mediocre witches.
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-WG