Scrub. Rebuild. Stabilize.

A whole year had passed. Harry had worked hard to figure himself out, to find the best way for him to ward. He had got far, and he was quite happy with himself. It helped that Ragnok had finally found someone who could teach him a form of teleportation more suited to his magic. That, however, had meant time away from Andromeda and Teddy. He walked into Ferngale Den and smiled as Teddy came running towards him. "Harry, come see what I made!" the boy shouted as he tugged at him.

"Teddy, what have I said about screaming?" Andromeda said as she walked out of the kitchen. She smiled at Harry. "Hello, dear," she said.

"No screaming unless absolutely necessary," Teddy said. "But Harry is home. It has been ages."

In reality, it had only been two months since Harry had picked up on teleportation faster than his temporary master had thought he would. He ruffled Teddy's messy brown locks and took his coat off. "Still, you don't need to scream," he said. "I understand that you have missed me anyway." He picked Teddy up and hugged Andromeda. He dropped his bag in his room before walking into Teddy's room. "So, what has you so excited?" he asked as he placed Teddy back down. He was pulled along to a low table and sat down next to Teddy. He smiled as Teddy ripped a blanket away from a rather large model of Hogwarts Castle. His eyes narrowed. "I don't recall giving you that many bricks," he said.

Teddy scraped with his foot. "I wanted more, so more appeared," he said.

Harry closed his eyes and activated magesight before looking at the castle again. Almost two thirds of the bricks were made using magic. He made sure the magic wasn't connected to Teddy. If it was, it could be constantly draining the boy and that was dangerous. "It is a very nice looking castle, Teddy," he said. "It looks a lot like Hogwarts. I'm very proud of you. Have you shown Andy?"

Teddy shook his head. "Nope," he said.

"Then maybe we should show her," Harry said. "How about I go get her." He got up and headed over to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter next to Andromeda. "Did you know Teddy is duplicating his toys?" he asked.

Andromeda froze mid-motion and looked Harry straight in the eyes.

"I have checked, and he isn't connected, so there is no drain, but he has about three times the amount of bricks you and I have given him," Harry said calmly. "You should come and see what he has built with them. It is quite advanced, especially considering his age."

Andromeda sighed. She trusted Harry's judgment, and she knew he was telling her this so she wouldn't get angry with Teddy. "He did something he shouldn't," she said.

"I know," Harry said. "I can dispel the bricks, but we should have a picture before then at least. He put a lot of work into this. I can explain to him why he isn't allowed to do it again."

Andromeda nodded slowly. "Go back in there, I will be in once I can leave the food to simmer," she said. She took a calming breath and did her best to settle her frazzled nerves. Harry had said Teddy was fine. That was what really mattered. She just wished she had noticed. She moved the pot aside and headed over to Teddy's room. Harry was sitting with Teddy in his arms.

"When you do magic that is meant to stay, you can hurt yourself. It isn't hurt that can be seen, so Andy and I can't tell that you are hurting. I know you wanted a bigger castle, but you need to tell Andy or me when things just happen, okay. It could be dangerous for you, and we are here to help," Harry said calmly. "Now I have asked Andy if we can take a picture with the castle, but then I'm going to remove all the blocks that aren't real. You can't keep them. You know I never let blocks I make for you, stay. The same goes for these ones."

Teddy nodded sadly. "Okay," he said. "But we can take a picture first?"

Andromeda sighed softly. She summoned the camera and held it up. She took several pictures before Harry dispelled the magic.

"Now it looks a lot like it does to non-magical people," Harry said softly. He looked at Teddy. He could tell that his godson was disappointed, but they had to do something. While he was impressed, using magic that way was dangerous. "Let's put the rest of them away before dinner," he said. He looked up at Andromeda, and she smiled at him.

"If magic is dangerous, why can we do it?" Teddy asked.

Harry smiled. "Not all magic is dangerous. Some is only dangerous because you don't understand how it works. Andy and I will teach you, but that doesn't mean you can just go around and use magic."

Teddy sighed. "Okay," he said. He put the bricks back in their box and sat down in Harry's lap. "Can you read for me?" he asked.

"Of course," Harry said. He moved over to the bookshelf. "What do you want me to read?" he asked as he looked at the backs of the books.

"Alice in Wonderland. Grandma has started. She put a bookmark in it," Teddy said. He pointed at a book lying higher up on the shelf, and Harry floated it down to them before he got comfortable with Teddy. He opened the book at the bookmark and skimmed the page to see what tone he needed. Then he started reading. When Andromeda called for them a while later, they had made their way mostly though the chapter.
"We can continue later," Harry said. "Come on, let's join Andy."

"How long can you stay?" Andy asked.

"A few days," Harry said. "I'll be working on Grimmauld Place. Master thinks I'm ready to tear the wards down and just raise my own. I will have more time off after that if everything works out. Master has a job he doesn't really want to bring me on this summer."

"So you can spend the whole summer with us?" Teddy asked.

Harry laughed at his excited tone. "I should be able to stick around for most of it at least," he said.

"That's nice," Andromeda said. "Maybe we could actually plan something together."

Harry smiled at her. "I would love to," he said.

"Teddy and I will come up with something," Andromeda said. "Don't you worry."

Harry just shook his head. He knew she wouldn't push him to do something he wasn't comfortable with. He poked Teddy and pointed at his plate before Teddy got too wrapped up in planning what they could do. He had some pretty wild ideas already. Harry didn't mind. He was just glad to be spending time with them. First, he needed to deal with Grimmauld, though.

Four days later, Harry walked into the once gloomy house and looked around. It had been a while since his last visit, and Kreacher had done an amazing job. He wandered around slowly as he took in the wards. They were so filled with distrust and dislike. They felt almost sour with hatred. He would have to take it all down. He walked back downstairs and eased the runes before he slowly untangled the wards. He closed his eyes as he reached Sirius's room. It was a shame there was so much hatred there. He knew he couldn't keep the feel of his godfather's magic, even if he had wanted to. It would poison the new wards, and that wasn't what he wanted. He moved and cleaned the rest out. The house stood exposed.

Ragnok walked in. He would be laying a ward to keep people from entering the house while Harry worked on the real wards, but he had wanted Harry to remove the old wards on his own. "Good job," he told his apprentice.

Harry nodded. "Thanks," he said. He knew he couldn't start working on the wards that day. He would need to come back several days in a row. "Please check me, Master," he said. He knew he could get lost in his work and forget important things like eating and rest.

"If I find that you haven't utilized your aids, I will punish you," Ragnok said. "We came up with those for a reason."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said. He wasn't overly fond of days or even weeks back in the cleaning crews. It was suitable punishment. He understood that, but he wasn't too keen on going back there. It did explain why some goblins only joined for a short time, though, if they had also been sent down to think over what they had done wrong.

Ragnok nodded slowly. He would still check on his apprentice, especially since he had asked. The checks weren't just to get him to keep to his times, it was also to make sure he wasn't making a mess of the wards.

The following few days found Harry slowly weaving his wards. He had worked on how to do this for over a year. He had found what his issues were. Now they just needed to see it work for real on a bigger scale. It wasn't a fast method, but Harry's wards had a lot more give than wards normally had, giving them the potential to be adjusted and added to in a way that wasn't quite so common.

Ragnok walked into the house and looked around. He shook his head as he saw the weave. It was beautiful all on its own. He had never seen anything quite like this. The base ward was meant to keep people out. He had removed his temporary ward a day ago. Now he could see the runes and threads moving over the base and join into wards that would care for the house and keep it clean without the need for spells. The wards wouldn't be perfect, but it would keep things like dust and other time based decay at bay. They wouldn't clean a sticky mess on the floor. That still needed to be cleaned up by someone.

Harry wove the threads in a sort of trance. He was moving slowly, but he wasn't responsive to outside stimuli. That in itself was dangerous and something they had to work on once he was more comfortable weaving. He couldn't put himself in danger to weave. A colourful bracelet on his arm gave a warning beep, and he moved through the room slowly to make sure he could anchor what he had done so far.

Ragnok looked down at his watch. Good enough. He listened to the alarm and finished what he was doing before stopping, that was acceptable. "It looks good so far," he said. "This is layer two of how many?"

"I need security wards and transport wards as well as a few more room specific ones," Harry said. "After that, I should be done."

"Well, you are doing well enough, I don't think you need me to hang over your shoulder. Let me know when you are done with the maintenance ward," Ragnok said.

Harry nodded. "I will Master," he said. He headed downstairs and sighed as he saw Kreacher. Over the past year or so, his health really had been declining. He sat down on the floor as he watched the old elf stumble. "Kreacher," he said loudly.

The old elf turned towards him. "Master called," he said.

Harry reached out and placed his hands on Kreacher's shoulders. "Thank you for your service, Kreacher. You may rest now," he said.

Kreacher nodded slowly. "Master is certain?" he asked. He was really quite tired.

"Yes Kreacher I'm certain," Harry said. "Thank you. You have done an amazing job."

Kreacher sighed softly as his body slowly went limp. Harry picked him up and walked out back to the garden. He dug a hole and wrapped Kreacher's body in an ornate cloak before placing him down. "Sleep well," he said before covering the hole.

Harry walked back inside and cleaned his hands before heading back to Gringotts. Kreacher had lived a rough life. He was glad that his end had not been quite so eventful.

…

Almost three weeks later, Harry stood looking at what he had done. He pushed against the wards slowly and nodded as they flexed with him. A grin spread over his lips as Ragnok attacked the wards. He had locked all the runes so only he would be able to adjust them. He watched the wards flex with the attack, only to return once Ragnok stopped. He saw the damage done, and held his breath as the maintenance ward reached out and mended what had been damaged.

Ragnok walked in and looked around. He looked at the wards as they mended. "Not perfect, but this looks really good," he said.

"Once I have the power disperser in there, you are not taking them down," Harry said. "That will power the mend and make it near instant, as well as strengthen the defences to match if not overpower what you are putting into them."

"When you have that work done, it might be time depending on how aware we can get you. You are too locked in your weave. People have been killed while weaving in the past. I will not have that happen to you," Ragnok said.

Harry nodded slowly. "I see Master," he said. "I guess that is something we will have to work on then." He had a feeling his Master would be involving other people again.

"That can wait until I get back, though," Ragnok said. "I want to be there."

Harry didn't show the relief he felt. He had been trained not to, and he was working hard on not just showing his emotions on his sleeves. They headed back to Diagon Alley and walked up towards the bank.

"Mr Potter! Mr Potter!"

Harry ignored the man calling for him. It was most likely a journalist, and there would be another article about his lack of concern for his fellow humans. The goblins were brainwashing him, or some other such nonsense. No, he didn't really care about humans who did nothing to help each other, but demanded that he aid them with things outside his control.

The stepped into the private halls and walked along them until they reached the lift.

"Hold it!"

Harry reached out and stopped the door from closing, and Ragnok gave him an approving nod.

"Master Ragnok, thank you," Bill said. He looked at the young man next to the goblin Master. Harry looked like he was doing well. He looked healthy and cared for. Bill almost lost his breath as those bright green eyes turned to him. There was so much power in that gaze. There was no emotion though. No recognition, and he wondered about that. Was Harry so good at acting his part now that he didn't even react to people he should recognise. That was scary in a way.

"Come along, Harry," Ragnok said.

Harry moved out of the lift after the goblin, and Bill watched them leave. He tilted his head to the side as he saw the bracelets adorning Harry's arm. One looked like it was made of crystal beads. Two seemed to be macramé, but the last one was made from little wooden beads that children play with. Was there a child in Harry's life? The doors closed between them and he shook his head. He could be wrong, of course, but that was reassuring.

Harry didn't think much about Bill in the lift. He knew that out of all the people he could ignore, Bill was safe, because he knew at least some of what was going on. He sat down so Glint could give him a deep scan.

The sturdy Healer walked around her husband's apprentice slowly as she measured his magic and reserves, as well as his body fat and muscles. "It wouldn't hurt you to exercise more," she said.

"Then I will adapt my routine," Harry said.

"Apart from that, you are looking healthier than ever," Glint said. "I'm glad you have finally managed to recover from the mess you were put though."

Harry smiled at her. "Thank you," he said.

"Now go spend time with that little boy of yours," Glint said. "We'll see you in September."

Harry got up and smiled warmly at her before wishing both her and his master good luck in their endeavours.

It was late when Harry showed up at Ferngale. He walked in and locked the door behind him. Andromeda was sitting in the kitchen looking at some kind of diagram. She looked up as he sat down and put it away in a folder. "Anything worrying?" Harry asked warmly.

Andromeda sighed. "I need to start working," she said. "If only a few days a week."

Harry nodded. "I can take Teddy, you know," he said. "Master is fine with that as long as we have a schedule set that he can look at."

"How about we spend some time after our trip figuring things like that out," Andromeda said.

"Do I get to know where we are going?" Harry asked. "I have what I need from the goblins, but it would be nice to have some idea." He looked at her with big pleading eyes.

Andromeda laughed. "We are going on a cruise," she said.

Harry shook his head. "Okay," he said. "Swimwear?" he asked.

"Could be good," Andromeda said as she got up. She patted his arm. "I'm going to head to bed. We'll have a bit to take care of tomorrow."

Harry snorted as he got up. That was the understatement of the year. He fell into his bed and sighed. Being an apprentice was rough on the ability to form relationships. That was something that had become exceedingly clear now that he noticed things of that nature. In that way, he would probably have been better off not accepting Kahmu's offer. Not that he would want to go back on it. He rubbed his fingers over one of his bracelets, activating the runes in it. At least it hadn't been hard finding spells made for pleasure, and he certainly hadn't been idle in exploring exactly what they could do. He didn't want to use something on someone else if he hadn't tried it himself first.

…

Harry held onto Teddy tightly as he followed Andromeda. He was carrying the boy so he wouldn't get lost in the crowd. He presented the documents Andromeda needed from him when asked. Teddy's looks were locked in something that seemed to be a mix between him and Andromeda. They had tried to find information on Metamorphmagi. Since Andromeda only had experience with her own daughter, and Dora had looked like she was Ted and her child. Teddy looked more as if he was Harry's child than Remus' little boy, and they were trying to figure out why that was.

At least it made times like this easier. No one questioned Harry holding Teddy. They boarded the ship and found their way to their cabin so they could leave their things. Harry handed Teddy to Andromeda and sat down so he could place temporary wards keeping other people out. It was just a bit of extra protection to make him feel better about leaving their things in there.

Teddy laughed as he looked out over the railing. He looked up at Harry. His godfather couldn't leave now. He was stuck with them. Last time they had plans, Harry had been called in by his Master. That couldn't happen this time. He smiled up at Harry. He loved the wind tugging at him and laughed as Harry picked him up again. The ship would be stopping several times and there were playpens they could go play in. Harry doubted they wouldn't have enough to do.

Andromeda watched Harry and Teddy play. She wasn't blind, she had seen quite a few both men and women approach Harry during their trip so far. He was a good-looking young man who showed clear signs of being a family man with the way he played with Teddy. She wasn't surprised he was getting looks and invitations. She coughed into her drink as Teddy told a girl his dad wasn't allowed to speak with her.

"People will think all kinds of strange things about me," Andromeda said that evening.

"You mean you aren't keeping me around for my looks, Andy," Harry said with a smile.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "I can acknowledge that you are good-looking, Harry. That doesn't necessarily mean I enjoy the things these people are muttering about."

Harry shrugged. "Tell them I'm soul-searching, and it would be against my beliefs to speak to anyone if they get too insistent."

"It must be rough for you, though," Andromeda said.

"Not on this trip. I'm here to be with you and Teddy, not to roll around in beds with half drunk people in their early twenties," Harry said. "Sure, I notice them looking. That isn't something I paid attention to before Kahmu, but it doesn't really bother me much. It isn't like I can talk to them. The pool of people I could mess around with is kind of small, since half of the human apprentices taken by the goblins either die or mess up so badly their shield is blackened. On top of that, they only take in two humans each year on average. My current options are limited, and I know that."

"So it was more of a fluke that you even met Kahmu in the first place," Andromeda said. She hadn't considered that there were so few human apprentices to goblins, but it made sense because Harry's apprentices would not be counted as goblin ones even though he had a shield.

Harry watched her for a while. "You know I don't mind. I turn twenty-one this year. With some dedication, I will gain my Mastery in the next three years. I have plenty of time after that to mess around with finding someone," he said.

Andromeda smiled at him. "I know," she said. She looked up in the bunk above him, where Teddy was sleeping soundly. "He adores you, you know," she said.

Harry nodded. "That is just another reason for me to do well. I want to show that even if you make a mess of things, you can make it right by doing the right thing and working hard," he said. "Master is very happy with my wards. He wants to get my awareness up so I don't get stabbed in the back while warding. Then I need to work on neutral lay where I don't involve any of my own essence in the wards. That is apparently really hard to do, but it would be better if I could."

Andromeda smiled at him. He was driven and she was glad for it. Much of his uncertainty seemed to have disappeared the past year. He was less worried and more outgoing, even if he couldn't speak to people.

…

Teddy laughed as Harry chased him across the beach. He dived after the boy and caught him as he fell onto his back. Waves hit him gently as he lifted Teddy up above him. He loved this. It made him happy to know that Andromeda was willing to let him care for Teddy on his own on a more permanent basis. Sure, there were days she asked for his help, but this was different. Teddy would be living with him some days. That was a big change.

Teddy dropped down next to Harry and started digging a hole in the sand. Harry sat up and helped him as he did his best to build a small village of little dome-like houses. A road slithered along the houses and a small castle appeared with a deep moat around it. Unfortunately for the citizens, no one had planned for the tsunami pulling in and destroying their homes.

Hand in hand, Teddy and Harry headed back to Andromeda as the kingdom fell. Teddy was hungry, and it was about time for lunch. They settled down with her as she reached into a basket and brought some cool watermelon out for them.

Teddy ate sloppily, and the juice dripped all over his chest. He was given a sandwich and that was almost as messy as the melon.

"I think someone needs to clean up," Andromeda said.

"Oh, well. I guess we'll have to put him in the washer," Harry said as he grabbed Teddy and picked him up before walking over to the ocean. He spun Teddy around and around him in the water, and the boy laughed happily until Harry was so dizzy he pulled Teddy close and collapsed with a splash. He moved Teddy to his back slowly and pushed himself up again once he could focus. He attached Teddy to him with magic so he wouldn't fall off, then he walked deeper and swam out slowly.

Teddy looked around. He was glad to be with Harry. It was a lot more fun when Harry was home and Grandma felt less stressed. "Can you live with me and Grandma always?" he asked.

Harry sighed. "Not until I'm a Master, Teddy. For now, I have to live with Master Ragnok," he said.

"But once you are a Master, you can live with us?" Teddy asked hopefully.

Harry didn't respond. He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to live with Teddy certainly, but he wanted a chance at forming his own family too, and he couldn't do that living with Andy. It was something they would have to figure out. "We'll see how we do it," he said finally. He couldn't promise something they didn't know how they would do yet. He brought them back to shore eventually and carried Teddy back to Andromeda. "We should head back," he said.

Andromeda nodded. "Certainly looks like it," she said as she ran her finger's through Teddy's hair. He looked ready to fall asleep where he hung, cradled by Harry's magic. They walked back to the ship slowly. It wasn't leaving until midnight, so they had plenty of time before then. Andromeda handed Harry the basket once they reached the ship and headed out to see if she couldn't find something else to do for a while, as Harry headed up to the ship with the sleeping boy.

When Andromeda returned a few hours later, both Teddy and Harry were fast asleep. She smiled at the twin looks they shared in sleep. It was so cute.

…

Harry walked into his quarters humming on a tune Teddy had picked up somewhere. He scanned the wards quickly and turned around. A shield appeared before him as a spell of sorts headed straight for him.

"Quick, that is good."

The next spell had a lot more oomph behind it, and Harry's shield held.

"And powerful. You weren't kidding, brother."

Ragnok rolled his eyes. "Harry, this is Goren, my younger brother. He is a Battle-Mage, and he has agreed to help train your awareness."

"He is better than I thought," Goren said. "He has some combat experience."

"I just need him good enough to not get himself killed out there," Ragnok said.

"No problem, Brother," Goren said. "But you will have to hand him over. Give me full control for two months and I will make sure that he knows what he is doing."

Ragnok closed his eyes and Harry sighed. It looked like he wouldn't be helping with Teddy for a while. Held his hand out and summoned his lion patronus, a form he had found once he had found peace within himself. He sent the lion over to Andromeda and repacked his bag.

Ragnok looked at his apprentice. He knew Harry was getting ready. There was nothing he could say to his brother. He also couldn't make this decision for Harry since the training Goren would pull him through was far too dangerous for him to enforce it.

Harry walked up to Goren and grabbed his hand. "Let's go," he said.

Goren grinned broadly as he activated the portkey he was carrying. They landed in a camp somewhere in the depths. "I found us a warder," Goren said as he turned to the other battle-mages in his group.

"Must be a suicidal fool."

"Could be, or I am for bringing him because I can forget showing my face up there again if he doesn't survive this, Zhed," Goren said. "My brother will kill me."

"He better have some combat ability of his own, or he isn't going to be of much use down here."

"I tested him. He feels okay," Goren said.

"Hardy har, Goren, you know what I think of your tests."

"You wound me, Hayda," Goren said.

Harry turned as something sounded behind him. He activated magesight and stared through the stone. "Is there something down here that eats through rock?" he asked as he drew runes into the stone before him. He activated the runes as a big worm-like creature with hundreds of teeth ripped though the wall ahead of him. It crashed into the ward and reared back.

Zhed moved forward. "Can you hold that for another hit?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry said. He focused his magic on the runes and fed more magic into the ward.

The wurm shook before attacking once more. It slammed into the ward. As it pulled back, Zhed fired a sharp spike of rock and fire though the softer underside, piercing the creature and causing it to shriek loudly.

"Let's go," Hayda said. "That will call more of them."

"Give me two seconds," Harry said as he laid four more runes down and charged them. "We have ten minutes. We better be elsewhere when the time runs out." He followed Zhed as fast as he could. They had made it down quite far when the stone surrounding them shook violently.

"What did you do?"

Harry looked at the man who asked. "I set the ward to shatter. It turned into sharp shards and attacked anything alive nearby," he said. He looked around. He couldn't see anything else for now.

"We need to lower output," Hayda said. "Ogden, how bad is it?"

"Higher than normal," Ogden said. "He pointed his gauge at Harry, and it lit up bright enough to blind him.

"I don't have leak output unless I want to," Harry said.

"What are you?" Ogden asked.

"I have a mana well, not a Core," Harry said.

"So he is technically a mage, not a wizard," Zhed said. "You can keep your well contained?"

Harry nodded. "We worked hard to get me there, but I can. I can flood as well if we ever need that," he said.

Hayda looked at Goren. "We could try breaching the citadel again," she said.

Goren sighed. "Yeah, that is crazy talk. I want him to stay alive," he said.

"But it might be possible for us to break through."

"Jora please," Goren told his wife.

Jora sighed. "I want through those walls," she said.

"Show me," Harry said. "I assume there are wards." He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he would do what he needed to do while he was there.

"Oh, not until we know you are ready to head over there," Ogden said. "I'm not losing people because these idiots want to rush in." He studied Harry like he wasn't quite sure how to read him.

"So we put him through intensive training," Zhed said.

…

Harry was going to regret being so enthusiastic. He was dirty and tired. At least they were feeding him. It must have gone several weeks already, and the people he was with were unrelenting.

"Why are you holding back?" Hayda screamed at him. "You can't afford to have a bleeding heart down here."

Harry took a deep breath. The anger that had not been his own was long gone. He knew what she was after. It was a part of him he had kept contained for fear of what he could turn into. He raised his eyes again as Zhed attacked him. He caught the goblin mid-air and slammed him down against the ground. Anger had bubbled up within him, and he turned it into cold, calculating fury. His counterattacks were sharp and meant to cause permanent damage.

When they returned to camp that evening, Harry wasn't the only one with deep injuries.

"I think we found it," Hayda said. "We can keep moving."

Goren grinned broadly. He was glad he hadn't been wrong about this human. He wasn't too soft to join them. If he continued like this, they would add to his shield.

…

Harry looked around slowly, using his magesight more than his real eyes. This was a test they had constructed for him. They had talked about for days before it finally happened. He hadn't eaten in too long, and Glint would be pissed off. He rolled as something came flying at him. He laid runes and activated a dome around himself. He carved runes into a couple of stones and weaved into them, before teleporting out of his shield while activating the extra runes. He threw the rocks and flattened as several explosions went off. He hid his magic as a wurm tore through a nearby wall. His breath came out in short, controlled puffs. He hoped it wouldn't pay attention to him. He still wasn't quite sure how to deal with those.

The tunnel went dark again. Harry kept going. He knew staying in one place was a bad idea. His steps echoed softly as he headed down another tunnel. There was no one around. At least no one he could see. He wasn't sure for how long he had been alone, only that he had gone to bed and woken up in an empty camp. He settled down and leaned back against a wall. He needed food. That was his biggest problem. Thankfully, he could get water from the caves. He set runes and raised a detection ward before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

A shadow moved over the ground. Hayda got closer and closer to the sleeping young human. Zhed had fought him earlier and he had returned injured. That in itself left some credence to his abilities. She pressed a dagger against his neck and sighed disappointedly. It had been too easy. She tried to press the dagger into his skin and found herself unable to move forward, so she tried moving back. She couldn't do that either. She felt her deposits depleting slowly as Harry moved away from her and opened his eyes. The sheer power in those green eyes terrified her. He stepped away from her and looked at the wall. He activated something attached to his arm as she heard it. There was a wurm coming their way.

"Run!" Hayda screamed.

Harry didn't though. He moved further away from her and crouched down. The wurm tore through the wall and swallowed him.

Hayda found herself able to move again, and she stared after the wurm as it shrieked loudly before being ripped apart. She moved down the tunnel slowly until she saw him. Not only had she failed taking him out, he had also killed a wurm.

"I don't recommend that," Harry said as he stood up. "This stuff burns." He followed Hayda back and cleaned off as best as he could before puling his clothes off. He had to get this stuff off his skin. He set a couple of runes and felt as ice-cold water rained down on him until he felt like the slimy residue of the wurm leave his body.

"You are insane," Hayda said softly. She looked at him as he shook the water off himself.

"I have been called that before," Harry said. He looked at her. "So now what?" he asked.

"Now you have gained an ally," Hayda said. "You have my spear."

"Does my ally know how to feed me before my healer gets pissed off. We got me back to healthy weight not that long ago, she will be furious if I fuck that up again," Harry said as he pulled clean pants on. Food was the most pressing matter for him right now. The rest could wait.

Hayda looked shocked as she realised that they had left him with no food. "Yes, I can feed you," she said. "You are in charge, though."

Harry nodded. "This way," he said. "We don't want to stay next to the corpse." He led the way up the tunnel until he found a good spot for them to rest. He set up new wards. A flat stone turned into a firepit for Hayda so she could cook. She handed him a bowl of food a short while later.

"Thank you," Harry said. He ate and cleaned the bowl out before handing it back to Hayda. "We should be able to sleep at the same time. The wards will warn us," he said.

Hayda would choose to trust him on that. He clearly knew his wards.

…

Harry looked down at high walls. "Is that the citadel?" he asked. They had been travelling together, just him and Hayda for several sleeps.

Hayda moved up next to him. "Yes, but we shouldn't go there alone," she said. She watched him head down a tunnel that curved and brought them out right by the wall of the fortress. She wasn't going to stop Harry at this point, but she really didn't want to be found there with just him.

The Sentinels guarding this place were vicious.

She focused back on Harry as he slowly placed runes along the wall. He was studying the wards as he went. The doors opened behind him. He looked at the sentinels walking out and spreading. His eyes narrowed and he stepped forward. This could be the worst decision he had ever made, or the nationalists still didn't know their dumb masks didn't work on mages.

Hayda's eyes widened as the sentinels grabbed Harry and pushed him down on the ground before forcing him into the mask and harness they wore. He was pulled inside and thrown into a closed room. He ripped the mask and harness back off and threw them aside. Well now he was inside. He opened a pouch by his belt and pulled out a few things he might be able to transfigure. He copied the mask as well as he could before putting it on, then he did the same with the harness. He baked runes into both that would hopefully mimic what was going on with the real deal, and then he destroyed the original.

Meanwhile, Hayda was running back towards her own allies. She wasn't sure where exactly they were hiding, so she would have to search. She found several camps empty. Some showing signs of recent use, while others were barren.

It took hours, if not days to find the next camp, and she had to sleep twice. She swore as she searched through yet another place only to find no traces of her allies. Arms wrapped around her, and she felt herself being pulled back as a mask was pressed over her face. She tried to break free, but she couldn't do it.

'Calm, I'm still in control.'

Hayda froze. 'Harry?' she asked.

'The one and same,' Harry said in her mind. 'Head down and walk with me. I found the others a while ago, but I wanted you with me first.'

'How?'

'I have my ways,' Harry said. He had a bad feeling and didn't dare to give more information than absolutely necessary. The Sentinels didn't speak, but he had seen signs during his time with them.

They headed towards a wall and Harry teleported them through to an open hall. 'Capture,' he said. He pushed Goren and Jora down against the ground and masked them. Unlike Hayda he had set the other masks to simply take command. The difference being it was his command and not whoever controlled the Sentinels. He looked over at Hayda and nodded as she downed Zhed. Ogden and Livia were both missing from the group. Maybe they were out scouting.

Most of the Battle-mages were caught now. Harry guessed he could return to the citadel with what he had. Maybe Ogden and Livia would turn up later. He ordered everyone back. They reached the gates and were let inside. A horn sounded and the sentinels all turned towards a set of great doors and headed towards them, so he followed with his group.

They moved out in a half circle before a grand throne. This hall must have belonged to someone important once.

"Incredible. A single human, and everything just falls apart for you. In just a few weeks, he has you all caught and masked. We should have done this ages ago."

Ogden walked out of the darkness. He looked at all of them before he walked up to Jora. "So beautiful. You should have been mine girl," he said. "How about you finally kneel before me?"

Harry forced Jora down on her knees. What he was doing wasn't nice to her, but it was necessary. Hopefully, she would forgive him once they were done with this.

"It is such a shame that you can't do anything to stop this," Ogden said as he continued towards Goren. "I can order her to lay herself out before me and she will. That in itself means she isn't that interesting any more, of course. I would so have preferred her without the mask… oh, well, this will certainly do." He stopped before Harry. "You are a strange one," he said. "My brethren were caught trying to enslave you. Yet I managed just fine. I find that quite intriguing. Kneel before me, human," he said.

Harry dropped down fluidly and bowed his head forward.

'Harry?'

'Not yet, where is Livia?' Harry said.

'I have no idea,' Hayda said.

Ogden walked around Harry and ripped his shirt open to show the shield on his shoulder. "Ragnok's apprentice. I really should send you back to him and have you kill him," he said. He walked around Harry and pressed his finger against Harry's forehead.

'Hayda be ready, my hold on your brethren will fall,' Harry said as he was sent back to the surface. He had landed back in his quarters. It would be interesting to see if his copies were good enough to fool the wards. He ripped the door open and appeared in Ragnok's study. The wards clamped down as Ragok looked up from his desk. Chains had twisted themselves around Harry, holding him in place.

Ragnok froze. He shook his head slowly. "No, no," he said. "You… Goren you moron." He turned on magesight just to see if there was anything he could do, only to pause. The mask and harness were laid not with the magic of the Nationalists but by his own apprentice. "You foolish child," he whispered as he walked up to Harry and loosened the mask. He forced the silence ward down, so Harry could speak.

"The others are stuck in the citadel. One of their own betrayed them," Harry said.

"Fuck," Ragnok swore. He pulled Harry lose. "Let's go," he said. He hurried them through the halls of Gringotts and into the council chamber. He called the council before moving Harry into the centre of the room. "Focus on what happened," he said. Before anyone could say anything as the last member arrived, Ragnok activated a set of runes that had magic connect to Harry, so his memory showed above him. "This happened less than half an hour ago," he said.

"If the Battle-mages are caught, we are doomed."

"They aren't," Harry said. "I caught them meaning their masks were false. We have no clue what has happened since I left. They will have regained their autonomy once I was sent away."

"What was your mission?" Duncan asked.

"Kill my Master," Harry said.

Duncan nodded slowly. "If you were to come back with a bloodied council member, Ogden might believe you did just that," he said.

Harry shook his head. "No, I need Glint. Ogden has a thing for other men's wives. He wanted Jora. He would be satisfied with Glint."

Ragnok nodded. "I'll get a hold of Melonni," he said. "You will guide her back. Or is there an issue with this plan?" he asked the Council. He already knew Glint would help Harry. That wasn't even in question. He might not like it, but she wasn't going to just sit back when he went down after his brother either way. Better she was with Harry.

"Considering Ogden has a whole bunch of sentinels, and he isn't working with anyone else or for anyone but himself. He needs to be dealt with."

"Thank you, Magni," Ragnok said. "Harry, explain the situation to my wife." He handed the mask back to him, so Harry could put it back on after he had spoken to Glint.

When Ragnok rejoined them, Harry looked like he had massacred an entire village, but he hadn't done so without taking damage. It looked like big chucks had been taken out of him.

"Good enough?" Glint asked. She, too, looked like she had been through quite a lot. She took Harry's hand.

"I have prepared the wards from the outside and laid runes along the inside," Harry said. "Master, you should be able to tear them down so you can enter."

Ragnok nodded. "I shall," he said.

Melonni walked into the centre of the room as her guards moved up around her. She activated a portstone and transported them down to the Depths. They followed Harry as he headed towards his own runes. He tagged into the rest of them and pulled them across as soon as he could see the citadel. "I will need rest after this," he muttered. He was quickly depleting his magic with the stunts he was pulling. He put the mask back on and tightened it before grabbing Glint. He walked in with her and threw the doors open. The circle was intact. What was it with some people and talking. Then he noticed the bloodied body of Livia laying in a heap by Ogden's feet.

Ogden's eyes widened as he saw him. Then he laughed. "Oh, you not only killed Ragnok, but you dragged his poor widow down here and killed how many more. How fantastic," he said. He walked up to Harry and looked up at his dead green eyes. "Fantastic," he said. He looked down at Glint. "Well, this is something else. A gift for me," Ogden said. "And just in time too. How about you fix poor Livia, Glint. She seems to have some issues with how roughly I play."

Harry moved forward and dropped Glint next to the body of the other woman before turning around.

'Harry, please say this isn't as bad as it looks,' Hayda said.

'They are coming. I brought Melonni,' Harry said.

'Thank fucking heavens. I've managed to get the rest of them to stand down and Livia said she could take the hurt,' Hayda said.

'Wards going in, three… two… one,' Harry said. The walls shook as Ragnok took the wards down. Harry moved out and pushed the sentinels down on the ground. It was all he could do to hold them, though.

"What… what is happening?" Ogden said.

"Your plans are failing," Livia said as Glint supported her body so she could sit. "The human you have been praising has been working against you."

Harry grinned under his mask as the doors were forced open and Melonni and her guard walked in. Goren ripped his mask off and looked over at the door as his brother walked in. Then he looked to Harry. "You forced us to comply with this?" he asked.

"Only to get you in here," Harry said. "I didn't count on being sent away." He reached up and ripped his mask off. "At least that meant I brought this to the attention of the Council and received aid and sanction to deal with it."

"Where does the blood come from?" Jora asked.

"We always have blood around," Glint said. "Doesn't my son look gruesome." she looked at Harry with a proud gleam in her eyes.

"Looks like things didn't work out, Ogden," Harry said. "And thanks to your little monologue, you even made enemies with the Nationalists on the Council. Right now, they hate you more than they hate me. I'd say that is quite a feat on your part."

Goren closed his eyes as he drew a deep breath. He moved forward and forced Ogden down on the floor. "We have worked together for decades, and you chose to betray us," he hissed angrily.

"I was never on your side, you dumb oaf. You took Jora from me. She would have been mine if you hadn't stumbled in with your stupid smile and silly one-liners," Ogden said. He looked at Harry. "I should have known you were slippery," he said. "That is a mistake I will never make again."

"That's right, you will never make it again," Jora said as she grabbed her axe and lobbed his head off. It landed on the floor with a wet thud and rolled several times. She sneered at it before walking up to Harry. "Kneel!" she ordered him.

Harry did as he was told. He saw Goren stop his brother from interfering, and Livia grabbed onto Glint so she couldn't move. He didn't move, though. He doubted they would kill him for what he had done. Fire spread over his shoulder after a while, and he clamped down so he wouldn't scream. His eyelids fluttered closes. The exhaustion combined with the pain moving through him was getting to him. He caught himself against the floor. He needed to stay awake through this.

"You have proven yourself to the crows and will forever be one of us," Jora said as she ran her fingers along his back. She looked over at Livia. "He can be healed now," she said. She looked around at the Sentinels. "What do we do with them?" she asked.

"See if their minds can be salvaged," Glint said as she rose and walked up to Harry. She placed her hand next to his shield. The Shadowcrows were a group that separately from anyone else could decorate a warrior they had deemed worthy. They moved outside the law and could do things no one else could. That's why no one had stopped Jora when she went to kill Ogden. Harry was a crow now. There couldn't be many humans who had received such honour. He was expected to keep his combat abilities up in case he was called for. She knew Harry would do what was needed. That was just the way he was. She healed the marks Jora had cut into him. The scar left behind looked red against his skin.

Glint sat down and helped Harry down as he collapsed from exhaustion finally. He would awaken again once his magic had restored. She ran her fingers along his face slowly. So many seemed to miss just how young he was. He had done so much already. She hoped that his life moving forward would be less dangerous. At least now, she could be certain he would survive the Trial. There was no way a Shadowcrow wouldn't make it. She listened as Ragnok spoke to the crows as well as Melonni. They had a lot that needed doing, and none of it really concerned Harry. The sooner she could get him back home, the better.

…

Harry was still laying on the cold stone when he woke up again. He blinked a few times and looked up at Glint with a confused look in his eyes.

"We are having some issues navigating home," Glint said softly. "The wurms are more active after the wards of the Citadel went down.

"They are coming this way," Ragnok said.

Harry pushed himself up. "Jora gather our people, I know how to deal with them," he said. He looked at Glint. "We will need help washing off after this," he said as he pulled the remnants of his shirt off. He walked with the crows out in front of the Citadel as he explained to them what they needed to do. He stumbled as he stood. Exhaustion was still clinging to him, but this needed to be done.

"This better work," Goren said.

"I've seen him do it," Hayda said. "It can be done."

"Spread out and make yourselves as small as possible," Harry said. He knelt as the ground beneath him started rumbling. The five of them were consumed as the wurms broke through the ground. The worms twitched and shrieked as they were torn apart. Their bodies collapsed to the ground. From the carcasses the crows emerged.

More wurms ripped through the stone ahead of them.

"Together!" Goren called.

The crows gathered, and they let off a loud cry filled with magic. They were not easy prey. Unless the wurms wanted to die, they should head elsewhere. Jora and Goren roared as they ran forward, covered in the acidly slime from the wurms' dead brethren, their weapons cut deep wounds into the wurms until they fled.

Harry knelt as Glint came out with the others so she could clean them off before they finally managed to head back. "You need to do a deep clean, young man," Glint told him.

"I promise," Harry said. He had the potions he needed in his room. He walked into his bathroom and cleaned every inch of skin. He washed through his hair thrice just to be on the safe side. He rinsed his sinuses out and cleaned as deep inside him as he could logically come. In the end, he just stood under the spray, breathing slowly. Maybe now he could create a less insane schedule that would let him help Andromeda. That would be nice.

Falling into the soft bed felt like heaven. He was glad to be back.