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Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy

Summary:

Everyone knows the story, the Potters attacked and little Harry left with his relatives. But what happens when the last Potter stumbles upon something left behind? What does someone with no preconceived notions about Magic do when they find out that it's real? Do they follow along just like everyone else? Or do they find their own path? Harry Potter did always like to make things!

Chapter 1: Life with Relatives, Discovering Magic

Chapter Text

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with the first chapter of my new Harry Potter story! This story has two major divergences from canon in regards to Magic. Firstly to any Wizard/Witch or whatever other title they go by; Sorcerer, Warlock, Sage, Mystic, Shaman, Mage, etc. Magic can behave in one of two ways depending on how the Magical was taught. Either it can be free and unrefined or it can be ordered, structured and controlled. Both methods have their benefits and disadvantages. Secondly Magic isn’t locked into either of these two states. If a Magical wants to learn both they simply have to let go of their preconceived notions about Magic. Harry in this story will end up learning magic in a new way, at least new in the eyes of the vast majority of Magical people, only a very small percentage of other Magicals will know and use this method that Harry stumbles upon by accident.

One other Big Deviation from canon, Harry Isn’t a Horcrux in this story! There was no ‘Accidental Soul Magic/Horcrux Making’ the night Voldemort attacked the Potters though Harry does have a faint scar in the same shape as canon. But after all these years it has faded substantially.

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 1 – Life with Relatives, Discovering Magic

Harry Potter, age eight, lived at Number Four Privet Drive with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. The Dursleys are his only living relatives and Harry had ended up living with them after his parent’s deaths. All Harry knew about his parents passing was that a family friend had gotten them killed. Supposedly Harry had a Godfather that had hunted down the family friend and brought him to the police, but was severely injured in the process. If his supposed Godfather ever awoke from his coma Harry would be given the chance to live with him. But it had been seven years and the supposed Godfather still hadn’t shown up.

The Dursleys were a normal family and proud of it. They took Harry in fed and clothed him and sent him to school, all perfectly normal things for a family to do when taking in an orphaned family member. Vernon worked at a company called Grunning’s that made drills and supplied them to large construction firms in bulk. Petunia was a stay at home mother and looked after Dudley and Harry. All in all a completely normal family, Vernon had recently renovated the attic for use as Harry’s new bedroom. The small second bedroom on the second floor was better to keep for guests. Vernon had been advised that the resale value of the home would increase with a fully finished attic bedroom by a colleague at work. If the smile on the large man’s face after the appraisers left was any indication his colleague had been correct.

So now Harry was situated in his new bedroom with all his things neatly put away. If Harry had anything he liked better about his new bedroom it would be the increased space and the larger window that overlooked the backyard. He looked forward to being able to see the stars at night. Harry was a fairly perceptive boy, especially for his age, so he’d noticed over the years that while his Aunt and Uncle took care of him they still kept him at arm’s length emotionally. They never got very attached to him and he sometimes caught them looking at him if something odd happened for no apparent reason. But Harry couldn’t really complain about his life much. He was fed, clothed, educated and left to play when his chores were done.

“Harry, we’re going to have to store a few of the old boxes back up here again. There isn’t room in the garage for the car with all the boxes in it.” Vernon informed his nephew as he carried up a cardboard box with the words ‘School Things’ written on the side in marker.

“Ok, Uncle Vernon. Do you need help?” Harry asked politely.

“If you’d bring up some of the small boxes that would be brilliant.” Vernon nodded as he placed the ‘School Things’ box in the furthest corner of the attic bedroom.

“Alright.” Harry replied as he made his way down the short staircase that Vernon had replaced the old trapdoor with. The brand new wooden door that separated Harry’s room was at the top of these stairs and it made accessing the new room much easier. It was only about twenty minutes later that the furthest corner of Harry’s new room had about a dozen cardboard boxes stacked against it as well as eight shoeboxes filled with bits and bobs Vernon and Petunia had collected over the years.

“Well dinner won’t be ready for another two hours, wonder what’s in some of these?” Harry wondered aloud as he approached the cardboard boxes. Going through a few of them revealed ordinary things, a few holiday decorations, some extra winter clothes, old baby toys from when he and Dudley had been toddlers. It was only when Harry looked into the first box Vernon had brought up, the ‘School Things’ box, that he found something interesting. Old leather bound books, quills and inkwells, a strange type of heavy paper he thought might be called parchment, and most curiously a notebook that had the word ‘Notes’ written on it with a name under it. The name is what was truly odd to Harry, ‘Lily Evans’ was his mother’s name before she got married according to Aunt Petunia. But the sisters had grown apart after they went to different Secondary Schools. As far as he was aware neither sister had kept the things of the other. Unknown to anybody at the moment there was a box nearly identical to the one Harry was browsing through sitting in the Potter Family Vault in Gringotts. It was filled with Petunia’s old Secondary School textbooks and other school supplies.

Eager for a chance to know more about his mother, Harry cracked open the notebook and started to read. Harry had a high reading level, one of the best in his class, and was able to understand most of the words. Though several of them sounded like gibberish. But for the next hour Harry read his mother’s old school notes and learned that Magic was real. Harry came across terms he didn’t understand; Runes, Arithmancy, Occlumency, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration all marked with their own place in the notebook. Looking back into the box Harry found that these unknown terms had matching textbooks. With a strange sort of giddiness at possibly learning from his mother, even if only indirectly, Harry packed the books back up and headed down for dinner. Just as he descended the short staircase onto the second floor Petunia called for Harry and Dudley to come down for dinner. The evening meal was filled with chatter between the three Dursleys with occasional input from Harry.

“So, Harry, did you enjoy the day camp this summer?” Vernon asked his nephew. Vernon had paid just under three hundred pound sterling to send Harry to a summer day camp for two weeks near the end of July. Harry had actually celebrated his Birthday only two days after the camp ended.

“Yes, Uncle Vernon, it was fun.” Harry replied getting a short nod from Vernon.

“Good, glad they kept you interested, shows they’re doing their job right.” Vernon commented. The main reason Vernon had paid for such a camp, besides it being relatively cheap for two weeks of day camp, was because it was a camp that taught old craftsmen skills and focused on helping children become independent and confident. Harry had always been a little closed off from the other kids his age, somewhere between shy and too far ahead of his peers intellectually. This camp was supposed to help kids break out of their shells by teaching groups of children a new skill or craft together. They offered things like needlework, wood carving, the basics of blacksmithing, and even pottery making. Harry had shown prodigious talent in his Arts class in school so Vernon had signed him up for the camp. The boy hadn’t been anymore talkative but it gave him somewhere to go for the day for at least two weeks of the summer. Harry had at least enjoyed himself and had tried his hand at practically everything offered, even the needlework course which was considered ‘girly’ by the other boys his age. Harry had thought learning how to stitch and sew hand been fun.

After dinner Harry went back up to his room and continued from where he had left off in his mother’s notes. Deciding to pick up the first book mentioned in his mother’s notes, ‘Magical Theory’ by Adalbert Waffling, Harry set to reading about Magic. He stayed up late that night reading, only stumbling over completely unfamiliar terms and resolving to look up in the dictionary as many of the words that he didn’t recognize as he could.

It was the week before Harry and Dudley returned to Primary School when Harry started practicing what was called Occlumency. While Harry didn’t think he’d ever met a Wizard or Witch, except maybe that one guy in the top hat who’d given him a bow at the store, the thought that someone could read his mind was scary. So he’d set about trying to practice and learn this Occlumency. The first step involved meditation, a word Harry had needed to look up, so he sat on his bed in the attic and tried to focus on his breathing. After failing the first night and the second, Harry finally felt like he had managed to get his head clear for at least a minute or two on the third night. These nightly meditation attempts bore fruit in late November when Harry finally found himself able to slip into what the book called a meditative state. After continuing to practice throughout the remainder of the year Harry took his first leap into learning Magic when one night he found himself imagining a void of dull light filled with small orbs of slightly brighter light.

‘This is weird.’ Harry thought as he observed the orbs, each no bigger than a ping pong ball, as they drifted through this space. ‘I thought I wasn’t supposed to think of anything?’ The boy wondered to himself before blinking and finding himself sitting on his bed again.

“What in the world?” Harry questioned himself as he tried to make heads or tails of what had just happened. The next night’s session brought him back to the dull void and its numerous floating orbs again. Harry watched on and observed to try and figure out what this place was. He took note that some of the orbs where a blueish-white while the others where a purplish-black. He tried to count them and lost track when they kept moving around. He eventually was able to get a count of one small area and counted thirty two orbs, with about seventeen blue-white ones and fifteen purple-black ones. Just before he opened his eyes in his bed again Harry noticed one of the blue-white orbs and one of the purple-black orbs colliding and becoming a single orb of silvery-grey.

These nightly sessions continued through the rest of winter. Harry would find himself in the dull void and watch the orbs. He’d discovered that the orbs would sometimes collide and form a silvery-grey orb for a good length of time. Though Harry noticed that time may be a bit off considering he never knew how long he was in the dull void. Eventually Harry couldn’t hold back his curiosity and touched one of the blue-white orbs. It didn’t have a real feeling was the only way to describe it, sort of like trying to hold a breeze. He could move the orb in whatever direction he wanted but other than that he couldn’t interact with it. Next he touched a purple-black orb and the feeling was similar, only this one felt like trying to stop a chill in the air with your hands. No substance just a coolness that was there and then gone. Harry’s eyes snapped open in his bed again and he flopped back as he tried to sleep his mind buzzing with curiosity.

It was April when Harry made his next break through with the orbs in the dull void. He’d had the idea to try and push the orbs together. He soon found out that orbs of the same color didn’t merge with each other. But after pushing a white-blue orb and a purple-black orb together to form a silvery-grey orb he’d gotten curious. Making a second silvery-grey orb he’d tried pushing the two together and found himself with a larger silvery-grey orb. Harry watched on for a while, the larger silvery-grey orb took some time to finally separate back into two blue-white and two purple-black orbs. Almost twice as long as a single silvery-grey orb. Blinking open his eyes Harry went back into his mother’s notes and books trying to learn as much as he could about Magic to see if he could find out what the dull void and the orbs were.

Harry actually found himself happy that he and his mother shared an opinion. In ‘Magical Theory’ it was purported that magic was only able to be truly controlled with a focus, like a wand. But the book also mentioned Accidental Magic; magical things happening when a child had an outburst of emotion, making his mother wonder what the difference was in her own notes. Wandless Magic was briefly described as possible by powerful Wizards and Witches, but his mother had wondered what the difference between Wandless Magic and Accidental Magic was besides the obvious direct control of Wandless Magic. Harry found himself agreeing with his mother’s thoughts that Accidental Magic was just Wandless Magic without the intent and control. Meaning a focus wasn’t strictly necessary to perform Magic.

Harry continued to experiment with the orbs in the dull void. It had become obvious that no mention of the place existed in his mother’s books so he’d resolved to figure out what he could himself. It was the first day of summer vacation when Harry put his most ambitious experiment into motion. When he became aware of being in the dull void again he started pairing up the blue-white and purple-black orbs into silvery-grey orbs. Then he counted the silvery-grey orbs as he paired them up and merged them together. He’d discovered that a large silvery-grey orb wouldn’t merge with a single silvery-grey orb, only with a silvery-grey of equal size. All told Harry had counted one hundred twenty eight silvery-grey orbs, meaning the original number of blue-white orbs and purple-black orbs had to have been two hundred fifty six evenly divided between the two colors. Harry merged each of the silvery-grey orbs together taking them from one hundred twenty eight to sixty four on the first pairing. From there it was simply halving the number each time, sixty four became thirty two. Thirty two became sixteen. Sixteen became eight. Eight became four. Four became two. Finally two became one. When the merging was finished Harry had a silvery-grey orb about a meter in diameter. Harry smiled at making the large silvery-grey orb before the large orb pulsed and Harry snapped his eyes open in his bed. Harry immediately felt the most exhausted he’d ever been and only briefly glanced at his bedside clock before collapsing asleep.

Harry groaned as he woke up and felt slightly off. Looking around he spotted his bedside clock and noticed it had been around an hour and forty minutes since he’d fallen asleep. Looking himself over Harry felt as if something had changed about him. Almost as if he felt lighter? Maybe stronger? Whatever it was it hadn’t done much for Harry’s exhaustion and the boy quickly removed his glasses and fell back to sleep.

“Harry, are you feeling alright?” Aunt Petunia asked as she knocked on Harry’s bedroom door the next morning. Getting no response from her nephew Petunia opened the door and found her nephew still asleep. Walking over to the bed she placed her palm on Harry’s forehead to check his temperature. Feeling no sign of fever Petunia shook the boy awake.

“Huh? Oh! Good morning Aunt Petunia.” Harry mumbled as he woke up and reached for his glasses.

“Good morning. I know that its summer break but that doesn’t mean you can sleep in all morning. It’s already past normal breakfast time.” Petunia admonished him as she turned to walk out of the room. Looking over at his bedside clock Harry was surprised to find that he’d slept in for more than an hour and a half past his usual wake up time.

“Sorry Aunt Petunia, I’m getting up.” Harry apologized as he pushed his covers back.

“Breakfast his still on the table, it’ll be a little cold now but you should still eat it all.” Petunia instructed as she left the room. Harry quickly followed and went to eat his breakfast.

Harry spent the next night diving into the dull void again. Finding his large silvery-grey orb again Harry was surprised that not only was it still together but that it had what appeared to be branches coming from it and disappearing out into the void. Inspecting the branches brought the same feeling as touching a silvery-grey orb, a sense of rightness and stability that couldn’t be emulated by any object that Harry knew of. Deciding to try and experiment a bit with this new situation Harry set about trying to make the orb and branches react. He found that small spots of light travelled from the orb and through the branches from time to time. With a bit of thought Harry realized that he could make these lights travel from the orb and through whichever branch he desired. After playing with this new discovery for a while and not being able to do anything else with the orb or branches Harry blinked and was sitting in his bed again. With a sigh he took off his glasses and went to sleep.

Waking up again the next morning Harry put on his glasses and headed down to breakfast. Uncle Vernon had asked him about attending the same day camp again this summer to which Harry agreed. He’d learned the bare basics of the skills and crafts the camp offered last year. This year he hoped to build on his knowledge a bit more. When Harry finished his chores for the day he’d retreated to his room to read more of his mother’s books on Magic. With her notes he slowly understood the basics of Magic and was hopeful to find a way to practice some of the things described in the books. Seeing the book he’d left off with the night before Harry walked towards it and raised his hand to pick it up. The book suddenly jumped from its place on top of the ‘School Things’ box and into Harry’s outstretched hand. Startled by the sudden movement Harry dropped the book and stumbled back a few steps. After a moment to calm down Harry walked over and picked up the book. Not seeing anything different about it than normal he realized that he might have just performed Accidental Magic. With a smile Harry placed the book on top of his bed and walked several steps away. Holding out his hand Harry tried to make the book come to him again. The results weren’t promising. The book stubbornly refused to move no matter which hand Harry held out or how much he mentally demanded the book to move.

Harry’s practice with his Accidental Magic didn’t make much progress before he went off to the day camp again. Over the course of the two weeks Harry learned more of the skills he’d enjoyed last year. Pottery was fun but took a while to get right. Needlework was neat as they were learning how to knit and would be finishing up a scarf or a knitted cap, camper’s choice, before the end of the camp. Carving was more challenging as you couldn’t simply erase a mistake, you either had to work with it, around it, or start over. But learning how to etch their names into small planks of wood was fun. Blacksmithing was something they could only watch. Harry didn’t mind as he was fascinated by the way the blacksmith heated and shaped metal. Watching the creation of even simple items like hinges or hooks was impressive to the young boy. Soon enough the camp was over for the summer and Harry was back to trying to practice Magic for the remainder of the summer break.

‘Why won’t the stupid book move?!’ Harry pouted mentally as he still couldn’t get the book to come to his hand like he’d done before. ‘I just want it in my hand, why is that so hard?’ The boy questioned only to feel the book smack into his hand that was hanging by his side. “Ow!” Harry groaned. “Why did it do it this time?” he questioned as he rubbed his hand. Quickly picking up the book and tossing it back onto the bed Harry tried to figure out how he’d made the book move. After mulling it over Harry felt like he might have an answer. “If this works I’ve been overlooking the obvious.” The nine year old muttered as he raised his hand and thought of the action he wanted to happen. ‘I want the book in my hand.’ With barely suppressed glee Harry caught the book as it flew towards his hand. With a quiet cheer, so as not to disturb Aunt Petunia downstairs, Harry celebrated his discovery. ‘I have to think of the action I want to happen! Not about the book itself!’ He mentally crowed in delight as he tossed the book back onto the bed and pulled it back to his hand again. With muted laughter Harry spent the next hour pulling objects around his room towards him with his magic.

Over the next month Harry practiced with his newly learned Magical Skill. After the first three days of bringing stuff towards himself he’d tried doing the opposite. The initial result had been Harry’s pillow smacking into the wall on the opposite side of the room. But with a month of practice now under his belt Harry could even move things from one place to another around his room. Levitation was the word Harry had found in the dictionary that matched closely with what he was doing. So he’d dubbed his first bit of Magic as Levitation. He’d been slightly embarrassed to find mention of a Levitation Charm among the Charms textbook and realize that such simple Magic had, of course, been discovered long ago. But at least he could do his without a wand! He wasn’t pouting!

Harry continued to practice with his magic throughout the rest of the school year. He’d even started checking out fantasy books from the school library for ideas. Any idea he wanted to try and replicate he’d first browse through his mother’s Charms textbook for, to see if an equivalent spell existed. That was how Harry learned to summon fire. Of course he only practiced this outside in the woods behind Privet Drive. But with practice Harry could not only summon floating orbs of fire but even hold a fireball in his hand. That discovery had brought about a level of excitement that had Harry recreating scenes from the fantasy books he read. Tossing a fireball around was truly quintessential for a wizard! Harry was absolutely sure of this fact!

It wasn’t until the summer that Harry had felt like he had made progress on his original goal of Occlumency. Now when he dived into the dull void, which he had finally realized was a magical representation of his mind, he noticed that the branches coming from the silvery-grey orb had actually encircled the area he always appeared in. Trying to see from the other side had been difficult but after almost nine months of practice Harry had been able to get a glimpse of the outside. What he guessed to be his mind was now encircled by hundreds of branches and their offshoots. His mind was apparently enclosed in what amounted to large thorny brambles. If brambles were as unrelenting as steel and made of pure magic. During this brief glimpse he also noted that almost a dozen large branches still reached out into the void. His only guess was that these branches connected his magic directly to his body. It could explain his sudden control over Magic when he didn’t have a wand and no instruction in Wandless Magic.

One summer evening Harry had been looking through his mother’s Charms text book again when he noted the mention of the most basic Charm that Hogwarts, the school of Magic his mother attended, taught to First Year students. The Lumos Charm was something so simple and easy that most students learned it in their very first Charms class. Harry liked the idea of being able to produce light on demand without the risk of burning anything like when he summoned fire. So he’d set about trying to figure it out. It had taken him less than an hour to figure out how to replicate the spell. All the Lumos Charm really was at its core was Magic being shifted into the visible light spectrum. That was a term Harry had learned in Science class the past school year and to find out that it could be applied to Magic opened up a whole new set of questions and curiosities for the boy. So Harry spent the better part of the evening playing with the Lumos Charm, making it brighter or dimmer and even changing the color of the light emitted. Incidentally the changing of the color was actually the hardest part. The white light of the Lumos Charm was apparently the easiest color for Magic to take when it entered the visible spectrum. Adding in the intent of specific colors had been difficult at first but it wasn’t as hard when Harry imagined the colors as a sliding scale. Slide the Magic down the scale and the light turned darker colors, slide Magic up the scale and you got brighter colors. Harry had made his own light show by the time he’d turned in for bed.

It was once again July and Harry was happy to be sent to the day camp again, two more weeks of learning crafts and skills. At almost ten years old he was now allowed to help the blacksmith by working the bellows. Seeing how interested the boy was the older man had even let Harry swing the hammer a few times to get a feel for the task. Harry couldn’t describe the rightness he felt when he got to strike the red hot metal. Decked out in a safety apron and face shield with thick insulated leather gloves Harry got to strike the metal until it bent into the correct hook shape. His wood carving had progressed as well, now able to actually carve simple images and etch words and sentences into wood. Needlework he was doing well in too. The ladies teaching the group, mostly consisting of girls, had commented on how well he handled the needle. Fixing up a pair of torn pants had only taken him an hour and the stitching held up even when he tugged on it. Pottery he could do well enough but it didn’t hold his interest as much as the other crafts. The instructor had chuckled when Harry had handed in a nicely formed vase and commented that he was doing his family name proud. Harry had gotten a chuckle out of the joke, after all a Potter being good at Pottery was a bit of dry humor that Harry could appreciate.

After the two weeks of day camp had ended Harry, still happy about getting to make things, decided to look into the Runes and Arithmancy books again. Both tomes had mentioned crafting Magical Items or Enchanted Objects in them and after two weeks of getting to make stuff Harry was interested in trying out this branch of Magic. The first thing Harry had figured out was that Arithmancy was Magical Math and it made normal Math seem simple and easy. While Mathematics played a large role in Arithmancy the inclusion of Magic tilted some of the calculations into having answers that would be deemed incorrect in his Math class at school. Runes was basically learning another alphabet, with each symbol having its own meaning or even multiple meanings when it was written next to other runes. There were also, according to his mother’s notes, other written languages that could be used for magical purposes. Egyptian Hieroglyphics were a form of Runes, as were the Chinese Kanji symbols used in China and Japan. India had many ancient scripts that could be used in Runes with Devanagari being common among both Magical and Non-Magical people. It seemed that any script could become capable of holding Magical Meaning if enough Magicals learned and used it over time. The length of time seemed to be roughly five hundred years or more of use before script could have Magical Meaning imprinted onto it by anyone; though his mother speculated that the amount of Magical People that used the script played a large part in determining how long before it became capable of attaining Magical significance.

Harry spent the next few months studying Arithmancy and Runes while also learning a couple extra Charms. So far he’d learned how to replicate a Lumos Charm, the Incendio Charm, the Water Charm Aguamenti, the Levitation Charm Wingardium Leviosa, and the Knockback Jinx Flipendo. For some reason when Harry performed his Wandless version of Flipendo there was no loud bang like the text described. He’d retreated to the woods behind Privet Drive to practice it expecting the noise but it never happened.

His studies into making Enchanted Objects were going about as well as could be expected. Finding out, from the Runes text, that certain materials couldn’t hold magic or that only certain materials could be used for certain effects had hindered his ideas. There were plenty of rocks Harry could use for enchanting and the forest behind Privet Drive was a wealth of at least a few different species of wood. But you couldn’t just etch a few Runes into any old rock and make a talisman, charm, or trinket. Likewise you couldn’t make a staff, scepter or wand out of any regular old branch. Arithmancy was required to figure out the best size and shape for any Enchanted Objects based on the material used to make them. Harry had used his burgeoning skills in both Runes and Arithmancy to craft a single, very simple, trinket for himself. He’d gotten the idea from one of the fantasy novels he’d read from the library at school. Harry had made a Hiding Stone, a small mostly flat stone with only four runes etched on one side, the four runes in question being from Elder Futhark; Naudiz for Need, Algiz for Protection, Mannaz for Man, and Odal for Estate and Possessions. When all four were etched correctly by a Wizard or Witch and imbued with magic it produced a trinket that made the person carrying it less noticeable. Alternatively it could be placed on another object to make the object in question less noticeable. It was easy to see through if a person wanted to find someone, but no one would notice the bearer ‘out of the corner of their eye’ as the saying went. Harry carried it around at school a few times and noticed the sharp drop in the amount of times he was called on to answer questions.

Excited by his first success, while pretending the eleven failed attempts he’d had didn’t happen, Harry sat on his bed that night to take stock of his Occlumency. Once in his magical mind representation Harry set about looking at his ‘bramble defense’ as he’d taken to calling it. The branches had grown further outwards while layering over each other to increase the protection around his mind. The branches connecting to his body were larger than the last time he’d checked them as well. Returning to the silvery-grey core he tried to take another measurement by eye. Harry roughly estimated that his silvery-grey core had doubled in size since he first made it, now sitting at almost two meters in diameter. He really wished he could accurately measure his magic, or mana as several of the fantasy books had referred to it. Harry liked the idea of calling the energy behind his spells and other magic by a name like mana. It gave him something to focus on building up besides his knowledge. Like a measure of how magically strong he was, though he still had no way to actually quantify his mana so that he could measure it aside from trying to estimate how much bigger the silvery-grey core was.

“Wait that’s it!” Harry exclaimed to himself as his eyes snapped open in his bed. If he didn’t have a way to measure his mana he could just make one! All he had to do was decide on a basic unit of measurement and count how many he had, but what to use as the basis?

“It needs to be simple and something standard that can be replicated by anyone to keep all measurements accurate.” Harry mumbled to himself as he started pacing back and forth. An idea came to the ten year old when he spotted his mother’s Charms book laying on top of the cardboard box he kept all of them in. “That would work!” He nodded to himself as he sat back down on his bed and held his hand in front of himself. With barely a thought a small ball of light appeared above his hand, Harry’s Wandless version of the Lumos Charm. “Now I just need to see how little mana can actually produce the spell.” With that Harry set about withdrawing mana from the spell. The bright light shrank and dimmed a little each time Harry reduced the mana he used to conjure it. When Harry barely felt any mana flowing to the light it suddenly went out. He tried to reach the amount just before it went out a few times before getting it right. In Harry’s hand was a small light no bigger than a pea that barely illuminated his palm.

“This is it, the smallest amount of mana that can actually make a Lumos Charm. Since the Lumos Charm is the most basic of basic spells it should be perfect to use to measure my mana.” Harry muttered to himself with a grin. ‘But how do I count it?’ he wondered to himself mentally. ‘I can only keep a few Lumos Charms going at once. But I feel like I could make a hundred of these things. I need something else than can count for me.’ Harry mulled over his problem until he went to bed that night.

Harry still hadn’t found an answer to his question by the time spring came around. He’d looked through his mother’s books and notes and tried to make as many of the pea-sized Lumos Charms as possible only to falter when he got past ten at a time. In frustration Harry turned his last hope onto the fantasy books in his school library. Over a month later he’d stumbled upon an idea in one of the fantasy books. It had a concept called spell-forging in the story that was close enough to enchanting that Harry thought it could work. Spell-forging, according to the fantasy novel, was a method to make magical objects by imbuing the item in question with magic throughout its creation. Runes were then used to add an effect and lock the item into fulfilling that singular purpose. Harry was getting excited this mundane fantasy novel might very well have solved his problem! He only needed to find something he could make from scratch that he could also carve the proper runic sequence into.

Thus Harry’s search began to find something he could make himself that was also big enough to carve or etch runes into. In a humorous twist Harry’s least favorite craft from his summer day camp turned out to be his solution. Harry stumbled onto the idea to use clay for his project when they’d started using it for Art class. With his choice made Harry had asked Uncle Vernon for some clay to play with one day. Vernon hadn’t batted an eye at the request, knowing his nephew’s propensity for arts and crafts. Harry had his clay the next weekend and set about pushing his mana into it while shaping it into a square frame. Etching the runes into it after it had partially dried was taxing as he was using a box cutter razor blade he’d ‘borrowed’ from the school janitor’s cleaning cart. The razor’s thin edge was perfect for keeping the rune lines straight but dangerous to handle without the actual plastic housing to protect his fingers. Thankfully he’d finished without cutting himself and just had to wait a few days for his square to dry.

“Alright, time to try this out.” Harry grinned as he picked up the runic clay square frame. While holding it in both hands Harry started feeding his mana into his creation. Harry was thrilled when he saw a number ‘1’ made of light appear inside the frame. He’d only given the frame enough mana to produce the pea-sized Lumos Charm and it had read the amount as one unit. That meant that his runic sequence had been correctly etched and his Arithmancy calculations were correct. With a smile Harry proceeded to push more of his mana into the clay frame. The ten year old boy watched giddily as the number continued to climb; ‘10’, ‘25’, ‘40’, ‘60’, ‘90’, ‘120’, ‘150’, ‘180’, ‘210’, ‘240’, before it came to a stop on ‘270’.

“Two hundred seventy mana, huh, I wonder if that’s a lot or not?” Harry pondered aloud before feeling his clay frame crumble apart in his hands. “What? Why? What’s going on?” He fretted as his creation broke into dozens of small pieces. As he carefully picked up the pieces from the floor he noticed on some of the larger ones that the runes etched into them looked burnt and misshapen. “Was it not able to handle the mana? It was a first attempt, I should probably be happy it worked at all. It could have been worse, at least it didn’t explode.” Harry sighed as he continued to pick up the pieces and place them in the waste bin in the corner of his room. He’d have to take it out later since emptying their own bedroom waste bins was a chore both he and Dudley had to do. Still he’d done it and now he knew that his Arithmancy was correct and that his runic sequence would properly measure mana based on the unit of measurement he’d established. Maybe he could tweak the runic formula so that he didn’t have to be holding the device to get a reading? He’d have to look into that, if he could somehow work his theoretical updated rune sequence into his glasses he’d be able to scan the people around him for magic. He might be able to find other Wizards and Witches! Harry sighed as he tried to calm down this would probably take a while to work out and he had to head down for dinner soon.

Harry’s dilemma with his device continued to plague him for the rest of the school year. When summer break started he’d experimented even more with his free time. He’d made dozens of prototype devices using everything he could shape and make by himself. Wood worked up to a point but he had to carry around a pretty large stick he’d bent into a circle around itself. But after a single use it burnt out just like his clay frame, only it actually smoked and smoldered instead of falling apart. The only good news was that his updated runic sequence had worked and he could get readings from a distance now. It was roughly thirty meters, give or take a bit, which was farther than he expected to get so he’d been happy about that. Turns out that Mrs. Figg’s cats actually had a little mana in them. The large black and grey one he’d scanned with the wooden hoop had registered a ‘3’ on the light display. This led Harry back to the problem of finding a material to spell-forge and etch with runes that wouldn’t burn out after a single use. He thought that stone might work but he had no way to shape stone, so that was out. With no other options available Harry was stuck with his project.

When July came around Harry was again sent to the summer day camp. He was hopeful that he could find something to work with for his project but mainly enjoyed just crafting simple things again. The blacksmith had let him help out again and Harry had used the opportunity to imbue mana into a few small plates of metal no larger than his index finger. He’d set them aside to cool without the blacksmith noticing and retrieved them later. On the second to last day of the summer day camp Harry had innocently asked the blacksmith how glass was made. The older man had grinned at the curious boy before going out back and returning with a bag of sand. The old blacksmith had tossed in a good amount of sand and some other kind of powder into a small metal bucket. The blacksmith then closed the furnace and started pumping the bellows strongly. Black smoke billowed out of the furnace chimney as the temperature inside climbed higher and higher. After some time the blacksmith had stopped pumping the bellows and let it sit and cool. After waiting a while the old blacksmith opened the furnace and used a pair of steel tongs to extract the steel bucket. The old man poured the bucket out onto a metal work table he’d cleaned off while they waited for the furnace to cool. The still soft glass spread out in a rough circle on the table. With a grin the blacksmith handed a geared up Harry a set of steel rods and told him to make the glass any shape he wanted.

Harry nodded and as he slowly shaped the cooling glass he poured some of his mana into it. Bit by bit Harry shaped the glass while pushing his mana into it. When he finished several almost lens-shaped ovals of glass were left behind. It wasn’t the crystal clear glass he had in his glasses but it was clear enough to see through easily. With a grin Harry left the blacksmith’s workspace with a promise that the old man would finish his glass up so that it wouldn’t crack and he’d give it to Harry tomorrow. True to his word the blacksmith handed Harry ten thin glass ovals the next morning and laughed at the beaming smile on the ten year old’s face. Harry returned to Privet Drive that night ecstatic with his creations. Maybe now he could get his idea working! Vernon had complained the whole way back about the camp switching its starting and ending dates from the last few years. This year the camp had taken place in the first week of July instead of the third week like it had been before. Harry had wondered about the change but hadn’t asked about it, the camp was allowed to change when it ran if it wanted to he supposed.

With his small, thin metal plates and his glass ovals Harry set about making his newest prototype mana quantifier. Oddly enough Harry found that glue could pass mana through itself without breaking down. So he’d simply glued the first glass oval onto a metal plate and slowly carved the update runic sequence into the metal. This took him almost two full days as the metal didn’t give way to the blade like soft clay and wood did. When he’d finally gotten the sequence carved Harry had tied the prototype onto the right arm of his glasses so that the oval lens went over the right lens of the glasses. With a deep breath Harry had walked to the top of the stairs and looked down into the living room. Both Vernon and Dudley were watching some show and hadn’t noticed him. Harry directed a bit of his mana into his creation as he focused on Vernon. Stifling his gasp when a number appeared on the oval lens Harry mentally cheered at the ‘1’ displayed on the lens. Turning to Dudley the number disappeared and Harry sent a bit of mana into his device again. The number appeared again, another ‘1’, as he looked at his cousin. Harry quietly retreated to his room to celebrate his successful test run.

It was the next morning when Harry picked up the mail that he saw a letter addressed to him in green ink. Turning it over he noticed a wax seal and recognized the name form his mother’s notebook, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

-End Chapter-

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So how was that for a start? Our Harry has discovered his magic, trained with it, and found a burgeoning gift for Magical Item Crafting. Now his Hogwarts letter has arrived, what will the Dursley’s reaction be? Find out next time in chapter two of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 2: Diagon, Testing, Heading for Hogwarts

Chapter Text

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru here with chapter two of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy. This chapter Harry gets his letter to Hogwarts and the Dursleys have to admit that they have known that he was Magical the whole time. Harry is able to send his reply and a friendly, if hairy, gentle giant shows up to take him shopping. How will our budding Artificer react to the hidden Magical World? Perhaps a better question, will the Magical World survive Harry’s curiosity?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 2 – Diagon Alley, Testing, Heading for Hogwarts

Harry stared at the thick parchment envelope with some shock. He’d gotten a letter from Hogwarts, but why? Did they somehow find out he’d been doing Magic? How? He’d have to read it to find out, he surmised.

“Harry? What’s taking so long with the mail?” Vernon questioned from the kitchen where the Dursleys where sitting down to breakfast.

“Coming, Uncle Vernon.” Harry responded as he separated his letter from the rest of the stack of mail and walked into the kitchen. Harry passed the mail to his Uncle before going to sit in his chair. Vernon flipped through the stack muttering about junk mail and bills before pulling out a postcard and reading it.

“Seems Marge is feeling unwell, apparently ate some bad tripe on her trip.” Vernon commented as he put the postcard off to the side.

“Dad, Harry has a letter.” Dudley pointed out as he brought another forkful of food to his mouth.

“What’s this?” Vernon questioned as he looked over at his nephew to see him opening a large parchment envelope. His eyes went wide as he recalled Petunia telling him about just such an envelope being sent to her sister when she was turning eleven.

“It’s from Hogwarts, apparently I’ve been accepted to go there starting this school year.” Harry replied as he read over the first page of the letter. A heavy sigh from both his Aunt and Uncle caused him to look up at them. “What?”

“You’re Lily’s son so I guess it was bound to happen.” Petunia sighed again as she held out her hand for the letter. Harry handed her the first page and Petunia’s eyes skimmed over it. “Just like hers.”

“Wait, you both knew I was a Wizard?” Harry asked shocked. He’d hidden his Magical studies from his relatives because both the Charms and Transfiguration textbooks had mentioned the Statute of Secrecy. Harry didn’t want to break what seemed to be an important law even if he hadn’t met another Wizard or Witch. He’d also been unsure how his relatives would take his Magical displays considering they seemed proud of their successful normal lives.

“Of course we did, Harry, your mother was a Witch so you being a Wizard was very likely. We were simply waiting to see if you actually received the letter before we told you. If it didn’t come then we didn’t feel it needed to be brought up.” Vernon informed his nephew with a sigh while Dudley sat in his chair looking back and forth between his parents and his cousin in shock and confusion. From there it was a conversation about the means to get in contact with Hogwarts and accept his invite to study there. Vernon and Petunia were uncomfortable around Magic and were hoping to have a staff member from Hogwarts take Harry to the Magical shopping center in London.

“It says they ‘await my owl’ what does that mean?” Harry asked confused as the letter had come through the normal post.

“Once you write your acceptance response there should be an owl perched somewhere near the house. Just hold it out to the bird and it should take it before flying back to them.” Petunia informed remembering how Lily had sent her own acceptance letter back. With some help from Vernon and Petunia to make the acceptance letter at least partially formal, Harry sealed it up and headed out to the back yard. After looking around and not seeing an owl Harry got an idea.

“This could be a good time to try out my prototype.” Harry mused to himself as he pulled his Magic Quantifier out of the waistband of his pants. “I really need to find a better place to keep this.” He muttered before holding it against his head so that he could look through the lens of his trinket. A small bit of mana to the trinket and Harry started looking around the trees and even on rooftops within his line of sight. He didn’t get any readings of mana as he looked around but surely an owl that delivered magical letters had to have some mana of its own, right? A sudden blip on the lens and the number ‘5’ appeared causing Harry to stop his searching and notice an owl perched on the edge of the neighbor’s fence with a tree branch shading its perch. It was no wonder he hadn’t seen the bird. Its darker feathers and the shade it was perched in made it blend in. “Score one for my prototype though.” Harry chuckled as he walked towards the owl slowly. ‘At least I know I don’t have to be aware of a Magical Being to get a reading on their mana.’ He thought to himself as he stopped in front of the owl and held out the letter.

“Could you take my response back to Hogwarts?” Harry carefully asked the owl when it looked at him. There was something about the bird’s eyes that led Harry to understand that the bird had more intelligence than normal. With a soft hoot the owl held out one of its legs. Harry noticed a piece of string tied around the leg and gently set about rolling his letter up and tying it to the owl’s leg. With another hoot the owl took off and started flying in what Harry thought was a northern direction. “Guess I just wait now.” He mumbled as he headed back inside. “Since my prototype works maybe I should come up with a name for it now? But what to call it, maybe I should use an acronym?” With a chuckle Harry walked back into the house and went up to his room to ponder names for his Magic Quantifier.

By the time next morning rolled around Harry had come up with a tentative acronym name he’d liked. Spell Crafted Ocular Unit Total Energy Reader or S.C.O.U.T.E.R. for short. Saying the full name was a mouthful but calling his Magic Quantifier a Scouter made some sense. Any Magical Being within thirty meters of Harry could have their total amount of mana ‘scouted’ by him so he would at least know their relative magical strength compared to his own. Plus he’d broken down his prototype’s main features to come up with the words used in the acronym. Spell Crafted for how it was made, Ocular Unit because it was used by the eye, and Total Energy Reader because it told him the total amount of mana, which is what he called magical energy, a Magical Being had at their full strength. There were definitely still adjustments and improvements that could be made to his Scouter but for his first totally original design Harry felt that he’d done well.

A loud knock on the front door alerted everyone in the Dursley’s home that someone had arrived. Harry made his way down stairs from his room only to see Vernon at the door looking gob smacked at the large, hairy man standing on his doorstep. This was probably the staff member from Hogwarts and Harry was already too curious to hold himself back. With a quick movement he had his Scouter at his eye and was scanning the huge man for his mana amount. Harry’s eyes tried to follow the rapidly growing number on the lens but lost track quickly. When the number came to a stop Harry almost stumbled back in shock. There on the lens was the number ‘7,062’. Harry almost burst with questions just from the number alone. Was this an average reading for Magicals? Was it higher or lower than normal? How had the large man gotten such a high amount of mana? Why was he so large? Was it because he had so much mana? Question after question appeared in Harry’s mind before he settled on a single realization to try and calm himself down. His ‘270’ mana wasn’t very much when compared to this man’s. He’d need to look into becoming a bit more magically powerful in the future; it never hurt to be prepared after all. Quickly putting his Scouter back at his waist he walked down the stairs catching the large man’s attention.

“There’s Harry, look just like yer father, yeh do.” The large man laughed as Harry came to stand beside Vernon.

“You knew my father?” Harry asked curiously. Vernon and Petunia had only heard about his father a few times from his mother, so neither of them knew the man personally. This could be a good chance to learn something about his parents.

“I did indeed, bit o’ a prankster in his school days. Grew up ter’ be a respectable wizard though.” The huge man grinned; at least Harry thought so with the way his eyes crinkled upwards.

“Are you here to take me to get my school things?” Harry asked getting a nod from the large man.

“Aye, I’m supposed te’ take ye up te’ Diagon Alley ter’ buy yer school things.” The man grinned happily. “Name’s Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and the Grounds of Hogwarts.”

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Hagrid.” Harry smiled back.

“I’ll have him back in a few hours. Don’t suppose he’ll even be late fer’ dinner.” Hagrid nodded to Vernon getting a small nod back. With that Harry followed after Hagrid and the two made their way to the nearest bus stop. Throughout their trip towards London Harry asked Hagrid dozens of questions. Most of them were about his parents and the rest were about the hidden Magical World. Hagrid had been able to answer the majority of his questions so Harry had been mostly satisfied during the trip. When they stopped in front of a dingy pub called ‘The Leaky Cauldron’ Harry couldn’t keep the unimpressed look off his face.

"This is the entrance to Diagon Alley?" Harry questioned Hagrid.

Hagrid chuckled at the confused tone in Harry's voice. He supposed that the Leaky Cauldron really did look a bit out of place when compared to the more modern surrounding buildings.

"Indeed it is, Harry." Hagrid nodded. "Remember what I told ye; yer quite famous in the Wizarding World. So we’ll try ter’ make our way through without drawing attention." Harry grimaced not sure a man of Hagrid’s size could go anywhere without drawing attention. He was also a bit skeptical about this supposed fame of his, but would prefer not to cause a scene if possible. Quickly making sure his hair covered the faint scar on his forehead the two entered the Leaky Cauldron.

“Afternoon, Hagrid, the usual?” The man at the bar called as soon as Hagrid walked through the door.

“Not today, Tom, escortin’ a new First Year through Diagon.” Hagrid replied as he gently patted Harry’s shoulder. The pat still almost sent Harry to the floor though. They were quickly able to pass through the Leaky Cauldron without incident and were soon in Diagon Alley proper. Harry had thought the brick wall that separated when certain bricks were touched was a cool trick. Diagon Alley itself featured a cobblestone road that was too narrow compared to a modern street and a variety of smallish buildings selling all sorts of strange things. It looked like something one might see in a history book about London by Harry’s reckoning.

"Come along Harry, our firs’ stop is Gringotts, the Wizarding bank." Hagrid whispered lowly, not wanting to give away the boy’s identity.

"What are those?" Harry asked surprised as he saw a pair of obviously non-human guards while they were walking up the steps of the bank.

"Goblins, Harry." Hagrid replied. "They own and run Gringotts, their good with money, but not very fond o’ wizards. Yeh’d be mad to try an’ rob the place, full of spells and enchantments. It’s a huge maze o’ tunnels and even dragons if the stories are to be believed."

Harry almost stopped to stare at Hagrid in shock. Goblins as bankers of all things? That was quite the departure from the fantasy stereotype of stupid, smelly creatures that were found in the fantasy books at the library. They were probably more vicious though. According to Vernon’s grumblings human bankers were the most cutthroat people in the world. Pairing that up with Magic and how these Goblins seemed to practically glare at everyone they saw didn’t inspire confidence.

An inscription on the second set of doors caught Harry’s eye and he quickly read it as they passed. ‘Enter stranger, but take heed. Of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn. Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors. A treasure that was never yours. Thief, you have been warned, beware. Of finding more than treasure there.’ Well that wasn’t terrifying or anything, Harry thought to himself. Groundskeeper and soon-to-be student stepped up to one of the numerous goblin tellers shortly after entering the bank proper.

"Afternoon, we’ve come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter’s vault." Hagrid said. The goblin teller looked over the two of them before responding.

“Do you have the key?” The goblin asked getting Hagrid to perk up.

“Got it here somewhere.” Hagrid replied digging through his many pockets. Within a minute Hagrid grinned as he held up a small golden key. The goblin took the key and looked it over carefully.

“This appears to be in order. You are aware that you may only withdraw from the trust vault, correct?” The goblin questioned getting Harry to start slightly. Trust vault? Didn’t that mean there was another vault in his name?

“Yeah, I also have a letter from Albus Dumbledore about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred thirteen.” Hagrid replied as he passed a letter to the teller. The goblin took the letter and began to read over it. After a short moment the teller nodded.

“I’ll have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!” The teller called out and another goblin came over.

"Excuse me you mentioned this was my trust vault, correct?" Harry interjected as politely as he could. "Does that mean that there is also another vault?"

"Of course, but you do not have access to it until you are of age." The goblin teller replied his tone laced with slight annoyance. Harry was much too excited by the idea of potentially learning about his Magical Family to care about that though, and pressed on with his questioning. "Would it be possible to discuss my account with the one managing it?"

"Is that necessary, Harry? I told yer Uncle I’d have yeh back before dinner." Hagrid asked him. "Yer trust vault should have more than o’nough for your school supplies.”

"What's the You-Know-What?" Harry asked in response to Hagrid’s comment.

"I can’t tell yeh that! It’s more than me job’s worth to tell yeh." Hagrid replied quickly. Harry simply nodded. Obviously, they weren't going to tell a new student if they were being so secretive in the first place.

“If that’s the case I can talk to the account manager while you retrieve the item you were sent to collect.” Harry offered only to get a harrumph from the goblin called Griphook. Turning to look at the goblin both Harry and Hagrid were met with a glare.

“If you could decide your business quickly it would be most appreciated. Time is money and you’re wasting mine.” Griphook growled lowly at them.

“Please Hagrid, I just want to know what’s in my other vault and if I can try and learn about my family.” Harry pleaded with the gentle giant of a man.

“Alright, alright, Harry, no need ter start with the beggin’ look.” Hagrid relented with a sigh. “Look these Gringotts’ carts make me queasy anyway. So I’ll probably need a pick-me-up at the Leaky Cauldron afterwards. Once you’re done with yer business and got yer money I’ll be waiting for yeh at the bottom of the bank steps. If I’m not there come straight to the Cauldron, jus’ knock on the bricks to open ‘em from this side, and find me alright?”

“Of course, Hagrid, I still need you to show me around after all.” Harry smiled back at the large man. Hagrid beamed back at him and they turned to Griphook. They were startled to find another goblin already waiting beside Griphook.

“This is Ripfang, he’ll be taking you to vault seven hundred thirteen.” Griphook introduced the new goblin. Hagrid nodded and followed the goblin. “Follow me, wizard, I’ll take you to see Account Overseer Margok after we get your withdrawal taken care of.” With that said Griphook set a brisk pace towards the same door Hagrid and Ripfang had left through only moments before.

One roller coaster-like cart ride later and Harry was standing in front of his trust vault. Griphook opened the door and Harry saw piles upon piles of gold, silver and bronze coins stacked inside the vault. Griphook pointed out a money pouch hanging in the vault and told Harry to use it to collect his withdrawal. Scooping in a large amount of all three types of coins, after having Griphook explain what each one was, Harry was confident that he’d have enough money to buy his school supplies and any other books or items that caught his interest. While on the cart ride back up Harry mentally reminded himself of the Wizarding currency, Gold Galleons, Silver Sickles, and Bronze Knuts. Twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle, seventeen Sickles to a Galleon. When they got back to the surface Griphook once again set a brisk pace as he led Harry to see his Account Overseer. Arriving at a door with a gold plaque that simply said Margok, Griphook knocked three times and a call of ‘Enter.’ was heard from within.

“Thank you for your help Griphook.” Harry thanked the goblin for leading him with a nod. Griphook simply turned and walked away without another word and Harry entered the office.

"I must admit that I am rather surprised that you would want to speak to me already, Mr. Potter." Margok stated as soon as his office door closed behind Harry. "Since you cannot touch any of the Potter finances aside from what is in your trust vault until you are of age, something that I am sure you were already informed of by the teller." Harry felt that Margok was really asking 'Why are you here wasting my time?’

"I was simply curious about the state of my family’s finances." Harry replied as he moved over to the plain chairs that sat in front of Margok’s desk. "I would like an accounting of the Potter family assets." Harry was thankful that he’d learned these terms from listening to Vernon over the years as his uncle managed the Dursley family’s bank accounts.

"Very well." Margok grumbled, taking some documents out of a drawer on his side of the desk. "The Potter family liquid assets amount to ten thousand galleons with another five thousand in your trust vault. The main vault also holds assorted heirlooms and other items acquired over the years."

"Is there an inventory of these items?" Harry questioned eagerly, his mind on what might be in there in regards to his family and their history.

"No. Gringotts merely stores the items of our vault holders. We do not care what they are, unless the item is goblin-made in which case our treaty with your Ministry allows us to reclaim ownership of said item." Margok informed the young wizard.

"I see." Harry disappointedly replied. He was hoping that there might be a family history or some mementos from his parents.

Margok paid him no mind as he continued. "The only land the Potter’s still own is where Potter Manor once stood. It was destroyed by the Death Eaters shortly after the deaths of your paternal grandparents."

Harry was sad to learn that his family’s home had also been destroyed. He’d learned about what had happened to his parents from Hagrid on their trip to London. Something was bothering him about all this though. The money to own a large manor and estate couldn't be coming from nowhere, there had to be some sort of business bringing a profit into the Potter vault.

"Does the Potter family own some kind of business?" Harry asked.

"Not anymore." Margok bluntly replied. "A small scale potion-making company called Sleekeazy’s belonged to your grandfather, Fleamont Potter. But he sold the company upon his retirement. It did quadruple the Potter family’s wealth but most of that was spent on the war effort against the Death Eaters.”

"What’ll happen to the lands if I have no money? Will they be seized because of taxes?" Harry asked having heard of repossession on the television before and having the basic premise explained by Vernon and Petunia.

"Not as such." Margok grunted. "The taxes on ancestral lands are fairly low, around a hundred Galleons a year for a property the size of the Potter estate."

"I see." Harry replied relieved, before frowning. He would have to find out some way to get some money coming into his family’s vault. "I can do whatever I want with the money in my trust vault, is that correct?"

"It is." Margok stated clearly bored.

"Is the amount of gold in my trust vault a fixed amount or does it get periodically replenished?" Harry questioned trying to see if he could get to the money in the Potter family vault and use some of it to invest.

"The former, the trust vault is only refilled if its balance becomes zero." Margok informed.

"Could I move the contents of my trust vault to a new one, and repeat this until I have an appropriate amount of funds?" Harry asked his mind working to try and figure out his family’s financial problem and fix it.

Margok sighed, while it wasn’t all that hard to figure out this type of scheme, branch members of wealthy families thought of it often enough, it did show that the boy was trying to make plans for that money.

"There is a rather substantial fee applied to such services." Margok stated with a fanged smile.

"How much of a fee?" Harry asked suddenly suspicious.

"Twenty percent per transaction.” Margok informed greed practically dripping from his tone.

"That's practically theft!" Harry gaped at the goblin.

"You could always wait until you are of age." Margok offered; smirking at the glare the young wizard was aiming at him. He may have been willing to go lower, but the young Potter seemed desperate enough for the money to agree to that exorbitant fee and Gringotts didn’t do charity, especially not for wizards.

"I think I’ll just leave the money where it is for now." Harry grimaced.

"If you’re sure." Margok replied with his fanged smile, it was unfortunate that he wouldn’t be making a profit off this meeting. But it showed the Potter boy was smart enough to bide his time when it came to his inheritance. Good money sense was a rare trait in a lot of wizards now days.

Hagrid’s good mood was greatly appreciated when Harry came out of Gringotts. He got the feeling that Hagrid was a man of humbleness and was able to enjoy the simple things. Harry decided that he should probably learn to take a page from the large man’s book and enjoy what he could with what he had. His financial situation may demand it until he reached seventeen. But Hagrid’s good mood was infectious and it helped lift Harry’s own mood since it wasn’t exactly sunshine and daisies after his meeting with Margok.

Their first stop after Gringotts was Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Even after Hagrid’s warning about people seeing his scar, Madam Malkin stayed professional, though it could be that she didn’t notice the faint scar. It gave him hope that it wouldn’t be as bad as Hagrid claimed. While waiting for the rest of his robes to be adjusted and then bagged up, Harry pulled out his Scouter and checked Madam Malkins’ mana amount. Harry didn’t know how to feel about the ‘3846’ that appeared on the lens. It suggested that mana varied significantly from person to person. But while he waited he looked out the large window of the shop at all the Witches and Wizards moving about.

‘Well, this is as good a chance as any to experiment a bit.’ Harry thought with a small grin as he started scanning mana amounts from as many people as possible. He’d try and remember as many of them as he could to come up with the best average back at Privet Drive. ‘2270’ from a wizard selling something out of a stand on the side of the alleyway, ‘5538’ from a witch that looked to be wearing some type of uniform robe. A reading of ‘896’ from a boy that looked to be two or three years older than Harry, ‘1820’ was from the older witch leading the boy through the alley. ‘6708’ came from another person wearing the uniform robe, an older wizard this time, ‘1350’ from a witch that looked about the same age as the boy from earlier.

“Grab yer bag Harry. Still got more things ter buy.” Hagrid called getting Harry to put his Scouter away and walk over to grab his bag of new robes. He came out of the robe shop in one of his new robes feeling a bit silly, but he did blend in now and he was sure he’d get use to wearing them with some time.

The trunk shop and apothecary were next, both of which passed without incident. Though Harry did spend a few extra Galleons on a trunk enchanted with a permanent ‘Feather Light’ Charm and an Expanded Interior that essentially quadrupled the amount of space inside. Pulling on the small handles inside the trunk literally pulled another trunk space out of what was basically thin air. Harry really wanted to figure out enchantments like this! So many possibilities were running through his head already! It was in the book shop that he once again cut into their shopping time getting a fond sigh out of Hagrid.

“Yer definitely yer mum’s son alright; curious ‘bout everything and wantin’ to learn it all.” Hagrid chuckled. “Always surprised everyone she wasn’t a Ravenclaw.”

“She was in Gryffindor, right?” Harry asked to confirm what Hagrid had told him on the trip to London.

“Aye, both yer parents were.” Hagrid nodded.

“Well, maybe I’ll end up in Ravenclaw like mum should have been?” Harry asked with a grin getting a chuckle out of Hagrid. Harry continued browsing the shelves of Flourish and Blott’s grabbing all of his required texts. It was when he noticed the sign for Ancient Runes textbooks that Harry quickly realized he could buy more than required and expand his knowledge.

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy are electives that start in Third Year, Harry. You won’t be needed them just yet." Hagrid said as he saw Harry picking out books on both subjects.

"I'm buying them now. They’re interesting subjects and I want to learn." Harry stated. “Besides I’ve not had much chance to explore Magic, Hagrid, I need to learn what I can before school starts.”

“I guess yeh have a point, Harry.” Hagrid conceded as Harry smiled and pulled a few more books off the shelves before they made their way towards the checkout counter. After all Harry wanted to learn about all sorts of Magic and with titles like, ‘Magical Crafting’, ‘Advanced Magical Crafting’, and “Esoteric Magics from Around the World’ how could he not buy them?

Harry had long wanted a pet, so the Magical Menagerie was their next stop. Looking around for a while, Hagrid suddenly pointed out a beautiful Snowy Owl with luminous yellow eyes. Harry thought the owl looked amazing.

“She’s a real beaut’ isn’t she Harry?” Hagrid asked with a grin as they walked over towards the owl.

“She’s brilliant.” Harry agreed as they stood in front of the owl. The owl looked them over and Harry slowly reached out to pet her. The Snowy Owl allowed Harry to gently run his fingers over her pure white feathers.

“I think she likes yeh, Harry.” Hagrid chuckled. “How ‘bout I buy her for yeh as an early birthday present?”

“Hagrid, you don’t have to do that.” Harry replied not having expected to be bought a gift.

“But I want to, Harry. Just think of it as a birthday gift from a family friend.” Hagrid smiled getting a beaming smile back from Harry. They quickly picked out a nice cage for the Snowy Owl and purchased some food and treats for her before leaving the Magical Menagerie.

Their last stop of the day was the wand shop, Ollivander's. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was some kind of unidentifiable feeling in the air. Almost like static to his senses.

"Good afternoon." The soft greeting came from behind, causing Harry to almost jump from the sudden sound from behind.

"Hello." Harry replied with caution. There was something about the man and his silvery eyes that was definitely odd.

"Ah, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you here soon, Harry Potter." The man continued, seeming to ignore Harry’s discomfort.

"Must yeh do that every time, Ollivander?" Hagrid asked with a sigh his own huge hand over his heart.

"Rubeus, Rubeus Hagrid. Oak at sixteen inches and a Unicorn tail hair core, rather bendy.” Ollivander rattled off as he looked at Hagrid. “Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?"

"Yes, but I’ve still got the pieces though.” Hagrid sighed.

“But you don’t use them do you?” Ollivander inquired getting Hagrid to grab one side of his large coat while shaking his head.

Harry had to suppress his curiosity at the conversation between the two men. How had Hagrid gotten expelled? The old wand maker apparently knew about Hagrid’s wand and what it was made out of as well. Did he know about a lot of people’s wands?

"Well then, Mr. Potter, let us find your wand." Ollivander said, handing him a wand. "Try this one. Its Beech wood and Dragon heartstring. Nine inches exactly. Nice and flexible. Give it a wave."

Harry took the wand, feeling his skin tingle when it came into contact with the wood. He gave it a wave as instructed, feeling a little foolish since he knew he could do Magic without it. A weak stream of multi-colored sparks came from the end of the wand.

"A match on the first try?" Hagrid asked in surprise.

"No, no, I don't think so." Ollivander replied as he snatched the wand away, his eyes taking on a calculating glint. "Try this one Mr. Potter. Maple and Phoenix feather at eleven and a half inches."

Harry tried it, getting a similar result as the first. Ollivander suddenly looked as if he was suspicious of something and Harry wondered if it was about his ability to use Wandless magic. Thankfully, the old man didn't comment on it.

Many wands came and went, producing varying results, some stronger and others weaker. Eventually they came to a Holly wand with a Phoenix feather core that had a stronger reaction than any of the others so far. He felt something connect to his magic and seemingly fit with it, the wand releasing a great stream of sparks without any movement until it settled down a moment later.

"Curious, very curious." Ollivander muttered as he gazed at the wand in Harry’s hand.

"What’s curious?" Harry questioned as he looked back at the wand maker.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter." The wand maker stated. "Every single one, I find it odd that the Phoenix who donated the feather for that wand gave another feather, just one other. That other feather was used to make the wand that gave you that scar.” Ollivander explained as he pointed towards Harry’s forehead. “It is very curious that you would be chosen by the brother wand to that of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Harry tried really hard not to think it, but it was useless. That sounded undeniably like an important part of the plot for a few of the fantasy books he’d read over the years. Hagrid had even mentioned that Voldemort might not actually be dead, merely severely weakened and barely holding onto life somewhere in the world.

"I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter." Ollivander nodded. "After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things, terrible yes, but great."

Somewhat unnerved by the creepy tone the old man used, Harry was still getting that feeling of an ‘important plot point’ just being revealed from his books. But his innate curiosity eventually overwhelmed him and he had to ask Ollivander a question.

“You made all of these wands, Mr. Ollivander?” Harry questioned.

“Hmm? No, not all of them, a great many of the ones here are my work. Some, however, are my father’s and one or two still remain from my grandfather’s time.” Ollivander answered.

“How do you make wands?” Harry asked before he could stop himself.

“Ah, I’m afraid the secrets of wandlore aren’t so easily acquired, Mr. Potter.” Ollivander grinned getting an embarrassed flush to take over Harry’s cheeks. “Though, I must admit my own curiosity about that trinket in your robe pocket.” The old man stated as he stared directly at the pocket that held Harry’s Scouter. Harry quickly put his hand over the pocket as if to protect his creation.

“How did you know about that?” Harry questioned staring back at the wand maker. Hagrid merely looked confused at the back and forth between the two.

“I’ve been crafting wands for decades, Mr. Potter. I’m rather in tune to the magic given off by Enchanted Objects.” Ollivander explained calmly. “Might I have a look at your trinket?”

“I guess.” Harry agreed after giving the wand maker a long stare. He pulled the Scouter out of his robe pocket and let Ollivander look it over.

“I see, yes a simple counting runic sequence, followed by a permanent unit of measure outlined by the second half of the sequence. But I’m not sure what it is that’s being counted. This combination in the second half is new to me.” Ollivander mumbled to himself as he looked over the Scouter. “Would you care to enlighten a fellow craftsman, Mr. Potter?”

“It counts mana.” Harry replied after a moment of indecision. “Aren’t there ways to measure someone’s magical strength?” Ollivander’s eyes widening immediately clued Harry into the fact that, no, apparently there wasn’t a known way to quantify a person’s magical strength.

“Are you saying you’ve come up with a reliable unit of measure for Magic, Mr. Potter?  That’s been debated for centuries without anyone coming to a consensus. I dare say this little trinket of yours could upend the way many Magicals view Magic as a whole.” Ollivander breathed out as he looked over the Scouter with newfound respect. Harry flushed embarrassed but also incredibly proud of himself at the same time.

“Would you like to give it a try, Mr. Ollivander?” Harry asked getting a surprisingly energetic nod from the old wand maker. Harry showed him how to hold it so that the lens went over his right eye and Ollivander instantly figured out how to activate it. With a hum of enjoyment Ollivander scanned Harry and then a moment later Hagrid.

“So a reading of ‘270’ for you Mr. Potter, and Rubeus has what I can only imagine is an impressive ‘7,062’. Is it possible to scan myself?” Ollivander asked while Hagrid sat down and smiled at the number given to him. He’d always wondered if he’d be a strong wizard if he hadn’t gotten expelled. Harry’s trinket seemed to answer the question in a positive way, at least when it came to magical strength.

“Sorry, Mr. Ollivander, shortly after you stop focusing the lens on a person the number disappears.” Harry explained. “I can give you a reading though.” Ollivander gave a quick nod as he handed the Scouter back to Harry. With a quick scan Harry gave Ollivander his reading. “You have a mana amount of ‘4196’, Mr. Ollivander.”

“Hmm, I see, I wonder if my age affects the reading or if it’s because I’ve never been a combative type of person?” Ollivander mused to himself as he thought about the number. Had it been higher when he was younger and shrank as he aged? Was it continually growing? Did his constant work on wands make it higher or lower? There were so very many questions. “I would advise you to not show your runic sequence to anyone else, Mr. Potter. There are many who would steal your work just to make a quick Galleon.”

“Oh, right, I hadn’t thought about that.” Harry muttered to himself. He was sure that someone would have come up with something similar before him and hadn’t thought he’d literally made something potentially revolutionary. Mr. Ollivander seeing his expression quickly went over and wrote something out on a piece of parchment.

“Here you are, Mr. Potter. This runic sequence should help protect your work.” Ollivander stated as Harry took the small piece of parchment. “That’s a self-destruction sequence that can be placed against another runic sequence. If the two sequences ever physically separate the self-destruction sequence destroys both of them rendering them unreadable to anyone.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ollivander; I don’t know how I can thank you for this.” Harry stated while giving the old wand maker an actual bow of gratitude.

“You showed me your unique work, Mr. Potter. It’s only fair that I should part with my own. I’ve been using that self-destruction sequence to protect the secrets of my own style of wand crafting since I was a young man.” Ollivander smiled at the young Enchanter. “It seems we won’t have to wait for you to do great things, Mr. Potter, you’ve already started doing them. I look forward to what you’ll do in the future. You may be the best Enchanter we’ve seen in decades or, dare I say, the first Artificer in well over a century.” Harry found he liked that word, Artificer. It sounded like a title worth striving for.

After leaving Ollivander’s shop Hagrid took Harry back on the train to Surrey. During the trip Harry asked Hagrid not to tell anyone about his Scouter, at least not until he revealed it himself. Hagrid had agreed instantly knowing that some people would try and take Harry’s work for their own profit. Harry smiled and waved at Hagrid as the large man dropped him off at Number Four. The two had agreed to write letters for the remainder of the summer and Harry’s new owl could take them back and forth. It was nice having a Magical friend he could talk to about all sorts of Magic. Hagrid seemed incredibly knowledgeable about Magical Beasts in particular and Harry was inclined to learn about them as well with how passionately Hagrid went on about them.

-September First-

Harry sighed happily as he sank into the seats of the Hogwarts Express. Vernon had dropped Harry off at King’s Cross before heading back to Privet Drive to enjoy the rest of the Sunday. Thanks to his ‘Feather Light’ trunk Harry hadn’t needed any assistance getting his luggage onto a trolley; placing Hedwig’s cage on top and wheeling it towards the barrier that separated Platforms Nine and Ten had been the easy part. Harry had actually stopped to admire the impressive metal archway after crossing through it. It was an Artifact created by his family after all. Harry’s Great-Great-Great-Granduncle, Richard Potter, had been commissioned to create the archway back in Eighteen Fifty by the Minister of Magic at the time, Evangeline Orpington. It allowed only Magicals to pass through unless it was closed off, such as in an emergency, with the only way for Muggles to pass through being if they were escorted by a Wizard or Witch. Richard Potter had been the last Artificer of the Potter family, based on what the genealogy book Harry had bought at Flourish and Blott’s said. He’d only decided to buy the book when he’d flipped to the ‘P’ section and found a history of the Potter family, or at least its most notable members, which was more than enough reason to buy the whole book in Harry’s opinion. Finding out that there had been six well known Artificers in the Potter family since the Twelfth Century gave Harry another reason to go after the title.

Getting to spend ten months of the year for the next seven years learning Magic sounded almost perfect. Almost, because he'd learned that Magicals were technologically stupid and Harry had grown up with electricity, television, and the like. Living in a society where the greatest technological innovation that didn’t require Magic was indoor plumbing was going to be very different. Heck, they still used parchment and quills for all their writing! He'd bought a couple of ballpoint pens as soon as possible since they were what he’d grown up with. He’d use them as much as possible until his writing with a quill improved. There was tradition and then there was being stupid, Harry didn’t want to look stupid so he’d continue to practice with the quill while using the much simpler ballpoint pen until his penmanship was up to his standards.

While on the subject of things that Harry found weird about the Magical World, Harry took out his wand. It was Holly with a Phoenix feather core, eleven inches even, nice and supple. He wasn’t sure what nice and supple had to do with anything but Ollivander had mentioned it. He was honestly a bit puzzled by the concept of wands. The wand did make his magic unquestionably easier when used, but from what he'd both read and seen so far, most Magicals seemed to think that magic was as good as impossible without one.

That just made no sense to Harry. The mana resided in the witch or wizard; otherwise a wand could even be used by Muggles to cast spells. With this thought in mind, Harry concluded that wands were just magical foci, designed to make the use of magic easier. That made sense, considering the better control allowed for fine detailed spell work, like healing spells. The near crippling reliance on wands to do any magic at all did not make any sense.

Harry was already determined to master his magic without the need of a wand. Much of this determination was based on his ability to already perform Magic without one. Not to say he wouldn’t use a Magical focus if he absolutely needed to. Honestly he planned to make a few different types of them in the future. A wand was one of the most versatile foci to be created, but it certainly wasn’t the first. Magical rings, amulets, swords, knives, staves, and armor had all been crafted at various points throughout history. If the focus in question was locked into fulfilling a singular spell it would output that spell not only easier than with a wand but with greater force as well. Harry already had a few ideas floating around in his head.

Another practical reason for his determination came from Hagrid reminding him not to cast any spells at home, as the Ministry of Magic forbid Underage Sorcery and could track it. But they had clearly not managed to track any of the numerous spells he'd performed wandlessly in the past couple of years, which meant that they were tracking the wand use rather than Magic use itself.

While his accomplishments hadn’t been overly impressive, almost all of the spells he could do were in the First Year Charms curriculum, so none of them were considered great feats of Magic. But if the Ministry was tracking actual Magic use then they should still have registered considering he lived in a completely Muggle neighborhood. The Ministry may claim that they could detect any magic use, but they obviously couldn't.

Harry had read a lot of fantasy books in his search for inspiration while trying to figure out the ways of Magic. Some of these books featured the theme of a corrupt government in the narrative. The numerous instances of Restricted Magic that were mentioned in the books he'd bought at Flourish and Blott’s further solidified his developing opinion on the Ministry. After reading more on the subject it honestly didn't take him long to develop a dislike of the Ministry of Magic and start to wonder if they weren’t a bit corrupt. It just seemed odd to the young wizard that so many Magical topics were completely banned from study. All of them were usually just lumped together under the umbrella term of Dark Magic and forbidden to everyone. It made Harry want to find out what was so horrible about several of the subjects that had been banned. It wasn't like he planned to go around murdering and sacrificing people or anything. Besides, according to the Ministry’s laws, he was constantly breaking the Decree about the Reasonable Restriction on Underage Sorcery. But he honestly didn’t see any harm in breaking some of the Ministry’s more silly laws in his pursuit of Magical knowledge.

A knock on his compartment door startled Harry from his thoughts and he looked up quickly as the door opened. The person on the other side was a girl at least five or six years older than Harry himself. She was wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt with what appeared to be the ‘Weird Sisters’ band logo on it. He’d seen the logo in the Daily Prophet, which he now had a subscription to thanks to Hagrid, and knew them as a very popular magical music group. The most fascinating thing about the teen in question was her oddly colored hair and eyes. Bright pink hair with purple eyes wasn’t exactly common even in the Magical World. She must have used a spell to make these drastic changes to herself.

“Wotcher, the name’s Tonks. Don’t suppose you’d mind if I sat with you, right ickle Firstie?” Tonks asked with a playful grin.

“Uh, no please come in.” Harry invited the older girl. Tonks gave him a brief smile before stepping into the compartment with her trunk and with a quick wave of her wand had it levitated into the overhead rack. With that out of the way the older teen sat down across from Harry and got comfortable.

“So, you know my name, what’s yours?” Tonks asked once she’d gotten herself situated.

“Oh, right, I’m Harry, Harry Potter.” Harry introduced himself. Tonks eyes widened slightly before she snorted in laughter.

“That’s funny and all, since Harry Potter is supposed to start Hogwarts this year, but you won’t fool anybody without the scar on the forehead.” Tonks chuckled only to choke slightly when Harry lifted up his bangs and showed her the faint scar. “Blimey! You weren’t kidding!” She stated as she traced the scar with her eyes. “Sorry about not believing you. Just the rumors all say the scar was bigger and more noticeable because it was made by Dark Magic, you know?”

“I’m afraid I stopped listening to most of the rumors when I heard some of them say I rode Dragons at five years old and fought Vampires and Werewolves across Europe when I was nine.” Harry sighed while shaking his head. Tonks chuckled at his clear exasperation with Wizarding Britain’s rumor mill.

“Well you’re here now so you’ll only have to deal with Hogwarts’ rumor mill for a while.” Tonks grinned getting another sigh from Harry.

“I’d rather be able to study Magic in peace.” Harry replied as he patted the book next to him. He’d been planning to crack it open when the train departed.

“What’s that you’re reading?” Tonks asked curiously. Harry showed her the cover of the book and she read the title in her head. ‘Advanced Magical Crafting: Create Spells and Enchant Objects’ by Wren Strix. “Harry that’s like Sixth or Seventh Year material and you haven’t even been sorted yet. Surely you aren’t telling me you understand any of that.” She reasoned as she looked back at him.

“What’s not to understand? It’s just Runes and Arithmancy and how to get the desired effects from them. Materials are important of course but I’m told you can order most anything through Owl Order. Shouldn’t be hard to get what I need when I’m ready to start experimenting.” Harry replied as he looked over his book for any reason Tonks would think it was difficult to understand.

“Nerrrrrrrd!” Tonks exclaimed as she pointed at him. Harry’s eyes went wide at her loud proclamation causing Tonks to burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Harry demanded a little incensed at the older girl’s teasing.

“Nothing, Harry, don’t worry. You might be a nerd but Tonks will still be your pal!” Tonks replied as she got her laughter under control.

“Oi!” Harry called out getting another round of giggles out of Tonks.

“Oh, don’t pout Harry, I’m just teasing.” Tonks smiled as she leaned back into her seat. Harry didn’t think he was pouting at all! “So, if you can understand all of that, does that mean you’ve made a spell or Enchanted Object before?” She asked curiously and almost burst into giggles again when Harry perked right back up at her question.

“Yeah, I’ve made two so far. I probably could have made a few more if I’d stuck to simpler trinkets like my first one; but I got really invested into my second project and ended up spending almost a year on it.” Harry explained as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his Hiding Stone and his Scouter. Tonks pulled the drop down table up and locked it into place so that Harry could set his trinkets on it. Looking them over Tonks saw a small flat stone with thick twine wrapped around it with a loop of twine left on top. It looked like it was meant to be hung from the twine and had four Runes etched into it. The other was a thin metal bar with a glass lens attached to it. A small plank of wood no thicker than a popsicle’ stick was attached to one side of the metal as well.

“So what’s this one do?” Tonks asked pointing at the stone. It seemed the simplest so she figured it was probably his first creation.

“That’s a Hiding Stone. It makes the one holding it less noticeable. Alternatively you can hang it on something to make the other object less noticeable. It’s not very strong, since people that want to find you can see through it, but no one will notice you ‘out of the corner of their eye’ as the saying goes.” Harry explained. Tonks whistled impressed.

“That’s still pretty neat Harry. I can think of a few times I would’ve wanted something like this. Plus you made it before even coming to Hogwarts, so that’s doubly impressive.” Tonks grinned getting an adorable blush out of the First Year. “So what’s this other one do?”

“That’s my current best work. I call it a Scouter, it’s short for Spell Crafted Ocular Unit Total Energy Reader, and it reads a person’s total amount of mana.” Harry explained.

“That name would’ve been way too long if you hadn’t shortened it.” Tonks chuckled getting a bashful grin from Harry. “One question though?”

“Sure, what is it?” Harry asked.

“What’s mana?” Tonks asked confused.

“Right, I borrowed the term from Muggle fiction. I guess most Magically-raised people wouldn’t have heard of it.” Harry stated as he scratched the side of his head. “Mana is what I call Magical Energy. My Scouter uses a base unit of measurement to calculate a Magical’s total Magical strength.” He explained.

“Wait, wait, and wait! You’ve made something that can tell you a person’s Magical strength?! No one has ever agreed on a way to truly measure Magic! How the bloody hell did you do it?!” Tonks asked shocked. This was considered impossible for as long as anyone could remember! How had Harry done it before even coming to Hogwarts?!

“I used the Lumos Charm as the base.” Harry spat out quickly shocked by Tonks’ reaction. “I just kept using less and less mana to cast it until I found out the absolute minimum amount required to get the spell to work.”

“So how does it work?” Tonks asked once she’d calmed down slightly. “I see a lens so I’m assuming you look through that.”

“Correct, here I’ll scan you as a demonstration.” Harry offered getting an enthusiastic nod from Tonks.

“Scan away, nerd.” Tonks grinned, getting a sigh from Harry at her teasing. Harry held the Scouter up to his eye and added the small amount of mana to activate it. The numbers climbed rapidly before settling on ‘4460’.

“Wow, you’ve got quite a bit of mana, Tonks. You rate in at a ‘4460’ on the Scouter, that’s stronger than a few of the Witches and Wizards I’ve seen so far. Tonks looked pleased with herself before turning to face him.

“What’s the average so far? I don’t know how many you’ve been able to get readings on but the more people involved the more accurate the average right?” Tonks asked getting Harry to sigh.

“I’ve only been able to get the readings of eleven people so far so it isn’t very accurate yet. But the current average is close to thirty five hundred.” Harry informed her.

“Well that means I’m still above average so I’m good!” Tonks smirked in triumph. Harry chuckled at her energetic personality. “You want to walk the train after we depart and try and get some more readings? It would only be of school age children but you could get an average for our age range at least.” She offered and Harry nodded happily, the chance to collect more data was always welcome.

Before long the train departed and the two started planning their walk up and down the train. Harry was a bit confused about something and felt like he could ask Tonks about it.

“Hey, Tonks?” Harry asked.

“What’s up, Harry?” Tonks questioned.

“Why did you decide to sit with me? You’re fun to be around so I figured you’d have a bunch of friends to sit with.” Harry wondered getting a grin from Tonks.

“Most of my closer friends graduated last year, so poor old Tonksie got left behind with only a couple of her underclassman friends. But they’re already crammed four deep into their compartment and I like room to stretch my legs.” Tonks explained as she stretched her legs out until they touched the seat beside Harry’s.

“Oh that makes sense. It would be horrible to be uncomfortable for the entire six hour ride.” Harry nodded. There was a knock on their compartment door and Harry brought his Scouter up to his eye to get a reading of the person’s mana. The door opened and a bushy haired girl and a nervous looking boy stood in the doorway. Harry scanned the girl first getting a reading of ‘104’ before quickly scanning the nervous boy and getting a ‘116’.

“Have either of you seen a toad? Neville here has lost his.” The bushy haired girl asked.

“Nope, no toads here, though if you want to find it quickly I’d suggest getting a Prefect to try Summoning it with the Accio Charm.” Tonks replied getting the girl’s eyes to light up.

“That’s an excellent idea. Come on, Neville, let’s go find a Prefect.” With that the two left without even introducing themselves properly.

“Bit of a headlong running type, right Harry?” Tonks grinned getting a nod back from Harry. Without any more interruptions Tonks and Harry started their trek up and down the Hogwarts Express. Stopping in on various people Tonks knew and only introducing him as ‘Harry the Firstie’ that Tonks was showing around. By the end of the walk and return to their compartment Harry had scanned what must have been half of the students on board. He had so many new readings to compile to get an average for the students that he immediately pulled out a ballpoint pen and a piece of parchment and began writing.

“Going to be done soon, Harry?” Tonks asked with some mirth several minutes later having taken out a ‘Teen Witch Weekly’ magazine from her trunk to amuse herself as she waited.

“Almost done.” Harry replied not looking up from his parchment. Another minute or so passed before Harry looked up and spoke. “Alright, I’ve got the average for at least close to half of the students.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense, what is it?” Tonks asked eagerly wanting to know where she stood, Magical strength-wise, among the students.

“The average Magical strength of the students we scanned is ‘1535’ so that should be a rough estimate of the average for students when accounting for everyone from First Year to Seventh Year.” Harry stated as he looked over at Tonks with a grin. “Congratulations, Miss Tonks, you’re almost three times stronger than the average student.”

“Bloody right! Who’s the Top Dog of the school now?!” Tonks cheered as she pumped her fist happily. Harry outright laughed at her reaction. Not long after the trolley lady came by selling sweets and snacks. Both Harry and Tonks got a few things; Tonks got her favorites while Harry got a few things to try out. It was slowly turning from afternoon into early evening when the next interruption to their trip appeared. Without so much as a knock the door to their compartment was pulled open and a blonde boy around Harry’s age stood there with two larger boys standing behind him.

“I’ve heard Harry Potter’s starting this year and I’ve been looking for him. This is one of the last few compartments I’ve left to check. So are you Harry Potter?” The blonde boy asked as he looked Harry over.

“Nice to see you too, wittle cousin Drakey.” Tonks baby voiced at the blonde getting an affronted look from the boy.

“You’re no cousin of mine, Halfblood!” The blonde hissed out getting an eye roll from Tonks. While the blonde and the two large boys were focused on Tonks Harry sneakily scanned each of them. The blonde had a reading of ‘90’ while the boy on the left was an ‘82’ and the one on the right was ‘84’. Harry quickly stashed his Scouter back into his robe pocket before the blonde turned back to him. “So are you Harry Potter or not?” He asked again.

“Yes, my name is Harry Potter; might I inquire as to yours?” Harry asked politely having been taught not to antagonize people when first meeting them.

“My names Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle. You’ll soon find out that some Wizarding families are better than others. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” Draco introduced himself and made his offer.

“While I appreciate your concern, Malfoy, I usually rely on my own experiences with a person to determine if they’re the ‘right sort’ or not. I think I’m keeping good company with Miss Tonks.” Harry replied getting a laugh from Tonks while Draco simply huffed.

“You’ll see I was right eventually, Potter.” Draco stated before turning and leaving taking Crabbe and Goyle with him.

“Bit of a prat that one.” Harry commented getting a nod of agreement from Tonks.

“Most definitely, unfortunately he’s my Aunt’s son so we’re related, but you can’t choose your family.” Tonks shrugged before standing up from her seat. “Now if you’d be so kind as to step out of the compartment I’d appreciate it.”

“Huh? What for?” Harry questioned as he watched Tonks rummage through her trunk in the overhead rack.

“I mean unless you want to watch me change into my robes? You are about that age I guess.” Tonks teased while giving him a wink. Harry’s face flushed bright red and he practically scrambled out of the compartment shutting the door behind him. Tonks’ laughter carried out even through the closed door.

“Tonks you’re mental.” Harry muttered as he felt his face burning hot.

“This is going to be a fun year.” Tonks chuckled as she waved her wand to lock the door and pull down the shades.

-End Chapter-

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So there’s chapter two! Harry meets Hagrid, gets his school supplies, and even meets a new friend on the train. Bonus that his new friend is everyone’s favorite lovable Metamorph! I simply reduced Tonks’ age by a year and she becomes a Seventh Year when Harry is a First Year. What antics will these two get up to together at Hogwarts? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 3: Sorting, Classes, Crafting

Chapter Text

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru here with chapter three of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy. This chapter Harry gets to Hogwarts and gets sorted. He’ll go through some classes and make a new friend. Plus he sets himself up a private workshop/practice room in an out of the way classroom to continue his Enchanting.

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 3 – Sorting, Classes, Crafting

Harry disembarked from the train at Hogsmeade Station, at least Tonks said that was what the station was called, and followed the instructions Hagrid gave. He got into a boat with two girls and another boy. He didn't even really notice much about the other three soon-to-be students, far too excited to see Hogwarts for the first time. Hagrid had said in their letters that the first sight of Hogwarts was truly amazing. The gentle giant hadn’t been exaggerating, the magnificent first sight of Hogwarts truly lived up to the expectations Hagrid had given it. After getting off the boats and being led to an antechamber by a witch called Professor McGonagall they’d had a scare with actual ghosts, which Harry had felt was an interesting experience. It also made him a bit curious about how ghosts ‘worked’ for lack of a better term. Only at Hogwarts for a few minutes and already new curiosities were appearing. They were led into the Great Hall by Professor McGonagall to the looks and stares of the rest of the school. Professor McGonagall began calling off names and one by one the new students went up to the small stool with the odd singing hat to be sorted. A handful of minutes later and he had the ratty old hat on his head and was about to be sorted.

“Hmmm, how interesting.” The voice of the hat murmured into his mind, startling him a little. “You have courage, but it's a more cautious sort, more for experimenting rather than bravery. Not particularly suited for Gryffindor.”

Harry didn't really have an opinion on that, sure both of his parents had been Gryffindors, but if the magical talking hat said Gryffindor wasn't for him then that was as good a reason for not being sorted there as any he supposed. Besides, he'd been observing the Sorting so far, he had a feeling a lot of the headstrong and brash types went to Gryffindor. Intelligence didn't seem to be held in high regard in that house and stupidity could easily be mistaken for bravery. He’d seen ‘tests of courage’ done by some of the ‘rougher’ children in Primary School. Usually it ended up with the child in question getting caught trying to shoplift. Not brave, just stupid, in Harry’s opinion.

“You have ambition, and are rather cunning. You could do well in Slytherin.” The hat stated in his mind. Harry grimaced in distaste. Malfoy had gone to Slytherin and he didn’t really want to interact with the blond prat.

He knew what the hat was talking about in terms of ambition though. Harry wanted to secure his future by fixing his Family’s financial situation and by becoming stronger and more knowledgeable in Magic. With financial security came stability and with magical knowledge and power he could, theoretically, go out into the world and study all sorts of Magic. Perhaps even unravel ancient secrets or create wondrous Artifacts the world had never seen. In the meantime, there was no need to put up with people like Malfoy when there were other options available.

“Not Slytherin then.” The hat agreed, feeling Harry’s displeasure at the offer. “You’re not afraid of hard work either. Hufflepuff would be good for you. You could make friends there.”

‘I already have a friend there.’ Harry thought back. ‘But she graduates this year so there isn’t much point in going to Hufflepuff based on that.’ Harry reasoned. Other than Tonks it seemed as if most of the people of the Magical World were going to be more interested in befriending his fame rather than him.

The hat almost seemed to sigh. “I see that holds little appeal for you, very well then. You do have a good mind and want to learn, so it better be...Ravenclaw!”

Harry took the hat off his head and walked over to the table of blue and bronze, trying to ignore the loud cheering that had started after a moment of stunned silence. The other students around him went to introduce themselves with far too much enthusiasm to even pretend at being casual, but were fortunately not nearly as annoying as Malfoy had been. The last few students were sorted without incident and the Headmaster stood up to speak.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

‘Why?’ Harry thought to himself, before examining the food that had suddenly appeared. That was another interesting bit of magic he’d eventually look into. A lot of it seemed to be several varieties of meat, with various vegetable dishes between the platters of meat. Harry picked out some vegetables, potatoes and a bit of steak for himself. The goblets were filled with some kind of orange liquid, but it certainly didn’t smell like orange juice. A tentative sip sent an unexpected rush of sweetness onto his tongue. Was this made from pumpkin? Who added so much sugar to pumpkin? Who decided to juice pumpkins? What was wrong with normal fruit juices? Were they not ‘magical’ enough? Thankfully there was a pitcher of water within arm’s reach and Harry was able to switch drinks. He spent the rest of the feast filling his stomach and politely declining conversation with anyone that looked at his forehead before speaking to him. The feast eventually ended and Dumbledore stood up to speak again.

"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.” Dumbledore started once he had everyone’s attention. "First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

That sounded reasonable to Harry. Even a regular forest wasn’t something you should be wandering into haphazardly. If the Forbidden Forest stayed true to form for the Magical World, it was probably filled with monsters like feral werewolves, red caps, trolls, and giant spiders.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." Dumbledore continued.

That was a rule Harry didn’t plan on following. He had already learned to conjure fire and water but he had no plans to stop there! He planned to conjure lightning as well since Hogwarts’ ancient stone walls were non-flammable and non-conductive. He wouldn’t be able to learn how to do that if he followed that ridiculous rule.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." Dumbledore announced next. Harry knew only the basics about the sport. He knew it was played on flying brooms and that the player composition made no sense. The Seeker made every other position redundant unless the game was both very long and mostly one sided.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death." Dumbledore finished up the announcements with that ominous warning. Why did that also sound like some kind of ‘important plot point’ from his fantasy books?

"But before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore exclaimed with a large smile. Harry didn’t even know Hogwarts had a school song.

-Ravenclaw Dorm-

Harry collapsed on his very comfortable bed, face down, and exhaled into his pillow with deep sigh. He still felt like his ears had been physically assaulted from hearing the 'school song'. Good music was hopefully not a rarity in the Magical World or else Harry would have to create a trinket or charm that could record Muggle music so that he’d have something nice to listen to. To be honest he had mixed feelings about the Magical World so far.

On the plus side, he was able to study and learn more about Magic here. There was already so much he wanted to know about and even more he wanted to breakdown to figure out how it worked. The wealth of knowledge here at Hogwarts would definitely help him achieve at least part of his goals.

On the negative side, the Magical World had almost no technology to speak of. Everything was either purely mechanical or ran on Magic, there was nothing like electricity or even batteries. Harry already knew that Magical Items couldn’t be mass produced; they were literally a work of a Magical’s mana woven and bound to a physical object. If a group tried to assembly line that it would leave you with a failed enchantment and most likely a destroyed item. But surely some Witch or Wizard somewhere had tried to make a Magical battery at some point, right? If not, then why? Surely it was possible with the right runic sequence? Those were questions for later.

But at least Ravenclaws got single rooms. Having to share a room with someone would have sucked since Harry had his own room for as long as he could remember. For now he’d put the questions aside and get some sleep. Classes started tomorrow and he wanted to be well rested for them.

The next morning the school year got started in much the same way as a non-magical one would, though with much different subjects. Harry’s thoughts on his classes varied greatly depending said subject.

Herbology wasn't something that Harry could claim any real interest in. He also wasn’t impressed by Astronomy and its old fashioned telescopes. Magic made up for a bit of the difference between the old telescopes and modern ones. However buying some newer Muggle telescopes and enchanting them would produce a far greater degree of clarity. He had quickly decided that History of Magic was either a free period or a time to do something else. Their ghostly teacher was literally quoting the book verbatim which made the class itself completely redundant. Not to mention that Binns seemed obsessively focused on the Goblin Wars, to the exclusion of the rest of their textbook in fact.

Charms class was interesting, but they hadn't done anything more than the Lumos Charm and the Color Changing Charm so far. Harry had already mastered the Lumos Charm to a degree that most adults hadn’t and wandlessly at that. The Color Changing Charm was a fun novelty but nothing more than a parlor trick by comparison to the spells Harry had already read about.

Transfiguration was equally interesting and near the end of his last class Harry had been staring at the silver needle on his desk in quiet contemplation. The other students were struggling to get even a minor change in their matchstick, while he had managed to do it on the first try. He had attempted some small wandless transfigurations after returning from Diagon Alley. It had been incredibly difficult, but Harry had hoped to be able to alter the properties of materials to make them easier to work with. Wandlessly he hadn't managed anything significant, maybe a slight change in color at best. With his wand it had been almost easy by comparison. Did his previous wandless practice accelerate his magical ability with a wand? Or was the magical focus just multiplying his meager wandless skill with this branch of Magic?

"Well done, Mr. Potter!" McGonagall had praised him sounding very impressed. "I haven't seen anyone manage their first transfiguration attempt that quickly in many years. Ten points to Ravenclaw."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry had replied. While it wasn’t actually his first try at Transfiguration he didn’t think she’d believe him if he told her he’d been practicing it wandlessly.

Then Potions had come around and Harry found out what a bad teacher looked like for the first time. He still remembered his first Potions Class. It had all gone downhill when Snape got to his name during attendance.

"Ah, yes," Snape said softly when he reached his name during roll call. "Harry Potter, our new...celebrity." Harry held back a sigh, that tone portended nothing good coming from this man. Potions Class was most likely going to become his least favorite course soon.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," Snape continued in a near whisper. "As there is little foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death. If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Harry thought that speech sounded kind of rehearsed. Snape probably used it for the first class every year. He would probably use it on the Slytherin/Gryffindor class too, when they had their first class. It wasn’t a bad speech though, just a little over the top.

"Potter!" Snape called suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I have no idea, sir." Harry answered. He hadn’t spent very long going over his Potions textbook. It just wasn’t as interesting to him as conjuring lightning or the myriad of other spells he could start learning. Not to mention the vast amount he was still learning about Runes and Arithmancy.

"Tut, tut, clearly fame isn't everything. Let's try again Potter..." Snape drawled.

More questions came and Harry was unable to answer any of them. Truthfully, he probably should have actually read through his Potions books, but learning how to hurl spells from his hands was a much stronger desire for him than learning about stirring a collection of odd ingredients inside a cauldron. He was an eleven year old boy, after all. With one last disdainful sneer, Snape rapidly went over the answers to the questions and instantly demanded to know why the rest of the class wasn’t writing them down.

This train of near harassment went on for the rest of the class. Snape stalked around the classroom practically glaring at every student’s cauldron as if they’d personally offended him. There was no encouragement or corrections, only yelling and point deductions, truly Snape had to be the worst teacher Harry had ever heard of. He spent the rest of the Potions Class in a bad mood. Maybe he could find some alternative to attending this particular class? Snape was clearly determined to pick on him for some reason, so actually learning anything from the man was doubtful at best and laughable at worst. Harry sighed as he left the classroom in the dungeons; the first week had been going so well until now.

“What’s got you so down today, nerd?” Tonks asked from beside him causing Harry to jump almost a foot off the bench he was sitting on in the Great Hall. Tonks’ laughter led to an embarrassed blush spreading across his face.

“Tonks! Do you really have to sneak up on me?” Harry demanded as he breathed out gustily.

“Yep!” Tonks replied with a grin. “So what’s got you all moody?”

“I think Professor Snape hates me for some reason.” Harry replied.

“To be fair, Snape hates everyone that isn’t a Slytherin, so you’re not the only one.” Tonks explained with a shrug.

“Why is he a teacher then?” Harry questioned only getting a shake of the head from Tonks in reply.

“Visiting again, Tonks?” A girl’s voice spoke from behind the two. Turning around the two came face to face with Penelope Clearwater the Ravenclaw Fifth Year Prefect.

“Yep, just checking in on Harrikins!” Tonks chuckled as she ruffled Harry’s hair.

“Oi!” Harry objected as he pulled his head away from her hand.

“While I can’t say I approve of this…‘relationship’ between a Seventh Year and a First Year, as long as you aren’t violating the rules I won’t say anything. I’m just glad Harry has at least one friend.” Penelope sighed as she looked at the two. Harry’s face was bright red in embarrassment while Tonks grinned back at her.

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my nerd, you’re just jealous that he likes me better!” Tonks laughed as she playfully stuck out her tongue.

“That’s fine.” Penelope sighed again. Dealing with Tonks was always an experience, though she did count the Seventh Year Hufflepuff among her friends.

“Join us for dinner Penny!” Tonks demanded as she pulled Harry into her side and motioned Penelope to take the spot beside Harry. Harry’s blushing looked to be getting to unhealthy levels as he struggled to get out of Tonks’ grip so Penelope sat down in the offered spot quickly.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Penelope asked once Tonks let the First Year out of her arms.

“I’m fine.” Harry mumbled as he looked down at his plate refusing to meet anyone’s eyes until his face wasn’t red anymore. Tonks’ snickering wasn’t helping on that front.

“That’s good. After not seeing you hang around with any of your year mates I was getting worried that you did not have any friends.” Penelope admitted. As a Prefect it was her responsibility to look after the younger students. Seeing a new First Year without any friends was worrying and Penelope felt like she needed to do something to fix the situation.

“What’re you saying, Penny? Harry’s got the two of us! We’re the best friends he could have, right Harry?” Tonks exclaimed with a wide grin.

“Yes, Tonks, thank you Tonks.” Harry mumbled quickly only to be pulled into another sideways hug by the playful Seventh Year. “Tonks! Stop it!”

“Nope!” Tonks teased as she ruffled his hair again.

“Tonks don’t harass Harry.” Penelope scolded getting the older teen to let Harry go again.

“Fine, ruin my fun.” Tonks grinned getting an eye roll from Penelope and a deadpan glare from Harry as he tried to fix his messed up hair.

The three chatted as they filled their plates with food and enjoyed their evening meal. By the end of dinner Harry definitely counted Penelope as his friend. Said Prefect smiled fondly at the First Year before both were pulled into a group hug by Tonks. Naturally there was much protesting from the Ravenclaw duo.

It was Saturday after breakfast and Harry found himself walking around the castle. He was currently looking for a place to practice his Magic. Hogwarts was large and had a plethora of empty classrooms. While he could work on most of his trinkets in the privacy of his dorm room, casting spells could potentially destroy his bed or his possessions. So here he was roaming the halls of the castle looking for an out of the way place to practice. Imagine his surprise when he came across what appeared to be an old Ancient Runes classroom. There were charts on the wall detailing various Runes and their affects. Harry looked around the room finding nothing of interest until he looked through what would be the Professor’s desk. Inside a drawer of the desk laid three wooden cases. Upon opening said cases Harry found three Rune carving kits, most likely they’d been extras for the class when it was still held in this room.

“This is great!” Harry exclaimed excitedly. He’d been convinced that he’d have to spend some of his limited funds to Owl Order a kit for himself. Both Tonks and Penelope had offered at dinner to pick one up for him on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, but that wasn’t until near the end of October and Penelope told him the kits in Hogsmeade cost a Galleon and six Knuts. Owl Order kits cost a Galleon and three Knuts but had the standard eight Knut delivery fee added on top of that. Finding three kits in good condition would be a major boon to Harry’s crafting. Plus this room had plenty of space, it was a classroom at one point meant to house upwards of twenty students, so he could probably practice spells here too.

It was a happy Harry that made his way to dinner that evening. He’d left two of the kits in his newfound practice room and taken the third up to his dorm room. He’d immediately started looking into Rune-based locks in his Advanced Magical Crafting book. While he’d made sure to lock the room’s door a standard Alohomora would allow anyone to enter. It hadn’t taken him long to find the basics of a runic sequence meant to secure things and he’d used his new carving kit to make himself a Ward Lock. A Ward Lock was a fairly simple trinket that was made of either stone or metal. It required two pieces of either material and they had to be the same size to be paired together. The first object would be carved with the actual ward, the runic sequence that carried the effect of keeping people out. The second of the pair would be carved with the runic sequence for allowing someone to pass through the first object’s ward. When the first object was placed on a door that door became un-openable to anyone that didn’t have the ‘key’ to the ward. It didn’t stop anyone from knocking the door down or blasting it to pieces though. The other major weakness of a Ward Lock was that anyone could pick it up and move it. If you placed the Ward Object on the outside of the door it wouldn’t open, but any half-wit could figure out that taking the object off the door would remove the ward. Harry resolved himself to finishing his homework tonight so that he could attach his Ward Lock to the back of his practice room’s door tomorrow morning.

“Good evening Harry.” Penelope greeted her friend as she sat next to him for dinner. Tonks was over at the Hufflepuff table messing around with her House mates and causing much laughter. Harry knew the older teen had many friends and acquaintances but was still surprised to see just how much of her House Table she could pull into her ruckus.

“Evening Penelope.” Harry replied only to get a frown from the older girl.

“Harry I told you we’re friends now, you can call me Penny.” Penelope reminded him.

“Right, sorry, good evening Penny.” Harry corrected with a small smile. It was nice having some friends.

“Much better. Potatoes?” Penelope smiled as she offered him the large serving spoon.

“Yes, thank you.” Harry smiled back as he took the spoon and put some potatoes on his plate. The two engaged in mild chatting for the rest of the meal, mostly about how his classes were going. Just like Tonks, Penelope had no recommendations for dealing with Snape. The man was just dour all the time and unpleasant at the best of times. Dinner finished with a wonderful dessert, treacle tart for Harry, before they were all ushered back to their Common Rooms for the evening. A couple of hours later a satisfied Harry climbed into bed with all of his homework completed.

The next morning Harry had gotten dressed for the day and headed down to breakfast. Tonks was apparently having a lie in as he didn’t see her in the hall. Penelope was comforting another first year, Mandy if Harry remembered right, who was still hit with bouts of homesickness from time to time. A quick meal and Harry was walking out of the hall towards his practice room. He’d only gotten a few steps out of the Great Hall when a thought occurred to him. Even if he installed his Ward Lock on the practice room door any student who came across the un-openable door would most likely become curious about it. With a moment of thought Harry altered his course to his dorm room. Once in the privacy of his room he quickly opened his trunk and opened one of the expanded space drawers. Inside were dozens of stones he’d collected from Privet Drive and brought with him to use as testing material for new trinkets. Many simple trinkets and talismans could be made simply by carving the proper runic sequence into stone of the right size and shape. Metal also worked well for this purpose but until his Transfiguration skills increased, or he found a way to safely make a forge of his own somewhere in the school, he had no way to shape more metal. He was saving his last five metal bars from the summer day camp to make more Scouters later.

Quickly picking out a proper stone Harry took it over to his desk and opened his carving kit. Pulling out the etching tool he proceeded to carve the necessary runes into the stone to turn it into another Hiding Stone. Thirty minutes later and with some twine now tied around it, the new Hiding Stone was finished and ready to be used. Taking it with him Harry made his way to the practice room. Standing in front of the door Harry grinned at his own idea. Taking his new Hiding Stone from his robe pocket he hung it from the door handle and smiled when he noticed the slight glow the stone gave off. That meant it was fulfilling its purpose of hiding the door. The glow quickly faded and now the door would be less noticeable to all but Harry. Unless the person in question was actively looking for this particular door it wouldn’t be any more interesting to them than a blank section of the wall. Unlocking the door with a quick Alohomora, wandlessly at that, Harry entered his practice room and tied the Ward Lock to the inside handle of the door with more twine. A few quick tests to make sure the Ward Lock was working properly and Harry was laughing at his new personal room in Hogwarts.

That night Harry was walking to dinner a little early having spent a good chunk of the day practicing his Wandless Magic. He had made some progress with his Transfiguration but still nowhere near enough to use it to help shape materials for enchanting. The control and precision required for Transfiguration was going to annoy him until he got it right. But his Charms were coming along well enough he’d gotten both the Unlocking Charm, Alohomora, and the All Purpose Counter Spell, Finite Incantatem, to work wandlessly. He was still constantly practicing all of his Magic of course. It never paid to be lazy, as both Vernon and Petunia had told him and Dudley growing up. He was slowly making his way through the First Year curriculum for spells and the library was a wealth of interesting new spells just waiting to be learned and mastered.

Harry noticed upon turning a corner that a few Professors were currently making their way towards the Great Hall as well. Seeing as they hadn’t noticed him Harry simply couldn’t resist. Pulling his Scouter out of his robe pocket he placed it over his right eye and scanned the first Professor.

A ‘10112’ almost had Harry stumbling over his own feet. Who would have guessed that Professor Flitwick had so much mana? He’d heard that his Head of House used to be a professional duelist but he’d honestly expected Hagrid’s ‘7062’ to be near the top of the mana rankings.

A quick turn of the lens and Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher, was scanned. The ‘5994’ on the lens seemed respectable for a witch that was loved by her students for her calm demeanor and patient instruction.

The next Professor, Sprout, came in with a ‘6104’ and Harry didn’t have much thoughts on the mana amount of the Herbology Professor. He still didn’t have much aptitude for her class and honestly he doubted he ever would.

The group of Professors passed through the doorway into the Great Hall and Harry slowly walked his way towards the door. Just as he was standing in the doorway he glanced up at the head table. Seeing both Snape and Dumbledore already sitting down Harry carefully stayed out of sight and scanned them. Snape, his least favorite Professor by far, was first. Harry nearly choked on his saliva when ‘10848’ showed up on the lens. How the bloody hell did Snape have more mana than a former professional duelist? Any fantasy of a direct confrontation with Snape was quickly tossed from Harry’s mind. Until he got stronger, much stronger, magically Snape was far out of his league.

With a quick gulp Harry finally turned his Scouter onto Headmaster Dumbledore. He didn’t even attempt to keep up with the rapidly growing number on the lens and simply waited for it to stop climbing. He had to grab onto the wall to steady himself when the absurd number of ‘41310’ stopped on the lens. What in the actual hell was Dumbledore?! How could someone have such a high amount of mana? It was four times what a professional duelist like Flitwick had! What kind of outlier was the Headmaster? There were a dozen more questions already running through Harry’s mind as he stowed his Scouter away in his robe pocket. He wished that a way to quantify mana had been created centuries or even a millennium ago, just so famous Magicals from the past could have had their amounts recorded. Harry wondered how Dumbledore would compare to the Four Founders of Hogwarts, or how the Headmaster and Merlin would match up. Unfortunately no one would ever know the answer. Harry wondered briefly if his lessons and extracurricular practicing had increased his mana at all. He’d have to build a self-scanner like his first clay prototype to be able to measure his own mana again.

It was Tuesday evening and Harry was in the library looking up information for his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. There was another class that Harry disliked. Professor Quirrel’s stutter made it almost impossible to follow what the man was trying to teach. Not to mention the overpowering smell of garlic that hung about the room. Harry had already taken to mostly self-study in the course just to look up spells. Grabbing a book that should give him enough information to finish his essay Harry walked towards the tables set up for students to study at. He noticed that a few tables were occupied by upper years and two were occupied by first years. The closest table of the two had the bushy haired girl from the train sitting by herself with a stack of no less than eight books next to her. The farther table had two members of his own House sitting together, Mandy Brocklehurst and Padma Patil. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to learn the name of the other girl Harry made his way over to her table.

“Mind if I sit here?” Harry asked getting the Gryffindor girl to startle slightly.

“Oh, um, yes of course.” The girl replied once she realized someone had addressed her.

“Thanks.” Harry said before setting his book down and getting out his quill and parchment. It had taken him weeks but he could finally write with a quill up to his own standards of penmanship. He still took notes on notebook paper and used a ballpoint pen for it, but he was finally able to turn in neatly written assignments and essays done by quill now. “I’m Harry by the way, Harry Potter.”

“I’m Hermione Granger, nice to meet you.” Hermione introduced herself before continuing to speak. “I’ve read about you, you know. You’re in ‘Modern Magical History’, ‘Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century’, and ‘The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts’.”

“I wouldn’t believe most of it.” Harry sighed as he opened his book. “If you believe everything that’s said about me then I’ve also ridden Dragons at age five and fought Werewolves and Vampires across Europe when I was nine.”

“Oh, that’s quite outlandish isn’t it?” Hermione asked with a grimace.

“Yeah, I’d only just discovered my magic when I was eight. So I don’t know who thought I was riding Dragons and all the other stuff.” Harry shook his head in exasperation. “So what are you reading?”

“Oh just some extra books for classes.” Hermione replied as she patted her stack.

“Ok, but do you really need that many? We only have six classes right now.” Harry stated as he looked at the stack of books.

“It’s just a bit of light reading.” Hermione responded with a nod. “Unfortunately none of my House mates feel the same way about our studies. So I’ve…” She trailed off into mumbling that Harry couldn’t make out.

“What was that last bit?” Harry asked after finishing the sentence he’d been writing. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch it.”

“I said I haven’t been able to make any friends.” Hermione muttered lowly while looking down at the table.

“Well I’m no expert on making friends but it could be you aren’t looking in the right place.” Harry replied getting Hermione to look up at him in surprise.

“What do you mean?” Hermione questioned.

“Wait right here and I can probably show you.” Harry answered as he stood up and made his way over to his two House mates. “Hey Padma, Mandy, how are you two this evening?”

“Hey Harry, I’m good.” Mandy replied with a nod and a smile.

“Doing some studying.” Padma motioned at their four books.

“I see, do you think you could help me out? You see the girl at the table I’m sitting at?” Harry asked getting Padma and Mandy to look over for a moment before turning back to Harry and nodding. “She’s a rather studious Gryffindor and because of that she hasn’t been able to make a single friend so far. I was hoping we could help her out and show her that not everyone in the castle is put off by being a good student.”

“Why isn’t she in Ravenclaw with us then?” Mandy asked already standing up and gathering her books.

“Why would she end up in Gryffindor of all Houses?” Padma questioned also gathering her books.

“No idea, but I think a few friends that are both good students and sociable will do her a world of good.” Harry responded with a smile which both girls returned. The trio made their way over to where Hermione was still sitting getting the bushy haired girl’s eyes to widen.

Introductions were quickly made and Hermione was practically hugged by both Ravenclaw girls when she’d told them of her lack of friends in Gryffindor House. Within the span of their near two hour study session the three girls and Harry had all become friendly with each other. Hermione’s beaming smile as she, Mandy, and Padma set up another study date together could have blinded someone. With a smile of his own Harry left the library with his homework finished and followed along behind Mandy and Padma back towards Ravenclaw Tower.

‘You did some good today, Harry old boy.’ Harry praised himself mentally as the trio neared the bronze knocker that guarded the Ravenclaw Common Room. While Padma and Mandy were distracted by answering the knocker’s riddle Harry managed a quick scan of both girls. Mandy had a mana amount of ‘118’ and Padma had a ‘114’ both girls were about average among all the First Years Harry had been able to scan so far.

It was October thirtieth and Harry was in his practice room going over his spell repertoire and looking over his in-progress trinkets. Things had gone well in the almost two months he’d been at Hogwarts. He’d made close friends in Tonks and Penelope while having friends in Hermione, Mandy, Padma, and Hagrid of course. Draco was becoming a bit of a pest but thankfully Slytherin and Ravenclaw only shared two classes a week. Looking over his current work Harry smiled at having completed another self-scanner. This one was made from stone thanks to Tonks transfiguring it for him. She’d been curious about why he wanted a stone frame but he’d just told her it was a secret and she’d sworn to get him to tell her before she left for the Yule Break. Now having the means to measure his own mana again Harry started pouring his mana into the frame and watched as the number made of light within the frame increased. When it finally stopped Harry whooped with joy at the number displayed. After all ‘364’ was just under a hundred more mana than he’d had before term had started.

“Now that I know this works and it didn’t get damaged from use I guess I should give this invention a name too.” Harry smiled as he looked over the Rune carved stone frame. “Maybe another acronym? It could become my thing.” He chortled to himself as he thought it over. After five minutes of thinking he announced his self-scanner’s name, at least to himself. “Transfigured Energy Scanning Talisman or T.E.S.T. for short, I wonder if I can market this as well? ‘Get your Test Frame and discover your own Magical strength.’ Sounds like an acceptable marketing line.” Harry chuckled as he set the frame down on the Professor’s desk he’d appropriated for his work table. He’d talked to both Penelope and Tonks about possibly starting up an Owl Order business. Even underage children could do business through the Owl Order service. Since Owl Order took care of all business operations and costs of shipping said products with their massive flock of highly trained owls anybody could sell through them. The company took ten percent of the profit as their share but for Harry any money coming in would be worth it.

Penelope’s reaction when he’d showed her his Scouter and explained its function had been more than amusing. Tonks had almost fallen over from laughing so hard. But the Prefect had agreed that if he could make enough of them that he’d be practically guaranteed to one day be approached by some big names looking to sponsor him as an Enchanter. That suited Harry just fine, he’d get to continue crafting and honing his skills and one day he’d create a true Artifact and earn the title Artificer. Incidentally Tonks’ smug smile at getting her updated mana reading when Penelope got her first was amusing as the two girls playfully jibed at each other over their numbers. Tonks’ new reading had gone up to ‘4776’ while Penelope had a reading of ‘2812’. He’d also learned that Tonks was a Metamorphmagus during the course of the conversation when Penelope had brought it up and the Seventh Year had demonstrated for Harry. That had set his curiosity into overdrive for a few moments and Tonks had laughed herself silly at his multitude of questions. His curiosity had gotten completely derailed however when Tonks had made a lewd innuendo about Harry wanting to ‘examine’ her. Penelope had scolded the older girl while Harry had tried to hide his furiously blushing face.

Harry chuckled at the memory of his fun loving friend and locked up his practice room, or was it a workshop now? Heading up to Ravenclaw Tower with confirmation that his mana was increasing would see Harry getting a good sleep tonight. Penelope was helping him write up a promotional ad for the sale of his four new Scouters for the Owl Order service. Technically he’d made five but he was keeping the fifth one hidden in his workshop/practice room in case the one he was currently using was ever broken. After discussing it with Tonks, Penelope, and even Hagrid they’d settled on a price of ten Galleons for each Scouter. It was on the high end, price-wise, for an Owl Order item but as soon as people found out it was not only made by Harry Potter but what it was capable of there would be no end of people wanting one.

The next evening the Halloween Feast was in full swing. Decorations were all over the Great Hall and almost everyone was in a festive mood. Harry was sitting between Penelope and Mandy and enjoying the Feast. While it was the anniversary of his parent’s deaths he’d never known them and had done what little mourning he was capable of long ago. From the way Hagrid had described his parents to him he was fairly certain that both would rather he enjoy himself with friends on this day instead of mourning them. He could see Tonks over at the Hufflepuff table putting on a show with her Metamorph abilities getting cheers from her House mates. Just over halfway through the Feast Professor Quirrel had barged into the Great Hall screaming about a Troll in the dungeons before promptly falling into a dead faint. The cacophony that had created had taken three loud blasts from Dumbledore’s wand to silence. The Headmaster had instructed the various Prefects to lead the rest of the students back to their Common Rooms while the teachers went to deal with the Troll. As the large mass of students began to move Mandy had caught up to Harry and told him of Hermione’s absence from the Feast. According to Padma’s sister Parvati, an insensitive Gryffindor named Ron Weasley had insulted Hermione and she’d run off crying. Padma and Mandy had both tried to talk Hermione out of the bathroom she’d been holed up in and had only left after Hermione had promised she’d come to the feast later.

“Well shite, I’ll try to let a Professor know, go with the others and tell Penelope where I am.” Harry told Mandy as he dashed off in the direction the Professors had headed in. Less than a minute later and Harry wasn’t sure he’d be able to catch up to the Professors at all. So the next best thing was to go up to the bathroom that Hermione was in and take her to Ravenclaw Tower until the Troll was dealt with. Rushing up the stairs Harry sprinted down the corridors until he almost gagged on the foul stench coming from ahead of him.

“Ack! What the bloody hell is that smell?!” Harry coughed as he rounded the corner to the corridor that Hermione was supposedly in. “Oh right, Trolls are supposed to smell horrible.” Harry muttered to himself as he watched the large grey-skinned beast lumber into the bathroom in shock. A moment later a scream tore through the air and Harry was moving before he could think. Shoving the door open Harry was met with the sight of destroyed bathroom stalls and Hermione trying to hide under the sinks. The Troll, Mountain Troll if the books he’d bought on Hagrid’s recommendation were correct, turned to look towards the banging door as Harry caught Hermione’s eyes.

“Harry?!” Hermione cried out in panic, the Troll slowly turning to look at her again when she yelled.

“Don’t worry Hermione! I’m going to get you out of here!” Harry yelled with more confidence than he felt. The Troll growled as it turned back towards Harry as he yelled. With a grunt the Troll hefted up its large wooden club and prepared to swing it down on Harry. He wasn’t about to let that happen though. With a crack a ball of fire appeared in Harry’s right hand. He chucked the fireball at the wooden club causing the dried wood to catch fire. The Troll suddenly feeling the heat of its club looked up at the flaming wood and bellowed in surprise. The large, smelly beast tossed the club away from itself in panic and stared at the flames in confusion. While the Troll was distracted Harry motioned for Hermione to crawl towards him. She hesitated for a moment before slowly crawling towards her friend, just as Hermione was crawling out from under the last sink the Troll spotted her and tried to grab her.

“No you don’t!” Harry yelled conjuring up five Lumos orbs in front of the Trolls face. The orbs went from slightly bright in the lit up bathroom to blinding in an instant as Harry poured his mana into his spell. The Troll roared in pain as it covered its eyes and tried to swat the orbs of light away. Hermione rapidly ran to Harry and tried to cling to him. “Out the door Hermione!” Harry ordered as he pushed her towards the closed bathroom door.

“What about you?” Hermione asked only to get pushed harder towards the door.

“I’m following you, of course!” Harry stated as the Troll recovered its eyesight only for Harry to make the Lumos orbs flash brightly again. The beast roared again trying to swat at the orbs, but light had no mass and the Troll couldn’t destroy the orbs by hitting them. Hermione wrenched open the bathroom door and held it open for Harry who slowly backed up and exited the bathroom. Just as the door closed Harry shifted his Lumos orbs through the color spectrum making each of the five orbs a different color. After the door clicked into place Harry began to switch each orb from normal brightness to blinding one by one, over and over again. Keeping this light show spell going from a distance was taxing, much more than Harry thought it would be as he felt his mana decreasing.

“Harry, we should run!” Hermione stated as she grabbed his arm and tried to drag him away.

“I’d love that, Hermione, but if I move from this spot I won’t be able to keep the spell going.” The confused roars and bellows of the Troll in the bathroom were a testament that Harry’s spell was keeping the beast disorientated. “If you could get the Professors over here as soon as possible I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“I can’t just leave you! We should just run!” Hermione practically begged as she stared at the door of the bathroom.

“Once the spell stops the Troll is going to be enraged and it’ll break out of the bathroom. If it does that there is no telling where it’ll charge off to. That’s why I need to keep the spell going while you get the Professors here.” Harry tried to explain calmly but some strain seeped into his voice from having to split his focus between Hermione and his spell.

“Mr. Potter?! Ms. Granger?!” McGonagall exclaimed as she came charging around the corner with Flitwick and Snape in tow. “What on Earth are you doing here?!”

“Hermione was in the bathroom, didn’t know about the Troll, I came to get her and take her to Ravenclaw Tower. Troll walked into the bathroom before I could get here and tried to kill Hermione. I’m distracting it with a variation of the Lumos Charm, but I can’t keep it going for long.” Harry hurriedly explained as the Troll’s bellows could be heard echoing from the bathroom.

“Move aside, Mr. Potter, we’ll handle it from here.” Flitwick stated a look on his face Harry had never seen before. He looked like a man that knew he was going to have to do something unpleasant.

“Yes sir.” Harry nodded as he moved aside and cancelled his spell. The three Professors opened the bathroom door and were able to see five differently colored orbs of light for a moment before they disappeared. The Troll, still covering its eyes, stood huddled in the far corner as if to escape the painful flashes of light.

The situation was resolved in a matter of moments after the door was opened. A single spell from each of the three Professors had the Troll knocked unconscious, bound up in chains, and sedated completely before the beast even fell to the floor. Snape and McGonagall approached the beast as Flitwick went to console the two students. The events afterwards were a bit of a blur for Harry, probably because he was suffering from a sudden drop in his mana from keeping his spell going for an extended period of time. But he and Hermione had explained why she was in the bathroom, McGonagall was already planning out Ron Weasley’s punishment at that very moment, and how Harry had come to try and get her to safety after not being able to find the Professors. Harry lost points for his House at first but ended up with a net gain of twenty points after Flitwick and McGonagall were done. It was only after being taken back to Ravenclaw Tower, getting scolded by Penelope while she was hugging the life out of him, and finally getting to sleep for the night that Harry realized some very important details from his and Hermione’s encounter with the Troll.

Shortly after waking up Harry continued to lie in bed going over last night’s incident. He’d read about Mountain Trolls in the books Hagrid had recommended. He and the gentle giant had even had a discussion about them along with various other Magical Beasts over the couple of visits where Harry had gone down to Hagrid’s hut for tea. So there were a couple things that stood out as strange to Harry as he laid in bed thinking. Firstly, Mountain Trolls were known to be dumber than most dog breeds so how could one just wander into Hogwarts? Secondly, while Hogwarts was near some mountains, said mountains were still dozens of kilometers away from the school grounds so why would a Mountain Troll go walking so far from its territory? Thirdly, and most suspiciously to Harry, the Troll was wearing a vest and loin cloth. Mountain Trolls frequently walked around naked in the wild, but this one had roughly sewn and stitched clothing. Having learned how to stitch and sew himself Harry had spotted the rather well fitting vest and the loin cloth that was tight on the Troll’s waist to keep it from falling off. Trolls couldn’t even make fire for themselves, much less tan leather and sew it into clothing. That could only mean that the Troll was provided those clothes and if that was the case then that Troll wasn’t wild. Somebody was taking care of it, somebody who had most likely let it loose into a school full of children.

Harry really hoped his feeling of ‘turning point in the story’ was wrong as he was once again reminded of his fantasy books from his Primary School library.

Unfortunately, he didn’t think he was wrong at all.

-End Chapter-

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So there’s chapter three! Harry meets and befriends Penelope Clearwater, Hermione, Mandy and Padma. He also sets up his own personal space in Hogwarts to work on his Enchanting. Plus he deals with the Troll situation on Halloween completely differently. How will Harry’s new Owl Order business work out? Will Harry figure out what’s in the Third Floor Corridor? What happens on Christmas this year? Keep on reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 4: Crafting, Corridors, Teaching?

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! What will become of Harry’s musings about the Troll? Will he start becoming interested in the third floor corridor? What will Christmas look like for him this year?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 4 – Crafting, Corridors, Teaching?

Harry could say with some certainty that people would buy anything that seemed interesting to them quickly, based on how fast his four Scouters had sold and the thirty six Galleons had gotten sent to him from the Owl Order Service. He’d have to come up with a Rune-based safe to store his newfound gold in soon. But it had been a rousing success for his new Owl Order business. He was already having Penelope help him write up an advert for his Test Frame talisman. Tonks had kept her word about finding out what he’d wanted the stone frame for. He still blushed remembering the energetic Metamorphmagus kissing his cheeks in front of Penny until he’d told her what she wanted to know. Penny’s scolding hadn’t done much to stop their mutual friend from her ‘interrogation’ either.

It was November now and for the first time Harry had people to think about getting Christmas presents for. He’d already decided on what he was getting for Tonks and Penny, he had a good idea for Hagrid as well. But something for Padma, Mandy and Hermione hadn’t come to him just yet. He was currently sitting in his hidden workshop early Saturday morning and knitting. He’d ordered wool yarn in various colors for this particular project. Dark blue and bronze for Penny, while bright yellow and black for Tonks. So he was knitting his two close friends a full set of knit hats, scarves and mittens for the quickly encroaching winter. It was slightly difficult to make a charmed set of clothing, but Harry was weaving his mana into the wool yarn as he knitted it together. Being able to knit the girls’ initials into the striped pattern had been difficult as he’d had to use trial and error until he got it right. Stitching a round wooden button onto each end and carving the appropriate runes would see the scarves capable of maintaining their own Warming Charm for extended periods of time. Repeat the wooden button on each mitten and on top of the knit hat and Tonks and Penny wouldn’t have to worry about the cold much at all.

“Hope they like these.” Harry mumbled to himself as he continued his work. He’d finish up the hats before heading down for lunch later.

The next morning was incredibly surprising for Harry. As soon as the Daily Prophet was delivered he noticed that there was an article about him on the bottom of the front page. Everyone else that had a subscription to the newspaper also took notice and more than a few eyes were already gazing at him.

-Daily Prophet Article-

Boy-Who-Lived Creates Magical Strength Measuring Device!

It has come to the attention of this newsman that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has created an Enchanted Object capable of measuring a Witch or Wizard’s Magical Strength! The device, called a Scouter, can read the amount of Magic a person has and display it as a numerical number! For centuries no one among even the greatest of Magical Scholars has ever agreed on a solid measurement for Magic. But somehow Magical Britain’s own Boy-Who-Lived has found a way! I was lucky enough to know one of the people who purchased one of the four devices up for sale. The device only needs to be directed at the Wizard or Witch before a small amount of magic is supplied to it for it to measure the person in questions Magical Strength. My friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, had a reading of ‘2758’ when I used the device to measure them. My own reading came in slightly higher at ‘3176’ and I believe these to be rather average numbers as neither of us makes our living off of our spell work.

The ability to actually measure Magic has been contested for centuries and no doubt young Mr. Potter will have to prove his device’s accuracy to some of the leading minds of the Magical World before it is fully accepted. But the certainty of a numerical value is something to focus on and could give those who want to become magically stronger a place to start. Mr. Potter has certainly made waves in the Magical community with his first foray into professional Enchanting. I believe we can all look forward to many years of interesting items coming from the young man.

The Potter Family, while not Noble, has a rather long history stretching back to the twelfth century and has been historically known for producing no less than six Artificers in that time. The last Potter Artificer was Richard Potter, whom Historians will know as the Artificer that created the Platform Nine and Three Quarters Archway. This Artifact, commissioned by then Minister of Magic, Evangeline Orpington, has kept the Platform from being discovered by Muggles since Eighteen Fifty when it was installed there by Richard Potter. The Archway is near indestructible and requires no maintenance as it draws its power from the magic that comes from the ley lines deep beneath the earth. It remains to be seen if young Mr. Potter will one day create a true Artifact of his own and become the next Artificer from the Potter Family, but this newsman believes he just might since his first professional work is already such a revolutionary creation.

Barnabas Cuffe, Editor, Daily Prophet

-End Article-

Harry stared wide eyed in shock at the article on the front page of the paper. This must be what Hagrid had warned him about when it came to his fame. The Editor of the Daily Prophet himself had written about his Scouter when they’d only been sold for less than a week. He’d underestimated how famous his name actually was since he hadn’t been outed in Diagon Alley. There was a faint murmuring from the students in the Great Hall that was steadily growing louder as more and more students read the article and started looking at Harry.

“Back off you lot!” Tonks voice came from behind Harry prompting him to turn around and see his friend holding back a large crowd of students. Penny quickly joined her as the students started trying to shout questions at Harry.

“Calm down! This behavior is inappropriate in the Great Hall!” Penny was shouting over the crowd of students. This ruckus was quickly noticed by the Professors and Dumbledore raised his wand aloft before firing a Cannon Blast spell to get everyone’s attention. Once all eyes were on the Headmaster he began to speak.

“Students I understand the excitement of today’s Daily Prophet but this conduct will not be permitted. If you’d like to speak with Mr. Potter you must remain calm and mind your manners. If he is willing to speak about his creation I’m sure we can make some time this morning since it is Sunday.” Dumbledore calmly spoke getting several Prefects moving to get their own Housemates back to their tables. Harry noticed that Percy Weasley, the Fifth Year Gryffindor Prefect according to Penny, was physically pulling his younger twin brothers, Fred and George, back to the Gryffindor table while threatening to tell their mother about the twins’ behavior.

“What should I do about this? I’ll be hounded every second of every day at this rate.” Harry asked his two close friends.

“You might want to take the Headmaster up on his offer and just use this time in the Great Hall to get it over with.” Penny offered her opinion.

“It would at least get most of them off your back.” Tonks nodded in agreement. Harry sighed but accepted his friends’ suggestion. Better to rip the band aid off quickly and get it over with. Harry finished his breakfast before making his way up to the Head Table with Penny and Tonks at his side.

“Headmaster, if it’s alright with you and the rest of the Professors I’d like to take you up on your offer of answering some questions this morning. I think it might be best to just get this out of the way so that everyone can focus back on their schoolwork sooner.” Harry explained getting a few smiles or grins from some of the Professors. Dumbledore nodded with a smile before standing up.

“Students, Mr. Potter has kindly agreed to answer some questions for your curiosity this morning once breakfast is over. If you have a question you’d like to ask during that time the Professors would like you to remain calm and raise your hand and wait to be called upon. This will be kept civil and if anyone gets out of hand their Head of House will see that the student in question is punished accordingly. Thank you for your attention.” Dumbledore explained before sitting back down.

“I’ll need to go get something to make this explanation easier, Headmaster. Might I have permission to get my item so that in the likely event that the students want their own readings I can quickly provide them?” Harry asked getting a nod from Dumbledore. Harry thanked the old man before leaving the Great Hall with Penny and Tonks. He led his close friends towards his hidden workshop and chuckled at their surprised gasps as he removed the Hiding Stone from the door bringing it back into their focus.

“I so want one of those!” Tonks exclaimed only for Harry to shake his head in mirth.

“You can’t put one on your bedroom door and hide from your parents. As soon as they wanted to find you they’d want to find your bedroom by necessity. That would let them force their way pass the Hiding Stone’s ability. Like I said it isn’t incredibly strong or anything, it just makes things less noticeable.” Harry explained getting a pout from Tonks which caused Penny and Harry to laugh slightly. Leading the girls into the workshop Harry quickly grabbed a few thin planks of wood he’d managed to make from wood Hagrid collected from the Forbidden forest. It annoyed him that he still needed to use his wand to use the Cutting Charm with any precision; wandlessly it was always overpowered and sliced the wood through completely. With four small planks chosen Harry set about carving the self-destruction sequence Ollivander had passed on to him. He used some glue to stick the planks onto all four sides of his Test Frame so that the two runic sequences came into physical contact which primed the self-destruction sequence. If anyone attempted to pull the wooden planks off the edge of the stone frame the self-destruction sequence would activate and destroy both sets of runes. A quick spell to instantly dry the glue was provided by Penny and Harry picked up the Test Frame and walked out of his hidden workshop with the girls. Harry had Tonks and Penny put their hands on the Hiding Stone as he placed it back on the door handle. The three watched the stone glow briefly before it stopped and Harry grinned when he noticed that both girls could still notice the door normally.

“Did the two of us touching the stone make it exempt us from its effect?” Penny asked curiously as she looked at the door with the trinket on the handle.

“Yes, the Hiding Stone doesn’t affect the one who placed it. Since all three of us placed it on the door you two are now the only other people that will notice this door normally. You won’t be able to get in without me unless you knock down the door though. But you’ll know where to look for me if you need to find me.” Harry explained with a smile. Both girls smiled back at Harry happy that he was willing to bring them into the know about his secret workshop. The trio quickly made their way back to the Great Hall and quickly realized that everyone was still there waiting for Harry to speak.

“You’ll do fine Harry, just take a few questions and it’ll be over soon.” Penny encouraged.

“Yeah, I bet most of them just want to know their own reading, so you’ll just have to give them their numbers.” Tonks grinned.

“Thanks you two.” Harry sighed as he walked to the front of the Great Hall when Dumbledore motioned for him. Standing in front of the whole school was a bit nerve wracking but Harry swallowed his nervousness and began this impromptu presentation.

“You may begin whenever you feel ready, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore gave him the go ahead.

“So as you all know from the Prophet today I’m a bit of a burgeoning Enchanter. My first professionally sold item is called a Scouter.” Harry started off while pulling out his Scouter. “This lens when focused on a Wizard or Witch will give me a reading on their total amount of mana, which is a term I use for Magical Energy. The more mana a Magical has the stronger they are from a magical standpoint.” At that a few hands were already raised and Harry picked one near the back. “Yes, the Hufflepuff in the back, you have a question?”

“Yes, my name’s Forrest Prott, I was wondering how you decided to actually measure Magic? No one has ever agreed on an accurate way.” Forrest asked which prompted another four hands to lower as he had apparently asked their question.

“I used the Lumos Charm as the base. I just kept using less and less mana to cast it until I found out the absolute minimum amount required to get the spell to work.” Harry answered the same way he’d answered Tonks back on the Hogwarts Express. “I then designated that bare minimum as equal to one unit of mana. As far as I’m aware that is the least amount of mana that can produce a successful spell.”

“Oh, that makes sense; I see how that works out for measurement.” Forrest nodded before sitting back down. Harry looked around noticing the hands still raised, he picked one close to the front this time. “The Slytherin in front, what do you want to ask?”

“My name’s Emilia Hawthorn, I’ll just ask what most everybody is probably going to ask anyway. Can we get our own mana, as you call it, measured today?” Harry noticed almost every hand lowering at Emilia’s question.

“That’s why I brought this.” Harry replied as he held up his Test Frame. “This is the next product I plan to sell after I make enough of them. I call it a Test Frame. It’s a talisman that allows a person to measure their own mana by holding it and pushing their mana into it like you would your wand.” The excitement in the room increased dramatically and Harry watched it spread on all the student’s faces. He turned back to look at the Head Table before making an offer. “If you’d like I’d be willing to make one for each of the Hogwarts Houses. They could be kept in the Common Rooms so that any student can measure their mana whenever they’d like.” All of the Professors smiled at Harry’s offer. Barring Snape, who never smiled, and Quirrel who was still twitchy and looking around nervously.

“Hogwarts would be proud to accept such a donation, Mr. Potter. I thank you on behalf of all the staff for your generosity.” Dumbledore smiled kindly as Harry nodded while doing everything he could to keep the red from his cheeks. Turning back towards the students Harry motioned for Tonks and Penny to come up and then picked out six more students. When all eight students stood up front with him there were two Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, two Slytherins and two Gryffindors. Neither pair was from the same year so that students would be able to see the range difference that was possible between people even if they were only a couple years apart in age.

“Tonks, would you do the honors? Show everyone how it works.” Harry asked as he handed her the Test Frame.

“Gotcha, Harry!” Tonks grinned as she directed her mana into the frame. When her number appeared she grinned before turning the frame around to show the students. The glowing ‘4812’ was easily visible to everyone in the hall. Tonks handed the Test Frame over to Penny who quickly got her own reading. The Prefect smiled happily at her number before showing it to the hall, it read ‘3006’. The next student accepted the frame from Penny he was a Gryffindor in his sixth year if Harry had to guess. It only took a moment of trying before the teen got the frame to work and showed his reading to the hall as well, a glowing ‘3456’. The next student was Emilia Hawthorn herself. She poured her mana into the frame and watched as the numbers climbed. When they stopped she gave a small grin before showing the hall the ‘3628’ inside the frame. Emilia handed the frame over to the younger Slytherin beside her. The boy was only a second year and got a reading of ‘412’ which he showed to the hall.

“This is so cool!” Exclaimed the Gryffindor boy that got the frame next, he was practically vibrating in excitement. Harry thought he was probably a second year too. A glowing ‘384’ was showed to the hall before he passed it over to the Ravenclaw girl that stood next to Penny. The girl in question was a fourth year by the name of Elise Spindle. With a smile of her own she activated the frame and showed everyone her ‘964’. The last person to hold the frame was a Hufflepuff called Cedric Diggory. The teen smiled as he poured his mana into the frame and happily showed his reading to everyone, he’d clocked in at a rather impressive ‘1154’. Before handing it back to Harry Cedric gave his thanks for being chosen to demonstrate.

“As you can see Magical strength varies greatly between individuals. How much you practice will affect your growth and age often leads to higher numbers.” Harry explained as he held the Test Frame.

“How much do you have?” called one of the Weasley Twins before Percy could stop him.

“Hmm, it’s been a little while since I checked, but I practice a lot in my free time so I think I’m a bit higher than normal.” Harry shrugged as he poured his mana into the frame. Looking down at it for a moment Harry turned it around and showed the glowing ‘406’. “Anyway, now that you all know how it works I’ll leave the Test Frame on the Head Table in front of the Headmaster. Just form a line and you can measure your mana today.”

“I’ll make sure the frame gets back to you Harry.” Dumbledore smiled getting a nod of thanks from Harry. There was already a line of every student forming behind him and Harry quickly moved out of the way so that the readings could begin. He quickly made his way out of the Great Hall and was followed by Tonks and Penny.

“You did great, Harrikins!” Tonks smiled as she ruffled his hair. Harry groaned as he pulled away from her and tried to fix the even worse mess his hair had been made into.

“I believe you did well too, Harry. You’ve gotten a lot of interest in your product and that’ll make them easier to sell when you’re ready.” Penny congratulated him as he made his way towards his hidden workshop.

“Thanks you two, but after standing in front of the whole school I’m a bit out of sorts. I’m just going to be in my quiet workshop making those four new Test Frames for the school.” Harry stated as they walked through the corridors.

“What he means is that he’s going to hide from everyone until he calms down.” Tonks laughed making Harry grumble that he wasn’t hiding.

“Tonks be nice, that was a situation a lot of people would be nervous in.” Penny admonished as they made their way into Harry’s workshop.

“I know what I said!” Tonks laughed as she hugged Harry from behind.

“Tonks!” Harry cried out as he flushed dark red.

The next day Harry received six letters from various Magical Scholars, Enchanters, and one from a company that sold Enchanted Objects. Not overly eager to have everyone in the Great Hall trying to read his mail over his shoulder, Harry stuffed the letters into his robe pocket and finished his breakfast. After classes Harry was on his way up to the Ravenclaw Tower when the moving stairs shifted and brought him to the right hand corridor on the third floor.

“Well this is inconvenient.” Harry groused as he walked through the corridor to a set of stairs that didn’t move. Halfway down the corridor a large door caught Harry’s attention, it looked a bit different than the other doors in the corridor. “Ten to one odds that this is the forbidden part of the corridor.” Harry mused to himself. He still reached out and tried to open it just out of sheer curiosity, but found it locked. With a wave of his hand and a wandless Alohomora the door actually unlocked. “Why wouldn’t they place a stronger locking charm on the door? First years could open this.” He wondered, after all he was a first year and he’d just opened the door. With his curiosity peaked Harry cracked the door open slightly and looked into the gloomy room. There in the middle was a massive dog with three heads snoozing on top of a wooden trapdoor. Harry, eyes wide, gently closed the door back and used the basic Colloportus Charm he’d gotten to work wandlessly a few days into November to re-lock it. “Well, now I know why it’s forbidden.” But did he really? His curious mind questioned. After all the trapdoor was clearly part of the forbidden corridor and who knew what lay beyond it? Trying to shelve his curiosity Harry quickly made his way up the stairs and into Ravenclaw Tower.

A few of his Housemates inquired about when the Test Frame for the Common Room would be ready but Harry gave them a vague time of the coming weekend. He quickly got to his dorm room and locked the door behind him. It was time to see who had written to him. The letter from the Enchanted Object Company was basically an offer to be the exclusive sellers of his products. Well they could forget that. Owl Order gave him much more freedom than signing any contract with a large company would. The next letter was from an Enchanter in Wales who’d asked about the Runic Language Harry had used for his device. Harry didn’t see any harm in telling him, his runic sequence was merely a derivative of Elder and Younger Futhark linked together. But he’d only tell the man he used Futhark Runes so as to better protect his own secrets.

“Huh, this ones from the Netherlands.” Harry mused as he opened the next letter and found a missive from another Enchanter. This one was asking whether or not Harry was sure of his Scouters’ accuracy in measuring Magic. Harry would write to the man explaining how he’d designed his basic unit of measurement. That should encourage more understanding and faith in his Scouter as an accurate tool for measuring mana.

The fourth letter was from a Magical Scholar in France. Thankfully this, Madam Aveline according to the letter, had written in English as Harry couldn’t read French. The Scholar was curious about his thoughts on Magic and his desire to quantify it. This seemed like a good intellectual pursuit so Harry would make sure to write back to the woman. Maybe he should learn some French? It couldn’t be anything but beneficial to his future business endeavors. He did get a chuckle when the post script had asked if he would sell her a Scouter directly for the same ten Galleon price as through Owl Order. He really needed to either get his Transfiguration skills up to the strength and finesse required to shape metal or find a place to build a forge in Hogwarts. Though acquiring more metal might be far more expensive than he’d like.

The fifth letter was from another Scholar, this one in Ireland; that wanted to hear about Harry’s process of Enchanting. More specifically the man was asking how Harry had learned his Enchanting or who from as he’d been absent from the Magical World for so long. It seemed the man believed Harry had either been taught by someone or had somehow created a new form of Enchanting altogether. Harry knew his spell-forging method that he’d taken from a Muggle fantasy novel and tweaked until it worked was a bit different than the standard Enchanting that was in use today. Though he wasn’t about to spill the beans on his little secret. He’d just explain that he picked it up from a book and made his own trial and error attempts before getting better at it. That should satisfy the curious Irishman.

The sixth and final letter was from an unknown sender who’d praised Harry for being such a ‘smart young Enchanter’ and encouraged him to ‘keep his curiosity alive and constantly exploring’. From the missive Harry was made aware that this person had been one of the people that purchased one of the four Scouters he’d sold through Owl Order. Whoever had written him had also hinted that they’d keep an eye on his future developments and hoped to one day see Harry as a Master Artificer. Though the person had signed the end of the letter oddly, it was simply a drawing of a circle with symbols and geometric shapes that Harry couldn’t make heads or tails of.

“That was a bit odd, but at least they seem supportive of my Enchanting. But do they understand that to be a Master Artificer I’d have to craft seven true Artifacts? There hasn’t been a Master Artificer in almost nine hundred years and that was a Chinese mystic that was supported by the ruling dynasty of the time. I somehow doubt I’m going to suddenly be given support by a ruling family so wealthy I’ll be able to have any material in the world to work with.” Harry mused over the letter and the title of Master Artificer. Making even a single true Artifact could take years or even decades depending on its function. Making seven could easily take a lifetime! With a sigh Harry decided to get his homework assignments out of the way before writing replies to the letters he’d received. Afterwards he’d start his first draft of designs for his personal Runic Safe. He’d prefer to keep his money himself since the Goblins were apparently in the business of extorting their vault holders.

In the third week of November Harry had finished all four Test Frames for Hogwarts. He’d even made sure to make the wood surrounding the stone frame match the House colors of whichever House it belonged to. Professor Flitwick had charmed a spot on the wall for the Test Frame to stick on so that nobody tried to take it. Now Harry watched a few of his Housemates check their mana amounts throughout the week. He’d noticed that there was a marked increase in overall mana levels since he’d unveiled the Test Frames. But if a numerical reading helped Witches and Wizards improve themselves then Harry thought he’d done some good.

Currently Harry was practicing his spells in the practice area of his hidden workshop. He was trying to conjure lightning like he did fire and water. He’d found a base spell to get the theory from and was now working on doing it his way and making it wandless. The Thunderbolt Curse or Fulmen Curse was a fairly powerful spell that took a good amount of control to cast so that the user didn’t end up harming themselves with it. The theory was there but Harry was having a difficult time finding just the right amount of mana to use. Too little and he either got nothing or only a small spark. Too much and arcs of electricity jumped everywhere. Not to mention it was rather draining on his mana. Casting it with his wand lightened the load but he could still only cast it about six times at most before he just didn’t have enough mana left. Casting it wandlessly reduced his casting down to two of the uncontrollable bursts. A knock on the door got his attention and Harry, knowing it could only be Tonks or Penny, went over to open the door.

“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks grinned as she walked into the room with a smile.

“Afternoon, Harry, I hope we aren’t intruding.” Penny greeted as Harry shook his head to let her know he didn’t mind them being there.

“Smells like it just rained in here, what are practicing now, air freshening charms?” Tonks asked only for Harry to smile deviously.

“Nope.” Harry grinned before holding his hand out and facing away from the two girls. Both witches started as an electric buzz was heard and sparks of lightning danced off of Harry’s bare palm for a few seconds. Harry turned back to look at his friends only to crack up at the shocked looks on their faces. “That’s why it smells like it just rained.”

“Harry, you just…you just…” Penny trailed off in shock.

“You just used wandless magic!” Tonks shouted near hysteric as she gazed on her First Year friend as if she’d never seen him before.

“Well yeah, I don’t plan to be restricted to a wand to cast spells.” Harry stated matter of factly. “It takes a bit of time to get it right but I’ve managed a few spells so far.”

“But…you…I…how?” Penny was still stuck in her shocked state.

“I have more than ten times the mana you had when you showed your mana amount to everyone and I can’t use Wandless Magic. So how can you? All the books I’ve ever read say that only really powerful Witches and Wizards can use Wandless Magic.” Tonks laid out her confusion while Penny nodded along.

“Those books are only going off the concept that one needs a focus to perform Magic. I discovered my magic before I’d ever heard of half those theories so I had no preconceived notion that Magic needed a wand. To be honest I’m sure anyone could learn to use Magic without any Magical Focus if they tried. Heck small children do it all the time; they just call it Accidental Magic because it’s often unfocused or causes something random to happen.” Harry explained the opinion he’d developed and shared with his late mother.

“But if you don’t need a wand then why are they so standard?” Penny asked with Tonks nodding along with her this time.

“My best guess? Foci make casting Magic easier, so people started relying on them sometime after the wand was introduced. It is one of the most versatile foci to have ever been developed. Then again some of the books that have been written since then might have changed over the years. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the older books on Magic said something like, ‘Magic requires focus.’ and that later got rewritten as ‘Magic requires a focus.’ it seems plausible to me at least.” Harry reasoned slowly getting nods of understanding from his two friends.

“Can you teach us how to do that?” Tonks asked eagerly.

“Possibly, but I was planning on keeping the method of discovery a Family Secret, something I could pass on to my children in the future. Then they could pass it on to theirs.” Harry explained with a sigh as he pondered on the future he’d like to have.

“That’s a reasonable thing to want, Harry. We won’t force you to teach us if you don’t want to.” Penny assured him with a shake of her head.

“Well I have the obvious solution to this dilemma!” Tonks announced with her hands on her hips. Both of the Ravenclaws looked over at their friend in confusion.

“What’s that?” Penny asked warily already expecting something outrageous from the Metamorphmagus.

“We both just marry Harry, of course!” Tonks exclaimed with a smile and a nod of her head.

“Tonks!” Harry choked out as he blushed so badly he thought all of the blood in his body might be in his face.

“Oh Merlin…” Penny sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose while letting out a deep sigh.

“What? This solves everything! Harry gets to keep it a Family Secret and we get to learn Wandless Magic, it’s a win-win!” Tonks declared with a bright smile.

“Tonks, Harry’s eleven; he can’t get married for six more years. You are also six years older than him and I’m four years older than him. That’s not forgetting that multiple marriages have long since fallen out of common practice. What about all of that?” Penny asked her excitable friend.

“Semantics! If you’re influential enough no one will stop you! Besides, don’t you want to marry a pair of beautiful and powerful witches, Harry?” Tonks questioned him while pulling Penny into her side and winking at him.

“I…um…uh…Tonks!” Harry stuttered out having to sit down before he got light headed from how hot his face was getting. Though even he could admit that Tonks and Penny were very pretty girls.

“Tonks, stop teasing Harry with this!” Penny admonished as she freed herself from Tonks’ hold. “You don’t have to listen to her at all, Harry. You do what you want.” The pink on Penny’s cheeks hinted that she didn’t hate the idea of marrying Harry in the future though.

“I’ll think about it.” Harry mumbled just loud enough for the two witches to hear a few minutes later. Tonks smiled brightly at him while Penny looked pleasantly shocked though pink reappeared on her cheeks as well.

“You’re the best, Harrikins!” Tonks cheered as she pulled Harry into a hug and kissed his cheek. “Or should I be calling you boyfriend now?” Harry’s face nearly exploded from emotional overload.

“Tonks, stop teasing Harry.” Penny chided her friend. “And thank you very much for considering teaching us how to perform Wandless Magic, Harry.”

“Yeah, thank you Harry, it’s very kind of you to consider sharing something like this with us.” Tonks thanked him sincerely.

“I’ll think on it for a bit before I decide. But you two are my closest friends and it might be good to try and teach someone else before I try teaching my children in the future.” Harry reasoned as he leaned back in his chair.

“Make sure you think on the marriage part as well!” Tonks grinned though the look in her eyes suggested she wasn’t completely joking. Harry sputtered in shock again while Penny just sighed while placing her hand on her forehead. There would never be a dull moment with Tonks around apparently.

“Tonks…” Penny began only to get cut off by the Metamorphmagus.

“No trying to steal him just for yourself either, Penny! We’re in this together!” Tonks grinned salaciously causing the pretty Ravenclaw to fluster immensely.

“Tonks!” Penny cried out in embarrassment as she covered her bright red face with both her hands. Tonks laughed loudly, she loved teasing these two! But in the back of her mind she admitted to herself that she wouldn’t mind the arrangement she’d proposed. A small daydream briefly flickered through her mind of a cozy home with a gaggle of children running around their hair varying colors of dark blonde, dark brown, or rainbow.

But they all had the same amazingly green eyes.

-End Chapter-

So Harry’s making waves in the Magical Community! He’s discovered Fluffy and has tried to keep his curiosity in check. Now Penny and Tonks are in the know about Harry’s Wandless Magic. Will he agree to teach them? Will he eventually agree to marry them? Will Tonks ever stop teasing Harry and Penny? Absolutely not, of course! Keep reading to find out more!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 5: New Trinket, Answers, Christmas Surprise

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry crafts some more, makes a new trinket, gives Penny and Tonks his answer and may have just taken a step in the direction of true Artificer! Plus a Christmas surprise!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 5 – New Trinket, Answers, Christmas Surprise

It was the last week of November and Harry had finally made a decision on teaching Penny and Tonks his method of Wandless Magic. It had been three days since he’d told his two closest friends he’d think about it and now they were coming to meet him in his hidden workshop for his answer. He’d thought long and hard about his answer and hoped they’d be alright with it. A knock on the door let him know his friends had arrived and he let them in a moment later.

“Afternoon Harry, I take it your homework is already done?” Penny asked getting a smile from Harry. Penny would always be the consummate Prefect.

“Yes Penny, just like I always do.” Harry replied and it was true. He had found that with a bit of effort most homework assignments could be finished within a day or so of them being assigned. Only longer projects needed more time to complete. This is how Harry was able to maintain his schoolwork and still practice his Magic and his Enchanting.

“Wotcher, Harrikins, your Tonksie has arrived.” Tonks teased as she pulled him into a side hug. Harry sighed and just accepted the hug since there was no way to discourage Tonks’ teasing so he was trying to learn to roll with it.

“Good to see you too, Tonks.” Harry smiled as Tonks let him go and moved over to sit next to Penny. Deciding to get to the heart of the matter Harry took a deep breath and started.

“So I’ve been thinking about teaching you both Wandless Magic, the method I stumbled upon to discover it and giving you basic instruction on casting spells without a focus.” Harry began getting both Tonks and Penny to perk up slightly. “If you’re willing to put in the work and listen, then I’ll be willing to teach you since you two are my closest friends.” He finished getting surprised looks from both girls before Penny gave him a warm smile and Tonks shot up from her chair with a cheer.

“Hell yeah! You’re the best Harrikins!” Tonks exclaimed as she quickly rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug. Then she started repeatedly kissing his cheeks in an overly dramatic way.

“Tonks, stop it, let go you crazy girl!” Harry struggled only for Tonks to laugh and hug him tighter. Penny sighed as she stood up and made her way over to help Harry get out of Tonks’ arms. After separating the two Harry began their impromptu first lesson. “What do you two know about Occlumency?”

“I know it’s Magic to protect the mind. I’ve tried to learn a bit since my mum knows it and she says it’ll help me get into the Aurors after school.” Tonks replied.

“I’ve only seen it mentioned in a few books.” Penny answered having only briefly read about the obscure branch of Magic.

“Well I found a journal and some school books that were my mother’s when I was eight. She’d left detailed notes on a lot of Magical Subjects as well as her own thoughts, opinions and theories. Occlumency was one such subject. I was worried that someone could read my mind so I tried to learn it. It took months before I was able to make any headway, but I was eight, so clearing my mind was difficult and entering a meditative state was challenging. Once I’d finally gotten to the meditative point something was different. Instead of thinking nothing I found my consciousness in a dull void with multitudes of blueish-white and purplish-black orbs. After a while of experimenting I learned that these two colors could merge together to make a silvery-grey orb that was twice the size. I eventually made the decision to merge all of the orbs together pair by pair until only one remained. Immediately after I did that the new large orb pulsed, for lack of a better term, and I was knocked out of my meditative state. I slept almost instantly for over an hour and a half before waking up feeling, I don’t know, lighter or stronger, maybe? But I was still exhausted so I went to bed and ended up sleeping for over ten hours.”

“So that’s how you can do Wandless Magic? You found some way, through Occlumency, to mess with your Magic directly?” Penny asked trying to get some clarification.

“That’s my best theory. The dull void is apparently a magical representation of one’s mind and Magic. By bringing all of my free floating Magic together into a single, I guess you could call it a core, it synced up with my body and that lets me access it even without a focus. Though I believe I made a single mistake between my attempts at Occlumency and what traditional Occlumens are taught.” Harry explained.

“What mistake?” Tonks questioned since to her it sounded like Harry had done it better than most.

“I think I still had the thought that I was doing the meditation and trying to learn Occlumency because of Magic. I knew I was going through this process for the Magic of it rather than to try and clear and protect my mind. I’m working off the theory that because I was focusing on Magic instead of a cleared mind I found my Magic rather than a cleared and empty mind like normal.” Harry theorized as he thought about his discovery of Magic.

“I see; you wanted to practice and learn Occlumency for the Magic so you found your Magic within instead of your mind. It’s a fascinating theory; it could rewrite a lot of Magical Theory if it could be studied correctly. How one would go about studying it escapes me though.” Penny mused as she thought about how much variation each individual could represent in such a study.

“So are you going to teach us this alternate Occlumency then?” Tonks asked still eager to learn Wandless Magic.

“That would be an appropriate name, I guess.” Harry chuckled. “It did actually protect my mind in the end. My Magic keeps strengthening the protection around my mind as it continues to get stronger so maybe this is a new form of Occlumency?”

“Well I’m ready to start! Let’s go!” Tonks grinned as she sat back down and waited.

“If you’re willing to start now, Harry, we’re both ready to try and learn.” Penny nodded at him. Harry breathed deeply before exhaling and tried to explain the process he’d gone through step by step. The two older teens listened with rapt attention in hopes of learning this new path that had been opened up for them.

-The Next Saturday-

This wasn’t fair! Sure Tonks had some prior experience with Occlumency. Sure Penny was an intelligent girl with a great work ethic. Sure he’d only been eight when he’d stumbled through it and sure he’d taught them so they didn’t have to go through all the experimenting with trial and error. But a week! Really?! The Universe wasn’t fair! He wasn’t pouting!

“He’s adorable when he pouts like that.” Tonks laughed while Penny giggled lightly behind her hand.

“I’m not pouting!” Harry grumbled from his place behind his work table in his hidden workshop. Both girls just laughed again before asking for some instruction on actual casting. Both Tonks and Penny had completed finding their Magic and forming their cores. Penny proposed calling this second step ‘Core Formation’ or ‘Coring’ in future lessons. They’d all pretty much agreed that the first step would be ‘Alternate Occlumency’.

“Before that I want to know how your Occlumency Defenses are forming.” Harry inquired since he’d explained his ‘Bramble Defense’ that naturally occurred and started growing once he’d completed ‘Core Formation’.

“Me first, me first!” Tonks exclaimed waving her hand over her head exaggeratedly. “My defense is a lot like water. It flows in streams from my core to my body and the whole mind is encapsulated in a sphere of water. I tried the ‘seeing from outside’ trick you mentioned and it’s literally like a storm on the outside. All waves and whirlpools and a thick misty fog that makes it impossible to perceive anything.” The happy Metamorphmagus explained getting a nod from Harry. He was still trying to figure out what factors played into how these natural Occlumency defenses formed. With more users maybe he’d be able to understand them, for now it was just a lot of questions and curiosities.

“Mine are more akin to metal. I have large beams that seem to connect my core to my body. From there they branch out and connect to each other in a frame work of smaller beams. So far these smaller beams have actually filled in the area directly around my mind and fused into solid walls of metal. Using the ‘seeing from outside’ trick, as Tonks put it, the beams of metal are slowly but constantly expanding and connecting to one another forming a larger more complex frame work with sections eventually filling in and forming more solid walls. I believe they’ll eventually layer my mind with wall after wall of metal until it becomes impenetrable.” Penny informed as Harry listened and tried to puzzle out whatever differences he could. Perhaps Tonks’ defense was more fluid because of her personality? Or did being a Metamorphmagus make her Magic more fluid? Penny was a girl of structure so maybe personality did effect the defense formation? So many questions.

“Alright, let’s start with something easy, the Lumos Charm.” Harry began getting a nod from Penny but Tonks let out a groan about it being boring. Harry grinned and sent a low powered Flipendo at her. Tonks yelped as she dove from the chair to the floor and Harry’s jinx smacked into the wall next to the old chalkboard.

“Hey, you lookin’ for a duel?!” Tonks challenged as she brandished her wand only to notice that Harry wasn’t looking at her but behind her. Turning her head, along with Penny, the three stared at the door that was next to the chalkboard. After all, that door hadn’t been there a minute ago.

“That’s new.” Harry remarked as he slowly approached the newly revealed door.

“Careful, we don’t know why this door appeared or where it might lead.” Penny cautioned her wand already in her hand. Tonks followed along, her wand pointed forward and ready. Upon reaching the door Harry noticed something on the ground in front of it. Crouching down to look close at the object Harry noticed the runes covering it. It was made of wood and was around fifteen centimeters long and eight centimeters wide. Tapping the wooden object with his shoe to see if it would react yielded nothing, so Harry slowly picked it up.

“The heck is it?” Tonks asked as Harry stood up with the object in hand.

“Give me a moment.” Harry requested already distracted by looking over the runic sequence on the wood. A little over a minute later Harry grinned as he’d finally figured out what he was looking at. “This is a Sight Lock.”

“A what?” Penny asked confused. Tonks looked equally confused by the term.

“A type of Ward Object. It’s similar to the Hiding Stone but it makes whatever object it’s placed on completely invisible. Even if someone is directly looking for said object they won’t be able to perceive it or the Sight Lock even if they’re both right in front of them. Its only weakness is that it can be removed by anybody. It also has the limitation of only working on objects and doesn’t function on people. I saw a basic design for one in my Advanced Magical Crafting book.” Harry explained as he set the Sight Lock on a piece of parchment on top of his work table and the parchment and the Sight Lock disappeared from Penny and Tonks’ sight.

“So only the one that places it can see it?” Penny questioned getting a nod from Harry as he picked it up and the parchment reappeared. Tonks had a mischievous look on her face as she looked at the Sight Lock. Oh the pranks she could play with that little item!

“The only thing strange is why it’s still working. Sight Locks are supposed to be charged with the placer’s Magic and that disperses after a day or so at best. This one was still working possibly since the last time this classroom was used.” Harry puzzled over the strange Sight Lock. “I’ll have to go over the runic sequence in full to determine why it was able to keep working. But first let’s see what’s behind the door.” Penny and Tonks both raised their wands again as Harry carefully examined the door for any more surprises. Not finding anything Harry tried to open the door. The door didn’t budge and Harry guessed it was locked. A wandless Alohomora made the lock click and Harry gently pulled the door open. Inside was a fairly large room which Harry estimated to be roughly thirty or so square meters. It had a couple of windows on one wall that overlooked the back courtyard of the castle. As the trio slowly moved into the room Tonks moved over to a smaller door and opened it to discover a full bathroom with a shower, bathtub, sink, and toilet.

“I think I know what this room is.” Penny stated getting Harry and Tonks to look at the Prefect. “This is probably the Professor’s quarters. According to ‘Hogwarts: A History’ back when the school had far more students, many of them permanent live-in, there were far more Professors. I think each subject use to have a minimum of three Professors, but each Professor’s classroom also had their quarters attached. This was probably the Ancient Rune Professor’s quarters before they left.”

“But how long ago was that?” Tonks asked as she looked around the room, if it had been locked up and hidden like this then the small amount of dust made sense. Especially if it was even hidden from the House Elves of the castle, those little ones would be appalled at even this small amount of dust. Then again some of the other abandoned classrooms she’d found in her years here had been left in a state of neglect. Maybe the House Elves eventually left rooms that weren’t used alone?

“The last time that there was more than a single Professor for any subject was in the late Eighteen Hundreds. If I remember correctly, that is.” Penny replied as she looked out the windows at the rarely used rear courtyard.

“I could use this space.” Harry nodded to himself. Penny immediately noticed the look on Harry’s face and sighed as she prepared to burst his bubble.

“Harry, you can’t move into this room. It’s against the rules and I’m supposed to help enforce them. You also know that people would quickly realize you weren’t staying in Ravenclaw Tower anymore. You might be able to get away with staying here overnight a couple of times a school year but any more than that and someone is definitely going to notice.” Penny explained getting Harry to sigh and nod in acceptance. He looked over the largish room again before really focusing on the windows. Suddenly a grin came to his face as a problem he’d been having might finally be solved.

“What’s that look for, Harrikins?” Tonks asked upon seeing Harry’s expression. Harry turned to smile at both his friends before explaining his change in mood.

“You know how I was lamenting the slow increase in my Transfiguration skill and how it was limiting my ability to craft with metal?” Harry asked and received nods in return. “Well, I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out a way to either rapidly increase my Transfiguration skill, which isn’t likely, or find a place to build a forge and shape it the old fashioned way. This room has everything a proper blacksmith workshop needs with only a few minor modifications.” He explained happily as he surveyed the room to plan where to put things for his blacksmithing. He may only know the most basic of the craft but that wasn’t anything some experience and studying couldn’t fix!

“Harry, I’m not sure that’s allowed.” Penny started only to have to stop and actually think about it. Were there any rules against setting up a blacksmith workshop in Hogwarts? The school had a history spanning a thousand years, so surely this kind of question had come up beforehand, right? “At least let me check the rules before you start building or setting up? I don’t want you getting in trouble.” She asked getting a nod from Harry even as he continued to roughly measure stuff in his mind.

“Not that this hasn’t been a fun discovery but can we still have that Wandless Magic lesson?” Tonks asked a moment later getting both Harry and Penny to realize they’d gotten completely distracted. With his mind refocused on his previous task Harry gestured for the two to follow him back into the former classroom so he could start teaching them Wandless Casting. A few hours later Penny and Tonks could proudly claim that they could cast a Lumos Charm wandlessly, even if it was the most basic and simple spell out there. Progress was progress! They’d even decided on names for all the steps of Harry’s Wandless Magic Method, that name was still pending. The first step was ‘Alternate Occlumency’ the second step was ‘Core Formation’ the third step was ‘Mana Manipulation’ and the fourth and final step was ‘Spell Construction’.

“It’s nice to have names and labels for the process but why are you so adamant we get it set up right away?” Harry asked Tonks after the lesson. Even Penny was surprised by how much Tonks seemed to want to get the process organized.

“It’s something we’re going to teach our children, right? We should have it worked out entirely for when the time comes!” Tonks explained with a bubbling laugh as both Harry and Penny’s faces turned dark red and both tried to hide their blushes. The fact that neither would meet her eyes; or each other’s for that matter, only made the bright and warm laughter increase.

The next morning as Harry was eating his breakfast Penny came and sat beside him and started filling her own plate. After exchanging ‘Good mornings’ with each other Penny explained that she hadn’t discovered any rules against setting up his blacksmith workshop on school grounds. Apparently Hogwarts had even offered blacksmithing as a class way back in the day when metallurgy was completely done by hand. Having a valuable Muggle skill made it easier for Wizards and Witches to avoid suspicion and blend in from the Thirteenth Century until the class stopped being offered in the late Seventeenth Century. The Headmaster of the time had apparently stripped Hogwarts of all the ‘Muggle Foolishness’ during his tenure and nobody had ever bothered to try and reinstate it.

“Well good to know that I’m not breaking any rules. I might need you and Tonks to help me with some Transfiguration though.” Harry mused as Penny shook her head fondly. Harry was a kindred spirit of work ethic when it came to her, she should’ve known he was still planning out his new workshop even before he’d known whether he would be allowed to build it. The two spent the rest of breakfast together before heading their separate ways for a couple hours. Harry spent the rest of his Sunday morning going over plans for his blacksmith workshop. He spent the afternoon helping Tonks and Penny practice their Wandless Magic. He also went over measurements and what Transfiguration he’d need from them to get his blacksmith workshop set up in the old Professor’s quarters. The weekdays were spent attending classes as usual, though Harry had long since stopped paying attention in Binns’ class, and only Potions was still annoying because of Snape. The evening free time between the end of dinner and curfew was often spent practicing Wandless Magic with Penny and Tonks.

“So this here and I’ll need the pipe to go through this window.” Harry mumbled to himself as he looked over his sketched out plans for his blacksmith workshop. It was Saturday and Harry was going to hand over the final plans for the workshop to Tonks and Penny so that the older girls could perform the Transfiguration he’d need to safely have a forge in the abandoned Professor’s quarters. He only had one week left before Tonks and Penny would be heading home for Yule Break. While the two weeks of no classes would give Harry plenty of time to practice his Enchanting and Wandless Magic he was going to miss his friends. Even Mandy, Hermione and Padma were all going home so his occasional study buddies wouldn’t be around either. Though he had come up with a good gift idea for the three after asking Tonks and Penny, all three girls would be getting a set of their favorite candy and a Flourish and Blott’s gift certificate. Hermione who didn’t indulge in sweets much because of her dentist parents was getting Tooth Flossing String Mints. Harry had laughed upon learning about them from Penny, who would have thought of mints that actually flossed your teeth?

Hagrid’s gift had come along well, in Harry’s opinion anyway. The large Groundskeeper was getting an Enchanted Warming Charm Scarf of his own as well as a pair of Enchanted Gloves to match. Making gloves had been more difficult than mittens but with some trial and error Harry had figured them out and sized them up to fit Hagrid’s large hands. Sewing and stitching leather into the wool gloves so that they’d be durable enough for Hagrid’s work had been another task in itself but they’d come out fully functional and Harry was proud of them. It had turned out to be true that you could order almost anything from Owl Order after all, considering the leather had been ordered through the service. With his Christmas gifts ready to go Harry was left with some extra hours on his hands while he waited for Tonks and Penny to arrive and start the Transfiguration work.

“Well I guess I can look more into the Sight Lock.” Harry nodded to himself as he sat down at his work table and got out a fresh sheet of parchment to note down any oddities he noticed about the runic sequence. Picking the object up Harry set about studying the sequence. It was a while before he jotted down the only abnormal part of the sequence he could find. ‘The runic sequence for accepting the placer’s mana is altered from the normal variation. This looks like it can accept magic from any source so long as it’s in direct contact. Is that how it’s stayed active for so long? Hogwarts practically overflows with magic and the Sight Lock was placed on the door. Maybe it has just been pulling the magic it needs from the castle this whole time? But this alteration isn’t very efficient at drawing in magic though, the only place this accident could have happened is at a place that overflows with magic like the castle. Maybe I could find a better way? If I can figure out a way for my Objects to draw in the ambient magic from the planet they’d never need to be directly empowered again. Well, as long as their function wasn’t too magic intensive. I highly doubt I can work out a sequence that would draw enough magic to empower a powerful set of wards just from the ambient magic alone. I’d have to make a sequence capable of tapping into the ley lines for that.’ As Harry was musing to himself and jotting down ideas he’d lost track of time and was only reminded by the sudden knocking on the door.

“Tonks and Clearwater Transfiguration Services!” Tonks sing songed as Harry opened the door and chuckled at his friend’s antics. Penny playfully shoved Tonks into the room before the door was closed and the two started going over what alterations Harry wanted. A decent sized hole was to be transfigured into the middle window of the Professor’s quarters for the forge’s chimney. Filling an enclosed space with smoke wasn’t good. Ideally there wouldn’t be much of any smoke as that meant the fire wasn’t being taken care of properly. Harry may not have much experience at actual blacksmithing but he’d paid attention to the old blacksmith from the day camp and learned quite a bit. Then two tanks needed to be transfigured, a water filled slack tub and one he’d fill with oil when needed to act as a quench tank. Harry also required their Transfiguration skills in making an anvil and a few metal racks along with a sturdy work table. The final tools he’d need to start working metal he’d spend a bit of his limited funds on to Owl Order. He’d rather spend the money on proper tools rather than try and make them himself and potentially ruin a future project with a broken tool.

“Hmm, we’re going to need quite a bit of metal for all of this Harry; though because we’ll only be changing the metal and some stone from one shape into another it’ll be much easier to make the Transfigurations permanent.” Penny explained as she looked over the designs Harry had drawn up.

“Where exactly do we get this much metal though? I doubt that we’ll find a ton of it just lying around Hogwarts.” Tonks commented as she looked over the plans as well.

“We can probably scrounge up enough by raiding a few of the unused classrooms. A lot of the chairs and some of the tables have metal legs, plus we could get lucky and find a metal table or two.” Penny replied as the three made plans to quickly go through every room in the corridor the hidden workshop was in and then expand out to the rest of the mostly abandoned section of this floor of the castle. By the end of their raiding trip the trio had found quite a bit of metal that wouldn’t be missed. But they’d taken long enough that Tonks and Penny only had just over an hour to get everything transfigured before curfew and Penny would have to start making her Prefect rounds. But the two proved their capability by finishing everything with time to spare. The only thing they didn’t have enough metal for was a full size anvil. So Harry had agreed to make the anvil a bit smaller than standard to start and they’d try to ‘reclaim’ more metal after the Yule Break to get it up to size. All in all Harry couldn’t be happier with his new blacksmith workshop or smithy as they were technically called; but Harry was pretty sure to call it that implied that he was a professional which he clearly wasn’t yet.

Sunday was spent collecting stone to transfigure into the forge itself so that when Harry’s tools were delivered he’d be able to start working as soon as he had some free time. This only took the better part of the morning and so the trio had spent time practicing Wandless Magic. Tonks had gotten the Stinging Hex to work wandlessly and was quick to demonstrate it to Harry, with him as the unfortunate target. She’d been beaten to the punch by Penny though. The Ravenclaw Prefect had been able to get three spells working in the same time that Tonks had gotten one. Penny’s wandless spells were Flipendo, Wingardium Leviosa, and the Impedimenta Charm. Tonks had asked her younger friend about her speed and Penny had stated that she did the same as when she learned a new spell with her wand. Penny just seemed to have a knack for breaking a spell down and figuring out how to make it work.

The school week went by with increasing excitement as the Yule Break approached. Harry’s tools arrived on Wednesday and he’d stored them in his finished smithy. Now all that was left was to get some charcoal to fuel it and Harry would be set. Hagrid had mentioned that you could buy charcoal from Hogsmeade and agreed to pick some up for Harry when he went into the village on the coming Saturday. With nothing else much to do with his homework finished, Harry had taken to working out his newest runic design for his Rune Safe. Trying to incorporate the ambient magic absorption function into his multi-layered security sequence was proving itself very difficult. He was still trying to tweak the ambient magic sequence to be more efficient and to take in large amounts of mana all at once. If he wanted to charge his safe’s array quickly it would be for the best if he could just drop a large amount of mana into it all at once. Figuring out how to make all the different runic sequences work together as a proper array would probably be the hardest task he attempted this year and Harry couldn’t wait to make his design a reality.

Harry waved Tonks and Penny goodbye as they boarded the self-moving carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express and back to their families for the break. Hagrid would be bringing the charcoal around noon tomorrow and until then Harry planned to finish all of the homework given to them for the break. With it out of the way Harry could spend the rest of the break working in his smithy to make more metal for his Enchanting. In between that he’d continue to work on the Rune Safe array. He’d made a breakthrough with getting all of the security sequences to work together but he still needed to tweak the mana absorption sequence to get it to integrate. Maybe if he upped the strength of the absorption? Or the rate that it could absorb mana? He’d rewrite it again and see if either version of the sequence worked.

The next day Hagrid delivered Harry his charcoal as promised. After a grateful thank you to his friend Harry had made his way to his hidden workshop and set about getting his forge ready. With a bit of metal he’d managed to ‘reclaim’ from an abandoned classroom on the sixth floor, Harry set about his first attempt at metallurgy. The results were better than he expected, the metal had been properly imbued with his mana and it had become the shape he’d wanted it. Harry was fairly sure that the fire had been a bit too hot a few times as three of the metal bars he’d made had melted out of shape. He’d had to pound them with one of his hammers back into the correct thin bar he was aiming for. He still had five more glass lenses so he was going to make another set of Scouters. Four of them would go through Owl Order again while he’d be writing to Madam Aveline in France about selling her the fifth one.

On Sunday Harry had written his letter to Madam Aveline with his offer of selling her the Scouter she wanted directly for ten Galleons. He’d sent the missive off with one of the school owls and then passed Hedwig the gifts for Penny and Tonks.

“Have a safe flight, Hedwig, feel free to stay at whoever’s house you deliver to last if you want.” Harry smiled as he stroked Hedwig’s feathers. With a hoot Hedwig had taken flight from the Owlery and headed south. The gifts for Padma, Mandy and Hermione were each given to a different school owl and Harry watched them fly away until he couldn’t see them anymore. He’d give Hagrid his present on Christmas morning in the Great Hall, he was sure the gentle giant would like it.

The next day just after lunch Harry had been sitting in the Great Hall waiting for what he knew was coming. Within a few minutes of most of the students leaving four owls from the Owl Order Service landed on the table in front of Harry. Each of the highly trained owls waited patiently as Harry first took off the small parcel that contained his Galleons from their legs before replacing them with the wrapped packages containing the Scouters he’d sold. Once the packages were secure the four owls took flight and were out of the Great Hall in less than a minute. With that done Harry quickly retreated to his workshop to stash his new gold. Having secured his Galleons in the back of the bottom drawer of the Professor’s desk he’d commandeered as his work table Harry started work on his newest trinket.

“Just have to etch the sequence and then I can get to testing.” Harry smiled to himself as he pulled out the last two flat metal bars he’d forged and pulled out the metal etching tool from his Rune Carving Kit. Several minutes later Harry was finished with the etching and admiring his new trinket. This time he’d gone for another simple design, he called it a Silent Step. Attaching this trinket to the bottom of a person’s shoes should make their steps silent. Harry quickly used a Sticking Charm, from his wand since he hadn’t gotten this particular Charm to work wandlessly yet, to attach one bar to the bottom of his left trainer before doing the same with his right. Once both small bars were attached horizontally across the soles of his shoes, so they wouldn’t impede the soles’ ability to bend, Harry had taken a few steps across the room. When no sound was made by his steps Harry grinned and started stomping and jumping up and down. Still no sound was made and Harry cheered in triumph. Even if it was just a simple trinket it always felt good to succeed with a creation.

When Christmas morning came Harry was happy as any eleven year old to see a few gifts on top of his trunk. Smiling Harry picked up the first one and laughed when he saw that it was from Tonks. Honestly the wrapping paper gave it away, who else would use a Color Changing Charm to swap the traditional green and red coloration of Christmas for neon blue and hot pink? Opening the gift he was met with the sight of a new Rune Carving Kit. This one looked much fancier than the three he’d found in his workshop. Reading the card Tonks had sent he was surprised to learn she’d been planning this since October. The tools in this kit were made with alchemical metal alloys allowing them to be used with almost every material imaginable.

“This kit must have cost at least nine or ten Galleons, maybe more, I’ll have to hope she likes my gift as much as I like hers.” Harry mumbled to himself as he set the Kit aside. He’d definitely save it for after he got the hang of dealing with normal metals. After that maybe it would be prudent to look into alchemic metal alloys for his Enchanting? He had a Kit that could work with those magical metals now and it would be a shame to not explore the idea.

The next gift he picked up was from Hermione. She’d sent him a book called ‘Famous Enchanted Objects from around the World’ he’d definitely have a look through this tonight before bed. It would be interesting to see what other Enchanters had come up with and gotten famous for.

The third gift he picked up was from Mandy. She’d gotten him a sample of what had to be every single magical candy out there. Some of these he had never even heard of. He knew the girl had a sweet tooth but now he’d have to carefully read what each of these candies did before he ate one. Magical candy was known to have a variety of effects after all.

Padma’s gift ended up being fourth. The Indian witch had sent him a book on learning Devanagari for use in Runes. He’d have to thank his study buddy for this when she got back. If he could learn another Runic Language he’d open up a whole new path for his Enchanting. Not to mention the potential of mixing Runic Languages into a working array. The theory was sound enough but only a few Enchanters had actually succeeded from what Harry had read.

The fifth gift was from Penny and he smiled when he read the card. The sweet girl was once again thanking him for teaching her Wandless Magic and hoped her gift made him happy. The gift turned out to be another book but its title caught Harry’s attention. ‘Beginners Alchemy for Enchanters’ was embossed on the cover and Harry opened it to read the forward. This book would teach the beginnings of alchemy and the products it could create to assist in Enchanting. Harry had only briefly come across this in his Advanced Magical Crafting book. But the possibility of using alchemic compounds to create magical circuits between Runes to spread their effects or to link them up in new ways was briefly mentioned near the end of it and Harry’s mind was already abuzz with new thoughts and ideas.

“I do believe my two closest friends collaborated on their gifts for me.” Harry mused fondly; those two were far too good to him.

The second to last gift was from Hagrid. The gentle giant had given him a hand carved wooden flute. Blowing into it produced a sound similar to an owl. Hmm, maybe a side hobby to pick up? It would be good to take his mind off his Enchanting or Magic practice whenever he got stuck. He was certain he’d hit dead ends multiple times throughout his life so something else to do might be a good idea.

The last gift was unsigned but the card mentioned that it had been left in the person’s care by his father before he died. Carefully unwrapping the gift a silvery cloth fell out onto Harry’s bed. Slowly picking it up Harry realized it was a hooded cloak. Deciding to try it on Harry noticed that his body disappeared as soon as the cloak was settled.

“An Invisibility Cloak? I thought their magic dispersed within a decade? How is this one still working if it was my father’s?” Harry wondered as he removed the cloak and re-read the card. There were no further clues and without having another Invisibility Cloak to compare his new one to he couldn’t say for sure if there was anything different about it. His stomach rumbling let Harry know it was time for breakfast. Deciding to stow the cloak in his trunk for now Harry picked up his gift to Hagrid and made his way down to the Great Hall.

“Merry Christmas, Hagrid.” Harry smiled as he handed his friend the gift he’d made him. Hagrid smiled back as he took the gift and placed it on the staff table to unwrap it. Seeing the large scarf and gloves Hagrid beamed at Harry as he picked them up.

“These are great, Harry, did yeh make them yerself?” Hagrid asked as he pulled the gloves on and found they fit nicely.

“Yeah, those wooden buttons will produce a continuous Warming Charm when you put a bit of magic into them. I’ve seen you working outside when it’s been cold so I thought you’d appreciate the function.” Harry explained happy Hagrid enjoyed his gift.

“Yeh don’t say.” Hagrid replied as he touched the wooden button on one of the gloves he was currently wearing. Feeling pleasant warmth cover his hand Hagrid couldn’t help but sigh. This would definitely make the winter grounds keeping jobs much more enjoyable. “This is nice, certainly gonna be much nicer doin’ the outside work when I’m all warm and toasty.”

“I’m glad you like them, Hagrid.” Harry grinned as Hagrid smiled back and removed the gloves. The large man placed the gloves and the scarf safely inside his large coat and promised to use them well. “Thank you for the flute, by the way, I think I’ll try and learn to play it. It could be a good non-Magic related hobby for when I just want to take a break.”

“Aw, yer welcome Harry. I’m glad yeh like it. Was never the best player meself, but I do enjoy a nice tune.” Hagrid replied with a grin before telling Harry to go fill his rumbling stomach. It was just after Harry finished eating that an owl flew in and landed in front of him. Taking the letter from the owl Harry looked at the sender in confusion. ‘What could St. Mungos want with me?’ He pondered to himself. Opening the letter Harry read over it his eyes widening the further he read.

His Godfather, Sirius Black, had awoken from his decade long coma in the early hours of the morning. At Sirius’ request Harry was being invited to visit on Boxing Day to meet his Godfather.

Harry suddenly felt like he might have experienced a genuine Christmas Miracle firsthand.

-End Chapter-

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The Dogfather cometh! Harry’s about to get a new lease on his time outside of Hogwarts! Plus new branches of Enchanting are opening up to him! Will this propel him towards the Title of Artificer sooner? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 6: Sirius, Offer, Learning

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry gets to meet Sirius! An offer is made and Harry starts to learn both basic Alchemy and Devanagari Runes! What will these new Magical Aspects bring to his Enchanting?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 6 – Sirius, Offer, Learning

“Are you ready to go, Mr. Potter?” Flitwick inquired as he stood in front of the Floo in his personal quarters. As Harry’s Head of House, Flitwick would be escorting Harry to St. Mungos for his visit with Sirius.

“Yes, Professor.” Harry nodded as he stepped into the green flames. “St. Mungos!” He called out and was suddenly whisked through the Floo Network. When the spinning finally stopped Harry was sent stumbling out of the fireplace in the St. Mungos reception area. He ended up almost flat on his face before he felt someone grab his arm to steady him. The only problem with this was that the other person just so happened to be rather uncoordinated themselves and ended up getting pulled down along with Harry.

“Oof!” Tonks cried out as she fell on top of Harry in a tangle of limbs.

“Tonks?! What are you doing here?” Harry questioned before realizing their position and flushing red. “Can you get off me?”

“I believe that would be best, Ms. Tonks.” Flitwick piped up having come through the Floo after Harry.

“Sorry about that, Harrikins!” Tonks grinned with a wink as she got up and helped Harry to his feet. “Thanks for the gift, I really like them!” She gushed as she motioned to the scarf that she had around her neck.

“No problem Tonks, I’m glad you like them.” Harry smiled back before offering his own thanks for her gift. “You didn’t have to spend so much on my gift, you know?”

“Better to spend it on you rather than some random thing for myself.” Tonks waved off before taking his wrist and pulling him over to the reception desk. “Let’s get you signed in so you can see Sirius!”

“Wait? Why are you visiting Sirius?” Harry questioned.

“Oh right, I never told you, Sirius is my second cousin. My mom and Sirius are first cousins.” Tonks replied as they stopped by the reception desk and Harry was given a visitor’s pass. Flitwick followed behind the duo and would wait outside of the room during Harry’s visit. “Nervous?” Tonks asked seeing the look on Harry’s face.

“A bit, I’ve never met the man when I had the ability to remember so this is basically our first meeting.” Harry explained getting an understanding nod from Tonks.

“Don’t worry, Harry, Sirius adored you from the moment you were born! He’s been practically bouncing since he received confirmation that you were coming to see him.” Tonks reassured her friend. Harry smiled slightly at Tonks’ encouragement.

“Thanks Tonks, well let’s go see my Godfather.” Harry put on a grin though Tonks could tell he was nervous still.

“I brought Harry!” Tonks announced as she and Harry entered Sirius’ hospital room. Harry saw the slim man with the trimmed beard and long dark hair sitting in the hospital bed. He was surrounded by other people Harry didn’t know, a haggard looking man in older looking robes, a witch that bore a resemblance to Sirius himself, and finally another man that looked fairly plain with brown hair and a smile on his face. Though that smile was definitely the same one Tonks often wore, so this man was probably her father, Ted.

“Harry!” Sirius called happily as he threw his arms open wide. “Come give your Dogfather a hug!”

“Dogfather?” Harry questioned as Tonks laughed and gently pushed Harry forward.

“Ignore his terminology he never made it past Third Year maturity wise.” The woman whom Harry was convinced was Tonks’ mother, Andromeda, jibed at Sirius.

“Oi! I’m a man of culture and refinement, I’ll have you know!” Sirius sniped back making all three adults laugh at the statement. “Hey! You’re supposed to back me up at least Moony!”

“Sorry Padfoot can’t help but laugh at a joke like that.” ‘Moony’ chuckled getting Sirius to snort before laughing as well.

“Nice to meet you, Sirius.” Harry smiled with the tension from earlier lifting away at the laughter in the room. He was quickly pulled into a warm hug by Sirius which he gently returned.

“Sorry it took me so long to wake up Harry, but I dragged the rat back for you.” Sirius whispered quietly as he hugged his godson.

“It wasn’t too bad, Sirius, you did what you needed to do; I’m sure my parents were happy about that.” Harry whispered back strengthening his hug slightly before the two released each other.

“Thank you Harry, that means a lot.” Sirius smiled getting Harry to smile in return. “So tell me how you’ve been, Harry, the last time I saw you was when you were one.” With that Harry began to explain his life to Sirius, plus his visitors, until he got to his time starting at Hogwarts.

“Wait, you’re in Ravenclaw?” Sirius questioned getting a nod from Harry. “Nerd!”

“Oi!” Harry called out getting a burst of laughter from everyone in the room.

“I know, right?!” Tonks laughed as she pulled Harry into a hug. “But he’s my nerd! He makes me nice things!” She laughed as she held up one end of her Enchanted Scarf. Harry’s red face only prompted further laughter from the adults in the room. Harry was surprised that Sirius hadn’t asked about his Scouter and mentioned it.

“I’ve been reading back issues of the Prophet that St. Mungos keeps around. So as soon as I saw your name I read the article about your item. You want to scan me? I might not be in tip-top shape but I bet I still score higher than Remus here!” Sirius chuckled getting an amused roll of the eyes from Remus.

“Always so competitive.” Remus huffed getting an agreeing nod from Andromeda.

“Sure, just a second.” Harry smiled as he pulled his Scouter from his pocket. “Does everyone want one?” He asked the room getting a nod or shrug from the others. With that Harry started with Sirius who was looking like an eager child.

“You have ‘2714’ mana right now Sirius. I don’t know how much you had beforehand so I can’t tell you if its’ shrunk from your stay here or not.” Harry informed getting a nod from Sirius.

“Remus has ‘6428’ mana.” Harry stated after scanning the other man. Remus smiled gently before Sirius spoke up.

“What? I have less than Moony! No way!” Sirius called out jokingly getting another eye roll from Remus as the man shook his head.

“Mrs. Tonks has ‘6558’ mana.” Harry announced getting a nod from the woman and a grin.

“Mr. Tonks has ‘6306’ mana.” Harry said which got Ted a nudge from Andromeda while Sirius joked about who was in control of the marriage.

“Tonks currently has ‘4908’ mana, you’ve gone up again.” Harry commented getting a satisfied nod from Tonks.

“Looks like Nymphadora is going to catch up to you soon Andy!” Sirius chortled only to get an enraged Tonks with red hair and eyes yelling at him.

“Don’t call me that!” Tonks growled at Sirius who only held his hands up in defense while chuckling.

“Nymphadora? So that’s what the N in your initials stands for.” Harry realized since Tonks refused to tell Harry her first name and he’d only managed to find out it started with an N.

“Don’t you start using that name, mister!” Tonks threatened with her right index finger pointed at Harry. He nodded quickly knowing that Tonks wouldn’t hesitate to hit him with her Wandless Stinging Hex.

“Oh Nymphadora is a perfectly nice name. I don’t know why you dislike it so much.” Andromeda sighed while Ted rubbed her back.

“You don’t have to live with it!” Tonks grumbled as she pouted and played with the end of her Enchanted Scarf.

“I think it’s pretty.” Harry shrugged getting a smile from Andromeda while Tonks looked at him in shock and a dusting of pink overtook her cheeks.

“You hush, Harry!” Tonks demanded as she let a weak Stinging Hex leave her finger and hit his leg.

“Oi!” Harry whined as he rubbed the weak feeling on his leg. It went away fast enough but it was still annoying. It was only afterwards that the two realized that the room had gone completely silent.

“Nymphadora…honey…did you just use Wandless Magic?” Andromeda breathed out as she looked at her daughter. All the adults were staring at her in shock while she turned to Harry with a look of such remorse and apology on her face that it almost hurt Harry to see it.

“It’s all right, Tonks, they’re your family. You can tell them.” Harry reassured her making all the adults look at him.

“Harry can use Wandless Magic and he taught me and Penny how.” Tonks admitted getting stunned looks from the adults. After a moment Andromeda let out a muffled squeal of delight as she enveloped her daughter in a hug.

“My baby is so strong!” Andromeda praised as she held her daughter close and ran a hand through her daughter’s ever changing hair. Ted beamed at his daughter while Remus and Sirius gave impressed congratulations.

“So Harry, are you going to let all of us in on your secret?” Sirius teased getting Harry to realize that his plans to make his Wandless Magic a Potter Family Secret might be much harder than he initially thought.

“No! This was Harry’s discovery and he wants to keep it a Family Secret! Don’t pester him!” Tonks practically growled at Sirius causing the man to once again raise his hands in defense. Especially since he now knew that she could hex him without a wand.

“Family Secret? A Potter Family Secret?” Andromeda questioned as she looked over at Harry who nodded shyly.

“Exactly, so please don’t ask me to teach you, I made a promise I wouldn’t.” Tonks stated getting understanding nods form her parents.

“My little girl is getting betrothed! I’m so happy for you honey!” Andromeda smiled brightly as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

“What?!” Harry shouted startled.

“Mum!” Tonks cried out embarrassed as her hair rapidly shifted through colors.

“Good on you, Harry, Nymphadora is a great girl!” Sirius cheered while Remus looked back and forth between Harry and Tonks. Ted looked a little lost among everyone else.

“Can someone explain what’s going on to me?” Harry asked confused getting a nod of agreement from Ted.

“You don’t know?” Andromeda questioned still holding Tonks in a hug. When Harry shook his head Andromeda started to explain. “When an unwed Wizard or Witch offers a Family Secret to another Witch or Wizard it is considered the first part of starting a betrothal. A Family Secret offered is stating intent to bring the other person into your Family.”

“Mum! Harry didn’t mean it like that! He agreed to teach me and Penny to get familiar with teaching it, so that when he has children he’d know where to start.” Tonks explained while Harry’s face was as red as it had ever been from embarrassment.

“Oh, so he offered to teach you both? Nymphadora multiple marriages, while still legal, have fallen out of use in the last several generations. But if you three have it worked out I’m still happy for you.” Andromeda smiled getting Tonks to sigh as her mother clearly wasn’t listening.

“Mum, seriously, it’s not like that.” Tonks stated dully finally making Andromeda calm down a bit.

“Oh? That’s too bad, are you sure? You’d have to wait a few years for Harry to reach Majority so he can get married of course; but I think you two would be good for each other.” Andromeda stated as she released her daughter from the hug.

“She did offer marriage to me and Penny.” Harry chuckled getting all the adults eyes to widen, especially Ted’s. “But it’s not right for her to chain herself to me when she has five years to find someone better for her.”

“Hey, I think it’s a good idea! You’re the one being stubborn about it, mister!” Tonks retorted getting Harry to blush again. “Besides, Penny is totally on board even if she won’t admit it yet!”

“Tonks you can’t just decide for her.” Harry replied with his hands raised in a placating gesture.

“I’m not; she’s being stubborn about it just like you!” Tonks pouted. “The three of us could make it work, we like each other well enough. Besides you want a good sized family anyway.”

“Well…I mean…that’s true…but…” Harry stammered out beyond embarrassed. Especially after seeing Sirius and Remus barely holding back full on laughter at his predicament.

“I’ll want a couple after a few years too, you know.” Tonks admitted getting Harry to nearly go light headed from the heat of his face alone. Andromeda’s eyes practically lit up at the thought of grandchildren while Ted’s entire face paled considerably.

“Harry, my godson…” Sirius stated in a stiff tone making Harry and Tonks both look towards the normally jovial man. “I approve of this union!” The prankster laughed as he gave Harry a thumbs up while bursting into raucous laughter along with Remus.

“Sirius!” Harry choked out sending both Remus and Sirius even deeper into their laughing fits.

“My daughter is getting betrothed!” Andromeda exclaimed again while pulling Tonks back into a hug.

“Mum! He hasn’t agreed to anything!” Tonks argued as she was squeezed by her mother.

“My little girl…” Ted mumbled out having a hard time processing how fast his daughter seemed to be growing up in her final year at Hogwarts. He wasn’t ready for his baby girl to be an adult!

“I need a minute.” Harry stated softly as he leaned back in his chair and tried not to pass out from emotional overload. Sirius and Remus were in fully belly laughter at this point, neither of them had laughed this hard in years. Over an hour later Harry was happily chatting with Sirius, Remus, Andromeda and Ted. Tonks was being her usual playful self again and Harry couldn’t remember a time he’d felt more a part of a family than right now.

“So, Harry, since I’m your legal guardian in the Magical World I was wondering if you’d want to live with me once I’m cleared to live on my own?” Sirius offered getting Harry to smile brightly. He’d been waiting a decade for his Godfather to wake up and offer him a home. The Dursleys had done everything that was normal and proper, but the emotional distance had been clearly obvious. To be part of a family that wanted him and all that included was one of the few things he truly desired in the world.

“If you want me too, I’d like that very much, Sirius.” Harry agreed getting a beaming smile from Sirius.

“Great! We’ll have a great time!” Sirius cheered getting Remus to shake his head fondly. It was good to have his friend back.

“Sirius will be staying with us until he’s recovered.” Andromeda stated getting a nod of thanks from Sirius. “We’ll have to look at what properties are available until the summer. You most certainly are not staying at Grimmauld Place. That horrible old building isn’t fit for habitation anymore.”

“Works for me.” Sirius nodded, he had no love for the place after all.

“Mr. Potter, I hate to interrupt but we should be going soon.” Flitwick announced as he stuck his head into the room.

“Yes Professor.” Harry replied as he sighed. With heartfelt goodbyes Harry separated from the group only for Tonks to pull him back by the shoulder and plant a kiss on his cheek in front of everyone.

“Make sure you consider the betrothal, Harrikins!” Tonks grinned and winked at him. Harry’s face went straight back to dark red as Sirius and Remus chortled and Andromeda’s eyes shone with hope.

“Ok…” Harry mumbled back as he made his way out the door and quickly started following Professor Flitwick.

“He said he’ll consider it!” Andromeda cheered so loudly Harry heard her down the hall. Harry didn’t think he could handle much more embarrassment today!

“Should I be congratulating you, Mr. Potter?” Flitwick asked amused.

“Professor…” Harry groaned getting chuckles from the Charms Master. It was a short time later that the two arrived back to the castle, Harry once again falling almost flat on his face.

“What a day.” Harry sighed as he flopped down into his bed in Ravenclaw Tower. He’d met Sirius and now he had a family to go home to in the summer; a family that wanted him, Magic and all. He couldn’t help but smile at this fact as he picked up Hermione’s gift to him and cracked it open. A bit of relaxing reading would do him some good for the rest of the day. Now to see what other Enchanters had gotten famous for making. With that Harry spent the rest of the day reading through ‘Famous Enchanted Objects from around the World’. He came across an entry about a Magical Swordsmith from Japan who had made a couple of Magic Swords in the past. This entry seemed to be from a historical record rather than an interview like some of the other entries.

“Hmm, Magic Swords, huh?” Harry mused thoughtfully, as he read over the entry and learned about this Magical Swordsmith and his famous blades. One known as Akukoroga and the other Kazakiriryuga, apparently both had been made from the fangs of Magical Creatures. Some kind of Yokai for the Akukoroga and a Dragon native to Japan for the Kazakiriryuga. “Interesting, this is Creature Craft as Enchanters call it, making an Enchanted Object out of the hair, scales, fangs, claws, horns and other such things of Magical Creatures. I wonder if I could learn that?” Speaking of Magical Swords the most famous one in Britain was of course, Excalibur, maybe he should check the Library and see what the Magical World knew about that particular sword? Well that would be for tomorrow for now he’d get to a stopping point and get some sleep.

The next day Harry plundered the Library for any books regarding Excalibur or other Legendary Magical Items. Sadly even the Magical World didn’t seem to know very much about Excalibur. It was known that it was forged in England around the time that King Arthur was around and that it had many Magical Abilities. Other than that however, no one seemed to be able to agree on much else about the sword. There weren’t even any guesses about who had forged it in the first place. The other Magical Swords he’d read about were usually better explained but some were still mysteries just like Excalibur. The Sword of Gryffindor was mentioned and it was supposedly forged by Goblins at Godric Gryffindor’s request. The main ability was that the sword would take in any substance or ability that made it stronger. That was fascinating but something struck Harry as odd about the history of the sword.

“Goblins hate Wizards and Witches. Why would they forge a sword for Gryffindor?” Harry wondered as he finished the section on Gryffindor’s Sword by finding out the weapon had disappeared after Godric’s death and no one had seen it since. Harry may not know the most about goblins but he was fairly sure that they wouldn’t create something for any Wizard that was as powerful as the stories claimed. “Something doesn’t seem right about this story.” He mused as he closed the book and moved onto the next one.

After lunch Harry had retreated to his work shop with both books he’d received about Enchanting. He’d keep the ‘Beginners Alchemy for Enchanters’ inside his workshop until he could order the basic ingredients with which to practice the art. Padma’s gift he’d start studying now and whenever he had some extra time. Devanagari would be a long process to learn but if he went at it a bit at a time he’d eventually be able to use it for his Enchanting just like Elder and Younger Futhark. In the mean time he’d spend the remainder of his free time during the break to work more on his Rune Safe’s array. He’d practice a little with learning to play the flute Hagrid had made him too.

-Three Days Later-

Three days. Three bloody days! Why couldn’t he figure out how to make the mana absorption sequence integrate with his multi-layered security array? He didn’t want to remove any of the security sequences in the array when he’d finally gotten them to work together successfully! That accomplishment in and of itself had taken him the better part of a month. No way was he going to undo all of that work now! But he’d basically been bashing his head against a brick wall trying to figure this out. He’d rewritten the mana absorption sequence over a dozen times. Tweaking how fast it absorbed or how much it could absorb all at once. He’d even gone through the entirety of the security array and looked for any sections that would prevent an absorption sequence from working. He’d found nothing of the sort in the array. He’d tried integrating the absorption sequence into the security array half a dozen different ways; but the Runes needed to create the absorption sequence would interfere with the security array’s Runes if he added them in at certain points so he was limited in where he could add the sequence. There had to be something he was missing! Theoretically this should be able to work, so why wasn’t it? A rumbling from Harry’s stomach alerted him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. With a sigh he set down the papers and parchments he’d been testing sequences out on and left his workshop to get some lunch.

“Oh yeah, my order.” Harry remembered as he saw a large Owl Order owl sitting at the head of the Ravenclaw Table. As soon as Harry got close the owl hooted at him and he approached it to relieve it of his package. After taking the package from the owl the bird left the Great Hall quickly. Harry kept his package next to himself while he ate and took it with him back to his workshop when he finished his lunch. Smiling giddily as he opened the package and removed everything inside of it, Harry couldn’t help be pleased. After all, this Alchemist Starter Kit, as it was called in the Owl Order Catalogue had cost him six Galleons. But it truly did come with everything a beginner needed to start practicing the art. Base metals ground down into powder, a set of metal sheets on which basic alchemic transmutation circles had been perfectly etched, and a dozen other ingredients like reagents, catalysts, and stabilizers made from magical plants or ground up dragon bones.

As it turned out the reason that Alchemy was difficult to learn was because it required knowledge of multiple fields. Some Geology, some Herbology, Magical Theory, and even some knowledge about which parts of Magical Creatures were the most reactive. Harry already had some knowledge about stones from Primary school, his Herbology wasn’t great but he didn’t get below Exceeds Expectations on his work. Magical Theory he was rather ahead in and a good amount of book reading, plus some questions for Hagrid, should see his knowledge of Magical Creatures and their uses increase sufficiently. After reading through the first several chapters of his beginners alchemy book Harry felt confident that he could make the most basic alchemical compound he was interested in. Simply called ‘Circuit Base’ it was a compound that could channel mana through it and keep whatever effect the mana was producing while it travelled.

“Alright, let’s follow the directions, step one is to melt copper in a vessel.” Harry stated to himself as he got his blacksmithing tools ready and got a fire going. With some time the copper melted and Harry proceeded to the second step. “Mix in five units of powdered dragon bone and six units of Ugi Grass stabilizer to the molten copper.” Measuring out the appropriate amounts of both materials with the provided scoops was easy enough and using a steel rod to stir them into the molten copper only took a few minutes. “The final step is to pour magic into the mixture until it glows. After the glow subsides it will be ready to use. The warning says that it will solidify if allowed to cool. That’s obvious though.” Harry added mana to the mixture continuously until it glowed like the sun was reflecting off of it. He quickly went to grab a few planks of wood and his Alchemic Rune Kit while he waited for the glow to subside.

Harry etched two simple runic sequences onto each end of the first piece of wood. Then he carved a line from each of them that met in the middle of the plank. If his ‘Circuit Base’ was made correctly it would spread the effect of each sequence to the middle of the plank and the two effects would both occur where the lines met. Noticing the glow had faded away Harry dipped the tip of a tool called an ‘Alchemic Pen’ into the ‘Circuit Base’ liquid and felt it pull the mixture into the compartment inside. With a steady hand Harry filled each Rune of both sequences with the circuit base and then filled in both lines. Setting the pen aside Harry placed a small metal bowl in the middle of the plank. Then he activated both runic sequences and watched the metal bowl eagerly hoping his first attempt worked. Seeing the bowl slowly fill with water made Harry grin, he outright cheered when that water started steaming and then boiling a moment later.

“Success! Both the ‘Water Gathering’ sequence and the ‘Heating’ sequence effects were applied to the bowl! Deactivating both sequences Harry pulled on one of his blacksmithing gloves and removed the hot metal bowl of water off the wood plank. He dumped the water out into the sink in the bathroom before returning and grabbing another plank of wood. This time he etched two sequences that couldn’t be put together without their individual Runes interfering with each other. After filling both sequences with circuit base he filled the two lines he’d carved all over the top of the plank between the two sequences. “Here goes nothing.” Harry remarked as he held his hand over the wood plank and conjured fire. When the plank didn’t burn Harry smiled. “The ‘Fire Protection’ sequence is working.” He grinned. Next Harry pulled out his wand, this next spell he hadn’t gotten to work wandlessly yet. “Infrigoreum.” He intoned and watched closely to see if the spell took effect. Not seeing anything change Harry stowed his wand away and touched the plank. “Not even cold. The ‘Freeze Proof’ sequence is also working!” The eleven year old couldn’t contain himself and jumped around his workshop laughing and cheering at his success. It was only the first steps of Alchemy but they worked! He could use Alchemy for his Enchanting now! This opened up an innumerable amount of paths for his future as an Enchanter! The Title of Artificer wasn’t just a pipe dream now, he could actually achieve it!

“This could be just what I need to finish my Rune Safe! If I use circuit base to connect the mana absorption sequence to the security array they should link up and apply their effects together.” Harry surmised as he continued to think on his current project. “I need to make sure they can link up through a circuit when etched into metal. I’ll need more metal so another trip to ‘reclaim’ some from an abandoned classroom is required. If this works my Rune Safe will be more secure than any trunk on the market!”

The next day Harry had ‘acquired’ enough metal to begin his tests. Pounding out ten flat metal bars in the smithy took the rest of the day but he’d be ready to experiment first thing in the morning! Harry had a hard time getting to sleep that night from sheer excitement. Waking up the next morning he ate breakfast quickly before heading to his workshop to start his experiments.

“Failure! Bloody hell!” Harry groused as his sixth metal bar failed to hold all the properties of his combined security and absorption array. This was his sixth attempt at connecting the absorption sequence into the array with circuit base lines. He still had a few more tries left but he was starting to think he was missing something else. “Alright, let’s try this again.” Harry breathed out as he tried to calm down. The seventh try wasn’t any more successful than his first six. Neither was the eighth attempt or the ninth. Tossing his newest failure into the pile of failures Harry sighed as he made his next and final attempt before he’d have to get more metal and forge it into shape.

“Failed again! Why? What am I missing?” Harry demanded to no one as he roughly tossed his tenth failed bar into the pile and stewed on his lack of progress. Why wouldn’t the metal hold his connected array? There was nothing wrong with how the sequences were placed and the circuit base lines were connecting the array together properly. What was he missing, there had to be some reason he wasn’t seeing. But what could it possibly be? Pacing back and forth through his workshop for several minutes yielded no answers as Harry continued to mull over his dilemma, there had to be something wrong with his method. Staring over at his piled of failures lying haphazardly on the stone floor he noticed that a few of the bars had fallen into a rhombus shape together.

“Wait a minute…could it be?” Harry pondered as he moved over to the pile and rearranged the failures into squares on the floor. Seeing two squares of four metal bars each sparked his thought process. He noticed that the circuit lines from the individual bars touched where the bars met. The effect would spread correctly if they were a single piece, or at least connected properly together. Like a singular item! “That’s it. That’s it! It’s the form!” Harry exclaimed to the empty classroom as he grinned and quickly left the room to ‘acquire’ more metal.

It was the morning after his epiphany and Harry had scrounged up all the metal he could find last night. He’d hit every single abandoned classroom on the sixth floor and taken every bit of metal he could find. It was almost all iron but that suited Harry’s purposes just fine. He’d made sure to take extra food from breakfast this morning so that he wouldn’t have to stop his work to go to lunch. It was time to get to work! Harry spent the rest of the day heating the iron pieces in the forge, pounding the hot iron pieces together into single sheets. His mana was imbued into the iron with every strike of the hammer. He had sweat more on this day than any other day in his life. Near what would be dinner time Harry was finished with the first part of his creation. Cooling after being dumped in the slack tub and then levitated back out was an iron box with one side missing and another slab of iron with a handle on the left side of it and on the upper and lower corners  of the right side were two bits of metal protruding from the ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ of the slab. This would be the door for the iron box.

“That took a while.” Harry smiled to himself. His Safe’s form was complete at least. It wasn’t very big at the moment only being forty five centimeters tall, wide, and deep. But it would hold a nice amount of money and once he worked in his array it would be as unbreakable and secure as he could make it. “Let’s wash up, I definitely need dinner.” He chuckled as he headed into the bathroom that was in the smithy. A quick shower and Harry deemed himself clean enough to head down to the Great Hall for dinner. He ate more than normal but with how much physical exertion he’d done today, not to mention the amount of mana he’d expended, he felt he’d earned it.

The next morning Harry grinned happily at his two parts and marveled at how imbuing his mana into the iron had helped him shape it into his desired form so quickly. A normal blacksmith would have taken several days to get the Safe’s body finished as they slowly forged the iron walls and then forged them together into a box. His mana had made the iron shape to his will faster and come out as he’d wanted it. That would probably explain the deep sleep he’d experienced last night. He hadn’t checked his mana since the demonstration in the Great Hall but he was fairly certain he’d probably used somewhere close to eighty percent of his mana yesterday.

“Just have to set the door into the Safe and then we’ll get to the Rune work.” Harry nodded to himself as he pulled out his wand. It irked him something fierce that he still had so many spells he couldn’t do wandlessly. But he’d been so preoccupied with his Rune Safe lately that he’d put off some of his Wandless Magic practice trying to get the Safe made. “Reducio.” He intoned pointing his wand at the iron door. The metal shrank slightly and Harry picked it up. Fitting the hinge points into the holes he’d made in the box was easy enough. Now he just had to restore the door to its proper size and it should fit perfectly. A Wandless ‘Finite’ saw the door clicking into place with a thud as it returned to its normal size. Testing the door and seeing how it opened and closed, making sure it fit into the grooves of the safe and closed securely was a success as well. Now came the process of etching the Runic Array and then filling it with ‘Circuit Base’ to connect it to the entirety of the safe. Many would wonder why the Safe didn’t have a physical lock but Harry could only grin. Once the Rune work was done the whole safe would ‘BE’ the lock. One of the security sequences would only allow the door to be opened by the first person to charge the array. Harry was going to be that first person and so the Safe would never open for anyone else.

-Two Days Later-

“Finally done.” Harry smiled as he looked over his finished work one last time. All the Runes were precisely etched and in perfect shape. The ‘Circuits’ made from ‘Circuit Base’ were connecting the array together properly. The Safe was ready to be charged with mana for the first time. Etching the array in three dimensions had been challenging to say the least. Having to make sure each circuit line was unbroken as it moved over the edges and corners of the safe had required intense focus. But it had all been worth it; the circuits were solid and covered the entirety of the inside of the safe. They would impart all aspects of his Security Array to the entirety of the Rune Safe, including the circuit connected Absorption Sequence. With a grin Harry placed his hand on the center of the array on the inside of the safe. He’d centered the array on the back wall so he’d be able to work from that point outward and end on the back of the door. Feeling his mana being taken in by the array and watching as the Runes began to glow was amazing for Harry. Watching as the circuits glowed as his mana travelled through them was satisfying and eventually the entire inside of the safe was glowing faintly with his mana.

“Oh, so that’s what that feels like.” Harry mumbled as he felt the ‘Permanent Locking’ sequence attune itself to his mana. It suddenly felt like the whole safe was a part of him for a few seconds before the feeling faded away. Harry continued to charge the Rune Safe’s array until he felt a noticeable drop in his mana. Cutting off the flow and pulling his hand back, Harry watched on as the array slowly dimmed until the glow wasn’t really noticeable anymore. “Now we wait.” Harry muttered as he closed the Rune Safe’s door feeling the array activate and secure the safe. If everything was working properly then when he came back the next morning with Tonks and Penny to show them the completed Rune Safe it should still be working perfectly as it absorbed mana from the air. In a place as overflowing with magic as Hogwarts the Safe would probably just get stronger as it absorbed more and more mana. He’d purposefully added in the ‘Strengthening’ sequence to the array so that excess mana would be used to make the Safe and its effects stronger. Eventually the Safe would ‘bleed off’ any mana that exceeded the materials’ ability to store mana and leave it ‘fully charged’ for lack of any better term. “I can’t wait to show this to Penny and Tonks!”

The next morning the students that had left for Yule Break returned. Harry enthusiastically greeted his friends and was hugged by Penny before both were pulled into a group hug by Tonks. Harry could only smile and laugh as he reunited with his two closest friends. Penny had thanked him profusely for his gift to her and Harry had to admit that seeing both Penny and Tonks wearing what he made for them caused a feeling of warm joy to blossom in his chest.

“So what’s this new item you’re so eager to show us?” Penny questioned with a smile as Harry was practically dragging her and Tonks towards his workshop. They’d barely had time to put their things away because Harry was so eager.

“It’s the one I was having such trouble with for so long! I finally figured it out!” Harry enthused getting a smile from the Prefect while Tonks chuckled.

“We’re coming Harry, you don’t need to drag us around.” Tonks laughed as Harry continued to urge them forward. Once the group arrived to the workshop Harry proudly presented his Rune Safe to his closest friends.

“You made a safe? Why?” Penny asked curiously as she and Tonks looked the iron box over.

“I don’t trust the Goblins, to be honest. I’ve only had a single meeting with my Account Overseer and he tried to make off with more than twenty percent of what remains of my Family’s money. So since the Goblins seem in the market of extorting their vault holders I decided to keep my money under my own protection.” Harry explained getting nods from both girls. Both had been raised in the Magical World, though Penny had a good bit of exposure to the Non-magical World as well because of her various Muggle relatives. Neither could truthfully state that a Witch or Wizard could ever truly trust a Goblin.

“Can we open it?” Tonks asked wanting to see the inside.

“Give it a try.” Harry grinned trying not to laugh. Tonks tried to open the safe only for it to remain closed.

“Oh, ha ha, very funny mister!” Tonks pouted as Harry couldn’t stifle his chuckles. “So how does it unlock?”

“It doesn’t.” Harry smirked getting baffled looks from both girls.

“But if it doesn’t unlock then how are you going to use it?” Penny questioned while Tonks nodded along confused.

“I’ll just open the door and put what I want inside of course.” Harry smiled as he walked over and easily pulled open the door. The looks of curiosity had Harry chuckling again. “I’m the only one in the world that can open this door. The ‘Permanent Lock’ sequence that’s part of the Rune Array is attuned to my mana now. It won’t open for anyone else.”

“That’s actually really cool.” Tonks nodded impressed.

“Harry this is amazing! You’ve made something truly impressive.” Penny congratulated making Harry blush slightly at the praise while also puffing up just a bit. Both girls looked inside the now open safe and noticed the large sprawling series of lines covering the inside and the small runes etched into the back. Neither girl could make heads or tails of the lines so Harry explained it to them when they’d asked.

“I’m so glad you’re using my gift!” Penny exclaimed happily as she gave Harry another hug.

“It’s thanks to your gift that I was able to take this next step in my Enchanting, Penny. I should be thanking you!” Harry replied as he returned the hug.

“Hey what about mine?” Tonks pouted dramatically making Harry roll his eyes fondly.

“Your gift was invaluable to this success as well. Do you want a…” Harry started only for Tonks to practically rush him and pull him into a hug. “Hug?” He finished as the breath was being squeezed out of him.

“Tonks, I think he needs air.” Penny spoke up after a few moments. Harry’s face was getting very red after all. Tonks grinned as she released him and chuckled as Harry drew in a long deep breath.

“Oh yeah, Penny, we need to talk about the betrothal!” Tonks smiled brightly.

“Betrothal? What betrothal?” Penny asked confused.

“Tonks!” Harry yelled his face now red for an entirely different reason.

-End Chapter-

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There it is! Sirius the Dogfather is back bitches! Hide your pretty women! Harry has a new home to return to for the breaks and summers! He was finally able to finish his Rune Safe as well! Where will our budding Artificer’s study and curiosity take him next? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 7: Next Sale, Too Many Letters!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that the Rune Safe is finished what’s the next project for Harry?  

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 7 – Next Sale, Too Many Letters!

“Bloody hell, again?!” Harry groused as he stared at the stack of letters that had been dropped off at breakfast. He could hear the murmurings of his schoolmates as everyone in the Great Hall stared at the pile of letters. It had been this way since shortly after the Holidays, every morning a flock of owls would drop off a new pile of letters from Magical Scholars, Enchanters, Companies, and even just random curious Witches and Wizards. He’d tried to answer each of them the first day but when another pile had been delivered the next day, and the one after that, he’d quickly realized that he’d never be able to answer them all.

“Tough being famous, eh, Harrikins?” Tonks smiled as she helped him gather the pile into a neat stack.

“There’s just too many. I can’t possibly answer them all.” Harry sighed as he ate more of his breakfast.

“If its anything like last time the majority of them are asking the same few questions. Maybe you could answer them all at once?” Penny offered from his other side.

“Like an article in the Prophet or something?” Tonks inquired after she swallowed her mouthful of food.

“It couldn’t hurt. The Prophet takes a bit of time to get to the further parts of the International Magical Community. Then it takes the owls a while to fly all the way here. These letters only started coming in over the last few days, so I’d bet that they’re from further abroad than the first six Harry got.” Penny reasoned as Harry listened and nodded at her hypothesis.

“Could I get your help going through these? If I can find out the most commonly asked questions then I’ll know what to put in the article.” Harry asked getting nods of agreement from Tonks and Penny.

-After Classes-

“So we’ve narrowed down the three most common questions so far. The first is, ‘How did you create your unit of measurement’. The second was, ‘Can you sell the person a Scouter directly’. Finally the third question is, ‘What does the reading mean’.” Penny summarized as the three finally finished the pile of letters Harry had gotten over the last few days.

“The first two will be easy enough, just have to explain my Lumos Charm experiment and how I found the lowest amount of mana that’ll make the spell work. The second is a simple, ‘I don’t have enough time to make Scouters to sell directly’ so that’s an easy answer. The third will be a bit harder to explain, the reading doesn’t mean anything by itself. It’s just how much mana the person has. A Wizard or Witch isn’t stuck with whatever number they first get; they can increase their mana through more actively using spells. But that may not satisfy all of the people asking.” Harry stated as he leaned back in his chair.

“I think those are all the answers you need, Harrikins. They answer the questions asked sufficiently and if anyone has some kind of follow up then they can write to you.” Tonks claimed getting a smile from Harry in return.

‘Since we’re on the subject of articles anyway I thought I’d let you know that I’ve finished the advert for the Test Frames. If you’d give it a look over you’ll be set to start selling them.” Penny spoke as she handed Harry the advert she’d finished. “The only thing left to put on it is how many are currently available for sale. How many were you able to get done, Harry?”

“Three dozen, anytime I felt like I was slamming my head into a brick wall with the Rune Safe I worked on making Test Frames, or learning some more Devanagari, or learning to play the wooden flute Hagrid gave me for Christmas. I’m still pants at the flute but I know a few characters of Devanagari now.” Harry informed her getting surprised looks from both Tonks and Penny. “What? I had a lot of time on my hands without any classes or homework to get in the way. You two had already transfigured tons of Frames for me so I just had to etch the runic sequence and then apply the wooden overlay with Ollivander’s self-destruction sequence on it.”

“You’re some kind of workaholic, Harrikins.” Tonks shook her head playfully.

“It’s called ‘work ethic’ Tonks and there is nothing wrong with it.” Penny claimed with a faux snooty tone as she tilted her head so her nose was pointing into the air. Tonks and Harry chuckled at Penny’s act knowing that Penny often dealt with Percy Weasley during her Prefect duties. The oldest Weasley currently in Hogwarts was quite the stickler for the rules and seemed to abhor any kind of procrastination or laziness.

“Well I like the advert so just put that there are thirty six for sale and I’ll send it to the Owl Order Service.” Harry nodded as he handed the advert back to Penny.

“Are you still set on the price of six Galleons?” Penny asked for clarification happy that Harry liked the advert she’d made with him.

“Yeah, I think it’s a fair price based on what the Frame does. I fully expect a few businesses to have their Frame attached to their counter or a wall of their shop so that customers can pay to use it. Even at only a Knut per use they’ll probably make their money back in less than six months.” Harry reasoned as Penny nodded at his hypothesis.

“Well let’s get this article written so we can get to the fun stuff!” Tonks exclaimed with her arms in the air and a grin on her face. She was always more of an ‘action’ girl and was far more interested in practicing Wandless Magic than writing an article.

“You shouldn’t rush these things, Tonks. The better the article answers the questions the sooner Harry will stop getting bombarded by mail. Then we’ll have more time for practice.” Penny replied getting Tonks to grudgingly agree before pouting and offering her help.

-The Weekend-

Harry sighed happily even though he still had a new stack of mail to go through. The article had been sent on Tuesday and the response from the Prophet assured them it would be in the paper on Thursday morning. Seeing the article the three of them had worked on in the Prophet had given Harry hope that this excessive stream of mail would soon slow down. He was currently going through today’s batch looking for any letters that asked a question that wasn’t one of the three the article answered.

“Hey, I got a response from Madam Aveline.” Harry grinned as he opened the letter and started to read. The French Magical Scholar had written back to accept his offer of buying a Scouter directly and had even included the ten Galleons in the envelope. The woman was showing a lot of trust in Harry by sending the money along without any guarantee that he’d send the Scouter back to her. Harry smiled as he walked into his smithy and pulled open the door to his safe. Carefully placing the ten Galleons inside with the other coins that were already stacked in the safe he picked up the Scouter he’d set aside for Madam Aveline back in December. Wrapping it securely in cloth and placing it into a small wooden box he’d glued together from spare pieces of wood, Harry looked over the runes he’d etched onto the box. ‘Durability sequence? Check. Water Proof sequence? Check. That should be enough to get it to her safely.’ He thought to himself as he left his workshop and headed for the Owlery. He sent Hedwig off with the parcel and watched until he couldn’t see his owl anymore before leaving.

“Wotcher Harrikins!” Tonks announced herself as she met him outside his workshop. The bubbly Metamorphmagus had taken to practicing in his workshop on the weekends to get ready for the Auror Exams that she planned to take after she graduated Hogwarts. Apparently blasting the old stone walls was also a good stress relief from preparing for NEWT exams for the Seventh Year as well.

“Morning Tonks, had a bit of a lie in this morning?” Harry greeted as he opened the door for her.

“Not all of us like getting up early on the weekends like you Ravenclaws.” Tonks snarked since Harry and Penny often were up by no later than eight in the morning on the weekends.

“Just don’t want to waste the day is all.” Harry shrugged before watching Tonks stumble over her own two feet before she righted herself.

“Damn it.” Tonks cursed as she sent a look at Harry. “Not a word, mister!”

“Didn’t say a thing…” Harry grinned with his hands up placating his friend. “You klutz.”

“I said not a word you prat!” Tonks huffed as she let off her Wandless Stinging Hex. Harry darted to the side to avoid the spell prompting Tonks to launch another one. “Hold still! You have this coming!”

“I spoke only the truth!” Harry called back before taking a deep breath and exhaling a cloud of smoke that quickly covered the side of the room Tonks was in. That was a new spell Harry had picked up and made Wandless over the break. ‘Fluctus Fumus’ or the ‘Billowing Smoke’ spell was used to obscure vision and hamper breathing. It was often used as an escape spell by the cornered Witch or Wizard. Harry had found it in one of his trips to the Library and decided to learn it for the utility it provided.

“Colligentes Caeli!” Tonks incanted as all the smoke quickly gathered into a small ball at the tip of her wand. “Finite.” With the Dispelling Charm used the smoke ball vanished and Tonks grinned as she trained her wand on Harry.

“I thought you wanted to work on your Wandless Magic? So why are you using your wand?” Harry teased the older witch making her stick her tongue out at him.

“You hush! You’re lucky I don’t hex you for that too!” Tonks threatened before she stowed her wand back in its holster. “Now watch what I was able to get working over the break!”

“Alright, show me what you managed.” Harry smiled as Tonks held up her hand, palm facing outwards, and a translucent barrier formed in front of the girl.

“I made Protego Wandless! I’m sure that’ll get me bonus points on both the NEWTS and in the Auror Exam!” Tonks beamed at her accomplishment getting applause from Harry.

“That’s brilliant, Tonks! I still haven’t had much luck with Protego. Or with Fulmen either, now that I think about it. But I did spend a lot of my time over break getting the Rune Safe finished. I guess I should get back into Practical Magic now.” Harry congratulated his friend.

“Well I could use a training buddy since Penny has her boring Prefect meeting today.” Tonks grinned as she pointed her right index finger at Harry. “Now dance my minion!” She cackled as she launched a Stinging Hex at her friend.

“Oi! Who do you think you’re calling a minion?!” Harry shouted back as he blasted her hex out of the air with his Flipendo spell. “This means war!” With that Harry launch a small volley of his own Stinging Hexes at Tonks. The Seventh Year only laughed harder as she summoned her Protego and let his hexes bounce off her shield.

“You’re already my nerd, might as well go all in and become my minion too!” Tonks teased as she dropped her shield and launched the second spell she’d managed to make Wandless over the break. Conjured ropes flew at Harry seeking to tie the young Wizard up. Harry swiped his hand downwards and the ropes split as if they’d been sliced with a blade.

“Cutting Charm beats Incarcerous!” Harry taunted as he launched a more powerful Flipendo at Tonks. The Metamorph moved to the side to dodge the spell only to trip and fall to the floor. “Got you!” Harry called out as he launched another Flipendo at the downed girl.

“Not today, Harrikins!” Tonks mocked as her Protego reappeared and blocked the spell. “You should give up and accept your place as my minion!”

“I don’t know the meaning of the word!” Harry laughed over dramatically as he breathed out his Billowing Smoke spell to obscure Tonks’ vision. A volley of Stinging Hexes burst from the smoke forcing Harry to run to dodge them all.

“You’ll soon learn your place minion!” Tonks cackled as she rushed out of the smoke launching Stinging Hexes at Harry.

A few hours later Penny stuck her head inside the partially opened door of the workshop. Seeing Harry tied up and sitting on Tonks’ lap while said Metamorph teasingly rubbed her cheek against his was an odd sight to be sure.

“So…what did I miss?” Penny questioned as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

“Oh nothing, me and Harry just had some spell practice.” Tonks giggled as she continued to snuggle Harry.

“Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.” Harry mumbled over and over again as Tonks ignored him. Unfortunately the younger Wizard was low on mana and unable to do anything to escape the older girl’s hold. The embarrassed blush on his face at being seen like this only made Tonks giggle more.

“Tonks be nice.” Penny sighed as she moved over to the sitting pair and dragged a pulled a chair over to herself with a Wandless Accio Charm. Harry looked towards his Prefect friend with hope of escape and Penny smiled at him in return. “Share.” The dirty-blonde Ravenclaw requested getting Harry to look at her in complete shock.

“Sure thing!” Tonks chirped as she practically passed Harry over to Penny. The Wizard soon found himself sitting in the Prefect’s lap and being snuggled by the Fifth Year girl.

“You’re adorable when you look all tired like this.” Penny cooed at Harry as she nuzzled her cheek into his hair.

“Who are you and what have you done with Penny?” Harry asked confused, he’d never seen Penny act like this before.

“What? I can’t cuddle with my Betrothed?” Penny asked in mock shock.

“Damn it, Tonks.” Harry grumbled as Tonks broke out into a fit of laughter. He should have known the playful Witch would still talk to Penny about the situation at St. Mungos.

“Oh just enjoy the cuddles, Harrikins. You’re a lucky boy to have two pretty girls’ attention you know.” Tonks teased.

“You can just take a little nap right here, Harry. I won’t let you fall.” Penny assured as she slowly started to rock Harry back and forth.

“I’m not a baby.” Harry grumbled only to be ignored by both girls entirely. ‘One day Tonks…one day.’ He mentally swore his vengeance against the giggling Metamorph. Against his own will Harry found himself lulled to sleep by Penny’s gentle rocking, his low mana only adding to his physical exhaustion from running and dodging Tonks’ spells.

“He really is adorable when he’s asleep, isn’t he.” Tonks whispered to Penny getting a nod in return.

“Let’s let him rest for a bit, it should be close to dinner when he wakes up.” Penny smiled as she used Finite to make the ropes vanish. Tonks quickly got out her wand and conjured up a blanket and pillow for Harry.

-In France- (Can’t write French but they are speaking it.)

A knock was heard on a door that led to a tastefully decorated office. The woman behind the desk in the office looked up and checked the time. Seeing that it was the usual time the woman smiled and bid the person to enter.

“Come in.” The woman called as the door opened. The person that entered and closed the door behind them was a blonde teen of fourteen years. The teen quickly made her way in front of the desk and took a seat when the woman offered it.

“Good to see you again, Professor Aveline.” The blonde teen greeted the woman who smiled back.

“You as well, Miss Delacour, are you ready to discuss Magical Theory more in depth?” Professor Aveline inquired of her student.

“Yes Professor, I am. With the recent creation of a unit of measure for Magic I find myself brimming with questions.” Fleur responded with a beautiful smile of her own.

“Yes, young Mr. Potter has certainly made waves in the Magical Community with his Enchanting.” Professor Aveline laughed softly.

“Have you heard back from him? I hope he responded favorably to your request to purchase this, Scouter, from him. I admit I’m rather curious to know my own Magical Strength.” Fleur stated with a small sheepish grin getting an understanding nod from her Professor.

“I have and he did. I sent the Galleons along with my letter accepting his offer. I imagine I’ll have received the Scouter by next week or so. Though a most curious item has appeared in the Owl Order’s newest catalogue and I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that I was able to purchase one.” Professor Aveline smiled as she pulled out a copy of the catalogue and opened it to the correct page. Fleur looked over the page before gasping in shock.

-Owl Order Catalogue-

Are you curious about the new way to measure a Witch or Wizard’s Magical Strength? Were you unable to purchase one of the limited Scouters from this catalogue? Well, have no fear! Harry Potter has come forward with a new creation that can tell you your Magical Strength! Behold the Test Frame! Simply hold this talisman and push your Magic into it like you would a wand and your Magical Strength will be measured and a reading will be displayed! Act quickly as only thirty six are currently available!

Item – Enchanted Object – Talisman

Name – Test Frame

Function – Measures a Witch or Wizard’s Magical Strength and displays it as a numerical value.

Creator – Harry James Potter

Price – Six Galleons

Status – Sold Out

-End Catalogue-

“He made a new Item to measure Magical Strength? Why?” Fleur wondered out loud before looking up at her Professor.

“I imagine these ‘Test Frames’ are easier to make than the Scouters. So producing many of them is probably far more profitable for the young Enchanter than only putting four or five Scouters on the market every several months.” Professor Aveline hypothesized.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Fleur responded as she looked over the picture of the Test Frame in the catalogue.

“So, what aspect of Magical Theory shall we discuss today?” Professor Aveline asked as she waved her wand and some tea and snacks floated over to the desk.

“Well as I said earlier I have many questions regarding this new means to measure Magical Strength. You’ve been in contact with Mr. Potter and I was wondering what you’ve learned about his measurement system. What is it based on? How did he come to his conclusion on what defined the base unit by which to measure? Do his Items take into account all Magical Beings or just Wizards and Witches? Is a spell defined not only by its purpose but also by the amount of Magic that is used to cast it?” Fleur asked as Professor Aveline sipped her tea.

“You do have many questions, Miss Delacour; thankfully I have solid answer for the first two at the least.” Professor Aveline smiled as she set down her tea.

“Please Professor; tell me what you’ve learned.” Fleur asked her blue eyes brimming with excitement.

“Of course, I learned this from my letters to Mr. Potter so this knowledge comes directly from the source.” Professor Aveline grinned at the eager look on her student’s face. She then proceeded to explain what Harry had told her of his tests and his discovery of the lowest amount of Magic that could successfully cast a spell. How using this minimum Lumos Charm had led to the structuring of the entire measurement system and the creation of the two Items that Harry had made.

“To think he came up with this when he is only eleven.” Fleur breathed out in shock.

“Yes, the boy is clearly a prodigy in the field of Enchanting to say the least. I dare say from our letters he seems to have quite a number of theories about Magical Theory as well. I hope to continue conversing with him about Magic in the future.” Professor Aveline nodded as she took a snack and delicately ate it.

“What of my other two questions, Professor?” Fleur inquired as she finished a sip of her own tea.

“I’m unsure how his Items react to other Magical Beings but I’ll be sure to test both of them when they arrive. In regards to spells however, I believe the purpose of a spell is defined by the caster’s intent. The more Magic you put into a spell may make it last longer or increase its effect to a degree though. But, as an example, you’ll never turn a Cutting Charm into a Severing Curse just by using more Magic. The fundamental nature of the spell is different between the two. Even though they have the same basic function and the Severing Curse requires more Magic to cast, casting the Cutting Charm with excess Magic won’t result in the same effects.” Professor Aveline explained while Fleur listened intently.

“But surely there are spells that can be considerably enhanced with more Magic used to cast them?” Fleur questioned her eyes filled with curiosity.

“Let’s use another example then. The basic Aguamenti Charm when cast with very little Magic gives you a stream of water not unlike what you’d get from a faucet. Put in more Magic and the amount and force of the water increases. The spell can range in power from the faucet all the way up to something akin to a massive torrent. Conversely the Incendio Charm only makes a gout of flame that can light a hearth or start a campfire. Both of these uses are what was intended when the spell was made. Adding more Magic makes the flame last a bit longer but that’s the extent of it. The Incendio Charm will never become strong enough to rival any Fire-based Curse, and it’ll most assuredly not become something like the Battle Magic known as the Firestorm Spell. While the Incendio Charm and the Aguamenti Charm are often considered to be a pair, or mirrors of each other, in truth the purpose and function of both spells was determined during their creation. So while one can get incredibly more powerful the more Magic is used to cast it the other is locked into a lower power requirement simply by virtue of its design.” Professor Aveline explained as Fleur thought over what she heard.

“I see, so a spell’s creation truly defines what it is. But the way in which it is used is also a factor, correct?” Fleur asked as she mulled over the nature of Spellcraft.

“Very much so, Miss Delacour.” Professor Aveline nodded as she sipped her tea to soothe her throat.

“Do you think Mr. Potter would mind me writing to him as well? I think it would be enlightening to hear about theories from another student that has obviously thought long and deeply on the nature of Magic.” Fleur asked before taking a snack for herself.

“I’ll introduce the idea to him in my next letter. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind another person to have conversations with. I’ve even been helping him learn a bit of French in our missives; usually a word or two at a time, or a common phrase to help him should he visit France in the future. He seems to be taking well to our language.” Professor Aveline smiled getting one in return from her student.

“Thank you Professor, I look forward to making a friend who is just as interested in Magic as I am. Starting as Pen Pals seems like a good way to get to know one another.” Fleur grinned as she adjusted her sitting position and started to talk more in depth with her Professor.

-End Chapter-

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So there it is! The test Frames are being sold, Harry and Tonks have a playful spell fight, and Penny actually teases Harry herself! What has become of our Prefect?! Hopefully the article in the Prophet will stem the tide of letters that plague Harry so he can get back to his Wandless practice and his Enchanting! What will happen next? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 8: Quirrel, Artifact?

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! We’re nearing the last part of First Year! What does the spring hold for our young Enchanter?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 8 – Quirrel, Artifact?

Harry once again was sitting in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, trying to understand anything the stuttering Professor Quirrel was saying. With a grimace Harry tried to tune the turban-wearing man out as he went through his textbook and studied the current material independently. Was Quirrel really the best Hogwarts could offer as a Defense Professor? If so it was pretty sad, the man jumped at the smallest of things and appeared perpetually terrified. With no viable instruction coming from the so-called ‘Professor’ Harry read through his textbook to try and learn anything.

‘Surely there’s got to be something that makes this man qualified to teach?’ Harry mused to himself. With a slow and subtle movement Harry pulled out his Scouter and focused it on the Professor that was currently facing the other side of the classroom. A quick scan and Harry saw something he’d never seen his Scouter do before. ‘4886’ appeared for a brief second before changing to ‘1050’ and Harry had no idea why. Quirrel wasn’t doing anything like casting a spell. Why was his mana bouncing more than three thousand points back and forth?

‘Wait a minute, it changed again?’ Harry stared into the lens of his Scouter confused. The numbers bouncing back and forth now read ‘4884’ and the second number was now ‘1052’ as they both repeatedly switched with one another. ‘What in the actual hell?’ He thought to himself. ‘Is the Scouter broken? It isn’t damaged and the runic sequence won’t just suddenly stop working properly. The hell is going on with Quirrel?’

After class Harry quickly left to find Penny and Tonks. He wanted to share the oddity of Quirrel’s scan and get their opinions and thoughts on the anomaly. It didn’t take long to find the two as they were both heading to dinner. Both girls smiled at him as he got their attention and walked up to them quickly.

“Evening Harry, how were your classes today?” Penny asked as Harry caught up with them.

“Wotcher Harrikins, you must be hungry running towards the Great Hall like that.” Tonks commented getting a shake of the head from Harry.

“No, not that, I just have something to tell you both; I want to get your opinion on something that happened in class.” Harry informed the two as they entered the Great Hall.

“We can eat and talk then, after that we’ll see what we can do.” Tonks offered getting agreement from Harry and Penny. So while the three ate together Harry told them about the strange fluctuation of Quirrel’s mana amount and how he couldn’t figure out what was going on. Neither girl could offer much explanation for such a large fluctuation when the Professor wasn’t casting any spells. Nor did either of them have any idea about why the highest and lowest numbers were changing. Why would the highest number be shrinking and the lowest number be growing? The three agreed to go to the workshop after dinner to test the Scouter and make sure something hadn’t gone wrong with the trinket.

“Alright Harrikins, scan me and we’ll see if the Scouter is still accurate.” Tonks offered to go first for the tests.

“Sure thing, let’s see what it says.” Harry replied as he scanned the Metamorph. “You’ve increased your mana amount again Tonks. You’re clocking in at ‘5002’ mana now. You must have been practicing a bit more lately.”

“Of course, I want to get into the Aurors after I graduate, I need to have every advantage I can otherwise I’ll be stuck in some desk job pushing papers around while I go through remedial courses. Screw that!” Tonks explained while looking disgusted at the thought of being a desk worker at the Ministry.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine, Tonks, even with your klutzy moments.” Penny assured her friend with playful ribbing thrown in. Tonks, maturely, stuck her tongue out at the blonde. “My turn, Harry, I’ve been putting in a bit more practice in preparation for the OWL exams so I’m hoping I’ve gone up a bit.”

“Well the Scouter doesn’t seem to be broken yet, so let’s get your reading.” Harry nodded as he scanned Penny. “Huh, I think we can safely say your extra practice has paid off Penny. You’re mana amount is currently ‘3678’ that’s a six hundred seventy two unit increase from when you used the Test Frame for the demonstration.” Penny smiled happily and even gave a small cheer that her practice had paid off.

“Your turn, Harrikins! Let’s see what you’ve got!” Tonks exclaimed as she took the Scouter from him and scanned the First Year. “Well now, seems you’ve been playing catch up since you spent so much of the break making your Safe. You’re sitting at ‘582’ mana right now. That’s around one hundred seventy six units more than your last demonstration. Are you trying to catch up to us?” She asked teasingly getting Harry to roll his eyes at her.

“So the Scouter isn’t broken, but that still doesn’t explain Quirrel’s weird reading.” Harry mused as he looked the Scouter over glad that it wasn’t damaged.

“Well, just keep an eye on him when you’re in class I guess. If it continues you could always tell another teacher about it. Just say you’re worried that Quirrel might not be in good health.” Tonks shrugged.

“Maybe he did something to himself and his Magic is fluctuating until it stabilizes at his original amount?” Penny theorized getting looks of confusion from Harry and Tonks. “It’s just a thought.” The Prefect stated with her own shrug.

“I guess I’ll just keep checking every now and then. If it goes on for too long I’ll bring it up to another Professor.” Harry agreed before he stood up and stretched. “So are you two up for some Wandless practice?” Tonks and Penny both agreed and the trio started working on making more of their spells Wandless.

-April 1st-

Nothing much had changed in the daily routine for Harry and his friends since January. Harry, Penny and Tonks practiced their Wandless Magic together often, trying to gain more spells and increase their mana. Harry did have a new Pen Pal thanks to Madam Aveline, one Fleur Delacour, a girl three years older than him that was quite studious when it came to Magical Theory. Learning that Madam Aveline was the Magical Theory Professor at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic had come as a small shock. He was also delighted to hear that she’d bought one of his Test Frames from the first batch he’d sold. Apparently Fleur was quite the fan of his Items and Madam Aveline had teasingly written in one of her letters that Fleur would often ask to test her mana amount when the two chatted outside of classes.

In the intervening time when he wasn’t writing to his new Pen Pal, doing schoolwork, practicing with Tonks and Penny, or checking on Quirrel’s strange mana reading; Harry had been crafting and working out new skills to use in his Enchanting. He was very proud of himself for what he’d managed to make this time. Today was Tonks’ birthday and Harry found it oddly fitting that his bubbly, goof of a friend was born on April Fools’ Day of all days. Now he just had to surprise her when she came by the workshop after classes.

“Speak of the devil.” Harry grinned when a knock came from the door. He quickly got up and let Tonks into the workshop. Before she could say much of anything Harry had opened the bottom drawer of the desk he’d commandeered as a worktable and pulled out his gift to her.

“Harry?” Tonks questioned as she looked down at the small wrapped gift he was holding out to her.

“Happy Birthday, Tonks, I hope you like it.” Harry smiled as Tonks gently took the gift and gave him a beaming smile. Unwrapping the item Tonks found a metal belt buckle with an engraving of a dragon on it.

“Aww, did you make this for me Harrikins? I’m touched.” Tonks teased though the smile on her face let him know how much she truly appreciated his gift. “It looks cool and it totally fits my style. You’ve been paying attention, huh?”

“I know you like the ‘Rocker’ style so I tried to match some of the things I’ve seen you wear before.” Harry grinned, happy that she liked his gift already. Wait until she found out what it did. “Could you try it out? I’m curious if it’ll fit the belts you wear from time to time.”

“Sure, sure just let me get this robe off.” Tonks smirked giving Harry a playful wink and giggling when she saw the dusting of red on his cheeks at her innuendo. Shrugging off the robe only took a few seconds before she attached the buckle to her belt. “It latches fine. Looks cool too. Nice job, Harrikins.” She praised only to be given a gentle push backwards sending her stumbling. She caught herself before demanding an explanation. “What was that about mister?”

“You didn’t trip or fall.” Harry replied simply as a grin spread across his face. “I’m glad it works.” Tonks looked at him confused for a few moments before her eyes widened as it dawned on her that her klutziness hadn’t sent her sprawling onto the floor.

“Harry, what did you do? What is this?” Tonks asked as she looked down at the belt buckle.

“My first talisman using Devanagari Runes, it’s an Ever Balance Talisman. When you wear it the effect of the talisman makes it almost impossible for you to trip or fall. I thought you’d like it since you have those moments sometimes.” Harry would have continued but he was suddenly wrapped in a hug from Tonks.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this will help, Harry! I was always kinda worried that my klutziness could cost me a spot in the Aurors! But with this I won’t have to worry as much! Thank you!” Tonks expressed her gratitude and appreciation as Harry hugged her back. What Harry wasn’t expecting was for Tonks to pull back slightly and kiss him full on the lips. It was soft and pretty chaste all things considered but to Harry it was amazing. When she pulled back he saw a look of sincere affection in her eyes that truly revealed how much she cared about him. Harry felt his face grow hot and knew he was blushing hard. Tonks’ sudden bout of giggles only further confirmed it.

“That was…um…really…really…” Harry started only for Tonks to finish for him.

“Amazing? Fantastic? Awesome? I know; I know I’m very impressive but feel free to keep praising me.” Tonks smiled as she released Harry from their hug. Harry grinned back as well before another knock came from the door. “Oh! I should totally show Penny what you made for me!” She cheered as she quickly opened the door and dragged the girl inside.

“Tonks what’s the hurry?” Penny asked confused by how energetic her friend seemed. Even more so than usual!

“Harry made me this really cool belt buckle talisman! It fixes my klutziness and makes it impossible for me to trip or fall over!” Tonks gushed as she directed Penny’s gaze to her new accessory. “Watch this!” Without a second of hesitation Tonks rushed over to an old wooden table in the back of the room and jumped on top of it. The table had just been shoved out of the way when Harry had first taken over the old Ancient Runes classroom and left in the back. Needless to say the old wooden table wasn’t exactly able to handle a seventeen year old girl suddenly jumping on top of it. The two legs on the side that Tonks had jumped on broke sending the table to the floor and Tonks along with it.

“Tonks are you ok?” Penny asked as she and Harry made their way over to the fallen Metamorph.

“I thought you said I couldn’t trip or fall?” Tonks questioned with a groan.

“I said almost impossible. It prevents trips and falls by assisting your balance. It doesn’t suddenly make you an acrobat or something.” Harry sighed with a shake of his head.

“Ugh, now he tells me.” Tonks grumbled as she slowly sat up. Penny couldn’t help it and broke out into a fit of giggles. Harry started chuckling soon after and Tonks pouted at both of her friends for a moment before bursting into her own laughter.

-Friday the 17th of April-

This had gone on long enough. Quirrel’s mana was still having its odd fluctuations and Harry was going to inform another Professor about his concerns. Shortly after classes he made his way to Professor Flitwick’s office to talk with his Head of House. After knocking on the door and being allowed entry Harry took the offered seat and laid out his concerns about the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

“I see, that is troubling, for a person’s Magic to be in flux for so long does seem abnormal.” Flitwick nodded as he mulled over the information Harry had presented him with. “I’ll inform the Headmaster and we’ll have Quirrel seen by either Poppy or take him to St. Mungos if necessary. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr. Potter, take ten points for Ravenclaw.”

“Thank you Professor.” Harry accepted and made his way out of the office. At least now the Quirrel situation was the staff’s problem to deal with. Easter Holidays marked the spring break for Hogwarts and Harry had gotten a letter from Sirius about visiting him at the castle. It seemed Sirius was recovered enough that some light exercise was being encouraged to help him get back up to physical shape. A Healer was coming along as an escort for Sirius along with Andromeda just to make sure Sirius didn’t over exert himself. Harry was looking forward to showing Sirius his hidden workshop and showing him his completed Rune Safe.

That evening at dinner Dumbledore stood to make an announcement and Harry had to wonder at the timing. It seemed odd that the very day he mentioned Quirrel’s condition, that Dumbledore would make an announcement. Especially when Quirrel was sitting at the end of the staff table as normal. What could the Headmaster possibly be announcing?

“Attention students! I have a small announcement to make before we start our dinner. As many of you know I have a few different roles I play in the Magical World. I’m afraid my role as Supreme Mugwump will require me to be away from the school for most of the Easter break. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall will be in charge while I am away and I expect you’ll all be on your best behavior. I will see you all upon your return from the break. Thank you for your attention.” Dumbledore announced before sitting down to eat. There were many murmurs throughout the Great Hall but Harry was only left more confused.

-Monday Morning ~ After Breakfast-

“Harry! Good to see you again! Your Dogfather has come for a visit!” Sirius waved exaggeratedly as Harry smiled seeing his Godfather up and walking about. At his right was Andromeda and to his left must have been the Healer, a pretty ravenette with grey eyes.

“Great to see you up and about Sirius, you haven’t been over doing it have you?” Harry asked as the three adults stopped in front of him.

“Of course not, I’d make Marlie here mad at me if I made her job any more difficult.” Sirius grinned as he gave the Healer a charming smile.

“You stop harassing the poor woman, you mutt.” Andromeda admonished as she swatted Sirius lightly with her purse.

“Ack! Marlie she’s assaulting me, I’m still a recovering patient, throw her out!” Sirius whined playfully making the Healer smile softly.

“I can’t throw her out of Hogwarts, Mr. Black, but I’ll ask her politely to not smack you.” Marlie replied before winking at Andromeda who only smiled back pleasantly.

“Aww, no one’s on my side are they?” Sirius grumbled getting a shake of the head from all three of them. “Not you too Harry!”

“Sorry, Sirius, but I think wooing anyone counts as over exerting yourself.” Harry responded with a grin getting a shocked look from Sirius. Andromeda and Marlie both burst into giggles at the quip and even Sirius playfully grumbled at him.

“You’ve been spending too much time around little Dora.” Sirius pouted as the group followed Harry through the castle. Sirius happily reminisced about his time at the castle and shared tales of the Marauder’s many pranks at various places. Harry laughed at the antics his father had gotten up to with Sirius and Remus back in their days as schoolboys.

“Why’d we come down this old corridor, Harry? Not much to see down here.” Sirius asked as Harry stood by the wall.

“Just watch.” Harry stated before opening a door that none of the adults had noticed was there.

“A secret door? I thought we found all of them back in the day.” Sirius mumbled as he, Andromeda and Marlie entered the room after Harry.

“Not quite, I just used a few trinkets to hide this room from others. This is my private, and also secret, workshop. I practice my spell casting and my Enchanting here when I’m done with my homework and such.” Harry explained getting all three pairs of eyes to widen.

“Harry, have I ever told you that you’re a very impressive eleven year old?” Sirius asked as he looked around the room seeing obvious spell fire marks on the far wall. The Marauders really should have thought of having their own hidden room like this back in the day.

“You might have mentioned it in one of your letters.” Harry chuckled as he showed the group some of the small trinkets and talismans he’d been fooling around with. It wasn’t until he’d led them into his smithy and showed them the Rune Safe that Andromeda spoke up again.

“Harry, you said that your Safe only opens for you and doesn’t need to be provided Magic by anyone to work, right?” Andromeda questioned getting a nod from Harry.

“Yes, it has quite a few security sequences within the array. Multiple protection sequences too. Fire, water, blunt force, cutting etc. basically anyway I could think of that someone might try and crack it. It also absorbs ambient mana from the surroundings to keep itself powered. Why do you ask?” Harry asked as the woman looked the iron safe over.

“Well, I’m no expert, but the way you described your safe makes it sound a lot like an Artifact; at least to me anyway.” Andromeda stated making Sirius nod slightly since he’d read up a bit on Enchanted Objects and Artifacts during his stay at St. Mungos. After all, if his godson liked them Sirius wanted to be able to get him gifts that fell in line with Harry’s interests.

“Hmm, I don’t think I could make an Artifact without knowing it.” Harry mused as he thought about the specifics of his Rune Safe. Seeing Harry lost in thought the adults waited for a moment only to hear a knock on the door.

“Harry, I think you have visitors.” Sirius called out.

“It’s Tonks and Penny, could you let them in real quick?” Harry requested as he went over to a bookshelf on the far end of the smithy and pulled a book down.

“Sirius?” Tonks called out alerting everyone that was in the workshop that Sirius had let Tonks and Penny inside. The four people returned to the smithy portion of the workshop, Marlie not leaving Sirius’ side as his Healer, only to see Harry staring at an open book unblinking while Andromeda rubbed his back.

“What happened?” Penny questioned as she and Tonks moved over to Harry.

“I just mentioned that his Rune Safe sounded a lot like an Artifact to me. After grabbing this book and going through it for a bit he just started staring at it. I was only going to suggest he might want to get an expert opinion on whether or not he’d made an actual Artifact.” Andromeda explained making Tonks and Penny widen their eyes at the implication.

“Harry? Are you with us?” Penny asked softly getting no response from the Wizard.

“Oi Harry! You in there?!” Tonks shouted at the still boy jolting him from his trance.

“Tonks? Penny?” Harry questioned looking between the two.

“We’re here, Harry, what’s going on?” Penny asked only for Harry to motion towards the book he had open.

“Could you both read that and give me your opinion. I’m still not sure, but I might need to have an expert come test my Safe.” Harry muttered to himself as Penny and Tonks read over the two pages of the book. The pages detailed all the various differences between Enchanted Objects and True Artifacts. Going through them all the both of them could tick off several key things that Artifacts had that Harry’s Rune Safe was also capable of.

“Harry, you may want to call for that expert.” Penny said softly as she finished reading and comparing. She wanted to be gentle about the situation after all.

“You’re a real dum-dum aren’t ya Harry?!” Tonks laughed loudly showing absolutely no compunction about being delicate with the situation.

“Aaaahhhhh!!!” Harry yelled out completely overwhelmed that he may have made a True Artifact and not even known it for months! Tonks’ laughter was soon joined by Sirius’ while Andromeda and Penny chided them both for laughing about the situation. Healer Marlie only smiled seeing her patient in such good cheer and obviously on the road to a full recovery. She didn’t know much about Artifacts or Artificers, but she was fairly certain that Harry would probably be the youngest ever if he’d already made one.

While this revelry was happening in the hidden workshop another pair was making plans of their own.

“He’ll be gone for the week, Master I can retrieve the Stone tonight.” Quirrel mumbled to seemingly empty air.

“Ssseee that you dooo.” Hissed a voice from nowhere.

“Yes Master.” Quirrel replied as he paced around his quarters.

In another part of the castle Dumbledore sat patiently after having already ‘left’ for the International Confederation of Wizards meeting he’d announced on Friday to the school.

“And so the trap is set, Tom. It is time we met face to face again.” Dumbledore murmured as he watched a device that was tied to the door on the third floor corridor. If only he could figure out how Tom had managed to survive that Halloween night, he could end this madness here and now and hopefully leave a brighter future behind for the next generation.

-End Chapter-

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So that happened! Harry finds something odd about Quirrel. He has a new Pen Pal. Gives Tonks her birthday gift and gets sincere thanks from her. Did Harry actually create an Artifact without even knowing about it for months? Is he a dum-dum? Also Dumbledore has set the trap, what will be the outcome for Voldemort? Find out in the next chapters!

Current Mana Levels (The time skips make these numbers outdated)

Harry – 582

Tonks – 5002

Penelope – 3678

I’ve decide to have this little reminder for our main cast, Fleur will be added once she arrives properly. Hopefully this is a fun little way to let readers keep track.

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 9: Meeting a Legend, Expert Panel

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! What has become of Quirrel after springing Dumbledore’s trap? Will Harry get his Rune Safe examined?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 9 – Meeting a Legend, Expert Panel

It was the third day of the Easter break when Harry found himself standing in an out of the way room on the ground floor of Hogwarts. Standing with him was McGonagall, in her role as Deputy Headmistress, Flitwick, as his Head of House, as well as Tonks and Penny. The group had just been joined by no less than five people that had been guided to the room by Hagrid. The gentle giant had given Harry a smile and a nod of reassurance before he’d left and now introductions were about to start.

“Good day, Ladies and Gentleman, on behalf of all of us I’d like to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” McGonagall welcomed their five guests, two women and three men, who all gave their thanks at being welcomed.

“We’re pleased to be here, Deputy Headmistress.” The oldest member of the group of five replied. He was an ancient-looking man that could make Dumbledore seem youthful by comparison. “I’m Lorenzo Trevisan, currently Head of Italy’s Enchanter Guild; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for ninety four years and have three True Artifacts to my name.” The old wizard introduced himself. “I’ll let the others introduce themselves before we have the potential Artifact brought out and begin the examination.”

“Interesting to be walking the halls of such a long-standing institution.” The next person commented with a smile. She was an older woman that could possibly be just a bit older than McGonagall; it was hard to tell with Wizards and Witches, though she held a darker complexion than his Transfiguration Professor. “I’m Elena Diaz; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for thirty one years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”

“Glad to be here. Forgive me if my English is a bit rough, it’s my third language.” The next member of the group of five responded. He was dark-skinned, African most likely, and spoke with an accent. He was also one of the youngest, comparatively, of the group. “My name is Salim Bel, an Artificer for the Moroccan Ministry of Magic. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for eighteen years and have one True Artifact to my name.”

“Thank you for the welcome.” The largest man of the group of five nodded. He was tall and had wide shoulders with some muscle on him. Harry thought he possibly had a Russian accent. “I’m Artem Demina, I work as an Artificer for the Russian Ministry; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for forty one years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”

“Good day, I look forward to seeing what this young man has created.” The final member of the group of five smiled gently. She was Asian and quite pretty, possibly the youngest, though Salim may still actually be the youngest since Harry couldn’t tell. “My name is Tajiri Mio, or in the western form, Mio Tajiri. I’m a freelance Artificer in Japan that takes commissions for Enchanting. I also consult with the Japanese Ministry when they find strange Magical Items they can’t decipher; I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty one years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice.” McGonagall thanked with a small nod. “I realize the Artificers of the Enchanter Guilds are often busy people and hope you haven’t been inconvenienced.”

“Not at all, anything that gets me away from the parchment work.” Lorenzo chuckled getting an agreeing nod from Elena and Artem. “Now, let’s see what the young man has made.”

With a nod from McGonagall and a reassuring smile from both Tonks and Penny, Harry walked over to the corner of the room and removed the cloth that McGonagall had conjured. With a slight application of his Magic the Rune Safe became Feather-Light for him and he carried it to the middle of the room. Harry stepped back a few steps as the five Artificers looked at the Safe from where they stood.

“Interesting, I’ve not seen an Artifact Safe before.” Salim commented as his eyes roved over the iron box.

“May we, Mr. Potter?” Lorenzo asked as he gestured towards the Rune Safe.

“Of course, Master Trevisan.” Harry nodded before he stepped forward quickly and pulled open the door. Seeing the looks from the Artificers Harry quickly explained. “The door will only open for me. It’s part of the Runic Array and can’t be changed or disabled.”

“Then it’s a good Safe regardless.” Artem chuckled as the five moved closer to inspect Harry’s creation. Harry stood back and tried to keep himself from fidgeting nervously. He’d already applied a metal disk with Ollivander’s self-destruction sequence etched into it over the Runic Array on the back wall of the Safe. He didn’t need to worry about any of them memorizing his Array, not that he actually thought they’d do it. These people were already Artificers and had probably made Artifacts that put his Safe to shame.

“Someone has been dabbling in Alchemic Enchanting already? My, my Mr. Potter you’re quite the young prodigy.” Elena commented with a grin towards Harry who only blushed slightly and gave a small ‘Thank you’.

“The Magic Circuits are applied very well, no breaks or malformations, the spacing isn’t bad either, a little off from what I’d do but still fully functional.” Mio praised making Harry duck his head to hide his red face.

“I’m curious, Mr. Potter, did you forge the Safe yourself?” Artem asked and Harry looked up at the Russian man before nodding. “Good, good it’s the best way to make sure your material is to your own specifications. Plus swinging the hammer will put some muscle on you, so it’s good for a young man’s health.” Harry nodded at the older man’s words and breathed deeply to try and calm himself. So far everything seemed to be going well with the initial examination.

“Care to tell us the functions of your Array, Mr. Potter? I find myself very curious after seeing such nice work having been done on this creation.” Salim asked kindly and Harry swore he saw Lorenzo’s old eyes light up with interest. So Harry started going over the numerous security features and protections he’d worked into his Runic Array. The five Artificers nodded along with his explanation while continuing to look over the Safe.

“Hmm, yes, very well thought out Mr. Potter, very well thought out indeed.” Lorenzo nodded at the end of Harry’s explanation. “Now to test these protections we’ll perform a few simple tests. If your Item is still intact and fully functional at the end of all of them it will be recognized as a True Artifact.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but what are the exact differences between Enchanted Objects and True Artifacts?” McGonagall asked curiously as she’d never particularly studied this Branch of Magic. The fact that she’d had to arrange for this meeting and examination without knowing its full significance had been bothering her quite a bit if only in the back of her mind.

“Ah, a good question, Deputy Headmistress, not many people know the exact differences without studying in-depth about the subject.” Lorenzo nodded before explaining. “The simplest way to explain the difference between the two is that a True Artifact is near indestructible and self-maintaining, it will fulfill its function so long as it exists. An Enchanted Object requires outside magic from the user to exhibit its effect and will eventually break down or be broken during the course of its use like any other tool.”

“I see, Enchanted Objects wear down while True Artifacts do not. Likewise an Enchanted Object can be destroyed where as a True Artifact takes some kind of special process to destroy, if I understand correctly.” McGonagall replied getting a nod from the Artificers.

“Artifacts can also be bound to a person or their bloodline as well.” Elena informed. “These Artifacts won’t work for anyone but the person or a member of the bloodline they’re bound to. It’s a shame that some ancient Artifacts will never be able to be used again because of this.”

“Quite, I would have enjoyed seeing some of them in action.” Lorenzo sighed before shaking his head and returning to the topic at hand. “Now let’s begin with the physical tests.”

“I’ll administer the first one.” Salim offered and stepped forward. “I’ll do the same test my own teacher used when I was learning under him.” With that the man picked up Harry’s Safe and heaved it into the nearby wall with all of his strength. The loud bang and crash the Rune Safe made as it struck the wall and then fell to the floor had a few people covering their ears.

“Now let’s see how it did.” Salim grinned as he went and brought the safe back over to the other Artificers.

“No damage here.” Mio stated with a shake of her head a few minutes later. All the other Artificers nodded in agreement.

“Was that really necessary?” Flitwick asked as he rubbed his ears.

“You’d be surprised how many Enchanters forget to protect their creations from physical damage.” Artem spoke up, the large man shaking his head from the memories. “It can resist every spell in the world but if I can throw it on the ground or into the wall and break it, then it isn’t an Artifact.”

“Now let’s see how it reacts to various spells.” Elena smiled as she pulled out her wand along with the other Artificers. For the next several minutes Harry had to watch as his Rune Safe was blasted with spell after spell. The Safe was doused in flames, submerged in a levitating ball of water, smashed with bludgeoning spells, and explosions rocked the Safe three different times. Through it all Harry could only hope that it would still be in the same shape that it was when he’d brought it down from his hidden workshop.

“Well, I dare say this Safe is hard to damage.” Lorenzo commented once the barrage of spells ended. “Can’t seem to even make it hot or cold, and it doesn’t even move when hit with blasting curses.”

“I’d say it’s doing exactly what Mr. Potter said it would do.” Salim nodded towards Harry. “It’s actually absorbing large amounts of Magic from every spell we throw at it and the Runic Array only gets stronger each time.”

“Well, there is one more test we could perform to make absolutely sure, but…” Mio trailed off only for Artem to roll his eyes and point his wand at the Rune Safe. With a look of concentration incredibly hot flames leaped from the tip of the Russian man’s wand and engulfed the Safe. The heat in the room jumped several degrees in short order and everyone else backed away from the Magical Flames. Harry’s heart was in his throat as he watched his work be consumed by the conflagration.

“Are you insane?!” McGonagall and Flitwick yelled at the Artificer in unison. “Why on Earth would you summon Fiendfyre in an enclosed space?! Even worse that we’re inside a school with children in it!”

“If it can survive Fiendfyre after everything else we’ve put it through then it’s a True Artifact. If not then it’ll be molten metal on the ground when I dispel the flames.” Artem replied with a shrug as the group of Artificers looked on.

“We still could have taken it outside first.” Mio sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose.

“That doesn’t seem to be necessary.” Lorenzo commented and everyone in the room watched as the Fiendfyre that surrounded the Rune Safe slowly but surely shrank until not even embers remained of it.

“It can absorb the magic from the Fiendfyre spell? That cursed fire burns Magic to fuel itself but it lost the Magic that was powering it before it could burn Mr. Potter’s Safe.” Elena commented as the Artificers moved over to the Safe to inspect it. After a few minutes of inspection all five Artificers conversed with each other for a full minute before nodding to each other.

Well, this has been an exciting day, to say the least.” Lorenzo commented as the panel of Artificers stood in front of Harry. “Allow me to be the first to address you with the proper Title, Artificer Potter. Your Rune Safe is a True Artifact.”

“Thank you.” Harry numbly replied his mind not quite comprehending that he’d succeeded.

“As for the Grade of Artifact we’ve concluded it to be a Minor Artifact based on its limitations of use. Though it fulfills its purpose splendidly, it will be completely un-useable once you pass on in the far future.” Lorenzo explained and Harry could only nod still not fully there as his mind worked to process reality.

“Artifacts have Grades?” Tonks questioned confused never having looked into the subject enough to learn such a thing.

“Oh yes, True Artifacts are divided into five Grades depending on their Function, Effect, Durability, and Power.” Lorenzo grinned always happy to teach the curious. “The Grades go in order from lowest to highest as Minor, Median, Greater, High, and Legendary. There are far less High Artifacts and Legendary Artifacts as you can well imagine. Most Artificers’ Magnum Opus is a Greater Artifact within their lifetime.”

“If Harry’s Rune Safe is a Minor Artifact what could a High Artifact do, or a Legendary Artifact for that matter?” Penny asked curiously.

“A High Artifact could potentially, depending on its Effect and Power, make the one who wields it untouchable by both physical and Magical means. They’d be a force unto themselves and could potentially become a worse threat than any Dark Lord in history. Then again, if the Artifact had a benevolent purpose it could be the most powerful Healing Instrument in existence capable of curing every sickness, disease, or injury it was used on.” Elena answered.

“It is thought that the destruction of the Magical City of Atlantis was caused by the misuse of a Legendary Artifact. From what little history remains Atlantis would have been just as big as any modern day metropolis and it disappeared completely without anyone being able to leave and tell others what had happened. That implies that the entire city was destroyed near instantaneously at least.” Salim spoke up and all the eyes of the Hogwarts staff and students widened in shock.

“I’m almost sorry I asked.” Penny mumbled.

Shortly afterwards the group of five Artificers were leaving Hogwarts. Harry had been given a certificate, signed by all five of the Artificers that had examined his Rune Safe; that stated he was officially recognized as an Artificer. Lorenzo had promised to stop by the Ministry of Magic in London to file the copy of Harry’s certification personally. All five had given Harry their congratulations and had told him they looked forward to seeing what he’d create in the future. It was official now; Harry James Potter was the youngest Artificer in history.

“I’m an Artificer…I’m an Artificer…” Harry kept mumbling to himself while holding his certificate.

“That you are Harrikins!” Tonks exclaimed as she pulled the stunned First Year into a hug. Penny approached to give Harry her own congratulations and suddenly found him in her arms as Tonks pushed them together. “Hugs Penny! Harry needs hugs!” Penny sighed playfully at her friend before pulling Harry into a warm hug and congratulating him.

“What do I do now?” Harry asked a few minutes later after being released from the hug-fest that Tonks had initiated.

“The same thing you’ve been doing, Harrikins.” Tonks smiled at him. “Being a nerd that makes neat things!”

“Tonks, you could have put that better.” Penny giggled while Tonks laughed and Harry huffed.

“I know what I said!” Tonks proclaimed before pulling Harry back into her arms.

-Two Days Later-

“Has anyone seen Professor Quirrel in the last day or two?” Penny asked while the three friends were eating breakfast.

“Nope, though I haven’t been looking either.” Tonks replied as she ate.

“I haven’t seen him either.” Harry responded. “Do you think the staff had him sent to St. Mungos for his fluctuating mana?”

“Possibly, this would be the best time to do it with the break and all.” Penny mused as she sipped her juice. A great flapping of wings alerted all in the Great Hall to the arrival of the mail and the trio looked up to see if anything was coming for them. Harry was hoping for a reply to his last letter to Fleur. When the Daily Prophet landed in front of him Harry could already see the headline and he groaned as he reached for the paper.

-Daily Prophet Article-

Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Becomes Youngest Artificer in History!

It has come to the attention of this reporter that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has been certified as an Artificer as of two days ago! This remarkable feat makes him the youngest person to ever earn the Title in history!

Many already know of Harry Potter’s history and his more recent creation of a system to measure Magic and Magical Strength. His Scouters and Test Frames sell out almost immediately whenever they’re on the market. It is safe to say that Mr. Potter, or Artificer Potter to use his proper Title, has made waves ever since he reappeared in the Magical World.

According to sources in the Ministry, Harry Potter created a Minor Artifact to achieve his certification and it was simply listed as a ‘Rune Safe’. Why did the young Artificer create an Artifact Safe? We at the Daily Prophet have yet to get in touch with Mr. Potter for an interview but it does make one wonder. Does Mr. Potter think he needs to protect something personally? Does he have a creation that he doesn’t want anyone seeing yet? Perhaps a future product that isn’t yet ready for the world to see?

Many mysteries and questions surround Mr. Potter and have ever since Halloween of Eighty One; but this reporter will bring you answers whenever she’s able to get them. I’ll be personally trying to get into contact with the young Artificer to set up an exclusive interview so that our readers can have their curiosity sated!

Rita Skeeter, Reporter, Daily Prophet

For more information on Artificers turn to Page Four.

For more information on Artifacts turn to Page Five.

To see a copy of Harry Potter’s certification look below.

-End Article-

Below the article on the bottom of the front page was a copy of the certification Harry had received. It was properly filed and even had a stamp from the Ministry as authentic. Harry had to wonder how this reporter had gotten a picture of it so quickly. Not to mention the speculations she’d brought up about him and his Rune Safe. He was fairly sure he and this woman may not get along in the future.

“Typical Skeeter.” Tonks scoffed as she read over Harry’s shoulder.

“They should really update the Integrity Standards at the Prophet.” Penny chimed in while grimacing at the article.

“Hmm, I doubt it’ll happen, the Prophet will be paying through the nose if they want to interview me.” Harry huffed as he folded up the Prophet, he’d read the rest of it later. “So you two want to work on some more Wandless practice today?”

“Sure, I’m caught up on my studying for NEWTs. You in Penny?” Tonks asked the blonde Prefect.

“Of course, but I’ll have to call it a day after dinner, I still have a few things I want to go over before bed.” Penny replied.

The trio spent the remainder of the break studying and practicing. Harry found time to make another forty Test Frames and was quick to let the Owl Order Service know they were available for sale. Harry collected his Galleons from the literal flock of owls on Friday, he was thankful that they had the training to wait until after breakfast before they all flew into the Great Hall. Watching forty different owls fly away each carrying a package as large as they were was amusing to Harry. But it did put into perspective how much Magic affected the birds, they could carry heavier loads, fly faster and further, it was simply impressive when they were viewed next to their non-magical kin.

It was the last day of the Easter Break when Harry saw an unfamiliar man inside Hogwarts. He didn’t look much older than sixty, but with Wizards he could be around ninety and look the same. The man was making his way towards the Great Hall and Harry’s curiosity wouldn’t let him leave this mystery alone. So with a quick check to make sure he was presentable he walked up to the man at a brisk pace.

“Sir, are you visiting someone?” Harry asked the old man. The man in question stopped and turned to look at Harry. He was wearing rather plain robes in dark blue, had mostly white hair on his head, and his face had several wrinkles. But his blue eyes gave a hint of power that Harry could almost feel. The mirth in the blue orbs not detracting from the intensity they held. After looking at each other for a moment the old man smiled and introduced himself.

“I was indeed meeting someone, young man, an old student and research associate of mine.” The old man stated and Harry cocked his head slightly at the information. “Ah but where are my manners? My name is Nicholas, my young friend.”

“Oh, sorry, I’m Harry Potter, sir.” Harry introduced himself and noticed the man’s eyes twinkle, kind of like Professor Dumbledore’s to be honest.

“Yes, I was fairly sure you were Mr. Potter, but it’s proper for people to introduce themselves, isn’t it?” Nicholas chuckled.

“Right, most people in Magical Britain know what I look like, don’t they?” Harry asked rhetorically with a lopsided grin.

“I’m sure.” Nicholas chuckled before looking around. “Say you don’t think anyone would mind if we sat down while we chatted do you?”

“I doubt it, but where exactly? The Great Hall is just at the other end of this corridor.” Harry mused while Nicholas grinned and knocked on a door that they were standing close to.

“Why not one of the sitting rooms for visitors? I understand they aren’t used as much now days but they’re still furnished.” Nicholas grinned as the door opened and Harry saw a comfy sitting room with several large chairs and its own fireplace.

“I didn’t even know Hogwarts had visitor’s sitting rooms.” Harry intoned while Nicholas chuckled.

“Yes, my old student likes to receive guests in the Headmaster’s Office, so these rooms don’t see many guests anymore.” Nicholas explained as he walked into the room and sat on one of the plush chairs.

“Wait, your former student was Dumbledore?” Harry asked incredulously as he walked into the room and sat in a chair near Nicholas. “But that would mean…named Nicholas…taught Dumbledore…you’re Nicholas Flamel!”

“Indeed.” Nicholas smiled as he watched the young man try to calm down.

“You’re a Legend sir! Even Muggles know the story of you creating the Philosopher’s Stone! The only Alchemist to reach the pinnacle of the Alchemic Arts! The man that successfully created the zenith of an entire Branch of Magic!” Harry was freaking out a bit and he knew it, but he couldn’t help it! Sitting in front of him was a Living Legend whose accomplishments had seen his name carved into history on both sides, Magical and Muggle alike!

“Pleasure to hear you’ve done at least a little bit of reading about Magical History.” Nicholas grinned and Harry forced himself to calm down.

“Sorry, I freaked out a little bit.” Harry apologized but Nicholas just waved it away.

“No need to worry Mr. Potter it happens, trust me, it happens…” Nicholas sighed with a shake of his head. He’d met people that had ‘freaked out’ far worse than what Harry had just done. “I was just here to speak to Dumbledore and retrieve something. Plus reveal to my former student that he’d once again been pranked.”

“Pranked?” Harry questioned confused.

“Oh yes, I’m a bit of a prankster, just ask my wife!” Nicholas sniggered. “Dumbledore asked to borrow my Philosopher’s Stone to see if a theory of his was correct. But he didn’t notice that what I gave him wasn’t the Philosopher’s Stone! Not even after he’d had it for months!”

“Huh?” Harry was still very confused.

“I gave him this and told him it was the Stone.” Nicholas chuckled as he pulled a dark red gem-like rock from inside of his robes and showed it to the First Year. Harry just stared at the fist-sized stone; he could feel the Magic it gave off. If Nicholas hadn’t already told him this wasn’t a Philosopher’s Stone he’d believe it was if somebody else told him so.

“What…what is it?” Harry asked as he looked away from the rock.

“This is called a Rubedo Stone; it’s just a few steps away from becoming a Philosopher’s Stone. While it’s very powerful Magically and a great boost to Transmutation it is also remarkably unstable. Just a small disruption in the Magic flowing into it and…” Nicholas trailed off as the Rubedo Stone sparked with red electric sparks and dispersed into reddish smoke that drifted towards the ceiling. “It’s destroyed.” He finished with a grin.

“Did you just use Wandless Magic?” Harry questioned since he hadn’t seen a wand or some other kind of Magical Focus.

“You pick up a few things after living as long as I have, young man.” Nicholas nodded.

“Sir, if it isn’t too much trouble, could I measure your mana?” Harry asked as he pulled out his Scouter. “I just need to look at you with this trinket is all; I just can’t pass up an opportunity to scan the oldest living Wizard. I’m so curious about what age does to mana growth…” He would have continued but Nicholas’ laughter cut him off.

“Yes, I’m quite aware of what your Items can do. They’ve been all the rage lately. Feel free to scan away, Mr. Potter.” Nicholas consented and Harry quickly placed his Scouter up to his eye after a hasty ‘Thank you’ to the old wizard. The number on the lens started to rise quickly. It shot past the double and triple digits so fast Harry barely had time to register it. When it cleared the four digit numbers and started on the ten thousands Harry was curious to where it might actually stop. When it didn’t stop shortly after breaking into six digit territory Harry felt his hand start to shake. Almost a full thirty seconds past before the Scouter finally stopped counting and the number on the lens made Harry forget to breathe for a few seconds.

“H-how…when…” Harry tried to speak as he continued looking at the number in shock.

“So how’d I do?” Nicholas chuckled at Harry’s flabbergasted face.

“You…you’re…you’re at…” Harry stuttered out as Nicholas just continued to smile pleasantly.

-Later-

Harry was still shaken from his brief meeting with Nicholas Flamel. He retreated to his hidden workshop and just sat at his worktable staring blankly at nothing. He had no idea how long he’d sat there but a knock on the door broke him from his stupor. Going over and letting Penny and Tonks inside Harry knew they noticed his state by the looks on their faces.

“Harry, what’s wrong? You look like you just got told the world is ending.” Penny asked trying to comfort her friend.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before, Harry, what’s wrong?” Tonks asked genuinely worried about her friend/potential-future-boyfriend.

“We’re not even close.” Harry mumbled out. “We don’t even register on the same level.”

“What’re you talking about Harry?” Penny asked confused.

“Let me scan you both again, then you’ll understand.” Harry replied and both teens shrugged and let him take his readings. “Penny you’ve gone up to ‘4280’. Tonks you’ve gone up to ‘5624’.” He informed putting pleased smiles on both girls’ faces. He quickly grabbed a Test Frame off his work table and measured himself. “I’ve gone up to ‘936’.”

“That’s good right? We’ve all gotten a bit stronger.” Tonks wondered as Harry shook his head.

“It’s little to nothing…” Harry trailed off. “We don’t even compare…”

“Harry, can you explain what’s made you like this?” Penny asked as she pulled Harry into a chair and sat next to him. Tonks quickly sat on his other side and listened. With a resigned sigh Harry explained his meeting with Nicholas Flamel. Only after he got to the part where he’d measured Nicholas’ mana did the two understand and their faces became portraits of shock.

“See? You can’t blame me…” Harry sighed as he closed his eyes. But even in the darkness behind his eyelids he could still see the number on the lens of his Scouter. The absurdity of the reading and Nicholas’ pleasant smile creating a contrast so vivid he was sure it would be imprinted into his mind forever.

“You…you’re…you’re at…at ‘1098632’.” Harry recalled stuttering out as Nicholas continued to smile pleasantly.

“I did get heavily into Dueling for several decades…maybe that has something to do with it?” Nicholas queried only for Harry to be unable to respond.

-End Chapter-

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Well…shit. There’s a world view changer. What do you say to something like that? The man has had over six centuries of course, though that wouldn’t really register as much when seeing it for the first time, right? But on the bright side Harry is now a recognized Artificer! At eleven years old that’s pretty impressive! Skeeter is still Skeeter, of course. How will Harry deal with this revelation? What will he make next? Will he have professionals coming to him seeking his expertise? Find out in the next chapters!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 936

Tonks – 5624

Penelope – 4280

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 10: First Year End, Summer Projects

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that Harry’s a certified Artificer what’s his next project? How does spending the summer with Sirius go? How are Penny and Tonks going to spend their summers, aside from spending time with Harry?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 10 – First Year End, Summer Projects

It was the first morning of classes after the break and everyone was in the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry, Tonks, and Penny were enjoying some like conversation and both girls were talking about the upcoming O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that would start in May. Both felt confident that their studying was preparing them well and that their Wandless skills would gain them extra points on their practical tests. Harry had no worries about his end of year exams. He knew the material and his practical skills were undoubtedly the highest in his year.

“Students, I have an announcement before we start another day of classes.” Dumbledore called out to the Great Hall. Everyone quickly quieted and turned to the Headmaster to listen. “It came to our attention over the break that our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was not feeling well. Professor Quirrel has unfortunately had to leave his position early and seek treatment. I’m unaware of what treatment he made need, but I feel he’ll make a full recovery with time.”

“Well, looks like you were right, Harrikins.” Tonks whispered and Harry could only shrug.

“Fortunately as we only have a short time until the end of the school year I’ve been able to make time in my duties to take up your instruction. I hope you’ll all be alright with learning from an old man such as myself.” Dumbledore joked getting smatterings of chuckles and even several excited gasps from multiple students. It wasn’t every day that anyone got direct teaching from Dumbledore any more. The man had been Headmaster since before even the Seventh Years had been born after all. A loud, but polite, applause filled the Great Hall for a minute as Dumbledore directed his twinkling gaze over the students before sitting down and resuming what was left of breakfast.

“Well, maybe DADA won’t be completely useless for the remainder of the term?” Harry mused getting Tonks to crack up while Penny smiled.

“I am looking forward to what the Headmaster can teach though.” Penny admitted with an interested look. “He’s well-travelled, and has worked with multiple leaders of several Magical Fields. I’m sure his DADA lessons will be very interesting and informative.”

“True enough; might even be able to pick up an extra spell or two to impress the N.E.W.T. Examiners and the Auror Recruiters.” Tonks grinned before looking at Penny. “You totally just had a nerd moment!”

“Hush you!” Penny admonished as she swatted Tonks on the arm.

“Harry, help! Penny is being mean to me!” Tonks wailed overly dramatic.

“You earned it.” Harry smiled back making Penny smirk while Tonks stared at him with the most overdone look of betrayal.

“Traitor!” Tonks called and wandlessly threw a bit of porridge at him. Harry focused on the glob and it stopped in mid-air.

“No food fights, Tonks.” Harry chided as he returned the glob to Tonks’ bowl.

“They’re against the rules.” Penny glared as Tonks pouted at both of them.

“You’re no fun!” Tonks claimed as she playfully stuck out her tongue. Both Harry and Penny fondly sighed at their Metamorph friend.

-End of Year Exams-

Harry sighed; finally he was finished with all the paper tests! He was confident that he’d done well and now he was actually looking forward to getting the practical exams done too. Penny and Tonks were both still cooped up for their Exams. As both the O.W.L.s and the N.E.W.T.s were the biggest exams for students during their schooling, many more precautions were taken to ensure no cheating could take place. Harry figured he could just wait for his name to be called and retreated partially into his thoughts to try and work out ideas for new projects. He still wanted to try and work out an Artifact Sword for himself. He’d start with basic enchantments on a self-forged blade, Durability, Ever-Sharp, and the like; before moving on to more complex enchantments. With any luck he’d be able to create something truly unique. He’d aim for at least a Median Grade Artifact for his future sword. But if a Greater Grade was achievable when he was designing the Runic Array, why not try and reach it?

“Mr. Potter! Please enter the testing room.” Flitwick called out. Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts and stood up. Heading into the Charms classroom for his practical exam he smiled at his Head of House.

“Good morning Professor.” Harry greeted politely.

“Good morning Mr. Potter. Are you ready for your practical?” Flitwick asked though the look in the Charms Professor’s eyes said that he was already certain of it.

“I think I’ve learned well, sir.” Harry replied as he stood behind the long table that had been set up in the room. Various items were laid out on the table and Flitwick motioned to a set of feathers on the closest end.

“First the Levitation Charm. Levitate one of the feathers and have it circle the room, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick instructed a clipboard in his hands.

“Yes sir.” Harry nodded before all three feathers floated up from the table. Flitwick looked on wide-eyed as the three feathers made a circle around the room before gently settling back on the desk.

“Bravo, Mr. Potter, bravo! Wandless and Silent and you’re only a First Year! I dare say even your mother wasn’t so gifted!” Flitwick praised as he made a mark on his clipboard.

“Thank you for the praise, Professor.” Harry smiled as he was compared to his mother. It was a great compliment in his eyes.

“Moving on, there are three sheets of parchment on the table next to you. Change each of them into a different color.” Flitwick instructed and Harry did so with nary a thought. He changed each of them into the House Colors of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor.

“Done, sir.” Harry stated and Flitwick clapped politely as he marked the results. So it went that Harry demonstrated the various Charms they’d worked on over the school year. Each time he managed it both Silent and Wandless bringing a brighter smile to Flitwick’s face.

“Alright, Mr. Potter, not that you need it but you’re now given the opportunity to display any Charm you’ve learned outside of class for extra credit.” Flitwick motioned to the empty space in front of the long table. Harry thought for a moment about which spell to demonstrate and smiled as he decided to go flashy.

‘Might as well, right? What was it Sirius said in his letter that one time? Go big or go home, wasn’t it?’ Harry mused before he stood before Flitwick and raised his hand into the air above his head. With palm facing the high ceiling a small flame appeared in Harry’s hand before it became a large conflagration as Harry fed more mana into the spell. The flames became a stream that towered into the air just short of hitting the ceiling. Flitwick stared in amazement at what a First Year was doing. This went beyond what any Incendio Charm could do!

“Excellent, Mr. Potter, simply excellent!” Flitwick praised as Harry ended his spell. “Make sure you’re very careful with that spell though! I don’t want to hear you’ve accidentally set something ablaze during your years here.”

“Of course, Professor.” Harry nodded and Flitwick dismissed him to his next practical.

Harry made good showings in all his practical exams. McGonagall had been especially impressed by his ability to wandlessly transfigure a small stone into various shapes. Turning the rock into a cube, a sphere, a pyramid, and a flat disc had seen him getting extra marks for Transfiguration. Now Harry had to take his final practical exam, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Dumbledore.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, I trust you’re well?” Dumbledore asked as Harry made his way into the room.

“As well as can be, Professor.” Harry replied as he waited for Dumbledore’s instructions.

“Good to hear, we’ll be going through the spells you’ve learned over the year. Simply demonstrate them to the best of your ability and we’ll be done shortly. No need to be nervous.” Dumbledore reassured. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, Professor, I’m ready.” Harry nodded and Dumbledore asked for the first spell.

“Show me the Flipendo Jinx, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore prompted while motioning towards a target against the wall. Harry simply pointed at it with his finger and cast the spell. His jinx smacked almost dead center against the target and Dumbledore looked mildly impressed before making a mark on his clipboard. At the end Dumbledore offered a chance for extra credit, just as the rest of the Professors had done, and Harry nodded.

‘I finally have some real results for this spell, so I might as well get some extra credit for it!’ Harry thought with a grin as he conjured lightning around his arm. With a jab of his index and middle finger towards the target a bolt of lightning leapt from the extended fingers and struck just off center of the bull’s eye. ‘Letting the lighting travel down my arm and out the tips of my fingers makes it infinitely easier to aim compared to the whole palm.’ Harry smiled at the results of all of his practice with the Fulmen Curse.

“My word, I never thought I’d see a First Year capable of casting the Fulmen Curse.” Dumbledore stared at Harry for a long moment before writing on his clipboard. “That you managed it Silent and Wandless as well is outright unheard of for a Wizard your age. I must say you’re quite the young man, Mr. Potter. Though I don’t believe that I need to caution you on the use of that spell? Never use it on another person unless it is absolutely unavoidable to defend your life. That curse is not something that one can cast ‘accidentally’ or ‘on reflex’, though some have tried to get out of criminal charges by stating such in the past.” The old wizard sighed.

“Of course, Professor, I learned it for just those types of situations. I’d rather avoid them altogether if possible though.” Harry stated and Dumbledore nodded to the young student. ‘No way am I telling him I learned it just because I wanted to throw lightning around along with fire.’ He thought to himself with a groan, he’d never live that down if Tonks ever found out.

-End of the Year-

Tonks and Penny had been feeling rather confident in their performance of their exams. Tonks went one and on about the startled looks on the Wizarding Examination Authority proctor’s faces when she’d started performing spell both Silent and Wandless. The Metamorph was sure she’d aced the practical exams without a problem. Penny had been very confident in both her written and practical exams. Though even she couldn’t help but comment on her own shocking of the proctors from the Ministry during her practical exams. Apparently they’d never seen a Fifth Year capable of so much Wandless Magic.

“So who won the House Cup this year?” Tonks asked as she looked towards the hourglasses at the front of the Great Hall.

“I think it’s between Slytherin and Ravenclaw this year.” Penny commented as she waited for dinner to start along with everyone else.

“I don’t really care; I’ve got more things to worry about than the House Cup.” Harry shrugged nonchalantly though both of his friends could see him glancing at the hourglasses every so often. They’d both laugh at him shortly after when it was revealed that Ravenclaw had won the House Cup by all of twelve House Points.

“Doesn’t care he says.” Tonks guffawed while Penny hugged Harry in celebration of their House winning.

-The Next Afternoon ~ King’s Cross Station-

“I’ll be sure to come visit when I can.” Penny smiled to Harry and Tonks as they stood on the platform with their families. Sirius was standing with Ted and Andromeda to take Harry to his new home with his godfather.

“You better, we’ve got to talk about ‘our’ future!” Tonks winked at Penny who, to her credit, didn’t get more than a dusting of pink on her cheeks.

“Can you not?” Harry asked of his friend only for Tonks to shake her head while laughing. “You’re impossible.” Harry shook his head.

“Oh don’t pout, Harrikins, you know you love us!” Tonks grinned as she hugged Harry to her side. Penny giggled as Harry just let Tonks hug him. The boy had learned to just let Tonks have her hugs over the school year.

“I’m not pouting.” Harry deadpanned as Penny moved over to hug him too.

“But you are blushing!” Penny whispered with a giggle and Tonks chuckled at the red that appeared on Harry’s cheeks from the group hug.

“Alright Casanova, time to go!” Sirius laughed making Harry struggle out of the girls’ grip to swat at his godfather. The parents couldn’t help but smile at the interaction before both groups went their separate ways. Harry, Tonks, Andromeda, Sirius, and Ted took the Floo to the small Black property that Sirius and he would be living in. It was a nice stone and wood cottage-style house in a place called Wood End just southwest of Bedford. Magically hidden, of course, and near a good-sized forest, Harry had no problems with his new home.

“This is great!” Harry exclaimed as he was shown around by Sirius and was surprised when they got to his bedroom on the second floor. It had all of his things from the Dursleys already in it. “You got all of my stuff?” He questioned and Sirius nodded.

“Sure did, also found out that your Aunt and Uncle are expecting another child.” Sirius responded and Harry was surprised, he didn’t know Petunia and Vernon wanted anymore children. “Seemed right happy about it too.”

“Huh, I’ll have to write them and thank them for taking care of me until now. Plus offer my congratulations. Didn’t think they wanted more children. Though I’d bet Aunt Petunia is hoping for a daughter this time.” Harry mused as the group settled into the sitting room for tea.

“So Artificer Potter, what’re your plans for the summer?” Ted asked with a grin using Harry’s new Title for emphasis. Harry looked away sheepishly for a moment before getting himself together.

“Making more Test Frames, possibly a few more Scouters if I can get a smithy set up here, I also have some ideas for a few projects.” Harry replied and Sirius suddenly had a smile so wide Harry thought it would hurt his face if he kept I up too long. “What’s with the grin?”

“I’ve already contracted a Magical Stonemason to build you a full smithy out back!” Sirius burst out happily and laughed at Harry’s shocked face. “Consider it a makeup gift for ten years of missed birthdays and Christmases!”

“Sirius that must’ve cost so much!” Harry exclaimed and Sirius waved him off.

“I’ve got the entirety of the Black Vaults under my control now. I’ve more gold than I know what to do with, so if I want to spend it on my godson I will!” Sirius explained and Harry couldn’t stop himself from hugging his godfather.

“Thank you, Sirius!” Harry thanked his godfather happily.

“No problem, Harry, it’s worth every Knut.” Sirius assured him as he patted the boy’s back. “The Stonemason will be here the day after tomorrow to get some measurements and start prepping the land for building. After that is done it shouldn’t take more than a week or so to be ready for you.”

“This is great! I can do everything I planned this summer!” Harry smiled and Tonks couldn’t resist moving over to sit beside him so she could hug him. Harry was so happy he hugged the Metamorph back immediately with his smile still plastered on his face. About an hour later Ted and Andromeda started working on dinner for everyone. When Sirius tried to help he’d been all but tossed out of the kitchen by Andromeda. Apparently Sirius wasn’t much of a cook and Andromeda wouldn’t risk their first ‘Family Dinner’ together on Sirius’ cooking skills. The man had grumbled about ‘overly controlling cousins’ before walking outside with Harry to show him where the smithy would be built.

The dinner was lovely and the Tonks’ family had left just after ten for their home. Harry had enjoyed a shower and some light reading before bed that evening. Unknown to the boy Sirius had checked in on him after eleven and tucked him in with a smile. The man was determined to make a happy home for his godson and that meant laughter and smiles in his opinion. Harry wouldn’t want for anything if Sirius had anything to say about it; though he would soon encounter Harry’s stubborn streak when it came to certain things.

-The Next Morning-

Harry groaned softly as he woke up. Looking around at his new room, after putting his glasses on, brought a smile to his face. It wasn’t massive, maybe a bit bigger than his old attic bedroom at the Dursleys. But it made him feel so warm to know that this place was his home, a place where all of him was accepted, especially his Magic. The smell of something cooking caught his nose and Harry made his way down to the kitchen. Seeing Sirius cooking for the first time was odd, in a surreal way, but he sat at the table regardless.

“Morning Sirius.” Harry yawned.

“Morning Harry, breakfast will be done in just a few moments.” Sirius smiled as he plated some scrambled eggs and bacon. A wave of his wand had a couple slices of toast perfectly browned and ready for butter or jam. A couple flicks and two plates of breakfast along with a pitcher of milk and a pitcher of orange juice floated onto the table and Sirius sat down. The two smiled before digging in together.

“This is pretty good, Sirius.” Harry complimented and Sirius puffed up in pride.

“Andromeda doesn’t think I can cook but even I can make breakfast!” Sirius exclaimed with a smile and Harry chuckled at his upbeat attitude. After the two had finished Sirius had only waved his wand a few times to clean the dishes and levitated the pitchers back into the Magical ice box. With the day free Harry and Sirius spent some time getting to know one another in person, instead of through letters. Harry loved hearing about his parents and Sirius was very much interested in Harry’s Enchanting. When Harry mentioned he wanted to work on trying to create an Artifact Sword Sirius had started asking various questions.

“I’ll start with a regular self-forged blade, probably a knife to start out with, just so I can get a feel for blade making.” Harry explained the first part of his summer plans. “After I get a good handle on that, then I’ll move on to adding enchantments. The basic stuff to start with of course, Durability and Ever-Sharp, if that works out I’ll move on to actually putting together the Runic Array for my first prototype blade.”

“As long as you’re careful, Harry, I’d hate for you to get hurt.” Sirius worried slightly.

“I don’t mind if you’re there watching the first couple of times Sirius. If it’ll ease your worries I encourage it.” Harry smiled at his godfather and Sirius smiled back.

“I’ll take you up on that Harry. Once I’m sure you’re safe, well as safe as making a blade can be at least, then I’ll worry less. Maybe we should get a House Elf? Then we won’t have to worry about Cleaning and Laundry. Plus if there’s an accident you can call for the House Elf to come get me or to help you get to me.” Sirius considered and Harry found the idea to be sound. House Elves were nothing but a boon to a Magical Household, after all. Having one around the cottage would take a couple chores off Harry and Sirius’ shoulders.

“Hmm, maybe they could cook from time to time too. I don’t mind cooking a bit, but I’m no expert or anything.” Harry mused and Sirius nodded.

“Might not be a bad idea.” Sirius nodded with a grin.

“Just a fair warning Sirius, I get a lot of mail sometimes. Now that I’m the ‘Youngest Artificer in History’ I expect that to happen again.” Harry warned and Sirius chuckled at his godson’s annoyed face.

“Well if you’d stop doing so many ground-breaking things maybe you wouldn’t have these problems?” Sirius teased and Harry picked up a couch cushion and smacked his godfather with it.

“Oh now you’ve done it Harry!” Sirius chuckled while grabbing a cushion in each hand. “This means war! Have at you!”

“Bring it on!” Harry laughed as he blocked Sirius’ first swipe with his own cushion. The laughter that filled the cottage house that day truly made the old building a real home. Warmth would always come to Sirius and Harry whenever they returned to this place from then on. Especially at the start of the small scale prank war that started that day.

“Oh, so you want to use Magic to win do you?!” Sirius laughed as he pulled his wand in response to Harry levitating cushions at him. “Let me show you how to truly fight like a Marauder my foolish godson!”

“You don’t have the skill to keep up with me!” Harry chortled as he launched another cushion at Sirius. The man barely moved his wand to snag it out of the air and have it join his collection of cushions.

“Your words only show your inexperience!” Sirius replied as he launched cushions at Harry. The boy stopped them with a wave of his hand, the cushions hanging in the air between the two men.

“I do not fear you!” Harry chuckled as he launched the cushions back at his godfather.

“Then you shall lose braver than most!” Sirius cackled as he waved his wand and rained the cushions down on Harry. The two spent until lunchtime indulging their childishness. Harry and Sirius happily exchanging cushion blows over and over again. It would be a heartwarming scene for anyone that could look in on it. It was truly the moment Harry and Sirius became family with a bond stronger than blood. The two even knew it and it only made the first ‘Cushion War’ of Wood End Cottage all the more epic!

-End Chapter-

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Aww, so heartwarming you just want to join in! Welp that wraps up First Year! Summer will be next chapter and the beginning of Second Year. We won’t spend too long in Second Year before moving on. So for all of you fans that just can’t wait until we get to Fourth Year for the Tournament, don’t worry, it’ll get here soon enough. But Harry still has to learn and grow and it’ll be fun to watch both his success and his failures. After all, failure is the mother of success, right? Several useful inventions have been made by accident in the pursuit of something else entirely!

Keep reading to see what our Artificer does in the future!

This chapter was a little bit short because it was a segue chapter, but I hope you all still enjoyed it!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 11: Summer Time

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! It’s summer time! That means projects and visits from friends!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 11 – Summer Time

“Carefully…carefully…” Harry muttered to himself as he worked the right lens of his glasses back into the frame. In the week since summer had started he’d been eagerly awaiting the completion of his new smithy. According to the Magical Stonemason it would be ready tomorrow morning and Harry couldn’t wait to get to work. Right now he was finishing a side project he’d considered back when he was working on his Rune Safe. “There we are…just like new.” Harry grinned as he held up his newly enchanted glasses. An Engorgement Charm had increased the size of his glasses enough that he could etch a Runic Array into the right arm of the frame. Cancelling the Charm had returned the glasses back to their original size and he’d set to work putting the lens back into the frames properly.

“Now let’s see if this worked.” Harry smiled as he walked down into the living room of Wood End Cottage and saw Sirius reading the Daily Prophet. A tiny amount of mana sent into his glasses and Harry grinned when a number appeared on the right lens. ‘4,688’ was a marked improvement from what Sirius had had when they’d first ‘officially’ met at St. Mungos. His Godfather was obviously regaining the mana levels he’d had before his coma. The next good news was that his updated Runic Sequence worked. The original Scouter Sequence had no ability beyond counting and displaying a numeric amount. With a small addition to the sequence his glasses now showed the proper number with a comma place every three digits. This would make it a bit easier to glance at a reading and understand it as opposed to having to parse out any larger numbers. He’d stumbled over Flamel’s number for a moment when he’d first read it; and not just from the shock of the old Alchemist’s ridiculously high reading.

“Wotcher all! I’ve come for a visit!” Tonks announced loudly as she strolled through the front door without even knocking. Sirius had given her permission to do so after the first two times the Metamorph had done it. Tonks had been over nearly every day and Harry couldn’t say he disliked it.

“Hello Dora, here to tease Harry again?” Sirius chortled as he looked over his second cousin.

“Yep!” Tonks admitted shamelessly as she looked up at Harry at the top of the stairs. “Harry doesn’t mind, right?”

“I guess…” Harry sighed playfully making the bubbly teen grin brightly at him. A quick scan and Harry chuckled making the, currently purple-haired, girl tilt her head.

“What’s up, Harrikins?” Tonks asked as Sirius looked on an amused grin on his face.

“You’re mana increased again, Tonks.” Harry stated and Tonks looked confused.

“Not that I’m not happy about that, but how did you know? You don’t have your Scouter on you.” Tonks questioned and Harry’s grin only grew more.

“Oh? Don’t I?” Harry questioned as he tapped the right side of his glasses. “I think you’ll find that I very much do.”

“You made your glasses into a Scouter?” Tonks inquired as he made his way down the stairs. Sirius looked surprised at the announcement and put down his paper.

“Yeah, took a bit to figure out a safe way to do it, but my glasses are now the newest upgraded Scouter.” Harry smiled and swiftly rolled his eyes when both Tonks and Sirius gave a, rather patronizing, golf clap for his achievement.

“Nerd!” Tonks and Sirius exclaimed in unison before turning on each other and shouting. “Jinx!”

“Real mature you two.” Harry grimaced and Tonks and Sirius both burst into laughter.

“So have I increased again? I still maintain that I’ve got more mana than Moony!” Sirius looked eager and Harry could only shake his head at his Godfather’s competitiveness.

“You’re at ‘4,688’ now Sirius. That’s much higher than when you were in St. Mungos, but still not quite at Remus’ level yet.” Harry informed his Godfather.

“Just you wait, I just need a little more recovery time, and then I’m totally surpassing Moony!” Sirius nodded with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You said my mana increased but then you don’t tell me what it is? That’s mean, Harrikins!” Tonks pouted at him and Harry smiled before telling her.

“You’ve gone up to ‘5,876’ Miss Soon-To-Be-Auror.” Harry informed and Tonks smiled happily, pleased with her increasing Magical Strength.

“What’re you at Harrikins? You’ve been practicing since the last time you told us.” Tonks wondered and Harry was happy to inform his friend of what his Test Frame had said when he’d checked his mana level this morning.

“I’ve increased a bit; I’m at ‘1,182’ as of this morning.” Harry proclaimed.

“Congratulations, Harrikins, you finally broke four digits!” Tonks cheered as she pulled him into a hug. Sirius clapped on the couch while Harry gently returned the hug.

“So, what did you want to do today, Tonks?” Harry asked and Sirius waved his hand widely like an over-enthusiastic student.

“Battle Royale!” Sirius declared before tossing a spell at each of them from his previously hidden wand. Bright letters appeared over both of their heads. Above Harry’s head the words ‘Nymphadora’s Harry’ appeared in bright multi-color. Conversely above Tonks’ head, in the same multi-colored letters, appeared the words ‘Harry’s Nymphadora’ and both of them turned a bit pink in the cheeks at reading the labels hovering over them.

“Sirius you’re dead!” Tonks roared out at seeing her given name hovering in the air. The Metamorph’s hair had turned red to match her indignation as she hurled a Stinging Hex at the Marauder.

“You’ll never take me, Auror!” Sirius cackled as he deflected the Hex and dodged the cushion Harry had thrown at him.

“Let’s get him, Harry!” Tonks cried out as she threw another Stinging Hex at the laughing man.

“Agreed.” Harry nodded as he levitated more cushions to assail his Godfather with.

“You two are only proving my labels correct!” Sirius chortled as he dodged the cushions and mad his way out of the sitting room while emitting bright spots of light from his wand. The next few hours would be spent acting like children and Harry had to admit, it felt good to just let loose and relax with his loved ones.

-The Next Morning-

“This place is perfect!” Harry grinned as he looked around his new smithy. Sirius stood back with a large smile on his face seeing Harry so happy. The young Artificer was practically bouncing between the various areas of the new smithy with sparkles in his eyes. “Let’s get to work!” Harry declared and Sirius could only shake his head at his Godson’s gung-ho attitude when it came to Enchanting. But it would be interesting to watch Harry work, so Sirius settled in while Harry started preparing to use his new smithy for the first time.

“Well at least I made sure the smithy was fully stocked with materials.” Sirius mused to himself as he watched Harry working to shape a piece of iron into the shape of a knife. The repetitive strikes of the hammer rang throughout the smithy and the hot metal slowly took on a vaguely knife-like shape.

“Darn it!” Harry exclaimed and Sirius started for a moment thinking his Godson had hurt himself. “I messed it up!” Harry complained as he used the metal tongs to hold up the now misshapen iron that had been much more knife-shaped a couple hammer strikes ago.

“Can you fix it?” Sirius asked curiously.

“I think so.” Harry replied as he looked over his first attempt and then put it back into the flames of the forge. Sirius had to admit he was rather impressed by his Godson’s passion for Enchanting. Most eleven, soon-to-be twelve, year olds often gave up on a new thing if their first try failed, but Harry just learned from his attempt and tried again. It was a rather mature state that Harry demonstrated and Sirius found it admirable. The two would spend the next several hours in the smithy that day, by the end of it Harry had a proto-knife beaten out. Tomorrow would see if it could hold an edge when Harry tried to sharpen it.

-Third Week of July-

Harry had barely paid attention to his End of Year Exam results when they came in. He’d seen a few O’s and some EE’s followed by an A in Potions. It figured that his lowest grade would come from Snape. But Harry was busy making his fifteenth attempt at a knife that could hold the Durability and Ever-Sharp Enchantments so he had other things to focus on.

“Hmm, this one came out well.” Harry mused as he looked over his newest knife. “Maybe this one will be able to hold the Enchantments.” He hoped as he placed it on his work table to start etching runes. Etching out the Runic Array onto the blade wasn’t difficult after doing it fifteen times. “Now for the moment of truth.” Harry stated as he prepared to test the Durability Enchantment. Swinging his blacksmith hammer down onto the newly enchanted knife Harry grimaced as a crack appeared on the blade. “Bloody hell, why won’t they hold the Enchantment? I must being doing something wrong, but what?” The young Artificer mused as he looked over the damaged knife.

“Harry? Are you in here?” Penny called as she stuck her head inside the smithy.

“Penny? Oh, is it that time already?” Harry questioned as he looked towards the clock near the doorway. Sure enough it showed the time as half past One in the afternoon. Penny had asked to come over after lunch today and Harry had gotten caught up in his work.

“Any luck?” Penny asked as she looked over the table.

“Not with the Enchanting, my ability to make a knife has grown by leaps and bounds though.” Harry sighed as Penny gave him a smile and a reassuring, one-armed, hug.

“You’ll figure it out, Harry, just give it some time.” Penny assured him before gently guiding him towards the door of the smithy. “Take a break for a bit and let’s do something else. Oh yes, I wanted to tell you that my mana level has gone up again! I’m at ‘4518’ according to the Test Frame you gave me.”

“Way to make my improvement seem less impressive, Penny.” Harry huffed playfully at her. “But a break sounds good.” He agreed with the pretty blonde as he walked out of the smithy with her. “Tayla, would you clean the smithy, please?” He asked at the doorway and a soft pop was heard.

“Of course Young Master, Tayla be doing it right away!” Tayla, Wood End Cottage’s new House Elf, replied happily as she stood a few meters away. The female Elf was a joy for Sirius and Harry, and Sirius had made sure to give her the most, well-made, not-clothes that he could. The Elf was dressed in a modified pillowcase that was made of soft cotton and slightly dark beige in color.

“Thank you Tayla.” Harry thanked the Elf before following Penny outside. “So what did you want to do Penny?”

“Hmm, it’s a nice day how about you show me how much progress you’ve made with the flute Hagrid gave you?” Penny asked and Harry smiled slightly.

“Prepare to be amazed, Penny, I can play a lullaby that won’t make your ears bleed now!” Harry proclaimed sarcastically which made Penny giggle. Harry went to fetch the flute while Penny sat beneath a tree in the backyard waiting for him.

“Going to serenade your girlfriend, Harry?” Sirius teased as he saw Harry walking outside with his wooden flute in hand.

“Shut it!” Harry retorted as he made his way out and towards the tree Penny was sitting under.

“You’d be so proud, James! So proud!” Sirius chuckled to himself watching Harry sit beside Penny under the tree from the kitchen window.

-Harry’s Birthday-

Harry smiled as he sat at the kitchen table. Penny, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, and Remus were all at Wood End Cottage to celebrate his birthday with him and Sirius. The cake was going to be brought out and present given soon and the twelve year old was as excited as any child. Sirius seemed almost as excited, but that could easily be put down to the man’s enjoyment of festivities in general.

“Harry, could you go find out what’s keeping Nymphadora and Penelope?” Andromeda asked as the two teens had gone upstairs to chat a few minutes ago and had yet to return.

“Sure thing.” Harry nodded as he left the table and made his way upstairs. Finding the guest room door closed, Harry knocked before speaking. “Tonks, Penny are you two in there?”

“Come on in Harry!” Tonks called from the inside and Harry opened the door just before Penny’s rebuttal was heard.

“Tonks!” Penny cried out in shock. Harry stopped dead at what was in front of him. Tonks, topless, along with Penny, also topless though clearly only because she’d had her shirt and bra jinxed off by the mischievous Metamorph. Needless to say Harry’s brain stopped functioning at that point and he stood in the doorway slack-jawed his eyes wide. Penny quickly covered herself and turned her back to Harry; Tonks smiled widely standing before him with no shame as Harry got a long look at her breasts.

“Happy Birthday Harry!” Tonks smiled as she reached for her bra and put it on. Penny was already pulling her shirt on her cheeks bright red while she glared at the Metamorph.

“Uh…” Harry couldn’t form words just yet his mind still stuck on the sight of his friend’s breasts.

“Tonks, I told you this was way too much for Harry! He’s twelve!” Penny hissed at her friend before casting a worried look at Harry.

“He’s starting puberty and you can’t tell me he’s not interested!” Tonks argued as she pulled her shirt on. “I just wanted to make sure the first pair of tits he sees were ours. Neither of us wants some other girl at Hogwarts trying to tempt him, this way Harry knows we’re interested ‘for real’.”

“This is still extreme.” Penny retorted fully dressed again. Though Tonks noticed that the blonde didn’t refute her claim of showing Harry they were interested ‘for real’ as she put it.

“Well we should all be getting down to the kitchen; it’s time for presents and cake.” Tonks smiled as she guided Penny past Harry and out of the room. Two minutes later Sirius came upstairs to find his wayward Godson. Seeing Harry standing in the doorway of the guest room staring blankly ahead made him pause. Waving his hand in front of Harry’s eyes got no response. Sensing a prank Sirius called down stairs.

“Tonks, why is Harry near catatonic?” Sirius questioned loudly from beside Harry.

“No idea Sirius!” Tonks’ yelled reply came from downstairs.

“Definitely don’t believe that.” Sirius shook his head as he gently shook Harry. Harry started for a moment before looking towards Sirius. “Alright there, Harry?”

“Ye-yeah…never better.” Harry nodded his cheeks burning fiercely. Sirius noted the reaction and chuckled.

“She got you good, huh?” Sirius chortled as he led his Godson downstairs.

“No!” Harry refuted instantly and Sirius just broke out into laughter at the obvious lie. All in all, Harry could definitely say this was his best birthday so far. His dreams for the rest of the summer were filled with his two friends however. Harry vowed that neither of them would ever find out, he’d never hear the end of the teasing otherwise.

-First Week of August-

“Finally!” Harry cheered as he held up the Enchanted Knife. He’d finally succeeded in making one that held both the Durability and Ever-Sharp Enchantments. This was the first step to making an Artifact Sword, sure it had taken him sixty seven tries to reach this first step, but progress was progress! Now he could start putting together a Runic Array for his future sword! “Hmm, what can I make it do that’ll set it apart from other Magical Swords throughout history?” Harry mused as he placed his Enchanted Knife on his work table and looked it over. A sword was a much larger project but the basics were the same; he’d practice forging a few one-handed swords to start, then he’d move on to trying to forge a two-handed sword. There were plenty of styles of swords he could try as well, but to begin with a simple one-handed broadsword would be his first goal. “But let’s take a break from this for now. I need a break from the forge. Let’s make a few more Test Frames and then start on the Runic Array for the sword afterwards.” Harry thought aloud as he went about cleaning up the smithy and cooling the forge so he could make Test Frames.

Harry had gotten rather good at producing his Test Frames now. The Runic Sequence was familiar and he’d mastered the Transfiguration required to make the stone frames. Applying the self-destruction sequence to the wooden overlays to protect his work was second nature by now. At the moment Harry had sixty finished Test Frames secured in his smithy. His goal was to finish another forty and sell all one hundred just before he left for his second year at Hogwarts. Another six hundred Galleons would make for a nice little nest egg. Sirius had gifted Harry a nifty item known as a Mokeskin Pouch for his birthday. Harry had been fascinated by the item and had to restrain himself from taking it apart to try and figure out how it worked. But seeing as they were rather rare Harry had decided to simply use it to store as much money as he could. His Rune Safe had limited space inside, but with most of his money inside the Mokeskin Pouch he was able to store a far larger amount within the security of his safe.

“Harry you got more mail!” Sirius called out as he held up a stack of envelopes and walked into the smithy.

“Again? It never stops!” Harry grumbled as he looked through his mail. “Strange, I haven’t gotten any mail from my study buddies since the beginning of summer. But all this mail from every Enchanter, Scholar, and their mothers has come in almost non-stop since halfway through July.” He mused on the curiousness of the lack of communication.

“Maybe write to them and see what’s going on? Or you could Floo them if you know their Floo address.” Sirius suggested and Harry nodded. He didn’t know the Floo addresses but Hedwig would do everything in her power to ensure his letters arrived at their destinations.

“I’ll write to them and send the letters with Hedwig tonight. If they don’t receive them then I’ll know something untoward is going on.” Harry stated and Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.

“If someone is interfering with your mail they’re going to rue the day they decided to do it. I’ll bring every lawyer, attorney, barrister, and any other form of legal counsel in Magical Britain down on their heads! The entire Black fortune will barely see a dent from that and I’ll have them taken for everything they own before I’m done!” Sirius ranted, he was very protective of his Godson after all. Harry smiled at the excessiveness of his Godfather but he appreciated the gesture, the thought of someone interfering with his mail was an unpleasant one.

“I guess I should look through these, thankfully I haven’t missed a letter from Fleur yet. She’s been studying some more obscure Magical Theory recently and it’s fascinating.” Harry grinned as he went through the stack.

“Ah yes, your French girlfriend, how is the young lady?” Sirius teased as Harry swatted him with a random letter.

“Hush you prat! It’s not like that!” Harry huffed at his Godfather.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, how is your French ‘Mistress’ been doing?” Sirius chuckled and Harry sent a Stinging Hex at the man.

“That’s worse than what you said before!” Harry exclaimed as Sirius rubbed the spot where the hex had hit him.

“I regret nothing!” Sirius grinned cheekily making Harry grumble about ‘lonely’ Godfathers that needed to get out more.

“Huh, this is different.” Harry blinked as he felt a thicker than normal envelope. Looking over the parchment revealed the envelope was signed in a foreign language. “I need the translation spell again.” He murmured and Sirius grinned at being able to help his godson. A slightly complex movement of Sirius’ wand and the words on the envelope were imposed by English words.

“To Artificer Potter, from Suzuki Tōshū; Yōkai Buki Seisaku Guild Member, Mt. Moriyoshi, Japan.” Harry read off confused about the words that the translation spell didn’t translate. “Why is someone from Japan writing to me?”

“Just a second, Harry, I know a slightly more specific translation spell that should be able to translate the rest of the words.” Sirius stated as he twisted his wand in a few loops and three swishes. The words on the letter all became super imposed by English.

“So he’s a Guild Member from a Monster/Spirit Weapon Crafting Guild?” Harry wondered before deciding to open the letter. Pulling out the thick letter Harry had Sirius use the translation spell again so that he could read it. In essence this man, Suzuki Tōshū, had heard of him becoming the ‘Youngest Artificer in History’ and felt compelled to write to him. The man had sent him a detailed process for ‘Creature Craft’ that his Guild had specialized in for almost a thousand years. The man had only given him the most basic of knowledge of the process but Harry was still stunned. Mr. Suzuki was apparently of the belief that talent like his should be nurtured, hence the instruction on ‘Creature Craft’, but not coddled which is why only the most basic process was sent. In the man’s own words, ‘You should be talented enough to make use of this; if you can’t then your skills only go so far.’; which Harry felt was a bit of a back-handed compliment. Still this knowledge of another Branch of Enchanting was amazing! Harry couldn’t wait to look over it and transcribe it into English so that he didn’t have to keep asking Sirius for the translation spell.

“Seems you have another new thing to look into.” Sirius teased, knowing his Godson would definitely be studying this when he wasn’t working on his current project.

“Yeah, I need a pen and one of my notebooks!” Harry grinned as he pulled open the drawer under his work table and pulled out the items. Sirius chortled as his Godson’s attention was fully taken up by copying down the information present in the letter. Sirius would remind Harry of his other plans a bit later, the young Artificer had a habit of letting new information become his sole focus until he had it either committed to memory or written down.

“What’s a Rite of Conquest?” Harry asked aloud and Sirius cocked an eyebrow at the term. He was aware of this one at least so filled his Godson in.

“It’s a term used in a few Magical Topics.” Sirius started and Harry turned to listen to his Godfather. “Usually you hear about it in Wandlore when a Witch or Wizard gains control and ownership of another’s wand by defeating them in a duel. But it was also used to take over the Lordship of Houses and forcefully absorb other Lines into the winner’s back several centuries ago.”

“Huh, according to this process if you want an item made from ‘Creature Craft’ to last more than a year or two you have to properly ‘Conquer’ the Magical Creature in question through a ‘Rite of Conquest’. Only then can you impart the Magical Creature’s ‘properties’ onto the item you’re making.” Harry read off the sheets of the letter. “If this is just the most basic stuff it’ll definitely take me a few years to get any real skill with this Branch of Enchanting.”

“Don’t take too much onto your plate Harry; it’s dangerous to stretch yourself too thin.” Sirius warned his Godson as he’d seen what overwork like that could lead to during his brief time with the Aurors.

“That’s what I have you, Tonks, and Penny for, right?” Harry grinned cheekily at his Godfather. “To pull me away from my work when I’m falling too far into it.”

“Right you are, Harry, right you are!” Sirius laughed as he patted his Godson on the back.

“This is funny, Mr. Suzuki wrote that if I make anything ‘worthwhile’ with this knowledge to come show him in Japan.” Harry chuckled as he held the page of the letter up to Sirius.

“Hey, could make for an interesting summer trip sometime.” Sirius shrugged as he read the page. “The Ladies of the East haven’t ever experienced the wooing of the Gentleman Sirius Black after all. I shouldn’t keep them waiting forever.”

“Aren’t you still trying to woo your Healer, Miss Reed?” Harry questioned knowing Sirius flirted with the woman every time he went in for his check-ups.

“Marlie is a wonderful woman.” Sirius nodded. “But if she wants to tame Sirius Black she’ll have to bring her best!” He finished with a grin while rubbing his chin with his index finger and thumb.

“I’m sure if she showed even a bit of interest you’d be like a puppy begging for attention.” Harry rolled his eyes with a laugh.

“I’ll have you know that I had dozens of admirers in my time, mister!” Sirius practically pouted at his Godson.

“‘Had’ being the key word there, Sirius. You aren’t getting any younger!” Harry replied doing a semi-passable imitation of Andromeda’s voice.

“Don’t you start too!” Sirius harrumphed as he was reminded of Andromeda’s prodding for him to settle down and start his own family. He’d get to it eventually! Just had to find the right woman, preferably one that would make his bigoted ancestors roll over in their graves! Imagining the Ancient and Noble House of Black having a Muggle-born or Half-Blood Lady was the greatest prank Sirius would ever pull off in his opinion.

“Yeah, yeah…just let me finish copying this process down. I want to hit one hundred Test Frames before the end of summer still.” Harry waved at his Godfather making Sirius shake his head as he made his way out of the smithy.

“Typical Ravenclaw nerd.” Sirius said just loud enough for Harry to hear.

“Oi!” Harry yelled at the empty doorway. Only Sirius’ laughter coming from outside could be heard in response to his indignation.

-End Chapter-

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Well now, Tonks and Penny are staking a claim! At Tonks’ urging of course, Penny is still hesitant to make such a bold move! Just who is taking Harry’s mail from Hermione, Padma, and Mandy? Two guesses and the first one doesn’t count! We also see Harry receiving what amounts to a challenge of his skill from all the way across the world! What will Harry make of this new information? Will the crazy amounts of mail ever stop? Is Harry going to have to learn the Translation Spell? Yeah…probably. Poor Harry, never a moment of peace to just work on his stuff!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 1,182

Tonks – 5,876

Penelope – 4,518

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 12: A Warning of Danger

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Someone has been interrupting Harry’s mail! Well a certain owl and new House Elf may have something to say about that!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 12 – A Warning of Danger

A loud crash just after breakfast alerted Harry and Sirius that something was going on at Wood End Cottage. Both wizards charged into the kitchen to see Hedwig screeching and clawing at an unfamiliar Elf while Tayla wrestled letters from the other Elf’s grip.

“What the bloody hell is going on?!” Sirius demanded loudly making both Elves freeze up while Hedwig flew over to Harry.

“Master, Tayla found this Elf trying to take Young Master Harry’s letters from Hedwig!” Tayla accused as she handed the three letters over to Harry. Looking them over Harry saw they were from his study buddies.

“Have you been taking all of my mail from my friends?” Harry asked the unknown Elf with a grimace.

“Dobby had to! Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts this year!” The now named Dobby pleaded while wringing his hands.

“Who has ordered this?” Sirius demanded of the Elf.

“Nobody, Dobby is not supposed to be being here, sir.” Dobby nervously twisted his dirty pillowcase.

“What danger are you talking about?” Harry asked Dobby.

“Dobby cannot say, Great Harry Potter, sir.” Dobby replied twisting his large ears. “But horrible things are going to happen at Hogwarts this year. Dobby thought that if Harry Potter only received letters from people outside of Hogwarts he wouldn’t want to go back.”

“Dobby, I have to return to Hogwarts, I’m a student there.” Harry tried to console the Elf with a gentle tone.

“But Great Harry Potter sir mustn’t put himself in danger!” Dobby cried out fearfully.

“Thanks to your warning, Dobby, we’ll be able to inform the people that can prevent these bad things.” Sirius reassured the distraught Elf.

“Dobby has helped protect the Great Harry Potter?” Dobby asked his large eyes widening.

“You warned me ahead of time Dobby, so now I’ll have people that will look out for me and do everything they can to prevent these bad things.” Harry nodded with a smile to the trembling Elf.

“Oh Great Harry Potter sir is too kind to Dobby!” Dobby wailed as large tears of happiness ran down the Elf’s face. “Harry Potter is truly a Great Wizard!”

“Thank you for warning me Dobby, I truly appreciate it.” Harry thanked the crying Elf.

“Of course, Harry Potter sir!” Dobby nodded vigorously his large ears flapping. “Dobby must be going before he is missed. Please be safe Great Harry Potter sir.” With that and a pop Dobby disappeared from Wood End Cottage.

“Well this is bad news.” Harry sighed and Sirius had a frown across his face.

“I’ll Floo Dumbledore and tell him about this.” Sirius nodded as he headed towards the living room. “With any luck this forewarning will let Dumbledore put a stop to whatever these ‘bad things’ are before they start.”

“We can only hope.” Harry sighed as he hoped his school year wouldn’t be disrupted by whatever Dobby had tried to warn them about. But for now he had letters from his friends to read and respond to. Hopefully once he explained the situation his study buddies wouldn’t be cross with him.

-Diagon Alley ~ Near the End of August-

“We should have done the shopping earlier.” Harry grumbled as he and Sirius made their way through the crowded Alley.

“It’s not so bad Harry.” Sirius grinned catching all the eyes turning to look at his Godson.

“Speak for yourself, Sirius.” Harry grumbled feeling the crowd staring at him. “If Miss Reed hadn’t taken pity on you and agreed to a date last week we could have gotten this done then.”

“I just wanted to make sure she enjoyed herself!” Sirius defended his multi-day planning of his first date since Eighty One. “It worked too!”

“Yet you still refuse to admit that you’re doing exactly what I said you would if she showed any interest.” Harry shook his head with an exaggerated sigh.

“I am not following her like a puppy!” Sirius harrumphed with his arms crossed.

“You are, completely and totally.” Harry disagreed with a chuckle. “But she’s a wonderful woman so try to be a gentleman.”

“She is wonderful.” Sirius nodded his head. “Truly a beacon of kindness and care.”

“Explains why she’s giving you a chance, woman’s a saint.” Harry chortled while Sirius grumbled about him spending too much time with Andy and Dora.

“I just need my textbooks and we’ll be done.” Harry mentioned looking over his school list. “Why do I have to get one of every ‘Gilderoy Lockhart’ book? Is the teacher some rabid fan of the man?”

“Who knows?” Sirius shrugged as they walked towards Flourish and Blott’s. “Unfortunately it looks like today was the wrong day.” Looking up Harry was greeted by a long line outside of the bookstore and a large banner proclaiming that Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing copies of his new book ‘Magical Me’ today.

“Ugh…maybe I’ll be able to slip through the store unnoticed at least?” Harry asked with little hope.

“If anyone tries anything they’ll be dealing with me.” Sirius promised his hand patting his wrist. Harry knew that was where Sirius kept his wand holster and couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face. It was nice to have someone looking out for him. The duo made their way through the crowd with little fanfare after assuring the clerk that they weren’t there for the book signing. Harry was able to collect his textbooks without much trouble, a few people greeted him a bit too enthusiastically and Sirius interjected himself to end the encounter when it happened. Making their way up to the counter Harry caught the attention of the ‘man of the hour’. Lockhart made his way over to Harry and actually reached out for him. Harry was already stepping back from the man when Sirius’ hand grabbed onto Lockhart’s wrist.

“Thanks Sirius.” Harry whispered getting a nod from his Godfather.

“Something I can help you with?” Sirius asked Lockhart with a glare and the blonde man retracted his arm.

“Just thought Harry would want to get on the front page of the Prophet with me.” Lockhart spoke up with his ‘famous’ smile.

“He doesn’t.” Sirius stated flatly. The flash of a large Wizarding Camera going off in their direction indicated that Harry would probably be on the front page tomorrow regardless. Lockhart quickly went back to the middle of the crowd and made the announcement that he would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts this year.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Harry grimaced as the blonde man posed like a peacock for the cameras after his announcement. A bit of mana to his glasses and Harry got a reading on his soon-to-be Professor. ‘What? Are you kidding me? 2,158? That’s it?’ He thought to himself at the low reading for an adult wizard. “He had to be the only one that applied. No way Dumbledore would hire him if he had ANY other options.” Harry muttered making Sirius chuckle.

“Maybe he’s the ‘terrible thing’ happening this year?” Sirius joked as he and Harry walked up to the counter and started getting the textbooks purchased.

“I wish that was the extent of it. But I somehow doubt it.” Harry sighed as Sirius paid for the books. Just as they were turning to leave a fight broke out amongst two of the customers in the shop. From the distinct hair colors it was easy for Sirius to tell who the fighters were. As they were close Sirius went to help separate his red-haired acquaintance from the Death Eater he was punching. Though not before giving some encouragement, of course.

“Hit him harder, Arthur!” Sirius crowed happily watching Arthur Weasley punch Lucius Malfoy while the two men tussled on the ground.

“Sirius?” Molly Weasley questioned before raising her voice. “Don’t encourage him! Stop this!”

“Come on you two, break it up!” Sirius hollered as he pulled Arthur off of Lucius. “Good punches there, Arthur.” He whispered to the man with a grin as the Malfoy Patriarch was standing from the floor.

“Black.” Lucius greeted stiffly.

“Not very polite of you Lucius, you forgot to address me with my title.” Sirius replied regally, though the undercurrent of amusement in his voice was impossible to miss.

“Lord Black.” Lucius greeted a second time his face carefully controlled but his eyes burning with rage.

“How are you today, Malfoy?” Sirius questioned as Molly fussed over Arthur.

“Fine thank you, come along Draco.” Lucius answered brusquely as he ushered his son out of the bookstore.

“Still a wanker.” Sirius chortled to himself seeing the man leave. “How’ve you been Arthur?” He greeted his acquaintance making the older redhead smile and shake his hand.

“Doing well Sirius; heard you’ve been healing. Molly and I were so pleased to hear about your recovery.” Arthur smiled even as a small bruise was forming on his jaw.

“Molly, how’re you? The kids doing well?” Sirius asked and the Matriarch of the Weasley Family smiled and confirmed that she and the kids were doing well. Sirius listened with a grin as Molly told him about her children. Bill and Charlie had graduated Hogwarts while he’d been in a coma so it was interesting to hear about what the two kids had grown up to become.

“Wicked, didn’t think we’d get to meet you here Harry.” Ron Weasley commented as he and the twins stood before Harry. The little red-haired girl next to them must have been their sister.

“Was honestly hoping to not have a spectacle made of just shopping for my school things, should have known better I suppose.” Harry shrugged with a polite smile.

“Hey, Harry, before mum notices or Percy gets back could you give us a little reading?” The twin on the right asked while the twin on the left acted as the lookout for Percy or their mother’s attention. Ron and Ginny’s eyes widened at the idea and Harry didn’t see the harm.

“Sure, why not?” Harry replied. “Your father is apparently friends with Sirius so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” With a little mana to his glasses Harry looked at the twin who asked and got the first reading. Changing his gaze over to the lookout twin Harry repeated the mana activation of his glasses’ Scouter function getting another reading, repeating this while looking at Ron and then the little sister gave Harry everything he needed.

“So what’s the reading like?” The first twin asked seeing Harry refocus on him.

“You…” Harry started but didn’t know which twin he was addressing.

“Fred.” Fred informed eagerly.

“Right, well Fred you have a mana reading of ‘2,688’.” Harry informed him. Getting the other twin’s attention Harry continued. “George, you have a reading of ‘2,694’ while Ron has a reading of ‘438’ and your sister has a reading of ‘106’.”

“Hear that Fred, I’m a wee bit stronger than you.” George chuckled at his twin.

“Not by much prat.” Fred remarked.

“How are the twins so much stronger than us?” Ron questioned looking at both of his brothers annoyed. The sister looked on shyly but also curious about what her reading meant when compared to others her age. She hadn’t even been to Hogwarts yet after all.

“Probably because we aren’t lazy prats.” Fred snarked while George nodded ‘sagely’ making Ron’s ears go red.

“What’re you at now days, Harry? We haven’t heard any updates since you showed us the Test Frame back at Hogwarts.” George inquired and Harry figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell them.

“I’ve been trying to keep up my practice while still working on my Enchanting. I’ve made some decent progress I think; last I checked I was at ‘1,312’.” Harry shrugged.

“Ready to go, Harry?” Sirius asked and Harry nodded before bidding the Weasleys goodbye. A short time later and the duo were once more in the comfort of Wood End Cottage.

“I’m thinking this year is going to be annoying with that peacock as a Professor.” Harry commented and Sirius chuckled at his Godson’s put upon expression.

“If he does anything stupid just let Dumbledore know.” Sirius advised. “I’m sure Dumbledore just had a lack of candidates like you thought.”

“I would hope so; the man seems like a bit of a joke so far.” Harry shook his head exasperated. The duo was interrupted in their conversation by the arrival of a happy Metamorph who practically pranced out of the Floo.

“You’re looking at the newest Auror Cadet with advanced placement directly under the Senior Auror, Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody himself!” Tonks cheered happily making Harry and Sirius clap for her.

“Congratulations Dora, I knew you’d make it in!” Sirius praised his second cousin, even though they mostly viewed each other with an uncle/niece type of relationship.

“Good job, Tonks!” Harry smiled widely. Tonks smiled back before moving over and sitting next to him quickly.

“It’s thanks to your Talisman, Harry! I even aced the stealth test since I didn’t trip even once!” Tonks exclaimed as she wrapped him in a hug which Harry returned. “So to say ‘thank you’ for your awesome gift you get a reward!”

“What?” Harry asked only for Tonks’ smile to turn into a devious grin. Before Harry could do anything the ecstatic Metamorph began raining kisses on his cheeks over and over again. “Tonks! Stop! Sirius is watching!” Said Godfather was happily laughing at his Godson’s ‘misfortune’ while Tonks continued to smother Harry’s cheeks with kisses. After a few minutes of embarrassing Harry in front of Sirius, Tonks stopped her kisses and just hugged Harry tightly.

“But Harry, I truly want to say thank you.” Tonks smiled brightly at him as they pulled away from each other. “I’ve gotten to achieve a place in my chosen career right out of Hogwarts thanks to your help. It means more than I can say, so thank you Harry.”

“I only made a Talisman to help you Tonks. You did all of the real work.” Harry smiled back. “Don’t sell all of your studying and practice short, you earned your position.”

“Yep, I’m keeping you!” Tonks smiled as she pulled Harry back into a hug. Sirius’ roaring laughter only made Harry annoyed, since he was kind of ruining what would be a heartfelt moment. At least he had gotten used to Tonks’ affections since they’d know each other. Tonks would leave a short time later to go share the news with Penny, leaving Sirius and Harry to get Harry’s school things packed into his trunk.

-September 1st-

Harry waved to Sirius and Remus as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from King’s Cross. He and Penny were sharing a compartment along with a small blonde girl called Luna Lovegood. The blonde was a bit spacey, or moon-brained, as Harry had heard others call it in the Magical World. But she was nice enough and Penny had taken a liking to the younger blonde. The trip was uneventful for the most part. Harry’s study buddies had stopped by for a bit to chat, the trolley lady had come and gone. As they approached the school Harry had exited the compartment and waited outside for the girls to change into their robes. Once they were done he had changed in the compartment while they waited outside.

“Firs’ Years! Firs’ Years over here!” Hagrid called as they stepped off the train. Luna smiled at Penny and Harry and thanked them for riding with her. The spacey blonde then skipped off towards the gentle giant.

“She’s a fun one.” Harry remarked as he followed Penny towards the carriages.

“A bit spacey, but she’s smart under it, probably a Ravenclaw.” Penny smiled and Harry considered it likely, that or a Hufflepuff with how friendly the little blonde was. A ride up to the school didn’t take long and soon the Sorting was underway.

“Told you.” Penny smiled as she clapped along with the rest of the Ravenclaw Table when Luna Lovegood was sorted into their House.

“I never said anything against it.” Harry replied as he waved Luna over to them and the small blonde skipped over to them and sat next to Penny. From there Harry and Penny both found that Luna was a bit of an ‘odd duck’ during meal times. She preferred to make her food into shapes or vague sculptures before she ate. Harry found it amusing while Penny sighed and encouraged Luna to eat faster so she got enough ‘real’ food before dessert. When dessert did come they discovered Luna had a love of pudding, the blonde happily partaking of every variety within reach.

It wasn’t long after that the students made their way to their dorms. Penny led the way for the Ravenclaws and Harry was looking forward to some reading before bed. Hopefully with a good night’s sleep he’d be prepared to deal with the first day of classes. He was already dreading getting his timetable tomorrow, if only because he didn’t want to know when he’d have to be in the presence of either Snape or Lockhart. The blonde peacock had already made a showing of himself at dinner when Dumbledore announced him. Harry really felt like the man was much more pomp than substance.

-First Defense Against the Dark Arts Class-

“I was right.” Harry huffed to himself watching Lockhart strut around the front of the classroom. Then the narcissist had the gall to make them take a test about himself! ‘Who the hell cares what this moron’s favorite color is?’ Harry raged in his own mind. The blonde idiot, as Harry now dubbed the man in his mind, then proceeded to unleash Cornish Pixies on the classroom. The troublemaking little sprites had quickly started tearing the classroom up after easily taking Lockhart’s wand and tossing it out of the window.

“Students! Use what you’ve learned from my books to stop the pixies!” Lockhart called out as the Pixies finished destroying the front of the room while Lockhart literally hid under the Professor’s desk.

“Absolutely useless.” Harry growled as the Pixies started zipping towards the students. “Stop!” He intoned and his voice echoed with power. A nifty little trick that Penny had found out was that verbally stating the intent of a Wandless spell gave a noticeable improvement. It didn’t even have to be a proper incantation, just the intent behind the Magic itself. Harry awed his entire class by demonstrating this with his command. The Cornish Pixies all froze in mid-air and hung there, stopped in whatever position they’d been in at the time. The Impedimenta Jinx slowed a target or targets down. Taking that spell a bit further resulted in the Immobulus Charm, which rendered said target or targets completely immobilized. It had been easy for Harry to refine his Wandless Impedimenta into a Wandless Immobulus over the summer. With a movement of his hands Harry made the floating Pixies gather into one area. Then he simply continued using Levitation to stuff the little troublemakers back into their cage. A Wandless Colloportus Charm had the caged door locked and only then did Harry release his first spell. The now free Pixies instantly went back to flitting about their cage but were clearly staying away from the cage door. Harry’s Magical display had frightened the little blighters into staying within their cage.

“Excellent Mr. Potter, simply excellent! I trust you remembered that from the time when I…” Lockhart began only to be cut off by Harry.

“Shut it you pompous windbag!” Harry growled at the incompetent man. “Do you have any idea what a swarm of Cornish Pixies could do unprepared students?! How the bloody hell did you think this was a good idea?! You’re so incompetent you make Professor Quirrel from last year look good! At the very least the man tried to teach even with his horrible stutter!” The young Artificer raged at the blonde twit. “Make no mistake I’ll be reporting this to both my Head of House and the Headmaster!” With that said Harry Wandlessly Summoned his bag to himself and stormed out of the room. He was going to do just what he said and see Flitwick and Dumbledore about that idiot.

“That is most troubling indeed, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick grumbled as he finished listening to Harry’s account of what happened in his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year. In truth the part-Goblin Charms Master was tightly reigning in his emotions lest he storm into Lockhart’s office and tear strips from the man for endangering the students.

“Should I go to the Headmaster with this too, Professor?” Harry asked his Head of House.

“You should prepare for your next class, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick advised the Second Year. “I have a free period right now so I’ll personally see the Headmaster about what Professor Lockhart has done.”

“Alright Professor, thank you for seeing me so quickly.” Harry thanked the Charms Professor and Flitwick dismissed him from his office. Flitwick sat in his office for several minutes after Harry left, to cool his head, before he made his way to Dumbledore’s office. He wasn’t one to judge others but Lockhart was proving to be a less than competent teacher compared to his reputation.

-Dumbledore’s Office ~ Several Minutes Later-

“I see; that is most troubling Filius.” Dumbledore nodded as he mulled over what he’d just heard. “Perhaps Professor Lockhart will need some assistance with his first time teaching? I believe I can clear some time in my schedule to sit in on a few of his lessons. If I see anything else like this I’m afraid I’ll have to try and find a replacement. As it stands I think a Notice of Deficiency will serve to let Professor Lockhart know that his current methods are not up to Hogwarts’ Standards.”

“I believe that would be for the best.” Flitwick nodded. A ‘Notice of Deficiency’ was basically a warning to a Professor that their performance was currently unacceptable. It was the first step in the ‘Process of Dismissal’ for a Professor. Professor Snape had quite a few brought against him over his years as Potions Professor. But the man’s NEWT graduates were some of the best Potioneers in Magical Britain and even Magical Europe. So the Head of Slytherin had managed to retain his position at Hogwarts through the sheer competency he could produce in the students that did make it through his classes.

-After Classes-

Harry quickly made his way towards his hidden workshop with Penny in tow. Once there Harry tested that the Ward Lock was still working before the two entered. Harry checked over the workshop area before heading into the smithy. Everything was as Harry had left it at the beginning of summer, Penny checked over the Transfiguration that made up the forge and happily stated that the stone showed no signs of reverting. This was a testament to Tonks and Penny’s success with their Permanent Transfiguration. Of course it only worked because they were changing stone into a different shape of stone. They hadn’t transfigured it into another material or tried to expand or shrink it. The stone was still the same at the base level just in a different shape so Permanent Transfiguration was possible.

Harry was pleased that his set up at Hogwarts was still in good condition so that he could continue his work on forging an Artifact Sword. He had started to compile Runic Sequences for various effects and now had to work out which ones would go together and result in a functional Runic Array. He had a general idea of what he wanted the Sword to be capable of and now it was down to him to find a combination of sequences that would work. Harry set to work writing out various Runic Sequences at his desk while Penny practiced her Wandless Magic. The pretty blonde was making good headway on getting her entire spell repertoire Wandless. That fact made both Harry and Tonks a bit jealous of the Prefect. Penny seemed to have a knack for getting spells to work for her and had easily left Tonks and Harry in the dust with how many Wandless spells she had under her belt.

A couple of hours later and Harry sighed as he looked over his work so far. Several of the sequences he’d hoped to incorporate together wouldn’t work, even with Magical Circuits. The materials he had at his disposal simply couldn’t hold several of these properties at the same time. With some more time he may be able to make a low-grade Alchemical Metal that could, theoretically, hold some of them in a single Array but that was still a long shot. He’d have to work slowly and make some Arrays that were successful combinations of the various sequences he wanted for his final Sword. Then he’d potentially find a way to transmute a metal capable of holding the finished Array while also finding out how to make said final Array in the process. This was going to be a very long project and Harry could only sigh that his classes were going to take up so much of his time.

“Harry can I borrow the Test Frame?” Penny asked as she walked over to his desk.

“You don’t have to ask Penny.” Harry reassured the blonde as he handed her the Test Frame after pulling it out of the drawer he kept it in.

“Maybe not, but it is still polite to ask.” Penny smiled as she held the Talisman in her hands and fed her mana into it. When her reading popped up Penny grinned happily before turning to show Harry the ‘4762’ displayed.

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don’t you?” Harry huffed seeing how far he still had to go to even get close to Penny or Tonks’ mana levels. Harry chose to place the even higher numbers like Dumbledore, or the insane number that Flamel had, on the back burner for now. He’d grow stronger as he practiced and so far he was striking a good balance between his Wandless Magic and his Enchanting. Again he lamented at all the time he’d have to devote to his classes. That was time he could add to his Enchanting or Wandless practice, but even he realized that most of his courses still offered him new knowledge. For now it wasn’t wise or feasible to try and leave Hogwarts. ‘Maybe in the coming years though? No one ever said you couldn’t graduate early.’ He mused to himself as he and Penny left the workshop together and headed for Ravenclaw Tower.

-End Chapter-

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Hmm, a warning of something dire, but Sirius was able to pass on the message to Dumbledore. Will the forewarning help or will certain events still take place? It can be hard to prepare when you’re unsure of what you’re preparing for. But Harry has met everyone’s favorite moon-child! Luna will be a bit of a periphery character but Harry will still let her wander around with him. Tonks got accepted into the Aurors and is already apprenticed under Moody! That might gain her some clout in the Auror Corps. a little faster. Harry has also called out Lockhart for his incompetence, and showed off his Wandless skill a bit at the same time. Our young Artificer is also finding out just how hard it is to progress in the Artifact Creation process. So many Magical Branches have to be successfully brought together even for a Minor Artifact. This is only made harder when trying to make higher Grade Artifacts.

Keep reading to see how Harry’s Second Year progresses!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 1,312

Tonks – 5,876 (Outdated)

Penelope – 4,762

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 13: Alchemy, Prefect, Halloween

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! More progress for Harry and his Enchanting. Luna isn’t being treated well in Ravenclaw and Penny is on the warpath! Also this year’s Halloween Incident!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 13 – Alchemy, Prefect, Halloween

Harry was walking toward his hidden workshop after the end of classes. Today he would be attempting more Alchemy to try and create an Alchemical Metal capable of holding the first of his prototype Arrays. He was only half paying attention to his surroundings as he walked since the path was so familiar to him now. It came as a bit of a surprise to run into Luna Lovegood in the out of the way corridor that led to his workshop.

“Hello Harry, nice to see you again.” Luna smiled with a lilting tone. Harry couldn’t help but smile back at the ‘moon-brained’ blonde. He wondered if the rumors about the Lovegood Family having some Fae Ancestry might have some truth to them.

“Good afternoon Luna, how’re you today?” Harry greeted and Luna’s smile became more meaningful as he saw her gaze sharpen and focus on him completely.

“I’m doing well, thank you for asking.” Luna chirped back happily.

“What brings you to this part of the castle, Luna?” Harry asked. This corridor was well off the beaten path for most anyone. It was one of the reason’s he’d chosen it when looking for a place to practice.

“There are many secrets in Hogwarts.” Luna stated before tilting her head slightly. “But I feel the one in this corridor isn’t Hogwarts’ secret, but someone else’s.”

“How do you know there is a secret here?” Harry asked trying to school his features. How Luna could have figured out where his hidden workshop was by herself greatly interested Harry.

“I told you, I feel it.” Luna repeated before she giggled slightly. “Also you always head in this direction after classes and no one sees you for hours afterwards. So you have to be going somewhere.”

“Right.” Harry sighed before smiling fondly at the quirky blonde. In the month since term started Luna had become another friend of his, much like his study buddies, and Penny had taken a liking to her fellow blonde. “Ah, what the hell…do you want to see the secret Luna?” He asked and Luna nodded, still smiling gently.

“That’s neat.” Luna commented as Harry revealed the door to his workshop.

“Glad you like it.” Harry chuckled as he opened the door and allowed Luna inside. The little blonde moved around the workshop inspecting everything with her eyes. She made small sounds of wonder every now and then and Harry followed her into the smithy so she could have a look.

“You’ve made yourself very comfortable here, Harry.” Luna mentioned after the ‘tour’ of the workshop.

“I can work in peace and try out new things.” Harry shrugged and Luna flitted about the room. “Feel free to hang out here for a bit if you want. I’m going to be trying my hand at a bit more Alchemy.” Luna nodded as she picked up a book on Charms that had been left in the room. The small blonde happily set herself in a chair off to the side of the room and began reading. Harry chuckled at how easy Luna was to please and set to work removing one of the metal plates that came with his Alchemist Starter Kit. It had a pre-etched Transmutation Circle already capable of being used on it. That saved Harry quite a bit of time drawing it out himself. He was going to attempt to transmute his first Alchemical Metal, Oulm.

He’d chosen Oulm since it was a very basic and low-grade Alchemical Metal. If you knew how to transmute and could measure out the proper amounts of the mundane ingredients, Oulm wasn’t difficult to make. While it wasn’t really any stronger than mundane steel it did have quite a useful amount of Magic Conductivity. That is, Magic flowed through it well without breaking the metal down, so it made a good base to try forging a Magical Blade from. Now Harry just needed to measure out his ingredients, it was a good thing he’d ordered a good amount through Owl Order before returning to school.

“Alright, so Oulm’s base ingredients are iron, copper, and ground dragon bone.” Harry mumbled to himself as he gathered the materials. “One kilogram of iron, one kilogram of copper, and finally five hundred grams of powdered dragon bone.” He continued to mutter as he measured out his ingredients on the set of scales that came with the Kit. He then placed the measured materials on the Transmutation Circle and prepared to pour his mana into the plate. “Here goes nothing.” He mused before sending his mana into the plate.

The Transmutation Circle began to glow a bright blue as Harry’s mana filled it. After a few seconds the only Magical Material, the powdered dragon bone, began to glow white-blue and quickly spread to the iron and copper. Harry watched on fascinated as the three materials seemingly merged together as they glowed. Small sparks of magical discharge came from the materials as they were transmuted and when the process finished Harry pulled his hands away from the plate. The newly transmuted metal was giving off small bits of light that floated about like dust particles.

“According to the instructions once the light fades away I can test it to see if I was successful.” Harry nodded to himself as he looked over the ‘Beginners Alchemy for Enchanters’ book again to confirm. In just about a minute the glow faded and Harry picked up the transmuted metal. It was a dull grey color and weighed the same as the original materials combined. Other than that it had no real distinct features. “Alright, time to test it.” Harry breathed deeply before exhaling to get rid of nerves. A small amount of mana flowed from Harry’s hand and into the metal he was holding. The metal showed no reaction, so he poured a bit more mana into it. After a few moments, just when Harry was starting to think he’d failed, the metal in his hand began to glow faintly and even maintained the glow for several seconds after he stopped supplying mana to it.

“I think you succeeded, Harry.” Luna piped up from where she was reading. The spacey blonde had watched the transmutation and felt the need to speak up.

“I think so too.” Harry grinned as he looked at the Oulm in his hand. Even though it was low-grade Alchemical Metal, it was still Magical Metal and should, theoretically, be able to hold more complex Runic Arrays than mundane iron or steel. “Now I just have to forge you into the proper Form and apply an Array.” He smiled as he thought about which Arrays he’d already worked out. None of them were everything he wanted in his Artifact Sword, but each Array was a separate part of the overall whole that would, someday, make up his Artifact Sword.

-A Week Later-

“Luna why’re you here?” Penny asked as she was let into Harry’s workshop and spotted the little blonde.

“Harry lets me hang out here and study if I want when he’s in here working.” Luna replied as she went over her homework at a desk Harry had moved into the corner of his workshop for her.

“Well that’s nice of him.” Penny smiled at Harry and got a smile back from the Artificer. Harry himself was busy preparing his newest batch of Oulm for the forge. His first bit…hadn’t gone well. Harry had never tried to forge with Magical Metal before, so there was a very high chance that he’d make a mistake. He had and it had left his Oulm an inert slag after he’d made it too hot and basically ‘beaten’ the Magic out of it. Still Harry was confident he’d finally worked out the kinks of working with Oulm. So now he was preparing the next several ingots he’d made of the stuff for forge shaping.

“Luna, where are your shoes?” Penny asked and Harry looked up and saw the little blonde’s bare feet exposed from beneath her robes.

“I couldn’t find them this morning, so I had to go to classes without them. I didn’t want to be late or miss a class.” Luna replied looking at her feet.

“Did someone take your shoes, Luna?” Penny questioned gently, though Harry could practically feel the Prefect’s Magic trembling with rage.

“I suppose it’s possible.” Luna looked saddened by this admission. “Several of our Housemates don’t seem to like me talking about the Creatures we report about in the Quibbler.” Penny gently rubbed the First Year’s back and pulled her into a comforting hug. Harry frowned at what Luna had said; bullying was for those of lesser mind, not the ‘supposedly’ intelligent types that made up the Ravenclaw House. It seemed Luna would be needing a Ward Lock of her own for her dorm room. That wouldn’t take him long and would solve part of the problem at least.

“Don’t worry Luna, I’ll find your things and make sure those responsible are punished for it.” Penny assured the younger blonde. “It’s my responsibility as a Prefect after all.” Luna nodded into the hug and mumbled a quiet ‘Thank you.’ to the Sixth Year Prefect.

-Same Night ~ Ravenclaw Common Room-

That night in the Ravenclaw Common Room was one no student of the House would forget. They saw polite Penelope Clearwater truly angry for the first time. Harry had already made the Ward Lock for Luna and showed her how to use it. He’d gotten a hug from the happy blonde for it and was now sitting beside her as Penny worked herself up into a proper rage.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” Penny yelled as she used a Wandless Summoning Charm to retrieve Luna’s missing things from around the Ravenclaw Tower. Many of her possession had come floating down from the Girls Dorms and several girls looked very shocked when certain items floated into the Common Room. “Do you all have no decency? No shame? She’s a First Year!” Penny yelled at the girls that had basically outed themselves as responsible. Once Luna’s stolen things were all in the room, Harry and Luna picked them up and carried them to the little blonde’s room. They could still hear Penny’s angry voice even from upstairs, well…as far as Harry could go of course. Boys couldn’t actually set foot on the first landing without being tossed off and making an alarm go off.

“Wands!” Penny commanded and the wands of seven different girls, the one’s that had practically outed themselves, flew from wherever the girls normally kept them and into the Prefect’s hand. “You lot will follow me to Professor Flitwick’s Office immediately!” She ordered and when the girls looked obstinate the blonde simply ‘willed’ her intent upon them. All seven found themselves being floated through the air by their robes and following the enraged Penny as she marched out of the Common Room. The entirety of Ravenclaw House simply stared at the door leading out of the Common Room in shock. Not even the Seventh Years made a noise for several moments. None of them had known that Penny was capable of that at all. To Wandlessly Summon all of the stolen items from this distance, to take seven wands that were all stashed away on their owner’s person, and then to levitate seven other people like it was nothing. It was mind-boggling to the other students; the fact that Penny had done it all without even drawing her own wand left many of them shaken.

“I wouldn’t recommend making her upset like this again.” Harry spoke up as he passed through the Common Room and headed towards the stairs for the Boy’s Dorms. “She didn’t even get aggressive enough to use Hexes or Jinxes. They all got off light compared to what I’ve seen her do.” With his piece said Harry ascended the stairs to his dorm room for the night.

-The Next Weekend ~ Saturday-

“Almost, just a few more centimeters…” Harry mumbled to himself as he carefully filled in the last line of the Magic Circuit he’d etched into one of the Oulm knives he’d forged. Circuit Base slowly poured from the tip of the Alchemic Pen as he carefully filled in the line. “And…done.” He smiled as he put the Pen down and let his creation cool and solidify. This was the first Oulm knife he’d ‘finished’ so far. He’d ended up ruining the first three he’d tried to etch Arrays into. Oulm was low-grade for a reason as it could lose the Magic inherent in the metal with improper handling. ‘Man, what I wouldn’t give to have some Orichalcum.’ Harry thought to himself as he waited so that he could test his knife. Orichalcum was much higher-grade Magic Metal and its intrinsic Magical Properties made it one of the best substances for conducting Magic in the world. Unfortunately it was still rather far out of Harry’s limited ability with Alchemy to even attempt to produce. Maybe in a year or two he’d have the skill to try and transmute it, but for now it was just wishful thinking.

Seeing the Oulm knife set and ready, Harry picked the knife up and set about testing it. The Array he’d chosen to etch into this knife incorporated four different Runic Sequences; Cut Prevention, Durability, Severance, and his own unique sequence for Mana, the same as he used for the Counting Sequence to identify in his Scouters and Test Frames. It would probably seem odd for any Magical Bladesmith to have both the Severance Sequence and the Cut Prevention Sequence on the same blade. Cut Prevention made a blade ‘dull’ for all intents and purposes, which made a blade useless unless it was paired with an activation/deactivation sequence. While the Severance Sequence allowed a blade to slice through things that would normally be too hard or durable for it to cut through. But that was one of Harry’s end goals for his Artifact Sword; a blade that wouldn’t cut anyone or anything, except exactly what was specified in the Array. In this case Harry wanted the knife to be able to cut mana or Magic. Admittedly his twelve year old mind thought slicing spells apart would be really cool, so he’d set out to make that his Artifact Sword’s claim to fame. ‘How cool will it be to have a ‘Spell Cutting Sword’?’ Harry pondered an excited grin on his face.

“Alright, first test, cutting a Lumos Charm.” Harry grinned as he brought a ball of light into existence. Moving the blade through the ball of light yielded no results however. “Well shite.” He muttered before trying a few different methods. He stabbed the ball of light to the same results. He tried swinging the knife faster but to no change in the light at all. “Hmm, my Array should be working, but there is no change at all? The Array works out, in theory anyway, but in practice not so much. Did I make it too specific or was I not specific enough?” The young Artificer wondered as he looked at the knife in his hand while pacing back and forth across the length of his workshop. Going back to his desk he set the knife down and pulled out his papers that he’d worked the Array out on. He started perusing the lines of Runes looking for what could have gone wrong. After almost an hour of not finding any reason for the lack of effect an alarm spell went off and Harry tapped his wand to cancel it.

“Time to meet with the study group already?” Harry mused as he placed his hands on top of his desk as he stood up. Feeling cold metal beneath his palm Harry looked down and saw his Oulm knife. “Good thing I worked in the Cut Prevention Sequence after all, that could have hurt otherwise.” He chuckled as he tapped the blade with his index finger. The sudden feeling of his finger getting the ‘pins and needles’ of being ‘asleep’ was a surprise and Harry narrowed his eyes while looking over his finger. “What in the world?” He wondered as he shook his hand and tried to flex his fingers. After a couple of attempts he got feeling back into his index finger and shook his hand. “Well, isn’t that interesting?” Harry questioned rhetorically to the empty workshop. Giving the ‘failed’ knife another look over Harry decided to look into it later. He’d agreed to meet with his study buddies today and he wanted to introduce Luna to them. The little blonde could definitely use more friends.

-The Library-

“Hello, Harry.” Luna smiled seeing Harry walk into the Library. He had asked her to meet him here at this time so she’d come, but she had no idea what it was Harry wanted.

“Hey Luna, thanks for meeting me.” Harry greeted as he motioned for Luna to follow him.

“So why did you want to meet in the Library, you asked me to bring my homework and books so I’m assuming we’re studying?” Luna questioned and Harry nodded.

“Yep, I also want to help you make a few more friends.” Harry replied and Luna looked curious.

“There are others that would like to be my friends? Who are they?” Luna inquired since she hadn’t made any friends besides Penny and Harry since she started at Hogwarts.

"Follow me and I’ll introduce you." Harry answered as he made his way over to the table his study buddies were currently occupying. "Hey Padma, Mandy, Hermione, how are you three this afternoon?"

"Hey Harry, doing good." Mandy replied with a grin.

“Studying for Transfiguration at the moment." Padma motioned towards their books.

“Good afternoon, Harry.” Hermione smiled before noticing Luna. “Who is this?”

"This is Luna Lovegood, she’s in Ravenclaw with Padma, Mandy and I." Harry introduced which prompted Padma and Mandy to greet the little blonde. "She's had a bit of difficulty making friends because she likes to talk about Magical Cryptids. But she’s sweet as can be and could really use a few more friends."

"It was really mean of those girls to take your things, Luna. Do you want to study with our little group?" Mandy asked even though she was already making a place for the First Year.

"We can help you out with anything you don’t understand." Padma assured Luna as she scooted over so that younger girl could sit between her and Mandy.

"We’d be happy to have you Luna.” Hermione agreed with a smile towards the First Year.

“Thank you very much.” Luna thanked the girls as she sat between Padma and Mandy and started taking out her things.

“Don’t mention it, Luna.” Mandy grinned as she pulled the other girl into a side-hug. Harry was pretty sure Luna couldn’t have looked happier if she tried. After a few minutes of getting settled Mandy asked everyone if they’d been using the Common Room Test Frames; when she got back all positive replies, except from Harry who simply used his own in his workshop, not that any of them knew that, she’d asked about their most recent readings.

“I checked this morning and was at ‘462’.” Padma informed the group.

“Bugger, you’re still beating me! I’m only at ‘456’ right now.” Mandy playfully pouted at her friend.

“I was at ‘470’ when I checked last night before bed.” Hermione spoke up and Padma and Mandy both playfully accused her of extra practice to one up them.

“I got a ‘138’ this morning before breakfast.” Luna smiled and the older girls gave her encouragement for her reading. All of them told her they could practice together and she’d definitely see her reading go up even higher. The little blonde quickly agreed to the extra practice with a bright smile.

“What?” Harry asked when all of the girls turned to look at him.

“What was your last reading?” Padma asked curiously.

“Oh, I was at ‘1,536’ when I checked a few days ago.” Harry replied and all the girls, except Luna who just smiled, had shocked looks on their faces.

“How the bloody hell?” Mandy questioned.

“Language!” Hermione chided her friend and Mandy barely acknowledged it.

“That is very impressive Harry.” Padma stated with a nod.

“I’ve just been practicing when I need a break from Enchanting.” Harry shrugged since he’d been trying to keep as even a balance between Wandless practice and Enchanting as he could. He’d Wandlessly completed a nifty new Charm yesterday called ‘Similitudo’ or the ‘Reflected Image’ Charm. It made an illusionary copy of the caster that mimicked all of the person’s actions, but in the opposite, just like a reflection in a mirror. To test it Harry had cast the spell and then walked towards a wall of his workshop. To his amusement the copy had walked in the opposite direction. He thought he might show this one to Tonks, since it could be useful for confusing a hostile Witch or Wizard.

“You’ve got to be cheating somehow.” Mandy playfully accused and Harry stuck his nose in the air and acted snooty to go along with it. It was an enjoyable study session and Harry could only smile when he saw how well Luna had been integrated into their little study group. It was nice to see the First Year laughing as she listened to Mandy make jokes.

-Halloween-

It was a lovely and festive feast to celebrate the holiday and Harry was having a good time. Penny had to constantly check on Luna to make sure the girl didn’t eat nothing but sweets for the whole feast. This made Harry chuckle as he let himself have an extra helping of treacle tart. The decorations were fabulous, just as they were last year and as long as no Trolls found their way into the castle, or were let in Harry reminded himself, then the evening would be great. There was even some music playing throughout the feast and Harry was curious if the songs were all traditional for the holiday. Once the food had disappeared and the students began making their way out of the Great Hall, Harry was fairly certain this would be a good Halloween.

“I shouldn’t have even thought it.” Harry grumbled lowly to himself as a large crowd of students gathered around a second floor bathroom that had apparently flooded. At least judging by the water all over the corridor and the bathroom door still having water pouring from under it.

What was the cause of the large congregation of students, one might ask?

Large words written on the stone wall of the corridor in what appeared to be blood. Plus Mrs. Norris, Caretaker Filch’s menace of a cat was hanging from a wall sconce completely immobile and the man was howling about his cat being ‘dead’.

“Enemies of the Heir, beware.” Draco Malfoy read off the wall before smirking. “You’ll be next Mudbloods.”

‘How the hell did he come to that conclusion?’ Harry wonder incredulously, trying to figure out Malfoy’s leap in logic. ‘It only states ‘enemies of the Heir’ and that could mean anyone that this person wants it to. For all he knows the ‘enemies’ could be anyone in the castle that isn’t related to Slytherin. That seems especially likely considering the fact they went out of their way to use the term Heir for themselves.’ Harry had found out about the so called ‘Chamber of Secrets’ last year in the Library when he’d been looking into the history of the Magical Castle. Suffice to say he wasn’t exactly impressed by Salazar Slytherin’s ideals, nor was he sure that the man was even sane considering he supposedly left a ‘monster’ of some kind hidden in his secret chamber to one day ‘purge’ the school of the ‘unworthy’. The arrival of the Professors saw the students quickly being ushered off to their House Common Rooms as the area was cleared.

“I think I can be certain that this is what Dobby was trying to warn me about.” Harry grimaced as he recalled the fear the little House Elf had shown back in the summer. He had a letter to write to Sirius tonight.

-End Chapter-

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Well…some good…some bad…it’s been a heck of a chapter. Now with the Chamber opened how long before something bad happens? Will Lockhart make an ass of himself? Definitely. But Harry has sort of progressed towards his goal of an Artifact Sword, so there’s that. Also Penny is now one of the most feared, if not THE most feared Prefects in Hogwarts. Yay? Keep reading to find out what happens next!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 1,536

Tonks – 5,876 (Outdated)

Penelope – 4,762 (Outdated)

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 14: History, Advancement, Questions

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry continues to progress, because he feels it’ll be required this year. Penny helps dig into the History of the Chamber. Questions need to be asked and answered after the next incident!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 14 – History, Advancement, Questions

“So it’s been opened before?” Harry asked to confirm what Penny had just told him.

“Yes, about fifty years ago, in fact.” Penny nodded as they sat in the hidden workshop.

“So what does this mean in the here and now?” Harry questioned and Penny could only postulate.

“It could mean that whoever opened the Chamber fifty years ago has returned to the castle. Or perhaps the descendant of that person is a new student?” Penny shrugged as she mulled over possibilities.

“Neither option is particularly good.” Harry sighed while running a hand through his hair. “Though since we don’t have any new Staff, except that peacock, I don’t think the original perpetrator is back.”

“So it’s probably a student, maybe even a First Year.” Penny hummed in thought. “Not that suspecting this narrows it down any. We have almost forty new First Years this year.”

“Hopefully the Staff can deal with this quickly.” Harry hoped as he looked at the notes Penny had made about the last ‘Chamber of Secrets Incident’. “A student actually died last time. I would hope the Staff would close the school before it gets that bad again.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Penny questioned. “The safety of the students should be their first priority as Professors.”

“Penny, even you know that the Magical World often lacks what most Non-Magicals would call ‘common sense’.” Harry replied flatly and Penny exhaled deeply before nodding.

“I’ll look into what this ‘monster’ could possibly be.” Penny informed Harry as she collected her notes. “Knowing Slytherin it’s probably some kind of Magical Serpent. Though it would have to be one that could either live for over a thousand years or be able to sustain a breeding population in an isolated space for the same amount of time.”

“That should at least narrow it down a bit, right?” Harry asked and Penny nodded.

“It should. Even Magical Species have lifespans; I’m not the most ‘learned’ in Care of Magical Creatures but surely there can’t be ‘that’ many Magical Snakes that fit these criteria.” Penny gave him a hopeful smile. Harry found it hard to put much hope into his return smile though. Shortly afterwards Penny left the workshop to head back to the Library. Harry set about Transmuting more Oulm, if there really was a monster being awoken from a fifty year slumber then having any advantage, even a Magical Knife, would be better than not having it. Plus he still needed to continue tests on his first ‘failure’. The effect it had on a person that touched the edge of the blade was ‘unexpected’ to say the least. Harry was already wondering if he might be able to turn his ‘failure’ into a ‘success’ with some time and a few changes.

-November 9th-

“Excuse me, but what?” Harry asked and Penny grimaced in return.

“There was an attack, a young Gryffindor boy, Creevey from what I hear.” Penny informed and Harry sat back at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. There had been bits and pieces of the story flying around this morning and it seems that now, at lunch, the news had finally broken. The ‘Heir’ had apparently unleashed Slytherin’s ‘monster’ on the school.

“So Hogwarts is going to close, right?” Harry asked and Penny outright frowned before she replied.

“Apparently not, though I don’t know why, the Staff hasn’t mentioned closing the school or sending the students home.” Penny replied her pretty face twisted by her anger.

“You’re kidding…” Harry was shocked. A student had been attacked and petrified by an unknown assailant or monster and Hogwarts was just going to carry on like nothing happened? “What is wrong with these people?” Penny could only shrug angrily while forcing herself to eat.

“I’ve narrowed down the list of potential Magical Snakes, but with petrification being the results of the attacks I’m afraid this opens the door to other ‘monsters’ being the culprit.” Penny worried as she mentally went over her research. “No Magical Snake I’ve read about has the ability to petrify its victims.”

“I’m writing another letter to Sirius.” Harry stated as he finished his lunch. “The last reply I got Sirius told me that it could just be a prankster with horribly bad taste. Since it is right about the fiftieth anniversary of the last time the Chamber was opened. But this is an outright attack, I’m sure Sirius will be able to round up the parents of the students and get the Aurors involved.” Penny nodded and agreed to write her own letter to her parents. At the end of classes that day Harry left with a quick ‘goodbye’ to his study buddies. His only other comment was “I’ve got work to do.”

It so happened that on Wednesday the eleventh of November the Great Hall doors were opened just as breakfast was finishing up. The Staff were caught ‘flat-footed’ by the appearance of the large group of Witches and Wizards. Especially the large amount of Aurors present among them. A stern looking woman with red hair and a monocle marched forward leading the group. Harry was quick to spot Sirius among the group and Penny’s father as well. Though he’d only met the man briefly.

“Dumbledore we need to talk, immediately.” The stern witch in Auror robes informed the aged Headmaster.

“Of course, Amelia, if you would all kindly follow me to the antechamber.” Dumbledore agreed as he stood from his chair and led the large group through a door off to the side of the Head Table. The large group steadily made their way into the room until the Great Hall was only filled with students and the Staff that weren’t Heads of House.

“Well that worked better than I thought it would.” Harry grinned and Penny gave him a side hug with a smile on her face. Later that day Sirius got to meet with Harry and Penny’s father, Edward Clearwater, was with him since Penny was with Harry. The two adults explained what had gone on in the antechamber, besides a lot of yelling, and both Harry and Penny were less than thrilled with the results.

“What do you mean Hogwarts is staying open?” Penny questioned incredulously.

“Dumbledore and Amelia argued back and forth about it for quite a while.” Edward shook his head. “But Dumbledore argued against closing the school and Amelia forced him to accept Aurors being stationed at Hogwarts.”

“Aurors might help, but wouldn’t it be safer to just close the school?” Harry questioned and both Sirius and Edward looked like they agreed.

“Amelia only agreed to the school remaining open so that the Aurors can search every student’s belongings for illegal Magic Items, especially ones that could petrify a person. If they find said item among a student’s things that student will be expelled on the spot and criminal charges will be filed.” Sirius informed them.

“This is still ridiculous.” Harry grumbled aggravated with the lack of sense being shown.

“We agree, but Dumbledore has a lot of influence in Magical Britain.” Edward groused as he pulled his daughter into a hug. Sirius was quick to do the same while also passing Harry a small mirror.

“What’s this?” Harry questioned looking the plain object over.

“One of the Marauder’s best accomplishments.” Sirius grinned proudly. “A Communication Mirror!”

“A what?” Harry asked and Sirius was happy to tell the story of how the pair of mirrors came to be. It seemed it was mostly Lupin’s work with some minor inputs from Sirius and Harry’s father, James.

“Why didn’t you make more?” Penny questioned as she looked the item over. “Something like this could have made a fortune.” Harry was also interested in the answer to Penny’s question and looked at Sirius expectantly.

“Well…actually.” Sirius rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “It was complete luck that it worked at all.”

“What’s that mean?” Harry inquired and Sirius went on to explain that the Marauders had gone through well over a hundred mirrors to eventually make the pair that worked. But even Remus didn’t know why the pair worked out. They’d attempted to re-create the mirrors dozens of times but even with the same Enchantments and Charms, no other pair ever worked out.

“I see.” Penny replied as she stared at the mirror in her hands. “A pity, it could’ve revolutionized Magical Communication.”

“Do you think Moony still has the notes for this?” Harry asked staring at the second mirror in his hands with a near manic gleam of curiosity and interest in his eyes. They almost appeared to be glowing with how intensely Harry was staring at the mirror in his hands.

“Knowing Moony, probably?” Sirius nodded with a small shrug. “He’s a meticulous note keeper. He probably still has them stashed away with his old school things.”

“Can you ask him to send me a copy of them?” Harry requested as he looked the mirror over. “This sounds like a worthwhile challenge.” The young Artificer grinned as he had several thoughts and theories already flying around his head.

“Sure thing, Harry.” Sirius laughed at the look on his Godson’s face. That gleam in his eyes was always followed by some kind of creation of Harry’s. Though even Sirius was curious if his Godson could crack the mystery of the Communication Mirrors. Sirius took back one mirror and told Harry to keep the other, in case of emergency. Should anything else happen; Harry was to contact Sirius with the mirror and inform him of it. If Sirius was called he’d make sure to come to Hogwarts and retrieve Harry with all haste. Regardless of whether or not Hogwarts was closing. Several minutes later and the adults had left while Harry and Penny went to practice their Wandless Magic in the hidden workshop.

Many students were rounded up and punished when the Aurors’ search turned up items that were banned in the school. Only two were Dark Items, from two Seventh Year Slytherins, the rest mostly being alcohol like Fire Whiskey. Other than that nothing else was uncovered and classes resumed as normal for the most part. Aurors patrolled the halls at night instead of Prefects and the red robed Wizards and Witches were stationed around the castle at strategic positions. There hadn’t been another attack since Colin Creevey; the First Year had been treated with a Mandrake Draught that had been brought in from St. Mungos. When questioned about what he’d seen, the boy had only been able to recall seeing a large pair of yellow eyes through his camera and then waking up in the Hospital Wing.

“Yellow eyes don’t help narrow it down much.” Penny groaned as she was looking through multiple tomes about Magical Creatures. A petrifying gaze was a rare trait even among the multitudes of Magical Beasts in the world. But Penny couldn’t find any creature capable of living a thousand years or breeding successfully in isolation for the same length of time that also had said gaze.

“Maybe it’s a hybrid?” Harry mused as he was waiting for the Circuit Base lines to cool on his second prototype knife. “Slytherin doesn’t come off as entirely sane to me from what I’ve read.”

“That means it could be almost anything though.” Penny almost whined. “Magical Creature breeding can happen between species that have no relation to each other at all; as long as very specific conditions are met at least.”

“Maybe we should ask Hagrid?” Harry pondered; the gentle giant was a fount of knowledge when it came to Magical Creatures after all.

“It couldn’t hurt.” Penny agreed as she watched Harry pick up his new knife.

“Just let me run a few tests with this first.” Harry grinned as he produced a Lumos Charm. A second later and the Artificer swiped the blade of the knife through the ball of light. The light noticeably shrank and got dimmer, but still remained. “Progress!” Harry cheered as he looked at the light.

“Congratulations, Harry!” Penny clapped for him.

“Let’s try it again, how many swings until the Lumos Charm is extinguished?” Harry wondered as he passed the blade through the light again. This time though, nothing changed about the Charm. “What?” Harry asked confused. He swiped through the light a few more times with no results. “Why isn’t it working?” He muttered to himself before looking over the knife.

“Something wrong, Harry?” Penny asked.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Harry shouted and Penny started and almost fell out of her chair.

“What? What happened?!” Penny asked a second later as she tried to calm her heart rate.

“It’s inert! Completely inert!” Harry stated loudly a look of confusion on his face.

“What do you mean?” Penny asked as she stood from her chair and walked over to him.

“The knife, it’s not Magical anymore, it’s just a chunk of inert metal alloy in the shape of a knife.” Harry replied as he showed her the prototype. Even to Penny’s untrained eyes the knife just looked…dull, for lack of a better term.

“What happened to it?” Penny questioned curiously. Harry shook his head before he started looking over it more thoroughly.

“It burned out.” Harry spoke up a minute later. “The Array and the Circuit Base lines, all of them are blackened.”

“So it just…broke?” Penny asked and got a nod from Harry.

“That’s basically it.” Harry sighed heavily. “The Array was too much for the material. One use and it burned out the Oulm. It didn’t even disperse the Lumos Charm and it still burned out.”

“But it weakened it…that’s still progress right?” Penny encouraged and Harry smiled at the blonde.

“Yeah, it’s still progress. Just need a better Magical Metal as the base. What I wouldn’t do for some Orichalcum. But Alchemists are very rarely willing to part with any they make. The stuff that’s on the market costs way too much because of it. Not to mention the stories you hear about low-grade Orichalcum. It’s almost like fool’s gold. It looks like what you want, but in the end it’s pretty much worthless.” Harry sighed as he thought about it.

“Maybe take a break and work on something else?” Penny suggested. “You said the first prototype might have another use if you can work it out. Plus that new Trinket you’ve been working on seems interesting.” Harry nodded as he turned to the first ‘failed’ prototype and the host of small metal discs that were strewn across another table in the workshop. Walking over Harry looked through the papers on the discs while Penny looked over the Trinkets.

“With all the Aurors here I got a few ideas to potentially make their jobs a bit easier.” Harry admitted as he sat down and moved one of the discs in front of him. “If I can work out the ‘failed’ knife’s Array and give it a different Form, I might have my first Professional customer with the Auror department.”

“What about the discs?” Penny asked while looking at them and seeing the lines of Runes on them.

“One time use Trinkets, they’re meant to burn out as part of their activation.” Harry remarked as he held the disc in front of him. “I’ve basically put the Runic Form of about a dozen different ‘Dispelling’ Charms on them. Place them on a Warded Object, like a door or building, and then activate them and they should, in theory anyway, break the Ward. Though to be honest it might only be temporary for large-scale Warded areas like Family Manors or the Ministry.”

“That would still be a great help to the Aurors, Harry.” Penny praised the Artificer. “A lot of times criminals are able to escape because they Ward their hiding places and the Aurors are forced to determine what Wards are in place and then they have to break them. The criminals usually have enough time to escape before the Aurors get passed the Wards.”

“Yeah, I remember Tonks telling us about that. She’s kind of the reason I want to make this stuff to begin with. I want to make her job easier and if possible I want her to be safer.” Harry mused, his face set in a fond grin as he thought about the bubbly Metamorph. Penny smiled at Harry for his thoughtfulness; trust the young Artificer to be thinking about those close to him when he decided to pursue a completely new topic of research.

“If you want we can go see Hagrid later.” Penny offered and Harry shook his head.

“Nah, we should at least ask him about the hybrid possibility. If anyone at Hogwarts would know it would probably be him.” Harry nodded as he stood up and followed Penny out of the hidden workshop. The pair made their way through the castle and across the grounds unimpeded. Knocking on the door to the large wooden hut led to the barking of Fang, which Harry was used to from his occasional visits.

“Fang, back! Back you ruddy coward!” Hagrid hollered from inside and the door opened to show the large, hairy man.

“Harry, Penny great ter see ya!” Hagrid greeted as he smiled at the pair. “Come in. come in. Bit chilly ter be standing outside.” The pair entered the warm, cozy hut and sat at the large table. Fang was quick to place his large head in Penny’s lap and get his ears scratched by the blonde.

“Hagrid we were wondering about what Colin Creevey said about what he saw when he was petrified.” Harry started and Hagrid sat down with a kettle of tea prepared.

“I’ve been looking into what Slytherin’s Monster could potentially be but, as you no doubt know, a petrifying gaze is a very rare trait. Then Harry brought up the idea that the monster may be some kind of hybrid. So we thought we’d come talk to you about the possibility since you know so much about Magical Creatures.” Penny informed the giant man of the situation.

“Aww, yer two are gonna make me blush.” Hagrid smiled brightly at them for the praise to his knowledge.

“Well it’s true.” Harry smiled at his large friend. “Any ideas on a potential hybrid that could have a petrifying gaze and still be some kind of Magical Snake?”

“Hrmm, that’s a difficult question.” Hagrid mumbled. “Breedin’ two different creatures together doesn’t always result in what ye might be wanting. Only a few creatures have a gaze like that. To cross it with a Magical Snake would be difficult.” He mused with a thoughtful look on his face. “One of the only Magical Snakes to have a Magical Ability related to its eyes is the Basilisk, but a single look from them kills instead of petrifies.”

“Could it be some kind of hybrid of a Basilisk and another Magical Snake?” Penny questioned and Hagrid looked deep in thought.

“That’d be possible, but very difficult.” Hagrid spoke while thinking. “Slytherin was a Parselmouth though; he could have potentially talked two different snakes into breedin’.”

“Basilisks are classified as Class Five Magical Creatures, Wizard Killers, aren’t they? A single Basilisk would be a horrifying monster to stash away. But how would this ‘Heir’ keep it from killing them with a look?” Harry wondered.

“A good question, Harry.” Hagrid nodded. “My pet Aragog was blamed for the death of poor Myrtle back when the Chamber was last opened, but Aragog never hurt no one.”

“Aragog?” Penny questioned and Harry was almost afraid to ask.

“My pet Acromantula. Misunderstood creatures they are, they’re intelligent when raised by people.” Hagrid explained and both Harry and Penny paled.

“So they killed Aragog for the death of the student?” Harry asked and Hagrid shook his head.

“No, Aragog lives in the Forbidden Forest with his family.” Hagrid informed them. “He was so lonely that I got him a wife a few years later.”

“Hagrid, Acromantulas are illegal to keep without a license.” Penny stated and Hagrid nodded.

“I don’t keep them; they just live in the forest. S’long as Aragog is alive they won’t leave the forest or hurt nobody.” Hagrid assured but that didn’t make Harry or Penny feel any better.

“So we’re still not sure what kind of beast Slytherin left in the chamber.” Harry tried to get the conversation back on topic. “Just that it can petrify with its gaze, has bright yellow eyes, and is possibly a hybrid of Magical Snake. None of which helps us identify it.”

“There are just too many possibilities.” Hagrid apologized while shaking his head. Penny and Harry stayed to chat with the Groundskeeper for a while longer. They found out that Hagrid had been expelled the last time the Chamber had been opened and Aragog had indeed been blamed for the death of the student, Myrtle.

“We should probably look into Basilisks, just in case.” Penny commented as she and Harry walked back up to the castle.

“Agreed, it seems like this could be some hybrid or offshoot of a Basilisk.” Harry nodded as they entered the castle. “I’ll need to keep working, even if it isn’t much, it’ll be better to have something than nothing if the monster finds us.”

“I’m sure the Aurors will be able to prevent more attacks, Harry, at least I hope so.” Penny replied as she noticed the ones in the entryway.

“What’s this?” Harry questioned as he saw a large piece of parchment on the door of the Great Hall. Penny and Harry both read the parchment and Harry groaned afterwards.

“It’s not the worst idea, Harry.” Penny tried to comfort him.

“It is if that peacock is the one ‘attempting’ to teach or head it.” Harry groused. The parchment was informing the student body of the upcoming ‘Dueling Club’ that Professor Lockhart was going to start up in December. The absolute joke of a Wizard, in Harry’s opinion, was just going to use this to try and make a spectacle of himself. That much Harry knew already but Penny seemed to want to at least ‘sit in’ on it to look out for the younger students.

“We’ll just watch, Harry.” Penny stated with a small smile.

“Fine, but I already know that pompous windbag is going to be a joke.” Harry sighed as he agreed to check out the ‘Dueling Club’ when it started.

“Well, then how about we get some more Wandless practice in and really show them how to be prepared?” Penny questioned with a raised eyebrow. Harry distinctly felt like he was being challenged by his Prefect friend.

“Is that a challenge I hear in your tone, Prefect Clearwater?” Harry asked as he cocked his own eyebrow.

“Maybe it was, maybe it was.” Penny giggled as she and Harry made their way towards the hidden workshop to practice.

“I’ve learned a new Charm or two that should serve me well.” Harry grinned as they walked along.

“You don’t say…” Penny smiled. “So have I.”

“We’ll see who is learning the best in a bit then.” Harry chuckled.

“Fair warning, my mana was at ‘4,890’ yesterday morning.” Penny smiled pleasantly.

“Skill can triumph over power.” Harry replied evenly. ‘She’s at ‘4,890’? I was at ‘1,610’ this morning. How long will it take me to catch up?’ He thought to himself as they made their way into the workshop again. Looking over at his worktable and the various sheets of notes and Runic Sequences, Harry confirmed to himself that he was going to try and make the next push in his Alchemy soon.

“Ready yet, Harry?” Penny questioned as she stretched a bit to limber up for their duel.

“Yeah, just give me a few moments to stretch.” Harry replied as he tore his eyes away from his worktable. ‘Sylvuan is harder to transmute, but it’s much more durable than Oulm. It has higher Magic Concentration as well, so maybe it can hold the Array properly?’ He mused as he went through some stretches. ‘I’d like to have an actual prototype sword by the end of the school year if possible.’

“Are you ready?” Penny asked as she raised her right hand.

“Any time, Penny.” Harry replied with far more confidence than he felt about this duel.

“You should work on your ‘poker face’ Harry.” Penny laughed as she launched the first spell, a Flipendo, of the duel.

“Noted.” Harry replied as he smacked the Flipendo aside and breathed out the large plume of smoke from the ‘Fluctus Fumus’ spell, then brought up a Protego to block Penny’s next spell. At least his mana would probably increase a little after he ran himself ragged trying to keep up with Penny’s much larger reserves.

-End Chapter-

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Well Harry’s ‘common sense’ has led to the proper authorities making moves against the ‘Heir’ right off the bat. How will that affect the story? Will the Basilisk be unleashed again? If so who will be the next victim? Will someone else die this time around? We’ll find out. Also Harry has made some progress! Then went back a half-step when the progress also failed, right after succeeding! Argh, the frustration of a Craftsman/Inventor! Will Harry succeed in making a prototype sword by the end of the year? Will Lockhart make a show of himself at the ‘Dueling Club’? Yes…of course. What will Harry make of the Communication Mirror? So many things are happening and we’re not even halfway through the Year! Poor Harry…he just can’t have a simple school year.

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 1,610

Tonks – 5,876 (Outdated)

Penelope – 4,890

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 15: Dueling Club, More Prototypes

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The Dueling Club takes place. Harry makes a bit more progress. Another attack?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 15 – Dueling Club, More Prototypes

“This is so stupid.” Harry sighed as he watched the blonde peacock make a spectacle of himself.

“It’s a bit much.” Penny agreed as she watched Lockhart on top of the Dueling Platform. The Defense Professor was going on about his skills and accomplishments before having Professor Snape of all people join him on the platform for a demonstration.

“A Galleon says that Snape wins.” Harry offered dully and Penny turned her head slightly to look at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Sucker’s bet.” Penny flatly replied and Harry shrugged before they both refocused on the ‘Duel’ that was about to start. It was over in a single spell, ‘Expelliarmus’, from Snape. Lockhart lost his wand and was sent tumbling onto the platform. Harry rolled his eyes as the pompous blonde picked himself up and then tried to act like he’d ‘let’ Snape disarm him.

“Now, let’s have our first student pair try Dueling.” Lockhart announced before he quickly locked onto Harry. “Mr. Potter, please come up to the platform!”

“Do I have to?” Harry muttered to Penny who gave him a commiserating look before nudging him gently. “Fine…” He huffed as he made his way up to the platform and took his place. Snape, for some reason, had chosen Draco to be Harry’s opponent. The two Second Years met in the middle of the platform, as per tradition, to exchange a pre-duel dialogue. Or, in Harry’s view, a traditional excuse for ‘talking shite’.

“Scared Potter?” Draco asked with a self-assured smirk.

“Bored actually.” Harry replied and was mildly amused to see Draco’s face turn red. The two then turned from each other and walked to their respective ends of the platform.

“I’ll count down from three; when I get to one you may begin!” Lockhart announced, though the man seemed to be enjoying the attention he was receiving more than he was paying attention to the ‘duel’. “Three…two…one!”

“Everte Statum!” Draco called as he cast a wave of white magic towards Harry. The spell harmlessly splashed against the Protego that was suddenly in front of Harry. The young Artificer looked the very picture of bored while everyone there, except for a few that had seen his Wandless Magic in person before, stared wide eyed and with jaws dropped.

“Simple enough.” Harry stated before Draco found his wand wrenched from his grip and flying into Harry’s hand. “I believe I win.” Snape looked like he’d swallowed a lemon while everyone else just stared for a bit. It wasn’t until Penny started clapping that the moment was broken and all the students, barring a few Slytherins, started to clap and cheer.

“But…how?” Draco muttered as he looked at his wand in Harry’s hand.

“Wandless Summoning Charm.” Harry informed the blonde before handing the wand back to the other boy. Harry was about to step off the platform when Penny stepped onto Draco’s vacated spot. “Penny?”

“I kind of want to show off since you got to.” Penny smiled and Harry nodded. Internally the Artificer was already grumbling though. Penny wanted to show everyone a copy of their practice sessions, which usually involved a defeated Harry sitting or lying on the floor trying to catch his breath. All the while Penny would be only moderately winded and would have a grin on her face.

“I get the feeling this has an ulterior motive.” Harry stated as the two met in the middle of the platform.

“Can’t have you getting a big head now, can we?” Penny smiled pleasantly as the two turned and made their way to the designated positions. Harry rolled his eyes with a sigh before turning to face Penny.

“Right then, uh, three…two…one!” Lockhart counted down again, startled at losing control of the course of the Club. Harry instantly fired off a Flipendo at Penny and the blonde only covered her hand in what looked like a localized Protego, before she smacked the Jinx away into the ceiling.

“Are you even trying?” Penny asked with a flat look at Harry. The boy was given no time to respond before four fireballs materialized around Penny and were sent screaming down the platform towards him. Harry snapped into the full-focus he’d developed in the many practice sessions he’d had with Penny and Tonks. Water formed around Harry, a Wandless Aguamenti Charm, before rapidly swirling around into a thick wall in front of him. The fireballs snuffed out when they came in contact with the water, each releasing small gouts of steam. Harry lashed his conjured water forward like a whip towards Penny. The Prefect smiled brightly; apparently glad to see he was taking this more seriously now, before using Finite on the conjured water.

“Well that wasn’t nice.” Harry snarked at her when his water vanished.

“Neither is this!” Penny retorted as six fireballs materialized and went rocketing towards Harry. A Protego appeared in front of Harry taking all six fireballs before being dispersed and Harry grinned at Penny, he couldn’t help but start getting into this a bit. It was so much like their regular practice sessions that he’d already tuned out the gawking crowd. Though a small part of Harry’s brain noted that Lockhart seemed to be the biggest gawker of them all.

“This straight platform is kind of ridiculous, traditional though it may be.” Harry commented as he built up a spell.

“Dueling is an art as well as a dispute settler, Harry.” Penny replied. “It’s not truly the same as a Magical Battle between Spellcasters.”

“True enough, I guess.” Harry shrugged before inhaling deeply. Nobody in the Great Hall was expecting what Harry did next. It would actually be talked about for years to come at Hogwarts. The Second Year threw his head forward and exhaled a blast of fire not unlike a Dragon towards Penny. Lockhart literally threw himself from the platform and landed in a heap on the stone floor of the Hall. Penny, in contrast, appeared only slightly surprised before grinning and raising both her arms high above her head. The dueling platform cracked and a large section of it came up and turned ninety degrees to act as a shield for Penny.

“Careful Harry, I might think you’re actually trying to harm me!” Penny playfully accused her friend. The fire died down quickly enough and Penny let the platform drop back into place. It was still charred and broken, of course, but it was at least back in the area it had come from.

“Says the girl that was lobbing fireballs at me not even a minute ago?” Harry questioned. “I thought you just wanted to play with fire?”

“Try some of my new Spellcraft, Harry.” Penny grinned before swinging her right arm upwards towards the ceiling. A sudden, powerful wind began to blow and dust was picked up from the stone of the Great Hall floor. Students shrieked or yelled as their robes billowed about in the gale. Harry quickly saw the point of this particular spell.

“Did you just make a miniature pseudo-sandstorm?!” Harry exclaimed as he performed the ‘Impervious’ Charm on his own face. Difficult to do to be sure, but still possible if one understood the spell and how to apply it.

“I call it ‘Sand Veils All’, do you like it?” Penny asked through the wind and the dust.

“Wait a minute, are you saying this is an Original Spell?!” Harry asked in surprise. He didn’t know Penny was that far into Arithmancy!

“Yes, though it is based off of two other Charms.” Penny was grinning, though no one could actually see it through her spell.

“Very impressive Penny!” Harry praised her genuinely. “Maybe you can teach me sometime?” He questioned with a laugh of his own.

“If you’re good.” Penny teased and Harry felt his eye twitch at the ‘mothering’ tone. “Catch.”

“Catch?” Harry repeated before he threw up two Protego shields at the same time, his eyes wide as small balls of compact sand pelted the double-layered shield. Did she just…? ‘You’re truly amazing Penny.’ Harry thought to himself as he analyzed what his friend had just done. Her ‘Sand Veils All’ was a spell that could, itself, be used as a medium to cast other spells! That took not only great focus and considerable power, but the very ability to use it that way had to be worked into the original spell to begin with.

“You can’t keep your Protego up forever, Harry!” Penny chimed as she continued to pelt his shields with ‘Sand Bullets’.

“STOP!” Harry exclaimed as he released the widest ranged ‘Immobulus’ Charm he could. The sand in the air between him and Penny instantly froze in the air. Harry dropped his double Protego and slammed his hands together in a loud clap. All the static dust in the air was drawn into one point in space and began to pile up and compress. In less than five seconds a large rock of compressed particulates was floating a few meters in front of Harry. “Now you catch!” He laughed as he launched the hefty stone at Penny.

“Sure.” Penny smiled at the oncoming stone, before said stone stopped midair and then smashed into the ground. A small flame appeared above Penny’s upturned palm and quickly grew into a beach ball sized fireball.

“Are you trying to be some kind of Elementalist, or just a Pyromancer that dabbles in other spells?” Harry teased the blonde as he conjured water again and had it flow before him in a whirling shield.

“I believe that’s enough.” Professor Flitwick intoned vanishing both Penny’s fireball and Harry’s water shield with a simple flick of his wand. The two finally realized that the rest of the ‘Dueling Club’ had backed away from the platform and were now closer to the walls of the Great Hall. Quickly coming to the understanding that they’d gotten a bit out of hand the two apologized to their Head of House.

“Sorry Professor.” Penny and Harry apologized as they gave short bows to their Professor.

“Quite alright students.” Flitwick nodded back before beaming at the both of them. “I must say though; bravo Ms. Clearwater and Mr. Potter! I haven’t seen Dueling like that in years! I’ve never seen it done Wandlessly and Silently as well; especially not when both participants haven’t even graduated yet! Bravo, bravo! Good show both of you!” The Charms Master applauded and Penny and Harry both accepted his praise, it was saying a lot coming from such a respected Professional Duelist after all.

With a few flicks of his wand Flitwick had repaired the dueling platform and seamlessly taken control of the Dueling Club. Lockhart had tried to interject but all of the students had seen the man throw himself off the platform and land in an undignified heap. Platform repaired Flitwick took over instruction of the Club and set up pairs of students to practice with each other. Harry had to admit, with a competent instructor like Flitwick, the Dueling Club was actually interesting. As the students were waiting their turns to duel Harry and Penny became the center of attention for many of their peers.

“Harry!” Hermione called out as she stood before the two. “You really can use Wandless Magic! I thought people were just exaggerating!”

“That was awesome!” Mandy cheered as she looked between her two Housemates.

“I thought your original spell was amazing, Penny!” Padma gushed to the Prefect.

“It was fun!” Luna smiled at them both, a look of excitement on her face.

“Thank you.” Penny smiled at the younger girls. Harry nodded to them as well with a small smile.

“Can you teach me how to use Wandless Magic Harry?” Hermione asked her eyes gleaming with the desire for new knowledge. Nobody seemed to notice the twitch on Penny’s face when she heard Hermione ask that.

“Sorry, Hermione, Potter Family Secret.” Harry replied as he held his hands up.

“What does that mean?” Hermione inquired looking genuinely confused.

“It means only members of the Potter Family will be taught how to perform Wandless Magic, you dumb Mudblood.” Draco snarked at Hermione from outside of their group’s little ‘huddle’. It didn’t escape Harry’s notice that the blonde was close enough to be able to overhear if Harry had actually started explaining it. Too bad for him that Harry’s pronouncement of it as a Family Secret meant it would be seen as Theft of Magic in the eyes of the Law. No Magical House wanted to even be accused of that crime, much less actually charged or convicted. You’d be run out of the Magical Community faster than you could say ‘Nox’.

“Malfoy! Get out of here you bigoted ponce!” Mandy yelled at the Slytherin. Draco scoffed at them all as he walked away and went to mingle with his own Housemates. “He’s such a prat!”

“Wait…” Hermione started; her face in its ‘thinking’ look. “If it’s a Potter Family Secret…then why does Penny know how to do it?” All of the girls turned to look at the Prefect and the older girl looked between all of them with a neutral expression.

“Because I taught her how.” Harry spoke up diverting all attention from Penny and onto him. “I wanted to be able to teach it to any potential future children. Tonks and Penny wanted to learn and they’re my oldest friends and they’ve both promised not to teach it to anyone. That’s how they know.”

“Are you two Betrothed?” Luna asked innocently curious. Penny’s and Harry’s eyes went wide at the question. Mandy saw their reactions and a teasing smile made its way onto her face.

“Mandy…don’t.” Padma placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder before she could speak. Padma was very familiar with Mandy’s playful nature.

“Aww, spoilsport!” Mandy pouted at Padma, but the Indian Witch wouldn’t be swayed.

“Oh…oh my…” Hermione uttered as she quickly put the ‘pieces’ together. “I-I see, to learn you have to be or ‘become’ a member of the Potter Family. Please forgive my rudeness, Harry.” Hermione’s face was a luminous red at the moment.

“Hermione…it isn’t like…‘that’.” Harry tried to explain. Penny wasn’t much help as she was almost refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the moment. The rest of the first Dueling Club meeting passed with few comments, but there was a lot of ‘knowing’ looks from Mandy and Luna simply smiled serenely at Harry and Penny. If Luna wasn’t such a sweetheart, Harry would almost think she was doing it on purpose.

-The Next Weekend-

“Ok…let’s go down the list.” Harry muttered to himself as he prepared to take his Alchemy just a bit further. “Silver, check. Powdered Dragon Bone, check. Iron, check. Cobalt, check. Powdered Quartz, check. That’s everything I need.”

It was time to try and transmute Sylvuan. This Alchemic Metal was a step up from Oulm and a bit harder to make. Not to mention the cost of using Silver as a base material. But Sirius was all for supporting Harry’s Enchanting and so a small fraction of the Black Family Fortune was set aside for Harry by his Godfather. Harry vowed he’d make Sirius’ ‘investment’ worth the man’s while someday.

“Okay, second Transmutation Circle plate, set up. Now measure out the materials, I need five hundred grams of each metal and three hundred seventy five grams each of both powdered dragon bone and powdered quartz crystal. Harry was going to attempt multiple transmutations today in hopes of getting more samples of viable Sylvuan to try and forge with. After measuring out his ingredients Harry placed the first set onto the Transmutation Circle plate and poured his mana into the Alchemic Array. The Transmutation Circle began to glow a bright blue as Harry’s mana filled it. After a few seconds the materials all began to glow and slowly merge together. Small sparks of magical discharge came from the materials as they were transmuted into a new combined state and when the process finished Harry pulled his hands away from the plate. The newly transmuted metal was giving off small bits of light that floated about like dust particles. All in all the process seemed to be the same as it was for Oulm, just with more material, and a good amount more mana from Harry’s end. At least three times more mana went into transmuting Sylvuan than Oulm.

After the glowing of the metal stopped Harry removed the silvery-blue metal and looked it over. It had the color the book mentioned so that was already a good sign. The true test would be its reaction to mana. Harry poured a bit of his mana into the ingot of ‘hopefully’ Sylvuan and kept it up for several seconds. The moment the metal glowed, making the blueish silver metal shine even more, Harry beamed at the success of his transmutation.

“Yeah!” Harry cheered as he held up the ingot of Sylvuan. “I did it!” After he calmed down a minute later he was very glad no one had been in the workshop with him to see that. It would’ve somehow found its way back to Tonks and he’d be teased about it for who knows how long. Having had one success the young Artificer prepared to transmute the rest of his materials. After that he would test out two different ideas with his next prototypes.

It had become clear to Harry that Circuit Base wasn’t going to cut it for the Runic Array he wanted his Artifact Sword to hold. So now he had two different paths to consider. One involved moving up the Circuit formula and creating something both more ‘powerful’ and much more expensive. Vitris Auri was a much better Runic Circuit material than Circuit Base. The only problem was making it and the cost of materials. Vitris Auri just so happened to have Gold as its base material. So the cost was going to be high for a potential failure. His other idea was to use Oulm as the Circuit Material and use the Magical Metal’s transference properties while leaving the actual ‘handling’ of the Runic Array to the much stronger Sylvuan. Both had their own merits and ‘theoretically’ both had a chance at success.

“Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Harry mused as he set about transmuting more Sylvuan ingots. He only had a few days left before he went back to Wood End Cottage for Yule Break. He wanted to have the prototypes at least made, even if not tested, before then. Seven more transmutations left Harry with eight viable ingots of Sylvuan. He was happy that he hadn’t messed any of them up since you couldn’t get the Silver back from Sylvuan without a very specific form of Alchemy that dealt with the ‘Breakdown and Separation’ of Magical Compounds. Harry didn’t have access to such specific, and complex, Alchemy so the simple fact he hadn’t screwed up was a relief.

“Now to the forge.” Harry thought aloud as he gathered up the ingots and moved into the smithy. Getting the fire going Harry waited until the heat was at the right temperature and placed the first ingot within the forge. Once the metal was a yellowish-red he used metal tongs to pull it out and take it over to his anvil. Harry poured his mana into the hammer with every swing. The ping of metal striking metal became the only sound in the hidden workshop for the next several hours. Harry would later be reprimanded for missing lunch and almost being late for dinner by Penny; after said Prefect almost beat down the door to the workshop to get Harry’s attention.

-The Next Day-

“I’m just making sure you don’t stay in here all day and miss meals.” Penny informed Harry as she sat down at the ‘Study Area’ of the hidden workshop.

“I said it was an accident.” Harry huffed as he pulled out his Alchemy supplies. The eight ingots of Sylvuan had all been forged into knives, or the shape of knives at least since none of them had an edge yet, and were waiting to be etched with Runic Arrays and Circuit Lines. Etching only took about an hour thanks to the Alchemic Rune Kit Tonks had gifted to him last Christmas. The etching tool was actually made of Adamantite! There was no Magical Metal stronger in the entire world, so it easily etched other metals including Magical ones. Pulling his Alchemy Book closer Harry went over the steps of making Vitris Auri again and set about attempting to make the Magical Material.

“One hundred grams of Gold, eighty grams of powdered Quartz, twenty grams of dried Ugi Grass stabilizer. Melt the Gold first; pour mana into the liquefied metal as you add the Quartz and the stabilizer. Continue to supply mana as you stir the compound. After stirring for three minutes to even out the contents then you transmute it with Transmutation Circle plate number three.” Harry spoke out the directions as he slowly performed them. Penny smiled fondly at him from where she was sitting and going over her homework. She’d bet that he didn’t even realize he started speaking when he got wrapped up in his Enchanting. She found it rather adorable to be honest.

The blue glow of the Transmutation Circle lit up part of the workshop for just under a minute before Harry finished the final step of making Vitris Auri. The new Circuit Compound was still liquid in its vessel and Harry left it on the magical equivalent of a Bunsen burner he’d found in a supply closet in an abandoned classroom to keep it warm. Filling his Alchemic Pen with the golden material Harry carefully and precisely set about filling in the Runic Array and Circuit Lines of the first Sylvuan prototype. Almost thirty minutes later Harry finished and emptied his Alchemic Pen of the remaining Vitris Auri. Now it was time to try his next idea.

Harry still had some Oulm left over from his first prototypes so he quickly set about getting it hot enough in the forge to liquefy it. He had to carefully watch the Oulm so that he didn’t ‘melt’ the Magic out of the low-grade Magical Metal. Extracting it too late would leave him with inert metal that was useless to Enchanting. Once he had the Oulm liquefied he filled his Alchemic Pen and set to work filling in the Runic Array and Circuit Lines of the next Sylvuan knife. A half hour later and Harry was sitting back and letting the Oulm cool and solidify into the knife.

“Harry, it’s time for lunch.” Penny spoke up as she stood up from the table she was sitting at.

“Alright, I need a break anyway.” Harry agreed and the two left to the Great Hall to fill their stomachs. Luna sat with them at lunch and proceeded to tell them about Christmas at the Rookery, the Lovegood Family ancestral home. Apparently Luna lived near the Weasley Family and the two Families often got together during the Holidays. Harry thought the traditions of the Magical World would be either normal-ish or completely odd. There didn’t seem to be much in-between in the Magical World. But it seemed certain traditions were practiced by some Families while others weren’t and vice versa depending on the Family in question. It also seemed that the vast majority of students were heading home this year. Harry would bet money that it was because of the whole ‘Heir of Slytherin’ investigation currently still in-progress.

As of now there hadn’t been another attack. Harry suspected that was because of the Auror presence within Hogwarts. It was hard to hide a monster moving through the school when all the portraits and ghosts, plus the Aurors were watching as much of the school as possible. Hopefully this ‘Heir’ would wise up and just leave everyone alone, or get caught soon, Harry wasn’t particular about which. After lunch Harry and Penny returned to the hidden workshop. Harry quickly set about testing his new prototypes.

“First up, the Vitris Auri and Sylvuan knife.” Harry stated as he created a Lumos Charm. A pass through the light with the blade and the Charm flickered and lost two thirds of its size and brightness. “Yes! Progress!” Harry cheered and Penny clapped for him from her table. “I better check the Array.” Harry thought aloud as he started inspecting the prototype.

“Is it still working, Harry?” Penny asked a couple of minutes later.

“It appears to be.” Harry replied. “I didn’t find any evidence of damage. Let’s see how many swings it takes to snuff out an average Lumos Charm.” A ball of light appeared next to Harry and he swung the prototype through the spell. The Charm flickered and shrank to only a third of its original size and brightness. A second pass through the Charm dispersed it entirely. “Just a quick check…” Harry mumbled to himself as he inspected the prototype for damage. A minute later saw Harry whooping with joy. “No damage! It works! It works!”

“Congratulations Harry!” Penny cheered for him as well.

“I’ll have to put it through some durability tests, see just how much it can take, but if it holds up I’ll try combining two of the ‘Base Arrays’ into one functional Array and applying it to the next Sylvuan prototype.” The young Artificer was practically glowing with glee at his progress.

“What about the other prototype?” Penny asked pointing at the Oulm Circuit Sylvuan knife.

“Right, right, almost forgot in the excitement.” Harry shook his head to refocus. “Let’s test this one out.” Another Lumos Charm was conjured and Harry passed the Oulm Circuit knife through the spell. The Charm wavered when the blade was in contact with it, but it settled after the blade cleared the space. Neither size nor brightness had diminished.

“It did something at least?” Penny offered and Harry looked over the Array to check for any damage. Not seeing any after a few minutes Harry stabbed the Lumos Charm and watched it waver with the blade occupying the same space. Even as it wavered the Charm never went out, even after a solid minute of exposure to the prototype.

“How odd.” Harry mused as he looked the knife over. “Same Runic Array, but different materials have gotten different reactions. Fascinating.” The Artificer was smiling just as brightly as when his other prototype had succeeded. Penny could only smile fondly at Harry. Even when his work didn’t quite ‘work’ he still found it interesting and was left with more things to try out and test. He didn’t let failure stop him; in fact it seemed to spur him on, like he was taking it as a challenge. She had to admit, that work ethic was rather attractive.

“So what now?” Penny asked breaking Harry from his staring at the prototype. Harry thought about it for a moment and his eyes fell onto his prototype Oulm knife that had ‘failed’. But the knife did have the interesting effect of leaving his fingers with the ‘pins and needles’ feeling when they were tapped by the edge of the blade.

“I’m going to test something else.” Harry grinned as he brought the edge of the Oulm Circuit knife to his left pinky finger. He tapped the digit with the blade and instantly lost feeling in the finger. “Interesting.” He grinned as he looked between his finger and the prototype.

“What did you do, Harry?” Penny questioned him and Harry turned to her with a smile.

“I believe I’ve just temporarily removed feeling from my left pinky.” Harry informed the Prefect. He did not expect her to suddenly be at his side and looking over the digit with a critical eye.

“What do you mean ‘removed feeling’?” Penny demanded as she tried to find anything wrong with the finger.

“Nothing serious, Penny, I just can’t feel it right now.” Harry tried to placate the older girl but she just looked at him incredulously.

“You might have just magically severed your nerves!” Penny raised her voice to express her worry for him. “This could be VERY serious! We’re going to the Hospital Wing!”

“I’m sure it’ll wear off in…” Harry tried to say but Penny was having none of it. She latched her hand around his left wrist and proceeded to drag him out of the hidden workshop.

“We’re going and that’s final!” Penny stated with finality as Harry stopped resisting and let her lead him along. He supposed it was nice knowing how much Penny cared about him. But he also didn’t much care for having the school Mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey, fussing over him as she was want to do for the students. Oh well, if it helped Penny stop worrying he’d go. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for her and Tonks if it helped them out, now that he thought about it.

‘It’s good to have such great friends.’ Harry thought to himself as he followed along with Penny. ‘Though I hope she releases the death grip on my wrist soon, since I’m coming along willingly.’

She didn’t.

-End Chapter-

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Progress! Technically double ‘progress’, maybe, if you squint? So Harry and Penny had a nice little duel, Tom’s plans are being shafted by the presence of Aurors in the castle, and now it’s time for Christmas! How will our Artificer’s Yule Break turn out? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 16: Yule Break, The Two Knives

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time for Christmas with Family! Maybe some more progress and testing as well?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 16 – Yule Break, the Two Knives

Harry and Penny sat together in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express as it headed back towards London. Both were looking forward to seeing their families and celebrating the Holidays. Harry had brought along both of his prototypes for further testing. But at the moment he was thinking back onto his forced trip to the Hospital Wing via Penny.

-Flashback ~ Hospital Wing-

“What seems to be the problem?” Madam Pomfrey asked as Penny led Harry, by the wrist she still had a death grip on, into the Hospital Wing.

“Harry can’t feel his left pinky, Madam Pomfrey.” Penny told the Mediwitch. “I’m worried he might have some damage to his nerves.”

“Sit down, Mr. Potter, and let me see your left hand.” Pomfrey requested as Harry followed along and sat down before offering his hand. The Mediwitch ran her wand over his hand a few times and then cast a few diagnostic charms on his finger directly. “Hmm, how odd.” She commented as she tapped his pinky a few times with her wand.

“What’s odd?” Harry asked and the Mediwitch looked at him for a moment with questioning eyes.

“There is no Magic in your pinky right now, Mr. Potter.” Pomfrey informed the two students. “It’s the reason you can’t feel it or move it.” She tutted while she went over to her Potions Cabinet and brought back a small vial of transparent blue fluid. “Magic is a part of a Witch or Wizard, without it our bodies don’t function properly. This is usually displayed in the form of Magical Exhaustion; symptoms of which are lethargy, loss of coordination, and in severe cases loss of feeling in the extremities followed by unconsciousness.”

“So he gave his pinky severe Magical Exhaustion?” Penny questioned a look of confusion on her face.

“Interesting…” Harry mused as Pomfrey covered his finger in the Potion by soaking a cotton ball and then dabbing it on his pinky.

“You could have permanently injured yourself for all you knew, Harry. That’s not what I would call interesting!” Penny huffed at him and Harry looked back at her with a smile.

“I disagree, though in future I’ll make sure not to directly test on myself.” Harry promised his friend and Penny gave him a nod of acceptance.

“Magical Exhaustion wears off over time as the Witch or Wizard rests, so this injury wouldn’t have persisted.” Pomfrey informed them before turning a sharp-eyed look on Harry. “Don’t do this to yourself again, Mr. Potter. I don’t want to see you in here from your own hardheadedness.”

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey.” Harry replied as he started to get feeling back in his pinky. It seemed the Potion she’d rubbed onto his finger had worked.

-End Flashback-

“Hey Penny.” Harry spoke up as he formed a Lumos on the tip of his index finger.

“What’s up, Harry?” Penny looked up from her book seeing the Charm on his fingertip.

“Catch.” Harry grinned as he flicked his finger forward and the Lumos Charm travelled across the short space. Penny smiled as she ‘caught’ the spell on her own index finger. With a grin the Lumos Charm turned blue and was flicked back at him.

“Back at you, Harry.” Penny grinned. Harry caught the Charm next and turned the color to green before tossing it back. The two spent the next hour playing around like this. Changing the Lumos Charm’s color with each pass and eventually a second Lumos Charm was added and then a third. Near the end of their impromptu game they were juggling eight Charms between them, all different colors. Needless to say, this was a rather fun trip for the two of them.

-Platform Nine and Three Quarters-

Harry and Penny were just exiting the Hogwarts Express when they, and everyone else on the platform, noticed one person that stood out quite a lot.

“Harry! Harry! Over here! Welcome back!” Sirius’ yelled from the platform. Harry face-palmed at what his Godfather was doing and wearing.

“Well…someone is feeling the spirit of the season.” Penny giggled as Harry rolled his eyes, though a small smile was on his face.

“I feel like I should have seen this coming…” Harry trailed off with a sigh as everyone on the platform looked at his Godfather. Sirius was wearing robes in Christmas colors, red and green, a large hat with a Christmas Tree on it that twinkled with actual lights, and was holding up a sign that read, ‘Welcome back Harry!’, in bright red and green. “Really Sirius…?” The teen sighed as he and Penny made their way over to the loud, brightly dressed man.

“Hi Harry! Welcome back!” Sirius laughed loudly and Harry just huffed before letting his Godfather pull him into a hug.

“I missed you too Sirius.” Harry playfully grumbled with an overly dramatic eye roll for effect. Sirius only laughed more before releasing his Godson.

“Good to see you again, Penny.” Sirius greeted the blonde with a smile.

“Nice to see too, Sirius.” Penny returned the greeting. Sirius had insisted she call him by his name rather than Mr. Black. According to Sirius it made him feel old.

“We’ll be seeing you for Christmas, yes?” Sirius asked and Penny nodded.

“Yes for a while at least. We always go to Christmas dinner at my grandparent’s home. The whole Clearwater Family, Magic and Mundane, get together every year for it.” Penny informed and Sirius smiled in response; that was the kind of Family he always wished he’d had growing up.

“Then we’ll be seeing you for presents!” Sirius chuckled which Penny smiled at. After farewells had been exchanged Penny headed over to her parents while Sirius and Harry moved off to the side. Sirius then Side-Along Apparated Harry back to Wood End Cottage.

-Christmas Morning-

“Harry! Wake up! It’s Christmas!” Sirius yelled loudly as he burst into Harry’s room, badly startling the boy in question.

“Sirius!” Harry yelled groggily. “Don’t do that!” The boy put on his glasses as he climbed out of his warm bed.

“But it’s Christmas Harry! That means presents! The Tonks’ will be here soon too!” Sirius beamed as he tousled Harry’s bed head and then dashed from the room.

“How is a grown man more excited about Christmas than me?” Harry wondered as he stretched and yawned before heading down towards the living room and kitchen. Having a nice breakfast thanks to Tayla, Harry felt far more awake and sat next to Sirius on the couch looking at the presents under the tree. It wasn’t too long afterwards that a knock came from the door. Sirius got up to answer it and the Tonks’ came inside a few moments later.

“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks cheered as she pulled him into a hug.

“Hey Tonks.” Harry smiled as he returned the bubbly Metamorph’s hug.

“You ready for presents?” Tonks asked with a grin.

“Yes, though I think Sirius is far more excited than me.” Harry teased, only to be completely ignored by Sirius who was already sat next to the presents and ready to start passing them out.

“Not surprising.” Andromeda laughed as she told Sirius to wait for a bit longer. “He’s always been a child at heart.”

“Oi!” Sirius exclaimed making Andromeda and Ted laugh.

It wasn’t too much longer before the group was joined by Penny, who arrived via the Floo and shortly after her Remus had joined them the same way. It was with much cheer that the group started to exchange gifts, with Sirius happily passing out presents from beneath the tree. Remus had gotten Harry multiple books on Runes and Enchanting, as well as a few of his own recommendations about Magical Creatures. Harry had happily thanked the worn man as he looked through some of them. Sirius had gifted him a Journeyman Alchemist Kit, which Harry had stared at for a good long moment before practically tackling Sirius with a hug. Andromeda and Ted had been all smiles as they handed over their gift to him. Harry understood why as soon as he removed the wrapping paper and saw what it was.

“It’s brilliant.” Harry smiled as he looked at the framed photo of his parents and a young infant Harry. The sight of his parents fawning over his infant self was all the proof anyone would ever need to know how much love Lily and James had for their son.

The next gift was from Penny, it was a hand-knitted scarf in Ravenclaw colors that almost matched the one he’d made for her last year. Harry smiled as he wrapped it around his neck and thanked Penny for it. A playful ‘I guess this makes us even.’, brought laughter to the group while Penny playfully rolled her eyes at Harry.

“Mine next!” Tonks grinned as her gift was handed to Harry. He tore off the paper and then opened the box to find a book, rather old, on Broom Crafting. Harry pulled the old book out of the box and looked it over. “I remember you said you wanted to figure out how Brooms worked. When I saw that book at the secondhand store in Diagon I figured you’d like it. A lot of those kinds of books aren’t published anymore because the big broom companies have argued against them in the Wizengamot. But they can’t get rid of all the ones already published.”

“This is great Tonks!” Harry smiled happily. He’d been having a devil of a time trying to find a book on the subject through Owl Order. He was one hundred percent sure that the Broom Making companies had put protections onto their finished Brooms to protect their secrets. That was the only reason he hadn’t bought a Broom or two and tried taking them apart already.

Now that Harry, the youngest, had opened his presents the rest of the group started to open theirs. Andromeda rolled her eyes at Sirius when her gift from him turned out to be ‘sexy’ robes for her to wear for Ted. Sirius had laughed good-naturedly and even gotten a thumbs up from Ted in secret. A second gift from both Remus and Sirius had her give them genuine thanks as it was a lovely travelling cloak with Charms to keep her warm, cool, dry, and to keep it from getting dirty.

Ted had received a specially made Wizard’s Chess Set that had the playing styles of several Experts ‘saved’ into it so he could play even without a partner. The man had thanked both Remus and Sirius with a grin. This would certainly make slow days at the office more enjoyable.

Remus had gotten new robes from Andromeda and Ted seeing as most of the man’s clothes were all a bit worn. Remus had thanked them and Sirius had given him his gift next. The ‘gift’ exploded confetti into Remus’ face when he opened the box and Sirius laughed loudly.

“The prank war begins again, Moony!” Sirius laughed and Remus gave a tired shake of the head at his friend before pulling out the ‘real’ gift at the bottom of the box. It was a five hundred Galleon gift certificate to an Apothecary that specialized in brewing and selling ‘rare’ and ‘difficult’ Potions. Remus’ eyes widened at the amount but as soon as he tried to open his mouth Sirius was already shaking his head. “Non-Refundable Moony, you have to use it!” Remus gave Sirius a nod and a smile filled with gratitude. Unbeknownst to Harry, Penny, and even Tonks; this certificate would pay for Remus’ Wolfsbane Potion for a few years straight.

Penny was gifted a Magical Bookmark from Tonks. It could be separated into ten pieces and used to mark places in different books that related to each other. The Bookmark could then color code itself based on the owner’s desires. From Harry she received a book on Career Spellcraft; a tome that Harry had ordered after seeing that Penny was already capable of creating her own spells. It was filled with the basics of multiple Branches of Magic and how spells were often constructed and used for them. Everything from Transfiguration to Healing was covered in the book for any up and coming Spellcrafter.

Tonks had happily opened her gifts and smiled at Sirius and Remus when she pulled out a Color Changing Outfit. It was a set of shirt, pants, and shoes that would change color at the wearer’s desire. This particular set was even the pricier version that could do multiple colors at the same time. With Tonks being Tonks it was almost instantly tie dye and Andromeda just shook her head at her daughter’s antics. From Penny she was gifted a Charmed Bracelet that could be used to detect other Charmed Objects. These little trinkets were most often used to find lost items or to check if an object had Magic cast on it. They were good for avoiding pranks but could also warn of more malicious Curses as well, so long as said Curses weren’t hidden from such detection. Unfortunately they tended to wear out after a year at best. Tonks had put it on immediately while thanking Penny. Then she stared right at Sirius with a smug grin making the Marauder sulk about her ‘cheating’.

“Hope you like it Tonks.” Harry smiled as he handed her his gift. Tonks smiled as she removed the wrapping paper and opened the box. Pulling out what was inside revealed a set of trinkets. Tonks looked them over and Harry explained the function of the first one since Tonks had never seen it. It was a ‘Silent Step’ for her boots so her footsteps wouldn’t make noise. The next trinket was a ‘Hiding Stone’ for whatever she wanted to use it for. Finally a ‘Test Frame’ for her own personal use.

“Thank you, Harry!” Tonks beamed at him as she pulled him into a hug. Harry returned the embrace with a grin and then Sirius finally opened his own gifts.

From Ted and Andromeda a nice set of robes for when he had to be ‘Lord Black’. Thankfully they were much less ‘stuffy’ than more traditional Formal Robes. Sirius was pleased with the more modern ‘Muggle’ cut rather than the older styles that most Lords wore at formal events. From Remus a set of all of Zonko’s newest products since Sirius hadn’t had much time to catch up on the ‘pranking scene’ after coming out of his coma. The fact that the box was stuck to his hands made the Dog Animagus squawk at Remus indignantly.

“You’re the one that restarted the prank war, Padfoot.” Remus smiled pleasantly before Andromeda canceled the Sticking Charm with her wand.

Sirius’ gift from Tonks was a set of tickets good for any one Professional Quidditch Match of the 1993 season. Sirius, a Quidditch Fan since he was a boy, had hugged his surrogate niece and was already making plans to catch a summer game with Harry right after Hogwarts let out.

“Here Sirius, this is from me.” Harry smiled and Sirius happily opened his Godson’s gift. It was a small book but the title made Sirius realize he’d been pranked. ‘How to Woo a Witch, That’s Way Out of Your League’ had Remus, Ted, Tonks and Harry outright laughing. Penny and Andromeda kept their laughter to giggles; but everyone was amused knowing that Sirius and Marlie Reed had been dating for a bit now.

“Ha ha ha, very funny you!” Sirius fake laughed before breaking into a grin at his Godson. “Not too bad there, Harry! We’ll make a proper Marauder out of you yet!”

“Look in the bottom Sirius.” Harry instructed and when Sirius pulled out what was in the bottom he couldn’t help the fond smile that appeared on his face. It was a picture of him and Harry standing outside of Wood End Cottage, they’d had it taken the past summer. Under the picture was emblazoned the words, ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’.

“Thank you, Harry.” Sirius pulled his Godson into a hug and the two held each other for a bit before Sirius pulled back. “I’ll definitely have to get a frame for this. I’m putting it on the mantle.” Harry could only smile at how happy Sirius looked right now surrounded by friends and family.

From there the day progressed with a light lunch and festive games. Tonks and Penny disappeared for a bit, much to the blonde’s confusion as Tonks practically dragged her away. Harry was enjoying looking through some of his new books when Tonks called him upstairs for a bit. Thinking nothing of it, Harry ascended the stairs and only stopped when he realized that he was about to open the same door that he’d been ‘surprised’ with on his birthday.

“No way she’d be able to trick Penny again, right?” Harry mumbled to himself before he shook his head and opened the door. What he saw was not a topless set of young women, but something equally nice. Tonks and Penny were in ‘sexy’ Santa outfits that showed off their midriffs, legs, and some cleavage. Penny was a bit pink in the cheeks but looked fine with the outfit. The brown-eyed blonde was a full head taller than Harry. Her hair reached a bit past her shoulders and thanks to her current outfit Harry was able to see her figure very well. The swell of her breasts, unknown to Harry, marked her as a healthy C-Cup. Her trim waist flared out to wide hips that gave her a slight ‘hourglass’ figure. Combine that with her long legs and Harry could only think that Penny was a very beautiful girl. Tonks had shamelessly increased her bust size so that her own outfit revealed far more cleavage than normal. The Santa hats on their heads completed the look.

“Surprise Harry!” Tonks announced with a grin. Harry just stood there taking in the lovely sight for a bit.

“How did I let you talk me into this?” Penny questioned and Tonks pulled her into a sideways hug with a smile.

“Because you want to show off for Harry?” Tonks teased the younger girl.

“Th-that’s not it!” Penny denied though the glance she threw Harry’s way ‘might’ have brought her denial into question.

“Really?” Tonks laughed as she turned both of them around so that Harry could see them from the back. His eyes were drawn to the short skirts covering their bums before Tonks playfully flipped both her skirt as well as Penny’s.

“Oh…” Harry uttered out as he found out that the outfits apparently came with underwear too. Panties with horizontal green and red stripes filled his vision for a moment before Penny quickly forced her skirt back down. The blonde’s face was now bright red as she slapped at Tonks’ with a whine about Harry being ‘too young’ again.

“Hope you enjoyed your ‘special’ present, Harry!” Tonks laughed as she fended off Penny’s embarrassed slaps. “Give us a bit to change again and we’ll be right down.” Harry nodded; his own cheeks a bit red, with a small happy smile on his face as he closed the door behind him.

‘Tonks and Penny have nice bums.’ Harry thought to himself before shaking his head. It’d be best to get his face back to normal before being seen by Sirius again. His Godfather could spot a successful prank with just a glance after all.

It wasn’t long after that when Harry pulled out his prototypes to show to Sirius, Remus, Ted, and Andromeda. They were all impressed with the Vitris Auri and Sylvuan knife’s ability to weaken and dispel the Charms Harry produced. Pulling a bit of a prank Harry demonstrated the Oulm Circuit knife’s ability by tapping Sirius on the shoulder with it. After the initial surprise at not being able to feel or move his left arm was over, Sirius had laughed and flopped his arm around in amusement.

“What an odd effect.” Remus commented and Harry agreed with him, explaining that it was the same Runic Array just made with different materials. Their talk was interrupted when Sirius swung his unfeeling left arm into Remus’ back with a very fake ‘Sorry Moony, can’t seem to control my arm.’; which had led to Remus pulling out his wand and sticking the offending limb to Sirius’ side with a Sticking Charm.

“Hmm, this Oulm Circuit one could be pretty useful for the Aurors, Harry.” Tonks mused as she held the prototype. “If you could make it a different shape and it still worked the Ministry might want to purchase some for the Aurors to use. We can’t exactly be swinging around knives at people, you know?”

“Not a bad idea…” Harry trailed off as he thought upon the implications of his prototype. A ‘weapon’ that would allow Aurors to render a criminal Witch or Wizard immobile for several minutes would indeed be useful. The fact that it couldn’t be reversed with something like an Enervate Charm or a Finite Charm would make it better than a Stunning Spell or Immobulus Charm too.

“At the very least Madam Bones might be interested in looking at them.” Tonks shrugged. “It would make on scene questioning of suspects easier if they could still talk but couldn’t move their arms and legs.”

“I’ll look into altering its Form when I get back to Hogwarts, Tonks. Thanks for the idea.” Harry smiled at the Metamorph, who was showing her festive spirit with red and green striped hair.

“No problem Harry, I kind of want one of these already.” Tonks chuckled as she watched Sirius unstick his left arm and swing the floppy limb at Remus again.

“Certainly not for pranks, I’d hope.” Andromeda looked at her daughter who only smiled ‘innocently’. “What are we going to do with you, Nymphadora?”

“Not call me that?” Tonks grumbled at the use of her first name. Ted could only smile as his wife and his daughter got into another debate about Nymphadora’s name.

Penny had to leave at around three in the afternoon to go with her parents to the Clearwater Family Christmas Dinner. So with goodbyes, as well as hugs from Tonks and Harry, Penny left via the Floo for the day. Remus tried to leave shortly after their own Christmas Dinner but Sirius had practically forced him to stay the night. The Tonks’ had left around nine that night with another round of goodbyes and hugs. Tonks even kissed Harry’s cheek with a smile and a wink. Harry would be teased again by Sirius for the rest of the night before bed about it too.

All in all Harry found he very much enjoyed his first Family Christmas. The Dursleys had never neglected him; but the cheer of the Season was rather absent between them and Harry. This was the first Family Christmas where the full Spirit of the Season was everywhere for Harry and he was a part of it; wholly and completely. It was no surprise that Harry fell asleep that night with a happy smile on his face.

-End Chapter-

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Aww, a very Merry Christmas! Family, Festivities, and Fun! What more could you ask for? Tonks was up to her mischief again! Penny seems to want to ‘show off’ for Harry! What has become of our Prefect?! But Tonks also has an idea for Harry’s Oulm Circuit prototype. Will that pan out in Harry’s favor in future? We’ll be back at Hogwarts soon, what will become of the Chamber? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 17: Back to Hogwarts, Valentine's Day?

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Back to Hogwarts! How much more can the Chamber be hampered by the presence of Aurors? What will be the next event to happen at Hogwarts this year?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 17 – Back to Hogwarts, Valentine’s Day?

“So nothing has happened during Yule Break?” Harry questioned and Penny shook her head.

“Nothing at all, or at least that’s what the Professors have told to us Prefects.” Penny replied as they sat at the Ravenclaw Table with Luna to Penny’s left and Harry to her right.

“So did the culprit go home for the Yule Break?” Harry wondered as he ate.

“Christmas should be spent with family.” Luna smiled at them both as she shaped her mashed potatoes into a vaguely castle-like form.

“Indeed it should, Luna.” Penny smiled at her fellow blonde.

“Not sure if the culprit cares much.” Harry shrugged.

“Even mean people like Christmas, right?” Luna asked and Harry instantly glanced at Snape in response. The Potions Professor was scowling, as always, so there was a fairly good chance he didn’t care for the Holidays.

“Maybe not all of them.” Harry responded with a shrug as he went back to his dinner.

The next day after classes Harry returned to his hidden workshop to experiment with altering the Oulm Circuit Knife’s Form. He carefully went through the Runic Sequences of the Array looking for anything that might have to be changed. Several minutes later he came to the two parts of the Array that he’d have to change if he wanted this idea to work. The ‘Severance’ Sequence and the ‘Cut Prevention’ Sequence would both have to be substituted out for other Runic Sequences to have any chance of working with a different Form.

“What sequence would work though?” Harry murmured to himself as he went through a few of his books. Not much progress was made on his first full day back at Hogwarts.

The weekend proved to be rather fruitful for Harry. He’d found a Runic Sequence that might work with his new idea. The ‘Block’ Sequence was used to keep a designated person, item, or other ‘Magically Recognized’ thing from moving past a certain point. While it was often used in Warding, nothing about the sequence suggested that it couldn’t be used on something mobile. It wasn’t a ‘Static’ sequence like his Rune Safe was. Now he just had to find a new Runic Sequence that would be able to make use of the ‘Block’ Sequence. Thankfully that only took him until Sunday evening. A rather obscure sequence used to transfer effects with contact. Harry would have to rewrite it and then try to integrate it together with the ‘Block’ Sequence and his own Runic Designation for Mana. If this worked out he should, theoretically, be able to change the Form of his Oulm Circuit Knife to something a bit more ‘in line’ with Police Work.

During Harry’s research for his new idea, Penny was still looking into what Slytherin’s Monster could be. She brought up a potential idea to Harry during the last week of January.

“It might have been a Cockatrice.” Penny suggested as she showed Harry some of her newest notes. “When a Cockatrice gets old enough they can develop a ‘Petrifying Gaze’ of their own. That fits with what happened to Mrs. Norris and Creevey. Plus Cockatrices do have snake tails, so Magically-speaking they might have enough of a relationship to other Magical Snakes to make crossbreeding easier.”

“That still doesn’t bode well for anybody in the castle.” Harry grimaced. A Cockatrice was a deadly Magical Beast after all. They were currently rated at XXXX by the Ministry of Magic. If they were old enough to have gained a ‘Petrifying Gaze’ then they moved up to XXXXX classification. Crossbreeding one with a different Magical Snake didn’t make them ‘less harmful’ by any means.

“It doesn’t, but it could give us a way to deal with the petrification problem.” Penny replied, happy that she’d found some kind of useful lead.

“Better than being caught unaware.” Harry agreed as he looked over his notes for the Oulm Circuit Array. He was still trying to rewrite the ‘Transfer’ Sequence to work how he wanted it to. So far he’d done seven different rewrites and none of them had worked out. The ‘Transfer’ Sequence was very…finicky…for lack of a better term. It had very little mutability in its structure before its purpose was lost. With a sigh Harry set about rewriting it again to try and get it to integrate with the ‘Block’ Sequence and his Runic Designation for ‘Mana’.

-First Week of February-

“I think it works…” Harry breathed out happily as he looked over his latest rewrite. The ‘new’ version of the ‘Transfer’ Sequence finally fit with the ‘Block’ Sequence. His Runic Designation for ‘Mana’ also fit with the ‘Block’ Sequence and should finally be the ‘thing’ that was blocked when the ‘Transfer’ Sequence was used. The newly rewritten sequence made it so that physical contact had to take place and it could only transfer to something Magical. But these two limitations worked out just fine for what Harry wanted the Item in question to do. After all, Witches and Wizards were Magical, so the Array should work out just fine.

“Now I just have to test it.” Harry exhaled as he went to the smithy to start making the prototype of his new Oulm Circuit design. Harry was hopeful to get this done by April and have a working Item. It would make a great birthday gift for Tonks! Plus if she could demonstrate the Item’s uses and usefulness to the Aurors he might just be able to make a lucrative sale. If his Items proved useful in the hands of the British Aurors then he could potentially use that success as a means to market his Items to other Magical Police Forces across the world too.

-Friday, February 12th-

“He can’t be serious.” Harry groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe it won’t be that bad?” Penny tried to reassure him, but even she looked unconvinced.

What were they lamenting about? Lockhart had just announced that he was going to be throwing a large ‘morale boosting’ Valentine’s Day for the castle. The man even said that he was hiring ‘cupids’ to deliver Valentine’s Day poems for the students if they wanted to submit one. This weekend was going to be a nightmare. Luckily Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday this year so that classes wouldn’t be interrupted at least.

-Sunday, February 14th-

“I’ve got a musical message to deliver to Harry Potter in person.” A rough male voice behind Harry stated as he was almost to the Great Hall. He’d been safely secure, hiding, in his workshop for most of the day. Unfortunately Penny would be cross with him if he skipped meals so he’d had to leave his sanctuary.

“I’ll give you twenty Galleons, right now, to not do what you’re about to do.” Harry offered to the ‘cupid’ behind him as he turned to face the person; although the ‘person’ actually turned out to be a Dwarf; about a meter and a half tall, stocky and with a prominent beard. Harry had read about them a little bit when he was familiarizing himself with the Magical World in First Year. They weren’t mentioned much and seemed to exist on the very fringes of Magical Society. There was mention that they were excellent Blacksmiths, as well as Jewelers, and that they lived in mountains mostly. They were also often described as blunt and stubborn.

“Show me the gold first.” The Dwarf demanded and Harry, eager to avoid the inevitable embarrassment, fished into his pocket and pulled out a Magical Pouch. These were commonly sold in Diagon Alley and were a lesser version of the Mokeskin Pouch Harry had sitting in his Rune Safe. Opening the pouch Harry quickly pulled out twenty of the golden coins and showed them to the Dwarf.

“We have a deal.” The Dwarf nodded as he tore up the poem in his hands and then held his right hand out for payment. Harry handed the stack of coins over to the Dwarf and watched him place them into his own pouch. “Have a nice day.” With that the Dwarf turned to walk away, but Harry’s curiosity got the better of him.

“Sir Dwarf, if it’s not a bother, could I ask a few questions?” Harry inquired and the Dwarf turned to look at him.

“Make it quick, I still have a few more of these things to deliver before I can get out of this ‘costume’.” The Dwarf grumbled, clearly not a fan of the cupid outfit Lockhart forced them to wear.

“Right, since you already know my name, might I ask yours?” Harry wanted to make some form of introduction.

“Drad Erdunn.” The now named Drad replied brusquely.

“Thank you, Mr. Erdunn.” Harry thanked the Dwarf.

“The ‘Mister’ is unnecessary.” Drad shook his head.

“Beg your pardon?” Harry asked confused.

“Erdunn is proper address by Dwarven standards.” Drad informed him. “Mister and Misses are Human forms of address. Dwarves are not overly much for excess formalities.”

“Ah, I see, thank you for the information, Erdunn.” Harry nodded to the Dwarf.

“It is fine, lad.” Drad waved it off. “Anything you actually wanted to ask or can I be on my way?”

“Just a question or two, I won’t keep you long.” Harry stated before he asked his first question. “Why do this ‘job’ when you clearly hate it?”

“Not much choice, lad. Dwarves can barely get any work in the Magical World these days. We take whatever we can get to keep our families fed.” Drad replied a grimace on his face.

“I read up on what was available about Dwarves when I was familiarizing myself with the Magical World last year. I did notice a rather…lacking…amount of information on the Dwarves.” Harry remarked and he saw Drad’s eyes narrow in response.

“I suppose that is your next question?” Drad asked for clarification.

“If it isn’t an imposition, of course.” Harry nodded. “Feel free not to answer if you don’t want to.”

“The Dwarves have been pushed to the very edge of the Magical World. Especially in Europe, our own native lands. It started almost a thousand years ago and now we have been reduced to this.” Drad grumbled as he motioned to the cupid outfit he was wearing. “Just so that we can eke out a living.”

“How did that happen? The books don’t say anything about that. They only mention that the Dwarves were excellent Blacksmiths, Jewelers, and that they lived in mountains.”

“Those were the days.” Drad exhaled deeply. “My people were driven from our mountain halls; all because the Wizards of the past wanted their fighting with the Goblins to end.” The Dwarf snorted at this. “Lot of good that did them, Rebellions have happened throughout the ages since.”

“Wizard and Witches pushed the Dwarves out?” Harry questioned in shock.

“They don’t mention that in their books, do they?” Drad huffed as he shook his head, his beard swaying slightly. “A thousand years ago ‘Gringotts’ had a different name, ‘Baraz Irkul’. Before we were driven out and the Goblins took it over with their filthy, grubby claws.”

“That’s disgusting.” Harry grimaced at what had been done to the Dwarves. No wonder there was barely anything on them. They’d almost been wiped from Magical History in the last thousand years. All for what appeared to amount to a failed treaty with the Goblins of all things.

“We don’t blame the Wizards and Witches of today for the actions of their ancestors.” Drad informed him. “We do hold the Goblins in contempt, but that has more to do with our longstanding feud with them for what they took from us.”

“What happened to your mountain halls?” Harry questioned and Drad sighed despondently.

“The mountain is gone. All the Magic harvested out when the mountain was mined to almost nothing in a few short generations. When the Magic was gone it was sold to some Mundane King for profit. I believe it’s been built over entirely now with a Mundane City, but I couldn’t tell you the name of the place.” Drad muttered out.

‘Even their mountain is gone now?’ Harry thought with pity. How long had these Dwarves been stuck, holed up wherever they could find space, barely keeping themselves afloat as the ages passed.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Erdunn.” Harry offered his sympathies. “I don’t suppose there is much I can do to help though.”

“That’s alright, lad. We Dwarves will endure. We’re a hardy people, one day we’ll get back what was taken from us.” Drad replied as he clenched his fist. “Don’t suppose it’ll help much, but if you happen to find the ‘Sword of Gryffindor’ in your years here, send it to my father ‘King’ Drasurd Erdunn if you could.”

“What would you want the ‘Sword of Gryffindor’ for?” Harry questioned.

“You don’t really believe that Goblins forged such a powerful weapon for a Wizard, do you?” Drad asked and Harry remembered questioning that very fact when he’d been reading up on Magical Swords. “That sword was forged by Dwarven Smiths; my ancestors at that. Only a direct descendant of Gryffindor or a descendant of Erdunn can truly claim that sword and reveal its true power.”

“I’ll keep my eye out for it then.” Harry agreed as he now had much more to think about. “Thank you for speaking with me, Erdunn.”

“It was good to meet a Wizard that’s willing to listen.” Drad replied as he turned and headed off. Harry was left with his thoughts and the revelation that a chunk of Magical History had basically been covered up by guilty Wizards in the past.

“At least I’m not the only one that doesn’t trust the Goblins.” Harry mumbled to himself quietly as he made his way into the Great Hall.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Harry.” Penny smiled at him as she handed him a few choice bars of various Honeydukes’ Chocolate.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Penny.” Harry smiled back as he handed her an assortment of Honeydukes’ Finest, some of the most expensive chocolates that Honeydukes produced. He’d sent a similar gift to Tonks last night with Hedwig. As if thinking about her summoned the snowy owl, Hedwig swooped down to him with an envelope attached to her leg. “Hey girl, did Tonks send you back?” He asked his owl while removing the letter. Hedwig gave him an affectionate nibble while also taking some food for herself from his plate. With a ‘Prek’ the snowy owl flew off to the Owlery to rest.

Harry opened the envelope and read the letter. Tonks thanked him for the chocolates and said her Valentine’s Gift was in the envelope. Curious, Harry pulled out what remained in the envelope and smiled when he saw the Magical Photograph of Tonks smiling at him. The Tonks in the photo then stepped backwards a few steps and revealed that she was wearing a VERY skimpy bikini. Harry felt his cheeks heating up as he watched ‘photo Tonks’ increase the size of her breasts or give herself a ridiculously curvy body that was the ‘perfect’ hourglass shape. She even turned around and showed him her ass in multiple sizes!

“Harry, are you okay? Your face is rather red.” Penny asked in concern. “What did Tonks send you?”

“Nothing!” Harry exclaimed as he quickly stuffed the picture into the inner pocket of his robes. Penny raised an eyebrow at his reaction before sighing.

“She sent you something naughty, didn’t she?” Penny asked with a shake of her head.

“No?” Harry replied, though he didn’t sound convincing even to himself. Penny rolled her eyes before ruffling his hair a bit.

“Don’t let her corrupt you completely, Harry.” Penny advised with a small smile.

“Ok.” Harry agreed and they both started on their lunch.

-Last Week of February-

“Carefully…slowly…almost there.” Harry mumbled to himself as he filled in the last of the Magic Circuits with his Oulm Circuit material. Even with his Alchemic Pen it was a pain in the ass to fill in the Circuits on a round surface! But after multiple failed attempts at it, Harry finally finished his new Item prototype. “Just let it cool and finish solidifying then we can test out Auror Baton prototype number one.” Harry had copied the idea of the Policeman’s Baton from the Non-Magical World and applied his new Runic Array to a Sylvuan baton with Oulm Circuits. If the baton operated the same way as the prototype knife, then Harry would give the first one to Tonks and make a few more if the Auror Department was interested.

“Now I just need to test it out.” Harry mused on how to do that without using himself as the Guinea Pig. Penny would be upset with him if he tested out his Items on himself again. “Maybe I should take a page out of the Weasley Twin’s handbook and pay some people to be test subjects.” With a chuckle Harry pulled a piece of blank parchment over and set about writing out his proposal. He’d have Penny take a look at it and help revise it when she came by. For now he’d continue looking over the Communication Mirror notes he’d gotten from Remus. He’d been puzzling over them in his free time lately, but he still couldn’t figure out what made the successful pair work. Remus was indeed a meticulous note keeper; Harry had read through the Marauder’s attempt to use the same Charms and Enchantments that worked on the successful pair on others. The others were all failures though, each and every time. It was truly baffling as to why.

-First Week of March-

“Harry, you’re sure you know what you’re doing?” Penny questioned in concern.

“It’s not really any different from a knife, just bigger and double edged.” Harry tried to reassure Penny as he held his first successfully forged sword prototype. He had yet to actually etch the Runic Array into it, but his success with the Vitris Auri and Sylvuan knife had spurned him to move forward with the next step to his Artifact Sword. He’d worked out a new addition to his Runic Array as well. The ‘Enhance’ Sequence was fairly common as a boosting sequence to increase either potency or range of a Magical Effect. The best part was that unlike the ‘Transfer’ Sequence the ‘Enhance’ Sequence was much more mutable. It had only taken Harry three attempts to rewrite it so that it would integrate into his Array.

“I’m staying to make sure you don’t do something dangerous as a test.” Penny informed him and Harry nodded. She hadn’t been overly pleased about him wanting to hire test subjects either. But she’d relented as it was better than him testing his prototypes on himself. Harry had even promised to do the tests as close to the Hospital Wing as possible if it would put her at ease. Speaking of he needed to set up the first tests of the Auror Baton soon, now that Penny was ‘on board’.

“I appreciate your concern, Penny, thank you.” Harry smiled at her and Penny gave him a small smile in return. Harry took out his Adamantite Etching Tool and set to work on the hand and a half broadsword he’d forged. As he etched the Runes into the metal he had a good feeling about this prototype. By the time evening had fallen Harry had finished etching the Array and the Circuit Lines along the blade. After a break for dinner Harry and Penny returned to the workshop and Harry made enough Vitris Auri to fill in the Array and Circuit Lines. He wanted to wait for it to cool and solidify so that he could test it right away. Unfortunately curfew was getting close and Penny wouldn’t allow him to break the rules as he wanted.

On their way back towards Ravenclaw Tower they overheard Filch complaining about one of the girls’ bathrooms on the second floor flooding, again. The Caretaker was grumbling and muttering about this being the fifth time this year so Penny and Harry made sure to stay out of the man’s sight. Filch was unpleasant normally, give the grizzled old man a reason to be angry and he’d invent reasons to try and punish a student.

-The Next Afternoon-

Harry grinned widely as he lifted his prototype sword in his hands and checked over the Array and Circuits. Everything looked good, the Runes were perfect and the Circuits were properly spaced. All in all Harry was very happy with this prototype. Now all that was left was to test it. With a thought a large Lumos Charm appeared in the air before Harry. Checking to make sure Penny was far enough away, which she was as she waved to him from next to the wall; Harry made a slow swing through the Lumos Charm. The ball of light blinked out as soon as the blade passed through it. Harry stood there for a moment and then cheered.

“It worked! Yes!” Harry exclaimed happily.

“Congratulations Harry!” Penny smiled brightly at him. She was happy to see Harry succeed on something he’d been working on for so long.

“That’s another step in the right direction!” Harry grinned as he checked over the Runes and Circuits again. He had to make sure there was no damage from the prototype using its effect after all. It wouldn’t really be a success if one use destroyed the sword. Seeing that everything looked undamaged Harry summoned another Lumos Charm and dispelled it with a stab from the prototype sword. “So slashing and stabbing both work; that’s good to know.”

“How many tests will you put this one through?” Penny inquired as Harry checked over the sword again for any damages.

“Several, mostly to check its durability and make sure the Runes and Circuits hold up. Though I’ll also try cutting different spells too; it would be kind of a lame creation if it could only put out Lumos Charms.” Harry chuckled as he placed the sword down. “You said you might have had a way to avoid the monster’s petrification, right?”

“Yes, after some in-depth study of Cockatrices, I’ve found out that breaking the line of sight with one nullifies its ‘Petrifying Gaze’. Most people that have slain one wore some kind of enchanted eye protection to block out the Cockatrice’s ability. If we had something similar we shouldn’t have to worry about the monster’s gaze.” Penny informed him as she showed him her notes on the subject.

“I could probably make something like that with a bit of time.” Harry mused as he looked over the historical accounts of Wizards and Witches that had brought down Cockatrices in the past. Even without their gaze they were still fast, strong, and armed with razor sharp, poisonous talons. They definitely earned their XXXX danger rating. If Slytherin’s monster was indeed some kind of hybrid of Cockatrice and Magical Snake then it would pay to be prepared.

-That Weekend-

Harry grinned at the small turnout for his tests. About eleven students had gathered in an unused classroom down the hall from the Hospital Wing. At one Galleon per test Harry was burning some money for testing, but Penny wouldn’t let him test on students, even willing ones, without proper compensation for potential injury.

“Thank you all for coming.” Harry welcomed the ten students. He didn’t know any of them personally, but he had two girls and eight boys. None from Slytherin, but four from Hufflepuff, five from Gryffindor, and two from Ravenclaw; so it was a good mix of people. “You’re all here today to help me test out my newest Item.” Harry grinned as he held up the Auror Baton prototype. “This is a prototype for an Item I hope to sell to the Aurors to aid them in their work. It should do nothing more than make whatever limb is struck with it unable to move for a time.”

“That’s it?” One of the Gryffindors asked.

“That’s it.” Harry nodded to him.

“It’ll wear off, right?” One of the girls asked; a Hufflepuff judging by her uniform.

“Yes, the effect is only temporary, if you feel uncomfortable tell me and we will make the short trip to the Hospital Wing.” Harry replied and all ten of the students nodded. Harry moved over to the first student and gently tapped him with the Baton.

“I don’t think it worked.” The Gryffindor boy remarked as he moved his arm around.

“Perhaps a bit stronger?” Harry mused as he reared back a little farther and struck the boy’s arm a bit harder.

“Hey, that stings…” The boy trailed off as he realized his arm was flopping down at his side, unmoving.

“Can you move your arm?” Harry asked and the Gryffindor shook his head, still staring at his arm that he couldn’t feel anymore.

“This is weird.” The boy remarked as he used his other hand to move his ‘dead’ arm around. “It’s like I slept on it for way too long, except it’s not cold.”

“That’s what I was going for.” Harry nodded pleased with the first test. “Can I get the next volunteer, please?” He asked politely and one of the Hufflepuff boys stepped forward. Harry hoped the rest of the tests went as well.

-End Chapter-

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Huh, seems a few things are happening! Harry’s progressing and testing his new Item! But now he knows a hidden secret of Magical History. The Dwarves have suffered and been pushed away to the fringes of Magical Society; all for a treaty that ultimately failed. Is Drad being honest about the true history of the ‘Sword of Gryffindor’? If so what kind of impact will such a thing have on the future? Can the Dwarves be helped? If not now, than in the future perhaps? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 18: Birthday, Attack, Rage and Hate

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Almost the end of Second Year! What will happen with the Chamber?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 18 – Birthday, Attack, Rage and Hate

-Thursday, April 1st ~ Hogwarts-

“Harrikins!” Tonks cheered as she pulled the boy into a hug. “I’m here just like you asked! What’d you make this time?” The Metamorph, currently pink-haired and purple-eyed, was bubbly as usual. Harry had sent her a letter asking her to come to Hogwarts on her Birthday for her present. Never one to miss out on a chance to tease Harry OR Penny, Tonks had set up a visit after classes to come see them.

“You’re going to love this, Nym!” Harry grinned as he held a wrapped package out to her.

“Thank you Harrikins!” Tonks smiled at the Second Year before unwrapping her gift. Opening the box she was met with a metal baton, black in color, which looked very similar to the ones she’d seen Muggle Police have when she went into London with her father. “Is this a police baton?”

“Same idea, but Magical for Auror use.” Harry grinned brightly at her.

“Magical how?” Tonks asked as she picked up the baton and got a feel for its weight.

“Pour a little mana into it and give them a swat and whatever you hit goes to ‘sleep’ for several minutes.” Harry smiled as he happily explained the Item’s function.

“You actually finished the idea from Christmas?” Tonks blinked at him, a mixture of shock, surprise, and impressed on her face. “It’s only been four months! Don’t most Enchanted Objects take longer to figure out?”

“Well, I had the knife already ‘working’, sort of, so it was just a matter of finding and rewriting the proper Runic Sequences into a functional Array.” Harry shrugged, disregarding the multitude of attempts it had taken him; it was worth it for Nym.

“Hmm, I think you’re downplaying your skills a bit there, Harrikins.” Tonks chuckled as she looked over her gift. “I think I’ll test it out real quick.”

“Test it?” Harry tilted his head confused. His eyes widened when he saw the mischievous grin on her lips.

“Tap!” Tonks exclaimed as she tapped his left shoulder and Harry’s arm hung limply at his side.

“Oi!” Harry squawked at the laughing young woman.

“What did I miss?” Penny asked, hearing the laughter as soon as she opened the door to the guest meeting room. Seeing Harry with a ‘floppy’ arm and Tonks laughing; the Prefect quickly put the situation together. “Tonks!”

“What?” The Metamorph grinned. “I didn’t do anything! You have no proof!”

“Harry’s arm is proof enough!” Penny rolled her eyes at her older friend. “No more ‘testing’ the baton for either of you, agreed?”

“I didn’t ‘test’ anything!” Harry proclaimed while glaring at the still snickering Tonks.

“Don’t make me confiscate your gift, Tonks.” Penny threatened the Junior Auror.

“I’m not a student!” Tonks retorted as she ‘hid’ the baton away from Penny’s gaze. “You can’t just take my stuff!”

“I’m still a Prefect and I can confiscate anything that might be dangerous or disruptive.” Penny informed the Metamorph with a ‘try me’ look on her face.

“Spoilsport!” Tonks stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Yes, yes, someone has to be the mature one though; otherwise you and Harry would end up hexing each other too much.” Penny sighed in a put upon manner, though the grin on her lips took any ‘heat’ from her words.

“Do let me know how it works, Nym.” Harry spoke again, an empty vial in his right hand while he slowly clenched and unclenched his left hand. “I’d love to get field data on the baton.”

“Did you just drink a Potion for your arm?” Tonks questioned curiously.

“Yeah, it’s a variant of Pepper Up Potion; called the Restore Tonic.” Harry informed them. “Madam Pomfrey gave me a couple extra for my tests. Apparently it’s meant to help with the side effects of Magical Exhaustion, works well for undoing the effects of the baton too.”

“That’s good to know, at least there’s a way to undo it quickly if necessary.” Penny nodded.

“I’ll let you know how it works out, Harry.” Tonks smiled at him warmly. “Thank you for the gift, I’ll use it well.”

“You’re welcome, Nym.” Harry smiled back; he really liked seeing her smile like that.

“So…are we having some cake and ice cream too?” Tonks questioned with a grin.

“Yes Tonks, I talked to the House Elves.” Penny giggled at the older girl. “It’ll be here momentarily.”

“Yay!” Tonks let out the most overly dramatic, child-like, squeal she could and Harry and Penny just sighed at the bubbly Metamorph. There was never a dull moment with their loveable friend around.

Throughout the rest of April, Harry and Penny continued to work on their schoolwork and practice Wandless Magic together. Harry also continued to produce his ‘Ward Breaker’ Talismans in hopes of showing them to Tonks and her boss, Madam Bones. From Tonks’ letters the baton had gone over well enough for Madam Bones to temporarily approve its use in the field. Tonks’ Senior Auror/Mentor, ‘Mad Eye’ Moody had also shown interest in the Item. With any luck the baton would prove so useful that the DMLE would want them to be standard issue for the Aurors. If they did then Harry was sure he could market his ‘Ward Breaker’ to them as well.

Work on the Artifact Sword prototype was coming along well enough. The Sylvuan and Vitris Auri broadsword still hadn’t failed, even after dozens of tests and Harry was pleased that he had a solid base down for the future. His next steps would be to make the next prototype with a more extensive Array. Adding in another effect or two to the currently working Array and then testing the new sword once said Array was completed.

May was the time that Harry and his study buddies ramped up their time in the Library. Hermione was trying to devote almost every waking moment to studying. Only the suggestions of Padma, Mandy and Luna had kept the bushy-haired girl from going off the deep end and burning herself out. Harry was determined to do well, though he honestly felt pretty good about his upcoming Exams. He wasn’t Hermione, who tried to memorize their textbooks half the time, but he did very well in his classes. Even Snape, the hateful man that he was, still gave Harry ‘Acceptable’ on his work in Potions. Though he was fairly certain if he was anybody else he’d be getting at least an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ from the greasy Potions Master.

-May 29th-

Harry stared down at the Hospital Wing bed that held Penny. The blonde Prefect was petrified, the victim of an attack by the ‘Heir’, the first one since Colin Creevey. He’d almost thought the person had given up. But then he’d heard the news of an attack. Then the news that it was a Prefect. Harry had run to the Hospital Wing as fast as possible, Aurors were scouring the castle for the culprit. Starting from the Second Floor where Penny had been found. The corridor near Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, once again flooded, had been where she was found by the Aurors. Professors were quickly scrambling to get students into their Common Rooms but in the commotion Harry had made his way to the Hospital Wing. Now, looking down at his friend, stuck in almost mid-stride, he couldn’t help but lament that he had only finished the ‘Anti Petrification Goggles’ this morning. If he’d just been faster, Penny would have had a pair to wear while she was alone.

The Aurors that had brought Penny in had left by the time Harry had arrived. The Second Year had been looking at Penny’s petrified form ever since he’d gotten there. It was only after several minutes that the boy noticed the edge of parchment poking out of her robe pocket. Knowing that Penny had probably been on her way either to the Library, or from it, Harry pulled the piece of parchment from her pocket and unfolded it. There were multiple lines of writing in Penny’s neat handwriting. All of them with questions about Slytherin’s Monster and the Chamber of Secrets. It was when his eyes landed on the last lines that Harry felt the proverbial ‘light bulb’ turn on. The last lines on the parchment read: ‘Myrtle Warren was the only victim the last time the Chamber was opened. Myrtle Warren potentially ‘Moaning’ Myrtle? Chamber of Secrets entrance hidden in the same bathroom? Access to all of Hogwarts through plumbing?’

For the first time in his young life Harry Potter felt true Rage and Hate fill his heart. He shook in fury as he looked between the parchment and Penny. Did the ‘Heir’ somehow find out that Penny was looking into the incident? Did Penny get ‘too close’ and was therefore attacked? Harry folded the parchment with shaking hands and put it in his own pocket. Only his Alternate Occlumency kept him from rushing straight out of the Hospital Wing and towards the bathroom. The mass of mental brambles that completely encompassed his mind in protection was also keeping him from completely losing it. He carefully leaned close to Penny before speaking.

“I’ll fix this Penny, you have my word.” Harry whispered to the petrified teen. He stood up and turned from the Hospital Wing. He quickly made his way to his workshop, the Rage and Hate inside of him swirling around like a storm. He was going to fix this; no one hurt Penny and got away with it! No one! He dodged around some panicking students and dashed down the corridor to his workshop. Once inside Harry breathed deeply and used his Occlumency to direct all the rage inside of him to the task at hand. He quickly grabbed the ‘Anti Petrification Googles’ he’d completed this morning. Then he took almost the entire stack of ‘Ward Breaker’ Talismans and stuffed them into his robe pockets. Finally he grabbed his prototype sword and his Invisibility Cloak. He’d taken to keeping the Cloak inside his Mokeskin Pouch after Sirius had confirmed that it had indeed belonged to James. Now invisible, Harry left his hidden workshop and made his way towards Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

“That’s bloody fantastic.” Harry growled quietly, seeing the words ‘Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever’ written on the wall in what appeared to be blood. He stormed into the flooded bathroom and closed the door behind him. Removing the hood of the Cloak he started pulling out his ‘Ward Breaker’ Talismans and sticking them to the walls, sinks, stalls and floor.

“What are you doing here?” The ghost known as ‘Moaning Myrtle’ asked timidly from one of the stalls.

“Fixing the problem.” Harry replied without stopping what he was doing. “You should leave Myrtle, I don’t know if these will affect a Ghost in any way, but you might not want to find out.” He stated as he placed the last Talisman, the twentieth on the wall next to the door. With that he drew his wand and pointed to each Talisman in turn. One by one each of the disc-like Items glowed blue; when all twenty were glowing Harry flicked his wand, pulled up the hood of the Cloak and exited the bathroom. Myrtle decided to leave at Harry’s warning and several seconds later an incomprehensible noise, somewhere between a shriek and the sound of multiple panes of glass breaking simultaneously, came from the bathroom. Without a word Harry threw open the door and looked at what had happened.

The bathroom was a wreck. The walls and floor had small cracks in them. The stone looked aged and dull. The sinks and mirrors were cracked and there between the broken sinks was a massive hole in the floor. Harry stared coldly at the hole and marched forward. Cleverly hidden, he’d admit, he certainly wouldn’t have suspected the fabled ‘Chamber of Secrets’ to be hidden in a girls bathroom. But he was far too angry to really care right now. Seeing no way down the hole, other than the obvious, Harry removed his Cloak and stuffed it into his empty pocket, and then he sat on the edge and wrapped the dull broadsword prototype in his robe, he then slid down the massive pipe. He didn’t know how long he slid for, maybe a couple of minutes, but he eventually dropped into what appeared to be a pile of animal bones.

“Bloody cheery.” Harry rumbled angrily as he stomped his way forward. He conjured a large Lumos Charm and lit up the area. Snake motifs were everywhere as he walked. Statutes of snakes lined the walkway and he eventually came to a large vault-like door. “I can feel the Magic in this thing.” He muttered to himself as he examined the door. Seeing no way to get the door open manually Harry growled and pulled the prototype sword. Placing the tip of the dull blade on the edge of the door Harry dragged the sword along the length of the large circular door. A strange sound, almost like the hiss of a snake combined with the hiss of air escaping a tire, rang out and Harry watched as the metal snakes on the door withdrew and the large door swung open.

“Not warded?” Harry wondered as he looked at his prototype. “Was it just locked with a password? Lucky me, the Magic of that type of Locking Spell deactivates once the password is given. But removing the Magic powering the Spell does the same thing.” The rage bubbling inside of him flared again now that the obstacle was out of the way. With a grimace he walked into the Chamber proper and saw another pathway lined with snake statutes and pools of water on the sides. Stalking forward Harry spotted what appeared to be an older student, judging by the Hogwarts Robes, standing over a smaller student on the floor.

“Ah, now isn’t this a surprise.” The older student commented as he turned to face Harry. “Harry Potter, how did you get down here?”

“Who are you and who is that?” Harry demanded trying to get a look at the smaller student.

“This? This is just a dumb girl that spilled her heart out to the first person that would listen to her.” The teen chuckled darkly as he moved away to reveal Ginny Weasley lying on the floor. The redhead looked pale, unnaturally so, and Harry turned to face the older student again.

“Who are you?” Harry asked again, rage beginning to seep into his voice.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle.” The now named Tom answered as he wrote out his name in flaming letters. “But you know me by a different name.” With a wave of the wand in his hand the letters rearranged themselves to spell ‘I am Lord Voldemort’.

“Voldemort?” Harry questioned before staring coldly at the teen. “Hagrid said you might still be alive somewhere, if only barely. But you’re far too young to be the real Voldemort. Who are you really?”

“Ah, but I am Voldemort! The greatest Wizard to ever live!” Tom smiled darkly. “More specifically I am a memory; a remnant of Voldemort, kept safe in a book should anything happen to my body. Now tell me, Harry Potter, how is it that some infant stopped the greatest Dark Lord to ever live?”

“No idea, but I’m going to have to ask you to die again.” Harry bit out as he pointed his prototype sword at the teen.

“A sword? Really Harry, how very Muggle.” Tom scoffed derisively. “You cannot harm this body. I am only a memory, until her life fades and I am restored, nothing can harm me.”

“I’m still willing to try.” Harry snarled as he took a step forward. Tom waved the wand in his hand and a bright bolt of yellow sparks flew at Harry. Without a thought Harry swung his prototype sword. The yellow spell spilt in two and dispersed without touching Harry.

“What?!” Tom stared in shock. “What is that sword? What did you do?!”

“The same thing I’m going to do to you!” Harry snapped at the shade, specter, memory or whatever the hell he claimed to be.

“I think not!” Tom retorted before facing the large face on the wall and hissing at it. The mouth of the stone face opened and Harry heard something moving. From the mouth of the statue emerged a truly massive serpent. Dark black-green scales, a long sinuous body, small horn-like protrusion on the back of the head, a mouth full of fangs including two large retractable ones, and the bright yellow eyes that gazed at everything in the Chamber.

“So it was a Basilisk.” Harry intoned. If he hadn’t still been so angry he might have questioned why Colin or Penny hadn’t died upon seeing the serpent. The thought didn’t even cross his mind though.

“Yes, the Basilisk, the greatest of all serpents! Now you will die down here, Harry Potter. I will be restored and continue my path as the Greatest Wizard to ever live; and you will be forgotten, merely a foot note in my glorious rise.” Tom laughed in a way that Harry felt wasn’t quite sane. Tom then hissed at the Basilisk and the King of Serpents turned its baleful yellow eyes on the boy. Harry felt irritation in his eyes, like they were a bit dry, as well as a small headache; but otherwise nothing else happened.

“Well these work better than anticipated, must be the second layer of protection.” Harry mused to himself.

“How?! How are you not dead?” Tom demanded as he stared at the still living Second Year.

“You think I’m wearing these goggles for fashion?” Harry asked rhetorically. The Basilisk made a loud hiss and looked Harry directly in the eyes. The irritation and headache got a bit stronger but Harry now knew the first thing he was going to take out his seething rage on.

“Kill him!” Tom yelled without the hissing this time.

“I’m going to turn you into materials for my work!” Harry roared at the large serpent. He didn’t expect to have the massive Basilisk hiss back at him. A strange feeling overcame Harry for a moment; he couldn’t quite describe it though. But he knew for a fact that the Basilisk had just laid claim on his flesh and Magic should he die. Something snapped into place in Harry’s awareness and he suddenly realized what had just happened. A Rite of Conquest had just been formed and the loser would have their life, flesh, and Magic taken by the winner.

The Basilisk reared up higher and Harry realized that it was going to launch itself forward to strike at him. He breathed deeply before exhaling a massive cloud of smoke. The thick cloud made the serpent hesitate as it lost track of its target. Worse still the smoke was still billowing outwards, filling up more and more of the Chamber. A sudden force hitting the Basilisk’s body had the snake whipping its head around to try and see through the smoke covering the floor.

‘That didn’t work.’ Harry cursed in his mind as his prototype sword bounced off the large, thick scales of the Basilisk. Spells wouldn’t do anything to a Basilisk’s scales and hide. They had incredible Magic Resistance and were apparently hard enough to act as armor for the serpent.

“Nothing you do will work, Harry Potter. You can only run and hide!” Tom crowed loudly enjoying the struggles of the Second Year. Harry had already cast the Impervious Charm on his face to keep the smoke from filling his lungs, but without a way to kill the Basilisk the shade was right. The Basilisk began to thrash around the smoke cloud, trying to strike Harry with its long body and disperse the thick smoke. Harry ran from the wild thrashing and could hear that Voldemort shade laughing at his misfortune. Harry conjured up multiple Lumos Charms, all different colors, and sent them above the smoke. With a thought the Charms began to flash brightly and then dim; over and over again, rapidly switching from blindingly bright to mostly dim. The Basilisk hissed loudly as it closed its large eyes and thrashed its body around. Tom covered his own eyes from the blinding lights and therefore didn’t notice Harry charging towards him.

“Shut your bloody mouth!” Harry roared at the shade as he swung his prototype sword and sliced through the specter.

“How?!” Tom screeched as his form wavered momentarily. “What is that?!” He demanded angrily still having to cover his eyes from the flaring lights.

“Damn it, that didn’t work.” Harry angrily bit out only to run as the Basilisk rushed towards him. The long tongue flicking out of its mouth, smelling the air and letting the King of Serpents track him down. Harry hurriedly dashed around the snake statues and the Basilisk crashed into them. The snake reared back, shaking its head and letting out another loud hiss. Harry saw his chance; a large fireball snapped into existence above the Second Year’s hand and he launched it into the Basilisk’s opened mouth. The flames exploded into the snake’s mouth eliciting pained screeches from the beast as it flailed in pain.

A burst of flames appeared near the ceiling and a beautiful trilling song filled the Chamber. Looking up Harry spotted a Phoenix, at least it looked like one from the books he’d read at Hagrid’s recommendation, though the oddest thing was that the bird was carrying the old Sorting Hat in its talons.

“What is this?!” Tom snarled as he looked up at the Phoenix while the Basilisk had dunked its head into one of the nearby pools to deal with the flames and burns inside its mouth. The Phoenix circled the Chamber trilling its beautiful and uplifting song before dropping the Sorting Hat next to Harry. Harry didn’t know what to make of this but grabbed the Hat and ran from the Basilisk as it pulled its’ head from the water.

“Why are you here?” Harry demanded of the Hat as he ducked behind another snake statue.

“You are defending the school; as such there is something that must be delivered to you.” The Sorting Hat spoke and Harry felt something within the hat. Grabbing the object, Harry pulled on what felt like a handle. What emerged from the Sorting Hat was a brilliant silvery sword. The guard decorated with rubies and a name engraved into the metal.

“Gryffindor? Is this what I think it is?” Harry asked the Sorting Hat as he ran to another statue. The Basilisk slithered towards him with speed, intent on crushing him it seemed.

“Yes, the Sword of Gryffindor, only a true Champion of Hogwarts can wield this sword in defense of the School.” The Sorting Hat informed him.

“Great, but I don’t even know how to use one sword, much less two!” Harry exclaimed as he moved between the statues keeping the Basilisk from rushing him. Harry didn’t get any more time to think however; the Basilisk had reared up over the statue and was descending on him, jaws wide open to devour him. “Fuck!” Harry swore as he thrust the Sword of Gryffindor upwards. The legendary blade just so happened to be in his right hand at the time. As a right handed person Harry’s natural reaction to use his dominant hand drove the sword into the serpent’s mouth. Harry hit the ground as the Basilisk’s weight came down on him. His whole arm was inside the snake’s mouth and he felt one of the smaller fangs puncture his arm. The snake flailed its tail and slumped over the statue, but the damage was already done. The Sword of Gryffindor had pierced through the top of the Basilisk’s mouth and lodged into its brain. Harry pulled his arm out of the jaws of the now dead Serpent King, taking the sword with him. The silvery blade was covered in blood and a blackish liquid that Harry couldn’t identify.

“No! No!” Tom yelled at seeing the Basilisk dead.

“Bloody hell, this hurts!” Harry growled as an intensely painful feeling crept up his arm from the puncture that the smaller fang had left. With some effort, Harry stood up and staggered multiple steps forward.

“You may have slain the Basilisk, Harry Potter, but it’s a pyrrhic victory at best!” Tom cackled at seeing the injury on Harry’s arm. The Second Year still struggled forward looking the shade in the eyes defiantly. “How does it feel, I wonder, to have the most potent venom in the world coursing through your veins?”

“Shut…up….” Harry panted as his steps grew shaky and his vision began to blur.

“Ah yes, a moment of silence for the soon to be departed, how apropos Harry.” Tom chuckled humorlessly.

“I…said…shut…UP!” Harry roared as he swung his prototype sword downward. He couldn’t feel his right arm anymore, so he could only lash out with his left, the prototype sword in hand. The dull blade slammed down onto the black book on the floor between Ginny and Tom.

“Argh!” Tom screamed as a line appeared on his almost corporeal body. “What did you do?! What is that sword?!” He snarled as he raised the wand in his hand.

“Sod off!” Harry growled out as he stabbed the tip of his sword into the book.

“Nooo!” Tom howled as a gaping hole appeared in his torso, the shade losing any form of solidity as the wand fell from its incorporeal hands. Harry collapsed onto his knees and forced himself to raise his left arm again. “Stop!” Tom demanded as he held out his hands towards Harry.

“Don’t you ever touch her again!” Harry spat at the wispy shade as he slammed the tip of his prototype sword down on the book again. He felt a strange amount of resistance at first before his prototype pierced the book entirely. The shade exploded into wisps of blackness that dispersed near instantly. What happened next shocked even Harry’s venom muddled mind. His prototype sword fell apart in his hand, not into pieces, but into inert sand-like bits of metal. The entire sword practically turned into dust while he was holding it. Nothing was left as Harry collapsed to the ground.

“What the…?” Harry tried to speak but collapsed and started to black out. A sudden flapping was heard vaguely through his fuzzy senses before something fell onto his wound. Harry couldn’t describe what happened next, one moment he was in absolute agony, the next he felt as if there was cool water running through his veins. Several moments later, or was it minutes? Harry couldn’t even begin to tell, but he felt much better than he did before he collapsed. Sitting up heavily Harry looked over and saw the Phoenix standing beside him. The majestic bird cocked its head slightly and Harry vaguely recalled reading about this.

“Phoenix Tears, right….” Harry breathed out as he gently stroked the bird’s head. “Thanks for the save.” He thanked the Phoenix kindly and the bird seemed to puff up slightly at the thanks. “I couldn’t have a bit more for research purposes could I?” He joked and the Phoenix trilled out a, slightly less beautiful, note. “I’ll take that as a no then.” Looking over the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry admired the legendary blade. Even with the blood and black ichor on it, the blade was still amazing. “Hey, Sorting Hat, what should I do with this?”

“As the one who drew it from the Hat, you may hold onto it for as long as you need.” The Sorting Hat replied.

“What if someone takes it?” Harry questioned. He’d love to look over the sword and try to learn what he could from it. It would only help his own attempts to create his Artifact Sword.

“Until someone truly ‘Claims’ the Sword; it will always be able to return to my care.” The Sorting Hat informed the Second Year.

“So only a direct descendant of Gryffindor or Erdunn?” Harry asked and the Hat seemed to perk up.

“Correct, Mr. Potter, I am surprised you know that.” The Sorting Hat acknowledged.

“I met a Dwarf a few months ago.” Harry shrugged before he grinned. “I think I’ll hold onto it for a short time.”

“As you will.” The Sorting Hat gave its equivalent to a shrug. Harry hurriedly pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and wrapped the sword of Gryffindor in it, rendering the legendary blade invisible. He tucked the invisible sword into the inside of his robe, the large inner pocket on the left side actually holding almost half the length of the blade. Just keeping his left arm pressed against his side slightly would prevent the sword from falling.

“What’s going on?” Ginny spoke up from behind him a moment later and Harry turned to face her.

“I fixed the problem.” Harry replied to the confused red head. Suddenly there were voices coming from further back the way Harry had entered the Chamber. Almost faster than Harry could process Aurors came pouring into the Chamber of Secrets. Amelia Bones and Dumbledore both among them and both zeroing in on the two kids.

“What’s happened here?” Amelia asked gently, though with undertones of urgency. Dumbledore looked between Harry and Ginny, as if trying to discern if either of them needed immediate help.

“I’m sorry!” Ginny wailed suddenly. “It was Tom! He made me do things! I couldn’t control myself and I started blacking out and…and….” By this point the redhead was bawling and incomprehensible.

The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity for Harry. He told Amelia and Dumbledore what had happened, minus the part about the Sword of Gryffindor. After all the Phoenix and the Sorting Hat had disappeared without Harry even noticing at some point; so why even hint that he had the legendary blade before he could try and study it a bit. It wasn’t until his least favorite Professor loudly spoke up that Harry fully focused back on the here and now.

“Don’t touch the Basilisk! It’s property of Hogwarts!” Snape yelled at a group of Aurors that had been examining the beast’s carcass. Even from a distance Harry could see the look of delight that Snape had on his face at what was most assuredly a bevy of incredibly rare Potions ingredients.

“Actually it belongs to me!” Harry spoke loudly and Snape turned to face him so fast the man’s greasy hair whipped around.

“Potter! Stop spouting nonsense! This creature has been living under Hogwarts for centuries, it belongs to the school!” Snape raised his voice.

“I ‘Conquered’ it! It belongs to me by Magical Rite!” Harry retorted and Snape looked like he’d been slapped.

“Stop lying, Potter!” Snape replied stiffly.

“I’m sure this can be cleared up quickly.” Dumbledore stepped between the two. “I do happen to know the proper spell to determine Magical Ownership.”

“Please do, Headmaster.” Harry readily agreed. No way was he losing out on all of the materials that the Basilisk presented! A few waves of his wand, followed by a rather intricate series of loops and flicks, and the Basilisk and Harry both glowed with a green light for a moment before it faded away.

“It would seem that Mr. Potter is correct, Severus, the Basilisk is his by Rite of Conquest. To take even a single scale from the beast would be considered theft.” Dumbledore informed the dour Potions Master. Snape made a face that was between a sneer and the look of someone that had just been slapped. It was an odd expression to say the least.

“I’ll need to contact Sirius.” Harry spoke up as he looked the massive serpent over. “Going to need to bring in professionals to move this and render it down.”

“What will you do with it all, Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore questioned. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

“It’ll become materials for my Enchanting.” Harry informed the old man.

“What of the flesh? I don’t believe that can be used for Enchanting.” Dumbledore looked at the boy.

“Snake is edible, right?” Harry questioned as he looked up at the old man.

“Some species are, I believe.” Dumbledore nodded. “You’re planning to eat it? Why?”

“Spite mostly.” Harry replied honestly, while glaring at the carcass. “It could have killed Penny.” Dumbledore wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that Harry cared about Miss Clearwater so much, or if he should be worried for the same reason.

-End Chapter-

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Treasure trove of Creature Craft Materials acquired! Harry only almost died to get revenge for Penny, so that’s still good news, right? Plus the Sword of Gryffindor is in Harry’s possession for the foreseeable future. What are his plans for the legendary blade? Well you’ll find out if you keep reading!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 19: Restoration and an Invitation

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Basilisk is dead, Second Year is almost done, what can happen this summer?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 19 – Restoration and an Invitation

Harry headed for the Hospital Wing as soon as he’d stopped being questioned by the Aurors. Dumbledore had taken Ginny to his office where her parents were waiting. Harry quickly reached the Wing and entered, he found Penny sitting up in bed and looking a little confused at how she’d gotten there. Madam Pomfrey appeared to be talking to the blonde Prefect, but Harry couldn’t care less. The Second Year rushed to Penny’s bedside and pulled the older girl into a hug.

“Harry?” Penny questioned as she was hugged.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Penny, so glad.” Harry murmured into the hug. Penny softly smiled as she returned his hug.

“Madam Pomfrey says I’ll be fine.” Penny assured him as they continued to hold each other.

“I was saying that,” Pomfrey nodded before looking crossly at Harry. “Until a certain someone came barreling into the Wing and interrupted me.”

“Sorry.” Harry mumbled out as he refused to let go of Penny.

“So what happened after I was petrified?” Penny asked. “The last thing I remember was a pair of large, bright yellow eyes reflecting off the water on the floor of the second floor corridor.”

“I fixed the problem, Penny.” Harry finally pulled back. “The Basilisk in the Chamber is dead.”

“It was a Basilisk?” Penny questioned before what Harry said caught up with her. “Wait, what do you mean ‘You’ fixed the problem?” Harry suddenly felt like he’d said too much. “Harry…please tell me you didn’t go off half-cocked and charge into the Chamber of Secrets by yourself!”

“It wasn’t half-cocked; I had a plan…sort of.” Harry defended his actions.

“It sounds like you took revenge on my behalf.” Penny raised an eyebrow at him.

“I…well…that’s…that’s about right, I guess.” Harry admitted with an exhale of breath. “I was so angry when I saw you petrified, my Occlumency kept me from going off entirely, but I went and got some of my things and then headed for the Chamber. Your theory about where it was hidden was spot on, by the way. I thought that you’d been attacked because you’d gotten too close.”

“Harry, you could have died!” Penny chastised even as she pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. “I was only petrified. It hasn’t even been a full day and I’ve already been cured with Mandrake Draught. But if you had died then you would be gone! What would that have solved?”

“I know…I was just so angry…I barely thought….” Harry returned the hug and sighed at the familiar warmth of Penny.

“Don’t risk your life on something like revenge, Harry.” Penny mumbled into his hair. “I’d rather just have you here with me.”

“Penny?” Harry pulled back and blinked at the Prefect. He was no expert, but that almost sounded like a confession.

“What you did was reckless and poorly thought out,” Penny admonished before her expression softened and a warmth entered her eyes as she smiled. “But thank you for caring about me so much, Harry.” With that the Prefect’s lips met Harry’s in a brief kiss before she pulled back. Harry felt…well…he didn’t quite know. He was happy, elated even, but also confused and he kind of wanted to do that again.

“That was…um…wow.” Harry stumbled over his words a bit.

“Glad you think so.” Penny giggled before she tapped his nose with her index finger. “But I’m still telling Tonks what you did too!” She teased.

“Please don’t….” Harry ‘whined’, already knowing that Tonks would blow the whole incident out of proportion. She tended to overreact when her friends and family were involved. He’d be lucky if she didn’t practically smother him for a good week once she learned of his ‘revenge’ for Penny.

“I’m going to.” Penny grinned at him while Harry sighed. With a delightful giggle Penny pulled him back into a hug and the two just sat together and held each other for a while. Harry mirror called Sirius several minutes later and explained the situation. Including the need for professionals to move and render the Basilisk for parts and meat. Sirius was less than pleased to hear that Harry had risked his life and was already planning to Floo to Hogwarts to berate him for it. AFTER he finished giving Dumbledore a piece of his mind for this whole Chamber business!

So it went that Harry was scolded by a worried Sirius for the better part of an hour. His Godfather moving through various emotions throughout his admonishment; bouncing between worried, concerned, irritated, proud, and several others. Harry agreed not to put himself in such danger again and Sirius nearly hugged the life out of him. Sirius had promised to get professionals to retrieve the Basilisk and start rendering it down before he left. With the Chamber fiasco over with, the school resumed normal activity and routines; the only interruptions being the Aurors leaving and the arrival of the ‘Renderers’ the next day. All of Hogwarts had stood back and gaped at ‘Slytherin’s Monster’ when the Renderers had hauled it out of the school on multiple floating boards. The sheer size of the Basilisk had made more than one student shriek in terror. Many people knew that Harry had some involvement with the beast’s death and mad mental notes to never get on his bad side.

“Oh Harrikins~” Tonks had sweetly called out when she arrived shortly after the ‘Renderers’ had left. Harry had felt like bolting at the look on Tonks’ face but resolved himself to face his friend’s worried wrath. That had lasted for a good half hour with Tonks alternating between hugging him tightly and scolding him for doing something so insanely dangerous that not even Tonks herself would attempt it! Tonks had been very reluctant to leave Hogwarts and let Harry out of her sight; but Penny had managed to convince her after some time. Harry fell face first into his bed that night, mentally drained from the whole day.

It was discovered that Lockhart had fled sometime during Ginny’s abduction into the Chamber. The bumbling peacock of a Professor having been a bigger coward than Harry had previously thought. This was saying something as Harry had already had a low opinion of the man to begin with. Dumbledore had, once again, had to step in and cover the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes for the end of the year. Harry and Penny wouldn’t find out until much later that the man’s running from Hogwarts had prompted an investigation into him. An investigation that had uncovered illegal Memory Charms and the lies he’d published to further embellish the achievements he’d stolen.

-June 20th-

“Hmm, what’ve you brought me Hedwig?” Harry asked his Snowy Owl as she landed next to him at breakfast. The beautiful owl raised her leg to let Harry remove the letter and then helped herself to some of his breakfast before flying off to the Owlery. Turning the letter over Harry smiled at seeing the neat writing of Fleur Delacour. Opening the letter Harry read over the first page as best as he could, since it was in French. Harry had asked Fleur to write to him in both French and English a while back to help him practice. Fleur had agreed as it helped her practice her English as well. Harry still had a bit of trouble with some of the sentences and switched over to the English copy on the second page to check his own comprehension.

-Letter-

Bonjour Harry,

How have you been since our last letters? I have been well enough. Fifth Year at Beauxbatons hasn’t been much of a challenge. My Exams have gone well, O.W.L.s were slightly nerve inducing but I feel I’ve done well on them. I hope your own Exams have proven easy for you.

How have your Enchanting projects been working out? You told me the ‘Auror Baton’ had been given a trial run with Ms. Tonks in the field. I hope that is still going well. The ‘Ward Breakers’ you mentioned sounded so interesting I asked Madam Aveline about the concept. She was very interested and we had an in depth discussion over the facets of Warding in relation to Magical Theory and Spell Crafting. I hope all of your projects are coming along well.

Incidentally, I have finally achieved the goal I set for myself this year when it came to my Mana Level. As of writing this letter to you I have finally surpassed 6,000 Mana. I was overjoyed to see my reading and know that all of my practice had paid off. Madam Aveline won’t share the exact Mana Levels of the other students with me; but she assures me that I’m one of the most magically powerful students in Beauxbatons.

Since the summer break is coming up I have been given permission from my mother and father to invite you and your Godfather over to our home. I hope you’ll consider visiting so that we may meet in person for the first time. France is lovely in the summer months, I assure you. I hope for a favorable reply!

I eagerly await your next letter, Harry!

Sincerely,

Fleur Delacour

-Letter-

“Hmm, that could be interesting.” Harry murmured to himself.

“Another letter from Fleur?” Penny asked. “Were you able to read the whole thing in French this time, you have been improving.”

“Almost all of it.” Harry grinned. “A few words still stump me from time to time.”

“If you ever want to work on it more, I’m available.” Penny smiled at him. She’d been helping Harry with his French during their breaks from Wandless practice for months now.

“Thank you, Penny.” Harry smiled back. “Fleur hit her goal that I told you about.”

“She broke six thousand?” Penny questioned looking impressed. “She beat me to it. I was at 5,664 when I checked the other day.”

“Fleur has a knack for Magic, especially Fire Magic. She’s a Veela so I’m guessing it’s natural.” Harry shrugged as he folded the letter and placed it inside his robe pocket.

“What was your last reading, Harry?” Penny asked curiously. “It’s been a while since you’ve checked to my knowledge.”

“It has been a while.” Harry admitted with a nod. “We studied for Exams quite a bit after all. Plus I’ve been looking into the ‘loss’ of my prototype as well as researching the ‘other’ sword.”

“I still wonder about that.” Penny shifted in her seat. “It’s an important piece for the school, but you were told you could hold onto it. I guess I’m a bit conflicted, especially after what you told me about your meeting Mr. Erdunn.”

“Just Erdunn.” Harry tried to imitate the Dwarf’s deep voice and failed. Penny giggled at his attempt though. “I don’t plan to keep it forever; I just want enough time to look it over and learn all I can about it. Though it is very good at hiding most of its secrets; I think I might be able to figure out part of the Enchantments woven into the metal.”

“Well, then let’s head to the workshop after breakfast and check your Mana Level.” Penny suggested and Harry agreed.

“Maybe that feeling I’ve gotten from eating the Basilisk meat means I’ve gained some of its Magic?” Harry laughed at the notion.

“I still don’t see how you’re eating that thing.” Penny’s nose scrunched up. “It doesn’t even sound good.”

“Tayla has been cooking it in various different ways for me. I don’t want her efforts to go to waste.” Harry shook his head. Tayla had been over the moon to have to learn how to cook something new like snake. The cheerful House Elf had been ‘popping’ into Hogwarts to deliver him lunch in his workshop on specified days. So far the meat had been palatable and with some recipes actually tasty. He’d had a bit of a ‘rush’ when he’d eaten the first part of the Basilisk meat, something he assumed came from the Rite of Conquest, but hadn’t really worried about since he’d felt really good afterwards. He’d had no further ‘rushes’ since the first time, but he did always feel something when he ate the Basilisk meat. Though he couldn’t be sure if that wouldn’t always happen regardless, when a Witch or Wizard ate the meat of a Magical Creature.

The two finished their breakfast a short time later and left the Great Hall together. The familiar path through the castle was second nature to both of them now and they arrived quickly. After closing the door behind them, harry went to his desk/worktable and opened the drawer he kept his Test Frame in. Taking it in both hands Harry poured his mana into the Talisman. The number displayed wasn’t what Harry was expecting however, and it must have shown on his face as Penny spoke up.

“Harry? Are you okay? You look shocked.” Penny worried and Harry shook his head for a second before turning the Frame around to show her his reading. Displayed in the Frame with the standard ‘light’ numbers was the reading 5,160.

“This…I’m sure it’s part of the Rite of Conquest. It’s probably some kind of Ritual Symbolism being completed when I first ate the meat of the Basilisk.” Harry reasoned as he looked over his new reading. That was a massive increase for him to say the least!

“But wouldn’t you feel your mana growing by that much?” Penny questioned at Harry’s large increase.

“Do you actually feel your mana grow?” Harry asked her in return.

“Well…no…now that you mention it.” Penny looked thoughtful as she puzzled over what they’d realized. “So we don’t notice growth unless we try to use spells more often and see that we can cast more. Or we check it with the Scouter or Test Frames, of course.”

“Seems to be the case.” Harry nodded as he pondered. “Maybe because it’s our new ‘normal’ we simply don’t realize. We do realize when we use a large amount of mana of course; the drop in our reserves brings about a feeling of lethargy.”

“Do you think you’ll keep getting this boost as you eat more of the Basilisk?” Penny wondered and Harry shook his head.

“I feel a small bit of ‘something’ every time I eat the meat, but nothing like the first time.” Harry remembered. “I think that was the majority of what I could gain right there. I suspect the Rite of Conquest is something like a Ritual or Contract made between two Magical Beings from a challenge between them. When I consumed the first part of the Basilisk I gained a portion of its mana all at once and the repeated eating will only give me miniscule boosts, if any, from now on. Ritual Symbolism of taking in the Basilisk was completed the first time, so that’s probably the ‘rush’ I felt. I should have looked into it sooner, I partially believed that rush came from satisfying my own spite against the snake for petrifying you.”

“Harry, that’s…sweet…in a weird way; but you should have definitely gotten checked out if you felt this ‘rush’ when you ate the Basilisk.” Penny sighed, though she looked downwards to hide the pink on her cheeks at how much Harry cared about her. “What if it had been something bad?”

“Well I felt really good afterwards, so I kind of put it out of my mind.” Harry shrugged and Penny shook her head at his lackadaisical attitude about this.

“Well, at least this time it was something positive.” Penny smiled, that smile then turned mischievous as she looked at Harry. “We could pull a little prank on Tonks with this, you know?”

“Pranks Penny? Really?” Harry had a fake shocked look on his face. “What happened to our rule abiding Prefect? The future Head Girl shouldn’t be involved in such shenanigans!”

“So you don’t want to play a little prank on Tonks?” Penny questioned sarcastically.

“Well now I didn’t say that.” Harry smiled mischievously himself. “What did you have in mind?” The two friends spent the next while going over their idea to prank the final member of their little trio.

-The Next Weekend ~ June 26th-

“Still so secretive.” Harry murmured to himself as he looked over the Sword of Gryffindor. The Dwarves certainly knew how to hide their secrets in the metal they forged, that was for certain. He’d been looking over the legendary sword for almost a full month now and had only just gleaned a bit of knowledge from examining it. He knew the rubies he’d thought were ‘decorative’ were actually linked to the sword’s power. Perhaps the ‘True’ power that Drad Erdunn had briefly hinted at. The metal was most assuredly an alloy of Magical Steel and what appeared to be Adamantite. Though Harry suspected that another Magical Metal had been forged into the alloy as well, he couldn’t identify it.

“But what I’m really looking for is how your Magical Ability works.” Harry spoke to the sword. “How do you ‘take in’ things that make you stronger? What constitutes as ‘stronger’ anyway? Is it just any ability or function you don’t already possess?” The sword, of course, didn’t answer him but Harry picked it up and briefly ran his mana through the Artifact Sword. By feeling out the weapon’s reaction to his mana he should, hopefully, be able to glean a bit of information about its Magical Properties. This was a ‘Skill’ that he was still learning and fine-tuning, but it was essential to become a good Artificer.

Feeling with his mana as it flowed into the sword Harry sank into the equivalent of an Occlumency trance. He slowly felt through the sword, touching its own innate Magic and feeling how it responded. The sword was ‘closed off’ for lack of a better term. His mana could be focused to the edge of the blade to increase sharpness; the blade itself was also greatly resistant to damage of both physical and magical nature. Continuing his ‘feeling’ of the sword’s Magic, Harry did find something new this time. The blade seemed to have a small ‘vortex’ of mana near the guard. So miniscule that even after several of these sessions he’d never noticed it. Letting his mana touch the ‘vortex’ Harry felt his mana be drawn into the depths of the sword. Before he could try to follow this small bit of his mana it was ‘spat out’ for all it amounted to and the vortex seemed to disappear.

“Well now, isn’t that interesting.” Harry grinned as he set the sword down on the work table in the smithy. He exited the smithy into the main room of his hidden workshop and pulled down the most advanced book on Runecraft he currently had. If he was right this book might be able to tell him what the ‘vortex’ of the Sword of Gryffindor was. Flipping through the pages Harry stopped near the back and looked at what he believed to be the most likely candidate for the sword’s Magical Ability; or at least what made up the basis of it. “The ‘Consume’ Array.” He smiled at the complex description of the Array. That was all this book had on the Array, a very complex description of what it did. There were no examples or even any concrete Runic Sequences that went into making said Array. Just an overview of what it did and how it functioned in relation to Branches of Magic like, Warding, Enchanting, and Ritual Magic.

“Looks like it’ll be a good long while before I’m able to put something like this together.” Harry mused as he read over the entry on the ‘Consume’ Array. “I might end up hurting myself or others if I messed up with this one.”

-June 30th ~ Leaving Feast-

Harry, Penny, Luna, and Padma clapped politely for Hufflepuff, this year’s winner of the House Cup. The House of Yellow and Black were cheering at having won the Cup for the first time in nine years. Admittedly this might have been due to the tensions that arose this year between Gryffindor and Slytherin over the Chamber of Secrets. Many a fight had broken out between the two Houses when accusations had been thrown about between them.

The ride on the Express was fun. Luna sat with Harry and Penny for the ride and happily watched as the two performed Wandless Magic. The Trio separated at King’s Cross Station and Harry and Penny were met by Sirius, Tonks, and Penny’s father Edward.

“Good to see you, Harry!” Sirius smiled brightly as he pulled his Godson into a hug. “Penny keeping you out of trouble?” He teased.

“Unlike ‘some’ people, I don’t get in trouble at school.” Harry retorted and Sirius chuckled while ruffling his hair.

“Wotcher, Harrikins!” Tonks practically smothered him with her hug.

“Tonks, Harry and I wanted you to guess how much Harry has developed his Mana Levels this year.” Penny told the Metamorph after hugging her father tightly. “Harry has been busy this year.”

“Hmm, is that so Harry?” Tonks put her face very close to Harry’s with a teasing grin. “Well I know you haven’t eclipsed me yet. Not to brag, much, but I got a reading of 6,422 this morning.”

“Well then, how about you guess?” Harry grinned challengingly. “A free Stinging Hex to me if you’re within one hundred points of my level. If you’re not, I get a free Stinging Hex on you.”

“Oh, someone’s confident are they?” Tonks grinned back at him. “I accept your bet!” Penny and Harry both forced themselves not to smirk at Tonks walking right into their prank. It was a bet the Metamorph wouldn’t be able to win! She’d never expect the boost Harry had gotten from the Basilisk and the Rite of Conquest.

“Whenever you’re ready?” Harry grinned, knowing it would rile Tonks up a little.

“You were only around two thousand the last time you told me.” Tonks began as she looked contemplative. “Harrikins usually splits his time between Wandless Magic and Enchanting, unlike me who’s always getting stronger.” She teased with a wink. “So if it’s been almost half a year, a little less, then I’m going to ballpark you around an even three thousand since you’re so confident!”

“Penny, hand me the Test Frame.” Harry requested with a smile.

“Here you are, Harry.” Penny replied in a chipper tone.

“Oh sorry, Tonks, looks like you were a bit off.” Harry grinned as he poured his mana into the Test Frame and got his reading. He turned it around and both Tonks’ and Sirius’ eyes went wide at the number displayed.

“How the heck are you at 5,172?!” Tonks exclaimed and Penny and Harry burst into laughter. “Stop laughing and explain, you prats!”

“First my prize!” Harry exclaimed as he hit Tonks in the shin with a Stinging Hex.

“Ow! Darn it, Harry!” Tonks censored herself as a family with small children walked by.

“Ah, victory, such a lovely feeling.” Harry teased her back. Penny was openly giggling at her older friend while Edward and Sirius both looked amused at the antics between the three.

“Less gloating more explaining.” Tonks huffed at them and the two told Tonks, Sirius, and Edward about Harry’s Rite of Conquest and the ‘Ritual Empowerment’ he’d received from eating the Basilisk.

“Only you Harry, I swear only you.” Sirius chuckled as he patted his Godson’s shoulder. Edward congratulated him on ‘Conquering’ such a powerful Magical Beast. Tonks just grumbled about Penny and Harry setting her up. Penny hugged Harry tightly as they said their goodbyes and then left with her father. Tonks, in revenge, kissed Harry’s cheeks in front of the remaining students on the platform before Apparating away. This left a red faced Harry looking at a lot of staring classmates.

“Let’s go.” Harry spoke as he turned away from the Hogwarts students and headed for the Floo.

“I think you two tied today, Harry.” Sirius offered his commentary on the ongoing ‘Prank War’ between his Godson and Tonks. “Though I believe that still puts Tonks ahead by a wide margin!” He laughed as Harry started and then walked faster towards the Floo.

“Shush you!” Harry threw back over his shoulder. This of course only made Sirius laugh harder. The two quickly returned to Wood End Cottage in a flash of green fire.

-End Chapter-

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Well now…didn’t see that coming! Harry got a boost! Ancient Magic is odd and pseudo-Rituals even more so. Plus Harry’s learning another aspect of being an Artificer, the ability to commune with Artifacts or their innate Magic at any rate. This will most definitely come into play multiple times throughout the story! How will this summer play out? Especially since Harry has been invited to visit his Pen Pal, the lovely Miss Fleur Delacour!

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,172

Tonks – 6,422

Penelope – 5,670

Fleur – 6,000+

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 20: Crafting Theories, Summer Trip

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Some Crafting theories and a Summer Trip! Time to meet the lovely Fleur Delacour in person for the first time! Will sparks fly between them?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 20 – Crafting Theories, Summer Trip

Harry hummed as he mused to himself about the properties of Basilisk Bone versus Dragon Bone. He’d tested their Magical Potential compared to each other and found they were both about the same. The Basilisk Bone, probably due to the creature’s age, had more mana packed into it but the rest of its properties were near identical to Dragon Bone. Because he’d ‘Conquered’ the Basilisk the mana in the bones would not fade for a very long time. This was a good thing because Harry had the whole skeleton to make use of. It would be a shame to lose the materials to time after all. He’d have to run a few more tests with Powdered Basilisk Bone and compare the results to standard Powdered Dragon Bone to be sure; but Harry was confident he could save money on supplies if he didn’t have to buy anymore Powdered Dragon Bone for the foreseeable future.

Other than that particular theory, Harry was already coming up with ideas for the rest of the Basilisk. The eyes had been recovered and preserved into two separate, unbreakable, crystal containers filled with a Preservation Draught. Harry had to give the ‘Renderers’ credit. The two unbreakable containers had also been spelled to be opaque enough to cancel out any lingering power the Basilisk’s eyes may have possessed. They were both currently sitting in his Rune Safe until Harry could find some way to make use of them. As for the Basilisk’s Scales, Hide, and Fangs; Harry already had some, rather obvious, ideas for these materials. The Horns on the back of the Basilisk’s head would also be used once Harry found a use for them.

“Decisions, decisions….” Harry mumbled to himself as he looked through his notes on Creature Craft. He’d taken the time to translate all of the Japanese into English and copy it down into a journal devoted to Creature Craft. As he progressed and expanded his skills with this form of Enchanting, Harry was planning to add his own thoughts, experiences, and ideas.

“Obviously the Scales and Hide can be made into Defensive Items, cloaks or leatherwear for the Hide, outright armor for the Scales.” Harry mused thoughtfully, if he could do this properly he’d have more than enough material to get Nym, Penny, Sirius, and potentially even Nym’s parents and Remus some Basilisk Leather Armor. “The Scales are so strong and Magically Resistant that I might be able to make something along the lines of full Plate Armor. Since I ‘Conquered’ the Basilisk I can even make Artifacts from the materials. Basilisk Scale Mail sounds cool.” The young Artificer nodded to his own thoughts.

“The Fangs, especially the two retractable ones, can be used to make weapons.” Harry thought aloud as he looked over the notes on Creature Craft. “Swords, knives, maybe the core of a focus of some type too?” He considered as he then looked over to the side to see the Basilisk’s Horns neatly packed into a wooden box in the corner of his smithy at Wood End Cottage. “If possible maybe the horns could be used for cores too? Or at the very least maybe they could be used for a spearhead? That seems simple enough.”

“Do you think he knows he does that?” Tonks whispered to Penny as the two of them stood in the doorway of the smithy.

“Probably not, but it’s kind of cute.” Penny smiled at the sight of Harry thinking aloud to himself.

“Harrikins!” Tonks called loudly making Harry startle at the unexpected voice. “Time to go! We’re taking the Portkey to France soon!” Harry spun to face Tonks and Penny with his hand over his heart.

“Must you do that?” Harry deadpanned and Tonks smiled as she nodded.

“Every time!” Tonks teased while Penny gently swatted her shoulder.

“Rudeness aside, it is time to go Harry. You got caught up in your work again.” Penny explained.

“Is it that time already?” Harry blinked before looking at the clock on the far wall of his smithy. “Oh, I guess it is; it’s a good thing I packed last night.”

“Come on Harry, time for a visit to your Third Wife!” Tonks laughed and Harry sputtered out denials.

“It’s not like that, Nym!” Harry retorted as he followed the two girls out of the smithy.

“Sure it’s not!” Tonks stuck her tongue out at him. Harry immediately insisted that they were just Pen Pals and that they’d never even met. Tonks just shrugged and Harry sighed at the Metamorph.

“Be nice Tonks.” Penny smiled softly at the two. They’d technically asked Harry to ask Fleur to ask her parents to invite them along as well. The idea of letting Harry meet a Veela girl that was already writing to Harry about a topic they both enjoyed wasn’t what concerned them. It was the thought of only Sirius being there with Harry! The Lord Black may have been dating Marlie Reed for almost a full year now, but just because he was taken didn’t mean he wouldn’t encourage Harry to make a few Veela ‘friends’ for the future. He may have gotten better after falling for Marlie; but he was still Sirius Black, horn dog extraordinaire! Self-proclaimed ‘Ladies’ Man’ of the Marauders! Both Penny and Tonks felt MUCH better tagging along on this visit.

“Tayla, could you bring me my bag please?” Harry called out as they made their way to the Portkey departure point. This particular point was in the field off to the side of Wood End Cottage. International Portkeys has to be scheduled after all. Crossing Border magically without informing the relevant Ministries of Magic was illegal after all.

“Here you are, Young Master Harry.” Tayla smiled brightly as she popped in with the said bag.

“Thank you Tayla.” Harry smiled at the House Elf making her beam at him before she popped away. Tonks and Penny stopped at the destination and picked up their own bags they’d left there when they went to get Harry.

“Good morning all!” Sirius smiled brightly as he approached with the Portkey, a length of rope, in hand. He had his own small bag in his left hand and was all smiles. His good mood was in no small part to another date with Marlie just a few days ago. It was the first date he came home very late from in fact. Harry had already been asleep by the time Sirius had returned. The young Artificer wasn’t even going to ponder on the WHY, but he had his suspicions and DIDN’T want them confirmed!

“Just about time.” Penny looked at her watch.

“Right, right, grab ahold everyone.” Sirius held out the rope to everyone. Harry, Tonks and Penny grabbed onto the rope and not even a minute later they were whisked away. Harry felt like something had grabbed him behind his stomach and then a sensation of spinning for several moments. When the spinning stopped Harry stumbled and fell onto the grass they’d reappeared on.

“Someone stop the world.” Harry grumbled as he waited for the disorientation to pass.

“I hate Portkeys.” Tonks grumbled from where she’d ended up sprawled across the grass.

“That was…less than pleasant.” Penny agreed though the blonde at least landed on her feet.

“You get better with experience.” Sirius laughed at the three as he helped Tonks and Harry off the ground.

“Monsieur Potter, Monsieur Black, Madame Tonks, Madam Clearwater; welcome to Chateau Delacour.” A House Elf greeted them. The little Elf was wearing what looked to be a modified silk curtain and was obviously female. “May Kolly be taking your bags for you?”

“That would be lovely, thank you Kolly.” Sirius replied with a smile to the Elf. With a snapped all of their bags disappeared and a soft pop saw Kolly vanishing as well.

“’Arry!” A delightfully warm voice called out and the group turned to the Chateau and saw a girl close to Penny’s age, a year younger according to her letters to Harry, approaching them. With the teen, obviously Fleur, was a woman who looked like an older sister, a slightly plump man with a styled moustache and goatee, and a small girl that couldn’t have been older than seven.

“Fleur, it is good to finally meet in person.” Harry smiled at his Pen Pal. The picture she’d sent him in one of her earlier letters didn’t do her justice. Seeing her face to face was far better. Fleur smiled at him and kissed both of his cheeks in greeting. Harry tried and failed to keep his cheeks from heating up at the platinum blonde’s greeting. He was pretty sure he heard Sirius and Tonks snickering in the background too!

“Please, I’d like you to meet my Papa and Maman and my leetle sister!” Fleur smiled happily at him. From there pleasantries and greetings were exchanged. Fleur’s father, Marius Delacour was a pleasant man, he and Sirius quickly got along. Her mother, Appoline Delacour, was the woman that he’d thought might have been an older sister. She was smiling and seemed pleased to meet him and the others. Lastly the young girl was Gabrielle, who happily babbled in rapid fire French. Harry was able to understand a bit of the little girl’s talking, but quickly lost track and was lost.

“Come in, come in, we’ve a lovely brunch set up!” Marius welcomed them into the Chateau and the four British Magicals followed along. The group was quickly led to a lovely dining room and the spread of food available was impressive to say the least. Sirius had had some of the food before and was comfortable enough to pick out a few favorites. Harry, Penny, and Tonks took what looked good and whatever the Delacours recommended. Harry found he liked the pastry called pain au chocolat. Though that might be because it was a soft bread with chocolate inside.

“I was very impressed to hear that you’d earned the Title of Artificer so young, Monsieur Potter.” Marius smiled at Harry.

“I was surprised too.” Harry admitted with a sheepish grin. “You can all call me Harry if you prefer, as well.”

“You were surprised ‘Arry?” Appoline questioned the Artificer. “Were you not trying to become an Artificer?”

“I was…I just didn’t expect to stumble into the Title.” Harry smiled as he heard Tonks snickering again.

“Stumble into?” Fleur questioned with a grin on her face. “That sounds like a story.”

“Oh I can sum it up pretty easily.” Tonks smiled brightly. “Harry was a bit of a Dum-dum and didn’t realize his completed project qualified as an Artifact.”

“Tonks….” Harry sighed with an eye roll.

“It wasn’t until my mother suggested he get it checked out that he realized what he might have created!” Tonks was stifling giggles at this point. Sirius and Penny were both smiling as well, laughter clear in their eyes.

“I was just trying to finish my Safe.” Harry defended himself. “I wasn’t exactly trying to create an Artifact.” By now everyone was chuckling lightly at the accidental nature of Harry’s first Artifact.

“A great many advancements are made by mistake or in the pursuit of other goals, Harry, you simply benefitted from such a scenario.” Marius chuckled and Harry had to admit the Frenchman was correct. He’d learned about accidental inventions during his Non-Magical Education. From there talk turned to schooling, then jobs, plans for the future and so on. Fleur wanted to be a Magical Scholar, researching different Branches of Magic, and trying to gain a deeper understanding of the Primordial Force that was Magic. Penny and Fleur clicked quickly after that when Penny mentioned her own interest in Spellcraft.

“I’m completely outnumbered by nerds.” Tonks playfully jibed at the other three.

“Maybe nerds are your ‘Type’, then Tonksie.” Sirius teased the Metamorph as he nonchalantly buttered a croissant. Tonks jabbed her finger at him and a Stinging Hex was sent his way. Sirius, having seen this coming, already had his wand in hand and cancelled the Hex with a Finite.

“Oh my, you can perform Wandless Magic, Auror Tonks?” Appoline blinked in surprise at the use of non-verbal, wandless casting.

“Yeah, but it’s not my secret to share, so if you were wanting to learn, I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Tonks rubbed the back of her head. She was so used to her circle of friends and family knowing about her Wandless capabilities that she’d gotten used to using her Magic without a second thought.

“Non, I was merely surprised.” Appoline waved off. “It is not often that you see a Witch or Wizard with the skill to perform much of any Magic without a wand.”

“I understand.” Tonks nodded. In Europe and North America wands were standard. Only in a few places in the world were different forms of casting taught. Tonks wasn’t one to go out of her way to look up this information. But Penny had looked into it and found that both the most prominent Magical Schools in Africa, Uagadou, and in Japan, Mahoutokoro, taught other forms of Casting. Apparently Wandless Magic wasn’t so much a mystery to other parts of the World. Merely something that took many years of study to perform with any skill. Tonks would take Harry’s method over whatever the other schools were offering though. It hadn’t taken her or Penny years of study and practice, merely coming to a better understanding of their own Magic and how to handle it.

After the lovely brunch, the adults happily chatted and traded stories, while the younger members went off to have a tour of the Chateau and grounds with Fleur. The Veela girl had happily shown her Pen Pal and the new friends she’d made in Penny and Tonks, around her home. Gabby, as the seven year old had asked to be called, followed along with them and asked her own curious questions in French. After the tour the group was sitting in the large gardens of the Chateau and getting to know each other better. Fleur was ecstatic to find out that all three of her new friends were Occlumens. None of them felt anything from her natural Veela Allure and Fleur was happy to have friends that liked her for her; instead of drooling on themselves or getting jealous or envious. To little Gabby’s amusement Tonks had demonstrated her Metamorphmagus abilities. Changing her face, hair, eyes all to the little Veela girls requests.

“You’ve created your own spell already?” Fleur asked impressed to Penny.

“It’s based off a couple of other Charms, but yes.” Penny nodded with a smile. “It can make a bit of a mess though.”

“Strangely it’s not a form of Fire Magic.” Harry shrugged with a teasing grin. “I’m pretty convinced that she’s a Pyromancer that just likes to dabble in other Spells occasionally.”

“Oh hush you.” Penny playfully huffed as she poked him with a small ball of mana. Sort of like a Stinging Hex, but without the painful effect.

“Fire Magic, you say?” Fleur tilted her head and raised her hand. With a small snap a ball of flame appeared above her palm which she held out to them. “I’ve a ‘bit’ of an affinity for that Branch of Magic.” The platinum blonde grinned.

“Ooh, are we about to have a ‘Magic Off’?” Tonks questioned, looking almost giddy.

“You sound like you want to show off.” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“What? Me? No….” Tonks held up her hands as if to ward off his accusation. No one there believed her though.

“I would not mind a bit of a friendly ‘duel’.” Fleur spoke up. “No one at Beauxbatons is much of a challenge. They either just stare at me until I defeat them or they attack to try and prove something to either me or themselves. Neither is very good for practice as you can imagine. The first isn’t a challenge and the other throws all of their Magic, or mana, behind their first few spells and quickly tires themselves out.”

“Well I guess, but I’m not the greatest Duelist or anything.” Penny shrugged.

“Says the girl who threw how many fireballs at me during the Dueling Club?” Harry teased and Penny flicked another mana ball at him. Harry swatted the ball away with his hand and stood up. “I do believe that was a challenge!”

“Maybe it was.” Penny sniffed in a faux pompous manner.

“Alright! Free for all!” Tonks cheered with a laugh as she picked up Gabby, making the seven year old giggle happily, and quickly took the young girl further away to a safe distance that she could watch from. The Metamorph reached out with her mana and Transfigured a low stone wall from the dirt. She place Gabby behind the wall and told her, in the limited French she had, to not come out from behind it until they were done. Gabby had happily nodded along to the request, eager to see more Magic.

“I apologize, but Fire is all I can conjure Wandlessly, so I’ll be using my wand.” Fleur twirled the focus between her fingers before gripping it firmly.

“That’s more than fine, Fleur.” Harry smiled at his blue eyed friend. “I’m sure Penny will be tossing around enough fire for all of us.”

“Just keep digging that hole deeper, Harry, just keep digging.” Penny nodded at him with a grin that promised ‘retribution’.

“Ready?” Tonks began.

“Set.” Harry continued.

“Go!” Fleur finished and raised a strong Protego with her wand.

“Catch!” Tonks laughed as she yanked up some stones from the ground and Transfigured them into rubber balls. The balls were blasted towards the other three at speed.

“Nope!” Harry raised his own Protego followed by Penny and the rubber balls all bounced off the Shield Charms.

“I’ve already got all three of you on the back foot!” Tonks chuckled before using the spell Harry had shown her, Similitudo, to make an illusionary mirror image of herself. The two Tonks split up to confuse their ‘opponents’.

“So you think.” Penny retorted as she moved to her left and conjured fireballs that she sent towards both Tonks. One raised and moved her arms snuffing out the fireballs heading her way. The other moved her arm and the fireballs passed through her making the illusion vanish.

“Do not forget about me.” Fleur smiled as a barrage of snowballs pelted towards the other three. Tonks used Levitation to alter the course of any snowball headed her way. The Auror didn’t even have to move to avoid the barrage. Penny transfigured the dirt into a thin wall in front of her and shielded behind it. Harry used the Immobulus Charm to stop any snowball that got to close. When the barrage ended he had almost a dozen snowballs frozen in midair.

“You can have these back.” Harry grinned as he turned the snowballs into water and launched them like water balloons in the girls’ directions.

“Ha!” Tonks mocked as she exerted her will on the conjured water and made it disappear. Penny simply willed her dirt shield to move and she easily blocked the water balls. Fleur used an Evaporation Charm and the water balls were gone before they reached her.

Penny crumbled her dirt shield into sand and then whipped her hand into the air. “Sand Veils All!” The blonde intoned and a strong wind whipped up and caught the particles. In a matter of seconds their ‘battlefield’ was covered by the mini sandstorm.

“Well there goes my hair!” Tonks ‘complained’ loudly.

“Down!” Harry stated with an echo of power in his voice. All of the sand whipping through the air was suddenly forced to the ground and held there by Harry’s will. “You didn’t think I’d figure out a counter for that spell of yours? I’m hurt Penny.”

Ropes shot across the ‘battlefield’ and moved as if they were alive. The source was Fleur’s wand as she conjured more and more to try and bind all three of them. Tonks, Harry, and Penny all waved their hands unleashing Cutting Charms against the writhing ropes. Fleur watched as her constructs disappeared after being sliced to pieces. Without missing a beat the platinum blonde flicked her wand and then made multiple swirling motions with it. The ground warped as it was transfigured and a large bear made of dirt and rock formed. It let out a soundless roar before charging the three of them.

“Beasts huh?” Tonks questioned before raising her arms and framing the charging golem with her hands. “Cube.” The golem bear slammed into a nearly transparent wall. Bouncing backwards from the sudden stop made it collide with a wall behind it. Below it, above it, and on all four side were strong walls of magic, like inverted Shield Charms, but stronger. “Capture complete!” The bubbly Metamorph laughed.

“Am I the only one that doesn’t have a named spell of his own?” Harry ‘lamented’ loudly before moving his arms in large circles a few times. Water formed into two large spheres and then merged into a single large ball of water. With a chop from his hand a thin, fast moving, line of water left the ball and sliced clean through the ‘Cube’ and the bear golem instantly.

“How’d you do that?!” Tonks demanded with an almost pout on her face. “I worked hard on that spell!”

“Oh Harry, you know we can just…just…why can’t I ‘Finite’ your conjured water?” Penny questioned as she failed to make the water vanish.

“This isn’t Conjuration; I simply gathered this water together from the air.” Harry stuck his tongue out at the Prefect with a smug grin. “Cool off time!” Harry made the large ball of water blast forward like a rain shower. All three girls raised Protego to keep from getting soaked by the downpour. As soon as the water stopped, Fleur made her move. Flames leapt from her left hand and formed into a bird-like shape. The fire bird ‘flew’ into the air above the ‘battlefield’ and flapped its wings to unleash a constant stream of small fireballs.

Penny dealt with the barrage with her own wall of fire. The small fireballs only merged with her flames. The blonde witch eyed Fleur, seeing the Veela teen focused solely on her construct Penny took action. A stomp on the ground sent a spell through the dirt. When said spell reached Fleur’s position the dirt under her feet heaved upwards about a dozen centimeters. This sudden disruption of her footing broke her concentration and the fire bird dissipated. Penny gathered her wall of fire into a ball for a moment and then sent a wave of flames across the battlefield at Tonks and Harry. Both of them had huddled under their own Protego to defend against the fireballs.

“Cheap!” Tonks squawked as she clapped her hands together with a look of intense concentration on her face. The air in front of her began to swirl and then spin rapidly. The flames were sucked up and blown out like a candle in mere seconds. Harry merely yanked the water from the wet ground and doused the wave of fire heading for him.

“Sagitta Flamma!” Fleur conjured fire from her left hand and then shaped it into arrows with her wand. That didn’t look safe to Harry.

“So much fire today!” Tonks laughed as she conjured up a large amount of water and then had it swirl into a point like a massive drill. That was going a bit too far!

“You’re not exactly giving any ground yourself!” Penny yelled to her older friend as a bright ball of mana was held between her hands. That also didn’t look good!

“Enough!” Harry roared out just before the girls could launch their spells. He conjured lightning for the first time in a while. Channeling the Fulmen Curse down his arm and to his index and middle fingertips he launched a bolt of electricity into the air. The sharp buzzing sound followed by the crack of super-heated air snapped the girls out of the ‘free for all’ and made them look at Harry. “I think we were all a little caught up.” He huffed, starting to realize how much mana he had expended during their little ‘duel’.

“I’m so sorry.” Fleur apologized as she dismissed her spell. “I got too competitive.”

“No, no, I’m the adult here. I should have calmed us down earlier.” Tonks shook her head and dispersed her conjured water.

“I think we all got a bit carried away.” Penny admitted as the ball of mana in her hands shrank and then faded away.

“Sorry about that.” All four of them apologized at the same time. When they all realized they said the same thing in unison Tonks and Harry cracked up. Their laughter triggered Penny and Fleur making the platinum haired girl and the blonde both descend into giggles.

“C'était incroyable!” Gabby came rushing towards the group, her beaming smile could have lit up the night. “Votre magie était si chouette! Peux-tu m'apprendre?
Je veux faire ça!” Fleur quickly gathered her little sister up into a hug and picked the younger girl up. Gabby giggled and hugged her older sister happily.

“Peut-être quand tu seras plus âgé.” Fleur smiled at her little sister.

“I only understood about half that.” Harry whispered to Penny and Tonks.

“More than me, I only understood the first sentence.” Tonks admitted with a shrug.

“She said, ‘That was amazing.’, ‘Our magic was so neat.’, ‘She wants to know if we can teach her.’, and finally ‘She wants to do what we did.’ Is what she said.” Penny clarified since she was fluent in French.

“What did Fleur say?” Harry asked since he hadn’t caught what his friend had said to Gabby.

“Maybe when you’re older.” Penny translated for him with a soft smile at the sister’s interaction.

-At the Chateau-

“For a moment I thought we’d have to intervene.” Marius exhaled in relief seeing how much his daughter and her new friends were getting into their ‘duel’.

“I figured one of them would realize pretty quick when it started going too far.” Sirius smiled, though he already had his wand out.

“They’re very impressive.” Appoline breathed out in amazement. “Fleur is so far ahead of her school mates in Magic already. But those three kept up with her so easily.”

“Harry, Penny, and Tonks are all quite the gifted Spellcasters.” Sirius chuckled as he put his wand back in its holster.

“They’re exactly the kind of friends our little Flower needs.” Marius smiled. “One’s that are on the same level as her, and won’t be jealous or resentful of her talent. I’m so pleased that she’s found three such people.” The French father looked truly happy for his eldest child.

“Yes, we should have visits from time to time.” Appoline agreed. “We should exchange Floo addresses so the children can talk or visit on breaks and such.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Sirius smiled brightly as the adults watched the youngsters play around on their way back to the Chateau.

-End Chapter-

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Boom goes the spells! Seems like the lovely Miss Delacour has Three new friends instead of just one! It’s very nice to have friends that won’t drool on themselves in your presence. Especially female friends that don’t suspect that you’re trying to steal their boyfriend or get jealous because of your beauty or talent. Harry has some ideas going on for the Basilisk parts too! What will he make? Is there a benefit to Enchanting with parts of a Magical Creature that you’ve ‘Conquered’? What other ideas could he get on this trip to France? Fleur is quite the Student of Magical Theory, after all!

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,196

Tonks – 6,478

Penelope – 5,702

Fleur – 6,000+

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 21: Scholars, Commission, Trickery

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry learns some interesting information about the Magical World's adaptation of his Mana Measuring Method. He gets his first Commissions as an Artificer! Then he pulls a little bit of Trickery of his own!

Thank you roanoak for the names Lum and Thaum! I remembered what we chatted about way back in Chapter 4! Thanks for the help!

This story now has a TvTropes Page! Woohoo! Thank TheSinful here and over on FFNet for all his hard work! You're a Beast Sin!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 21 – Scholars, Commission, Trickery

"What's this?" Harry asked as Fleur smiled. The Veela girl handed him a small stack of parchment and Harry read the top line. "Magic Measurement: Mana in relation to Spell Effects and Power." Harry blinked at what was clearly a title before reading a bit further. "Oh, I see, so they want to further understand and quantify mana and how it applies to using Magic." The parchments Fleur had handed Harry were the Magical equivalent of a research paper. Apparently several Magical Scholars had taken his measuring method and used it to further break down and understand Spells.

"It is so very interesting, Harry!" Fleur smiled at her friend. "Madam Aveline is part of the research group! She makes copies of her notes for me to look over! They've broken down your mana measurement into two factors!"

Harry smiled at seeing Fleur so excited. The silver blonde was very intelligent and already on her way to becoming a Magical Scholar. Being able to read over the notes of one of the biggest changes to the Magical Community in regards to Magic would obviously make her happy. Harry looked over the parchment again and noted the names of the two factors of mana usage. The Lum and the Thaum. Lum was each individual unit of mana, or a 1 if measured by a Scouter or Test Frame. A Thaum was the unit of change per Lum. They'd apparently started their research with the Lumos Charm just as he'd done. It was certainly interesting. By the notes he was looking at if a standard Lumos Charm produced around five lux of illumination, or light per square meter, per Lum, then the Thaum, or how much changed with each Lum, would be measured as five. This was for just the basic Lumos Charm too. A more complex spell, such as Protego or a Stupefy, would certainly have much more differences in their power and duration of effect as they were measured.

"What're they testing now, Fleur?" Harry asked as he looked over the parchments.

"Madam Aveline says they're testing the Summoning Charm at the moment." Fleur answered with a bright smile. "A Lum produces about a meter of movement per second. So the Thaum is one as well. More Lums increases both the distance and speed at a ratio of two V to one D. This is even before you factor in the object in questions weight too!" Fleur was excitedly chatting about the research and Harry was just able to keep up with the girl. He was glad that further research into Magic and Spells was being done because of his measurement system. The Magical Scholars of the world would be the ones that tested and made sense of his measurement system in relation to Magic. From the parchments in his hands and Fleur's excited talk about the results so far. Well he was fairly certain his measurement system would be integrated into the understanding of Magic from now on. It might even become a staple of Arithmancy in relation to Spellcraft.

"This is brilliant, Fleur." Harry smiled at his platinum hared friend. "I'm glad to see that more is being understood and tested in regards to Magic. This could make understanding Spellcraft easier for people. I might just try my hand at a few original spells, since 'some people' don't seem to want to share theirs." He threw out towards Tonks and Penny. Both young ladies replied in their own way to Harry's comment. Penny simply smiled and returned to the book she was reading. Tonks, maturely, stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him.

"Nuh uh, Mister! 'Cube' is my spell! I worked hard on it!" Tonks stuck her nose into the air in an act of faux pompousness. "If you want to learn it you'll have to have an original spell of your own to trade." The Metamorph teased from where she was sitting on the coach flipping through Witch Weekly.

"Just you wait Nym. I'll create a spell so amazing you'll be begging to learn it!" Harry promised as he pointed at the, currently green haired, woman.

"Promises, promises, Harrikins!" Tonks chuckled as she flipped a page in her magazine.

The group was currently hanging out at Wood End Cottage. The summer break was almost over and Harry was taking a break from his Enchanting and Spell practice. It was Tonks' day off and they'd all been able to get together for a bit. With Floo addresses shared during their visit to France, it wasn't odd to find Fleur at Wood End Cottage a few times a week. Likewise it wasn't odd for Harry and Sirius to pop over to the Delacour Chateau for a weekend on invitation. Fleur, Penny, and Tonks had most certainly hit it off and become rather good friends. Fleur and Penny were both Academics and could 'nerd talk', as Tonks called it, for hours. Though Fleur enjoyed a good Duel almost as much as Tonks and the Metamorph relished having a partner to practice with that wasn't her rough around the edges mentor. Alastor Moody apparently didn't know the meaning of 'take it easy'.

Harry and Fleur got along with both Academics and Dueling. Fleur was very much impressed by his Enchanting as well. Harry truly had an affinity for this Branch of Magic. Fleur was amazed the one time Harry had let her flip through one of his journals with his ideas written into it. The number of ideas was impressive, to say the least. But it was the depth of thought noted down on the ideas closer to testing or completion that blew her away. Details about the idea or item, tests and re-tests, notes about failures or successes. So much existed in the journal and Fleur had only skimmed through it! The Veela girl was very much aware that Tonks and Penny seemed to have 'made a claim' on the young Artificer. But she couldn't help becoming more and more interested in him. From their time as Pen Pals, to meeting each other the first time, to now when they met up and spent time together often.

'I'm becoming smitten with Harry.' Fleur sighed at her thoughts. She'd have to speak with Tonks and Penny, privately, at some point. Fleur was hopeful her new friends would understand and potentially welcome her even further into their group. For now though, she'd be content to just be near the amazing young man. Her feelings, along with the situation between Harry, Tonks, and Penny, could be settled at a later time.

-Last Week of August ~ Diagon Alley-

"I've got everything I need." Harry mentioned as he and Sirius finished up their shopping trip. Harry was now ready to return to Hogwarts for his Third Year. He was hoping his new Electives, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures, would make the School Year more exciting and challenging. He was starting to get bored with the slow pace of the Hogwarts curriculum.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sirius questioned his Godson with concern.

"That money belongs to me and they're basically holding it hostage. I'm getting it back." Harry replied with a determined gaze. "I just need you to come with me, Sirius, so that they take me seriously."

"Alright, Harry, I get it." Sirius sighed before smiling at his Godson. "Don't tell Marlie. She'd be giving me hell about messing with the Goblins."

"Just think of t as one of your pranks that you enjoy so much." Harry mentioned as the duo made their way towards Gringotts.

"The most dangerous prank I've ever been a part of." Sirius cracked a grin. The two walked up the steps of Gringotts and joined a line for the Tellers. A few minutes later they stepped up and Harry requested to speak to his Account Overseer.

"Follow me." A Goblin waved them over and then started walking without waiting for them. The two Wizards caught up with the Goblin and were led to the same door Harry had stood in front of before his first year at Hogwarts. The door with a gold plaque that simply said Margok hadn't changed at all. The Goblin leading them knocked three times and a call of 'Enter' was heard from within. Without waiting for a word the Goblin left Sirius and Harry standing at the door. They entered and sat in the two plain chairs before the Goblin's desk.

"Back again, Mr. Potter?" Margok questioned the teen in front of him. "I see you've brought your legal Guardian this time. Regardless, you still cannot access the Potter Family Vault."

"You have things that belong to me in your possession." Harry began and noticed the Goblin looking vaguely amused. "But I have something that I believe your people want far more than the contents of the Potter Family Vault and my Trust Vault."

"I highly doubt that, Mr. Potter." Margok snorted dismissively.

"So you don't want this back?" Harry asked as he unwrapped his Invisibility Cloak from around the Sword of Gryffindor. Margok's eyes locked onto the Legendary Blade and the Goblin was suddenly sitting straight up.

"That's a fake." Margok accused bearing his fangs.

"No, I found it at Hogwarts last year, test it if you want." Harry placed the sword on top of the desk, but he didn't let go of the handle. Not even when Margok glared harshly at him for the 'implied threat' of holding a sword within Gringotts. "Your choice."

"Very well." Margok growled as he ran his claws over the blade. Harry briefly noted a bit of Magic passing through the sword from his grip on the handle. After several minutes Margok sat back with a blank expression. Without a word he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. The Account Overseer wrote something down and then folded the parchment. In a blink the parchment was gone from the Goblin's desk. "You'll wait here and not move." Margok instructed his face blank. The Goblin's eyes were harsh and promised suffering if he was disobeyed.

"Margok." A deep voice came from behind Harry and Sirius as the door to the office was opened and a dozen armed Goblins entered the room. The voice came from the largest Goblin Harry had ever seen. This large Goblin stood at least as tall as Drad Erdunn, though Harry thought the Goblin might actually be a bit taller than the Dwarf. "Has it truly come into our Halls?"

"Yes, King Ragnok." Margok bowed to the large Goblin.

"Do not move." Ragnok growled at the Wizards as he moved over to the desk and touched the blade with the claw of his index finger. Once again Harry felt Magic moving through the blade. This time it was far more mana and it stayed in the blade longer, it even lingered for a brief moment after Ragnok took his claw off the sword. "What is it you want, Wizards?"

"I only want what is mine, Mister Ragnok." Harry intoned as he stared into the eyes of the large Goblin. The greed and resentment he saw in the Goblin's eyes was near sickening.

"I am King Ragnok Gringott, Wizard! Do not try to disrespect me in my own Halls!" Ragnok growled threateningly as Sirius and Harry noticed the armed Goblins reach for their weapons. "I could simply take this sword as it is within Gringotts! It is Goblin made and our Treaty with your Ministry allows us to reclaim what is ours!"

"Except that it's not." Harry replied evenly. Ragnok and the other Goblins tensed up for an instant. "I know that old story is a load of rubbish. This sword is no more Goblin-made than my wand. Taking it would be theft on your part and it's not like you can make either of us disappear without starting a war."

"We're a bit 'high profile' you could say." Sirius spoke pleasantly though the implied severity of any hostile actions was easily noted.

"So you know your History." Ragnok scoffed at the teen. "What do you want for it?"

"As I said earlier, I want what is mine." Harry replied, still holding onto the sword with a tight grip.

"How much is in the vaults under the Potter Family?" Ragnok questioned Margok while never breaking eye contact with Harry.

"Less than fifteen thousand Galleons, plus assorted heirlooms and other such objects, nothing we care about." Margok answered while glaring at Harry.

"Stuff it all in a trunk and bring it here." Ragnok ordered and Margok quickly wrote out a note and made it vanish.

"Seems we'll be done here soon, Harry." Sirius remarked to his Godson, his eyes not straying from the Goblins in the room.

"Thankfully." Harry responded as he and Ragnok continued to stare each other down.

Several tense minutes later and two Goblins carried in a plain trunk with a scroll of parchment on top. A few words passed in the Goblin language and Margok pulled the scroll off the top of the trunk. Handing the scroll to Harry the Account Overseer sneered. Harry opened the scroll and went through the list inside. He noted the various amounts of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. A bit of math showed him it was right about what the sum total of the Potter Family's liquid assets should be. He briefly noted that a list of items, most labelled as 'Miscellaneous', was included and skimmed it too. He passed the scroll to Sirius to look over.

"It has the seal, Harry, they have it all." Sirius remarked and pointed to an odd mark on the bottom of the scroll. "That seal was part of the last Treaty with the Goblins. When they gained full control over the Bank they had to enter into a Magical Contract with the Ministry. It was to keep both sides honest. If they'd left so much as a Knut or even a scrap of cloth behind that belonged to the Potter Family the seal wouldn't have formed." He explained as he rolled the scroll back up.

"Then our deal is done." Harry stated as he let go of the Sword of Gryffindor. Ragnok carefully picked up the sword and moved away from the Wizards. The sword briefly glowed a dark, putrid green before Ragnok smiled a fanged grin.

"Our deal is done." Ragnok agreed. "Potter, you are never to set foot inside of Gringotts again. If you do so you'll be treated as an invader and killed. Now take your trunk and get out of my Halls!" Harry and Sirius stood up and took hold of the trunk before heading towards the door.

"Gladly." Harry tossed back over his shoulder as he and Sirius were escorted from the Bank. Once they were in Diagon Alley again they quickly made their way to the Apparation point off to the side of Slug and Jigger's Apothecary. Sirius side along Apparated Harry and the trunk back to Wood End Cottage. When the duo arrived they both burst into laughter.

"I can't believe you pulled it off, Harry!" Sirius laughed loudly as they collapsed onto the grass in the backyard. "You're certain you can get the Sword back too?"

"That's what the Sorting Hat told me!" Harry chortled as he patted the trunk containing all of the Potter Family's wealth and possessions. "I'm just glad to have everything out of the Goblins' greedy claws."

"Well let's get this all inside and start going through it!" Sirius smiled at his Godson as he levitated the trunk inside. Harry agreed happily as he was eager to find out what was in the Potter Family Vault since he first heard of it.

-September 1st ~ Hogwarts Express-

What turned out to be inside the trunk, aside from money, was mostly old clothing and wands of his ancestors. There were also a few trinkets such as fine china and silverware and even a decent amount of books. Harry was more than happy to spend quite a bit of his last few days of summer looking through it all. But now he was on the Hogwarts Express on his way to his Third Year.

"Harry? You seem to be lost in thought, are you alright?" Penny asked as she sat across from him. The train was set to depart in just a few more minutes. Harry smiled at Penny before he got a mischievous thought and decided to tease her a little.

"I'm fine Penny. I was just thinking about my birthday." Harry innocently remarked. As expected Penny's cheeks turned pink and she looked away from him. "You three looked nice in those swimsuits." Indeed, Tonks had gotten up to her own brand of mischief for Harry's birthday. The Metamorph had gotten Fleur and Penny in on it too, though Penny hadn't known the full extent of Tonks' plan. So it came to be that Harry, poolside at the Delacour Chateau, had gotten to see Tonks, Penny, and Fleur in bikinis. Tonks had grinned before, with a snap of her fingers, the bikinis had become much less 'covering'.

"Those were not swimsuits!" Penny practically hid behind her hands in embarrassment. "Lingerie covers more than those 'bikinis' did when Tonks was done!" Considering the fact that said swimwear had suddenly become mostly strings. They barely had enough cloth to cover what needed to be covered and Harry had gotten quite the eyeful. Oddly enough Fleur hadn't seemed bothered by it at all. She and Tonks had even posed a bit for the teen with teasing grins and smiles. Penny had shown off her 'assets' by turning around while also trying to cover herself. Harry had politely covered his eyes until Penny calmed down.

"I don't think I could have asked for a better gift though." Harry teased lightly. Especially since Penny, Tonks, and Fleur were all very lovely young ladies. Fleur would be considered 'perfect' by most men. Pretty face with deep blue eyes, blemish free skin with a light tan from the summer sun, long flowing platinum blonde hair, her large breasts that had barely been covered in the slightest by the transfigured bikini, her thin waist and flat stomach, the wide hips and long, smooth legs. Veela were known for their physical beauty and Harry had gotten an up close view of Fleur in 'almost' all her glory.

"Shush you!" Penny huffed as she flicked a ball of mana at him. Harry chuckled as it 'popped' against his forehead.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Harry apologized for his teasing. "You did look very beautiful though, Penny. You're a lovely girl after all."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Mister." Penny grinned at him softly.

"Aww that's too bad." Harry playfully huffed and Penny rolled her eyes at him.

The two were joined by Luna shortly before the train began to move. Hermione, Padma, and Mandy came by to chat for a while during the trip too. All in all it was a regular train ride to Hogwarts. The only 'bad' part of the trip was when Penny had to leave for almost two hours for Head Girl duties. Penny had been so happy to be made Head Girl. Harry, Tonks, and even Fleur had congratulated the blonde on her achievement. When Penny came back she sat beside Harry instead of across from him. Luna had smiled at the sight for some reason, but Harry was too happy to have Penny back to care much. They'd spent the last of the train ride leaning against each other happily.

-Great Hall ~ Sorting Ceremony-

"Hey Penny, where do they keep the Sorting Hat during the year?" Harry asked as one of the new First Years got sorted into Hufflepuff.

"In the Headmaster's Office, why?" Penny whispered back curiously.

"I need it to keep an agreement I made." Harry whispered to her.

"What kind of agreement requires the Sorting Hat?" Penny questioned quietly.

"I just need to return something." Harry looked at her knowingly.

"Oh, are you giving it back?" Penny asked curiously.

"More like getting it back to its rightful owner." Harry told her before he clapped as a new Ravenclaw started walking towards their table.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Harry." Penny remarked.

"I have an idea that could very well hinge on this." Harry smiled back. "If it works out I'll be able to free up quite a bit of time."

-September 4th ~ Saturday-

The first weekend of the school term saw Harry making his way to the Headmaster's Office. He'd gotten confirmation from Sirius about the part of the plan his Godfather was in charge of. He'd also heard back from Drad Erdunn and was pleased as could be that the Dwarf, and his father King Erdunn, would be meeting him shortly. Sirius had already sent ahead a letter to Dumbledore stating that Harry had a meeting in Hogsmeade. Penny, as Head Girl, would be escorting Harry to the village to meet with Sirius. Dumbledore had been curious about the meeting but had let the matter rest when Sirius had said it was for Harry's Professional Enchanting. Interfering in the Business of another was punishable in court if the Business owner pressed charges.

"Ice Mice." Harry spoke to the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office. Why Dumbledore had that set as the password was a mystery to Harry. The gargoyle moved aside and Harry stepped onto the revolving spiral staircase. Once at the Office door Harry was about to knock before he heard Dumbledore.

"Come in, Harry." Dumbledore welcomed as the door opened by itself. Harry stepped into the large office and took note of the multitude of odd devices. There were bookshelves filled with heavy tomes, and several cupboards along the walls. Sitting on a perch next to the Headmaster's desk was the same Phoenix from the Chamber. Oh Harry would very much like to get some more samples of Phoenix materials for his research! But for now he'd have to focus and do what he came here for.

"Good morning, Headmaster." Harry greeted politely.

"Good morning to you as well, Harry." Dumbledore smiled. "I was a bit confused that you said you needed to meet with me before your Business meeting in Hogsmeade with Sirius. If you're hoping to ask for business advice I'm afraid I don't have much experience." The old man joked.

"I actually need to ask your permission to speak with the Sorting Hat, sir." Harry informed Dumbledore of his reason for meeting him.

"The Sorting Hat?" Dumbledore questioned curiously. "Why would you need to speak with it? You aren't trying for a Re-Sorting are you?"

"Is that a thing?" Harry questioned. He'd never heard of it after all.

"Rather rare, Harry, but it has been needed in the past a few times." Dumbledore admitted.

"Well, that's not why I'm here." Harry shook his head slightly. "I need to ask the Hat for something."

"An odd request, Harry." Dumbledore mentioned as he levitated the Sorting Hat off the top of a bookcase and onto his desk.

"Thank you, sir." Harry thanked the old man before focusing on the Hat. "I have need of the sword." He spoke clearly and the Hat moved a bit. Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit at the term 'sword'.

"Where did you leave it?" The Sorting Hat questioned as it faced Harry. "I'm not a Post Owl you know."

"I apologize, but where it is right now is inaccessible to me." Harry informed the relic in front of him.

"Fine, fine, just give me a moment." The Sorting Hat brushed off before it straightened up and a dull thud was heard from within it. Harry reached under the hat and took hold of the handle. Pulling back the Sword of Gryffindor was in his hands once more.

"Harry?! Is that?!" Dumbledore almost choked at seeing the legendary sword of Godric Gryffindor in the Third Year's hands.

"Yes sir, it is the Sword of Gryffindor." Harry admitted. "The Sorting Hat can explain the details to you, but I need this for my meeting."

"I don't understand?" Dumbledore looked very confused. Harry stood up and pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his inner robe pocket.

"The stories you've heard about Godric's sword have been greatly altered Dumbledore." The Sorting Hat spoke up and the old man turned his attention to the ancient hat. While the Sorting Hat was telling the Headmaster the true history of the blade, Harry wrapped the Invisibility Cloak around it. The sword vanished from sight and Harry turned back to Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Headmaster, but I must be on my way to my meeting. Have a nice Saturday, sir." With that Harry left through the still open door and down the spiral staircase.

"Harry? Harry wait!" Dumbledore stood up from his desk.

"Don't!" The Sorting Hat spoke loudly, stopping Dumbledore from taking a step. "The sword does not belong to you, to Hogwarts, or even to Mr. Potter. Now that Gryffindor's Line is gone that sword belongs to the Line that forged it. No one has any right to stop Mr. Potter from returning it."

"But it's a Relic of Hogwarts, one of the lost items of the Founders." Dumbledore stated and the Sorting Hat did its own equivalent of a head shake.

"It is no longer the Sword of Gryffindor. That Family Line is gone from this world. It is the Sword of Erdunn now, just as it should be. Do not make the mistake of thinking you have the right to dictate where that sword goes." The Sorting Hat stated with a tone of finality.

"I would not wish to become a thief." Dumbledore sighed as he sat down again. "But how did the story come to be twisted so much?"

"That happened long ago, shortly after I took possession of the sword." The Sorting Hat began to tell the tale from the information that it knew. It would be a lengthy tale if the Hat told everything of it's nearly one thousand years of existence. For the sake of saving time though, the Hat would only tell the Headmaster what related directly to the sword.

Harry met Penny in the Great Hall and the two of them were quickly on their way towards Hogsmeade. The village came into view after a short ride on one of the carriages. Sirius was waiting for them at the Three Broomsticks as planned.

"Your associates are already in the private room Harry." Sirius said in an imitation of a personal secretary.

"Ha ha, Sirius." Harry deadpanned. "This is important, so behave?"

"If I must." Sirius chuckled and Penny stifled her giggles at the antics between Godfather and Godson. The trio made their way into the private room of the Three Broomsticks. Waiting for them was Drad Erdunn and his father King Drasurd Erdunn.

"A pleasure to see you again, Erdunn." Harry greeted the Dwarf he knew. He got a nod back from the Dwarf in response. "It is good to meet you King Erdunn."

"Not much of a King without a mountain, lad." Drasurd replied with a tired look on his older face. "Why have you asked to meet with me? Your letter was rather vague."

"I have something that belongs to you, King Erdunn, and I believe it is more than time that it was returned to you." Harry answered as he unwrapped the Invisibility Cloak from the sword. Both Dwarves jolted when the sword was revealed and Harry presented it to them.

"Lad, no, Harry Potter where did you find this?" Drasurd asked as he slowly stepped towards the blade.

"Inside the Sorting Hat if you can believe it." Harry replied. "Was defending the school last year, almost died to a Basilisk, the Sorting Hat arrives with a Phoenix and gives me the sword. It's a long story, honestly."

"The sword my father forged." Drasurd murmured quietly as he looked the blade over. "It's been so long."

"Careful with the blade, King Erdunn, I might have accidentally given it a Basilisk Venom upgrade by accident." Harry informed the elder Dwarf.

"How the hell to you give it a power like that accidentally?" Drad questioned and Harry turned to look at the confused younger Dwarf.

"Shoved it through a Basilisk's head and it got coated in the venom." Harry explained sheepishly. The teen Artificer was pretty sure he felt Penny's eyes staring into the back of his head. "But I return this to you, as it should have been long ago."

"Thank you, Harry Potter." Drasurd spoke as he picked the sword up and held it before his eyes. "The Line of Erdunn has hope once more." The sword suddenly glowed and the inscription on the guard that read 'Gryffindor' changed until it spelled out 'Erdunn'. The rubies in the guard almost seemed to have fire in them as the sword's innate Magic synced with Drasurd's Magic. The 'Claiming' was a sight to behold and when the Magic died down the sword almost looked brand new. It gleamed with a light that had never been present in all the time Harry had it in his possession.

"Haven't seen a smile like that on your face in ages, father." Drad smiled at his father. Indeed, Drasurd had a smile on his bearded face, to Harry it looked like the weight of years had suddenly left the Dwarf King. The elder Dwarf switched the Sword of Erdunn to his left hand and extended his right hand out to Harry. Harry returned the gesture, expecting a handshake, only to find his forearm grasped. Realizing what Drasurd was going for Harry clasped his hand around the Dwarf's much thicker forearm.

"From this day forth, Harry Potter is a brother to the Dwarves of Erdunn, if ever you need our aid you have but to call on us." Drasurd intoned and Harry felt a shift in his Magic. On his forearm a small symbol had appeared. Harry surmised this was a Magical Rite of some kind. The mark was probably the Emblem of the Erdunn Line of Dwarves.

"I am honored, King Erdunn." Harry replied and the two released each other's arms.

"Welcome, Brother Potter." Drad grinned at the teen and Harry grinned back.

"Pleased to be a part of Erdunn." Harry responded.

"Is there anything you need us for at the moment, Harry?" Drasurd questioned the Artificer.

"Actually, I had a business proposition for the Dwarves of Erdunn." Harry informed them. Seeing both Dwarves were interested Harry continued. "I recently got my first professional commission. The DMLE wants to make one of my items standard issue to their Aurors. They've put in an order for five hundred of them and I simply can't fulfill that by myself."

"We would need a place to work, if what you need done is blacksmithing and rune work." Drasurd replied and Sirius stepped forward.

"Already taken care of, King Erdunn." Sirius gave a small bow. "I've purchased a large building in Diurn Alley that can be used for blacksmithing and as a workshop. It even has a storefront for direct sales to walk-in customers."

"Sixty-forty in your favor Harry, I'll not hear another word." Drasurd had a light in his eyes that showed a surging of emotion. Harry was fairly sure that emotion was Hope, a newly rekindled Hope for the future of his people.

"Alright, but we'll renegotiate for an even split in ten years." Harry agreed. He wanted the Dwarves to have the appropriate compensation for their time and skills after all.

"Very well." Drasurd chuckled along with Drad.

"I'll show you the plans for the items I'd like you all to make. You can also make your own items and sell them in the storefront. All the profits of those sales are yours to do with as you please." Harry told his new business partners.

"I'll sign the Secrecy Contract and bind my people to it in regards to your creations Harry." Drasurd promised the young Wizard that had already done so much for his people.

From there Harry, Sirius, and Drasurd had spent the next two hours going over the Secrecy Contract that Sirius had drawn up by a legal professional. Sirius had also spent the equivalent of nine percent of the Black Family fortune to buy an iron mine. The land the mine sat on had belonged to another Magical Family that had long abandoned the site. The Wizards and Witches of that Family had fallen on hard times since the war against Grindelwald. Now they were more than happy to restore their wealth by selling a piece of land they didn't even use.

Drasurd had barely kept his emotions in check when Sirius had said that the Dwarves could work there to mine iron ore and any other metals they found. The Dwarf King felt real hope for the returned prosperity of his people. For the first time since they'd been driven to the edge of the Magical World the Dwarves had a real chance, Mining, Smithing, and Crafting! These were the true callings of the Dwarves! His people could finally have their respect and dignity back!

Needless to say all parties involved had happily signed the Contract. That night the Dwarves had celebrated for the first time in far too long. They had a real chance to secure their future now! They had their Ancestral Sword back. They had steady, respectable work for good wages! The only thing they were still missing from before they'd been all but exiled was a Mountain Hall. For some reason Drasurd was fairly certain that the Dwarves would even get that back with their continued brotherhood with Harry Potter.

-End Chapter-

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So the Goblins think they are the only ones that can be tricky and underhanded? *Laughs in Human*

So Harry has gotten all Potter assets out of Gringotts. He and Sirius now have a joint venture with the Dwarves. The Dwarves have their Ancestral Sword back, plus steady, respectable, well paid work.

Harry even got his first professional commission from the DMLE! Thankfully with the Dwarves working with him he now has the workforce necessary to meet such numbers! Things are looking up for the Harry and his friends!

Now how long will that last?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,208

Tonks – 6,524

Penelope – 5,742

Fleur – 6,000+

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 22: Gift, Items, Progress

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry receives a gift! More items are revealed in the planning and prototype stages! Progress is made! But…something less than pleasant is going on in the shadows of the Magical World!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 22 – Gift, Items, Progress

September was nearing its end and Harry was happy. With the Dwarves taking care of the Ministry Commission of ‘Auror Batons’, Harry had much more free time to work on his other ideas. Test Frames were also being made and sold in the storefront in Diurn Alley. Harry had taken out an ad in the Daily Prophet. This was to bring attention to the new store. ‘Potter & Erdunn Creations’ as the store was called, had a fairly large advert on the second page of the last three copies of the Daily Prophet. Test Frames could now be purchased just by going to the store and buying one. This freed up a lot of Harry’s time and the teen Artificer was more than happy to work on his Artifact Sword or some of his other ideas.

“So if I etch each link with the same Array, I should get the same effect even if a link or multiple links are broken.” Harry murmured to himself as he looked over the chain he was working on. With the Dwarves help Harry had gotten a decent amount of Magical Iron to work and experiment with. He’d had an idea to alter his ‘Mana Severing’ Runic Array and cross it with the ‘Auror Baton’s’ temporary ‘Mana Drain’ Array. If his idea panned out, and all the sequences he’d written out so far had no reason not to, then he’d have a new item that could be used for both restraint and possibly defense. “As long as the ‘Control Sequence’ works properly, of course.” Harry mused as he once again looked over his notes and various Runic Sequences. When he was done he’d have an Item that could render a Wizard or Witch, and potentially anything that used Magic to cause an external effect, powerless. This would be an Item he’d be keeping exclusively to himself, for obvious reasons. With that Harry took out his etching tool and set to work on the short length of chain that would be his first test of his new ‘Mana Bane’ Array.

-Albania-

“M-Master…Your loyal s-servant has come.” A huddled Wizard trembled as he kneeled before a shabby looking man. The man’s eyes were red and his face gaunt. He moved with slightly jerky motions and a strange smell came from him constantly.

“Stop that whimpering, Flint.” The shabby man hissed out. “I already know why you’ve finally sought me out. The Main Line of the Flint Family has cast out its lesser members to save what little gold they have left. They go about their lives while I languish in this state. They will know my displeasure once I am restored to my former glory.”

“Y-Yes, My Lord.” Stephen Flint, a member of one of the Pureblood Flint Family’s branches, stuttered out. Even weakened and possessing someone his master, Lord Voldemort, was terrifying.

“Find me another Squib, Flint.” Voldemort hissed out as the body he was currently inhabiting spasmed strongly. “This one won’t last much longer.”

“Yes, My Lord.” Stephen bowed and quickly Apparated to the nearest Magical Village.

“Barely useful for anything.” Voldemort hissed out his frustration. He was furious at being reduced to this state. His time possessing and draining the magic from Quirrel had strengthened him greatly from the mere smoke and vapor he’d been. When Dumbledore, Voldemort sneered at the mere thought of his old Professor, had trapped and ambushed him in that chamber at the end of his blasted trap-filled corridor. He’d managed to escape by tossing the near dead body of Quirrel at the old man. But now Dumbledore was aware of just how much he’d recovered. That would let the old fool plan for his eventual return. For now Voldemort had bigger concerns. He was strong enough to possess and drain the magic from Squibs by force, but each subsequent ‘host’ lasted less and less time. This meant that he was gaining strength, which was good, but also that he’d need a much more ‘permanent’ solution to his lack of a physical body. “Time…I just need more time.” The weakened Dark Lord muttered under his breath as he waited for his servant to return with his next ‘host’.

-Hogwarts ~ Second Week of October-

“No way.” Harry breathed out as he looked at the package that had been sent to him from the Dwarves. Inside was a piece of metal, created and refined by the Dwarves as a ‘Thank you’ gift to him for improving their quality of life. According to the letter, written to him by King Erdunn, this was a material that only the Dwarves knew how to make!

“Harry? Would you like to share what’s so special about this package?” Penny asked him. They were currently in the Hidden Workshop at Hogwarts. Harry had received the large package at breakfast not ten minutes ago. Thankfully today was Saturday so they had no classes. Penny was honestly a mix of confused, concerned, and slightly mirthful. Harry had opened the package and simply stared at it mumbling ‘No way’ every moment or two after having read the letter that accompanied the package.

“Huh?” Harry shook his head before focusing on Penny.

“What’s so special about this package?” Penny asked again with a grin.

“You won’t believe this!” Harry broke out into a wide smile. “This is a ‘Thank you’ gift from the Dwarves. It’s Isimun, also called ‘Everlasting Iron’ by Wizards and Witches. It has similar properties to Adamantite! But with one key difference, Isimun is unchangeable by Magic. It can’t be Transfigured, Charmed, or altered through Alchemy! Only the Dwarves know how to make it!” The teen Artificer gushed as he picked up the bar of Isimun and started looking it over.

“If you can’t change it then isn’t it kind of useless to your Enchanting?” Penny questioned. It seemed like a rare paper weight to her the way Harry described it as unchangeable.

“Not at all!” Harry laughed as he placed the metal bar back down on his work table. “I can still etch Runes onto the Isimun and use it as a focal point for whatever creation I add it to. That’ll impart a similar strength and durability to the Item it becomes. Whatever I make with it will be just as unaffected by Magic as the Isimun is.”

“Oh, that could definitely be useful then.” Penny remarked, now understanding the properties of the metal better.

“Very useful in fact…” Harry suddenly trailed off as his eyes widened. “In fact it could be just what I was missing.” The Artificer quickly opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out his journal with all his notes about his Artifact Sword. “If I use the right Runes…a proper sequence…forge around it…the Sylvuan wouldn’t be bothered by it…”

“Harry?” Penny was wide eyed at seeing Harry going through his notes so fervently. He repeatedly glanced between the Isimun and the various pages he was flipping through.

“Penny, do you remember what I told you about my prototype and Voldemort’s book?” Harry asked the Head Girl suddenly. Penny was startled by the sudden question but recovered quickly.

“You said it fell apart because you pushed it far past its limit, right?” Penny responded as she recalled Harry’s studying of some of the dust his prototype had turned into.

“Exactly!” Harry nodded. “I not only burnt out the Array but rendered the metals themselves inert. The loss of all Magic is what made the prototype practically disintegrate.”

“What does that have to do with the Isimun?” Penny questioned, not seeing where Harry was going with his line of thought.

“Isimun CAN’T change by Magic once it’s formed!” Harry beamed at her. “If I make it the core of my Artifact Sword it’ll never be able to lose its Magic! It’ll be able to cut through any Magic if I can give it enough power! I need to check the Runic Sequences of my current Array, see what I other Sequences could be used to link them to the Isimun.” Harry grabbed three different Runecraft Books and opened them on his work table. Penny couldn’t help herself and broke out into a soft smile as she watched Harry get so excited about his project. The blonde watched with fondness as Harry looked through the books and compared his own notes to them.

“I’m completely smitten with you aren’t I?” Penny whispered to herself with a small giggle. The Head Girl sat at the desk in the ‘study area’ of the Hidden Workshop. She had her own studying to do after all. It was her Seventh Year and she wanted to get as many O’s on her N.E.W.T.s as possible.

-First Hogsmeade Trip-

“Hey Penny.” Harry smiled at his ‘date’ for the day.

“Good morning, Harry.” Penny returned his smile. “What did Tonks have to say about you taking me on a ‘date’?” She teased him slightly.

“Only that I now ‘Owe her one too’ and that ‘She should have been first because she knew me longer’ if you must know.” Harry sighed with a shake of his head. Tonks hadn’t let a chance to tease him pass when he and Penny had agreed to go to Hogsmeade together. Her reply letter had included her ‘terms’ for letting Penny have ‘first date’. According to the fun-loving Metamorph, Harry had to take her on a date either on Yule Break or at the earliest chance the following summer.

“Poor Harry, too many girls?” Penny giggled as they walked towards the doors. Argus Filch was checking students off his list of those allowed to go to Hogsmeade before letting them pass.

“I’m still trying to figure out how Tonks ended up getting her way with this ‘relationship’.” Harry scratched the top of his head.

“Wait until Fleur asks about joining in.” Penny remarked with a smirk.

“Why would Fleur want to join?” Harry asked. “We’re friends, sure, but she doesn’t have romantic feelings for me, does she?”

“Oh Harry, you have A LOT of things to learn about girls.” Penny chuckled as they climbed into a carriage together. “But we’ll never tell you what they are.” She laughed at Harry’s flummoxed expression.

“But…then how can I learn?” Harry asked. Penny only smiled pleasantly at him with laughter in her warm brown eyes.

Their date went well, at least Harry thought so. Penny had led him around the Village the first time to show him everything. They’d stopped by Scrivenshaft’s, peeked into Zonko’s for a bit, gone to Gladrags and had a nice lunch at the Three Broomsticks. The two had left Honeydukes with a smiling Penny holding a box of Honeyduke’s Finest Chocolates as a gift from Harry. There next stop had been the ‘Most Haunted Building in Britain’. But seeing the ‘Shrieking Shack’ up close was kind of boring when you knew that it wasn’t actually haunted. They both knew the ‘secret’ of the Shrieking Shack, thanks to Sirius and Remus.

The fact that Remus had agreed to be Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor had been quite the surprise at the beginning of the year. But Harry happily attended DADA classes that actually taught him something for the first time. Though Harry found both Runes and Arithmancy to be kind of a letdown. Third Year classes were merely introductory material and Harry had surpassed that before he’d ever gotten to Hogwarts. Though it was fun to chat with Professor Vector and Professor Babbling about higher level topics after classes on occasion. Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures Class was interesting. Though Hagrid was slightly put out that Harry would rather harvest materials from Creatures instead of raising them as pets.

“It was a lovely day, Harry.” Penny smiled at him on their ride back to Hogwarts.

“It was.” Harry agreed with his own smile. He was surprised when Penny leaned forward and kissed him. Their lips connected for a few moments. Harry enjoyed the soft kiss far more than anything else that day. The two separated and Harry opened his eyes with a dopey grin. Penny looked rather pleased with herself too and the two leaned against each other for the rest of the ride. Penny only smiled and leaned into Harry more when the younger teen’s arm wrapped around her waist. The two were noticeably closer to anyone that paid attention from then on.

-Halloween-

“They really went all out on the decorating this year.” Harry mentioned as he and Penny were enjoying the Feast. “Let’s hope nothing horrible happens this time.” He muttered.

“Nothing strange has happened so far, Harry.” Penny reassured him with a smile.

“Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is a pattern.” Harry mentioned and Penny sighed with a fond smile.

“Hush and enjoy the sweets.” Penny giggled as she placed a spoonful of pudding into his mouth. Luna giggled from Penny’s other side with her own spoonful of pudding.

-Albania-

“This is what I need.” Voldemort hissed as he looked through a weathered tome. Stephen Flint flinched at the delight in his Master’s tone. Because the Dark Lord currently inhabited Squibs he couldn’t use a wand. But from what he’d just heard, Stephen was sure he’d be under the threat of Voldemort’s wand soon enough. “Flint!”

“Yes, My Lord?!” Stephen bowed to the Dark Lord.

“I’ll need several things to move to the next phase of my return.” Voldemort stated his red eyes locked onto the trembling Wizard. “You’ll get them for me.”

“Yes, My Lord.” Stephen didn’t rise from his bow.

No one in Britain would know that on this Halloween something horrible had indeed happened. Harry would actually get to fully enjoy a Halloween with nothing happening to him. But it seemed to be his fate, as long as Voldemort was alive, that Halloween would be a day that horrible things happened.

-First Week of November-

“Nice.” Harry smiled at the note that Tayla had just delivered to him. The Dwarves had finished the DMLE’s Commission of five hundred ‘Auror Batons’. At one hundred Galleons per baton Harry and the Dwarves had made fifty thousand Galleons. With their current deal that meant Harry now had thirty thousand Galleons in the expanded trunk back at Wood End Cottage. The Dwarves had happily celebrated the twenty thousand Galleons they’d made from their work. That money would also go to expanding their offerings in the storefront of Diurn Alley. As the old saying went, ‘You have to spend money to make money’.

With his fortune growing bit by bit Harry felt confident in his future. Now if he could only get his Artifact Sword and other projects completed the Artificer would be even happier! Though to be fair, Penny could be rather distracting when she wanted to be. Not that Harry was complaining! He wasn’t sure just how he and Penny had ended up in Tonks’ relationship idea so well, but he wouldn’t trade their relationship for anything! The Artifact Sword was still slow going. Isimun could have Runes etched into it, but finding the right Sequence to link up with his already made Array was difficult to say the least. Not to mention that differing materials interacted differently with certain Arrays. Harry had found that out with his Oulm Circuit Knife after all. As of now he was still in the planning stages of the full Array he hoped to integrate into his Artifact Sword.

-The Next Day ~ Breakfast-

Harry smiled fondly at Hedwig as the beautiful snowy owl landed at the breakfast table. She allowed him to pet her and feed her some bacon and ham. Harry smiled as he removed the letter from her leg and she flew off to the Owlery. Penny looked at who the letter was from and teasingly nudged him with her elbow. Reading the name Harry found himself smiling too.

“I wonder what new thing Fleur wants to talk about.” Harry smiled as he opened the letter. Reading over the French version first and smiling at having gotten most of it right when he read the English version next, Harry felt his cheeks warm up slightly.

“Told you so.” Penny whispered into his ear. Harry refused to meet his girlfriend’s eyes. Fleur had expressed interest in ‘deepening’ their relationship in her letter. The picture she’d sent along with her letter, once again wearing the tiny bikini from his birthday, had made it obvious how serious the Veela girl was.

“This reeks of Tonks’ mischief.” Harry remarked as he looked at Penny out of the corner of his eye. “And a certain Head Girl’s too, now that I think about it.”

“What? Me? I’d never.” Penny smiled ‘innocently’.

“Uh huh, sure.” Harry shook his head disbelievingly. “How did Tonks corrupt our sweet and proper Head Girl?”

“I am not corrupted.” Penny huffed jokingly. “I just found a good man a lot earlier in my life than I thought I would.” Harry wouldn’t have been able to stop the smile that spread across his face if he wanted to. His hand quickly found Penny’s and entwined their fingers.

“How did I get so lucky?” Harry murmured so only Penny could hear him.

“Who knows, but you might’ve used up all of your luck for life.” Penny smiled at him with mirth. “But what’re you going to write back to Fleur?”

“What should I say?” Harry asked as he reread the letter. “Fleur is a wonderful girl and any man would be lucky to have her affections. But I have you and Tonks; I don’t want to cheapen that.”

“Oh, when did our Harry get so wise?” Penny grinned fondly at him. “You don’t have to worry about ‘cheapening’ our relationship, Harry. Tonks, Fleur, and I have been in contact for a bit about this already. Tonks is happy to welcome Fleur into our relationship.”

“Are you though?” Harry asked her softly. His eyes met hers and Penny felt her heart thump in her chest at the care and affection directed at her by Harry’s gaze.

“I’ve already agreed, too.” Penny squeezed his hand as she smiled beautifully at him. “Fleur and I get along very well. Not to mention she is very pretty.”

“Penny?!” Harry choked as Penny winked at him. He grabbed his goblet and drank to clear his throat. He wasn’t thinking about Penny, Tonks, and Fleur being together like ‘that’! He wasn’t! “Tonks has most definitely corrupted you!”

“Are you really complaining?” Penny practically purred lowly to him.

“Absolutely not.” Harry admitted instantly.

“I didn’t think you were.” Penny smirked at him. The couple only let go of each other’s hand when breakfast ended and they were forced to separate.

-Hidden Workshop ~ After Classes-

“Why doesn’t the ‘Control Sequence’ work?” Harry murmured to himself. He was working on his ‘Mana Bane’ chains this afternoon. Whenever he got stuck on one project he’d simply set it aside and work on a different project. Right now though he was running up against another wall. The ‘Control Sequence’ for the ‘Mana Bane’ Array wasn’t working. Without it the user of the chains couldn’t use their own magic through the chains to manipulate them. They’d just have to swing the chains around and hope to wrap up their target. “Damn it.” Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. This was the pain of the inventor and craftsman, having ideas and having to try over and over again to bring them to reality.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t take a break from this project for a while though. He did still need to write back to Fleur and accept her offer to try dating along with Tonks and Penny. Wasn’t that absolutely mind boggling in and of itself? Three beautiful older girls were interested in him. Definitely not how Harry had ever thought his romantic life would end up. The few times he had actually thought about it, that is. But he was very interested in all three of them, they were all intelligent, which Harry found attractive. Their differing personalities and interests were fun and interesting. They were also undeniably beautiful. Penny was a natural beauty. Tonks could be whatever she wanted and had made more than enough innuendo about what she could do in the bedroom. Fleur was a Veela and they were known for their beauty and their Magical Allure. What they saw in him was a bit of a mystery to the Artificer. He was younger than them; he’d had to play catch up from being isolated from the Magical World for almost a decade. Maybe he could ask them? That would be the simplest route, right?

“I guess I’ll write Fleur back first. I can ask her while I’m accepting her feelings.” Harry figured as he moved the notes on the ‘Mana Bane’ to the side and pulled a fresh sheet of parchment towards himself. “Afterwards I can read more of the Broom Crafting book. I’m pretty sure I know enough to start planning a prototype Array and Item.” Harry set himself to put quill to parchment and began to write to Fleur. He poured his own feelings into his response, letting her know he was happy and willing to accept her feelings. He expressed how amazing he found her and how intelligent she was. He worked his questions about how they’d make the long distance relationship work and what she liked about him into his writing. The teen spent almost an hour on the letter. Mostly stopping to worry about how to best say what he felt in writing, but that was to be expected, or at least Harry thought so.

Harry sent the letter off to his French paramour just before dinner that night.

-Sunday-

“You sure you want to do this?” Harry asked the Dueling Club members. Quite a few of them had approached Harry and Penny about practice. Penny had agreed and helped with the Dueling Club when she wasn’t studying, doing Head Girl duties, or spending time with Harry. The only reason Harry was here was because Penny couldn’t make it to the club meeting. She was attending some kind of meeting with the Staff and Head Boy Percy Weasley.

“Of course.” Adrian Pucey nodded, the older Slytherin, along with quite a few others from his House, all looking eager. Members from the other three Houses had formed their own groups and were waiting their turn. Harry didn’t know why Penny agreed to help out but he’d give it his best.

“So, do you want to do this traditionally and do a series of one on one duels? Or are you wanting a more realistic ‘battle’?” Harry questioned the older teen.

“Do you really think you can take on ten of us at once?” Adrian questioned; a look between shock and a sneer on his face. Many of the Slytherins had a similar look on their faces too. Especially Malfoy, who was standing just behind Pucey.

“I should be able to.” Harry informed the Slytherin ‘Team’.

“Don’t regret your choice, Potter.” Adrian stated stiffly. The nine other Slytherins all stood in line next to him, shoulder to shoulder.

“We still bow first, correct?” Harry asked for clarification.

“Of course.” Adrian and the Slytherins all bowed which Harry reciprocated. As soon as they raised up from their bow all ten Slytherins pointed their wands at him and let loose a volley of spells. Seeing a wall of lights and sparks heading for him Harry raised a powerful Protego. The ten spells bombarded the Shield Charm but dispersed without breaking through. Harry focused and six wands were jerked out of their owners’ hands. The sudden squawks at being disarmed almost made Harry laugh. He levitated the wands over to Flitwick and Lupin who were supervising the Club. With only four opponents left, all of them appearing to be Sixth and Seventh Years, Harry inhaled and breathed out the thick smoke of the Fluctus Fumus spell.

“I can’t see!” One of the Slytherins yelled. Harry heard a few spells being fired into the cloud of smoke. But he’d already moved off to the side. With a brief look of concentration Harry formed a standard Stunning Spell in his palm. A moment later, along with the Slytherins finally using spells to clear the smoke, and Harry had altered the Form of the Charm. With a wave of his arm a bright red wave of mana was released in a crescent shape. The wave passed through all four older Slytherins making them drop to the cushioned ground.

“That still takes too long.” Harry mused as he flexed his hand. “A widespread Stunner is possible, but changing its Form takes a lot of focus.”

“Excellent work, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick praised the Third Year.

“Thank you, Professor.” Harry bowed slightly to his Head of House.

“So which ‘Team’ wants to go next?” Remus asked the other three House groups.

“We’ll do it!” An older Gryffindor spoke up. Harry couldn’t recall his name or if he’d ever met the teen before.

“Alright then, line up.” Remus motioned for them to stand across from Harry. A quick bow and the match started. Harry instantly snatched the wands of five of the ten Gryffindors.

‘You’d think they’d learn from the previous match they just saw.’ Harry thought to himself as he projected a strong, localized Protego around his forearm and smacked away the only two spells that would have hit him. The Artificer sent a wave of force at the remaining five Gryffindors. None of them could see it as it produced no light and all five staggered back. A few quick swipes of his hands and arms and his remaining five opponents were bound in animated ropes that wound their way around them.

“I believe that’s the match.” Remus intoned as he flicked his wand and freed the tied up Gryffindors.

“Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? Who wants to go next?” Flitwick asked the two remaining groups. It appeared there was a small discussion between the two Houses before Hufflepuff stepped forward.

“Very good, now bow and you may begin.” Flitwick instructed. The group bowed to Harry and Harry returned the gesture. In the first instant of the match Harry tried his Wandless Summoning trick. To his delight he only managed to snatch one wand this time.

‘At least they’re learning.’ Harry internally praised the Hufflepuffs. He moved and swayed through the barrage of spells the Badgers were sending at him. ‘So, not letting up, using your numbers against me. That’s smart and shows their trust in each other.’ Harry performed the Similitudo Spell and the Hufflepuffs looked shocked as two Harry’s split and ran in opposite directions. The hesitation cost them. Harry reached out with his mana and then performed a simple household Charm. The Wringing Charm was a precursor to the Drying Charm for laundry. It spun clothes around tightly in order to squeeze water out of them so that they could dry faster on a clothesline. When used on the robes a person was wearing though…

“Ahh!”

“What the?!”

“Hey!”

“Ack!”

The Hufflepuffs quickly found their robes wrapped around them like straightjackets. The remaining nine opponents fell to the ground as they struggled to get out of their crushing robes. Harry summoned all of their wands to himself and then ended his spell.

“A wonderfully inventive use of a simple Charm, Harry!” Flitwick clapped. “Take this to heart students! Even Charms that aren’t offensive or defensive in nature can still be applied in the Dueling Circuit!”

“Last group, right?” Harry asked Remus. He wanted to get back to his workshop. He had projects to work on still.

“Yes Harry.” Remus grinned at his surrogate nephew. “Ravenclaw, you’re up!”

“Hey, go easy on us Harry!” Terry Boot, one of Harry’s year mates called out jokingly.

“Sure thing Terry!” Harry called back with a smile.

“Alright, bow and you may begin!” Flitwick called. As soon as the bow was finished Harry didn’t bother trying to summon his Housemates’ wands. A bright flash from a massive Lumos Charm went off right in front of the ten Ravenclaws.

“My eyes!”

“Ahh!”

“I can’t see!”

“Where is he?”

Harry quickly bound all ten of the Ravenclaws in writhing ropes. When they were bound up he yanked all of their wands out of their hands.

“That wasn’t easier, Harry!” Terry complained as he lay on the ground tied up.

“Sure it was.” Harry chuckled. “You aren’t hurt are you?”

“Just our pride.” Richard, an older Ravenclaw in Seventh Year, stated as he kept his eyes closed.

“Well, I can’t do much about that I’m afraid.” Harry shrugged.

“Another excellent use of a simple Charm, Mr. Potter! Very well done!” Flitwick congratulated his student. “Mr. Potter just pulled off what’s known on the Dueling Circuit as ‘Bradley’s Hello’. It was made famous almost three centuries ago!”

Harry tuned out the rest of the Dueling History lesson and approached Lupin.

“Well done, Harry.” Lupin smiled at Harry.

“Do you have any advanced spells you could teach me?” Harry questioned the werewolf. “I’ve found almost everything useful that isn’t in the Restricted Section.”

“I might know a few.” Remus chuckled. “Let’s talk about it a bit later. I still need to finish up here.”

“Thanks Remus, I mean Professor Lupin.” Harry smiled.

“Get out of here and go snog your girlfriend or something.” Remus jibed.

“Maybe I will.” Harry retorted while puffing up his chest a bit. The two parted with chuckles and Harry made his way back to his workshop. That had been a good break but he had some projects to make progress on.

-End Chapter-

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So Harry’s making progress, that’s good. Voldemort has managed to gain enough strength to forcibly parasite possess Squibs, that’s bad! The relationship(s) have started now that Harry is older. Harry might have finally found the last piece to making his Artifact Sword a reality! Now he just needs to actually figure out HOW to integrate it! Also his ‘out of the box’ thinking is even more apparent in his Dueling!

Now, what will Voldemort’s increased strength give him time to look into, find out, and do?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,366

Tonks – 6,858

Penelope – 5,974

Fleur – 6,138

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 23: Prototypes, Creature Craft, Sword

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Some Creature Craft this Chapter! Three new prototypes are in the works as well! Is the Artifact Sword progressing?

This Story now has its own Tv Tropes Page! Thank TheSinful on FFNet and here on AO3 for all his hard work!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 23 – Prototypes, Creature Craft, Sword

“Hmm, this is going better than I thought it would.” Harry mused as he used one of the smaller fangs from the Basilisk as the base for a knife. He was having a remarkably easy time forging the fang into the Magical Iron. As he poured his own mana into the billet of metal and bone with each strike of the hammer. The Form continuously came out in the shape he wanted it in. It was almost like the ‘Conquered’ fang was working with him. This could also be because of the Function of the fang itself.

In Enchanting, Form and Function were intrinsically linked. Making a Form that went against the Function more often than not resulted in failure. Likewise trying to impart a Function onto an improper Form would likely fail as well. But for Harry’s purposes the fang’s Function, to stab, fit with the Form. A knife was meant to stab and cut. With the fang’s Function matching with the knife’s Form, the creation of Harry’s first Creature Craft Item was apparently going to be a rousing success. Shaping the knife came next and Harry set to the task with focus. A quick quench in the slack tub and Harry pulled out a gleaming blade.

“Come to think of it, iron plus carbon makes Carbon Steel, right?” Harry chuckled as he looked at the Magical Steel Knife. Or would it be a Basilisk Steel Knife because of where the carbon came from? Questions for later, right now he needed to see if his hypothesis about the property of this knife was correct. He approached a rat, one of the many that scurried around Hogwarts; that he’d immobilized and set out on an old desk. The rat was still alive, just held immobile by his spell. With a quiet apology to the rodent Harry pricked it with just the very tip of the knife. A few moments later the rat convulsed for a moment, squeaked softly and then laid still. Harry undid his spell and then touched the rat. Just as he suspected the rodent was dead. The Basilisk’s deadly venom had been imbued as a Magical Effect into the Basilisk Steel Knife.

“Well, this is going straight back home and into the Rune Safe.” Harry instantly decided. It was far too dangerous to be left anywhere else. A knife that could kill with just a scratch or prick of the blade was not something Harry wanted in anyone’s hands. At least no one he didn’t trust implicitly at the very least. If he ever wanted a creation like this to be of use he’d have to add some kind of security Array into the handle. It would have to be something that would prevent others from using it at all.

“Well, at the very least the first attempt at Creature Craft was a success,” Harry thought aloud as he wrapped the Basilisk Steel Knife up with thick parchment and leather strips. Until he could get an opportunity to go to Wood End Cottage and place it into his Rune Safe, this was the best he could do. He placed the wrapped knife into the bottom drawer of his work desk, and closed it. He’d long ago added a Ward Lock to that particular drawer, since it was the largest. No one would be able to open the drawer without tearing apart the work desk first. Considering the desk was also in his Hidden Workshop behind another Ward Lock and the Hiding Stone, Harry felt it was at least fairly safe, for now. “That’s another project done.” Harry nodded pleased. “Now let’s get these flying items working if possible.” With that the teen Artificer pulled over two bars of Magical Iron and another notebook of Runic Sequences and prototype Arrays.

-Beauxbatons ~ France-

Fleur Delacour was walking on air. Harry’s beautiful snowy owl had arrived this morning at breakfast with a reply from the teen. The reply had been everything she’d hoped it would be! Harry returned her feelings! His genuine feelings and the sincerity he’d written with came out as if they were face to face. The silly young man had even asked about ‘why’ she felt the way she did about him. As if his charming personality and intelligence wasn’t attractive enough. The teen was also one of the very few she didn’t have to worry about drooling. Even those that were ‘resistant’ to the Veela’s natural Allure; eventually fell victim to it after enough exposure. Harry, Tonks, and Penny had no such trouble! Their ‘Alternate Occlumency’ as they called it was a constant protection of the mind. So long as they had mana within them their defenses would never wane.

She was the luckiest Veela girl in the world! A charming young man truly returned her feelings without influence from the Allure. She had two new ‘girlfriends’ as well. Though whether that would remain platonic or not was yet to be seen. Fleur had a feeling that Tonks at the very least wouldn’t remain platonic. The Metamorph was incredibly outgoing and progressive minded. She was truly a Witch of the modern era instead of being stuck in the past like the majority of the Magical World.

“I should write back to Harry~” Fleur smiled to herself as she headed for her dorm room. Communication was key to any relationship, but even more so during a long distance one.

-DMLE ~ Ministry of Magic, London-

“You’re telling me this item can break wards?” Amelia looked the object; that Auror Tonks had placed on her desk, over carefully. It was five or six centimeters thick and round. It looked to be made of wood and metal, the wood framing the metal disk inside. She could see dozens upon dozens of small marks on the metal and could only surmise that they were Runes of some kind. How the young Artificer had etched useable Runes so small she couldn’t even begin to ponder.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Tonks smiled at her boss. “Harry used about twenty of these to destroy the wards hiding the Chamber of Secrets.”

Amelia’s left eyebrow raised in interest as she picked up the device. It would have its uses in the Auror Corps for sure. How many times had a criminal been able to get away in the time it took them to exam, identify, and then tear down the wards they had up? If they could use one of these to instantly dismantle the wards in question they’d have a lot fewer suspects on the run.

“What are the limitations?” Amelia asked as she met the eyes of her subordinate. “Surely they can’t break every Ward out there?”

“No, they can’t,” Tonks shook her head. “They can destroy temporary wards easily enough. Older and more powerful wards can de broken if enough of them are used together. Ancient Wards like those on say, Hogwarts, can only be temporarily disabled. Even then it is only in one small section where the Ward Breakers are placed directly. Harry’s break into the Chamber of Secrets only shattered the Wards directly tied to the Chamber. The castle wards that were disabled had already reactivated by the time the Aurors arrived to the Chamber. Or at least that’s what I was told.”

“They had.” Amelia confirmed. If the wards had been disabled enough she would have taken her Aurors directly into Hogwarts through Apparation or Portkeys. Unfortunately a small, bathroom-sized, hole in the massive and complex wards of Hogwarts wasn’t enough for that. “For something so useful I imagine we’ll be spending a good chunk of our budget for enough of them to be useful for a fiscal quarter.”

“Harry is willing to sell them, on contract, for one hundred Galleons a piece.” Tonks informed, her hair changing from a bright pink to a dark purple.

“Didn’t you say these were one time use Items?” Amelia looked wide-eyed at the price for a one off Item.

“Yes, the activation of the Ward Breaker burns it out, something about casting dozens of Ward-Breaking and Dispelling Charms all at once according to Harry.” Tonks explained with a shrug. She didn’t understand all of the ‘nerd talk’ that Harry tried to explain to her. “It also redirects all negative effects of breaking said wards onto itself, so it’s a much safer option than having people breaking or dispelling unknown wards in masse. The burned out Ward Breaker can take the backlash and be destroyed with no further repercussions.”

“The Auror Batons cost one hundred Galleons each.” Amelia stated what they both knew. “Yet they can be used over and over. Truthfully they’ve been a blessing since we’ve gotten them made part of the Standard Issue. When wands aren’t being drawn automatically to enforce the law, people seem to act more calmly and rationally. We’ve already broken up a few pub fights at the Leaky Cauldron, the Hogs Head, and the Three Broomsticks since we’ve gotten them. All without a single spell being cast by an Auror. Our reputation in the public eye has gone up quite a bit in the past month because of them.” The Head of the DMLE sighed. “Is there no way to negotiate a lower price?”

“Harry seemed pretty firm on the price.” Tonks admitted. “Since he started a full business with the Dwarves he’s been getting advice on pricing and business from them. But I’ll ask him. I might be able to negotiate for the first batch to be reduced price to prove their effectiveness. The Baton he gifted to me went over well because you cleared me to use it in the field. So he might understand your position of needing to see it in action before you spend a large chunk of the DMLE’s quarterly budget on such Items.” The Metamorph smiled at her boss.

“Thank you, Auror Tonks, please let me know as soon as possible.” Amelia gave a small smile to her subordinate.

“Harry told me you can keep that Ward Breaker.” Tonks motioned to the Item still lying on Amelia’s desk. “Though Harry did say that if you try and disassemble it, that it’ll burn out and destroy itself, so yeah. He’s rather protective of his Runic Sequences and Arrays. Probably best to use it when it’s really necessary.”

“I’ll remember that.” Amelia nodded as she picked up the Ward Breaker and placed it in her desk. She quickly latched the physical lock and then spelled it closed with a few choice spells of her own. Tonks saluted as she left Amelia’s Office and went to return to her Mentor, Mad-Eye Moody, for a patrol of Knockturn Alley. Apparently Diagon and Diurn weren’t ‘real’ enough in the old Senior Auror’s opinion.

-Hogwarts-

Penny sighed, she was trying to keep her composure and remain calm. She was the good Prefect that all the younger Ravenclaws looked up to since her Fifth Year. Now she was Head Girl and expected to be a good example for the entire student body. But there was only so much even she could take. Percy Weasley’s attempts to ‘woo’ her were far and away the fastest things to wear down her patience these days. The Head Boy just wouldn’t take a hint! If he’d shown interest a few years ago maybe she’d have given the red-head a chance. As it stood now though, and had since last school year, she was interested in someone else. The fact that her relationship with Harry was official now only made Percy’s continued attempts more annoying.

“So you see, Penelope, we could have a very lovely time together at the next Hogsmeade Trip.” Percy prattled on, not so much talking to her as he was talking at her.

“For the last time, Percy, I’m not interested and I have a boyfriend.” Penny exhaled with a gusty sigh. “I appreciate your feelings, but I can’t and don’t return them.”

“Harry Potter is much too young for such things.” Percy dismissed casually. “He is only thirteen and you are a legal adult of seventeen now. It would be proper for you two to end this dalliance before people start to whisper about it.”

Penny felt her anger flare up at the red-head’s dismissal of her and Harry’s relationship. Sure there was a small age gap between them, but that was no one’s business but their own! The Law of Magical Britain literally had a ‘Seven Year Clause’ in it for couples that started dating in their teen years. Hell, most people in Magical Britain referred to it as the ‘Hogwarts Clause’! It basically stated that if one partner attained their Maturity before the other their relationship would not be deemed ‘illegal’ or ‘inappropriate’ in the eyes of the Law. It had been on the books for almost four hundred years already. No one had any inclination to try and change it. So Percy bringing it up showed he either didn’t know the Law, or he just didn’t care and was going after her because he wanted her for himself.

“Harry Potter is the youngest Artificer in History.” Penny began as she whirled around with a glare. “Harry Potter is a wonderful young man that treats me like a Queen. Harry Potter is intelligent, kind, thoughtful, admirable, and brilliant! Harry Potter is a better Wizard and a better Person than you’ll ever be! You are a dismissive, arrogant, pompous, self-righteous, brown nose who can barely think for himself!”

Percy reeled back as if he’d been struck and stared at Penny wide-eyed.

“Get this through your head, Weasley! I. Am. Not. Interested! Leave me alone!” Penny practically growled at the Head Boy. She held up her right hand and flames appeared, swirling and thrashing around as if they were alive. “The next time you try to talk at me like I’m lesser than you; or the next time I hear a single bad word about Harry from you, then you’ll be facing me in an Honor Duel. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Penny demanded as she glared into Percy’s eyes.

“Y-Yes…v-very well then, Penelope…I’ll just be going.” Percy turned and quickly walked off, just short of jogging away from the incensed blonde. Penny huffed as she dispelled the flames in her palm and continued on her way. Maybe now the prat would finally leave her alone.

Walking up to the door to the Hidden Workshop, Penny felt a smile return to her face reflexively. Having been keyed into the updated Ward Lock near the end of last year Penny opened the door easily. Seeing Harry floating against the ceiling with a plate of metal tied to each of his shins was a surprise, but it only made her giggle as she closed the door.

“Having fun, Harry?” Penny asked with a grin.

“Loads.” Harry smiled down at her from the ceiling.

“Can you get down?” She asked with a suppressed chuckle.

“I can fall down…” Harry admitted after a moment.

“No control?” Penny giggled as she reached out with her mana and slowly brought Harry down. There was quite a lot of resistance to her spell though. Almost like trying to pull an air-filled beach ball underwater.

“The Directional Sequence and the Altitude Sequence both failed.” Harry explained as he deactivated the metal plates. He untied them from his shins one by one and set them on top of his work desk. “I’m not sure why they failed though, so until I can figure that out I’m back to square one for my own Flying Item.”

“Hmm, I think I can take your mind off that.” Penny smiled at him, she then pulled him into a sweet kiss and the two enjoyed their lip lock for a few moments.

“Forget what?” Harry asked as they separated.

“Exactly.” Penny giggled as they held each other. This affection and love was what that prat Percy would never understand. Harry and Penny would spend the rest of the afternoon cuddling. Penny told Harry of Percy’s attempt at ‘wooing’ her and Harry shook his head. All of Hogwarts already knew about their relationship, so Harry didn’t understand what the Head Boy thought he was going to accomplish. If he was being honest, Harry was surprised their relationship hadn’t made it into the Daily Prophet yet. Then again, that was probably only a matter of time. Maybe he should talk with Sirius about getting a Solicitor just in case.

-Friday ~ November 19th – After Classes-

“Expecto Patronum!” Harry called out as he held his wand aloft. From the tip of the Holly and Phoenix Feather wand came a cloud of bright silvery mist. Harry sighed as the mist spread, thinned out, and then disappeared.

“That was very good, Harry.” Remus congratulated the Artificer.

“Not complete though.” Harry huffed as he thought over the spell. The Patronus Charm worked off of understanding the spell itself plus a powerful happy emotion. At the moment Harry was using the memories of his relationship with Tonks, Penny, and Fleur. They’d shown the most results so far and had taken him from mere wisps to the bright mist.

“The Patronus is very advanced spell work, Harry.” Remus assured his surrogate nephew. “Most Wizards and Witches never learn it, and even those that do learn often can’t complete it and make a corporeal Patronus.”

“Maybe not,” Harry shook his head. “But I don’t like leaving spells unfinished and not mastered.” Though, to Harry’s annoyance, without his wand he couldn’t get the Patronus Charm to form at all. Not even a wisp of the silvery mist. This frustrated the teen Wizard to no end. He was used to being able to cast spells without need of a focus. To find a spell that he couldn’t use wandlessly, and then find out he couldn’t complete it even with a wand, was maddening to the Harry.

“Give it some time. You’ve only been practicing for just over a week. Try to find an even happier memory if you can.” Remus advised. “It can only help.”

“I’ll try.” Harry agreed as he stowed his wand back in his holster and bid Remus a good afternoon. Leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom Harry made his way to his workshop. A bit of work with Runecraft should help take his mind off his failure with the Patronus Charm. Entering his workshop Harry was surprised to see Tonks sitting in a chair next to his work desk.

“Hiya, Harry!” Tonks greeted cheerfully with a wave.

“Hey Tonks, didn’t know you were coming for a visit.” Harry smiled at his oldest girlfriend. That thought was still enough to put a smile on his face. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. Tonks returned the embrace with a smile and kissed his cheek for good measure.

“This isn’t entirely a personal visit, I’m afraid.” Tonks grinned at him. “It was hard to get a visit with you between work and having to schedule a time when I wouldn’t ‘interrupt lessons.’ according to McGonagall.” Both of them chuckled at the stern Deputy Headmistress.

“So what is the non-personal reason for your visit, Nym?” Harry used the name only HE was allowed to use with Tonks. Technically Penny and Fleur could get away with it too, but Tonks didn’t want anyone thinking they could get away with using her first name or any derivative of it. She grinned mischievously as he sat down while she stood up.

“Well Harry, as your salesgirl to the DMLE, I’ve come across a bit of a roadblock with the Ward Breakers.” Tonks began as she walked around the desk to stand at his side.

“What kind of roadblock?” Harry raised an eyebrow in question.

“Madam Bones is a bit put off by the price of a one use Item.” Tonks informed him with her grin still in place. “She was hoping that you’d negotiate a lower price.”

“I was advised by the Dwarves that the Ward Breakers were worth at least one hundred Galleons each. I’d rather not turn my back on their advice or business acumen.” Harry told his, currently blue-haired, girlfriend.

“Yeah, I told her you were pretty firm on the price.” Tonks chuckled as she undid the clasp of her robe and shrugged it off. Harry’s eyes took in her t-shirt and jeans quickly. “But I told her I’d try to negotiate with you about reducing the cost of the first order, just so the DMLE can see how useful the Ward Breakers are.”

“Negotiate, huh?” Harry smiled at her and Tonks returned it. The Metamorph straddled his lap and brought their lips together. The couple happily kissed for a bit, just enjoying being close after their separation by Hogwarts restarting. Tonks deepened the kiss and tongues came into play. Harry had no real experience with French Kissing so Tonks guided him. Small moans emerged from their lips as they indulged and eventually pulled back slightly out of breath.

“So Harry, about that ‘discount’~” Tonks grinned teasingly. Harry played as if he was thinking hard about it before replying.

“I guess I could accept a ten percent discount on the first order.” Harry grinned at her. Watching her hair turn pink and lengthen slightly, Harry chuckled, Tonks liked to change her hair on the whim after all. This seemed more deliberate though.

“I think we can do better.” Tonks laughed as her t-shirt suddenly stretched across her swelling bosom. “How about this?” With that she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt. Slowly she pulled it up and Harry watched transfixed as her large breasts got caught on the hem. With a teasing wink Tonks bounced a bit on his lap until her breasts bounced out of her shirt. Harry, like any teenager, happily took in the sight of such large perky boobs. The fact that they were right in his face only made it better!

“Maybe fifteen percent.” Harry muttered as he took in the sight of his girlfriend’s breasts. Tonks cracked up before she took his hands and placed them on her chest.

“Touch them, Harry.” Tonks encouraged him with a warm smile. Honestly neither of them really cared about the discount. It was just a fun game to play while they furthered their relationship. Harry gently cupped her large breasts before giving them a gentle squeeze. Tonks hummed in pleasure as Harry got more and more into his exploration.

“They’re so soft…” Harry murmured as he explored Tonks’ chest.

“Do you like my tits, Harry?” Tonks asked rhetorically.

“They’re amazing.” Harry replied anyway as his thumbs brushed over the hardened nipples, drawing a short gasp from her.

“Twenty percent off amazing?” Tonks continued their little game with a grin.

“I guess…” Harry gave her a grin of his own. She giggled a bit since his hands hadn’t stopped their fondling of her boobs even as he said this.

“Then how about this?” Tonks questioned as she moved his hands from her breasts and pulled his face into them. Harry was shocked for a bit, he felt his cheeks heat up in nervousness, but then he buried his face into the soft boobs. Tonks gently ran her fingers through his hair as he nuzzled her breasts. A few moments later she gasped as Harry took one of her nipples into his mouth and began to lick and suck on it. “Harry~ Mmm~ Naughty Artificer aren’t you~?”

“I try.” Harry mumbled as his face was still buried in boobs.

“Then your corruption is almost complete~” Tonks chuckled as she rolled her hips on his lap. “Mmm~ Suck on my tits~”

“Yes.” Harry replied as he switched nipples and Tonks pulled him closer. His hands quickly found her bum and began to squeeze. Tonks hummed contently as she rolled her hips in time with his squeezes.

“Mmm~ alright lucky boy,” Tonks chuckled as she, reluctantly, pulled Harry’s mouth away from her tits. “That’s enough for now.”

“Aww,” Harry groaned. “Do we have to stop?” Tonks chuckled considering his hands hadn’t left her ass yet.

“I think that was worth a thirty percent discount, don’t you?” Tonks questioned with a playful wink.

“Twenty five, because I wanted more.” Harry countered even as his hands fondled her bum.

“Deal.” Tonks laughed before their lips met again. She’d only intended to ‘seal the deal’ with a kiss. But that quickly became another make-out session, French Kissing and all. Pulling away a minute later Tonks gazed at him lovingly. “Alright now, Mister, I do have to go soon. McGonagall said I needed to leave before dinner. Apparently meals are also something I’m not allowed to ‘interrupt’.”

“Alright…” Harry grumbled as Tonks got off his lap and pulled her shirt down. She picked up her robe and put it back on, using her Wandless Magic to brush the dirt and dust off of it.

“I’ll see you on Yule Break, Harry.” Tonks smiled at him. Harry stood up and pecked her lips. She kissed his cheek in return and they left the workshop together. With one last hug Harry headed towards the Great Hall, Tonks headed back to McGonagall’s Office to use the Floo. It was the same way she got into Hogwarts, and so it was the same way she had to leave. Well, unless she wanted McGonagall to hunt her down at any rate.

-Friday December 3rd ~ After Classes-

“I’m still against this.” Penny informed Harry for the third time that day.

“I know, Penny, but it’s the only way.” Harry smiled, trying to reassure his girlfriend.

“Are you sure you can’t do this another way?” Penny questioned. Her worries for him clear in her eyes.

“This is the best way I could find, Penny.” Harry shook his head.

“Fine…but I don’t like it.” Penny grumbled and Harry pulled her into a hug. She held him tightly, as if afraid to let him go.

“It’s just for the weekend, and then it’ll be done.” Harry assured her. Penny sighed but nodded her acceptance. With that Harry locked himself inside the hidden workshop until he finished the culmination of two years-worth of planning, learning, testing, failing, succeeding, and multiple prototypes.

Harry entered his smithy and gathered his materials together. Sylvuan was ready to go, Vitris Auri was prepared and being kept liquid at the moment. Isimun was etched with the proper Runic Sequence. Everything was ready to go. With everything checked Harry ignited the Forge and started working the temperature higher. Forging out a billet of Sylvuan, Harry pounded it into proper length and shape. His mana was poured into the metal with each strike and the metal of his own Alchemic Creation formed to his desires. He’d only have one chance at this, he’d have to spend the next two days only eating quick meals and sleeping in one or perhaps two hour naps at a time.

-Saturday December 4th ~ Sunrise-

Sweat poured down Harry body. The slight musculature he’d been developing since puberty started was being pushed to its limits. Isimun couldn’t be changed by Magic after it had been formed, it could only be etched with Runes. Forging out a Sylvuan and Vitris Auri guard and etching the corresponding Runic Sequence into it to tie the Isimun to the rest of the blade was a challenge. It was why he couldn’t do this on a normal sleep schedule. Each new piece of his sword had to be created to the exact Form to match up with the Isimun and the rest of the materials. Etching still warm metal had led to a few small burns already, but it was absolutely critical that the Sequences matched and lined up properly. Any mistakes would cost him the sword and all the effort he’d put into it.

“Come on, Potter, head in the game!” Harry shook himself back into focus. He pounded the handle of the sword into proper shape with swing after swing. His arms hurt but his mana would compensate for physical fatigue right now. He still had to bond the blade and Isimun together and then etch and fill in the Sylvuan with the Vitris Auri. After that was done he’d have to let it cool slowly in the Forge. Then a last addition of Sylvuan to complete the blade and only then would he be able to see the finish line!

-Sunday December 5th ~ Afternoon-

“Almost there, almost there,” Harry repeated like a mantra as his hands, burned in multiple places, filled in the last of the Runes on the handle and guard with his own blood. His Alchemic Pen had been filled with his very lifeblood to complete this second to last step. This was to Bind the Artifact Sword to his Bloodline. Every descendant would be able to add their blood to the sword. His children when he eventually passed it on. Their children when they received it, then their children’s children and so on. Each time the half of the blood that could be traced back to him would be linked and form a chain through the generations. No one that wasn’t part of his direct descent would be able to access the sword’s innate power. It would just be a rather powerful Magic Sword in their hands. Only a Potter bound to the sword through blood would be able to use the true abilities that his sword possessed.

“Last step…” Harry huffed as he took the hot, forged, etched, and filled sword to the quench tank. He filled the still hot blade with his mana and then dunked it. Harry poured everything he had left of his mana into the sword. If a Non-Magical Blacksmith had tried to do this, all the different metals being this hot would have reacted differently to being quenched at the sword would most likely have cracked. Harry’s very Will, through his mana, was keeping the Magic Sword together as it cooled and solidified into the finished piece. While he was linked through his mana to the sword he could feel and know everything about it. It was an odd experience; he could literally feel all the work and effort that went into making each constituent part of the sword. He felt as they all came together in the quench tank. Then he felt what he could only describe as a ‘pulse’ move through him from the sword. A new Magical Presence now existed in the smithy, very similar to Harry’s own, but still entirely unique.

“There you are…” Harry chuckled as he pulled the sword out of the tank with shaky arms. To Harry’s eyes, through the skill he’d learned and developed to ‘examine’ Magical Items, he saw the Magical Aura around his finished sword. Powerful, but sedate, as if waiting for when it was needed. His sword was a Masterwork if he did say so himself. Taking the sword over to his work table inside the smithy he set about cleaning it with shaky hands. He’d need to craft a nice handle for it. The metal was the proper shape, now it just needed wood, or perhaps bone, and maybe some leather. “Now there’s a pretty sword.” Harry whispered to the blade as he finished cleaning it.

“Harry…?” Penny called as she knocked on the smithy door. “Harry, are you alright?” Harry really wanted to answer her but he was done. The ache in his body was real. There was a deep, bone deep, exhaustion setting in now that his task was done. He was able to turn his head and see Penny opening the door. Her warm brown eyes widened when they saw the state he was in. “HARRY!” The blonde Head Girl rushed over to him and took him into her arms.

“Hey…Penny…I finished my sword…” Harry whispered tiredly.

“I can see that.” Penny only glanced briefly at the sword lying on the work table. “What did you do to yourself, Harry? You’re shaking, burned, and your hands are a mess.” She pulled him against her gently as she laid her head on top of is. “I think you went too far too soon, Harry.”

“Maybe…maybe…” Harry attempted to shrug, though the best he got was a slight shake of his shoulders.

“We’re going to Madam Pomfrey, no arguments.” Penny informed him as she used her Wandless Magic to levitate him.

“Okay…” Harry murmured tiredly as he started to doze off. His last thought was about how strong his Artifact Sword felt. He was damn proud of the magical power he’d felt in his blade. It was far stronger than he was right now.

Artifacts could be stronger than the one that made them. Base Magical Power for an Artifact was determined by the materials used; the power of the Artificer, and the skill of the said Artificer. Isimun, Sylvuan, Vitris Auri, and Wizard Blood were all decently magically powerful. Isimun was clearly the most powerful of the materials by far. But Harry had poured his own mana into the sword throughout its creation only recovering an hours-worth of rest for his mana, sometimes two, between cycles of forging, etching, and hammering. He’d poured every bit of his mana into his creation on Friday, Saturday, and today. If the Arithmancy was correct Harry’s Artifact Sword should possess almost three times the power he currently did.

It was truly an amazingly powerful sword. Its use as a focus would see it standing toe to toe with even legends like the Sword of Erdunn. Perhaps even mythical blades said to be created or given by Gods. Though that would remain to be seen, for now.

For now Harry was damn tired. Spending three days physically exerting oneself while constantly keeping yourself in a state of near Magical Exhaustion would do that. Harry could ponder no more as he fell asleep before they were even out of the corridor his hidden workshop was in.

-End Chapter-

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It is COMPLETE!!! After two years of learning, testing, researching, and prototypes, the Artifact Sword is complete!

What will Harry call it? What are its full capabilities? Will Harry’s fame and reputation as an Artificer grow? What will he complete next?

Tonks is going to be so nettled at Harry for hurting himself like this!

No more fun ‘negotiations’ for Harry for a while!

What comes next? Another panel of Artificers? Testing the Sword?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,502

Tonks – 7,006

Penelope – 6,014

Fleur – 6,208

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 24: Recovery, Testing, Panel

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time to Recover from Artifact Creation, then its Testing time! We'll be needing another Panel of Artificers to certify!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 24 – Recovery, Testing, Panel

Harry sighed as Madam Pomfrey hovered around him. The Matron of the Hospital Wing had been fretting over him since yesterday. Penny had levitated him here after he’d finished his Artifact Sword and fallen asleep. Seeing a student exhausted, physically and magically, burned in various areas, and brought in unconscious had almost sent Pomfrey into a fit. He’d woken up this morning to three vials of potion he had to drink. Not the most pleasant thing to do first thing in the morning. Penny had visited at breakfast and stayed with him until classes began, so that was nice. Now came what he was expecting since he woke up.

“Good morning, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at the teen Artificer.

“Good morning, Headmaster.” Harry returned the greeting.

“You gave us quite the shock when Head Girl Clearwater brought you into the Hospital Wing yesterday.” Dumbledore informed him with a classic ‘worried grandfather’ look. Harry figured the man had decades to perfect said look. The Headmaster was somewhere north of one hundred thirty years old.

“Sorry about that, Headmaster.” Harry apologized with a slight bow of his head. “I had thrown myself into my work a bit too much. Or at least that’s what Penny says I did.” He cracked a slight grin.

“Being passionate about one’s work is a good thing.” Dumbledore nodded, with a small smile of his own. “But we can’t have students harming themselves like that. Poppy tells me that you had both muscular fatigue and symptoms of prolonged magical exhaustion. Could you tell me how your Enchanting brought you to such a state?”

“I wasn’t just Enchanting, Headmaster.” Harry shook his head. Seeing Dumbledore’s curious look, he continued. “I was Artificing. I finished a project two years in the making, sir.”

“You’ve crafted another Artifact?” Dumbledore looked a mix of impressed and confused. “Your last Artifact did not leave you in such a ragged state, Mr. Potter.”

“My Rune Safe was almost accidental in its Artifact status.” Harry admitted with a shrug. “This time I fully intended to create an Artifact, a powerful one at that.”

“Might I inquire as to what Artifact now resides in Hogwarts?” Dumbledore questioned; his tone noticeably different. Harry looked at Headmaster Dumbledore right now, he realized, rather than the genial grandfather figure he acted as for others.

“A sword that cannot cut anything.” Harry let himself smile slightly.

“Cannot cut anything?” Dumbledore looked truly confused and Harry wondered how rare that look actually was.

“Nothing physical anyway.” Harry shrugged with a shake of his head.

“I must admit to my curiosity.” Dumbledore gave his grandfatherly smile.

“I still have to craft a handle and a sheath for it,” Harry remarked thoughtfully. “Then I’ll need to test out its full capabilities, of course. Once that’s done I’ll need another Panel of Artificers to come and examine it themselves.”

“Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore interrupted the teen’s planning. Harry looked at the old man after blinking for a second. “While it is fine to make plans, as Headmaster I do still need to know if this sword is in anyway dangerous to the students or staff.”

“Oh, right, well it shouldn’t be.” Harry shook his head. “It can’t cut anything physical. I guess you could still hit someone with it, but that’s true of a Beater’s bat too. As for my sword, it’s a Spell Cleaver. It cuts through Magic, rather than things.”

“A Spell Cleaver?” Dumbledore looked perplexed. “I don’t think I’ve come across that term before.”

“I might have made it up, for all I know.” Harry gave a half shrug. “I made my sword unable to cut physical objects in exchange for cutting through all forms of Magic. Well, theoretically, anyway. I still have to test it to find out its limitations.”

“That still could prove dangerous, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore gave him a look.

“It’s not nearly so dangerous in anyone else’s hands, Headmaster.” Harry raised his hands in front of him. “I’ve already tied it to my Bloodline, no one but I can currently use the full range of my sword’s abilities. Not until I have children at any rate; which I don’t plan on for quite a few more years.” He chuckled and Dumbledore looked mirthful as well.

“Very well, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore stood from his chair. “I would like to be present for your tests of this Artifact however; for safety’s sake, as well as damage control if something should go wrong.”

“I can agree to that.” Harry nodded. Dumbledore smiled at him again.

“I wish you a speedy recovery, Mr. Potter. I’m sure Head Girl Clearwater will make sure that you don’t fall behind on your classwork.” Dumbledore mentioned with a chuckle. “A good day to you, Mr. Potter.”

“To you as well, Headmaster.” Harry nodded. Dumbledore left the Hospital Wing shortly afterwards and Harry was left to run ideas through his mind. Lunch came and went quietly. Like clockwork Penny came in after classes with his daily assignments and homework. Harry pretended to pout but Penny was having none of it. So Harry set to work with his girlfriend by his side. They had dinner together in the Hospital Wing that evening. Madam Pomfrey had shooed Penny out afterwards and began to check Harry over with her wand.

“Well, Mr. Potter, the good news is you seem to be mostly well again. Your Magic is still rather low though. You’ll be staying another day while I check your recovery.” Madam Pomfrey informed the teen.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Harry replied with a sigh. Penny would insist he stay if Madam Pomfrey recommended it. There wasn’t much point in arguing. He wondered if it would be tomorrow or the day after when he’d receive a written reprimand from Tonks and one from Fleur as well. Knowing Penny she had already written to the others. He should be thankful to Hogwarts, really. It was currently acting as a barrier between him and Tonks’ worry and frustration with him.

‘I’ll make her something nice for her birthday.’ Harry thought to himself as he lay down for the night. ‘She’ll forgive me then, probably.’

-Tuesday ~ Second Day of Recovery-

It was a fairly quiet day in the Hospital Wing. Penny came to have breakfast with him again. Harry finished his homework from yesterday. Penny came with Hermione, Padma, Mandy, and Luna after classes.

“How’d you do this to yourself, Harry?” Hermione asked gently. Harry looked fine now, but Penny had informed them of Madam Pomfrey’s initial diagnosis. All of his study buddies looked curious as well.

“Artificing is a bit different from Enchanting, Hermione.” Harry informed the brunette. “To create a True Artifact takes time, a lot of trial and error, testing, and quite a bit of mana. My Rune Safe was a fairly tame creation in comparison to most Artifacts. But it was only a Minor Artifact because of its construction and limit of use. This time I went for a much more powerful Artifact, so the amount of time and mana needed to create it increased proportionately.”

“So what did you make?” Mandy questioned; her dark brown eyes curious.

“A sword.” Harry replied with a grin.

“An Artifact Sword?” Padma blinked “Like the Sword of Gryffindor or Excalibur?”

“Not sure it can compare to Excalibur, since no one seems to know all that much about that particular sword. But it can probably stand on a similar level of the Sword of Gryffindor.” Harry smiled. He happily omitted any knowledge of the Sword of Gryffindor becoming the Sword of Erdunn. He wouldn’t want that bit of information to get out for a while, after all.

“Can we see it?” Luna asked with an excited grin.

“When I’m done testing it and making a sheath for it.” Harry nodded to the small blonde who smiled brightly.

“I brought your classwork and homework for the day, Harry.” Penny smiled at him. Harry could see the amusement Penny was getting from delivering his schoolwork to him. He’d take it though, give Penny this small ‘revenge’ for worrying her like he’d done.

“Thank you, Penny.” Harry looked at her flatly. Penny was still all smiles as she handed him the assignments.

-Wednesday ~ After Classes-

“Intent-based Wards aren’t easy.” Harry grimaced as he looked through a large tome on Warding. To determine intent and then prevent certain actions, such as entering an area or picking something up, was quite the Arithmancy puzzle.

Luckily for Harry it was also a well-researched Branch of Warding, so he was able to find some examples. Taking some Basilisk bone Harry set about hollowing it out and shaping it with his blacksmithing tools. After some time he’d gotten the bone hollowed out to fit the tang of his blade. Shaping it down into a handle was then followed by etching the Ward Sequence into the bone. Harry primed the Ward on the new handle with his own mana and then attached it to his Artifact Sword. Seeing the Ward Sequence glow brightly and then dim made Harry smile. The handle had integrated properly and now the Ward on the handle was part of the sword as a whole.

“Now I’ll wrap it with leather, and then I’ll get to work on carving and forming a sheath for it.” Harry planned aloud as he worked. It had been a while since Harry had worked with wood. Luckily he happened to live right next to the most Magical Forest in Britain for ten months of the year. He had plenty of wood, both magical and non-magical to work with. A quick call to Tayla and the Family House Elf was more than happy to quickly pop around the edge of the Forbidden Forest and collect sections of wood. The forest was absolutely full of fallen trees and branches after all; he might as well make use of them.

-Thursday ~ After Classes-

“What are you going over so thoroughly, Harry?” Penny asked her boyfriend with a fond smile.

“I’m making the sheath for my Artifact Sword.” Harry smiled back as he showed Penny his work. “You remember that ‘Spell Ward’ idea I showed you in my journal? I should be able to make it work with this. A sheaths’ Function is to hold a blade and to protect anyone from its edge. If I match that Function of Protection with a similar Array then I should be able to create a sheath that blocks spells, including things like Summoning Charms and the like. That’ll keep the sword from being taken while it’s sheathed.”

“You’re really taking safety seriously for this sword, Harry. I’m impressed.” Penny pulled him into a side hug.

“I have to be, it’s a very powerful Artifact, one that I’ll pass down to children someday.” Harry looked at her with a soft grin. Penny’s cheeks went pink before she kissed his cheek.

“Don’t go making plans that far in advance just yet, boyfriend of mine.” Penny giggled. “Neither of us is ready for that kind of responsibility yet.”

“Maybe not, but it’s good to plan ahead when possible.” Harry chuckled.

“Don’t forget your homework though.” Penny teased him with a grin.

“Yes, mother…” Harry jokingly rolled his eyes. He broke into a laugh when he felt a ball of mana ‘pop’ against his head.

-Saturday-

Harry spent most of the morning carving out a length of wood for his sheath from a thick fallen limb of an ancient Magical Oak Tree. Tayla had, as most well-treated House Elves often did, gone above and beyond for him. She’d gone far deeper into the Forbidden Forest than he intended for her to. But her results spoke for themselves. The thick fallen limb she’d brought back still lingered with Magic even though it was probably separated from the tree many years ago. It showed none of the usual signs of decay and rot, only being dry enough to work with. Tayla wouldn’t accept any kind of reward, of course, but Harry had almost made the House Elf burst into happy tears with the sincere and genuine thanks he lavished on her. He was sure the Elf was probably still dancing around Wood End Cottage from her joy.

By the afternoon he had the two halves of his sheath carved and hollowed out to carefully hold his sword. Now came the time to etch the ‘Spell Ward’ Array he’d developed. He was going to make sure he wouldn’t have to replace the sheath for decades by making it to the best of his ability. For that very reason he was using Sylvuan as the Rune Material to fill in the etchings. Covering the wood in ‘Conquered’ Basilisk Hide would also increase the Magic Resistance the sheath had. Penny had come to watch him most of the day as he worked. She worked on her own homework and also made sure he took breaks for meals. When Harry sealed the edges of the two halves into the Form of the sheath that evening he smiled. Carving a ‘Permanent Adherence’ Sequence onto the outside of the sheathe Harry carefully attached the Basilisk Hide to the length of the sheath. He capped both ends of the sheath with Sylvuan as well for durability. Both would also permanently attach to the sheath to make sure it stayed together.

“A bloody good Enchanted Object; if I do say so myself.” Harry congratulated himself with a grin as he finally sheathed his Artifact Sword for the first time. With this he was now ready to test the sword. Lucky for him tomorrow was Sunday, so he had all day free.

-Sunday ~ Morning after Breakfast-

“Headmaster, Professor Flitwick, glad you both could come.” Harry welcomed Dumbledore and his Head of House. Penny was already with him and his study buddies all stood behind her eagerly.

“I must say, Mr. Potter, for a young man you cut an impressive figure with that sword on your hip.” Flitwick smiled at his student. Indeed Harry had his sheathed sword on his left hip and looked stronger for it. Whether that was because the boy was in the middle of a growth spurt or was entirely caused by the swords’ presence was something the short Wizard didn’t think about.

“Thank you, sir.” Harry nodded to his Head of House.

“I wouldn’t want to miss this, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smile genially. “I’ll trust in your skills as an Artificer. But it makes me worry less to have members of the Faculty present for these tests in case anything was to go wrong.”

“That’s understandable, Headmaster.” Harry agreed. “Thank you both for taking time out of your day to supervise. Both Professors gave him smiles and waved away his thanks. Harry walked over to Penny, who would be helping him test a few things.

“Ready?” Penny asked him with a grin.

“As I’ll ever be.” Harry nodded back with confidence.

The two walked a good distance away from the others and Harry drew the sword. None of the onlookers saw much ‘special’ about the sword. It was shiny, maybe unnaturally so, but the blade was fairly plain. It didn’t look any different than a regular double-edge sword. The guard appeared to be the same metal as the blade but inlaid with what looked like gold. The handle of the sword appeared to be leather-wrapped and nothing fancy.

“Huh, I thought it would be fancier.” Mandy commented. She got agreeing nods from Hermione and Padma. Luna just watched on with a smile.

“Test one: Weaker Spells, let’s begin.” Harry nodded to Penny. Penny returned the nod and held up her hand. From her fingers the blue bolt of a Flipendo Jinx was launched at Harry. Harry brought his sword up and as soon as the Jinx touched the blade it vanished.

“Looks like it worked.” Penny smiled at seeing the success.

“Let’s keep going.” Harry grinned as he motioned for Penny to use another spell. Dumbledore, Flitwick, Padma, Hermione, Luna and Mandy all watched on as spell after spell disappeared as soon as it made contact with the blade. Stinging Hexes vanished, Expelliarmus was blocked, and even a Stunning Spell simply disappeared when it came in contact with the sword.

“Alright, I’m going to use a Fireball, if you’re ready,” Penny told Harry. The Artificer only nodded back eagerly. Penny sighed even as a grin made its way onto her face. Harry would always be ready to test out his creations, regardless of the fact that he might get injured. “Alright, here it comes.” The Head Girl conjured a fireball into her palm with a snap. She then sent it towards Harry with a thought.

“It could have been a little faster.” Harry chuckled as he watched the fireball move towards him at the equivalent of jogging speed. When it was close enough, Harry raised his sword and the fireball dispersed when it touched the blade. “Well, that proves that conjured elements can be dispersed.”

“Should I try a water ball next?” Penny asked from her position. Harry gave her a nod and the blonde conjured the sphere of water. Sending it towards Harry at the same speed as the Fireball, they were all pleased to see the conjured water vanish just the same.

“Time to really test out the range I can give this.” Harry announced and Penny looked at him worriedly while everyone else just looked confused. Harry raised his left hand and concentrated. Far above him, at least fifty meters in the air, a large fireball crackled into existence. The sphere of flames was easily the size of a carriage and Harry yanked his hand down in a fist. The large fireball came descending down with speed and Harry took his sword in both hands. The blade glowed faintly white-blue and Harry swung it towards the descending fireball before it had cleared even half the distance.

“My word.” Dumbledore breathed out, even as his wand was in his hand and pointing towards Harry to shield him from the flames if necessary. The near transparent wave of magic had passed through the fireball without even slowing down. The large mass of flames dispersing into nothing near instantly as the wave touched them.

“Success!” Harry laughed. He laughed even more when he saw the absolutely massive ball of water Penny had conjured in response to him throwing a huge fireball at himself. His girlfriend was always looking out for him and it brought a warm smile to his lips. With another swing of his sword he made the water vanish as well. “I’m fine, Penny, thank you though. I appreciate your concern.”

“Well someone has to be concerned for you.” Penny raised one of her eyebrows. “We obviously can’t trust you to be concerned for yourself.”

“That’s unfair and untrue.” Harry replied with a faux offended look on his face.

“Is it?” Penny arched her eyebrow fully.

“Sort of…” Harry barely restrained a smile.

“Why do I love you again?” Penny sighed with a warm look in her eyes.

“Because I challenge you intellectually, because I’m interesting, because I make you nice things, because I’m devilishly good-looking, I can keep going.” Harry laughed.

“Picking up some habits from Sirius, I see.” Penny could barely stifle her giggles at Harry’s silliness.

“I’m not that bad!” Harry cried in mock indignation. Penny burst into laughter at that and Harry chuckled along with her.

“Alright, alright, you wanted to test the sword’s ability as a Focus too, right?” Penny asked after her bout of laughter subsided.

“Yeah, I should be able to cast spells through it. How much of the swords’ power I use should be able to be controlled as well.” Harry mused as he looked his sword over. “Send me a wave of spells, even if they’re all the same, just send too many for me to have even a chance of blocking with the sword. I’ll try out Protego first.”

“Alright, a swarm of Stinging Hexes for Harry.” Penny sing-songed with a grin.

“Thanks…” Harry replied flatly as he walked back to a suitable distance for the test. “Go!” He gave the signal. From Penny’s hands came a burst of the small orange lights of the Stinging Hex. There were easily two dozen of the balls of light heading for him at a good speed. Harry focused, feeling the deep connection he had to his sword; he pointed the sword towards the incoming spells. A large, white Protego, far larger than anything Harry had ever cast before, appeared between him and the Stinging Hexes. The little orange lights were negated instantly upon touching the Shield Charm.

“Incredible!” Flitwick cheered at seeing the massive Protego. It was the largest he’d ever seen before! Easily dozens of meters in diameter! Harry could shield from almost any spell Flitwick could think of with a Charm that strong!

“Penny, stand in front of the others, please.” Harry requested. Penny looked confused but did as Harry asked.

Harry let his next spell flow through the sword as easily as he did with his wand. With a downward swing a thin line of pressurized water was released that cut cleanly through the dirt for several meters. Noting that it didn’t take nearly as much mana to perform that spell as it did when he used it Wandlessly, Harry smiled. It was further proof that his sword was an efficient Focus too. Harry pointed the blade straight up, right at the sky, and tapped into about half the swords’ power. The flames that came from the sword must have reached close to fifty meters into the air. It was like watching a fully grown Dragon breathe fire!

“Oh my Lord!” Hermione exclaimed in shock as seeing the potent effect of the sword.

“One last test!” Harry called out to everyone watching. “Full power this time!”

“That wasn’t full power?!” Padma cried out; her eyes wide and jaw almost on the ground.

The Artifact Sword sparked along the length of the blade as Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through it. Tapping into the full power of his sword Harry let it empower the Curse. With a helm splitter swing straight down, Harry cast the Curse. Lightning cracked through the air in a massive arc of electricity that tore through the ground and sizzled through the air. The loud thunderclap that followed from the super-heated air was near deafening. The arc of lightning travelled in a straight line for almost one hundred meters before dissipating leaving behind a deeply gouged, trench through the ground that let off a few small sparks occasionally.

Hermione, Padma, and Mandy all collapsed in shock as they stared at what Harry had accomplished with a single spell and a swing of his sword. That was insane! Harry was only thirteen and he was already capable of creating Artifacts this powerful! What would he be like in a decade?! Luna was clapping wildly, apparently thrilled by the show. Penny just stared critically at what her boyfriend had just done. Her curious and inquisitive mind trying to extrapolate how much mana the sword provided and how much Harry provided to that Curse.

“Mr. Potter!” Dumbledore called out the teen Artificer as he looked over his sword.

“Yes Headmaster?” Harry looked towards the old man and Flitwick, both of whom were rushing towards him.

“I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from doing anything like that again on school grounds, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore told the Third Year student with a serious look on his face. “While it was very impressive, it was also highly dangerous.”

“Understandable, Headmaster, I’ll refrain from using the full power of my sword while on the grounds of Hogwarts.” Harry agreed. “Though I may need an exemption from that whenever we can arrange for a panel of Artificers to come and certify my sword as an Artifact. They’ll need to run their own tests and I’ve already locked the sword to my Bloodline. Only I and my direct descendants will be able to use this sword like I just did.”

“That is reassuring at least.” Dumbledore nodded. He’d seen the horrors that could be wrought by a Wizard with a powerful Focus before. If Harry’s sword could be wielded by anyone then he’d fear for the future should a Dark Wizard ever get their hands on it. Knowing that was and impossibility, even if they did possess the blade, cleared up the majority of Dumbledore’s concerns already.

“Simply incredible, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick congratulated his student. “Never in all my years have I seen such a remarkable Focus!”

“Thank you Professor.” Harry smiled at the short Charms Professor.

“Well, I’m sure we can arrange a time for a few distinguished guests to come visit Hogwarts and inspect your sword, Harry.” Dumbledore nodded with a grandfatherly smile.

“Thank you very much, Headmaster.” Harry gave a short bow to the old man. Dumbledore waved off his thanks with a chuckle.

Harry quickly walked back to Penny and his study buddies. He chuckles at the shocked forms of Hermione, Mandy, and Padma. Luna had congratulated him happily and he’d thanked her. Penny gave him a quick kiss of congratulations before she started asking for more details about his sword. Harry could only chuckle as he started to explain.

-Next Weekend-

It was Saturday, just past noon, and Harry was standing near the far edge of the Hogwarts grounds. This was as far from the castle as they could get to ensure safety. Standing with him was Dumbledore, as Headmaster, Flitwick, as his Head of House, as well as Penny. The small group watched as four people were guided to them by Hagrid. The large man had waved at Harry with a smile. Harry smiled back and noticed Hagrid was wearing the gloves and scarf he’d made for him in First Year. He noticed the obvious signs of wear and tear on the items and decided to make Hagrid a new set for Christmas.

Thanks to Dumbledore and Flitwick, the area they were standing in was free of December snow and pleasantly warm. The group of four, two Witches and Two Wizards, all smiled happily at the change in temperature when they crossed into the spelled area. With happy murmurs the visiting Artificers removed their heavier coats and cloaks. One face stood out to Harry; considering he’d been here to examine Harry’s Rune Safe it wasn’t surprising. Not to mention that Lorenzo was still the oldest looking man he’d ever seen. Flamel didn’t count since the man hadn’t aged a day in somewhere north of five hundred years.

“Good day, Ladies and Gentleman, on behalf of all of us here I’d like to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Dumbledore welcomed their guests; all of whom gave their thanks at the kind welcome.

“We’re pleased to be here again, Dumbledore.” Lorenzo chuckled and the two old men shared a look of old friends meeting again. “Though I have to say, I didn’t expect Artificer Potter to have another potential Artifact so soon.”

“Do Artificers take breaks?” Harry questioned curiously and all four of the visitors chuckled.

“Most do between projects, Artificer Potter.” Lorenzo nodded. “Even the ones that try and create Artifacts back to back often take more than two years to make another potential Artifact. Ah, but where are my manners, I should let the others introduce themselves.”

“Happy to be here and not in my Office for a bit!” The first new person spoke up. He was slightly pale, and spoke with an accent. His hair was a dark brown and he had green eyes. “My name is Lucas Miller; I’m an Artificer that works for the Canadian Ministry of Magic. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty four years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”

Greetings were made and then the next person stepped forward.

“Forgive me if my English is a bit rough, it’s my newest language.” The next member of the group spoke up. She was an older woman, not quite as old as McGonagall, but a bit older than Professor Sinistra if Harry had to guess. “I’m Lucia Nuñez, a freelance Artificer from Argentina. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty years and have two True Artifacts to my name.”

Everyone introduced themselves to the newly named woman before the last person, another woman, stepped forward.

“Happy to be here.” The woman spoke with warm eyes and a kind smile. She was almost the epitome of ‘grandmother’ in her presence and demeanor. With white hair, some wrinkles, and brown eyes, she was easily the second oldest person of the group after Lorenzo. “My name is Anna Kowalczyk. I am an Artificer from Poland. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for sixty one years and have four True Artifacts to my name.”

Dumbledore also apparently new Anna as well since both greeted each other as old friends. With introductions out of the way the four visiting Artificers gathered around to examine Harry’s sword. Harry unsheathed the blade and held it out to them.

“Feel free to touch the blade, it can’t cut anything physical.” Harry spoke up and all four Artificers looked at him quizzically for a moment. Harry looked back at them for a few seconds before explaining. “It only cuts Magic, so physical objects can’t be cut.” With murmurs of curiosity all four Artificers looked the sword over.

“Is this sword ‘Blood Bound’ Artificer Potter?” Anna questioned a few moments later. “I can tell it is Magical, but I feel nothing when I pour my Magic into it.”

“Yes, Artificer Kowalczyk, it is bound to my Bloodline already.” Harry confirmed. “I’ll have to demonstrate its full capabilities myself.”

“Perfectly alright, Artificer Potter; wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen that.” Lucas chuckled as he looked over the blade.

“You say this cuts Magic, but how do you mean?” Lucia asked curiously as she turned to face Harry.

“It might be easier to show you.” Harry replied as he took the sword back and conjured a fireball to hang in the air. Touching the blade to the fire snuffed it out instantly. “It’s like that.” All four Artificers nodded in understanding before they drew their own wands. Harry handed the sword back to them and watched on as they tried to bombard it with spells of all kinds. Not a single spell could even touch the sword without dispersing.

“Well, it most certainly does what you say.” Lorenzo looked flummoxed. “Spells can’t even touch it.”

“Just leaves the physical tests!” Lucas smiled as he picked up the sword. “Apologies in advance in case it breaks, Artificer Potter.” The Canadian Wizard bowed slightly. Harry nodded back, he was confident in his Artifact Sword.

“These rocks should do.” Lucas nodded to some large rocks and boulders off to the side. He hefted the sword up and brought it down on the rock closest to him with all his strength. There was the sharp clang of metal on stone and then Lucas was bringing the blade up to his eyes to inspect. “Well made, Artificer Potter!” He smiled. “Not a ding, crack, or even scratch on it!”

“Don’t be so gentle.” Lucia smiled as she waved her wand and levitated a larger boulder. “We must be thorough.” Lucas laid Harry’s sword on the rock he’d hit with it and backed away. Lucia dropped the boulder and the giant rock smashed the sword and the rock it laid on. A few moments to clear the large cracked pieces away and Lucia whistled. She pulled the sword from the rubble and showed the dusty blade still perfectly intact. “Very impressive, Artificer Potter, very impressive!”

“Thank you, Artificer Nuñez.” Harry smiled at the woman.

The four Artificers conversed for a bit over the tests and after a minute or so seemed to come to an agreement. The four approached and handed Harry the sword. Harry accepted it back and wiped off the dust with the edge of his robes. Penny gave him a look for the action but Harry just grinned.

“It is most definitely an Artifact, Artificer Potter.” Lorenzo smiled at the teen. “But until we see its full capabilities we cannot determine its Grade.”

“Allow me, and my lovely assistant, to demonstrate then.” Harry motioned to Penny, who rolled her eyes playfully at him, and the two began a similar demonstration to the one that Dumbledore, Flitwick and his study buddies had seen.

“This is full power.” Harry informed the Artificer Panel as he held the sword over his head. The blade began to spark with electricity as Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through the sword. With a helm splitter swing the massive blast of lightning carved through the ground and shattered the largest boulder in the area. Only pebbles remained of the once massive rock. The Artificers all stared wide eyed at what a thirteen year old had done. Harry didn’t even look winded! Like he hadn’t even tried to put any extra power behind the spell! If that was almost entirely the sword then it far exceeded a Minor Grade, even a Median Grade wasn’t enough!

A few moments of hushed conversation followed the demonstration. The Artificers all seemed to come to an agreement and walked over with shock on their faces. Though they all appeared to be pleasantly shocked at the very least.

“Well, Artificer Potter, it seems we were right to expect great things from you! Your Artifact Sword is clearly far more than any Minor Grade Artifact.” Lorenzo congratulated the teen. “We’ve all reached the same thought,” Here the other three Artificers nodded to Lorenzo. “Your Artifact Sword is of Greater Grade. You’ve done what many Artificers spend their entire careers attempting! Quite the remarkable young man you are, eh?”

“Thank you, Master Trevisan.” Harry thanked the very old Artificer. He really just hadn’t processed that he’d skipped a Grade entirely yet. He was sure he’d freak out in short order once that fully processed.

“Do you have a name for your sword, Artificer Potter?” Lorenzo questioned the young man.

“Yeah, someone important to me helped come up with it.” Harry smiled at Penny who faintly blushed as she returned his gaze. “Aethereum.”

“Aether; the magical or higher sphere in Alchemy and many other Magical Practices. As a sword that can’t cut physical materials, only Magic, it does seem appropriate.” Anna remarked with a smile.

“Very well, I’ll have it logged for addition into the next reprinting of the Tome of Artifacts.” Lorenzo chuckled. “Congratulations on your second True Artifact, Artificer Potter, now I’m very curious as to what you’ll make next!” The old man laughed.

Harry thanked the four Artificers for their time. He figured this would be in the papers soon enough, probably after Christmas depending on the speed at which the story spread. But he’d just deal with it as it came.

Penny pulled him into a hug as the group walked back towards the castle together. Harry happily returned it and looked forward to the Yule Break and returning to Wood End Cottage. Which reminded him, he’d need to Mirror Call Sirius about this. Harry was sure his Godfather would be over the moon for him.

-End Chapter-

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Well now, Greater Grade! Holy shit! Harry’s definitely going to start gaining some more notoriety over this accomplishment! What will he make next? He has plenty of projects to explore and things to create!

Aethereum, the Spell Cleaver, an Artifact Sword capable of dispersing Magic with its blade! In exchange for not being able to cut physical objects it can negate near any Magic it cuts or touches!

How’s that for an Artifact Sword?

Onto Christmas and the next projects! What are they?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,726

Tonks – 7,158

Penelope – 6,122

Fleur – 6,582

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 25: Yule Break, Next Project

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Yule Break! Spending time with Family! Will Tonks, Penny, and Fleur have another Christmas ‘Surprise’ for Harry? Also, what’s the next Big Project to work on?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 25 – Yule Break, Next Project

Harry smiled as he and Penny rode the Hogwarts Express back to London. He had completed his Artifact Sword after two years of work. It was even a Greater Grade Artifact! At thirteen he’d done what many Artificers spent their careers attempting! He felt a bit of pride about that. Now he was headed back to Wood End Cottage for the break, Sirius was apparently pulling out all the stops for the celebrations this year. Both to celebrate Harry’s achievement and just because he was Sirius and he enjoyed the festivities!

“What are you smiling about, hmm?” Penny asked as they leaned against each other.

“Why wouldn’t I smile when I have such a beautiful, intelligent, loving woman cuddled up with me?” Harry grinned at the blonde.

“Did you learn that line from Sirius, per chance?” Penny giggled softly as they held each other.

“No, that’s how I really feel.” Harry hugged her closer and Penny kissed his cheek.

“Hmm, we do have the compartment to ourselves this time,” Penny teased. “Maybe we can give each other an early present?”

“Really now?” Harry looked at the Head Girl with a teasing glance. “What ever could you be considering?”

“Hush and kiss me.” Penny smiled, she pointed her finger at the door; the lock clicked into place and the blinds rolled down all the way.

“Love you, Penny.” Harry murmured to her before their lips met. Penny moaned lightly as they kissed.

“Love you too.” Penny smiled beautifully at him as she pulled back for a moment. Their lips met again and the two let themselves get lost in the feelings. Penny let Harry’s hands wander and explore her body; while her own hands ghosted through his hair or ran up and down his chest.

The two spent the rest of the train ride in each other’s embrace. Shortly before they arrived at the station the two separated and fixed themselves up. Penny pulled her bra back into place and re-buttoned her shirt. A quick Charm on her hair saw it looking far less frazzled than it had been a second ago.

Harry cast the same Charm on his hair, though with the ‘Potter Hair’ it wasn’t all that different. He fixed up his clothes, Penny’s hands had done their own wandering, and the two looked each other over to make sure they were presentable.

“We should spend all of the train rides like that.” Harry smiled and chuckled.

“We’ll see…” Penny teased as she kissed his cheek.

When the train stopped and students began to disembark, the couple unlocked the door to the compartment and headed out. They left the train and looked around the platform for a moment. Sirius was easy to spot, his Godfather had on a festive, pointed hat that looked like a Christmas tree. It was even lit up with multi-colored lights.

“Well at least he toned it down a bit this time…” Harry shook his head fondly. Penny giggled as she saw her father standing near Sirius. But also just far enough away to not be instantly associated with the Lord Black. Harry and Penny approached them with smiles and were pulled into hugs by their respective parent. Greetings were exchanged between Harry and Edward, while Penny and Sirius greeted each other as well.

“Are you keeping my Godson out of trouble Head Girl Clearwater?” Sirius chuckled while Harry stared at him deadpan.

“As much as possible, Sirius.” Penny smiled with a pretty laugh.

“I don’t get into trouble.” Harry tsked at his Godfather.

“Then Penny’s doing an excellent job!” Sirius chortled at his Godson’s expense.

“Ha ha…” Harry gave his most sarcastic of laughs. This got a chuckle from Edward and Penny was giggling. Plans were made for Penny to visit over the break and for some time on Christmas Day. The two pairs parted ways after that, Penny giving Harry a peck on the cheek before they left.

-Wood End Cottage-

Being back home at Wood End Cottage was nice. The warmth that existed here always brought a smile to Harry’s face. Harry happily accepted a snack from Tayla and enjoyed time with Sirius. The Cottage was decked out in tons of decorations. Garlands were strung up along the walls and wrapped around the staircase banister. There were wreathes on almost every door. The tree was already set up and twinkled with multiple lights.

Harry was looking at the various decorations around the living room when the fireplace flared green. From the Floo came Tonks. The Metamorph’s eyes lit up at seeing him and with barely a wave of her hand the soot disappeared from her person. Harry didn’t even have time to say ‘Hi’ before Tonks had him in a hug and almost tackled him onto the couch.

“Harrikins!” Tonks cheered as she snuggled her boyfriend. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Nym.” Harry smiled as he hugged her back. The two cuddled for a moment before Tonks pulled back. Then she flicked him in the forehead.

“Ow…” Harry rubbed his forehead. “What was that for?”

“Don’t nearly kill yourself making an Artifact!” Tonks glared at him with a pout. “We want you around for life, mister!” She pulled him back into her arms again.

“Sorry I worried you, Tonks.” Harry apologized as he hugged her close. The two held each other for a bit longer before pulling away.

“Can I see it?” Tonks asked with a smile.

“Hmm, I guess…” Harry adopted a ‘thinking pose’ as he teased her.

“Come on, Harrikins~ Show me, show me!” Tonks bounced on the couch like an excited child. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the bubbly young woman. With a grin he headed up to his room and retrieved the sword. Walking back downstairs Harry saw Sirius and Tonks chatting.

“I guess I’ll demonstrate a bit, if you two want?” Harry chuckled seeing both of them act like excited kids before they both raced for the back door. He followed at a slightly more sedate pace. His knowing smirk as he slowly approached the excited pair only made them insist he hurry up. “Alright, alright, back up a bit though. If you want to see full power at the end you don’t want to be too close.”

Sirius and Tonks took a couple steps backwards. Both still excited to see Harry’s Artifact Sword. Harry unsheathed the sword and let Tonks and Sirius look at it.

“It looks kinda plain, Harrikins.” Tonks commented as she looked over the hand and a half broadsword. It wasn’t ornate or overtly Magical to her eyes. Most Wizards and Witches went out of their way to make things obviously Magical.

“It doesn’t need to scream ‘Look at me! I’m super Magical!’ to be an Artifact, Nym.” Harry grinned at her.

“In other words, function over looks,” Sirius nodded. “Still pretty boring looking there, Harry.”

“Thanks…” Harry rolled his eyes at his chuckling Godfather. With a thought Harry had a fireball snap into existence. “Watch and be amazed.” He chuckled as he adopted a Showman’s voice. He touched the blade of Aethereum to the fireball, instantly the flames dispersed into nothing. With the first demonstration done Harry proceeded to create different spells. Every bit of magic the blade touched dispersed. Harry even demonstrated the dispersing wave of magic on a huge fireball again.

“Do the big one, Harry!” Tonks cheered. “Penny told me about it! I wanna see the lightning! Do it, do it!”

“Alright, one full power swing then we’re done.” Harry laughed at his excitable girlfriend. Her hair was a brighter pink than he’d ever seen it before as she watched his demonstration. Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through Aethereum and the sword began to spark. With a swing towards the sky a bright bolt of lightning was released. Seeing the massive bolt both Sirius and Tonks felt their jaws drop.

“Harry, that was awesome!” Tonks exclaimed while laughing.

“Thank you, Nym.” Harry smiled at her while sheathing Aethereum.

“Godson of mine… I have a slight concern…” Sirius spoke up as he and Tonks approached Harry while the trio headed back inside.

“What’s that, Sirius?” Harry asked his Godfather.

“What’ll you do if someone with less than good intentions gets their hands on your sword?” Sirius inquired while looking at the sheathed weapon.

“It’s already bound to my Bloodline.” Harry informed Sirius, placating him. “No one but me, or one of my children, can use the sword as a Focus. The sheath can also protect from spells too, so it can’t be summoned away from me. Plus the little surprise I worked into the handle.” The teen Artificer chuckled as they entered the Cottage.

“Surprise?” Tonks asked as they closed the door and warmed up.

“There’s an Intent-based Ward on the handle, connected directly to Aethereum as part of the whole sword. Anyone that seeks to harm me, the Potter Family, or desires Aethereum for its power, can’t even touch the sword.” Harry explained his final safety feature. That was a bit of Arithmancy work to write out those specific conditions into the Ward. Harry felt the work had been worth it though, now no one that wished to harm him or his family could possess the sword. Even members of his future family that might desire Aethereum to use its power for themselves wouldn’t be able to hold the sword. It would hopefully be enough to keep it out of less than noble hands.

“That’s actually pretty good security, Harry.” Tonks smiled at him.

“Indeed,” Sirius nodded with a grin. “Just one last concern then,” Harry looked confused and Sirius placed his hand on his Godson’s shoulder. “Do you actually know how to use a sword?”

“Like formal lessons?” Harry shook his head.

“Then we’ll get you a teacher.” Sirius stated firmly. “Aethereum might not be able to cut anything physical; but it’s still a sword and should be treated as such. Even though it’s an amazing Focus, it’s not a wand and shouldn’t be waved around as such.”

“Hmm, I had considered trying to learn at least the basics of swordsmanship.” Harry mused as the trio sat in the living room together. “Alright then, let’s do it, I can dedicate some time this summer to learning.”

“Good,” Sirius smiled at him. “Besides, I highly doubt this will be the last Artifact Sword you’ll make.”

“True enough.” Harry smiled back.

“Why would you make another one?” Tonks tilted her head curiously.

“Because Magic Swords are cool.” Harry AND Sirius responded in unison while looking at Tonks with wide grins.

“Can’t really argue with you, I guess.” Tonks cracked up laughing.

Tonks stayed over for the evening. After dinner she’d followed Harry up to his room and proceeded to kiss him. Harry wasn’t complaining. The two ended up having a repeat of their ‘negotiation’ meeting on Harry’s bed. That night, Tonks slipped into Harry’s room again and slept next to her boyfriend. Both were in pajamas, of course, but they happily held each other close and snuggled together under the warm blankets. They both had good, restful sleep that night and awoke with smiles on their faces the next morning.

-Christmas-

Harry and Family had a wonderful Holiday. Gifts were exchanged and Fleur even came over for a few hours to exchange gifts. She also gave him an in-person repeat of the letter she’d sent him about harming himself in pursuit of Artifact Creation. Harry had accepted her reprimand, apologized for worrying her, and then accepted the warm hug she gave him. Before Fleur had to leave she was pulled aside by Tonks and Penny. The three girls disappeared for a bit and Harry, having a good idea of what was going on, left to go find the three.

‘If this is going to become a Holiday Tradition, I’m the luckiest bloke on Earth!’ Harry thought to himself as he approached his bedroom door. He knew for a fact that it hadn’t been closed earlier. Knocking on the door Harry announced himself.

“Come in, ‘Arry~” Fleur purred out and Harry felt a spark travel along his spine from her tone. Harry opened the door and quickly closed it behind him. Taking in the sight of his three girlfriends, all in skimpy Santa outfits; was amazing!

“Like what you see, Harry~?” Tonks asked breathily. She was almost popping out of the small top with the size she’d made her breasts. Her generous bum was also making the short skirt struggle to cover it at all. Her thighs and legs were fully on display, as was her midriff. All capped off with the Santa hat on her head.

“We hope so~” Penny teased with a purr of her own. She was clearly wearing the same outfit she’d worn the last time she and Tonks had ‘surprised’ him together. The lovely blonde had also not bothered to alter the outfits’ size with Magic. Her generous bosom was just barely held by the top. Her midriff was bare, showing of her trim waist and flat stomach. The skirt was the shortest thing he’d ever seen Penny wearing before; her thighs and legs shown off for him.

“It’s our gift to you~” Fleur finished laying on her accent a bit thicker than normal as she teased him. Her legs and thighs showcased by an equally short skirt. Her trim waist and wide hips exposed by the low skirt and small top; said top also barely able to contain her breasts. With a giggle at his travelling gaze over their forms, all three young ladies turned and let him see them from the back.

“Holy…” Harry breathed out as he took in the sight of three perfect bums presented to him. His breath hitched entirely when the tiny skirts were pulled up and green/red striped panties were revealed. Three giggles proceeded the gentle wiggling of the very nice bums and Harry was certain he was officially the luckiest teen in Magical Britain!

“Harry~” Tonks teased as the girls lowered their skirts and turned around.

“Yes…” Harry replied, still mesmerized.

“Surprise~” Penny giggled as all three tiny tops were relieved of their task of trying to contain the girls’ breasts. Harry’s eyes couldn’t stay still! Tonks’ had the largest tits he’d ever seen! Penny’s boobs were just as lovely as he remembered and she was even shaking them slightly! Fleur’s breasts where just as perfect as the rest of her as well as being natural D Cups! The teen was sure that he was in Heaven!

“Come here, mon amour~” Fleur beckoned him close with a come hither motion. Harry didn’t remember moving, but he and Fleur were quickly wrapped in each other’s arms and sharing their first kiss together. She guided him to the bed and the kissing became deep and heated. Their tongues met and Fleur happily showed him how the French kissed! Harry was steadily overwhelmed by his Veela girlfriend and ended up lying on his back with his hands on her bum while they made out.

“So naughty~” Tonks teased as Harry and Fleur continued to make out.

“Like you have room to talk.” Penny giggled at the Metamorph.

Fleur and Harry separated with a gasp and the Veela teen smiled lovingly down at her boyfriend. Harry was able to sit up before his lips were captured by Penny’s. The two shared a deep kiss for a bit. When they separated it was Tonks’ turn and she gently pulled Harry’s lips to hers. The two kissed gently at first before Tonks deepened it. A few moments later they separated for air.

Now Harry knew he was in Heaven!

“While your dazed look is very cute, Harry, we need you to head back downstairs so that we can change.” Tonks chuckled. Penny and Fleur matched her with giggles of their own as the three of them helped Harry to his feet.

“Right… Okay…” Harry’s grin wouldn’t fade for quite a while. He left his room still in a happy daze and headed for the kitchen to get a drink.

Fleur left shortly afterwards to spend the rest of Christmas with her family in France. Penny likewise needed to leave not long after to go to her family’s Christmas Dinner. The rest of the family; Sirius, Harry, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, and Lupin had a wonderful dinner together. Tayla had really outdone herself and the House Elf had been praised so much Harry wasn’t sure she’d ever stop smiling. Lupin was corralled into staying the night by Sirius and Tonks pecked Harry’s lips before she left. Harry went to bed with a smile on his face.

-December 27th-

Harry was happily working in his smithy at Wood End Cottage. He was poring over a book about leatherworking to learn the skill. He wanted to turn the rolls upon rolls of processed hide into vests, coats, and cloaks for his family. If he could get Tonks’, Penny’s, and Fleur’s measurements, maybe three pairs of leather pants too… For reasons.

“Alright, so measure out the length, then the width, sleeves need to be measured by diameter…” Harry read over the tome as he performed the tasks listed. Bit by bit, the young Artificer made progress. Near the end of the day he smiled happily at his first piece. A Basilisk leather vest with cotton lining; it had very good spell resistance and it looked nice too! Harry wasn’t a tailor or anything, but a vest was fairly simple all things considered. Sewing was a skill of his that he’d tried not to let fade.

“I hope Hagrid liked his new Scarf and Gloves.” Harry smiled at the thought of the large man. He’d received a gift via owl from Hagrid again this year. Knowing his Enchanting would require materials, Hagrid had sent him a book about safely harvesting parts from Magical Creatures. The book was all about harvesting parts that the creature could grow back. It had a heavy focus on keeping said creatures alive throughout the process too.

Happy with his work, Harry took the vest and left the smithy. Walking through the cleared path in the backyard, Harry admired the snowfall. It was chilly, of course, but he very much enjoyed the view of Wood End Cottage in winter. Walking into the cottage Harry smiled when he heard a voice that had become a bit familiar over the last year. He headed into the living room and was happy to see Sirius and Marlie Reed chatting and enjoying tea. The two were rather serious at this point in their relationship. Harry was expecting for Sirius to eventually announce their engagement.

“What’s up Harry?” Sirius asked as he looked at his Godson with a smile.

“Finished the first Basilisk leather vest.” Harry explained as he held up the vest. “I figured you could model your last Christmas present for Marlie.”

“For me?” Sirius stood up and took the vest from Harry. “Thank you, Harry.” He smiled as he put the vest on. Buttoning up the three buttons he moved his arms a bit and found the vest to fit fairly well. “I guess the measurements were good then.” He chuckled as Harry had taken his measurements before Christmas Day.

“Looks like it.” Harry nodded to his Godfather.

“Now for the big test.” Sirius grinned and gave Harry a wink. “What do you think, Love?” He asked while turning to face Marlie. The ravenette woman with the warm grey eyes smiled at her lover.

“It looks rather dashing on you, Sirius.” Marlie grinned. “I rather like it.”

“Well that settles it,” Sirius clapped his hands together. “Made by my Godson, and approved by my darling, I’m sold!” He chuckled as he ran his hands over the vest. Marlie let out a warm laughter that made Sirius smile; and Harry grinned at his Godfather.

“It’s also very spell resistant too, so it’ll protect you if anything untoward should happen.” Harry informed him. “I hit it with everything from a Stinging Hex to a Severing Curse and none of them left a mark on it.”

“You don’t say?” Sirius looked the vest over with wide eyes.

“The buttons will take in mana if you apply it to them like you would a wand.” Harry showed Sirius. “The leather retains the Basilisk’s magic resistance, but it’ll fade away in time. Giving it mana from time to time will keep it from fading for quite a while longer. You could probably keep it for the rest of your life, but I kinda doubt it’ll still be working after that long; so it’s not something that can be passed down. Also, it’s only magic resistant, so it won’t stop physical objects like blades, rocks, or what have you. Only the Basilisk’s Scales are both magic resistant AND physically resistant.” He explained and Sirius pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you, Harry,” Sirius squeezed him tight for a moment. “I love it.”

“No problem Sirius, give me some time to practice more and I’ll have a long coat for you too.” Harry whispered back as he returned the hug.

“Take your time, Harry.” Sirius chuckled. “Make a vest for yourself first; I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Sure thing.” Harry grinned at his Godfather.

“This is so heartwarming.” Marlie cooed at the scene. “You’re an excellent parent, Sirius.” The smile Marlie gave him made Sirius’ heart thump in his chest.

“Well, I’ll just be in my smithy working, probably won’t be back inside for a few hours…” Harry announced as he walked out of the living room and towards the back door.

“Oi!” Sirius called after him. Harry burst into laughter as he closed the backdoor behind him. He hurried back to his smithy just in case Sirius and Marlie really DID decide to take advantage of his absence.

“Now, how do I craft armor?” Harry asked a few books he’d set aside while practicing his leatherworking. The four tomes were heavy, leather-bound books and should have most everything Harry needed to know about crafting armor within them. Some trial and error with iron should get him the basics down. Then it was only a matter of learning how to apply the Basilisk Scales to the creation process. He was certain his translated Creature Craft Journal had a section involving shields and armor.

“Basilisk Scale Mail sounds kinda cool.” Harry chuckled to himself. He wrote a quick note on a spare piece of parchment to get his own measurements as well as Tonks’, Penny’s, and Fleur’s so he could make each of them a Basilisk leather vest. Harry didn’t think anything was out to get him at the moment. But that Diary of Voldemort’s had proven the mad Wizard still had ways to cause trouble. Plus, he still remembered what Hagrid had said about the Dark Wizard.

“Some say he died; codswallop in my opinion. Nope, I’m sure he’s still out there somewhere; too tired to carry on.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Harry nodded to himself as he picked up the first tome.

-Albania-

“Yes, you’ve actually done well, Flint.” Voldemort chuckled darkly at his only servant.

“Th-thank you, My Lord.” Stephen Flint trembled from his kneeling position.

“Re’em Blood, Dragon Blood, Salamander Blood, all three are finally in my possession.” Voldemort hissed as he held up the small bottles of each. “Strengthening Solution, Blood-Replenishing Potion, Everlasting Elixirs, and the Potion of All Potential… Yes, this will take some time, but soon enough I’ll be free of these Squibs. Free to slowly recover in a Homunculus body, and once I have that it will be merely a matter of time…” The Dark Wizard hissed out.

“U-um a-about that, M-My Lord.” Stephen trembled out. “I ha-haven’t yet been able to f-find any Thaumatagoria in any Apothecary.”

“Then why are you still here?” Voldemort turned his hate-filled red eyes on his terrified servant. “GET OUT AND FIND IT!” Stephen tripped and stumbled over himself in terror as he scrambled away from Voldemort. The tell-tale crack of Apparation followed not long after. “Worthless fool.” He hissed out. There was no time to deal with him yet. He had Potions and Elixirs to brew with what he did have. The base ingredient for the Homunculus body he would craft was the cremated ashes of seven Wizards. A dark smirk pulled at the lips of his current host body. Voldemort had plenty of experience with burning the corpses of those foolish enough to get in his way. Once the body was crafted he’d possess it and then the powerful Potions and Elixirs he would brew would come into play.

“Soon… I’ll be able to use a wand again.” Voldemort intoned. “I’ll need to be careful as I regain my lost Magic. While I’m still weakened like this I can’t yet call upon those who are beholden to me.” A hissing from nearby caught Voldemort’s attention. “Ah, Nagini, I trust you had a good hunt.” The large snake hissed back at him and Voldemort could only grin. “Yes, once he is no longer useful you may have him.”

A malicious chuckling filled the small, warded, stone cottage.

-End Chapter-

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A good Christmas! Gifts and Gifts abound! Harry is learning more, expanding his skills, and reaching new heights. Sirius’ relationship is getting very serious with Marlie Reed. Will a new Lady Black soon be made?

Sirius deserves to be happy and have children with the woman he loves, right?

Also, He-Who-Just-Won’t-Fucking-Die is plotting his machinations! Why does he need so many rare Potions Ingredients and hard to make Potions? Will his plans work out? What will they mean for Harry and his loved ones?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 5,964

Tonks – 7,486

Penelope – 6,418

Fleur – 6,872

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 26: Patronus, Animagus, Upgrades

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Back to Hogwarts and to continued study, practice, and advancement! What are Harry’s goals now? What’s the next Project? Maybe there’s a better or more efficient way to go about Artifact creation?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 26 – Patronus, Animagus, Upgrades

Harry groaned as he left Potions and headed out of the Dungeons. One would think that after more than two years of being a right prick, that Snape would give it a rest. Apparently the greasy, Potions Professor wouldn’t be doing that. Even producing flawless Potions only got Harry ‘Acceptable’ or on rare occasions an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ in the class. As it stood, Harry had no chance of proceeding to the N.E.W.T. Classes come Sixth Year. Though to be perfectly honest, Harry didn’t much care. Potions simply didn’t interest him as much as other Branches of Magic. Harry was beginning to wonder if staying for the full seven year course would be worth it.

“Ah, Harry, good to see you.” Remus smiled at the teen. It was time for another of their after-class practice sessions. “Are you ready to try the Patronus Charm again?”

“Yeah, I think I have a powerful happy memory now.” Harry nodded as the two headed into the empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

“Well that’s a step in the right direction.” Remus encouraged his surrogate nephew with a smile. “Whenever you’re ready, Harry.”

“Right.” Harry pulled out his Holly and Phoenix Feather Wand and recalled the joy he felt when being with his girlfriends over the Yule Break. The love they held for each other. The affection they shared. The gifts he’d been given by them. Harry’s heart felt warm just recalling the memories they’d made together. With these memories at the forefront of his mind, Harry cast the Charm. “Expecto Patronum!”

From the tip of Harry’s wand a bright silvery-white form emerged. It twisted and twined through the air with a serpentine body. The length and size of the Patronus was impressive for a first time corporeal cast. The Guardian that Harry had conjured was easily five meters long. For a moment Remus thought Harry’s Patronus was a snake of some kind. Only when the Guardian stopped twisting and moving through the air did Remus and Harry get a good look at it.

“My word…” Remus breathed out as he looked at Harry’s Patronus. The silvery-white Guardian was no snake. It was an Eastern Dragon! A long sinuous body, four limbs with five toes bearing claws, two long whiskers came from its snout, it sported a pair of antler-like horns, and down its long back was a line of glowing white fur.

“I did it…” Harry breathed out happily as he saw his corporeal Patronus for the first time. “Isn’t it uncommon to have a Magical Creature as your Patronus?”

“Indeed, Harry, rather rare to be sure.” Remus confirmed with the teen.

“Now that I can cast it with my wand, I can work on mastering it wandlessly.” Harry smiled as he released the Charm and the Guardian faded into silvery mist before disappearing entirely.

“That may be far more difficult than even learning the Charm itself.” Remus mused and Harry shrugged.

“I don’t like to leave spells un-mastered.” Harry stated simply. “Also, have you given any thought to helping Sirius and I with the Animagus Transformation?”

“Why did Sirius put that idea in your head?” Remus sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Because it’s a very useful bit of Magic,” Harry reminded his surrogate uncle. “Also because he’s Sirius and he did it while in Hogwarts so he thinks I should too.”

“Right, of course,” Remus chuckled as he shook his head. “I’ll explain the process, Harry; but know that it is very advanced Magic that requires a long time to make work. If any step is skipped, missed, or forgotten, you’ll have to start over from the very beginning again.”

“Sirius said it took him and my dad almost three years to get it right.” Harry recalled and Remus confirmed that it did.

“The process is extremely difficult and can result in disaster.” Remus began the explanation. “There have been cases such as permanent half-human, half-animal mutations if the process is done incorrectly. To begin you have to keep a single mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month, from one full moon to the next full moon. So a full Lunar Month is required.”

“Even a Mandrake Leaf should dissolve from saliva in that amount of time, shouldn’t it?” Harry questioned curiously.

“Mandrake Leaves aren’t broken down so easily,” Remus shook his head. “They usually require physical processing to break them down for Potion-making.”

“Huh, we only went over their care in Herbology, so I guess Snape just decided not to teach us that.” Harry sighed at what a crap teacher Snape was to students that didn’t have a talent or excessive knowledge of Potions.

“Continuing on, if the leaf is removed or swallowed, the witch or wizard will have to start over again. During the next visible full moon, visible is very literal here so if the night happens to be cloudy, the one attempting the process will have to start over,” Harry’s eyes widened at having to rely on the weather to be a certain way for this process to work! “But if the weather is proper then the one attempting the process has to spit the leaf in a phial while under the moon's pure rays. To the moon-struck phial, the wizard or witch must add one of their own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew that has not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven full days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth. The mixture has to then be put in a quiet, dark place, and can’t be disturbed in any way.” Remus’ had to hold back a chuckle at Harry’s incredulous look.

“Why is this so obscure? Who came up with this specific method?” Harry felt like scratching his head in frustration. Trust Magic to be as weird and specific as it wants to be, while other times it was simple and straight forward.

“The next step that has to happen is for the one attempting to wait for an electrical storm, whenever that might be. During this waiting period the attempter will have to, at both sunrise and sunset without fail, chant the incantation ‘Amato Animo Animato Animagus’ with the tip of their wand placed over the heart. When next there is a lightning storm, the attempter will need to move immediately to a large and secure place, recite the incantation one final time, and then drink the potion.” Remus couldn’t stop the snicker that came as he saw Harry’s incredulous look.

“Are… Are you making that up?” Harry questioned as he looked at Remus for any signs he was being pranked. “That sounds like you’re making it up!”

“Unfortunately not, Harry,” Remus held up his hands. “That’s the only available method that is guaranteed to work. That is, unless you want to transfer to Uagadou down in Africa? They specialize in Self-Transfiguration, in fact a good number of their students are Animagus before they graduate.”

“Well, I have been pondering on if it would be worthwhile to attend Hogwarts for all seven years recently.” Harry admitted and Remus face-palmed at his words.

“You’re very advanced for your age, Harry, to be sure.” Remus agreed. “You can take your O.W.L.s and even N.E.W.T.s at the Ministry early; but if you fail you’ll have to stay at Hogwarts all seven years to be given a chance to attempt them again.”

“I’d just go for the Core Classes along with Runes and Arithmancy for O.W.L.s and then focus on Charms, DADA, Runes, Arithmancy, and maybe Transfiguration for N.E.W.T.s if I did that.” Harry shrugged. He knew he could easily pass any Practical Exam for O.W.L.s and possibly even N.E.W.T.s when it came to spell casting, or rune work.

“Let’s shelve that conversation for later then?” Remus suggested and Harry agreed. “Now, let’s see you cast the Patronus again!”

“Expecto Patronum!” Harry cast and his Guardian emerged from the tip of his wand again. This time Harry poured more of his mana into the spell. His Patronus reflected this by being eight meters long this time. The silvery-white Eastern Dragon flew through the air in large circular motions around the classroom.

“Very good, Harry, very good indeed.” Remus smiled at the progress. “As an interesting little side note to our Animagus discussion; the few Witches and Wizards that have been known as Animagus and capable of casting a corporeal Patronus as well, often have similar forms.”

“I assume there aren’t many examples of this, based on how difficult each one is to accomplish.” Harry inquired as he let his Patronus disperse.

“There are very few indeed,” Remus nodded to Harry. “Professor McGonagall is capable of both, however; and both her Animagus Form and her Patronus take the form of a cat.”

“Does that mean I’ll turn into a Dragon Animagus if I complete the process?” Harry questioned curiously. Being a Dragon Animagus would be pretty cool!

“We wouldn’t know until you transformed for the first time.” Remus informed him. “It’s debated as to whether or not an Animagus can be a Magical Creature; but most seem to think it should be possible, even though it’s never been seen before. Even powerful Witches and Wizards that have become Animagus often have mundane Forms. If history is accurate, even Morgana Le Fay was only a Bird Animagus.”

“Huh, that’s interesting.” Harry mumbled as he wondered if his Patronus would be the same as his Animagus Form. Professor McGonagall might be a good basis to go off of for now. ‘It would be cool to be a Dragon!’ Harry thought to himself with a grin.

-The Weekend ~ Saturday-

“Alright, I got some experience forming armor over the Yule Break,” Harry mused as he looked over his stores of materials and his tools in his hidden workshop. “I got some more experience with Creature Craft too.” He remembered making a few more Basilisk Hide Vests for himself, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur. He also vividly remembered the thanks he’d gotten from his girlfriends for the gift. A dopey grin made its way onto his face without restraint. Tonks had been very thankful after all! She now wore her Vest under her Auror Robes as added protection. The bubbly Metamorph had jokingly complained about the dull color though. The Hide was too Magic Resistant for any type of Color-Changing Charm to affect it though, so she was stuck with the dull black-green color.

“There has to be a better way, a more efficient way to craft an Artifact without almost killing myself though.” Harry thought aloud as he looked at his materials and tools again. “Creature Craft with ‘conquered’ materials comes out easier; so maybe that is what I should look into?” Thinking on it some more the teen Artificer paced back and forth as he went over ideas. It wasn’t like he had to one up himself with every Artifact he made. In fact, he’d skipped a Grade with Aethereum; so maybe a Median Grade Artifact should be his next goal? That still left the problem of crafting an Artifact without bringing himself to the brink of death like last time.

His materials were fine. He could transmute his base materials into Alchemic Magical Metals with consistent success now days. He was slowly increasing his skill with Alchemy as well. But if he ever wanted to transmute his own Orichalcum or Adamantite then he needed to be at least proficient in that Branch of Magic. Maybe his tools needed an upgrade?

Looking over his blacksmithing tools he examined them. They were made of steel and were sturdy. Nothing was special or Magical about them. They were just good workman’s tools. Maybe he could change that though? Could he magically strengthen his current tools? Or, could he create his own tools with magical properties that would enhance his crafting?

“Well, only one way to find out!” Harry grinned to himself as he pulled out a few Rune Books and his Creature Craft Journal.

Over the next few hours Harry used his Rune Etching kit to apply a minor Runic Array to his various hammers and tools. He’d even gone to the trouble of applying a ‘Static’ Runic Array to his anvil. Now all he had to do was take the next step in his Alchemy attempts.

A Compound Transmutation.

Taking two or more Alchemic Metals and transmuting them together into a new Magical Metal! Harry had never done it before, and he’d have to draw the Transmutation Circle himself. The pre-prepared Transmutation Circle plates that had come with his Alchemy kit weren’t complex enough for this type of Transmutation. Looking through the most advanced Alchemy book he had in his workshop, Harry noted the various formulas that he’d need to draw into his Transmutation Circle. Alchemy was quite the strict Branch of Magic. Harry had failed enough times to know that. But he’d keep trying as many times as necessary to get it right. Hard work and practice were the name of the game and Harry had been playing for years now!

-Sunday Morning ~ Hidden Workshop-

“Alright the inner circle is complete… Now the outer circle is a hexagon base…” Harry was muttering to himself as he checked his advanced Alchemy book and his own notes to make sure he was drawing the Transmutation Circle properly.

“So what are you trying to make with this?” Penny asked as she looked over what Harry was drawing onto the stone floor. The Transmutation Circle wasn’t overly large, maybe a meter in diameter, the lines on it were perfectly straight and Harry had used a taunt string to make the perfect circle in the center. Now her boyfriend was making a perfect hexagon with a meter stick around the perfect circle.

“Zeclatite…” Harry answered without taking his eyes off his drawing.

“And that is…?” Penny asked leadingly a moment later.

“A Magical Metal that has a high Magic conductivity and transference as well as a very high heat resistance. It’s also very durable to blunt force, more so than most Non-Magical metals.” Harry smiled at her as he finished the hexagon. “I’m planning to use it as the basis for the Runes I’ve etched into my tools.”

“If it has high heat resistance, then how are you going to melt it to fill in the Runes?” Penny questioned as Harry set up the string and pole he was using to draw perfect circles.

“With Magic, of course!” Harry grinned at her before he made sure the string was the proper length and then made it taunt. He used the string to draw another perfect circle around the hexagon and then removed the pole and string. “There we go. I should be able to use this a few times before I’ll need to re-draw it.”

“You don’t think it’ll work the first time?” Penny teased her boyfriend.

“I’ve never done a Compound Transmutation before; so I’m half expecting to fail.” Harry admitted with a shrug. Penny kissed his cheek.

“For luck.” Penny smiled at him. Harry hugged her before she stepped back and he went to get his materials. He gathered ingots of Oulm and Sylvuan and weighed them each one by one. If he wanted this Compound Transmutation to have any chance of working then his materials had to be the proper amount by weight. When he had the ingots weighed he then turned to the ingots he’d added to his collection. Though to be honest all he’d done was let Vitris Auri cool and solidify. The golden ingots were all weighed separately and Harry noted their weights.

“Alright then, so these three Sylvuan ingots, these two Vitris Auri ingots, and this one Oulm ingot.” Harry spoke as he gathered up the proper ingots and then carefully, so he didn’t mess up his Transmutation Circle, placed them inside the perfect circle in the center. Stepping back just as carefully, Harry gave a bright smile to Penny as he kneeled down and placed his hands flat on the floor. With only the tips of his middle digits making actual contact with the Transmutation Circle, Harry poured his mana into the Array.

The array slowly lit up in a bright blue light. Small sparks jumped from the Circle to the three metals. All three of the Magical Metals began to glow with their own Magic in response. The Sylvuan glowed a white color, Oulm an orange color, and Vitris Auri a yellow color as the Transmutation began. The ingots began to fuse together into one as Harry fed more of his mana into the Circle. Once all three glowing ingots fused together the glow became brighter as the three colors blended together in a tri-colored rainbow. Then the three colors merged together and a new color emerged. The resulting color was a slate-gray as the new metal formed in the magic sparks of the Transmutation Circle. Harry felt some kickback from the Circle and stopped pouring his mana into it. The blue glow faded away and the lines returned to their previous chalk white. The slate-gray glow persisted for a bit before fading to reveal the new material.

“Did it work?” Penny asked as she looked at the fairly large ingot that had been formed from the six previous ingots.

“I’ll have to check.” Harry replied as he carefully removed his creation. He still didn’t want to mess up the Circle incase he’d failed and he needed to use it again. Looking over the new metal he didn’t see any lines or striations that would have formed from a failed Transmutation. That was a good sign already. As he examined the ingot for any malformations or discoloration his hope began to grow. Taking a small hammer, Harry held the ingot in his left hand and then lightly struck it. The sound was clear, a good solid sound; that meant the metal was uniform. He tapped it a few more times in various spots; listening for any differences in tone. Placing the hammer down on his work table Harry fed some mana into the ingot.

“It glows?” Penny tilted her head as the ingot glowed with the slate-gray color again.

“It glows.” Harry nodded with a large smile breaking out across his face. “It worked! It’s Zeclatite!” He cheered at his success! He was fairly certain his first Compound Transmutation was going to fail! “Now I just have to get it hot enough to melt and use it for the Rune Base!”

“So how are you going to do that, exactly?” Penny asked and when Harry smiled at her she cut him off. “Don’t say Magic.”

“Fine.” Harry pouted as his girlfriend stopped his gag. “Remember how I said Zeclatite had high Magical conductivity and transference?” Penny nodded to him. “Well I’m going to basically cast a Fire Spell into the Zeclatite until I hit its melting point. Once it’s that hot it’ll take a bit for it to cool down, if I had a lovely assistant to help me with keeping it hot, I’ll be able to fill in the Runic Arrays and upgrade my tools.” He smiled at her and Penny shook her head with a giggle.

“Of course I’ll help.” Penny agreed easily. “Better that than you trying to do it all yourself.”

“Indeed!” Harry nodded sagely. A ball of mana popped against his head and he chuckled. The two set up a vessel for the molten Zeclatite to fill and set the ingot inside it.

“Okay, here I go.” Penny held out her hand towards the Zeclatite and focused. She was using her mana to cast a fire ball. She’d done it plenty of times before. The only difference this time was where she was forming and gathering the heat. The blonde narrowed her brown eyes as she focused more of her mana into her spell. She needed more power, more heat, and she needed to maintain that heat for long enough that Harry could fill the Runic Arrays of his tools.

“There we go. You’re doing great Penny!” Harry encouraged his girlfriend with a bright grin. The Zeclatite was slowly turning red, after a minute it was a bright orange, Penny and Harry began to sweat as the temperature of the Magical Metal continued to rise. Finally the metal softened and deformed. The ingot began to lose shape and became a pool of molten metal in the vessel. Harry beamed at Penny for her assistance as he filled his Alchemic Pen with the molten Zeclatite.

“Take your time, no rush.” Penny joked as she focused on keeping the metal molten hot. Harry chuckled as he carefully filled in the arrays on his tools one by one. He had to refill his Pen fourteen times to get all of the tools finished, including his anvil.

“Done! You can stop Penny!” Harry informed his girlfriend as he emptied the last of the molten Zeclatite from his Alchemic Pen back into the vessel with the remainder. He’d used most of his ingot for this. He doubted there was enough Zeclatite left in the bottom of the vessel to make anything more than a paper weight. He’d still keep it; of course, he’d gone through the trouble of making it!

“Woo~” Penny panted as she ended her spell. “I’m sweating. That took way more mana than I thought it would.” She wiped her forehead of the droplets that were there.

“You were great, Love.” Harry hugged her and Penny smiled happily as she returned the hug.

“I’m all sweaty though…” Penny mumbled into his ear.

“So am I, its fine.” Harry assured her as he gave her a squeeze.

“We could both use a shower.” Penny commented as they let go of each other.

“Feel free to use the one in the smithy.” Harry offered with a smile. “I can do basic Cleaning Charms so I’ll have your clothes clean by the time you’re done.”

“I’ll take you up on that, boyfriend of mine.” Penny kissed his cheek.

“I could help wash your back if you wanted too.” Harry grinned and Penny giggled at him.

“Sorry, Harry, you’re not getting that far just yet~” Penny shook her head. “Maybe next year~” She kissed his lips and the two enjoyed a soft lip lock for several moments.

“But you won’t be here next year…” Harry reminded her with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, you’re right… Hmm, I guess that’s too bad~” Penny chuckled as she sauntered towards the full bathroom. Harry internally cursed the Hogwarts Robes for covering so much of Penny’s form right now!

“That’s just evil…” Harry trailed off as Penny dropped her robe and then unbuttoned her shirt. The Head Girl placed the shirt in a chair near the bathroom door and then undid her skirt. Harry drank in the sight of Penny in nothing but her bra and panties as she removed her shoes and socks. She turned to face him and removed her bra with a lusty look in her eyes. Harry’s gaze quickly focused on Penny’s bountiful chest. His brown-eyed girlfriend was only slightly smaller than Fleur in the breast department. Harry enjoyed the sight of Penny’s bare breasts very much indeed! With a teasing sway of her body she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. A second later the door opened a crack and Penny’s arm emerged to add her panties to the pile of clothes to be cleaned.

“Thank you, Love~” Penny called out to him with a purr before the door closed entirely.

“Maybe I should offer to do the girls’ laundry during the summer every now and then?” Harry pondered with a grin. If that was the kind of payment he’d get he could accept some menial chores! Harry set about cleaning Penny’s sweaty clothes with spells. When he’d finished cleaning them he folded them up and set them in a neat pile on the chair that he moved directly in front of the door. As a little teasing of his own, Harry had made sure to set Penny’s bra and panties on top of her other clothes. Just to remind her that he’d seen them up close for an extended period of time. He had to get his own teasing in when he could, otherwise the girls’ might think they had free run; and Harry couldn’t let that happen, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun!

“Now I need to focus on something else to deal with this.” Harry looked down at his waist. If it wasn’t for the Hogwarts Robe his reaction to Penny’s little show would be very visible! “I guess I’ll just start drawing up the next plans.”

Harry went over to his work table and pulled over a fresh sheet of parchment. With a grin he drew up the shape of his tools on it. Then he started noting down what he’d make them out of. He had plenty of Magical Iron, the Dwarves were mining plenty from the old mine, then making it Magical as they processed it for use. He also had a plethora of Basilisk Bones. Slytherin’s Basilisk had been huge and Harry wasn’t one to waste such a large cache of materials.

“Using my newly ‘upgraded’ Magic Tools, I’ll forge myself a set of Tools from Basilisk Carbon Steel! With Magical Materials forged into Tools and then applied with my Runic Arrays on top of that, there’s no telling how much this could improve my forging!” Harry couldn’t stop the giddy chuckling he was letting out as he drew up his plans. As long as he didn’t use the Basilisk’s Fangs for material they shouldn’t impart the lethality of the beast’s venom into his Tools. It would be rather dumb to have a common blacksmith tool that poisoned a person with lethal venom with but a touch after all….

-End Chapter-

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Progress on the Spell Work! Talks of Animagus Transformation! Alchemy is making steady progress! Harry is contemplating his future! Penny’s corruption via Tonks is complete! Her love for Harry makes her more than happy to tease and show off for him! Harry’s Tools got an Upgrade! Now he plans to use that Upgrade to forge even better Tools! Upgrade just to access better upgrades!

What will Harry make next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,148

Tonks – 7,694

Penelope – 6,622

Fleur – 7,006

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 27: New Tools, New Items, New Project

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! New tools created! How many, and what effects to they give over basic blacksmithing tools? Some more progress on other Items? Has Harry decided on a new Project?

I think I already announced this, but just in case, this Story has a TvTropes Page! Thank TheSinful, who you can check out here or on FFNet, for his hard work!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 27 – New Tools, New Items, New Project

Harry hummed happily to himself as he looked over all of his new blacksmithing tools. He'd completed three sets of new tools over the last two weeks with Penny's help. He'd made more Zeclatite, and failed twice because Alchemy was a super-fickle Branch of Magic, before he'd finished. Aside from the two ingots of failed Zeclatite, which he'd stored away for future attempts at 'Breakdown and Separation' Alchemy, Harry had succeeded in his plans to forge new tools!

The first set was his old steel tools, newly enhanced with his Runic Array and Zeclatite. Harry was certain he'd have a much easier time transferring his mana into his creations with them now. Each strike of the hammer would impart more mana, more efficiently into his forged creations. It should at least help prevent Magical Exhaustion to an extent. Not to mention that the more of his mana he imbued into his forging the better his materials responded. His mana carried his Intent after all. With it flowing more efficiently it should help shape his creations the way he wanted them to be.

The second set was pure Basilisk Carbon Steel. Forged into a copy of every type of tool his original set had come with. Multiple types of hammers, tongs, pliers, and chisels all made of the inherently Magical Metal. With this set Harry had forgone applying his Zeclatite-infused Runic Array. He wanted to know just what these Magical Base Material tools could do all by themselves. He hypothesized that they'd provide much better results to his forging than his standard tools since he'd not only made them by his own hand, but made them from a 'conquered' material in the Basilisk's bones. His Will and Intent were literally part of these Tools and by his own experience with Magic; that should allow for far greater results than standard Non-Magical Tools.

The third and final set incorporated both methods of creation. Harry had forged a second set of Basilisk Carbon Steel tools; then he'd applied his Runic Array and infused it with Zeclatite. This set of tools was not only forged by his hand from 'conquered' materials, but also etched with a Runic Array that was then infused with a Magical Metal that he'd transmuted himself! Aside from him adding his own lifeblood to them, this particular set of tools might as well be a physical extension of his Intent and Will! Harry was looking forward to testing all of them out!

"Hmm, now let's see, what was I the closest to completing?" Harry wondered as he pulled open his notes and looked over his current projects. "Right, I still need to figure out the Control Sequence for the Mana Bane chains, the flight Item still can't control altitude, but… The Spell Ward Array works and with the leftover Zeclatite I should be able to complete the next prototype." With a smile Harry set to work. Pulling out a pair of forearm guards he'd forged from Magical Iron, he set about etching the Spell Ward Array into the first one. With luck, once he infused the Array with Zeclatite as the base, he'd have an Item that could block even fairly powerful Hexes, Jinxes, and Curses. Anything incredibly powerful would probably burn them out, even with Zeclatite-imbued Runes, but if they could block a good number of moderate spells before failing, that would be another step in the right direction!

"Every success builds upon the next, I just have to keep learning and trying." Harry chuckled to himself as he etched the next rune in the sequence.

-First week of February-

"You want what exactly?" Penny looked at her boyfriend perplexed.

"Dragon Bones, more specifically the wing bones." Harry repeated his request.

"Why do you need just the wing bones? What's wrong with the rest of them?" Penny inquired with a tilt of her head.

"I think I know why my Flight Item hasn't been working," Harry smiled at his girlfriend. "I need not only a better material than just Magical Iron, but I need it to be crafted from something that has the capability of flight."

"So you chose Dragon wing bones?" Penny felt a small smile form on her lips.

"Exactly!" Harry grinned at her. "Think about it; Dragons are WAY too big to fly with just their wings! So a part of their innate Magic must go to their ability to fly! If I forge Dragon wing bones into Magical Iron, I can make a Magical Carbon Steel that should possess some innate aptitude for Runic Arrays involving flight." The teen Artificer smiled brightly, his eyes lit up with his passion for Crafting and Enchanting. Penny really loved seeing Harry so fired up like this. His work ethic was one of the many things that had attracted her to him in the first place!

"So how are you planning to get them and know for a fact that they're all wing bones?" Penny curiously asked. Harry took on a 'thinking' pose as he mulled over ideas in his head for a bit.

"I'd need to go to a Dragon Reserve, collect the bones I want as they're rendering a Dragon down for parts and materials." Harry nodded to himself before looking at Penny. "I might have to head back home for the Easter Break this year. I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind spending a day going on a trip with me to a Dragon Reserve."

"No, I don't suppose he would," Penny chuckled. "With the way he spoils you, it's amazing you haven't become an entitled little prat~."

"Oi!" Harry flicked a mana ball at his Head Girl girlfriend. Penny only giggled as she swatted it away. "I'm not spoiled!"

"I'm just teasing you, Harry~" Penny covered her mouth to suppress her continued giggles. "But he DID spend a decent amount of the Black Family Fortune to buy the land the Iron Mine sits on, just so you and the Dwarves could go into business together."

"Sirius gets a cut of the sales too…" Harry looked away, refusing to admit that he might have been a little spoiled by his doting Godfather. Penny continued to grin while Harry ignored the small snickers that escaped her every now and then.

"So, how're the other projects coming along?" Penny asked a few minutes later. Harry's mood brightened as he went over to where he kept a few of his prototypes in the hidden workshop. Penny watched on as Harry strapped on a pair of metal forearm guards and then turned to face her.

"Hit me with a spell!" Harry challenged her with a smirk.

"Why?" Penny raised one eyebrow in response.

"So I can show you how these work, of course." Harry playfully rolled his eyes at her.

"What kind of spell?" Penny questioned as she raised her hand.

"Whatever you like, it won't make a difference!" Harry smiled deviously at the blonde. He knew how to get Penny's competitive side to make an appearance!

"Oh really?" Penny had a smirk of her own now. A sparking orange spell appeared in her raised hand. "Well, since you asked for it…" With that Penny launched the crackling orange ball at Harry. She blinked in shock when Harry batted the spell aside and into the stone wall.

"Was that all?" Harry asked cheekily and Penny blinked at what her boyfriend had just done.

"How? You didn't even use a spell!" Penny was confused, to say the least. "I didn't see any Magic use at all, in fact… What are those?"

"Remember how I was working on the Spell Ward Array?" Harry asked innocently. "Well, after I made it work for Aethereum's scabbard, I was able to apply it to Magical Iron with only a few changes to the overall Array. These are the first successful prototypes, 'Spell Ward Guards' as I've taken to calling them."

"So spells just bounce off them?" Penny blinked as she walked over to look at the prototype closer.

"Not so much 'bounce off' as they simply stop spells from activating their effects." Harry explained as Penny looked over the guards. "A spell imparts its effects upon contact with a target, right?" Penny nodded in agreement. "What the Spell Ward Array does, is keeping the flying spell from activating and lets me redirect it elsewhere, like I did with yours."

"Hence the 'Ward' part of the name." Penny realized as she smiled at Harry.

"Yep, it 'wards off' spells, rather than blocking them or destroying them." Harry grinned happily at his prototypes. "I was going to try and use this Array on a small Charm like a bracelet or locket, but it's has diminishing returns based on the size of the item. The smaller the Item the weaker the effect; unfortunately, if my Arithmancy and Rune Theory is correct, too large of an Item will also spread the 'Spell Ward' too thin to be of any real use. It's quite the conundrum, but it's a non-static Array, so that might be the issue in and of itself."

"They're still impressive, Harry." Penny assured him as she looked the guards over a bit more. "Are you going to market these to the Aurors as well?"

"Probably not," Harry shook his head. Seeing Penny's confusion he explained. "The Auror Batons are good for enforcing the Law without pulling wands right off the bat. It's good for the Aurors to have an option that isn't capable of lethal force. Tonks has told me that the Auror Corps reputation has been on the rise since they made the Batons standard issue. But, if a Baton or two fell into the wrong hands, it wouldn't be good, but it also wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen."

"I think I get where you're going with this," Penny looked contemplative. "The 'Spell Ward' would make anyone wearing them impervious to most spells so long as they're facing them head-on. If they fell into the wrong hands then even the Aurors might not be able to deal with the Wizard or Witch that has them."

"Exactly," Harry nodded with a small smile. "Letting these get out into the open market would probably make Potter & Erdunn Creations a fortune, but the risk of them being misused is so high that no amount of money is worth the potential problems they could bring."

"I agree, just the thought of some Dark Wizard or Witch being impervious to most spells is already making my stomach turn." Penny shook her head to rid her mind of the image. "If they work though, why are you still calling them prototypes?"

"Because I want them to be gauntlets when they're done." Harry grinned at her. "But articulated metal is hard to do. I'm still practicing it with regular iron right now; progress is kind of slow going."

"I'm sure you'll learn it and master it eventually, Harry." Penny leaned in and pecked his lips. "You always do." Harry smiled warmly at her as he took off the 'Spell Ward Guards' and placed them back on the shelf he got them from.

"Thank you, Penny." Harry hugged his girlfriend gently. Penny smiled as she returned the hug and even placed a kiss on top of Harry's head.

"What happened with your 'Mana Bane' idea?" Penny asked curiously as they pulled away. "I haven't heard you talk about it in a bit."

"That's mostly worked out." Harry answered as he moved over to the worktable and pulled open the locked and sealed bottom drawer. From the drawer, Harry pulled out a length of chain. It was coiled up, so Penny couldn't guess at the exact length. It looked like a simple length of chain to her. "The Control Sequence works now, but I'd like to make it better when I can. The movements are still kind of stiff." To demonstrate Harry held one end of the length of chain; the rest fell to the floor for a moment before seeming to float when Harry focused.

"It floats…" Penny trailed off as she looked at the curiosity.

"Yeah, it floats when you know how to activate it." Harry chuckled before, with a flick of his wrist, the end of the chain he wasn't holding shot towards her. Penny yelped as the chain encircled her and then tightened its hold.

"Harry!" Penny yelped at him. The Artificer just chuckled as Penny tried to use her Magic and found she couldn't. "Hey, let me go, Mister!"

"As you can see," Harry continued as if she hadn't said anything. "Once it wraps around you, you can't use your Magic to form spells. The speed is decent, but the current 'Control Sequence' can only do simple maneuvers. I can't make it wind around multiple targets, for instance, nor could I make it take on a certain shape and hold it. So at the moment, the chains are best used for quick captures and restraint."

"I get it…" Penny deadpanned, which made Harry chuckle. "Now let me go before I start removing boyfriend privileges." The 'Mana Bane' chain dropped off of her and returned to Harry. The teen Artificer wound the chain back up with a grin. Penny could at least estimate the length to be somewhere around four or five meters now. From what she knew each link in the chain had to be etched with the continuous Runic Sequence from end to end for the Item to work. No wonder Harry had taken so long to make a viable prototype, the work to make one 'Mana Bane' chain probably took days even for a length like the prototype.

"Now I just need to choose something else to work on while I wait for Easter break." Harry mused as he looked around his workshop.

"You know that's not until April, right?" Penny playfully reminded him.

"Yeah, it's going to be in the back of my head though." Harry shrugged. "I do have something important coming up far sooner though."

"What's that, boyfriend of mine?" Penny grinned since she had a fairly good idea.

"I have to make sure my girlfriends have a wonderful Valentine's Day of course." Harry confirmed her thought with a smile. "That means spoiling Tonks and Fleur with gifts, and taking you to Hogsmeade for a date!"

"I think I can agree to that~" Penny giggled and Harry chuckled along with her.

"Chocolates and flowers for sure," Harry tapped his chin in thought. "I should also make them both something they'd like…"

"Oh? Should I also expect a handmade gift?" Penny asked with a warm smile.

"Am I an Artificer or not?" Harry questioned; his hand over his chest and a smile on his lips.

"Of course, how could I ever forget?" Penny held her cheek as she pretended to swoon.

"I've got a nice idea already forming in my head," Harry admitted smiling. "I think you'll all like them."

"Oh, now you've got me curious…" Penny chuckled at him. "Mind giving me a hint?"

"Nope!" Harry shook his head. "It'll be a surprise for all three of you."

"Are you sure?" Penny cocked an eyebrow as she leaned closer. "I'm sure I could convince you~" Her eyes were half-lidded as she leaned in. Harry smiled as he met her halfway and the two shared a kiss. Penny pressed herself against him and Harry's hands found their way to her waist. The couple enjoyed the kiss for a moment before they separated. "So… About the Valentine's gift~"

"You'll have to wait until the day~" Harry teased back as he took a step back and separated from her. "It's almost time for dinner anyway!" With that Harry rushed to the workshop door and left with a laugh!

"Harry~!" Penny called after him with a pout. "Hmm, I guess he won this round…" The fire in the Head Girl's eyes easily told any who would have seen them that the war was FAR from over! She followed after Harry at a more sedate pace. They met up at the staircase and entwined their hands as they made the walk down to the Great Hall together.

-Valentine's Day-

"Harry, it's beautiful~" Penny smiled beautifully at her boyfriend as she looked at what he'd made her. It was a silver charm bracelet that had small Runes on it and four charms attached to it. The charms were a stylized lightning bolt, a stylized flame, a white feather, and a spiral filled with multiple colors.

"I'm glad you like it Penny." Harry smiled at her. Watching her put it on Harry waited for her to ask what it could do. She knew him well enough after all.

"I can see you struggling to hold back~" Penny giggled at Harry's eagerness. "What does it do?" Harry beamed at her and Penny couldn't hold back her chuckles.

"It's made mostly of Sylvuan and a bit of Magical Iron." Harry began and then motioned to the bracelet with a grin. "It also can detect harmful Magic and warn you before you touch it. I got the idea from the bracelet you gave Tonks two Christmases ago. This is a much more powerful and longer-lasting version, hand-crafted with love for you, Fleur, and Tonks." He smiled fondly at Penny while she admired her gift.

"I love it~" Penny beamed at him while pulling him into a kiss. The two shared a warm lip lock for a bit before they pulled away. Their eyes were filled with love and affection as they rested their foreheads against each other gently. "Even when the warning function fades, it'll still be beautiful to wear. You've outdone yourself, Love."

"I'll figure out how to make an Artifact version if I need to~" Harry grinned as they held each other close. Penny giggled into his neck as she squeezed him slightly.

"We still have our date in Hogsmeade to get to." Penny reminded after several minutes of them holding each other.

"I'm pretty content here." Harry chuckled as he squeezed her closer.

"I can tell~" Penny teased as she kissed his neck. "But I would like to have that date. When we get back, I might have a little gift of my own for you~"

"Oh?" Harry pulled back a bit to look his girlfriend in the eyes. "Can I ask what it is?"

"You'll find out after our date~" Penny purred as she pulled back.

"How did I end up dating three minxes at the same time?" Harry playfully questioned as he stood up and they headed out of the hidden workshop.

"Not sure, but aren't you a lucky man~?" Penny teased as they closed the door behind them. Harry took her hand and they headed for the Great Hall so they could be checked off for Hogsmeade.

"Lucky doesn't begin to cover it~" Harry returned her teasing as he pecked her cheek. Penny glowed with love and affection as she leaned into Harry. The couple made their way into the Great Hall, decorated for the Holiday, and towards the line of students waiting to leave. They made it past Filch and found a carriage. Harry helped Penny into the carriage with a smile and then climbed in after her. They held each other as the carriage made its way down towards the village and enjoyed their closeness. After getting out of the carriage the two happily interlocked their arms and walked into Hogsmeade together.

They walked the length of the village, doing a little window shopping, before entering Honeydukes on the way back. Harry bought Penny the best Honeydukes had to offer in sweets. While she didn't often show it, the Head Girl did have a small sweet tooth. The couple strolled through the village and popped into Gladrags to look around for a bit. When lunch rolled around Harry and Penny went to the Three Broomsticks to eat. After a warm meal the couple left the pub and headed back towards the carriages. It had been a wonderful few hours and now they were ready to return. The carriage ride back was filled with kisses and the couple indulged a bit.

In short order Penny and Harry returned to the hidden workshop for some 'alone time' together. The Head Girl transfigured a chair into a plush loveseat for them with a wave of her wand. Harry smiled as he kissed Penny's neck and the blonde shivered in pleasure. Robes were dropped and hands began to explore as lips met.

"Shirt…" Penny mumbled as she pulled at Harry's shirt. Harry was happy to remove it as fast as his hands could move. Penny smiled as she ran her hands over his bare chest. The blacksmithing Harry did had definitely started showing on his form. Musculature had begun to develop on the Artificer and Penny was happy to explore it. Harry hummed in pleasure as her soft hands trailed up and down his chest.

"Shirt~" Harry teasingly whispered as he tugged on Penny's jumper. The Head Girl grinned naughtily as she pulled it over her head and let Harry see her bra-clad breasts again.

"Mmm~ Harry~" Penny moaned lowly as Harry's hands slipped under her bra and found her nipples. The two kissed as they explored each other again. It wasn't long before Penny's bra was off completely and Harry was lavishing attention onto her perky bosom. Harry was surprised when Penny cupped him over his pants, but only encouraged her actions with a groan.

"Naughty girl~" Harry breathed into the blonde's ear.

"You love it~" Penny purred back at him. Harry's reply was another deep kiss. Tongues came into play and the couple moaned out their joy at increasing their closeness.

"Skirt~?" Harry probed as he nibbled her ear gently. Penny hummed in pleasure and with deft hands undid her skirt. The garment was removed and Harry now held Penny in nothing but her panties. The Head girl wasn't idle though.

"Pants~" Penny kissed his lips and Harry was quick to spell off his shoes and undo his pants. She helped him get the pants off before cupping him over his boxers this time. Likewise, Harry's hands happily explored the newly exposed skin Penny had revealed. The Head Girl gasped as her boyfriend's hands began to fondle and play with her bum. They were completely lost in each other's touch as they furthered their relationship.

"Penny~!" Harry hissed as Penny began to stroke him over his boxers.

"Mmm~ Harry~" Penny panted as one of Harry's hands left her bum and began to move over her core and panties. She was so turned on already and the added stimulation was incredible.

Neither of the two had any real experience with this level of physical intimacy. Both were quick to show it when they reached their peaks together quickly. The two held each other tightly as they trembled in pleasure. Harry fell back against the transfigured loveseat and Penny followed him. Harry wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and pulled her closer. The two cuddled in the afterglow of their moment together.

"I love you, Penelope Clearwater~" Harry told her as he held the blonde close.

"I love you too, Harry Potter~" Penny gave him a beautiful smile.

Their lips met for a soft kiss and Harry used his Magic to pull Penny's robe from the floor and cover them with it. Under their impromptu blanket the couple cuddled and shared soft kisses. Nothing could make this moment of bliss better for them. Penny was sure of her feelings and would happily share her life with Harry. Harry was the same; knowing he'd do anything to keep his Loves happy for the rest of their days together.

Several minutes later and Penny giggled lightly. Harry raised an eyebrow as he continued to gently run his hand up and down Penny's back. The Head Girl looked up at him with a smile before she spoke.

"Can I borrow the shower again?" Penny asked with a giggle.

"Sure," Harry agreed instantly. "Can I join you this time?" He asked with a teasing grin.

"Nope~!" Penny pecked his lips as she stood up, giving Harry a look at her almost naked body again. Before she gathered her clothes and sauntered off towards the smithy's shower. The sway in her hips was very much appreciated by Harry whose eyes followed her bum until the smithy door closed and obscured his view.

"Tease~" Harry chuckled as he stood up from the transfigured loveseat. He felt the cooled 'release' in his boxers and grimaced. "Definitely need to clean these now." He shook his head as he gathered his clothes up and placed them on his worktable. His eyes glanced over some of the plans and notes he had spread out on the surface. With a proud, if expectant, grin, his eyes read over a word at the top of one of the parchments. The overall Project he was hoping to complete by next School Year.

Regalia

-End Chapter-

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Well now, Harry's slowly working through his various ideas! He's got new Tools to work with! He's got a trip to plan out with Sirius! Will his theory about Dragon wing bones work out? Also, Harry's a good boyfriend, making Valentine's Day special for his girlfriends, even if they can't spend it together. You know a certain lovely Veela is going to be ever so happy to receive Owls of gifts from her boyfriend! Might finally get some of the boys to back off!

What is this new Project of Harry's?

What is 'Regalia'?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,352

Tonks – 7,988

Penelope – 6,876

Fleur – 7,244

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 28: Tonks and Fleur

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time to see what Tonks and Fleur get up to! How do these two spend their time when not with Harry? Tonks is an Auror and Fleur is at Beauxbatons, of course, but what goes on in their daily lives?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 28 – Tonks and Fleur

Fleur was sitting in the Great Hall of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. It was breakfast time and Valentine’s Day too. The beautiful Veela teen was sighing already. Several boys had already approached her trying to offer gifts in an effort to win her favor. She’d turned them all down, reminding each of them that she had a boyfriend and that their advances weren’t welcomed and wouldn’t be returned. Honestly, she was starting to get very annoyed at having to remind the boys of this fact. She’d had to practically announce it to get most of them to stop trying to woo her. But still, even now, there were more than a few that seemed to think they were better for her.

It was with a wide smile that she beheld a trio of owls heading her way. The reason for her smile was the beautiful snowy owl leading the other two! Hedwig, and her two helpers, landed in front of Fleur carefully and offered her their parcels. The platinum-blonde smiled brightly at Hedwig as she took the parcel the snowy owl held out to her. Opening the box, Fleur felt her heart skip a beat, she carefully removed the charm bracelet from inside and looked it over. A stylized lightning bolt, a spiral of multiple colors, a white feather, and a stylized flame hung from the bracelet. It was gorgeous and Fleur just knew it was handmade by her boyfriend. With a bright smile, Fleur picked up the letter that was attached and opened it. She knew Harry well enough to know he’d be dying to explain what his gift could do, even in letter form. She giggled as she was proven correct and read over what her bracelet could do, and how it was made. Harry’s love and affection for her was practically pouring out of the words he’d written to her. She couldn’t help the happy sigh that escaped her lips. She held the letter close for a moment before she put her charm bracelet on. It truly was gorgeous, it glinted in the light and the colors of the individual charms gave it presence. Fleur almost felt like she was floating at how happy she was, there was a warmth in her heart that was only being strengthened by her and Harry’s relationship. She relieved the other two owls of their parcels, both of which flew off shortly afterwards. Hedwig stayed with her and happily ate from a saucer Fleur had placed meats on. The other gifts were more ‘standard’ for the holiday; flowers, her favorite Fleur de Lys or Lilies, instead of the more common red roses, as well as chocolates from Honeydukes. Her boyfriend also knew her favorite type of chocolate! Oh, how could she fall even more in love with Harry?

Fleur was so enamored with her love and his gifts that she didn’t pay attention to the whispers of ‘petit ami’ going around the boys in the Great Hall. Many a young man was downtrodden to know that Fleur really was in a relationship. So many fancied her for her beauty and had hoped to woo the teen. Seeing the absolute joy on her face as she accepted the gifts her boyfriend had sent her made several of the teens sigh despondently in acceptance. Quite a few would still try and woo her, far too fallen into her looks and the traces of her Veela Allure that she couldn’t do anything about. But they were only wasting their time; they would come to learn this eventually.

“Well, aren’t we just glowing this lovely morning?” A teasing lilt came from Fleur’s side as a girl sat next to her. The new arrival was also platinum-blonde and had beautiful blue eyes. She had the same Allure and natural beauty of Fleur as well. This was to be expected though, since this young lady was also a Veela.

“Yes...” Fleur beamed at her while she looked at Harry’s gifts again. “Good morning Chloe, how are you this wonderful day?” She asked her seventh year friend.

“Very well,” Chloe smiled at Fleur, she motioned to her neck slightly and Fleur noticed the lovely necklace her friend was wearing. “Julien has spoiled me again.”

“I can see that.” Fleur giggled as she looked at the lovely necklace inlaid with bright sapphires. “If his family wasn’t so wealthy I’d think he was trying to bankrupt them to dote on you.”

“He’s a wonderful man.” Chloe smiled as she gently touched her gift. “He knows he doesn’t have to spoil me like this, but he does it every Valentine’s Day, every Birthday, and each Christmas. Wit, humor, charms and he is quite handsome too!” She giggled along with Fleur. “How could I not fall for him?”

“You two are wonderful together.” Fleur agreed with her friend. “I could see that, even when I was only a second year. I’m almost surprised he didn’t just outright propose on your seventeenth birthday.” The two Veela shared beautiful smiles and soft chuckles.

“I’m fairly certain he’s still terrified of Papa.” Chloe giggled and Fleur broke into a smile again. “He did scare my poor Julien when the topic of marriage came up last year.” The two Veela conversed for the rest of breakfast, as was normal for them, while also petting Hedwig. The beautiful owl was admired by many of the girls of Beauxbatons. Ever since Hedwig had first started bringing letters from Harry; many of the girls had wanted to pet the snowy owl. Chloe thought she was magnificent and Hedwig always puffed up at the praise lavished on her.

-Tonks’ Residence ~ Valentine’s Day-

“Oh you sweet boy,” Tonks smiled softly at the gifts Harry had sent her. The flowers, her favorite Zinnias, were lovely and vibrant. Mostly purple ones, her favorite color, but with a mix of other colors as well. An assortment of sweets she was fond of from Honeydukes came with them. Finally was the main gift, and as soon as Tonks opened it she beamed with fondness in her, currently purple, eyes. “You’re going to spoil me rotten, Harry.” She grinned as she looked at the lovely charm bracelet. Easily identifying who each charm represented, the flame was Penny, the feather was Fleur, the spiral of colors was for her, and the lightning bolt was for Harry. The Metamorph read the letter that came with and smiled. How could she not? The sweet, sincere words, the love and affection that she could practically feel just by reading them, it was all she could ever ask for from the one she loved. The way he’d explained the magic warning function made her chuckle. She could picture Harry excitedly talking about it and how he’d made her this gift. Tonks put the bracelet on with a warm smile and looked it over happily. “I’m going to have to spoil you on your birthday for this, Harry.”

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and Tonks did have to go to work today. Another day of Mad-Eye’s ‘training’ followed by patrolling Knockturn Alley again. What she wouldn’t give for a nice, peaceful patrol of Diagon or Diurn. But her instructor always insisted that those two peaceful alleys weren’t ‘real’ enough. With a shake of her head she stood up, with care she placed her flowers in a glass vase and filled it with some water. Smiling at the bright flowers one more time, Tonks left her room and headed out. Once she left her parent’s house, she stepped outside of the simple warded area around the house and with a turn Apparated to the Ministry.

Tonks reappeared in the Ministry Apparation point and checked herself over. Her Auror Robes were proper and freshly cleaned, her badge displayed over her left breast. Giving herself a little nod she made her way to the lifts. Finding a mostly empty one she rode it to level two and then headed for the DMLE Offices. She nodded to a few of her coworkers as she headed for Mad-Eye’s office. The Senior Auror would always be waiting for her there in the mornings.

“Your late, Tonks.” Alastor admonished the Metamorph as she entered his office.

“I’m five minutes early, Mad-Eye.” Tonks retorted as she rolled her eyes.

“That means you’re five minutes late.” Alastor grunted as he stood up from his desk.

“We’re not having this argument again, Mad-Eye; we’re just not.” Tonks waved off her instructor’s ideas of what was punctual versus what she thought was punctual.

“Kids these days…” Alastor muttered as he hobbled on his fake leg and motioned for her to follow. They left his office and headed for the practice range that was built into the DMLE Offices. Every morning they came here for Alastor to instruct her, and every morning Tonks fought for her continued health! The grizzled, old Auror didn’t know the meaning of ‘take it easy’ and every session of training was practically a no holds-barred duel. He instructed her in mundane stuff, like parchment work, booking, record keeping and the like, only after their daily patrol.

‘At least I’m not a desk worker.’ Tonks mused internally as she and Alastor arrived at the practice range.

As always, Alastor didn’t tell her when practice had begun, she’d found out the old man didn’t believe in ‘starting’ training. In his words, ‘You think some Dark Witch or Wizard is going to tell you when they’re going to curse you?’ and Tonks couldn’t really fault him for his thoughts. Alastor’s first spell splashed against the wandless Protego she’d conjured.

“At least you’ve learned this much.” Alastor growled before he slammed the walking stick he used onto the ground. The shockwave that emitted from it broke her Protego and she had to bat his follow-up spell, from his wand this time, to the side. Her Wandless Magic made her probably the best choice for protégé that Alastor Moody could have found. Considering he was currently the only Auror in the entire DMLE that could use Dual Foci in tandem. Not even Madam Bones could pull that off.

“I like to think I’ve learned plenty.” Tonks shot back as her hands were in motion. Bright sparks of violet formed above Alastor and rained down on the old man. With a grunt he raised his walking stick and a bright glow emanated from it. A dome of off-white light covered the man and deflected the purple sparks of her ‘Unfeeling Hex’. That was a useful bit of Magic she’d learned from Alastor during her time as his protégé. It removed the sensation of touch from those hit by it. She’d never really understood just how much she relied on her sense of touch until she’d suddenly lost it during one of their early training matches.

While Alastor shielded with his walking stick, his wand was in motion. Tonks expected this though, and with a pushing motion from each of her hands ‘shoved’ the Stunners to either side of her. The red lights moved around the obstruction that she’d made with her mana. The floor and walls behind her were peppered with soot marks from the spells. With a grin she took off in a jog around Alastor. He’d made sure to teach her to use every advantage available to her. He was missing a leg and relied on a prosthetic to walk? She better damn well be making full use of her mobility to flank him! As she ran she conjured water, with an application of her mana, the water lost all heat and froze instantly! She launched her six, thirty centimeter long, icicles at her instructor as she continued to move around him.

“Is that the best you can do, Junior Auror?” Alastor yelled at her as his walking stick let out a sound similar to a large bell being rung. The icicles shattered into powder long before they got to him. “I’ve taught you better!” With a flick of his wand a long, green light lashed out at her almost like a whip. Tonks had never stopped moving and even still the whip-like spell nearly lashed her. She watched as a few strands of her hair fell to the ground.

“Damn it, Mad-Eye!” Tonks growled at him. The spell lashed at her again and again as she ducked, dodged, and ran. Then Alastor finished a second spell he’d been casting with his walking stick! The grizzled man slammed the stick into the floor and the tiles that made up the practice range began to flip like they were on an axle! The effect spread from around Alastor in a circular wave and Tonks grimaced as she had to split her focus to avoid the whip-like spell and had to watch her footing to avoid being tripped up by the animated tiles. With a grimace she pulled her own wand and countered the ‘Animation Charm’ on the floor tiles. With her split focus she only managed to deflect the whip, instead of dispelling it like she wanted to.

“Constant Vigilance!” Alastor barked at his protégé as he yanked up a few tiles from the floor and transfigured them into wolves. The small pack quickly went after the still running Tonks. The Metamorph hissed at the pressure, still having to avoid the whip-like spell while the pack closed in on her. With a few loops of her wand the tiles between her and the transfigured wolves became quicksand. The transfigured beasts quickly became trapped and Tonks had just enough time to dispel the green whip spell before shifting her focus back to the trapped wolves.

“I’ll show you vigilance.” Tonks muttered as she used her wand to quickly undo the transfigurations, leaving a few stone tiles sitting on the floor, before she shielded against a barrage of spells from both of Alastor’s foci. If it wasn’t for his Magical Eye, and its ability to see through obstructions, she’d have already used a smokescreen or even the Similitudo to distract him with a copy. While maintaining her shield she conjured a few fireballs wandlessly. The orbs of flame rocketed outwards from behind her shield and came at Alastor from multiple directions. The old man had to use one of his foci, the walking stick, to cast another dome shield over himself. With the loss of half of his offense Tonks had enough focus to take the tiles lying on the floor and banish them at Alastor.

“Now you’re thinking!” Alastor gave his form of encouragement as he stopped his assault to conjure a shield that would block physical objects, since his dome shield only blocked magical attacks. The tiles smashed into the new shield and Alastor flicked his wand to vanish the dust. Tonks smirked as she already had her hands up and framing Alastor between her fingers.

“Cube!” Tonks cast her own unique, self-created spell. The six square, inverted shields formed around her instructor and locked him inside. Nothing could get out through physical means, and she’d seen how only incredibly focused spells could break it when Harry had used highly pressurized water to cut through it last summer.

“Well, at least you’re getting better at multi-tasking.” Alastor chuckled. Tonks knew he was buying time to cast a spell that could potentially get him out, so she responded to split his focus.

“Yeah, you know what the best part about my Cube Spell is?” Tonks grinned as she used her wandless Magic to hold the Cube while she moved her wand into a complex weave of movements. “Nothing gets out, but things can get in!” She jabbed her wand forward and the tiles on the floor liquefied before rushing forward in a torrent of what looked like cement! The liquid stone quickly began to fill up the cube as Alastor swung his wand to vanish it as fast as possible.

“Not bad, lass, not bad at all!” Alastor praised his protégé before the top of his walking stick glowed brightly. With a bang her Cube Spell was dispelled and her liquid stone splattered across the floor. “But I’ve dealt with weirder combinations!” He jabbed his wand forward and a conflagration leapt forward towards the young woman. Tonks wasn’t impressed by the incoming flames though. A simple ‘Flame-Freezing’ Charm and she might as well have been basking in a warm summer breeze. She retaliated with a series of ‘Severing Curses’ and Alastor only laughed as he knocked them away with his wand.

“Look out below.” Tonks retorted as she slammed her heel into the floor. Alastor felt the floor tremble with his good leg, and only had a second to react. Stone pillars erupted from the floor and the Senior Auror launched himself backwards with a spell from his wand to avoid them. Regaining his footing the old man grinned, his protégé was definitely improving! He hadn’t had a challenge like this since the war! He jabbed each of the stone pillars with the top of his walking stick. A second after they were touched they all detached from the floor and went rocketing towards Tonks!

“Catch or dodge?” Alastor questioned her and Tonks chose a third option. The stone pillars morphed under the motions of her wand, the transfigured rocks flowed around the Metamorph without coming close to touching her. With a grin she sent her creation forward. A large, snake-like, stone golem gave a roar that sounded like stones grinding against each other as it slithered towards Alastor. While her golem rushed the Senior Auror directly Tonks took off again in a jog to flank him.

“You should probably dodge!” Tonks threw back at her instructor with a grin as her golem bore down on him. With a twist of her wand she transfigured thick, iron chains by the dozens and sent them forward like a torrent of writhing snakes.

“Immobulus!” Alastor yelled as he pointed his wand at the golem. The large, stone snake stopped moving. With a motion of his walking stick, he cast a second spell. “Depulso!” The immobilized golem was sent careening towards the incoming wave of chains. The rock snake threw up a huge cloud of dirt and dust as it crashed into the floor and destroyed the transfigured chains.

Through the dust and debris in the air Alastor’s Magical Eye spotted Tonks on the move. The young woman was launching balls of water into the air. The spheres burst and simulated rain as they soaked the practice range. Alastor took aim and sent a series of Stunners at his protégé. The first two missed as Tonks kept on the move. The third and fourth struck, but bounced off a Protego that had been near invisible until the spells hit it.

“Chill already, Mad-Eye!” Tonks yelled as she stomped on the ground, casting a spell through her foot on the water covering everything. The soaked practice range was quickly covered in ice. All the water froze in a wave extending outwards from Tonks’ position. Even Alastor’s soaked robes were frozen over and the Senior Auror stilled as his clothes stiffened up.

“N-Not bad th-there, la-lass.” Alastor’s teeth chattered at the biting cold he was now covered in. “You’re progressing well.” He was back to normal in short order as he cast an overpowered ‘Warming Charm’ on himself, followed by a ‘Drying Charm’ on his clothes.

“Thank you.” Tonks smiled, pleased with herself and her progress.

“Senior Auror Moody!” A loud voice yelled and the instructor and protégé turned to the source. There stood a man both were familiar with, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour. “What have we told you, time and time again I might add, about destroying the practice range?!”

“I’m training my protégé, you ladder climber.” Alastor waved the Head Auror off. “We have people to fix this place anyway, it’s their whole job here at the Ministry if you recall.”

“Who do you think keeps sending in the complaints about you two destroying the range?” Scrimgeour demanded as Alastor and Tonks walked towards the exit that Scrimgeour was standing next to.

“Tell them to stop whining and do their job!” Alastor growled at the younger man, though not by that many years. “We’re going on patrol!”

“Alastor!” Scrimgeour yelled at the pair’s backs. “Alastor!” He was summarily ignored. “He’s retiring soon; he’s retiring, just a few more months.” He exhaled heavily as he took in the destroyed and ice covered practice range. He was going to be getting complaints about this, and hearing from Madam Bones when she got the complaints too. “Damn it…”

-Beauxbatons ~ Dueling Club-

“Are you sure, Miss Delacour?” The Defense Professor questioned the Veela teen.

“Yes, they all wish to duel me,” Fleur nodded to her Professor. “I find duels against multiple opponents more challenging.”

“If Miss Delacour feels she is capable, then she may do so.” Headmistress Maxime nodded to the Defense Professor. The two of them were the ones that watched over the Dueling Club Meetings that took place four times a week. “We’ve see her duel three-on-one before. I’m sure she wouldn’t accept a four-on-one without feeling up to it.”

“Thank you, Headmistress.” Fleur nodded to the large woman.

“Very well,” the Defense Professor acquiesced. “Delacour versus Durand, Vincent, Andre, and Bonnet; take your positions!” The five students stood a meter apart, four on one side, while Fleur stood on the other. “Bow,” The Defense Professor instructed and all five students gave proper bows. “You may begin!” In a blink the four students facing Fleur had separated and begun to cast! Fleur wasn’t idle and had already moved backwards a bit to prevent Bonnet from flanking her.

“Stupefy!” Andre called out as the bright red light left his wand and headed towards Fleur.

“Incarcerous!” Durand cast from off to her left.

“Impedimenta!” Bonnet called from her far right.

Fleur flicked her wand and a dome of blue light covered her form. The three spells vanished as they failed to overpower the shield. Without slowing down she cast again. “Lata Depulso Maxima” Fleur cast, using her in-depth knowledge of Magic to use rare modifiers that most students never learned. A large wave of force left her wand and sent her four opponents stumbling back.

“Ebublio!” Vincent cast, hoping to trap the Veela. Fleur would have none of it.

“Finite!” She wiped the Charm away as she moved. “Fumos Tria Maxima!” From the tip of Fleur’s wand an immense amount of smoke billowed forth. The rushing cloud of smoke quickly filled the dueling area and blinded all of the duelists. Capitalizing on her cover Fleur conjured her Veela Fire. The orange flames danced in her palm as normal and Fleur smiled. Letting her fire expand she felt it linger in the thick smoke. This was something she only knew from her studies and chats with Madam Aveline.

Known as Magical Relativism to Magical Scholars, the phenomenon of two different Magics sharing a natural connection, it was advanced knowledge. The phenomenon related to Elemental Magics more than most others. In Fleur’s case she was melding smoke and fire, two intrinsically linked things, to create new effects. In this instance, she was blending them together to create embers and ash. The smoke around her began to change under her Magic. When she felt the change happen Fleur grinned. A bit of her natural Fire Magic and some Transfiguration with her wand saw her masterfully controlling the newly created ashes and embers. Just in time too, as she heard multiple casts of ‘Evanesco’, the Vanishing Charm, to clear away the thick smoke.

“What in the world?” Bonnet gasped as she looked at Fleur.

“What kind of spell?” Andre stared dumbfounded at the beautiful teen.

“How…?” Durand looked confused and shocked by Fleur’s magic.

Fleur was surrounded by ash and embers, almost like a cloak. But what was really stunning everyone that saw her was the two large, black, angel-like wings of smoldering ash on her back. They glowed with internal heat and even looked like feathered wings! Such complex Magic, cast so quickly, even by a student as advanced as Fleur, was unheard of in their school! Fleur smiled at her opponents, her Defense Professor, and Headmistress Maxime as they all gazed upon her Spellcraft.

“Avis, Oppungo!” Vincent conjured a small flock of birds and then cast a charm to cause the animals to attack Fleur. The birds flew towards Fleur in a wave, intent on causing her harm and the platinum-haired teen waved her hand towards the incoming birds. Several dozen of her ‘ash feathers’ were launched forward and destroyed the conjured birds. With a flap of her black wings, a gale of burning cinders flew towards her opponents. All four raised Protego shields to block the widespread attack. Fleur kept her wand in her right hand as she subtly moved it to animate her wings. Her left hand conjured flames and launched them at her four adversaries.

“Aguamenti!” All four teens launched jets of water at the burning Veela. Fleur brought her right wing forward to block the jets of water. Steam erupted from the doused wing and Fleur easily separated the soaked ‘feathers’ from her right wing. A quick flick of her wand had the wet ash formed into pellets the size of golf balls. A swipe and the pellets were fired forward like buckshot. Andre and Durand managed to shield but Bonnet and Vincent let out cries as they were struck. Before they even dropped their shields, both Durand and Andre stared in slowly growing panic as Fleur’s right ‘ash wing’ heated up, bright glowing embers emerging from within, and then reformed all the lost ‘feathers’ from before.

“Plumes de braise.” Fleur intoned and her animated wings flapped forward. A storm of her black ash feathers, burning with embers, filled her four opponents’ vision. They raised shields to block only to find the feathers fluttering around their Protego Charms and landing on them. The feathers smoldered against their robes, smoke rising from where they touched. With a cry of pain, Vincent swatted a feather off his head. More and more of the burning plumage rained down on the duelists as they tried to repeatedly change the angles of their Shield Charms. No matter where they placed their shields, the feathers would flutter towards them from a different direction. While they were too distracted by her feathers, Fleur cast the spell that would win her the duel. “Lata Expelliarmus Trio Maxima!” A wave of force violently yanked the wands away from each of the four duelists, sending them stumbling and falling to the floor as their hands and arms were almost dragged along by the heavily modified ‘Disarming Hex’.

“Stop!” The Defense Professor called out. “Durand, Bonnet, Andre, and Vincent have been disarmed! Delacour wins!” The protective ward that separated the dueling area from the rest of the large room dropped and Fleur was quick to wave her wand and vanish her spell and all of its remnants. She kept her head held high and didn’t let anyone see the fact that her breathing was heavy. That spell was a drain on her mana like nothing else. Prolonged use was still a ways away. At best, she could currently use it for maybe five minutes, six if she pushed it. On top of that were the heavily modified Expelliarmus she used to win and the modified Fumos that she needed to use to create her spell in the first place. She estimated that this duel probably cost her at least three thousand Lum of her mana.

“That was most impressive, Miss Delacour.” Headmistress Maxime congratulated her student.

“Thank you, Headmistress.” Fleur bowed to the incredibly tall woman.

“I’ve never seen such a spell in all my days.” Maxime continued with a curious expression. “Wherever did you learn it?”

“I did not learn it anywhere, Headmistress.” Fleur shook her head, her platinum-blonde locks following her movement. “I created that spell from my knowledge of Magical Theory and a lot of practice.”

“You created that spell?” Maxime looked stunned at the Veela teen. “Such complex Spellcraft…and you’re so young…” The Headmistress was seemingly having a hard time wrapping her mind around such an accomplishment.

“I call it Manteau de Cendre.” Fleur spoke up with a smile. “I like a little artistry in my spells. I know it may be considered somewhat vain; but I wanted my spell to really show the pride I hold in my heritage.”

“It’s a fine name, Miss Delacour.” Maxime assured the teen. “I was merely shocked at how far you’ve come in your time here at Beauxbatons. You do the school proud, and I’m sure you’ll become a very famous witch like many others that have learned in these hallowed halls.”

“Thank you very much, Headmistress, I’m honored.” Fleur gave a bright smile to the woman.

“We are proud to have you as a student here, Miss Delacour.” Maxime smiled back at her student and the two parted ways to resume the Dueling Club.

-End Chapter-

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Fleur is quite the little Scholar and Spellcrafter herself! She doesn’t even know the Potter Family’s Wandless Magic, yet. Her first spell, the ‘Cinder Cloak’, pays homage to her Veela heritage. It’s also VERY effective for a spell that also focuses on its looks!

We also got to see a normal day for Tonks! Mad-Eye could REALLY learn to ease up every now and then! You can probably see why her mana is always growing when that’s the morning routine for her! Will she make more spells of her own?

Will Harry finish his projects in the timeframe that he wants to?

Will Harry ever delve into Spellcrafting and make his own unique spells?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,352

Tonks – 7,988

Penelope – 6,876

Fleur – 7,244

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 29: The Welsh Dragon Reserve

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Well, it’s Easter Break for Harry. Sirius and his Godson are making a little trip to the Welsh Dragon Reserve! Harry wants a very specific set of Dragon Bones!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 29 – The Welsh Dragon Reserve

Harry sat alone in his compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He was headed back to Wood End Cottage for the Easter Break. He’d mirror called Sirius and explained what he wanted to accomplish over the short break. His Godfather had thought the day trip together would be fun and had readily agreed to take Harry. The Dragon Reserve in Wales was home to nearly the entire population of Common Welsh Green Dragons in the world. When the large beasts got too old, or the population in the Reserve too high, they were farmed for the materials they could make; be it Scales, Hide, Bones, Blood, Horns, etc. Harry was very much looking forward to the trip.

To pass the time on the trip, Harry was reading an advanced book on Arithmancy and Spellcraft. He made notes in a separate journal from all of his others as he read. Looking deeper into Spellcraft was interesting to say the least. He’d seen how Penny and Tonks both crafted their own spells. Fleur had written to him about her own Spellcraft and Harry was very interested to see her Manteau de Cendre whenever they had the chance to meet up again; hopefully soon after school let out for the summer.

“Interesting…” Harry mumbled as he read over the tome and took notes on the creation of Shield Charms. Tonks’ ‘Cube’ spell made six, inverted, Shield Charms that became a cube when cast. It was a wonderful spell for capture and detainment, very fitting for an Auror. Looking into various types of Shield Charms, Harry was wondering the limits of said protective Magic. There were shields for physical objects, shields for spells and magical effects, and advanced shields that could do both. Harry noted that there were no shields that could be cast and then left for any length of time. He supposed that made some sense though. The Charms were sustained by the caster, without them they faded away. Long term protections without constant maintenance fell under the Branch of Magic that was Warding.

As he read and made notes an idea began to form in the Artificer’s mind. Taking detailed notes on the formation of shield spells, and the complexity of shields that could block both physical and magical attacks, Harry nodded as he wrote. He stopped writing for a moment to open his Magical Bag and look through it for a specific book he’d brought along. Finding ‘Advanced Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling II’, Harry pulled it out before flipping to a marked page. The chapter in question was Size in Relation to Magic, and Harry quickly pulled the advanced Arithmancy tome close again. It was also open to a marked page, though in this case it was about a specific type of Spellcraft; Construct Magic.

“This is going to take some time…” Harry grinned to himself in amusement. Really, what project or idea of his didn’t take time? But getting his idea noted down should kill most of the train ride back to London.

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in the late afternoon, bordering on early evening hours, Harry stepped off the train with his Magical Bag slung over his shoulder and a pleased smile on his face. Though he was pleased with getting his spell idea written out; he was a bit less pleased about the fact that the current notes and formulae took up a full thirty-two pages by themselves!

“Harry!” Sirius exclaimed as he saw his Godson.

“Sirius!” Harry chuckled as he was pulled into a hug from his Godfather.

“How’ve you been, you haven’t been working too hard, I hope?” Sirius chuckled as they walked towards the Floo.

“About normal, articulated metal is still difficult, but I’m progressing.” Harry shrugged as they found an empty Floo Fireplace and grabbed some Floo Powder. In a flash of green flames the duo arrived to Wood End Cottage. Tayla was overjoyed to see Harry again and informed both of them that dinner would be ready in the next hour. Harry and Sirius spent time chatting and catching up in person, rather than through mirror calls.

“So, any progress on your many projects?” Sirius questioned with a grin. Harry always had something going on and Sirius was amazed that the teen could keep so many things going at the same time.

“Yes, the Spell Ward Guards are basically done, though until I can make actual gauntlets they’re still prototypes.” Harry informed him. “The Mana Bane Chain works now, but it could definitely use more fine-tuning. The motions of the Control Sequence are still rough and simple. I’m hopeful to finally have a breakthrough with my own Flying Item after our trip tomorrow. I really believe that what’s stalling me is that none of the materials that I’ve been using has any connection to flight. I thought about using feathers of some kind, but Magical Birds aren’t exactly common around Hogwarts. Not to mention that feathers aren’t really suited to being placed into a hot forge.”

“Always the busy bee, aren’t you, Harry?” Sirius chortled at him. “Are the mirrors still stumping you too?” He asked with a teasing grin.

“I’ll figure them out eventually!” Harry groused as he thought about his long-term project. He was still trying to figure out the only successful pair of Communication Mirrors that the Marauders had ever made. He’d gone over Lupin’s notes time and time again, but still had nothing to show for it. The Enchanting was all technically correct, the Charms chosen functioned together properly, and the mirrors were just standard, non-magical glass. Harry had run his mind over this problem on dozens upon dozens of occasions already.

“Take your time, Harry; it’s not like it’s necessary for you to figure it out.” Sirius chuckled at the annoyed look on his Godson’s face.

“I will figure it out though. I’ll make sure of it.” Harry grumbled as he thought about the mystery for a bit longer.

“Whenever it happens, it happens.” Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. “The Head of the Dragon Reserve was surprised that you wanted to buy directly. Seems they’re not used to selling parts except to wholesalers. But you being who you are, and me being who I am, he agreed without any problem.”

“Chalk one up for fame and heredity, I guess.” Harry chuckled while Sirius cracked a smile.

“Master Sirius, Young Master Harry, dinner is being ready now!” Tayla announced with a smile. The wizards headed into the kitchen after the happy House Elf to have a wonderful dinner. They spent the rest of the evening talking and Harry showed Sirius some of his notes, most of which Sirius couldn’t make heads or tails of, as well as his wandless progress with the Patronus Charm. It was still just silver mist without his wand, but Sirius assured him that it was impressive. The two went to bed that night excited for their trip tomorrow.

-The Next Day ~ Wales Dragon Reserve-

“Not what I was expecting, but also very much what I was expecting.” Harry mentioned as he and Sirius stood in front of the massive walls that made up the Reserve. The walls felt magical and the air had noticeable small ripples, almost like a heat haze, over the entire walled-in area. Harry believed them to be powerful Wards necessary to keep the giant, fire-breathing beasts from simply flying away.

“Yeah, this seems about right for Dragons.” Sirius nodded in agreement.

“Lord Black, Artificer Potter; good to meet you both!” A large, rough-looking Wizard greeted them as he walked through a small door next to the larger gates. Harry estimated the man to be in his late fifties or early sixties, though like most Magicals he didn’t look it. His dark-brown hair lacked any trace of grey yet; his face was likewise free of wrinkles. Harry did notice a few scars on the man, but he worked with Dragons, so that was probably to be expected. With a tiny bit of mana into his glasses, Harry scanned the man’s mana level.

‘8,794. That isn’t bad at all.’ Harry thought to himself as he noted the reading his Scouter had picked up.

“Rhys Hughes, Head of Draig Werrd Reserve.” Rhys offered his hand and Sirius shook it firmly. “Not used to buyers coming up into the mountains to collect their own merchandise.” He laughed heartily. “We usually have to fly it down ourselves.”

“Harry needs specific bones this time, so he felt it best to come to the professionals directly.” Sirius informed Rhys with a chuckle of his own.

“Is that right?” Rhys looked at the teen Artificer curiously. “Any particular reason?”

“The Item I wish to create is meant to achieve flight. Unfortunately I’ve been stymied in my attempts up to now. I believe it’s because I lack materials that have a connection to the act of flight itself. Dragons are often far too heavy to lift themselves with their wings alone from my research. I believe that some of their innate magic is what helps them to fly. That is why I wanted to make sure I collected wing bones specifically.” Harry informed the Head of the Reserve honestly. It made no difference to him if the man knew one of his projects. It wasn’t like Harry was planning to sell them once he’d successfully made them. These would be another item that Harry would keep to himself.

“Well, I don’t really know anything about Enchanting; most buyers are more interested in the dragons’ blood, organs, and bones for Potions and the like.” Rhys shrugged before a grin was directed at Harry. “But you’re right about their wings. The great beasts wouldn’t be able to get off the ground just by flapping. Some bit of their Magic does indeed help them to fly. But it’s probably not the same bit that lets them breathe fire!” The man chuckled as he motioned for the two of them to follow him.

The trio entered through the door next to the gate. After passing a set of burly Wizards, security for the Reserve apparently, they went through another set of doors and Harry blinked at the smell. It was…less than pleasant, to say the least. Rhys chuckled at the looks on Sirius and Harry’s faces. They saw what was causing the smell easily enough though. A large dragon, dead and with its hide removed, was being rendered down in a large open space by roughly a dozen people. Barrels of blood were being drained from the large beast, its wings had been removed at the joints on its back, the horns had been removed and its underbelly was opened as organs were being removed and harvested.

“Well, that’s quite a sight.” Sirius commented and Rhys snorted a laugh.

“You get used to it.” Rhys shrugged as he watched his staff work. “Ol’ Heliwr there was always a handful. Used to bully the smaller dragons, he did. These last few years his age started catching up with him though. He’ll produce a lot of good material at least.”

“I notice the wings have been removed.” Harry mentioned, still not used to the smell as his face scrunched up a bit.

“Aye, when Lord Black gave us a Floo call about what you wanted I had Arwel, one of my senior staff; work on the wings exclusively so they’d be ready.” Rhys motioned for them to follow him again. They went through a large door, similar to a garage door in the Non-Magical World, and saw what they’d come for. Harry marveled at the cleaned bones the older man, much older-looking than Rhys, was working on.

“Arwel, looks like you’re about done.” Rhys called out and the older Wizard looked up from his work.

“Yes, yes, just going over the bones to make sure they’re clean.” Arwel waved his boss off. “Membrane, tendons, ligaments, and meat has been sorted and sent to the processors already. All that’s left are these bones now.” The older man motioned to the large collection of wing bones laid out on a raised platform. Harry got a rough count of twenty-six bones, all large because of the size of the Dragon they came from. The amount of material here would surely be enough for him to get his prototype working, he hoped.

“How much?” Harry questioned and Rhys looked between the teen and Sirius for a moment.

“Harry, I’ll pay for them.” Sirius stated but Harry shook his head.

“I appreciate the offer, Sirius, but these are for my own Enchanting, this isn’t to make an Item to sell later once I succeed. You’ll see no return on investment, so I’d rather pay for them myself.” Harry explained and Sirius looked proudly at him. But Harry could still see the desire to pay for the bones in his Godfather’s eyes. The man was nothing if not a doting Godparent.

“Alright, I get it.” Sirius held up his hands with a grin. Harry chuckled while shaking his head. Sirius would always be Sirius.

“So, how much for them?” Harry asked again.

“One-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-one Galleons, eight Sickles, and fourteen Knuts total.” Rhys stated and Harry blinked at the total. That was a bit more than he expected.

“I don’t suppose we could haggle?” Harry asked with a chuckle.

“Afraid not, Artificer Potter.” Rhys shook his head with a grin.

“Good thing I brought the Mokeskin today.” Harry sighed as he pulled out the pouch. Harry cast a spell with just his voice as he whispered into the pouch. A slightly complex version of the standard Summoning Charm that was simply more specific about what it summoned.

“Into the trunk over here, if you would, Artificer Potter.” Rhys motioned to a trunk, smaller than the ones that Hogwarts students used, sitting on a table behind Arwel.

“Of course.” Harry nodded as he stepped over to the opened trunk and pointed his Mokeskin pouch at it. From the pouch a deluge of golden coins poured forth. Harry watched as the coins seemingly always had space to fit inside the trunk. A few moments later the pouch spat out the eight silver Sickles, followed by the fourteen bronze Knuts, into the trunk and Harry put his Mokeskin pouch away.

“This should only take a minute.” Rhys smiled as he closed the lid of the trunk and then tapped it with his wand. The trunk seemed to vibrate a bit, making a sort of buzzing sound while doing so, and Harry noticed a series of numbers on what would be the latch of a normal trunk. Three letters stood out on the latch; ‘G’, ‘S’, and ‘K’. Next to each letter a number appeared on the metal, changing rapidly next to the ‘G’. The ‘K’ stopped at fourteen, followed by the ‘S’ at eight, after right about a minute the ‘G’ stopped on one-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-one. “Everything checks out then.” Rhys nodded as he checked the latch. “Arwel, wrap up Artificer Potter’s purchase, please.”

Arwel nodded as he tapped the platform with his wand three times. Harry watched, delighted at the show of Magic, as thick parchment appeared under the wing bones and folded itself over them. The Artificer had to fight outright laughter as he watched the huge parchment fold itself into the shape of an envelope and then shrink down to until it would have easily been indistinguishable from a regular letter. Arwel summoned the envelope to himself before passing it to Harry. With an amused grin from the show, Harry fished out two Galleons from his robe pocket and handed them to the older man.

“For your time, your skill, and the show.” Harry chuckled and Arwel chortled as he pocketed the coins.

“That spell only works once, young man.” Arwel informed Harry. “Once you open the envelope it’ll return to full-size along with the bones inside. You won’t be able to shrink it again like that.”

“How do you do that?” Harry asked curiously. That would be a very helpful bit of Magic to know how to do.

“I’m afraid that’s a Trade Secret, Artificer Potter.” Arwel shook his head with a chuckle.

“Ready to go now, Harry?” Sirius grinned at his Godson.

“Alright, keep your secrets then.” Harry waved Arwel off with a smile of his own. “Let’s go, Sirius, I think I can get a bit of work done while on my break.”

“Not if I invite Nym over~!” Sirius teased as they followed behind Rhys, back the way they’d come.

“I’m going to tell her you said the name.” Harry smirked at his Godfather.

“I’ll use you as a shield.” Sirius fired back.

“I’ll hex you if you try.” Harry retorted; a smile on his face as he and Sirius bantered back and forth.

“Come again, if you ever need more fresh Dragon Bones!” Rhys laughed as he showed them out of the door of the Reserve. These two were a regular comedy act!

“Sure thing.” Harry nodded to the man. Sirius took hold of Harry’s arm and side-along Apparated them back to Wood End Cottage.

-Albania-

Stephen Flint trembled in fear as he watched the seven Wizards he’d ambushed over the last week burn. Each of the men had been drained of their blood. That blood was then used to draw a strange circle around their corpses. Stephen was no Scholar; he couldn’t even begin to identify what type of Magic his Master was using. All the terrified man knew was that it was Dark Magic. The flames roared and crackled, empowered by the red glow coming from the blood circle.

“Soon…” Voldemort hissed as he watched the flames quickly reduce the Wizards to ash. He glanced at the Potions he’d brewed for this night. Under the Full Moon, his Homunculus body would be completed. April twenty-fifth, nineteen-ninety-four would be the date of his triumphant return to a body capable of wielding Magic! ‘Maybe I’ll make it a Holiday when I rule the world?’ The Dark Lord mused to himself as he watched the flames rise higher. The Potions had been difficult to brew, stuck as he was in a Squib’s body. Mostly useless except as sacrifices, they couldn’t even brew Potions by themselves. He’d had to expend his own weakened Magic to make sure that the Potions brewed properly.

Once the empowered flames had died down Voldemort stood up in his current host’s body. Looking into the blackened pit, he saw the shape of a human buried in the soot and ashes. Barely able to sense anything in the Squib’s body, he reached out with his host’s hand and placed it on the form. There! He felt it! Magic existed in this body! It was breathing very shallowly. It was a living homunculus, but empty and devoid of purpose or mind. Just what he’d planned! He spared no thought to the fact that his host’s flesh was being lightly burned as he knelt in the still hot ashes of the fire. He’d be leaving it momentarily anyway.

Stephen nearly screamed in terror when he saw his Master’s body convulse and shake as if having a fit of some kind. A horrible shrieking wail emerged from the Squib’s mouth as a black smoke-like vapor was expelled. The vapor swirled in the air for a moment before covering the body buried in soot and ash. The Squib dropped backwards and didn’t move. Stephen already knew he was dead. He’d seen what was left of his Master’s ‘hosts’ after he left them for a new one before. The black mist seeped into the newly-created body in the pit. The homunculus gave a jolt before going still again.

“M-My Lord…?” Stephen stuttered out as he slowly approached the body. He looked over the still buried form and wondered if something had gone wrong. He screamed, half in shock and half in horror, when two dark-red eyes snapped open in the soot. They gave a dim glow for a brief moment before the homunculus slowly sat up. Stephen was reminded of the last time he’d seen his great-grandfather before the man had passed. Feeble, weak, and barley able to get out of bed by himself. Voldemort was much the same at this moment; his new body was weak and unused, practically a newborn, if newborns were one-hundred-eighty centimeters tall.

“Get out…of my way…fool…” Voldemort hissed out at the terrified man as he took unsteady steps towards his Potions. Just walking was taking a toll on him right now. But his Potions would soon fix that! He just needed to get to them. When he reached the bottles he had to stop for breath. This was why he had never wanted to grow old, to become weak and feeble, to become vulnerable. He steadied his hands before picking up the first Potion in the set he’d brewed. Strengthening Solution would make this body stronger, able to bare the physical toll he’d need to return to his rightful place atop the Magical World.

Feeling the Solution slowly taking effect, Voldemort reached for the next Potion. Blood Replenishing Potion would increase the bare minimum of blood his current body had. Homunculi were usually made for a specific purpose that they’d fulfill for years or decades. But they all started off weak and with barely functioning bodies. With blood being produced in proper amounts he’d recover faster.

The next Potion he picked up was the Everlasting Elixir. Downing it he breathed deeply and let it have time to do its work. With the Elixir, his Homunculus body wouldn’t breakdown, a very real concern when making homunculi. Most anyone that made one would have said Elixir on-hand to stabilize and fortify their creation. Feeling more strength in his body, along with his breathing becoming easier, Voldemort smirked viciously. Now it was time to truly bring out all the benefits of this new un-aging body!

Voldemort chuckled darkly as he downed the Potion of All Potential. This had been the hardest Potion to brew. It had cost him so much of his weakened Magic that he’d almost feared he’d lose possession of his host and be expelled, disappearing into vapor forever. But he’d succeeded! This Potion would unlock the full potential of anyone that drank it. It was known to increase physical strength, improve all bodily functions, and even increase intelligence and Magical Power! It was almost impossible to brew successfully, but he’d studied under Horace Slughorn, the old Professor might be a corpulent suck-up, always trying to expand his connections; but he was a true Master of the Craft. He’d give the old man a quick and painless death for his contributions to Voldemort’s conquest!

“Flint!” Voldemort snapped at his only servant. The man stumbled forth and bowed, groveled really, at his feet.

“Y-Yes, My L-Lord?” Stephen dared not even look up from where his head was planted into the dirt.

“Bring me a robe, now.” Voldemort let out a hiss and Stephen jerked upright as he tried to rush to his feet as fast as possible. With an exhale, Voldemort held himself upright. His new body was stable, but weak, severely so. He would not show an ounce of weakness in front of his servant though, lest the man get any ideas. As he waited he took stock of his form. He had no hair, but he wasn’t a vain man concerned with his looks. His face should be similar to what it had been before that accursed night. He was about the same height as he had been as well. Looking down he noticed his body was lean; much like it had been before, but also looking as if he’d been starved for a long while. He noted with some dark amusement that his genitals were the same as he remembered. Not that they functioned for their sexual purpose anymore.

That was an ironclad rule of homunculi, they couldn’t procreate. They had no ability to conceive or breed in any fashion. Beings made from Magic couldn’t bring life into the world like natural creatures could. They were sterile, barren, impotent, and had no sexual drive whatsoever. Bah, not like he’d ever had such wants or desires. He would be immortal! What use did he have of consorts, concubines, or heirs? They would all wither away and die, while he stayed alive and ruled the world. No, Lord Voldemort had no need for the base instinct of procreation. Just another pointless thing he’d gladly tossed to the winds in his pursuit of power and domination.

“Y-Your robe, My Lord.” Stephen uttered out as he held out a black robe to his Master. Voldemort held out his arms, giving an unspoken order to place the garment on him to his shivering servant. Once he was robed, Voldemort walked freely to the small, stone cottage they’d been hiding out in.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so weak. It had been decades since he’d felt so exhausted and low on Magic. He needed food and rest to recover. With time his Magic would recover as well. Speaking of which, he’d need to get a wand once he was a bit stronger. His original Yew and Phoenix Feather wand from Ollivander’s was either locked away, deep inside the Ministry; or had been snapped and burned by one of his many enemies within the Ministry after his fall. No matter, a wand could be replaced; there were dozens of Wand Makers in Europe after all, hundreds throughout the world. But no, he dare not leave Europe, he knew of some of the Magicals that lived in other parts of the world. Until he was back to full strength he couldn’t risk gaining attention like that. He wasn’t the only Dark Wizard in the world. No need to risk anything until he could operate on the same level again.

“Flint, get me food and drink, I need to eat.” Voldemort hissed at the man.

“Yes, My Lord!” Stephen bolted out of the small cottage and quickly disappeared with a crack of Apparation.

‘Just a while longer… I will never die… You’ll not vanquish me, Harry Potter!’ Voldemort raged silently within his own mind. Prophecy or not, he’d never die! No one would be allowed to stand in his way! His rule was inevitable! It was his Destiny to be the Greatest Wizard that Ever Lived! That was the only Fate he believed in!

-End Chapter-

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Well, dragon bones acquired! Now maybe Harry can get his Flight Item off the ground properly! Not to mention our Artificer is looking at Spellcraft! What kind of spell is he looking to make, exactly?

Then there’s He-Who-Just-Won’t-Die-Already, finally returning to a proper body. We get to see the Psychopathy of Voldemort a bit as he takes stock of his new form. He’s weak, but now he can actually recover…that’s not great. Though we do get to learn that Voldemort knows of other Dark Wizards outside of Europe! Ones that he doesn’t want to step on the toes of while he’s weakened. Who are these Dark Wizards? Will they cause problems in the future? How much will the World change as the butterfly continues to flap its wings?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,546

Tonks – 8,174

Penelope – 6,992

Fleur – 7,428

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 30: Flight, Basilisk Scale Mail

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Work, work, work! Harry is a busy boy! Let’s see if he can get his Flight Item off the ground! Also, maybe it’s time to put the best of his new tools to the test?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 30 – Flight, Basilisk Scale Mail

Harry looked into the forge as he used his mana to adjust the heat of the flames. Dragon Carbon Steel would be a first for him; but he was determined to make this work! The Dragon wing bone fragment was already turning black as it sat on top of the billet of Magical Iron. He had to get the flames hot enough to turn the bone to ash before he pulled the billet out. Then with the billet covered in the carbon-rich ash of the bone fragment, he’d start the process of folding the metal and mixing the carbon into the iron. From there it was only a matter of folding and hammering until the carbon was evenly distributed throughout the metal and it became Carbon Steel.

Penny was not surprised to find Harry in his smithy when she came to get him for lunch. While she’d been attending to her Head Girl responsibilities, Harry had retreated to his workshop to create and craft. Seeing her boyfriend working, his focus on the metal he was hammering into shape, was a reminder of the work ethic she found so attractive. She stood in the doorway for a minute before Harry seemed to notice her.

“Penny, how’re you this morning? I hope your Head Girl duties went well.” Harry smiled at her warmly.

“They did,” Penny nodded back with a smile. “But it’s a bit past noon now, Harry.”

“Already?” Harry blinked as he turned to look at the clock in the corner. Seeing the hour hand at twelve and the minute hand just a bit past one, the Artificer hummed. “How time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Come on, Harry, time for lunch.” Penny giggled at him. Harry agreed and removed the leather apron he was wearing. He’d needed one as he’d delved more into forging and such. It was already slightly blackened from fire, soot, and oil. Harry felt it gave the garment character; Penny thought he needed to clean it better. Differences of opinion!

The duo made their way down to lunch together. Entering the Great Hall to the usual chatter, Penny and Harry took seats at the Ravenclaw table. Luna was quick to join them and the small blonde sat on Penny’s opposite side.

“How’ve you been today, Luna?” Harry asked the spacey girl with a smile.

“Very well, Harry.” Luna grinned back. “My mana grew again; I’m up to ‘376’ now.”

“That’s good Luna; you’re growing all the time.” Penny smiled at the younger blonde.”

“Not bad at all for a Second Year.” Harry agreed with a grin. He was glad the Test Frames he’d donated back in his First Year were still working. With how often they were used, Harry felt Hogwarts would need to purchase new ones by next year probably. While Harry could easily donate another set of four to the school, he’d rather make the sale since he was business partners with the Dwarves.

Once lunch was over, Harry returned to his workshop. Penny was going to help the Dueling Club again today. The two parted with a gentle kiss. Penny promised to drag him out of the workshop for dinner with a giggle. Harry playfully thanked her with a chuckle before they separated. Back in his smithy, Harry fired up the forge again and grabbed his Basilisk Steel tongs to place the Dragon Carbon Steel back into the re-ignited flames. He needed it hot again to shape the metal plate to the specifications he wanted it. Grabbing his Basilisk Steel hammer he waited for the metal to get red hot again.

The next few hours were spent in a cycle of heating and hammering. Using the rounded horn of the anvil to curve the metal as he hammered it, Harry formed his creation into shape. The metal responded remarkably well to his newly upgraded anvil and tools. He got more out of each strike of the hammer; the metal seemingly knowing how Harry wanted it to react and shape. When he’d gotten two plates shaped the way he wanted them, he dipped them in the quench tank to harden the steel. When they emerged, steam wafting off of the metal, Harry nodded at his work. He set them on the metal work table to finish cooling. Once they were cool enough, Harry could begin etching the Runic Array into them.

Etching had long become a proficient skill for Harry. The teen Artificer using his etching tools to imprint his runic sequences into his works. These two plates of Dragon Carbon Steel were no different. Carefully and with precision, Harry etched the Array into the steel. He would forego the strengthening and permanence of these runes with Alchemic Metal Bases for now. He just wanted to make sure the Array worked properly first. If it did, then he’d add Vitris Auri to the runes to strengthen them and make them last longer. Satisfied with his rune work, Harry attached regular leather to the inside curve of the plates. A few strips attached to the leather padding and Harry was able to tie his new prototypes to his shins.

They looked a bit like shin guards that one might wear while playing sports. But that had been the basic idea. Now he just needed to test them! Applying his mana to the plates he felt the Array activate. If it responded properly to his mana, then this would be similar to flying a broom. With gentle prodding via his intent, Harry slowly rose off the ground a few centimeters and just hovered in place.

“Step one is a success.” Harry smiled at his new prototypes. The Altitude Sequence hadn’t failed this time! Last time he’d attempted this he’d just kept ascending until he was pressed up against the ceiling. So this was a major improvement already! ‘Alright, now let’s go forward a bit, slowly.’ Harry thought, pushing his intent to his prototypes. Harry, still hovering, started moving forward. He spread his arms out to maintain his balance as he moved, but other than that, he was in full control of the speed and direction of his hovering flight. “Okay, so far so good, let’s try going a little higher and increasing the speed a bit.” Harry focused and he levitated higher. He stopped at about a meter off the floor and then ‘walked’ through the air with his prototypes. Each step sank down a bit more than he thought, but the prototypes corrected the height a split second after the ‘step’ was completed. Harry was, quite literally, walking on air! The only problem he’d found so far was balance. He had to be very careful not to upset his center of gravity, lest he fall backwards or forwards. He really didn’t want to find out how his prototype would respond to such jarring movement right now!

This was how Penny found him when she entered the workshop to get Harry for dinner. Her boyfriend, arms spread wide to maintain his balance, was walking around the room. The fact that he was almost three meters off the ground was the interesting part of her discovery. With a giggle she announced her presence to Harry.

“Penny!” Harry beamed at his girlfriend. “I got them working! It was the Flight Aspect that I was missing!”

“I see that.” Penny smiled warmly at him. “Can you get down or do I need to help you again?” She teased with a raised eyebrow.

“No, no, I’ve got it.” Harry waved her off with a grin. Penny watched as Harry ‘walked’ down the air like he was on a set of invisible stairs. When he reached the floor he walked over to his work desk. Leaning against the edge, he reached down and unstrapped the prototype from his right leg. Harry removed the left in short order and took both prototypes over to the shelf he kept his projects on. After setting them on a clear space, he made his way to Penny.

“Ready for dinner?” Penny asked and Harry offered her his arm. She wrapped her arm around his with a smile.

“I’ve worked up a bit of an appetite.” Harry admitted as they closed the hidden workshop’s door behind them. “Did you have fun at the Dueling Club?”

“About the same as usual.” Penny shrugged. “Several of the members thought they could take me on at once. Sadly their coordination wasn’t that great. A bit of smoke and some banishers and the group fell apart. Then it was just a matter of stunning them one after another.”

“By ‘a bit of smoke’ you mean you filled the entire area and they couldn’t see or breathe very well.” Harry remarked, knowing how his girlfriend liked to duel.

“Like I said, just a bit of smoke.” Penny chuckled and Harry joined her. Oh how he couldn’t wait to get his own original spell up and running. He’d make all three of his girlfriends’ jaws drop when they first saw it! He suppressed his chuckles for now. No need to give Penny any reason to question him.

The couple spent dinner chatting about Harry’s new prototype. Harry admitting it would need a bit more work to be viable. Penny mentioned he seemed a bit off-balance while using it. Harry had agreed; he was wondering if he could perhaps add a connection that would help his balance. Penny had suggested something like a belt to support his center of gravity. Harry had pondered on the feasibility of her suggestion. It did make some sense after all. His center of gravity was what he had to focus on when using his prototype as it was.

“That could work,” Harry mused as he thought about it. “Maybe a connection from the Item, up the legs, to the belt, and perhaps add something to support my back too?”

“I don’t think it would hurt.” Penny looked thoughtful as well, her eyes looking down while she cutely nibbled on the corner of her lower lip. Harry loved watching Penny think like this, it was quite charming in his opinion. “Balance is heavily supported by the cooperation of the legs, center of gravity, and the spine. So supporting all three with the Item should give you the control you’re looking for.”

“My thoughts as well.” Harry replied, after swallowing a mouthful of food. “I’ll have to find a proper Runic Sequence for the back support. I’m fairly sure I can use the Ever Balance talisman I made for Tonks as a base for the belt to support my center of gravity.” Harry would make sure to write all of this down in his journal after dinner. It was always good to get his girlfriends’ opinions and hear their thoughts on his prototypes and creations. They often came up with good suggestions like this and the joy of just talking with them was always a plus.

-First Week of May-

“Thank you Tayla.” Harry smiled brightly at the House Elf.

“It was being no problem, Young Master Harry.” Tayla bounced happily at the praise. She’d just brought Harry one of the wooden crates containing the Basilisk Scales. It was only a small fraction of the total amount. But Harry didn’t need any more for this.

“You can return home, Tayla, you’ve done great.” Harry praised and Tayla looked like she might cry from happiness. The House Elf popped away and Harry opened the crate. Just as he’d asked, there was also a roll of the Basilisk’s Hide on top of the scales. Looking over the materials and then turning to look at what he had produced beforehand. The teen Artificer smiled at what he was about to attempt.

‘According to the notes and instructions, this should work. Let’s get to work.’ Harry thought to himself as he picked up his Rune-Enhanced Basilisk Steel tools. If he did this properly, well, he might just be breaking yet another record. Igniting the forge he carefully stoked the flames and controlled them with his mana.

Once the forge was the proper temperature, Harry placed two scales on top of a billet of Basilisk Steel. Sticking the billet into the forge, he watched and waited for the reactions. It took time, but Harry finally saw the scales deform under the heat and partially melt into the billet. Pulling the billet out, Harry took his hammer and chisel to the orange-hot metal and proceeded to make a deep indent at the halfway point. When the metal was nearly split by the chisel, Harry place the tool aside and then took his hammer to the billet. With precise swings he hammered the billet until it folded over itself. With the fold complete, Harry hammered the billet and scales mix back into a uniform piece of metal.

‘Back into the forge and we’ll do it again.’ Harry thought as he kept the heat of the flames high. Once the billet was orange-hot again he pulled it out and took the chisel to it again. Folding the billet over itself, he then set about hammering it again. Every strike of the hammer imparted his mana directly into the metal. The conquered materials were responding to their owner’s will and intent. The tools felt like extensions of him as he used them. It was almost as if Harry was working with the materials barehanded. As he worked he thought back on the notes and research he’d done to get to this point.

Creature Craft, as it related to Artifice, was much different than the traditional style used by regular Enchanters. For creature materials to be used in an Artifact they had to be conquered. If they were not properly conquered, an Artifact couldn’t be made. The best you could hope for was a very strong Enchanted Object. The inevitable failure of such a thing could take months, years, or even decades, but it would happen. With properly conquered materials though, an Artifact that embodied the aspect of the parts used could be made by one with the proper skill.

The main difference of Creature Craft Artifice, and the type of Artifice Harry had already been doing, was two-fold. Firstly, so long as you didn’t want to impart any extra Magical Effect or Ability into the Artifact that the materials didn’t cover, there was no need for any Rune work. No Sequences or Arrays were necessary. Secondly, was the symbolism of the materials and the creation process, symbolism had a much greater degree of effect in Creature Craft than in Rune-based Artifice. Harry was making use of that symbology heavily in this first creation.

He had used Basilisk Bones to make Basilisk Carbon Steel. Then he’d made his tools from said steel, and enhanced them with Runes. Then he’d made more Basilisk Carbon Steel and added the Basilisk’s own scales into the metal. The symbology of reuniting the Basilisk’s Bones with it Scales would impart a far more powerful effect on his creation. Using the tools made with said bones also gave his mana an even greater sync with the Item he was crafting.

‘Okay, that’s the first billet done.’ Harry thought to himself as he looked over the cooling metal. To his eyes he could see the Magic coming off the billet. It was thick, heavy with intent, and very strong. So long as he continued to follow that intent, it would easily mold for him as he was its Master. With the first billet finished Harry prepared the second. The creation of enough of these billets could take as long as necessary. He didn’t have to do them all at once. He just needed them to form properly so that he had enough material to work with.

“What in the world are you up to now, Harry?” Penny questioned from the doorway of the smithy. Watching a shirtless, sweaty Harry wearing nothing but a leather apron and pants swing his hammer onto metal was a visual treat. Her boyfriend was most certainly developing some rather nice musculature. She’d come to get Harry for lunch and found him deeply entranced in his current work. Penny could literally feel the Magic in the air as Harry worked. Each swing of the hammer released a small, barely perceptible pulse to her senses. She imagined that pulse was much stronger for Harry who was in direct contact with it.

“Creature Craft…” Harry absently replied, his focus still almost entirely on his work.

“Can you put it on pause for a bit? It’s time for lunch.” Penny reminded him. Harry nodded, though he didn’t turn his head to look at her. A few more swings of the hammer and Harry finished up with the billet he was working on.

“At this stage I can create in sections.” Harry exhaled as he turned to Penny with a grin. “With the upgrades to my tools, I’ll be able to do the long process in sections as well.”

“What’re you making this time, boyfriend of mine?” Penny asked curiously while Harry washed himself up a bit in the bathroom and put his shirt back on.

“That’s a secret, girlfriend of mine.” Harry responded with a chuckle. “Though if I complete it to the specifications I want it to be, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.”

“Well aren’t you being secretive.” Penny teased as they left the workshop. “This isn’t going to end up with you near dead or anything, right?” The tone Penny used when she said this made a slight tremor go up Harry’s spine. There was an easily decipherable warning in that tone and Harry was keen to heed it!

“Nope,” Harry shook his head. “When I upgraded my tools I made sure to add a very specific function into one of them. I won’t be worrying you three like that again. I promise.” Harry looked her straight in the eyes when he said this. Penny heard the sincerity in his words, and she saw the conviction behind his eyes. Her warm brown and his emerald green gazed into each other and before either of them knew it, their lips had met. They kissed softly for a moment before pulling back with smiles on their lips.

“Alright then,” Penny rested her forehead against his. “I believe you. Thank you for taking safety precautions.”

“Of course,” Harry grinned as they enjoyed their closeness. “I didn’t exactly enjoy that last incident myself. But I don’t regret completing Aethereum.”

“I wouldn’t expect you too.” Penny giggled as they resumed their walk to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry would almost immediately return to the hidden workshop after the meal. Penny had a feeling her boyfriend was going to be very attached to his work for the foreseeable future. ‘I’ll just have to be ‘distracting’ every now and then so he doesn’t overwork himself again.’ The Head Girl thought to herself with a naughty little smile.

Harry wiped his brow as he finished the last billet. It had taken him just over a week, almost entirely because of classes taking up his time, but he now had enough material to actually start the creation of his newest Item. Honestly, without Penny here next year, he might just skive off classes like Potions. It would be more time in the week to work on what he wanted. The fact that he wouldn’t have to deal with Snape was just a bonus, really.

‘Maybe I should look into early graduation.’ Harry mused, and not for the first time at that. He’d long since passed up anything that was taught in the Hogwarts Runes or Arithmancy classes. He was far ahead in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. His Transfiguration was the best in his year, and probably within the top ten of all the students. He couldn’t care less about Potions, at least not with a man-child like Snape teaching the subject. His Herbology was also highly graded and he was sure that he could, at minimum, pass the O.W.L.s for it. He was sure he’d hear some complaints from his study buddies; but he really didn’t want to hold himself back by taking classes if he didn’t need to for the next four years. ‘I’ll stay for one more year, see how things go, if I do four out of seven years I’m sure Sirius will agree to me taking the O.W.L.s early’ Harry shook his thoughts away. Right now he had the next step to take in his project. He was going to forge all of these billets together into two solid pieces of metal. Then he’d start hammering them to stretch them out so they could be molded to form!

-End of May-

Harry had kept his promise to Penny. While he’d spent a good deal of his free time in the hidden workshop; he’d also not hurt himself in the process of creation. The teen Artificer had gone to his hidden workshop at least three times a day without fail over the last month. Sometimes he was there for hours working; other times he only stayed for a half hour or so. They’d happily had another Hogsmeade date. Penny and Harry ending it in much the same way they did their first one. Letters were exchanged between Harry, Tonks, and Fleur regularly as well. The Head Girl had to admit, when Harry promised them something, he fully committed to it.

“Okay, Harry, it’s been almost a full month,” Penny gave him a ‘look’ as she followed him into the hidden workshop. “What has you cooped up in here so often? You’re nearly clockwork accurate in how often you come here this past month.”

“Alright, I guess I can show you.” Harry chuckled as he led her towards the smithy. “It’s actually done now; so I wanted to show it off to you anyway.”

Harry held the door to the smithy open for Penny. She gave him an appreciative smile as she walked into the smithy. She stopped dead as soon as her foot crossed the threshold and touched the floor. She could have sworn she’d heard a snake-like hiss in her ear! Or maybe it was in her mind? Her perception of Magic had only increased ever since she’d learned Harry’s Wandless Method. She felt the Magic in the air. There was some weight on her senses from it! It was cool, but ready, a sense of being watched and assessed. What was this? Harry took her hand and made her take another step forward. The sensation disappeared like it had never been there! She blinked and turned to face Harry.

“What was that?” Penny questioned, only now realizing her breathing was slightly heavy. “What did you make?”

“That.” Harry pointed into the smithy and Penny turned her head. There, on what was obviously a transfigured mannequin, was a partial set of armor. The cuirass, pauldrons, fauld, and tasses, hung on the mannequin. It was sleeker than medieval armor, but clearly based on it. It was probably something that couldn’t be forged without Magic. All of the armor had a dark-black and green hint to the metal. As she walked closer the hint of color seemed to change as the light struck it differently and she noticed a pattern to the metal. Even someone that knew little to nothing about Magic would be able to tell that this armor wasn’t normal.

“Armor?” Penny mumbled as she looked at Harry’s creation. “Harry… I can feel this with my senses! What did you do? This is like Aethereum, but heavier!”

“That, if it passes the full inspection, is going to be the first Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair.” Harry smiled at his work.

“Was that Gaelic?” Penny questioned her boyfriend. She didn’t know Harry knew Gaelic. He’d never mentioned it before.

“I asked McGonagall for the translation.” Harry grinned at her fondly. “It means ‘Serpent King’s Scales’ as long as I’m pronouncing it correctly, I thought it was a fitting name.”

“But why Scottish Gaelic for the name?” Penny asked, not seeing the reason for it.

“Because this was Slytherin’s Basilisk, which lived under Hogwarts, which is a Magical School in Scotland, I conquered it here, so I thought a Scottish Gaelic name would be fitting. I like the connection, basically.” Harry shrugged at her.

“I didn’t know you were the sentimental type, Harry.” Penny fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Only for you three and my creations.” Harry fired back with a grin. Penny winked at him before asking her next question.

“How did you work that scale pattern into the metal, that seems a bit too ‘artsy’ for you.” Penny motioned to the scale pattern.

“Believe it or not, that formed naturally when I quenched it.” Harry scratched at his hair. “I think the Creature Craft and the symbolism I used affected the Magic of the armor heavily. It sort of reformed itself to emulate the Basilisk that it used to be. Should be all but spell-proof though, and tougher than any non-magical metal too! I’m calling it Basilisk Scale Mail!”

“You are such a teenage boy.” Penny laughed, unable to contain her mirth.

“Oi! It’s a cool name!” Harry huffed at the blonde.

“Oh, Harry, sometimes I forget that we’re not the same age with how mature you are.” Penny chuckled as she slowly got her laughter under control. “It’s nice to know that you haven’t thrown away your inner child.”

“Why would I do that?” Harry questioned as he pointed to the armor. “My inner child is what comes up with cool ideas like this!” He smirked at Penny and was pulled into a hug by the, once again, giggling girl. He returned the warm embrace and they pecked each other’s lips gently before they pulled apart.

“How long did this take to make though?” Penny questioned as she walked around to get a look at the armor from all sides.

“Around one-hundred-forty-eight hours, maybe one-hundred-fifty total.” Harry looked to be quickly doing the math in his head. “So by comparison to Aethereum, which I did all at once, about twice the length of time in total.”

“So about six days as compared to three.” Penny nodded in understanding. “Would that make it twice as strong as Aethereum too?”

“Hmm,” Harry took on a thinking pose as he went over the numbers in his head. “If I take my total mana for the month, factor in that I never went into Magical Exhaustion, then we add the total amount of time I worked on it…” Penny raised her eyebrow as Harry seemed to be running through a combination of Math and Arithmancy in his head. “If Aethereum was around sixteen-thousand, then Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair would probably have an innate mana amount of about thirty-thousand, maybe thirty-one thousand.”

“That’s crazy, Harry!” Penny gasped at the amount of mana the armor had. “This has to be another Greater Artifact!”

“I doubt it.” Harry shook his head. When he saw the confused look on Penny’s face he explained. “True Artifacts are graded on four criteria, remember? Function, Effect, Durability, and Power are what determine an Artifact’s Grade. Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair has Function, Durability, and Power down and secured. But it has no Effect, beyond being a very good bit of armor. With a ‘Zero’ on one of the four criteria, it automatically gets only seventy-five percent at best. Meaning it probably only earns the Median Grade.”

“You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?” Penny asked with an amused grin.

“Yeah, I’m an Artificer; I kinda need to know this stuff.” Harry jokingly rolled his eyes.

“Do you think you’ll be called in to be a Judge for a panel yourself soon?” Penny teased her boyfriend.

“Not while I’m still in school, probably.” Harry pondered on the possibility. “Though, maybe in the summer they could reach out to me about it? Who knows?”

“Won’t this armor stop fitting you soon though? You’re in your growth spurt years, Harry.” Penny questioned as she noted the armor’s size.

“You know how I can do Magical Sewing?” Harry grinned proudly.

“Yes, the scarf and mittens you made for me still work after all.” Penny nodded, wondering what her boyfriend looked so proud about.

“Would you believe that you can apply the ‘grow with you’ feature to armor if you change the application method during its creation?” Harry’s grin widened as Penny gaped at him.

“How?!” Penny moved into his personal space, her curiosity firing on all cylinders. “For cloth it’s Shrinking Charms woven into the fabric that fade away over time. How could you do that to spell-proof armor?”

“I told you, it’s a different application method.” Harry chortled at Penny’s expression. “I forged excess material into the armor as I made it. Compressing Magical Materials into themselves isn’t as hard as you might think, so long as they’re all the same material, at least.”

“You never cease to amaze, do you Harry?” Penny chuckled softly, moving her hair behind her ear.

“I try not to.” Harry nodded faux sagely.

“But if this is an Artifact, how did you just stop working on it? I thought Artifacts came undone if you didn’t finish them all at once.” Penny looked confused again. “That’s why you had to work on Aethereum so consistently that you hurt yourself, right?”

“That’s the new function I told you about.” Harry smiled softly at her. He picked up his Rune Enhanced Basilisk Steel hammer and placed it on the anvil, head flat against the metal. Penny looked closer when she noticed the light-blue-ish glow coming from both tools. “When hammer and anvil are like this, whatever material that I’m working on, that is kept between them, maintains a state of stasis for up to twelve hours. It only activates when I let go of the hammer; and I have to charge the hammer and anvil with my mana for this effect to work. That’s why I had to come back here ‘like clockwork’ as you put it. I had to work on the armor a bit, not only because I wanted to, but to reset the timer, so to speak.”

“That’s brilliant, Harry.” Penny beamed at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m fairly certain you could apply a similar affect to a Ward Scheme and make a large area have the same property. But seeing as I have no current plans to make any giant Artifacts; I figured this small-scale version would do.” Harry grinned at his girlfriend.

“Knowing you, Harry, you’ll need to look into Wards like those in the future, I’m sure.” Penny giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to try and prevent full-blown laughter.

“Maybe I will.” Harry grossed his arms and stuck his nose into the air.

Penny lost her fight and burst into uproarious laughter. Harry quickly joined her. Being snooty, even pretending, was so not for him!

-End Chapter-

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Progress!

Oh shit! Did Harry just do what you think he just did?!

We got to see the differences between the two Artificing Styles in this chapter! I hope you liked seeing the other way to make an Artifact! Magic is many and varied and we’re still in Hogwarts! Can you imagine what I have planned for this story when we eventually go abroad?!

The end of Third Year is approaching! What will happen afterwards?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,698

Tonks – 8,364

Penelope – 7,146

Fleur – 7,572

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 31: Letters and a Busy Summer

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry has a busy summer coming up! Penny has graduated too! Letters to write, learning some swordsmanship, finishing up some of his projects, not to mention a certain event that’ll be happening near the end of summer. Busy, busy, busy!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 31 – Letters and a Busy Summer

‘…and I’m willing to trade some of my Magic for some of yours.’ Harry finished writing the letter he was planning to send to the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley. He couldn’t use a school owl for this letter, as it would be leaving Britain, which the school owls were trained not to do. He also didn’t want Hedwig gone for so long either, so the Owl Post it was. Folding up the letter and placing it in an envelope, Harry sealed it with a wax seal. Flipping the now sealed envelope over, Harry wrote the address, well the name of where he wanted the letter to go at any rate. Witches and Wizards weren’t exactly into specific addresses for some of their locations. With his letter complete, the teen Artificer headed up to the Hogwarts Owlery to send it. He stayed to watch the school owl fly off towards Diagon before heading down to finish packing.

“Do you have everything, Harry?” Penny questioned, seeing her boyfriend with only his normal trunk.

“I had Tayla come and take everything from the workshop here to my smithy at home. So this is all that’s left.” Harry answered as they made their way towards the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade Station. “How does it feel to graduate?”

“Good, if a little sad,” Penny smiled as she looked at Hogwarts while they got further from the castle. “I spent seven years here. It’s like leaving a second home.”

“Makes sense,” Harry nodded as he took her hand. “Next year is going to be boring without you.”

“I’m sure you’ll be alright.” Penny chuckled as she squeezed his hand gently. “I better not hear about you missing meals and classes to do your own work, Mister.”

“You won’t be Head Girl anymore, what do you care?” Harry chortled and Penny sighed at him. “I won’t miss meals, but I can’t promise not to skive off Potions.” Harry smirked at the thought of ditching Snape and his attempts to antagonize him.

“I’ll allow it.” Penny giggled as she leaned against him. Harry leaned against her too and the couple enjoyed the ride to the Hogwarts Express. The train ride back to Kings Cross in London was normal enough. Harry’s study buddies came by to chat for a bit, Penny’s friends and fellow graduates stole Penny for a bit to talk and wish each other well. The rest of the time was Harry and Penny simply relaxing and snuggling with each other. They refrained from getting handsy with each other, in case anyone else came knocking at their compartment.

A small gathering to celebrate Penny’s graduation had been planned by her family for the next weekend. Harry and Sirius had been invited to the party by Edward at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Tonks’ and Fleur’s invitations were being mailed out as soon as the Clearwater family got home. Both Harry and Sirius had happily agreed to come and Penny had kissed his cheek before she and Edward left. In a quick Floo trip, Sirius and Harry were back home at Wood End Cottage. The two would spend the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up. Tayla was overjoyed to have Harry back and went all out with dinner that night. Harry went to bed that night with a smile on his face.

-July Fourth ~ Morning-

Harry rolled his shoulders a bit as he waited for the swordsmanship instructor that Sirius had hired to teach Harry the basics of using a sword. He’d considered asking the Dwarves, but realized that Humans and Dwarves were simply built differently. Dwarves were shorter, but built sturdy, with dense musculature and therefore would have a different fighting style that would play to their strengths. So a Human instructor would be better for Harry to learn from.

“Mr. Potter, good to meet you.” A man Harry had never seen before approached with Sirius at his side. He was probably around fifty or so, maybe a bit older, but he certainly didn’t look a day over thirty. Magic was once again showing its ability to extend the longevity of Wizards and Witches. The man had dark-brown hair, cut short, and a neatly trimmed mustache. His eyes were a sharp green and his complexion was slightly darker than normal for British Wizards. He was tan, Harry realized, as if this Wizard spent time outside of Britain fairly often, in a warmer climate with more sun than was normal for the United Kingdom. The man was also wearing fairly casual clothing, a short-sleeved shirt in gray with black trousers and leather boots. “My name is Weldon Rivers, and I’ve been hired by Lord Black to instruct you in the use of the sword.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Harry greeted his instructor with a short bow.

“If you’re ready we can get right into it?” Weldon asked and Harry nodded. Sirius watched on with a grin as Weldon pulled a small bag form his pocket. The instructor flicked his wand at it and it grew to its proper size. From within the bag, two wooden practice swords, in the shape of a broadsword, were removed. “Here you are, Mr. Potter.” Weldon handed Harry one of the wooden swords and Harry took it. “Show me how you would hold a sword like this.” When Harry held the sword, Weldon looked at his grip unimpressed. With a swipe of his own wooden sword, Harry’s was knocked from the teen’s hands. “We’ll need to start with the very basics.”

Harry learned quite a bit from his first lesson with Weldon. The man had taught him how to properly hold a sword first. Then he showed him a one-handed grip for the same sword while explaining the different reasons for why a sword needed to be held a certain way. When Harry had left his unoccupied hand off to the side of his torso, Weldon had asked why he was keeping it there.

“No reason, really,” Harry replied to his instructor. “Isn’t it fine?”

“If you want to get your left hand cut off, it’s great.” Weldon responded with a shrug and a flat look at his student. Harry had sheepishly shaken his head and Weldon chuckled. “If you’re using a one-handed grip, the free hand should be kept at your waist, your elbow bent. This keeps your hand from being a target. It also keeps your form together, preventing your arm from flailing and becoming a target as well.” Harry nodded as he took the stance to Weldon’s specifications. From there Harry was shown basic swings and blocks, along with footwork. Weldon had him practice these over and over again until their lesson ended two hours after it had begun.

“Thank you for the lesson, Mr. Rivers.” Harry nodded to the Wizard.

“I’ll see you on Wednesday morning at the same time, Mr. Potter.” Weldon informed Harry. “We’ll meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the duration of your summer break. I dare say we might have you at least competent in that time.” Weldon chuckled before heading off with Sirius to use the Floo.

With a couple hours left of the morning, Harry went to his smithy and jotted down some new notes. He was still constructing the attachments to his Flight Item at the moment. If he was lucky, he should be able to get the articulated gauntlets made over the summer to finish his Spell Ward Gauntlets and get them out of the prototype stage. Completing the next, and semi-final project, would see Regalia being completed. Well the first incarnation of Regalia, at any rate.

“Harry!” Fleur’s beautiful voice called out just after lunch. Harry felt a bright smile form as he turned to see his Veela girlfriend. She’d obviously come through the Floo in the living room. Fleur, as always, looked amazing. She was wearing a dark-beige button up shirt and black three-quarter pants, with navy blue shoes with a low-heel. Harry was in his bedroom jotting down notes on his semi-final project when she’d appeared in the doorway.

“Fleur!” Harry stood from his desk and welcomed her with open arms. The two embraced and held each other close for a bit. “I missed you.” Harry murmured into her ear.

“I missed you too.” Fleur tightened her hug and kissed his ear. Harry hugged her tighter in return. “I still love my gift.” She smiled beautifully as she pulled back and held up her right hand. On her wrist was the charm bracelet he’d made for her.

“I’m glad,” Harry smiled fondly at her. “It looks amazing on you, just like everything else.” Fleur pecked his lips for the compliment.

“Lay down with me?” Fleur requested as she took his hand and pulled him towards his bed. Harry wasn’t about to refuse and the two were soon cuddling after Fleur kicked off her shoes. They lay there just holding each other, sharing the occasional kiss, while murmuring sweet things to each other. Harry had wandlessly closed and locked his door a few moments after they’d gotten into the bed. He didn’t need Sirius thinking this would be the ‘perfect time’ for a prank or something. Even with nothing ‘heavy’ going on, Harry just wanted to lay here with Fleur in his arms without interruption. Fleur seemed to be of the same mind as she held him close.

“Besides holding each other, did you also come for your first lesson today?” Harry asked softly as his hand slowly moved up and down Fleur’s back. The silver-blonde smiled into his neck and left a kiss there. When she pulled back to look at him a warm smile was on her face.

“Oui, I’m so glad you three have welcomed me so completely, Mon amour.” Fleur gently rested her forehead against Harry’s.

“Of course, Fleur, we love you.” Harry replied their gazes meeting as love and affection practically poured from each of them. Fleur always felt her heart flutter when Harry said that. Knowing it wasn’t her Allure causing those words made all the difference for Fleur. She leaned forward and kissed her boyfriend. Harry returned the kiss and the two enjoyed their lip lock for several moments.

“I’m ready to learn, Harry.” Fleur beamed at him when she released his lips.

“Then learn you shall, Love.” Harry pecked her forehead gently and Fleur giggled. Her boyfriend was so doting, and she adored him all the more for it. They pulled away from each other and sat across from one another on his bed. “Do you know any Occlumency, Fleur?”

“Only the beginnings, I haven’t gotten very far yet.” Fleur informed him, she was curious how this Alternate Occlumency was different than what she had started learning.

“Do you know how to meditate?” Harry questioned and Fleur nodded. It was the most common suggestion to reach the first step of ‘clearing your mind’ in Occlumency. “Start with meditation, but instead of ‘clearing your mind’ focus on Magic.”

“What type of Magic?” Fleur tilted her head as she asked.

“Your Magic.” Harry grinned at her. “All you should be focused upon is your Magic, you want it, you’re meditating for it, you’re seeking it, let that be your only drive. No other thoughts or distractions, no other goals, just your Magic.”

“Alright…” Fleur took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. She closed her eyes and inhaled. A soft exhale followed and then a lighter inhale. Fleur’s breathing evened out as she slowly centered herself. Seeing Fleur sinking into her meditation, Harry joined her. It had been a little bit since the last time he’d checked on his own Occlumency.

‘Yeah, about the same as last time.’ Harry mused as his mind’s eye showed him his Core, surrounded by the thick, steel-like brambles completely. There were no gaps anymore. Taking a moment, Harry changed his perspective to the outside of his defense. The brambles were a complete sphere, as they had been for some time. The sphere was layer upon layer of the brambles, no gaps as the thorny vines entwined and coiled around each other, growing over each layer with more and more brambles. The initial ‘roots’ that had branched off from his Core to his body had grown much thicker. They were also joined by several dozen more such ‘roots’ that extended out in all directions. This natural defense of his mind seemed to only be growing stronger as his mana increased. He’d bet that any Legilimency used on him would have no effect now days. ‘Honestly, I wonder if any mental spell would work on me, Tonks, or Penny anymore? With this much defense, would the spells even be able to get through to affect our minds and Magic?’

Harry emerged from his introspection a short time later. Opening his eyes he noticed Fleur still in her meditation. With a soft smile he simply sat and waited for her to finish. Just gazing at his beautiful girlfriends was a favored pastime of his after all. Several minutes later and Fleur’s breathing changed. Her eyes opened a moment later and she blinked a few times.

“Welcome back,” Harry smiled softly at her. “How’d it go?”

“I…think I found my Magic, maybe?” Fleur seemed unsure and was looking to Harry for help and explanation.

“Did you see the little blue-white and purple-black spheres of light?” Harry inquired, knowing that both Tonks and Penny had discovered their own Magic in much the same state as his. “There may also have been some silvery-gray ones that were slightly larger mixed in.”

“Well…I don’t know why, but all of the spheres of light I saw were the silvery-gray ones.” Fleur told him and Harry’s eyes widened while his eyebrows shot up as high as they would go.

“All of them?” Harry gaped at his girlfriend slightly.

“Yes?” Fleur was very confused about her discovery. Harry was puzzled and started thinking. He considered everything he knew from the small sample-size he had to work with. He then compared what he knew with what he knew about Fleur. The most obvious answer, and quite possibly the right one, came to him in short order.

“Fleur, as a Veela, you have innate wandless abilities with fire Magics, right?” Harry questioned her as he pondered.

“Oui, all Veela do.” Fleur confirmed and Harry took this confirmation into consideration. After a moment of thought, Harry offered up his best hypothesis.

“That could very well be the reason.” Harry spoke up and began to lay out his thoughts for her. “Since Veela have that innate wandless ability, it could very well be that their mana is already more balanced than a Witch or Wizard’s is. Where Tonks, Penny, and I had to merge the blue-white and purple-black spheres together to form the silvery-gray ones; it might be that a Veela’s mana exists in that state naturally. If that’s true, you can skip the first merging step and move onto the second merging to create your Core.”

“I’ll try.” Fleur nodded to Harry. He leaned forward and captured her lips for a gentle kiss.

“For luck.” Harry smiled at Fleur.

“Merci, Harry.” Fleur gave him that warm, beautiful smile he adored before she closed her eyes and began to even out her breathing again. Harry was content to sit and wait for Fleur to finish. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that she’d form her Core. He knew Fleur, she was brilliant, and she worked hard to understand Magic. If anyone could complete Core Formation with this unknown variable thrown into the mix, Harry would put his money on Fleur.

Harry sat, waited, and just gazed on Fleur’s beauty for minute after minute. He didn’t worry about the time, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was being here for Fleur when she finished her Core Formation. He knew from experience that she’d be exhausted. She’d probably curl up on the bed and sleep almost immediately. He’d be there to hold her close as she rested and got her energy back from the arduous process.

A sharp gasp drew Harry’s attention to Fleur’s eyes about an hour after she’d started meditating. His girlfriend’s lovely blue eyes were open and she looked at him with amazement. Then she promptly gained a look of utter exhaustion. Harry pulled her into his arms and lay back on the bed.

“Tired…” Fleur mumbled as she snuggled closer to Harry and quickly dozed off.

“That’s about right.” Harry chuckled softly as he held Fleur. With a grin Harry kissed Fleur’s cheek and decided to doze off with her. It would be about two hours later when he was awoken by gentle kisses from his girlfriend. “Welcome back, Love.” He smiled at her.

“Thank you, Mon amour~” Fleur purred as she claimed his lips again. The two enjoyed a deep kiss for a bit before separating. “I feel different… I’m stronger, maybe?” She looked confused on how to describe having a Core now.

“Yeah, that’s your Magic syncing up with your body.” Harry explained as Fleur straddled him. “After some time, you can check your Occlumency and tell me what form it takes. Mine is brambles, Tonks’ is water, and Penny’s is metal, I think with your fire alignment your defense might be a literal hellscape of flames.”

“Possibly,” Fleur giggled even as her hands reached up and began undoing the buttons of her shirt. “Why don’t we celebrate our new betrothal, Mon amour?” With that Fleur opened her shirt to reveal a cute black bra that might have been a little too small on her large bosom.

“We can do that.” Harry smiled lovingly at her and Fleur giggled as she unhooked her bra and tossed it aside with her shirt. Her large breasts bounced in freedom and Harry quickly trailed his hands up her trim stomach to cup them both. Fleur mewled happily as Harry massaged her and played with her light-pink nipples. She gasped and cooed as Harry took one of them into his mouth and began to pleasure it. She ground into his hips as they explored further into their physical intimacy. It would be another hour before they left Harry’s room.

Fleur headed home to rest for the rest of the day after their fun. Pants had stayed on, for both of them to stay in control and not go too far. But the skin on skin contact of their chests pressing together as they kissed and held, or just outright groped, each other had been amazing. Sirius had wiggled his eyebrows after Fleur had left and Harry hit him with a Stinging Hex. Sirius had just started laughing while a red-faced Harry made his way out to his smithy until dinner was ready.

It was the next day when an unknown owl landed at Wood End Cottage. Sirius cast almost a dozen different detection Charms on it before he tried to retrieve it. The owl wouldn’t let him take the letter and held out its leg to Harry. With a nod from Sirius, Harry took hold of the letter and flipped it over. He grinned when he saw the name in the upper left hand corner of the envelope. The teen Artificer opened the letter and set the envelope aside, along with what looked like a small, carved stone. He started reading while Sirius looked on curiously. Leaning forward Sirius read the front of the envelope.

“Harry, why did you get a letter from Uagadou?” Sirius questioned his godson curiously.

“The Animagus Method of Europe is asinine, that’s why.” Harry quipped as he read the letter and a bright grin came to his face. “Sirius, can we have a special guest come over in a week or so?”

“Alright, Mister, what’s going on?” Sirius had a sterner tone than normal as he looked expectantly at Harry. While Sirius was usually the fun-loving Godfather to Harry, he also knew when to be serious and adult with him. Harry willingly handed over the letter to Sirius to let him read it.

-Letter from Uagadou-

Dear Artificer Potter,

It came as quite a surprise for the entire faculty here at Uagadou to receive your letter. We were pleased to receive it, however, and thank you for your kind words about our school.

Regarding your request to learn the Animagus Transformation from one of our Professors during your break from school. We have asked and Professor Mukisa, one of our Senior Transfiguration Professors, has agreed to your request to; ‘Trade some of Your Magic, for some of Ours’. As you stated in your letter to us.

If you have capability with Wandless Magic as you indicated in your letter and are not solely reliant on your wand, as most of your European peers are, then you should have little trouble learning the Transformation. On the second parchment Professor Mukisa will outline his request of you in exchange for his instruction. If you accept his terms simply write back to us, place the Messenger Stone in the envelope and seal it. Simply speak the word ‘tuma’ and the letter will reappear in Professor Mukisa’s office here at Uagadou.

                                                                             Nakutakia mema,

                                                                                      Babajide Akingbade

                                                                                      Headmaster, Uagadou

-End Letter-

Harry was quick to read over the second parchment with Professor Mukisa’s requested compensation. Harry exhaled, almost snorted, when he saw exactly what he expected on the parchment. It was a single short request for an Artifact to be made for the Professor. He would even provide the main material himself. Honestly it wasn’t a bad deal. If he had the material, Harry could forge out an Artifact, Minor Grade most likely, over the course of a week or two. It was made easier by the type that the Professor wanted.

“I need to get Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair inspected anyway. I’m damn sure I’ll shock any panel they send if I present two Artifacts for inspection at the same time!” Harry chuckled to himself as Sirius put down the letter.

“What’s this about two Artifacts?” Sirius looked stunned at his godson. “Aethereum nearly killed you, I won’t have you risking your life like that, Harry.”

“Sirius, I’m going to be honest with you,” Harry spoke politely, his tone calm and almost professional. “I believe my method of Enchanting and Artifice may be intrinsically better than what one can learn from books or the methods that are currently in use. Not only have I not come across any method exactly like it in any of my research. I believe it may be completely unknown to anyone else in the world. Not only that, but I’ve also upgraded my tools greatly. All of them are now enhanced with Arrays I devised myself, strengthened by Magical Metals that I transmuted myself, and most of them are forged from Basilisk Carbon Steel that I conquered myself. I’m almost fourteen, Sirius, yet I’ve developed my own style of Enchanting and Artifice already and continue to experiment and improve.”

“Harry, what are you trying to say?” Sirius looked a mix of proud and confused. He reached out and gently placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “You can tell me anything, Harry, you know that.”

“Sirius, if my armor and this Artifact that Professor Mukisa wants me to make for him are both certified as True Artifacts; that’ll put me at four Artifacts to my name, by age fourteen. Master Trevisan, the Head of Italy’s Enchanter Guild, is older than Dumbledore, has been an Artificer for over ninety years, and only has four True Artifacts to his name. I’m advancing and developing at a terrifying rate because of my method. Yet I feel like if I don’t advance, that something bad will happen. I don’t know where this feeling comes from, but it’s always there, it’s been lingering in the back of my mind since April. I guess I’m worried about the future.” Harry exhaled heavily as he shared a secret he’d kept from everyone for the last few months.

“Harry,” Sirius pulled his godson into a hug. “No matter what happens, I will always be here, on your side. No matter what may come, you have my support, never forget that.”

“Thank you, Sirius.” Harry hugged his godfather back and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders a bit.

“If you want to learn the Animagus Transformation the Uagadou way, then I completely support you. Let me know when you’d like Professor Mukisa to come and I’ll make sure we have the guest room ready.” Sirius grinned at him.

“You’re the best, Sirius.” Harry smiled at his godfather.

“Indeed I am!” Sirius chortled as he ruffled Harry’s hair.

“Oi!” Harry grimaced as he batted at Sirius hand and tried to straighten his hair a bit.

“I’ll call Tonks and Penny over for tomorrow,” Sirius mentioned with a teasing grin. “You obviously need some cheering up from this weird feeling. If your lovely ladies can’t do it, then I fear we’ll have to take you St. Mungos for Clinical Paranoia!”

“I’m not crazy, Sirius!” Harry raised his hands, palms up, while giving Sirius a flat stare.

“Exactly what a crazy person would say!” Sirius playfully accused.

“You looking for a hexing, Sirius?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at the older man.

“You think you can take on a Marauder, godson of mine?” Sirius pulled his wand and gave it a twirled.

“I know I can!” Harry declared as he sent a Tickling Charm at Sirius. The Marauder promptly batted it away and retaliated with a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Harry snuffed it out with a swipe of his hand.

“You’ll never defeat Padfoot of the Marauders!” Sirius called dramatically as he leapt away and dashed out of the kitchen.

“Bet!” Harry yelled as he gave chase.

Once more Wood End Cottage was filled with laughter and joy as Godfather and Godson playfully tussled. Anyone that didn’t know the situation would instantly think that Sirius and Harry were father and son. It was a heart-warming scene that had Tayla, the only witness, crying happy tears.

-End Chapter-

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Well now, between learning swordplay, finishing up some projects, learning the Animagus Transformation, crafting another Artifact in exchange for said lessons, and spending time with his Godfather and his girlfriends; I’d say Harry has a pretty busy summer ahead of him!

That’s not even counting the World Cup near the end of the summer!

Is Harry correct in that his Enchanting and Artificing style is wholly unique to himself?

Is his feeling of unease connected to He-Who-Just-Won’t-Die?

What comes next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,754

Tonks – 8,438

Penelope – 7,196

Fleur – 7,622

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 32: Animagus and Artifact

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry meets Professor Mukisa from Uagadou and starts learning the Animagus Transformation! What kind of Artifact does the Professor want in return?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 32 – Animagus and Artifact

Harry grinned, sitting in the living room, as he waited for Sirius to return from the Leaky Cauldron with Professor Mukisa. The man had sent an owl when he’d arrived and just needed Sirius to come and bring him to Wood End Cottage. The teen Artificer was looking forward to learning a much better and faster version of the Animagus Transformation. Not to mention he was eager to see what material the Professor was bringing him to make into an Artifact. All he’d mentioned in the letter was that it was from a certain Magical Creature.

At the moment Harry was simply going over some of his notes and working out more of his first original spell. Adding effects to a spell, or blending effects together, was tricky business in Spellcraft. Harry was still working out how to integrate the different spells that would make up the base of his own spell. So far he was making slow progress, but while Magic was varied and versatile, a balance did have to be maintained or any spell would fall apart. Thinking about it in those terms, it wasn’t all that different from Enchanting and Artifice. Unfortunately, Harry didn’t possess his own unique method for Spellcraft like he did for Artificing.

The flames in the fireplace flared green and Sirius emerged from the Floo. He moved aside while smiling at Harry and another man came through. The green flames died down and Harry stood up to meet the man. He was tall, probably around one-hundred-eighty-three centimeters. The man had short black hair, dark skin, and looked rather broad. As their guest waved his hand, the soot from the Floo vanished from his clothes. The top of the outfit appeared to be a cross between a robe and tunic, with multi-colored designs on them that Harry couldn’t even begin to guess the meanings of. The man wore regular pants in a dark-brown color as well. His feet were adorned in leather shoes and he had sharp brown eyes.

“Greetings, Artificer Potter, I am Professor Mukisa from Uagadou.” Mukisa introduced himself with a slight bow.

“It’s good to meet you, Professor Mukisa, I’m Harry Potter.” Harry introduced himself with his own slight bow.

“Let’s get you settled, Professor, then you and Harry can work out your agreement.” Sirius offered and Mukisa agreed. The two men left the living room towards the guest room. Harry had a good feeling about these lessons. He’d be sure to share them with Tonks, Penny, and Fleur. But that did bring up the question of if Veela could become Animagi. That was something else to look into during this busy summer.

Less than an hour later found Harry and Mukisa speaking in the living room. It was time to finalize their agreement and start their respective work. The two had some tea from Tayla to drink as they chatted and Sirius was sitting in a chair to watch over the deal.

“You’ll need to brew the required potion yourself, Mr. Potter.” Mukisa explained the first portion of the Uagadou way of learning the Animagus Transformation. “I’ll instruct you in the process, of course, and once it has been correctly brewed we’ll move on to the next step.”

“Is it a difficult potion to brew, Professor?” Harry questioned the man curiously. He didn’t much care for Potions after all. That was exacerbated further by Snape being the Potions Professor at Hogwarts.

“The potion is not especially difficult; it merely requires ingredients that are harder to come by in Europe as opposed to Africa. You’ll brew two doses and take one in the morning and one after nightfall. After that, it is merely a matter of letting your animal-self appear to you in your dreams. From there comes the longest part of the process; taking control of the beast and thereby taking on its form at will. Some beasts are more docile, which take the student less time to bring to heel and control. Other beasts will fight you every step of the way and will take much longer to subdue.” Mukisa explained the general process of the Uagadou Animagus Method.

“That’s still much better, and far simpler, than the European version.” Harry chuckled as he briefly went over all the ridiculous steps and requirements of the European version in his head. “I guess I should see the materials you’ve brought for me to use and explain the process of Artifice a bit. It is the payment you’ve asked for from me.”

“That would be much appreciated, Artificer Potter.” Mukisa smiled as he pulled a Mokeskin pouch out of the inner pocket of his tunic-like robe. Reaching inside the Professor pulled out a long, straight wooden branch. It was rather thick as well, being so large that the Professor could barely get his hand around it. Harry blinked at the large piece of wood. To his eyes the branch had Magic covering it like smoke or mist. Mukisa wasn’t done however; the man then pulled out two crooked horns and placed them on the coffee table next to the branch. To Harry’s surprise Mukisa reached into the Mokeskin pouch again and brought out a bag. When he opened the bag it was revealed to be full of black and white feathers. Both of the crooked horns, as well as the feathers in the bag, all gave off a Magic haze. Harry could easily see that the haze from the items all flowed towards Mukisa, a sure sign that he was the master of all three materials.

“What have you brought me?” Harry asked as he looked more closely at the three items.

“The branch of an Ancient Baobab Tree that was planted by my ancestors on the land that would become our family’s to this day. The horns of an Abada, sometimes associated with the Unicorn since their horns act as antidote to most poisons and can also cure most diseases, both Magical and not. Finally, these are the feathers of an Impundulu that attacked the village my family lives in last year.” Mukisa pointed to each material as he identified them for Harry.

“Hmm, yes, I can create an Artifact with these materials.” Harry nodded while examining one of the crooked horns. “So curing of poisons and disease, a magical branch, and feathers that seem to have an affinity towards electricity, or perhaps lightning?”

“Yes, an Impundulu is also known as a Lightning Bird. They are vampiric in their feeding and can be controlled through certain Rituals by the traditional witchcraft of South African Tribes like the Pondo, Xhosa, and Zulu. Why one came to attack our village is still unknown. As far as we’re aware we’ve done nothing to warrant such an attack.” Mukisa told the story of the material and how he’d come to acquire it. “I slayed the Impundulu with a whip of fire, the bird’s only known weakness.”

“It’s a good thing you did,” Harry looked at his soon-to-be Animagus Teacher. “Whether you knew it or not, you entered into a Rite of Conquest with the Impundulu and the Abada, so when you slayed them their bodies were ‘conquered’ by you. All of their Magic remained within them and now it can be crafted into an Artifact. If you had just brought me the horns and feathers after collecting them or buying them, then I wouldn’t have been able to do much more than perhaps make an Enchanted Item for you.”

“About how long will it take to craft the Artifact?” Mukisa inquired of his newest student.

“A bit over a week, maybe two?” Harry replied as he took one of the feathers in hand and looked at it more closely.

“Excellent,” Mukisa chuckled at the timeline. “Then we should have no troubles getting you well on your way to being an Animagi in that time.”

“Really?” Harry blinked in surprise at the speed that Mukisa was suggesting he could learn the Animagus Transformation.

“Of course, you didn’t think you’d learn the whole process in a day or something; did you?” Mukisa grinned, a small chortle escaping the tall man.

“I was expecting it to take longer, honestly.” Harry shook his head. He was pleased that it wouldn’t take up the whole summer at the very least.

“Not to worry, I’ve brought all the ingredients we need for you to brew the potion for yourself. I’ll be instructing you on its creation and then helping you as much as possible with getting your animal-self under control.” Mukisa informed the teen.

“Can’t wait.” Harry chuckled and Mukisa joined him along with Sirius.

So it went that the very next morning Harry was in the kitchen learning to brew the Uagadou Animagus Potion. He made sure to listen closely while also writing down every ingredient, the amounts used, when to add them, the heat required, when to stir the potion, including the number of times and in which direction. Every step was meticulously transcribed so that Harry could share his new knowledge with his girlfriends later.

“Now, take note of the time, Harry.” Mukisa motioned to the clock in the kitchen. “The last step is to let the potion simmer for twenty four hours. If you take it off the heat before the twenty four hours are up, then the potion will be ruined and you’ll have to start again.” Harry looked at the time, twenty six minutes after eleven in the morning, and noted it down. “Most brewers will leave the potion on the heat for an extra minute or two, just to be on the safe side. This is recommended as the extra minutes will not negatively affect the potion.”

“Alright,” Harry nodded as he stepped back from the small cauldron and left it to simmer. “I suppose it’s time for me to start holding up my end of our deal.” He motioned for Mukisa to follow him out to the smithy. Once the two were sat inside the workspace, Harry had Mukisa place the three materials down on the worktable. “Now, since the Artifact’s Form isn’t up to me, tell me what you want it to be.”

“Ideally I’d like a staff, one that can be used as an amplifying focus if possible.” Mukisa laid out his desire for the Artifact.

“I see, that’s not impossible, though with these materials it would only really amplify Healing Magics and Lightning-based spells. I might be able to work in a tertiary ability based on the materials too, but I’m not one hundred percent sure on that, so I won’t make any promises.” Harry informed his Animagus Teacher.

“How much amplification are you expecting?” Mukisa questioned, curious as to how strong the Artifact would make said spells.

“Hmm, based on the materials, I’d expect you to be able to heal most any sickness or poisoning, also injuries shouldn’t be much of a problem as long as they’re not mortal wounds. You might even be able to use a single spell on multiple people with this Artifact as your focus. As for the amplification to Lightning-based spells, those would be more directly proportional to how much innate mana the Artifact holds. Since these materials were all conquered by you, I may be a bit limited as to how much of my Magic I can impart to strengthen the Artifact as I craft it.” Harry informed the man honestly. Artificing for others would always hold a limit in Creature Craft; simply because the materials’ master wasn’t the Artificer.

“That’s acceptable.” Mukisa agreed and the man’s eyes had a bit of a far off look. It seemed to Harry that he was already planning uses for the Artifact once he had it.

“Do you want it bound to your Bloodline?” Harry asked the man pointedly. That was another layer of complexity, but one that Harry had experience with.

“You can do that?” Mukisa looked surprised and Harry simply nodded in response. “Then yes, I’d like to keep this Artifact within my family.”

“Then at some point during the creation process I’ll need your freely-given blood.” Harry saw Mukisa’s shoulders stiffen at his words and knew it was a hardwired response for most Magicals. Freely-given blood was one of the most powerful mediums to use for all sorts of spells and rituals. It wasn’t something you just handed to anyone, not even people you knew. “It is the only way for me to bind the Artifact to your Bloodline, you are more than welcome to be there when I do so and ensure all of the blood is used or destroyed to your own satisfaction.” He tried to placate the tense Wizard.

“Very well…” Mukisa exhaled heavily. “I will do so.”

“Thank you for your trust, Professor.” Harry gave a small bow to the man. “I’ll begin drawing up the plans now if you’d like to relax inside.” Mukisa gave a nod to his student and stood up from his seat. In just a few moments he left the smithy so that Harry could work in peace.

The next morning, at eleven forty five, Harry portioned out two vials of the Animagus Potion and stoppered one of them. The other he looked at warily. It was thick, had a dark-green color, and didn’t smell good. Mukisa motioned for him to drink it and Harry heard Sirius snicker in the background. With a grimace, Harry upended the vial and drank down the contents. It was bitter, tasted horrible, and Harry forced himself not to wretch. With a deep exhale he set the empty vial aside.

“Now we wait until nightfall before you drink the second one, Harry.” Mukisa reminded the teen with a smile. Harry gave a half-smile at best in return, prompting both Mukisa and Sirius to laugh.

Harry returned to his work for the rest of the day while Mukisa and Sirius went out together to ‘see the sights’ for the African Wizard. Harry had the plans for the staff drawn up and was ready to begin the creation process. The first thing he was going to do was make a solid bar of Sylvuan. This would be the core for the staff and what he’d transcribe the majority of the Runes on to enable the staff to function as a focus. Once he formed the bar, then he’d proceed to shape it into a pole. From there the actual transcribing could begin. With his plan set, Harry fired up his forge and gathered some of the ingots of Sylvuan he’d made. Honestly, he was starting to run out of space to store the amount of various ingots he’d already made. He stashed them away, saving them for future projects, shortly after transmuting them. But it was better to have the materials than not, at least in Harry’s opinion anyway.

That night Harry drank the second round of the Animagus Potion. He, once again, forced himself not to wretch and breathed heavily after drinking it. Mukisa told him that he would probably have a vivid dream about his animal-self tonight and to make sure he remembered as many details as possible. It would all help him on his path to becoming an Animagi. Harry wondered how vivid the dream would be and if he’d be able to remember it. He was usually fifty-fifty on remembering anything about his dreams.

Dark, the smell of a forest, moving along, quick and sure, he was fleet of foot and following the trail his senses had picked up. Without warning he was in the middle of the dark forest. In front of him, hidden by the gloom, was a pair of bright eyes that seemed to glow. He couldn’t make out much more though, the darkness too heavy and obscuring the rest of the creature’s form. There was a strange noise and then a falling sensation.

“Huh?!” Harry startled awake and blinked at seeing the sun coming through the windows of his bedroom. “Okay, so when Mukisa said vivid dream he meant vivid! “What was that though? A forest, dark as if it was night, but I could navigate easily, what kind of animal was it though?” Unable to piece together exactly what his form could be, Harry got out of bed and headed for breakfast.

After breakfast Mukisa asked Harry about any dreams he may have had. After relaying what he remembered to his teacher, Harry waited for the man to think. Mukisa looked thoughtful, mulling over Harry’s words and the description of his dream. He had experience with dozens and dozens of students becoming Animagi and was pulling from that experience to try and help Harry figure out his animal form.

“I’d say it is obvious that your form is a nocturnal, forest-dwelling species.” Mukisa spoke after a few minutes. “I can’t rule out your hypothesis of an Eastern Dragon of some kind, since I’m not entirely familiar with all of the species in that area of the world. I wouldn’t get your hopes up though. There have been no documented cases of a Magical Creature Animagus ever recorded.”

“I know, but it would be cool to be the first.” Harry grinned and both Sirius and Mukisa laughed at the teen. “What? It would be!” Harry declared, but that just made both men laugh harder. He rolled his eyes as he left to his smithy. He still had work to do for the Artifact. Today was the day he etched the Sylvuan pole with the Runic Array he’d come up with for it.

The next day, after another night of vivid dreams involving forests and the dark of night, Harry met Weldon for another swordsmanship lesson. Both Mukisa and Sirius watched on as Harry was directed through the motions and instructed on his footwork. The spar, if you could call it that, at the end of practice was a quick showing of how much further Harry had to go. In three strikes the teen had been disarmed and Weldon was telling him what he’d done wrong. Then Harry had to pick up his wooden sword again and start over. The afternoon was spent grinding down the Abada horns to make use of them in the next part of the staff’s creation.

“Well, I think I can safely say my form isn’t a dragon.” Harry mentioned at breakfast with a small sigh. It would have been cool to be a dragon!

“Did you have a breakthrough with you dreams?” Mukisa asked his student with a smile.

“I did,” Harry nodded to his teacher. “I was able to make out a set of pointed ears and what I think is a rather fluffy tail.”

“Hmm, perhaps a fox, or maybe a wolf?” Mukisa pondered on the pointed ears and fluffy tail that Harry had described.

The majority of the day was split between Harry’s projects and further processing the powdered Abada horns. Harry was going to mix them into molten Oulm and then use the resulting metal to strengthen and make permanent the Runes he was etching into both the Sylvuan pole and the, currently untouched, Baobab branch. He just had to split the large branch down the middle and then carve the wood to hold the Sylvuan pole. Carving the Runic Array inside and then filling all of the Runes with the Oulm and powdered Abada horn mixture would facilitate the connection and addition of the desired properties from the materials. Once that was done he’d shave down the outside of the branch to a more manageable thickness and then work in the Impundulu feathers for the finishing touches.

The next morning, Harry received a surprise visit from all three of his girlfriends. They got to meet Mukisa and hear about Harry’s latest dream. It was Tonks’ snickering that drew everyone’s eyes to the Metamorph. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her, Tonks brought her chuckles under control.

“Something you want to share, Nym?” Harry asked his eldest girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe~” Tonks teased with a grin. Seeing the looks she was getting, the Metamorph spoke her thoughts. “You’re a raccoon, Harry.”

“What?” Harry blinked at the sudden blunt statement.

“How do you figure?” Penny questioned her friend.

“Do share, Nym.” Fleur tilted her head, a habit she had when she was curious about something.

“I’ve seen a raccoon before.” Tonks replied with a small smile. “They have them at the zoo my dad took me to as a kid. He was adamant that I know a bit about the Muggle World so that I could blend in better than the majority of Witches and Wizards. What Harry described from his dream is practically identical. Not to mention it fits his personality pretty well.”

“How is my personality anything like a raccoon’s?” Harry grumbled, but that only made Tonks snicker at him again.

“Tell me Harry, how many shiny metal things do you have hoarded away in your smithy?” Tonks asked in a faux innocent tone.

“A good amount, but I need them for future projects.” Harry admitted, suddenly not liking where this conversation was headed.

“Raccoons are fairly intelligent, like our Harry. They like shiny objects and hoard them, like our Harry. They’re inquisitive and curious, just like Harry. It seems like a perfect fit to me…” Tonks giggled as Harry hung his head in defeat. “Therefore, Harry’s a Trash Panda.”

“Trash Panda?” Sirius blinked at the unfamiliar term.

“I heard it from a Yank that came to the Ministry a few weeks back for a talk with old Barty Crouch, the Head of International Cooperation.” Tonks shrugged even as Harry practically pouted next to her. “Apparently it’s a slang term for raccoons over in the States.” She chuckled while wrapping her arm around Harry’s shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

“So Harry thought he might be a dragon, but he was really a raccoon?” Sirius snorted while Harry was smothered by Tonks and Penny. Fleur held her hand over her mouth to stifle her own giggles.

“It’s not funny.” Harry mumbled out from where he was trapped between Penny and Tonks.

“It really is, Harry.” Penny kissed his cheek with a smile. “You can’t get much different than a small mammal and a dragon.”

“Don’t worry, Harry~” Tonks cooed to her boyfriend. “When you master your Animagus Transformation we’ll all be happy to pet you as a raccoon. You’ll be soft and fluffy then.”

“Oui, you’ll be very cute, Harry.” Fleur smiled warmly at him.

‘Okay, maybe a small, fluffy animal isn’t the worst form to have.’ Harry mused internally as he settled into Tonks and Penny’s embrace.

“Well, if this realization has come to you now, the dream tonight will most likely reveal the true form if you’ve actually figured it out.” Mukisa chuckled lightly. “I’m not familiar with raccoons myself, but I doubt it’ll put up as much fight as a dragon would have. You might very well master your form within the next week or so.”

“Silver linings and all that.” Harry shrugged, wrapping his arms around Penny and Tonks’ waists and holding them close. Fleur gave a pleasant smile as she plopped herself in Harry’s lap and leaned back into her boyfriend.

“Hey now, get a room you brats!” Sirius laughed at the foursome. “We have a guest you know.”

“Maybe we will!” Tonks, maturely, blew a raspberry at Sirius. In short order the four of them had left the room and headed upstairs. It was an afternoon well spent, in Harry’s opinion!

The dream that night did indeed confirm that Harry’s form was a raccoon. The masked face, the small snout, the ringed-tail, and the grey fur were all easily recognizable after Harry had seen a picture of the animal. It wasn’t overly helpful, or powerful, but Harry didn’t mind. He wanted to experiment and see if he could still use Magic while transformed. He didn’t need a wand after all, so what would be stopping him? With his form discovered, Mukisa moved on to helping Harry feel his animal form within. To start drawing on the animal and taking on its form. The raccoon was not exactly helpful with this. The animal’s skittish and suspicious nature showing through in the Magic that Harry was trying to perform. The progress would be slow and steady by Mukisa’s judgement. But it would still be faster than most that had larger, predatory animals as their form.

A few days later and Harry had Mukisa standing off to the side as he prepared to finish the man’s staff in one long stretch of work. He had all of the materials prepared; now he just needed Mukisa to add his freely-given blood to the Oulm and Abada horn mixture. The tall man nodded to his student and proceeded to slice his palm over the vessel holding the mixture. Harry motioned for him to stop after a few moments and Mukisa healed his palm with several waves of his opposite hand. Only a red line remained after the Professor was done healing himself.

Harry mixed the blood into the Oulm and Abada horn compound and when it was settled he began. The Runic Arrays on the Sylvuan pole and the inside of the carved out Baobab branch were filled with the new compound. Once the rune work was done, Harry brought the two halves of the branch together again and sealed them with Magic. Next came the most time-consuming part. The teen Artificer began to shave down the thick branch into a proper staff. Mukisa watched on as the teen worked. It was an amazing sight to witness as Harry devoted all of himself and his focus to the act of creation. More and more of the wood was removed, the former branch now shaping into a smooth and refined form. Hours later and Harry looked over his work. The staff was formed and straight, the body smooth and comfortable in hand. One end of the staff was larger and rounded and Mukisa correctly assumed that it would be the head of the staff.

“Woo~” Harry exhaled as he walked over to the worktable that had the bag of Impundulu feathers on it.

Harry set the staff down and then proceeded to add small holes all over the rounded head of the staff with a tool that looked like a small icepick and a tiny hammer. When Harry seemed satisfied with the number he took one of the black and white feathers and stuck the calamus of the feather into one of the many tiny holes. A whisper from the Artificer and the feather became a part of the staff forevermore. Mukisa lost track of time as he watched Harry work. Feather after feather added to the head of the staff. It almost looked like a broom when Harry was halfway through the bag. When Harry ran out of the holes he’d made but still had some feathers left, he picked up the two small tools and made more holes. When the last feather was added and Harry whispered again, the teen tapped the head of the staff with his right index finger. Then he tapped the staff along the length, when he got to the base of the staff and tapped it Mukisa gasped. A force was in the air. It was familiar, he knew this feeling, and it was welcoming.

Harry smiled at his work proudly and turned to the Artifact’s master. He chuckled lightly as he saw the entranced look on his Animagus teacher’s face. No doubt the man felt the exact moment his staff had been finished and solidified as a single object. Waving his hand to get Mukisa’s attention, Harry held out the finished Artifact to him. Mukisa walked forward and took the staff into his hands. A connection immediately formed and a smile made its way onto his face reflexively.

“What will you call it?” Harry questioned softly as Mukisa ran his hands along the Artifact gently.

“Umvikeli Wempilo, the Life Protector.” Mukisa smiled at the staff, the head covered in the black and white feathers made a sharp contrast to the brown of the wood.

“A fine name.” Harry agreed with a smile. “I was also able to add the tertiary ability I mentioned. You like flying?”

“It can fly?” Mukisa blinked at Harry, the man seemed dumbfounded.

“Yep,” Harry chuckled as he stood up and stretched, small pops were heard as he moved compleltely for the first time in hours. “As its’ master, it’ll respond to you better than any broom could ever hope to. It’s speed is only limited by how much mana you give it. Let me go get Sirius’ broom and I’ll join you for a flight.”

In short order Mukisa, a grown man of fifty-four years of age, was whooping like a child as he flew through the air above Wood End Cottage. Even sitting sideways on the staff he had no fear of falling as he zipped around and made sharp turns. The staff would not let its’ master fall from it. Harry followed along as best as Sirius’ older broom could. There was a bright smile on his face at seeing Mukisa’s joy. It was always nice to have your work so well-recieved. Not to mention he now had two Artifacts to have inspected by a panel of his peers! Wouldn’t that be fun! He should get that scheduled with Sirius soon. But for now, he’d enjoy the freedom of flight.

-End Chapter-

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Harry’s a Trash Panda!!! *Cackles*

Animagus is well on its way! Not to mention Harry has completed Mukisa’s Artifact! Now he has two for a panel to judge! He’s going to blow the minds of the entire Enchanter and Artificer community!

How strong is Mukisa’s Staff? Harry couldn’t put all of his power into materials that he wasn’t the master of.

His other projects are still coming along as well! What’s the semi-final project he’s been working on in secret?

What is Voldemort up to?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 6,938

Tonks – 8,694

Penelope – 7,412

Fleur – 7,756

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 33: Two Artifacts, New Item

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time to shock the Enchanter and Artificer community! Double potential Artifacts to judge! Not to mention we get to see Harry’s semi-secret project he’s been doing in his spare time!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 33 – Two Artifacts, New Item

Harry looked over Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair that was on a transfigured mannequin made from stone and attached to the ground. He was giving it a last cleaning before the panel of Artificers arrived. Mukisa stood just a bit away while holding Umvikeli Wempilo in his right hand. The black and white feathers that adorned the head of the staff moving in the slight summer breeze. This was the first time that Harry would be presenting multiple Artifacts at the same time. So the teen Artificer wanted to make sure everything would go smoothly.

Voices from the front of Wood End Cottage caught Harry and Mukisa’s attention. It would seem that Sirius was back with the panel. His godfather had offered to meet the group in Diagon Alley and then portkey them to the Cottage. Harry had most certainly appreciated Sirius’ help with actually getting the other Aritificers to their home. Considering he’d only had his Artifacts tested at Hogwarts so far, this was a big help. Around the side of the Cottage, led by Sirius, were a group of four Aritificers. Harry didn’t recognize any of them this time however.

“Very nice to meet you, Artificer Potter.” The first new person spoke up. She was olive-skinned, and spoke with an accent. Her hair was black and she had sharp hazel eyes. “My name is Rosa Moretti; I’m an Artificer that works for the Italian Ministry of Magic. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for sixteen years and have two True Artifacts to my name. Master Trevisan speaks highly of you.”

“Good to meet you as well, Artificer Moretti.” Harry returned the greeting with a smile. “Please give Master Trevisan my regards the next time you see him.”

“Good to meet you, Artificer Potter.” The next Artificer stepped forward to shake Harry’s hand.  He was fairly tall, with fair skin and light blonde hair. His blue eyes were alight with curiosity, glancing occasionally at both Artifacts. “I’m Mathis Claes from Belgium. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for twenty eight years and have three True Artifacts to my name.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Artificer Claes.” Harry shook the man’s hand firmly. Mathis definitely had the hands of a craftsman. The other witch stepped forward to greet Harry next.

“Pleased to be here and meeting the youngest Artificer in history.” The woman smiled with warm amber eyes. She was older, her brunette hair beginning to gray. But only a faint few wrinkles on her skin. “I’m Gitte Madsen, an Artificer from Denmark. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for forty years and have three True Artifacts to my name.”

“A pleasure, Artificer Madsen.” Harry shook the woman’s hand with a smile.

“Good to meet you, Artificer Potter.” The next Artificer stepped forward to shake Harry’s hand.  He was average in height, with dark-brown eyes, and a full head of dark-brown hair. “My name is Simon Eder. I’m an Artificer employed by the Austrian Ministry of Magic. I’ve held the Title of Artificer for thirty three years and have four True Artifacts to my name.”

“Glad to meet you, Artificer Eder.” Harry shook his hand as well.

With introductions finished Harry motioned the panel towards Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair first. The Basilisk Scale Mail was ready to be tested and Harry wanted Mukisa to actually see the testing process before the panel tested Umvikeli Wempilo. The four Artificers quickly surrounded the armor an started looking it over. Wands were drawn and the Artificers began to poke and prod at the Basilisk Carbon Steel. Harry stood next to Mukisa and watched on without worry. He heard the four talking amongst themselves but couldn’t fully make out what they were saying.

“Is it always like this?” Mukisa questioned and Harry nodded. Sirius stood on Harry’s opposite said watching the panel work. He’d never seen Harry’s Artifacts tested before and was curious.

“Yep, they look the Artifact over, then make inferences of their own from their experience. They’ll compare what they see to what I claim it can do before they start the physical portion of the test.” Harry explained, watching as Artificer Madsen tapped the back of the armor in various places with her wand. “That includes throwing various types of spells at it, as well as hitting it with as much physical force as they can. Sometimes they’ll set it on fire, submerge it in water, or attempt to freeze it too. It depends on the Artifact and its intended purpose.”

“Will Umvikeli Wempilo survive such tests?” Mukisa looked worriedly at his staff.

“It’ll be fine, I guarantee it.” Harry smiled at his Animagus Teacher.

“Artificer Potter, we’re ready to begin the trials, are you prepared?” Artificer Eder asked from the distance the panel had walked away from Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair.

“Do your worst, my Basilisk Scale Mail won’t falter.” Harry nodded to the panel with complete confidence.

“I like that confidence!” Artificer Moretti laughed brightly. She was the first to cast a spell at the armor. Harry wasn’t quite sure which spell it was, as it splashed against Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair and did nothing. The orange sparks of the spell dispersing into the air after a moment.

“Something more esoteric, perhaps?” Artificer Claes wondered before he made an intricate motion with his wand and lashed a bright yellow light from the tip. The whip-like spell also splashed against the Basilisk Scale Mail without leaving a mark.

“How about moisture?” Artificer Madsen mused as she conjured a sphere of water and submerged the armor in it. With two flicks of her wand the water surrounding the armor froze solid.

“Freeze it then smash it.” Artificer Eder nodded at the idea. A sharp jab with his wand and the ice exploded like it had just been smashed by a large vehicle slamming into it. Still Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair stayed on the, now cracked, stone mannequin without a single hint of damage.

“How is its heat resistance?” Artificer Claes questioned as he focused and a very familiar flame leapt from his wand. The Fiendfyre engulfed the Basilisk Scale Mail and roared as it tried to burn it to nothing. The tongues of flame were contained by the Artificer’s focus as he held the spell for several moments. He snuffed the cursed fire out with some effort and the Artificers got close to inspect for damage. Aside from the stone mannequin now being partially melted, no damage had been done.

“Okay, so it’s basically spell-proof.” Artificer Moretti admitted; the youngest of the panel still had a smile on her face. “Let’s see how good it is against physical force.” With a few waves and loops of her wand, a large section of the ground was dug up. The dirt was transfigured to stone in a shape reminiscent of a spearhead. With a final flick of her wand, she sent the stone spearhead rocketing towards the armor. A loud clang followed as the stone mannequin shattered under the force. The spearhead shattered and Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair went flying. The armor bounced along the ground twice before coming to a stop several meters from its original position.

“Harry, I’m going to ask you not to get hit with any large physical objects while you’re wearing your armor.” Sirius looked at his godson imploringly.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Harry shook his head. Even though his armor was spell-proof and physically resistant to damage, that didn’t mean Harry’s body would come out unscathed if he took a massive object head on. Armor, even the Magical kind, had its limits and Harry wasn’t about to sit still and hope a large object or a pinpoint spell wouldn’t circumvent his Artifact.

Harry watched on as the four Artificers looked over Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair for any damage after the test. Hearing murmurs as they checked over each section for damage, he was still confident that his armor had made it through the test without harm. He was proven correct as the tests continued. More stone was transfigured and then piled on top of his armor. Each of the blocks of stone must have weighed twenty kilograms or perhaps a bit more. But even as more and more weight was added, the armor didn’t compress or flatten. That was good to know, he wouldn’t have to worry about his armor being crushed with him in it.

The panel convened for a bit, talking in hushed whispers. After several minutes, and what looked like a small argument, Artificer Eder stepped forward and pointed his wand at the Basilisk Scale Mail again. The tip of the man’s wand glowed an ominous green color and Harry heard both Sirius and Mukisa gasp.

“Avada Kedavra!” Eder cast the Killing Curse at Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair. The green spell hit the armor with a sound similar to metal striking metal. The green light splashed against the armor and broke apart into sparks. The sparks disappeared near instantly and the Basilisk Scale Mail laid on the ground with only a soot mark to show for damage.

“It didn’t break…” Artificer Madsen blinked, her hand rising to her mouth in shock.

“Even if physical objects can block the Killing Curse; they almost always explode when hit by it.” Artificer Claes stared at the armor that was still undamaged.

“So we agree now?” Artificer Moretti asked the other three. “It’s definitely more than a Minor Grade, right?”

“Yes, I’d say so.” Artificer Eder nodded his agreement.

“Agreed.” Artificer Madsen also agreed with the assessment.

“Without a doubt.” Artificer Claes concurred with his colleagues.

The four approached Harry as a group to give their verdict. After going over the armor’s resilience and spell-proof nature, Harry was happy to hear the next words. It was always nice to not only have your work praised, but to know that your own judgement was getting better.

“Your armor is most definitely an Artifact, Artificer Potter. We’ve concluded it to be of the Median Grade. While it’s an exemplary piece of Magical Armor, it is only that as well, just armor. Had it had some form of amplifying Effect, or another ability worked into it we’d have given it the Greater Grade.” Artificer Madsen smiled at the teen as she explained their determination of Grade.

“I was fairly sure it would be a Median Grade as well.” Harry smiled back at the woman. “I’m glad to see my own judgement is improving, at least when it comes to my own creations.”

“We still have another Artifact to test, correct?” Artificer Claes questioned as he looked at Umvikeli Wempilo in Mukisa’s hand. “I must say, this is the first time I’ve been apart of a panel that was testing two Artifacts at once.”

“I’m afraid the staff is already bound to Professor Mukisa’s Bloodline, so he’ll have to demonstrate its abilities for you.” Harry informed the panel of Artificers.

“That’s perfectly fine, of course,” Artificer Moretti shrugged her shoulders. “We’ll need to inspect it first, then see what it can do in its Master’s hands. After all that, then we’ll move onto physical tests.”

“Very well,” Mukisa held the Artifact staff out horizontally to the group. It was Artificer Eder who took hold of it. The Professor watched the four closely as they went over the staff from end to end. Every feather was looked at individually, the wood was inspected, and Harry noticed that all four Artificers had communed with the Artifact to try and glean its interior properties.

“Excellent craftsmanship, Artificer Potter.” Artificer Claes praised the teen after the inspection was finished. “The finish of the staff is smooth and the feathers are all immaculately blended into the head.”

“Thank you, Artificer Claes.” Harry nodded to the man.

“Professor, if you could demonstrate the staff’s abilities?” Artificer Eder handed the staff back to Mukisa.

“Yes, of course.” Mukisa acknowledged as he took Umvikeli Wempilo from the man and walked a good distance away. A single shake of the staff and then a point towards the sky sent a bolt of lightning into the air. Mukisa waved the staff through the air in front of him and three balls of electricity formed. With a jab of the staff all three of the orbs flew forward at speed and struck the same spot on the ground dozens of meters away. With a swing of the staff in a complete circle, Mukisa made a ring of lightning and maintained it without visible strain. Letting the ring fade after a few moments. Mukisa then held the staff horizontally, sat on it sideways, and flew back over to the panel, Harry, and Sirius. The four Artificer’s eyes widened at the display of flight, having not expected that ability from the staff.

“You’ll need something to heal to show that ability of the staff.” Harry mused for a second before casting a Cutting Charm on his own arm. Blood flowed from the lengthly cut he now had on his left arm.

“Harry?!” Sirius cried out, his concern for his godson apparent. “Why’d you do that?!”

“I’ll be fine in a second Sirius.” Harry assured his godfather with a grin. “Mukisa, if you would?” He held out his sliced arm to his Animagus Teacher.

“You could have warned me you were going to do that, Harry.” Mukisa shook his head. A muttered ‘teenagers’ was heard from the Professor before he held the staff over Harry’s injury. The flowing blood running down Harry’s arm stopped its course. The red liquid reversed its flow and re-entered the cut, a moment later and the skin cleany knitted itself back together without a mark being left behind.

“I knew it wouldn’t be a problem.” Harry gave the Professor a smile. “It heals even better than I thought. It was just a shallow injury, but it was gone in seconds and even cleaned and returned the blood that was still on my arm.”

“Very interesting,” Artificer Madsen commented on the amplified healing ability of the staff. “Amplified power and control over Lightning-based spells as well as amplifying Healing Magics? Those are two very different types of Magic.”

“I suppose all that’s left are the physical tests then.” Artificer Eder commented as he looked at the staff in Mukisa’s hand. The Professor handed the staff over and the four Artificers walked away to begin. Mukisa still looked mildly worried but Harry was completely calm.

As Umvikeli Wempilo was created by his own hand, Harry was privy to its Destruction Method, the only way that the Artifact could be destroyed. Using the symbolism of Creature Craft, both from the Abada horns and Mukisa’s freely-given blood, Harry had pulled off a special trick with his first commissioned Artifact. He’d tied the staff’s existence to its Master’s. So long as Mukisa drew breath Umvikeli Wempilo could not be destroyed. This would remain true so long as the staff had a Master that had freely-given their blood to it. As it was bound to Mukisa’s Bloodline, this was limited to his children and future descendants. In order to destroy the staff, you first had to kill its Master. So long as the Artifact was never misued and causing harm, Harry had no reason to share or apply this knowledge.

Spell after spell was used against the staff as the test was carried out. Fire, explosions, cutting charms and severing curses, none of them so much as left more than a scratch on the staff or some soot. Even the feathers weren’t really damaged by the spells. The physical attempts to break the staff failed too. Hitting it against the rocks they’d already transfigured didn’t work. Trying to cut it with a saw and an axe didn’t work either. Trying to smash it yielded no results, other than covering the staff in dust and dirt.

“After discussing the staff’s abilities and testing its resilience we can confirm it as an Artifact.” Artificer Claes informed Harry. “Determining the Artifact’s Grade was slightly more difficult. It does what it’s meant to wonderfully, amplifying Lightning-based spells and Healing Magics. Though through our inspection, we were able to get a rough estimate of the amount of amplification for spells not of those two types. With these factors in mind we’ve determined the Artifact to be of the Minor Grade. If it had more power, or a broader range of spell types that it could strengthen, then the Artifact would have gained Median Grade without question.”

“I thought as much,” Harry accepted the decision easily. “It was my first time creating an Artifact for someone else, as well as combinding Rune-based Artifice with Creature Craft Artifice. Using materials that I wasn’t the Master of limited my ability to infuse my mana and strengthen it.”

“I am more than pleased with Umvikeli Wempilo, Harry. It is a masterwork in my eyes.” Mukisa assured Harry with a bright smile.

“That is the last part of confirming the Artifacts, we’ll need a name for both of them.” Artificer Moretti reminded and Harry gave her the name of his armor.

“The Basilisk Scale Mail armor is called Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair,” Harry informed the second youngest Artificer there. “Don’t worry, I’ll write it down.” He chuckled at seeing the woman’s blank face.

“This I’ve named Umvikeli Wempilo, the Life Protector.” Mukisa smiled at his staff. “I will also write it down for you.” The Professor laughed at seeing the same blank look on Artificer Moretti’s face.

“If I might ask, Artificer Potter,” Artificer Eder spoke up, his gaze locked on Harry. “How is it that in three years of being an Artificer, you’ve managed to create four True Artifacts? Such speed is unheard of. Not only that, you’ve made two Minor Grade, one Median Grade, and even a Greater Grade in that time. Your achievements are astounding.”

“I’m afraid my creation process is a secret, Artificer Eder.” Harry replied evenly to the older man. “We each have our own secrets, my production and creation method is something I developed on my own with much trial and error. I’m sure you can understand my want to keep it to myself?”

“Fair enough, Artificer Potter.” Eder nodded to the teen with a small grin.

It was a short time later, after Harry and Mukisa had provided Artificer Moretti with the proper spellings of the two Artifacts’ names, that the panel left. Moretti would be filing the appropriate paperwork with the British Ministry of Magic and taking a copy for the Enchanters Guild so they could add Umvikeli Wempilo and Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair to the Book of True Artifacts, the next time it was reprinted.

Harry felt good about this newest accomplishment as well. To have four True Artifacts to his name in three years was record breaking! He felt some pride is his ever developing skills as an Artificer. With these two projects now officially complete, Harry could finish up his last side project that he’d been working on in his spare time. This was the last step, aside from finishing the upgraded version of his Flight Item, and making proper articulated gauntlets, and then Regalia would be complete.

‘Well, no time like the present.’ Harry chuckled mentally as he made his way to his smithy to finish up the last of the work on the Item in question.

-Voldemort’s Hideout ~ Albania-

“Flint!” Voldemort raised his voice and Stephen Flint nearly tripped over himself as he entered the room as fast as he could.

“Yes, my Lord?” Stephen asked with his head bowed low.

“Prepare to leave this hovel.” Voldemort instructed his lone servant. “It is time we returned to Britain so that I may start reminding those who serve me of their oaths.” The Dark Lord’s eyes seemed to glow a brighter red.

“My Lord, are you sure you’ve recovered enough for that?” Stephen questioned the homunculus-bodied Wizard shakily.

“Crucio!” Voldemort hissed out. Stephen screeched horrifically as every nerve in his body felt as if white hot knives were digging into them. He was freed from his suffering a few moments later. The discarded member of the Flint House laid twitching and crying on the dirty floor of the small stone cottage. “Never question me, Flint. Know your place and do as you’re told.”

“Y-Yes, my L-Lord.” Stephen breathed out as he crawled his way to his feet and stumbled out of the room. He had things to gather to take with them.

‘Fool thinks he can question me?’ Voldemort thought darkly watching the pitiful Wizard shakily staggering out of the room. ‘He should know better.’

Too be fair, though Voldemort himself would never think or admit it, the Dark Lord wasn’t anywhere near what he’d been before Halloween night of Eighty One. His homunculus body didn’t look like a frail, decrepit old man’s anymore. That wasn’t saying much though. He was still very thin, his eyes sunken slightly, and though he hid it well that single, brief casting of Crucio had taken a substantial portion of his weakened Magic. While he was recovering, it would still take time for him to return to any semblance of his former power. It could even be another ten months or even a year, in the absolute best-case scenario.

‘No matter, I’m strong enough now, the weaker ones that have left me to cling to life will be the first to renew their loyalty.’ Voldemort planned his return to Britain with revenge and malice in mind. He’d bleed those fool’s vaults dry to speed up his recovery and further empower himself if necessary! They were merely pawns and would act as such!

-Wood End Cottage ~ Third Week of August-

“This is what you’ve been working on?” Sirius raised his eyebrow at the mantle Harry had over his shoulders.

“I think it looks nice.” Penny admired the cloth, mostly black with silver swirl-like designs throughout. It had a certain charm about it that she liked.

“Not many people wear a mantle everyday though, any particular reason you chose to knit one for yourself?” Tonks appeared more confused about the choice rather than why Harry had made the item.

“Perhaps Harry is seeking to make his own fashion statement?” Fleur lightly teased her boyfriend with a melodic giggle.

“That’s not it…” Harry deadpanned at his French girlfriend. This just made Fleur giggle further, of course. “This is a new item, and technically the final one to complete my Regalia project.”

“So, what does it do, exactly?” Sirius questioned his godson. Regalia, according to Harry, was supposed to be a combination of his creations meant to be used to keep him safe should anything crazy happen. Sirius heavily approved of anything that would keep Harry safe, of course, but didn’t understand how the mantle was going to do that.

“Glad you asked Sirius!” Harry grinned brightly. “If all of you would send a spell my way, I’d be happy to demonstrate!”

“Are you sure?” Tonks, Penny, and Fleur all asked in unison. Sirius cracked up while Harry stopped just short of pouting.

“Yes, Loves, go ahead, I’ll be fine.” Harry assured his girlfriends with a smile.

Four spells were launched at the teen Artificer simultaneously. Harry fed mana into his mantle and the cloth seemingly came to life. One end shot forward and turned, leaving the cloth between the four spells and Harry. All four spells struck the mantle and seemingly disappeared. Sirius, Tonks, Fleur, and Penny all blinked in shock when their spells vanished into thin air. Harry grinned at their shocked faces, while noting the four dots of color now seemingly floating within the mantle’s multitude of silver swirls. These dots each retained the color of one of the spells that had been fired at him. With a thought and a motion of his mana into the mantle, the cloth whipped around and Tonks, Penny, Fleur, and Sirius found themselves on the receiving end of each other’s spells!

“Whoa!” Sirius toppled out of his chair to dodge the spell sent at him.

“Hey!” Tonks, thanks to her training with Mad-Eye, was able to conjure her wandless Protego to block the three spells that had been redirected at the girls. “What the heck, Harry?!”

“Merely a demonstration of my newest Enchanted Item, Tonks.” Harry had a smug, little smile on his face. “I call it the Sorcerer’s Path. It can capture, hold, and then launch any spell aimed at me, within reason, of course.”

“I think I get the naming scheme,” Penny looked thoughtful as she ran her warm brown eyes over the mantle. “Just like a Sorcerer to decide what Magic goes where. So it’s the Sorcerer’s Path that decides the direction of spells, right?”

“See! Penny gets my naming schemes.” Harry beamed at the blonde. He received a wink in return from the former Head Girl.

“She tries too hard.” Tonks shrugged and Harry, maturely, blew a raspberry at her.

“I like it. It has a certain style to its name.” Fleur nodded approvingly at Harry.

“Do we each get one?” Penny questioned with her best rendition of puppy dog eyes. She was quickly joined by Fleur. Sirius then tried to join in and ruined the whole image!

“Sirius, really?” Harry stared at his godfather flatly.

“What? I want one too!” Sirius grinned unrepentantly.

“I plan to make one for you all, don’t worry about that.” Harry waved off his jokester godfather. “Once you get used to using it, it’ll be a good line of defense in addition to your Basilisk Hide vests.”

“You worry far too much, mon amour.” Fleur gave him a beautiful smile at his thoughtfulness.

“Better safe than sorry, Love.” Harry returned with a warm, affectionate gaze to his three girlfriends.

“Hey now, before you try and turn the living room into some kind of debauchery, I have news too!” Sirius teased, making some cheeks go pink. “I’ve gotten tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! Top Box and everything! It is next week! We’ll have a great time seeing the top two Quidditch Teams in the League go head to head!” Tonks was already bouncing in her seat while cheering, while Penny and Fleur both looked interested as well.

“Sirius, I’m not a Quidditch junkie like you.” Harry shook his head at his godfather.

“But Harry; Witches and Wizards from all over the globe will be there! Don’t you want to see what kinds of Magic they might be doing?” Sirius tempted his godson via is insatiable curiosity.

“From all over the world, you say?” Harry had a wide smile on his face. “Now that sounds interesting!”

-End Chapter-

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BAM! Two more Artifacts on the books for Harry! Other Artificers are amazed and curious as to just how he produces True Artifacts so quickly! Unfortunately for them, Harry isn’t going to be sharing that secret!

His new Enchanted Item, the Sorcerer’s Path, is a defensive item that captures, holds, and redirects spells! Within reason! It can’t hold too many spells, or spells that are too powerful. Otherwise it’ll fail or it could even burn up from the inside! But still, not bad for a mantle that Harry knitted himself over time!

Voldemort is on the move back to Britain!

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 7,826

Tonks – 9,142

Penelope – 7,618

Fleur – 8,034

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 34: Quidditch World Cup

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Quidditch World Cup time! Harry doesn’t care much about the game itself. But there will be Wizards and Witches from all over the World there! Oh what Magics could Harry see with such a large international gathering?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 34 – Quidditch World Cup

“Portkeys…suck.” Harry breathed out as he picked himself up off the ground.

“Having a problem there, Harry?” Tonks teased her boyfriend. The Metamorph made sure to run her fingers over her Ever Balance Talisman belt buckle.

“Ha ha, Nym, very funny.” Harry waved his hand and the dirt left his clothes. He only got a pleasant smile from his girlfriend in return.

“Sorry about that Harry, but all travel to the World Cup has to be done by Portkey. It gets very hard to keep this many Wizards and Witches hidden during a big event like the Quidditch World Cup.” Sirius explained as their group of Tonks, Penny, Fleur, Harry, Remus, and Marlie made their way towards the tired looking Wizard stationed next to the Portkey arrival area.

“Name?” The Wizard asked the group. The man even sounded like he’d been run ragged.

“Black.” Sirius informed the man as he took Marlie’s hand in his own.

“Right, let me see…there it is…Black, you’re seven hundred meters that way.” The Wizard pointed down a long path. “You’ll need to speak to Nigel Wright; he’s been put in charge of that area.”

“Will do.” Sirius nodded and their group began walking down the path.

“The fog spell is interesting.” Harry remarked as the group walked down the long path. The teen Artificer was looking at what was almost a wall of fog that blocked the stadium in the distance from view.

“Ministry patented,” Tonks chuckled at Harry’s curiosity. “It keeps large areas from being seen, so it’s good for big events like this.”

“This is a Non-Magical campground, isn’t it? How are they hiding the Wizards and Witches that aren’t so good at blending in?” Penny asked as she noticed a spell or two going off in the sea of tents. Many of said tents looked rather Magical in nature themselves.

“The higher-ups at the Ministry argued about it for a while, from what I hear.” Tonks turned to face Penny. “They thought of just having the Obliviators running around and wiping memories anytime one of the Muggle workers saw Magic. But it was pointed out that would mean paying the Obliviators a massive amount of overtime. Old Fudge wouldn’t have that, the cheapskate. So it was eventually decided to take every Muggleborn at the Ministry and then make them a part of the staff. The Muggle workers have a single Memory Charm applied to them, instead of being Obliviated a few dozen times a day.”

“Obliviation on that level would addle their minds!” Marlie looked repulsed by the original plan to deal with the campground workers. “I know most of the Ministry doesn’t seem to care much about Muggles, but that’s just criminal!” The Healer was obviously incensed by the lack of care shown to the Non-Magical folk.

“Well, the Muggleborn get a bonus for doing this, the campground workers don’t get their minds fried, and all monetary transactions are kept in Pounds Sterling so no Galleons, Sickles, or Knuts are seen by Muggles or end up outside of Magical Circulation.” Tonks exhaled, clearly trying to see the silver lining of the situation. It was better than focusing on how badly the event could have been bungled if it was fully left in the hands of Purebloods that didn’t know anything at all about the Non-Magical World.

“Greedy little monsters.” Harry muttered under his breath about the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. He was almost certain that was another part of the treaty that gave the Goblins control of Wizarding money.

“How can I help you?” A Wizard, if the badge bearing the Ministry Insignia was any indication, asked them as they walked towards the stone cottage that housed the campground office.

“Mr. Wright?” Sirius asked the younger man.

“That’s me.” Nigel gave the group a smile.

“Black, I booked about six days ago.” Sirius informed the Muggleborn Ministry worker.

“Black…Black…there we are.” Nigel nodded as he found the name. He held out his hand for the Pounds Sterling. Sirius dug in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a pouch. Pulling a roll of Pound notes from it, he handed the other man a couple large bills. Nigel quickly and efficiently made change and handed Sirius a campground map with their spot marked on it. “Enjoy the Match; the betting pools are really heating up if you want to get in on the action!”

“Maybe, maybe…” Sirius chortled as he waved back at the man. “Let’s be off!” He proclaimed as their group marched into the sea of tents. With the map it wasn’t hard to find their spot and with only a few wand waves Remus and Sirius had the tent set up. Entering the large tent Harry found it to resemble a comfortable house. It had four bedrooms and a full bathroom with a good-sized common area/sitting room.

“I have got to start learning Space Expanding Charms.” Harry grinned at the inside of the tent.

“Come, mon amour, let’s pick out a bedroom.” Fleur grinned at Harry as she pulled him towards the doors.

“Take the biggest one.” Tonks joined in as she took Harry’s other arm. “We’ll need the space.” She teased as they opened the first door to look at the accommodations.

“Down you two.” Penny rolled her eyes at her ‘sisters’ and their antics. “We aren’t here for that and you know it.”

“Says the girl that’ll definitely be cuddling Harry tonight.” Tonks stage-whispered to Fleur. The French Witch giggled and nodded at the Metamorph’s assessment. Penny’s cheeks had a dusting of pink as she pushed all three of them into the bedroom.

“I’m perfectly okay with that.” Harry chuckled as the bedroom door was closed.

“Don’t encourage them… But I will take you up on that, Harry.” Penny smiled as she gave him a short kiss.

“Hey! No calling dibs!” Tonks joked as she pulled Harry into her arms, purposefully shoving his head into her bust.

“Now, now…” Fleur grinned at her ‘sisters’ and her boyfriend. “There will be time to decide sleeping arrangements later. We should get settled first and then we can go explore a bit. I’m sure Harry’s curiosity is close to bursting by now.

“She’s not wrong.” Harry’s muffled voice came from Tonks’ chest.

The next several minutes were spent getting settled into their room. It would be good to prepare for tomorrow, since they’d be leaving bright and early. Once everyone was settled in the group met up in the sitting area. Sirius and Marlie were going to walk around and see what was for sale at the various stands that had been set up. Sirius promised to get a set of Omnioculars for everyone while they were out. Harry, Fleur, Penny, and Tonks were going to do much the same. While also letting Harry observe any Magic he saw and found interesting. Remus was planning to watch the tent while everyone went out.

“That’s kinda boring, Moony.” Sirius quirked an eyebrow at his friend’s choice.

“I plan to chat with our neighbor, Sirius.” Remus waved off his friend’s comment. “He seems to be ‘house sitting’ as well.”

“Well then, thank you for watching the tent, Moony.” Sirius gave his fellow Marauder a deep, exaggerated bow.

“Get out of here.” Remus chuckled as he shook his head.

Sirius and Marlie headed out together, arm in arm, first. The group of Harry, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur left next as Remus sat up a chair just outside their tent. The Werewolf Professor started up a conversation with the man doing the same at the tent next to theirs. In no time at all their tent was lost in the sea of other tents and Harry was trying to take in all of the sights and Magic he could. It was fascinating for the teen Artificer to see so many different Wizards and Witches from all over the world.

Harry saw a tent with a spangled banner and the words ‘The Salem Witches Institute’ a few minutes into their walk. There were several Wizards and Witches cooking over campfires as well. Including a trio of Egyptian Wizards, if the Egyptian Flag hanging on their tent was any indication, that were sitting around a purple campfire cooking what may have been a rabbit. Harry could admit to being curious about the purple fire especially.

“This is amazing!” Harry grinned brightly at seeing so much Magic and so many different people.

“This is one of the largest gatherings of Wizards and Witches in the Magical World, Harry. Enjoy it while we’re here since it doesn’t happen often!” Tonks chuckled as they walked around.

“Ah, I know that name!” Fleur’s bright tone got the group’s attention. The Veela was pointing to a stall with a small line in front of it. The smell of various foods was filling the air as the foursome walked into what had become a miniature restaurant stall market. The stall Fleur was now animatedly pulling the other three towards was selling crepes.

“I’ve never had a crepe before.” Harry admitted as the four got in line.

“They’re sweet and delicious! Most certainly the ones from Café du Sucre! I didn’t know they’d have a stall at the World Cup!” Fleur was practically bouncing in excitement.

As they moved forward in line, Harry watched the three patissiers make the crepes with Magic. Ingredients were levitated, sauces were made, all with skill as treat after treat was made and sold. Looking over the menu Harry figured a strawberry crepe couldn’t be too bad. When they got to the front all four orders were given to Fleur so that she could order from the Witch behind the counter that seemed to recognize her. In quick French, Fleur ordered a Strawberry crepe for Harry, a Chocolate one for Penny, Blueberry and Chocolate for Tonks, and Strawberry Cheesecake for herself.

“Hmm, sweet, but not too sweet, I like it.” Harry nodded as he finished his first bite.

“You can’t go wrong with chocolate.” Penny smiled as she happily ate her sweet crepe.

“We should fill up before the match in the evening.” Tonks smiled at the others, a small bit of chocolate on the corner of her lip.

“Uh Nym, you’ve got a little…” Harry tapped the side of his own lips. Tonks grinned; Harry saw the gleam form in her eyes, as she licked the chocolate off the corner of her lips as sultrily as she could.

“Thank you, Harry…” Tonks purred at him.

“Uh huh…” Harry deadpanned and Tonks pouted playfully.

From there the group continued their exploration. They tried food from various stalls crossing multiple regions and countries. Harry enjoyed a kebab of lamb meat with veggies from one stall especially. He was fairly certain the stall used sea salt instead of table salt and it was great. After stuffing themselves with various foods the foursome went on to the vendor stalls and looked at the many things for sale. When Harry bought a pair of Omnioculars from one vendor Penny spoke up.

“Didn’t Sirius say he was going to buy everyone Omnioculars before we left the tent?” Penny questioned as Harry was putting away his purchase.

“The one I get from Sirius is for keeping,” Harry smiled at Penny with a look in his eyes that she was very familiar with. “This one is for taking apart and studying!” Yep, she was right. Harry was in his ‘How does it work and can I replicate it, but better’ mode. The poor Omnioculars wouldn’t make it a single day once Harry got back to Wood End Cottage.

All in all it was a fun day of seeing all the different people and the Magics they brought to the Quidditch World Cup. When night fell they returned to their tent and had dinner with everyone. Sirius passed out the Omnioculars he’d bought for them and the group made their way towards the stadium in the distance. Harry was slightly annoyed they had to walk up a large set of stairs to get all the way to the top box. They had Magic! Elevators would be beyond simple for Witches and Wizards! Seeing the Malfoys in the Top Box next to Minister Fudge had also been annoying.

“Lucius, how’ve you been?” Sirius had a grin on his face as he addressed the Senior Malfoy. “Cissa, nice to see you again.” He greeted his cousin with formality afforded to a relation, though there was no warmth in his voice.

“Black.” Lucius replied with a small nod.

“Sirius.” Narcissa Malfoy gave her cousin an equally cold greeting.

“That’s not polite, Malfoy, you forgot the Title again.” Sirius was enjoying this; getting to use formality to prank the former Death Eater was just too good.

“Lord Black.” Lucius nodded stiffly to Sirius. Harry thought it was amusing how red Draco’s face was turning from this, honestly. The teen still thought so very highly of himself and his family. Harry had no idea why though. Neither Draco, nor the Malfoy Family, had done anything of real note in Magical Britain in decades. The only accomplishments they seemed to have to their name had been some suspicious business acquisitions and a few motions they supported being passed in the Wizengamot.

Marlie gently nudging Sirius got the Marauder to drop the prank as their group moved to their seats in the Top Box. Harry thought he saw Fudge attempt to get his attention. A look from Sirius in the man’s direction had that stopping immediately. It was nice to have such a caring godfather like Sirius. Getting settled into their seats, Harry had Fleur on his left and Tonks on his right. Penny sat next to Tonks, with Remus taking the last seat in their row.

Before the match began both Team’s Mascots took to the field for a show to get the fans fired up. Bulgaria’s Mascots were a group of beautiful Veela that began to dance and quickly whipped the men of the crowd into frenzy. Fleur sighed at the actions, even as some of the men in the Top Box forced themselves to remain still.

“I bet those women are well-paid.” Harry took Fleur’s hand in his. No amount of Allure could get past his Occlumency after all.

“Undoubtedly,” Fleur gave a chuckle as she squeezed his hand in return. “Veela that perform like this are highly sought after. They may have had to sign over a percentage of the Bulgarian Team’s yearly income to retain them. But it does perpetuate some of the less flattering stereotypes about our people.”

“People will think what they want. It’s best just to ignore the idiots.” Tonks gave Fleur a commiserating smile. Her Metamorph ability was the wet dream of a lot of men. She’d had to hear plenty of lines almost as soon as puberty kicked in for her age group.

“We can always burn anyone that wants to mouth off.” Penny smiled at Fleur and both young women giggled. Harry and Tonks gave each other a look.

‘Pyromancers…’ Was communicated through their shared gaze. Harry did find it amusing that during the Veela’s show, Lucius’ hand hadn’t left Draco’s shoulder. The blonde teen seemed to be enthralled by the Veela and their dance.

“Leprechauns!” Tonks cheered as the Irish Team’s Mascots started flying in formations around the stadium while dropping their fake gold on everyone. The rainbow trail following the small Fae Folk as they flew around was a nice touch in Harry’s opinion. Shortly afterwards the Match started and everyone in the stadium was amazed at the skill and speed displayed by the Irish and Bulgarian Teams. Even Harry, who wasn’t much of a Quidditch fan, could admit that the skill on display was incredible. Needless to say the rest of the match was just as amazing and when Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker, caught the Snitch it was to a raucous cheer and applause from the crowd.

It was with great cheer that the Irish Team supporters left the stadium, though the Bulgarian Team supporters were still in high spirits too. Already, late night parties were breaking out and badly sung renditions of both Teams Official Cheers were being sung, horribly off-key, by the Witches and Wizards that were already tipsy from drinking during the match. Thankfully the group made it back to their tent before things got too raucous. Tonks was already laughing about the Aurors probably having to be called in to keep the celebrations from getting carried away.

After a quick round of showers for everyone, it was time to call it a night, or very early morning. Harry couldn’t wipe the grin off his face at seeing his three lovely girlfriends ready for bed. Tonks wearing a baggy t-shirt and some cotton short shorts. Penny wearing a flowing night gown that stopped above her knees. Fleur in a lacey nightgown of her own, hers shorter than Penny’s, stopping at mid-thigh.

“Bedtime.” Tonks yawned and the foursome quickly settled themselves in for the night.

Harry ended up lying on his back, Tonks on his right side, Penny on his left, and Fleur lying atop him with a grin. His Veela girlfriend felt like she weighed next to nothing and Harry realized she must have cast a spell to keep them both comfortable for the night. Harry wasn’t going to complain! He was a teenage man with three beautiful girlfriends sleeping in the same bed as him. He was going to enjoy a night full of cuddling and restful sleep.

So he thought, at least.

-Campgrounds ~ Just after Two in the Morning-

“What was that?” Harry questioned dazedly as he woke up after hearing a loud blast.

“Wha…? Penny mumbled sleepily as she was jostled awake by the noise.

“It’s too early…” Tonks grumbled as she snuggled further into Harry.

“Est-ce le matin?” Fleur questioned as she opened her eyes; her sleepiness causing her to speak her native language.

“Harry, Tonks, Penny, Fleur! Wake up! There’s trouble! We need to get out of here!” Sirius called out while banging on the door to the foursome’s tent room.

“What’s going on?!” Harry demanded as he and the girls started getting out of bed. A series of explosions and screams were heard and the four of them were quickly awake. Harry summoned his clothes and started to dress quickly.

“A group of Wizards are attacking the campground from what I’ve heard! They’re heading our way so we’re getting out of here!” Sirius called through the door. Harry forced his feet into his trainers and with a thought and a spark of mana, they were both perfectly tied.

“Vests!” Harry summoned his Mokeskin pouch and reached in, pulling out a Basilisk Hide vest for each of them. Tonks, Penny, and Fleur were quick to put the protective vests on over their hastily thrown on clothes. The foursome quickly left the bedroom and met up with Sirius, Marlie, and Remus, in the sitting room. Harry was pleased to see that all three of them had a Basilisk Hide vest on.

Sirius and Remus led the group out of the tent, wands drawn and on alert. Tonks followed them with Marlie behind her. Penny, Harry and Fleur emerged last. It seemed they hadn’t left quickly enough though. The group causing all of the panic and destruction was already in sight. The masked Wizards continued to set tents ablaze with spells and they seemed to quickly take notice of the group.

“Death Eaters?” Sirius looked confused, but he and any Witch or Wizard that was alive in the Seventies would know those masks and robes anywhere.

The Death Eaters were quick to turn their wands on the group. Sirius, Remus, and Tonks went into action immediately. Sirius and Remus both made the same jab and then a twisting motion with their wands. The ground warped as it rose into two solid slabs of granite under their transfiguration. Tonks added her own Protego behind the granite wall just as the multitude of spells slammed into the stone barrier.

“That barrier won’t last under that many spells.” Harry deduced as the wall began to shake as spell after spell hit it. With a thought, a Lumos Charm appeared in Harry’s hand. The small ball of dim light was sent up and over their barrier. The spells from the Death Eaters stopped for a moment. They were probably confused about the light, but Harry didn’t care. With a flex of his mana the dim light suddenly became brighter than the sun! The entire campground around their tent was suddenly lit up as if it were noon and the Death Eater’s screams of pain from their retina being overloaded was all that could be heard.

“Well done, Harry!” Sirius praised as he and Remus peeked out from behind the granite wall. With a nod from Remus, he, Sirius, and Tonks moved past the barrier.

“Cube!” Tonks cast her unique spell. The Auror had just locked five of the flailing Death Eaters inside the prison.

“Expelliarmus Maxima!” Remus cast and a wave of magic passed through the Death Eaters. The modified spell wrenched wands from hands so hard that some of the Death Eaters were knocked to the ground.

“Stupefy Maxima!” Sirius followed up a half second behind Remus. The wave of red light struck all of the still standing Death Eaters. The ones that had been struck collapsed to the ground like puppets without strings.

It appeared that their show of fighting back had reminded the Witches and Wizards that were previously in a panic about their own wands. The remaining Death Eaters were forced to Portkey away as a barrage of spells came flying at them from between the tents. Faced with so much opposition the Death Eaters had no choice but to run. Unfortunately, the five Tonks had caught disappeared into the swirl of Portkeys as well.

“Right, shite, my spell is inverted shields, it can’t block Portkeys.” Tonks grumbled as she dispelled the cube.

“We’ll let the Auror on the scene tie up the remaining Death Eaters.” Remus proposed, looking at Tonks. She was, technically, the only one with authority among their group.

“Bloody hell, this is going to ruin my day…” Tonks huffed as she marched over to the downed Death Eaters and tied them up with Incarcerous. Out of what had appeared to be roughly fifteen Death Eaters, only six had been captured.

“We should do what we can to help.” Harry spoke up, getting looks from Penny, Fleur, and Marlie. “You know, put out fires, and help anyone that’s injured.” To exemplify his point, Harry held out his hand towards some burning tents and clenched his hand into a fist. The flames were snuffed out as if someone had blown out a candle.

“Right, I am a Healer; I’ll do what I can.” Marlie shook herself and adopted a professional demeanor. She went over to Sirius and spoke with her lover. In the next moment bright lights leapt from Sirius’ wand. The lights quickly became writing in the air that spelled out ‘Aurors needed, hostiles captured. Healer on site for injuries.’

Penny, Fleur, and Harry stayed together as they started snuffing out flames with their Wandless Magic. People began to show up, most only startled, but a few injured were being helped towards Marlie. The panic and rushing of the masses had done more harm than the Death Eaters had caused directly.

“The Aurors took their time.” Penny noted as a squad of Aurors, along with a stern-looking man and a woman with a monocle, came charging over to Sirius’ area. Just as the group got to Sirius, Remus, and Marlie’s location there was a bright green light that shot into the sky. The spell exploded and formed a dark-green cloud in the shape of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. This was followed by a chorus of shrieks and screams. Harry heard the term ‘Dark Mark’ almost a dozen times in less than ten seconds.

-Flint Manor-

“You failed!” Voldemort roared at the Death Eaters that had made it back. They were all clutching their right forearms and screaming as he exerted his control over them through his Mark. By willingly taking his Mark, they had practically enslaved themselves to him. Now that he was recovered enough to use the Mark to control and punish his pawns, he would soon have his Death Eaters back under his heel.

“M-My Lord! P-pl-please! We were outnumbered! The low-born fought back!” One of the masked Death Eaters tried to plead. He only screamed louder as Voldemort sent pain through his Mark.

“I did not ask for your excuses, wretch!” Voldemort’s red eyes were practically glowing. “This was supposed to be a night to announce that Lord Voldemort’s power was undying! To strike fear into the hearts of my enemies! Yet you failures couldn’t even do that much! I send fifteen of you to make a statement, a declaration of my power, and yet all I get back are nine failures that ran from commoners!”

“M-My Lord, sir, please! Let us appease you!” A different Death Eater spoke up, pleading for a stay of their Master’s rage.

“You wish to make up for your failures? Then bring me Galleons, as many as possible. There are things that I must procure and funds are necessary. Surely you all can do this much without failing me?”

“Yes! Yes, My Lord!” The shaking Death Eaters groveled on the floor of the manor.

“Get out of my sight!” Voldemort hissed in rage. The Death Eaters were quick to scramble away and head for Gringotts as soon as they stopped shaking from the pain that had been inflicted upon them. “Worthless pawns, the lot of them.” He needed his truly loyal followers back. The loyal Death Eaters, the ones that could follow orders and get things done. He needed his Inner Circle back. But he wasn’t nearly strong enough to take on Azkaban yet. The Dementors would not bend to his will on platitudes and promises. They had to be forced to obey.

‘A more powerful wand will be the first step.’ Voldemort thought to himself as he looked at the best match he’d found from the seven Wizards he’d had killed and cremated to make his Homunculus body. The wand was nothing special, but it worked for him. Lord Voldemort deserved far better though, and with the money that his pawns would bring him, he’d get one.

-End Chapter-

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Well, the World Cup itself was fun. The foursome enjoyed the day before the Match at least. The match itself was also good. Just the night after being interrupted really fucks things up! Damn Death Eaters breaking up the Cuddle Pile!

Voldemort is acting in Britain again! That’s not great… But he’s still nowhere near his full power. Harry and his family have time still. But this attack, the Dark Mark in the sky, you can bet Harry is going to be working again!

How will Fourth Year play out now?

Will Harry be ready whenever Voldemort tries to make an attempt on his life?

Let’s hope this attack and knowing that Voldemort is out there doesn’t make Harry go too far too fast! That’s not good for anyone, and may cause unforeseen consequences. An Artificer can make great and wondrous things, but they can also make other things if they feel it is necessary!

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 7,868

Tonks – 9,206

Penelope – 7,684

Fleur – 8,102

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 35: Production, Returning to Hogwarts

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Well, now that Voldemort’s followers are known to be back, though certain people may try to deny it, what is Harry’s next move? An Artificer can create great wonders, but can also make fearsome, powerful things as well. Things that may be far more than most anyone can handle!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 35 – Production, Returning to Hogwarts

“How goes the production, Drasurd?” Harry asked the Dwarf King as they overlooked the large forges that the Dwarves had made in the iron mine once they’d removed all useable ores from the current layer. They were digging deeper and further now and still extracting ore. The forges had been a natural next step to produce Magical Iron on-site. Harry saw the skill of the dwarves once more as the burly, bearded males worked the bellows and hammered hot metal.

“With the news of the Mark being seen at the World Cup, we started focusing more of our smiths on Arms.” Drasurd replied as he watched over his people. “Just like any Dark Lord, they see any Non-Human Race as no more than animals. We’ll be prepared though, just let him try and make a move against the Erdunn Dwarves and our sworn Brother.” The King nodded to Harry with a fierce look in his dark eyes.

“I appreciate it, Drasurd.” Harry nodded to the Dwarf King. It was nice having a small army on one’s side when a Dark Lord had crawled his way back from death, or something close to it. The two watched as Dwarven Armor, Shields, Axes, Hammers, Swords, and Spears were forged by over half of the smiths in the work area.

“Your enemy is our enemy, Brother Potter.” Drasurd spoke firmly. “You and Lord Black have given us our pride and dignity back. Lord Black even let us name this mine ourselves in our native tongue. We can’t ask for more than that.”

“Narag Fenuln is a good name.” Harry chuckled with Drasurd as they continued to watch the smiths work. From what little of the Dwarven Language that Harry had picked up, the name translated into English as ‘Black Mine’. It had been named after Sirius’ Family since his godfather was the one that had bought the land for them.

A short time later, after seeing a few of the finished weapons and armors, Harry left the Erdunn Dwarves to return to Wood End Cottage. He had his own work to do after all. Sirius, Tonks, Penny, Fleur, and Remus had all been concerned when Harry had dived into work almost as soon as they’d returned to Wood End Cottage. The teen Artificer wasn’t to be deterred though. Harry had two projects now ongoing after completing the first version of his Regalia. Those two projects were creating more Sorcerer’s Path mantles for his loved ones and starting on another set of Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair armor. He already had Tonks’ measurements and this set would be for her.

During his downtime from his forging, tailoring, and crafting, Harry delved into books about the last time Voldemort had risen up. Sirius and Remus were both available to ask questions and hear firsthand accounts too. What Harry was worried about was the fact that for a Dark Lord that despised Non-Purebloods, Voldemort sure made a great deal of use from the many Dark Creatures of the British Isles. Feral Werewolves, Dementors, and Trolls were just some of the Creatures that had been in the Dark Lord’s service back in the Seventies. Harry was thankful to Remus for teaching him the Patronus Charm last year. It was the only way to deal with Dementors directly.

What had surprised Harry the most was the division in the Ministry over the Death Eaters that had appeared at the World Cup. The DMLE was prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the Law. However, none of the six men could speak when certain questions were asked of them. A powerful curse was upon them all and seemed bound to their very beings. Even Veritaserum, the most powerful Truth Potion there was, couldn’t circumvent whatever curse was upon the men. The division came in the fact that several of the higher-ups in the Ministry wanted to sweep this under the rug. As if Death Eaters coming back after more than a decade was something trivial or misunderstood. There had even been a platitude-filled article from Minister Fudge in the Daily Prophet assuring everyone that Death Eaters hadn’t returned! The man was either lying to protect the Death Eaters that got away or refusing to see reality. Harry wasn’t sure which would yield worse results.

“Maybe it’s time to delve further?” Harry murmured quietly to himself as he looked at the opened tome at the edge of his worktable. The page it was on showed the complex design of a very specific Runic Array. This array was so complex that it even had to be etched in a specific pattern onto the medium that you wished to impart its effects on. The teen Artificer’s eyes then glanced over at another book, this one much older and worn. But the pages it was opened to displayed a complex transmutation circle; far more complex than the one to make Zeclatite. It would be a large step and failure was almost guaranteed for both avenues. But if Voldemort was back, if he had regained enough of his power to practically announce his return, then Harry was going to be ready!

-August 31st-

“Harry, you need to rest.” Tonks had sat her boyfriend down and was giving him no other choice but to listen to her. “You’ve been working too hard and too much.” The Metamorph had a point. Harry was clearly tired, bags beginning to form under the teen’s eyes, a slouched posture, and he was almost constantly yawning or shaking himself awake.

“I can’t just rest on my laurels with Voldemort back, Tonks.” Harry sighed as he rubbed his temples. The green-eyed young man was fighting off a headache forming at the moment.

“Harry, you’ve already made Sorcerer’s Path mantles for all of us and showed us how to use them. You just finished another set of Basilisk Scale Mail armor for me, and while I’m truly grateful, you’ve run yourself ragged.” Tonks laid out just how busy Harry had been in the last several days. “Come here.” She patted the spot next to her on the couch in Wood End Cottage’s living room. Harry got up from the nearby chair and sat next to her. The Metamorph pulled him into her side and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “Now rest. Everything will be okay. Sleep is important for working.”

“Mmm…” Harry made a non-committal noise as he laid his head on her shoulder. It had just become infinitely harder to fight his eyelids. “Did you like the armor?”

“It’s amazing, Harry, thank you.” Tonks smiled brightly, even though Harry couldn’t see it. The Metamorph moved and lay back on the couch lengthwise, pulling Harry down on top of her. The teen rested his head on her bosom, which she’d made larger and soft for him to use as a pillow. “Now sleep, Mister.”

“I could still work.” Harry mumbled around a yawn.

“Unless you can make my armor a bit more colorful then you’re staying right here.” Tonks lightly teased as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Sorry, the armor doesn’t take spell effects at all.” Harry shook his head, inadvertently nuzzling his face into her large breasts. “It’s black with a hint of green, just like the scales it’s made from.”

“Then it is fine, Harry.” Tonks whispered as she felt his breathing even out as the Artificer nodded off. “You silly nerd.” She fondly mumbled as she kissed the top of his head. Harry hadn’t been the only one working hard ever since the World Cup. Tonks and Moody had torn up the training room to an even greater degree and more often ever since that night. Moody had postponed his retirement in the wake of the event. Tonks was hard at work making a more powerful version of her ‘Cube’ Spell as well. She was going to make a version that could prevent the use of Apparation and Portkeys for those inside of it.

Penny had been entrenching herself in books and working out a new spell of her own too. No one was sure exactly what the blonde was going for, but she assured them it would be useful for dealing with even large amounts of enemies. Fleur, now in her final year at Beauxbatons, was also working with her Wandless Magic to master her current arsenal and create new spells with her greater control over her mana. The Veela was not one to let her loved ones worry or be harmed if she could do anything about it.

Sirius and Remus had both been contacted by Dumbledore after the World Cup. Whatever they talked about was kept secret, but Sirius did tell the foursome that Dumbledore was getting the ‘old group’ together. The four of them assumed this ‘old group’ was made up of people that had resisted and fought against Voldemort the last time he was in power. Harry thought it was good to gather people that weren’t happy to go along with the Minister’s fantasy of everything being fine. A prepared group was much better than people that were happier to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that nothing was wrong after all.

Tonks held Harry for the rest of the day on the couch. They skipped dinner, but even Tayla hadn’t said anything about it as Harry continued to sleep. A little Magic and Harry had been washed and changed into his pajamas. Tonks had laid him in his bed and then showered herself before slipping into pajamas and crawling into Harry’s bed that night. She pulled him close, gently kissed his forehead, and then held him close as she drifted off.

The morning of September first dawned with a well-rested Harry Potter waking up in his girlfriend’s arms. He’d kissed Tonks awake in thanks and the two had smiled lovingly at each other. The make-out session that started afterwards wasn’t planned but neither of them was complaining. Sirius laughing his head off as he beat on the bedroom door while telling Harry that they were going to be late if he didn’t hurry up had really spoiled the mood though. So it was that Harry, Sirius, and Tonks made it to Platform Nine and Three Quarters with only half an hour before departure. Harry had enjoyed Tayla’s breakfast and the House Elf had been adamant he not leave without eating. She was truly mothering like that.

Harry spent most of the hours-long ride to Hogwarts working on his own original spell. Putting it together slowly but surely, the Artificer was making steady progress. Once it was complete, Harry was sure it would be one of the greatest spells created in the last century. With the amount of notes, Arithmancy calculations, and various Charms he was trying to derive the proper effects from, it was no wonder that his original spell now took up sixty-four pages of the notebook that was specifically for Spellcraft.

That wasn’t to say he was alone in his compartment. No, Luna had opted to sit with him during the ride. The spacey Third Year happily read her Quibbler Magazine, upside down, while Harry jotted down notes or wrote out Arithmancy calculations. Occasionally they chatted when Harry took a break to rest his mind. While Artifice was something he could claim to be a prodigy in, Spellcraft was not. Even he needed to rest his brain from the intricate details and calculations of the spell creation process from time to time.

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station it was to a veritable downpour. The sky was thick with black clouds and Harry didn’t fancy getting soaked. He held Luna back for a bit as the students began to disembark from the train. Once the bulk of the other students were gone, Harry led Luna off the train and, just before stepping out into the rain, he cast a wandless Protego Charm over his head. The magical shield could block both spells and physical objects, but was better at blocking magic. Rain wasn’t strong enough to break Harry’s Protego and he easily expanded it to cover a large area over head.

“Thank you, Harry!” Luna beamed at him as she stepped off the train and under the safety of Harry’s spell.

“Don’t mention it, Luna.” Harry chuckled as the duo walked towards the carriages.

“Room for a few more?” Hermione called out from the train as she, Padma, and Megan stood just inside the train to avoid getting soaked.

“I’ve got plenty.” Harry smiled at his study buddies. The three Fourth Year Girls quickly dashed under the safety of the Protego Charm and Harry walked them all to one of the carriages. The five of them rode up to the school while dry and comfortable.

As they entered the castle, once again under Harry’s wandless Protego as a magical umbrella, the five students noticed the absolutely soaked state of the Entrance Hall. Harry was amused to see that several more students, including upper years, had seen what he was doing and had cast their own Protego spells to act as umbrellas. About half the students were soaked from having run through the downpour, while the other half was slightly wet from huddling under a Protego, or completely dry from having copied what Harry was doing before they left their carriages.

“That doesn’t seem safe.” Harry mentioned of the soaking stone floor of the Entrance Hall. With a wandless, and overpowered, Drought Charm, the water quickly evaporated, leaving the stone floor dry and safe to walk on.

“Harry!” Luna called out and Harry stopped a red balloon, filled with what he hoped was water, from hitting him by grabbing it with levitation.

“Aww, why’d you warn him Loony Lovegood?” Peeves the poltergeist cackled as he held more red water balloons. “I was about to soak Harry Potty!”

“Peeves…” Harry vanished the water balloon under the effects of his wandless levitation. “You’ve got until the count of three to leave. One, two…”

“Or what?” Peeves simpered at the Fourth Year. “Is Potty going to be mad at ol’ Peeves?”

“Three.” Harry finished and with a sharp crack a bolt of lightning left Harry’s fingertips and struck the poltergeist!

“Eeeyoooowww!” Peeves cried out as his form became totally incorporeal and the water balloons dropped to the floor, bursting away from the students. The poltergeist’s faded form rocketed up the main staircase and disappeared onto the second floor.

“Bloody pest.” Harry groused at the annoying poltergeist.

“Harry, language please.” Hermione, ever a stickler for the rules, gave him a look.

“Excellent work, Mr. Potter, take fifteen points.” Professor McGonagall called out as she made herself known. The Deputy Headmistress was standing in the doorway to the Great Hall and motioning the students forward. “Now, come along, all of you inside. The First Years will be here soon and we need you all seated.”

“One second, Professor, if you don’t mind.” Harry spoke up, seeing half the students from the carriages still soaked from the rain. Harry raised both of his hands, palms facing towards the wet students, before casting the overpowered Drought Charm again. Many students yelped as the weight of their clothes changed suddenly. This was followed by almost all of them sighing in relief at being dry again. Harry didn’t discriminate anyone, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and his fellow Ravenclaws, all of them had their clothes dried with his spell. Several calls of thanks came from the gathered students and McGonagall smiled at Harry.

“Take another fifteen points, Mr. Potter, for your kindness towards your peers.” McGonagall rewarded Harry twice before the Welcoming Feast had even started. Harry wondered if thirty points before the feast was a record for earning points.

The group of dry students quickly marched into the Great Hall and headed for their House tables. When the students were seated, chatter naturally began. Harry talked with Luna, Padma, and Megan for a bit while they all waited for the First Years. Harry saw Remus -or Professor Lupin as he’d have to call him while at school- chatting with Hagrid at the staff table. Harry thought it was great that Remus had stayed on as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He’d most certainly been far better than both Quirrel and Lockhart. Maybe now the students could have steady instruction in the Core Course.

When the First Years had entered the Great Hall, led by McGonagall, the Transfiguration Professor gave him a slight nod. Harry noticed that all of the First Years were dry, despite having crossed the Lake in the heavy rain. He guessed that McGonagall had given him the nod for reminding her to dry the students off before they got to the Great Hall. At the very least the First Years would be a lot more comfortable now than if they’d been forced to stand in the Great Hall soaking wet while waiting to be sorted.

Harry listened to the Sorting Hat’s song and applauded politely like most of the Great Hall. The Sorting moved along as it always did. Some students were sorted near instantly, while others took a few moments. All in all, the sorting only took about ten minutes this year. Once the Hat and stool had been taken away by McGonagall, the feast started as it always did, with food appearing on every serving platter on every table. Harry helped himself to some steak, potatoes, and greens first, with a nice bit of gravy for the potatoes. Once dessert came around Harry had a bit of treacle tart and once finished waited for the plates to become spotless again. When the last of the food disappeared Dumbledore stood up. The chatter filling the Great Hall died down quickly, leaving only the howling wind and pounding rain of the storm outside to be heard.

“So!” Dumbledore smiled at all of the students of Hogwarts. “Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.”

Harry listened, sort of, as Dumbledore went over what new items Filch had banned this year. Then the Headmaster gave the standard announcements that the forest was forbidden and that Hogsmeade was only for third years and up. It was only after these, standard, start of the year announcements, that Harry realized Dumbledore had more to say.

“It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.” Harry heard a lot of muttering and whispering at that announcement. Dumbledore continued on before the mutters could grow too loud. “This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the Professors’ time and energy. But I am certain that you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.”

“You're joking!” The Weasley Twins exclaimed loudly. Both looked like they were a hairs breadth from leaping to their feet in excitement.

That might explain why Dress Robes were on the Items List this year.’ Harry had been curious about the inclusion of the formal wear since he’d gotten his School List.

“I assure you that I’m not.” Dumbledore chuckled at the loud exclamations. “Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament... Well, some of you will not know what this Tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.” Dumbledore chuckled even though McGonagall looked distinctly unamused by the Headmaster giving the students permission to daydream. “The Triwizard Tournament was first established around seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of Magic. Those three being Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities. Well, until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued.” The Headmaster looked a trite sheepish at that admission.

“Death toll?” Harry mumbled as he cocked an eyebrow that a school event had led to deaths.

“There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the Tournament,” Dumbledore continued with his explanation. “None of which have been very successful. However, our own Departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that, this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.”

Why don’t I believe that?’ Harry snarked to himself while the rest of the students listened on. The Magical World did have a bit of a track record for not learning from their mistakes.

“The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short list of contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place on Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which three students are the most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons of prize money.”

“Not interested.” Harry sighed quietly. Voldemort was apparently out there, active again. He didn’t have time to be playing around with this tournament. Looking down the Ravenclaw table, Harry saw a great many of his House mates chatting excitedly. It wasn’t just the Ravenclaws though. At every House table, Harry could see people either focusing intently on Dumbledore and what the Headmaster was saying, or else they were whispering fervently to their neighbors. Dumbledore raised his hands for attention before he spoke again, and the Hall quietened once more.

“Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts,” The Headmaster began, “The Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have all agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age, which means seventeen years or older, will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This…” Dumbledore had to raise his voice slightly, as several people had made noises of outrage at the restriction already. “Is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below Sixth and Seventh Year will be able to cope with the trials. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts’ Champion.” His light-blue eyes twinkled as he glanced over at the Weasley Twins. “I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.”

So he admits that the tasks will still be dangerous?’ Harry ran over the Headmaster’s words in his head. ‘What about earlier when he said that the Champions wouldn’t find themselves in mortal danger?

“The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October, and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts Champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. So now I bid you all a good night.” Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Remus. There was a lot of scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet. The four Houses all headed towards the double doors and into the Entrance Hall.

As Harry headed up the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower, he pondered on the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament. It would be interesting to see what the other two premiere Magical Schools in Europe taught their students. Durmstrang was a complete mystery to him, but Fleur had told him a good amount about Beauxbatons.

“Wait a minute…” Harry perked up as he made the connection. “Fleur is in her last year at Beauxbatons and one of their top students. I bet she’ll be coming to try and become Champion.” A bright smile formed on Harry’s face at the thought of having a school year with Fleur. He’d be busy working throughout the year, but having Fleur here would ensure he didn’t go overboard as he had in the last part of August. His lovely silvery-blonde girlfriend could be rather forceful when she wanted to be after all. This also gave him the chance to show her his hidden workshop! He was sure she’d love a place where they could go to be alone.

He certainly would.

Spending time with Fleur was enjoyable both intellectually and physically. The beautiful teen loved to learn, but also liked to indulge in their relationship. Harry was sure they could make time for both whenever they snuck away to his workshop.

-End Chapter-

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Harry is pushing himself to be ready for Voldemort. He made another Basilisk Scale Mail for Tonks in the span of just over a week. He also tailored a Sorcerer’s Path mantle for each of his loved ones and taught them the basics of using it. He’s also looking at advancing both his Runecraft and Alchemy, possibly too fast for his own good! Not to mention trying to get his original spell up and running on top of all that!

His helping the Erdunn Dwarves has proven to be very beneficial as well! There’s nothing like having your own Artifacts and Magic, plus a small army of Dwarves on your side when facing down a Dark Lord, right?

Fleur is coming to Hogwarts! Yay! What kinds of things can they get up to together?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 8,436

Tonks – 9,478

Penelope – 7,962

Fleur – 8,354

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 36: Delving Deeper

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time to delve ever deeper into Runecraft and Alchemy! But is it too far, too fast? How many failures will it take? What is Harry’s goal?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 36 – Delving Deeper

“What the hell is a Triskaidecagon?” Harry blinked at the unfamiliar word as he looked over the incredibly complex Alchemy book that had the Transmutation Circle he needed in it. The old tome’s pages were still in good shape, thankfully, but the front and back covers were both so worn that the Title on the front could barely be read. Harry had no idea who the author of the book was, but cross-checking everything in the old tome with newer Alchemy books checked out. Whoever wrote this had more than likely informed the Alchemic Arts, and the Alchemists that came after them, on a good majority of this Branch of Magic.

Looking over the transmutation circle in the book, all the intricate lines, the symbols, the shapes, it was impressive to say the least. This was the level that Harry needed to get to if he wanted to be ready for whatever Voldemort had planned. He knew he was likely to fail, multiple times, but if he could make this work then the sky was the limit. This was some of the highest level Alchemy that existed for what he needed to produce. The only problem was actually drawing the circle correctly. It was not only intricate, but large too, easily three meters in diameter when it was finished. It would take a long time to draw the circle even once.

Once he managed to draw the transmutation circle properly and transmute the material he wanted from it, that was still only the first step. The material he wanted was one of the few that could handle the Runic Array he wanted to apply to it. But those two wouldn’t be enough for Harry’s plans. There were precious few materials in the world that were naturally Magical in nature; at least when it came to materials useful to Artifice. What Harry wanted was a selection of these rare materials to impart their natural Magic into his creation. If his plan worked out, not only would this project be powerful, it could very well acquire more abilities once he’d forged it.

“But what to choose first?” Harry wondered aloud as he picked up a different book and opened it to a bookmarked page. He needed something that would hopefully make Voldemort a non-issue, permanently. However, none of these Magical stones or gems seemed to have such a power. They all had their own uses, to be sure, but Harry wanted something that could put a Dark Lord down for good. “Azuryte might work, or maybe Frost Azuryte? But Frost Azuryte is really expensive.” The teen Artificer mused as he looked over the Magical gems and stones. There were a good number of them, each with their own inherent Magical power, but the supply was always going to be limited.

Harry quietly mused for some time on what exactly he’d spend his Galleons on when it came to naturally occurring Magical gems and stones. It was going to cost a small fortune to get any decent amount. But with them his Artifice could advance further, along with his Runecraft and Alchemy. For now, it might be best to work on what he could already do while practicing Alchemy and drawing the transmutation circle that he’d need. He doubted that he’d perform a successful transmutation of this level for months, but he wouldn’t improve if he didn’t practice. Trial and error was well-known to Harry after years of magical study.

“Well, no time like the present.” Harry clapped as he picked up the Alchemy book, then he picked up his chalk, his meter stick, and a protractor. Alchemy was a finicky Branch of Magic and if this level of transmutation circle was even slightly off he could kiss a successful transmutation goodbye. “Triangle, Heptagon, and then Triskaidecagon, and that’s before the symbols.” With a sigh Harry sat on the floor and got to work.

September was spent in much the same way for Harry. He was almost constantly running off to his hidden workshop to forge or practice. Luna sometimes sat or did her homework in the hidden workshop to keep Harry company and remind him to go to meals. When asked why, the spacey blonde had smiled at him and told him that Penny had asked her to. Harry made sure to write to his girlfriend about that in the letters they frequently exchanged.

Near the end of September, Harry received a rather odd letter from Penny. His Spellcrafting Scholar of a girlfriend wanted his experience with Runecraft to look over a rather odd Sequence that Penny had created. The teen Artificer had no problem doing it for his love, of course. But going through the Runic Sequences and then putting them all together made even Harry blink at what was being attempted. He told Penny as much in the letter he’d sent back to her, along with the corrections and suggestions he had for her Array. If she could make this work, Penny may very well solve the majority of their potentially upcoming problems by her own creation!

‘Her intelligence is so attractive!’ Harry thought to himself as he watched Hedwig fly off with his revisions to Penny’s prototype Array. There was just something about intelligent women -that were a few years older than he was- that really got Harry smiling and a bit hot under the collar. Looking over his shoulder, Harry smiled at the nearly complete Artifact he was currently working on. He was starting to get good at this one now on his third time. One more set of Basilisk Scale Mail would soon be done. Then he’d start on the fourth. All of his loves would have a set as soon as possible. He would leave nothing to chance.

The month of October passed without Harry deviating too much from his September schedule. He and Penny continued to pass her Rune Work back and forth through Hedwig. With each revision the overall effect that Penny was going for became clearer. Harry was still impressed with Penny and her ingenuity. It was a rather unorthodox undertaking and flew in the face of the standard school of thought, but his girlfriend wasn’t one to let such things hold her back. Fleur had been rather silent, though even when she did reply she was vague and teasing. Harry was certain she was coming to Hogwarts for the Tournament!

-October 27th ~ Night-

Harry exhaled as he flew over the Forbidden Forest with his Wind Walker Flight Item. The light of the waning moon gave just enough illumination to see, if only barely, and the Artificer was eager to acquire some useful materials. He’d been putting out feelers for Magical stones and gems and getting quotes and prices from reputable dealers since September. One had mentioned that a certain stone could be found in highly magical areas in Scotland. Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Forbidden Forest were the most Magical locations in Scotland. So Harry was certain if he could find an area that Witches and Wizards hadn’t settled, that he’d find the stone in question.

Sage Quartz was, much like any naturally-occurring Magical gem or stone, rather hard to come by in any decent amount. It only formed in areas of high Magic concentration that were both rich in granite and plant life. According to his book, it looked like milky quartz but with deep green lines, almost like roots, crisscrossing through the stone. As he flew over the forest he was looking for any clearings that had exposed rock. In Scotland there would be a good chance said rock was granite. After flying far enough that he could just barely see Hogwarts anymore, Harry spotted a decent sized clearing that had exposed rock on the surface. He slowed himself until he was hovering over the clearing before descending. When his feet touched the ground he quickly made his way over to the rock. A quick cast of Protego Totalum ensured the area would be protected from both physical and magical intrusion for an extended time. He wasn’t leaving his safety to chance.

“Moss-covered, that’s supposed to be a good sign,” Harry whispered as he placed his hand on the large exposed stone. Channeling his mana into the stone he felt for any trace of Magic within. Not feeling any Magic, the Artificer moved over to another rock. Again and again Harry poked around the exposed stones. He felt through each one of them for the tell-tale feeling of Magic. It was nearly two hours later before Harry felt Magic from one of the stones.

‘Of course it’d have to be half-buried under the other rocks.’ Harry gave a mental huff as he pulled his hand back from the small alcove made by larger, moss-covered rocks. With levitation Harry moved the large stones aside and set them down away from the stone he’d felt the Magic from. After moving six of the large stones aside, Harry finally uncovered the stone he wanted. Placing his hand on the rock again, Harry pulsed his mana into it and felt a Magic within. He wasn’t sure exactly what was inside, though he was hopeful for Sage Quartz, he also didn’t know how much would be within the large stone.

Placing both hands on the large stone, Harry worked a spell as he began to glide his hands over the moss-covered rock. The moss was stripped away by the first pass of his hand. The next pass shaved away the surface of the rock. Over and over Harry passed his hands across the rock. Bit by bit the large stone shrank as Harry continued to shave it down. When only the core of the stone was left, Harry had easily been processing for the better part of an hour.

“Moment of truth.” Harry smiled at the remainder of the rock. He tapped the last layer of stone with the tip of his right index finger. The granite cracked like the shell of an egg and fell to pieces around what Harry had felt with his mana. “Brilliant.” He beamed as he kneeled down and picked up the fairly large piece of Sage Quartz. It looked very similar to the picture in his book. White Quartz with dark-green, root-like lines crisscrossing through the stone. It probably weighed about six kilograms or so. Not a lot, but he hadn’t been expecting to find much to begin with.

Something slamming into his Protego Totalum had Harry’s head snapping over to the source so quickly his neck popped. There, standing just outside of his spell’s area of effect, was a Forest Troll. With greenish skin and hair that could almost be mistaken for thick grass, the beast was far different from the Mountain Troll that he’d faced in First Year. It had a muscular body, except for a rather pronounced gut, strong arms with large hands, thick legs like tree trunks, and was barely covered by some scraps of animal fur around its immense girth. What had hit Harry’s shield was the massive club in the Troll’s hand. It looked like the large creature had broken a tree in half and simply picked up whatever portion was ‘club-shaped’ enough for its needs.

“Oi!” Harry shouted to get the Troll’s attention focused. “I’m not here to cause trouble! I’ve got what I want so I’m leaving, alright?”

“Graaaahhh!” The Troll roared in response, slamming its large club against the shield again. Trolls weren’t the most intelligent of species out there. Their Magically Resistant skin, more like hide really, made them hard to deal with for most Witches and Wizards. Aside from that, their immense strength made them dangerous as well as their mostly carnivorous diet.

Harry grimaced at the Forest Troll as it continued to bang on the Protego Totalum. With a glance down at his waist, where Aethereum was hanging on his hip, Harry looked back at the raging Troll. It would be Harry’s first time using his Artifact Sword against a living target. Voldemort did make use of Trolls in the Seventies as well. He might need to do this in the future in a much direr situation. With a deep breath, Harry unsheathed Aethereum and held it at the ready.

“Nothing that could start a fire, but something strong enough to get through its hide.” Harry murmured to himself as the Forest Troll continued to rage against the magical shield. Directing his mana into Aethereum, Harry gave it only a single intention; to sever.

The Forest Troll stumbled as the Protego Totalum disappeared as it tried to bash its club against it again. The little prey stood with a shiny stick in its hands. The Troll straightened itself and took a step towards its soon-to-be meal with its club raised high. One good hit should kill the prey and then the Troll could eat. The little prey raised its shiny stick over its’ head with both hands. The Troll took another step forward. The prey brought the shiny stick down and almost hit the ground with it. The Forest Troll felt something touch its face, chest, and stomach. Then its vision went dark.

Harry watched as the near invisible line of his spell, amplified by Aethereum’s innate Magic, passed through the Forest Troll and then kept going. The spell was quickly lost in the darkness of the forest. The Troll stilled, not taking a third step towards him. Then the large, green creature split down the middle. Then the very air snapped and the ground split!

A violent gale tore through the dark forest just as a large trench formed through the rock and dirt of the ground! Harry’s eyes widened as everything in the path of his spell split in two with great force. The line of destruction continued deeper into the forest and Harry heard the snaps of tree limbs, and perhaps even trees themselves, falling to the ground. The trench that was cleaved into the ground had smooth edges, a testament to both the simplicity of his spell and its power.

Seeing the gore that was the vertically bisected Forest Troll, the teen Artificer averted his gaze and took deep, steadying breaths for a few moments. Once he was sure his dinner wouldn’t be re-visiting him, Harry sheathed Aethereum. Without a word he picked up the Sage Quartz and activated his Wind Walker. The teen flew high into the air, getting an idea of just how far his spell had reached by the line of destruction through the deep forest. It had to have been close to a hundred meters in length. With another sigh, Harry pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and put it on. Pulling up the hood and becoming completely invisible, he flew back towards the distant point of light that was Hogwarts. He’d figure out what he’d do with the Sage Quartz tomorrow, right now he just wanted to sleep off what he’d seen.

-October 30th ~ Welcoming Feast-

“Did they forget what Warming Charms are or something?” Harry shook his head as he saw a large number of students shaking in the cold night air. The entire Faculty and Student Body of Hogwarts were waiting to welcome the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Harry had simply cast a Warming Charm on himself a few minutes into the wait. Luna, who stood nearby, copied him. He noticed a few others that had done the same amongst the crowd. Hermione, Megan, Padma, and a few other Ravenclaws weren’t shivering in the cold. A good number of the Upper Years from the other three Houses had done the same.

“Hey look!” Someone from Gryffindor shouted with their hand pointed towards the sky. Everyone’s attention focused on a small dot in the waning light as it grew bigger.

Closer and closer the object got until everyone could see it was a massively large carriage being pulled by equally large, winged horses! The carriage got closer and began to descend. Harry was pretty sure he heard Hagrid call the large horses beautiful. They looked to be Abraxans, which meant that no normal man would be able to guide them. The large Magical horses could easily drag a dozen or more full-grown men around without trouble. The carriage landed with the thundering of the Abraxans’ hooves and the sharp thud of the carriage’s wheels hitting the ground.

When the carriage came to a stop, the door opened and a teen boy, dressed in the blue uniform of Beauxbatons, tapped his wand on the doorframe. A set of metal steps unfolded from beneath the carriage and the young man stepped down them before standing off to the side. The next person to appear from the carriage was a massive woman, easily as tall as Hagrid, maybe taller, and with a statuesque build that made her look imposing. She walked down the steps and took a few steps forward before the next students emerged in two lines. One line was entirely girls, while the other line was all boys. Harry noted that the girls’ line was a bit longer than the boys’ line.

“Madame Maxime, lovely to see you again.” Dumbledore smiled brightly as he greeted the large woman. “Welcome to Hogwarts.”

“It has been a long time, Dumbledore.” Maxime replied back with her own smile down to the old man. Her French accent was noticeable, but it was clear she spoke English well enough to not mispronounce words or names. “It is chillier than I remember. Might my students head inside to keep warm?”

“Of course, please make yourselves at home while we await Durmstrang’s arrival.” Dumbledore offered genially. “Mr. Filch will lead you to the Great Hall; the Ravenclaw table will welcome your students with open arms.”

“Thank you, Dumbledore.” Maxime nodded as she led her students up the stairs following after Mr. Filch.

Harry looked over the students and caught Fleur’s eyes. The two smiled at each other warmly and Fleur even winked at him. Harry grinned and shook his head as he heard the boys around him start acting up from even the passive Allure that Fleur naturally exuded. Apparently the greater control of her Magic let her rein in her Allure even more than before. The flipside being that her Magic was now more in-tune with her body and that made her Allure more potent. Shortly after the Beauxbatons students had entered the castle, someone else called out.

“What’s that?!” A younger student questioned as the Black Lake began to churn and throw up waves.

Everyone watched as the water roiled before beginning to swirl around into a massive whirlpool. From the whirlpool a large sailing ship began to emerge. The bow and figurehead rose over the edge of the whirlpool. Then the main body of the ship breached the water and the whole vessel tilted forward and landed on the lake. The ship bobbed violently for a few moments before it sailed right up to the edge of the lake and then dropped anchor. The gangplank was lowered and a man in a large fur coat began walking down the ramp. He was followed by students all wearing the same red uniform. Each of the young men had a fur-lined cloak over their shoulders and a staff in their hands.

“Albus, it has been too long!” The obvious Head of Durmstrang greeted Dumbledore with a smile.

“Igor, good to see you again.” Dumbledore returned the warm greeting and the two men gave each other a brief hug with a strong pat on the back. “The Beauxbatons students are already inside. We can join them and get the Welcoming Feast started.”

“They came to Scotland in the autumn in those thin uniforms, didn’t they?” Igor gave a rough laugh as he motioned his students to follow him. Harry noticed that there were only male students. Once the Durmstrang students were inside, the Hogwarts students were led back into the Great Hall by their Heads of House.

“Mr. Potter, a quick word, if I may?” Dumbledore got Harry’s attention as they were headed back into the castle.

“Yes, Headmaster?” Harry asked as they walked side by side.

“It’s a bit of tradition that when Wizards and Witches meet and exchange hospitality, that a show of Magic is performed.” Dumbledore explained as they approached the Great Hall. “High Master Karkaroff, Headmistress Maxime, and myself have decided to let a student of our choosing from our respective schools perform this tradition.”

“I get the feeling you want me to be the student for Hogwarts.” Harry looked the old man in the eye. “Wouldn’t a Seventh Year be better for this?”

“Perhaps, but perhaps not.” Dumbledore’s eyes were twinkling and Harry knew the Headmaster’s mind was made up.

“Couldn’t give me more warning at least?” Harry shook his head with a small grin.

“I believe the best thing for this tradition is improvisation, rather than a rigid routine.” Dumbledore chuckled and Harry shrugged.

“Fine, fine, when do we start?” Harry asked as he noticed Fleur at one end of the Professors’ Table and Viktor Krum of all people at the opposite end.

“As soon as I sit down.” Dumbledore smiled at the teen and moved quickly, for a man his age, to take his seat.

‘That old man!’ Harry grumbled in his mind. He didn’t have much time to think about it though as Viktor twirled his staff a few seconds after Dumbledore was seated.

Viktor conjured up sparkling diamonds of ice and sent them levitating through the hall with a wave of his staff. The diamonds refracted the candle light and made rainbows dance across the Great Hall. The light show went on for a moment before Viktor slammed the end of his staff on the stone floor. The diamonds burst into snow that gently fluttered down onto everyone in the Great Hall.

Fleur quickly took up the performance as she wandlessly conjured birds of flame that flew around the hall. The birds exploded like fireworks and from the explosion, petals of fragrant flowers fell. The petals disappeared as they touched the students, tables, or the floor and Fleur finished her performance with a clap of her hands that sent a wave of Magic through the Hall. Everyone that the spell touched suddenly had a smile on his or her face and Harry realized what his girlfriend had done.

‘A Cheering Charm, a nice finish.’ Harry admitted to himself with a grin. ‘I guess it’s my turn.’

Harry snapped his fingers on both hands and a large Lumos Charm appeared over each hand. Another double snap and two more large Lumos Charms sprang into existence. With a thought and the proper application of his mana, each of the Charms turned a different color. There was now a blue light, a yellow light, a green light, and a red light. Shaping his spell, the balls of colorful light took the form of one of the Four House animals. A Red Lion strutted through the air just above the Gryffindor Table. A Yellow Badger scampered along the length of the Hufflepuff Table. A Green Snake slithered through the air just above the Slytherin Table. The Ravenclaw Table was flown over by a large Blue Eagle.

Many students, both foreign and Hogwarts, tried to touch the colorful animals only for their hands to pass through them. They were only light, so it felt like nothing, but it seemed to be a fun experience for the students. When the four animals cleared the table they vanished in a flash. To end his own performance Harry focused on a happy memory and a smile crossed his face. With a large push of his mana, a bright silvery mist formed and then seemed to solidify. The construct twisted and twirled through the air before fully forming.

A cheer rose up in the Great Hall as Harry’s Patronus fully formed. The massive Eastern Dragon twisted through the air, glowing brightly. It flew through the Great Hall and the sheer positivity of the Guardian brought smiles, cheers, and laughter to the students and even some of the Professors. Harry guided his Patronus back towards the Professor’s Table and had it fly around Viktor with its long serpentine body. The rather surly looking young man actually cracked a smile! Fleur was next and she beamed at him while running her hand through the silvery mists of pure positivity. To finish up Harry directed his Patronus to twist and twine itself behind him and look out over the entire Great Hall. With a clap of his hands, the enormous Guardian burst into a wave of the silvery mist and raced through the hall. This got more cheers and laughter from the students.

The entire Hall burst into applause for the show of Magic and Harry felt like the tradition was complete now. The three students bowed to the students, then turned and bowed to the Professors, they quickly retreated to their assigned tables afterwards. Fleur easily caught Harry’s hand and the two sat beside each other at the Ravenclaw Table next to the Beauxbatons students.

“With a marvelous show of Magic from our students, I declare the Welcoming Feast open!” Dumbledore was all bright smiles as food appeared on all the serving platters instantly. Harry quickly noted several dishes he’d never seen before and correctly guessed them to be from the various countries that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang took their students from normally.

“That was wonderful, mon amour!” Fleur beamed at him before leaning in to catch his lips. Harry returned the gentle kiss and they broke apart with smiles.

“You were amazing too.” Harry leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you.” Fleur grinned at him as they began to fill their plates. Fleur was naturally attempting to get Harry to try some new French cuisine.

After the desserts disappeared some time later, the Welcoming Feast began to die down. It was as the last of the students turned their attention to the Professors’ Table that Dumbledore stood up again. Harry and Fleur both listened as Dumbledore had Mr. Filch bring in a case and open it. The Headmaster withdrew a wooden goblet from within and placed it on a pedestal so that all could see it. Harry’s eyes quickly took in the simple-looking object before coming to a conclusion.

‘That’s an Artifact.’ Harry would guarantee it.

Dumbledore went on to explain that the Goblet of Fire would be the impartial judge that would pick the three Champions that would compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry and Fleur’s hands found each other’s under the table and entwined their fingers as they listened. Harry really wanted to look over the Goblet in greater detail, but knew he probably wouldn’t be getting that chance.

“What’s an Age Line? Is it like a Ward?” Harry whispered to Fleur after Dumbledore told the students in the Hall how the Goblet would be protected against underage students.

“Oui, a basic one, but one that is impossible to fool.” Fleur whispered back with a nod. “It only lasts about twenty-four hours unless recast, so it’s actually a good choice for this situation.”

After the explanation on how the eligible students would submit their names to the Goblet of Fire, the students were ushered off to bed. Harry and Fleur walked slowly together. The couple was happy to spend time together again after two months apart. Harry walked her all the way back to the Beauxbatons carriage hand in hand. When they stood in front of the door to the carriage they both leaned forward and pressed their lips together. This kiss started out soft, but became more heated as it went on. The separation had fanned the flames of their desire for each other. The teens were full-on French Kissing before they were interrupted as the carriage door rattled and they broke apart.

“Miss Delacour, please come inside and prepare for bed.” Madame Maxime requested as her eyes took in the two students. “Classes start at their regular time in the morning. I’m sure you and your paramour can find time after classes to spend together.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Harry.” Fleur kissed his cheek with a smile.

“Goodnight Fleur.” Harry returned her smile as Fleur entered the carriage and the door was closed behind her by Maxime.

‘Won’t she be surprised when she sees the gift I have for her tomorrow?’ Harry chuckled to himself as he walked back towards the castle. He’d get to show her his hidden workshop and give her the gift. Maybe she’d want to thank him right then and there? He grinned at the thought as he made it into the castle.

-End Chapter-

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Fleur is at Hogwarts! Yay!

Harry is looking into increasing his Runecraft, Alchemy, and Artifice all at once! He even gathered a naturally occurring Magical stone! What does Sage Quartz do? He also tested out Aethereum for the first time against a hostile target. The act of taking a life is never as easy as one thinks, but Harry knows he’ll probably have to do it eventually. It’s probably best to work up the nerve now, so that you don’t falter later.

What will this Triwizard Tournament entail?

Who will be the Champions?

What’s Voldemort doing while skulking about out of sight?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 8,862

Tonks – 9,836

Penelope – 8,314

Fleur – 8,790

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 37: Champion Selection

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Champion Selection time! Who will be the Champion for each school? Will there be an unexpected fourth Champion?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 37 – Champion Selection

“Where are you taking me, Harry?” Fleur questioned with a melodious giggle.

“You’ll see,” Harry replied with a grin as he led her down a seemingly random, empty corridor.

“Are you looking for a place to be alone with me, mon amour?” Fleur teased her love and Harry only nodded to her teasing.

“Perhaps…” Harry chuckled as he stood in front of the protected door to his hidden workshop. “We’re here.”

“Here?” Fleur looked at the end of the corridor, just blank walls on all sides. “Where is here?”

“Right here, of course.” Harry smirked at his silvery-blonde girlfriend a he took hold of the door handle and opened it.

“Magnifique!” Fleur praised with a beautiful smile as the door came into her focus and she could see inside. “More of your work, I take it?”

“Some of the simpler stuff, yes.” Harry confirmed as he led her inside and shut the door behind her.

“Well, now that we’re alone and hidden from everyone, whatever could your plans be with me?” Fleur purred teasingly as she ran her left hand over her curves.

“I was thinking I’d show you the gift I made for you.” Harry rebuffed her teasing with his experience. He knew her games. Not to say he wasn’t very tempted though!

“A gift?” Fleur cocked her head to the side, her silvery locks swaying from the motion.

“It’s in the smithy.” Harry gestured for her to follow him and he opened the door to the smithy for her. Fleur gave him a smile as she stepped into the room only to stop dead just like Penny had done the first time.

“Harry…” Fleur breathed as her blue eyes locked onto the armor that was resting on a mannequin in the smithy. The Veela teen could swear she’d heard a hiss in her mind the instant she’d stepped into the room. There was a sense of being watched and a slight pressure on her senses. She took a second step when she felt Harry’s hand on her back. “You made another Basilisk Scale Mail?” She asked as she snapped out of it and the feelings faded away.

“Three more now, actually.” Harry smiled at her as they walked over to the Artifact Armor. “This one is yours.”

“Mine?” Fleur’s head snapped around so quickly her hair twirled through the air from the motion. Her beautiful eyes searched his for only a moment before they confirmed the truth in them. “Harry… Thank you, I love it.” She graced him with her gorgeous, heart-warming smile as she pulled him into a hug.

“I’m glad,” Harry returned the hug as his arms wrapped around her waist. “I want to keep you three safe. I need to.” He pulled her closer as he tightened his hold on her.

“We will be safe, Harry, thanks to you.” Fleur assured him as she pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. Without another word she pressed her lips to his and the two quickly got lost in their kiss. When they pulled away to catch their breath, both were hazy-eyed.

“Fleur.” Harry didn’t need to say anything else as his hands descended from her waist to her hips and then to her bottom.

“Harry~” Fleur breathed hotly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hopped up to wrap her legs around his waist. Harry quickly supported her weight with his hold on her ass. Lips met again as Harry carried her out of the smithy and towards his work desk.

Sitting Fleur on the desk without breaking contact from her lips, Harry moved his hands to gently cup her face. The Veela teen hummed in approval before her hands began to tug at his robes. With a heavy breath the two separated and started removing robes, shirts, and Fleur happily removed her bra to expose her large breasts to her love. Harry wasted no time to lavish her tits with his full attention. Fleur moaned pleasurably at the warmth of Harry’s touch as she held him close to her breasts. She kept her legs wrapped around his waist to both encourage their closeness, as well as prevent either of them from removing anything below the waist. They were teens and indulging as teens did, but that didn’t mean they would be irresponsible.

The couple wasn’t seen by anyone until dinner that night.

-Great Hall ~ After Dinner-

It was time for the Goblet of Fire to choose the three Champions for the Tournament. Fleur had put her name in first thing this morning and Harry was certain that she’d be chosen for Beauxbatons. He hoped Hogwarts got a good Champion too. At the very least he hoped it was someone that wouldn’t embarrass themselves and the whole of Hogwarts by extension. He was also fairly certain that Viktor Krum would be chosen for Durmstrang. According to his Scouter the teen had a mana reading just over 7,000. He was by far the strongest of his peers from the northern school.

The Goblet’s shimmering blue flames spiked and Dumbledore waved his wand to lower the lights in the Great Hall. Only the flickering candles inside the floating Jack O’ Lanterns remained to give illumination alongside the blue flames of the goblet. Dumbledore stood next to the goblet as the blue flames swirled about. When the flames turned red a spark leapt from the fire and a singed piece of parchment floated through the air. Dumbledore plucked the falling parchment from the air and opened it.

“The Champion for the Durmstrang Institute is…Viktor Krum!” Dumbledore announced and the Hall erupted into cheers. The large teen was congratulated by his peers and Karkaroff was applauding more than most of the students. Viktor made his way up to Dumbledore and was motioned towards the antechamber behind the Professor’s Table.

The red flames flared high again as Viktor headed into the antechamber. With another blast of sparks, a new piece of lightly singed parchment floated downwards. When it was in reach Dumbledore caught it and proceeded to open it. After a second to read, the Headmaster looked up and spoke.

“The Champion for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is…Fleur Delacour!” Dumbledore declared and the Hall, most especially the male students, broke into raucous cheers. Fleur playfully rolled her eyes as she stole a kiss form Harry and stood up. She walked up to Dumbledore and exchanged a few short words. Fleur also headed for the antechamber just as the Goblet’s red flames flared up.

With an impressively high burst of flames, the last parchment that held the Hogwarts’ Champion’s name began to flutter towards the ground amid a shower of sparks. Harry noted that the magical flames turned back to blue and died down. When Dumbledore caught the parchment the blue flames were snuffed out as if someone had blown out a candle. All that was left was the wooden Artifact, sitting on its pedestal.

“The Champion for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is…” Dumbledore stopped as he read the name on the parchment. A perplexed look of confusion filled the old man’s face as he looked to be staring at the name on the lightly charred parchment. The Headmaster looked up and his eyes landed on Harry. The two literally locked eyes and Harry felt his stomach drop.

No… No, no, no…’ Harry had a very unpleasant realization as their gazes held each other. When he saw Dumbledore’s eyes show a mix of confusion and a hint of suspicion, Harry nearly swore aloud. ‘Fuck!’ He could still swear internally though!

“Harry Potter.” Dumbledore wasn’t loud, his voice much more subdued than when he announced the previous two Champions. Most eyes in the Hall quickly turned to the Fourth Year in shock.

Harry stood slowly and with great reluctance he started walking. His emotions must have shown on his face as several students flinched back as he walked passed them. He was angry, why wouldn’t he be? Somehow, someway, he’d been entered into the Triwizard Tournament! What the hell was going on and who did he have to viciously beat to death with his blacksmithing hammer for getting him mixed up in this? As he made it up to Dumbledore, he started to hear the buzzing in the Great Hall. Whispers and murmuring were slowly starting to build as the other students questioned what was going on.

“Harry, Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “I trust you didn’t do this?”

“Of course not, Headmaster.” Harry nearly hissed in response. “I have a revived, potentially undead, Dark Lord coming after me. I have no time to waste on this Tournament.”

“I figured as much,” Dumbledore gave him a nod as they continued to talk in hushed tones. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you.”

“I will be examining the Goblet of Fire, Headmaster.” Harry made it clear with both his tone and his posture that he wouldn’t be taking ‘No’ for an answer. “You can expect to be talking to Sirius shortly as well.” With that Harry nearly, just short of really, stormed off to the antechamber and roughly closed the large door behind him.

“Harry?” Fleur’s confusion could be heard as he walked into the chamber.

“Is something wrong?” Viktor questioned with his usual semi-surly look on his face. The older teen had clearly not expected to see a Fourth Year in the antechamber for the Champions of the Tournament.

“One second, please.” Harry begged off as he reached into his robes and pulled out the Communication Mirror from his pocket. “Sirius Black.” He whispered to the hand mirror. With a slight vibration Harry felt the moment the connection was made.

“Harry? I didn’t expect a call this early.” Sirius’ expression was perplexed. “Isn’t the Halloween Feast still going on?”

“There’s been a complication, Sirius.” Harry spoke to his Godfather and the man picked up on Harry’s anger, confusion, and trepidation.

“What happened? Do I need to come to Hogwarts?” Sirius was clearly moving as the image of his face in the mirror became tilted as his hand moved.

“I was somehow entered into the Triwizard Tournament against my will.” Harry informed him and the image of his Godfather stopped moving as Sirius stopped cold.

LIKE HELL YOU’RE PARTICIPATING IN THAT BLOODY TOURNAMENT!!!” Sirius roared through the mirror and even Harry flinched back at the explosive outburst.

“Mr. Potter?! What have you got there?! Was that Lord Black?” McGonagall spoke up from behind Harry.

Harry turned to find that Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Maxime, Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, and Bartemius Crouch were all standing behind him. Harry was confused as to why Snape was there, the man wasn’t his Head of House like Flitwick. He wasn’t Headmaster or Deputy Headmaster; that was Dumbledore and McGonagall. He wasn’t the Head of Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, nor was he the Head of Magical Games and Sports or International Magical Cooperation. He really had no reason to be here.

“It’s a Communication Mirror, Professor.” Harry explained as he showed the group the hand mirror with Sirius’ enraged face looking at them all. “I called my Godfather, my legal Guardian, about what has happened tonight.”

“Dumbledore! We’re having words, now!” Sirius barked out at the old man at the front of the group. “I’ll Floo to Hogwarts if I have to, so help me! Harry is not participating in the damned Triwizard Tournament!”

“Lord Black, I assure you we’re going to get to the bottom of this.” Dumbledore accepted the mirror from Harry.

“That should be obvious!” Sirius was spitting mad and not afraid to show it.

“Lord Black, I’m afraid things aren’t so simple.” Crouch tried to placate the Lord of House Black. “The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding Magical Contract.”

“How the hell can my Godson be bound to a Magical Contract he didn’t submit himself to?! You think you can hide behind some flimsy excuse like that, Crouch?!” Sirius turned his ire on the Head of International Magical Cooperation.

Speaking of,’ Harry thought as he noticed the Tournament Organizers all focusing on the lambasting Sirius was dishing out through the Communication Mirror. ‘Let’s examine this Artifact.’ A wandless Summoning Charm and Harry felt his mana connect to his target. With a mental pull, the wooden goblet came hurtling into the antechamber, over the heads of the Organizers unnoticed, and into Harry’s hands. ‘Now, how do you work?’ Harry wondered as he let his mana flow into the Artifact to try and commune with it.

There was some rather rough Runecraft that made up the Goblet of Fire. It was a very old Artifact though, so maybe at the time this had been top tier work? Regardless, Harry delved deeper to try and determine how the Artifact had gotten his name or even chosen him. The wooden goblet only had two functions, Contract and Designation. The ability to hold the Triwizard Tournament’s rules as a Magical Contract and the ability to choose those that were bound to said contract. Honestly, it would be a Median Grade Artifact for its two functions alone, at least in Harry’s opinion. The teen Artificer noted that there were little to no actual failsafe measures to prevent someone from submitting another person’s name though.

Shoddy foresight.’ Harry criticized internally as he searched for the last bits of information that he could glean from the Artifact. ‘Is that it? This thing can collect the Magic of anyone that violates its Contract? No wonder someone could just toss my name into it! This piece of junk has no protections woven into it! Any student from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, or Durmstrang could be bound to this thing! Whoever put my name in could have tossed in anyone’s name. They could have tossed in a First Year’s name and the Goblet might have chosen them!’ The Artificer raged internally at the shoddy work and lack of care that had been put into the Goblet of Fire’s overall creation. ‘The only determination for choice is…wait…really? That’s all?’ He wanted to find out the Goblet’s destruction method so badly right now! The only ‘choice’ the Goblet made with its Designation function was based entirely on how strong the Wizard or Witch in question was? How tacky was that? Did skill mean nothing to the Artificer that made this?

“But how does it measure strength?” Harry murmured aloud as he came out of his communing with the Goblet of Fire. “Is it some arbitrary method that can be picked up from the signer’s writing, perhaps? But that would be so easy to fool. Just pouring your mana into the quill and ink as you wrote would trick such a simple measurement.”

“Harry? Are you alright?” Fleur whispered to him and Harry blinked as he just now noticed Fleur standing next to him.

“Sorry Fleur, I was trying to understand this shoddy Artifact.” Harry held up the wooden goblet. “I’ll be alright, but I don’t think this thing’s Contract can be broken. Whoever made it was simplistic as hell. Only going through the Tournament removes the contract. What idiot made this back in the day I don’t know, but I’d really like to bludgeon him or her to death with their own shitty work!”

“Mr. Potter? Why do you have the Goblet of Fire?” Crouch questioned the teen. Apparently Sirius had needed to stop his tirade against the Tournament Organizers to breathe.

“I’m an Artificer in case you’ve forgotten, Mr. Crouch.” Harry reminded the older man. “I was studying this embarrassing piece of work to try and determine how I was entered into the tournament. With its simplistic rulings and total lack of any preventative safety measures, I’m now wondering how many previous competitors were forced into this tournament in the past.”

“It’s obvious you put your own name into the Goblet, Potter.” Snape sneered at the teen.

“Shut your mouth, Snivellus!” Sirius barked at the dour Potions Professor. Snape bristled at the childhood insult and only a look from Dumbledore made the pale man hold his tongue.

“As it stands, only completing this Tournament will remove the Contract of the Goblet.” Harry let out an annoyed sigh. “So it looks like I’ll be competing as the Hogwarts Champion…, just brilliant.”

“I’m still heading for Hogwarts, Harry.” Sirius spoke up and drew all attention back to the Communication Mirror.

“Please do, Sirius,” Harry had a sardonic little smile on his face. “I’m sure the Organizers will be interested to hear what legal ramifications you have in store for them in person.” He took some vengeful joy at the slight flinches of both Bagman and Crouch.

“Dumbledore, I’d like to Floo to your office to discuss this incident further.” Sirius requested, though the man’s tone made it clear that this was anything but a request. “Will you open your Floo?”

“Yes, of course, I’ll need some time to get to my office to do so.” Dumbledore nodded to the mirror in his hand.

“Excellent, please hand the mirror back to Harry.” Sirius instructed the old man. Once the mirror was back in Harry’s hands Sirius spoke again. “I’ll be there shortly, Harry, we’ll talk about this before I leave.”

“Thanks Sirius.” Harry smiled at his Godfather.

“See you soon, Harry.” Sirius grinned at his Godson. With that the mirror went back to normal and Harry saw only his reflection.

“I believe you still need to inform us of the Tournament in some way?” Viktor spoke up from his place near Karkaroff. Harry stowed the Communication Mirror back into his inner robe pocket before entwining his fingers with Fleur’s.

“Yes, the First Task will be held on November the Twenty Fourth.” Ludo Bagman spoke up with a smile.

“What will this Task entail, exactly?” Fleur questioned and almost rolled her eyes when the portly man’s gaze became unfocused as he looked at her.

“It is a test of daring. You three will go into it blind with only your wands to aid you.” Crouch informed the three of them with a serious look on his face.

“Well, that’s unhelpful.” Harry remarked and Fleur squeezed his hand even as a small giggle escaped her lips.

“Now that you’ve been informed of the date of the First Task, you may retire to your quarters.” Dumbledore told the three Champions with his grandfatherly aura, as Harry jokingly referred to it, in full effect.

“Walk me to the carriage?” Fleur batted her eyelashes at her boyfriend.

“Of course, my lady.” Harry gave her a gentlemanly bow as they both snickered. The couple walked out of the antechamber hand in hand and smiling softly.

When the couple walked through the Great Hall it was empty, the students having been ushered into their dormitories for the night. They took a leisurely stroll down the castle steps and across the grass towards the Beauxbatons carriage. When they were standing in front of the carriage they gave each other a kiss goodnight. They probably would have gone further, but they could see Madame Maxime heading there way already.

“Goodnight, Harry.” Fleur gently pressed her forehead against his.

“Goodnight, Fleur.” Harry returned as they looked into each other’s eyes.

As Fleur entered the carriage, Harry turned and started heading back to the castle. He gave a short bow to Maxime as they passed each other. He needed a copy of the rules of the Triwizard Tournament. The Champions might be afforded some measure of leeway or perhaps outright exemptions for certain things. Any extra time he could get to work on his Artifice and delve deeper into Alchemy would be welcome. It was going to be a ridiculously busy year if he had to do all of his classes on top of preparing for the Tournament.

It’s looking more and more like this should be my final year at Hogwarts.’ Harry thought to himself as he headed for the Headmaster’s office. Knowing Sirius he’d want to see him as soon as possible.

-Headmaster’s Office-

“Harry!” Sirius beamed at his Godson fondly.

“Sirius.” Harry smiled back as he accepted the hug from his Godfather.

“I was just about to inform these two of what you being forced into the Triwizard is going to cost them.” Sirius shot a glare at both Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch. Bagman flinched while Crouch merely kept a controlled, neutral expression.

“I figured,” Harry couldn’t stop the small, vindictive smirk from forming on his face as he was sat in a cushy chair next to his godfather.

“Firstly, you’re Departments are both going to be sued for endangering my Godson with your ill-conceived restarting of this tournament.” Sirius had a stony glare for both men. “You can expect the formal and legal notifications to be sent by the Black Family’s Attorney in a few days. Secondly, you’re both going to face charges of endangerment, personally. This tournament was ended because of the ever-increasing death toll and now my Godson’s life is endangered because of you two. The Minister had to sign off on this as well, so he’ll also be getting a notification from my attorney at the same time.”

“I-I-I…” Bagman seemed to be having trouble forming words at the mere thought of being brought up on legal charges.

“Sirius, I understand your displeasure, but…” Dumbledore was cut off before he could try to play mediator.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook, Headmaster.” Sirius turned his gaze on Dumbledore. “Your Age Line protection around the Goblet didn’t prevent this from happening and you had no other safety measures. I’ll be demanding recompense from either Hogwarts or yourself personally for your lack of care in this matter. The Triwizard was supposed to be made exclusive for ‘Of Age’ Witches and Wizards only. It is dangerous despite what precautions you’ve claimed to have made this time around.”

“That is a reasonable request, Sirius.” Dumbledore nodded to the Lord Black. Harry got the distinct feeling that the old man wasn’t happy, but wanted this to be resolved quickly regardless. “I’ll await the legal correspondence and hope to have this matter settled shortly.”

“Harry, is there anything you need or want now that you’ve been forced to participate?” Sirius turned to look at his Godson.

“I’d like a rule book so that I know everything about this contract. If certain privileges are afforded to the three Champions I’d also like to know about them as well.” Harry laid out his current wants in regards to his unintended placement into the tournament.

“I do have a copy of the rule book on my person.” Crouch spoke up as he reached into a large pocket and removed and even larger book. It wasn’t overly thick, but it was probably sitting at more than one-hundred-fifty pages by Harry’s estimation. He accepted the book from Crouch and held it in his lap for now.

The rest of the meeting didn’t last very long. Harry listened attentively though, so as to not miss out on any details that might be important later. When all was said and done Bagman practically dragged himself into the Floo. The retired Beater looked utterly drained by the meeting. Crouch gave a firm nod to everyone in the room before leaving in a flash of the green flames. Sirius reminded Harry that he could always contact him if anything else happened and saw Harry out of the Headmaster’s office.

The way Sirius looked tells me he and Dumbledore are still going to be having words. I wonder what they’re talking about?’ Harry mused as he headed for Ravenclaw Tower. He had a book to read through, or at least partially read through, before bed tonight.

-Headmaster’s Office-

“Give it to me straight, Dumbledore.” Sirius gave the old man a hard look. “What are the odds this was done by Voldemort in some way?”

“Normally I would say next to none, but with the bold actions at the World Cup, I can’t rule it out.” Dumbledore admitted with a contrite look on his wrinkled face.

“That’s what I figured.” Sirius grumbled as his fists clenched. “You know you have two former Death Eaters in the school right now, right? Both of them also had access to the Goblet of Fire and wouldn’t be stopped by an Age Line. A certain greasy dungeon bat even has access to Harry’s written name from assignments.”

“Sirius, need I remind you that Severus has my complete trust?” Dumbledore sighed at having to have this conversation again.

“That’s just it, Albus.” Sirius changed to using the man’s first name. “He has your trust. Not mine, not anyone else’s, just yours. I’ll never trust him when he willingly joined up with that madman back in the day. We trusted Peter and look where that got us. Just because you speak in Snivellus’ defense does not wipe away what he did of his own volition. I hope you remember that in the coming conflict. We can’t expect to be saved by James and Lily again.”

“I am aware, Sirius.” Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh and his advanced age became far more apparent.

“I hope so, Albus, not just for our sakes, but for Harry’s too. He’s already lost too much to that monster and I won’t let him lose more if I can help it.” Sirius stood from his chair and made his way over to the Floo. “Make the hard decisions, Albus. Do what is right for those who deserve it. Redemption is for those that actually seek it, not the ones that never saw their actions as wrong in the first place.”

“Yes.” Albus exhaled and his shoulders sagged further.

He’d thought with Voldemort dealt with and his most fanatical supporters locked away that Magical Britain would recover stronger than ever after the night of Halloween in Eighty One. How wrong he’d been. The corruption, bigotry, and beliefs of those that aligned themselves with the ‘Dark’ had only retreated temporarily. The roots of such thoughts ran deep in their country and Albus had been too optimistic back in the early eighties. Now they were right back where they started. Worse even, considering they’d lost many a good Witch and Wizard in the last war.

“Have a good evening, Headmaster.” Sirius nodded as he stepped into the fireplace and vanished in swirling green flames.

“That was in poor taste.” Albus hummed morosely after the departure. How could he possibly have a good evening after this debacle?

Fawkes trilled softly from his perch to try and uplift his old friend’s mood, even if just a bit.

-End Chapter-

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Well, that’s annoying. But Harry is the Hogwarts Champion now. At least this time he’s not some illegal fourth Champion with an entire school turning on him.

What will Harry find in the Tournament Rule Book?

Are the Tasks the same this time around?

Can Harry progress in his Artifice and Magic faster than Voldemort can recover?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 8,862

Tonks – 9,836

Penelope – 8,314

Fleur – 8,790

No increase this time, since it’s only been a day.

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 38: Preparation for the First Task

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! As Harry and Fleur prepare for the First Task together, we see the effects of the Champion Selection. How does our Champion couple prepare? Practice and some Enchanting, of course!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 38 – Preparation for the First Task

“This is annoying.” Harry grumbled as he and Fleur were having breakfast at the Ravenclaw Table the morning after the Champion Selection.

“Pay them no mind, mon amour.” Fleur gave him a warm smile that always brightened his day.

The entire student body of Hogwarts was abuzz with talks of how Harry had become Hogwarts Champion. There were already so many rumors and theories of how it had happened that Harry couldn’t keep track of them all. Some of the rumors were outright malicious, claiming that Harry had bribed his way into the tournament or blackmailed the organizers. Apparently his rage at being forced into the tournament didn’t factor into the rumors being spread about him.

“I stayed up late last night reading the tournament rule book and looking into the Champions’ responsibilities and privileges.” Harry informed Fleur with a small grin. “Turns out we can skip classes, so long as we’re using the time to prepare for the tournament.”

“Hmm, I’m sure we could both find time to prepare together.” Fleur giggled softly with a warm light in her blue-eyes.

“Definitely.” Harry chuckled as he went back to his breakfast. “I’m using the privilege to skip Potions for the entire year at minimum. I might also skip Herbology, Astronomy, and Transfiguration.”

“At that point you’ll be skipping most of your classes entirely.” Fleur mused before taking another bite of her own breakfast.

“I might put aside everything except Defense Against the Dark Arts to be honest.” Harry hummed thoughtfully. “At least Remus will teach me useful things that might help with the Tournament.”

“Don’t burn yourself out, Harry.” Fleur gave him a concerned look as she set her silverware down. “I will step in if you start trying to overwork yourself.”

“I know you will, love.” Harry smiled at Fleur, a smile that showed the depths of his affection and love for her in his deep green eyes.

“As long as we’re clear, mon amour.” Fleur felt her cheeks warm at his look.

After classes for the day, which Harry did indeed skip Potions, he found himself suddenly surrounded by his study buddies. Luna only gave him a gentle smile as she sat down next to him like normal. Hermione, Megan, and Padma looked as if they were barely holding back their curiosity. Harry sighed and playfully rolled his eyes.

“Ask; I can see that you want to.” Harry gave all three of the still standing girls a knowing look.

“Did you get past the Age Line?” Hermione blurted out her first question.

“Did you enter yourself?” Padma’s question came only a split second after Hermione’s.

“How did you become Champion?” Megan was just honestly curious.

“In order,” Harry chuckled with a grin. “I didn’t, I didn’t, and thank you Megan for not believing that I would enter myself into the tournament. The best guess I have is that since the Goblet had no actual failsafe measures or protections, someone wanted me in this dangerous tournament for a reason. Who did it, why they want me in the Tournament, and everything else is still a mystery though.”

“Sorry, Harry.” Hermione looked sheepish at her question.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything, Harry.” Padma apologized.

“You’re welcome Harry.” Megan chuckled. “So someone else tossed your name into the Goblet?”

“That seems to be the case so far.” Harry nodded to the brunette girl.

“Will you help me with my homework, Harry?” Luna asked as if Harry wasn’t involved in the Tournament at all and this was just a regular study session of theirs.

“Of course, Luna,” Harry smiled at the small blonde. “What do you have today?”

“Transfiguration.” Luna opened her book and got out her parchment and quill.

“Ah, Material Composition and its effects on Transfiguration.” Harry looked at the page of Luna’s book. “McGonagall gave us that assignment last year too.”

The rest of the study session went by fairly normally after that. Harry was more than happy to have the bit of normalcy. It had only been a day and already he was annoyed by the near-constant whispers of the other students.

-Saturday, November 5th-

“Are you ready, Harry?” Fleur questioned her boyfriend as she finished stretching a bit. They were out on the expansive Hogwarts grounds to get in some spell practice together.

“As ready as I can be.” Harry confirmed as he rolled his shoulders a bit to loosen them up.

In the five days that had passed since the Champion selection, Harry had more than enough of his peers in the castle. The whispering that would either stop dead when he entered a room, or that started up when he entered a room, both had gotten on his last nerve. The only bright point was the mirror call he’d gotten from Tonks and Penny. The two Witches had found out about his placement in the Triwizard Tournament and had apparently Apparated to Wood End Cottage to borrow, (Force Sirius to let them use), the Communication Mirror. Tonks and Penny had both been angry on his behalf for the situation. They’d both fretted over him as well, showing their concern for him through the mirror. Harry had assured them that he would think of his safety over the Tournament without question.

Still, I hope Tonks doesn’t go through with her threat.’ Harry chortled as he remembered Tonks muttering about Bagman and Crouch having accidents while at the Ministry one day.

“I am ready whenever you are, Harry.” Fleur gave him a challenging look from across their chosen practice area. Not many people were out on the grounds, considering the chill of the Scottish November was setting in now days. They had plenty of space and only a very small audience.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Harry chuckled as he seemed to split into multiple copies. One Harry went to the left, while another went to the right. Then another Harry would appear over to the left at the same time a fourth Harry appeared to head to the right again. Harry had learned to cast Similitudo on the mirror images that the Charm produced a while back. Using it on the first copy made it produce its own mirror image, then using it on the image’s copy caused it to produce another mirror image of itself. He was rather proud to have figured this out after enough practice.

“You think you can confuse me?” Fleur raised one of her delicate, silver eyebrows. With a simple wave of her hand, blades of frosted grass levitated into the air and then straightened out. A mere push with her mana and the frozen grass shot out in a wave.

“Ow.” One Harry cried out in faux pain.

“Missed me!” A different Harry jeered.

“Hey!” The third Harry acted offended at being hit with grass.

“Confused yet?” Another Harry asked Fleur cheekily.

The copies all spoke! Fleur would admit to being mildly impressed by Harry’s forethought to cast a simple Vocalizing Charm on his illusory copies. Unless she actively dispelled them, they’d keep trying to confuse her to the real Harry’s placement.

“Clever, mon amour, but not clever enough.” Fleur was moving now and conjuring small fireballs at the same time. Since Harry and his copies never stayed in one place, it would be foolish for her to stand still. “Catch!” The small fireballs, none bigger than a baseball, began to rocket from Fleur’s hands and burst into small explosions whenever they hit something. The copies were rapidly decreasing in number as her spell disrupted the Similitudo Charm.

Harry’s response was to conjure ropes and send them at Fleur’s moving form. Strong constructs flew through the air towards the Veela while several writhing ropes slithered their way across the ground towards her. Pincer tactics would force Fleur to split her focus. To further split her focus on him and his conjurations, Harry stomped his foot on the ground, sending a spell into the partially frozen dirt.

“Vraiment maintenant? (Really now?)” Fleur huffed as two large bears were transfigured from the ground. The great beasts charged her with realistic roars and she couldn’t find much fault with Harry’s inanimate to animate Transfiguration. Stealing a page from Harry’s book, Fleur cast a wide area Immobulus Charm to freeze the ropes and the bears in place. A powerful Finite vanished the conjured ropes easily. As she was already moving, Fleur directly touched the two transfigured beasts. The bears returned to dirt only to then fall under Fleur’s control as she transfigured them herself.

“Crap.” Harry, still on the move himself, lamented as he watched Fleur undo his transfiguration and then split the dirt into balls. The dirt balls were quickly transfigured into metal spikes that were launched at Harry en masse! An overpowered Protego saw the spikes bending and deforming as they bounced off. ‘Let’s see how she handles this.’ He shifted his feet, feeding his mana into the earth around him as he did so. With a strong step forward he cast his spell through the dirt as a medium.

“Quoi dans le monde? (What in the world?)” Fleur blinked as the ground shook and four walls of hardened earth erupted upwards. The four walls fit together perfectly, trapping the teen in a box of transfigured earth. Only the top was still open to the sky.

“Good night!” Harry’s called out as he formed a large Stunning Spell directly above the hole in the top of his earthen box. He dropped the large, red orb of the Stupefy into the box to end their practice.

He didn’t expect his spell to suddenly stop. He really didn’t expect it to start rising back upwards against his will. Fleur had one hand above her head with a bright Protego holding back the stupidly large stunner. The Veela teen was floating in the air, no wait; she had transfigured a section of the ground under her into stone and cast a levitation charm on it. Harry watched his overpowered Stupefy shrink and then flicker out entirely as its power faded away.

“A good attempt, Harry.” Fleur grinned at him as she dispelled her Protego. “Try this!” A single bright spark of magic -yellow in color- appeared just in front of Fleur’s outstretched right hand. The spark then became two equally sized sparks, then four, then eight. It continued to double as Fleur only smiled at her boyfriend. The absolute storm of sparks was launched forward and Harry raised his hand, forming a ‘gun’ with his index finger extended as the wave came at him. He was consumed by the sparks, lost in their bright glow. Fleur felt something hit her back before her vision went dark.

“Bang.” Harry smiled as he used levitation to catch Fleur’s unconscious form. He’d basically just shot her in the back with a Stupefy after all. Using Similitudo was getting easier and he was finding new ways to make use of the spell as he continued to experiment with it. With her vision blocked by his transfigured earth walls, Harry had been able to cast the spell again. His copy had moved in the opposite direction as him, mirroring his movements. That left Harry standing behind Fleur, facing her back, while his copy stood in front of her, facing her directly. “Good thing I had a backup plan. I figured she might block it, but I sure didn’t expect her to catch it like that.”

“Mmm…what?” Fleur blinked her grogginess away as she awoke. A simple Enervate was all that she needed. Seeing Harry holding her she gave him a half-smile. “I guess you win that round, Harry.” She had such a faux pout that Harry couldn’t help but crack up a bit.

“Yes, yes I did.” Harry nodded sagely. Fleur gently swatted his arm with an eye roll. “I believe that entitles me to a reward.”

“What reward?” Fleur tilted her head only for Harry to claim her lips in a kiss.

“That one.” Harry chuckled and Fleur grinned at him.

“I’ll allow it.” Fleur allowed with a smug little smile on her lips.

“Let’s get inside out of the cold, we can have hot chocolate and I’ll play my wooden flute for you.” Harry offered as the couple stood up from the ground.

“Oh my, a warm drink on a cold day and being serenaded by my love, you’ll spoil me~” Fleur teased as they walked towards the castle hand in hand.

“I live to do so.” Harry retorted playfully as he snapped his fingers, using his unoccupied left hand, and his earthen box trap sank back into the ground as he reversed the Transfiguration.

Neither of them paid any mind to the stunned looks of their small audience as they walked back inside. The couple also took no real notice of the fact that there was a larger crowd watching than when they’d started either. They simply made their way up the castle steps and into the castle proper. They’d get their hot chocolate and retreat to the hidden workshop to spend the rest of Saturday together.

-Wednesday, November 9th-

“You’re skipping class again, Harry.” Fleur noted as she closed the door to the hidden workshop behind her.

“Yep.” Harry replied, gracing her with a smile before returning to his work. “You are too, if you didn’t notice.”

“I’m doing it to find you and prepare for the Tournament.” Fleur replied with a light chuckle. “You’re doing it because you know your Potions Professor hates the fact that you can skip his class.”

“No, no, that’s just a bonus.” Harry chuckled as he continued his sewing. “I am actually preparing for the Tournament right now.”

“And how is sewing preparing you for the Tournament?” Fleur questioned her boyfriend as she transfigured an old school chair into a soft, plush high-backed chair with a strong point from her right index finger. Truly her control and power with Magic had never been as great as when Harry had shown her how to harness Wandless Magic. She’d treasure this gift forever.

“Creating Enchanted Objects for use in the Tournament is considered preparing, I checked the rule book.” Harry faked a know-it-all tone rather well.

“But they said we would only be permitted our wands in the First Task.” Fleur reminded him as she transfigured an ottoman for her feet to rest on from the only other extra chair in the room. She pulled it towards her desired location with a well-controlled Summoning Charm and then plopped her feet atop it.

“Yes, but the Second Task and Third Task will be different.” Harry shrugged as he shot her a wink. He pulled the needle back to tighten his previous stich.

“You read up on the Tournament’s history too,” Fleur gave a relaxed sigh as she enjoyed her transfigurations. “I’m sure it didn’t take you long to notice the pattern.”

“A Test of Daring first, usually against some kind of dangerous Magical Beast.” Harry acknowledged as he pushed the needle through the cloth again. “Then a Test of Ingenuity, which is to figure out the Second Task and prepare for it ahead of time. The Third Task is the only one that actually deviates and is usually decided upon by the organizers of each individual Tournament.”

“Bon.” Fleur gave him a loving smile. His intelligence was one of the biggest attractions she had to him. “So you’re making something new for the other two tasks?”

“Indeed.” Harry nodded as he continued to sew. “I got my order in the other day, so I figured I should get started.”

“What are you sewing with by the way?” Fleur questioned as she looked at the black threads Harry was working with.

“Shadow Moth silk.” Harry didn’t even look up as he answered her question.

“Shadow Moth?” Fleur was no Magizoologist, she’d never heard of the creature.

“A Magical Species of moth from Asia.” Harry informed as he continued to sew. “They have a rather unique ability when they’re adults. I’m using their silk because it holds that type of Magic very well and makes it easier to impart the effect I want the Item to have.”

“What effect might that be, mon amour?” Fleur giggled at how absorbed Harry could get when he was sewing.

“Something I’ve wanted to learn since the World Cup.” Harry teased, knowing that Fleur’s inquisitive mind wouldn’t let this go until she knew.

“And?” Fleur had an unamused look on her face at Harry’s teasing.

“Space Expansion Charms.” Harry looked her directly in the eye with a devious grin. “But you know me…”

“Very much so.” Fleur sighed with a shake of her head. “What kind of obscure way are you going to make use of Space Expansion Charms?”

“That has to do with the Shadow Moth’s unique ability.” Harry chuckled as he pulled another stich tight. “They can flit from one shadowy place to another, sort of like Apparation but with a much shorter range. They do this by manipulating space for a brief instant, much like Apparation does. Just imagine what a material that has intrinsic Space Manipulating properties could do when you apply Space Expansion Charms to it as well. Why, I could carry almost anything without any extra weight beyond the Item itself.”

“I’m not sure I like that manic cackle I know you’re suppressing.” Fleur sighed at her boyfriend with her cheek being supported by her palm.

“I don’t manic cackle.” Harry grinned ‘innocently’ at Fleur.

“Of course you don’t.” Fleur gave him such a disbelieving look that Harry could have sworn he physically felt it.

“Okay, so maybe I do when I’m hamming it up, sometimes.” Harry admitted with a chuckle.

“You are a very large ham sometimes, indeed.” Fleur giggled at him.

“As long as you three still love me, that’s all that matters.” Harry shrugged and Fleur smiled at him warmly.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Harry.” Fleur leaned over to kiss his cheek softly. “Not now, not ever.”

-Monday, November 14th-

“Do you like it? I like it.” Harry grinned as he showed off his completed Enchanted Item to Fleur in the hidden workshop.

“It’s a lovely cloak, Harry.” Fleur assured him with a grin. “Though a little plain.”

“What is with Magicals and wanting everything to scream ‘I’m Magical, look at me!’?” Harry huffed at Fleur who burst into melodious laughter at his pout. “Effect is much more important than looks.”

“But looks have an effect all their own, mon amour.” Fleur grinned seductively at him, cocking her hip and emphasizing her curves.

“Point.” Harry agreed with a nod as his eyes roved up and down her figure.

“So did it work? How much can you stash in this cloak of yours?” Fleur questioned as she looked at the black fabric that hid all of Harry’s body except for his head. He didn’t have the hood up at the moment.

“Plenty!” Harry chuckled as he moved his left arm and the cloak flapped upwards a bit. Something prevented the cloak from returning to its previous position and only when Harry gave a pull on the cloak did Fleur see what it was.

“Did you steal a desk?” Fleur blinked at the wooden desk that Harry had just casually dropped from within his cloak.

“No one was using it.” Harry replied with a straight face.

“Uh huh…” Fleur gave him a teasing look.

“I thought it could be useful to have a desk on hand to work at.” Harry explained his choice of item.

“You were showing off how large of an object you can carry.” Fleur instantly knew Harry was fibbing and called him out playfully.

“Perhaps…” Harry replied flatly.

“How did you get the desk into the cloak’s storage though?” Fleur asked curiously as she looked the cloak and the desk over.

“Like this.” Harry tossed the black cloak over the desk, making Fleur’s eyes widen slightly as the cloak clearly expanded to cover the object entirely. In an instant the covered desk seemingly disappeared as the cloak fell back around Harry at its normal length. “Neat, huh?”

“I think I know what I want for Christmas.” Fleur smiled brightly and Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the sparkles in her beautiful blue-eyes.

“Maybe if you’re good, Santa will bring you one.” Harry responded sagely and Fleur couldn’t stop the snort that escaped her.

“Oh?” Fleur walked up to Harry with a noticeable sway in her hips. “I’m sure I could be naughty enough to get one too~” She pressed herself against him with a seductive grin on her full lips.  “Don’t you think so, Harry~” Fleur purred into her boyfriend’s ear. She grinned victoriously as she felt him straighten up and his hands took hold of her waist.

“Probably.” Harry admitted immediately as they found each other’s lips and kissed.

Neither of them was seen until dinner that night.

-Thursday, November 17th ~ Hagrid’s Hut-

“Hagrid, what is it you want to show me?” Harry whispered to the Gamekeeper. Hagrid was oddly dressed up, as much as the large man could be given his sheer size. He even looked like he’d tried to comb his thick, shaggy hair and beard.

“Shhh…Harry, just stay under your cloak and follow me.” Hagrid instructed the teen. “Don’t make a sound, alright?”

“Alright…” Harry agreed even as he pulled the hood of his Invisibility Cloak back over his head and disappeared completely.

“Ah, Olympe, over here.” Hagrid called out just a few minutes later.

“Mr. Hagrid, you said you had something important to show me this evening?” Madame Maxime appeared from the gloom of the night. The large woman was clearly curious about whatever Hagrid had told her.

“Aye,” Hagrid nodded to the woman, and if Harry wasn’t mistaking, the large man was actually blushing. “I thought we could take a little stroll to get to what I’d like to show you tonight.” Hagrid offered with his best smile. “I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“Very well then,” Madame Maxime took Hagrid’s arm when he offered it to her. “Lead the way.”

Harry followed at a slight distance behind the two of them as they made their way through the Forbidden Forest. As they got deeper into the dark woods, Harry began to hear strange sounds. It almost sounded like muffled roaring? He followed along until a bright light lit up the forest. The Artificer stopped dead as he beheld what he was sure Hagrid was trying to show him.

“Dragons.” Harry mumbled quietly, his eyes wide at seeing the three massive beasts.

There were three fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons rearing on their hind legs inside three separate enclosures that were fenced with thick planks of wood. The great beasts were roaring and snorting, shooting torrents of fire into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths. The flames were blasting out, fifteen meters above the ground on the dragons’ outstretched necks.

Harry had studied up on Dragons a bit and easily recognized the three that had been chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. The dragon with the scarlet, smooth scales and a fringe of golden spikes around its snub-snouted face with extremely protuberant eyes was a Chinese Fireball, sometimes called a ‘Lion Dragon’ due to the spikes around its neck. The scales of the second dragon were silvery blue, and the powerful flame it was shooting into the air was also a brilliant blue color. From the spikes on its head and the rather short muzzle it had, Harry was easily able to identify this one as well, a Swedish Short-Snout. They were rumored to have the hottest fire among all Dragon species.

It was the final Dragon that took the cake in Harry’s opinion though. It was massive, with black scales and a lizard-like appearance. Its baleful yellow eyes, bronze horns and similarly colored spikes that protruded from its long tail were all the indicators that Harry needed. The Tournament Organizers had brought a fucking Hungarian Horntail to the Tournament!

Safer than previous years, my arse! They’re going to kill someone in the First Task!’ Harry cursed internally as he quickly headed away from the clearing. He’d be damned if he went into this unprepared.

It was time to learn how to deal with Dragons.

-Little Hangleton ~ Abandoned Riddle Manor-

“Is the boy in the Tournament?” Voldemort questioned the Wizard before him. His red-eyes were practically boring into the man’s head with their fierce, expectant gaze.

“Yes, My Lord, as you commanded.” The Wizard informed the recovering Dark Lord.

“Excellent, it is good to have a competent follower back at my side.” Voldemort offered some praise to the bowed man.

“Your words honor me, My Lord.” The Wizard remained bowed.

“Rise, Barty, there is still much to be done.” Voldemort gave off a dark, hissing chuckle.

“As you command, My Lord.” Barty replied as she stood up. The man looked like a younger Bartemius Crouch, his dark-brown hair not yet flecked with grey. The ruckus at the World Cup had let him escape over a decade of Imperius control by his father. Bartemius ‘Barty’ Crouch Jr. had finally returned to his Lord’s side.

All the while, no one in the abandoned manor mentioned the distinct lack of one Stephen Flint.

-End Chapter-

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Well that’s not good. Barty is back at Voldemort’s side. That could cause some problems later.

Harry is practicing with Fleur often and has even made a new item! What will he call it? Will he market this one or keep it to himself?

Next chapter is the Weighing of the Wands and the First Task! I hope you’re looking forward to it!

Maybe Harry earns a new Title to go along with his Artificer Title?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 9,124

Tonks – 10,152

Penelope – 8,598

Fleur – 9,046

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 39: The First Task

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The time has come! Let’s see how the Champions deal with Dragons to complete their First Task!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 39 – The First Task

The bright sparks of magical discharge lit up the hidden workshop as Harry tried his hand -yet again- at the advanced Alchemy he was still attempting to get right. His materials fused together into a solid mass before his eyes. He felt a slight push back from the Transmutation Circle and adjusted his mana flow until the pushback disappeared. The electric-like magical discharge decreased and focused more on his materials. The ingot in the center of the circle became more uniform in shape under the refined control. When Harry felt stronger kickback from the circle and the sparks of magical discharge started leaping from the drawn lines on the floor he slowly pulled his mana back from the circle. As the light died down, Harry removed his hands from where they’d been touching the very edge of the three meter transmutation circle.

“Let’s hope this one worked.” Harry sighed as he wiped sweat from his brow with a hand towel that was off to his side. He carefully stepped into the circle, making sure not to mess up any of the lines or symbols. When he reached the center he picked up his transmuted ingot. “Bloody hell!” Harry cursed as a quick glance over the material showed it was a failure. It was a solid mass, but each individual material that made it up was striated cleanly throughout. It was layers of his base materials stacked on top of each other, nothing even close to a proper transmutation into the material he wanted.

With a sigh Harry walked out of the circle, uncaring about the lines and symbols he was messing up now. It was obvious this circle wasn’t properly made either. He’d have to draw a new one and try to get it right this time. That was another thing he’d be working on over the many days of classes that he was skipping with his Champion Privileges. Every line he made was done with a straight edge, every angle measured with a protractor, every circle made with a taunt string to ensure uniformity, each symbol meticulously copied from the pages of the book. Yet there was obviously still something wrong if he couldn’t get a proper transmutation with the circle. He placed the striated ingot into a chest with other failed, striated ingots just like it. Harry was amassing quite the collection of them now days.

Ever since he’d seen the three Dragons, he’d taken to splitting his time between looking into weaknesses of the great beasts, attempting Alchemy, and practicing with Fleur. He’d told her first thing in the morning the night after he’d learned about them, only to find that she’d been heavily suggested by Madame Maxime to research Dragons as part of her studies. It didn’t take more than a second for the intelligent young woman to put two and two together.

Fleur had suggested not meeting force with force and coming at the Dragons from a different angle. This path had led the couple down the rabbit hole that was Song Magic. Harry would instantly admit that Fleur had a beautiful singing voice, so this approach may very well work for her. Dragon Scales might be almost spell-proof, but their auditory receptors were not. Harry, as he well knew, couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket if he tried to sing. Not to mention, he’d very much like to get his hands on the mountain of materials that a Dragon represented to an Artificer. Hey, if the Tournament Organizers were going to throw a Dragon at him, he was going to take advantage!

-November 21st ~ Weighing of the Wands-

“I’m here…” Harry sighed as he walked into the room designated for the Weighing of the Wands Ceremony. He was technically over twenty minutes late, but he was busy in his hidden workshop at the time. Fleur had been the one to come get him and she entered the room behind him with an amused smile on her lips.

“We were starting to wonder, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled genially at the teen Artificer. “No one could find you until Miss Delacour offered to collect you.”

“I get caught up in my work sometimes, Headmaster, my apologies.” Harry gave a short bow, barely bending his waist.

“Sometimes?” Fleur had a grin as she ribbed him playfully.

“Sometimes.” Harry replied with a nod.

They were all in a fairly small classroom with most of the desks pushed to the back so as to leave a large space in the middle of the room. Three of the desks, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long velvet cloth. Five chairs were set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to a witch wearing magenta robes that Harry had never met before, but he knew whom she was.

Viktor Krum was standing in a corner with Karkaroff and neither of them was talking to anybody. There was a paunchy man, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly. He was clearly watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye now that she had returned to the room. Fleur was ignoring the man entirely, well-versed in doing so thanks to the countless males that got caught up in even the tiniest amount of her natural Allure.

Bagman suddenly spotted Harry. The slightly portly man got up quickly, and nearly bounded forward to speak with him.

“Ah, here he is! Champion number three! In you come, Harry, in you come! Nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing Ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment!” Ludo informed Harry of what he already knew. Honestly, the former Professional Beater was a bit much with how strongly he came on.

“I am aware, Mr. Bagman, thank you.” Harry replied as politely as he could. He’d much rather be back in his workshop right now. Even more so if he could convince Fleur to come with him.

“After the ceremony there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter,” Bagman added, gesturing toward the witch in magenta robes that was walking up to the three of them. “She’s doing a small piece on the Tournament for the Daily Prophet....”

“Maybe not that small, Ludo,” Rita Skeeter cut him off with a smile, her eyes on Harry. Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.

“I’m very aware of who she is.” Harry responded as he gave Rita a flat look. He’d rejected every request for an interview that had been sent his way over the last couple of years. That didn’t stop Rita Skeeter from sending more though. The vile ‘reporter’ -though calling her that seemed like an insult to genuine Journalists- wasn’t one to give up on getting her scoop and then twisting it into a story of half-truths and speculations that painted the subject in a negative light.

“I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?” Rita asked of Bagman, her gaze still fixed on Harry. “The youngest Champion, you know...to add a bit of color?”

“Certainly!” Bagman agreed with a quick nod before blinking. “That is, if Harry has no objection?”

“No.” Harry replied instantly, his tone both flat and final. He noticed Fleur giving the older woman an unimpressed look out of the corner of his eye.

“If everyone could take their seats, we can begin the Weighing of the Wands.” Mr. Crouch spoke up strongly, though the man appeared tired. Harry noted the slight bags under the man’s eyes. Maybe he wasn’t sleeping well with the Tournament and the legal action that Sirius was taking against him. Harry couldn’t find it in him to be overly concerned for the man.

Very glad to get away from Rita Skeeter, Harry and Fleur went to sit next to Viktor as the Champions faced the Organizers. The other Champion was already sitting in his own chair along the opposite wall from the velvet-covered desks. Harry sat next to Viktor, looking over at the Organizers, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman were already sitting down. Rita Skeeter had settled herself down in a corner; Harry saw her slip a parchment out of her ugly, crocodile skin handbag, spread it on her knee, suck the end of an acid-green quill, and place it on the parchment. The magical writing instrument stood upright by itself, poised and ready to write down everything that Rita wanted it to.

“May I introduce Mr. Garrick Ollivander?” Dumbledore introduced the Wand Maker while taking his place at the Organizers’ table. “He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the Tournament.”

Harry gave Ollivander a smile and a nod as the old Wizard with large, pale eyes entered the room. It had been quite a while since the two had last met. The old Wizard still gave off that odd feeling of mystery that Harry remembered from his first visit to Diagon Alley over three years ago. Ollivander returned the smile before coming to a stop in the middle of the room.

“Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?” Ollivander requested with a polite smile.

Fleur stood up after giving Harry’s hand a gentle squeeze. She walked over to Ollivander and handed him her wand gently. Harry saw the instant the Wand Maker’s eyes lit up with interest and curiosity. Maybe it was an Artisan thing?

“Hmm...” Ollivander hummed as he looked the wand over. He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it up to his eyes and examined the Focus more closely. “Yes,” he murmured quietly, “nine and a half inches...inflexible...rosewood...and containing...dear me...”

“A hair from the head of a Veela,” Fleur nodded to the old Wizard with a smile. “One of my grandmother’s.”

“Yes,” Ollivander nodded in understanding. “Yes, I've never successfully used Veela hair myself, unfortunately. I find they make for rather temperamental wands on the few occasions I’ve tried. However, this suits you remarkably well, Miss Delacour. It’s an excellent match.” He ran his fingers along the length of the wand, checking for any small scratches or bumps and then he held it properly. “Orchideous!” The old Wizard cast and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

“Excellent, it's in fine working order.” Ollivander nodded as he scooped up the small bouquet and handed it to Fleur along with her wand.

“Thank you, Mr. Ollivander.” Fleur gave him a smile and nod as she returned to her seat next to Harry.

“Mr. Krum, if you please.” Ollivander nodded to the Professional Quidditch player.

Viktor got up and half-slouched as he walked over to Ollivander. He held out his wand for Ollivander to take and stood with his hands in the pockets of his robes. The teen didn’t seem at all perturbed by the inspection of his wand.

“Hmm,” Ollivander hummed as a small smile came to his face. “This is a Gregorovitch creation, a fine Wand Maker, though the styling is never quite what I would do…” He trailed off as he began to examine the wand. He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes. “Yes...Hornbeam and Dragon Heartstring?” He looked at Krum, who nodded in confirmation. “Rather thicker than one usually sees...quite rigid...ten and a quarter inches…. He does love to give his creations a bit of extra strength. But no one is here to hear about our little rivalry. Avis!”

The wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the sunlight. Harry watched them get a good distance away before they all poofed back into non-existence. The Conjuration didn’t have a very large range before it failed.

“Very good,” Ollivander smiled as he returned Viktor’s wand. The teen nodded to the old Wand Maker before heading back to his seat. “Which leaves…Artificer Potter.”

Harry gave Fleur’s hand a gentle squeeze just as she had done before. He got to his feet and walked past Viktor to get to Ollivander. He smiled at the old Wizard before bringing out his wand and handing it to the man sideways, the tip not pointing in anyone’s direction for safety.

“Ah, yes,” Ollivander nodded, his pale eyes lighting up as he held Harry’s wand. “Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember this one.” The old wizard looked over his own creation with a careful eye. “Holly and Phoenix Feather…eleven inches…nice and supple.” He ran his fingers over the wand to check for any tiny chips, cracks, or bumps that may have developed in the time Harry had possessed it. “Well taken care of, as expected of an Artificer and his tools.”

“Of course.” Harry nodded to the Wand Maker. He wasn’t one to let his wand suffer from lack of care. It was the tool by which he first learned his new spells before mastering them wandlessly.

“Poculum,” Ollivander cast with Harry’s wand and a simple glass cup appeared in his free hand. “Vinum Rubrum.” From the tip of Harry’s wand a red liquid -wine- poured into the conjured glass. Ollivander cancelled the spell before taking a sip of the wine. “It’s in perfect working order.” He handed Harry back his wand.

“Thank you, sir.” Harry gave a nod to the Wand Maker as he holstered his wand and made to return to his seat next to Fleur.

“Thank you all for your time,” Dumbledore spoke as he stood up at the Organizers’ table. “You may go back to your lessons now, or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end.”

Being a bit hungry, Harry was more than fine with heading straight to dinner with Fleur. The couple stood up and prepared to leave. Unfortunately, someone had to ruin those plans. The camera man standing next to Rita cleared his throat, none to quietly, and Bagman opened his mouth.

“Photos, Dumbledore, photos!” Bagman called excitedly. “All the Organizers and Champions, what do you think, Rita?”

Harry really wanted to hex Bagman for this.

-November 24th ~ First Task-

“You alright, Harry?” Sirius questioned his godson as they sat in the antechamber just off the Great Hall.

The families of the Champions were allowed to attend every event of the Triwizard Tournament without restriction. Harry and Fleur were both sat next to each other and surrounded by their families. Sirius, Tonks, Penny, Marius, Appoline, Gabrielle, and Remus were gathered around the two Champions.

“I’ll be fine, Sirius.” Harry reassured his godfather with a slight grin. He was slightly nervous, who wouldn’t be going up against a Dragon all alone? Harry was determined not to worry anyone else though.

“I swear I’m going to find a way to make Bagman and Crouch pay for this.” Tonks muttered as she pulled Harry into her side.

“That’s what the Black Family Lawyer is already doing.” Sirius cracked a vindictive grin. “Ludo is going to be lucky to keep anything and Crouch won’t be much better off. Fudge is using his position as Minister to stall out the legal proceedings against him, but we’ll get him eventually. There are only so many laws he can protect himself from before we find a loophole.”

“I just want Harry and Fleur to be safe.” Penny mentioned as she hugged both of the Champions. This led to her also hugging little Gabrielle who was sitting on Fleur’s lap. The adorable girl didn’t mind though as she hugged her big sister.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay, ma petite fleur?” Marius asked his daughter, slipping into their native French every now and then out of worry for his eldest child.

“Yes, Papa, I have a plan that has proven very effective against Dragons in the past.” Fleur smiled at her father to ease his worry.

“Worry about yourself, more than this Tournament.” Appoline reminded her daughter with a smile as she leaned forward to place a gentle kiss against her forehead.

“I will, Maman.” Fleur agreed instantly as she hugged Gabrielle gently.

“Remember that you don’t have to defeat the Dragon, Harry.” Remus reminded his surrogate nephew. “You just have to complete the Task.”

“I know, Remus,” Harry nodded to the werewolf Professor. “But the materials make it very tempting.” Remus sighed at Harry’s desire to collect new materials.

Thirty minutes before the Task, the Champions had to head down to the arena that had been built for the Tournament. They would be waiting in a special tent just for Champions and be given the last details just before the First Task was underway. As Fleur and Harry waited, holding each other’s hand, the three Champions were intruded upon by none other than Rita Skeeter. Harry frowned at the annoying woman -dressed in green robes today- as she walked into the tent as if she belonged there. Following behind the woman was the same camera man from the Wand Weighing that immediately zeroed in on Fleur.

“Champions!” Rita’s smile couldn’t have been more sinister in Harry’s eyes. The woman’s look absolutely oozed smugness and a desire to cause trouble. “If I could have a moment of your time before the First Task.”

“You have no business here.” Viktor glared at the woman, his surly look compounded by his nerves. Harry knew he was already aware of the Dragons. He’d seen the Durmstrang Champion with multiple books on Dragons over the last several days. Most likely he’d been encouraged by Karkaroff to look into them.

“I don’t believe any of us has anything to say to you.” Fleur shook her head while giving the older woman a pointed look to leave.

“Get out.” Harry stated plainly and clearly to the reporter.

“Now, now, I only want to ask a few questions.” Rita smiled at the three of them.

“Miss Skeeter, might I inquire as to what you’re doing in the Champion’s Tent?” Dumbledore’s voice spoke up from behind Rita and her cameraman. The smile left Rita’s face so quickly Harry would have missed it if he blinked.

“I was just leaving, Dumbledore.” Rita gave him a fake smile as she and the cameraman left the tent in a hurry, passing by Bagman and Crouch on their way out.

“Well, now we're all here it’s time to fill you in!” Bagman informed with a bright smile. “When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag,” He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it slightly. “From which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different, uh, varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too...ah, yes! Your task is to collect the golden egg!”

They want us to collect a golden egg from a Dragon? So, that whole spiel about this Tournament being safer than previous ones was a bloody lie!’ Harry snarked to himself. Truly, Wizards and Witches didn’t know the difference between danger and entertainment.

“Ladies first.” Bagman offered the purple silk bag to Fleur.

She put her hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a Dragon, the Swedish Short-Snout. It had the number two around its neck.

“Mr. Krum?” Bagman held the bag out to Viktor next. The teen reached in and seemed to grimace as he pulled out a red Dragon that appeared to be trying to breathe fire on him, the Chinese Fireball. It had the number one around its neck to match Fleur’s model.

“Finally, Mr. Potter.” Bagman even looked sympathetically toward the teen Artificer.

Knowing what was left in the bag; Harry put his hand into it and pulled out the model of the Hungarian Horntail. The tiny model of the vicious Dragon was trying to dig its miniscule fangs into Harry’s thumb. The model had the number three around the neck.

“Well, there you are!” Bagman nodded to the three Champions. “You have each pulled out the Dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the Dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Krum, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear the whistle, all right?” Viktor only gave him a short nod in response.

“Do remember, that the rules state you are only permitted your wands.” Crouch spoke up as he turned his gaze onto the three Champions. “If you have anything else on you besides your robes, please remove it before you enter the enclosure or you’ll be breaking your contract with the Goblet.” Seeing that none of the teens were moving to take off any hidden items, Crouch gave them a nod. The three Organizers left to head up to the Judges’ booth so that they could score the attempts.

Viktor headed over to the tunnel that led into the enclosure as the murmurs of the crowd began to grow louder as the time neared for the First Task to begin. A series of shrieks let Fleur and Harry know when the Chinese Fireball had been revealed to the crowd. Both took each other’s hand for comfort just as the whistle blew loudly and the crowd roared as Viktor entered the enclosure to face the Dragon.

In only a short time -about ten minutes- the announcement of Viktor’s success was made and Fleur exhaled to steady her nerves. Harry leaned over and pecked her cheek. She turned her warm gaze on him and then their lips were meeting for a kiss. The two pushed their love into their lip lock for several long moments until the exclamations of the crowd alerted them to the Swedish Short-Snout being revealed. The two separated as Fleur stood up and made her way through the tunnel. Harry sat alone in the tent, worried for Fleur, and with a rising agitation knowing that he couldn’t interfere without upsetting that shoddy, piece of shit Artifact that they were both bound to.

Fleur waited for the whistle to sound before she stepped out into the enclosure. She instantly saw the silver and blue scales of the Swedish Short-Snout as it crouched between her and a large pile of what looked to be gold and silver. On top of the pile was a large golden egg. It would seem that the Tournament Organizers were playing to the Western Dragon’s love of precious metals. She was essentially being tasked to steal from a Dragon’s Hoard and live.

“Safe my perfect ass.” Fleur huffed as she looked at the snarling Dragon. She stepped forward and simply blocked out Bagman’s annoying commentary along with the crowd. The Swedish Short-Snout exhaled a blast of its incredibly hot, blue fire in her general direction as a warning.

Fleur inhaled, then exhaled as she centered her mana and began to shape it into the spell she wanted. The Dragon had no intention of leaving its spot between her and its small hoard. Its’ sharp reptilian eyes were locked onto the Veela Witch. Feeling the spell take form she directed her mana into her throat and vocal cords. With one last inhale, Fleur opened her mouth and began to sing a French lullaby that her mother had sung to her as a little girl. Her very voice carried her spell to the Dragon and began its work on the great beast.

“What in the world is Miss Delacour doing?” Bagman questioned and the crowd fell into hushed whispers until they were quiet enough to actually hear Fleur’s singing.

Harry smiled as he heard the crowd quiet. The powerful magic that Fleur was weaving into her voice itself amplified her song and carried it far and wide without her having to strain herself at all. The Artificer chuckled as he felt the spell brush against his Occlumency. He’d be getting rather drowsy if his mind wasn’t naturally protected.

On the third repeat of her lullaby the Swedish Short-Snout was lying on the ground. The Dragon looked like it was barely keeping its eyes open as it exhaled a stream of white smoke from its mouth. Fleur restarted the lullaby for a fourth round to be absolutely sure the Dragon was asleep. Had she not blocked out the crowd, she’d have heard the calls of many Witches and Wizards as they fell victim to her Spell Song. Many people in the crowd were already asleep and Fleur watched as the Dragon finally gave up its resistance as its eyes closed and its wings relaxed. The smoke stopped wafting out of the Dragon’s mouth and Fleur ended her song.

With deft steps, Fleur moved in a wide arc around the Dragon to collect the golden egg. Once she had it in her hand she heard Bagman announce her completion of the Task. She noted that a few Dragon Keepers were waving her over to them and she jogged towards the group. Once she was out of the arena, the Dragon Keepers moved in to keep the Swedish Short-Snout asleep so that they could transport it back to its travel cage.

“That was very impressive, Miss Delacour!” A redheaded man smiled at Fleur as he watched over the team dealing with the blue and silver-scaled Dragon in case anything went wrong. “Have you ever considered a career in Dragon Keeping? We could certainly use someone with your skills to keep them calm at the Reserve.”

“Non,” Fleur shook her head. “My interest lies in unravelling the secrets of Magic.”

“Ah, a Scholar then? Well good on you!” The redhead chuckled as Fleur made her way over to the stands to see her score.

Madame Maxime gave her a perfect ‘10’ with a small flourish of her wand, as Fleur expected. Dumbledore also gave her a perfect ‘10’ from his wand. Karkaroff gave her an ‘8’, the petty man. Bagman gave her a brightly glowing ‘10’ from the tip of his wand. Finally Mr. Crouch held his wand aloft and the number ‘10’ appeared above him as well. Forty-eight out of Fifty was nothing to scoff at, she was fairly certain she was in the lead right now.

“Looks like it’s my turn.” Harry heard the announcement of Fleur’s perfect takedown of her Dragon. His shoulders lost most of their tension at that announcement. Now it was his time to face a Dragon alone. When the crowd shrieked and several screams rang out, Harry steeled his nerves with a deep breath and a slow exhale. The Hungarian Horntail was apparently on the field now. The whistle went off and Harry stepped out to face the Dragon.

There was the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over its small hoard of silver and gold, its wings half-furled, the baleful, yellow eyes locked onto him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing its spiked tail, leaving meter-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not, Harry didn't know or care as he’d already blocked them out. He was given no time to think about anything as the Horntail lunged forward a bit and a blast of fire was launched at Harry.

“Up!” Harry grabbed at the air with his hands and then threw his arms above his head. The rocky ground cracked and a rumble was felt throughout the stadium as the stone and dirt in front of Harry was upheaved into a massive wall of earth. The Horntail’s flames scorched across the earth, blackening it, but did nothing to Harry behind the large wall. “Damn, it really is a vicious species.” He muttered to himself before breathing out thick black smoke.

The smoke formed eight individual trails that billowed over and around the earthen wall. Harry only gave them enough mana to fly around and distract the Dragon for a bit. He didn’t have the mana to waste on spells that wouldn’t help him deal with the Dragon. Thankfully, his plan seemed to work. The Dragon was blasting gouts of flame at the smoke trails as they flew in front of it in multiple directions to keep it occupied. Harry levitated a large chunk of dirt that had been kicked up by his first spell. He stood on the levitating earth and lifted himself to the top of the wall he’d formed. Seeing the Horntail too preoccupied with incinerating his smoke trails, he took aim at the stationary Dragon.

“Here we go, one shot each time.” Harry focused, sharpening his concentration as he placed his hands on the earth wall he’d torn from the ground. He weaved his mana into the stone, clay, and dirt then down through it. When he felt his mana in the right spot, he activated the transfiguration he’d constructed. The rocky ground under the Horntail’s front limbs suddenly warped as the ground became like mud. The Horntail roared in confusion as it sank almost two meters instantly. The ground then re-solidified, locking the great beast into the ground. With a roar that made Harry cover his ears, the Horntail started thrashing around. The stone that entrapped its front legs began to crack from the strength of the Dragon.

Harry used this time to begin weaving another spell. Focusing on the need he had he exerted his mana, filling the space of the arena with his Magic. He surrounded the thrashing Horntail and then finalized his spell. Everyone in attendance stared in confusion as a dome formed over the still trapped Horntail. The dome was almost like a thin mist at first, but it continued to grow thicker and more opaque as the seconds ticked by. The Horntail finally broke free of its stone entrapment just as the dome around it became truly hard to see through.

“Do it.” Harry looked the confused Dragon right in the eyes. The terrifying, baleful yellow reptilian eyes glared into Harry’s green. “You’re mine, Body and Magic upon your death.” The Horntail reared up, as if it understood Harry’s quiet words. Harry felt the Rite take hold when the Dragon locked eyes with him again. He felt the Horntail’s claim on his own Flesh and Magic as a bright orange light could be seen in the Dragon’s maw.

A bright flash of orange fire burst to life as the Horntail launched its flames towards where Harry stood atop his earth wall. Even through the almost fully opaque dome, the spectators could see the bright orange light. Only something happened a split second later, the flames were snuffed out near instantly and the Horntail was thrashing around as it fell to the rough ground. Harry continued to hold his spell even as sweat poured down his face and into his eyes. Rivulets dropped from his chin as he held the spell together. His mana was taking a massive nosedive just to maintain this spell.

After several moments, there was no sound in the arena anymore. All of the audience was confused as to the sudden silence. Harry only gave off a small smirk as he felt the Rite complete itself. He dropped the spell. The white, opaque dome let off a loud bang and a strong breeze rushed through the stands blowing off more than a few hats in the process. Harry sat on the earth wall and let the blast of air hit him and cool him off slightly. He needed to be much, much stronger before he ever attempted that large of a spell again.

“Oh right, I still need to get the egg.” Harry groaned as he used some of his low mana to make a simple transfiguration on the part of the wall he sat on. The area below Harry turned smooth and lost most of its friction. The teen slid down the impromptu slide until he reached the bottom. He walked over to the downed Horntail without fear, even patting its snout as he passed it. He took the golden egg in hand and heard Bagman announce his completion of the Task.

As the Dragon Keepers moved in to check the Horntail, Harry looked towards the Judges’ Table for his score. He might as well see what they thought. Fleur deserved proper competition after all. He wasn’t expecting the cry that rose up from behind him first.

“It’s dead!” One of the Dragon Keepers cried out as they checked on the Dragon.

“He killed it!” Another Keeper exclaimed in shock, staring at the teen that had somehow slayed a Dragon single-handedly.

“It’s mine; I have a Rite of Conquest on the Horntail.” Harry spoke up to the Dragon Keeper that looked to be in-charge, a somewhat tall redhead. “Every part of it belongs to me now.”

“B-But…Y-you, how?” The redhead couldn’t seem to get his words in order.

“Even Dragons have to breathe.” Harry shrugged at the redhead. “I just took away the oxygen and prevented any other gases from entering a certain space. It’s exhausting doing it on such a large scale though.”

“Holy shit…” The redhead blinked at the teen in a mixture of shock and respect.

Harry’s attention was refocused on the Judges’ Table when he saw Madame Maxime raise her wand. A winding ribbon shaped itself into the number ‘9’. Karkaroff went next with a flaming ‘8’ appearing above his own wand. Dumbledore had a number ‘8’ appear in a blue light over his head. Harry was fairly certain the Headmaster had docked points for taking the Horntail’s life. Sirius and Remus both said the old Wizard was very much against killing. Bagman had a bright green ‘10’ over his wand tip. Finally Mr. Crouch raised his wand, a moment later and a large black number ‘10’ appeared over him.

“Forty-five, good enough.” Harry shrugged as he honestly didn’t much care. He was tired, but an excitement was building up in him as he took in the massive Dragon that he would soon have rendered down into parts. So much material to work with! “You guys work at the Dragon Reserve, so you know how to render Dragons for parts, right?”

“Yes.” The redhead confirmed as the rest of the Dragon Keepers came to stand next to him.

“How’d you like a job before you leave?” Harry asked with a tired smile. “We can work out payment as soon as my godfather gets down here.”

“Um, alright then.” The redhead looked to his colleagues who all seemed stunned. After a few moments though, they all nodded in agreement to the extra work. It would be some money to compensate for the loss of one of the three Dragons. With the Fireball and the Short-Snout both already asleep and locked up for transport, they had the time.

“Brilliant.” Harry smiled right before an airborne Tonks flying glomped him from behind.

-End Chapter-

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First Task complete!

A mountain of Dragon parts acquired! Bonus!

How’d you all like Harry and Fleur’s methods of dealing with their Dragons?

Harry is going to be a busy young man soon! So many materials to sort through and learn about! New things to try! Oh it’s a good day to be an Artificer!

Harry even acquired a new Title, Dragon Slayer.

But he doesn’t know about that just yet!

You can eat Dragon meat, right?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 9,440

Tonks – 10,484

Penelope – 9,026

Fleur – 9,362

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 40: The Egg and Materials

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! We’ve hit the big 4-0! Chapter 40 is here! Now that Harry has a mountain of new materials to work with, what is a happy Artificer to do? Experiment and create, of course!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 40 – The Egg and Materials

“Harry…” Fleur shook her head with a sigh. Her boyfriend was practically lost as he went through all of his new Dragon materials. It was like watching a child in a candy store, if said child had been told they could have anything they wanted. The teen Artificer was currently running his hands over a dragon claw that was almost a meter long. They were supposed to be going over the coded message that had been hidden within the egg. The code consisted of a set of Runes and a written language that Fleur wasn’t familiar with.

“Yes?” Harry turned to face her with a beaming smile.

“The Egg?” Fleur reminded him as she held up her own Egg.

“Oh, right, that thing,” Harry grimaced at being pulled away from his material examination.

“Yes, ‘that thing’ that will tell us what the Second Task will be.” Fleur playfully rolled her eyes at him.

“I did almost forget something much more important though,” Harry smiled warmly at Fleur. When the lovely, blue-eyes of his girlfriend looked at him questioningly, Harry bowed at the waist while holding out his right hand. “Fleur Delacour, would you give me the great honor of being my date to the upcoming Yule Ball?”

“Of course, Monsieur Potter,” Fleur placed her hand in his as a loving smile formed on her face. It wasn’t as if either of them was going to go with someone else anyway. Fleur wasn’t looking forward to the hordes of guys that were probably going to ask her about the Ball soon. She’d deal with it though; it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been hounded about a school dance.

“Thank you for the honor, My Lady.” Harry gently kissed the back of her hand even as Fleur giggled at his actions. This overly formal way of asking her to the Yule Ball was so out of character for Harry.

“Now, about this Egg, Mr. Artificer…you can figure out what these Runes are and how they relate to the language, right?” Fleur refocused Harry’s attention onto the Egg again.

“Yeah, probably,” Harry shrugged as he picked up his own Egg and opened it. Looking over the Runes on all four sections, along with the unfamiliar script he began to puzzle out what the Egg was hiding. Going over the various Runes, Harry began to get the gist of what they were implying, but whoever had written them had broken them up with how the Egg was constructed.

Fleur watched on, intrigued, as Harry closed two of the four sections of his Egg while also conjuring a small Lumos Charm. Her boyfriend looked so deep in thought as he studied the Runes inside the Egg. Harry opened one of the closed sections only to close the next one to continue looking them over. Watching him work always brought a sense of awe to Fleur. Harry was something else when he devoted his all to his work; a sense of Magic surrounded him when he delved into Runes. As Harry closed the next section and opened the previous to continue reading -more like deciphering- Fleur had the thought that her boyfriend was born to be an Artificer.

“Hmm,” Harry looked thoughtful as he pulled a notebook to his hand with a Summoning Charm; a pen followed as he flipped it open and began writing. Fleur stayed silent, just watching Harry puzzle out the Runescript so that they could make progress on the information within the Egg. “Whoever did this was a bit rough in their understanding. I still get what they’re saying, but it could be better.” He wrote for a bit longer before stopping. He glanced over what he’d written before nodding. “It’s a Rite of Magic, some kind of age-old means by which to compare Magic users against each other. Only figuring out the language will reveal the scope of what we’re dealing with though.” Harry informed Fleur as he flipped his notebook around to show her his translation of the Runescript.

“I see,” Fleur looked at the notes that Harry had made aside from his translation as well. “What’s this about at the end though? You have it translated as ‘Magic’, ‘Woman’, and ‘Insight’ in a row.”

“Magic woman most likely refers to a Witch. The ‘Insight’ I can only assume means some knowledge that we need to be able to translate the unknown script.” Harry shrugged as he glanced over the unknown language again. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“I’m a Witch, but I don’t know what this is at all,” Fleur let out a bemused chuckle. “Perhaps it’s a specific Witch?”

“This thing is going to be annoying, isn’t it?” Harry huffed as he looked over to the crates filled with his new Dragon Materials.

“Focus, mon amour,” Fleur giggled at Harry’s clear desire to study and experiment with his new materials.

“But I don’t wanna…” Harry grumbled as he tore his gaze away from the crates and looked back at their Eggs.

“You’re pouting is still rather adorable,” Fleur’s melodious laugh filled the hidden workshop.

“I am not.” Harry denied flatly, even as he glared at the two Golden Eggs.

-The Next Morning-

The Daily Prophet was becoming a point of contention with Harry now days. If it wasn’t Skeeter then it was someone else writing an article or piece about him and whatever he’d done recently. Honestly, who the hell read about every aspect of his life? It wasn’t that interesting, was it? His annoyance was kindled this morning by the headline across the front page detailing the First Task of the Tournament. To be more specific, was the inordinate amount of space his section took up. In his opinion, with three Champions, each of them should get one-third of the article. He had almost half to himself even though Fleur scored the highest and Krum was a Quidditch Star.

“This is ridiculous,” Harry huffed as he saw one of the biggest points in the article. “They act like it was easy and that I can do this whenever I please.”

His ire was focused on the pronouncement in the Prophet of him gaining the Title ‘Dragon Slayer’ for his killing of the Hungarian Horntail. Harry wasn’t even aware that was a thing! Since when did such Titles exist? Was this like the Grand Sorcerer Title that Dumbledore had? The Prophet was extolling his ‘masterful takedown’ as if he hadn’t expended the majority of his mana on the task. He wasn’t planning on hunting down Dragons anytime soon. Yet the whispers and murmurings of the entire student population, including Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, seemed to suggest that the majority thought he would somehow make a career out of it or something.

“It is not every day that a Wizard or Witch takes down a Dragon single-handedly, Harry,” Fleur consoled him as she ignored the stares with practiced ease. “When the Wizard in question is still in school, it makes it even more impressive. You’re probably the youngest to have ever accomplished the feat.”

“She has a point Harry,” Padma spoke up from across the table. His study buddies were having breakfast with him and Fleur this morning and Harry enjoyed the extra company. Luna was sitting beside him as she ate her artfully arranged breakfast.

“I don’t know of any teenage Witch or Wizard that ever killed a Dragon before,” Megan shook her head at him.

“I can look it up, it shouldn’t take too long.” Hermione offered with a small smile.

“I honestly don’t care,” Harry turned her down. “I didn’t kill the Dragon for honor or glory. I just wanted to complete a Rite of Conquest and use it for materials in my Artifice.”

“Remind me never to get in-between you and the materials you have your eyes on then.” Megan snickered and Harry, maturely, stuck his tongue out at her.

-Hidden Workshop-

“This is amazing,” Harry breathed out as he felt out the Magic within all of the Dragon parts. The Basilisk had been ancient, but had also spent most of its long life in hibernation. Its Magic hadn’t grown nearly as much as it would’ve had it been constantly active throughout its long life. The Horntail was another matter entirely. This was a Dragon that had lived for decades or perhaps a century and had fought and survived against the various Dragons that it shared space with at the Reserve. Its Magic was vast and powerful and that translated over into its Conquered Materials.

“Young Master Harry,” Tayla popped into the hidden workshop with a covered tray in her hands. “Tayla be bringing you the roasted Dragon meat you asked her to cook.” The little House Elf looked ever so pleased to be getting to feed Harry again.

“Thank you Tayla; set it on the desk, please.” Harry motioned to the Professor’s desk he’d commandeered long ago. Tayla nodded and set the tray down before popping away to let Harry eat.

Probably a good thing Fleur decided to go to the library to research that unknown script.’ Harry mused as he washed his hands in the smithy’s bathroom and then returned to the desk. He sat down and removed the cover over the food. On the plate was a mix of meat that had been sliced, seasoned, and cooked. It smelled good, though all of Tayla’s cooking did so that wasn’t a surprise. The reason Harry surmised that it was better for Fleur not to be here was because of what part of the Dragon this meal was made from.

“First time trying Dragon heart,” Harry chuckled to himself as he stabbed a piece with his fork and raised it to his lips. “Down the hatch.” He placed the meat into his mouth and chewed. It had a much different consistency and mouthfeel than anything he’d eaten before. He swallowed the bite and only a second later felt the rush as the symbolic ritual of consuming the Dragon he’d killed imparted some of its mana into him.

That’s way more noticeable than the Basilisk!’ Harry thought to himself in shock at the rush he’d just experienced. He continued to eat the cooked Dragon heart until his plate was clean. Each bite gave him a small rush, nothing compared to the first, but each one was noticeable. He drank the tea that Tayla had prepared before eating the veggies the House Elf had made as a side dish. He’d give it a bit, maybe until tonight, before he’d check his mana level with the Test Frame.

“Did Young Master Harry enjoy his lunch?” Tayla asked as she popped in to take the dishware and tray away for him.

“It was amazing as always Tayla, thank you for the meal.” Harry praised the House Elf and watched as she practically glowed with happiness at his words. She disappeared with another pop and Harry stood up to continue his inspection of his new materials. The next item he was going to look at was one of the large horns from the Horntail. It was too bad he didn’t have enough space here to have all of his new materials. The majority of the processed Horntail had ended up locked away in his smithy at Wood End Cottage.

Running his hands over the large horn, Harry felt it out with his mana. In much the same way that he communed with Artifacts, he could discern the nature and function of a material by doing this. Closing his eyes and delving into the innate Magic that resided within the horn, Harry was filled with a sense of protection and piercing power. This horn had come from the back of the Dragon’s head and was used almost exclusively to protect its neck from being bitten by another Dragon. The sharpness was a deterrent to ward off such attacks as the horn could easily puncture the softer insides of a Dragon’s mouth.

“So I should make you into something defensive; but with offensive capabilities as well?” Harry mused with his eyes still closed as he communed with his material. Perhaps a Focus of some kind would work best for the horn? A staff, or spear, some type of polearm, maybe? There were many options possible for how Harry wanted to use this horn. Maybe he’d give making a simple Focus a try? He did still have the Sage Quartz he’d collected. Setting it into an item made from Dragon horn or bone could make for a simple, if limited Focus.

Claws and Fangs were much more direct in their usability when it came to Artifice. Form and Function were intrinsically linked and the only purpose of a Dragon’s Claws and Fangs was to attack. They were purely offensive tools in the Dragon’s natural arsenal. Scales and Hide likewise were purely defensive and suited only for Shields, Armor, or garments meant to cover the body, like clothing. It was in the Bones that multitudes of possibilities existed as their purpose was structure and support. That Function could be applied to as many Forms as one could think of. Every creation required a stable foundation to be built upon after all. The Dragon Bones would be an immense boon to Harry’s Artifice and Enchanting.

“So many possibilities…” Harry smiled widely as he gazed at the crates in his hidden workshop.

-Evening-

“Potter…” Snape drawled with his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at the teen. “A word.”

“I was on my way to dinner, Professor,” Harry looked back at the dour man flatly. He’d stayed in his workshop for longer than he intended and didn’t want to be late for dinner. He’d promised Fleur that he’d meet her in the Great Hall.

“I will not keep you long,” Snape looked as if being polite was causing him pain. “I merely wish to inquire about purchasing something from you.”

“Purchasing something…from me?” Harry’s skepticism apparently showed on his face as Snape looked annoyed.

“Yes, you’ve apparently claimed the whole of the Hungarian Horntail for yourself,” Snape mentioned and Harry had a distinct idea as to what the Potions Master wanted. “I wished to inquire about purchasing some select ingredients from the beast.”

“I figured,” Harry’s face was stoic, a poker face if there ever was one. “What exactly are you wanting?”

“Blood, some of the bile from the fire sac, powdered bone, and part of the liver.” Snape laid out his desired ingredients.

“What would you use these ingredients for exactly?” Harry questioned the man that had made no attempts to hide his disdain ever since Harry had first met him.

“Potions, obviously.” Snape drawled and Harry had the urge to roll his eyes at the man.

“What guarantee do I have that these Potions won’t be used against me in some way?” Harry held nothing back as he outright accused the Professor of having it out for him.

“You’d insinuate that I’d harm a student?!” Snape’s face drew into a rictus of cold anger. His glare at the teen showed the same animosity it always did.

“You’ve never made the slightest attempt to hide your dislike of me, Professor.” Harry reminded the man factually. “You’ll excuse my suspicions of your intentions in light of that, I’d hope.”

“Potter…” Snape held back a growl, if just barely.

“If you want to do business, then I’ll need to know what you plan to use the ingredients for and I’ll also need assurances that what you brew will not be used against me and mine.” Harry stated his terms plainly.

“That is none of your concern, Potter.” Snape sneered before turning and walking away with his robes billowing.

“Prick.” Harry scoffed at the retreating man’s back. He quickly made his way down the corridor towards the Great Hall. Snape must’ve been waiting around for a while to catch him before dinner. He wasn’t remorseful about making the dour man wait in the slightest.

His desire for fire sac bile and blood does bring up some interesting thoughts though.’ Harry mused as he walked through the doors to the Great Hall and headed for Fleur’s distinctive silvery-blonde hair.

-The Next Morning-

“What’s this?” Harry cast a few wandless Detection Charms on the letter the barn owl was holding out to him. Getting no warnings of anything bad on the letter, Harry relieved the Post Owl of its parcel. The owl flew off and Fleur glanced at the plain-looking letter curiously.

“It’s a letter, Harry.” Luna informed him with a smile. Harry cracked a smile at the simple statement. It was hard to tell when Luna was being serious and that made it even easier for her to joke around.

“Thank you, Luna.” Harry gave her a polite smile.

“You’re welcome.” Luna smiled back, her eyes alight with contentment.

“It’s from…Flamel?” Harry blinked at seeing the name ‘Nicholas Flamel’ on the envelope.

“Flamel? The Alchemist?” Fleur blinked at the information. Her curiosity had just reached new levels.

“Let’s see,” Harry opened the letter and read the French with little difficulty. He’d had quite a bit of practice ever since getting to know Fleur as his pen pal. “Huh, he’s wondering if I’d be willing to sell him some fresh Dragon Blood for his Alchemy. Apparently it loses potency even when preserved after some time has passed. He’d come pick it up in person so that he can inspect it too.”

“I would never tell you what to do with your materials, Harry,” Fleur began thought the tone in her voice took on a different lilt. “But if you could agree to this and let me meet Nicholas Flamel I’d be very appreciative.”

“Is this because he’s considered the greatest Alchemist in the world, or because he’s the greatest French Alchemist in history?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at his girlfriend with a teasing grin.

“Yes.” Fleur nodded with a slightly smug smile on her lips.

“I suppose I could…since it’s for you.” Harry pretended to consider the option. He wouldn’t mind asking Flamel for at least a hint as to what he was doing wrong with his Advanced Alchemy.

“Mon amour~” Fleur had the cutest little pout on her face and Harry couldn’t stop the smile that formed.

“Alright, I’ll write back and let him know I’m willing.” Harry assured her with a chuckle.

“Merci, Harry.” Fleur kissed his cheek gently and the two smiled warmly at each other.

The cry of an owl interrupted them as a large Great-Horned Owl landed on the table in front of Harry. The bird cocked its head as it held out its leg to Harry. Both of them noted the mark on the small leather pouch attached to the Owl’s legs as belonging to the Ministry of Magic.

“What does the Ministry want with me?” Harry questioned and the owl let out a bark of impatience. “Hold on a minute.” He looked pointedly at the owl and the bird went quiet. He wandlessly checked for as many things as he could; Potions, Charms, Curses, harmful substances, when they all came back clean, he finally plucked the letter from the pouch. The Great-Horned Owl flew off quickly and was out of the Great Hall before Harry had finished reading whom the letter was from.

“From the Minister’s Office?” Fleur had only briefly glanced at the letter and saw the seal on the upper left hand corner of the envelope.

“Apparently,” Harry sighed as he read over the rest of the envelope. “Office of the Minister of Magic, Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, who is that?” The teen Artificer had never met this person in his life. He opened the envelope and began to read. With each line he became more annoyed and he even snorted near the end. “Well now, isn’t she a pretentious one?” Harry scoffed at the letter.

“That bad?” Fleur cocked an eyebrow at her boyfriend’s response.

“See for yourself,” Harry handed her the letter.

“Hmm,” Fleur began to read. “She congratulates you on killing the Horntail. Asks you to work for the Ministry? Make Artifacts for Ministry use? You would do well to accept?” The letter wasn’t even addressed to her and yet Fleur was becoming angry at the blatant condescension in the words written on the parchment she held. “Where does this woman get off making such thinly-veiled demands of you?”

“Ten to one odds she’s some Blood Purity supporting sycophant.” Harry shook his head at the letter. “I’m sure the type of Artifacts she’d like me to create would be used to promote her and her ilk’s agenda, by force if necessary.”

“One would think that Magical Britain would have learned from their mistakes after what happened in the Seventies.” Fleur grumbled under her breath.

“Well, I only have one thing to say to this woman.” Harry grinned as he took the letter back from Fleur. He held it up between his thumb and index finger for a second. In a flash the parchment was consumed in flames and disappeared into smoke. “I do hope I was clear enough for her to understand.”

“You give the bigots too much credit when it comes to intelligence, mon amour.” Fleur chuckled as she leaned in to peck his lips.

“Probably,” Harry agreed before he returned her soft kiss and the two continued with their breakfast.

-Hidden Workshop-

Harry was humming softly as he worked on his newest item. He’d taken one of the processed Dragon Bones and began to shave it down to shape it. It was strong, but it was still bone and Harry didn’t want to risk breaking it. This particular bone came from the Horntail’s back foot. It was one of the digits that made up the Dragon’s toes. It was one of the smaller bones that he could find that was still of a similar shape to what he was going for. Once he had it shaped as he desired, then he’d fit a chunk of the Sage Quartz into it.

His plan was to make a simple -if limited- Focus that anyone could use. Foci that only performed a single spell would produce said spell to much greater effect than any other Focus. Ones that were more versatile, but still locked to a single Branch of Magic, would express the wielder’s intentions through powerful spells. Wands and other Foci that could cast any Branch of Magic, while the most versatile, also didn’t add much to the spells cast. Unless of course they were made to do so, much like Aethereum was.

Sage Quartz was known to channel spells tied to the Earth -that is to say soil, rocks, and plants- much better than most any other material. Bone was a good conductor for Magic, being a once living material. So with the Sage Quartz attuning the Focus to earth-based Magics, and the Dragon Bone providing a magical housing for the stone, it should make it not too dissimilar to a wand when it came to spells of that type. Harry may not know wand lore, but he understood the concept of Foci quite well.

Once I test it out and make sure it works, maybe they’ll make good gifts?’ Harry could think of a few people he wouldn’t mind giving such Foci to. ‘I wonder if the Dwarves would like them? They’re all about Earth, stones, and ores.

The fact that to the untrained eye, a non-wand Focus -especially in Magical Britain- would be overlooked and the Witch or Wizard in question would probably be assumed to be using Wandless Magic was not lost on Harry. It could prove to be rather useful in the coming conflict he knew was brewing between Voldemort and himself.

Taking a break from his work to relax his fingers a bit, Harry glanced at the drawer he kept his Test Frame in. He’d checked his mana level the night after he’d eaten his Dragon heart lunch. The boost had been very surprising to say the least. There was a part of him that wanted to see those numbers again though. Those numbers were the physical proof of his increased Magical Strength after slaying the Horntail.

“Ah hell, why not?” Harry grinned to himself as he opened the drawer and pulled out the Test Frame. He held the talisman in both hands and passed his mana through it. “There it is!” Harry chuckled as he looked down at the number made up of glowing light.

16,782

-End Chapter-

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Harry is a happy Artificer! So many materials!

The Daily Prophet still annoys Harry, but that’s normal, right?

Snape wants Potions Ingredients from Harry? Hah! Fat chance you prick!

Flamel however, is a different story altogether! Who better to ask for a hint to Advanced Alchemy than the Immortal Master?

What is the Golden Egg hinting at for the Second Task? It’s not screeching in Mermish loud enough to make your ears bleed, so does the Second Task NOT involve the Lake?

How mysterious!

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 16,782

Tonks – 10,928

Penelope – 9,454

Fleur – 9,812

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 41: Alchemy Questions, Foci, Tests

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry and Fleur have some time before the Yule Ball, still a few months before the Second Task. How do they spend their time aside from puzzling out the mysterious language within the Egg?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 41 – Alchemy Questions, Foci, Tests

It was the first of December and unbeknownst to most of the students, Hogwarts was playing guest to one of the most famous Wizards of all time. Sitting in one of the meeting rooms for guests, much like the first time they’d met, Harry Potter and Nicholas Flamel met once again. This time though, Harry had a guest with him in the form of Fleur. The French Witch was so excited to be meeting the living legend that she was visibly holding back from asking questions.

“It’s is good to see you again, Artificer Potter.” Nicholas smiled pleasantly to the teen. “I’ve noticed you’ve made some waves in the Enchanting community lately. Four Artifacts in as many years, was it?”

“Yes, I’ve found many ideas and realized them since I began down this path, thank you.” Harry gave a polite nod to the ancient Alchemist.

“Who might your lovely, young lady friend be?” Nicholas gave Fleur a polite smile.

“I am Fleur Delacour, Mr. Flamel,” Fleur gave the man a short bow from her seated position. “It is an honor to meet the only Wizard to have achieved the pinnacle of the Alchemic Arts.”

“Lovely to meet you, Miss Delacour.” Nicholas chuckled at the excitement that the young woman practically radiated.

“I have the Dragon Blood you requested,” Harry pulled a large glass jar that was charmed unbreakable from within his black cloak. A second jar of the same size followed it and both were placed on the short table between them. “Seven and a half liters, as you requested.”

“I have your gold, of course.” Nicholas placed a large, jingling money pouch on the table. Both Wizards began to inspect the other’s offering as Magic made trying to swindle people so very easy. Neither of them truly believed that the other was trying to cheat them, but it was practically a tradition to inspect all goods and payments in any non-professional transaction. Once they were both satisfied with what they’d received, the pouch of gold disappeared into Harry’s black cloak while both large jars of Dragon Blood seemingly fit into a small satchel that shouldn’t be able to hold them.

“Sir, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble” Fleur began though she looked slightly hesitant. “Could I perhaps ask you a few questions in regards to Magic that a long-lived Academic such as yourself might know?”

“Aiming to be a Scholar, I see.” Nicholas chuckled for a moment. “Feel free to ask a few things that have your curiosity, Miss Delacour, I have some time.”

“In relation to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration, how does Alchemy seemingly create new Elements when Gamp’s Law states that nothing new can be made from disparate parts?” Fleur’s first question was merely on how Alchemy created new things rather than turning one thing into another. Ever since she’d witnessed Harry use Alchemy and a Transmutation Circle for the first time, she’d been immensely curious.

“Transfiguration can make many drastic changes to an object; but aside from say changing the shape of a stone while keeping its size and weight the same, it is all superficial and will fade away in a short time depending on the complexity of the Transfiguration.” Nicholas began his explanation with a grin. “Alchemy takes two different items and breaks them down on both a physical level and a Magical one. The items’ very essence is taken and merged together to form the new material. Nothing is left of the old material when Transmutation is performed properly. All of the base material is now the new material once the process is complete.”

“There is Alchemy that specializes in breaking down and separating Alchemic Compounds though, right?” Harry spoke up and Nicholas nodded in response.

“Indeed there is, Artificer Potter,” Nicholas acknowledged with a smile. “Separation and Restoration is a Branch of the Alchemical Arts aimed at returning transmuted material back to its base elements.”

“I have been having a bit of trouble progressing my own Alchemy further lately.” Harry admitted to the Immortal Master. “I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong though. Every line, angle, and symbol is as perfect as I can make it and yet I only get striated failures each time.”

“What material are you aiming to transmute, if I may ask?” Nicholas looked curious as to what the teen Artificer was attempting to create through Alchemy.

“Adamantite, but I’ve failed dozens of times already.” Harry sighed with a grimace.

“What are you using to draw the Transmutation Circle?” Nicholas asked the teen with a glint in his eyes.

“Chalk, the same kind that I’ve used for any of the Transmutation Circles I’ve drawn in the past.” Harry informed with ease. Chalk was the easiest medium to use for Transmutation Circles after all. It wasn’t permanent, and if you made a mistake while transcribing the Circle, you could erase it with just a little water.

“What kind of chalk?” Nicholas had a small smile on his face as he led the teen towards his answer.

“Just regular chalk…” Harry trailed off as the gears began to turn in his mind.

“Therein lays your problem, young Artificer.” Nicholas chuckled as Harry’s eyes widened behind his glasses and the light of realization began to shine. “You’re using a non-Magical component in a Transmutation Circle that requires all parts to have a base Magical nature.”

“Of course!” Harry looked like he’d just had an epiphany, making both Nicholas and Fleur chuckle at him. “Would powdered Dragon Bone work?”

“It’s what I use more often than not.” Nicholas admitted and Harry pulled a notebook and pen from within the interesting black cloak he wore. While Harry got lost in his planning and note taking, Nicholas and Fleur resumed their conversation to sate the Veela Witch’s insatiable curiosity.

It was quite the informative visit for both Harry and Fleur, and Nicholas enjoyed having such a stimulating conversation with two that were so young. So many of his fellow Wizards and Witches took Magic for granted. To see such curiosity and excitement for the Art that Magic was brought a warm smile to the ancient Alchemist’s face.

-Saturday, December 3rd-

“Carefully…” Harry was finishing up the last symbol of the Transmutation Circle that he’d become very familiar with due to his many, many failures. Using what amounted to Dragon Chalk, Harry was confident that he could make this work. The Transmutation Circle was perfect. The chalk he’d drawn it with was Magical in nature. He had the materials ready to be transmuted and had plenty of experience with using Transmutation Circles. This was it! He’d get it right and create Adamantite for the first time!

Carefully stepping back from his work, Harry looked over the three meter diameter circle again. One last check to make sure everything was correct. When he was satisfied with his checks, Harry gave Fleur a smile as she sat off to the side to observe. Fleur beamed back with the bright and warm smile he adored as he kneeled down at the edge of the circle. He carefully placed his hands down, the tips of his middle fingers the only things making contact with the most outer lines of the array. With one more moment to focus his concentration, Harry began to pour his mana into the Transmutation Circle.

The lines and symbols began to glow blue as his mana reacted with the Magic of the circle. He felt the difference immediately as his mana flowed through the array much more easily now. The sparks of Magic formed as normal, but this time they were directed almost entirely towards his materials in the center. He only had to adjust his mana flow a bit to have all of the Magic flowing into the center. Harry and Fleur watched on as all of the materials glowed before merging together slowly. Harry continued to feed his mana into the circle until he saw the material in the center stop changing and felt the slight kickback form the Transmutation Circle.

“Done.” Harry cut his mana flow and pulled his hands back from the floor. The light died down near instantly and Harry gave it a second before he stood up. Carefully walking into the circle, taking great care not to step on the lines or symbols, Harry picked up the transmuted material and stepped out of the circle.

“Did it work, Harry?” Fleur was very curious to see if her boyfriend’s Alchemy had succeeded after so many failures.

“No striations this time, that’s already a good sign.” Harry smiled as he began to channel his mana into the large ingot of dull -almost black- metal. He kept pouring more and more of his mana into the ingot, but nothing visibly happened. The ingot took as much as he gave with no reaction. Harry tested it directly by dropping a substantial amount of his mana into the ingot all at once. For a long moment the ingot glowed with a slight blue shine before it faded completely. “It worked…its Adamantite…it’s really Adamantite! I did it!”

“Congratulations Harry!” Fleur hugged him while Harry held the ingot in his hands.

“I can’t believe it,” Harry chuckled as he leaned into Fleur’s embrace. “After all of those tries, all of the failures, I finally got it right thanks to a change in material. How could I have been so blind?”

“None of that, Harry,” Fleur shook her head, sending her lovely silvery locks swaying with the motion. “Nicholas Flamel is the pinnacle of Alchemy and has literal centuries of experience to work with. You’ve made this with only a single bit of help; the rest was all your hard work. I won’t hear you belittling yourself over succeeding.”

“You’re right, you’re right, I shouldn’t complain about succeeding at this.” Harry shook his head before turning to kiss Fleur’s cheek. “You’re good at keeping me on track.”

“Someone has to be,” Fleur giggled as she held him. “Usually me or Penny, we certainly can’t trust Tonks to do so.”

“Tonks is fun though.” Harry teased and Fleur pinched him slightly for his joke.

“You two would end up doing something absolutely crazy if we left you to your own devices.” Fleur stated plainly, her blue-eyes looking deeply into his green.

“Oh absolutely, no doubt in my mind about that.” Harry chuckled and Fleur shook her head before squeezing him gently. Their group was full of love, so what was a bit of eccentricity too?

“I’m still looking through various Magical Scripts to try and identify the language inside the Egg.” Fleur informed him as they separated and Harry went to place his ingot of Adamantite on his work desk. “So far I’ve not had much luck. It’s not Rune-based and it doesn’t match any ancient script that I’ve checked so far either.”

“How many more scripts are there to check it against?” Harry questioned his girlfriend with a tilt of his head.

“Dozens upon dozens,” Fleur informed him with a shrug. “I’ll figure it out, one way or another. It’s just stressful while also politely refusing half the boys in the castle asking me to the Yule Ball.”

“Hmm,” Harry looked towards his shelf of various objects he’d made. Fleur, catching where his eyes were looking, broke out into a melodious laughter.

“No, Harry, you don’t have to do anything to them, I’m more than used to this.” Fleur continued to laugh and the sound brought a smile to Harry’s face. He moved over to pull her into a hug and just held her close. “Mmm, I could use a foot rub though, and my shoulders do get stiff carrying those heavy books across the library.”

“I think I can help with that.” Harry smiled just before their lips met again for a gentle kiss.

-Monday, December 5th-

“Sage Quartz and Dragon Bone Focus, test one.” Harry dictated to the Dicta-Quill hovering over his notebook. He’d decided to try the Magical Quill out while testing his Items so that he could write down his thoughts in real time. After casting a Protego Totalum around the area he was planning to use, he’d sent all of the snow that had fallen last night out of his protected space with a wave of his hand. Harry had attached the shaved down and shaped Dragon Bone to some simple leather. This leather was made into two straps to attach the Focus onto his right forearm. A chunk of the Sage Quartz was implanted into the center of the bone. Harry was no Jeweler, but he’d done the best he could to shape the fragment of crystal into a rough square-shaped gem.

Using the bone focus on his forearm was a bit different then a wand. Without the ability to make the wand motions, Harry had to supplement the mnemonic motions with his arm. The Sage Quartz gave off a slight shine as mana flowed into the focus. With an image in mind, Harry willed the ground in front of him to rise up into a wall. The dirt rose up and made a slightly misshapen earthen wall. Looking over it, Harry determined that it was close to what he’d wanted, but the shape was wrong. He’d been going for a square, but had gotten a more rhombus-like shape.

“Control is rough, either due to the item’s construction or imprecise power output.” Harry spoke and the Dicta-Quill wrote down his words. “I wonder…” Harry looked at the misshapen earth wall and then at his prototype Focus.

Holding his right arm out, Harry focused on the wall. He wanted it to come apart. He desired to separate the soil from the clay and rock, to keep all parts of the ‘earth’ separate from each other. Harry directed his mana into the prototype and the Sage Quartz glowed with a dim green light. The wall burst apart and Harry jerked back instinctively. The lapse in concentration stopped the effect and Harry was left with a mess of earth all over the grass.

“Separation of types of ‘Earth’ results in the material in question bursting apart.” Harry had the Dicta-Quill mark the note. Looking over the remains of the wall, he noted a pattern to the apparent mess. Soil made up one part of the area almost exclusively, likewise clay was off to one side, and the stones from the wall had fallen in a group. There was still mixture among the three materials, but they’d partially separated as he’d wanted them to, so that was a good sign.

Huh, so it tried to work, but was it my loss of focus or the Item’s limited design that failed?’ Harry pondered before looking over his Focus. With a shrug, Harry held his right arm over the mess of earth and finished separating the materials without much effort. So far, this prototype was performing mostly as expected. If he could refine it a bit more, then he’d have some gifts to give to his Sworn Brothers of Erdunn.

Harry was sure the Dwarves would love any item that made their mining more efficient.

-Thursday, December 8th-

“Harry, what are you doing?” Fleur questioned as she watched Harry fill a stone box with Dragon Blood. It wasn’t like he’d run out any time soon with how much he had, and it did lose potency over time, but to see a stone box the size of a cooking pot filled with Dragon Blood was odd.

“I’m playing a hunch while also running some tests.” Harry grinned at her in the way he did when he was excited about a new Artifice idea.

“What hunch are you testing?” Fleur had to admit that watching Harry work always sparked her curiosity.

“Symbolic Restoration in Creature Craft.” Harry replied as he continued to set up his smithy for work. “I’m also testing the amount of control I have when imparting my mana into my creations.”

“Isn’t more mana better for your creations though?” Fleur was fairly certain that Artifice required an immense amount of mana to produce a True Artifact.

“In theory, yes. In practice, not always.” Harry shook his head as he headed over to the forge. “I may not always want to produce a powerful Item. Having control of just how powerful every Item that I forge or craft is; will go a long way to me being willing to take on commissions in the future.”

“You’re thinking ahead,” Fleur nodded in understanding. “I do like that intelligence of yours, mon amour.”

“Aside from my devilish good looks, it is one of my best traits.” Harry shot her a smirk and Fleur chuckled at her boyfriend. With a deep breath, Harry exhaled flames into the forge to ignite it. As he worked to raise the temperature Fleur retreated to the work table to sit on the stool and watch. The Veela teen was convinced that one day she’d make some remarkable insight into Magic simply by watching Harry work.

Once Harry had the flames in the forge where he wanted them temperature-wise, he placed an ingot of Magical Iron into the forge with one of the smaller fangs from the Horntail. Heating them up until they both glowed a bright yellow, Harry removed them and set to work with his Basilisk Steel tools, not the Rune-Inscribed ones, just the basic tools made from Basilisk Carbon Steel. He would start at the lowest level of his tools and materials and work up to his higher levels over time. He needed to both test his control of the imparting process as well as test his hunch on as many materials as possible.

Fleur watched on as Harry hammered away at the billet of Dragon Carbon Steel. The strikes of the hammer melded the Magical Iron and the Dragon Fang into the combined material and each fold of the billet evened out the carbon content of the new steel. As a Veela, heat didn’t bother her up to a point. But even she could admit that the smithy was very warm. Still she watched on as the billet was carefully shaped into the form that Harry wanted.

Once the billet had been shaped into a knife, Harry picked it up with his tongs and quenched it in the Dragon Blood. The hiss and smell both made Fleur scrunch up her nose. When Harry pulled the knife out of the blood, he looked it over and gave it a small nod. Setting it aside to let it cool, he placed down another ingot, this time one of Oulm. He began the process again, heating both the fang and the ingot up until they were a bright yellow. This time around he did the two separately and only brought them together in the forge when both were already yellow hot. Fleur wasn’t even sure what to call the fused material of Oulm and Dragon Fang, it certainly wasn’t steel.

Harry beat the fused material into shape with his hammer. Little by little it conformed to his desires and soon took on the simple design of a knife. Once he was satisfied with its form, he quenched it in the Dragon Blood. Harry examined this knife with the same scrutiny as the first. Apparently seeing what he wanted to, he set it near the first knife to let it cool. The next ingot was Sylvuan and it went into the forge with the fang. The process repeated until the two were brought out, hammered, folded, hammered, folded, and then put back into the forge. The shaping went smoothly, though Fleur thought she noticed Harry striking this material a bit harder than the previous two. The Veela teen covered her nose as the third knife was quenched in Dragon Blood.

“That smells awful, you know that, right?” Fleur looked at her boyfriend as he inspected the third knife.

“I’m aware,” Harry gave her a grin as he set the third knife to the side to cool. “But that’s it for today. I’ll let these three cool and then test them out. If I’ve done this properly, then all three should be endowed with the ability to conjure fire. The real test is how much and if I’ve managed to control exactly how much mana I imparted to them during the forging.

“You could use a shower too.” Fleur motioned to the bathroom in the smithy. “While watching you work is interesting and seeing you all sweaty is nice, the smell is not as pleasant.” She giggled at him.

“Alright then,” Harry shrugged as he pulled off his leather apron and then his sweat-soaked shirt too. Fleur ran her eyes over his torso with a pleased grin. His work with forging his creations had gifted him with quite the musculature over the years. “Would you like to join me? I could use some help washing my back.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Harry?” Fleur teased him while pretending to consider the option.

“I’ll wash your back in return, I promise.” Harry grinned at her while wiggling his eyebrows.

“Go shower, Mister.” Fleur laughed as she waved him towards the bathroom.

“Can’t blame a bloke for trying.” Harry laughed too as he headed into the bathroom. It was a good thing he stashed some spare clothes in here now days. The shower was helpful but having to try and charm your clothes clean when you were tired was not an experience Harry wanted to have to repeat.

When Harry emerged from the shower clean and redressed, Fleur kissed his cheek before leading him back out into the classroom part of the hidden workshop. She took his left hand in her right, placed his left hand on her waist, and then began to lead him. The two had taken up dance practice when Harry admitted to not knowing how to dance. Fleur was all too eager to teach him and so the two practiced frequently during the weeks leading up to the Yule Ball. The Waltz was easy enough, Harry had picked it up fairly quickly, but they always started with it regardless.

“Ballroom dancing is still not my forte.” Harry remarked with a grin.

“We’ll make you at least passable.” Fleur shrugged with a chuckle.

“I have the strangest feeling that most of the guys in attendance aren’t going to be noticing me beyond the fact that I’m with you.” Harry mused as they moved into slightly more complex moves.

“Unfortunately, I will indeed be spending the night being drooled over.” Fleur sighed dramatically. “Such is the curse of being a Veela.”

“You could just stay close to me all night.” Harry suggested as he twirled her.

“I could do that,” Fleur agreed as she pressed herself against him and they stepped to the right together. “You do make for a good shield against the drooling boys.”

“Happy to be of service, My Lady.” Harry snarked and Fleur pulled his lips to hers. Harry’s hands took hold of her waist as they kissed before Fleur gently moved them down to cup her ass. With her permission, Harry indulged and deepened their kiss while he explored her marvelous bottom.

The Yule Ball was looking to be a very memorable evening.

-Flint Manor-

“My Lord, I’m afraid that Borgin doesn’t have a copy of the tome you desire.” Barty informed Voldemort while kneeling.

“Doesn’t have it, or doesn’t wish to part with it?” Voldemort looked up from the old tome he was slowly deciphering. His red-eyes glared at his kneeling follower.

“He claims that he can get it, if we give him enough time.” Barty explained what the unscrupulous shopkeeper had told him.

“Platitudes are not the knowledge I seek,” Voldemort hissed out and Barty bowed his head lower. “Inform Borgin that he has until summer to procure a readable copy, or I will personally pay him a visit.”

“Yes My Lord, I shall inform him at once.” Barty declared and only stood to leave when Voldemort waved him away.

This tome is barely legible and having to decipher it is taking too long.’ The Dark Lord’s frustration with his current task was almost palpable. ‘The next book Borgin procures had best be legible if he wants to see the next day! I am Lord Voldemort, not some Hogwarts student trying to complete an assignment in the library!

At the very least, the tomes he was looking into would provide insurance against any more accidents, no prophecy, no fate or chance would keep him from his goal. He was the greatest Wizard to ever live and he would stand on top of the world as he remade it in his image. Those who did not kneel would be wiped from the earth. These ancient tomes would be the insurance to his ascension to his rightful throne. If they thought the Dark Magics that he’d shown them back in the Seventies were terrible, then he’d happily show them what True Dark Magic was capable of when wielded by a Master such as himself.

-End Chapter-

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Testing, experimenting, learning, keep moving forward, young Harry, you may need all of it far sooner than you know!

We see some more crafting, just what can Harry do when he’s focusing on limiting power, or giving and taking away various attributes of his creations. He has plenty of parts to experiment with, so why not make the most of it?

Not to mention, that with a little advice from Flamel, Harry has succeeded in transmuting Adamantite for the first time! One of the upper tier Alchemical Metals, just what will Harry do with such a material?

There’s also the problem of the Lich-like Dark Lord that won’t leave everyone else alone. What exactly is Voldemort delving into? It can’t be anything good, of course.

What is True Dark Magic?

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 17,028

Tonks – 11,346

Penelope – 9,962

Fleur – 10,114

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 42: Flame Test and the Yule Ball

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Let’s test out Harry’s new Dragon Fang knives and see if they’ve received the ability to conjure fire! How much control does Harry have over the mana and strength he imparts into his creations? Are they durable or flimsy? Plus it’s time for the Yule Ball!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 42 – Flame Test and the Yule Ball

Harry and Fleur were out in the snowy grounds of Hogwarts once again. Fleur had been the one to cast the Protego Totalum this time, after learning it from Harry. The snow on the ground had been cleared with a simple wave of their hands. Fleur couldn’t help but giggle at how excited Harry was to test out his three new knives. The sheer joy in her boyfriend’s eyes brought a smile to her lips as she transfigured the ground into a comfortable chair to watch the first tests.

“Let’s start with the Dragon Steel knife,” Harry grinned as he pulled the knife from the simple leather sheath he’d made for it. “First test will be to determine if the ability to conjure fire was imparted from the Dragon Fang.” He directed a small amount of mana into the prototype knife and looked for any visible changes. After several seconds of nothing happening the Artificer decided to change the amount of mana. With a bit more mana -nearly double what it would take to cast a standard Lumos Charm- the blade produced a flame along its length.

“It worked,” Fleur noted from her seat with a smile. “Congratulations Harry.”

“Not much more than what a lighter would produce,” Harry noted as he looked at the flame produced by the knife. “But it’s proof of concept.” He shared a smile with Fleur at the success.

“You could try adding more mana and see if that works.” Fleur suggested as she saw the flame along the blade flicker out.

“That’ll be the next test,” Harry agreed as he held the knife away from his body. “Test two is Magical Strength, how much flame can it produce when supplied with sufficient mana.”

Harry poured more mana into the Dragon Fang knife this time. He quickly blew past the amount that had produced flame last time. The blade of the knife flared with fire, easily comparable to a campfire in size. He tried to add more mana to his creation but felt like he hit a wall soon afterwards. The steel of the blade was blackening from the heat and flames and Harry stopped his mana flow. The flames rapidly shrank down to mere candle-like fires before snuffing out completely.

“That was certainly more impressive than the first test.” Fleur remarked at the display from the knife.

“Yes,” Harry chuckled in agreement. “It also answered my third question too.”

“What was your third question?” Fleur grinned at the joy she saw in Harry’s green-eyes.

“If I had controlled how powerful the knives were,” Harry rubbed the slightly blackened blade over his robe sleeve. Fleur rolled her eyes at Harry’s lack of care for his clothing. “I pretty quickly reached a point where the knife wouldn’t accept any more mana. So I can control just how much power my creations have as I make them. That’s very good to know.” He grinned as the black on the knife blade had come off like soot.

“Do I sense another potential set of Items being offered at Potter & Erdunn Creations?” Fleur teased as Harry sheathed the Dragon Steel knife.

“Possibly, a few more tweaks to them might be for the best.” Harry considered as he set the first knife aside and unsheathed the Oulm Dragon Fang knife. The almost bronze-like shine of the blade made Harry grin at his creation.

The Artificer first ran his mana through the knife to get a feel for it. The blade readily accepted his mana and similar small flames appeared along the length of it. Harry noted the ease of the mana flow and how quickly the effect had taken place compared to the Dragon Steel knife. The Oulm’s Magical Conductivity was higher than Magical Iron, so that was within expectations.

“Now, how much power do you have?” Harry murmured to his creation as he directed more of his mana into the knife. The flames nearly blasted outwards from the bronze-like metal and Harry jerked his arm to the side. A small wave of fire leapt from the blade and travelled through the air for almost two meters before disappearing.

“Harry?!” Fleur exclaimed as she jumped to her feet after seeing what the Oulm knife had done. Harry was quick to snuff out the flames by cutting off his mana flow to the knife. “Was that supposed to happen?”

“The flames? Yes. The arc of fire through the air? Not so much.” Harry shook his head at the unexpected outcome from the knife. “Hmm, is it just the Oulm’s natural Magical Conductivity causing this, or is it based on the fang I used in its forging? The fangs were mostly the same though…” He took on a contemplative expression as he ran over various hypotheses in his head.

“Do you think the Dragon Steel knife could do the same thing?” Fleur looked at the previously tested knife hanging on Harry’s hip.

“I’ll have to test it with that in mind,” Harry noted as he patted the first knife. “Before that, I need to find out what the power limit is on this knife.” He held up the Oulm blade and Fleur took several steps backwards to retreat a safe distance.

Once again, Harry poured his mana into the Oulm Dragon Fang knife. The blade produced flames again and he continued pushing more mana into his creation. The flames roared, getting more intense until Harry finally felt the limit. The knife couldn’t take in anymore mana. The roaring flames around the blade were almost like a miniature bonfire. Harry swung the knife in a wide arc and watched as fire leapt from the blade in a wave. The range reached about three meters before the fire disappeared into the air. Three more swings brought about the same results before, on the fifth swing, the flames guttered out and Harry was left with a blackened and smoking blade in his hand.

“What in the world?” Fleur blinked at seeing the knife suddenly stop working after the fairly impressive display.

“Hot!” Harry grimaced as he couldn’t look too closely at the blade just yet. The heat rising off of the burnt knife was quite high. He set the blade on the ground and let it cool, watching it the whole time.

“It burnt itself?” Fleur looked on curiously as they waited for the Oulm Dragon Fang knife to cool off enough to be inspected.

“Yes, but it’s made from a dragon’s fang, so heat shouldn’t be an issue.” Harry was perplexed by the mystery of his creation.

After several minutes passed, Harry picked up the knife and looked at the burnt blade. Flowing his mana into the knife for only a second brought Harry to a startling realization. Reaching up with his left hand, he grasped the blade between his thumb, index, and middle finger. With nary a thought, and very little effort, Harry snapped the blade as if it was a cheap prop.

“It’s inert…completely burnt out.” Harry turned to Fleur with an unreadable look on his face. “Barely anytime at maximum output destroyed it completely.”

“But why?” Fleur questioned as she looked at the broken knife. “It was doing so well too.”

“Oulm has good Magical Conductivity, but it’s also possible to use up its innate Magic and render it inert. I thought forging it with a dragon fang would eliminate that weakness, or at least mitigate it for the most part.” Harry exhaled heavily as he looked at his trashed creation. “It seems like I can’t remove that natural fact of Oulm without Runecraft after all.”

“That’s what testing is for, I guess,” Fleur gave him a warm smile as Harry placed the pieces of the knife into a small pouch. “It’s infinitely better to figure these kinds of things out in controlled situations, rather than in a life or death emergency.”

“True enough. That is why I test everything I make.” Harry pecked her cheek softly and Fleur returned the affection with a gentle kiss of her own. “I still need to test the Sylvuan Dragon Fang knife too.”

“I’ll be a few meters in that direction if you need me.” Fleur giggled while pointing behind her.

“Coward!” Harry laughed at his retreating girlfriend. He was left chuckling even as he unsheathed the final knife he’d made.

The dull color of the Dragon Steel knife was outshined by the Sylvuan version. The metal was brighter and looked almost polished in comparison to the first knife. This was merely the result of the Sylvuan itself. The magical metal simply had a luster to it that most other metals lacked.

“One more time…” Harry breathed in and then exhaled slowly. He poured some of his mana into the knife and watched as the blade was covered in small flames. Feeding the fire with his mana, the flames were soon crackling as Harry held a small bonfire by the handle of a knife. A few swings of the knife proved the ability to throw fire around might very well be standard amongst his Dragon Fang creations. “Now, what’s full power look like?”

Full power took longer to reach than with either of the previous two knives. Sylvuan proved its durability as a magical metal when Harry had a blazing knife powered by a fairly decent amount of mana. It was still not much more than one would use if they cast an Incendio Charm -maybe two or three times that amount- but the amount of fire and heat was far greater then what that Charm could ever hope to produce. The flames arced from the swings of his knife for almost four meters each time at full power. Harry made it past the fifth swing with no changes to the output of the knife. When he swung the tenth time without any noticeable change in fire output, he stopped.

“A little soot-covered, but otherwise it’s perfectly fine.” Harry mentioned as he let the knife cool off for a bit before wiping the soot off the blade. “I’m sure it has a limit that’ll render it inert and broken if it’s pushed beyond though.”

“You think so?” Fleur queried as she looked at the Sylvuan Dragon Fang knife. “It looked like it was performing perfectly.”

“These aren’t Artifacts, just Enchanted Items, so they’ll break eventually even if they’re not going full power all of the time.” Harry reminded his girlfriend as he looked over the knife once more before sheathing it next to the Dragon Steel knife.

“You’re going to test the first knife again, right?” Fleur questioned him curiously. “It’s cold out,” She snuggled into the Charmed Scarf he’d made for her. “If I didn’t have this cute scarf I’d be chilled to the bone.”

“Uh huh,” Harry looked at her flatly even as Fleur giggled. “Says the Veela that can keep herself warm with barely a thought and a little mana.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m a fan of the cold, mon amour.” Fleur playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

“Alright, alright,” Harry held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’ll get this test done and we can go inside.” Fleur smiled in faux victory before making sure that she was at a safe distance as Harry drew the Dragon Steel knife again.

Flame alighted on the blade once more as Harry fed the knife with his mana. This time he pushed it further, feeding more of his mana into his creation. The flames leapt from the blade of the knife by the time Harry hit the tool’s magical limit. A quick, wide swing saw flames leaping from the knife just as they did with the Oulm and Sylvuan blades. The range was noticeably shorter though, at around two meters total. Three swings in and the knife was still fine. Six swings and Harry noted soot building up on the blade. On the tenth swing the flames wavered and the blade was completely covered in soot.

“About ten swings then?” Harry mused as he waited for the metal to cool off so that he could clean the blade a bit and check it over.

“Did it break?” Fleur asked as she walked over. She’d noticed the wavering flames, almost as if they were being choked of air.

“No, it still responds to my mana,” Harry shook his head. “I think it has a limit to how long it can be used consecutively before the blade is covered in soot and the effect is compromised. It’s rather interesting how each material differs in testing. I did forge them all in a similar manner.”

“So this one will last longer if it’s properly cared for, much like any tool then?” Fleur mused as she looked at the soot-covered knife.

“That’s my running theory, right now at least.” Harry agreed with a small smile as he looked into Fleur’s blue-eyes. “I’m sure there will be a point that even cleaning the blade won’t restore the full functionality of the knife. But this one doesn’t seem like it’ll just burn out entirely like the Oulm knife did.”

“I noticed the fire wasn’t as strong with this one too.” Fleur noted as the blade was finally cool enough for Harry to wipe it off and check it over for any visible damage. “Is that because it lacks in Magical Conductivity?”

“Yeah, Magical Iron can hold Magic, it can channel Magic, but the ease of transfer through it is much lower than Oulm or Sylvuan.” Harry nodded as he answered her question. “Balancing out durability and conductivity of materials can take some time. It usually comes down to what exactly you want the Item in question to do.”

“You also used your lowest quality, or maybe I should say lowest powered, tools to forge these three knives.” Fleur remembered as Harry sheathed the Dragon Steel knife. “I bet I could write my first thesis on your Artifice, mon amour. Just by following along as you test out all of your various levels of creation and forging.”

“Perhaps you could,” Harry offered her his arm. “I could be convinced to let you watch the whole process.” Fleur playfully rolled her eyes as she took his arm and dispelled the Protego Totalum. The snow that had built up on top of the area shield fell all at once, but not a single flake touched either of them. A path opened up for them in the snow as they walked back towards the castle. Such simple Magics were barely more than a thought and a motion from them nowadays.

-Clearwater Family Home ~ December 16th-

“Testing Runic Array Configuration Number One-hundred-sixty-four,” Penny spoke to the Dicta-Quill as she looked over the small set of Rune stones that she had been working with almost since she’d graduated from Hogwarts. With Harry’s prodigious knowledge and understanding of Runes, she’d made quite a bit of extra headway on this project. The Array could work, everything she’d researched, all the tests she’d already run, everything pointed towards her hypothesis being possible. It was merely a matter of figuring out the ideal placement and structure for her Array to make it happen.

Penny placed her hands on the Rune stone that was in front of her. She channeled her mana into it and watched as it began to glow just slightly. Her mana spread to the two stones on either side of the Rune stone she was touching and they too began to faintly glow. The next stones in the circle glowed next, then the ones after them, so on and so forth until the final Rune stone directly across from Penny began to glow just like all of the others. In a matter of seconds a hazy, distorted field could be seen covering the area that the Rune stones surrounded.

“Field is stable,” Penny noted and the Dicta-Quill jotted it down into her notebook. “Charging the Rune stones for testing.” Penny poured her mana into the stones until she knew that they’d be able to maintain the field they were creating, for at least the next several minutes. “Charge complete, moving to Wand-based tests.” The scratching of the Quill followed her words.

Penny pulled out her wand and held the tip just outside of the distorted field. With a thought she conjured a Lumos Charm. The small ball of light formed just as it always did. She maintained the Charm as she pushed the ball of light towards the field. The light wavered as it came into contact with the haze. It vanished completely when she put the tip of her wand into the field itself.

“Lumos Charm was dispersed,” Penny dictated and her magical quill wrote down her words. “Preparing to attempt to cast a spell within the field.” Once the scratching of the Quill stopped Penny commenced her next test. With ease she attempted to cast another Lumos Charm. For a split second, just a fraction that she would’ve missed if she blinked, Penny’s Charm lit up the tip of her wand. It was snuffed out in less than the time it took to blink though. “Note: The Lumos Charm failed to cast completely. The field has neutralized simple, weak Magics.” The Quill jotted down her words as she prepared her next test.

She used more of her mana this time, along with a more complex spell in the Aguamenti Charm. From the tip of her wand a small amount of water was conjured. It only hit the floor for a moment before the conjuration was undone and the water vanished. She tried to cast the Charm once more, this time using even more mana. The floor was splashed -as if a water balloon had exploded- but even then the conjured water vanished swiftly.

“The field can still be overpowered, but Spells are quickly undone and Conjurations vanish in seconds.” Penny noted and she heard the scratching of the Dicta-Quill again. “Even overpowered Spells have greatly diminished effects within the field.”

“Knock, knock,” Edward Clearwater called out while gently rapping his knuckles on the door. “It’s almost time for dinner, honey.” Coming out to Penny’s ‘Research Shed’ in December was a bit chilly without a Warming Charm.

“Is it that time already?” Penny glanced at the clock and noted that the family’s usual dinnertime was only about fifteen minutes away. “I almost lost track of time with my tests.” The young woman stood up and stretched from sitting for so long. A shake of her head sent her dark-blonde locks swaying back and forth.

“How is your project going, my brilliant Scholar of a daughter?” Edward chuckled and Penny smiled at her father.

“I’ve managed to increase the area of effect, but the field can still be overpowered.” Penny remarked as she checked her notebook after deactivating the Dicta-Quill. “Each time I’m able to increase the size of the field I have to rework the Array a bit, tweak it slightly, so that the effect doesn’t diminish. I’m still a long way from making this viable on a large scale. Even further from actually making a working spell based on the field.”

“I know you’ll figure it out, dear,” Edward smiled warmly at his daughter. “You’re a driven and intelligent young lady and look at how far you’ve come in the last few months.”

It was true, when Penny first started this project she’d barely had any idea of the Runic Array she’d need. Her first successful field had only been maybe fifteen centimeters in diameter, if she was being generous. It also wasn’t very hard to overpower back then. Now the diameter of her field had expanded to just over a meter and it was much stronger. It was great progress, but Penny was rather eager to reach the final goal of her project. She had always been goal-oriented and loved completing tasks and assignments to the best of her ability. This project was another undertaking that she couldn’t wait to successfully complete.

“Thanks Dad,” Penny gently hugged her father and Edward was happy to return the affection with his own hug. “Knowing I have support from you and Mum for this makes it much less stressful.”

“Of course, dear, you know we’re so proud of you.” Edward chuckled as they entered the home through the back door. “The only thing I’m not certain about is the name. You know how some of the more traditional members of Magical Society are.”

“It’s only a placeholder name for now anyway.” Penny shrugged as she went to wash up for dinner.

If one were to look inside Penny’s notebook, they would see the name of her project.

[Anti-Magic Area]

-Hogwarts ~ Yule Ball-

It was December 25th and the night of the Yule Ball. Harry and Fleur had met at the Beauxbatons Carriage to walk to the ball together. Harry was decked out in tailored Dress Robes with a more modern-cut compared to several of his peers. A dark black with some silver accents for trim and shiny silver cufflinks finished off the outfit. Harry wasn’t much of a fan of formal wear, but this wasn’t horrible.

Fleur was turning heads the moment she stepped out of the carriage to meet her boyfriend. In a resplendent dress of beautiful silver, the Veela teen was radiant. She’d applied the barest of makeup around her eyes to enhance the beautiful blue color. The dress gave a peek at her cleavage while hiding everything. It formed to her curves and Harry found his eyes following said curves up and down Fleur’s body.

“You look gorgeous, Love.” Harry smiled at his girlfriend.

“Thank you,” Fleur beamed at him, her eyes radiating love and affection. “You’re looking rather handsome tonight as well.”

“Well I can’t be escorting you without looking my best, now can I?” Harry joked lightly as he offered her his arm.

“Certainly not,” Fleur giggled as she looped her arm with his. “You might detract from my beauty.”

“Now that’s just impossible, my dear.” Harry shook his head sagely. “No one would notice me on your arm even if I was wearing my pajamas. You’re simply too radiant.”

“Sweet talker,” Fleur smiled lovingly at him before their lips met in a gentle kiss. “Let’s hurry a little; we don’t want to be late to open the Ball.”

The couple made it to the closed doors of the Great Hall where a crowd of students was already gathering. Dates were looking for each other and several pairs were waiting nearby the doors as well. Many heads turned to stare at the Champion couple as they made their way through the crowd. Several students stood aside to let them reach the doors.

“Mr. Potter, Miss Delacour, glad to see you’ve arrived.” Professor McGonagall -wearing tartan robes- nodded to the pair. “We’re just waiting on Mr. Krum and his date and then we’ll be able to enter the Hall.”

The wait for Viktor and his date wasn’t very long at all. Descending the stairs together were the Professional Quidditch player and his date. Krum was wearing a formal uniform from the looks of it. Less robes and more suit in design. The Bulgarian actually had a light and relaxed look on his face this evening. It was his date that drew Harry’s attention far more though.

Looking lovely in a dress made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material was Hermione Granger. Harry’s study buddy was on Viktor Krum’s arm this evening and she was holding herself differently. Her hair was tamed and done up in an elegant style that Harry didn’t know the name of but would describe as a knot or bun. She was also smiling -rather nervously- but the smile was genuine and Harry was happy to see it. The Durmstrang Champion and Hermione made their way over to the closed doors and stopped next to Harry and Fleur.

“Good evening Viktor, Hermione,” Harry nodded politely to the two of them. “I’m glad you’ve decided to grace everyone with the beauty you seem to hide so often, Hermione.” He smiled at his study buddy even as she blushed from all the attention she was getting.

“Good evening to you both.” Viktor returned the polite greeting to Harry and gave Fleur a relaxed smile.

“Hello, Harry, Fleur,” Hermione greeted the two with a smile of her own, bashful as it was. “You both look amazing tonight.”

“You look lovely yourself, Hermione.” Fleur grinned at the younger girl. “You should show this side of yourself more often.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t,” Hermione shook her head and looked down with pink cheeks. “It feels so odd being the center of attention.”

“You get used to it.” Viktor, Fleur, and Harry all stated in unison. The three blinked at each other before breaking out into subdued chuckles. Hermione couldn’t stop the smile from returning to her face at the laughter.

“Very good, you’re all here,” McGonagall had returned and noted Viktor and Hermione’s arrival. “The doors will open shortly and dinner will be had first before the opening dance.” The Transfiguration Professor explained and all four of the teens nodded at the schedule.

The doors did indeed open a few short minutes later and the Champions led the rest of the students into the Great Hall. The Hall was decked out for the celebration with frost decorating the walls, casting the glow of the lights across the open space. Garlands were draped around the stonework. A conjured snowfall fell over the hall without leaving a trace of cold or water anywhere. A large Christmas tree dominated one side of the Hall and its various decorations glowed and sparkled with lights in a myriad of colors. All in all it was a lovely setting for a Ball.

The Champions were led to a table that had replaced the long table the Professors usually ate their meals at. They would be sitting slightly higher than the rest of the tables that had begun to fill up with students. The three Champions and Hermione shared their table with Dumbledore, Bagman, and -to Harry and Hermione’s surprise- Percy Weasley.

“I’m filling in for Mr. Crouch this evening,” Percy informed the two when he noticed them looking at him confused. “He regrets that he can’t make it, but he’s dealing with important legal matters at the moment.” Harry didn’t miss the way Percy locked eyes with him when he mentioned the legal matters.

Everyone picked up the menus on the table and browsed the selection. There were a few different dishes available and a few that were regional to the students of both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang as Harry didn’t know them at all. Dumbledore took the lead on ordering as he looked down at his plate after perusing the menu for a few moments.

“Pork chops.” Dumbledore spoke clearly. In a matter of seconds a meal appeared before Dumbledore with pork chops as the entrée.

From there the rest of the table ordered their dinners. Harry went with a steak entrée while Fleur picked a dish called Confit de Canard. Harry saw it was a dish featuring duck as the entrée. As light conversation started over dinner the evening appeared to be going very well for everyone. Fleur teasingly offered Harry a bite of her meal and Harry took it with a smile. It was quite flavorful and he found he enjoyed it. Fleur had almost burst into giggles when Harry returned the favor and gave her a bite of his steak.

After dinner the Weird Sisters made their appearance to much applause. The famous Magical Band began to play for the opening dance. Viktor and Hermione headed down to the dance floor arm in arm. Harry and Fleur followed after them, also arm in arm, a moment later. The two couples began with a simple waltz to the music. Fleur and Harry only had eyes for each other as they danced. Even when the dance floor was opened up to the rest of the students, the couple didn’t stop their dance.

“Our practice appears to have paid off.” Fleur giggled melodiously as she and Harry began a more complex dance as the music changed.

“Amazing how having a brilliant teacher can make even a total novice into a passable dancer, huh?” Harry joked as he twirled Fleur and then brought her back into his arms.

“I do believe my rewards system was a good motivator.” Fleur murmured into his ear before kissing it lightly.

“Very good, indeed, Love.” Harry kissed her neck softly as they danced.

As the night went on Harry also danced with Hermione, Padma, Luna, and Mandy. Luna had been asked by Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor and was one of the only Third Years in attendance. Harry was happy to see the small blonde enjoying the night so much.

Watching the Professors dance was its own amusement as well. Dumbledore and McGonagall were very formal in their steps across the dance floor. Hagrid and Maxime were slow dancing when an appropriate song came on. The two easily kept a good amount of space clear around them. None of the other dancers wanted to risk any kind of collision with them. Remus and Professor Sinistra made for an unexpected pair as they danced together as well. Harry was happy to see his surrogate Uncle having a good time tonight.

As the night wore on and the hour became later, some couples notably disappeared. Harry noted Viktor walking Hermione out of the Hall and up the grand staircase towards Gryffindor Tower. Fleur leaned against him with a warm smile as they left the Great Hall and wandered through the garden that had been set up outside. When they were out of sight the couple quickly made themselves an opening in the hedges and escaped the garden area. The two swiftly headed for the Beauxbatons Carriage together and Fleur pulled Harry inside while no one was around. Maxime and Hagrid had still been slow dancing with each other when Harry and Fleur had left the Hall.

“Harry~” Fleur kissed his lips as soon as her bedroom door was closed, locked, and silenced behind them.

“Fleur~” Harry returned her kiss with equal love and passion.

“Undress me, mon amour?” Fleur asked with smoldering eyes as she turned and showed Harry the back of her dress. The zipper on the back was slightly hidden, but Harry’s fingers quickly uncovered it and unzipped the dress. The silver cloth pooled around Fleur’s feet leaving her in lacey, black lingerie that left almost nothing to the imagination. “Do you like what you see, Harry?” She purred out as she turned to let him take in her body from the front.

“I love you Fleur Delacour~” Harry told her with such pure, genuine emotion that Fleur’s breath hitched and she felt her heart thump in her chest.

“I love you too, Harry Potter~” Fleur returned his declaration of love as their lips met again. The couple wrapped their arms around each other as they deepened their kiss. Fleur’s hands weren’t idle as she quickly began stripping Harry of his clothing. Tongues came into play as they pressed their bare skin against each other.

Words were unnecessary from that point on. The couple simply gave in to their love for one another. Their lips only separated long enough to take a breath as their hands roamed. Fleur let out a sexy gasp as Harry unsnapped the front clasp on her lacey, black bra and began to play with her breasts and nipples. The sexy garment falling to the floor and was quickly forgotten about. Her hands travelled over his body as well, one slipping down to pull his boxers off and free his hard length. Harry groaned low in his throat as Fleur began to stroke his cock.

Harry latched his lips onto Fleur’s nipples making the Veela teen gasp and moan his name in pleasure. Harry licked and sucked her magnificent breasts while his hands descended and eagerly removed the skimpy, black panties she wore. With both of them naked, Fleur led Harry to her bed and the couple fell upon it. Their lips met again and as their tongues found each other once more, Fleur gently guided Harry on top of her.

“Harry, make love to me~” Fleur moaned out her request as she spread her legs for the one she loved.

“I love you so much, Fleur~” Harry looked into her eyes and both would’ve sworn they could see each other’s souls when their eyes met.

Harry gently guided himself into Fleur’s soaked heat sending sparks of pleasure through both of their bodies. Their lips met as Harry moved forward bit by bit until he filled her completely. Harry and Fleur panted, moaning and whispering each other’s names in passionate heat as they moved with each other in the throes of passion. Fleur rolled her hips to match Harry’s thrusts into her core. The two reveled in their love and their lovemaking. A deep groan rose from Harry’s throat as his thrusts began to pick up speed. Fleur kissed him deeply, tongues entwining again as she wrapped her long legs around his waist. They had no concept of time, only the warmth of each other’s bodies and the pleasure they gave to each other mattered.

“Inside~” Fleur mewled into his ear as they held each other tight. She wanted this so much, needed it from her lover. Harry sped up his thrusts more, as Fleur’s sex fluttered along his length to coax him to completion. Harry gave into her passionate request as he approached his release. He sought out her lips and kissed her deeply as he hilted himself inside of his beautiful Veela lover and crashed over his peak. The two broke their lip lock to moan loudly as they climaxed together.

“Fleur~” Harry panted even as a pleasant haze filled his mind.

“Harry~” Fleur purred back to her lover. The heat of Harry’s seed inside her was still sending pleasurable bolts of sensation into her brain.

The heat lingered as they gazed into each other’s eyes. The two leaned close and shared a soft kiss as they reveled in their shared climax. Eventually the haze faded from their minds and Fleur unwrapped her legs from Harry’s waist. He pulled himself from Fleur’s depths and rolled to the side while pulling her close. They cuddled together, enjoying the bliss that came after lovemaking. Sweet kisses were shared as they held each other. Neither had any plans to let the other go for the rest of the night.

“Love you, Fleur.” Harry murmured into her ear before leaving a gentle kiss on it.

“Love you, Harry~” Fleur kissed his lips as she pressed herself against him.

Being both of their first times, neither teen had much inclination to try and go for a second round. Fleur made a beckoning motion with her left index finger and her blankets covered the two lovers gently. She purred in contentment as Harry’s arms pulled her closer. She couldn’t ask for more than to spend the rest of the night sleeping in her lover’s arms. She wrapped her own arms around Harry and held him close.

The two dozed off in each other’s arms with gentle smiles on their lips. Morning would come eventually, but neither of them could care less. They were content right where they were.

-End Chapter-

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Well, the tests revealed some things. That’s good for progress!

We found out what Penny has been working on too!

Trust our Scholarly Penelope to find a way to deal with ALL hostile Magicals!

You don’t threaten Penny’s Family! She’ll fuck you up!

Harry and Fleur had a wonderful time at the Yule Ball!

It also ended in their first times. The two giving themselves to each other so lovingly!

Me thinks Tonks is going to call foul on Fleur going first! *Hehehehe~!*

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 17,584

Tonks – 11,968

Penelope – 10,312

Fleur – 10,636

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 43: Reaction, Discovery, more Dragon Items

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time for the reaction to Fleur and Harry making love after the Yule Ball! Progress is made on the Egg! Harry is trying out EVERYTHING he can with his Dragon Materials!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 43 – Reaction, Discovery, more Dragon Items

This is awkward…’ Harry mused as he sat in one of the rarely used meeting rooms in Hogwarts. Nym was sitting to his right, Fleur was on his left, and Penny was sitting across from him. There was a noticeable tension in the air and Harry wasn’t a fan of it.

“Was a meeting really necessary?” Harry finally broke the silence.

“Yes.” Tonks stated immediately. “You and Fleur had sex, that’s something we all should have discussed first.” The Metamorph had a pout on her face and Harry was trying hard not to smile at it. She had a cute pout.

“Communication is important in a relationship like ours,” Penny spoke up next as she glanced at all three of them in turn. “When steps like these are taken, we should all be in agreement, shouldn’t we?”

“I was planning on waiting for your birthday, but then Fleur jumped the line.” Tonks looked at Fleur as her hair and eyes turned orange. Not the red that was normally associated with anger, but orange denoted annoyance.

“I’m not apologizing.” Fleur stated simply with a shake of her head.

“I’m not asking you to,” Tonks retorted with a sigh. “I just wish you’d talked to us about it first.”

“It would have been nice to know your plans in regards to taking this next step in the relationship, Fleur.” Penny gave the Veela teen an understanding look. She knew why Fleur had taken the next step. She only wished the other girl had been upfront with her and Tonks.

“Yeah, we could’ve worked out a plan to make Harry’s birthday the best night of his life.” Tonks grinned salaciously and Penny started -almost choking on her own breath- while Fleur raised a delicate eyebrow at the idea.

“I’m not against that still happening or anything.” Harry mentioned with a wide smile on his face.

“Of course you don’t mind.” Tonks laughed at her boyfriend. Her hair turned from orange to pink, along with her eyes.

“I would not be opposed to this plan.” Fleur giggled behind her hand, giving all three of them bedroom eyes.

“Can you three hold back your lusts for a bit?” Penny shook her head with a sigh. Honestly, her family was letting their hormones do the talking already.

“Give in, Penny, give in~” Tonks teased with a flirty tone.

“You’re incorrigible, Nym.” Penny flicked a ball of mana at her friend.

Tonks let the little mana ball hit her with a smile. She couldn’t help but be happy that Penny wasn’t dismissing the idea outright. The brown-eyed girl had become far more comfortable and open since this relationship started.

“It’s nice being able to talk with all of you at the same time,” Harry smiled warmly at his girlfriends. “It’s been too long.”

“We miss you too, Harry.” Penny returned his smile with a loving smile of her own.

“We really don’t get enough time with you,” Tonks gave him a gentle smile as she took his hand and entwined their fingers. “Work has been busy ever since the whole Death Eater incident at the World Cup. Both Madam Bones and Mad-Eye are running the DMLE like we’re back in the Seventies. It’s exhausting trying to follow up on any suspicious activity or possible sighting of Death Eaters.”

“I highly doubt that any of the Death Eaters hold a candle to your mana level, Nym.” Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Damn right they don’t!” Tonks stated smugly making Penny roll her eyes playfully while Fleur laughed melodiously.

“I mean I’m still st-” Harry started to say before being cut off.

“Don’t say it!” Tonks snipped at her boyfriend.

“What?” Harry grinned at his eldest girlfriend. “I was just going to say that I’m-”

“Don’t you say it!” Tonks interrupted him again with a look.

“I’m stronger than you.” Harry rushed out his words and Tonks pouted at him with a glare.

“You said it!” Tonks huffed at Harry with her arms crossed over her chest. “You just had to say it!”

“Yes.” Harry grinned while both Fleur and Penny began to laugh at the pout on Tonks’ face.

“It doesn’t count! You cheated!” Tonks looked away from him, still pouting cutely.

“I don’t know…” Harry grinned as he held up a Test Frame with his mana level showing. “It looks like it counts to me~”

“Where did you even get that?” Penny raised an eyebrow at Harry seemingly pulling a Test Frame from nowhere.

“I’m wearing my special cloak under my Hogwarts robes.” Harry informed with a grin.

“Please tell me you wash that cloak, mon amour…” Fleur gave Harry a look. She knew how often Harry had taken to wearing the jet-black cloak and just how dirty something could get in the castle. Not to mention Harry’s propensity for just wiping things off on his clothing.

“Almost every day, Love.” Harry reassured her with a nod and small smile.

“Bon,” Fleur smiled back at him. “I wouldn’t want to snuggle with a man that can’t even keep himself clean.”

All three ladies chuckled at Harry’s expense, but he could only smile lovingly at them. He wouldn’t change a single thing about any of his girlfriends. They were perfect just as they were in his eyes.

Conversation resumed after the laughter and tea was provided by one of the castle’s many House Elves. Hearing about Penny’s project and the success she was seeing, filled Harry with joy. He was glad his Rune knowledge had been so helpful to her. Tonks mentioned her own work at the DMLE and how much Mad-Eye was pushing her in their practice sessions. When asked about her patrols or any investigations she went on, Tonks had to be vague about them. It was part of her oath as an Auror not to reveal the status of any active cases and Tonks took it seriously.

“You’re keeping safe, right?” Harry asked, seeking assurance that Tonks would be okay in the field with Death Eaters being active again.

“I have my Basilisk Scale Mail on during any raid, Harry,” Tonks gave his hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance. “Under my Auror robes I always keep my Basilisk Hide Vest on too. Even in the office or when I’m patrolling Diagon Alley.”

“Thank you, Nym.” Harry exhaled in relief. The Auror profession was dangerous and he couldn’t help but worry about Tonks after all.

“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily, Harry.” Tonks grinned before leaning over and kissing his lips.

“Good…” Harry smiled before leaning forward to catch her lips this time.

“Oh my~” Fleur had a teasing grin on her face and her blue-eyes were alight with mischief. “Are you two going need the room for a while?”

“Fleur!” Penny stared at the Veela intently. “Don’t encourage them!”

“I’ll take you up on that offer!” Tonks laughed as she moved over to sit in Harry’s lap.

“No you will not!” Penny stood from her chair and leaned over to swat at Tonks.

“You could just join us in the fun~” Fleur teased as she gave the bent-over Penny’s ass a playful swat.

“Fleur!” Penny jumped from the light slap of her booty. “You stop that!”

“One of us, one of us, one of us…” Tonks laughed as she pulled Penny close and had the dark-blonde girl sit on the armrest of Harry’s chair.

“Come here, Penny.” Harry smiled at his girlfriend as he wrapped his free arm around her waist.

“I’m the only one that thinks this isn’t the best place for this, aren’t I?” Penny sighed before leaning down to meet Harry’s lips in a soft kiss. “No clothing better come off, or I’m hexing the one responsible.”

“Acceptable.” Fleur giggled as she sat on the opposite armrest and pulled Harry’s lips to hers.

“So just pulling up my shirt is okay?” Tonks teased as she guided Harry’s hand to her breasts.

“Why do I even try?” Penny questioned with a faux sigh before leaning into the cuddle pile with a smile.

-January 6th-

“It’s Theban!” Fleur declared while practically kicking open the door to the hidden workshop.

“Really…” Harry looked at her flatly, his hand had jerked at the sudden entrance and now a line of ink went across the page of his notebook.

“Ah…sorry, mon amour,” Fleur apologized with a light chuckle. “I was just excited to share the news with you.”

“It’s fine, Love.” Harry set his pen down and gave her his full attention. “What’s Theban?”

“A type of substitution cipher of the Latin Alphabet,” Fleur closed the door behind her and walked over to Harry’s desk. “It’s been around since the early Fifteen Hundreds! It’s also called the Witches’ Alphabet!”

“That would explain the ‘Witch’ and ‘Insight’ parts of the Runes.” Harry agreed as he looked over the book Fleur had placed next to his notebook. “Now we just have to translate it.”

“I already did.” Fleur looked slightly smug as she pulled a parchment from her pocket and unfolded it. “I’m not sure how to feel about the Second Task though.”

“Let’s see…” Harry began to read the translated message. The Second Task would be one of the oldest forms of Magical Competition known, that being Magical Combat. They could bring whatever Foci or Armor they wished, the only rules for the Task where the banning of Dark Magics and not to intentionally kill the other Champions. “This isn’t a Formalized Duel; this is just an outright battle.”

“Yes, the conditions for gaining points are the order in which the Champions are rendered unable to continue and the Judges’ determination on the skill displayed.” Fleur noted of the last short paragraph at the bottom of the parchment.

“It seems you and I will be sparring with a much larger audience than normal, Love.” Harry smiled at her as he took her hand in his own.

“So it seems, Harry.” Fleur returned his smile before leaning down to meet his lips for a warm kiss.

“I do hope you enjoyed your Christmas presents too.” Harry grinned a little mischievously.

“I love the Storage Cloak, Harry, even if the name is a little plain.” She teased and Harry rolled his eyes at the ribbing. What was with Magicals and wanting things to seem Magical through both name and looks all the time? “I was surprised by the Dragon Leather pants though…”

“Tonks liked them.” Harry chuckled while Fleur gave him a teasing grin.

“Why did you make them for us?” Fleur questioned her lover rhetorically.

“For reasons…” Harry looked her straight in the eye with an unrepentant smile.

“Would one of those reasons happen to be, to see our lovely bottoms in them?” Fleur purred out her question.

“Perhaps…” Harry shrugged nonchalantly.

“Good, I’d hate to think that these skintight pants would go to waste.” Fleur giggled as she undid the spell that had hidden her actual outfit from view. She went from wearing the Beauxbatons standard blue uniform, to the skintight Dragon Leather pants and a tight, white turtleneck with long sleeves. Needless to say, but the outfit hugged her body in all the right ways and flaunted her amazing figure.

“Beautiful~” Harry murmured as he took in the sight of his silver-blonde girlfriend with a bright smile.

“Why thank you~” Fleur grinned as she turned around and let him see her from the back.

“I out did myself…” Harry gave himself a little praise at seeing the tight leather pants accentuating Fleur’s amazing ass.

“Now that we know what the Second Task is,” Fleur leaned forward, pushing her leather-clad bottom towards Harry. “Why don’t we celebrate, mon amour?”

Fleur quickly found herself bent over Harry’s desk. A quick slap of her ass was followed by Harry leaning against her back. She turned her head only to meet his lips with hers. Not to be outdone, the Veela girl ground her shapely ass into her lover’s crotch as his hands came up to play with her breasts.

-January 8th-

Harry grimaced at the heat from his forge. If the heat rose too much more, then the very stone it was made from would start to melt. Even flax could only do so much when using Magical Materials. But he was bound and determined to make this work! He just needed to find a way to actually manipulate the material! That or he needed a way to generate even greater heat to soften and shape it.

“Who knew that working with Dragon Scales would be so difficult?” Harry muttered to himself as he looked at the blazing forge and the large Dragon Scale sitting within. The large scale had barely changed color from the heat.

Harry’s current goal was to fashion a shield from the Horntail’s scales. With another nearly spell-proof layer of defense added to his Regalia, he’d be closer to ready for whenever Voldemort made his move. At the moment though, Harry was still figuring out just how to use Dragon Scales in Creature Craft. They were insanely durable and resistant to heat. The inherent properties of the scales were making the task of actually crafting with them ridiculously challenging.

“All the better for a strong shield, I guess,” Harry wiped the sweat from his face with a towel. He kept the heat high and hoped that extended time within the forge would soften the Dragon Scale inside. “If this doesn’t work I’m going to have to find another way to come at this problem.”

-January 10th-

“Is something wrong with your forge, Harry?” Fleur questioned as she saw Harry taking his tools to the stone that made up the forge.

“It’s not strong enough,” Harry answered as he carefully etched another Rune into the sequence he had going. “I need to be able to get it to much higher temperatures if I want to work with Dragon Scales.”

“I see, so you’re adding in a Runic Array to allow for that?” Fleur noted his already complete work.

“Yep,” Harry smiled at her brightly. “I’m starting on the outside and then I’ll do the inside. With any luck I’ll have upgraded the forge enough to work with most any material.”

“Is your plan still to take your O.W.L.s this summer?” Fleur asked as she watched him work. “It seems a waste to go through all this work if you’re not going to come back to Hogwarts next year.”

“I’ll just take the forge with me, no big deal.” Harry shrugged a he started on the next Rune in the sequence. “That does remind me, I need to perform the same upgrade on the forge in my smithy at Wood End Cottage too.”

“I suppose with your Storage Cloak you don’t really have many limitations on what you can carry with you.” Fleur chuckled with a grin at her lover. Trust Harry not to leave any tool behind when he vacated an area. “I believe you’ll need to expand your smithy to fit in a second forge.”

“Magic makes for easy work, Love.” Harry laughed as he etched the next Rune into the stone of his forge.

Hours later and Harry was lying inside his forge, on his back, as he etched more Runes into the stone. Fleur was reading an interesting book that Madam Aveline had recommended to her. The Veela teen would look up from her reading every now and then to watch Harry work for a short time. His focus on his task was admirable and she couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. Looking towards the clock on the wall, Fleur noted the time.

“Harry, it’s almost dinner time,” Fleur informed him as she closed her book. “Surely you must be hungry after working for so long?”

“I could eat,” Harry admitted from within the forge. He finished etching the Rune he was working on and then shimmied out of the forge. “Has it really been almost six hours?”

“Indeed it has,” Fleur stood up and stretched. “Shall we go to dinner?”

“Allow me to escort you, my Lady.” Harry held out his arm to her with a grin.

“Of course, mon amour.” Fleur smiled back as she looped her arm though his.

Dinner was a pleasant affair, as was normal. Fleur and Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table next to his study buddies. Conversation started up about classes, the next Task of the Tournament, what everyone had been up to, and other regular topics. Harry enjoyed some bouillabaisse, a French soup made from seafood. Fleur recommended it and Harry found it to his tastes. Luna was still artistic with her food and that made Harry grin. Hermione still lamented that Harry skipped pretty much every class nowadays with his Champion Privileges.

“I’m just worried you’ll miss something important, Harry.” Hermione fretted over his education.

“I haven’t worried too much about it Hermione,” Harry shrugged after taking a sip of his tea. He still wasn’t the biggest fan of Pumpkin Juice, at all. “If this Tournament has taught me anything, it’s that Hogwarts may not be the safest place for me. As I’ve said before, I plan to take my O.W.L.s this summer and my N.E.W.T.s in the fall. I have little doubt that I’ll secure the grades I need in the core classes for O.W.L.s along with Runes and Arithmancy. I’m planning to specialize for my N.E.W.T.s in Runes, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. That’s more than required and I already have a successful business partnership. Early graduation will free up much more of my time to delve further into Artifice.”

“We’ll miss you at our study sessions,” Mandy sighed with a faux sad look at him. “Who is going to help me figure out all my Arithmancy equations?”

“My Runes grade might suffer as well, Harry,” Padma got in on the teasing. “How’re you going to just leave us like this?”

“I’ll miss you too, Harry.” Luna looked a bit saddened by the approaching loss of her friend.

“Just because I graduate doesn’t mean we’ll stop talking or anything.” Harry pulled Luna into a side hug. “You can always send me letters and I’ll reply. Hell, if you send me the Hogsmeade days I might be able to pop in and hang out for a while too.”

“Okay!” Luna beamed at him and he got smiles from Mandy, Padma, and even a small one from Hermione.

“Onward and upward,” Fleur smiled at the younger girls. “It is the path we all try and follow, yes?” She was met with agreements from all four of the girls.

-January 12th-

“Now we’re talking!” Harry laughed as the heat from his forge was finally high enough to make the Dragon Scale glow a yellow color as it softened. Pulling it from the heat, he added it to the hammered out ingot of Zeclatite that he’d kept at the edge of the forge to maintain its pliability. With his Basilisk Carbon Steel-Rune Enchanted tools, he set about hammering the Dragon Scale into the Zeclatite.

Harry worked for hours, heating Dragon Scales, heating Zeclatite, hammering, folding, hammering, shaping, and molding the metal into the proper shape. Thankfully he’d started right after lunch and Fleur did still attend a good amount of her classes. This gave Harry about six hours of solid work time.

He went for a simple design for this Dragon Scale Shield, a fairly standard round shield for the simplicity of its creation. At about forty-five centimeters in diameter, it would be able to block a good amount of his torso or he could raise it slightly to protect his face. As he finished the base shaping of the yellow hot alloy, he grasped it with his Basilisk Carbon Steel-Rune Enchanted tongs and prepared to quench it in a tank of Dragon Blood. The familiar -and no less foul- smell that came from this process was the same as it always was. Harry pulled the blood-covered shield from the tank and set it on a metal rack to finish cooling.

“Is that going to happen every time I use the Scales of a Conquered Beast?” Harry noted that a very defined scale-pattern was forming on the metal of his shield. It was interesting to watch the pattern form from the center of the shield outwards. The pattern then rose slightly, becoming a textured pattern on the metal alloy. “Huh, didn’t expect such a strong reaction,” Harry noted of the shield’s formation. “Perhaps this is because the Dragon had greater Magical Potency? Interesting, I’ll have to test out more with the Scales to find out.”

“Harry, I came to get you for dinner-” Fleur cut herself off as her hand flew to her face to cover her nose from the smell of the smithy. “I see you’ve been working with Dragon Blood again.”

“I can’t let it go to waste, right?” Harry smiled, his nose already used to the smell, even if it wasn’t pleasant. “Wait until I start using the fire sac bile, that stuff smells much worse!”

“I supposed you shouldn’t waste the blood, but I’d rather not be present when you start using the bile.” Was Fleur’s muffled reply. “You’re covered in sweat too. It’s a good thing I came early. You can at least get a shower before dinner.”

“I probably should wash off,” Harry agreed as he felt the sweat on his skin. “Would you care to join me?” He waggled his eyebrows at his Veela lover.

“Harry, we don’t have time to enjoy ourselves in the shower.” Fleur shook her head with a chuckle. The sound was muffled by her hand still holding her nose.

“What if we just fooled around a little?” Harry countered with a devilish grin.

“Go shower, Mister.” Fleur pushed him towards the smithy’s bathroom.

“Alright, alright,” Harry chuckled as he walked towards the bathroom door. He opened the door and entered the room only to find Fleur following him inside. “Fleur?” He blinked at her.

“I didn’t say ‘No’ to fooling around~” Fleur purred as she spelled her clothing off and stood before him naked. After letting him get a look, the scholarly teen giggled as she turned and started the shower.

“Minx!” Harry quickly shed his own clothing and practically chased a laughing Fleur into the shower.

They were late to dinner by almost twenty minutes…

-January 15th-

“Japanese?” Harry blinked at the letter that the barn owl had delivered to him at breakfast. Fleur looked curiously at the letter as Harry whispered to the parchment and the Japanese hiragana glowed slightly before English words appeared super-imposed over the original writing. “Oh, it’s from Tōshū…” Harry read the translated letter over for a bit. “He sure didn’t waste time.” He chuckled as he showed the letter to Fleur. “Heard about me slaying a Dragon and is convinced I’ve made something from it. He wants to see what I’ve done with the knowledge he provided to me years ago.”

“Are you going to make a trip to Japan?” Fleur questioned him after she finished reading.

“It could make for an interesting summer trip,” Harry shrugged before a small grin formed on his face. “By that time I bet I could have a few Items made that would get at least a ‘passing grade’ from even the strictest of Artisans.”

“Getting out of Britain -or Europe in general- for a while could also do you some good. What with all this reanimated Dark Lord business.” Fleur let her displeasure show at the thought of Voldemort being back.

“True enough,” Harry shook his head. “Voldemort never tried to conquer any country other than Britain. I’m not sure he ever left Europe much at all, come to think of it.”

“Then perhaps a vacation abroad will be a good thing for us?” Fleur smiled at her lover. The way she said ‘us’ let Harry know that she was including Tonks and Penny as well.

“Couldn’t hurt,” Harry looked thoughtful. “He can’t try and kill me if I’m not in Britain to attack. With the weird obsession he seems to have with ending my life, I highly doubt he’ll try to make any large showings of himself until after he’s sure I’m dead.”

“We will not give him the chance, mon amour.” Fleur’s hand sought out his own and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“I know, Love.” Harry smiled lovingly at her as he squeezed back. “I’ll have more than a few unpleasant surprises for him when he tries.”

“Those include three very angry girlfriends, yes?” Fleur grinned at him.

“Indeed, but I think using three weapons of mass destruction might violate some Laws, both Magical and Muggle.” Harry laughed and Fleur joined him as they leaned against each other.

“What is your next Dragon Material idea, exactly?” Fleur wiped the tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

“I’m thinking I’ll give a Magical Spear a shot,” Harry grinned as his eyes lit up with excitement. “I have plenty of horns after all.”

“I fear the castle walls may not be standing by the time you perfect such a weapon, mon amour.” Fleur giggled lightly at Harry’s excitement to try forging something new.

“Eh, acceptable losses in the name of progress.” Harry shrugged with a chuckle that became full-on laughter.

“You just want to make something to show off to this Tōshū on our trip!” Fleur gave him an amused look.

“Maybe...” Harry’s grin couldn’t have been more mischievous if he’d tried. “I could also try to make another sword too. Everybody likes swords, right?”

“Mhmm, I’m sure, Harry…” Fleur gave him a faux disbelieving look.

“Magic Swords are cool!” Harry retorted with a sharp nod, as if to confirm his own statement.

“Men will always want to measure their swords against one another~” Fleur snickered and Harry blinked at her.

“Hey!” He turned to face her with a grimace and Fleur burst into melodious laughter. It quickly caught the attention of the entirety of the Ravenclaw table. Harry merely rolled his eyes at his Veela Scholar.

-End Chapter-

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The girls had a talk, communication is important in a relationship like theirs. But they all love each other, so the talk went smoothly.

Isn’t love great?

Harry and Fleur figured out the Egg! Now that they know what the Second Task is, how much will they show off? Does Viktor even stand a ghost of a chance?

Harry upgraded his forge! Now he can work with even stronger materials!

What will Harry have completed by the time summer rolls around?

What moves will Voldemort make?

The various changes to the story have led us pretty far from where we started. Let’s see what the flapping of the butterfly’s wings will stir up!

What will happen next?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 18,426

Tonks – 12,698

Penelope – 11,204

Fleur – 12,162

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 44: Second Task

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The Second Task is upon us! Magical Combat with only the barest of restrictions! Bring your Spells, your Foci, your Armor, and your Determination! It’s a Task with roots that can be traced back into the earliest Ages!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 44 – Second Task

“I don’t get why we have to be split up for this.” Fleur had a cute pout as the Champions were being split up to prepare for the Second Task.

“It’s so that we can each prepare whatever we brought for the Task without our opponents seeing it, Love.” Harry replied with a chuckle.

“She’s just being difficult.” Tonks rolled her eyes at Fleur playfully. The Veela teen huffed over dramatically at being called out.

“Don’t get too caught up in the match,” Penny hugged both Harry and Fleur. “We all know what could happen if you two get out of hand with your spells.”

“I’m a fount of control and reasoning, my Love.” Harry sniffed in a pompous manner. This prompted chuckles from his girlfriends as well as Sirius.

“Sure you are, Harry, sure you are.” Sirius ribbed his godson with a cheeky look on his face.

“Et tu, Sirius?” Harry held his right hand over his heart in mock shock.

“I’m afraid so, godson of mine.” Sirius chuckled at Harry’s expense.

Marius, Appoline, and Gabrielle were encouraging Fleur to do her best in French. Harry was happy with his progress in learning the language as he was able to understand what the Delacours were saying more often than not. Remus had volunteered to be the Professor to get Harry for the Task and was chuckling along with Sirius’ teasing. When Madame Maxime came to collect Fleur the two teens shared a quick kiss before separating. Tonks snagged Harry and got her own kiss and Penny gave him a kiss on the cheek for luck.

“I’m assuming we’re still using the stadium they built for the First Task since they never removed it, right?” Harry questioned his surrogate uncle on their walk across the grounds.

“Yes, the Ministry is actually being efficient and reusing it.” Remus grinned at Harry.

“Ministry and efficient…” Harry pretended to roll the idea around in his head. “There’s just something inherently wrong sounding about that.”

“Even a broken clock is right twice a day, Harry.” Remus chortled as they approached the stadium. Remus led Harry into a private room to prepare for the Second Task. With a nod and wishing his surrogate nephew good luck, Remus left to head up to the Professor’s Seating.

“Well, time to get ready.” Harry spelled off his Hogwarts robe to reveal his Storage Cloak beneath it. With a flip of the cloth all of Harry’s chosen Items and Artifacts were sitting on the ground waiting for him. “It looks like I’ll get to show off the Regalia for the first time. I wonder if I should feel bad for Krum?” Deciding a second later that he shouldn’t, Harry placed his Basilisk Scale Mail on. He donned his Wind Walker Items on his feet and shins, Aethereum was sheathed at his hip, he placed his Sorcerer’s Path mantle over his shoulders, and then he fitted his Spell Ward Gauntlets over his hands before he picked up his Dragon Scale Shield.

All in all, Harry cut a rather imposing figure for a teenager.

It wasn’t long before Bagman’s loud voice filled the stadium. The former Professional Beater rambled on for a while, apparently liking the sound of his own voice. After a few minutes to introduce the Judges, which Harry felt unnecessary as they hadn’t changed from the First Task, the words that he was waiting for came.

“Now, our three Champions make their way to the arena floor!” Bagman declared boisterously.

Harry walked through the small tunnel that would lead him to the center of the stadium. He emerged onto the field to the cheers of the audience at the same time as Fleur and Krum. He swept his eyes over Krum’s preparations first. The Durmstrang student had his staff in hand, what appeared to be a padded suit beneath a cloak of a deep-red color. He didn’t recognize the padded suit, but it was easy to deduce that it had been enchanted in every way that the material could hold to protect the wearer. The cloak however, Harry did recognize and he couldn’t help but whistle at the material.

“Salamander Wool? That’s some pricey material.” Harry noted of the cloak. Wool taken from a Magical breed of sheep, treated with fire magic, and then enchanted to protect against spells, especially fire-based Magics. That had to cost the Professional Quidditch player quite the pretty penny. “Now let’s see that mana level…” Harry sent a bit of mana into his glasses to activate the Scouter function. The reading came back quickly and Harry noted the increase from the last time he’d checked Krum. The last reading had been around 7,000 for the Bulgarian teen. The current reading put the other Champion at 8,264 in total. “Someone has been practicing.”

He glanced over at Fleur next, but her preparations were already known to him. She’d donned her own Basilisk Scale Mail, her Sorcerer’s Path mantle, and a set of Duelist robes beneath her armor for the protection of her legs. If she’d had a copy of everything that Harry was carrying right now, not only would that look as if they’d teamed up -which was against the rules of the Tournament- but it would interfere with how Fleur liked to engage in Magical combat.

“Champions, prepare yourselves!” Bagman called out and the stadium became quieter as everyone waited for the Second Task to begin. “3…2…1…Begin!”

Krum slammed the butt of his staff onto the grassy ground and muttered something that neither Harry nor Fleur could hear from the distance separating them. The ground rippled before a dozen forms tore their way out of the earth to become a pack of wolves. Six of the transfigured beasts headed for Harry while the other six dashed towards Fleur. The opening spell was undone before the wolves even crossed half the distance towards their targets. All twelve of the canines fell apart back into dirt without a word or motion from Harry or Fleur. A Finite of enough power to undo a Transfiguration that had no protection against being undone merely took a glance and their will to direct their mana.

“Catch.” Harry smiled as he raised his right hand –the one not holding his Dragon Scale Shield- and a reddish glow enveloped it. With a wide swipe of the glowing appendage, a wave of red light emerged and flew towards Viktor.

“Protego!” Krum cast with his staff and the off-white magical shield took the modified Stunning spell without issue.

“Do not forget me, to squabble amongst yourselves, gentlemen.” Fleur smiled pleasantly even as balls of electricity sparked into existence all around her. The swarm of ball lightning was sent towards both Harry and Krum all at once. The widespread move was then followed up by Fleur opening her mouth to emit a melodious tone.

Harry moved to avoid the ball lightning while Krum refocused his Protego. The sound of Fleur’s voice came a split second later and Harry felt something brush against the immense mass of mental brambles that made up his Alternate Occlumency. He wondered what the Spell Song was supposed to do before he saw Viktor’s Protego flicker and the Bulgarian’s eyes become unfocused. The rain of ball lighting knocked him out of the trance-like state even though the Salamander Wool took the brunt of the damage for him.

“Clever girl.” Harry chuckled as he cast the Similitudo Charm repeatedly. In short order there were almost a dozen Harry’s spreading out across the field. All of the copies had a Vocalization Charm weaved into them as well, so that they could make noise and further confuse his opponents.

“Doing that again, mon amour?” Fleur rolled her eyes at the horde of illusionary Harrys. “Let’s find the real you.” She focused, her blue-eyes becoming sharp as she moved her left hand into a circle. In the area with the most Harry copies one Harry stumbled as gravity temporarily increased in the designated area of Fleur’s spell.

Viktor was confused as he’d been dispersing any copy of Harry that came his way, only for all of them to suddenly stumble. The Bulgarian waved his staff and a strong Finite made the illusions in his range disappear. With the illusions gone, he focused and waved his staff while incanting his next spell. A series of chains were conjured and sent towards both Harry and Fleur in a wave of writhing metal.

“Well…if you two just want to stand around…” Harry grinned from his kneeling position under Fleur’s spell. He placed his free right hand on the ground and pulsed his mana into it. Each pulse was a spell that travelled through the ground and stopped at specific places beneath the soil. Seeing the mass of chains slithering towards him while he was under the effects of the increased gravity, Harry had to commend Viktor for trying to take advantage. The wave of chains stopped dead in their tracks before vanishing as Harry wandlessly and silently cancelled the Conjuration. He did the same to the gravity spell a second later and stood up.

“Not bad, but I’m not as distracted as you think, Mr. Krum.” Fleur noted the chains headed her way and a wave of her left hand saw them vanish. “Oiseaux de Cendre.” She whispered even as flames leapt from her arm and quickly formed into large, eagle-like birds made of flame and cinder. The flock of over a dozen birds winged their way towards the wide-eyed Viktor.

While Viktor was beset by flaming birds and valiantly destroyed one after another, Harry quickly pulled water from the cool Scottish air. He rapidly formed spheres spinning discs, and even arrows from the liquid and sent all of them towards Fleur. While she was distracted by the barrage, Harry gathered up a large amount of water -easily enough to fill a standard swimming pool- shaped it into a long serpentine dragon just for aesthetics, and then sent the liquid beast at his girlfriend.

BOOM

A blast went off at Viktor’s location and Harry chuckled as one of his subterranean spells was triggered. They were basically mana land mines and when stepped on went off in much the same way, if not far less lethal for safety’s sake. Apparently he’d tried to retreat from his initial position when it became untenable from the fiery flock. The Professional Quidditch player was ass-over-tea kettle on the ground, but the last two of Fleur’s flame birds couldn’t seem to do any damage through the Salamander Wool cloak that Viktor had on.

“Trying to soak me?” Fleur raised a delicate silver eyebrow at the barrage of water headed her way. The serpentine dragon was a bit much in her opinion, but it was nice to see she wasn’t the only one in their family to appreciate aesthetics. She took a deep breath before gathering water herself. She exhaled and the water turned into a thick mist. Into the mist she imbued an overpowered Finite Maxima to cancel the magic that both shaped and moved the water constructs headed for her. The water all splashed onto the ground in a wave and Fleur took two steps backwards to avoid it.

BOOM

Fleur let out an undignified squawk as she was sent reeling from stepping on one of Harry’s hidden spells. The Veela girl landed on the ground with a thud and grimaced at the disorientation and pain. She was so going to get Harry back for this!

“Lata Glacius Maxima!” Viktor slammed his staff into the ground at his feet. A wave of ice spread across the entire field at speed. Multiple blasts went off as all of Harry’s mana land mines were tripped, but the empowered spell didn’t even slow down. The frozen ground even began to produce small spires of ice as the temperature dropped and the water in the air began to freeze too.

“Huh, double modifiers, neat.” Harry stomped his foot on the ground and channeled his mana into the soil. A large wall rose up in front of the approaching wave of ice. The earthen wall didn’t even stop it as it froze over and the wave continued to spread. “Time to go!” Harry activated his Wind Walker Item and flew into the air to escape the spreading frost.

“Frost against fire? You must be confident!” Fleur grinned as she blasted the icy wave headed towards her with a stream of flames. When the flames guttered out against the encroaching ice, Fleur blinked at the amount of mana that Krum had to have put into the spell. With a quick application of her mana, her feet left the ground as she made her shoes float. It wasn’t perfect, but it got her a few meters into the air and out of the spreading frost that continued to cover the field.

“Damn…” Viktor huffed as he saw both Fleur and Harry dodge his spell. He’d been seriously hoping to get one of them with that. Now he was heavily drained and staring down two Spellcasters that didn’t even look fatigued from their casting yet.

“Impressive range,” Harry noted from his place in the air. “But you look like you need a break, Krum.” He swiped his arm in a wide arc and another modified Stunning spell arced towards the Durmstrang Champion.

“You did well enough, Viktor,” Fleur noted from her floating position. “But Harry and I have a score to settle, so go to sleep.” The Veela teen began to sing the same lullaby that had knocked out her Dragon in the First Task. The Spell Song travelled towards Viktor and began its work.

“Shit…” Viktor had enough left in him to raise a dome-shaped Protego to block the flying crescent of a Stunner, even though his shield broke a split second later. He couldn’t stop the Spell Song from invading his ears though. In a few short moments Viktor fell to the frosted ground in an enchanted sleep.

“Halt!” Bagman’s loud voice thundered and both Harry and Fleur stopped and turned to look towards the booth. “Viktor Krum is down, please hold while he is retrieved and taken to Madam Pomfrey.”

“That makes sense.” Harry shrugged even as he stood in the air without a care.

“Of course.” Fleur nodded and continued to float a few meters in the air under the effects of her spell.

Both of the teens realized that Bagman had been commentating on the three-way battle the whole time and they’d simply tuned him out. As they watched a pair of Wizards levitate the unconscious Viktor away, both were already formulating ideas for their next moves. They caught each other’s eye and both gave a challenging look to their lover.

“You may resume the Task!” Bagman brought the brief break to an end.

“I want to give my Regalia a good test run, Love.” Harry’s right hand went to Aethereum’s handle and grasped it. “Come at me with all you’ve got.” He grinned as he unsheathed his Artifact Sword and held it at the ready.

“Someone is rather cocky today,” Fleur grinned up at Harry. “Where is that confidence coming from exactly?”

In response to his lover’s question, Harry raised Aethereum above his head and then swung it downwards as strongly as he could with just his right arm. Everyone in the stadium saw the strange blur that travelled in an arc from the blade and towards the frozen ground. When the blur hit the ground a wave spread out near instantly and the ice that had covered the field shattered into snow before it all disappeared instantly. Every Witch and Wizard in attendance gaped at what a single swing of the obviously Magical Sword had done.

“I think I have a reason to be a little cocky, my Fleur-de-lys.” Harry smiled warmly at his lover.

“Aethereum is impressive,” Fleur admitted with a pleased grin at Harry using a playful nickname for her. “But if you want me to go all out then I will.” Flames danced off the Veela teen’s skin as her form was wreathed in a cloak of fire. Most of the non-Beauxbatons spectators once again gaped in shock as Fleur’s spell formed fully. The pair of large, flaming wings that appeared on her back made of cinders released burning feathers as they spread wide. “Manteau de Cendre.”

“What on earth is that?!” Bagman’s voice briefly broke through the focus the two teens had on each other. They could understand his shock though. Fleur had seemingly just conjured two black-feathered wings of burning ash from her back. Ash and embers cloaked her form and the occasional flare of fire escaped her spell as heat radiated from her body.

“Just as impressive as the first time you showed it to me, Love.” Harry praised but even he was surprised when the animated wings flapped twice and Fleur rose into the air to match his height. “I see you’ve even improved it with flight.”

“I have many tricks up my sleeves, Harry.” Fleur grinned before she flapped the black wings of burning ash and sent a gale of blistering cinder towards him.

A swipe of Aethereum saw the cloud of cinder vanish. Harry raised his Dragon Scale Shield to block the large fireball that had been hidden behind the cloud. The flames dispersed around Harry’s form as the spell lost cohesion against the shield’s innate properties. Not willing to let Fleur control the pace of their battle Harry used his Wind Walker to move through the air at speed and make distance. A thrust of Aethereum and another oddly transparent blur punched a perfectly circular hole in her left ash wing. Fleur didn’t even flinch as the damaged portion flared with fire and then filled in with cinder again.

“Plumes de braise.” Fleur flew upwards, taking the high position. From her wings dozens upon dozens of burning, black ash feathers began to rain down on the field. In short order there were hundreds of the faux plumage filling the air and even smoking on the ground as the grass dried out and began to smolder.

“Well, that’s both offensive and defensive now isn’t it?” Harry grimaced as he used both his Dragon Scale Shield and his Sorcerer’s Path mantle to deal with the falling feathers. The mantle sucked the feathers up and Harry directed the Enchanted Item to send them back out at speed to collide with other incoming plumage. The result was smoke filling the air as the feathers both burst apart. “How about we get rid of these?” Harry gripped Aethereum firmly and the blade glowed for a moment. A horizontal swing of the Artifact Sword and a large wave of the transparent blur passed through the hundreds of burning ash feathers. Each one struck by the wave vanished instantly, but Fleur seemed to have no trouble producing more of them.

“Tempête de plumes!” Fleur spoke as she spread her arms wide before bringing her hands together. The hundreds of ash feathers falling through the air began to swirl. They ignored the call of gravity as they danced in the air and swirled about faster and faster. Harry noted that he seemed to be the epicenter of this storm and grinned even as the heat began to rapidly climb as the storm of feathers closed in.

Harry focused his mana into Aethereum and tapped into his Artifact Sword’s innate mana. Combining the two, the blade thrummed with power and glowed slightly. With a full three-hundred-sixty degree spin, a ring of the transparent force passed through the swirling tornado of burning, ash feathers and turned them to nothing. A boost to his Wind Walker and Harry shot upwards like a rocket towards Fleur.

“Silly boy,” Fleur directed a titanic stream of flames towards the rapidly approaching Harry.

“Shield don’t fail me now!” Harry placed his Dragon Scale Shield in front of him as he continued his rush to get close enough to Fleur to try and disable her spell entirely. The tower of fire engulfed him as the innate fire resistance of the Dragon Scale Shield along with its ability to block spells protected him from the flames. The heat was unbearable still, and Harry could feel his lips dry out even as sweat ran down his entire body. He broke through the fire pillar much to Fleur’s shock and without even pausing to take a breath of air he lashed out with Aethereum to sever her left wing.

“Are you insane?!” Fleur yelled even as she plummeted out of the air. “You should’ve dodged the flames!”

“Just eccentric, Love!” Harry called back as he took a breath of cool air that stung his dry mouth and throat.

“Have it your way, you crazy boy!” Fleur stabilized her fall even as she reformed her left wing. The Veela teen glowed like a miniature sun as heat and fire surrounded her. “Dernier Vol!” Her black-feathered, ash wings broke apart into another storm of burning plumage. Only this time they swirled around each other closely as fire and heat built up within the micro storm. At Fleur’s will the burning storm of black feathers exploded in Harry’s direction sending intensely hot bullets of cinder at the bespectacled teen.

“Bloody hell!” Harry once more poured his mana into Aethereum and swung the sword towards the incoming spell. The transparent slash destroyed every bullet it touched but the sheer scale of the spell made it a moot point. With nothing for it, Harry hunkered behind his Dragon Scale Shield as the bullets of cinder bombarded him. The shield and his Basilisk Scale Mail negated a lot of the damage and even his Sorcerer’s Path mantle absorbed its limit of the bullets. Aethereum was also acting as an impromptu shield as the sword’s innate ability to dispel any spell that touched it was used to full effect.

“This is amazing!” Tonks watched Harry and Fleur’s battle with pride for her family.

“I literally just told them not to lose themselves in the battle!” Penny decried the actions of her boyfriend and ‘sister’ as she watched the insane spell that Fleur had just thrown at Harry.

“Ow…ow, ow, ow, fuck…” Harry hissed as he floated in the air after the barrage ended. His hair was singed, he knew he had burns from the sheer heat of the spell, his shield was still holding up, as was the Basilisk Scale Mail, beyond that his legs hurt from the multiple impacts and he was fairly sure he was overheating. “That was more than I expected…”

Unbeknownst to Harry, Fleur was taking the time that Harry was recovering to recover as well. Dernier Vol used up most of her mana in an all-out attack against her enemy or enemies and wasn’t something she could do more than once. It was called ‘Last Flight’ for a reason after all. The silvery-blonde teen was breathing heavily as she waited for the smoke to clear. Harry hadn’t fallen out of the sky, so she knew he was still in this match.

“Love!” Harry yelled as the smoke was blasted away from his position by his surging mana. Aethereum was sparking with electricity as Harry channeled the Fulmen Curse through it. “You better dodge, block, or surrender!” The buildup of electricity began to leap off the Artifact Sword like lightning.

“I choose to win!” Fleur focused and raised her hands upwards. Three Protego Totalum shields surrounded her in a triple-layered dome. With a rumble four large spires of earth were pulled from the ground and formed a point where they all met above the shield spells.

“You’re amazing, Love!” Harry laughed and with a crack of thunder he swung Aethereum downward. A bolt dropped as if from an angry god! The lightning hit the four spires of earth and lost a chunk of its force from obliterating them. The first Protego Totalum held for a second or two before shattering. The second Protego Totalum held longer but still broke. The final Protego Totalum held the remaining power back until the spell dispersed.

“I’m so going to smack both of them for this!” Penny was not happy with how far Fleur and Harry were taking this! Tonks pulled her into a side hug to help calm her down.

“Well…that didn’t really work either.” Harry was slowly drifting down to the ground as his own mana became rather low. He couldn’t keep the Wind Walker powered and still cast spells anymore. He also needed to work on its mobility in the air. If it had better speed and handling, he could’ve avoided Fleur’s spell instead of having to weather it.

“You look tired, mon amour, why don’t you take a break?” Fleur smiled at her lover as she straightened up. Her Protego Totalum had faded from lack of mana and now she could only use the simplest of spells.

“I’d love to get these burns healed up and then slip into a nice bath.” Harry admitted with a strained grin.

“If you concede, I might even join you.” Fleur tempted him with a playful lilt in her tired voice.

“Tempting…” Harry chuckled before raising Aethereum and pointing it at her. Using the Artifact’s mana he cast a Stunner at his Veela girlfriend.

“Is that a ‘no’?” Fleur’s Sorcerer’s Path mantle intercepted the Stunner and absorbed it. In the next instant the red spell as launched back at Harry. The spell was slapped aside by Harry’s Spell Ward Gauntlet on his left hand.

“I never said that.” Harry grinned as his own mantle rose up and unleashed all of the cinder bullets it had absorbed at Fleur.

Her mantle responded in kind and absorbed the barrage in turn. The Flipendo that struck her in the chest was unexpected but it did nothing to her Basilisk Scale Mail. The two volleyed the cinder bullets back and forth twice more before Fleur removed them from contention by letting them splash harmlessly against her armor and her naturally resistant skin. Her Duelist robes had long since lost their lower portion, leaving her long, beautiful legs exposed.

“Forgot how hard the Basilisk Scale Mail makes ending this match of ours.” Harry chuckled as neither of them was in much position to cast anything better than a Lumos at this point.

“How about that surrender then?” Fleur asked cheekily with a grin.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Harry grinned right back at her.

“Very much so.” Fleur admitted shamelessly.

“Stupefy.” Harry barely raised Aethereum as he tapped into the innate mana within the Artifact once more. The red spell struck Fleur’s exposed legs and the Veela teen sank to the ground as her consciousness left her. “If you’re not too cross with me, let’s still aim for that soak in the bath together, Love.” He sighed as he sank to his knees while using Aethereum to hold himself up.

There was no sound in the stadium for a few moments before clapping began. Tonks stood from her seat with a bright smile as she applauded for Harry and Fleur. Penny joined her with a small smile and soon it spread throughout the rest of the stadium. Sirius was the first to begin to whoop and cheer and the noise began to grow louder as the rest of the spectators began commenting on the absolutely insane feats of Spellcasting they’d just seen.

“Harry Potter is the last one standing in the Second Task!” Bagman suddenly announced with a roar. It had apparently taken the former Beater some time to recover from his shock.

Harry honestly couldn’t care less about the points, but figured he would look for Fleur. Honestly he really just wanted to sleep for a bit after the burns that still stung his skin were taken care of. The Judges appeared to be deliberating and Harry wished they’d hurry up even as the two Wizards that had taken Krum off the field approached him and Fleur.

“The Judges have made their decisions and graded the Champions’ on their performance!” Bagman announced as both Harry and Fleur were levitated onto stretchers that were then levitated themselves. “For showing skill and power in his spellcasting, Viktor Krum is awarded thirty-seven points!” The crowd all applauded at the score for the Durmstrang Champion. “For impressive spell work, clever Enchanted Item use, and immensely surprising power, Fleur Delacour is awarded forty-eight points!” The audience applauded louder this time and cheers even rose up from the crowd. Harry was fairly certain they came mostly from the men in the audience and Fleur’s schoolmates. “Finally, for impressive Enchanted Item and Artifact use, incredible power, ingenious spell work, and being the last one standing; Harry Potter is awarded a full fifty points!”

The cheering was raucous as most of Hogwarts stomped, cheered, clapped, and celebrated their Champion’s victory.

“Took him long enough.” Harry murmured as he and Fleur were taken off the field and into Madam Pomfrey’s care. They’d be lucky to get out of the Hospital Wing by tomorrow night at the earliest.

Unknown to the teen Artificer, a certain Ministry Official was sitting in the stands during the Second Task. She’d bullied her way into the private box with her position to see just what the Potter boy’s Artifacts could do. She hadn’t been disappointed either. That kind of power in the hands of a Half Blood was dangerous. He was still a student as well. For the safety of the children, perhaps his Artifacts needed to be held in the Ministry’s custody until he graduated? They could certainly be put to better use in the proper hands.

“I believe that fossil Griselda mentioned that Artificer Potter had put in the parchment work to take his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s early?” The short, squat woman in luridly pink robes muttered to herself. “He never replied to my last letter either. Perhaps I should impress upon him the honor it would be for him to be employed directly by the Ministry? If not, I’m sure Cornelius would be horrified at what Potter’s Artifacts could do if he decided to misuse them. Confiscation might just be necessary after all.” She tittered out a laugh that made anyone that heard it flinch in disgust.

The woman stood from her seat with plans forming in her head. That creature that Potter had fought was also something to worry about. No inhuman creatures should be that powerful. Perhaps she could use this Task as an example of the dangers that filthy non-humans posed to proper Witches and Wizards? Surely her newest legislation would pass with proof like this?

“Either way, as long as those Artifacts end up in the hands of proper Witches and Wizards, we’ll have nothing to fear from the creatures like her!” The toad-like woman nearly spat at the mention of Fleur. She wasn’t jealous of the creature’s looks! It was all just a show to hide their inhuman nature!

Now that she’d worked herself up into a right, jealous fury; the horrid woman stomped off towards the exit of the castle grounds. She needed a drink and then to meet with Cornelius about all of this.

-End Chapter-

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How’s that for a Second Task?!

No staring at a lake for an hour here! Just non-stop Magical Combat!

Harry and Fleur showed their stuff to the spectators, many of whom probably needed to pick their jaws up off the floor.

Some may have also needed a change of pants.

Harry takes the Win with help from Aethereum and even noted some improvements to be made to his Wind Walker Item.

Will he still get that bath with Fleur?

We also see someone that’s not Voldemort plotting against Harry and Family’s best interests.

What will the horrid, pink toad try?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 19,068

Tonks – 13,942

Penelope – 12,116

Fleur – 13,224

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 45: Planning and the Ministry of Magic

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that the Second Task is completed, Harry and Family have things to plan. What’s this annoyance about from the Ministry of Magic? Can’t they just shut up already?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 45 – Planning and the Ministry of Magic

-Saturday, February 26th-

“I’m a bit surprised that you’re still up for this, Love.” Harry chuckled as he and Fleur made their way to the Prefect Baths together.

“Well,” Fleur gave him a warm, loving gaze that was heavy with desire. “It’s also for me as well, mon amour.”

It hadn’t been too hard to find the hidden Prefect Baths. Tonks had happily told them where they were after the Second Task. Penny had simply sighed and shaken her head in defeat when no one seemed to care that these baths were supposed to only be for the Prefects. Tonks had managed to weasel the location out of a Prefect that had been trying to woo her in her fifth year and had never forgotten where they were, even though she couldn’t get in after the password had been changed.

Of course, that particular conversation had only come up after Penny had swatted both of them lightly over the head for going too far in the Second Task. Madam Pomfrey had been agitated with how long Tonks, Penny, Sirius, and the Delacours had kept Harry and Fleur awake after the Task. The Matron couldn’t do anything to remove them legally, so she’d simply had to wait for the group to finish.

“Here we are,” Harry noted as he and Fleur stopped in front of the disguised entrance. “Good thing we don’t need the password.” He shared a chuckle with Fleur before slipping his mana into the door. Much like a Locksmith didn’t need the key to open a lock; Harry bypassed the password by directly undoing the Magic that kept the hidden door locked. “After you, my Lady.” He gave Fleur a bow.

“Merci, Harry~” Fleur giggled as she walked into the large Prefect Bath.

Harry followed her inside and used his own Magic to seal the door behind them. No one would be able to open the door, even with the password, unless they could overpower his spell. Not likely to happen, given that they were both skipping class to have their shared bath in the middle of the day while everyone else was in classes.

“Not bad,” Harry whistled as he looked around the Prefect’s Bath. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. It was surrounded by golden-colored taps, each with a differing jewel set into the handle. There had to be a hundred of the faucets surrounding the pool-sized tub. “I think I see why the Prefects put up with the extra responsibilities now.”

“It’ll do.” Fleur commented in a faux unimpressed tone. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle and Fleur grinned at him.

In short order the tub was being filled by almost a dozen of the faucets. Different colors of pleasant-smelling waters poured from the taps and even some bubbles from two of them. Harry and Fleur both stripped down without issue. They’d seen all of each other when they’d made love after the Yule Ball. This wasn’t anything to be shy about. Harry happily ran his eyes over his girlfriend’s body. Taking in Fleur’s loveliness would never get old.

“Absolutely gorgeous, Love.” Harry complimented and Fleur preened a little under the praise. She did a little pose for him, showing off her curves and her buxom breasts for him.

“You look rather handsome yourself, mon amour.” Fleur ran her blue-eyes over Harry’s form appreciatively. He was still in the middle of his growth spurt phase. She could easily see Harry standing 178cm when he was full-grown, maybe more. The musculature he’d built up from his Artificing was certainly eye candy for the Veela teen. “I have to get as much time with you this year as possible, Harry. I don’t think Nym and Penny will allow me to monopolize your time like this during the summer.”

“You may be right,” Harry chuckled, knowing that Tonks would most certainly be taking every opportunity to get him alone that she could. Penny would most likely be less demanding, but she’d also be the one making absolutely sure they couldn’t be interrupted too. He was definitely in for a busy summer, in the best way!

The two slipped into the large tub together once it was full and relaxed. The pleasant smell of the soaps and bubbles made for an enjoyable air. Fleur had happily washed Harry’s back, pressing her considerable bust into his back while kissing his neck, his cheek, and then capturing his lips. Harry returned the favor by washing Fleur’s back and then her long, silvery-blonde hair. Fleur was humming contently as her love eased his fingers through her locks and massaged her back and shoulders.

The couple rose from the tub after a relaxing soak only to wrap their arms around each other and kiss deeply. Towels from the nearby cupboard were yanked out with a silent and wandless Summoning Charm. With nary a thought, the towels were spread out into a rectangular shape on the marble floor. Being piled four layers high made the impromptu bed rather soft. The two teens sat on the towels and continued to kiss.

“Harry~” Fleur mewled as she straddled him. He was practically worshipping her tits and playing with her nipples. She could feel his hard length pressing against her and she moaned.

“Fleur…” Harry groaned out as the beautiful Veela sank down onto his cock. She was so tight, warm, and absolutely soaked. “Damn.” His hands dropped down to her bouncy bottom and began to play with her soft ass cheeks.

“Mmm, more,” Fleur cooed as she lifted her hips a bit and then dropped down again. Both teens moaned at the pleasure and their lips met as Fleur repeated the motion.

The couple began to move together, Harry thrusting upwards as Fleur rode him. Their lips barely left each other’s, only separating to breathe when necessary before going back for more. Tongues entwined and Harry began to use his hold on her ass to bounce her on his cock. This proved to be much to Fleur’s liking as she let out an absolutely lewd moan before wrapping her arms tightly around Harry. Neither of the two was aware of how long they’d been at it, but eventually both were frantically moving against each other as they raced for their peaks. With a cry of ecstasy Fleur took Harry to the hilt as she climaxed. Harry wasn’t far behind her as he pumped her full of his release.

“I love you…” Harry was breathing heavily as he came down from his high.

“Mmm~” Fleur moaned as she left kisses along his shoulder, neck, and jawline. “Love you too.”

“Again?” Harry asked after several moments of sweet kisses. He was ready again and Fleur’s eyes gleamed in delight.

“Lay down, lover~” Fleur purred as she pushed him onto his back. The Veela teen turned around, giving Harry a good look at her ass, before she moved her leg over his waist and took him back inside of her. “This is called ‘Reverse Cowgirl’, mon amour.” She giggled as she placed her hands on the towels and began to bounce her hips on his cock.

“Oh hell…” Harry bit out as he leaned back on his elbows and watched Fleur’s magnificent ass bounce and jiggle. His hands clenched the towels beneath him and his hips began to thrust up to meet her movements.

“Yes, Harry!” Fleur moaned wantonly as Harry began to match her rhythm. She panted as she rode her lover, feeling his length inside of her, the delicious friction of their coupling. She was enjoying herself so damn much! “AAAHHH!” She yelped out as Harry’s right hand smacked her right ass cheek.

“You’re such a naughty girl, Fleur!” Harry groaned out as he spanked her ass again and watched it bounce.

“Yes, yes, yes, Harry!” Fleur agreed as she increased their pace. “Mmm!” She cried out in pleasure as his left hand came down on her ass this time. She didn’t even know she liked having her ass spanked like this!

“Fleur!” Harry practically growled out a short time later. His hands gripped her hips and his thrusts picked up both speed and intensity!

“Harry!” Fleur gasped as he fucked her harder and faster. “Yes, yes, yes! More! More!” She had little control of her own body anymore as the haze of an impending orgasm clouded her mind.

“Take it!” Harry slammed into her, while pulling her hips down on his pelvis to get as deep as possible inside of his lover.

“Aaaaahhhhh!” Fleur howled in bliss as she shook in an intense climax. She felt the heat of Harry’s seed inside of her again, filling her so completely. The love she felt from Harry, the immense pleasure of their lovemaking, she was almost delirious in joy. She was left panting as she came down from her sexual high.

When Fleur lifted her hips, letting Harry free from her stuffed pussy, she mewled at the feeling of his warm seed escaping her. Even as she stopped straddling him, moving over to rest and get her breath back, her left hand went down to her sex to futilely try and stop his cum from leaving. What she wasn’t expecting, was for Harry to be ready again so soon!

“Hands and knees, Love~” Harry kissed her deeply, their tongues playing for a moment before he pulled back. Fleur was half-guided into position as Harry played with her slightly red bottom. When he lined himself up, Fleur mewled as the head teased her sensitive sex. When Harry thrust forward and buried himself to the hilt all at once, Fleur nearly choked on her breath!

“HARRY!!!” Fleur squealed as her lover set a fast and frenzied pace. His hips smashed into her ass over and over again and she could feel his eyes on her rippling booty. “Hah…hah…yes~” She threw her hips back into his thrusts, creating a slapping sound as their skin met. She felt her temperature rise as they continued fucking.

“Shit, Fleur!” Harry wasn’t any better. He was panting, sweat running down his body. He couldn’t stop though. His libido was in full control and all he wanted to do was keep having sex with Fleur. The teen Artificer leaned against her beautiful back, his hips barely slowing down as he reached around her and captured her large tits as they bounced from the fast pace of their rutting. He kissed her shoulder and neck while playing with her breasts. He massaged and teased her boobs, flicked and pinched her nipples, and constantly enjoyed her voice as she cried out in pleasure.

“Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry…” Fleur panted out repeatedly. Her mind was awash in pleasure as they continued to fuck. She could hear nothing but her heart in her ears and the masculine grunts and groans from Harry as he lavished pleasure on her body. Had she the mental faculties to notice, she’d be embarrassed to find that her tongue was partially lolling out of her mouth and that she was drooling.

“Fleur, fuck…here it comes!” Harry turned her head to capture her lips, his tongue quickly forcing hers into submission inside her mouth. His whole body shook and his vision went white as he slammed himself as deep as possible inside of Fleur’s spasming sex and filled her with another load.

“Mmmph!” Fleur’s cries of pleasure were muffled by Harry’s mouth. The Veela teen felt her arms give out as her eyes fluttered and she collapsed forward. Harry never let go of her and continued to pump her full of his warm seed with short thrusts into her. She blanked entirely, her mind nothing but a haze of white as she trembled in the aftershocks of her orgasm.

The couple stayed joined like that for an unknown amount of time. Simply too high off of their shared carnal bliss to care about anything but each other. It would only be after they regained themselves that the two realized that they needed another bath to wash the scent of sex off of their bodies. As they washed each other again, Fleur noted that it was a good thing she was protected.

“A potion?” Harry guessed as he massaged her back that he’d just washed.

“Mhmm,” Fleur nodded languidly as she enjoyed his hands on her back and shoulders. “It’s made especially for Veela in the Enclave that my family is part of. This way, we only have children when we’re ready.”

“I should’ve asked beforehand,” Harry admitted as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I don’t think either of us is quite ready for parenthood.”

“It’s fine, mon amour,” Fleur captured his lips for a second. “I was just as lustful as you were. It was amazing~”

“You’re amazing.” Harry breathed into her ear before kissing her neck softly.

“If we get all riled up again, then we’re not going to leave until dinner.” Fleur giggled as she tilted her head to the left to give Harry more access to her neck.

“Don’t tempt me with a good time, Love.” Harry grinned against her soft skin.

They ended up leaving after another hour. Still well before dinner, at least!

-Tuesday, March 1st-

“Okay, this is becoming really annoying now.” Harry held another letter from one Dolores Umbridge in his hand. Every single day, for the last five days, he’d received a letter from the woman. Each letter said the same thing, or some variation of it. ‘Work for the Ministry’ was the overall message in each letter and Harry was sick of it. “She’s not even bothering to be subtle with it.” He shook his head as he read over the letter again. “This basically states that if I don’t work for the Ministry, then I’ll regret it. Who sends a letter like this to a Fourth Year student?”

“I’d be tempted to hex her brains out, but it’s clear she doesn’t have any.” Fleur sniffed disdainfully at the letter in her lover’s hand.

“I might have to pass these off to Nym and let her bring them up to the Aurors.” Harry mentioned with a dark grin. “I’m sure this constitutes harassment of a minor or something.” He stowed the letter away to put it with the others in his hidden workshop.

“I’m sure the Ministry will do an amazing job of handling the case.” Fleur’s tone couldn’t have been more sarcastic if she tried.

“Sarcasm is quite a talent of yours, Love.” Harry chuckled at his girlfriend.

“Thank you, I practice in my spare time.” Fleur giggled lightly along with him.

-Ministry of Magic – Minister’s Office-

“Are you out of your mind, Dolores?!” Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom, balked at what his Senior Undersecretary had just suggested. He was a somewhat short man, a bit pudgy around the middle, and with a thinning head of hair that had once been a light-brown color, now going grey in his age. “You want the Ministry to confiscate Artifacts from the only Artificer that our country has had in over a century?! Do you know what the papers would do to us if we tried this?” He wiped at his forehead with a handkerchief as he felt sweat bead on his skin. “That’s not even going into how the various Enchanters Guilds would react! We could see a mass exodus from Britain of all our Magical Craftsmen if they believe we’re just waiting to take their works from them!”

“Minister, I realize this may seem extreme, but I and many others witnessed what Potter’s Artifacts are capable of first hand.” Dolores placated with a tone she’d perfected in her time serving as Cornelius’ Undersecretary. “Those Artifacts are too dangerous to be left in the hands of a child, especially around other children. It is for the safety of everyone that the Ministry should take custody of them, at least until Potter reaches his Majority.”

“Powerful they may be, terrifyingly so even, but I’d rather a professional relationship with Artificer Potter as opposed to an antagonistic one.” Fudge shook his head. “Those Auror Batons he made for the DMLE have increased the approval rating of the Department spectacularly and my Administration by association. I do not want to risk jeopardizing that.”

“Cornelius, you must see reason,” Dolores insisted as she placed down an already filled out form for the confiscation of Dangerous Magical Objects. “This is only temporary, just until Potter reaches his Majority. It’s only a bit over two years. This is merely a safety precaution for the wellbeing of Magical Britain’s children.”

“Has he really rejected the idea of working for the Ministry when he graduates?” Fudge questioned the pink-robed woman. “We could offer him good pay at the very least.”

“He’s not answered a single one of my letters, Minister.” Dolores shook her head with a scowl.

“I still cannot sign the confiscation order in good conscience, Dolores.” Fudge worried as he wiped his forehead again. “Perhaps, if I spoke with him directly, he might reconsider?”

“But Cornelius, he’s not of the same political leanings as yourself and your supporters.” Dolores mentioned with a glint in her eye. “What would your political donators think if they saw you trying to make in-roads with Potter?”

“But, but, he’s still a boy, Dolores, he has no political leanings.” Fudge had gone noticeably pale at the thought of losing the backing of many of the ‘Traditionalists’ of the Wizengamot. The wealthy Pureblood Families had been good to him in his election campaign. He knew he wouldn’t have become Minister without their support.

“I dare say he does, Minister.” Dolores pressed onwards. “He’s involved with that foreign Veela girl from Beauxbatons, from what I saw at the Second Task. That already puts him at odds with your political supporters! Can you imagine what sorts of ideas she’s put into his head? We all know Magical France is far too lenient in their laws about non-humans.”

“Oh dear…” Fudge wiped at his face with his handkerchief. How could he maintain an amicable relationship with Potter and not lose his political support? He was already fending off a lawsuit from Sirius Black about endangering his Godson, the very same boy he wanted to have work for the Ministry in the future. He felt his options narrowing, like doors closing all around him. He needed to keep at least one door open between himself and Harry Potter!

“Minister, the form?” Dolores pushed the confiscation order towards Fudge.

“Before anything like that, I’ll have Artificer Potter show me this dangerous Artifact personally!” Fudge stood to his feet as he felt the proverbial Lumos Charm light up in his mind. This was a solid plan! He wasn’t trying to make political ties or anything, merely checking on the safety of Hogwarts and its students. The public would encourage that. Even better, it would look good on him! At the same time, it didn’t infringe upon Potter’s rights in any way for a mere inspection, especially in comparison to a confiscation. It was the best of both options, he was sure of it!

“As you say, Minister.” Dolores nodded and as she took the filled out confiscation form back. She turned away to hide the ugly scowl on her face.

-Saturday, March 5th-

“You’ve got to be joking…” Harry wasn’t amused in the slightest and it showed on his face.

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore gave him a polite smile, even though it was clear the old man didn’t like the situation any more than the young man did. “Minister Fudge has requested an inspection of your Artifact Sword for safety considerations.”

“What a waste of time,” Harry leaned back in the chair across from Dumbledore’s desk. “When is he going to arrive, exactly?”

“This afternoon; just after lunch.” Dumbledore informed his student with an understanding nod.

“Fine, I have a complaint to bring up to him anyway.” Harry scoffed as he thought about the five letters in his possession still.

“Might I ask what that complaint is, Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore questioned with his normal grandfatherly tone and demeanor.

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry waved off with a huff. “Just one of his employees being a bit too pushy.”

“I’m here to help if you need me, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore offered with a calm look. “As a student of Hogwarts, your safety and care is my responsibility while you are within the castle.”

“I appreciate it, Headmaster, but I don’t believe this matter will require your considerable influence.” Harry chuckled and the old Wizard cracked a smile too.

-Afternoon-

“Artificer Potter, wonderful to finally meet you.” Fudge greeted the teenager with a smile. He was wearing his bottle-green pinstripe suit, his well-known green bowler hat, and a travelling cloak thrown over his shoulders, behind him stood two red-robed Aurors. A toad-like woman in ugly pink robes was standing just behind and to the left of the Minister for Magic. Harry had no idea who she might be.

The Auror on the right -Auror Dawlish according to the badge over his left breast- looked like he’d simply resigned himself to his task for the day. Harry didn’t think the middle-aged looking Wizard actually cared about being there. That was still better than the Auror on the left -Shacklebolt going by the badge- who seemed to be a single faux pas or mistake by the Minister away from outright face-palming. Harry wondered how often the tall, black Wizard had to cater to the Minister, and his well-spoken of incompetence, to already look like that upon arrival.

“Minister Fudge,” Harry gave a polite nod to the man. “I’m told you have concerns about an Artifact of mine?” Dumbledore was standing behind him and to the right as chaperone for this meeting.

Any meeting like this would normally be held within the Headmaster’s Office. But, seeing as Harry’s Artifact Sword was involved, Dumbledore had thought it best to use the largest room in the castle. If need be they could also exit the castle entirely just through the large doors and a quick walk down the corridor.

“Yes, probably nothing, but with the safety of the students in mind I thought it might be for the best, you see?” Fudge spoke what sounded like a rehearsed line and Harry had to stop himself from cocking an eyebrow.

“What concerns might you have, Minister?” Harry asked the man. “I’m told it has to do with my Artifact Sword, correct?”

“Ah, yes, indeed it does, Artificer Potter.” Fudge nodded while maintaining a respectful tone. It almost seemed as if the Minister was trying to avoid directly offending him. “Would you be able to retrieve it, perchance?”

“That’s not necessary, Minister,” Harry flicked his Storage Cloak upwards and pulled the sheathed Aethereum from within it in a smooth motion. To the observers it merely looked as if Harry pulled the sword off his waist from underneath the cloak. “I have it here with me.”

“Very good, then I hope this will be quick, I wouldn’t want to take up too much of your Saturday, of course.” Fudge assured with what was clearly a politician’s smile.

“I believe I can assuage all of your worries in short order, Minister Fudge.” Harry spoke placidly to the man. He handed the sheathed Artifact Sword to Fudge, his left hand gripping the scabbard as he handed it over. When Fudge took it into his hands after a few seconds of staring at it blankly, Harry continued. “Aethereum is an Artifact Sword of the Greater Grade. It’s powerful and because of that I’ve taken precautions against it being misused.”

“Precautions?” Fudge looked the, rather plain-looking, sword and scabbard over.

“Yes,” Harry nodded languidly. “For example, try drawing the sword first.”

“Um, well, alright then, Artificer Potter.” Fudge looked like this was the last thing he’d been expecting to do today. The Minister took the scabbard into his left hand and the handle of Aethereum into his right. With a slow draw, he pulled the sword free and held it pointing towards the ground.

“As you can see, it has no automatic ability to conjure anything at all, much less something harmful.” Harry pointed out of his sword. “If you’d like, feel free to try and cast with it.”

“Cast?” Fudge blinked at the teen. “Like a wand?”

“Exactly, Minister, Aethereum is a Focus as well.” Harry confirmed for the man.

“What should I try and cast?” Fudge asked Harry blankly.

“Whatever you’d like, Minister.” Harry replied, even though on the inside he was already sick of dealing with the slow-witted politician.

“O-okay then, L-Lumos!” Fudge held the sword aloft and treated it as if it was a large, metal wand. “Nothing happened…” He looked at Harry dumbly when his spell didn’t work.

“Exactly, Minister Fudge, because you’re not me or a descendant of mine.” Harry grinned at the flummoxed look on the man’s face. “Aethereum is bound to my Bloodline; it can’t be used as a Focus by anyone else.” He explained and caught the sour look that the toad-like woman shot at him.

“I see…” Fudge blinked at the Artifact for a few seconds.

“That precludes it from being much of a threat to anyone, wouldn’t you say?” Harry raised an eyebrow at the Minister. He took Aethereum and its scabbard back from Fudge and sheathed the sword again.

“Hem hem,” The pink-clad toad woman fake coughed and Harry felt a disgusted chill run up his spine. “Wouldn’t that make your weapon something of a threat to other people that aren’t your family? Don’t you think it’s inappropriate to have such a powerful weapon able to be used against anyone that your family deems an enemy or obstacle?”

“Considering that I apparently have some kind of undead Dark Lord coming after me? No.” Harry answered bluntly and was somewhat amused by the way that Fudge’s skin paled to a chalky white while the toad woman’s face puffed up and became bright red.

“There is no Dark Lord, undead or otherwise!” Dolores stated firmly. “The Ministry investigated the World Cup incident and found no proof of any such Dark Lord.” She glared at the teen and then at Dumbledore for a brief instant. “No matter what lies or fanciful tales you spin, no one will believe that a Dark Lord has risen from the grave!”

“Be that as it may, it’s a good segue into the next precaution I’ve taken with Aethereum.” Harry turned the sheathed sword around until the handle was within the pink-robed woman’s reach. “Try and draw the sword, I’m thinking you’ll end up unable to.”

“What?” Dolores looked at the offered sword suspiciously.

“Minister Fudge could draw the sword because he didn’t fit into the two criteria that would negate him from doing so.” Harry informed the woman that he was fairly certain was Dolores Umbridge based solely on her demeanor. “You, however, probably fall into both categories from what I’ve observed.”

“How dare you!” Dolores nearly spat as she reached for the handle of the sword. “Huh?” She stared dumbly as her hand stopped a few centimeters away from the handle. “What’s going on?” She demanded as she tried to force her hand closer and take the handle.

“You seek to take Aethereum for its power, that’s the first prohibition of the intent-based ward.” Harry spoke up with a noticeable, little smirk. “Even my own children couldn’t touch this sword if they desired its power for negative reasons.” He was clearly implying that Dolores wanted to misuse the sword’s power.

“Are you accusing me of something?!” Dolores nearly spit at the teenager, only to shriek and reel her hand backwards as the handle she’d attempted to grab sparked with what appeared to be yellow lightning.

“That would be the second prohibition you just activated,” Harry glared at the woman. “You sought to harm me or my family. Anyone that attempts such a thing will find Aethereum not only impossible to hold, but will be harmed by the ward as well.” He pulled the sheathed Artifact Sword away from the toad woman with a scowl.

“Dolores!” Fudge turn to stare at the woman incredulously. “What were you thinking?!”

“I’m innocent, Minister!” Dolores denied the accusation. “Potter is clearly lying and has just attacked me!”

“You would accuse an Artificer of lying about his creation just because you don’t like the outcome, Madam Umbridge?” Dumbledore questioned the woman as he stepped forward.

Harry had to suppress a snicker as Fudge looked between Dumbledore and Dolores. The man looked a few seconds away from panicking. As much as he wouldn’t mind seeing the man stumble over whatever excuse he’d come up with; really Harry just wanted this whole meeting to be done.

“I hope that I’ve put your worries to rest, Minister Fudge?” Harry spoke up over the squabbling between the three adults. Well, it was more like Umbridge playing the victim, Fudge making excuses, and Dumbledore looking at both of them like an adult waiting for toddlers to stop arguing. “If there’s nothing else, I’d like to get back to the plans I had for the rest of the day?”

“Oh!” Fudge looked as if he’d almost forgotten that Harry was still there. “Y-Yes, Artificer Potter, I’m terribly sorry to have kept you so long! You seem to have the safety of others well in mind when it comes to your Artifact. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!” He gave a nod to the teen with a strained smile.

“Good day, Minister.” Harry nodded back as he turned and walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. He stored Aethereum back into his Storage Cloak safely and shook his head at the waste of time. He’d go with his original plan of turning over Umbridge’s letters to Tonks directly. No telling what would happen to them otherwise.

Dumbledore was polite, but firm, as he ushered Fudge, Umbridge and their Auror escort towards the nearest Floo. Dolores was still muttering about what had happened, but Cornelius was all apologies and platitudes towards the old Wizard. Seeing them through the green flames of the Floo, Dumbledore let out a sigh. It would seem that convincing Cornelius of Voldemort’s return would be an uphill battle with people like Dolores around him.

Unbeknownst to Harry or Dumbledore, Dolores Umbridge had mentally declared Harry Potter her enemy this day. The conniving woman was already formulating ideas and plans in her head to make Harry suffer. She would not be denied and the uppity Half Blood would learn his place! She’d see his creations confiscated and destroyed! His Veela whore barred from Magical Britain! Or maybe they could both have an accident?

The vile woman would be a thorn in Harry and Family’s side for the foreseeable future.

-End Chapter-

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Harry and Fleur enjoy a nice, private bath together. In the rather nice Prefect’s Bath to boot!

Can’t be helped that it would become steamy with teenagers involved, right?

Libido is strong in them!

Now we see what protections Aethereum has to prevent its misuse in the future!

Umbridge has a vendetta against Harry now! How will that play out?

As we get closer to the end of Fourth Year and the Third Task, what else will change? What is Voldemort doing and researching in the shadows?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 19,152

Tonks – 14,018

Penelope – 12,214

Fleur – 13,306

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 46: Spear and Communication

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The Fourth Year moves on! We’re drawing ever closer to the Third Task. The end of the year will soon be upon them. After that, it’s only a matter of Harry taking his tests and graduating early. Then a trip abroad! Of course, there are some antagonistic third parties that might fuck that up.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 46 – Spear and Communication

Harry was once again in his hidden workshop. The Artificer was working on forging a Dragon Horn into the proper shape for a spearhead. He’d chosen Magical Iron to combine the horn with for this first attempt. He hammered the billet into uniformity, evening out the carbon content that the horn added to the Magical Iron. A Dragon Steel spearhead sounded like a good start for his first Magical Spear.

Even an Artisan like Tōshū wouldn’t have anything bad to say about something like this, right?’ Harry mused to himself as he continued to hammer the metal.

Once the spearhead was in the shape that Harry wanted it; a fairly standard leaf blade, he grasped it with the tongs and moved it over to a small, stone quench tank. This particular one was filled not with oil or Dragon Blood, but something that was far more foul-smelling, Dragon Fire Sac Bile. Dunking the hot metal into the bile an even more terrible smell emerged and Harry scrunched up his nose in revulsion.

“Bloody hell that’s bad!” Harry barely kept himself from retching at the stench.

Pulling the spearhead out of the quench, Harry sat it on a metal rack to finish cooling. While he waited for the first prototype to cool, he’d wash off a bit and then go back to the project that had been stumping him for quite a long time now. He’d not given up on it yet, but he’d checked over everything he could think of for the item in question. Nothing worked and yet the Charm work was sound.

I’ll figure them out,’ Harry thought as he washed his face in the sink. ‘There’s got to be something I’m missing. Something about the Charms or the materials that makes them work when all the others failed.

Harry entered the workshop and moved to sit as his desk. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a notebook and a stack of parchment. Spreading out the parchments and flipping the notebook open again, Harry began checking over his notes and looking through all of his previous attempts again. He was going to crack the Communication Mirrors, one way or another!

Almost three hours later and Harry was rubbing his temples in frustration. It seemed that no matter which way he came at the problem, everything checked out. The Charms worked together for the single working pair. The material was just common glass, treated to be made into a mirror. There was nothing Magical about the items at all. Only the Charms they were both enchanted with gave them their ability. So why couldn’t it be replicated? Harry had been practically bashing his head against a wall for over a year on this and was still no closer to an answer.

“I guess you’ll remain a mystery for another day.” Harry grimaced as he packed up all of the notes and stored them away in the drawer in his desk again. He stood up and stretched, getting a satisfying pop in the process. It was almost lunch time, so he’d head down to the Great Hall and meet up with Fleur. Afterwards he’d write to Penny and Tonks, maybe they’d have some ideas about the mirrors?

-The Next Day-

Harry was lightly humming to himself as he carved a wooden pole to make the haft of his spear. This first prototype wouldn’t have too many Magical parts to it. No sense in going through all of the effort if it was just going to fail in some way. If it didn’t fail, then he could add more to the prototype and test it again. He really should be thankful for Champion Privileges that let him skip basically all of his classes. He only went to Defense Against the Dark Arts these days to learn some useful spells or information from Remus.

“Once this is done, it’ll be time for some testing.” Harry grinned as he smoothed out the wood some more. He wanted the prototype to fit comfortably in his hands after all.

“Can I watch?” Luna asked from where she was doing her homework during her free period.

“If you stay with Fleur.” Harry grinned at the petite blonde.

After hearing about his plans to graduate early, Luna had taken to spending some more time in the hidden workshop with Harry. She wanted to have more time with him this year so that when he graduated she’d not feel like she missed out. Harry reassured her that they could still chat through letters and he’d even visit on Hogsmeade days occasionally. The spacey, moon-eyed Witch liked that and had even given him a hug for it.

That afternoon, after classes had ended, Harry, Fleur, and Luna were out on the grounds in the early spring weather. The temperature was still chilly, but the snow had slowly receded in the last couple weeks. Only light dustings fell on Hogwarts in the last few nights. Harry was smiling as he held his first Magic Spear prototype. Fleur could only look on amused at her lover and his joy at creating and testing things. Luna was smiling to match Harry as she watched on.

“First test is to see if it has a Fire Conjuration ability since it was quenched in fire sac bile.” Harry spoke aloud and the Dicta-Quill floating in the air a few meters away transcribed the dictation into the notebook that was floating with it.

Harry let his mana flow through the wood of the haft and into the metal spearhead. The spearhead didn’t change or start spouting fire, but Harry felt something happening. A little more mana and a heat haze began to emanate from the Dragon Steel. Harry frowned slightly as he channeled more mana into the spearhead. It was proving to be a rather costly item to empower from a Magical Strength perspective.

Rather stubborn, aren’t you?’ Harry mused of his newest creation as he finally saw the steel change color and glow red from the heat it was producing. “Note; the spearhead takes far more mana to empower its effect than other items. This could be the result of using a horn to forge it, rather than a fang. The fire sac bile does however impart heat generation into the Dragon Steel quenched in it.” He listened to the scratches of the quill on the notebook as he kept the mana flowing to see if the heat would increase over time.

“Is it always like this?” Luna questioned Fleur as they watched Harry test his new creation.

“More often than not.” Fleur looked down at the shorter girl with a grin. “Harry won’t let anyone else touch his new prototypes until he’s tested them out a bit first.” She gave Luna a side-hug with a grin. The smaller girl reminded her of Gabby a little bit. “It’s for safety concerns, which is good, but sometimes it’s just better for someone else to be here so that if something goes wrong, then we can help.”

“Has anything ever gone wrong?” Luna tilted her head curiously.

“Only a few surprises so far,” Fleur assured the Third Year girl. “There have been no catastrophic failures yet at any rate.”

“Still not producing fire, huh?” Harry asked his spear with a chuckle. “Well, let’s try stabbing something with you and see what happens.”

With a wave of his Storage Cloak, a wooden dummy landed on the ground next to him. Harry moved back a few paces and took the still hot spear into both hands. He stabbed forward and the spearhead pierced through the dummy easily. The wood began to smolder quickly as it blackened and Harry pulled the spear back. Looking between the spearhead and the damage to the dummy, Harry made note of the burns on the wood. It seemed the spear might not throw fire around, but the heat was significant enough to help its ability to pierce a target.

“Interesting…” Harry quickly spoke his thoughts to the Dicta-Quill so the instrument would write it all down.

Harry reset his position in front of the wooden dummy, then stabbed forward again. The result was the same, over and over again, the spearhead would pierce the wood, burn it, and then Harry would remove it. Next, he cocked back the spear and swung it in a wide arc, looking to slice the dummy along the torso. The hot blade slashed through, sending chips of smoking wood off from the target. Harry quickly had the note added to the notebook about the slashing capabilities of the spearhead. He made a few more slashes with the spear, right to left and left to right, and noticed the same result each time. “Alright then, let’s try another user.” He turned to look at Fleur and Luna. “Luna, Fleur, could you come over here?”

The two girls moved closer until they were standing next to Harry. Luna looked curious, but Fleur had a calculating look in her eyes. She was probably already puzzling out why he’d called them over. Harry smiled as he handed the spear to Luna.

“What do you want me to do with this, Harry?” Luna questioned as she held the spear.

“Well, I need to see if this spearhead works with others the same way it does with me. You have less total mana and I want to see how you feel when you try to use it.” His eyes met Fleur’s next. “Fleur has a very strong affinity towards fire because she’s a Veela, so once you give me your feedback, then I’m going to see how the spearhead reacts to Fleur’s magic.”

“Okay.” Luna smiled as she got a feel for the weight of the weapon.

Harry and Fleur watched the Third Year line up the spear first, and then her face took on a more focused look. For several moments she kept the look on her face and Harry watched her while glancing at the spearhead. After almost a minute, the Dragon Steel began to glow red from the heat and Luna stabbed the spear into the wooden dummy. The blade passed into the wood, burnt it, and Luna withdrew it a second later. The new hole smoked for a short time before it cooled off.

“That was like trying to cast a really powerful spell.” Luna informed Harry as she set the butt of the spear on the ground. “I don’t think I could use this more than a couple of times.” She shook her head, sending her blonde locks swaying from the motion.

“I figured,” Harry sighed as he took the spear back. “For some reason it’s a much greater mana cost to use than the other items I’ve made.” He smiled as Fleur accepted the weapon and held it carefully as she looked it over.

“One moment,” Fleur requested as she began to pour her mana into the spearhead. The Veela felt as her mana was accepted into the weapon and noted the amount it was taking and the effort she had to use to ‘push’ it along. “Hmm, it accepts my mana easily enough, but it still takes more willpower to get it to move through the spearhead.” She relayed her experience to Harry. The Artificer quickly added her findings to the notebook. “Let’s try this…” Fleur poured far more of her mana into the spear and the red glow became orange, and then yellow.

“Hot enough that I’d worry about the Dragon Steel being compromised, yet still no flames.” Harry noted as Fleur withdrew her mana and the spearhead began to cool down slowly. “How interesting…” He made sure to write down his observations.

“Should I try it again, Harry?” Fleur questioned as she held the spear at the ready while motioning to the wooden dummy.

“I’d actually like to compare the normal penetrative power versus your more intense heat version.” Harry stomped his foot on the ground and a pillar of soil rose up. A quick transfiguration and the dirt became stone.

“Very well,” Fleur pushed her mana back into the spearhead. The metal heated up again, going through the red, orange and finally into the yellow spectrum as the Dragon Steel was pushed to near its limit. “Ha!” She thrust the spear forward and the stone parted around the super-heated blade. Fleur pulled it back and Harry noted that the stone had stopped the spearhead about two-thirds of the way up the blade.

“Better than I was expecting,” Harry examined the hole in the stone and took a few notes. “Try tossing it at the wall over there.” He pointed to the closest wall, about six meters from them. “I’m curious as to how long it can maintain its temperature once cut off from a source of external mana.”

Fleur changed her grip on the spear, filled it with her mana to get the heat just as high as it had been before, and then threw it to the best of her ability. The yellow-hot blade traveled through the air and sank into the stone wall. The wooden haft of the spear shook slightly as the weapon stopped. Harry was quick to walk over to inspect the results. Luna and Fleur followed after him to see what had become of the spearhead.

“Much deeper this time,” Harry noticed as he saw how deeply the spear was lodged into the ancient wall of the castle courtyard. “The extra strength of the throw helped, but it looks like the haft has been burned this time.” He mentioned the blackening of the wood. Putting his notebook away for now, he took hold of the spear and attempted to remove it from the wall.

Attempted.

“Come on…” Harry pulled harder on the haft. “A little stuck.” He dug his heels into the ground and pulled harder.

“Would you like some help, Harry?” Luna offered her friend with a smile.

“It’s really not budging.” Harry placed both feet against the wall as he pulled against the spear.

“Careful, mon amour.” Fleur cautioned only for a cracking sound to be heard and Harry fell to the ground with the haft in hand. “For that…” She sighed as Harry rubbed his back while getting back to his feet.

“I think you’re missing something.” Luna pointed to the end of the spear. Harry and Fleur both noticed that the spearhead was broken off from the haft.

“Ah…bloody hell.” Harry grimaced at the state of the spear. The spearhead itself was the only inherently magical part, but he’d taken the time to carve out the haft himself.

“Can you retrieve the spearhead?” Fleur looked at the wall unsurely. She didn’t believe that Harry could get back his creation.

“…I might need to excavate this part of the wall.” Harry suggested with his hand on his chin.

“Wouldn’t that be against the rules?” Luna asked curiously. “I don’t think Hermione would like that very much.”

“Luna, would you like some pudding?” Harry smiled at the petite girl.

“Yes.” Luna nodded at the question. She enjoyed pudding both as a dessert and occasionally for a snack.

“Fleur, would you like to have pudding with Luna?” Harry looked at his lover with a teasing grin.

“Yes, yes,” Fleur giggled as she took Luna’s hand and the two blondes began to walk back towards the castle proper. “We’ll be in the Great Hall, don’t get caught with your rule breaking.”

“Yes, dear…” Harry drawled with a playful roll of his eyes. He felt a ball of mana pop against the back of his head a second later and chuckled at Fleur’s retaliation. “Now…how to take out this section and get my spearhead back?” He looked thoughtfully at the stone wall.

-Flint Manor-

“Lucius…” Voldemort hissed at the pale-blonde man. “How good of you to finally join me.”

“M-My Lord,” Lucius kneeled before his old Master. “I am beside myself with joy at your return! AAAAARRRRGHHH!!!” He fell to the floor screaming and thrashing in pain. The feeling of white-hot knives trailing along every inch of his skin made thinking impossible as he suffered under the Cruciatus Curse.

“Spare me your platitudes and lies, Lucius.” Voldemort raised his wand and ended the Torture Curse. “You knew I had returned. You knew the instant that Death Eaters appeared at the World Cup.” The angry hiss in the Dark Lord’s voice spoke of his deep displeasure. “Yet you hid. You did nothing to rejoin your Master’s side.”

“M-My…L-Lord…please…” Lucius panted as his body spasmed in agony.

“Silence!” Voldemort used his very will and intent to throw the downed Lucius across the floor. The man lay still and tried not to whimper from the pain. “For a decade I held onto life. Barely corporeal, every moment feeling like I was slipping away. My followers abandoned me! Only when I found a desperate man, willing to aid me did I begin my return. And yet, when I finally return to my homeland, even after I make my presence known once more, what do you all do?”

“P-Ple-Please…” Lucius tried to beg.

“You ignore me!” Voldemort thundered and all of the Death Eaters present flinched at his rage. “You betray your oaths to me! You act as if you have no loyalty to me. Did you all not swear yourselves to me and my cause?!”

“I…will do…anything…My Lord.” Lucius offered as he prostrated himself before the Dark Lord.

“You’re lucky that you still have the Minister’s ear, Lucius.” Voldemort’s threat was still clear as he rolled his wand between his fingers. “See to it that the fool doesn’t make things easy for the DMLE to try and counter me before I rebuild our forces.”

“Yes, My Lord.” Lucius didn’t move from his prostrated position. “It will be done.”

“Leave my sight, Lucius.” Voldemort glared with hateful red-eyes as the Head of the Malfoy Family limped and stumbled out of the room.

Voldemort stood from his chair and with a single motion was left alone as all of the gathered Death Eaters hurried away. The Dark Lord headed for the study he’d taken over to continue his work. Nothing would stand in his way. Not Fate, nor any Prophecy, and certainly no mere boy! He’d not liked seeing Harry Potter become like his most respected of ancestors. An Artificer of the boy’s skill and talent had not been seen in Magical Britain in centuries. It made him an obstacle that Voldemort would need to do away with regardless.

Soon enough, Harry Potter.’ The Dark Lord promised in his mind as he looked at the tome on the desk. Borgin had come through, on pain of death, but he’d acquired what Voldemort sought. He ran his hand over the gnarled cover with a twisted glee. This was a tome of truly powerful Magic. The kind of ancient and dark Magic that would see the world crushed under his foot.

Commutationibus cum Tenebris

-Hogwarts ~ Saturday, March 18th-

“Hmm, Penny doesn’t have any ideas for the mirrors either.” Harry sighed at the ongoing mystery.

“You’ll enjoy Tonks’ suggestion.” Fleur laughed as she handed over the letter from the Metamorph.

Harry read over what Tonks had sent him. He got to the part where she offered her suggestion for figuring out the mirrors and bit back a snort. The fun-loving Auror had suggested smashing them if they weren’t so valuable. In Tonks’ opinion, anything that caused this much annoyance deserved to be smashed. He shook his head at the letter and smiled warmly at the loving words that came after the suggestion.

“It’s too bad I can’t just smash them,” Harry exhaled heavily. “Maybe the pieces would still work and we could all just have a fragment?”

“Would they actually still work if you broke them?” Fleur cocked a delicate eyebrow. “Breaking the item usually renders the Charms on it inoperable too.”

“That’s the problem; I can’t undo the Charms without knowing why they work together.” Harry looked contemplative with his cheek resting on his palm. “It would be so much easier if I could just cut both of them in half and give one quarter to each of you. At the very least we’d all be able to stay in contact then.”

“True…what’s got you thinking?” Fleur switched her train of thought quickly when she saw Harry’s eyes widen and a gleam begin to shine in them.

“I’m not sure, but if it’s possible.” Harry stood up and began to pace. “It would be ridiculous…but not impossible. If it was the same though…” He mumbled to himself for a bit and Fleur watched on confused.

“Harry, would you like to share your thoughts?” Fleur asked her lover with a tilt of her head.

“I need to ask Remus something,” Harry headed for the door to the hidden workshop. “It might be the reason the mirrors work!”

“What?” Fleur jumped out of her seat and followed after him quickly. “What in the world did you just think of?”

“Connection!” Harry laughed as he made his way down a flight of stairs.

“That doesn’t really answer my question!” Fleur called out exasperatedly to him while trying to keep up.

Remus Lupin, the first Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor to last more than a year in over forty years at Hogwarts, was enjoying a quiet Saturday in his quarters. He had some good coffee, his grading was done for the week, and he had gotten in a new book to read earlier in the week. It was shaping up to be a very relaxing weekend.

BAM

“REMUS!!!” Harry yelled as he slammed the classroom door into the wall.

“Ha...shouldn’t have jinxed it.” Remus shook his head as he stood up from his chair and headed for the door to his quarters. As soon as he opened the door he was nearly run over by his surrogate nephew. “Harry?!”

“Remus!” Harry’s eyes were practically shining as he held onto the front of the werewolf’s robes. “The mirrors! Where did you get them?! Did they come from the same shop? Did they come together as a set?!”

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Remus placed his hands onto the teen’s shoulders to try and calm him down.

“The Communication Mirrors,” Harry spoke after a deep breath. “Where did you get the pair that worked?”

“They were just a pair of travel mirrors that James picked up from Diagon Alley one summer, why?” Remus asked after a moment to actually remember where the Marauders had gotten the two mirrors.

“They came as a set?” Harry questioned with his green-eyes looking almost manic. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, as far as I’m aware.” Remus nodded to the question.

“That might be why they work and all the others didn’t!” Harry informed the man with a wild grin. “They may not be just a pair! They might’ve been made from the same piece of glass! They might be two parts of a whole!”

“Connection!” Fleur gasped, now understanding what Harry was getting at.

“Miss Delacour, when did you get here?” Remus blinked only now noticing the Veela teen standing at the doorway.

“I can make glass…” Harry mumbled to himself as Fleur and Remus greeted each other properly. “I’d have to look up the process of making a mirror, but that shouldn’t be too complicated. If this works it’ll revolutionize communication across the Magical World!”

“Harry?” Remus still looked slightly lost but he was catching up quickly.

“Mon amour, are you about to change the Magical World again?” Fleur gave a faux huff of exasperation with her lover.

“It’s what I do, apparently!” Harry laughed as he pulled her into a hug.

“Just thinking about how much a single pair could be sold for boggles the mind.” Remus mentioned as he too was looking thoughtful now. “It’s a secure, private line from one mirror to its twin. No possibility of the Ministry listening in like the Floo and no Floo Powder to keep buying.”

“If I make them though…” Harry had a grin on his face. “I could tie them all to a central hub with the right Runic Sequences. I could do what the Muggle phone companies do and charge monthly.” He remembered from his childhood the few times that Vernon had been annoyed by the cost of a long distance call that he’d had to make for his work. “If they don’t pay their bill, we just disconnect the mirror from the hub and it doesn’t contact anyone anymore.”

“Mon amour…” Fleur wrapped her arms around Harry’s shoulders from behind and kissed his cheek. “I do believe that you’re about to start the first new business empire the Magical World has seen in a long time.” She pressed her body flush against his back.

“I’ll need the money to rebuild the Potter Family finances and spoil the three of you rotten, right?” Harry teased his lover as he turned in her arms to face her and captured her lips.

“I would not be opposed to that.” Fleur giggled as their lips separated.

“You both remember that I’m in the room, right?” Remus spoke up as he saw the looks the two teens were giving each other. “And that these are my private quarters, yes?”

“We’ll just be going then!” Harry laughed as he took Fleur’s hand and they headed out the door. “I’ll let you know how the tests go, Remus! I’ll make sure you get a lucrative cut too!”

“I don’t need…” Remus trailed off as the classroom door closed behind the pair. “Horny teenagers.” The werewolf shook his head. Harry was an interesting mix of James and Sirius with his girlfriends. But he’d rather not dwell on that. He’d put this excitement from his mind for a bit and just go enjoy his book and coffee.

-End Chapter-

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Oh my word…did Harry just figure out private phone lines for Witches and Wizards?

Welcome to Mirror Communications, would you like to pay your bill?

*Cackles*

The first prototype spear has some issues…but Harry should be able to work those out before his trip to Japan in the summer, hopefully.

Tonks will probably be ever so pleased with herself when she finds out she sparked the idea that figured out the mirrors!

Voldemort has his hands on a very bad tome of Magic now too.

What will the Dark Lord do with such Magics? Nothing good, that’s for sure!

What else will change as we head for the end of Fourth Year?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 19,384

Tonks – 14,562

Penelope – 12,546

Fleur – 13,528

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 47: Mirrors and Secrets

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that Harry has a good idea of why the Communication Mirrors work, it’s time to make some mirrors and test them out! If they work, then Harry’s closest family will get private ones first, then he’ll work on making one’s connected to each other through a central hub!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 47 – Mirrors and Secrets

“This was much easier than making my own.” Harry chuckled as he looked over the large mirror he’d bought and had delivered to Wood End Cottage. Tayla had brought it to him at Hogwarts and now he could begin his tests. Since he wasn’t making an Artifact, he could use premade materials for the Communication Mirror project.

He used his Magic to separate the large mirror into thirty-six equally sized squares. He took two of them over to his desk and began inscribing the backs with the Runic Sequences he had worked out. These sequences would be the equivalent of the Charm work that had been done on the original pair by the Marauders. This would ensure the ability to tie more of them together without having to undo and reapply the Charms each time. Imprinting a name into the sequences was slightly challenging, but Harry had figured out harder things with Runes. The name of the owner would be the ‘phone number’ for each mirror in this first private set he was making. If all the tests worked perfectly, then the public ones would be given actual numbers assigned to each mirror when they were sold.

“Here you go, Fleur.” Harry levitated a completed mirror over to his Veela girlfriend. She’d been going over her homework in a comfy, transfigured chair on the opposite side of the hidden workshop while he tinkered with the mirrors.

“Thank you, Harry.” Fleur took the floating mirror out of the air. She looked at the mirror, seeing her reflection as normal. With a grin she decided to try activating it. “Harry Potter.”

“It’s buzzing!” Harry cheered as he picked up his own mirror to answer her call. “Hello, Love, glad you called.” He smiled cheekily to the image of Fleur he now saw in his mirror.

“You’re full of it.” Fleur smiled at Harry through the mirror in her hand. “But I suppose this proves that the Charm work was sound the whole time. It really was just the necessity of the mirrors being part of the same original piece of glass.”

“That’s what was stumping me for so long,” Harry admitted as he ended the mirror call and looked at Fleur directly. “All the Charms checked out, no matter how I went about altering them, they failed when I strayed too far from the successful method. I can’t believe it took me so long to consider that the mirrors might’ve been part of a single piece before they were cut.”

“To be fair,” Fleur gave him a reassuring smile. “None of us thought about it either. Even Remus and Sirius didn’t and they helped make them.”

“That’s true…still…” Harry shook his head ruefully. “I really feel like I should have thought of it with how long I’ve been working on this in my spare time.”

“Who are the other thirty-four of these mirrors going to?” Fleur changed the subject to make sure Harry didn’t get into a mood.

“Tonks and Penny, of course,” Harry stated instantly before adopting a thoughtful look. “Sirius, Remus, and I’m sure Tonks will want her parents to have one each, so Andromeda and Ted. Penny will want her parents to have at least one, so Edward too. I could give one or a pair to your parents as well, maybe not Gabby just yet?” He shot her a teasing grin, knowing that if her little sister had a way to contact her instantly, then Fleur would be stuck to her mirror listening to the energetic young girl all day.

“No, no, Gabby is a bit young to have her own personal communication mirror just yet.” Fleur gave him a look and Harry snickered.

“I could give one to Luna, Hermione, Mandy, and Padma. Then they could not only chat with each other, but to us when they want to.” Harry mused as he counted off the number of mirrors in the first batch and how many people he’d be willing to let onto this private line.

“Perhaps you should give one to King Erdunn as well?” Fleur suggested to her boyfriend. “The Dwarves are your staunchest allies in the coming conflict with Voldemort.”

“Not a bad idea,” Harry nodded, it was easy to see the benefit of having instant, secure communication between allies. “I’d probably give one to Drad as well then.”

“That’s seventeen already, one more and you have half of the current set you’re planning to make.” Fleur noted after counting in her head for a second.

“I could hold onto the rest for later.” Harry shrugged before a teasing grin crossed his face. “Maybe they’ll be presents for our children when they’re old enough?”

“Harry!” Fleur laughed joyfully, a beaming smile on her lips. “We’re still many years from having children of our own.”

“The mirrors aren’t going anywhere,” Harry shrugged with a chuckle. “Thoughts for the future and all that.”

“A wonderful future it will be.” Fleur smiled lovingly at him.

“With you girls it can’t be anything else.” Harry smiled back warmly.

“You should finish the mirrors you have planned out before we get sidetracked again.” Fleur giggled before returning to her homework.

“I could go either way.” Harry laughed before turning his attention back to the mirrors and beginning the process of inscribing another fifteen with the proper Runic Sequences to add it to the private line he was making. He’d have Tayla deliver them once he was done. The Elf would probably be so excited to do a special task that she’d be dancing around Wood End Cottage.

-Knockturn Alley-

“You’re joking, right?” A hooded Wizard whispered gruffly to the person sitting across from him in the dim light of the dingy pub.

“I assure you that I’m not.” The other person, a woman by the voice, completely cloaked and face hidden replied.

“You’re not likely to find anyone to take on such a contract.” The hooded man stated flatly. “Only a fool throws their life away.”

“He’s merely a boy.” The cloaked woman insisted.

“The day Harry Potter is referred to as a ‘mere boy’ is the day I eat my boots.” He shot back with a rough growl. “There isn’t enough gold in Gringotts for most any Wizard to take on the contract you’re proposing.”

“I merely wish him to have a small accident is all.” The woman reminded the man.

“Accidents aren’t reliable for what you really want.” The hooded Wizard remarked gruffly. “You can ask others, but you’ll be told the same from all but the dumbest and most incompetent.”

“I never expected such cowardice from…” The Witch was cut off when she saw the tip of a wand pointed at her from within the hooded Wizard’s sleeve.

“I’d watch your words,” The man advised with a cold tone. “You wouldn’t be the first person seeking my services that ended up disappearing.”

“I-I’ll…just…be on my way.” The Witch slowly stood up.

“You should be.” The Wizard agreed and the cloaked Witch practically fled from the dirty pub and into the night.

-Egypt ~ Giza-

“Disgusting…” A man muttered while gazing into the distance.

“I understand, but you need to focus on the plan.” Another man spoke to him.

“It is bad enough that the land is desecrated and destroyed more and more as the years pass, but why do we allow them to defile that which we hold sacred?” The first man nearly spat as he glared at what went unseen by the Non-Magical.

“They will learn their lesson once the work is done.” The second man answered, even though he too wore a scowl.

“Filthy Goblins and their greed, we used to kill grave robbers like them and their Wizard helpers.” The first man looked through the concealing spells and wards without issue. What he glared at was another Gringotts expedition to plunder gold and valuables from the tombs that the Non-Magical could never hope to find because of the ancient magics that protected them.

“Let’s get back to work, once we finish, then we’ll be one step closer to taking back what was stolen from us.” The second man walked away after one last glare at the concealed plundering.

The two men, both dressed in plain clothes that wouldn’t stand out even among the local population of Non-Magical people, entered their own magically concealed area. On large blocks of limestone were hieroglyphics, like what would be found in the ruins that Egypt was now famous for. The only difference was that these blocks were newly hewn by Magic, and the hieroglyphs weren’t ancient. The two men began to carve more of the ancient glyphs into the large limestone blocks with familiarity that came from a lifetime of growing up learning a language. Around them were dozens more people, all similarly dressed in plain clothes, and all of them carving hieroglyphs into their own large limestone blocks.

“He’s not trying to interfere with us, right?” One man, who appeared to be in-charge of this group, asked a woman that had seemingly appeared from thin air.

“No, he seems uninterested, his attention is briefly taken away from his own interests on occasion, but he has made no moves to interfere with us.” The woman gave a short bow to the man.

“Good, the last thing we need is to run afoul of him.” The man in-charge nodded with an almost relieved sigh.

“Hasn’t that old mummy turned to dust yet?” A much younger man questioned with a grimace from where he was carving hieroglyphs into his own limestone block.

“No…he doesn’t age as long as he holds his stone, you know this.” The man snapped a sharp gaze onto the speaker. “Until the work is done, we must be wary of him.”

“When we have all completed our tasks, we won’t have to hide anymore, right?” The younger man questioned.

“No, my son.” The man in-charge assured the younger man. “Once the work is done, the world will be as it should once more.”

“I look forward to that day, father.” The young man went back to his inscribing with determination.

-Litochoro ~ Greece-

“This is taking longer than I would’ve thought.” A woman hummed as she looked out the window towards Mt. Olympus.

“It’s a multi-generational task and we’re nearing the end of it, how do you think our ancestors felt the last couple of centuries?” Another woman cocked an eyebrow at the first before sipping her drink.

“I didn’t know how much etching, carving, and inscribing we’d have to do just to finish.” The first woman sighed heavily. “Doing it all in secret and preserving everything is also tiring.”

“That may be true, but you want to see the change too, right?” The second woman asked rhetorically.

“Of course, the people have forgotten everything they used to hold sacred. This will correct that.” The first woman answered anyway before downing the last of her drink.

“We’re close now; it won’t be too much longer.” The other woman also finished her drink. “The temple will be done soon and our end will be upheld.”

“Only took how many centuries?” The first woman stood up from the table.

“Sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.” The second woman urged her as they both headed for bed.

-Santa Fe ~ New Mexico-

“The whole place is fucked.” A weathered old man exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke.

“So, you keep saying, but I don’t see much of a problem.” A younger man replied as he levitated two glasses of liquor over to them. “What’s wrong with bringing back what was lost?”

“This place isn’t prepared for what will happen.” The older man replied as he accepted his glass. “Though I guess no place is technically prepared.”

“Blame the MACUSA, aren’t they the ones that screwed up first?” The young man sipped his alcohol with a shrug.

“Maybe, but this problem dates back way before the MACUSA was founded.” The old man shook his head. “Honestly, this started because we couldn’t keep up with the Non-Magical. We declined and couldn’t do anything to preserve what the world had.” He took a deep drink and let the liquor burn its way down his throat.

“The history of our species never was peaceful, Magical or Non-Magical, we’re still human, and humans are always out for ourselves.” The younger man sighed. “The Tribes are all a part of this too, they had to hide just like us, and then they lost everything they couldn’t hide away with Magic.”

“You two started without me?” A young woman complained, as she walked across the rooftop the two men were sitting on. “Can’t a girl be a little late and not be left out?”

“Little late?” The older man chuckled. “We agreed to meet almost an hour ago.”

“I was busy,” The woman waved him off. She pulled a chair over to herself and sat down. “Thanks,” She accepted a glass of liquor levitating in front of her. “So, you two were talking about the plan?”

“Yeah, the old man says the place is fucked.” The younger man motioned to the older.

“He’s probably right,” The woman nodded as she sipped her booze. “If what we think will happen does come to pass, this whole area is in for a lot more rain than it could possibly prepare for.”

“Humans are adaptable, they’ll make do.” The younger man rocked back his chair and the legs tilted until he was reclining. The chair perfectly held in place with a mere whim by the Wizard.

“Not all of them, but at this point if we don’t do something there won’t be enough of us left to do anything.” The old man took another drag of his cigarette.

“You’re not wrong,” The young woman agreed as she looked up at the stars. “I wouldn’t be hanging out with you two if I had more options.”

“Love you too, Sis.” The younger man fake laughed.

“You know you can find a young man for yourself anywhere, you don’t have to stay around here to keep your old man company.” The older man looked at the woman.

“It’s no big deal, Dad.” The young woman waved it off. “Not like Apparating is difficult. Finding a man that isn’t a boring idiot is the hard part. Not a single one of the last few I’ve looked into even care about the state of things. It’s like they’re all blind, even with Magic.”

“Sounds about right.” The old man downed the last of his glass before levitating the bottle over to himself.

In many places around the world, similar conversations were being held. Wizards and Witches from all walks of life spoke of secret work. The various groups across the many regions and countries of the world all held a single goal in common. The Magical hid from the Non-Magical, in some places they separated so thoroughly that a modern Wizard didn’t know how to interact or survive in the Non-Magical world. But other Magicals hid themselves from even their own Magical brethren. Living in the Non-Magical World without issue, nothing to suggest they were Magical at all unless you already knew. These were the ones that spoke of this secret work. They were the ones that saw a need for a change in the current situation.

Incidentally, neither the Dark Lord Voldemort nor Harry Potter knew anything about these people. In the scale of the entire world, the two fated foes didn’t really matter much. But both would come to play a role in the secret work that these hidden Wizards and Witches spoke of only amongst themselves. It would be their conflict that would set the gears into motion. But they wouldn’t know that until it was already happening.

-Hogwarts ~ Friday, March 24th-

“This should work, I believe.” Harry nodded at the cube of granite sitting in his hidden workshop. It was a full cubic meter of the durable stone and would be the basis of Harry’s first prototype hub. He just needed to measure it out for any alterations he might need to make based on the Runic Sequence he’d developed for it to connect multiple mirrors together.

“Anything I can do to help, Harry?” Penny’s voice came from the communication mirror propped up on the desk.

“Possibly,” Harry smiled at her. “If I go with the slot idea, it’ll make it easier to connect and disconnect mirrors. But that would mean limiting the usable surface of the stone.”

“But it will also save you time on building a device from scratch.” Penny reminded him of the other idea he’d had.

“Making a case to act as a hub is more labor intensive, but I’d have more control of its form and could potentially make it more efficient.” Harry hummed as he looked at the large cube of stone. The two ideas both had their merits and their drawbacks. It was why he’d decided to go with the least labor-intensive option first.

“You can always make a case in your spare time, then test out which is the better option.” Penny replied with a gentle smile. “You don’t have to make a final decision before even making the first prototype.”

“True, true,” Harry nodded to himself. “You’re quite the Assistant, Penny.”

“I try, Harry.” Penny chuckled at her boyfriend.

“Ah, right, did my suggestion for extending the Anti-Magic Field pan out?” Harry faced the mirror fully.

“It did, up to a point.” Penny gave a lopsided smile. “It extended the range farther than what I was doing, but it still becomes unstable far too quickly.”

“Damn…” Harry huffed slightly. “I was sure that Passing Runic Sequence would’ve worked.”

“It’s the nature of the design, I think?” Penny mused thoughtfully on her side of the mirror call. “I need something that is stable, but also doesn’t interrupt the connection between the other Rune Stones.”

“I’ll try and write something up later on…” Harry promised as he racked his brain to figure out a potential fix for Penny’s Array. “If only we could keep the stones in physical contact with each other.”

“But that brings up entirely new problems and far too many of them.” Penny sighed as well. She’d thought of the idea to keep the stones in contact with each other, but she’d literally have to start over from square one if she was going to deal with all of the different issues that would cause. Not to mention that would make her Array more cumbersome since it was Ward Magic. The more parts to a Ward, the more physical parts were required. If all of those parts had to remain in direct contact with each other too, then her Anti-Magic Field would never be bigger than about two square meters at best.

“Which is why you’re taking a break to help me with this project, yes?” Harry chuckled at her. “I appreciate it, Love.”

“Happy to help, Harry, you know that.” Penny beamed at him. “So what kind of Array are you looking at for the hub?”

“I’ve basically reworked the Charms to act as if the hub is another mirror. If the sequence works, then one mirror will reach out to the hub first. The hub will connect to that mirror, find the number of the mirror it’s trying to reach, and then connect the two once it finds the corresponding number.” Harry explained the basic nature of the Runic Sequence.

“So the Pairing Sequence is still there, but you’ve added a sequence to search and one to connect and disconnect. You’ll still need a part of the mirror that way, won’t you?” Penny cocked her head slightly at the method.

“Not exactly,” Harry shook his head, but didn’t look completely convinced of his own sequence’s viability. “Glass is mostly made of silica sand, which comes from decayed granite. If I tweak the sequence enough, which is probably going to be a nightmare in and of itself, then the Pairing Sequence should recognize the hub as a mirror. I can physically connect more hubs together with bars of granite as long as I get the proper sequence figured out. It would just be a different method of making circuits to pass the Enchantments through them.”

“You don’t seem entirely convinced, Harry.” Penny noticed his troubled look.

“It’s completely new territory for this type of thing.” Harry laid out his concerns to his girlfriend. “I can’t know for sure how well any of this will work, or if it will at all. There’s not much point in selling the Communication Mirrors without them being able to connect with the others. I can’t exactly make a mirror large enough to give every Witch and Wizard in the world a mirror of their own.”

“Maybe tweak the sequence for Quartz instead?” Penny suggested after a few moments of silent thinking. “If I remember correctly, then quartz is also part of granite. As a crystal it might take to Magic better than sand or stone.”

“Huh…” Harry perked up. “There’s an idea.” He nodded as he went over his knowledge of Runecraft. “I’d have to look up some things. Definitely need to do research directly on crystals in Runecraft. Still, it could be a better medium to use for the Array.” Better material would mean he could implement a more complex Array that did exactly what he wanted it to. Sure he still needed to research the exact sequences he’d need to make said Array, but it would be doable. “You’re as brilliant as ever, Love!”

“Thank you, Harry~” Penny giggled at him. The two spent the next few hours talking and working out runic sequences to try out for the hub. Harry also decided to put in an order through the Owl Post for various types of Quartz to perform tests on.

“Hmm, maybe I should order some Magical Gems and Crystals while I’m at it? I have used up most of the Sage Quartz already. Plus the Azuryte and Frost Azuryte aren’t going to get any cheaper.”

-Flint Manor-

“My Death Eaters, I have a task for you.” Voldemort spoke with a cool tone that still made most of them prepare for the worst. “We must bolster our numbers.” His red-eyes swept over the assembled Wizards. “Find those who are of like minds to our cause. They need not be powerful or especially intelligent. If they can raise their wand in service to me, then that will suffice for now. Until we gain the strength to free my most loyal from within Azkaban’s walls, we will make do with numbers.”

“Yes, My Lord.” All of the Death Eaters kneeled before the Dark Lord.

“Go now, your task begins immediately.” Voldemort hissed out and all of the Death Eaters stood before rushing towards the door. None of them wanted to be the last one out, lest they raise their Lord’s anger and have his ire focused on them.

Lucius Malfoy was one of the very first members out of the hall and heading for the Floo. While he headed for the fireplace in the entryway, his mind was racing. This task, it was unlike anything the Dark Lord had asked for back in the last war. He’d been selective then, only wanting Wizards and Witches of power, influence, and skill. Why would he suddenly decide to rely on sheer numbers when such things could be overcome by Wizards like Dumbledore? He couldn’t understand it.

No point in thinking about it now.’ Lucius shook his head before throwing the Floo Powder into the flames and watching them turn green. He called out his private Floo in the study at Malfoy Manor and vanished into the green flames. If the Dark Lord wanted dumb muscle, then he knew several places to get it.

In the study that Voldemort had claimed for himself he once more flipped open the gnarled tome of ancient, dark magics. He read over the pages that he’d translated with a dark smirk upon his lips. He needed more numbers, yes, that was true. But if the siege of Azkaban went well enough and he regained his truly loyal followers once more, then he had another purpose for the fools that his Death Eaters would collect.

Anima Commutationem: Vocatio et Manifestatio

“The more I sacrifice, the more I gain in return.” Voldemort had a cold smile on his lips as he read the title of the section. With these Magics at his command, he’d strike out against his foes with a force they couldn’t hope to match. There would be no need to hide from anyone anymore.

“Sssss~” Nagini hissed at Voldemort and the Dark Lord let out a humorless chuckle.

“Yes, it’s merely too bad that it is a ritual. I’ll have to prepare all the rites myself, lest the power I gain have loyalty to someone else. That will take a rather long time given the size of the area I’d need to cover. I’ll also require the proper land to perform the ritual on as well. But it will all be worth it as I take my place as the greatest Wizard to ever live.” Voldemort hissed back in Parseltongue to his Horcrux.

That would be the first thing he dealt with once he had more followers as well. He’d not become mere wisps and shadow again. He’d never be so weakened and desperate for the rest of his immortal life! But this tome; it was proving to be a fount of resources to him. All he needed were a few more sacrifices and he’d be able to alter his already made Horcruxes. His homunculus form had been created and strengthened with a great deal of work and time. He would not risk losing it as he had his original body. He flipped further into the book before finding the pages he’d seen previously.

Phylacterium Nexum

I will never die, no matter how you might try to kill me, Harry Potter!’ Voldemort thought with utter surety. After all, with all of his Horcruxes, he could spare one or two to kill his enemies.

-End Chapter-

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Hmm…many things are happening in this chapter.

Secrets within secrets as we learn about Witches and Wizards that hide from their own kind in the Non-Magical world. Who are these people? What is out there in the wider world beyond Britain?

What is this ‘secret work’ that is being done all over the world?

What horror is Voldemort plotting?

Who is talking to dangerous Wizards in dingy Knockturn Alley pubs about Harry having an accident?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 19,504

Tonks – 14,912

Penelope – 12,764

Fleur – 13,702

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 48: Legal Action, Crystals, and Stirrings

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Tonks and the Black Family Lawyer are coming for a certain someone! Harry has materials to test and Runic Sequences to figure out. Someone also ponders on the state of things and the changes that move throughout the world in secret.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 48 – Legal Action, Crystals, and Stirrings

“Madam Dolores Umbridge?” A Wizard in expensive dark-gray robes spoke up from behind the squat Witch. He was a slightly older man, even by Magical standards, as denoted by his salt and pepper hair and beard. Beside him stood Tonks in her red Auror robes and acting as his escort through the Ministry today.

“Can I help you?” Umbridge questioned in a sweet tone that was so fake many that heard it winced.

“I’m here to serve you these legal documents on behalf of my client, Lord Sirius Orion Black.” The Wizard handed the woman in lurid pink robes a folder.

“What’s this?” Umbridge took the folder into her stubby fingers and opened it. Tonks barely smothered a wicked grin when the toad-like woman’s eyes widened at what she was reading. “A Restraining Order?!”

“Yes, Madam Umbridge, your harassment of my client’s Godson ends here and now.” The Black Family Lawyer stated firmly, his dark eyes boring into the squat woman. “A stack of rather alarming letters was handed over to the Aurors not long ago. All of them from you and addressed to Harry Potter. Most of them hinting that should Mr. Potter not accept working for the Ministry, that misfortune may befall him. The later letters were not so subtle and could easily be construed as threats. You are to cease all contact with Harry James Potter or be held in breach of this Restraining Order.”

“I…I…How dare…I am the Senior Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic!” Umbridge’s face turned an ugly purple color as she glared at the lawyer.

No one threatens my Harry, you toad-faced bint!’ Tonks thought vindictively as she watched Umbridge rant and stomp her feet.

Tonks had been beyond shocked when Harry had handed over a stack of letters from Umbridge of all people. The Auror had only needed to read through a couple for her annoyance to turn into anger. After reading through all of them, she’d had half a mind to pay the Senior Undersecretary a little visit herself. But Sirius had gotten the Black Family Lawyer involved and legal proceedings had followed. It was annoying that it had taken as long as it had, but Tonks was only too happy to see the results.

“You’ve been served the documents, Madam Umbridge, good day.” The Law Wizard turned on his heel and headed for the lifts. He was followed by Tonks as was her duty, while she hid a smile at the still ranting Umbridge. The whole of the Ministry had seen her getting served the Restraining Order, it’d be in the Prophet by tomorrow without a doubt.

-Hogwarts ~ That Afternoon-

“So, it’s done then?” Harry grinned at Tonks through the Communications Mirror.

“Yep, you should’ve seen the toad’s face!” Tonks laughed at the memory. “Serves her right for harassing you like that.”

“Thank you for taking care of this, Tonks, you and Sirius both.” Harry gave her a warm and affectionate smile.

“I was just doing my job, Harry.” Tonks returned his warm smile with her own. Her hair and eyes both phasing through soft pastel colors one after another as her heart filled with warmth. “It was your idea to hand over those letters to me as an Auror that made this a potential criminal issue. Sirius was freely able to act and the courts couldn’t deny that Umbridge was in the wrong.”

“I’d thought of handing them over to Fudge when he came to inspect Aethereum, but seeing her there made me decide against it.” Harry shook his head, slightly swaying his hair. Maybe he should look into getting a haircut soon. “The letters probably would’ve disappeared by the time they returned to the Ministry.”

“Knowing Umbridge, that’s a fairly good assumption.” Tonks grimaced at the rumors about the unpleasant woman. Her hair and eyes going to a dark-orange color to denote her annoyance.

“At least she’s not going to be sending me anymore letters.” Harry grinned at Tonks through the mirror.

“If she does, just tell Sirius, then he’ll tell the Black Family Lawyer. After that, it becomes a criminal issue for us Aurors.” Tonks’ grin was downright predatory.

“It’s good to have a girlfriend that’s also an Auror.” Harry teased and Tonks, maturely, stuck her tongue out at him.

“Don’t you start thinking you can break the law, Mister.” Tonks glared at him without any heat in her gaze. “I’ll bring you in too. Give you the full standard protocol here at the Ministry. A cell and everything!”

“Is it a private cell?” Harry cocked an eyebrow. “Would we have a private one-on-one questioning together?”

“Your teenager is showing again, Harrikins.” Tonks rolled her eyes at her boyfriend playfully.

“There’s no way you can see that!” Harry made a show of looking down at himself and Tonks cracked up.

“Oh Harry, I think Sirius has been an influence on you.” Tonks laughed at his joking.

“Just an influence? Not a bad influence?” Harry looked at her with a grin.

“Oh no, I’m sure this is you, Sirius just showed you how to make jokes about it.” Tonks waved off with a smattering of chuckles.

“Fair enough.” Harry shrugged and the two devolved into laughter again.

“These mirrors are the best thing you’ve figured out so far, Harry.” Tonks praised him with a genuine smile full of love. “Being able to see and talk to you like this whenever is amazing.”

“I feel the same way, Nym.” Harry shared the feeling with her. “I really missed having you and Penny around. They may not be Artifacts, but these mirrors give me something that none of my Artifacts can.”

“Sweet talker.” Tonks jibed playfully, the radiant smile on her lips making Harry’s heart flutter a bit. “So, what nerd project do you have going on now?”

“Way to break the mood, Nym…” Harry deadpanned at the Metamorph. Tonks’ bubbly laughter still made him smile though.

“You’re a nerd, but you’re my nerd.” Tonks chuckled, her eyes alight with mirth.

“Well…I’ve hit an unfortunate stumbling point in the Communication Mirror Hub project.” Harry informed her with a sigh.

“What’s the problem?” Tonks questioned curiously. “I sorta helped with the first issue…would smashing the hub potentially help this time too?” She snickered behind her hand.

“Unfortunately, not this time around.” Harry snorted with a shake of his head. “I was looking more deeply into Runecraft in relation to crystals and gems. It turns out that I’m going to have to learn a good amount about Gemology and gem cutting to make any headway. Facets are important as is the quality of the gem or crystal in question when it comes to applying Runes. I was hoping that this would be a slightly easier project once I figured out how to make the Communication Mirrors work. I should’ve known better.” He sighed heavily at all the new information he’d have to go over. The only good point was that the knowledge could be useful in a few future endeavors that he’d tossed around in his head before.

“You’ll figure it out, Harry, I know you will.” Tonks encouraged him with a warm and loving smile. “There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to make something truly amazing from this.”

“When did you get so good at reassuring people?” Harry smiled back at his girlfriend.

“I’ve always been good at it.” Tonks declared with a faux pompous tone and her nose in the air.

“Well, thank you for the encouragement, Nym.” Harry chuckled along with her antics.

“I could always cheer you up a different way…” Tonks trailed off leadingly. “These mirrors would make it so easy too.”

“What’s that?” Harry tilted his head slightly in confusion.

“Like this,” Tonks gave a naughty grin as she held the mirror further from herself. Harry went from only being able to see her face to being able to see her face and chest. With the same grin on her face, Tonks reached for the hem of her Weird Sisters t-shirt and pulled the garment upwards. The cotton caught on the underside of Tonks’ large breasts making the pair bounce when they escaped the shirt.

“Nice…” Harry’s eye zeroed in on Tonks’ tits while the Metamorph winked at him.

“See? It’s already working.” Tonks teased her boyfriend before bouncing on her heels a couple of times. The movement made her girls bounce around and Harry looked like he wanted to come through the mirror to get to her.

“Best. Invention. Ever.” Harry chuckled as he watched Tonks show off for him.

“Do you want them smaller?” Tonks morphed her breasts back to the C-Cups she usually kept them as. “Or maybe you’re a Boob Guy and want them even bigger?” Harry swallowed reflexively as her tits grew to large F-Cups before his eyes. “Hmm? What do you think, Harry~?” She used her free hand to play with her massive mammaries for his viewing pleasure.

“Amazing.” Harry could admit to being a bit mesmerized by the sight of his girlfriend showing off her talents for him.

“Keep praising me, Harry. You know I enjoy it~” Tonks grinned salaciously at him. “Maybe you have something to show me too?”

“Perhaps…” Harry admitted before setting the mirror on the desk. If Tonks wanted to play over the mirrors, Harry wasn’t going to deny her!

“I really do spoil you too much, Harry.” Tonks played with her nipples and cooed at him.

“You’re too sexy, Love.” Harry rumbled as he pulled himself free of his pants.

The pair would spend the next hour ‘playing’ over the mirrors together. Fleur had an eyebrow raised when she saw the small grin on Harry’s lips when she came to collect him for dinner. It wasn’t until after dinner that she found out just what he and Tonks had done with the Communication Mirrors that afternoon. Needless to say, Fleur was very interested in trying it out herself. Harry was all for the idea, but did admit he preferred having her in his arms much more. When Fleur mentioned that she wanted to be there the next time he and Tonks played, Harry felt the hairs all over his body stand on end. Fleur’s giggling laughter at his wide smile was totally worth it.

-Hogwarts Library ~ Next Day-

“Harry?” Hermione blinked as she sat down at the table with him. “What’s that book you’ve got?”

“Just something new I need to learn about for my Artifice.” Harry smiled as he tilted the book up so that Hermione could see the cover and title.

“The Magic of Gems and Crystals?” Hermione didn’t sound impressed by the title. “That almost sounds like the hokey New Age stuff my parents have mentioned before.”

“Unlike those people that believe certain crystals and gems have some kind of magical or special property by themselves, I know of actual Magical Gems and Crystals. The only problem is that I need to know much more about them before I can use them to their utmost potential.” Harry chuckled as he flipped to the next page in the large book.

“It sounds like it could be expensive.” Hermione mentioned as she set up her books, quill, and parchment. “My father bought my mother an emerald bracelet for her birthday, since it’s her birthstone, and it was rather pricey.”

“Yeah…” Harry sighed even as he read more. “Non-Magical gems and crystals can be worth a lot. The much, much rarer Magical Gems and Crystals cost enough to make me flinch, honestly.”

“I’m sure whatever you make will be amazing though, Harry.” Hermione gave him a smile as she opened her first book.

“Thank you, Hermione.” Harry smiled back before returning to his reading. ‘If only you knew what I was planning to do with Magical Quartz.’ He suppressed his chuckles before flipping to the next page.

-Akhmim ~ Egypt-

“So, they continue on their path?” An old Wizard, far older than any other currently alive, asked of a young man dressed in simple clothing. The man would blend into a crowd without trying given his average looks and plain clothes.

“Yes, Master, they show no signs in deviating from their work.” The younger man replied with a short bow.

“I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less.” The old Wizard acknowledged as he gazed at the golden ring on his finger. It was set with a blood-red stone that seemed to be both smooth and yet full of striations. It was almost as if the stone was in a near constant state of flux, changing just slightly every time one looked at it. “After so many centuries, it seems the work will be completed.”

“Yes, Master, I have confirmed with Prima that the ones in Greece are also approaching completion.” The plain man informed the old Wizard.

“You’ve done well, Novus.” The ancient man acknowledged the much younger one. “Any news of the young boy? I’m curious if he’s done anything else to shake things up again.”

“Nothing in the past while, Master.” Novus shook his head.

“I’m sure he won’t be silent for too much longer.” The aged Wizard chuckled, his wrinkles pulling upwards as he smiled. “When he became the youngest Artificer in history, I felt a need to offer my congratulations and express my hopes for his future. It has been far too long since my attention was captured so thoroughly. Not since young Flamel completed the Magnum Opus himself.” He stroked his long, white beard with amusement. “Such an interesting creation and system he set up. Not the first, of course, but far better than the last several attempts.” He picked up a Test Frame from the small table beside his comfortable chair.

“Master Zosimos,” A woman with a simple beauty spoke as she entered the room with a bow. “I bring news from the Americas.”

“What are they doing, Tima?” Zosimos asked of the woman. “Are their projects also proceeding at pace with the others?”

“Yes, they seem to be nearing the end of their works.” Tima nodded to her Master. “It appears to be just as you predicted. They’re all planning to act in turn.”

“Haaa…” Zosimos sighed heavily at the news. “I do understand where they’re coming from. I’ve lived through most of what their ancestors suffered through. But I have no better alternatives to offer them to try an persuade them from this path. I had hoped that the Non-Magical would change their ways as they increased their knowledge and understanding. Alas, that has not come to pass.”

“Shall we intervene, Master?” Novus questioned the ancient Wizard.

“No…they’ve been given centuries to change and have mostly gotten worse.” Zosimos shook his head sadly. His eyes seemed to look afar, as if they could see something far from the here and now. “Perhaps this is the only way to move forward. Humanity has long needed large, world changing events to move forward. This may simply be necessary, even if events do not go as they believe they will.”

“Yes, Master.” Novus bowed along with Tima.

“Rest now, my creations, we must be ready to do what we can in the coming times.” Zosimos dismissed the two. Both gave another short bow and left without a word. His homunculi had been with him for the last few centuries. They knew their tasks and when to carry them out. The ancient Wizard held the Test Frame in hand with a slight smile as he passed his mana into it.

2,148,244 was displayed after almost a full minute by the Test Frame before the talisman cracked and burnt out entirely.

“I will act to ensure that Humanity survives, no matter what their actions may bring about. It may be the last act of my very long life, but I will ensure the survival of as many as possible.” Zosimos placed the broken talisman back on the small table with a quiet sigh.

-Izumo, Shimane, Japan-

“This does not bold well.” An older man in traditional clothing sighed after finishing a Divination.

“This ‘Great Change’ is coming?” An equally old woman asked from behind him.

“Yes, there doesn’t seem to be much that can be done to stop it.” The old man shook his head slightly. “We must be prepared. A perilous time is approaching the world at large.”

“Will you be strong enough?” The old woman inquired of the man.

“I will have to be, it is not yet time for him to inherit the position and responsibilities of Family Head.” The man stated firmly. If only the world wasn’t on the verge of this ‘Great Change’. He could’ve happily spent his days training and teaching his grandson until he passed on the position of Family Head to the boy. Now it seemed it would be up to him to ensure their Family survived the coming storm.

“Then we shall continue the preparations.” The old woman stood up from her sitting position on the tatami. “Our Family has survived since the Heian Period. What’s one more disaster?” She smoothed out her traditional robes and moved towards the door.

“I fear this will be a disaster unlike anything the world has seen before.” The old man mumbled under his breath as he looked at the Divination he’d performed. With one last sigh he turned to follow his wife out of the room.

-Hogwarts ~ Hidden Workshop-

“Magical Gem Cutting?” Fleur cocked an eyebrow at Harry’s current reading material. “Should we be expecting rings soon, Harry?”

“You know what I’m reading this for, you minx.” Harry gave her a flat look. The slight upturn of his lips kind of ruined the look though.

“Are you saying you don’t want to put a ring on each of us?” Fleur teased him with a gleam in her beautiful blue eyes.

“I’ll get around to it…” Harry chuckled at the pout Fleur gave him. “You’ll just have to wait a couple more years until my Majority is all.”

“I suppose so, a pity.” Fleur smiled happily at him. “I want to keep you forever as soon as possible.”

“The feeling is mutual, Love, trust me.” Harry returned her smile with one of his own.

“Do you really believe Sirius is going to propose to Marlie?” Fleur loved weddings. She’d grown up going to many of them for her extended Veela family.

“Remus seems to think so,” Harry shrugged as he flipped a page in his book. “They’ve been seeing each other for a good while now too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he popped the question.”

“Sirius is a good man. Marlie is a wonderful woman. They make each other happy too.” Fleur gushed at the potential for an engagement in the near future. “Just think Harry, you could become a Godparent or perhaps a favored Older Brother for any children they might have.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” Harry laughed as he marked his page and closed the book. “But for now, you are far too excited to even pretend to study. How about a walk around the lake?” He stood from his desk and stretched his arms over his head.

“I’d like that.” Fleur stood from her transfigured chair as well.

The couple left the hidden workshop arm-in-arm. They made their way through the castle without issue and were soon outside. While spring had technically come to Scotland, it wouldn’t be truly warmer until mid to late April. A simple Warming Charm kept away any chills as Harry and Fleur headed for the lake. They were only about halfway there when they saw something that got their attention.

“What are they doing now?” Harry blinked, seeing multiple people from the Ministry moving around the Quidditch Pitch.

“Possibly something for the Third Task?” Fleur guessed, also confused.

“Shall we take a little peek, my dear?” Harry grinned at Fleur mischievously.

“Why not?” Fleur grinned right back, her eyes alight with interest.

With barely a thought, both of them were invisible and heading towards the Quidditch Pitch. They silenced their steps as they approached the area to further conceal their presence. It was almost laughably easy to simply walk onto the field and see what was going on. Dozens of Ministry workers were placing what looked to be small hedges in the dirt. Judging by how widespread the plants were placed and the rather intricate pattern it didn’t take long to figure out what was being made.

“A maze?” Fleur didn’t sound impressed as she whispered to Harry. “Do they really think something so simple would stop any competent Witch or Wizard?”

“It’s the Ministry, so it’s a possibility.” Harry shrugged even though he was invisible. “Perhaps they mean to fill it full of beasts and Magical Shenanigans?”

“I would hope they were doing something more than just a hedge maze at least.” Fleur remarked as they watched more of the obviously magical hedges be planted.

The couple watched the progress for another minute or two before heading out of the Quidditch Pitch. Once they arrived at the lake, they removed the invisibility and silencing charms. The two enjoyed their stroll, arm-in-arm, around the lake as they guessed at what the Third Task would entail within the hedge maze they’d seen being planted.

-Flint Manor-

“You’ve done well, Barty, Lucius.” Voldemort praised his top two Death Eaters, that were outside of Azkaban at any rate. “Already you’ve brought me thirty new followers.” His red-eyes swept over the assembled Wizards that Lucius and Barty had already collected from the bottom of society. These fools were down on their luck and looked to blame anyone else for their circumstances. Some of them probably descended from old Pureblood Houses that had fallen in the last few decades. “To you thirty, I welcome you. That you would raise your wands in my service is a wise choice. I will see to it that all of my followers have their place and purpose in the world I will create. A world for Wizards. One not hiding from the Muggle filth, but ruling over them as we should!”

His declaration was met with cheers from the assembled group. Truly, they were so easy to manipulate that it was almost sickening.

“If you wish to pledge your service and loyalty to me, step forward and accept my Mark.” Voldemort spoke in a cool hiss as he let his Magic seep into the air around him. This minor showing of power awed more Witches and Wizards than he could remember. It was always successful in getting the fools to agree to obey.

“Yes, My Lord.” All of the gathered Wizards kneeled before the Dark Lord and held out their bare left arms.

“We shall begin then.” Voldemort intoned as he approached the first of the kneeling Wizards.

He’s giving them the Dark Mark? So soon? That was a reward in the last war. Given only to those that had proved their worth to the Dark Lord.’ Lucius thought to himself as he watched the first Wizard grimace in pain as the Dark Mark was placed upon his skin. This vast deviation from the Dark Lord’s first rise back in the Seventies was confusing Lucius. It was also a cause for concern for the wary Malfoy Family Head. He had survived through the last war thanks to his caution and suspicion. He’d keep a close eye on the changes happening around the Dark Lord.

“These fools don’t realize how truly blessed they are.” Barty mumbled quietly as he watched the second kneeling man accept his Master’s Mark. His tongue flicked out in the tic that Lucius had grown accustomed to in the time he’d known the man.

Perhaps they are not as blessed as you think?’ Lucius kept his musings private. They were both aware that those who displeased the Dark Lord were often killed. The dumb muscle that Lucius collected probably wouldn’t make it to the end of the year. ‘Or does the Dark Lord have something else planned for them entirely?’ The Malfoy Patriarch wondered as the next Wizard accepted the Dark Mark. It would not be the first time that someone Voldemort recruited was used for a single task or purpose before they disappeared.

Twenty-one will be necessary for the first ritual.’ Voldemort mused as he gave another of the fools his Mark. He was pleased to have that number already met. But he needed far more for what he was planning. He needed enough to sacrifice to bring about an unstoppable force under his command. ‘These dimwitted ones can at least be gophers to collect the materials I need before they serve their true purpose.

The Dark Lord carried on giving out his Dark Mark to the less than impressive Wizards one after another while plotting out his true intentions.

-End Chapter-

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The stirrings around the world are growing.

Many pieces are coming together all at once.

We finally know who sent Harry the letter after he became the youngest Artificer in history! I assure you he’s the oldest living Wizard in the world! You have to be pretty old to call Nicholas Flamel ‘young’ right? You can even look up his name if you wish to find out who Zosimos is!

Harry and Tonks may have just had the very first Mirror Call Sex…hehehe!

Harry and Fleur have snuck a peek at what the Third Task entails.

Voldemort is continuing his plans as he marks his new followers. The coming clash may be too much for the Magical World to sweep under the rug.

Will Harry and Family still get to go to Japan this summer?

Is Sirius going to propose to Marlie Reed?

What about Harry’s early O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 19,918

Tonks – 15,462

Penelope – 13,246

Fleur – 14,128

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 49: Third Task, Ritual

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The time is drawing closer. The Third Task looms. What is Harry doing in the interim? He’s got a few different things on his plate right now. What will be the first thing to complete? Will one of the antagonistic factors in the young Artificer’s life make a nuisance of themselves?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 49 – Third Task, Ritual

“Alright, this one looks good.” Harry nodded as he moved a piece of Magical Quartz into a small pile on his desk. It was much smaller than the pile on the opposite side of the Artificer. Those were the pieces of the Magical Quartz that wouldn’t work for his first tests on the Communications Hub.

Harry smiled at his small pile and quickly placed them in a small case by themselves. Once he had time to work directly on the Hub, then he’d take them out again. He placed the rest of the Magical Quartz pieces into a much larger case for later use. They’d also be good for trying to learn a little gem-cutting. Drasurd had assured him that if he wanted to learn, then the Dwarves of Erdunn were more than willing to teach their sworn brother.

“Now…let’s look at these beauties.” Harry gently took two gems in hand. Both were blue in color. One was a dark navy, almost like a sapphire, while the other was a lighter blue interspersed with white. The first was the Magical Gem known as Azuryte. It was known to have a good synergy with Water Magics, empowering them or making them much more efficient to cast. The second stone was called Frost Azuryte. It was only found in long-frozen lands, usually in frozen lakes, ponds, and rivers. As its name implied, this stone had good synergy with Ice-based Magics. They’d cost Harry more than he’d like to admit because of how rare they were. But now that he had them, he couldn’t wait to examine them and think about how to incorporate them into his Artifice.

-Flint Manor-

“It is finally complete.” Voldemort had a dark look of satisfaction upon his face as he gazed over the intricate lines and symbols on the stone floor. He was in the basement of the Manor that he’d appropriated and had finally finished the necessary preparations to begin his first Ritual. Now he just needed his sacrifice. He had to give something of his own in exchange for what he wanted the ritual to do. How very fortunate that everyone that willingly accepted his Mark bound themselves to him as little more than property. He had plenty he was willing to give up for this ritual and would soon have far more to sacrifice for the next ritual he was planning. “Time to bring in the sacrifices.” He had a cold sneer on his lips as he made his way up the stairs. He’d have Barty round up twenty-one of the fools for him. It didn’t matter which ones; they were all equally useful as fodder.

Several minutes later and Voldemort heard the door to the basement open. Tromping down the stairs were the pawns he’d marked a while back. Barty was behind all of them, looking happy to have been of service, as always.

“Thank you, Barty.” Voldemort gave a nod to his loyal follower.

“Of course, My Lord.” Barty bowed at the waist to the Dark Lord.

“Keep anyone from interrupting us, Barty, this is delicate Magic.” Voldemort ordered and Barty nodded quickly before heading back up the stairs. Once he heard the door to the basement close again, Voldemort looked over the twenty-one Wizards. “We will be performing a Ritual that will further strengthen my immortality and prevent any accidents from happening again.” All of the Wizards knew he meant Halloween night of Eighty-One. “You will kneel where I tell you to, and you will place your hands on the floor where I instruct. You will not move after that until the Ritual is complete. Am I in anyway unclear?” He directed his red-eyed gaze over the men.

“No, My Lord!” The twenty-one Wizards were quick to respond. They’d seen the pain he could inflict on those that displeased him. Thankfully he’d never directed any of that rage at them since they’d joined.

Voldemort spent the next few minutes placing each of his living sacrifices in the proper locations around the lines and symbols on the floor. He shot each man a glare after he’d positioned them, a warning not to move. When the last man was in the correct position, only then did Voldemort step into the center of the configuration of lines. He spoke the incantation to activate the Ritual clearly, he’d practiced it thoroughly to ensure that no mistakes would be made. The various lines and symbols on the floor began to glow. Each of the men found themselves encircled by the glowing lines. It was only when Voldemort spoke the final part of the incantation that they suddenly knew something was wrong.

“Immolo.” Voldemort finished the incantation firmly as he offered up the marked Wizards. His property since they bore his Mark willingly upon their flesh.

The screaming started as the light of the various lines and symbols changed from a bluish color to a dark and angry red. The color grew darker, becoming a deep purple-black after a few moments. The twenty-one Wizards felt as their Magic was drained from them forcibly. Intense agony ripped through their bodies, but they couldn’t move once the Ritual had begun. The Magic was holding them in place as they suffered. After their Magic was drained the pain became even more intense. Vocal cords were torn as the men wailed in agony as their very bodies appeared to age rapidly. They went from looking in their twenties and thirties to quickly looking old, decrepit, and grey. The Ritual still didn’t stop there either. The men felt as their bodies broke down, withering away into naught but dust. The insidious Magic of the sacrificial ritual keeping them alive throughout the process until they fell apart into nothing.

Once all of the sacrifices had been consumed in their entirety, the Magic in the lines and symbols began to flow towards Voldemort in the center of the configuration. The purple-black light washed over the Dark Lord and one-by-one he felt as connections formed. These were direct links to his scattered and hidden Horcruxes. It was after the fifth connection was made and the Magic of the Ritual faded away that Voldemort realized something was wrong.

“Five?” Voldemort’s confusion was quickly turning to anger. “I made SIX!” His face was a rictus of fury as he stomped out of the array, kicking up clouds of dust that had just minutes ago been men. “Which one?! Who could have found one of them?!” His anger was laced with worry, though no one was around to hear it. “Dumbledore?! That old fool…no…how could he possibly know? The only one that I ever spoke with about Horcruxes was…Slughorn…” Voldemort breathed out furiously. That doddering old suck up! He’d hunt him down and tear the truth from the man! “Wait…” He hissed to himself. “Calm down…think…” After several moments he got his temper under control.

The Dark Lord quickly went over his Horcruxes in his mind. His old Diary, the Gaunt Family Ring, the Locket of Slytherin, the Cup of Hufflepuff, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and Nagini. He knew Nagini, his newest Horcrux, was safe inside the mansion. The Diadem was in the Room of Hidden Things in Hogwarts. The Locket was in the cave. The Cup was in the Lestrange Vault. The Ring should still be beneath the floorboards of the Gaunt Shack in Little Hangleton. His Diary he’d given to Lucius for safekeeping.

“I’ll start by asking Lucius to hand over my old Diary.” Voldemort decided as he made his way up the stairs. He exited the basement and found Barty standing just at the end of the corridor that led to the door. “Barty, is Lucius still within the manor?” He questioned his Death Eater as he strode through the corridor.

“Yes, My Lord, shall I fetch him?” Barty fell into step behind his Master.

“Just tell me where he is.” Voldemort waved off as they walked.

“I believe that he’s in the parlor.” Barty informed and Voldemort headed for the room after a quick turn down the next corridor. “He just returned from recruiting more members to your cause, My Lord.”

The two arrived in the parlor to find Lucius sitting on one of the plush chairs. The Malfoy Family Head looked exasperated from his latest recruitment attempt. Barty could understand, some of these fools didn’t understand what an honor it was to serve the Dark Lord. Voldemort cared little for Lucius’ woes and made his presence known quickly.

“Lucius, I have need of something I left in your possession.” Voldemort spoke in his cold, smooth tone. Lucius jumped to his feet immediately before kneeling before his Master.

“Whatever you need, My Lord.” Lucius did not look up to meet the Dark Lord’s gaze.

“The old Diary I gave to you for safekeeping before that night…bring it to me.” Voldemort demanded with a slight hiss.

“…I…M-My Lord…I…no longer have it.” Lucius admitted after stumbling over his words.

“What do you mean you don’t have it?” Voldemort’s red eyes looked like they were glowing. “I gave it to you to keep it safe.”

“M-My Lord…I used it in an attempt to have Dumbledore removed from Hogwarts two years ago.” Lucius admitted after swallowing heavily. “According to my son, the plan had some success…” He was cut off as Voldemort’s Magic slammed him into the far wall.

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Voldemort roared so loudly the entire manor could hear it. The shaking of the walls and floors was also a cause for alarm among the Death Eaters that were staying there. “Leave!” He snapped at Barty and the man backed out of the room so quickly he nearly tripped over himself. The parlor door was slammed closed a half-second later.

“Mas-Master…please…” Lucius was having trouble breathing.

“I gave that book to you to protect!” Voldemort silenced his follower as his Magic crushed Lucius against the wall harder. “Did I ever instruct you to let it out of your possession? DID I?!” He raged at the pale-blonde man.

“N-No…” Lucius barely wheezed out. He was summarily hurled across the room and slammed into the opposite wall by the Magic holding him. He hacked and coughed, trying to get air back into his lungs. He barely took three breathes before the first Cruciatus Curse hit him and he howled in agony.

“You will know my full displeasure, Lucius…” Voldemort hissed out like an angry serpent. “If you still live afterwards is beneath my concern.” He informed the trembling man after giving him a respite from the Torture Curse.

For the rest of the day, the wailing and agony of Lucius could be heard throughout the Flint Manor. None dared approach the Parlor door during that time. Only later in the evening did Voldemort storm out of the room while demanding dinner be served to him immediately. No one went to check on Lucius for over an hour. The ones that eventually did so saw the twisted, broken form of the man. He was barely breathing and was covered in blood. He shook and spasmed even while unconscious from the after-effects of the Cruciatus.

-Hogwarts ~ May-

“Harry…what are you mumbling to yourself?” Fleur questioned her lover. He’d been going over something intently for almost a month now. He’d promised to tell her about it once he was sure it could work. The lovely Veela had simply run out of patience.

“Huh?” Harry blinked as he looked up from a book and his notebook where he was taking notes. They were at the Ravenclaw Table for lunch and Harry had brought his current project with him. He’d honestly barely touched his food since he sat down.

“What are you mumbling about?” Fleur repeated her question and Harry looked between his notebook and his girlfriend before giving her a smile.

“Artifice…” Harry answered without actually answering.

“I gathered that much.” Fleur deadpanned at him. Harry just smiled wider. “What has your mind so preoccupied?”

“This new idea of mine should be able to work…I’m making use of one of the Magical Gems I got through the Owl Order. Not sure which one just yet, but either of them should work.” Harry’s excitement was palpable and Fleur could only shake her head.

“You’re worse than I am with new Magical discoveries, mon amour.” Fleur admitted to her own fixation whenever Madam Aveline sent her copies of research notes that she’d collected while working. “What Item are you planning, exactly?” Harry picked up his notebook and showed it to her. “A sword and a trident?” The lovely Scholar blinked at the sketches Harry had made. She read over Harry’s notes on the page, able to make some sense of them due to her own depth of Magical Knowledge. “Why is power source a question mark?”

“Well, the Magical Gems are good as catalysts for certain types of Magic.” Harry began as he looked his notes over. “However, they don’t actually have a lot of Magic of their own. So, the best way to make use of them is to have a power source supply the right type of Magic and let the gem amplify it or make casting more efficient.” He explained as he jotted down a quick note in the corner of the page.

“And what are you planning to use for a power source?” Fleur knew he already had some ideas. Harry wasn’t likely to not have at least some thoughts on his creations from the very beginning.

“I mean, I could power it…” Harry shrugged and Fleur noticed he wasn’t meeting her eyes. “It would take a lot to impart enough mana to become innate to the Artifact, but that’s what the forging process is for.”

“Harry…” Fleur’s tone made Harry twitch. “Is this an idea of yours that would see you being sent to the Hospital for several days to recover…again?” The Veela girl was clearly not amused by the idea.

“No,” Harry shook his head, his eyes meeting hers. “I mean…probably not,” Fleur raised one delicate eyebrow at him. “…I’ll be careful.”

“Harry…” Hermione looked at him incredulously.

“Don’t.” Mandy drew out the word while giving him a look.

“We’d all prefer you didn’t put yourself in the Hospital Wing again, Harry.” Padma’s concern was clear to see.

Harry turned to his side when he felt a tug on his robe. He was met with the wide, blue eyes of Luna. “Please don’t hurt yourself, Harry.” She pleaded with him and Harry couldn’t handle the slight welling of tears he saw in the little blonde’s eyes.

“Alright, alright…” He pulled Luna into a side-hug to reassure her. “I’ll figure out some other way, okay?” He gently patted the top of Luna’s head and the younger girl nodded happily.

“Why was potentially putting yourself in the Hospital Wing even a consideration?” Fleur questioned her boyfriend with a sigh.

“It wasn’t my first choice.” Harry shook his head. “But a power source to make the best use of the Azuryte and Frost Azuryte isn’t just going to fall into my lap. I’m going to have to come up with something myself.”

“Better to take your time and figure out a power source than to hurt yourself, Harry.” Padma gave her opinion.

“She’s right, you know?” Mandy nodded in agreement. “It’s not like you have to rush or anything. You’re already the youngest Artificer in history. What’s the big hurry, right?”

“Exactly,” Hermione agreed with her friends. “You’ve got plenty of time, Harry. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.”

Maybe not as much time as I’d like.’ Harry thought to himself knowing that Voldemort was out there somewhere.

-Third Task ~ June 24th-

All three Champions stood before the large hedge maze on the Quidditch Pitch. Bagman had brought them all aside to show them the maze two weeks ago when it had yet to fully grow. Fleur and Harry had already taken a peek long before, but didn’t say anything about it. Krum hadn’t looked too surprised at the reveal either, leading both of the other Champions to believe he’d snuck a peek too. Now the stands were packed with spectators looking down on the hedge maze. From the height difference, they’d be able to see into the maze and watch the Champions find their way through it.

Harry barely listened as Ludo Bagman blathered on about the Task. All he really needed to know was when to start and the overall objective. But the former Professional Beater really enjoyed hearing himself talk it seemed. Both Fleur and Harry shared a look between them, the French Witch even playfully rolling her eyes as Bagman continued to wax on. Harry grinned at her and Fleur smiled beautifully at him. Harry would actually be going in second according to Bagman. Apparently, the points they’d been awarded in the First and Second Task determined the order of entry. Fleur would be going first, Harry a short time after her, and Krum a few minutes behind him.

A minute after Bagman finally stopped talking and the first blast went off to start the Third Task. Fleur gave him a wink before she walked close to the entrance of the maze. The rules stated that they would start with only their wands. The obvious loophole was just ripe for abuse to Harry and Fleur. The lovely young woman demonstrated this by holding out her hand and summoning her Storage Cloak from the stands where Gabrielle had been holding it for her. After slipping the jet-black cloak on, Fleur entered the maze. Harry was certain she’d be putting on her Basilisk Scale Mail in short order.

A minute later and the second blast went off. Harry summoned his own Storage Cloak from where Sirius was holding it in the stands. He put it on quickly and moved into the maze. After rounding the first corner and checking for threats, Harry reached into the cloak and pulled out his own Basilisk Scale Mail. The Artifact Armor slipped on easily as it was made to do. Harry pulled out his Wind Walker items and strapped them on with a quick application of Magic. His Spell Ward Gauntlets were put on next and only then did Harry make his first move towards actually completing the Task. He pulled out his wand and laid it on his flat palm.

“Point me, Fleur Delacour.” Harry spoke and his wand spun for a second before suddenly whipping around and locking into position. It would seem Fleur was on the left side of the maze at the moment. “Point me, Triwizard Cup.” He spoke the target of the Task next. The wand spun only once before snapping towards a specific direction, dead center of the maze. “Well, that’s convenient.” Harry smirked as he put his wand away and from within his cloak, he pulled out the sheathed Aethereum. He attached the scabbard to his belt before drawing the Artifact Sword. “Shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” Aethereum’s blade was engulfed in flames as Harry channeled a spell into the Focus. He gripped the sword with both hands and brought it down in a helm-splitter.

A massive torrent of fire was cast from the Artifact. It blasted through the magical hedges easily and tore through the maze in a straight line with a roar. The crackling of flames was loud in Harry’s ears as he beheld the shortcut he’d made. With a grin he activated his Wind Walker and flew through the still burning path his sword had carved through the maze.

“Fleur is going to be so annoyed with me.” Harry chuckled as he flew towards the center of the maze quickly. He should’ve made a bet with her about who’d get to the end of the maze first. He could’ve won another bath with his beautiful girlfriend!

-Stands-

“Harry…!” Penny shook her head at Harry’s blatant breaking of the traditional maze rules. Going through the walls was usually a ‘no-no’ for any maze.

“I mean…it’s technically a solution.” Edward Clearwater sat beside his daughter as he watched Harry burn his way through the majority of the maze. It was still astonishing to the older Wizard what a single swing of that sword could do.

“Screw the rules, Harry!” Sirius was practically howling in laughter while Marlie grinned behind her hand. It wouldn’t be hard to spot the engagement ring nearly sparkling on her ring finger. The diamond was large, but not ridiculous, and it was cut by the finest Artisan among the Erdunn Dwarves. Sirius had happily paid full price for the beautiful ring for his fiancé.

-Maze-

“Harry, you cheater!” Fleur huffed at the torrent of flames that died out a few seconds later. She started heading in the direction of the line of fire she’d seen. If Harry was going to make himself a shortcut, then she might as well take advantage. She didn’t even pay attention to the blast that went off moments later signaling Krum entering the maze.

“Huh…I didn’t make it all the way through.” Harry noticed a slightly burnt hedge in front of him. “That might’ve been for the best…wouldn’t want to destroy the Cup. They might say we have to restart the Task after they got a replacement or something.” Two swings of Aethereum and the magic cleaving properties of the sword had cut a triangular hole in the hedge wall. Harry grinned when he saw the center of the maze and the shining cup on the pedestal in the middle. “Always ‘I’m Magical, look at me!’” He shook his head at the blatantly magical cup. He sheathed Aethereum after checking for any threats in the area. He walked up to the Triwizard Cup and looked over the Item. It was supposed to be a Portkey to the Winner’s Platform they had set up, so all he should need to so was grab it.

A second after he grabbed one of the handles, Harry was whisked away in a swirl of colors.

-Graveyard ~ Little Hangleton-

“Hate…Portkeys…” Harry grimaced as he landed heavily and felt his stomach lurch. A short moment later and he realized he was most definitely NOT where he was supposed to be.

“Harry Potter…” A cold and slightly hissing voice drawled. “How good of you to join us.” Voldemort waved away the thick fog in the graveyard with his hand. Harry’s eyes narrowed at the Dark Lord and the ring of cloaked figures he could see now.

“Yeah…that figures.” Harry drew Aethereum with a scowl. “Of course, it’d be you and your ilk that put me into this dumb tournament.”

“A rather simple task to get you entered, to be sure.” Voldemort mocked as he drew his wand. The Dark Lord eyed the sword warily. Lucius had said that Potter had an Artifact Sword of his own creation. “No one really cares about the Squibs, do they, Harry?”

“Squibs?” Harry’s confusion showed on his face and Voldemort chuckled darkly.

“See? Even you don’t recall Argus Filch until someone else mentions him.” Voldemort mocked the teen.

“Filch…the hell are you on about?” Harry wouldn’t take his eyes off of Voldemort. But that didn’t prevent him from wandlessly using spells to check his surroundings. ‘Twenty of them surrounding us. Odds aren’t in my favor, but…’ He activated the Scouter function in his glasses and checked Voldemort first.

44,680…well, shite.’ Harry didn’t like that reading at all. ‘He actually exceeds Dumbledore.’ He was able to get a few scans from the cloaked individuals standing behind Voldemort too. ‘3,640…4,228…4,854…7,962…’ Most of them were average or slightly above average. The one at almost eight-thousand seemed to be the biggest standout of the Death Eaters he could get a reading on.

“A Squib is such an easy target for the Imperius Curse, Harry Potter.” Voldemort replied with an amused sneer.

Well, that explains how my name got in the Goblet of Fire.’ Harry quickly put the pieces together. Filch had access to most of the castle. Not to mention the surly caretaker was mostly overlooked by the students and other faculty. It would be rather easy for the Imperiused man to snatch a parchment with his name written on it. “Well, aren’t you clever…do you want a treat for that?” He snarked at the Dark Lord, projecting bravado.

“No, no, your death shall suffice.” Voldemort’s wand was moving in a blur as he brought it to bear.

“Protego Maxima!” Harry channeled the spell through Aethereum and a massive, glowing off-white shield appeared between him and Voldemort.

“Crucio!” Voldemort cast the Unforgivable Cruciatus Curse right off the bat. It passed through the massive Protego easily. The three Unforgivables weren’t blockable by Magic by their very design. But that didn’t matter when Harry was already on the move.

A gargantuan cloud of billowing black smoke filled the graveyard quickly. Harry tapped Aethereum on the ground and let himself smirk a little when he heard the encircling Death Eaters cry out in surprise, shock, and some in pain. He’d transfigured the ground into long, sharp spikes as he used his Wind Walker to fly just above the grass and dirt.

“Childish, Harry.” Voldemort waved his wand and the transfiguration was undone. The mass of smoke vanished a second later as well. What Voldemort wasn’t expecting to see was a roaring conflagration burning its way through the cemetery. The wall of fire washed over the area at speed from Harry’s swing of Aethereum. Voldemort was more than capable of shielding himself from such a spell. Several of his Death Eaters were not. Their screams were completely ignored by the Dark Lord.

In the confusion, Harry pulled a Mana Bane chain from within his Storage Cloak. He passed his mana through the chain and sent it at the Death Eater with the reading of almost 8,000 mana. The animated chain wrapped around the man in the chaos of the blaze and sealed his Magic. Harry used his control over the chain to yank the man off his feet and into the air next to him.

“Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort sent the sickly green curse towards Harry. The Death Eater he’d snatched with that chain of his was Barty. Voldemort wouldn’t let one of his truly loyal Death Eaters be taken hostage. At least not when he had so few competent followers right now.

To everyone that was able to see the exchange, their eyes widened in shock. Harry brought Aethereum’s blade between himself and the Killing Curse. The unblockable, instant death curse touched the blade and instantly vanished without a trace. Even Voldemort found himself momentarily stunned. What the teen had just done shouldn’t have been possible…even inanimate objects exploded when hit by the Killing Curse!

“Block this.” Harry channeled a large portion of his mana into Aethereum while tapping into the Artifact Sword’s innate mana. The blade sparked a blinding blue-white as Harry brought it down and slashed in the direction of Voldemort. A titanic blast of lightning tore through the cemetery and lit up the area brighter than midday. The loud thunderous roar that followed nearly deafened everyone. Even the Non-magical residents of Little Hangleton saw and heard the lightning. Calls to the police were being made in a panic.

“Lata Protego Maxima Tria!” Voldemort roared as he jabbed his wand forward. Three large, powerful Shield Charms appeared between the Dark Lord and the lightning blast Harry had sent at him. The vastly overpowered Fulmen Curse slammed into the expanded, tripled, and maximized shields and instantly shattered the first one. The second held up for a time as bolts of lightning were redirected around the shields and struck whatever was in their path. Tombstones, the ground, Death Eaters, everything around the two opposing spells was hit. The second of Voldemort’s shield gave way under the force of the lightning and Voldemort grit his teeth as he focused heavily on maintaining the final shield.

“Time to go.” Harry decided as he sheathed the lightly smoking Aethereum and tossed the Triwizard Cup a few centimeters into the air. If Harry was right, the original Portkey would activate if he touched the Cup again. He caught the shining cup as it fell and felt the familiar ‘hook behind the navel’ before he and Barty Crouch Jr. vanished in a swirl of colors.

The Fulmen Curse finally lost power and Voldemort lashed out with his wand. He scattered the remaining lightning as his final shield rapidly expanded and then appeared to burst. The entire area was smoking, both from the fires still burning here and there and from where the lightning had struck. The cemetery reeked of ozone and Voldemort glared hatefully at his Death Eaters. Most of them were on the ground, injured or dead he didn’t know nor care. Barty had been taken! This could not be allowed to stand! He was Lord Voldemort! No mere teenager was allowed to defy him and live!

The sound of sirens and the flashing of both fire engine lights and police car lights near the edge of the cemetery made Voldemort snarl. He turned on his heel and vanished with a near-silent pop. The Death Eaters that were still able followed his lead and vanished in Apparation as well. They left behind just over a dozen of their injured or dead comrades. The Little Hangleton police would discover them shortly and in a fairly short amount of time higher authorities would be alerted.

-Hogwarts-

Harry and Barty spun into existence on the Winner’s Platform that had been set up outside the hedge maze. The Judges were there to greet them along with Minister Fudge himself. The politician wouldn’t miss a chance for a photo op and the Daily Prophet Cameraman along with Barnabas Cuffe, the Chief Editor of the paper, were waiting to get the story of the Triwizard Tournament Winner. When Harry reappeared with a man bound in chain. No one knew what to make of it.

“Can someone call the Aurors?” Harry demanded as he held up and tightened the Mana Bane chain around Barty Crouch Jr. to make sure the man wasn’t going anywhere. “I have a Death Eater to turn in.” The flash of the Daily Prophet camera seemed to snap everyone out of their stupor.

“Who is that?” Fudge looked confused by the unexpected happenings. The bound man looked hatefully at everyone. Crouch, the Judge, took a half-step forward only to be stopped by Dumbledore.

“How are you alive, Bartemius Crouch Junior?” Dumbledore questioned the man and almost everyone, except Harry and Dumbledore himself, stared in shock.

“Dumbledore!” Barty growled at the hated enemy of his Master. His hateful eyes looked towards his own father next. “Why don’t you tell them how I’m alive, father? How you kept me under the Imperius for over a decade!” He tried to struggle to his feet but Harry passed a weak current of electricity through the Mana Bane chain. It made for an effective taser and Barty jerked and fell back to the floor.

“Is someone going to call the Aurors or not?” Harry looked between all of the adults unable to believe that none of them had done so yet.

Another flash of the Daily Prophet Cameraman’s camera went off and the adults finally began to move. Harry only exhaled heavily as Dumbledore kept Barty at wand point and the other Judges began to speak. Karkaroff looked like he was about to bolt entirely. Bagman still seemed stunned. Fudge clearly had no idea what was going on and was slow to catch up. Madame Maxime was the one that finally shot sparks into the air that turned into the words ‘Aurors Needed’ in bright white letters.

Harry noticed two of the red-robed Aurors rushing towards the stage from aways away. They were apparently Fudge’s escorts for the event. The teen Artificer would bet money that Fudge had left them at the edge of the Pitch to not ‘ruin’ his photo op.

This is going to be a damned headache; I can already tell.’ Harry thought to himself as the Aurors arrived.

-End Chapter-

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Well…that was a different Third Task.

Harry is an Artificer and decides to use his Artifacts to complete the Maze in the most efficient way possible! Straight through! Screw maze etiquette!

Then Voldemort was waiting, but the Dark Lord is nothing if not cocky. He disregarded the youngest Artificer in history as still being a mere teenager. That came back to bite him!

Harry dragged Barty back to Hogwarts with him too! That’ll shake things up! Mr. Crouch probably isn’t going to have his job much longer.

How will the small village of Little Hangleton deal with the injured and dead Death Eaters? They’ll need to call in higher authorities for this. That means a certain Minister of Magic is about to be in hot water with his Non-Magical counterpart!

How will this event effect the story going forward?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 21,412

Tonks – 19,864

Penelope – 14,588

Fleur – 15,990

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 50: Aftermath and Summer Begins

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now comes the aftermath of the Third Task and the capture of Barty. Me thinks there is going to be quite the scandal. Not to mention that Harry has O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s to take over the summer and the trip to Japan. I’m sure certain malicious elements may just mix to try and deal with Harry in the future.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 50 – Aftermath and Summer Begins

I was right about this being a damn headache.’ Harry mused as he fell asleep in his bed at Wood End Cottage. The frenzy that the capture of Barty Crouch Jr. had brought was naturally a situation that Harry couldn’t escape from. Questions upon questions, decries of lying when he mentioned Voldemort, Sirius stepping in and keeping everyone back. He really needed to do something nice for his godfather for that. After some time, Sirius has used his place as Harry’s Guardian to take him home for the night. He’d at least gotten to see Fleur and Penny before they’d left to explain the situation, thankfully. He was sure the Ministry, the DMLE especially, was in an uproar right about now.

-Next Morning-

“It’s a bloody warzone in here, Harry!” Tonks looked frazzled in the mirror as she called Harry shortly after breakfast. “Mad-Eye wants to fill Crouch Jr. full of Veritaserum and question him as long as it takes. Old Scrimgeour has already arrested Crouch Sr. and has him in a cell. It’s a mess and the Ministry employees are already starting to look at each other with suspicion.”

“Are Fudge and that pink toad still trying to push their angle that calls me a liar?” Harry asked rhetorically. He knew Umbridge held a grudge and would probably go out of her way to slander him even if Voldemort walked into the Ministry in broad daylight. Fudge was a toss-up, but the man had been the first to use the word ‘liar’ when Harry was being questioned last night.

“Umbridge is still croaking about how you’re a liar and delusional, yes.” Tonks grimaced, having heard the awful woman’s bellowing almost as soon as she arrived at the Ministry. “Surprisingly, Fudge has kept himself mostly quiet. But that’s probably because he’s hiding in his office after dumping most of this in Madam Bones’ lap.”

“Sounds like Fudge.” Sirius agreed from his place at the table. The headline splayed across the front of the Daily Prophet he was reading was switching between two stories. ‘Death Eater Bartemius Crouch Jr. found alive! Father Bartemius Crouch Sr. arrested for helping convicted son escape Azkaban!’ The second front page story was titled: ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returns?! Artificer Harry Potter claims to have been abducted from the Triwizard Third Task and escaped the Dark Lord!’ All of Magical Britain was probably in an uproar about now with those two headlines warring for space on the front page of the Prophet.

“How anyone can call Harry a liar when he brought back Barty Crouch Jr., alive and well, is beyond me.” Marlie shook her head from her place next to Sirius. The Healer was flabbergasted that anyone would try and say that You-Know-Who wasn’t back when a Death Eater thought long dead was revealed to be very much alive.

“I’m wondering if this is gonna prevent me from taking my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s early.” Harry wasn’t worried about retaliation just yet. Voldemort had gone through an inordinate amount of trouble to snatch him away where no one could see. The Dark Lord clearly didn’t want to be confirmed to have returned.

“Keeping you safe is far more important than any tests, Harry.” Sirius looked at his godson with concern and paternal love.

“I know, but I finally made the decision to graduate early and you went through all of the trouble of setting up the exams with the Wizarding Examinations Authority. It seems like such a waste if I’m not able to take the tests now.” Harry grimaced at Voldemort causing trouble in his life again.

“We still have our trip to look forward to, even if you can’t take the exams right now, Harry.” Sirius assured him with a smile. “We’re not going to let some half-dead Dark Lord cow us. We’ll continue on and if he comes, then he’ll be in for a surprise.” The old Marauder gave Harry a knowing look. Harry returned the look as he thought about his Artifacts and the small army of Dwarf warriors that had his back.

Not long after breakfast, Penny had come over to cuddle with Harry and make sure he was okay. They talked while holding each other and Penny was eventually satisfied that he was okay. It was a peaceful, relaxing moment between the couple and they both relished it. Their talk eventually turned to their current projects and Penny pulled her notes on the Anti-Magic Area from within her own Storage Cloak. Harry showed her his notebook with the ideas for the Communications Hub and the rough drafts of his potential sword and trident designs.

“Look Marlie…” Sirius whispered as he waved his fiancé over. “They’re having a couple’s study session. Isn’t it just precious?”

“Leave them be, Sirius.” Marlie playfully chided her lover after seeing Harry and Penny taking up the couch and coffee table in the living room. “They need this after last night.”

“Right you are, love.” Sirius grinned as he took her hands in his. “Why don’t we go have our own alone time?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“You randy hound.” Marlie’s giggling laugh rang out.

“Is that a ‘no’?” Sirius pretended to pout.

“I didn’t say that~” Marlie purred as she led him towards the stairs.

Sometimes it was hard to tell which couple were the randy teenagers in Wood End Cottage.

-Flint Manor-

“Move everything of value!” Voldemort ordered with a cold fury. He couldn’t risk Barty being forced to reveal his current location. Damn, Harry Potter…he’d enjoy watching the life fade from the boy’s eyes! As it stood, he was moving his operations to the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. Lucius would be a gracious host if he didn’t want to suffer again. ‘There are other uses for the property as well.’ The Dark Lord mused as he watched his followers pack up everything quickly.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Harry,” Tonks plopped down on the couch and pulled her boyfriend into a hug. “I’ve been running around all day because of this mess.” She used Magic to remove her boots and placed her feet on his lap. “Foot rub, please.”

“Alright,” Harry grinned at his eldest girlfriend and began to rub her feet. “You’ve earned it.”

“Darn right.” Tonks sighed as she relaxed on the couch. “The Ministry is going to be a madhouse for the foreseeable future.”

“As long as they actually prepare for when Voldemort decides to stop hiding, I think it’s a good thing.” Harry shrugged while continuing to lightly massage her. “I’d rather not have to fight Voldemort with just my family and the Dwarves if possible. The rest of Magical Britain needs to realize that they can’t just cower and expect someone to save them.”

“True, but Voldemort isn’t exactly someone that most are going to try and stand up against.” Tonks stated the obvious just to get it out there. “If Madam Bones and Mad-Eye have their way, everyone in the Ministry is soon going to be searched for the Dark Mark before they can enter the building proper. That should help with the issues of moles among the staff this time around.”

“You sound like you’re expecting interference in that actually happening.” Harry noted the tone in Tonks’ voice.

“The Wizengamot and the Ministry are full of ‘Traditionalist’ Purebloods that’ll more than likely fight against any change to the Ministry’s operation. It isn’t just Fudge and his ilk that make the place inefficient and headache inducing. There are plenty more problem causers working there than that.”

“No wonder Voldemort had such little trouble almost taking over last time.” Harry sighed as he continued to rub Tonks’ feet.

“Tell me about it.” Tonks exhaled heavily before letting out a pleased hum as Harry’s fingers worked out a sore spot on the sole of her foot.

-Prime Minister’s Office ~ London-

“Your Minister,” The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, spoke to the painting in the corner of his office. “I need to speak with him, now.” The tone in the Minister’s voice made it clear that this wasn’t a polite request. To anyone that might have walked into his office, this would’ve appeared insane. But the Prime Minister knew this was the only way to contact the ‘other’ Minister. The painting didn’t do anything and the Minister grew annoyed. He lifted the bottom of the portrait a bit and then slammed it against the wall with a hard look in his eyes.

“Really now?!” The portrait spoke in shock and annoyance. The man in the painting moved and groused at the rough handling of his frame. “You know you can’t just demand to see the Minister of Magic!”

“I very much can and will, especially when members of your community are found burning down graveyards and killing each other in Non-Magical communities!” The Minister replied strongly. “Tell him that I need to speak with him immediately.”

“I can tell him that you’re requesting a meeting,” The man in the portrait looked annoyed. “But it’ll depend on the Minister of Magic’s schedule as to when he’ll talk to you.” Prime Minister Major lifted the bottom of the frame again and slammed it against the wall multiple times until the man in the portrait agreed to fetch the Minister of Magic. When the man walked out of sight from the portrait, John went and sat behind his desk with his eyes locked onto the fireplace. He knew it was how the ‘other’ Minister would arrive.

In a short time, the flames in the fireplace flared up and turned green. Out of the magical fire a man in a pinstripe suit with a green bowler hat appeared. He pulled a stick (a wand, John reminded himself) from his pocket and with a wave all the soot vanished from the man’s suit. The somewhat plump man put the wand away and turned to look at the Prime Minister.

“Prime Minister Major?” Fudge asked the man sitting behind the desk.

“Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, correct?” John was in no mood for any games or stalling. He set a hard stare on the portly Minister.

“Yes, that’s me, I was told you were rather insistent on a meeting.” Fudge looked an odd cross between annoyed and relieved.

“Indeed,” John nodded sharply. “May I ask what your community was thinking when they decided to burn down a cemetery in Little Hangleton, leaving behind both injured men and bodies?”

“We’re still investigating that, actually.” Fudge looked rather uncomfortable as he spoke.

“This has caused a stir in the Non-Magical community and we’re doing what we can to keep it quiet.” John informed the other Minister. “However, I need to know what is going on and if something like this has a chance of happening again.” His stare bore into the ‘other’ Minister strongly, he wouldn’t accept any platitudes.

“O-Of course not!” Fudge shook his head. “This was some kind of incident between two parties that got far out of hand. But I assure you that it won’t be happening again.”

John stared long and hard at the Minister for Magic, the Wizard in the pinstripe suit began to fidget slightly under the look before the Prime Minister spoke. “Make sure that your community’s incidents don’t stray into the Non-Magical side, Minister Fudge. We can wave off the occasional Wizard or Witch sticking out in the streets of London as merely eccentric people. We cannot and will not, however, let the Magical destroy the property of the people nor terrorize them. Am I in any way unclear on this matter?”

“No…no, you’ve made your position quite clear, Prime Minister.” Fudge nodded to the other man.

“If another incident like this happens or, heaven forbid, something worse. Then you can expect to be in an audience with both myself and Her Majesty the Queen next time.” John warned the ‘other’ Minister of the consequences of another such incident.

The Queen, as the reigning Monarch of the land, held power over certain contracts. Magical Contracts that were tied to both her position and her bloodline directly, regardless that the woman was Non-Magical. If she enacted her authority held by those contracts, the Magical Community could very well see themselves facing quite the shift in their current arrangements and their hidden locations. All enforced by the old Magic that still held the two separated communities to the agreements that their ancestors had made.

“Yes, I understand, I’ll make sure this doesn’t spill over into your side again.” Fudge promised and John gave him a firm nod. The Minister for Magic had lost all traces of annoyance now. The flames in the fireplace flared bright green again and Fudge nearly trudged through them.

-Hogwarts-

“Time to pack up.” Harry mused as he took a look around his hidden workshop. There were a lot of memories here for him. He would miss the place a bit, but it was time to leave Hogwarts and venture out into the wider world.

“You’re letting Luna keep the room, yes?” Fleur questioned as she helped Harry pack away all of his things. Most of the items and such disappeared into Harry’s Storage Cloak as he levitated them from wherever they rested.

“Yeah, I’ve already modified the Ward Lock for her and the Hiding Stone. She’ll be the one that controls who can and cannot enter this room now.” Harry answered as he stowed a few notebooks into his Storage Cloak.

In a very short time, the entire workshop was packed away and stored inside Harry’s Cloak. After that the couple moved into the smithy. All of the various tools that Harry had were quickly gathered up and stashed away. The large items simply disappeared into the jet-black cloak when Harry threw the cloth over them. The magical expanding and shrinking of the cloak was still amusing to watch for Harry. The last item to take with them was the forge that Harry had been using for years. There was no way he was leaving it behind.

“We’ll just need to remove this part.” Harry tapped the flue that led out of the window. “Then separate it from the floor,” He tapped the toe of his shoe against the bottom of the forge. “After that I’ll be able to store it away.”

“I’ll take care of the flue.” Fleur offered and Harry agreed as he crouched down to begin separating the forge from the stone floor. In only a couple minutes the forge was free and Harry expanded the Storage Cloak to cover it. The cloth billowed through the air unobstructed after settling on the forge for a second.

“Done and done,” Harry nodded to the cleared-out smithy. “It was a good workshop.”

“You did amazing things here, Harry.” Fleur smiled beautifully at him.

“Yeah…almost all of my Artifacts were made here.” Harry mused as they headed for the door. “But now they’ll be made at home, and that does bring a smile to my face.” The smile on his lips proved his statement as they left the hidden room and closed the door behind them. They could still perceive the door since Luna had already added them to the Hiding Stone and Ward Lock. In the little blonde’s words: ‘It was your room first, so you should be able to come visit.’ She was truly a sweet girl.

A round of goodbyes followed after they returned to the Great Hall. Both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were leaving back to their schools today. Fleur had become friendly with all of Harry’s study buddies, so hugs were shared all around. Harry walked Fleur to the carriage and the two kissed before they separated. Harry watched as the Abraxans pulled the carriage across the grounds for a distance before the winged-horses flew into the air and took the large coach with them. Once they were out of sight, Harry turned to head back into the castle. He did still need to clean out his dorm room.

-Hogwarts Express-

On Harry’s last ride on the Hogwarts Express, he happily splurged and bought treats and drinks for all of his study buddies. Luna barely left his side the whole ride and Harry couldn’t bring himself to mind. The youngest Artificer in history did realize that he only had female friends on this last trip back to London. He inwardly chuckled as he realized that he’d not made much of an attempt to get to know a lot of his other schoolmates in the last four years. He’d always been so far ahead of his peers and was almost constantly working on his Artifice that anything more than his study buddies for friends never really crossed his mind.

Perhaps that’ll be something to work on as well?’ Harry hummed thoughtfully as the train rolled along the tracks towards King’s Cross Station.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Now…how do I want to expand?” Harry looked around his smithy curiously. He had the forge from his Hogwarts smithy still stored away and was hopeful to add it to the larger smithy. Having two forges could prove useful for him. Being able to keep multiple components at the right temperature while working should make things easier when he was combining materials.

“We could probably expand it from the corner, that way the forges could be somewhat close together.” Sirius suggested as he pointed to the back corner. “Maybe make some more storage space while we’re at it? You hoarding trash panda, you.”

“Hey!” Harry playfully shoved his godfather. Sirius laughed and shoved him back a little in return. Harry was gonna have to make sure to get Tonks back for putting that term in Sirius’ vocabulary.

“You excited for the trip?” Sirius asked with a grin. He knew Harry was, but the way his godson’s eyes lit up when their upcoming trip was mentioned always made him smile.

“Of course!” Harry smiled widely. “Still…two weeks before we leave and I do have the O.W.L.s, if they still let me take them early.”

“About that,” Sirius pulled a letter from the inside pocket of his robe. “Old Griselda got back to me after my last letter.” He handed the folded paper to Harry.

“Hmm…” Harry took the letter and unfolded it. His green eyes moved across the paper as he read and a grin came to his features. “I can take them at the end of the week, brilliant!” He was happy that he could get his early O.W.L.s done. “But I can’t take the N.E.W.T.s until near the end of summer.” He shrugged at the length of time between the two. It wasn’t like he needed the N.E.W.T.s right after the O.W.L.s anyway. Splitting them up might even be better for him.

“I know you’ll pass the O.W.L.s, Harry.” Sirius’ belief in his godson was nearly palpable. “So, no need to worry about them.” He patted Harry’s shoulder with a laugh. “Then we’ll be off on our trip and can leave the worries behind for a while.”

“Just remember that you’re engaged now.” Harry chuckled as he nudged Sirius lightly. “You can’t try and ‘woo’ the women of the East like you wanted too before.”

“As if any woman could capture my heart as completely as Marlie has!” Sirius stated dramatically, his hand over his chest as he faked swooning.

“Good to know, darling.” Marlie’s laughter came from the doorway to the smithy. The ravenette with the warm gray eyes waved the two over. “Come on now, Tayla has dinner ready and looks like she won’t settle down until we’ve all eaten.”

“Coming, love.” Sirius smiled at his fiancé warmly and followed after her. Harry chuckled as he followed along. It was nice to see his godfather so happy. Wood End Cottage was becoming even more of a warm and inviting home every day.

-Wood End Cottage ~ July 5th-

“Hah~” Harry sighed heavily as he looked over his notes and a few books. He’d been racking his brain for the last couple of days to figure out a power source for his two rough draft Artifacts.

If he wanted to make the best use of the Azuryte and Frost Azuryte, then he needed to make sure the Artifacts provided the right type of Magic to the magical gems. He couldn’t just hammer and forge his own mana into his creation like normal or the catalysts would quickly be eroded. He’d spent too much money on the two gemstones to risk destroying them like that. Etching runic sequences to turn the innate mana he forged into the Artifacts into the proper type of Magic could work, in theory, but Harry really didn’t want to risk the rare materials.

“A power source is the best way to go, but I’ve got nothing.” Harry exhaled as he looked up at the ceiling of his smithy.

The usual process of imparting his own mana into his Artifacts to give them their own innate mana was the easiest way to provide power to them permanently. Using a source of a specific Magic type was what he needed to do this time though. The Magical World was very much lacking in any form of Magical Generator though. The best idea he’d theorized so far had been to hunt down a Magical Beast of some kind that innately used the right type of Magic and go the Creature Craft route. That had led to the unfortunate discovery of a distinct lack of Magical Creatures that innately had any form of Ice Magic. Sure, there were supposedly Frost Dragons in the frozen high peaks of certain mountain ranges, but none had actually been seen in over a century. He could go traipsing through arctic regions and hope to find a Magical Creature adapted to the area with innate Ice Magic, but the odds were so low they might as well have been zero.

“What to do, what to do?” Harry hummed as he rocked back and forth on the back legs of his chair. Maybe if he tried the ‘Consume’ Array? It took in things that made it stronger when the Dwarves used it on the Sword of Erdunn. With a little tweaking maybe he could ‘feed’ the Artifact enough Ice-based spells until it had an innate mana of purely Ice Magic?

“How about taking a break, mon amor?” Fleur’s teasing lilt made a grin break out on Harry’s face.

“Fleur, I didn’t realize the time.” Harry chuckled as he looked at the clock on the wall.

“You do tend to get lost in your work, Harry.” Fleur grinned as she walked into the smithy. “Still not having any luck with the rough drafts?”

“Not yet, though finding a creature with Water Magic isn’t too hard, finding one with Ice Magic is very much a different story.” Harry shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“Well, perhaps a break will help clear your mind?” Fleur pushed his chair back onto all four legs with a smirk. “Penny will be here soon, so we can all talk and brainstorm.”

“Honestly, all I know right now is that I want to try using the Adamantite that I transmuted for the base material.” Harry explained as he put away his notes and closed his books. “A strong foundation like Adamantite will let me make a powerful Artifact. Give that half-dead bastard something to think about.” He disparaged Voldemort and the Dark Lord’s success in clawing his way back to corporealness.

“Put him from your mind for now, love.” Fleur shook her head and hugged Harry. “He does not deserve to occupy your thoughts at all hours of the day.”

“You girls are too good to me.” Harry returned the warm hug with a smile.

“That we are,” Fleur agreed with a giggle. “You’re such a lucky young man, Harry.”

“So humble and modest.” Harry rolled his eyes jokingly.

“Quite.” Fleur stuck her tongue out at him. She moaned when Harry captured it and French kissed her right then and there. “We should get inside before we get side-tracked, Harry~” She suggested and tempted in the same breath.

“Maybe Penny will want to join in?” Harry groped her ass with a smirk on his lips.

“Mmm…somehow, I doubt that,” Fleur hummed happily. “At least right now.”

“Curses, foiled again.” Harry pulled back after pecking her lips again.

“We have all the time in the world,” Fleur’s melodious laughter filled the air. “I’m sure we’ll find plenty of time to make good use of it~” She purred into his ear before leaving his arms and sauntering out of the smithy with a sway in her hips that did amazing things to her bottom.

“Tease.” Harry snorted as he followed after her, making sure to stay behind so he could enjoy the little show.

The idea of using the ‘Consume’ Array stuck with the Artificer though. It should work with the proper tweaking of the runic sequences that made up the Array, theoretically at least. Harry made a mental note to ask King Drasurd for his opinion. He wouldn’t ask them directly about their Dwarven Smithing secrets, that seemed like something that could very well strain their relationship. But asking for tips on successfully using the ‘Consume’ Array should be fine. As an Artificer, the challenge of taking what he learned and successfully applying it was all part of the Art.

-End Chapter-

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Fudge is on thin ice! There are consequences to the actions of Voldemort and not just for the Dark Lord either!

Harry is focusing on his two new Artifact ideas now that Voldemort has actively made an attempt on his life. That’s probably a good call. Now, if a Magical Ice Creature could kindly fall into his lap and initiate a Rite of Conquest, that’d be super helpful!

Magical Mirror Communications might have to take a bit of a backburner position until a certain someone is dealt with permanently. Harry’s still going to make it work though! He’s not gonna let this fortune-making idea go!

Voldemort moves base and seems to already have ideas to use the Malfoy Manor for something. That’s probably bad.

Umbridge is ranting and raving in the Ministry while Fudge tries to hide in his office. Amelia and Moody might actually prefer this, you know?

Next is getting the O.W.L.s out of the way and then time to travel across the world to the Land of the Rising Sun! Woohoo!

What will happen abroad?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,012

Tonks – 20,468

Penelope – 15,146

Fleur – 16,084

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 51: Japan Trip

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time for the trip abroad! Going to Japan to meet Tōshū for the first time! Take in some sights, eat some food, and see how the Far East differs in their various Magics!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 51 – Japan Trip

“Is everyone ready?” Sirius questioned the group as they waited for the International Portkey to activate.

“We’ve got everything we need.” Marlie nodded as she patted her Storage Cloak, a gift from Harry.

“Ready and waiting.” Harry’s excited grin brought a smile to Sirius’ face. He’d taken his early O.W.L.s already and just had to wait for the results now. What better way to wait than a trip abroad?

“This is going to be so interesting.” Penny beamed happily next to Harry.

“Let’s go, before Madam Bones or Mad-Eye get any idea to call me in and cancel my vacation!” Tonks really wanted to get out of Magical Britain before the madhouse that the DMLE had become could steal her vacation from her.

“I have never been to the Far East before, I’m looking forward to seeing everything.” Fleur was almost as excited as Harry, her blue eyes sparkling with wonder at what they’d get to see.

“Should be about time,” Sirius looked at his watch before holding out the length of rope to the group. Marlie, Harry, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur all firmly grasp the rope as Sirius began a countdown. “Five, four, three, two, one!” A second after and they all felt the telltale ‘hook behind the navel’ feeling as they were whisked through a swirl of colors for a long moment.

-Tokyo ~ Ministry of Magic-

The group of six landed from the International Portkey on their feet. Harry almost staggered from the sudden stop, but managed to keep his feet. Looking around, he noticed that they were on a large platform. On both the left and right were more platforms that were receiving travelers. Harry looked forward and a large sign caught his attention. The sign read ‘日本の魔法省’ and Harry activated the effect he’d enchanted into the left lens of his glasses. The Japanese was super-imposed by the Latin alphabet for a second becoming ‘Nihon no mahō-shō’ before then converting to English a second later as ‘Ministry of Magic of Japan’. Beneath the large characters was the word ‘welcome’ written in several languages.

The group moved off the platform when a uniformed man waved them over. They were directed to a desk not too far away with another Wizard sitting behind it. Sirius pulled out their travel information as they walked over. With a friendly smile and a nod of his head, he placed the documents on the desk.

“Welcome,” The Japanese Wizard greeted them in English after glancing at the first page of their documents. “You’ve come to Japan on vacation, correct?” He questioned as he looked over the parchment.

“Yes sir,” Sirius nodded in agreement. “My fiancé Marlie, my godson Harry, my cousin Nymphadora, and our family friends Penelope and Fleur.”

After looking over all of the documents, the Wizard nodded and stamped the first page. A tap of his wand and the stamp glowed, turning a golden color. “We hope you enjoy your time in Japan.” He gave them a short bow from his seated position before turning to face another Wizard next to a gate. {Let them through, Tanaka-san!} he spoke in Japanese, but thanks to an Enchanted Item in Harry’s ear he could understand the words.

The item in question was called a Linguistic Aide, and from what Harry knew of them were rather expensive. Sirius wouldn’t even tell him how much he’d spent on the six he’d bought for the group. The item could be set to convert one spoken language into another which would be heard with barely any delay. To change the language required a specialist that knew the language the wearer wanted translated. Harry did wonder if he couldn’t make a better version in the future when he had more free time.

The six of them passed through the gate after it was opened for them. The metal gate was closed behind them immediately afterwards. The group walked up a short flight of stairs and was greeted by a politely smiling Wizard and Witch in business-like robes. Sirius smiled at the pair and gave a short bow, which was returned.

“Welcome to Tokyo, Mr. Black and Artificer Potter.” The Wizard greeted them in English after giving a professional bow. “We were very happy to hear that you’d planned to visit our country. I’m Okada Hiroto, please call me Okada.”

“I’m Matsumoto Riko, it is a pleasure to meet you, please call me Matsumoto.” The Witch introduced herself with a professional bow as well.

“Pleased to meet you both,” Sirius nodded with a grin. “None of us have ever been to Japan before and Harry has a contact here that he’s been wanting to meet.”

“Yes, Suzuki-san from the Yōkai Buki Seisaku, we’ve been in contact with him as well.” Matsumoto had a small smile on her lips. “It’s not everyday that the youngest Artificer in history visits and the Ministry wants to extend every hospitality.”

“Thank you very much.” Harry gave a polite bow to the pair. It was best to follow the customs of any foreign country you visited after all. When in Rome and all that.

“You may have a bit of time-lag since you’ve jumped ahead about nine hours through the time zones.” Okada informed the group as he and Matsumoto led them through the Ministry building. Harry happily took in the sights and Tonks whispered to them how similar and yet different it was to the British Ministry of Magic. “We’d like to show you to your accommodations so that you may get settled, if that’s alright with you?”

“Perfectly fine.” Sirius agreed and the group were led out of the building and into the sunlight. “It’s around five in the afternoon here, yes?”

“Correct, Mr. Black.” Matsumoto gave a smile. “The hotel we’ve set you up in has been in business for just over three-hundred years. It’s one of the finest Magical Hotels in Tokyo.”

“Impressive.” Marlie commented with a warm smile. Sirius grinned at her, always happy to see her happy.

“I recommend trying out their hot spring, very relaxing after a day of seeing the sights.” Okada suggested with a small chuckle.

The exit from the Ministry hadn’t dumped them into the heart of Non-Magical Tokyo like the British Ministry did in London. But into what was clearly a type of Magical Alley like Diagon back home. The district was clearly built in an older style as compared to modern Tokyo. Harry was no expert on the history of the country, but he’d guess that it was probably similar to Diagon and might be about two-hundred years older than most of the Non-Magical buildings in Tokyo. Harry’s head was turning in every direction to try and take it all in. He saw a few creatures he wasn’t familiar with in the window of what seemed to be a Menagerie-style shop. There were shops similar to Scrivenshaft’s that sold parchment, ink, scrolls, and other stationary. He was broken from his excited looking about by Tonks.

“That cat is walking on two feet.” Tonks pointed out a gray cat on the overhang of one shop. It was gray-furred and looked just like a common housecat, if not for the bipedal walking and the rather lengthy tail behind it.

“Huh, it is.” Harry blinked at the sight.

“A Magical Creature?” Penny looked at the gray cat curiously.

“It’s a cute cat.” Fleur smiled at seeing it, even with its casual upright walking.

“Ah, Bakeneko.” Okada eyed the gray cat for a moment.

“A what?” Sirius questioned as he also watched the cat walk to the edge of the overhang and then leap down and out of sight.

“A Bakeneko, or Monster Cat in English, a type of Yōkai.” Matsumoto explained. “They start off as normal cats and gain Magic after living for a long time. They can be friendly if they lived a life being well-taken care of, but they can also be malevolent if they feel they’ve been wronged.”

“Malevolent? How?” Marlie asked curiously.

“They can summon ghostly fireballs and are known to accidentally start house fires, their tails acting like torches igniting any flammable materials in the house. Bakeneko also have the disturbing ability to reanimate fresh corpses and use them like puppets for their own nefarious purposes.” Matsumoto spoke with a cautious tone.

“Most aren’t malicious like that, but we do have to keep an eye on them.” Okada nodded as the group resumed walking. “The older they get the more powerful their Magic and ability to transform. They can even learn to speak if given enough time.”

“The British Ministry would classify them as Dark Creatures immediately just on the potential threat they pose, not to mention the Necromancy.” Tonks shook her head that such a creature was merely on watch. It was so different from how she had seen things operate at the Ministry.

“They’re mostly beneficial, so we just watch over them.” Matsumoto assured the Metamorph. “They like fish, birds, and rats and help keep the pests under control. As long as they’re treated well, they rarely ever cause problems. I’ve only ever seen one that was old enough to speak, when I was small.”

“Talking to a cat…I wonder if I could do that one day?” Penny looked interested in meeting such a long-lived being.

“Yes, it could be interesting to learn how they harness their Magic.” Fleur agreed with her fellow scholar. “About how old do you think they are by the time they learn to speak?”

“Hey now, we’re here on vacation, don’t start working on your scholarly things.” Sirius chuckled as they walked along the shopping district.

“It’s not work, merely interest.” Penny stated with a wave. Fleur nodded along with her and Sirius chortled at the inquisitiveness of the young ladies.

The rest of the walk to the hotel was filled with taking in the sights of the area and asking some questions of their two guides. The hotel had a high wall around it and a gate of thick wood. They walked through the open gate to a large garden courtyard and the three-story building was quite splendid. Made mostly of wood and with a tiled roof, it was a picturesque looking building.

The accommodations were explained as they entered the building proper. They walked into a relatively large entrance hall, with couches and chairs where guests could sit and talk with each other. It was clear that the interior was constructed using traditional Japanese methods. The flooring was tatami, and all the doors appeared to be sliding doors. Matsumoto explained that one of the features of traditional hotels were the common bathing areas called ofuro. They were usually segregated by gender, and used the water from a hot spring if any were available nearby. After getting checked in, the two Ministry workers had bid them a wonderful visit before departing.

The rest of the evening was spent getting settled and trying out the yukata that the hotel provided. Harry didn’t mind the garment. It was comfortable and not that much different than a robe. Fleur, Tonks, and Penny also looked very nice in them, which was an added bonus. Dinner was served by the staff and Harry enjoyed trying out the new cuisine. He’d never had tempura before, sashimi had taken a second for him to eat too. He wasn’t used to raw meat of any kind, but it had been tasty in the end. The hotpot was tasty and filling, probably one of his favorites so far. Dessert was anmitsu, which was sweet but unlike any dessert that Harry had ever eaten before.

“Bath time!” Tonks grinned as she and the rest of the girls headed for the hot spring. They were all looking forward to trying it out since it had been recommended.

“Shall we, Harry?” Sirius chuckled as they took their towels and walked down to the springs themselves.

The steam filled the area and rose into the open air as the duo stepped out of the building. A few other men were already relaxing in the fairly large pool. Sirius walked forward with no shame, towel in hand, as he happily went with the customs of the land. Harry had debated on wearing his towel, but had shrugged it off after seeing Sirius nonchalantly going bare.

“Ah~” Harry couldn’t help but sigh as he submerged his body in the hot water.

“Mhmm~” Sirius hummed as he relaxed against the edge not too far from his godson. “That’s nice.”

“I bet you were hoping for a bit of that co-ed bathing, huh?” Harry joked with Sirius.

“Nah, me and Marlie can do that at home.” Sirius shot a look at Harry.

“I don’t need to know what you two get up to.” Harry waved off with a roll of his eyes. Not having his glasses on meant his field of vision was greatly reduced. The other men in the spring were merely fuzzy shapes to him.

“We both know you’re the one that wants to bathe with your girlfriends.” Sirius teased with a chuckle.

“Me and Fleur have done it before.” Harry informed with a smug little grin.

“James would be so proud of you, Harry.” Sirius grinned fondly. “Of course, Lily would probably be less thrilled, might have given both of you an earful about being responsible.”

“I’m planning to marry all three of them in the future, that’s responsible.” Harry leaned back a little more and relaxed.

“That’s when you’d make Lily proud too.” Sirius smiled in remembrance of his friends. “You’re a good kid, Harry.”

“I try.” Harry replied as he looked up into the sky. The lights from the metropolis outside of this hidden area blocked out a lot of the stars, but it was still a nice evening.

-The Next Day ~ Yōkai Buki Seisaku-

“Well, I’d say they’ve got the mysterious and remote parts down for their location.” Tonks chuckled as they stood before the gate that would lead them into the hidden area that the Guild of Craftsmen worked in.

The Auror wasn’t wrong in her description though. Mt. Moriyoshi had a bit of a Non-Magical population, but it was still a little out of the way. The part they were about to enter didn’t exist on the maps of the local area though. It had been hidden long ago, before even the Statute of Secrecy had been enacted. The mountain was covered in trees and would probably make a nice place to ski in the winter when it was undoubtably covered in snow.

The gate made a slight groan as it was opened. The man behind the gate took one look at the group and his eyes stopped on Harry. He stood roughly 170cm, if Harry had to estimate, with dark black hair that looked to be starting to recede in his age. His eyes were black, or perhaps a dark-brown. His skin looked slightly wrinkled, showing that while he appeared to be in his late forties, he was probably much older. He wore a kimono-like top and long shorts in dark-blue color. After looking at Harry for a bit, the man smiled slightly.

“It’s good to meet you, Artificer Potter.” The man gave a polite bow which the group returned. “I’m Suzuki Tōshū.” He introduced himself and Harry smiled at finally meeting the man that had introduced him to Creature Craft.

“It’s good to meet you as well, Suzuki-san.” Harry was pretty sure that was the polite way to address someone. He’d done some research before the trip after all.

“Well, you’re polite, aren’t you?” Tōshū chuckled as he invited the group inside the gate and quickly closed it behind them. “I hope you’ve brought some of your creations to show. I’m curious to see how you’ve made use of what I sent you back then.” He grinned as they followed him up a flight of stone stairs.

“I have a few things.” Harry nodded with a smile of his own. They were led into a large room and offered to sit. Tea and snacks were brought in by some younger teens close to Harry’s age. The Artificer wondered if they were apprentices here.

“I’ll give you a small tour of the place in a bit.” Tōshū motioned to the door on the other side of the room. “But for now, let’s see what you’ve made with the basics of the Art and your own effort.”

“This is my latest attempt.” Harry reached into his Storage Cloak and pulled out his newest prototype spear. He handed it over to the other craftsmen gently and the older man was quick to inspect it.

“Ash wood…no work done on the shaft?” Tōshū noted as he looked over the spear.

“It’s still in the prototype stage, I felt it was better to have some experience with the material before trying to make an Artifact.” Harry mentioned of the spear’s construction.

“What material is the base?” Tōshū asked as his eyes moved over the spearhead.

“One of the horns from the Hungarian Horntail that I conquered.” Harry replied as he got to talk shop with another craftsman for the first time in a while. He was ignoring the murmurings of Tonks and Sirius about how they’d have to drag him away later. At least Penny, Fleur, and Marlie were watching with some interest.

“I see…” Tōshū nodded as he continued looking at the steel. “Magical Iron, forged with the horn of a dragon, makes a magical carbon steel. Not bad for a prototype, but I’m curious as to what ability you were hoping to impart.”

“Everything that I’ve made so far with the conquered dragon materials has had the ability to cast fire.” Harry informed the older man. “I thought this one would be the same, but…” He shook his head slightly. “It can generate an impressive amount of heat, enough that I worry for the steel’s integrity, but it does not produce flame.”

“Hmm…” Tōshū nodded as he gently ran his fingertips over the steel. “A matter of the location, I’m sure.”

“I considered that.” Harry admitted, it had been his best theory as to why the spearheads made from the horns didn’t produce flame. They weren’t a part of the dragon’s jaw where fire emerged and therefore had little connection to the dragon’s ability to produce flame.

“May I?” Tōshū held the spear and motioned upwards with it.

“Please,” Harry nodded and watched as the older man stood up.

“Hmm…” Tōshū narrowed his eyes slightly as he tried using the spear. He felt the resistance in the flow of his magic as it traveled to the spearhead. When it did connect, the magical steel readily accepted the magic and the ability began to express itself. The metal began to heat up, it quickly reached a high enough temperature to produce a heat haze. Not long after that it was turning a bright red color. Tōshū stopped running his magic into the spear a moment later and looked it over again as the spearhead cooled. “The shaft is hindering the flow of magic into the spearhead. It needs more than just wood to pass through, perhaps a proper treatment to make it a better conductor of magic?”

“So that was it.” Harry pulled a notebook and pen from his Storage Cloak and quickly made a note for later. Fleur caught his eye and the Veela grinned at her hypothesis being correct. They’d both been going over the spear’s resistance to their mana together.

“It’s still a good ability that you’ve managed to impart, but I would worry about the steel’s longevity.” Tōshū agreed with Harry’s thoughts on the spear’s heat output. “As a prototype, I’d say it would be worth continuing research on.”

“I’ll continue to do so.” Harry grinned as he took the spear back and stored it away. He pulled out a few of the dragon fang knives, one of each type of metal he’d made so far, and set them between himself and Tōshū. “I have a few more things that I’ve made.”

“We’re definitely going to have to drag him out of here.” Sirius stage whispered to Tonks.

“Probably,” Tonks stage whispered back with her arms crossed and a fake put-upon sigh.

“You two be nice.” Marlie nudged Sirius with a grin.

“It is interesting to see another craftsman like Harry though.” Penny had been watching Tōshū and her boyfriend talk while occasionally sipping tea. She enjoyed seeing Harry so animated like this.

“I’m also curious about the rest of the facility too.” Fleur’s gaze landed on the door that Tōshū had pointed out earlier. “A Guild that’s been around for almost a thousand years must be filled with interesting things and knowledge.”

“This is the best Artifact that I’ve made from Creature Craft so far.” Harry and Tōshū had finished with the knives and from within the jet-black Storage Cloak, Harry pulled out his Basilisk Scale Mail.

“{Really…?}” Tōshū remarked in Japanese as he looked at the original Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair. The Japanese Wizard Craftsman looked to Harry for permission to touch the Artifact. When Harry motioned to the armor, Tōshū gently began to look it over. He’d felt the innate magic within the armor, could sense the latent intent imparted from its creation. It was truly remarkable that one as young as Harry could make something like this with only the basic instructions that he’d sent the boy.

“I made as much use of the symbolism aspect of Creature Craft as I could.” Harry explained a little of his creation process. “I combined the conquered Basilisk scales with the Basilisk bones I used to make the carbon steel. The inside is also lined with the serpent’s skin as well.”

“Reuniting the separate parts through forging will impart a much stronger effect, that’s true, but to imbue so much Magic into the armor as well.” Tōshū looked like he couldn’t believe how strong the armor felt as he gently turned it around to look over the back.

“I was hoping to ask your opinion on mixing Creature Craft and Rune-based Artifice as well.” Harry looked inquisitively at the older Craftsman. His notebook was on his lap and the pen was back in his hand once more.

“Yes, yes,” Tōshū shook his head once to refocus from the Basilisk Scale Mail. “It’s certainly possible.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if considering his words, before he continued. “It’s usually a step taken when you want to specify a singular function for the creation. As I’m sure you’re aware, an item that has only a singular function or ability will express that ability much more strongly that any regular spell.”

“Yes, I’ve made a few of my Enchanted Items and even this armor with that thought in mind.” Harry placed his hand on Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair.

“In Creature Craft, Runes are used to focus the innate abilities provided by the base materials onto a chosen, singular effect.” Tōshū continued as Harry noted down what he was being told. “However, mixing Runes with Creature Craft can have unexpected side effects depending on the creature in question.”

“Side effects?” Harry paused in his note taking to look up at the man.

“Creatures that are especially powerful or have intelligence can leave behind lingering traces of their own intent.” Tōshū looked Harry dead in the eye. “When Runes are applied to an item made from such a creature, they can increase the likelihood of such remnants remaining as they are a means of focusing Magic. This can make the finished item unwieldy as the lingering intent of the creature may not submit to the one that holds it.”

“I’d never even considered that.” Harry blinked at the older man before quickly writing down the warning.

“Japan has many stories of cursed objects in its history.” Tōshū sighed as his gaze seemed to look at something far away. “Many objects can have a curse laid on them by a user of Magic. But the things that can happen from an item or weapon forged with lingering intent are most horrible. If the item in question merely refuses to be used, then that’s often the best-case scenario.”

“What’s the worst case?” Harry questioned after a moment of silence.

“The lingering intent may lash out at whoever holds the item.” Tōshū sighed heavily. “It may even come to a form of pseudo-possession of the one holding the item. It’s not too dissimilar from being a puppet in your own body. You could be forced to do horrible things if the lingering intent is malicious in nature.”

“You almost sound like you’re speaking from experience.” Harry noted and Tōshū gave the young man a sad smile.

“I was young once too…” Tōshū spoke softly. “I thought I knew better. I was advanced beyond my years. I’d already made many quality pieces by the time I was in my twenties.” The man chuckled at his foolish younger self. “But all I ended up doing was making a {Wicked Sword}…” His Japanese was translated and Harry wondered what a ‘Wicked Sword’ was. “Nearly lost myself to it, almost killed three of my fellow Guild Members. In the end it had to be destroyed and I nearly quit.” The older man gave a sharp look to Harry. “My own history is part of the reason that I wrote to you when news of you becoming the youngest Artificer in history reached me. I wanted to see your talent grow, but also to make sure you had someone to ask questions to if you felt you needed it. That way you had less chances of getting ahead of yourself like I did in my youth.”

“I…thank you, Suzuki-san.” Harry gave the best bow he could from his seated position. He hadn’t realized at all that the older craftsman that he’d shared a few letters with had been trying to look out for another up-and-coming prodigy. To prevent Harry from making a similar mistake that the older man had made in his own youth.

“Don’t worry about it, Artificer Potter.” Tōshū waved off his thanks. “You’ve done quite well for yourself and you’re clearly smart enough to ask questions instead of thinking you know it all. If I had been humbler back then, I’m sure I wouldn’t have made the mistake I did.”

“Alright then,” Harry smiled at the other Craftsman. “How about that tour?” He changed the subject and stowed away the Basilisk Scale Mail and his notebook into his Storage Cloak.

“Of course, of course,” Tōshū smiled at the teen. “I’m sure some of you are curious about how we work here.” He opened the sliding door and the noise of the Guild could suddenly be heard. “I’ll show you what I can.”

Both Harry and Fleur had excited looks as they followed along behind Tōshū. “We might need to drag both of them out.” Sirius chuckled behind his hand.

“You get Harry,” Tonks motioned to her boyfriend with a grin. “Penny and I will get Fleur.”

“Don’t drag me into this.” Penny lightly swatted Tonks’ arm. “It is interesting to see this after all.”

“It’s not like we don’t have more vacation left.” Marlie reminded as the group followed Tōshū downstairs. “We have a full week here and there’s plenty of time to see the sights after today.”

“Right you are, love.” Sirius took her hand in his with a bright grin.

By the end of the tour, which looked very similar to Harry’s own smithy in some places, even Tonks had to admit to being impressed.

-End Chapter-

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In Japan and we’re seeing a few things already!

We learn why Tōshū first sent a letter to Harry too! To prevent another prodigy from making the same mistake he did when he was younger.

What else can Harry and Family see on their vacation abroad?

Japan does have some of its own forms of Magic! Quite the interesting thing to see while they’re there for our Magical Scholars and ever-curious Artificer!

But while they travel abroad for a while, what might be going on back home? What might be going on all around the world?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,324

Tonks – 20,982

Penelope – 15,636

Fleur – 16,468

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 52: Sights, History, Specialty Magic

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! We continue our vacation in Japan. Let’s see some sights and maybe visit a few places. It could be very interesting to see the Far East’s take on Magic that they developed even before the advent of wands and the like.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 52 – Sights, History, Specialty Magic

Harry couldn’t be happier with their trip to Japan, so far. They had visited Tōshū and seen the Yōkai Buki Seisaku facilities, at least the ones that were allowed to be seen. And today had been spent visiting many of the historic landmarks and parks. It was good to unwind and relax every once in a while.

Sirius certainly seemed to be in bright spirits seeing his godson so happy.

Likewise, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur were overjoyed to see Harry relaxing and enjoying himself, rather than worrying and constantly working.

The group had been seeing some of the temples and shrines around the Tokyo area in the morning. They’d then popped over to Kyoto to see some of the others that had been recommended. The whole day they’d all been sampling the local cuisine as well. Marlie had giggled happily as she and Sirius shared a skewer of dango together. They still had some of the castles to see during their vacation as well. Plus, as a show of hospitality, the Japanese Ministry of Magic had arranged for a brief showing of some of their local Magics for the group. That had most certainly gotten everyone’s attention. Several regions and countries of the world had specialty Magics that they didn’t teach to outsiders. Being able to see them in action was a rare treat.

“So, this is Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, and it’s one of the most important shrines in Japan.” Penny read off the local brochure. As a popular tourist destination, they had brochures in multiple languages, including English. “Dedicated to Inari Okami the Kami of Rice and…oh wow, that’s a lot…also the Kami of Fertility, Sake, Tea, Prosperity, Worldly Success, Agriculture, and Industry. The earliest structures were built back in 711 AD.”

“That’s a couple hundred years older than Hogwarts even.” Sirius let out a low whistle at the age of the oldest parts of the shrine.

“It also has thousands of torii gates lining the pathways.” Penny read from the brochure.

As they reached the entrance, they all looked up at the large red torii gate. Harry thought the design was striking and memorable to say the least. There were statues of foxes around the shrine to look at and Harry noted the various versions and how each one was slightly different from the others. Taking in the shrine was done with only quiet words shared between them all. They left small offerings of Yen at the shrine’s main hall, as was considered respectful and proper. It was a very peaceful place and there seemed to be something in the air that they could notice but not name.

“I was thinking they might be exaggerating about thousands of gates…” Tonks mentioned as she pointed at the pathway ahead. It really was lined with innumerable torii gates. “But now I’m pretty sure they’re right.”

The group began to walk the pathway and all of them felt a slight shift in the air. It was almost as if silence was being heavily requested. A respectful silence was maintained for the walk, but it wasn’t oppressive at all, more of a peaceful stroll. They passed other visitors and groups on their walk and after about thirty minutes, the six of them reached an area called Yotsutsuji intersection about halfway up the small mountain. It had a wonderful view of Kyoto and the six of them sat on the benches provided to rest for a short time.

“Hmm?” Harry blinked as he felt like someone was looking at him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and noticed a fox.

“Harry?” Penny wondered what had gotten her boyfriend’s attention as they sat together, their fingers intertwined and enjoying the view.

“A fox.” Harry pointed out, getting Fleur, Tonks, Marlie, and Sirius’ attention in the process.

“It is a fox.” Fleur cooed at the animal that sat a healthy distance from them.

“It’s just watching us.” Sirius noticed that the fox hadn’t moved from its spot, merely twitching it ears or occasionally moving it fluffy tail.

“It’s cute.” Marlie smiled at the red fox as she sat next to Sirius.

“I didn’t think foxes would approach people, even from this distance.” Tonks looked a mix of confused and slightly suspicious. “Aren’t foxes mostly nocturnal?”

“Usually, I think.” Harry was still looking at the fox. It was strange, why did he feel something off about the animal?

The fox had apparently observed them to its content as it stood up and turned away from them. The red fox simply padded back into the trees off the trail area. It was only right before they lost sight of the animal that they were given a surprise. The fluffy tail of the fox swayed from side-to-side once and suddenly there were two fluffy tails. The fox disappeared into the forest completely before anyone could react.

“Was that…” Penny blinked at what they’d just seen. A smile was beginning to form on the scholar’s lips though.

“I think it was.” Fleur was also smiling at what they’d just seen.

“Kitsune…” Harry grinned at the unexpected ‘meeting’ of a classic yōkai. He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t wanted to try and see a few yōkai while on their vacation.

“Well, mark that one off your list, Harry.” Tonks teased gently as she grinned at him.

“It was still cute.” Marlie commented on the kitsune.

“I wonder why it was watching us?” Sirius hummed thoughtfully.

“Maybe it was just curious?” Penny offered her first thought.

“Perhaps because we’re on the grounds of a shrine dedicated to a Deity of Foxes?” Fleur hypothesized their ‘meeting’ with the kitsune.

“I’m not sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing.” Harry mused as the idea of Deities being involved would be a whole new level of unknown, even with Magic.

“As long as we’re respectful then we shouldn’t have any problems, right?” Tonks didn’t know much about yōkai, but it made sense that if they caused no harm, then no harm would be caused to them.

After a few more minutes of enjoying the view, the group headed back down the torii-lined pathway. As they were leaving the shrine grounds, Harry got the sense they were being watched again, but just smiled slightly as they left. They did still have plenty of other places to visit. There next spot was bound to be fun.

-Nara Park ~ Nara-

“They do bow!” Fleur and Tonks both laughed as they bowed to the Sika deer and got a ‘bow’ back from the deer in front of them. Both of the deer received a ‘deer cracker’ from the girls and Harry chuckled as he watched the animals eat.

“They’re friendly, aren’t they?” Penny was petting one of the deer after giving it a cracker.

“Spoiled more like.” Harry chuckled at seeing a lot of the other visitors bowing to the deer, getting a ‘bow’ back, and then giving them the crackers.

“Hello to you too, Mr. Deer.” Marlie giggled as she bowed to a deer that walked up to her. The deer bobbed its head in the approximation of a bow in return. Marlie happily gave it a cracker with a beaming smile.

“I have all of the deer!” Sirius declared with a laugh. The Marauder was surrounded by the animals with his hands full of stacks of the crackers.

“Sirius, stop hogging the deer.” Harry chuckled at his godfather’s antics.

“But they love me!” Sirius chortled as he started to hand out crackers from his stack to the group of deer.

“You’ve got a visitor, Harry.” Fleur pointed out and Harry looked to see a Sika deer standing next to him.

“Mr. Deer,” Harry gave a short bow. When the deer bowed back, Harry grinned as he gave it a cracker. The deer was fine with Harry petting it as it ate. It was clearly hoping to get the last cracker in Harry’s hand.

-Maboroshijima-

“I guess I should’ve expected that the Japanese Ministry had an island or two hidden away.” Harry hummed as they were led to a large flat area.

“Phantom Island is a fun name though.” Sirius grinned back at him.

“Well, it did disappear as far as the Non-Magical people back in the day would’ve guessed.” Harry shrugged as they were given comfortable seats to watch the demonstration of specialty Magic.

“I can’t wait,” Penny was almost bouncing in her seat.

“Being able to see this rare form of Magic is wonderful!” Fleur wholeheartedly agreed with her fellow scholar.

“As long as it’s cool.” Tonks shrugged, she was trying to play it cool, but everyone saw through her.

“We do hope you enjoy the demonstration.” Matsumoto, the one that had guided them to the magically hidden island, bowed to the family politely.

A few Wizards walked onto the large field and gave a short bow to their guests. Two of them took large scrolls off their backs and headed to either end of the field. Once in position, the two unrolled the large scrolls and then placed their hands on the paper. In twin clouds of smoke, that vanished far faster than it would normally, dozens of practice dummies appeared. The scroll Wizards then moved their hands in an intricate pattern. The practice dummies seemingly sprang to life and began to advance on the small group of Wizards in the center of the field.

“Storage within paper?” Harry leaned forward in interest. That was a very interesting use of space manipulating Magic. The Artificer wondered how they made it work. It must be a very different variation from an Expanded Trunk or even his own Storage Cloak.

“What are they doing with their hands?” Tonks questioned as the Japanese Wizards formed their hands into specific patterns.

“Wandless Magic,” Penny realized that the Wizards weren’t using Foci of any kind. “They’ve found a way to utilize Wandless Magic too.”

She was proven correct when one of the Wizards exhaled a large fireball towards an approaching dummy and torched it. The Magic animating the dummy failed as it was severely damaged and it hit the ground while still burning. Three of the dummies coming from the opposite direction raised their arms and then launched them in sections at the group of Wizards.

“Are the formations of their hands and fingers the key to the spells?” Fleur looked like she wanted to take some notes on what she was seeing.

The ground trembled slightly as one of the Wizards finished his hand movements. A section of the ground between the group and the incoming projectiles rose up as a wall. The wooden parts clattered off the earth wall before returning to the dummies as they continued to march forward.

“I’d say so,” Harry replied to Fleur’s previous question. “It’s not that different from learning wand movements, right?”

“True enough.” Fleur agreed as they watched on.

A Wizard finished his hand movements just as the group of dummies coming from his side launched their arms in sections towards them. He inhaled deeply before exhaling out a truly massive amount of water. There was a small tidal wave as the hit the ground and spread out. The wooden projectiles were swept away by the fast-moving water and the dummies followed right after. This was quickly followed up by the Wizard next to him. The other man sticking his hands out as electricity sparked off of them and then was fired into the water. The dummies were shocked, but being made of wood, they weren’t really conductive. The spell did seem to break whatever animation charm was moving them though.

“Combo spells!” Tonks was clearly excited as she watched the demonstration with a wide smile. Her hair was cycling through multiple bright colors as she enjoyed the show.

The wooden dummies that had reached the previously made earth wall found their advancement halted quickly. The fifth Wizard spread his arms wide after a series of hand movements. A powerful wind sprang up and twisted into a miniature tornado. The dummies were lifted into the air and when the spell ended, they dropped like stones, a few of them broke on impact with the ground. The Wizard that had raised the wall in the first place finished off the ones that hadn’t been destroyed. He slapped his palm on the dirt and the ground rose up on either side of the last few dummies. The wooden constructs were smashed between the two moving pieces of earth. The ground then fell back into place like it had never moved.

“Damn, that would be a bad way to go.” Sirius grimaced slightly at the crushed dummies.

The two scroll-wielding Wizards tapped the large scrolls and white smoke poured forth from the paper. The smoke covered the scraps of the wooden dummies and then rapidly shot back into the paper. The ground was completely clear of all traces of the dummies when the smoke vanished. Another tap and the large scrolls rolled themselves back up. The two Wizards picked them up and walked to join the others as the earth wall was sent back into the ground by the Wizard that made it. When all seven were standing side-by-side, they gave a polite bow to the group watching.

“That was cool!” Tonks applauded first. She always liked the practical spells like this. Give her something she could use as an Auror and she was a happy Witch!

“I would’ve never thought of using specific gestures to form spells like this.” Penny was smiling brightly as she applauded.

“I’m still not sure how it works, but I’d love to find out.” Fleur was very interested in this specialty Magic they’d just seen. It was no wonder the Japanese Ministry kept this to themselves!

“I’m still trying to puzzle out those scrolls.” Harry’s eyes nearly gleamed as he looked at them. “Being able to store things inside of paper…think of how much space you could save.”

“Think we could hire a few of them if Voldemort keeps being a pain?” Sirius joked, or at least half-joked, as he looked over the seven Wizards. “He’d never see it coming.”

“Sirius, we said we wouldn’t talk about ‘at home’ things on our vacation.” Marlie reminded him as she clapped for the demonstrators.

“Right you are, no sense in letting anything spoil our fun.” Sirius smiled at his fiancé.

-Ministry of Magic ~ Dolores Umbridge’s Office-

“Make a fool out of me, humiliate me, I’ll show you…filthy half-blood.” Umbridge snarled under her breath as she wrote out a requisition on the parchment in front of her. She’d not be made the laughingstock of the Ministry. Not by that brat or his family. She’d get the last laugh when he was dealt with. With any luck his family, especially that creature of his, would be dealt with too. She finished writing and signed her name on the first line. “Now I just need Cornelius’ signature and this will be official.”

The only problem was getting him to sign it. If she wanted to ensure her plan worked, then she needed to have this signed by the Minister. But for all of Cornelius’ less than stellar politicking, he did at least read the parchments that came across his desk. Perhaps she could sneak in into something else?

“No, no, he’d still read it.” Umbridge groused as she had to put more effort into her plan. “Maybe…” The ugly, toad-like woman thought to herself for a moment. “Yes, that might work,” She nodded after a moment. “I’ll just charm it to appear as something else and add it to a larger stack of parchment for a different matter.” She tittered at her own brilliance as she began looking through the paperwork that would be crossing Cornelius’ desk soon. She’d have to make a convincing little change to her requisition to fit in with whatever she added it to.

In the back of her mind, she even considered trying to get her hands on the total control of the most horrible things the Ministry had within their ‘employ’, but figured it would take a substantial disaster to be able to do so. It wasn’t worth trying for just yet. After all, not many Wizards and Witches could deal with what she’d be sending after the boy. Best not to get too greedy, at least not until she could assure her place on top first.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Wiltshire-

“I require everything on this list.” Voldemort declared as he held out a list of specific materials to Lucius. “See that all of them are acquired, the price will be no issue, am I clear?”

“Yes, my Lord.” Lucius bowed his head to the Dark Lord instantly.

“See that you don’t fail me again, Lucius, or else.” Voldemort left the threat hanging as he turned away from the Head of the Malfoy Family.

“Of course, my Lord.” Lucius backed out of his own study like a servant and closed the door behind him. It shamed him to bow and grovel in his own home, but he’d not risk the Dark Lord’s wrath again. He’d barely survived the last time.

Looking over the list and seeing some of the items on it made Lucius wince. Even the Malfoy Family Vault would have a noticeable drop in value from purchasing all of this. So much powdered dragon bone was absurd. Not to mention the amount of granite the Dark Lord wanted. A good amount of the list wasn’t expensive material overall, but the sheer quantity would add up.

I have no other choice though.’ Lucius thought to himself. He moved through his home, grimacing at the brutes that walked the halls. Draco thought having the Dark Lord in their home was an honor. The foolish boy knew nothing of serving the most powerful Dark Wizard since Grindelwald. Reaching the entry hall of the manor, Lucius used Sonorous to amplify his voice. “All of the new recruits, to me!” The men he could see all jumped at the sudden loud voice. He noticed that one brute, Logg if he recalled correctly, was speaking to Narcissa again. His wife had mentioned that the fool thought he was being subtle in his attempts to woo her. Perhaps an accident was in store for the man?

“What is it?”

“How can I be of service?”

“What’s the yelling for?”

“Do we have orders?”

“Are we finally doing something?”

The varied questions annoyed Lucius, but he set aside his distaste for the dumb muscle the Dark Lord had wanted gathered. “The Dark Lord has need of a large amount of things for the great Magic he intends to cast.” Lucius knew speaking highly always got these half-wits to shut up. He was proven correct once more when all questions and murmuring ceased. “We must acquire every item on this list and in the amounts specified. Failure is not allowed and will be punished.” He looked out over the gathered Wizards and saw all of them flinch. His own punishment was still fresh in their minds. “Now, you’ll look at this list and if you know of any way to acquire the item and the proper amount, speak up.”

The list was held out to the group of men as they looked over it.

-Tokyo ~ Harry’s Hotel Room-

The teen Artificer was sitting in one of the chairs in his room, naked as if he’d just gotten out of the hot spring. Which was technically true, he’d been heading back to his room when Tonks had all but ambushed him and dragged him inside. Harry was about to ask her what she was doing when she’d dropped her yukata and revealed her naked body. Seeing her naked, he’d quickly shrugged off his own yukata. Now that neither of them had a stitch of clothing on them, Harry was more than happy to let Tonks do whatever she wanted.

“Mmm~” Tonks purred throatily as she beheld Harry in all his glory. She teased him as she placed a kiss on the head of his cock. Harry groaned in pleasure at the feel of her soft lips. Taking hold of the base of his length, Tonks locked eyes with Harry before she dragged her tongue from base to tip along the underside of his dick before pulling away with a grin. Harry looked her in her, currently blue, eyes as his hand gently threaded through her pink locks and eased her back towards his shaft. The smoldering gaze they shared was fanning the flames of their passion. Tonks kissed his cockhead again before she opened her mouth and lolled out her tongue. The Metamorphmagus had clearly used her inborn gift as her tongue was much longer and easily guided Harry’s cockhead into her mouth. Her tongue cradled his length as she took him deeper and deeper into her mouth and then, without a second of hesitation, into her throat.

“Fuck!” Harry couldn’t help the curse as a bolt of pleasure rocketed up his spine and into his brain. He watched as Tonks’ hair color changed again, now a deep scarlet color, as she showed off her oral skills. Her power was clearly being put to an amazing use! He stopped his hips from bucking and even resisted the urge to use his hand resting on her head to try and force her to go faster. He was pretty sure that Tonks wouldn’t mind, but they could try that later. Right now, she was showing her love and affection for him through her actions and Harry didn’t want to risk messing that up.

“Mmph… mmm…” Tonks’ muffled moans were mixed with the naughty sucking noises she was making as she bobbed her head up and down his length. She had to be doing that on purpose! It sounded far too loud to be natural. She repeatedly took him to the base, holding him in her throat and swallowing a few times to send more bolts of pleasure into Harry’s brain. Tonks wanted him to feel as good as possible from this. She was loving the sounds that she was pulling from Harry with her magical skills. Eventually though, Harry couldn’t hold himself back, the Metamorph proving too much for him.

“Tonks!” Harry bit out with a rumbling groan as he tossed his head back and released.

“Mhmm~” Tonks hummed with his length in her throat. She swallowed over and over again, coaxing more from Harry with an absolutely sinful look in her dark purple eyes. She pulled back to collect the last bit of his seed on her tongue, making sure to suck as she pulled off of his cock. “Hah…Harry, look~” She opened her mouth and showed him how much she’d collected. With a sexy moan she tilted her head back and let him watch her swallow it down.

“Bloody hell…” Harry panted as he watched on.

“Mmm…you up for a little more, Harry~?” Tonks teased as she ran her fingertips along his thighs.

“I’m…gonna need…a minute, love.” Harry panted a bit as he tried to get his breathing under control. “I think you nearly sucked the life from me there.”

“Oh?” Tonks wiggled her eyebrows and giggled. “Was that too much?”

“I didn’t say that…” Harry chuckled as his breathing started to even out and his shaft rose up again from her teasing.

“How about you return the favor?” Tonks pulled back, after kissing the head of his cock once more, and lay back on his futon.

“I’ll have to show you what Fleur taught me last school year.” Harry grinned at her as he walked the few steps to his futon. He kneeled down and smiled as Tonks spread her legs for him, revealing her drenched sex and that she’d used her ability to make a little strip of hair on her mound into the shape of a lightning bolt. “Well, someone’s kinky.” He looked her in the eye again.

“Damn right,” Tonks purred as she licked her lips. “Now, show me what you’ve learned, Harry.”

“You’ll be thanking Fleur in the morning!” Harry declared before he kissed her lower lips and got to work.

“Oh fuck!” Tonks bucked her hips almost immediately before grabbing the bedding beneath her. Fleur would definitely have to be thanked!

-End Chapter-

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Seeing the sights! Japan has a very long history!

They saw another yōkai! This time a very well-known one! Kitsune are curious creatures.

A demonstration of specialty Magic too! Rowling did say that Mahoutokoro had a style of Magic casting that didn’t rely on a wand, but hand movements instead! Sounds VERY similar to Naruto Ninjutsu, huh?

Then we see that the antagonistic people in Harry’s life are still plotting and scheming against Harry and family! Those two are gonna learn! Just let them try! Harry will show them why you DON’T piss off an Artificer!

On the plus side, the second day of their vacation has led to a rather pleasurable evening for Harry and Tonks! You didn’t think our Metamorphmagus was going to go the whole trip without doing something, did you?

What’s left for the trip? What will Harry and family return to in Magical Britain?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,324

Tonks – 20,982

Penelope – 15,636

Fleur – 16,468

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 53: Vacation End, Return to Britain

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The Japan Vacation is coming to an end. A few last minute things and then it’s back to Magical Britain for Harry and family. What will be waiting for them when they return?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 53 – Vacation End, Return to Britain

“Ah, Harry, welcome back.” Tōshū smiled at the Artificer happily.

“Nice to be back, Tōshū.” Harry chuckled as he and the others were lead to a large outside area on the grounds of the Yōkai Buki Seisaku guild. They’d been invited by Tōshū to come visit once more before they left Japan. Apparently the weaponsmith had gotten into contact with the owner of one of his best creations. The other Wizard had agreed to come and demonstrate the weapon that Tōshū had forged for him long ago. Harry was very eager to see it, whatever it was.

“Harry, this is Sawagejō Chō, the Wizard that commissioned one of my best creations to date.” Tōshū introduced the Wizard that was sipping tea and having a snack of some kind on a bench. Chō looked around his mid to late twenties, but with Wizards and Witches looks were often deceiving. He had blonde hair that was spiked up and a black headband around his forehead. He wore a simple red haori with black pants and leather boots.

“A pleasure to meet you, sir.” Harry gave a polite bow to the man.

“A pleasure.” Chō stood up and bowed back. “Tōshū tells me you’re interested in seeing one of his best creations.”

“I’d love to!” Harry responded with a smile. He briefly heard snickering behind him from his family, but chose to ignore it.

“Very well,” Chō grinned as he stretched a bit and turned to Tōshū. “Can you get me some suitable targets?”

“Way ahead of you.” Tōshū laughed as multiple apprentices joined them, each with a dummy made from what looked to be a mixture of rolled tatami and wood.

The dummies were set up, each human-like effigy set on its two ‘feet’ as the apprentices pulled their wands and animated them. As the tatami dummies moved and picked up wooden swords from a nearby box, Chō was grinning as he drew his arms into his sleeves and then shrugged off his haori top. The cloth fell around his waist to reveal what looked like metal bands wrapped around a piece of armor worn around Chō’s waist.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Chō eyed up the animated dummies as they surrounded him. His right hand went behind his waist as he waited for the attack to begin.

The first tatami dummy charged from behind with its wooden sword in hand. Harry blinked as the steel bands around Chō’s waist seemingly came alive and unwound at speed. A flash of steel and the charging dummy’s sword was split into thirds, both arms were severed above the ‘elbow’, the head was decapitated, the torso bisected, and both legs severed.

“What the hell?!” Tonks couldn’t help but exclaim at the instant ‘death’ of the animated dummy.

“So fast…” Penny blinked at not having seen the full motions.

“I missed it.” Marlie shook her head, wondering what she’d just seen.

“…” Fleur seemed to be at a loss for words as her blue eyes watched the dummy fall to pieces.

“Is that a sword?” Sirius uttered out, still shocked, when the weapon stopped moving.

“Yes,” Tōshū nodded with a smile at seeing his creation again. “That his Hakujin no Tachi, the ‘Thin One’, a sword of my own creation.

The group watched on as multiple tatami dummies rushed the Wizard swordsman. The thin, almost whip-like, blade of the magical sword responded to the barest movements of Chō’s hand and wrist. With only one hand, the blonde man had complete control of the weapon. Every single dummy was sliced to pieces by the ever-moving blade. The wooden swords were turned to kindling by the magical blade and the dummies were all cut into no less than seven pieces each. In mere moments the demonstration was over as all of the dummies lay scattered across the area. But, Harry noticed, not a single scrap of wood or tatami was in a perfectly clear three meter radius around Chō himself.

“That was incredible!” Tonks clapped with a wide smile on her face, her hair shifting through vibrant colors in her excitement. The rest of the family quickly joined her in applause and Chō gave a bow to them. The blonde man grinning with a slightly proud look on his face when he stood back up to his full height. The blade of the Hakujin no Tachi floating around his feet, just a little off the ground.

“How long is the blade?” Harry couldn’t get an accurate measurement by eye with it bent and coiled around as it was. “How did you forge it so thin? How could you have maintained uniform steel integrity on such a long length? No forge is that long for you to do it straight like that. Not to mention the edge…how could you keep such cutting ability while also giving it flexibility like that? What is its Magical Base?” He was awash with questions after having seen the Hakujin no Tachi in action. It was so different to literally anything he’d considered before.

“Chō,” Tōshū called to the Wizard swordsman. The blonde man looked the weaponsmith’s way to show he was listening. “Can you straighten the blade out? Harry wants to see how long it is.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Chō moved the handle of the sword as he fully extended his right arm to the side. The Hakujin no Tachi’s blade quickly straightening out to reveal its total length.

“How?” Harry could only stare at the absurd length of the sword blade. “That’s at least ten meters!”

“Thirty-three shaku,” Tōshū nodded to the Artificer as he looked over his creation. “Almost exact at ten meters.”

“Such a long blade…how could you have forged it?” Harry looked at the more experienced weaponsmith in confusion.

“Magic.” Tōshū chuckled at the teen. Harry felt Fleur’s eyes and smug grin on his back. She seemed amused at his go to answer being used against him. “The base for the Hakujin no Tachi was a yōkai known as an Uwabami. A snake yōkai that can alter its shape and length as it needs, though they usually prefer to stay long and at a large size since they love to eat.”

“Snake…” Harry nodded after watching Chō let the sword wrap around his armored waist again. The blade certainly wound around its master like a serpent, that was for sure. “So, you imbued the blade with the Uwabami’s flexibility during forging, and that’s why it can move like it does?” He theorized while Chō but his haori back on, once more hiding the magical sword from view.

“That’s part of it, yes.” Tōshū wasn’t about to give up his secrets so easily. “The Hakujin no Tachi is one of my best creations to date. But it’s not the only sword I’ve forged from an Uwabami, right Chō?” He chuckled at the blonde man.

“Tch, waste of a good sword.” Chō huffed as he went back to his tea and snack on the bench.

“Sounds like a story.” Fleur giggled at seeing the Wizard swordsman’s reaction.

“The other sword is Keijō Hebi, the ‘Shape Snake’ and it makes use of the Uwabami’s ability to alter its shape. It can extend, change the features of the blade, alter the curve and the cutting edge, it’s a very versatile blade and one of my best.” Tōshū laughed happily at getting to talk about his creations. “It belongs to Chō’s friend.”

“We’re not friends.” Chō denied, cutting Tōshū off as he looked away. The blonde man roughly ate the last of his snack before sipping his tea again.

“Yes, yes.” Tōshū waved the younger man off with a grin. “Keijō Hebi can’t come close to Hakujin no Tachi’s length or range, but both swords take skill to wield to their fullest potential.”

“The Hakujin no Tachi is already incredible; the other sword sounds crazy.” Harry could barely wrap his head around a weapon that freely altered its own shape at the user’s will. Tōshū was once again proving that he was vastly more experienced and that Harry still had a long way to go when it came to Creature Craft.

“Ah yes, I did want to give you a small gift before you went back home.” Tōshū nodded as he opened a small bag on his hip. From it he pulled a rather thick stack of paper and placed it in Harry’s hands. “Some basics of the forging methods we’ve used in Japan for centuries. Things like differential hardening and such, I’m sure you’ll put it to good use.”

“It’s a little big, isn’t it?” Harry briefly flipped through the heavy stack, noticing tons of texts and some drawn pictures explaining various different processes.

“You’ll have it memorized soon enough!” Tōshū laughed at the look on the Artificer’s face.

Memorized my foot!’ Harry denied in his mind as he finished flipping through the stack of papers. “Thank you very much, Tōshū.” He gave a bow to the older craftsman. “I’ll do my best to learn from this experience and the information you’ve given me.”

“You’ll do great things, Harry, I’m sure of it.” Tōshū nodded to the teen with a grin. “Why don’t you all stay for lunch?”

“Thank you for the invitation.” Sirius gave a short bow to Tōshū.

“I could eat.” Tonks grinned as she watched Harry stash his new book’s worth of notes into his Storage Cloak.

“Could we ask a few questions over lunch?” Penny requested as she motioned between herself and Fleur.

“Please, I’m very curious about some of the work done here still.” Fleur had a bright smile on her beautiful face as her eyes nearly glowed with curiosity.

“Coming, Harry?” Marlie smiled at her soon-to-be surrogate nephew. Her warm grey eyes filled with joy at seeing the group happy.

“Lead the way, Tōshū.” Harry trotted after the group with a chuckle.

-Japan Ministry of Magic ~ Day of Departure-

“We hope you’ve enjoyed your time in Japan, Lord Black, Artificer Potter.” Okada gave the group a bow as they stood on the International Portkey platform.

“Please, feel free to visit again in the future.” Matsumoto smiled as she also gave a bow to the group.

“It was great, we’ll probably be back in the future.” Harry nodded to the two Ministry workers.

“I wouldn’t mind coming back to see some more of the islands.” Sirius agreed with a grin.

“It’s about time.” Marlie noticed the clock on the wall.

Everyone grabbed the length of rope they’d been given and watched the clock. Right as the second hand hit the twelve, they all felt the familiar ‘hook behind the navel’ feeling. The six of them were whisked away in a swirl of colors, heading back home after their time abroad. The tunnel of colors was as disorientating as always to Harry, but a few moments later and they landed on a wooden platform again.

“This way, this way, please!” A Witch behind a nearby desk called out to the group after giving them a moment to collect themselves. Thankfully none of them had fallen over from the rough drop of the portkey.

“Sirius Black and family, returning from Japan.” Sirius pulled out their parchment work and handed over to the Witch.

“Ah, welcome back Lord Black.” The woman smiled at the group. “Or perhaps ‘Good Morning’ would be more appropriate?” She tittered at the time zone joke.

The Witch looked over their documents and then sent them towards a group of Wizards to have their souvenirs checked over for anything illegal. The differences between the various Ministries of the world could see a common item in one place considered contraband in another. Thankfully, everything passed the inspection point without issue and the group was allowed to head back to Wood End Cottage. What they didn’t notice was the young secretarial assistant that quickly wrote a note onto a piece of parchment. The note was folded into a paper plane and then sent off to a very specific Undersecretary’s office.

-Wood End Cottage ~ Later-

Harry yawned as he dealt with the shift in time zones. His internal clock would need a day or two to reset from Japan time. Fleur had used the Floo to return home to France and see her family. The Veela wanted to give them the souvenirs she’d bought for them and tell them about the trip. Penny had left not too long afterwards to see her family for much the same. She’d left after a long kiss with Harry and a flash of green flames. Tonks had happily crashed with them, borrowing Harry’s bed with a grin before taking a nap.

“Hey, Harry, your O.W.L results came in while we were gone.” Sirius informed his godson with a smile. Tayla had been collecting the mail in their absence and Sirius had found the letter from the Ministry among the small stack of mail.

“Well, that seems important.” Harry chuckled as he accepted the envelope. Tearing it open, Harry unfolded the parchment inside. He grinned after looking over his scores.

Charms – Outstanding

Transfiguration – Outstanding

Herbology – Exceeds Expectations

Potions – Exceeds Expectations

Defense Against the Dark Arts – Outstanding

Astronomy – Acceptable

History of Magic – Exceeds Expectations

Ancient Runes – Outstanding+

Arithmancy – Outstanding

Care of Magical Creatures – Outstanding

“I think I passed, what about you?” Harry joked as he handed the parchment over to Sirius.

“Wow…ten O.W.L.s, you really are a nerd, Harry.” Sirius teased with a laugh.

“Don’t be jealous, Sirius.” Marlie teased him as she entered the living room with a grin.

“Ah, my love, how could you wound me so?” Sirius declared dramatically with his hand over his heart.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Marlie leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Congratulations on your results, Harry.” She beamed at him proudly. “You’re the youngest graduate of Hogwarts that I know of.”

“I still need to take the N.E.W.T.s later, but this is good enough for now.” Harry smiled back at the Healer.

“The Trace should’ve been lifted off your wand as soon as these results were given.” Sirius nodded to Harry. “So, you can freely do Magic now.” He chortled, as if Harry hadn’t been doing Magic outside of Hogwarts since he was a child.

“What a relief!” Harry joined in on the laughter. Wandless Magic made the Trace a moot point after all.

-Night-

“Hmm?” Harry cocked his head as a feeling of chill washed over him. He was in his smithy and going over a few of the papers that Tōshū had given him. Just a bit of reading before bed, honestly. But the sudden change in temperature had him on alert. “What in the world?” He pulled Aethereum from within his Storage Cloak that was hung up near the doorway. Peeking outside of his smithy, he noticed that the chill was much sharper outside. The grass was even frosting over, which most definitely shouldn’t be happening in the summer.

“Harry!” Sirius yelled from the back doorway of the cottage. “Get inside! It’s Dementors!” He had his wand in hand and was aiming it towards the sky.

Harry exited the smithy and rushed towards Sirius. He glanced up into the dark sky and with the light of the moon, he saw them.  They were humanoid in shape, around three meters tall, and were covered in dark hooded cloaks of long ripped black cloth, which made them closely resemble wraiths. Two Dementors hung in the air and only upon Harry moving from the smithy towards the cottage did they descend. Both were clearly heading for the teen specifically for some reason.

“Expecto Patronum!” Sirius cast and a thick billowing cloud of silvery mist blasted forth from his wand. The Dementors let out rattling breaths as they retreated from the spell for a moment. The mist seemed to quickly fade in their presence as the biting chill returned and the Dementors moved forward again.

Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself... soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life, and you will just be an empty shell that lost its soul.” Harry recalled Remus’ lesson on Dementors from Defense Against the Dark Arts. He’d been given a more comprehensive study of them while learning the Patronus Charm from his surrogate uncle. Seeing the two closing in, Harry unsheathed Aethereum and called upon the power of his Artifact Sword. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

Aethereum glowed with silvery light before a massive version of Harry’s Eastern Dragon Patronus roared out of the blade. The two Dementors let out a horrific sound that was somewhere between a screech of pain and a deathly wail as the jaws of the dragon snapped closed on them. The spectral guardian wound through the air, higher and higher into the sky. It looked like a ball of brightly shining light in the night sky by the time it began to fade. The two Dementors were seen fleeing as specks of black against the moonlight once the Charm had worn off. It was clear they wouldn’t be coming back after several long moments. The strange wraith-like creatures may not be killable, but such a powerful Patronus Charm could certainly injure them in at least some form.

“Inside, Harry.” Sirius pulled Harry into the cottage and locked the door behind them. Several intricate waves of his wand and Harry saw the walls glow faintly for a moment. “That should strengthen the wards a bit. Stay with Marlie, Harry, I need to make a Floo call.” He rushed towards the fireplace and Harry, Aethereum still in hand, sat on the couch next to the frightened Marlie.

“They’re gone now, Marlie.” Harry assured the Healer with a smile. He understood why the woman was terrified. Dementors were the stuff of nightmares, even for Witches and Wizards. Marlie wasn’t the combative type at all, much preferring to help and heal others rather than cause harm. It was why she’d gone into her chosen profession after all.

“Yes, I know what I saw!” Sirius raised his voice at the fireplace, the flames had someone’s face in them, but Harry couldn’t quite see who. “Dementors! Two of them in fact! They came right after Harry as soon as they spotted him!” The other person said something that Harry couldn’t make out. “Yes, I know they can’t actually see with no eyes, it was a figure of speech!” Sirius shouted back at the person. It was a few moments later that Sirius turned to face Marlie and Harry. “Aurors are on the way to investigate.” He smiled at them both. “I’m going to call Dumbledore and let him know what happened.” The flames flared again as Sirius tossed in more Floo Powder.

A short time later and multiple cracks rang outside. Hearing the telltale sounds of apparation, Sirius peeked out of the door to see the red-robed Aurors. A flick of his wand and the main ward preventing their physical entry was lowered. The Aurors, all four of them, made their way to the door quickly.

“Lord Black,” The lead Auror, the semi-familiar form of Kingsley Shacklebolt, greeted Sirius. “Can you show us where the Dementors were?” He asked professionally.

“Right out back,” Sirius motioned for the Aurors to follow him to the backyard. The five men headed outside and to the back lawn as Harry headed for the backdoor to watch from the nearby window.

“The ground is still frosted over.” One of the Aurors mentioned as they stepped onto the semi-frozen grass with a crunch. Lumos Charms were on the tips of every wand to see in the dark.

“But the Dementors don’t leave Azkaban without orders.” A younger looking man, but still older than Tonks, shook his head in confusion.

“You ever been to Azkaban, rookie?” The older Auror, more grizzled-looking than the others, looked at the younger man. “The whole place is practically covered in layers of frost all the damn time from those monsters.”

“Unless Lord Black froze his own backyard as some kind of hoax, then I think we should treat this seriously.” Shacklebolt’s deep voice ended the discussion as he looked over the frosted ground. “Get word to Senior Aurors Moody and Scrimgeour, as well as Madam Bones. We need a count of the Dementors of Azkaban.”

“On it, sir!” The young man saluted his superior. “Lord Black, may I borrow your Floo?”

“Follow me.” Sirius led him towards the backdoor.

“What the hell is going on?” The fourth Auror questioned heavily as his Lumos Charm showed more frosted ground between the cottage and the smithy. “Dementors don’t just leave and go after specific people.”

“Something illegal is what it is.” The older man grimaced as he brushed his hands against the wall of the smithy, frost coming off from the contact. “Our job is to find out who and why.”

-Ministry of Magic ~ Early Morning-

“There were WHAT at the residence of Lord Black?!” Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement nearly bellowed. The redheaded woman with her usual monocle was looking over the report of the first Auror’s on the scene. Frost everywhere in the middle of summer, eye witnesses that had been attacked, this could be a hoax, but the evidence wasn’t pointing in that direction. What reason did Lord Sirius Orion Black and Artificer Harry Potter have to lie about such a thing? “What about the count of the Dementors in Azkaban?”

“The first count that we ordered them to do via Floo came up at ninety-eight.” Moody nearly growled at the information. There were exactly one-hundred Dementors in Azkaban and had always been since the Ministry had seized the island and decided to make it into a prison back in 1718.

“So, we have two missing Dementors and a report of an attack by two Dementors…” Amelia let out a heavy exhale. “What the hell is going on?”

“I could give you my best theory, but the Minister and his lackeys won’t like it.” Moody snorted from his seat in front of her desk. The two shared a look, both having served back during Voldemort’s first rise to power.

“What progress have we made on that since yesterday?” Amelia questioned the Senior Auror.

“Still nothing much.” Moody grimaced at the lack of information and leads. “No one is going missing. No one has been attacked, until now if that’s what this is. None of the same tactics he tried back in the Seventies.”

“Without hard evidence we can’t just go around kicking in doors of homes and demanding answers.” Amelia remarked of their current situation. She’d love to, in a heartbeat if she had the authority, but their hands were tied without evidence of some kind. “Plenty of ‘Imperiused’ Death Eaters that we could question or get raids signed for if we could only get the evidence necessary first.”

“Madam Bones,” The Floo flared and Rufus Scrimgeour’s face could be seen in the flames. His lion-like visage familiar to both of the people in the office.

“Scrimgeour, what’s the onsite count of the Dementors?” Amelia asked first and foremost.

“One-hundred, fully accounted for, ma’am.” Scrimgeour reported the count. “However,” He looked like he was thinking for a moment. “The time between the appearance at Lord Black’s residence and the time between counts would potentially let the missing two slip back in.” His face showed that he was thinking of why the first count could still have been correct and not a miscount.

“Search the damn things.” Moody suggested after a second of thought. “Artificer Potter supposedly hit them with an overpowered Patronus from that Artifact Sword of his, right?”

“My thoughts exactly.” Scrimgeour nodded to his fellow Senior Auror. They may not see eye-to-eye all the time, but they were both damn good at their jobs. “I’ll need your order first, Madam Bones, but then we can search the Dementors one by one for any signs of damage that could be caused by spellfire.”

“You have my permission and the order will be in your hands in just a moment.” Amelia quickly got out a blank form from her desk, along with a quill and inkpot. She was filling the form out quickly, but legibly, so that there would be no delay in the investigation. “Tell the Warden to cooperate fully, this is now a full investigation. Something is going on and we will get to the bottom of it.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Scrimgeour nodded firmly. The investigation order was passed through the Floo a minute later to the Senior Auror. The call ended right after as Scrimgeour went to carry out the new orders.

“Moody,” Amelia breathed deeply before letting out a sigh. “If this wasn’t some plot of Voldemort…who else in the Ministry can get a requisition for temporary control of Dementors?”

“There’s a few…but even Cornelius isn’t stupid enough to just sign one.” Moody was clearly already compiling a list of names in his head.

“If this was an inside job, then someone is either a mole inside the Ministry, or we have a third factor operating on their own agenda.” Amelia looked stone-faced at the prospect.

“We need to establish who among those that can get a requisition have any reason to go after Black or Potter.” Moody nodded in agreement. “That’s still a few people by my reckoning.”

“Then we’ll have to look into each one and find the truth.” Amelia began filling out a different form on her desk. “I’m going to place you in charge of the internal investigation, Alastor. I want the people with access to be investigated and questioned. Something is going on in the Ministry and I refuse to be hamstrung again like we were last time.”

“I’ll find them, don’t you worry, Amelia.” Alastor nodded, his grizzled features like stone as he accepted the signed and stamped form. “They can try and cover their tracks, but I’ve seen through worse people.” His prosthetic eye spun in the socket for a moment as he stalked towards the door.

-End Chapter-

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Dementors! Nasty sons of so-and-so!

Harry blasts them away with an overpowered Patronus through Aethereum! That might just leave a mark! Something that could be used as evidence!

Someone is about to be in trouble when this investigation wraps up!

We got some last minute fun in Japan too. Harry is quite prodigious, but a thousand years of specialization from the Yōkai Buki Seisaku adds up! Tōshū has almost lived there for the majority of his life and was prodigious himself. His skill in making Creature Craft Weapons is very advanced!

Harry passed his O.W.L.s with (mostly) flying colors! We all knew he would, right? It would be pretty embarrassing to pack up and say goodbye to everyone only to fail after all.

Things are certainly beginning to come together!

What’s Harry’s next project?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,324

Tonks – 20,982

Penelope – 15,636

Fleur – 16,468

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 54: Allies, Array, Plots

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! After a Dementor attack of all things, what can Harry and Family do? Well, an investigation is already being launched by the DMLE, so that will hopefully uncover the wrong doer. Harry will be looking towards his allies to resume preparations against Voldemort. How far along has Voldemort gotten in his schemes and plans?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 54 – Allies, Array, Plots

“I can’t tell you too much, Harry.” Tonks shook her head in the mirror. “It’s an official investigation now, so my oath prevents me from speaking about it. I can say that not much has been figured out yet. Mad-Eye is stalking through the Ministry questioning the most likely suspects and Scrimgeour hasn’t returned from Azkaban with his findings, so no one knows what, if anything, he’s found.”

“That’s already enough, Nym, thank you.” Harry smiled warmly at her through the mirror.

“Don’t do anything crazy, Harry.” Tonks gave him a teasing glare.

“Me?” Harry placed his hand on his chest. “I’d never.”

“Right…” Tonks drawled out before snickering. “I’ll see you once my shift is over tonight.”

“See you tonight, love.” Harry chuckled before the mirror returned to reflecting his face.

With the DMLE involved, things were happening, but Harry wouldn’t be able to find out much. That didn’t change the fact that someone had sent two Dementors after him. Only the Ministry had control over the wraith-like beings, so the order had to have come from within the Ministry itself. Whether it was a hidden Death Eater acting on Voldemort’s orders or someone else with their own goals was the only remaining question. Perhaps it was time to finish up the planning for his next Artifact?

“Where are you headed, Harry?” Sirius blinked when he saw Harry heading for the Floo.

“To visit the Dwarves, I want to ask King Drasurd about something, and to let him know about the Dementor incident.” Harry informed his godfather while putting on his Storage Cloak. “They’re our staunchest allies in this coming fight with the undead tosser, so I’m keeping them updated.”

“Any idea when you’ll be back?” Sirius followed him towards the Floo.

“Not really, but it shouldn’t be too terribly long.” Harry shrugged since he didn’t know how long the conversation with Drasurd might take.

“Alright, try and be home for dinner, if you could?” Sirius chuckled and playfully ruffled Harry’s hair, making the teen stare flatly at him. “Tayla will be sad if you’re not here to eat.”

“I’ll definitely be back in time for dinner.” Harry spoke a little louder than strictly necessary, just to make sure that Tayla heard. He was fairly sure he heard a happy cheer from the House Elf somewhere in the cottage.

-Narag Fenuln-

“Brother Potter, good to see you again.” Drad welcomed Harry to the Dwarven Mine and home.

“Good to see you again, Drad.” Harry returned the greeting as the two clasped each other’s wrist and shook. “It seems that Erdunn has been busy since last I visited.”

“Aye, all thanks to your Earth Shapers.” Drad chuckled heartily as he patted the Enchanted Object attached to his wrist. This was the refined version of the prototype that Harry had made from Dragon Bone and Sage Quartz. The bone had been covered in a thin layer of metal that was inscribed with a focusing sequence of runes. It could now move stone, soil, sand, and clay easily. Separating them from each other was merely a matter of will and knowledge.

“I’m glad they’ve been of help, you’ve expanded both deeper, wider, and upwards too.” Harry had noticed that next to the entrance of the mine a huge mound of rock and stone had been piled up.

The Dwarves were using his Earth Shapers to mold the stone, blend it together and then shape it into their desired forms. It hadn’t taken Harry more than a few moments to realize what they were hoping to accomplish. The further they dug down and outwards underground, the more stone they had to move out of the mines. Instead of getting rid of it, the Dwarves were collecting it, piling it high, molding and shaping it ever higher while making the base of the mound wider as well. The Dwarves of Erdunn were building themselves a new Mountain Hall from the rock they dug out from the mine.

“We couldn’t have hoped to move forward on this project so soon without them.” Drad nodded, his thick beard swaying a little from the motion. “A shame that Sage Quartz is so rare and expensive, we could do with another hundred or so of these.” He grinned while leading Harry towards a section of the building mountain that had already been completed.

The structure was easily identifiable as a fortress, or the beginnings of one at the very least. High walls, built into the mountain that the Dwarves were raising and shaping, all of them built of thick stone. Small windows to allow for return fire against any enemy while providing cover for the Dwarves inside. With interest, Harry noticed some of the intricate Rune work that had been carved and then gilded into the fortress walls. The Dwarves had a set of Runes of their own, and even as a Sworn Brother of Erdunn, Harry wasn’t privy to them. But they also liked to obscure their Runecraft among the designs they placed onto the walls. Intricate patterns and large stone faces of past Dwarven Kings and Heroes were common from what he’d learned, which made hiding their arrays easier. If Harry had to guess, the main functions of the arrays on the walls would be for durability, obscuration, and perhaps as a ward to keep others from simply apparating or using Portkeys to get into the fortress.

“Nice place you’ve built.” Harry joked as they walked through the main gate and were shortly within the small mountain itself.

“It is, isn’t it?” Drad laughed with a deep rumble. “Never thought I’d see the day when we Dwarves would have a Mountain Hall once again.” He led the way down a flight of steps and past a section of fully-armored guards standing before a large set of iron-banded wooden doors. Harry marveled at the way Drad simply opened both doors without using Magic. For being shorter than an average human man, the Dwarves had far greater physical strength. Each of those large doors had to weigh at least one-hundred-fifty kilograms.

“Brother Potter, it is good to see you again.” Drasurd smiled at Harry from behind a large worktable. “Thank you for bringing him to me, Drad.”

“Not a problem, father.” Drad nodded to his father and King. “I’ll return to my work; the mountain won’t build itself after all.” He gave what looked like a salute of some kind to Drasurd before leaving the room and closing the massive doors behind him.

“You said in your mirror call that you had something that you wanted to discuss with me, Brother Potter?” Drasurd cleared off a section of the worktable as he spoke.

“Yes,” Harry reached into his Storage Cloak and pulled out a worn tome. “I would not presume to ask you much about the Sword of Erdunn or how it was forged. Those are Dwarven Smithing Secrets and I know I’m not privy to such knowledge.” He flipped the tome open to the bookmarked page. “However, I wanted to get your opinion on a particular array that I believe you are familiar with.” Harry set the old book on the cleared space that Drasurd had made.

“Ah…I see.” Drasurd let out a chuckle as he looked over the pages the book had been opened to. “The Consume Array, yes, we’ve made use of it successfully, but not this particular version.”

“I’d thought not,” Harry sighed at the confirmation. “I suspect that you used a Dwarven version to make the Sword of Erdunn. With your own Runic Alphabet and all, so that others couldn’t copy it.”

“Very astute, Harry.” Drasurd nodded to the teen. “Though to be fair, the Sword of Erdunn is the only successful piece that was made with it. Even our version is very finicky in its application and work. A single small mistake renders the whole process a failure that must be restarted from scratch.”

“That sounds right…” Harry exhaled slowly at the information. “I knew that it would be a difficult bit of rune work, to say the least, but hearing that even you have had only a single success makes this sound nearly impossible.”

“Are you going to give up on it?” Drasurd questioned the Artificer with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not, I’ll just keep trying until it works.” Harry waved off the mere thought of giving up just because something seemed incredibly difficult.

“Spoken like a true Dwarf!” Drasurd gave off a bellowing laugh, slapping the top of the worktable a few times. “That’s the spirit, Harry! If you don’t succeed the first time, try again, and again, and again, until you figure it out. Things that are hard to achieve or create are worth more to us when we finally succeed. If it’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing right. I believe is the saying.”

“On that there is no doubt.” Harry couldn’t help but laugh as well. The two craftsmen sat down to look over the worn tome that Harry had brought.

“This part here stood out as a bit odd to me.” Drasurd pointed to a section of the Consume Array in the book. “It seems as though it would make the item in question constantly draw in whatever it was in contact with. That’s a flaw that could quickly get out of hand once it started. A Consume Array should only take in things that will make it stronger, not just whatever it touches.” The old Dwarf King shared some of his centuries of wisdom and experience with Harry.

“Hmm, that makes more sense.” Harry nodded as he followed Drasurd’s logic. “If I remove that section though, I’d have to create something new to fill it.” He paused as he looked at how the sequence was tied into the array. “Damn, could they make it any more difficult? A replacement sequence is going to have to be written into it in such a precise manner. No wonder it fails so easily and completely if the array is made of connections like this.”

“Yes, the Consume Array is an unwieldy bit of Runecraft.” Drasurd grimaced behind his beard. “The fact that you also need to find a way to etch it in a workable manner onto the item itself only exacerbates the problems.”

“Ah shite…you’re completely right about that.” Harry groaned as he now had to not only find a way to rewrite the flawed part of the Array in the book, but he’d have to find a way to etch the runes into the item so that they weren’t separated in any way, shape, or form. Any break in the sequence would be an automatic failure.

“What exactly do you plan to use as materials for this project, if I might ask?” Drasurd looked at Harry curiously.

“I was hoping to use Adamantite, but that may not be possible now.” Harry looked between the book and Drasurd. “Adamantite is a pain to produce since the transmutation is still almost a coinflip every time I attempt it. I can easily produce a lesser grade, flawed Adamantite, but that stuff is just a really durable metal. The Magic practically seeps out of it and leaves it inert.”

“No good for forging an Artifact.” Drasurd shook his head and ran his hand through his beard. “I’d suggest potentially trying for Orichalcum, but that’s even harder to transmute from what I understand.”

“Harder to transmute and you can’t trust the stuff on the open market either.” Harry grumbled at what he’d learned from Flamel the last time he’d spoken to the old Alchemist. “Orichalcum that’s being put up for sale is always flawed. It won’t hold its properties for more than a few months at most. So, I couldn’t even make an Enchanted Object from it with any longevity. For an Artifact, I’d need to transmute it myself anyway.”

“Once Adamantite is formed, it can only be changed in shape and form by incredibly high heat and a strong hammering arm. So, you couldn’t even increase its size with Magic to make it easier to etch runes before returning it to its original size.” Drasurd hummed thoughtfully as he tried to think of a workaround for the conflicting materials and array.

“I could try blending metals into an alloy, or perhaps layering them, but alloys would have to be tested over and over again to determine their full properties. Layering could also be a problem as the parts could be to disparate from each other and refuse to come together properly.” Harry set aside the idea of making alloys for later though, since it could be an interesting project.

“Using an untested alloy for an important project is foolhardy.” Drasurd shook his head at the idea. “If you could make the array work with another material that was compatible with the Adamantite, the layering idea may work. But finding a material and a way to integrate it may take just as long as making and testing alloys.”

“If only the array wasn’t shaped like this.” Harry traced his finger over the circular array in the book. “I understand why it is, but it’s making things far more difficult.”

“I doubt it would work as you intend it to if you altered it’s structure.” Drasurd considered Harry’s words. “At that point it wouldn’t be able to take in things to make itself stronger. You’d have to activate the array, consume whatever you wanted to impart on the item, and that would have to be something incredibly potent, before deactivating the array to make that effect permanent. But once you deactivate a Consume Array it can never be reactivated. This is all assuming that it could even work if you altered the structure of the array so much.” The Dwarf King shook his head at all of the ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’ of his thought process. That was far too many variables to safely work with.

“That’s a lot of potential, but no concrete evidence that it would work in the slightest.” Harry murmured as he held his chin in thought. “I’d be going in blind, to say the least.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” Drasurd remarked as he thought about it more. “Even if it worked as I described, so much as touching the item could cause irreparable harm to you or anyone else as long as the array is active.”

“That’s another level of difficulty to contend with.” Harry nearly glared at the book and the example of the Consume Array within it. It wasn’t just complex rune work; it was outright dangerous if even the slightest thing went wrong during activation. “I’ll try and work out something for the array structure first, I think.” He mused for a long moment before speaking again. “If I could even make it a single, long line that worked once, that may be useful in its own way.”

“What would you hope to consume with a single-use array?” Drasurd looked at the sworn brother of his people curiously.

“Something that produces frost and chill.” Harry vaguely replied as he recalled the frozen grass he’d run across when the Dementors had appeared. “I have a material that would amplify and focus such effects that I’d like to use.”

-Ministry of Magic-

“I’m telling you, Amelia, I did not sign any requisition for Dementors.” Cornelius said for what had to be the tenth time since Amelia had come to see him today.

“Someone had the ability to either order or coerce two Dementors to leave Azkaban and apparently go after Lord Black and Artificer Potter.” Amelia restated once more. “Giving the Dementors orders is something that can only be done through a requisition. Unless someone at Azkaban is somehow powerful enough to override the binding on the Dementors, then it wasn’t coercion.”

“I never saw any requisition form cross my desk, Amelia, I promise you that. I read every single paper before I sign it to check for anything untoward. I assure you that no such order crossed my desk.” Fudge explained his side once more. “Even if I had signed a requisition order, to actually go to Azkaban and fetch the Dementors would require copies of the form to be filed with both the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and your own Department. Surely, you’ve already checked for the copies and interviewed the staff that handle such things?”

“We have, and that’s only made us more suspicious.” Amelia confirmed with a serious expression. “No one recalls handling any such paperwork. No one recalls taking anyone to Azkaban or off the island either. And no one, not even the Warden of Azkaban, recalls anyone showing up to give orders for two Dementors to leave the island.” The Head of the DMLE looked the Minister in the eyes and hoped he’d put the pieces together himself. This complete lack of memory in so many essential people screamed of someone covering their tracks.

“You…you think Memory Charms are involved?” Fudge stared at Amelia with wide eyes. Sweat broke out on the Minister’s brow as he pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his forehead. “Oh dear…this isn’t good, how could this have happened?” For employees of the Ministry to be memory charmed on the premises was unthinkable. It would break the trust of all the workers and have schisms forming almost immediately. Cornelius could practically see the cracks forming in his administration already. “How sure are you that it wasn’t coercion of some kind?” He was grasping at straws and he knew it.

“Minister, while I don’t know the exact geas that binds the Dementors to the service of the Ministry, I do know that it hasn’t been overridden since it was set back in 1718. When the Ministry took over the island that Azkaban sits on and decided to make it into a prison, the Dementors were bound in service to the Ministry as guards. Not even Voldemort…” She almost rolled her eyes when Fudge flinched. “Attempted to coerce the Dementors back in the Seventies. Who do you see as potentially having the power to override a geas that has been in place for over two-hundred-seventy years?”

“I…I don’t know.” Fudge admitted while wiping at his forehead with his handkerchief. “You said you found evidence that the Dementors had indeed been involved?”

“Yes, two of them showed marks consistent with spellfire on their robes and skin.” Amelia confirmed with a nod while pointing at a few pictures that were part of the file she’d brought with her. “They left, went to the residence of Lord Black and Artificer Potter, and were then repelled by an overpowered Patronus Charm. What we don’t know is who sent them there and how they got the authority to do so. But we do know they were very thorough in covering their tracks.”

Cornelius Oswald Fudge once more lamented that his administration had a scandal going on. When he’d taken over after Minister Bagnold, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone, he’d had the backing of many of the Pureblood Families, his first term had gone swimmingly well. He had advice from Dumbledore or Lucius if he felt he needed it. There had been no major disruptions and his re-election had been secured easily. But now? In just the last year there had been lawsuits, criminal conspiracy, and even the attacks at the World Cup.

When did it all get so complicated?’ Fudge lamented in his own mind at what he foresaw as the abrupt end of his career.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Wiltshire-

“How goes the material acquisition, Lucius?” Voldemort spoke with a slight hiss as he looked down at the kneeling man.

“My Lord, we’ve already acquired almost half of all the materials you’ve requested. I estimate it won’t be too much longer before we have all of them to the exact quantities that you’ve specified.” Lucius was happy to deliver what he considered good news to the Dark Lord.

“I see,” Voldemort mused quietly for a moment. Nagini could be seen slithering in the shadows behind the throne-like chair that the Dark Lord sat in. “Lucius, tell me, what would you say our current forces lack?”

“My Lord?” Lucius only tilted his head to look at the man. He dared not raise it, lest he be punished for his imprudence.

“Answer the question, Lucius.” Voldemort glared at the Head of the Malfoy Family.

“Intelligence, my lord, and true loyalty to you and your cause.” Lucius answered in a rush. He didn’t want another round of torment visited upon him.

“Exactly my own thoughts, Lucius.” Voldemort had a slight upturn of his lips, though it couldn’t be called a grin. “These men are good enough for simple tasks, but we lack the true power of the Death Eaters as we are now.” He turned his red eyes to the ceiling for a short moment. “With the loss of Barty to the Ministry, I’m left with only you from the old days.” Left unsaid was the fact that there were a few Purebloods from the old days that had already been brought back into service. Voldemort considered them the same as the dumb muscle he’d had gathered for his use. When the likes of the Heads of the Crabbe Family or the Goyle Family were included in a group, what more could it be called other than dumb muscle? “Lucius, how many of these men do you think can actually fight with a wand?”

“No more than twenty, my lord.” Lucius immediately gave his appraisal of the men he and Barty had gathered.

“I suspected as much.” Voldemort hissed in displeasure. “I can work great Magics all that I desire, but with such incompetence surrounding me, it may still be for naught.” He would not be hindered by the lack of intelligence and skill that these fools represented. “I think it is time to retrieve my truly loyal, Lucius. My Inner Circle that faithfully served me and refused to disavow me even on the pain of Azkaban.”

“My Lord, do you mean to storm Azkaban?” Lucius questioned with his eyes on the floor so that Voldemort wouldn’t see them widen in shock.

“My truly loyal followers will need time to recover, Lucius.” Voldemort silenced the blonde man instantly. “I’d like them to be at their best by the time I work the great Magic that I have planned.”

“Shall I call for Severus, my lord?” Lucius asked from his kneeled position.

“Was that not obvious?” Voldemort hissed and Lucius flinched at the sharp tone. “Go, tell Severus that his Lord calls for him, I do not wish to be kept waiting.”

“At once, my lord!” Lucius stood, but kept his head bowed as he backed out of the room. His pride was practically in tatters nowadays, being forced to grovel and kneel in his own home. But there was nothing he could do about it. He’d choose to wait for the day when the Dark Lord set the world to rights and the Magical ruled over the Non-Magical. Then Lucius would be left to his own devices as Voldemort focused on the world at large.

Perhaps I’ll even take the Dementors while I’m there?’ Voldemort considered in the privacy of his mind. He’d been hesitant to go anywhere near Azkaban during his last rise to power. He’d had no need of the prison since his followers were not only free, but several where respected Purebloods. ‘If what Rookwood told me is true, the geas that binds the Dementors to the Ministry can be overpowered.’ Truly, the former Unspeakable Augustus Rookwood had been one of his best and most loyal subordinates back in the Seventies. The Ministry had been no threat, he would’ve been able to topple it at a whim once Dumbledore and his Order were dealt with. ‘If it hadn’t been for that blasted prophecy and Potter!’ He raged to himself for a moment.

“Ah…but perhaps I can deal with two things at once?” Voldemort chuckled mirthlessly; a chill seemed to fill the large room he was in. “Yaxley stated that someone sent two Dementors after Potter and Black already. They failed, but perhaps it was only a matter of numbers?” He had a sinister look in his almost glowing red eyes. How would his hated nemesis deal with ten Dementors, or twenty, or all one-hundred? “I’ll have to have a message passed to Yaxley to make my visit to Azkaban easier.” The crackdown that the DMLE had put on the Ministry made it harder for his subordinates that still worked there to communicate freely. He blamed that wretched Bones’ woman for that. She’d be dealt with just like the rest of her family had been for daring to stand in his way. Having to send messages along and wait for his subordinates to respond angered the Dark Lord, but for now it was necessary.

-Penny-

“Hmm, a bit more tweaking…” Penny nodded as she looked over her previous array. It had come along quite well since she’d started. The Anti-Magic Field could now span a diameter of four meters without losing its effect. The strengthening of the field had to be considered before any increase in size, but Penny was starting to see a consistent connection. “If I can crack this, then I should be able to set up an Anti-Magic Field of a much greater size without losing potency of effect.” The dark-blonde mumbled to herself as she looked over what she could change to test her latest idea.

“You know…you’re picking up some of Harry’s habits.” Fleur giggled at Penny from behind.

“Fleur?” Penny turned and blinked at her friend. “Wait…what time is it?” She turned to look at the clock and saw that it was just after one in the afternoon. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Fleur.” She stood up quickly with a flush on her cheeks. “I got so wrapped up in my research that I lost track of time.” She was late to go to lunch with Fleur now and the Veela had apparently come out back to fetch her.

“Like I said,” Fleur smiled warmly at Penny. “Picking up Harry’s habits.” She pulled Penny into a hug and smiled when it was returned. “Making progress?”

“Yes, though it’s still a bit slow.” Penny smiled happily at the silvery-blonde. “I’m starting to notice some consistencies though, and I think I’ll make a breakthrough once I run a few more trials.”

“Wonderful, tell me about it over lunch.” Fleur’s melodious laughter made Penny giggle too. “We could’ve invited Harry, but he went to visit the Dwarves today.”

“I’m glad he’s at least asking for more experienced Smiths’ thoughts and opinions now.” Penny stretched as she locked up her little work area in the backyard of her parent’s home. “We can worry a little less, I think?” She looked at Fleur to gauge the other girl’s thoughts.

“Perhaps a bit?” Fleur held her thumb and index finger a tiny bit apart to show how much less they could worry.

“Optimistic, aren’t you?” Penny chuckled at her friend.

“Oh very.” Fleur teased with a brilliant smile.

-Narag Fenuln-

“Hmm?” Harry perked up out of nowhere.

“You alright, Harry?” Drasurd questioned with a look.

“I just got the sudden feeling that someone was making a joke at my expense.” Harry tried to explain the feeling he’d just had. “It was probably nothing.”

“That or your women.” Drasurd laughed heartily at the teen.

“Or that.” Harry admitted with a smile and a laugh of his own.

-End Chapter-

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Things are shaken up by the Dementor attack and the ensuing investigation!

Harry visits the Dwarves to ask for Drasurd’s advice and opinion on his next project.

The Dwarves are certainly building themselves up now! If you don’t have a mountain, make one! You have an ever-expanding mine and new Magic Items that let you shape and form any kind of earth to your liking! Put them to good use!

Voldemort is plotting his first big move! Would he really wrest control of the Dementors from the Ministry and send the entire hoard after Harry?

We all know he would….

What is the next ritual that Voldemort is planning to perform?

Who will complete their project first, Harry or Voldemort?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,406

Tonks – 21,064

Penelope – 15,990

Fleur – 16,512

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 55: Attacks, Experimental Work, Accusation

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The second rise to power begins! No one will be able to deny that the old undead, half-dead, lich-like Voldemort has returned after this! Unfortunately, Harry has a rather persistent thorn in his side at the Ministry that’ll still try to make things difficult for him and his family. But you know what they say…karma is a bitch.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 55 – Attacks, Experimental Work, Accusation

In the dark and chill of the evening on the hidden island in the North Sea, two Aurors were waiting on the dock for their replacements. They’d done their two-week stint as Azkaban guards and were looking forward to getting off the cold, dreary, and desolate hunk of rock. The further away from the Dementors they got, the better. It would be a pleasure to get back to civilization and some good strong liquor to help forget the last weeks.

“Finally.” The slightly older Auror mumbled as the boat started to appear from the thick fog.

“We’ve been running short staffed since that investigation started a week ago, Yaxley says they need more people at the Ministry.” The other Auror groused as he watched the boat slowly draw closer. “I can’t figure out why he doesn’t realize we still need people here to keep the damn Dementors on their leash.”

“That was the problem that started this whole investigation.” The older Auror agreed with a scoff. “That man has gotten too comfortable in his office, if you ask me.”

The boat slowly pulled up to the dock, and it only took a second for the two Aurors to realize that no one on the boat was wearing the standard red robes of the Aurors. The gloom had made it impossible to spot at first, but now both men went for their wands. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.

“Avada Kedavra!” A smooth voice called out and a bright flash of green light illuminated the dock for a second. Two thumps followed as the bodies hit the wood of the dock. The boat stopped beside the dock and Voldemort stepped out onto the island of Azkaban. He was followed by a few of the dumb muscle that had been gathered to his cause. “Goyle, Crabbe, do not drop those potions, or you will see my displeasure first hand.” He glared at the two men leading the rest of the fools.

“Yes, my Lord.” Goyle nodded along with Crabbe.

Both men were carrying separate small crates filled with the potions that Severus had brewed. They would enable his followers to be up and about shortly after taking them. The ones in the second crate would help alleviate some of the damage the Dementors had undoubtedly done over the years as well. It would be a while before his truly loyal were back to their former strength, but that was inconsequential as long as he had his inner circle back at his side.

“Come, we should visit the Warden first.” Voldemort had a mocking grin on his lips as the group moved towards the horrid prison. “He has something that I want.” The Dark Lord’s red eyes sharpened at the fact that he was about to take hold of the geas that bound the Dementors to the Ministry’s service. ‘Let’s see you fight off all one-hundred of them at once, Harry Potter!’ He hissed in the privacy of his own mind.

Thus began the destruction of Azkaban and the beginning of Voldemort’s second rise.

-Wood End Cottage ~ Harry’s Smithy-

The rhythmic sound of hammer on metal echoed through the afternoon air. Harry was striking a bar of Adamantite that was glowing yellow from heat to shape the strong Magical Metal. He’d been at it for most of yesterday and since he’d gotten up this morning. After getting advice from Drasurd, the Dwarf King’s centuries of experience proving to be an immense boon, the Artificer felt like he had enough of an idea to make his next Artifact work.

Worst case scenario is that I have to scrap it and try again.’ Harry thought as he continued to hammer the Adamantite to shape while infusing his own mana into the metal with each strike. He was sweating from not only the exertion of his work, but from the sheer heat within the smithy. Even with the door and windows open, the heat from the forge was intense. Adamantite required no less heat to be molded by the hammer though.

“Hey, Harry…bloody hell.” Sirius grimaced as he took a single step into the smithy and walked straight into the wall of stingingly hot air. “It’s hotter in here than outside and it’s the middle of summer!”

“What’s up, Sirius?” Harry looked up from his work after another hit with his Basilisk Steel and Rune Enhanced hammer.

“How do you stand this heat?” Sirius took a step back and fanned himself with his left hand.

“You get used to it.” Harry shrugged with a slight smirk.

“I’m sure,” Sirius playfully jibed back at his godson. “Anyway, I’m going to be at the Order meeting for a bit, but I should be back before you head to bed.”

“Alright then,” Harry understood that Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix had reconvened in the wake of Voldemort’s reappearance. As a member, Sirius met with the group in a hidden location every couple of days to find out what he could about the situation. “Still not sure why he trusts who he trusts though.”

“Tell me about it.” Sirius sighed in annoyance. Dumbledore had asked to speak with Harry soon, but the Artificer was busy working on his new Artifact. Sirius wouldn’t pull his godson away from his work, which seemed important from what Harry had told him about it, so Dumbledore would have to wait.

“Snape as a spy just sounds like a bad idea.” Harry shook his head at the thought.

“Snivellus supposedly has his uses and he has Dumbledore’s ‘complete trust’ as you know.” Sirius even made the air quotes when he said complete trust.

“Well, once I finish this new Artifact, then I’ll be willing to meet with Dumbledore and the Order to talk about what is most likely to happen in the coming conflict.” Harry restated his decision to hold off on meeting the Order until his newest project was complete.

“I’ll be back tonight, don’t hurt yourself, Marlie is working late at St. Mungo’s, so she won’t be here to patch you up if you smash your hand or lose a finger or something.” Sirius warned with a light chuckle.

“When have I ever hurt myself that badly?” Harry stared flatly at his godfather. He was always careful with his Artifice! The time he created Aethereum withstanding of course, he had gone all in on that and had come out worse for it.

“Don’t work too hard, Harry.” Sirius chuckled and waved before leaving the smithy. A distinct crack from Apparation later and Harry knew that his godfather had left.

“Now, while this is still hot, I need to get the edge done.” Harry picked up the still glowing hot blade.

Adamantite had several particular challenges to working with it. When it was fully formed after a successful transmutation, it became practically immutable to blunt force and completely immutable by Magic. Only extreme heat would make it shapeable with a hammer. But this incredible durability came as a detriment in the actual forging process. The edge would normally be ground down to a fine sharpness as one of the final steps of blade making. For Adamantite that wasn’t possible, the edge had to be added while the Magical Metal was still hot enough to be worked with.

“I’ll just pass along the intent to ‘be sharp’ and ‘cut cleanly’ while I’m adding my mana to it. That should help form the edge more readily, thanks to my tools.” Harry smiled at his hand-forged tools, the best set he had that could carry his mana and intent to his creations with the most ease and force. “After the edge is formed, I should have just enough heat left in the blade to etch in the Consume Array.” He hoped at the very least. He’d practiced etching his modified version of the array over and over again on wood and then iron to get a feel for it. It was an experimental array at best, but Harry didn’t feel like he had a lot of time to slowly test things out right now. “If it comes down to it, I’ll seal this Artifact away until I can create something to hold it back.”

Harry set to work on the edge, using the smallest hammer at first to further narrow the single edge he was putting on this Artifact Sword. Each strike was filled with his mana and intent to make an incredibly sharp and clean cutting edge. To his eyes, he could practically see the Adamantite responding to his strikes. To his Magic, he could feel the material changing as it followed his will and molded to his desire. Taking the edge to the whetstone, the Artificer set about refining the edge even further, constantly passing his mana through his creation, even amid the intense heat within the smithy.

“Quickly, carefully…” Harry set the hot blade on a prepared surface so that the heat wouldn’t be lost or transferred to the table below it. Magic made things like this much easier. The etching tools, made from Adamantite themselves, easily made the lines and symbols of the runes as Harry worked to etch the modified Consume Array along the length of the blade near the spine. “Woo…” He exhaled heavily as he finished with some time to spare. The Adamantite was still hot enough to have a dull glow as he picked it up with his tongs and brought it over to the quench tank. He dunked the blade into the oil making flames flare for a few seconds. ‘Come on…come on…’ Harry pushed his mana into the blade to stabilize it and smiled as he didn’t feel or hear any cracks or pings from the quenched metal. “Now while you finish cooling, I’ll work on your handle.” He chuckled as he removed the blade from the oil and used Magic to suspend it in the air so that it wouldn’t touch anything. Another nice fact about Adamantite was that it let off heat far faster than one would expect of such a strong metal. That had been another reason why it was such a race against time to etch the Consume Array and do the quench before it cooled down too much. Only Magic had made it possible for Harry to succeed in such an endeavor.

Harry had already taken the proper measurements of the tang of his blade. So, it was a simple matter to begin shaving down some wood, acquired from the Forbidden Forest before the end of last school year, to become the handle of his sword. The old oak he’d taken it from was suffused with Magic and had made for excellent material. The night had set in by the time that Harry was done with the carving and shaping of the oak handle. He took the cooled Adamantite blade and carefully attached the handle to it. Taking strips of dragon hide from the stock of Hungarian Horntail he still had from the Triwizard Tournament, Harry wrapped the oak handle with care. The guard was simple, not overly ornate or anything, just some shaped Adamantite, slightly reminiscent of a Japanese tsuba, rather than a more traditional cross guard. The last thing that Harry added was to the pommel, a metal inset for the Frost Azuryte that would let it act as a catalyst for the power that Harry hoped to imbue in the sword to truly complete it.

“If it happened once, I’m sure it’ll happen again.” Harry mused as he finished securing the Frost Azuryte in place, using both blacksmithing and Magic to secure and protect the precious Magical Gem. He wiped his brow of the sweat that remained and could feel the great drop in his mana reserves from his Artificing. Tonks would probably complain that he was trying to stay ahead of her in Mana Level by crafting another Artifact, knowing that the process was a strain on his reserves that forced them to grow a significant amount.

Deciding to get a shower and worry about making a sheath for the sword later, Harry took the sword inside with him. He was wary to leave the Frost Azuryte in the smithy in the very slim chance that something happened. As it was part of the sword right now, he had to bring in the whole item. Placing the sword on his bed, Harry gathered a change of clothes and tossed his sweaty work clothes into the hamper. They’d be gone soon enough, thanks to Tayla. The House Elf was always eager to keep things clean around the cottage.

I’ve imbued a lot of my mana into the new sword, that should strengthen it as a vessel for the power and Magic that I want it to consume.’ Harry thought as he showered. The trick with the Consume Array was that the vessel (Harry’s sword in this case) had to be made strong enough to handle whatever ability it consumed. All of the mana that Harry had poured into it so far didn’t give the sword itself any innate Magical power like when he’d made Aethereum or Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair. All he’d done so far was make as strong of a vessel as he possibly could.

Harry was just finishing up a late dinner, courtesy of Tayla, when he noticed it. The air was cooling down unnaturally fast. He was quick to move from the table to the window near the backdoor and peek outside. Once more he was witness to the sight of Dementors…but this time it was far more than two. He couldn’t get an accurate count with the wraith-like beings floating around, but it was definitely more than fifty. The window quickly frosted over as the cloud of Dementors moved closer to Wood End Cottage.

“Shite!” Harry bolted up the stairs and into his bedroom, he grabbed the Communication Mirror and then his new sword. “Sirius Black!” He nearly shouted at the mirror and a few seconds later Sirius’ face showed up to replace Harry’s reflection.

“Harry? Harry, what’s wrong?!” Sirius instantly noticed the look on his godson’s face.

“Dementors! Tons of them!” Harry explained as he raced back downstairs while wandlessly throwing Colloportus Charms at every window and the front door.

“WHAT?!” Sirius bellowed, clearly moving quickly on his side. “I’ll be right there Harry!”

Harry could hear the exclamations and commotion of at least a dozen different voices through the mirror as he held his sword at the ready in his right hand. The backdoor was already frosted over from the Dementors approaching and even his breath was coming out as a white fog. The mirror call was ended as Sirius put his away and Harry was sure that his godfather was going to apparate from wherever the Order of the Phoenix held their meetings.

The cracking of the kitchen windows and the backdoor made Harry grimace. The chill was so intense now that Harry felt like he was standing in a freezer. The backdoor was forced open, a cracking sound from the frozen wood indicating that it had been broken somewhere. The first Dementor ducked down to float into the cottage, only to be knocked backwards by Harry’s Eastern Dragon Patronus. The Dementor let out a deathly rattle of breath as it was pushed back. Several other Dementors also fled backwards from the spectral guardian.

“What in the hell…?” Harry blinked as the Dementors didn’t flee from his Patronus entirely. The floating beings retreated from the spell, but they didn’t leave the property. Sure, he was low on mana, but that was still a fully formed corporeal Patronus! The Dementors should be leaving in mass just from being close to it.

Eventually the Charm faded into a silvery mist and then disappeared completely. The Dementors quickly swarmed back towards the cottage like a wave of blackness and frost. Harry could only hope that Sirius, and maybe some people from the Order, would get here to provide assistance soon. He ran his fingers over the Consume Array, activating it and making the runes glow with a faint blue light.

The first Dementor that forced itself into the cottage this time was met with a stab to the chest from the sword. For a split second, nothing seemed to happen, but then with a sickening crunching sound along with the sound of displaced air, the Dementor was drawn into and absorbed by the Artifact Sword.

I thought it would just consume their Magic and effect…’ Harry briefly thought, in shock at what he’d just witnessed. He had no more time to think after that as the back window shattered letting two more Dementors force their way into the cottage. Another Dementor also glided into the broken backdoor and reached for Harry. A swing of the sword, followed by the horrible crunching sound as the Dementor was consumed, and the one from the backdoor was taken care of. The two from the window reached out with their rotten, bony hands to try to grab Harry. Remembering his lessons in swordsmanship, Harry put the edge of the blade between him and the grasping hands. The disgusting sound of the Dementors emaciated and rotten bodies being consumed followed as soon as they grabbed the blade.

On the edge of Wood End Cottage, multiple cracks of Apparation were heard as Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Moody, Tonks, Shacklebolt, and Arthur Weasley appeared. Seeing the absolute swarm of Dementors, as well as being hit by the intense chill that so many in such a small area produced, the group was stunned for a short second. It was quickly brushed off by Tonks and Sirius as both cast their Patronus Charms at the Dementors. A bright silvery dog and an equally silvery raccoon ran into the horde, scattering some of the Dementors.

“Something isn’t right.” Moody stabbed his wand forward a silvery bloodhound charging into the mass of wraith-like beings. “Look at them, barely moving away! Dementors should be fleeing from this many Patronus Charms!”

“Something is very much not right.” Dumbledore agreed and a circle of his wand later his Phoenix Patronus, much larger than the others, flew into the Dementors, sending them flying backwards with rattling shrieks.

“Why are they acting against their nature?” Shacklebolt’s lynx had joined the fray along with Arthur’s weasel and Remus’ wolf.

“Who cares?!” Tonks snapped back as she poured more of her mana into her Raccoon Patronus, making the spectral guardian grow and push back more Dementors.

“They’re still attacking the cottage!” Sirius bit out, his Patronus rushing towards the cottage to try and get to Harry. The presence of so many Dementors was slowly weakening all of their Charms just from sheer numbers.

“Are they trying to force their way inside even against all of us?” Arthur had worked for the Ministry for his entire adult life, he knew enough about Dementors to know that this behavior was completely abnormal. “It’s almost like they’ve been ordered to get to Harry at all costs…” He trailed off as the other Order members’ eyes widened at the implication.

“Harry!” Tonks and Sirius both empowered their Patronus even further, making the guardians bigger and sending the Dementors into a frenzy of strange wailing as they continued to retreat closer to the cottage rather than away from the multiple Patronus Charms.

“Bloody hell!” Harry swung his sword again, the horrid sound following as another Dementor was consumed. He raised his left hand and blasted a condensed Patronus mist into the encroaching horde as he retreated further into the cottage. The kitchen was overrun now and he’d retreated into the short hallway now. This did give him the benefit of limiting the Dementors to coming at him one at a time. A quick stab of his sword and the Dementor was consumed. Unfortunately, the sheer number had frozen over the kitchen and that chill had already spread throughout the cottage making ice form. Harry was shivering fiercely as the chill bit into him.

“Haaaa…” A Dementor’s rattling breath sounded incredibly loud as it forced its way into the short hallway.

“Fuck!” Harry thrust his sword forward again and the Dementor made an odd noise before it was crushed and consumed by the blade. He had no idea how many that was now, thirty or forty at least, maybe more? He had briefly seen what he thought was a Patronus through the back window before he’d been forced to retreat into the short hallway. At least that meant that Sirius was probably here trying to save him. “Why’re you bastards so focused on me?!” He bit out, launching another concentrated blast of Patronus mist at the Dementors he could see. It was getting harder to form the Charm with so many of the monsters swarming him.

Crash

The sound of the front door giving way made Harry quickly scramble up the stairs to the second floor. A Dementor from the living room tried to grab him only to grab the blade of Harry’s sword instead and get sucked into it with another disgusting cracking and crushing sound. He was able to retreat up the stairs about halfway before he had to turn and stab another Dementor that was gliding up the stairs behind him.

“Damn it…if only I could get to my cloak.” Harry bit out, knowing his Storage Cloak was hung up inside the smithy. He had completely forgotten to grab it when he’d come in for his shower, too focused on keeping the Frost Azuryte in his new sword safe. Aethereum was still stored within the space-manipulating cloak and its power would be immensely useful right now.

“Raaaaa…” Three Dementors floated up the stairs all at once and reached out for Harry with their bony hands.

“Fuck off!” Harry roared and swung the new sword since he had space now. The first Dementor was still being consumed when he hit the second one. The second and third were able to grab Harry, making painful red marks on his flesh from the cold. The instant the first Dementor was fully consumed, the blade touched the second and was quick to devour it too. The third Dementor had been leaning close to Harry’s face, letting him see its eyeless visage, before the sword touched it and consumed it entirely. “So…one at a time then…” Harry panted, his breaths coming out in frosty wisps.

Another wave of Dementors rushing up the stairs at him made Harry grimace as he was forced back. Another stab, followed by a swing, then stab, then swing, and Harry was getting close to his bedroom door. He racked his brain trying to recall if he had anything inside that could help him. He was grabbed by the shoulder and a quick stab over his shoulder saw the Dementor consumed. His shoulder, even under his shirt, had a bright red mark from the touch of the Dementor.

“Protego!” Harry cast the Shield Charm to cover the hallway. It could block both spells and physical objects up to a point…but that would only buy him some time. His real aim was to force the Dementors to touch his new sword. He’d purposefully left the blade on the opposite side of the Charm, while the hilt remained in his hand. His consuming sword was essentially stabbed through the Protego as the Dementors poured up the stairs to try and get at him.

“Haaa…” The Dementors’ rattling breaths made Harry grimace as they seemed to suck all the heat out of the air. Already Wood End Cottage was covered in frost and ice like a giant freezer. One after another, the Dementors clawed at the Protego, which Harry had to constantly reinforce with his mana. But on the same note, more and more of the soul-sucking monsters were touching the blade of his sword and being crushed, twisted, and consumed by it.

“Damn things…” Harry ground his teeth as it got harder and harder to maintain the Protego. He was already running low on mana after his work today. If he didn’t know better, he’d say that this attack was planned for when he’d be alone and weakened!

“Harry!” Tonks and Sirius could be heard in unison from downstairs.

“Upstairs!” Harry yelled out as his back hit his bedroom door. He was tired…his mana was still dropping, but the Dementors numbers were lowering too. Only a few remained as they clawed at the weakening Protego. Another two were consumed as Harry heard heavy foot falls on the frozen stairs.

“Get away from him!” Tonks roared as her Patronus Raccoon slammed into the back of two of the Dementors.

“You bastards!” Sirius’ voice was the incarnation of paternal fury at seeing his godson pressed back against the wall, struggling to hold off the last few Dementors. His Dog Patronus leapt upon another Dementor and bit at it over and over again.

The horrible sound of a Dementor being consumed by the sword startled Tonks and Sirius. The actual sight of a Dementor being crushed, broken, and sucked into the blade nearly made them drop their Patronus Charms. The last three Dementors, the ones under attack by their spectral guardians, were quickly stabbed and absorbed by the sword as Harry dropped the fading Protego to finish them off.

“Hah…hah…hah…” Harry’s breathing was heavy as he shook with chills. He looked over at Tonks and Sirius with a small smile, the best he could manage at the moment. “Thanks…for the…help.”

“Harry, your lips are blue…” Sirius was at his godson’s side almost instantly. “You’re cold to the touch!” He cast a Warming Charm on Harry to try and combat the extreme chill his godson had been suffering under.

“Here, a blanket.” Tonks conjured a thick cloth out of thin air, cast a Warming Charm on it, and then wrapped it around Harry.

“Harry, Sirius, Tonks, are you alright?” Remus had run up the stairs while Tonks was conjuring the blanket. Seeing the look on his surrogate nephew’s face, he pulled a small bar of chocolate from one of his pockets. “Harry, eat this, even if your Occlumency is great, Dementors still have horrible effects on people.”

“Thank you…” Harry took a bite of the chocolate, only realizing as the warmth slowly returned to his body that his sense of emotion had been dulled after so much concentrated exposure to Dementors.

“What is this sword?” Tonks eyed the weapon that she’d seen literally absorb the Dementors.

“Don’t touch it!” Harry replied with such severity that Sirius, Tonks, and Remus all took a half step away from the sword. “It’s dangerous…right now.” He shivered slightly and let them lead him downstairs, making sure to keep the blade well away from anyone.

“Harry, thank goodness.” Dumbledore looked like the weight of a decade had just fallen off his shoulders when he saw Harry safe. “All of the Dementors seem to be gone now. But we don’t know when or if they’ll return.”

“They won’t be coming back.” Harry shook his head, his chills finally starting to subside thanks to the Warming Charms.

“How do you know that, Potter?” Moody had both eyes, real and prosthetic, focused on the Artificer.

“Because they’re gone…all of them are in here.” Harry carefully held up the sword in his right hand.

“What?” Kingsley looked beyond confused at Harry’s words.

“We saw it,” Tonks nodded to Dumbledore. “Harry’s sword…it…well, it absorbed the Dementors.”

“One of the weirdest and most disturbing things I’ve ever seen.” Sirius nodded to back up his surrogate niece.

“Harry, could you shed some light on this?” Dumbledore asked politely, eyeing the sword that had supposedly absorbed the Dementors.

“This sword…is my newest Artifact.” Harry replied as he made sure the blade was nowhere near anyone. “I used an especially rare and difficult bit of Runecraft called the Consume Array to make it. Similar to what is on the Sword of Erdunn that allows it to take in anything that would make it stronger. My Array was a modified, and honestly experimental, version of that Consume Array. I thought it would take in the Dementors’ Magic and their abilities, but it consumed them in their entirety instead.”

“You thought you would be attacked again?” Arthur looked worriedly at Harry; the Artificer was only his son Ron’s age after all.

“I figured if it happened once, then it could happen again.” Harry shrugged under the blanket around his shoulders. “I made this in hopes that if Dementors were used against me and Sirius again, then I could at least take their Magic and render them no threat to anyone.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe, Harry.” Tonks leaned against him slightly.

“We’ll worry about what kind of research you’re doing after this situation is handled.” Sirius agreed, his hand resting on Harry’s shoulder in support.

“While I do still have questions, perhaps they’re best saved for later.” Dumbledore nodded before looking around the frozen cottage. “I think it best if we inform the Aurors of what has happened, there is something wrong at Azkaban.”

“This might’ve been every Dementor in Azkaban.” Moody growled as the nagging thought he’d been having this whole time was vocalized by the Headmaster.

“I’ll inform Madam Bones immediately.” Kingsley nodded as he conjured his Lynx Patronus again, this time speaking to it softly for a short moment before sending it racing away so swiftly that it was out of sight in seconds.

“Well…I’ll call Marlie and tell her to Apparate home instead of using the Floo.” Sirius shook his head as he pulled out his Communication Mirror. “Marlie Reed.” He spoke to the mirror and a few seconds later began to talk with his fiancé.

“Are you going to be okay, Harry?” Tonks whispered to her boyfriend softly.

“Yeah, though I might need a good lie in tomorrow.” Harry joked with a light chuckle.

“What are you going to do about your new sword?” Tonks looked at the single edged blade with some trepidation.

“I’ll need to deactivate the Array.” Harry looked at his Artifact Sword. “It’ll never work again, but I think I’ve got more of a power source than I ever intended.” He ran his fingers over the slightly glowing runes of the Consume Array and the blue glow faded away. “There, now it won’t absorb anything else.”

“That’s good at least.” Tonks smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Huh?” Harry looked at his sword in confusion as he felt it start to vibrate. It got worse and worse to the point the sword started to blur from the motion. “What the hell?!” Harry tried to stop the sword from shaking by gripping it with both hands.

“What’s going on, Harry?” Tonks looked confused and shocked at the sudden actions of the sword.

“I’m not sure…” Harry grit his teeth as the sword began to glow with a dark blue color, a literal aura of Magic surrounding the weapon.

“Harry?!” Sirius had finished his call with Marlie only to see his godson holding a sword that looked to be about to explode. “Throw it away!”

“Mr. Potter!” Dumbledore was rushing towards his recently graduated student with his wand in hand. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but it certainly didn’t look good!

“It’s settling down…” Harry grunted out as the aura slowly faded and the shaking stopped. “I think…it was just processing its new power source, maybe?” He looked at the sword curiously, noting that nothing appeared to be wrong with it.

“Perhaps it would be best if you set that sword down?” Dumbledore looked at the blade warily. To his experienced senses, something still felt off about the weapon.

“That might be for the best, Harry.” Sirius agreed that not touching the Artifact Sword was for the better right now.

“Yeah sure, I don’t have a scabbard prepared though.” Harry shrugged before his face twisted into a rictus of pain and he cried out suddenly. “Fuck!” The curse tore from Harry’s throat as he glared down at where he had a hold of the sword. His hand was being rapidly encased in ice! He tried to cast a Warming Charm but the spell failed against the encroaching frost.

“Harry…forgive me!” Tonks apologized before she placed her hand over Harry’s and a strong flame surrounded the ice.

“Shit…” Harry grit his teeth against the pain, but the ice melted and he was able to force his numb fingers to let go of the sword even as they were lightly burned.

The blade of the single edged sword stabbed into the ground, leaving it almost perfectly straight in position. As Sirius, Tonks, and Remus provided first aid for Harry’s injured hand, the rest of the Order members eyed the Artifact Sword warily. From where the blade had stabbed into the ground, a creeping frost began to slowly expand. The grass, only partially thawed from the heat of a summer night, instantly refroze as the sword remained stuck in the now frozen dirt.

“What the hell did Potter make?” Moody’s Magical eye stared at the sword.

“Something even he cannot touch, it would seem.” Dumbledore made a loop and three circles with his wand and a ring of flames surrounded the sword. The creeping frost was stopped by the Magical fire and Dumbledore nodded at containing the initial effect of this Artifact Sword. “For now, it’s best that no one touches it until Harry is rested and can examine what is wrong with his creation.” As its creator, Harry would be the best at identifying what was happening with his new Artifact.

“We’ll have Marlie fix you up good as new, Harry.” Sirius smiled at his godson, from where the group of Harry, Tonks, Remus, and himself were sitting. “She’ll be home in just another minute or two.”

“It’s fine…it barely even hurts anymore.” Harry assured the three that were worrying over him.

“Don’t try and act macho, Harry.” Tonks was holding him against her side, laying her head atop his with a sigh.

The multiple cracks of Apparation were heard as almost a dozen red robed Aurors appeared at the edge of Wood End Cottage. The law enforcement agents were quick to rush towards the group through the frozen grass that was only partially melted. Every Auror was looking around in alert, obviously worried about Dementors, and had their wands in hand.

“Moody, Shacklebolt, Tonks, report!” Amelia Bones ordered as she stopped beside Dumbledore. She was most definitely not ready for what she was about to hear.

Marlie would apparate home only a minute or so later, worried but knowing that everyone was okay. She was able to get passed the Auror line with Sirius’ say so and was helping heal up Harry’s injured hand the instant she saw the injury. Harry thanked her with a smile as he flexed his fingers. Marlie still took him through a full range of motion test and a sensitivity test for good measure. She was very thorough with her work after all.

-Ministry of Magic ~ Dolores Umbridge’s Office ~ Next Morning-

“What is this?” Umbridge read over the parchment that had been left in her ‘In’ box. It came from an Auror that she had blackmail on and was a preliminary report of what had happened at the residence of Lord Black and Artificer Potter the previous night. “Finally!” The vile woman had an ugly smile on her face. “Something I can use against that little brat!” She was out of her office and knocking on Cornelius’ door in minutes.

“Come in,” Fudge allowed whoever was knocking on his door so insistently. He wasn’t expecting to see his Senior Undersecretary barge into his office waving about a piece of parchment. He most assuredly wasn’t expecting the first words out of her mouth either.

“Potter has stolen from the Ministry!” Umbridge declared loudly as she crossed the office and nearly slapped the parchment onto the Minister’s desk.

“Dolores…what on earth are you talking about?” Fudge looked at the woman like she’d lost her mind.

“This, Minister!” Umbridge tapped the parchment with one of her long pink nails. “Potter did something with an Artifact and stole all of the Dementors of Azkaban!” Sure, that wasn’t the full truth, but it was the end result. She finally had something against that little bastard!

“Dementors? Again?!”  Fudge felt himself break into a light sweat just hearing about Dementors being at the residence of Lord Black and Artificer Potter again. It had barely been just over a week since the first incident!

“As you know, Cornelius, the Dementors are the property of the Ministry of Magic! Whatever Potter has done to them represents theft of Ministry assets! We must move to have him tried before the Wizengamot for this theft!” Umbridge said quickly and with a barely hidden sickly smile.

“What?” Fudge was looking between his Senior Undersecretary and the parchment to try and piece together what had happened.

“You don’t need to worry about a thing, Minister! I’ll take care of this situation!” Umbridge declared and was out of his office with the parchment before Fudge could react.

“What…Dolores! Dolores!” Fudge called out as he stood from his chair and rushed to the door of his office. He had just made it out of his office when he was stopped by a paper airplane that nearly hit him in the face. Seeing that the parchment plane had a red mark on it, denoting that it was urgent, he plucked it out of the air and unfolded it with a tap of his wand. “WHAT?!” His cry of shock and panic could be heard through a good portion of the Ministry.

Azkaban had fallen.

-End Chapter-

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Holy shit!

Voldemort has destroyed Azkaban, reclaimed his inner circle, and wrested control of the geas that controls the Dementors! He sends all one-hundred of the soul-sucking monsters after Harry!

Harry manages to survive with help from his family and the Order, plus his new Artifact Sword! That modified Consume Array worked out…sort of? Harry can’t seem to touch his new sword. That might be bad.

Perhaps in trying to prepare for the next attack, our young Artificer has created something that not even he can control.

Now Umbridge thinks she can charge Harry with stealing from the Ministry?!

What the hell is that vile woman on?

How will this incident play out? How will Magical Britain respond to the news about Azkaban?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 26,884

Tonks – 21,718

Penelope – 16,362

Fleur – 16,926

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 56: Unjust Action, Inner Circle

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! With Azkaban fallen, the Dementors all consumed by Harry’s new sword, and Voldemort’s Inner Circle back with their master, things are certainly heating up. Now Harry has another annoyance coming to cause issues. The prodigious Artificer just can’t catch a break, can he?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 56 – Unjust Action, Inner Circle

“Ah, you little shite.” Harry growled at his new Artifact Sword. He was standing outside the ring of Magical flames that Dumbledore had conjured to contain the spread of the frost that continued to be produced by the blade stuck in the ground. He was trying to commune with his creation, both to figure out why it was spreading frost and chill without being used, as well as to try and learn why it had tried to freeze his hand when he’d held it. As the Artifact’s creator and master, it shouldn’t passively harm him just from holding it.

“No luck, Harry?” Sirius questioned from just behind Harry. He was ready to step in at the first sign that something was going wrong. He’d pull Harry away kicking and screaming if he had to.

“It’s an unwieldy thing to say the least.” Harry glared at the blade. “Even to my senses it feels off. But I can’t just let it sit here forever.”

“Did you find out anything about it though?” Sirius was curious himself. This new Artifact was different from anything that Harry had created before, especially since none of his previous creations had ever harmed him like this one had.

“A little.” Harry sighed with a grimace. “Its power source is the one hundred Dementors that it consumed. Naturally, that means it promotes feelings of sadness, fear, melancholy, and the like. I imagine that it’ll make anyone that holds it feel like they’re near a Dementor at the very least.”

“Is that why it tried to freeze you for holding it?” Sirius had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked between the sword and Harry. “This is starting to sound similar to what Tōshū warned you about, isn’t it?” The godfather looked pointedly at his godson. “Didn’t he specifically warn you about mixing Creature Craft with Runes?”

“He did.” Penny spoke up, visiting Harry after what had happened last night. She was worried when Harry had mirror called her last night, but had agreed to wait until morning to come over.

“Very specifically mentioned that creatures with a lot of magical power or intelligence could have their intent or even their will linger within the creation because of the Runes.” Fleur had also come over and looked none too amused at Harry’s latest creation. Even if it hadn’t been intentional, her lover had made exactly the type of creation that he was warned about.

“I wasn’t exactly planning on consuming one hundred Dementors with it.” Harry looked at both of his scholarly girlfriends with a heavy shrug. “But from what I’ve been able to glean from it, the problem lies in the sword’s innate power now.”

“The Dementor’s powers?” Penny raised an eyebrow at the sword.

“Not their abilities, no.” Harry shook his head. “Their combined Magical Power is much greater than my own. That’s why I can’t touch the sword. The power of the blade overwhelms my own Magical power and it starts to freeze me over because of it.”

“You made a cursed sword.” Fleur’s blue eyes were filled with a mix of worry and curiosity. “No one weaker than it can touch it without suffering or potentially dying. There are curses that can be placed with similar parameters, of course, but you’ve made it a part of the sword itself, even if accidentally.”

“I wouldn’t suggest trying to experiment with it.” Harry wasn’t the only overly curious one in their relationship. Fleur absolutely loved to study and figure out new or obscure Magics. She’d already been offered a role in the current study her old mentor Madam Aveline was a part of after all.

“Can we do anything about it?” Penny’s question once more showing her responsible side that had seen her become Prefect and then Head Girl back at Hogwarts. “If it’s this dangerous, then we really can’t just leave it here for long.”

“We might try making a barrier?” Sirius suggested, stroking his trimmed beard. “We’d need some stone, preferably granite, then rune work to contain the sword’s power would have to be etched into the stones themselves. Maybe some kind of Magical fire too since Dumbledore’s spell seems to be holding it back well enough.”

“Penny and I could handle the rune work.” Harry looked at his girlfriend with a smile.

“It shouldn’t be too difficult.” Penny agreed with Harry, a grin on her lips. “An array to contain Magic within a certain space isn’t something new. It was the basis of the original wards that hid the Magical from the Non-Magical after all.”

“I can provide all the Magical fire that you could ever need.” Fleur held up her hand and flames danced in her palm. “Veela fire has some innate Magical properties of its own that should help counter the frost that the sword exudes.”

“Alright, I’m sure we can get some granite from the Dwarves, and if not, I can always buy some.” Sirius was happy that they’d decided on a plan of action already. If even Harry couldn’t touch his creation, then it was best to seal it away for now until something else could be done with it.

The four of them headed towards the cottage to work out the plan to build a barrier around the sword. Thanks to Magic, after the Aurors had investigated Wood End Cottage and taken pictures of the frost covering the walls and the damages done, the home had been quickly repaired and set to rights. Tayla had wailed about being unable to protect Harry, but he’d forgiven her immediately. With every Dementor in Azkaban attacking their home, it was no surprise the House Elf had been nearly comatose in fear and despair.

None of them were expecting a sudden crack of Apparation that was quickly followed by shouting.

“What the hell?” Sirius demanded as he looked over to see a newly arrived group of three that were being held back by the two Aurors that had been stationed at Wood End Cottage for the day in case anything else happened at the residence.

“I am the Senior Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic!” The shrill voice of Dolores Umbridge was heard and Harry immediately scowled. The woman, once more wearing bright pink robes, practically shoved past the two Aurors and the two following her gave their colleagues apologies. “Potter!” Umbridge screeched as soon as she caught sight of him. “You’re under arrest for theft of Ministry assets!” She had an ugly smile on her toad-like face.

“Shut your mouth, you vile pink toad!” Sirius roared at Umbridge, making the squat woman stop her approach with a visible flinch. Sirius was quickly Lord Black as he nearly stomped towards the annoying woman. “How dare you accuse my godson of stealing anything! What proof do you have? He was just attacked by every Dementor of Azkaban last night! Do citizens not have the right to defend themselves in Magical Britain anymore? The fact that Azkaban has fallen must not mean anything to you if you’re here throwing around false charges.”

“I…how…how dare you, sir!” Umbridge sputtered out after a moment to get her wits back. “The Dementors are Ministry property! Regardless of the reason, taking them from Ministry handling is a crime!”

“They were already out of Ministry handling last night when they attacked, or are you implying that the Ministry knowingly sent every Dementor in Azkaban after my godson?” Sirius’s glare nearly burned into Umbridge’s eyes.

“The Ministry did no such thing!” Umbridge denied, her disgusting gaze locking onto Harry with a glare. “Your godson most likely did something to draw them here so that he could steal them from the Ministry!”

“You dare?!” Sirius nearly drew his wand on the horrid woman right then and there.

“We will also be confiscating whatever Artifact you stole the Dementors with, Potter!” Umbridge declared imperiously, not facing Sirius’s anger seemed to give her confidence. “Now, where is it? Hand it over, you little thief! I’ll have you in front of the Wizengamot today for what you’ve done!”

“How dare you ignore a Lord!” Sirius stepped between Umbridge and Harry, his dark eyes glaring death at the pink witch. “I’ll have your job for this, Umbridge!”

“Are you threatening me, sir?” Umbridge blustered, trying to make her position seem equal with the standing of one of Magical Britain’s Lords. Her eyes caught sight of the sword surrounded by clearly Magical flames and an ugly sneer twisted her lips. “I see, that’s what you used, isn’t it?” She was quickly walking, not quite jogging, but more of a fast waddle, towards the nameless Artifact.

“Don’t touch it, you fool!” Harry bellowed as he moved after the woman along with Sirius. All four Aurors were rushing after the three to try and prevent a physical or, heaven forbid, magical altercation.

“I am retrieving the Ministry property that you stole, boy!” Umbridge nearly spat, staying just ahead of Harry and Sirius. “You have no right to try and stop me!”

“He’s trying to save your life, you daft bitch!” Sirius warned the toad-like woman.

“Aurors! My life has just been threatened!” Umbridge pointed back at Sirius while still moving as fast as she could towards the Artifact Sword. “Arrest him immediately!”

“Ma’am, don’t you think you should listen to them?” One of the Aurors she came with questioned, not moving to follow her orders.

“Do your job or I’ll have your badge, Auror!” Umbridge stopped at the edge of the ring of fire and her stubby-fingered hand reached out to snatch the handle of the sword. She pulled it from the frozen ground and nearly brandished it at Harry, Sirius, and the four Aurors.

“Put it down now!” Harry demanded, knowing exactly what would happen if she held it for more than a few seconds. With a quick burst of his mana into his glasses, he used the Scouter function to read Umbridge’s mana level. 2,704 appeared on the lens and Harry nearly choked on his own breath. She’d be overwhelmed near instantly at only about a tenth of what he possessed!

“I will not!” Umbridge declared with a glare. “This is now Ministry property! You are under arrest!” She pointed the sword at Harry. “And you, Lord Black, are also under arrest for threatening me!”

“Drop the sword, it’s going to kill you!” Harry yelled at the vile woman.

“Enough!” Umbridge swung the weapon, unleashing a wave of ice at Harry, Sirius, and even the Aurors without meaning to. “I’ll hear no more of your lies!” Inwardly she was giddy at having this sword in her hand. She’d cast a powerful spell merely by swinging it! With this…with this she could get whatever position she wanted in the Ministry! She could finally enact the laws and policies that she’d always wanted to. Keeping the filthy beasts and the thieving, Magic-stealing mudbloods out of the Magical World.

“Madam Umbridge!” One of the Aurors that had come with her called out.

“What? Were you hurt by my spell?” Umbridge demanded of the Auror, already considering the power of the Artifact to be her own.

“Your hand!” The Auror ignored the almost mocking tone in the Undersecretary’s voice.

“What are you talking about…?” Umbridge trailed off as she realized that she couldn’t feel her right hand anymore. Looking down she quickly saw the reason why. Ice and frost were rapidly spreading up her arm. Her hand was already encased and the flesh of her arm that had yet to be covered was already a deathly blue as the Artifact Sword stole all heat from her body. “Aaaaahhhhh!” She screamed, unable to let go of the sword or even flail her arm in an attempt to dislodge it.

“Harry!” Sirius looked at his godson and received a nod in return. “Incendio!” He cast at Umbridge’s arm to try and halt the ice. Harry joined in, wreathing Umbridge’s frozen arm in flames wandlessly to stop the encroachment of the frost.

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!” Umbridge continued to wail and scream as the two worked to save her life.

The flames swirled around the ice, letting off steam as it melted but quickly refroze. The nameless sword was more powerful than their spells though. While they could deal with the ice creeping across her skin, they weren’t able to make any real progress on stopping the chill from stealing all the warmth from Umbridge’s body. The toad-like woman’s skin turned a deathly blue as her screaming slowed and then stopped. Her body seemed to lock up and frost quickly began to form all over her.

“Shite…” Sirius ended his spell and Harry followed his example.

“Wh-What the hell just happened?” One of the Aurors questioned as they all stared at the frozen form of Dolores Umbridge.

“I told her not to touch it.” Harry grimaced at the death that would possibly be blamed on him.

“You warned her, Harry, you even tried to save her life. Everyone here saw it.” Sirius assured his godson while shooting a pointed look at the four Aurors.

“She did not listen and grabbed a dangerous Artifact against the express warnings of the Artificer that created it.” Fleur glared at the frozen Witch. “The wretched woman deserved it.”

“I think she’s still getting colder.” Penny pointed out with wide eyes.

Indeed, frosty steam began to rise off of the frozen body. The wisps became almost as thick as smoke before a loud crack was heard and what was left of Dolores Umbridge’s body shattered into hundreds of pieces. The Artifact Sword fell to the grass and the green blades slowly started to freeze over as the frost spread anew. Harry wandlessly banished his creation back into the circle of flames, but the spell seemed to have less of an effect than it should’ve. The blade only moved back a handful of centimeters, rather than into the ring of fire that Harry was aiming for.

“Of course…Adamantite.” Harry realized his mistake of trying to use a spell against his newest Artifact. He moved forward quickly and with a light kick, he sent the Artifact Sword into the air for a second before it landed within the ring of flames again. “There, that should hold it for a bit.”

“Umm…Artificer Potter…we need to take some statements and investigate this.” One of the four Aurors spoke up after a long moment of silence.

“Yeah, I figured.” Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“You’ll speak to my godson only with our lawyer present.” Sirius stated, supporting his godson to the fullest extent of the law.

“Of course, Lord Black.” A different Auror nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like they really had a choice. Having legal representation was his right, especially as Harry was still not of his Majority yet. Sirius, as his godfather, could step in on Harry’s behalf until he was seventeen.

“I guess we’ll have to put the barrier construction plans on hold for now.” Fleur sighed and Penny gave her a one-armed hug.

“Speaking of barriers, I’ll definitely need to use a similar method once I can get the time to make a scabbard for that sword.” Harry nodded to himself as he looked at the icy blade for a drawn out moment.

“How strong is it, Harry?” Penny questioned, knowing that most of Harry’s Artifacts were made over several days. That meant they usually ended up being some multiple of his own full strength as he imparted as much of his mana into his creations as possible.

“At best estimate?” Harry looked between Penny and the Artifact Sword. “Probably close to four times what Aethereum has innately.”

“Four times what Aethereum has?” Penny nearly gaped at the ludicrous amount of innate mana the deadly blade possessed. “That would put it close to 60,000 mana!”

“Which is why none of us can hold it.” Harry nodded with a grimace. “Not even Dumbledore has that much mana, I’ve checked.”

“How are you even going to get it into any scabbard you make if you can’t touch it?” Fleur questioned, her blue eyes nearly glaring at the sword surrounded by flames.

“I’ll have to figure out a temporary work around.” Harry admitted with a shake of his head. “It can’t be left out and a barrier can be broken if people are determined enough. I’ll make a scabbard to contain it and then I should be able to stuff it into a Mokeskin pouch that I can stash into my Rune Safe. No one will be able to get to it then.”

What Harry didn’t tell anyone was the other two functions that he’d been able to glean by communing with his newest Artifact. The ability to slowly but consistently consume mana that came into contact with the blade. As well as the ability to sever the connection between body and soul. Much like a Dementor’s Kiss, his blade would be able to break that connection, once any mana was out of the way first. It was a terrifying ability, and would technically not kill the person unlucky enough to experience it. Their soul would simply leave their body and go wherever souls went after death. That was assuming that the chill of the sword didn’t kill them before their mana ran out, of course.

Too far, too fast, Harry.’ Harry’s self-recrimination was kept inside his own mind. ‘Tōshū warned you of something like this, though the circumstances were much different. Once I can contain it, maybe I can take it to Drasurd and have him look it over?’ The Dwarf King was centuries-old and there was a chance that he might be strong enough to hold the sword to examine it. ‘I really should start scanning people with my Scouter more. I’d at least know who to watch out for should things get bad, or who I could ask for help in situations like this.’ Now done berating himself, Harry went with Sirius, Penny, and Fleur into the cottage to Floo the Black Family lawyer. The four Aurors followed after them, all confused by what they’d just seen and none in any hurry to try to confiscate the deadly Artifact.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Wiltshire-

“The Daily Prophet, my lord.” Lucius handed over the newspaper to Voldemort with a bow. He kept his head down and his eyes on the floor and hated that he was doing the work of a House Elf in his own home.

“Hmm…Azkaban destroyed…Dementors vanished…Prisoners missing…Dark Mark in the sky.” Voldemort read over the main headline that was showing multiple pictures of the devastated prison. “Has the Dark Lord returned?” He narrowed his red eyes at the paper. “Who else could accomplish such a feat?! Are they that foolish to doubt me?!” He nearly snarled at the newspaper. He was the greatest Wizard to ever live! Where did these sheep get the nerve to deny his power and knowledge?

“Fudge is trying to maintain calm, but not many are listening to him.” Lucius reported to his master. “Fear is already spreading and I believe that soon the situation will return to what it was in the Seventies.”

“As it should be.” Voldemort lessened his rage as he flipped to the second page of the paper to continue reading. It was best to know what was going on with the Ministry since his people inside were being somewhat stymied by the near lockdown that the DMLE had enforced. Just as he’d suspected, there were interviews with Madam Bones and other Senior Staff at the Ministry regarding what had happened. He may not know exactly what they planned right away, but their assurances to the sheep would let the Dark Lord know their general plans. “Any contact from Yaxley is to be brought to me at once, Lucius, am I clear?”

“Crystal, my lord.” Lucius had not raised his head the entire time.

“Go check on the Inner Circle and report back to me their conditions.” Voldemort waved Lucius away, stinging the man’s pride again without a care.

“At once, my lord.” Lucius backed out of the room and only stood back to his full height after closing the door. With his fists clenched, he turned and made his way to the guest wing which had been converted into a pseudo-infirmary for the Inner Circle that had been freed from Azkaban.

“Lucius…” Snape gave a nod to the man as he entered the room. He was administering potions to the laid up Inner Circle members, many of whom were asleep as the various Magical treatments did their work to restore their bodies and minds.

“How are they?” Lucius looked over to see Augustus Rookwood sitting up in his bed and writing on some parchment. The former Unspeakable always did like to write down his thoughts and whatever knowledge he felt would help Voldemort.

“I’ve managed to stabilize them for now.” Snape spoke as he stood up to his full height. “The damage to their bodies will take a bit of time to recover, but their minds are a more delicate matter.”

“Have they completely lost them?” Lucius questioned, knowing that Voldemort would be incredibly angry if his Inner Circle was already lost to him after going through the trouble of destroying Azkaban.

“No, though there is noticeable damage in some of them.” Snape looked over to the unconscious form of Bellatrix Lestrange, and then the brothers Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange. “The rest just need time for the potions to undo the damage of Dementor exposure for the most part, but after ten years that will be a somewhat slow process.”

“I see.” Lucius already knew that the Lestrange trio were damaged, even back in the Seventies. A decade of Dementor exposure would’ve only made them worse. “What of Rowle and Dolohov?”

“Still sane, their Occlumency no doubt helped.” Snape looked at the two sleeping Wizards. “Once their treatment is complete, then they’ll be ready to return to the Dark Lord’s service at full form.”

“That’s some good news.” Lucius nodded with some small relief.

“Do you yet know what it is our Lord needs with all the materials he’s having you acquire?” Snape questioned as he moved to the next bed and the Death Eater lying in it.

“No, he only speaks of performing a Great Magic with them.” Lucius honestly felt out of the loop. The Dark Lord had been keeping most everything close to his chest since his return. “He tells me nothing of what this Great Magic entails, only that all of this material is absolutely necessary.”

“Strange, I do not recall him being so distant in the past.” Snape shook his head as he began administering potions to the sleeping Death Eater.

“His fall seems to have changed him. He holds no trust in anyone now.” Lucius agreed with his old schoolmate.

Truthfully, Severus Snape didn’t care much anymore who won or lost this conflict. He was playing both sides so that he would come out on top regardless. After Lily died, he’d just stopped caring once Voldemort vanished. When the Dark Lord had suddenly returned, Snape had agreed to be a spy as it let him get back into Voldemort’s good graces. For him it no longer mattered the outcome. Lily was gone and there was no bringing her back, Voldemort wasn’t someone that Snape could take on for revenge normally. But if the chance presented itself, and it was guaranteed that Voldemort couldn’t return, then the Potions Master might take his chance to exact some modicum of vengeance. But with the Dark Lord returning from what was basically death, revenge of any kind didn’t seem likely. So, he’d play his part on both sides and survive no matter who won.

-Wood End Cottage-

“I must admit, I wasn’t expecting your request, Brother Potter.” Drasurd stroked his long beard with a chuckle. “But it’s good to get out of the mountain every once and a while.”

“Thank you for accepting my request to come here, King Erdunn.” Harry gave a polite bow.

“If you’re being formal like that, you must have a favor to ask me.” Drasurd grinned, only denoted by the movement of his beard and his eyes. “What do you need, Brother Potter?”

“I was hoping that you’d allow me to scan you with my Scouter before I asked anything else of you.” Harry tapped his glasses so that Drasurd would understand his intentions.

“Very well, it’s no harm to me.” Drasurd shrugged without a care.

“Thank you very much.” Harry sent a bit of mana into his glasses to activate the Scouter and broke into a smile at what he saw.

“How’d I do?” Drasurd chuckled at Harry’s smile.

“You’re mana total is 62,488, you’re the highest I’ve ever scanned besides Nicholas Flamel.” Harry informed the Dwarf King. “You’re stronger than both Dumbledore and Voldemort.”

“I’d hope so,” Drasurd chortled and slapped his knee. “I’m far older than both of them after all.”

He is, it’s just unfortunate that Dwarves do not use Magic in the same way as Wizards and Witches.’ Harry mused to himself while Drasurd finished his laughter. ‘If Drasurd was a Wizard of such power, then Voldemort probably wouldn’t be an issue.’ A wand in the hand of a Dwarf was about as useful as giving a violin to a person that had never played before. Nothing of value would come from it. A Dwarf’s Magic lay in their ability to imbue it into their creations and understand the characteristics of earth, soil, stone, and metals. Harry still wouldn’t want to face Drasurd in single-combat or anything like that, he’d probably have his head taken off for his trouble, but someone like Voldemort would probably be able to kill Drasurd even with the difference in their mana levels.

“So, what’s this favor you spoke of?” Drasurd questioned the Sworn Brother of his people.

“I’ve created a new Artifact, based on our last conversation, you see.” Harry informed the Dwarf King.

“You fool boy!” Drasurd raised his voice and looked at Harry like he was mad. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? We barely went over possibilities for working with the Consume Array, and you go and do it right after? Are you dense as iron?”

“It wasn’t my intention to make the Artifact as I did, but it did save my life.” Harry raised his hands to try and placate Drasurd.

“Let me guess, something went wrong?” Drasurd let out a heavy exhale of breath. “Are you alright, Harry?” He was genuinely concerned for the boy’s wellbeing.

“I’m fine, but a mistake in the completion of the Artifact has made it unwieldy, to say the least.” Harry grimaced as he thought back to his own experience and Umbridge’s death. “It harmed me and killed someone else, just for holding it.”

“What in the deepest pits did you create?” Drasurd looked Harry in the eye.

“A sword….” Harry spoke, only to be cut off.

“Not much of a sword if you can’t even touch it now, is it?” Drasurd gave some criticism of Harry’s experimental work. He wanted to impress upon the young lad just how badly things could’ve gone by rushing like he’d done.

“Not really.” Harry admitted with a nod. “But I need to check if it’s possible to wield it if I become stronger.”

“So, you want me to try and handle it?” Drasurd realized what favor Harry wanted to ask of him.

“If you would grant me the favor, yes.” Harry nodded to the Dwarf King.

“Very well, shouldn’t be too hard to deal with.” Drasurd stood up and motioned for Harry to lead the way. “It won’t be the first unwieldy creation I’ve dealt with in my life.”

As the duo walked outside, they saw Fleur and Penny both going over some parchment and taking some rough measurements by eye. The lovely Scholars were in the midst of planning out the barrier they’d build around the nameless sword to contain it. When Drasurd and Harry approached, both Human and Veela gave a polite bow to the Dwarf King.

“So, this is your cursed sword, eh?” Drasurd eyed the blade lying in the circle of Magical fire.

“Yes, until it can be wielded, I have yet to give it a name.” Harry looked down at the sword.

“Please be careful, King Erdunn.” Penny requested of the dwarf. “We’ve seen what it can do to people just by holding it.”

“Don’t you worry, lass.” Drasurd reached down and took the sword firmly by the handle. “I’m not concerned about this ice pick.” He lifted the sword up and held it horizontally.

“King Erdunn! Your hand!” Fleur immediately warned the dwarf as the sword’s effect began to cover Drasurd’s hand in frost. “Please, let go of the sword! It’ll freeze you to death!”

“Who do you take me for?” Drasurd looked down at his ice-covered hand. With a flex of his fingers the ice cracked and fell away harmlessly. Harry felt Drasurd’s Magic pulse and then stood puzzled as the off feeling that the sword normally emitted seemed to be suppressed. “This unwieldy thing is no match for me.”

“He can hold it.” Penny blinked in shock as Drasurd brought the blade up to his eye level to examine it.

“That’s a good sign.” Harry actually felt some relief. “That means that I just have to get stronger than the sword to be able to wield it.”

“Aren’t you just under thirty-thousand right now?” Fleur looked at her lover with a slight warning in her eyes.

“If I’m close to halfway there, then it shouldn’t take me too much longer, right?” Harry smiled at her softly. “Until that time though, we can seal it up in the barrier so no one else will be hurt by it. And in the meantime, I’ll work on crafting a scabbard that can contain its power.”

“We’ll all be making sure you don’t do something crazy, Harry.” Penny informed him, her eyes locking with his. Fleur nodded in agreement beside her friend/future-sister-wife.

“I promise.” Harry held one of their hands each with a smile.

“Harry, might I speak to you about this cursed ice pick you’ve made?” Drasurd questioned after letting the youngsters have their moment. “Dour thing it is…being so unwieldy and making frost all the time.”

“Hmm…” Harry mused, looking at the sword in Drasurd’s hand and thinking about it for a second. “That’s not a bad name.”

“Huh?” Drasurd raised a bushy eyebrow at Harry.

“Dour means relentlessly severe, stern, or gloomy in manner or appearance.” Harry noted while looking at his newest Artifact. “Rather fitting for that blade, isn’t it?”

“Aye.” Drasurd could agree with that assessment. The cursed thing was dour as he’d described it.

“Plus, it makes frost as a side-effect when it isn’t properly controlled.” Harry grinned at Drasurd for a second. “Every Artifact needs some kind of name so I think I’ll call it Dourfrost. Thank you for the inspiration, King Drasurd.”

“Heh,” Drasurd chuckled loudly for a few moments. “Happy to be of inspiration, Brother Potter.” He was stern a moment later as he motioned Harry over to him. “But let’s be serious now. You already know what all the abilities of this sword are, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Harry confirmed with a nod, his eyes showing his concern about the sword’s most dangerous ability.

“That is a fate worse than death.” Drasurd whispered to the Artificer. “Be very careful with this sword, even once you’re strong enough to wield it. It’s not an ability that should be flaunted and spoken of.”

“I agree.” Harry nodded, knowing that he’d never want to use the soul-severing ability of Dourfrost if he could help it. If it had to be done, then so be it, but he’d never seek to remove a person’s soul. “For now, I’ll focus on containing it until I’m strong enough to wield it like you are.”

“You’re a good man, Harry Potter, stay that way.” Drasurd patted him on the shoulder lightly, by Dwarf standards.

“I’d rather not disappoint my family.” Harry shot a glance at Fleur and Penny, a smile making its way to his face almost immediately.

“That’s good.” Drasurd grinned before they both stopped their little huddle. “Now, let’s see about putting this thing through its paces while I’m here.”

“Just let me go get my notebook first!” Harry rushed over to his smithy with Drasurd’s chuckles following him.

-End Chapter-

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The new Artifact Sword has been named!

Dourfrost! A sword of ice and death. Its abilities are both fearsome and horrible. It’s also an unwieldy weapon, as Umbridge found out. Those weaker than the sword can’t even hold it without repercussions.

Perhaps it’ll come in handy in the future conflict though. But Harry has a lot of growing to do if he wants to be able to wield it like Drasurd can.

Magical Britain is already starting to come apart at the seams and Voldemort has barely been confirmed to be back. You have to wonder how they haven’t fallen apart completely over the years, don’t you?

What will happen as both Harry and Voldemort continue to prepare for their seemingly inevitable clash?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 26,884

Tonks – 21,718

Penelope – 16,362

Fleur – 16,926

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 57: Work, Rest, Rites

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Legal defense against Umbridge’s death is quick to wrap up since everyone is more than happy to tell the truth of what happened. Still, court is never fun and the family just wants to relax. Unfortunately, there is still work to be done and it can’t wait for very long. Not to mention that a certain Dark Lord is doing his own work to prepare Rites for his next Ritual. What terrible True Dark Magic is Voldemort going to invoke this time?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 57 – Work, Rest, Rites

Sirius and Harry stood before the Wizengamot with the Black Family Lawyer at their side. The case regarding Dolores Umbridge’s death via Dourfrost had been quick so far. No one was trying to hide anything about the incident. Sirius had told his side of the encounter. Harry had told his right after. Then all four Aurors that had been present had given their own testimonies. The Wizengamot had barely needed any time for deliberation at all after that.

“In the case regarding the unfortunate passing of Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge, Lord Sirius Orion Black and Artificer Harry James Potter are found not guilty of any wrongdoing.” Cornelius banged the gavel at his seat on the Wizengamot. It was a terrible turn of events, but his late Undersecretary had been given every warning not to touch the Artifact that had killed her. All four of the Aurors had corroborated Lord Black and Artificer Potter’s explanation of events as well. There was no crime here and Cornelius wasn’t in any mind to lock up either of them if You-Know-Who had returned.

“Excellent work as always.” Sirius turned to the Black Family Lawyer and shook the older man’s hand.

“It was an open and shut case this time, Lord Black.” The older wizard nodded to Sirius. The trio were out of the courtroom, thankfully without being hassled by the media since the case had been so quick to be dealt with. The trio separated at the Floo stations in the Ministry Atrium. The Black Family Lawyer returned to his office while both Harry and Sirius returned to Wood End Cottage.

-Wood End Cottage-

“We’re home.” Sirius called out as he and Harry stepped out of the Floo in a flash of green flames. He shrugged off his cloak and Tayla was quick to have the soot vanished from the garment before hanging it up properly.

“That was a pain.” Harry let Tayla take his cloak as well. “Even if it was fairly quick.”

“Welcome home you two.” Marlie smiled at them both before pecking Sirius’s lips.

“Come here, Harry.” Tonks, having a day off for once, patted her lap. Beside her on the couch were Penny and Fleur.

“Thank you.” Harry grinned before his body rapidly shifted into his Animagus form. The now raccoon Harry scampered across the floor, climbed up onto the couch, and then curled up in Tonks’ lap.

“It’s over now, Harry, just relax for a bit.” Tonks smiled down at the raccoon and began to pet him gently, running her fingers through his fur.

“I call next.” Penny giggled and Fleur playfully pouted at both of the other young women. All of them were more than happy to pet Harry’s raccoon form. He was very soft and it was relaxing for all of them.

“With the three of us, I think Harry should be fine.” Fleur smiled warmly at her boyfriend’s current form. Perhaps they should all look into becoming Animagus as well? ‘Thoughts for later.’ She decided and leaned into Penny’s side with a relaxed smile. Now was time for family and to rest after the hectic last few days.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Wiltshire-

“This one must face this direction…exactly this far from the previous monolith…the angle should be…” Voldemort quietly mumbled to himself as he levitated a large slab of granite. The stone had been hewn into a perfect rectangle and was a match in all measurements to its six counterparts.

From a distance, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, and even Draco Malfoy watched the Dark Lord construct what appeared to be a knock-off Stonehenge on their property. They dared not question Voldemort’s actions or motives, but all three could admit to being curious. This was supposedly the first step that the Dark Lord needed to take in order to work the Great Magic that he’d spoken of. Since the returned Voldemort hadn’t deigned to share anything with anyone yet, that was all the Malfoy’s knew about what was going on.

Already three larger granite slabs had been erected by Voldemort’s wand. These three were the same height and width of the seven that he was currently levitating into place one by one, but the three in the center were much thicker. They formed a triangle in the center of the ring of seven monoliths that the Dark Lord was currently setting up. There were still more slabs of granite nearby as well, two different sizes, but all the same width, with only their height and thickness changing. The slightly shorter monoliths than the current seven being used numbered thirteen, while the taller monoliths numbered twenty-one. If the current placements continued, then three concentric rings of granite monoliths surrounding a triangle of the same, would soon stand on the Malfoy’s Wiltshire property.

Once all of the monoliths are erected properly, then I’ll need to carve the proper glyphs upon them in the proper places. Each glyph needs to be filled with the appropriate material after being carved, depending on which monolith it’s on as well.’ Voldemort continued to go through the steps of setting up the Rites for this ritual. Any missteps could cause a horrible reaction and he wouldn’t allow such failure. The rest of his followers had already been warned not to approach the area or they’d experience his anger before their deaths. That had easily kept the more curious of them far away. ‘Finding out the exact ward lines of this estate determined the placement of the stones. But I’ll need Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco to be part of this ritual as the ones with claim to the land. Thankfully, Lucius has already taken my mark, so that gives me some right to all of his possessions as well.’ He let a humorless chuckle escape him while setting the current monolith in place. ‘But the more I sacrifice, the greater the return I’ll receive from the ritual. I should have Lucius gather more followers to take my mark. The more the better. There should be no shortage of fools that are willing to serve if promised a better standing than their current lot in life.’ He levitated the next granite monolith after finishing his thoughts. Carefully moving it into position so that it was the proper distance from the last monolith while also being at the proper angle to the others. There was a reason this Branch of Magic had mostly died out in the modern age, but for the greatest Wizard to ever live, this much was nothing.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Alright, stone: check.” Harry nodded to the granite stones they’d gotten from the dwarves. “Array?” He looked at Penny.

“Check.” Penny giggled as she held the small stack of parchment they’d worked on together.

“Fire?” Harry turned to Fleur with a grin.

“Check.” Fleur smiled, and also playfully rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, as she held up her right hand and let her natural fire crackle to life.

“Right then, time to build us a barrier!” Harry chortled as the three of them got to work.

The fact that all of the stones had been cut to exact specifications by the dwarves before being delivered made the construction process much easier. It was more like building with blocks than any form of skilled masonry. Harry and Penny etched the containment array they’d come up with together onto the stones and then used mortar to connect them together in a circle that would surround Dourfrost. Fleur kept the frost from spreading by continuously coating the Artifact Sword in her flames while Harry and Penny worked to construct the barrier. Once the barrier was a tube of stone a bit over a meter in height, Harry had Fleur stop her flames. Using one of his Basilisk Steel Rune-Enhanced tongs from his smithy, he picked up Dourfrost by the hilt.

“Careful, keep clear.” Harry warned as he used the tool to carry Dourfrost over to the barrier. The frost was already slowly creeping over the metal of the tool and Harry knew he only had a short time to handle his creation this way.

Setting Dourfrost into the barrier was easy enough. They’d made a base for the tip of the blade to fit into so that the sword would be held upright. The hilt of the Artifact Sword would be the first thing one saw if they opened the barrier, rather than the blade. It was another safety measure on top of the ones they’d already taken. Now they just needed Fleur’s natural Veela Fire to start the process and they could seal up the barrier.

“Just a moment.” Fleur moved over to the barrier that now contained Dourfrost. She held her hands over the opened top while Harry and Penny placed their hands on either side of the granite barrier to feed their mana into the array. Veela Fire poured into the inside of the barrier and it quickly melted the frost that had already begun to fill the space. The glowing runes seemed to absorb the magical fire for a bit before the glow changed to match the color of the flames. “It’s ready.” She stepped back as Harry lifted the granite lid and placed it atop the barrier.

“The seal is made.” Penny and Harry intoned as they placed their hands atop the lid and the entire construct glowed a faint blue color for a moment.

Dourfrost was now sealed away, unable to spread its ice and chill, and far from the hands of anyone that would be foolish enough to try and use it.

“You said that I’ll only need to recharge the fire once a month, right?” Fleur looked between Harry and Penny.

“Yeah, we tried to make the array as efficient as possible, but Dourfrost is strong enough that it’ll need more of your fire to keep it locked up indefinitely.” Penny apologized, only to be hugged by Fleur.

“It’s not a problem.” Fleur shook her head, sending her silvery-blonde locks swaying. “To keep that cursed thing locked up, a once a month recharge is nothing.”

“Without the recharge of Veela Fire, I’d estimate that the barrier could probably hold Dourfrost for a year or so at most, maybe two?” Harry did the rough calculation of the strength of the containment array without the bonus of the Veela Fire’s opposing element to the ice of Dourfrost.

“I’m sure we won’t forget about it.” Fleur remarked as she looked between the newly completed barrier and the door to Harry’s smithy only a couple meters away. “No chance of the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ problem with this one.”

“True enough.” Penny chuckled at where Harry had decided to seal away his newest Artifact.

“I wanted to be able to keep an eye on it.” Harry shrugged at the laughter. He wasn’t so foolish as to leave something so dangerous just hidden away in some random location for others to find or stumble upon.

“The scabbard is next, yes?” Fleur asked Harry with a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m going to use the barrier we made as a basis for the scabbard. It’s got to be strong enough to contain Dourfrost indefinitely by itself.” Harry exhaled heavily as he looked at the sealed barrier. “It’ll probably have to be an Artifact itself to be honest.”

“That would put you at six True Artifacts, wouldn’t it?” Penny raised an eyebrow at him. “Didn’t you say that a Master Artificer is one that has made at least seven True Artifacts to their name?”

“That’s the minimum requirement, yes.” Harry confirmed as they headed into the cottage for lunch together. “Making various levels of Artifacts is also necessary, but I’ve got that covered too. Still haven’t tried for a High Grade yet, but given the accidental nature of Dourfrost and what it has already done…I’m thinking of holding off on that for now.”

“No rush, Harry, no rush.” Penny hugged him close. “Don’t go too far again. We don’t want to lose you.” She kissed his cheek softly to convey her love and worry about his well-being.

“Absolutely.” Fleur joined the hug, kissing Harry’s opposite cheek. “There’s no need for you to risk yourself.”

“I won’t.” Harry promised them both as they hugged him. After what Dourfrost had done, he wasn’t in any further hurry to push the limits of his Artifice. He’d take it step by step and ensure that he didn’t make the same mistake again.

“Wotcher all.” Tonks greeted her boyfriend and future sisters. “I decided to come over for lunch and what do I see? A Harry sandwich!” The Metamorph teased before quickly joining the hug too.

“Glad to have you, Nym.” Harry chuckled as he just enjoyed being hugged and held by his loves.

“Is the Ministry still a madhouse?” Penny asked Tonks as the four separated.

“Of course.” Tonks sighed as they sat down at the table together. “Azkaban fallen, the Dementors gone, prisoners missing, and the Dark Mark in the sky? We’re basically on full war protocols now. Madam Bones, Mad-Eye, and Scrimgeour are leading the charge at this point and Fudge is basically being forced to stay out of the way.

“That’s probably for the best.” Harry made his opinion clear of the Minister. “Thank you, Tayla.” He smiled at the warm meal that had appeared in front of them. A nice potato and leek soup, a ham sandwich, and fruit slices.

“Of course, Young Master Harry.” Tayla replied with a wide smile before disappearing with a pop.

“I know you cannot speak on everything, Nym, but has the Ministry had any leads on the Dark Lord?” Fleur questioned after a bit of soup.

“Not much of anything yet.” Tonks shook her head. “This is completely different from what he did back in the Seventies. Only the attack on Azkaban was even close and that was new for him as well. Scrimgeour wants to start searching for suspicious transactions in Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Diurn Alley, and even the wholesale market.”

“That could lead to something.” Penny looked thoughtful. “After all, if a strangely large order of certain ingredients was made, then you could potentially piece together the most likely potions that would be made from them.”

“That might work for Diagon and Diurn Alleys, but Knockturn Alley is barely under Ministry control on the best of days.” Tonks sighed, her hair turning a shade of blue. “Most of those places probably don’t keep records properly, and even if they do, they’ll be less than willing to hand them over.”

“Why is Knockturn even allowed to continue as it has for so long?” Harry asked Tonks curiously. “If it’s full of illegal items, ingredients, and the like, then why not just shut all of it down and clean it out?”

“There’s a lot of push back from the Traditionalists on the Wizengamot whenever such an idea is brought up.” Tonks’s eyes went orange to show a modicum of her own irritation. “They claim that it’s wrong to take the shops from their lawful owners without cause. Not to mention that many of those old places belong to Pureblood families with a long history in Magical Britain.”

“It sounds like they just want a convenient place to hide their own illegal activities.” Fleur let out a small huff at the obvious ploy the old Wizengamot members were pulling.

“Yep,” Tonks sighed at the blatant truth. “The only halfway logical argument I’ve ever heard is that it keeps the less reputable members of society out of the major shopping areas of Diagon Alley and Diurn Alley. But even that rings kind of hollow considering that it should make it easier to clean up all of the said ‘less reputable members of society’ in one well-executed raid.”

“Just sounds like more talking in circles to prevent anything from being done.” Penny shook her head at the obvious lack of concern or care that the Wizengamot showed.

“Welcome to the Ministry.” Tonks waved her index finger in a circle with a flat look.

“Enough about them.” Fleur moved the topic off of the incompetent (or blatantly corrupt in some cases) Wizengamot and Ministry. “Let’s talk of more pleasant things.”

“Well, did you three get Harry’s death sword locked up?” Tonks asked with a teasing grin at Harry.

“Yeah, yeah…” Harry stuck his tongue out at Tonks. “But we did get it sealed up.”

“It’s locked up in the barrier now, so it shouldn’t be a danger to anyone else.” Penny agreed with a smile.

“Seeing as only one of you two can unseal it, it should stay right where it is until Harry can complete a scabbard for the horrid thing.” Fleur nodded with a small frown. Dourfrost would always be her least liked of Harry’s creations, she was sure about that.

“That’ll probably take some time too.” Harry mused on just how he’d go about creating a proper scabbard for Dourfrost. The sword was so innately powerful that only something of equal or greater strength could hope to suppress it indefinitely. “Regardless, I’ll figure it out after some work. How has the research been going with Madam Aveline, Fleur?”

“Very well,” Fleur smiled beautifully. “Determining the correlation of effect to both the Lum and Thaum of various types of spells is still only scratching the surface of our study. Even between spells that are very similar, the amount of mana changes and we’re actually able to measure the Lum that it takes to cast and the Thaum per effect based on time. It has led to a slowly building catalogue of spells based on efficiency by type. Even simple movement Charms are proving to have a variety of efficiency differences, so it’s very interesting work full of new discoveries.”

“You lost me about a sentence and a half in, love.” Tonks shook her head as her hair turned into her favored pink. The bright smile on her face showed that she wasn’t upset by the fact though.

“She’s saying that being able to measure the efficiency of spells is now possible thanks to the measurement system that Harry made for Magic.” Penny simplified what Fleur had said. “The Lum is the amount of mana that the spell is cast with. The Thaum is the amount of effect produced by the spell. If one movement Charm takes ten Lum to cast and gets twelve Thaum of movement, probably measured in meters,” Fleur nodded in confirmation when Penny looked at her. “Then you can compare it to a different movement Charm and compare their efficiencies against each other.”

“So, if Accio gets me fifteen meters for ten Lum, and Locomotor gets me only twelve meters for the same ten Lum, then the Thaum is a difference of three?” Tonks figured out the simplified explanation.

“Yes, the Locomotor Charm would be less efficient than the Accio Charm.” Fleur nodded to Tonks with a smile. “You’re also correct. Accio and Depulso have so far been the most efficient of all of the movement Charms tested. Both have very high Lum to Thaum ratios that other Charms haven’t been able to match.”

“I still don’t see how you Scholars happily make this type of stuff your career.” Tonks teased Penny and Fleur with a grin. “I’d be bored to tears.”

“We can’t all be Dark Wizard catchers, love.” Fleur teased right back.

“Someone has to unravel the secrets of Magic after all.” Penny winked at the Auror playfully.

“I’ll just leave that to you two then.” Tonks laughed brightly, her hair shifting to a bright yellow.

-Egypt ~ Giza-

“It’s done.” The head of the hidden group stared in joyous awe of the completed work.

“Took the better part of two centuries.” His son mentioned, but was clearly just as happy about the completion of the long work they and their ancestors had done.

What they and their entire group were looking at was a large complex of sandstone. To any Egyptologist it would be readily identified as a temple. Pillars supported a roof surrounding a central courtyard and had walls covered in hieroglyphs. The pillars themselves as well as the roof were also marked with the ancient writing. Obelisks were built at specific points around the temple, including the largest one that was in the center of the complex. This one in particular was made of a black stone and inscribed with gold and silver hieroglyphs. The entire structure was infused with Magic and to any Wizard or Witch in the world it would feel Magical to their senses.

“When can we begin the actual ritual to get back what was lost?” One of the plain-dressed men that had been working on the temple questioned the leader.

“In time, my friends, in time. We must first make sure that the others around the world are ready.” The leader answered with an understanding look on his face. He too wanted to enact the ritual and regain what they’d lost over the centuries. But without the cooperation of the others that shared sentiments with them it wouldn’t work. One lone group could not restore what had disappeared after so long.

“I hope it’s soon. We’ve worked tirelessly for so long; we need this to work.” The leader’s son narrowed his eyes. “If we do it alone, we’ll only get the attention of those fools that placed themselves in charge.”

“We are closer to taking back what was stolen from us than ever before.” Another man spoke up with a hopeful tone. He smiled at his fellow workers when they turned to look at him. “We should celebrate the completion of the long work properly!”

“You are correct.” The leader laughed as he placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Tonight, we pay our respects and our tribute to our ancestors and ourselves! We shall restore that which has been lost and taken! We shall eat, drink, and celebrate!”

“Yeah!” The entire group cheered along with their leader. After so long, they finally realized their work. The time would soon be upon them. They had earned this celebration through decades of sweat and hard work!

“Food for a feast shall be ready shortly.” A woman smiled at the leader as she headed off with several others towards a kitchen area.

“Bring the wine! Tonight is a joyous night!” The leader’s son actually laughed along with his father, making all of the group cheer along with them.

-Fenghuang ~ China-

“Will it be complete soon?” One man asked another as they sipped tea together.

“Yes, there’s no need to worry.” The other man nodded with a small smile. “My sister assures me that everything is on schedule.”

“Good, very good.” The older man sighed as he looked out the window and onto the river. Boats with passengers floated along the river just like every day. The ancient town had become a major tourist destination over the years.

“We’ve yet to receive word on if the others have completed their works however.” The younger man informed his elder as he too watched the town through the window.

“Everything has its time, we need only to wait.” The elder replied as a peanut from the snack tray between them floated upward. The shell split cleanly before moving onto another plate with other empty shells. The two peanuts floated into the elder’s hands and he ate them while watching the river.

“Will we have to wear the traditional clothing again?” The younger man questioned with a glance.

“When necessary, yes.” The elder chuckled lightly. “You would do well to embrace more tradition. Image is important and in the coming times we will need to make use of our abilities.”

“I understand.” The younger man nodded, enjoying a few peanuts himself. “The amount of changes this will bring is hard to truly imagine though.:

“That is true.” The elder agreed without hesitation. “We cannot know exactly how everything will play out. But we can prepare as best we can, and then flow with the rest as it comes.”

“Do you think this town will continue on?” The younger man asked after a long moment of silence.

“It’s been here for almost three centuries, I’m sure it will last.” The elder nodded after a moment to think. “We can always talk to the others in Daxu if we are worried.”

“I do wonder if they’ll be willing to help with our concerns after it is set into motion.” The younger man hummed, taking a few more peanuts for himself.

“The ones in Ping Yao are most likely to be busy once everything begins.” The elder stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Or we could visit Luoyang and speak with them directly as well.” He cast a grin at the younger man. “Or you could always visit Guilin if you’d like. I doubt much will change there, even with the coming change.”

“I’ll stay here.” The younger man chuckled lightly. “If I took your travel recommendations then I’m sure I’d end up in a picturesque area, but also one of the most rural.”

“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying nature and the slower life of rural living.” The older man grinned fondly as he watched the river. “One should enjoy the time they have. Life affords few second chances after all.”

“True enough.” The younger man agreed as he sipped his tea. Change was coming. A change so great that none could truly predict it and everything that would happen as a result. Perhaps he should take a small vacation before everything began?

-End Chapter-

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Dourfrost has been sealed away. Now no one else will try to grab the damn thing and end up dead at least.

Harry and Sirius aren’t held accountable for Umbridge’s death. They not only warned her multiple times, they even tried to save her life. Her death was on her as well as her own hubris and greed.

After court though, Harry just wants to relax. What better way than to turn into his Animagus form and curl up on his girlfriends’ laps to get petted?

Voldemort has begun to set up his next ritual. What on earth is the madman planning now? How many more people will be ensnared in his machinations?

We also see that the secret work that is occurring in various places around the world is being completed. One after another until all of them are ready. Just what will happen when all of them are complete?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 26,884

Tonks – 21,718

Penelope – 16,362

Fleur – 16,926

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 58: Testing and Material Acquisition

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time moves forward, and Harry continues to craft. Maybe he should look into specific materials for his new scabbard project? There’s also the matter of getting stronger to be able to wield Dourfrost without being frozen over. Not to mention that Harry isn’t the only one working on things. Penny might need some help with testing.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 58 – Testing and Material Acquisition

Harry chuckled as he stood outside of Wood End Cottage in the afternoon sun. It was a bit after lunch and Penny had requested his help with testing her newest configuration of the Anti-Magic Area. At the moment, said Area was being set up around him to the maximum size that Penny had worked out. Harry had to give his girlfriend credit. The size had greatly increased since he’d first helped her with it. Now it had a become a three-meter by three-meter square when set up at maximum size. It could also hold a charge for much longer now, being able to maintain its full-effect for almost a full twenty-four hours.

“Almost done, Harry.” Penny smiled at him as she placed the last runestone in its correct position.

“Take your time, Penny.” Harry returned her smile with one of his own. “Better to have everything right for a test so that you get the most accurate data.”

“Very true, Harry.” Penny stood up and kissed him gently. “Now, let’s get to testing!” The excitement lit up her eyes as she stepped out of the area that the runestones encompassed. “Anti-Magic Area, three-by-three area, live subject test number one.” Penny spoke and the floating notebook and Dicta-Quill wrote down her words. “Subject is Harry Potter; current mana level is just shy of twenty-seven-thousand.” As she spoke, she placed her foot atop one of the runestones and began to charge the array with her mana, making all of the stones glow slightly.

“Hmm, doesn’t feel different.” Harry spoke up so that Penny could catalogue his experience within the field accurately. He moved his hands, clenching and unclenching them. “I don’t seem to have any loss of feeling, no sensation of uncomfortableness or pain either.”

“Good, good, this is just meant to stop Magic, not torture Witches and Wizards.” Penny noted down Harry’s words as she watched him move about within the Anti-Magic Area. “Any loss of coordination? Feelings of lethargy?”

“Not that I can tell.” Harry shook his head. “I’ll try a few things.” He hopped from foot to foot, stood on one leg, and even jogged in place for a bit. “Yeah, I’m not feeling any different physically.”

“Excellent, then it doesn’t cause any physical anomalies to Witches and Wizards within its borders. That’s great.” Penny wrote down the new findings into her research notebook. “Can you try casting a spell? Something simple to start with, like Lumos.”

“Yeah,” Harry cast the spell with a thought, but grinned when nothing happened. “Well, that’s new.” The Artificer chuckled as he tried to cast the charm a few more times. “How strange.”

“What does it feel like, Harry?” Penny questioned as she looked eagerly at her boyfriend.

“It’s…different, to say the least.” Harry thought for a moment on how best to describe the sensation of his failed spellcasting. “I can form the spell, but the instant I try to cast it, the spell fizzles.”

“Fizzles?” Penny raised an eyebrow even as she wrote down the description.

“Like the spell is being broken down or unraveled before it can really activate.” Harry tried to explain better for Penny’s notes. “Almost like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it, as strange as that comparison is.”

“So, there’s no way to build up the spell, it just flows instead of inflating?” Penny gathered after a moment to think about Harry’s description.

“That’s it!” Harry pointed at her with a laugh. “That’s it exactly!”

“Fascinating.” Penny was quick to note down the description for further testing.

“Shall I try something a bit more complex?” Harry asked with a grin at seeing how excited Penny was getting.

“Yes!” Penny nodded rapidly, her dark-blonde locks shaking from the movement. “Maybe some elemental conjuring?”

“Right, right.” Harry laughed, but Penny was in too good of a mood to retort. “Let’s try this.” He raised his left palm up and focused on the spell he wanted. Aguamenti was a familiar spell and he could control it to form only a ball of water if he wished. “Huh…” He blinked as the spell did nothing as he cast it. Not even a drop of moisture formed from the simple spell. “Well, Aguamenti is a bust.” He informed Penny with a shrug.

“Got it.” Penny was ecstatic on the success of her project so far.

“What about fire?” Harry tried to conjure flames, but merely stood within the Anti-Magic area with nothing. “Yeah, fire conjuring isn’t working either.” He saw Penny write that down too. “Should I try with a wand?”

“Yes, that would be good for comparative data.” Penny admitted as she flipped to a new page in her notebook and had her quill poised to write. “Use the same three spells so that we can get one-to-one comparisons, please.”

“Right.” Harry slid his Holly and Phoenix Feather wand into his hand from within his Storage Cloak. He tried Lumos non-verbally for the comparison that Penny wanted. The tip of his wand didn’t light up though. He felt his mana passing through his wand, but as soon as it left the tip of the focus, nothing happened. “Okay, so using a wand didn’t change the outcome.” He shook his head.

“So, a focus doesn’t make a difference to the effect of the Anti-Magic Area.” Penny wrote into the notebook. “Try the other two, maybe more complex spells through a focus will present different results.”

Harry focused on Aguamenti and pointed his wand off to the side to blast a stream of water from it. Nothing happened from his attempt though. Not a drop of water left his wand. Flicking his wand, Harry attempted to conjure fire. Once more, nothing came from the attempt. His wand was merely in a different position now.

“Still nothing?” Penny tilted her head curiously.

“Not a thing.” Harry confirmed as he marveled a bit at what Penny had made.

“The tests are going well.” Penny was beaming as she continued to gather data on her latest version of the Anti-Magic Area. “Let’s try Transfiguration next!”

“Sure thing, love.” Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at how happy Penny was. He understood that kind of joy well. The feeling of watching something you’d spent time, energy, and countless attempts to make performing exactly as you had envisioned was a very satisfying experience.

For the next couple of hours, Harry and Penny both took turns within the Anti-Magic Field trying to find some way to circumvent its effects. Transfiguration was a dud just as much as Charms. Trying to conjure anything failed. Attempting to change the ground or one of the runestones didn’t work. Penny was nearly vibrating in joy as her creation continued to hold up against every form of Magic they attempted. Wandless, with a wand, non-verbal, verbal, none of it seemed to make any difference within the field.

“Let’s up the power even more.” Harry grinned on his latest turn inside the Anti-Magic Area. He focused, bringing his significant mana to bear as he formed the Fulmen Curse. The Anti-Magic field became visible for a second as small sparks were seen traveling down Harry’s arm. With a thrust of his arm, his index and middle fingers pointing forward into an empty area of the yard, he produced…a small spark, not much bigger than what one might see in a contact taser. That same spark was also gone in the blink of an eye.

“Hahahahaha!” Penny couldn’t help but laugh. Her bright laughter made Harry smile as he looked over at her. “Sorry, sorry, Harry.” She tried to stifle her laughter, but mostly just reduced it to giggles.

“I don’t know what to say…” Harry shrugged, a grin on his face. “This has never happened to me before…I must be tired.”

“Mhmm.” Penny nearly snorted at the silly joke. “Performance issues aren’t uncommon, Harry. One in ten men will experience them in their lifetime.”

“Oh, I’ll show you that I don’t have any performance issues.” Harry hopped out of the circle of runestones with a laugh before wrapping his arms around Penny. He dipped her slightly and captured her lips in a long kiss.

“Mmm…” Penny hummed appreciatively once they separated, and Harry pulled her back onto her feet. “We can test that theory a bit more later on.” Harry wiggled his eyebrows and made Penny crack up again. “There’s one more thing I’d like to test though.”

“What’s that?” Harry cocked an eyebrow. They’d gone through almost every spell they knew of, and from low power up to his latest high-powered attempt.

“I want to see if House Elves can circumvent the Anti-Magic Area like they can with other wards that don’t specifically target them.” Penny explained her interest.

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea.” Harry nodded after a second of thought. “The Anti-Magic Area is based on Warding after all…though it’s not like any other Ward in existence.”

“Yes, and House Elf Magic is different than what Wizards and Witches use.” Penny stated what anyone that paid a modicum of attention to the helpful creatures knew. “The Anti-Magic Area is supposed to work on all Magic, but perhaps the differences would make it less effective?”

“I’m sure Tayla wouldn’t mind helping us out for a bit.” Harry agreed with Penny’s thoughts.

“You called for Tayla, young master Harry?” Tayla popped in with a curious look on her face. Her large eyes looked between Harry and Penny and then to the circle of runestones.

“Yes, Tayla, thank you for coming.” Harry smiled at the elf, making her smile back brightly. “Penny would like to ask for your help with a few simple tests of her creation.

“Oh? Yes, Tayla will help the future young mistress.” Tayla nodded happily, her words making both Penny and Harry smile at each other softly.

“Thank you very much, Tayla.” Penny thanked the elf, once more making Tayla beam at the pair.

“What would you have Tayla do to help?” Tayla looked eager to please, as always.

“First, do you think you could ‘pop’ into the ring of runestones?” Penny asked as she readied her notebook and quill.

“Of course,” Tayla gave a short bow and popped away. Half a second later, and with an identical popping sound, Tayla reappeared on the opposite side of the Anti-Magic Area. “Huh?” She looked confused by her location outside of the ring of stones. With a confused look, Tayla tried again, popping out of sight and reappearing on a different side of the Anti-Magic Area. This was repeated almost a dozen times before Tayla shook her head with a frown. “Tayla cannot be doing it, Miss Clearwater! The stones keep her out.”

“That’s fine, Tayla, you did brilliant.” Penny praised the elf, making Tayla’s frown turn into a smile.

“Interesting.” Harry hummed at the complete denial of even House Elf Magic to enter the space.

“Can Tayla be doing anything else?” Tayla looked happy to give her assistance further.

“Could you stand inside the circle and tell me how you feel?” Penny requested and Tayla was quick to walk into the Anti-Magic Area without a bit of hesitation.

“Hmm…this is a strange space.” Tayla mentioned as she stood in the middle of the circle of runestones. “Tayla knows that she can’t use her Magic here.”

“Do you feel different at all, Tayla?” Penny was right beside the Anti-Magic Area in case she needed to intervene and pull Tayla out. That is, if Harry didn’t do it first from beside her.

“Tayla is fine, but her Magic will not work here.” Tayla looked curiously at the stones surrounding her. “I cannot travel out of this circle with Magic…but I can walk out normally. It is very strange.” She mentioned and Penny wrote down her words exactly. Having a House Elf’s viewpoint on her creation was just providing further legitimacy.

“The Anti-Magic Area is working even better than I thought.” Penny noted down Tayla’s words. “If we could scale up the size a bit more…” She quietly mumbled to herself as she continued to write.

“You did great, Tayla, feel free to return to what you were doing.” Harry grinned at Penny getting lost in her thoughts.

“Thank you, young master Harry.” Tayla stepped out of the ring of runestones and gave a short bow before popping away.

“Harry, do you think if we changed this part of the sequence in the array, that we’d get a larger area of effect?” Penny had stopped her light mumbling to show him a new note she’d made in her notebook. “The strength of the Anti-Magic Area is already better than what I thought. But I’m still having trouble coming up with a way to increase the overall size of the area.”

“Let’s see…” Harry smiled as he conjured them two chairs to sit on and a small table to pour over her ideas and make new notes together. “I don’t think you can change this part without breaking the sequence.” He pointed at one of her changes. “That part needs to be that way to maintain the strength of the effect.”

“Hmm, what if we repeated this section at set intervals?” Penny tapped another section in the long list of runes that made up the Anti-Magic Area’s array. To most it would look like a wall of text. To the two of them, it was the instructions for the array and its functions. Such was the difference that came with familiarity and experience in a Branch of Magic.

“Perhaps…but what intervals would you connect them to? It fits here perfectly, and the two sequences that it connects don’t repeat.” Harry noticed of the array.

Inside of Wood End Cottage, Sirius and Marlie watched on from the kitchen window with smiles. Sirius was happy that Harry had time to relax and focus on his relationships. Marlie was happy to see her family happy. The two sipped some tea with the occasional chuckle as they watched Harry and Penny go over Penny’s creation.

“Ah, nerd love, how precious.” Sirius quipped with a chuckle.

“Oh hush, it’s cute.” Marlie lightly swatted his arm with a melodious giggle.

-Forbidden Forest ~ Scotland-

“I knew I’d be back here again.” Harry mused with a chuckle as he flew over the ancient forest.

Summer was almost over and soon enough the next year of Hogwarts would begin. As a graduate, that didn’t mean much to Harry, but he was looking forward to visiting his friends on the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. But today he was here to gather materials from the forest. More specifically, the oldest and most Magical Ash wood that he could find.

“Ash is said to have some alignment with fire and it wards off witchcraft if one believes some of the old tales.” Harry flew over the forest a bit longer, slowing down slightly as he started checking the older trees he saw. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find Ash trees, Scotland has plenty of them.”

The Artificer was going to use the innate properties of Ash wood to make a scabbard for Dourfrost. He’d have to carve it into proper shape, and may have to refine it a bit to bring out the properties he wanted to their fullest, but he’d pair it with some powdered dragon fangs for their own connection to fire. Adding both as the physical materials of the scabbard and then carving a similar array to the one that made up the barrier currently sealing the sword away should make for the perfect sheath. As long as he took his time and imparted enough of his mana into his creation, he’d have a paired Artifact scabbard to match Dourfrost. Something that could contain the powerful Artifact Sword indefinitely while he worked to grow strong enough to wield it.

“Well now, hello there.” Harry floated over to a tree that had caught his eyes. It was an Ash tree and the top of it jutted above the tops of the trees around it. He slowly floated down through the canopy, careful not to make too much noise lest he get the attention of one of the denizens of the forest. When his feet (clad in his Wind Walker item) touched the ground, Harry could only marvel at the ancient tree. “You must be centuries and centuries old, huh?”

Harry walked up to the tree and gently placed both hands on it. He poured just a tiny portion of his mana into it to feel out its own Magic and its health. Not surprisingly, the tree was in perfect health, not so much as a single sign of sickness or parasitism on it or within it. The Artificer marveled at the age-old Ash tree and tried to commune those feelings to it through his mana. He got a slight feeling back, not so much words or thoughts, but just a feeling of contentment.

“I don’t suppose you could spare a branch that you’re not using, old one?” Harry patted the trunk of the tree. A few seconds later and a loud snap was heard before a large branch fell to the ground with a crash about six or seven meters away. Blinking at what seemed to be a response from the ancient tree, Harry chuckled and patted its trunk again. “Well, thank you very much.”

He walked over to the fallen branch, noticing both its impressive length and the sheer thickness. Harry placed his hands on the newly fallen branch and felt the Magic within. The branch was practically still alive, even though it bore no leaves. It probably weighed as much as Harry himself if not more. After inspecting his seeming gift from the ancient Ash tree, Harry stood back up and threw the hem of his Storage Cloak over the branch. As it was designed to, the cloth spread over the entirety of the branch, regardless of its own size, and then billowed back to normal around Harry as the branch disappeared within its space-altering folds.

“I thank you for this gift.” Harry gave a short bow to the old tree. “Please accept my thanks.” He raised both of his hands and focused intently.

This was an incredibly hard spell to pull off as it was a ridiculously focus-heavy spell. From the forest floor, what seemed to be powder slowly rose up like a cloud. Harry gathered a good amount together between him and the tree and once he felt he had enough, he stopped and held the strange dusty cloud in the air. A simple thought saw water droplets gathering in the air. More and more swirled together until a large ball of water floated next to the odd dusty cloud.

“Woo…” Harry exhaled as he looked at the cloud. “Summoning specific elements from other materials is still so difficult. But common tree fertilizer is made up of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from what I read. Equal parts of the three and plenty of water is good for Ash trees.”

He sent the cloud of nutrients down into the soil around the Ash tree’s roots carefully, so as not to damage or disturb the tree. Then the water orb spread around the tree in a ring of water before falling like rain onto the freshly fertilized soil. Once the water had soaked into the soil, Harry smiled at the ancient tree and then slowly ascended into the air again. Once he was clear of the canopy, Harry looked over in the direction of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. He was so far into the forest that he could only barely see the castle sitting up on its hill.

“Hmm, maybe it would be a good idea to learn how to Apparate?” Harry thought aloud, looking at the school in the far distance. “I love flying, but the trip is ridiculous without something like the Floo or a Portkey.” He pulled out a length of rope and held it in his right hand. Sure, you weren’t technically supposed to make your own portkeys without registering them with the Ministry.

But…Sirius had never been a stickler for the rules, and when Harry had expressed an interest to learn…yeah.

“Portus.” Harry intoned and watched the rope glow for a second. With a second to prepare himself, Harry activated the Portkey and was whisked away in a swirl of light.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Shite…” Harry steadied himself after the Portkey trip. “There has got to be a better method than this one.” His stomach always felt like it was about to rebel after a Portkey. “Note to self, look into an Artifact version of a Portkey.” He made a mental note to try his hand at creating something better once he had some more time. There was a litany of things he’d have to learn and know about Portkeys and what interfered with them if he wanted to succeed in such an endeavor.

“Harry!” Sirius came out of the cottage waving a note in his hand. “What’s this supposed to be?”

“The note I left you.” Harry spoke after seeing it.

“Harry, a note that you’re going out should have the location and when you expect to be back.” Sirius stared blankly at his godson. “What does your note say?” He held it up to the teen’s eyes.

“Hey Sirius, I’ve gone to gather a material for my next project. Be back later, Harry.” Harry recited from memory. It had only been a few hours since he’d written it after all.

“Do you see the issue here?” Sirius questioned after a moment of silence.

“Yes.” Harry gave a one-word answer.

“Do you know that I was worried because I had no idea where you’d gone?” Sirius leaned in slightly.

“Sorry about that…I’ll be more thorough in my note-leaving in the future.” Harry apologized. He hadn’t meant to make Sirius worry.

“You have that half-dead tosser after you, Harry.” Sirius placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders. “I worry when I don’t know where you’ve disappeared to.” He patted his godson’s shoulders and stood back to his full height. “I know I can’t do much to stop you from going out to gather materials or visit the Dwarves. But a little more information about where you’re headed would help me out.”

“Right, sorry for making you worry, Sirius.” Harry pulled his godfather into a short hug and the two men separated with a smile afterwards.

“Good, now then, where did you go and what were you getting?” Sirius looked at Harry curiously.

“The Forbidden Forest, and this.” Harry tossed his Storage Cloak to the side with one arm. The pitch-black cloth spread farther than it should’ve been able to and a thump was heard. The cloak fell back around Harry as normal and Sirius stared at the huge tree limb that now rested on the grass.

“A bit much for a scabbard, isn’t it?” Sirius cocked an eyebrow at the massive piece of wood.

“I’m not going to use all of it for a single scabbard, no.” Harry looked at Sirius like he was crazy. “This is ancient Magical Ash tree wood freely given from the tree. I’ll be able to make good use of this for a long while.” The Artificer already had ideas for other things he could use such Magical wood for.

“I see,” Sirius stroked his well-trimmed goatee with a look of faux understanding. Harry deadpanned at him and Sirius chortled at his godson’s expression. “Ah, right, since the Ministry situation was handled fairly easily, Dumbledore is hoping that you’ll meet with the Order soon.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, I was putting that off until I finished my Artifact Sword.” Harry glanced over at the barrier where Dourfrost was sealed. “Technically it’s not finished until I can wield it, right?”

“Oh no, no, no, Harry.” Sirius shook his head with a mischievous smile. “You’re not getting out of this so easily.”

“But you said the Order hasn’t even been doing much when it comes to figuring out where Voldemort is or what he’s up to.” Harry reminded his godfather. He didn’t want to just sit around and talk about unsubstantiated reports and make plans for things that may happen. That was time he could be spending crafting and actually preparing for whatever Voldemort would come at him with next. That or spending time with his girlfriends, which was infinitely more desirable than being surrounded by people old enough to be his parents.

Harry Potter, youngest Artificer in history, was still very much a teenager at heart.

“True, but consider it a pseudo punishment for making your poor old godfather worry.” Sirius grinned at Harry, his eyes alight with mischief.

“I said I was sorry…” Harry looked away with a sigh. “When is the next meeting, anyway?”

“Oh, I don’t want you to get too wrapped up in work on that particular day, by accident, of course. So, I’ll let you know the day of.” Sirius saw the minute twitch of Harry’s head and knew he’d just cut off the route of escape the Artificer had been planning on.

“Is it tomorrow?” Harry questioned, narrowing his eyes at Sirius.

“No, tomorrow you’re still in the clear.” Sirius assured him with a look that screamed ‘I know something that you don’t know!’ and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Fine…but I want it on the record that I was the mature one that agreed to go.” Harry was barely suppressing a grin of his own now.

“Oh, but of course, you’re such a paragon of maturity and reason, Harry.” Sirius replied, almost not snickering…almost.

“Glad that we’re in agreement.” Harry put his nose in the air in a faux pompous manner.

Godfather and godson quickly cracked up and devolved into loud laughter together. Sirius whipped out his wand and levitated the large branch off the ground. Harry led him into the smithy and had Sirius set the branch down on the floor next to some of his other stored materials. Pulling over a notebook and pen, Harry made note of the branches dimensions as a charmed measuring tape went to work. Once he had the necessary information, then he’d be able to make some precise cuts to the branch and have plenty of usable timber for his Artifice.

“Now what exactly are you thinking of to contain that deathly sword of yours?” Sirius was both cautious and worried of just what he’d seen Dourfrost do to Umbridge. He’d not want Harry to ever unseal the damned thing without a way to control it and keep it out of the hands of others.

“Ash wood has some fire alignment, I’ll use powdered dragon bone to fill in the modified barrier array as a circuit material, then I’m thinking of wrapping the outside in dragon hide.” Harry laid out his current plans for the scabbard Artifact.

“Why not some of the basilisk hide you still have?” Sirius questioned as he thought over what Harry had told him about the material. “Isn’t it more Magic resistant than dragon hide?”

“It is, but bringing together the Horntail’s fangs and its hide should create a symbolic rejoining and add synergy to the scabbard. Doing so should increase the finished products fire alignment by quite a bit.” Harry explained his reasoning for choosing dragon hide over basilisk hide this time. “Ideally, the scabbard should have a high fire alignment to give it an edge in suppressing Dourfrost’s ice aligned Magics.”

“Ah, I get it now.” Sirius nodded at the simple explanation.

“Plus, I’m going to start running low on basilisk hide soon.” Harry admitted as he looked at the chest with the basilisk parts stored inside of it. “When I do use it, I want to make sure that it’s going to give the most to the item or Artifact it becomes a part of.”

“That’s fair,” Sirius understood the desire to use the material sparingly. “Not like anyone has another thousand-year-old basilisk just lying around waiting to be slaughtered for parts.”

“That would be both exciting and terrifying.” Harry laughed at the remark. “Exciting to get more parts from. Terrifying in what someone could do with a millennia-old basilisk if they really wanted to hurt others and didn’t care for subtly.”

“Well, thankfully you seem to have killed the only one in Magical Britain, so we should be safe on that front.” Sirius shrugged jokingly.

“If anyone is dumb enough to try and hatch a basilisk, then I hope they know that they’ll more than likely be the first one dead when it meets their eyes for the first time.” Harry scoffed at the massive amount of danger even the newborn King of Serpents posed to those around them.

“One of the few laws that the entire ICW agreed on was outlawing the hatching of a basilisk.” Sirius nodded at the foolishness of such an endeavor. “It’s considered a capital offense in a few of the member nations, if I recall correctly.”

“It should be.” Harry nodded his head as he set down his notebook on his work desk. “I’ll be busy until dinner time with this.” He motioned to the huge branch from the ancient Ash tree.

“I’ll stay and watch for a bit.” Sirius had a soft smile on his face as he summoned a chair from against the wall and sat down.

“Suit yourself,” Harry shrugged, but there was a small smile on his face as he used a wandless Cutting Charm to begin cleanly splitting the wood into measured sections.

-End Chapter-

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Penny and Harry working together is so cute! Nerd love!

The Anti-Magic Area is certainly coming along well! It even stops House Elves! But the range is still limited. If only Penny could crack that, she’d revolutionize many aspects of the Magical World. Safety, Combat, Policing, Incarceration, etc.

I mean, you don’t really need Dementors if your Witch and Wizard convicts can’t use their Magic at all. They could be dealt with by Aurors with their standard issue batons (courtesy of Harry). Heck, a new profession of corrections officer/prison guard could potentially be made if Penny’s ward can be perfected.

Harry once more flies into the Forbidden Forest to get some Magical timber. This time, he’s much more experienced and is gifted a Magically powerful branch from an ancient Ash tree. It’s amazing how far the young Artificer has come in his ability to commune with materials and items, huh?

How long will this tense peace last?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 27,242

Tonks – 22,490

Penelope – 16,964

Fleur – 17,376

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 59: The Order of the Phoenix

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! It’s time for Harry to meet the Order of the Phoenix. I’m sure the teen Artificer will be absolutely thrilled by what he sees. But with Voldemort staying in the shadows for the most part, there’s not much anyone can do without being able to find him. The tense peace continues for now.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 59 – The Order of the Phoenix

The crack of Apparation rang out in the fading light of a street in London. Two people, a man and his teenage godson had just appeared from nowhere. Looking around, Harry couldn’t say he was impressed with the place. The grimy fronts of the surrounding houses were not welcoming; some of them had broken windows that glimmered dully in the light from the streetlamps, paint was peeling from many of the doors, and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps.

“Cheery place.” Harry quipped and Sirius agreed with a nod.

“Always.” The old Marauder shook his head. “Read this, Harry.” He handed a scrap of parchment to Harry.

“The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.” Harry read off the parchment and then watched with some amazement as an entire home (Number Twelve) seemed to move aside Number Eleven and Number Thirteen as it came into his awareness. “Okay…that’s pretty impressive.” The Artificer admitted with a glance at his godfather.

“Fidelius Charm.” Sirius informed as he quickly guided Harry across the street and up the steps. Without even knocking he opened the door and they slipped inside.

“Still cheery.” Harry remarked of the dingy insides of the house. It had lofty ceilings, a gloomy air, it was a bit dark, and was clearly in disrepair. “Did this place get abandoned for years or something?”

“This was the home of the Blacks when I was growing up, never liked the place.” Sirius shook his head before guiding Harry past the stairs. “Speak quietly, Harry, or else you’ll wake the horrid portrait of my mother.” He motioned at a set of curtains hung on the wall of the staircase.

“Right.” Harry lowered his voice a bit. Sirius led him down a short hallway to a large wooden door.

“We’re here.” Sirius spoke up as he and Harry entered what was clearly a kitchen.

A long wooden table dominated the center of the room. It had six chairs on either side, but could easily hold ten on both sides plus one at each end of the long table. There were cupboards along the walls and a large set of shelves held all of the dishware. At the moment, a fair few people were in the room as well.

“Sirius, Harry, welcome.” Remus greeted the duo first, a tired smile on his face.

“Moony!” Sirius grinned as he greeted his friend with a strong clap on the back.

“Professor Lupin.” Harry greeted with an amused little smile.

“I don’t believe that I’m your Professor anymore, Mr. Potter.” Remus replied right back, his own smile widening. Somehow, Remus was still the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, the apparent curse not striking the man for unknown reasons. He was now the longest serving Professor (two years and counting) for the last twenty years, at least.

Harry and Sirius were then greeted by multiple other members of the Order of the Phoenix, most of which Harry either only knew in passing, or didn’t know at all. Kingsley Shacklebolt was there, as were Arthur and Molly Weasley. A man that Harry could’ve identified as Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody purely from Tonks’s description of her mentor in the Auror Corps, even if he hadn’t met him during the Dementor attack. Two older men, one Dedalus Diggle, and the other Elphias Doge, were sitting at the long table along with two women. One woman introduced herself as Emmeline Vance, while the other greeted Harry as Hestia Jones. Another man, Sturgis Podmore, introduced himself to Harry before getting himself a drink and heading for the large table.

A loud thump was heard through the kitchen door a moment later.

“Bloody thing! It always moves!” Tonks’s voice was heard and Harry broke into a grin. That grin ended a moment later when a horrific wailing filled the house.

“FILTH!!! Disgusting mudbloods in my home! Out! OUT!!! Kreacher! Kreacher, get rid of this filth from the Noble House of Black!”

“For the love of!” Sirius yanked about the kitchen door, increasing the volume of the screeching, and rushed down the narrow hallway. “Tonks, every time!” He chastised the Metamorph before stomping up the stairs towards the screaming portrait.

“It’s that cursed Troll leg umbrella stand! It moves every time and I nearly fall over it!” Tonks shot back.

“Disgusting traitor!” The portrait of Sirius’s mother shrieked at the man. “How dare you return to this home! Out! Kreacher! Get them out!”

“Shut your mouth you bigoted old hag of a harpy!” Sirius yelled over the portrait. He had clearly done this same thing many times before.

“How dare you!” Walburga Black, according to the nameplate on the bottom of the portrait, snarled at her son.

“Traitorous Master shouldn’t be yelling at Mistress Walburga.” An old House Elf that was dressed in rags rattled out at Sirius from the top of the stairs.

“Shut it, Kreacher, you miserable little troll!” Sirius snapped at the off-looking House Elf.

“Remove yourselves from my home!” Walburga demanded of everyone she could see from her portrait. “Traitors! Mudbloods! Filth!” She insulted everyone she could see.

Harry, seeing this deranged portrait call Tonks ‘filth’ narrowed his eyes. He walked up the stairs to stand next to Sirius, who was struggling to close the curtains that normally hung over the portrait. Looking between the portrait and the haggard-looking old Elf, that may also be slightly mad from the look in its eyes, Harry had to ask the obvious question.

“Why don’t you just take her portrait down?” Harry looked at Sirius curiously.

“We can’t, it’s got a permanent Sticking Charm on the back that holds it to the wall.” Sirius grumbled, while Walburga looked smug.

“And?” Harry reached into his Storage Cloak and pulled out the sheathed Aethereum. He saw Sirius’s eyes light up with understanding as he unsheathed the Artifact Sword.

“You shan’t harm Mistress Walburga!” Kreacher reacted to the obvious threat, but a wandless Petrificus Totalus from Harry had the old Elf falling backwards on the upper landing with his body locked in place, arms at his sides and his legs straight.

“My portrait is protected from such things, boy.” Walburga didn’t seem concerned as Harry aimed the tip of the sword at her.

“Funny that,” Harry looked at the bitter old woman in the painting. “My Aethereum is an Artifact Sword that cuts Magic.” Walburga’s eyes widened just as Harry stabbed the sword forward and through the portrait, the tip getting stuck in the wall behind the painting.

Instantly Walburga stopped moving. The portrait’s colors quickly losing their luster and fading significantly. In a very short time, the painting looked just as old and worn as everything else in the dilapidated house. When Harry pulled Aethereum back, the portrait fell off the wall and its frame broke on the stairs. Sirius and Tonks stared at the destroyed portrait and then looked at Harry as he sheathed Aethereum.

“I didn’t know that Aethereum could do that, Harry.” Tonks mentioned of the sword.

“I wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t insulted you, love.” Harry smiled at her as he walked down the stairs.

“My hero…” Tonks pretended to swoon, before leaning in to kiss Harry gently. “Thank you.” She smiled lovingly at him.

“Any time.” Harry placed Aethereum back into his Storage Cloak and then offered his hand to Tonks.

“Such a gentleman.” Tonks grinned, taking his hand as they walked towards the kitchen together.

“Kreacher,” Sirius undid the spell on the old House Elf. “Throw out this old portrait and then leave us all alone for the rest of the night, am I understood?”

“Yes…unworthy Master.” Kreacher mumbled out, looking at a loss now that Walburga’s portrait was gone. Sirius headed back to the kitchen as Kreacher collected the pieces of the portrait and then popped away.

Back in the kitchen, the gathered members of the Order all sat down at the long table. Mrs. Weasley made tea for everyone and was serving it when the large fireplace in the kitchen flared with green flames. From the flames Dumbledore emerged, followed by both McGonagall and Snape. The three Professors vanished the soot from their clothing after looking about the room for a moment.

“I see that everyone has arrived.” Dumbledore greeted pleasantly, giving a welcoming look to Harry as he made his way to the table.

“Is Hagrid not joining us tonight?” Elphias Doge asked Dumbledore curiously.

“No, I’ve asked him to take on a special task for me that I hope will prevent Voldemort from adding to his forces any further than he already is.” Dumbledore answered as he sat down at the head of the long table. Snape slunk off to about the middle of the table to take a seat. McGonagall sat next to Dumbledore on his left.

“Sit, sit, Harry.” Tonks sat down at the table and motioned to the chair next to her. Harry sat down next to his girlfriend and noticed that Sirius and Remus took the chairs closest to his.

“We have a guest this evening, welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore welcomed Harry politely and the rest of the Order followed suit.

“Thank you for having me, Headmaster.” Harry nodded to the old man. “Sirius said that you wanted for me to meet the Order and that you had something to speak with me about?”

“Yes, Mr. Potter, I did indeed.” Dumbledore nodded after placing his teacup down. “As you well know, Voldemort has made his first visible move of what is sure to become another war. As of yet, we don’t know what he’s planning, aside from setting up some form of Magic.”

“If you know he’s setting up some kind of Magic, then you know where he is staying, right?” Harry asked what he felt was an obvious question.

“He’s at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire.” Dumbledore informed the teen.

“So, why haven’t you alerted the Aurors so that they can arrest him?” Harry was flummoxed as to why that hadn’t been the first course of action.

“Lucius Malfoy has the Minister’s ear.” Dumbledore let out a sigh. “I’ve spoken with Cornelius a few times about this matter already, but he refuses to believe that the man he calls a confidant and friend would house the Dark Lord.”

“And without just cause, the Ministry cannot perform a raid on a private residence.” Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke up with his deep voice.

“You’d think suspicion of housing Voldemort would be enough.” Sirius made his annoyance with the Ministry known.

“It would be if certain laws weren’t in place.” Moody rumbled out, his false eye darting around. The blasted Wizengamot had been influenced for decades to give certain people far more leeway with the law than others.

“Legality aside, what’s stopping you all from going to Malfoy Manor and taking the fight to Voldemort?” Harry looked around at the people gathered.

“How many of us would you have die by the Dark Lord’s wand, Potter?” Snape sneered at the teen.

“Shut it, Snivellus.” Sirius glared pointedly at the man. “The Ministry either won’t or can’t do anything. So, it may very well come down to us doing so and you know it.”

“That’s enough,” Dumbledore spoke up just as Snape’s mouth opened to retort. “We are not here to fight amongst ourselves. All of us are gathered here to stop Voldemort from gaining the power and influence he had back in the Seventies.” He looked at both Sirius and Snape pointedly.

“I’m all for dealing with Voldemort,” Harry spoke up again. “But what does that have to do with me being here? Are you wanting me to join your Order?” He asked Dumbledore directly.

“Heaven’s no!” Molly Weasley spoke up. “You’re far too young to be a member of the Order, Harry.”

“Molly.” Arthur calmly looked at his wife, the woman sighing as she settled down. She hadn’t meant to speak up in such a rude fashion.

“Whether you face Voldemort directly or not may only be a matter of time, Harry.” Dumbledore spoke, using Harry’s first name to convey his seriousness. “But until such a time, we’ll do what we can to handle the situation.”

“I feel like you’re about to ask me for something, sir.” Harry mentioned, the anticipation rising a bit in the air. Tonks nearly snorted at how easily Harry had read the mood.

“Yes,” Dumbledore smiled genially, the twinkle he was known for in his eyes. “I would like to ask you, Artificer Potter, if we might commission your services in our fight against Voldemort.”

“I’m not an Arms Dealer, Headmaster.” Harry immediately shut down any potential requests for Artifact Weapons. If he wouldn’t make them for the Ministry as a career, he certainly wasn’t going to supply what amounted to a group of private citizens with them. “I artifice and enchant for my own purposes or as payment for learning Magic that I couldn’t otherwise.” He remembered his deal with Mukisa from Uagadou.

“Um, can I ask why you won’t provide us with such?” Hestia raised her hand slightly to ask.

“It’s too dangerous.” Harry looked at the woman as he began to explain. “I can make a Minor Grade Artifact in a week or two if I really try, but the risk of any Artifact falling into Voldemort’s hands is not something I’m willing to chance. Binding each Artifact that I make to the bloodline of the person using it takes extra time and requires freely given blood.” He saw the various members of the Order almost instinctively move back a bit. Freely given blood wasn’t something that most Wizards or Witches would do. It offered far too many avenues to curse a person with.

“Money isn’t an issue, if what you’re wanting is Enchanted Items though.” Harry offered a different option to the Order. “I merely need the proper materials, and I can craft many useful things for you.”

“Such as?” Dedalus Diggle asked, the old man curious as to what was being offered.

“Armor, for one.” Harry looked down the table to Diggle. “I can make you cloaks resistant to Magic, giving you the equivalent of a physical Shield Charm around you at all times.” He saw the interest in the old man’s eyes and heard the murmurings of the other members. “With the right materials and time, I can craft Enchanted Items that can do nearly anything, within reason, of course.”

“Some of those Ward Breakers of yours would be helpful.” Moody grunted, knowing that a place like Malfoy Manor would be heavily protected by unknown wards.

“That would take some time, depending on how many you need.” Harry looked at the grizzled Auror. “But I can do it.”

“Something that would allow us to track Voldemort would be most helpful.” Dumbledore mentioned to Harry. “That or perhaps a way to trap him and keep him contained?”

“He’s got more mana than you do, Headmaster.” Harry informed Dumbledore plainly, getting a few shocked gasps from the Order members. “Keeping him contained could be difficult. Interrupting his ability to use Magic might be possible, but at the same time, the thought of such items falling into Voldemort’s hands is unsettling, to say the least.”

“We also don’t know what kind of Magic the Dark Lord is trying to make use of either.” Remus spoke up next. “If it takes so much preparation, he could be planning to cast a spell of some kind that we haven’t seen before.”

“Or maybe it’s a ritual of some type?” Emmeline Vance pondered; her eyes narrowed as she thought about it. “That doesn’t bode well, given just how varied rituals can be. Even if we knew that it was a ritual with one-hundred percent certainty, we still wouldn’t have any clue as to what kind of ritual it was.”

“Why hasn’t Snape cleared that up?’ Harry looked at the greasy Potions Professor. “Haven’t you been able to tell at least the basics of what Voldemort is doing?”

“He has a point,” Tonks agreed with Harry. “You’ve been over there so often this summer, yet you can’t tell us anything more than he’s setting up for some random Magic?”

“Try to understand, if you can, that I mustn’t give myself away.” Snape spoke as if he was talking to a small child. “The Dark Lord has forbidden anyone even approaching the area he is working in on pain of death.”

“What are you doing over there again?” Sirius cocked an eyebrow at the dour man.

“Brewing potions and assisting with the recovery of the Dark Lord’s inner circle as is expected of me, Black.” Snape looked down his nose at Sirius. He wouldn’t have his old school bully question him.

“Why not slip them some ‘bad’ potions and prevent them from becoming problems in the future?” Harry had to ask. It shouldn’t be hard for someone of Snape’s skill to do so.

“Potter, clearly you underestimate just how powerful the Dark Lord is.” Snape was back to speaking as if he was talking to a rather dim child. “If I did that, he would quickly interrogate me. The Dark Lord is a master Legilimens, no one’s secrets are safe against him.”

“That doesn’t bold well for you as a spy, Severus.” Shacklebolt looked at the former Death Eater. “Are you certain that our own plans and talks haven’t already been taken from your mind?”

“I am quite adept at Occlumency, Shacklebolt.” Snape replied evenly to the Auror. “I would notice when or if the Dark Lord used Legilimency on me, even if I couldn’t stop it.”

“Severus has my complete trust. I am sure that our talks and meetings are not discussed with Voldemort with any truth behind them when Severus is among the Death Eaters.” Dumbledore spoke over the murmurings in the kitchen.

“Still, it may behoove us to make a move before You-Know-Who finishes whatever Magic that he’s preparing.” Elphias Doge looked at Dumbledore pointedly. “Who knows what sort of foul Magics he may have gotten his hands on since the Seventies.”

“Aye.” Moody nodded sharply in agreement. “Best to strike before we’re struck in this case.” He was all for taking the offensive in this soon-to-be war.

“At the very least, we don’t have to worry about the Dementors anymore.” Sirius brought up some good news for the Order. “Harry saw to that already.”

“Not in the way I had expected.” Harry shook his head, recalling the attack. “I’m also still working on a way to permanently deal with the Artifact that was created by doing so.”

“It’s safe for now though, correct?” Remus looked at Harry concerned.

“Sealed up tight and not going anywhere any time soon.” Harry confirmed for his surrogate uncle.

“That is good to hear.” Dumbledore let a small relieved sigh escape him. The Artifact Sword that Harry had created from consuming all one-hundred Dementors of Azkaban had unnerved him. To hear that it was locked away where no one could misuse it was some good news.

“We’ll be ready to fight when the time comes.” Harry assured Dumbledore with a stony expression. “All four of us are much stronger than the average Wizard and my Artifacts and items should further tip the scales in our favor.”

“But Harry, you’re much too young to fight against Death Eaters.” Molly worried for the teen. How could she not? As a mother of seven, Ron being Harry’s age, she couldn’t help but want to keep him far away from danger.

“I’m doubtful that I’ll be given a choice, Mrs. Weasley.” Harry looked at the redheaded woman with a shake of his head. “But we won’t be alone. King Drasurd of the Erdunn Dwarves has agreed to support me against Voldemort. With their forces on our side, we outnumber the Death Eaters significantly.”

“A true boon, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore was pleased to hear that the Dwarves that Harry had befriended and gone into business with were willing to fight against Voldemort. “However, without knowing exactly what Voldemort is planning, we can’t make concrete plans to best utilize such a large force.”

“If we march onto Malfoy Manor, we could surround them.” Sirius suggested, clearly of the mind to make the first move. “I’ve seen what Harry, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur can do. With their assistance and the Dwarves’ numbers, we could stop this from becoming a war.”

“It all comes down to time though.” Harry looked at his godfather. “I need time to craft the Shield Cloaks and the Ward Breakers. If we could assure enough time, then perhaps I could even get strong enough to wield Dourfrost freely. But I highly doubt we have such a luxury of time.”

“Most likely not.” Dumbledore agreed with the young man’s assessment. “From what Severus has been able to glean, Voldemort is still in the process of setting up whatever Magic he plans to use. If it is indeed a ritual of some type, he may need to wait until a specific time before he can utilize it. The next large event that I can think of would be the autumn equinox in September.”

“That’s not really that far away, if it’s the case.” Remus looked grim.

“Can you not sabotage this potential ritual site, Severus?” Diggle looked at the potions master with serious eyes.

“Not without the Dark Lord being able to replace or repair whatever I damage.” Severus shook his head. “That would be after he kills me for doing so, of course. Even if I flee after doing so, my use as a spy would be at an end.”

“At this point that role may have passed its usefulness.” Moody commented gruffly. “We know where the Dark Lord is and have a vague idea of what he’s doing. It might be time to make our own move. You’ll have to decide where you are going to be standing when that time comes, Severus.” Both of Moody’s eyes, real and prosthetic, focused squarely on Snape.

“I am aware, Mad-Eye.” Severus drawled, his pale face like a blank mask.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Snape at hearing his reply. He wasn’t the only one either. Both Sirius and Tonks hadn’t liked the response of the supposed spy. It sounded far too much like Snape wasn’t of a mind to really choose which side he was on until everything was over.

The meeting went on for a while longer. Dumbledore and Moody both going over what they’d like from Harry for the Order. Ward Breakers, at least two dozen, at Moody’s request. Dumbledore was hopeful that every member of the Order could be equipped with a Shield Cloak for their protection before the autumn equinox, just in case that truly was the time that Voldemort would enact his Magic. It wouldn’t be too hard to get the Ward Breakers, since the Erdunn Dwarves could help make them. But the Shield Cloaks would have to be made by Harry, as they were a new creation that he’d only recently drawn up the idea for.

-Malfoy Manor-

“So, Potter has the allegiance of a clan of Dwarves?” Voldemort listened to Snape’s report. Dumbledore was a fool to think any of his marked followers would ever be disloyal. The few that had proven to be so had been dealt with promptly.

“Yes, my Lord.” Snape confirmed from his kneeled position.

“Hmm, if I wasn’t so busy with the rites, I’d seek them out and make them realize how poor of a choice it is to make an enemy of Voldemort.” The Dark Lord let out a slight hiss. Dwarves, depending on their number, may pose some difficulty to his conquest. But what he stood to gain from his ritual should make that a moot point anyway. “Do you happen to know where these Dwarves reside, Severus?” It would be good to know where to target after the ritual.

“No, my Lord. Potter did not speak of their location.” Snape shook his head, not daring to look up from the floor.

“The Dwarves can hide wherever they are, what I gain from this Great Magic will see them utterly inconsequential before me.” Voldemort spoke with a surety that made Snape believe him. The lack of the Dwarves’ location was minor at the moment, the good news of not having to worry about the Order being equipped with multitudes of Artifacts was much more important. “The boy is a fool not to make Artifacts against me, but his naivete will be his ruin, along with Dumbledore’s Order.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Snape agreed without fail. He thought the boy was being foolish, but he’d not speak up to save James Potter’s son.

“The time draws closer, and I have much work still to do. Leave me, Severus.” Voldemort spoke, dismissing Snape without looking at the man.

“Yes, my Lord.” Snape backed out of the room with a bow. He wouldn’t show disrespect, nor would he risk exposing his back to the Dark Lord. The inner circle would be mostly well soon enough. He’d prove his usefulness to the Dark Lord, and he already had Dumbledore’s support. No matter who won, Severus Snape planned to be on the winning side.

Once Snape had shut the door behind him, Voldemort made his way towards the ritual site that he was still preparing. It was a stroke of luck, or perhaps providence, that this particular autumn equinox coincided with a new moon almost perfectly. The ritual would be at its peak with such conditions and Voldemort stood to gain even more from his sacrifice.

“Ah, yes, I’ll have to remember to check how many more new recruits Lucius has acquired tomorrow.” Voldemort had a mirthless smile on his lips. “The more the better.” The hollow chuckle that followed the Dark Lord outside would have sent others running in fear.

-End Chapter-

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Harry has met the Order of the Phoenix.

He will not become an Arms Dealer for them. The danger of Artifact Weapons falling into the wrong hands is far too great. But he will provide his skills to them for their protection.

The Order knows where Voldemort is, but can’t get anything done legally. It seems they might have to make their own move against Voldemort directly. But will they be able to do so in time?

Can Harry craft his new Shield Cloak items before time runs out?

Also, just what the hell is Voldemort’s new ritual going to do? How many is he planning to sacrifice?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 28,010

Tonks – 23,264

Penelope – 17,536

Fleur – 18,108

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 60: Preparation for Conflict

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Work has begun for the coming conflict. Harry has some requests to fulfill for the Order. Shield Cloaks will protect them, not as well as Basilisk Hide, but still pretty solid. Ward Breakers to get them through the protections that’re undoubtedly set up by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Not to mention he’s still working on the scabbard Artifact to contain Dourfrost.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 60 – Preparation for Conflict

In his workshop at Wood End Cottage, Harry was hard at work on creating the Shield Cloaks for the Order of the Phoenix. He was referencing the measurements he’d taken for each member, barring Snape. That had caused some words to be had, but in the end the Potions Master had scoffed even as Dumbledore relented on his insistence. The cloaks were a rather effective item, if Harry said so himself. A mix of Creature Craft with standard Enchanting and a bit of Tailoring skill. It was acquiring the materials that had been the biggest hold up so far.

“The outer layer is Graphorn Hide and the inner layer is Dragon Hide. All of the fasteners and buttons are sewn in beneath the folds of the cloak to prevent them from being targeted by Charms that would force them off the wearer.” Harry nodded to himself at his design. Each cloak would possess the power to render most spells null upon contact. Especially powerful spells may overwhelm them, but the amount of power they’d block would most likely save the wearer’s life, even if the cloak was damaged in the process. “There’s five already done, just need a few more to outfit the rest of the Order.” He continued his work on the sixth Shield Cloak with speed that came from practice.

He’d left the construction of the two dozen Ward Breakers to the Erdunn Dwarves. That had saved him enough time to focus on the cloaks, while not neglecting the Artifact Scabbard that he was in the process of making. Empowering it during creation and making it out of fire-aligned materials was the only way that he’d have any chance of making it strong enough to contain Dourfrost. Having to be the master of each material was thankfully not an issue, since he had most of the materials on hand already. Now it was merely a matter of refining and strengthening each of the materials individually, synergizing them as he brought them together, and making use of the Creature Craft symbolism of reuniting Dragon Fangs with Dragonhide to further boost the fire-aligned power of the scabbard.

“So much to do, and on a bloody deadline too.” Harry cursed to himself as he continued to stitch Graphorn Hide and Dragon Hide together. The fact that Graphorn Hide was tougher than normal leather was making it more difficult, but after five rounds of this process, Harry was certainly refining his methods. “No other hide is nearly as magic resistant though, so it was either this or wasting the last of the Basilisk Hide.” He shook his head at that idea. No way was he wasting the last of his millennium-old Basilisk Hide. He’d use that for an Artifact at some point, he was certain.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Wiltshire-

“You’ve done well, Lucius.” Voldemort’s cold voice gave meager praise as he looked over the newest recruits that Lucius had gathered up. “I see your trip was successful.” In the main hall of Malfoy Manor stood a large gathering of foreign Wizards and a few Witches.

“Yes, my Lord.” Lucius kept his head bowed and accepted what little he could get. Keeping the Dark Lord neutral in opinion of him would be infinitely better than a negative opinion. He dared not hope for a favorable opinion for the foreseeable future. His loss of the diary that he’d been entrusted with had not been forgiven, even after the punishment that he’d suffered and nearly lost his life from. “As you ordered, I traveled to other parts of Europe to find those of like mind to our cause.”

That had been a trip of several days. Thankfully, such things were easy with Magic and a lack of concern about crossing borders illegally. Without bothering about legality and the bureaucratic red tape, Lucius had been to almost a dozen countries in a handful of days. His recruitment had borne an almost surprising number of new recruits, though many of them only spoke English as a second or even third language. Communication aside, the total number of Death Eaters would now stand at just over three-hundred. Far more manpower than they’d ever had back in the Seventies. The biggest difference being that now every Death Eater bore the Dark Lord’s Mark. Something that Lucius still didn’t understand the purpose of, but was too fearful to question.

“With so many, I will not be stopped by a setback like last time.” Voldemort hissed in a way that reminded Lucius of Nagini. The large serpent was still seen slithering around the Manor, usually following after the Dark Lord, or secure in one of the interior rooms.

“Yes, my Lord.” Lucius agreed almost reflexively.

“My Lord.” Snape bowed as he stopped his approach a respectable distance away from Voldemort. “The inner circle members are cognizant again. They should be ready to serve in the next few days.” He informed his Master of the good news.

“Excellent work, Severus.” Voldemort had a mirthless grin on his lips. “At least I still have some competent Wizards among my followers.” With his inner circle soon to return to his side, the ritual could take place perfectly on schedule.

With a swish of his black robe, Voldemort approached the gathered foreign Wizards and began to speak. He welcomed them all, complimented their wise choice to serve him, and then began the Pureblood spiel that he’d perfected during his first rise to power. Like the majority of the riffraff that Lucius had been able to recruit, these Wizards and Witches were from old families that had lost their status over the years. Their families had spent the last of their inherited fortunes, leaving them destitute. None of them were willing to demean themselves with the work of the lowborn or the mudbloods. Their situations would not improve in a slowly changing Magical World that had started moving away from such ideologies outside of some of the staunch traditional countries.

It’s almost sickening how easy it is to manipulate them.’ Voldemort thought to himself as he saw the looks of agreement and reverence these cretins quickly gained for him. All he had to do was tell them what they wanted to hear. It wasn’t their fault that they were broke and living in squalor. It was the mudbloods fault! Bringing the ideas and beliefs of the muggles into their World! Not knowing their place and upsetting the established order and traditions that the Magical World had lived by for centuries! But once Voldemort was in charge things would change! The true Wizards and Witches of pure blood would be elevated back to the positions of their ancestors, while the halfbloods and mudbloods would return to their place beneath them. The fact that it continued to work (and so quickly) never ceased to cause Voldemort an odd mix of feelings, mostly amusement and disgust.

In mere moments of explaining the barest functions of his mark, the entire gathering of new recruits had their bare forearms offered up to Voldemort. Bringing his wand to bear, the Dark Lord began the process of giving the Dark Mark to the first of the fools. More ‘property’ for him to possess, and therefore perfectly acceptable for him to sacrifice for his own gain in the exchange that the ritual would entail.

-Maracaibo ~ Venezuela-

“It still seems odd that Magic has little to nothing to do with this.” A woman looked on at a raging storm that let off continuous lighting strikes.

“Nature is a magical thing on its own.” The man with her chuckled as he watched the storm with her.

The storm they were looking at had many names, Maracaibo’s Lighthouse and the Never-Ending Storm of Catatumbo being two of the most well-known. It was a place that received upwards of one million lightning strikes per year. With over two-thousand-seven-hundred lightning strikes a day, on average, the spectacle held immense wonder for the Non-Magical. And for the last few generations, it was useful for their purposes as well.

“Harnessing this much power let us increase our rate of construction.” The woman smiled at the storm. “We were able to catch up to the others in a much shorter time frame.”

“We were lucky that our ancestors figured out a way to channel this raw power into a Magical form that could be used.” The man agreed with her. Their group had only made contact with the others in the last century. But with the power this place offered, they’d been able to get caught up and on track with the rest of the groups involved. “We were the first to be completed, even though we joined last.”

“What’re they doing with the excess now?” The woman was curious. Once their work had been completed, the elders had redirected the power to a different purpose. What that was, she didn’t know, but her companion might since a few of the elders were his family.

“They’re planning to use it to work a Great Magic once things settle down.” He smiled at her, taking her hands in his own. “They’re going to restore the forest and all that has been destroyed from it.”

“All of it?!” The woman couldn’t help but nearly gape at him.

“Yes, all of it.” He laughed as he twirled her around in an impromptu dance. “All of the damaged and degraded land, all of the Magic that it still holds, and all of the species that are barely hanging on.”

“That’s incredible…we could barely do anything without attracting the attention of the Non-Magical.” She stepped with him, joining him in the little dance. “To think that we’ll not only bring back what was lost over time, but that we’ll be able to restore what has been damaged too.”

“We can’t trust the ones that’re in-charge on either side to do what is necessary.” He pulled her into his chest and held her.

“So, we must do it ourselves.” She looked into his eyes with conviction.

The two shared a kiss as the continuous storm raged in the distance.

-Akhmim ~ Egypt-

Bright red lightning sparked as materials changed their very existence under the intense Magical power being produced. The castoffs from farming were easy to acquire with Magic and served as the easiest base to work from. Using his mastery of the Branch of Magic that he’d created, Zosimos transformed withered leaves, stalks, chaff, and other such plant material into pure flour.

“I’ll prepare this for preservation, Master.” One of his many homunculi bowed and with a wave of both hands, the massive pile of pure flour formed into a cube. This white cube was then split into smaller uniform cubes that were each packaged and sealed. The now packaged flour was levitated away to be put under Preservation Charms.

“The next batch, Master.” Another homunculus levitated a large mass of plant cast offs inside the Transmutation Circle that Zosimos stood in front of.

“How much does this make?” Zosimos questioned the homunculus that was keeping track of everything off to the side.

“We’re at ninety-nine point eight percent of the goal you set, Master.” The homunculus answered promptly.

“Good,” Zosimos activated the Transmutation Circle again and the red lightning quickly broke down the plant material into its base elements before restructuring it into flour. “Once we reach the goal there will be enough to feed everyone for a full year.” As much as he’d like to save the entirety of the world, the population was simply too large for him to do so. For now, he needed to focus on his homeland first. Once that was taken care of, then he could make more to try and share with the neighboring lands to prevent fighting over food at least. “Water is much easier. I can conjure more potable water than they need with little effort.”

Gamp’s Laws of Elemental Transfiguration stated that food could not be made with Magic. The Master of Transfiguration was indeed correct, filling food was impossible. But transmuting other things into food was a different matter. One could also increase the size of a food item without ill-effects, though some claimed that food that was magically enlarged gave less energy overall. But to provide for the hunger that he foresaw in the coming times, Zosimos would mold the physical world to his desire and provide for those that would suffer the most.

“I’ll take this for preservation, Master.” Another homunculus once more gathered and packaged the flour before taking it to be preserved by Magic.

“Do you need a break, Master?” The homunculus bringing the next pile of plant material questioned.

“No, such a transmutation barely registers to me.” Zosimos waved off the concern of his creation. It was true though. Zosimos had more mana than any other Witch or Wizard in the world. Alchemy was literally his invention and he was the greatest master of the art. Even if he transmuted enough food and other supplies for his entire homeland, he would probably only be winded by the end of it. “And at that point, I’d just rely on you.” He looked at the ever-changing red jewel set into the golden ring on his right hand. The red lightning appeared again as another batch of plant cast offs was quickly transmuted into flour. It would eventually be made into bread that would fill the stomachs of his people during the coming time of hardship.

“If you keep up at this rate, Master, you’ll be far ahead of schedule.” Novus commented on his creator’s constant work.

“If I have to work constantly for the next year straight, I will do so.” Zosimos watched as the new pile of flour was collected and packaged. “If I have the time, then I’ll do what I can to feed the entire Mediterranean and every neighboring region of Egypt.” Left unsaid was the ancient Alchemist’s own feelings of guilt for allowing the coming change. Zosimos didn’t want to watch others suffer, but he’d lived long enough to notice patterns on a global scale. This change was necessary for the future of Humanity. If he had to work himself to the bone and exhaust his Magic for months or longer, then it was a small price to pay to save all the lives that he could.

“Tima’s report has come in as well, Master.” Novus reported after another round of transmutation.

“Are the farming lessons going well?” Zosimos questioned as he took a short break from the constant transmutations.

“Yes, the new homunculi that you’ve made have all become fully functional and taken to learning the Magics that you instructed.” Novus confirmed and enjoyed the smile he saw on his creator’s face. “By the estimation that you gave us, we anticipate that each one of them will be capable of tilling, fertilizing, sowing, and tending to a hectare of land per day. The expected crop yields will be much higher than normal once they start.”

“Very good.” Zosimos felt a little tension leave his shoulders. He’d created one-hundred new homunculi specifically to turn them into Magical farmers. Once the initial chaos that he predicted settled down, then they could have one-hundred hectares prepared and planted everyday until they reached a sustainable size to feed the population. He’d send them across the lands to reestablish farming in whatever was left of the world after the Change. “Food is life. Without it, people are little more than animals scrounging for their next meal. With food available, however, they turn their minds to thoughts of creation and building.”

“Yes, Master.” Novus bowed his head in acceptance of his creator’s words. “Aere is sending back her own reports on areas that will reach the most people once food production is reestablished.”

“That is good, the faster we can get the people settled back into a routine of life, the faster that we can unify again.” Zosimos was hopeful that things could be as they once were again. Even if he greatly lamented the path required to get there. ‘For all the power that I have, there are still facts of existence that cannot be changed. The division caused suffering, but it made them think and advance. They found their own ways to move forward. But then they became so advanced that they were no longer challenged. A lack of challenge led to complacency, laziness, and a weakening of understanding. Now we’re on a path that only a great change can alter. I only hope that we can all come together again, and live better, like it used to be.’ Zosimos shook his head and refocused on his current task. There would be time for hopeful daydreaming later. For now, food needed to be secured so that people could be saved.

Red lightning sparked again as another transmutation took place.

-Paris ~ France-

“Hmm…no change in the Lum to Thaum?” Fleur remarked after measuring the Magic that had just taken place. “It is odd when two different spells share the exact same efficiency.” She marked down the findings with perfect accuracy.

“Yes, it makes one wonder how many spells of the same type are merely the same spell in all but name.” Madam Aveline smiled at her former student and now fellow Scholar and Magical Researcher.

“We’ve noticed more variation in spells that have distinct purposes, even if they’re of the same type.” Fleur hummed thoughtfully as she recalled yesterday’s experiments. “Locomotor-based spells and Mobili-based spells both have distinct differences in their efficiency even though they do the same thing overall.”

“That’s what makes the matching efficiency of Flipendo and Depulso so odd, yes?” Madam Aveline grinned since she’d been the one to cast both spells a moment ago. Like most Magical Scholars, she couldn’t be more thankful to Harry Potter for developing his method for measuring Magic. Her career field had become more active, and full of discoveries, in the last few years than it had been in a century beforehand.

“Indeed.” Fleur let out a small chuckle. Her blue eyes looked over the data they’d collected today with a mix of interest and longing.

“Something seems to be troubling you.” Madam Aveline had seen that look on Fleur’s face many times over their years as teacher and student. “I’ll listen, if you wish to share your thoughts with me.”

Fleur let out a heavy sigh and her shoulders sagged a bit before she met her old teacher’s gaze. “It’s the situation with the Dark Lord that mispronounces our language for his false name.”

“Ah,” Madam Aveline nodded and quickly summoned two chairs that were by the wall. “Let’s take a break. We can talk while we do so.”

“Thank you.” Fleur gave her a smile as she sat down.

“Now, tell me what has you so worried.” Madam Aveline waved her wand and then flicked it. Her handbag floated over to her and from within she pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. Following that came a covered plate of small baked sweets.

“I see you are as prepared as always.” Fleur giggled, reminded of their talks in Madam Aveline’s quarters at Beauxbatons.

“Of course,” Madam Aveline smiled as the wine bottle uncorked itself and poured the two glasses without being touched. “So, what is it about the English Dark Lord that has you concerned? Is it because your beau seems to be his target for some reason?”

“That’s part of it.” Fleur nodded as she accepted the glass of wine when it floated over to her. “The other part is that none of us understand how it is that a man thought dead for so long suddenly returned. We suspect truly foul Magics to be involved, of course, but we have nothing more beyond speculation.” She sipped at the wine, but could barely appreciate its flavor with her thoughts once more turned to the threat against her family.

“It is very odd.” Madam Aveline agreed as she sipped her wine and then adopted a thinking look. “There are many rumored Magics that can keep one from death. But most are merely fanciful tales that have been misrepresented or outright made up.” The older woman looked at Fleur for a moment before speaking again. “Among the only Magics rumored to exist that prevent the death of the Wizard or Witch in the event of destruction of the body, one tale stands out.”

“Which tale is that?” Fleur leaned forward slightly.

“Have you ever heard the story of Herpo the Foul?” Madam Aveline questioned the Veela.

“I believe so?” Fleur had to really think back to recall where she vaguely knew that name from. “We learned about him briefly in History of Magic, if I recall correctly?”

“Yes, you do.” Madam Aveline nodded to Fleur; her face still serious as she continued. “Herpo the Foul was a Dark Wizard from Ancient Greece. He was infamous for being a pioneer in the field of the Dark Arts. Herpo was the first known Wizard to create a Basilisk. It is known that he was born a Parselmouth. That gave Herpo the ability to communicate with snakes. Every surviving record and tale of the man says that he spent his life studying the Dark Arts, inventing many vile curses in that time. Over the course of his life, he acquired a great understanding of the nature of the soul, and how the act of murder affected it. Armed with his knowledge and ruthlessness, he deliberately committed murder with the intention of splitting his soul, and is said to have subsequently sealed the broken fragment inside an object with Dark Magic.”

“I do not recall this from History of Magic.” Fleur shook her head slightly. Her blue eyes were sharp though, picking up on the path their conversation was seemingly taking.

“You wouldn’t, only Herpo’s horrible actions are mentioned as a Dark Wizard.” Madam Aveline seemed to believe that was all that needed to be taught to children. “However, the Magic that is spoken of in his tale has two names, one known to the Non-Magical, and the other only known to those that delve into the more obscure History of Magic or the deepest recesses of Spellcraft.”

“Phylactery…” Fleur pieced together the concept after going over the new information in her head. “The ‘Soul Container’ from the old tales?”

“The name that was hidden from the Magical World was Horcrux.” Madam Aveline stated with clinical detachment. “Known only as the foulest of Dark Magics, you’ll likely find no written records on the actual process. But it is a possibility to this Dark Lord’s seeming ability to rise from the grave.”

“If it is the same as the old horror tales of the Lich, then without destroying the phylactery, they cannot be killed.” Fleur’s eyes widened at the thought of an unkillable Voldemort.

“Yes, only when the ‘soul container’ is destroyed can the Lich be killed.” Madam Aveline nodded to Fleur. “However, Herpo the Foul was rumored to have lived for almost nine-hundred years before he died. But no one had ever destroyed his body before then. The years it took this Dark Lord to return may hint that while the spirit is attached to the mortal plane, the destruction of the body reduces the threat posed by them.”

“We would need a way to confirm that this is what Voldemort did.” Fleur was thinking of any way that her family could prove such a thing. Her eyes were filled with worry even as she thought and Madam Aveline spoke up to break her out of it.

“This has all been speculation and hypothetical talk, you understand, Miss Delacour?” Madam Aveline raised an eyebrow and noticed when Fleur got the hint.

“Yes, of course.” Fleur agreed, sipping her wine again. She knew her old Professor wouldn’t have looked into the Dark Arts or so deeply into the History of Magic with any intention of trying to replicate what Herpo the Foul had done. But any talk of such Dark Magics could make others suspicious and cause no end of problems for the one talking about it. Such inquiries only invited the worst kinds of misunderstandings after all.

“In the privacy of your home, I’m sure you can share such theories freely.” Madam Aveline smiled lightly before taking a sweet for herself from the tray.

Fleur would make sure to do just that. Her family may have their first lead to putting Voldemort down for good.

-Hogwarts ~ Dumbledore’s Office-

“I appreciate you coming back on board, Horace.” Dumbledore thanked the rather rotund Wizard sitting across from him.

“Well, you know I did always like teaching.” Horace Slughorn replied to his old friend. In truth, the man had been living on the run for the last while. When the Dark Mark had been seen in the sky above the Quidditch World Cup, Horace had immediately started moving from place to place. “It’s too bad that young Mr. Potter has graduated early. I would’ve liked to meet him.”

That was the most truthful thing Slughorn had said since he’d been tracked down and nearly hauled back to Hogwarts. “I’m sure something might be able to be arranged.” Dumbledore knew that Slughorn loved to collect connections to brilliant, talented, and influential people. “But with the state of things, I thought it best to offer you a position in the safety of Hogwarts.”

“Yes, yes, I’m much obliged, Albus.” Slughorn nodded to the Headmaster. There was truth to Dumbledore’s words after all. At Hogwarts with Dumbledore was probably the safest place that Horace could think of in all honesty.

“I would like to speak on the troubled young man we both knew back in the late Thirties and Forties, if you’d indulge me, Horace.” Dumbledore leaned forward slightly, the twinkle that was so often in his eyes was noticeably absent. “I think we both know what Voldemort has done.” With those words, a ragged diary with a hole through it was pulled from a drawer in Dumbledore’s desk and placed in front of Slughorn. The heavyset Wizard’s eyes widened at seeing the object.

“I never meant…” Slughorn started but stopped when Dumbledore held up his hand.

“You’re not here to be accused of anything, Horace.” Dumbledore assured the Potions Master. “I merely need confirmation of what you two spoke about. I fear Tom Riddle did something most would never consider. You are the only one that he ever spoke to with any truthfulness. I require your honesty.”

“Y-Yes, Albus…I…I suppose it’s time to stop running from my mistakes.” Slughorn sagged, seeming to age ten years in seconds just from how morose his mood had become. “It was Nineteen Forty-Two, winter had just set in as I recall…”

-End Chapter-

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Work begins in earnest to try and beat the clock.

Who will reach their goal first?

We see more stirrings in the wider world.

Those that’re planning truly are spread across the globe.

Zosimos is making food and supplies in massive quantities through transmutation. All to save as many lives as he can in the coming chaos that he foresees.

Meanwhile, Fleur gets a lead from her old teacher and now fellow Magical Researcher, Madam Aveline. It turns out Horace Slughorn isn’t the only Professor in the world that knows some Dark things that they perhaps shouldn’t.

Speaking of Slughorn…Dumbledore tracked him down early and brought him to Hogwarts. Putting physical proof in front of the old Potions Master has broken his walls. After all, it’s very hard to feign ignorance or innocence when the results of your actions are placed in front of you.

What’s next for our Artificer and his family?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 28,528

Tonks – 23,766

Penelope – 17,984

Fleur – 18,412

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 61: The Eve of Reckoning

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! As the various factions continue to work on their own plans, who will be the first to complete them? Harry has a few projects still on his plate. Penny’s project is slowly expanding. Tonks is out with Moody, Shacklebolt, and the other Aurors trying to capture Death Eaters. Fudge isn’t making that easier though, given how he refuses to believe that Lucius would harbor the Dark Lord. Fleur has a new lead to share with her family about Voldemort’s survival though.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 61 – The Eve of Reckoning

“Shield Cloaks and Ward Breakers, as promised.” Harry placed the items onto the long table in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

The Order of the Phoenix was meeting again as the time of the Autumn Equinox was fast approaching. There was a chance that nothing would happen on that particular day, but from the information they were getting from Snape it seemed like Voldemort was finalizing his preparations to work his Great Magic on that day, perhaps. It would be best to be prepared in advance, just in case.

“Thank you very much, Harry.” Dumbledore smiled at the Artificer as he and Moody looked over the items for a moment.

“There’s a Shield Cloak for every member, make sure you wear it any time you believe you may be at risk of having a spell or curse thrown your way.” Harry looked over the gathered Witches and Wizards. “They’ll block almost anything, but significantly powerful spells can still injure you if they overwhelm the cloak. The amount of power they’ll protect you from will probably save your life, even if they’re overpowered and ruined in the process.”

“Huh…they look almost like ordinary cloaks.” Emmeline Vance noted as she was handed her Shield Cloak, indicated by a scrap of paper with her name on it attached to the front.

“Well, they wouldn’t be very practical to wear day-to-day during all of this if they were flashier, right?” Hestia Jones, an Auror just like Tonks, smiled at the other woman while holding her own Shield Cloak.

“I doubt I’ll take it off outside of my own home until all this Death Eater business is settled.” Sturgis Podmore declared, already slipping the cloak on over his robes.

“Probably for the best.” Dedalus Diggle agreed, standing up to put his own Shield Cloak on, along with Elphias Doge.

While the Order Members were accepting their new cloaks, some putting them on right away while others didn’t, Harry was telling Moody and Dumbledore more about the Ward Breakers. Specifically, how many it might take to break the old wards around Malfoy Manor. Given how long the Malfoy Family had owned the lands, the wards would most likely be incredibly strong.

“So, you’re thinking a dozen or more?” Moody asked for confirmation, his prosthetic eye swiveling in the socket.

“Most likely.” Harry nodded to the Senior Auror. “Space them out around the perimeter like the marks on a clockface and then activate them simultaneously, even old wards like that should overload and shatter. The Ward Breakers will take the backlash and no one should be harmed.”

“That means we have a way in.” Moody gave Harry a nod before shooting a look at Dumbledore.

“I agree.” Dumbledore nodded, a small smile appearing on his face as he looked at Harry. “Thank you for your assistance in our endeavor, Artificer Potter. Hopefully we’ll be able to end this madness before it escalates like it did during Voldemort’s first rise to power.”

“Not until we figure out how he crawled his way back to the physical world.” Harry shook his head, annoyed by the fact that Voldemort had returned at all. “Until that time, all we can do is try to mitigate his effect on the world by taking out his powerbase.”

“He’s not wrong, Albus.” Moody’s gruff voice matched his scarred visage. “We need to find out how to put Voldemort down for good.”

“I’m still working on that, I’m afraid.” Dumbledore sighed heavily. Horace had provided the confirmation of what Voldemort had done…the horrid Magic of Horcruxes of all things…but with what the young Tom Riddle had said, there were as many as six Horcruxes made. ‘Well, I suppose five now, after the destruction of the Diary.’ The old Headmaster looked to the small silver lining of at least one of the abominations already being destroyed. “Voldemort has not made defeating him a simple matter. And I believe there are many clues and avenues of inquiry that I’ll have to go through to uncover the full method of how he’s prevented himself from passing on.”

“We’re not exactly long on time, Albus, we need to at least try to keep the Dark Lord on the backfoot as much as possible.” Moody was in favor of striking hard and fast against Voldemort. The less Death Eaters that Voldemort had to work with, the better off they’d be.

-Wood End Cottage ~ Night-

“Thanks to Madam Aveline, I believe I have a lead on how Voldemort has returned.” Fleur spoke to Harry, Penny, Tonks, and Sirius. The Veela’s face was absolutely serious and her blue eyes were sharp.

“What did she say?” Penny gently placed her hand over top of Fleur’s, worried that her ‘sister’ in all but blood was acting oddly.

“Madam Aveline spoke with me about Herpo the Foul, an Ancient Greek Wizard and a pioneer in the Dark Arts.” Fleur began and went through what she and Madam Aveline had discussed. “In short, Voldemort is close to the fabled Lich of the old tales, using a Horcrux or Phylactery to chain his soul to the mortal world even if his physical body is destroyed.”

“Well…shite.” Tonks exhaled heavily. “So, we have to find this Horcrux thing and destroy it before we can really put the Dark Wanker down for good?”

“That’s the best lead I’ve been able to find.” Fleur nodded to Tonks, watching as the Metamorphmagus’s hair cycled through a few different colors.

“That poses a problem aside from the obvious.” Sirius thought quietly for a long moment. “If this Horcrux thing exists and Fleur is correct, then either Voldemort keeps it somewhere close and under his watch at all times. Or it could be hidden in a location that only he knows and may not even be within the British Isles.”

“Shite.” Penny cursed, uncharacteristic of the scholar, but it was an apt summary of the situation.

“I wonder…” Harry thought back to his second year at Hogwarts and the Chamber of Secrets. “I fought a memory of Voldemort in the Chamber…but he was young then, still in school.” He noticed that the rest of his family was looking at him now. “If what he said was true, that he was a memory left in the diary, would that mean that it was Voldemort’s Horcrux?”

“But he came back after you destroyed it, didn’t he?” Tonks pointed out the flaw in Harry’s pondering.

“Unless he made more than one…” Penny spoke up a second later, her eyes alight with theories given the relevant information. “But you said that you have to commit murder and fracture the soul…can you do that more than once?” She looked at Fleur curiously.

“I’m not sure…” Fleur shook her head, as she and Madam Aveline hadn’t gone over any such thing. There was a limit to her former teacher’s knowledge about such a Dark subject.

“If anyone was deranged enough to try repeatedly shattering off parts of their own soul, it would definitely be Voldemort.” Sirius fully believed that, especially after what he’d witnessed in the Seventies.

“That still puts us back at square one though.” Tonks grimaced as a second Horcrux that they didn’t know the location of didn’t help them end Voldemort. “Hell, we might be at square zero…who’s to say the bastard didn’t make more than two? Three is a powerful Magical Number, sure…but seven in the most powerful, right?”

“Oh fuck…” Harry groaned and put his head in his hands. “A megalomaniac obsessed with being ‘the greatest wizard that ever lived’ like Voldemort would probably do that too.”

The silence that followed that revelation was resounding in its completeness.

“So…” Sirius spoke again after the silence had grown uncomfortable. “Harry has already taken one out, probably. That would leave the Voldemort that’s walking around and five other pieces, if we go with the ‘seven-split’ theory.”

“If we could destroy his physical body again…that might buy us some time to find the rest.” Tonks offered, her training under Mad-Eye was showing through.

“We’d have to work with Dumbledore to try and figure out where the others were hidden though.” Harry mentioned after a moment of thought. “The Headmaster has known Voldemort the longest, hasn’t he? Surely, he knows something about what was going on with Tom Riddle back in Hogwarts, right?”

“At the very least, he might know something about what items Voldemort would use…or perhaps a location that was important to Tom Riddle before he became Voldemort?” Penny offered her thoughts.

“Is there any way we could remove the threat he poses?” Fleur brought up a question of her own. “Would it be possible to trap or contain Voldemort somewhere until such time that we had destroyed his Horcruxes?”

“My Anti-Magic Area might work to an extent, but it’s not very big yet, nor can it be set up and deployed during a confrontation.” Penny hummed in thought about her creation.

“Worse comes to worst,” Harry looked towards the direction of his smithy. “I could always use that.”

“Don’t you even think about it!” Tonks snapped at him, worry and indignation on her face as both her hair and eyes turned orange.

“Stay far away from that cursed thing, Harry!” Fleur stared into his eyes sharply, while she grabbed his hand as if to keep him in place.

“Harry, that thing will kill you.” Penny looked at him worriedly. “Please, just leave it sealed away, we’ll figure this out together.”

“I agree with them, Harry.” Sirius had a firm look on his face. “Best to leave that sword where it can’t hurt anyone, especially you.”

“I’d rather not touch it, myself.” Harry admitted, he did still vividly remember his hand being frozen over by his creation. “But Dourfrost has a specific ability that might make it one of the easiest ways to deal with Voldemort.”

“At the cost of your life isn’t acceptable, Harry.” Tonks pulled him into a tight hug.

“Absolutely not.” Fleur hugged him as well.

“We don’t ever want to lose you, Harry.” Penny joined the hug as well.

“Listen to them, Harry, there’s no reason to endanger yourself. You have all of us to help you out. We’ll take the bastard down together, no matter how long it takes.” Sirius stated with surety as he stood up and ruffled Harry’s hair, the only spot he could reach on his godson that was currently being smothered by the three girls.

“I get it.” Harry chuckled from within the pile. “We’ll figure it out.” In his mind, he did still keep unsealing Dourfrost as the option of absolute last resort though. ‘I should be finished with the scabbard soon too.

-Malfoy Manor-

“Move everything of value quickly.” Voldemort ordered with a light hiss. He watched as his hundreds of new followers moved about the large home to gather everything he wanted to keep and move it.

“My Lord, are we really going to abandon my manor?” Lucius asked, kneeling next to the man. It burned him fiercely that the land and home of his ancestors was being so casually left behind.

“Severus has brought information that Dumbledore’s Order has gained a way to break through the wards.” Voldemort turned his red eyes upon Lucius. “I will not have everything be lost if they attempt to raid us before the Great Magic is ready.”

“I understand, my Lord, but surely we could…” Lucius was cut off as he was forced to the floor by Voldemort’s Magic.

“I will not hear your drivel, Lucius.” Voldemort kept up the pressure as he spoke. “Your manor and lands can always be reacquired if necessary. At present, they serve a purpose, but if that changes then I will abandon them; just as I expect you to!”

“Y-yes…my…Lord…” Lucius wheezed out from under the pressure.

“If you understand, then make sure everything is taken to our next location properly.” Voldemort released Lucius and walked away, leaving the Head of the Malfoy Family to pick himself up off the floor.

“Damn…” Lucius grumbled to himself as he stood up. To think that his family’s manor would be trod upon by halfbloods and mudbloods…he hated it. But he still moved to follow the Dark Lord’s orders. ‘I can only hope the Great Magic is complete before any raid takes place. At least then I won’t have to abandon my ancestral home.

-Hogwarts ~ Library-

“They still haven’t posted the first Hogsmeade weekend.” Luna pouted at not being able to send Harry a letter so they could meet up for the day out for the students.

“They’ll do it soon enough, Luna, I’m sure.” Padma smiled at her fellow Ravenclaw as the group of friends sat around one of the tables together.

“Things have been quiet for a little bit in the Prophet, huh?” Mandy mentioned as she flipped a page in her book, hoping to find more information for her current essay.

“That’s probably a good thing.” Hermione mused, nibbling her lip slightly. “No news is good news, as the old saying goes.”

“I’d really like to read that You-Know-Who is dead in the Prophet.” Mandy mumbled quietly so that only they could hear.

“Maybe Malfoy would stop being as much of a prat then.” Padma rolled her eyes at the fact that Draco had been strutting around like he was important ever since the first day of school.

“I doubt it.” Luna shook her head, the fact that she stated it as a simple fact made the other girls giggle.

“It would be nice though.” Hermione rolled her eyes just remembering how pompously Draco was acting around the school.

“He seems to think he’ll be accomplishing some great task soon with what little I’ve been able to hear from my sister and her love of gossip.” Padma twirled her finger in the air with an uncaring expression.

“Doing his own laundry would probably be a great accomplishment for Malfoy.” Mandy tittered and the other girls giggled as well.

“I suppose it could be…if he was bad at laundry.” Luna considered with a cute thinking pose.

“Ah, Luna, never change.” Mandy pulled the girl into a one-armed side hug.

“Okay.” Luna smiled. It was great having friends.

-Hogwarts ~ Headmaster’s Office ~ September 22nd-

“I’ll be taking my son home for the weekend.” Lucius stated as he finished his meeting with Dumbledore. “He’ll return to school before classes on Monday morning.” Draco was already by his side, looking almost smug which he’d have to scold the boy for.

“I cannot stop you, as you are his father.” Dumbledore didn’t like this; Draco was still a child and was being taken home on the very day the Order had been planning their raid. “We hope to see young Draco fresh and ready to learn on Monday morning.” He spoke, sending a smile towards the boy, only to get a half-hidden sneer in return.

“Come along, Draco.” Lucius guided them over to the Floo. A moment later and a flash of green fire whisked them away to Malfoy Manor.

“I’ll need to get in contact with Alastor.” Dumbledore mumbled to himself, quickly standing up from his desk. He didn’t want a child caught up in their raid, so the plan would need to be altered to try and avoid that. “Just when we finally had everyone ready as well.” Dumbledore sighed heavily. Things had been strangely quiet at Malfoy Manor from what Severus had spoken of. The majority of goods and useful items had already been moved to the next location that Voldemort had chosen. That location had only been shared with the Inner Circle who had been sent ahead to make it ready for Voldemort’s arrival. The rest of the newly recruited forces, numbering just over three-hundred, were still at Malfoy Manor to protect the area. “Did they suspect that we would try something at this time? Perhaps this is an important time and Tom is trying to stay my hand by placing a child in danger?” It wouldn’t be out of the question for the monster that the once bright young man had become.

-Wood End Cottage ~ Harry’s Workshop-

“There we are.” Harry smiled at the completed scabbard Artifact. Wrapped in Dragonhide, powdered Dragon Fangs used as conduit for the runic circuits that linked the various sequences into an array, and he’d even gone the extra mile to stain the wood with Dragon Blood to add another layer of synergy. There was no doubt in his mind that this scabbard could contain Dourfrost indefinitely. “Now, we just have to unseal Dourfrost and place it into the new scabbard.” Harry grinned at finally getting another project completed. He’d save the unsealing for later though; Sirius and Tonks were about to head out with the Order of the Phoenix to strike at Voldemort.

“You be careful!” Marlie kissed Sirius right as Harry walked into the living room.

“I will, love.” Sirius promised her once their lips separated. “I’ve got my Shield Cloak, my Basilisk Vest, and my Sorcerer’s Path. I shouldn’t get a scratch.” He smiled warmly at her and pulled her into a hug.

“You stay safe too, Nym.” Harry hugged her close and Tonks returned it.

“I’m decked out in everything, Harry.” Tonks promised him with a loving smile. “Basilisk Vest, Basilisk Scale Mail over that, Shield Cloak over that, and Sorcerer’s Path over that.” She listed off all the protection she had thanks to Harry. “I’m pretty sure that I’ll be the most protected person there.” Tonks kissed him, long and slow, pouring all of her love and affection into it.

“If anything goes wrong, please just come back here.” Penny hugged Tonks closely after she and Harry separated.

“No worries, Penny.” Tonks hugged the other woman back. “If things go arse up, we’ll be pulling back to reassess. Dumbledore and Moody both agree that something is afoot from what Snape had told us. So, they’re prioritizing lives over results tonight.”

“Bon.” Fleur pulled Tonks into her arms next and kissed her cheeks. “Your life is more important than the Dark Lord’s. Come home to us above all else.”

“Of course.” Tonks smiled and squeezed the Veela tightly. “We’ll make it back just fine. Hopefully, with whatever Voldemort is planning, completely ruined.”

“You come back too, Sirius.” Harry hugged his godfather. “You still have a wedding to attend.”

“You’re tying the knot before your Majority, Harry?” Sirius asked in faux shock. “I don’t think that’s legal.”

“Hush, before Marlie changes her mind about you.” Harry laughed along with Sirius.

“We’re off to screw over the Dark Tosser! Be back later!” Sirius joked and waved to Marlie, Harry, Fleur, and Penny comically. He vanished in a flash of green flames as the Floo activated.

“I’ll drag him back if he does something silly.” Tonks promised, shooting Marlie a smile before she stepped into the green flames and was whisked away as well.

“Are you sure that we shouldn’t have gone?” Fleur looked at Harry in concern.

“They’re only going to disrupt whatever Voldemort is planning, not to try and bring him down. So, they should be fine. They’re old hats at this.” Harry offered the best reassurance he could, given that he’d also wanted to go.

“Sirius and Tonks were adamant that we not go and get involved with the Order any more than necessary.” Penny reminded them both, even as she was clearly worrying herself. “I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of joining a secret illegal militia, but I hate the waiting too.”

“We’ll be ready to help if they call.” Harry held up his Communication Mirror, reminding the three women that they had instant communication if Tonks and Sirius needed help.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Night-

“What’s that fog?” Sirius questioned as the Order met well outside the ward line of the Malfoy estate.

“Some kind of spell.” Moody’s gruff voice replied. “My eye can’t see through it.”

“We’ve confirmed movement in the fog…a lot of things are standing in it, kind of listlessly.” Shacklebolt reported as the Order had spread out to check around the edge of the estate already. “I worry that the suspected three-hundred or so Wizards and Witches that are supposedly following Voldemort are lying in wait for us.”

“Are they planning to stay out here all night?” Elphias Doge questioned curiously.

“We’re definitely outnumbered…but if we can slip past them…” Sturgis Podmore offered, but sounded like he would rather not go sneaking about in the Magical fog.

“We can’t even get close to the wards to use the Ward Breakers if we don’t pass through the fog though.” Tonks mentioned, eyeing the figures in the fog with the use of a Sight Charm that Aurors were taught to let them see further away clearly, like a pair of binoculars in spell form.

“Voldemort has also taken the young Malfoy scion into the manor as well.” Dumbledore reminded the Order. “Using a child as a shield, as it were.”

“Of course, he did.” Emmeline Vance grimaced at the disgusting tactic.

“Do we have a way to clear the fog and deal with up to three-hundred Wizards long enough to break the wards and then destroy this ritual site?” Remus looked at Dumbledore for any idea or potential plan. It was a tall order to fulfill even with someone of Dumbledore’s power and skill.

“I’d rather not just kill them all wholesale.” Dumbledore had seen what solving all of one’s problems with violence and death had caused before. It was a path that he’d feared that he could slide down if he wasn’t careful. “I can clear the fog and deal with a good number of enemies, but that will surely draw Voldemort’s attention. We’d need someone to sneak through the chaos and destroy the ritual site.”

“Disillusionment Charms…and maybe my Animagus form?” Sirius put forth his best idea. “In the dark, I’d go unnoticed, especially if everyone is rushing to the scene of a battle.”

“Aye, that could work.” Moody nodded after a long moment to think about it. “Albus and I could hit them hard from here, the rest of the Order spreads out a bit to spread their forces away. Voldemort will be forced to come and deal with us personally.”

The plan was accepted and Sirius was given the Ward Breakers to take to the ward line and set up. The Marauder wished everyone well and then disillusioned himself. The padding of a dog’s feet on grass was heard as Sirius bolted away to fulfill his task.

“Let us begin.” Dumbledore nodded to the Order members as he and Moody moved forward under their own Disillusionment Charms. The rest of the members quickly did the same, spreading out within sight of each other as they prepared to attack. “Purgare Aerem.” Dumbledore lifted his knotted wand and made multiple loops, three swishes, and finally a large circle. The thick fog vanished and several cries of shock were heard from the gathered Wizards and Witches.

“Lata Stupefy Tria Maxima!” Moody cast the modified Stunner and three wide arcs of the familiar red light flew towards the confused Death Eaters. “Lata Amissa Tactu!” The Senior Auror utilized his second Focus, his walking stick, to cast another widened spell, this time the Unfeeling Hex that robbed a person of their sense of touch. Small purple lights rained down over a section of the Death Eaters and sent them into confusion. Using Dual Foci was something that only Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody was proficient in within all of the Auror Corps.

“Aaaahhhh!”

“Enemy!”

“My wand!”

“Confringo!”

“Expelliarmus!”

“Deprimo!”

“Bombarda!”

Spells flew back and forth as the two sides fought. Flashes of light, arcs of various colors of lightning, the occasional crack of Apparation. Spells exploded against the ground, throwing up dirt into the air. Flames were conjured and thrown around. It didn’t seem that long, but yet felt like an eternity before a loud sound caught everyone’s attention.

It was like the screech of metal being violently warped and torn apart, mixed with the shattering of glass. The wards became visible within the air before dispersing in a burst of light. The air popped from the sudden change and all fighting stopped for a brief moment.

That moment was shattered when Sirius Black Apparated close to Dumbledore. Sirius had returned to his human form and was clearly shaken from the hastily performed Apparation, but forced himself to his feet and drew his wand fluidly. Dumbledore was quick to notice the Shield Cloak showed signs of being burnt, a few faint wisps of smoke still rising from parts of it.

“Dumbledore!” Sirius called out upon seeing the old man. “He’s here! Voldemort is personally guarding the ritual site! He threw Fiendfyre at me as soon as I tried to get close!”

“Does he not intend to get involved?” Dumbledore knew that Tom would often come to try and kill him in the past. His old student saw Dumbledore as one of the few obstacles blocking his path.

“I don’t think that’s the issue…” Moody’s prosthetic eye was whirling around and he nearly spat before calling out a warning. “Incoming Fiendfyre! Retreat!”

The Magical Eye wasn’t wrong either, as in a blaze of heat and light, a massive serpent of Fiendfyre rose over Malfoy Manor. The cursed flames shot down towards the area of fighting with a shrieking roar.

“He’s going to kill his own men!” Sirius cursed the Dark Lord in his mind.

“Get back!” Dumbledore waved his wand and snagged all of the Order Members with a spell. Everyone was thrown dozens of meters backwards before they’d realized that they were moving, the spell grabbing them by their feet, the only area not directly covered by the Shield Cloaks. With everyone out of the way, Dumbledore stabbed his wand forward and the Fiendfyre serpent slammed into an invisible wall, the cursed fires spreading along the force of Dumbledore’s will.

“Run!”

“It’s Fiendfyre!”

“Retreat!”

“Back to the Manor!”

“Fall back!”

The Death Eaters yelled out to each other as they quickly retreated from the clash of Magic.

The Fiendfyre reformed, still fueled by Voldemort’s Magic and intent. The serpent of cursed flames lashed out at Dumbledore over and over again, trying to break through his barrier.

“Hmmmnnn…” Dumbledore grimaced as he blocked the flames and slowly pushed his will and intent into them, trying to wrest control of the cursed fire from Voldemort. It took a great amount of focus and willpower to control Fiendfyre normally. To do it from such a distance was unheard of. Dumbledore could only force his intent against the fire and snuff it out by using the distance against Voldemort.

“He’s doing it.” Elphias Doge cheered as the Fiendfyre serpent lost form and became a swirling ball of flames.

“Once he’s snuffed out the flames, we move in and head towards that ritual site.” Moody called out to the Order members. “We don’t want to miss this chance!”

“Haaa…” Dumbledore crushed the intent remaining in the Fiendfyre, stealing control of the spell and then snuffing it out. The heat dropped noticeably once the cursed fires were gone.

That wasn’t the end of the Order’s troubles though. A wave of spellfire came from the manor all at once. Among the many spells, there were a few glowing green lights that everyone recognized. Instead of relying on Shield Charms, the Order all pointed their wands at the ground and transfigured the earth into a large wall. The chorus of spells exploding against the earthen wall was loud, parts of it even being blown apart under the barrage.

“Always trying to interfere…Dumbledore.” The sibilant hiss of Voldemort rang out in the sudden silence. “But you’ll have to leave. I’m about to start a monumental undertaking of Great Magic that most Witches and Wizards couldn’t comprehend, and I can’t have you ruining it.”

“I cannot do that, Tom.” Dumbledore lowered the section of earthen wall in front of him to meet Voldemort face-to-face.

“My NAME is Lord Voldemort!” Voldemort snapped out, his tone like a whip cracking through the air.

“This must end, Tom.” Dumbledore paid no heed to the false name that his former student had given himself. His wand was at the ready, the first opening he saw would begin their battle.

“Always you must meddle.” Voldemort sneered out, his tone patronizing. “But I have little time for you, old man. So, I’ll have you leave.”

“I will not move from here until you are stopped!” Dumbledore’s tone hardened, the fierce man he could become on the battlefield showing his face for the first time in many years.

“That’s not your choice.” Voldemort had a mocking grin on his face. “You see, I’ve delved into Magics the likes of which you could never imagine. The next time we meet, I will be as unto a God!”

“Your mind has become twisted from the Dark Magics you’ve subjected yourself to, Tom.” Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at the man.

“Goodbye, Albus Dumbledore.” Voldemort raised a wand before him, as if about to give a proper pre-Duel salute. “Immolare et Dispergere!” Voldemort’s voice warped noticeably and the wand in his hand was tossed forward. Dumbledore raised a powerful Protego Totalum to block, only for the thrown wand to explode into fragments and a thick black smoke to blast forward and cover the area.

When the black smoke cleared away unnaturally fast, it revealed the entire Order of the Phoenix had vanished. The odd wavering of the air and a strange hissing sound were all that was left in the darkness of the New Moon night.

“Begin preparations!” Voldemort raised his voice as he stalked back towards the ritual site. “We will begin the Great Magic immediately!” Ideally, he’d have liked to wait until tomorrow night, but night on the day of the equinox was the most important factor. So long as the sun hadn’t started rising and the date was right, the ritual should still impart its full power after all the meticulous placing of the various granite slabs that he’d done. The incredibly perfect alignment would make up for the slightly less optimal timing. “Tempus.” Voldemort cast the simple Charm with his true wand, and not the well-matched secondary wand he’d used for his previous spell. The wispy smoke formed the time and made Voldemort smile mirthlessly.

12:03am

-Sirius-

A strange sound (like a muffled explosion) went off in an alleyway, had anyone actually been around to hear it.

Sirius crashed down hard on something and nearly blacked out. It took him a few moments to reorient himself, the putrid smell invading his nose a sure help of getting his wits back. Blinking his eyes, he tried to see, but only a faint light from somewhere off to the side gave him anything to see by. His body felt weird, like he’d just gone through a bad side-along Apparation. His stomach was certainly rolling and the stench wasn’t helping that.

“Bloody…hell…” Sirius gagged as he forced himself up. Whatever he was lying on shifted beneath him, but Sirius was able to grab the edge of the box. It was metal, cold to the touch, and he pulled himself upward with a groan of pain. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking with me.” He cursed, now realizing he was in a Muggle dumpster. “Where the hell am I?” He had no idea what that weird spell he’d heard Voldemort cast was…but it had apparently been able to either bypass his Shield Cloak and Basilisk Vest, or it operated on a different method than a standard spell. “Damn it…” He climbed out of the dumpster, his body still feeling completely off in a way that was hard to describe. Sirius rummaged in his pocket until he pulled out his Communication Mirror, he needed to tell Harry that something had gone wrong and that they hadn’t been able to stop Voldemort’s plan. “Harry Potter.”

-Malfoy Manor ~ Ritual Site-

“Hurry up!” Voldemort ordered as he sent the peons to their proper spots among the slabs of granite that he’d prepared. Every one of them had a designated space and he was making sure that they were all in position. “We don’t have all night!”

“My Lord, where did you want us?” Lucius questioned, having only been told that the three Malfoys needed to be here for the Great Magic to work, being as this was their land and the land of their ancestors for centuries now.

“Lucius, your family will be at the center.” Voldemort guided Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco into the center of the standing stones. “It is imperative that the ones with the deepest ties to this land be here to give the Magic the space to work with.”

“Of course, my Lord.” Lucius bowed his head, still rather happy that they’d repelled Dumbledore and his Order without having to abandon Malfoy Manor.

“Lucius, kneel before this stone.” Voldemort instructed, pointing at a stone with a strange glyph on it. “Narcissa, you will kneel before that stone.” He informed the woman, another standing slab of granite bearing another unknown glyph. “Finally, young Draco, you will kneel before this stone.” Voldemort guided the boy to face the proper stone monolith, this one bearing a glyph that was unique as well.

“It is an honor to help you work a Great Magic, my Lord.” Draco spoke after kneeling before the marked stone. The teen was trying to sound proper and imitate his father’s way of speaking, but it fell flat as he had none of the decades of experience.

“See that you remain where you are, I will be most displeased if you cause this to fail.” Voldemort’s obvious threat made all three Malfoys tense in fear until he left the center part of the ritual site.

“With this, we will return to the Dark Lord’s good graces.” Lucius spoke just loud enough for Narcissa and Draco to hear him. “We must ensure this succeeds.”

“Yes, father.” Draco’s reply was instant.

“Of course.” Narcissa’s simple reply still possessed the bearing of a Daughter of the House of Black, even as she kneeled in the grass and dirt before a stone slab.

Voldemort went around the entire site once more, checking that everyone was in their place and that every stone was in perfect condition. Only once he was satisfied did he walk over to a different stone, this one made of a black mineral instead of granite. Briefly he stared up at the New Moon, hard to see in the night sky, but not impossible. With a dark grin, he poured his Magic into the black stone beneath his feet. “Coniuro te, da desiderium meum, appare coram me et servias domino tuo.

Every glyph on each of the standing slabs of granite began to glow with a deep blue light.

What will you offer?” A voice seeped into his head like oil. It was not a human tongue, but understanding was forced upon him regardless.

“Everything within the land of the three within the center, all of which are my property, and the land itself. Only I shall be spared as your master.” Voldemort spoke aloud, but to anyone that could’ve seen him, it looked as if he was in a trance, staring into the empty air.

The power I offer is equal to what you sacrifice. Is everything within these lands yours to offer?” The voice questioned darkly, a feeling of sheer wrongness now filling the air around Voldemort.

“Yes. All lives within this land are my property, for they bear my Mark upon their flesh.” Voldemort answered the force with utter surety.

The ground beneath the ritual site began to glow the same dark blue color as lines appeared between the standing stones. A massive Magic Circle, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in over a thousand years, formed as the Death Eaters remained kneeling in their positions. Many of them made noises of awe at seeing this Magic begin. Knowing they were a part of it gave them a feeling of importance.

The offering is accepted.” The force spoke into Voldemort’s head.

A single spark started it all. The blue light darkened into a navy blue with black mixed in. None of the kneeling Death Eaters could move anymore as the ritual began. The first to feel the effects were the Malfoys. If they could’ve moved at all, screams would have torn from their throats. Their Magic flowed away from them like water, pouring into the glowing circle beneath them. When their Magic ran out, their very blood was torn from their bodies to run in rivulets down their skin and into the ground. The Malfoys seemed to rapidly age as their bodies were reduced to naught but dust which was absorbed into the circle as well.

All around the ritual site, the same horrific process played out as three hundred Magicals were sacrificed to bring forth something beyond the mortal world. When all of the humans had been consumed entirely, the land began to warp as the glow spread across it.

Voldemort watched on, pleased by his success. There had never been any intention of abandoning Malfoy Manor or the ritual site. No, the moving of everything valuable had merely been because everything that sat on the Malfoy ancestral lands was to be offered up as a sacrifice. That included the manor itself and the land owned by the Malfoys as well.

The manor was torn apart, every scrap of it reduced to dust just as the rumbling earth tore itself asunder to flow towards the immense Magic Circle that still glowed brightly from the ritual site. From the Magic Circle the dirt and dust rose up, forming into a titanic skeletal being roughly sixty meters in height. The torso and arms appeared humanoid, but the legs were wrong, as was the skull, and the long tail. The dirt skeleton quickly took on the form of real bones, gleaming white in the darkness of night. The earth continued to flow over the bones, forming flesh and organs over the skeleton, skin formed and then darkened to a deep navy blue. The skull was covered, revealing it to be goat-like in nature, but the extended jaws were filled with sharp fangs.

When the ritual ended and the glow faded away all that was left of the Malfoy ancestral lands was a massive crater. In the center of that crater stood a being of immense size and darkness. It was a demonic monster with muscles as taut as ropes rippling up its towering form. Its skin was deep blue and its eyes snapped open to reveal gleaming blue eyes that glowed with an ethereal light. Its head, resting atop its thick chest, was that of a goat rather than a man and had an elongated snout and thick, twisted horns stretching backward from the sides of its head. The lower half of its body had bestial legs like a goat’s and were covered in thick, navy blue fur. The tail that lashed behind it was a serpent, hissing dangerously with equally glowing eyes to the main head.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” The demon roared loudly, the air shaking as a dark aura swept across the crater and filled both the land and air with death. The ground dried out and everything within the dirt died instantly. The air became stagnant and foul in the same instant. Voldemort floated on the black stone before the great demonic beast with a demented smile on his face.

“Speak your name to your master.” Voldemort intoned, since he needed the demon to give him a name with which to bind their pact.

Gleam Eyes.” The demon’s words were like the rumble of thunder.

That didn’t translate aloud, but I understood it in my head.’ Voldemort realized a split second after it happened. ‘Gleam Eyes, how fitting.’ He chuckled darkly while looking into the brightly glowing eyes of the demon. “Come, my servant, we have a world to conquer.”

The demon briefly lowered its head, allowing Voldemort to stand atop it, between its massive curved horns. With a thundering step of its cloven hooves, the demon walked up the slope of the crater and towards the lands beyond.

In a very short amount of time, Britain (and the entire world) would learn of Magic again. But in the worst way possible.

Just as Voldemort intended.

-End Chapter-

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Fuck!

Shit, shit, shit…that’s BAD!!!

Who left Voldemort with a tome of True Dark Magic for this long?!

This is not the way you want to permanently break the Statute of Secrecy…unless you’re Voldemort.

With the Malfoys and around three-hundred other Wizards/Witches sacrificed along with the land, the manor, and everything else, just how strong is the demon that Voldemort has unleashed upon the world?

Can anyone or anything stop it as it moves wherever Voldemort tells it to go?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 29,386

Tonks – 24,418

Penelope – 18,422

Fleur – 18,964

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 62: Secret No More

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Well, things are going to shit. Can this be mitigated? Harry and Family are certainly going to try. Then again, the speed at which information travels in the modern age is absolutely ridiculous. There may be no going back from this.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 62 – Secret No More

“Did you feel that?” A man, Edwin Clarke, looked between his mate, Henry, and the floor of the pub that they were in.

“What?” Henry looked at Edwin like he was off.

“The floor is shaking.” Edwin tapped his foot on the wooden floor.

“Are you already pissed?” Henry chuckled at his long-time friend. “You’re not usually this much of a-” His words were cut off as a tremor did indeed shake the floor. All of the previous noise in the pub stopped as everyone looked around in confusion.

“See?” Edwin looked at Henry pointedly.

“Earthquake?” One patron wondered loudly.

“We don’t have earthquakes around here.” Another replied with a shake of his head.

The tremor returned, even stronger this time and a few of the glasses and bottles behind the bar rattled. The barman quickly put his hands on a few that looked like they might fall. The next tremor came, worse than before, shaking everything in the pub and making even some of the more sober patrons stagger.

“It’s like bloody footsteps!” Henry swore, grabbing onto the table to steady himself.

“You saying there’s a giant walkin’ around outside?!” Edwin snapped at Henry for the ridiculous suggestion.

Screams from outside the pub got all of the patrons’ attention, seeing some people running in the streets away from something.

“What in God’s name?” One of the patrons close to the windows looked out and dropped his drink in shock as he went silent from terror.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” A massive roar ripped through the town, and even inside everyone clapped their hands over their ears.

“What the fuck?” Edwin and Henry both cursed as they left their table and rushed over to the windows along with a few other patrons. What they saw outside could only be described as a demon.

“Lay waste to the pests, they who do not know their place.” Voldemort ordered the demon he’d conjured.

The Gleam Eyes’ throat swelled up to a grotesque degree before it threw its head forward and opened its jaws. From the maw of the demon a sickly purple light blasted forward. The first thing it impacted was the main street, where many vehicles were already driving towards in an attempt to flee from the sixty-meter tall demon bearing down on the town.

BOOM

The purple light exploded with more force than any Bombarda spell could ever hope to produce when wielded by a Wizard or Witch. The entire main street area was blown apart, but most of the debris turned to dust rather than scatter across the town. What remained was a blackened crater with some ominously glowing purple burn marks within.

The entire town, even past midnight, was now awake and in terror. Screams and yells were heard, people either hid within their homes, or tried to flee from the titanic monster walking through their town. Each of its cloven-hoofed steps shook the ground and caused destruction around it.

Calls were quickly being made to local law enforcement, some of the townsfolk skipping the emergency number entirely and calling higher authorities if they knew the proper numbers. In various parts of England, phones began to ring loudly in offices and buildings that had before been having a typical quiet night.

“Again.” Voldemort’s sick amusement at seeing the Muggles fleeing in terror was plain on his face.

Once more the Gleam Eyes’ throat bulged in a disgusting manner before another blast of the eerie purple light was expelled from its jaws. Another section of the town, this time houses, vanished into the light, followed by the immense explosion.

BOOM

The Gleam Eyes continued to walk the path that its Master had set for it, crushing the mortals underfoot, along with their buildings and dwellings. A straight line it would travel, eliminating everything in its path as it moved forward. The behest of its master was the only thing making it attack with its immense Magical power.

A line of death to the Muggles, the first of many to perish under my reign.’ Voldemort mused darkly, seeing the destruction his demon caused merely by walking. ‘We’ll destroy every hamlet, village, town, and city on the path towards London.’ His red eyes gazed forward with a malevolent glow. ‘And when we get to London…there are nearly seven million that live there.’ The city also included targets like the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley as well. The world would know of his power and they would bow down!

-London-

“It’s like every phone is ringing at the same bloody time!” An office worker cried out, trying to keep up with all the calls coming in.

“Ma’am, what do you mean a giant monster?”

“Sir! You have to stop screaming, I can’t understand you!”

“Can you explain the situation more clearly? This is not a line to call for local emergencies.”

“What on Earth is going on?” The Director of the office questioned, having been called to come to work in the middle of night.

“Calls from Wiltshire, sir.” One of his oldest workers informed him from his desk after putting down the phone. “Hundreds of them, all of them claiming some giant monster is destroying their town.”

“Is there a massive gas leak or something?” The Director looked absolutely flummoxed by the situation. Surely this mass hysteria had to be some type of hallucination?

“Turn on the telly!” One worker ran into the main area and had the television turned on in short order. The news station was already running a ‘Breaking News’ alert.

“This footage is coming to us live from our news helicopter over Wiltshire. While what you’re about to see may seem like a movie, we assure you that this is very much real. Parents are advised to prevent their children from viewing this graphic content.” The newscaster spoke before the screen was taken up with the video of a sixty-meter, goat-headed monster walking through a town.

“Bloody hell…” The Director just stared at the screen, even as phones continued to ring off the hook all around him. Many of his subordinates did as well. None of them could comprehend what they were seeing as the monster on screen launched a sickly purple light from its jaws that exploded when it hit the ground, taking everything with it in a flash.

This news was rapidly spreading throughout England, and soon the rest of the United Kingdom. Foreign Correspondents in London were also quick to pick up the story and send the recorded video back to their home countries where it would be aired in only a matter of hours at the latest. The news spread across Europe like wildfire, and even across the Atlantic in short order to both North and South America.

-Wood End Cottage-

“My head…” Sirius groaned, even as Marlie gently waved her wand over him and slowly soothed the pain. “I don’t understand the spell he used.”

“It blew up the wand he cast it with…or he cast it and used the wand as a catalyst?” Tonks was also groaning, her body felt off after having the strange Magic used on her.

None of the Order of the Phoenix was doing much better, all of them only briefly meeting at Grimmauld Place before having to seek treatment for the pain and ‘off’ feeling in their bodies. Whatever Magic that Voldemort had used to scatter them across England and Wales randomly had messed with them all.

“What matters is that you’re safe.” Marlie commented, gently leaning against Sirius and kissing his cheek.

“Agreed.” Fleur and Penny both nodded, fretting over Tonks’s condition along with Harry.

“That ritual site meant so much to him that he’d sacrifice his wand just to remove you all.” Harry didn’t like that thought in the slightest. “I can’t help but feel he’s about to do something absolutely insane.”

None of them knew how right he was.

-Prime Minister’s Office-

“You get the other Minister here right bloody now!” John Major roared at the Magical Painting, repeatedly slamming the bottom of the frame against the wall and shaking up the person inside.

“Alright, alright!” The portrait declared, leaving the frame to try and get Cornelius Fudge.

“How could this be happening?” John ran his hand through his hair. Nothing like this had ever happened to his knowledge, though that may not be a surprise if what he suspected about the Wizards was true. They’d been separate for centuries now…why was this attack happening?!

Her Majesty was being informed already and he’d normally want to bring the news himself, but he was still trying to understand the full scope of this situation. They needed more information, and he’d need to have a press release ready soon. The news was already covering this…monster attack…and even in London there were bouts of panic springing up as well.

“As if I didn’t have enough to deal with already.” John heaved a heavy sigh. He’d been doing his best and trying to guide the United Kingdom during his tenure as Prime Minister. With the internal divisions about the UK’s membership in the European Union, he was already close to resigning. Now a Magical attack like this? He knew his time as Prime Minister was definitely coming to an end, as if the recent elections hadn’t already made that fairly clear.

-Cornelius Fudge’s Home-

“MINISTER!!! MINISTER!!!” The portrait wailed loudly from Fudge’s study, startling the politician awake, even in his bedroom down the hall.

A few moments later a grumbling Fudge entered the room, still bleary-eyed and wearing a housecoat. “What?! What is it?! Why are you screaming in the middle of the night?!”

“The Muggle Minister is demanding to see you, sir!” The portrait informed Fudge urgently. “There’s an ongoing Magical attack on several Muggle towns and the Statute of Secrecy has been broken, sir!”

“WHAT?!” Fudge nearly collapsed, only his hands grabbing onto his desk prevented him from falling. “Who?! How?! When?!” He stumbled around his desk towards the portrait.

“I don’t know, sir.” The portrait shook its head. “You need to meet with the Muggle Minister, he knows the situation!”

“No…no, no, no…” Fudge whimpered, even as he quickly rushed to his bedroom to change into appropriate robes as fast as he could.

-Voldemort-

“They certainly seem to be enjoying flying around.” Voldemort sneered at the Muggle helicopters. He knew enough about the Muggle World, having been sent back to it throughout his childhood by Dumbledore. The names of various vehicles and their purposes were known to him. The only reason he hadn’t blasted them from the sky was because he was aware that they were filming his march of destruction. The Statute of Secrecy had forced the Magical to hide from the Muggle. An absolute disgrace in his eyes. One that he would correct here and now.

It wasn’t much longer that Voldemort noticed the helicopters moving away quickly. Somewhat confused by their actions after they’d flown around his demon for so long already, he wasn’t expecting a Muggle counterattack of any magnitude so soon.

Explosions rocked the air as multiple missiles detonated against a sickly purple barrier around the massive demon. Bullets peppered the Magical barrier as well to no avail. Voldemort heard the sound of planes as they flew by at speed. Looking down, the Dark Lord noticed what he believed to be military vehicles driving around the area, constantly taking shots at his demon. Soldiers, war machines, none of it mattered to Voldemort, nor his demon.

“Protection from projectiles is the most basic of basics.” Voldemort nearly laughed mockingly at their efforts. Even bombs and missiles wouldn’t do much for the Muggles. Anything that was a projectile wouldn’t get past the Gleam Eyes’ barrier. Not even spells could pass through, unless they could overpower the demon’s ridiculous amount of Magic. “Play with them a bit.” He could allow a small slowdown in his march to enjoy the Muggles’ futile resistance.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes roared, shaking the air itself. It’s hissing serpent tail lashed out, knocking the military trucks aside. Any soldier unfortunate enough to get in the path of the snake tail was thrown far and died.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

More missiles exploded against the sickly purple barrier to no effect. The ethereal glow of the demon’s blue eyes followed the planes as they flew. With a howl, the goat-headed monster threw its head forward and unleashed the same eerie purple light as before. The pilots proved the speed of their craft and their own skills as they easily outmaneuvered the attack.

A strange hissing sound came from the Gleam Eyes’ jaws. This time when it opened its maw, streaks of the same purple light emerged and filled the air. The missiles that had been fired at the demon exploded long before reaching its barrier. The streams of light chased after the planes as well, forcing the pilots to dodge the barrage that seemingly gave the middle finger to physics! The streaks of light died down after a few moments, just in time for the pilots to receive orders to pull back along with the rest of the soldiers.

“Now, now, we can’t have that.” Voldemort’s sick hiss was followed with a mental order to the Gleam Eyes.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes roared before an immense wave of blue flames left it jaws and the mouth of its serpent tail. The blue fire washed over the area faster than it should’ve been capable of. Trucks, soldiers, civilians, homes, businesses, and everything else was engulfed and burned to ashes. All the while, the airborne could only look down and see the towering monster standing in an absolutely massive circle of black ashes and blue fire.

-Hogwarts ~ Dumbledore’s Office-

“Albus!” Minerva entered his office before he could bid her entry. McGonagall looked frantic and disheveled, a far cry from her normally prim and stern appearance. “You must head to the Ministry!”

“I was about to leave, Minerva.” Dumbledore mentioned, his Floo already crackling with green flames. “I have heard of what is going on to some degree.” The Headmaster truly looked his age now. His normal twinkle had vanished from his eyes, and his energy seemed to have left him. “I fear that what Voldemort has done cannot be undone.”

“What do we tell the students, Albus?” McGonagall asked, indecision and worry in her eyes and as plain as day on her face.

“For now, cancel classes and tell the students only that the Statute of Secrecy has suffered a massive breach.” Dumbledore didn’t want to cause panic and fear among the students. “Inform the students that more information will be given to them as soon as you have it. If it will help keep order in the school, you may tell them that I have left to try and handle the situation as well.”

“Yes, Albus, I’m sure that will be a relief to many, both students and faculty alike.” McGonagall looked as if a small amount of tension had left her shoulders at his words.

“I will return as soon as I am able, Minerva.” Dumbledore nodded to his Deputy Headmistress before entering the green flames and vanishing a second later.

-Paris, France-

“What is going on?” Nicholas Flamel watched the television in the window of a Muggle shop with confusion and great concern. What was clearly some type of demon was destroying a path across England at the moment, and apparently had been for a few hours now. A few towns had already been devastated by the demon with nothing the Muggle military did being able to stop the monster. Judging by its current path, the demon could be heading towards London. It was barely sunrise in Paris and yet Flamel could already tell that the city was beginning to buzz. ‘I need to get home to Perenelle.’ The ancient Alchemist turned away from the television and headed home quickly.

It was clear to Nicholas Flamel that things were about to get very complicated in the world between the Magical and the Non-Magical.

-Amsterdam ~ Netherlands-

A somewhat plain-looking man sat in his apartment watching the news from the UK. “Who thought this was a good idea?” The Wizard nearly spat at the screen. A massive demon attacking England could only be done with Magic, of course, but this situation was about to make everything worse. “Why the hell is this happening now?” He needed to contact as many of the groups involved with the plan as possible. Surely, there were others already doing so too, but it was better to make sure. “We’re not ready yet! There are still months of preparation left! This is probably that Dark Lord of theirs!” The Wizard ranted to himself loudly. Trust the Wizards and Witches of the United Kingdom to be content to sit on their hands when it came to dealing with their domestic threats until they became everyone’s problem! “It certainly wasn’t one of us…we don’t have anyone in the UK. None of them saw the problems building up, or if they did, they certainly didn’t care!”

With his initial ranting done, the man quickly went into the other room and sat before a small mirror. He hit four spots on the frame around the reflective glass in a certain sequence and then watched as his reflection disappeared. A moment later and the face of a woman appeared.

She was rather pretty, a soft face with dark eyes that held a depth of wisdom in them that most couldn’t match. “Yes, Finn?”

“Have you seen the news from the UK?” Finn asked the woman first and foremost.

“I have only just been made aware of it. Do you have any information?” The woman asked him.

“Only that there was no one of our agreement in the UK to cause such a thing.” Finn shook his head. “I believe it to be the work of that Dark Lord of theirs, Voldemort, or whatever.”

“I see.” The woman looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll share this with some of the others higher up the Accord. We can’t do much to move up the timetable, and several groups still aren’t ready.”

“This is almost the worst time that such a thing could’ve happened.” Finn commented with a grimace.

“We may be able to use this as a mere stepping stone.” The woman mused, her eyes looking at nothing in particular. “We were planning to abolish the Statute anyway, so that it’s happening now might save us some trouble.”

“Won’t this attack make things even more complicated than everything is already going to be?” Finn didn’t think this was in any way a useful event.

“It will certainly cause a lot of friction between the Non-Magical and the Magical.” The woman sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. “But it also gives the Non-Magical a good amount of time to get used to the idea of Magic being real. That is going to be one of the biggest hurdles to the plan after all.”

“And if this doesn’t stop soon?” Finn questioned the woman.

“A few of the more ‘capable’ members will deal with it.” The woman spoke, her tone flat and devoid of any warmth.

-Ministry of Magic ~ Obliviators’ Offices-

“How are we supposed to contain this?!”

“We can’t! The Muggles already have it on their news across the country!”

“The ICW is going to be breathing down our necks!”

“Then they should get over here and help us!”

To say the Department was in shambles would be a bit of an understatement. None of the Obliviators knew what to do about this situation. Nothing in their training had EVER prepared them for such an egregious breach of the Statute of Secrecy! They only had about one-hundred members total, and that was counting the people that usually did the desk work for the Department. They couldn’t stop this!

“More mail!” A porter called out, bringing in another stack of letters from concerned Wizards and Witches who were waking up to hear of this commotion on the Wizarding Wireless.

The Ministry couldn’t control the Wireless as much as they controlled the Prophet. Especially not when the Wireless could report without having to print anything like the newspaper. They were simply too fast, and Minister Fudge was apparently still in a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister, so no one had even given the order to silence either of the main news outlets.

“The ICW has sent a letter to Fudge as well.” The porter mentioned, relieving some stress from the panicked Obliviators that they weren’t going to be blamed directly at least. That didn’t mean anything good was going to come of this though. Until Fudge got in contact with the ICW, they had to let Dumbledore, in his position as Supreme Mugwump, talk to the Confederation.

“What are the Aurors doing?!” One of the Obliviators questioned the porter that had been rushing up and down the various levels of the Ministry since this madness began.

“They’ve already dispatched, but they can barely slow the thing down, apparently.” The porter gave what little information he had to the Obliviators.

-Auror Corps ~ Wiltshire-

“A wall won’t stop this thing.” Amelia Bones told her Aurors loudly. “We’re going to transfigure the ground and make as many obstacles as possible to slow it down! Swamps, pits, trenches, all as deep as possible! At least ten meters deep and wide on each one!”

“Yes, ma’am!” The Aurors called back. Every single one of them had their wands in hand, most of them stared at the distant figure of the demon as it walked in their direction. All of them knew they wouldn’t be able to so much as touch it with their spells, so Amelia had done the next best thing, work on containing the monster.

“Get to it! We need to cover as wide an area as possible or it’ll just walk around!” Amelia ordered and the Aurors all spread out quickly, looking to make the ground completely impassable, if possible.

-Wood End Cottage-

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Harry had just heard the news on the Wizarding Wireless. “He summoned a demon?!” Just from what news the Wireless had, it already sounded beyond bad. The Statute of Secrecy was in tatters by now. The Non-Magical news outlets would have video evidence of this spread across the globe by now, or in the next few hours at least.

“Destroying towns?! What does that even gain Voldemort?!” Penny was horrified by what they’d just heard.

“Attention.” Fleur nearly spat. “He wants everyone to see him and his abomination. He wants them to fear and despair, to give up without trying to fight him.”

“Fear tactics.” Harry nodded as he clenched his fists. The Wireless wasn’t going into too much detail about the Non-Magical towns that had been destroyed, but Harry was fairly certain that thousands, if not tens of thousands had already died.

“I need to get out there.” Tonks muttered from the doorway to the kitchen. She was still a bit out of it, but the worst had passed. “Madam Bones has called in every Auror, and that includes me.” The Metamorphmagus moved to head upstairs to get her Basilisk Vest, the Basilisk Scale Mail, the Shield Cloak, and the Sorcerer’s Path that she’d worn during the failed raid.

“Nym.” Harry had crossed the kitchen in record speed to grab her hand. “Don’t.” He looked into her eyes, desperate for her to listen to him.

“Harry, I have to, I became an Auror to protect people.” Tonks pulled him into a hug. She was soon joined by Penny and Fleur as both of them hugged her too.

“Then I’m going too.” Harry stated firmly, his green eyes like hardened emeralds as he stared into Tonks’s eyes.

“You’re not an Auror.” Tonks denied, shaking her head.

“We’ll all go.” Penny spoke up, backing Harry’s choice.

“Absolutely!” Fleur clearly wasn’t going to be dissuaded, her face already set, and her blue eyes firm.

“We have a better chance together.” Harry took Tonks’s hands in his. “Plus,” He looked at Penny and Fleur as well. “I finished the scabbard.”

“Harry!” All three girls nearly shouted in unison.

“It’s our most powerful weapon!” Harry thundered back, a bit of Magic in his throat to amplify his voice. “We can contain it now, so if it needs to be used, we can do so for a short time. It could be the difference between life and death!”

“That sword is death, Harry!” Fleur looked him in the eye. Just being near Dourfrost made her skin crawl. “It’ll kill you just as much as Voldemort!”

“Harry, I get it, but if anything goes wrong, you’ll die.” Penny hugged him from behind.

“If we don’t use it, we’re all probably going to die regardless.” Harry stated flatly, no emotion in his voice. “Please…let me use what I’ve made to keep us alive. I don’t want this to be the end for us.” Harry met each of their eyes for a moment and all three of his loves saw the fear in Harry’s eyes.

“Sometimes, we forget that you aren’t as old as us, Harry.” Tonks pulled him into a hug. She squeezed him gently, pouring her love and affection for him into her embrace. “Are you sure the scabbard will work?”

“It’s my most powerful Artifact so far, it equals out with Dourfrost if the Arithmancy is correct, but it’s so highly fire-aligned that even if it was slightly weaker, it wouldn’t make a difference. The scabbard will overpower Dourfrost every single time.” Harry assured all three of them, confident in the power of the new Artifact that he’d made.

“Let’s get all of our gear first.” Fleur spoke, letting out a sigh at having to unseal the cursed sword.

“We should bring as many Mana Bane chains as we can.” Penny nodded firmly, her mind already working on ways to end this disaster as fast as possible. “We might be able to capture Voldemort and stop all of this.”

“I’ll get my Regalia ready.” Harry was quick to head up to his room. He would put all of his Artifacts and Items to the test against Voldemort. ‘I want to end this, once and for all.

-End Chapter-

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Well…fuck.

Voldemort is making a path of destruction with his demon across England.

The Statute of Secrecy is absolutely fucked.

The Aurors know they have no chance of taking the demon down.

Now, Harry and Family know they have only one way to even potentially end this disaster.

But can they really trust a cursed sword to stop the seemingly unstoppable?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 30,010

Tonks – 24,632

Penelope – 18,584

Fleur – 19,116

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 63: Battle Against True Dark

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Harry and his loves are heading out to stop Voldemort and his demon! The death and destruction is already far too high and the Statute of Secrecy has been destroyed beyond recognition. But can they stop the monster that Voldemort has summoned forth?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 63 – Battle Against True Dark

Four figures flew through the air in the early morning light. The Wind Walker items attached to their legs making brooms unneeded for them. A loud explosion rocked the air, a sickly purple light seen a fair distance ahead of them.

“Damn him…” Harry cursed under his breath. The goat-headed demon that Voldemort had summoned was massive, easily sixty-meters tall, and Harry almost didn’t want to test its mana amount. Regardless of what he wanted, all four of them came to a stop as Harry put just a little bit of mana into his glasses to activate the Scouter function.

1,000,368

“Fuck…” Harry summed up the number in a single word.

“That bad, huh?” Tonks grimaced, seeing the monster apparently slowed down by whatever was around it.

“How bad is it?” Penny questioned Harry, wanting to know just what their chances were.

“Well…it’s weaker than Flamel…” Harry offered with a subdued tone.

“That’s not very reassuring, Harry.” Fleur looked at her lover with an understanding gaze.

“It’s just over one million.” Harry gave them the answer and saw all three of them flinch slightly. None of them were even a tenth of that. Hell, all of them together only came out to just over ninety-thousand.

“Well…shite.” Tonks gave her opinion on the situation.

“Indeed.” Fleur grimaced at the monster in the distance.

“What do we need to do to take it down?” Penny was already trying to think of some method to stop all of this.

“Right.” Tonks nodded firmly. “It’s just big. The bloody thing probably doesn’t have much of a will of its own, so it’ll be relying on orders from the Dark Tosser. We can exploit that.”

“We need a way to get beyond that barrier around it.” Fleur pointed out the first obstacle to stopping the monstrosity.

“If it’s Magic, then I can do that.” Harry patted Aethereum, sheathed on his hip. “The only problem is keeping Voldemort’s attention divided. He knows at least a bit of what my sword can do already.” He didn’t even speak about the sword currently strapped to his back in the brand new Artifact Scabbard. That would only be used when the time was right.

“Distraction shouldn’t be too hard.” Fleur spoke, her blue eyes clearly calculating as she looked on at the demon from afar. “We can hit the barrier hard, shift the terrain beneath its feet, obscure their vision; we have options.”

“Just don’t get hit by it in any way, shape, or form.” Tonks warned, even if it was unnecessary. “Even with the Basilisk Scale Mail…there wouldn’t be anything left of you.”

BOOM

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!The demon bellowed out an ear-splitting roar after decimating something on the ground before it. The four of them could only hope it wasn’t more people.

“Disillusionment to get close and then we all attack from different points at the same time.” Penny looked at her little family with belief and love.

“Agreed.” Fleur smiled beautifully at all of them.

“Let’s take this bastard down.” Tonks grinned confidently, projecting strength to help raise their spirits.

“After we deal with this thing, maybe we can drag Voldemort in while we’re at it?” Harry joked with a smile. Ideally, they would like to do that. But eliminating this demon came first and foremost.

Tonks, Penny, and Fleur all vanished under their Disillusionment Charms, though it wasn’t the standard version. They were all wearing far too many Magic-blocking items for that to work. Instead they’d gone for a variant that hid a certain area around the caster. More costly mana-wise, but the only way to make it work right now. Harry simply pulled up the hood of his Invisibility Cloak that he was wearing over his Regalia. He vanished from sight entirely and the four flew off to make their attack.

-Auror Corps-

“Madam Bones! Amelia!” Rufus Scrimgeour called out to the woman with a yell. All of their ears were still ringing, but that was the least of their concerns.

“I can hear you, Scrimgeour!” Amelia called back, looking at the devastation a single blast had resulted in. Their wide field of pits, trenches, and swamps had indeed slowed the massive demon’s progression, but that only seemed to piss it off. The monster had unleashed a blast of baleful purple light down upon them, leaving an immense crater behind. “What’re our losses?!”

“At least a dozen, ma’am!” Scrimgeour called back. “We need to retreat and come up with a different plan!”

“If we retreat, then who is going to stop this thing?!” Amelia demanded, glaring into her subordinate’s eyes fiercely. “How many have already died because of it?!”

“We’re barely even slowing it down, Amelia!” Scrimgeour dropped titles and formality as he answered. “We’re all going to die if we stay here, and then NO ONE will be left to try again!”

“Rufus…we are the only ones in Magical Britain that have any chance, you know that.” Amelia stated flatly. No one else would fight for themselves, as had been clearly demonstrated during Voldemort’s last uprising.

RRRRRMMMMMMBBBBBB

As if to refute Amelia’s claims, the earth beneath their feet began to rumble and shake. A truly massive upheaval of soil and rock erupted below the towering demon’s cloven hooves, sending it staggering back a few steps.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH?!” The bellowing roar had changed tone noticeably as the demon struggled to regain its footing.

“What?!” Voldemort hissed out in rage at the blatant, and semi-successful, attack on his monster. “Who dares?!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

Fiery explosions rained down on the barrier surrounding the Gleam Eyes, black ash dancing in the air after the explosions, still burning with orange embers.

WOOSH-KRKRKRKRKRIK

From behind the Gleam Eyes, also crashing into the barrier, a wave of ice spread unstoppably across the shield. A large portion of the area behind the demon’s head was now a blank spot in Voldemort’s vision, as he was unable to see through the thick frost.

“You think your paltry spells can stop Lord Voldemort?!” Voldemort bellowed out to his unseen attackers. His red eyes glaring hatefully at the sheet of ice slowly breaking against his demon’s barrier.

Ooooooowwwwooooohhhhh

Voldemort’s head whipped around so quickly that it was amazing his enhanced Homunculus body’s neck didn’t snap. He saw the barrier split in a straight vertical line, as if it was being erased. With the barrier opened in the one spot, the floating ash and cinder suddenly flooded inside and Voldemort found the area around the Gleam Eyes’ head filled with the stuff.

“Exploser.” A barely heard voice spoke, followed by the snapping of fingers.

All around the demon’s head, which included Voldemort’s spot atop the titanic monster, the thick cloud of ash and cinder drastically increased in temperature. The increase was so fast that all of the ash glowed a bright white before the entire cloud exploded into a massive fireball. The shockwave could be felt a significant distance away from the point of explosion.

UUUUUUOOOOAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes staggered, nearly losing its feet, only catching itself as its snake-headed tail hit the ground and supported the main body, keeping it upright.

When the smoke began to clear, the barrier of purple Magic having already closed up again, the hidden attackers could see the damage that had been done.

The demon’s skin and fur around its head had been scorched. Its horns were cracked. Both of its ethereal blue eyes were gone. And even parts of the muscle and bone beneath the skin could be seen in some places. Smoke rose from the injuries, thick and black, like a burning oil fire.

“Ackh…gkh…” Voldemort wasn’t any better than the Gleam Eyes. His body was twisted and broken. Burnt flesh, shattered bones, burns covering most of his body. Even the robes he’d enchanted himself hadn’t been able to block the full force of the explosion he’d been caught in.

-Gringotts ~ Lestrange Vault-

BANG

A seemingly innocuous goblet exploded with force inside the silent vault. The only thing that had been remarkable about it was the badger mark, most closely associated with Helga Hufflepuff, that had been emblazoned on the magical object. But now, all that remained of the once famous relic were shards of twisted, smoldering metal.

AAAAUUUURRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” A black fog with a face wailed as it rose up from the remains of the goblet. It was a tortured cry, like someone injured beyond belief but unable to die. The smoke-like apparition faded away and the dark vault was silent again, as it had been for over a decade before.

-Battle Against the Gleam Eyes-

“You hurt it, Fleur.” Harry spoke to his Veela girlfriend, both of them still invisible in the air.

“She got Voldemort too.” Tonks grinned, even though no one could see it under her spell.

“Impossible…” Fleur didn’t have any time to feel good about her accomplishment. The reason for that became clear as everyone on the battlefield watched the Gleam Eyes regenerate rapidly.

The exposed bone and muscle reformed first, then it was covered by new skin, fur regrew in the areas that had previously had it. The demon’s curled horns repaired themselves, the cracks and chips missing from them sealing up and reforming. Finally, ethereal blue light shone from the ruined eye sockets, only to reform into the bright eyes of the demon’s namesake.

“Of fucking course it can regenerate.” Tonks cursed loudly, uncaring of maintaining near silence at this revelation.

“It’s not the only one.” Harry grimaced, seeing Voldemort’s twisted body standing back up, even though it shouldn’t be able to, given the damage to it.

The twisted body straightened itself out with a series of sickening cracks. The damaged bones quickly restored themselves, followed by the muscles, the skin, and even the hair atop the Dark Lord’s head rapidly regrew. In a mere moment Voldemort looked almost identical to how he did before the explosion. The only real difference being the damage to the man’s robes.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes bellowed and a blast of Magic exploded off of the demon’s body, sending everything flying away from it at speed.

“Kill them all!” Voldemort roared out his order to the demon. He’d never felt such pain in his life! He was alive thanks to his previous ritual though. Having connected all of his different Horcruxes to himself had been the right idea. He’d put FAR too much work into this enhanced, ageless Homunculus body to lose it. If he had to sacrifice a Horcrux or two while killing his enemies, then it was a small price to pay.

“Get behind me!” Harry ordered so loudly that everyone still alive heard him. The Disillusionment Charms had fallen and the hood of Harry’s cloak had been blown off his head.

He didn’t have time to see the extent of the damage, but he knew it was bad. Penny had been at ground level, transfiguring earth to encase the demon’s feet, when the blast went off. She was mostly okay, bleeding a bit from small injuries here and there from what he could tell. Tonks was alright, if not in a small amount of shock, as evidenced by her hair being stark white at the moment. Fleur was in much the same state, though she was trying to hold it together. The remaining Aurors were quick to scramble behind Harry, not even fully realizing who he was, just knowing that these four had apparently been the ones to actually strike a blow against the massive demon.

The baleful purple light appeared as the Gleam Eyes’ throat bulged grotesquely. The monster opened its jaws and the blast of sickly purple Magic was unleashed upon them, the demon uncaring of any damage it might do to itself from the almost point-blank shot to the ground in front of it.

“Circa Viam Protega!” Harry incanted, throwing his hands forward. A glowing white dome covered everyone on the ground, a mere instant before the sickly purple magic impacted.

WOOOOAAAAASSSSHHHHAAAAAHHHH

The odd sound was not an explosion, though it was certainly loud enough to be one.

The purple light flooded the white dome, changing it to the same color. Bright lines of the baleful light lanced off from the edge of the, now purple, dome over and over again. Each of the lines tore apart the ground as they traveled along it, but the shield still remained, slowly losing the purple light and becoming white once more.

“NO!” Voldemort howled in rage at seeing the shield still intact, even after a direct blast from the Gleam Eyes. Such a thing shouldn’t be possible!

“So, this is the spell that you’ve been working on for so long, eh, Harry?” Tonks actually let out a small chuckle at seeing it for the first time.

“I don’t have a knack for Spell Crafting…so it took a long time.” Harry replied, still working to maintain the shield just in case another blast came their way.

“No Shield Charm should be able to hold up to that thing…” Scrimgeour spoke up from behind them. “The power difference alone should’ve destroyed us.” The man’s eyes were wide, clearly not comprehending how he wasn’t dead right now.

It was true though. No Shield Charm should’ve been capable of blocking a Magical blast of that magnitude. But that was the difference that Harry had focused on while slowly developing this spell over time. There were some spells that couldn’t be blocked, like the Unforgivable Curses, or ones that were made to counter Shield Charms by breaking them specifically. So, Harry had looked at the spell a different way. The seemingly white dome around them wasn’t white at all…if one looked very closely, they’d see that what appeared to be solid Magic, was, in fact, tens of thousands of lines of Magic! All of them in a specific pattern of branching lines over and over again. What the prodigious Artificer had done was approach Spell Design from his own strong point. Instead of projecting his Magic outward with the intent to stop spells from getting to him, he’d quite literally written circuit lines into the very air with his Magic. Any incoming Magic that hit his spell would be sent through these circuits, being separated again and again until the amount of Magic was paltry and unstable, incapable of being called a spell. Then the Magic would reach the end of the path of circuits and fly off along the ground. In most cases, this would just see small wisps of Magic coming off the bottom of the shield. But because of the Gleam Eyes’ ridiculous Magical power, the diverted Magic was still strong enough to tear up the ground around the shield.

“Let’s hit it again.” Harry looked at his girlfriends with rock-solid belief in them all. “I think I have an idea of how to stop this thing…maybe.”

“Not exactly inspiring confidence, Harry.” Tonks laughed a little.

“What do you need us to do, Harry?” Penny questioned, wanting to do whatever it took to stop this mindless slaughter.

“We are ready.” Fleur nodded resolutely to him.

“Tonks, Penny, trap its legs as much as possible, if it can’t move, then we have a chance to strike a real blow.” Harry spoke, going through his idea in his head again. “Fleur, you’re with me in the air. I’ll get Voldemort’s attention, since he’s so damn obsessed with me, and you’ll attack from behind.”

“What about the barrier?” Tonks questioned, knowing that they’d only been able to breach it when Harry had sliced through the Magic with Aethereum.

“The ground under its feet isn’t protected, I was able to trap its feet briefly earlier.” Penny informed the Metamorph with a quick smile.

“I’ll cut gaps into the barrier as I fly around the monster.” Harry nodded to the three of them. “The barrier reforms fairly quickly, but that was only a single area last time. I’m betting if I cut more holes into it, this thing will have to expend more mana to repair it.”

“Incoming!” Amelia Bones cried out, making everyone look up.

Bearing down on the white shield was a massive conflagration of blue fire. Harry quickly reinforced his spell and the blaze washed over the area. The tens of thousands of circuit lines lit up with blue light as they absorbed the magical flames, split their power over and over again, and then dispersed them as small puffs of flame from the bottom of the shield.

“Crush them!” Voldemort hissed out in fury. If magic wasn’t working, then brute force would have to do!

The white shield vanished, momentarily stalling the Gleam Eyes’ attack. But the hesitation would cost it. The earth below its feet rumbled and then surged upwards. The almost liquid-like soil and rock swirled around the demon’s legs and then solidified, encasing its cloven hooves and legs all the way up to its knees.

A blur, half visible and half invisible flew around the demon at dizzying speeds. One line after another continued to open up in the barrier as the blur moved around and around the protective Magic. The glint of a blade could occasionally be seen in the morning sunlight.

“Manteau de Cendre.” Fleur incanted, casting her own original spell. Flames cloaked her form for a moment before two black-feathered wings of ash and embers formed behind her. Her entire body was now cloaked in the cinder of her spell, flames occasionally leaping from her form as the heat around her skyrocketed. With a flap of her burning, black wings she shot into the air, aiming for one of the opened holes in the purple barrier.

“Hey, Tom!” Harry stopped in front of the demon’s head and threw the Invisibility Cloak back, revealing his body with Aethereum in hand. “What stupid idea was this?!”

“Harry Potter!” Voldemort hissed out in rage, his red eyes burning into the emerald gaze of his hated foe. “My name is Lord Voldemort!”

“Your name is Thomas Marvolo Riddle, you bloody twat!” Harry shouted back, further enraging the Dark Lord. “What’s this abomination you have here?”

“I’m a master of True Dark Magic!” Voldemort hissed at the Artificer. “I’m a conjurer of demons!”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Harry made sure to add some snark to his tone, just to keep Voldemort focused on him. The Dark Lord had a ridiculously bad temper and it was one of the few things that Harry knew he could exploit. “Fat lot of good it’s doing you, eh?”

“I’ve brought forth an ancient evil. I control its every breath and action! My power is greater than anyone’s!” Voldemort spat at Harry. “You will die before me, Harry Potter, just as you were always meant to!”

RRRRRAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes growled, trying to move its trapped legs, the solidified earth shaking as it strained against the demon’s strength.

SSSSHHHHRRRAAAHHH!!!” The snake-headed tail hissed at Fleur as she flew upwards. It lashed out at her, only to be struck with a squall of burning ash feathers. The massive serpent hissed in aggravation, shaking its head, revealing no real damage done to its deep-navy scales.

“Annoying, aren’t you?” Fleur glared at the serpent tail.

SSSHHHAAAHHH!!!” Azure blue flames burst from the snake’s mouth, looking to incinerate Fleur in the torrent of magical fire.

“Tourbillon de plumes.” Fleur’s ash wings flapped and a wave of the burning ash feathers flew forward. The derivative spell swirled before Fleur protectively, blocking the blue flames from reaching their intended target. “You seem to enjoy spewing flames. Have some of mine, then!” Fleur conjured forth her Veela fire and made it form into a massive sphere. With a thought and a push of her magic, the immense fireball was launched at the serpent tail.

Just as predicted, the snake moved to defend the main body. Lashing out at the fireball, its jaws filled with blue flames again. The two fires met, swirled around each other, and then exploded as Fleur triggered her magic.

BOOM

“What?!” Voldemort snarled as he tried to see what was going on behind his demon without taking his eyes off of Harry. “What have you done to the barrier?!” The Dark Lord hissed at the Artificer.

“Cut holes in it.” Harry answered truthfully, knowing that it would anger the Dark Lord further.

“Kill him!” Voldemort raged and the Gleam Eyes opened its jaws, blasting forth a beam of the twisted purple light.

Harry certainly wasn’t going to try and clash with that. He dropped out of the air, dodging the colossal beam of magic, and then kicked off of nothing as he reactivated his Wind Walker. He shot towards the demon’s chest and poured his mana into Aethereum. A swing of the sword was followed by a transparent blur not only slicing through the reforming barrier, but also into the monster’s chest.

“The hell?” Harry blinked as the cut area didn’t bleed. Instead the fur, skin, and flesh lost its consistency and fell away as dirt. Not bothering to wonder about that for now, Harry focused as much of his mana into his left hand as possible. He grabbed the hilt of Dourfrost and unsheathed it. Instantly, the biting chill filled the air as the cursed Artifact was freed from its scabbard. The insipid cold needled at the mana surrounding Harry’s hand, but the Artificer only needed to be able to hold it off for a few seconds. “Freeze!” He swung the sword upwards and a massive wave of ice encased the head and shoulders of the demon, catching Voldemort in the sudden mini-glacier as well. With no chance of being witnessed, Harry thrust Dourfrost into the regenerating wound on the titanic monster’s chest and left it there while he flew away.

-Hogwarts ~ Room of Requirement-

Among towering piles of lost and forgotten items, the bust of a rather ugly Wizard sat. On its head, however, was an immaculate diadem inlaid with both diamonds and large sapphires. If one knew their history and the tales of the Four Founders, they would probably be able to piece together that this was the fabled Diadem of Ravenclaw, said to impart wisdom and insight upon those that wore it. It was an item said to have been made by Rowen Ravenclaw’s own hands, but it had been stolen by her daughter, Helena, and hidden away, becoming lost over the centuries.

A charming young man, with a silver tongue, had managed to ferret the secret location out of the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, also known as the Ravenclaw House Ghost ‘The Grey Lady’. Thus, her mother’s treasure was found, stolen, and defiled with some of the foulest Magic to have ever been invented.

BANG

The diadem sitting atop the bust exploded into pieces, the shrapnel scattering over the area, some of it even getting lodged in other pieces of forgotten things. A thick black smoke rose up from the fragments, wailing in agony and despair. It was a soul-shaking cry, but in this hidden room that only the House Elves ever visited, it went unheard as the black specter faded away into nothing.

-Battle Against the Gleam Eyes-

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!The Gleam Eyes bellowed, shattering the miniature glacier that its head and shoulders had been trapped in for a long moment.  This also freed its master, whom was shaking with the intense and fatal cold that he’d been subjected to. He had felt the blood in his Homunculus veins freeze and all of his organs fail and rupture as they were flash frozen and ice crystals tore into them. But with the sacrifice of a second Horcrux, he was once more completely restored.

“You will die for that, Potter!” Voldemort promised with a vengeful hiss.

“I’ll give you this much, Tom, you are hard to put down!” Harry called out from a good distance away.

Unbeknownst to Voldemort, Harry was checking the demon’s mana level with the Scouter function of his glasses.

983,695

A second or so passed and another reading came in.

967,022

Another second came with another new reading.

950,349

It’s falling rapidly! Dourfrost must be removing its mana while being stuck inside of it!’ Harry was pleased that his idea had worked out. If they could just hold out for a bit longer, then the demon would lose all of its mana!

What Harry didn’t know was that Dourfrost wasn’t just tearing apart the mana of the summoned demon. The cursed Artifact’s most horrible ability was the true cause of the Gleam Eyes’ rapid decline in mana.

The ritual that Voldemort had used summoned forth a demon under his control. The power of said demon was tied to how much the sacrifice offered to it provided. In Voldemort’s ritual, that had been around three-hundred Witches and Wizards, along with all of the land of Malfoy Manor, and the manor itself. The land had been seeped in Magic for the better part of nine centuries as generations of Malfoys lived there and were buried there. All of the Magic within the Witches and Wizards, along with all of the Magic that had been in the land had totaled up to the one-million-three-hundred-sixty-eight mana that the Gleam Eyes had possessed. The reason the titanic monster could fire off all of the Magic it had been doing without end was because of the nature of its manifestation. Within its constructed body lay the three-hundred souls that had been sacrificed to give it physical form. They circulated through the demon like blood, providing the vast power it wielded. However, now, with Dourfrost inside of it, disrupting the mana, the flow had been interrupted and soul after soul was touching the blade. A bare soul to the blade of Dourfrost was a soul unprotected, allowing the soul-severing function of the cursed Artifact to activate. The souls were being cut from the body, one by one, sending them off to wherever souls went after death. This was what led to the rapid decline of the demon’s mana level.

“Crush its legs!” Tonks called out to Penny, getting a nod from her ‘sister’ as they both focused on the ground that they were manipulating. The earth tightened around the Gleam Eyes’ legs until a muffled ‘crunch’ was heard from within.

ROOOAAAUUURRRGGHHH!!!The Gleam Eyes bellowed in pain, its clawed hands slamming down on the earth crushing its legs. The soil and rock gave way as the demon roared and dragged its slowly regenerating legs out of the trap.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

“Will you fall already?!” Fleur screeched at the serpent tail angrily. The damned thing continued to block her from attacking the main body, and the barrier, while significantly slower, was still repairing itself. She’d lose her chance to damage the demon if this kept up. The only silver lining to her frustration was that the serpent tail had been far too preoccupied with her to attack Penny and Tonks as they trapped the towering demon and stopped its forward advance.

“This isn’t possible!” Voldemort roared, looking down at the struggling Gleam Eyes. It was being injured! The power he’d sacrificed so much for was being stopped by Potter and his three whores?! “I won’t stand for this!” He formed one of his favored spells, and with a deep exhale, a swirling mass of Fiendfyre sprang forth, twisting into the shape of a massive serpent. With his intent enforcing his control over the cursed fire, the snake construct flew towards Harry, seeking to incinerate him.

“None of that!” Harry tapped into Aethereum’s innate mana and swung the sword, sending another transparent wave forward. The Fiendfyre serpent scattered to nothing as it hit the wave. Harry wasn’t idle though, continuing to swing Aethereum over and over again to slice into the reformed parts of the barrier. He had to keep the defense from reforming so that the monstrosity could be damaged and held back with spells easier.

“Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort cast the green curse towards Harry.

“Nngh!” Harry took a glancing blow from the Killing Curse, not having been able to dodge entirely while he’d been in mid-swing and his focus partially split between operating his Wind Walker and using Aethereum. Thankfully, the Unforgivable Curse had glanced off his Basilisk Scale Mail, leaving him unharmed. His Regalia would not be so easily overcome.

“Dernier Vol!” Fleur threw everything she had left at the serpent tail. Her black-feathered, ash wings broke apart into a storm of burning plumage. Only this time all of the ash and cinder feathers swirled around each other, closer and closer, as fire and heat built up within the micro-storm. At Fleur’s will the burning storm of black feathers exploded in the serpent’s direction sending insanely hot bullets of cinder at it. Just as Fleur predicted, the snake’s jaws once more opened up, spewing forth the azure flames. But the force and physical fragments within her spell passed through the flames at high speed and shot down the serpent tail’s throat!

SSSHHHAAARRRGGKKKSSSHHH!!!” The snake hacked as its insides were torn up by the high-speed projectiles. While the heat was not a threat to it, the physical shrapnel was. Especially inside of it, which was not protected by the powerful navy-blue scales that had blocked all of Fleur’s other spells.

Fleur glided to the ground with the Wind Walker on her feet. Her mana was low now…but she’d done it. The side of the serpent tail had a large hole in it, torn out from the inside by her spell. The tail now hung limp with blood pooling from the injury and from the serpent’s mouth. She noticed that the large injury was regenerating, but at a much, much slower pace than before. “Hopefully, it’s running out of mana too.” She breathed out as her feet touched the ground a good distance away. “I’ll be…right there…I just need…a moment to catch my breath.” She looked on at the continuing battle, lamenting that it had taken almost everything she had just to deal with the demon’s tail.

566,870

550,197

533,524

“HYAH!!!” Harry channeled his mana into Aethereum, along with using the Artifact’s innate mana as well. The Fulmen Curse crackled along the blade as Harry swung it down on the Gleam Eyes. The bolt of lightning blasted the demon head-on, frying it and leaving horrific Lichtenburg scars all over its blue skin. The lightning current traveled through the demon and struck Voldemort as well, sending the Dark Lord into convulsions as he felt his heart stop from the overpowering electricity running through it.

-London ~ Twelve Grimmauld Place-

BANG

The loud blast went off right beside a sneering, half-mad House Elf. A locket that its favored master had ordered the Elf to destroy exploded suddenly and without warning. The shrapnel tore into the miserable creature, killing it almost instantly. A fragment of a thought passed through the old, weary Elf’s head before it died.

Master Regulus…it is being done…’ Kreacher died with satisfaction that his final order had been completed.

He was gone before the wailing black fog emerged from the remnants of the Horcrux, shrieking so loudly that had anyone still been at Grimmauld Place, they would’ve thought a person was being tortured.

-Battle Against the Gleam Eyes-

ROOOAAAUUURRRGGHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes knew something was very wrong with it, but its master was still alive and therefore it would continue to carry out its orders. With said order currently being to ‘kill’, the massive demon unleashed an immense wave of azure flames from its maw at the flying Wizard in front of it.

“Shite…” Harry pushed his Wind Walker item as hard as possible, shooting up into the air, higher and higher, to escape the conflagration below. He eventually reached a height where the flames and intense heat didn’t reach him. “Just a bit longer…” He bit out, watching the demon’s mana continue to fall.

483,505

466,832

450,159

Voldemort’s heart began to beat again as his body was restored from the sacrifice of another Horcrux. He stood up with a snarl, his red eyes burning with hate as they looked at Harry Potter. He would see the boy dead here and now! Without him in the way, the rest of Magical Britain would fall easily!

“Will you just die?!” Tonks had more than enough of this demonic abomination already. With a quick spell weaved into the earth and rock she was manipulating already; she changed her tactic. The stone grew hot, then hotter, in a short time it was glowing hot, then it began to liquify. Molten rock, lava, slammed into the Gleam Eyes’ right leg, burning the flesh black and making the demon bellow in pain.

ROOOAAAUUURRRGGHHH!!!” The Gleam Eyes howled as it reared backwards from the unexpected damage. Its left leg was still partially trapped by earth and rock though, and it began to fall backwards, no longer having its tail to help keep it upright.

“AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!” Voldemort raged, flying off the top of his demon’s head as it fell backwards. He wouldn’t let himself fall! He’d kill Potter himself!

“I didn’t know anyone had figured out self-flight!” Harry remarked loudly, pulling a specific item from within a sheath hidden under his cloak.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!!!” Voldemort lashed his wand forward, the sickly green light of the Killing Curse blasting from the tip at Harry. The Dark Lord didn’t halt his rapid approach either as he flew forward. He wanted to watch the life leave Harry’s eyes!

“Gnkgh!” Harry grunted as the curse slammed into his Basilisk Scale Mail. It did nothing to the Artifact and therefore nothing to Harry beyond pushing him back a little. But the second or two of Voldemort’s red eyes glowing with sick glee at killing Harry was all the time the Artificer needed to enact his own plan. A simple Banishing Charm launched the small weapon he’d pulled out.

“Hak…” Voldemort coughed as something had blurred in his vision before a painful fire erupted in his throat. He felt hot blood running down his neck as his left hand shakily reached up to extract the object lodged in his neck. “Kaugh…ach…” Voldemort glared at the object, seeing a small knife, he almost wanted to laugh at the pathetic attempt to kill him…until the burning pain got so much worse.

“You like it, Tom?” Harry watched the small knife fall from the Dark Lord’s hand and summoned it back to himself carefully as blood poured from the neck wound on Voldemort’s throat. “Your fucking Diary version allowed me to get my hands on the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. This little death dealer is made from one of its fangs.” He cleaned the blade with a spell before returning it to its hidden sheath. “I locked it away when I realized how deadly it was, but for you, I think it’s almost poetic.”

“Ulble…” Voldemort tried to speak, but only blood escaped his mouth. The veins all over his body were horrifically distended as the most potent venom in the world tore its way through the Dark Lord. Without another word he dropped out of the sky.

-Little Hangleton ~ Abandoned Riddle House ~ Backyard Shed-

BANG

The half-rotted floorboards of the old shed exploded upwards as a ring, with a strange stone set into it, shattered into tiny pieces. The stone clattered to the wooden floor, ending up in the corner alone. The metal of the ring was scattered from the sudden blast. From the fragments, a wailing apparition of black smoke screamed out a tortured cry that would’ve sent people running, if anyone in the little village ever dared go near the place to begin with.

As it was though…no one was around, and so another Horcrux vanished from the world without anyone taking notice.

-Battle Against the Gleam Eyes-

“Haugh…” Voldemort vomited out everything as his body was restored once more. A disgusting mix of vomit, bile, blood, and a pitch-black ichor that he knew to be Basilisk Venom.  He staggered to his feet after grabbing his nearby wand. His mind was still reeling, but thankfully his fall had happened in the period between his ‘death’ and his restoration, otherwise he may have lost two Horcruxes. ‘Wait…wait…’ The Dark Lord tried to settle his mind…Potter had said something…about his Diary. “My Diary…destroyed, and I’ve had to sacrifice four Horcruxes so far…” A sense of dread filled Thomas Marvolo Riddle as he realized he only had one Horcrux left, plus the part of his soul that was housed in his current body. A creeping, cold feeling crawled up his spine at realizing that he’d gambled everything on his plan to use True Dark Magic…and it was starting to look like he’d lose it all.

“Almost there…” Harry used the Scouter on the Gleam Eyes again to track its falling mana. The demon had fallen to the ground a second ago with a thunderous crash. If they could just restrain it, then hopefully it would run out of time before it could do anymore damage.

233,410

216,737

200,064

“HAH!!!” Penny cried out, transfiguring a massive amount of earth into a towering spike that punched through the back of the Gleam Eyes’ body and straight out of its chest, impaling the demon to the ground.

ROOOAAAUuurrrggghhh!!!” The Gleam Eyes roared out in pain, even as it tried to use its clawed hands to break the spire of stone that it impaled it. The dying volume was a noticeable drop and the demon finally seemed like it might be on its last legs.

“Stop that!” Tonks whipped her hand around and formed dozens of orange sparks above her head. With a push from her mana, the bolts rained down on the impaled demon and exploded one after another. The Gleam Eyes’ flailing stilled as portions of its flesh were blown off of it.

I’ll return after regrouping with my Inner Circle.” Voldemort decided, seeing the Gleam Eyes subdued for the most part. He pivoted to Apparate, only to jerk back violently and slam into the ground. “Argh…” He bit out, suppressing the cry of pain as much as possible. It was like a thousand hooks were inside his body, tethering him to this place.

“Can’t leave your summoned demon, huh?” Harry guessed, landing on the ground a dozen meters behind Voldemort’s hunched over form.

“Confringo!” Voldemort lashed out with his wand.

“It’s over, Tom!” Harry smacked the spell aside with his Spell Ward Gauntlet. The curse exploded against the ground far away from the two of them.

“It will never be over!” Voldemort snarled; his composure completely gone now. “Not until you’re dead and I’ve taken my place as the greatest Wizard to have ever lived!”

Harry didn’t answer with words, a Mana Bane chain snaked out from his Regalia and wrapped around Voldemort’s left arm.

“Crucio!” Voldemort cast, pointing his wand at Harry with all of his hatred and desire to see him suffer. Only…nothing happened. “Crucio! CRUCIO!!!” Voldemort tried again and again.

“You can’t use Magic while bound by this chain.” Harry informed the flailing Dark Lord, tugging on the chain and making Voldemort snarl while trying to pry the Enchanted Item off of his arm to no avail.

Harry glanced over at the Gleam Eyes to check its mana level again, nearly sighing in relief at what he saw.

32,434

15,661

488

0

Huh, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a zero before…even the Non-Magical register as a one.’ Harry noticed and then saw a spectacle that he would remember forever.

Auuuuuuuaaaagggggghhhhh…” The Gleam Eyes breathed its last and went still. The demon’s body began to change color, its fur turned the color of dirt and fell away from its body. Then its blue skin did the same, becoming soil and falling away to reveal the muscle beneath. The flesh followed soon after, breaking down into nothing but dirt and dust, leaving behind only the skeleton. Then the bones cracked apart as well, falling into dust and soil too, just like the rest of it.

All that was left of the terror that had shattered the Statute of Secrecy was a huge mound of dirt, a devastated landscape, and a massive spire of rock in the middle.

“Huuuaaaahhhh…” Voldemort let out a strangled gasp, making Harry turn back to face him. The Dark Lord suddenly bled from every orifice on his body. His eyes, nose, ears, mouth, even his very pores beaded up with droplets of blood. Before he crumpled to the ground lifelessly.

In his search for an overwhelming power, Voldemort had been presented with two options in the tome of True Dark Magic that he’d used. He could have the power of the demon he summoned for a short time, and then it would naturally fade away once that time was up. Or he could bind his summoned demon to his own life and keep it indefinitely. Naturally, the Dark Lord had chosen the latter. Why would he EVER give up such power? Even in the extremely unlikely event that his demon was ever defeated, he had his Horcruxes to pay the price of breaking the pact for him.

-Voldemort’s Safe House-

SPLAT

A wet and disgusting splat was heard in the private chambers of Voldemort. A passing Death Eater, Travers, heard the odd sound and looked back at the door he’d just passed. Knowing that Voldemort allowed no one into his private chambers, the Death Eater went and knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When no answer came, Travers pressed his ear to the door for a moment, trying to hear anything inside.

“My Lord? Have you returned?” Travers called through the door, wondering if the Dark Lord had returned through a Portkey or some other method that was unknown to him.

Again, there was no answer.

“Maybe the others will know?” Travers shook his head, his gray hair moving slightly from the motion. Everyone in the Inner Circle knew that no orders or instructions from their Lord were to be ignored, so he dared not try and open the door to see what had caused the sound.

AAAAUUUURRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” The loud, tortured wailing sent Travers stumbling back from the door, falling on his ass. The sound was so loud that it reverberated through the safehouse and the stomping of many feet could be heard rushing towards the location as the Inner Circle Death Eaters all came to find out what was going on.

None of them would see the fading black fog with a screaming face disappear above the exploded remains of Nagini.

-Battlefield-

“Ugh…” Voldemort blearily opened his red eyes. Everything hurt, and he didn’t recall why. Looking around without moving, he noticed two things immediately; one, that he was bound in chains, and two, he was surrounded by Potter, his three whores, and dozens of Aurors. A second later and his memories of what had occurred came back and he closed his eyes to feign sleep. The pact had been broken between himself and the Gleam Eyes. He had no more Horcruxes…he was as mortal as he’d been when he was only a boy. Only his ageless Homunculus body would prevent his death now. ‘I have to escape. There is no other way. I’ll bide my time until the opportunity presents itself.’ The Dark Lord plotted, listening in on whatever bits of conversation that he could hear.

“This is going to be complicated.” Harry exhaled heavily, looking up at the multiple news helicopters flying above the area where the demon had fallen. He had at least had time to retrieve Dourfrost and shove the cursed Artifact back into its scabbard before the frost had spread too much. His hand was still a little numb from even the brief exposure though.

“No kidding.” Tonks, a Ministry employee, knew they were all fucked in regards to the Statute of Secrecy.

“We have something to show for it at least.” Fleur mentioned, holding up the Mana Bane chain in her hand. Each of the four had one wrapped around Voldemort’s body and wouldn’t hand them over to anyone else.

“This is the absolute worst way that the Non-Magical could experience Magic for the first time.” Penny felt like she needed to restate that once more. This incident was going to set the Magical and Non-Magical relationship back to Witch Burnings if it wasn’t handled delicately.

“Yeah…” Harry agreed with her, already seeing military helicopters starting to fly in as the news helicopters flew away. This entire area was definitely going to be locked down by the military. “Maybe a good ‘olive branch’ would be to turn Tom here over to the Non-Magical Authorities, with some precautions in place, of course.”

“If we have a little time, we can make an Anti-Magic cell for him.” Penny spoke up, clearly already thinking of ways to try and not let this situation devolve into an ‘Us vs Them’ scenario between the Non-Magical and the Magical.

“The Dark Lord is a Wizard, so he should be tried before the Wizengamot.” Amelia spoke up, as was protocol for her position.

“You tell them that.” Fleur pointed at a large number of military vehicles rolling into sight.

“They do outnumber us, Boss.” Tonks reminded Amelia as the situation continued to become more and more ‘real’ for all of the Aurors present.

The Statute of Secrecy was broken irreparably. There was no going back to hiding now. The Magical had now been violently thrust into the face of the Non-Magical. Things weren’t looking good, and that wasn’t even counting how the ICW and the rest of the Magical World was reacting to this news.

“I need a drink.” Amelia muttered under her breath.

“We all do, ma’am…” Scrimgeour ran his hands across his face as if he’d just pulled an all-nighter, which, to be fair, he kinda had.

-End Chapter-

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The demon falls!

Teamwork and Artifacts come through!

Just ask any gambler, or for more stories, a Casino Manager, and they’ll tell you the same thing: No matter what plans you make, if you bet it all…you can lose it all!

Voldemort sure found that out today! So many plans and contingencies…yet they backfired because Harry’s Artifice is ‘A power He knows not’ as a certain bauble in the Ministry would say.

The Statute of Secrecy is FUCKED! But is there anything that can be done to try and mitigate the backlash of this incident?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 30,010

Tonks – 24,632

Penelope – 18,584

Fleur – 19,116

These levels will definitely change next chapter after such a massive expenditure of mana from all four of our favorite characters!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 64: The Veil Falls Away

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now that Voldemort’s demon is vanquished and the Dark Lord captured, the next step is dealing with the Non-Magical. There is A LOT to go over and many panicked people are going to be demanding answers. Hopefully the olive branch that Harry and family want to offer will be accepted.

This story has a TVTropes Page: Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 64 – The Veil Falls Away

Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, really regretted not taking an early retirement now. It had even been a possibility a couple years ago. Before the Statute of Secrecy had just been violently torn down around them all. As it was, she watched as several Muggle vehicles rolled up towards where the colossal demon had fallen and soldiers quickly surrounded them, weapons aimed at everyone present. Up above, several of the flying machines…helicopters if she recalled correctly…were flying around, all painted similarly to the vehicles of the soldiers.

“I’m only going to say this once!” The soldier that was clearly in charge spoke up so that all of the remaining Witches and Wizards could hear him. “Drop any and all weapons you have and keep your hands where we can see them!”

“Sir…there’s a child here.” The soldier next to him spoke just loud enough for Amelia, Harry, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur to hear. The soldier motioned towards Harry with his head and the Commanding Officer focused on the teenager.

“Drop the weapons, son.” The commander requested of Harry, his tone calmer now as he addressed the teen.

“Sure,” Harry agreed, removing the sheathed Aethereum from his hip and setting it at his feet. “I must caution you not to try and unsheathe this sword though.” Harry removed Dourfrost and the Artifact Scabbard from his back slowly. “It is incredibly dangerous and potentially fatal if it’s drawn.” What he didn’t say was the quick spell he cast wandlessly on the top of the scabbard that would prevent the sword from being drawn at all. Better safe than sorry.

“I think we should just go with this for now, Boss.” Tonks took out her wand, not that she really needed it anymore, and placed it on the ground carefully. Fleur and Penny both did the same as well.

“Surrender our wands? To Muggles?” Scrimgeour looked flabbergasted at the very notion, as did a few other Aurors.

“Do it.” Amelia ordered, seeing a slight bit of tension leaving the Muggle soldiers at their orders being followed.

All of the Aurors put their wands on the ground in front of them, some much more reluctantly than others, until all of them had their hands in the air as the commanding soldier had requested. Tension had noticeably eased among the soldiers now. In disastrous situations like this, many people wanted control to keep themselves mentally oriented. Others needed people in authority to tell them what to do when the unexpected happened. The current situation was about as unexpected as could be, so the acquiescence of the Wizards and Witches went a long way in preventing hostilities from flaring.

“Good, thank you; now, I need whoever might be in-charge here to tell me what the hell is going on.” The commanding officer spoke, looking between all of the adults in the red robes.

Amelia decided to speak up given that she was technically in charge of the most people on the Magical side of this incident. “My name is Amelia Bones, I’m the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, this attack has been perpetrated by a Wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort. We came to stop him.”

“Uh huh…and you expect me to believe that?” The officer looked at her like she was nuts.

The loud sound of a helicopter approaching was heard, and it only got louder as a new military helicopter descended towards the location where the Aurors and Harry’s family were located. The helicopter touched down, much to the confusion of the soldiers, but then the door opened and another small group of soldiers stepped out and were quick to march across the field.

“Captain, what is the situation?” The man clearly in charge of the four soldiers that had come with him questioned the officer of the soldiers that still held the Wizards and Witches at gunpoint.

“Sir, we found these suspicious people here after the monster fell. We’ve just begun questioning, but the lady over there,” He motioned to Amelia. “Says she’s from a Department of Magical Law Enforcement and that this was done by a wizard.”

“Madam Bones, then?” The higher-ranked officer looked at Amelia.

“Yes,” Amelia nodded back to the man. “You know of us then?”

“Indeed, ma’am.” The officer acknowledged shortly.

“Sir, you don’t really believe that, do you?” The first officer questioned him.

“Magic is real, Captain, always has been and certain members of the government have known it all along. For the better part of the last three centuries, we’ve worked together to keep our two worlds separate as much as possible.” The higher-ranked officer told everyone outright.

“Why weren’t we told, Colonel?” The Captain asked incredulously.

“Because it was ‘need to know’ information, and until this incident happened, you didn’t need to know.” The Colonel replied sharply.

“Yes, sir.” The Captain shut his mouth, but still looked like he was having a lot of trouble wrapping his head around this situation.

“Madam Bones, can you give me an update on the situation?” The Colonel requested as he stepped forward, his four men at his sides.

“Certainly, Colonel?” Amelia only had the barest knowledge of the Muggle Military.

“Colonel Roberts, ma’am.” The Colonel introduced himself quickly.

“Colonel Roberts,” Amelia tested the name as she nodded. “This attack was perpetrated by the Dark Wizard known as Lord Voldemort. We, that is my Aurors,” She motioned to the red robed Witches and Wizards. “Came to stop the assault.”

“And who are these four?” Colonel Roberts questioned, looking at Fleur, Penny, Tonks, and then Harry.”

“The oldest woman is one of my Aurors, Nymphadora Tonks.” Amelia pointed Tonks out first, pleased by the lack of outburst at using her name. “The silvery-blonde young woman is Fleur Delacour. The dark-blonde young woman is Penelope Clearwater. The teenager is Harry Potter.”

“Why are three civilians here, exactly?” Colonel Roberts could understand an out of uniform officer stepping in during a crisis, but having three civilians on a battlefield made no sense unless they’d been caught up in it and unable to evacuate or flee. “Especially a minor.” He motioned to Harry.

“Mr. Potter is an Artificer, and probably one of the most powerful Wizards currently living in Britain. As for why he’s here, I can only imagine he came to stop Voldemort and his demon, along with these three young women.” Amelia looked over and received nods of confirmation from the four of them. “These four were the ones truly responsible for bringing down the demon and stopping Voldemort’s attack.”

“Voldemort has been after my life since I was an infant, Colonel.” Harry spoke up for the first time since Colonel Roberts had arrived. “Speaking of which.” He fed his mana into the Mana Bane chain in his hand and dragged Voldemort’s unconscious body forward. “Colonel Roberts, meet Lord Voldemort, or as he was born, Thomas Marvolo Riddle. The instigator of this magical attack on the United Kingdom.”

Almost every rifle among the soldiers quickly shifted targets, now being aimed at Voldemort.

“Is he dead?” Colonel Roberts questioned, eyeing the chained up Wizard carefully.

“No, sir, just unconscious.” Harry shook his head. “We can make him more unconscious, if you’d like.”

“More unconscious?” Colonel Roberts raised an eyebrow at the wording.

“If you’ll permit me to pick up my wand, Colonel?” Tonks spoke up while pointing at her wand on the ground in front of her.

“Granted.” Colonel Roberts nodded after a few seconds to consider it.

“Thank you, sir.” Tonks picked up her wand and pointed it at Voldemort. “Stupefy!” The red light of the spell surprised many of the soldiers as it hit the seemingly unconscious Wizard.

For Voldemort, he went from pretending to be unconscious while listening in, to truly unconscious against his will without even being able to do anything about it because of the Mana Bane chains wrapped around him.

“He won’t wake up for several hours at least, or until someone casts the counter spell.” Tonks informed the Colonel with a quick nod.

“Excellent.” Colonel Roberts nodded to Tonks. “So, he’s safe to transport now?”

“We’d actually like to build an Anti-Magic cage to hold him, if you’d give us some time to construct it, sir.” Penny spoke up next. “These chains we have on him,” She held up the end of the chain she was holding. “Prevent him from casting any Magic while he’s bound, but they don’t prevent others from using Magic on him, such as taking him away via magical travel, like Apparation or Portkeys.”

“I see, the teleportation spell, right?” Colonel Roberts was quick to recall what Apparation had been described as during his debriefing and instruction on Magic back when he’d been brought into the know.

“Basically, yes.” Fleur nodded to the soldier with a smile. It was best to be pleasant in this tense situation. As a Magical Scholar, she did have a desire to correct the man on exactly what Apparation was and how it worked, but she stifled that.

Colonel Roberts was quiet for a long moment before reaching a decision. “Please, do so. I’ve been warned not to risk it when it comes to detaining Wizards and Witches.” He then turned his eyes on the Captain. “I want the perimeter fully secured within the hour. The media is going to be swarming this place soon enough.”

“Yes, sir!” The Captain saluted. “Jones, Wilson, Hughes, Green, Williams, Clarke!” The six soldiers quickly snapped to attention with salutes. “Lock down the perimeter, no one goes in or out without the Colonel’s permission!”

“Yes, sir!” The six soldiers acknowledged their orders, quickly gathering a couple of men each before marching off to surround the area where the Gleam Eyes had fallen.

“Prepare a transport vehicle large enough to hold a human-sized cage.” Colonel Roberts ordered two of his own men, both were quick to salute before rushing off to complete their orders.

Harry pulled out his Mokeskin pouch, and from within the pouch, pulled out his Storage Cloak. The black folds of the cloak yielded plenty of materials as Harry pulled out one item after another from it, to the shock of the remaining soldiers. The Aurors were permitted to pick up their wands again and watch over the unconscious Voldemort as Penny and Harry got to work on constructing an Anti-Magic cage.

“I’ll fuse the metal together.” Harry offered, already using magic to bend the metal poles into the shape of a cage. “Are those stones good enough for the Anti-Magic Area?” He looked at the mostly flat stones that he’d pulled from within his Storage Cloak.

“They’re fine,” Penny confirmed as she looked them over. “I’ll just need a bit of time to etch the Runes and sync up the sequence into the working array.”

The two worked steadily under the watch of Tonks and Fleur, along with the Aurors and the remaining soldiers, including Colonel Roberts. A cage was formed of what appeared to be steel, but even the soldiers were sure it wasn’t, just based on the luster of the metal. The floor of the cage was built in two parts, making a thick floor of the same metal that held the Ward Stones of the Anti-Magic Area securely where no one could get to them. Tonks, Fleur, Penny, and Harry all added as much mana as they could to the Ward Stones, considering their own current drop in reserves. It would last a good long while though, at least a week by Penny’s best estimates, before needing to be recharged.

“It doesn’t have a door.” Colonel Roberts mentioned of the Anti-Magic cage that now held the unconscious, and still bound, Voldemort.

“It’s best not to take chances, Colonel.” Tonks spoke to the officer. “Voldemort is a complete psychopath that hates the non-magical and is a mass-murderer on our side of things.”

“Noted.” Colonel Roberts nodded to the Auror. “We’ll feed him through the bars like he’s a deranged and dangerous criminal.” Not exactly how SOP said prisoners should be treated, but this was beyond standard operating procedure to a ridiculous degree.

What followed for the rest of the day was Harry and family, along with the Aurors present, being dragged around for a bit. First as witnesses and as part of the escort for Voldemort’s transfer to a secure holding facility. Then to be questioned on everything they knew about the situation. Minister Fudge had been brought in fairly early on, along with Prime Minister Major. Fudge had given clear instruction for the Aurors to work with and answer everything they were being asked, all the while wringing his hands and sweating in fearful anxiety.

By law, non-magical laws especially, Harry couldn’t be questioned without his legal guardian present. So, Sirius had downed a Pepper-Up Potion and been at the facility as fast as possible, nearly causing a commotion when he Apparated onto the grounds without warning. With Sirius at his side, Harry had been led through the questioning and then been sent home with Sirius after a way to contact them had been set up with the non-magical government for any later meetings or inquiries.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Haaaah…” Harry sighed as he fell back on his bed after a long bath. Today had gone well, all things considered, but everything was still fucked from a Statute of Secrecy point of view.

There was no way in hell that the ICW could cover this up. The Statute was gone, broken beyond repair. Now they all had to live in this new world where Magical and Non-Magical would once more start mingling. Harry wasn’t sure what that would look like or entail, but he had a suspicion that he’d be dragged into it far more than he wanted to be.

“Take it one day at a time.” Harry mumbled to himself as he looked at the ceiling of his room. ‘Maybe it’s time to work on that project for real?’ He considered the project that he’d been planning out during his down time for over a year now. “I’m sure Sirius will take me there. He has fond memories of the place.”

“Harry,” Penny slipped into his room and closed the door behind her. She was wearing her pajamas, loose cotton shorts and a t-shirt. “How’re you feeling?”

“Tired…confused…a little worried.” Harry admitted as he scooted over and let Penny slip into bed with him. He welcomed her embrace and the two kissed softly for a bit, just taking comfort from each other.

“I feel the same way.” Penny admitted, snuggling closer and breathing in her boyfriend’s scent. “Fleur went back home to reassure her parents that she’s fine, Tonks is still being run around and probably won’t be back until the early hours of the morning.”

“What about you, love?” Harry asked, wondering what she’d told her parents. “You were gone for a while, and I honestly didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow.”

“I made sure that they knew I was fine, just a bit tired.” Penny smiled softly at him. “They were concerned about my injuries, but a few Episky spells, and two potions later, and I was as good as new.” She hugged him closer. “I told them that I wanted to make sure that you were okay tonight, as the youngest that actually fought Voldemort and his demon.”

“You’re too good to me, Penny.” Harry chuckled lightly, returning her hug. He did enjoy the way her body molded against his, but they were both too tired to take advantage of their alone time.

“Let’s get some sleep, Harry.” Penny kissed him again, both of them reveling in their love for each other for a while before they cuddled beneath the blankets together and drifted off to sleep. They’d put off tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow.

-Next Morning-

Unfortunately…tomorrow came sooner than either of them would’ve liked.

Waking up between Penny and Tonks (who must’ve slipped in a while after they’d dozed off) was pleasant though. Harry even laid in bed a bit longer to keep enjoying it. But they did eventually have to get up.

“Mmnnrrgghh…” Tonks grumbled at waking up without getting her full eight hours. “G’Morning…” She yawned and stretched as she sat up.

“Morning, Nym.” Harry smiled, accepting the kiss she gave him. “Sorry we went to bed without you.”

“Don’t worry…” Tonks yawned again. “About it. I didn’t get in until after two in the morning.” She stood up from the bed, revealing her beautiful body in only some skimpy purple panties. “I can’t blame you for falling asleep after what we went through yesterday.” Tonks smiled, turning around and letting Harry see her tits.

“Down, Nym.” Penny playfully chided as she sat up in the bed, eyeing up the Metamorphmagus. “We’re all still too tired for anything physical right now.”

“Spoilsport.” Tonks grinned lazily as both Harry and Penny got out of bed too.

“So, how bad is it out there?” Harry decided to just rip the band-aid off.

“A complete clusterfuck, shiteshow, and all of that.” Tonks replied, waving her hand in the air as if talking about something mundane. “About what I expected, really.”

“Great…” Harry drawled.

Tonks put on a robe, not bothering with anything else, and the three of them left the bedroom together, heading for the smell of breakfast.

“Young Master Harry! Miss Nym and Miss Penny!” Tayla called out upon seeing them. “Sit, sit, please, you needs to eat!” The motherly House Elf urged the three to sit down as another plate of food was levitated over to the table.

“Thank you, Tayla.” The three chorused, much to the Elf’s delight.

Sirius and Marlie came down not long after and breakfast chatter began. Marlie was just grateful that everyone was back, safe and sound. Sirius was dreading the arrival of the Daily Prophet, not looking forward to what they’d see on the front page. Tayla was just happy as she continued to feed her family, none of the Witches or Wizards even seemed to notice they were eating much more than normal.

“Prek!” Hedwig and a Tawny Owl arrived with a copy of the Daily Prophet each. The Tawny Owl dropped its copy in front of Sirius, stole some food, and then flew back out the window quickly. Hedwig landed, dropped the paper, and then spent time looking over Harry while he petted her and fed her bits of his breakfast.

“I was right…” Sirius sighed, revealing that the front page of the paper was dominated by two stories fighting for space. The first about Voldemort’s attack, and how Harry and family had defeated and captured him. The second about the most egregious breach of the Statute of Secrecy ever. Just the headline alone showed how much of a panic the Magical Community was already in as the news spread.

-Hogwarts-

“Is this real?” Hermione blinked at the Daily Prophet in stunned disbelief.

“I think so…” Padma nodded slowly, also reading the paper.

Luna didn’t look nearly as bothered, but that was probably because she was focusing on the good news that Voldemort was captured, rather than the fall of the Statute of Secrecy.

“What does this mean for the Magical World?” Mandy questioned her friends after setting her copy of the paper down.

None of them could give her an answer.

No answer was forthcoming from the Professors either. Dumbledore had yet to return to the castle, no doubt being run ragged in his position as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW.

The entire Great Hall was abuzz with noise that was steadily growing louder and louder.

-Death Eater Safe House-

“NOOOOO!!!” Bellatrix Lestrange screeched as she slammed the Daily Prophet onto the floor in a rage. “HOW DARE THEY?! FILTHY MUGGLES!!! I’LL KILL HARRY POTTER MYSELF!!!” The deranged woman continued to wail over the fate of their master.

“We’ll get him back, Bella!” Rodolphus Lestrange assured his wife, the man nearly growling after having read less than half of the article himself. He’d always had a temper and over a decade in Azkaban hadn’t helped that at all.

“We need information on where they’re holding the Dark Lord, first and foremost.” Rookwood spoke up, the former Unspeakable maintaining his calm for now. For the most part, he’d have to be the brains of the Death Eaters until they retrieved their master.

“Can we get in contact with Severus? Surely Dumbledore would know where they’re keeping our master, right?” Travers questioned the group at large.

“As soon as Severus finds out, he’ll tell us and we can stage a raid.” Rabastan Lestrange nodded in agreement with Traver’s thoughts. The man had been dulled by his stint in Azkaban, the opposite of his brother. Even after Snape’s potions, something about his mind just hadn’t returned fully. It was as if his emotions were muted to a degree.

“If the Muggles are really the ones holding him, then it’ll be easy.” Antonin Dolohov had a dark grin on his face at the thought of tearing through a few dozen Muggles to get their master back. It had been far too long since he’d gotten to have any such fun.

“Exactly,” Rookwood nodded to Dolohov. “We just need to be patient for a short time until we hear from Severus.”

Strangely enough, no one asked about the suspicious lack of Lucius Malfoy and his family. The three had not come to the safe house following their Lord’s Great Magic. None of them would dare question their master, of course, but in the back of a few of their minds, there was curiosity as to what had happened.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Who’re these ‘experts’ that the non-Magical papers are mentioning?” Harry wondered, seeing an article in one of the mundane papers about Magic and the hidden Magical World.

“Squibs, maybe?” Fleur offered her best guess. The Veela woman had arrived shortly after breakfast with multiple papers in her Storage Cloak, magical and non-magical alike. A few from France, a couple from Britain, and even ones from Belgium, the Netherlands, and one of each type from Spain.

“That’s…actually plausible.” Penny spoke up after a second to think about it. “I’ve heard rumors that some Magical Families basically abandon any Squibs that’re born.”

“It’s happened in the past.” Tonks confirmed with a nod. “There are cases of it in the Ministry records dealing with abandonment and neglect.”

“Of course there are…” Harry sighed at the way some Witches and Wizards treated their own family members if they weren’t born with Magic. “I’m sure a few of them have left the Magical World after years of mistreatment…no one thought that would come back to bite them, I’m sure.”

“A few of these articles are already concerning.” Penny put down one paper with a grimace. “Blaming Voldemort’s actions on all Witches and Wizards, calling us demon worshippers and the like…”

“This was the absolute worst way that the non-magical could’ve been reintroduced to Magic.” Tonks huffed and put the paper she’d been reading next to Penny’s, the two articles having similarities. “If something isn’t done soon…things are only going to get worse.”

“We handed over Voldemort, I’m not sure what else we could’ve done.” Harry ran his hand through his hair. “Hopefully the non-magical government makes some kind of announcement soon about having Voldemort in custody.” At the very least that should help offset some of the growing negativity within Britain.

-Secure Detention Facility

“Ugh…” Voldemort stifled a pained groan as he woke up. He blearily opened his red eyes and looked around. Seeing the bars surrounding him would’ve normally made him sit up quickly…but his body wouldn’t move like he wanted it to. He was sore, everywhere, which shouldn’t have been a problem for his superior homunculus body. Instead he slowly turned over with a grunt, realizing that the damned chains that Potter had wrapped him in were still in place.

“Prisoner is awake.” A male voice called out, making Voldemort’s eyes snap to the source. A soldier, judging by the uniform, was standing a distance away from the cage with a rifle in his hands. He’d apparently spoken into an intercom system that was on the wall next to him.

After taking the man in, Voldemort looked around to observe the rest of his surroundings. The room was fairly large, but barren. Stone floor, stone walls, no windows. Only three other soldiers at the corners, each armed with a rifle as well. The Dark Lord then realized after a moment that his cage had no door either.

Are they planning to keep me in here until I die?’ Voldemort felt his anger spark at the mere idea. His homunculus form could go a month or more without food, and at least two weeks without any water. But eventually it would require sustenance to keep up all of its superior functions compared to a human body. ‘These fools…mere Muggles think they can hold me?! My Inner Circle will slaughter you all! Then I’ll be free again…just you wait, Harry Potter!’ He raged in his own mind.

Brrrrnnn

A short alarm went off and the door beside the armed soldier opened. Another soldier walked in with a tray and the door was sealed behind him. It was only as the new soldier was slowly walking towards him did Voldemort realize that there was food and a cup of water on the tray. Seeing what looked to be a pair of long tongs on the tray as well, the humiliating realization hit the Dark Lord.

They’re going to feed me like I’m some dangerous animal in a cage?!’ He would’ve raged and cursed them all if he could. But he was without his wand, and even the Magic he could do without it was locked away from him by these damned chains! He swore that he’d torture Harry Potter in the worst ways imaginable for this as soon as he was free. In his nearly blinding rage, he even forgot that he was now without his Horcruxes and that any such attempt would likely see him losing his life.

-Paris, France ~Nicholas Flamel’s Home-

“My word…” Perenelle Flamel muttered as she read the paper. She was an old woman, having been in her later years when her husband had succeeded in creating his Philosopher’s Stone, the elderly husband and wife becoming immortal together and then watching the changes of the world over the last few centuries.

“Not a good reintroduction.” Nicholas agreed with his wife. “I always wondered how long the Statute would hold.” They were both old enough to have been alive before the Statute of Secrecy had even been a thing.

“It was an attempt to stop the hostility of the times…but it could’ve been handled much better.” Perenelle had never been much of a fan of the Statute of Secrecy herself. It had been ill-thought out in her eyes, and now, three-hundred years later, it had all come crashing down in the worst way possible. “What shall we do, my dear?” She looked at her husband for his thoughts.

“I’m planning to meet with a few old colleagues. I’d like to get a feel for the situation throughout Europe.” Nicholas replied, his eyes gazing over the newspaper. “I’d rather not leave if we don’t have to, but there is a chance that hostilities may rise up from this.”

“Yes…several groups have never looked upon the Magical kindly.” Perenelle sighed lightly as she recalled several unpleasant memories from her long life. “I doubt it will devolve into open war or any such thing, but if the times become harsh again, where would you like to spend a few decades next?”

“We do still have the house in the countryside…a little rural living wouldn’t be so bad for a few decades if necessary.” Nicholas considered where they could go if they wanted to avoid getting involved in any potential hostilities that might spring up.

“True enough.” Perenelle smiled at him softly. They’d been together for so long, a slow life in the countryside for a while sounded almost like a vacation. “I could work on my green thumb again.” She joked and Nicholas laughed, recalling their early days as a couple and just how bad Perenelle had been at gardening back then.

The ancient couple weren’t the only ones on the move in reaction to Voldemort’s demon and attack on the United Kingdom. Timetables couldn’t be moved up in most cases, but other preparations could be finished sooner. An even older Alchemist sped up his own preparations for the coming harsh times that he foresaw as well.

-End Chapter-

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Voldemort is captured and turned over to the non-magical authorities wrapped in mana bane chains and stuck inside of an Anti-Magic cage. Safe to say, he’s not going anywhere under his own power.

But the Death Eaters sure are pissed! They’re already plotting to raid wherever their master is being held and take Voldemort back. They just need Snape to ferret out the information from Dumbledore for them.

Harry and family are looking through the news and seeing the reactions of the world to this horrific reintroduction to Magic. It’s not great…no mobs or anything yet, but it’s not off the table either.

Hogwarts is stunned by the news, but none of the Professors have any answers to give the concerned students.

The Flamels have been around since before the Statute of Secrecy and they’ve lived through it now too. They’re making plans of their own to avoid any of the hostilities that may spring up if they need to. You don’t live for over six centuries with a target like the Philosopher’s Stone on your back without being able to disappear for decades if you need to!

Others have been agitated in their own plans by this asinine action of Voldemort’s, but what will that mean for the world at large?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 32,406

Tonks – 26,254

Penelope – 20,772

Fleur – 21,598

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 65: Security, Change, and Home

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! As the Magical World flails from the destruction of the Statute of Secrecy, time continues to move on. Harry is going to visit a place that Sirius has good memories of, and a place that a new future could be built from. Meanwhile, the Non-Magical World has to slowly come to grips with the reality of Magic and the British Government may just need to talk to a skilled Artificer about containment of a certain Magical criminal and the security of important places as well.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 65 – Security, Change, and Home

-Potter Lands ~ Stinchcombe-

Harry stared at the wide expanse of acreage before him. Fields of grass, woodlands, a few streams flowed through the large property, and more than a few magical plants could be seen, if one knew what to look for. The only sign of human habitation was a charred area that had been the end of the Potter Family’s ancestral home at the hands of vengeful Death Eaters. Barely any ruined stone was left of the old foundation, all of it melted and scorched black.

“It’s been a long time…” Sirius had a small grimace on his face at the state of the place that he’d lived at during a large portion of his Hogwarts years, after running away from his own family. There were many fond memories on this property, but the home that he’d had them in was long gone now.

“There’s a lot of space here.” Harry mused as he looked over the land. Already ideas were forming in his mind.

Sirius nodded in agreement to his godson’s statement. “There is…” He looked over at Harry. “Are you really going to rebuild?”

“Not just rebuild, Sirius…” Harry looked at his godfather with a bright grin. “I’m going to build it back even better!”

Stinchcombe was the ancestral home of the Potter Family, all the way back to their founder Linfred of Stinchcombe, an eccentric Herbologist and Potioneer that lived back in the Twelfth Century. The affable man had helped his Muggle neighbors cure pox and ague with his medicinal tonics. Not one of them ever suspected that the remedies they were given were Magical. Linfred had been dubbed ‘The Potterer’ by his Muggle neighbors for always pottering around in his garden with his plants. That had been corrupted into the family gaining the surname Potter by the time that Linfred had children of his own. It had been his advancements in Potions that had led to many common potions of today, like Pepper-Up and Skele-gro. By selling these to his fellow Witches and Wizards, Linfred had been able to leave behind quite the small fortune to each of his seven children.

We’re not gone just yet.’ Harry thought to himself with a small smile. He could already picture what he wanted to build here. ‘The house here… The smithy over there… A nice greenhouse or two wouldn’t hurt either… Maybe a pool?’ He recalled the skimpy bikinis his lovers had worn for him one summer. ‘Definitely need a pool.’ He nodded to himself firmly.

“You’re planning something, huh?” Sirius chuckled at Harry’s face. “Care to share?”

“Just a plan I’ve been working on for the last year or so.” Harry replied vaguely.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Harry. “Oh? If it’s taken this long for my prodigious godson, then it must be truly impressive!” He joked with a chortle.

“Just another idea for an Artifact.” Harry shrugged like it was no big deal. “I’ll need to make some rather large preparations first though.”

“Harry… Are you planning to make an Artifact House?!” Sirius looked at Harry like he was crazy.

“It’s an interesting project, right?” Harry smiled at his godfather mischievously.

“You wouldn’t be Harry if you didn’t get up to crazy things, I suppose.” Sirius shook his head in amusement. “But how can you continuously work on such a large Artifact? I doubt that your little stasis anvil is going to cut it here.”

“There are ways, Sirius…there are ways.” Harry was already looking around the charred area where the home had used to sit and was taking mental measurements. “All it takes is some proper preparation and the workspace will be ready for Artifice like no one has ever seen before.” The wild grin on Harry’s face reminded Sirius, once again, that despite looking so much like James, Harry was very different from his father and even his mother.

-Gringotts-

“Grrrrnnnhhh!” Ragnok Gringott hissed at the Daily Prophet, seeing Harry Potter’s name on the front page. The boy had somehow duped them from the Sword of Gryffindor. When it had vanished, he’d gone on the warpath, trying to hunt down the thief among his kind. But only after finding no evidence despite looking for a full year, did he realize that he’d been played for a fool. “One day…damned Wizards.” He burned the paper in his hands and tossed it aside with a snarl. Already the Goblin King was plotting…it had been far too long since the last rebellion. The Wizards had grown complacent, but now the Statute of Secrecy had fallen down around them. “Perhaps it’s time? We’ll let them squirm for a while longer as we prepare.”

The Goblins would make their own plans for their future in this new world where Magical and Non-Magical once more intermingled. They’d been forced to heel even before the Statute of Secrecy…and even further when the Statute had gone into effect. But with the Wizards no longer in control as they liked to pretend, no one would suspect the Goblins and what they could bring to bear.

-International Confederation of Wizards Headquarters-

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he sat in his office of Supreme Mugwump. It had been so frantic and, in truth, disastrous since Voldemort had shattered the Statute of Secrecy. The ICW was practically at war with itself as various members argued about what to do. Several of the more stubborn and foolish insisted on covering everything up, seemingly unaware of how impossible that was. There would be no going back to how it had been before after what had been done.

Dumbledore hadn’t even had time to return to Hogwarts in the last few days following the collapse of the Statute. Communicating with Minerva through the Floo and relaying what he could to her as she assumed temporary control of Hogwarts was all that he had time for between the meetings (arguing and shouting matches) of the ICW.

“If only we could’ve stopped him that night.” Albus took off his half-moon glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Thoughts about what they could’ve done differently plagued the old Wizard’s mind. Even in his sleep he got no respite, his various mistakes haunting his dreams. A Dreamless Sleep Draught had become a nightly thing to take before bed in the last few days for him.

-Wood End Cottage ~ Two Days Later-

“Huh…” Harry stared at the envelope that had arrived by a regal-looking horned owl. Said owl was still standing on the breakfast table staring at him imperiously. “You don’t see that seal every day…” The seal in question being that of the Queen herself.

“No kidding…” Penny had wide eyes as she looked at the sealed envelope.

“You should probably open it quickly, Harry.” Fleur urged him. A letter from the Queen of England was probably time-sensitive normally, and even more so with the recent attack by Voldemort.

Tonks, Sirius, and Marlie watched as Harry opened the envelope and removed the letter. His eyes scanned over it, reading each line of the correspondence carefully. After what appeared to be a second reading, Tonks couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer.

“So, what’s it say, Harry?” Tonks questioned, her hair and eyes both switching to a purple color.

“I’m being asked to meet the Queen and several members of the government to talk about Voldemort and security?” Harry informed his family, looking up from the letter with a face of shock and confusion.

Everyone clamored a bit at the news, the room getting loud for a moment before the regal-looking owl screeched loudly. “PREEEEKK!!!” The sharp sound made the family flinch, but it did calm the conversation sufficiently.

“We’ll have to get fitted for proper formal wear if we’re going to meet the Queen.” Sirius had years of ‘noble’ upbringing forced into his head while growing up, so his first thought was rather on the nose.

“Why do they want to talk to me about security though?” Harry looked perplexed by the request. “I’m an Artificer, not a Warder.”

“Aren’t you planning to build us a home that’s basically impenetrable to all forms of attack or invasion?” Fleur raised one of her delicate eyebrows at him.

“Yeah, an Artifact home…” Harry stretched out the important word. “Unless the Queen wants me to…I don’t know…rebuild Buckingham Palace beam by beam and brick by brick from the foundation upwards, there’s not much that I can do for them.”

“Well, you won’t know what kind of security they want to talk to you about until you meet them.” Tonks shrugged at the lack of information. “Maybe they’re more concerned about being able to keep Voldemort secure until they decide to deal with him?”

“Nym is right, Harry,” Fleur smiled at him. “It could be that they merely want your expertise in Artifice in hopes of keeping things from getting worse.”

“That sounds a bit more likely.” Marlie agreed with Fleur. “Even if they do want you to work on their security, you just have to explain why Artifice isn’t the option they’re looking for.” The Healer gave Harry an encouraging smile.

“I suppose that’s all I really can do.” Harry agreed after a moment to consider it. “I kind of doubt that I can just refuse this letter.”

“Prek.” The regal horned-owl’s sharp noise seemed to indicate its agreement to that statement.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, Harry, you can count on that.” Sirius reached across the table to pat his godson on the shoulder with a warm smile.

Harry smiled back, always glad to have Sirius with him. “Thanks, Sirius.”

“Now, you should probably reply to that letter and then we’ll need to go get proper attire. It’s not every day that you meet a Monarch.” Sirius chuckled to lighten the mood a bit.

“Do we have to do formal wear?” Harry wasn’t grumbling…really, he wasn’t. “I’m not a fan of getting all dressed up though.”

“You certainly can’t meet the Queen in your smithy attire!” Penny looked at her love like he was nuts.

“Scree!” A barn owl swooped in through the window and landed on the table near Sirius, the Daily Prophet attached to it. Sirius quickly paid the owl and removed the paper. The barn owl took a bit of sausage that Marlie offered it and was flying back out the window a moment later.

“Huh? Apparently, the Ministry is being pressured to turn over all relevant information on Lord Voldemort and Tom Marvolo Riddle.” Sirius read off the front page. He ignored the ‘outrage’ that the article claimed the Muggles demanding anything of Witches and Wizards was; he’d had decades of practice doing that.

“That sounds like they want it for their own news piece.” Penny quickly put the pieces together. “So far, all that the Non-Magical government has said about the one responsible is that they had him in custody.”

“Kind of bold for them to force the issue of his real name to be revealed through the Prophet like this.” Tonks grinned at the stripping away of the mystique surrounding ‘Lord Voldemort’ to any sympathizers that were still out there.

“It can only be a good thing.” Fleur snorted at the idea of the people remaining terrified of a fake name.

-Death Eater Safe House-

“LIES!!! FILTHY! DISGUSTING! LIES!!!” Bellatrix raged, shredding the Daily Prophet with her bare hands, forgoing her wand in her fury. “HOW DARE THEY?!” She would go to the Prophet and burn it down herself! They couldn’t spew such lies about her Lord, calling him a Half-Blood! She’d make them all suffer!

The majority of the Death Eaters agreed with her, though they were noticeably quieter…a small bit of doubt creeping into their minds. No one had really questioned Lord Voldemort’s claims of his bloodline and being a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. But neither had they ever tried to look into his claims either after seeing what he was capable of and his use of Parseltongue.

“Calm down, Bellatrix!” Rookwood spoke up loudly over the half-mad woman’s ranting and screaming. “Until we find the Dark Lord, we shouldn’t give ourselves away. What will you do if Dumbledore finds us because you went off on a rampage and set fire to the Prophet?”

“They must pay for their lies!” Bellatrix hissed out at Rookwood.

“They will, once we know where our Lord is so that we can retrieve him.” The former Unspeakable told her in a calm, but firm, tone. Rookwood was the acting ‘brains’ of the Inner Circle right now. He couldn’t be called the ‘Leader’ in any capacity though, lest he earn the ire of the rest of them for trying to take the Dark Lord’s place.

“Where is Severus?!” Bellatrix turned away from Rookwood with an angry sniff. “Surely that old fool, Dumbledore, has been informed of where our Lord is being kept? Why hasn’t he reported it to us?!” The once beautiful Witch demanded angrily. Azkaban hadn’t done her looks nor her sanity any favors over the years.

“Severus can only contact us by owl. This place isn’t hooked up to the Floo network.” Rookwood reminded her. “His last owl stated that Dumbledore hadn’t returned to the castle for the last few days after the fall of the Statute of Secrecy.”

Despite the Death Eater’s hatred of Dumbledore, they’d all grown up in a time where Dumbledore was the most powerful, influential, and well-connected Wizard in Magical Britain and the ICW. They could barely consider a Magical Britain where Albus Dumbledore wasn’t informed of everything. Through Severus Snape, the Death Eaters knew much of what Dumbledore knew. Now, without the old Wizard sharing information with Snape, the Death Eaters found themselves floundering in their lack of intel. Without the Dark Lord, none of them would’ve ever risen up to attack their own homeland. The lack of one of their greatest enemies was now stymying their destructive actions.

The fact that Albus Dumbledore still didn’t actually know where Voldemort was being detained was never a thought that crossed their minds.

-Buckingham Palace ~ Three Days Later-

“This is annoying.” Harry muttered under his breath as he fidgeted slightly in his tailored dress robes. Much like his ones from the Yule Ball, they were styled to resemble a Muggle suit a bit more than traditional dress robes.

“I figured that you’d be thrilled to meet the Queen, Harry.” Sirius whispered to him with a grin.

“Sure, but I’m not the best at formal things…” Harry reminded his godfather. Give him his smithy and dirty work clothes and Harry was fine, happy even. Stick him in formal attire and put him in a situation requiring etiquette and formalized decorum and he was out of his depth.

The two Wizards had been walked through the palace under heavy escort after a thorough search of their persons, both physical and magical. Harry and Sirius had been scanned over by two witches, muggleborn most likely, in the direct employ of the Queen. As expected, nothing was being left to chance, not after Voldemort’s attack.

Seeing Queen Elizabeth II was a surreal experience for Harry. Being raised in the Non-Magical world, he’d grown up knowing about the Queen, the Royal Family, and the history of Britain. Meeting her in person though, it was different than he expected. Elizabeth II was a nice woman, giving off the feel of a grandmother, of which she was, of course, and Harry would’ve felt perfectly relaxed in her presence normally, he was sure.

Unfortunately, this meeting was not in any way normal. The two witches stood behind the Queen with a large security detail all around the room. Should Sirius or Harry make any move deemed hostile…well, the chances of them making it out of the room were very slim, to say the least.

Thankfully, the talk was peaceful enough. Queen Elizabeth wanted to know more of the truth of the Magical side of things, no longer feeling that she could trust what Cornelius Fudge had relayed to her Prime Minister. With Sirius there, they’d given as much history to the Queen (and the scribe in the room, along with the audio recorder that was recording their conversation onto tapes) as possible, starting from Sirius’s time in Hogwarts when Death Eaters had actively been an issue, all the way up to the attack by Voldemort and his conjured demon.

When it came to the issue of security, it had been in relation to Voldemort and protecting several key government locations as well as facilities from Magical intrusion or coercion. Harry had been more than happy to talk about further securing the facility currently holding Voldemort. But he did mention that he would need Penny’s help with it. They may not yet be able to set up a singular massive Anti-Magic Area. But they could easily make multiple smaller ones for the time being, leaving no spot for Magic to be used anywhere near where Voldemort was being held.

Walking the Queen through the steps of Artifice had taken a little time, but after Harry’s explanation, she was understanding of why he couldn’t use his Artifice to protect the locations that they spoke about. Having to literally rebuild them by hand, and only Harry’s hands, was not only unfeasible, it would take a ridiculous amount of time. So, Harry and Sirius had brought up the option of Warding to the Queen. The two witches of her security detail confirmed what Harry and Sirius spoke of in terms of wards, and would help locate an accomplished Warding Master to help set up protection for the locations that most needed it.

Harry had, of course, subtly suggested Penelope Clearwater for Warding matters. Sirius’s light chuckles told Harry that his teenage subtly hadn’t been very subtle. But it was an undeniable fact that Penny’s Anti-Magic Area was probably the greatest ward in defense against magic that had ever been created. If she had enough time to further research it, and develop a larger version over time, then what the Queen and government desired (spaces where magic force and coercion could not be exerted) would be a possibility.

The meeting ended a short time later. Sirius and Harry had been walked back out under the same heavy security escort again. Once they’d left the premises, Sirius had side-along apparated with Harry back to Wood End Cottage.

-Detention Facility ~ Voldemort’s Cell-

“POTTER!!!” Voldemort raged, trying to throw himself at the bars of the Anti-Magic cage upon seeing Harry. His red eyes glared hatefully at the Artificer from between the bars. The rifles of the four guards all being raised and trained on the Dark Lord reminded him of his lack of Horcruxes, though he obviously didn’t share that with anyone.

“Hello, Tom.” Harry greeted the deranged man by his birth name. That naturally got him a snarl in return. “Just here to recharge your cage and strengthen this cell and the facility around it against magic.” He explained like he was performing some routine task that was done on a set schedule. “Don’t want you going anywhere until your punishment has been carried out.”

“Punishment.” Voldemort hissed at him. “Lord Voldemort will not be punished by the likes of you!”

“Oh, not me.” Harry shook his head before pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “Them. The Non-Magicals that you attacked like the madman you are.”

“How dare!” Voldemort didn’t get to finish though.

“The prisoner will be silent or his compliance shall be forced.” The soldier in the back right corner spoke firmly, his rifle clearly pointed at Voldemort’s head.

Harry placed his wand on the bottom edge of the Anti-Magic cage and filled it with as much mana as the Runestones could hold. Now that they were full again, they should last at least two weeks, maybe a day or two longer, before needing to be recharged again. In silence Harry worked, attaching a wire of pure Zeclatite to the Anti-Magic Cage, before rolling out a spool of the stuff straight out of the door. The secured door locked shut with a loud sound behind him, but Harry just continued his work.

“Morning, Penny.” Harry smiled at his girlfriend who was setting up a larger Anti-Magic Area around the room that Voldemort was kept in. This was her latest, stable, size of the Anti-Magic Area that she was using.

“Good morning, Harry.” Penny returned the greeting with a grin.

The two were working in tandem to be able to further secure Voldemort in multiple layers of restrictions. The first layer obviously being the Mana Bane chains that were still wrapped around Voldemort himself. The second being the now recharged Anti-Magic Cage. The third layer was the Anti-Magic Area that Penny was setting up now. The wire that Harry had attached to the cage was going to be set up to a remote point in the security office so that they didn’t have to enter so deeply into the facility to recharge it. In fact, the witches that were in the employ of the Queen could come here to recharge it easily themselves, which would eliminate the need for Harry or anyone else not directly affiliated with the government to come to the facility.

Harry had already constructed the device the Zeclatite wire would be attached to so that mana could be transferred into the Anti-Magic Area and recharge the cage. A second wire to the Runestones of the Anti-Magic Area itself would be added as well, to make charging both arrays easy. Once the three layers were finished, Harry and Penny would oversee the hiding of the wire and the stones by the maintenance crew. The Runestones and the wire would be covered by steel and made to look like a normal part of the facility. The government wasn’t taking any chances that the fanatics known as the Death Eaters wouldn’t try and breach the facility if they learned about it.

-Potter Lands ~ The Next Day-

The rhythmic sound of stone being moved was heard as Harry worked. The slabs of granite he was using to form the perimeter of his work area would all need to be carved and etched with the proper Runic Sequences for his plan to work. He’d been out here since shortly after breakfast setting things up. The crack of Apparation caught his attention and Harry smiled as he saw Tonks coming to see him.

“Afternoon, love.” Harry greeted her as he stopped what he was doing.

“Wotcher, Harrikins.” Tonks teased him with a small smile. “The paper.” She handed him a copy of ‘The Times’ and Harry looked over the front page as he took it.

“Huh, that took a bit longer than I thought.” Harry mentioned as he read over the front page article. “Well, ‘The One Responsible’ is a decent title at least.” Harry commented on the large article that was all about Tom Marvolo Riddle, the self-named ‘Lord Voldemort’ and the sole cause of the attack on Britain. It included everything that the government had been able to get on the history of Tom Riddle. His age, childhood, when he’d disappeared from the Wizarding World’s eye for years, how he’d come back and started his ‘terrorist organization’ the Death Eaters, all the way up until his defeat, capture, and detainment. “I can tell they’re doing their best to ensure that everyone that reads this knows that Voldemort acted on his own and is a complete psychopath. Multiple mentions of how he violated the laws that ‘good’ and ‘normal’ witches and wizards live by.”

“They’re definitely trying to ease the tensions before anything bad happens.” Tonks agreed with a nod. The Auror was honestly surprised that nothing bad had already happened, or at least nothing bad in Britain. There were unconfirmed reports from other parts of the world about tensions boiling over here and there. “For once I think we can actually thank the Wizengamot and the average witch and wizard for being so slow to act or decide on things. The old ‘wait and see’ attitude is probably better than whatever they would have tried to say or do if they talked to the Non-Magical government as a whole.”

“Probably.” Harry couldn’t argue that the Wizengamot wouldn’t make the situation worse if they got to speak to the Non-Magical government. The group was chocked full of Purebloods that probably didn’t know or understand just how much the ‘Muggles’ had developed in the last century alone. “They’ve set a date for Voldemort to be tried for his crimes…” Harry mentioned after seeing the date near the end of the article.

“You and Penny might be called upon to secure the location if they don’t just do the whole trial in that cell that they’re keeping him in.” Tonks mused as Harry set the paper aside.

“I can only hope that they just do it in the cell.” Harry sighed as he sat down on one of the pieces of granite. “I’m a little busy right now.” He patted the large stone beside him, inviting Tonks to sit.

Tonks sat next to Harry with a smile. “Is our home coming along well?” She asked as they leaned against each other.

“Still setting up the perimeter.” Harry chuckled as he looked over the stones he’d already set up. “Once that’s done, I’ll have to make the stasis array so that I can build the whole structure by myself and make it an Artifact.”

“What Grade?” Tonks laughed as she looked at the almost completed perimeter of stones.

“Greater at least, but I might try for High Grade this time around.” Harry wrapped his arm around her waist. “Keeping our family safe is the most important thing in the world to me.”

“Love you too, Harry.” Tonks turned her head and captured his lips in a loving kiss. One that Harry was only too eager to return.

“I could probably take a quick break…” Harry mentioned, summoning a bottle of water to his hand from a small table set up a bit further away. He twisted the cap off and gulped down the cold water. “It’s been surprisingly warm the last few days.”

“It has, but I haven’t been able to enjoy it at all.” Tonks grumbled at not having a proper day off since this mess had started. She had half-days at best, but at least that was something.

Harry grinned and pulled her a little closer with the hand holding her waist. “Well…you’re off work right now… I’m here… You’re here… We’re all alone…”

“Down, Harry.” Tonks playfully swatted his chest with her left hand.

“Says the woman that’s currently making her tits bigger…” Harry pointed out the increase in Tonks’s bust size. “I do believe that my Nym is in the mood.” He snarked playfully, kissing her cheek.

“Oh no… You caught me.” Tonks captured his lips again with a smirk. “After all of this shit, I need some time to relax~”

“I can help with that.” Harry promised as he watched Tonks pull off her t-shirt, her large tits bouncing free since the Metamorphmagus hadn’t bothered with a bra.

“You better, Harrikins!” Tonks straddled him and buried his face into her massive mammaries. She knew what her lover liked! “Mmm~ Ah, fuck yes.” She moaned lowly as Harry’s experienced lips and tongue took her left nipple into his mouth and sucked on it. Her other large tit skillfully being teased and toyed with by one hand while her ass was groped by the other. “I think your break is going to last a long, long time, Harry.” She ran her fingers through his black hair to encourage him to suck on her breast more.

“I think I can live with that.” Harry pulled back to speak before resuming his actions on her tits. He also thrust his hips up, letting Tonks feel his hardness as it pressed against her.

Tonks eagerly ground against Harry with a pleased moan. “That’s exactly what I want, Harry.” She moved her hips in time with his, creating more wonderful friction.

It would surprise no one that Harry’s ‘break’ lasted until both he and Tonks were thoroughly satisfied.

Even though that meant that no further work got done that day.

-End Chapter-

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Well damn!

Voldemort is now triple secured in his cell! The Death Eaters are flailing impotently without the Dark Lord or Dumbledore around. Snape is basically useless without Dumbledore to feed him information after all. But the threat of the old Wizard is currently enough to stay the leaderless Death Eaters’ hands. How long will that last before one of them (Bellatrix) flies off the handle?

The Goblins are also plotting beneath Gringotts! They don’t like Wizards normally, and now with things greatly changing, Ragnok seems to think it’s time for another Rebellion! That might cause some issues in the future.

Harry’s little project that he’s been working out for the past year has been revealed!

An Artifact House! A home for the future Potter Family where they’ll be safe for generations and generations to come!

Quite the ‘wedding gift’ Harry has prepared even way before the wedding! Kek! The girls certainly appreciate the thought and care that their Harry shows them and their future family.

Tonks and Harry both got some ‘stress relief’ too! *wiggles eyebrows* I’m sure that Fleur and Penny might pout about that and want their own! Harry is a lucky young man! But damn…he sure isn’t going to get much work done for a while…lol.

Harry met the Queen! They discussed Voldemort’s history as well as Harry and Sirius know it. Then they talked security. Harry isn’t a Warder though, he’s an Artificer, unless you’ve got A LOT of time on your hands…he’s not the guy to help you with securing buildings against all potential Magical threats.

As for why I didn’t use dialogue for that meeting?

Because I wouldn’t dare to try and put words in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mouth. Not only is her passing still fairly recent, but as an American, I barely know what the Queen was like, having only seen her on TV and such a handful of times. It just didn’t seem right to try and do so, you know?

What happens next in the wake of the fall of the Statute of Secrecy?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 32,406

Tonks – 26,254

Penelope – 20,772

Fleur – 21,598

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 66: Construction, Trial, and Response

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Voldemort’s trial is now set and the time draws near for him to be sentenced by the Muggles that he despises so much. But what did he expect when he unleashed a massive demon upon England and took the lives of thousands of innocent people? Harry and Family, along with the rest of the Magical World, will have to watch as the interaction between the Magical and Non-Magical begins again, and in a not so great way. Regardless, people have to continue moving forward. Harry has construction to do for his Artifact House, while others continue their own work and plans.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 66 – Construction, Trial, and Response

“All the granite slabs are good.” Harry double-checked each one, just in case. “The work area is well within the boundaries of the array as well.” The Artificer nodded to the area where he’d build the Artifact House. “My new tools have come out well too.” He grinned as he looked over at his newly forged construction tools: sledgehammer, shovel, spade, chisel, and hammer. All forged and etched with runic sequences to make working with stone, soil, and masonry much easier. He’d gone to Diagon Alley to purchase other enchanted tools that already existed, like a magical measuring tape, a magical ladder that could change its height at his will, thick dragonhide gloves to protect his hands, and a few other supplies that he’d need for the project he was starting.

The granite slabs that Harry had erected and carved a series of runic sequences into were all set in a perfectly measured perimeter around the site. He’d done the Arithmancy three times, and then had both Fleur and Penny check it over as well. Harry was now sure that the placement couldn’t be any better. With all of the slabs set up, they linked together to form a massive version of his anvil’s stasis effect that was much more powerful. Where his anvil could maintain an in-progress Artifact’s stasis for twelve hours, this array could maintain it for seven days, so long as they were properly empowered. Harry could spare the mana to charge them every couple of days without issue, so that wasn’t a big deal for the Artificer.

“Alright, time to work!” Harry grinned as he used the Reducto Charm to start blasting out the last remnants of the old foundation. The scorched and half-melted slag that had been left behind became tiny fragments under Harry’s spells. All of the small pieces were then easily removed with a simple Levitation Charm and a wave of Harry’s hand. “Now let’s dig a nice deep hole for a solid foundation and basement.” He was getting excited as he finally got to bring this project to life after having been working on the plans for over a year now in his free time.

While the prodigious Artificer worked, the rest of the world was still having to cope with the fall of the Statute of Secrecy. Some places were handling it better than others, while many people wanted (or demanded) more information about the world that had been hidden from them for the last three centuries.

-MACUSA ~ United States-

“No, I can’t just blow off a meeting with the No-Maj President!” Ashton Hall, the current President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, stated plainly to the Head of the Department for No-Maj Misinformation. “The Statute is destroyed, Robert, we can’t do anything about it now. I’d rather make a good first impression on my counterpart than to risk open hostility.”

“But sir…” Robert worried over the mingling between the Magical and the No-Maj’s again. “We segregated ourselves for so long, and only in the last few decades have we slowly been easing some restrictions. Our people aren’t prepared to suddenly be exposed to the Non-Magical World.”

“I understand that, Robert, really, I do.” Ashton sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. “But it’s out of our hands now. We should do everything we can to make and keep amicable relations.” It would be better in the long run for the wizards and witches of the States to go along with peaceful coexistence as much as possible. “We don’t have to give them anything.” He looked Robert in the eye. “I will not hand over the names and addresses of every witch and wizard in America. Our people will be protected to the absolute best of the MACUSA’s ability to do so. However, the U.S. is massive and we can’t predict the reactions of the entire population. We don’t need another Salem to happen.” Ashton was firmly against the Witch Burnings coming back, as were all wizards and witches with half a brain.

“I’d also be concerned with Scourers becoming a thing again, sir.” Robert looked grave at the thought of wizards and witches basically hunting each other like they had in the turbulent times of the country’s beginning.

“We will not allow that.” Ashton stated firmly, his face a stone cold mask of seriousness. Some would forget that the current President was a well-decorated former-Auror, but anyone that knew Ashton Hall’s previous occupation also knew just how formidable of a Wizard he was.

“Mr. President?” A voice came through the office door after a polite knock.

“Come in, Marissa.” Ashton called out, recognizing the voice as the Head of the Office for Magic Relations and Education.

Marissa entered, a rather lovely witch with long, raven black hair and pale skin, with pretty gray-blue eyes. “I have the information you’ll need for your meeting with the No-Maj President, sir.” She walked across the office and placed a folder onto Ashton’s desk. “It was compiled from the Federal Bureau of Covert Vigilance and No-Maj Obliviation and the Surveillance Wizarding Resources Department, so we’re sure that we’ve got everything.”

“Are you the only Office Head available, Marissa?” Robert asked curiously, the MACUSA was indeed being run ragged trying to keep things from getting out of hand. The sudden fall of the Statute of Secrecy had made more than a few American wizards and witches worried, while others saw it as a free pass to do whatever they wanted.

“Unfortunately.” Marissa confirmed; she herself had been working on managing the new information and how it would affect the Education System for the students of Ilvermorny, as well as their relations abroad.

Ashton picked up the folder and flipped it open, he needed to memorize this information before his meeting later today. “President is Bill Clinton; his First Lady is Hillary Clinton. The Vice-President is Al Gore. They’re part of the Democratic Party… No outward hostility towards Magic has been shown yet…”

-Vatican City ~ Rome ~ Italy-

“Look at them all.” A woman spoke to another woman as they both watched the large crowd of people.

“So many wanting protection from us, and we haven’t done anything.” The second woman let out a sigh.

“Well, quite a few religions don’t take well to Magic.” The first witch mentioned as the crowd only grew larger over time.

“This won’t become some violent thing, I hope.” The other witch was vaguely aware of how far-reaching the Christian faith was. “They have millions and millions of faithful, right?”

“They do indeed.” The first witch confirmed. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the coming days, weeks, and months. Then all we can do is hope for the best.”

“I hope we don’t have to move.” The second witch grumbled out. “I’ve got a friend that’s really good at Warding; would you like me to contact him for you?”

“That would be nice, thank you.” The first witch smiled at her friend. “Can’t be too careful now that the Statute has fallen.”

The crowd below only continued to get larger as the two witches watched on.

-Beijing ~ China-

A large line of military vehicles moved through the street, a message playing over a loudspeaker on loop. It was a message to remain calm as the government dealt with the sudden exposure of Magic. The second half of the loop, however, was for anyone with knowledge or suspicion of Magic happening anywhere to report it.

“Quite worried, aren’t they?” An old man playing Xiangqi (similar to chess) with another old man commented.

“You aren’t?” His friend asked him as he looked over the board and contemplated his move.

The other old man shrugged. “Unless they’re going to cause us harm, I don’t see the issue.” He had a small grin when his friend made his move. “Imagine how helpful actual magic could be.” He moved one of his pieces and chuckled when his friend realized he’d walked into a trap.

“Hah… Should’ve moved the other one.” His old friend grimaced at the bad position that he was in now. “Not to scare you, but if you’re imagining the good that could be done with magic, you must also consider the harm that it could do.”

“True enough.” The old man agreed as his friend moved a piece on the board. “I suppose we can only wait and see, for now.” He made his move and captured one of his friend’s pieces, removing it from the board.

“The leaders are assuredly worried about their power and what magic could do to it.” The second old man mentioned as he moved a piece and captured the piece that had just taken one of his own. “Without knowing anything about magic, they can only fear it, I guess.”

“A fear that any leader or government has, indeed.” The first old man nodded, looking over the board for a long moment. “What moves are made now will more than likely determine the relationship that China and magic will have, going forward.”

“We have a long history with magic, if you believe the records and tales.” His friend chuckled, reaching for his tea and taking a sip.

-Trial of Tom Marvolo Riddle-

“With the danger that Tom Marvolo Riddle’s followers, known as the Death Eaters, pose, it has been decided that the man’s trial will take place in his secure holding facility. This marks the first trial under English Law that a wizard will face in just over three-hundred years.” A TV News anchor reported as the feed from inside the facility was shown on one side of the screen.

Inside the large room, the Anti-Magic cage still sat in the center of it, a group of people had set up a makeshift courtroom. Everything was being accounted for, this would be a proper trial, though not a single person believed that the verdict would be anything but guilty. The cameras that had been brought into the room were broadcasting the trial to the country at large. Many people that had lost family members to Voldemort’s rampage watched with rapt attention, some holding pictures of their lost family members.

“I doubt this will take long.” Harry mentioned as he watched the TV at Penny’s house with the entire family. Being Half-Bloods that didn’t care about blood purity, the Clearwater Family home wasn’t entirely magical, and therefore they could have electronics without issue.

The jury, the clerk of the court, the stenographer, and the barrister were present. As the judge entered the room, the clerk announced “All rise.” And everyone, barring the chained and caged Voldemort, did so. Once the judge was seated, everyone sat down as well.

From there the judge read off the list of charges against Voldemort, which took a bit of time and ranged from theft, to assault, to murder, to treason against the Crown. When asked how he pleaded, Voldemort only sneered at the judge, and then called him a ‘Filthy Muggle’, which was noted down and the trial began.

The evidence was, of course, overwhelming. Voldemort didn’t try to defend himself, merely glaring at the people that dared to think that they could judge him.

The barrister for the United Kingdom used the lack of defense as further evidence that not only did Tom Marvolo Riddle commit the crimes that he was accused of, he showed no remorse for doing so, and would clearly do so again if he was able.

When asked if he had anything to say for himself again. Voldemort merely glared and told the court at large that he’d kill them all.

The jury took almost no time to deliberate on the case.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle, you are hereby sentenced to death for the crimes that you have been accused of.” The judge declared and the vast majority of the audience throughout the United Kingdom all agreed.

This was the first time that the death penalty had been used in just over thirty years. There had been calls to abolish the death penalty for a long time in the United Kingdom, many believed that it would be abolished in the next few years, in fact. But it was currently late Nineteen-Ninety-Five, and capital punishment was still a legal punishment that could be handed down for crimes of this nature, especially with the number of charges against Voldemort.

-Death Eater Safehouse ~ The Next Day-

“NOOOO!!!” Bellatrix howled in rage and madness at seeing the headline on the Daily Prophet of Voldemort being sentenced to death by the muggle courts. “I’ll kill them all!”

“Bellatrix!” Rodolphus grabbed his wife by the arm when she attempted to rush to the front door. “We don’t even know where the Dark Lord is yet!”

“I’ll just burn down the Daily Prophet first!” Bellatrix cried out, her eyes alight with violence. “Then I’ll start killing the filthy Muggles until they free the Dark Lord!”

“How is that supposed to work?!” Travers demanded of the half-mad witch. “All you’re going to do is get us caught!”

“You coward!” Bellatrix screamed at Travers, reaching for her wand and only prevented from grabbing it by Rodolphus restraining her. “Our Lord is going to be killed by filthy Muggles and you’re too scared to help him!”

“I’m just not mad enough to think that throwing curses around is going to solve this!” Travers barked back, his own temper rising now.

BANG

The impending fight was stopped by a loud bang from Rookwood’s wand.

Everyone in the safehouse turned to look at the former Unspeakable as he put his wand away.

“I’ve found the general location of the Dark Lord.” Rookwood announced once he was sure that he had their attention. “Some Obscuration Magic is preventing me from pinpointing our Lord’s location, but through checking out the general area with Apparation, I’ve concluded that there is only one facility that it could be.”

“Where is it?!” Bellatrix forced her way out of her husband’s hold and nearly rushed to Rookwood.

“I’ll show you all.” Rookwood informed as he motioned for the rest of the Inner Circle to follow him.

The group entered the room that had become Rookwood’s research area. On the table in the middle of the room was a huge map of the United Kingdom. A few odd devices were around the large map, all of them pointing to roughly the same spot on the map, though each was off from any of the others by a small amount.

Rookwood pointed at the spot on the map. “The Dark Lord is here. After checking the location, I discovered that a single facility is in this general area. That is where they’re holding him. It has a heavy presence of soldiers though, so we’ll need to plan carefully to get in, free the Dark Lord, and then get out.”

“Plan? They’re just filthy Muggles! We can kill them all and offer their heads to the Dark Lord when we free him!” Bellatrix scoffed at the idea of planning for mere Muggles.

“Listen to him, Lestrange.” Thorfinn Rowle looked at Bellatrix with an annoyed sneer.

Not seeing anyone on her side, at least none openly, Bellatrix had little choice but to agree to a plan for the assault on the facility.

-The Next Night ~ Secure Facility-

Unseen figures glided just above the ground, heading towards the facility. Both they and the brooms they rode were under Disillusionment Charms, making them invisible in the dark of night. They silently flew over the large wall topped with razor wire, and then glided down to the nearest entrance.

“Imperio.” Two voices whispered and both guards went slack as the spells cast on them took hold.

“Open the doors and lead us to the Wizard.” Rookwood instructed first, followed by Rabastan echoing his words to the soldier that he held under the Imperius Curse.

The two soldiers did so, opening the doors and walking into the facility with the invisible wizards (and one witch) following them with silenced feet. What the Magicals didn’t know, however, was that this behavior from the two soldiers was already HIGHLY abnormal. The CCTV cameras throughout the hallway they were walking through recorded everything.

-Control Room-

“We’ve got two soldiers, Wilkins and Miller, leaving their posts and walking through the facility.” One of the people in the control room informed the rest.

“Magical influence?” Another questioned quickly, already flipping open a small binder with procedures for just such things inside.

“Most likely.” The first man nodded.

“Keep track of them, have the soldiers guarding the door to Riddle’s room retreat into the room, leave the door unlatched.” The second man read off the procedure, though it was clear he thought it was odd.

“Copy that.” The other man confirmed and contacted the two soldiers standing guard outside of the room.

-Corridor to Voldemort’s Cell-

“Is that the door?” Rookwood demanded of the soldier under his Imperius Curse.

“Yes.” The man answered absently.

“How many guards are inside?” Rookwood questioned again.

“Four.” The soldier replied.

“Where are they?” Rookwood wanted a bit more information. They’d need to go in with Protego Charms at the ready to block the Muggle weapons.

“In each corner.” The Imperiused man’s vacant look never wavered as he answered.

“You heard him. Protego Charms up as soon as we enter, then kill the Muggles.” Rookwood instructed the Inner Circle.

“What about these two?” Rabastan mentioned to the soldier that he currently held under the Imperius Curse.

“Leave them outside for now, we’ll use them as hostages on the way out if necessary.” Rookwood came up with a quick plan. “They’ll at least be of some middling use as shields.” He mocked the two men, seeing them as nothing more than Muggles, which put them barely above animals in the eyes of the Death Eaters.

Not a single Death Eater questioned that plan. Nor did a single one of them even think that it was odd how easy they’d gained access to the facility. Their disdain for Muggles led them to simply accept that there was nothing these men could do to stop them. So overconfident in their Magic, they failed to even consider that this could be a trap. As far as they were aware, the only reason that their Lord was even able to be held here was because of whatever Harry Potter had done to him. As soon as they freed him, the Dark Lord would be able to do away with whatever the boy had done to him; then he’d be the powerful Wizard that they all followed once more.

The unlatched door was thrown open wide as the Inner Circle charged into the room.

“Protego!” Four of them cast the Shield Charm to stop the annoying Muggle weapons from hitting them.

But the Charms failed.

Nary a wisp of Magic came from the raised wands, much to the wide-eyed shock of the eight Magicals.

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang

A hail of automatic rifle fire tore through the stunned and defenseless Death Eaters.

Blood flew and wands fell to the ground. All the while a gagged Voldemort could do nothing but watch his Inner Circle die. The radios on the soldiers’ vests had alerted them well in advance of the arrival of his Death Eaters. The six soldiers, counting the two guards that had entered the room when the call had come in from the Control Room, were quick to gag Voldemort to prevent him from trying to warn his people. The eight Inner Circle Members that had been sent to Azkaban rather than plea for deals or mercy, showing the greatest loyalty to Voldemort out of all others, were gunned down right in front of the helpless Dark Lord.

It was at that moment that a cold fear settled in Tom Marvolo Riddle.

The ice cold fear that came along with a sudden surety that he was going to die, and that no one was coming to get him out of this place.

“Infiltrators neutralized.” One of the soldiers spoke into his radio.

“Copy that.” The Control Room replied a moment later. “Check on Wilkins and Miller, we think it was the…Imperius Curse?” The man in the Control Room seemed unsure if he was saying it right, but he continued on. “That was used on them. It may or may not be in effect still, so be cautious.”

“Copy.” The soldier confirmed as the two soldiers that had been guarding the door earlier slowly exited and got their colleagues’ attention.

This attempted breakout of Voldemort proved two things. The first was the effectiveness of Penelope Clearwater’s Anti-Magic Area. The second was that, just as Harry Potter and Sirius Black had stated, the Death Eaters would come, and they’d completely underestimate the Non-Magical, making it easy to lure them into the Anti-Magic Area.

-Stinchcombe ~ The Next Day-

“Hup!” Harry packed down the dirt in the massive rectangular hole that he’d dug in the ground. His forged and rune-inscribed sledgehammer easily compressed the dirt and smoothed it out into a sheer wall, just as he’d designed it to do. “Just a bit more of this and we’ll be ready to start working the stone into the foundation.” He wiped his brow and pulled back for another swing.

Once the stonework that made up the foundation was done, he’d inscribe it with the base of the runic array that he’d worked out for the Artifact House. He was planning to use all of his skills and knowledge on this project. He’d use the best material that he could transmute, the most magical and best quality wood, and even have the masonry be part of the overall Artifact, similar to how the Dwarves inlaid their own Runes into the walls of their mountain halls.

“Harry!” Sirius suddenly yelling down to him startled the Artificer, making him lose grip on his sledgehammer. The enchanted item hit the wall, compacting and smoothing it out, and then fell to the ground.

“Sirius! You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!” Harry yelled up at his godfather.

“Sorry, but we ended up being right!” Sirius called down to him. “The remaining Death Eaters tried to break Voldemort out of the facility last night!”

“Tried? That means they failed, right?” Harry questioned, hoping that Voldemort hadn’t somehow gotten loose. Hell, he’d tried to prevent that by making sure that the Anti-Magic cage didn’t have a door!

“They failed, thankfully.” Sirius confirmed with a nod. “The eight Death Eaters are dead. That should be all of the Inner Circle, outside of a few that’re suspected, but pleaded ‘Imperius’ back in the day.”

“Are they still letting them run around?!” Harry nearly yelled up at Sirius. That was beyond stupid!

“The one’s remaining are Yaxley and Macnair, both who work for the Ministry.” Sirius informed his godson. “But since the Statute of Secrecy has fallen, a lot of things have been shoved aside to try and deal with that.”

“You’d think Death Eaters wandering free would be something that the Ministry would want to correct.” Harry stepped onto the magical ladder and had it increase its height, slowly lifting him upwards towards the top of his huge hole. “Then again, this is the same Ministry that let them off with that flimsy Imperius excuse in the first place.”

“I wish we could get Snivellus in front of the Wizengamot again, without Dumbledore vouching for him this time.” Sirius held his hand out to Harry and helped him out of the hole.

“I don’t see Dumbledore letting that happen.” Harry sighed as he wandlessly summoned a bottle of water to his hand and took a drink.

“Unfortunately.” Sirius grimaced a bit, knowing for sure that Snape had done the same things as the other Death Eaters, and only got cold feet when Lily had been targeted.

“Are we needed for anything?” Harry questioned, getting back on the topic of the attempted rescue of Voldemort.

“I think Penny is going to get a lot more commission work soon, since her Anti-Magic Area worked so perfectly. But we don’t directly have to do anything, at least not yet.” Sirius chuckled. “I just wanted to make sure that you knew about what happened, since you’re leaving the house before the Prophet arrives in the mornings nowadays.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” Harry nodded to his godfather and took another drink of water. “As long as Voldemort is still locked up, then I’m satisfied for now.”

“They haven’t set a date for his execution.” Sirius picked up on Harry’s ‘for now’ line and knew what his godson was hinting at. “But after this attempt to free him, they’re definitely not going to wait very long. I’m sure we’ll be informed whenever they decide to put the rabid bastard down.”

“I’ll just be happy to NOT have some Dark Lord after my life.” Harry stretched a bit, feeling some small pops. “I can focus on my future without having to worry about that at least.”

“Just have to worry about the new mixing of Magical and Non-Magical that’s going to be happening from now on.” Sirius patted Harry’s shoulder. “But we’ll face that together as a family.”

“Absolutely.” Harry smiled as he and Sirius looked at the progress that had been made so far in rebuilding the Potter Family home. “As a family.”

Sirius and Harry were quiet for a moment.

“So… How much would an Artifact House cost for me and Marlie?” Sirius asked, not looking at Harry.

“One-hundred-thousand Galleons.” Harry answered back simply.

“I’m your favorite godfather!” Sirius looked at Harry in faux shock.

“Two-hundred-thousand Galleons!” Harry increased the price with a laugh.

“Oi!” Sirius pulled Harry into a headlock playfully.

Regardless of what the future held; their family would be together to face it head-on.

-End Chapter-

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Do NOT pass ‘Go’! Do not collect two-hundred dollars!

The Inner Circle spent their entire lives looking down on Muggles. Underestimating them and not suspecting them of being capable of setting a trap is not only reasonable, it’s kinda expected.

Too bad that ended up being their undoing!

Now Voldemort is all alone in the world. No Horcruxes, no Inner Circle, and the only remaining Death Eaters are his two Ministry plants that can’t do much since they’re under the eyes of the Ministry at almost all times.

The clock is ticking down on Tom Marvolo Riddle now.

Changes are starting to happen in the wider world as well. Across the globe governments are mobilizing, whether it’s in peaceful ways to get to know their Magical neighbors, or in hostile ways to find them and do who knows what.

There’s also still the secret group that has their own plan too.

What’s next in a world without the Statute of Secrecy?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 32,406

Tonks – 26,254

Penelope – 20,772

Fleur – 21,598

No change after just a few days…but wait until Harry finishes the Artifact house! Kek!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 67: Work, Time, and Ends

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Work, work, work! Busy, busy, busy! Harry continues his work on his Artifact House, slowly building it up into what he desires. The proven success of her Anti-Magic Area sees Penny being nearly deluged by commission offers from various places, most of them from Non-Magical governments that need to secure their own safety against Magic. And as time passes, certain events take place and then become history.

Check out this story's TVTropes Page: Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 67 – Work, Time, and Ends

Harry smiled as he worked on a massive Alchemy array. His progress on the Artifact House couldn’t continue until he succeeded in this particular transmutation. He could use a lesser material, something that he’d already proven successful at transmuting, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good.

“As long as the array is good, and the materials are of proper quality, this should work.” Harry mused as he finished another symbol on the circular array. Dragon Bone chalk was his medium for drawing the array. He’d already worked out the formula for the material he wanted, and had found a very interesting idea to use as a work around for the standard practice that saw so many fail in this particular transmutation.

As the sun made its way across the sky, Harry continued to draw the vast array needed for his goal.

He wasn’t the only one working though.

-London, England-

Penelope Clearwater could only smile as she spoke with various heads of government branches (and their individual heads of security). Her Anti-Magic Area ward had proven its effectiveness by stopping the Inner Circle Death Eaters from freeing Voldemort from custody. This had quickly prompted the government of the United Kingdom to increase their support for her research into making a larger version of her ward, as well as getting as many of them set up in key areas as possible. With the nearly bottomless wallet of one of the leading nations in the world, Penny wouldn’t have any issues securing research materials and trying out new configurations in her efforts to better the Anti-Magic Area. The fact that her request for funding of ‘other research’ was not only accepted, but clearly encouraged, was just the cherry on top of today.

“I must admit to being curious about your other lines of research, Miss Clearwater.” One of the government officials looked curious, but in an eager way.

“I’m interested in a few areas at the moment; but one of the first I’d like to focus on is communication.” Penny thought about how Harry had to put his idea for the Communication Mirrors on hold while dealing with the Voldemort situation. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to surprise him with a breakthrough when he’s able to return to it?’ She had a small smile on her lips at the idea.

“Have you looked into communications technology?” The man asked with a small chuckle. “I’m sure at least some of it could be the basis for an idea or two.”

“I had considered it.” Penny nodded to the man’s suggestion. “Having roots in both the Magical and Non-Magical worlds; I’m familiar with things like the telephone and the internet is a fascinating concept.” The idea of being able to compile the vast knowledge of the entire Magical World from all branches of Magical study made a scholar like Penny nearly giggle from giddiness.

-France-

Across the Channel, in France, Fleur was also having her own meeting…though it was more like an interview.

France hadn’t devolved straight into violence, and the French Ministry wanted to keep it that way. So, in the spirit of sharing information and being open with their Non-Magical neighbors, a large group of witches and wizards that were experts in certain fields had been gathered for interviews with most of France’s most widespread and popular news outlets.

Fleur was just thankful that her interviewer was female.

“Veela have an entire history all their own, Miss Delacour?” The woman asked, not having expected to meet a non-human today.

“Indeed we do.” Fleur replied amiably to the question. “It is filled with both good and bad; with high points for our people, as well as low points, just like any other race.”

“Forgive me, but you look human, is that the same with other Magical Races?” The reporter questioned curiously.

“Some, but not all.” Fleur shook her head, her silvery-blonde hair swaying from the motion. “Veela are entirely female, so we need to seek husbands from among the wizards of the world.” Seeing the woman writing down her response even as the camera rolled to record the interview, Fleur let out a melodious laugh for a moment. “And yes, that slight attraction that you feel is normal around Veela.”

Both the woman interviewing Fleur and the cameraman behind the large camera started a little, the cameraman almost flinching back at Fleur’s words.

“How?” The woman blinked; her face just slightly flushed.

“Veela possess a unique trait that we call ‘Allure’ which enhances our physical beauty on a magical level.” Fleur smiled at the woman and then at the camera. It was a gentle and warm look, conveying her amusement and understanding. “Those who don’t keep control of their more…base…thoughts and desires can become caught up in the Allure and end up stumbling over their words, or even just staring at a Veela, slack jawed.”

The interviewer wrote down Fleur’s words in her notebook. “It’s not some kind of mind control, is it?” She half-joked with the Veela Witch.

“Not at all.” Fleur shook her head, briefly looking annoyed. “Though several such rumors have been spread about Veela in the past claiming so. The Allure only enhances what we already have, the loss of inhibition or self-control is entirely up to the person in question. We cannot command them to do anything, and most Veela intentionally seek out a husband that can resist or is mostly unaffected by the Allure.” She tilted her head just slightly and gave the reporter a knowing look. “I’m sure you can understand why.”

“Not very good for conversation if they’re drooling on themselves.” The other woman agreed with a laugh, making Fleur giggle as well. “Not to pry, but have you done the same, Miss Delacour?”

Fleur’s smile became warm and loving, a beauty far beyond the physical revealed to the reporter and the cameraman as the Veela spoke. “Yes, my boyfriend is entirely immune to the Allure. His wit and charm drew me to him years ago and we’ve been incredibly happy together.”

The other woman smiled reflexively at Fleur’s words and happy smile. “I don’t suppose we could get a demonstration of Veela Magic?” She moved the interview along, not wanting to make it about Fleur’s love life.

“I could be convinced.” Fleur played along, letting her Veela fire snap to life in her upturned palm.

-London-

Back in London, Tonks, along with a few other Aurors, were going over the topic of spells with the Muggle law enforcement.

“Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, Curses…” One police officer listed off. “The differences don’t seem very clear to me.”

“I’ll go over it simply.” Tonks decided to field the question, given that Scrimgeour looked exasperated to have to try and explain what, to him, was such a simple concept. “Charms are spells that alter an object’s inherent qualities, like its behavior or capabilities. For example, we could make a boulder weigh next to nothing, or make a feather simply float around the room.” Seeing nods of understanding from various officers, as well as them taking notes on her simplified explanation, Tonks continued. “Jinxes are minor dark magic. These spells have effects that are irritating but mostly just amusing and of minor inconvenience to the target. They’re basically magical versions of pranks you’d play back in school.”

Scrimgeour and Proudfoot, both Senior Aurors, looked confused as they chatted quietly.

“Isn’t that what I said earlier?” Scrimgeour questioned the other wizard.

Proudfoot shook his head. “Not really. You gave the textbook description of the different types of spells. Tonks is just putting it into simpler terms, so it’s easier for the Muggles to understand.”

Tonks had never considered herself much of a teacher, but seeing the police officers taking notes and gaining looks of understanding, the Metamorphmagus continued on. “A Hex is the next level up from a Jinx. These spells consistently affect the object or person in a negative manner and cause major inconvenience to the target. This is the level of spell that we usually start at when it comes to enforcement. Casting a hex on someone can see the wizard or witch in question paying a fine, being arrested and detained, or a combination of both, depending on the severity of the hex and how many people they cast it on.”

A raised hand caught Tonks’s attention and she pointed at the woman.

“Are we going to see examples of these various types of Magic today?” The woman asked. “It would help us to understand if we could see the differences in these levels, I believe.”

“We could do that…” Tonks looked over at Proudfoot and Scrimgeour. “Nothing dangerous, of course, but just a few simple examples.”

“Aye, we can do that, Tonks.” Proudfoot readily agreed if it would keep this ‘class’ rolling along smoothly.

“Great.” Tonks nodded to the man. “The highest level of dark magic, as it’s classified, are the Curses. These types of spells are the worst kind of dark magic and are intended to affect the target in a strongly negative manner. Most combat magic is rooted in the use of at least a few curses; but the levels of harm done by them can vary widely. There are only three, known as the Unforgivable Curses, that are an immediate life sentence to anyone caught using them on another person.” She saw every single officer giving their full and undivided attention now. “The three Unforgivables are the Imperius Curse, which lets the caster control the victim’s mind; the Cruciatus Curse, also known as the Torture Curse, that causes indescribable pain and agony upon the victim; and finally, The Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra; which kills anyone hit by it immediately.”

“How does it kill them?” One officer near the front asked.

“Instantly.” Tonks answered with a severe look on her face, her hair changing to a dark blue. “There’s no sound, no pain, no wound or injury. They’re just alive one moment and dead the next.”

“Can they be resuscitated?” A different officer questioned, looking mildly repulsed by the idea of the Killing Curse.

“No one has ever been successfully revived from the Killing Curse, no.” Tonks shook her head. It was why Harry surviving as an infant had been so astounding. No one that was hit by the Killing Curse lived; that had been a simple fact of life, until Halloween of Eighty-One, at least. “As I said, the victim is alive one second and then gone the next.”

The gathered officers all looked grim at the information, but it was clear why these three curses had been dubbed unforgivable.

“Now, we can move to the demonstrations, if you’d like?” Tonks’s hair changed to its normal pink, once more surprising the police officers. “Proudfoot, come over here, please.” She motioned the Senior Auror over.

“I’m coming.” Proudfoot headed over at a light jog.

“Impedimenta!” Tonks cast without her wand and Proudfoot squawked as his body slowed to a crawl.

The various officers all blinked at seeing Proudfoot moving in slow motion.

“That is the Impediment Jinx,” Tonks chuckled as Proudfoot looked at her unamused. “As its name states, it slows the target’s momentum.” She waved her hand and undid the jinx easily. “It’s more of an annoyance than anything; and it’s a favorite schoolyard jinx.”

“Densaugeo!” Proudfoot cast without warning, his wand appearing in his hand with just a quick motion of his wrist.

“Grk!” Tonks opened her mouth as her front teeth both grew rapidly in length. The two elongated teeth tapped the floor before Tonks broke the hex wandlessly.

“The Teeth-Lengthening Hex; as you can see it’s rather cumbersome and can harm the victim if they don’t open their mouth fast enough.” Proudfoot explained to the police officers, pointedly ignoring the glare that Tonks sent him while she shrunk her teeth back to normal with her Metamorphmagus ability.

“Petrificus Totalus.” Tonks pointed at Proudfoot. The police officers watched as the Senior Auror went ramrod straight, his arms snapping to his sides, and then fell over with a thump onto the floor. Tonks stood over him with a small little smirk for a second before turning to the officers. “The Full-Body Bind, a fairly harmless curse on its own, but I don’t think I need to explain how bad it can be to suddenly be completely restrained with no way to free yourself.”

“What the hell?” A female officer breathed out upon seeing a curse for the first time. “Complete restraint is a simple spell?”

“Yes,” Tonks confirmed for the woman. “A First Year student at Hogwarts could learn this curse if they tried.”

“Tonks, release Proudfoot.” Scrimgeour rubbed his temples, knowing this demonstration of Magic was necessary, but not wanting it to become the two Aurors just getting back at each other over and over again.

-Potter Lands ~ Stinchcombe-

Harry looked over his second Alchemy Circle one last time for any errors or breaks in the lines. This second circle was vital to the success of the first if he wanted to properly transmute his most desired material on the first try. Not seeing any errors or breaks, Harry carefully stood in the center of the circle and kneeled down. “This is going to sting a bit.” He mumbled to himself as he cut his hand with a wandless Cutting Charm. With a hiss of pain, Harry let his blood fall onto a pile of Dragon Bone chalk at the center of the array. He would need a lot of blood for what he was about to transmute, but it was the best way he’d come up with to guarantee success in his primary transmutation.

When the Dragon Bone chalk was pink from the amount of Harry’s blood that had covered it, Harry set to work. He molded the wet chalk dust like sand, shaping it into a simple ball. The pink ball was then left in the exact center of the transmutation circle as Harry carefully stepped out of the array, making sure not to disturb anything.

“Okay, here goes nothing.” Harry easily healed his hand with a wandless Episkey, and then kneeled down and placed his hands on the very edge of the transmutation circle, only letting the very tips of his fingers touch the outermost circle.

The chalk lines lit up as Harry poured his considerable mana into the array. The blue light became brighter and brighter as sparks of magical energy leapt from the lines and towards the ball of blood and chalk in the center. Loud crackles of discharge filled the air as the material was broken down and reconstructed to its very base elements, both physical and magical. As the transmutation continued, the acrid smell of burning blood was in the air for a moment. After it vanished, the air was still as the magical discharge stopped and the light faded away from the transmutation circle.

Harry stood up and looked over the array. The once white chalk was now burnt black, meaning the transmutation circle would have to be remade if Harry needed to do this a second time. He stepped over the lines and into the center of the circle, kneeling down to examine his transmuted material. “Well, it looks right at least.” Harry picked up the blood red stone from the ground. Looking it over for any cracks or deformations, he was happy to find that it was a perfect sphere without any blemishes. “I’ve made a red rock.” The Artificer chuckled to himself, knowing that it didn’t look impressive at all. Harry poured some of his mana into the stone and watched it glow a brilliant crimson, the small amount of energy he’d put into it magnified a great deal, but only because it was his Magic. This stone wouldn’t react like this for anyone else. “Hemotite transmutation was successful!” Harry cheered, raising the red rock into the air above his head.

Hemotite, or Blood Stone as it was more commonly known, was an alchemical mineral created from the Alchemist’s own blood and magic. It was basically the closest thing to a magical battery that an Alchemist could create. Within the seemingly innocuous red rock was a large amount of pure mana, the Magic having been separated from the blood via the transmutation process. The rock itself was a mixture of blood and the Dragon Bone chalk, used as a vessel to store the pure mana.

“Now, we just have to add you to the main circle.” Harry smiled at the Hemotite, already heading over to the much larger transmutation circle a safe distance away from the one that he’d just used.

Harry was extra careful to make his way towards the center of the array. He’d already ensured that everything was perfect, three times, in fact. Now, he just needed to make sure all of the materials were ready. He placed the Hemotite on top of the large ingot of tungsten, making sure that it wouldn’t roll off for any reason. He checked over the other four ingots; one of copper, one of gold, one of silver, and one of iron, all of them equally as large as the tungsten ingot.

“It pays to have Dwarven sworn brothers.” Harry chuckled as he looked at the pure ingots. The metals were all as pure as they could be made via Dwarven Magic and Technique. These quality ingots would serve as the base material for what Harry was going to transmute. Carefully making his way back out of the sprawling array, Harry did one last check over the entire transmutation circle to ensure that nothing had gone wrong. “Alright,” He took a calming breath. “Go.” He placed his hands on the very edge of the transmutation circle and filled it with his mana.

The lines lit up as his mana filled them. Small sparks of magical discharge appeared as the air within the circle swirled around and was then shunted out in a strong breeze. The sparks became bright white-blue bolts, like lightning, as they arced across the array. The magical energy was funneled into the center of the array, the bolts becoming more akin to beams of light as they were all drawn into the center of the circle. The ingots of tungsten, copper, silver, gold, and iron all glowed the same blue-white color, while the Hemotite shone with a brilliant red light. The materials began to meld together, being drawn into the same space as they were broken down and combined. The reconstruction of the materials into the new form came together, the same size and mass of all the ingots that made it up. The crimson glow of the Hemotite was still seen, even amongst all of the blue-white. It became the center of the mass as it formed and the entire material suddenly shined with a purple light that was almost painful to look at. Without warning, all of the mana within the array was sucked into the purple glowing mass in the center.

“Whoa…” Harry blinked as smoke rose off the burnt out chalk lines. The chalk was black and gray now, smoldering from the intensity of the transmutation. In the center of the now destroyed transmutation circle was a large glowing cube of metal. The purple glow of magic suffused the material and gave off a strange feeling to Harry. “Did it work?” He walked towards the cube and was able to make out its color as the purple glow slowly faded away.

The cube, once the residual magic wore off, was an almost ethereal golden color. Waves of color seemed to exist within the gold, moving about like water within the metal. One might think that if they split the metal, the colors would come pouring out. But they’d be wrong. Every fragment of this cube, should it be broken, would have the same strange effect when looked at. It filled the air around it with a feeling that was hard to describe. As if the cube could react in thousands of ways to the slightest stimulation. It was a feeling that could only be called possibility.

“What would you expect from such a magically powerful metal?” Harry smiled widely as he gently placed his hand on top of the gold-colored cube, seeing the waves of color beneath the golden hue move away from his palm for a second, only to come back in the next instant. “Just one last test.” Harry poured just a tiny fraction of his mana into the cube, briefly linking himself to the magical metal.

He could hear color.

He could taste sound.

He could touch fragrance.

He could see flavor.

He could smell sensation.

Synesthesia.

Harry removed his hand from the cube, letting his senses return to normal after a second or two. He shook his head and watched the colors within the golden-hued metal move about for a moment. “I did it…” Harry laughed loudly in joy. “It’s real Orichalcum!”

The Artificer celebrated, even alone, just from successfully making one of the most complex and hard to create Alchemical Metals. This wasn’t any of the failed Orichalcum that one might find on the open market. This was pure and complete Orichalcum! Its magical conductivity and resilience were second to none, making it perfect as a material for Artifice!

“I’m so glad the Hemotite worked out.” Harry sat down on the ground, just admiring his large cube of Orichalcum.

There was a plethora of limiting factors when it came to successfully transmuting Orichalcum. The purity of the metal ingots was a large one. Too many trace amounts of other materials within the five specific metals and the transmutation would fail. The second hurdle was the massive array that was required to transmute Orichalcum. Any mistake in the expansive transmutation circle and the Orichalcum would fail, either not forming or coming out warped and striated. Finally, the last ingredient was often the make or break point for most Alchemists. For Orichalcum to properly form as the incredibly magical metal that it was, it needed a final ingredient that was especially powerful as well, but that also wouldn’t throw off the balance of the other materials. Most Alchemists used dragon bones, heaps of them, to impart the required amount of Magic into the transmutation. But that had a fairly high failure rate, as the amount of material could easily become out of sync with the metal ingots.

“I bet Flamel uses a Rubedo Stone, or something similar, as the final ingredient whenever he transmutes Orichalcum.” Harry chuckled to himself, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. “Hemotite is just a ton of mana in a transmuted shell, for all intents and purposes; though I understand why most Alchemists wouldn’t be able to use it.”

If the average Mana Level of witches and wizards in the United Kingdom was roughly 3,000 by the Scouter or Test Frame readings, then Hemotite made by an Alchemist with that much mana wouldn’t come close to what was required to supply Orichalcum’s transmutation. Harry, however, was more than an outlier when it came to Mana Level. With over 32,000 mana, so far, he completely eclipsed the average wizard or witch ten times over. Hemotite that he made could easily supply the core of Magic for Orichalcum to properly transmute and form perfectly.

“Well now, my shiny golden friend…” Harry looked over at the Orichalcum cube with a bright laugh. “I hope you’re ready to become the core of my Artifact House.” With a grin, Harry levitated the cube of magical metal and took it over towards the foundation that he’d made in the bottom of the large rectangular pit.

-Facility ~ Voldemort’s Holding Chamber-

Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, born Tom Marvolo Riddle, was scared.

He’d been roughly blindfolded through the bars of the thrice damned cage that Harry Potter had stuck him in. Then restraints had been used to pull him upright, preventing him from slouching forward at all. He’d then heard the boots of at least a dozen soldiers entering the room. He heard the sound of firearms being readied and knew what was about to happen.

“Aim.” The flat voice came from off to the side of the large room. It was a voice filled with resolution to carry out an assigned task. There was no coldness nor anger in it at all. But that only terrified Voldemort all the more.

Having been sentenced to death, the courts had debated on the method of execution for Voldemort. The Anti-Magic Cage had no door, and there were concerns about letting the man out for something like hanging, lethal injection, beheading, or another form of execution. Eventually, what had been decided on was a form of military execution: the firing squad.

“Do you have any last words?” The flat voice asked Voldemort.

“Curse you, Harry Potter.” Voldemort bit out as harshly as he could through his fear.

“Fire.” The voice was quickly drowned out by the shots fired from the soldiers simultaneously.

Voldemort’s enhanced Homunculus body was violently rocked by the bullets from the service rifles. Nine rounds had pierced his torso, one had passed through his neck, and the final two had gone through his head. The corpse slumped over a bit in the restraints that kept Voldemort upright.

“Checking vitals.” The Commanding Officer announced as he moved forward and checked Voldemort’s pulse. It was kind of redundant, given that two rounds had gone through the dead wizard’s head…but it was supposed to be done and the Commanding Officer would follow procedure. “No pulse detected.”

With Voldemort’s execution carried out, the body would be burned to ashes just to be safe. The soldiers and everyone else involved in this process had been reminded, time and time again, not to take ANY chances with this wizard in particular.

The headline on newspapers across the United Kingdom tomorrow would be about Voldemort’s execution for his attack on the country.

This would bring great relief to many, closure to those that had lost friends and family to the mad man, and would help ease tensions between the Magical and Non-Magical as a criminal wizard was held to the same laws and punishments as the common man. His passing would be celebrated by many, both Muggle and Magical alike.

Harry Potter’s reaction would be sought by the Daily Prophet, but with Sirius stonewalling them and Harry nowhere to be found, it would be a news story that no one would get.

And just like that, another page turned in the book of history, leaving the Dark Lord Voldemort firmly in the past.

-End Chapter-

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Harry takes another step forward as an Artificer (and technically as an Alchemist) by successfully transmuting Orichalcum! Now he plans to use it as the core of his Artifact House! I’m sure that’ll make for a rather powerful Artifact when Harry is done!

Penny is getting research funding and wants to help Harry with the Communication Mirror project that had to be put on hold because of Voldemort! She’s so sweet!

Fleur is being interviewed and explains a bit about Veela to the Non-Magical. Which makes sense, given that any interaction with Goblins, Dwarves, Veela, Centaurs, etc. was all removed from the memory of the Non-Magicals when the Statute of Secrecy went into effect. Therefore, this is the first time in living memory that any Non-Magical has spoken to a sapient non-Human species.

Tonks, as an Auror, is helping the Non-Magical police get some understanding of spells and their levels. What is and isn’t a crime by Magical standards, and other such need-to-know information. If the two sides are coming back together, then everyone has to be under the same laws if you don’t want tension to build and eventually erupt into something more.

Now Voldemort is dead and gone, that page of history has turned, leaving the Dark Lord in the past where he belongs.

Can Harry and Family finally live their lives now that no one is after Harry’s life?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 33,138

Tonks – 26,312

Penelope – 20,824

Fleur – 21,646

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 68: Core, Friends, and Stirrings

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time moves on, as it does, and the world at large continues to slowly try to once more integrate the Magical and Non-Magical back together. In some places this is working well enough, in others…not as well. Harry continues to work on the Artifact House, but even a prodigious Artificer needs to take a break every now and then, right? Meanwhile, those that have been planning for a long time have to adjust a bit to ensure that their own plans can continue when the time is right.

Chapters 69 and 70 are Already Available if you want to check out my Fanfiction.net page (same name as here) to find out how to access them!

Check out this story's TVTropes Page to: Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 68 – Core, Friends, and Stirrings

The rhythmic sound of metal tapping on stone filled the air within the large hole that Harry Potter had dug on his family’s ancestral lands. The Artificer was working to create a stable base around his cube of Orichalcum, from which the powerful material would connect to every other part of the house through the foundation that he’d made.

“Just a bit more…” Harry lightly tapped on the small, square stone that was pressed against the bottom of the Orichalcum with his smallest hammer. The magic of his tool would fuse the stone to the foundation once he had it aligned exactly as he wanted it. “There we are.” Harry smiled as he activated the small hammer’s effect on the final hit and the square stone fused together with the foundation as well as the identical square stone beside it. “Good morning, Sirius.” He called out, looking upwards towards the top of the hole.

“Morning, Harry.” Sirius chuckled at his godson, stepping onto the magical ladder and letting it shorten its length to take him to the bottom of the hole. “Still hard at work, as always.” He ribbed Harry playfully.

Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly at his godfather. “Don’t you and Marlie have a wedding to plan?” He shot back with a grin.

“We’re making progress.” Sirius beamed happily, making Harry happy as well. “You seem to be making quite a bit of progress as well.” He eyed the cube of Orichalcum pointedly.

“Took a good while to get the Transmutation Circle right, but the Dwarves provided the pure base metal ingots, so it worked on the first try, thankfully.” Harry patted the cube fondly, making sure not to pour any of his mana into it lest he link with the magical metal and experience the powerful synesthesia again. “Now it’s going to become the core of my Artifact House.”

“I see.” Sirius understood the significance of using pure Orichalcum for Artifice at the very least. It was one of the most complex, powerful, and rare Alchemical Metals in the world. Making it was ridiculously difficult to begin with, and actually using it as material would surely lead to a powerful completed item. “Just aiming to leave the other Artificers slack jawed, eh?” He chuckled and Harry joined him with a smile.

Harry calmed his chuckles and tapped his foot on the stone foundation to draw Sirius’s attention to the base that he was constructing. “Once the stonework is done on this base, I’ll have to carve the proper runes into each block and then connect them through the foundation into the rest of the house. Thankfully, since it’ll all be one large singular item, I shouldn’t need to use circuit lines for it.”

“You won’t?” Sirius had picked up a little bit of Artifice knowledge over the years he’d been taking care of Harry. “That sounds like you’ve just gotten a lot better at making Artifacts.”

“Maybe a little.” Harry shrugged as he thought about it. His Rune Safe had required circuit lines, even though it was so small, but it hadn’t been his intention to even make an Artifact back then. He’d quite literally done it by accident. ‘ I guess I have improved over the years. ’ Harry mused to himself for a moment. He wouldn’t let his progress go to his head though. He could always improve and try to understand more, grow his base of knowledge, and refine his techniques.

Sirius shook his head at his prodigious godson. ‘ Always keeping himself humble… James, Lily, you’d both be so proud of your son. ’ He briefly reminisced of the old days before returning to the present. “I wanted to see how things were going on the building.”

“And…” Harry eyed his godfather knowingly. He’d gotten fairly good at reading Sirius’s expressions over time.

“I don’t know if anything will come of it…” Sirius reached into his own Storage Cloak and pulled out the morning copy of the Daily Prophet. “Page three.” He handed the newspaper to Harry.

Harry took the paper and opened it; his green eyes quickly found the article that Sirius wanted him to look at.

Ragnok preparing Gringotts for Rebellion?

Amid a notable change to the operations and services provided by Gringotts Wizarding Bank, including some significant increases in certain fees, many Witches and Wizards are feeling as if their banking has become far more onerous than it has been in previous years.

Historically, whenever activity at Gringotts becomes tense or difficult, it has often been a sign of impending hardship with the Goblin Nation. Such as the Rebellion of 1752, wherein over six-hundred Wizards and Witches perished when attempts at peaceful resolution failed.

“Well that’s just great…” Harry let out a long sigh, not even bothering to read the rest of the article. “Voldemort is finally gone, but the mess with the Statute of Secrecy falling is still ongoing and now the Goblins might be about to start another rebellion.” He had really hoped that after Voldemort, he and his family would be able to live peacefully.

-Saskatchewan ~ Hidden Location-

Hidden among the various lakes and rivers of the central Canadian province was a magical location that had been protected by the native tribes since long before the first European visited the location in the late 1600’s. To many (Magical or Non-Magical) that may have stumbled upon the area had it not been protected, it would look like much of the natural landscape around it with only a few signs giving away that several manmade things had been added to the location. Totems stood out the most, but other things like stones (both large and small) had also been placed in specific areas.

A woman and a man looked over the area with approval seeing that it was now complete.

“You incorporate the forest into your Magic. I find that very interesting.” The woman commented to the man. She had semi-long brunette hair and a healthy complexion. Her green eyes were sharp as she looked over each part of the area again.

“Not just the forest; but the rivers, the lakes, the sky, and the earth.” The man replied with a small smile. He was from a long line of tribal peoples that had called this land home for centuries beyond any European knowing about the continent. His dark eyes held both wisdom and pride in his aged face, wrinkles on his skin showing his advanced age, even by Magical standards. He was a Shaman of his people, and after they’d gone into hiding from the encroaching Europeans centuries back, his people had eventually entered talks with representatives from several other groups from around the world to work on a large plan that had taken a very, very long time to complete.

“Astounding.” The Witch praised the tribal Magic before her eyes and was slightly disappointed that she’d not get to see it in action when the time came. Unfortunately, she had her own place to be and her own site to enact powerful Magic upon when the specified day dawned. “I’ll be happy to let the others know that your land is ready and your preparations have been completed.”

“Thank you.” The old Shaman nodded to the younger woman. “Until the day comes, our people must maintain the totems and the lines so that nothing goes wrong.” Everything needed to stay as it was for now.

-October ~ Hogsmeade Village-

“Hello, all.” Harry grinned as he stood at the entrance of Hogsmeade where the carriages dropped the students off during the weekend visits to the village.

“Harry!” Luna beamed as she bounded out of the carriage and gave him a hug.

Harry returned the hug with a laugh, squeezing Luna tightly for a moment. “How’ve you been, Luna?” He asked the slightly younger girl as they separated.

“Good enough.” Luna chirped happily.

“I’m glad.” Harry grinned, not much tended to bother Luna at all.

“Harry,” Hermione squeezed him in a tight hug, which Harry returned, before stepping back. “Aside from the Statute of Secrecy falling, I’m glad that the other long-term problem is finally gone.” She didn’t want to say ‘Voldemort’ knowing that several people were still terrified of the late Dark Lord. He’d clawed his way back to life once, by most witches and wizards’ reckoning, and many were fearful that he’d do it again after having been put to death.

“Yeah, I’m grateful for that.” Harry gave her a lopsided smile. He also hoped that the bastard was well and truly gone this time.

“Hi, Harry!” Padma and Mandy both greeted him with smiles and laughter, wrapping him up in a double hug, one of them on each of his sides.

“Hello Mandy, hello Padma.” Harry chuckled, unable to return their hugs since his arms were pinned to his sides.

“What should we do first?” Luna asked, bouncing in place a bit from her excitement.

“How about a quick stroll through the shops?” Harry offered, happily taking Luna’s hand as the group headed down the main street of the only All-Wizard Village in Britain.

“I do need to pick up a new cauldron from Ceridwen's Cauldrons.” Padma mentioned with a sheepish smile.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the Indian Witch. “Oh? What’s this? Padma messed up a potion that badly?” He teased his friend jokingly.

“I was trying something new; you prat.” Padma lightly swatted his shoulder with a roll of her eyes. “I was fairly certain that I had my measurements for all the ingredients correct, but something went wrong and the side of my cauldron practically dissolved. That made such a mess…” She sighed remembering having to clean her failed potion up from the table and floor.

“McGonagall was going spare trying to keep the castle in order when the Statute of Secrecy fell.” Mandy spoke up next, wanting to let Harry know what had been going on around Hogwarts since he’d graduated early. “To be fair, we were all confused and maybe a little scared about that.”

“That’s understandable.” Harry nodded in agreement with her. “The Statute has been in place since the late 1600’s…”

“1689 was when it was first signed by the ICW, but it didn’t go into full effect until 1692.” Hermione clarified with a little grin on her lips.

“Thank you, Hermione.” Harry played along with her ‘know-it-all’ joke, a smirk on his face. “So, a lot of Witches and Wizards would be surprised or outright terrified of the idea of the Magical and Non-Magical mixing together again.”

“I’m sure that some places are having a much harder time with it than others.” Luna mentioned with a thoughtful look on her face. The somewhat spacey blonde always did seem to have a knack for picking up on certain things.

-Tennessee, United States-

A crowd had gathered in town, two sides were shouting and yelling at each other with vitriol. Flags of a questionable nature were being proudly displayed by one side of the large group while the other half loudly shouted condemnations at them for such brazen and disgusting displays.

“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God!” One man read aloud into a megaphone to be heard over the shouting. But he wasn’t the only one reading scripture and using it as a justification for his abhorrent actions.

Another man, also with a megaphone, read another passage. “And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers! He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger!”

“There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord! And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you!” A woman read (almost screamed) into her megaphone at the crowd of people.

On the other side of the crowd came the recriminations.

“Stop being racist!” One woman yelled at the scripture-quoting, flag-bearing group.

“You’re disgusting!” A man shouted loudly at them.

“It’s 1995, not 1950!” A younger man hollered at one of the flag-wavers that proudly displayed the emblem of a hate group.

This shouting and gathering of people had naturally attracted the attention of the local authorities. Police cars drove onto the scene with lights flashing and sirens blaring. The tires of the county sheriff’s car nearly squealed as he braked and put his car into park. Throwing open the door, the mustached man got out of his vehicle and put his hat on.

“What the hell is this?” The sheriff questioned one of the police officers that was nearby. He’d responded to a call about a protest that looked to be turning into a riot; and while it did look like that, he needed to know what was going on.

“Two groups got into an argument about the Magical people and…well I’m sure you can tell which side escalated the situation, Sam.” The police officer answered, the two having known each other and worked together for almost a decade now.

Sam sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose for a second. “I don’t need this shit in my town. Alan, get a perimeter set up.” This wasn’t the first argument or protest that had broken out in the United States since the reveal of the Magical among them; but Sam was hoping that he wouldn’t have to personally deal with one in his normally quiet jurisdiction.

“Already done.” Alan confirmed after speaking into his radio for a moment. “You ready to try and keep this from becoming a full-on riot, Sam?

“Do we have a choice?” Sam asked rhetorically, both law enforcement officers moved forward (along with almost a dozen others) and began to move between the two groups, keeping them apart so that violence didn’t break out.

“You shall not permit a sorceress to live!” One man bellowed into a megaphone while standing on top of a truck.

“Roy! What the hell are you doing?!” Sam yelled up at the man. Roy was known as a bit of a racist in their town, but Sam had always believed the man was just a talker; he never expected the other man to be part of something like this.

“Spreading the good word, sheriff! There’s no law against that!” Roy replied as the screaming, yelling, and shouting was starting to quiet down with the presence of law enforcement.

“Then could you tell me why on God’s green Earth does that banner behind you say: ‘The New Salem Witch Trials’?” Sam demanded, motioning with his head at the banner behind Roy.

“We’re doing the Lord’s work, Sam!” Roy retorted, getting cheers from the group of people around him.

“Oh be quiet, you young fools!” A voice spoke up loudly. People turned to the source to find an elderly man walking forward with a disgusted look on his face. The most outstanding thing about the man was that he didn’t have anything on him that could’ve amplified his voice to such a degree. That is, until people began to notice that the old man had a wand in a holster on his hip.

“You’re one of them!” Roy pointed at the old man accusingly.

“I very much am.” The old man showed no fear as he glared at Roy. “Salem Witch Trials…” He turned and spat on the ground. “The people that held those ‘trials’ didn’t give a single damn about Magic or faith! It was class warfare, plain and simple! They didn’t even capture many actual Witches! Their targets were always those that they wanted out of the way!”

“How would you know?!” One of the flagbearers shouted back at the old Wizard.

“How do I know?” The elderly Wizard narrowed his eyes on the other man. “My grandmother lived to be one-hundred-seventy-three, and I’m one-hundred-forty-six! She was there! I heard the stories directly from her while growing up!”

That got quite a lot of murmuring and muttering going among the gathered crowd.

“And as for your little witch-burning pole over there.” The old Wizard pointed at the wooden pole with a large amount of wood piled around the base. “The so-called Witches in Salem were hanged , not burned, you nitwits.”

“Fuck you, you freak!” One of the men standing near Roy pulled out a pistol from the holster on his hip.

“Drop the weapon!” Sam and Alan both had their pistols drawn in a second, aiming at the armed man. The rest of the police officers quickly started ushering people away as the situation got dangerous. Many screams and cries of panic were heard as people fled.

The flag-bearing man didn’t keep his gun pointed at the old Wizard for long, not after seeing five guns aimed at him in response. He dropped the weapon to the ground.

“Kick it over here, nice and easy.” Sam instructed the man, still keeping his weapon trained on the previously armed man. When the man complied, Sam placed his foot on the pistol that had been kicked over to him. “Officer Wood, arrest this man.” He instructed Alan.

Alan moved over to the man, instructing him to drop his flag and keep his hands where the officer could see them. Once he was cuffed, Alan began the Miranda Rights. “You’re under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon; you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can, and will, be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, then one will be provided to you.”

The situation was far from over as the instigators were being detained and questioned, but at least no one had gotten injured in this particular incident, unlike some others that had taken place within the country.

-Akhmim ~ Egypt-

Bright red lightning sparked as materials changed their very existence under the intense Magical power being produced. The stone within the large Transmutation circle quickly broke down, only to reform into the desired shape that the Alchemist wanted. When the light faded away, a small stone house was left in the place of all the raw material that had been there previously.

Novus moved into the circle and shrank the stone house down to the size of a cinder block. Picking it up, the ancient homunculus carried it out of the Transmutation Circle and placed it with a large group of other, identical, shrunken houses. “That brings the total to one-thousand-three-hundred-six, Master.”

“Thank you, Novus.” Zosimos knew he had a long way to go still. He’d been able to secure enough food to feed the people of his homeland for a little over a year already. Now he had turned his attention to making housing for anyone displaced by the Change that he knew was coming. The population had grown so vastly in the last few centuries, if destruction was bad enough, many people would be left without shelter, which was assuredly a death sentence in many parts of Egypt.

“Will we be continuing the food transmutation later today, Master?” One of his other homunculi asked with a short bow.

“I’ll continue with that task once I’ve gotten more housing done.” Zosimos informed the homunculus. “If possible, I’d like to be able to give enough food to the surrounding lands to prevent them from attempting to take Egypt’s food by force.”

“Yes, Master.” The homunculus nodded and left the room just as another large amount of stone was levitated into the large area where the creator of Alchemy was working.

I will save as many as possible. We can only move forward together, not separated. ’ Zosimos thought to himself as he activated the Transmutation Circle again and watched the base material breakdown and then reform into the same stone house that he’d designed to hand out en masse to those that needed them. With Magic, he could make each and every one of them comfortable and livable for those that would be hit the hardest by what was coming.

According to his various homunculi spies throughout the world, they had less than a year before the Change would happen.

-Narag Fenuln-

Harry had marveled at the progress the Erdunn Dwarves had made on building up their own mountain to turn into a Mountain Hall for themselves. When he’d arrived via Portkey (once more reminding himself to make something better when he had the time) he could only crane his neck upwards to stare at how high the peak was now.

“Brother Potter, good to see you again.” Drad welcomed Harry to the Dwarven Mine and now Mountain Hall.

“Good to see you again, Drad.” Harry returned the greeting as the two clasped each other’s wrist and shook. “It seems that Erdunn has come far since last I visited.”

“Indeed.” Drad looked proudly up at the new mountain they’d made themselves from the rock they’d dug from their ever-expanding mine. “You’re here at the King’s request, right?”

“Yes, he mentioned something about the ‘enemy’ making moves?” Harry walked side-by-side with Drad as they passed through the large gates of stone and iron that were guarded by a full group of armored and armed Dwarf warriors.

Drad nodded to Harry with a stony expression. “The damn Goblins that took Dwarven caverns from us and were the cause of our people being shoved to the fringes of society.”

“I did see an article speculating that the Goblins may be plotting rebellion.” Harry spoke up with a grimace. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t be true though.”

“Goblins would never miss an opportunity like the one presented by the chaos of the Statute of Secrecy falling.” Drad snorted as they walked through stone halls depicting ancient Dwarven battles on the walls. With their own Mountain Hall, the Erdunn Dwarves could finally lay their history into stone once more, instead of keeping it on paper and in tomes, or passing it down orally through the generations.

The two of them reached a set of doors made of a metal that Harry couldn’t quite identify, though it shone with a luster unmatched by any mundane metal. The guards opened the doors for them as if the metal weighed far less than it should. Drad entered and Harry followed a step behind, as was proper for a sworn brother when meeting the King for any official reason.

Had this been a personal call, then Harry and Drad would’ve met Drasurd in an informal area like a smithy or an office. They could’ve walked in as if they were entering their own home and offered a friendly greeting to the king. But as it was, some traditions had to be observed.

The room they entered had a high ceiling that was held up by large columns of stone. The guards posted at specific places along the walls would defend their king to their last breaths and assured that any sign of hostility would be met with appropriate force. All of the stone in the room was inlaid with Dwarven-made metals that Harry would’ve loved to learn how to make if possible. But as he was not an Erdunn Dwarf, the secrets would remain secret. The intricate designs on the floor and walls caught the eye, and Harry would’ve enjoyed trying to figure out what Dwarven Runes had been hidden within them by the craftsmen that had constructed this room.

It was the throne that Drasurd sat upon that was easily the most impressive thing in the large room though. Made of stone and at least two metals that Harry still couldn’t identify, it was also decorated with gemstones in intricate patterns that quite obviously held a deep meaning to the Dwarves. Harry had the knowledge to know that the decoration wasn’t there just because; as Dwarves had no care for such displays. No, each and every one of those gemstones held mana that existed for a purpose, most likely to protect the one that sat upon it and make it easier for the king to preside over his Mountain Hall.

“My King, I’ve guided Brother Potter to meet with you as ordered.” Drad bowed to his father.

“Thank you, Prince Drad.” Drasurd nodded to his son, his long and thick beard swaying slightly from the motion. “Brother Potter.” The king greeted Harry.

“Sworn Brother of the Erdunn Dwarves, Harry Potter, greets King Drasurd.” Harry bowed his head to the Dwarven King.

“Raise your head, Brother Potter; you are among friends and allies here.” Drasurd spoke and Harry straightened up. “I am glad to see you again, Harry.” He spoke less formally, now that tradition had been satisfied.

“You as well, Drasurd.” Harry smiled back at the Dwarf. “You mentioned that the ‘enemy’ is moving; Drad tells me that means the Goblins.”

“Yes, the greedy bastards that laid claim to Dwarven caverns with the help of the Wizards and Witches of the day.” Drasurd rumbled out, clearly recalling the time so long ago. “They’re actions are to be expected now. However…” He paused for a moment and Harry could tell this was unusual just from the worried look on Drasurd’s face. “Now that the Statute has fallen, I don’t believe this next rebellion will be limited to just the Witches and Wizards of Britain.”

Harry took a second to think about Drasurd’s words before his eyes widened. “You think they’ll attack the Non-Magical too?!” He barely kept his voice from rising too high. The guards within the throne room didn’t need much reason to act in defense of their king.

“That is my concern.” Drasurd confirmed with a nod. “With the Statute now broken, and the Non-Magical and Magical once more mixing; the Goblins have no reason, nor any fear of international backlash from the ICW, to keep their aggression limited to just Wizards and Witches.”

“Damn it…” Harry ran his hand through his hair. “The Aurors are already stretched thin as it is.” He knew that very well thanks to Tonks. Harry enjoyed letting her vent while rubbing her shoulders or giving her a foot rub after her shifts; and she always had something to tell him about the shortage of staff ever since the Statute had fallen.

“We have been preparing, Harry.” Drasurd informed Harry with a strong voice. “Armor, shields, weapons, and warriors; the Dwarves of Erdunn will not be lacking in meeting this aggression from our long-time enemies!” The king’s voice was like the rumbling of a mountain. “We will fight them as we have been long unable to do, and this time we will take back the caverns that were stolen from us!”

“I’m in the process of building my own home at the moment, Drasurd.” Harry informed the Dwarf King. “I’m afraid I cannot join a campaign against the Goblins right away.”

“Worry not, Harry, we will not be the aggressors in this coming fight. They will strike first, as they always do, and we will be ready to respond in kind.” Drasurd assured the Artificer. “We Dwarves get along quite well with humans, be they Magical or not, and we will defend them if they stand by our sides.”

“That is reassuring, Drasurd.” Harry smiled at the king. “I’ll pass on your warning to the Aurors through my Nym. She’s earned a good deal of respect and credibility after helping defeat Voldemort’s demon. Her words won’t fall on deaf ears.”

“Excellent.” Drasurd seemed slightly relieved. “It will be good to fight side-by-side with our ancient allies once more. We will not be overrun by the Goblins ever again!” He declared strongly, his sheer presence seeming to swell within the throne room.

“As a Sworn Brother of Erdunn, you can count on my help when the day comes, King Drasurd.” Harry promised the Dwarf King.

He knew that the Goblins didn’t treat anyone but their own kind well, and even that was based solely on their clan affiliation and the hierarchy they had within said clan. The lowest level members were treated better than non-Goblins, but that was about it; at least, according to what Harry had read about Goblins and their culture at any rate. Books could be misleading though, so Harry took the information with a grain of salt.

“We’ll be glad to have you by our sides in the coming times, Brother Potter.” Drasurd nodded his thanks to Harry.

After a moment of silence the feeling within the throne room noticeably changed as Drasurd stood up from his throne.

“Father?” Drad spoke with a small grin hidden by his thick beard.

Drasurd chuckled lightly as he walked over to Harry and Drad. “Now, Harry, tell me about this house of yours!” The jovial tone let Harry know that the formal part of the visit was over now.

“Well… I might be doing something that others would consider crazy again.” Harry waved the thought off as if it didn’t matter.

“Hah!” Drad laughed and lightly (by Dwarf standards) patted Harry’s shoulder. “You wouldn’t be Harry if ya didn’t do that!”

Drasurd laughed along with his son. “Now you’ve got my interest, Harry!”

Harry would spend a while at Narag Fenuln that day in the company of his sworn brothers and friends. Returning home with a smile would make everyone at Wood End Cottage smile as well. Harry, for all his prodigious talent and accomplishments, was still a teenager; all of his family wanted to see him smiling more.

Tonks was able to take the warning from Drasurd and make sure it would get to Amelia Bones thanks to Hedwig, but the Auror wouldn’t leave Harry’s side that night. It had been far too long since she’d gotten to see Harry fully relaxed just by having a good day.

-End Chapter-

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One thing after another…

Harry can’t seem to catch a break.

Thankfully he has family, friends, and good allies!

Getting to spend time with his Hogwarts friends at Hogsmeade lets Harry be ‘normal’ for the most part.

The rest of the world continues to move though. The people working around the world to bring about a great change are getting closer and closer to completing their works.

Zosimos is doing his damnedest to prepare enough food and shelter to save as many people as he can before the time comes.

As the Artifact House comes together, will Harry have enough time to finish it before the Goblins make their move?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 33,594

Tonks – 26,578

Penelope – 21,086

Fleur – 21,762

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 69: Building and Watching

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! More time passes as the world tries to reconcile the loss of separation between the Magical and Non-Magical. Harry continues his work on the Artifact House. Slowly building up from the foundation, the future Potter Family home begins to take shape. Meanwhile, through Drasurd’s warning, passed on by Harry to Nym, and from Nym to Amelia Bones, the Aurors now know that they have to keep an eye on Gringotts too. Not to mention other things happening within the Ministry thanks to the collapse of the Statute of Secrecy.

Check out this story's TVTropes Page: Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

If you'd like to read Chapters 70 and 71 right now, check out this story on my FFNet page to find out how!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 69 – Building and Watching

Metal fused together into a strong framework under Harry’s tools and Magic. The tools he’d created helped to shape the alchemical metal he’d transmuted just for this purpose. Once the framework was done, stone was transfigured to have a liquid consistency and then was poured in and around the framework of magical metal. The Artificer continued to work, making arches to buttress and support the ground floor while leaving the basement area as the ‘core’ of the house. He’d encapsulate the Orichalcum cube that was the center of the Artifact House in a cylinder of the same reinforced stone once the last of the arches were done.

With the Orichalcum sealed safely in the center, we’ll still be able to use the basement for storage and the like.’ Harry mused as he continued to work, fusing the new structural supports into the foundation, thereby making them one with the artifact as he continued to build it. “Hmm, I suppose I’ll just make the basement steps out of stone while I’m at it.” Not like he had any shortage of the material, that was for sure.

Harry continued to work, planning to have the basement completed today and then start work on the ground floor. He had a detailed design in his mind of what he wanted the Artifact House to look like, and all of its various functions had been planned out even before he’d started building. He was taking some design ideas from Wood End Cottage, the place that had been the first real home for him where he was accepted wholly and completely. It would be mostly stone, but with wood framed windows and doors, wood and stone balconies, and a wooden roof with tile shingles, all of which would be made by his own hands to fuse them into the artifact as well, so that the roof would never need to be replaced.

“I’ll even build a tower part so it can be used for Astronomy…I’m sure a child or descendant of ours will be an Astronomy buff.” Harry chuckled to himself as he thought about the Home that he was building not just for his future with Nym, Penny, and Fleur, but for all future Potters born and raised here.

-Penny-

Penny was smiling as she looked over the prototype communication hub that she’d worked out after delving into communications technology research for a good while. The quartz crystal she was using as the center focal point of the design was resonating with all of the mirrors that she’d used Harry’s original Communication Mirror Array on, even though the mirrors themselves weren’t originally part of the same sheet of glass. It was a step in the right direction, allowing any mirror that had the proper array and Charm work done to it to connect to each other. But the quartz crystal had a limit to how many mirrors it could link. Right now, she could only make six connections.

“But it’s proof of concept.” Penny grinned at her first success. Using quartz, one of the base materials of both granite and silica sand (which made glass) allowed a connection to be formed through Magic. “Figuring out the Runic Array was the first hurdle. Now, if I can just figure out how to circumvent the limitation on the number of mirrors, then we’ll have an actual, workable hub.”

She couldn’t wait to show Harry her progress! He’d be over the moon and Penny knew it, which made her giggle at the thought of seeing her love so happy.

-Fleur-

“Gabby, slow down.” Fleur laughed as she watched Gabby run to the window of one of the shops that she wanted to see. The younger girl was ecstatic to be spending the day with her big sister. Fleur was just happy to have the weekend off from her research group. Today was about spending time with Gabrielle, while tomorrow would be spending time with Harry.

“Fleur! Fleur! Look!” Gabby pointed into the shop where a group of Witches and Wizards were clearly showing some items to a group of Non-Magicals (Non-Magiques, as the French Magicals called them) that were all wearing modern clothing.

“Yes, yes, I see them integrating, Gabby.” Fleur smiled that Paris hadn’t devolved into outright violence after the Statute of Secrecy had fallen. There had been protests and some small outbreaks of violent behavior, but nothing that couldn’t be handled by law enforcement. Many Non-Magical people that unknowingly had Magical relatives were now able to be brought into the know without fear of repercussions from the Magical Government. “It’s good to see such understanding.”

Gabrielle beamed up at Fleur and took her hand. “Can we go to Café du Sucre?!”

Fleur playfully rolled her eyes at her little sister’s sweet tooth. “I suppose we could.”

“Yay!” Gabby started bouncing on her heels before eagerly pulling Fleur toward the shop in the distance.

Throughout Place Cachée, one could see both Wizards and Witches, as normal, but also Non-Magical peoples being shown around and even doing some shopping too. The French Ministry had been doing everything it could to make the reintegration as smooth as possible. So far, they’d been successful, aside from a few small incidents that the Bureau des Aurors had to deal with. A new feature in the Magical District had been the patrols to make sure that order was maintained.

Hopefully, one day soon, that won’t be needed anymore.’ Fleur hoped for such a future with all her heart.

“Fleur, may I get the mille-feuille?” Gabrielle asked with a bright smile.

Fleur sighed, overdramatically to let her little sister know that she wasn’t serious, and then leaned down to kiss the top of Gabby’s head. “Yes, you may.”

“Thank you!” Gabby’s smile could’ve lit up the alley as they drew closer to the café.

-Tonks-

The Auror Offices were still being stretched thin as the Statute of Secrecy falling had left many Witches and Wizards unsure of what to do. The Aurors were doing their best to work with the Non-Magical police departments and train them as best as they could to handle any lawbreaking Witches and Wizards they might apprehend. There were orders for spell-resistant clothing or ‘body armor’ for as many law enforcement officers as possible too.

But what was putting even more strain on the Ministry as a whole right now was the Vote of No Confidence that Cornelius Fudge had just gone through. The man had been ousted as Minister and the Wizengamot was still arguing about who the interim Minister should be until they could hold a proper election.

“As if we have time for an entire election campaign right now.” Tonks sighed heavily at the idiots that still ran the Ministry of Magic.

In the running for interim Minister were multiple people…Rufus Scrimgeour (much to the Senior Auror’s surprise) had been suggested, Edward Crickerly, Lilian Tuft, Corbin Yaxley had nominated himself, but there was still much suspicion hanging over him, so he’d withdrawn his self-nomination. The list was fairly long, made up of many Ministry employees and even a few people that were held in high regard from the Wizengamot itself. That only led to further arguments and the process dragging on even more.

“Ah, Tonks, I was hoping you might be able to help me out.” Arthur Weasley stopped by Tonks’s cubicle with a smile, though the father of seven looked a bit tired. Much like the majority of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement did nowadays.

“Wotcher, Arthur.” Tonks gave the man a small smile. “What did you need?”

Arthur sighed, running a hand through his red hair. “I need an Auror escort for a seizure of several dozen Muggle items that were cursed and made their way into the hands of people around London.”

Tonks wanted to drop her head straight on her desk. “Again?”

“Afraid so.” Arthur nodded, also tired of having to do this. It was the sixth time in the last eight days!

“These idiots aren’t helping our case of trying to keep the peace.” Tonks grumbled as she stood up and summoned her Auror Robe to her hand wandlessly. “Do we know what kinds of curses were on the items?” She asked Arthur while slipping on the red robe.

Arthur nodded as the two of them walked side-by-side towards the nearest Floo. “Yes, thankfully nothing more than some minor curses. Biting Keys, Sticking Pens, Weight Changing Shoes, and the like.”

Tonks was grateful that it wasn’t something truly dangerous, or worse. But what these troublemakers considered funny pranks to pull on Muggles, the law saw as Muggle-baiting and the Non-Magical Law saw as assault. “Did we at least catch the perpetrators this time?”

“Thankfully, yes.” Arthur was very happy about that. “Robards and Dawlish hauled in one Marcus Flint, one Leonard Burke, and one Olivia Selwyn.”

“Aren’t those three not too long out of Hogwarts?” Tonks recalled, vaguely, Marcus Flint and Leonard Burke from her last couple of years at Hogwarts. Olivia Selwyn had graduated Hogwarts the year before Tonks, if the Auror recalled correctly.

“Indeed.” Arthur knew that the families of the young adults would no doubt get involved because of this. “One would hope they’d focus on starting their own careers, instead of Muggle-baiting and getting in trouble with the law.”

“We can hope all we want, but I doubt we’ll see some people ever change their attitudes or outlooks on things.” Tonks took a pinch of Floo Powder for herself, and mentally prepared to go over this new incident with the police officers in London.

-Diagon Alley-

“Anything?” A Wizard asked as he sat down at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor.

“Nothing suspicious that I saw.” The Witch he sat with shook her head. “If they’re preparing for rebellion, they’re being very discreet about it this time around.”

The Wizard rubbed his hand over his face, feeling a bit run ragged. “Merlin’s beard, I’d like to go one day without something happening.”

The Witch agreed with a nod. “As would I. But until the Statute falling settles down, we’re not going to get a break it seems.”

“Alright, I’ll take over the watch. You try and have a good night, Belinda.” The out of uniform Auror spoke to his colleague.

“Thank you, Gerald.” Belinda nodded as she stood up from her chair and headed out of the shop.

Gerald looked out the window towards Gringotts, pulling out a monocle that was Charmed to act like a telescope or binoculars. “You already control the money, isn’t that enough, you greedy shites?” He grumbled lowly under his breath as he watched Gringotts for any sign of hostile actions that would suggest the Goblins were about to rebel openly. The tip that had come in said this rebellion was likely going to happen soon, and it would be as bad, or worse, than the one in 1752.

-Harry ~ The Next Day-

“Another day, another bit of progress.” Harry chuckled as he worked on getting the ground floor laid out, marking where walls would go, including doorways, and making a mental note of where the tower he wanted to build would need to be set.

“Bon.” Fleur laughed lightly. “I’m glad that you are incorporating some carpentry into our future home.”

Harry looked at her with an amused grin. “A certain someone wouldn’t live in the home if it was all just stone with no ‘character’ or design.”

Fleur shrugged at him unrepentantly. “Then that someone knows what they’re talking about.”

“Be nice you two.” Penny giggled at the little back and forth.

Harry finished marking off the last wall and doorway with a piece of chalk. “And the layout is complete. Let me know if you want anything changed, because once it’s finished it can’t be altered.” He let his girlfriends walk around the ground floor while he looked over the papers that Penny had brought him.

“Hmm, the library being here is fine, but should we move the sitting room to the outer wall?” Penny questioned, looking at the chalk lines on the floor and what each room was labeled as.

“Hmm, that may be nicer for guests.” Fleur agreed, looking at the currently labeled sitting room. “But that’s merely a matter of relabeling, more so than changing the overall layout.”

Penny nodded at that, since the proposed sitting room wasn’t a specified size and could be switched around. “He’s thought things out quite well.”

Fleur smiled at her ‘sister’ and gave her a wink. “Yes, even a playroom for children and enough bedrooms. I believe Harry wants a large family.”

“I can live with that.” Penny giggled as they made a note to talk about moving the proposed sitting room.

“PENNY!!!” Harry came rushing over with a huge smile on his face. “You figured out a communication hub?!” He picked her up by the waist and spun her around with a bright laugh. “You’re incredible!”

“Harry!” Penny laughed as she was set back on her feet. “Mmm~” She readily accepted the kiss that Harry gave her, even deepening it and turning it into a French kiss. “So, I take it that you’re happy about the progress?” She smiled as they broke their lip lock.

“Maybe a little.” Harry smirked at her and gently squeezed her waist. “Using quartz crystal as the intermediary is brilliant!”

Penny beamed at Harry for the compliment. “Thank you. Unfortunately, I’ve run up against a problem. I can only connect six mirrors through the prototype hub.”

“That’s probably a matter of the Runic Array.” Fleur pressed herself into Harry’s back, making sure her breasts were squashed against his strong back muscles. “But we have two talented, and beautiful, Magical Scholars here…along with the youngest Artificer in history.” She lightly kissed Harry’s ear. “I’m sure we can figure it out together.”

“I feel like you want to do something else though.” Harry had a wide grin on his face.

“True.” Fleur grinned salaciously at Penny and Harry. “Let’s not discuss work on my day off. There are other things that we could do together, after all~”

“I don’t think it’s proper to ‘christen’ the house before it’s even built, Fleur.” Penny deadpanned at the Veela.

Harry snickered at the look on Penny’s face.

“Hmm, perhaps.” Fleur wasn’t put out in the slightest. “But we could go to Harry’s room, or my room in France?”

“I do believe that our lovely Fleur is ‘in the mood’, Penny.” Harry chuckled as Fleur’s hands wandered over his chest and abs with only his shirt separating them.

“You don’t say?” Penny looked at him in faux surprise. “I never would’ve guessed.”

“Oh don’t act like you don’t want to, Penny.” Fleur nearly purred at her ‘sister’ with a sexy smirk.

“Well…I didn’t say that~” Penny pressed herself into Harry’s chest with a naughty purr of her own.

Penny leaned forward and captured Fleur’s lips in a kiss, the two young women moaning softly before they separated.

“No fair…” Harry faked a pout, not even being able to watch since he was between them and couldn’t turn his head to see his girlfriends’ kissing.

“Now, now, mon amour…” Fleur kissed Harry’s cheek. “You’ll get your turn too.” She turned his chin and captured his lips. “Mmm…hmm~” It started off simple, just sharing their love for each other, before they deepened it and started French kissing.

“Just need a moment…” Penny waved her hand and a partition surrounded the in-progress ground floor, conjured from her will. It would last a few hours at least.

“Good idea, Penny~” Fleur’s voice was breathy as her lips separated from Harry’s. With a curling of her index finger, a log that Harry was planning to use for the construction was levitated over. A snap of her fingers and it became a bed large enough for three.

“In broad daylight?” Harry raised an eyebrow at Penny, knowing she was the most reserved of his lovers. “How bold.”

“Get your clothes off, Mister.” Penny lightly pushed him back towards the bed.

Harry didn’t need to be told twice as he pulled off his shirt, revealing the muscled physique he had developed from years of blacksmithing for his Artifice.

“Mmhmm~ How very lucky we are, yes?” Fleur giggled as she and Penny started undressing each other.

“Indeed.” Penny rolled her eyes playfully, raising her arms so that Fleur could pull her shirt off. Her blue, lacy bra was exposed to both of her lovers’ eyes. Letting them have a short moment to look at her, Penny took hold of the zipper on Fleur’s jacket and pulled it down.

“No shirt at all?” Harry teased Fleur with a whistle.

Fleur happily let the jacket fall off, revealing a black, lacy bra of her own. “I’m ‘in the mood’, remember?” She grinned at both of them, clearly having planned to do this in advance.

Harry quickly pulled his pants off and tossed them aside as he sat down on the end of the transfigured bed. “Don’t mind me…I’ll be right here.”

Fleur kissed Penny, the two women wrapping their arms around each other as they French kissed, Harry even able to see their tongues for a second when they pulled apart. Without a word, Fleur reached behind Penny and unhooked her bra, letting her breasts bounce a little as the lacy garment was tossed aside.

Not to be outdone, Penny reached up and undid the front clasp on Fleur’s bra, the Veela’s large tits spilling out as the cups were pushed aside by Penny’s hands. Without a bit of hesitation, Penny cupped both of Fleur’s breasts, rolling her thumbs over the erect nipples.

“Ooh… You’re good, lover~” Fleur praised Penny with a moan.

Penny smirked and kissed Fleur again.

“Damn…” Harry had a wide smile on his face as he watched them kiss and disrobe each other. “It’s not even my birthday.”

“Doesn’t have to be, since we all love each other.” Penny told him with a sexy grin on her lips.

“Oui~” Fleur agreed as her hands found the belt loops on Penny’s jeans and pulled them down in one smooth motion, the button and fly undone by her wandlessly. “Ooh la la, darling…” She commented on Penny’s matching lacy, blue panties. She took hold of Penny’s hips and turned her around, showing Harry that the lingerie was a thong.

“Woo~” Harry whistled at Penny’s choice of underwear.

Penny wiggled her hips a little, shaking her nice ass for Harry. “You three are a bad influence.”

“That…” Fleur gently swatted Penny’s right ass cheek, making it bounce. “Is entirely debatable.”

“Off.” Penny lightly growled and Fleur’s pants fell around her ankles instantly. Fleur stood proudly with her tits out and a barely there lacy, black thong of her own covering her soaked mound. “Naughty girl~” Penny turned Fleur around and playfully swatted her left ass cheek for revenge, making it bounce before she took hold of it and began to massage it with one hand.

“Mmm…we shouldn’t keep Harry waiting too long~” Fleur mewled, pulling Penny into another kiss. She massaged one of Penny’s tits while her free hand trailed down her trim tummy and then slipped into her panties to tease her wet sex.

“Fleur!” Penny gasped as the Veela began to play with her.

Harry watched on with a growing heat in his belly. He pulled off his boxers without looking away from Penny and Fleur and tossed them aside. Fleur yanked Penny’s blue thong down, forcing the dark blonde to step out of them. Harry wasn’t sure when either young woman had removed their shoes, but they were both barefoot on the stone. Penny quickly returned the favor, pulling Fleur’s thong off and making sure Harry got a show of it as the skimpy black number fell down Fleur’s legs while the Veela’s ass was facing him.

“Your time of watching is over, Harry~” Fleur’s purr was almost predatory as she and Penny approached him.

“Mhmm, now it’s your turn~” Penny joined Fleur in nearly stalking towards Harry.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Harry grinned as he stood up, and quickly pulled Penny into a kiss. The young man picked her up without any strain, and flipped her onto her back on the bed. “Let’s start with you, since you’re being so bold today.”

“You better~” Penny grinned up at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and bringing him down into a kiss.

Fleur wasn’t idle as she licked her lips sexily, her hand going low to gently grasp Harry’s hard length. “You’re so hard, mon amour~” She purred, her voice practically dripping with desire as she began to stroke him. “Give it to her…ruin her~”

“Fleur, you naughty little Veela.” Harry groaned as she worked him up.

Fleur only giggled huskily in response.

“Harry, give it to me.” Penny made him focus on her as she put a hand on either side of his head. She rolled her hips, dragging her wet pussy against the tip of his hard cock.

“You heard her, Harry~” Fleur guided Harry’s tip to Penny’s eager slit.

Harry pushed forward, nearly burying himself in one long continuous thrust.

“Harry!” Penny cried out, her body spasming from the sudden shock as she had a small orgasm. “Aaahhh~ It’s been way too long, my love.” She smiled at Harry with love and desire in her half-lidded eyes.

Harry leaned down and kissed Penny, slowly pulling back before thrusting forward again. The two moaned into each other’s mouths from the wonderful feeling of being joined again. Penny rolled her hips, eager for more. The two began to move together, easily finding their own rhythm that was all their own.

“Ah, mm, hah, yes…” Penny mewled and moaned at the pleasure as Harry made love to her, his experienced hands cupping her tits and playing with them, teasing her nipples.

Fleur laid down beside Penny with a lustful grin on her lips. Without a word, she leaned over and captured one of Penny’s tits with her mouth. The Veela eagerly licked and sucked, lavishing Penny’s sensitive nipple with her skilled mouth.

“Penny…love…” Harry groaned and panted as he sped up his hips. Seeing Fleur and Penny enjoying each other was just too damn sexy!

“Harry! Fleur! Oh fuck…” Penny had one hand tangled in Fleur’s silvery blonde locks, holding the other woman to her tit. The other hand was behind Harry’s neck as she tried to hold onto her pleasure and not let their coupling end too soon.

Fleur let out a devilish giggle as she continued to suck and nibble on Penny’s breast. Her right hand was between her thighs, playing with herself furiously, while her left hand was teasing Penny’s clit, making the other woman buck and thrash in pleasure from all the stimulation being heaped on her.

Both Penny and Fleur knew when Harry was close as he took hold of Penny’s hips and pulled her ass upwards off the bed a bit. His quick and powerful thrusts increased in intensity, making Penny cry out in bliss as a bolt of pleasure raced up her spine to slam into her brain.

“Do it, Harry~ Fill her up! You can tell she wants it so badly~” Fleur egged him on with a horny growl in her voice. “You want it, don’t you, Penny? All of Harry’s hot seed, just for you~?” She teased Penny’s clit even more.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes~ Oh, Harry, give it to me!” Penny cried out in ecstasy, her legs wrapping around Harry’s hips and locking her ankles behind him so that he couldn’t pull out.

“Penny!” Harry leaned forward and kissed her with all he had, just before he buried himself to the hilt inside of her and crashed over the edge. His release was intense, each shot filling Penny’s womb powerfully, over and over again. Neither knew how long it lasted, the concept of time not something they could even comprehend at the moment. Only the lack of air made them break their lip lock and snapped them back to reality.

“Hah…hah…hah…” Harry panted as he tried to catch his breath. He felt sweat all over his body and saw that Penny was the same, her skin glistening in the sunlight from their lovemaking.

“Ah…H-Harry…mmm…” Penny looked up at him with bleary, out of focus eyes, twitches still passing through her body from the intensity of her orgasm. “Love you…”

“Love you too…Penny.” Harry returned the love and affection as he slowly got his breath back. He gently pulled his length from her depths and sat on his knees atop the bed. There was that primal, animal pride when he saw his seed slowly begin to escape from Penny’s sex.

“I hope you’ve not forgotten me, Harry~” Fleur purred as she crawled over to him and laid down. Harry’s green eyes met her beautiful blue before she took him into her mouth and began to bob her head.

“Fleur…fuck! I’m still…!” Harry’s entire body jerked as his still sensitive manhood was stimulated again by Fleur’s talented mouth. Even to his own surprise, his cock quickly recovered, growing hard inside of Fleur’s throat as she took him to the base.

“Gagkh! Gakh! Gagk!” Fleur made sure her blowjob was noisy and as sexy as she could make it. When she felt Harry’s cock throb in her tight throat, she pulled back, suckling the whole way. “Pah!” Until she freed him from her lips. “Mmm~ As much as I’d love to taste you again, my darling… I want your seed somewhere else right now.” She stroked him a few times before getting on all fours and turning around. “Take me, Harry~” She wiggled her amazing ass at him, reaching beneath her to spread her lower lips and reveal her drooling pussy.

Harry didn’t need to be told twice. He moved forward, taking Fleur’s wide hips in his hands, and pressed the head of his cock into her eager sex. With a powerful thrust, he bottomed out within her all at once!

“HARRY!!!” Fleur cried out and shook in her first orgasm of the day. The Veela’s body twitched and shook, trembling from the intensity of that first thrust and her body’s response to it. She’d been on edge already, watching Penny and Harry, then playing with Penny while her ‘sister’ was fucked. Fleur had practically been on a hair trigger already.

“Fleur…” Harry breathed out heavily, his body locking up a bit from the intense tightness of her climaxing pussy. “You naughty girl.” He spanked her once, her ass bouncing and rippling from the blow, even though it wasn’t very strong.

“Ah~” Fleur moaned, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she was brought back to the present. “Harry, mmm, you know how I like it.” She looked over her shoulder at him and began to move her hips back and forth a little, fucking herself onto his cock. “Claim me, darling~”

“Love you, Fleur.” Harry leaned over her back and kissed her lips, his hands going under her to play with her heavy tits.

Fleur’s heart fluttered in her chest, always delighting in hearing Harry’s love for her. She moaned into their kiss as their hips began to move in their own rhythm together, the friction absolutely wonderful as the shocks of pleasure began to fill her body again. When their kiss broke, Harry pulled himself upright and tightened his grip on her waist before quickly redoubling his speed and intensity as he fucked her doggystyle.

“You’ve got such an amazing ass, Fleur.” Harry praised her, lightly spanking her again.

“All for you, Harry…” Fleur giggled breathily, her hair already a mess as she eagerly matched Harry’s pace. Seeing Penny slowly recovering right in front of her, Fleur’s eyes focused on the other woman’s sex and the thick cum slowly escaping it. With a devious grin on her lips, Fleur stopped supporting herself with her arms, instead reaching out to grasp Penny’s thighs and pull her closer.

“Fl-Fleur?! Wait…I’m still sensit…!” Penny’s sentence was cut off as she moaned loudly. Fleur had pulled her closer, just so that she could bury her face between Penny’s thighs and eat her pussy, cleaning out all of Harry’s cum like she was starving for it.

“Fuck…” Harry felt his control take a hit from watching as Fleur practically devoured Penny’s sex. The Veela was eager to swallow his seed, but also clearly wanted to include Penny in their lovemaking. “You…naughty…girl!” He punctuated each word with a powerful thrust, making sure to bottom out with each one as the clap of his pelvis hitting her ass got louder.

Fleur was in bliss, the taste of Penny and Harry mixed together on her tongue was divine. The intense pounding Harry was giving her as he nearly molded her insides to his shape was ecstasy. The only way she could be happier was if Nym were here sucking on her tits! Currently, her hard nipples were moved against the fabric of the bed with each of Harry’s powerful thrusts. Penny’s hand on the back of her head, forcing her deeper, made Fleur moan into the other woman’s sex.

“Oh fuck! Fleur…yes…!” Penny had her free hand fisted into the sheets as Fleur’s eager tongue delved deeper inside of her pussy.

“You two…are too…fucking…sexy!” Harry slapped Fleur’s ass, leaving a red mark this time, before absolutely burying himself to the hilt inside of her and flooding her womb with his cum.

“MMMM!!!” Fleur nearly howled into Penny’s sex as she crashed over the edge into a powerful climax, lights going off inside her head as spots began to appear in her vision.

“Oh…Fleur~!” Penny reached her peak as Fleur’s tongue went wild inside of her, holding the Veela’s mouth to her pussy as she shook and trembled in bliss.

“Hah…hah…damn…” Harry slowly pulled himself from Fleur’s still spasming sex. “That was…intense…” He panted out, his entire body felt like electricity was tingling through it., He pushed his sweaty bangs off his forehead, briefly reminding himself to cut his hair soon, and looked at his two blissed out lovers.

“Love…you… Love you… Harry…” Fleur was nearly burbling as she lay on the bed, her body still in the aftershocks of her powerful orgasm.

“Love you too, Fleur.” Harry replied with a smile, one that was a mix of tired and proud.

Penny slowly got her wits back and began to move. “My turn…” She drawled out with a little giggle as she flipped Fleur over onto her back.

“Hmm?” Fleur looked up, only to watch as Penny crawled over her and then she felt a hot tongue on her still sensitive pussy. “Ooh~! Penny…”

“Fair’s fair.” Penny spoke before going back to licking Fleur’s sex, tasting the mix of Harry’s seed and Fleur’s pussy.

“O-Oui~” Fleur moaned and her hands came up to massage Penny’s ass. With a gentle pull, Fleur had Penny’s hot, eager sex over her mouth. Without hesitation the Veela began to lick Penny’s lower lips, before kissing them with a giggle. In the next moment, her tongue mimicked Penny’s and was buried inside of the other woman.

“Damn…” Harry grinned, watching as he got his energy back. “Tonks is going to be so annoyed that we did this while she was at work.” He already felt his cock twitching a bit as it was slowly coming back to life from the arousing sight of Penny and Fleur in the sixty-nine position.

For now, no other thought entered the minds of the lovers. The world was beyond the partitions, and only what was within it had their attention.

It would only be afterwards that Harry and Penny would realize that Fleur had gotten exactly what she wanted on her day off…no work.

-End Chapter-

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Damn~ Harry’s a VERY lucky man! *Hehehehe~*

No work on day’s off! Only fun!

The Artifact House now has a completed basement! Yay!

Just the ground floor and the upper floors to finish now. If Harry isn’t distracted, of course! But man…he has three gorgeous distractions! Kek!

We see that France is doing its damnedest to make the reintegration successful!

Meanwhile, the British Ministry is practically tearing itself apart….

Is anyone really shocked?

As time marches on, what’s next for Harry and Family?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 33,772

Tonks – 26,724

Penelope – 21,210

Fleur – 21,866

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 70: Planning for the Future

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! The Artifact House begins to take shape as Harry keeps working. Soon enough, the Potter Family will have a new Ancestral Home! Sirius and Marlie continue to plan their wedding, hoping to get married in the next few months. Time moves ever forward, and plans are made for the future. They can only hope that it’ll be peaceful once everything settles down.

If you’d like to get access to chapters 71 and 72 now, check out this story on my Fanfiction.net page to find out how!

Check out this story's TVTropes Page and feel free to add to it if you're a Troper: Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 70 – Planning for the Future

The sound of wood being scraped filled the air at the building site of Harry’s Artifact House. The Artificer was currently planing a cut of timber that he’d collected from the small forest that grew on the edge of the Potter Lands in Stinchcombe. The myriad of trees varied in age, but some of the oldest ones were easily a few centuries old and over the course of their lives they’d taken in quite a bit of Magic. That made their wood very strong, but also readily malleable to Harry’s Magic and his magical tools.

“Hmm…” Harry ran his fingers over the wood, smiling when he found it smooth to the touch. “Just like I wanted.” He smiled at his planer. The tool had been forged and inscribed with Runes to make it ridiculously good at its intended task, while also reducing the strength that Harry needed to exert to use it. “We’ll use this wood for the front and back doors, the stairs and banisters, and the flooring in several of the rooms. I can even use wood to vault and support the ceilings and the roof.” The idea of framing the windows with the wood and making balconies and railings on the outside of the house was in the plans too.

He’d already shaped tons and tons of stone for the walls. Leaving the rock ready to be built with, but also with a semi-natural look as well, since Fleur, Tonks, and Penny had all expressed their desire for a home that wasn’t just a rigid, stone box. Harry wasn’t so ‘practicality focused’ that he’d build their home from regular brick and blocks. No, the Artificer was more than happy to make a beautiful home, with many materials, and give it shape and contours beyond just flat walls and a forty-five degree angle on each side of the roof.

“Looks like everything is coming along well, Harry.” Sirius chuckled as he walked over to the build site. He was dressed in a casual set of clothes with a traveling cloak over his shoulders. Autumn had set in now, and the air was starting to get a bit chilly.

“So far, so good.” Harry said, giving his godfather a nod in greeting. “Once I finish up with this carpentry, then I’ll be ready to start building up the ground floor.”

“You said that you’re going for a two-story building, if I recall correctly.” Sirius looked over the gathered and prepared materials that harry had built up already.

“Yeah, but the house will have a few magical tricks and features all its own.” Harry chuckled to himself, already having updated a few of his plans. Since the finished home would be a surprise for his girlfriends, he had a few things that he wanted to keep secret for now.

Sirius chortled and patted Harry on the back. “You wouldn’t be Harry if your Artifact didn’t surprise others and exceed all expectations.”

Harry gave Sirius a wide smirk. “Why thank you.”

The two held each other’s gaze for a long moment before they both cracked up laughing.

“I take it Penny and Fleur were very happy about the library you have planned?” Sirius playfully nudged Harry with his elbow.

“A two-story library with an open design and enough storage to hold more books than anyone could ever hope to read.” Harry laughed brightly as he levitated the finished wood over into the neatly ordered piles of other completed materials. “For Scholars like them, what’s not to love, right?”

Sirius nodded sagely, making Harry snort, before he held out a few papers to Harry. “I came to ask you to look these over too.” Sirius mentioned as Harry took the papers in hand.

“What’s this?” Harry looked at what he’d been handed. “Having the ceremony at Wood End Cottage…that’s nice.” He smiled at Sirius warmly. “Was that Marlie’s idea or yours?”

“We agreed on it.” Sirius smiled happily. “We’ll have the ceremony and the reception at home, that way there’s no need to travel anywhere else. We’re still deciding on the colors of the decorations and such. Marlie wants all sorts of blooming flowers since we’re having a spring wedding. She’s mentioned Daffodils, Bluebells, and even Wisteria…something about making a tunnel with the hanging flowers?”

Harry chuckled as he imagined the scenery. “And you’ll make sure that she gets it all.” He lightly ribbed his godfather.

“Of course!” Sirius put his fists on his hips and thrust out his chest, a ridiculously over-the-top expression on his face. “Whatever my Marlie wants on her wedding day, she gets!”

The two men cracked up laughing again a moment later.

“Care to have lunch, Harry?” Sirius offered with a grin. “We can hit up the Three Broomsticks, or the Leaky Cauldron, or a nice Non-Magical place, now that we don’t have to hide.” He lightly adjusted his traveling cloak to emphasize the lack of blending in he’d do in a Non-Magical establishment.

“That’d be brilliant.” Harry stood up from the chair he’d been sitting in while working. He stretched a bit to loosen up and called his Storage Cloak to his hand wandlessly. “Anything you’re craving in particular?”

“I thought about trying this curry dish that’s from India. It’s apparently popular in parts of London.” Sirius smiled at getting to enjoy more time with his godson.

“Never had it. So it’ll be a first for both of us.” Harry smiled at Sirius, letting his godfather place a firm hand on his shoulder. With a twist and crack, Sirius side-along Apparated Harry to London, just inside of Diagon Alley so that they could leave through the Leaky Cauldron and find an Indian restaurant in the capital city.

-Kietamura ~ Arashiyama, Japan-

In a traditionally built village that would’ve looked more ‘normal’ a century or so prior, and that couldn’t be found if one didn’t know how, a Wizard from the Japanese Ministry was meeting with a person of some renown, though only to the more inquisitive of Japanese Magicals. What made this person so different from any other Witch or Wizard in Japan was the fact that he wasn’t human.

No, in fact, Haineko Kenzo (Kenzo Haineko in the Western reading) was a magical cat. A Bakeneko or ‘monster cat’ spoken of in Japanese folklore, a type of yōkai. Kenzo was just over six hundred years old, having been born as a ‘normal’ cat back in the early Muromachi Period of Japan. After growing to an old age, his Magic had developed and his tail had greatly lengthened. He’d spent the next few decades learning human language and how to read, while pursuing the teachings of other older Bakeneko to get a handle on his Magic. With time came both knowledge and wisdom, and the now ancient cat was truly a master of various Magical Arts.

At the moment, Kenzo was in his preferred form, a humanoid body with the head and tail of a cat. He was wearing a nice forest green kosode and matching hakama, a relaxed and easy form of clothing for one capable of shapeshifting at will. The ancient Bakeneko gave the cat equivalent of a grin as he enjoyed a saucer of sake. The Wizard in front of him had come seeking an audience regarding the fall of the Statute of Secrecy.

“We’re requesting the cooperation of all sapient magical beings in making sure that this time of reintegration goes smoothly, Haineko-san.” The Wizard, Yamada Toshi, gave a short bow from his sitting position.

Kenzo chuckled lightly as he set his saucer down. “Did you think I’d do something malicious now that the secrecy has been torn away?” His gray ears flicked slightly and his long tail swayed across the tatami mat floor. “I’m not some dangerous monster that’s just been waiting for a chance to strike, you know?”

“My apologies, that’s not what I meant to imply.” Yamada apologized with a deeper bow this time. “While many do not know of you, those of us that do are very aware of what a Bakeneko of your age and wisdom is capable of, Haineko-san.”

“My, my…” Kenzo picked up his kiseru and packed it with his personal blend. With but a thought, a small flame appeared in the air above the bowl of the kiseru and ignited the dried leaves before disappearing. Kenzo took a drag from the kiseru before exhaling the smoke away from his visitor. “You have nothing to fear from me or any of the yōkai that live in this village of ours.” He briefly motioned with his free hand. “But…” He feline yes narrowed slightly on the Wizard. “I know that’s not all that you’ve come here for, correct?”

Yamada nodded in confirmation before speaking. “There have been reports from multiple trusted Divination experts that a great change is coming. We initially believed it to be the collapse of the Statute, however that has not quelled the predictions. While it is a massive change from the last three centuries, the experts have assured us that this ‘great change’ is still coming. I was tasked with asking if you, with your centuries of wisdom, might know what this change is supposed to be?”

Kenzo took another drag from his pipe, held it for a second, and then slowly exhaled the smoke off to the side again. “I don’t make it a habit of looking into the goings on in the wider world.” His tail swished across the floor. “But I’ve heard of the predictions. When the Onmyōji of the Asakura Clan have divined it, one should take heed.”

“Yes, that’s why the Ministry is worried, Haineko-san.” Yamada nodded in agreement with the Bakeneko. “Would you happen to know any details beyond that this ‘great change’ is coming?”

“Perhaps…” Kenzo had a small grin on his cat face. “But are you telling me that your vaunted Ministry that can supposedly track Magic use, can’t sense the changes in the world?”

“Changes, Haineko-san?” Yamada looked confused for a brief moment.

Kenzo poured himself another saucer of sake. “My, my, but you have let yourselves grow complacent in the last three centuries, haven’t you.” He chuckled at the situation the Ministry found itself in. “Not even able to notice the changes in the world anymore.” He sipped at his sake for a moment. “Just check your own records, Yamada-san, you’ll see the changes that I speak of if you look at the population of Magical beings and creatures over the last few centuries.”

“Population records?” Yamada didn’t normally deal with such things in the Ministry, it simply wasn’t his department. “What does that have to do with this ‘great change’ though?”

“You’ll confirm once you return, so I suppose I’ll just tell you.” Kenzo looked somewhat amused at the lack of knowledge. “The Magic in this world is fading and has been for centuries now. Less Magic in the world means less births for Magical Creatures, and lowered birthrates for Wizards and Witches as well.” Yamada’s eyes widened in shock. “Why do you think the Statute of Secrecy was put in place? Because the Non-Magical were a threat three hundred years ago?” The Bakeneko laughed loudly, exposing his fangs, before smirking at the Wizard. “Up until the refinement of their guns and more sophisticated weaponry, the Non-Magical were not much of a threat to even a shoddily taught Magical. Simple wards and charms could keep them from even finding the home or village of a Magical person. No, the Magical went into hiding because they couldn’t keep their population up. Nowadays, even in the wealthy nations of the world, you’ll find only a few thousand Witches and Wizards, correct?”

Yamada nodded, unable to speak as this information was revealed to him.

“The Magic wasn’t nurtured, it began to fade, the populations began to decline.” Kenzo shook his feline head before taking another sip from his saucer. “The restrictions placed on Magic use didn’t help. The rounding up of Magical Creatures whose very existence would break the secrecy furthered the problem. After all, how many were killed in that time of trying to hide everything?” The Bakeneko let out a little snort. “In trying to hide the Magic, already seeing the loss of it starting, the various peoples of the world only hastened its fall.”

“I-Is that what the ‘great change’ is? The loss of all Magic?!” Yamada felt like his heart had nearly stopped.

Kenzo flicked his tail lazily, a feline grin on his face. “Do you truly believe that the Magical of this world would just let that happen? Well, the ones that paid attention, at least.” He took a short drag from his kiseru while Yamada composed himself. “The Magic isn’t gone forever; it just needs to be…refreshed. Others have spent quite a while working to fix this problem that the vast majority of you didn’t even seem to notice, even though you caused it.”

“Who are these people that’ve been trying to fix the problem?” Yamada asked the ancient Bakeneko.

“That’s not the question that you should be asking, Yamada-san.” Kenzo shook his head before finishing off his saucer of sake. “I suggest you prepare yourself for quite the spectacle when it happens. None of us are likely to see such a thing again in our lives.” He took another drag from his kiseru. “No one knows just what will happen, but it’ll truly be a change far greater than a three hundred year old secret being exposed.” Kenzo spoke, letting the smoke fill the air between him and Yamada.

“What are you…?” Yamada trailed off, blinking as he realized that he was sitting in seiza in the middle of the forest. There was not a trace of the old village anywhere around him now. It was as if where he’d been had never existed. With slow movements, Yamada stood up and then bowed to the empty forest in respect. The Wizard quickly Apparated back to the Ministry, knowing that once Kietamura (The Vanishing Village) disappeared it could only be found again when the yōkai within allowed it. Their Magic was different enough that the Ministry couldn’t trace or break through the various spells that made the village appear and disappear like a spirit. He needed to tell his superiors what he’d learned from Kenzo as soon as possible.

-November ~ Potter Lands-

Harry was thankful for Warming Charms more than ever right now. The Artificer was finishing the walls of the first floor and would have the ceiling complete today. The fact that it was snowing would’ve been a major hindrance normally, but with some Magic, no snow fell on his build site at all. The air was a pleasant temperature, not too hot and not too cold, which allowed Harry to focus on his work.

“And the wall is done.” Harry placed the last stone and poured his mana into the in-progress Artifact again. He felt his Magic intermingle with the growing pool of Magic that the Artifact had already built up. A few seconds later and what he wanted to happen, happened. The last stone, along with all of the walls of the ground floor, glowed just slightly with Magic and became one item. “Hah…” Harry exhaled happily, his work taking a large step today.

What he was doing was not taught to him from any book, nor was it mentioned in any circles among Enchanters or Artificers. This was the furthering of his own unique style of Artifice. Whereas an Artifact normally only became a single ‘whole’ when it was completed, the various effects imparted to the creation through runic arrays and circuit lines, making the new Artifact vastly more durable than any Enchanted Object. What Harry was doing was quite literally fusing Magic and Material together as one!

There was no need for circuit lines, every part of the Artifact was one and the same, all of the structure carried with it the same array and the same abilities. The Orichalcum core in the basement was now one with the stone around it, the floor above it, the walls, the windows, the soon-to-be-made ceiling, everything. As he continued to build, he’d add the new portions to the Artifact until it was complete, fusing the Magic with the Material to create something never seen before.

“Woo…” Harry exhaled as he levitated the first carved wooden beam into place for the ceiling. “If only it wasn’t so mana-intensive to do this… I’d make faster progress.” It was true though. Harry’s new process took quite a lot of mana to make it work, along with a perfect understanding of the process of his own unique brand of Artifice. “I still have the swimming pool and the smithy to add to this once the house itself is built.” His plans for their home would ensure that everything on the Potter Grounds would be protected and maintained. He wanted his future family to have whatever they might need, so he continued to work, pouring his mana and his sweat into creating the perfect home for his family.

Such was the nature of a labor of love.

-Cape Town, Central Business District ~ South Africa-

“Guh!” A man hit the floor, blood flying through the air. Strangely, nothing had touched him to cause the grievous laceration across his chest. He struggled to breathe as the deep injury refused to stop bleeding.

“You should’ve given me the money when I asked for it.” The man that had caused the dying man’s injury, as well as the one responsible for the twelve other bodies lying around the building, told the injured man. With a wave of his hand, the safe in the room unlocked itself and all the money inside quickly shrank down and disappeared into a small bag the Wizard was holding out.

With his job done, the Wizard turned on his heel and vanished with a crack of Apparation.

Truly, the fall of the Statute of Secrecy had been no hindrance to many Witches and Wizards across the world. Crimes, especially in the Non-Magical world, were ridiculously easy to pull off with Magic. Many criminal enterprises where made up of Wizards and Witches that used their Magic to make themselves wealthy. The Statute hadn’t stopped these criminal Witches and Wizards in the past, and now that it was gone, it only emboldened them further.

Areas that were notable for crime, both violent and not, had always been a draw for the criminal elements in Magical Society, as it was usually easy to hide from the eyes of a Magical Government. With the various Magical Governments in the world currently stretched thin trying to deal with reintegration, crimes in places that were already well known for it couldn’t be investigated.

Cape Town, South Africa was known to be a dangerous place, and criminal Magicals were now striking out to form their own organized crime groups. Without people like Aurors around to stop them, it was child’s play to take money, goods, materials, and anything else they wanted form the Non-Magical criminals to get themselves started. The future for several areas like this around the world didn’t look good, as once the other criminals were out of the way, the Magical Criminals would have free run of all the crime-heavy areas.

For every place that was having success with reintegration between Magical and Non-Magical, there were other places that were either failing, or outright promoting the schism between the two sides. Neither side was innocent in these incidents either, the bad would fight the bad and whoever came out on top would be everyone else’s problem afterwards. Such was the way of things when greed and violence met within humanity.

-New York City, United States-

A woman approached a graffiti-covered wall in an alleyway. With a tap of her wand against a specific point, the graffiti wavered away to reveal a metal door. The Witch knocked on it and a second later a small viewport slid open.

“The fuck do you want?” A gruff male voice questioned the woman.

“Mike.” The Witch answered sharply.

“Who’re you?” The man on the other side of the door demanded.

The Witch nearly sighed. “It’s Jessica, you fucking moron.”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” The man asked and a heavy ‘thud’ was heard as the metal door was opened for the woman. Jessica entered the hidden shop and as the door was closed behind her, the Ward made by the Magical Graffiti reappeared and made the door look like part of the wall again.

An invention of the Wizards and Witches of the United States, Magical Graffiti took advantage of the boom of graffiti that had started in the 1960’s and then spread across the country. Seemingly everywhere you went, one could find graffiti of some kind. The styles varied from artist to artist and region by region, but the simple fact of the matter was that you could see graffiti anywhere in the States and most people wouldn’t bat an eye at it. The Magicals had seen this and quickly used it to their advantage, using special paints and symbols hidden within the designs, a variety of simple Wards and Charms could be placed without the need of long strings of runic sequences. Obscuration had been easy to spread for the Wizards and Witches of the States over the last decades. Even the No-Maj’s locomotive shipping routes had been commandeered up to a point by the Magicals of the United States, most train cars were absolutely covered with graffiti, making them easy targets for Obscuration and Confounding Wards. Large shipments of potions ingredients, magical items, and even the occasional group of Magical Creatures had been shipped by rail across the country without a single No-Maj ever realizing it.

“Mike, where do you find these idiots?” Jessica questioned as she got to the counter.

Behind the counter, Mike, looked over at Jessica with a smile. “Around.” Seeing the Witch rolling her eyes at him, Mike moved on. “So, what’d ya need, Jess?”

“The fucking Aurors are snooping around my shop. I wanted to ask you to hold on to a few things for me until the heat dies down.” Jessica patted her purse that was hung over her shoulder by a long strap.

“Depends on what it is.” Mike eyed the purse curiously. “I’m not taking the fall for you if you’ve gotten mixed up with some bad shit.”

Jessica scoffed at him. “I’m not the one with ties to the Magical Mob, remember?”

Mike laughed at her comeback before motioning her to put what she wanted him to hold onto the counter.

“Re’em Blood, Crystal Dust, and Lethe River Water.” Jessica put the three items on the counter.

“Woo~” Mike whistled at the items. “There’s no way you got these legally.” He locked eyes with Jessica. “Who were you trying to mindfuck with this combination of ingredients?”

“No one, I just have some regulars that happen to enjoy one of my original potions.” Jessica answered simply, not ashamed of making brews that got Witches and Wizards high.

Mike snorted out a laugh at her words. “Yeah, well, keep doing what you’re doing then. It’s the same price as last time.”

“I know, you greedy ass.” Jessica placed twenty-one Dragots on the counter. “I’ll be back in a week to pick them up.”

“Right, right…” Mike waved his wand over the coins, making sure they were real, before he swiped them all into a Mokeskin Pouch which disappeared into his pocket a second later. “Have you tried introducing your stuff to the No-Maj’s yet?”

“No, why?” Jessica raised an eyebrow at Mike.

Mike chuckled for a second. “Turns out No-Maj junkies are loving some of the shit we can make, and I’m talking the easy stuff we learned back in class at Ilvermorny. Cheering Draughts are apparently a favorite already.”

“Really now?” Jessica had always been a deft hand at Potions. “Thanks for the info.” She tossed another Dragot his way.

“Careful though.” Mike warned her as he caught the coin. “The Aurors are already teaching the police what to look for when it comes to potions and shit. If you get caught, you’ll find yourself in trouble and heading to prison for sure.”

Jessica waved over her shoulder as she headed for the door. “I’m not dumb enough to get caught. That’s why I pay you, remember?”

“See you in a week, Jess.” Mike called out to the Witch just before she left his illegal shop. “The fall of the Statute of Secrecy is gonna be the biggest money-making opportunity in the country’s history.” The Wizard laughed to himself as he took the three ingredients and safely stashed them in a hidden safe within the backroom of his shop.

-Gringotts-

A short Goblin entered Ragnok’s throne room and kneeled before the Goblin King.

“Speak.” Ragnok ordered, drinking Fire Whiskey from a golden goblet inlaid with gemstones.

“My King, the tunnels have reached the edge of the Muggle underground and various access points throughout London.” The short Goblin informed Ragnok.

“Good.” Ragnok let the word slip out between his pointed teeth. “What of our weapons and armor?”

“The forge is hard at work, my King.” A different Goblin kneeled down to speak. “We anticipate resistance from the Muggles and the Wizards, so protections are being imbued into everything.”

Ragnok nodded to the kneeling Goblin. “How much longer?”

“The best estimate is late spring, my King.” The kneeling Goblin told Ragnok, visible tremors of fear moving through his body.

CRASH

A rough and wicked-looking sword slammed into the stone right in front of the kneeling Goblin, stabbing into the rock and splitting it easily.

“Tell them to hurry up!” Ragnok roared out, making the smaller Goblin rush out of the throne room to fulfill his order. “Bring me more meat and alcohol!” The Goblin King bellowed, the rest of the smaller Goblins running out of the room to get the King what he wanted. Ragnok held out his hand and the wicked sword leapt from the stone and into his grip. “Everything of value will be mine!”

The intrinsic greed of a Goblin didn’t lie in swindling people out of their money or valuables. No, it was much simpler than that. Goblins desired all of value which they didn’t already possess. Gold, Silver, Gemstones, Weapons, Treasures of any and all kind that had intrinsic value. Sentimentality was meaningless to a Goblin, if an item wasn’t of worth, then they couldn’t care less about it. This was what had long led to Goblins stealing and swindling riches from others.

In the past, this had gotten them in a lot of trouble. But a Goblin would honor the words of an agreement made with them. It was why they’d eventually gained a modicum of trust from the Wizards and Witches. The Goblins had managed to convince the Wizards that they’d be better and more honest about keeping their riches and treasures safe than the Dwarves. The fact that they’d been willing to work for far less than the Dwarves and accepted the blatant disrespect that they were shown had sold the Witches and Wizards, ever sure of their superiority, on the idea and, within a generation, the Dwarves that had lived on the isles of Britain had been shoved to the very fringes of society. The Goblins had taken over the Dwarven caverns under King Gringott, Ragnok’s ancestor, without even having to fight for them!

It was only years later that the Goblins began to reveal their true nature. Their greed started small, in the form of higher fees for certain transactions and services. Then came the contracts and the taking of wealth from the foolish Wizards that hadn’t read the contracts carefully enough. This had gotten some pushback from the Wizards and Witches, which the Goblins had naturally argued against, stating they were just following the contract as written. Inevitably, the Wizards had begun putting pressure on the Goblins, trying to ‘remind them of their place’ which had led to the first Goblin Rebellion. A glorious time for Goblinkind as they killed and pillaged with impunity among the Magicals. They were eventually quelled, the lack of wands made their Magic less powerful than a wand-wielding Witch or Wizard, especially a well-trained one. But the Goblins had gotten a taste for war and bloodshed once again, and so, they continued to take the wealth and valuables they could over time, and would rebel when the Wizards eventually pressured them for the extortionist policies and contracts that Gringotts was using.

This same cycle had been going on for centuries now, but because of the Statute of Secrecy, the Goblins had been limited to who they could pillage from. If they set one foot into the Muggle world, the entire ICW would come down on their heads, and the Gringotts Goblins knew that they wouldn’t survive. Thus, they bided their time, waiting for the day when they could take all of the wealth that had ended up in Muggle hands as well. Everything was for treasure and wealth, for bloodshed and battle. Now that the Statute of Secrecy was no more, the horde only needed time to prepare before they’d take everything that they could.

“We’ll kill all who get in our way, Wizard, Witch, Muggle, Dwarf, all will fall and their treasures will be ours.” Ragnok rumbled out as he planted his wicked sword into the floor next to his throne. The short Goblins that had left earlier were returning to the throne room, carrying platter piled high with meat and booze for their King.

Many future plans were being made across the world as the discord from the collapse of the Statute of Secrecy still reverberated across the globe. Most of these plans had nothing to do with each other in the slightest. But the biggest plan that would cause the biggest change, was still unknown to all but a few.

-End Chapter-

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Harry keeps working on his Artifact House!

It’s really starting to come along now! And Harry has reached a new level above his own original style of Artifice! Fusing Magic with Material during construction removes the need for circuit lines! That makes the entire Artifact more simplified and stronger! It also saves space, since circuit lines can’t touch in certain ways, just like electronic circuitry. So, I’m sure Harry will definitely be exploring this even further in the future!

The plans of the world are varied and numerous, but some are far more benign than others. Parts of the world are holding together, while others start to fall apart.

The Japanese Ministry, thanks to connections with skilled Onmyōji that are masters of Divination, have gotten a hint that the ‘great change’ was not the Statute of Secrecy falling! Asking an old Bakeneko for an answer has provided the root cause of the upcoming change, but not what it is!

What will the foreseeable future hold for Harry and Family?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 35,362

Tonks – 27,198

Penelope – 22,536

Fleur – 22,744

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter 71: Potter Home

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Is it time? Is it complete? Has Harry finished his greatest creation to date?! A new foundation from which to grow into the future, no matter what that future brings!

If you’d like to get access to Chapters 72 and 73 right now, check out this story on my Fanfiction.net page to find out how!

Make sure to check out this story's TVTropes Page: Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 71 – Potter Home

It was well into December now as Harry continued to work on his Artifact House. He’d finished the first floor and the second floor now: ceilings, floors, walls, windows, and was currently finishing up the roof work. Given that he’d taken Tonks, Penny, and Fleur’s ideas and thoughts into the design, the roof wasn’t a single object, but one large roof and then smaller ones for the tower built into the home and one for the room that led out onto the large balcony that acted as an awning for the solid wood, double front doors and the stone front porch.

“Tile…” Harry placed the next tile on the roof, using wandless Magic to keep himself attached to the roof without falling. A second of focus and the tile was not only attached to the roof, it fused with the rest of the home, becoming part of the singular Artifact. “Tile…” Harry picked up the next tile from the large stack that he was levitating with barely a thought. Just a few more hours and he should be done with this and the house, aside from the smithy and the pool that he wanted in the backyard, would be complete. His focus was truly admirable as he continued to work, his previous Charm work keeping the falling snow from touching his work site, and also kept the air at a comfortable temperature.

Harry knew that he’d need to furnish the home as well. But that could be done with his loves since it would be their home too. Some simple furniture could be transfigured to start, just to make the home livable when he showed it to everyone. Once they’d settled in, then he’d worry about showing it to fellow Artificers for an official grading and another Artifact on his record.

“Hmm, should I show them Dourfrost and its scabbard too?” Harry mused as he continued to work. “The three of them together would net me seven True Artifacts to my name. I’d be given the Title of Master Artificer for that.” The youngest Artificer chuckled to himself at the thought. “But given they can’t even touch Dourfrost unless it’s sheathed, I’m not sure how well they’d be able to test it. The scabbard even more so, since its entire purpose is simply to seal Dourfrost.” As he considered his options, Harry continued to tile the roof of the Artifact House.

-Christmas-

Harry and Family had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, warmth, and laughter. They’d moved from Wood End Cottage to the Clearwater’s home, then to the Tonks’s home, and then over to France and the Delacour’s home. Gifts were given, food was eaten, and drinks were shared. Before the sun set, Harry decided to give his girlfriends (technically fiancés, even if they couldn’t make it official on parchment just yet) the last and biggest gift of the wonderful day.

“If everyone could grab this rope, please, there’s one last gift that needs to be given.” Harry smiled brightly as he held out a long length of rope.

Tonks deadpanned at Harry as she approached. “You know that making Portkeys without registering them with the Ministry is illegal, right, Harry?”

“Yep.” Harry nodded with a little grin.

“You’re lucky that I love you…and that it’s Christmas.” Tonks took hold of the rope with a playful roll of her eyes.

Penny grabbed the rope next, looking at Harry curiously. “What gift requires a Portkey to give?”

“You’ll see.” Harry promised.

“This isn’t going to be a prank, is it, Harry?” Fleur eyed the rope warily. For all that her lover was intelligent, hardworking, and loving, he’d been raised by Sirius for years now and the prankster had most definitely rubbed off on Harry a bit.

“No tricks, Fleur.” Harry shook his head, a little gleam in his eye.

All of the parents and the young children took hold of the rope as well a few moments later.

With a smile, Harry uttered the chosen activation word. “Home.”

With the sensation of a hook behind the navel, everyone vanished into a swirl of colors.

-Potter Lands ~ Stinchcombe-

“Gah!” With a swirl of light, several people stumbled and staggered as their feet touched the ground. Larger Portkeys often had that little side-effect as they transported multiple people.

It took a few seconds for everyone to get their bearings, but when they did, they all gasped or let out other shocked utterances.

The reason?

The large, two-story, stone and wood house that stood before them.

The stone and wood home was impressive, to say the least. It had mostly white stones making up the walls, with some stones being more gray or brown to break up the color. There were plenty of windows to let in natural light, all framed with beautiful wood that almost seemed to glow with the warmth and love that they’d been made with. There was a tower built into the house, a large window on the second floor of it and a conical roof capped it off nicely with red-brown tiles. There was a large balcony over the front doors, held up by two stone and wood beams. The chimney stuck out from one side of the roof and was also topped with a small ‘roof’ of its own to keep rain, snow, and other things from falling down it. The whole home was surrounded by stone pathways and grass, clearly meant to take advantage of the outdoor space and would undoubtedly be a lovely place to sit and enjoy some relaxation, or time with friends and family, in the warmer months.

Many of the guests could easily imagine the greenery that would be growing around and on the house come the spring and summer.

Potter Home

Harry smiled brilliantly as he took in the looks of surprise and shock on everyone’s faces. He’d purposefully made sure to Charm the entire area around the finished home to avoid the snowfall and keep the temperature comfortable for today.

“H-Harry…this is…” Penny hadn’t known that Harry was so close to completing their future home. The last time she’d been here, he’d only just finished the ground floor.

“Amazing…” Tonks marveled at the large home, taking in the curves of the roof, the stone work, the windows, everything.

“It’s wonderful, Harry!” Fleur declared with a radiant smile for her beloved.

Sirius could only laugh brightly as he got over his shock. “You work fast, Harry! You were still working on the walls of the second floor during my last visit.”

The exclamations of surprise and all of the praise for the finished home made Harry smile warmly at his family, both close and extended. “Would you all like a tour, maybe?” He joked, knowing that his loves would drag him into their soon-to-be home if he didn’t start showing them around soon.

“C’mon, Harry, hurry up!” Tonks was already walking up the stone steps that led onto the perfectly smooth, stone porch. If they all hadn’t known that Harry had built everything himself, the older Witches and Wizards would’ve sworn that this porch alone had to be the work of a master stonemason.

“Coming, Nym.” Harry laughed at his eager Metamorphmagus girlfriend. His green eyes were bright with laughter as he saw Penny and Fleur on either side of Tonks, eagerly waiting to be let inside as well.

The double front doors were opened as Harry placed his hand on the wood. The large group entered into a foyer with a high ceiling. The interior was lit by multiple lights from what appeared to be lightbulbs. Closer inspection, however, revealed the truth.

“Are those crystals?!” Fleur’s head whipped around to look at Harry for an answer.

“Yep.” Harry chuckled at the first question of the tour. “I created this particular method of using them myself. It’s a quartz crystal shell with the runic sequence for a Lumos Charm engraved inside. Put a little mana into them and they light up. Give them a constant source of mana and they’ll stay lit indefinitely, or until the sequence degrades and ‘burns out’. Then you have to fix it or replace it.”

“Harry… Did you invent Magical Lightbulbs and act like it’s no big deal?” Ted asked his future son-in-law blankly.

“I guess…?” Harry pretended to be stunned by the realization. “They’ll be on sale at Potter & Erdunn Creations in Diurn Alley after the holidays.” He told everyone with a chuckle. “We’re marketing them as ‘Lacrima Lamps’, and a way to have light without flames or the need to hold your own Lumos Charm. We’ll sell the lamp, which has a mana gathering and storage array inside, to customers. A buyer only has to press a button to turn the light on, or they can do it by pointing their wand at it from across the room. Do it again and the light goes off.”

That had been the latest business venture for Harry and the Erdunn Dwarves. Aside from preparing for the coming conflict with the Goblins, the Dwarves had been mass producing the new Lacrima Lamps for the shop. They’d even gone out of their way to make various sizes and configurations for the lamps. Ones that sat on tables, flashlight-sized ones, ones that stuck to walls or ceilings too. Even Magical Flames needed oxygen and produced some byproducts, and most Witches and Wizards still used regular candles and wall sconces to light their homes at night. The Lacrima Lamps would revolutionize interior and exterior lighting for Magicals.

Left unsaid by Harry was that these first models that he’d personally made had been made part of the Artifact House, just like everything else built within the home. They would never ‘burn out’ and need to be replaced. Every part of the house was the same Artifact. It was all just as indestructible as any other Artifact that Harry created.

“More?” Gabrielle smiled up at Harry, excited to see the rest of the house.

“Of course.” Harry patted her head and then took her hand as he started the tour properly.

The group moved towards the doorway on the right, entering a sitting room with plenty of windows, meant for both the family and entertaining any guests. It was currently furnished with some simple couches, sofas, and chairs that Harry had transfigured. It had a fireplace that was crackling and providing warmth to the room as well, giving the entire room a warm glow.

The next room was the kitchen. It was large enough for several people to cook in at the same time without getting in each other’s way. A long, sturdy wooden table stood in the middle of the room. The counters were long and had multiple drawers beneath them to hold all manner of utensils and cooking implements. The cupboards above were filled with shelves just waiting to have flatware and glasses placed inside. The large sink at one end didn’t look out of place in the slightest, but Penny had to ask Harry a question.

“You used a runic sequence for Aguamenti, right?” Penny pointed at the two taps on the sink to control the water. “One for cold water, the other modified for hot water, yes?”

“Got it in one, Penny.” Harry smiled at her. “The drain goes down to a box with a Vanishing Charm rune sequence to get rid of everything.” Sending extra water and any food bits into ‘nonbeing’ or to put it another way ‘into everything’ was a quick and efficient method of dealing with the hassle that plumbing would’ve been.

“Is that how the bathroom works too?” Tonks cocked an eyebrow at the simple and effective idea.

Harry nodded and chuckled. “Yep. Saves a lot of time and headache compared to regular plumbing.” He held up his hand with his index finger extended. “And it’s bathrooms.” Given the size of the family that they were likely to have, one bathroom simply wouldn’t have been enough. So Harry had made multiple, the Master Bath that was in the Master Bedroom. Two full bathrooms on the second floor, two full bathrooms on the ground floor, and a half-bathroom (just a toilet and sink) on the ground floor near the sitting room.

“Thinking ahead, very wise.” Edward Clearwater chuckled at Harry’s forethought.

The tour continued on, the guests marveling at the craftsmanship that Harry had put into every aspect of the home. The floors were hardwood, the walls were stone with (currently beige) plaster over them and accented by wooden arches and baseboards.

The living room was large, easily able to hold two dozen, or more, people within it comfortably. It had a large couch, far larger than anything normally made and sold, a few sofas and plenty of plush chairs. The hearth on one wall was currently crackling merrily, the flames dancing on the logs and casting a little extra light within the room. In front of the long couch was a long coffee table, and there were side tables at either end as well. This was repeated with each of the sofas and each plush chair had a small side table on the right or left hand side.

Moving to the next room revealed a playroom, or what would become a playroom in the future. It was spacious and had a large, soft rug in the center. There were various toy chests along one wall and a couple of short, but wide, shelves along another that were just waiting to be filled with children’s books. Harry was given beautiful smiles from his three loves as they moved closer to kiss him softly, one by one. Gabrielle was already giggling as she looked and wandered around the playroom, clearly unconcerned about anything else.

The second to last room on the ground floor was a study…though instead of an office for a single person, it was set up as more of a classroom. Early schooling in the Magical World was almost exclusively homeschooling. This room would act as the classroom for the future children of the Potter Family. Perhaps one day, now that the Statute of Secrecy had fallen, Harry’s children would be able to go to a combined Magical and Non-Magical elementary school. Integration between the two sides might very well make that a reality at some point in the future. But, for now, Harry planned for homeschooling with this room.

Next to the study/classroom was the large library. It was a circular room with two floors and an open center area that had a ‘see-through’ ceiling that showed the sky, similar to the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were shelves upon shelves lining every wall, even the small strips of wall between the large windows that faced the ‘backyard’ of the Potter lands. There were four spiral staircases leading up to the second floor, which had rows of shelves as well as the walls lined with even more bookshelves. In the open center area were plenty of chairs, sofas, and desks for reading or studying. Even the large windows had sills that doubled as little reading nooks and were padded just for that purpose.

“Marvelous!” Penny and Fleur exclaimed at the same time. Both Scholars had bright, nearly shining, eyes as they took in everything they could about the huge library.

“I can’t wait to fill these shelves with books!” Penny gushed happily, pulling Harry into a warm hug and kissing his cheek.

Fleur joined the hug, sandwiching Harry between herself and Penny. “You’ve outdone yourself, mon amour!” She kissed his other cheek with a bright smile.

“Nerds~” Tonks drawled out teasingly, getting chuckles and laughter from the group.

Letting everyone explore the library for a little bit, gave Harry a moment to admire his work and enjoy seeing how happy it made his lovers. Both Penny and Fleur had given him steamy looks, their eyes half-lidded, as they headed up the nearby spiral staircase to check the second floor of the library. Harry had a smug little smile on his lips, knowing that he was most definitely going to be ‘rewarded’ for this room in particular.

Tonks took Harry’s hand and interlaced their fingers with a loving smile. “You did good, Harry, you did very good.”

“I try, love.” Harry chuckled and pulled her into a simple, loving kiss. Both of them were smiling brightly when they separated a moment later.

Not too far from the library was the backdoor of the house, the hallway connecting the kitchen and the door to the library. The backdoor was a set of French doors that was more glass than wood, letting in tons of light. A curtain at either end could easily be pulled to cover the doors if necessary too. The doors led to a large back deck made of stone, just like the front porch.

“Is that a pool?” Marlie blinked, not having known about Harry’s plans for the home.

Harry looked at Fleur, Tonks, and Penny with a small grin and gave them a wink. “Yep. I thought it would be nice to have in the summer.”

Fleur and Tonks both had smug little smirks on their lips, remembering giving Harry a bit of a ‘show’ at the Delacour family’s pool before.

Penny only blushed slightly, but the small smile on her lips told Harry that she wouldn’t mind wearing a skimpy bikini for him again.

“What’s the building a bit further away? It looks too big to be a shed.” Marius pointed at the building in question.

“That’s my new smithy.” Harry smiled broadly at the building. “It’s the same style as the one at Wood End Cottage, just bigger and built by me.” The Artificer chuckled and mumbled under his breath. “With all of the improvements that I could think of and work into the construction.”

Sirius chuckled at Harry keeping the same style that he’d originally had built for his godson. “Shall we check out the upstairs?”

Harry laughed and motioned everyone to follow him. The group entered the hallway and walked up the wooden stairs, some admiring the banister that Harry had made in the process.

The second floor held the large Master Bedroom with the attached Master Bathroom. The bathroom had a large tub and a shower stall, along with a counter along one wall with four sinks, and a large mirror spanning the same length was above the counter as well. None of the older adults commented on the fact that both the tub and the shower stall were perfectly capable of comfortably holding four people. The bathroom even had the toilet behind a second door, separating the bathroom into a washing area and a toilet area.

Harry had seen the concept during their trip to Japan and had liked it, so he’d made the Master Bathroom in a similar style.

The next stop was the study, with two large desks, it had clearly been set up for Fleur and Penny to use for their Scholarly pursuits. Each wall also had many bookshelves that were currently empty. The large window in the room let in plenty of light and kept the room from looking small and closed in. The fireplace in the corner of the room gave warmth and light as well, making the study feel cozy.

Harry only smiled brightly as Fleur and Penny kissed his cheeks again.

“Where’s my special room?” Tonks playfully pouted at Harry, nudging him lightly with her elbow.

“That’s next.” Harry waved her off with a laugh.

Indeed, the next room was much larger inside than it should be. But it was easily clear that this area was for spell training. Targets lined the walls, along with practice dummies that could be animated to fight a simulated duel. Harry tapped the toe of his shoe on the floor and a professional-standard Dueling Platform rose up from the floor in the center of the room. A second tap and the platform disappeared back into the floor.

“Okay, you’re forgiven.” Tonks laughed as she hugged Harry and made a dramatic show of kissing his cheek.

“You can go as hard as you want to in here with your spells, Nym. Charms, Curses, Transfiguration, whatever you want, nothing will escape this room and you can’t damage the house in the least.” Harry told her with a proud smile. “Not even Fiendfyre can hurt this room.” He whispered into Tonks’s ear.

Tonks grinned at Harry before playfully flicking his nose. “Like I’d ever cast that inside our home, regardless of protections.”

The next door that was opened revealed the inside of the tower that everyone had seen from outside. The circular room was comfortably furnished, looking like a small lounge, right now. But Harry tapped the wall twice in quick succession to activate the special feature that he’d worked into this particular part of the home. The tower rumbled just a bit, sort of like a lift in a Non-Magical building. The tower lengthened, growing taller and stretching higher and higher into the air without changing its diameter or circumference in the slightest.

“What is going on?” Andromeda gasped in surprise.

Appoline only took a second to realize that the view outside the window was changing as the tower grew taller. “Is the tower getting higher?”

“Again!” Gabrielle laughed brightly, rushing over to the window to look at the ground below.

“Harry, what did you make?” Marlie asked her ‘step-nephew/step-son’ curious as to what the prodigious young man had come up with.

Harry walked over to the large window and touched the wall next to it with a grin. “I think you’ll understand once I do this.” He swiped his fingers to the right and the window (along with the room) rotated to face a different direction.

“Astronomy.” Edward instantly realized that the taller tower was now able to see a different part of the sky. “It’s an Astronomer’s Tower!”

Harry pointed to his future father-in-law. “Got it!” He spread his arms wide to indicate the entire room. “This tower room is for the likely chance that one of our children or future descendants will be an Astronomy buff.” Harry was also planning to build greenhouses out back as well, for any future Herbologists in the family. ‘I’ll have to leave Magical Creature dwellings or paddocks to a future child or descendant that’s much more knowledgeable about the care that they’ll need.’ He couldn’t learn and understand everything, after all.

“So… How do we get down?” Sirius questioned, not sure that the door would be viable with the tower currently so much taller than before.

“Just a simple tap.” Harry grinned and tapped the wall twice again. The tower not only started to return to its former height, but the room rotated back to its original position at the same time. Only a moment later and the tower part of the house was back to normal, as if it had never changed at all.

Everyone could tell that Harry was enjoying showing off his newest creation as he led them out of the tower room. The next few rooms were bedrooms, obviously for use by future children and any guests that might stay over. But something caught Ted’s attention as he saw how many doors were along the wall.

“This is A LOT of bedrooms, Harry.” Ted mentioned, coughing into his hand a second later. “Are you planning for so many children?” He tried to ask as politely as he could.

Harry chuckled, seeing Fleur, Penny, and Tonks looking at him, each cutely raising one eyebrow at him, as if questioning him on the number of children he wanted. “Our home will always have room for family and friends alike.” Harry answered without answering, a little smile on his lips.

“Hm?” Andromeda hummed before quickly counting the doors along the hall. “There’s a door for each person. Well, except you four.” She looked between her daughter, Harry, Fleur, and Penny.

“Oh…” Tonks, Penny, and Fleur all realized what Harry meant at the exact same time.

“Harry, that’s brilliant!” Penny smiled beautifully at him. “How does the house know when to make more rooms?”

“The house makes more rooms the more people that’re here.” Tonks couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the feature that Harry had built into their home.

“Is there a limit?” Fleur’s mind was clearly engaged, one could practically hear the gears turning in her head.

Harry laughed at his two Scholar lovers. “I’ll give you all of the info later on, I promise.” Both young women pouted at him for a moment before resolving themselves to wait until later. “As for the basic operation, there will always be the Master Bedroom and three other bedrooms on the second floor. That’s the minimum. As more people enter the house, more rooms are added. I had to make a limit based on the amount of material I used, but I highly doubt it’ll ever be relevant unless we plan to host half the people in the local area all at once.” He smiled at all of them again. “But there will always be enough room for family and friends.” Harry repeated, getting smiles from everyone in return.

The last room on the second floor was a game room. Harry planned to have practically every game possible available here. Billiards, darts, board games, card games, shuffleboard, bowling, etc. All made possible by the Magic of his Artifact House, to provide himself, his family, and his guests with entertainment.

“You’ve really outdone yourself, Harry.” Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder, a proud smile on his face.

“It was a labor of love, so nothing was too far.” Harry chuckled, though he was touched by the proud look that Sirius gave him.

“Harry… I can’t cast the Tempus Charm.” Appoline spoke up, her wand in her right hand.

Harry realized that he hadn’t gone over the ‘invisible’ features of his new Artifact Home and rubbed the back of his head for a second. “Ah, right, sorry about that.” He apologized to his future mother-in-law. “No one but me can use Magic right now. The house won’t let you.”

“Won’t let us?” Edward looked perplexed.

“Yeah, it’s a protection feature.” Harry smiled at everyone. “No one can use any Magic within the house or on the grounds. The area of effect of the house extends all the way to the border of the ancestral Potter lands.”

“Can you designate people that are allowed to use Magic?” Penny asked with great interest.

“Is it a ward? Or just a function of the Artifact?” Fleur was right beside Penny, eager to learn more about their future home.

“It seems to be based off of my Anti-Magic Area, but it doesn’t affect the Magic of the house itself.” Penny was already trying to formulate a hypothesis.

Tonks wrapped both of them into a hug, using her Metamorphmagus ability to lengthen her arms significantly so that she could grab both of them easily. “Down, girls! I’m sure he’ll answer if you give him a second.” She laughed brightly at her two ‘sisters’.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the eager looks on Fleur and Penny’s faces. “Its default state is to prevent anyone from using Magic. However, once the house recognizes you as ‘family’, then you’ll be free to use Magic within its area of effect. For all others, they’ll have to be temporarily allowed by me or one of the family members that live here. Anyone trying to sneak in with any ill intentions will find themselves stuck outside of the property line. The intent-based effect also works inside, in the unlikely event that someone allowed to use Magic were to become violent. The instant the desire to harm someone with Magic enters their mind, they won’t be able to use it. If they try to resort to other methods, such as physical violence, Enchanted Objects, poison, or even Non-Magical Weapons, they’ll be disabled…sort of like being hit with a stunner but without any way to defend.”

“Breathe, Harry.” Marlie and Sirius both said at the same time. The couple looked at each other and laughed a second later.

Harry did so, only realizing that he’d ‘pulled a Hermione’ now that he’d been called out. “Ah, sorry about that. I just get a little carried away since I was able to include everything that I wanted into the function of the house.”

“It seems that you’ve thought of everything when it comes to safety.” Edward chuckled at the total control that Harry and family would have within their home and the land surrounding it. ‘Penny will be safer here than anywhere else in the world.’ The father smiled, knowing that his daughter would be happy, safe, and loved with Harry.

“I tried to.” Harry admitted with a nod. “The house can snuff out fires that are trying to spread. Cushioning Charms are worked into the floor when someone falls, especially in the playroom. The whole house being an Artifact also makes it indestructible against basically everything. Destroying it would be a monumental task, even for me, and I created it.” Nothing was too much when it came to protecting his family. Seeing the remains of the old ancestral Potter Home when Sirius had first brought him to the Potter lands had drilled that into his head and engraved it into his brain.

“Harry! Play with me!” Gabrielle took Harry’s hand and practically dragged him over to a table with a checkerboard set up on it.

Harry laughed and scooped up the adorable Veela girl. He spun her around once, much to Gabrielle’s giggling delight, before setting her into one of the chairs and then plopping down into the opposite one.

All of the adults smiled at the cute scene as Gabrielle made the first move, pushing one of her pieces forward.

Fleur, Tonks, and Penny all cooed at Harry playing with Gabrielle.

“He’s going to be such a good father.” Fleur hummed happily, her left hand unconsciously resting on her flat tummy.

Penny nodded in agreement, not taking her eyes off of the cute scene. “Yeah…”

“Once everything settles down… Maybe a couple more years.” Tonks had a warm look in her eyes, her hair changing to a soft, warm brown color as she imagined this scene playing out between Harry and their children in the future.

-Hogwarts ~ Headmaster’s Office-

“Hah…” Dumbledore let out a sigh as he relaxed a little for the first time in far too long. “The holidays are only a temporary break from the madness, but one that I’ll most certainly take.”

Because of his various positions, Dumbledore had been run ragged the last few months since the collapse of the Statute of Secrecy. If he wasn’t at the ICW, then he was at the Ministry, and if he wasn’t at either location, he was visiting member nations that were suffering violence and pushback from the integration attempts. Already he’d seen far too much anger and violence between Magical and Muggle. Some situations had been able to be talked out and soothed, allowing integration to slowly begin. Other locations were so chaotic that no progress had been made in the slightest.

Minerva had been running Hogwarts herself for the majority of this time. His Deputy Headmistress proved herself more than capable, of course, but Dumbledore very much enjoyed his position of Headmaster far more than either Supreme Mugwump or Chief Warlock. If he didn’t feel almost completely responsible for Voldemort’s actions, he shook his head to keep himself from going down the road of ‘What ifs’ and ‘I should haves’ again, then he’d have probably resigned both of those positions already.

“Eeeaaahhhuuuaaa.” Fawkes trilled brightly from his perch next to Dumbledore’s desk, his Magical song uplifting the old Wizard a bit.

“Thank you, old friend.” Dumbledore smiled at Fawkes. “I guess I should see what some of these gifts are.” The pile on his desk was noticeably smaller than it had been in previous years, but Dumbledore not only expected that, he perfectly understood it. A quick wave of his knotted wand over the gifts and all of them came up as ‘safe’ for him to touch and open. “One from Sirius and Harry?” He picked up the rectangular wrapped package and removed the paper. Picking up the card, he smiled a little brighter as he read the words. “Various kinds of Muggle lemon drops?” That was reason enough to smile in the old Wizard’s opinion.

Opening the box, Dumbledore was met with multitudes of candies, wrapped in paper or plastic covers, some simple, others covered in bright colors and bearing one name or another. Picking up a bright one that caught his eyes, the old Wizard unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.

“Mmmnnnhhh!” Dumbledore made a strained sound as his tongue was hit with a sourness unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. His entire face scrunched up reflexively and he looked quite comical.

“Freeeehhh… Freeeehhh…” Fawkes trilled, sounding as though he was laughing at the look on Dumbledore’s face.

Despite the sudden and somewhat unpleasant surprise, Dumbledore would still count this particular day as one of the better ones he’d had in the last several months.

He only hoped that the worst was behind them all for now.

-End Chapter-

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A place to call Home, that’s one great Christmas gift, huh?

Harry has completed his greatest work to date!

Not only is the Artifact House Magical as all get out and powerful as hell, it’s loaded with everything that the soon-to-be growing Potter Family will need!

Safety, family, love, and warmth. What more could you ask for in a home, right?

Harry is most definitely getting rewarded for this! *Perverted giggles*

Sirius and Harry prank Dumbledore with a gift of his favorite sweets! Kek!

But it’s STILL preferable to the madhouse that the Ministry and the ICW have become since the fall of the Statute of Secrecy.

How long can Harry and Family just relax and be together?

Will Harry be able to get his newest Artifacts examined, tested, and graded?

Will he become the first Master Artificer in centuries?!

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 38,648

Tonks – 28,324

Penelope – 23,030

Fleur – 23,226

Until I get your reviews, later!