Author's Note: Hello everyone I'm back and obviously still alive. I'm touched that so many of you reached out to me expressing your concern over the lack of a new chapter but I simply didn't have the motivation to write with other things going on. Still it's amazing that the story has broken 2500 followers and 2200 favorites. You're all amazing. Without further ado enjoy the long awaited chapter.
~Interlude~ Amelia Bones
I irritably rubbed at the bridge of my nose as another wave of paper airplanes swarmed through the door and into my inbox. Ever since the First Task my office had been flooded with complaints about the man who had intimidated a dragon. My eyes drifted over to the Daily Prophet and I watched the man stroll through the air like it was a walk in the park. The people, and the Wizengamot, had all been demanding that the DMLE do something about Shiro. What exactly they wanted us to do was vague though as how they viewed him seemed to swing from the next Dark Lord to Merlin reborn.
My eyes traveled over the repeatedly read article and how people had been knocked unconscious just being near him. My niece Susan had confirmed that particular fact and with that I was inclined to leave Shiro the hell alone unless he actually killed somebody. If he ever resisted arrest… well, it would be a massacre and he was so close to Susan him going on a rampage was an unacceptable risk. I resisted the urge to rub at my forehead as I heard a knock at my door.
"Come in." I called out before I took a sip of my cooling tea. The door opened to reveal Auror Tonks and Dumbledore? What was he doing here? Probably meddling again.
"Wotcher, boss lady." She had the good grace to at least look a bit sheepish at my raised eyebrow. My minion properly cowed I turned towards Dumbledore with an expectant look.
"Good morning Amelia."
I hid my irritation behind a polite smile. Does no one know proper decorum nowadays? "Good morning to the both of you. What brings you to my office this early in the morning?" Please don't ask me to try to arrest Shiro. I don't think I can.
"Oh, er, I have a bunch of letters that need to be checked over and then see if we can find the sender." I motioned her to continue so she did. "They were all for Shiro and most of them are lethal, crippling or magically binding so they need to be handled with care. Shiro even had to stop Harry from touching one because it had a compulsion on it."
My gaze hardened. We probably wouldn't be able to track the senders for all of them but if one of the darker families was stupid enough to do so we could raid their homes to hopefully find something truly incriminating besides the letter. Just getting the people who would send such things off the streets would be helpful. "That explains why you're here but it doesn't explain why you're here Chief Warlock."
"I have some business that I would like to discuss with you. Preferably in private." I noticed Tonks' eyes dart between him and myself.
"That's fine. Auror Tonks, why don't you go begin the process of getting those letters into the evidence locker and the curse breakers started on making them safer."
She gave me a sloppy salute as she stood up. "You got it boss lady." I felt my eyebrow twitch as Tonks left in a hurry leaving just Dumbledore and I alone in the room.
I took another sip of tea and grimaced slightly at how lukewarm it had become. With a small twitch of my wand steam began to faintly rise from it once more. "I assume this isn't related to any Wizengamot business, right? Oh, but where are my manners. Would you like anything to drink?"
Dumbledore stroked his beard for a moment before shaking his head. "Hmm, not at this time thank you. Instead I would like to talk about the young man that has been in the news recently." My cup made a small clink as I set it down and repressed a sigh. Of course he came here to talk about the biggest source of my current headaches. I motioned for him to continue. "Yes, well you've seen how many people are reacting to him with dangerous letters, outrage and otherwise malcontent yet at the same time there is an equal group proclaiming him the next Merlin. I'm here simply to see that the reactionary portion of our government doesn't lash out and try to do something we would all regret."
I pondered that for a moment before slowly nodding. He was thinking similar thoughts then. "So all you are asking is that the DMLE not move against him without clear proof of him breaking the law?"
The customary twinkle in his eyes was gone for the moment I noticed. "Exactly. I do not wish to see any of my students harmed as a result of an Auror raid to arrest Shiro and while I do not believe he would purposely do so cornered people are rarely rational." I lowered my hands below my desk and clasped them together so they wouldn't shake. Merlin, Dumbledore doesn't believe the entire DMLE and himself could stop Shiro, just corner him. Even then it might not be enough.
"I see. I'll have to rein in Scrimgeour and the rest of the diehard Aurors but it'll be difficult. I know Scrimgeour has been eyeing my job for a good while and if I outright ignore an order from the Wizengamot or the Minister I'll probably be out of a job."
"Hmm, I believe that I can temper the reaction of the Wizengamot but Cornelius could be difficult. Lucius seems to have more and more influence over him as time goes by." I rolled my eyes at that. I wouldn't be surprised to see Malfoy's hand in the back of our Minister's throat when he talked nowadays.
"What do you recommend then?"
"Stall, if any order for Shiro's unjust arrest comes down from above and perhaps it may be wise if you visited Shiro and explained things to him." I tilted my head as I considered that. I could definitely stall and Fudge was definitely impatient enough to rush forward without proper support so that could work. Then talking with Shiro could lessen the risk to Susan if it does come down to a fight against him.
"I'll consider it. Was there anything else you wanted today?"
"No, no that will be all." He stood up then seemed to pause. "Although I can't help but see that you've acquired more paperwork than usual. Is it related to Shiro?"
"Yes." I said cautiously. "Quite a few of them are related to him."
"I always find that delegating work to those responsible is a worthwhile pursuit." Ha, good one, you always play things as close to the chest as possible although sending off all these small claims to Shiro… I smiled thinly. No wonder they call Dumbledore a genius.
"I might just do that. Have a good day Chief Warlock."
"You as well Amelia." I ignored the familiar tone he used as he left my office. Tapping the large stack of paperwork caused more than half of it to form paper airplanes and fly out of my office towards the Owlery. Ah, it feels good to spread the misery around. I leaned back in my chair as I drained the last of my tea.
~Interlude End~
The last week and a half had been annoying for me. I already knew it was going to be difficult after stopping the dragon from eating Harry but the sheer amount of tedious work that I had to do afterwards was soul crushing. Then there were the stares of everyone no matter where I went and the whispers that they thought I couldn't hear.
I think the worst part of it was the fact that the girls had formed some sort of fan club around honing their stalker tendencies towards me. I let out a sigh. I could deal with the endless letters and poison that was put into my meals. In fact I had fun with that by staring straight at the person who did so as I ate my meal but the giggling and blushing as the school girls ineptly followed me around was draining. It tweaked all my senses into over drive whenever someone tried to follow me and I couldn't stop it from happening. The behavior was just too ingrained to fully stop and I would need it whenever I got back home so I didn't try to dull the response at all. Harry was at least sympathetic to my plight as he had experienced similar actions due to his status as the Boy-Who-Lived.
Other than that I had an odd chat with the director of the DMLE Amelia Bones. It was odd because she tried her hardest to assure me that any and all actions taken by Aurors would be without her support unless I broke the law. Only then would she come herself so that I would know that I had actually broken a law. I had thanked her for her support and that was that. I suppose that she realized the difficulty of trying to arrest me but her superiors where trying to push for my capture. Of course, I had no intention of letting them do so but after a week and a half of nothing I was getting a bit anxious for something to happen.
Regardless, my new found infamy had disrupted Harry's training as a multitude of people would come to watch and sometimes beg for me to teach them as well. I refused them all. I already had all the money and books that I needed at the moment so taking on another student would bring me no benefit and just create more work for me as other people would clamor to join if I accepted even one of them. So we needed a different place to train Harry and the weather was turning colder so a different location would be preferable anyways.
I talked about using the Chamber of Secrets with Harry while Tonks was gone for a bit but he expressed reluctance to display his Parseltongue abilities to her so I came up with a different solution. For nearly a month now I had been visiting the hidden room that held Hogwart's Pillar. From what I learned through experimentation was that the room itself was a pocket subdimension that didn't have any form until someone entered it. In addition it could show things not of this world as I found out when it replicated Konoha. It was truly a fascinating piece of magic and even though it resembled my ID ability I had no idea how it was created or how to replicate it. Still, I didn't consider it a big deal to reveal the room to both of them.
"So where's the place we're going then?" Harry asked in confusion as I paced back and forth in front of a blank wall. I suppose I had been a bit vague but I didn't answer until a door appeared suddenly making them both jump a bit. "When did that get here?"
"Just now." I replied a bit cheekily as I swung the door open. The familiar scent of Konoha greeted me as I stepped through the door as both Tonks and Harry trailed along behind me.
Tonks let out a low whistle. "Wow it's beautiful here. Where are we?" I turned around and gave them both a low sweeping bow.
"This is a hidden room within the castle that gives form to your desire. I welcome you both to my home village albeit one without people. Normally it would be impossible for outsiders to come here but since this is merely a memory given form it's fine." I took in their reactions as I straightened. Both of them were taking in the view although Tonks looked like she was doing it more intently than Harry was. Since I was 99% sure she was either coerced or willingly passed information along to others about me I was counting on her to pass this memory along and send them on a wild goose chase for a good while.
"Wait, is this like a pensieve then?"
I shrugged. "Not really. The room just forms what you want. If I wanted a tropical island with a great beach it would form that instead." That was another thing I had tested out. Of course there were limits. Although it seemed like the room could replicate Konoha it was decidedly untrue. The spatial limits of the room only extended a bit farther than the wall around Konoha. If you tried to go past that point you would simply hit an invisible wall.
"Damn. If I had known about this as a student it would have been amazing." Tonks trailed off as she seemed to get lost in her thoughts before suddenly snapping out of her daze. "How did you even find this place?"
"Hogwart's magic led me here." A small smile crept onto my face when she snorted in disbelief. It was always fun when the truth was so outrageous that people didn't believe you although Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Who are the people whose faces are carved into the mountain?" Harry asked.
"Hmm, oh those? They're the leaders of the village. All the way on the left is the founder of the village and all the way on the right is the current leader of the village, Minato. He's also my father." I said the last part in an almost lackadaisical manner while keeping a close eye on Tonks. As expected her eyes light up for a moment before settling onto polite interest.
"Wait, really? Why didn't you tell me this before?" I gave Harry a lazy shrug.
"You never asked and I didn't really have any reason to brag about it." There was a faint blush that formed from my gentle rebuke but I ignored it as I clapped my hands together. "Do you guys want a tour?" The next several hours were spent showing them to all the sights of Konoha before we exited the room and changed the setting to a sandy beach.
"I really wish I had known about this place when I was a student." I heard Tonks mutter over the sound of lapping waves.
"I'm sure everybody wants a shapeshifting room, but we came here to get away from the stalkers and the rabble that seems to follow us everywhere nowadays. From now on this will be our training area. It's nice and running on the sand will help build up stamina." Time for a training montage a small portion of my brain whispered to me as we began our now familiar routine. I have to say that Harry hasn't disappointed me so far. He's been admirably committed to growing stronger and I might show him how to Tree and Water walk if his growth continues at this rate if only to see whether he can actually do them or not.
Later that night I slipped back into the room where the Pillar of Hogwarts stood and slowly walked towards it. The Pillar basically radiated excitement and I could understand why. If I was trapped and my freedom was imminent I would be excited too. Now there are just a few things left to verify.
I stopped short of the pillar before I spoke. "Hello again." Of course the Pillar didn't respond with words but the excitement spiked and I let out a small laugh. "Yes, yes I know. I'm almost ready to free you but before I do I need to know one thing." A wave a caution flew out but that was to be expected. "All I want to know is what you truly are. I don't want to release a demon on accident after all."
There was a long pause and I almost thought it would refuse before a creak to my right drew my attention. A small desk and chair had appeared with a slim, ancient looking book on top of the desk. I sat down in the offered chair as I carefully opened the book. Even though I was being as careful as possible the binding of the book fell apart leaving me with free floating parchment. That wasn't very important to me. What was important was the name inscribed on the inside of the cover, Rowena Ravenclaw. A personal journal from one of the founders of Hogwarts. I'm sure everyone would go insane if word ever got out about it. With the utmost carefulness, I collected the pages and began to read through them. For some reason, I felt the need to read out loud.
"It is with heavy heart that I scribe my thoughts upon this journal. My three friends, no, my family and I have achieved what was once thought impossible. We have taken the first step towards a new age where magical knowledge is no longer hoarded and jealously guarded as it is passed down from Master to Apprentice. We have brought so many young witches and wizards together to spread and indeed discover the joys and perils of magic. If only we could be left in peace to teach young minds I would be content but, alas, it seems that our success has drawn the jealous gaze of others." I paused to flip the page over.
"The Vikings, vicious barbarians that they are, have been especially tiring as year after year their shamans attack us in order to plunder the magical knowledge that we have carefully gathered. They are just one of many though and I fear for our legacy when we are gone. Even now our enemies grow more bold as my family and I begin to show our age. Godric, for all of his boasting, feels old age's grasp the most of all us. War is a young man's game and the wounds taken in his youth now show their true toll on his body. To this end I have decided that Hogwarts need a protector. I just need to figure out how to make one." The next several pages were full of equations and ritualistic diagrams before the writing picked up again.
"I believe I have a solution yet it comes far too late for my beloved sister Helga. She was just one of the many casualties in these ever increasing raids and I morn for her along with Godric and Salazar. Now, more than ever, the need for a Protector is clear. I need to hurry, but I keep my research from everyone else. I do not believe they would approve of my methods or what must be sacrificed to protect us all." There were more equations until the writing resumed although it was jerky as though she was writing while emotionally charged.
"I have done the deed, monstrous as it is. Three children of the Fae, three children of man and three magical children. The Fae for their agelessness, the magical children for strength and children of man to bind the two. Each was ritualistically drowned in dragon's blood and their soul's torn asunder to be reformed within the pillar I have prepared." My gaze drifted over to the Pillar which didn't let out any emotion for me to sense. When it didn't do anything for a while I resumed reading. "I, I do believe that some form of punishment will await me when I die for what I have done yet if it protects our legacy then I shall gladly suffer my fate. Hogwarts has its Protector and they shall stand guard against all its enemies until the last stone falls." There was nothing else contained within the book and I set it to the side as I turned to face the Pillar.
Rowena's actions would be condemned in this modern age, and probably back then as well, but it had seemed necessary at the time. Was there some other way to protect Hogwarts? Perhaps, but I couldn't judge her. I had done far worse in my service to Konoha. "Well," I said idly, "that's a tragic, if interesting, backstory. It certainly trumps most other sob stories I've heard before." The being in the Pillar didn't seem amused but I continued on regardless. "I'm not saying that it wasn't tragic what happened to you at your birth just that it was more interesting than most other backstories I've heard. It gets a bit tiring to hear about another person set on vengeance after their brother/sister/mom/dad were killed. I've met more than a few people like that and it's always me, me, me, oh woe is me. Why can no one understand how tragic my life is even though I push everyone away? Then even if they do succeed in having their vengeance they usually fall apart because their life revolved around getting revenge and they don't know how to live without it being part of their life anymore."
While I was talking my hands were blurring as I inscribed rune after rune around the Pillar. There was a surge of amusement from the Pillar. It would seem that my attempt to dissuade them if they had any thoughts of vengeance were seen through. Oh well. If their revenge didn't affect me or Harry I really didn't care. I finished the last rune and stepped back to look over everything with a critical eye. Everything looked good so I took out a small stone and set it on the focal point of my work.
The blood runes on the Pillar were devious in their nature. They could only be released by the original creator without creating a cascade failure that would inevitably lead to the being in the Pillar's demise. Therefore, I had no intention of trying to break the blood runes but transferring them to another inconsequential item, hence the stone.
I bit my finger hard enough for it to bleed and drew a thin trail that connected my array to the blood array. I let out a small breath as nothing exploded and slowly started to pump chakra into my array. It lit up as my chakra flowed through it but I didn't pay it much mind. All of my attention was on the blood array as it began to squirm like it was alive. Slowly, ever so slowly, the blood runes began to creep down the Pillar and onto the stone where they were condensed. The process was purposely slow so I could react to any changes but after three hours the blood runes had been successfully transferred to the stone and my array died down, its purpose fulfilled.
I leaned back as a surge of magic rushed outwards from the Pillar causing my hair and clothes to billow away from it. Just as suddenly as it began the surge stopped before a gentler pulse of magic billowed out of it and a woman appeared standing next to the Pillar. I suppose people would call her beautiful yet her beauty had an otherworldly quality to it. Her hair color just a bit too golden to be natural, her skin almost had a luster to it as though it was almost glowing from an inner light and her sapphire eyes held a weight to them that I could only attribute to seeing centuries pass by. Her figure was also willowy, but strong, and covered by a yellow summer dress.
"After 400 years I'm finally free to form a physical body once more." She closed her eyes as she took a large breath. As she released her breath in a content sigh her eyes snapped open and focused on me. "There are no words I know that express just how thankful I am." As she spoke she strode close enough to me to reach out and run her hand along my cheek. The action almost seemed to make her giddy. "I had almost forgotten how it felt to touch another person, but I'm not really touching you am I? Perhaps it's presumptuous of me but I would greatly desire to see the true face of my savior."
She knows? How does she… Oh. "You can see everything that happens in this castle can't you?"
"Yes, and just a bit past the furthest ward." Her smile was kind and caring as she ran her hands through my hair. "I've seen how you arrived to this world, how you create copies of yourself and how you hold Rita Skeeter prisoner in her Animagus form. None of that matters to me. All I see before me is my savior from my prison. I would never reveal that to any other person unless you try to harm the people who reside within Hogwarts."
This was not good. I didn't detect any hint of a lie in her actions but her body seemed similar to a clone or in more technical terms, a physical manifestation being remote controlled by the woman's soul which still resided in the Pillar. Therefore she might have complete control over the body and not reveal any ticks that would indicate that she was lying. After a brief pause I decided to accede to her request and dropped my henge. Doing this wouldn't matter much when she had so much information on me and it would show a certain willingness to cooperate, at least for now.
"So cute." I heard her mummer as her eyes seemed to flash. I had to hold back a snort. No one but Kushina and maybe Saiko on a good day called me cute. To everyone else I was simply deadly. "Ah, but where are my manners. People usually call me Lady Hogwarts but you can call me Eli." She performed a curtsy before she began to run her fingers through my hair again while giggling slightly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Eli." I ignored the sensation of her fingers on my scalp for the moment. I could completely understand the desire to reaffirm your senses after a prolonged absence. When I had first completed the Chakra Sensor course I had almost subconsciously kept rubbing my hands along my clothes just to reassure myself that my sense of touch had returned. "Do you have any misgivings about me keeping Rita prisoner? I mean you were created to protect Hogwarts and its inhabitants and she was definitely a student here once." I tried to test the waters with Eli. If she was against it I would simply bring Rita far away from the castle and dispose of her as I still hadn't found a use for her yet.
"Rita? Yes, she was once a student here and I do love each and every student that sets foot within these halls as soon as they graduate my love fades away." Eli's smile gave her an almost ethereal quality but the smile quickly turned into a frown. "In addition she has brought harm to my precious students when her articles viciously attacked their families. Torture her, kill her, it matters not to me. Her actions have made her an enemy of Hogwarts and my ire must be satisfied. Speaking of ire though."
She slightly turned away from me and a wall with a painting of a man appeared. The dark hair man was reading a book but when Eli cleared her throat he glanced up and his eyes widened in shock.
"Eli!"
"Don't call me that! You lost that right when you sealed me away!" I tilted my head as the two started shouting at each other. This painting… it feels just like Voldemort's soul before it was destroyed. What kind of messed up world have I come to where people keep mutilating their souls? Besides that, was it a good thing or bad thing that Eli was so indifferent to Rita's fate?
"How?" The man shouted. "How did you escape?" I felt Eli's hand land on the top of my head which drew my attention back into the conversation.
"I found a hero. He's much better then you will ever be Alexander. In fact, I'm thinking of making him my personal champion. I think we would look good together with our silver and gold hair." His gaze swung towards me for the first time and I saw the deep pool of hatred and jealousy that swam in his eyes.
"Impossible! Eli is mine you brat. You can't have her. She's mine! All mine! No is even allowed to look upon her beauty but me." Spittle flew from his mouth as he yelled.
I frowned at the obviously deranged man in the painting. I wonder if splitting your soul causes mental instability? "She's a person. Not a thing that you can possess." Eli's smile was radiant as she turned her attention back towards Alexander and a flame appeared at her finger tips. I took a half step away from her because the flames felt unnaturally hungry.
Alexander's eyes only had time to widen before the flame connected with the painting and he began to scream. I watched on with a certain sense of interest as I felt the flames literally burn his soul to nothing before Eli enforced her will on the flames causing them to extinguish themselves. "Ah, that felt so damn good. Serves the bastard right."
I wanted to learn it. I held my hand out in front of me and concentrated on how I felt Eli weave her magic.
Ding!
Learned Fiendfyre(Active (1000(565) initial cost + 500(265)/min)) LVL 1 – 0%
Fiendfyre is a flame of abnormal size and heat. The flames are capable of seeking out living targets despite being non-sentient. This curse is very advanced dark magic, capable of burning everything to dust, and is also very difficult to control once unleashed. Many a practitioner has found themselves consumed by their own summoned flames.
Increases control by 10%
"That's a very dangerous skill you've just learned." Eli's voice drew my attention away from the small flame flickering over my palm. With an effort of will the flame disappeared and I flexed my hand. For some reason the flame seemed to take the shape of different animals.
"Maybe you shouldn't use such dangerous skills in front of impressionable youths then. You never know what they might pick up." I stated drolly. Eli's laughter was like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. Refreshing, but also leaving you chilled. "Will that be last we see of Alexander?"
"Hmm, yes. The Big Book of Names records every students name that has ever graced these halls. Once I eradicated a portion of his soul his name was crossed out meaning he's gone forever."
My brow furrowed in thought. "But it was only a portion of his soul. What about the other portion?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "Already passed on for one reason or another. A horcrux will indeed allow someone to live as long as it is not destroyed but that is only for the soul. The flesh has no such protection and will eventually decay leaving the soul portion free floating. Then the splintered soul must continually possess other living creatures to continue existing. If it does not it will lose power and disperse into an uncountable amount of pieces that are neither dead nor alive. It will remain this way until their horcrux is destroyed and dies a true death."
I hummed in thought. "It sounds like you've personally seen this happen and not something you've read."
"I have seen it happen." She admitted. "The world was a much more wild place back then and wizards needed ever advantage they could get. If that meant splitting their soul or creating something like me then so be it."
"You must have seen amazing things."
"Amazing and terrible yet I am stuck in this little corner of the world." A period of silence fell between us before Eli started running her fingers through my hair again.
"So what will you do now that you're free and have had your revenge on the one who imprisoned you?"
"I will resume my role as the Protector of Hogwarts. There is a disturbingly large Acromantula nest within the forest that must be destroyed and then there are a few more things within Hogwarts that must be taken care of."
I pondered for only a moment before coming to a decision. It would be a good decision to be on the good side of lady who can see everything within a few miles radius and can control fire that burns the soul. "If you tell me what the other things are I may be willing to help. On the other hand destroying the Acromantula nest is something I'm willing to help with."
A pout appeared on Eli's face. "I'm already in your debt and you want to increase the amount even more. If this continues am I going to have to pay you back with my body?"
"I'm fine with knowledge." I said, instantly rejecting her question. "Besides I'm only 10."
A weird look appeared in her eyes as she patted my cheek. "Sure you are." Before I could parse out that statement a silver diadem appeared on a table near me and my attention was drawn towards it because I could feel the soul residing in it.
"Voldemort created another horcrux? Damn, that's three already. How many of these things did he leave around?"
"Probably quite a few of them if three of them could be found so easily. This is one of the things I need to take care of but if you want to help me out by destroying it that would be great." I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. After her previous display I knew she could destroy these things so the question was, what was her angle? Regardless I summoned the unholy flames to my hand and a roar rose from the flames as it formed a dragon that engulfed the diadem completely. When I felt it completely consume the soul within I forced the flames to subside. Even though the skill description said that Fiendfyre was hard to control it still surprised me how much effort it took to extinguish, and control, the relatively small blaze that I had summoned. I suppose it's a useful skill but it needs a ton of work before I would ever use it in a fight.
"So you truly did learn it after only seeing it once." I glanced back to Eli and slightly nodded. So a test to see the extent of my control and my learning speed. There might have been even more to the request but I couldn't see it at the time. A person who has lived for a thousand years wouldn't be simple and with a third of her soul not human in origin who knows how she perceives the world.
"I've always learned new things extremely fast. I also know people who can learn things just as fast though." I said as humbly as possible. "Do you still need help with the spiders?"
She seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging and a door appeared on a wall. "Why not? It'll be nice to have company after so long." She motioned towards the door and we began walking towards it.
"I hope that you don't mind me putting my disguise back on."
"No, no I understand." I reapplied my henge as she opened the door and stepped through. As soon as I did so I couldn't help but notice that we had stepped out of a tree near the edge of the forest. I turned back just in time to see the doorway fade away as though it was never there at all. I couldn't even detect any magic so either it was hidden so skillfully that I couldn't detect it or the doorway was similar to a gateway that could be used to move between two points instantly. Apparition and Portkeys, which I had learned how to do a few days ago, were similar in theory but not application. If I could learn how to create the gateways and the magical room with the Pillar releasing Eli would be worth it even with the headache she was causing me by knowing so much about me.
A slight sound made me turn around to see Eli with her arms spread wide as her feet curled and uncurled on the cold, wet grass. With a coy smile on her face she spun around to face me and extended her arm. "A gentleman such as yourself should know how to conduct himself during a stroll through the forest." I snorted lightly but hooked my left arm with her right one as we began walking deeper into the forest. Ever since I've met Eli I've fallen into her pace haven't I?
The forest itself was even cooler then the edge of the forest was and I couldn't help but notice Eli shiver. How that worked when she was simply piloting a body made through magic I had no idea. "Are you okay? You're shivering quite a bit."
"Oh, you noticed? It's nothing I'm just so excited." Excited for what? The genocide we were about to commit on the spiders? Being free for the first time in 400 years? Something else? In the end I didn't ask and instead sent a wind blade off to the side causing a spider that was going to ambush us to split in half. "Nice catch." She said with a pout. "I thought I was going to have to save us and then I could hear you praise me."
I rolled my eyes as we continued past the cooling corpse. "How many spiders are there anyways?"
"634 the size of the one you just killed, 12 elder spiders and the patriarch."
I whistled lowly. "That is a lot of dog sized spiders. What do they even eat?"
"Everything that has a pulse really. They've already eaten pretty much everything within their territory and their hunger has caused them to try expanding into the centaur's territory along with causing them to resort to cannibalism."
I tilted my head at the sound of soft clopping coming from our left. Both of us turned in time to see a group of centaurs emerge from the trees. All of them carried weapons but none of them were pointed anywhere near us. One of them with white blonde hair stepped forward and began to speak. "Why have you come to the forest when the light of Mars bleeds from the sky?"
"We are here to take care of a spider infestation." Eli replied. The centaurs near the back shuffled awkwardly at the sound of her voice and I saw their leader focus his attention on me.
"You walk with One-Who-Casts-a-Shadow-Over-the-Stars, Lady Hogwarts. His arrival has clouded our visions of the future."
"Really? I mean I've been called Heartless before, kind of an inside joke, but it's my first time receiving a hyphenated name." I thought being able to see the future they would at least foresee my arrival.
"Yes. Only Mars has pierced the veil of your arrival." The centaur looked to the sky before stomping his hooves a few times. "We shall help you in your endeavor tonight. The spiders have grown bold of late and they threaten our tribe. We shall skirmish along their edges to draw pressure off of you when you begin your assault." With that he spun away along with the rest of the centaurs and disappeared into the forest.
"Well," I began after they were far enough away to not hear us. "He was a bit blunt."
"Centaurs are either extremely blunt or horribly cryptic. Luckily Firenze was blunt with us this time."
"Hmm, how did they know you were Lady Hogwarts anyway?"
"I," a confused expression appeared on her face, "don't quite know. Alexander did more than just seal me. He cast a spell that would seal all knowledge of me away and cast a forget me charm as well so that even if someone did discover me they would forget all about it shortly thereafter. With his true death the spells are fading but they still have power."
"Hmm, food for thought I suppose. Anyways have you noticed that we seem to be surrounded." As I said this a half sphere of lightning surrounded us causing the first few spiders that jumped at us to be electrocuted. Their screams were oddly human like and I felt them die as they fell to the ground twitching.
Eli seemed to be looking at my Lightning Wall technique curiously. "I see you're handling the defense like a true gentleman so I'll handle the offense." She waved her hand and the forest seemed to come alive as it attacked the surrounding spiders. As soon as she was done she leaned against me and let out a sigh. "I'm out of practice if something like this tires me." I looked over the battlefield where the spiders were struggling almost pitifully against the attacking forest.
"A mass animation charm, very nice, but don't count me out just yet. I can still attack while defending. How do you feel about fire?"
"Please don't. Fire has its uses but I want to make a dress out of their webs. Acromantula silk is one of the softest materials in the world and it's also slightly magic resistant as well."
"… Is this your version of clothes shopping?" I asked incredulously as hundreds then thousands of lightning senbon flew unerringly into the surrounding spiders piercing them easily.
"Noooo~"
"It would be a lot more convincing if you weren't looking anywhere but me when you said that." We started to walk through the field of dying and dead spiders. That was what the next couple of hours was like. We would seemingly wander around and encounter groups of spiders that would be quickly dispatched before we would move on. Sometimes we would come across dead spiders that had obviously been killed by the centaurs but that was infrequent.
Finally, we came to what be the main nest. Less than 12 dog sized spiders remained to guard the 5 elders and 1 patriarch. The patriarch was the size of a small elephant and made a clicking sound as we approached. "Why have you attacked us and killed my children?" The giant spider can talk? Why am I not surprised?
"Your web has grown too strong and your numbers too numerous to let be." Eli responded. Oh, was it actually talking in English? It was, how odd.
"We have never attacked a human."
"Pull the other leg you're not fooling anyone. I see all that happens on these grounds and while you do not actively hunt humans you still attack them if they come near. Plus I know you were losing control over your children as you age. If you died they would attack indiscriminately."
The giant spider stilled for a moment. "If we promise to leave these lands will we be allowed to leave unharmed?"
Eli shook her head. "Why would I leave an enemy alive to gather their strength for revenge?"
"Then die!" The spider screamed as it lunged at us along with the other spiders. They were met with a wall of crystal but instead of simply running over it they seemed to freeze once they touched it. "What cursed magic is this?" The patriarch cried as the crystal steadily spread up his legs along with all the other trapped spiders.
"Does it really matter? You're going to die anyways." I asked blandly. He gave a wordless shriek of rage before the crystal enveloped his head. Once every spider was fully encased I shattered the crystal into millions of tiny pieces. "Was that the last of them?"
"Yep. This was a pretty full night wasn't it? You freed me from my prison, we burned the souls of our enemies, took a moonlit stroll through the woods, exterminated an overgrown spiders nest and got me enough silk to make a hundred dresses." She giggled and gave me a kiss on my cheek. "It was an excellent first date. Next time I want to go with the real you and not a clone though. See you soon." With that she slipped her arm out of mine and disappeared.
'What just happened?' I thought numbly as the real me dropped down from a tree. "So she knew." I heard myself mumble. "Go ahead and dispel yourself." Gladly, trying to figure out women is far too difficult. I'll leave that to the real me.
I watched my clone explode into smoke and let the familiar sensation of memories rushing into my head envelope me. Once it was done I glanced around at the remains of the spider nest. When Eli disappeared, she had taken about half of the spider silk with her so I guess the remainder was a thank you present to me. With a put-upon sigh I went about gathering the rest of the silk getting enough for maybe 50 complete outfits. With that done I slowly made my way out of the forest and back to the castle. Tonight had been very eventful and I needed time to process everything.
Several hours later I stood outside the entrance to my room staring at Hermione who was dressed in workout clothes and a stubborn expression on her face. "I want to join Harry when you teach him." Was that a headache coming on. Yep, it seems like it was.
Age: 10 years - 5 months
Title: Root Shinobi, Son of a Kage
LVL: 31 - 8% to next LVL
HP: 1,760/1,760
Chakra: 98,192/98,192
Elemental Affinity: Water, Earth
Bloodline: Crystal Release
STR: 180(234)
VIT: 176
END: 168
DEX: 190(209)
INT: 202(216)
WIS: 155 - 156(167)
LCK: 50
Points: 18
Money: 921,402 ryo/ 15,276 galleons
Skills Learned:
Fiendfyre(Active (1000(565) initial cost + 500(265)/min)) LVL 1 – 0%
Fiendfyre is a flame of abnormal size and heat. The flames are capable of seeking out living targets despite being non-sentient. This curse is very advanced dark magic, capable of burning everything to dust, and is also very difficult to control once unleashed. Many a practitioner has found themselves consumed by their own summoned flames.
Increases control by 10%
Apparition (Active 500(375)) LVL 1 – 0%
Apparition is a magical method of transportation. It is basically the magical action of traveling by having the user focus on a desired location in their mind. After the user is properly focused they then disappear from their current location and instantly reappear at the desired location. In short, apparition is a form of teleportation. It is by far the fastest way to get to one's desired destination, but is tricky to pull off correctly and disastrous if botched up.
Decreases splinching chance by 10%
Range of 300 miles
Portkey( Active 500(375)) LVL 1 – 0 %
A portkey is an object enchanted to instantly bring anyone touching it to a specific location. Traveling by portkey is said to feel like having a "hook somewhere behind the navel" as it pulls you to its destination.
Decreases splinching chance by 10%
Range of 1000 miles
Skills increased
Occlumency 5 - 7
Legilimency 1 - 3
Dark Arts Mastery 8 - 10
Transfiguration 8 - 10
Charms 8 - 10