Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy Chapter 18 (Patreon)

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? 

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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 arms 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 the 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 it 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 longue 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!