Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy Chapter 47 (Patreon)

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!

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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 ~ Arizona-

“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 horrors 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!