Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy Chapter 50 (Patreon)

Whoa! We hit the big 5-0! Enjoy everyone!

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Now comes the aftermath of the Third Task and the capture of Barty. Me thinks there is going to be quite the scandal. Not to mention that Harry has O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s to take over the summer and the trip to Japan. I’m sure certain malicious elements may just mix to try and deal with Harry in the future.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 50 – Aftermath and Summer Begins

‘I was right about this being a damn headache.’ Harry mused as he fell asleep in his bed at Wood End Cottage. The frenzy that the capture of Barty Crouch Jr. had brought was naturally a situation that Harry couldn’t escape from. Questions upon questions, decries of lying when he mentioned Voldemort, Sirius stepping in and keeping everyone back. He really needed to do something nice for his godfather for that. After some time, Sirius has used his place as Harry’s Guardian to take him home for the night. He’d at least gotten to see Fleur and Penny before they’d left to explain the situation, thankfully. He was sure the Ministry, the DMLE especially, was in an uproar right about now.

-Next Morning-

“It’s a bloody warzone in here, Harry!” Tonks looked frazzled in the mirror as she called Harry shortly after breakfast. “Mad-Eye wants to fill Crouch Jr. full of Veritaserum and question him as long as it takes. Old Scrimgeour has already arrested Crouch Sr. and has him in a cell. It’s a mess and the Ministry employees are already starting to look at each other with suspicion.”

“Are Fudge and that pink toad still trying to push their angle that calls me a liar?” Harry asked rhetorically. He knew Umbridge held a grudge and would probably go out of her way to slander him even if Voldemort walked into the Ministry in broad daylight. Fudge was a toss-up, but the man had been the first to use the word ‘liar’ when Harry was being questioned last night.

“Umbridge is still croaking about how you’re a lair and delusional, yes.” Tonks grimaced, having heard the awful woman’s bellowing almost as soon as she arrived to the Ministry. “Surprisingly, Fudge has kept himself mostly quiet. But that’s probably because he’s hiding in his office after dumping most of this in Madam Bones’ lap.”

“Sounds like Fudge.” Sirius agreed from his place at the table. The headline splayed across the front of the Daily Prophet he was reading was switching between two stories. ‘Death Eater Bartemius Crouch Jr. found alive! Father Bartemius Crouch Sr. arrested for helping convicted son escape Azkaban!’ The second front page story was titled: ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returns?! Artificer Harry Potter claims to have been abducted from the Triwizard Third Task and escaped the Dark Lord!’ All of Magical Britain was probably in an uproar about now with those two headlines warring for space on the front page of the Prophet.

“How anyone can call Harry a liar when he brought back Barty Crouch Jr., alive and well, is beyond me.” Marlie shook her head from her place next to Sirius. The Healer was flabbergasted that anyone would try and say that You-Know-Who wasn’t back when a Death Eater thought long dead was revealed to be very much alive.

“I’m wondering if this is gonna prevent me from taking my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s early.” Harry wasn’t worried about retaliation just yet. Voldemort had gone through an inordinate amount of trouble to snatch him away where no one could see. The Dark Lord clearly didn’t want to be confirmed to have returned.

“Keeping you safe is far more important than any tests, Harry.” Sirius looked at his godson with concern and paternal love.

“I know, but I finally made the decision to graduate early and you went through all of the trouble of setting up the exams with the Wizarding Examinations Authority. It seems like such a waste if I’m not able to take the tests now.” Harry grimaced at Voldemort causing trouble in his life again.

“We still have our trip to look forward to, even if you can’t take the exams right now, Harry.” Sirius assured him with a smile. “We’re not going to let some half-dead Dark Lord cow us. We’ll continue on and if he comes, then he’ll be in for a surprise.” The old Marauder gave Harry a knowing look. Harry returned the look as he thought about his Artifacts and the small army of Dwarf warriors that had his back.

Not long after breakfast, Penny had come over to cuddle with Harry and make sure he was okay. They talked while holding each other and Penny was eventually satisfied that he was okay. It was a peaceful, relaxing moment between the couple and they both relished it. Their talk eventually turned to their current projects and Penny pulled her notes on the Anti-Magic Area from within her own Storage Cloak. Harry showed her his notebook with the ideas for the Communications Hub and the rough drafts of his potential sword and trident designs.

“Look Marlie…” Sirius whispered as he waved his fiancé over. “They’re having a couple’s study session. Isn’t it just precious?”

“Leave them be, Sirius.” Marlie playfully chided her lover after seeing Harry and Penny taking up the couch and coffee table in the living room. “They need this after last night.”

“Right you are, love.” Sirius grinned as he took her hands in his. “Why don’t we go have our own alone time?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“You randy hound.” Marlie’s giggling laugh rang out.

“Is that a ‘no’?” Sirius pretended to pout.

“I didn’t say that~” Marlie purred as she led him towards the stairs.

Sometimes it was hard to tell which couple were the randy teenagers in Wood End Cottage.

-Flint Manor-

“Move everything of value!” Voldemort ordered with a cold fury. He couldn’t risk Barty being forced to reveal his current location. Damn, Harry Potter…he’d enjoy watching the life fade from the boy’s eyes! As it stood, he was moving his operations to the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. Lucius would be a gracious host if he didn’t want to suffer again. ‘There are other uses for the property as well.’ The Dark Lord mused as he watched his followers pack up everything quickly.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Harry,” Tonks plopped down on the couch and pulled her boyfriend into a hug. “I’ve been running around all day because of this mess.” She used Magic to remove her boots and placed her feet on his lap. “Foot rub, please.”

“Alright,” Harry grinned at his eldest girlfriend and began to rub her feet. “You’ve earned it.”

“Darn right.” Tonks sighed as she relaxed on the couch. “The Ministry is going to be a madhouse for the foreseeable future.”

“As long as they actually prepare for when Voldemort decides to stop hiding, I think it’s a good thing.” Harry shrugged while continuing to lightly massage her. “I’d rather not have to fight Voldemort with just my family and the Dwarves if possible. The rest of Magical Britain needs to realize that they can’t just cower and expect someone to save them.”

“True, but Voldemort isn’t exactly someone that most are going to try and stand up against.” Tonks stated the obvious just to get it out there. “If Madam Bones and Mad-Eye have their way, everyone in the Ministry is soon going to be searched for the Dark Mark before they can enter the building proper. That should help with the issues of moles among the staff this time around.”

“You sound like you’re expecting interference in that actually happening.” Harry noted the tone in Tonks’ voice.

“The Wizengamot and the Ministry are full of ‘Traditionalist’ Purebloods that’ll more than likely fight against any change to the Ministry’s operation. It isn’t just Fudge and his ilk that make the place inefficient and headache inducing. There are plenty more problem causers working there than that.”

“No wonder Voldemort had such little trouble almost taking over last time.” Harry sighed as he continued to rub Tonks’ feet.

“Tell me about it.” Tonks exhaled heavily before letting out a pleased hum as Harry’s fingers worked out a sore spot on the sole of her foot.

-Prime Minister’s Office ~ London-

“Your Minister,” The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, spoke to the painting in the corner of his office. “I need to speak with him, now.” The tone in the Minister’s voice made it clear that this wasn’t a polite request. To anyone that might have walked into his office, this would’ve appeared insane. But the Prime Minister knew this was the only way to contact the ‘other’ Minister. The painting didn’t do anything and the Minister grew annoyed. He lifted the bottom of the portrait a bit and then slammed it against the wall with a hard look in his eyes.

“Really now?!” The portrait spoke in shock and annoyance. The man in the painting moved and groused at the rough handling of his frame. “You know you can’t just demand to see the Minister of Magic!”

“I very much can and will, especially when members of your community are found burning down graveyards and killing each other in Non-Magical communities!” The Minister replied strongly. “Tell him that I need to speak with him immediately.”

“I can tell him that you request a meeting,” The man in the portrait looked annoyed. “But it’ll depend on the Minister of Magic’s schedule as to when he’ll talk to you.” Prime Minister Major lifted the bottom of the frame again and slammed it against the wall multiple times until the man in the portrait agreed to fetch the Minister of Magic. When the man walked out of sight from the portrait, John went and sat behind his desk with his eyes locked onto the fireplace. He knew it was how the ‘other’ Minister would arrive.

In a short time, the flames in the fireplace flared up and turned green. Out of the magical fire a man in a pinstripe suit with a green bowler hat appeared. He pulled a stick (a wand, John reminded himself) from his pocket and with a wave all the soot vanished from the man’s suit. The somewhat plump man put the wand away and turned to look at the Prime Minister.

“Prime Minister Major?” Fudge asked the man sitting behind the desk.

“Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, correct?” John was in no mood for any games or stalling. He set a hard stare on the portly Minister.

“Yes, that’s me, I was told you were rather insistent on a meeting.” Fudge looked an odd cross between annoyed and relieved.

“Indeed,” John nodded sharply. “May I ask what your community was thinking when they decided to burn down a cemetery in Little Hangleton, leaving behind both injured men and bodies?”

“We’re still investigating that, actually.” Fudge looked rather uncomfortable as he spoke.

“This has caused a stir in the Non-Magical community and we’re doing what we can to keep it quiet.” John informed the other Minister. “However, I need to know what is going on and if something like this has a chance of happening again.” His stare bore into the ‘other’ Minister strongly, he wouldn’t accept any platitudes.

“O-Of course not!” Fudge shook his head. “This was some kind of incident between two parties that got far out of hand. But I assure you that it won’t be happening again.”

John stared long and hard at the Minister for Magic, the Wizard in the pinstripe suit began to fidget slightly under the look before the Prime Minister spoke. “Make sure that your community’s incidents don’t stray into the Non-Magical side, Minister Fudge. We can wave off the occasional Wizard or Witch sticking out in the streets of London as merely eccentric people. We cannot and will not, however, let the Magical destroy the property of the people nor terrorize them. Am I in anyway unclear on this matter?”

“No…no, you’ve made your position quite clear, Prime Minister.” Fudge nodded to the other man.

“If another incident like this happens or, heaven forbid, something worse. Then you can expect to be in an audience with both myself and Her Majesty the Queen next time.” John warned the ‘other’ Minister of the consequences of another such incident.

The Queen, as the reigning Monarch of the land, held power over certain contracts. Magical Contracts that were tied to both her position and her bloodline directly, regardless that the woman was Non-Magical. If she enacted her authority held by those contracts, the Magical Community could very well see themselves facing quite the shift in their current arrangements and their hidden locations. All enforced by the old Magic that still held the two separated communities to the agreements that their ancestors had made.

“Yes, I understand, I’ll make sure this doesn’t spill over into your side again.” Fudge promised and John gave him a firm nod. The Minister for Magic had lost all traces of annoyance now. The flames in the fireplace flared bright green again and Fudge nearly trudged through them.

-Hogwarts-

“Time to pack up.” Harry mused as he took a look around his hidden workshop. There were a lot of memories here for him. He would miss the place a bit, but it was time to leave Hogwarts and venture out into the wider world.

“You’re letting Luna keep the room, yes?” Fleur questioned as she helped Harry pack away all of his things. Most of the items and such disappeared into Harry’s Storage Cloak as he levitated them from wherever they rested.

“Yeah, I’ve already modified the Ward Lock for her and the Hiding Stone. She’ll be the one that controls who can and cannot enter this room now.” Harry answered as he stowed a few notebooks into his Storage Cloak.

In a very short time, the entire workshop was packed away and stored inside Harry’s Cloak. After that the couple moved into the smithy. All of the various tools that Harry had were quickly gathered up and stashed away. The large items simply disappeared into the jet-black cloak when harry through the cloth over them. The magical expanding and shrinking of the cloak was still amusing to watch for Harry. The last item to take with them was the forge that Harry had been using for years. There was no way he was leaving it behind.

“We’ll just need to remove this part.” Harry tapped the flue that led out of the window. “Then separated it from the floor,” He tapped the toe of his shoe against the bottom of the forge. “After that I’ll be able to store it away.”

“I’ll take care of the flue.” Fleur offered and Harry agreed as he crouched down to begin separating the forge from the stone floor. In only a couple minutes the forge was free and Harry expanded the Storage Cloak to cover it. The cloth billowed through the air unobstructed after a settling on the forge for a second.

“Done and done,” Harry nodded to the cleared-out smithy. “It was a good workshop.”

“You did amazing things here, Harry.” Fleur smiled beautifully at him.

“Yeah…almost all of my Artifacts were made here.” Harry mused as they headed for the door. “But now they’ll be made at home, and that does bring a smile to my face.” The smile on his lips proved his statement as they left the hidden room and closed the door behind them. They could still perceive the door since Luna had already added them to the Hiding Stone and Ward Lock. In the little blonde’s words: ‘It was your room first, so you should be able to come visit.’ She was truly a sweet girl.

A round of goodbyes followed after they returned to the Great Hall. Both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were leaving back to their schools today. Fleur had become friendly with all of Harry’s study buddies, so hugs were shared all around. Harry walked Fleur to the carriage and the two kissed before they separated. Harry watched as the Abraxans pulled the carriage across the grounds for a distance before the winged-horses flew into the air and took the large coach with them. Once they were out of sight, Harry turned to head back into the castle. He did still need to clean out his dorm room.

-Hogwarts Express-

On Harry’s last ride on the Hogwarts Express, he happily splurged and bought treats and drinks for all of his study buddies. Luna barely left his side the whole ride and Harry couldn’t bring himself to mind. The youngest Artificer in history did realize that he only had female friends on this last trip back to London. He inwardly chuckled as he realized that he’d not made much of an attempt to get to know a lot of his other schoolmates in the last four years. He’d always been so far ahead of his peers and was almost constantly working on his Artifice that anything more than his study buddies for friends never really crossed his mind.

‘Perhaps that’ll be something to work on as well?’ Harry hummed thoughtfully as the train rolled along the tracks towards King’s Cross Station.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Now…how do I want to expand?” Harry looked around his smithy curiously. He had the forge from his Hogwarts smithy still stored away and was hopeful to add it to the larger smithy. Having two forges could prove useful for him. Being able to keep multiple components at the right temperature while working should make things easier when he was combining materials.

“We could probably expand it from the corner, that way the forges could be somewhat close together.” Sirius suggested as he pointed to the back corner. “Maybe make some more storage space while we’re at it? You hoarding trash panda, you.”

“Hey!” Harry playfully shoved his godfather. Sirius laughed and shoved him back a little in return. Harry was gonna have to make sure to get Tonks back for putting that term in Sirius’ vocabulary.

“You excited for the trip?” Sirius asked with a grin. He knew Harry was, but the way his godson’s eyes lit up when their upcoming trip was mentioned always made him smile.

“Of course!” Harry smiled widely. “Still…two weeks before we leave and I do have the O.W.L.s, if they still let me take them early.”

“About that,” Sirius pulled a letter from the inside pocket of his robe. “Old Griselda got back to me after my last letter.” He handed the folded paper to Harry.

“Hmm…” Harry took the letter and unfolded it. His green eyes moved across the paper as he read and a grin came to his features. “I can take them at the end of the week, brilliant!” He was happy that he could get his early O.W.L.s done. “But I can’t take the N.E.W.T.s until near the end of summer.” He shrugged at the length of time between the two. It wasn’t like he needed the N.E.W.T.s right after the O.W.L.s anyway. Splitting them up might even be better for him.

“I know you’ll pass the O.W.L.s, Harry.” Sirius’ belief in his godson was nearly palpable. “So, no need to worry about them.” He patted Harry’s shoulder with a laugh. “Then we’ll be off on our trip and can leave the worries behind for a while.”

“Just remember that you’re engaged now.” Harry chuckled as he nudged Sirius lightly. “You can’t try and ‘woo’ the women of the East like you wanted too before.”

“As if any woman could capture my heart as completely as Marlie has!” Sirius stated dramatically, his hand over his chest as he faked swooning.

“Good to know, darling.” Marlie’s laughter came from the doorway to the smithy. The ravenette with the warm gray eyes waved the two over. “Come on now, Tayla has dinner ready and looks like she won’t settle down until we’ve all eaten.”

“Coming, love.” Sirius smiled at his fiancé warmly and followed after her. Harry chuckled as he followed along. It was nice to see his godfather so happy. Wood End Cottage was becoming even more of a warm and inviting home every day.

-Wood End Cottage ~ July 5th-

“Hah~” Harry sighed heavily as he looked over his notes and a few books. He’d been racking his brain for the last couple of days to figure out a power source for his two rough draft Artifacts.

If he wanted to make the best use of the Azuryte and Frost Azuryte, then he needed to make sure the Artifacts provided the right type of Magic to the magical gems. He couldn’t just hammer and forge his own mana into his creation like normal or the catalysts would quickly be eroded. He’d spent too much money on the two gemstones to risk destroying them like that. Etching runic sequences to turn the innate mana he forged into the Artifacts into the proper type of Magic could work, in theory, but Harry really didn’t want to risk the rare materials.

“A power source is the best way to go, but I’ve got nothing.” Harry exhaled as he looked up at the ceiling of his smithy.

The usual process of imparting his own mana into his Artifacts to give them their own innate mana was the easiest way to provide power to them permanently. Using a source of a specific Magic type was what he needed to do this time though. The Magical World was very much lacking in any form of Magical Generator though. The best idea he’d theorized so far had been to hunt down a Magical Beast of some kind that innately used the right type of Magic and go the Creature Craft route. That had led to the unfortunate discovery of a distinct lack of Magical Creatures that innately had any form of Ice Magic. Sure, there were supposedly Frost Dragons in the frozen high peaks of certain mountain ranges, but none had actually been seen in over a century. He could go traipsing through artic regions and hope to find a Magical Creature adapted to the area with innate Ice Magic, but the odds were so low they might as well have been zero.

“What to do, what to do?” Harry hummed as he rocked back and forth on the back legs of his chair. Maybe if he tried the ‘Consume’ Array? It took in things that made it stronger when the Dwarves used it on the Sword of Erdunn. With a little tweaking maybe he could ‘feed’ the Artifact enough Ice-based spells until it had an innate mana of purely Ice Magic?

“How about taking a break, mon amor?” Fleur’s teasing lilt made a grin break out on Harry’s face.

“Fleur, I didn’t realize the time.” Harry chuckled as he looked at the clock on the wall.

“You do tend to get lost in your work, Harry.” Fleur grinned as she walked into the smithy. “Still not having any luck with the rough drafts?”

“Not yet, though finding a creature with Water Magic isn’t too hard, finding one with Ice Magic is very much a different story.” Harry shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“Well, perhaps a break will help clear your mind?” Fleur pushed his chair back onto all four legs with a smirk. “Penny will be here soon, so we can all talk and brainstorm.”

“Honestly, all I know right now is that I want to try using the Adamantite that I transmuted for the base material.” Harry explained as he put away his notes and closed his books. “A strong foundation like Adamantite will let me make a powerful Artifact. Give that half-dead bastard something to think about.” He disparaged Voldemort and the Dark Lord’s success in clawing his way back to corporealness.

“Put him from your mind for now, love.” Fleur shook her head and hugged Harry. “He does not deserve to occupy your thoughts at all hours of the day.”

“You girls are too good to me.” Harry returned the warm hug with a smile.

“That we are,” Fleur agreed with a giggle. “You’re such a lucky young man, Harry.”

“So humble and modest.” Harry rolled his eyes jokingly.

“Quite.” Fleur stuck her tongue out at him. She moaned when Harry captured it and French kissed her right then and there. “We should get inside before we get side-tracked, Harry~” She suggested and tempted in the same breath.

“Maybe Penny will want to join in?” Harry groped her ass with a smirk on his lips.

“Mmm…somehow I doubt that,” Fleur hummed happily. “At least right now.”

“Curses, foiled again.” Harry pulled back after pecking her lips again.

“We have all the time in the world,” Fleur’s melodious laughter filled the air. “I’m sure we’ll find plenty of time to make good use of it~” She purred into his ear before leaving his arms and sauntering out of the smithy with a sway in her hips that did amazing things to her bottom.

“Tease.” Harry snorted as he followed after her, making sure to stay behind so he could enjoy the little show.

The idea of using the ‘Consume’ Array stuck with the Artificer though. It should work with the proper tweaking of the runic sequences that made up the Array, theoretically at least. Harry made a mental note to ask King Drasurd for his opinion. He wouldn’t ask them directly about their Dwarven Smithing secrets, that seemed like something that could very well strain their relationship. But asking for tips on successfully using the ‘Consume’ Array should be fine. As an Artificer, the challenge of taking what he learned and successfully applying it was all part of the Art.

-End Chapter-

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Fudge is on thin ice! There are consequences to the actions of Voldemort and not just for the Dark Lord either!

Harry is focusing on his two new Artifact ideas now that Voldemort has actively made an attempt on his life. That’s probably a good call. Now, if a Magical Ice Creature could kindly fall into his lap and initiate a Rite of Conquest, that’d be super helpful!

Magical Mirror Communications might have to take a bit of a backburner position until a certain someone is dealt with permanently. Harry’s still going to make it work though! He’s not gonna let this fortune-making idea go!

Voldemort moves base and seems to already have ideas to use the Malfoy Manor for something. That’s probably bad.

Umbridge is ranting and raving in the Ministry while Fudge tries to hide in his office. Amelia and Moody might actually prefer this, you know?

Next is getting the O.W.L.s out of the way and then time to travel across the world to the Land of the Rising Sun! Woohoo!

What will happen abroad?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,012

Tonks – 20,468

Penelope – 15,146

Fleur – 16,084

Until I get your reviews, later!