Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy Chapter 51 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Time for the trip abroad! Going to Japan to meet Tōshū for the first time! Take in some sights, eat some food, and see how the Far East differs in their various Magics!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 51 – Japan Trip

“Is everyone ready?” Sirius questioned the group as they waited for the International Portkey to activate.

“We’ve got everything we need.” Marlie nodded as she patted her Storage Cloak, a gift from Harry.

“Ready and waiting.” Harry’s excited grin brought a smile to Sirius’ face. He’d taken his early O.W.L.s already and just had to wait for the results now. What better way to wait than a trip abroad?

“This is going to be so interesting.” Penny beamed happily next to Harry.

“Let’s go, before Madam Bones or Mad-Eye get any idea to call me in and cancel my vacation!” Tonks really wanted to get out of Magical Britain before the madhouse that the DMLE had become could steal her vacation from her.

“I have never been to the Far East before, I’m looking forward to seeing everything.” Fleur was almost as excited as Harry, her blue eyes sparkling with wonder at what they’d get to see.

“Should be about time,” Sirius looked at his watch before holding out the length of rope to the group. Marlie, Harry, Tonks, Penny, and Fleur all firmly grasp the rope as Sirius began a countdown. “Five, four, three, two, one!” A second after and they all felt the telltale ‘hook behind the navel’ feeling as they were whisked through a swirl of colors for a long moment.

-Tokyo ~ Ministry of Magic-

The group of six landed from the International Portkey on their feet. Harry almost staggered from the sudden stop, but managed to keep his feet. Looking around, he noticed that they were on a large platform. On both the left and right were more platforms that were receiving travelers. Harry looked forward and a large sign caught his attention. The sign read ‘日本の魔法省’ and Harry activated the effect he’d enchanted into the left lens of his glasses. The Japanese was super-imposed by the Latin alphabet for a second becoming ‘Nihon no mahō-shō’ before then converting to English a second later as ‘Ministry of Magic of Japan’. Beneath the large characters was the word ‘welcome’ written in several languages.

The group moved off the platform when a uniformed man waved them over. They were directed to a desk not too far away with another Wizard sitting behind it. Sirius pulled out their travel information as they walked over. With a friendly smile and a nod of his head, he placed the documents on the desk.

“Welcome,” The Japanese Wizard greeted them in English after glancing at the first page of their documents. “You’ve come to Japan on vacation, correct?” He questioned as he looked over the parchment.

“Yes sir,” Sirius nodded in agreement. “My fiancé Marlie, my godson Harry, my cousin Nymphadora, and our family friends Penelope and Fleur.”

After looking over all of the documents, the Wizard nodded and stamped the first page. A tap of his wand and the stamp glowed, turning a golden color. “We hope you enjoy your time in Japan.” He gave them a short bow from his seated position before turning to face another Wizard next to a gate. {Let them through, Tanaka-san!} he spoke in Japanese, but thanks to an Enchanted Item in Harry’s ear he could understand the words.

The item in question was called a Linguistic Aide, and from what Harry knew of them were rather expensive. Sirius wouldn’t even tell him how much he’d spent on the six he’d bought for the group. The item could be set to convert one spoken language into another which would be heard with barely any delay. To change the language required a specialist that knew the language the wearer wanted translated. Harry did wonder if he couldn’t make a better version in the future when he had more free time.

The six of them passed through the gate after it was opened for them. The metal gate was closed behind them immediately afterwards. The group walked up a short flight of stairs and was greeted by a politely smiling Wizard and Witch in business-like robes. Sirius smiled at the pair and gave a short bow, which was returned.

“Welcome to Tokyo, Mr. Black and Artificer Potter.” The Wizard greeted them in English after giving a professional bow. “We were very happy to hear that you’d planned to visit our country. I’m Okada Hiroto, please call Okada.”

“I’m Matsumoto Riko, it is a pleasure to meet you, please call me Matsumoto.” The Witch introduced herself with a professional bow as well.

“Pleased to meet you both,” Sirius nodded with a grin. “None of us have ever been to Japan before and Harry has a contact here that he’s been wanting to meet.”

“Yes, Suzuki-san from the Yōkai Buki Seisaku, we’ve been in contact with him as well.” Matsumoto had a small smile on her lips. “It’s not everyday that the youngest Artificer in history visits and the Ministry wants to extend every hospitality.”

“Thank you very much.” Harry gave a polite bow to the pair. It was best to follow the customs of any foreign country you visited after all. When in Rome and all that.

“You may have a bit of time-lag since you’ve jumped ahead about nine hours through the time zones.” Okada informed the group as he and Matsumoto led them through the Ministry building. Harry happily took in the sights and Tonks whispered to them how similar and yet different it was to the British Ministry of Magic. “We’d like to show you to your accommodations so that you may get settled, if that’s alright with you?”

“Perfectly fine.” Sirius agreed and the group were led out of the building and into the sunlight. “It’s around five in the afternoon here, yes?”

“Correct, Mr. Black.” Matsumoto gave a smile. “The hotel we’ve set you up in has been in business for just over three-hundred years. It’s one of the finest Magical Hotels in Tokyo.”

“Impressive.” Marlie commented with a warm smile. Sirius grinned at her, always happy to see her happy.

“I recommend trying out their hot spring, very relaxing after a day of seeing the sights.” Okada suggested with a small chuckle.

The exit from the Ministry hadn’t dumped them into the heart of Non-Magical Tokyo like the British Ministry did in London. But into what was clearly a type of Magical Alley like Diagon back home. The district was clearly built in an older style as compared to modern Tokyo. Harry was no expert on the history of the country, but he’d guess that it was probably similar to Diagon and might be about two-hundred years older than most of the Non-Magical buildings in Tokyo. Harry’s head was turning every direction to try and take it all in. He saw a few creatures he wasn’t familiar with in the window of what seemed to be a Menagerie-style shop. There were shops like Scrivenshaft’s that sold parchment, ink, scrolls, and other stationary. He was broken from his excited looking about by Tonks.

“That cat is walking on two feet.” Tonks pointed out a gray cat on the overhang of one shop. It was gray-furred and looked just like a common housecat, if not for the bipedal walking and the rather lengthy tail behind it.

“Huh, it is.” Harry blinked at the sight.

“A Magical Creature?” Penny looked at the gray cat curiously.

“It’s a cute cat.” Fleur smiled at seeing it, even with its casual upright walking.

“Ah, Bakeneko.” Okada eyed the gray cat for a moment.

“A what?” Sirius questioned as he also watched the cat walk to the edge of the overhang and then leap down and out of sight.

“A Bakeneko, or Monster Cat in English, a type of Yōkai.” Matsumoto explained. “They start off as normal cats and gain Magic after living for a long time. They can be friendly if they lived a life being well-taken care of, but they can also be malevolent if they feel they’ve been wronged.”

“Malevolent? How?” Marlie asked curiously.

“They can summon ghostly fireballs and are known to accidentally start house fires, their tails acting like torches igniting any flammable materials in the house. Bakeneko also have the disturbing ability to reanimate fresh corpses and use them like puppets for their own nefarious purposes.” Matsumoto spoke with a cautious tone.

“Most aren’t malicious like that, but we do have to keep an eye on them.” Okada nodded as the group resumed walking. “The older they get the more powerful their Magic and ability to transform. They can even learn to speak if given enough time.”

“The British Ministry would classify them as Dark Creatures immediately just on the potential threat they pose, not to mention the Necromancy.” Tonks shook her head that such a creature was merely on watch. It was so different from how she had seen things operate at the Ministry.

“They’re mostly beneficial, so we just watch over them.” Matsumoto assured the Metamorph. “They like fish, birds, and rats and help keep the pests under control. As long as they’re treated well, they rarely ever cause problems. I’ve only ever seen one that was old enough to speak, when I was small.”

“Talking to a cat…I wonder if I could do that one day?” Penny looked interested in meeting such a long-lived being.

“Yes, it could be interesting to learn how they harness their Magic.” Fleur agreed with her fellow scholar. “About how old do you think they are by the time they learn to speak?”

“Hey now, we’re here on vacation, don’t start working on your scholarly things.” Sirius chuckled as they walked along the shopping district.

“It’s not work, merely interest.” Penny stated with a wave. Fleur nodded along with her and Sirius chortled at the inquisitiveness of the young ladies.

The rest of the walk to the hotel was filled with taking in the sights of the area and asking some questions of their two guides. The hotel had a high wall around it and a gate of thick wood. They walked through the open gate to a large garden courtyard and the three-story building was quite splendid. Made mostly of wood and with a tiled roof, it was a picturesque looking building.

The accommodations were explained as they entered the building proper. They walked into a relatively large entrance hall, with couches and chairs where guests could sit and talk with each other. It was clear that the interior was constructed using traditional Japanese methods. The flooring was tatami, and all the doors appeared to be sliding doors. Matsumoto explained that one of the features of traditional hotels were the common bathing areas called ofuro. They were usually segregated by gender, and used the water from a hot spring if any were available nearby. After getting checked in, the two Ministry workers had bid them a wonderful visit before departing.

The rest of the evening was spent getting settled and trying out the yukata that the hotel provided. Harry didn’t mind the garment. It was comfortable and not that much different than a robe. Fleur, Tonks, and Penny also looked very nice in them, which was an added bonus. Dinner was served by the staff and Harry enjoyed trying out the new cuisine. He’d never had tempura before, sashimi had taken a second for him to eat too. He wasn’t used to raw meat of any kind, but it had been tasty in the end. The hotpot was tasty and filling, probably one of his favorites so far. Dessert was anmitsu, which was sweet but unlike any dessert that Harry had ever eaten before.

“Bath time!” Tonks grinned as she and the rest of the girls headed for the hot spring. They were all looking forward to trying it out since it had been recommended.

“Shall we, Harry?” Sirius chuckled as they took their towels and walked down to the springs themselves.

The steam filled the area and rose into the open air as the duo stepped out of the building. A few other men were already relaxing in the fairly large pool. Sirius walked forward with no shame, towel in hand, as he happily went with the customs of the land. Harry had debated on wearing his towel, but had shrugged it off after seeing Sirius nonchalantly going bare.

“Ah~” Harry couldn’t help but sigh as he submerged his body in the hot water.

“Mhmm~” Sirius hummed as he relaxed against the edge not too far from his godson. “That’s nice.”

“I bet you were hoping for a bit of that co-ed bathing, huh?” Harry joked with Sirius.

“Nah, me and Marlie can do that at home.” Sirius shot a look at Harry.

“I don’t need to know what you two get up to.” Harry waved off with a roll of his eyes. Not having his glasses on meant his field of vision was greatly reduced. The other men in the spring were merely fuzzy shapes to him.

“We both know you’re the one that wants to bathe with your girlfriends.” Sirius teased with a chuckle.

“Me and Fleur have done it before.” Harry informed with a smug little grin.

“James would be so proud of you, Harry.” Sirius grinned fondly. “Of course, Lily would probably be less thrilled, might have given both of you an earful about being responsible.”

“I’m planning to marry all three of them in the future, that’s responsible.” Harry leaned back a little more and relaxed.

“That’s when you’d make Lily proud too.” Sirius smiled in remembrance of his friends. “You’re a good kid, Harry.”

“I try.” Harry replied as he looked up into the sky. The lights from the metropolis outside of this hidden area blocked out a lot of the stars, but it was still a nice evening.

-The Next Day ~ Yōkai Buki Seisaku-

“Well, I’d say they’ve got the mysterious and remote parts down for their location.” Tonks chuckled as they stood before the gate that would lead them into the hidden area that the Guild of Craftsmen worked in.

The Auror wasn’t wrong in her description though. Mt. Moriyoshi had a bit of Non-Magical population, but it was still a bit out of the way. The part they were about to enter didn’t exist on the maps of local area though. It had been hidden long ago, before even the Statute of Secrecy had been enacted. The mountain was covered in trees and would probably make a nice place to ski in the winter when it was undoubtably covered in snow.

The gate made a slight groan as it was opened. The man took one look at the group and his eyes stopped on Harry. He stood roughly 170cm, if Harry had to estimate, with dark black hair that looked to be starting to recede in his age. His eyes were black, or perhaps a dark-brown. His skin looked slightly wrinkled, showing that while he appeared to be in his late forties, he was probably much older. He wore a kimono-like top and long shorts in dark-blue color. After looking at Harry for a bit, the man smiled slightly.

“It’s good to meet you, Artificer Potter.” The man gave a polite bow which the group returned. “I’m Suzuki Tōshū.” He introduced himself and Harry smiled at finally meeting the man that had introduced him to Creature Craft.

“It’s good to meet you as well, Suzuki-san.” Harry was pretty sure that was the polite way to address someone. He’d done some research before the trip after all.

“Well, you’re polite, aren’t you?” Tōshū chuckled as he invited the group inside the gate and quickly closed it behind them. “I hope you’ve brought some of your creations to show. I’m curious to see how you’ve made use of what I sent you back then.” He grinned as they followed him up a flight of stone stairs.

“I have a few things.” Harry nodded with a smile of his own. They were led into a large room and offered to sit. Tea and snacks were brought in by some younger teens close to Harry’s age. The Artificer wondered if they were apprentices here.

“I’ll give you a small tour of the place in a bit.” Tōshū motioned to the door on the other side of the room. “But for now, let’s see what you’ve made with the basics of the Art and your own effort.”

“This is my latest attempt.” Harry reached into his Storage Cloak and pulled out his newest prototype spear. He handed it over to the other craftsmen gently and the older man was quick to inspect it.

“Ash wood…no work done on the shaft?” Tōshū noted as he looked over the spear.

“It’s still in the prototype stage, I felt it was better to have some experience with the material before trying to make an Artifact.” Harry mentioned of the spear’s construction.

“What material is the base?” Tōshū asked as his eyes moved over the spearhead.

“One of the horns from the Hungarian Horntail that I conquered.” Harry replied as he got to talk shop with another craftsman for the first time in a while. He was ignoring the murmurings of Tonks and Sirius about how they’d have to drag him away later. At least Penny, Fleur, and Marlie were watching with some interest.

“I see…” Tōshū nodded as he continued looking at the steel. “Magical Iron, forged with the horn of a dragon, makes a magical carbon steel. Not bad for a prototype, but I’m curious as to what ability you were hoping to impart.”

“Everything that I’ve made so far with the conquered dragon materials has had the ability to cast fire.” Harry informed the older man. “I thought this one would be the same, but…” He shook his head slightly. “It can generate an impressive amount of heat, enough that I worry for the steel’s integrity, but it does not produce flame.”

“Hmm…” Tōshū nodded as he gently ran his fingertips over the steel. “A matter of the location, I’m sure.”

“I considered that.” Harry admitted, it had been his best theory as to why the spearheads made from the horns didn’t produce flame. They weren’t a part of the dragon’s jaw where fire emerged and therefore had little connection to the dragon’s ability to produce flame.

“May I?” Tōshū held the spear and motioned upwards with it.

“Please,” Harry nodded and watched as the older man stood up.

“Hmm…” Tōshū narrowed his eyes slightly as he tried using the spear. He felt the resistance in the flow of his magic as it traveled to the spearhead. When it did connect, the magical steel readily accepted the magic and the ability began to express itself. The metal began to heat up, it quickly reached a high enough temperature to produce a heat haze. Not long after that it was turning a bright red color. Tōshū stopped running his magic into the spear a moment later and looked it over again as the spearhead cooled. “The shaft is hindering the flow of magic into the spearhead. It needs more than just wood to pass through, perhaps a proper treatment to make it a better conductor of magic?”

“So that was it.” Harry pulled a notebook and pen from his Storage Cloak and quickly made a note for later. Fleur caught his eye and the Veela grinned at her hypothesis being correct. They’d both been going over the spear’s resistance to their mana together.

“It’s still a good ability that you’ve managed to impart, but I would worry about the steel’s longevity.” Tōshū agreed with Harry’s thoughts on the spear’s heat output. “As a prototype, I’d say it would be worth continuing research on.”

“I’ll continue to do so.” Harry grinned as he took the spear back and stored it away. He pulled out a few of the dragon fang knives, one of each type of metal he’d made so far, and set them between himself and Tōshū. “I have a few more things that I’ve made.”

“We’re definitely going to have to drag him out of here.” Sirius stage whispered to Tonks.

“Probably,” Tonks stage whispered back with her arms crossed and a fake put-upon sigh.

“You two be nice.” Marlie nudged Sirius with a grin.

“It is interesting to see another craftsman like Harry though.” Penny had been watching Tōshū and her boyfriend talk while occasionally sipping tea. She enjoyed seeing Harry so animated like this.

“I’m also curious about the rest of the facility too.” Fleur’s gaze landed on the door that Tōshū had pointed out earlier. “A Guild that’s been around for almost a thousand years must be filled with interesting things and knowledge.”

“This is the best Artifact that I’ve made from Creature Craft so far.” Harry and Tōshū had finished with the knives and from within the jet-black Storage Cloak, Harry pulled out his Basilisk Scale Mail.

“{Really…?}” Tōshū remarked in Japanese as he looked at the original Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair. The Japanese Wizard Craftsman looked to Harry for permission to touch the Artifact. When Harry motioned to the armor, Tōshū gently began to look it over. He’d felt the innate magic within the armor, could sense the latent intent imparted from its creation. It was truly remarkable that one as young as Harry could make something like this with only the basic instructions that he’d sent the boy.

“I made as much use of the symbolism aspect of Creature Craft as I could.” Harry explained a little of his creation process. “I combined the conquered Basilisk scales with the Basilisk bones I used to make the carbon steel. The inside is also lined with the serpent’s skin as well.”

“Reuniting the separate parts through forging will impart a much stronger effect, that’s true, but to imbue so much Magic into the armor as well.” Tōshū looked like he couldn’t believe how strong the armor felt as he gently turned it around to look over the back.

“I was hoping to ask your opinion on mixing Creature Craft and Rune-based Artifice as well.” Harry looked inquisitively at the older Craftsman. His notebook was on his lap and the pen was back in his hand once more.

“Yes, yes,” Tōshū shook his head once to refocus from the Basilisk Scale Mail. “It’s certainly possible.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if considering his words, before he continued. “It’s usually a step taken when you want to specify a singular function for the creation. As I’m sure you’re aware, an item that has only a singular function or ability will express that ability much more strongly that any regular spell.”

“Yes, I’ve made a few of my Enchanted Items and even this armor with that thought in mind.” Harry placed his hand on Sgàilean Rìgh Nathair.

“In Creature Craft, Runes are used to focus the innate abilities provided by the base materials onto a chosen, singular effect.” Tōshū continued as Harry noted down what he was being told. “However, mixing Runes with Creature Craft can have unexpected side effects depending on the creature in question.”

“Side effects?” Harry paused in his note taking to look up at the man.

“Creatures that are especially powerful or have intelligence can leave behind lingering traces of their own intent.” Tōshū looked Harry dead in the eye. “When Runes are applied to an item made from such a creature, they can increase the likelihood of such remnants remaining as they are a means of focusing Magic. This can make the finished item unwieldy as the lingering intent of the creature may not submit to the one that holds it.”

“I’d never even considered that.” Harry blinked at the older man before quickly writing down the warning.

“Japan has many stories of cursed objects in its history.” Tōshū sighed as his gaze seemed to look at something far away. “Many objects can have a curse laid on them by a user of Magic. But the things that can happen from an item or weapon forged with lingering intent are most horrible. If the item in question merely refuses to be used, then that’s often the best-case scenario.”

“What’s the worst case?” Harry questioned after a moment of silence.

“The lingering intent may lash out at whoever holds the item.” Tōshū sighed heavily. “It may even come to a form of pseudo-possession of the one holding the item. It’s not too dissimilar from being a puppet in your own body. You could be forced to do horrible things if the lingering intent is malicious in nature.”

“You almost sound like you’re speaking from experience.” Harry noted and Tōshū gave the young man a sad smile.

“I was young once too…” Tōshū spoke softly. “I thought I knew better. I was advanced beyond my years. I’d already made many quality pieces by the time I was in my twenties.” The man chuckled at his foolish younger self. “I all ended up doing was making a {Wicked Sword}…” His Japanese was translated and Harry wondered what a ‘Wicked Sword’ was. “Nearly lost myself to it, almost killed three of my fellow Guild Members. In the end it had to be destroyed and I nearly quit.” The older man gave a sharp look to Harry. “My own history is part of the reason that I wrote to you when news of you becoming the youngest Artificer in history reached me. I wanted to see your talent grow, but also to make sure you had someone to ask questions to if you felt you needed it. That way you had less chances of getting ahead of yourself like I did in my youth.”

“I…thank you, Suzuki-san.” Harry gave the best bow he could from his seated position. He hadn’t realized at all that the older craftsman that he’d shared a few letters with had been trying to look out for another up-and-coming prodigy. To prevent Harry from making a similar mistake that the older man had made in his own youth.

“Don’t worry about it, Artificer Potter.” Tōshū waved off his thanks. “You’ve done quite well for yourself and you’re clearly smart enough to ask questions instead of thinking you know it all. If I had been humbler back then, I’m sure I wouldn’t have made the mistake I did.”

“Alright then,” Harry smiled at the other Craftsman. “How about that tour?” He changed the subject and stowed away the Basilisk Scale Mail and his notebook into his Storage Cloak.

“Of course, of course,” Tōshū smiled at the teen. “I’m sure some of you are curious about how we work here.” He opened the sliding door and the noise of the Guild could suddenly be heard. “I’ll show you what I can.”

Both Harry and Fleur had excited looks as they followed along behind Tōshū. “We might need to drag both of them out.” Sirius chuckled behind his hand.

“You get Harry,” Tonks motioned to her boyfriend with a grin. “Penny and I will get Fleur.”

“Don’t drag me into this.” Penny lightly swatted Tonks’ arm. “It is interesting to see this after all.”

“It’s not like we don’t have more vacation left.” Marlie reminded as the group followed Tōshū downstairs. “We have a full week here and there’s plenty of time to see the sights after today.”

“Right you are, love.” Sirius took her hand in his with a bright grin.

By the end of the tour, which looked very similar to Harry’s own smithy in some places, even Tonks had to admit to being impressed.

-End Chapter-

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In Japan and we’re seeing a few things already!

We learn why Tōshū first sent a letter to Harry too! To prevent another prodigy from making the same mistake he did when he was younger.

What else can Harry and Family see on their vacation abroad?

Japan does have some of its own forms of Magic! Quite the interesting thing to see while they’re there for our Magical Scholars and ever-curious Artificer!

But while they travel abroad for a while, what might be going on back home? What might be going on all around the world?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 22,324

Tonks – 20,982

Penelope – 15,636

Fleur – 16,468

Until I get your reviews, later!