Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy Chapter 57 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Legal defense against Umbridge’s death is quick to wrap up since everyone is more than happy to tell the truth of what happened. Still, court is never fun and the family just wants to relax. Unfortunately, there is still work to be done and it can’t wait for very long. Not to mention that a certain Dark Lord is doing his own work to prepare Rites for his next Ritual. What terrible True Dark Magic is Voldemort going to invoke this time?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 57 – Work, Rest, Rites

Sirius and Harry stood before the Wizengamot with the Black Family Lawyer at their side. The case regarding Dolores Umbridge’s death via Dourfrost had been quick so far. No one was trying to hide anything about the incident. Sirius had told his side of the encounter. Harry had told his right after. Then all four Aurors that had been present had given their own testimonies. The Wizengamot had barely needed any time for deliberation at all after that.

“In the case regarding the unfortunate passing of Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge, Lord Sirius Orion Black and Artificer Harry James Potter are found not guilty of any wrongdoing.” Cornelius banged the gavel at his seat on the Wizengamot. It was a terrible turn of events, but his late Undersecretary had been given every warning not to touch the Artifact that had killed her. All four of the Aurors had corroborated Lord Black and Artificer Potter’s explanation of events as well. There was no crime here and Cornelius wasn’t in any mind to lock up either of them if You-Know-Who had returned.

“Excellent work as always.” Sirius turned to the Black Family Lawyer and shook the older man’s hand.

“It was an open and shut case this time, Lord Black.” The older wizard nodded to Sirius. The trio were out of the courtroom, thankfully without being hassled by the media since the case had been so quick to be dealt with. The trio separated at the Floo stations in the Ministry Atrium. The Black Family Lawyer returning to his office while both Harry and Sirius returned to Wood End Cottage.

-Wood End Cottage-

“We’re home.” Sirius called out as he and Harry stepped out of the Floo in a flash of green flames. He shrugged off his cloak and Tayla was quick to have the soot vanished from the garment before hanging it up properly.

“That was a pain.” Harry let Tayla take his cloak as well. “Even if it was fairly quick.”

“Welcome home you two.” Marlie smiled at them both before pecking Sirius’s lips.

“Come here, Harry.” Tonks, having a day off for once, patted her lap. Beside her on the couch were Penny and Fleur.

“Thank you.” Harry grinned before his body rapidly shifted into his Animagus form. The now raccoon Harry scampered across the floor, climbed up onto the couch, and then curled up in Tonks’ lap.

“It’s over now, Harry, just relax for a bit.” Tonks smiled down at the raccoon and began to pet him gently, running her finger through his fur.

“I call next.” Penny giggled and Fleur playfully pouted at both of the other young women. All of them were more than happy to pet Harry’s raccoon form. He was very soft and it was relaxing for all of them.

“With three of us, I think Harry should be fine.” Fleur smiled warmly at her boyfriend’s current form. Perhaps they should all look into becoming Animagus as well? ‘Thoughts for later.’ She decided and leaned into Penny’s side with a relaxed smile. Now was time for family and to rest after the hectic last few days.

-Malfoy Manor ~ Wiltshire-

“This one must face this direction…exactly this far from the previous monolith…the angle should be…” Voldemort quietly mumbled to himself as he levitated a large slab of granite. The stone had been hewn into a perfect rectangle and was a match in all measurements to its six counterparts.

From a distance, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, and even Draco Malfoy watched the Dark Lord construct what appeared to be a knock-off Stonehenge on their property. They dared not question Voldemort’s actions or motives, but all three could admit to being curious. This was supposedly the first step that the Dark Lord needed to take in order to work the Great Magic that he’d spoken of. Since the returned Voldemort hadn’t deigned to share anything with anyone yet, that was all the Malfoy’s knew about what was going on.

Already three larger granite slabs had been erected by Voldemort’s wand. These three were the same height and width of the seven that he was currently levitating into place one by one, but the three in the center were much thicker. They formed a triangle in the center of the ring of seven monoliths that the Dark Lord was currently setting up. There were still more slabs of granite nearby as well, two different sizes, but all the same width, with only their height and thickness changing. The slightly shorter monoliths than the current seven being used numbered thirteen, while the taller monoliths numbered twenty-one. If the current placements continued, then three concentric rings of granite monoliths surrounding a triangle of the same would soon stand on the Malfoy’s Wiltshire property.

‘Once all of the monoliths are erected properly, then I’ll need to carve the proper glyphs upon them in the proper places. Each glyph needs to be filled with the appropriate material after being carved, depending on which monolith it’s on as well.’ Voldemort continued to go through the steps of setting up the Rites for this ritual. Any missteps could cause a horrible reaction and he wouldn’t allow such failure. The rest of his followers had already been warned not to approach the area or they’d experience his anger before their deaths. That had easily kept the more curious of them far away. ‘Finding out the exact ward lines of this estate determined the placement of the stones. But I’ll need Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco to be part of this ritual as the ones with claim to the land. Thankfully, Lucius has already taken my mark, so that gives me some right to all of his possessions as well.’ He let a humorless chuckle escape him while setting the current monolith in place. ‘But the more I sacrifice, the greater the return I’ll receive from the ritual. I should have Lucius gather more followers to take my mark. The more the better. There should be no shortage of fools that are willing to serve if promised a better standing than their current lot in life.’ He levitated the next granite monolith after finishing his thoughts. Carefully moving it into position so that it was the proper distance from the last monolith while also being at the proper angle to the others. There was a reason this Branch of Magic had mostly died out in the modern age, but for the greatest Wizard to ever live, this much was nothing.

-Wood End Cottage-

“Alright, stone: check.” Harry nodded to the granite stones they’d gotten from the dwarves. “Array?” He looked at Penny.

“Check.” Penny giggled as she held the small stack of parchment they’d worked on together.

“Fire?” Harry turned to Fleur with a grin.

“Check.” Fleur smiled, also playfully rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, as she held up her right hand and let her natural fire crackle to life.

“Right then, time to build us a barrier!” Harry chortled as the three of them got to work.

The fact that all of the stones had been cut to exact specifications by the dwarves before being delivered made the construction process much easier. It was more like building with blocks than any form of skilled masonry. Harry and Penny etched the containment array they’d come up with together onto the stones and then used mortar to connect them together in a circle that would surround Dourfrost. Fleur kept the frost from spreading by continuously coating the Artifact Sword in her flames while Harry and Penny worked to construct the barrier. Once the barrier was about a meter high tube of stone, Harry had Fleur stop her flames. Using one of his Basilisk Steel Rune-Enhanced tongs from his smithy, he picked up Dourfrost by the hilt.

“Careful, keep clear.” Harry warned as he used the tool to carry Dourfrost over to the barrier. The frost was already slowly creeping over the metal of the tool and Harry knew he only had a short time to handle his creation this way.

Setting Dourfrost into the barrier was easy enough. They’d made a base for the tip of the blade to fit into so that the sword would be held upright. The hilt of the Artifact Sword would be the first thing one saw if they opened the barrier, rather than the blade. It was another safety measure on top of the ones they’d already taken. Now they just needed Fleur’s natural Veela Fire to start the process and they could seal up the barrier.

“Just a moment.” Fleur moved over to the barrier that now contained Dourfrost. She held her hands over the opened top while Harry and Penny placed their hands on either side of the granite barrier to feed their mana into the array. Veela Fire poured into the inside of the barrier and it quickly melted the frost that had already begun to fill the space. The glowing runes seemed to absorb the magical fire for a bit before the glow changed to match the color of the flames. “It’s ready.” She stepped back as Harry lifted the granite lid and placed it atop the barrier.

“The seal is made.” Penny and Harry intoned as they placed their hands atop the lid and the entire construct glowed a faint blue color for a moment.

Dourfrost was now sealed away, unable to spread its ice and chill, and far from the hands of anyone that would be foolish enough to try and use it.

“You said that I’ll only need to recharge the fire once a month, right?” Fleur looked between Harry and Penny.

“Yeah, we tried to make the array as efficient as possible, but Dourfrost is strong enough that it’ll need more of your fire to keep it locked up indefinitely.” Penny apologized, only to be hugged by Fleur.

“It’s not a problem.” Fleur shook her head, sending her silvery-blonde locks swaying. “To keep that cursed thing locked up, a once a month recharge is nothing.”

“Without the recharge of Veela Fire, I’d estimate that the barrier could probably hold Dourfrost for a year or so at most, maybe two?” Harry did the rough calculation of the strength of the containment array without the bonus of the Veela Fire’s opposing element to the ice of Dourfrost.

“I’m sure we won’t forget about it.” Fleur remarked as she looked between the newly completed barrier and the door to Harry’s smithy only a couple meters away. “No chance of the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ problem with this one.”

“True enough.” Penny chuckled at where Harry had decided to seal away his newest Artifact.

“I wanted to be able to keep an eye on it.” Harry shrugged at the laughter. He wasn’t so foolish as to leave something so dangerous just hidden away in some random location for others to find or stumble upon.

“The scabbard is next, yes?” Fleur asked Harry with a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m going to use the barrier we made as a basis for the scabbard. It’s got to be strong enough to contain Dourfrost indefinitely by itself.” Harry exhaled heavily as he looked at the sealed barrier. “It’ll probably have to be an Artifact itself to be honest.”

“That would put you at six True Artifacts, wouldn’t it?” Penny raised an eyebrow at him. “Didn’t you say that a Master Artificer is one that has made at least seven True Artifacts to their name?”

“That’s the minimum requirement, yes.” Harry confirmed as they headed into the cottage for lunch together. “Making various levels of Artifacts is also necessary, but I’ve got that covered too. Still haven’t tried for a High Grade yet, but given the accidental nature of Dourfrost and what it has already done…I’m thinking of holding off on that for now.”

“No rush, Harry, no rush.” Penny hugged him close. “Don’t go too far again. We don’t want to lose you.” She kissed his cheek softly to convey her love and worry about his wellbeing.

“Absolutely.” Fleur joined the hug, kissing Harry’s opposite cheek. “There’s no need for you to risk yourself.”

“I won’t.” Harry promised them both as they hugged him. After what Dourfrost had done, he wasn’t in any further hurry to push the limits of his Artifice. He’d take it step by step and ensure that he didn’t make the same mistake again.

“Wotcher all.” Tonks greeted her boyfriend and future sisters. “I decided to come over for lunch and what do I see? A Harry sandwich!” The Metamorph teased before quickly joining the hug too.

“Glad to have you, Nym.” Harry chuckled as he just enjoyed being hugged and held by his loves.

“Ministry still a madhouse?” Penny asked Tonks as the four separated.

“Of course.” Tonks sighed as they sat down at the table together. “Azkaban fallen, the Dementors gone, prisoners missing, and the Dark Mark in the sky? We’re basically on full war protocols now. Madam Bones, Mad-Eye, and Scrimgeour are leading the charge at this point and Fudge is basically being forced to stay out of the way.

“That’s probably for the best.” Harry made his opinion clear of the Minister. “Thank you, Tayla.” He smiled at the warm meal that had appeared in front of them. A nice potato and leek soup, a ham sandwich, and fruit slices.

“Of course, Young Master Harry.” Tayla replied with a wide smile before disappearing with a pop.

“I know you cannot speak on everything, Nym, but has the Ministry had any leads on the Dark Lord?” Fleur questioned after a bit of soup.

“Not much of anything yet.” Tonks shook her head. “This is completely different than what he did back in the Seventies. Only the attack on Azkaban was even close and that was new for him as well. Scrimgeour wants to start searching suspicious transactions in Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Diurn Alley, and even the wholesale market.”

“That could lead to something.” Penny looked thoughtful. “After all, if a strangely large order of certain ingredients was made, then you could potentially piece together the most likely potions that would be made from them.”

“That might work for Diagon and Diurn Alleys, but Knockturn Alley is barely under Ministry control on the best of days.” Tonks sighed, her hair turning a shade of blue. “Most of those places probably don’t keep records properly, and even if they do, they’ll be less than willing to hand them over.”

“Why is Knockturn even allowed to continue as it has for so long?” Harry asked Tonks curiously. “If it’s full of illegal items, ingredients, and the like, then why not just shut all of it down and clean it out?”

“There’s a lot of push back from the Traditionalists on the Wizengamot whenever such an idea is brought up.” Tonks eyes went orange to show a modicum of her own irritation. “They claim that it’s wrong to take the shops from their lawful owners without cause. Not to mention that many of those old places belong to Pureblood families with long history in Magical Britain.”

“It sounds like they just want a convenient place to hide their own illegal activities.” Fleur let out a small huff at the obvious ploy the old Wizengamot members were pulling.

“Yep,” Tonks sighed at the blatant truth. “The only halfway logical argument I’ve ever heard is that it keeps the less reputable members of society out of the major shopping areas of Diagon Alley and Diurn Alley. But even that rings kind of hollow considering that it should make it easier to clean up all of the said ‘less reputable members of society’ in one well-executed raid.”

“Just sounds like more talking in circles to prevent anything from being done.” Penny shook her head at the obvious lack of concern or care that the Wizengamot showed.

“Welcome to the Ministry.” Tonks waved her index finger in a circle with a flat look.

“Enough about them.” Fleur moved the topic off of the incompetent (or blatantly corrupt in some cases) Wizengamot and Ministry. “Let’s talk of more pleasant things.”

“Well, did you three get Harry’s death sword locked up?” Tonks asked with a teasing grin at Harry.

“Yeah, yeah…” Harry stuck his tongue out at Tonks. “But we did get it sealed up.”

“It’s locked up in the barrier now, so it shouldn’t be a danger to anyone else.” Penny agreed with a smile.

“Seeing as only one of you two can unseal it, it should stay right where it is until Harry can complete a scabbard for the horrid thing.” Fleur nodded with a small frown. Dourfrost would always be her least liked of Harry’s creations, she was sure about that.

“That’ll probably take some time too.” Harry mused on just how he’d go about creating a proper scabbard for Dourfrost. The sword was so innately powerful that only something of equal or greater strength could hope to suppress it indefinitely. “Regardless, I’ll figure it out after some work. How has the research been going with Madam Aveline, Fleur?”

“Very well,” Fleur smiled beautifully. “Determining the correlation of effect to both the Lum and Thaum of various types of spells is still only scratching the surface of our study. Even between spells that are very similar, the amount of mana changes and we’re actually able to measure the Lum that it takes to cast and the Thaum per effect based on time. It has led to a slowly building catalogue of spells based on efficiency by type. Even simple movement Charms are proving to have a variety of efficiency differences, so it’s very interesting work full of new discoveries.”

“You lost me about a sentence and a half in, love.” Tonks shook her head as her hair turned into her favored pink. The bright smile on her face showed that she wasn’t upset by the fact though.

“She’s saying that being able to measure the efficiency of spells is now possible thanks to the measurement system that Harry made for Magic.” Penny simplified what Fleur had said. “The Lum is the amount of mana that the spell is cast with. The Thaum is the amount of effect produced by the spell. If one movement Charm takes ten Lum to cast and gets twelve Thaum of movement, probably measured in meters,” Fleur nodded in confirmation when Penny looked at her. “Then you can compare it to a different movement Charm and compare their efficiencies against each other.”

“So, if Accio gets me fifteen meters for ten Lum, and Locomotor gets me only twelve meters for the same ten Lum, then the Thaum is a difference of three?” Tonks figured out the simplified explanation.

“Yes, the Locomotor Charm would be less efficient than the Accio Charm.” Fleur nodded to Tonks with a smile. “You’re also correct. Accio and Depulso have so far been the most efficient of all of the movement Charms tested. Both have very high Lum to Thaum ratios that other Charms haven’t been able to match.”

“I still don’t see how you Scholars happily make this type of stuff your careers.” Tonks teased Penny and Fleur with a grin. “I’d be bored to tears.”

“We can’t all be Dark Wizard catchers, love.” Fleur teased right back.

“Someone has to unravel the secrets of Magic after all.” Penny winked at the Auror playfully.

“I’ll just leave that to you two then.” Tonks laughed brightly, her hair shifting to a bright yellow.

-Egypt ~ Giza-

“It’s done.” The head of the hidden group stared in joyous awe of the completed work.

“Took the better part of two centuries.” His son mentioned, but was clearly just as happy about the completion of the long work they and their ancestors had done.

What they and their entire group were looking at was a large complex of sandstone. To any Egyptologist it would be readily identified as a temple. Pillars supported a roof surrounding a central courtyard and had walls covered in hieroglyphs. The pillars themselves as well as the roof were also marked with the ancient writing. Obelisks were built at specific points around the temple, including the largest one that was in the center of the complex. This one in particular was made of a black stone and inscribed with gold and silver hieroglyphs. The entire structure was infused with Magic and to any Wizard or Witch in the world it would feel Magical to their senses.

“When can we begin the actual ritual to get back what was lost?” One of the plain-dressed men that had been working on the temple questioned the leader.

“In time, my friends, in time. We must first make sure that the others around the world are ready.” The leader answered with an understanding look on his face. He too wanted to enact the ritual and regain what they’d lost over the centuries. But without the cooperation of the others that shared sentiments with them it wouldn’t work. One lone group could not restore what had disappeared after so long.

“I hope it’s soon. We’ve worked tirelessly for so long; we need this to work.” The leader’s son narrowed his eyes. “If we do it alone, we’ll only get the attention of those fools that placed themselves in charge.”

“We are closer to taking back what was stolen from us than ever before.” Another man spoke up with a hopeful tone. He smiled at his fellow workers when they turned to look at him. “We should celebrate the completion of the long work properly!”

“You are correct.” The leader laughed as he placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Tonight, we pay our respects and our tribute to our ancestors and ourselves! We shall restore that which has been lost and taken! We shall eat, drink, and celebrate!”

“Yeah!” The entire group cheered along with their leader. After so long, they finally realized their work. The time would soon be upon them. They had earned this celebration through decades of sweat and hard work!

“Food for a feast shall be ready shortly.” A woman smiled to the leader as she headed off with several others towards a kitchen area.

“Bring the wine! Tonight, is a joyous night!” The leader’s son actually laughed along with his father, making all of the group cheer along with them.

-Fenghuang ~ China-

“Will it be complete soon?” One man asked another as they sipped tea together.

“Yes, there’s no need to worry.” The other man nodded with a small smile. “My sister assures me that everything is on schedule.”

“Good, very good.” The older man sighed as he looked out the window and onto the river. Boats with passengers floated along the river just like every day. The ancient town had become a major tourist destination over the years.

“We’ve yet to receive word on if the others have completed their works however.” The younger man informed his elder as he too watched the town through the window.

“Everything has its time, we need only to wait.” The elder replied as a peanut from the snack tray between them floated upward. The shell split cleanly before moving onto another plate with other empty shells. The two peanuts floated into the elder’s hands and he ate them while watching the river.

“Will we have to wear the traditional clothing again?” The younger man questioned with a glance.

“When necessary, yes.” The elder chuckled lightly. “You would do well to embrace more tradition. Image is important and in the coming times we will need to make use of our abilities.”

“I understand.” The younger man nodded, enjoying a few peanuts himself. “The amount of changes this will bring is hard to truly imagine though.:

“That is true.” The elder agreed without hesitation. “We cannot know exactly how everything will play out. But we can prepare as best we can, and then flow with the rest as it comes.”

“Do you think this town will continue on?” The younger man asked after a long moment of silence.

“It’s been here for almost three centuries, I’m sure it will last.” The elder nodded after a moment to think. “We can always talk to the others in Daxu if we are worried.”

“I do wonder if they’ll be willing to help with our concerns after it is set into motion.” The younger man hummed, taking a few more peanuts for himself.

“The ones in Ping Yao are most likely to be busy once everything begins.” The elder stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Or we could visit Luoyang and speak with them directly as well.” He cast a grin at the younger man. “Or you could always visit Guilin if you’d like. I doubt much will change there, even with the coming change.”

“I’ll stay here.” The younger man chuckled lightly. “If I took your travel recommendations then I’m sure I’d end up in a picturesque area, but also one of the most rural.”

“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying nature and the slower life of rural living.” The older man grinned fondly as he watched the river. “One should enjoy the time they have. Life affords few second chances after all.”

“True enough.” The younger man agreed as he sipped his tea. Change was coming. A change so great that none could truly predict it and everything that would happen as a result. Perhaps he should take a small vacation before everything began?

-End Chapter-

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Dourfrost has been sealed away. Now no one else will try to grab the damn thing and end up dead at least.

Harry and Sirius aren’t held accountable for Umbridge’s death. They not only warned her multiple times, they even tried to save her life. Her death was on her as well as her own hubris and greed.

After court though, Harry just wants to relax. What better way than to turn into his Animagus form and curl up on his girlfriends’ laps to get petted?

Voldemort has begun to set up his next ritual. What on earth is the madman planning now? How many more people will be ensnared in his machinations?

We also see that the secret work that is occurring in various places around the world is being completed. One after another until all of them are ready. Just what will happen when all of them are complete?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 26,884

Tonks – 21,718

Penelope – 16,362

Fleur – 16,926

Until I get your reviews, later!