Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The Winter Break is coming up and Harry has a bit of ‘Doctoring’ to perform for the Greengrass Family. But before then, will there be another incident at Hogwarts? Our prodigious Spellcrafter is also talking with his pen pal as well, without mentioning what is going on at Hogwarts, of course. Exploring the castle to try and hunt down the Chamber of Secrets will also take up some of his time too.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 17 – Friend, Dueling, and Curse Breaking

“Prek!” Hedwig landed lightly upon the Ravenclaw table at breakfast, a letter tied around her leg. Holding out her leg, she let Harry retrieve the correspondence before stealing some bacon from his plate and flying off towards the Owlery to rest.

“Fleur sent me a reply.” Harry grinned at the letter before opening the envelope and pulling out the paper inside. Reading French was a little difficult still, as Harry was still learning the language, but he was able to understand the letter for the most part. The second page, written in English, confirmed what he’d read on the first page. “Well, I’m glad she liked them.”

“Who liked what, Harry?” Luna asked curiously from his right side.

“I sent Fleur’s little sister, Gabrielle, some sweets from Honeydukes with my last letter.” Harry smiled at his little sister. “Gabrielle apparently enjoyed them quite a bit. She has a sweet tooth.” He chuckled as he put the letter into the inner pocket of his robes. “I’ll have to write back tonight, and keep her up to date on some of the things that I’ve been doing.”

“Has she asked for the secrets of Wandless Magic yet?” Hermione teased him lightly.

“No, but I told her I was very enigmatic when it came to my secrets when we met.” Harry laughed as he put more eggs onto his plate. “I’m still interested in those Veela spells of hers though.” He gave a faux whine at being denied the spells that he’d seen Fleur use.

“Maybe you’re just not asking the right question.” Hermione shrugged, clearly holding back laughter of her own.

“Perhaps.” Harry nodded, digging into his eggs.

“You’re no fun.” Hermione nudged him at not reacting to her joke.

“I’m the most fun!” Harry shot back, nosed raised pompously in the air, which made Luna giggle.

-Later-

“Hmm…” Harry prowled the corridors looking for any hidden spaces, doors, or portraits with his Mage Sight spell active. He needed to try and find the Chamber of Secrets and hopefully end this Heir of Slytherin’s plans. Dealing with them would not only protect the other students, among them his friends and his new little sister, but could also allow him access to whatever was left with the fabled Chamber. ‘Then again…Slytherin’s descendants probably have known how to get into the chamber over the centuries. They might even be why no one has been able to find it after all this time. It would certainly make sense that the Chamber wouldn’t be found if certain people were actively working to keep its location hidden. Maybe they are even capable of changing where the entrance is somehow?’ That would be an avenue to explore while he searched the castle. Out of the way places were the obvious choice for a secret chamber, but perhaps that’s why most people failed to find it. “Maybe the Chamber is static, but its entrance is movable, or in some way able to be changed?”

Harry continued to roam the castle, but instead of checking far out of the way places, as he’d been doing, he now focused on areas with a bit more foot traffic. The first floor revealed only a few small hidden rooms or passages, most of which he was already aware of. The second floor, however, revealed something that Harry hadn’t found yet.

“A door?” Harry looked at the portrait of a sleeping Runespoor. The three-headed snake would go unnoticed if one was just casually walking through the corridor, being that it blended into the landscape the portrait portrayed. Harry tried to open the portrait by hand, but it wouldn’t budge. His attempt did, however, wake up the Runespoor in the painting.

“Sssshhhh…”

“Ssssshh…”

“Sssshhh…”

Each head hissed separately at Harry as the serpent reared up from its previous coiled posture.

“Sorry to wake you,” Harry apologized to the three heads. “I was hoping you might let me through?”

“Sssshhhaaa.”

“Ssshhaa…”

“Sssshhhaaaa?”

The third head tilted to the side a bit, the move making its upward inflected hiss sound like a question if it had been human.

“Wait…” Harry blinked as he thought about that. “Are you…are you three speaking Parseltongue?”

“Ssshhh.”

“Ssshhh.”

“Ssshhh.”

All three heads made the same short hiss, which Harry was going to just assume meant ‘yes’ for now. “I’m afraid I’m not a speaker, myself.” He shook his head and the three heads suddenly seemed less interested in him. “Maybe something else…?” Harry reached out with Magic Manipulation and connected to the portrait.

What he found was old, old Magic…the portrait must’ve been here for centuries. The spellwork on the enchantment was sound, but to Harry (who’d interacted with tons of the portraits within Hogwarts since last year) it wasn’t done the same way. The enchantment work was clearly older, more archaic, not nearly as streamlined as some of the newer portraits he’d interacted with. Which was probably why the Runespoor was sleeping to begin with…the portrait was old and probably didn’t afford the depicted serpent access to other frames, leaving it bored and sleepy.

‘But how to get the Runespoor to let me pass?’ Harry pondered as he looked through the enchantment further. He found the core of the spellwork a short time later and grinned. ‘It is Parseltongue!’ Harry grinned brightly, seeing similar enchantment to a basic Password Charm, but the current password didn’t seem to be a word so much as a sound…if that made any sense. “Oh?” He grinned when he found a secondary pass clause beyond the Password Charm.

Harry coated his right hand in his Magic and gently touched the left head of the Runespoor in the painting. He stroked the scales, not quite feeling them, but not feeling the portrait material either. Normally this secondary access method would be done with a wand, probably for any Parselmouth that would come later and wouldn’t know the password.

“Ssssshhhhh…” The head hissed out before laying down and dozing off.

“Next.” Harry chuckled and stroked the middle head of the three-headed serpent. Like the first one, it too laid down and dozed off after a moment.

“Ssshhhaaa…” The right head let out a hiss as it dozed off and the painting popped open on the right side, swinging on hinges that weren’t there.

“Nice.” Harry grinned and slipped through the hidden door, hearing the painting shut behind him automatically. “A bit dark in here.” Harry conjured a bright Lumos Charm from his palm and let it float above his head. “Better.” He could see now at least, finding himself in a tunnel that looked like it hadn’t been used by anyone in a long while. “Where does this go?”

Harry walked along the tunnel for a while, finding it odd that the passage veered off seemingly at random, going left and right and even sloped downwards from time to time. Eventually, he came to a dead end…a solid wall of metal. Perplexed, Harry tapped on the wall and looked at it with his Mage Sight spell intently. Seeing that some Magic ran through it, he reached out with Magic Manipulation to try and examine it.

“It can open?” Harry blinked at the feature that he’d discovered. It didn’t have a Password Charm, but this was clearly some type of door. “Maybe…” He interacted with the spellwork weaved into the metal wall a bit and found that it had a specific requirement to open, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of what the requirement was. “More Parseltongue?” Harry exhaled with a grimace. Not wanting to give up just yet, he placed his ear against the metal wall and listened. What he heard sounded like water echoing behind the wall. “Wait…is this part of the plumbing? Did Slytherin do the plumbing? A descendant, maybe?” Harry shook his head with a chuckle. “Did I find a maintenance access tunnel?” That was significantly more mundane, despite the Parseltongue in use to hide it. “Then again…it’s not a bad method to keep students out. There’s not many Parseltongues in Britain.” He started making his way back along the corridor and exited the Runespoor painting with a grin. “Salazar Slytherin’s noble descendants, plumbers extraordinaire!” Harry laughed at his own joke, vaguely aware that Hogwarts had updated their plumbing sometime in the 1700’s and that one of Slytherin’s descendants probably helped with it. Perhaps they hid the access point behind the Runespoor painting in case they needed to return?” Whatever the reason, it hadn’t been the Chamber of Secrets, so Harry’s search would continue.

-Saturday, December 12th-

“This has to be a joke, right?” Harry looked at the bulletin board in the Ravenclaw Common Room along with many of the other students.

“I should hope so.” Hermione huffed at the parchment on the board.

The new announcement was that Professor Lockhart would be starting up a Dueling Club on the following Thursday, the seventeenth, after classes. That alone got quite a few snorts of derision from the studious Ravenclaws, either not interested in Dueling, or having a very low opinion of Lockhart, for some of them, it was both.

“It says that Professor Flitwick will be there too.” Anthony Goldstein pointed out near the bottom of the parchment. “We could actually learn something from Flitwick, he’s a former Dueling Champion.”

“That could be interesting.” Harry agreed with a nod, a small grin on his lips.

“I want to see what Professor Flitwick can do.” Luna smiled at the announcement.

“Then we’ll go.” Harry declared, smiling at Luna warmly and getting a smile in return from his little sister.

“Wrapped around her finger.” Hermione giggled from Harry’s other side.

“Indeed.” Harry nodded along, Luna mimicking him and nodding as well.

-Dueling Club-

“Gather round, gather round!” Lockhart called out, atop the Dueling Platform and in a Dueling Outfit that made Harry roll his eyes. It was clearly the type meant more for style than function, something a Duelist might wear to an event that they themselves weren’t participating in. It had a cape over one shoulder for crying out loud! “Can everybody see me?” Lockhart questioned, looking about the various students that had come to the first club meeting. “Can you all hear me?” Getting a few nods, the blonde man smiled. “Excellent!” He made a pivot on his feet, dramatically swishing the cape on his left shoulder. “In light of the attack on Halloween, and the previous search not finding a culprit, Headmaster Dumbledore has granted permission for me to start this Dueling Club.”

“Granted Flitwick permission, more likely.” Harry whispered to Hermione.

Everybody could see Flitwick standing atop a pedestal on the floor near the center of the Dueling Platform. It was the standard position of the referee, arguably the most important position in a formal Duel, but Lockhart was too much of a peacock to let any attention be focused on the Charms Professor.

“Now, let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape!” Lockhart motioned to the opposite end of the Dueling Platform.

Snape walked up the short steps and onto the platform with his usual dour countenance. The Potions Professor’s face was blank, but Harry wouldn’t put it past the man to be plotting to humiliate Lockhart just because.

“He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration.” Lockhart informed the gathered students. “Now, I don’t want any of you youngsters to worry; you’ll still have your Potions Professor when I’m through with him, never fear.” He gave his patented ‘charming’ smile and Harry, for probably the first and last time, wished Snape luck.

“To the center.” Flitwick instructed both of the men, beginning the Duel properly.

Snape and Lockhart met in the middle of the platform, standing within arms-reach of each other.

“Present wands.” Flitwick announced, with both Snape and Lockhart raising their wands before them, the Foci held straight and pointed at the ceiling. “Bow.” Both men moved their wands to the side in a sharp motion before giving each other a short bow. “To your starting positions.” Lockhart and Snape turned their backs to each other and headed for the opposite ends of the long, narrow platform.

Lockhart turned when he reached his position and took up a stance that made Harry raise an eyebrow. It was…lazy…for lack of a better term. It looked good from a glance, but unless Lockhart was hiding some incredibly good reflexes, there was no way that he’d be getting his wand through any motions for a good spell.

‘Given what we’ve seen, I highly doubt that he has any spells down to point-casting either.’ Harry internally scoffed that Lockhart had bothered to work hard enough to forgo wand motions for any spell. The mnemonic motions were taught for a reason, but going past them was the mark of a good Witch or Wizard.

Snape’s stance on the other hand was more aggressive, his right arm raised a bit over his head, the tip of his wand pointed directly at Lockhart. The Potions Professor’s left arm was held straight forward, prepared to be moved in any direction to help keep Snape’s balance should he need to move and change his position while casting.

“Begin!” Flitwick declared, raising his voice so that everyone heard him clearly.

“Expelliarmus!” Snape’s wand whipped around in time with his left arm dropping as he shifted his weight. The spell shot from the tip and slammed into Lockhart before the blonde man had even raised his wand into position to cast.

Lockhart’s wand was wrenched from his hand, his arm flying backwards from the force of Snape’s spell. The overpowered Disarming Charm took Lockhart clean off his feet and he crashed down a few meters behind where he’d been, now dangerously close to falling off the end of the platform.

“Disarmed!” Flitwick called out, ending the demonstration immediately.

The laughter of the various students was heard as Lockhart gathered himself and stood up. Even Snape looked a mix of bored and possibly amused…if only slightly. “An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape!” Lockhart raised his voice after picking up his wand. He strutted down the platform as if he hadn’t just been knocked on his ass. “But, if you don’t mind me saying, it was rather obvious what you were about to do and if I had wanted to stop you, it would’ve only been too easy.”

“Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor?” Snape drawled out, clearly unimpressed with Lockhart.

“An excellent idea, Professor Snape!” Lockhart turned away from the Potions Professor, not used to seeing derision directed at himself. “Let’s have a volunteer pair…” He looked at the gathered students. “Potter!” Lockhart’s eyes zeroed in on Harry first. “And…Weasley!” He pointed to Ron Weasley on the opposite side of the platform.

“Weasley’s wand causes devastation with even the simplest of spells.” Snape derided the boy’s spellcasting with his normal barely concealed contempt. “We’d be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox.” The intended insult to the prodigious student wasn’t lost on several of the students, and Flitwick looked like he had half a mind to blast Snape off the platform himself. “Might I suggest someone from my own House?”

“Of course.” Lockhart acquiesced easily.

“Malfoy!” Snape turned and motioned for the boy to get on the platform.

Draco had a smirk on his face as he made his way up the short stairs and onto the platform. Harry did the same from the opposite end and passed Lockhart on the way.

“Good luck, Potter.” Lockhart nodded to the boy.

“Thanks.” Harry replied evenly. “Draco and I have done this before though.”

The two Second Years met in the middle of the platform, as per tradition, to exchange the pre-duel formalities.

“Present wands.” Flitwick called out to the boys. Draco raised his, while Harry raised his right hand, his fingers extended in a ‘half prayer’ position. “Bow.” Draco gave the smallest bow that he could, barely leaning forward at all. Harry just gave the standard short bow.

“Scared Potter?” Draco asked with a self-assured smirk.

“Bored actually.” Harry replied and was mildly amused to see Draco’s face turn red.

“To your starting positions.” Flitwick instructed. The two boys turned from each other and walked to their respective ends of the platform. Draco took up a stance similar to Snape’s, while Harry merely had his hands at the ready by his sides.

“Remember, students, you’re aiming to disarm only!” Lockhart had to have the attention back on him again, his vanity wouldn’t allow anything else. “We don’t want any accidents here!”

“Begin!” Flitwick barely hid the roll of his eyes at Lockhart’s instructions. Every Professor in Hogwarts knew of Malfoy’s dislike of Potter. The fact that both boys were in the Junior Dueling League meant that this Duel wouldn’t be merely Disarming Charms, no matter what Lockhart said.

“Everte Statum!” Draco called as he cast a wave of white magic towards Harry.

“He said disarm only, Malfoy.” Harry mentioned as he sidestepped the spell easily. “Like this.” A burst of Magic left Harry’s hand as he pointed at Draco. The blonde boy was knocked back and landed on his ass with a thud, his wand falling to the platform just out of his reach.

“Disarmed!” Flitwick made the call, ending the Duel in Harry’s favor.

Snape looked like he’d swallowed a lemon before he pulled Draco to his feet. The blonde boy quickly crouching down to snatch his wand back into his hand.

“Serpentsortia!” Draco cast, even with the Duel over. From the tip of his wand a viper of considerable length was launched at Harry. The snake hit the platform a few meters away, hissing angrily and looking at the students on either side of the platform.

The cries of several students were heard as the crowd backed away from the snake.

“Mr. Malfoy!” Flitwick nearly roared at Draco for casting outside of the Duel, as well as conjuring a venomous serpent among his peers. “Fifty points from Slytherin for your actions!”

Snap

The sound of Harry’s fingers got everyone’s attention for a second. Seeing the viper vanish in a small cloud of black smoke grabbed their attention far more though. The conjured snake gone; Harry merely gave Draco an unimpressed look.

“Clear the platform, we’ll have the next two students try out their Disarming Charms.” Flitwick took control of the club instantly, the short Wizard’s authority undeniable as he shot a look at both Lockhart and Snape.

Harry, Hermione, and Luna found that learning from Flitwick was as pleasant as always. The Charms Master was in his element when it came to Dueling and many of the students that had come to the club were all smiles when they left. Having a new spell like Expelliarmus under their belts (especially for the First Years) would do that.

-The Next Day ~ December 18th-

“Again?” Harry was starting to get concerned now. There had been another attack by the Heir of Slytherin. Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, had been found petrified. “How does that even work on a ghost?”

He hadn’t been called in this time, the Mandrake Draughts that Madam Pomfrey had ordered being used to revive the two. But Harry still learned about it easily enough, Nick had been quietly whispering about having defended a student to a few of the other ghosts as Harry had been passing by. The ghosts had quickly gone silent and disappeared through the walls when they’d spotted him, but Harry had heard enough to understand the incident.

“We’re all headed home for winter break in on Sunday…if there are no incidents while most of the students are gone, then it’s most likely that the Heir is among them.” Harry murmured to himself as he continued on his way. He’d increase his search for the Chamber once he returned to the castle. His break was going to be a bit busy as it was, and he honestly wanted to relax with his family as much as possible.

-Greengrass Manor ~ December 28th-

“Lord Black.” Cyrus Greengrass greeted Sirius as the man stepped out of his Floo. He was a man of average height, with dark hair and cool, gray eyes. His complexion was slightly pale, and his robes were a mix of black and gray, clearly pricey as well just from sight alone.

“Greengrass.” Sirius nodded back to the man, his eyes were scanning the room they were in, checking for any threats before Harry came through. The Greengrass Family were known as ‘fence sitters’ in both the Wizengamot and back during Voldemort’s uprising. They didn’t take any one side, merely watched how things were going and made whatever decision was best for their family at the time. But Sirius would be damned if he let Harry be here alone, just in case.

“Ugh…I hate the Floo.” Harry grumbled as he nearly staggered out of the green flames. A wave of his hand and all of the soot left him. “Good morning, Mr. Greengrass.” Harry nodded to the man waiting for him.

“Mr. Potter.” Cyrus nodded back to the boy. “Please, allow me to introduce you both to my family.” He motioned to two people, a woman and a girl, that Harry only knew vaguely from Daphne’s description of them. “My wife, Layla.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Black, Mr. Potter.” Layla smiled and bowed to the two slightly. She was gorgeous, clearly where her daughters got their looks from, with a soft face, a substantial bosom that couldn’t be concealed by her robe, and gentle icy blue eyes. Her long hair was raven black, like Daphne’s, and she stood just a bit shorter than her husband.

“The pleasure is ours.” Sirius took her hand and barely touched her knuckles with his lips as was expected of his position.

“This is our daughter, Astoria.” Cyrus introduced his youngest child.

“H-Hello.” Astoria stepped forward and gave a little curtsey. She was cute, like Luna, and had dark hair like the rest of her family. The darker eyes clearly came from her father, while everything else was her mother. To Harry’s eyes though, she looked a little pale, like she’d just gotten over being sick.

“May I ask who this is?” Sirius looked towards the slightly older man standing off to the side of the Greengrass family.

“This is Brian Spindle, the Healer that has been looking after my family for the last few decades.” Cyrus introduced the Healer.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Black, Mr. Potter.” Brin nodded to the two. He wore plain robes in a navy blue shade, his eyes were behind round glasses, and his hair was more gray than the brown it had been in his younger years, given what Harry and Sirius could see of the mixed colors.

“Harry was very insistent on coming here to help, but he wouldn’t tell me what about, only saying that it was a secret.” Sirius looked at Cyrus for an explanation.

“Before that…” Cyrus exhaled and Layla smiled warmly at Harry. “We would like to thank you, Sorcerer Potter, for saving Daphne when no one has been able to free any of us since this curse began.”

“Daphne’s a friend, and I made her a promise.” Harry smiled at Daphne, the girl standing on her father’s opposite side. She smiled back at him warmly, a sharp difference from the cool and closed personality she presented to most within Hogwarts.

“I was most surprised myself.” Brian agreed, looking at Harry with kind eyes. “I’ve seen a few of my patients slip away because of this curse without being able to do anything about it. I’d almost given up hope when Daphne’s letter arrived in the fall.”

“Curse?” Sirius looked between Harry and the Greengrass Family, clearly wanting an explanation.

“It won’t matter soon, I hope, so I’ll let you into our Family’s secret, Lord Black.” Cyrus motioned for Sirius and Harry to follow him into the nearby sitting room.

It would be almost half an hour later when Harry was able to begin his first treatment. Both Cyrus and Layla had insisted that Astoria go first, as she’d recently suffered both a bout of sickness and a time of intense pain from the Blood Malediction. It was clear that Cyrus and Layla wanted their daughter free from the curse as soon as possible.

“This is a little embarrassing.” Astoria commented, her cheeks red as she lay on a table in nothing but small cotton shorts and a matching cotton tank top. She wasn’t used to being so exposed, especially not with a boy that she’d just met.

“Your sister said something similar.” Harry chuckled reassuringly at the younger girl. “But you’ll be fine once we’re done, I promise.”

“R-really?” Astoria looked at him with eyes that showed little hope. The young girl had suffered her entire life under the Blood Malediction and knew that she’d been hit twice over. Brian had never been able to do anything for her beyond mitigating some of the pain and keeping her frequent illnesses from getting too bad.

“Really.” Harry smiled at Astoria, gently squeezing her hand to give her what comfort he could.  “This is going to feel weird, but try not to move too much. I promise it won’t hurt.” Harry smiled at Astoria with absolute surety in his statement.

“Okay.” Astoria gave the best nod she could while lying on the table.

“Then Doctor Potter will begin the Blood Malediction treatment.” Harry joked lightly as he activated his Mage Sight spell and brought his magic to bear.

“Doctor?” Astoria blinked at the term, but went still as Harry hovered his hands over her head.

The dark, ugly, maroon Magic of the Blood Malediction pulsed beneath Harry’s Mage Sight spell. Just like he’d seen in Daphne, the root-like entanglement of the curse was spread throughout Astoria’s body and Magic alike. Only much worse. Harry tried to count the number of roots, recalling how many Daphne had when he removed her curse. Astoria easily had twice as much if not even more of the ‘roots’ within her. Harry reached out with Magic Manipulation and took hold of one of the ‘roots’ carefully. Using his Magic he surrounded the single root of the Blood Malediction that he was focusing on. He formed his ‘spell scalpel’ with his Magic and separated the encased ‘root’ from Astoria’s Magic and body.

‘One down…a lot more to go.’ Harry thought to himself as he moved on to the next ‘root’ and repeated the process.

‘It’s going to work. Daphne said it worked. Mom and dad said it would work. Brian said Daphne was cured.’ Astoria thought to herself as Harry’s hands continually passed lower and lower over her body. It was a little embarrassing to have a boy moving his hands over her body, even if he wasn’t touching her. But she’d go through anything if it meant finally being free of the curse.

‘One-hundred-fifty-one.’ Harry encased another root and cut it off from Astoria’s body and Magic with his ‘spell scalpel’. He had no idea just how long he’d been working, his focus entirely on containing the separated ‘roots’ and working to separate the rest. ‘One-hundred-fifty-two.’ He carefully added the new encasement to the containment spell that held the rest. ‘One-hundred-fifty-three.’ That was another one, his hands were finally at Astoria’s feet as he went for the final two roots attached to the soles of her feet. ‘One-hundred-fifty-four.’ The root connected to the sole of the left foot was separated and added to the containment. ‘One-hundred-fifty-five.’ Harry severed the last root from the bottom of Astoria’s right foot and contained it as well. With careful control, Harry gently moved the contained Blood Malediction up and away from Astoria’s body.

“Hauh…” Astoria inhaled sharply as Harry’s Magic moved away from her. The oddly comforting feeling of his Magic disappeared, and when it did it took with it a source of metaphysical weight and pain that she’d lived with all of her life. Tears sprang to her eyes and she didn’t even try to hold them back.

“It was a success, Astoria, it’ll never hurt you again.” Harry promised her with a bright smile meant to cheer her up. He tossed the captured Blood Malediction away without letting her see it, the vile Magic fading into nothing as it could no longer fulfill its purpose.

“Th-th-thank y-you, H-Harry…” Astoria bawled in relief and joy and Harry used his Magic to open the door, letting Cyrus and Layla into the room to hold and comfort their daughter.

“Mr. Potter?” Cyrus saw his daughter crying and feared the worst as his wife went to console their youngest.

“She’s just happy, the curse is gone now.” Harry nodded to the man and watched the light return to Cyrus’s eyes as he moved over to wrap his arms around Layla and Astoria both.

While Harry took a break after removing the Blood Malediction from Astoria, Brian gave the young girl a full checkup. The cheer that rose up from the room when the curse was indeed revealed to be gone without a trace was heard in the sitting room where Sirius and Harry were.

“You’re a good kid, Harry.” Sirius praised his godson with a proud smile.

“I just wanted to help if I could.” Harry smiled at being able to use his understanding of Magic to help others.

Once Harry felt ready, he entered the treatment room again and Layla Greengrass entered a short time later. The woman certainly filled out the tank top and shorts as she laid on the table. Harry was thankful that he was still young enough that the sight of the beautiful woman in the thin garments didn’t completely derail his brain.

“Let’s begin.” Harry nodded to Layla.

“Yes.” Layla gave him a smile as she lay perfectly still.

‘Let’s see…’ Harry nearly sighed in relief when he saw that Layla’s curse had indeed not manifested nearly as strongly. The distant relation had weakened the Blood Malediction to a significant degree. ‘I can deal with forty-two a lot easier than one-hundred-fifty-five.’ The Spellcrafter got to work, encasing the first root and detaching it with his ‘spell scalpel’ as his hands hovered over Layla’s head.

“Oh…” Layla gasped lightly when Harry slowly moved his hands away from her a while later. That feeling of weight and tightness within her had disappeared entirely.

“It’s gone, Mrs. Greengrass.” Harry smiled at the woman.

“Thank you very much, Sorcerer Potter.” Layla used his Title as she sat up and then gave him a short bow from her seated position.

“It’s not a problem.” Harry shook his head. It was a good excuse to avert his eyes, since Layla’s movements had made her breasts bounce a good deal. A small part of his mind wondered if Daphne would grow up in the same manner, but he shook that thought away.

After another break, Cyrus Greengrass was lying on the table under Harry’s treatment. When Layla had been cleared by Healer Spindle, the entire family had rejoiced. Cyrus had barely held it together, knowing that his wife and daughters would no longer have to suffer, and that his little Astoria wouldn’t die young from the thrice damned curse that had been laid on their family.

“Are you ready, Mr. Greengrass?” Harry asked the man.

“Yes, please begin whenever you see fit, Sorcerer Potter.” Cyrus would never treat Harry Potter like a child. He’d earned far more respect than Cyrus could adequately show or express, but the man was determined to only offer him the utmost respect from now on.

‘Damn…it really does get bad the longer you live with it, huh?’ Harry gazed at the thick entanglement of ‘roots’ within Cyrus. The man was only thirty-four, but that was plenty of time for the Blood Malediction to spread and become the disgusting mass that Harry could see with his Mage Sight spell. ‘I’m not even going to bother counting, but he has a few more than Astoria for sure.’ Seeing the difference really drove home how dire Astoria’s situation had been since her curse was almost as bad as her fathers at roughly a third of Cyrus’s age.

Cyrus Greengrass laid still on the table with his eyes closed as Harry worked. He could feel the boy’s Magic around him, the genuine desire to help was soothing, and the Head of the Greengrass Family went over everything in his mind that he’d prepared just in case anything went wrong.

‘I have the stewardship set for Layla. The Gringotts vault is already in both of our names, so they won’t be cut off from finances. Our lawyer has copies of al of our legal parchment work, so if anything happens, Layla can still take care of our family.’ Cyrus was pleased that they were free and could live long, healthy lives now. That was all that he’d ever wanted. If he had to die to drag this damned curse to the great beyond then he would. As long as his wife and children were free. ‘We didn’t even know about our distant relation…not until Astoria was cursed twice over.’ He lamented that the love he and his wife shared had caused their children to suffer so much. But he and Layla had been together since their seventh year in Hogwarts, and Cyrus knew how bad the Blood Malediction could get. But he couldn’t just let his family line die out. With joy, they’d welcomed their Daphne into the world. Astoria had been a surprise, but they loved her as soon as Layla found out that she was pregnant again.

“Done.” Harry let out a heavy exhale as the feeling of his Magic disappeared from Cyrus’s perception.

‘Now…now we can live normally. It’s finally over.’ Cyrus thought as he sat up, wiping away the tears at the edge of his eyes. “Thank you, Sorcerer Potter.” He bowed his head to the boy in front of him. “If there is ever anything the Greengrass Family can do for you, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Sure.” Harry accepted the offer, knowing from Sirius and Andromeda that rejecting it, even if well-meaning, would be an insult to the Greengrass Family. ‘One-hundred-seventy-six ‘roots’ in total.’ Harry had counted each and every one of them as he’d detached them. ‘Astoria probably wouldn’t have even made it to forty years old if the number of roots that she had was any indication.’ He was even happier now, knowing that he’d been able to help the Greengrass Family.

While Cyrus was getting a full checkup by Healer Spindle, Harry was sitting with Sirius again. He enjoyed the tea and the snacks provided by the Greengrass Family House Elf. The platter disappearing once it was empty, only to be immediately replaced by a full one.

“I’ve gotta say, harry, you’ve given them one hell of a New Years present.” Sirius chuckled at his godson.

“Late Christmas, early New Years, whichever works.” Harry laughed a little as he sipped his tea.

The Greengrass Family joined them after Cyrus was declared curse-free. A formal thanks was offered, which Harry was walked through by Sirius. The Houses of Potter and Greengrass would be allies from this day forth, which was quite the statement from the longtime ‘neutral’ House.

“One last thing,” Harry spoke up as he and Sirius were getting ready to leave. “Your Magic is probably a bit low right now, with the Blood Malediction finally lifted and all. So, how about I give you a little boost to help hasten your recovery?”

“You can do that?” Layla asked the boy.

“Yeah.” Harry nodded to his friend’s mother. “Just hold still for a second.”

“Is this the spell you told me about in your letter, Daphne?” Astoria was nearly bouncing on her heels in excitement.

“Yes, probably.” Daphne hugged her little sister, seeing the health already returning to Astoria’s face.

“Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. Grow. Confine divine offerings in this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. Grow.” Harry chanted the incantation that he’d made up as the golden points of Magic swirled around above his hand until the formed a ring of light.

“You don’t even need that fake incantation; you’re just doing it for your own amusement.” Daphne playfully rolled her eyes at Harry.

“Perhaps.” Harry admitted with a grin as the golden ring floated above the Greengrass Family and then descended onto them.

“Oh.” Layla blinked at feeling the strength granted to her body.

“Wow!” Astoria beamed, now actually jumping in place as Magic filled her.

“I didn’t know a spell like this was possible.” Cyrus looked at his glowing hands.

“It’s pretty nice.” Daphne agreed, not having needed it, but enjoying the sensation too much to pass it up.

“Have a happy New Year.” Harry bid the family farewell as he left through the green flames, followed shortly by Sirius.

“Daphne! Chase me!” Astoria requested before taking off, eager to burn some of the excess energy that she was now filled with.

“Don’t run in the house!” Daphne laughed, completely disregarding eh rule herself as she gave chase.

“How could we possibly repay him?” Layla hugged Cyrus, a smile on her face as she watched their daughters run around together, happy and healthy for the first time in their lives.

“I’m not sure.” Cyrus shook his head.

“Let the appropriate people know about Harry breaking an Unbreakable Curse.” Daphne stopped close to her parents with a smile. “Harry is aiming for the Title of Arch Mage in the future, so I’m sure this achievement would help push him towards his next Title.”

“Daphne!” Astoria called out to her sister. “You’re not chasing me!”

“Come here, you!” Daphne laughed and rushed after her little sister.

“Well, it’s not like it has to be kept secret anymore.” Layla smiled at her husband.

“True enough.” Cyrus nodded and squeezed her gently. “Brian, could you gather the necessary documents about our treatment and the curse from the entire time you’ve looked after our family?”

“Of course, Mr. Greengrass.” Brian nodded, having been completely stunned by Harry Potter’s success in saving the Greengrass Family. “I’ll have them ready in short order.”

“Good thing I still have a few connections in the Ministry.” Cyrus chuckled, feeling lighter than he ever had in his life. The gentle golden glow still surrounding him and his family. “I’m sure an Unspeakable confirming our case will help Sorcerer Potter towards his goal.”

“It’s still not even close to enough to properly thank him.” Layla shook her head even as she smiled in joy. “But we’ll do everything that we can for him.”

“Too right.” Cyrus nodded, watching Astoria laugh, run, and play with Daphne for the first time in her young life. He couldn’t imagine ever being happier than he was right now.

-End Chapter-

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Harry continues his search for the Chamber of Secrets as he ponders on its ability to remain hidden for almost a thousand years. This time he found something…and perhaps later, he’ll realize how close he was.

The Dueling Club was a fun little time, unless your name was Gilderoy Lockhart or Draco Malfoy, of course! Kek!

The Greengrass Family is saved! No more Blood Malediction! Doctor Potter strikes again! Hahahahaha!

Now, the Greengrass Family has declared allegiance and are planning to bring their history and Harry’s feat of breaking an Unbreakable Curse to light! Would that be enough to earn Harry his next Title of High Sorcerer?

What will happen next as we enter the second half of Harry’s second year at Hogwarts?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!