Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Now that the Chamber Incident has been unceremoniously ended early by Harry, what will become of the rest of the school year? Finding the fabled Chamber of Secrets, slaying Slytherin’s Monster, saving the life of another student, on top of what he did for the Greengrass Family over winter break. Harry’s certainly racking up various accomplishments, isn’t he?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 19 – Results, Questions, and Accolades

Harry found himself in Dumbledore’s office. Ginny Weasley had just been taken home by her parents, both worried out of their minds about their daughter after hearing what had happened. Harry had to put up a Barrier to keep the plump Molly Weasley from trying to crush him in a hug for saving Ginny. Dumbledore had assured them that reparations would be paid to the family for Ginny’s near-death experience on school grounds. The Headmaster had also recommended that Ginny see a Healer specialized in mental trauma after hearing about how the girl had apparently been possessed. Molly Weasley had burst into tears and hugged Ginny more, while Arthur Weasley nodded to Dumbledore thankfully. With the reparations from the school (which was funded by the Ministry) the Galleons would pay for the Mind Healer, and hopefully Ginny wouldn’t be scarred by this experience.

“You’ve performed a truly heroic act today, Harry.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy like a proud grandfather. The familiar twinkle in the Headmaster’s eyes was going full blast.

“Daphne and Hermione were attacked and Luna asked me to save Ginny.” Harry replied, stating his reasons for acting as he’d done. “I don’t think that makes it heroic? I can’t explain all of the emotions that were going through my head at the time, but I wasn’t trying to be a hero, sir.” He shook his head at the old man.

“Trying to be heroic is often the furthest thing from actually doing something heroic, Harry.” Dumbledore spoke from decades of wisdom.

“If you say so, sir.” Harry just agreed, not having much of a frame of reference for what made a person heroic or not.

Dumbledore chuckled at the boy before slowly bringing himself to a calm state as he changed the topic. “Harry, if I may ask, do you know what this book that was possessing Miss Weasley was?” He wished that he had it to study, especially after hearing the name Thomas Marvolo Riddle from Harry’s recounting of what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets.

“No,” Harry shook his head. “Tom merely stated that he was a memory that was preserved in the Diary for fifty years.” He wouldn’t call him Voldemort, not after learning his real name. That would just be playing along with what Tom wanted from people. He rummaged in his robe pocket and produced the charred remnants of the diary, only half the book had survived the Fiendfyre that he’d conjured. Setting it on Dumbledore’s desk, he saw the old Headmaster immediately put all of his focus on it. “I tried to ask for more information; but Tom wasn’t being cooperative.”

“I imagine he wouldn’t be.” Dumbledore agreed as he picked up the ruined dairy. “Would you mind if I kept this to study? I believe there may yet be a way to find out what Dark Magics were used on this diary to make it into what it was.”

“Yes, sir.” Harry didn’t much care. He’d done his own tests down in the Chamber. Now, he’d just take that information and start his own research based on what he already knew. It would undoubtedly be a difficult research task, but Harry was interested enough to want to find out just what the diary had been before he destroyed it.

“Thank you, Harry.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy again. A small thought of what life would be like if Tom had been like Harry, instead of the cold, uncaring boy he’d been, passed through the back of the Headmaster’s mind. ‘If wishes were enough to change the past…’ He thought wistfully without letting it show on his face. “For your valor in rescuing Miss Weasley, you will be receiving an award for services to the school, of course. It’s the least we could do for you.”

“Oh, thank you, sir.” Harry wasn’t really interested in awards like that. But he wouldn’t argue against them either.

“I believe that Sirius Black is waiting to see you, and the offer to go home for a while is open, of course.” Dumbledore offered with a genial smile.

“Send Sirius in, but I don’t know that I really need to go home or anything.” Harry chuckled, knowing that he’d be reassuring Sirius of that for the next good while.

“Harry!” Sirius was practically leaping out of the green flames of the Floo in Dumbledore’s office the second the Headmaster had opened the connection. He wrapped his godson up in a tight hug before beginning to fuss over him.

“Good to see you too, dad.” Harry hugged Sirius back and felt his godfather squeeze him just a bit tighter at the fatherly address.

“I’m so glad that you’re safe, Harry.” Sirius sighed in relief as he looked at Harry, not seeing any injuries on his godson. “Do you want to go home for a while?”

-Wednesday, February 17th ~ Great Hall-

“They’re noisier than usual.” Harry commented on the noise in the Great Hall as he ate. He was also levitating the Daily Prophet in front of himself and Luna so that they could both read it at the same time.

“What do you expect, Harry?!” Hermione was trying to keep her voice down, but today’s morning edition of the Prophet was filled with Harry’s recent achievements. All of Magical Britain was undoubtedly singing his praises right now.

“I dunno, a little less noise, maybe?” Harry shrugged with a grin on his face. “I preferred the way that you and Daphne thanked me.”

“Harry!” Hermione felt her cheeks go warm at his words.

When Hermione and Daphne had been awoken from the petrification with the Mandrake Draught, both girls had been understandably confused. It was only later that they learned that Harry had killed Slytherin’s Monster, a Basilisk of all things! When they’d asked him about it, both telling him it was foolish to go into the Chamber of Secrets alone, he’d admitted that seeing them petrified had flooded his head with a multitude of emotions that he couldn’t control or think rationally with. Daphne and Hermione had both blushed at his words and ended up thanking him with a kiss on the cheek. It was chaste and simple, but the feelings behind it were warm and filled with gratitude for his concern over them.

The various headlines fighting for space on the front page included:

Harry Potter: The-Boy-Who-Lived, Youngest Charms Master in History, uncovers the fabled Chamber of Secrets within Hogwarts!

Brilliant Sorcerer, Harry Potter, breaks the unbreakable, eliminates Blood Malediction from the Greengrass Family!

Slytherin’s Monster Slain! Harry Potter slays ancient Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets! Saves Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

To Harry it seemed like a bit much, but what did he know about Journalism and selling newspapers?

The various murmurings and whispers filling the Great Hall, along with the looks, glances, and outright stares were getting somewhat annoying though. Lockhart had tried to preen about Harry ‘Following in his footsteps’ but not only did no one pay any attention to the man, several outright scoffed at him. He’d become noticeably quieter from then on.

Harry merely flipped to the next page of the Daily Prophet (after Luna said that she was done with the current page) and read about how the corpse of the Basilisk was being studied by Magizoologists, Potioneers, and the like as a large multidiscipline study the likes of which Magical Britain hadn’t seen in close to a century. When it was illegal to breed Basilisks in every member nation of the ICW, much less let them grow for a thousand years, Harry supposed it would get multiple fields of study excited about a potential once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of said study.

There was even an interview with Dumbledore on the third page about letting historians and scholars come to see the Chamber of Secrets over the summer break. There was much hope of finding writings, items, and other effects of Salazar Slytherin himself. Even though the ancient Wizard was a known blood purist supporter; he was a Founder of Hogwarts and a pivotal figure in Magical Britain’s history.

‘It makes sense why Myrtle’s bathroom is completely sealed off now.’ Harry thought to himself, recalling that where once there had been a door to the bathroom, now only a solid stone wall existed. Many students had complained about not getting a chance to sneak a peek at the legendary Chamber. However, none of the Faculty would even remotely consider letting the students enter the place until it had been fully inspected and made safe. And even after that, not without the Professors down there to act as chaperones.

“Skree!” A large horned-owl swooped low and landed with an audible thud on the Ravenclaw table, right in front of Harry. Tied to it s leg was a wrapped, rectangular parcel. The owl held out its leg to be relieved of its burden.

“One moment, please.” Harry untied the parcel while Luna fed the owl some small bits of sausage with a giggle.

“Ah!” Harry beamed at what the parcel had contained. “The Dwarf Magic book!” He could tell that the book had been shrunken down for easy of mailing, but that would wear off on its own or he could undo it at his leisure. “I know what I’m reading in Charms class today~!” Harry sing-songed with a wide grin.

“You could at least pretend to be reading about Charms while in the class.” Hermione teased her best friend.

“I could.” Harry nodded, clearly not going be doing that today.

Once the horned-owl had its fill of meat, it held out its opposite leg. On the other leg was a small pouch to hold money. Harry pulled out his Mokeskin pouch and deposited the remaining five Galleons of the price he’d agreed upon with the Dwarf man. The owl quickly took off again to deliver the golden coins back to its owner.

-Evening-

“Hey, Harry, you got a minute?” Fred Weasley asked after dinner before all of the students split up to head back to their dorms.

“What’s up, Fred?” Harry questioned, ushering Luna to go with Hermione after a quick hug.

“Follow me, Harry.” Fred led Harry to an out of the way corridor, and then to a closed classroom door. He tapped it with his wand, making it open, before ushering Harry inside.

Inside of the unused classroom stood all of the Weasleys currently attending Hogwarts; Percy, George, Ron, and now Fred as well. Unexpectedly, all four of them gave Harry proper bows for a moment before returning to standing properly. Harry didn’t quite know what to make of this until Percy spoke up.

“The Weasley Family would like to thank you, Sorcerer Potter, for saving one of our own.” Percy’s tone and wording were formal, a clear sign that he was doing this with the utmost seriousness. “Ginevra is our only sister and we don’t know what we’d do without her. Thank you, once again, for saving her life.” This was punctuated by all four boys bowing to him again.

“Your thanks are accepted.” Harry replied formally, like Andromeda had taught him when he’d been little. Seeing the four boys relax a bit, Harry knew the formal part was over for now. “I’m glad that Ginny is alright.” He smiled at the Weasleys, letting them know that he didn’t expect anything more from them.

“Thanks to you.” George clapped Harry on the back with a big smile.

“Mum would’ve gone mental if anything had happened to Ginny, thanks mate.” Ron thanked Harry as they clasped hands and shook. The relief in the redhead’s eyes and expression showed just how relieved he was that his little sister was okay.

“Now that Gin-Gin is seeing a Mind Healer to help her through this experience, the only thing left to do is find out how she got hold of such a book.” Fred nodded firmly, the normal jovial tone the Twins were known for was nowhere to be seen. “It doesn’t seem like something that she could just pick up randomly.”

“Father has already started an investigation about that with the Aurors that he’s worked with in the past on raids.” Percy’s tone was clipped, staring at his three younger brothers. “We don’t need to do anything, except let the Aurors handle it.” If he left the Twins to their own devices, they’d assuredly cause problems for the entire family out of their attempt to exact their own justice.

“Figures you’d say that, Percy.” George rolled his eyes at his older brother.

“Because it’s true.” Percy stated firmly.

Harry could only chuckle as the four brothers inadvertently showed their relief by starting to argue like only brothers could.

-Next Morning-

“Prek!” Hedwig glided gracefully down onto the table in front of Harry, an envelope attached to her leg.

“Hey Hedwig, what have you brought me?” Harry stroked his snowy owl with a smile while removing the letter.

“Whooo…” Hedwig hooted softly, stealing some bacon from Harry’s plate. The snowy owl leaned into Luna’s pets while Harry opened the letter.

“From Sirius, huh?” Harry looked at the sender, recognizing his godfather’s handwriting. Pulling out the letter, he unfolded it and started reading. “Really?” Harry cocked an eyebrow, unable to stop himself from responding verbally to what he was reading.

“Harry?” Hermione looked at her best friend curiously. The letter must’ve contained some very surprising news for Harry to react like that.

“Apparently the Ministry wants to award me the Title of High Sorcerer for the Chamber discovery, the Basilisk slaying, and breaking an ‘unbreakable’ curse like the Blood Malediction.” Harry informed his best friend as he continued to read. “The Board of St. Mungos wants to talk to me as well about how I removed the Blood Malediction. Sirius thinks they’re hoping that I can put them on the right path to healing other ‘uncurable’ conditions. Another half-dozen offers for interviews with various papers too. Easter Break is gonna be busy if I do all of this stuff.” Left unsaid was that he’d almost assuredly pass on the interviews.

“Oh wow…” Hermione marveled at the offer of a new Title and all of the important people that wanted to speak with Harry for his accomplishments. “You’re really doing amazing things, Harry.” She praised him with a bright smile.

“You’ll do amazing things too, Hermione.” Harry assured her with a grin. “I have complete faith in that.”

“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione’s smile could’ve lit up the Great Hall by itself. She was very goal-oriented, and being told that she could achieve the goals she set for herself by someone who had accomplished the same goal would always put a smile on her face.

“Will I do great things too, Harry?” Luna asked her big brother, looking for his attention and approval like the adorable little sister that she was.

“Of course, Luna!” Harry pulled her into a warm hug. “You’re already doing well on your Occlumency and you’re only a First Year! You’re going to be amazing at whatever you choose to do, I know it!”

“Mm!” Luna smiled and buried her face into his chest with a happy giggle.

Hermione nearly cooed at the sight, but composed herself before speaking again. “Speaking of Occlumency, are we practicing after classes today?”

“If you three want to, we can.” Harry agreed without issue. Teaching them Occlumency still left him mostly free to work on his Potions project that he’d set for himself. ‘Adding plant material is really throwing off my normal understanding of Magical ratios. The physical element really matters and even the difference of a few days of growth can sometimes vastly change the development of the Magic within the plant.’ Harry mused over the current roadblock on his path to completing the Potion idea that he wanted.

-Weekend ~ Herbology Greenhouse-

“So, I can’t grow all of my starter seeds in the same planter?” Harry mused with Neville as he looked at all of the small pots arranged on the table.”

“Well, no, Harry… Then they’d all compete with each other for the nutrition and water in the soil.” Neville explained as they started planting seeds in the small pots, one seed per pot. “It’s best to give them the same mix of soil, and the same amount of water, separately, so they reap all of the benefits. That will allow them to grow and show off their individual traits fully. If you want to make cultivars, this is the first step to finding out which seeds have the traits that you want to nurture in future plantings.” The Herbology prodigy did his best to explain the process of establishing cultivars for plants, both mundane and Magical.

“I see.” Harry nodded as he planted one of the seeds gently and gave it a little water to get started. “You’re really knowledgeable about this Neville. That talent will take you far, I’m sure.” He chuckled with his friend from Gryffindor.

“I wish my Gran saw it that way.” Neville sighed as he finished planting one pot and moved to the next. “All she’s cares about are my grades in Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, and Potions.” The boy shook his head. “Even though I’m doing a lot better in them since getting my own wand; Exceeds Expectations isn’t good enough and she always asks me how I plan to follow in my father’s footsteps with grades like that.”

“But you have like an O+ in Herbology…” Harry looked at his friend confused as to what his Gran could possibly have to complain about. “Does she not know how much a Master Herbologist can make per year or something? That Herbology is an absolutely vital part of the entire Potion Brewing economy? Who cares if you can’t sling spells on the Dueling Circuit or join the Aurors? You have your own amazing talents.”

“Until I reach my Majority, none of that matters in her eyes.” Neville exhaled heavily. “But once I reach my Majority, I’ll become the Head of House Longbottom. Then I’ll do what I want, regardless of what Gran or any of my other relatives think.” He showed a bit of backbone and courage, like a Gryffindor, when he stated his plans for the future.

“You’ll do awesome, Neville.” Harry agreed with a laugh. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!” The normally shy Neville couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

“What did you need to learn about cultivars for anyway, Harry?” Neville questioned after the chuckles had died down. “I didn’t think Herbology was tied into Spellcrafting.”

“I’ve set myself a Potions project that should do something never seen before.” Harry informed him, moving a new pot in front of him to start planting the next seed. “But I’m running up against some problems with getting too many ingredients of different maturities and Magical development. So, I figured I’d learn how to grow and cultivate my own ingredients; that way I’ll have full control of their development and can cultivate the exact properties that I want from them over time.”

Neville nodded at Harry’s plan after considering it. “It’ll definitely take longer, but it’s a good idea. Potions only increase in efficacy with proper materials and brewing skills.” He looked at the seeds that Harry was planting. “Boom Berry, Moly, and Moondew… You’re trying to make a Healing Potion of some kind?”

“If Snape wasn’t our Professor, I think you’d probably be getting at least an EE in Potions too, mate.” Harry tsked at Snape’s lack of ability to teach his own subject well.

“I wish.” Neville agreed with a grimace at the thought of the man that made every Potions class a nightmare for him.

-First Weekend of March-

“Ugh… That’s still so uncomfortable…” Hermione grimaced, rubbing her forehead and finding sweat coating her brow.

“You held out for a lot longer than last time though, your meditation every night is clearly working.” Harry praised her developing Occlumency skills. “You were able to redirect my Legilimency when you realized that you couldn’t block it. That’s a good step forward. All I saw was you studying in the library.” He conjured her a fresh towel and tossed it to her.

Hermione caught the towel and used it to wipe her face. “Thank you, Harry.” She thanked her best friend for both the towel and the praise.

“My turn.” Daphne spoke up, ready to put her Occlumency to the test next.

“Say when…Legilimens!” Harry launched a surprise mental attack and entered Daphne’s mind as soon as their eyes made contact. He was at first stymied by a wall of blankness…a clear mind. But upon pushing past it he was hit with random bits of memories. Things from Daphne’s daily life, like classes and homework, as well as meals in the Great Hall. Totally mundane and useless information for the most part.

“Ow…” Daphne grumbled, rubbing her temples after Harry pulled back. “You suck…” She lightly glared at him.

“But you did well, Daphne.” Harry grinned at the Slytherin girl.

“Thank you.” Daphne was still glowering at him a bit. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have a small headache now.”

“That’ll fade soon enough.” Harry waved it off, letting the Stinging Hex hit a miniature Barrier that appeared directly in its path before disappearing. “You’re getting quick on the draw with that.” He laughed at Daphne putting her wand away again.

“One day, Harry…one day.” Daphne promised him with a look.

“So, who did the best today?” Hermione asked Harry, vanishing the towel with a tap of her wand and a murmured incantation.

“Luna.” Harry answered simply, making the little blonde smile happily. “She still has the best clear mind technique. And if I force my way through that, all I see are dozens and dozens of Quibbler articles.”

“Dad’s magazine helps me!” Luna grinned brightly at her big brother. She was happy that her father’s work gave her another layer of defense against any Legilimency attack that may happen to her.

Harry patted her head fondly with a smile. “Indeed it does.”

“Harry?” Hermione got his attention. “Am I ready to learn Wandless Magic?”

“Still not the right question, Hermione!” Harry shook his head with a chuckle while Hermione pouted. “You thought of that one faster than Nym did though, good job!”

-Ministry of Magic ~ Auror Bullpen-

“Achoo!” Nymphadora Tonks sneezed loudly, her hand jerking and leaving a black line across the report that she was filling out.

“You alright, Tonks?” Hestia Jones looked over at her fellow Junior Auror.

“I’m fine, got to redo this report though.” Tonks waved it off, even though she was grumbling under her breath and her hair had turned a bright orange which usually showed up when she was annoyed. “I know that was you…Harrikins.” She muttered lowly. “I’m going to get you back on your next break.” She plotted against her surrogate little brother as she got out a new parchment and started rewriting her report.

-Middle of March ~ Beauxbatons Academy of Magic-

Fleur looked over the letter that Harry had sent her with an amused grin. Reading about his exploits from his perspective instead of what appeared in the papers was always nice. Except for the times he made her worry about him. For being three years her junior, the boy got up to all sorts of odd things in his pursuit of Magical understanding.

“Luna is so cute.” She giggled at the picture of Luna and Harry that had come with the letter. Both were smiling at the camera, their hair a swirling mix of pink and blue, making it look like cotton candy. The color had been at Luna’s behest, because ‘She thought it would look nice’ apparently. Harry, being the doting big brother that he was, had gone along with it and casually sported the color changed hair all day.

“What’re you giggling about, Delacour?” A snippy tone called out from in front of Fleur. “Get another letter from whatever boy you’re stringing along?”

Fleur rolled her pretty blue eyes, making sure the other girl could see her do it, before she responded. “And how are you this lovely day, Claire?”

“Better than you.” Claire replied back, her blue eyes, silvery blonde hair, lithe and beautiful figure, and controlled Allure marking her as a Veela as well. “In fact, I’m feeling like showing you the difference between us.” She challenged.

“You mean that you want to lose again?” Fleur remarked as she stood to her full height, nearly standing even with Claire, even though the other Veela was a year older.

Claire LeBlanc was a Veela whose family was part of the same Veela Enclave as Fleur’s. The current Matriarch of their Enclave was getting on in years and would surely be picking a successor in another few years. Many of the current generation of Veela in the Enclave wanted to become the new Matriarch, which gave them great control over how the Enclave operated and conferred to their families the utmost respect and honor. Thus, competition for the spot was always high, Duels were often fought over it. A show of strength, as one of the duties of the Matriarch was to protect the Enclave.

Veela as a people had a history of being either sought after for love, or sought after to own as property. Naturally the all-female race refused to be property to any other race, whether that be humans, goblins, dwarves, or anyone else. They lived within communities called Enclaves for protection, and the Matriarch of each Enclave was powerful, intelligent, and wise. All the better to protect their kin from any that would attempt to harm them. Said communities were not clusters of Veela all living in one place, however, as that wouldn’t be safe. But were, in fact, many locations and homes all linked together by Magic. Should one Veela family be attacked, a large force could be dispatched directly to their home, or they could flee to the safety of another Veela home if the force was too overwhelming.

Every time an Enclave’s Matriarch got too old to fulfill her duties to the Enclave, she would have to choose a successor. That successor needed to be strong, wise, knowledgeable, and bring new benefit to the Enclave as a sign of their fitness to lead. Proof of strength was usually demonstrated through Dueling. Proof of knowledge came in the form of grades from Beauxbatons as well as accomplishments like Masteries. Wisdom was most often shown by what benefits the Veela that wanted to become the Matriarch could bring. A true benefit took wisdom to see it as the benefit that it was, after all. And as both knowledge and power could be gleaned from wisdom, the benefit to an Enclave could make them stronger, or obscure their homes better, or secure powerful allies for the Veela as a whole. Only the Veela that embodied all of this the best would be chosen as the next Matriarch.

Naturally, both Fleur and Claire wanted the position when the time came.

Unbeknownst to Claire, however, was that Fleur wasn’t just perfecting her Dueling. The Delacour Veela was already branching out and making connections, one of the most important and potentially powerful was the friendship she had with Harry Potter. If he someday deigned to impart to her even a fraction of what he seemed to know and understand of Magic, Fleur would be the best Matriarch that her family’s Enclave had ever had.

“You only got lucky last time, Delacour.” Claire stated imperiously.

Fleur merely grinned at Claire. “If that lets you sleep at night, LeBlanc.”

The air around the two Veela teens began to grow warm as their Magic filled the space between them. The temperature increased to the point that the air surrounding Fleur and Claire became hot and stinging to the skin. The heat haze forming around and above the two girls caught the attention of a Professor though.

“LeBlanc! Delacour!” The woman shouted at both girls. “You will cease this instant!” The Professor was also a Veela, a member of their Enclave at that. She knew both of them, their parents, and had authority over them as both their Professor and a senior member of the Enclave itself.

“Next time, Delacour.” Claire reigned in her Magic and turned away from Fleur.

“Looking forward to it, LeBlanc.” Fleur turned away as well. Claire wasn’t a bad person; she was just incredibly competitive. The only animosity between them was from both wanting the position of Matriarch.

As she walked away, she began to plan her reply letter in her head. Harry was such a curious boy; he always had more questions to ask. Fleur nearly giggled at his current question on how the Allure worked. The Veela teen rolled around one idea after another on how to try and explain it to the prodigious Sorcerer.

“Hmm, perhaps saying it makes our natural beauty even more ‘Ooh la la’ to men would suffice?” Fleur giggled lightly to herself. Harry would eventually be old enough to tease about such things, but he still had some growing to do before then.

-Easter Break ~ Ministry of Magic-

Harry pulled at his Dress Robes in annoyance. He understood why he had to wear them. But they were uncomfortable to say the least. Andromeda sighed at him, catching his attention, and Harry stopped messing with the robes.

Already there were tons of reporters from various Magical News Outlets in the large room. Harry would rather just be owled his award or whatever and his new Title of High Sorcerer as well. But tradition dictated a ceremony, and Cornelius Fudge wouldn’t miss an opportunity for a photo op with Harry.

“As Minister for Magic, I’d like to say a few words…” Fudge began a speech as the reporters and cameras focused on him at the podium atop the raised dais.

Harry quickly tuned the man out, not interested in the ceremony to begin with. Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted were with him, all three dressed in their own formal robes as well. Nym was along the wall with several other red-robed Aurors as a security detail for the ceremony.

“Harry Potter, my fellow Wizards and Witches!” Fudge ended his speech and Harry was only able to react because of hearing his name spoken so loudly. He walked over to Fudge, shaking the man’s hand as cameras flashed over and over again. He was handed two awards, both gold medals on ribbons of different colors, one purple and one white. The one with the purple ribbon stated that he’d done Magical Britain a ‘Great Service’ for eliminating a Class XXXXX Magical Creature that was on the loose. The gold medal with the white ribbon declared that he’d discovered a ‘Historical Treasure’ to Magical Britain for his discovery of the Chamber of Secrets. “As Minister for Magic, I’m pleased to bestow Harry James Potter with an Order of Merlin, Second Class for his slaying of a Basilisk that was on the loose. And an Order of Merlin, Third Class for his discovery of the fabled Chamber of Secrets! As Mr. Potter has already achieved the Title of Sorcerer at his young age, I can think of nothing else to do but to bestow him with the Title of High Sorcerer for his outstanding accomplishments!” Fudge handed Harry a certificate and a small ornamented badge.

‘At least this isn’t overly gaudy.’ Harry thought to himself as Fudge pinned the badge over the left breast of his Dress Robes. The Badge denoting him as a High Sorcerer was made of a semi-rare Alchemically-made metal known as Sylvuan. It had a luster slightly brighter than silver and could conduct Magic quite well. Other than that, the badge had his name engraved into it and a symbol from the ICW on it of a wand, a scepter, and a staff. Once considered to be differing levels of power, until wandmakers explained a bit about wandlore and that all three Foci were merely the same idea in different forms. It was still a symbol used to denote one as having excelled in the Magical Arts and done commendable deeds.

“Would you like to say a few words, Harry?” Fudge offered, as was normal for this awarding ceremony.

‘Not really, but I don’t have much of a choice.’ Harry thought in the privacy of his mind while stepping up to the podium, wandlessly transfiguring it to fit his height. “Thank you, Minister Fudge, for the bestowing of my new Title and presenting my Orders of Merlin.” He tried to ignore the various camera flashes going off over and over again. “I’m not one to wax poetic or anything, so I’d like to keep this brief.” That got a smattering of chuckles from all those in attendance. “I’d like to thank my family for always being there for me. My godfather, Sirius, my aunt Andromeda, my uncle Ted, and even you Nym.” He smirked at the Auror, knowing that she couldn’t do anything to him right now. “I love Magic. The mysteries of it intrigue me more than anything. So, I’ll keep exploring and expanding my horizons. Whether that brings me more acclaim over time, I can’t say, but I will one day attain the Title of Arch Mage, that is my goal. Thank you all for coming.” With that he walked away from the podium even as the gasps and exclamations of shock were heard.

Harry knew that line would be plastered all over the various papers tomorrow. A boy his age declaring that he’d become the first Arch Mage in history, but also already a High Sorcerer held some weight. He shared a grin with Sirius, his godfather barely holding back his laughter, as he stepped off the stage. Andromeda, Ted, and Sirius quickly surrounded him to keep any overeager reporters from trying to approach Harry.

When the newly dubbed High Sorcerer glanced over at Nym, he caught her mouthing about ‘Getting you back’ but only smiled at her pleasantly in response. Tonight would definitely be fun at home! Andromeda was going to go spare before the night was even halfway over, Harry was sure of it!

-End Chapter-

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Harry has gotten two Orders of Merlin and the Title of High Sorcerer!

And he’s only twelve!

His work on his personal Potions project is still coming along slowly. But thankfully he has a buddy that’s rather prodigious when it comes to Herbology!

Occlumency lessons with Luna, Hermione, and Daphne are ongoing, but the girls are making some real progress! Unfortunately, Hermione still hasn’t figured out the ‘right question’ for Wandless Magic! Kek!

We see Fleur at Beauxbatons! Turns out her Dueling prowess comes from a desire to become the Matriarch of her Enclave! It requires strength, knowledge, and wisdom to be chosen as the successor though!

A certain High Sorcerer might be able to help with one or two of those categories…maybe. If he feels like it. And if Fleur can put in the effort and time to learn. But that ‘right question’ has still stumped everyone so far!

What happens next for Harry and friends?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!