Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy Chapter 67 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Harry Potter and the Artificer Legacy! Work, work, work! Busy, busy, busy! Harry continues his work on his Artifact House, slowly building it up into what he desires. The proven success of her Anti-Magic Area sees Penny being nearly deluged by commission offers from various places, most of them from Non-Magical governments that need to secure their own safety against Magic. And as time passes, certain events take place and then become history.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 67 – Work, Time, and Ends

Harry smiled as he worked on a massive Alchemy array. His progress on the Artifact House couldn’t continue until he succeeded in this particular transmutation. He could use a lesser material, something that he’d already proven successful at transmuting, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good.

“As long as the array is good, and the materials are of proper quality, this should work.” Harry mused as he finished another symbol on the circular array. Dragon Bone chalk was his medium for drawing the array. He’d already worked out the formula for the material he wanted, and had found a very interesting idea to use as a work around for the standard practice that saw so many fail in this particular transmutation.

As the sun made its way across the sky, Harry continued to draw the vast array needed for his goal.

He wasn’t the only one working though.

-London, England-

Penelope Clearwater could only smile as she spoke with various heads of government branches (and their individual heads of security). Her Anti-Magic Area ward had proven its effectiveness by stopping the Inner Circle Death Eaters from freeing Voldemort from custody. This had quickly prompted the government of the United Kingdom to increase their support for her research into making a larger version of her ward, as well as getting as many of them set up in key areas as possible. With the nearly bottomless wallet of one of the leading nations in the world, Penny wouldn’t have any issues securing research materials and trying out new configurations in her efforts to better the Anti-Magic Area. The fact that her request for funding of ‘other research’ was not only accepted, but clearly encouraged, was just the cherry on top of today.

“I must admit to being curious about your other lines of research, Miss Clearwater.” One of the government officials looked curious, but in an eager way.

“I’m interested in a few areas at the moment; but one of the first I’d like to focus on is communication.” Penny thought about how Harry had to put his idea for the Communication Mirrors on hold while dealing with the Voldemort situation. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to surprise him with a breakthrough when he’s able to return to it?’ She had a small smile on her lips at the idea.

“Have you looked into communications technology?” The man asked with a small chuckle. “I’m sure at least some of it could be the basis for an idea or two.”

“I had considered it.” Penny nodded to the man’s suggestion. “Having roots in both the Magical and Non-Magical worlds; I’m familiar with things like the telephone and the internet is a fascinating concept.” The idea of being able to compile the vast knowledge of the entire Magical World from all branches of Magical study made a scholar like Penny nearly giggle from giddiness.

Across the Channel, in France, Fleur was also having her own meeting…though it was more like an interview.

France hadn’t devolved straight into violence, and the French Ministry wanted to keep it that way. So, in the spirit of sharing information and being open with their Non-Magical neighbors, a large group of witches and wizards that were experts in certain fields had been gathered for interviews with most of France’s most widespread and popular news outlets.

Fleur was just thankful that her interviewer was female.

“Veela have an entire history all their own, Miss Delacour?” The woman asked, not having expected to meet a non-human today.

“Indeed we do.” Fleur replied amiably to the question. “It is filled with both good and bad; with high points for our people, as well as low points, just like any other race.”

“Forgive me, but you look human, is that the same with other Magical Races?” The reporter questioned curiously.

“Some, but not all.” Fleur shook her head, her silvery-blonde hair swaying from the motion. “Veela are entirely female, so we need to seek husbands from among the wizards of the world.” Seeing the woman writing down her response even as the camera rolled to record the interview, Fleur let out a melodious laugh for a moment. “And yes, that slight attraction that you feel is normal around Veela.”

Both the woman interviewing Fleur and the cameraman behind the large camera started a little, the cameraman almost flinching back at Fleur’s words.

“How?” The woman blinked; her face just slightly flushed.

“Veela possess a unique trait that we call ‘Allure’ which enhances our physical beauty on a magical level.” Fleur smiled at the woman and then at the camera. It was a gentle and warm look, conveying her amusement and understanding. “Those who don’t keep control of their more…base…thoughts and desires can become caught up in the Allure and end up stumbling over their words, or even just staring at a Veela, slack jawed.”

The interviewer wrote down Fleur’s words on her notebook. “It’s not some kind of mind control, is it?” She half-joked with the Veela Witch.

“Not at all.” Fleur shook her head, briefly looking annoyed. “Though several such rumors have been spread about Veela in the past claiming so. The Allure only enhances what we already have, the loss of inhibition or self-control is entirely up to the person in question. We cannot command them to do anything, and most Veela intentionally seek out a husband that can resist or is mostly unaffected by the Allure.” She tilted her head just slightly and gave the reporter a knowing look. “I’m sure you can understand why.”

“Not very good for conversation if they’re drooling on themselves.” The other woman agreed with a laugh, making Fleur giggle as well. “Not to pry, but have you done the same, Miss Delacour?”

Fleur’s smile became warm and loving, a beauty far beyond the physical revealed to the reporter and the cameraman as the Veela spoke. “Yes, my boyfriend is entirely immune to the Allure. His wit and charm drew me to him years ago and we’ve been incredibly happy together.”

The other woman smiled reflexively at Fleur’s words and happy smile. “I don’t suppose we could get a demonstration of Veela Magic?” She moved the interview along, not wanting to make it about Fleur’s love life.

“I could be convinced.” Fleur played along, letting her Veela fire snap to life in her upturned palm.

Back in London, Tonks, along with a few other Aurors, were going over the topic of spells with the Muggle law enforcement.

“Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, Curses…” One police officer listed off. “The differences don’t seem very clear to me.”

“I’ll go over it simply.” Tonks decided to field the question, given that Scrimgeour looked exasperated to have to try and explain what, to him, was such a simple concept. “Charms are spells that alter an object’s inherent qualities, like its behavior or capabilities. For example, we could make a boulder weigh next to nothing, or make a feather simply float around the room.” Seeing nods of understanding from various officers, as well as them taking notes on her simplified explanation, Tonks continued. “Jinxes are minor dark magic. These spells have effects that are irritating but mostly just amusing and of minor inconvenience to the target. They’re basically magical versions of pranks you’d play back in school.”

Scrimgeour and Proudfoot, both Senior Aurors, looked confused as they chatted quietly.

“Isn’t that what I said earlier?” Scrimgeour questioned the other wizard.

Proudfoot shook his head. “Not really. You gave the textbook description of the different types of spells. Tonks is just putting it into simpler terms, so it’s easier for the Muggles to understand.”

Tonks had never considered herself much of a teacher, but seeing the police officers taking notes and gaining looks of understanding, the Metamorphmagus continued on. “A Hex is the next level up from a Jinx. These spells consistently affect the object or person in a negative manner and cause major inconvenience to the target. This is the level of spell that we usually start at when it comes to enforcement. Casting a hex on someone can see the wizard or witch in question paying a fine, being arrested and detained, or a combination of both, depending on the severity of the hex and how many people they cast it on.”

A raised hand caught Tonks’s attention and she pointed at the woman.

“Are we going to see examples of these various types of Magic today?” The woman asked. “It would help us to understand if we could see the differences in these levels, I believe.”

“We could do that…” Tonks looked over at Proudfoot and Scrimgeour. “Nothing dangerous, of course, but just a few simple examples.”

“Aye, we can do that, Tonks.” Proudfoot readily agreed if it would keep this ‘class’ rolling along smoothly.

“Great.” Tonks nodded to the man. “The highest level of dark magic, as it’s classified, are the Curses. These types of spells are the worst kind of dark magic and are intended to affect the target in a strongly negative manner. Most combat magic is rooted in the use of at least a few curses; but the levels of harm done by them can vary widely. There are only three, known as the Unforgivable Curses, that are an immediate life sentence to anyone caught using them on another person.” She saw every single officer giving their full and undivided attention now. “The three Unforgivables are the Imperius Curse, which lets the caster control the victim’s mind; the Cruciatus Curse, also known as the Torture Curse, that causes indescribable pain and agony upon the victim; and finally, The Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra; which kills anyone hit by it immediately.”

“How does it kill them?” One officer near the front asked.

“Instantly.” Tonks answered with a severe look on her face, her hair changing to a dark blue. “There’s no sound, no pain, no wound or injury. They’re just alive one moment and dead the next.”

“Can they be resuscitated?” A different officer questioned, looking mildly repulsed by the idea of the Killing Curse.

“No one has ever been successfully revived from the Killing Curse, no.” Tonks shook her head. It was why Harry surviving as an infant had been so astounding. No one that was hit by the Killing Curse lived; that had been a simple fact of life, until Halloween of Eighty-One, at least. “As I said, the victim is alive one second and then gone the next.”

The gathered officers all looked grim at the information, but it was clear why these three curses had been dubbed unforgivable.

“Now, we can move to the demonstrations, if you’d like?” Tonks’s hair changed to its normal pink, once more surprising the police officers. “Proudfoot, come over here, please.” She motioned the Senior Auror over.

“I’m coming.” Proudfoot headed over at a light jog.

“Impedimenta!” Tonks cast without her wand and Proudfoot squawked as his body slowed to a crawl.

The various officers all blinked at seeing Proudfoot moving in slow motion.

“That is the Impediment Jinx,” Tonks chuckled as Proudfoot looked at her unamused. “As its name states, it slows the target’s momentum.” She waved her hand and undid the jinx easily. “It’s more of an annoyance than anything; and it’s a favorite schoolyard jinx.”

“Densaugeo!” Proudfoot cast without warning, his wand appearing in his hand with just a quick motion of his wrist.

“Grk!” Tonks opened her mouth as her front teeth both grew rapidly in length. The two elongated teeth tapped the floor before Tonks broke the hex wandlessly.

“The Teeth-Lengthening Hex; as you can see it’s rather cumbersome and can harm the victim if they don’t open their mouth fast enough.” Proudfoot explained to the police officers; pointedly ignoring the glare that Tonks sent him while she shrunk her teeth back to normal with her Metamorphmagus ability.

“Petrificus Totalus.” Tonks pointed at Proudfoot. The police officers watched as the Senior Auror went ramrod straight, his arms snapping to his sides, and then fell over with a thump onto the floor. Tonks stood over him with a small little smirk for a second before turning to the officers. “The Full-Body Bind, a fairly harmless curse on its own; but I don’t think I need to explain how bad it can be to suddenly be completely restrained with no way to free yourself.”

“What the hell?” A female officer breathed out at seeing a curse for the first time. “Complete restraint is a simple spell?”

“Yes,” Tonks confirmed for the woman. “A First Year student at Hogwarts could learn this curse if they tried.”

“Tonks, release Proudfoot.” Scrimgeour rubbed his temples, knowing this demonstration of Magic was necessary, but not wanting it to become the two Aurors just getting back at each other over and over again.

-Potter Lands ~ Stinchcombe-

Harry looked over his second Alchemy Circle one last time for any errors or breaks in the lines. This second circle was vital to the success of the first if he wanted to properly transmute his most desired material on the first try. Not seeing any errors or breaks, Harry carefully stood in the center of the circle and kneeled down. “This is going to sting a bit.” He mumbled to himself as he cut his hand with a wandless Cutting Charm. With a hiss of pain, Harry let his blood fall onto a pile of Dragon Bone chalk at the center of the array. He would need a lot of blood for what he was about to transmute, but it was the best way he’d come up with to guarantee success in his primary transmutation.

When the Dragon Bone chalk was pink from the amount of Harry’s blood that had covered it, Harry set to work. He molded the wet chalk dust like sand, shaping it into a simple ball. The pink ball was then left in the exact center of the transmutation circle as Harry carefully stepped out of the array, making sure not to disturb anything.

“Okay, here goes nothing.” Harry easily healed his hand with a wandless Episkey, and then kneeled down and placed his hands on the very edge of the transmutation circle, only letting the very tips of his fingers touch the outermost circle.

The chalk lines lit up as Harry poured his considerable mana into the array. The blue light became brighter and brighter as sparks of magical energy leapt from the lines and towards the ball of blood and chalk in the center. Loud crackles of discharge filled the air as the material was broken down and reconstructed to its very base elements, both physical and magical. As the transmutation continued, the acrid smell of burning was in the air for a moment. After it vanished, the air was still as the magical discharged stopped and the light faded away from the transmutation circle.

Harry stood up and looked over the array. The once white chalk was now burnt black, meaning the transmutation circle would have to be remade if Harry needed to do this a second time. He stepped over the lines and into the center of the circle, kneeling down to examine his transmuted material. “Well, it looks right at least.” Harry picked up the blood red stone from the ground. Looking it over for any cracks or deformations, he was happy to find that it was a perfect sphere without any blemishes. “I’ve made a red rock.” The Artificer chuckled to himself, knowing that it didn’t look impressive at all. Harry poured some of his mana into the stone and watched it glow a brilliant crimson, the small amount of energy he’d put into it magnified a great deal, but only because it was his Magic. This stone wouldn’t react like this for anyone else. “Hemotite transmutation was successful!” Harry cheered, raising the red rock into the air above his head.

Hemotite, or Blood Stone as it was more calmly known, was an alchemical mineral created from the Alchemist’s own blood and magic. It was basically the closest thing to a magical battery that an Alchemist could create. Within the seemingly innocuous red rock was a large amount of pure mana, the Magic having been separated from the blood via the transmutation process. The rock itself was a mixture of blood and the Dragon Bone chalk, used as a vessel to store the pure mana.

“Now, we just have to add you to the main circle.” Harry smiled at the Hemotite, already heading over to the much larger transmutation circle a safe distance away from the one that he’d just used.

Harry was extra careful to make his way towards the center of the array. He’d already insured that everything was perfect, three times, in fact. Now, he just needed to make sure all of the materials were ready. He placed the Hemotite on top of the large ingot of tungsten, making sure that it wouldn’t roll off for any reason. He checked over the other four ingots; one of copper, one of gold, one of silver, and one of iron, all of them equally as large as the tungsten ingot.

“It pays to have Dwarven sworn brothers.” Harry chuckled as he looked at the pure ingots. The metals were all as pure as they could be made via Dwarven Magic and Technique. These quality ingots would serve as the base material for what Harry was going to transmute. Carefully making his way back out of the sprawling array, Harry did one last check over the entire transmutation circle to ensure that nothing had gone wrong. “Alright,” He took a calming breath. “Go.” He placed his hands on the very edge of the transmutation circle and filled it with his mana.

The lines lit up as his mana filled them. Small sparks of magical discharge appeared as the air within the circle swirled around and was then shunted out in a strong breeze. The sparks became bright white-blue bolts, like lightning, as they arced across the array. The magical energy was funneled into the center of the array, the bolts becoming more akin to beams of light as they were all drawn into the center of the circle. The ingots of tungsten, copper, silver, gold, and iron all glowed the same blue-white color, while the Hemotite shone with a brilliant red light. The materials began to meld together, being drawn into the same space as they were broken down and combined. The reconstruction of the materials into the new form came together, the same size and mass of all the ingots that made it up. The crimson glow of the Hemotite was still seen, even amongst all of the blue-white. It became the center of the mass as it formed and the entire material suddenly shown with a purple light that was almost painful to look at. Without warning, all of the mana within the array was sucked into the purple glowing mass in the center.

“Whoa…” Harry blinked as smoke rose off the burnt out chalk lines. The chalk was black and gray now, smoldering from the intensity of the transmutation. In the center of the now destroyed transmutation circle was a large glowing cube of metal. The purple glow of magic suffused the material and gave off a strange feeling to Harry. “Did it work?” He walked towards the cube and was able to make out its color as the purple glow slowly faded away.

The cube, once the residual magic wore off, was an almost ethereal golden color. Waves of color seemed to exist within the gold, moving about like water within the metal. One might think that if they split the metal, the colors would come pouring out. But they’d be wrong. Every fragment of this cube, should it be broken, would have the same strange effect when looked at. It filled the air around it with a feeling that was hard to describe. As if the cube could react in thousands of ways to the slightest stimulation. It was a feeling that could only be called possibility.

“What would you expect from such a magically powerful metal?” Harry smiled widely as he gently placed his hand on top of the gold-colored cube, seeing the waves of color beneath the golden hue move away from his palm for a second, only to come back in the next instant. “Just one last test.” Harry poured just a tiny fraction of his mana into the cube, briefly linking himself to the magical metal.

He could hear color.

He could taste sound.

He could touch fragrance.

He could see tactile sensation.

He could smell the flavors of the world.

Synesthesia.

Harry removed his hand from the cube, letting his senses return to normal after a second or two. He shook his head and watched the colors within the golden-hued metal move about for a moment. “I did it…” Harry laughed loudly in joy. “It’s real Orichalcum!”

The Artificer celebrated, even alone, just from successfully making one of the most complex and hard to create Alchemical Metals. This wasn’t any of the failed Orichalcum that one might find on the open market. This was pure and complete Orichalcum! Its magical conductivity and resilience were second to none; making it perfect as a material for Artifice!

“I’m so glad the Hemotite worked out.” Harry sat down on the ground, just admiring his large cube of Orichalcum.

There was a plethora of limiting factors when it came to successfully transmuting Orichalcum. The purity of the metal ingots was a large one. Too many trace amounts of other materials within the five specific metals and the transmutation would fail. The second hurdle was the massive array that was required to transmute Orichalcum. Any mistake in the expansive transmutation circle and the Orichalcum would fail, either not forming or coming out warped and striated. Finally, the last ingredient was often the make or break point for most Alchemists. For Orichalcum to properly form as the incredibly magical metal that it was, it needed a final ingredient that was especially powerful as well, but that also wouldn’t throw off the balance of the other materials. Most Alchemists used dragon bones, heaps of them, to impart the required amount of Magic into the transmutation. But that had a fairly high failure rate, as the amount of material could easily become out of sync with the metal ingots.

“I bet Flamel uses a Rubedo Stone, or something similar, as the final ingredient whenever he transmutes Orichalcum.” Harry chuckled to himself, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. “Hemotite is just a ton of mana in a transmuted shell, for all intents and purposes; though I understand why most Alchemists wouldn’t be able to use it.”

If the Mana Level of witches and wizards in the United Kingdom was roughly 3,000 by the Scouter or Test Frame readings, then Hemotite made by an Alchemist with that much mana wouldn’t come close to what was required to supply Orichalcum’s transmutation. Harry, however, was more than an outlier when it came to Mana Level. With over 32,000 mana, so far, he completely eclipsed the average wizard or witch ten times over. Hemotite that he made could easily supply the core of Magic for Orichalcum to properly transmute and form perfectly.

“Well now, my shiny golden friend…” Harry looked over at the Orichalcum cube with a bright laugh. “I hope you’re ready to become the core of my Artifact House.” With a grin, Harry levitated the cube of magical metal and took it over towards the foundation that he’d made in the bottom of the large rectangular pit.

-Facility ~ Voldemort’s Holding Chamber-

Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, born Tom Marvolo Riddle, was scared.

He’d been roughly blindfolded through the bars of the thrice damned cage that Harry Potter had stuck him in. Then restraints had been used to pull him upright, preventing him from slouching forward at all. He’d then heard the boots of at least a dozen soldiers entering the room. He heard the sound of firearms being readied and knew what was about to happen.

“Aim.” The flat voice came from off to the side of the large room. It was a voice filled with resolution to carry out an assigned task. There was no coldness nor anger in it at all. But that only terrified Voldemort all the more.

Having been sentenced to death, the courts had debated on the method of execution for Voldemort. The Anti-Magic Cage had no door, and there were concerns about letting the man out for something like hanging, lethal injection, beheading, or another form of execution. Eventually, what had been decided on was a form of military execution: the firing squad.

“Do you have any last words?” The flat voice asked Voldemort.

“Curse you, Harry Potter.” Voldemort bit out as harshly as he could through his fear.

“Fire.” The voice was quickly drowned out by the shots fired from the soldiers simultaneously.

Voldemort’s enhanced Homunculus body was violently rocked by the bullets from the service rifles. Nine rounds had pierced his torso, one had passed through his neck, and the final two had gone through his head. The corpse slumped over a bit in its restraints that kept Voldemort upright.

“Checking vitals.” The Commanding Officer announced as he moved forward and checked Voldemort’s pulse. It was kind of redundant, given that two rounds had gone through the dead wizard’s head…but it was supposed to be done and the Commanding Officer would follow procedure. “No pulse detected.”

With Voldemort’s execution carried out, the body would be burned to ashes just to be safe. The soldiers and everyone else involved in this process had been reminded, time and time again, not to take ANY chances with this wizard in particular.

The headline on newspapers across the United Kingdom tomorrow would be about Voldemort’s execution for his attack on the country.

This would bring great relief to many, closure to those that had lost friends and family to the mad man, and would help ease tensions between the Magical and Non-Magical as a criminal wizard was held to the same laws and punishments as the common man. His passing would be celebrated by many, both Muggle and Magical alike.

Harry Potter’s reaction would be sought by the Daily Prophet, but with Sirius stonewalling them and Harry nowhere to be found, it would be a news story that no one would get.

And just like that, another page turned in the book of history, leaving the Dark Lord Voldemort firmly in the past.

-End Chapter-

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Harry takes another step forward as an Artificer (and technically as an Alchemist) by successfully transmuting Orichalcum! Now he plans to use it as the core of his Artifact House! I’m sure that’ll make for a rather powerful Artifact when Harry is done!

Penny is getting research funding and wants to help Harry with the Communication Mirro project that had to be put on hold because of Voldemort! She’s so sweet!

Fleur is being interviewed and explains a bit about Veela to the Non-Magical. Which makes sense, given that any interaction with Goblins, Dwarves, Veela, Centaurs, etc. was all removed from the memory of the Non-Magicals when the Statute of Secrecy went into effect. Therefore, this is the first time in living memory that any Non-Magical has spoken to a sapient non-Human species.

Tonks, as an Auror, is helping the Non-Magical police get some understanding of spells and their levels. What is and isn’t a crime by Magical standards, and other such need-to-know information. If the two sides are coming back together, then everyone has to be under the same laws if you don’t want tension to build and eventually erupt into something more.

Now Voldemort is dead and gone, that page of history has turned, leaving the Dark Lord in the past where he belongs.

Can Harry and Family finally live their lives now that no one is after Harry’s life?

Keep reading to find out!

Current Mana Levels

Harry – 33,138

Tonks – 26,312

Penelope – 20,824

Fleur – 21,646

Until I get your reviews, later!