Love and Monster ch 3 (Patreon)

"The wards will fail on their own within a few months, and if we allow them to collapse on their own, I'm afraid the result could be catastrophic. There is no telling what the magical backlash of such a scenario could lead to." Saul Croaker wrapped up his report.

The men and women of the Wizengamot were worried. To a person, they were all terrified.

This had been bubbling over for years. First, as an outlandish concern, called out as fear mongering whenever it was brought up. Now, it was an impending reality, a reality that they so wished they wouldn't have to face.

The wards that kept the Forbidden Forest in a separate dimension were going to fail, and there was nothing they could do about it. Soon, the segregation of wizard and beast would end, forcefully.

It was why they'd been forced to be on 'friendlier' terms with the creatures. They would once again share a realm, and as much as hatred still bubbled under the surface, most on either side had seen far too much bloodshed. They were far too exhausted to start another war.

Some, smart enough to not be fully blinded by their racism, could see that this was what needed to happen, if they didn't want to continue stagnating.

"What measures will be taken for our security? Now that they will live among us again?" Lucius Malfoy voiced the question on everyone's mind.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Their leadership has assured me that they have no intentions of venturing outside of the forest, and they are committed to self-regulation. Regardless, the Minister has already designated a team of aurors to stand guard over the border between the forest and the school grounds."

Dumbledore took a short pause before moving onto his next point. "As a show of good-will, it has also been agreed that six young creatures will be attending Hogwarts this year."

There was an uproar in the esteemed chamber as the members of the Wizengamot digested the bombshell that had just been dropped on them by the Chief Warlock.

"You expect me to let my son be in the same castle as those… those things?"

"...children will be mauled left and right…"

"Irresponsible!"

"They are infiltrating us. They will drive a wedge through our fragile…"

"...Full moon? What will we do then?"

A loud bang let off from the end of Dumbledore's wand. It had the desired effect of silencing those present, who stared up at the aged wizard with varying degrees of disgust and trepidation.

"I understand your concerns." Dumbledore began diplomatically. "But the truth of the matter is, the status quo is untenable. We must move forward with a reconciliation, or both of our groups will suffer a most ignominious end."

"Please!" Crowed Augusta Longbottom, one of the loudest of the isolationist group led by Lucius Malfoy. "Stop with the fear mongering, Dumbledore. We have already show so much mercy, we have practically bent over backwards! We've surrendered our nature given right for vengeance! And now, you want us to allow these creatures to lay in the same castle as our children?"

The same rumble of discontent rose up after Augusta's words. Albus could feel a headache coming in. Some people were far too irrational, far too ruled by their emotions.

"Is it really fear mongering?" Vincent Crabbe, one of Dumbledore's staunchest allies, spoke up from the other end of the chamber.

Everyone quieted down as Crabbe took the floor. "As you all know, my department just recently concluded a Demographic Survey. The findings are as grim as could be. At our current rate, our society will reach a point below replacement level within two generations. After that critical stage, there is no coming back."

"You expect my son to lay with a beast?"

"No one is saying that." Dumbledore cut it. "But, if we want to heal, and hopefully build something new from the ashes, we need reconciliation. If we are able to show a willingness to collaborate, perhaps the Goblins may even return."

That was a bold-faced lie. The Goblins would never return. They were not sentimental beings, and they would not care that the Wizards were playing nice with the other creatures. No, the Goblins and the vast stores of Wizarding gold they'd taken with them were well and truly gone.

But Albus could still stoke the embers of hope, even if he knew they had long since run out of oxygen.

Dangling the possibility for these ancient families to recover their vast stores of wealth had been the right call. Even Lucius Malfoy had to stand up at attention.

"Dumbledore, do you truly believe-"

"I believe it would be a step in the right direction." Albus chose his words carefully.

This could, and likely would, blow up in his face. But his hope was that in the future, he would be able to put wizarding society on an upwards track, a track that would make small little promises like the one he'd just implied water under the bridge.

"Still, to have them in that castle while our babies sleep." Lady Abbott echoed the deep-seated worry of many of those in the chamber. A primal fear, one that had to be handled delicately.

"We have taken many precautions to ease everyone into this new reality." Dumbledore said. "The long-defunct House of Slytherin will be restored. The six children will be placed in that House. Their Common Room will be located in the Dungeons, on the opposite end of the Castle as the Hufflepuff Common Room. During the full moon, they will be restricted to their Common Room, and that area of the castle will be on lockdown."

With Gryffindor and Ravenclaw both being in towers, it meant that it would be very easy for the rest of the school to just avoid that section of the castle altogether.

"As an added measure, Lady Fawkes has graciously accepted a post teaching a newly created Creature History course, and she will function as the girl's guardian while they are at school."

"Creature History? Their history will be taught at Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore put a hand up. "It is an elective course. If your children do not wish to take it, they will not be forced to."

The meeting continued on, and though they bitched and complained the entire way through, Albus knew he had won the day.

The nonplussed look on Lucius Malfoy’s face while Augusta Longbottom fumed next to him told Albus that the man was already scheming something up. But for now, he would take the victory, and hope that they could walk this tight-rope act all the way to its conclusion without plummeting to their doom.

…

“How do you guys feel about it?”

They were at the edge of the lake. Lavender was dipping her roots in, and she’d coaxed a hesitant Fleur into dipping her toes in the water. Delphi had her entire lower half in the lake, with the tip of her tail peeking out a few feet away.

Daphne and Vulpie were keeping a bit more distance between themselves and the water, both sitting down on the lush grass.

Harry and Susan were the only ones standing, skipping rocks across the tranquil surface.

“I won’t pretend like it doesn’t scare me.” Fleur shrugged, “Being surrounded by people that hate you.”

Part of a veela’s powers were the ability to sense others’ emotions. While Fleur’s weren’t fully developed yet, it would not be hard for her to feel the hostility that would be bleeding off those wizards.

“Bah!” Susan said as she threw a rock just a bit too high and hard. It cleared the entire lake and cleaved through a tree branch on the other side. “Why should we be scared? If they piss me off, I’ll just rip them apart.”

“There’s a lot more of them than there are of us.” Vulpie pointed out to the hard-headed dragon. She was absently tugging at clumps of grass, letting the blades fall and fly off in the soft breeze.

"Fawkes will be there, she'll protect us." Delphi said with a slight nervousness in her tone. More so than the rest of them, she had reason to worry. While they would all be feared and hated, people would despise Delphi.

"We'll all protect each other." Harry piped up, receiving looks from all the girls.

"My hero!" Lavender swooned, falling back on the grass with the back of her hand on her forehead.

"We will be fine." Daphne said as she stared off into the far side of the lake. "My only concern is the creatures of the forest,"

"The council will help keep them safe." Harry said.

Daphne looked at him with her steel grey eyes. "This forest holds many secrets, Harry. I fear that some of them will be disturbed when the wards fall."

Lavender giggled. "You're soo eerie, Daffy! It always kicks up some excitement!"

Daphne rolled her eyes.

"I'll expect for you to keep those savages off me." Vulpie told Harry as the boy plopped down next to her.

"Of course, it's my duty to you, my lady." Harry said in his grandest tone.

"I'm honestly excited." Lavender said earnestly. "I love the forest, but to see the world beyond…"

"I doubt they'll let us move past the castle, Lav." Fleur said.

Lavender shook her head. "Not now. But in the future… who knows! In the future, we might be able to travel the whole world!"

The other girls snorted.

"What even is the world?" Delphi asked, her voice tinged with a hint of wonder.

They all turned to look at Harry, who only really talked about the outside world when prompted.

He shrugged. "I've never been outside of England. Heck, If I've been to ten unique places out there, it'd be a stretch."

"Is it true that there's no magic out there? Outside of the isles?" Vulpie asked.

They had all plopped down on the grass, staring up at the clouds.

"That's what they say." Harry answered. "Like I said, I've never left. But the adults all say that the British Isles are the only place where magic exists. They always say something about Albion."

"Do you know anyone that's been out there?"

Harry's face scrunched up in thought at Fleur's question.

He didn't. Not even the richest kids, like Draco and Blaise, had ever said anything about trips abroad. Of course, it made sense to Harry in a way. If there was no magic out there, if the rest of the world was full of muggles, then why would people like the Malfoys want to leave England?

"I don't."

Silence stretched on for a few more moments. "I bet its a wondrous world out there." Lavender finally sighed.

"Focus on surviving this one first." Daphne's words were sobering, and the children dropped the topic.

They lazed away the rest of the morning, moving across the lake and over to their favorite tree when it came to playtime: the Whomping Willow.

As aggressive as it was large, 'Whomp the Willow' was a very intense game. The goal was to be the first to touch the trunk of the gigantic tree and make it back out safely without being touched.

It was their favored game because it rendered Susan's flying useless, and since you couldn't allow yourself to be hit, she couldn't just try to bulldoze her way through.

The Willow didn't like Lavender, so she couldn't command it into letting her through.

The game was hard enough, but they all tried to sabotage each other on the way in as well. If you slipped up and made eye contact with Daphne, she'd send a concentrated burst of her dementor power to you, freezing you in place just long enough for the willow to strike. Lavender would trip the others up with roots from other trees, Fleur would use her empathic powers to make the Willow more agressive.

It always ended up leaving them bloody, battered and bruised, but it also left them with wide, happy smiles as they lay down on the grass afterwards, gasping and wheezing for breath.

…

“Well, we got robes, cauldrons, potions ingredients, books, quills, inkwells, parchment,” Rosmerta counted off all their supplies, which she had shrunken down and placed in Harry’s brand new trunk. “All that’s left is the wand.”

Harry felt a surge of excitement. While all his other school things were surely important, a wand was the most essential tool for any magical being. Even having honed his wandless abilities, Harry knew a wand would open up many more doors for him.

They passed by the massive empty lot in Diagon Alley where Gringotts had once stood. It was always jarring, seeing nothing but empty space and dusty, aged stone where there had once been the grandest building of them all.

Rosmerta counted her money. They had just enough to purchase a wand. She was thankful, as she had dreaded having to take out a loan with one of the Lords just to pay for Harry’s school supplies.

When the goblins had left all those years ago, taking over ninety-seven percent of the wizarding world’s wealth with them, Society had been forced to adjust. Those who had kept personal stores of gold, however minute, now held power. Those same lords capitalized, starting up mining operations to extract the small amount of gold still left on the isles. While it was less valuable than goblin treated gold, it kept the economy marching forward.

The economy was now smaller by orders of magnitude, shrinking at a greater rate than the population had.

The majority of wizarding folk now lived by taking out loans from those Lords. Rosmerta was no exception, needing to pay both Lord Boot and Lord Goyle to keep her business running.

That was not the only scar left by the war. Ollivander's was another prime example of just what had transpired.

The oldest establishment in all of Wizarding Britain, makers of fine wands since 382 BC, was a shadow of its former self.

The bell rang and Harry and Rosmerta entered. Gone was the mysterious, enigmatic old wizard Rosmerta remembered from her youth.

Ollivander stood behind a counter, eyes looking dead inside, as he looked the duo over with disinterest.

There were very few wand boxes in this shop. In fact, the entire shop looked not just bare, but like it hadn't been properly cleaned and taken care of in years.

"Wand?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Err… yes, Mr. Ollivander." Rosmerta said tentatively. Harry for his part was wholly unimpressed by the wandmaker so far.

"There's about five left over there, see if any of them work."

Rosmerta was completely taken aback.

Harry might not have had any experience with choosing a wand, but even he could tell that this was not how things should go.

"Shouldn't you be… helping me, sir?"

Ollivander's hawk-like eyes were simmering as he stared at Harry.

"Many things aren't as they should be, child. I'd say most of them, in fact."

That was it. The old man turned away and Harry was forced to contend with the fact that this was how things would proceed. With a frustrated shrug, Harry went over to the five haphazardly arranged boxes in the far corner.

He opened the first one up to reveal a light-brown colored wand. The wand looked worn, and Harry could even see many fingerprints over it.

Harry reached into the box and touched the aged wood.

He felt nothing.

He moved on to the other four wands. Three of them left him equally as cold, with the fourth coughing up the slightest of sparks when his fingers grazed it.

"Well?" Rosmerta asked hopefully, acting as if she hadn't seen exactly what had transpired.

"The last one sorta did something." Harry responded weakly.

"That's the best you're going to get, boy. Take it or leave it." Ollivander said, not bothering to even look at Harry anymore.

Rosie sighed. Harry gave her a hard look, and she knew what his decision was.

"I think I'll find my wand elsewhere, sir."

"Suit yourself."

…

"What the hell was that?"

"Harry." Rosmerta warned as they made their way over to The Leaky Cauldron in order to floo home. "Calm down, we'll talk at home."

Harry grumbled, dragging his trunk along as Rosmerta ruffled his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

"How am I going to find a wand now?" Harry asked, his voice now a little bit less strong.

"We'll figure it out, Harry." Rosie said with a confidence she didn't have.

They made it back to the Broomsticks, which was devoid of any patrons and only had a note from Aberforth, saying he'd popped in and borrowed a bottle of Rosmerta's famous mead.

Almost automatically, they took their preferred positions from when Harry was younger. Rosmerta sat down at a stool at the bar and Harry stood behind the counter. If he were in a better mood, he'd start wiping down a mug just for the full effect.

"That was Ollivander's? There were barely any wands there."

"Harry, you have to understand, it's changed. More than I thought it had. t

Though in hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised."

"What made it like that?" Harry knew the answer, as always, would be the war.

"During the war, the creatures targeted wizard's wands. Whenever they killed or captured any, they made sure to snap their wands. During one attack on Diagon Alley, Ollivander's was razed to the ground, taking a thousand year's worth of wands with it."

Harry gasped. "They did that?"

Rosmerta nodded. "Nowadays, wands are in short supply. Many of your classmates will make due with one of their ancestor's wands, or an elderly relatives will give one up. Muggleborns make due with Ollivander's remaining stock."

There were also many destitute witches and wizards who ended up giving up their wands to their lords to cover their debts. It was a humiliating spectacle, and the Lords then turned around and sold the wands at a premium.

Really, it was a miracle that Ollivander's wands were still seven galleons, the result of a law passed by the Wizengamot that also prevented them from being purchased in bulk.

Harry had been given a lot to mull over. He found his hand going into his pocket, where Fawkes' feather pulsated with magic.

Rosmerta understood instantly what was on his mind. "Go, Harry.”

Harry looked up at her, a bit embarrassed by having been read so openly, but Rosie just smiled, “It’s alright, Harry. Just make sure to come back in time for bed.” She bit her lip, “I sleep better when you’re there.”

Harry blushed. He wouldn’t miss bedtime with Rosie for the world, “I promise.” He pecked her quickly, his lips catching the corner of her mouth as he stood and pulled the feather out from his pocket, squeezing it tight and willing the magic to work, as it had hundreds of times before.

…

As always, he landed inside of the Black home, though Vulpie and Narcissa were nowhere to be seen.

Harry wasn’t surprised by that. It wasn’t just him getting his wand today. All the girls were getting theirs too, except for Susan, who channeled magic through her horns and didn’t need a foci.

Harry made his way out into the forest, heading in the direction of the Dragon’s Nest.

On the opposite cliffside to Greengrass Manor was Susan’s domain. It was much higher up than its twin cliff, and its high elevation led to it being obscured by clouds. Harry had built up a lot of stamina from the many times he’d had to run up this veritable mountain on foot, or climb its jagged edge that one time Susan had challenged him. It seemed like an impossible task, but Harry just needed to push magic into his limbs and grit his teeth.

This time, he was not up for an arduous climb, though. This time he was walking up to the base of the mountain, at the lowest edge of the valley. There was a golden gate, decorated with sculptures of dragons, though these were not humanoid but beastly creatures. Apparently, the ‘true’ dragons of an ancient past that none could remember.

“Little Harry? What brings you here?”

Standing guard at the gate were the only other two surviving dragons.

“Susan’s not around, you know? She’s out flying again.” Added a soft voice.

No matter how many times he’d seen them, he was always taken aback by the contrast between the two members of Amelia's Royal Guard.

The first to speak was also the biggest person Harry had ever met. At nine feet tall, she was a foot taller than Amelia, though her frame was slimmer than the Dragon Queen's.

Aurora Sinistra had warm, chocolate skin, which was on full display thanks to the very revealing armor they all wore. Her wings were pure white, arrayed behind her in a half-crescent. At night, when she flew, it was like seeing the moon drifting across the sky.

She had a single black horn coming off the right side of her head, long and sharply curved. On the lower half of her face, following along her natural jawline, she had what looked like a dragon bone mask, complete with sharp teeth. Harry had long since learned it was no mask, but part of her. Her brown, curly hair was long and lucious, reaching down to her wings. Put all together, it made her look equal parts terrifying and at the same time extremely sexy.

Her eyes were completely white, lacking even pupils.

Her body was completely stacked, with breasts that rivaled Amelia's and an ass that had no rival, especially since the loincloth she wore was nowhere near being up to the task of covering it up.

Next to the largest dragon was the smallest. Shui Chang was six feet tall, and most of that length was covered by her snake-like lower body, covered in bright blue scales.

Shui's wings were also blue, looking elegant with their softer, rounded curves, in contrast to the other dragon's more menacing, sharpened edges. To the naked eye, her wings' texture resembled silk, and Shui would regularly wrap them around her body to make it appear as if she were wearing a silk robe.

Shui's body was delicate and slim, and she had an air of grace about her. Her silky smooth, medium length hair was a light lilac, almost resembling Vulpie's white in certain lighting. She had heterochromia, with her left eye being blue and her right eye being green.

"I actually came looking for an audience with the queen."

It was always awkward using this formal jargon, but, while Shui and Aurora were as loving with him as all the other ladies of the forest, they would not allow him (or anyone else) to eschew proper address when their queen was involved.

"An audience with the queen?" Aurora asked. Her pupil-less eyes gave her the appearance of blindness, but while her vision during daytime wasn't great, at night, it was better than even Narcissa's.

"I'm afraid the Queen is quite occupied. She and the Phoenix are preparing the forest for what's to come." Shui said softly.

"Oh." Harry's face fell.

Aurora knelt down in front of him, causing her ample cleavage to bounce wonderfully in a way that Harry tried and failed not to notice.

"Tell me, little warrior. What was it that you needed from our queen? Perhaps we could be of assistance?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to ask her about wands." Harry said sheepishly.

"What about wands?" Shui raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

The war might have been a sensitive subject, but Dragons were not ones to care one bit for sensitivity.

"Well, I heard that during the war, you guys would snap as many as you could?"

Shui and Aurora fought on the front lines of the war. Harry had never heard the grisly details, but he was sure that between them, they'd piled up more than their fair share of bodies.

And from the smirks on their faces, they had no regrets.

"That we did." Aurora said proudly. "We did what had to be done, in the name of our ancestors."

Harry blinked in confusion, and Shui took over. "Young Harry, what are wands made of?"

"Umm. Wood, and a core? And other stuff, I guess?"

Shui waved her hand dismissively. "The 'other stuff' is irrelevant for our purposes. Those cores… what are the most common wand cores?"

Harry's eyes widened. They'd covered this a few times in the schoolhouse. "Creature hair, Veela feathers, and…"

"Dragon heartstrings." Aurora finished for him. "Knowing our past, do you think wizardkind collected those elements through fair exchange? Do you think they consulted us when they took the remains of our ancestors?"

Harry gulped as he shook his head. "No. They didn't." He closed his fists tightly.

"We did what had to be done. We took retribution on those who would desecrate the remains of our people. During the war, wizards would raid the corpses of our fallen, dissect them, divy them up for their own purposes."

Shui took over. "Now that they are attempting to reconcile, I'm sure that they'll ask for us to cooperate in their wandmaking process once more."

Aurora shook her head. "I, for one, will not participate."

Harry looked up at them. "How do the others do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you guys channel magic through your horns, but how do the others get their wands?"

Shui smiled slightly as she looked down at him with her mismatched eyes. "They make them. Your friends are all in the forest at this time. They will search for the wood that speaks to them, carve it out themselves, and then their mothers will offer something of their own, and the act of giving will instill it with power."

"What about Delphi?"

The two women shared a tense look before Aurora spoke.

"Her mother made… arrangements before what occurred."

'What occurred' included the death of Harry's parents. Harry should have been the slightest bit uncomfortable with how little it bothered him whenever he thought of that event. His anger over becoming an orphan was practically non-existent now.

"I want to do it." He said determinedly.

"You want to make your own wand?" Shui asked.

Harry nodded. After what he'd learned, it would be an insult to his friends to wield a wand from the wizarding world. Besides, none of Ollivander's truly fit him, he knew that those wands would only hold him back.

"Well, we can't help you there, I'm afraid, since it's not something we've ever done."

"You don't have an idea as to how they do it?"

"All I know is that they each have their own method, I'm not sure their ways would work for you, little one."

His face fell slightly, and Aurora frowned,

"But I've always been of the opinion that non-dragons tend to overcomplicate magic. If you open your heart up to the forest, I'm sure you will find the solution, young warrior."

It might have seemed like vague advice, like empty encouragement, but it made something click within Harry.

"Thank you so much, girls." The boy said, straightening up, "I'll see you around!"

As they watched the boy sprint off in the direction he'd come from, Aurora could feel Shui's piercing gaze on her.

"What?"

Shui giggled. "Nothing. It's just always amusing to see the fearsome Dragon of the Crescent be so tender. And with a human boy, of all things."

Aurora glared at her partner, who covered her continued giggles with her dainty hands.

"Young Harry is a warrior. And, despite his bloodline…" Aurora trailed off as she stared off at the boy who disappeared.

"I understand completely, Aurora. I believe the Queen and the others can sense it too. As if magic herself were telling us to embrace him."

Aurora nodded. "I will gladly follow him into battle."

"And what if he were on the other side?"

The dark-skinned dragon grimaced. "He would not be so foolish."

…

Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing. He walked around aimlessly, letting his senses stretch out and allowing them to lead the path.

He'd never done this before, but like many other things, it was like he had an intuitive grasp on how to use his magic.

He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be looking for, but he didn't even try to make any logical sense of his goal. He needed a wand, and he'd cut his magic loose with that intent in mind.

He felt a pull in a certain direction, and he followed along. Even when his instincts were pulling him dangerously close to the Acromantula's domain, Harry was fearless, refusing to move off his path.

He just about skirted the edges of the arachnid's territory. He could make out spiderwebs crisscrossing trees in the distance.

Then, he felt another tug off in the opposite direction, and he drifted away from their domain.

He didn't run into anyone over the next hour. He came up on a clearing, a clearing that was very familiar to him.

He emerged from the tree line to stare down a very familiar tree. A tree he and his friends had been playing around with just the other day.

The Whomping Willow loomed menacing as the setting sun began to disappear behind it, trickles of orange light peeking out between each of its craggly branches.

Harry didn't stop walking. If he stopped, he would have enough time to think about what exactly he was doing, and just how insane it was.

No, he didn't stop walking. Instead, he started running.

He'd played around the Willow so often, it was like a well-rehearsed dance at this point. He ducked under a swipe while jumping over another, constantly pumping magic through his legs to help him evade blows that came far too quick for a normal human.

The Willow was different. It was more aggressive, more vicious in its strikes. Almost as if it knew that this wasn't just a game.

Harry nimbly weaved through each blow as he inched closer to the trunk of the tree. Once he got within a certain range, the willow wouldn't be able to strike at him.

Except, as he got closer, he realized that what he was looking for wasn't in the trunk. No, the pull he was feeling was directed towards one of the branches.

'Shit'

Harry allowed himself that single thought before he dashed over to the offending branch. The Willow, almost not believing its luck, swung that same branch in Harry's direction. Harry braced himself, timing the swing as best he could and managing not just to leap over it, but to grab onto it.

The moment of triumph was short-lived, as the willow began thrashing now in earnest, dragging Harry along for the ride.

Harry could do nothing but hold on for dear life.

The willow tried smashing him up against another branch, and Harry had to swing his body over to avoid the hit, though he couldn't avoid his fingertips getting caught as the two branches smashed together.

"Gah!" He hissed in pain as his fingers pulsated with pain, only the magic he'd sent coursing through his body had saved him from losing the digits altogether.

When the two branches had smashed together, a piece of the willow had broken off and fallen to the ground, a conveniently wand sized piece of wood.

Harry let go of the branch, falling into a rough tuck and roll as he landed right next to the fallen length of wood.

It was smooth, about the right size, and it felt like it was meant for him. He could feel its magic calling to him, and Harry picked it up with a grin.

"Harry!"

Harry's head snapped up to see Lavender running over to him.

He felt an ominous wooshing sound behind him and turned his head in time to see the Whomping Willow swinging down at him, and this time, he wouldn't have enough time to dodge.

Harry flinched, bracing for impact and hoping only that he'd be able to survive this.

But, just as the thick branch was about to strike him in the head, it stopped, mere inches away from his face.

Harry was confused, before he turned back to look at Lavender, who was glaring at him.

"What the hell were you thinking, Harry?"

Lavender had her hand held out, and it was clear she was controlling the Willow.

"I thought you couldn't control the Willow?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Of course I can, I'm the Princess of the Forest, silly. I just said that so you guys would let me play. Now come on, the Willow seems to be especially set on getting you."

Harry scrambled over to his feet, grabbing his branch and making it out of the tree's range.

"What were you doing, Harry?" Lavender asked again as she released her control of the tree.

Harry grinned sheepishly, holding up the broken off length of wood. "Getting my wand."

Lavender gasped. "Really? Are you going to join us in the ceremony tonight?"

"Ceremony?"

"You found your wood, do you have your core?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply in the negative, when he felt a warmth in his pocket.

His eyes widened. He shoved his hand inside and pulled out the feather he'd kept in his person at all times for the past three years.

"Ms. Fawkes' feather. Of course!" Lavender said in an awed voice.

Harry was staring down at the feather in a daze. Lavender grabbed onto his hand. "Come on, let's go!"

Harry let the green haired girl drag him away.

…

Lavender led him to an altar in an area of the forest he had never been to before. Night had completely settled by the time they'd arrived.

The altar was inside of an open structure made of marble. With the multi-colored fireflies providing the illumination, it looked like the setting of the world's most magical wedding.

As he glanced at Lavender, who's petal skirt flared every few steps, allowing him tantalizing glimpses of her round bum, he could almost picture the two of them walking up to the altar and getting married.

Though he was sure a certain white-haired kitsune would have something to say about that.

As they drew nearer, Harry saw that the others were there.

Vulpie with Narcissa standing behind her. Delphi with Amelia and Susan. Fleur with Apolline. Daphne with her mother. And, standing at the altar, were Fawkes and an older version of Lavender who had traded in the skirt for a sash of flowers draped over her shoulders.

"Why am I not surprised?" Apolline said with amusement as all eyes were on Harry.

"Mum. Harry's going to make his wand as well!" Lavender squealed in excitement.

"Are you now?" Gardenia's kind eyes and smile always warmed Harry's heart.

Fawkes looked proud as well. "Does anyone object?"

All of the women shook their heads.

"Well, if you've got your wood and your core, you can line up with the others."

Harry did just that. Him and Lavender went over to stand next to Vulpie, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"You look like you've taken a tumble, Harry." Daphne said from her side. "Do you need help mending your wounds?"

There might have been something else in Daphne's usual monotone. Harry wasn't sure, but Vulpie sure was. The fox girl sent her friend a short glare before Harry felt her fluffy tail wrap around his waist.

It always felt nice when she did that.

The adults seemed amused by the proceedings, but Fawkes decided it was time to move on.

"It's time to begin this most solemn of ceremonies. Fleur, if you would present your materials."

Apolline gave her daughter a small push as the young veela walked up to the altar, holding a small bundle in her open palms.

Gardenia took the length of wood from Fleur's hand while Fawkes took a white feather.

Tendrils snaked from Gardenia's hand, and Harry couldn't help but be awed as he saw the previously inert piece of wood glow white as the Queen of the Forest infused it with magic. One of her tendrils split the wood in half. Fawkes gently placed the feather in between the two halves, and then both women closed their palms over the objects.

They began chanting. Gardenia's eyes glowed green as Fawkes' glowed red. It seemed as if Fawkes was burning the wand, as smoke was coming up from under her palms, while Gardenia's hands had deformed completely into a mass of vines that attached themselves to the wood.

After a minute of this, followed by one final flash of white light, both women pulled back, with Gardenia holding a now fully polished wand that Harry could see flowed with magical energy.

"Cherry, ten and a half inches, Veela feather core." Gardenia said as she handed a glowing Fleur her wand.

The moment Fleur touched the wand, white and purple sparks shot off from the end. The girl bowed to the older women before returning to her place in front of her mother.

The other girls followed much the same.

Delphi's wand was eleven inches, made of holly, and held one of her mother's fangs. Despite how sensitive a subject Voldemort was for the older women, none of them reacted negatively to Delphi's wand.

Vulpie's wand was nine inches, dogwood, with one of her deceased aunt's claws as the core.

Lavender's wand was made of birch, twelve inches, and at its core was a sapling elm tree. Once her wand had been forged, Lavender absorbed it into her hand, making it a part of her body.

Finally, it was Harry's turn. When he handed Fawkes and Gardenia his materials, both women looked at him with interest.

"Willow. Flexible, adaptive." Gardenia mused. "And this particular branch has a bit of volatility mixed in. Quite a choice, my little oak."

Harry couldn't help but blush, as he always did when Gardenia addressed him like that. "I felt a connection to it."

"And my feather as well." Fawkes said. "I guess you will no longer need it to travel back and forth, now that the worlds will be joined."

The women performed the ritual, and as Harry looked on, they whittled down the wood and molded it into the perfect shape, until finally, his wand was finished.

"Thirteen inches, willow, with the feather of a particularly obstinate phoenix." Gardenia presented him with his wand.

It looked beautiful, with its surface having been polished to a smooth, shiny finish. It was thicker at the base and tapered off near the end, with a little crookedness that left it with a distinct curve near the middle.

Harry's hand shook slightly as he took it from her hand. The moment his fingers touched the wand, it was like he'd reconnected with a piece of his soul.

Sparks flew as Harry held it overhead. Time seemed to freeze as Harry felt a surge of power, as well as something more. He felt a feeling of home, a feeling of connection.

He'd found his wand. Now, he was ready for whatever challenges laid ahead.