Chereads / Harry Potter and the Tragic Path / Chapter 36 - Dread, Determination, and Fragility.

Chapter 36 - Dread, Determination, and Fragility.

Thus, a new part of Harry's routine had been created. At least once a week Harry would challenge Adebayo to a fight, get beaten to a pulp which forced Kali to heal him... His efforts weren't meaningless though, as with every fight Harry got faster, stronger, and more skilled.

It wasn't an immediately noticeable change, as to most it would still look like Adebayo beating the shit out of a child... But Adebayo and some of the other warriors were aware of the rapid changes Harry was undergoing. In every fight, he was forced to try a little harder, and be more aware of the boy's attacks.

The tribe wasn't actually aware of Harry's other routines, which is why they were so surprised by the changes... With every defeat Harry suffered under Adebayo's hand, Harry took more risks when he was out hunting, fighting stronger creatures and occasionally fighting without magic entirely.

This, of course, proved incredibly dangerous to him, and once Kali had spotted him teleporting back while covered in teeth and claw marks after a brawl with a young lion, she decided to accompany him on these hunts.

All in all, she was pretty happy with the results of pitting him against Adebayo. It'd certainly lit a fire under his ass and made him train with more purpose, as opposed to the curiosity fueled meanderings that he would sometimes do in the past. Even if she had to accompany him to make sure he wasn't eaten alive or something.

Another month of this passes and Kali excitedly calls Harry into the magically sealed room where they'd left the cursed blindfold in.

Harry runs a hand through his messy black hair and stumbles into the room, having just woken up. "What is it?" he groans, wanting to have at least five more minutes of shut-eye.

She twirls around and holds out the blindfold victoriously, "I've found out what this thing does!" she happily exclaims, the feeling of finally completing a long term project fueling her.

Harry rubs the sleep out of his eye and grins, "Well? What is it?"

Kali gestures grandly at it, "When put on, the blindfold will allow you to see the 'Crimes' of anyone you look at. You won't be able to physically see obviously, but you will see a glow corresponding to someones 'Karma' instead."

Harry crooks at brow at this, "Er, doesn't that seem a little... I don't know... Subjective? How does it know what crime is what, or even what constitutes a crime? Some countries outlaw certain things and not others..." he wonders aloud.

Kali grins, "Well, it was supposedly created by an apostle of the god of Justice... Or something? It's hard to tell, but I suppose someone's Karma is judged by the god who helped create it." she explains.

Harry nods, "Annnd... What about the curse placed on it?"

She grimaces at the mention of it, "Wellll~" she trails off, "It kind of permanently blinds you if you wear it..." she admits.

...

"Doesn't that make it useless then?" Harry mutters, wondering why such a thing would be created.

Kali shrugs, "The curse was more for symbolism than anything, the god who helped create this supposedly carved out her own eyes so she could acquire 'sight'... Or something like that."

"How did that wand waver know where we were then? Or that you were a demon?" he questions.

"Obviously because he could still see our Karma... I doubt either of us look all that pure." she states, and Harry nods.

He had killed a few innocent people, and he wasn't blind to the fact that most would consider him evil to some extent. He just never bothered to think about it as it didn't really matter, those people who would judge him allowed him to be tortured by his relatives, as far as he was concerned, he was in the right.

Harry lets out a disappointed sigh, he's about to ask her to try and remove the curse but stops himself, getting an idea... This could potentially be useful, but, he still needs materials and other preparations for something like that... He takes it from kali and tosses it back on the magic-restricting stand where it is usually stored. "I'm gonna make breakfast, do you want anything?"

She shrugs, "Almost cooked bacon, eggs, and burnt toast please."

"Alright, the usual." he mutters, still not understanding how she can eat that stuff... Must be a demon thing?

He moves to the 'kitchen' which is essentially just a fireproof room of the treehouse where Harry can use fire without risking burning the entire place down. He telekinetically retrieves everything from the cupboards and shelves and easily starts making food. Every morning he uses this opportunity to train his magic.

It's obviously pretty difficult to float many things at once and use fire magic to cook... Not to mention having to actually concentrate on properly cooking everything in the first place. He used to hate cooking for the Dursleys, but his attitude quickly changed when he first heard Kali compliment his cooking... He'd been eager to get similar responses from her ever since, pushing him to get better and better.

Once everything is done he wipes the sweat from his brow and sits at the small table with all the food laid out. Kali slinks in after smelling the food and sits opposite him, quickly beginning to devour everything in front of her.

He just watches her silently with a smile for a moment before turning his attention toward his own food.

"Master?" he hears Kali asks.

"Yeah?"

"I think it's time we get you a proper familiar..." she states, realising that she couldn't always watch over him while he was doing something dangerous.

...

"Really?" he excitedly asks, memories of playing pokemon flashing through his mind.

She nods, "Yes... But it won't be anything from this realm. We will use a ritual to call something suitable, similar to how you summoned me." she explains.