Notes:
Recap: CH. 11 - 20
Harry finally returns to Hogwarts, solving little riddles during the ride. He witnesses the sorting ceremony, contemplating on the muggleborns hiding within house Slytherin and how his third life had met one.
Hermione's thoughts are introduced, she stumbles upon Luna. Later, Harry reunited with Luna and looked for the diadem. Harry claims that it should belong to Luna and they then have a little disagreement. Harry suffers from a nightmare filled with memories of Orpheus Black.
Harry is haunted by the voice of Regulus Black. He bumps into Draco when going to his first ancient runes class. During the class, he meets Lincoln Sonnet, a Slytherin who likes to keep his head down.
Ron's POV is introduced and we discover he has special talents from his maternal side. He meets Luna and is rather confused about the girl.
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrive and Harry sees Nikolai again. The day of the champions being chosen, Harry takes Nikolai on a tour of Hogwarts.
Harry still becomes champion. Magical oaths are performed and exhausts him. Harry really hates Dumbledore and Snape (Maxime and McGonagall are great teachers!)
Draco POV is introduced again, he interacts with Nikolai. Then, he meets Harry who was talking to a snake and brings the boy back to the great hall. Harry and Draco show a mild form of friendship towards the entire school. Draco accidentally made a cult for Harry (said by Theo Nott)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextCHAPTER 21:
It was hot.
Dark gray eyes, almost black rested upon the crimson flame he conjured. A smile spread across his face, unable to hide how happy he was. He grinned at the boy sitting beside him, a soft smile on the other boy's face. It made him chuckle, proud of himself to see his friend smile.
Magic was a complicated structure. All wixes had some kind of mastered attribute. Whether it was a sort of Physical magic or Runic Magic, those attributes were what you were best at. Unfortunately, Wixens who used Physical Magic weren't exactly rare— they were the most common. But he liked to call himself special compared to his own brother who had a knack for physical magic.
The flames danced around his hand and his magic stretched .
It was something phenomenal in his eyes. The flames moved but so did the air around him. He manipulated the molecular structure of the air around him as his magic core tightened and loosened from the power he commanded. It was an achievement not most could do; feel your magic, your magic core even. But it came to him naturally and it was something to be envied for had he flaunted it around.
His fire moved as his hand moved, he willed it as such. It was like a limb. He commanded the fire and air to dance around them, as red and orange light fell upon them. He grinned, turning back to his friend who looked just as awed.
"I could never control the elements like you do…"
He chuckled at his friend's words. It was only right for him to be good with fire. His entire family had a knack for it after all. He even heard stories from his father that they had a resistance to heat.
"Don't worry… I may be good at this but you were always better at protecting your mind. I can never do that without having to zone out and ignore everything around me. Short attention span and all…" He hummed, twisting his wrist a bit. The fire did as he silently commanded, changing its direction to the opposite side. Shapes began to form, then their names.
MAL & LEO
He heard his friend snort, rolling his eyes at the sound. "Leo? Again?"
"What? Your star is in that constellation so might as well."
"That doesn't…" he trailed off, pursing his lips and looking away. He had gray— silver eyes. They looked better than his own. "I'm not a lion, you are."
"Yeah but… you're my Leo."
"Malcolm…"
Malcolm grinned at Regulus, who merely gave him a reluctant smile. It had always been like this. Well, not always, but Malcolm liked to think it was. He adored these moments between them, just the two of them. No Rabastan, no Barty, no Evan, no Pandora. Just Malcolm and Regulus.
Regulus and Malcolm.
Leo and Mal.
Their surroundings were cold, but Malcolm complied to creating perfect heat. This was his magic. His power and warmth. It wrapped around them, specifically Regulus, and his magic just hugged the boy. Malcolm could feel it, every single cell in his body was aware of it and he sighed in content. Magic was just that mesmerizing to him, especially when he felt his own intertwining with a cold yet soft magic within the room. Regulus' magic.
"You Potters were always said to have a mastery over physicalities… especially fire." Regulus hummed, outstretching his hand towards the gentle flames Malcolm created. Malcolm silently watched, closing his eyes as he rested his head on Regulus' shoulder. He felt his darling Leo's touch upon the flames and sighed again.
He opened his eyes, seeing the awe within silver hues. The flames wrapped loosely around Regulus' hand, stirring a smile of delight from the second son of the black family.
"It's amazing… I wish my magic was adaptive to physicalities…" Regulus' smile faltered but he was mesmerized by the fire and air.
"It's nothing special… your capability for mind magic has always been impressive." He murmured, adjusting them and wrapping his arms around Regulus' waist. He smiled bitterly, pulling the other boy towards him. Regulus merely hummed, reaching his other hand to run his fingers through his hair still playing with his flames with the other.
"Still…"
"People who's well attributed to physical magic are common… you— you're rare. Not in a bad way, but in a way that…" he cut himself off…
"You don't have to talk… your mind is quite… creative ." Regulus laughed softly. "Thank you… for trusting me in your mind but do try to fix your defenses."
"You're welcome. Unlike you, Sirius is as common as us… Natural born Mind Magic users are rare… although you're not a telepath, you're kinda… similar to an empath, right?" Malcolm pulled his head away from the crook of Regulus' neck and grinned.
Regulus and Sirius were different. They had different kinds of magic. Malcolm could easily say that Regulus was unique. He was wonderful and interesting… He was something Malcolm would seek time and time again.
Malcolm and James were the same… he was bitter about that. No matter how similar they were… James was always the better son, the better brother, the better potter… the better one.
"You're thinking too hard…"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Your barriers get stronger when you think certain thoughts… thoughts that I never know and I suppose… will never know. I can faintly feel your emotions. You seem distressed."
Malcolm winced. He never did allow Regulus to see his thoughts when it came to things regarding his brother.
"Nothing… I'm not special… I'm just the same as James."
"No you're not."
He went stiff, meeting Regulus' ever so pretty silver hues. His breath hitched as Regulus cupped his face with both of his hands. The fire went out but the air was still moving with his silent commands, his consciousness.
"James doesn't have your control, nor does he have your focus." Regulus resolutely spoke, "You're better."
Malcolm's voice was stuck in his throat as he stared at the determination in Regulus' face. His eyes watered, burying his head into the crook of Regulus' neck again.
"Thank—"
"MALCOLM! REGULUS! IF EITHER OF YOU ARE HIDING IN THE BLOODY TOWER, GET THE HELL DOWN BEFORE I DRAG YOU DOWN!"
The two of them jolted at the loud and angry voice. They glanced at the door of the tower, before returning their gazes to each other. Laughter bubbled between them as Regulus slowly removed himself from Malcolm and offered his hand.
"Come on now, before Barty fulfills his promise."
It was hot.
Harry grinned as he felt the fires from the dragon. He stood inside the tent, humming to himself as Krum finished up his task. Bagman's voice boomed across the arena as Harry patiently cracked his knuckles and tilted his head from side to side. He smiled even more as he felt Viktor's magic come closer. His expression went blank as Krum entered, looking bruised and exhausted.
The older boy turned towards Harry. The master of deaths magic spiked and he went stiff. Orpheus again… shut up already. He thought, squashing his sixth life's aspect and smiling bitterly at Krum.
Viktor only nodded and proceeded to the healers, as Harry's name was announced.
The goal was to get the egg. That was it.
The Hungarian Horntail narrowed it's eyes at him, looking at him as if he were a threat. In this situation, he was. The dragon was cautious as Harry took a step forward. Everything around him was silent and that wasn't him ignoring everyrhing. The audience were silent, anticipating what would happen. He knew some of them wanted the dragon to devour him, others looked ready to faint. But Harry wanted to smile so badly.
He liked dragons.
Ferocious things they were but they were creatures of fire.
Godric Gryffindor was said to have a dragon, his familiar even. This shouldn't be too hard for him. Thank the fates for my eighth life. He thought and stared at the dragon.
He smiled.
And then he ran.
The Horntail roared as Harry darted towards the sides of the arena, grinning. There was a thrill thrumming through his veins as he violently waved his wand and started manipulating the molecular structure of the air in his immediate vicinity. Potters had a knack for physicalities. They usually never needed spells, most people knew that. So he never uttered a word and forced his magic to go rampant.
It was hot.
The Horntail spewed fire as he swiftly dodged it behind a rock. Maybe his firebolt would have been useful but he wanted to use another method.
My method.
Harry sighed as he heard Orpheus' voice once again. He wouldn't lie that his way of dealing with the Horntail was severely similar to how Orpheus had done it in his sixth life.
The thing about physical Magic that it often related to the elements. The Potter's always had a great affinity to fire but in some cases, wind was the secondary affinity they had.
Orpheus' main attribute was not physical Magic, but he sure as hell was cruel with wind.
( He could remember how his own body had moved. How he looked into the Chinese Fireball's eyes… and he grinned.)
He pulled his arm back, gritting his teeth as he glared at the dragon. No matter how much he loves these creatures, he was determined to win.
( The wind whistled sharply. He could hear it, and all he could do was close his eyes. He listened and the next thing he knew there was a cruel sound of a slice in the air. Eyes blazed purple as the wind moved around them. A hurricane born from mere desire to win.
The spell was on the tip of his tongue. His own spell, his own destruction.
The wind was getting louder, angrier, and the dragon was encased within invisible walls.
"Ventus Confractus.")
A spell that willed the wind to break, to reform itself. The Hungarian horntail was trapped within an invisible cage made of wind. Harry gulped, feeling his sweet trickle down his forehead. He also felt how his magic core seemed to stretch… too much. It bothered him but he relented just a bit more.
"Ventus Confractus." He whispered as the wind exploded. Whoever was in the audience were pushed into their seats, screams resonated across the arena as many of the students belongings were flying around. The blast of wind was strong enough that some of the dragon tamers had been knocked down and pressed against the wall or had fell to the ground.
The dragon was dazed, whimpering as it tried to get up. The blast had pinned it down to the ground and it was clearly enraged. Harry took a moment to collect himself as his core slowly recovered. His feet were light against the ground as he ran towards the eggs. He immediately knew which one of them were fake, especially with the enchantments around it. The dragon didn't have enough time to fight him, as he had started to run the moment the egg was in his hands.
Harry relished in his victory as he ran back towards the tent with a triumphant grin. He turned back towards the angry dragon, §Sorry… this isn't your egg. It's a fake.§ he hissed, low enough for just the dragon to hear.
The Horntail was angry but seeing Harry shake the egg, it seemed to pause for a second. Dragon eggs were heavier and their mothers should have been able to sense it was a fake immediately. So he concluded there were enchantments. During the blast, Harry had conveniently removed all the enchantments and the Horntail immediately deduced it was not a real egg.
To the relief of all the dragon tamers present, the Horntail seemed to calm down and began counting it's eggs.
Harry laughed maniacally, entering the tent and dancing around like a madman. Maybe it wasn't Harry who was laughing. Maybe Harry had passed out.
Had anyone looked closely, they would have seen how his eyes were purple instead of green for a few seconds. Madness fogged his eyes as he fell to a seat and hugged the egg as if it were his own child.
Victory… he thought, closing his eyes and keeping the smile on his face. My game, my win. I win. He thought again. Voices drowned his thoughts, saying the same phrase over and over again.
I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win. I win.
He took in a deep breath and calmed himself down. Emerald hues shone and he was back to himself. His heart pounded against his ribcage, unable to properly contain his excitement. The adrenaline he received from a fight would last long and there was nothing he could do but try to calm the voices within his mind. They loved winning after all.
"Mr. Potter, that was an excellent display of Magic!" His eyes immediately shot open when he heard McGonagall. He grinned at her, already on his feet as he hugged his teacher tight. It seemed to startle the elderly witch, but she chuckled at ran her fingers through his hair.
"Where did you learn that spell? I didn't hear the incantation."
Harry's smile turned stiff but he quickly played it off, "Bought a book in Diagon Alley during the summer. It was about some elemental spells that I wanted to try. Never knew it'd be so damn useful." He chuckled, grinning at McGonagall. He was sure that she was thinking about his father.
"Good on you Potter." Moody grunted, but Harry only smirked.
"Nice and Easy is the way but… well, I'm a Potter." He dismissed the man with a single word and turned his attention back to McGonagall.
He'll deal with Barty Moody later, right now he wanted to use the remainder of what he expected was his adrenaline.
"No injuries? Miraculous if I have anything to say." Madame Pomfrey sternly said. She looked him up and down, and Harry merely complied by spreading his arms open and doing a single turn over to prove he was the only champion unhurt. He was sure all three had a burn somewhere. Madame Pomfrey seemed to be satisfied, waving him away and he joined the rest of the champions.
"Potter! Potter, you were bloody brilliant!" Cedric exclaimed, eyes shining in admiration as he hugged Harry tightly. The Gryffindor went stiff immediately but he tried his best to tolerate the contact. He awkwardly patted Cedric on the back, to which the older boy seemed to notice his discomfort and pulled away.
"Wind Manipulation… Your main attribute is Physical Magic?" Krum asked, tilting his head to the side.
Harry faintly remembered that Viktor was also one of the wixen whose specialty was physical Magic. He, unfortunately for Viktor, shook his head.
"Not really… I'm good at it but it feels of… like a secondary attribute but not the main."
"Understandable."
Cedric blinked, confused as to what they were talking about. "What?"
Harry sighed, Hogwarts has really gone down hill. "There are various kinds of magic. I only learned about it when I was reading some books I bought from Diagon Alley… it's not taught here… not anymore at least." He whispered, to which the two foreigners snapped their heads towards Cedric.
Fleur quickly grabbed hold of Cedric and shoved him into a chair. She them proceeded to explain the basics of the different kind sof magic, what were attributes, and what it meant to have a main attribute or specialty that is.
"I, for example, have Illusion Magic as a main attribute. It is typically part of the charms category but it is rather obscure. The term Illusions is quite broad when it comes to Magic." She explained, "A main attribute is your specialty. Yours is…" she turned to Viktor with a raised brow.
"Physical magic."
"Yes! I shall lend you a book about it later." Fleur huffed, quite outraged that Hogwarts hadn't taught this to their students. "Shall I lend you also?" She asked Harry.
"I already have my own book about that." He smiled, yeah… my head.
"Good boy— it seems like they are calling for us." She was cut off by Bagman announcing their names. She bristled a bit with that, pointing her wand to her hair and face. Fleur returned to her perfect and regal state, smirking at the three boys. "Entering in style will do you good. Can't show them how… disheveled we are." She eyed the dirt on Cedric's clothes, the charred robes of Viktor, and Harry's atrocious hair.
"It's impossible to fix." Harry bluntly stated, pointing to his hair.
Fleur simply shook her head, disappointed as she pointed her wand at the three of them and quickly tidied their appearance. As promised, Harry's hair was a lost cause. She scowled but flipped her own blonde hair and strutted out the tent with a confidence many encied.
In the end, Harry got a ten from Maxime and Bagman, a nine from Crouch and Dumbledore, and a begrudging eight from Karkaroff. He was in first place and he was absolutely smug about it.
"Your specialty isn't Physical Magic?" Viktor asked him, confused as to how that was possible.
"It really isn't." Orpheus chuckled as he grasped at the wind. Purple eyes narrowed as he thrusted his hand forward, not caring that his wand was discarded to the side. He preferred to use his hands over a damn stick— no offense to the wandmakers.
He felt his magic grasp at the molecular structure of the wind, causing him to gulp as he felt his core stretch. Wind had always felt the best to him. It was a malleable but at the same time, it wasn't. He loved the irony of what was wind, or what was wind to him.
"I always preferred fire." Viktor murmured.
Orpheus rolled his eyes.
The magnificence of wind always went unnoticed by people. It was powerful, it was an element that could mix well with the rest, it was an element that they couldn't see… but most of all, it was an element that they breathed . Wind felt like a lifeforce to him, focusing on his own breathing as he moved his hand around.
He moved his hand downward, in a cutting motion. The table in front of them was sliced in half, split by the sharp winds he controlled. Orpheus felt powerful, clenching and unclenching his fist.
The feeling of being powerful did not leave his body until Viktor poked his side. He broke out of his gaze, finally noticing that Viktor had repares the table he sliced in two pieces. He scowled, not liking the prospect that the evidence of his power had been… erased. It was unsatisfying to see.
He snapped his gaze towards Viktor, frowning at his friend. "Don't fix what I've broken."
"Why not?"
Orpheus pursed his lips, looking away.
"If you do then the evidence of my hard work will disappear."
Viktor grimaced… "What's your specialty? We've known each other for almost five years and yet you've never told me."
Orpheus glared at him, "It's better if you don't know… If you did you'll just leave me." He snapped, turning on his heel and grabbing his bag. He checked if his wand was still in it, grumbling as he felt the wooden catalyst of his magic.
No one knew what his specialty was and he was adamant of dying with that secret.
"You won!!"
Harry deadpanned at the twins who were holding a little banner that said such words. The obnoxious red ink that wrote 'YOUR ALIVE' in capital letters made him shake his head in amusement. He let himself be lifted into the air, still grasping the egg and tilting his head. It's not even spelled right. ( You're not Your. )
Ron and Hermione were by the side, grinning at him like madmen. Ron was, oddly enough, collecting some Galleons from their fellow Gryffindors.
"You bet on me?!" He yelled, feigning offense to Ron smugly placing his winnings into a pouch.
Ron smirked, waving the pouch in front of him, unknowing of the consequences… which was a hard slap to the back of his head. Hermione scolded him for being arrogant, turning her sharp gaze to Harry. For a second, Harry thought she'd scold him, but she tackled him into a hug, knocking him to the ground… then she started scolding him.
"You reckless—" her fist collided with his chest, "Irresponsible—" then a punch to the gut, "DANGER SEEKING IDIOT!" his poor face was assaulted by her hand, his precious cheek turning red. She was absolutely brutal as the twins pulled her away from him.
I thought I'd get a hug but I got a slap. He quietly stared at the ceiling, still hugging the damn egg.
Hours later, Harry found himself bathing with the bloody egg in his arms. There was something about it that made him hug it tightly. It was a reminder of something… a little troublesome creature that terrorized his precious sleep, but he loved it anyways. A creepy smile plastered across his face as he opened the egg under water and dumped his head underwater. He heard the mermaids sing .
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you re searching, ponder this:
Wove taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour- the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back"
His head resurfaced from the water after listening to the song in loop for a couple of minutes. He already knew what the answer was. His issue was who his treasure was going to be this time. From what he knew, it usually involved someone the staff saw the champions with. Cho for Cedric. Gabrielle Delacour for Fleur. Hermione… Well, Harry had to restrain himself if it came to Hermione being Viktor's treasure, however he had to think carefully.
Things were different in this world, with more students for Durmstrang having joined them.
He was concerned with who he would treasure his teachers wanted him to seek. It could be Ron again, but there was also the possibility of it being Luna. The thought of Luna, bound and unconscious made him grit his teeth. It was an unpleasant image, quickly ridding his mind of it.
Suddenly, his mind decided to rebel. The image of Luna underwater changed, he didn't see Luna anymore. It was a boy.
His eyes snapped open, blood running cold as he stood up from the tub. His heart pounded in his ribcage, unable to calm himself of the faint memory. It was warped, distorted, but it was the closest thing to the real memory. Bile rose up from his throat, slapping a hand over his mouth as he forced his body to obey. He wouldn't be vomiting, not now at least.
Grabbing his towel, he summoned his clothes. He didn't know whether to grimace or not, but the new sleepwear he bought for himself was cozy… and expensive. The fabric was clearly expensive but he hid his shirt under a hoodie he had also bought from muggle London.
"Harry, mate, are you going to sleep?" Ron asked, yawning.
"In a bit. Why don't you lads rest? I've got too much energy on me." He smiled at his roommates.
Neville was already asleep, Seamus and Dean were trying to sleep and Ron was… nevermind, he was already asleep.
Knowing that the rest of his house were tired from the partying, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and wandered out the common rooms. He hadn't lied when he said he had too much energy. He felt restless, unable to quell whatever was left of his adrenaline. He needed to get rid of it somehow.
So he wandered towards Ravenclaw tower.
He was about to knock, knowing that Luna would be behind the door, but he stopped himself.
You always came to me when you couldn't sleep… Regulus said in a somber tone.
Voice stuck in his throat, he couldn't answer Regulus. It wasn't a lie. Malcolm always went running to Regulus when his body wouldn't listen and just sleep. He came to Regulus, craving for him.
Harry could remember it.
The vividness was terrifying really… how Malcolm would lie on Regulus' bed, hiding behind the curtains and the two wouldn't come out until the next day. Sometimes they would disappear into an empty classroom and Malcolm would hold Regulus until his body grew tired.
It was hard to forget how their bodies just fit.
"Hello darling… " the bitterness in his voice was notable for him. He hadn't responded to the voice in his head.
Luna's eyes peered curiously at him, tilting her head. "You're thinking of someone else right now." She said, offering her hand to him. He did nothing but take it and kisses the back of it.
"Couldn't sleep."
"Couldn't or wouldn't?"
"A little of both."
They stayed there, Harry a foot outside the door while Luna held his hand.
"Sleep… if you cannot, then rest." She said, squeezing his hand. She smiled, "I'll always be here."
Orpheus' voice broke through the silence in his head, you didn't stay for me.
"I know." He hugged her one last time. A few minutes with her was enough for him to go quiet and allow himself rest… even if such rest was a ridiculous thought. His breath stuttered, kissing her forehead as he slowly let her go.
It felt more painful than it should.
"Good night, little moon."
"Good night, my Lord."
Notes:
First chapter of the year! I was far too excited and decided to post this earlier than expected! School is gonna start on Wednesday so please pray for me (who hasn't done any of my assignments because the essence of vacation at me.)
Also, the magic system here is a bit different compared to canon. There are different categories of magic, obviously, but every and all wixen in this story have a specific affinity. Example: Malcolm has an affinity to Physical Magic, which is magic that manipulates the physicalities like Elements. Regulus has the affinity or attribute to Mind Magic, so Occlumency, legilimency, and even controlling his own emotions through magic.
I'll flesh out the kinds of magic in later chapters. I should have done that in the earlier chapters but I didn't know how to properly explain it at that point.
Malcolm and Regulus had an... Interesting relationship. That will also be revealed in later chapter, hehe.
Anyways! Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!