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Harry Potter: The Artisan's Path Chapter 29
🕑 Added 2023-07-25 10:47:49 +0000 UTCHi all,
Here’s the next chapter. Harry has lost his ability to see who is in the castle, and the club makes a discovery in the Room of Hidden Things.
16th November
Harry descended the staircase into a crowded common room filled with students. Every seat was taken, leaving the rest standing together in small groups, engrossed in conversation. His grandmother stood near the entrance, her face wearing a stern expression. Although some might mistake it for anger, Harry had become adept at deciphering her expressions, and he could see that she was actually worried.
His curiosity was piqued. Normally, he was one of the first to wake up, but today he had overslept a bit. By this time, the students would typically be in the Great Hall enjoying breakfast.
Scanning the room, he spotted Daphne standing alongside Hermione and Tracy. His girlfriend appeared unsettled, a faint furrow forming between her brows.
"What's happening?" Harry inquired, joining Daphne's side.
"There was an incident last night," Daphne explained. "Several trolls managed to enter the castle, and the Auror on patrol was badly injured while attempting to subdue them."
“Trolls? Where did they come from? The Forbidden Forest?”
“No, they come from the mountains outside the boundaries of Hogwarts,” Daphne explained. “They are not known to come this far into the Hogwarts grounds.”
"Why is my grandmother standing there?" Harry asked, wrapping an arm around Daphne's waist. "Are the trolls still loose in the castle?"
"No, but she wants to address the students before we leave the common room," Hermione replied. "What do you think might be going on? How did the trolls get through the castle without tripping the wards?"
"That's the million-dollar question," Tracy said. "This year has already been tumultuous. What other trouble do we have to look forward to?"
Harry glanced at the other students in the common room. They didn't seem too worried. After all, they hadn't witnessed the excitement firsthand. Most students were likely safely in their beds when the trolls attacked. It could have happened around the time he and Daphne had returned to the common room.
Judging by Daphne's expression, she was thinking the same thing. "Do you think we would have encountered them if Wobny hadn't brought us straight into the common room?"
"Who knows?" Harry shrugged.
Professor McGonagall interrupted the students' chatter. "May I have your attention, please?"
The students fell silent and turned towards her. They wanted more news on what was happening.
"Are all the Gryffindor's here?" McGonagall asked. "I don't want to repeat myself a second time."
"Dean Thomas is still in bed," Harry informed her. Among the five boys in their dormitory room, Dean was known for being the last to rise.
"There are a few others missing," Percy Weasley noted, scanning the room.
"Mr Weasley, Miss Bell, could you please wake up the students who are still in bed?" They followed her instructions and headed back upstairs. Soon, they returned with the remaining students.
Once everyone was present, Professor McGonagall addressed the crowd.
"In case you weren't aware, there was an incident last night. Five trolls breached the castle and damaged some infrastructure on the first floor. The Auror on duty attempted to restrain them but was injured. He wasn't conscious when his colleagues and professors arrived to aid him. They were able to subdue the trolls and return them to the mountains. Thankfully, they did not get anywhere near the student dormitories."
Hermione raised her hand, and Professor McGonagall acknowledged her. "How did the trolls enter the castle?"
"The Aurors are currently investigating," she responded. "Our focus is on examining the wards to determine the location of the castle breach."
Percy asked a good question. "Why wasn't the Headmaster notified about the breach? I presume he is connected to the Wards."
Professor McGonagall didn’t like that question, evident by the way her mouth turned down. Nevertheless, she felt obligated to answer since the students were paying close attention to her. "The Headmaster has encountered difficulties with the Wards since he was tied into them. Consequently, the breach was unnoticed."
Harry recalled Headmaster Flitwick mentioning previous issues with the Wards. How was it possible that, even months after assuming control, he still experienced difficulties? Dumbledore certainly left his mark before his escape.
One of the students voiced his concern, asking, "Will the school be closed again?"
"No, considering no students were injured,” Professor McGonagall replied, "and there is no suspicion of foul play, there is no justification to close the school."
"Given the Ministry's track record, it seems like another student would need to die before they even consider such action," Harry whispered into Daphne's ear.
"You're probably right,” Daphne nodded in agreement.
“I will escort you down to the Great Hall,” Professor McGonagall said. “You have ten minutes to get ready, so don’t procrastinate."
There was a mad scramble as the students rushed up the stairs. As he already had his bag with him, he didn't have to risk life and limb to fight his way through the crowd.
"Harry," his grandmother said, beckoning him over.
He let go of Daphne's waist and approached her.
Leaning close to keep their conversation private, his grandmother delivered the news. "Harry, your map was stolen last night."
"What?!" Harry nearly shouted, but then quickly hushed his voice. "You don't think the trolls stole it?"
"No, someone else was involved. The trolls may have been a diversion," she explained.
"It appears foul play was at hand," Harry said. "Who else knows about the map? There's only a small number of people who could be responsible."
"We can trust Remus and Sirius. They would never do such a thing," she replied. "Madam Bones and the Aurors are also unlikely suspects, although I can't rule them out entirely."
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Harry questioned. "Peter Pettigrew. He used to be a Marauder as well."
His grandmother sucked in a breath. "How is it even possible? How could he have gained access to the castle when the Aurors sealed all the hidden entrances on the map?"
"They same way the trolls did?" Harry shrugged. "There are likely some entrances not marked on the map. The Chamber of Secrets isn't included. Why don't you ask Sirius how the map was made? He might have some insights into how Pettigrew gained access to the castle."
It really made Harry nervous that someone else had his map. This allowed them to track anyone in the castle, and do all kinds of malicious things. If it was really Peter Pettigrew, he should be concerned. He had already been spotted in Godric's Hollow for an unknown reason. Since he had already hurt their family once, it wasn't hard to imagine him doing it again.
“That’s an excellent idea,” she said with a smile. “So, someone informed me that you and Daphne were out late last night.”
“We're having dinner together,” Harry replied, turning his head to hide his red face.
“I see,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “Did you see anything on your way back? ”
Harry shook his head. “We had Wobny pop us back into the common room. It gave us some extra time to spend together.”
“I just realised that I hadn't addressed the matter regarding how females and males relate to one another.”
Harry realised where this conversation was going. Oh, hell no. “That’s okay, I don’t need a speech. I am already well informed about how everything works."
How long could they speak about it without saying it directly?
“I will be the judge of that. I want to see you after classes today.”
Harry sulked. Why did his grandmother insist on embarrassing him?
=-=-=-=-=-=
November 19th
Over the next couple of days, Harry walked around the castle in a state of trepidation. Losing the map really upset him. His overactive imagination made him think he was about to encounter something around every corner. Still, he was somewhat reassured by his ability to sense danger.
He wasn’t the only nervous one. The professors looked on edge, as well as the Aurors patrolling the castle. The Auror that had been attacked was back, looking both vigilant and a nervous wreck. Whenever he picked up Fawkes from the Headmaster's office, Flitwick appeared tired and dispirited. The Wards took up a lot of his attention, and other areas of his duties were neglected.
Harry spent a lot of time in the Room of Requirement when not in class. Instead of working on something completely different, he repaired items to gain experience towards his next level.
He wondered why all the broken furniture had been placed here when magic could repair them easily. The only thing he could think of was that over time, the student population decreased and some subjects were abandoned, leaving empty classrooms. The House Elves' obsession with cleanliness led them to dump the broken furniture in the Room of Requirement.
He started with furniture since that was the easiest to repair. He brought tools back from home and placed them in the crafting room he had in the Room of Requirement. While he couldn’t use electric tools, he found ways around it.
Harry knew that some furniture would be easier to fix with a Reparo Charm, though it would cost him some magic. However, he was more interested in fixing them the mundane way. Not only did it keep his skills sharp, but he also gained experience from it. The next level was a real grind, so anything to earn some easy experience would be helpful. Still, some of his maintenance skills had levelled up as a result of his hard work. Overall, his skills looked great. He had come a long way since obtaining the Source.
======
Passive Skills
***Mental Resistance 2 [xxxx] - It gives the host the passive ability to resist any magic that seeks to manipulate, control or alter their mind in some way. The second level allows the player to detect intrusions into the host's mind from practitioners of Legilimency, but not the ability to counter them. This skill cannot be levelled normally, so the next level must be acquired by other means.
***Dexterity 3 [4820/8000] - Basically, it refers to how skilled and graceful the host is with his hands. This greatly affects all crafting professions and activities that require dexterity. Level two increases the speed at which the host can inscribe runes, with a fair degree of accuracy.
***Animagus [xxxx] - An Animagus is a skill that allows the host to turn into an animal at will. The animal form is not chosen by the host but determined by their personality and inner traits. Depending on the form he takes, he may gain some physical aspects of the animal itself.
**Elder Futhark 2 [176/4000] - The Elder Futhark is the oldest of all Germanic runic scripts and is the most commonly used in magical texts and enchantments. This skill shows the player has a basic understanding of the alphabet and how they translate into other languages. At higher skill levels, the player will instinctively understand how runes can be combined to create compatible runic sequences and arrays.
**Steady Hands [xxxx] - It works alongside Dexterity to provide the host with unparalleled skill when working with his hands. Allows for a greater degree of control when inscribing runes on harder surfaces such as stone or metal. Additionally, it eliminates the risk of developing conditions like tendinitis and reduces the pain caused by prolonged use of the hands.
Technical Skills
*Maintenance 2 [140/1000] - The maintenance skill determines the host's expertise in inspecting, diagnosing and solving problems with various items and equipment. It also affects the hosts' ability to perform basic repairs on them or take preventative measures to ensure their longevity.
**Construction 2 [1771/2000] - Construction consists of a wide range of skills that assist in the building and assembly of something, either through the use of your hands or using machines. At the first level, the skill only aids in small projects, but they increase in size and complexity at higher levels.
*Dismantling 2 [122/1000] - The art of scavenging, recycling, and repurposing parts of objects, such as machines or furniture, to use for something else. Determines the host's ability to quickly and efficiently break something down while recovering the maximum amount of materials possible from an object.
*Calligraphy 4 [1510/4000] - The art of calligraphy can be defined as beautiful, stylised, and elegant handwriting that is done with a pen, quill, brush, and ink. There may be situations in which this skill can be applied in other fields as well.
Drawing 1 [390/500] - Drawing is an art or technique in which images are created on a surface, usually paper, by means of marks made with a variety of tools, typically ink, graphite, chalk, charcoal, or crayon. The higher the skill levels, the more complex and artistic the images the host is able to create.
*Leatherworking 1 [480/500] - Leatherworking is the art of producing leather goods using several skills such as stitching, cutting, and edge finishing. Depending on the quality of the materials, and the host’s skills, some truly incredible pieces can be made. The higher the skill level, the easier it is to design and craft more ambitious projects.
======
He was surprised he didn’t gain a woodworking skill from repairing all the furniture. His only guess is that there was a specific requirement to create woodworking pieces before he could learn the skill.
When would the skills max out? Or would they continue to increase indefinitely? If he had to guess, it would probably be level five. Skills like Dexterity were already overpowered, and it was only level three.
Today, he wanted to take a break from repairing things, as he had another thing to do. Although he wasn’t creating anything new at the moment, he had an idea to acquire some rare materials.
Harry walked up to Hagrid’s cabin. His door was shut, but smoke was coming out of the chimney, so he knocked on the door.
“Gimme a minute,” Hagrid called.
Harry tilted his head in confusion when he heard scrambling noises from inside. What was he doing in there? Had he caught him at a bad time?
The door opened and Hagrid stood there, holding Fang back from pouncing on Harry. He shifted from side to side and looked over his shoulder. He almost rolled his eyes. Hagrid was so transparent, it wasn't funny. Could it be more obvious that he was up to something?
“Hagrid, got something to hide?” Harry teased him.
Hagrid blanched, shooting a nervous glance around like he thought someone was watching. He ushered Harry into his cabin and slammed the door. Finally released from his confinement, Fang slammed Harry into the ground and licked his face.
“Get off Fang,” Harry shoved the dog’s broad head off him.
“He likes yer, he does," Hagrid said, pulling Fang off Harry and helping him to his feet.
Immediately, he sweated. The cabin felt like a sauna, and it was unbearably hot. The fireplace was ablaze, but it shouldn’t have been enough to produce the heat it gave off. Then he noticed that blue was mixed in with the orange flames. Is that a magical fire?
“Hagrid, do you really feel that cold?” Harry looked around and noticed that his curtains were closed. Although it's daytime, it's not that unusual. But when you take Hagrid’s other odd behaviour into account, it was certainly suspicious.
“Of course. I've always had thin skin. The winter is rough on me,” Hagrid said, feigning a cough.
Harry wanted to question him more but spotted a blanket on Hagrid’s bed. It was wrapped in a rough ball. He approached the bed, but Hagrid got in front of him. He moved surprisingly quickly for such a big guy.
“Hagrid, you may as well tell me,” Harry said, wiping sweat off his face. “I am not leaving until you do. I will pass out from the heat soon. Do you want that on your conscience?”
“Yer promise to keep it secret?"
“As long as it doesn't endanger anyone," Harry replied.
Hagrid sighed. He unrolled the ball to reveal a massive egg. It was pitch black, with a segmented pattern similar to scales.
“Hagrid, what is that?” Harry poked the egg. He yelped as the heat from the egg burned his finger.
"It is an egg of a dragon," Hagrid said with a massive grin. “Found it in the Forbidden Forest.”
“You found a dragon egg in the Forbidden Forest,” Harry said. Of course, he did. This was Hagrid after all. “Are there dragons in the forest?”
“Not usually,” Hagrid replied. He picked up the egg and placed it in the fire. “But the forest is huge. One could have moved in without anyone knowing.”
“Hagrid, you cannot keep it,” Harry said. “I’m sure there are laws against owning a dragon.”
Hagrid folded his arm, his face filled with a stubborn expression. “Don’t yer mind. I ain’t hurting anybody.”
“Yet,” Harry stressed. “Need I remind you that you were recently suspended for the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco?"
“I was innocent.”
Harry wouldn't accuse anyone that caused the forest to be overrun with Acromantula to be innocent, but he kept silent. It would just lead to an argument about them being harmless beasts.
“Just think about it,” Harry suggested. “At some point, the dragon will grow too much, and you won’t be able to hide it. There must be someone who can take it off your hands.”
Hagrid nodded, but Harry didn’t think he was listening. Harry gave up for the moment. At least the dragon hadn’t hatched yet. He still had some time.
“I came here for another reason,” Harry said and opened the front door. “Let’s talk outside before I pass out from the heat.”
Hagrid followed him outside and around to the corral where the unicorns were kept. The herds were huddled in tight clusters as if guarding against something beyond their sight. A foal poked its head through the unicorn's legs and looked at Harry curiously.
Harry smiled at the sight. Watching something so pure and innocent was soothing, like snuggling up to a fire on a cold winter's day.
“Hagrid, I wish to make an exchange with the unicorns,” Harry said. “Anything that is renewable and doesn't harm the unicorn, like outgrown horns."
“Yer sound like Professor Snape,” Hagrid said, his beard twitching as he chuckled.
“What?” What a blasphemous statement. “I suppose he wants them for his potions.”
“That’s right,” Hagrid said. “But I told him it was up to them. Unicorns don’t need to communicate in a normal way. They can understand yer intentions well enough just by looking at yer."
“Did Snape get anything?”
“Nope,” Hagrid grinned. “They don't like him. Kept running away whenever he approached them.”
“Why am I not surprised?" Harry muttered. “Well, I can only try my luck.”
Harry approached the fence. If what Hagrid said was true, the unicorns would understand that he wanted to make a trade. He didn’t know what he could provide for them in return. What did a unicorn need anyway?
The unicorns were standoffish at first, looking at him warily. Harry patiently waited by the fence, waiting to see if they would approach on their own. The foal from earlier poked its head out again and stared at him. It stepped out from the protection of the unicorn's legs and slowly approached him. One of the adults broke off from the herd and followed it.
"Hello there," Harry greeted the foal. He crouched down and reached through the fence. The foal breathed into his hand. Harry patted its head, and it bumped its head against his hand insistently to get more. Its coat felt smooth and soft, with a slight waxy feeling. Like silk.
A burst of flames appeared above his head, and the two unicorns flinched. Harry didn’t react as Fawkes appeared. He was used to the Phoenix flaming in from out of nowhere. He soared through the air before resting on Harry’s shoulder.
“Can I help you?” Harry asked, stroking his feathers.
Fawkes cooed at him, but his eyes were fixed on the unicorns. His appearance seemed to affect them, and they slowly approached the fence collectively.
Harry watched them as they seemed to be communicating with Fawkes. After a couple of minutes, Fawkes turned to him and sent him a series of images. Harry had to think hard to interpret all the information.
“There's a darkness in the forest that hunts them...I already know this. They don’t feel safe here. They need a new place to live, and they will give me some of their discarded horns, hair and blood, freely given.”
Harry was astounded by that last one. It was extremely rare because it was usually harvested from a dead unicorn. It was always in short supply because unicorns were notoriously elusive.
“Find you another place to live, huh?" Harry pondered the problem. “I may know the place, but it will take some work to get you there. Not to mention illegal.”
If this worked out, he would score some serious brownie points with Gabrielle.
Fawkes communicated with him again. It seemed like Harry missed something in the previous translation. The darkness the unicorns referred to had the figure of a man with two faces. What could that mean?
=-=-=-=-=-=
November 21st
It was the weekend again, and the club met in the Room of Requirement. They wanted to discuss their progress before they got to work in the Room of Hidden Things.
“Alright, the first official club meeting is now in session,” Hermione announced at the head of the table. She had some folders in her hand. “We have many topics to discuss today, so pay attention.”
Harry had installed one of the long tables in the room with the plinth at Hermione’s request. Had he known she would use it to be totally authoritarian, he might have refused.
“I thought this was just a meeting to discuss our progress with the Room of Hidden Things,” Susan said.
“Why does it have to be official?” Tracy questioned.
“Is there going to be homework?” Hannah raised her hand.
“I don’t want to be part of any boring meetings,” Tonks whined.
“Quiet,” Hermione barked. “Until now, we have been very lackadaisical about our club duties. If we want to grow and engage in more activities, then we need to be more organised.”
“More activities?” Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like getting the school updated Quidditch brooms,” Hermione said. “We can do so much to improve Hogwarts if we use our intellect.”
“I fear we have unleashed a monster,” Padma sighed. “Shiva, please protect us from our own folly.”
Hermione slapped her hands on the table. “Will you take this seriously?”
“We are only taking the piss, Hermione,” Harry assured her. He thought so, at least.
“I am actually interested in a more active role in this club,” Terry said. “If we make go public with it, we may get extra credit for anything that has some academic merit.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Hermione said with a pout.
“Do we really want to go public?” Harry asked. "Many students will want to join. We have secrets to keep, and the more people we add, the more likely those secrets will get out.”
They fell silent as they considered the dilemma.
“Well, we don’t have to give up the secret of the Room of Requirement,” Daphne finally said. “We just need to find another location to use as a club room.”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Hermione gushed, writing it down in her notebook. She handed the folders around the table, and everyone opened them curiously. There was a page filled with notes about what would be discussed at the meeting.
“I haven’t really thought of the club’s structure in terms of specific roles,” Hermione said. “We can determine that as we go along.”
“Looks like you have appointed yourself the club president,” Tracy said dryly.
Hermione flushed. “Of course not. I just like to be organised.”
“Well, since this is her initiative, I say we give it to Hermione,” Harry said. “I don’t have time to run a club with all my extracurricular activities outside of classes."
“We need a vote,” Hermione said with shining eyes. “It’s only fair.”
Despite what she said, nobody would vote against her in the mood she was in. After that was decided, they began the actual meeting.
“First order of business,” Hermione said. “What is our progress in sorting out the Room of Hidden Things?”
“We must be at least halfway there,” Terry said. “It’s difficult to judge since we have found a lot of large furniture that takes up a lot of space.”
“I think we are about fifty to sixty percent done," Harry replied. He had an eye for these things since he hung out in a junk shop.
“It should take us a couple more months if we continue at our current pace,” Daphne said.
“There’s no need to rush unless somebody is in desperate need of funds,” Hannah joked.
“Speaking of funds, we need to start looking for buyers for all the items we have,” Hermione said. “It’s not going to be easy to sell some of this stuff off.”
"Most of the furniture isn't magical," Harry replied. “And some are considered antiques. We can find buyers in the Muggle World.”
“I can write my parents a letter asking them to do some research,” Hermione said, noting it down. “What about all the banned items thrown in there? Like dangerous toys and prank items?”
“Give them to Fred and George Weasley,” Harry shrugged, only half joking.
The horrified silence that followed that statement showed what everyone thought about that suggestion.
“Let’s skip those for now,” Hermione said. “What about all the old clothes and uniforms?”
“Burn them,” Tonks suggested.
“Well she is not wrong,” Padma said. “Most of them are not worth keeping. The uniforms may have some value, however.”
“I would hold onto the uniforms,“ Daphne agreed. “We may be able to do something with them, despite how horrendous they look.”
“As if modern robes are any better," Susan snorted. "They are only slightly updated from what was around a century ago."
“Let’s just get the rest sorted before we decide what to do with them,” Harry said. “They won’t be going anywhere.”
“Very well,” Hermione said. “The next subject is the progress with the sales of the brooms. Has anyone spoken to Madam Hooch?”
“It will take a while to sell them all,” Padma pointed out. “We won’t see any results before the new year.”
“Lauren is already setting up her newspaper,” Harry said. “It should be ready soon. She won’t wait around until we are ready, though. So we won’t be featuring in the debut.”
“That’s a shame,” Hermione sighed. “Moving onto our progress with Occlumency. We have been practising on our own for a while now, so I wanted to get an idea…”
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
They entered the Room of Hidden Things and got to work. The room looked a lot more empty now that they had moved so many of the items into school trunks. It gave them plenty of room to work with, unlike when they first started.
They split up into smaller groups so as not to get in everyone’s way. Harry was with Daphne and Susan. They began by moving furniture down from a precarious stack. Daphne carefully floated them down while the other two watched for any items that fell.
By now, they had learned a general detection charm that worked on most low-powered cursed items. Since they were items that students had lost, they were not expecting anything too dangerous.
They were about to eat their words.
Harry's head jerked up as he heard a scream coming from the other side of the room.
“Was that Terry?” Susan asked, her face pale.
Everyone rushed towards his location. Terry, Hermione and Padma were working on the other side of the room. They were partially hidden in a clove formed from the piles of items stacked together. Tonks was the first to reach them, her wand out at the ready.
Harry turned the corner to find a disturbing sight. Terry was writhing on the floor, clutching at a silver tiara on his head. Hermione was sprawled out on the ground in front of him, crying. Padma stood nearby, frozen in horror.
It was immediately apparent that the tiara was the cause of Terry’s suffering.
“We need to get the tiara off him,” Harry shouted as the others watched on, unable to react to the urgent situation.
“I’m trying,” Tonks growled. “The thing is resisting any attempts to remove it with my magic. I don’t want to touch it with my hands.”
Terry looked up, and Harry felt his heart skip a beat. Terry’s green eyes had turned an angry red, and his face was twisted into a snarl. Whatever the tiara was doing to him, it was happening very quickly.
Harry rushed forward, ignoring his friend's calls to come back. He reached down and grabbed the tiara and tried to pull it off.
Instantly, he felt his mind being invaded. It felt like the Omniscient Mind’s Eye that he used to practice his Legilimency. Except it was extremely hostile and vile in nature. Harry quickly raised his meagre Occlumency shields, but they shattered almost instantaneously. The thing broke through his surface thoughts and delved into his subconsciousness.
The thing began sifting through his mind, searching for his memories. It was invasive and left him feeling violated in the most awful way possible. Worst of all, some of the attacker’s feelings were bleeding over into his, and Harry was inundated with various scenes of torture and killing. It was so traumatic that he felt his mind beginning to break from the strain.
You are mine now, a voice hissed. Obey me now. Kill the others in this room. OBEY ME!
NO!
The tiara came free from Terry’s head and Harry chucked it away quickly. Falling to the ground, he emptied the contents of his stomach on the ground.
“Harry,” Daphne screamed, rushing forward.
“I am alright,” Harry tried to reassure her, but the words refused to come out. He fell into darkness.
So, what do you think? How much aftereffect will the Horcrux have on Terry and Harry. Will they discover what it is?
Thanks for reading.
