[P]-[W]-[M]
Jonathan Grey
[P]-[W]-[M]
Obviously, we left Harry behind. Though Perenelle happily decided to stay and keep the disgruntled boy company, seeing it as a chance to actually do some teaching instead of learning for a change.
A House-Elf-pop later, me Kreacher [Disapparated] us to a windswept cliffside where the sea below crashed against the rocks, with a jagged black opening yawning in the cliff face.
"This is it," Sirius muttered, narrowing his eyes as he looked around the entrance. "Where it all went wrong for Regulus…"
Well, actually, joining Snake Face was 'where it all went wrong for Regulus', but okay.
I remained silent, leaving Sirius to his thoughts as I stepped forward while Nicolas raised his wand, murmuring a few quiet incantations. A faint shimmer broke across the cave's invisible threshold, glowing for a moment before dissipating like morning mist.
"The entrance wards are removed," the Alchemist said, lowering his wand. "We may enter. But, there are several more inside, so be aware. I have refrained from disabling or even touching the other wards as they seem to be linked with magics inside."
Sirius clenched his fist but said nothing. A few nods later, we all took our wands out and made our way inside, fighting the cave's unnatural darkness the deeper we went with wand lighting charms. As we walked, my eyes scanned the walls, occasionally lifting my wand to reveal hidden glyphs, runes, and subtle shimmering of magic across the floor and ceiling.
"There's another one here," I said, gesturing to what some would think just looked like a patch of moss. "This one's an enchantment that we can't just walk past without dealing with, though."
We stopped, letting Nicolas crouch to inspect the area as Remus and Sirius busied themselves looking for more in the same area. While I could have done it myself, and much quicker, I let the ancient man do his thing.
"Much like some of the Wards, it's linked to some further inside," he confirmed. "If one is set off, the rest trigger in succession — it will take time to remove."
Sirius let out an aggravated huff. "Or we can just—" He raised his wand. "Blast it. Be done with all this. If we destroy it quickly enough, it won't have time to send a signal."
Nicolas raised a calm hand, halting him. "I would advise against that" he said gently. "The enchantments are layered, reactive and may very well cause the others to trigger when they stop sensing this one's activity. You could send the Horcrux somewhere unreachable, or it may or may not cause damage to the late Lord's body."
Lips pressed into a tight line, Sirius hesitated before sighing and lowering his wand when Remus placed a hand on his arm.
Stepping forward, I knelt beside the glyphs. "Not to worry, Sirius. It shouldn't take long," I reassured, already meticulously pulling at the threads of the magic. "So long as we're precise and don't rush, we'll be through in no time."
In the corner of my eyes, I could see Nicolas watching with an impressed glint in his eye as I began dissecting the enchantments, layer by layer. Not wanting to stand by and do nothing, he started waving his own wand, joining me in dismantling the magic while using it as a learning opportunity.
Remus, the more knowledgeable of the living Marauder duo in regard to counter curses, provided occasional insights and counter-runes of his own. While he wasn't nearly as skilled, powerful, or knowledgeable as Nicolas, the extra pair of hands allowed Nicolas to finish the parts I delegated to him to make him feel useful. It was the best solution I could think of to prevent the old man from crying again.
Together, the three of us worked seamlessly, finishing in minutes. While we left the curse and runes active enough to ensure the others don't trigger, the trap itself was reset to make sure it wouldn't kill us all. When the path was safe, we moved deeper, doing the same to the others as we came across them.
Soon enough, we went through a narrow tunnel which eventually opened into a massive, echoing cavern housing an eerily still and pitch-black lake, with a small stone island at its centre. While Nicolas and Remus raised their wands and made gentle sweeping motions to check for traps, I already knew what they were going to say, either due to what I saw in the movies or what I was magically sensing right now.
"Well, I can confirm the Inferi are definitely down there," Nicolas confirmed gravely. "Dozens — hundreds even. Enchanted to awaken at the slightest disturbance — especially from spells like Accio or ripples in the water."
"Those poor souls," I heard Remus mutter under his breath. I couldn't blame him either. Considering who we were dealing with, the Inferi were most likely animated using the bodies of innocent Muggles or Muggleborns. With a sad shake of his head, the werewolf then began pacing slowly along the edge of the cavern, wand out, searching for any more surprises by casting a sequence of revealing charms. "There," he said, pointing off to the side, near the cavern wall. "There's a boat enchanted to be invisible."
Stepped closer to the edge, I studied the still lake enchanted to mask and the necromantic energy from the reanimated corpses, finding them disappointing. Even though I had yet to actually use it, compared to my [Dead Thrall] spell, the Inferi magic was disappointing in almost every way. The only thing it had going for it was probably the lower magic requirement.
Taking an elegant Beskar cylinder hilt from the [Hoard], I thumbed the ignition of the lightsabre, letting the translucent blade burst to life from the emitter without so much as a thrum. Only the subtle haze in the air hinted at the weapon's presence, though the others would be hard-pressed to see it with how dark it was in the cave. "Well, I've decided," I said. "It'd be too annoying to deal with every trap and ward between us and that island. I'll just deal with the Inferi, and we can casually make our way across without worry."
Nicolas raised an eyebrow. "Going to use Fiendfyre, Firestorm, or perhaps the Dragon-flame spell you spoke of that one time? I've always wanted to witness those Dragon-based spells — fascinating concepts by the way, if not lacking in control in some ways."
I knew this would happen. Show a magic nerd the first word of the [Unrelenting Force] shout, and he'll bring up dragon shouts whenever he can to see some more. I gave the man a small shake of my head and lifted the hilt. "Nah," I said. "Just going to do a bit of extra cardio."
Remus and Sirius exchanged a look as they watched our exchange, while Nicolas squinted at the device, tilting his head. "I will admit, that seems like a rather… oddly large wand," he said with a thoughtful frown. "Though I've never heard of one made of metal. A physical weapon then — a staff that expands from the ends?"
At this, Sirius, Remus, and even Kreacher — who had been obediently just following behind us — leaned in, studying the hilt with open confusion.
"Close, but it's not a wand, and it's much cooler than a staff," I said with a dry smile. "Not that staffs aren't cool, I've seen a red one before and it was wielded by a badass. But no, it's called a lightsabre. Think of it like a laser sword."
The older wizard's eyes widened in wonder. "A sword made of light?" Nicolas whispered, now genuinely astonished. He slowly reached out, his fingers hovering close to the blade. "How does it contain and cause damage to physical objects? I see no binding magic and Inferi's weakness if fire not—"
I instantly snapped the hilt back, pulling it away from Nicolas' grasp. "Careful," I warned. "It's active. It's just… the blade is translucent. You nearly lost your hand."
"Ah," Nicolas immediately pulled his hand back, touching the back of his head in embarrassment. "My apologies," he murmured. "My curiosity gets the better of me sometimes, hehehe."
I shook my head in exasperation, not really surprised at his behaviour, having spent the last few weeks with him and his wife. "Don't worry about it. It's not magic — it's science. A containment field keeps the plasma loop stabilised."
"...Fascinating," Nicolas muttered, but he stepped back as instructed.
"... what the bloody hell is a plasma or whatever bollocks they just said?" Sirius whispered to Remus, who looked just as confused as he did.
"Honestly, I have no clue," Remus replied absentmindedly, still squinting at the object in my hand. "I did well in muggle studies, but evidently not well enough to understand or even remember anything he just said. It must be mastery-level muggle stuff."
"Alright—fall back a bit," I ordered, ignoring the chatter. "Keep your wands ready and conjure fire if any of them make it past me. Though I don't think they will."
With a unified nod, Nicolas, Remus, Sirius, and even the eager but surprisingly silent Kreacher took several steps back toward the tunnel mouth, wands raised, and magic already primed for use. Slowly raising my wand-holding off-hand, I casually flicked the eager foci as a loose stone lying near the water's edge, levitating it over the lake and dropping it with a muted plunk.
A beat of silence later, there was a ripple in what was an unusually flat lake surface, one not caused by any move of mine. Then the ripples started to multiply, and my enhanced eyes saw hundreds of pale, decaying hands and faces making their way to the top, some already breaching the surface. They moved slowly at first, ghastly forms swimming upward like rotting shadows. But, as they began to climb from the water, clawing onto the rocky shore, they immediately set their sight on my waiting form.
I didn't rush, taking my time to take a comfortable stance. Then, channelling my magic to the semi-living wood in my palm, a coiling whip of fire erupted from the tip—hissing, crackling with controlled fiery fury. With a snap, I lashed it forward, incinerating the first few Inferi that dared get close. Those which made it close enough were sliced cleanly through with a light-sabre, leaving cauterised limbs, torsos and heads in their place.
[Defeat Inferi: +300 SP] x11
The ghostfire blade cut through them like butter, leaving rotting bodies to fall limp before I would telekinetically send them back into the lake, allowing them to sink back into the depths. But they came in droves. More Inferi lunged from the water and rocks, and I moved to meet them — not feeling nearly enough danger to even consider it a threat. It was even less challenging than the fight with the Vampires, but fun was fun, and I had yet to do a test on my lightsabre.
With flipping vaults, spinning rolls, and acrobatic manoeuvres that blurred the line between duellist and dancer, I sliced, burned, and disintegrated anything that got close. My footwork was fluid, instinctive, honed like the seasoned combatant Revan had trained to be. My fire whip curled around necks and limbs, pulling Inferi apart as I cut a swath through their numbers.
[Defeat Inferi: +300 SP] x34
'Mute for now, System.' I thought, trying to enjoy the cardio the best I could.
A few slipped past. But with the Force, I didn't even need to look to notice them — I simply reached out with a sharp wave of my wand, and the Inferi were yanked backwards mid-lunge, floating for a heartbeat before being bisected by a swift cleave of my sabre.
More continued to rise, but with every passing second, my pace never slowed. If anything, it got faster as I got into a groove of sorts. It was a nice dance of fire. Then, the last Inferi fell. I stood at the lake's edge, not winded in the slightest. Sending a brief glance to the water, I sensed for more 'living' inferi, finding none. No new movement.
With a nod, I deactivated the lightsabre and stowed the hilt back into the [Hoard] as I cancelled the fire whip spell, letting it dissipate into nothingness before turning to the others. "It's done," he said. "I don't sense any more of them lurking around down there."
I didn't get a reply. For some reason, they had chosen that moment to just collectively gawk at me. Sirius blinked, wand still half-raised and eyes wide in disbelief. While Remus, Nicolas and even Kreacher looked just as stunned.
"You're not… I mean, aren't you supposed to be a nerd?" Sirius finally asked, confused and astonished at the same time. "I mean, a super nerd, yes. Very skilled and knowledgeable. But, Merlin!"
I raised an amused eyebrow and let out a light chuckle. "I am," I said with a shrug. "I'm just a nerd with options. You know, one of the nerdiest people I read about spends most of his time working out, studying, and fighting bad guys."
"Indeed," Nicolas agreed with a sagely nod. "The Batman and that Sherlock Holmes gentleman are a wonderful example of a good balance between a knowledge seeker, a combatant and a crime fighter. Though, he seemed to seek knowledge in order to be a better combatant rather than for knowledge's sake. But, Aurors do the same, so, each to their own."
"Batman? Sherlock?" Sirius asked. "Who are they?"
"Muggle literature," Remus chimed in, gaining a raised eyebrow from Sirius. "Lily introduced me to Sherlock back in the day." He explained, receiving a solemn but understanding nod from Sirius before tuning to the Alchemist. "I'll admit I've never read anything about the Batman fellow, but I'll assume he's similar. I'll look out for it."
"Good taste, my good man," Nicolas praised cheerfully, patting the werewolf on the back. While it was most definitely my fault Nicolas was slowly turning into a comic book nerd, I'd be lying if I said I disagreed with his taste.
"Right, now that the inferi have been dealt with," I said, gesturing toward the invisible boat off to the side. "Let's move on to the other order of business."
Removing the illusion placed the small boat designed to fit only two people, I decided to just float us all to the other side, saving time in the process. We reached the island in seconds. It was small, circular, with jagged rocks and cold to the touch. At its centre stood the bowl-shaped basin on a raised stone pedestal, as I expected. Though, I don't remember the potion shimmering inside being green, but I just assumed it was book or alternate reality related.
Nicolas frowned as he stepped forward, scanning the basin and pedestal with a series of magical detection charms. "The potion is heavily cursed, but surprisingly not in itself fatal," he said. "Likely the same one your elf mentioned… the one young Regulus drank. Causes extreme pain and significantly weakens the body, forcing it into a need for water, and as we know, a disturbance in the lake invites the Inferi."
Stepping beside the basin, I gave it a glance before shifting my focus to the small black chest at the bottom, [Observe] informing me of what I already knew from the movies and Kreacher's recounting of the events. "Definitely the fake in there. We can leave it be. He and his followers will be in for a surprise when they get here."
Sirius glanced at the basin, the chest, and scowled. "This is where he died, then," he muttered, before joining Kreacher in frantically looking around. "I don't see a body."
"I'll search for the body," I said, taking a seat on one of the rocks and sending our a blanket of magic to find a body that wasn't inferi. "It shouldn't take long to find him, then we can finish up and get back."
While I was on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to bring the man back to life, there were secrets he may have had in his head, and if I could get a pardon for him, he may be able to put other Death Eaters in prison. Failing that, I'd just take down names and… deal with those people myself.
[P]-[W]-[M]
Meanwhile - Grimmauld Place
[P]-[W]-[M]
Inside one of the cosy, expanded rooms of an enchanted briefcase, the air was filled with the gentle bubbling of a cauldron and the earthy aroma of crushed herbs and brewing potion. The walls were lined with jars of rare ingredients and brewing utensils that shimmered under the enchanted lights above. The last Potter, sleeves rolled up and brows furrowed in concentration, was carefully adding a powdered root into his potion under the watchful eye of Perenelle Flamel.
She stood beside him, arms crossed as she studied his every motion with a sharp, but not unkind gaze. "So how much have you learned of House Potter now that you've been aware of the magical world?"
Harry stirred twice clockwise, then glanced up at her. "Not much, really. But I know the basics." He admitted, adding the ingredient to the mixture. "I'm learning bits and pieces. Sirius said I need to if I want to be a good Lord when I'm older."
Perenelle nodded approvingly. "That's good. A House with a legacy should be understood and honoured," she said with emphasis. "It would be rather strange, wouldn't it, for a Potter to be hopeless at potions or battle magic?"
Harry blinked in confusion, pausing in his stirring. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Did you… know my dad? Sirius said he was good at Defence, but also Transfiguration and battle spells. I didn't know he was good at potions."
Perenelle smiled slightly and handed him the next vial of dark green liquid. "Keep stirring, darling," she warned gently. "And no, but I knew of him. I'm actually referring to him and many Potters that have come before." As Harry returned to stirring, more carefully now, she continued. "House Potter earned its original fortune by creating several remedies and tonics that evolved into potions still used today. You've heard of Skelegrow, I assume?"
Harry's eyes widened. "Yeah! It was in one of the books Remus recommended — it regrows bones."
Perenelle nodded. "That was a Potter remedy, or at least it was derived from it. So was Pepperup Potion — very useful during the winters — and the formula that became Sleekeazy's Hair Potion? Also Potter innovation."
Harry blinked in amazement, nearly forgetting to stir again. "What's Sleekeazy? I don't remember hearing of that one."
Perenelle momentarily glanced at the boy's head before shaking her head in amusement. "I suppose you wouldn't have, no." She muttered to herself before addressing the other matter. "As for battle magic," she went on with a trace of pride, "I briefly met Charlus Potter, who fought valiantly against Gellert Grindelwald — a Dark Lord considered more dangerous than even the Voldemort fellow. And of course, your father James, who did the same against Voldemort himself."
Harry stopped stirring, looking up at her with bright green eyes full of the righteous determination Perenelle remembered catching a glimpse of once before. "Could you… teach me?" he asked earnestly.
Perenelle arched her brow. "Keep stirring," she said sternly, sensing the couldrun's mixture going awry. "Unless you want this mixture to explode in your face."
"Right—sorry!" Harry said quickly, flushing and turning back to the cauldron, stirring with renewed focus.
Perenelle shook her head in amused exasperation, watching him for a moment before softening. "Of course I wouldn't mind teaching you, Harry — provided I have the time. As you know, we will be travelling for the next few weeks. But, I doubt your godfather would object to a bit of proper training, either. Between the two of us, you'll carry the Potter legacy forward with pride. Maybe Master Grey might join in if you asked him, he seems more than willing to impart his knowledge."
Harry smiled sheepishly. "Thanks. I just… I want to be like my mum and dad, you know?"
Perenelle gave him a genuine smile. "You already are, from what I hear. Now let's make sure your potion doesn't melt your cauldron — and try to sense when you need to add an extra stir or ingredient, it will tell you of its volatility, all you have to do is sense it. Focus, darling, try to feel more as you work. Getting the instructions right will only get you an 'O', we want an 'O+'."
The boy nodded and continued his work.
[P]-[W]-[M]
"I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret."
— Regulus Black in his note to Voldemort.
[P]-[W]-[M]
Hello There
I had thought of bringing Regulus back to life, but had to squash the idea. He was a Death Eater, but he also went against Voldy.
At the same time, if he is brought back, Sirius and Remus will just start asking to bring the Potters back too. For the sake of not turning the fic into a 'bring people back to life simulator', they'll all be allowed to rest in peace.
And yes, he will be hopping back and forth between words.
[P]-[W]-[M]
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC and original ideas. All credit goes to their respective owners.
[P]-[W]-[M]
If you want to support me, join me on Pat reon by searching for Lightest_Reader . Any and all support is appreciated.
Note: All chapters will eventually be posted on public forums.
[P]-[W]-[M]
Thank you for reading.
Special thanks to my patrons.
As always, stay awesome.
Until next time, Light's out.