18 Chapter 18 - Fire

The rest of the year was mostly quiet, besides training and studying, which was the new norm. Fleur had insisted on spending more time with Harry and Hermione, and Victor, who seemed to like them both, too, had joined a few times too, asking questions about things like how Harry had trained in the elemental magics, and Harry had shared the basics of how he started with the older boy, easily. It wasn't a secret, or anything. Make fire, use your magic to control it. Then, train your magic to manipulate and create fire.

Moving and manipulating air was the same, as was water. Earth was a bit more difficult to play with, but having a friend levitate a rock, or a handful of ground and moving it around, and then trying to use your own magic, without any spells, to influence that same rock, was how Harry had basically done that. He'd always just say; "Use magic to move things, first. Then do more." That was his whole process. Well, excluding the interface.

Gabrielle had obviously joined her sister when she could, but she was also taking classes with students in her year, so she had things like homework and studying to do. Fortunately, she was in a class with a friendly boy, who spoke French, and could translate most things for her. When she turned in homework, it had been requested that an older student from Beauxbatons check the homework, because while she was learning to speak English, she still couldn't write it.

Fleur was very happy to note that her sister seemed to be making friends with boys and girls, and there was no jealousy, or other emotions coming her way. Just pure comradery, and normal friendships appropriate for her age, as a normal human girl. It was very good to see, and she was hopeful for the rest of her sister's school curriculum, and maybe even beyond.

It had come as no surprise to them, when the Delacour parents had sent letters of gratitude, with a few questions regarding helping more Veela. There was also an invitation to come visit during the long summer holiday where they suspected they'd be requested for more procedures, and a few boxes of chocolate, for some reason.

Of course, Poppy was hard at work putting together a single spell-like application, which was the new goal of their plans for systemised magic. They were going to set up a system, where a program can be connected to a person (rather than a rune-tablet which could be stolen) with a bit of input from the patient, like a veela, and then have the system know exactly how to act, to apply the required function. This would likely take a long time, if it wasn't for the fact that she was cheating. In other words, she'd asked Harry to help. By her estimate, it should be ready for application and roll-out, by the end of the year.

The best part was, this particular function, could be tied to other ailments, where willpower and focus helped stop the development of any particular ailment. This was an understandable situation to occur, though, because willpower and magic were closely linked. The only downside, however, would be that if the application took any amount of magic to function, it could drain people of magic over time, so that needed to be incorporated as well.

Something like a circadian rhythm, where the specific application of the program automatically stops when a person goes to sleep or, obviously, if they lost consciousness due to low levels of magic. Basically, it would take some research and a proper investigation into the positives and negatives, or the effects and contra-indicators, much as any medical study did, for new drugs, potions and medical charms. One of the biggest bonusses obviously being that a person that receives this treatment would receive a permanent gain, rather than needing repetitive doses or treatments.

Knowing how pharmaceutical companies tended to think, they were steering clear of doing anything for a profit. There would be an initial charge for anyone that wanted to purchase the required procedures, which would be programmed into their minds of course, and frankly, a bit of profit would help motivate them to spend the time that this would take. Still, they weren't in it to make money. They were trying to help people.

Well, the magic involved still had a standardized cost, and no doubt the healers would want to recoup the costs they'd incurred to get what was basically a partial grant without an interface, but that was just the healer business. Harry wouldn't mind charging, either, if the healers would be making a profit anyway. Poppy suggested that they sell the magic at cost, and then get a percentage of the profits indefinitely. That would set them up with a decent, or major (depending on how much the healers ended up charging) income, for the rest of their lives, or as long as the magic was used, at the very least.

If they did it right, they'd be setting up a new form of treatment, which might even become a standard for every healer around the world. Poppy had known this would eventually happen and had been looking into how they would treat it, the whole time. The medical impact of the systemized magic was incalculable and would likely end up making them enemies in the long run, but as long as they could keep the source a secret and maybe set up a drop account with the goblins, which wasn't named, or linked to anyone specifically, then that would help protect Harry, which was obviously a priority.

That was all discussed, and Harry had ended up leaving it in Poppy's hands, because he knew that she'd end up making the decisions regarding what they should be giving healers access to, and since she was a healer, she would have to be fair.

After that particular discussion, Harry went back to researching gravity. He had a suspicion that he had missed something, there. If all mass, over the entire universe attracts each-other, with equal force, as was the current prevailing scientific theory, then that meant that everything was connected through gravity.

If he could tap into that somehow, with magic, then he'd not need something like a relay for his interface network. All he'd have to do, is tap into gravity, and find out how to navigate to a specific location. Perhaps something like increasing gravity on the interface itself, would at the very least increase its range.

This was all theoretical at the moment, but Harry really wanted to overcome the range issue, because if he could choose to go anywhere through his interface, then he'd have actually invented a real form of instant travel. Obviously, the theory also had issues. If you increased the gravity on the interface, and somehow kept that from affecting the world around it, and your brain, would you still be able to move through it, without being crushed?

This was obviously a very dangerous power to play with, so it was also secret research. Nobody but Harry knew that he had it on his list even, because, since something like that could easily be weaponised, he'd rather not let the idea even occur to other people. Perhaps, if he ever figured it out, he'd be able to claim it, and keep others from even trying to do that?

Unfortunately, for him to block people from trying to do that, he'd need to tell people that he'd already done it, so that the magic would refuse to work for them if they tried to emulate him, and then he'd just be another target. If he was killed, now, his interface idea would default to Gryff, who could physically not share his secrets, which would keep it safe. That is, once again, until someone somehow broke into the hat's mind. Still, they'd then have to destroy the hat, to be able to use the information.

The only other option, of course, was to plan for a family, and have his heirs protect the magic, from then on. Well that, or he needed to become truly immortal, so that he couldn't be killed or ever die, to protect the information.

His head had gone around in circles about those concepts, until he decided to simply drop it. There was no point in worrying about it, considering he was the only one that had had the idea, that he knew of up to that point, so it was highly unlikely that someone else would, before he could come up with a failsafe way to secure it. He had no doubt that an opportunity would present itself, at some point. In the meanwhile the headmaster's plan would still protect him, to a degree.

III-III

It was the day before the third and final task, and Harry had called the other two champions to a closed-door meeting.

"So, vat is so urgent?" Victor asked, as he arrived, closing the door behind himself.

Fleur was already there, and they'd not done much more than greet.

"Well, Victor, Fleur, I'd like to run an idea by you guys." Harry started, a grin on his face.

III-III

The champions had gathered, and the final task was about to begin. There were a whole lot of people who'd wanted to be there, and it was already an international event. Ministers, diplomats, famous and rich people from all over were gathered, to watch as the contestants raced to their eternal glory.

"You sure about dis?" Victor asked Harry, again.

"Yup." Harry said.

"I like eet." Fleur said, smiling at Harry. She'd said it before.

"I did not say I do not like it." Victor said. "I just vanted to know."

"Well, now you know." Harry said, smiling at the older boy.

"Very vell." Victor said, as he smiled at the boy, who'd quickly grown on him. Harry wasn't just some random kid. He was a bit of a strange one sure, but he was also friendly and interesting, which was strange for someone who was a celebrity all their lives. Victor liked him, and already considered him a friend.

They'd even had a bit of a friendly seeker match. Victor had won, of course, but it was a close thing, and Victor had been impressed. The boy obviously had massive talent. A few years of training, and he'd likely be able to outperform even him, and he was supposed to be the best seeker in the world. Strangely, the boy didn't seem to be interested, having 'better things' to do with his time. It was a bit of a waste, in Victor's mind, but also, it made sense for Harry to say that, and he just liked the boy more for it.

When the cannon sounded, Harry was first to go. He followed a random path and came upon a boggart. It turned into someone Harry had not seen in many years. Vernon Dursley.

"You worthless waste of space!" the boggart exclaimed, Uncle Vernon's face already purple in anger, and his fists shaking. "You will never be anything! You don't belong anywhere, you freak! You disgusting worthless thing! Nobody will ever love you! You should just die and make the world a better place, like your parents did!"

'Harry!' the hat's voice came to Harry as he froze, his heart racing as he looked at the man who had once tried to break him. A small part of him still believed those words. The things the man had said when he was small and still believed everything he was told. 'It's just a boggart! Don't believe anything it's saying! It's just pulling on your worst, to feed off your fear!'

Harry's eyes diverted from the man. He knew he was dead, now. He'd heard about it from Poppy, a year after the man's death. She'd told him that they didn't want to tell him, because he was still too young, and his mind and emotions had still needed time to become more stable.

"I know." he said to both the boggart and the hat. "I used to be a waste of space. I used to be unloved." He looked up at the boggart, then. "But that's not my worst fear. I know who I am now, Uncle Vernon. You were the waste of space! You were worthless! I have loved ones now, who mean the world to me, and they love me! I hope you're burning in hell, for what you did to me!"

As he yelled his defiance at the monster, he tapped into his magic and manifested fire. Fire was one of those volatile magics. Hard to learn to control. Harry had found that when he was angry though, fire was a kindred spirit. Knowing how fire worked, having studied it and knowing how to control it, he forced his will into it, and it refused to burn him or anything he had on him as it spread all over his body. Instead, the fire would burn only what Harry saw as his enemy as his will became fire. He screamed and charged at the monster, faster than the monster knew to expect, jumped, and tackled it before letting loose on it.

The creature, not getting any fear from Harry and still able to feel pain, even if it couldn't die, howled in pain in Vernon's voice, as Harry's scream emptied his lungs in a white-hot flame, rather than air, before there was a pop and the antique dresser it called home slammed shut, as the boggart retreated.

Harry needed a few moments to reign in his emotions, as he closed his eyes and focussed on the feeling of the quickly browning grass under his hands. His breathing was heavy, as he panted, when the fire finally relented and went back to being only an element of nature, which sputtered out.

'That wasn't how one defeats a boggart, you know.' the hat said, slightly jokingly. He was very proud of the young man, in that moment. And nearly seething at the organizers of the event, but he kept those emotions in check.

'I know.' Harry said, as he continued to calm himself. 'I… I never got to tell him. I never got to…' he trailed off, as his eyes burned with unshed tears. He was so angry, just now. Angry, and in pain. He just wanted to end the tournament and go to bed, but he had a plan to finish, and he wouldn't have too much time to focus on getting himself under control.

'It's alright, Harry.' the hat said. 'You basically just faced one of your worst fears and drove off a boggart with nothing but the strength of your will. You didn't even rely on its weakness. I dare say, if someone was here to see it, they'd probably think you'd just cast Fiendfyre. You were controlling it with nothing but your will and power. It is actually possible that you are a true fire mage, by the standards of the wizarding world.'

Harry didn't react, but the hat talking to him was helping, and he finally calmed himself enough to continue. 'Whose idea was the boggart, by the way?' he asked, as he picked himself up, and dusted himself off.

'I don't know.' the hat said, honestly. 'It's not really dangerous. Just a bit emotionally exhausting, usually. It's actually a part of a lot of people's idea of a good test of courage.'

Harry allowed that, as he carried on. He was just glad that nobody had been there, to see that.

Fortunately, he was soon distracted. The next thing he came to, was a sphinx.

"Hold on." Harry said, before the sphinx could pose a riddle to him. "I have a riddle for you. Answer it correctly, and I'll pass without incident. Fail to answer it, and I'll attack."

"Uh… what?" the sphinx asked the small boy. That hadn't made sense.

"When two light nuclei become one, I liberate quite a bit of nuclear energy? What am I?" Harry asked.

"What?" the sphinx asked. "Nucle… what?" she asked again. Harry repeated the riddle, and the sphinx considered it, but not knowing any science, she was completely unable to answer. "I do not know your made-up words. Your riddle is not a riddle. Just something you're saying to try and trick me."

"Nuclear fusion." Harry said, as he stretched out. "Since you failed to answer my riddle, I am within my right to extract a price from you, and I'm a little emotional right now. I will fight you to submission and you will say uncle when you are ready to admit defeat. Do you understand?"

"No." the sphinx said. "That's not how this works."

"You ask riddles, in the hopes of tricking people." Harry countered, as he shrugged off his jacket. "How is this any different?"

"I'm supposed to ask the riddle!" the sphinx exclaimed, but it was too late, and Harry had jumped forward. The sphinx, deciding that she'd been denied her game, decided to attack too. She'd not kill the boy of course, but she couldn't let the insult stand either.

Harry had enhanced himself, so when he caught the sphinx's claw in his hand, and started twisting it, the sphinx was surprised, but not enough to stop attacking, as the other claw shot forward, attempting to scratch the child from stomach to chest, but again, he caught that claw, too.

"What… are you?!" the sphinx exclaimed as she tried to get her claws out of his grip.

"Angry." Harry said, as he started turning both the claws, and forcing the creature's body to twist, before it fell down. Harry released the claws, and quickly jumped behind the creature's head, where he grabbed on, and held the creature's neck in his arms. "Say it." he said, as he kept the creature down so that she couldn't find her footing and get up.

"Never!" the sphinx exclaimed, as she scrambled and tried to get loose. Her rear legs were clawing at his legs, which were around her back, but he didn't seem to be phased, and she could tell she wasn't injuring him.

Harry just increased his grip and pressed harder. "Say it." he said again. The creature struggled for a few more minutes, until it seemingly gave up. Then it muttered something so quietly that Harry couldn't hear it. "What was that? I didn't hear you." Harry said, again, as he added just a touch of pressure.

"I said… uncle." the creature ground out. "Now release me!" she demanded.

Harry, being a man of his word, slowly loosened his pressure and released the creature, who stayed down as she caught her breath.

Harry stood there for a few moments, before he sighed out a breath. "I'm sorry if I was rough on you. There was a boggart earlier, and it brought up a lot of bad memories." he admitted.

The sphinx decided to slowly get up, then. "Disgusting creatures." she admitted.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her.

The creature turned her neck, before speaking. "Just a little stiff." she admitted.

Harry nodded, fixed his trousers, which were all torn up, and pulled on his jacket. "If you are still in pain before you are meant to leave, please ask for me. I am trained to be a healer, to a degree, and would be willing to help fix what I did to you."

"You would heal a monster?" the sphinx asked.

"I would heal a person." Harry said. "You have a mind capable of rational thought, so I consider you a person." He felt the same about Hedwig and Fawkes, too.

The sphinx looked at the boy, through narrowed eyes. "Surely you jest?" she asked.

"I do not." Harry said. "My name is Harry Potter. If you know any other intelligent creatures that need help, for anything, ask them to contact me. I like helping, and I'm not as biased as the wizards of the magical world."

"Magical world?" the sphinx asked.

"Why would I call it the wizarding world, when I'm speaking to a creature of the magical world?" Harry asked, with a bit of a smile. "I always thought calling it the wizarding world was a bit presumptuous, don't you? We don't own magic, after all."

The creature considered Harry for a few more moments, before nodding. "I will remember your words and hold you to them." she said seriously.

"Please do." Harry said, nodding before turning to leave.

"My name," the sphinx interrupted his departure, "is Tena. Remember it, young mage. I suspect that fate will bring us together, again."

Harry nodded at her. "Good night to you then, Tena." he said.

"And to you, Harry Potter." she returned.

Harry left then, and the sphinx wondered if he'd have any trouble with the Acromantula. She was meant to give him a clue, through her riddle, that the final guardian of the cup was a spider on this path. Then she turned her tender neck. No, he'd be fine. To physically overpower a creature of her caste, meant that he was no mere boy. She smiled at that. Finally, the magical world may once again see a true mage, like it had last seen in people like Circe, or Merlin. The thought was exciting to her.

The Acromantula was something Harry had only come upon when he went sneaking into the Forbidden Forest, back before third year, as a bit of a test for his bent-air invisibility. He'd always wondered why it was forbidden, and he'd found out. Centaurs, snakes, unicorns and giant spiders, to name a few. The snakes had been useful to point things out, even as they insulted humans. Snakes just tended to be that way.

He remembered that Hagrid had raised one from a hatchling, and had heard about that, back in second year, already. Chances were, these were descendants of that very spider.

Harry had gathered a bit of their silk, from a prominent web, but besides that, he'd left the creatures alone. He'd also read up on them. They were, when they were very old, quite capable of speech, if not normally rational thought. This one was around twenty years old, meaning it was still quite young, for an Acromantula, at least. Basically, just a beast. A magic resistant beast, too. Its silk was used for things like protective gear, because it was really strong and carried the same resistance.

Harry had pulled one of the oldest tricks there were. He'd conjured ropes around the legs, and pulled them together, tying the creature up and making it impossible to escape. Acromantula were very strong, but making the rope unbreakable and using sticking charms was more than enough to keep it contained.

Harry considered it, for a while, as he looked at the creature. If he could keep it, he could feed it, and have a way to produce silk all its life. Hagrid would likely be upset if he killed it, because he loved the things. Still, if he wanted an Acromantula, he could just go into the forest and grab one. The people who'd set up this challenge, would probably notice if it went missing. Shrugging, he left it there, and moved on.

It turned out, he was the first one to the cup.

III-III

It had been thirty minutes, and nobody had returned from the maze. Dumbledore was getting worried, because he knew Harry could have finished the whole thing very quickly, probably with just one of his many tricks.

When there was a flash, he sighed, as he saw Harry. Not only him, though. All three champions were holding the cup.

There was applause and cheering, as the spectators realised what had happened. It was very likely that they had decided to finish together.

The Weasley twins were quite pleased. They'd tried to start a betting pool, but when everyone they knew started betting on Harry, they'd realised they'd made a mistake, and called the whole thing off.

Finishing together had obviously been Harry's plan. The other two had little doubt that Harry could have finished quickly, too, so when he suggested that they finish together, they'd only sighed and accepted it. His reasoning, however, was also pretty good. This whole tournament was a contest, and a lot of people wanted one school to come out on top, so that they could claim to be the best.

Harry believed that all three schools were equal, and only differed in their approach and focus, which wasn't being better or worse, just different. They even agreed, which was why they had gone with the idea. Let them set an example, that there was no one school better than the other. The headmasters and headmistress might not like it, but that was their problem. The results would be unalterable.

Of course, they were asked what happened, and they simply said they arrived together, and took the cup together. It would only do harm, to explain whose idea it was, why they'd done it, or who'd really arrived first.

The completion of the tournament was still celebrated by all, and all the champions were congratulated.

Igor Karkaroff, headmaster of Durmstrang, being a bit of an idiot, said that Victor should be the victor, because he had less time than the others and still finished at the same time, but he was ignored. The winner would always be the one that touched the cup first. All three of them did, so all three of them won.

Hermione, one of the first people to Harry, gave him a tight hug, and kissed him on the cheek, before hugging him again, as they both blushed.

Then Sirius was there. He pulled Harry out of the hug and lifted him up, placing him on his shoulders, so that he could be seen. People continued to clap and laughed at Harry's predicament. Harry didn't let that carry on too long, before he flipped back and landed on his feet, already pointing his wand at Sirius's face, when he turned around, shocked and worried that Harry had gotten hurt.

"Don't, you, dare." Harry threatened.

"He doesn't like that sort of attention Sirius." Poppy said. "I've told you this before."

"But he's done it!" Sirius objected. "He kicked the tournament's arse and finished with the other champions. And he's three years younger than them! He's obviously the real winner!"

"No." Harry said. "We're all winners." he said. "That's the whole point." he added in a whisper, to the man.

Sirius sighed, as he just shook his head. "You know what? At times like this, you remind me more of Lily. Your dad would have strutted his stuff. Maybe even snogged a few birds."

"Well, I'm not my dad." Harry said. "And quite frankly, it seemed like my mom was the one with the common sense in our family, so I'll take it as a compliment."

"Well said, Harry, my boy." Dumbledore said, as he clapped Harry on the back. "But just so you know, Sirius's memory may be betraying him. I do remember your father chasing some girls, but at the end of the day he only ever had eyes for Lily. It was Sirius's goal to entice many of the fairer sex, not your father's. James was a boy who wanted approval from others and worked hard to achieve his goals, much like you do, but he also had tremendous weight on him, as the sole heir to the Potter house. His family placed many expectations on him."

"So I've heard." Harry said, nodding.

From there, the awards ceremony needed to happen, and the minster tried his best to pull all the champions, especially Harry, into the spotlight with him, but fortunately Dumbledore stood with the lad, keeping a hand on his shoulder to keep him there, and sent a hard look at the man until he gave up.

The money would be shared between the champions, and the cup would not go to any one competitor, but rather would spend some time at all the competing schools, moving from school to school, three times a year, until the next tournament, which was not being planned yet, thankfully.

III-III

Then, there was a big party for just the children, in the great hall, while the adults went to celebrate outside, where a large tent had been erected.

Harry was just sitting there, chatting with the other champions, Gabrielle, Hermione, and a few friends, when someone approached Harry.

"Um, Mister Potter?" the man, a middle eastern man, said as he approached.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"Um, the sphinx… She said something about a promise you made?" the man asked. "She's refusing to be taken home, until you've spoken to her."

"Ah, yes." Harry said, not really knowing what this was about, even though he did remember his promise, but willing to see the sphinx. "I did give her my word." he said. He'd noted his dishonesty icon was lighting up, when he looked at the man, so he realised something else may be going on.

The man nodded, and stood back, indicating towards the door. Harry stood up, and Hermione joined him. "Um, just you if you wouldn't mind." he asked.

Harry's eyes narrowed. This felt off. This wasn't just some attempt to get a photo or an autograph with the 'famous boy-who-lived'. 'I agree.' the hat said. 'I'll ask Poppy to come to you. For now, activate your enhancements, and act like a gullible child. Best to see what this man really wants, before we accidentally reveal our hand.'

'Agreed.' Harry replied. "Oh, okay." he said, aloud. He turned to Hermione and smiled. "I may have hurt her a little, and I offered to heal her. Sphinxes are proud creatures, so I think she'd prefer not to have an audience."

Hermione frowned, but finally nodded. "Hurry back." she said.

"Of course." Harry said. "Wouldn't want to keep you waiting." he promised, as he winked at her, which made her blush.

Harry was led off by the man, and they were soon outside, heading to the Quidditch pitch.

"She's a bit bruised, but nothing that won't heal." the man offered, amiably.

'Idiot.' Harry said, in his head. 'He's basically telling me he has ulterior motives.'

'Well, there is a chance that he's just a gofer.' the hat allowed. 'Just act stupid. Poppy is on her way, and I've taken the liberty of connecting her to your vision. She's seeing everything.'

"So, what are you taking me to her for, then?" Harry asked.

"Like I said, she wants to talk to you." the man said. "Something about a promise."

The promise he'd made, was to heal her, or any other intelligent creature she knew, so the man must have put something together, or something had changed, and she was in need, and used his name, to call for help.

When they made it to the pitch, which was already clean of the hedge that had been grown there, Harry noticed a group of men, ten of them, standing around a cage wherein the Sphinx was. Bound, and gagged. Her eyes were on him, and he could tell that she was trying to warn him.

'Well, now that I've seen this, I'm guessing the fun is about to start.' Harry said.

'Careful.' the hat said. 'You're heavily outnumbered.'

"So, what's the plan?" Harry asked, breaking his innocent routine, as he took a step back from the man. "I can't very well speak to her, with her bound and gagged."

"Come now, Mister Potter." the man said, a dark smile appearing on his face. "If you don't put up a fight, we'll not hurt you, or her."

At that, two men pulled wands and pointed them at the creature, while the other nine, pointed wands at him, including the man that had brought him.

Harry, for his part, just stood there acting calm. "And your goal?" he asked, again.

"You're coming with us, kid." another man said. He looked like he could be in charge. He had a very neatly trimmed beard, in a line along his jaw, with a goatee of longer hair on his chin. His clothes were nicer than the others, too, and he looked far too confident.

"And where, pray tell, are you taking me?" Harry asked.

"That is none of your concern." the man said.

"Fine. Then why?" Harry tried.

"You don't know?" the man asked, seeming amused. "You wrestled a sphinx into submission, with your bare hands and no wounds, and you don't know what we want?"

"So, power?" Harry asked. "You're just after strength?"

"A sphinx can carry a ton of dead weight, and nobody has ever overwhelmed one with their hands alone." the man said. "So, yes, we want the secret of your strength. You have obviously claimed magic, and we're going to keep her," he said, pointing a hand at her, while keeping his wand on Harry, "as a hostage, until we know this magic."

'Don't use the normal story. He'd try and kill you immediately, if he thinks the claim is someone else's. And he's not saying it, because that would make getting anything from you difficult, but he'd then kill you, so that he can claim the magic.' the hat said. 'Poppy's around the corner. She's ready to come to your aid. She doesn't want to jump in, right now, with so many wands pointed at you. They may decide to become violent.'

'Tell her to relax.' Harry said. 'I've got this.'

'Are you sure?' the hat asked.

'One hundred percent.' Harry said, confidently. "And why would you think I'd let you get anything from me?" Harry asked aloud. "What if I've already designated someone for the magic to default to? I may teach you, or even outright give you a spell, but if you let me go, I'll just revoke my grant, and if you kill me, you won't get it, either."

There was worry crossing some of the men's faces as they looked at the leader.

The man's eyes narrowed. "He's bluffing. He's just a child. He would not think to do that, nor give someone power over his own magic. And even if he did, we could keep him locked up however long we want, and she'd continue being our hostage. Get him, and we'll be gone from here with the portkey."

As he spoke, Harry looked at the Sphinx, and pushed a program at her. Her eyes widened, but she accepted the magic.

'This is thought communication magic.' Harry said, quickly. 'Tell me what happened. Just think the words at the feeling.'

'They found out about you, and were going to set an ambush, so I told them you'd come to me, because of a promise.' the thoughts came back to him. 'Please, good mage, do not think poorly of me. I had little choice. Better a chance that you could detect a trap, with me invoking your assistance so soon, than be caught unawares.'

Harry didn't reply, because he couldn't push this form of thought communication to be as fast as normal thought communication. "Inside the wards of Hogwarts?" he asked, trying to stall, as he stepped back a few paces, when three of them moved to him, and started up the targeting system, looking at all his enemies, one at a time.

"The headmaster gave it to us." the man said. "If you run, she'll die. Do not resist."

'Hogwarts is blocking all portkeys, now. Even the headmasters'.' the hat said. 'They can't use it to escape.'

'Cool.' Harry replied. "I'll make you a counter-offer." he said. "Lay down your wands and put your hands behind your backs. Alastor Moody trained me to take on numbers, and you have only seen one of my magics."

"The Mad-Eye?" one of the men asked shocked, showing a bit of fear at hearing that. He actually lowered his wand a bit, too.

"The same." Harry said, smirking, pulling a strangely identical smirk to one Moody sometimes pulled. Body models on the system, were useful for a lot of things.

"You're only a child." the leader said. "Stop stalling. Grab him!" he barked, then.

Two of the three men that had been approaching Harry, suddenly fell down, as Harry sent three nearly simultaneous stunners at them. Only one had blocked, and he was soon the recipient of the hat's own addition, sending a large part of his own magic, through Harry's interface, to void the man's gravity, for a while.

The man hadn't seen a spell since this one didn't have a light, which was why the hat had used it, and soon he started floating off the ground, a disarming spell soon hit the man, but that didn't really help the situation, as suddenly the other men all started acting, and Harry pushed his perceived time to the max.

Five spells were already coming at Harry, so he looked at them, analysed them with his magic detection, and cast a variant spell for a standard shield, which targeted spell fire, and produced a tiny shield of exacting proportions, which used just enough power to block a spell and dissipate. This gave it the illusion that the spells simply vanished, or refused to hit Harry, like he had a passive effect that stopped spells.

The leader, a look of anger on his face, had whipped his wand around, and cast a spell at the sphinx. His spell was quickly approaching the creature, and Harry recognized it. Moody had shown them all three unforgivables. They were against the law to use on a human being, but you could technically use them on insects and animals. You'd still receive a heavy fine for just the use, if you didn't have authorization, though. This spell was bright green.

Harry didn't have a choice. He pulled up his second interface, which he'd put in a runed orb, a secret he kept, for in case he ever needed a secret backup. It had another useful function, too. Throwing the ball at the sphinx, he set the magic, and watched as the ball passed by the sphinx, beating the killing curse, and making her disappear and appear by him, as he allowed her to exit at the same time as he moved his interface. An automatic recall made the interface ball disappear and reappear in his interface, again, before it could even collide with the other side of the cage.

The act of extracting the target of the spell, made the killing curse hit the far side of the cage, which, as any experienced combatant could tell you, caused an explosion, meaning the two men next to the cage would no longer be an issue.

Harry quickly looked at the bonds on Tena and set his magic to start cutting them to undo them quickly.

Then Harry allowed time to pick up speed, as the effects of the initial attack played out. One man was floating away quickly and spinning seemingly knocked unconscious, as the disarming spell had been cast, perhaps, just a little too hard.

The explosion of the cage sent shrapnel in all directions. The two that had been guarding the sphinx were likely dead, considering one had a steel bar through his chest, and the other one's head was pointed in the wrong direction, as he lay in a crumpled heap on the grass.

One other man was screaming, as some of the shrapnel had apparently hit him in the face, and he was bleeding profusely from an eye-socket.

"I would not go threatening my friends, for any reason." Harry said, almost calmly, as the remaining five men started panicking. Their spells had just disappeared, and to top things off, the Sphinx was suddenly by Harry's side, looking furious, already on her feet and ready to attack.

"What have you done!?" the leader demanded. "You've killed them!" he exclaimed.

"I think you'll find, that it was your killing curse that killed those two." Harry said, as one of them summoned their floating friend, before he got too far away. "And I may be able to save both of them, but only if I'm not standing here, trying to defend myself and my friend."

"Kill them!" the leader exclaimed, pointing his wand at Harry. There was something wrong here. The kid was too powerful. He suddenly started believing that he'd been trained by the legendary Master Auror. "Avada Kedavra!" he yelled, in sudden desperation, his wand pointed at Harry's chest.

"No!" the sphinx exclaimed, as she jumped forward, intent on taking the leader's next killing curse.

Harry sighed, as he pushed his perception of time up, again.

He quickly moved next to the creature, and pushed her aside, which took a bit of effort, considering her size and weight, but he got her cleared of the spell, at least. Then, he ran to the other four men, punched them in their stomachs, and snapped their wands, even as they held them, spells being spoken through lips that barely moved at the pace he was perceiving things. He could feel bones breaking, as he hit them, but he didn't care. He knew Poppy was nearby and she could heal anything he couldn't. He focussed on the leader next.

He decided to play to his strengths and used one of the reasons that he had another interface, which he pulled up in front of the still flying death-curse, and made it go through his second interface, and out of his first, then he made the second interface and first interface a pair, which trapped the spell, in an ever-cycling loop, as they teleported through one to the other.

Harry then stopped in front of the leader, took his wand and held it in his hand, before he deactivated the perceived time function, again. Hopefully for the last time. It was a very taxing magic to use. Fortunately he wouldn't hurt himself with his physical enhancements.

The man didn't understand what was happening, but he heard a bunch of cracks around him, as the boy disappeared. Wasn't apparition impossible in Hogwarts, and why would…? He was looking at the boy, who was suddenly standing in front of him. It shocked him enough to take a step back, pointing his wand at the boy, to try and cast a spell, only to realise that he didn't have a wand.

Then he saw it. A green light was seemingly hovering before the boy, as he held his hand under it, like he was holding it.

"Tell me, again, what were you going to do?" Harry asked, dangerously, as he lifted the man's wand in his other hand, and snapped it like it was a straw, for the effort it seemed to take him.

"What?!" the man exclaimed, as he stepped back again, and tripped on one of the seemingly dead men, falling back. "What are you?!" he demanded, trying to distract Harry, as he reached into a pocket, and activated the portkey, which did absolutely nothing. "No! This can't be happening!" he exclaimed, anger and fear in his voice, as the boy slowly stepped to him, his own killing curse still in his hand. "Stay back! STAY BACK!" he demanded, as he scrambled backwards on his ass.

"You made a grave error, when you decided to try and steal a mage's soul, little man. You could not stand against a true mage, and you should have known better." the sphinx, back on her feet, after being shoved aside, said, as she stalked towards the man that had tried to use her as a weapon. "Shall I pose you a riddle, for a clue of your future?" the sphinx offered, as she stepped up to him, and placed a paw on his chest. "Who makes it, but has no need of it? Who buys it, but has no use for it? Who uses it but can neither see nor feel it? What is it?" she asked.

"A coffin." Harry said, easily. "There's a coffin in your future." he said, smirking at the man, before his eyes flickered at the green glow of the death-curse.

"Ah, very good my mage." the sphinx said. "A coffin indeed." She felt better, now. Not being able to give her riddle had bothered her.

"Harry?" Poppy asked, as she ran up to them, and saw the green glow. She knew what that was. She'd seen that green light before.

"Oh, hi Aunty Poppy." Harry said, as he waved a hand, and the spell seemed to vanish.

"What are you?" the man asked, again. The killing curse was unstoppable. The boy had held his own spell like it was a simple candle.

"Harry, we need to stabilise these men." Poppy said, trying not to think about where that spell had gone. The moment the spells started flying, she'd wanted to jump in, but the hat had warned her that she might just be a weakness that they could exploit against Harry. Better to just use her own dilated time and watch to be sure he stayed safe. She had enough power to use it for long enough to save him if she pushed herself. She didn't have Harry's enhancement magic anymore, but she'd put time into perfecting the dilation, and she could push herself to be very fast.

"Of course." Harry said. "Tena, would you mind keeping this man from escaping?" he asked. He could knock him out, but he had a reason to keep him awake. Advice from an old Auror. Panic made people talk.

"Of course." she said. "And if he tries, I shall deliver him unto his coffin."

"You can't do this!" the man exclaimed at the monster, as Harry turned his back on him. "I own you! You can't threaten me!"

"You keep me hostage, by holding my cubs in captivity." the sphinx growled. "You never owned me. You merely leashed me. I will ask my mage to assist me, and we will bring my cubs to safety, and you will know the sting of being kept in a cage as well, while my kind finally has a champion."

"They will be killed, if I do not return with you." the man growled.

"No." Harry said, even as he started trying to heal one of the men, the one that had a bar of steel through his chest, while Poppy went to the one with the broken neck. She may actually be able to save his life, but Harry would be the only one that could maybe fix a broken spine. "She's right. I will help her, and if one of her children dies, I will give you your killing curse back."

As he'd spoken, the bar had been extracted, and Harry found that it had just missed the heart and the aorta. He was lucky. A destroyed heart was difficult to quickly fix, and a person could suffer brain-death in the time it would take to rebuild it. As it was, he just checked that the man would not haemorrhage blood, sealed his chest, and moved on.

With him and Poppy working together, it took only a few minutes. Harry needed to make a model, to restart one man's heart, too, but he did get it started, again. Fortunately it had just stopped, due to the trauma of Harry's punch.

"You can revive the dead." the Sphinx said, a smile appearing on her face. "Truly, you will be a mage of legend."

"Just started the heart again." Harry said, casually. "Well that, and you know, fixed the ribs." He'd broken many ribs, as he punched stomachs.

"He was dead, yet now he lives." the sphinx said. "Is that not the definition of reviving the dead?"

Harry just rolled his eyed.

"Potter." a gruff voice said, as Moody walked up to them glaring at the man who was being restrained by the large creature. "Got in a scrap, did you?" he asked.

"Sorry to say, I cheated." Harry said. "I couldn't stick to the training you gave me, with a hostage and eleven wands."

"It doesn't matter how you win." Moody said. "Just that you do. The winner writes the history books, and the loser is usually vilified. As long as you win, it usually doesn't matter how you did it." He stopped next to Harry. "So, what happened?"

"They wanted something that didn't belong to them." Poppy said.

"Ah, that makes sense." Moody said. "No need to say more. You should probably get used to this, Potter. You'll be attracting more men like this, after today."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because they are still alive." Moody said. "Only dead men tell no tales."

"Um, memory charms?" Harry offered. "You know, make them forget what they knew?"

"And then set them free?" Moody asked. "With no memory of what they did, or why they attacked, you'll have a hard time sending them to prison, won't you?"

"I could always kill them." the sphinx offered. "It would be my pleasure to protect my mage's secrets."

"What is it with this 'my mage' business?" Harry asked.

"She gave you her name." Poppy said. "I'm assuming you gave her yours?" she asked.

"Well, yes." Harry said.

"Then she has a right to claim a tie with you." Poppy said. "It's a sphinx thing. A custom. A name holds power, for sphinxes. She basically told you that she trusts you, and that you could trust her."

"And by giving her my name, and offering her fair treatment and assistance, she can now call in some sort of magical debt?" Harry asked.

"No." the sphinx said. "I'm requesting your aid, as an ally, as you offered. I do not own you. You do not own me. I simply will not betray you, and I took from your words, and actions, that you are honourable and that you would not betray me, nor your word to me."

Harry nodded at that. It was an interesting bit of magical lore, that he must have somehow missed. "I can agree to that." he said. He looked at Moody, then. "Care to go on a bit of an outing with me and her, tonight?" he asked. "I intend to save her kids from captivity."

Moody smirked evilly at that. "Sure thing, kid." he said. "That's what being an auror is all about, after all. Protecting the innocent. I'll use the opportunity to teach you a bit of infiltration, too."

"I'm still not an auror." Harry said.

Moody scoffed at that. "You do realise that you'd outperform most seasoned aurors already with just your normal trained skills, right?" he asked. "I've pushed you far past what normal Aurors need to be able to do. I don't know if I would have been able to take down eleven men on my own like this either, so whatever trick you used, I say I'd bet on you, in a fight against most of the current bloody department."

"Really?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Well, I could tell you were holding yourself back, and pushing your normal limits, but I also think you did something to help yourself along the way." Moody allowed. "Either way, with you holding back you could probably fight me. I'd win that fight, but you'd make me work for it, too."

"That's high praise, if I've ever heard it." Dumbledore said, as he joined them, the hat floating alongside him. "And I agree. Though, if you knew what I knew about Harry's real skills, you'd not want that fight."

"I saw the damage he'd done, before they started healing the idiots." Moody said. "I know what he's capable of."

"He'll become a healer, before I allow him to become an auror." Poppy said, then, after she'd finished knocking the last man out, and putting him in a coma, too, with the sphinx giving her space to do so. "He can save people that way. No need to put himself in harm's way, for the idiots at the ministry. We healers have a more honourable profession, and more freedoms, because of it."

"Who said I'd become a healer?" Harry asked. "I can heal people, sure, but that oath is a bit restrictive, to me. You could die in self-defence. I can't allow myself to be limited like that, especially if I'll have enemies in the future."

Poppy frowned at that. That did seem to be a reality that she'd need to keep in mind. "Damn." she swore.

"I think I can get these people to the authorities." Dumbledore said, then. "Alastor, please keep Harry safe. I trust you, old friend, but Harry needs minding, still. He's still only a youth."

"How do you know?" Moody asked. He'd seen Dumbledore coming, but he'd been too far away, to hear that exchange.

"Me." the hat said. "Harry and I share a bond, which I will not explain."

"Ah." Moody said. "He already had it in first year, I take it?" he asked, shrewdly. People tended to forget that Aurors were also detectives. He'd seen enough to know the kid had something interesting.

"Yup." Harry said, not refuting it. Then he turned to Dumbledore. "Keep the men for us, please? I'd like to see if I can trick them into an unbreakable vow. That way, they can know my secret, but they can't tell anyone. They'll still know that I have something, but they won't be able to tell what. I'd like to keep at least that a secret."

"There is no need to trick them." the sphinx said. "I am more than willing to kill them. If they do not swear a binding oath, I will act on that impulse."

'Better to not discuss that too much further.' the hat said, directly to Harry. 'You could put yourself in a bind if you expressly say that you do not intend to allow them to die. Just use the opportunity.'

Harry sent the hat the equivalent of a mental nod and looked at the large beast. "You do know that if we rescue your kids, that you'll need to go into hiding?" he asked.

"Our family will come with our mage." Tena said. "We will reside here and await your ascent."

"Ascent?" Harry asked.

"You will see, my mage." the sphinx said, smiling at him.

"Shouldn't you ask permission?" Harry asked, looking at the headmaster.

"If you have offered her your help, Harry, I'll make space for them." Dumbledore said. "But no children will be threatened by your presence." he said to the sphinx.

"We do not threaten children." the sphinx scoffed. "That is the act of a fool and a coward. Even our caste would never hurt an innocent." She looked at the men who'd captured her family. "These men were fools and cowards."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll have Hagrid prepare a warm space for you inside the castle, for now." he said, knowing where sphinxes came from, they were used to warmer temperatures. At least, during the day. Sphinxes usually stayed in prides, in caves at night, when deserts could get quite cold. It was the beginning of summer now, but it still got quite cold. "I have no doubt that Harry will be able to help you stay comfortable, once he's had time to consider your needs."

III-III

Harry and Moody had taken his Transportation Shield to Egypt, which the ex-Auror had apparently seen already, but hadn't asked about, and the Sphinx had pointed them to a compound out in the desert, which was hidden from muggles, by magical means. It turned out to be an oasis, with lots of running water and plants, big, wide buildings and even, from the looks of it, some farmland. Magic was great for making the impossible, possible.

"The one with the red roof, over there." the sphinx pointed a building out. "I see my cubs there, once a month. They are kept underground somewhere, but I do not know where."

"When you say cubs, are we talking a few months old, or years?" Harry asked.

"One of mine has seen ten summers, the other only five. We have a few more in the pride." Tena said, sadly. "We were ambushed, and most of us were captured, after they took the cubs."

"Wait." Moody said. "How many of your pride are there, here?"

"We were not a large pride." the sphinx said. "We had two males and seven females, including me. One of the males died, and the other has been taken to do labour, as did they with myself and my sisters."

"Who the hell arranged this bloody tournament, that they could use these creatures like this?!" Harry asked.

"We are considered monsters, my mage." the sphinx said. "We do not have the rights that you humans do, in wizards' eyes."

"That's going to have to change." Harry said, narrowing his eyes.

The sphinx smiled at him, for his words. Her smile soon faded. "You are certain they cannot see us?" she asked.

"I detected a ward, but I'm staying above it for now, and this shield makes us invisible. No normal invisibility detection can see us because I invented this form." Harry said. "We'll need a plan to infiltrate, without being noticed."

"Leave that to me, kid." Moody said, as he pulled out his wand and focussed before he started casting. "I'll make a big enough opening. Go through immediately, when it's open. This spell will breach a hole, and it will close quickly, but there's only a small chance that they'll even detect it. Got it from a ward specialist, a few years back."

Harry nodded, and continued sensing for the ward. When Moody finished, he felt he ward opening up. It was strange, though, it felt like the ward was still completely in-tact, but also gaping, like a yawn. Unbroken, but just stretched open. He quickly went through and watched as the ward closed.

"Cool spell, that." Harry said.

"I'll teach you, kid, but let's focus on the mission, first." Moody said.

III-III

With his skills, and Moody to help plan, the rescue had happened almost too easily.

Harry couldn't leave the rest of the pride behind, so they'd ensured to rescue all the kids. With Tena there, the cubs had very willingly come with them, once they found them, while Moody stood guard at the entrance to the building. Once they were outside, the cubs climbed onto the floating Transportation Shield by jumping past the temporary stairs that were there, which made sense, considering how strong Sphinxes were.

When they turned up at the camp, where the adult sphinxes were kept… Well, let's just say, as soon as they saw the kids, and Tena started freeing her pride-mates, the other sphinxes had a bit of fun, breaking each other's bonds and going after their tormentors. Harry had unfortunately seen a few dead people, but he'd also not felt any guilt. The real monsters in this place, had been the humans who'd captured them.

Moody had made a point of letting him see part of that. The sphinxes, not considered human, had their own form of justice. In the magical world, sometimes the only way to serve justice, was to do nothing, and let it happen. These creatures had a right to their retribution, since it was them that had been the injured parties. If they'd left these people, they would have likely just received a fine. Moody couldn't stand that sort of injustice. It was one of the reasons he'd retired. He did step in when the large male started torturing one man. They were going for justice, not vengeance.

Tena had also stepped in at that point. "Please, pride-mate, see reason?" she asked, as the male growled at Moody. "I have found a mage, a true mage, who has offered us equality, and support. He is young, and you may drive him from his noble path, if you act like the monster these humans already think we are." she said, as she indicated to Harry, who was still standing in his transportation shield, with the kids, trying to shield them from some of the carnage.

The male seemed to need to collect himself, before a final swipe of his claws, ended the last man's life, by ripping out his throat. The male looked at the man, watched as he died, and then nodded, seemingly to himself. Then he approached Harry and the cubs. "You're in a race and you pass the person in second place. What place are you in now?" he asked the boy, in a deep rumble of a voice.

"Second place." Harry said, instantly. He wondered why he was offered a riddle, but suspected it was a test of intelligence, or maybe simply a custom, or perhaps he needed to do it, so that he could interact with Harry in a certain, accepted way?

The male nodded at him, at that. "Thank you, for coming to our aid, young mage. I apologise for my act of cruelty. I was not showing my best. If I have betrayed some agreement, that you have made with my pride-mate, I will bear the fruit of my actions, and offer you my life." At that, he went down on his belly, and rolled over, exposing his soft underbelly.

"Forgive him, please, my mage?" Tena asked. "He is the last male of our pride. We will need him."

Harry looked at Tena, and then the male. This was likely more lore he needed to know. He had seen marks on the sphinxes bodies, though. They'd been whipped and mistreated, at the least. "I forgive you then, under the condition that you never think of cruelty, and act it, in front of your children. You are now the only example of a male that your pride has. Make it a good example." he said.

The male sphinx turned back onto his feet, then, and looked at the boy, considering him, and nodded. He looked at Tena then. "You are certain?" he asked her, seemingly having already accepted the request. The other female Sphinxes were already greeting their children, with a few happy tears.

"He is not completely there, yet." Tena allowed. "He is capable, though, and he has shown me his potential, his power, and his honour. He bested me in single martial combat and showed me mercy. I intend to use the life he spared, to help him reach that potential."

The male nodded at that, before looking at Harry. "Then I thank you again, young mage, for the life you have spared is dear to me. I would grant you a boon, but I have nothing to give."

"Just promise me that you and your pride will not attack the children of the school, where I am taking you, until I can make other arrangements for you." Harry said.

"He has arranged a safe place for us in Scotland, at their premier school of magic." Tena said. "The headmaster has given me his word that we will be protected there."

"And our captors?" the male asked.

"They have not allowed me to kill them." Tena said, sighing. "They intend for them to be brought to justice, their way, for attempting to use me as a hostage, to learn the secrets of our mage's power. Their plan was to steal the soul of his magic, and then to kill him, so that they could own it."

The male seemed to consider it, before he looked at Moody, realising that he was a mentor to the young mage. "What will their punishment be?" he asked.

"For trying to force someone to reveal claimed magic, and then planning to kill them?" Moody asked, before an evil smirk appeared on his face. "If he was anyone else, they'd have sent them to prison for life. Harry Potter is rather famous, and the powers that be will try to set an example. This will be an international incident, but they will likely receive a Dementor's Kiss, for what they've attempted."

The male considered that, before nodding, accepting it. He looked at Harry, again. "My name, is Anakratu. I give you my trust, as my pride-mate has, and I will offer you my martial support, should you ever have need of me."

"I don't intend to go out looking for enemies, you know?" Harry asked, smiling lightly.

"If you are what my mate suspects, enemies will seek you out." the male, Anakratu, said. "Since you have come to our aid, this day, and offer us your protection, it is only right that I am equal to your offer, but my pride will not risk themselves for your protection. You have me, not mine."

Harry thought he understood that. He didn't want Harry to consider the whole pride as fighters. He'd put himself in danger, in trade for what protections he could offer. "I believe that that is fair, and I will uphold the bargain, for as long as you have need of me." he said, feeling like this was somehow formal. There was a feeling of magic in the air again, but it wasn't like an oath. This was more like magic taking note, and playing witness, itself.

"See?" Tena asked, with a small smile, as she felt the magic, which soon lifted, vanishing. "He already holds the attention of magic."

"It is as you say." Anakratu said, nodding. "Then let us be away from this place. Take us to our sanctuary, our mage, and let us rest. We will need time to recover, as we are not at our best."

Harry didn't argue, and allowed the other Sphinxes into the shield, while he offered Moody a hand up, and pulled him on easily, since he'd not landed this time.