So after several months of no updates, save new stories that probably should not have been written, I give you the next chapter. However, this past year has not gone in waste. All future chapters have already been summarized out… now I just need to type them out.

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Harry's body burned with foreign magic as he continued to decimate his body with the knife in his hand. It was already covered in his sticky blood, slowly letting red drops fall to the ground as Harry paused from carving various runes into his body. His back was already covered in runes, thanks to his wandless levitating and Abaddon's directions, and his arms and legs looked like tattoo sleeves.

He was currently finishing up on his heel, gritting his teeth each time as the knife tore away more skin. His whole body was in pain, not yet at the point of complete numbness. Harry had a feeling Abaddon had something to do with that as the runes glowed a soft whitish yellow, indicating they were filled with magic and ready to serve their purpose.

"Done at last?" Abaddon remarked as Harry finally dropped the knife.

Harry scowled at Abaddon, face quickly turning into a grimace. "Unless of course you have anymore directions," he said smartly.

Abaddon's eyes narrowed, causing Harry to immediately shut his mouth. "Only what must be done to continue the ritual," came the deep growl.

Harry nodded warily. "What is this supposed to do to me again?"

Abaddon's low growl echoed throughout the chamber. "Do learn to remember to listen, no matter how much pain you are in. Others, such as your master, will expect you to listen even when receiving pain."

Harry did nothing other than curl a lip at the term master.

Abaddon, seemingly satisfied, continued. "This ritual is nothing more than an extra boost of energy in area's where humans are weakest." Abaddon's lip curled to match Harry's disgusted expression. "Humans do not use all of their brain." Abaddon paused. "Most creatures do not use their brain, as pathetic as that is."

"Why?"

Abaddon stared down at Harry thoughtfully. "Humans already have such a vast selection of knowledge, most leading to destruction. It is possible that magic, or perhaps a god or God itself, if such things exist, put a damper on every single beings magical core."

"Everything?" Harry questioned. "Even the muggles?"

Abaddon's lip quivered, just waiting to let loose a snarl. "Even those pathetic creatures. Their magic is small, so small that it can't even be found. It is this magic that allows muggles to perform acts of adrenaline or even heroic deeds during a disaster. I personally do not believe it is not magic, but instead their soul. All beings have souls, but since muggles do not have magical abilities, it is perhaps their soul reacting, acting as a spontaneous magical core for the moment."

Abaddon paused once more; regarding Harry with such perspectives that Harry wondered if Abaddon was truly ready to keep his side of the deal. It was obvious being alone too long before being forced to see, let alone teach, a complete stranger everyday must be taxing on one's stress and social psychology.

"There are some muggles that have a firmer grasp on their magic," Abaddon continued. "It is not enough to learn your magic, even if it is the weakest of spells. These muggles study the earth and the mind. These humans are known as Wicca, Pagan, Spirtiulist's and were some of the first 'witches' to be burnt during the age of witch hunts. Martial art masters also have an awareness of some magic, often called Chi or Aura."

Abaddon licked his lips, thinking about all the flesh being burned and ripped apart from the witch hunts. He looked down at Harry who was completely unaware of his thoughts. "Alas, we have strayed away from the topic at hand," he said softly. "This ritual shall help your mind open one percent more than what it was. That may seem like a little number, but in your case, as well as any other human, it is enough. Too much release on your brain could kill you. Your magic, mind and brain can only handle so much.

"The runes on your head are for this purpose, as well as better memory. Don't believe you will get a photographic memory," Abaddon snapped, seeing Harry's awed face. "It will be far from it. The runes on your body are to help with endurance and harder bones. Only with training can you help your body be better in other areas, such as strength and speed. I don't want to hear any whining because you didn't become strong or godlike with such a pathetic ritual."

Harry nodded. "Why isn't this ritual used more often?"

"Who says it is not?" Abaddon scratched his chin with a massive claw, scales gleaming whenever the light (that seemingly came from nowhere) hit it. "Your law enforcement uses such rituals, if not to this degree. Now, enough questions, get the crystals ready."

Harry knelt before the four black crystals, making sure they were placed properly in the North, East, South and West position.

"Do you remember the words?"

Harry looked up at Abaddon, who was watching him with such deadly red eyes, and nodded, knowing that if he did not punishment would be involved.

Abaddon's teeth showed. "Begin," he ordered coldly.

Harry took a deep breath and began, all the while focusing his magic on his runes and the crystals. He began to chant in a low hiss, making sure he pronounced each word clearly.

"Per meus veneficus ego operor thee sudo per filiolus spondeo myself obviam totus humanus balbutio cuspis quod fines finium.

"Permissum non meus humanus mens exsisto tampered per reproba statua , tamen per instinct of bestia intus. Vadum meus vires provent, ego solvo meus mens of niger quod niveus."

He chanted this over and over until he had finally repeated it seven times. By that time his entire body was glowing a dark purple and the runes burned a black, charcoal color. Harry shivered as his body constricted against itself once he finished chanting, finding himself unable to breath.

Coughing desperately for air, Harry clawed at his throat, convulsing on the floor as his body shook wildly. His veins could clearly be seen as his muscles twitched. The veins in his head throbbed against his skin, looking ready to burst. Harry's eyes turned completely black before darkness overtook him.

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Harry floated through his mind as nothing more than a ghost, a mere whisper in the wind. He was there and he was not. Harry could still see Abaddon and the chamber as he thrashed around with the runes glowing, and yet he could see nothing but the darkness of his subconscious.

Images rushed passed him as he continued to float toward a single object lit up in the distance. It was still too tiny to see. Harry didn't mind he didn't know what it was. He was content with just floating along; watching images come and go that showed his more recent memories. They showed his achievements and new friends, along with his failures and enemies.

It was nice watching these since it helped Harry understand where he went wrong and how to improve the situation. The events that were successes were also showed in a new light. Harry could have done things differently, done things in easier ways and gain more.

As Harry watched these images finally come to a stop, Harry noticed that he had come to a stop at the giant glass cage. Harry shivered at the prison. Harry looked around and spotted a similar one in the distance. Tagger was inside, his face both enraged and mournful at his imprisonment. There were two other ones on either side of Tagger, though they were completely enshrouded in shadow. Harry could see no movements or shapes from the beings within.

Harry turned back to his own prison and, for the first time, noticed it gave off a faint green glow. It was hardly noticeable and could only be seen if you were actually looking for something. The green glow surrounded the whole outside of the glass prison like an outline before going off into the distance like a trail of light. Curious, Harry followed the odd light.

Harry didn't know how long he floated, though it felt like hours, and by the time he finally found the end of the light trail, he had gone deathly white at the discovery. There was a swirling vortex of dark colors, mostly black and dark red. Small images floated around, showing events that Harry had both seen and never seen before. The green light flowed into the middle of the vortex.

An image of Voldemort appeared before disappearing as soon as it had appeared. Harry grimaced. He hadn't needed to see Voldemort to know that this vortex was connected to the mad man. The aura itself was more than enough for Harry to recognize it. So this was it. This was the mind link that connected Harry and Voldemort together.

Harry glared at the vortex, putting all his hate and anger behind it. Harry longed to get rid of the vortex, to see it disappear and never return. And if he couldn't do that, he wished there was something to lock it away or provide a distraction to it. Harry now knew this was how Voldemort came into his mind each night when he fell asleep.

Harry also saw a see through shield surrounding the vortex. He touched them, surprised at the rough surface. They felt familiar. Harry now knew these were his own natural shields. They probably were easy to shatter once he fell asleep and his awareness was gone.

Walking past the shields, Harry stepped right up to Voldemort's mind entrance. With another furious look, Harry made a vicious swipe at it, hoping to destroy it. As soon as his hand touched the dark entrance, the world shifted and blurred, almost making Harry dizzy as he tried to make out what was happening.

Once the world stopped spinning, Harry found he was in a small, dank chamber. The walls were hard stone and there were small bars for a window almost six feet high against the wall that let in gray light. A small figure in the corner caught Harry's attention, however. It was crouched into a ball, wearing nothing more than scraps of clothing and was shaking.

"Hello?" Harry called hesitantly. He took a few cautious steps forward and nearly jumped out of his skin as the figure lurched toward him and cackled insanely.

Harry stared at the figure in horror and confusion. It was him! Well, at least another figure that looked like an insane version of him. This Harry had horribly mess and greasy hair that looked just plain wild. His face was completely pale and the eyes… The dark circles were truly like a panda's. They were pure black and let the mad, green eyes sparkle with blood lust horror. The arms were covered in deep scars that were not from torture, but self mutilation. The manacles sparkled out at Harry hauntingly and were the only things clean on this Harry.

Harry backed away as he watched this other Harry cackled insanely and rub the manacles in an honored detachment. His tongue rolled out of his mouth as a set of cracked teeth showed themselves to Harry, much to his disgust, and drool ran down his chin.

"Ca… esp…" the insane Harry rasped.

"What was that?" Harry asked hesitantly, almost too soft to hear.

…nt sl… p," insane Harry groaned, now crouching down and holding his disgusting head with yellowed nails tight enough to draw blood.

"What?" Harry demanded, now needing to now.

Insane Harry jerked his head up in a flash, insane smile showing widely as he screamed, "Can't sleep! Can't sleep! Can't sleep! Hahahahah!" Insane Harry laughed and laughed as he ran around the prison, allowing his nails to scratch against the stone and his head to beat against the walls in anguish and madness.

Feeling sick at the sight, Harry could only give a sigh of relief as the mind world blurred and the real world appeared. Harry was lying on his back as he gazed at Abaddon mindlessly. Sitting up, Harry could feel his stomach churn as he thought of the image of his insane counterpart.

"What was that?" Harry asked quietly, looking at his hands. All the runes had disappeared.

"Your mindscape," Abaddon said, arms folded under his massive body and looking quite bored with only a hint of irritation.

"Were you there?" Harry questioned, fixing the beast with a piercing and inquisitive stare.

Abaddon looked annoyed at the question. "Of course, brat," Abaddon snapped. "I watched it all, and I must say that your situation is worse than I thought." Harry gave a worried look. "You link with this human is none of which I have ever seen before, even in the deepest of love bonds. Believe me, brat, there is no such link that is more intimate than a love bond. Yours is complicated and does not even look fixable."

"Then how can I sleep?" Harry asked. "Everytime I fall asleep my shields fall."

"And mind magic comes into the discussion once more," Abaddon said, looking at Harry deeply. "Alas, for you, your mind will never be sufficient in Occlumency."

Harry looked down in thought, reining in his emotions. "Why?"

"Occlumency is for the defensive, the weak that would rather run away from battle. Your mind is and never will be like that. Occlumency is for the patient, and while you may learn patience, it is not your natural instinct. Animals rule their minds with instinct, and so do you."

"Then can I learn Legilemency?" Harry asked.

"No." Harry looked even more hopeless. "Don't give me those pathetic looks, brat!" Abaddon roared. "Fortunately for you, we already have a solution, though it was an unplanned but helpful one. It is located on your back."

"My back…?" Harry attempted to turn around and gaze at his shoulder. Tagger's tattoo image floated happily onto his arm and showed off for Harry to see properly.

"Not that one," Abaddon snapped. "The phoenix. Those vain birds have the power to heal both the body and the mind. This Voldemort is against all that is pure and will undoubtedly stray away from the phoenix. All you must do is awaken the tribal tattoo. Do not forget the Occamy, for it may prove useful, and I suggest you do it quickly."

"So these tattoos might be able to protect my mind?" Harry asked excitedly. "How do I awaken them?"

"Magic," Abaddon said softly. "Pour magic into them or find something within yourself, for that is the way of tribal tattoos."

Harry nodded in understanding and shuffled around a bit awkwardly for a moment. "Abaddon, why did I see that image of me?"

"It is what you would have become if you did not have magic or potions on you side," Abaddon answered, his lip curling with disdain. "It was very foolish of you to not sleep. It is incredibly damaging. You are very lucky you are not normal, though I suppose in your case with that link of yours, Voldemort would have driven you insane anyways. Like I said, brat, best work on your tattoos quickly."

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"So that was some messed up shit," Tagger said, blunt as ever.

Harry jogged through the forest in his half demon form, tail floating behind in midair as he picked up speed. Jumping over a particularly thick log, Harry spared Tagger a glance.

"I agree. I honestly had no idea that I could've become that thing," Harry said, grimacing at the thought as he shot up into the trees, eager to not go into the path of the Mantygre up ahead.

Mantygre's had the body of a tiger and the head of an old man with horns. They were often peaceful creatures that attacked second unless provoked. The one up ahead, however, looked a little irritated about something.

"Do you think you can awaken your tattoo?" Tagger asked, floating lazily along.

"I hope so," Harry replied coming to a stop as he neared a cliff next to a running river. Looking down, Harry was awed by the sight. A large lagoon was at the bottom at least twenty feet down. The trees and plants looked like they were a mix of forest and rainforest. The clear blue water churned under the weight of the waterfall. As Harry looked at the rock ledge he was standing on by the side, he noticed many indents and thick vines that looked like they could be used as a climbing device.

Walking along the edge, which led to a hill closer to the lagoon itself, Harry grinned. It was a beautiful area. The ledge didn't have any trees near it, giving a good ten feet of space from the forest. The hill he was on at the moment was now going into the forest. Stepping through some dangling green vines, Harry felt his ear twitch as a sound alerted him to the right. It sounded like someone was running and dragging something with them.

Curious, Harry took off in search of the sound. Running on all fours to pick up speed, Harry came to a stop as the ground grew muddier. He couldn't hear the sound anymore. Harry gave a sigh and stood up straight.

"I wonder what it was," Harry wondered.

"I didn't hear any—"

"Watch out!" a voice roared, interrupting Tagger.

Jerking his head painfully to the right in shock of the voice, Harry was knocked over and sent tumbling as some type of being rapped itself into knots around him.

"Oomph," Harry and the thing groaned.

Getting up, Harry almost jumped back in shock. Some type of giant cobra was wrapped around him. It was huge and had two thick, muscled arms with claws, one of which was rubbing its head. It had tan scales covering it from head to tail, though the head and crown had some dark brown designs.

"Oi, I told you to watch it," the large cobra muttered.

It was much longer than Harry and was slightly thicker than a full grown man. The cobra was about to say something else but a large roar from the distance made him pause. A small earthquake could be felt as whatever was chasing the cobra man was heading this way.

Scrambling out of the coils, Harry jumped up and was prepared to run. Curses and hisses made him stop. Looking back, he saw the cobra was completely entangled around a large log and vines. The rope vines made escape incredibly hard. Glancing at the dust from the animal catching up in the distance over the trees, Harry made a split decision. Harry untied the cobra and they both ran like hell.

Another roar alerted them that whatever was chasing the cobra was gaining on them fast. The cobra grimaced and picked up more speed.

"What did you do to that thing?!" Harry roared over the stampede of whatever was chasing them.

The cobra panted as he held the fur sack he had picked up even tighter. "Stole from it!" it said gleefully, letting Harry know that it was a boy by how deep the voice was.

"You make that sound like a good thing!" Harry shouted back.

"Stealing from an old Quetzalcoatl is definitely something to boast about!" cobra laughed.

"You're insane!" Harry yelled.

Quetzalcoatl's were supposed to be incredibly huge serpents that didn't have scales, but instead hardened feathers and a lethal poison.

"What did you take?" Harry demanded.

His companion laughed. "His feathers!"

Harry's jaw dropped. Just as he was supposed to say something back, another large roar shook the forest and a thick tail swung out of no where, managing to cut right through the trees as easily as a knife through butter, and head straight at them.

Screaming, the two were sent flying and tumbling into the air. Screaming even more, the two grabbed hold of each other as they made their decent.

"Watch out for the tree!" Tagger yelled, unable to stop the amusement he was feeling from staying off his face.

Seeing the thick trees and vines heading toward them, or they toward the vines and trees, Harry nudged the large cobra man hard. "Grab something!"

As one the two grabbed onto a single vine, still managing to hug the other closer in fright, and were sent swinging. Their swing was at first toward the ground before swing in an arc and once again making them gain speed and go flying when the vine broke, and straight into the lagoon with a large splash.

Holding each other tightly with their eyes closed, they both opened their eyes as one as they began to sink. For a full ten seconds they sank to the bottom, still completely in shock, before releasing each other and swimming toward air.

Sucking air in greedily, the two stared at each other once more, this time even longer than before. As one, the two burst out laughing.

"I… I can't believe that!" Harry said, cracking up and finding it hard to stay afloat as he laughed so hard.

"Me neither! You should have seen your face as we were sent flying into the air."

"You should have seen your face as well," Harry returned, still laughing as the two swam back to land and lay on their backs. Still cracking up, the two turned to each other.

"The name's Tsarr," the giant snake boy said, grinning easily and exposing two thin fangs as he pronounced his name as Sar.

Harry returned the grin just as easily. "Harry." The two shook before just resting on the wet grass, taking their time to regain their breath.

"So why the heck would you steal from a Quetzalcoatl?" Harry asked once they regained their breath.

Tsarr gave Harry a smug look and shook the bag's contents. "Getting ready for All Hallows Day."

Harry gave him a queer look. "You mean Halloween?"

"If you like to call it the human way," Tsarr said, looking at Harry closely. He tugged at Harry's shirt. "This look's human made… Did you escape from them?"

Harry chuckled. "Grew up in the human world but decided to try some new surroundings."

"Hate to tell you, but this isn't the safest place." Tsarr sounded completely amused as he tugged more at Harry's clothes. "These will do nothing when winter comes, unless you have some fire in you, dragon boy." Tsarr laughed as he straightened. "If you're new, allow me to be the first one to introduce you to the forest." Tsarr gave a mocking bow before slugging a huge arm that was almost as thick as Harry around his shoulders.

"So what about Halloween?" Harry asked.

"All Hallows Day," Tsarr corrected. "Day of the Dead." He grinned easily. He was just a go happy guy. "What did those humans do to you? Or are all city demons this way?"

"Probably just me," Harry said. Inwardly, he felt a little bad he wasn't being honest that he wasn't really a demon.

"Well, we can't have that! Why don't you come back to my village and learn more about your new home? You city demon's don't seem to know much."

"I'm not that bad!" Harry huffed and shrugged the arm off.

"Uh huh." Tsarr flicked out his tongue mockingly. The forked tongue barely touched his nose. "So, about Hallows Day. It's also the harvest season." Harry gave a hum of understanding. "Hallows Day is the day when the living and the dead are no longer separated by a spiritual boundary but don't know when we pass each other. It's like those ghosts at the castle." Tsarr pointed behind Harry where he assumed was the castle.

"So you have a celebration and then get ready for winter," Harry reasoned.

"Right in one." Tsarr smirked. "Stay with me if you can!"

As quick as a snitch the large snake boy shot through the trees and slithered through the branches with an amazing flexibility. Dumbfounded, Harry could only stare for a moment.

"What are you waiting for?" Tagger snapped playfully. "Get after him!"

Dumbfounded look gone, Harry grinned widely and shot off through the trees with his wings pressed tight against his back.

"Come on, city demon," Tsarr called from up ahead.

The only thing Harry could really follow was Tsarr's tail. While Tsarr was obviously at ease going at such a speed through the trees, Harry was not. He tripped, fell and hit many things. One particular Cockatrice had crowed quite loudly and shot small fire balls at Harry when he stepped on its dragon tail.

"Haha, so slow!" Tsarr teased, lazed about all over a twiggy tree as Harry landed next to him.

"Not… my… fault," Harry said in between breaths. He had never run so fast before.

"City demon is a dead demon if he doesn't get any faster," Tsarr teased.

Harry swung his tail and managed to nick a snickering Tsarr in the hood.

"Welcome to my village," Tsarr said easily, slithering with an arrogant sway towards a very busy snake demon village.

The houses were made out of wood, leaves and pines in the shape of a cone. The earth looked built up on the side which made Harry believe the real house was underground like a tunnel with various openings. Snake demons were slithering everywhere, and not all of them had the head of a snake, but of a human. The females, who didn't have scales covering their chest, wore animal skins, much like the centaurs.

A few snake beings, however, didn't have a snake tail. They had scaled legs and feet that only had two round toes. They had a skinny and versatile tail that moved much like a whip. Their hands had three round fingers that would sometimes play with a thick stick that had sharp rocks at the end. They reminded Harry of ninja's since they could jump away and move so quickly through the trees and pretty much disappear from sight.

Wooden make-shift tables were everywhere, as well as fire pits. One large fire pit stood in the center and already had a healthy fire burning away. A large amount of fruit was gathered near it. As Harry watched closely, Harry could male out several males carrying dead animals towards a single pit that looked like it had ice on the bottom.

"Is there ice in that pit?" Harry asked, pointing to the giant meat pile.

"Of course. How else would we keep that much meat from spoiling?" Tsarr gave him a look that clearly said 'duh'. "Come with me to meet my sissy! We don't get many visitors, but you're a fellow reptile."

Harry felt now was not the time to tell him he was technically a mammal.

"Oi, sissy!" Tsarr called as they made their way through the village, barely getting a single glance.

Another snake demon, this time with blue scales and a human top with tan hair and golden eyes, turned toward them with annoyance. She hissed warningly. "I told you not to call me sissy," she hissed, long black tongue flicking out in irritation.

"Girls are so hissy hissy," Tsarr snickered to Harry.

Tsarr's sister turned to Harry. Her sour expression immediately changed as she lowered her eyes lids and gave an interested hiss. "And just who issss thisss?"

Harry felt a shiver at the expressive s. He suddenly hoped he hadn't accidentally stepped into a Lameon pit.

"I'm Harry," Harry said, bowing his snout just a little and showing off his pointy teeth sheepishly on his closed mouth.

"And I am Ser," she said, blue tail curling into a ball as she eyed Harry up and down.

Harry subtly looked away, pretending to be eyeing the village and the working beings. "Nice to meet you," he said quietly.

Ser chuckled. "He's shy," she stated to Tsarr, much to Harry's increasing embarrassment.

Tsarr chuckled as well, holding a large claw to his snout.

"Big brotha! Big brotha!" a child shouted happily.

"Hey, there's my little king!" Tsarr said happily.

A young boy that had dark red hair, which was almost brown, and a bright, Gryffindor red snake tail came slithering out of Ser's and Tsarr's home. He giggled as he lunged, surprising Harry. The boy was barely past his knees but managed to lunge all the way to Tsarr's head.

The boy giggled as he hung from Tsarr's hood and tried to nudge the tickling hands away from him. He stopped, however, when he caught sight of Harry. He ducked behind Tsarr's hood, hiding his face.

"Don't be scared of Harry here," Tsarr said happily, lifting the boy toward Harry. "He's just a city demon so he could even be taken down by you."

Harry mock glared before waving at the boy, giving a large grin. Hesitantly, he waved back.

"Zan, mind your manner's," Ser said strictly. "What do we do when we meet new people?"

The boy sighed. "Introduce myself," he said sourly, sounding as if that rule had been embroided into his mind. "Hi, I'm Zan," he said with fake excitement.

Harry chuckled and ruffled his hair. "No need to go all out on me," he teased.

Zan grinned beneath Harry's hand, which seemed rather large to his head. Scales really made up in size.

"So where are you residing?" Ser asked.

"Resi… Oh, uh, that way," Harry pointed. He noticed the disbelieving looks. "Well, I know how to get back," he said a little stubbornly.

Ser just nodded, though she did thro Tsarr a glare. "Make sure you help him back. I shudder to think how city demons survive."

Harry scowled. "Just a different territory," he said, pride somewhat hurt.

Ser just hissed disapprovingly. "Men," she muttered, grabbing Zan from Tsarr and taking her leave.

"Ah, don't worry about her," Tsarr said patiently. "She still thinks I get lost in this forest. But forget about that, I'll show you the rest of the village."

Harry followed Tsarr, taking in everything that he had missed when he had first entered.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Latin translation: By my magic I do thee swear by the gods to pledge myself against all human stamina points and boundaries. Let not my human mind be tampered with false images, but with the instinct of the beast within. Shall my strength increase; I release my mind of black and white.