Chapeter Foruteen - Conversing with Spirits, that's not dangerous at all, right?
Lily had returned fairly quickly after her sisters had recovered some more from their ordeal and, with help from her husband, brother-in-law and her eldest nephew, took her remaining nieces and nephews home. She returned with Wyatt after that task was done and left him to return to his common room, reminding him he has homework that is due during the week that he should focus on. She left for her own office, walked through a hidden door and entered her private quarters. She waved her wand at a cupboard and a bottle of firewhiskey floated out the opened door and poured a generous libation in a glass that floated from another cupboard. The glass floated over to Lily, who was sat in an armchair near the recently lit fireplace. She plucked the glass from the air and sipped the drink, the burn in her throat a sensation she welcomed after the day she had. James orbed into the room, and settled onto the sofa next to her
"How are you holding up Flower?" James asked her softly as he wrapped his arm around his red-haired wife.
"I'm doing ok. That was really tough James, I don't know how I kept it together for the boys. I was so worried. And then when we'd found my sisters, and they were evil, that was the hardest part of it all I think" Lily confessed as she relaxed into James's strong embrace.
"How so?" he inquired as he traced a pattern on her arm softly with his index finger
"In all the time since I've been back, I have never seen any of my sisters look at me with such hatred. In the battle, before we managed to reverse Dantalian's magic, Piper had tried to blow me up. I was so scared she didn't love me anymore" Lily sobbed as she wrapped her arms around her raven haired husband, who tightened his hold on the crying woman. They sat like that for hours, the young black haired whitelighter offering his unwavering support, and his red-head wife taking solace in his embrace and comfort.
Neither of them noticed an elderly looking man, with sallow skin, grey hair and a menacing smile on his face stood in the corner of the room, watching them and waiting for the perfect time to strike.
UUU
Harry awoke early the following day and dressed for the day before any of his dormmates had even woken. He walked softly down to the Hufflepuff House common room and found Tonks sat on an armchair, reading.
"Wotcher Fiancee" the young metamorphmagus said as Harry entered the room without looking up from her book.
"How did you know it was me?" Harry asked her
"A benefit of being a Metamorphmagus, one that you'd have found out for yourself sooner or later regardless of my telling it to you now, is that we have the ability to strengthen our senses exponentially. I could hear you coming from the moment you entered your first year shared common room, and I knew it was you because of your scent" she replied as she carried on reading, still without a glance to the first year, even as he settled down on a comfy looking armchair across from her.
"Are you trying to say I smell?" Harry asked teasingly
"Well, when you put it that way…" Tonks retorted without missing a beat, then chuckling as she finally glanced up and saw a mock hurt on the young lad's face, her hair turning a luscious and strongly vibrant yellow colour at her mirth.
"Everyone has their own scent. Its kind of like how everyone has their own magical signature, so does everyone has their own scent. Beings with stronger than average senses like Vampires, Wereworlves, Centaurs and so on, can utilise their sense of smell to recognise a person and be able to track other down just by using their scent. A Metamorphmagus has the ability to put our senses on par with that of a magical being, but we can't always keep them on cause it can be quite taxing on our magical cores to hold it for long. A Metamorphmagus, after years of using their abilities like I have can hold it for longer than someone like you, who's only now coming into their powers" Tonks explained as she changed her hair back to her customary pixie cut bubblegum pink hair.
"So what are you reading?" he asked as he sat down next to the teen, screwing his face for a small moment and managing to make his own hair grow longer and turn the same shade of flaming red as his mother.
"It's a book Sirius lent me from the Black Vaults. It's an interesting read" she replied as she shifted her weight to accommodate the boys presence on the arm of the chair.
"It's a journal that was written by an ancestor of mine who was also apparently a Metamorphmagus. They've made notes on different abilities they found out we Metamorphmagi possess and have given tips and instructions on how to use these abilities. Sirius also lent me a book that he and your father bought during their training period for the Auror Corps, which is what I want to do in the future" Tonks said as she handed the book on Auror Training to Harry. He read the back cover and then handed it back to Tonks, who placed it and the book she had been reading in her book bag at her feet. The two walked together down to the Great Hall, chatting with one another amicably. They ate their breakfast together and talked about their respective families and hobbies until the Charms professor strode towards the pair and gained their attention.
"Mr. Potter, are you about ready to leave?" he enquired.
"Whenever you are Professor Flitwick" Harry replied with a smile. He stood and, after bidding his eldest fiancée farewell, walked with the part Goblin Head of Ravenclaw House to the main entrance gates. Once past the protective Warding of the school and its grounds Professor Flitwick took the Young Kings hand and twisted on the spot, Apparating himself and his charge away to the Apparition point inside Gringotts's private meeting area. Stood there waiting for the two wizards was none other than King Ragnok himself.
"King Harry, welcome to the Land of the People, hidden away from wizardkind since the Wars between our two races. If you would like to follow me, King Jean-Luc Sebastien Delcaour is waiting for us in my palace's meeting chambers" King Ragnok declares, bowing his head slightly in recognition to his nephew, who bowed deeply in return. The party of three walked to the palace in amicable silence, awaiting to fulfil their duties to their nations
UUU
The three Kings of separate Magical Nations had a very productive meeting as far as Harry was concerned. They had each solidified an official alliance with each other and King Delacour ("please, you're marrying ma fille, call me Jean-Luc") had offered to assist Harry in his Royal duties now that the British Magical Monarchy has risen once more. Harry had learnt that every weekend, which is supposed to be his respite from classes he is to fulfil his responsibilities as King, which somewhat soured his mood as that adds on to his workload of completing his homework. Professor Flitwick, who heard Harry grousing about this fact to himself as he left The People's Royal meeting chamber to head back to Hogwarts offered him a solution.
"Sometimes a very ambitious student will attempt to take every single subject we offer at Hogwarts at the same time, despite their professors' advice not to do so and the conflict in scheduling classes. When that does happen we can apply for a Time Turner." The diminutive professor explained as he and Harry walked from the Hogwarts main gates after the Apparated away from Gringotts.
"What's a Time Turner Professor, and how would I go about getting one?" Harry asked.
"A Time Turner Mr. Potter is a magical object that can be worn as a necklace with a portion of The Sands of Time inside an hourglass. The wearer can manipulate the hourglass to spin backwards by turning a dial, and each turn backwards sends the wearer back in time by one hour. There is a limit that the user may only travel backwards in time as far as five hours without causing serious harm to them and to time itself." Professor Flitwick expanded as he and Harry sat on a bench in the courtyard.
"And in regards to your conundrum of where you can perform these Royal duties, you forget that Hogwarts was once Camelot and the seat of your Royal Bloodline and has stood here for centuries, and has secrets forgotten to time just waiting to be discovered by its' Lord" Professor Flitwick continued before he departed with a wink. Harry sat on the bench a while longer before a memory came to him.
He'd completely forgotten that, if he truly concentrated when he was home, he could connect to the Nexus underneath Halliwell Manor and had once conversed with the Spiritual Nexus (under strict observation by his mother and aunts of course).
'Mum, are you free?' Harry sent out to his mother telepathically.
'Always am for you sweetheart. Do you need me in a Mum capacity or Whiteligter?' Lily replied to him. Harry sent the memory of his conversation with the Spiritual Nexus back home to his mother, and added how he'd like to try doing the same with The Spirit of Hogwarts / Camelot.
'Meet me in my quarters, and fetch Wyatt. I'm going to ask for your Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Prue to come join us' Lily instructed her son before using the Floo network to summon her elder sisters. Soon enough there was a jingling sound and a blue light entering the room as Prue orbed herself and Phoebe into the room, Harry and Wyatt joining them just moments after through walking in the room via the door.
"Why didn't you orb?" Phoebe asked her nephews as they all settled down in the seating area by the fireplace.
"We need to get more familiar with the layout of this castle. It's like a maze, honestly I don't know the professors expect us to just automatically know our way around the castle without a tour" Wyatt replied as he sent a teasing glare to his red-headed aunt. While he said this Phoebe reached out with her Empathy and could feel that someone was shocked but she put it down towards her younger sister, who'd briefly explained that Harry had a dangerous idea that could pay off quite well in the long run. How was she to suspect that the one who was truly shocked was someone hidden from the naked eye in the corner of the room. Barbas the Demon of Fear felt some fear and anxiety of his own, he wasn't told that Prue Halliwell lived still! As far as he was concerned she was murdered, quite to his own feelings of glee, by Shax. He needed to retreat and work on his revenge plan some more, maybe find a demon or warlock or two that he can manipulate into attacking The Charmed Ones, separately of course (he isn't some Rookie with not experience behind him or foreknowledge on just how powerful those damned Witches were when together). He wants to assess how much they've grown and see if he could find any new weaknesses he could exploit. And with that thought, off the Demon of Fear went, with designs to return and finally kill The Charmed Ones.
Unbeknownst to the rooms' occupants of Barbas' presence, let alone departure from the room, Prue asked
"So what's this hair-brained idea then?" Harry took a moment to breathe and then went on to explain to his aunts and cousin what he wanted to do.
"So what do you want us to do?" Wyatt asked.
"The last time Harry did something like this, we took many precautions and we're doing the same right now. Wyatt I want you to be here incase things go out of hand so you can heal or orb us away from danger should we need it. Phoebe, I want you to use your Empathy and keep an eye on Harry's emotions. I'm going to act as his anchor to the real world." Lily explained to her sister and nephew respectively.
"What do you want me to do then?" Prue wondered.
"Harry is going to make his Telepathic link with you stronger and will Augment your Astral Projection power and allow you to Astral Project within his mind so you can be an extra person to watch for spiritual dangers as Harry converses with the Spirit of Hogwarts." Lily elaborates. Prue's eyes widened at this.
"Do you really think it's possible?" Prue asks her sisters and nephews. Phoebe concentrates for a moment and suddenly a small gasp was heard as she triggered a premonition. Lily, Prue, Harry and Wyatt all looked at Phoebe as she let out her breath.
"It's possible, I saw you both talking with someone then I heard Prue shout for Harry to duck so she definitely needs to go and be with him." Phoebe had gone on to explain. Ten minutes later, Harry and Prue lay on a conjured bed in the middle of Lily's classroom after Prue had waved her arm and the tables all moved to the side of the room. Phoebe and Wyatt sat next to one another at the feet of the two laid down while Lily sat at their heads, a hand on their shoulders to act as their Anchor to the physical plane.
Harry closed his eyes and opened his mind to his eldest aunt, who then subsequently closed her eyes and, with her powers strengthened by Harry's Augmentation power, Astral Projected herself in Harry's mind. To her wonder, it wasn't just some blank landscape that her and Harry were in but were in the Manor back home.
"How are we here?" Prue asked Harry as she looked around at the exact replica of the house she grew up in and currently lived in with her partner Andy, her sister Piper and Piper's family.
"This is my Mind Palace. Because of my power of Telepathy I obviously find it easier to use the Mind Magics that Sirius was talking about, Legilimency, which I don't really need to use cause I can already read people's mind, and Occlumency, which can shield peoples mind from Legilimency but not from my Telepathy. Occlumency is also extremely useful in organising your thoughts and mind. I used Occlumency and used home as the thing to help me organise my thoughts and memories. They're all stored away in the different rooms in the house but only certain phrases can open the doors to access the rooms the memories are stored in." Harry explained as he closed his eyes and called out for the Spirt of Hogwarts telepathically. He opened his eyes just as a figure of a woman with long, flowing blonde hair, warm brown eyes and a kind smile materialised in front of the two Wiccan Witches. The woman wore sunny yellow robes over a short and plump physique.
"Hello Mr. Potter, Hello Miss. Halliwell" the woman said kindly with her melodic voice.
"Are you the Spirit of Hogwarts?" Harry asked warily.
"I am a part of the Spirit yes, I am the soul of Helga Hufflepuff. The Spirit of Hogwarts is comprised of the spirits of my fellow founders and I as we poured not just our magic and knowledge within the school when we each came into our inheritance of Camelot through our mentor, Merlin Ambrosious. And so the Spirit of Hogwarts was born when we each passed. I was sent to speak with you as you're a member of my House." Helga Hufflepuff replied.
"Its an honour to meet you Professor Hufflepuff" Harry said with a small bow
"Thank you Mr. Potter but please call me Helga" she replied
"Then feel welcome to call us by our given names" Prue stated with a smile at the kindly woman
"So, what is it you'd like to know young Harry?" Helga asked after Harry and his aunt had taken a seat on the sofa in the living room and motioned for Helga to also take a seat.
"As you may be aware, as well as being the descendant of yourself, Professors Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and earning the Lordship of Professor Slytherin's line through Rite of Conquest, I am also the Lord of House Pendragon-Le Fey and thus King of Albion. In order to fulfil my duties as King I need an office and space for myself, after discussing with Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House, I had the idea to get in touch with yourself. Is there a way you can help me?" Harry asks and Prue looks around.
"Of course we can help you! There is a room that Godric used on the seventh floor called the Room of Requirement. There is currently a painting of someone named Barnabas opposite. All that is required is for you to walk back and forth in front of the wall thinking about what you need and the door shall materialise and behind that door, the room that you need" Helga replied.
"I also wish to thank you for" Helga began before she was cut off by Prue who'd shouted
"GET DOWN!" Harry whirled around and saw a man with dark brown hair, whose fringe parted in the middle to both sides. He wore a neat and crisp looking suit and his eyes, a brown similar to his hair, had a sinister sparkle in them.
"Hello Prue," the man said. Prue's eyes widened slightly before she composed herself.
"Rex. Where's your little bitch Hannah too? Didn't she make the cut?" Prue taunted.
"Oh she did, she's with me always, as she was the first time around. Now I must apologise for this unseemly attack, but my master demanded it, just as Cole was ordered to test the defences of this place." Rex bit back with a smirk
"Who's your master? You back to licking the boots of some demon?" Prue enquired, as she stood firmly between Helga and Harry and their would be attacker. Rex chuckled before he replied with an evil grin
"You can't think that we're the only ones The Powers That Be brought back did you? The Source and his personal assassin Shax just can't wait to see you again. That's if your survive this" Rex snarled at the end and launched himself forward. Prue flung her arm outwards and Rex was sent backwards. He landed on his back and staggered upwards.
"How did you get here? The wards should have kept you out?" Harry asked as he pulled on a Demon's power and summoned a fireball, which he threw casually from hand to hand in an effort to intimidate the intruder.
"Now why would I reveal that" Rex replied before he turned to Prue
"And I see that you're power has grown Prue, no more squinting eh? That's good to know" he remarks before flinging his arms out and then wrapping his hands together.
"I must thank the Source for these new abilities, it'll make your demise that much easier" he taunts as strands of barbed wire coil around Harry, Helga and Prue.
Prue squints her eyes and Rex flies backward once more, though the barbed wire wrapped around the three remained. She tried squinting at Harry's bindings, only for them to tighten and him to cry out in pain. A golden glow blinds them for a moment before they notice that Harry is no longer bleeding from Prue's efforts to free him.
"Remind me to thank Wyatt" Harry remarks quietly to his aunt. While the two were distracted, Helga watched them with pride in her eyes.
"Say goodbye Prue" Rex calls out as her closes a grip on the air in front of him, causing the barbed wire to tighten on her and Harry. What he hadn't realised however was there were three Spirits behind him until one of them called out
"Helga, can we please end this worm?". Rex jumped and turned startled to see a woman with long black hair wearing a dress of a sapphire blue and two men. The man who spoke had wild auburn hair and a scraggly beard to match it and wore ruby red robes, while his companion had platinum blond hair and wore emerald green robes much like Professor McGonagall on Harry's first night at Hogwarts. The auburn haired man drew a jewel encrusted sword, though before he could swing or thrust it, Rex faded from view, along with the barbed constrictions on Helga and her visitors.
"Thank you for saving us" Harry said, in awe of the other people stood before him as they were undoubtedly Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gyrffindor and Salazar Slytherin respectively.
"It was no problem at all young Mr. Potter. We couldn't exactly let the boy who's going to bring our once Great houses back into the limelight as leaders of the Wizarding and Wiccan world as they should be!" Godric Gryffindor replied with a hearty laugh as Helga went and joined her fellow Spirits.
"May we ask something of you Harry" Rowena Ravenclaw enquired.
"Anything" the young boy replied without hesitation.
"Due to our nature as spirits, we are privy as to the goings on in the Mortal Realm and we wish for our Seats within the Wizengamot to be re-awakened and utilised. Despite your being King, you only need to deal with the major situations and have the Ministry of Magic running the country for you. We ask that you assign people as your Proxy for our Seats within the Wizengamot, people who you can trust in order to better our world, while you continue your studies, and even after if you so wish" Rowena Ravenclaw asks as Harry and Prue confer Telepathically on this request.
"I shall do so" Harry replies with a nod, before the Founders of Hogwarts bid Harry and Prue farewell. Harry and Prue close their eyes and fade from the Astral Plane they once occupied, returning to their bodies on the Mortal plane. Harry opened his eyes and sat upright with a gasp, before his mother wrapped her arms comfortingly around him.
"Who was that man Aunt Prue?" Harry asked when he noticed that she too had sat upright, with Phoebe and Wyatt grasping her hands. Phoebe, Lily and Wyatt looked at Prue in confusion.
"Me, Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe knew him as Rex, Harry. Rex Buckland" Prue said, while Phoebe gasped in shock, so my ex-husband isn't the only one to return from the dead, she thought bitterly.
"He was my boss when we first got our Powers unbound at the Auction House I used to work at. Him and his partner, Hannah Webster were warlocks and very nearly stole our powers and killed us if it wasn't for your Uncle Leo as we later discovered." Prue went on to explain, noticing the still worries and confused look on Harry's face.
"How did he get past the Wards? Is he that powerful?" Harry exclaimed.
"I don't know sweetie, I really don't know" Prue replied solemnly. The five Wiccans sat in a somber and contemplative silence before Prue and Phoebe declared they had better head back home, and Harry and Wyatt returned to their dormitories and their friends, while Lily returned to her own quarters. All members of the Halliwell-Matthews-Potter clan (and their extended family) who were informed of the developments (Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Lily, Leo, Andy, Henry, Coop, Sirius, Remus, Marlene, Florean, Harry, Wyatt and Chris) all rested fitfully as worry overcame them for their family and the rising threat to their existence.
(A/N Hello everyone! No you havent read wrong, I have actually written the next chapter for Harry Halliwell! I know i have been absolutely awful in updating this story, and for that I cannot apologise enough and can only offer up an explanation for my absence of being busy working, completing my teaching degree in university and suffering with great family health problems since I last updated as well as having a MAJOR case of writers block. Hopefully that has come to end. I am still searching for someone to act as a BETA for this story and so anyone who is interested, please reach out and PM me! Again, my apologies for being such a lousy author and updater! Hope you enjoy this installement! As always, leave a review with your feedback (please keep it positive and constructive)! PotterheadedWhovian :)