Harry Potter: The Artisan's Path Chapter 56

Hi all,

Here’s the next chapter. Harry makes contact with the fae realm and continues working on his projects.

Chapter 56

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

Harry sat in his room later that evening, after Susan had returned home. He had been sitting there for a while, trying to work up the courage to use the fae communication stone.

Even if the stone linked him to a hostile entity, they couldn’t reach him here, and he could easily turn it off. That would be a waste of the points he spent on it, however, because it could only be used once. The majority of the magic in the stone was depleted during the process of connecting to the fae realm, and there was no clear way to recharge it. Perhaps after he used it, he would disassemble it and see how it worked.

The stone fit comfortably in his palm. Its strange appearance resembled something out of science fiction rather than a product of magic. He gently ran his fingers across the surface, discovering that it had an oddly unique texture, like a combination of plastic and a spongy substance. It has only two buttons on the front, a speaker, and a small, twisted aerial protruding from the top. The Source had to be trolling him to come up with such an odd design.

He took a breath and pressed the button, only to hear static. A moment later, a male voice appeared on the line, sounding muffled. Could it be a bad connection?

“Who is this? How did you reach me without receiving permission first? Why can’t I see you?” The man spoke harshly.

That was a strong introduction. How was he supposed to respond to that? "I am using an item that connects me to a person in the Fae realm."

“A fae communication stone? They are rare. Are you affiliated with the Source?”

"I have no idea what that means," Harry lied. “Is that a person?”

The man ignored his question. "Where did you get your hands on one?"

"That doesn’t matter at the moment. Who am I speaking with?"

There was silence on the other end, as if they were considering whether to answer. “My name is Peverell. How about you?”

Harry's brows furrowed. The name sounded familiar. Where had he heard that name before? “I’m Harry.”

“Where are you calling from? Maintaining this connection is costing me a lot of magic.”

Harry hesitated. “Earth.”

Peverell released a startled exclamation. “How is that possible? I demand you tell me where you got the stone from.”

Harry frowned. "Or I can hang up. Who are you to make demands of me?”

“Wait! I apologise. I was just surprised that I was speaking to someone from Earth.” There was a pause. “Have you heard of the name Peverell before?”

“It sounds familiar.”

“Then you must be a wizard. I am surprised the Peverell name is still recognised."

“How else would I use this stone?” Harry asked, confused.

“It doesn’t require magic to use,” Peverell replied. “The stone holds all that is needed.”

“That makes sense. By the way, what device are you using to speak? How is the stone able to connect to it?”

"We communicate by using a scrying pool. They are linked to a household, and there is an extensive network of them throughout the fae realm. A fae communication stone hacks into the network, but it’s not very precise."

A network? It sounded like what he was trying to achieve with the two-way mirrors. He was nearly finished with the initial design and was almost ready to make one.

“How does one establish a connection with someone else?” Harry asked curiously.

"Each scrying pool requires a password and permission from the owner to connect," Peverell explained. "Before we proceed, here is the password for mine."

The man relayed a chain of seemingly random words, and Harry scrambled for a quill and paper to write it down, even though it was a futile endeavour. “I don’t have access to your scrying network.”

"Since you have found a fae stone, it’s possible that you will discover other items with a connection to the fae realm. In any case, I have nothing to lose by giving it to you.”

Harry could still detect an unasked question in Peverell's tone. He clearly wanted to know how he came across items from the Source. He wasn’t about to satisfy the man's curiosity. How could he trust someone he hadn’t met before and couldn’t see in person? He also came from the Fae realm, which he distrusted on principle.

“How does the fae realm work?” Harry inquired. “Is everyone living there a deity?”

"You know more about the fae realm than you are letting on," Peverell snorted. "No, they are considered gods in this place, and the majority of them are assholes. In their greed and lust for power, they oppress everyone else. Although things have improved since the Source's first appearance because they fear its power.”

“What is the Source?”

“Nobody knows. Which makes it all the more terrifying, I suppose.”

Harry thought about what to ask next. “Have you heard of a deity named Modor?”

“No,” Peverell replied. “You must have met them if you speak their name. Through a ritual? I doubt it was a pleasant experience.”

Modor probably went by a different name in the Fae realm, Harry realised. It was a name given to her by humans, after all. "Let me just say that I don’t want to meet her anytime soon."

"I’m not surprised," Peverell replied. There was a moment of silence before he cursed. "Dammit, the connection to Earth is depleting all of the magic from my scrying pool. We don’t have much time left.”

“Ah, that’s unfortunate.”

"Listen, make sure to contact me again if you find a method," Peverell said quickly. "Also, if you come across the Deathly Hallows, be sure to collect them. There are three of them, but they are dangerous, so exercise caution when handling them. You can use them to summon…”

Peverell's voice was cut off, and the stone in his hand dimmed. The connection had been lost.

Harry threw the stone onto the bed and thought about everything he had learned from the man. Although he couldn’t be certain that anything he said was true, some interesting details sounded believable. But his last words were suspicious. He mentioned using the hallows to summon something, which could possibly be himself. It meant that Peverell could be a deity, and he didn’t trust them at all.

Why did he need the Deathly Hallows, though? What exactly were they, and who were the Peverells? Harry was not in a hurry, so he could conduct his research slowly. He found it interesting that, of all the people he could have connected with, the person had ties to his world. Was this a coincidence, or was the Source manipulating him to accomplish something?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

30th July

Harry's tongue poked out as he traced the path across the surface with his runic pen. He had a laser-like focus because the step he was currently taking required a high degree of precision. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, but he ignored it. A monocle was placed over one of his eyes, giving him enhanced vision similar to a microscope lens but with a few extra features.

It was called the focus monocle, and it was a reward he got for setting up the gem-crafting station in his workshop. The new discipline required microscopic vision to reshape gems and inscribe arrays on such a small surface area, making it the ideal tool for him.

The monocle’s best additional feature was the X-ray function, which allowed him to see through objects of a certain density. Although it could be abused for more nefarious purposes, he was a pure soul who wouldn’t dare to do such things. He was mainly using it at the moment to ensure that he could be layered together with utmost precision.

He hadn’t tried the new craft yet because Tonks was too busy with her projects to teach him, but the artefact had a variety of other uses. One of which was to assist him in creating spell cards using the new inscription layering method that he had been learning.

Harry had been putting off creating new spell cards until he mastered this technique, as it increased the utility and power of the spell cards he could create. He already had several ideas for new cards, and he was about to finish his first.

He was using the double-tier array, which he had received as a reward for reaching level eleven, and its primary function was to connect two separate arrays imprinted on different surfaces. The distance between these two surfaces couldn’t be more than a millimetre. Using the spell cards as an example, it was equivalent to stacking two of them on top of each other, with the two being only slightly thicker than the one.

The double-tier array had a simple design. It could be likened to building a structure with floors layered on top of each other that had four main pillars at each corner to support it. These four points would be used to connect the two surfaces and ensure that the two arrays were working properly together. Although he claimed it was simple, it added a layer of complexity to the design and took much longer to inscribe than his standard spell cards. He would have to be more careful with how he used them because he didn’t want to spend all of his time making more.

When the two lines came together to complete the array, Harry breathed a sigh of relief and set down the pen. He retrieved the Source and looked over the new message he had received. He smiled as he received confirmation that the spell card was complete. This step had taken far too long to complete successfully.

He had underestimated how difficult it would be to layer two cards together. With this technique, the spell cards required a lot more magic to work properly, which caused some problems with the sequences he had been using up until now. Even with the special runic ink he had created for the purpose, it was no longer adequate to hold the magic and was a disaster waiting to happen. He didn’t think he could continue as an Artisan after having his hands blown off.

The conduit sequence, which transferred magic between all of the different sequences and arrays, required the most updates. The previous design was insufficient to withstand the magic flowing through it, particularly with something as small and powerful as a spell card. He couldn’t find any schematics for it, at least not for free.

In the end, he had to design his own, which took several days. Because of its freeform nature, the parseltongue runic language was perfect for constructing conduit sequences, making his job significantly easier. He estimated that it was more than three hundred percent more efficient than the one he had previously used.

“Anybody home?” Sirius shouted from downstairs, breaking Harry out of his thoughts.

Looking at the spell card in his hand, Harry grinned evilly. “Perfect timing, Sirius.”

Harry made his way downstairs. Sirius, Remus, and Lauren stood in the centre of his workshop, speaking with Tonks, who had emerged from the crafting room where she had been working on her project. She was so preoccupied with her work that she rarely went home, instead sleeping in Harry's spare bedroom upstairs.

Her approach to her creations was much more haphazard than Harry's. Instead of taking the time to design schematics, she would usually jump right into inscribing arrays, which could result in explosive results. It was fortunate that the gem-crafting room had a lot of safeguards in place to prevent any explosions. He added them with Tonks in mind, but even so, she could still be a significant distraction. At times like this, he would retreat to his trunk workshop to work on his own projects in peace.

"Harry, you little genius!" Sirius exclaimed, running over to hug him. "I can’t believe you improved the design of the two-way mirrors!"

He had invited them over because he had made significant progress on the two-way mirrors, and he felt they deserved to see how he had evolved them first.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," Harry said as Sirius let him go. "I need to come up with a new name as well. They can no longer be called two-way mirrors because, once the final design is complete, they will function as an entire network of mirrors.

Remus and Lauren walked forward to greet him.

“It didn’t take you long to improve them," Remus said with admiration. “Lily would be so proud of you.”

Harry was pleased with the comment. "I have hit a wall with my main project, so I have had a lot of free time to work on it."

The adults shared a knowing look. Harry noticed the exchange and wondered what it was about.

“What’s the main thing holding you back with the mirrors?” Remus asked.

"I can only connect so many mirrors before I run out of storage capacity," Harry said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I need a better solution. I have an idea, but it needs a lot of tweaking before it can be implemented."

“Storage capacity?” Lauren asked. “Are you talking about magic?”

Harry nodded. “At the moment, the mirrors are being used as the physical medium that holds the enchantments, which enables the connection to the other mirrors in the network. This is where the limitation exists."

“How about you use gems to increase the capacity?" Tonks suggested.

Most gems could hold a lot more magic than other materials, so arrays could be inscribed into them if you were skilled enough. They were typically fashioned into jewellery and were much smaller and more discreet than other objects containing the same number of enchantments. It’s why he wanted to use them for the Allure-Dampener he was researching. The name wasn’t that great, so he would have to come up with something better eventually.

"It’s too expensive,” Harry replied. “I want to introduce the mirrors to the mass market, so they must be affordable."

"That is correct," Remus said. "The market would be limited, as many countries with wizard communities, such as America, communicate using regular phones. They use techniques to mitigate the negative effects of having electronic devices in close proximity to magic. The primary markets will be Europe and some Asian countries, where the two societies don’t intermingle as much.”

Harry nodded. His workshop was outfitted with enchantments that enabled magic and electronics to work together. He hadn’t researched the subject himself because he had hired an enchanter to do the work. But it was a subject that he intended to pursue in the future.

"But they are an essential item," Lauren commented. "Every wizard and witch would want to have one."

"What about the owls?!" Tonks exclaimed. “Won’t somebody think about the owls?”

They burst out laughing when Tonks transformed her nose into a beak and flapped her arms like an owl. The laughter intensified when Hedwig swooped in to attack her, defending her species’ reputation from her playful mockery. Tonks had to apologise profusely before Hedwig was satisfied and returned to her perch.

Remus snorted. “Tonks is right. The mirrors could put the entire post-owl service out of business."

Hedwig let out a bark.

“I could never replace you, Hedwig,” Harry reassured her.

Hedwig gave an imperious nod and tucked her head back under her wing.

“The mirrors won’t go over with the old geezers in the Wizengamot,” Sirius predicted.

"Especially with those who have business interests involving the post-owls," Remus added.

"Do you have one of the new mirrors made already?" Sirius asked.

He walked over to a table and grabbed the mirror. He handed Sirius the prototype. It did not look much different from the two-way mirrors, but they were bulkier due to the number of arrays on the back. They functioned similarly to traditional mirrors in that you could contact someone simply by saying their name, but he added a few features that made them more functional and safe.

He added a directory where you could manage your contacts and add or remove people as needed. If you weren’t listed in the directory, you couldn’t contact them. You can also turn off the mirror at any time if you do not want to be disturbed. The mirror also had a voice-only feature that didn’t display an image, as some people valued their privacy. There were still some kinks to iron out, such as adding security features to prevent people from using other people's mirrors, but it wasn't too hard to resolve them.

“How many mirrors can be linked together?” Sirius asked, examining the mirror closely.

“Eleven is the limit,” Harry replied.

"You don’t have to establish an all-inclusive network right away," Remus pointed out. "I am sure there are many people who would not mind the limitation. They could have a group of their most important contacts, such as family and friends."

Harry didn’t hesitate to reject his suggestion. “It’s too messy. Some people may need to purchase more than one mirror if they have a large number of contacts. I would rather address the mirror's limitations before releasing it to the market. I’m not in a rush.”

Remus smiled. “You’re the boss.”

"But you could make some mirrors for us in the meantime," Sirius said, looking at him with puppy eyes.

"Stop it," Harry sighed. “I already planned to make some for family and friends.”

"I want one, too," Tonks said, raising her hand. "And two for my parents. Hell, I will pay for them. I assume they take a long time to make, and the materials are not cheap."

"I will place an order for thirty of them," Sirius said, clapping his hands. "I will take ten, and you can distribute the rest as you wish."

He was about to protest, but Sirius stopped him with a look. "You deserve to be compensated for your hard work, Harry. Just let me know what an appropriate price for them is, and I will deposit the galleons in your vault.”

Harry didn’t try to argue further. Looking down, he realised he still had his new spell card in his hand, which he needed to test on someone. “Sirius, can you do a favour for me?”

Sirius looked wary but agreed. Harry promised that the spell card wouldn’t harm him. They went outside, and Harry positioned himself about twenty feet away from his godfather. The others observed from a safe distance.

“Why do I have to be the one to test out your products?” Sirius complained.

Harry shrugged. “Because it’s hilarious?”

“Get it over with,” Sirius grumbled. “If I get hurt, I’m going to prank the hell out of you.”

"That will be difficult after I hit you with this," Harry smirked, and threw the card.

As soon as the card struck him, Sirius was stunned and he collapsed to the ground. However, that was only the first part of the card's effects. Several ropes appeared and wound themselves around his unconscious form, binding him tightly.

“Amazing!” When the others saw what had happened, they cheered, and Harry bowed to them with a flourish.

He called it the Incarcerate spell card, which stunned and bound the person with rope. It may be overkill to add the ropes, but if Harry was fighting multiple opponents, it would require an extra step for his comrades to assist the restrained person in rejoining the battle. The extra second it takes may mean the difference between life and death.

It was a nonviolent way to resolve a conflict. He realised he didn’t have anything like his current arsenal, even though it wouldn’t have been possible using the old method of making spell cards.

With his new method, he could now layer two cards together to create more spell combinations. Although the power of the spells he could inscribe remained limited, combining two spells was sometimes more effective.

Harry was still thinking about selling the spell card to the Aurors so they could apprehend criminals more easily. It wouldn’t replace traditional spellcasting, but it would be useful in certain situations where they couldn’t use their wand, such as when they were disarmed.

Remus walked over to Sirius to revive him.

Sirius jolted awake and wriggled around, attempting to free himself. “Get me out of this!”

“I think you are just fine there,” Tonks said, grinning.

“Lauren!” Sirius faked tears as he looked up at his girlfriend.

"You’re a big baby," Lauren complained. She raised her wand, and the ropes disappeared.

"I think I would rather have been hurt than embarrassed," Sirius said as he stood up, glaring at his godson. "You better watch your back, pup!"

“He gets a free pass tomorrow,” Remus reminded him. “It’s his birthday.”

“Are you looking forward to it, Harry?” Lauren asked.

"My grandparents are being very quiet about it," Harry mused as he stared at them. "Now that I think about it, so is everyone else. It’s suspicious.”

"Whatever it is, I am confident it will be memorable," Sirius said, winking.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Gabrielle arrived at the house while Harry was eating his lunch. Fawkes was perched on her shoulder, his beak stained purple from some substance. She was holding a magazine, but he couldn’t see the title.

"I found this little rascal in our vineyards eating our grapes," Gabrielle said as an introduction.

“Hey, Gabi." Harry kissed her, and she sat down at the table. "I will make sure to punish the thief accordingly.”

Fawkes ignored him and flew over to the counter, where the bowl of fruit was kept. He started eating the fruit as if he hadn't already been snacking on grapes earlier.

“Doesn’t Fawkes look a little off to you?” Gabrielle asked. “And why is he eating so much? He ate a tonne of grapes from our vineyards, and he is still hungry. Does he usually have such an appetite?”

“No.” Harry looked over at Fawkes, concerned.

Now that she mentioned it, some of his red feathers appeared less vibrant. It couldn’t be the prelude to another burning day, as he had already had one last year, which sent Harry to the infirmary. He didn’t want a repeat of that experience.

"Fawkes, are you okay?” Harry asked.

Fawkes looked up and nodded before going back to eating the fruit. He didn’t communicate anything over the bond.

As his anxiety increased, Harry set his fork down, no longer hungry. "Maybe I should get him checked out by an expert."

“Don’t worry too much. It’s probably anything to be concerned about,” Gabrielle assured him. "Besides, I am sure someone will come along soon who will take a look at Fawkes."

Harry's eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What do you know?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Gabrielle said, stealing some chicken from his plate.

“Yeah right.” Harry snorted. “What’s that magazine?”

"I thought you would never ask." Gabrielle smiled as she handed it over to him. "My article has been published.”

"The Magizoologist Digest," Harry said, reading the title. The front cover featured Gabrielle and Mr. Lovegood, with the grove on her property in the background. "You’re on the front page. Congratulations.”

“Merci. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“How did you write the article so quickly? Did you already get some results from your experiments?”

Gabrielle nodded. "It’s frightening how quickly corruption spreads through a Unicorn with no grove to cleanse it.”

Gabrielle and Xenophilius Lovegood had been conducting experiments to back up Harry's claims that the Nightmares originated from corrupted Unicorns. They had obtained permission from the herd of Unicorns on her property to conduct the experiments on them, but they needed to be careful not to go too far, lest they create a Nightmare themselves.

Harry flipped through the pages until he found her article and started reading.

The Origins of Nightmares.

Gabrielle Delacour and Xenophilius Lovegood

Nightmares are considered one of the most dangerous magical creatures on the planet, alongside Nundu and Chimera. When they appear, the various magical governing bodies struggle to deal with them and must pay a high price to remove them. Anyone who meets its gaze for more than a few seconds may fall into a coma and suffer from an endless nightmare from which they will never awaken. So far, no cure has been discovered for the condition, and some Mind-Healers have gone insane when attempting to enter the victim's minds.

Their origins have always been unknown, but given their similar physique, it has been speculated that they are related to Unicorns in some way. Until now, that was only a theory. However, thanks to the discovery by an individual who wishes to remain anonymous, we can confirm that they are related to unicorns, albeit not in the way you might expect. We have conducted several tests to make sure our findings are legitimate.

Nightmares are created when Unicorns become too corrupted. What exactly does that mean? Unicorns are considered the purest of light creatures, and their bodies were long believed to be impervious to other forms of magic, particularly dark magic. However, the opposite is true. They are highly sensitive to corruption, which encompasses far more than just magic. This could range from something as simple as dirt to the darkest of magic. If they are not cleansed of this corruption, they will turn into Nightmares. Fortunately, they have a method of cleansing themselves and returning to their pristine state. The method they employ is unknown, but it takes place in what we call Unicorn Groves.

You may have come across them during your travels. They are mysterious places covered in vines, and no wizard has ever discovered a way to enter. The Unicorns know a way, and we have seen them come in and out of them, free of the corruption that had accumulated before their arrival. According to our observations, corruption accumulates on Unicorns at an alarming rate, requiring them to have constant access to the groves.

To ensure this, we suggest that Unicorn Groves become protected magical reserves…

Harry read the rest of the article, which was primarily about the experiments the two conducted. He looked up to see Gabrielle staring at him, clearly interested in his opinion on the article.

"Well, I’m not an expert, but this is a fantastic article," Harry said, smiling. "Deserving of a front-page appearance."

Gabrielle beamed. "The article has created a lot of buzz in the magizoologist community. There have been a lot of people trying to reach out to us for more details, but Mr Lovegood is handling all of that because I am still a minor.”

“That’s cool. May I keep the magazine?”

“Of course.”

“So, what can you tell me about my birthday tomorrow? What are my grandparents planning? Did you get me a present?”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

31st July

The next morning, Harry ran down the stairs, eager to see what his grandparents had planned for his birthday. However, upon entering the kitchen, he was met with disappointment. His grandparents were sitting at the table like it was any other day. No surprises awaited him. Disgruntled, he prepared some cereal and sat down at the table, and it was only then that they spoke.

“Happy Birthday, Harry,” his grandparents said in unison.

“Thanks,” Harry replied. He expected them to say something else, but Charlus retreated behind the newspaper he was reading, and his grandmother continued writing her letter.

He was almost finished with his cereal when they spoke again.

“You better pack a suitcase,” Charlus said. “We will be heading for the ministry soon.”

“What?”

"Pack a lot of summer clothes," Minerva added. “It’s going to be hot where we are going. And bring a swimsuit as well.”

“Okay, time out,” Harry protested. “Where am I going?”

‘Did we forget to mention it?” Charlus shared a look with his wife.

"I believe so," Minerva replied, her mouth twitching. "Harry, we will be spending a week in Greece to celebrate your birthday. Some of your friends will be joining us."

“Really?” Harry exclaimed. “Who else is joining us?”

"Your girlfriends are coming," Charlus said, before counting the rest of the people with his fingers. “As well as Fleur, Astoria, Hermione, Blaise, Neville, Sirius, Lauren, Remus, Tonks, and the Lovegood's.”

“That many?” Harry asked, surprised. “Why are we going to Greece in particular?”

Minerva smiled. “Well, it has come to our attention that you have been struggling for inspiration with your new project, and we figured you might want to get some more hands-on research.”

It took him a moment to catch on. “The sirens? Aren’t they a race that is notorious for avoiding humans? How am I supposed to meet one?”

“It’s thanks to Gabrielle and Xenophilius,” Charlus replied. “Thanks to the article in the magazine, it attracted the attention of a famous magizoologist. As a token of appreciation for your discovery, he will arrange for you to meet with a Siren.”

“Who is it?”

“Newt Scamander.”

Harry's eyes widened. “This is awesome.”

“Go and get packed. We leave in an hour,” Minerva ordered. “You will be bringing your companions as well. You did mention that Fawkes is looking a little under the weather.”

He now understood what Gabrielle had been talking about yesterday. Harry dashed out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs to pack his luggage. After spending far too much time deciding what to take, he chose to bring his workshop trunk. He could fit a lot more inside it, and he ended up packing half his wardrobe.

After he grabbed Hedwig, Fawkes, and Nagini, they headed to the ministry an hour later, where everyone was waiting for him in the lobby. After a quick greeting, they headed for the International Portkey Office, where they had arranged a portkey ahead of time.

"Luna, have you resolved the issue with the Veela conclave?" Harry asked after noticing the Crumple-Horned Snorkack in her arms.

"They had no choice but to agree," Luna said, petting her companion.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “Luna refused to leave without Cuddles. Who knew she could be so stubborn?”

“I knew it!” Astoria raised her hand. “Luna can be a pain in the—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Minerva interrupted.

Luna smiled brightly. “Yes, I frequently cause pain in people’s bottoms. Thank you for the compliment, Astoria.”

Sirius laughed. “Can I adopt you, Luna? You're a riot.”

“Hmm, I will have to ask Daddy.”

They arrived at the office and stood in queue to wait their turn. When it was their turn, they were told to stand on the platform and hold the large ring that resembled a hula-hoop. Their group was large, but they all managed to squeeze in and grab hold of it.

The ministry worker glanced at the clock. “Portkey to Athens, Greece. Departure time is 0900 hours. Activating in ten seconds. Make sure to hold on tight to the portkey.”

Harry felt a familiar lurch behind his navel, and the ground disappeared beneath him. A brief but violent trip ensued before his feet slammed into the ground. He managed to stay on his feet until he was pushed over by someone else who hadn’t managed the same feat.

“Welcome to Athens. Please vacate the platform in a timely manner.”

So, what do you think? What adventures can Harry get up to in Greece?

Thanks for reading.