Harry Potter: The Artisan's Path Chapter 22

Hi all,

Here is the first of two HP: TAP chapters coming this week. Another time skip, and we are getting closer to Halloween.

Dumbledore did not take the news of Charlus Potter’s miraculous return from the dead well. He obtained a copy of the Daily Prophet and read it as he sat down for his evening meal. Upon seeing the headline about the historical Wizengamot meeting and Charlus’ appearance, he spat out his pumpkin juice. To say he was infuriated was an understatement.

That wasn't the only bad news. There was another article that exposed his relationship with Grindelwald and called into question whether Dumbledore had actually defeated him in 1945. He had no doubt that Charles Potter was the one responsible for the character's assassination. That it was all true was beside the point.

The article did irreversible damage to his reputation. Though he was currently labelled a criminal, he wasn't too worried about it. As soon as he accomplished his goals, he was certain he would be welcomed back with welcoming arms. He would be revered. However, he wasn't sure if that was the case any more thanks to the article.

Dumbledore pushed away from the table and stood. He had lost his appetite. As he paced, his mind was racing with thoughts, as he tried to figure out how this affected his plans going forward. Charlus Potter was not someone to be trifled with, especially as he was on the front foot in this situation. Considering all that he had done to the Potters, Charlus would not hesitate to come after him.

He suddenly realised Minerva had betrayed him. That point stuck out to him more than anything else. She must have known Charlus was alive when he was still Headmaster. It must have been her who convinced Flitwick to get the Book of Acceptance examined for evidence of his tampering. His apprentice, the daughter of his heart, did him wrong.

Unable to contain his anger anymore, Albus summoned his wand and fired off a powerful blasting hex that reduced the dining table to thousands of pieces in an instant.

The Sorting Hat witnessed the man’s tantrum. Dumbledore proceeded to wreck the dining room with several curses. Seeing such a powerful wizard unleash his magic so freely was intimidating. Everything in the room was destroyed. The scary thing was that even in his anger, Dumbledore was controlled enough that the room itself remained relatively intact.

He cursed himself for being helpless to do anything. Even though he could speak, he was an inanimate object in every other regard. There was no way he could escape and return to Hogwarts. His absence from the castle would have set something in motion, so if he didn't return, the students might be in danger.

After releasing some of his anger, Dumbledore retrieved a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth. The candy was laced with a calming draught and was effective in keeping him level-headed. Now was not the time to lose himself to anger. He needed to think and plan.

Dumbledore walked into the study and retrieved some parchment and a quill. He needed information on Charlus Potter before anything else. He would have his subordinates investigate him. To outsmart the man, he couldn't just jump into the situation blindly.

He would have liked eyes and ears at Hogwarts, but Snape betrayed him. He had broken the magical oaths that bound them together, which had caused Albus a lot of distress from the backlash. Had he known Snape was close to reaching Occlumens Level 5, he would have taken other measures to keep him in line.

It was just a small oversight. Everything was still under control. Charlus would not survive a second time. At least he could kill the man with his own hands like he originally wanted to. It would be all the more satisfying.

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

October 22nd

Harry looked up from his breakfast to see Hedwig gliding towards him, a large package in her grasp. She landed on the table in front of him. Harry reached out to take the package, but she barked, then pointedly looked at the bacon on his plate.

“Fine, I will trade you the bacon for the package,” Harry said, pushing his plate forward, and Hedwig relinquished the package to him.

“What is it?” Daphne asked.

“It’s from the Artisan’s Guild,” Harry replied.

“At least it’s not another letter from your fangirls,” Daphne muttered.

“You already know grandmother is screening my mail,” Harry reminded her with exasperation.

He unwrapped the package and found three items inside. There was a luxurious robe, a slim book and a guild card.

“So the old geezer finally got around to making me a guild robe.”

It was a half-robe with a fastener in the middle. It was pitch black, with a silver pattern of planets and stars, and had the guild symbol on the breast; a hammer with a rune etched into it. It was a little gaudy, but it was still impressive looking.

“Try it on,” Hermione urged.

Harry wrapped the cloak around him and instantly felt more comfortable. It must have been enchanted to keep the people warm. He wondered if there were any other enhancements to the cloak. He'll take a closer look at it later. Regardless, he could tell it was a fine piece of work, and the guild leader had put a lot of effort into it.

"Looking just fine, Harry," Tonks wolf-whistled from her position at the Hufflepuff table. "Want to go out on a date?"

"Sorry, but I dislike bubblegum pink," Harry called back, which caused Tonks to turn her hair red in mock anger.

Harry examined the next item, which was his official guild card. It looked like a piece of parchment that had been laminated. However, there was no plastic. There must have been a solution applied to it. It had his details on it, as well as his rank. At the moment, the space was blank, so he guessed that he didn't even qualify for the lowest rank yet.

The last item was a manual that provided information on all aspects of being a guild member. He opened it up and flipped through the pages until he came across something that caught his interest.

Guild member ranks

The guild member ranks are separated into five levels, similar to how an Artisan is categorised. The only difference is that the guild member must earn a specific amount of points to level the rank up. Points can be earned by completing commissions, and/or submitting a patent for an innovative product with commercial value.

Each rank comes with additional privileges, such as the difficulty of commissions they can undertake and the amount of compensation they receive. In addition, they receive discounts on all guild resources and services.

The five ranks are as follows:

Apprentice - Must have created one original Artifact that has practical application.

Journeyman - Must have created three original Artifacts and earned 1000 guild points.

Expert - Must have created a High-Grade Artefact and earned 5000 guild points.

Master - Must have created a Superior Artefact and earned 20000 guild points.

Grandmaster - ???????

Harry lifted his head when the doors to the Great Hall opened and several witches and wizards entered, instantly capturing everyone's attention. Headmaster Flitwick stood up from his seat and stepped forward to welcome them.

"Who do you think they are?" Tracy asked, craning her head to get a better look.

"Somebody of importance," Hermione said, pointing out the obvious.

"Really? I would never have guessed," Tracy rolled her eyes.

Headmaster Flitwick clapped his hands, and the hall fell silent. "I know you are curious about our guests, so I will not keep you in suspense. These people are renowned Master Artisans from the Artisan Guild's Main Headquarters in Helsinki. They are here to solve the mystery of the Enchanted Wall. Please give them a warm round of applause."

The students clapped politely. Harry was definitely intrigued by his guests. He had not known there was a main headquarters, but he supposed it made sense. The artisans guild had to have a centralised location that oversaw all the other guilds scattered throughout the world.

"Harry looks like he will faint with excitement," Daphne teased.

"Am not," Harry retorted, watching Headmaster Flitwick escort the Artisans out of the hall.

They finished their breakfast and headed out of the Great Hall. He reminded the other club members to come to the Room of Requirement after classes so he could give his demonstration.

The weeks following the Wizengamot meeting were tumultuous. When Harry returned to Hogwarts, he was bombarded daily by students who wanted to know what was happening to his grandfather. They believed they had a right to know everything about his life, which pissed him off. It got so unbearable that his grandmother put her foot down and made a speech in the Great Hall, telling them to leave him alone.

It didn’t help that the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler continued to release articles that delved deeper into Dumbledore’s past. Some more cracks appeared in the once revered man’s facade, as more questionable actions came to light. How they had not been noticed before led to speculation about coverups. All sorts of theories were discussed by the citizens of Magical Britain, over dinner tables, in the halls of the Ministry, and in the local pubs.

The Weasleys were brought into the spotlight due to their history with the man. People wanted to know what he had done that caused their relationship to sour, but they remained tight-lipped on the subject. Regardless, they were now regarded more favourably than before, as they refused to bow under the immense pressure from the other light families who supported Dumbledore.

Speaking of them, some prominent light families such as the Longbottoms, Diggorys, Doge, Edgecombe and Peasgood families lost some of their influence because of their ties to Dumbledore. Although it wasn’t anything that would damage them in the long term, it would still have social and financial consequences in the interim.

Charlus went on a charm offensive, taking Magical Britain by storm. The newly formed alliance was going strong and added two more families. The Patils and the Davis families - which Tracy was a part of - did not have seats in the Wizengamot. Still, the resources they brought to the table were not to be overlooked. For now, the alliance was not making any major moves within the Wizengamot, as they wanted to wait until the commotion died down before turning their attention to policy-making.

Harry continued attending classes and working on modifying the Lumos Spell Card. Before he could do that, though, he had to first create the runic ink that would give him the boost he needed to make the Spell Card more effective.

He spent over two hundred shop points and brought several different types of ingredients, as well as some more vials of Cimmerian Terror blood. It was expensive, but he still had plenty of points left in reserve. The first experiments did not turn out well, and he wasted two vials of dragon blood within two hours.

Things got smoother when he discovered that the crystal, Red Jasper, was the key ingredient to stabilise the blood. After a couple more days of experimenting, he added a few more ingredients and created his own original runic ink. When he tested it, he discovered that it was three times as potent as the one he had used before.

The Lumos Spell Card became the Flashbang Spell Card. It helped that he didn't have to make any further modifications. He only had to adjust the sequence that controlled the brightness, dialling it up to maximum. It now emits an intensely bright light that temporarily blinds anyone who looks at it.

Harry didn’t rest on his laurels after his first success. He started delving into Arithmancy, although he discovered that it wasn’t absolutely necessary to learn the subject. The more he levelled his Elder Futhark skill, the easier it was for him to intuitively know how to design the most effective arrays. This was without understanding the underlying principles at work. It would be different if he wanted to delve deeper into the process of spell creation. However, for now, he didn’t need to rely on Arithmancy when the Runic language itself created a shortcut.

He still had to be careful, however. Experimenting in this way was very dangerous. The result would be explosive if he activated an array that was not viable. If he sat too close, it could kill him. At first, he used some of his appraisal scrolls to get a description of the array. It would tell him if the array worked, but he only had a few left, so he had to abandon that method.

Instead, he constructed a small indestructible box to hold a card inside. There was a small receptacle on the side where he could place his wand so he could activate the card from the outside. Then, he got his grandmother to cast an unbreakable charm on it and tested it out. He was warned that the box could only contain so much damage because the spell was not designed to be used this way. However, that was not something he had to worry about yet, as they were still relatively low-powered Spell Cards.

After that, he spent countless hours modifying the other four spell cards he had created. He ended up with a handful of useful spells that were going to be incredible in a number of situations.

Furthermore, as a result of the new arrays he created, he met the requirements to complete one of his ongoing tasks.

=====

The host has completed a task!

Task #7 - Appraisal Scroll schematic.

Objective: Inscribe ten different Rune Arrays.

Reward: 2000 general experience per array; Appraisal Scroll schematic.

=====

Harry retrieved the schematic from his inventory immediately. He was shocked at how complicated the array was. The first thing to note was that it used more than the Elder Futhark Runic language. The Anglo-Saxon Runic language was also being used. He would put it aside for now until he had time to learn the new language and gain some more experience.

The second issue with the array was that it was an Intermediate Array, meaning it was two arrays combined together. This was likely due to the incompatibility of the two languages. However, he didn’t understand what was so different about the Anglo-Saxon Runes that made it necessary to use them instead of just one language.

Another thing he achieved by finishing the task was that he earned enough experience to level up.

=====

The host has levelled up to Level 9!

The feature ‘Host’s Workshop’ has been unlocked.

The schematic for the Blood Binding Array has been unlocked.

=====

Progress to level 10: 2314/38400

Level 10 Unlocks

Skill: Velocior

Item: The Crafting Handbook

=====

Harry looked at the Blood Binding Array schematic first. He already had an idea what it was, and the description confirmed it. It was an array that could be connected to another. By adding a person's blood to it, it ensured no one else could use the artifact on which the array was inscribed. To prevent others from using his creations in the future, the security feature was very crucial.

He opened up the Source to the new page with the new feature: The Hosts Workshop. He scrolled down the page and was pleasantly surprised.

=====

The Hosts Workshop

Owner: Harry Potter

Artisan Rank: ---
Renowned: 0

Workshop Level: 1 Next [5000]

Training Stations

No training stations are currently placed.

Unlockable Functions:

Level 2: Workshop trunk.

??????

Workshop Tasks

Learn the Smithing skill: 100 exp points

Build a Smithing station: 200 exp points

……

=====

This new feature appeared to be a way to upgrade his workshop. It listed literally dozens of tasks to complete in exchange for workshop experience. Did it mean he had to be physically in the workshop to carry out the tasks? It meant he would miss out on the experience if he completed them elsewhere. He would have to wait until the Christmas holidays before he could start working on some of these tasks.

Another thing that had happened over recent weeks was that the Enchanter his grandfather had hired to outfit his workshop had already finished the job. He would have to wait until he returned home to see everything that had been added. However, the primary function of the wards allowed him to use both magic and electricity in the workshop. If he wanted to get a lot done over the Christmas holidays, he would have to have the materials ready beforehand. He would have to contact the guild master to see if the man had any information about the crafting stations. Such as the materials needed and the method of constructing them.

The Unlockable Functions section caught his eye. Only the first reward was listed, but it sounded enticing. Was a Trunk Workshop exactly what it sounded like? Could there be a portable trunk that contained a workshop? It was the first time he heard of a trunk that could safely hold a living person. Then again, he was still inexperienced and had not seen much of what was out there. Honestly, it was not that far-fetched, since wizarding tents were a thing.

After classes, Harry made his way up to the Room of Requirement first. With the Marauder's map in their possession, it was easier to avoid running into others. Since he acquired the map, he had used it a lot, and not just to get around the castle. He had been watching Professor Quirrel, who had been visiting the third-floor corridor more and more frequently lately. Despite being slightly suspicious, there was no evidence to suggest anything nefarious was going on.

Inside the spell practice room, he decided to get some practice in before the others arrived. He didn’t want his big reveal to go pear-shaped.

He wasn’t actually using his own magic to power the card, but a very small amount to activate it. The trigger sequence that Professor Babbling gave him was very versatile. He could vary the amount of time it took for the spell to go off after he activated it, depending on the amount of magic he applied to it. However, since the magic he added was almost negligible, it meant that he had to have an extreme level of control over his magic. If he added a single drop of magic more than necessary or not enough, the timing would be off. It meant he would most likely miss his target.

Learning to inject magic into a card was not easy. Harry researched the skill in the library. However, there were several books on the subject, and all had differing opinions on how to achieve it. The method he decided to use was the least popular because the user needed to be a Level 2 Occlumen. Technically, it was the quickest and easiest method to learn how to infuse magic into an object. However, in reality, the requirement of learning Occlumency made it the hardest.

At first, he was hesitant, as he knew that it would take some time to achieve. But since he was already working towards mastering Occlumency, he figured he would kill two birds with one stone. It took him three weeks to achieve it, which flabbergasted Daphne who was stuck on Level 1. To be considered a Level 2 Occlumens, he needed to complete three stages.

Firstly he needed to completely empty his mind. It took him another week of practising to accomplish the feat. He could hold it for well over ten minutes without any effort. It was the strangest sensation. Before it felt like his mind was ethereal and insubstantial, but as he progressed, the more solid it felt. As if his mind was becoming a physical construct over time.

Additionally, it helped with his emotions. Whenever he was feeling stressed or angry, he could empty his mind to rebalance himself. It was like an active form of meditation since his eyes were still open, and he could still move about. He recalled seeing Daphne use this on occasion, as her face showed a blank expression. Testing it out in the mirror showed he had a similar look. It wasn't until the higher levels that you could remove the weakness.

The next stage was learning to detect an intruder that was trying to read his surface thoughts. This meant he had to hold onto the Omniscient Mind’s Eye and allow it to perform passive Legilimency on him. It was a scary prospect because he didn’t know if it was completely safe.

This stage proved to be easier than the first. It took him only a few hours until he started noticing ripples in his mind that indicated an intruder. After another day of practising, he was able to detect it one hundred per cent of the time. He assumed that his Mental Resistance skill was the reason he mastered it so easily.

The third stage was the most challenging by far, as you had to learn how to identify the intruder within your mind by their magical signature. To do this, you had to develop a sensitivity to magic. Daphne suggested that he approach the Wards at the Hogwarts boundaries, as they were so powerful that the very air was saturated with magic. He would spend hours there trying to feel something. Apparently, this was not a skill that everyone could do, so he was afraid that he would be one of those people.

He suddenly had an idea, and he transformed it into his Animagus form to determine if the Demiguise could perceive magic better. Immediately, he could see a slight shimmer in the air, like a heatwave. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of motes of light running through it. When he returned to his human form, there was already a difference. Although to a much lesser degree, he could already see some of what his Animagus form could perceive.

This stage took almost two weeks, but he was able to perceive the Eye’s magical signature. The image that represented it looked the same as its physical appearance, a round purple crystal ball.

At the same time, a huge space was taking shape in his mind. It was still completely dark, but it started to have dimensions. If he squinted hard enough, he could see a solid wall in the distance or a ceiling above him. He didn’t know how large the space was, but it seemed quite expansive. Harry couldn't move around yet, but he imagined that would change as he gained proficiency.

As soon as he was onto Stage Two, he read the next chapter of Occluding The Mind to see what the next step was in the process.

Occlumens Level 2 was exactly what he was looking for as it involved the activity of getting in deeper touch with one’s magic and subconscious mind. The first stage involved connecting to the Magical Conduit which was the source of a wizard’s and witches' magic. To do that, he needed to dive deeper into his subconsciousness. It was a scary prospect because people had been known to lose themselves within their own minds doing this. If there was no one to bring him back, then he could stay under until he forgot to even breathe.

To dive deeper into his mind was all about visualisation. When he was picturing the space in his mind, he had to imagine sinking deeper. Since the ground beneath him was starting to feel solid, it was not an easy thing to grasp. Eventually, he came up with the idea of imagining that he was standing on water and that he was slowly sinking down.

When he managed to sink further into his subconscious, he was disconcerted to find that was floating in nothing but a black void. It was as if he didn’t have any deeper thoughts beyond the surface. When tried to move, he was surprised he was able to, although it was so dark that it was hard to tell.

He must have been moving for hours before he saw a bright light ahead of him. Moving towards it, he saw the entrance to a huge tunnel, which was lit up with a kaleidoscope of colours swirling around like streamers. He reached out and touched one of them, and he got a small electric shock. Before he could do anything else, he was pulled out of his mind.

Daphne had pinched him hard enough that the pain roused him. Apparently, he had spent twelve hours inside, although it had only felt like a third of that time. It was a scary feeling of losing sense of time, and he was reluctant to try it again. Thankfully, whatever he did, it seemed to unlock something within him, as he was able to project magic on his hand, albeit it was very limited. Still, it was enough to activate the Spell Cards.

He managed to get ten minutes of practice in before the others arrived.

“I have waited long enough, Potter. It better be worth it,” Daphne said as she walked into the spell-casting room, pretending to look bored.

“Trust me, it's totally worth it, ” Harry grinned.

Terry Boot sighed, "It's about time. We've been waiting for a long time to see what you've come up with.”

“The best things in life are worth waiting for, right? ” Padma said the last to enter the room.

After weeks of working with Terry and Padma, the club had decided they could be trusted and they were officially invited to join the club. Their reaction to the Room of Requirement was typical of a Ravenclaw. They immediately wanted to dive into the books that had already been sorted into the school trunk. However, the club was not intending to check the books for curses until they finished sorting out the entire Room of Hidden Things. So far, they had not even finished a quarter of the room.

“Here,” Harry said, handing the group some sunglasses. “You will need to wear these for the first Spell Card. Otherwise, you will be in a world of pain.”

“The Flashbang?” Hermione asked, slipping the sunglasses on.

“That’s right,” Harry said. “Now stand behind me and be amazed.”

“Go Harry,” Hannah cheered.

Harry retrieved the first card and held it in a familiar two-finger grip. Judging the distance, he determined that he would need about a one-second delay to reach his target. He injected a tiny portion of his magic into the trigger sequence from the tip of his finger and released the card.

The card flew through the air and stopped in midair. At the same time, it released an intense flash of light. Even with the sunglasses, they had to turn away from the sight, their eyes stinging.

“What do you think?” Harry said.

“It’s amazing,” Susan gushed, reaching out and hugging him. Harry felt her huge chest press up against him and he got a bit absent-minded. Daphne reached over and slapped the back of his head.

“Ouch. What was that for?” Harry complained.

“You know exactly what it’s for,” Daphne scowled.

Susan retreated and hid behind Hannah’s back, blushing furiously. To brush over the awkward moment, the rest of the group congratulated him.

“My next Spell Card is called Blackout,” Harry explained. “It’s a modification of the Wand Extinguishing Charm.”

Harry threw the card, and it activated. Suddenly, the space surrounding the card was engulfed in complete darkness. No light was able to penetrate inside as if it was a solid object. The area it covered was dome-shaped, and the circumference was about three metres.

“Woah,” Hermione said. “That’s amazing. How long does the effect last?”

“About a minute,” Harry replied.

“The light doesn’t penetrate inside the darkness from the outside,” Padma observed. “What about the inside?”

“The Wand Lighting Charm doesn’t work,” Harry said. “I think that is because this spell was originally designed to snuff it out. I haven’t tested anything else though.”

“We need to test its limitations,’ Hermione said excitedly, taking out a notebook to take some notes.

“I appreciate the enthusiasm,” Harry replied, amused. “But wait until I have finished my demonstration then you can experiment.”

Harry took out his next card. “This spell is the one I am most proud of. It is called the Interceptor, and it creates a physical obstacle that blocks a spell. Can someone go to the other side and cast a spell at me?”

Susan volunteered and moved across the room until they were standing ten feet apart. She summoned her wand and waited.

Harry held the Interceptor Spell Card in his hand. “Whenever you are ready.”

Susan sent a Disarming Spell, and Harry quickly threw the card forward without hesitation. The card turned to stone an instant before the spell struck it, sending the card flying. However, it had done its job and the spell was dispelled.

“The idea is sound, but the card is very small,” Terry observed. “It doesn’t give much surface area to intercept the spell.”

“I have been thinking of expanding upon the idea,” Harry admitted. “It’s no issue for me, as I am very proficient with throwing cards accurately. But if I was going to give some to you guys, then it would be useless.”

“Can it block an unforgivable?” Tracy asked.

“Who knows?” Harry shrugged. “I would say it’s not likely, but I am not like I can test the theory out.”

Harry showed them the next card, which was a simple Fireball. It was a modification of the Fire-making spell, except he added a shaping sequence to the array, which shaped it into a ball of fire. It was very destructive and would cause a lot of damage to anyone that was hit. Unlike the others, this one was designed to explode on contact and didn’t need a delay timer.

“Can I get a human-shaped target?” Harry asked the room, and a dummy appeared in front of them. It looked surprisingly life-like, except it was being held up by a stand at its back.

“The last Spell Card is called Sickle, and is a modification of the Cutting Spell,” Harry said.

“I don’t like the sound of it,” Hermione said nervously.

Harry threw the card. Like the Fireball Spell, it activates on contact. The card struck the target in the torso, and then without any warning, the torso was bisected in half. The spell itself was invisible and sent out an extremely sharp blade that cut anything in its path. It was a dangerous spell because if you didn’t defend against it, then it would cut off a  limb, or worse.

“Harry, you’re crazy,” Daphne said bluntly.

So, what do you think? This chapter fought me tooth and nail, so I might be a bit rough. Might come and edit it at some point.

Thanks for reading.