The Silver Tongue

Chapter 40

Chapter 40: A Statement Made

All right my mischief makers, I have brought you a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it!
I

do not own Harry Potter and I am not making a profit off of my fan fiction.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Talk"
'Think'
"Parseltongue"
"Nightshade communication"
Chapter 40 - A Statement Made
Minerva hissed in anger as she paced back and forth before her desk. Severus stood by her chair while Harry sat on her desk watching his godmother. The Pack had been relaxing when she requested his presence in her office. When he got there she had already started her pacing. Severus could only shake his head when Harry asked what the problem was. So here they were waiting for her to calm down enough to talk to them, though Harry was starting to think it would take a while if no one prompted her to talk.
"Aunt Minerva, what has you in a fit?" He asked wanting this over with. The Pack had lesson with the founders tonight.
"That man, why I ever followed him I will never remember. He is- " She cut herself off with a frustrated yell. "Is so frustrating. He used to be a good man."
"Minerva, what has happened?" Severus hissed at her. Pulling her back to her audience. She deflated, crumpling into her chair with a sigh.
"He organized this farce of a dueling tournament to try and cripple Harry's growing support. He's not happy that Harry has so much support behind him at Hogwarts and is now gathering the attention of our guests. He wants to sabotage the Pack's duel, to make fools of you, and make you look weak. He starting to see you as a serious threat Harrison. I am a little worried."
Harry almost laughed in relief. He was starting to worry that Dumbledore was planning something unexpected and he would be scrambling to protect his own, but no, this was exactly what they had expected to happen at some point. This was what they wanted.
"All is fine, breathe and release." Harry smiled at her. Trying to calm her down. She didn't know that the Pack had wanted Dumbledore to pull something like this so the Pack could turn it against him. "I was ready for something like this. All is fine."
Minerva looked at her godson in disbelief. Severus wasn't much better with his glare. "You were ready for this? Harrison explain yourself."
Harry almost wanted to roll his eyes. "Back in my second year the Pack and I knew that we were going to get opposition from the Great Hero Dumbledore. He is too used to getting his way and controlling the situation. We kept a low profile for a while but this tournament has mostly blown that. Yes we have still played everyone, letting them think from the duels that some of the Pack is weaker than they are but that's part of the plan. It won't be strange if a muggleborn book worm, a pureblood Malfoy, and the Boy Who Lived were strong. It's almost expected at this point. They don't want to think all my Pack mates are strong, so we won't show them that. We'll give them what they expect and leave them thinking we are just a bunch of bright students. Dumbledore will get no support to act against us because of this. What harm can a few smart students do to the Great Dumbledore?"
A laugh, sharp and unexpected, startled Harry. Minerva sat with a hand over her mouth trying to stop the sound. A quick glance to Severus had his godfather pulling out a vial of calming draught. Harry had wondered when the whole situation would truly sink into his godmother and to be truthful, it wasn't going as bad as he thought it would. He had always imagined Minerva getting mad and then exploding at Dumbledore, yelling out some of the facts that she learned since joining him. She didn't though, she called him to help. Harry almost smiled, the potion finally helping Minerva to stop laughing, she was taking this so well.
"Aunt Minerva, take a breath. Everything is fine. Between the Pack and my Venatores this school and all in it are under sharp eyes. Even Dumbledore because of you and Severus. There is nothing at this point and time that he could do that would put me in a bad light. I have too many in my corner, too magically powerful, and too smart for him to trap me." Harry stood from up from his place on her desk with a soft laugh. "Now I have lesson with the rest of the Pack with the founders to get to." Harry walked to the door before pausing to turn back to them "Oh and Severus, Hermione and I finished the framework and it should be ready in a few day for you to activate. Salazar is looking forward to brewing potions with you."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"George, Fred slowly combine your elements. You both need to feel them turning into one, feeding the other. Let them grow together. Your elements are perfectly made for each of you, and like the two of you, when you come together you get stronger." Helga coached the twins sitting on the floor. between them sat a bowl of lit embers and a slowly forming miniature tornado. The fire slowly crept up the tornado as it grew bigger. "Good now hold it at that size. both of you need to concentrate or you will fail."
Harry sat in his chair alternating between watching his twins and reading some of his mother's grimoire. She had a little about the Old Ways but she had many thoughts about magic written down. He was reading one of her theories about elemental magic and it being passed through blood lines. Her theory was that elemental magic came from creatures in the beginning of the bloodlines, so washed out with human blood that the magic could only manifest in strong of will and mind. Creatures were both more complicated and yet simpler than humans so any who wished to master element magic had to listen to instincts yet also have a moral code to rein the instincts in.
"Very good boys. Now keep doing that untill the lesson is over. Ginny your turn." Helga turned to Ginny, who was doing homework on the couch between Hermione and Luna. She sighed dramatically before flouncing over to the area in front of the portraits. Harry chuckled at the excited grin on her face. Ginny loved practice and learning how to connect to her magic.
Harry closed the book and relaxed father back into his chair, eyes closing. He lost himself to the world around him, the noise of the room fading into a quiet mutter in the background. He found himself in his heart looking down into the small lily keychain mirror. He watched small moments from the past that made him happy. The dream of his mother and father dancing with him, the first time the twins tried to prank him but failed, the first hug Hermione gave him, the first time aunt Petunia made him a cake, the day he bought Amara and Nightshade. The happy moment slowly filled him. He didn't notice that he was humming. He didn't notice the others turn and listen to a song that was becoming just as familiar to them as it was to him. Harry never even noticed that he muttered the last word to the song before sleep greeted him. "Nocturne"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
'Alpha are we sure this is wise?' Hermione asked, hesitant to question her Alpha but wanting reassurances that everything was going to be okay. The Pack were all dressed in their dueling robes like the day before and waiting for the sorting hat to pair the first round of students.
Harry, without turning from watching the judges, placed his right hand on the back of her neck and pulled her into his side. 'Everything will be fine. We are safe among the Venatores and the Pack always has eachother's backs.'
'If you say so.' Hermione nodded relaxing into his touch. Harry, mindless of the people watching them, rubbed his thumb across the back of her neck while his fingertips lay on her pulse. Hermione was going to be the first to be called up. He didn't know why he knew this, he just did. She was going to be the first up and she was going to lose for real. That thought unnerved him. Hermione wasn't weak either.
"Hermione Granger vs Viktor Krum" The sorting hat called out. Hermione cursed as the Pack snickered in amusement. She confidently trudged up to the platform, where Viktor was waiting with a determined glint in his eye. Harry felt the urge to laugh. Okay, now he wasn't too worried about Hermione losing for real to her opponent if it was to her crush. After all if Viktor wished to ever court Hermione he needed to prove to Harry and the Pack that he was strong enough to protect her. This would be a good test run.
The duel lasted a good ten minutes before Hermione's shield was shattered by a well placed, borderline dark, curse. Her shield shattered like glass, shooting back at her. She took a surprised step back with a gasp only to find her foot meeting the air at the end of the platform. She fell off the platform and onto her back with a squeak, that surprisingly sounded like a squeak that she would make in her Raven form. While the audience cheered for the performance and the winner was declared, Viktor quickly made his way to Hermione to help her off the ground. He dusted her off and healed the cuts she had gotten through out the duel. Harry let them be as the next duelers were called up to the platform. The pair made their way to his side soon enough to watch the new duel anyway.
George was the next of the Pack to be called and as per the plan, he won his first round. The day stretched on as Neville won his match next and then Ginny lost her first right after that. Harry won his first round, using only light spell taught to third year students at Hogwarts. Draco preened 'showing off' on his first dual of the day. Neville was the next to lose, his third duel in, to a fellow Venatore. The Venatores were aware that the Pack was hiding their power and were promised a dual competition after to showcase all they know later on in the week. George lost in his fourth duel leaving Harry and Draco to go to the semi finals. There were 16 students left. Harry and Draco were only two of the five Hogwarts students. Viktor was one of seven from Durmstrang. Fleur was one of four from Beauxbatons.
With the semi finals over the schools break for lunch. Harry happily sat and ate the potato soup and cheesy bread that the house elves served them while listening to the Pack discussing their plans from next weekend, inviting Viktor and Fleur to the Venatores' duel competition. The idea intrigued them, so they agreed.
Ginny put a protest up through the Pack bond. 'Alpha I know they're now allies but is it wise to let them see weakness within our ranks?'
Harry sipped his cider unconcerned. 'What weakness would this be? All the Venatores are training in some form or another. The older students are taking time to teach the younger years, some are taking the initiative to branch out and explore different magic and find their own strength. It doesn't matter who wins in the end.'
' The Venatores are still children.' Ginny grumbled.
Draco huffed out into the bond. 'Yes and so are we and we are the ones they answer to after Harry. Harry is there sworn Lord and he is young. Fleur already admitted to wanting to bare her throat to him in submission because he is her Lord too. It won't be long before she is marked in some way as well. There isn't much weakness to find within the ranks anyway. The most they'll see is the Venatores determining a hierarchy within themselves, something that has slowly been forming anyway.'
Ginny bit the inside of her cheek in thought but then smiled at Luna, who was talking to Fleur about mermaids and dragons mating. It was almost made her laugh. 'Alright, but I don't like it.'
'My assassin if you wish you can be their escort through out the night if it will ease your mind.' Harry pour her a new glass, this time of his own cider he knew she liked but never asked for.
She glanced at the drink with a smile. 'I just might take that.'
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Harry was relaxed, wand loosely held in his hand. This was the final duel for him. Viktor had won the spot as Durmstrang's dual champion, and a girl named Karricy beat Fluer to be named Beauxbaton's champion. Harry was against a Hogwarts boy he didn't even catch the name of. A Hufflepuff from the insignia on his robes. A Hufflepuff who had used a spell Harry knew from Elmeca, who he visited at least once a week down in the chamber of secrets since he found her in his second year, to win the duel against Cedric. The spell wasn't dark to the ministry because it was so old that many didn't know of its existence. Harry did, so he knew what the spell did. The spell Incubo Eterno, loosely translated into eternal nightmare, was a spell that made the victim fall into a coma. In this coma they would be tortured. Any wound they got in the nightmare would start to appear on their body and slowly leech the magic from their body. If the torture didn't kill the comatose person first, then the magical drain did. It was a slow death, a painful death and Harry was pissed off that some nameless Hufflepuff would dare challenge him by attacking one of HIS Venatores. That was what it was too. It was an attack, the first real one made against him.
Harry had an idea of where this boy got the spell. He could feel Dumbledore's stare and the man's sickened magic around this. Harry felt his eyes shift to his magical sight. Dumbledore's magic was around the boy's own weak magic but Dumbledore wasn't controlling the boy. This boy willingly cast a spell to try to kill one of Harry's. Harry let his sight fade. This boy allied himself to Dumbledore and as such he would pay the price. This boy would be the first victim of the war.
The dual started with Lucius Malfoy's word. Harry didn't hold back to just third year spells like he had done in all his other spells. He expanded to seventh year spell work. He hit the boy viciously and with out mercy. With every visible and spoken spell that was recorded by the judges Harry loosened three unseen and silent at the boy. Harry could feel heat flood into the back of his hands and to his chest as he threw in some blood magic to his unknown spell work. This boy wasn't going to survive for much longer than a week after the school year ended. Harry finally ended the duel by throwing his first blade. The knife landed into the boy's right shoulder, the momentum of the impact forcing the boy off the platform and onto the ground. The judges called an end to the duel and Madam Pomfrey rushed to the beat and bleeding boy. She was quick to banish the knife out of his shoulder, it appearing back into Harry's hip sheath that was invisible.
Harry turned his back to the scene. His Pack stood where he left them, eyes only on him. he saw only loyalty and understanding of what happened. The boy would heal from the physical wounds that were ment to be seen but the ones that were undetected were the ones that would kill him. That boy will slowly drain of his magic, every night he will fear to sleep, but most of all that boy will always fear the glow of Harrison's eyes. The boy's fate was sealed and his end was now near. Harry couldn't find it in himself to be sorry for being Death's Messenger because Dumbledore had started the war and Harry wasn't going to let his own die without a fight.
Harry stepped off the platform in front of his Pack. Luna dipped her head into a subtle show of submission. The other copied the movement only seconds after. They were still with him. They were still his. Harry felt a weight lift off him. He hadn't even realized that he was worried about the way his Pack would view his actions. He almost sighed in relief at loyalty his Pack showed him. They were there to stay. He knew that they ment every word when they vowed to follow him but he had still wondered if they truly knew what they would be getting into. Now they saw the beginning and still they stay loyal. Harry felt him magic swell, his eyes glowing as it reached out through the bond to embrace them all. His eyes searched and found the adults of his Pack sitting together in the stands. They watched him with pride, loyalty, and grim understanding. His magic rushed to embrace them. This was His Pack, and they were loyal to him.
He turned from them, settling into his place with the Pack at his side and back. Dumbledore knelt beside his fallen soldier. His blue eyes stared straight into Harry's glowing green ones. The board was set and the first moves done.
Harry turned away from the headmaster, dismissing him. The judges were announcing him as the Hogwarts champion. They waved the three champions up onto the stage and presented them each with golden plaque. Harry felt eyes on him but he didn't care. He had made his statement without any words. Blue eyes had received the message and so had the red ones' that watched him from a high seat in the bleachers.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because this is so far my favorite chapter to have written. Please review and I hope to hear from you all in the future chapters of this story.