Arcane Academy

Chapter 4

Hermione stared woefully out the train’s window. She still couldn’t believe that Dumbledore would do something like that. She’d trusted him and looked up to him. To learn that he knew of the abuse Harry had to endure at his relatives was simply mind-boggling. And to go so far as to Obliviate Mrs. Weasley was just terrible. Hermione didn’t think she would be able to look Dumbledore in the face any more.

“I miss you, Harry,” she whispered softly.

“I do, too, Hermione. It’s for the best, though. While Dumbledore’s here, there’s no way he can come back to school,” said Ron comfortingly.

Hermione nodded reluctantly. She worried about him, though. Voldemort was still after Harry, he needed to learn all he could to survive. “Do you think he’ll ever write?”

“It’s too risky,” said Ron bluntly. “If Dumbledore were to find him, who knows what would happen? He already Obliviated my mum. Just think what he would try to do to Harry to keep him under his thumb.”

“You’re right,” sighed Hermione. “I hope he’s okay wherever he is.”

“Harry’s a survivor, Hermione. Now that he’s away from those horrid muggles, I’m sure he’s perfectly fine,” said Ron confidently.

***

Harry looked up curiously when the door opened, revealing a tall, slender teen with long fiery, red hair and piercing violet eyes. The teen took one look at Harry and sneered contemptuously.

“A Kitsune? They could at least have given me a roommate with elemental abilities, but I guess they’re getting pretty desperate these days. No one seems to last very long.”

Harry sighed irritably. “First of all, I am not a Kitsune, and obviously this school needs to teach their students how to differentiate between Kitiara and Kitsune, or the students need to learn to quit jumping to conclusions. Second of all, as a Kitiara, I do have elemental abilities, so quit whingeing. And lastly, you don’t scare me. I’ve dealt with worse.”

Tristan was slightly impressed with the little kit’s acerbic reply, though he would never admit it. This kid, at least, had a backbone. He wondered how long it would last.

“We’ll see just how long that backbone of your’s lasts,” mused Tristan.

“Oh, that’s something that will never change,” said Harry with fierce determination. He hadn’t let his relatives or Voldemort break him, and he certainly wouldn’t let this boy or anyone else do so, either.

Tristan just smirked and pointed his finger at Harry, pulling electricity from the atmosphere into his hands. “Bang.” A jolt of electricity shot from his finger toward Harry.

Harry transformed into his fox form before he even realised what was happening, and lightning bolt struck the wall where his head had been. The sudden shift in forms threw him off balance, though, and his paws slid out from under him. As he tried to get his bearings back, he was startled by the sound of soft laughter before Tristan grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him to face level.

“I could so easily snap your neck like this,” said Tristan musingly, lifting his other hand to idly stroke the kit’s chin before delicately encircling its tiny neck.

Harry suddenly shifted back and knocked the faerie’s hand away from him. “I don’t scare that easily. You can be an arse all you like, I’m still not leaving.” He could definitely see why Tristan didn’t keep a roommate for long, but he was made of sterner stuff. He refused to allow the bastard to intimidate him.

Tristan snorted softly and smiled coldly. “We’ll see, little kit. The term has just begun. I’ve got all year to break you.”

Harry ignored the irritating faerie. He merely grabbed his pyjamas and stalked to the bathroom, locking and warding the door with every spell he knew. Angrily pulling off his clothes, Harry stepped into the warm shower. The hot water relaxed him, soothing away his anger, until he heard a pained yip from the bedroom.

Harry jumped out of the shower, almost falling when his feet slipped on the tile, and ran into the bedroom. He saw Tristan holding Shadow by the scruff of his neck with one hand while the other hand was crackling with electricity. A fiery rage surged through Harry at the sight. Burning hot flames raced to his fingertips, and the temperature in the room increased dramatically.

“Put him down before I fry your arse,” Harry growled dangerously.

Tristan saw the deadly promise in his roommate’s eyes and knew that he wasn’t someone to cross this early in the game. Even nude, Harry was an intimidating sight in his righteous fury. However, Tristan refused to just back down without some kind of fight.

“You wouldn’t actually do that. You might hurt your precious kit if you do,” said Tristan mockingly.

The faerie really shouldn’t have estimated Harry, though. Harry smirked at the other boy and watched patiently until Tristan finally felt the heat underneath his feet. Unfortunately for Tristan, he was so focussed on his standoff with Harry that he didn’t notice until his shoes caught on fire.

“Shit!” yelped Tristan when he felt the flames lapping at his ankles. He dropped the kit he was holding and used his water element to douse the flames. Once the fire was out, he gingerly pulled off his shoes and socks, wincing in pain as the material scraped against his burnt flesh. Both feet were red and raw and throbbing with pain. He doubted he’d even be able to walk to the infirmary, much less classes in the morning.

A slender, tanned hand settled gently on his foot, and a soothing, cool sensation swept the pain away. Tristan was shocked to see his roommate kneeling beside him, healing the damage he’d caused. Within minutes, all traces of the painful burns were gone, and Tristan sighed in relief. He looked at Harry for a long moment and asked the question bugging him for answers.

“Why did you heal me? I would have killed your pet if you hadn’t stopped me.”

Harry sighed softly and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t like hurting people. I will if it means protecting my loved ones, but I don’t like doing it.” He cradles his shivering kit to his chest, the beating of his heart calming his familiar, and climbed to his feet. “However, if you ever try to hurt my kits again, I’ll hurt you in ways not even the best healer can fix.”

“You might want to put on some clothes first, though,” said Tristan lightly. He wasn’t an idiot, though, and didn’t take Harry’s threat lightly. That little Kitiara was a veritable powerhouse that could kick his arse any day of the week, heal the damage, and do it all again.

Harry frowned in confusion and looked down before blushing furiously. He’d been in such a hurry to save Shadow, he’d completely forgotten about his clothes. “Shut up, jerk. It’s all your fault anyway.” He glared at the smirking faerie and stormed into the bathroom to get dressed.

Tristan’s smirk turned into a grin as the bathroom door slammed behind the irate Kitiara. “I might actually have to keep this roommate around. It’s been ages since I’ve been so entertained, or so challenged.” His smirk returned as an image of Harry’s nude body came to mind. “Of course, the view wasn’t at all bad, either.”

***

Harry put his Potions and Healing texts in his bag and got to his feet. “Come on, Shadow. Let’s go, Eclipse. It’s time for breakfast.”

“Must you be so loud?” whinged Tristan, burying his head under the pillow.

Harry looked at the sleepy faerie and grinned. “Yes, I must. I really must. Besides, if it bothers you that much, use a Silencing charm. Then you wouldn’t have to hear me at all.”

Tristan moved his pillow and glared at Harry. “Go away, you insufferable fox. I’m trying to sleep here.”

Harry just laughed and walked out of the room with a cheerful smile, Shadow and Eclipse following dutifully at his heels. He hurried down the stairs to the Dining Hall, hoping to see Zane or Zenith, but neither of them were there yet. With a disappointed sigh, Harry went to the buffet table and fixed him and his kits a plate of fruits, sausages, and toast.

His quiet morning was shattered, however, as he sat down to eat by a snide voice from behind him. “Well, if it isn’t another damn Kitsune. You bloody foxes must breed like rabbits.”

Harry sighed and looked at the newcomer. It was a tall, slender boy with light blue skin and pitch black hair. “Obviously, I need to wear a sign around my neck to keep from having to constantly deal with morons like you. I am not a bloody Kitsune. I am a Kitiara, a rare sight I know. And you are?”

“That ‘moron’ is Silas Hargrove, one of three Dark Elves at Arcane Academy,” said Zenith, having overheard the conversation as he neared the table. “He thinks he’s special just because his papa is the clan’s Chieftain.”

“Nobody asked you, you damn dragon,” snarled Silas. “This is none of your business.”

Zenith just raised an eyebrow at the elf and pulled out the chair next to Harry’s, sitting down with a casual grin. “Of course, it is, Silas. Harry’s my friend, and friends protect each other. Oh, but I imagine you wouldn’t know anything about that, though. Your own cousin can’t even stand to be around you.”

Silas growled at the Dracken. “You better watch your back, dragon. You just might find a knife stuck in it one of these days.” With that threat delivered, the elf stalked away from their table.

Zenith rolled his eyes at Silas’ dramatic exit and grinned at Harry. “Well, I see you survived your first night with Tristan.”

“You were right. He’s a total arse,” sighed Harry, giving his sausage to the two kits.

“What did he do? Did he hurt you in any way?” asked Zenith in concern.

“He tried to hurt Shadow. I was so angry I set his feet on fire,” Harry confessed softly, gently stroking Shadow’s fur. Eclipse yipped softly, wanting attention, as well, and Harry smiled and stroked his fur, too.

“You set his... feet... on fire,” Zenith repeated slowly. At Harry’s sheepish nod, the Dracken burst out laughing. “Man, I would have paid to see that. That bastard totally had it coming, and I can’t wait to see him hobbling about today.

Harry blushed slightly. “Uh, I kinda healed him last night,” he mumbled guiltily.

“You healed him?” asked Zenith incredulously. “What the hell did you do that for?”

“I felt guilty, okay,” said Harry defensively. “Minor hexes is one thing, but I burned his feet badly. I don’t like hurting people like that. I couldn’t even cast the Cruciatus curse properly on the woman who killed my godfather.”

Zenith stared at Harry for a long moment before ruffling the Kitiara’s hair fondly. “You are just too cute, Harry. I don’t think anyone besides the school nurse would have helped him like that, and she would have only done it because that’s her job.”

“What’s up with Hargrove,” asked Zane as he and Grey sat down at the table.

“Yeah, he looked like someone just pissed in his porridge,” Grey added.

“He decided Harry would be an easy target and was displeased when that proved incorrect,” said Zenith easily.

“That little prat better watch himself,” growled Grey. “I’ll tear him apart if he even tries to hurt my kit.”

Harry glared at the were-tiger. “Your kit?”

Grey gulped at the dangerous tone. “My friend?” he quickly amended, sighing in relief when Harry stopped glaring at him.

Zenith smirked at Grey. “I’d watch it, Grey. The last time someone angered Harry, he set their feet on fire.”

“Zenith!” Harry rebuked the dragon demon. “It was an accident. Besides, he was trying to hurt my precious Shadow.”

Zane burst out laughing when he realised who they were talking about. “Tristan’s finally met his match. I wish I could have seen it.”

“Yeah, it’s just too bad Harry healed him up afterwards,” sighed Zenith disappointedly.

“You healed him?” cried Grey in shock. “Why?”

“It’s in his nature, Grey. Didn’t you listen to a word I said? Kitiara are extremely powerful, and a single one could decimate a major city if they wanted. To balance the power out, they have a more passive nature, preferring to use their powers to heal rather than destroy,” Zane explained.

“Anyway, it’s almost time for class. Come on, Grey. You can show me where the Potions classroom is,” said Harry, grabbing his bag and standing.

“Right,” said Grey eagerly. “Let’s go.”

***

Fred and George Weasley sat at the Gryffindor table with their heads bent together, whispering conspiratorially. They had lots of plans for their devious Headmaster. And the first prank should commence any moment. After all, they had the perfect help.

Tittering laughter sounded throughout the Great Hall, and the twins looked up eagerly. One glimpse at the Headmaster sent them into great gales of laughter. The Headmaster was completely bald with thick, bushy, orange eyebrows, a large potato shaped nose, and bright purple lips pursed in an ostentatious kiss.

Before long, everyone in the Great Hall was laughing and pointing at Dumbledore. With a displeased scowl, the Headmaster stood and left the room.

“Stage one of Operation -” whispered Fred.

“Vengeance complete,” finished George.

“Stage two begins tomorrow,” they swore together.

The twins calmly left the Great Hall, already planning their next prank. Getting back at the old coot was worth coming back to Hogwarts this year, despite their initial reluctance. Besides, thanks to Harry, they already had the money they needed to start their shop. It could wait a while longer. This was just too much fun to pass up.

***

Harry walked into the Potions classroom with a sense of trepidation. He could only hope this professor was nothing like Professor Snape. He didn’t think he could stand another greasy bat hovering over his shoulder and criticising his every move.

When Harry saw the professor, Snape was the last person he thought of. The professor was a petite woman with long blonde hair and bright teal eyes. She also smiled happily at them when they walked into the classroom.

“Hello, Professor Milligan. Did you miss me?” asked Grey cheekily.

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Mr. Deveaux,” said the professor sweetly. She looked at Harry curiously. “I don’t believe I’ve met you, though, young man.”

Harry smiled nervously. “No, this is my first year here. I’m Harry Potter.”

Professor Milligan raised an eyebrow at the name and looked at the teen more closely. At first glance, she thought he was Kitsune, but the scent was a little off. Instead of the earthy, almost flowery, smell of a Kitsune, Harry smelled like a confusing mixture of desert and ocean.

“Ah, a Kitiara. I’ve not taught one of you in years.”

“How did you know?” asked Harry curiously. “Everyone else I’ve met just assumes I’m a Kitsune. It gets rather annoying actually.”

Professor Milligan smiled slightly. “Your scent.”

Grey ostentatiously sniffed Harry and hummed thoughtfully. “Now that you mention it, he does smell different from the Kitsune’s I’ve met. It’s nice, though. It’s kinda like an oasis or something.”

“That would be the combination of his elemental powers,” the professor said serenely. “Your demon cousins have a more earthy smell because of their control over plant life.”

As Professor Milligan walked back to her desk, Grey turned to Harry. “Professor Milligan’s a were-hyena.”

Harry shook his head and smiled sheepishly. “Before I came here, I didn’t know there were different types of lycanthropes. Hogwarts only teaches about werewolves. I guess, it’s not that surprising, though. Magical Britain’s been completely corrupted with prejudice these days, and the education system only suffers for it.”

Grey looked at Harry in surprise. With as naive as the Kitiara was, Grey hadn’t expected Harry to be so perceptive. “I hate to say it, but the Hogwarts curriculum is a joke. And Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are only marginally better. The five best schools in the world are Arcane Academy here in Morocco, Hitomi School of Magic in Japan, Apokryfos in Greece, Stregoneria Accademia in Italy, and Merlin’s School of Sorcery in the States.”

A sharp clap ended the conversation, and they looked to the front. Professor Milligan, wrapped her knuckles on the blackboard, and writing began to appear. “Welcome to a new year, everyone. This is level six potions, and I expect everyone in here to be on their best behaviour.” She glared pointedly to a grinning brunet in the back as she said that. “The person sitting next to you will be your permanent partner, so deal with it.”

“Ha, Gillian’s stuck with Mathias this year. He was my partner last year, and that was a bloody nightmare,” snickered Grey. When Harry just looked at him blankly, he pointed to a girl who looked strikingly like Silas Hargrove. “You may have noticed the resemblance already, but that is Gillian Hargrove. Unlike her cousin, Silas, she’s actually alright. Mathias, the boy beside her, is a Sylph. He and Gillian absolutely hate each other. They must have been the last two to arrive.”

“Mr. Deveux, do you have something to share with the rest of the class, or may I continue?” asked Professor Milligan archly.

Grey straightened in his seat and grinned at the professor. “Sorry, Professor. You may continue now.”

“As I was saying, we will be starting the Veritaserum Potion today. Instructions are on the board, so get started.”

“Aww, man. This potion takes a month to brew,” whinged Grey. “I hate having to come down here after hours on potions like this.”

Harry just shook his head at the tiger’s pitiful whingeing. Carefully reading the instructions on the board, he gathered up the required ingredients and set them out in adding order. He shoved the dragon liver toward Grey. “This needs to be slivered.”

Grey grinned and saluted Harry before picking up his knife and doing as he was told. Harry added the Jobberknoll feathers and stirred the potion slowly, nodding in satisfaction when it turned molten silver. Setting his timer for eight minutes, Harry grabbed a ginger root and diced the plant evenly.

“I’m done. Do I add it now?” asked Grey, already moving the tray toward the cauldron.

Harry quickly grabbed the tray from him and set it back on the desk. He shoved a dish of aconite toward his partner. “Why don’t you press this into a paste instead?”

Grey took the dish and grinned at Harry. “Take charge Harry. I like it.”

Harry rolled his eyes and finished dicing the ginger root. When the timer went off, he added the dragon liver one sliver at a time, stirring twice after each addition. The potion turned a light lavender, and Harry sighed in relief before setting the timer for five minutes.

Setting the diced ginger aside, Harry carefully measured out two grams of salamander blood. When the timer went off again, he slowly added the diced ginger and stirred three times in a figure eight motion. The potion darkened to a navy blue.

“You can add the aconite now, Grey,” said Harry.

Grey nodded and dumped the paste into the cauldron. Harry stirred the potion twenty times counter-clockwise and watched the potion turn a muddy brown. Then he added the salamander blood and stirred twenty more times, this time in a clockwise pattern. After the last stir, the potion turned a pale gold. Harry quickly lowered the heat and set the timer for sixteen hours. For the next twenty-eight days, the potion would need to be stirred twice every sixteen hours as it simmered.

Professor Mulligan walked over to them and looked down at the cauldron. “Very good. It’s just the right colour.” She saw the set timer and pulled out her wand, creating a shield around the cauldron. “The shield is set so that no one else can tamper with your potion, and it is tuned to your magical signatures. Since you’re done for the moment, you may go. I will see you next Monday.”

Harry and Grey quickly gathered their bags and left the classroom. Harry suddenly grinned and said, “That was the best Potions class I’ve ever had. Professor Mulligan is a much better teacher than Snape.”

“What’s that Snape fellow like?” asked Grey curiously. “The way you talk about him makes him sound like the Devil incarnate.”

“That’s an apt description of Snape,” said Harry with a small smile. “Personally, I can’t stand the man, and the feeling is more than mutual. However, I also can’t deny that he’s one of the good guys. He constantly puts his life on the line, and he’s protected me several times over the years. Despite those good points, though, he hated my father with a passion, and that hate has bled over onto me. That alone makes Potions class with him practically unbearable, especially since he favours the Slytherins so much.”

Grey nodded in sympathy. “That must have been rough. I’m glad you switched to this school, though.”

Harry smiled at that. “Yeah, me too.” He really liked the school so far, and he was so glad that Remus had saved him from the Dursley’s, giving him this opportunity. “Hey, does this school have an owlery? I really need to send my guardian a letter, but I don’t have an owl here.”

“Well, we don’t have an owlery per se. We don’t use owls for delivery. We use falcons instead. I’ll take you to the castle mews, and you can use one of them to deliver your letter.”

“Great,” said Harry eagerly. “I’ve never seen a falcon up close.”

***

Remus was in the living room reading when the floo activated him. He tossed his book aside and jumped to his feet with his wand in hand. When a familiar redhead stepped from the flames, though, he sighed in relief and lowered his wand.

“Bill, what are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission for Dumbledore.”

“I wanted to stop to see how things were,” said Bill, spelling the soot off of him. “Have you heard from Harry?”

Remus shook his head. “Not yet. It’s too bad we had to leave Hedwig in England, but it was too dangerous to bring her with us. She’s too noticeable. I hope Ron’s taking good care of her, though. Harry will be upset if anything happens to that owl.”

“Don’t worry,” said Bill, smiling at the werewolf. “I heard Ron talking to Hedwig the day after you left with Harry. He explained what had happened and told her that as much as she wanted to go to her master, she needed to stay with him because it was too dangerous for her to return to Harry. I swear that damn bird understood every word Ron said to her, too, because she didn’t try to leave after that.”

Remus chuckled at that. “I always knew Hedwig was one smart owl.” He sighed softly. “How have things been in England?”

“Dumbledore expected Harry back at Hogwarts, and he’s furious that his precious pawn has somehow escaped his grasp,” said Bill with a smirk. “And the twins have made it their mission to make him as miserable as possible. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.”

“How’s Molly?” asked Remus.

Bill sighed softly. “She’s furious with Dumbledore, and she feels betrayed. She’s also upset about Harry. She feels awful because she never realised the extent of his treatment at the Dursley’s hands. She blindly trusted Dumbledore when he told her Harry was fine, and she feels guilty about it.”

“Yeah, I know how she feels,” said Remus wearily. “If Petunia hadn’t finally grown a backbone and notified me, Harry would be dead now.”

Bill suddenly smirked at the werewolf. “Mum decided to do something about it, though. She is waging silent warfare against the Headmaster.”

“What do you mean?” asked Remus curiously.

“For some strange reason, Dumbledore has been getting sick at every Order meeting. At first, he thought it was the food, but even when he doesn’t eat anything he still gets sick. I haven’t figured out just how she’s doing it yet, but I know it’s her. The twins inherited their sneakiness from her, after all,” said Bill smugly.

Remus burst out laughing. Oh, to be a fly on that wall. “I can’t wait to find out what the twins do to him. They’re definitely the next generation of Marauders.”

Bill smiled slyly at Remus. “They promised to put the memories in a pensieve over the Christmas holidays so the whole family can see it. I’ll be sure to bring it with me when I visit.”

“Perfect,” said Remus with an evil grin.

A soft screech sounded out the window, and Remus turned to see a small black falcon with a letter tied to its leg. He let the falcon in and carefully took the letter, giving the beautiful bird some water and summoning some leftover bacon to give to it. He unrolled the letter and grinned in delight.

“It’s from Harry.”

“Well, what does it say? Does he like his new school? Has he made any friends? Hurry up and read it, Remus,” asked Bill impatiently.

Dear Moony,

I really miss you, and I hope you’re not too lonely at the house. With that said, Arcane Academy is absolutely beautiful, even more so than Hogwarts. I met an Incubus for the first time, and his name is Zane. He’s becoming a good friend. His best friend is a were-tiger named Dougrey, Grey for short, and he’s an annoying prat that keeps calling me his little kit. I also met a Dracken, a dragon demon, named Zenith. He’s huge! He’s like seven feet tall, but he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s starting an apprenticeship in Blood Magic this year.

My roommate is a jerk! His name is Tristan, and he’s a weather faerie. He tried to hurt my Shadow! I was so mad that I caught his feet on fire, and then I felt so bad that I healed him. With fire being my easiest elemental power, I really need to learn to keep control of my temper before I hurt someone else. Hopefully, we’ll learn how to control the elements better in class.

I met another jerk this morning. His name is Silas Hargrove, and he’s a Dark Elf. He reminds me an awful lot of Draco Malfoy.

I had my first Potions class this morning, and our professor is a were-hyena. Why didn’t you tell me there were so many different types of lycanthropes? But anyway, she’s a much better teacher than Professor Snape. We’re working on the Veritaserum potion, and I was partnered with Grey.

My next class isn’t until two in the afternoon, which is great. Our schedules are perfect. We only have each class once a week, but they last for two hours, and Fridays are for independent study and tutoring. I really like this school, but I can’t wait until Christmas holidays so I can see you again.

Love, Harry

Remus smiled as he read the letter. That was just like Harry. He hated to see people hurt, but that was what made Harry so special. He really did miss his little kit, and he couldn’t wait until Christmas holidays, either.