Arcane Academy

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Chapter 6

When Harry stormed into the Arithmancy classroom, he was surprised to see Grey sleeping at one of the back desks. Harry set his books down on the desk next to him and gently prodded the sleeping were-tiger. Grey blearily opened his eyes and gave Harry a blank stare.

“Grey, are you alright?” Harry asked worriedly. It was disconcerting to see the normally hyper teen so lethargic and worn down. He placed the back of his hand against the blond’s forehead, but he wasn’t feverish.

“I’m tired,” sighed Grey wearily. He was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open. Now he knew why the didn’t allow anyone younger than sixteen take that class. Someone with a less developed magical core probably wouldn’t survive. “My magical core is nearly depleted.”

Harry gently carded a hand through Grey’s blond hair, wishing there was something he could do for him. He smiled slightly as Grey started purring softly with every stroke. It was actually kind of cute.

The comfortable silence was broken, however, when someone rudely slammed their books down on the desk beside Harry’s. He jumped in surprise and turned to see who it was only to blink in shock when he saw Tristan glaring down at him. Harry raised a brow at the angry faerie.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“You kicked me out of bed this morning,” snapped Tristan. “And then those demons you call familiars bit me when I tried to get back in the bed.”

“You didn’t set an alarm last night, and I was certainly in no condition to do so,” said Harry reasonably. “And are you really surprised, Tristan? You tried to kill Shadow just yesterday. It’s no wonder they don’t like you.”

“You slept with him?” Grey suddenly screeched, staring at them in horror. He was suddenly wide awake as looked at Harry with big, betrayed brown eyes. “Harry, how could you?”

Tristan gave Grey an evil smirk. “Oh, the poor kitten is jealous. Then I guess you’ll really turn green with envy when I say that you should see him when that gorgeous naked body is dripping wet. That is a lovely sight indeed.”

“What?!” shouted Grey. He turned to glare at Harry. “Harry!”

“That’s enough, Tristan. I think you’ve caused enough chaos for the moment,” sighed Harry, rubbing his temples. “Grey, calm down. There’s nothing going on between me and Tristan. He’s just being an arse again.”

“But we did sleep together last night, Harry. You can’t have forgotten already,” said Tristan mockingly. “The feel of our naked skin rubbing together as we...” He scowled at Harry as his voice was abruptly silenced with a spell.

“Is he telling the truth, Harry?” asked Grey softly.

Harry sighed in exasperation. “Grey, the damn faerie nearly froze me to death last night in a fit of anger. To keep me from suffering hypothermia, he slept in the bed with me. That is all that happened.”

“And the wet naked skin?” asked Grey archly.

Harry blushed at the reminder. “I was in the shower when he attacked Shadow, and I forgot to grab a towel when I rushed in to save my kit.”

“Damn, and I missed that,” muttered Grey, aiming a dark glare at the faerie.

Harry ignored Grey and cancelled the spell silencing Tristan. “Quit provoking Grey, Tristan. I’ve had enough of people using me in their squabbles.”

“What do you mean, Harry?” asked Grey.

“I had to stop a fight between Zane and Apollo at lunch,” said Harry wearily.

“Apollo Michaels?” asked Tristan. He scowled when Harry nodded. “Stay away from that pyro, Harry. He’s a total whore. He’ll try to seduce you, and when he finally gets you, he’ll toss you aside for his latest conquest.”

“Speaking from experience?” asked Grey pointedly.

Tristan sneered at the were-tiger. “Hardly. I wouldn’t lower myself to sleep with that slut. There’s no telling what disease that whore is carrying.”

“I’m hurt, Tristan. Really.”

Harry looked up to see Apollo staring at them with an amused smile on his face. However, there was a tinge of coldness to the smile that raised Harry’s hackles. With that one look, he had no doubt of the truth of Tristan’s words.

“Not hurt enough,” said Tristan coldly. “You deserve to be utterly destroyed for what you did to my sister.”

Grey gasped in surprise. “He’s the reason Callandra left?” Callandra had been one of his best friends the first two years he was at Arcane Academy. She’d left in the middle of their third year, and he’d never learned the reason why.

“That bastard seduced my sister when she was only thirteen years old,” said Tristan, sending said bastard a dark glare. .

“Ah, and how is the lovely Callandra?” asked Apollo cheerfully. “She was such an eager little thing. It was rather refreshing.”

Tristan levelled a frosty glare at the Heliopath, causing the temperature in the room to get colder. “She’s dead because of you.”

“Oh?” asked Apollo casually. He didn’t really care. Little Callandra was just a passing fancy to him.

“She died giving birth to your son,” hissed Tristan angrily. At Apollo’s startled look, the faerie smiled maliciously. “However, the child was as weak as his sire, and he passed away soon after his mother did.”

Apollo just gave Tristan an impassive look. “Ah well. It’s no great loss to me.”

“You fucking bastard,” snarled Tristan, lunging toward the Heliopath. However, before he could reach the other teen, a shimmering blue shield appeared in front of him, effectively stopping him short.

“That is quite enough, Mr. Hayward,” said the professor calmly. “Save it for after class.” The professor walked to the front of the classroom and sat down on the desk. “Good afternoon. For those of you new to the class, I am Professor Cassidy. I will warn you now that if you have no prior knowledge of this subject, you are in for a struggle, so I suggest finding a tutor.”

Harry silently groaned. Hopefully Zenith could help with this, as well. Otherwise, he was going to be hopelessly lost. The entire lecture was completely over his head, and it was a relief when the class finally ended. He felt like his head was going to explode from the overload of information.

“Hey, Harry, if you need help with Arithmancy, I’ll be glad to help out,” said Grey softly as they walked out of the classroom. Arithmancy wasn’t his best subject, but judging from the lost look Harry had sported the entire lecture, it was better than nothing.

Harry smiled gratefully at the other teen. “Thanks, Grey. I have a feeling I’m going to need it. I didn’t understand a single word she said this lecture.”

“Let’s go to supper then. I’m starving!” said Grey, rubbing his rumbling belly.

Harry just snickered as they walked to the Dining Hall. He was glad to see the shifter was finally feeling a little better.

Zane joined them shortly after they sat down, and Harry looked at the Incubus. “Well, now I know why you disliked Apollo so much. He’s a bigger arse than Tristan is.”

“He’s worse than that, Harry. He’s a total whore. He’ll sleep with anything and then toss them aside when he’s done,” said Zane solemnly. “Although I hadn’t met him before today, I know several people who fell victim to his schemes.”

“Yeah,” sighed Harry softly. He glanced over to the table where Tristan was sitting and felt a pang of sympathy for the faerie. He’d lost too many loved ones not to sympathise with him.

“Don’t let it get to you, Harry,” said Grey abruptly. “I doubt Michaels will come after you now that you’ve seen what he’s really like.”

“I’m not worried about him,” said Harry irritably. “I’ve dealt with worse than him.”

Grey smiled at him. “That’s right. You’ve faced off against Voldemort. Apollo’s a kitten compared to that.”

“Right,” said Harry wryly. He finished the rest of his meal and grabbed his book bag. “Well, I have to run. I’m meeting Zenith in the library for a little tutoring for my Blood Rites class. You’ll have to stir the potion this time, Grey. The timer’s set to go off in ten minutes.”

Grey cursed and grabbed his bag. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Harry just smiled sweetly. “Consider it payback for hitting me with the door this morning.”

“I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the arse,” Grey grumbled. At the pointed glare Harry aimed at him, he squeaked and ran out of the room.

“What was that all about?” asked Zane curiously.

“We’re brewing Veritaserum in Potions, and it has to be stirred every sixteen hours. We agreed to take alternating turns, and I was supposed to go first. I stirred the potion and reset the timer and was just about to leave when Grey slams the door open, hitting me in the hip and knocking me against the wall, because he’s in a panic, thinking he’d forgotten about the potion,” said Harry.

Zane snickered in amusement. He could easily see that scenario. Grey was always so forgetful. “He’s been like that for as long as I’ve known him. It’s like everything goes in one ear and promptly out the other. It’s a wonder he ever learns anything.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that. He offered to tutor me in Arithmancy, but he’s probably already forgotten that, as well. I guess I can always ask Zenith, though. Apprenticing in Blood Rites, he’s sure to be good with that, too,” said Harry dryly.

“It never hurts to have a backup plan,” Zane agreed. He grabbed his bag and got to his feet. “Why don’t I walk you to the library? I’ve got a research paper in Charms that I need to start.”

“Sure,” said Harry.

***

Remus looked up in surprise when the front door of the cottage opened, and Bill walked in. “What are you doing back so soon? I thought you were staying at the Burrow for a few days.”

Bill grinned smugly. “I do have a job outside of the Order, Remus. I’ve been assigned on a six month dig, so I hope you don’t mind a roommate for the duration of the dig.”

“O-Of course not,” stammered Remus. “This is your home, after all.”

“Great!” said Bill, flopping down onto the sofa beside the werewolf. “I’m exhausted. That old coot decided to barge in on our family supper.”

“What did he want this time?” asked Remus with a scowl.

“Same thing he always wants,” said Bill dryly. “He’s completely obsessed with finding Harry.”

“Well, we’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Remus. He would make damn sure his kit stayed away from that manipulative Headmaster until Harry was actually prepared to deal with him.

“We will,” said Bill confidently. “You and Harry are welcome to stay here as long as you need to.” He flashed the werewolf a wicked grin and pulled a photo from his pocket. “Here. This should make you happy. Ron sent it to me today.”

Remus blinked in surprise and reached for the photo. He looked at the picture and laughed uproariously. That couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. He would have to remember to thank Ron for sending this. It certainly had brightened his day considerably.

An evil smirk crossed Remus’ face. He was sure Harry would enjoy the sight just as much as he did. With that in mind, Remus grabbed a quill and parchment and started writing.

***

Harry trudged into his dorm room with a weary sigh. Zenith was brutal when it came to pounding information into a person’s brain, and Harry had the massive headache to prove it. He ignored Tristan, who was sitting at his desk, and fell onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes. Eclipse yipped softly and jumped on the bed, nudging Harry’s cheek.

Harry groaned softly and pulled himself out of bed. He knew he was forgetting something. “Sorry, Eclipse. I didn’t forget, though,” he assured the little kit. Opening his bag, he pulled out two sealed bowls and set them on the floor, taking off the lids with a slight smile. “You two are in luck. We had roast and potatoes tonight, and I know it’s your favourite.”

Shadow and Eclipse yipped and happily dug into their food. Harry immediately crawled back into bed, toeing his shoes off onto the floor as he lay down. He heard Tristan snort and looked over at the faerie curiously only to see the redhead looking at him in exasperation.

“You are absolutely pathetic,” said Tristan bluntly. “It’s only the second day of school, and you’re already in sad shape. And it’s only going to get worse, you know.”

“Shut up,” said Harry half-heartedly. “Zenith is a cruel taskmaster. It’s exhausting to deal with him when he’s in teacher mode.”

“What kind of excuse is that? It’s your fault for needing his help in the first place,” said Tristan. “You’re the one who fell behind.”

“Actually, that’s not technically true,” said Harry with a slight pout. “I didn’t fall behind. I’ve never taken Arithmancy or Blood Rites at all, so I had to start from the beginning.”

“What the hell kind of school did you go to that didn’t offer Arithmancy and Blood Rites?” asked Tristan incredulously. All of the best schools offered those two classes.

“My school taught Arithmancy, but it was an elective course, and I didn’t take it. And since blood magic is illegal in Britain, Hogwarts didn’t even offer Blood Rites,” said Harry with a shrug.

“Britain’s magical community is completely barmy,” said Tristan, shaking his head in disbelief. “Why would they make blood magic illegal? Blood magic is one of the most useful branches of magic out there.”

“You just answered your own question. Britain’s magical community is currently being run by a Minister of Magic that is absolutely useless,” said Harry bitterly. He couldn’t stand that cowardly excuse for a wizard. It was because of people like Fudge that Voldemort had risen to the heights he had.

Tristan stared at Harry thoughtfully. “You sound like you speak from experience. What did he do to you?”

“When I was fourteen, my school hosted the Tri-Wizard Tournament. When the Champions were chosen, my name somehow was drawn from the cup, and I was forced to participate in the tournament despite my age. It turned out that a Death Eater was posing as one of my professors, and he’s the one who put my name in the cup,” said Harry.

Harry shook his head ruefully. “I really should have known something was wrong because he was a little too helpful. He’s the one who gave me the idea to use my broom in the first task, and he let Dobby overhear his suggestion that I use Gillyweed in the second task.. He even went so far as to use the Imperious curse on one of the other contestants to eliminate the rest of the competition to make sure I won.”

“Why would he do that, though?” asked Tristan curiously. “If he was already in the school, wouldn’t it have been easier for him to just kill you and be done with it? Why go to such lengths to help you win the tournament?”

Harry smiled wryly at the blunt question. “Oh, but then Voldemort wouldn’t have the pleasure of killing me.” He sighed and traced the scar on his arm. “As for why I needed to win, well, the trophy turned out to be a portkey. Barty Crouch Jr. Had spelled it to take me to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. You see, they were planning to use a ritual to give Voldemort a body, and they needed my blood to do so.”

“Why your blood in particular?” asked Tristan inquisitively.

“My mother sacrificed her life for me, and that sacrifice gave me a little added protection against Voldemort. It saved my life when I was eleven because Voldemort, who was possessing one of my professors at the time, couldn’t even touch me without being burned,” said Harry sadly.

“So he needed your blood to get around such powerful protections,” Tristan concluded. He gave Harry a wry look. “Your life is never dull, is it?”

Harry smiled ruefully. “My friend Hermione always claimed that I was a trouble magnet. If something can go wrong around me, it usually does.”

Tristan snorted. “Now that I can believe. You’ve certainly managed to draw quite a few of the wrong sorts of people to you in a mere two days.”

“Hey! You can’t blame me for that. It’s not my fault Silas Hargrove and Apollo Michaels are such creeps,” said Harry indignantly.

“Who said anything about those two?” asked Tristan slyly. “I was referring to those ragamuffins you constantly hang out with.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Zane and Zenith,” said Harry, scowling at the faerie.

“So you admit that there is something wrong with that annoying shifter?” asked Tristan smugly.

Harry blushed slightly at the oversight. “There’s nothing wrong with him, either. Grey’s just a little hyper is all.”

“If you say so,” said Tristan placatingly.

“I do,” said Harry firmly. He yawned widely and rubbed his eyes. “I’m going to sleep now. I have Warding and Elemental Magic tomorrow.” Without another word, he promptly pulled the bed hangings closed and crawled under the covers. Finally giving in to his exhaustion, Harry fell asleep almost immediately.

***

Harry was surprised to see a strange owl swoop into the Dining Hall and drop a letter beside his plate before flying out of the room. He saw Remus’ familiar scrawl on the envelope and smiled. He eagerly ripped the envelope open and unfolded the letter.

Dear Kit,

I’m glad you’ve made new friends at school. To be honest, I was a little afraid you would be lonely there without Ron and Hermione’s constant presence. It’s nice to know that I was wrong. Besides, these new friends sound interesting.

Your friends at Hogwarts are defending your honour quite nicely. The twins have made it their mission to prank the Headmaster as often as possible for what he did to you. I’ve enclosed a picture of the results of their first prank. Ron sent it to Bill, and it’s absolutely hilarious.

Even Molly and Arthur are doing what they can to make the Headmaster miserable. They found this spell that when triggered causes the victim to feel sick. In Dumbledore’s case, the spell is triggered whenever he says or thinks about sending you back to those damn muggles.

I miss you, kit. Write back soon.

Love, Moony

Harry flipped over the photo and burst out laughing. He would have to thank the twins for this. It was such a lovely look for the old man.

“What’s that?” asked Grey curiously.

Harry handed the blond the picture, and Grey laughed at the amusing image. “That’s my old Headmaster. A couple of my friends played that prank.”

“The Headmaster?” asked Grey incredulously. He grinned broadly. “When can I meet these friends? Anyone who can pull off a prank on the Headmaster of their school so masterly has to be interesting.”

Harry’s happiness dimmed slightly. “I don’t know. I can’t exactly go back to England to visit them any time soon.”

Grey frowned slightly. “Why not?”

“It’s complicated,” sighed Harry. “Let’s just say that my safety would be an issue if I returned.”

“Where will you stay over the holidays then?” asked Grey worriedly.

Harry smiled at his friend’s obvious concern. “Remus and I are staying in Egypt with my best friend’s oldest brother. Bill is a curse breaker for Gringott’s bank.”

“A curse breaker? That is so cool. I’m crap at wards, so I could never do it, but it’s still a cool profession. Does he get to go into pyramids and tombs?” asked Grey excitedly.

“Yes, he does,” said Harry promptly. “Just out of curiosity, what do you plan to do after you graduate?”

“I want to be a spell crafter when I graduate,” said Grey firmly. “I like the idea of being able to improve old spells and invent new ones. What about you?”

“I’m not really sure. I would probably choose either healing or warding,” mused Harry. He grinned impishly at the were-tiger. “Or I could always follow in Bill’s shoes and become a curse breaker, as well.”

Grey smiled.. “I think you’ll do great no matter what you decide.” A shadow fell across the table, and he looked up only to scowl when he saw Tristan. “What the hell do you want?”

Tristan ignored Grey completely. “Come on, Harry. Elemental Magic starts in fifteen minutes, and Professor Weatherstone gets extremely testy when anyone is late.”

Harry sighed in exasperation. Tristan just had to irritate someone, didn’t he? “Alright, I’m coming.” He grabbed his bag and stood up, flashing Grey another grin. “I’ll see you at supper, yeah?”

Grey nodded, but he just couldn’t bring himself to return Harry’s smile. He didn’t like how close that bastard faerie was getting to Harry. The redhead was bad news and would only hurt his cute little friend. As he watched the pair walk away, Grey swore to protect Harry from harm, emotional or physical.