Mist of Shadows
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Harry Potter and the Magical Girls part 3
🕑 Added 2021-02-06 09:03:21 +0000 UTCHarry glanced around the dark and creepy library, surprised that someone had cleaned the table but left the books and shelves alone. "Is there a reason you haven't cleaned everything?"
"Sirius wanted to make sure none of the books would try to eat me or melt my brain," Hermione explained as she sat down in front of her stack of textbooks.
"Considering his family, that makes a disturbing amount of sense," Harry said as he walked over and sat down next to Hermione. "Can I borrow your book for Ancient Runes? I want to see if I recognize anything."
Hermione pulled the book out of her stack and handed it to him. "What are we going to tell Ron?"
"No idea," Harry admitted as he opened the book and carefully flipped through it, looking to see if anything was familiar. "Considering his behavior over the tournament, I don't trust him with anything important."
"I can't say I blame you," Hermione admitted, thinking about all of the times she'd tried to convince Ron that Harry would have shared the 'secret' of sticking his name in there if he'd figured it out. "I'm sorry about not giving more information in my letters, I should have been more clear as to why."
"We're going to have to work on your issues with authority figures, namely that they can't be trusted," Harry said as he stopped at the section of Norse runes, comparing some of the runes to the runes in his head.
"I'll work on it," Hermione offered, thinking about Quirrell and the fake Professor Moody. "Are you even going to give him a ring?"
"I doubt he'd want one, can you imagine him running around as a girl and willingly doing extra work?" Harry asked, still annoyed about Ron turning on him over the stupid tournament.
"No, I can't see him putting in the time," Hermione admitted as she pulled out her potion book and opened it to where her bookmark was. "Any luck?" she asked, glancing at the page of ancient Norse runes that Harry was studying.
"Some, I'll probably just have to write everything out in a journal." Harry quickly but carefully flipped through the rest of the book then closed it and set it on top of the stack. "I'll ask Remus about getting a journal." He glanced towards the door as it opened with a creek. "Decided to get the jump on reading about Potions?"
"Chess?" Ron asked, holding up his chess board as he walked in the library.
"Sorry, we're studying," Harry replied, not remotely interested in wasting time with chess when he could be doing something more productive like creating Hermione's ring or playing with his summons or even doing his summer reading so he'd have an excuse not to clean.
"You were actually serious about studying for Potions?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"We have less than a month to get everything done, I haven't had a chance to read anything and I wouldn't mind picking some people's brains while they're available but to do that, I need to have actually read the material," Harry explained.
"And he calls me lazy," Ron said to Hermione.
Harry scowled at Ron. "This is the first chance I've had to actually read my books all summer, so either crack a book or go bother Ginny or the twins for a game, I'm not interested."
"Why not? You'll barely get any reading done before Mum finishes making sandwiches then we'll have to finish cleaning our room," Ron argued.
"Do you even remember the last time I won a game?" Harry asked, trying to avoid having to spell things out.
"Back in third year when Hermione was nagging you about your Firebolt, right distracting," Ron replied, thinking back to one of the only times Harry had actually won.
"To be fair, I was right about Sirius giving him the broom," Hermione pointed out, willing to admit, if only to herself, that she hadn't handled things as well as she could have.
"Look, I'm tired of losing." Harry went back to reading his potion book, leaving Ron staring at him.
"You can't get better if you don't practice," Ron argued as he walked over and set the board on the table.
"Right now? I don't really care," Harry admitted, wanting something to distract him from the fact that his cousin was dead and his aunt might have snapped, not something mindless like chess. "Besides, if I'm studying, I'm doing something more important than cleaning."
"Fine, I'll see if someone else wants to play," Ron grumbled as he stalked out of the room.
"Yeah, that's why I'm not telling him shit," Harry muttered after Ron left.
"I've wanted to say that for years," Hermione admitted then went back to reading, figuring Harry would talk when he wanted to.
Harry nodded then went back to reading. He spent a couple of minutes reading before he realized he'd been rereading the same section a couple of times and processing none of it because he'd been drifting, thinking about the runes he'd need for Hermione's ring. He moved his book to the side then grabbed a sheet of parchment and his writing supplies from his trunk.
"Notes?" Hermione asked softly.
"No, I have too many ideas bouncing around my head," Harry admitted as he started drawing the runes he was going to use to enchant Hermione's ring.
"Can I ask questions or do you need to concentrate?" Hermione asked, curious about the process.
"It's fine," he assured her. "I'm just tinkering with the runes I'll need for your ring."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"The order and relation to the other runes matters. One example that springs to mind is how the meaning of your rune word changes if you stick peace and death runes together. If you use most of the peace runes before most of the death runes it means peaceful death, using it after can mean death of peace or die in peace," Harry explained as he continued drawing.
"In other words, war and a painless death?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
"The specifics change a bit depending on the exact combination of runes but yeah, basically."
"Could you use a different set of runes?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
"Maybe?" Harry replied absently as he considered the question. "On one level it's just visualization, on the other wizards and witches can cast spells they don't understand by waving their wands and saying bad latin."
"I can actually." Hermione looked up when the door opened revealing Sirius carrying an old metal tin. "Any luck?"
"I found a couple rings and necklaces that don't have magic on them," Sirius said as he walked over to the table. "Where's Ron?"
Harry shook his head. "We were doing our Potions reading and he wanted to play chess."
"Just as well," Sirius said as he set the box on the table in front of Harry and Hermione. "Now what?"
"Now we find something that doesn't look ridiculous," Harry said as he set the various rings and necklaces on the table. "Anything jump out at you?"
Hermione glanced over the tacky jewelry then picked out a gold ring with a ruby that actually looked decent. "The one with the ruby, unless the stone interferes with the magic?"
"It shouldn't," Harry replied as he picked the ring up and studied it, mentally drawing the runes he was planning on using around the band to make sure everything would fit. "Of course, that's why we're testing things. Speaking of testing things, how many bedrooms does the house have and can I get one that I don't have to share with Ron?"
"Enough," Sirius replied absently as he thought about Albus' 'request' that they stick Harry in the bedroom with Phineas Black's portrait so it could 'keep an eye' on him. "I doubt Ron's going to take it all that well."
"I don't care," Harry admitted. "I'd probably feel differently if he hadn't stabbed me in the back about the tournament or if Voldemort wasn't back but the truth is he's lazy and I have less than a month to get a handle on my new abilities before I have to go back to Hogwarts."
"You forgot self centered," Hermione muttered, thinking of the only time she'd tried to convince Ron that the prize money and fame didn't remotely matter to Harry in a failed attempt to get him to understand that Harry hadn't wanted to be in the tournament, he'd ended up screaming at her about rubbing the fact that he was poor in his face.
Sirius winced. "That's a bit harsh but certainly understandable considering the need for secrecy and the fact that he hasn't picked up the same work ethic as his older brothers."
Hermione stared at Sirius. "Are you saying the twins have a decent work ethic?"
Sirius grinned at the look on Hermione's face. "You might not be a fan of practical jokes but they're always improving their joke products and researching new ideas, that takes dedication."
"Point," Hermione admitted after a couple of seconds of thinking about it.
"I think I'll just tell him that I'm going to be studying a lot and not worry about it, it's not my job to entertain him or clean the house while I'm on vacation." Harry grabbed the ink quill and started drawing the runes on the ring. "Either way, if you can be quiet for a couple of minutes, I'd appreciate it."
Sirius nodded. 'Sorry Albus, if you want a creepy portrait to watch him sleep, you can move it and keep him from ripping it apart yourself.'
Hermione couldn't help the list of questions that sprang to mind as she watched Harry draw runes on the ring, mostly what the runes meant and why the ink wasn't running but also what her magical form would look like and what new abilities she'd end up with.
Harry carefully finished the collection of magic girl runes then spent the mana and enchanted them, causing the ink to vanish and the magic to soak into the ring. "That should do it."
Ginny paused when she walked into the library with the plate of sandwiches and saw Harry giving Hermione a ring. "Shit, I owe the twins money, I thought for sure it would take another year for Harry to admit his feelings for you," she said, hiding her grin at the look of shock on Harry's face.
"It's not..." Harry sputtered, not sure how to explain that they were just working on a project.
"We're not..." Hermione trailed off when she realized Ginny was trying not to snicker. 'At least she's not tossing curses, then again, she's smarter than Ron.'
"On that note, I need to tell Kreacher to clean my brother's old room for Harry." Sirius slipped through the door before Hermione could complain about taking advantage of Kreacher. 'A bit of cleaning would probably help the bastard.'
Ginny walked over and set the plate of sandwiches on the table away from the books then glanced at the ring Hermione was holding. 'At least one of them has good taste.' She glanced at Harry then at the jewelry in the bottom of the tin then looked at Hermione, trying to put the pieces together. "So, what are you actually working on?"
"Officially?" Harry asked with a grin as he grabbed one of the sandwiches that wasn't glowing.
"Sure, let's go with that," Ginny replied as she grabbed her own sandwich.
"Sirius mentioned that he was tossing some of the old Black knick-knacks and I wanted to test a couple of spells," Harry explained.
Ginny snickered. "And the unofficial reason?"
"Would you believe me if I told you we were working on prank items?" Harry asked with a grin.
Ginny glanced at Hermione then looked back at Harry. "Not a chance."
Hermione sighed. "You realize I have a sense of humor, right?"
"Good to know," Ginny deadpanned. "If it's a prank item, what is it supposed to do?"
"Sorry, that's classified," Hermione said in her best official voice, managing to sound a little like Percy.
"I'd avoid sounding like that in front of Mum, Percy is a sore subject right now." Ginny glanced at Harry then looked back at Hermione. "Does that mean you're not going to tell me?"
"Sorry." Hermione glanced at Harry. "That's up to Harry."
"Only if you promise not to talk about it, I don't want your mother to explode. Speaking of magic, why are most of the sandwiches covered in magic?" Harry asked, hoping there was actually a good reason and it wasn't the twins trying to prank them.
Ginny glanced between the plate filled with sandwiches and Harry. "Mum duplicated most of them so we'd have enough for everyone, how did you know they were covered in magic?"
"Officially, a really good guess. Unofficially, my ring lets me detect magic," Harry explained then took a bite of his sandwich, happy that the twins hadn't gotten to the food.
"Nice, where did you find that?" Ginny asked, hoping it was halfway reasonable so she could ask Harry for a loan, she didn't want a repeat of the diary or someone slipping a love potion in her drink.
Harry finished his bite of turkey and swallowed. "Officially, I got the ring in a pawn shop. Unofficially, I enchanted it, please don't tell anyone. I'd rather not give the Ministry another reason to harass me."
"No worries, I won't tell a soul. Does that mean you can make me one?" Ginny asked hopefully.
"Technically, it's also a transformation item," Harry replied as he walked over to the library door and locked it.
"Transformation item?" Ginny asked, not sure what he was talking about.
Harry activated his ring and transformed into his magic girl form. "What do you think?"
"I think I'm jealous," Ginny admitted, staring at Harry's long red hair, finding herself wondering what 'he' would look like without his clothes. "I mean, damn."
"Yeah," Hermione agreed, wishing she could get her hair to behave without an excessive amount of work.
"Are you saying that Hermione's ring will change her appearance?" Ginny asked, staring at Hermione's ring.
"All part of the magic," Harry explained, glad that he could share the secret with some of his friends.
Ginny smiled at Hermione. "Let's see what your new form looks like."
"Sure," Hermione agreed as she slipped the ring on her ring finger of her left hand. "How do I activate it?"
Harry quickly swallowed his bite of sandwich. "You should probably wait until you get to your room."
"Why?" Ginny asked, not sure why he suddenly looked nervous.
"Because it doesn't come with clothes the first time," Harry admitted. "You just need to focus on the ring and change and push with your mind."
"Are you saying you don't want to see Hermione naked?" Ginny teased.
Hermione briefly considered scolding Ginny for teasing Harry then noticed the blush on Harry's face and that 'his' nipples were 'showing' and decided to wait to see what he said as it was apparent he'd finally realized she was a girl.
Harry briefly considered lying or laughing the question off before deciding that he was going to be brave, if only because Hermione hadn't immediately snapped at Ginny. "Just because I'd love to see her naked in either form doesn't mean I'm going to trick her into it."
'Good answer.' Hermione focused on the ring and changing then mentally pushed before she could change her mind, causing a black mist to flow out of her ring and over her body. "How do I look?" she asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt.
Harry stared at the busty naked young woman with pitch black hair and flawless pale skin that had replaced his best friend. "I'd say radiant but your hair looks pitch black…" he trailed off as part of her aura seemed to fade away and sparks of light appeared in her perfectly straight hair making it look like a field of stars.
"More like a field of stars," Ginny said, glancing down at Hermione's breasts. "You don't actually care that you're naked in front of Harry do you?"
Hermione reached up and grabbed a lock of her hair and examined it. "I've been to beaches in France and Harry isn't the type to talk about things he shouldn't," she said, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. It was one thing being naked on a beach as a kid or in front of strangers and another in front of your best friend, even if it wasn't really her body she was showing off.
Harry pulled his attention away from Hermione's breasts and focused on her face. "I'm not crazy."
"Good," Hermione replied with a smile, glad that she could make his otherwise shitty summer just a bit better and that he wasn't freaking out. She walked over and picked up the table with one hand, showing off her new strength. "At least the strength upgrade worked."
Ginny pulled her attention off Hermione's adorable butt and stared at the heavy wooden table her friend was easily lifting off the ground. "This isn't a prank item is it?"
Harry shook his head. "It's useful for avoiding notice when people are looking for you but no, it's not a prank item. It actually has some useful features like giving you the ability to summon your wand."
Hermione set the table down carefully then gestured and summoned her wand out of thin air. "That wasn't as hard as I was expecting."
"When can I get one?" Ginny asked excitedly.
Harry gestured towards the jewelry tin. "Pick something out and I'll get started."
"Sounds…" Ginny trailed off as the door rattled.
"What's the big idea?" Ron complained. "Ruddy door is locked."
'No shit.' Hermione quickly shifted back to her normal appearance as she most certainly didn't want Ron seeing her without clothes or knowing about the rings. "Weird," she called out as she walked over to the door, giving Harry a chance to change back.
Harry quickly changed back to his normal appearance. "I'm guessing someone hexed it."
Hermione unlocked the door and opened it after making sure that Harry had changed back. "Did you win?"
"No," Ron grumbled as he walked into the library. "Bill was the only one willing to play."
"Better luck next time and keep practicing," Harry offered, trying not to laugh at the glare his friend was giving him. 'Losing once in a while is probably good for you.'
"Funny. So what are you working on?" Ron asked as he walked over and grabbed a sandwich, not wanting to think about the fact that Bill had trounced him.
"Magic," Ginny replied with amusement as she looked through the collection of jewelry for something that caught her eye.
"Very helpful," Ron said sarcastically, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Ginny snickered. "I thought so."
Ron glanced at Hermione then finished chewing and swallowed. "We should probably start cleaning our rooms before Mum has a fit."
"It shouldn't take more than a couple of dozen scouring charms unless they're worse than the rest of the house, ten minutes tops," Harry said thoughtfully, fairly sure Ron's mother was going to complain a lot over the summer.
"Have you lost your mind?" Ron asked, staring at Harry in disbelief. "You can't use magic during the summer without getting a notice."
"That's only true if you're muggleborn or if you live in a non-magical household," Harry replied as he grabbed another sandwich.
"Didn't anyone tell you about the trace?" Ron asked, trying to remember if they'd covered it in class or not and coming up blank.
"I asked Sirius, the trace only detects magic around underaged witches or wizards, they can't actually tell who cast the spell which means we're in the clear as long as we're not tossing around illegal curses or using magic in public."
"Good to know," Ginny said, having already come to the same conclusion a couple of years ago thanks to talking with the twins.
"That would have been nice to know," Ron grumbled. "Not that it would have mattered since Mum always confiscates our wands. Either way, we can't use magic to clean the room without her screaming at us."
Harry turned to look at Hermione. "Remind me to pick up some earplugs when we grab the notebooks."
"What?" Ron sputtered.
"I don't mind tossing a couple of spells at the room but I'm not going to waste my time cleaning everything the hard way when a couple of spells will take care of the problem." Harry summoned his wand as he walked out of the library. "Which room?"
"The second door is Ron's room I wouldn't object if you wanted to hit ours with a couple scouring charms," Ginny said as she palmed a silver ring with a small sapphire that looked decent but not over the top and headed for the door. 'If anyone asks, I'll just tell them Hermione gave it to me as a birthday present.'
"Not a problem, just keep watch for your mother," Harry replied as he headed into Ginny and Hermione's room to start cleaning.
"Great," Ron grumbled before taking another bite of his sandwich, fairly sure his mum was going to blame him for not stopping Harry from using magic.
Comments
Mist of Shadows
I had a hell of a time trying to figure out if I wanted to go with the more reasonable explanation of Moody lying about it or that it's only put on muggleborns... or that they had additional sensors on Harry. I mean Draco was taught the unforgiveables before Voldemort took over if I recall correctly, so there is obviously a way to block it or someone was bribed. Every child would be a magic detector in a house hold... it can't be applied sooner than Hogwarts because Hermione tested things and didn't get a notice or even know you shouldn't before school. Anyone picking Harry up would have had to file with the ministry... any wizard he ran into over the years would have set things off if they just apparated near him. So, I've decided to go with a slightly less annoying version of it for me, it's applied when they go through the arch first year and there's a way on the device that handles things to basically just ignore anyone that isn't in a muggle area otherwise they'd need a lot of people in that department to check everything.
Patrick Sandhop
The Trace is a weird aspect of the Potterverse. I'm not surprised Ron doesn't know how it works though.
