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  This chapter was edited by Gdiusx. Check his works on HP and ASOIAF, I highly recommend them.

  Earlier

  Laura frowned as she checked the position of the sun. It’s been two hours since Jon entered the strange cave, yet there was no sign of him inside. Calling his name through the entrance yielded nothing but an echo, and she was far too rge to crawl down there. She found a vent she could look through, but all Laura found were rocks and darkness. Hedwig did not seem overly concerned as she roosted on a tree branch; it was the only reason Laura wasn’t panicking.

  She returned to the campsite she had set up and dropped her load of firewood next to the campfire. This was still a hostile territory, and the centaur was prepared for any monsters that might decide to attack them. Her bow was strung, her quivers were within reach, and her bdes were sharp. Hedwig occasionally flew around the clearing and into the woods, her wings making no sound as she returned to her branch. She shook her head when Laura stared questioningly at her.

  ‘Smart girl.’

  Still, with nothing to do, Laura could not help but worry about the two-legged foal. What manner of creature would live in such a strange pce? For a moment, she worried he might have run afoul of a Fae, and she quickly trotted around the clearing, searching for any rings of mushrooms. The centaur breathed a sigh of relief; there were no mushroom rings at all, though that merely meant if a Fae was in there, it was not affiliated with a Court.

  Suddenly, Hedwig barked a warning and flew down to her shoulders. Laura quickly returned to her camp and grabbed her bow. “What is it, Hedwig?”

  Laura could not understand the owl, but her angry barks and pointed gres at a specific part of the woods told her enough. She notched an arrow, drew her bow, and aimed at a spot resembling foliage before releasing.

  A screech of pain resounded in the clearing.

  “Damned horse bitch! She killed Kruul. Let’s eat her!”

  Laura did not waste time with a witty reply to the familiar voice. In less than a heartbeat, another arrow was loosed at where the voice came. Another screech of pain told her aim was true, but then her foes burst out of the foliage with their many eyes gring murderously at her and their mandibles clicking angrily.

  Hedwig had flown from her shoulder to settle on a tree, her eyes wide and her head turning in every direction. Laura continued to shoot arrows at the monsters, dropping them one after the other with accurate shots that pierced through their eyes and to their brains. Hedwig then barked a warning, and she clicked her teeth as she turned to the other side to find more spiders.

  Deciding that she would be a sitting duck by the campfire, the centaur grabbed her quivers and arms before galloping away, shooting all the while at the spiders chasing her. She was much faster than the spiders, yet they were more agile. The clearing was not spacious enough to allow her to shoot at them indefinitely as they chased her, but it would have to do, even if her aim were far more erratic.

  Soon, however, Laura was forced to abandon her bow for her javelin and shield. Her javelin morphed into a three-pronged nce; Six meters of wicked steel danced as she stabbed and sshed at any spider daring to approach her. The centaur pranced and bucked at any spider daring to fnk her, yet they were relentless. There were too many of them, and the terrain was not helping her. She needed a distraction to at least–

  Crashing sounds came from the woods, followed by a loud roar and a furious neigh, cursing up a storm. Laura’s eyes widened as she recognised the horse tongue. Before she could use the chance to break out of the encirclement, two rge figures burst out of the woods and crashed into the spiders. The centaur’s eyes widened in fear as she recognised the grotesque form of a chimaera. It was even rger than the manticore, a lion’s body with a goat’s head springing out of its back and a snake tail.

  The other figure, however, had her heart beating furiously. It was a beautiful stallion, even rger than she was, with massive bck wings that fpped angrily at the monster and a long horn sticking out of its forehead. Laura knew there were winged horses, such as Thestrals, Granians and Aethonans, somewhere in the forest, yet they were not easily found. This specimen was different. For one, it had a horn like a unicorn and even gave off a simir feeling to it.

  “Hey, pretty mare! A little hand here would be nice.”

  Laura flinched as the winged unicorn gnced at her with intelligent golden eyes, and she took the chance to stab at the spiders surrounding her. Meanwhile, the chimaera attacked the horse, its savage cws trying to tear chunks off its fnk, but the horse, Laura decided to dub him Pegasus, easily dodged away. One of the acromantus thought Pegasus would be easy prey while distracted and tried to attack its rear, only for Laura to throw her nce at it, nailing it to the ground.

  Now, without a weapon, the centaur was forced to defend against the rest of the spiders with just her shield and an axe. Laura had already been bitten a few times and could feel their venom in her system, yet it did nothing more than cause her to be light-headed. Her body and vitality ensured her resistance to most diseases and venoms.

  A fsh of heat caused Laura to gnce at the other fight, finding the monstrous chimaera spewing fire from its lion and goat heads. The pegasus fpped his wings powerfully, buffeting the fire and sending it back to the monster, but it did nothing more than annoy it. The fire spread over the woods, and Laura feared it going out of control.

  Her moment of distraction nearly cost her as one of the spiders suddenly jumped at her! This was new; the Acromantus were not known to be jumping spiders. Laura instinctively raised her shield, yet she knew it would be useless against–

  A jet of green light crashed into the spider, suspending it in mid-air. Laura did not hesitate and smashed her handaxe into the spider’s belly. The other spiders turned in surprise at the entrance to the cave, and Laura followed their many eyes only to find nothing.

  Until a massive inferno erupted from seemingly nothing as it tore through the dozens of spiders between her and the pegasus, inadvertently adding more fire to the woods.

  A*L*S*M

  Harry whistled at the sight of the bzing storm he created, “That was far easier than it should be.”

  “Hmph, is that all the thanks you can come up with?”

  “That was you?” He swiftly moved away from the cave’s entrance, still hidden under his invisibility cloak. “Let’s hope we don’t start a forest fire.”

  Harry scanned the surrounding clearing, both physically and through Hedwig’s eyes. There was a winged unicorn fighting an abomination of a monster. Instantly, an exciting grin spread on his face as he could tell the monster would be excellent prey for the st part of his ritual. Still, his eyes drifted towards his companion for the past week. Laura was bleeding from several wounds and looked tired, but still attacked the acromantus relentlessly. A gnce at another part of the clearing showed her nce nailing a dead spider to the ground.

  He really wanted to take on that monster, which he realised could only be the chimaera from Greek myth. He had no idea how it found its way here, but Harry needed to be quick before allowing that winged unicorn to take the kill for himself. Still, Laura was obviously troubled. He might have bought her some time with his fire spell, but she would soon fall to the endless horde of giant spiders without a proper weapon.

  Another gnce around the clearing and his decision was made. Harry dashed towards Laura’s nce, grabbed it, suddenly gawked as it transformed into a javelin, grinned, then threw it at a spider trying to fnk her. The centaur looked wildly around, obviously disturbed by his hidden actions, but Harry could not afford to announce himself yet. He breathed a sigh of relief when she grabbed her javelin, transformed it to a nce, and brandished it so fast he could barely see the blurry steel as Laura abandoned all defence and initiated a deadly dance of steel and hooves.

  Damn, that was wicked! Not even the finest rider and the most well-trained destrier would have been capable of such deadly yet elegant spear work from horseback.

  Shaking his head, Harry turned to the chimaera and the horse. He did not know if the monster was spell-resistant like the manticore, but he had learned his lesson. Waving his wand, he turned the ground under its paws into quicksand before bsting at it with stunners and cutters. The winged unicorn paused and stared in his direction warily. Harry shrugged off his cloak; being invisible and clumsy would not help him with this fight.

  “Go on and help her. I’ve got this.”

  The dark horse stared at him strangely before snorting and galloping to Laura’s side of the battle. Harry did not have time to think more as the chimaera had managed to free itself, only for him to rain more stunners at its face. The stunners managed to knock the lion head out, yet the goat head remained wide awake as it bleated at him and bit the lion’s head awake.

  Harry jumped away from a cw swipe, even as the snake tail spat venom at him. Unwilling to test his venom immunity in combat again, Harry scrambled to jump away again.

  “Tassssty human! Smellsss deilicccoussss.”

  Harry was already tired and wounded from his fight with the Fae and knew he would be unable to dodge around for long, even as his blood sang for combat. His eyes bzed as he gred at his foe for any weak point. It was the same issue he had with every fight he’s had so far; His magic was plentiful, his spirit was willing, yet his body simply could not keep up despite the basic enhancements he gained from the Huntsman Ritual.

  The lion head roared and breathed a deluge of red-hot fmes in his direction. Harry waved his wand, causing an earthen wall to burst out of the ground and contain the fire before he waved it again, sending molten rocks at his enemy. The chimaera had long since run sideways, trying to fnk him, but another wave of his wand caused roots to spring from the ground, attempting to bind it. The monster was wily as it jumped away and prowled at him from a distance; Harry circled it as well, using this chance to rummage in his potion pouch for a couple of potions until they stood face-to-face with the campfire in the centre.

  All three monster heads gred at him, their malignant gazes shimmering with loathing, yet Harry had eyes only for the snake. He had heard it earlier but was unsure if he could command it. Regardless, before he could pn for more, the beast moved.

  “Use the fire!”

  Cinder barely called out before he threw the potion vials at the beast. The chimaera barely flinched as the vials shattered, releasing a clear liquid that suddenly caused it to sag, the dizzying potion coming into effect. Harry then waved his wand as he felt his belly burning with a pleasant warmth. The campfire became an inferno, consuming the stacked firewood nearby and seemingly coming alive. The fire construct morphed into a massive canine shape with bzing red eyes and an orange body.

  The Direwolf howled before charging the still recovering chimaera. The fming wolf was twice again as rge as the monster, and as it crashed into the beast, the chimaera seemed to finally awaken from its stupor. Harry was unsure if it was fire-resistant, but it would not matter as he gnced at his companions to find them fighting even more spiders.

  What the seven bloody hells? Why were there so many of them?

  “Laura! Need some help?”

  “No, just focus–” A twirl of her nce beheaded a spider before she switched positions with the winged unicorn, who impaled another spider with its horn, which glowed ominously and bsted the corpse away with a burst of magic. “Pegasus and I have got this, Jon. Focus on that chimera!”

  “Pegasus?”

  Shrugging at the term, Harry turned to where the fme direwolf fought the chimaera. The wolf dissipated as the monster gave it a final bite, yet it did not go unscathed. Its fur was completely burned off; it could barely stand on its legs, while its goat head was but a burned skull. The lion head roared as it gred evilly at him, and even as Harry watched, its wounds were slowly but surely healing.

  This will not do. He dashed at the beast, flicking his dagger in his left hand as he took a deep breath. Harry ignored the lion and gred at the snake head, focusing as much authority in his voice as possible.

  “Bite the lion!”

  The snake did not have time to think before biting deep into the lion’s neck and injecting its venom into it. The lion, just as it was about to spew out a torrent of fire, yelped as it swallowed its fme and went into a coughing fit. Harry did not waste this chance to swiftly plunge his dagger into its eye, withdrew, and stabbed it into the other eye before dodging a sudden strike from the snake and a wild fil by the chimaera’s cws.

  “Damn you, Sssspeaker! You dare–”

  A torrent of fire erupted from Harry’s wand, dousing the snake with white-hot fmes. Its screams of agony joined the lion’s feeble, pained moans, and Harry finished it off with a stab to the throat. Then, because you could never be too sure with so many heads, Harry pushed the body sideways, dropping it on its fnk, and stabbed multiple times into the snake’s neck until he beheaded it. Giving the same treatment to the charred remains of the goat head, Harry immediately went on to gutting the creature, searching for its heart as he shattered its ribcage and ripped out its lung.

  The massive thing was the size of his torso, and it was still beating! Harry ignored the boiling blood gushing in his face as he cut the muscles and tendons connecting the heart to the rest of the body before ripping the whole thing off. He stumbled backwards, the heart in his hands, its beats slowly dying off.

  “That should do it.”

  “You think? I dunno, maybe cut it into more pieces?”

  Harry chuckled at Cinder’s shock at his brutal dismantlement of the chimaera. “What’s wrong, Cinder? Too used to burning your enemies to ash?”

  “Yep, I have never seen something so crass and messy as such ungraceful, brutish methods of killing.”

  “Oh wow, that sounded almost sophisticated!”

  “That’s me, the sophisticated–HEY, that was sarcasm!”

  “Jon, are you alright?”

  Harry tiredly stood and turned to Laura and the pegasus. The clearing was full of dead spiders, with more scurrying away into the woods. One part of the forest was in fmes, and the fire slowly spreading due to the summer weather.

  “I’m alright. We need to control this fire.”

  He pced the heart on the ground and looked for his cloak, finding it burning. His heart nearly jumped to his throat for a moment, thinking his father’s cloak was destroyed, only to sigh in relief when he picked it up and found it as pristine as always - the fmes slipping away from it like water off a duck’s back. The cloak truly was a one-of-a-kind item, and he recalled the Old Gods stating it was made by an aspect of theirs.

  “Do you know any spells to fight the fire?” Laura looked worried at the forest fire. “I worry it may cause unwanted attention. We are close to your school.”

  “I’m not sure, but–”

  “Just eat the fmes, silly.”

  ‘What?’

  “I’m literally sleeping in your stomach. Just inhale the fmes, and I will do the rest.”

  The remainder of the Fae somehow crawling down his throat and not leaving a visible trace had him grimacing. It at least expined the insane affinity to fire he showcased earlier.

  “Are you alright, Jon?”

  “Yeah, give me a minute. I’m going to try something.”

  He walked towards the fire and stopped before it. Harry had no idea how to even begin but settled with Cinder’s advice. Focusing on the fmes, he inhaled through his mouth, expecting to breathe ash and dust, only to be pleasantly surprised when the fmes were sucked into his mouth like pumpkin juice. It even tasted good! He could feel the fire flowing down his throat and into his belly, where it seemingly disappeared…somewhere. Focusing inwardly, he could almost imagine the sleeping form of Cinder in his stomach as she devoured the fmes.

  How she could survive his monstrous stomach that could digest any kind of food was something he really did not want to imagine.

  An hour ter, and after a stroll around the clearing, Harry had eaten all the fmes. He and Laura sat around a simple campfire as he roasted the chimaera’s remains. Hedwig was on his shoulder, nibbling his ear as he fed her chunks of meat.

  “So, is this whom you were looking for, Laura?” The pegasus snorted from where it walked around the clearing, its hooves clopping as it ensured all the spiders were dead - Harry idly gnced at a certain body part of the stallion and shrugged. “I suppose, biologically, you should be compatible.”

  “Now, now, Jon. Let’s not talk about such matters while eating.” The centaur had a deep blush as she stole gnces at the pegasus before shaking her head and tearing a chunk of meat from the chimaera’s rib. “I take it you have now completed your quest?”

  “Almost,” Harry took a bite from the chimaera’s heart, feeling a rush of power flowing through his body. “I’m still missing three secondary parts.”

  “Ah, the ones that need to be given willingly?” Harry nodded and chewed his meal but nearly choked when Laura withdrew a knife and cut off her long, luscious braid. “Would this do?”

  “You would give me your hair?” Harry gnced at the pegasus as he approached their camp and sat on his knees; the creature was quite rge, and his wings made him seem even rger. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Of course! Think of it as a farewell gift.” She firmly pced the braid in his p before gently patting his head. “You’ve been an excellent companion in my quest. Now that I have succeeded, we will go our separate ways.”

  A snort from the pegasus had them both turn to him. The horse nudged his head gently with Laura’s head before his horn shined for a moment. Harry stared in shock as it fell off its forehead, impaling the ground in front of his legs.

  “Oh, my! I know unicorns occasionally shed their horns, but for Jack to drop his willingly… it is a great honour, Jon.”

  Harry nodded as he accepted the horn before raising an eyebrow. “Jack?”

  “Indeed. Jack is his name. He thanks you for saving him from that chimaera. It had taken him unawares before finding themselves in this clearing.” Laura’s face maintained its blush as she threw conspicuous gnces at the pegasus, stroking its chin and fnk with a gentle hand before shaking her head and turning back to him. “Now, I believe it’s time for us to leave. It has been an honour and a pleasure to join you on this adventure, Jon Snow. Do not hesitate to call on me if you ever find yourself in the Forbidden Forest again. I think Hagrid could be convinced to show you the way to our camp.”

  Harry did not need to be a genius to understand his companion was trying to shoo him away while she got on with what she had set out to do. Perhaps when he next visited her, she would have foals of her own; it amused him how little such thoughts seemed to surprise him - Centaurs, magical creatures, Fae, now interracial breeding. The only thing he wondered about was how the children would come out.

  Then again, the Starks were supposedly descended from Children of the Forest…or other manners of magical creatures. Perhaps it wasn’t so weird after all?

  He bit the st of the chimaera’s heart and wiped his mouth before standing up; the beast’s snake head was the only thing still intact and stored away for his ritual. He stored Laura’s braid and Jack’s horn in the same mokeskin pouch he had pced all the parts he gathered.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you, Laura. I am gd to call you a friend. I wish you a happy life, and may we meet again.”

  A*L*S*M

  Sunday 18th of July

  Potter Foyer

  Harry stepped out of the firepce, finding Chiara waiting for him dressed in casual clothes. He had sent Hedwig ahead with a letter informing them of his imminent arrival while he wasted a couple of hours navigating his way out of that clearing back to Hogsmeade. Harry was sorely tempted to stop for lunch and a shower in the Three Broomsticks, but he missed home too much.

  “Welcome home, Mr Potter.” Chiara bowed politely but could not hide her brilliant smile as she stared at him fondly. “You have been missed.”

  “Oh, a werewolf! Oh, oh, Ghost looks extra happy, too. Is she Ghostie’s special friend?”

  “It’s good to be back.” He wiped away some of the floo powder even as he ignored the Fae teasing the Direwolf in his mind, who ended up biting her ankle when she got annoying - her pained squawk as she flew to the heart tree nearly made him ugh. “How were you, Chiara? Any troubles in the nd?”

  “I am very well, and aside from some foolhardy vampires that could not even make it past the protections, nothing overt happened, but,” The werewolf’s smile melted as she took a closer look at him, and her eyes widened before pulling out her wand. “You’re hurt!”

  “Ah, yes, I think I might need some–”

  “Shush, don’t speak. Let’s go to the infirmary.” Chiara grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the foyer, Harry shrugging helplessly, even as a bark of ughter came from Henry’s portrait.

  “Don’t struggle, d. It’s best to let her go along and fix you up. Come talk to me when you are done so we can prepare for the ritual.”

  .

  .

  .

  “Alright, I think that’s all. I have good news and bad news.”

  It was an hour ter when Chiara finally finished prodding him with her wand and healed all of his wounds. It turned out there were many more that he did not notice. A few of his ribs were fractured, his burned fingers would have scarred if he had been any ter, and his back muscles were pulled but should heal with rest, along with a myriad of other injuries.

  Aside from that, Harry had spent the time grilling his attendant over the vampire issue. He had known that Wales in general was home to many dark creatures and little magical families, leading to it being hardly administered by the ministry. That it was so lightly poputed by muggles had something to do with it, he wagered.

  Nevertheless, the vampires were mere fledglings that ran off at the first warning fire spell, according to Chiara. Scouts from a rger coven, or perhaps outcasts kicked from a cn for being too aggressive in their hunting. Thankfully, Chiara did not actually have to fight due to their cowardice, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

  On the one hand, he would rather his attendant not get herself in danger; on the other, he knew little about vampires aside from them being simir to werewolves in a sense. Cursed by magic to be controlled by their instincts, except it was a constant struggle for them compared to the werewolf’s monthly problem.

  Nothing Harry could do about it but send a report to Aurors but since the issue was already resolved, they would most likely simply warn him to be careful and forget about the matter.

  Like the few times dark creatures tried breaking into his nds. Harry was unsure if it was due to the Wildnd or simply his home, but he felt truly grateful for his grandfather Fleamont’s extravagant security measures that he had pced around his nds. Harry will need to key Cinder into it as well if she were to be a permanent resident here.

  Shaking his head inwardly, he focused on his healer’s words, “Good news?”

  “Your blood has ingested the Manticore venom, and if you are ever faced with another monster like that, you will find it easier to shrug off its venom. Please do not think that means you are immune. The only venom you are completely immune to is snake-based venom. Poisons and other animal venoms would still affect you, though to a much lesser degree.”

  “I see. Well, that’s a bummer, but not exactly out of my expectations.” Harry dressed into a clean set of casual clothes, his armour and pouches set aside. “What's the bad news?”

  “There’s something…wrong with you.” Chiara bit her lips in worry, “I don't know how to say this, Harry, but I think you're possessed!”

  “Oh, she is a smart cookie!”

  Harry stifled a chuckle; smirking would be rude, especially towards Chiara, who was genuinely worried.

  Still, he couldn't help but have some fun, “What makes you say so?”

  “I can sense Ghost, but there's something else in there. Something…fiery.”

  “You don't have to worry about it, Chiara. If it were malicious, Ghost would have eaten it for lunch.”

  “Aw, you wouldn't do that to me, would you, Ghostie? Though, I can definitely be malicious, Tehe.”

  ‘Having you in my mind is starting to become distracting. It doesn't help that my guts feel like they're on fire.’

  “Well, how about you get on with it and show me the Weirwood? I can sense the magic from here, and it's driving me crazy!”

  “If you are sure, Mr Potter.” Chiara looked unconvinced but smiled nonetheless. “Aside from that, I recommend a week of rest until your body fully acclimates to the venom. All your wounds and scars should be completely healed by the end of the day.”

  “Thank you, Chiara.” He stretched his arms until he heard a satisfying pop. “Join me for a moment. I got something to do at the Heart Tree.”

  The werewolf nodded and followed him out of the infirmary. “So, how's Dobby?”

  A pop and the house elf appeared before him, dressed in a Leeds United football jersey, a cap, and sneakers.

  “Harry Potter calls Dobby?” The excitable elf fidgeted on his feet as he grinned widely. “Dobby has dinner in the oven. It should be ready in one hour!”

  “It’s good to see you are healthy, Dobby. Dinner sounds fantastic, and we will meet in the dining room when it's ready.”

  The elf bobbed its head several times before popping away. Harry smiled fondly at where the elf disappeared to, “I guess I know he's in good health.”

  “That is true. I doubt anything could bring him down.” Chiara giggled before coughing lightly and followed him down the hallway. “He's been very busy with work around the grounds. He found your family's crypt and had been cleaning the entrance from vines and rubble.”

  “I see. I will have to pay my respects soon. Do you think the vampires have something to do with the crypts?”

  “I am not sure,” Chiara sighed, “their arrival does coincide with our discovery of the crypts but when we opened it, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Your grandparents and ancestors were safely entombed in their final resting pce. I checked with a charm.”

  “I see,” he repeated with a hum. Harry noticed Chiara did not look the healthiest; her face was paler than usual, and her eyes were slitted. “Have you prepared for the full moon?”

  “Yes, I have the Wolfsbane prepared in my room. It's still afternoon, and I have until sunset to take it - the ter I dey it, the better the effects.” Chiara fidgeted slightly as she stopped by the terrace's doors. “Will you be joining me tonight?”

  “That was always the pn, Chiara.”

  Harry smiled at his loyal attendant; Ghost looked forward to pying with her again, especially when their warg bond did not work in her human form.

  “Ugh, spare me the sappy drama and get me to the tree already!”

  Harry ignored the impatient Fae, even as Ghost whacked her bum with his tail.

  The werewolf smiled genially, and they exited to the terrace. “Incidentally, have you found all the parts you needed?”

  “Almost. I have everything except one st secondary part.”

  “Ah, perhaps when I turn tonight, you could take a sample?”

  “That would be great. I appreciate it, Chiara.”

  “Anything for you, Harry.”

  Soon, they were approaching the Heart Tree, and Cinder’s whinging to hurry had reached a crescendo. Harry stopped in front of the tree and turned to Chiara.

  “You were right that I am possessing something.”

  “Oh?”

  “Just give me a minute, and you will see.” Harry turned inwards, ‘Well, Cinder? How do you want to do this?’

  “I'm coming out right freaking now! Sorry if I give you a sore throat.”

  Before Harry could register what she said, he felt a burning pain in his stomach that forced him to his knees. Chiara shouted in worry, but he waved her away. He could feel an inferno crawling up his throat, and within a heartbeat, it exploded out of his mouth in a stream of fire and bolted towards the tree.

  “I am free! And this tree is all mine–hey, what the heck? What are you doing here? What do you mean this is your home? Harryyyyy!”

  ‘Harry is busy heaving over and making sure his guts stay in his body.’

  “I-Is this?”

  “A Fae, yes,” he groaned. “Stop whining, Cinder. I never said the tree was exclusively yours. Now say hi to your neighbour and py nice.”

  The red-skinned woman, back to her full size yet thankfully wearing the same bck dress he clothed her in his mind, puffed up her cheeks in annoyance, her good eye gring at him while her gouged one - a bzing ember. She pointed petuntly at his other fairy, who immediately tched onto her fiery hair, without getting hurt, and ughed at her.

  “Why the heck did you give such an amazing tree to a damned pest?! Ow!”

  The fairy pulled her hair harder at the insult, all the while ughing gleefully. Then, she stared at him with her golden eyes, “Friend!”

  Harry stared at the fairy that had never been capable of speech since the day he picked her up. Cinder grabbed her from her hair and brought her closer to her face, where the fairy hugged her nose and repeated, “Friend!”

  The Fae’s scowling face gradually softened as she allowed the fairy to hug her, “F-Fine, I suppose I can accept a minion. You hear that? You are my first minion, so you better prove your worth!”

  “Aye!”

  “You must have had a really interesting week, Harry.”

  “You have no idea.”

  And we are done with the Forbidden Forest mini-arc. Phew, what was supposed to be one chapter, maybe two, went on for longer than I expected.

  Chapter was shorter than normal. I had far too much on my pte irl, but I think I delivered what I had in mind.

  I ain't gonna give anymore promises on what to expect in the next chapter. It should be the ritual, but knowing Harry, he'll probably be distracted by something, and I will have to turn some small scene into a whole chapter!

  Hope you like Cinder so far. She's here to stay.

  Gee, vampires in Wales. What’s next, A Lich King?