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SIYE Time:13:44 on 28th March 2024
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Paintball Wizard
By cackling stump

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance, Tragedy
Warnings: Death
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 319
Summary: The life of a typical American teenager (okay, maybe not so typical) is shaken by tragedy. Then he discovers a new world awaiting him, filled with new people, new struggles, and, perhaps, new love.
Hitcount: Story Total: 256020; Chapter Total: 4738
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Sorry for the slight delay in posting. This chapter is pivotal to the plot of the rest of the story and I wanted to make sure it was just right. Thanks to Arnel for her beta work, especially with the verse in this chapter. I really didn't like my original version, but I could not put into words why I didn't like it and what I was looking for. Despite my vague request, she produced exactly what I was picturing. She really is amazing!




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Aufero Malum

During breakfast the next morning, after congratulating his two best friends on their engagement, everyone filled Harry on what had been going on since his “death.” As they finished eating, Lydia came in, rubbing her eyes.

“Still not quite awake yet, Lydia?” teased Harry.

“Sod off, Potter. You know I’m not a morning person, at least until I’ve had my tea.”

Harry arose, poured her a mug of tea and placed it in front of her. She held the mug in both hands and inhaled deeply. “Bless you, Harry,” she said as she took her first sip.

After giving her a chance for a few more sips, Harry asked, “So, Lydia, how is living here with Sirius? Are you getting along alright?”

“It’s been fine. Neither one of us has been in a great mood, with your death and all, but we’ve had a lot of work to do around here, so that’s taken our minds off of it. He’s been really insistent on asking my opinions on how to redecorate, but it was slow going at first. But, the last two weeks, we’ve made a lot more progress.”

“What changed?” asked Harry.

“Kreacher.”

“Who or what is ‘Kreacher’?”

“He’s the Black family house-elf. When I first arrived, Kreacher was always in a foul mood, complaining about us being there and ‘sullying the Black Family house’. Sirius and Kreacher were constantly arguing, and it seemed anything that Sirius ordered him to do, Kreacher would find some way around it, or some way to do it poorly. He always obeyed in the strict meaning of Sirius’ command, but never exactly what Sirius intended. Sirius ended up yelling at him and then having to redo everything. It felt like we were making no progress.”

“But Kreacher has been perfectly nice since we arrived,” said Hermione, her brow furrowed. Everyone knew how she felt about the mistreatment of house-elves. “He’s been very helpful.”

“Now he is,” replied Lydia. “I saw that we weren’t getting anywhere with Kreacher’s ‘help,’ so I decided to take a different approach. When Sirius would leave the room in a huff, I asked Kreacher about his mistress, Mrs Black, who he seemed to almost worship. I discovered that the current décor, which I like to call ‘Gloomy Serpentine,’ was a relatively recent change. It seems that early in her married life, the house was much brighter and more colourful. It was only after she and her husband began dabbling in the Dark Arts that the dark and snaky motif appeared.

“I also learned that during this phase of her life, she became angrier and bitter and that she was much happier when the décor was brighter. So, I asked him if he thought his mistress’ memory would be better honoured if we restored the house to its former glory. This idea changed his whole outlook and he’s been much easier to work with. I also started asking Kreacher to do tasks, instead of ordering him to do them, like Sirius does, which made a huge difference as well.”

Hermione’s face brightened significantly at Lydia’s story. “While I still don’t agree with using house-elves, it is nice that you were able to find a way to make him happier. Thank you, Lydia, for your kindness.”

Lydia reddened and said quietly, “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

When Lydia finished her breakfast, the five teens went into the dining room to get out of Mrs Weasley’s way, since she wanted to clean up. “So, Hermione,” said Harry, “tell us about this spell you found that can defeat Voldemort.”

“I’d prefer to wait for Professor McGonagall to arrive. She has some additional information that will help explain it. She is going to be thrilled when she learns you are back. We haven’t told her that you are alive yet, because we didn’t want to risk the information getting in the wrong hands; we did send her an owl last night asking her to come here this morning on Order business, so she should be here shortly.”

As if on cue, the door opened, and in strolled the new head of the Order. As she walked down the hallway past the doorway to the dining room, Harry said, “Good morning, Professor!” The headmistress turned quickly, greeting the teens, and then continued down the hall toward the stairs. The teens could hear her footfalls start to climb the steps, but then they stopped. A few seconds later the footsteps were quickly returning toward the dining room and Professor McGonagall appeared at the entrance, her eyes narrowed and her wand pointed directly at Harry’s chest.

“Who are you? Harry Potter is dead. What is your game?”

“It’s really me, Professor,” replied Harry with a smile as he stood up, his arms raised in surrender. “Ask me something that only I would know.”

She thought for a moment and then asked, “When I first met you, what did I use as a Portkey to transport us to Hogwarts?”

“A snow globe. I think it showed London Bridge, if I remember correctly.”

She dropped her wand and stared at Harry for a moment. Then, in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, the headmistress rushed over and hugged Harry. “But how? No one can survive Avada Kedavra ?”

Harry grinned and said, “I guess that isn’t quite true, since I’ve survived it twice now.” They sat down and Harry told his story again, answering all of the professor’s questions.

“One more question,” said Professor McGonagall. “We tried to contact your friends in the States about your death, but we couldn’t. Did you have anything to do with that?”

“Yeah, I severed the connection between the Owl Posts and the Muggle Post Office, so nothing could get to them. I didn’t want my friends to learn that I was ‘dead,’ and then have to explain that I was now alive. It’s hard enough to explain it with magic, but to them, it would be nearly impossible.”

“Mr Potter,” she began before restarting. “Harry, I can’t believe you were able to manage all of that,” Addressing the whole group, “I agree with your idea that it is important to keep this a secret, especially from Voldemort. I think that we should even keep this a secret from the rest of the Order. The fewer people who know the less likely it is to get out. We’ll have to find somewhere for you to hide.” She turned to Ron and Ginny. “Do you know if Bill has finished re-warding the Burrow?”

“I think he finished yesterday, other than completing the Fidelius,” said Ron. “We just need to pick the Secret Keeper.”

“Has Miss Granger discussed the spell she found and the necessary preparations for it?” asked the Professor.

“I was waiting for you to arrive, Professor. Perhaps we should have Arthur, Molly, and Sirius come in for this? It’s important that they hear this too.”

“That is a good idea. Ron, could you go get your parents and Sirius for us?”

Harry and Ginny looked at each other quizzically and then Ginny asked, “Hermione, why is it important for my parents to hear about the spell?”

“Be patient, Ginny. This involves them, too. You’ll understand in just a minute.”

Ron returned with his parents and Sirius a few moments later, and they looked as confused as Harry and Ginny. After everyone sat down, the headmistress waved her wand, casting a Silencing Charm on the room before starting, “Sirius, Arthur, and Molly, thank you for coming. With Harry’s return, it is not surprising that this changes our plans for the war, but there is one particular alteration that affects you specifically and directly. Miss Granger found a spell that we agree is probably the key to our victory, and the spell is one that can be best done by Harry and Ginny together, but they need your help.”

The faces of the three newcomers showed even more confusion, as did Harry’s and Ginny’s. “Miss Granger, since you found the spell, please explain what you learned.”

Hermione sat up straight and cleared her throat. “I originally came across the spell this spring, but I didn’t understand it when I first read it because I was mistranslating part of the description. The name of the spell is Aufero Malum. It was first designed to be able to remove dark magic from dangerous artefacts. The book then said its most important use was to destroy ‘endless bone’. I had no idea what that meant, so I skipped to the next spell, not bothering to translate the rest of the information on it. After all, why would destroying bone be helpful?

“A few weeks ago, when I was investigating why Ginny wasn’t weakening after your death, I found the spell again. When I studied it further, I saw where I had made my mistake. The rune that I had translated as ‘bone’ was actually a proper name, not a noun.”

Hermione’s face became more animated as she was obviously more excited. “Now, this is where it gets interesting. I started searching the library in the Department of Mysteries for wizards with a name that meant ‘bone.’ I had to use multiple translation spells to find as many words as I could that could be translated ‘bone’ and then I cross referenced it with names in various magical history texts…”

“Hermione, love,” interrupted Ron. “While I am sure it is interesting how you found the information, I’m not sure we need all the details. Based on the glazed look on a few people here, I think you’re losing your audience. Perhaps you should just tell us what you actually did find.”

Hermione reddened. “Sorry, I forget that you’re not all Department of Mystery workers. My colleagues would be fascinated on the process as well as the conclusion. Anyway, the Polish word for ‘bone’ is ‘kosc’. In the sixteenth century, there was a Slavic evil sorcerer named Koschei the Deathless who was wreaking havoc throughout Eastern Europe. Do you see the connection? His name comes from the Polish word for ‘bone’ and ‘endless’ could also mean immortal, undying, or ‘Deathless.’” A large smile broke out on her face. “I had a feeling that this might be what we were looking for. He had been defeated a few times, and his body was even destroyed, but he kept coming back to life and couldn’t be killed.”

“That seems strangely familiar,” Harry mumbled, making everyone nod their heads in agreement. Looking at Hermione, he then asked, “How did this Koschei do that? A spell like the one my mother used on me?”

Hermione shook her head as she took up her narrative again. “The reason he couldn’t be killed was that he had placed part of his soul in an object.” She stopped when nearly every eyebrow in the room rose towards the ceiling. With a small smile, she continued, “Believe it or not, there are a lot of myths about him in Muggle literature and according to the tales the soul was placed in a needle, which was hidden in an egg, which was placed in a duck, which was hidden in a hare, which was confined in a chest, which was chained to an oak tree. It was only when the egg with the needle was destroyed that he could be killed, with the hero always finding a way to destroy this egg. It turns out that the myths were based on the real wizard, but that the complicated hiding of the needle was literary fiction. In the Polish magical history book, it said he was defeated by an unnamed couple who used an unknown spell first on the needle to remove his soul from it and then they used the spell again on him. The history book didn’t know exactly what the spell did to Koschei, only that he was destroyed by it.

“I then reread the chapter in The Bright Arts on known Soul Bound couples and found Ivan and Marya Morevna, a Russian couple who lived at the same time as Koschei. It mentions that they defeated the greatest Dark wizard of their time. I put all the clues together and determined that Aufero Malum must have been the spell they used. So, I went back and studied the spell more thoroughly. It removes the dark magic from objects, and on a human, it removes all the evil from the essence of the person. The book says that the more evil a person, the worse the damage, and surmises that, in the case of a Dark Lord, since his essence would be almost all evil, it would totally destroy him.

“You can see why this excited me. After I discovered this, I took it to Professor McGonagall.”

Professor McGonagall then took up the story. “Before his death, Professor Dumbledore had sent various members of the Order to the Continent to try to gain more information on a former Hogwarts student named Tom Riddle. He was particularly interested in the years between Riddle leaving Hogwarts and when he reappeared as Voldemort, and to hopefully learn what magic he used to survive the Killing Curse.”

Harry muttered, “That’s what Professor Dumbledore must have meant with his last words.”

All eyes turned toward Harry. “What was that, Harry?” asked Sirius.

Harry fought back tears as he remembered the death of his headmaster as if it was yesterday, since, to Harry, it was yesterday. “Before he died, he said, ‘The answer is Riddle. Study him.’ He must have known that the information that the Order had learned would be important.”

Professor McGonagall continued. “What they have learned is that he spent several years in Albania studying Dark magic. There are stories of a mysterious castle in the mountains of Albania, built by a Dark wizard centuries ago. Anyone who dared to enter it was said to meet a most gruesome death. It was destroyed in what was thought to be an earthquake in 1949. We now believe that Voldemort discovered the castle and figured out how to enter it. We also know that Albania was part of the territory over which Koschei reigned. Putting this together with what Miss Granger has learned, we think that the castle was Koschei’s and Voldemort learned how to transfer a part of his soul to an object. After he was done, he demolished the castle so that no one could learn his secret.”

“So,” added Hermione, “now that Harry is alive, we have some tasks ahead of us. First, we need to figure out what object Voldemort placed the piece of his soul in and then find it. Second, we need … well, to make some other plans.” Hermione turned red.

“What about learning Aufero Malum?” asked Ginny.

“There are some things that you need to do first before you can learn the spell,” said Hermione, obviously uncomfortable.

“What things, Hermione?” asked Harry.

Hermione turned even redder, looking back and forth between the adults present.

“Miss Granger, I think you should explain it and its special requirements,” said McGonagall.

Hermione gulped, “Are you sure, Professor? Perhaps this news might be better received from you?”

“No, Miss Granger, you have put so much effort into this, you should get the chance to present what you have learned.”

“Okay,” said Hermione nervously. She bent over and reached into her rucksack, removing a large book. She opened it, pulled out a parchment that was folded inside it, and began reading. “Here is my translation of the information on the spell from The Bright Arts.

“To cast the Aufero Malum spell

The bond fulfilled within two must dwell.

Strict observance of the ancient rites

As it is written, the cores unite,

While their two bodies cleave as one

A cord entwined their minds become.

Essence will coalesce,

Their power limitless.

Their hearts must be light

As the noontime sun is bright.

And like finest gold will be the souls

The two spirits precious as whitest snow.”

“What does all that mean?” asked Sirius.

“First, the bond must be brought to completion in a ceremony,” answered Hermione.

“What ceremony?” asked Molly, suspicion clouding her voice.

“Does this mean they have to get married?” asked Arthur.

“Yes, that is exactly what it means,” answered Hermione. “There is another section of the book that outlines the required ceremony, which is basically just a variation of the traditional Wizarding ceremony. However, there is one condition for the marriage to be binding and this is where you come in, Molly, Arthur, and Sirius. The couple must be married with the blessing of the parents of the couple, or in Harry’s case, his godfather.” She paused for the news to sink in to both couples.

Ginny responded first, “That’s no problem. So, how quickly can we put together a wedding?”

“Not so fast, young lady,” said Molly. “You are only sixteen! You’re not old enough to get married.”

“But Mum, I will be of age in less than two weeks,” Ginny protested.

Molly put her hands on her hips. “Just because it is legal for you to be married, it doesn’t mean you should. What about your schooling?”

“I did promise your parents we wouldn’t get married until you finished Hogwarts when I asked their blessing on their engagement,” said Harry.

Ginny turned to Harry, obviously hurt by his comment. “Don’t you want to get married?”

He took her hands in his and said, “Of course, I want to get married. There is nothing in this world that I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you, but it wouldn’t be right to go back on my word.” He pulled her into an embrace. “We need to do this the right way, Ginny.”

“I know, Harry,” she said. “It’s just hard to wait now that we have a purpose, a reason for getting married as soon as we can.”

“Minerva,” asked Molly, “could the wedding wait until after she finishes school?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. You’ve already seen what has happened in just the one month since Harry ‘died’ and the Ministry is collapsing. The Death Eater attacks are becoming bolder and bolder. Delaying another eleven months could be disastrous. I think a wedding in the near future so that they can start learning the spell as soon as possible would be best.”

“And just because we are married, doesn’t mean that I couldn’t keep going to school, would it, Professor?” asked Ginny.

“While it is irregular, we have had married students before and we can make accommodations for them,” said Professor McGonagall. “Those accommodations are more challenging when one of the couple is no longer attending, of course. However, since we want to keep the fact that Harry is alive a secret, I think it is probably essential that Ginny return to school as if nothing had happened. If she didn’t return, it might make some people suspicious.” Looking directly at Ginny, she smiled. “There is one piece of information that none of you are aware of that will make this easier. Miss Weasley, as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, I am pleased to inform you that you have been appointed Head Girl for next year.”

Molly pulled her daughter into a hug. “Congratulations, dear! I’m so proud of you! That’s everyone in the family as either prefect or Head Boy or Girl!”

Fred and George, who were sitting next to each other, shared incredulous looks. “What are Fred and I, next door neighbours?” asked George, but the rest of the room ignored his comment.

Ginny, in shock, asked, “But, Professor, I wasn’t even a prefect. How can I be Head Girl?”

Professor McGonagall explained, “While the Head Girl and Boy are usually picked from the seventh year prefects, your performance this past year in classes and with the DA has shown your leadership. And it is not without precedent.” She turned toward Harry and added, “Mr Potter’s own father was never a prefect, but was Head Boy.”

“Okay, I’m Head Girl. But how does this make keeping Harry’s return a secret easier?” Ginny asked, still confused.

“There is a little known provision that Head Boy and Girl have the choice to either stay in their dorms with their classmates or live in a special suite with a private bedroom and bath. In recent years, this privilege has not been taken advantage of, but it is available to you. So, Miss Weasley, if you live in the suite, it will be easier to conceal Mr Potter’s existence.”

Ginny and Harry looked at each other with smiles. “That would be nice,” whispered Harry, “having our own space.”

“What do you think, Molly?” asked Arthur. “Are you okay with this?”

Molly sighed. “This is not how I pictured my only daughter’s wedding. Since she was born, I’ve dreamed about what her wedding would be like, and I had even started collecting some ideas when they were engaged. Frankly, I was planning on occupying a lot of Ginny’s summer with wedding business. Obviously, we aren’t going to be able to have the kind of ceremony I imagined. But, yes, I guess I can give my blessing.”

Ginny arose and hugged her mum. “Thank you, Mum. I know that the ceremony might not be what you wanted, but that’s not what is most important. What is important is that I am marrying the right man, and even you know that Harry is that man.”

“Yes, he is that, dear,” squeezing her daughter tightly, as they both started to tear up.

“How about you, Sirius? Can you give your blessing as well?” asked McGonagall.

Sirius smirked. “Of course, I give my blessing. Harry’s the same age as his father and Ginny’s just a few months younger than Lily when they were married right out of school, so I don’t think age should be an issue. My time with Harry and Ginny this spring confirmed for me that they definitely were made for each other. I have no issues.”

Arthur stood up in the silence following Sirius’ speech. “If you think that this is the best course, Minerva, then, I am going to repeat Ginny’s question. Molly, how quickly can we put together a wedding?”

Molly pulled a handkerchief out of her apron and wiped at her tears. “Since it obviously will need to be a small ceremony to keep Harry’s secret, I think we could probably do it in two weeks. How does the Saturday after Ginny turns seventeen sound?”

Ginny turned toward Harry and grabbed his hands. “What do you think? Is two weeks okay with you?”

He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. “Sounds like I’ve just received the best birthday present ever.” And too low for anyone else to hear, he whispered, “It also gives us time for a honeymoon before you have to go back to school.” She giggled and he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately, despite sounds of disapproval from Ron. Then before they knew it, the rest of the room had stood and was hugging and slapping the backs of the happy couple.

When the celebration had died down a little, Ron interjected, “Hermione, that explains the first part. The next line talks about cleaving? What does that mean?”

Hermione gulped again and reddened. “Oh, Ron, that will take care of itself,” she said, looking down at her feet.

“I don’t get it.” Sirius had a twinkle in his eyes and was trying hard to stifle a chuckle.

“Come on, Ron, think,” added George.

“What am I missing?” asked Ron. Both of the twins were also having difficulty hiding their mirth.

“Ronald, we already talked about this, remember? Please don’t make me talk about this in front of your parents and the headmistress,” she said in a whispered tone.

“Huh?” queried Ron.

Professor McGonagall chuckled and said with a twinkle in her eye, “Mr Weasley, what Miss Granger is talking about is that cleaving is a Biblical term used to describe the ultimate gesture of love between a man and a woman.”

Ron still looked puzzled, but after a few more seconds, it was clear that he finally understood as he turned as red as his hair. “Oh. I guess that will take care of itself.” Sirius and the twins could no longer hold back their laughter.

Harry, anxious to be done talking about that topic in the company of his in-laws-to-be, took the parchment from Hermione and changed the subject. “What about the next part here? ‘A cord entwined their minds become.’ What does that mean?”

Hermione smiled as she explained. “The rest of the verse describes some of the effects of the Bond. The ‘entwined minds’ signifies a strengthening of your ability to communicate with each other. You’ve felt each other’s emotions before and, at periods of extreme stress, you’ve even been able to send a message telepathically. Now, you’ll be able to do it with little effort.”

“And obviously the next part, ‘Essence will coalesce, their power limitless’ refers to the strength of our magic,” said Ginny, peeking over Harry’s shoulder.

“Right,” said Hermione. “Currently, you need to be touching to increase your magical power, but after the Bond is completed, you will have amplified power all of the time.”

“That will come in handy when we have to battle Tom,” said Harry, squeezing Ginny’s hand.

“The next lines indicate that Soul Bonds can only occur between couples who support the Light,” explained Hermione. “People who embrace the Dark Arts cannot feel the true love necessary for a Soul Bond. The last two lines state that the Bondmates will treasure their Bond above all else.”

The room was silent for a moment as everyone considered the gravity of the situation.

Sirius suddenly jumped up, clapping his hands. “What are we waiting for? We’ve a wedding to plan! What do we need to do first, Molly?”

A/N: When thinking about how to continue with this story, I decided to not do another Horcrux search story. There have been plenty of those written, and, quite frankly, my story is long enough without extending it by having to find six Horcruxes (or I guess five since the diary is already destroyed). However, I still needed to find a way to explain how Tom survived the rebounded Killing Curse, so I began researching Eastern European myths (remembering his time in Albania) and found the story of Koschei and the hiding of a part of his soul in an object. I don’t know if JKR got her idea for Horcruxes from this or not, but it certainly is similar. The fact that ‘Koschei’ derives from the Polish word for ‘bone,’ as Hermione explains, suggests that Koschei had a skeletal appearance. Doesn’t sound like any villain that we are familiar with, does it?

I thought that the Koschei myth would allow me to have a “Horcrux-like substance” that explained Tom’s survival without a prolonged search. I was also a little proud of the fact that I had found something that would be an original spin on canon. Of course, not long after I started plotting the next several chapters, I found another fan fiction that mentions the Koschei story (I am sorry, I don’t remember which story it is at the moment), which brought my ego back to earth. ;)

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