Chapter Text
Sirenia is very happy to have Harry staying in Salazar's study that summer. She only really needs to eat once a month, so that isn't what she's excited about. Rather, she is glad to have him around more often. Most of the speakers who meet her end up leaving each summer only to one day never return. He promises her that he will find a way to continue visiting even after he graduates, even if it isn't as often as he does now.
With only his runes apprenticeship to work on, as he had finished the summer homework before school even let out, Harry splits his time between working on runes, reading the old tomes and scrolls left in Salazar's study, and exploring the forest. One of the first things he reads from the library is a book that actually translates one of the scrolls which details the way the druids once harvested and used ingredients found in nature for their potions and rituals, always giving thanks to the source and offering a bit of their magic to contribute to the cycle of magic and life.
He uses the spell he learned to copy the books so he can bring a copy of that one with him and use it as he explores. He also uses an old spell he found to map the forest as he explores, making it easier for him to know where he's been already and where he has found good sources of ingredients.
Every time he finds useful ingredients, he mindfully remembers Calvin's lessons the last summer about cross contamination and ensures that none of the ingredients touch one another. They are placed in individual jars and placed in his expanded bag until he gets back to the study where he puts them on a shelf with preservation spells.
He ended up ordering a large quantity of glass jars from Madame Lowen a few days after he sent out responses to the worried letters of his Diagon friends. They had been frantic when the news finally leaked that Harry had gone missing before getting to his relatives that summer, but between his own assurances that it was planned and he's safe, and Maurice's own help in assuring them that Harry is likely better off where he's at, they finally calmed down. He also made promises to visit them on the days he goes for blacksmith training with Master Ironjaw.
He picked up his jar order in person that weekend, and visited all of them while using the joke products he had purchased the previous summer to disguise himself. Of course, visiting in person had all of the adults scolding him for worrying them. They gather that evening for dinner at the Lock's where Rosalie and Laila had made his favorite.
-
Later that week, Harry is once again exploring the forest. He has found a few trees with bowtruckles living in them, and took to carrying around a container of live woodlice to feed them whenever he comes across them. As they become more familiar with him, they begin giving small gifts of loose bark, twigs, or leaves from their trees. None of the twigs can be used for a wand, and the bark and leaves have to be identified before he knows what kind of tree they belong to, but now he has a small collection of the gifts to experiment with.
He continues on through the forest after accepting a gift from the last branch of bowtruckles he has befriended in this area, mapping the terrain as it becomes unfamiliar. He chooses to go a different direction than he had been, hoping to find something new to chart. He walks for nearly a half an hour before something unusual happens.
Near silently, something speeds in front of his face, penetrating deep into the wood of the tree he was passing. Sticking out not an inch from his nose is an arrow. He freezes in his tracks and looks wide eyed in the direction the arrow came from. Some distance away stood a centaur standing tall, another arrow knocked on his bow.
"Step no further, human. You have entered centaur territory. What business have you here?"
Harry, who's brain is still catching up with the fact that he is alive and that this familiar centaur somehow managed to shoot an arrow so it missed him by such a small margin, opened his mouth before thinking.
"Please teach me to do that."
"You dare ask for favors even as you trespass?!" the centaur, Bane, he remembers, shouts in a fury.
Harry, finally realizing his situation, scrambles to explain himself.
"I- I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to intrude on your territory. I was only exploring and mapping the area, I swear."
"Is it not the case that the human children return to their families in the summer months? Why do you linger?"
"I- I can't return to my relatives. My uncle swore to kill me if I did. Dumbledore and the minister wouldn't believe me when I asked for help, so Sirenia, that is, the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, said I could live with her in the summer."
"You speak the snake tongue?"
"Yes, sir. I was only exploring and mapping the forest. If you only tell me where to avoid, I promise to stay out of your territory, so please don't tell anyone."
"How can I be sure that you are being truthful? I find it unlikely that Albus Dumbledore would allow a child to be sent to a home in which they are unsafe."
Harry bites his lip nervously, already having dropped the glamours he has over his scars for the summer, knowing he will have to let the centaur see it if he is to have any chance of keeping his whereabouts a secret. He turns slowly and raises his shirt to show the scar tissue from the numerous times he's been lashed, then drops it and turns around again, avoiding eye contact.
"Very well. Your secret shall be kept so long as you mind the territory. Show me your map."
Harry's heart leaps with hope and he scrambles to do as he is told. The centaur takes the quill and marks a border for Harry to avoid, mapping a few landmarks as he does so. He also marks a few dangerous areas, including the territory of the acromantula. Harry thanks him profusely and then goes in the opposite direction of centaur territory to explore, completely unaware of the hawk following him from above.
He spends the next few days exploring further in the direction he went after meeting the centaur he now remembers as Bane from his first year. When he realizes he is being followed by a hawk, he offers it some chicken from the lunch he packed himself. He continues practicing the druid customs in gathering ingredients, makes friends with a few more bowtruckle branches, discovers a flutter of fairies, and even manages to observe a herd of unicorns from afar.
When he returns another day to the fairies with a few trinkets he owl ordered from a toy store, dollhouse items that will fit their size well, they are so pleased with the gifts that they are happy to fill one of his jars with fairy dust. He then realizes there are more fairies in the flutter than he originally thought, as many more come forward to inspect and fight over the new items, so he offers to bring more for them so there is not so much arguing among them.
Now that he has trades going on with both the bowtruckles and the fairies, he considers what other forest species he may be able to trade with. Probably not the centaurs if Bane's warnings to stay away are anything to consider, but he remembers the desperation for food from the acromantula and wonders if they would be willing to trade some of their silk if he provides food the way he does for Sirenia.
It would be costly, but if he has enough of the silk, he can sell some of it to make up the costs. He knows it's worth a lot and if he can get a food source that reproduces quickly and in large quantities, like jackalopes perhaps, then he wouldn't have to spend that much on their food too regularly. Perhaps some giant purple toads as well, just for some variety.
When he visits Diagon that weekend, Harry picks up a couple of rush orders from Maurice. He gets a large wardrobe that is set up like the trunk he keeps the pigs in, only the habitat is perfect for the giant purple toads. The jackalopes will be kept in the same habitat as the pigs, only separated just in case they don't get along.
"What is it you're scheming this time?" Maurice asks fondly as he hands the shrunken wardrobe over to Harry.
"Let's just say, I'm hoping to get my hands on something that is usually very difficult to obtain." he says secretively.
The man sighs heavily.
"Just promise me you'll be safe."
"Don't worry. I have contingencies." Harry assures, "By the way, I have something for you."
He pulls out a crystal patronus orb.
"This is one of the patronus orbs you told me about?" Maurice asks curiously as he takes the orb and inspects it.
"That's right. I made one for each of you." Harry beams.
"You know you should patent this before someone else finds one and claims the credit."
"Professor Babbling already had me fill out the paperwork and filed it for me just the other day. She wanted me to refine and master it before doing so. I've made a bunch of them now. I think I could make them in my sleep at this point."
"That's a lot of crystal. Isn't that rather expensive?"
"Well, technically yes, but like I said, I've made tons of them, not to mention the original was a lot bigger than these. I was actually wondering if you might be willing to try selling some for me? I just want to see how they'd sell."
"I think I can manage that. I could label it as a limited time item. Do you know how long they last or if they are rechargeable?"
"Yeah. Professor Babbling recommended a few methods of charging to see if I could work them into the project. Look here." he says, moving to the desk where he takes a magnifying glass to show the small carvings of runes.
"I see, it runs on ambient magic then. I didn't realize she would let you work with such a complex parameter so early on in your apprenticeship."
"She made me read all about it and write an essay on the reading and the dangers of using it before letting me do so, and I had to submit an inert example of the finished array for her to look over before she let me put it into practice."
"Even so, I'm really impressed. I can't believe the kid who came into my shop last year asking me to teach him to enchant his own trunk is already working on a runes mastery. I'm real proud of you, kid."
"Thank you." Harry ducks his head embarrassedly.
"Now, let's see how many of these orbs you've made and decide on a cost for them."
Once the two have settled on a price and put up a display for them, Harry goes around to the others, giving each of them their own patronus orbs. He visits the Lock's last, and Laila is thrilled when he walks in. She had apparently been waiting for him to visit all day long. She is even more excited when she gets her very own orb which Harry recommends she keeps by her bed at night to help keep away bad dreams.
"Thank you, Harry." Calvin says as he accepts his own orb, "These can't be cheap."
"You're welcome. The cost wasn't an issue. Just think of it as my way of saying thanks for everything you've all done for me."
"I'll do that then. Do you think you have the energy for a lesson today after all of that smithing with Ironjaw?" he asks just as he did last time.
Harry has been learning smithing since Christmas, though, and has already begun developing the right muscles and stamina to withstand it.
"Sure thing. By the way, I was wondering what sort of license I need if I wanted to legally harvest and sell ingredients and byproducts from magical creatures."
"A license for ingredients? Does this have to do with where you're living?" the gruff man asks.
"Yes. I can't give details, but there is a magical forest nearby that I've been exploring. I've found lots of different ingredients, and some of them are pretty rare too."
"Well, there is a test involved. Usually you have to take it and register at the ministry, but the goblins can register you as well if you have an agreement with them. It's more expensive because the test is harder and you have to sign a binding agreement that you'll only use their seal of quality to sell goods of a certain quality or higher, but you'll still be licensed to sell lower quality ingredients without the seal. I think you have to pay an annual fee to maintain the license as well."
"I see. I'll have to talk to Master Ironjaw about that tomorrow then."
Calvin tries to ask about the ingredients he has come across, but Harry is tight lipped, telling him he'll have to wait and see. They spend their time until dinner brewing in the back room as Calvin goes into a detailed explanation of the way the potion works.
-
Harry's new hawk friend spends a week tailing him and accepting chunks of meat that Harry brings with him.
In that week, he also managed to go to Gringotts on a day without smithy training, and was able to get the books he needs to learn the information that will be on the licensing test. Harry also manages to make a deal with the acromantulas to provide magical prey in exchange for some of their silk with every delivery. The agreement is for him to deliver prey once every two weeks. They are agreeable to jackalopes as the main food source, desperate for any magical prey as there is a limited available source of food in their territory, and hunting any more frequently will no doubt cause an extinction of prey.
He is disappointed when the hawk isn't following him the next day. He felt like they were becoming good friends, even if the hawk refused every name he tried to give it. Even Hedwig got along with the hawk. He continues on the walk he always takes after spending several morning hours on his apprenticeship, greeting his forest friends as he goes and gathering any ingredients that are ready for harvest.
The hawk landing on his shoulder as he harvests a sample of leaping toadstools, startling him enough that the toadstool he was harvesting breaks free and jumps right into his face. Luckily, it's still only a mushroom and didn't cause much paint. He wrestles it into control, gives some of his magic to the remaining patch of toadstools, and then stands, petting the hawk affectionately.
"You truly are an unusual human." a voice speaks behind him.
Harry jumps again, startling far more than he had when the hawk landed on him, and nearly falls over in his attempt to turn around and face the person who spoke. He pales dramatically when he sees Bane there and looks at his map frantically.
"Bane! This area isn't supposed to be centaur territory, is it?"
"Ease your mind. You have done nothing to anger me."
Harry lets out a huge sigh of relief. He thought he was in trouble for a moment there.
"I see you have befriended Ivar." Bane notes.
"Is that his name? No wonder he refused all my suggestions." he responds, petting the hawk affectionately.
"Indeed. He is a good hunting partner. We can share our vision, which makes for more successful hunts."
"Wait, so the whole time he's been visiting me..."
"I have been able to see you as well, yes. Though rest assured I did not watch you constantly. I only wished to determine what kind of person you are, Harry Potter."
"Oh. I suppose that's alright then." he says awkwardly.
Bane watches him for a moment, then removes a bow from his back, revealing that there were actually two there to begin with. The one he removes is significantly smaller than the other one.
"I have decided to grant your request. This is a training bow used by centaur foals as they are learning. It is the first bow they learn with, small enough for their undeveloped muscles. I believe it should be sufficient to teach you with."
"You- you're serious? You'll teach me?" he asks, amazed.
"I will. But there are conditions."
"What are they?"
"First and foremost, you will continue to use the ways of the druids when collecting your ingredients, no matter where you go, and you should pass those ways through your family line. Very few respect nature as they should. The more it is done, the healthier the earth and its magic will be."
"I promise." Harry says solemnly, having noticed that the surrounding nature always seems to perk up when he offers back some of his magic in return.
"Good. You will also respect the balance of nature. Part of my teachings will show you how to determine if it will harm natures balance to continue hunting in an area. I expect you to use it even in your gatherings. Sometimes this means not hunting or gathering as much as you need, and others it means obtaining more than you need because the surplus threatens the balance itself."
"I understand. I try to avoid over harvesting anyways, but it would be good to know how to determine if I'm taking too much."
He nods his head approvingly.
"Finally, you will never use my teachings against a centaur unless in self defense."
"I would never do so anyway, so there is nothing to fear on that front."
"Then let us begin. We will train now, but I expect to see you in this spot at dusk each day. We will train as the light fades, and for two hours after. Learning in the dark will improve your aim in both the light and the dark."
He shows Harry the basic stance and how to properly hold a bow first. He goes through a series of movements over and over again to train his body to do it properly. Each time he fails to take the proper form, Bane swats him with a stick hard enough for it to sting, but not enough for a cut or bruise to form. It is the common way for his people to train poor stance out of their young and he ensured Harry was aware of the purpose before he did so, not wanting him to believe Bane would ever harm him the way his relatives had unless in self defense.
The training, though repetitive, is brutal in its physical demands. Night after night, Harry returns to that clearing and practices his movements, listening as Bane explains the theory behind understanding the balance of nature. Then he goes back to the chamber where he bids goodnight to Sirenia.
In the mornings, Harry wakes by eight in the morning to eat breakfast and work on his apprenticeship until eleven thirty in the morning on weekdays, ten on weekends. Then on weekdays he either explores the forest, writes to his friends, or studies his personal interests until four in the afternoon, at which point he either spends some time brewing or he works some more on his apprenticeship. He eats dinner with Sirenia at seven, then reads with her or listens to her stories until it is time to meet up with Bane again.
On weekends, he works from ten fifteen till twelve thirty in the smithy, breaks for lunch, then smiths for another three hours. After that he goes to visit with Sarah, Madame Lowen, Maurice, and the Locks one by one, always ending at up at Calvins apothecary by closing at four thirty. They spend an hour and a half brewing together, and then he either eats with them on Saturdays, or returns to the chamber where he eats with Sirenia as usual on Sundays.
After the second week feeding the acromantulas, the first having occurred the same day he made the deal, Harry decides to take a bit of a risk by visiting the Black lake from deeper in the forest, making sure he is not in the line of sight of Hogwarts or any nearby villages. The giant squid is on the surface when he gets there, and not too far away, so he pulls out the toast he brought just in case and tosses it to the squid. Playfully, the squid splashes him, and Harry makes a habit of visiting the lake and the squid every day for lunch, aside from on weekends when he's at Gringotts.
His regular visits gain the attention of the merfolk. He is glad he had passed the test for his harvesting license just the day before, as he manages to communicate with gestures and simple words that he wants to try trading with them. When they seem interested, he pulls several items out of his bag that he is willing to trade with them.
The group of three are all interested in the patronus globes, and they offer two large pearls each. Harry recognizes them to be produced by a large breed of magical mussel that lives in the lake, deeper than students are allowed to go. He trades with them and tries to give them two globes each, one for each pearl, but they only want one globe and still insist on two pearls. These pearls are rare, though, and he would feel bad taking so many.
As a compromise, he shows them a picture of gillyweed from one of his books and shows that he only needs one pearl if they can each fill a jar with the plant. The compromise is accepted, and the three mermaids wave farewell to him. He'll need to make three extra orbs in time for his next delivery of them to Maurice, who is getting a lot of sales already, but three shouldn't be an issue.
Of course, the next day the three mermaids return with their friends, and he is down five orbs and one of his rolls of acromantula silk, though the trade was worth it in the end. With so many magical pearls to work with, he begins researching their many uses. He also asks Professor Babbling through their two way journals if they can be useful at all for enchanting.
Asking his mentor was a bad idea, unfortunately, as he finds out.
'Harry James Potter, did you sneak back into Hogwarts before the train left?!' Is the message he gets in return.
'You won't have to lie if I don't tell you.' he tries.
'Answer the question, Mr. Potter.'
'If I said no would you believe me?'
'What were you thinking? The whole wizarding world is out looking for you. How have you not been seen by a house elf yet?'
'Technically, I'm not staying in the castle itself. Anytime I leave the forest, I wear a disguise. No one will find me.'
'You mean the forest that is forbidden for students to enter?'
'Yes, but I've made a map, and one of the centaurs is teaching me to shoot a bow, and I have a deal with the acromantulas, so I'm really much safer than I ever was with my relatives.'
'There is so much wrong with that sentence that I don't even know how to respond.'
'Would it help if I send you a pearl and some acromantula silk?'
'It would help if you hadn't put yourself in danger!'
'I know, and I'm sorry, but I told you what my uncle said the last time I saw him. I promise I've been careful and I really am learning a lot and making a lot of friends in the forest. And I've been visiting Maurice every weekend, so you can ask him if you want proof that I'm okay.'
'You've gone to Diagon Alley every weekend and still didn't get caught? How are you even getting there and back? Someone would have noticed if an unknown kid was flooing back and forth from The Three Broomsticks.'
'I have a portkey to and from Gringotts that I use to get to my goblin blacksmithing lessons on weekends.'
'Okay... we need to have a serious conversation about not keeping pertinent information about your life from me. Since when have you been learning blacksmithing from the goblins?'
'Since the week after Christmas. It was a gift from Master Ironjaw who is the goblin I made friends with last summer.'
'Okay. I am going to be at Maurices this weekend. Come prepared for a long conversation.'
'Yes, ma'am.'
The conversation that weekend truly is a long one. Harry is made to recount every dangerous event that has occurred since he came to the magical world, admitting that he's been able to see the thestrals since his first time riding in the carriages and how he suspects it was Quirrell's death that made it possible. He explains meeting Aragog the first time and the events in the chamber during his second year with only a brief explanation of the attacks since they were public knowledge.
Both of them are outraged on Sirius' behalf when he explains what happened at the end of that year, and Professor Babbling scolds him for not telling her what happened. Then she asks for an empty vial and helps him to remove the memory of the confrontation with Sirius and Petigrew. She promises to do what she can to get Sirius a trial even though the minister wants to cover it up.
He moves on to telling them about everything that happened that summer, leaving out the part where Bane shot an arrow at him when he first caught him wandering into centaur territory. He does avoid telling them that he's living in the chamber, but after hearing of his dangerous adventures, they both want to see where he is staying to determine if it's safe.
When he admits that he's been staying with the basilisk in the chamber and that the only reason he can look in her eyes is because he's a parseltongue, they both go kind of catatonic. That's when he reminds them that he has written to Professor Babbling every day this summer and that he's visited Maurice every weekend, so they know he is safe there and he will continue to do so.
In the end, they are both forced to admit that living with a protective basilisk is better than living with abusive relatives. Neither of them have a legal claim over him, and the ministry has already proven they will yield to Dumbledore's wishes regarding Harry's guardianship, and if they did do something about it, he'd be more likely to end up in the home of a rich pureblooded family who would use or hurt him like the Malfoy's.
It's at that point that Laila comes in without knocking, looking for Harry who was meant to have been to Calvin's by then. Rosalie is right behind her, and she scolds the girl for bursting in, then invites both Maurice and Professor Babbling to join them for dinner. Harry still gets an hour of brewing in with Calvin before dinner, and when they finish, Sarah and Madame Lowen have joined them as well and are getting to know Professor Babbling who wasn't at Hogwarts yet when they were students.
-
On the night of July's full moon, Harry is out with Bane, learning the art of stealth at this point in his lessons, when they stumble across an incredible sight. A herd of mooncalves had just gathered in a clearing and were beginning their dance.
"Have you ever seen the mooncalves dance before, Harry?" Bane asks softly, eyes transfixed.
"No." Harry responds, breathless as he feels the energy of their dance flowing through his bones.
As though noticing, Bane says, "They say the druids were so in tune with nature, that they would join the mooncalves in their dance if they ever came across it."
Harry licks his lips.
"D-do you think they'd let me?"
"I think you should trust in your magic."
With only a moment more of hesitation, Harry follows the pull, letting his magic mingle with those of the herd as he moves with them. They do not flee or give him strange looks as he joins. They simply make space for him. He doesn't know how long he dances, nor how he know how to move when he's never danced before in his life, but when the dance is complete, he is breathless and exhilarated even as weariness creeps into his bones.
His magic, which had contributed to the dance before, settles around him now, only it feels more natural beneath his skin. Though he knows his magic is low, he can also feel that it has changed and grown in a way he hadn't known was possible.
Bane is waiting for him when he goes back the way he came from, and he actually smiles and nods approvingly at him. Harry preens under the praise and lets the centaur guid him back to the chamber entrance, their lesson over for the night. He thanks him and bids goodnight.
-
The project he is working on to adapt his patronus orbs to have precast spells at the ready when he needs them has to be redone in the middle of July. He has tried to make it practical, but it simply isn't practical to do that much glass carving just for something that will only be used once. He already adjusted the array to keep it from emitting the spells effects the way it did with the patronus orb, which actually simplified the array, but it is still just too complex.
Instead, he begins working to find a way to release the spells without breaking the orb, allowing it to be used again for a new spell. It is much more complicated, especially because he needs to ensure the spell only releases from a certain area and that it actually moves instead of staying in the same spot it was released at. When he explains his thought process to Professor Babbling, she tells him ruefully that something like that would likely be on the level of a runes master to create. She doesn't discourage him from working on it, but she does assure him that it may take more time and maybe a different alphabet than the ones he is used to working with.
He takes her advice and doesn't let himself get too frustrated over the project. He continues with his regular routine, trading more than just the orbs with the mermaids now and getting all kinds of underwater treasures, mostly in the form of potions ingredients he couldn't have gotten on his own.
With his license to harvest and sell, Calvin is all too eager to get his hands on the rare ingredients Harry is looking to sell. Particularly the basilisk venom, which is a restricted substance, but which Harry got special licensing to obtain and sell thanks to Master Ironjaw's intervention and a gift of some of the thick shedding to the goblin chieftess. Even so, it was only legal due to an old law still in act that parselmouths are exempt from any laws pertaining to the keeping or breeding of creatures under the classification of serpents.
By the time his birthday comes around, Harry has made more than ten times the amount of money he spent the previous summer, something Master Ironjaw praised him for.
Since they missed it the year before, the Diagon group plus Professor Babbling all gather at the Lock residence to celebrate Harry's birthday. None of his Hogwarts friends were invited since that would give their guardians the knowledge of where Harry will be, but he still has a great time.
All of the gifts he received were very thoughtful. From Master Ironjaw he received his very own blacksmithing tools, from Madame Lowen he gets a proper gatherers satchel, from Sarah he gets a set of fancy dress robes made with some of the acromantula silk he gave her, from Rosalie he gets an embroidery kit since he showed an interest in embroidered runes, from Laila he gets a card she drew herself, from Calvin he gets venomous tentacula seeds and a statement that if anyone can tame one it's him, from Maurice he gets a bundle of foreign magical woods and cloths to experiment with, and from Professor Babbling he gets an amulet to protect his mind from intrusion in case Dumbledore or Snape try anything, and a book to learn the art of occlumency so that he can build his own mental defenses.
It was his first ever birthday party, and as embarrassing as it was, he was secretly thrilled to even have candles on his cake to wish on. As hard as he tries, he can't think of anything to wish for. For the first time ever he has plenty of friends who like him even when he's being himself, no Dursley's to worry about, and adults that, somehow, he is coming to trust. Therefore, when he makes a wish, it is that Tom will accept his kindness and learn to be happy without causing harm to others.