Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 39 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! While Harry studies up on what he can for the Second Task, keeping his promise to Tonks. There eventually comes a time when one has to learn form the real experience of experts! Harry might have to do a little bargaining with Tonks to keep his word to her while also getting to do what he wants. Heh! Harry’s going globetrotting again!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 39 – Yohoho, a Pirate in the Caribbean

In the Hogwarts Library, with a stack of books next to him, both from the regular shelves as well as the Restricted Section, sat Harry at one of the many tables that filled the open areas between large number of shelves. With him were Tracy, Daphne, Astoria, Luna, And Hermione; all watching as Harry went through one obscure book after another.

“I think you’d get more from each book if you actually read them, Harry.” Hermione said after Harry put another book aside after only reading a few pages that he seemed to turn to randomly.

“What exactly are you trying to find, anyway?” Tracy asked as she was going through a Transfiguration book for an assignment.

Harry looked up from the next book that she’d just opened. “Examples of the magics that were created in the Caribbean during the Age of Sail, or the Age of Exploration, or whatever you want to call it.” He flipped dozens of pages and started reading seemingly at random.

Astoria tilted her head. “Why?”

“I’m sure it has something to do with the Second Task.” Daphne said to her little sister as she pointed to a page in the book that was opened in front of Astoria. “This part will help you with your essay.”

“Thank you.” Astoria smiled at Daphne as she began to read the section that had been pointed out.

Harry closed the book he was reading, after once more only reading a few pages. “Still not what I’m looking for…” He picked up the next one from the stack, opened it to the first page for a short moment, then flipped to about halfway through the book. “Again…?” Harry sighed in annoyance as he snapped the book closed. “I’ll look into Voodoo whenever I have some extra time in the future. I need spells used in and under water.” He picked up the next book from the stack.

“Underwater spells?” Hermione blinked at the specific, niche subject that Harry was looking into. “Does the Second Task involve being underwater?”

“Are they making you three swim in the Black Lake…in February?!” Daphne’s expression showed that she thought such a thing was insane.

Tracy and Astoria both recoiled and wrapped their arms around themselves as phantom chills made them both shiver.

“Are you a good swimmer, Harry?” Luna asked the most important question, in her mind. Sure, Harry had made a swimming pool at the Rookery for them and all of their friends to swim before. But he’d made it shallow enough that, even back then, all of them could keep their heads above the water easily.

“I’m alright at it.” Harry said to Luna with a grin. “I know that Voodoo is important cultural magic in the Caribbean, but it’s not the only thing they ever used magic for!” Harry grumbled as he set another book aside.

The stack of books had dwindled from over a dozen to only three remaining.

‘At this rate, even studying diligently isn’t going to help me find out what I need.’ Harry though to himself as he picked up the third-to-last book from his stack.

Daphne, watching Harry study, couldn’t help but think back to the night of the Yule Ball and what they’d gotten up to. Her cheeks turned pink as she recalled them deepening their relationship. They’d not gone as far more than a few times since then, neither of them seeing any need to rush into even more physical intimacy, but Daphne often thought about it more than she’d admit. “Did you find something, Harry?” She asked, both because of Harry reading more than a few pages this time, as well as to take her mind off her less than pure thoughts about her boyfriend.

“I think so.” Harry said as he continued to read. “A group of spells for water use… Swimming, diving, manipulation…” He mumbled while the quill in front of him jumped up and began to write by itself. Jotting down the mentions of ‘water use’ spells and a simple note about each one as it was described in the book.

Luna smiled at Harry as her little Kooni brought over a book to her. “You look like you’re thinking about going swimming now, Harry.”

Harry raised his head from the book. “Do I?” The little grin on his face made it clear that Harry was definitely going to be doing something ‘eccentric’ again.

-Next Day ~ Afternoon-

Harry moved the water of the Black Lake easily under his will and magic. The water rose up almost two meters in the air before Harry threw it towards the middle of the lake, the splash not even heard from the distance. “This isn’t really much different than what I was already able to do.” Sure, the method he’d learned form the book was a bit more efficient as it took into account the flow of water to make it easier to move, but it was still just moving water around and shaping it, if necessary. “Let’s try the swimming.”

With a splash, Harry dove into the water, swimming below the surface as he utilized his magic to let the water pass around his body fluidly, offering much less resistance. With the magic use, harry cut through the water much faster than any human could normally. Once he reached a good distance from the shore, Harry added the ‘diving magic’ and took a deep breath on the surface before swimming straight down.

‘It’s almost like I’m falling.’ Harry thought as he easily swam deeper and deeper, reaching a point where it was almost too dark to see. Using his Mage Sight spell, Harry noticed the faint light of the magic of multiple creatures approaching him.

The group of creatures were a sickly green color, with green teeth and small pointy horns on their heads. All of them had long, strong fingers which Harry knew they used to strangle their prey to death, thanks to studying Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. These were Grindylows, normally only a pest in stagnant ponds near non-magical people that had to be hidden or removed, but in large numbers could become a true threat as they grabbed onto people and submerged them deep to drown them.

Harry was glad that there was enough light to see them properly now that they were closer. With a grin and his Mage Sight spell, Harry used the water manipulation and began to spin the water in a large sphere around him. The Grindylows were dragged into the sudden fast currents and Harry tossed them all around until they were so disorientated that he could throw them all aside. Harry began to swim towards the surface while all of the Grindylows were swimming like they were drunk, some even colliding with each other as they had completely lost their bearings.

“Whew…” Harry inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled after breaking the surface. “That was fun and all, and these spells are definitely useful, but I’m lacking spells that are made to be used underwater.” As he swam back towards the shallows, Harry was already putting some ideas for spells together in his head.

Once back in the shallows, a Warming Charm keeping Harry from freezing to death in the cold, he immediately began to mumble to himself as he constructed a spell. Holding his hands up, Harry concentrated and thought about how to construct the spell he wanted.

“Principle Movement…refined to movement through water… Principle Penetration… Aspect Sharpness…refined to a point…” Harry constructed the spell between his hands and once he felt it stabilize he lowered himself to a sitting position beneath the water. Taking aim at a clump of water weeds, Harry released his new spell. The water rippled visibly and a small hole appeared in the water weeds, leaving perfectly circular spots where Harry’s spell had struck. Standing up form the water, Harry shook out his hair a bit and smiled at his results. “That worked out well…but the size of the hole was rather small. I should make sure that I can freely alter the size depending on what I might need.” He quickly got back to altering his new spell, adding in the Principle of Size and the Aspect of Scaling before dropping back into the water to test it again.

-Early February-

“Hah!” Harry sputtered as he broke the surface of the Black Lake. “Okay…” He coughed once more. “So, there’s a lot more than just Grindylows in here.” Harry didn’t realize what letting blood into the water would do to some of the water creatures after using his ‘Harpoon’ spell (though he was still not sold on that placeholder name). “Hooo… I need more than just a few usable spells if I’m going to be swimming around in the Black Lake looking for something for who knows how long.”

Utilizing what he’d learned from the books he’d studied, Harry practically glided through the water as he swam to the shore. He stood atop the water when it became too shallow to swim, not wanting to get his feet covered in the muck on the bottom of the lake bed.

Harry dried himself with barely a thought and switched out his swimming trunks for his school clothes with a simple switching spell. “I need to talk to Nym.” He wanted to keep his promise to his lover, but he also REALLY wanted to go to the source and learn from the people there. Both because it was best to be prepared in this tournament, and because he really wanted to go traveling again.

-After Lunch-

Harry, sitting before the green flames of the Floo, was looking at Tonks’s face in the fire. “So…” He drew out the word.

“No…” Tonks instantly replied, drawing out the word the same way as Harry was doing. It was clear by her expression that she knew what he was going to ask.

“I didn’t say anything yet!” Harry said with a grumble.

Tonks rolled her eyes at Harry’s grumbling. “I know you, Harry.” She stated matter-of-factly. “You want to go traipsing off to who knows where, with witches and wizards that could easily be bad people.”

Harry looked off to the side at Tonks hitting the nail on the head instantly. “I’m not that bad a judge of character…”

“Maybe, maybe not, but that’s not the point, Harry.” Tonks said as she clearly leaned forward a bit. “Besides, if you’re begging to go off somewhere, you technically need to convince Sirius, since he’s your legal guardian.” She mumbled something that sounded like something along the lines of “Sirius would probably go with you without a single thought on the matter.”

“Because I made a promise with you, Nym.” Harry stated plainly, his face showing how much value he placed on his word to her.

Tonks blinked at Harry’s words before a small smile cross her lips. “I appreciate that, Harry.” She looked off to the side for a long moment before turning to face Harry again. “Exactly what are you planning, Mister?”

Harry shrugged once. “Getting there, looking for the locals, finding one that will teach me, then coming back.” It wasn’t like he was going to wander off and try to explore the entire region or something.

Not that he wouldn’t like to, of course. There was plenty to explore in the world, after all.

“If you take Sirius with you, then I’ll consider your promise to me upheld.” Tonks relented, knowing in her heart that she couldn’t deny Harry something like this as long as certain precautions were taken.

“You’re the best, Nym!” Harry cheered, beaming at her happily. “If the Floo here wasn’t ‘talk-only’, I’d come through and give you a hug!”

Tonks laughed brightly at Harry’s excitement. “I know you would, Harry.” She looked around and shook her head once. “Though I’m sure I’d have to explain what a student was doing in the Auror offices in the middle of the day when he SHOULD be in Hogwarts.”

Harry waved that off easily. “Details, details.”

“Important details, Harry.” Tonks playfully sighed at his uncaring nature for certain rules.

The two chatted for a bit longer before Tonks had to go. As soon as the green flames dispersed back to the normal yellow-orange, Harry headed for his dorm room to get the communication mirror and call Sirius.

It had only taken a moment after activating the communication mirror by whispering Sirius’s name to it for his godfather to answer.

“Harry!” Sirius beamed at his godson warmly. “How are you? Is something wrong? Do I need to come to Hogwarts again?!” His face was much closer to the mirror now and he was clearly trying to see if anyone was around Harry.

“No, no, nothing like that.” Harry laughed and then smiled widely at Sirius. “You want to go on a trip with me, Sirius?”

Sirius raised an eyebrow, his interest clearly piqued. “What kind of trip? And when?”

Harry grinned this time. “The Caribbean…or the magical side of it at any rate. And as soon as possible.”

“Hmm…” Sirius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “As soon as possible, huh? The next break from Hogwarts is…in April, so we could go then.”

“I need to go before the Second Task, it’s important.” Harry said, getting Sirius’s attention again.

Sirius only had to give Harry a look before Harry began to explain why he wanted to go to the magical parts of the Caribbean. After hearing Harry out, Sirius hummed thoughtfully and even tilted his head side to side once or twice.

With a bright smile and a conspiratorial look, Sirius answered. “I think we can have a ‘spur of the moment’ trip!” Harry cheered and Sirius laughed brightly at making his godson happy. “Beaches, babes, and hopefully some skimpy swimming suits on those babes! I’m so proud of you, Harry!”

“It’s not for that!” Harry chuckled at where Sirius’s mind had gone. “Though if we have some extra time…” He said while sharing a prankster grin with Sirius.

“Where do you want to meet up?” Sirius asked, clearly in prankster mode now.

Harry thought for a long moment. “Edge of Hogsmeade? Tonight?” It was Friday, and Harry could let his friends know that he’d had a breakthrough and would be unavailable for the weekend. ‘Then again… I could probably tell them the truth and I doubt they’d tell anyone else.’

Sirius chuckled, clearly having some good memories of his own time in Hogwarts passing through his mind at getting to plot like this again. “Sure thing, Harry! I’ll meet you at the big light post at the edge of Hogsmeade furthest from Hogwarts.”

“Got it!” Harry agreed and the two smiled at each other before letting the mirrors return to normal.

With his plan set, Harry put his communication mirror away and started to pack a couple of changes of clothes. After dinner, he’d tell his friends that he and Sirius were going on a short trip in secret. He was sure that they’d all appreciate his honesty.

-Edge of Hogsmeade ~ Night-

Sirius, leaning against the large lamp post in an inconspicuous cloak, saw Harry appear as his invisibility spell was cancelled. “Alright there, Harry?” Sirius whispered to his godson. He was looking a bit disheveled.

“Never better!” Harry said with a dopey smile on his face. “Turns out your girlfriends really DO appreciate it when you’re honest with them.” The slight redness of his lips and the light kiss marks on his cheeks and even his neck showed just how much Hermione, Daphne, and Fleur had appreciated Harry telling them where he’d be going for the weekend. Mentioning that he was going with Sirius had stopped Hermione and Daphne from even asking if the trip was cleared with Dumbledore.

“Ah, James would be so proud of you, Harry.” Sirius said, barely stifling his laughter. “Shall we be on our way?”

“Let’s!” Harry agreed, still smiling brightly from the ‘goodbyes’ he’d received from his girlfriends.

Sirius pulled out a length of rope and held it out to Harry. “Grab the Portkey and we’ll be off.”

Harry grabbed the rope and Sirius activated it with a very familiar word.

“Marauders!” Sirius grinned at Harry.

Both felt the ‘hook behind the navel’ feeling before being whisked away from Hogsmeade in a swirl of motion and color.

-Maré de Neblina ~ Caribbean-

“OOF!” Harry hit the sand of the beach with a grunt.

Sirius landed with light steps, snickering at Harry’s faceplant. “Nice landing, Harry.”

Harry pushed himself up. “Oh, ha ha…” He fake laughed at Sirius while standing up and getting all the sand off of him with a wave of his hand.

“Welcome to Maré de Neblina, brothers!” A local wizard greeted the pair with a laugh, obviously amused by Harry’s faceplant as well. He had dark skin and his long black hair was in dreadlocks, other than that though, he looked much more like a non-magical rather than a wizard. Wearing a loose-fitting t-shirt with three wide stripes of color: red up top around the shoulders, yellow across the middle, and red along the bottom hem. His long shorts reached his knees and looked to be made of white linen. The sandals on his feet completed the look of a non-magical and the easygoing air about the man was welcoming.

Sirius handed the used Portkey to the man. “Two under Black, got the Portkey about five hours ago.”

The man took the length of rope and put it in a wooden box next to the beach chair that he was sitting in. “Gotcha, brother.” He flicked his finger at the quill on the small wooden table next to the beach chair and the feather hopped upwards and filled out the ledger it had been sitting on. “Says you’ll be heading back come Sunday afternoon?”

“Yeah, just a weekend trip.” Sirius confirmed with a smile, liking the official’s laidback attitude.

“Enjoy the island! We got warm weather all year round, good food, good drink, and beautiful women!” The man laughed as he waved towards the town with a smile. “The entire island is magical, so no worries about using spells and such either!”

Sirius and Harry walked up the beach and took in the older style of the town and noticed several different things right away. While there was clearly a lot of tradition in the town, as shown by the buildings looking a century or two old and some of the residents wearing clothes from either much earlier in the 1900’s or the late 1890’s, while other people were wearing more modern-looking clothing similar to the non-magical side.

“I like this place already.” Sirius said as a group of women walked by in colorful bikinis, heading for the beach. All the skin on display was quite different from Magical Britain.

“I’m sure you do.” Harry chuckled at his godfather. “Though if I could see Tonks, Hermione, Daphne, and Fleur in bikinis like those…” His dopey smile returned as he imagined his girlfriends’ so scantily clad under the summer sun.

Sirius chortled and threw his arm over Harry’s shoulders. “We’ll find a way, Harry!” The two headed into town, looking for a local apothecary to buy a potion that would help them stay up since they’d just gained six extra hours by jumping from Britain to Maré de Neblina.

-Next Morning-

A wonderful local breakfast was enjoyed by Harry and Sirius at the bed and breakfast they’d stayed at overnight.

They’d enjoyed the atmosphere of the island and tried some local things yesterday while asking a few of the locals about magical sailors on the island. Most people knew a sailor or two, but pulling them from their work might be difficult. The culture of Maré de Neblina was often laidback, but the residents’ work was done seriously as well, everyone taking pride in their chosen professions.

“If you’re looking for sailors that aren’t working right now, you could try over in the Pirataria District…” The husband of the husband and wife that owned the bed and breakfast spoke up after overhearing Harry and Sirius’s talk. “I wouldn’t recommend taking a young man though. It can be a very rough area, you see.”

“Pirataria District?” Sirius questioned the man.

The man nodded. “Where the pirates normally hang out when they’re not at sea. They’re a rough bunch, but they don’t bother the rest of us for the most part. They spend their money here too, so it’s a sort of professional relationship. But the rules and laws aren’t exactly enforced over there.”

Sirius nodded in understanding. “Alright then, thanks for the information.” Sirius placed a Galleon on the front desk in thanks as he and Harry walked out.

“Thank you kindly, sir.” The owner accepted the ‘tip’ and placed the Galleon in his pocket.

Once Sirius and Harry had walked a bit down the street, the two looked at each other knowingly.

“Pirataria District?” harry asked rhetorically.

“Pirataria District.” Sirius agreed with a chuckle. He knew that should anything happen, Harry wasn’t one to be threatened easily with his incredible magical prowess. Not that he’d allow anything to happen to Harry regardless.

-Pirataria District ~ Late Morning-

Harry and Sirius made it to the district a couple hours after leaving the bed and breakfast. The area where the outlaws stayed was on the edge of the island, a fair distance from the ‘normal’ areas where most of the people lived and almost all the tourists spent their time.

“Charming place.” Sirius said with a chortle. The area looked an interesting mix of normal and stereotypical. The buildings were mostly like those on the other side of the island, but a few of them were also clearly styled to look more ‘pirate-like’. “I see they know how to attract a few of the braver tourists for themselves.

“Who wouldn’t want to see pirates of the Caribbean?” Harry asked with a short laugh. Looking aroudn with his Mage Sight spell, Harry saw that every single building glowed slightly with varioius enchantments. Most were to protect the buildings from wind and storms, others were to prevent fires, and most of the doors and windows had enchantments to prevent thieves from getting inside when they were active. “Now, where do you think we’d be able to find someone to ask a few questions of?”

Sirius pointed to a regular-looking building that had a sign near the door with a menu and pictures of food on it. “It’s about brunch time and that place seems normal enoguh.”

Harry and Sirius entered the restaurant and got a nod from the rough-looking man behind the bar.

“Take a seat wherever you’d like.” The barman said as he put down a large glass mug and filled it with some alcohol and a good amount of fruit juice. A moment later it floated through the air and landed on a table occupied by a single man that looked like he’d only been awake for a short time.

“Thanks, Dajuan.” The man thanked the barman and took a large pull from the mug.

The man at the table was about average size and wore what appeared to be a black fur coat, despite the warm weather. His tanned skin and dreadlocked hair was somewhat common on the island from what Harry and Sirius had seen; but what was unusual were all fo the clearly magical trinkets he was wearing. His two necklaces, all ten of his rings, his three gold earrings, and even the fur coat he wore glowed a bit under Harry’s Mage Sight spell.

“Can I help you?” The man asked as he put the mug back on the table. He’d been watching them since they’d entered the restaurant.

“Sorry about that.” Sirius politely apologized. “We’re just looking for someone to ask a few questions.”

The man’s expression didn’t change. “Someone? You got a specific name in mind or just anyone?”

Sirius, seeing that this could be a lead to getting Harry the answers he needed, smiled at the man. “Anyone that’s a sailor and is skilled in some of the local underwater magic.”

“So, you’re NOT looking for a man named Jarel?” The man questioned, seemingly losing some interest in Harry and Sirius.

“Would Jarel be someone that is skilled in using underwater magic?” Sirius asked the man as he and Harry walked towards the man’s table.

The man sized up Sirius and Harry with his sharp eyes. “Does he owe you money or something?”

“No.” Sirius answered, now a little confused.

“Then Jarel I am!” Jarel said with a chuckle as he motioned for Sirius and Harry to sit down across from him. “What, exactly, do you want to know about our local magic?”

Sirius and Harry sat down and looked at each other for a moment.

“Is there a reason you asked about owing money?” Sirius asked Jarel.

Jarel shrugged once. “A pirate makes a few foes in his line of work.”

Harry, not truly interested in Jarel’s chosen career, decided to move the conversation forward. “I’m wondering what kinds fo spells you have for undewater exploration and combat.”

“You looking to become a pirate, kid?” Jarel asked Harry before taking a pull of his drink.

“Not in the least.” Harry shook his head once. “I just want to learn useful magic that this region happens to specialize in. Regional Magics often don’t spread very far and I’m always interested in things I can’t learn at home.”

Sirius shook his head fondly at Harry. “Please forgive my godson, he’s always been beyond his years in magic, vastly ahead of not only his peers, but also many adult witches and wizards, even Professors in some cases.”

Jarel looked at Harry, recalling Nia’s diviniation from a while back. “Powerful beyond his years, huh?” He finished off his drink and set the empty mug on the table. “While that’s all well and good; if you’re looking to learn, then I’m gonna have to look for payment.”

“Not a problem.” Sirius assured as he patted his jacket-like robe, right over the hidden inner breast pocket. “How much?”

“How much do you have?” Jarel asked, his right hand with all five of its various rings, tapping the tabletop. It was clear that the pirate was aiming to take everything they had if he could. “My lessons don’t come cheap.”

Dajuan spoke up form the bar. “Jarel, you wreck my place and I’ll take every last coin of the repairs out of your hide!”

“Are you trying to extort us, sir?” Sirius asked Jarel, his eyes losing their normal warmth.

“Pirate.” Jarel said while gesturing to himself with his left hand.

Harry stood up from his chair and looked into Jarel’s eyes, his Legilimency was stopped against well-trained Occlumency a second later.

Jarel stood up form his chair, the wooden legs screeching against the wooden floor. “Do you think this wise, boy? Challenging a pirate?”

“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.” Harry replied snarkily, seeing one of Jarel’s eyes twitch just slightly. “Let’s settle the negotiation of fees outside.”

Without waiting for Jarel’s agreement, Harry started walking towards the door.

“Harry!” Sirius quickly got next to his godson and both walked out the door together.

“Brat needs a lesson.” Jarel muttered to himself, seemingly annoyed. But anyone that looked at his face could see the wild grin that gave awya his own interest in this upcoming ‘negotiation’.

Once Jarel walked out fo the restaurant, he saw Sirius standing a bit away from Harry, while Harry stood in the middle of the street, clearly waiting for the pirate.

“You can still back out of this, brat.” Jarel said with a strong stare.

Harry shook his head once. “No need, I’ll convince you to teach me what I want to know.”

“Don’t regret it.” Jarel said as he shot forward, closing the distance in a blur.

Harry used his Bind spell on the pirate, looking to stop him in place, only for the spell to slide off Jarel. “Hm?”

Jarel’s hand came around in a slap and Harry skipped to the side to get out of range. Only to be hit by an unseen force and get sent flying down an alleyway and onto the next street over. The priate didn’t let up, chasing after Harry with Sirius running right behind him, his wand in hand.

“That’s odd.” Harry said as he wondered why his spell didn’t work on Jarel. As the pirate came towards him in a charge, Harry cast a spell throguh his foot and into the ground.

“Whoa!” Jarel jerked back as a pillar of earth and rock shot straight up from the ground, nearly slamming into the bottom of his jaw. He tocuhed the pillar with his left hand and it shattered into pebbles. A fraction of a second later and those pebbles shot at Harry like buckshot.

Harry didn’t stay in one place. His body still stung from the first hit that Jarel had hit him with, and he wasn’t planning to get hit again if he could help it. He moved along the ground with magic surrounding his feet, a focused application of his Float spell and magic manipulation. The high-speed pebbles tored up the wall of another building while Harry merely aimed an unseen spell at Jarel with his eyes.

“Huh?” Jarel blinked as he felt a force sliding over his black fur coat. “Didn’t even see him cast a spell.”

“That’s interesting.” Harry murmured as he looked at how his spell practically fklowed around the black fur coat. “Let’s see.” Fireballs snapped to life all around Harry before rocketing towards Jarel.

Jarel raised his right hand and a massive pillar of water was conjured from the air. The fireballs hit the mass of water, sending up clouds of steam, but failing to do anything to the pirate. “You’re an odd kid!” With a swipe of his hand, a thin distortion of the air was seen racing towards Harry.

Harry simply walked towards the spell and Jarel’s eyes widened as his spell slipped around Harry and made a complete one-eighty to come right back at him!

“The fuck?!” Jarel moved in a blur to dodge and the spell sliced along the wall of a building, leaving a line even despite the protective enchantments.

“Those are some interesting items you have there.” Harry commented as he eyed up the items that Jarel was wearing. “I’m wondering just how many spells you have in those trinkets.”

Jarel scoffed as he came to a stop to Harry’s left and placed his right hand on the ground. “Enough to deal with weird brats like you!”

Rmmmbbbllleee

The ground shook and then shot forward in a large sliding wave that carried Harry down a small hill and towards the beach at speed.

“Enoguh of that.” Harry said, tapping the toe of his shoe against the moving ground, ending the spell animating it.

Jarel was coming down from the air, having leapt from the top of the hill with magical assitance. He cocked back both of his fists as he rocketed towards Harry. “Take this, you little shit!”

“No, thank you.” Harry replied, gliding backwards with his Float spell around his feet. He moved back what he thought was a safe distance, only to be proven wrong.

BAM

Sand flew high into the air as both of Jarel’s fists slammed into the ground. The beach shook slightly and Harry was glad that he was floating just above the ground. From the sand cloud a bright red-orange light pierced through the falling grains straight at Harry. The beam was dodged easily with Harry’s fast movements enhanced by his spell.

BOOM

The beach where the spell hit exploded into fire, a wall of flames now splitting this part of the beach from the rest.

Jarel blurred across the beach towards Harry, his hand cocked back, ready to slam into Harry again. A wall of crackling yellow spells appeared between Harry and Jarel. With but a nod from Harry, the Shot spells rocketed towards Jarel all at once.

“The fuck?!” Jarel cursed as he tried to dodge all of the fast-moving spells.

That was quickly proven to be impossible as every spell that did miss the pirate, simply shot back towards him right away. The Shot spells that hit the black fur coat slid off of it and had to stop and shoot back towards Jarel over and over again. The Shot spells that didn’t hit the black fur coat slammed into Jarel’s legs, feet, and two struck him in the head, staggering him.

Jarel growled as he nearly lost his footing entirely. Only years and years sailing the sea allowed him to maintain his balance. “Enough!” He roared and the crystal on the cord hanging from his neck glowed and a powerful shield charm blasted every Shot spell away form Jarel. A second later and the crackling yellow spells faded away, the effect of the shield apparently two-fold. “Drowned!” One of the rings on his right hand glowed faintly as the ocean water roared up the beach, seemingly following the movement of Jarel’s hand.

“I’d rather not.” Harry said as he pucnhed the air, the rushing water slamming into an invisible wall of force and spalttering. With a grin at how much fun he was having, Harry used magic manipulation to grab the water in the air and on the sand, before twisting it into a hissing serpent of spiraling water that snatched up Jarel and dragged him out into the ocean.

“Harry, finsih up BEFORE the town and beach get destroyed, please!” Sirius called out from where he was dousing the magical flames on the beach.

Harry waved to Sirius and dashed across the water to chase after his water serpent.

The said water serpent exploded as Jarel used his necklace shield charm again.

“You can use water walking?” Jarel demanded as he saw Harry standing atop the ocean as if it was solid ground, despite the ever-moving water.

“It’s not a difficult spell.” Harry said simply, already having noticed that Jarel could use the same magic, if not a different spell for it.

Jarel moved both hands, two of his rings glowing in tandem, before the ocean rose up in a colossal tower before warping into a massive shark of swirling and surging waters. The jaws of the whale-sized shark of water opened and the fangs were celarely water moving so rapidly that it had turned white and let off a thin mist from the force contained in the triangluar shape.

“Cool.” Harry remarked as the colossal water shark tore straight through the ocean, parting the waves entirely, as it sought to end him. “Wooooo~” He blew outward and the immense water shark split in half, lengthwise. It was an insanely powerful use of the Principle of Separation that had cleaved everything that Harry targeted in two.

A splash alerted Harry that someone had breached from the ocean behind him suddenly. He turned as fast as he could and came face to palm with Jarel’s right hand.

BOOM

“HARRY!!!” Sirius yeleld out in horror and rage, his wand already stabbing forward with a deathly green light at its tip. “AVADA...!”

The Unforgivable spell died on Sirius’s lips as he saw the results of the surprise attack on his godson.

Jarel stared in disbelief at the Barrier spell surroudning Harry. It hadn’t been there even a fraction of a second ago, but now it was and it had stopped his secret weapon completely. “What... What the fuck?”

“That’s interesting.” Harry said with a wide grin. His barrier shifted, now surrounding Jarel’s hands and feet, suspending the pirate in the air above the ocean. He shoved the sleeve of the black fur coat upwards (vaguely noticing that despite being submerged it wasn’t soaking wet) to reveal a simple black tattoo on Jarel’s right forearm. “Is this a Rune?” He asked the restrained man with excitement nearly gleaming in his eyes.

“H-How did you stop my Deadman’s Hand?” Jarel asked, stumbling over his words a little as he not only couldn’t move, but he’d been trying to use his rings and found out that he couldn’t.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the name. “Is that what you call this?” He asked as he started memorizing the shape and design while also memorizing how the magic moved inside of it with his Mage Sight spell. “Very interesting...”

As Harry walked back towards the beach, Jarel floating behind him while still trapped, he waved to Sirius.

“You had me worried sick, Harry!” Sirius pulled Harry itno a tight hug as soon as he was in arm’s reach. “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry, Sirius.” Harry apologized, returning the hug.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at Jarel. “What should we do with him?” He tightened his grip on his wand.

“Pardon me.” A woman’s voice came from behind Harry and Sirius. Turning around, they both saw a rather lovely woman in a simple sundress standing behind them. “Could I ask that you let my dumbass friend live?” Her small smile fit well with her beautiful face, dark hair, and tanned skin.

Harry shrugged and tossed Jarel at the woman’s feet. “I still need him to teach me about underwater exploration and combat spells.”

Nia looked down at Jarel unamused before her hand blurred and she slapped him upside the head. “I told you! I knew you’d be the one that started a fight!”

“Damn it, Nia!” Jarel raised his arms to block another three slaps from his oldest friend. “Stop already!”

“Just teach the young man what he wants to know!” Nia said with an annoyed huff. “I swear...” She let out a loud sigh. “You can’t just make things simple, can you?”

Sirius looked betwent he scene and Harry. “I think you’ve earned the ‘lessons’ for free.”

Nia pulled Jarel up to his feet. “Yes, he has. Hasn’t he, Jarel?” Her glare made the answer clear.

“Fine, fine.” Jarel grunted out, sharp twinges of pain needling at various points of his body. Even with his special black fur coat, the spells that he’d been hit with had hurt like hell. “What exactly are you wanting to learn, brat?”

“Hey.” Sirius’s wand was partially raised at the insult to his godson.

Jarel was about to retort in kind, but Nia grabbing his arm and forcing it down ended the confrontation before it could start.

“Do you need to get your ass beaten twice in the same half-hour before you learn that you’re outclassed?” Nia asked Jarel like he was a dim child.

“What’re you, my wife?!” Jarel snapped back at her.

Nia rolled her eyes at her oldest friend. “Yuck.”

Jarel scoffed at Nia’s response.

“So...” Harry voice got everyone to refocus. “About those ‘lessons’.” He smiled at getting to learn what he’d come across the Atlantic Ocean to discover.

“Fine.” Jarel walked over to a part of the beach that hadn’t been disturbed by their fight. Pulling out his actual wand, Jarel transfigured some sand into a beach chair. “You want to learn some local magic? Sit your ass down, kid.”

Sirius growled a bit under his breath. However, seeing Harry easily walk over to Jarel and sit in the sand across from the pirate, Sirius quelled his annoyance and anger.

“I’m sorry about him, he’s been a dumbass like this since we were kids.” Nia apologized to Sirius as they both walked over to Jarel and Harry.

Sirius looked at the lovely Nia for a second before focusing his attention back on Harry. “Just tell me a nice place to have some...gentlemanly fun, tonight, and I’ll let this be water under the bridge.”

Nia laughed brightly as she looked the Brit up and down. “Well, with that accent, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble. You ever heard of a Dance Hall?”

-Hogwarts ~ Ravenclaw Tower-

“Hey, Luna, have you seen Harry?” Michael Corner asked the short blonde girl. “I was hoping to ask him about the Charms essay that Flitwick gave us.”

Luna smiled at Michael and pulled out a small piece of parchment from her pocket. “Harry told me to give one of these to anyone that asked for him this weekend.”

Michael took the parchment and unfolded it, only to blink at the words written on it.

Yohoho and a bottle of rum, Harry’s run off to the Caribbean!

-End Chapter-

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Wow! There are indeed many interesting magics in the world!

Harry fought a magical pirate! You don’t see that in every story, right?

Now that Harry is learning spells for underwater exploration and combat (along with an interesting bit about a Rune Tattoo) he should be prepared for whatever the Second Task entails, right?

Surely, the organizers of the Tournament wouldn’t do anything that would piss Harry off and make him demonstrate just WHY that’s such a bad idea.

Right?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!