Also, these rings were graded as his 'Practicals' for the Enchantment portion of his NEWTs. Which Percy got Outstanding on.
All of the rings are self-repairing, damage resistant, linked to their owner so she always knows where it is (no lost rings!), have a notice-me-not component to avoid embarrassing questions at the office, and can transform back and forth into a plain and unadorned band of the base metal (gold, gold, and cadmium-gold 'green gold' alloy respectively) to go 'low key'.
Each also has a specific custom enchantment crafted to the needs of the owner:
Amisi's was designed to act as an object of consecration for an Egyptian Priestess (which she of course is), so can act as her 'holy symbol' to channel magical prayers through, similar to her ankh wand.
Supprin's can deploy enchanted dragonhide gloves to cover her hands to protect them at a roughly comparable defense level to her power fist gauntlets (which protect the vulnerable entrance to her storehouse facilities). An additional spell cloaks her in an illusion so she appears as a pale-skinned and blonde haired young human woman to be able to wander around without screams of 'Abyssal'.
Ooyodo's ring also serves as her personal self-inking jitsuin seal to apply official stamps as needed when generating paperwork. Percy enchanted it so she can 'copy' her jitsuin seals to it so she will have any identifying seal needed always 'to hand' and if and when she gets official permission from the JMSDF can do the same with her office's inkan to do so in a professional as well as personal capability.
IIRC, the segment giving their background indicated that they consciously or subconsciously made themselves more humanlike, aside from removing the weaponry and such, because they wanted to belong. They wouldn't be a typical case.
Since you brought it up, I just want to take this opportunity to point something out: although they chose to leave home and join their destined fleet, Carrie and Sherri haven't actually gone back on that decision. They're happy they're no longer alone, and that they have their birth-mother and sisters to shower them with love in their adoptive mother's absence... but they'll never fully identify as Abyssals, or even shipgirls for that matter. They're not even sure if they CAN... their ship<->girl slider has been sitting on 100% girl for almost their entire lives.
Hmmm.
Ooyodo cosplaying as a Green Lantern. Percy is so going to get one hell of an enjoyable eyeful later on. Just didn't expect her to go for western comics, but on the other hand the choice fits her flawlessly.
Somewhere, Tolkien is smirking like the wise sage he was (magical bards & authors weep in impotent shame when compared to The Master). Especially considering another ring offered in the tales between elf and elf bride, is widely known to be deliberate expys of Tolkien and his wife (whom he adored to his dying day, as the young lass who danced for him in the grass one day, and he never forgot).
Which makes this the first offical engagement(s) of the next generation of Weasleys. Charlie better step it up with a certain Nessie, and Bill has to wait another year yet to run into Fleur.
And then there is Forge & Gred......
Say a prayer for them, because the gods are too busy laughing to the point of falling over, at their predicament.
Be even more interesting is if Fleur was an un-awakened natural-born. Maybe one of the French cruisers. And facing the dragon in the First Task is what causes her shipgirl abilities to awaken.
Be even more interesting is if Fleur was an un-awakened natural-born. Maybe one of the French cruisers. And facing the dragon in the First Task is what causes her shipgirl abilities to awaken.
The owner of the farm turned at the semi-familiar female voice, to see a dark shape sitting on the stone terrace wall for her vegetable garden.
"Delilah. What the fuck are you doing here?"
The revolver spirit shrugged. "Looking at the stars. Thinking. Reflecting on my path to this point. Remembering long-dead friends. How's the arm?"
Norimune leaned against the wall. "Been hurt worse. Surprised you didn't pile in to assist her."
Delilah barked a laugh, "Two reasons why I didn't. First off that whole 'avenge the family honor' kick is Colombe's hangup, not mine. I have my own issues, but that isn't one of them. What had happened between you and her was fucked up, but enough blame to go around for everyone with bonus extras. And between you and me, Sis... Colombe didn't chase you over half the globe just for that throw-down. When we found out what happened to you after World War Two, Sis was all kinds of torn up by it. She was kicking herself hard over not being there for you. Even though it all worked out in the end, she still feels like utter crap over failing you then, as she sees it. Failing family in her eyes is a sin worse than eating babies raw."
Norimune stared at her youngest daughter. "No fucking way."
"Way." Delilah shrugged and pulled out a silver hip flask. "Want a drink?"
"Sure." Norimune took a swallow of the bourbon, then passed it back. "So what's the other reason?"
Delilah turned to look at her father and gave her a considering stare. "Short and dirty reason? I'm a stone-cold killer with trust issues. Sis, Jackie, they can get into fights to have fun, to prove a point, or increase their skills. They can turn it down, not go flat out to win or die. Not me, not really. I can back it off a bit, shoot to cripple or maim rather than shoot to kill, but I have to clamp down hard to prevent going straight up to maximum lethality."
Delilah took a shot of bourbon and then continued. "I suspect it is because of what I am. You can do a sword duel to first blood or whatever. Pistol duels tend to end with one or both people getting maimed or carried away feet first. Add in that I'm really constitutionally incapable of doing less than my best for things that I believe in and there you have it."
"That's fucked up." Norimune quietly observed.
"Tell me about it. Add in that I spent the past... oh century and a half or so concealing my true nature while working inside the belly of the beast of MACUSA and the ICW as a student at Ilvermorny - eleventh in my class incidentally - and then as an Auror."
Delilah gave a very dark laugh chased down with another shot of alcohol and then handed the flask over to Norimune as she continued. "Considering that for most of that time I was a walking, talking death sentence for myself and Mother by just existing, never mind if the wrong people got a whiff of my nature, loyalties, or actions. Yeah. I had trust issues piled on top of my nature thanks to that high wire act with no net over the pool of Death Potion. I could count the number of people who knew who and what I truly am before I arrived in Japan on two hands. Living and dead."
Norimune stared and took another slug of liquor. "So why the fuck are you telling me this then?"
Delilah shrugged. "I'm not totally sure myself. I want to see you and Mother at least talk and maybe resolve some of what happened before. I want to see Colombe and Jacklyn happy and both of them want a relationship with you in their own ways. I wouldn't mind a relationship with you either, and..."
Another shrug, "For better or worse you are my father, so you deserve to know the truth about me, I guess. Call it a little bit of cosmic justice for all the shit that happened to you up to this point. I believe in truth and justice among other things, after all. Make of that what you will."
"Mmmmm." The Unrepetant Blade made a thoughtful sound as she took yet another slug of the bourbon. "Have to think on that."
Delilah nodded, "Take your time. Not like we are going to die of old age here. Oh, that reminds me, I ordered a pair of Vanishing Cabinets before coming here. I'd like your permission to install one here to link to my house."
Norimune gave Delilah a look, "What's a Vanishing Cabinet?"
"Oh yeah, you probably don't know. Invention from that mess with Voldermort in Europe fifteen years or so ago now. They are a refinement of the Owl Box. Wardrobe-sized, step into one, close the door, and come out in the other one. Think The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe if you ever read C.S. Lewis. I have a set in my family home's basement that Sis uses to go back and forth from Belgium to the USA to avoid the issues she has with all her ICW arrest warrants. That way she can magically visit me and Jackie without pinging their radar."
"So totally untraceable by the ICW?" Norimune thought out loud.
"Yes. Unless you get spotted after arrival of course. They are still pretty rare and they aren't cheap, but I have the money and connections to get a pair of them 'off the books' as it were. I figured that I can use it to visit you, well and the rest of the family can too." Delilah leaned back and looked at the night sky.
"I'll have to think on that too." Norimune said quietly.
"We have time. The Cabinet won't arrive for another three days. I'm shipping it in nomaj to keep Tokyo blind to my intentions and already have a storage container rented to hold it if needed. Thanks for putting us up at your farm while the heat dies down in Tokyo." Delilah responded equally quietly, still staring at the twinkling stars.
"This reminds me of... God, was it that long already? 1942 in North Africa when I really got to know Colombe. Grindlewald's folks were up to some serious shit in Algeria; details are still classified so I can't tell you more. Sis got appointed to be my native guide since she spent two solid decades of her life running around Africa before World War I and the first night after heading into country we camped out and just talked under the stars. God that was a gorgeous night." Delilah's voice was hushed, and Norimune could see the glitter of tears on her cheeks in the starlight.
Norimune hmmmed thoughtfully, looking at the night sky herself as silence descended on her farm.
After a long pause, the silence was broken by a quiet, tentative question - a hesitant hand outstretched from a person who life had kicked one too many times before. "So... that was when you met Colombe. Africa, right?"
A wry chuckle as that hand was taken in an equally hesitant grip as the question was answered. "I fucking wish. No. Louisville, Kentucky in 1927, not that I had a clue that Sis even existed then. I was on vacation for a change for the first time since 1914, relaxing at Mother's house when Sis decided that it would be a good idea to pick a fight with the local Ku Klux Klan chapter there rather than get lynched...."
She thinks she's going to be the exotic one that turns the country family on its head, when she find out she'd been beaten to the punch. Now she has to deal with even more crazy shit than she bargained for.
She thinks she's going to be the exotic one that turns the country family on its head, when she find out she'd been beaten to the punch. Now she has to deal with even more crazy shit than she bargained for.
More like she's relieved at not being the exotic one. Her reasoning for joining the Triwizard cup was to show that she is more then a pretty face, more then a bed warmer.
Be even more interesting is if Fleur was an un-awakened natural-born. Maybe one of the French cruisers. And facing the dragon in the First Task is what causes her shipgirl abilities to awaken.
She thinks she's going to be the exotic one that turns the country family on its head, when she find out she'd been beaten to the punch. Now she has to deal with even more crazy shit than she bargained for.
More like she's relieved at not being the exotic one. Her reasoning for joining the Triwizard cup was to show that she is more then a pretty face, more then a bed warmer.
IIRC, the one who a few people (not me, but I approve) nominated as a cruiser, would be Gabrielle Delacour. Fleur's little sister.
Which actually ADDS to the urgency of the Tri-wizard tournament, or at least that task, if you think about it. Especially if Gabrielle is either about to awake, or has quietly Awoken already but her parents are staying hush about it (as a shipgirl + part-Veela is just begging for wizards to do something terribly tragic if they find out).
Hermione, being awakened, almost certainly would have Dumbledore making sure she's safe with extra precautions to account for, well, being underwater as a surface ship.
Wizards don't have shipgirl/Abyssal 'sight beyond sight' (*Natsumi facepalms as Harry goes chuuni again*)....
So we have Harry meeting Gabrielle just prior to the task the day before and figuring out she's a shipgirl in hiding like Hermione. That and/or Fleur, literally as the task starts - in an utter and complete panic - tells Harry about Gabrielle's secret, since Harry would almost certainly not spill things/raised by shipgirls. And unlike Hermione, who's calm/collected (and unconscious) about the whole thing...
Gabrielle doesn't have the extra protections, and outside of her boilers being 'safe' due to the bubblehead charm, she's actually going through catastrophic flooding.
Cue Harry throwing 'its just a game/tournament' out the window and getting deadly serious. No joking, no monologuing, or him playing 'by the rules'. Just him finding the fastest route between points A (the diving platform), and points B (those trapped underwater), and back again. Now he just has to find a way to tell Dumbledore what Gabrielle is, without cluing any of the Ministry personnel in.
IIRC, the segment giving their background indicated that they consciously or subconsciously made themselves more humanlike, aside from removing the weaponry and such, because they wanted to belong. They wouldn't be a typical case.
Well, considering the current sample size, we really can't specify exactly what makes up a typical case. Unfortunately, this situation is so far out on the fringe of the bell curve it may not be possible to get any more data points for the equation. Still, you're likely right that their intentions probably went a long way in molding how things proceeded from that action.
why do i get the feeling that..... okay we now have an FSD summoned (floating ship dock), i hope she gets upgraded with some form of propulsion, and we have multiple magical built ships roaming around.... i wonder what would be next,, maybe something along the lines of....
*Snip*
an US captured german floating crane perhaps.... (U.S. Navy floating crane YD-171 Titan (Demag, 1941))
Since you brought it up, I just want to take this opportunity to point something out: although they chose to leave home and join their destined fleet, Carrie and Sherri haven't actually gone back on that decision. They're happy they're no longer alone, and that they have their birth-mother and sisters to shower them with love in their adoptive mother's absence... but they'll never fully identify as Abyssals, or even shipgirls for that matter. They're not even sure if they CAN... their ship<->girl slider has been sitting on 100% girl for almost their entire lives.
Also, these rings were graded as his 'Practicals' for the Enchantment portion of his NEWTs. Which Percy got Outstanding on.
All of the rings are self-repairing, damage resistant, linked to their owner so she always knows where it is (no lost rings!), have a notice-me-not component to avoid embarrassing questions at the office, and can transform back and forth into a plain and unadorned band of the base metal (gold, gold, and cadmium-gold 'green gold' alloy respectively) to go 'low key'.
Each also has a specific custom enchantment crafted to the needs of the owner:
Amisi's was designed to act as an object of consecration for an Egyptian Priestess (which she of course is), so can act as her 'holy symbol' to channel magical prayers through, similar to her ankh wand.
Supprin's can deploy enchanted dragonhide gloves to cover her hands to protect them at a roughly comparable defense level to her power fist gauntlets (which protect the vulnerable entrance to her storehouse facilities). An additional spell cloaks her in an illusion so she appears as a pale-skinned and blonde haired young human woman to be able to wander around without screams of 'Abyssal'.
Ooyodo's ring also serves as her personal self-inking jitsuin seal to apply official stamps as needed when generating paperwork. Percy enchanted it so she can 'copy' her jitsuin seals to it so she will have any identifying seal needed always 'to hand' and if and when she gets official permission from the JMSDF can do the same with her office's inkan to do so in a professional as well as personal capability.
Hmmm.
Ooyodo cosplaying as a Green Lantern. Percy is so going to get one hell of an enjoyable eyeful later on. Just didn't expect her to go for western comics, but on the other hand the choice fits her flawlessly.
Somewhere, Tolkien is smirking like the wise sage he was (magical bards & authors weep in impotent shame when compared to The Master). Especially considering another ring offered in the tales between elf and elf bride, is widely known to be deliberate expys of Tolkien and his wife (whom he adored to his dying day, as the young lass who danced for him in the grass one day, and he never forgot).
Yeah, Ooyodo in a GL uniform? Percy's glasses will be steamed up. And Supprin being a fan of those books makes sense. Because Abyssals love Metal and there's few things more Metal than the Silmarillion and such.
Which makes this the first offical engagement(s) of the next generation of Weasleys. Charlie better step it up with a certain Nessie, and Bill has to wait another year yet to run into Fleur.
Be even more interesting is if Fleur was an un-awakened natural-born. Maybe one of the French cruisers. And facing the dragon in the First Task is what causes her shipgirl abilities to awaken.
She thinks she's going to be the exotic one that turns the country family on its head, when she find out she'd been beaten to the punch. Now she has to deal with even more crazy shit than she bargained for.
More like she's relieved at not being the exotic one. Her reasoning for joining the Triwizard cup was to show that she is more then a pretty face, more then a bed warmer.
IIRC, the one who a few people (not me, but I approve) nominated as a cruiser, would be Gabrielle Delacour. Fleur's little sister.
Which actually ADDS to the urgency of the Tri-wizard tournament, or at least that task, if you think about it. Especially if Gabrielle is either about to awake, or has quietly Awoken already but her parents are staying hush about it (as a shipgirl + part-Veela is just begging for wizards to do something terribly tragic if they find out).
Hermione, being awakened, almost certainly would have Dumbledore making sure she's safe with extra precautions to account for, well, being underwater as a surface ship.
Wizards don't have shipgirl/Abyssal 'sight beyond sight' (*Natsumi facepalms as Harry goes chuuni again*)....
So we have Harry meeting Gabrielle just prior to the task the day before and figuring out she's a shipgirl in hiding like Hermione. That and/or Fleur, literally as the task starts - in an utter and complete panic - tells Harry about Gabrielle's secret, since Harry would almost certainly not spill things/raised by shipgirls. And unlike Hermione, who's calm/collected (and unconscious) about the whole thing...
Gabrielle doesn't have the extra protections, and outside of her boilers being 'safe' due to the bubblehead charm, she's actually going through catastrophic flooding.
Cue Harry throwing 'its just a game/tournament' out the window and getting deadly serious. No joking, no monologuing, or him playing 'by the rules'. Just him finding the fastest route between points A (the diving platform), and points B (those trapped underwater), and back again. Now he just has to find a way to tell Dumbledore what Gabrielle is, without cluing any of the Ministry personnel in.
Squeaking, the rat made its way through brush and over light snow on the ground. Every so often, it stopped to sniff around to catch the scent of possible predators. But each time, it didn't catch a whiff of danger. Coming up to some rocks on a small hillside, it was about to crawl into them when a tanned hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed it. Two dark eyes quickly examined it, in particular the front paws before the owner dropped it.
Quickly, the frightened rat fled into the surrounding brush as the feminine form stood there in her dark cloak looking around before she seemed to melt into the night once more.
A few hundred meters away, Peter whimpered a bit at what he had seen before he transformed into a rat and scurried away as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Inside his head, he was crying out at the world wondering what he had done to deserve this. But nothing answered him at all.
Peter wondered where everything had gone so wrong! After he had framed Sirius, he had laid low for a few weeks before heading to the sister of the Prewitt Brothers, Molly Weasley. He remembered how shortly before their deaths, not really all his fault though he had told the Death Eaters, who were the real ones who killed them, they had told him that their sister's husband was in the Ministry. That meant that if he hung out by their home, he would find out various bits of gossip. Not helping was how Molly was still friends with some of the Order, and he could listen in there. With that, he could find out more about what happened to the Dark Lord, or at least understand if anyone caught onto him.
Eventually, one of their children, Percy, found him sniffing around their garden for food and caught him. At the time, Peter had nearly panicked and transformed to kill the child right then to escape. But, he was too frightened of the fact that Molly was only a few feet away. Instead, he stayed as a rat and, to his relief, became a pet. Food and warmth as well as an easy life awaited.
Granted, he had something of a fright during Blood Week, but was thankfully at Hogwarts which was far from the ocean.
Years later, he was passed down to the youngest, Ron. And when he came to Hogwarts, he laid his eyes on James' and Lily's boy, Harry. Looking at him brought a twinge of regret, but he shoved it down. He had no real choice but to do what he did after all, otherwise he would have died torturously. In his mind, Lily and James would have understood. Granted, there was that bit where his Master had infiltrated the school. And the next year with the Basilisk.
One of the things though that he did not like was how the past few years had brought him into contact with shipgirls and Abyssals. They scared him to no end after all, and they were so protective of James' son! And of his 'Owner' to some extent. There was even one that came to live with the Weasleys named 'Amisi'. Not to mention that one, Summer, who Ron hung around with.
Then, the worst news reached him... Sirius Black had escaped from prison! From Azkaban as a matter of fact. His poor heart had nearly given out from that. Especially when he heard that Sirius might well show up at Hogwarts to kill Harry... or him, if his former friend knew that he was there.
Worse, that awful cat was always after him. Sure, that strange snake that transformed was bad in that she knew something was wrong about him, and same with that owl of Potter's. More than once, he wondered exactly how much they knew, and it had frightened him so.
As the months went on, Peter planned his escape just in case he needed to. He had it all planned out as a matter of fact. It was brilliant in its simplicity, all he would do was cut himself on Ron's bed, bleed some, and then run off. The boy would blame his friend's cat for it and he would be able to escape! And no one would be the wiser about it!
Unfortunately, he never got the chance.
Somehow, they had found him out and he had to run. Thankfully, that cat actually helped by getting in the way of Snape and McGonagall. But then, things went bad to worse as he was chased around the castle. No matter where he went, they were after him! And he was unable to get someone to make them stop... before he got caught by Remus.
Even now, he nearly pissed himself at the look in his old, former friend's eyes.
Of course, that was when Harry had saved him. He thought, at first, he was blessed with it... until Harry spoke. Even now, when he tried to sleep, he could see those eyes. Green eyes like the Killing Curse, Lily's eyes, looking at him accusingly. And Peter would also hear Harry's voice, his promise, his threat... Other times, the face and voice would be Lily's, though she snarled at him and described what she would do to him. It was horrible and he always woke up trembling, wondering why he had to suffer. Life was awful now...
And it had not stopped there as he was put into a cell in the Ministry of Magic after they had interrogated him time and again. He could still remember that night he escaped, when MacNair and Yaxley had broken into his cell for their own 'Interrogation'. Every once in a while he could twitched still and felt phantom pains. Why... why him...
Thankfully, it was not a far journey for him to enter the sewers where he hid. Plenty of rats down there, though he had to keep an eye out. There were... things down there in the labyrinth that was underground London. In places where man had not been for decades, horrible things. Especially if one traveled close to the old magical dump where expired potions, reagents, and the like had been dumped for decades and centuries before the Vanishing Charm was created, with the dump being eventually buried and covered over by the city.
Peter had hid down there for weeks, perhaps months. It was so easy to lose track of time in such places where you could not see the Sun. However, eventually, he left the sewers behind, hopping on trucks and the like to travel around the country. He was going to lay low at one of the old shelters Lily had created for some time. Maybe for a few months and then leave to find his Master, whom he had heard was in Romania somewhere. The Dark Lord would protect him after all, he could be useful and help, and so be protected...
Except... when he had arrived at the first such shelter, he barely escaped with his life.
He had been about to enter the clearing when he had felt his instincts screaming at him. And just in time as a spear nearly killed him which he had barely dodged! Using it was a small slip of a girl, except she had horns and a tail that whipped back and forth. Then she had given him a grin that made his blood run cold and he pissed himself, which made her laugh about having the Traitor (though he didn't consider himself a traitor! He had no choice in the matter!) and she had proceeded to try and kill him.
Much to his relief, he was able to transform and escape from her. But that was not the only such place. Each of the others he had gone to had someone there waiting for him, even some of the depots that only Lily and James had known about (he had followed them and noted were said depots were, just in case). One blonde woman in what looked like Roman armour had nearly cleaved him in half while proclaiming something about her prey-tor, or something. Another blonde woman he had not even tried to get close to due to an odd feeling of a truly massive amount of guilt. He had wanted to rush up to her and spew out all his sins.
That had scared him enough to take off and run in the opposite direction rather than face her.
Yet, there was more and this was the final one he knew about. And there was no more that he could go to in order to wait and hide until he could escape. Transforming back, he began to sob. Why... why him? Why did his life become so terrible... none of it was his fault! He had no choice and now it seemed like the universe had turned against him.
When he calmed down some, he began to think. He would need to find his Master, maybe help the Dark Lord regain his lost strength. Yes, that would likely help. Even if the Statute fell, which the Weasleys were certain of though he himself would not believe it, the Dark Lord was powerful enough that he would be able to stand and be protected.
But first... he needed to get to his Lord. Which was harder than one would think as he there were only a few ways to get across the Channel. He could ride on a ferry or a boat... but that would be dangerous even with the Channel secured. There was also the Chunnel, of course, but that carried it's own risks. Or an muggle aircraft...
Eventually, he came to a decision and one that he did not want to make at all. Because he knew just how bad it could turn out. However, he felt that he had no choice in the matter at all. Thus, he turned southwards and transformed back into a rat. It took him a few days, but he arrived at his destination, a small house.
Part of him had hoped that, perhaps, the Abyssals had destroyed it but it seemed that there was no such luck.
Stealthily, he made his way across the grounds, keeping an eye out as he travelled. Hearing a crack, he turned only to be struck by a spell that transformed him back into a human before a second one knocked him out.
Hours later, it felt like, he awoke only to find himself secured to a metal table as a man not much older than him was looking him over as if he was nothing more than a curious insect, "B-Brandon, my friend and ally..."
Just humming, the man smiled, "Ah, Peter! I was wondering if you would be coming by! We have so much to catch up on, you and I."
With a nod, Peter nodded, "R-right." Smiling unsurely, he motioned with one arm, "C-could you free me?"
Laughing coldly, Brandon shook his head, "Oh no, Peter. Can't do that, you understand. Now, I have a few questions for you." He brought up his wand and made a motion, the arms of Peter's robes splitting apart to reveal his skin which made him whimper before doing the same with the other arm, "Now, now... I promise that nothing will permanent, my dear friend."
A whimper escaped from Peter, "W-what do you want to know...?"
Head tilted to the side, the other man hummed, "Firstly, why did you come here?" Swallowing, Peter shuddered a bit before he screeched as Brandon moved his wand, a small sliver of flesh coming off his arm, like the skin being peeled from a potato, "I am waiting, Peter."
Jerking around a bit, the Animagus cried a bit before screaming again as the other man made a motion and salt poured over the wound. Once he was able to breath, he shouted, "I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Brightly smiling, Brandon chuckled, "Now, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Amused at the whimpers, he tilted his head, "Though you must be rather desperate to come to me for help, Peter. Somewhat stupid, though I am certain that you had your reasons."
Peter gulped some at the look in his eyes, "I-I-I... I knew that you would not turn me over to the others! B-because-"
He was unable to get much further as the other wizard's eyes narrowed and he made a motion with his wand. Something like a jumper cable shot out and clamped itself on Peter's leg before he began spasm with pain, "Please, do finish your sentence."
The cable fell away and Peter spasmed a bit more before it settled down. Every bit that he has gone through reminded him of why he avoided the man. Not the least was because he was vicious and cruel to an extent that Bellatrix was impressed. He also did quite a bit of research for the Death Eaters and in his pain, Peter thought back to why he would not work with the others after the Dark Lord's disappearance, because they would likely kill him like they would Peter, though for another reason...
Mainly because Brandon was a Muggleborn, one of the very few who managed to join the Death Eaters.
Breathing hard, the rat animagus remembered back to how his Lord had declared that Brandon was a Pureblood stolen from what was likely his true home. Left, with overly religious Muggles who berated him as being the Devil's child due to his powers. Oh, the Dark Lord had laughed about how they were so foolish as to try and get him exorcised, which obviously did not work.
And when Brandon went to Hogwarts, they disowned him and wanted nothing to do with him...
It was the first time that Peter had been on one of the Death Eater's little torture sessions and the man across from him had taken joy and pleasure in making sure that his parents had suffered before death. The Dark Lord had been pleased with how well he had taken to it after all. So very many ways to cause pain and agony...
The former Marauder still shuddered at the memory.
Seeing the wand come up, Peter shouted, "I KNOW WHERE THE DARK LORD IS!"
Brandon blinked at that and smiled, and it was not a nice smile, "Well now, that is good news. Once you tell me, we can go and find him to bring him back..." Once Peter told him, the other wizard's eyes lit up, "Europe? Well now, I will be able to contact some friends I've made over the years. They will be happy to help, I think. After all... it is for the Greater Good, that our Lord rises once more..."
Cross-posting an idea I got on SB. Mahoutokoro's new headmaster will be a Yokai. Also while very competent and fairly reasonable most of the time, he can be very sadistic in training.
Yeah, Ooyodo in a GL uniform? Percy's glasses will be steamed up. And Supprin being a fan of those books makes sense. Because Abyssals love Metal and there's few things more Metal than the Silmarillion and such.
True. As I said in the other thread eventually he might enhance the enchantments with Ooyodo getting a flight spell with a green aura around her, a clothing swap to GL uniform spell and maybe 'green hard light' illusion charms or something like a green Patronus spell to put the power in the ring.
Supprin gets invisibility/Notice-me-not linked to her and illusions to do a very passable Sauron imitation (booming evil voice doing Black Speech, and the Armor of Doom). Which will make her a happy Abyssal indeed. Maybe even summon illusionary 'Ringwraiths' to attend her.
Amisi... hm, that one I am not sure for the enhancement. Probably have it consecrated by Ra as a given or maybe let her recreate some of Ancient Egypt's power and majesty.
All three of these would be a collaborative effort between Percy (doing the enchantment work and spellcraft) and the wife in question as the subject matter expert (I predict that Supprin is on a bunch of the relevant JRRT internet forums under the name of Mairon's#1Fangirl for instance which you really have to know the lore in depth to parse the meaning).
Cross-posting an idea I got on SB. Mahoutokoro's new headmaster will be a Yokai. Also while very competent and fairly reasonable most of the time, he can be very sadistic in training.
Unless they're very good at passing for human, that assignment would need to wait for the transfer of power from Tokyo to Kyoto and the more yokai-tolerant government.
There were... things down there in the labyrinth that was underground London. In places where man had not been for decades, horrible things. Especially if one traveled close to the old magical dump where expired potions, reagents, and the like had been dumped for decades and centuries before the Vanishing Charm was created, with the dump being eventually buried and covered over by the city.
Cue Harry throwing 'its just a game/tournament' out the window and getting deadly serious. No joking, no monologuing, or him playing 'by the rules'. Just him finding the fastest route between points A (the diving platform), and points B (those trapped underwater), and back again. Now he just has to find a way to tell Dumbledore what Gabrielle is, without cluing any of the Ministry personnel in.
In the book, Harry had to use gillyweed (?). However, this Harry is an expect diver. Cue him showing up for the task in wetsuit and scuba gear.
And later getting dressed down by the subs for diving without a partner.
As for Gabrielle, if she's a ship (which I hope not--it's getting ridiculous) then being submerged is her greatest horror and could trigger a traumatic awakening and a violent panic reaction.
Even under veritaserum, Peter would say the same things. If anyone cared to ask.
And he's not really a hypocrite: A hypocrite acts differently from what he says. Given the proposition that he has no control over his life (arguably true since he never tries to take control), then everything he says is logical.*
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* Despicable, but maintains an internal logic.
True. As I said in the other thread eventually he might enhance the enchantments with Ooyodo getting a flight spell with a green aura around her, a clothing swap to GL uniform spell and maybe 'green hard light' illusion charms or something like a green Patronus spell to put the power in the ring.
Supprin gets invisibility/Notice-me-not linked to her and illusions to do a very passable Sauron imitation (booming evil voice doing Black Speech, and the Armor of Doom). Which will make her a happy Abyssal indeed. Maybe even summon illusionary 'Ringwraiths' to attend her.
Amisi... hm, that one I am not sure for the enhancement. Probably have it consecrated by Ra as a given or maybe let her recreate some of Ancient Egypt's power and majesty.
All three of these would be a collaborative effort between Percy (doing the enchantment work and spellcraft) and the wife in question as the subject matter expert (I predict that Supprin is on a bunch of the relevant JRRT internet forums under the name of Mairon's#1Fangirl for instance which you really have to know the lore in depth to parse the meaning).
Cross-posting an idea I got on SB. Mahoutokoro's new headmaster will be a Yokai. Also while very competent and fairly reasonable most of the time, he can be very sadistic in training.
Unless they're very good at passing for human, that assignment would need to wait for the transfer of power from Tokyo to Kyoto and the more yokai-tolerant government.
As for Gabrielle, if she's a ship (which I hope not--it's getting ridiculous) then being submerged is her greatest horror and could trigger a traumatic awakening and a violent panic reaction.
Even under veritaserum, Peter would say the same things. If anyone cared to ask.
And he's not really a hypocrite: A hypocrite acts differently from what he says. Given the proposition that he has no control over his life (arguably true since he never tries to take control), then everything he says is logical.*
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* Despicable, but maintains an internal logic.
They would be thrilled in any case; these are extremely impressive tokens of affection. More to the point, Percy didn't ask any of them to marry him; without that, there's no engagement. Yet. Which won't deter Molly.
Assuming that the Submarines are not hanging around to provide for safety of those competing.
e: Percy's rings:
They would be thrilled in any case; these are extremely impressive tokens of affection. More to the point, Percy didn't ask any of them to marry him; without that, there's no engagement. Yet. Which won't deter Molly.
Just sighing, Harry rolled his eyes as he continued to walk towards the Divination Tower. The whole time, he was internally grumbling, "Dammit, Hermione... did you really need to do this?"
As it was just him, however, he did not get an answer. Instead, his mind drifted back to earlier that day when his friend finally had enough with the Divination teacher and shoved everything on her desk into her bag. With that done, she stormed off snarling while swearing that she was not coming back.
Unknown and unfortunately, one of the items that went into her bag was a crystal ball.
It was unfortunate because Hermione would not return it to the class. Thus, it fell to Harry to do so as when he turned around, both Ron and Neville had vanished. Hence, the thirteen year old's current grumbling and swearing to get his friends back for it. Already, ideas were swirling around in his head regarding what he might do to them when he caught them.
Before his revenge fantasies could get too far though, he realized that he could see Kagotsuruhe up ahead and raised an eyebrow, "Hello, Kagotsuruhe-San."
One of her unnerving smiles on her face, the Sword of Hopelessness nodded, "Hello, Harry-San." Seeing his eyes trail to her side, she hummed and patted the second sword, "Juuchi-Chan wanted to go for a walk."
Cocking one eyebrow, Harry snorted, "As long as it is not an enthusiastic walk."
That got him a nod and a fake chuckle, "Indeed." Kagotsuruhe tilted her head somewhat to the side, reminding Harry of a cat, "May I ask what you are doing up and about here? Our lesson is not for a few hours yet."
Now saying anything, Harry held up the crystal ball in his hands, "I need to return this for Hermione." At the look of polite interest, he continued, "She stormed out of the classroom after one too many issues with our Professor, quitting the class, though..." Rolling his eyes, the thirteen year old sighed, "I can't blame her really. Professor Trelawney is, well... yeah."
Eyebrow raised, Kagotsuruhe hummed, "I take it that she is problematic?"
Sighing, the thirteen year old glanced around before looking back at her, "As I am sure that you know, she teaches Divination?" Only waiting until he got a nod, he continued, "Thing is? I am pretty damn sure that she is a complete and utter fake. She does not seem to show any signs of the Gift of Prophecy at all. Instead, she just goes on about vague things that could easily happen in one way or the other."
Just considering that, Kago frowned, "Oh? So she is like one of those then..."
With a shrug, Harry shook his head, "Generally? It seems so... one of the first things she did when I walked in was predict my death, and apparently she usually predicts at least one student death per year, if not term. But she also came out with other things as well. For example? She 'Predicted' that one of our class would leave it forever."
Kagotsuruhe snorted softly, "Ah, I see. So when your friend stated that she was quitting the class."
Grimacing, the wizard nodded, "She claimed that her 'Prophecy' came true? Yeah, pretty much. It did not help that the reason why was another of her 'foretelling's'." Eyes rolling again, Harry scoffed, "At the beginning of the year, she claimed that Lavender would suffer a tragedy sometime this year. And today, Lavender got word that her pet rabbit back home was killed by something, so... Trelawney took credit for foretelling it. Though really, I still have issues that Lavender did not slap her there and then, but seemed to look up to her more."
A frown on her face, Kagotsuruhe tapped a finger against her chin, "Humans are odd, though I suppose that she felt as if she was at fault for not listening. Or, perhaps, she thinks that the professor has now proven herself..." She shrugged and shook her head, "Emotions are strange things at the best of times."
Only shaking his head, Harry could only agree with her silently. The whole thing, to him, was strange. Finally reaching the staircase to the Divination room, he walked up with Kagotsuruhe behind him. Not that the thirteen year old minded all that much really, after all he knew her. But also part of him wondered how she would react to the Professor. Knocking on the trapdoor, he waited a few seconds before a voice called through, along with the sound of bottles. Glancing at the sword, silently he mouthed the words 'Alcohol' to her, with Kagotsuruhe nodded.
Not long after, Trelawney's voice could be heard through the trapdoor, "Ah, my Third Eye foretold that I would have a visitor! Come in, come in!"
Bemused, Harry opened the trapdoor and walked in with a slight smirk, Kagotsuruhe behind him silently moving, "Hello, Professor, I'm just returning something that Hermione took with her by accident when she left."
Taking out the crystal ball, he handed it to her and she nodded, "Of course, of course. I only did not go looking for it as my Sight allowed for me to see you return it to me. But thank you, just the same."
With a sigh, Harry chuckled as the Professor sat it down, "Not a problem, Professor."
He was just turning to leave though when Trelawney spoke again. But unlike before, it was not in the airy tones, but a rougher one as if she had a sore throat, "It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servants shall leave and set out to rejoin their master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servants' aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was before. Tonight... before midnight... the servants... will set out... to rejoin... their master... And a new Darkness shall feed on the old and thus become stronger than ever..."
All Harry could do was stare at the woman who blinked and seemed to be coming out of a trance, "Professor... are... are you okay?"
Blinking, Trelawney looked at him, "Hmm? Of course I am, dear boy. Why ever would you ask?'
From where she was behind him, Kagotsuruhe narrowed her eyes as Harry mentioned that she had said something about the Dark Lord. But the Professor stated that she would never talk about the Dark Lord, which made her narrow her eyes still further. Placing her hand on Harry's shoulder, the Sword of Hopelessness plastered a smile on her face, "Ah, very well then. We must be off."
Gently, she guided him out of the room while Juuchi at her hip was utterly silent, considering what happened.
Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, Kagotsuruhe turned to him, "Harry-San? You do realize what just happened?"
Slowly, Harry nodded, "That... that was a real prophecy, wasn't it?"
A frown on her face, the sword nodded, "Yes, I have seen such before in my life." Briefly, what looked like pain flitted across her face. But it was gone so fast, Harry could almost swear that he had imagined it, "Once, many, many years ago, my... Master, journeyed to Mount Osore and met an Itoko there who gave him a prophecy which upset him. One from my previous Master, his Otou-San. It was much the same as there..." Eyes narrowing, she let out a breath, "Which means..."
Understanding, Harry swallowed, "Which means that she just confirmed that Voldemort is going to return, and soon..."
Much to his surprise, Kagotsuruhe came to a stop and turned to face him. For once, she did not have a fake expression on her face, but one of utter seriousness, "Yes, he shall return. But understand, you are not alone in this and have allies." Suddenly, she was all smiles and giving him a thumbs up, "So do not despair!"
Just nodding, Harry hurried along and soon enough, they reached the Headmaster's office and soon entered it to find Dumbledore there, "Headmaster! We..."
Realizing how what had happened sounded, Harry paused. But before he could figure out how to say something, Kagotsuruhe stepped forward, "Headmaster, we just heard a prophecy from the one known as Trelawney. And I can confirm from previous incidents, that was what it was."
Dumbledore grimaced at that before sighing, "I take it that it was in a different voice than was normal for her? And that she did not remember it afterwards?" At their nods, he shook his head, "In which case, this may be the second such prophecy from her." Stroking his beard, the Headmaster frowned, "What was it she said?"
With a nod, Harry recited what he had heard, word for word. When he was done, he looked towards Dumbledore, "Professor... I think that she was talking about Peter."
For a few seconds, the Headmaster said nothing, but then he nodded and sighed, "Alas, I think that you are most likely right. Peter has been chained to the Weasleys for twelve years, and thus would most match. But I am worried by what it means by 'Servants', as that suggests at least two. And the last bit is also very worrisome..."
Later, after some more talking, Kagotsuruhe made sure that Harry got back to Gryffindor Tower, cancelling their lesson. Once she was out of sight, the Sword of Hopelessness turned to her sister, "What shall you do?"
Juuchi seemed to consider the question for a few moments before she walked off, "I shall have Tsu-Chan gather the others. Things, it seems, might get a bit more difficult."
Head tilted to the side, Kagotsuruhe hummed, 'I believe that is the famous British gift of understatement...'
Tokugawa Memorial Foundation Offices, Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Masamune-no-Honjo waited patiently in the underground private parking garage as the gate attendant bowed to the Toyota Century limousine that entered. It stopped in front of her and she bowed in greetings, her dark blue irotomesode kimono with the five Maru-ni-mitsuba'aoi triple hollyhock leaf crests of the Tokugawa picked out in white thread rustling as the driver opened the door for his passenger.
Masamune-no-Kotegiri stepped out and returned the bow of her younger sister, her own scarlet irotomesode with the five golden chrysanthemum crests of the Imperial Household making her appear to be the spirit of a Dowager Empress from a period drama. "Honjo."
Honjo raised from her bow and walked alongside her sister to the private elevator. "Kotegiri. I thank you for the response to my message. Tokunotakai will join us shortly. I received word from the driver I sent to Kamakura. There was an accident on the E16 that is delaying traffic coming from the south."
Kotegiri nodded as the two Masamunes entered the elevator and Honjo punched a button. "I see. Surprising of Toku-chan to leave the shrine to come here. She is admirably dedicated to her service at Hachimangū, after all."
Honjo gave a faint smile as the elevator doors opened and they walked down a corridor. "I have found that all things change in time. Is it truly that surprising that after four centuries that Toku-chan finally changed a little?"
Kotegiri hmmed in acknowledgment of the point as they reached a sliding rice paper door. On the far side was a Zen rock garden with a teahouse. The two swords knelt in contemplation of the white rock 'ocean' with moss-covered stones like islands rising up from the rippling waves.
Time seemed to fade as the Armor-Cutter knelt in seiza beside her sister, her thoughts drifting. Presently the door opened again, and Tokunotakai, dressed in a furisode kimono with colorful butterflies on pink bowed to her sisters and then knelt in seiza beside them.
Presently, Tokunotakai spoke. "It is time for tea."
Kotegiri raised a mental eyebrow as she and Honjo proceded to the tokonoma waiting room. The eyebrow raised further as she recognized the calligraphy of the Buson poem on the wall scroll as Tokunotakai's delicate brushwork.
A summer river being crossed
how pleasing
with sandals in my hands!
Proceeding to the teahouse along the garden path, Kotegiri felt the weight of her centuries and responsibilities fade away from her like the morning dew with the contemplation of the simple beauty presented. Kote removed her sandals and entered, placing her true body in the rack presented alongside her younger sister's gleaming steel. Honjo followed suit and closed the screen behind her with a loud click to signal to Toku that the tea ceremony was about to begin.
--------------------------------
Kotegiri sipped the tea from her bowl, admiring the subtle taste as well as the skill that Tokunotakai had prepared it for herself and Honjo. Again her mental eyebrow quirked at the subtle signs of nervousness behind Tokunotakai's near-perfect calmness as her youngest manifested sister sipped her own bowl of green tea. A sidelong glance to her left showed that Honjo had both picked it up, and did not know the reasons.
Tokunotakai bowed her head. "Thank you both for accepting my invitation, Kotegiri-oneesama, Honjo-oneesama. It has been far too long since I was able to share tea with you both."
"Indeed, Toku-chan. I was happy to receive your petition to use my family's teahouse to host this reunion." Honjo spoke contemplatively as she admired the irregularities in her hand-thrown tea bowl.
"As I was happy to receive word that my little sister wished to see her older sisters for a family gathering." Kotegiri mused, offering up a conversational gambit.
"Hai. I wished to notify you both that I recently spoke to Hachiman-dono. He approved my petition to go on a musha shugyo warrior's pilgrimage outside the Land of the Gods to take a more active role in my service to the Protector of Warriors."
Kotegiri's eyes widened fractionally at the news. Toku had indeed changed greatly if she was going to sally forth in battle. Certainly, it was well within her duties and service, but....
"This is news indeed, Toku-chan. I take it you have an idea as to your plans for such a course of action?" Honjo stepped in smoothly, demonstrating what she had learned from her centuries of service in the courts of the Shogunate.
"I do." Tokunotakai took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself. "Once arrangements have been made for travel documents and the like, I shall first travel to Belgium to learn from Colombe du Chasteler..." A fractional pause before the next syllable to escape Toku's lips. "-Muramasa."
Kotegiri shot a disbelieving look at her sisters. She had never dreamed that Toku was the type at all. Honjo was equally surprised, but recovered sooner.
"I see, Toku-chan. I have also had some indirect dealings with Colombe d'Aubigny-Muramasa du Chasteler to use her full name. She is Muramasa-no-Norimune's oldest daughter, and just over three centuries old. Like her sire, she has spilled her blood on the battlefields of Europe, Asia and Africa as she fought for what she believes in. My kohai has known her for a long time, since Colombe was well known by Tsukiakari's First Master, and a loyal ally and friend to the British Potters. for almost a century" Honjo's voice was very thoughtful.
Toku bowed her head. "Indeed. Also I have heard from Hachiman himself that Colombe was consecrated as one of His Blades, just as Muramasa-no-Norimune is. He approves of my relationship with her."
Kotegiri's gaze sharpened, noticing the slight flush on Toku-chan's cheeks and nervous hitch in her breathing. Centuries of experience as 'Aunt Kote' to a succession of Imperial Princesses, noble daughters, and ladies-in-waiting caused her mind to whirl.
I never thought Toku-chan would ever be the type. And with a Muramasa no less....
With that in mind, she spoke. "You have tested this Colombe's steel against yours then?" Beside her, Honjo flushed slightly as she caught the unspoken meaning of the words.
Toku bowed her head, her voice soft but resolute. "Hai, Kotegiri-oneesama. She matches my skill with a blade and understanding of the Virtues in her own way."
"I see. I would like to meet her and see her skill for my own in a spar some day soon, then. If you are sure of your course of action and selection of a traveling companion, I see no reason not to approve, and I will advise His Majesty of such a course when we speak on this matter and others concerning the earth-bound kami." Kotegiri's voice was contemplative as she reflected on the impossibility of fighting some battles.
"Likewise, I see no issues with it in principle. If you need assistance with the Diet or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to expedite the processing of paperwork, I stand ready to assist my younger sister." Honjo spoke in turn. "I also would like to meet Colombe informally to take her mettle, since she has left such a positive impression on both my imouto and my kohai."
Tokunotakai bowed her head. "I thank you both for your wise words and consideration for your imouto's flight of fancy."
Kotegiri smiled faintly, "I do hope that you have a plan to deal with Fudo-chan. She is... ahh... quite concerned for your welfare, which is something that I never quite understood."
Toku shook her head as she deflected the gentle probe, "It is not my place to speak on the reasons; it is Fudo-nee's story to tell. I merely did what honorable duty required during those dark days."
"I see..." Honjo's eyes were sharp behind her glasses. "I also happen to know some spirits in that part of the world who I met after the Pacific War. I shall scribe a letter of introduction to them if your paths should cross and send out a few owls to them in case you need assistance on your travels. A traveler should always carry her umbrella, even if the sky is clear when she sets out, no?"
Tokunotakai nodded and spoke quietly with subdued emotion in her voice. "I suspect that my journey will not be the most peaceful one. Still, only a fool does not accept aid when it is freely offered. Thank you again for your assistance in this matter."
Kotegiri nodded. "When you come back, share with us the stories of your travels and exploits. I would say here to make our father proud with your deeds on the path that you shall take, but I am certain that Masamune-dono is proud of your dedicated service to the Protector of Warriors. Just as I am."
They would be thrilled in any case; these are extremely impressive tokens of affection. More to the point, Percy didn't ask any of them to marry him; without that, there's no engagement. Yet. Which won't deter Molly.
She opened the box and cried tears of joy at the glimmering enchanted ring her Pharaoh was giving her. Hieroglyphs proclaiming his intention to one day make her his Great Wife were engraved in the gold... in her log... in her very heartwood.
Her lookouts alerted her to the condition of the other two Great Wives. Supprin was blushing scarlet as she touched a duplicate of the One Ring, engraved with an identical message in Quenya which formed part of near invisible enchanted dragonhide elbow-length gloves that glimmered with charms of shielding, of protection, and of defense for her vulnerable hands.
(although I did not mention it, there is a wedding proposal in Kanji engraved on the inside of Ooyodo's GL ring too)
In Percy's case, he is aware that he's going to graduate, has some job offers already, and once he takes one of them, can support his family (helped by Ooyodo having a JMSDF salary, Supprin being a Princess, and Amisi probably getting hired by the British Museum as a researcher to help the Egyptology Department).
He was going to say the words after the girls unwrapped their other presents to each other, but he kind of needs to have his lips free to actually speak....
