Harry Potter, Sovereign - Chapter 17

The wizard and his 6 summoned subordinates were sitting at the table. They didn’t wake up early, but not late either. However, since they only had one bathroom, they had to take turn using it. Harry felt the pain of waiting for 6 women to be done with it. He regretted letting them go in first, since he still had to wait a while after finishing making breakfast. They also used most of the hot water.

“Now that we have a place to call our own, we have to take care of the most pressing matter” started Semimaris. “Your inquiry in 7 days. We have 7 days to not only absorb as much knowledge of local laws and regulations as possible, but also gather reliable intelligence about the government officials we will be most likely to deal with.”

Everyone at the table nodded.

“But even before that, there is something else we must do” she said as she focused on Harry. “We have to give you a thorought physical examination. You have had a few unusual experiences with magic, especially with our summoning, and even the wand crafter that has only seen you once before noticed the changes. We must make sure that you are perfectly healthy.”

Harry had a complicated look on his face. He didn’t deny that it was a good idea, but he was never comfortable with medical examinations. He was also anxious of what would come out of the examination. Scathach continued where Semimaris stopped.

“While noone of us are healers, Semimaris and I do have some medical knowledge. We are going to verify some features about this world magical health problems and healing today. We will be performing the examination this evening. Meanwhile, I would like to ask Caitlyn to start the research on local magical law” she said, looking at the sniper.

“You can count on me” she replied.

“I will help as well” added Camille.

The 2 looked at each other and nodded. They were far from being friends in their former lives, but they could work together rather well.

“What’bout me and sunshine there?” asked Vi while pointing at Xuanzang with her thumb.

“You finish exploring the area with Harry?” proposed Caitlyn.

“You can also check his fighting skills, get him used to his new rod” added Camille.

“Whatever you do, I want him back relatively unharmed for his examination” Semimaris finished, her eyes imperceptibly narrowing at Vi. She had doubt about the gauntlet user’s ability to keep things in moderation. Most likely due to her language and shamelessness.

Harry explored the rest of the grounds, followed by Vi and Xuanzang, but aside from a few overgrown magical plants, there was nothing noteworthy. Despite that, Harry had the feeling he was overlooking something, and continued to advance in a certain direction. When they were about to reach the boundary of the property, Xuanzang stopped him.

“Where are you going, Harry?”

“Eh? I feel like there is something I’m missing somewhere over there.”

“Another compulsion keyed to family members?”

“I don’t know. Probably?”

They left the property and headed deeper in the mountain. After about an hour and half, they arrived to a rocky area with a beautifull mountain stream cascade waterfall. It had a enght of 10m, and descending from a height of 3m through 7 steps leading into a small pond. Harry was attracted to the pond, just below the waterfall.

“There is something hidden there” he said as he pointed to the place.

Without waiting, he undressed, cast a warming charm on himself, and jumped in the pond. It wasn’t very deep, no more than 3m, but the water was very cold. Harry was glad to have spelled himself. He approached the rock wall just below the waterfall and stopped. He was certain that there was something there despite looking ordinary, then got inspiration from King Cross Station.

He took a big step forward… and passed through the rock. He stumbled a little, disoriented due to the change of environment. Where before he was underwater with pressure from above, he was now in adimly lit cavern, 1m large and 2m tall, and leading downward with rocky stairs. Looking behind him, he could still see the pond, with the turbulences caused by the waterfall. He could also hear the sound it made, though both sight and sound were slightly distorted by the barrier.

“I felt a discreet magic pulse. He passed through a barrier. Probably the same kind that forbade us from following him to the wardstone, so no use trying to follow him.”

“Ha ha ah! His ancestors were clever bastards.”

“Vi!!”

“Oops! Sorry, I didn’t mean it as an insult” she replied, abashed.

“You should be more careful with your language! If Harry was here he wouldn’t have taken it well.”

“I know, I’ll be careful. I’m glad for him. His ancestors left ways for their descendants to get back on their feets if the worst came to pass. Not only was their wardstone well protected, they didn’t have their secret vault in the manor and didn’t leave everything to the goblins. I’m sure that what’s down there.”

And she was right. Harry followed the rocky corridor underground until he reached a tasteful stone door. Tasteful because of the simple yet elegant engravings on it. Harry slowly walked up to it and admired the craftmanship. It was one of the few constructions left intact from his family, and he got really eager to see what was inside.

With trepidation, he put his hand on the door, barely noticing a split-second glow, and pushed. The door didn’t move.

“… I’m an idiot.”

“Aaaargh!! Bloody Hell!! Episkey!!”

With another spell, the deep gash was turned into a shallow cut. Harry took a deep breath and calmed himself. He told himself he really needed to get control of his magic.

After a minute, he gathered himself and put his hand on the door. This time, instead of a low glow there was a non-blinding flash, and the door opened.