I get the feeling that sixth year is when people will start dropping like flies.Originally Posted by warble
I get the feeling that sixth year is when people will start dropping like flies.
I think I agree with jwang. While bashing is entertaining, and the shit he's tried to pull has been IC, he needs to grow/wake up or something bad is going to happen to him. Like walking-into-Galen's-room-on-a-full-moon bad. I'm actually betting that he's the one that finds out and spills the beans on Ilya and Shirou.
If Shirou ends up being some lost scion of the Nanaya, I'm going to laugh my ass off.
That would be amusing, yes. I can see Shirou calling Takara big sis to her annoyance XDDD
And yep, Ron needs to grow. It has been funny, but I don't hate the character (for me, in the books he was the comic relief till the last book, but while Shirou (and to a certain degree, Takara) would put with his antics if he doesn't manage to tick them in a bad day, Galen would kill him. In fact he would be dead or worse at the moment if it wasn't for Hermione and Ginny. He is still a Weasley, he has to have something good in him, even if he is a brat.
You know? You can use the Quiditch to make Shirou and Takara help him to grow a little, if you want.
BTW, I would have bet for you to put Ginny in the try outs. The girl loves Quiditch, after all.
Oh, and fuck, we are going to have dear auntie Umbridge after all, aren't we? Not sure if it would be a good thing or not (though I'll love to see her against the trinity, that won't end well for her xD)
Last edited by Ergast; June 15th, 2011 at 06:00 PM.
Spoiler:
What do you mean, 'starts'? It has passed this point for some time now, although fortunately it's not enough to make me quit this story. It is, however, my major peeve with it.
Actually, as of now the only "bashing" we got are things done/said/thought by Galen, and he has a reason not to like the guy. And being a lazy bum doesn't help Ron with changing himself.
In the original books, he had started changing after meeting the troll, and he got a little better at being "normal" due to Hermione's and Harry's influence, but here he got none of it, and while it was understandable before, now he has a reason to change (even if it's not a "good" reason), after Percy drilled his head for being jealous.
There is also that the universe is at least party based on Galen's perception on it, and if he happens to view Ron as completely inept and Dumbledore as a secretive chessmaster then that is what they will appear as in this universe.
Not to say that the character bashing, however 'justified' it may be, is particularly good for the story. But, like gral, it isn't enough for me to drop the story, so I just roll my eyes when it occurs and continue reading.
Currently fighting a nasty cold, so I'll hope that the fever/lightheadedness doesn't make this too incoherent . . .
There are certain characters in this series I simply don't like. Many of them, I think, commit acts that border the unforgivable (or cross it entirely), and get off far too lightly for it. It's one of my peeves with the series in general - that it enforces the idea that you can get away with anything, as long as you're sorry about doing it (or can fake it). A certain leeway is called for, at least in the early books, because it is a kids' series - but the later books (particularly the last two) are dark enough that you can't really use that as an excuse.
I said back when I started this (and the warning is gone now, so again, leeway's permitted) that certain characters were not going to come out well: Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore. I wasn't going to go to the point of dropping meteors on them out of a clear sky, but neither would I allow them any sympathy for their actions. Now, that said, don't think I have any illusions that Galen and the rest (but him, particularly) aren't as bad. In their own way, they're just as (and sometimes more) arrogant, self-righteous, hardheaded, and at times downright evil. The difference is that they know it, and they won't pretend otherwise.
I've tried to avoid outright bashing, at least beyond the level of thought or simple conversation - an opinion is only that, and we could waste a lot of time, energy and space arguing over whether it's right or wrong, but one of the reasons I like this fandom is that we never seemed to descend to that level of "screaming match" before, and I see no reason to start now. But as far as bashing goes, I won't say it isn't tempting to be more overt, and I won't promise that you won't see some later on down the line. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I won't apologise for doing it in the first place - I do do this for stress relief, and fun, and there are certain scenarios in my head I'd get an enormous amount of satisfaction from seeing "on paper," as it were.
It took me a long time, but over the years, I've learned to accept that my work is not going to please everybody - and that I just flat-out can't. If you decide now, or at some point in the future, to stop following this . . . Well, thank you for walking with me this long. I hope someday to see you again.
Indeed, catering to everyone diminishes the entire work if you do too much of it. Although the readers will influence a writer's style via their feedback, it's important to remember that you're the one writing everything out, so you have to be able to stay true to your vision of how things should be or it's not really yours anymore.
Fortissimo EXA//Akkord:Bsusvier Video Walkthrough: COMPLETE (thread here)
Kadenz Fermata//Akkord:Fortissimo Playlists
Kisekitsukai (Seventh Chord) Playlist
Mahoutsukai (Magi) Playlist)
Final Arc Playlist
FGO Support Card (As of April 2023)Spoiler:
Indeed. From my standpoint, for example, the negative portrayal of Ron has gotten better over the course of the fic because it has had the most important thing of all going for it consistency. At the start it may have come across as Ron Weasley needing to Die For Our Ship, but as the fic has gone on that has grown and evolved to the point that what we see is genuinely his character in the fic.
That said, I was secretly hoping that someone on the death eater side would truly redeem themself. Part 'can they all be irredeemable?' and part 'I wanna wanna wanna see shirou rulebreaker off someone's dark maaaark, take that voldie'. Although that said i do have one other use for rulebreaker if shirou manages to recreate his blade works in the local rules, but thats too spoilery if i'm right so i wont say it here.
^ I had that idea before too, which was one of the driving facts behind Shirou attempting to regain access to UBW if all else fails and he can't figure out his ancestry in time. Who knows if that'll happen though.
Fortissimo EXA//Akkord:Bsusvier Video Walkthrough: COMPLETE (thread here)
Kadenz Fermata//Akkord:Fortissimo Playlists
Kisekitsukai (Seventh Chord) Playlist
Mahoutsukai (Magi) Playlist)
Final Arc Playlist
FGO Support Card (As of April 2023)Spoiler:
SHHH that was the spoiler i didnt want to spoil for people if i was right
Yeah I feel the same way about Ron. I never got that negative of an impression of him. Granted I stopped reading early and judging from the movies, he does become a little twat.
Though it does bother me when a ficwriter attacks characters he dislikes overtly, the upside to this is that it gives you a different perspective on characters like Dumbledore. He really does seem a lot more sinister to me now looking at how Kieran frames the stuff he actually did in the novels. Perhaps he isn't some mysterious, jolly old man after all.
On the subject of Dumbldore - read the whole story, that man has some serious feet of clay. Actual in story fact - his plan relied of Harry dying from the word go and he never once evidenced consideration of a plan with fewer risks (although his plan also included his own death so at least he is willing to suffer anything he would enforce upon others). but his actions in the backstory ... yeah. the current popular 'evil/incompetent/the greater good is what i want it to be' dumbledore is not far off at all.
No it isn't, though I'm trying not to portray him as outright evil (although that has been done before, and well, or at least amusingly). Incompetent and senile - possibly. Almost certainly, in fact - or at least, ill-suited for his position. For the purposes of this fic, he's an old man who's shouldered tremendous responsibilities for most of his life, and as a certified genius, is used to being right - and as such, he's slow to change or realise when he's made a mistake. And his value system is rooted in an older time, so his views don't always mesh with the modern world.
Finally got this done - I hate being sick . . .
DISCLAIMER: Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon, along with anyone who's happened to license them, like Geneon or Funimation. Harry Potter and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling, along with her publishers and Warner Bros., as regards the movie material.
This is a not-for-profit, just-for-fun project.
Writer's Note: Certain dialogue sequences in this story are lifted from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but I trust in the intelligence of my readers (and the availability of the books) to recognise them when they see them.
Chapter 9 - Only the Beginning
September 4 - 10, 1995
Neville quickly decided that Monday would be the day he most hated this year. It didn’t take long to realise it, either. With a schedule that included a double History of Magic course first thing, followed by double Potions, and Divination mixed in, it was hard to say how the day’s schedule could possibly be worse . . . Well, there was Defence Against the Dark Arts as the last class of the day. He wagered just about every boy in the castle was looking forward to that class - though for different reasons than his own. Most of them would just think “hot Veela teacher,” whereas Neville’s focus was on the fact that Ilyasviel had been taught a lot of things they likely wouldn’t know, or normally be shown. Given what was likely ahead of him, if that prophecy was what they thought it was, Neville would take every advantage he could get. But first, he had to get through Potions and Divination . . .
The dungeon door closed with an abrupt slam as Professor Snape walked through it, commanding coldly, “Settle down.” As expected, the class went silent. He glided over to his desk and turned to face them, staring menacingly.
“Before we begin today’s lesson, I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an ‘Acceptable’ in your O.W.L., or suffer my - displeasure.”
Neville tried to convince himself that Snape’s serpentine gaze lingering on him was only a figment of his imagination, but he knew better.
“After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me,” the professor continued. “I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye. But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell, so whether or not you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T., I advise you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students. Today we will be mixing up a potion that often comes up at the Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients, you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing.
The ingredients and method are on the blackboard,” Snape concluded. “You will find everything you need in the store cupboard, you have an hour and a half . . . Start.”
Neville winced. This was about as complicated as anything he’d ever seen, and while Galen was sharing his workstation, along with Shirou, they weren’t actually partnered. There was a limit to what his friends could do to keep him from messing up, then - and in Potions, his messing up was still almost a given. His new wand had brought up his grades in Transfiguration and Charms, but as Snape himself had said, there was no “foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class.” Still, he forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. It was like hand-to-hand combat practice - a series of precise moves that led into a stunning combination. Chop the ingredients like so, stir like so, lower the heat so finely, for so long . . .
Neville abruptly realised that he was hearing Galen was murmur the instructions under his breath as he went along. It really was too low for almost anyone to hear, but bears had sharp hearing in addition to sharp noses, and he could. He was also following the murmured instructions as he went, like tapping his feet unconsciously to a musical rhythm. He doubted Galen was doing this on purpose - his attention was only sparingly directed at anywhere but his own cauldron - but it was a nice way of reinforcing the brewing method, to make sure he didn’t make a mistake. Feeling much more confident about his work, Neville continued on, and when Snape informed them that a light silver vapour ought to be rising from their cauldrons, Neville’s wasn’t too far off that. It wasn’t as perfect as Hermione’s, but it was a lot better than Weasley’s sulphurous substance - and definitely better than Goyle’s.
It managed to destroy its container and set his robes on fire when he tried to hand it in. How on earth did he manage that?
He split off from his friends alongside Takara, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown to head for Divination. And even after two years’ worth of experience, it was still a heck of a climb from the dungeons to the seventh floor of the North Tower. There he endured a lesson in dream interpretation that threatened to be put to immediate use - but he managed to stay awake, barely, with the promise of Ilyasviel’s class to follow at the forefront of his mind.
I don’t care if I pass the Divination O.W.L. - there’s no way I’m taking the N.E.W.T. level!
Finally, the agony that was the dimly-lit, oddly-scented Divination classroom (so easy to fall asleep in) was put behind him, and Neville eagerly joined his fellow Gryffindors for their fifth year of Defence Against the Dark Arts - and their third year with a competent teacher.
Ilyasviel was dressed in royal purple robes that gave her alabaster skin a near-glow in contrast. The robes were of a practical cut, neither emphasising her figure nor going out of their way to hide it. Like McGonagall, she wore a hat, but hers was a round purple cap, like a French beret - and like the robes against her skin, the dark colour seemed to make her silver-gold hair shine all the brighter. Her eyes gleamed like polished jewels, and her smile widened as they entered the room, giving the impression of the dawn peeking just a little further over the horizon . . .
A sudden tap on his shoulder had Neville turning to face Hermione - and abruptly realising that Ilyasviel was putting out her allure. Not full-bore, but enough to snare the unwary. And now that he was conscious of it, Neville slammed his Occlumency shields in place to block out the influence. Ilyasviel gave him a tiny, satisfied nod. Neville could feel it when she suddenly pulled in her Veela aura, like music playing softly in the background, that he hadn’t really noticed, had been abruptly cut off.
“Good afternoon, class,” she said brightly. “For those of you who don’t remember me, my name is Ilyasviel von Einzbern, and I am the winner of last year’s Triwizard Tournament and a half-Veela - which is why some of you boys might have been feeling a bit off a moment ago. Let me assure you, the effect was deliberate - I’ve been told you were taught about curses and counter-curses, but I wanted to see how effectively you were taught. I’m aware that your instruction in this subject has been - erratic, so for this first week, I’m going to do a series of reviews and tests to see how well you do, and what your current level is.”
She smiled thinly, drawing her wand. “So far, only two of the five boys were really receptive to my ‘charms,’ and one of them was on the edge - let’s see how the girls do now, shall we? Tarantallegra!”
Quick as a diving hawk, Ilyasviel fired off four spells at the girls - one of which came right back at her, deflected by a hastily-cast Shield Charm. Fortunately, Ilyasviel was fast enough to disperse it with a shield of her own, but while Takara sat with a smug little smirk on her face, the other girls were drumming their legs underneath their desks - even Hermione who scowled with her wand in hand, not having been quite fast enough.
“This curse is a compulsion, like a lesser and more specialised version of the Imperius Curse,” Ilyasviel explained. “It’s tricky, but it can be broken by an application of will - see if you can manage it, girls. And Miss Aozaki, a point to Gryffindor for the effort, but let me make my point, hm?” She cast again, and this time Takara let her. Not that it mattered much, as she and Hermione both broke it after a few seconds’ worth of concentration. Lavender and Parvati, on the other hand, had a much harder time with it. They kept tapping for several minutes before Ilyasviel finally said, “Finite Incantatem.”
After gazing at them for a moment, the half-Veela professor said, “All right - not as bad as I’d feared. If you do as well in other areas, you might actually be ready for your O.W.L.s come June. Because make no mistake - that’s the goal. O.W.L.s are your basic competency certification. Even if you never earn a single N.E.W.T. - even if you never take a single one - your abilities will be judged on your O.W.L. scores. You can be of age, and not considered competent as a witch or wizard, if you blow these. For those of you wanting to obtain a Mastery in a subject, O.W.L.s are the first step. So you have to earn them, and for that, you have to be well taught - and intelligent enough to use what you’ve been taught. My job is to make sure of the first - but it’s up to you to make sure of the second.”
She paused, and smiled brightly. “And now that we’ve made a basic assessment of your ability to handle curses, let’s talk Dark creatures, shall we?”
Ginny rubbed her temples as she stared at yet another faded scroll, groaning, “And I thought I knew my family history.”
She glanced over at the other two Gryffindor girls with her, and Galen, each intent on their own parchments. “How do you do this without going spare?”
“Practice,” Galen said.
“And it helps to find it fun,” Luna added.
“Fun?” Ginny said incredulously. “Fun is flying, or browsing through stores - I’ll even admit the odd Charm can be fun to play with - but this . . . This is mind-numbing. And bloody useless, to boot.”
“Language, Ginny,” Hermione scolded, before asking sympathetically, “No luck, I take it?”
Ginny shook her head. “No Weasleys ever went far enough east, from what I can tell.”
“The Prewetts are a dead end, as well,” Luna announced, slamming shut her book.
“And I’m not finding anything among the Bones family tree - yet,” Hermione qualified. “We really ought to talk to Susan about it. I’m sure the Room’s up to snuff, but we never have figured out its limits, and maybe the actual family has access to something it can’t.”
“We’ll get to that, if we have to,” Galen assured her, scowling at his own book. “Idiot record keepers - how do you lose track of one of the four greatest wizards in the country? Heck, of all of them?”
“It was the Dark Ages,” Hermione reminded him. “Preservation wasn’t as easy then as now, nor record-keeping as strict. And wizards were still secretive, even if not quite as hidden as today.”
“Yeah,” Galen sighed. “I know - I was just hoping this could be easy.”
He closed the red leather book, its cover embossed with a single word in gold: GRYFFINDOR. Ginny had thought it kind of poetic, and a long shot, but had agreed that given Shirou’s ability to call the sword, it was definitely possible.
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “it doesn’t look like it. These families are just the obvious ones I know of with a trend of red hair - we might as well look at mundane families like the Evans line, as well. And that’s assuming that the red hair comes from a European mix. It might be North American, or even natural to his Asian heritage - there are myths of red hair denoting supernatural qualities in Japan, and they had to pick that up from somewhere . . .” He sighed again.
Hermione suggested, “Maybe we should try a different quality? Shirou is a Parselmouth . . . That has to be easier to trace - it’s a rare ability.”
“The only family I know of with it is effectively dead,” Galen said, shaking his head. “And its last scion wasn’t the type to be interested in perpetuating the bloodline. As for ‘easier,’ it’s considered a Dark ability, so you can bet real money that most families who have it go to great lengths to hide that the fact they do.” He smiled. “It is a good idea, Hermione - but it’s not as easy as it looks on the surface of it.”
“I hope your aunts are having better luck, Takara,” Ginny commented.
“I hope so, too,” Takara murmured. “It helps that neither of them are the type to really give up - not easily, at any rate.”
“Not from what I’ve heard,” Galen agreed.
Ginny blinked, and stared, even as she blurted, “You don’t know?” She blushed immediately afterwards, embarrassed by her outburst - but it was so rare to come across anything or anyone that Galen didn’t seem to know everything about . . .
“I’ve never met them in any incarnation,” Galen confirmed. “From what I know of the Aozaki sisters, they’re two extremely talented magi - or witches, I suppose. Touko has more raw power, but Aoko is capable of doing more with less, and neither of them ought to be trifled with.” He paused, as though evaluating what he knew, and how best to present it. Finally, Galen said, “A lot of what I know won’t be valid - the magic system here is too different - but it’s likely that they both studied magic under the same instructor, and there was something about them feuding because Aoko killed their family - ”
“WHAT?!” Ginny would’ve blushed again at this second outcry, except that Hermione’s voice had joined her own in disbelief. Even Luna looked pale, and all the girls turned to stare at the Japanese witch. Takara’s face was a polite but blank mask, and as she explained, her voice was very formal - the very image of the yamato nadeshiko, as Ginny had heard the ideal named.
“Like Britain, Japan operates under its own system of customs and traditions - some of them outdated by modern mundane standards, but very relevant to us,” the Japanese witch said coolly. “Yes, Aunt Aoko eliminated the Aozaki clan. I don’t know why - it isn’t a topic my parents or aunts wished to discuss with me - but it was an honour killing, to save face for the clan, and thus she escaped censure. Whatever the reason, Aunt Touko was very angry with her for a number of years. That anger diminished when I was born, to the point where they agreed to be civil to one another for my sake. Alex’s birth seems to have helped them further along that path, as well - but it is a family matter, and private to them. I have no intention of asking about it, and I ask that you don’t, either.”
Ginny had never heard her like this before. She’d never even thought Takara could sound like that. The older girl wasn’t angry - her voice wasn’t icy enough, and nothing was freezing around her - but there was an emptiness, and an utter refusal in her tone that she hadn’t heard . . . Wait, she had - but it was usually from Galen, not Takara.
She glanced at the wizard in question, who shrugged and said, “Like I have room to throw stones regarding family secrets?”
Takara relaxed, flashing them all a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
Now that she was in an observing mood, Ginny noted that Takara’s eyes had started by watching Galen, and as they swept around the room with her thanks, they lingered lightly on him for just a second longer than anyone else. Granted, for Takara that wasn’t necessarily unusual - but something about it seemed different to her.
Could she fancy him? she wondered. It would be odd if she did - Ginny distinctly recalled that they’d once gone out on a date specifically to prove that there was nothing romantic between them. But then again, he’d been her date to the Yule Ball, and while the violence she’d employed in the First Task had scared off a lot of guys, no one would have refused her if she’d asked them . . . But why now, if she did?
The wedding, maybe? Ginny answered herself. With Shirou - the only guy she ever was interested in - now engaged, she’s probably thinking about her own future. And Galen’s the only other boy who knows her as well as Shirou does. But it’s still a heck of a turnaround from a couple of years ago, if I’m right . . . And what about Hermione?
Ginny (and in fact, most of their friends) had always known that for Galen’s heart, the choice would always eventually come down to Takara or Hermione. Who he’d choose, they weren’t sure of - and they were pretty sure that he wasn’t, either. Which side she rooted for depending partly on her feelings at the time - Takara when she wanted to remove a rival for Shirou’s affections, and Hermione when she wanted proof that someone outside the trinity’s otherworldly circle could get to them - but they were both her friends, and she worried how it would affect the one who lost.
Takara could probably survive it, but Hermione . . .
The older witch had nearly been destroyed last year by the argument she’d had with him, and they just now seemed to be in the process of rebuilding their relationship. While it wasn’t totally accurate, the sheer damage that had been done was still a measure of just how much Galen meant to her. It was no real secret that while they were good friends, Hermione had always hoped there would eventually be more between them. To lose out on that possibility to Takara, her closest friend - and the one girl she’d always been afraid she’d lose him to . . .
It wouldn’t end well, Ginny was certain of that. But then again, maybe she was overreacting. Although she’d never been as demonstrative about it as Hermione, Takara’s seeking reassurance from and hovering around Galen was nothing new, either. As with Hermione, Galen was her first real friend, and she doted on him - and teased him - accordingly. And in that other world, he’d been her hero, chosen for her, specifically. So it was no wonder they were close, and that she would worry about his reaction over the rest of them. Ginny had always known that, but she supposed it was a sign of her growing up that she was now actively thinking about it, and about what it really meant.
Just the same, she hoped that the closeness of two old friends was all it was. Between their worries over Shirou and Ilya, and the things Riddle might be doing outside Hogwarts’ walls, they really didn’t need anything else on their plate this year.
We really, really don’t.
His head was pounding away like Shirou at his forge, working on shaping a bar of metal into a bladelike shape. The usual tremors were making their presence known, and his limbs felt like cooked spaghetti, too limp and weak to even try to make it stop. This one had been a bad one, and when his senses were focussed enough to try to comprehend his surroundings, Galen wasn’t surprised to find himself in the Hospital Wing.
“A nasty night, Mister Salvatore,” Madam Pomfrey noted. “You’ve not been in this sort of shape for a while, and I’d hoped I’d not see you in here again for some time - if at all, this year.”
Several smartalecky remarks sprang to mind, but he couldn’t get his voice to work properly enough to use them. He simply closed his eyes, resigned to spending yet another day in the Hospital Wing, and the inescapable fact of his curse. It was days like this that made him wish that Takara was successful in finding a cure - an ambition that she still hadn’t given up on, even if she wasn’t quite at the manic pace she’d been at the end of last term. Galen still wasn’t sure what had brought it on, but privately chalked it up to her wanting to make the most of Hogwarts’ resources while she could. Whatever the reason, her need to collect samples had diminished, and she was studying more slowly and carefully, now.
He had no doubt that if anyone could manage it, Takara would, and he was pleased she seemed to have found a career path that interested her. Now if she would only find a suitable life partner, he could relax. Not long ago, Shirou had seemed ideal for that, and more recently, he’d have been willing to volunteer - but Takara had made her non-interest very clear, over the years. Galen was almost literally of two minds about that fact. In general, he was disappointed, but unsurprised, having literal decades of similar experiences to prepare him for it. But the part of him that had been a five-year-old boy with a crush on the girl with “pretty kitty eyes” was in mourning over it.
I was the older one, but I’d have followed her anywhere she wanted to go, Galen thought, reminiscing. Many of the memories he had involving Takara as a child were not dissimilar from experiences in his original childhood - he’d had a knack for making for making friends with girls, then. And he still did, really, for ones in that age group, at least. He recalled the day of Triwizard Tournament’s final Task with some amusement - or more specifically, Shirou’s reaction to Gabrielle Delacour’s reaction to him.
“First Hermione, then Miranda, then Luna . . .Even Ilya, technically - and now her? I don’t know what exactly it is about you and little girls, man, but now this is getting creepy.”
Rin, of course, had thought it was hilarious, and trotted out the “patron saint of lolicon” line all day - though never within Gabrielle’s hearing, at least. For his part, Galen had begun to wonder if Ilya really had tweaked something in him to make him specifically attractive to little girls, but he’d never actually figured out how to ask. It wasn’t exactly a subject that came up often in polite conversation. In any case, it wasn’t all bad - he now had a pen pal to improve his French reading and writing skills, and Gabrielle had one to help her with that, and her English as well. Writing and translating a letter a month wasn’t exactly an onerous chore, and it was a bit exciting to see what Gabrielle would think worthy of his attention next. For her part, she asked plenty of questions about Hogwarts and England - and Canada, on occasion. It was fun seeing how excited she was to learn about it all.
If she maintains her interest in learning, and they hold the Triwizard Tournament when she’s of age, they ought to save everyone the trouble and just have her name engraved on that cup already.
He must have dozed after that thought, because it seemed abruptly to be much brighter in the Hospital Wing - closer to noon than dawn. Nor, he realised suddenly, was he alone.
“Takara? What is it?”
“I came down to check on you, and get the usual,” she said. “But I also thought you should see this.”
The Daily Prophet headline was a screaming, large boldfaced letters proclaiming DEATH TO DEATH EATERS! Even addled by post-transformation strain, it didn’t take long to skim the highlights of the article.
“The Carrows, huh?” he noted, “If nothing else, I guess they won’t be teaching Dark Arts for our seventh year.”
Takara’s voice was cold. “That’s all you have to say about it?”
Galen felt his face harden. “I’m impressed that the Carrows were found - I knew they avoided going to Azkaban, but I wasn’t sure whether they’d bought their way out or just hadn’t gotten caught. I hadn’t considered their being fugitives, although given Greyback’s status, I really ought to have.”
Takara switched to Japanese as she retorted in a low voice, “The British press might be composed of idiots, but the ICW is not. The Ministry may never know a sniper rifle’s work when they see it, even with the Quidditch World Cup as an example, but sooner or later, someone with a brain will trace it back to Kiritsugu-san - and what will you do then?”
“He has diplomatic immunity, still,” he replied in the same language. “If they catch on - and given that the ICW doesn’t have official authority in Britain except by request, that’s a big ‘if’ - the worst they can do is expel the Einzberns from Britain. That will screw things up for Shirou and Ilya, but it’ll just set them back, not outright ruin them.”
“But Father doesn’t,” Takara replied.
“I haven’t asked for his help yet. In fact, I went to the Einzberns specifically because of that.”
“But it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?” Takara asked grimly. “He’s too skilled to not use him, and Father isn’t the type to sit idly by when he can be acting - or when his partner could use his help.”
Galen sighed, and spread his hands apart in a quasi-shrug. “Like I said, Takara: give me another option. Whether we like it or not, we are now involved in a war again - and I intend to treat it like one, which means taking every opportunity I can to sabotage my enemy. Until or unless Riddle moves openly, and until or unless we are legally free to go after him, this is all that can be done. And leaving his willing followers free to act when we can stop them beforehand is an idiotic move.”
She slumped. “I just . . . I didn’t want to have to do this again. I just wanted to be a normal girl. I was enjoying being a normal girl.”
“I’m sorry it has happened,” Galen sighed. “Sorry that all our attempts to prevent it failed - but now that it has, the most we can do is try to end it as quickly and bloodlessly as possible. And that means using every advantage we can get our hands on, every dirty trick we can think of. It won’t be pretty, it won’t be fair, and it will probably deserve a sentence to Azkaban - but if it saves lives, then where I’m concerned, at least, I can live with that.”
Takara was blank for a moment, even to him. Finally, she said, “I keep forgetting about that.”
“What?” Galen blinked, honestly puzzled.
“The difference between you and Shirou,” she answered. “He’s mostly back to wanting to save everyone now, or at least as many as he can - and while he’d kill for that, you’re a step ahead of him that way.”
“It’s the Path of the Asura,” Galen said. “Or at least, that’s how I’ve heard it referred to. Save as many people as you can, with the least possible amount of bloodshed, but don’t be afraid to execute a million innocents to save a billion more. It’s Kiritsugu’s path, and what led Shirou to becoming Archer - because it didn’t take him where he thought it would.” He shook his head. “It’s the difference between a Champion like Angel or Buffy, or a hero like Shirou or Saber, and me: I don’t like that path, and I avoid walking it when I can - no innocent is worth sacrificing, to me. But I accept what I do as a necessary evil - and they won’t. They’ll keep working to change the world until there are no ‘necessary evils,’ and I wish them luck. They’ll need it, and I want them to succeed. Meanwhile, I’ll deal with the world as it is, and try to keep it going long enough for them to pull it off if they can.”
He paused, then added, “Of course, when I’m angry, all that goes out the window, and I’m perfectly happy to kill or maim anything I can get my hands on, innocent or otherwise.” The tone was light, but there was more than a little seriousness to it.
Takara nodded, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, and that bothered him - to her Servant, she’d always been opaque, but Galen Salvatore had a better handle on her expressions and thought processes . . . Or so he’d believed.
“Taka-chan,” he said softly, resisting a smile as the use of her old nickname immediately caught her attention. “I’m not a hero, not really - but you already knew that, so this can’t be all that much of a surprise to you. But if it bothers you, then you need to get out of here, as fast as you can. Transfer to Beauxbatons, or back to Japan, and get your family to move with you. Because no matter what happens from here on out, this is going to be bloody . . .
“And it’s only the beginning.”
Last edited by Kieran; August 1st, 2011 at 07:10 PM.
Yesssh.
And . . . fuck, I think I know what you're doing now and WIBBLE.
Also, points for Buffy and Angel reference.
*Deep voice* Oh yes. There will be blood.
Fortissimo EXA//Akkord:Bsusvier Video Walkthrough: COMPLETE (thread here)
Kadenz Fermata//Akkord:Fortissimo Playlists
Kisekitsukai (Seventh Chord) Playlist
Mahoutsukai (Magi) Playlist)
Final Arc Playlist
FGO Support Card (As of April 2023)Spoiler:
I dont really know that you could call wibble a buffy thing. I mean red Dwarf used it in the exact same context in its first season, 9 years before Buffy aired.
I have to admit to massive frustration caused by Takra's inability to admit to her own desires. That, and every other person there's inability to spot them. ARGH ginny is just now noticing.
Yay, another chapter.
Come to think of it, I wonder if Snape will ever find out that somebody took his book from him. That, and I really want to know just who do you plan Shirou on being, but I guess I can wait to find out.
And not to sound like I want to criticise you or something, Kieran, but there are a few typos (and other stuff of the kind) in this chapter, so you might want to take a look at it again when you have some free time.
Ah Galen, the Patron Saint of Not Getting the Message.
Point them out, please - I have a nasty habit of repeatedly overlooking my own errors far too often.
Reply With Quote
