The Assessment
“How did he manage to create a portal like that? Is he a magician?”
“Idiot. If he’s not a magician, Harry won’t even be there, much less be protected!”
“It looks even better than the usual floo network that we have or even apparition.”
“I want to go and see Akalelana personally. It looks better than what we have in Diagon Alley!”
As all the students had differing opinions about the first video displayed by the magical television-like artifact, Amelia was busy talking with the Aurors about the situation of Sirius Black when suddenly, Dumbledore appeared behind her.
“Madame Bones, would it be too much if I request that we revisit the case about Sirius Black? I wish to ascertain that he properly gets a trial this time, if it is indeed true that he didn’t get one.” The Headmaster wanted to get Sirius freed not only because he truly deserved to get justice for getting framed up but because he was sure he is the only one who can get back Harry Potter from the hands of the Akalelani people.
“That’s what we’re talking about right now.” Amelia sighed as she wanted to take a Calming Draught Potion as she was feeling a bit of a headache right now. “The problem right now is that we don’t know how we can contact him or even find him. He’s pretty much hidden everywhere.”
“I…”
“Blimey! Look! It’s Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew…again! They seemed to be chasing each other in the Transfiguration Courtyard!”
Dumbledore was about to comment about how to find Sirius Black when the twins Fred and George beat him to it as everyone turned their attention. Dumbledore and Bones then saw what looked like a piece of folded parchment being brandished in the air.
Amelia obviously didn’t take them seriously at first. “Do you think you’re being funny right now?!”
“What? No! I swear, it’s real! This map is an old artifact that we got before and it tracks everyone down accurately!”
Dumbledore decided that it wouldn’t hurt to check if Sirius and Peter are in the courtyard. “Perhaps, we should verify what the Weasley Twins are saying.”
A few second later, Albus, Amelia, and the rest of the Aurors stationed in Hogwarts were not running towards the courtyard and when they reach there, they found a rough-looking and obviously unkempt man with ragged clothes now aiming a wand at a prostate person who had rat-like features.
But even with the years passed and the obvious physical changes, Amelia can’t believe her eyes as everything that was told in the video was bloody accurate.”
“Sirius Black! Peter Pettigrew! Wands down!”
Both Sirius and Peter looked towards the now-large group of Aurors surrounding them but before the rat animagi could attempt to escape, Albus took the liberty to stun him quickly before saying, “Sirius, it’s time to correct a grave injustice.”
An hour later, Sirius was given a fresh change of clothes while Pettigrew was binded and silent before being transported to one of the holding cells in the DMLE.
It turned out that Sirius has been spending most of his time as a runaway hunting down his ex-friend as well as finding his godson, whom he did not immediately find when he tried to check the Dusrley residence in Little Whinging. He was somehow successful in his first endeavour but not so in his second. Nevertheless, he still has a lot of business to fix before he can resume finding his godson.
Although an official retrial would have to be conducted, Amelia had promised Sirius that he’s unofficially a freeman now, much to the happiness of the dogman although it was quickly deflated as Amelia also ordered Sirius to quickly register by next week so that he doesn’t have to pay anymore penalties as his prison time in Azkaban was credited as a punishment for his failure to register as an animagi.
She and Dumbledore also gave Sirius a rundown about what happened this morning and why there were a lot of people witnessing what seemed to be the revealing of what was happening with his godson, who had since left the United Kingdom after his first year in Hogwarts.
“So let me get this straight…Harry was selected as the Fourth Champion of that cursed artifact despite him not even being anywhere near the British Isles to put his name…what the hell are you doing right now to even sort this out?!” Sirius was practically yelling right now.
“We’re doing everything we can to find out who put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire but right now, it’s much more important to see what else the video will show so that we can finally know how to reach young Harry.” Albus said with his usual twinkle.
“Okay, I see.” Sirius calmed down as he ingested everything he was told. So Harry’s in that neutral but somewhat hostile country called Akalelana and is being taken care of by someone who seemed to be distantly related to me while their national leader or something also happens to know Harry personally. Hmph, it looks like his situation is a lot better than I expected.
From where she was seated, Hermione took a brief glance at the person who was supposed to be Harry’s official godfather. So this is Sirius Black. She was honestly intimidated by Sirius’ rather ragged looks before she reminded herself that this was probably due to his time in Azkaban.
Before anything else can be said or done, the video started to play again. This time, there was an opening spiel with the title A DIFFERENT SIDE OF ME which some viewers thought was too bland.
The screen opens up to a reasonably-spacey bedroom where a prone Harry Potter was seen lying in his bed while looking aimlessly at the ceiling. In the wall were posters of basketball player Alonzo Mourning as well as posters and memorabilia of their city’s local basketball club, the Red Vipers Tel Hammon. In front of the bed was a glass cabinet with a lot of photos, trophies, medals, and surprisingly, a two-edged sword that looked like a lengthened Egyptian dagger with a longer blade while covered with a wooden scabbard strung with leather straps.
Not surprisingly, many were taken aback by the appearance of the sword, which looked well-crafted and well-maintained.
“Mr. Potter shouldn’t even be handling those kinds of weapons at his age!” For the first time in a while, Minerva spoke while looking outraged at the sword in Harry’s cabinet.
“I mean, Akalelana might have a different policy and culture about holding martial weapons…” Filius Flitwick suggested.
“That doesn’t mean that he should be having a sword in his possession. That’s not how we teach magic here in Britain.”
“Well, he’s in Akalelana right now so what happens here doesn’t really matter in their place…probably…”
Well, look how lovely he had grown up . Tears were threatening to fall from Sirius’ eyes as he watched how matured his godson looked right now. Although he was somewhat concerned at the look of his eyes. Did something happen? Why does he look very depressed? Oh yeah…Amelia told me that this distant relative of mine…this bloke Ezra got hurt critically in a mission.
As Harry was musing on his own thoughts, a vibration was heard on his phone. Quickly, he fished out his device and checked the caller. Well, shit. Kate’s going to kill me for not telling her that I would miss classes. I guess I needed to come clean.
“Eh? What’s that thing on his hand?”
“Yeah…it looks scary. I mean, it sounded like a vibrating apparatus.”
Hermione took this cue to enlighten some of the confused pureblood. “Basically, it’s what muggles and muggle-born call a phone, which can be used for texting and calling other people. Just think of it as a mechanised floor network but you see a tiny gadget.”
“Seriously?! I didn't know such advanced apparatus existed.” one of the Ravenclaws exclaimed.
“I admit that it looks more convenient.”
Hermione shrugged. It wasn't really that advanced, but it was really useful back at home. She herself owns one and looking at Harry’s, she realized that they both use the same brand, except perhaps that he had an updated model.
“I’m more interested as to who this Kate person is.” One of the female Hufflepuffs said with a thoughtful look and then suddenly, she sounded mischievous. “Orrr…she must have been his girlfriend!”
Hermione and Ron sputtered at that while the others were whispering at that possibility. Ginny, who was beside the person that teased about the possibility of Harry having a girlfriend, frowned as she did not like that thought, for some reasons.
Harry stood up from his bed and ran outside of his room, through the living room, and towards the main door. He dashes through the pavement dividing the grass before going to the iron gates to see a girl standing outside the property, her arms crossed while her feet were tapping impatiently.
About the same age as Harry, the girl with dirty-blonde hair had an obvious athletic build with a pale skin tone, rosy cheeks, and prominent baby blue eyes. In short, she was incredibly beautiful by high standards. She was wearing a black tennis skirt, sleeveless white shirt, and athletic rubber shoes. She had a sling bag on her shoulders.
“Ooohhh…”
Needless to say, the students of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang can’t help but admire the natural beauty of the girl that was meeting with Harry while noticing how much confidence radiates from her. A few women even felt their self-esteem become smaller as they think these are the types of girls that Harry Potter favors the most.
“Oh, what a smart boy!” Sirius praised his godson while smiling in the most lecherous way possible that a few of the Hogwarts staff and Amelia were beginning to get disgusted by his perverted smile.
“She’s very lush, mate! And she’s quite tidy too…” Ron approves Harry’s choice.
Hermione blushed while looking at the girl. She definitely is a keeper and if Harry even dared think about cheating on her, she’d hex him ‘til infinity.
“Hey, Kate…” Harry wasn't even finished greeting her when the girl named Kate launched a barrage of lectures towards the male.
“Hey? Hey? Is that all you have to say to me after you ditch school and run straight to the hospital?! You could have at least taken me with you so we can cut classes together!” Kate ranted.
“Eh? She'd also cut classes with my mate?” Ron couldn't believe it. In his experience, cutting classes could also mean getting an earful from Hermione and he did not expect this Kate girl to be the total opposite of the bushy haired girl.
“Look…I’m sorry I did not go to school today. I…”
“Stupid…” The girl lightly bumped his head before pulling him closer to her to hug him tightly. “Do you know how much worry you caused me a while back? Mom and dad were worried that the stupid mafia would be targeting you after what happened to your adoptive guardian. Heck, dad even thought of hunting them down before they went for your head!”
As they both hugged affectionately, Kate’s ID was seen flying in the wind that briefly breezed past them, exposing her full name “KATRINA BONES” along with her signature.
“...”
“...”
Amelia and Susan Bones can only blink. Remembering in the previous video that there was an Akalelani branch of the Bones Family, they leaned forward to get a better look at Kate.
“Your cousin's pretty…” Hannah whispered to her best friend.
“I know. I wonder what kind of magic power she possesses.” Susan whispered back and in all honesty, she wished that she could meet her in person, if ever it is proven that she shared the same lineage as hers.
It was understandable as almost the Entire English branch of the Family of the Bones got annihilated during the First Wizarding War and her parents were among the casualties.
Amelia was similarly having such thoughts. It would be nice to meet a family branch from outside Britain and from the looks of it, this Kate person seemed nice and lovely to be around with, if it’s proven that she’s a distant relative.
“Look, I’m sorry to have caused you so much distress. Honestly, I was in a bit of a mess myself the moment I received the text message that he’s in critical condition that I entirely forgot to tell you since I had to rush to the hospital.” Harry apologized as he caressed her hair. “By the way, thanks for seeing me here and kindly tell your mom and dad that I am just fine.”
Kate’s frowning features softened as she looked at Harry with loving eyes. “Harry, we’ve been close friends for so long since you first landed here in Akalelana so of course, I’d have a heart attack if something horrible happens to you.” She then blushed. “By the way, Monday’s a General Assembly and we’ll have to hold an Assessment Demo in front of the panelists.”
Kate then touched Harry’s hand, making the face of the latter grow red as he looked away and said. “W-Well, okay. But first, I’ll have to visit Uncle Ezra again tomorrow and Sunday to leave something for him.”
“And here, I thought they were already a thing.” Parvati Patil was clearly disappointed.
“I think it’s very clear that they’re not even dating.” Ginny said, a smug expression carved in her face.’
“…Yet. Maybe they have not admitted their feelings towards each other. Are you jealous?” Parvati replied, a smirk forming in her lips when she noticed Ginny fidget with her question.
“Of course, Harry. Anything, for you.” Kate winked at him.
“By the way, who’s going to assess us Monday morning?” Harry asks as she lets Kate go inside while he locks the gates.
“Rab Reshek said it’s Sir Benhur from the same unit as your Uncle Ezra, Mr. Tekoa, Miss Stephanie Grey, and of course, Sir Alexis Weasley from the city’s local defense brigade.”
“Wicked!” Fred and George Weasley said the moment they heard that someone named Weasley was going to be seen on the video.
Even Ron and Ginny were somewhat excited as they quickly fixed their seats to make themselves more comfortable as they wanted to have a better view on the video.
“Ah shit, Sir Benhur and Sir Alexis? Looks like it will be hell day on Monday.” Harry sighed.
Meanwhile, the video then went static again before another scene was opened. This time, it showed what looked like to be a wide field of lawn surrounded by a huge number of structures, most of which are normal three-story buildings similar to the schools found in Japan while there are also a number of smaller structures as well as a large gymnasium. As it was a bird’s eye view, the whole place can be seen from above.
MONDAY 20XX
Upper Bayit Tanit High School of the Mystical Arts
It was Monday morning and a throng of students were all marching towards the large gates of the school, which covers an area of 10,000 acres, making it the largest school in the whole of Akalelana. They were all wearing dark blue track pants, white t-shirts, and white rubber shoes. The gates lead straight to the grassfield as the gate was connected directly to the field by a paved road, which is surrounded with trees and buildings.
Once more, many students were shocked when they heard what the narrator said about the school’s overall length and width.
“Eh, that’s wider than the whole grounds of Hogwarts…although the castle itself seemed to be taller than all of their buildings…” First Year Steart Ackley commented.
“Yea, their whole grounds…that’s like the size of a small city, if I am being honest.” Fellow freshman Orla Quirke replied.
After entering the gates, almost every student then converged at the back of the field while some of their teachers and instructors were around them, trying to maintain orderliness.
On the other farther side of the field was a raised platform with a table with four people sitting behind the long table.
“Looks like the wet-behind-ears-kids are ready to rumble, Steph.” A redhead wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and rubber shoes was seen with a sword slung in his back.
“At least, the batch this year was early to report, unlike last year’s mess. And didn’t you contribute to last year’s royal rumble, Weasley.” One of the panelists, a woman named Stephanie Grey, raised her eyebrows at Alexis Weasley, who merely shrugged while lighting a cigarette using a lighter that he hid in his socks.
“Hey, my excuse is that there were some of the mafiosi who entered the school grounds the night before last year’s regular assessment tests. How would I know that they carried with them a bomb powered by polar dust?” Alexis raises both his hands. “And I already paid for the damages caused by my Flame Meteor Technique.”
“He looks cool!” Fred and George Weasley said simultaneously while Ron and Ginny were busy looking at their Akalelani distant relative, who looked to be in his early 20s. Sporting a military fade cut, the Weasley in the video looked obviously imposing in the way he presents himself despite his muggle choice of clothing.
Though, they were somewhat unnerved by the scar that ran across his left eye.
“Scary…” Neville was somewhat taken aback by the straight scar that looked like it got cut by a sword.
“I’m more horrified by how much he smokes those things.” Hermione was disgusted by the appearance of a cigarette.
“By the way, how many students are enrolled for this year and how many will be participating for the first assessment?” Sir Benhur Blythe, a comrade of Ezra Black, asked while looking at the papers.
“All in all, there are 35,000 students and that doesn’t count yet the teachers and trainers. For the general assembly, everyone's obligated to perform but after the assembly, we'll have to select specific students for the specialized assessments. You can't rate them all in one day, afterall,” Mr. Sebastian Tekoa, a martial arts grandmaster working for Tel Hammon’s city government, replied, waving the enrollment data papers given to them.
The eyes of Hogwarts’ staff widened.
“3-35,000 students?” Flitwick’s jaws dropped at the large numbers.
“The whole student body of Hogwarts doesn’t reach 1,200 people.” Herbology teacher Pomona Sprout looked like she was about to cry.
Only Potions master Severus Snape wasn’t impressed although with how he regularly sneers, it was hard to tell if he wasn’t impressed or it’s just him being his usual grumpy self.
“I mean, we shouldn’t be surprised with how large their school was but still…35,000 is a huge population…” Bathsheda Babbling, the Ancient Runes teacher, said.
“Looks like the kids are here. Do you all want to start now or do you still have some things to prepare?” Sebastian asked.
“Look, let’s get this over with. I want to go home and drink some Horilka.” Alexis said as he stood up and took out what looked like to be his modified OTs-27 Berdysh service pistol from his belt and cocked the slide before he fired it in the air.
Miraculously, the sound of the 9mm bullet roared all the way to the Hogwarts Hallway, causing many students to cover their ears as the sound pierced their eardrums like a knife.
As if the gunfire had managed to create a miracle, the student body, which was just noisy moments ago, suddenly grew quiet before one by one, the horde began to run across the field. One by one, all the students present formed columns of perfect lines as they take formation in front of the platform.
“I like their discipline.” Durmstrang Institute Headmaster Igor Karkaroff merely said. Beneath his stoic expressions, he was actually surprised to see that a school other than their own was actually teaching their students combat skills, if his analysis of their basic martial arts movement was correct.
“Of course you would.” Albus blandly said to him with a hint of disdain.
“Let’s see what you kids got.” Alexis roared as he then shouted. “First step: Basic Rest Stance!”
All of the students clenched their fists while shaping their arms like a hook outwards. They then shifted as they slowly squatted their knees like they were sitting on an imaginary stool and folded their arms into a praying position. As they do that, a miasma of purple and bluish energy begins to emerge and envelop all of the students.
“Wh-What are they doing and what is that…whatever it is that is enveloping their bodies?” Amelia asked, a bit creeped out by the scene.
“I believe they are doing a form of martial arts that is similar or is basically developed from the martial arts culture of China, Korea, and Japan. They took the concepts of the East Asian fighting tradition and combined it with their largely-Canaanite style of fighting.” The Unspeakable replied. “As for the fog-like miasma surrounding them, it’s actually a form of supernatural energy that’s present in all humans—at least, that’s what I heard from my lone source. You could say that it’s similar to how we produce magic but it’s something that's more specialized to suit their needs. The difference is that they rarely or never use any wands at all. Oh look…it’s Harry Potter.”
Harry, like the rest of the student body, was enveloped in a bluish miasma and was doing the basic steps of the martial arts system that was largely derived from Shaolin Kung Fu. He, like the others, shows off his flexibility like how he moved from his Horse Stance to a Sidekick stance as he quickly rises and kicks his right leg above his head and goes back to his rest stance before kicking into his left.
“That seemed pretty hard to do!” Hannah said. “Just running alone for five minutes already makes me so tired.”
“I don’t think we all can do that…” Ernest muttered.
“Not only that…they’re pretty much well-coordinated and they are all in-sync in doing so, especially since there are more than 30,000 students there.” Fifth Year Kenneth Towler commented as he can’t help but watch how simultaneous they are in moving.
The scene then shifted inside what seemed to be a large gymnasium, with only female students present. Kate was one of them and she joined all the students in getting swords (similar to the one Harry has) that were stacked in the wooden crates while the assessor, Stephanie Grey, were waiting for them as she, too, had a sword in her hand while she was wearing a white tank top and athletic slacks.
The moment everyone got a sword in their hands, Stephanie called out one name. “Katrina Bones! Forward!”
The blonde teen then steps forward, about ten feet away from Stephanie while the others merely stepped away from them and watched from the sidelines. The moment the two are facing each other, they bow to each other as a sign of respect and after bowing, something was glowing in the feet of the older woman and after one of the contestants just blinked once, Stephanie leaped up in the air sideways and ran…in the wall literally.
She then leaped from the walls and aimed her own sword before she swung it towards Kate, who stood there aimlessly, as if she was frozen on her spot.
Then in the split second, she managed to evade the incoming blade as she stepped sideways and let Stephanie gide past her. The latter then stopped as she twisted her body to face Kate before swinging her sword towards the young blonde. Kate, though, managed to parry all of her blows as they both clashed.
“Is that Stephanie teacher trying to kill Harry’s girl?!” Ron was shocked to see how fierce their duel is.
“Really, Ronald?” Hermione was exasperated with Ron’s stupidity. “Of course, not! She’s merely testing Kate. It’s an assessment drill, like it was mentioned a while ago.”
Kate then went on the offensive as she grasps her sword with her before she takes a deep breath. Stephanie blinked once—just one fucking blink—but as soon as the scene shifted and she had opened her eyes, she was forced to retreat backwards as all of the sudden, Kate appeared in front of her with a vicious smile.
“How did she appear in front of Miss Stephanie Grey that fast?!” First Year Graham Pritchard wasn’t able to comprehend what just happened.
“I…I don't know. It’s just like she appeared or teleported in front of Miss Grey.” For the first time in her public life here in Hogwarts, Daphne Greengrass stuttered as she herself cannot explain what just occurred on the screen.
“Trackless Step…How annoying…” Stephanie had to give props to her opponent as she was forced on the defensive by Kate, who kept up her attacks. The POV then changed to show Kate jabbing her sword before making a couple of thrusts that looked like an imaginary kite figure with isometric lines…as seen by an imaginary line drawn where the tip of the blade passed through. Then she slashes again, this time making a series of upward barrages of jabs that look like the waves of a sea represented by slanted lines inside a square figure.
“A-Amazing…” One of the Durmstrang students was in awe of her sword style as he couldn't help but be drawn to it.
“Wow…” From the Hufflepuff Table, Susan can’t help but be attracted by the fighting style of her kin. Hannah noticed this and then smirked. “You wanted to be a swordswoman too?”
“Eeeek!” Susan was taken by complete surprise by Hannah’s teasing.
“Harry’s lady is so cool!” George and Fred exclaimed.
Not everyone seemed to enjoy the scene, though. Minerva was raging at what she thought was excessive violence that would fit with You-Know-Who’s sadistic pleasure. Albus, for his part, was frowning, seeing that the girl whom young Harry could possibly be in love with can prove to be a detriment to the progression of the prophecy. In his opinion, it would have been better for Harry to be back in Britain so he can be safe and enjoy his youth before he could face off in a fated clash with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rather than with a company of people who are ready to kill for survival.
Stephanie then blocked a downward cut from Kate before she retreated. “That was close. But just as I expected from a member of the Bones Family.” She then smiled. “Did your father Kamon or your mother Keturah teach you that style? I haven’t seen it before.”
“Dad and mom taught me the usual Bones Style of Swordsmanship which is an art of the mystical combat arts of the Akalelani side of the Bones family, though every Bones from Magical Britain and Magical Australia can also use it as long as they prove to be compatible with it.” Kate explained. “But with that said, I modified it so I can fight even those wand users who fire spells from a long distance.”
“Well…I would like to see that…you know, one of my ancestors was a former student from that accursed Hogwarts School so I know a thing or two about curses…” Stephanie doesn’t wish to do this but she was in front of a NEFILIM 12 member. If she was as good as advertised, then this should be easy to evade, if not block as she wasn’t expecting her to block it without severe repercussions.
All of the sudden, she took out a wand and cried, “Avada Kedavra!”
“What?!”
“What?!”
“What?!”
Almost everyone shouted in horror and shock as they watched Stephanie Grey unexpectedly launch one of the most sinister Unforgivable Curses in their Wizarding World.
Out of worry and automatic panic, Susan latched onto Hannah’s arm and squeezed it unintentionally so hard that the latter felt like she was losing her blood from her arms.
“Not only does she know how to use a wand, but she actually launches the Killing Curse towards a human?!”
“Kate should duck quickly!”
Kate merely frowned but as the spell raced towards its intended target, she quickly imbibed her sword with her own supernatural energy. She then swung upwards the moment the spell was near her, with her sword hitting the energy core of the spell cleanly. There was a ping sound as the spell then looked like it bounced off from the metal like a ping pong ball as the spell was redirected towards the ceiling and it ended up exploding.
“Sh-She managed to knock it off using her own sword?!” Draco can’t believe what he just saw.
“But I thought they were supposed to explode right away when they hit something solid?!” Pansy Parkinson looked like she was beginning to question everything she had previously believed in.
All of the professors and aurors can’t believe their eyes. The Killing Curse—the same Killing Curse that was the favorite of You-Know-Who and what was used to murder the Potter couple—was intercepted by a teenage girl using her own sword and managed to get away unscathed.
“N-No way…” George and Fred whimpered.
“She didn’t hesitate to knock off the bloody Killing Curse and more incredible, she made it out alive. She’s not daft, isn’t she?” Ron asked, his brain still reeling from what he saw.
“She must have known she could stop it with a power only known to her or otherwise, she won’t be able to.” Hermione said seriously.
Meanwhile, Severus Snape found himself stumbling on his chair while thinking hard. The Potter spawn’s girl had somehow managed to hit the Killing Curse with only a sword?! The Dark Lord won’t be happy to see this once he returns. He grimaced as he knew that anything that can challenge his Trump Card would serve to greatly anger him. And once that happens, he would torture someone with the Cruciatus Curse. And that someone being him, unfortunately.
Albus Dumbledore was similarly feeling weak upon seeing how the girl easily bounced off the Killing Curse from her sword. This complicates things. He sighed.
Meanwhile, both Amelia and Susan released the breaths they did not know they were holding as they were relieved that nothing bad happened to the girl.
Impressive. Stephanie Grey said in her mind as all the girls cheered.
She then walked forward to Kate, who was just waiting for the next attack. “May I inquire as to how you managed to bounce off the Killing Curse when you have more than enough power to just evade? I was originally thinking to see if your reflexes are sharp enough to evade or even take a small step aside but instead, you did that? How?”
“Well, my grandfather developed spells that are specifically used to counter the three deadly curses of the Wizarding World and I simply used the one that was made to counter the Killing Curse in conjunction with an amulet made from a meteorite made out of pure manna…” Kate explained while showing her stone amulet. “Although I have to be fast and have pinpoint accuracy so it must cleanly hit the energy core of the spell for the counterattack to work so if it's a mass attack, I would have no choice but to retreat…”
She then muttered some words and true enough, connected magical lines began to appear on the blade before
“Even so, being able to bounce off a Killing Curse from a sword is unheard of…at least in classes where we are taught how to combat those wand-brandishing Wizards. The common thing the Grand Magus and the higher-ranked koshephim do is open a portal to an alternate location to divert the spell somewhere, use a physical shield, substitution technique or simply step aside. Someone else might have done your method before but this is the first time I have seen someone do it.”
“Thanks Ma'am but aren't we supposed to continue with our duel?”
Stephanie waved it off. “No. I have seen enough. You may sit down now. Next, Kristal Benel, go in front!”
“She’s a prodigy…and a quick thinker on her feet.” Sirius can't help but praise her while inwardly, he was also praising Harry for snagging someone like her. What a good catch, Harry. She's the perfect girl for you .
Minerva only frowned as she felt the girl had powers that should be banned as she thinks they were too dangerous.
Ginny felt her self-esteem get smaller as she pouts while watching the blonde girl do those stuff. Bloody hell! How am I supposed to compete with her?!
The scene then changes back to the office of the Palace of Bayit Tamuz. Five minutes later, Alexis, Stephanie, Sebastian, and Benhur were seen entering the office after a group of four people were finished presenting their papers to Winston.
“Good Afternoon, Your Excellency, and Peace Be with You.” Benhur bowed as he greeted.
“Peace be with you also, Sir Benhur.” Winston greeted back before he smiled. “Out of all schools from the 24 Makhoz being jointly funded and run directly by the Office of the Grand Magus, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Justice, you were the last ones to report your assessment from yesterday.” He then chuckles. “Well, it’s to be expected from the largest high school campus here in Akalelana. What’s the report, by the way?”
“Everyone from the four-man group looked at Alexis, who just sighed before speaking up. “Well, as expected, the students performed satisfactorily, perhaps even better than last year which was a disaster. And of course, the Nefilim 12 of Upper Bayit Tanit High performed beyond what we were expecting. Although the ratings were a bit…not balanced, shall we say…”
“Oh…do tell…” Winston was all ears.
“First of all, the highest scorer of them all, Lucas Weaver, had complete mastery in both theory and practical application of the mystical arts and the performance of the fundamentals of the martial arts. He also had a good control of his Nepesh and his non-magical grades are also at the top of his batch.”
“Hmph. A natural prodigy then but why do I sense that there’s a but in all of these…”
“You’re right Grand Magus. From the reports that we heard, he was a bit withdrawn and aloof from the rest of the student body and every time some of his fangirls would try to go near him, he would lash out at them to leave him alone as he will say in verbatim, they’re not worthy of his time.” Alexis sighed. “I believe this was the result of the murder of his whole family at the hands of his own older brother Matthew, who was a member of the remaining mafiosi, which is why I understand why he’s all acting out.”
“His family was killed by his older brother…” Ron paled. He could not imagine his older brothers Charlie, Bill, Percy or even the twins going batshit crazy like that.
“Unfortunately, it does happen here in our society. Some people would really commit things that would make you question their sanity,” Sirius said while remembering his brother Regulus as well as his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.
“But at the same time, he needed to move on at some point. Moping around won’t bring his family back.” Benhur argued. “Had he approached any peer that could help him break out of his shell?”
“I’m sorry but that sounds stupid. Moving on isn’t that easy, especially when you lose a lot of your relatives.” Amelia was speaking from her heart. After all, the majority of the English branch of the Bones Family was murdered by You-Know-Who, among them Susan’s parents. “It takes decades and even then, there are those who would be affected psychologically and mentally due to the distress of remembering everyone that quickly left the earthly realm.”
“Hear, Hear!” Many of the viewers agreed with Amelia.
“You’d think that was not tried?” Alexis drawled. “From what I heard, he severely threatened any peer or even schoolmate who tried to talk to him. Not even therapy which is being paid by his uncle was helping…”
Winston sighed. This kid’s going to be a headache if he does not learn how to connect with his peers. “Let’s move on from him for now. So who’s the second?”
“Katrina Bones. One of the only two girls in the Nefilim 12.” Stephanie can’t help but smile when the teenage blonde’s name was called. “Like Lucas Weaver, she had excellent grades in her theory and practical application of the mystical arts and performance of the basic martial arts. She also had good control of his Nepesh and her non-magical grades are also holding up. If there’s anything I noticed from her though, it’s that her powers are so enormous and yet, her surprisingly small Nepesh reserves are quickly getting obliterated after an hour so had to rely on her sword more often than not to compensate for her streaky stamina.”
“That can be fixed with proper stamina training. I had the same problem too when I was her age and I came out just fine.” Stephanie argued.
“I agree. She still has lots of time and is still young. Long-term training and Nepesh exercises will help her.” Alexis agreed. “On the other hand, she seemed to be a lovely one to be around and is a team-player, based on observations noted by her teachers. Although when needed, she can play dirty as well and has a hidden mischievous streak that most people don’t often see. On to the next students…”
“Well damn. That makes Harry even smarter for his choice of a long-term partner.” Sirius said.
Now, the third to tenth members of the Nefilim 12 featuring Neil Zalunsky, Hanibal Ben-Nun, David Weisz, Camille Klieger (the only other girl and Kate’s best friend), Ray Perel, Julian Vanloo, Samuel Agnon, and Hamad Ben-Hadad, all had one thing in common—they had average grades lower than the first two but were equally adept in the martial arts. And they were noted to not have any misconduct in school—with the exception of Vanloo, whom Stephanie noted as a subtle pervert when no one is watching him.
“And the last two…” Alexis said with a grimace. “...the eleventh Nefilim 12…Alijah Dumbledore…”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Eh?”
Instantly, the reaction from the whole hall was mixed with silence with that of cricket-like mutters as they did not expect that a possible relative of Albus was seen in Akalelana, a state where the Hogwarts Headmaster might have a not-so-nice reputation.
“Albus? Do you know that young man?” Minerva asked her old mentor.
“N-No…As far as I’m aware, only my younger brother Aberforth had an offspring and even he did not live that long…” Albus was stuttering though he did not care how it looked to his audience. It did not take long for his interest to spike as he wanted to see how this Alijah boy was related to him.
“Well…for starters, I wasn’t sure if he’s making a mockery out of us…” Sebastian said while massaging his forehead.
“Why do you think that’s the case?”
“First and foremost, both his mystical arts and martial arts ratings are…abysmal as he’s only giving the effort needed to barely pass the tests. It’s the same thing with his non-magical grades and oftentimes, some of the teachers that I have talked to are telling me that he always sleeps in his chair when things aren’t interesting enough in his opinion. Heck, I already caught him taking a nap on the rooftop after the drills had barely finished.”
“Wow…” Hermione had a sarcastic reaction. “Even Ron wasn’t that bad and he’s already the most unmotivated student I have ever seen…”
“Hey, I heard you Hermione!” Ron said with a glare.
The bushy haired girl merely sticks her tongue out at the youngest Weasley male, much to the amusement of the other Gryffindors in their table, before turning her attention back to the screen.
At the teacher’s table, the adults were discussing. “Of all the Dumbledore’s that I have heard about, that young man’s probably the laziest already. A complete opposite of Albus.” Muggles Studies teacher Charity Burbage said.”
“...I don’t know. There’s probably a big BUT in all of that if he managed to be in the same list of whatever this Nefilim 12 is as Harry’s close friend.” Sirius pointed out.
“But on the other hand, Alijah’s IQ is something I haven’t seen before and it’s honestly unnerving to witness it.” Alexis pulled out a printed document. “They had their tests on their IQ taken and to my shock, his scores bordered over 200.”
Many of the muggleborns had their mouths dropped off at that.
“200?!” Hermione was somewhat outraged.
“Eh? What does that supposed to mean?” Ron asked.
“It’s hard to explain on its own terms but in the equivalent Wizarding tests, that is like making 12 straight Os in an O.W.L. examination.” Hermione explained. “Which is why I find it hard to believe that he’s that intelligent if his schoolwork is terrible.”
“Also, during the Escape-And-Evasion Drills coupled with the Capture the Fort Game simulation game, he was the only one who managed to capture many enemy flags without even using any of his own abilities as a kosemim. Not even Lucas Weaver, the so-called face of the Nefilim 12, was able to do that. Perhaps the only other guy who beat his record is…well, the last boy that we’ll be discussing shortly…”
“Any bets that the last member of their so-called Nefilim 12 is Harrykins?!” Fred and George said that while standing up to act as bookies.
Despite the frowning glare of Minerva, many in the Hogwarts student body discretely passed along money to the twins, with Hermione betting on Harry’s favor, stating that it was already mentioned in the previous video that Harry was one of the Nefilim 12, if anyone bothered to remember it.
“Lastly, the only problem that he’ll be facing moving on is that, aside from his chronic laziness, is that his situation isn’t entirely his fault, to begin with.” Alexis scratched his head.
“Let me guess…it’s his distant relations with that old man Albus Dumbledore…” Stephanie said, already knowing where the conversation was going.
“Pretty much it. Ever since that old man tried to pull that stunt of attempting to read the mind of the previous Grand Magus and force us to submit to the whims of the ICW, he’s pretty much a Persona non Grata here in our state.”
“You WHAT?!” Minerva screamed angrily at Albus while the others were at loss of words at what he had actually done.
Albus grimaced, realizing that he had to explain his actions before a misunderstanding could occur. “Please, you all have to realize that the State of Akalelana had a population where the magical and their version of a muggle population actually interact with one another—something that is unimaginable in our Wizarding Society. I was merely concerned that it can have a negative repercussion to the Wizarding Society that we have grown to know. Although I admit that I was acting rather rashly in trying to invite their previous leader to join the ICW.” He defends his actions though in hindsight, he knew that what he did was something very stupid and he was kicking himself mentally for being too impulsive.
Hermione frowned at that. She thought that it was a good thing that their headmaster was rebuffed by whoever was the previous Grand Magus as it meant that Harry was able to stay safe by not leaving the shores of Akalelana. She is also beginning to get the idea that while their Headmaster is a genuinely good man who tried to do everything in his power to protect their world against Voldemort, he also made mistakes that ultimately contributed to Harry being forced to leave their Wizarding Society.
Winston sighed at that. “I remembered that. The backlash was so strong that a few of the provincial government units even had a Shoot-To-Kill Order against him or any of his lackeys, if any. It even prompted the Education department to add the study of countermeasures against wizard wands and the three deadly curses to the current curriculum that we’re now using.”
“Well, damn.” Sirius was now starting to get worried that he won’t be able to see his godson personally if the State of Akalelana was willing to go as far as to even have Albus and, to a long extent, the members of the Order of the Phoenix, executed if ever either one of them tries to step foot on to Akalelani land once more.
“Safe to say that you’re no longer welcome in their country, Albus.” Amelia merely commented.
“I know.” Albus sighed.
“We can discuss Albus Dumbledore another time. Let’s talk about the last member of the Nefilim 12 and probably the most confusing.” Alexis started. “None other than the prodigal son hailing from Britain…Harry Potter…”
“Wooo! I knew it was Harrykins!” Fred and George cheered for the money that they managed to rake from betting on whether Harry was one of the students in the list.
Some of the students cried at losing their money while the others were frowning.
“...First of all, he’s the most polarizing guy that I have met from all the students that I have met, probably even more of an enigma than Alijah was.” Alexis continued. “His martial arts and mystical arts grades as well as his non-magical grades are…bizarre.”
“Bizarre in what way?” Winston asked.
Sebastian decided to take this cue to continue for Alexis. “I have seen the records from his teachers and all four of us agree that he seems to be holding back. Why? Almost all of his grades are always the exact minimum needed to pass much like Alijah. However, if you remember the emergencies which required the Nefilim 12 to help alongside the authorities, his ranking should be higher than it is currently based on field application.”
“Oh?”
“When he did his own version of the Flame Meteor Technique originally created by Alexis here, we’re shock to see that the flames were not a single giant flame bomb that Alexis usually spouts out of his mouth but instead, he released a volley of small Nepesh-infused fireballs into the air which would later shape into giant arrows that moved rapidly onto their targets. It’s astonishing really, considering that early on in his schooling here in Akalelana, it was reported that out of the 12, he actually had the poorest control of his Nepesh reserves,” Sebastian said.
“Harry was able to do what?!” Flitwick was surprised to hear that Harry was able to create something out of his own body without using a wand.
“...Make arrows made entirely of fire…” Draco seethed to himself in his chair as he was slowly getting jealous of whatever abilities his nemesis were possessing while he was here, being stuck in Hogwarts while being surrounded, in his mind, by the three idiotic Houses and the senile old man running this place.
“That’s because his Nepesh reserves are actually the biggest in the whole school of Bayit Tanit…no, I believe his reserves even surpass those of some of our Class X Ashaf operatives here in Akalelana.” Alexis then noticed everyone staring at him with a look that expressed their disbelief. “I would have not believed it too if I hadn’t tested it myself. His guardian, Sir Ezra, also told me tha Harry’s like a giant Nepesh battery which is why early on, he had trouble diluting it into smaller amounts whenever he had to perform any of the mystical arts.”
“I see…”
“On the other hand, he doesn’t really have any issues but…” Alexis stalled for the moment, not really sure how to bring up a rather unusual thing about the last teen that they’re discussing. “...Harry Potter’s quite known to be a somewhat perverted person with a lot of…should we say fetishes, for the lack of a better term…”
“,,,”
“...”
“...”
The hall had grown silent on that information.
“Why? Did he do something to attract that kind of perception?”
“Well, him, Alijah Dumbledore, and not surprisingly, Julian Vanloo were caught peeping into a group of young female detectives fresh out of the police academy while they were in that public bath in downtown Tel Hammon. There was a goose chase between the three boys and the cops but unfortunately, the three idiots got away.” Alexis explained. “There was also the time where he loved flirting with other girls just for the fun of it and he even had those limited editions of the very infamous comic series Sexy Crimson, if the information coming from an informant was right. What makes it even more surprising that his closest female friend, Katrina Bones, wasn’t even bothered by it.”
“What? That git!” Hermione cried angrily. “How does he know about those comics?”
“Wait? What are Sexy Crimson comics?” One Gryffindor female asked.
“Well…uhm…it’s…” One muggleborn in their house struggled to answer that although his reddening cheeks indicated that it’s something embarrassing and he would not want to talk about it openly. “...Look, it’s just very…sexual in nature and I meant it in an explicit way…”
“Well Hermione, how did YOU know about those comics?” Parvati Patil sent a teasing look at Hermione.
The bushy haired girl blushed wildly at the question. “I…I…” She did not want to admit to everyone that she also had those limited stacks of the Sexy Crimson comics which were gifted to her by her cousin and when she read it, her brain was reduced to a mental sloppy mush as her imaginations were sent into a wild ride.
Patil laughed, “It seemed like Harry’s not the only naughty one now being exposed!”
But before Hermione can retort, the video continues playing, prompting many to return their attention to it.
“But even so, he did have some good standing with the rest of the school, probably with the exception of his first time here in Akalelana as he came straight from Hogwarts and like Alijah, he was suspected of being a Dumbledore drone at first. But then again, he's a good-hearted kid and sure enough, his academic ratings don't reflect on his real ability when he’s on the field. I think of all the Nefilim 12 kids that are currently in Bayit Tanit, he’s honestly the one to watch out…perhaps even more than the rest of the Generation of Miracles.”
Generation of Miracles? What is that? Some of the students were pandering upon that tag.
“It’s crazy to hear that whereas in Wizarding Europe and in America, the Headmaster’s reputation is greatly respected, it’s the total opposite in Akalelana where it can get you almost ostracized from the rest of the community.” Ron said.
“Well, he did try to perform Legilimency on a state leader and he got condemned by everyone there as a result,” Hermione didn’t try to defend him. “But more than that, it shows that whoever was their previous Grand Magus was no slouch or powerless. He or she might be on the same level as Dumbledore.”
“Eh? Maybe. It seemed like the Headmaster wasn’t able to convince them to join the ICW, after all.” Neville shrugged. “But more importantly, at least Harry seemed to be thriving there. He even got praised by their Grand Magus and their assessors—well, except for his perverted streak and his very average grades.”
Hermione frowned deeply at the perverted part. That would be one topic she would bring up when she writes another letter to Harry.
“Well, that’s all I needed to hear for now. Thanks for the reports. I’ll have to forward it to the concerned higher ups as soon as possible.” Winston dismissed them but before Alexis could even take a step back and turn around, he called. “Mr. Weasley, please stay.”
The redhead merely raised his eyebrows but nevertheless, he just stood to his spot while the others already left. As soon as the others left, Winston then asked, “Mr. Weasley, how do you think the Nefilim 12s of the 23 other provinces stack up against Bayit Tanit’s prodigies?”
“Honestly, I don’t want to give a clear answer on that. The fact that the media already called them the Generation of Miracles is enough to put them in a distressing situation as they are being put on a pedestal that might end up isolating them.” Alexis gave his two cents. “No matter how strong and advanced their capabilities are, the fact is that they’re just 13 to 14 year old teens and are just beginning to mature, both physically and mentally.”
“I agree with you to be honest but the thing is, they also needed to face the morbid reality that because they have quasi-celebrity status and honestly, it can’t be helped. They were branded the Generation of Miracles because of the fact that for the first time since our country was reborn, all the Nefilim 12 of each of the 24 proper institutions for the mystical arts had all come from the same year and same class in high school and their advanced and special abilities makes their peers and even many of the veteran kosemim of our country indistinguishable,” Winston sighed.
“Eh? Seriously?” Sirius was honestly surprised. “I initially believed that Harry would eventually be as talented as James but to become so powerful that even some of their older veterans would struggle with him? Well, I need to write to Remus as soon as possible. He would want to hear this.”
“Even if Harry has not yet shown on screen what he can do, the fact that he’s in that list of theirs means he has grown rapidly ever since he left after a year in Hogwarts.” Amelia was in a thinking pose. “I’m not sure if he would get the same growth here in Hogwarts but given the total mishaps that happened in the past two years, I think he made the best decision for him to leave.”
Albus did not totally agree with what Amelia said. He then ranted that had Harry stayed with his relatives, they would still be alive although he did not explain why and that he also believed that fighting the Akalelani way would mean agreeing with the principles of You-Know-Who and that love is the most important thing Harry must learn first.
Everyone who heard him merely sighed.
There was a pause before Winston continued. “Aside from that, there’s still the syndicates to worry about. All the three remaining criminal groups would target them as bargaining chips or for retaliatory reasons. We’re doing everything we can to eliminate them and really, the situation is better than it was in the past but knowing how desperate these scum are, it’s better if they can defend themselves if they are in a situation where they have to face these criminals.”
“I see. That aside, shouldn't you know about Potter already? I heard that you’re quite familiar with him on a personal level so why the question?” Alexis looked annoyed as he already wanted to go home.
“While I already have my own opinions on the young Potter based on my personal observations and interactions with him, I also wanted to hear feedback from other people,” Winston replied. “And sure enough, I wasn’t disappointed. Harry Potter is a Nefilim 12 and a member of the Generation of Miracles but at least, he still gets to enjoy his teenage years amidst the last stage of finally putting an end to the hoodlums in our state. By the way, you may go now.”
“Thanks sir. May Anat slay our enemies and bring the souls of our deceased warriors into paradise.”
“And may Baal Hammon bring prosperity to our harvests and richness to our lands.” Winston returned the remark. Alexis bowed and then turned around before leaving.
The screen then turns static before another message that says “LOADING FOR THE NEXT VIDEO” appears.
“Well…that was very informative…” Amelia said while Albus was merely twisting his beard, no doubt that the cogs in his brain are now turning rapidly as he tried to create new schemes out of the information that he got.
Based on the video, it seemed that Harry Potter had a magical power that was unparalleled by many and matched only by a few. Thus, earning the tag “The Generation of Miracles” along with his peers.
Albus shook his head at that. He then rants about how The-Boy-Who-Lived is not enjoying his childhood by getting the prodigy tag and thus, everyone in Akalelana will make it hard for Harry to live normally. Before he eventually faces Tom in the near future . He added mentally although he didn’t want anyone to know it. Understandably, there is something inside Harry that he knew would be a key instrument in making sure that You-Know-Who has not completely died and that is why he was now alarmed when he saw that the scar that made the boy famous had vanished like it wasn’t there at all.
Did Harry use a special kind of charm to conceal his scar?
He was in this line of thought when suddenly, Sirius stood up and said to no one else in particular, “I needed to write to Remus about all what is happening right now and tell him I’m already a freeman in an unofficial manner. He might want to come here to watch Harry.”
“Yes, you may do that,” Albus nodded. The full moon has passed, after all, and it’s just very early in the morning.
Sirius hasn’t even started walking away when suddenly, a loud explosion was heard near the Dungeons, causing every student to suddenly drop down on the floor while the aurors and Amelia scrambled to take charge of whatever situation was unfolding.
A few moments later, a Slytherin student was seen running back inside the hallway and screamed, “Headmaster Dumbledore! Something happened back in Professor Snape’s office! It seemed like someone tried to steal his stocks of Polyjuice Potion!”