Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Heart of the Warrior Book II
Chapter 09: Christmas in New York
0 reviewsSequel to Book 1, so read that first. Harry's second year at Hogwarts is filled with mysterious attacks, where he is the prime suspect. More complete summary in profile.
3Original
Chapter 09: Christmas in New York
Snape beckoned for Harry to follow him. Ginny looked to be in near tears but Harry turned his back, following Snape. It would not do Harry well to not be prompt when it considered Snape. Although what Snape was thinking was unclear, with Snape one could never tell, Harry did not want to press his luck with the Potions Master.
The walk to the Dungeons was slow and an uncomfortable silence existed between Snape and Harry. Snape motioned for Harry to enter his office. Harry entered and Snape followed shortly. Harry sat down across from Snape's desk and Snape sat in the seat behind his desk.
"Another attack, Potter, and once again, you seem to be close to the scene of the crime when it happens," said Snape in an emotionless tone of voice while glaring in Harry's eyes. "The fact remains while I don't believe you quite have the temperament to carry out attacks of such a nature, a suspicious set of circumstances does present itself when regards to this."
Snape got up, as if deliberating what exactly to tell Harry.
"Potter, I would suggest you not attempt to investigate this matter, as the one behind it is likely to be very powerful and they could very well destroy you," said Snape calmly. "The horror of something that can petrify the non-living is troublesome and extremely dangerous. Dumbledore is.."
Snape stopped himself for a moment, as if wanting to say something but preventing himself from saying it for some strange reason. He winced in pain and Harry wondered what it was exactly prevented Snape from letting something about Dumbledore slip.
"I would suggest you remain on your guard Potter and keep a low profile," said Snape. "The attacker has only yet begun the assault upon Hogwarts. The true objection of this attacker has not come to pass yet and I urge you to exercise strict caution. Now, Potter, you will be leaving me now and do remember to heed my warnings."
Harry nodded before getting up and leaving Snape standing in his office, going over what exactly Snape was telling him. Snape seemed unable to tell him something but worked around that fact by giving context clues to what he wanted Harry to understand.
Snape was left in his office; he hoped Potter would be smart enough to figure out the underlining meaning of what he said. He nearly slipped; saying Dumbledore is a fool for letting this go on to this point but not stopping it. Thanks to the Unbreakable Vow Dumbledore had Snape made for exchange of escaping imprisonment from Azkaban; Snape was forced to follow the old man loyally and without question. Snape had been forced by Dumbledore not to reveal the fact that the Weasley girl had been behind the attacks, although under the apparent possession of a soul fragment of the younger version of the Dark Lord. Snape wished he had taken the Azkaban Route, as having his soul sucked out would be better to following a schemer like Dumbledore.
The one thing Snape did not understand is why Dumbledore was so set on letting the Weasley girl get killed. He seemed to have some kind of misguided notion that this death would help him control Potter but Snape had a feeling it would only drive Potter further to the dark side if he saw one of his friends killed. Dumbledore seemed to also be babbling about some kind of bond being formed by the Weasley girl and Potter but it seemed ludicrous to Snape that something that strong would begin to form with two people who have yet to enter teenage years and even then, bonds within the Wizarding world were so rare, as two people who were rarely so compatible that a bond could ever even begin to form. Magical studies were done to prove that fact. Then again, Snape could never begin to understand emotions, as it did not come with detailed instructions like his beloved potions.
Severus Snape did many horrific things in his life, which he came to regret, but he never tried to pass himself off as respectable beacon of light, hiding his true evil from the world like Albus Dumbledore. That was more horrifying than anything Snape did during his ill fated and highly regrettable stint under the Dark Lord.
The next few weeks prior to Christmas went rather quickly. Harry decided to use the Portus-Amulet during a slow day to do some Christmas shopping. He hoped his family and friends would be pleased with what he selected for them. Also, Harry's Metamorphmagus practicing was going on slowly but surely. He could change the color of his eyes. With his hair he could make it about four inches shorter and four inches longer, along with making it not stick out all over the place. Harry felt pleased he finally cracked the code in making his hair lay completely flat.
Most of the school seemed to want to avoid Harry and by proxy, his friends. Ginny seemed to become more quiet and withdrawn from the world but Hermione, Theodore, and Daphne seemed to keep a lower profile as well as they were shunned by the majority of the school due to their association with Harry. This was not what troubled Harry the most; it was Snape's hint of the Potions Master's theory that the attacker's assault upon Hogwarts had only begun. Harry tried to shut out the overwhelming dread that one of his friends could be next on the attack list out of his head.
"The last day of the first half of the year, I just wonder if all of us will see the last half of the year," said Harry darkly on the last day before Holidays. All of his friends were going to visiting relatives over the holidays.
"Harry, don't say things up that," said Hermione, although she appeared horrified by the rather real possibility that any one of them could be next.
"I wish I could figure out who did this, so I can clear my name and bring the real culprit to justice," said Harry.
"You also heard what Snape said, he suspects this attacker is extremely powerful and if you go after this person, interfering with their plans, you very well may get yourself killed," said Daphne fearfully.
Harry hated being so helpless. He hated doing nothing. Yet both Snape and Master Splinter had both advised Harry against attempting to do anything about the attacks. He always respected the opinion of his Sensei and he knew Snape had enough dark arts knowledge to know this situation was extremely serious.
"Tonight, I am going to leave, going to New York, and forget about this whole mess," said Harry in a low voice. "Maybe after the holidays, the situation would improve."
Harry felt as if he as trying harder to reassure himself than reassuring his friends at this point. This year was shaping up to be one, Harry would rather forget but that would be if he survived it.
Later that night, Harry was in the chamber underneath the Slytherin Library, surrounded by his various gifts for members of his family. Harry decided to teleport himself straight into his room so he could hide the gifts. Harry arrived at his room.
Harry's room contained a large piece of poster board covering one whole wall with pictures of Harry with the Turtles and Splinter, sometimes a combination of the two on it, just goofing off, hanging around, and some training pictures. There was a desk right beside his bed, which had a framed duplicate of the picture of him and his parents from the first page of his photo album along with a journal where Harry detailed his training progress when he was at home. There was a bookshelf containing several books pertaining to various areas of magic that Harry already read but could not fit in his truck. Hanging on the wall were backups of Harry's favored weapon, his double-edged sword. A couple of white head bands set on a shelf which Harry could pull over his eyes to be used when he did blindfold training. He had another one in his trunk for Hogwarts, so if he ever went out in public, he could cover up that blasted scar so people would not gawk at him.
As much as Harry wanted to sink down on his bed and call it a night, he supposed he should check in with his family. After stashing the gifts, Harry opened his door, walking into the lair. The Turtles and Master Splinter seemed to have just wrapped up a training session. They turned to Harry, acknowledging his presence.
"Harry, good to see ya, bro," said Mikey excitedly. "I must say, things have been rather dull without you here. Even the crime has sucked the big one."
"Yes, a few petty street crimes here by the Purple Dragons, nothing more complex than harassing a woman for her purse," said Raphael in a bored tone of voice. "In other words, no real action. I want to bust some skulls!"
Harry cracked his first real smile in weeks. Raph was always so headstrong and gung ho but it seemed like the life of his family had gone back to their usual status quo that existed before Baxter Stockman's assault on the old lair with the mousers. Harry sunk himself into a chair, numbly thinking about his own problems, which were anything but boring.
"So, Harry, you look like you have the weight of the world thrown upon your shoulders, yet again," said Donatello
Harry gave Don a glare.
"Bad choice of words, Don," said Leo. "Have any more of these attacks happened, Harry?"
"Yes, two more were attacked since we last spoke," said Harry numbly. "This is extremely bothersome, as one of the victims was a ghost. I just wonder what exactly could bring harm to a ghost."
Splinter looked very troubled by this event.
"The one who did this seems to have avoided detection so far," said Splinter. "I fear whomever may be behind these attacks is not quite human and is using others to accomplish their work. This problem may be beyond the control of the school as more attacks are sure to come."
"What I still don't understand, if this Dumbledore character who runs the school is supposed to be a powerful wizard, why does he not use his oh so great power of the light to stop these attacks from happening," said Raphael in anger.
"The school will be closed or I will be expelled, before anything is solved," said Harry darkly. "Dumbledore knows something but I am not exactly sure how much."
"I ought to go up to that school and make that Dumbledore tell what he knows," said Raphael angrily, pulling out his Sais. "If he gets my brother expelled due to his inaction..."
Splinter saw the warning signs of Raphael attempting to do something he may regret, so he cut off his son before he could say anything.
"You will do no such thing, Raphael," said Splinter. "We have done enough damage, exposing ourselves to the point where the Shredder found out about our existence. Even though he has been vanquished, evil still remains out there. Harry has told us in the past that there are still agents of Lord Voldemort out there, and if they discovered our presence, when Voldemort came back to power, he could make Shredder look like a mere piece of light work."
Raphael sat down, but his hands were still clenched to his Sais.
"Worse yet, all my friends seemed to be affected by this round of attacks in some fashion," said Harry darkly. "The rest of the school seems to be ignoring them as they are also ignoring me."
"The price of loyalty is a high one, but yet the opinion of friends and family is the only one that matters when all the cards are laid out on the table," said Splinter wisely.
"Just shows you how fickle the general public can be, going by whatever the majority thinks at any given time," said Don grimly.
"You ain't kidding," said Mikey. "By the way these people are attacking, they already have the castle in Hogwarts, all they need to do is go outside with pitchforks and torches and storm it."
"You watch way too much TV, Mikey," said Raph groaning before the subject was changed to something a bit less stressful.
Christmas had always been a festive occasion around the lair. Even last year, when the Turtles and Harry were recovering from their battles with the Foot Ninjas, Christmas was used as a time to forget about the cares of the real world. Harry decided to use this time to forget all that had happened bad in the first half of the year. When this year was all said and done, Harry had a very bad feeling the bad memories would outweigh the good, but he would acquire as many good memories as he possibly could.
The Turtles and Splinter seemed rather pleased with the gifts Harry had given them. Leo had received a new pair of sheaths for his Katanas as the leather on the old ones were starting to wear out. Raph had received a brand new spanking punching bag as the old one had been ripped apart so many times, it had been barely held together by duct tape. Mikey had been extremely ecstatic about his gift, some rare limited edition Comic Books that he did not have yet. Harry had to pay an arm and a leg to purchase them but it was worth it to see the ecstatic look on Mikey's face.
Harry purchased Don a new top of the line computer as Don's previous model had been fished out of a garbage dump, as was most of the electronics and furniture for the lair, and rebuilt to the best of the brainy terrapin's abilities. It had not been the most efficient model but now Donatello's computer capabilities should be twice as fast and twice as efficient.
Splinter had mentioned previously he would like to learn about recent magical history so he could better understand what had gone on in recent years. Harry managed to find a book in Flourish and Blotts titled Magical History Explained for Muggle Parents which was written by a muggleborn and detailed magical history in a way where Muggles could understand it, dating back even prior to Hogwarts, although records were quite scarce.
Even though the Turtles and Splinter could not get Harry much due to their inability to walk into the store and purchase stuff, the best present for Harry was spending Christmas with his family away from all the darkness which was happening in the walls of Hogwarts. Plus, as an added bonus, it seemed like even petty street gangs such as the Purple Dragons took the holidays off from committing crime thus leaving a nice and peaceful Holiday season.
Unfortunately, the good times had to come to an end. Three weeks later, before Harry could possibly know it, it was the eve before the beginning of the second half of the Hogwarts year.
"So, Don, still looking at those crystals," said Harry yawning. "I honestly gave up on them months ago as I could not find anything remotely like them magically."
"Well, it could be they are not magical," said Don lifting one of the crystals up. "For all I know their origin could be rather alien."
"Woo-Whee-Ooh," said Mikey creepily walking up behind Donatello and Harry. Both Don and Harry gave Mikey a dirty look. "Sorry, late night Monster movies. Remember, there are some things man was never meant to tamper with."
"Mikey, remember what happened the last time you watched late night Monster movies," said Harry. "How you could not sleep for days and nearly soiled your shell at the slightest noise?"
"Thanks for that...lovely reminder, Harry," said Don absentmindedly before touching the crystals to each other. They started glowing as they touched together and made a humming sound. "Okay, that was interesting."
Raphael, Leonardo, and Splinter walked up to the sound of the humming.
"Donatello, what is it," said Splinter in a worried tone of voice.
"Something to do with the crystals," said Don. "Perhaps the harmonics of the energy structure caused vibrations or something."
"You don't have a clue, do you," said Raph.
"I'm afraid not," said Donatello.
All of the sudden, an alarm of some sort came on and Don's monitor flipped on.
"I keyed in a security feature for around the lair into my new computer," said Don. "If anything triggers one of the old parameter alarms, we will be the first to know."
At those words, something swooshed past on the monitor. This creature went by so quickly; Harry could not quite tell what it was.
"Whoa," said Donatello in awe.
"Damn, these sewer rats seem to be getting bigger," said Raphael, putting his hands on his Sais.
"Yeah, it's time to cut the cheese," said Mikey before his brothers and Master Splinter gave him a disgusted look. "That's not what I meant."
"I think we better investigate this," said Donatello. "The origin seems to be in one of the old subway tunnels, deeper than this place even."
"C'mon," said Leo before turning to Harry. "Harry, you stay here, this could take several days for us to get back because it is hard to tell what the condition of an old subway tunnel could be like and if you come, you could very well miss school."
The Four Turtles left to investigate the source. Harry hoped it was not something really dangerous under the ground they were going after.
"I think I will be going now, Master Splinter," said Harry. "Tell my brothers good bye for me when they get back."
"Very well Harry, but keep your head low and be careful once you return," said Splinter.
Harry nodded before walking towards his room, taking the Portus-Amulet off the table before touching his wand to it, grabbing onto to his trunk and with a pull, he returned to Hogwarts. If it weren†t for his friends, he would be doing it with the greatest regret.
Chapter 09: Christmas in New York
Snape beckoned for Harry to follow him. Ginny looked to be in near tears but Harry turned his back, following Snape. It would not do Harry well to not be prompt when it considered Snape. Although what Snape was thinking was unclear, with Snape one could never tell, Harry did not want to press his luck with the Potions Master.
The walk to the Dungeons was slow and an uncomfortable silence existed between Snape and Harry. Snape motioned for Harry to enter his office. Harry entered and Snape followed shortly. Harry sat down across from Snape's desk and Snape sat in the seat behind his desk.
"Another attack, Potter, and once again, you seem to be close to the scene of the crime when it happens," said Snape in an emotionless tone of voice while glaring in Harry's eyes. "The fact remains while I don't believe you quite have the temperament to carry out attacks of such a nature, a suspicious set of circumstances does present itself when regards to this."
Snape got up, as if deliberating what exactly to tell Harry.
"Potter, I would suggest you not attempt to investigate this matter, as the one behind it is likely to be very powerful and they could very well destroy you," said Snape calmly. "The horror of something that can petrify the non-living is troublesome and extremely dangerous. Dumbledore is.."
Snape stopped himself for a moment, as if wanting to say something but preventing himself from saying it for some strange reason. He winced in pain and Harry wondered what it was exactly prevented Snape from letting something about Dumbledore slip.
"I would suggest you remain on your guard Potter and keep a low profile," said Snape. "The attacker has only yet begun the assault upon Hogwarts. The true objective of this attacker has not come to pass yet and I urge you to exercise strict caution. Now, Potter, you will be leaving me now and do remember to heed my warnings."
Harry nodded before getting up and leaving Snape standing in his office, going over what exactly Snape was telling him. Snape seemed unable to tell him something but worked around that fact by giving context clues to what he wanted Harry to understand.
Snape was left in his office; he hoped Potter would be smart enough to figure out the underlining meaning of what he said. He nearly slipped; saying Dumbledore is a fool for letting this go on to this point but not stopping it. Thanks to the Unbreakable Vow Dumbledore had Snape made for exchange of escaping imprisonment from Azkaban; Snape was forced to follow the old man loyally and without question. Snape had been forced by Dumbledore not to reveal the fact that the Weasley girl had been behind the attacks, although under the apparent possession of a soul fragment of the younger version of the Dark Lord. Snape wished he had taken the Azkaban Route, as having his soul sucked out would be better to following a schemer like Dumbledore.
The one thing Snape did not understand is why Dumbledore was so set on letting the Weasley girl get killed. He seemed to have some kind of misguided notion that this death would help him control Potter but Snape had a feeling it would only drive Potter further to the dark side if he saw one of his friends killed. Dumbledore seemed to also be babbling about some kind of bond being formed by the Weasley girl and Potter but it seemed ludicrous to Snape that something that strong would begin to form with two people who have yet to enter teenage years and even then, bonds within the Wizarding world were so rare, as two people who were rarely so compatible that a bond could ever even begin to form. Magical studies were done to prove that fact. Then again, Snape could never begin to understand emotions, as it did not come with detailed instructions like his beloved potions.
Severus Snape did many horrific things in his life, which he came to regret, but he never tried to pass himself off as respectable beacon of light, hiding his true evil from the world like Albus Dumbledore. That was more horrifying than anything Snape did during his ill fated and highly regrettable stint under the Dark Lord.
The next few weeks prior to Christmas went rather quickly. Harry decided to use the Portus-Amulet during a slow day to do some Christmas shopping. He hoped his family and friends would be pleased with what he selected for them. Also, Harry's Metamorphmagus practicing was going on slowly but surely. He could change the color of his eyes. With his hair he could make it about four inches shorter and four inches longer, along with making it not stick out all over the place. Harry felt pleased he finally cracked the code in making his hair lay completely flat.
Most of the school seemed to want to avoid Harry and by proxy, his friends. Ginny seemed to become more quiet and withdrawn from the world but Hermione, Theodore, and Daphne seemed to keep a lower profile as well as they were shunned by the majority of the school due to their association with Harry. This was not what troubled Harry the most; it was Snape's hint of the Potions Master's theory that the attacker's assault upon Hogwarts had only begun. Harry tried to shut out the overwhelming dread that one of his friends could be next on the attack list out of his head.
"The last day of the first half of the year, I just wonder if all of us will see the last half of the year," said Harry darkly on the last day before Holidays. All of his friends were going to visiting relatives over the holidays.
"Harry, don't say things like that," said Hermione, although she appeared horrified by the rather real possibility that any one of them could be next.
"I wish I could figure out who did this, so I can clear my name and bring the real culprit to justice," said Harry.
"You also heard what Snape said, he suspects this attacker is extremely powerful and if you go after this person, interfering with their plans, you very well may get yourself killed," said Daphne fearfully.
Harry hated being so helpless. He hated doing nothing. Yet both Snape and Master Splinter had both advised Harry against attempting to do anything about the attacks. He always respected the opinion of his Sensei and he knew Snape had enough dark arts knowledge to know this situation was extremely serious.
"Tonight, I am going to leave, going to New York, and forget about this whole mess," said Harry in a low voice. "Maybe after the holidays, the situation would improve, everything will get swept under the rug."
Harry felt as if he as trying harder to reassure himself than reassuring his friends at this point. This year was shaping up to be one, Harry would rather forget but that would be if he survived it.
Later that night, Harry was in the chamber underneath the Slytherin Library, surrounded by his various gifts for members of his family. Harry decided to teleport himself straight into his room so he could hide the gifts. Harry arrived at his room.
Harry's room contained a large piece of poster board covering one whole wall with pictures of Harry with the Turtles and Splinter, sometimes a combination of the two on it, just goofing off, hanging around, and some training pictures. There was a desk right beside his bed, which had a framed duplicate of the picture of him and his parents from the first page of his photo album along with a journal where Harry detailed his training progress when he was at home. There was a bookshelf containing several books pertaining to various areas of magic that Harry already read but could not fit in his truck. Hanging on the wall were backups of Harry's favored weapon, his double-edged sword. A couple of white head bands set on a shelf which Harry could pull over his eyes to be used when he did blindfold training. He had another one in his trunk for Hogwarts, so if he ever went out in public, he could cover up that blasted scar so people would not gawk at him.
As much as Harry wanted to sink down on his bed and call it a night, he supposed he should check in with his family. After stashing the gifts, Harry opened his door, walking into the lair. The Turtles and Master Splinter seemed to have just wrapped up a training session. They turned to Harry, acknowledging his presence.
"Harry, good to see ya, bro," said Mikey excitedly. "I must say, things have been rather dull without you here. Even the crime has sucked the big one."
"Yes, a few petty street crimes here by the Purple Dragons, nothing more complex than harassing a woman for her purse," said Raph in a bored tone of voice. "In other words, no real action. I want to bust some skulls!"
Harry cracked his first real smile in weeks. Raph was always so headstrong and gung ho but it seemed like the life of his family had gone back to their usual status quo that existed before Baxter Stockman's assault on the old lair with the mousers. Harry sunk himself into a chair, numbly thinking about his own problems, which were anything but boring.
"So, Harry, you look like you have the weight of the world thrown upon your shoulders, yet again," said Don.
Harry gave Don a glare.
"Bad choice of words, Don," said Leo. "Have any more of these attacks happened, Harry?"
"Yes, two more were attacked since we last spoke," said Harry numbly. "This is extremely bothersome, as one of the victims was a ghost. I just wonder what exactly could bring harm to a ghost."
Splinter looked very troubled by this event.
"The one who did this seems to have avoided detection so far," said Splinter. "I fear whomever may be behind these attacks is not quite human and is using others to accomplish their work. This problem may be beyond the control of the school as more attacks are sure to come."
"What I still don't understand, if this Dumbledore character who runs the school is supposed to be a powerful wizard, why does he not use his oh so great power of the light to stop these attacks from happening," said Raph in anger.
"The school will be closed or I will be expelled, before anything is solved," said Harry darkly. "Dumbledore knows something but I am not exactly sure how much."
"I ought to go up to that school and make that Dumbledore tell what he knows," said Raph angrily, pulling out his Sais. "If he gets my brother expelled due to his inaction..."
Splinter saw the warning signs of Raphael attempting to do something he may regret, so he cut off his son before he could say anything.
"You will do no such thing, Raphael," said Splinter. "We have done enough damage, exposing ourselves to the point where the Shredder found out about our existence. Even though he has been vanquished, evil still remains out there. Harry has told us in the past that there are still agents of Lord Voldemort out there, and if they discovered our presence, when Voldemort came back to power, he could make Shredder look like a mere piece of light work."
Raph sat down, but his hands were still clenched to his Sais.
"Worse yet, all my friends seem to be affected by this round of attacks in some fashion," said Harry darkly. "The rest of the school is doing their best to ignore me and they’re getting ignored by association.”
"The price of loyalty is a high one, but yet the opinion of friends and family is the only one that matters when all the cards are laid out on the table," said Splinter wisely.
"Just shows you how fickle the general public can be, going by whatever the majority thinks at any given time," said Don grimly.
"You ain't kidding," said Mikey. "By the way these people are attacking, they already have the castle in Hogwarts, all they need to do is go outside with pitchforks and torches and storm it."
"You watch way too much TV, Mikey," said Raph groaning before the subject was changed to something a bit less stressful.
Christmas had always been a festive occasion around the lair. Even last year, when the Turtles and Harry were recovering from their battles with the Foot Ninjas, Christmas was used as a time to forget about the cares of the real world. Harry decided to use this time to forget all that had happened bad in the first half of the year. When this year was all said and done, Harry had a very bad feeling the bad memories would outweigh the good, but he would acquire as many good memories as he possibly could.
The Turtles and Splinter seemed rather pleased with the gifts Harry had given them. Leo had received a new pair of sheaths for his Katanas as the leather on the old ones were starting to wear out. Raph had received a brand new spanking punching bag as the old one had been ripped apart so many times, it had been barely held together by duct tape. Mikey had been extremely ecstatic about his gift, some rare limited edition Comic Books that he did not have yet. Harry had to pay an arm and a leg to purchase them but it was worth it to see the ecstatic look on Mikey's face.
Harry purchased Don a new top of the line computer as Don's previous model had been fished out of a garbage dump, as was most of the electronics and furniture for the lair, and rebuilt to the best of the brainy terrapin's abilities. It had not been the most efficient model but now Don's computer capabilities should be twice as fast and twice as efficient.
Splinter had mentioned previously he would like to learn about recent magical history so he could better understand what had gone on in recent years. Harry managed to find a book in Flourish and Blotts titled Magical History Explained for Muggle Parents which was written by a muggleborn and detailed magical history in a way where Muggles could understand it, dating back even prior to Hogwarts, although records were quite scarce.
Even though the Turtles and Splinter could not get Harry much due to their inability to walk into the store and purchase stuff, the best present for Harry was spending Christmas with his family away from all the darkness which was happening in the walls of Hogwarts. Plus, as an added bonus, it seemed like even petty street gangs such as the Purple Dragons took the holidays off from committing crime thus leaving a nice and peaceful Holiday season.
Unfortunately, the good times had to come to an end. Three weeks later, before Harry could possibly know it, it was the eve before the beginning of the second half of the Hogwarts year.
"So, Don, still looking at those crystals," said Harry yawning. "I honestly gave up on them months ago as I could not find anything remotely like them magically."
"Well, it could be they are not magical," said Don lifting one of the crystals up. "For all I know their origin could be rather alien."
"Woo-Whee-Ooh," said Mikey creepily walking up behind Donatello and Harry. Both Don and Harry gave Mikey a dirty look. "Sorry, late night Monster movies. Remember, there are some things man was never meant to tamper with."
"Mikey, remember what happened the last time you watched late night Monster movies," said Harry. "How you could not sleep for days and nearly soiled your shell at the slightest noise?"
"Thanks for that...lovely reminder, Harry," said Don absentmindedly before touching the crystals to each other. They started glowing as they touched together and made a humming sound. "Okay, that was interesting."
Raph, Leo, and Splinter walked up to the sound of the humming.
"Donatello, what is it?" prompted Splinter in a worried tone of voice.
"Something to do with the crystals," said Don. "Perhaps the harmonics of the energy structure caused vibrations or something."
"You don't have a clue, do you," said Raph.
"I'm afraid not," said Don in a deflated tone of voice.
All of the sudden, an alarm of some sort came on and Don's monitor flipped on.
"I keyed in a security feature for around the lair into my new computer," said Don. "If anything triggers one of the old parameter alarms, we will be the first to know."
At those words, something swooshed past on the monitor. This creature went by so quickly; Harry could not quite tell what it was.
"Whoa," said Donatello in awe.
"Damn, these sewer rats seem to be getting bigger," said Raph, putting his hands on his Sais.
"Yeah, it's time to cut the cheese," said Mikey before his brothers and Master Splinter gave him a disgusted look. "That's not what I meant."
"I think we better investigate this," said Don. "The origin seems to be in one of the old subway tunnels, deeper than this place even."
"C'mon," said Leo before turning to Harry. "Harry, you stay here, this could take several days for us to get back because it is hard to tell what the condition of an old subway tunnel could be like and if you come, you could very well miss school."
The Four Turtles left to investigate the source. Harry hoped it was not something really dangerous under the ground they were going after.
"I think I will be going now, Master Splinter," said Harry. "Tell my brothers good bye for me when they get back."
"Very well Harry, but keep your head low and be careful once you return," said Splinter.
Harry nodded before walking towards his room, taking the Portus-Amulet off the table before touching his wand to it, grabbing onto to his trunk and with a pull, he returned to Hogwarts. If it weren’t for his friends, he would be doing it with the greatest regret.
Snape beckoned for Harry to follow him. Ginny looked to be in near tears but Harry turned his back, following Snape. It would not do Harry well to not be prompt when it considered Snape. Although what Snape was thinking was unclear, with Snape one could never tell, Harry did not want to press his luck with the Potions Master.
The walk to the Dungeons was slow and an uncomfortable silence existed between Snape and Harry. Snape motioned for Harry to enter his office. Harry entered and Snape followed shortly. Harry sat down across from Snape's desk and Snape sat in the seat behind his desk.
"Another attack, Potter, and once again, you seem to be close to the scene of the crime when it happens," said Snape in an emotionless tone of voice while glaring in Harry's eyes. "The fact remains while I don't believe you quite have the temperament to carry out attacks of such a nature, a suspicious set of circumstances does present itself when regards to this."
Snape got up, as if deliberating what exactly to tell Harry.
"Potter, I would suggest you not attempt to investigate this matter, as the one behind it is likely to be very powerful and they could very well destroy you," said Snape calmly. "The horror of something that can petrify the non-living is troublesome and extremely dangerous. Dumbledore is.."
Snape stopped himself for a moment, as if wanting to say something but preventing himself from saying it for some strange reason. He winced in pain and Harry wondered what it was exactly prevented Snape from letting something about Dumbledore slip.
"I would suggest you remain on your guard Potter and keep a low profile," said Snape. "The attacker has only yet begun the assault upon Hogwarts. The true objection of this attacker has not come to pass yet and I urge you to exercise strict caution. Now, Potter, you will be leaving me now and do remember to heed my warnings."
Harry nodded before getting up and leaving Snape standing in his office, going over what exactly Snape was telling him. Snape seemed unable to tell him something but worked around that fact by giving context clues to what he wanted Harry to understand.
Snape was left in his office; he hoped Potter would be smart enough to figure out the underlining meaning of what he said. He nearly slipped; saying Dumbledore is a fool for letting this go on to this point but not stopping it. Thanks to the Unbreakable Vow Dumbledore had Snape made for exchange of escaping imprisonment from Azkaban; Snape was forced to follow the old man loyally and without question. Snape had been forced by Dumbledore not to reveal the fact that the Weasley girl had been behind the attacks, although under the apparent possession of a soul fragment of the younger version of the Dark Lord. Snape wished he had taken the Azkaban Route, as having his soul sucked out would be better to following a schemer like Dumbledore.
The one thing Snape did not understand is why Dumbledore was so set on letting the Weasley girl get killed. He seemed to have some kind of misguided notion that this death would help him control Potter but Snape had a feeling it would only drive Potter further to the dark side if he saw one of his friends killed. Dumbledore seemed to also be babbling about some kind of bond being formed by the Weasley girl and Potter but it seemed ludicrous to Snape that something that strong would begin to form with two people who have yet to enter teenage years and even then, bonds within the Wizarding world were so rare, as two people who were rarely so compatible that a bond could ever even begin to form. Magical studies were done to prove that fact. Then again, Snape could never begin to understand emotions, as it did not come with detailed instructions like his beloved potions.
Severus Snape did many horrific things in his life, which he came to regret, but he never tried to pass himself off as respectable beacon of light, hiding his true evil from the world like Albus Dumbledore. That was more horrifying than anything Snape did during his ill fated and highly regrettable stint under the Dark Lord.
The next few weeks prior to Christmas went rather quickly. Harry decided to use the Portus-Amulet during a slow day to do some Christmas shopping. He hoped his family and friends would be pleased with what he selected for them. Also, Harry's Metamorphmagus practicing was going on slowly but surely. He could change the color of his eyes. With his hair he could make it about four inches shorter and four inches longer, along with making it not stick out all over the place. Harry felt pleased he finally cracked the code in making his hair lay completely flat.
Most of the school seemed to want to avoid Harry and by proxy, his friends. Ginny seemed to become more quiet and withdrawn from the world but Hermione, Theodore, and Daphne seemed to keep a lower profile as well as they were shunned by the majority of the school due to their association with Harry. This was not what troubled Harry the most; it was Snape's hint of the Potions Master's theory that the attacker's assault upon Hogwarts had only begun. Harry tried to shut out the overwhelming dread that one of his friends could be next on the attack list out of his head.
"The last day of the first half of the year, I just wonder if all of us will see the last half of the year," said Harry darkly on the last day before Holidays. All of his friends were going to visiting relatives over the holidays.
"Harry, don't say things up that," said Hermione, although she appeared horrified by the rather real possibility that any one of them could be next.
"I wish I could figure out who did this, so I can clear my name and bring the real culprit to justice," said Harry.
"You also heard what Snape said, he suspects this attacker is extremely powerful and if you go after this person, interfering with their plans, you very well may get yourself killed," said Daphne fearfully.
Harry hated being so helpless. He hated doing nothing. Yet both Snape and Master Splinter had both advised Harry against attempting to do anything about the attacks. He always respected the opinion of his Sensei and he knew Snape had enough dark arts knowledge to know this situation was extremely serious.
"Tonight, I am going to leave, going to New York, and forget about this whole mess," said Harry in a low voice. "Maybe after the holidays, the situation would improve."
Harry felt as if he as trying harder to reassure himself than reassuring his friends at this point. This year was shaping up to be one, Harry would rather forget but that would be if he survived it.
Later that night, Harry was in the chamber underneath the Slytherin Library, surrounded by his various gifts for members of his family. Harry decided to teleport himself straight into his room so he could hide the gifts. Harry arrived at his room.
Harry's room contained a large piece of poster board covering one whole wall with pictures of Harry with the Turtles and Splinter, sometimes a combination of the two on it, just goofing off, hanging around, and some training pictures. There was a desk right beside his bed, which had a framed duplicate of the picture of him and his parents from the first page of his photo album along with a journal where Harry detailed his training progress when he was at home. There was a bookshelf containing several books pertaining to various areas of magic that Harry already read but could not fit in his truck. Hanging on the wall were backups of Harry's favored weapon, his double-edged sword. A couple of white head bands set on a shelf which Harry could pull over his eyes to be used when he did blindfold training. He had another one in his trunk for Hogwarts, so if he ever went out in public, he could cover up that blasted scar so people would not gawk at him.
As much as Harry wanted to sink down on his bed and call it a night, he supposed he should check in with his family. After stashing the gifts, Harry opened his door, walking into the lair. The Turtles and Master Splinter seemed to have just wrapped up a training session. They turned to Harry, acknowledging his presence.
"Harry, good to see ya, bro," said Mikey excitedly. "I must say, things have been rather dull without you here. Even the crime has sucked the big one."
"Yes, a few petty street crimes here by the Purple Dragons, nothing more complex than harassing a woman for her purse," said Raphael in a bored tone of voice. "In other words, no real action. I want to bust some skulls!"
Harry cracked his first real smile in weeks. Raph was always so headstrong and gung ho but it seemed like the life of his family had gone back to their usual status quo that existed before Baxter Stockman's assault on the old lair with the mousers. Harry sunk himself into a chair, numbly thinking about his own problems, which were anything but boring.
"So, Harry, you look like you have the weight of the world thrown upon your shoulders, yet again," said Donatello
Harry gave Don a glare.
"Bad choice of words, Don," said Leo. "Have any more of these attacks happened, Harry?"
"Yes, two more were attacked since we last spoke," said Harry numbly. "This is extremely bothersome, as one of the victims was a ghost. I just wonder what exactly could bring harm to a ghost."
Splinter looked very troubled by this event.
"The one who did this seems to have avoided detection so far," said Splinter. "I fear whomever may be behind these attacks is not quite human and is using others to accomplish their work. This problem may be beyond the control of the school as more attacks are sure to come."
"What I still don't understand, if this Dumbledore character who runs the school is supposed to be a powerful wizard, why does he not use his oh so great power of the light to stop these attacks from happening," said Raphael in anger.
"The school will be closed or I will be expelled, before anything is solved," said Harry darkly. "Dumbledore knows something but I am not exactly sure how much."
"I ought to go up to that school and make that Dumbledore tell what he knows," said Raphael angrily, pulling out his Sais. "If he gets my brother expelled due to his inaction..."
Splinter saw the warning signs of Raphael attempting to do something he may regret, so he cut off his son before he could say anything.
"You will do no such thing, Raphael," said Splinter. "We have done enough damage, exposing ourselves to the point where the Shredder found out about our existence. Even though he has been vanquished, evil still remains out there. Harry has told us in the past that there are still agents of Lord Voldemort out there, and if they discovered our presence, when Voldemort came back to power, he could make Shredder look like a mere piece of light work."
Raphael sat down, but his hands were still clenched to his Sais.
"Worse yet, all my friends seemed to be affected by this round of attacks in some fashion," said Harry darkly. "The rest of the school seems to be ignoring them as they are also ignoring me."
"The price of loyalty is a high one, but yet the opinion of friends and family is the only one that matters when all the cards are laid out on the table," said Splinter wisely.
"Just shows you how fickle the general public can be, going by whatever the majority thinks at any given time," said Don grimly.
"You ain't kidding," said Mikey. "By the way these people are attacking, they already have the castle in Hogwarts, all they need to do is go outside with pitchforks and torches and storm it."
"You watch way too much TV, Mikey," said Raph groaning before the subject was changed to something a bit less stressful.
Christmas had always been a festive occasion around the lair. Even last year, when the Turtles and Harry were recovering from their battles with the Foot Ninjas, Christmas was used as a time to forget about the cares of the real world. Harry decided to use this time to forget all that had happened bad in the first half of the year. When this year was all said and done, Harry had a very bad feeling the bad memories would outweigh the good, but he would acquire as many good memories as he possibly could.
The Turtles and Splinter seemed rather pleased with the gifts Harry had given them. Leo had received a new pair of sheaths for his Katanas as the leather on the old ones were starting to wear out. Raph had received a brand new spanking punching bag as the old one had been ripped apart so many times, it had been barely held together by duct tape. Mikey had been extremely ecstatic about his gift, some rare limited edition Comic Books that he did not have yet. Harry had to pay an arm and a leg to purchase them but it was worth it to see the ecstatic look on Mikey's face.
Harry purchased Don a new top of the line computer as Don's previous model had been fished out of a garbage dump, as was most of the electronics and furniture for the lair, and rebuilt to the best of the brainy terrapin's abilities. It had not been the most efficient model but now Donatello's computer capabilities should be twice as fast and twice as efficient.
Splinter had mentioned previously he would like to learn about recent magical history so he could better understand what had gone on in recent years. Harry managed to find a book in Flourish and Blotts titled Magical History Explained for Muggle Parents which was written by a muggleborn and detailed magical history in a way where Muggles could understand it, dating back even prior to Hogwarts, although records were quite scarce.
Even though the Turtles and Splinter could not get Harry much due to their inability to walk into the store and purchase stuff, the best present for Harry was spending Christmas with his family away from all the darkness which was happening in the walls of Hogwarts. Plus, as an added bonus, it seemed like even petty street gangs such as the Purple Dragons took the holidays off from committing crime thus leaving a nice and peaceful Holiday season.
Unfortunately, the good times had to come to an end. Three weeks later, before Harry could possibly know it, it was the eve before the beginning of the second half of the Hogwarts year.
"So, Don, still looking at those crystals," said Harry yawning. "I honestly gave up on them months ago as I could not find anything remotely like them magically."
"Well, it could be they are not magical," said Don lifting one of the crystals up. "For all I know their origin could be rather alien."
"Woo-Whee-Ooh," said Mikey creepily walking up behind Donatello and Harry. Both Don and Harry gave Mikey a dirty look. "Sorry, late night Monster movies. Remember, there are some things man was never meant to tamper with."
"Mikey, remember what happened the last time you watched late night Monster movies," said Harry. "How you could not sleep for days and nearly soiled your shell at the slightest noise?"
"Thanks for that...lovely reminder, Harry," said Don absentmindedly before touching the crystals to each other. They started glowing as they touched together and made a humming sound. "Okay, that was interesting."
Raphael, Leonardo, and Splinter walked up to the sound of the humming.
"Donatello, what is it," said Splinter in a worried tone of voice.
"Something to do with the crystals," said Don. "Perhaps the harmonics of the energy structure caused vibrations or something."
"You don't have a clue, do you," said Raph.
"I'm afraid not," said Donatello.
All of the sudden, an alarm of some sort came on and Don's monitor flipped on.
"I keyed in a security feature for around the lair into my new computer," said Don. "If anything triggers one of the old parameter alarms, we will be the first to know."
At those words, something swooshed past on the monitor. This creature went by so quickly; Harry could not quite tell what it was.
"Whoa," said Donatello in awe.
"Damn, these sewer rats seem to be getting bigger," said Raphael, putting his hands on his Sais.
"Yeah, it's time to cut the cheese," said Mikey before his brothers and Master Splinter gave him a disgusted look. "That's not what I meant."
"I think we better investigate this," said Donatello. "The origin seems to be in one of the old subway tunnels, deeper than this place even."
"C'mon," said Leo before turning to Harry. "Harry, you stay here, this could take several days for us to get back because it is hard to tell what the condition of an old subway tunnel could be like and if you come, you could very well miss school."
The Four Turtles left to investigate the source. Harry hoped it was not something really dangerous under the ground they were going after.
"I think I will be going now, Master Splinter," said Harry. "Tell my brothers good bye for me when they get back."
"Very well Harry, but keep your head low and be careful once you return," said Splinter.
Harry nodded before walking towards his room, taking the Portus-Amulet off the table before touching his wand to it, grabbing onto to his trunk and with a pull, he returned to Hogwarts. If it weren†t for his friends, he would be doing it with the greatest regret.
Chapter 09: Christmas in New York
Snape beckoned for Harry to follow him. Ginny looked to be in near tears but Harry turned his back, following Snape. It would not do Harry well to not be prompt when it considered Snape. Although what Snape was thinking was unclear, with Snape one could never tell, Harry did not want to press his luck with the Potions Master.
The walk to the Dungeons was slow and an uncomfortable silence existed between Snape and Harry. Snape motioned for Harry to enter his office. Harry entered and Snape followed shortly. Harry sat down across from Snape's desk and Snape sat in the seat behind his desk.
"Another attack, Potter, and once again, you seem to be close to the scene of the crime when it happens," said Snape in an emotionless tone of voice while glaring in Harry's eyes. "The fact remains while I don't believe you quite have the temperament to carry out attacks of such a nature, a suspicious set of circumstances does present itself when regards to this."
Snape got up, as if deliberating what exactly to tell Harry.
"Potter, I would suggest you not attempt to investigate this matter, as the one behind it is likely to be very powerful and they could very well destroy you," said Snape calmly. "The horror of something that can petrify the non-living is troublesome and extremely dangerous. Dumbledore is.."
Snape stopped himself for a moment, as if wanting to say something but preventing himself from saying it for some strange reason. He winced in pain and Harry wondered what it was exactly prevented Snape from letting something about Dumbledore slip.
"I would suggest you remain on your guard Potter and keep a low profile," said Snape. "The attacker has only yet begun the assault upon Hogwarts. The true objective of this attacker has not come to pass yet and I urge you to exercise strict caution. Now, Potter, you will be leaving me now and do remember to heed my warnings."
Harry nodded before getting up and leaving Snape standing in his office, going over what exactly Snape was telling him. Snape seemed unable to tell him something but worked around that fact by giving context clues to what he wanted Harry to understand.
Snape was left in his office; he hoped Potter would be smart enough to figure out the underlining meaning of what he said. He nearly slipped; saying Dumbledore is a fool for letting this go on to this point but not stopping it. Thanks to the Unbreakable Vow Dumbledore had Snape made for exchange of escaping imprisonment from Azkaban; Snape was forced to follow the old man loyally and without question. Snape had been forced by Dumbledore not to reveal the fact that the Weasley girl had been behind the attacks, although under the apparent possession of a soul fragment of the younger version of the Dark Lord. Snape wished he had taken the Azkaban Route, as having his soul sucked out would be better to following a schemer like Dumbledore.
The one thing Snape did not understand is why Dumbledore was so set on letting the Weasley girl get killed. He seemed to have some kind of misguided notion that this death would help him control Potter but Snape had a feeling it would only drive Potter further to the dark side if he saw one of his friends killed. Dumbledore seemed to also be babbling about some kind of bond being formed by the Weasley girl and Potter but it seemed ludicrous to Snape that something that strong would begin to form with two people who have yet to enter teenage years and even then, bonds within the Wizarding world were so rare, as two people who were rarely so compatible that a bond could ever even begin to form. Magical studies were done to prove that fact. Then again, Snape could never begin to understand emotions, as it did not come with detailed instructions like his beloved potions.
Severus Snape did many horrific things in his life, which he came to regret, but he never tried to pass himself off as respectable beacon of light, hiding his true evil from the world like Albus Dumbledore. That was more horrifying than anything Snape did during his ill fated and highly regrettable stint under the Dark Lord.
The next few weeks prior to Christmas went rather quickly. Harry decided to use the Portus-Amulet during a slow day to do some Christmas shopping. He hoped his family and friends would be pleased with what he selected for them. Also, Harry's Metamorphmagus practicing was going on slowly but surely. He could change the color of his eyes. With his hair he could make it about four inches shorter and four inches longer, along with making it not stick out all over the place. Harry felt pleased he finally cracked the code in making his hair lay completely flat.
Most of the school seemed to want to avoid Harry and by proxy, his friends. Ginny seemed to become more quiet and withdrawn from the world but Hermione, Theodore, and Daphne seemed to keep a lower profile as well as they were shunned by the majority of the school due to their association with Harry. This was not what troubled Harry the most; it was Snape's hint of the Potions Master's theory that the attacker's assault upon Hogwarts had only begun. Harry tried to shut out the overwhelming dread that one of his friends could be next on the attack list out of his head.
"The last day of the first half of the year, I just wonder if all of us will see the last half of the year," said Harry darkly on the last day before Holidays. All of his friends were going to visiting relatives over the holidays.
"Harry, don't say things like that," said Hermione, although she appeared horrified by the rather real possibility that any one of them could be next.
"I wish I could figure out who did this, so I can clear my name and bring the real culprit to justice," said Harry.
"You also heard what Snape said, he suspects this attacker is extremely powerful and if you go after this person, interfering with their plans, you very well may get yourself killed," said Daphne fearfully.
Harry hated being so helpless. He hated doing nothing. Yet both Snape and Master Splinter had both advised Harry against attempting to do anything about the attacks. He always respected the opinion of his Sensei and he knew Snape had enough dark arts knowledge to know this situation was extremely serious.
"Tonight, I am going to leave, going to New York, and forget about this whole mess," said Harry in a low voice. "Maybe after the holidays, the situation would improve, everything will get swept under the rug."
Harry felt as if he as trying harder to reassure himself than reassuring his friends at this point. This year was shaping up to be one, Harry would rather forget but that would be if he survived it.
Later that night, Harry was in the chamber underneath the Slytherin Library, surrounded by his various gifts for members of his family. Harry decided to teleport himself straight into his room so he could hide the gifts. Harry arrived at his room.
Harry's room contained a large piece of poster board covering one whole wall with pictures of Harry with the Turtles and Splinter, sometimes a combination of the two on it, just goofing off, hanging around, and some training pictures. There was a desk right beside his bed, which had a framed duplicate of the picture of him and his parents from the first page of his photo album along with a journal where Harry detailed his training progress when he was at home. There was a bookshelf containing several books pertaining to various areas of magic that Harry already read but could not fit in his truck. Hanging on the wall were backups of Harry's favored weapon, his double-edged sword. A couple of white head bands set on a shelf which Harry could pull over his eyes to be used when he did blindfold training. He had another one in his trunk for Hogwarts, so if he ever went out in public, he could cover up that blasted scar so people would not gawk at him.
As much as Harry wanted to sink down on his bed and call it a night, he supposed he should check in with his family. After stashing the gifts, Harry opened his door, walking into the lair. The Turtles and Master Splinter seemed to have just wrapped up a training session. They turned to Harry, acknowledging his presence.
"Harry, good to see ya, bro," said Mikey excitedly. "I must say, things have been rather dull without you here. Even the crime has sucked the big one."
"Yes, a few petty street crimes here by the Purple Dragons, nothing more complex than harassing a woman for her purse," said Raph in a bored tone of voice. "In other words, no real action. I want to bust some skulls!"
Harry cracked his first real smile in weeks. Raph was always so headstrong and gung ho but it seemed like the life of his family had gone back to their usual status quo that existed before Baxter Stockman's assault on the old lair with the mousers. Harry sunk himself into a chair, numbly thinking about his own problems, which were anything but boring.
"So, Harry, you look like you have the weight of the world thrown upon your shoulders, yet again," said Don.
Harry gave Don a glare.
"Bad choice of words, Don," said Leo. "Have any more of these attacks happened, Harry?"
"Yes, two more were attacked since we last spoke," said Harry numbly. "This is extremely bothersome, as one of the victims was a ghost. I just wonder what exactly could bring harm to a ghost."
Splinter looked very troubled by this event.
"The one who did this seems to have avoided detection so far," said Splinter. "I fear whomever may be behind these attacks is not quite human and is using others to accomplish their work. This problem may be beyond the control of the school as more attacks are sure to come."
"What I still don't understand, if this Dumbledore character who runs the school is supposed to be a powerful wizard, why does he not use his oh so great power of the light to stop these attacks from happening," said Raph in anger.
"The school will be closed or I will be expelled, before anything is solved," said Harry darkly. "Dumbledore knows something but I am not exactly sure how much."
"I ought to go up to that school and make that Dumbledore tell what he knows," said Raph angrily, pulling out his Sais. "If he gets my brother expelled due to his inaction..."
Splinter saw the warning signs of Raphael attempting to do something he may regret, so he cut off his son before he could say anything.
"You will do no such thing, Raphael," said Splinter. "We have done enough damage, exposing ourselves to the point where the Shredder found out about our existence. Even though he has been vanquished, evil still remains out there. Harry has told us in the past that there are still agents of Lord Voldemort out there, and if they discovered our presence, when Voldemort came back to power, he could make Shredder look like a mere piece of light work."
Raph sat down, but his hands were still clenched to his Sais.
"Worse yet, all my friends seem to be affected by this round of attacks in some fashion," said Harry darkly. "The rest of the school is doing their best to ignore me and they’re getting ignored by association.”
"The price of loyalty is a high one, but yet the opinion of friends and family is the only one that matters when all the cards are laid out on the table," said Splinter wisely.
"Just shows you how fickle the general public can be, going by whatever the majority thinks at any given time," said Don grimly.
"You ain't kidding," said Mikey. "By the way these people are attacking, they already have the castle in Hogwarts, all they need to do is go outside with pitchforks and torches and storm it."
"You watch way too much TV, Mikey," said Raph groaning before the subject was changed to something a bit less stressful.
Christmas had always been a festive occasion around the lair. Even last year, when the Turtles and Harry were recovering from their battles with the Foot Ninjas, Christmas was used as a time to forget about the cares of the real world. Harry decided to use this time to forget all that had happened bad in the first half of the year. When this year was all said and done, Harry had a very bad feeling the bad memories would outweigh the good, but he would acquire as many good memories as he possibly could.
The Turtles and Splinter seemed rather pleased with the gifts Harry had given them. Leo had received a new pair of sheaths for his Katanas as the leather on the old ones were starting to wear out. Raph had received a brand new spanking punching bag as the old one had been ripped apart so many times, it had been barely held together by duct tape. Mikey had been extremely ecstatic about his gift, some rare limited edition Comic Books that he did not have yet. Harry had to pay an arm and a leg to purchase them but it was worth it to see the ecstatic look on Mikey's face.
Harry purchased Don a new top of the line computer as Don's previous model had been fished out of a garbage dump, as was most of the electronics and furniture for the lair, and rebuilt to the best of the brainy terrapin's abilities. It had not been the most efficient model but now Don's computer capabilities should be twice as fast and twice as efficient.
Splinter had mentioned previously he would like to learn about recent magical history so he could better understand what had gone on in recent years. Harry managed to find a book in Flourish and Blotts titled Magical History Explained for Muggle Parents which was written by a muggleborn and detailed magical history in a way where Muggles could understand it, dating back even prior to Hogwarts, although records were quite scarce.
Even though the Turtles and Splinter could not get Harry much due to their inability to walk into the store and purchase stuff, the best present for Harry was spending Christmas with his family away from all the darkness which was happening in the walls of Hogwarts. Plus, as an added bonus, it seemed like even petty street gangs such as the Purple Dragons took the holidays off from committing crime thus leaving a nice and peaceful Holiday season.
Unfortunately, the good times had to come to an end. Three weeks later, before Harry could possibly know it, it was the eve before the beginning of the second half of the Hogwarts year.
"So, Don, still looking at those crystals," said Harry yawning. "I honestly gave up on them months ago as I could not find anything remotely like them magically."
"Well, it could be they are not magical," said Don lifting one of the crystals up. "For all I know their origin could be rather alien."
"Woo-Whee-Ooh," said Mikey creepily walking up behind Donatello and Harry. Both Don and Harry gave Mikey a dirty look. "Sorry, late night Monster movies. Remember, there are some things man was never meant to tamper with."
"Mikey, remember what happened the last time you watched late night Monster movies," said Harry. "How you could not sleep for days and nearly soiled your shell at the slightest noise?"
"Thanks for that...lovely reminder, Harry," said Don absentmindedly before touching the crystals to each other. They started glowing as they touched together and made a humming sound. "Okay, that was interesting."
Raph, Leo, and Splinter walked up to the sound of the humming.
"Donatello, what is it?" prompted Splinter in a worried tone of voice.
"Something to do with the crystals," said Don. "Perhaps the harmonics of the energy structure caused vibrations or something."
"You don't have a clue, do you," said Raph.
"I'm afraid not," said Don in a deflated tone of voice.
All of the sudden, an alarm of some sort came on and Don's monitor flipped on.
"I keyed in a security feature for around the lair into my new computer," said Don. "If anything triggers one of the old parameter alarms, we will be the first to know."
At those words, something swooshed past on the monitor. This creature went by so quickly; Harry could not quite tell what it was.
"Whoa," said Donatello in awe.
"Damn, these sewer rats seem to be getting bigger," said Raph, putting his hands on his Sais.
"Yeah, it's time to cut the cheese," said Mikey before his brothers and Master Splinter gave him a disgusted look. "That's not what I meant."
"I think we better investigate this," said Don. "The origin seems to be in one of the old subway tunnels, deeper than this place even."
"C'mon," said Leo before turning to Harry. "Harry, you stay here, this could take several days for us to get back because it is hard to tell what the condition of an old subway tunnel could be like and if you come, you could very well miss school."
The Four Turtles left to investigate the source. Harry hoped it was not something really dangerous under the ground they were going after.
"I think I will be going now, Master Splinter," said Harry. "Tell my brothers good bye for me when they get back."
"Very well Harry, but keep your head low and be careful once you return," said Splinter.
Harry nodded before walking towards his room, taking the Portus-Amulet off the table before touching his wand to it, grabbing onto to his trunk and with a pull, he returned to Hogwarts. If it weren’t for his friends, he would be doing it with the greatest regret.
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