The Fox Hole

Chapter 7: A land deed?

–Harry Potter–

Three days later...

Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting as the magic buzzed through him. His new teacher, Serana, had really put him through the wringer. The last time he'd pushed himself this hard was last year, when he had to fend off a hundred Dementors.

"Magic is like a muscle, my young apprentice," Serana explained calmly. "The more you use it, the stronger it gets. But if you neglect it, it becomes weak and unreliable. That's why so many adult mages struggle after they finish school."

"Is that why our Hogwarts professors are some of the most powerful witches and wizards in Britain?" Hermione asked, wiping sweat from her own brow. "Because they're always using magic?"

Serana nodded. "Exactly, my other apprentice. That's why I'm putting you both through this training — to strengthen your reserves. You both just spent three months without casting a single spell outside of your school. You probably don't even realize how much of your magic reserves you lost from that inactivity," she pointed out and Harry grimaced. 

He always hated summer because it meant he was going back to the Dursleys, but now he hated it even more because it apparently also weakened his magic. He noticed that he did always seem to struggle with spells he had previously mastered the first couple months back in the school. He thought it was just because he was out of practice, not his "magical muscles" literally atrophying on him…

The task Serana had them doing sounded simple – cast the spell Flames over and over again. It sounded easy enough but was actually exhausting. Serana explained that Flames was one of the most common destruction spells in Skyrim, mainly because having fire literally on hand was incredibly useful when half the region was a frozen wasteland. 

The fact that the spell was wandless left both Harry and Hermione amazed. In fact, all the magic Serana had taught them so far was wandless.

There were magical staves in Skyrim, but Harry had promised himself he would never use one. They were powered by HUMAN SOULS! Hermione was just as disgusted as he was at the practice. The vampire didn't seem to understand why they were so freaked out about the whole soul thing due to cultural differences, but they were slowly explaining it to her. It would take time, but they'd get there eventually.

"So, my apprentices, how have you both been enjoying Skyrim so far?" Serana asked with a knowing smirk.

"I'd like to say it's a lot more dangerous than the magical world," Harry said, "but then again, we've both almost died many times at Hogwarts during our first three years."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "The walking skeletons are a bit different, though…"

As part of their training, Serana had taken them below the Whiterun Temple of Arkay to practice magic on the undead skeletons that kept rising there. The skeletons weren't actually that dangerous since the priests didn't leave any weapons lying around for them to grab. The worst they could do was try to punch or grab at you. Without any muscles, they weren't even that strong. At first, both Harry and Hermione had been nervous, but after destroying a handful of skeletons each, they weren't afraid anymore. 

They didn't get too cocky, though. Serana warned them that Skyrim was home to far more powerful undead—ones that were heavily armed and could even use magic!

Harry felt the magic inside him deplete once again as the Flames sputtered out. The rock he had been casting on was glowing bright orange at this point. Hermione ran out of magic a few seconds later, her reserves were slightly larger than Harry's. That whole spiel about Muggleborns having less magic than Purebloods had turned out to be a load of rubbish. It was simply that Pureblood kids could cast spells at home during the summer, so they didn't have to spend time building their magic back up every year at Hogwarts.

"I think you've both reached the point where I can start teaching you real magic," Serana said, examining the glowing rocks they had been scorching. "You were both able to successfully cast for five minutes straight, and with a decent amount of power behind your Flames as well. You've moved past the novice stage and become apprentices."

"Weren't we already your apprentices?" Hermione asked, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

Serana shook her head. "That's not what I meant. In Tamriel, mages and spells are divided into ranks: novice, apprentice, adept, expert, and master. You were both novices until now. That didn't mean you couldn't cast higher level spells, it just meant that you couldn't cast them in succession without quickly exhausting yourselves." 

Harry nodded, wondering what rank the Patronus Charm would fall under by Skyrim's standards. That spell always drained him quickly. "So you can teach me destruction spells that'll work on dragons now?"

Serana shrugged before responding bluntly. "Dragons from my world? Not a chance. Dragons in your world? Probably. The dragons in Skyrim are practically demigods — they're immune to almost anything below expert-level spells. But the ones in your world are much weaker and have the minds of beasts. I suspect they'll be particularly vulnerable to lightning spells."

Harry's eyes widened a bit. "Lightning?" That sounded awesome!

Serana nodded. "Exactly. That's why I'll be teaching you three specific spells. First, the Novice spell Sparks, then the Apprentice spell Lightning Bolt, and finally the Adept spell Lightning Cloak. The last one should only be used as a last resort because it will zap everything around you indiscriminately for a full minute, and it'll drain your Magicka reserves like nothing else."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So…basically a human lightning storm?"

"Exactly," Serana smirked. "But don't get too excited. If you use Lightning Cloak at the wrong time, it could be as dangerous to your allies as to your enemies. It should be fine to use it in your Triwizard Tournament, but be careful when using it otherwise."

"When can we start!?" Harry asked excitedly. 

"…After lunch." Serana told him. "I could go for some more of those delicious blood sausages. Come along, apprentices. Let us visit the Fox Hole!"

–Haru–

"Are you sure you both want to completely abandon your own dimension, Tanya-chan?" I asked the little blonde girl, who was actually a reincarnator older than I was.

"You're damn right I do! I'm finally going to be free of Being X!" Tanya grinned, her expression almost maniacal with relief. A large sack, bigger than her entire body, sat on the floor next to her, stuffed with all her possessions and as many guns as she could sneak off with. Her mind was clearly made up. She had run away from the Empire and wanted to move to my world.

"What about your friends?" I asked gently. "Wasn't there a girl named Visha you were fond of?"

Tanya's grin faltered, just for a moment. "...Visha will get over my disappearance... I hope. I have to focus on myself first and foremost. I refuse to stay in that war-torn hell any longer! I want to live in your world!" She declared while staring up at me. "...That does mean I'll need a new job though." There was a slight pause. "You should hire me. I worked in management in my previous life. I'd be a good employee!" 

I couldn't help but chuckle. "So, you want to go from a ruthless war colonel to a restaurant employee?" We had all heard Tanya's story, she was absolutely ruthless on the battlefield and from her expression when she retold all of those events I think she secretly loved the thrill of battle. She wouldn't have fun working in such a peaceful environment after a life like hers. I was on the lookout for a few extra hands and potential waitresses, but Tanya wasn't either of those. 

"Anything's better than dealing with that disgusting Evil Spirit," Tanya muttered while crossing her arms.

"I might have a better idea," I told Tanya, watching her eyes light up with curiosity. "There was a plot against Kyoto that we luckily managed to stop the same day we met you. Ever since, my mom's been nervous about letting Kunou wander around the city. You're pretty strong, and physically, you're not much older than my younger sister. How would you feel about acting as her bodyguard?"

Tanya's eyes widened with excitement. "A bodyguard to the princess and future ruler of all the Yokai!? You'd just hand away such a lofty position like that?" Tanya's voice was brimming with disbelief.

"I'd have to talk to my mother first, but I don't think she'd say no. She already seems to like you well enough," I replied. I knew Yasaka felt bad for Tanya. Even though Tanya was a reincarnator with the mind of a ruthless strategist, it was hard to look at her and not just see a little girl. And Yasaka had a soft spot for children, especially ones like Tanya who'd been through so much.

"I accept!" Tanya gave me an adorable little salute. 

I informed her that Yasaka had gotten some time off later today and would stop by with Kunou in a couple hours for dinner.

"I shall wait here then," Tanya sat up on a barstool and ordered a cup of coffee. While I was preparing it for her, she attempted to make some small talk. It was frankly adorable how bad she was at it. "So…how has stuff been?" Tanya asked, barely holding back her own cringe.

I just laughed. "Stuff has been fine. I haven't had a lot of customers the past three days as everyone has been pretty busy, but I have a feeling that will be changing soon. You'll be happy to know that your crush Mob has been doing a great job clearing Kyoto of all our Evil Spirits." I said teasingly, knowing that Tanya was still embarrassed that her first reaction to seeing Being X suffer was to run up and kiss Mob on the cheek! 

"He's not my crush…" Tanya grumbled while shooting me a quick glare. "But I'm glad he's been doing well. You can pass the message along that I owe him one!"

"Hi, Haru!" Harry called out as the door swung open. Harry, Hermione, and Serana walked in, most likely for lunch. It was getting to that time of day, and I'd noticed something interesting a few days ago. The general time of day seemed to sync up across all the dimensions my restaurant connected to.

"Hey, everyone! You all want your usuals? How's training been going?" I asked as I fired up the grill and deep fryers. Harry and Hermione always ordered the same thing—fish and chips—and Serana, well, there was only one thing she could really order: blood, or anything I could make out of blood. I'd been experimenting with new recipes, but so far, I'd pretty much perfected blood sausages. I still couldn't stomach them, but Serana absolutely loved them.

"Thanks, Haru," Serana said as she slid into one of the booths with Harry and Hermione. "Training's been going well so far. Both Harry and Hermione are excellent students!" she added proudly before her eyes caught sight of Tanya sitting at the bar. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Serana."

"I am former Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff," she introduced herself proudly. Then, with her usual bluntness, she asked, "What are you supposed to be?"

It was pretty obvious Serana wasn't human, with her glowing reddish-yellow eyes and pale skin.

"I'm a vampire, little mage," Serana responded calmly.

Tanya looked over at me in surprise. "Vampires are real, too?"

"Yep! Although she's from another dimension, like Harry and Hermione," I explained. "But yeah, we have vampires in my world, too. Though they tend to have red eyes and immediately burst into flames if they're exposed to sunlight."

Serana nodded at my explanation. "Thankfully, in Skyrim, sunlight only weakens vampires. Although, I've heard of other vampires across Nirn who can't go into direct sunlight. My line received our blessing directly from the Daedric Lord Molag Bal. Hence, we are far more powerful than other vampires." 

Tanya raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Daedric Lord? Sounds like a fancy demon lord title or something." 

"You're not far off…" Serana replied with a wry smile.

"You called yourself a Colonel?" Hermione asked, staring at Tanya. "How is that possible? You look even younger than we are."

Tanya scowled bitterly. "Let's just say the dimension I'm from doesn't care about things like child protection laws or basic human rights." She quickly changed the subject, glancing between Hermione and Harry. "I can sense a decent amount of magic coming from both of you. The vampire mentioned something about you two learning magic?"

Hermione nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Serana's an amazing teacher! All the spells she teaches are wandless, and they're not even that hard to learn once you get the hang of it! She's going to start teaching us lightning magic next." She paused, casting a worried glance at Harry. "He got entered into this really dangerous tournament, and he has to fight a dragon in a couple of days."

Tanya's eyes narrowed. "A dragon, huh? You've got to be kidding me. Are they trying to get you killed?"

Harry shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. "Kind of… I'm pretty sure my headmaster has been trying to get me killed every single year so he can claim my inheritance. This is just his latest attempt."

Tanya shook her head in disbelief. 

I finished up everyone's orders while they were chatting and brought the meals over to their booth. Harry, Hermione, and Serana dug into their food happily, while I turned back to cleaning up my station, just in case anyone else showed up for lunch.

Honestly, I was a little surprised that Rias hadn't made good on her promise to stop by for lunch and dinner every day. Apparently her family had temporarily forbidden her from leaving Kuoh Town after she finished her school trip. Yasaka told me she was busy with some important talks with the Gremory clan, though she didn't share the details. I had a feeling those details were the reason.

It had been a pretty boring few days. I wanted to spend more time with my new girlfriend, Aela, to get to know each other better, but some problem popped up in Skyrim that she and Agnar had to deal with. She mentioned something about a group of werewolf hunters trying to reorganize after she had crushed them the first time along with Agnar. 

The front door swung open again just as I finished cleaning up. "Welcome to the Fox Hole–oh, for fuck's sake. You're not welcome here, brat!" Harry and Hermione's former ginger friend was back. 

He looked unusually smug for someone who had their magic stick destroyed and got tossed out on their ass the last time they were here. But I quickly figured out the reason for his newfound confidence when a group of "elite"-looking witches and wizards rushed in behind him. They were followed by an old man who seemed like a poor imitation of Gandalf, a woman who genuinely resembled a toad, and an attractive older woman wearing a monocle for some reason. Seriously, had no one told her those went out of style over a hundred years ago?

"What do you all want?" I asked, knowing full well this was going to be annoying.

The woman with the monocle stepped forward first. She had an air of authority about her and looked like she was leading the group of other witches and wizards. Maybe magical cops? "I am Madam Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," she announced. "You are under suspicion of operating an illegal business and kidnapping the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter!"

Before I could respond, the toad woman cleared her throat with an obnoxious "Hem Hem!" and stepped forward. "You are also under arrest for being a dark creature and for failing to register your bestial status with the Ministry of Magic!"

Ah, so that's where this was going. Great.

"I didn't kidnap Harry Potter," I started off. "This is a restaurant, he's literally right over enjoying some fish and chips." I pointed to his booth. Harry was currently mid bite and waved to them with his mouth full.

The old man finally spoke up. "Harry, my boy! Where have you been? You've been skipping all of your classes? I was worried about you." 

I had to hand it to the guy, he sounded really sincere. No wonder he was able to con his way to the top of Harry's Wizarding World…

"I've just been training for the tournament, Professor Dumbledore. Hermione went over the rules for me. I'm not allowed to receive help from any teachers, but I can hire a private tutor or other students to help me prepare. Hermione and I could technically skip all our classes for the rest of the year if we want to," Harry explained calmly, clearly ready for this confrontation.

Madam Bones shot Dumbledore a sharp glare. "You told me the Boy-Who-Lived had been kidnapped! That obviously isn't the case!"

Dumbledore sputtered for a moment. "W-well… I suppose I may have overreacted about his disappearance a bit," he admitted, but his gaze quickly turned to Serana. "But that's not important. Can't you see what's happening here? Harry is clearly being charmed by that vampire sitting next to him! She's obviously trying to seduce him and claim his inheritance or something!"

"What!?" Serana slammed her hands on the table in indignation. "What the hell are you accusing me of, you old fart!? I'll have you know I'm happily married. You're lucky my husband isn't here, or he would snap you in half for that comment!"

Dumbledore glared back at Serana. "Is that a threat, vampire?" He reached into his sleeve. Probably going for his magic stick.

"It's a promise!" she declared, her hands starting to ice over with frost magic.

"Please do not fight in my restaurant…" I tried to interject. 

"Enough, Dumbledore!" Madam Bones. "There's no law saying a vampire cannot be hired to tutor a student. You cannot draw your wand on her without just cause." 

Dumbledore pulled his empty hand out of his sleeve and started grumbling to himself…

"There are no laws about that… yet," the toad woman grumbled bitterly. "Who cares about the Potter brat anyway?" She shifted her focus back to me. "This filthy creature is operating an illegal restaurant on British soil! This cannot stand!"

I'd half-expected something like this to come up eventually. My restaurant popping up in random locations had made me wonder who actually owned the land.

"He also assaulted me, a proper Pureblood! He needs to go to Azkaban!" the ginger whined, but everyone pretty much ignored him. I'd actually forgotten he was there for a moment.

Madam Bones turned back to me. "Unfortunately, Undersecretary Umbridge is correct. Do you have any paperwork that says you're allowed to operate this restaurant in Hogsmeade?"

I did not…

POP!

My ears twitched as I glanced up. A rolled-up scroll suddenly popped into existence and landed on the counter. I hesitantly picked it up. My eyes widened when I unrolled and read what was on it.

"...Yes. I do have the proper paperwork. It was even signed by the Ministry of Magic," I said, trying to keep my voice steady after whatever the hell just happened.

"What!?" 

"WHAT!?" 

Dumbledore and Umbridge exclaimed simultaneously, disbelief written all over their faces.

I shrugged and handed the scroll over to Madam Bones. It was the deed to the property my restaurant occupied, signed by the current Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge himself. The deed stated that he had even officially ceded the small plot of land to the Kyoto Yokai, effectively making my restaurant an embassy for a foreign nation. This meant that none of the British magical laws applied to me…

Where did such an amazing scroll come from? I had no idea, but I assumed it was from whoever—or whatever—was responsible for my restaurant's connections to all these dimensions.

Madam Bones read over the scroll a few times, even scanning it with her wand. "This is real," she said, her expression shifting to apologetic. She turned to me and bowed slightly. "My apologies for this misunderstanding, Prince Haru. My Aurors and I will leave you alone now."

I smiled at her. A non-corrupt magical cop? Who would've thought…?

"Feel free to stop by my restaurant any time, Madam Bones!" I casually waved as she exited with the other Aurors.

"Fuck!" Umbridge cursed, her face turning red with anger and embarrassment. "I don't know how you managed to forge the Minister's signature, but this isn't over, creature!" She spat on the floor before storming out after them.

That was rude…

Dumbledore and the ginger were the last two left in my restaurantI crossed my arms. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you both to leave now. The ginger is permanently banned from this establishment, and so are you, Professor Dumbledore." I shot a smirk at Harry, who was grinning even wider.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. Once Dumbledore recovered from the shock of the earlier commotion, he pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at me. "I think not!" the old man declared. 

"Yeah! Get him, Dumbledore!" the ginger brat cheered, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Dumbledore's wand glowed sickly green. "I don't know what kind of bewitching dark magic you just used on Madam Bones, but this has gone on long enough! I have no choice but to stop you myself—"

BANG!

Dumbledore was abruptly cut off, his wand clattering to the floor as he clutched his bleeding hand in shock. 

"Get the hell out of here, you old fool! You heard Madam Bones! This is officially sovereign territory, and you're trespassing!" Tanya shouted, her eyes gleaming with a wild intensity. Yep, she really did love violence. "That was a warning shot!" She was calmly holding a smoking pistol.

"You shot me…?" Dumbledore's eyes widened in fear as he fumbled to reach down for his fallen wand with his other hand!

BANG!

"Ow!" he cried out in pain a second time, now with bullet holes decorating both of his hands.

"Leave the wand! That's mine now!" Tanya said with a dark chuckle. "Maybe I'll use it as firewood…"

"But—But that's the Elder Wa—" he stammered, stopping short at Tanya's fierce glare. "N-Nevermind… I'll go," he mumbled, scrambling out of my restaurant, the ginger-haired companion dashing right behind him.

"That was awesome, Tanya!" Harry exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Tanya shrugged, holstering her pistol with a casual flick. "Meh, just doing my job," she said before grinning at me. Her eyes were basically asking me if she did a good job?

She did indeed. "I think you'll make a fine bodyguard for Kunou," I told her.

XXX

Sometimes violence is the answer… Although, now someone is going to have to clean up the blood all over the floor.