Dumbledore stares at the parchment before him.
He rather approves of Bonbon’s approach. Rather than deciding herself, she made Lyra go through him.
And of course, to do that, she made Lyra write a fifty-page dissertation describing the spell she wants to test on his caretaker, and all of its safeties.
A dissertation that took her a few weeks to write, and him a few hours to read.
The main matrix that makes everything work, however, is not revealed. As a matter of fact, there isn’t nearly enough information in the document to even begin to guess what it looks like; Lyra had noted, however, that only about eighty-seven percent of the overall matrix is concealed- and that which is concealed is so because it would be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. Far more dangerous, even, than a stack of Unforgivables.
The reason was given, of course.
It’s a set of extremely powerful magic matrices capable of modifying the magical core, reliably. A set of matrices capable of completely overwriting who someone is- even if she’s promised to absolutely never use them to change anyone’s mind or personality, only abilities. And even then, she’ll only add, never remove.
The main reason they’re so dangerous is not because they’re deadly without the safeties. It’s that, if used improperly, they could be used to very quickly- and irreversibly- enslave an entire nation. As such, the matrices are so dangerous that writing them down at all, no matter where or how many security steps are taken, is an unwarranted risk.
She did state that she has very, very good memory, and thus does not need to write them down to be sure she’s got them all right. Besides, that’s what forty percent of the safeties are for: To shut the whole thing down before it does anything should any of it not be absolutely, perfectly accurate!
The name of the entire spell, ‘Whiskey Tango’, reads to him as a codeword.
He reads the last few paragraphs, a quick summary of the entire document, once again. Then, he finally reaches the final page.
He draws his wand, and uses a spell to move the line waiting for his signature down a little bit, before switching to his quill. Before he signs, he rewrites the statement above the signature line, crossing out the old.
I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, authorize the testing of this spell on Argus Filch, on condition that he is provided an opportunity to review this document and signs his agreement as well.
A second signature line appears below his own, completely by itself, as soon as he finishes writing the new statement. He reads the statement above it, below the line still waiting for his signature.
I, Argus Filch, do agree to have the spell described in this document tested upon myself.
He smiles, and signs on his line.
“Ahh, paperwork.”
Hermione leaps fluidly off the train as soon as it draws to a halt. As planned, she’s going home for the holidays- and carrying her trunk along with her. It’s kinda funny, when she thinks about it; as she noticed this morning, the trunk hardly seems to weigh anything, even though it’s got exactly the same amount of stuff in it as it had when she headed to school.
… Well, technically, it’s actually got more stuff in it; the Nimbus Two Thousand wasn’t in it on the way to school, nor the sleek laptop. Nor the radio she’s not wearing right now. Nor the thirty or so books she’d ordered with her pay from being an agent. None of them could be found in the school library.
But it still feels crazy light, even though she knows she never applied a featherweight charm. She hasn’t bothered to read up on them; she hasn’t had any reason to.
She looks for her parents. Professor McGonagall had explained that they’d be able to enter the station on their own, without her, once she held their hands to take them across the barrier the first time.
She waves with her free hand. “Hey Mom! Dad! Over here!”
Her mom, Emma, charges to her and hugs her tightly. “Hermione! Oh, how I missed you!”
She lets go of her trunk, letting it float in the air next to her, to return the hug. “I missed you too, Mom.”
Her dad, Dan, joins in the hug, making it a group hug. The three hold for a few seconds, before breaking.
Dan speaks first, glancing sideways at her trunk. “So, you upgraded to the floating luggage?” he asks.
She glances at it. “Ah, no, actually. I’m making it float.” She’s not sure exactly how, but she’s fairly sure it has something to do with the strange, icy blue aura that appears around anything she uses her newfound telekinetic powers on.
… Or, more accurately, those telekinetic powers. She’s using them to float a couple of books inside her trunk, neatly hiding that aura thing from outside observation.
Emma chuckles, ruffling her hair with one hand. “And I bet you used magic on your hair as well, right?”
She grins. “Actually, no. One of my classmates used magic on me, and this-” she pats her hair- “is just a side effect.”
“A side effect?” Dan asks, alarmed. “What’s the main effect?”
“I’ll tell you once we get home. And, um, did I ever tell you just how scary it is to fly?”
Her parents share a look.
“You go high up or something?” Emma asks.
She nods, and shudders. “Yeah. Two and a half miles, dove at mach six.”
“At mach six!?” Dan almost screams.
“On a broom, yes.”
Emma stares. “You dove, at mach six, on a broom.”
She nods. “Yes.”
“Please tell me the teachers were absolutely certain you were safe.”
She shakes her head. “Uh, actually, that was right after one of the teachers attacked me. But I fought him off, and there were several hundred other students looking out for me, so I wasn’t in any kind of danger.”
Emma looks up at Dan, still staring at her after his yell. “I think I’m starting to wish I could use magic myself.”
Hermione blinks. “You know, I’m going to have to ask Lyra about that.”
“Lyra?” Dan asks. “Who’s that?”
“The classmate that designed and applied the spell that, ah, changed my hair, and who is also designing a spell to do something similar for people from her homeworld.”
“What?”
“Come on, let’s go home. A lot of that stuff is top secret, and this station isn’t exactly the best place to yap about that kind of thing.”
“... Ahh, right, going home. Um, you’ll probably want to put your weightless luggage on the trolley here- it’d probably get people’s attention.”
She raises an eyebrow. “It’s not weightless. As a matter of fact, it weighs a hundred seventy three and a half pounds.”
He looks at it. “Wait. That thing weighs as much as I do, and you’re carrying it like it weighs nothing?”
She glances down at it, before holding it with a fingertip at arms’ length. She’d switched back to manual carrying, releasing her telekinetic hold. “Um… I guess.” She scowls, and casually places it down on the trolley her parents had brought, ignoring the heavy clunking of the same. Then she shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Well, it all started after Charms,” Hermione states, sitting on the couch. “When Applebloom thought she’d try the levitation spell one more time. For some reason, the Crusaders- Applebloom is one of ‘em- are really good at messing things up. Though, Bloom is the tamest of the three; Scoots messes up the most.
“Sorry, getting off topic. In any case, she botched the spell, and we ended up falling upwards, through the ceiling. When Lyra finally arrived to set things straight, there was only one way anyone could permanently fix the damage the spell did to me- and that was to transform me, permanently.”
“Transform?” Dan asks. “That mean you’re… Um…”
Hermione giggles. “A pegasus?”
He blinks, and stares at her. “A pegasus?”
She nods. “Yep. Turns out, Lyra- and the Crusaders- come from a whole alternate universe, where they’re all ponies. And a third of them, or so, are pegasi. That’s what she turned me into- something about expanding magic matrices. Don’t worry, I didn’t lose anything, save the bothersome hair.” She grins, brushing her hand briefly through her metallic red hair.
“But you’re not a pegasus,” Emma states, confused.
Hermione nods. “Just like they appear as humans in this world. Something about the magic of the worlds, transforms them into humans on this side. Means I got to keep my human form.” She sighs. “And, apparently, us British people have some magic facet they don’t have, that lets me transform myself at will.” She shudders. “Not… Not that I want to, or need to, but I suppose I can. Though…” She looks to the side, at the armrest of the couch. “There is… one other change, to my… human form.” She unfolds her wings slightly. “My… My wings stick around.” She folds them again, shuddering. “At least they take care of themselves.”
“So…” Emma begins.
“Magic is weird,” Dan declares.
“No kidding,” Emma agrees.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
Harry lets out a sigh- but at least now, he has her attention. “I said, there’s something I’d like to show you tonight,” he repeats. “It’s a mirror that shows me my parents.”
Lyra raises her eyebrows. “A mirror that shows you your parents? Why do you want to show it to me?”
He shrugs. “It… It showed Ron something different. And you’re the most likely- that I can think of- to have a clue as to what it’s really doing.” Tonight is the third night after Christmas.
“Ahh. Sure, then.”
“Okay,” he mutters. “I’ll be right back.” He runs upstairs, fetches his invisibility cloak, and returns.
Lyra’s eyebrows shoot up as soon as she sees it. “Uh, where did you get that?” she asks.
He recoils slightly. “Christmas present,” he answers. “The note said it once belonged to my father.”
Lyra scowls. “Alright, where did your father get a Death’s Shroud?”
“Get what?”
She taps it gently with one finger. “That’s not an invisibility cloak. That’s a Death’s Shroud. Far more powerful than any invisibility cloak, and hellishly difficult for me to detect- flat-out impossible for anyone else. Even you, right now.” She scowls. “It’s gone stagnant, though. The sonic containment and physical anti-impediment routines are inactive. And… Yeah, the summoner’s burnt out, and the expansion matrix is jammed.”
“Uh, what?”
She smiles suddenly. “But while the identity matrix is a bit clogged, it’s still working- and it self-identifies as belonging to you.”
He stares at her.
She blinks. “Right, you don’t know what a Death’s Shroud is, do you?” She sighs. “It’s a very powerful collection of spells optimized for concealment. I’m one out of a half a dozen Equestrians powerful enough to make one, and the only Equestrian to know how. As a matter of fact, my overblown stealth spells are based on the Death’s Shroud matrices- I just have more control over them.” She taps his invisibility cloak once again. “And the only reason this one looks like an invisibility cloak is because it’s so badly damaged.”
“What.”
She tilts her head. “Would you like me to fix it real quick? These things take weeks to make, but I can repair the matrices in this one in about two minutes.”
He stares.
“Don’t worry, I won’t damage it. It is all you have left of your dad, after all.”
“Uh… Okay.”
He drops the invisibility as he runs towards the mirror, getting in front of it. Lyra had somehow made his invisibility cloak part of him, such that he can turn it on and off- nevermind stretching it to cover as many people as he wants it to- with his mind. Now, he’s turned it off and reappeared, because being invisible tickles slightly.
“Ohhh,” Lyra mutters from off to the side.
He glances over. “What?”
“The Mirror of Erised,” Lyra states. “Very powerful, technically good magical artefact- yet perhaps the most dangerous of the ‘good’ artefacts there are, while it’s at it.”
“It…” He looks at the mirror. “It shows me my parents.”
“It shows you a lie,” Lyra answers. “This mirror reflects back to you what you want to see, not what’s actually there. Besides- remember that envelope thing I was talking about in the Leaky Cauldron?”
He blinks. “Uh, yeah?”
“You can actually talk to your parents, with it. Their real souls, not just a projection of them like this mirror.” She puts a hand on each of his shoulders, staring into his eyes for a couple seconds. “Hmm… Yeah, you’ve got enough experience with it to move on. Now, here’s what I want you to do.”
Dumbledore stares at the impromptu midnight magic lesson taking place right in front of him.
He stares until it’s done, and Harry’s looking at something he can’t see, watching it dance in circles around him.
“That’s…?” Harry begins, trailing off.
“That’s your mother,” Lyra informs him. “She’s excited that you can see her. I’m afraid that’s about as far as we can get right now- you’ll have to get used to it for a while before you can move on to hearing her. Then, after that, seeing her in more detail.”
“What about my dad?”
“Your mom is far, far easier to see, because you’re looking through her magic. But he’s here as well, don’t worry.” Lyra shakes an invisible hand, drawing Harry’s attention. “Really? … Thanks, I’ll have to check it out.” She looks back at Harry. “Once you’re able to see your mom clearly, you’ll start to be able to see him like you see her now. A little past that- right about the point when you can hear him- you’ll start being able to pick out other, unrelated spirits.” She glances at the air where she’d shaken the hand. “And that’s also right about when you’ll be able to start physically interacting with your mom.”
He blinks. “Wait. They’re here?”
She nods. “Yep. Your parents will always hear anything you say, no matter where you- or they- are. They heard us talking, and got curious.” She grins. “And of course, my parents are here as well- this is my mom, Dancing Hearts.” She rests her hand on something invisible, about chest height, next to her. “And this is my dad, Hamstrings.” The other hand comes up this time, resting on something slightly higher, on her other side.
Okay, why isn't Lyra the Element of Magic? Is it just first come first serve and Twilight just beat her to the punch?
9684630
Because Twilight's more powerful.
Lyra just understands some things Twilight can't fathom... and likely misses out on a lot of stuff Twilight's studied up on. Which reminds me, I'll have to make her start running into those a little more often...
Though, that does make me wonder how the Nightmare Moon battle might have gone if Twilight hadn't actually represented the Element of Magic, but someone else in town did, who already knew all five of the other Elements...
9684637
So Twilight is a magical dunce compared to Lyra but she gets to be a princess and the physical representation of magic because she has more raw power. Yeah, that seems fair.
So the takeaway from this chapter...you didn't mary sue Hermione, you just turned her into an alicorn...a common symbol of mary sues...i suppose there is a difference. And you had Harry's cloak modified a little while turning him into a bit of a medium.
9684650
... That's not what I intended with the story, but yeah, that has been how it's been coming out. Hmm...
(Probably doesn't help I'm more one for the powerful sneak attack than for overwhelming frontal assault.)
9684693
Uh... Something like that, I suppose.
Be nice if certain spirits were actually corporeal. Imagine interviewing an ancestral line to get a true family history.
9684697
I understood that reference.
9684839
Wait, what? That was a reference?
9684849
Oh...
You were quoting someone. I forget where it's from, but I know the quote.
9684884
Well, Google didn't find it...
But it makes sense- a "powerful sneak attack" can be done successfully with a fraction of the force (and, of course, casualties) it takes for a successful "overwhelming frontal assault", so the former has been done many times throughout this planet's war-torn past.
9684889
Somme vs Blitzkrieg.
One of those was a sneak attack, going around the enemy lines.
The other was a worthless campaign that achieved little for the lives it cost.
9684892
Yeah, something like that. Historically, I believe our military commanders have always preferred the sneak attack for its effectiveness... Well, save a few thick-skulled exceptions, probably.
Well, to be fair, the spell did get them off the ground.
9684650
Twi is not a dunce. Just gullible, niegheve, and socially awkward. She's brilliant but not very aware of others and what's going on around her. She's totally book smart not street smart like Lyra. And Lyra wasn't picked by Harmony via the rainboom.
9685063
Yeah, that sounds about right.
I mean, back at that Quidditch match, Lyra didn't know what Finite Incantatem was, and here Hermione found it in the Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three... which Twilight had no doubt already read through, six times over. Plus, I don't recall Lyra inventing gravity-based levitation spells in her first class...
9685063
And yet Lyra is the one creating magic Twilight could never dream of. She created a portal to another world and invented a spell that allows her to completely rewrite a person's very being. In this case (and honestly most cases in fiction) street smarts > book smarts. Lyra is clearly a better mage than Twilight could ever hope to be.
Who do you honestly think is more deserving of the element of magic? The person with an instinctual understanding of magic who is capable of magical feats no one else could pull off or the person who is only good at magic because she reads a lot and was born with more power than most?
9685098
Deserving means nothing. It's who can be more easily manipulated by Harmony and Celestia for the destiny they have planned. Lyra is Batman. Twi is Spidey.
9685114
That's... a rather alarming, yet accurate, way of putting it...
Oh, you'll want to be careful with that on earth. Unlike harmonious ponies, humans are far less likely to rest easy. Once word gets out that someone can see them? You'll never have a moments rest.
"Tell my wife I love her!"
"I was murdered by my brother-in-law!"
"I hid the will under the kitchen floorboards!"
"Someone needs to feed Mr. Fluffles!"
"I left the stove on!"
Gorram! They never shut up!
9685222
It's also very cynical of me to put it that bluntly. Twilight really didn't stand a chance at a normal life the moment the rainboom and Harmony picked her. Lyra, Moondancer, Starlight Glimmer, all are probably more skilled than Twilight but are less likely to be guided by Destiny.
9685098
9685114
I think that hits the nail on the head, it really feels like we are a can of shark repellent away from Lyra man. Or at least Deckard Cain because she can id all your artefacts
Currently Lyra and Bonbon immediately curb stomp any issue into the ground so hard and fast that I cannot imagine anything moldy butt could do that wouldn't feel like a child with a stick trying to cut down a tsunami as each chapter drives home the point how much better equestrians are at magic then humans
9686217
I'm beginning to think that the only place ponies aren't massively OP is fallout Equestria. But then again I tend to like massively OP ponies.
EQUESTRIA PREVAILS!
Why do I put up with the shenanigans in this story?
I... I don't know, but I'm loving just how... OP the Equestrian's are, compared to the British Wizards! Really loving it. And I have no idea why!
Is Hermione an alicorn or something? You just gave her super strength and wandless magic out of the blue
9690809
Remember the Quidditch match, and what happened immediately after in the changing room?
Yeah, she is.
To quote Sweetie Belle, "Aww, come on!"
I generally don't mind OP ponies as long as the story remains interesting, but something about this shatters the illusion, forcing me to perceive your Lyra as the implausibly-convenient-for-the-author cardboard cut-out plot device you've been using her as.
Probably one too many straws on the camel's back, combined with how far into jargon and unsubstantiated headcanon this paragraph goes. (To be honest, it reminds me of my reaction to learning of the Deathly Hallows in HP canon when there had been no foreshadowing of note in the prior books.)
9745946
That was... actually the point. She used so much jargon Harry didn't understand. And admittedly, yes, she did end up as a convenient tool- but she's quickly exhausting her repertoire.
9686234
Stardust was fairly balanced, even the OP Alicorns. Twilight is super fucking powerful but she's essentially a child when it comes to the concept of flat out murder. So she relegates herself to creating spells and equipment humans can use to fight the Elders. And when she finally snaps it's like she goes into the avatar state.
Even OP Celestia has some back story with Discord where he essentially sealed a lot of her offensive power to prevent her from going nightmare.
Would highly recommend, only downside is the sequel's progress has been slow.
That bit about the magical matrices could possibly forcibly enslave humans by turning them pony just gave me Conversion Bureau vibes
10182416
... Not by turning them into ponies...
She's saying that the magic matrices used to turn them into ponies modify the core of their being- and if used to modify it in a different way, then yes, forcible enslavery, and very much like the Conversion Bureau.
The physics of that spell are changing at least a little for the rewrite, OtIoPW.