Cherreads

Chapter 51 - Chapter 51: Elder Blood

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Reality: Wizarding World (Harry Potter) 

Hogwarts: Headmaster's Office

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The warm glow of the many instruments in Dumbledore's office cast a soft light over the room, but the atmosphere between the Headmaster and Severus Snape was anything but tranquil. Snape sat rigid in his chair, his dark eyes fixed on Dumbledore with an expression that teetered between disbelief and frustration.

"I told you," Snape said sharply, his voice laced with irritation, "I told you he was insane. But no, you insisted he was just a prodigy that needed to be guided, 'just another bright young wizard'." He gestured with a flick of his hand, as though the sheer absurdity of the situation needed no further elaboration. "And now, only 2 weeks after graduating, he's gained his lordship by killing a vampiric Dark Lord not even Riddle, who constantly looked down on other species', tried to fight. Then started his own bank with the Dwarves, and somehow cured a Maledictus."

Dumbledore, seated behind his desk, appeared almost unfazed by Snape's outburst. He steepled his fingers, delving into his thoughts. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement took statements from those who witnessed the events," He said calmly, "Including the Dwarves and the surviving vampires. According to their accounts, Young Grey killed Gilbert, along with his personal guard, in single combat. Only one spell was actually heard from him during the fight."

Dumbledore's sharp blue eyes fixed on Snape. "Severus, you are familiar with Gilbert and his reputation. How powerful was he?"

Snape's expression darkened as his mind drifted back to the memories he would have preferred to forget. "During the war," He began slowly, "The Dark Lord attempted to gain Gilbert's allegiance. It didn't work, at least not the way he wanted. Gilbert was... peculiar. He cared more about his numbers—his armies—than magical prowess and politics, though he was no weakling. By wizarding standards, he wasn't on par with Aurors, but that was when one didn't consider his Vampiric enhancements."

Snape paused as his brows furrowed in thought. "Gilbert preferred preparation and brute force. His victories came from setting the stage—wards that blotted out the sun, traps, enchantments, then swarming the battlefield with as many vampires as he could get his hands on."

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "I remember being on the receiving end of one of those strategies. Though, I only met him on the battlefield once. Yet young grey bested him and his guard—which, if I remember correctly, amounted to a few dozen wand-carrying Vampires, and he did it alone."

Snape's lips curled into a faint sneer. "Are you really surprised? This is the same individual who put Riddle's soul into a literal bottle."

Dumbledore's serene demeanour cracked, and for the first time that evening, genuine distress flickered across his face. "And that bottle," He said, "Has been taken from the Department of Mysteries."

Snape's posture changed immediately, his back straightening as his eyes widened, instinctively caressing the sleeve of his robe just above where his Dark Mark was. "What?" He demanded. "What do you mean, 'taken'?"

Dumbledore's shoulders sagged, and he leaned back in his chair as though the weight of the world rested on him. "The Unspeakables were conducting experiments to determine how they might safely remove the fragment of Voldemort's soul from Harry's scar. During one of these tests, an Unspeakable—one of their own—sabotaged the procedure and escaped with the bottle. Hospitalising a few of their members in the process."

Snape stared at Dumbledore, a rare look of shock on his usually impassive face. His voice was low, barely above a whisper. "Do you know what this means, Albus?"

Before Dumbledore could respond, Snape leaned forward, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair tightly. "Not only have we lost the soul of a Dark Lord—a soul that will be weaponised in ways we don't even want to imagine—but now we've undoubtedly angered an already unhinged child who has proven he has the ability to contain souls. He is not going to be happy to hear this, he—"

"I know," Dumbledore interrupted with a strained voice, running a hand through his long silver beard in worry. "I know, Severus."

For a moment, the room was silent except for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. "Fuck," Snape muttered a curse under his breath.

"Indeed," Dumbledore simply nodded with a face drawn with concern.

"Do we know who took the soul?" Snape finally asked.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, his gaze falling to his hands folding on the desk. "It was a relative of Augustus Rookwood," He said quietly. "A Death Eater, as you are well aware."

Both men sat in contemplative silence for a few seconds before Snape finally spoke. "We need a plan to recover the soul. And we need to prepare for the inevitable confrontation with the boy when he finds out."

Dumbledore nodded slowly with distant eyes. "You are right, of course. This cannot be delayed. The longer we wait, the worse it will become. I have informed Nicholas of the recent events, and he said he will inform the boy once he has settled in with his mastery a week from now. He wasn't available at the castle, apparently he had other projects to work on."

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Reality: The Witcher 

Johnathan Grey

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'Observe.'

[Reality: The Witcher - Home to where The Witcher game series takes place.]

[A world filled with humans, elves, dwarves, and other races, many of whom are embroiled in centuries-old conflicts and prejudices. Magic, monsters, and alchemical experiments are commonplace, with professional monster hunters known as Witchers. The Continent is rife with political intrigue as powerful kingdoms and empires vie for control, particularly the Nilfgaardian Empire in the south and the Northern Realms. The landscape has diverse ecosystems, ancient ruins, and mysteries rooted in a past shaped by magic and chaos.]

[Alternate reality in which Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon perished while combating the white frost.]

Come on, Ciri, I thought you were better than that. Or maybe I should be blaming Geralt. I remember the player's choices having an impact on whether Ciri survives the end of the game. At least it didn't say anything about her failing to deal with it, just that she perished. Either way, I'll just have to sort that out, won't I?

"I'm sorry for your loss," Yennefer said from the passenger seat as the Mustang soared through the sky. I had just finished recounting the backstory that [Gifted Backstory] provided. Unlike how the Potter characters had similar looks to the movies, Yennefer had the looks of the games. Long black hair, pale flawless skin, violet eyes and dressed in a luxurious, black-and-white outfit including leather pants, fur-lined jacket and high boots.

"Eh, it is what it is, I guess," I replied evenly with a shrug.

Yennefer seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking, "You're certain it was the Wild Hunt?"

I let out a dry chuckle. "It's hard to miss a group of raiders shouting their group's name, travelling around in a floating boat, and attacking people while wearing skeletal-themed armour. Subtlety isn't exactly their strong suit."

Yennefer tilted her head, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "Not everyone has a knack for dramatic flair, I supposed. I take it they sensed some space-related anomalies and attacked your home in order to utilise it?"

I knew she was coming to the conclusion that I also had Elder Blood like Ciri, but I didn't really see a reason to dissuade her. Seeing that I would be getting the Elder Blood from her anyway, I didn't see the point. If anything, I could use it to my advantage.

"I guess—Look, there it is," I said, pointing toward the temple closing in ahead.

She looked ahead, spotting the Temple of Melitele in the distance, nestled among rolling hills and trees. "You should land there," she advised, gesturing toward a secluded clearing nearby. "Unless you want the temple priests and whoever else happens to be around to start asking questions about your magical... car — a rather lazy name for a device such as this if I might add."

"Good idea," I agreed with a nod, angling the Mustang toward the spot she indicated. The car descended smoothly, the Enchanted wheels gently touching the ground before I turned to the woman. "Let me show you how to get out."

After demonstrating how to unfasten the seatbelt and open his door, Yennefer followed my lead, doing the same. Once she stepped out, still eyeing the vehicle with mild fascination, I waved my hand, placing the Mustang back in the [Hoard]. With that done, I turned to the sorceress, slipping the Legendary Mask back on and pulling my hood over my head. "We should get going," I suggested. "But since I've shared some information on the way here, it'd be nice if you could show me a portal before we reach the temple."

Yennefer responded with a bemused look but nodded. "Fair enough."

Turning to face a clear space a few feet in front of her, she held her hands forward, materialising a shimmering, oval-shaped portal that revealed the road we had walked earlier before taking the Mustang. The edges of the portal glowed faintly, rippling like water.

"There," Yennefer said, stepping back slightly to let me examine it. "Satisfied?"

I didn't need to study the portal any more than witnessing it being done once, thanks to [Essence of Archmage], but I made sure to seem like I was, stepping forward to scrutinise it with quiet appreciation before giving her a nod. "Thank you." Without further comment, I began walking toward the temple, leaving Yennefer blinking in surprise.

"Wait," She said, quickening her pace to catch up to me as she let the portal close. "Aren't you going to ask me to teach you how to make one?"

I kept walking as I casually answered. "You just did."

Yennefer frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Pausing briefly, I turned to face her and raised a hand toward the same place she did. Not a moment later, a portal identical to hers appeared, leading to the same road hers did. Unlike her portal, which had a somewhat violet edge, I made sure to make mine dark grey, but due to my insane level of control, there was no shimmering, and the edge was so thin you could barely make out the colour. It just looked like a large hole in space.

The glowing oval pulsed faintly as he gave her a small nod.

"It's a rather useful technique if travelling with large amounts of people or turning an attack against an opponent," I pointed out simply, giving her a small nod before letting the portal close and resuming on the path to the temple.

Yennefer stared at my back for a few moments in astonishment before quickly catching up. "You already knew how to make portals," She accused in a tone carrying suspicion. "You must have learned it from your grandparents. Why make me create one if you could already do it, especially with such precision."

"Nope," I shook my head as we continued the walk, now side by side. "I'd never learned how to make portals until today. I knew how to teleport, but that was the extent of my magical space travelling capabilities."

"So you can teleport and fly, but couldn't open portals?"

"No one's perfect." I shrugged.

Yennefer's brow arched, impressed despite herself. "Those aren't exactly common skills. Even some experienced sorcerers find them challenging—Portals included. Provided you truly did learn that just now and didn't know it beforehand."

"Learning magic quickly is a gift. Once you understand the mechanics, it's all sunshine and rainbows from there."

We continued walking, making some small talk on the way—well, small talk from my end, anyway. Yennefer asked about the Mustang, who made it, its Enchantments, and its engineering, while I asked her about the temple, Witchers, and Witches and their training. As we approached the front doors to the Temple, a priestess in pale robes met us near the entrance. "Welcome to the Temple of Melitele. How may I help you?"

"I received a message to meet Geralt here. Do you know where can we find them?" Yennefer replied, taking the lead while I just looked around.

"Ah, they mentioned a sorceress that would be arriving soon," The priestess inclined her head and gestured toward the courtyard. "They are currently taking a break, eating together in the courtyard, just through there."

Yennefer nodded her thanks, and she and I made our way inside. Thanks to my magic sense, I had already sensed where they were sitting as we stepped into the courtyard, saving us time looking around. But even without magic sense, it was rather easy to spot an ashen-haired pair sitting on a bench beneath a spreading oak tree, plates of food on the table.

Geralt, with his enhanced Witcher senses, noticed our approach before we had covered half the distance. He stopped chewing, his yellow eyes narrowing slightly as he glanced in our direction. Beside him, Ciri noticed his look and followed his gaze, turning to look our way.

Unfortunately, I wasn't looking at Henry Cavill. Much like with Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri followed the game looks. Geralt had the same shoulder-length, ashen white hair, worn tied back in a man bun I remembered. Yellow Cat-like eyes and a weathered, angular face with a short beard and a long diagonal scar across his left eye.

Even his Witcher armour, wolf medallion and the two swords leaning on the side of the table next to him were exactly as they looked at the start of the game. As for Ciri, she looked 13/14 to years old. Dressed in some medieval clothes that made her look tomboyish. When we reached the bench, Yennefer and I sat down directly across from Geralt and Ciri while I removed my mask.

"So," Yennefer began, leaning slightly forward as her gaze settled on Ciri, completely disregarding Geralt. "I suppose you'll be the one I'll be training."

Geralt's lips curled ever so slightly into a wry smile as he set his plate down. "Good to see you too, Yen," he said dryly in a gravelly baritone voice. "Nice of you to acknowledge my existence," Yennefer smirked faintly but didn't reply as she continued to focus on Ciri. Geralt sighed, shaking his head before gesturing my way with a fork. "And who's the kid?"

Unfazed by the Witcher's bluntness, I offered a polite smile and extended a hand first to Ciri, then to Geralt. "I am Lord Jonathan Grey. It's an honour to meet the famous White Wolf. Geralt of Rivia."

[A Firm Handshake activated!]

[Bloodline ability assimilated: Elder Blood]

[Description: Tied to an ancient lineage known as the Elder Bloodline of Lara Dorren, an elven sorceress. This bloodline, formally called Hen Ichaer, was created by the elves to produce a child who could unite the worlds of humans and elves.]

[+ Immense magical power, far surpassing that of most mages or sorcerers in The Witcher reality]

[+ Control over space and time, enabling the opening of portals, teleportation, and even travel between dimensions and worlds.]

Sweet.

Once again, with it being magic-related, it assimilated quickly like the Metamorphmagus I got from Tonks. I could already feel my [Apparition] now being able to take me back to the Potter-verse without the need to use [Dimensional Hopscotch]. As for the magical potential, well, it was only a bonus for my future children who will inherit my bloodline because I already had the potential side covered for myself thanks to my [Essences].

Geralt gave a small, approving nod as he shook my hand. An act that caused his medallion to vibrate even while I was making sure my magic wasn't going haywire, but being released enough to let people know I was at least more powerful than Ciri. Something that didn't go unnoticed by either Geralt or Yennefer. "Jonathan Grey," He repeated, as if trying to remember the name from somewhere. "You've got a title, I see. Lord of what, exactly?"

I tilted his head slightly. "Oh, y'know. Just killed a Vampire that once took over a castle. Got the castle and the title as a reward." I shrugged nonchalantly. "Not as impressive as it sounds."

Geralt's eyes immediately narrowed. "What type of vampire?"

"Eh," I blinked, remembering that this reality had different types of vampires. "It was in a different dimension. Not entirely the same as the ones you might have encountered. They are human looking, burn in the sunlight, can use magic and have enhanced physical capabilities but need blood to survive." 

Geralt blinked in confusion when I said 'different dimension' and glanced in Yennefer's direction, who was listening just as intently to my explanation as I hadn't brought it up on our car ride here.

"Hmm, sounds like Nosferat. They're nocturnal, susceptible to the sun and can look human. A Difficult kill for a child though." He answered absentmindedly, still looking at Yennefer as she continued to ignore his questioning gaze.

"You've been learning magic then?" Ciri asked, having observed enough. "How difficult is it?"

I chuckled lightly. "Oh, I've got magic down to a tee. The only thing I was missing was portals, but Yennefer taught me that recently." I said, gesturing to the sorceress sitting next to me, who looked completely casual at the statement but made it seem like she was being smug about something. "I'm actually more interested in monster knowledge and possibly potions learned by Witchers."

Now that I thought about it, I could always get the information on monsters and Witcher trial potions via using the Resurrection Stone, getting the information directly from the source—those who created and refined them.

"You want to be a Witcher too?" Ciri asked, almost startled.

"What? No. I want to add to my knowledge." I corrected, giving her a confused look. "Do you want to be a Witcher?"

"Yes." She nodded, looking directly at Geralt, who was still looking to Yennefer for some kind of answer.. "And I will be."

"Well," Yennefer said, finally turning her attention to Geralt. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, perhaps we can discuss why I'm here." Her gaze shifted back to Ciri. "There's much work to be done with this one. From what I can tell, with how plentiful her magic is, control will be her biggest proble—"

"Do you have Elder Blood?" Geralt asked bluntly, interrupting Yennefer as his yellow eyes locked onto mine.

"He doesn't have to answer that, Geralt," Yennefer interjected protectively with a small frown. "That's private informa—" 

"Of course I do. I'm awesome," I replied with a small shrug, completely unbothered. "Might be why the Wild Hunt killed my parents. Though I can't really be sure, haven't gotten the chance to ask them yet."

"For the love of... " Yennefer audibly groaned and raised a hand to her face, rubbing her temples before dragging it down into a full facepalm as Geralt nodded appreciatively with a smirk while going back to his food. "John, you don't just say things like that out loud to people you've just met."

I tilted my head slightly, looking at her with mild amusement. "If you're here helping Geralt, then it means he's trustworthy to some extent, doesn't it?"

Yennefer dropped her hand to reveal her violet eyes, narrowing in irritation. "And what if I were here helping someone who wasn't trustworthy---like most jobs sorceresses do for money?"

I simply dismissed her concern with a casual shrug. "Then it's still not a problem. I'm powerful enough to deal with it if it comes to that. Constant study and practice made sure of that. I also know portals now, I could always head through one if necessary."

Yennefer let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. "We're going to need to have a conversation about this some other time. You might be way too sheltered."

Our exchange was interrupted by Ciri, who leaned forward with wide, curious eyes. "You really have Elder Blood?" She asked, her voice filled with both excitement and hope. "Can you teach me how to use it? I have it too."

Geralt's fork froze halfway to his mouth, and he slowly set it down, his almost blank face falling into an expression of quiet disappointment as he turned toward Ciri, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Ciri," He said, "You just made the same mistake he did. Something we already talked about not doing."

Ciri blinked, her face reddening as she realised her mistake. "Oh, but he already…" she muttered, glancing away from Geralt's stern gaze. "I didn't think—"

"No, you didn't," Geralt cut in, his tone firm but not unkind. "You can't go around telling people that. It's dangerous, and it can get you killed."

Ciri fidgeted uncomfortably, going back to her food to ignore Geralt's stern gaze. I, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed by the exchange, already dismissing the conversation as I started continuously using [The Force] to sense around the building, increasing the assimilation rate the more I did so.

"Could you teach me?" Ciri asked again, slightly above a whisper. As if it was going to help make sure Geralt's enhanced Witcher senses wouldn't be able to pick up on it.

"I'll think about it," I said. "But only if those two-" I gestured toward the Sorceress and the Witcher. "-agree. And only after you have the basics covered. I have my new monster education to worry about too after all."

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"When you know about something it stops being a nightmare. When you know how to fight something, it stops being so threatening."

—Vesemir

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Hello There

Unspeakables don fucked up. You just can't get good help nowadays, huh?

Now John has the Elder Blood and can hop from one dimension to another without the need for Dimensional Hopscotch.

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As always, stay awesome.

Until next time, Light's out.

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