Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 107: New Foci
"You want to carve runes on your entire body? Have you gone insane?!" Ginny shouted.
"Well… technically yes, but I got better," Harry responded.
"Oh…" Ginny grimaced when she realized what she had just told him. "Sorry, I said it without thinking. But you know what I meant."
"No, I do. But this will be necessary so I can gain control over my abilities," Harry said.
Ginny pointed at the brands on his arms. "You said that you spent a very long period of time perfecting those. And that there was no reason for any more improvements or modifications."
"That was true at the time. But circumstances have changed."
"What has changed exactly?" Ginny asked. She didn't feel like Harry was much different from before losing V. He just seemed to be a bit more serious and focused than before.
"It's hard to explain it in words, but…" Harry moved his hand in front of him and opened his palm. "I can feel the magical energies all around me. I understand them, and I know I can control them in ways that I never thought possible."
A small object was conjured. It was a small stone, and it floated over the palm of his hand.
The stone began to change form, size, and even material. Harry was constantly applying different transfigurations and charms to the object in question. The spells flowed so seamlessly that it would make Professor McGonagall faint with shock.
"It's like all my life, I had been moving around with some heavy weights tied to my back and limbs. And now… they are gone." Harry then made the stone disappear. "I know I'm capable of much more than this. But I need a better focus. My arms alone are not enough. I need one that covers my entire body."
Ginny could understand the explanation, but there was still something that made no sense. "And how are you going to design this full-body focus? Or are you planning on improvising?" She knew that the runic array on his arms had taken him countless years to perfect.
Now he wanted to do a full-body one without any research? It sounded extremely reckless to her.
"I'm not going to improvise anything. I already have a clear design in mind. I just… never used it before. Because it just seemed unnecessary. Even with V giving me his full storage of magic, the ones I had were enough to handle those sorceries. So I stored the design in my mind and moved on. Now it is time to use it."
Ginny glanced over at the tools displayed on the table and grimaced.
Harry noticed her discomfort. "You don't have to help me with this if you don't want to. I understand… I can ask my Godfather or Dumbledore."
"No. I'll do it." Ginny's eyes were filled with determination. Harry trusted her more than anyone else. She was not going to give her spot away to someone else because she was too afraid of seeing some blood.
Her experience inside Harry's mind had already shown her more gore than she had hoped to see in her entire life. This could not be worse than that.
"If you are sure, then we'd better get started. I believe time is of the essence." Harry grabbed hold of the first tool, the curved knife, and the vial of ink. "I will first do the front and explain the process. Then it will be your turn to repeat the same pattern on my back."
Ginny took a deep breath and prepared herself mentally for what was about to happen. Now she kind of wished that Harry only wanted to have sex.
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An hour later.
Ginny moved the knife, connecting another line. Her eyes would occasionally shift to the glowing symbol floating in the air, which showed the pattern she had to draw.
She was doing okay in her Ancient Runes class, but Professor Sinistra's lessons had not prepared her for this.
Her eyes moved for a second to the pool of blood on the floor. "Are you really okay?" Harry never made a single sound as knives and other sharp tools cut deep into his flesh.
"I'm fine," Harry responded.
"There is a lot of blood on the floor…" Ginny felt the need to point out, even though he must have also realized this.
"I'm taking blood-replenishing potions." Harry showed her one of the vials. "My life won't be in danger from this. Keep going… we still have to do the legs afterwards."
"Uuu…" Ginny gripped the knife tightly in her right hand and got to work.
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The entire process lasted well over two hours, and by the end of it, Ginny's clothes were soaked in Harry's blood.
If she were to walk into London like she was now, Ginny would immediately be arrested.
As for Harry… his body was now covered in glowing runes. His chest, back, legs, arms, and even part of his face.
"Did… did it work?" She was hesitant to ask, hoping that she hadn't made any mistakes during the long process, but she couldn't imagine that they could just do it again.
Harry was standing in the middle of the room with his eyes closed.
At this point, Ginny didn't even care that he was only wearing a pair of trunks. She had other concerns in mind.
After a minute or two of being in a fully focused state, Harry opened his eyes and looked at her.
She was surprised by how bright his green eyes were right now. They were brimming with barely restrained power. She felt like Harry was able to know everything about her with a single glance.
Harry smiled. "Everything is fine. Thank you, Ginny. You did great."
"Well… that is a relief," she said. "Now… I would really like a bath and a change of clothes."