Capítulo 55: Chapter 55 The New Girl
Harry showed the new arrival into his waiting area while doing some inspections. Harry didn't mind that the girl brought magic artifacts into his house but he figured she was being careless. Unconcealed Dragon Chi was easily trackable with the right tools. Harry's house was magically insulated so they couldn't be tracked while inside, but that wasn't the case outdoors.
The girl herself was looking all around like a kid in a candy store. The home's interior was both modern and classy and had many beautiful paintings on the wall and ornate items displayed on pedestals and frames. There were also many different cameras hidden inside which were built into the Hard-Light system installed in every room. With the push of a button the entire home could turn into a makeshift Danger Room for training purposes. Harry was almost finished programming a Hard-Light Butler that could attend to guests so he wouldn't have to.
Harry asked, "Would you like some tea?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. I'd love some."
Harry directed her to wait in the waiting area while he went to the kitchen and pulled out some tea from his Inventory. Harry suddenly thought of an amusing prank and also pulled out a plate containing a large, perfectly cooked, whole ham. With the tea set in his left hand and the ham plate in his right, he returned to the waiting room.
"Woah. That was fast. Is that ham? I'm not really hungry at the moment." She only accepted the tea to hide the fact that she wasn't paying attention to what he said at first.
Harry smiled and set the ham on another table in the waiting room before setting the tea set in front of her. He said, "So Ms. Chan. At what level would you consider your skill in Chi Magic?"
The girl froze for a moment while picking up her cup. She hadn't expected this to turn into an interview.
"Um. I'm a Master. I can cast lots of powerful Chi Spells without any difficulty. Want to see?"
Harry smirked and gave the universal motion for, 'go ahead.'
Jade unzipped her one of her suitcases and reached inside. After a moment of rummaging, she grabbed one of the Chi sources and pulled it out. Though she held it in a way that would prevent Harry from seeing it. Harry simply paused, walked over, and took a look. The piece in her hand took the appearance of a octagonal stone with the image of a dragon on the face.
Harry unpaused and Jade said, "Um, not this one," shoved the piece back into her suitcase and started rummaging for another one. She pulled out another and Harry paused again to see that the piece had the same form, but had the image of a snake on it.
Jade smiled and said with great fanfare, "Ah, here we go. Watch and be amazed as I use my mastery of Chi Magic to become Invisible!"
Harry felt the dragon chi in the stone piece resonate with the girl's chi and in the next instant, the visible light around the girl seemed to ignore her presence as she faded completely from view.
Harry could still sense her of course. Even on the surface she had far more chi than a normal human so his energy sense did not lose track of her. That and the invisibility did not cover up the dragon chi from the piece in her hand.
While invisible, Jade picked up her tea cup and walked behind her seat before drinking it in one gulp. "Hey, this is pretty good!"
Harry inwardly sighed. It was obvious that she did not have a real understanding of tea or she would have taken the time to properly savor it.
The invisible girl walked back around the couch and set the cup back down on the table before releasing her invisibility. "What do you think? Pretty cool huh? So how much are you gonna pay me?"
Harry did his best not to laugh aloud and settled for a light smile. She was funny, he'd give her that. Still, playing around aside, he'd give her a chance to use some real Chi Magic before he kicked her out.
Harry said, "Not bad, but there is one more thing I'd like you to demonstrate before we discuss terms of employment."
Harry had no idea why, but Jade's eye violently twitched when Harry said, 'one more thing.'
Harry left the room again and pulled out an old vase from his inventory. Since the creation of his Arcane website and the advanced internet he founded, he'd gotten into a habit of buying random knick-knacks and do-dads off the internet. Mostly artifacts, historical pieces, or items with a fascinating history. One of the reasons he made such a large house was to have room to display his favorites so they were no longer collecting metaphorical dust in his inventory.
Harry returned to the waiting room with the vase. It was ornate and looked very old, but also gave off a feeling that would prevent people from being comfortable in the same room as the vase. When Harry purchased it, the vase had the ashes of an old demon trapped inside. Harry destroyed it but kept the vase. The vase however carried the remnant of the demon's hatred as a basic curse. Harry could easily contain it, but it was something he intended to use to practice different forms of curse removal later.
Jade frowned when she saw the vase Harry placed on the table. That at least got Harry's approval. She was sensitive to the evil within the vase. Harry said, "Please show me how you would remove the curse on this priceless vase."
Chi magic was of course magic powered by life energy. There were many forms and it had many applications. One of the strongest applications however was purification, greater than any other form of magic. That was because most other forms of magic used another source of power to purify which still left some taint behind. Human life force did not leave behind a taint when used properly.
Jade said, "Um, sure, but it will take a while. Do you have the time?"
Harry nodded, "I'm mostly free today." It was true. Jean, Wanda, and Rogue had been out every day of the last three days pillaging the various stores of New York for new clothes to fill their massive new closets. Harry thought their old clothes were fine, but the girls ignored his opinion stating that fashions in the city were different from fashions in Salem and they had to update everything.
Jade pointed to the side and said, "Um, you cat is eating the ham."
Harry didn't look over to where Goose had jumped up on the other table and had started taking bites out of the ham.
Harry continued, "I'm still waiting for your demonstration."
"Huh?" Jade then scooted to the side of the couch away from Goose and shouted, "Woah! What is that?!"
The ham was actually brought out for Goose and Harry informed her through the link. Harry didn't look over in her direction as terrible tentacles erupted from Goose's mouth and wrapped around the ham that was three times her size. He simply said, "Please don't change the subject Ms. Chan. Can you remove the curse or not?"
Jade shouted, "Are you serious right now? What is that cat doing? Oh my god!"
Goose had pulled the whole ham into her mouth like it was nothing and the tentacles vanished. Goose then looked over at the terrified human and jumped to their table. Harry leaned over and started petting the orange tabby cat shaped flerken and said, "Oh, this is Goose."
Jade blinked twice, got up from the couch, and ran for the door at breakneck pace.
The door closed on its own as Jade had simply ran out as fast as she could. Harry looked next to the couch and wondered when she would remember she brought suitcases. He also wondered what the people watching his house would think. He honestly didn't care about all the effort they put into watching him. According to the files Harry hacked into, they considered him more of an asset than a threat. Perhaps they thought they were protecting him? That thought made Harry smile wryly.
Harry put the vase back into his inventory and pulled out his cell phone to call the Ancient One back.
[So how was the assistance?]
"Mixed messages to be honest. She actually tried to pass off artifacts which used dragon chi as her own abilities."
[Ah, I see. That answers a few questions I had.]
Harry sighed and said, "Let me guess, you think that she was posing as the Grandmaster Chi Wizard and exchanged letters with you as if she were him?"
[Basically. It was most amusing. Anything I do in regards to you cannot be viewed in the future, so each letter was unexpected.]
Harry shook his head and sighed. Apparently the Ancient One had her own hobbies.
"Can you give me the address of the Grandmaster Chi Wizard. I'd like to visit him personally."
[I'm sure you can look it up yourself. He owns a store in San Francisco called Uncle's Rare Finds.]
"Alright. And I will get you back for this."
[We shall see.] And with that she hung up.
It was clear this was an elaborate prank by the Ancient One. There was no way she could have been fooled by the letters of a sixteen year old girl, regardless of how resourceful she was.
Harry sent a text message to Jean, [Going to San Francisco to see a Chi Wizard. Not sure if I'll be home before dinner.]
After a few moments he got a reply, [We'll eat out for dinner, so have fun.]
Harry smiled and took another look at the suitcase containing the eleven dragon chi artifacts she'd left behind. Harry decided to ignore it for now. He put the tea set back into his inventory and went for the front door.
Harry easily confirmed Jade's invisible presence not far from his front door. Thinking of another prank, Harry took a key from his pocket and used it to lock the door before visibly placing the key back into his pocket. Unsurprisingly, Jade started following him as he walked away. Of course the key was just for show. Harry's security was not so simple, but it gave her a visible target and reason to follow him.
Harry walked a few blocks out and found a location his technopathy sensed only a single store security camera in. Harry used his technopathy to disable it and created a silver ring portal and walked in. Harry also cast his own technopath spell which made his image difficult to capture on camera. He didn't want people to see him leave New York and appear in San Francisco and this spell would make it impossible for any picture of him to be run through facial recognition until he dispelled it.
Harry kept the portal open behind him long enough for Jade to run through before it closed. She was brave, he'd give her that. Harry then leisurely walked down the street and eventually made his way to the two story shop situated at the corner of a heavily inclined road, Uncle's Rare Finds.
Despite the three hour time difference it was still in the afternoon and the shop's door was open for anyone to walk in. Harry entered and couldn't help himself from admiring the place. There were stacks of manuscripts, most of which looked original, dozens of antiques, statues, and even a few pieces of ancient artwork Harry had only heard rumors about. The most impressive thing was that Harry couldn't spot a single forgery or replica among the artwork and antiques.
A skinny old man stood at the register with a massive, ancient book open on the counter. Harry peered over the contents. It appeared to be a recipe for noodle soup.
The old man looked up at Harry and said, "Ancient Cookbook. Are you interested?"
Harry answered in Cantonese. {No thank you. Those recipes use too much garlic. But I do have some questions for you.}
The old man smiled and quickly gave a two finger slap against Harry's forehead. "Your Accent Terrible! Stick with English~! And no such thing as too much Garlic!"
Harry gave an awkward chuckle. Harry rarely if ever used any spells which required incantations and even when he did, he cast them nonverbally. He could speak, understand, read and write most languages on the planet, but he almost never actually conversed with anyone using those languages so his accent was in fact not that great.
"Alright then. Are you familiar with the being known as the Ancient One of Kamar-Taj, in Tibet?"
The old man raised an eyebrow and said, "We have met. Was many years ago. Do not recall much."
"Well, I'm an apprentice of hers. A few years back I came into possession of a large amount of Chi and she told me you were the best Chi Wizard in the world and recommended learning Chi Magic under you."
The old man leaned over the counter and took a long look at Harry. He then said, "Uncle already has apprentice. Too old, for another."
Harry nodded in understanding. He asked, "Do you have any recommendations for books on learning the subject then?"
"No." He flatly answered.
"I'll pay you."
"Okay." He quickly replied.
Harry smiled. The recession wasn't kind to shops like this so he didn't mind the price.
The old man continued, "Uncle has old journals from time spent training under Grandmaster Fong. Will rent them to you. Must return them when finished, or you will get a piece of Uncle~! Understand?"
Harry smiled and answered, "I am grateful for your kindness," and gave a light bow.
The old man who apparently referred to himself as Uncle gave a nod and slowly walked to the back of the store.
Jade had of course followed Harry and was in the store, still invisible. Harry was at least partially impressed by the girl's sneaking skills. In addition to making no noise while tailing him, she hadn't bumped into a single person on the crowded sidewalks of New York or San Francisco while invisible.
From the back of the store, Harry heard a shout, "Aiiee-yaaaahh!" For some reason, this appeared to make Jade fidget.
From the second floor, someone shouted, "Uncle!" A well trained Chinese man jumped from the railing on the second floor to the ground level and looked ready for a fight. He then looked at Harry who appeared mostly harmless and was standing at the counter like someone ready to make a purchase. The man dropped his stance and said, "Eh, Hi? You look familiar."
From the back came the shout, "Jackie~ee! Jade has taken Uncle's Journal!"
He walked back into the front and the other man, Jackie, said, "What? How do you know?"
"She left a note," he presented it to him.
Uncle gave Jackie the note which he left over before face palming his forehead and muttering, "bad day."
Harry Paused and walked over to read the note. It basically said she was off to see the world and would learn Chi Magic on her own.
Harry unpaused and was more than a little amused at the invisible Jade's continuous fidgeting. Harry pulled out his phone and connected to the cameras at his house and pulled up an image. Harry held it to the younger man and said, "Is this her?"
Jackie did a double take at the phone before snatching it and examining it closely. "Yes!" He looked at it again "Why does she have suitcases?"
Harry answered, "She was at my house not long ago and left shortly afterwards. However I'm pretty sure she'll come back."
Jackie looked at Harry with a bit of suspicion. "Why is that? And who are you?"
Uncle answered, "He is an apprentice of my Master's friend. Came to learn Chi Magic. Politely offered to rent my journals for reading."
"Magic? And Jade took your Journals?" He turned back to Harry, "And Jade went to meet you?"
Harry sighed and said, "Yes. This may be in part due to an elaborate prank played on me by my Master. I'm not sure when Jade will return, but how about I invite you over to my house and we can wait for her there."
Jackie relented, "Very well. Where do you live?"
Harry nonchalantly opened a silver portal against the far wall and said, "Over there," before casually walking over.
Invisible Jade rushed through the portal and over behind the couch next to where she left her suitcase. Harry pretended not to notice and Jackie looked more than a little shell shocked. He examined the silver portal for a few moments and stereotypically peered through and around it.
Harry said, "Are you coming or not?"
Jackie entered and the ring closed. His eyes locked onto a statue in the corner. "That is an original bust of the Emperor of the Lost Tong Dynasty! And this!" He went over to the various knick-knacks Harry collected and seemed to be amazed by each one.
Harry had his back turned so Jade went over to her suitcase and took out the other eleven Dragon Chi pieces. She already heard Harry's house had cameras so she couldn't take the suitcase, she just grabbed the stones, made them invisible, and stuffed them into her jacket pockets.
Harry tried not to laugh when she went into the living room and returned without the dragon chi pieces save the one that made her invisible. Harry figured she knew she would be searched so she hid the pieces for later.
After taking a few moments to be amazed at some of the decorations, Jackie turned back to Harry and said, "You know, these belong in a museum."
Harry shook his head and said, "You know, most museums don't own their pieces. They simply lease them from the actual owners."
"I know but, there has been no evidence of the existence of the Tong Dynasty until now! Just that bust alone could rewrite history books!"
Harry smiled and said, "I bought it off the internet."
Jackie's jaw dropped. He apparently wasn't expecting that. "Just who are you?"
"Harry Potter. A Professor at New York University." Since Harry already had several published papers, he did in fact have the right to use the Professor title. He felt it was classier than Doctor after meeting the man who claimed to hold that 'honorary' title.
"Bwaah! Professor Potter?! You're the guy with those video lectures! I thought I recognized you!"
"That's me. Would you like some tea?"
"Umm. Okay?"
Harry went back into the kitchen and pulled out the tea set again. Goose wasn't hungry so he didn't feel like playing another prank on Jackie.
Harry returned with the tea set and Jackie took the cup and said, "Thank you." He took a sip and properly savored it before saying, "Good tea," before taking another drink.
"I gave some to Ms. Chan but she just gulped it down."
Jackie shook his head. "Why did she come here?"
Harry took a sip of tea before answering, "My master sent letters to, what was that Uncle's name?"
Jackie smiled and said, "No one knows. Just Uncle will do."
"Alright, my Master was looking for someone to teach me Chi Magic and sent letters to Uncle as he was the best Good Chi Wizard in the world. I suspect Ms. Chan intercepted those letters and answered my Master on Uncle's behalf or using his name. The most recent letter to my master apparently stated that Uncle would be sending some assistance in learning Chi Magic. Then Jade showed up. She claimed to be a master of Chi Magic, but when I brought out a cursed vase and asked her to purify it, she quickly left, leaving her luggage by the couch in a hurry." Harry motioned to the luggage.
Jackie looked it over and seemed torn as to whether or not he should open it.
Harry continued, "She also asked for pay and seemed intent on crashing here. I'm quite certain my Master was not in fact fooled by Ms. Chan and went along with it as a prank. Out of curiosity, does she actually know Chi Magic?"
"Only what she has learned from reading some of Uncle's books. I've seen her use it but Uncle never taught her."
"Why not? My senses are pretty sharp so I know she has more Chi than most people."
"I know. But I am responsible for her. I can't let her learn magic, it's too dangerous."
"She seems to be an adult."
"She is only sixteen! Still in high school. Or she should be. She skipped so many classes last year, she was almost expelled. I had to pull some strings to even get the school to allow her back. Why can't she wait until she is an adult?"
"Would Uncle teach her Chi Magic if she waited two years?"
Jackie remained silent.
Harry didn't bother to Pause to consider the options. Obviously Jade could not teach Chi Magic, but she had been using it herself and seemed to have seen Uncle use it often enough. Since Uncle wouldn't teach Harry, Jade might actually be able to assist him. Not teach him, but learn it together.
Harry took another sip of tea and said, "You're her guardian, right?" Harry was indirectly asking how Jade was even related to this man. It was clear responsibility for her had been dumped on him and he was trying his best.
"Yes. She is my cousin's daughter, though I call her my niece and she calls me uncle. She was having a hard time in Hong Kong and was initially sent to attend school in the US for a year. Things happened and that ended up getting extended. Indefinitely."
There was some bitterness in his voice as well as pity.
Harry pulled out a phone and sent some text messages. A few moments later he got a reply and smiled which seemed to confuse Jackie.
Since harry was able to get permission first, he asked, "What if she finished high school here?"
""Huh?"" Jackie's own voice hid Jade's started reaction and Harry once more pretended not to notice it.
Harry continued, "There is a pretty good high school a few blocks away and a University across the street. New York University."
"Wait? We're in New York?"
Harry nodded, "Yup. My Master taught me how to make portals like that. Anyways, I have a lot of connections when it comes to schools in the area. What if we went ahead with her plan but made a few adjustments. My guess is that she intended on crashing here, learning Chi Magic herself, and teaching me as she went along. Instead of that, I'll let her board here and we can look over the material together and learn it together. However, I will only let her board and let her learn with me if she attends High School and get top grades."'
"No, she can't learn magic, it is too dangerous."
Harry felt like the man had those words carved into his mind when it came to Jade and Magic. harry figured at some point Jade probably got badly injured by magic and that made Jackie decide to never allow it no matter what.
Harry said, "Please remember who you are speaking with. I've been studying most forms of magic for years and know how to study it safely. I can apply Metaphysics to the art in a safe environment which will take the uncertainty and danger out of the practice."
"Wait, how many magics do you know?"
"It would be faster to list off magics I don't know." Harry didn't use them but most forms of magic were recorded in some way in Kamar-Taj. Even if harry didn't use them all, he was familiar with and could be considered an expert in most of them.
Harry said, "For example, in the 14th century Asgardians had a treaty with earth that required all records of Asgardian magic to be removed. This treaty was signed and enforced by magic which forcefully removed any form of Asgardian magic from the earth making it one of the few forms of magic I don't know." Asgardian and Chi were actually the only two main branches of Magic Harry did not know. Harry could write books on Demon Magic, Soul Magic, and even Magics commonly used by Aliens, but he didn't know those two.
Jackie couldn't help but ask, "Why did they do that?"
"A few reasons, most of them not bad. Part of the treaty granted earth independence from the rule of Asgardian law while still falling under their protection in times of need." The Ancient One had been one of the signers and told Harry the story a while back.
Jade apparently wanted to be a part of this conversation so she walked over to the door. Harry subtlety unlocked the door as Jade reached out and manually turned the fake lock from the inside. She then appeared to take off her shoes and hide the stone piece in one of them before opening the door and closing it loudly.
Harry looked over to see Jade apparently entering from the outside.
Jackie looked over and shouted, "Jade!"
"Uncle Jackie? How did you get here?"
Harry thought to himself that at least she wasn't a bad actor.
"I, no, what are you doing here?!" he said with a hard accusation.
"Um, I came back for my suitcases?" she answered cheekily.
Harry interjected, "So Mr. Chan, what do you think about my idea?"
"Huh? No! I can't let her live here alone with a boy."
Harry ignored the 'boy' comment and said, "I don't live here alone though. Three other women live here, all of them are sixteen, all of them early high school graduates, and all of them are going to start taking classes at the University next week. Jean is going into Astrophysics, Wanda is majoring in Art, and Anna Marie is majoring in Psychology. Even if Jade did move in, I'd still be outnumbered and they would be a good influence on her."
Jade said, "Hold it. What are you talking about?"
Harry summarized as if Jade had not been listening in the whole time, "You attend high school in New York while boarding here and as long as you maintain excellent grades, we can use Uncle's journals to learn Chi Magic together."
Jackie said, "No, absolutely not. End of discussion."
Jade sighed and softly asked, "Um, Harry? Could I talk to Jackie in private?"
Harry nodded and walked over to the living room. He did his best not to laugh when he felt that Jade had apparently thrown the stone pieces under the living room couch.
Harry picked up his phone and called Jean to give her an update. When he texted her to ask about her thoughts of having a roommate who was going to help Harry learn Chi Magic, Jean's reply text was, 'Is she hot?' Harry honestly answered, 'Yes. Why?" to which she responded, 'Just making sure. We have no problem with you having other girls over as long as it doesn't take away from our time.' Harry then got a text from Wanda which said, 'Which isn't likely as long as you use that time turner well.' Harry may have been creative with the use of the Time Turner during their honeymoon.
Harry felt they were all making some assumptions about the situation but he decided not to argue. 'The wives are always right' was the biggest rule of a harem after all.
Jean asked over the phone, [So how's the guest?]
"She seems to be begging her relatives to allow her to stay."
Harry heard Rogue's voice over the phone, [So what's she like?]
"Mischievous. She apparently snuck out of her house to get here. From California."
Rogue answered, [Running away huh? Can't say I don't know what that's about.]
"Her family cares but she probably thinks they are holding her back. I can't say she's wrong from what I've seen though it would not surprise me if she is prone to danger."
Wanda asked, [Sounds like she'd be right at home here then. We're on our way. Let's see if we can talk some sense into her relatives.]
With that a pop sound occurred on the other side of the phone before they hung up. Wanda knew how to teleport and take people with her so they probably teleported somewhere nearby. Unlike when Rogue used Kurt's power, Wanda's teleportation had much longer range. They knew about the cameras on the street so they wouldn't get caught doing something stupid.
A few minutes later the door opened and the girls came in. Harry stayed in the Living room watching TV and let Jean and the rest check out Jade and decide if they were going to help.
After a few more minutes Jean said, "Alright Harry, get in here."
Harry walked over and found a frowning Jackie and an extremely excited looking Jade.
Jackie said, "Alright, I will let her attend school here. But I want report cards at least twice a month and I will call her weekly. If there are any legal incidents of any kind she comes straight home. And no practicing anything dangerous! Uncle said he trained with Chi Master Fong for fifteen years. I'm sure you can find some safe things to practice until you have more skill."
Jackie gave one last stern look at Jade and said, "And No Fighting. No matter what, Okay?"
Jade hugged him and said, "Yes Uncle Jackie! Scout's Honor!"
Jade got dragged upstairs by Jean and the rest and Harry made a portal back to Uncle's Rare Finds. Uncle charged an exorbitant rate for renting the Journals which Harry accepted. After accepting, Uncle then said he would use the money to pay for any of Jade's living expenses while she was there. Harry could only smile at that. Uncle gave up the money to balance out the cost of boarding Jade.
Harry agreed but he also randomly purchased several of the most expensive items in the shop. Uncle said with a bit of humor, "Jade is better salesmen than Jackie. Best sale the store's ever had."
It only took a few calls and a few minutes on his tablet for Jade to get enrolled into the nearby high school where she would start the following week. Jackie signed a few legal forms and Jade was officially moved in.
The moment Jackie left, Harry directly asked Jade, "Did you mean any of that?"
She smirked and answered, "Tch, I was never a scout."
"Not gonna get scared away by my cat again?"
"Hey, I was caught off guard alright? I've seen way weirder stuff before. Tentacle cat doesn't even make my top ten."
Harry laughed before going upstairs to ask the girls how was their day and unsurprisingly, Jade used the opportunity to recollect the stone pieces in under the coach. Apparently Jackie had in fact made Jade empty her suitcase. In addition to her clothes in the first suitcase, the second had Uncle's Journals and a number of ancient books. Harry already had permission to 'rent' the Journals and after some discussions it was agreed that the Journals and books would be kept with Harry and she would only have access to them when they were practicing.
Harry never outed her for the possession of the dragon chi stones because he wanted to see what she would do with them. If nothing else, he doubted it would be boring.
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