Manipulating Manipulation

Harry sits comfortably on the dirt on the outskirts of his home in Africa, Nieve resting her head on his lap and letting him caress her rather dirty, knotted mane. He had originally been trying to meditate, but her presence had caused the plant life surrounding him to die off, along with radically muting the presence of nature itself... Regardless, he wasn't going to send his Thestral away now that he had time to spend with her.

The end of school itself was uneventful, the only mention of Quirrel, Dumbledore's office, or the Philosopher's Stone at all was the Headmaster granting Neville, Hermione, and Ron an egregious amount of House points, launching Gryffindor into the lead despite the massive lead Harry had unintentionally led Slytherin to.

Dumbledore hadn't looked his usual self during the last days of school, and when students or staff question him on the half-scorched tower that was visible even from afar, he'd simply say "It is under control.", Harry was pretty sure the man suspected him, even with the stunt he'd pulled to confuse him with the mirror.

Quirrel had obviously died in the fight with the Headmaster, his absence during the rest of school and the rumours coming out from the ginger-haired runt brought some things to light. That Quirrel had the dark lord's face on the back of his head in some kind of mangled possession wasn't exactly surprising to Kali or Harry after some thought. His strangely heavily enchanted turban only lent credence to it, despite most of the school calling Ron a lying braggart.

Harry lets out a quiet sigh as a pleasant breeze brushes past, he looks over in the distance at the village under his treehouse, specifically the area where his prisoners were. The two centaurs had joined the troll in chains, and while they were smarter, his servants weren't fool enough to listen to their schemes or promises of freedom.

Though, he was interested to see what their type of magic is capable of, he'd chained them out in the open where the sky was fully visible simply to see if their particular kind of divination was at all practical. He'd read that some seers could manipulate probabilities, chance, luck basically. He'd tasked some Imps to keep a close eye on them too to make sure his curiosity didn't lead to any unfortunate escapes... Panya's sudden interest in the centaurs, their stories, and their magic could potentially lead somewhere, he wasn't completely stupid and noticed her dissatisfaction with how he was treating her tribe.

Still, her dislike of him and hatred for Kali could be used... The best-case scenario was her learning from the centaurs and becoming his personal seer. Worst case? He'd simply just end her and cut his losses.

Caged in a large metal cell in a barren area was the dragon 'Norbert', to Harry it classified more as a Wyvern though, given its lack of forelegs. It was growing rather quickly and the amount of food it required was beginning to grow tiresome. Through his experiments, he'd found that Parseltongue had no effect on the creature whatsoever, which meant it'd stay as a mindless, if fire-breathing, beast.

"Master?" Harry turns and spots Kali making her way up the hill towards him, her usual gentle smile twisting her lips. "Is something wrong? You've' spent half the day up here already, it's quite unlike you."

"I'm having a break, I've been studying non-stop since school started and I think it's catching up to me." he tugs a knot free from Nieve's mane, causing the Thestral to snort lightly. "Do you have any brushes free?"

Kali sits on the ground and leans against him, "For the horse? No. But I'm sure we could make some, that or steal some... She would likely enjoy things as they are, fingers are much more pleasant than any tool," she wraps an arm around his shoulders and runs a hand through his hair, digging her nails in slightly resulting in a small shiver running through him.

"Maybe..."

...

"Your familiar tells me you've been having trouble with girls... Or one particular girl, in this case?" she queries, aware that his attempts at socialising had failed most spectacularly. The Hermione girl abandoned him after witnessing him torture some weakling, and the boy named Nick only being so amenable due to the cursed stone they'd given him.

Harry's neutral expression drops to a frown as he turns to her, "I just, don't understand, I suppose... Logically, a child being shocked at the sight of brutality, justified or not, shouldn't surprise me. But, I honestly thought she might be different from the rest, smarter." he grumbles, unsure how to place his emotions on the matter.

"Master, you can't mould someone in under a year without drastic and forceful methods, the art of subtlety is a tired and patient one. She has been groomed to believe what her parents and peers want her to believe, and from what I heard you were on the right path, but you pushed your boundaries too quickly. People, humans especially, must believe that they are the ones in control of their actions, coerced or not. More often than not people will defend their beliefs even if they know them to be false, simply out of stubbornness and pride."

"So I need to make them think that they are coming to their own conclusions?" he quietly asks, still sore on the subject.

"Tell a man his wife is cheating and he will deny it with the stubbornness of a mule. His pride, trust, and hope will fight against you... But if you speak around the subject, give hints and examples, and then let him draw his own conclusions. Even if the wife is innocent, their relationship may irreparably be damaged by the whole ordeal, all without your direct action." she explained

Harry slowly nods, he'd unintentionally been doing something like that anyway in his attempts to avoid social interaction. "Should I try again...?" he mutters more to himself than anything.

"No. What's done is done, I'm honestly surprised she didn't bring your 'crimes' to the Headmaster. Her opinion of you has already been formed, so, what must you do?" she asks, obviously trying to lead him to an answer.

"I don't know... Manipulate her perception of me over time?" he shakes his head, "I'd rather just use magic to control her, force her to see things my way."

Kali grins lightly, "And I'm sure you could very well do that, Master... But we're not taking the easy route here."

"Then what do you want me to do?" he sighs.

"I will grant you this one time... This Hermione girl from what I've seen and heard is very academically motivated, low self-esteem, ambition, and a sense of 'right and wrong'. Surpass her so impossibly that she could never even contemplate catching up, never do anything overtly evil in her presence, oh... And ruin the foundation of her identity." she adds the last part as if it were inconsequential.

"What do you mean...?"

"Her parents and friends, they are currently what is holding her back. Now, I am saying to harm them, as her list of subjects would undoubtedly include you, but if we manipulate them to act as we wish, she will soon find herself isolated, susceptible. After that, it's just a matter of overwhelming her fear for you with curiosity and desperation." Kali rests her head on his shoulder and looks up at him, "Hmmm, things are so much simpler when they're adults, children can be as stubborn as they are impressionable."

He glances at her, "You sound like you're speaking from experience, should I worry?"

"Oh master, you're already perfect. All you require is little adjustments here and there, the path you are on is one of greatness." she slowly stands and pats his head, "By the way, your twelfth birthday is coming up, isn't it? Be sure to stay away from any rituals until then." she says before sauntering away with an eye-catching sway of her hips.

"Wait, why!? Tell me what you have planned!" he starts, trying to get up to chase her, only for Nieve to pin him to the ground with her head, all but demanding more brushing. "Wait!"