Disclaimer: I do not in any way attempt to claim ownership over the intellectual property or written works of JK Rowling and Mercedes Lackey. I thank both authors profusely for the wonderful worlds they have created for me (and the rest of the FF community) to play with.
AN: Sometimes I wonder if my mind hates me. You know, I have several other pieces that I'm trying to work on and off it goes and gives me something new. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this opening. More comments at the end.
The street was silent. Not even animals seemed willing to venture there, not tonight. A presence hovered over Little Whinging on this night. But this presence had been clever, it had built up its influence so slowly, taking years to perfect its control. And in taking that time, it had cloaked itself against all but the most paranoid of searchers. All so far who had looked beyond the uneasiness it created had dismissed it as the 'wards' around one of the houses in the area. And now it was ready and there was no longer a need to hide what it could do. The magical currents of the area fluxed, power far beyond what they were used to pouring through them. A web of invisible magic wrapped around Privet Drive, discreetly cutting it off from the rest of the world and in the darkness of one of the houses bedrooms a young man jolted into wakefulness.
Silver light shattered the darkness above the houses, a silent explosion of power to draw out the Order 'watchers'. A man sprang out from a patch on nothingness, an unearthly blue eye locking onto the light. Another man, this one younger with red hair, appeared from beneath a clump of bushes in one of the house's gardens. Both raised small sticks of wood to aim at the light. Both opened their mouths to utter incantations. Both fell within moments of each other. The light faded, flicked through the rainbow and imploded on itself as a sleek black car pulled up beside the fourth house on the street. A man dressed in a black suit exited the rear door of the vehicle and walked up to the door of the house before him and knocking twice. There was the sound of movements, a light clicked on in the hall before the door opened to reveal a walrus like man. "If it's double glazing or anything like it I don't want to know." He said gruffly as he took in the man's appearance. Smart clothes and more than that, normal ones. Nothing like what those strange 'wizards' wore. The man smiled disarmingly as he replied.
"Nothing so mundane I'm afraid. This is No. Four Privet Drive, current residence of the Dursley's?"
"Yes." Vernon answered gruffly. "What is it, have we won something?" His eyes took on a look of greedy anticipation.
"I'm afraid not sir." Came the smooth answer. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is also the current residence of one Harry James Potter?" He saw Vernon's face start to close. "Please sir. I just need to talk to Mr Potter. I need to discuss a few things with him." He smiled again and held out his hand. "My name is Mr Darnell and there are a few things that need to be brought to the attention of your," he paused, as if considering the word to use, "ah...lodger?"
Quite taken aback by the man's calm courtesy, Vernon found himself nodding to him and gesturing him into the house.
"It isn't much, but if you need to talk privately you could take the dining room." Vernon offered, indicating the door.
"That would be much appreciated Mr Dursley." Mr Darnell answered, bowing his head slightly in thanks, ice blue eyes glinting. "If you would be so kind as to bring Mr Potter down to see me, I will get what I need from my car." Taking the wordless grunt he got in response as an affirmative, the well dressed man walked out to his car where he collected a slim briefcase before making his way to the dining room where he met Mr Dursley a second time.
"The boy's in there." He grunted. "Just tell me when you're done."
"There won't be a need for that Mr Dursley." He replied
"Hmph. And why would that be?" Vernon asked quickly, suddenly suspicious but far too late. The man's hands flicked suddenly and he went completely limp.
"I'll let myself out Mr Dursley" Darnell said softly as he felt the sleep spell settle over the other two mundanes in the house. Flicking a finger at the man before him to stop him falling, he turned and entered the dining room and taking a seat opposite from the sixteen year old across from him.
"Mr Potter. It is excellent to meet you at last. You will not believe the trouble I have had to go to to arrange a meeting with you." He was not attempting to sound parental, his voice was calm and businesslike. " My name is Mr Darnell and I have some information that I think you will want to see. It regards your parents and it is absolutely vital you get it considering what has happened over the last year." He saw Harry's eyes light slightly at the mention of his parents before dulling at the reminder.
"You mean Sirius dying, don't you?" He asked, voice flat.
"I'm sorry that I have to bring that up Mr Potter. Truly, I am. But he was the only person except me who could have told you. As the only other people who knows the truth seem universally unwilling or unable to tell you it, it now falls to me."
"And who exactly are you Mr Darnell?" Harry replied darkly. "Considering I have at least one Dark Lord out to kill me, I think I should know who you are." The man smiled slightly.
"Good. Regardless of how much he's tried, he hasn't managed to work that out of you." The man replied with a slight chuckle. "My name is Avira Darnell and seventeen years ago I was entrusted with a copy of your parent's will. There have been several minor and one major violation of the contract it represented by several parties and as the last surviving bearer of it I am now empowered to inform you of it's contents. I hoped that Padfoot would have managed to tell you before he was lost to the Veil, but when he fell the emergency clause of this will was activated."
"Well, I had wondered." Harry replied, his voice again dead. "Now that I think about it, I was never shown what my parents left to me. But," suspicion bled into his voice and Avira Saw his hand grasp his wand underneath the table, "you expect me to believe you when you haven't done anything to make me do so. Sure, you can say all the pretty things you like, but you could be anyone."
"Harry, sorry, may I call you Harry?" At his curt nod, Avira continued. "I know I could be anyone. And you're right, I haven't given you any reason to trust me. But by now I believe you know about how to ensure I am who and what I say I am." His hands moved slightly, flicking through a complicated pattern and Harry's eyes widened slightly before his own hand – the other still grasping his wand – responded. "Now will you trust me to be who I say I am?" he asked gently.
"I...well, I can't really say no to that now can I." Harry said, a trace of humour edging in to cover suspicion. " If you had tried to lie you wouldn't still be talking to me. I'll listen to what you have to say Avira."
"Thank you Harry. Now for this, I'm afraid I need to put on my official hat." He placed his briefcase on the table. "You might have heard of these cases, but if not, this is a Curorreus case." At Harry's gasp, he smiled slightly once more. "I see you have heard of them. This case contains what I believe to be the last surviving original of your parent's will and is spelled to require the willingly given blood of both a Potter and an Evans. As you are both, you can open this case with a single offering of your own blood. Nothing else can open it and it has remained unopened since I was given it by your parents seventeen years ago. He took a ceremonial dagger, inscribed with the Potter-Evans crest, from an inside pocket of his suit and handed it to Harry. "As the only living child of James Potter and Lily Evans, only you can open this case. Do you so wish?" He intoned. Harry felt something swirling within him, something powerful straining against the bonds that held it.
"I so wish." He raised his hand over the case and the dagger sliced effortlessly through his skin. "By the right of blood I may reveal its contents." He made a fist of his hand and allowed the blood to drip onto the case. The clasps snapped open and Harry raised the lid with his other hand.
Light fountained up out of the case, building up into a pillar and Avira whispered an oath as Power poured out it. The ball of energy aligned itself, focusing on Harry and Avira Saw tendrils of shining Power leap out to the boy, grasping his mind. Harry felt the power touch him, slicing down through his soul to find his essence. He gasped as it plumbed him to his depths, reaching deep, deep down into recesses he never knew existed. And the old magic inside him, the magic that no one outside of the Potter blood line ever learnt of, sprang to life. He felt the connection between him and Power of the will touch that magic, coaxing it into wakefulness. The light above the case spun out around him into a ring of incandescent light and Avira suddenly realised what was about to happen. Seizing a node he tied his shields into it and covered his eyes as blinding fire exploded out of the ground around Harry. The edge of the storm of Power grazed the his shields, sending him reeling, but that was only the edge. Harry, at the centre of the storm, felt the energy erupt beneath him and almost screamed as it sprang up to consume him. Except, it didn't burn. He somehow felt the ring around him, flexing beneath the torrent of energy, but holding. He saw the storm around him fuse into the ring and then stream into him. Fire poured into his mind, following the pathways the magic of the will had connected. He felt the Power enter those pathways, forcing them open as more Power hammered into his soul. Knowledge poured through the connection too, riding the flow of energy as it lowered slowly. The Power around him subsided, fusing into the ring around him that flowed back into the orb it had been before. The orb dropped back into the case, and it snapped shut.
Avira lowered his hands, very slowly allowing his Mage-sight to open again. He released his hold on the node, allowing the power he had taken to flow back into it first and then looked to Harry. He saw the teenager looking around him wildly. A quick Look at him showed that his magical channels had been opened to the point where they couldn't safely open further. This seemed to have given the young man quite keen Mage-sight. But there was far more than that. Beneath the gilding of Mage-sight, Avira saw the tell-tales of the very, very powerful Empathic Gift he had seen in James. :Dear Goddess: he thought, slightly stunned by what the Power-storm had unlocked :if he ever loses control around people without shields. I was only meant to deliver this...but I have to help him train his Gift. If I don't the consequences will be devastating.: He sighed, a gift this powerful would take years to properly train, but he really didn't have a choice.
"Harry, are you all right?" He asked softly.
"Um....I think so. But what's all this stuff around you?" Harry asked, distinctly confused.
"That Power-storm awoke two things in you Harry. The first was what you are noticing now. It's called Mage-sight. It allows you to See magic. What you can see around me are my passive shields. When we go outside, you will be able to See the wards around this house and shields I placed around the area so that we could talk uninterrupted." He paused, a frown suddenly tugging at his lips. "And...speaking of which." He winced slightly. "We should really be going before Albus and that altogether lovely Order of his manage to break them." His brow tightened in sudden concentration. "I've removed the Trace from your wand, you can freely cast now." Harry couldn't move fast enough, he ran up to his bedroom, barely pausing at his uncle slumped against the wall outside the dining room. Waving his wand at the room, he muttered a charm and everything flew into his trunk. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak from the top, slammed the trunk shut and shrunk it to the size of a match-box before hastily stuffing it into his pocket. On the way down, he did notice Vernon and ground to a sudden halt as he saw the weak veil of what he assumed to be an enchantment. He glanced questioningly at Avira. "A sleeping spell only, to ensure that we could talk in private." He explained quickly, pulling him towards the door. "Come, we have to hurry." His entire face was strained, incredible concentration evident on every facet of it. Harry rushed through the door, closely followed by Avira. He looked at the car.
"Are we taking that?" He said, disbelieving.
"Nothing so mundane Harry." Avira replied quickly, hands groping at the air before him, weaving a circle of light in the air. "Now, when I get his open I want you to get through it Harry. I'm setting it to take you to a sanctuary of mine. Just don't touch anything. I'll be along after I've explained a few things to Dumbledore." He waved his hand savagely as Harry started to protest. "No. This is something that I have to do. I can get away by myself, but I wouldn't be able to get both of us past all of them." His head jerked in the direction of the entrance to Privet Drive. Harry spun, looking towards it to see Dumbledore, just about the entire Order of the Phoenix and a lot of what looked like Aurors. On his facing them, most of them started yelling at Harry for him to run to them, to get away from the man beside him. Ignoring their false cries, he Saw Dumbledore start pounding away at the shields Avira had erected. His examination of multi-layered system was cut off though, as they vanished at Avira's triumphant hiss. "Got it! Had to let the shields go down, but no matter." He turned quickly to Harry as the horde of people at the opening to Privet Drive started sprinting for them. "Get out of here, I'll be along in a bit." He gestured at the shimmering circle that held a picture of another place. "Just don't touch anything." Harry clasped hands with him quickly, then ran through the Gate as the first stunner slashed past them. Avira let the Gate collapse, no point in letting a spell through, and tapped into the node beneath him.
The hundred strong – at least – group of wizards surrounded him easily and Dumbledore stepped out from them to face him.
"I don't care who you are, but you will bring Harry Potter back, unharmed, or face the full might of the International Wizarding Confederation. As Head of that body, I will utilize every resource at my disposal to extract the location of Harry Potter from you!" He carefully modulated his voice into an artful mix of anger and sorrow. "You have one chance to-"
"You know, where do you get it? Is it some sort of genetic defect that makes you turn every single confrontation you have into a speech?" Avira said mockingly and gestured at the people around him. "And you, you let him get away with this grandstanding? Is it something in the water around here?"
"Albus Dumbledore is a great wizard! He has that rig-" Molly Weasley yelled, building up towards a true Weasley rant before she was cut off.
"He has what? A right to do so?" Avira repeated incredulously . "Goddess, you actually believe that claptrap don't you?"
"Why you-!"
"What?" He asked, this time his voice afire with condescension. "What am I? Apart from ruggedly handsome and a more powerful sorcerer than your vaunted 'Dumbledore' will ever be."
"I am giving you one last chance young man," Dumbledore said kindly, but with steel behind the voice. "Bring Harry back or I will be forced to take you into custody."
"What, you and your army of tin soldiers? Try it!" Avira answered contemptuously as he locked his connection to the node with his shields.
"Very well." Dumbledore said sadly. "I did not want to do this. Take him."
Spells slashed in at Avira from all around him, stunners, body-binds, blasting hexes, everything short of Unforgivable curses, impacting on the sparkle in the air that were his shields. The air filled with spell-fire, splashing away at them. Avira shut his eyes as Power poured in on the unending barrage of magic. His brow clenched with concentration once more, absorbing the power and focusing it. More and more energy streamed in from over a hundred of some of most powerful duellists in the Wizarding World. Dumbledore, his voice barely audible over the incantations, exhorted his followers on to even greater efforts and Avira smiled a dark smile. His left hand twisted upwards into a fist, using the motion to further focus the horrendously intense currents building around him.
"Silence!" His fist sprang open, Power locking down the vocal cords of the wizards around him. His hand snapped out in a sweeping gesture, sending a shock-wave of light tearing through them and throwing them to the ground.
"Dumbledore! Your efforts are admirable, but ultimately useless I'm afraid. I'll meet you again someday, maybe then you'll have worked out how I did this." Avira's clear voice echoed across the street, reaching the ears of every wizard. "Meanwhile, I leave you with something that should keep even you occupied for a time." Silver fire ignited around him, building up into a spire of roiling Power. Dumbledore had just enough time to venture a guess at what was about to happen and desperately attempt to raise a shield. He wasn't quick enough.
White fire shattered the night, an immeasurable detonation of Power that tore at the Earth itself. For a moment, Little Whinging became little more than light, fire and sound as Avira lashed out with the energy he had absorbed from the wizarding assault. The mage-blast tore the area apart, flattening every building within a fifteen mile radius and damaging ones almost twenty five miles out.. But amazingly, when the search and rescue teams had finished combing the area they found that there had not been a single casualty. At least, no physical ones. But for the white bearded man laid out unconscious at the centre of a huge, distinctly magical, explosion the consequences were only starting to unfold.
Avira watched as teams of Obliviators swept the area for people who had witnessed whatever had happened, a separate team from the DMLE scooping up Dumbledore and his compatriots. A slight smile graced his lips as a ring of light flowed into existence before him. "Well, old man." He said softly. "I hope you have a good time explaining this." He stepped through the Gate and it imploded into nothingness, leaving no sign of his presence. Only silence.
AN: Ok, I need to get a few things out of the way here to stop possible mobbing. This is in no way going to be a super-Harry fic. Neither is Avira going to be able to do what he did here much. He's very powerful, yes, but that power does have limits. Those limits will be sounded out in later chapters, as will the explanations to just exactly what the will awakened in Harry. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it and please leave a review on your way out.
Wind to thy wings.