IMPORTANT! This is a 'taster' if you like of a future chapter. It is NOT the start of the story. Just a snippet of a future chapter. Got that? Awesome. Now read on! ;p
Disclaimer: (Pertains to entire story) Sigh I've said it over and over again… yet it seems the message has not sunk in. I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Harry Potter or anything that relates to it. All I have done here (and in the following however many chapters) is borrow the characters and places, and then played around with the plot a bit for my own (and hopefully your) entertainment. So you can't sue me. Sticks tongue out Oh, also, "D'Arvit' belongs to Eoin Colfer, who wrote Artemis Fowl. I've become quite fond of that as a swear word!
AN: Hey folks! The idea was floating around in my head and I decided that I would write it down. I don't know if I'll continue it or not… Kestrel seems to have been a complete failure but StreetRulesApply seems to be doing well. So I guess I'll see what you all think of this and then decide. It's quite different from my other stories… but still very much AU. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think!
The title is a (very loose) Gaelic translation of The Lost Elves. Not particularly proud of the title… but oh well. It's the story that matters.
(My hands are bloody FREEZING!!! And I can't wear gloves because then I press 4 buttons instead of 1! Grr… So please excuse any typos that my come up in this chap.)
There are 5 bits of Elvish in this chap, and the translations are down the bottom.
Love Bundi
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An Caillte Fien Prologue
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Harry was in his third class of the day; the one right after lunch.
The classroom was warm, his stomach was full… it was no wonder he was drifting off.
He supposed that the fact that it was A History of Magic was only helping his sleepy state.
Attempting weakly to fight the drowsiness for a few moments longer, Harry looked around the classroom.
As usual, Hermione was studiously taking notes, pausing only to glare at Ron, who was snoring freely.
Dean and Seamus were both fighting valiantly against sleep; their heads lolling down towards their desks only to be jerked back up again.
Neville was staring blankly at his page, doodling absent-mindedly on its corner.
Across on the other side of the room, Draco Malfoy was leaning back in his chair, appearing to be dosing lightly.
Crabbe and Goyle were both staring blankly off into space; the only difference from their normal behaviour being the slightly crossed eyes.
Pansy Parkinson was writing furiously on a sheet of paper… but judging by the murderous look in her eye, she was not taking notes on 14th Century mermaid hunting.
Satisfied that no one (apart from Hermione, naturally) was paying attention to Professor Binns and that he wouldn't miss anything important (or interesting), Harry let his eyes drift closed.
Within moments he was asleep.
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"My Lord. Everyone has arrived." A grovelling voice simpered.
"Good." Replied a cold, icy voice that sounded like two metal pipes being ground together. "Make ready the battle formation. I want the manticores and chimeras in front – far enough away from each other that they don't go for each other of course – and the Death Eaters behind. The lowest ranked are to be the closest to the front, back through to my Inner Circle. How long do you estimate it will take?"
"Twenty minutes at the most My Lord. Within half an hour we will be at their gates."
There was an evil chuckle.
"Good. Let me know as soon as they are ready."
"Yes My Lord."
There was a pause, before, "Well? What are you waiting for? Get out of my sight! Incompetent fool!"
"O-of course My Lord! Certainly My Lord! Yes My Lord, of course!"
There was sounds of scuffling as someone backed quickly out of the room.
There was another evil chuckle.
"By sunset… Hogwarts will be little more than dust."
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Harry awoke with a yell as he threw himself backwards, the chair underneath him toppling to the ground and the desk in front of him being kicked up in the air to come crashing down onto his chest. From the Slytherin side of the room he could hear similar noises.
"Eugg…" Harry groaned from under the table.
"Harry?" Hermione asked concernedly. "Are you ok? What happened?"
"Harry?" came another voice, from the same direction the earlier noises had come from. "El nae a brouché?" (1)
"A catrictia mel d'arvitting pouchou." (2) Came Harry's grumbled response.
There was a light chuckle, then Harry felt the weight on his chest lift of, and a hand appeared in front of his face. Harry grasped the hand and hauled himself to his feet.
"Much better. Thanks Draco."
Draco smiled in response. Then his mood tuned sombre as Harry asked "Did you get that?"
"Of course. Why do you think I fell of my chair? We all would have gotten it; the others will be here in fifteen minutes, tops."
Everyone was staring at the two boys, but neither of them noticed.
"Draco…" Harry started, uncertainly. "Are you ready for this? You don't have to come with – "
Draco pointed a finger at Harry. "Don't you even finish that question Harry. I know I speak for all of us when I say of course we're coming with you. You need us. You can't do this without us. And as for am I ready… well… I don't know if I'll ever be, but the time id now, and we can't do anything more about that."
Harry smiled. "Ok then."
Draco reached forward and grasped Harry's shoulder. "Mellon ah'noi." (3)
"Drella menai" (4)
The surrounding students seemed shocked into silence. Harry and Malfoy? Friendly? Not attempting to kill each other? And speaking some weird language? Strangeness beyond vocalisation.
Harry reached into his pocket and drew out a small wooden chest, about the size of his palm. Placing it on the desk in front of him, he waved his hand over it and watched as it grew to fill the entire space on top of the desk. Beside him, Draco was doing the same thing.
Hermione gasped, the first one to break out of the stunned silence of the onlookers. "Wandless magic…" she whispered, before lapsing once again into silence. She needed to see what else happened before she jumped to any conclusions.
Simultaneously, Harry and Draco flipped open the lids to their respective trunks, revealing a set of what looked like olden day war gear.
"Draco… what – ?" Parkinson asked, confusion and a bit of anger etched all over her features. Draco was consorting with the enemy! And not just any enemy… Potter of all people!
"Not now Pansy." Draco interrupted, unbuttoning the top of his outer school robes. Quickly and smoothly, Harry and Draco removed their outer layer of robes, revealing clothing that was slightly less than the current fashion. They both looked like they'd just stepped out of a pirate movie.
Harry wore a pair of fitted (but not tight) brown pants with a simple leather belt and leather boots, along with a woodland green, long sleeved, loose shirt with a slightly open neck. Some might say that it was a pirate style shirt.
Draco wore the same as Harry in regards to the pants, shoes and belt, but his shirt was slightly different. It was just as loose as Harry's, but it had buttons down the middle and it was a deep red colour.
Both boys paused when they saw the colour of the others' shirt. Draco chucked. "Switching sides are we?"
Harry snorted in response. "There are no sides Draco. Besides, this colour looks better on me."
The two (strangely dressed) teens each reached into their trunks, pulling out what looked like a mail shirt and a thick strip of hard leather with two straps around it. Without speaking, Harry and Draco slipped these leather strips onto their left arms, and then slipped the mail shirt over their heads.
On top of the mail shirt they each put a long sleeved brown jacket type thing, with thin arms but a thick bodice.
After putting on a pair of fingerless leather gloves, they then whipped out several other protection type things and put them over their calves and thighs.
They then started on the weapons that had been lying underneath the clothes.
The entire class was watching in fascinated yet completely confused silence.
Even Professor Binns had noticed that his students were even less focussed on him than usual, and was blinking owlishly down at Draco and Harry from his desk.
Harry and Draco started strapping their various weapons in place.
The weapons were really works of art. It seemed that Harry and Draco each had their own unique designs. The hilts of the twin daggers they strapped to the right side of their chests under a small flap and on their left calf, the handle of the darts and the throwing knife, strapped to the left side of their chests and their right calf, and the blades of the throwing stars, attached behind the wrists, all had intricate designs on them.
Harry's design was of small maple leaves and snakes, all twisted together in a beautiful and elegant design, randomly coloured by tiny emeralds studded into the metal.
Draco's design was of swirling ribbons of different widths and thicknesses, also randomly decorated by miniature jewels, his being diamonds. They were both beautiful designs that also added an extra magical thrust to the weapon when used.
Not that the students knew that. They just thought the designs were beautiful.
"Harry… what are – ?"
"I don't have time to explain at the moment Ron." Harry interrupted. "He's going to be here in less than half an hour and we need to prepare. I'm sorry I didn't tell you and Hermione earlier, I was under strict instruction. So was Draco. I will explain everything to you after we've beaten him."
This only served to confuse and anger Ron more. "What? Who'll be here? Why do you need to prepare? Who's instruction? What haven't you told us? Apart from the fact that you are all buddy buddy with Malfoy?" The venom in his voice was clearly audible.
The blonde in question looked up from what he was doing (tightening a strap around his upper arm) to look coldly at the red head.
Harry grunted in annoyance as a buckle he was trying to do up flicked open. "Look Ron, I said not now. For now, let me concentrate. I will explain everything later."
"Munda de Du'rané…" (5)
"Hey!" Harry said sharply, spinning around to Draco. "Don't even think that! He wants us to doubt ourselves, and if anything, that will be our downfall. We are more than a match for him. We just need to believe it."
Draco nodded silently, turning back to his trunk, from which he pulled his sword and began to fasten it securely around his hips.
The swords that he and Harry secured to their hips were by far the most beautiful and intricately designed.
Harry's sheath was inlaid with gold and studded with emeralds around the same design that was carved on his other weaponry, and Draco's sheath was inlaid with silver and studded with diamonds, also around the same design on his other weaponry. But they weren't too heavily adorned. No need to add unnecessary excess weight.
After the swords, Harry and Draco each swing a quiver full of arrows onto their backs, picked up a bow in their left hands, and swung a shield over their shoulder.
The entire process had taken just five minutes.
"Right." Harry said, after he flipped the lid of the now empty trunk closed, a look of determination on his face. "You and Jas will be in charge of strengthening the existing wards around the school and creating new ones. Benj and Gabrielle will activate the proximity and booby traps, Kisa and Tristan will check and secure the perimeter and I will secure the castle occupants. But before we do any of that, we need to let Sev know what's going on. We have a maximum of twenty five minutes left."
Draco nodded once, his face a mirror of Harry's own determination, before turning and striding to the door with Harry, leaving a very confused (and, as in the case of Ron and Pansy, angry) class behind them.
They were nearly through the door when Hermione called out, in a voice close to tears: "Harry – what is going on!? You suddenly yell out in pain, you don't tell us what happened, you start talking to Malfoy of all people in some made up language… then both of you get all dressed up as though you're going to a fancy dress party, and you refuse to tell us what's happening! What is going on? Why are you dressed like that? You look like a pair of Elvin Warriors going to war!"
Harry smiled slightly. "You always were the more perceptive Hermione." He said, as he dropped his glamour's, allowing his ear to grow back into its natural shape and a point to stick out elegantly from his hair. After noticing Harry had dropped his glamour, Draco did too, with the same effect.
Harry continued. "We are a pair of Elvin Warriors going to war."
With that, Harry strode out the door and down the hall, Draco right beside him.
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TRANSLATIONS
One:El nae a brouché? Are you ok?
Two: A catrictia mel d'arvitting pouchou. I'd be better if someone'd get this d'arvitting desk off me.
Three: Mellon ah'noi. Friends always
Four: Drella menai. Through all and anything.
Five: Munda de Du'rané… If there is a tomorrow.
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So what did you all think? Let me know if I should continue or not!! I have a fair bit of it planned out. I get bored on my way to College you see.
Did you like it or not? Let me know! Personally I don't really like the prologue. I was tossing up between this and another chapter as the prologue… but I decided that the other one would work better as chapter one, and this would work better as the prologue. The coming chapters will be better, I assure you! I think everyone seemed a little OoC in this… I tried to fix it… but it didn't work. Oh well.
Let me know!
Bundi