AUTHORS NOTE: Just for kicks, I'm going to be keeping the chapters at about 1000 words each. Emphasis on about. And yes, I am borrowing this idea from the well known story The Apprentice and the Necromancer. Never fear, though, that will not mean this story will be short! I plan on having many chapters. My readers (such as they are) will be sick and tired of this story by the time it is done :) I do not currently have internet in my new apartment, and school starts on Monday, so at first I might be a little sporadic. But I hope to post a chapter (or two) every 2 days. And yes, this is a WIP. So if those are not your thin...TURN BACK NOW!
Oh, and this will be slash in the future :)
Minor grammatical editing by John :D
Title: The Covenent
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Warnings: None, so far. Violence, maybe? 0.o
Rating: PG 13 (just to be safe)
Pairings: HP/?? SB/RL
Summary: In a land where the use of a wand is forbidden and Lord Voldemort rules all an orphan somehow garners the Lord's attention....and not in a good way.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and yes I have unceremoniously...borrowed a few ideas from Sherwood Smith's Crown/Court Duel. I will not simply rewrite that story with Harry in it, so no fear!
Prologue
I don't imagine that anyone will ever read my accounts, but my friends have urged me to write my story anyways. Hello, you can't possibly be one of my descendants, so I'll settle for an exotic foreigner in a far off land.
This story has much to do with Lord Voldemort, the Covenant, and the Code of War. Since you might live so far in the future you do not know of any of these, I will endeavor to explain:
Long ago 4 friends discovered the country of Hogwarts. It is a goodly sized country. These four friends were named Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Griffindor. They became the four Royal houses of Hogwarts. For centuries they have ruled the realm together, a King or Queen from each house a leader of the Court.
There are many other smaller noble families, of course, such as my own, the Potters.
But at the beginning of this story I did not know that, so moving on.
Lord Voldemort murdered the two Queens one hundred years ago, and from what I understand the King of Griffindor (an elderly man) fled to another country and died there in peace.
Lord Voldemort was illegitimate, hence his airs with changing his name. His mother was a direct descendant of Slytherin, one of the last, and his father was common: a commoner who scorned Voldemort's mother when he realized she was of the House of the Snakes.
Many years before Lord Voldemort there was an uprising between our people and the magical beings who live here at in the country of Four. When we reached a standstill we created the Covenant. The Covenant states that we humans will not burn or cut down their wood, and that they will provide us with Fire Sticks to keep us warm during the winter.
Fire Sticks are about as close to magic most of us get, nowadays. They are activated with what we call Words of Power, even though they aren't even a proper spell.
To keep with the Covenant only fallen branches are gathered, and any wooden furniture still in existence is treasured and very very old.
When Voldemort took over, he was angry. Angry that his father was a prick, angry that his mother was too weak to properly give birth to him and that he had to grow up in an orphanage. Angry that only representatives of the House of Slytherin were ruling Court.
A richer, and more infamous family by the name of Malfoy was doing what Voldemort thought was rightly his. So he murdered the two Queens, the Griffindor King fled, and the Malfoy stepped down. Today, a descendant by the name of Lucius Malfoy is a trusted adviser and Deputy for the King.
One last thing: Lord Voldemort fears his people. He knows how strong they could be given the chance. The Code of War was already in effect, and had been for years; No weapons were to be used that you could not use or throw by hand. Bows and arrows were from another land, and unfair to our people which is why the Code was created. Lord Voldemort warped that idea and declared that wands were in breach of that, so he took the right of magic away from his people.
When my story began the one hundreth anniversary of Lord Voldemort's reign was nigh, and there was relative peace. I say relative, because peace never sticks around for long....
Chapter one
As the wind blusters outside I struggle to close the shutters on the windows in the hallways. The Dursley's might be well off, but they see no need to extend their moneys into buying windows panes for the halls. Besides, they probably believe that without leaves constantly blowing in I would be deprived of a job.
Shrieking echoes down the hall so I abandon my thankless task and skitter across the well trodden boards.
"Boy! Were you in my things? Why are my things all over the place?!"
I pause, huffing, behind the tapestry to Petunia Dursley's room and tap of the door frame to announce my presence.
"Yes Ma'am?"
"Pick up my things at once!" She screeches. "You know I do not abide my untidiness!"
I glance around the room and quickly find who is at fault: Dudley's rat of a dog cowers beneath her bed, beady brown eyes pleading with me. Nasty thing that it is, I almost believe it for a moment.
I snag it by the scruff and carry it out the door. "Yes Ma'am, one moment please."
I deposit the mangy thing outside the door and quickly clean up her scattered makup, perfume, and other oddities of the female race. I restrain myself from caressing her fine bone comb, and place everything as it should be on her priceless vanity.
The Dursley's live farther down the mountains from the forests where the magical beings live, so wood is a lot more common. Or, less rare as it should be said. People are less afraid of breaking the Covenant in forests where the beings do not even live. The magical creatures, on the other hand, do not apply. They are everywhere, for, no matter how Lord Voldemort wishes to suppress it, this is a magical land. It always will be.
The Dursley's are my relatives, supposedly. Petunia is my mother's sister. I find that hard to believe considering how they treat me on a regular basis. I think that an actual servant has a better life than I do.
"Dudley! Get that damned dog out from under my feet!" Vernon's roar echoes through the house and I am already hurrying in his direction to delay trouble.
"But Dad! Make the Boy do it!"
"Boy!"
I skitter into the room and snatch the dog up without a word, hurrying to deposit him outside. I take one look at the wind and decide that the barn is a better idea. My thin clothing provides poor, if any, protection from the gusts as I hunch over the little whimpering dog in my arms to protect him from the wind. I hurry, barefoot, across the courtyard and quickly enter the barn. Once the doors are closed I sigh in relief.
The dark gloom is a welcome change from the windstorm outside, and soft Whickers from the two horses greet me. It is a small barn. It is obscenely hard to build theme, after all, since they must be from stone to abide by the Covenant. But it's a perfect escape from the wind. I can hardly hear it as there are no windows. Precious wood carved from great fallen trees serve as stall and barn doors and they are heavy enough that they don't even rattle with the wind.
I think I have found my resting place for the night.
I brush dog fur off of my old threadbare tunic and scamper back to the house. I quickly finish shutting the rest of the windows, put a pot of stew on to cook while I sweep the leaves out of the halls, and flee as soon as the Dursley's have their dinner set at the table.
Pssh. Aunt and Uncle my foot.
I curl up in a pile of hay with the snoring dog next to an obliging horse who lays next to the both of us. The beasts warmth is welcome and I thank the gelding softly. His snuffling breath in my hair and the distant howling outside lull me into a deep and content sleep and I can almost pretend that life is all right.
EDIT: It now reads that the land Harry lives in is the country of Four. I apologize. Hogwarts is the castle at the capitol, terribly sorry.