NOTE: I have gone through this story and am revamping, a chapter at a time – editeing, everything. No major plot changes if you don't want to go read it all again, though I think I am aging Harry a year or so through time changes in the elven world. There won't be too much different besides wording, etc., but I read over it and realised how much my writing has improved since I first started this. So I hope you all enjoy!
A/n: Hey everyone! This is my first fic that I've posted on FF.n. I've written other ones, and I might post them if you like me and my stuff!
I suppose you all want a summary. So here it is: Harry disappears suddenly during the summer between fourth and fifth years. So I suppose it really is AU now. But anyways, he comes back with new powers and a mysterious secret. Can he fit in again among his classmates, and more importantly, is he now ready to face the darkest wizard of all time?
Did that sound like the back of a book jacket or what? Oh well, on with the story.
Disclaimer: they're all mine! Mine I tell you! only kidding….
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Harry silently slipped onto the back of one of the horseless carriages that was on its way up to the school. He clung to the back of it like a burr, confident that his invisibility spell would hold. Very luckily for him, it wasn't raining, for it would be a bit odd for rain to strike and slide off of an invisible shape.
He looked about him as the carriage trundled up the road, thankful that he had been able to find a carriage with only a few students within – he did not want to become a burden to the thestrals, both because he respected them and because he did not want to be noticed until he chose to reveal himself.
It seemed odd to be going back to the school after so much time, he mused. Especially considering that he had thought of the school as his home for so long. Now it just looked familiar, but distant, as if from another lifetime. Which it really was, he reflected with some amusement. He clung still tighter as the carriage picked up speed, rattling down a hill, bits of greenery striking him in the face and arms when the carriage maneuvered through a tight spot.
The ride was not as long as Harry had feared, and he slid off of the back of the carriage at the exact moment that the last child jumped out of it, as not to make a noticeable weight shift. He easily slipped in amongst the crowd heading for the doors and made his way into the castle without incident.
He took one long, sad look at the Great Hall before continuing on his way. It had been so long since he had sat in there, laughing and joking with his friends, and he wondered if he would be able to slip back into his old way of life as easily as he had slipped into his new one.
He spotted the Gryffindor table at once, and scanned it for a moment before he spotted his old friends. He felt a slight pang go through him as he saw their worn appearances. Apparently his two-year absence had taken its toll on them, and he wished with all his heart that he could have saved them the strife and heartache his absence had surely caused.
Ron was currently talking animatedly to Dean Thomas, though when he looked away, Harry could see sadness in his eyes. Hermione was not talking at all, but was scanning the hall. There were deep shadows under her eyes, and she looked somewhat thinner than Harry remembered. Harry resisted the urge to run in there and announce his return to the whole student body, and instead headed up the great stone staircase to the gargoyle that he knew so well from long ago.
He opened the entrance to the spiral staircase with a touch, not bothering with guessing the password but instead silently asking the ancient stones permission to enter. He stood serenely as the staircase moved him upwards, and stepped into Dumbledore's office with a small sigh. It was comforting to see that nothing had changed, in here at least, while he had been gone.
Harry sat calmly in a chair and waited for about an hour and a half before he heard a door creak open. He was on his feet in an instant, and turned to see a very shocked – and very wary – Dumbledore standing in the doorframe, wand raised.
Instantly Harry relaxed, and held out empty hands to the ancient wizard to show that he was unarmed.
"Headmaster, it's all right. It's me – Harry."
Harry waited as Dumbledore took in his appearance. He knew very well that he had changed over the past two years.
Gone were the days of short, stocky, slightly clumsy Harry Potter who hid behind his thick-framed glasses. Instead, a tall, slim, lightly muscled youth now stood before the Headmaster, balanced easily on the balls of his feet and well aware of his own body. He had allowed his hair to grow out to his shoulders in order to tame it, and he had gotten his vision magically corrected. His skin had tanned to an almost golden sheen, and his hair and skin contrasted sharply with his green eyes. His movements were precise and elegant, like those of a great hunting cat.
"H-Harry? Is that really you?"
The headmaster's stuttering startled Harry – could the normally serene Dumbledore really be so shocked? Harry smiled encouragingly at him and nodded, reaching out to clasp hands with the astonished wizard.
"In the flesh. I thought it would be wisest to announce my return to you first, Ma—sir, before showing up once more among the student populace."
Harry caught himself before he called Dumbledore "Master". He had become so accustomed to calling his elders and betters that in the past two years that it had become second nature. Dumbledore, however, would most likely not appreciate the honorific.
Dumbledore simply gazed bemusedly at him for a moment before he found his voice again.
"Harry – how can this be? There has been no word or trace of you for two years, besides the short letter you left telling us that you were leaving and could not say for where. None of my people or the Ministry's have been able to track you, and no one has seen any sign of you for two years – where have you been, and why have you chosen to return to us now?"
Harry sighed inwardly, knowing that he could not tell the Headmaster where he had really been. Doing so would reveal many secrets that could be potentially dangerous to not only himself, but an entirely hidden race of people. He had prepared a story, however, and recited it now, hoping that he sounded convincing enough.
"I was taken by another wizard, Headmaster. He took me deep into the mountains to—to tutor me, and to teach me a few different forms of defense. He caught me up on many of the Dark spells, as well as defences, and—prepared me, shall we say, for any encounters with Dark wizards that I might have in the future. He felt that it was for the good of humankind, and the only thing that would save our world from the advances of Tom Riddle." He had long since stopped calling the Dark wizard by his chosen name.
In truth, it had been the work of a much larger group of people – the elves of the Vale, a secret and well-protected society that took no part in the human world, but nevertheless observed it closely. They had come to him late one summer night, startling him quite out of his wits before they had been able to calm him down long enough to explain the situation.
The elves had explained to Harry that if Voldemort were to overthrow the wizarding world, he would not stop until he had taken over all of the earth. If Voldemort were allowed to continue with his conquest, he would discover the secret and ancient places of the elves. When he could not force the secrets of their magic from them, he would destroy the Vale, and with it the last of the ancient races. The Seers amongst them had foretold this, and so they had come together to decide upon what they felt was their only hope – a frightened, confused, and yet undeniably powerful, teenaged boy with an indestructible link to the Dark Lord.
So Harry had written a hurried letter to Dumbledore and everyone else explaining that he was going away for a time to train, but he could not say where. He had regretted not being able to bid his friends farewell or tell them where he was going – that was one of his deepest wounds, and a regret that he had never been able to overcome. While he was with the elves, however, he had been instructed in many ancient and formidable forgotten arts – pure Dark and Light magic, song charms, mind magic, ritual magic, Elemental arts, elven magic and earth magic.
Time had passed differently in the Vale, due to the ancient magics that pervaded the place like a relentless mist, those which kept the elves immortal and changed the dimensions of time for anyone else who came into contact with it, according to the needs of the user. For him, almost five years had passed in the almost dreamlike world of the Vale – by his standards, he was now nearly twenty, though he still retained the physical form of his seventeen-year-old self. Mentally he was much more patient and mature, and he hoped that he would not have a difficult time dealing with his reintroduction to the world of the seventh-year Hogwarts students. The mental maturity would be handy for battle and other stressful situations, however, and the elves had proclaimed him ready at last. With his formidable new arsenal, the elves had finally decided that it was time for him to re-enter the human world, and had released him to return to the place he had once called home.
This all had to remain a secret, however. If the elves were discovered, their secret havens would be invaded and destroyed. He dared not even tell Dumbledore. One of the favorite sayings of his Masters was "You need never unsay anything you did not say in the first place."
Harry held up a hand as Dumbledore opened his mouth to question him.
"I'm sorry, Headmaster, but I cannot tell you more than that. My Master swore me to secrecy, and I would not break his trust for anything. You have my full assurances, however, that he kept me safe and well during the past two years. I am sorry that I could not write, apart from that first letter, but he forbade it, lest anyone track it to us. It was a most secret and hallowed place we went to."
Dumbledore shut his mouth and nodded.
"I understand, Harry. I am glad that you are back. However, just as a safety precaution, I would like you to take a small dose of this." He held out a small phial of Veritaserum. "Please, I mean nothing by it. I would just like to confirm that it really is you. I swear to ask nothing that would betray your Master or his location."
Harry nodded and swallowed it in one gulp, hiding a smile as he felt and resisted the beginning of the trance it induced. He had learned to resist most potions given to him over the years spent in training. However, he let his eyelids drop slightly, and made his face go slack, feigning the effects.
"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.
"Harry James Potter," Harry answered, in a flat, monotonous voice.
"When is your birthday?"
"July 31st."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Were you safe and well cared-for for the past two years?"
"Yes."
Dumbledore sighed and handed Harry the antidote. Harry swallowed it and smiled up at the Headmaster, who looked at him for a moment before pulling him up and into a tight embrace.
"It has been a hard two years without you, my boy," he said, his voice hoarse. "For everyone."
They drew apart, and Harry smiled at the ancient man. Dumbledore was still the same, even after all this time. He was glad – he wasn't sure what he would do without at least some measure of consistency in this now-strange world.
"Sir, could I – could I see Ron and Hermione now, do you think?" Harry asked, once more a bit uneasy. He hadn't seen them in two years, and he didn't know what their reactions would be.
"Of course, dear boy," Dumbledore said gently. "I shall have them sent here at once."
He snapped his fingers, and a small house-elf appeared at his side.
"Dotty, could you please fetch Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and bring them to my office at once?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly, a fact for which Harry was grateful. House-elves could very well have ended up like their formidable relatives, had the course of history gone somewhat differently
"Yes, sir, right away!" the elf squeaked, and disappeared with a crack.
Harry sat nervously in his chair as the seconds dragged by. What would they think of him now? How had they changed? Had anything bad happened to them in the past two years? What would they say when they saw him?
He jumped and was on his feet again as the door creaked open once more. He turned to see his two friends, staring openmouthed at him. Hermione had tears in her eyes.
"No," Ron croaked, backing up a step. "Don't – torment us like this. It can't be."
"It is," Harry said softly. "It's me."
Hermione stared at him for a moment, and then threw herself upon him with a shriek. She sobbed into the neck of his robes, and Harry gently put his arms about her. Ron stood, white-faced, as though he had been poleaxed.
"Is it really – are you really – how – "
"It's really me, Ron," Harry said, holding out a hand to the redhead. Ron stood frozen for another moment before staggering over to his long-lost friend. He threw his arms around Harry as well, and Harry heard Dumbledore back quietly out of the room before Hermione raised her tearstained face to him and choked out, "Harry, we thought you were dead. You just – disappeared, and didn't – didn't come back, and we – we lost hope – Oh, Harry, I missed you so much – "
"We both did, mate," Ron said hoarsely, and Harry saw with some startlement that there were tears in his eyes as well. "When you just up and disappeared like that – we all thought – we thought that you'd – been taken, or killed, or – something. But – none of that matters now. You're alive!"
"I am," Harry said softly, holding even tighter to Ron and Hermione. He had felt alone during the last two years, even though he knew that the elves had been doing their best. It was so good to be back with his friends once more…..though things would never be quite the same.
Finally they pulled apart, Hermione sniffing and Ron quickly dashing his sleeve across his face. Harry smiled and touched him on the shoulder, and Ron smiled back.
"Harry – where have you been?" Hermione asked, looking suddenly angry. "You worried us all to death! Where were you?"
Harry sighed and motioned for them all to sit down, and repeated once more the story that he had told to Dumbledore. He explained patiently that no, he couldn't answer their questions, and that no, he couldn't let them meet his teacher. Ron and Hermione looked disappointed and faintly suspicious, but their mistrust was lost in another bout of hugging and covert tears.
Dumbledore entered the room and cleared his throat, causing the three of them to jump apart, startled.
"I do believe, children," he said, "that it is time for you to go to your dormitories. Harry, we are all glad that you are back. Please, do try and contain the excitement of your fellow Housemates," he added with a slight chuckle. Harry grinned and nodded, and the three of them stood and headed out, together again at last.