AN: I decided to rewrite this as I felt that I didn't do a very good job with the first chapter.

AN2: In this story you start Hogwarts at sixteen (that way I could actually use the ages shown in the movies)

AN3: The name of Harry's spear, the Gae Bolga, is pronounced 'Gah Bowl-Gah'…just wanted to point that out.

Child of the De Danann 1

Chapter 1

-Merida-

Walking back to the castle she sighed as she gazed at the small, innocent looking cake that the witch had given her. "How can something this small change my fate?" she asked herself as she continued walking along, Angus trotting by her side.

Hearing a yell she looked up to see her parents standing next to the other Lords and their own heirs just outside the gates, her parents gazing at her in relief, the lords with irritation, and the heirs with pity. She was about to try and think up a cover story to get her mum to eat the cake, while also wondering if she should even be trying to change her mum, when she heard her father yell out "Run Merida!" as she could hear the fear in his voice.

That alone shocked her as she froze, having never known her father to feel fear, when she heard a loud huff and felt hot air blow across her neck as she spun around to see the demon bear Mor'du lumbering out of the woods and towards her. With a scream she ran towards the castle and the protection of her father and the guards, cursing her lack of a weapon as Angus thundered alongside her but not even her loyal horse's hoof steps could drown out the lumbering quakes of the demon bear charging her down. With a yell her foot caught a loose stone as she was sent tumbling to the ground, the cake rolling away from her as Angus kept on running, not realizing that she had fallen.

As she lay on the ground, unable to move with her hurt ankle, she saw Mor'du raise up on its hind paws, roaring in challenge at her but, before it could end her life, a man with shoulder length red hair and gleaming bright blue eyes leapt onto Mor'du's back and put the beast into a choke hold. As this happened a beautiful woman with pitch black hair going down to the small of her back stepped out of the woods and trained an arrow on the bear's one good eye. As the fight went on between the man and the bear she saw the new woman frown before her eyes, once a dark black, glowed blood red before she cursed loudly. "Cuchulain!" the woman yelled causing Merida as well as all those running towards the fight to freeze and look at the man in awe, "It's a human under the torture!".

'That's the Hound of Ulster?' she thought to herself as she watched the man work 'I thought he was just a myth!'.

"Damn!" the revealed Cuchulain snarled, "Throw me my staff!" as the still red eyed woman ran over to a pair of bags at the tree line and grabbed and threw a six foot staff made of blood red wood that was capped by a carved wolf's head which held a blue gem, the same color as the man's eyes, in its mouth. As it soared through the air she watched Cuchulain yell in defiance before jumping off the bear's back, catching the staff in the air before slamming the butt of it into the ground, a glowing quaternary spreading out from that point encompassing both man and bear.

She had never heard a sound quite like the one Mor'du made as it screamed, standing on its hind legs and thrashing about as black mist poured out of the bear's mouth, eyes, ears, and nose, flying high into the air as it tried to escape the circle only to be incinerated by the glowing lines. With each bit of mist that left the bear she saw it shrink more and more until it was no longer a bear but a man with long black hair going down past his waist and wearing tattered clothing.

"Morrigan," Cuchulain called out as she looked at the woman in shock "come. We have to find whoever cast this curse and kill them. I can't tell where they are but I could tell from the curses power that whoever did it is still alive. As the man turned to gaze at her and her family, who had reached them by this point, the man's eyes locked onto the cake that she had, once again, picked up as the calm blue eyes glowed with a violence akin to the Morrigan's. "Where did you get that cake?" Cuchulain asked in a calm tone that still sent shudders down her spine at the raw power it contained.

Shaking slightly she pointed into the words and stammered out one word, "W-witch." As Cuchulain's eyes hardened.

Spinning around Cuchulain whirled the staff about as it shrunk down to a small rod which was slipped into one of the bags she had seen as he growled out "Come on Morrigan, we have a witch to kill.". Her eyes still locked on the two figures straight out of legend she saw Cuchulain grab a spear that was propped up against a tree and she gasped. Where before the spear had been a solid piece of ordinary steel but the moment Cuchulain touched it the metal began to glow with an ethereal light. "Watch him and make sure he doesn't go anywhere but don't hurt him, I don't know how long he was under that curse." Cuchulain ordered them, pointing at the man that had once been Mor'du before he and the Morrigan turned and walked off into the forest. Just before they disappeared into the shadows Cuchulain yelled back over his shoulder "And don't eat that damn cake!".

-Cuchulain (Harry)-

"How the hell did they do it?" he asked his companion as they moved through the trees, following the faint 'scent' of magic as they made their way towards the only witch native to the area, "I didn't know anyone could turn the Transmogrifian Torture into a potion.".

"It would take a genius at the art," his companion Morrigan said with a scowl "and from what we've seen. All potions geniuses are insane crackpots.".

"Yeah," he said with a sigh as he gazed up at the stars through a break in the trees "it's almost time for us to go back…to have to see them again. It's been three years since we left and while I'm sure they tried to find you I doubt they even told anyone i was gone or tried to look for me.". Sighing Morrigan reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he remembered back to how they had gotten to where they were now…back when he had been Harry Potter and she had been Morag MacDougal.

-Flashback-

Sitting at the table next to his only friend, Morag, he glared across at his parents and his 'brother' Marcus. It had been twelve years since the defeat of Voldemort which everyone had accredited to his brother due to the fact that, when Dumbledore and the elder Potters had found them, Marcus' magical core had given off a higher reading, paying no thought to the possibility that his core might have been smaller due to having used power to reflect the damn killing curse. He knew that he was the real 'boy-who-lived' but didn't say anything as nobody would believe him. He knew because he could feel the tainted magic within the scar on his forehead as he was a magical sensor, he could feel different magical signatures and strengths and even track a person if he could lock onto their signature well enough. He never told anyone though because nobody would ever believe that the weak and unwanted son of the Potter family could do anything...well, nobody apart from his first friend anyway.

They had first met in Diagon Alley when his parents had forgotten him and returned home as he was left in the bookstore, looking through books about Celtic Myths and Legends. He was only eight at the time and was having a bit of trouble keeping the myths and gods straight but Morag had been in the store as well that day and had seen what he was reading as well as his confusion. She had come over and sat next to him, helping explain what was going on in each story.

They had been as close as possible after that as Morag didn't' have any friends of her own due to the few people she tried being friends with making fun of her because of her love of studying myths while he wasn't allowed out of the house much as his parents didn't really want to deal with him. After that day though he was constantly going over to Morag's home and she came over to his.

When they had gotten older though, and started going through puberty, he had noticed the looks Marcus had begun sending at Morag more and more and he didn't like them at all. Now though it had all come to a head when Marcus had gone to their parents who, along with Morag's parents, were attempting to force Morag into a marriage contract with Marcus. "I won't go through with it!" she yelled at her parents angrily "And you can't make me!".

"We are your parents and you will obey us!" the Lord MacDougal roared, "The prestige of you marrying the Boy-Who-Lived-".

"I can't stand the bloody fool!" Morag screamed, cutting the man off "I hate him and his attitude! I won't go through with this!".

"As long as you are a part of my house you will obey my decisions." Lord MacDougal thundered "Now be silent and sign the contract for your new husband!".

"Never," Morag hissed as she swiped a wand from the table and intoned "I, Morag Elinor MacDougal, hereby banish myself from the House MacDougal from this point forever more. So I say, so mote it be!".

As the flash of light that ripped through the room blinded the other occupants he grabbed the wand and copied his friend, saying "I, Harry James Potter, hereby banish myself from the House Potter from this point forever more. So I say, so mote it be!" as a second, even larger, pulse of magic ripped forth, this one knocking the others out of their chairs.

"Come on!" he yelled to his friend, grabbing her hand as they took off running "I have an idea!". Getting to the floo room he jumped into the fireplace and held his only friend close, 'please let this work' he prayed before grabbing a fistful of floo powder and throwing it down, yelling out "Freedom!" as he thought desperately that he wanted to be taken somewhere safe.

Around and around they spun, each holding tightly the other as they refused to let go to the one person they had left in this world. They saw flashes as they spun past, fireplaces of taverns and homes, shops and schools. He began to wonder if they would ever leave the spinning mass of fire at all when they were suddenly shot out of what looked like a bonfire and into a tree as he used his body to absorb the impact and shield Morag.

"Well Gabha," a woman, or at least she sounded like a woman, said walking over as his vision began to blur more and more as he fought to stay conscious "it looks like we have guests.".

"Please," he pleaded as he lost the fight to stay awake "help…her…" before darkness consumed him.

-End Flashback-

Feeling a hand on his chest he shook himself out of his stupor and saw Morrigan hold up a hand for silence as she peered over the edge of a hill and noted a single arrow, nodding at him to be ready to act. Nodding back he kept his spear low to hide the glow and crept around to the other side of the copse to flank the old hag that he saw just outside of her hut. When he was in position he leapt out and swung hi spear, sending a flurry of glowing barbs out that hit the ground just in front of the witch causing her to startle and try to run away from him only for Morrigan to leap out and aim an arrow at the witch's heart. "Who are you?!" the hag demanded, scrambling to get away from them "What do you want?!".

"We are here to stop you from continuing to use the forbidden magics." He snarled, causing her to pale drastically.

"How do you know of those?" the small witch demanded "I thought I was the only magic use left alive in this land?!"

"We are not from your time," Morrigan said with a piercing glare as she moved forward to block any escape route the old crone might take "we were sent here by a Fomorian Giant and a Sidhe.".

"But soon you won't belong to any time," he said with a glare before aiming his spear at the woman's stomach "for today you shall fall to the might of the Gae Bolga." Before launching his glowing weapon as it pinned the dark witch to her hut as she struggled and gasped, trying to pry the weapon loose but her motions soon grew weak and finally grew still. Giving it another moment he opened up his hand and willed his spear to return as it shot back into his hand, the corpse of the dark witch falling to the ground with a thud.

"Come on Cuchulain, let's look through her hut to see if there's anything important before we head back to the castle. I think that the man you freed is one of the two 'allies' that our trainers asked us to find." Morrigan said softly as she walked up and squeezed his shoulder, both of them doing their best to avoid staring at the dead body as killing, even if it was killing those who were evil…still was a hard thing to do.

Nodding he sighed and pulled her into an embrace as he drew strength from the contact as he knew she did as well, "It still feels odd hearing you call me that," he said softly as they separated "for years I was 'Harry' to you and now I'm 'Cuchulain'.".

"Would you rather I call you Harry?" Morrigan asked softly as they walked into the hut.

"I met you as Harry," he said softly "so…I…I think I'd like to be Harry for you and maybe one or two others who we get close to…but only to them.".

"Alright then…Harry." Morrigan said softly as she kissed his cheek "Then you have to call me Morag as well.".

"Deal." He said as he embraced his friend once again.

-Back at the castle-

As they walked back towards the castle, the witch's hut as well as her corpse nothing more than a smoking crater in the woods, he noticed the large king from earlier point at them and yell as the other 'Royals' charged towards them. "What happened?" the king demanded upon reaching them "And who are you?".

"I am Cuchulain," he explained as he gripped his spear "not the Hound of Ulster from legend but his descendant. This is my companion, Morrigan, who, like me, is only descended of the being you speak of in legend. As for what we did we found the witch who not only turned that man from before into the demon bear but almost did the same to your daughter.".

"How is that possible?" the man with the blue war paint asked in shock "Mor'du has plagued these lands for centuries.

"The man was under a curse known as the 'Transmogrifian Torture' which is impossible to undo and keep the victim alive if you don't know the proper spell like I do.". he explained "And as for how she was alive…she used another magic even more taboo than the torture. She would kidnap people and use a ritual to drain their life force and add it into her own to extend her lifespan. She does the torture as a way of 'entertaining' herself and casts several charms to make people passing by more willing to believe her. The one she did on your daughter would have convinced her that it was a good idea to give that cursed cake to the queen but from what we could tell your daughter was already fighting it off, strong will on that one.".

"Ha ha!" the king laughed "That's my girl!".

"You do not speak as if you were from here." A woman with long brown hair, who he assumed to be the queen, said curiously, "And how did you find out all of this?".

"That's because we're not from here," he explained "or at least not from this time. We fled our homes three years ago and met the Fomorian who forged my ancestor's spear which I now wield, Gabha, and the Sidhe who trained him in how to use it, Scatach. They told us to find a couple of allies in this time before we return to our own to finish off an evil upon our world. A warlock, a magic use, like the witch we just killed only far more powerful. As for how we know these things…the witch kept rather detailed journals.".

"How will you know if you found the right 'ally'?" the red head who had the potion asked him curiously as he tried not to stare at her hair…curse his fascination with redheads!

"Scatach gave us a couple of crystals that glow when handled by the person who is to back with us." Morag answered as he sent her a silent thank you as she smiled and pulled out one of the crystals to show the girl.

"Can I try?" the girl, Merida if his memory from the kings shouting was correct, asked hesitantly as Morag nodded and handed over the gam which began to glow, much like his spear, the moment it was in the girls hands.

"That answers that question," he said with a shrug before turning to the large king who was staring at Merida in grief "where is the man I released from the curse?".

"Inside." the king said softly and led him inside while Morag stayed behind to explain to Merida what things were like in the modern world if she chose to come back with us. "Are you truly going to take my daughter away with you?" the man asked in a defeated tone, likely knowing that his power was too much for the forces within the castle, especially if you added in Scatach and Gabha.

"We were merely sent to give her the offer," he said quickly "it's her decision whether or not to come with us." Which seemed to relieve the man slightly.

"He's in here." The king said, opening a door when they came to a halt "I'll just give you some privacy.".

"Are you the man who freed me from the witch's curse?" the giant of a man asked once he walked in.

"Yes I am," he said with a nod as he pulled out the second crystal "would you be willing to try something for me? I would like for you to hold this gem.".

When the man nodded he placed the gem into the freed man's hands as it glowed just as brightly as the other one had for Merida, "What does that mean?" the man asked in confusion.

"It means that you are one of the two people that my companion and I were sent to find and offer a chance to come back with us to our time to fight a great evil." He explained.

"I was trapped in that form for centuries," the man said with a shudder "there is nothing left for me here…I will go with you and repay my debt…and possibly redeem myself for what I have done.".

"Do you have a name?" he asked the man who frowned as if struggling to remember.

"I…I think it was Aeron…it's been so long that it's hard to remember.".

"Well then Aeron," he said as he clasped arms with his new companion "welcome to our small 'family'. Scatach will give you a unique gift when she arrives in the morning to take us back to our time. So get some rest, you're going to need it.".