AN - Sry about the double update, I posted this once and then realised I hadn't checked it through, and then THIS WEBSITE wouldn't let me upload and thier support site was down for me too. Still, here we go :D
To the person who asked why they couldnt understand him that's coming up in the next chapter. A big clue is that he can understand them perfectly, so it's not because they're speaking olde English... :P
Chapter 2
Dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
The arms held him tight and no matter how he struggled he could not release himself.
"Who are you?! Another Muggle! Filth! Rotten Filth!" Rowan was still screaming behind him, now at the man who had caught him. "You dare shield him from me! I shall kill the Muggle's myself Helga!" Another spell launched itself at them.
Somehow he managed to push the man holding him to the ground and the spell shot over them, missing by inches, making Harry's soul bristle with fear.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" The man underneath him was shoving him aside and sitting up, his white shirt covered in grass stains. "WOMAN PUT THAT WAND DOWN THIS INSTANT!" the man had drawn his own wand by now and was pointing it at the two breathless and shocked women.
Harry took a moment to study his saviour, unsure how long he would be safe. The man was slim and tall, his hair a light auburn colour. His eyes were a brilliant green that reminded Harry of his own, but they held not the depth of his own suffering. He wore a green stained white shirt and a pair of loose trousers. To Harry he looked older than the two women, but still in his twenties.
"Who are you?" Rowan said through gritted teeth, her wand switching between the two men on the floor.
"Who I am is none of your concern. What were you doing? Are you Muggle haters? Do you torment this youth for fun?" the man was helping Harry to his feet now, lifting him up as though he weighed nothing.
"That boy is a danger to us all!" Rowan hissed. "He does not speak English and when I tried to cast a spell on him so we could understand him he panicked. If he goes back to the Muggle's then they will come down on us and kill us."
"I'm not a Muggle!" Harry said heatedly. "I'm a Wizard! I'm Harry Potter!"
"My name is Helga, and this is my friend Rowan. What is your name, Sir?"
The man looked at her with scrutiny before answering. "Zalar."
Helga nodded. "Would you like to join us inside, and we can discuss this like adults?" she shot a glare at Rowan as she said this.
The blonde woman turned on her heel and stormed back into the house. Helga watched as Zalar started across the grass to the large house. Harry groaned and stumbled up to the house. "Don't let her kill me!" he said grumpily as he entered the kitchen again.
He slouched at the table as far from Rowan as possible, sitting next to Zalar. Helga shut the door behind herself and turned to the group with a stern look.
"Now, this is what we know about Harry. He can understand a little English, and can say yes and no. Other than that, he has been our guest for almost one year."
A year?!?
"WHAT?" he shot to his feet, stumbling backwards, not noticing Rowan's wand pointing straight at him. "A year? How can I have been here a year? That's impossible! Dumbledore would have found me by now! Who are you, and where am I? What…"
Harry trailed off and fell into his chair. The three adults were watching him in confusion.
"Harry, did you know you had been here for a year?" Zalar asked calmly.
"No." Harry replied, burying his head in his hands, pulling at his hair.
"Harry only woke this morning. Actually, he's been up for about an hour or two at max."
"It seems the boy understands a lot of what we say, Madam Helga, and so I suggest you talk to him as well, and inform him of what has happened since he arrived in your care."
Helga regarded Harry for a long moment before nodding. "I am sorry, Harry. I should have realised myself." Harry nodded vaguely, his head still buried.
Helga was silent for a while, collecting her thoughts before she continued. "As I said, it all happened a year ago. Rowan, her husband and I were here. Rowan's family have guarded a special stone for many generations, and when a new family head comes into power the stone must be attuned to him. The night was stormy and we were all looking forward to getting here and a nice warm fire. The Star Stone was a black stone which reflected starlight even in bright sunlight.
"Before we could get to the stone lightning struck it. We ran to it, dreading what we might find. The stone was split in two, both perfect egg shape's. As we watched one of the eggs began to crack with heat, and then it burst into flames, and a baby bird was left in the ashes."
"A Phoenix egg?!" Harry looked in shock at the Helga. From what he remembered of Hagrid's lesson on Phoenixes eggs were rare, and incredibly sought after by people after the fabled immortality, healing and potion properties of them.
"You know what this bird is called, Harry?" Helga looked at him with a strange curiosity. Harry felt unnerved but nodded warily.
"Phoenix." He said clearly, wondering if they would understand what he was saying.
"A Bennu?" Zalar looked thoughtful. "They are only mythological though."
"Bennu?" Both Harry and Helga looked confused.
"More commonly known as a Phoenix, Bennu is their original name in Egyptian history. Said to be from the heart of a god, they are said to be immortal. But, as I said, mythological."
"Well, not so mythological anymore." Rowan said, startling Harry who had almost forgotten she was there. "It was ill, and we took care of it for a year. Then this afternoon it was gone."
"And in its place… was a young man by the name of Harry." Helga said, looking Harry straight in the eyes.
AN Well there you go, should be getting a new chapter up sooner this time. Life is really busy at the moment so its finding a time when I have a quiet 5 minutes that I can focus. Anyway, hope you liked it!
Bennu-Phoenix – I may have changed a few things here inadvertently. My info came from Wikipedia late at night and I may have misread it slightly. It said that the Bennu 'serves as the Egyptian correspondence to the Phoenix' which I think means that the phoenix popular nowadays is different from theirs. I think. Theirs was a heron, apparently.
