Heir Apparent
Formerly 'Merlin's Little Brother'.
By Lady Sardonyx and Lady Aster
Authors' Notes: Lady Sardonyx has lost the battle for Harry's pairing; Lady Aster has decreed it to be HarryGinny!! :P
Title: Heir Apparent
Author(s): Lady Sardonyx; Lady Aster
Rating: K+
Status: In Progress
Summary: Harry was thrown back in time, due to a stray birthday wish. There, he meets Merlin and lives a life of wonder. But what of the Wizarding World? Can Harry come back to be its savior?
Disclaimer: We wish we owned Harry Potter, but unfortunately we do not.
CHAPTER THREE
"Can I fly today?" Ginny asked. "Please? I'm almost four!"
Bill and Charlie had already gone outside. Percy was upstairs reading, as usual. Fred and George grinned at her.
"Sorry-"
"-Ginny."
"You're too young-"
"-To play with us."
"We might hurt you-"
"And then where would we be?" They chorused, looking mock-fearfully towards the kitchen.
Ginny turned toward Ron, her eyes pleading. Ron would help; Ron was her best friend.
He refused to meet her eyes. "When you're older, Ginny."
"But you got to ride your first bloom when you were three!"
"You're a girl, Ginny! You might get hurt. It's safer for you to read or play with your dolls!" Ron insisted.
Ginny glared at him. How could he say that? He was the one who screamed when he saw even a tiny spider. "Mum!"
Mrs. Weasley bustled out of the kitchen, her hands soapy. She wiped them on her large blue apron. "What is it, dear?" she asked distractedly.
Ginny put on an angelic expression and pouted, her bottom lip trembling. "The boys won't let me fly."
Mrs. Weasley took no notice of her daughter's distress. "Why don't you play with your dolls?" The red-haired woman patted her daughter's head, smiling absentmindedly, and turned back toward the kitchen. The twins smirked at her and raced toward the backyard, Ron trailing behind.
"But—Ron flew the first time when he was three…" she whispered, the angelic expression disappearing and her voice trailing off. Ginny walked toward the window and stared at her brothers, who were flying happily outside. Why couldn't she join them? Was she somehow inferior?
It's because I'm a girl, she thought bitterly. She was supposed to be quiet and kept out of harm's way. She glared at a glass cup sitting innocently on top of a stack of second-hand picture books. Ha! They seemed to think she was stupid, too! They gave her the stuff Ron had read. The glass cup shattered with a loud crash.
"Ginny, are you okay?" her mom yelled.
"Yeah," she yelled back and returned to brooding. Why? If they would only let me, I could fly just as well as my brothers. Then and there, she made a resolution to prove that she was just as good as her brothers.
But even this could not lift her spirits for long. Ginny walked in front of the mirror and stared at herself. What made her so different from her brothers? A tear slid down her cheek. She wiped at it angrily. I am not weak!
Her thoughts turned, as usual, toward Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Somehow she knew he would not doubt her so. He would be kind and smart and handsome, her fairytale prince. She wondered where Harry was right now, and if he was happy. She hoped he was. He deserved something good since he defeated You-Know-Who.
A spark of light caught her eye and she turned toward the window. A shooting star sped across the sky. "I wish I had a friend," she whispered.
But of course, nothing happened. After all, everyone knew that shooting stars didn't grant wishes.
Besides, she could never live with herself if some deity had just dropped her into a place of power—she had to earn it for herself.
Ginny squared her shoulders and stared, determined, into the night and dreamed of a little boy with messy black hair and emerald green eyes.
Harry awoke to light-colored eyes. "Are you alright?" a golden eyed lady asked. She looked familiar…
Gold eyes…
Where was Myrrdin?
Why was he in bed? It certainly wasn't his bed...
And why did his back hurt? He was in so much pain...
Pain… Myrddin… Brown eyes? He wondered whose eyes he had seen. The Ceremony!
Harry realized why the golden-eyed lady looked so familiar- it was the same lady who had blessed him last night with purity. Soul, she called herself.
Soul - or was it Lady Soul? - smiled knowingly. "Rest," she commanded in a firm voice. "You are still recovering."
"I'm fine!" protested Harry. "I need to find Myrddin!"
Soul shook her head in amusement. "Your twin is fine," she said. "He too looked for you. The bond between the two of you is greater than we ever hoped for."
"Bond..?" asked Harry, confused. "What do you mean? Err, Lady Soul?"
Soul laughed, a melodious sound that reminded Harry of morning birds. "No, Harry, please. Call me Soul, or Teacher. 'Lady' is not my title."
"Besides, it makes her feel old," teased the tall man from the other night. He pushed himself off of the door frame on which he had been resting and sauntered towards them.
"Spirit," acknowledged Soul. "Weren't you talking to Myrddin?"
"Yeah," Spirit shrugged. "But then Old Man Memory came in. Geez, those two talk about complicated stuff!"
"And knowing you, they were talking about breakfast, right?" retorted Soul with a mischievous smile.
"How can you say that? Of course breakfast is complicated!" replied Spirit, a glint in his amazingly dark eyes. "Ah, Soul, dear sister, you wound me so."
"Excuse me," interrupted Harry shyly. "But is Myrddin okay?"
"Oh yes, he's just fine," Spirit pouted. "I don't see why he didn't want to talk about Avalon instead of the universe!"
Harry laughed. "Myrddin is strange like that."
"Harry, you asked about the bond?" Soul spoke up.
"Yes!"
Spirit ran a hand through his thick black hair that fell back into place perfectly. "Well, it's somewhat hard to explain. Okay, we'll use this rock and this spoon, okay?"
Soul stared at the items indicated. "And just where did you get those? Were you twisting the universe again?"
Spirit ignored his irritated sister with practiced ease. "Okay, see, at first glance, the spoon and the rock is nothing alike, right? The spoon will live a life in a house and the rock will live outside."
"But the rock and the spoon aren't alive," Harry pointed out.
"All things are alive - you just have to find it." A moment of thoughtful silence followed Spirit's unusually insightful words.
"Anyway, let's say that the spoon is carried outside by my hand which is really Magic. Then, the spoon and rock coincide and their lives can follow a path."
"Okay…" Harry nodded slowly. "But what does that have to do with Myrddin and I?"
Myrddin looked up with a start from the conversation he had been having with Memory. "I could have just sworn I sensed Harry's confusion…" he muttered to himself.
"You probably did," the Old Man Memory said, grey eyes piercing. "Avalon is a place of magic—anything's possible."
He raised a hand before Myrddin could say anything. "Avalon was built mainly on tangible magic. However, not all the supports are completely safe. There are holes between them and some lead to places and times that haven't happened yet and those are dangerous."
"Then why do the Ladies not block them?" Myrddin asked curiously.
"Because those holes are powerful." The Old Man Memory leaned closer. "They hold our power—they are the only way one can get into or out of Avalon."
"I see," Myrddin looked solemn. "That truly is a difficult thing."
"That is why you must be careful around Avalon," the old man sighed, leaning back on his chair. "I know you and your brother love to explore but if you catch a sense of too-powerful magic, you must not go there!"
Harry sneezed. "Excuse me," he said, wiping his nose, manners kicking in.
Soul laughed. "Someone must be talking about you."
Spirit laughed also, a deep laugh like a roll of thunder. "Already so popular with the girls?" he teased.
Soul smacked Spirit. "Stop corrupting the poor child!" she demanded. "He's not even five, for heaven's sake—much too young to be thinking about such things!"
"Fine, fine," he placated, winking at Harry. "Come on- Harry needs his peace."
"No, no, it's fi-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by a tired yawn and he blushed at the knowing glances that the two deities sent each other.
"Good night, Harry."
"Good night."
Lady Sardonyx: No. No. NOOOOOO!!
Lady Aster: (jumping around) YAY!! HarryGinny! HarryGinny! HarryGinny!
Lady Sardonyx: (hitting head against wall) Why did I ever agree to this?
Lady Aster: Because you're my best friend. Hooray! Happy reading and reviewing!
