AN: So… Nobody gets cookies… Ah poo… =( BUT! You have another chance to guess! There are some new hints given here. The magical creature heritage will be revealed in detail in the next chapter!
fraewyn, nope, not a ghost, not a poltergeist either.
Supersaiyangirl, thank you. And no, it's not a vampire and not a wraith – though the idea is interesting.
Lo Lo, ghost elf? No, actually haven't known about that kind of creature before. Perhaps, I should acquaint myself with D&D. It sounds interesting. Thanks for the encouraging words!
Allamonalla, thanks! And no, not a ghost. Though I hope you'll like the magical being Harry is turning into too.
SiriusBlackIsGod, hehe. All will be revealed in the next chapter! /insert evil laugh here/
lilsteves, you're right, surely not. I just wanted to confuse the readers with ghost and vampire references. :)
SileaLove, ahhh, I am glad you liked it. I think it's producing quite an intriguing atmosphere myself. I love writing cliff-hangers! Hope, you'll like this one too!
Chapter 3: The State of Freedom
As the time passed, Zallerion gradually get used to living in Melroys, selecting one of the less pretentious buildings for home. The elf, however, didn't plan on staying in the Lost City forever, so he collected some of the treasures of the elrue and ventured into Gringotts to open an account. He used glamour to cover his inhuman features, of course, but the goblins still sensed something out of place in him. When he presented some of the jewelry, the bored goblin appraiser was able to recognize the origin of the items and spluttered.
"Where did you get these?"
"Does it matter? Don't worry you won't find them on the stolen items list."
At that moment, the shocked goblin decided to look up. His eyes widened even further.
"Who are you?!"
Zallerion chose to fold his arms in front of his chest and stare the diminutive creature down.
The goblin coughed. "I mean under which name do you wish to register the account? Any preferences about the security of the vault?"
"Zallerion Melroys. Vault with high security, though not the highest. Now, how do you value the articles?" The last elrue figured, that nobody would begrudge his appropriating the name of the Lost City as his surname. After all, there was no one left to contest his right to rule and own the place.
"It's hard to appraise something of this value…"
"Let me propose a deal, Klaggroot, I'll sell all the eleven items to Gringotts for ten million galleons. I know that if you auction them, you'll get a great deal more, each piece of this jewelry can't cost less than a million galleons. But I don't want to experiences all the hassle surrounding such selling, so I decided to be generous."
The elf could see that the goblin was torn. The appraiser knew that the customer proposed a more than fair deal, but his banker instincts warred with his common sense.
"Seven thousand galleons."
"Ten million hundred thousand galleons," Zallerion drawled with a bored posture.
Klaggroot sighed. He was going nowhere with his usual bargaining routine with this client. Though, the man could afford to be confident – the jewelry was one of the kind. The goblin's eyes narrowed at the being in front of him. He realized that this was no mere human. But surely it couldn't be… He shook his head free of the ridiculous insinuations.
Zallerion on his end was hard pressed to fight down the urge to snap at the goblin to hurry. While his years as a house-elf taught him a lot about humility, the elrue's arrogance was one of the bred-in characteristics that had become instinct.
"Deal," proclaimed Klaggroot finally.
"Wonderful, now how about drawing that contract…"
The feelings that the elf felt reaching him through the bond, grew progressively disturbed and panicky. He couldn't postpone the meeting with his ex-Master any longer, if he wanted to help the teen.
It was strange how his perception of the Boy-Who-Lived changed. Before the transformation, he looked up to the wizard, admired him fanatically, and treated his words as law, except the few cases. Now, he felt so much older than the teen. Not only his body changed, but also his magic and the way his thoughts ran. Yet, Zallerion still held a soft spot for Harry in his heart that suddenly felt so tired and ancient. His world still centered on this wizard's being, he still remained his purpose.
The door that rendered him into the state of incoherent panic, was suddenly thrown open - almost blown off its hinges.
"Harry, mate, what just happened?! Did you scream?" Ron's eyes were wild and searched frantically for the cause of disturbance, seeing nothing out of ordinary in the quiet dormitory.
The need to cover and lie his way through like a seasoned lawyer, brought the teen to his senses.
He made an effort to look sheepish.
"Sorry, Ron. There was just this spider that surprised me…"
Predictably, the carrot-head squeaked and backed away to the stairs.
"Right-tou… I'll leave you to it, then."
If only everything was as easy as duping his best friend. Admittedly, Harry felt guilty, but before sharing his secret, he wanted to get to the bottom of the metamorphosis himself.
This time he concentrated hard on the mocking door handle and pushed it down once more. This time his hand met resistance and the door opened. The wizard breathed out a sigh of relief. Was the whole incident just a fluke?
Somehow he didn't think so…
Harry stared morosely at his plate that was yet to be emptied. He supposed he could eat. But he didn't really want to. He didn't need to. But he would damned, if he knew why.
He was so tired of pretending, of always putting up a façade… And the events gradually drew to their closure. The end of the school year neared, and Harry knew from experience, that bad shit happened exactly in this time period. The only difference this year was that he was hunted down the information and was now forewarned. It didn't really help him, though, just made him feel sicker and more anxious.
Why, oh why did he have to brew Rivertus Vitae? His time would have been better spent learning new curses and defense spells. Instead of being more prepared, he was now confronted with an entirely new set of problems. Harry groaned. He hoped, that at least Dobby… ehh, Zallerion, was handling this better than himself.
"Are you alright, Harry?"
Somebody touched his arm gently and the smell of cinnamon filled Harry's nostrils. He looked into the concerned chocolate eyes. Ginny… He really neglected his girlfriend these past few months, didn't he? Any lesser person, than her, would have already dumped him. Damn her for being so understanding, damn him for being a jerk.... He didn't know where their relationship would go from this point on. Would Ginny accept him being inhuman? She already accepted him keeping secrets…
"More or less. Don't worry about me, sweetheart," Harry drew the girl closer to him and embraced her gently, hiding his head in the dark-red river of hair.
"Are you still stalking Malfoy?"
Harry winced. Well, he guessed it could be seen that way.
"No, I already found what he is up to."
"Is he really a Deatheater?"
Harry kept silence. This was not a conversation for the Great Hall. Still, the question needed some response and he didn't know when he would answer it otherwise. So he brought his mouth close to Ginny's ear and whispered.
"Yes…"
Ginny jerked out of his hands and looked at him with wide eyes, parting her pretty glossed red lips to blurt out another question. Harry interrupted her.
"It's not the place to talk about it. Later…"
"Alright, Harry," the redhead conceded. The teen could see that she was pleased that she finally had his attention and trust, which made the wizard feel even guiltier. Was it how relationships worked?
A brown owl suddenly flew into the hall and approached Harry, interrupting his dark thoughts. As it was mid-day and post usually arrived in the morning, the owl's appearance immediately drew the attention of the Hall to him.
Harry grimaced, quickly tying off a message and shooing the owl away. He looked at the envelope. The crest on the wax was entirely unfamiliar.
"Aren't you going to open it?" questioned Ginny.
"Not now. I don't particularly like the attention this delivery attracted."
The youngest Weasley looked around, noticing the curious and intruding stares of the classmates.
"Oh…"
"I'll go to my next class, Ginny, I want to come in early to revise the notes." Bullshit.
The girl laughed lightly. "You are turning into Hermione!"
"Well, she does have some good qualities…"
Harry pecked Ginny on the lips and departed. As soon as he saw the first free classroom, he entered it and locked the door. The wizard eagerly tore up the envelope, curiosity driving him to hurry.
Dear Harry,
I think it is time we met. I know that you are going through some transformation, and I offer my assistance. There is a lot of information, passed down genetically among the elrue, and I believe that some parts of it may be of use to you.
If you accept, meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest tonight at eleven o'clock.
Best wishes,
Zallerion Melroys
While Harry gaped at the message, absently noticing that the handwriting was both elegant and precise, the parchment shriveled up and coated his hands with dust.
The teen sneezed. Well, this turn of events wasn't what he was expecting, but he welcomed it nonetheless. At this point he craved someone's help. And with Zallerion, there was no need to lie and conceal. There was nothing to hide. What a relief…
It was time. Harry opened his closed eyes and listened to the sounds of the dormitory. Snores and sleepy mumbles, all the familiar noises that indicated that the occupants of the room were all deep asleep. Carefully, Harry opened the hangings and put on the school robe on his pajamas. Fishing out the silvery fabric from under his pillow, he threw it over himself.
It was not hard to creep out of the Gryffindor Tower and outside the castle. It was one of his well-practiced routines, after all – to wonder at night, silent and unseen.
Harry finally stopped at the line where the gloomy and old trees of the Forbidden Forest cast shadows on the ground in the bright light of the moon. He absent-mindedly renewed the warming charm and looked into the darkness.
Something stirred up ahead and a tall figure entered the teen's vision.
"You're late," stated the newcomer.
Harry couldn't stop himself from staring. Zallerion was dressed in what could only be described as clothes of high fashion, and Muggle ones at that. Even being as inept as he was in the fashion field, the wizard could recognize a certain air that this attire produced – that of arrogant nonchalance.
Harry looked in the blank eyes of the elf and couldn't find a trace of Dobby's personality in this man. He suddenly felt apprehensive and a bit scared. What has he gotten himself into?
"Harry," Zallerion called him, his voice suddenly softening. "Drop the cloak and glamour, I want to see you."
A bit uncertain, Harry obeyed. Perhaps, he should treat this as a visit to a doctor. He wanted that help, right?
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the other's reaction to his changes. A sudden gasp confirmed that the elf's reaction was not a positive thing.
"What am I, Zallerion? What's happening? I feel like I am going to disappear..."
Suddenly, the wizard felt a hand gently grasping his elbow and drawing his lighter than ever body closer. His eyes flew open in surprise, and then he was embraced.
"Do not worry, Harry. It will all turn out fine in the end. I'll help you…" Zallerion whispered to his ear soothingly. Harry shivered.
"Your transformation is almost complete. The only thing holding it back is your own fear of losing yourself. You don't have to worry about it, I'll keep you grounded. Relax… Let yourself go…"
Letting himself go? What did it mean exactly? How should he know? Harry relaxed in the comforting arms, breathing in the musky scent of the male whose firm chest he was pressed up against. He thought about all the changes he had gone through so far – his paleness, the translucency, the loss of appetite, the feeling of lightness as if the wind could blow him away with a small gust, the fear of it… Got it!
Harry smiled and laughed merrily. Still smiling, he looked up to meet the yellow-green eyes, silently expressing his gratitude. He let himself go. The teen felt the air of freedom upon him.
In the next instant his body dissolved and the empty clothes fell down on the ground.
He became one with the wind.