TO END ALL WARS

By

Padfootjr24

Chapter Three: Aldur and Polgara

The god standing in front of him chuckled slightly at Harry's reaction to his presence, snapping him out of his stupor. He couldn't really describe it but for some reason he felt some sort of connection with this deity although 'connection' may be to crude a word for what he was feeling at that moment, it seemed to be more profound than that but whatever it was he didn't understand it. Just being in his presence made him feel one hundred percent better about his situation with the belief that everything would turn out alright in the end.

"Hello, Harry Potter." Aldur began with a kind smile. "Why don't you take a seat, we have much to discuss, you and I." Harry just nodded stupidly before walking numbly to the chair next to him and sitting down as the others in the room joined their master. "I am sure you are wondering why you are here?"

"Um, yes, Master!" Harry answered a bit uncomfortably. He had no idea how he was supposed to address a god but the thought of calling him anything but master seemed wrong somehow and without knowing why, he knew that if he was able he would follow Aldur for the rest of his life.

"As you have come to realize, you are no longer on the world of your birth." Harry couldn't help but smirk a bit when he heard sharp intake of breath coming from the corner that Polgara was sitting in when Aldur said this. Beldaran and the twins were looking at him again with renewed interest so he figured Beldin had said nothing about that after he left the campsite that he and Belgarath had used the night before. "The reason you are here is because like the others here, myself included, you are a tool of necessity. You were born with the sole purpose of setting right a terrible 'accident' that occurred when the universe was still young."

"Um, what sort of accident?" Harry asked uncertainly. He was greatly annoyed to being considered a tool to anyone or anything but he figured he better get some more information before lashing out at anyone in anger, especially a god.

"In this case it was the untimely destruction of a star. Everything within the universe has a purpose but this particular unintended event split the course of that purpose into two equally powerful and equally probable conclusions, one light and one dark. Until this accident can be balanced and the split repaired the universe cannot progress down its intended course. Since this rift occurred, each of these two separate possibilities are controlled by a sentient awareness and have been clashing with each other, trying to gain dominance over the other. These 'confrontations' must be between the chosen champions of either the light or the dark because if the two entities were to meet each other directly the whole of the universe would be destroyed."

Harry listened in silence as Aldur explained how the 'Child of Light' and the 'Child of Dark' carried with them the power of the two separate destinies and that one would eventually defeat the other. The Child of Light and Dark vary from time to time on many different worlds across the universe but that there would eventually be an ultimate Child of Light that would descend from King Riva Irongrip. It would be him that corrects this 'accident'. These two separate paths had an intelligence all their own and had set down specific rules that each most follow as their conflict with each other progressed. Neither would violate these rules because if they did so the other would be free of the restraints as well. Aldur described it as being much like a game of chess. Time was of no consequence to them so many of the 'moves' they had already made will not show their true intent for possibly thousands of years. Harry tried to understand this but since he wasn't much of a strategic thinker trying to figure it out just gave him a headache.

"Alright let me get this straight. The universe was once whole but something happened to split it, so now there are two intelligences instead of one." When Aldur nodded Harry continued. "These two 'beings' are basically waging war against each other but they have to use people or gods to carry out their acts in accordance with a certain set of rules that no one else seems to know and sooner or later their two 'champions' are going to go head to head for a final time that will correct any mistake made and make the universe whole again."

"Correct." Aldur answered with a slight nod before continuing on to the reason Harry was there. He was a bit surprised to hear that he was the Child of Light twice. Once when Voldemort attacked his family when he was a year old and the other just the day before when he was sent to this world. Of course the Dark Lord was the Child of Dark both times. Apparently the two 'entities' agreed that Harry was to be sent to Aldur because eventually his conflict with Voldemort would spill into this world though he didn't know how. Voldemort didn't find the information on how to send Harry to this world or even get the idea on his own. The idea and the knowledge of where to look for the information needed was placed in his mind by this dark entity.

"So how long will I be here?"

"Many centuries, at least!" Harry's jaw nearly dropped to the floor after his brain registered what the god had just said in such a casual manner.

"WHAT? I can't stay here that long. Even if I could live for hundreds of years I can't just leave everyone I know to be slaughtered by that lunatic. My world could be in ruins by the time I got back."

"That will not be the case." Aldur interjected softly to calm Harry's growing panic. "Did it not occur to you how your world could have progressed as far as it has when my brothers and I just left this one only thirteen years ago?" Harry looked on in confusion while Belgarath and his brothers perked up with interest. Apparently this was a subject they had intended to bring up eventually.

"The universe is vast but some parts are bigger than others. Depending on where you are at the time, time itself fluctuates. As everything is always moving, nothing, not even time, remains constant. Though we have been gone for only a short time, in other parts of the universe it has been much longer, or much shorter. You happened to arrive here not long after your world entered another part of the universe where time passes slower than it does here instead of faster."

"Meaning what exactly?" Science certainly was never Harry's strong point.

"Meaning you could be here for a long time and only a short period would pass for you world. It makes sense actually…" Belgarath explained as he sat nursing a tankard of ale with a thoughtful expression on his face. Harry tuned him out when he and Beldin got into some debate over the true nature of time that was so far over his head that he couldn't possibly hope to comprehend it.

He sat silently thinking over everything he had been told. While he could certainly learn a lot here and it was nice to be able to avoid Voldemort's assassination attempts for a time it was the uncertainty that really bothered him. His lack of knowledge of this world is something that could be easily rectified with time but the fact that he didn't know how long he would be here was what really bothered him as well as the fact that whenever that time came he would be hundreds of years old going back to a home he would probably barely remember and friends that were possibly still children. Ron and Hermione and now Ginny, Neville and Luna as well, were good friends and he certainly didn't want to lose them but could he possibly keep a friendship with such a gap in age and experience. Hell, he could be many times older than Dumbledore, for Merlin's sake.

Here, however, he was surrounded by old men and a wild girl with an attitude problem. Beldaran seemed like pleasant enough company but it wasn't exactly the same. After all, he did go through an awful lot with Ron and Hermione. With this train of thought he decided that he had better write down as much of the stuff about his life, world and the people close to him that he could remember so that when he finally went home he wouldn't be completely lost.

"Now Harry," Aldur spoke up again, pulling him out of his rather depressing thoughts. "I am afraid that while you are here you must leave your birth name behind since it is rather unusual and may attract attention from those that would like to know who you really are and where you come from." Harry was a little surprised at just how much that bit of news seemed to hurt. He figured that most people wouldn't care much one way of the other what name they were known by, well except for Tonks, but living a life where he always wanted to feel closer to his parents, using a name other than the one they had given him just seemed wrong in many different ways.

"I understand how you must feel, but it is for the best." Harry took a bit of comfort from Aldur's reassuring smile. After a bit of debate between his four disciples, Beldin decided that he should use the name Haldar. Apparently at the moment it was a name commonly used in the area that is now eastern Drasnia and meant blade dancer. Harry wasn't to sure about being known as 'blade dancer' but Haldar sounded fairly good nonetheless.

For the time being, Belgarath and his brothers would tutor Harry in the ways of their world until he was at a point where he can decide what he is to study for himself but the primary focus for now would be developing his 'mediocre' talent. The twins were happy to offer Harry a place to stay with them and despite their enthusiasm about the idea, Harry was starting to feel a bit like a loafer and he didn't much like it. Not long after Beltira and Belkira made their offer, the exhaustion Harry had felt before entering Aldur's tower seemed to come back full force and he had to fight just to keep his eyes open. Seeing this, the twins asked their master's permission to retire, which he readily gave, and led Harry out of the room. Even through he was extremely tired, Harry could feel Polgara's cold eyes on him until he was out of her line of sight and even then he had no doubt that her eyes hadn't softened any. Harry had to admit that the girl had a very penetrating gaze but it was nothing compared to Snape's so he didn't let it bother him any.

"So, where are we going?" Harry yawned as they stepped out into the cool night. Normally he wasn't a very trusting person when in the presence of people he didn't know but what choice did he have. Besides, these two men hardly seemed the type that enjoy torturing and killing young men for their own enjoyment.

"Our towers are about two miles to the west." Both men answered as one.

"You all live in towers?" He asked as he suppressed the erg to groan at the idea of more walking.

"Yes…

"We were all living…"

"In our master's when we…"

"Decided to build our own."

"Don't mind them, that is just the way they talk." Harry jumped about a foot in the air when Beldaran's voice spoke up behind him much to the amusement of Beltira and Belkira.

"I don't mind at all," Harry replied after he got his heart rate under control. "Two of my friends are twin brothers and they do the same thing. It can be rather entertaining actually."

"Yes, it is. Uncle Beldin pretends that it's annoying but I think he thinks it funny like the rest of us." Beldaran decided to walk with them because she was interested in where Harry had come from. As they walked, Beldaran and the twins listened in fascination as Harry described his world, especially his friends, Hogwarts and muggle technology. They of course were horrified by the acts of Voldemort and his Death Eaters and although he didn't go into much detail they could tell that he had lost a lot to them. By their expressions Harry could tell that though they may share a common language, which he thought was rather strange, there were vast differences in their cultures and levels of civilization. Harry stopped in mid step, almost falling over in the process, and began digging around in his pockets. A small smile graced his face as he found what he was looking for, his shrunken school trunk.

"What is that?" The twins asked as one.

"This holds most of my processions, including that photo album I told you about." Harry replied and his three companions brightened immediately at being able to see such realistic likenesses of people and places so they resumed their journey as they began to explain to Harry how this world worked. After hearing about the different Alorn kingdoms by Belgarath he was only mildly surprised that every country was ruled over by a king or even an emperor. But he was very surprised to learn that it was basically a medieval society that still used such primitive equipment as swords, archery and siege engines. Harry sighed, thinking that with a name that means blade dancer it would probably be a good idea to learn how to use some kind of weapon but he was hit by a sudden thought. According to Belgarath much of the skills of warfare were developed during the war that eventually led to Torak using the Orb of Aldur to crack the world, and that was supposed to be two thousand years ago. Hadn't they advanced any, in terms of technology, since then? Not to mention military technology.

Beltira theorized that the reason for such vast differences in the level of advancements their different worlds had made was probably do too many of the substances that are necessary for such technology simply doesn't exist here, or are not plentiful enough to be efficient.

MMM

"So, how am I going to go about this?" Belgarath asked to himself as he stood with Beldin, watching Harry and the others walking away from one of the windows in their master's tower. The older man stood quietly in thought for several minutes before responding.

"It shouldn't really be too hard. His ability is already partially unlocked but it was also hindered and restrained because of that wand. From what I was able to get from the master before you arrived, due to the dependence his people have had on wands for centuries has manipulated their bodies slightly, causing sporadic releases of their will while they are young. When they begin training with wands they stabilize. But what you need to do is find something that will get his emotions up and force him to us his abilities to an extent that it can overcome the damage done. I would suggest getting him very pissed off." Beldin finished with a grin as he nodded his head to his right. Belgarath looked in the same direction to see his daughter Polgara speaking with Aldur. The old man grinned widely at his brother thinking that this was definitely the way to go. If anyone could push the young man to use his talents it was certainly Polgara. He just hoped the boy would survive the encounter.

MMM

It wasn't long before the small group stopped at the base of another tall slim tower that was situated closely to another identical tower and looking up Harry could barely make out what looked to be some kind of walkway suspended between the two. Beltira whispered the word 'open' and a large stone seemed to move out from the formerly smooth face before moving aside to reveal the towers entrance. The two quickly shuffled Harry and Beldaran inside and up the stairs in excitement. This one had four different levels but unlike their master's the top of this tower seemed to be used for study and was much more cluttered, though neatly organized.

"Open it up now?" The two old men asked with pleading eyes as they seemed to hop in place in excitement. Beldaran giggled at their antics and Harry couldn't help but grin as he pulled his trunk out of his pocket and set it on the floor before asking Belkira to return it to its normal size which he did immediately with a simple command. Kneeling down on the floor he opened the trunk and moved his school robes off to the side to get at the more interesting items beginning with his photo album that they expressed so much interest in seeing.

"This is a photograph." He told them with a smile as he showed them the cover that had a picture of him as a small child with his parents. All three of them gasped in shock at the moving figures and Harry had a hard time holding in his laughter when Beldaran hesitantly reached out a finger to poke the picture.

"Is that you with your parents?" She asked in a sweet voice. Harry nodded sadly and began showing them the other pictures and spent a good deal of time telling them about the different people and places that were depicted. They were most interested in the different animals that Hagrid had filmed when he was gathering pictures to make the album for him. Harry was a little worried that the twins seemed to have the half-giant's love for dangerous animals as they cooed over the pictures of Fluffy, the giant three headed dog, and the picture of baby Norbert. Beldaran explained that the two were shepherds before they came to the Vale and had a love for all living things.

"What kind of material is this?" Harry looked over to see Belkira closely examining his invisibility cloak as it lay in his trunk. "It feels a bit like silk but there is a difference." Harry smiled widely at such a perfect set up.

"It doesn't look like it would protect you much from the weather." Beldaran added.

"I'm not particularly sure what it's made up of but it isn't the weather that it's intended to protect you from." He explained as he leaned over to pick it up. "This is called an invisibility cloak." He said just a brief moment before he threw it over his shoulders, leaving only his head in view. Beldaran's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped loudly with her eyes wide.

The twins, however, shrieked like little girls and tripped over a bench as they stepped backwards, sending them tumbling to the floor. Harry's laughter burst forth even as he dropped the cloak to the floor to help the two men to their feet. He tried to apologize for frightening them, although he really didn't mean it, but they just waved that off as they set about examining this new mystery. As the twins rifled through Harry's things with enthusiasm Harry sat listening as Beldaran told him about growing up in the Vale.

Harry was a little surprised to hear that she and Polgara were actually twins. They were thirteen years old and had been raised most by Beldin and the twins. Their mother, Poledra, had died in childbirth when Belgarath was in Mallorea retrieving the Orb with Bearshoulders and his sons. When he returned home to find his wife dead, Belgarath literally went mad. It got so bad that Beldin had to chain him to his bed and watch over him to make sure that he didn't use his will to kill himself. Several months later when they decided that he was no longer a danger to himself they let him go and he spent a few years in waterfront dives drowning his sorrows in ale barrels before Aldur himself had to intervene. Even then he made a point to stay away from the Vale, instead he spent the better part of nine years crisscrossing the different kingdoms in the west doing the tasks his master set for him. He only just returned recently.

Hearing this, Harry was surprised that Beldaran had been able to forgive her father so readily for never being there but he admired her for it nonetheless, he certainly wouldn't be able to do that. Polgara apparently did not share her sister's ability to forgive so easily. In fact the two seemed to be polar opposites in every way. Beldaran's sweet, sunny disposition was an extreme contrast to Polgara's cold, almost callous, nature. But despite their differences they were the best of friends. What confused him however was why the girl would share such personal information with him, she hardly knew anything about him.

"The two of you should probably get some sleep. Belgarath is going to want to start early, Haldar." Harry was momentarily confused by the use of his new name but shook it off as Beldaran wished him well and left.

"Um, isn't it a bit dangerous for her to be out alone this late?" He asked with concern after the girl left the room. They were, after all, basically out in the wilderness.

"She will be fine, there isn't anything in the Vale that would want to harm her." Beltira answered without looking up from the table where he was examining Harry's invisibility cloak under a magnifying lens, his brother was doing the same with the photographs.

"We set up a place for you to sleep on the second level. It's not much but it should be comfortable enough." Harry nodded thankfully before gathering the rest of his stuff up and making his way down the stairs. There was a small fire burning in the fireplace but his exhaustion suddenly returned two fold so he didn't bother looking around and he had just enough energy to make it to the small bed before collapsing into the first restful sleep he had since before school let out.

"WAKE UP BOY!" Harry literally few out of bed landing of his feet as he looked around wildly but since his glasses seemed to have fallen off during the night everything was blurry. Once again Belgarath marveled at the boy's speed but he didn't let that put a damper on his amusement though he was a bit confused.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just looking for my glasses."

"Hold still." Belgarath interrupted his search as he grabbed his upper arm and turned him around.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked a bit nervously but he got no answer. At least not a verbal answer. With the single word 'clear' the foggy haze that he had seen all his life lifted and he could see the world without the aid of his glasses. Looking at the old man in shock he could see a smug grin on his face. "I'll admit that I'm not at all well trained in healing but living as long as I have, I have needed to correct my sight quite a few times over the years."

"Clear?" Harry asked incredulously but seeing the man's confusion he elaborated. "Couldn't you use a different word?"

"Of course I could, but clear worked just fine." He obviously didn't know what the boy was getting at and was beginning to question his mental state.

"It's all about style. If you go around saying things like clear, push, pull or lift, people will think you're ignorant and won't take you as seriously as they should. If you need these people to do something then that certainly won't do. Come on Belgarath, you're four thousand years old, you must have an awfully large vocabulary by now, use it." Harry finished with a cheeky grin. After thinking it over the man just grunted before pushing him over to the table that was sitting nearby and telling him to sit down. He did as he was told and as the man was shuffling through some papers he took the time to look around for the first time.

Like the study area at the top of the tower this part was one open space and looked to be about the same size as his Gryffindor dorm room. The bed resting against the wall was the size of his back at Privet Drive but experience told him that this one was much more comfortable. The majority of the rest of the wall space was covered up with clean worktables, empty bookshelves and cubby holes that were filled with blank parchment and bottles of ink. Belgarath was currently pulling down a large map from off the wall between two sets of shelves.

"Oh, the twins left something out for you on that work bench over there." He said as he nodded towards the opposite wall. Harry looked over a few dishes with a bit of bread and cheese and some type of meat and well as a large tankard of some frothy liquid that smelled a bit like beer. Harry once again felt grateful for the twins as he rearranged the dishes so that he had a bit of everything on one dish before moving back over to the table. He was thinking about just leaving the beer but decided he might as well give it a try.

"Alright Haldar, this is a relatively accurate map of our world." He began as he spread the map out over the table. Harry had to admit, the map itself was a work of art. Whoever made certainly spent a great deal of time on it. "As you can see there are two large continents that are separated by the Sea of the East in one direction and in the other the far more vast reaches of the Great Western Sea. Right now we are right here in the Vale, which as you can see is situated basically in the center of the continent and of course I already told you where the Alorn kingdoms are but now you can see them." Harry looked at the map critically as he tried to take note of approximately where everything was.

The continent was basically shaped like a deformed rectangle where the sea pushed inland on the east coast leaving a curved coastline. In the west Arendia pushed out slightly into the Great Western Sea. He could see that the four kingdoms that once made up Aloria were in the form of the number seven, with Cherek serving as a large peninsula whose southern most tip was just a few miles to the northern coast of Arendia. The largest body of water, within the continent, was the large gulf that was almost entirely enclosed by Arendia and the Alorn kingdoms.

"These mountains here to the west of Algaria was once the land of the Ulgos but after Torak cracked the world the various creature's the gods sent to UL when he wouldn't let them destroy them went mad. While they once lived in peace with the Ulgos, they were now hunted. As a result UL had his people move into the caves below and they have remained there since. As you can imagine, living the entirety of their lives in the caves changed them over the last two thousand years and now they are almost incapable of venturing outside. They are blinded by even the smallest of lights and the seemingly endless sky makes them nervous." Harry listened attentively while eating his meal as Belgarath pointed out the different lands and explained their different peculiarities. Nestled in between the mountains of Ulgo and the Great Western Sea was Arendia, which was broken up into three Duchies, the Asturians, Mimbrates and the Wacites, which were in an almost constant state of war with each other. Arends were a proud, honorable and extremely polite and formal people but no Arend had ever been accused of being big on thought.

South of Arendia was the Tolnedrian Empire. Harry raised an eyebrow at calling that an empire when it couldn't be much larger than Egypt back home. Belgarath explained that Tolnedrians were extremely self-conscious about how they were viewed by others. The single most important thing in the empire was money. They were also a very paranoid people and were always scheming against each other to make a profit and rise in social standing. Though he found the basis of Tolnedrian life rather ridiculous Belgarath said that their legions were probably the finest fighting force in the world.

South of Tolnedra was Nyissa witch was mainly made up of dense jungles were they have an almost obsession with snakes that they revere almost as much as Issa. The rule of Nyissa was always a woman named Salmissra in honor of Issa's first High Priestess. A new Salmissra is chosen by the palace eunuchs from a group of young woman that resemble the first High Priestess and afterwards the rest of the girls from that group are killed. Salmissra is kept looking young and youthful by liberal use of various compounds found in their jungles but they have some adverse effects as well, such as an extreme lust. For the most part it is actually the eunuchs that run the country although a few Salmissra's have exerted enough control to push them aside.

To the east of Tolnedra was Maragor. The Marags were a peculiar race in the fact that their society was almost completely matriarchal. Eight out of every ten children born are female so obviously men were in short supple so it was very common for many women to share the same man. As appealing as most men would find the idea of moving to Maragor they did have one VERY distasteful custom. It started out simple enough but soon developed into a major problem. Someone, idiot, made a mistake in interpreting their sacred texts and ritualistic cannibalism quickly became common practice.

"What's in these areas?" Harry asked as he indicated the land on the southern half of the continent and all along the east coast.

"Nothing much right now but that's changing. The south is almost uninhabitable. It's covered in deserts, bogs and mountainous terrain. It would just be too much effort to make a life there. The environment starts to get more bearable just south east of here. This range right here on the edge of the Vale is known as the Eastern Escarpment. It's a cliff face that is almost a mile high which serves as a pretty good defense for the west from any hostile force.

After we stole the Orb from Torak he went into a fit and knocked down his iron tower and drove the people living in Cthol Mishrak out and instructed them to come west. Over the last several years they have been arriving but the Escarpment prevents them from making any serious trouble.

The three Angarak tribes that are on this continent are the Thulls, Nadraks and the Murgos. The Thulls are the slave class of Angarak society, they are big, strong and dumb as a post. Usually when the Grolims start sharpening their knives for sacrifices the Thulls are the first ones they go after because they mean less than nothing. They have settled primarily just east of here on the other side of the escarpment in Mishrak Ac Thull. North of them, along the eastern border of Drasnia, is Gar og Nadrak. Nadraks are primarily merchants and businessmen. Of the three tribes they are the only ones that make no effort to hide their contempt for the Grolims and other Angaraks. They are just as likely to attack the Murgos as they are to attack the Alorns.

The Murgos however are the problem. They are scattered about throughout the southern half of the continent which they call Cthol Murgos. Like I told you, that land is pretty much uninhabitable but the Murgos have always been attracted to ugly things so they love it. For the most part they are smaller than Thulls but have broad powerful shoulders and angular eyes and they make jagged scars on their cheeks as a blood sacrifice to Torak. They are the warriors and were the aristocracy of Cthol Mishrak. They are fanatically loyal to Torak and absolutely ruthless. Unfortunately the problem isn't just the Angaraks but also the Alorns. Before for the gods left Belar instructed them to continue the war against Torak at all costs. Naturally that suited them just fine. Having Alorns and Angaraks this close together is going to cause us a lot of problems."

"So, this is Mallorea?" Harry half asked half stated with a whistle as he looked at the vast size of the other continent before downing what was left of his beer. He had tried the beverage several times while growing up but never really cared much for it but this stuff was really good.

"Yes and the only bright spot there is that the vast majority of its people aren't loyal to Torak although the Grolims are putting in quite the effort to bring them all under his influence." Not long after that Beldin showed up and Belgarath suggested that Harry, or Haldar, go for a walk. Knowing when he was being dismissed, Harry nodded and started walking out when Beldin stopped him.

"You should head south, Haldar. About two hours walk from here, in the center of the Vale is a tree…"

"Why would I want to see a tree?" He asked in confusion.

"I WAS ABOUT TO TELL YOU THAT." The dwarf snapped back, clearly annoyed at being interrupted. "The tree is the first form of life that was ever created by the gods, Aldur to be exact. It has a few peculiarities that I'm sure will interest you." Harry just raised an eyebrow before moving down the stairs. "Are you sure he will go?" Beldin asked after the boy was gone.

"Yes," Belgarath nodded. "He hides it well but he is almost as curious as you are. They entire time I was here he never once took his eyes off of the map. I wouldn't be surprised if he had memorized it. Should we follow him? This could get ugly." Belgarath asked curiously.

"What, are you turning into a woman? After what the girl did to you when you showed up at that tree last month I'm not going to miss out on opportunity to see what she does to him." Beldin cackled before shifting into the form of a black hawk that had bands of blue feathers on its wings before flying out of the window. Belgarath didn't particularly enjoy flying but his favorite form of a wolf would be to noticeable in the open grassland and they didn't want the boy, or Polgara, knowing that they were nearby so with a sigh he shifted into a hawk as well and took off after his brother.

MMM

Harry tried to fight it, he really did, after all he had done enough walking the day before to last him a lifetime but eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he set out to the south. Not far away, probably a mile or two off to the southwest he could another tower while off to the southeast was yet another. He could certainly understand the fascination they seemed to have with the structure, well at least he thought he did. The surrounding land was actually very beautiful and being so high up gave you a very good view not to mention his love for flying made him feel at home in high places. To bad his broom was destroyed when the Death Eaters attacked.

As he walked he couldn't help but feel at peace here. Looking around he could see many forms of life, from deer, rabbits even some rather small and shaggy looking cattle. Not to mention the wide variety of birds. Unlike in his own world where animals will usually run at the sight of people, these creatures seemed to look at him with nothing but mild curiosity. Soon however a large mass of in the distance suddenly caught his attention. Even from far away he could tell that it rose to towering heights and spread out over a large area. Quickly forgetting about the tree, which he still saw no sign of, Harry decided to see whatever this was instead.

The closer he got however the more he came to realize that his new target was, in fact, the tree Beldin had spoke of. It had to be, but how could anything possibly be that huge. It simply boggled the mind. Most trees died out long before they get even a quarter of the size the thing had to be. With renewed curiosity he speed up his pace and spent less time looking at his surrounding but much to his dismay a river lay in his path. Not to be discouraged so easily, he spent nearly half an hour walking up and down its bank looking for and ideal place to cross and even when he found a good spot he took the time to test the currents a bit which he was happy to find weren't that strong, at least not at the moment.

So, about twenty minutes later a very tired, and yet, Harry 'Haldar' Potter made it to the other side but he was in high spirits. He figured another ten minutes or so and he would be standing under the trees huge branches. Now that he was much closer he noticed something other than the unusual size of the tree which was the very large number of birds in the area that seemed to be flying around doing acrobatics in the air like they were putting on some kind of show. He breathed a big sigh of relief as he finally made it underneath the massive canopy but that relief was short lived when a harsh voice spoke up from above.

"What are you doing here?" Harry looked up and quickly found the greasy, nasty form of Polgara and she sat in a reclined position in the junction between to branches as she stared down at him like he was some kind of bug.

"Felt like a walk." Harry answered sarcastically.

"Well this is my tree so go walk someplace else." Polgara spat out.

"No, I think I'll stay here for a while, its peaceful." He informed her casually before looking her over critically. "If you don't mind the view that is." If she wanted to be a nasty beast then so be it but he certainly wasn't going to let her take her anger out on him without retaliation. Harry's response sent the girl into a swearing fit as she uttered just about every profane word she knew. Harry didn't know what most of them meant but judging by her tone he didn't think they were complimentary. After she got herself under some semblance of control a slow smirk began to form across her lips that was eerily reminiscent of Draco Malfoy which set off some serious warning bells. She quickly bounded through the braches and was soon standing on the ground not far from Harry.

He neither heard the word she used nor saw the slight gesture with her right hand but suddenly his mind was attacked by a rush of images so grotesque that he nearly felt ill but thankfully it wasn't as bad as some of the things he had seen in his nightmares due to his connection with Voldemort. The pain he felt was something else entirely. While not as extreme as the Cruciatus Curse it was pretty damn close. After what seemed like hours, but had actually just been a few short moments, Harry's mind snapped to order and he realized that what he was seeing and feeling wasn't real. With this realization the images stopped and the pain was fading away. Harry shook his head slightly before raising his now furious eyes to the girl standing in front of him.

"SIT DOWN!" He snapped at her angrily. Polgara's eyes went wide as her body was forced to the ground just as Harry was crouching down so that they were at eye level once again. Now Polgara probably had one of the most penetrating gazes he had ever seen, though she was not a match for Snape but give her time, but even she could not replicate the utter fury and loathing that was shining through Harry's eyes.

"Let me give you a bit of professional advice." His tone may have been calm and casual but his eyes didn't soften one bit. "If you're going to use that tactic for whatever reason, whether its forcing someone to give you information, frightening your enemies or in your case, your own sick pleasure, you should always remember one thing. For you to be successful you must keep the mind occupied so that it does not realize it is being deceived because once that happens your hold is broken. What you must do is to implant images that are more ghastly than they have ever seen and simulate more pain than they have ever felt. I am sorry to say that even should you live to be your father's age you still would not be able to comprehend pain enough to keep hold of my mind. But you did learn something from this experience so the effort wasn't a total loss, was it?" Harry chuckled humorlessly. Polgara looked at Harry in shock for a moment wondering what someone so young could have experienced that allowed him to escape her grasp so quickly. She decided to simply cast the thought aside, not like she really cared anyway, and her anger returned full force.

Remembering her little confrontation with her father the month before Polgara called out to her bird friends for their assistance which they readily gave. Harry was deeply shocked at becoming the target for hundreds of dive-bombing birds and he waved his arms about wildly as he tried to fight them off. Polgara was having the time of her life watching Harry make a fool of himself but the delight fled as Harry seemed to have had enough.

"STOP!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs and much to everyone's shock, Harry and the two circling hawks above included of course, that is exactly what the birds did. In mid flight every one of the birds that were attacking him apparently seized up and fell harmlessly to the ground. Polgara quickly crawled over to where several birds lay and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that they were still alive. Harry however was looking around the area wildly. He had an uneasy feeling that he knew what was going on and he didn't much like it. His suspicions were apparently confirmed when he spotted two birds circling overhead. Being the only two feathered creatures capable of movement in the area was certainly suspicious.

"Get, down, here, now." He seethed out through clenched teeth though he was saying it primarily to himself. He was, of course, momentarily surprised when the two old men, in their human forms, appeared in front of him since he certainly didn't say it loud enough for them to actually hear it but he set this question aside for the moment. Wasting no time he reached forwards to grab the front of the tunics of the men facing him and he pulled them in close. Harry noticed Polgara paying close attention to what was going on but she wisely remained quiet.

"I don't like being used, and I detest being manipulated by those around me. If you have some kind of twisted rivalry with your daughter then that is your business, not mine, so leave me out of it from now on." When Harry finished he just pushed the two men back before turning around and heading back the way he came but stopped once more.

"I suggest you advise that filthy creature behind you to avoid attacking my mind from now one. If she tries it again I will certainly do a whole lot more than simply knocking her on her ass." He said coldly before continuing his journey. Belgarath and Beldin looked at each other for several moments before the two began laughing hysterically. Polgara was walking around in the shade of the tree, waking up the birds as she went. She had pretended to ignore what Harry had said but in reality she was just as attentive as the two old men. If it wasn't for her pride she probably would have shuddered as she remembered the look of pure hatred in his eyes, more hate and anger than she thought possible, especially for a child. She was by no means going to be nice to him but she decided that for the time being it would be wise for her to follow the boy's advice.

"Well, this will certainly be interesting. To be perfectly honest I was worried that he wouldn't have it in him to be that firm but if he could silence Polgara without having to result to physical force it would seem my fears were unfounded." Belgarath spoke up happily after the two men recovered from their mirth. "We should probably go after him."

"He'll be fine. Give him some time to cool down on his own. Lets go see the twins, I need something to drink and your brewing expertise isn't exactly on par with theirs."

"Well they're Alorns, they were practically raised in an ale barrel." Belgarath argued.

"What difference does that make?"

"None, lets just call it jealousy for lack of a better term."

TBC