A/N: This is the longest chapter yet – it's practically doubling the word count. Sorry if the story seems a bit rushed, but I'm trying to avoid as many filler chapters as I can and get to the real story. Review.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
It had been a month. An entire month of relentlessly tracking his traitorous apprentice, laying traps and avoiding Herpo's own attempts at retaliation. He was exhausted from the constant magic he was exerting and the long travels. Harry's previous hunting excursions had been a week at the very most, and he had been tired out by those.
Harry wasn't just physically and magically exhausted; he was tired of the entire situation. He was tired of putting his trust in those undeserving of it, he was tired of being manipulated, and he was tired of eating the same damn food every day.
But this chase would be at an end soon enough. Herpo was a prodigy, yes, and had learned magic that would make him many times more powerful than the greatest warrior or untrained wizard of this time, but he was inexperienced and knew little of the magic Harry had at his disposal. The greatest advantage, beyond Harry's great knowledge of magic, was the wand. It was completely unknown to Herpo and increased Harry's power greatly, as well as giving him more versatility.
Harry banished these thoughts as he prowled through the forest. Herpo had slipped up badly this time, and he would pay for it with his life. He had used far too much magic around here recently, probably in a rush to put some distance in between his hunter. The controlled use of magic was like a beacon in this time thanks to the lack of knowledge. Most of the time he could just feel the unrestrained magic of the griffins and other creatures or the ever-present hum of magical plants.
It was odd, though. Herpo was extremely intelligent, and such elementary mistakes should have been beyond him. As a result, Harry was being more cautious than usual. There was a very real possibility of this being a set-up.
He held his hand out as he saw a small clearing. It appeared to be the remnants of a campsite, a fairly recent one as well. The familiar weight of magic grew to noticeable levels as he circled around the clearing, trying to find any traps that Herpo might have placed. They wouldn't be magical in nature, since that would require far too much energy that could be used to escape Harry later, but would likely have been set by using magic to move the components much quicker than was otherwise possible.
Harry's suspicion was growing stronger. There was plenty of magic used at this site, but nothing to dissuade him from searching it. He conjured up several small slabs of stone that would hover around him and would move to intercept any possible attacks. They wouldn't last long against any powerful magic, but they would be far beyond Herpo's ability to breach so long as he hadn't received any training from his second master.
The wizard cautiously entered the clearing, slowly moving towards the empty campsite. When he realized that he was blindly entering a supposedly empty campsite that had belonged to someone that had been experimenting with the dark arts, Harry very nearly smacked himself. This was quite possibly the stupidest thing he had done in the last year, aside from mentoring Herpo anyways. Instead, he cast a homenum revelio.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the charm revealed he was the only one in the area. Although Harry was alone, he continued to utilize his defenses. There was still a possibility Herpo had found a way to circumvent detective magic or had left hidden traps for him.
Harry first hunted for any useful clues or resources Herpo might have inadvertently left. He wasn't surprised when nothing was found. The wizard didn't know what Herpo was playing at, what with the lack of consistency in this situation, but assumed it wouldn't be good for him. It was very odd that the younger wizard would be so careless in leaving clues for Harry but cleaned it perfectly in the physical sense. All that it told Harry was that Herpo was playing with him.
This was either an attempt to distract Harry to gain more time to escape forever, or an attempt to draw him in for an ambush. Harry was sure there were other scenarios, but none that Herpo would consider to be worth the time and effort. Just to be safe he strengthened the spell that kept his stone slabs in place and searched the woods around the clearing to try to find any indicator of the direction Herpo had gone.
Fortunately, Harry was able to find a clump of branches that had been pushed through. The wizard wasn't sure if it was Herpo or not, considering that magic hadn't been used and this was a somewhat travelled route between villages.
Nevertheless, it was the only lead he had. He carefully moved through the foliage, trying to cause as small a disturbance as possible. Harry grinned in triumph as he saw that the trail continued and promptly began to follow it. For a few minutes he simply had the slabs plow through the vegetation, but he eventually allowed the spell to fizzle out. They were somewhat draining to maintain and he needed every bit of power he could.
He followed the trail for nearly an hour, and was growing more and more suspicious about the whole thing. Herpo would never leave this much evidence behind; and the distinct lack of traps that unnerved Harry. His apprentice seemed to enjoy laying subtle traps in the places he had been, and there was no reason for him to break that habit now.
It all made Harry believe that he was walking straight into a trap. The wizard wasn't particularly bothered by running into the trap; he was looking forward to it. This stunt would have taken quite a bit of Herpo's time to put in place with or without magic, and it meant that his apprentice was ready for a final confrontation that would determine which of them would steer the magical future of Greece.
Harry would win, of course, and would have quite the satisfying time of crushing Herpo like the little bastard he was. He absentmindedly twirled his wand in his hand as he spotted a dim spot of green light in the distance. His eyes narrowed as he began to move towards the light. It was almost certainly a trap, but springing it was part of Harry's plan.
So he took the bait. He stealthily made his way to the light. A tingle of excitement went up his spine as he felt the familiar presence of controlled magic growing stronger and stronger. When he was just a few dozen feet away, he cast the homenum revelio charm once more. Harry was somewhat confused when the spell reported that there were four presences in the clearing.
Nevertheless, he continued. He circled around to get a good angle, and was surprised when he recognized one of them as one of the scowling hunters he had seen on his first day in Athens. The man was draped in loose clothes common to many of the Greek peoples he had met and carried a large bow and a knife. He seemed to be giving orders to the other two hunters, while a dark figure leaned on a tree in the back.
The figure had a similar build to Herpo and was the only one that Harry couldn't identify; leading the older wizard to assume that it was his apprentice. He curled his lip up in a sneer, but took aim at the leader of the hunters first. Herpo would block any attempt to attack him from this distance, and he wanted this fight to be free of interference.
Harry thrust his wand towards the hunters, who were standing closely together, and whispered a word. A pale grey streak of light, nearly invisible in the darkness, launched moved towards them at a high speed. One of them saw it, leaving Harry impressed at their perceptiveness, but had no time to jump away before it impacted.
The wizard smirked as the light exploded, tearing the hunters apart and kicking up a huge cloud of dust. He summoned his slabs of stone and scanned the area for Herpo. The younger wizard had been in an easily escapable position and the dust had hidden Harry's view. He cast the revealing charm once more, and calmed down when he realized that Herpo was still in the clearing.
As he moved closer, he felt the sickening power of dark magic wash over him. It felt so disgustingly wrong in this world that he could feel the burgeoning feeling of nausea oozing through his stomach. That kind of magic should never have existed; the world hadn't even built any sort of resistance to its corrupting influence yet and it showed. In his time, dark magic hardly corrupted anything unless they were extensive users like Voldemort or Bellatrix. And even then it took a long time to even twist their minds.
But here? Here he could almost feel it seeping into the world around him, rapidly morphing into something unnatural. He resolved to incinerate this place later. Harry couldn't stop the eventual spread of dark magic, but he could postpone it.
Harry's thoughts were cut off by a stream of flame. He swiftly turned and began to pull a shield up, but a slab neatly intercepted the fire.
His eyes narrowed as he saw Herpo leaning nonchalantly against a tree. His former apprentice seemed calm, but Harry knew that he was terrified. The younger wizard knew that he was outclassed and that he wouldn't have the benefit of surprise this time.
His fist clenched as Herpo began to speak, the cold, mocking tone so alien to the man he had been fooled into seeing.
"So you killed my backup, hmm? Unfortunate. They cost me quite a bit of time and money." Here Herpo smiled at him, belying his true nature with his affable manner. "I'm sure you know which was more valuable to me, my dear master."
"Enough," Harry snarled, "I have tracked you for an entire month for this single moment, and you won't escape it with your words."
"A shame," Herpo muttered. "Now I suppose I won't be able to convince you otherwise? Money won't sway you, nor promises of power."
Harry cut his muttering off with a fireball, which Herpo neatly batted away. He spoke again, a low undercurrent of disgust in his tone.
"I thought you would have learned new tricks by now, my master. You've had a month to dream of this moment. But I suppose it's my turn now."
A cloud of toxic gas erupted from Herpo's suddenly outstretched hand, but a breeze summoned by Harry dissipated it. Herpo didn't let the setback get to him, and he immediately moved into action.
Several bolts of lightning were intercepted by the stones, leaving nothing but a small scorch mark. Harry stopped the pathetic game Herpo was trying to play with him, summoning a burst of ghostly blue fire. It sprang towards the shocked apprentice, who was forced to jump out of the way.
The flame twisted towards Herpo, who tried to extinguish it by hurling water at it. Harry chuckled as the apprentice's face twisted in horror as his defense did nothing. He flicked his wrist as Herpo tried to dodge again, sending a bolt of force into the teen's side.
Herpo gasped as he was slammed into the ground, trying to regain the oxygen that had been knocked out of him. He had no time to do so as the translucent blue flames finally caught him, searing into his flesh.
Harry smiled as he heard the screams of Herpo. He hadn't heard something so satisfying in a very, very, long time. But he didn't have time to waste as he as he crossed the ravaged clearing, preparing to end the very short duel.
The flames were still ravaging Herpo's body when he got there, and Harry felt slightly disgusted as he saw the blackened flesh where it had touched. Herpo was flailing in agony, his pale yellow eyes wide in desperation and fear.
As Harry raised his hand, preparing to end it, he felt a surge of magical power flow through the clearing. He felt a tiny glimmer of fear within him as Herpo screamed again, his cries of pain and sorrow infused with magic.
It was less than a second before the power of it hit Harry. His eyes widened and he tried to get the last fatal attack in, only to be cut off by a wave of force. The wizard was hurled back, and if it weren't for the resilience his magic gave him he would have died from a multitude of broken bones. As it was he would only be bruised, and he wearily tried to stand.
After several failed attempts due to his befuddled state, Harry managed it. Thanks to the sticking charm he had placed on his wand it hadn't fallen from his grasp, and another charm made it unbreakable. It was quite fortunate that it hadn't punctured him, and he resolved to solve that problem when Herpo had been finished.
He didn't have his breath back yet, but he managed to start walking over to Herpo easily despite the slight pain. When he finally looked at his target, his eyes widened and a trail of ice raced down his spine.
Herpo was standing, confused but unharmed. He was trembling in exhaustion and fear, but the gruesome burns left by the ghostly flames had vanished. The younger wizard was in too much awe to attack Harry, although he doubted whether Herpo would have the energy left to do so anyways.
Harry leveled his wand at the awed apprentice, and the curse of death was on his lips when Herpo looked straight at him, the pale yellow eyes narrowed in anger. The pure rage reflected in those eyes stopped him, although he was prepared to let it loose at a moment's notice.
"You!" Herpo screamed, so different from his usual cool demeanor. "You tried to kill me! You burned my flesh, defiled my body and my magic, and you will die for it."
Herpo attacked like a madman, the previous exhaustion seemingly fading as he released attack after attack against his former master. They were simple and easily blocked, but Harry was anxious at how Herpo had managed to survive the flames. It was unnatural, and he suspected that it was some outside force. Perhaps it was the master that Herpo had boasted to him about.
It couldn't have been Herpo. Herpo was powerful, and would be able to accomplish a feat such as that one day, but not when he was inexperienced, wounded, and beaten. He didn't like the situation, but it wasn't too great of a set back as long as Herpo didn't come back like that every time he was defeated.
With a flick of his wand, Harry finally put an end to Herpo's barrage of magic. All of the aftereffects from his attacks were swept aside in an instant, slowly fading into the air around them. Another flick summoned his slabs, which had been broken off by the sheer force of Herpo's magical scream.
They arrayed in a formation similar to a wall in front of Harry, and rushed forward to quell Herpo's magical attacks before they could get anywhere near Harry. The stones' master steadily moved forward, slightly annoyed by the force he was having to employ to keep Herpo harmless.
When he finally made it close enough, the stones slammed into Herpo and forced him back. Harry moved in for the kill, but the apprentice had other ideas. A thick haze of pungent smoke flew from his hand, shattering Harry's concentration.
He coughed and sent a flurry of lethal curses towards Herpo's direction, even as he attempted to get rid of the oily smoke. It took him nearly a minute, thanks to the dark magic imbued in it, and it seemed to follow him whenever he attempted to escape.
When it was finally gone, Harry searched the area for Herpo's corpse. He found nothing but destroyed trees. There was no trail, but Harry resolved to find him.
When he returned to the clearing, he smoothed the ravaged earth over the corpses of the hunters and then released a tongue of flame from his wand. Dark magic wouldn't be infecting this area for a long time yet.
When the purifying flames had incinerated any traces of life and magic, Harry continued on his hunt. He followed any clue he could find for a week or so, silently berating himself for his failure and cursing whatever was capable of giving Herpo that kind of power.
Eventually, when he was about to give up for the time and recuperate, he found a primitive road. It was little more than a slightly less overgrown path that was well-traveled enough to keep vegetation from growing over it, but it still decreased the amount of time required for travel.
An unfortunate aspect of it was that there were bandits laying in ambush every now and then, preying upon the undefended traders and travelers that used them. When they attempted to ambush him – likely just bored, since Harry wasn't carrying any obvious valuables on him – they were the unlucky ones for the change. Harry was sure that anyone passing by would be rather confused when they saw the strange chunks of meat littering the road.
He travelled on it for awhile, trying to get back to Athens. Although he might not be welcome there anymore if they decided to bear a grudge there were a number of items he needed to recover from his old home. His money was the most important material resource he had beside his wand, and he had lightly enchanted several items.
Unfortunately, he thought as he walked down the road, it seemed that there would be another interruption in his travels. He could hear shrill screams from somewhere further along the road, along with jeers and laughter. It seemed that someone else had drawn the bandits out for him.
He slightly sped his pace, although he wasn't hurrying. From the intensity of the screams they couldn't be too far away, and a few seconds likely wouldn't help the people. Besides, he didn't have a stake in their survival.
After about a minute of briskly moving along the trail he found them. Several bandits were standing around, holding their poorly-made knives and axes carefully. One of them had been killed in the small struggle, but all three of the defenders had been mercilessly slain. Small slices and hack wounds littered the bodies of the two men, while the lone woman's throat was cut ear to ear.
Harry's nose wrinkled in disgust, and he promptly hurled two balls of swirling flame at the bandits. He wasted no time in striking down the last bandit he could see, idly forcing his hand outward and watching as the bandit exploded from the force the erupted from inside the frail body.
He walked over to the small wagon that the travelers had died to defend. There were a few bags of food and clothing, some of which was small enough to be worn by a toddler. Most of the space was taken up by a seemingly random assortment of goods; a few uncut, rugged looking precious stones, jewelry made up of some sort of stone or shell, and a few small hides.
His examination was halted, however, by a childish wail. Harry's head snapped up and instantly zeroed in on where he thought the cry was. Although he had been somewhat desensitized by the sometimes brutal life in Greece, he couldn't in good conscience leave a child in danger.
The wizard moved over to the clump of bushes quickly, brushing it aside with a wave of his hand. When it had given him enough space Harry continued onwards, making sure to avoid the branches that were seemingly everywhere. Another wail alerted him to the presence once more, and it was easy enough to make his way there.
He heard the wail again and silently pleaded for it to stop. It was extremely annoying and his ears felt like they were about to explode.
A few moments later found him at the child's location, although the softly sobbing toddler wasn't the thing that had attracted his attention. It was the softly smoking corpse that drew it. The sizzling body had clearly been burned, likely by magic, and the blackened face was contorted in an eternal scream of agony.
When his shock wore off, he waved his hand to make the smell vanish. He then turned his attention onto the child. Harry hadn't been sure of the child's gender at first, since he had been more concerned with the dead body just a few feet away from it, but now he could see that it was a small girl. If he had to hazard a guess he would say that she was less than two years old. Then again, he knew absolutely nothing about children, never having been around any himself. She had black hair and the olive skin that was so common to this area of Greece, and was otherwise unremarkable.
Well aside from her apparent power, anyways. Harry couldn't think of anyone else in the area that had the slightest trace of magic in them, and this girl was practically reeking of uncontrolled magic. He assumed that her terror had forced her magic out, which was quite powerful to be able to practically incinerate a man.
Harry was drawn out of his thoughts when he saw the child's mouth starting to open to bawl. He reacted quickly to stall the hated sound, quickly aiming his wand and casting the silencing charm. To avoid any more of the incidents he levitated the child into his arms, absentmindedly noticing that she was much heavier than she looked.
When he noticed that the toddler had calmed down somewhat and was now looking at the corpse, Harry cursed and transfigured it into a bone. He was aware of the similarities between what he had just done and the way Barty Crouch Jr. had done to his father, but let it slide. It was easier to transfigure things into something similar to them, and it was more convenient to imitate the Death Eater in this case. Not that it even mattered, of course.
When he was certain that he wasn't going to be victim to a bout of sobbing, he put the toddler back on the ground. Harry levitated her, deciding that it would be faster to do so than carry her, and made his way back to the caravan. He was sure that he had killed all of the bandits, so there wasn't any danger there. Besides, if any survivors still tried to kill him after they saw what he had done to their friends they deserved to die simply for the astounding amount of stupidity they possessed.
He set the girl down a few feet away from the trail, not wanting her to see her parents' mutilated bodies. A few waves of his wand and muttered incantations ensured that nothing would be able to get at her while he was away.
Harry walked through the tangles of roots that separated him from the path carefully, not wanting to accidently sprain his ankle from sheer idiocy on his part. He noticed that the sun was setting once he got to the relatively clear trail, and realized that he needed to hurry. The night held no fear for him, but the girl was a liability he had never had to deal with before. She couldn't deal with the exposure like he could, and he would have to take that into account until he came up with an idea for her future.
Those thoughts were pushed away as he neared the broken wagon. He carefully examined the bodies in the vain hope that one of them had miraculously survived their grievous wounds. It was a vain hope, however, and he had known it immediately after he saw the ragged cut on the woman's throat. It was so deep that she was nearly decapitated, and Harry was somewhat impressed with the strength it would have taken to make that cut.
He moved away from the woman when he had confirmed that she had no other injuries and had not been "used" before she died. It only took a simple charm, something that Harry was thankful for. The men, however, were another story. They had clearly put up a valiant defense, even with their evident lack of skill.
There were two poor quality knives lying next to the two slain men, each covered in blood. Harry was sure that if he bothered to check the bodies of the bandits his examination would reveal numerous cuts on each. It was unfortunate that they had only managed to kill one before being overwhelmed, but not unexpected.
Their wounds paid testament to their valor. Each was covered in brutal injuries, both had been stabbed in the torso several times, probably post-mortem since there wasn't any blood, and one of the larger man's arms had nearly been severed. Those were only the worst of the injuries, and there were plenty more that he could see even without the charm.
Since they would be of no use to him, he left them be for now. Instead, he began to look for anything he could use inside of the wagon. He took the bag of clothing and the hides, shrinking them and placing them into his own bag of food. Normally he simply left it in one place and summoned it every few miles or so, but he was glad that he had kept it on him since he had failed to kill Herpo.
Harry growled a bit at the memory of his failure but took his mind off it. That didn't matter anymore, what mattered was that he recuperate so he could resume the hunt again one day.
And what mattered even more than that at the moment was finding a way to keep the girl safe. He had attempted to find some sort of identification for the family, but they were just the average, illiterate group of travelling traders. The only remarkable thing about them was the girl. She had power, power great enough to practically incinerate the man when she was a mere toddler.
He began to entertain thoughts of raising her himself if he couldn't find a family, but was quick to quash that idea. Harry Potter was no parent, and he was hardly fit to be around children to begin with. Since he had awoken in Greece, he had lived a life of danger. Whether it was slaying dangerous beasts that were capable of wiping out a village in a fit of anger or hunting down a magical prodigy that had turned to dark magic, he had been surrounded by a constant threat of death. It was no environment for a child.
The only option would be to give her to someone he could watch over and protect from threats. Perhaps when she was old enough he would train her, but he wasn't particularly confident in his teaching abilities at the moment. He had trained Herpo well, but he wasn't sure if that was due to his former apprentice's inherent skill and power or his own skill.
But he couldn't worry about the child's future right now. He had to get to Athens.
Harry levitated the child out of the protective circle he had placed around her and picked her up. If he was lucky her mind might have developed enough to where she could speak.
"So, child," Harry exclaimed in faux excitement, "do you know how to talk yet?"
He could that the child liked his tone, as she had clapped her hands excitedly, but he doubted that she understood his words. The child smiled at him as she stared at him, but didn't answer. It was a shame he didn't know legilimency, it would have made it easy enough to glean any information the girl could give him.
Even though he knew she probably couldn't talk, or was too afraid too, he decided to ask another question. "Could you tell me your name?"
He was actually surprised when she responded. It wasn't as if he knew anything about when children started comprehending the world around them, or anything about children really, but he hadn't expected her to respond to him to begin with.
"Thera!" She said excitedly. Harry smiled back at her, and then looked around. It was dark, but he wanted to get as far away from here as he could. Athens was only a week or so away if he had his location right, and he could possibly be there even sooner if he cut over one of the slightly dangerous mountains. He was confident that no harm would come to either he or the child, since magic would be more than enough to protect them from danger. Only the average traveler had difficulty, mostly due to the powerful magic that engulfed some of the mountains in Greece.
"Well, Thera, let's go. This place isn't safe."
After three days of travelling with the girl, he was finally at the edge of the mountain that would place them a mere day away from Athens. He had never traversed it before, but had met many a traveler that had. They had told him of the unnatural creatures that dwelled there, the laughs and whispers that surrounded them in the night, and of the strange vanishings of the unprepared travelers that ventured into it recklessly.
Harry had no doubts that the beings would not attack him, and felt that Thera would be perfectly safe. She wasn't completely stupid, a fact that pleased him, and was too attached to him after the death of her family to let him go for very long. It made him worry somewhat about what would happen when he had to give her to someone else, but he would solve that problem when it happened.
She was sleeping at the moment, and he took advantage of that to begin up a worn path. The girl wouldn't understand that he was taking her into a potentially dangerous place to begin with, so he decided to simply throw a silencing charm on her and start anyways. Harry mostly ignored the light weight of wild power that descended upon him as he entered, but kept a small niggling feeling of paranoia about it. It was clear that there was strong natural magic in this place.
The path was surprisingly well-worn and well tended to. It was still completely terrible compared to anything modern, of course, but was superior even to the popular route that Harry had just left. Brambles were common, unfortunately, but a wave of his hand caused them to burst into ash.
Harry was glad that it was still bright when he had entered. The woods around the path seemed to block out all light despite not having a thick canopy, and he could feel the gazes of many beings. Despite the fact that he felt a constant strike of nervousness and the hair on the back of his neck was standing up, Harry ignored whatever was watching him and continued. If it wanted to challenge him it would have done so already.
He doubted anything was leading him into an ambush, since centaurs weren't underhanded enough to do that and he couldn't think of any other magical races with both the intelligence and cunning to pull it off. The only other sentient magical race in Greece that he could think of was the manticores, and they were far too savage and bestial to lay an ambush. Being extremely powerful magical creatures, they were far more predisposed to tearing their prey apart face to face.
Harry still held his wand tightly as he strode purposefully through the trail, although he was starting to pant slightly from the exertion of climbing the mountain's slope. It wasn't extremely steep, but it was slowly growing more and more difficult.
The wizard was quite glad that this wasn't a very large mountain, as he hated climbing. Most of this was just a very large hill really, and as long as he stayed on the long, winding trail he wouldn't get into any tricky areas.
When he finally grew tired enough to stop his trek, he searched for anywhere decent. It didn't take long to find an area that would be easily defendable should he be attacked. The view didn't hurt either, and even Harry could appreciate the surprisingly clear pool of water that was next to the shelter he had found. His newest shelter had been an admittedly lucky find, and was a small cave that sat inside of a small cliff.
He spent a few moments making sure that it wasn't something's home before he went into it, but when he was sure that it was safe for him and Thera he stepped in. Harry moved in a few feet until it felt wide enough for him to be able to put his bag down and still have enough room for him and the girl. Once he was sure they had enough room he set to work in transfiguring rocks into decently comfortable pads. It was a shame that he had never polished his transfiguration skills that much; it was extremely useful in this time.
Harry had had to briefly wake up the child so that she wouldn't be terrified in the morning, but she was so exhausted that she fell asleep again in mere moments. The wizard, on the other hand, could not. He was tired, yes, but there was something about this mountain that was revitalizing him and keeping him from his slumber.
After an hour of tossing and turning on his mat, Harry finally stood up and left the cave, although he ensured that several simple wards protected Thera before he did so. When he walked out, trying to find something to do until he finally felt tired, he realized just how quiet the world had gotten.
He hadn't heard silence like this since he had first come to Greece. There was always some sort of noise, be it insects, birds, or people. It put him on edge.
Still, it was no reason to run back inside the cave and hide. There was no doubt something powerful on this mountain – just like every other place in Greece, it seemed like – but it would not cow him. For now he would simply enjoy the sight of the silvery moonlight reflecting off of the clear waters of the spring.
Harry found a suitable looking rock and sat down, looking around the area for any observers. He saw none and stared into the waters, trying to just clear his mind of all thoughts for a moment. And he did it. For awhile he forgot everything that had been burdening him for the last year. He forgot the twisting sneer of Herpo, the countless magical beasts he had put down, and the hidden loneliness that had been biting at him.
And then it ended, just like all of his peace did. After what seemed like an eternity of peace, he could feel magic welling up from inside of the spring. The magic was powerful and felt like nothing else he had ever seen.
Harry's reflexes kicked in almost immediately. His eyes snapped open even as he grasped the wand hidden in a pocket. The charms that keep him from dropping it kick in immediately, and he has it in a hidden position, ready to strike down whatever threat drew near him.
Then he saw what had alerted him. It wasn't a manticore or griffin, not even some other wizard. Instead, it was a woman so beautiful that she seemed unnatural.
He was well aware that his jaw had dropped, but couldn't help himself. The woman was practically a veela, what with her silvery hair and beautiful features.
Harry was snapped out of it when she chuckled at him. "So, little man, do you have an offering for me?"
His brows raised in confusion. What the bloody hell was the woman talking about? He voiced this to the woman, more politely of course. Harry knew enough to not attempt to anger magical beings when he had no idea what they were. There were plenty of things in the world that could utterly demolish him in a fight, and he wanted to play it safe with this being until he knew she wasn't one of those magical powerhouses.
"Sorry, miss," he said humbly, "but I am afraid that I don't know of this offering. Would you explain?"
She laughed, a sound that, though beautiful, made Harry feel a shiver of fear. Whatever this was, she was much more powerful than most magical beings Harry had seen in Greece. The unconstrained power within her was free to act upon the world, and was released with every small motion or noise she made.
"Silly child," she crooned, "offerings can be anything. Food, jewelry, blood," Her eyes looked amused for a moment as she continued. "Even children are acceptable."
Thoughts of the little girl sleeping in the cave came to the forefront of his mind for a moment and he grimaced, although he wiped it off of his face quickly. "Children?" He asked weakly.
"Yes," the woman smiled, showing off perfectly white teeth. Harry noticed that they appeared much sharper than they should be. "Children can be the most wonderful gifts of all, can they not?"
"I suppose," Harry muttered. He tensed as the woman moved closer, and he could barely stop himself from lashing out as she placed a delicate hand on his chest. The area she touched was instantly damp, as though she just finished swimming.
Harry's mind raced, making connections and guesses upon what sort of creature the woman was. He assumed that she was some sort of nymph, although most species of them had gone extinct several centuries before he had even been born, and those that had survived the slow destruction of the environment they were intimately bound to devolved into weak, stupid creatures little better than house elves.
But he had heard the tales of the nymphs when they were in their prime, about their cunning and inhuman nature. They and the other natural spirits were the basic of the muggle concepts of the fey. Not the sweet, playful fairies that had become popular in his lifetime, but the cruel, alien creatures that would gleefully torture you to death as soon as they would lend a helping hand.
Still, Harry wasn't sure if his suspicions were correct. To ensure that they were, the wizard decided to ask his own questions.
"I apologize for my ignorance, miss, but who are you? This is an unfamiliar land to me, and I am still attempting to learn about my new home."
The woman laughed again, once more striking fear and awe into Harry. He silently berated himself for her effect on him. People and beings more powerful than her had been unable to influence his mind, and he wasn't about to let her do the same.
"Such a respectful child," she smiled. "I am Melite, the spirit of this spring and master of this mountain. And who, pray, are you?"
"My name is Harry," the wizard said humbly, taking care to not sound anything but subservient, "and what may I offer you?"
He silently prayed that it wouldn't be something that he wasn't willing to give. According to the old stories that Ron had been enthralled with for awhile – Merlin knew why he was so interested in nymphs when there was no hope of meeting one – they were extraordinarily powerful when near their tree or river, whatever it was they were the spirit of. And getting into a fight with something powerful in an area where they had the upper hand wasn't on his to-do list. Harry much preferred fighting with the odds stacked in his favor.
Her smile stayed the same, still tantalizingly perfect, but Melite's eyes took on just the slightest hint of a predatory gleam. Harry slightly regretted asking, knowing that she would purposefully request something he would not give.
"I do not request much, nothing but a triviality, really." Melite's voice was quite soft and entrancing, but Harry shook off the magic imbued in every word. He knew he wouldn't like this deal. "When you arrived here, I felt a child. A pure, powerful child."
Harry's eyes widened in anger and surprise, and he immediately made to refuse. He found that he couldn't open his mouth. His hand clenched tightly around his wand, but he made no move to attack. Perhaps the deal could still be salvaged.
Her hand pressed harder against his chest, exuding a cool power that made him shiver. His tunic was completely soaked where she had touched him, and he privately felt a twinge of annoyance. Even as the power flowed through him, slowly crawling its way through his body, she spoke.
"Do not act so hastily, child," the nymph said seductively, looking up at him through silvery eyelashes. "The little girl would have a much better life with me, I could keep her safe. I could teach her how to use the power I can feel. And if that's not enough," she whispered, "I'm sure I could find another, more interesting way to repay you."
The wizard gulped, suddenly finding his mouth very dry. For just a moment he could see her full beauty, her silver eyes seemed to shine brightly, her face grew more beautiful and he was very aware of the very thin, delicate barrier of cloth between them.
Then he wrested control of his mind back, fighting off the nymph's ability that reminded him so much of the veela allure. "I apologize, Lady Melite, but I cannot offer you the child. She is my charge, and I am honor bound to return her to a city."
The hand that still rested gently on his chest seemed to grow cold, and his chest seemed to frost over. He looked into her eyes and saw that they were narrowed in annoyance.
Fortunately, she seemed to regain control of herself before Harry was forced to take action. The frosty feeling that had begun to spread over his torso receded into her hand, and Melite removed her hand from his chest.
Without the physical contact, the alien power that had burrowed its way inside of him left, clearing his mind and allowing him to focus. He still didn't move a muscle, too wary of the nymph to try anything. Perhaps if he had any experience at all with nymphs and other creatures that resembled them he would be more bold, but he had learned that caution was more important when it came to the unknown. Harry still had no knowledge of the true extent of her power. For all he knew she could be wasting it all on this appearance, attempting to enthrall and terrify him with the obvious show of power. Or she could be exerting a mere fraction, silently waiting for him to make a move.
Harry was drawn out of his musings by her musical voice, which revealed no sign of displeasure. "Very well, child." Melite frowned slightly, marring her pale face, but a soft smile returned as she seemed to come up with a plan. "But I require an offering. It is tradition, and traditions are not to be broken."
"I understand," the wizard said cautiously. "What would you like?"
The smile grew even larger, exposing the white, sharp teeth once more. "A worthy offering would be a few drops of your blood." She saw the look on his face and misinterpreted it as fear of being harmed.
"Do not worry, child," the nymph said soothingly, brushing his cheek with the back of her hand, "I can heal the wound in an instant."
It wasn't the pain that Harry feared; it was what the nymph would do with the blood. She wouldn't request anything that she had no use for, and blood could be used for a myriad of magical purposes. He could be tracked with it, it could bind him if he ever gave an oath, it could control him if he was somewhat willing.
But as potentially dangerous as giving her the blood was, antagonizing her was so much worse. Melite had claimed to be the master of the mountain, and if she turned the beings and creatures of the mountains against him…Well, she would definitely get the girl. Most likely by prying her from his cold, dead hands.
So he accepted. "Lady Melite," he said, lowering his head in acceptance, "I offer you ten drops of my blood."
Melite grinned widely in triumph, the sharp teeth seemingly possessing a new glint to them. She grabbed his arm softly with a delicate hand, gently exposing the wrist even as she revealed a strength that should not be possessed by such a small woman.
Harry winced as she withdrew a small shard of what looked like glass and pricked his wrist with it. A tiny amount of blood was gently drawn from the small puncture and drained into the palm of her hand. He watched in interest as the blood seemed to hover right above the palm before freezing. The nymph clenched her fist, and when she opened it the frozen droplets of blood had vanished.
"I thank you for the offering," Melite murmured. "Do not worry of the path throughout the mountain, it shall be kind to you."
She moved even closer to him, until she was practically touching him. Harry tried not to react, although he was extremely uncomfortable with this violation of his personal space. He almost drew upon his magic when she cupped his cheek, trying to drive away the invading tendrils of power that followed her touch.
"You have a long journey ahead of you, Harry. But when fate conspires against you, dear child, remember that you have a protector." She didn't give him time to ponder the cryptic words before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Harry couldn't help the slight flinch, and had a feeling that it amused her to make him uncomfortable.
"Now go, child. The girl will be awaking soon, and you should hurry along. My power and the power of this mountain will aid you on your way and banish any fatigue from your body."
The wizard nodded dumbly, watching as the nymph seemed to dissolve into silvery droplets of water. They hovered in the air for a moment before floating back to the silvery spring and sprinkling back into it.
Harry stood still for a moment, silently reflecting upon the encounter. He didn't like the deal he had made and the degree of power over him that he had given to the nymph, but he supposed that he was fortunate that Melite seemed to like him well enough.
Still, he decided as he returned to the cave, he felt that he would be caught up in her plans sometime or another, and that's when he would truly be sorry.
But for now, his only goal was to get Thera to safety and then hunt down his bastard apprentice. Perhaps he could enjoy this new life when Herpo's remains had been incinerated and scattered by the winds, but until then he needed to focus.
Just as Melite had said, Thera had awoken by the time he had returned. The girl was sitting up and looking at him with inquisitive eyes.
He gave a smile that belied his true feelings of apprehension and packed up their meager belongings. When everything was ready he picked up the girl. Harry normally levitated her everywhere since she seemed to enjoy the feeling, but he didn't want to expose any more hints about his magic to Melite. It was unlikely that she was unaware of his power, true, but he didn't want her to have any more information than absolutely necessary.
With a sigh, he walked out of the cave with Thera in his arms. He gave a slight nod to the shining spring before he arrived on the path. The light weight he had had ever since he had embarked upon the trail seemed to project a feeling of light amusement into his mind, confirming the suspicions that it was either Melite's presence or that of the mountain itself.
The weight was much lighter than before, and seemed to reinvigorate him the moment that he felt any hint of tiredness. This asset sped his journey greatly, and he silently thanked Melite even as he stepped out of the mountain's boundaries and into the sun.
He prepared for the short journey back home, where he could hopefully find Thera a home and finally rest. And when he was ready, he would be on the hunt for Herpo again. This time, the traitorous bastard would die.
Harry stood in the market of Athens, marveling at how the damage from his first duel with Herpo seemed like it had never happened. His smile seemed to please the girl, since she smiled at him too. She said a few words, but he was too caught up in the excitement of finally being home to pay attention.
But there was one thing that bothered him. The people of Athens certainly didn't seem to hate him, but they shunned him. They obviously held some kind of fear for him after seeing his capabilities, and he doubted any would take Thera. And even then, what would they do when she performed accidental magic? With the power he could feel coming from her it would be impossible for her not to have a vast amount of incidents, and he didn't want any harm to come to her out of fear and ignorance.
Perhaps he was just making justifications for him to take her and raise Thera himself, in some attempt to make up for his misjudgment of Herpo, but he decided that giving her to another family wouldn't work out.
"Well, Thera," he said happily to the happy child, "It looks like you'll be living with me."
And hopefully he wouldn't screw it up this time.