Summary: At six years of age Harry Potter becomes the heir to a Somali Warlord. This story follows his life from six to sixteen years of age as he grows up in a country ripped apart by war before being dragged into the one waged against Voldemort. AU – eventual slash HPDM – dark!Harry
Disclaimer: If I owned the HP universe, I would currently be vacationing in Fiji with Tom Felton. If that were true, I'd be FAR too busy to be writing this ;-). The Somali history belongs to the Somali people, but the African magic is all mine.
A/N: Thanks to Simplicity Is Bliss for pointing out that I needed to read up more on the Islam and their association with magic. I honestly hadn't thought of it (which is sad given my penchant for research), and have tweaked a few explanations in this chapter to suit. I hope it solves your concern.
"Somali"
"Arabic"
'Thoughts'
//Parseltongue//
Timeline
1979 – Idris Nasri Abri becomes a Warlord in Mogadishu.
1985 – Idris' family is killed.
1986 – Revolution begins in Somalia; Harry leaves Little Whinging with Idris.
1989 – President Mohamed Siad Barre orders a civilian massacre in Mogadishu.
1991 – Barre overthrown; revolution ends; civil war begins.
1992 – Operation Restore Hope launched.
1993 – Voldemort regains his body via an enchanted journal; Ma-alinti Rangers (the Battle of Mogadishu)
1996 – Harry goes to Hogwarts.
March 1988
Harry had been outside most of the morning practicing hand-to-hand combat with Mujahid when he saw his aabbe approach them. He bowed to Mujahid and turned towards his aabbe, smiling. One sharp look from Idris wiped the smile from his face; he knew better than to show any emotion other than disdain and indifference in public.
"Come, walk with me," Idris said smoothly, gesturing to Nuri while ignoring Mujahid.
Harry bowed his head, "Yes, Father." He bowed to Mujahid before turning to follow his aabbe.
They walked in silence for several minutes before Idris began speaking, "I hear that the soldiers have a new name for you?"
"Yes, Father. They call me Nuri."
"It is a proper Somali name. Strong. They show you a lot of respect by giving you a name. They see you as one of them instead of as a foreigner," Idris said, watching the comprehension slip across Nuri's face before speaking again. "I think it's time for you to shed your English name. While your parents gave it to you, you belong here now and your name should reflect that."
Harry had to hold back another smile. He had felt like such an outsider for the first year and a half and he finally felt at home.
"Names mean a lot here," Idris continued. "By giving your name you tell someone a lot about yourself. They will know where your from, what kind of family you have and will draw conclusions on you based on the actions and personalities of your family. Family means everything here." He stopped and turned to Harry before continuing, "You have become family for me, my son, and I want you to take my name to show that. You belong here, with me."
Harry barely prevented himself from gaping; while his aabbe had adopted him a year and a half before, he had always felt out of place. His pale skin had darkened and his accent had disappeared but he still had a decidedly British name.
"Yes, Father," Harry said as a small smile curled his lips. "I would be honoured to bear your name."
"Good. We name our children differently here than the English do. Here your parents will give you your first name, but your second and third come from your father and grandfather respectively. I believe the name you have been given is more than fitting, given its meaning, so your new name will be Nuri Idris Nasri."
Nuri had to compose himself again before asking, "What does Nuri mean, Father?"
Idris smiled and began walking again, "Nuri means fire, which brings me to the next subject. Since the fire incident last October I've been searching for an explanation. Last January I found a man who was able to explain it to me. There is a hidden group of magic users, real magic not the tricks some people like to stage. You performed magic last October and the January before when you conjured fire for protection."
Nuri couldn't help the astonishment written all over his face and he froze in place, "M-magic?" He couldn't stop the tendrils of fear that made their way through his body. He remembered his Aunt and Uncle's reaction to that word. It was bad. Forbidden. "A-are y-you," he paused and composed himself before continuing. "Are you going to get rid of me?" His face was nearly blank, but you could still see the fear at the edges of his eyes.
Idris stopped and looked at Nuri, "No, child. What ever gave you that idea?"
Nuri shook his head trying to stamp down the terror he felt at the idea of being abandoned. He was trained better than this! He took a deep breath and answered, "My Aunt and Uncle, they told me that if I ever said that word they'd dump me at an orphanage." He was proud of himself when he kept himself from flinching at the anger that clouded his aabbe's face.
"Well then, I can't wait to speak with them again," Idris growled before calming himself down. "No, Nuri. You will not be abandoned. I told you once that any advantage you could have over your enemies is a good thing, remember?" He paused to wait for Nuri to nod before continuing, "Well I consider magic to be one of those things. It is a rare and special gift. You can do marvelous things with it and protect yourself far better than I ever could."
Nuri shook his head vigerously, "You take care of me good, Father!"
Idris smiled down at him, "Well, Nuri, you take care of me well. But perhaps one day you'll need it when I'm not around, hmm? I met with a man named Ohin two months ago. He is one of the elders in the magic community and I made a deal with him. He will teach you and in turn I have built a community for them."
"That's why we were making all those buildings," Nuri mused as they began walking again.
Idris nodded, "Indeed. You will be meeting with him every day in the afternoons. Mornings will be spent with Mujahid and the evenings will be for us, but in the afternoons you will apply yourself to learn all you can about this magic."
Nuri took a deep breath and they walked in silence for several minutes while he regained composure. They didn't speak again until they could see the new community. The buildings were roughly made, having been built by a bunch of untrained children and soldiers, but they were still in better shape than most of the villages Nuri had seen. Some of the recruits in the newest group were working on some of the larger buildings, all of the houses having been built first.
Along with the recruits were another group of people. Nuri supposed this was the group of magic users that were moving in. There were infants and mothers as well as elders older than anyone Nuri had seen before. He watched as a man that appeared older than any of the others broke away from the group. The first thing he noticed was the man's beard. It was long with strings, beads and feathers woven into it. The strings were brightly coloured, standing out sharply from the stark white hairs.
The man's clothing was simple, a pair of trousers and a pale blue shirt. When Nuri looked again at the man's face he noticed that the clothes matched his eyes; the colour of the palest sky. He found the ancient man's piercing gaze disconcerting, but relaxed when the eyes softened with what almost looked like affection. Nuri was confused; his is aabbe was the only other person that he could remember looking at him like that. Everyone else's eyes held either anger, fear or obeisance. He glared at the man, trying to hide his unease. The ancient man simply smiled at him.
He turned to his aabbe who had begun speaking, "Nuri, this is Ohin. He is the Elder I spoke about and will be your teacher."
Nuri turned to the man and bowed. No matter his opinion of the man, his aabbe had taught him to show respect to his elders. "It is an honour to meet you, Elder."
Ohin appraised the boy and bowed in turn, "You as well, Nuri. And please call me Ohin. We will be working closely together so we might as well be familiar with one another."
"As you will it, Ohin," Nuri said with another bow of his head.
Idris nodded and turned to Nuri, "And this is where I leave you, child. Apply yourself well and make me proud."
"I shall, sir."
Idris nodded to Ohin and left.
"Well," Ohin began, drawing Nuri's attention back. "Shall we go have some tea while we introduce ourselves?"
Nuri nodded his head and followed Ohin through the small village. They walked in silence to the end of the row of houses and stepped into the building closest to the trees. This was not one Nuri had worked on and he looked around curiously at the sparse interior. The house was small, probably four meters by five meters and only had one room. Ohin led Nuri to a small table with two chairs and bustled about as he made tea liberally mixed with cardamom. He set a cup in front of Nuri before settling down into a chair.
"So," the ancient man began, "I have heard a lot about you young Nuri, both from inside and outside of the compound. You are a mystery to most of the people in Mogadishu who know of you." He paused, studying Nuri's blank face. "An orphan from Britain, adopted by one of the strongest Warlords in Mogadishu. Unusual indeed. One that inspires fear in the guards, and at seven years old no less."
Nuri's eyes narrowed slightly at the Elder's words, "They should fear me. Those that wronged me have paid, and those that will shall find no mercy."
Ohin leaned back and sipped at his tea, "Such strong words for a child as young as you."
Nuri barely held back the growl that threatened to escape, "I am not a child. I am old enough to kill. I am not a child."
Ohin closed his eyes briefly, a sad look flickering across his face before he opened them again with a smile on his face. "When you get to be my age, everyone is a child," he said cheerfully. "Now, I know about you so it's only fair that you know something about me. I was born a long time ago in this very city to a devoutly Muslim family. I had four brothers and two sisters. When I was about ten I showed some magic. My father had been after me for not doing one of my chores and just as he caught me I disappeared. I landed in a group of trees not too far away, very confused as you might imagine. When I finally made it back to the house the whole place was in an uproar. My father was a deeply religious man and saw the magic I did as the work of devils. I still remember the scripture he quoted me:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally besought of all! He begets not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him.
In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful
I seek refuge in the in the Lord of daybreak From the evil of that which he created; From the evil of the darkness when it is intense, and from the evil of malignant witchcraft, And from the evil of the envious when he envies.
In the name of Allah the beneficent, the Merciful
I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, The King of mankind, The God of mankind, From the evil of the sneaking whisper, Who whispers in the hearts of mankind, Of the jinn and of mankind.
"These are the last three chapters of the Holy Qur'an and it's believed that if someone recites them after each of the five daily prayers they will be immune to magic."
Ohin paused, smirking. "Needless to say I was thrown out of the house. I spent the next five years on the street before another Adept found me and took me into the small magic sect in which he lived. I spent the next six years training my power and then worked for a long time as a Shaman."
Nuri interrupted, "Adept?"
Ohin leveled a gaze at him that nearly had him cringing. "Yes, Adept," he said. "We are Adepts, magic users. Do not interrupt me again."
Ohin paused, waiting for affirmation before continuing, "There are many small communities like the one I was first taken into, like motes of dust in the wind. While many Muslims have their own superstitions pertaining to magic, nearly all of them react badly when they actually see it. Much of what they consider to be 'magic' is intangible and completely based on faith; they attribute certain things that occur to their 'magic', but they never actually see it working. I believe that seeing true magic makes most of them fearful and because of that they fall back onto the tenants of Islam, ignoring the fact that they practice their own brand of magic. Thus we are considered by most to be in league with the devil and are to be executed.
"Because of all of this we have never been able to truly form our own community like the ones I have heard exist elsewhere. We live in small sects all over the country, hiding and training our own when we find them. Our isolation makes it difficult to learn more about our magics so we know little about what creates us. It is also difficult since many of those we train leave us when they're done with their tuition.
"As far as we can tell, magical children are borne from magical parents. We believe that a very low percentage of people recognise that they have magic and if they do they may be too afraid of the persecution to train it. Even if they recognise it in their own children they are likely to turn a blind eye out of fear. But, the few children that have been born in our communities are magical with rare exceptions.
Ohin smiled at Nuri, "But, all that is about to change thanks to you and the Warlord."
Nuri looked at the ancient man in confusion, "What do you mean? What have I done?"
"You exist, child. This safe haven has come into existence simply because you exist. The Warlord has created this community for you, so that you have support and training. He has provided us with a way to live freely and safely, to coalesce our specks of dust until we have mortar and brick."
Nuri blinked a couple times, unsure of what to think about this new information. Creating a whole community was no small feat. His thoughts were interrupted by the Elder.
"Now for your lessons. Because we never have a large number of children being trained at any given time we work on the mentor system. Normally when a child begins their training they spend all of their time with their mentor training and performing other duties, but since you have other obligations we cannot do this so you will be coming here every afternoon to train. You have displayed an explosive lack of control thus far and need to apply yourself completely to your lessons in order to manage it. I suspect that you are a particularly strong Destroyer and if you don't gain control over your magic it could be devastating."
Ohin paused while he took a sip of tea and Nuri took the opportunity to ask, "Destroyer?"
Ohin smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Ah yes, Destroyer. Thus begins our first lesson on the basics of our magics. The most important thing to understand is that our magic is highly mind and earth based. We use our minds to control the magics we are gifted by the earth. Without an organised mind, magic can spiral out of an Adept's control.
"There are four categories of magic users: Healers, Builders, Charmers, and Destroyers. There are elements associated with each of these categories but elementals themselves are rare; they usually end up either annihilating themselves or are too obvious about their magic and are executed.
"The Healers are the most difficult to identify and describe. Their magic is intangible and fluid; it runs through their bodies, in their very veins. Healers are magnificent Shaman and Midwives. Their cures work better than ordinary men and they have an inborn instinct for what herbs and medicines a person needs. Some of the stronger Healers can work their magic through their hands, literally using them to heal. I have seen some of these people pull out venoms and close wounds with simply their hands. Needless to say these people are high in demand. Interestingly enough, few of them get executed regardless of their blatant magics. I think that people are too grateful for the cure to pay close attention to what caused it. Any water elementals belong to this group.
"The next group is the Builders. These people come from strong and sturdy stock. They tend to be very practical and grounded people and their magics run along the same lines. These people are the creators, the craftsmen and architects. Their magics guide their skills, making them stronger, their techniques smoother and their ideas more creative. They can create amazing pieces of art and erect strong buildings that can last for generations. The downside to this, and something I find interesting, is that if a Builder attempts to destroy anything their magics will work against them, fighting them every step of the way. The element associated with this group is earth, the basis from which everything is drawn." Ohin sat back in his chair and took a long drink from his tea before beginning again.
"Next are the Charmers. These people are the most difficult to define since their abilities are so diverse. While Healers focus on diseases and Builders focus on objects, Charmers have an affinity for living things. Animals and people are drawn to Charmers, listening to them in ways they would to no one else. Some Charmers have a particular affinity for plants and work with Healers or as farmers. Some of the more powerful Charmers can effectively control people and animals; needless to say this can cause problems if the ability falls into the wrong hands. The Beast Speakers fall into this category as well, and from what I can understand is a very useful ability for a Charmer. Air is associated with this group, epitomising the intangible quality of their magics.
"The last group is the Destroyers. They are very different from the first three groups. While the magics of the first groups can be considered constructive and peaceful, the Destroyers are the antithesis. Their magics are set up in such a way to encourage destruction and chaos. If controlled, a Destroyers magics can be very useful. They make the best hunters and specialise as warriors. Many act as mercenaries and fight in militias. Some of the most famous battles were fought by them and many war heroes are Destroyers. Similar to the Builders, a Destroyer's magic will work against them if they try to create. Fire is the element associated with this group, and with you."
Nuri looked at Ohin curiously, "Me? Is that why you say that I'm a Destroyer? Because I've made fire happen?"
Ohin nodded, "Yes, and from what I understand it was rather spectacular at that."
Nuri's lips curled up into a vicious sneer as he remembered the infernos he created, "They deserved it!"
Ohin turned a sharp eye on Nuri, "I understand that the Warlord is raising you a certain way and while I disagree with it I have to accept that. However, I will lay some ground rules here."
Nuri looked at Ohin suspiciously. He did not like it when people questioned his aabbe.
"First," Ohin began, "You are to refrain from any acts of violence in this community and around me regardless of where we are. This includes any threat of violence, such as carrying a gun. Do you understand me?"
"Why?" Nuri asked uneasily. He liked the comfort and feeling of power his gun gave him and was loath to part with it.
"Because this is a peaceful community. There is enough violence surrounding us that we don't want to encourage it from within, particularly since the magics we hold could be particularly deadly. If you want training, you will obey my commands," Ohin said sternly.
Nuri nodded hesitantly and removed the guns he had strapped to his sides, laying them by the door.
Ohin nodded in satisfaction, "Second, you will treat everyone within this community with respect. I realise that your position gives you authority over those within the compound, but as long as you are a student you will wield no authority here."
Nuri couldn't help but glare at the Elder for this stipulation. What was the old man doing stripping him of all of his power!
"Third, you will do everything I request of you without hesitation or question. You are more powerful than any other Adept that I have seen in many years and if you lost control you could easily level the entire compound. If you cannot abide by these three rules then you may walk out the door and explain to the Warlord why I cannot fulfill my side of the agreement."
Nuri's eyes widened very slightly. While he was willing to adhere to the demands just so he could learn to use his magics, albeit grudgingly, the threat of his aabbe had his unquestioning obedience.
He schooled his face before replying, "Yes, Elder. I understand and will abide by your rules."
A smile broke out across the ancient man's face, brightening his pale blue eyes, "Good! Now we can begin."
