And another chapter out. Again it took longer than I'd like but what can you do when school and life get in the way?
A couple of reviews I felt should be addressed publicly:
Mashulika: You are right but as I have explained before, Caelum is a mess at the moment. He's suffering from severe depression and, while I haven't out right gone and said it, I have been hinting at it and writing the symptons out. When a person is depressed they tend to forget things, and its difficult to sometimes follow the most logical path. And sometimes you can even fool yourself into acting like nothing's wrong but the depression still affects everything. He's slowly healing but it's going to take time. As for Caelum's non-chalant attitude towards the safety of his home... well, I'll elaborate on that in the future but there is a reason. And he hasn't dealt with kids in a decade and is used to people doing as he commands. Also, Caelum wasn't the Light Lord, and I have my own spin on the title. Thanks for the review and the criticism is greatly appreciated.
Shamedodra: The same answer at least partly as with Mashulika, and may I just say that even the most experiences soldiers can freeze up when suddenly coming up against someone they'd strangled to death. Caelum is (still) only human and is not perfect. And I apologise for not warning about the angst but family and romance are the main themes. I could argue that this story has adventure, hurt/comfort, drama, fantasy, friendship and suspense as well as angst and I have added the warning to the Notes and Warnings listed in the first chapter. Also, Caelum's Occlumency shields were very nearly shattered with his arrival and, as this chapter points out, they are different than the usual ones. And I'm sure you'll be glad to hear we've gone through most of angst but there is still that first meeting between Severus and Caelum that I'm sure I can't write without commenting on Caelum's inner pain. Thank you for giving me the chance to explain myself.
And everyone who reviewed... Gyaah! I love you for taking the time to tell your appreciation and I always read your comments with a smile on my face, even the flames. So, thank you.
Now, the story. And aalens again betad and any mistakes you find are due to last minute changes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.
OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on
10. Changes to Non-Existent Plans
Harry James Potter had had the best Christmas of his life that he could remember. Not only had a relative of his father's come and rescued him from Privet Drive and the Dursleys but also he'd found out he was a wizard and could do magic! And it wasn't a dream because in his dreams everything would have gone perfectly and there wouldn't have existed an evil wizard who'd killed his parents or an old wizard who'd attacked him and Caelum. And he'd already slept and woken up with everything being real – even the talking snake and house elf named Kreacher.
Now, he had eaten his breakfast that Caelum had cooked – Harry apparently wouldn't have to cook anymore, figure that – and had been left alone because Caelum had to go and have breakfast with some important people (that he didn't like).
Caelum's a weird name, Harry mused as he turned the page on the book A Guide To Wizarding World. It was currently talking about the differences between a pureblood, half-blood, muggleborn, squib and muggle. He read the chapter slowly and concluded he apparently was a half-blood because he had muggle grandparents through his mother.
His mother. He wondered if Caelum could show him a picture of her. Harry hoped she did not look like Aunt Petunia. That long horsey-like neck hopefully wasn't a family trait...
Turning the page on the book again, he let his mind wonder about Caelum. The wizard had first said he was a relative of his father's but then told him that other people thought he was the half-brother of his father's best friend Sirius whose room Harry was using and who was in prison though he was innocent. And he was Harry's godfather. It was all very complicated but apparently some wizards could read minds in the wizarding world and Caelum had secrets that he would tell Harry once the man knew Harry could protect those secrets.
Crunching his forehead in thought, the boy remembered Caelum promising to teach and train him. At least until he went to that school, Hogwarts. He grinned at the thought of the place being guarded by warty hogs and had got its name from those. But Caelum would probably teach him magic and Harry was eager to learn about that. He hadn't been able to believe it when he'd held the wand and changed the cup. He, Harry Potter, was a wizard and famous! But he supposed he might have been happier as just a normal wizard. Wizardry was pretty special in itself.
Harry noticed the snake, Syl, slithering on the table and followed him with his eyes. The snake stopped just before the book and lifted his head off the table to take a better look at the boy before him. "Caelum hasss gone and you are now alone?"
If he concentrated Harry could actually hear the hisses as well but he could barely wrap his head around the fact that he was speaking to a snake as if that was nothing special. Though, it was supposed to be a rare talent, and also Dark.
"Yesss," Harry answered, nodding. "But Citala and Kreacher are here asss well." He glanced at the hawk sleeping in her nest on top of the ice box but Kreacher was not in the kitchen at the moment.
"Ssstupid wizard. To go to an enemy lair without me. My ssscalesss will dim..."
Harry realized with a start that the snake was probably talking to himself. Huh, I guess even snakes do that, he thought and went back to his book once he was sure Syl had nothing else to say to him. The snake had actually wound himself around his own body and had his eyes closed.
The boy read until the clock struck eleven. He looked up and thought about his room where the bed had not been made. Caelum probably wouldn't mind but... Better safe than sorry.
He climbed the stairs to ground floor and then up to the fourth floor – or topmost landing – in the main staircase. Caelum was right, this place felt really dark and Harry shuddered. He was happy that magic was real and he could practice it but it might have been better without the bad things. Not candies and sunflowers Caelum said, Harry remembered as he finally arrived to the door of his own room. One peek inside let him know someone, probably Kreacher, had already made his bed. But now that he'd climbed all the way up he might as well use the loo.
Leaving his book on his bed the boy turned to return the first floor but never got that far, as a voice interrupted him from the second floor. He paused for a second remembering the warning he'd got about Dark places that had not been cleaned in ages but someone was clearly calling for Caelum. Shouldn't he, at least, let them know the wizard was not home?
Momentarily forgetting the healthy amount of self-preservation instincts that the Dursleys' 'care' had honed so finely for him, Harry carefully walked into the dark stopped before a door with a serpent knob and turned it slowly pushing the door open at the same time. The only light in the room came through the dusty window but even in the faint light Harry could make out the interior. He carefully padded into the room and whirled around when someone sighed in exasperation on his left.
"Finally! Do you have any idea how long I was waiting?"
It was a portrait of a man with black hair, moustache and goatee. His eyes were piercingly black and he looked very strict in the green robes he was wearing. Harry was starting to get the idea that coming here had been a big, BIG mistake.
"So, tell me, young brat, what's this I hear about a new mudblood Black Head?"
The boy did not want to answer and was saved from it when a smooth but cold voice spoke from behind him, "Perhaps you will consider not insulting this young man and myself even before you become aware of our power. Your great-granddaughter Walburga did not learn that even the hard way. I'm afraid she's nothing but ashes now."
oooOOOooo
Caelum was definitely not going to leave Harry alone in an unsupervised environment any time soon. How could he have forgotten that the boy was in fact he himself, and for him didn't the Fates not always make everything the most complicated they could possibly? Of course Harry would get into trouble, as Trouble might as well have been his second name! He cursed himself on the inside for his thoughtlessness but outside kept his attention on Phineas Nigellus.
"Get downstairs and don't move until I get there. Understand?"
The boy nodded and left the room as quickly as he could. The door slammed shut behind him but Caelum took his attention off the portrait. A couple wandless and silent spells later he had made sure Phineas would not be leaving his frame for some time. He swiped the sweat off his forehead and took a deep breath. Countering Hogwarts magic always left him winded.
"So you are the new Black Head?" Phineas sounded extremely condescending and Caelum hid his grimace. This would be so much easier with the Emerald but he couldn't risk revealing even that secret to the old Headmaster. But he could hardly do this wandlessly.
"Well, at least you're a powerful mudblood," Phineas acquiesced as a swish of Caelum's hand had the room arranging itself and sending dust tornadoes out of the suddenly open and clean windows. There was a calculative and pensive look in the old wizard's face that soon turned to shock as Caelum summoned the Elder Wand from the non-space and turned it on the portrait. "Where did you get that? What are- What did you do?"
Phineas had discovered his inability to move outside the frame.
"Recifio portrait," Caelum intoned, sending his power through the wand that responded gladly to the call of its Master even after all the time that had passed since the last time he'd touched it. Power built up and was released in a beautiful cream coloured spell that hit the portrait straight on, illuminating every corner of the painting and making Phineas Nigellus yell in surprise.
Caelum ended the spell only after a couple of seconds, letting the excess magic bleed over into the walls and the house itself. The Elder Wand hummed in his hand, content to be used again, and he actually felt sad to be sending it away. While Phineas was still in a dazed state Caelum cancelled the restriction spells on his portrait and settled down, leaning against an oak chest while he waited.
"Hello, great-great-grandfather."
The black, sharp eyes of Phineas focused on him and widened in surprise. "Where did you come from, boy? Are you the supposed new mudblood Head of my Noble family?"
Reficio. To restore, renew, reconstruct. To simplify, the spell turned back time on the object it hit. Unlike Reparo that merely fixed objects and could sometimes fail, Reficio was harder to cast but never failed. Thus when a magical portrait was hit, the spell did not only correct the damage but erased the memory of the "living" occupants of the painting as they completely relied on magic for their existence. Hermione had discovered it after Voldemort had had some of the Grimmauld Place's paintings' occupants spy on the Order. It had resulted in Emmeline Vance's death and taught people to take more heed of their surroundings.
"I am Caelum Orion Black, Orion Arcturus Black's bastard son. And the current Head of the House of Black by magic and, to some extent, blood." He smirked. "That line is getting a bit repetitive already."
Phineas narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "You are aware of your duties and responsibilities? Of the different estates, of Black family magic? I will not allow some bastard to ruin this family." The old Headmaster was talking with extreme distaste in his voice, practically spitting the words out, and Caelum had no reason to fake the contempt with which he matched the sneer sent his way.
"Yes, the goblins were quite efficient and I even made friends with the prince of their nation," Caelum replied with the same expression but with a falsely happy note in his voice that he knew would grate on Phineas' nerves. The older wizard developed a tick in his brow and scowled darkly.
"No worries, great-great-grandfather." He grew serious again. "In time I will involve myself with Hogwarts' Board of Governors and the Wizengamot, but the time for that is not just yet. The name Black will regain its previous glory and I will reinstate the family's honour as a Dark family." The mage let a small smile show. It didn't reach his eyes. "I don't care what people think because their opinions don't matter. I've gone through too much shite in my short life to waste any more time on things that don't benefit me." He raised his brows. "You can give that message to Dumbledore."
Out of nowhere Phineas started to cackle gleefully. Caelum stared at the portrait of his distant relative in bemusement before cracking a smile too.
"We'll get along just fine," the older wizard announced and walked out of his portrait.
The mage checked the room for any leftover magic and then left to deal with his young charge.
Harry was in the kitchen, sitting at the table and looking positively dejected. He glanced up when Caelum came through the door but turned his head down and seemed to shrink into himself. The mage hid a sigh.
"I'm not mad," he said. "I'm disappointed."
If possible Harry shrunk even more into himself. Caelum saw that Citala was still sleeping but Syl was trying to hide himself behind the sugar bowl. He fixed the snake down with his gaze. "I left you to make sssure nothing like thisss happened. Isss thisss how you ssshow your worthinessss?"
"Do not blame me if the human child isss ssstupid enough to go wandering around when he hasss been warned." But even from the tone Caelum could hear that Syl knew he too was to blame. The wizard sighed and leaned against the now closed door. This was his fault. He was too used to people doing what he told them without questions or rebelling. Not to mention he had had no experience with kids since he himself was one. And Harry was very different in this world, not only in magic and soul but in spirit as well. What would any good parent do in this situation? He snorted inwardly - as if he had any idea. He was definitely not following the Weasley example.
"I won't punish you this time but there are some consequences. First of all, we cannot stay here."
At hearing this Harry's head shot up and revealed his upset face and the surprise that Caelum's sudden announcement had caused. The boy opened his mouth but Caelum held his hand up, stalling the protests and questions.
"Phineas can come here anytime and also travel through all the portraits in the house. Even if you did not go anywhere near the second floor there'd still be a chance of him discovering you and informing Albus Dumbledore, the man that attacked us at Privet Drive. So, we have to leave." He let that sink in for the moment before continuing, "I can't destroy the portrait without alerting Dumbledore, not to mention possibly turning Hogwarts against us. It's my fault as much as yours since I didn't take that into account before bringing you here but what's done is done. I had no definite plans for the future but I suppose this changes that. We are going to Australia."
"Australia?"
"Aussstralia?"
"Master is leaving already?"
Citala trilled questioningly as she was awaken from her beauty sleep.
Caelum chuckled.
"Yes, Australia. My Mind Arts Master should live there and he can train you while I figure out what our next move will be. If he isn't, then at least we can disappear into the muggle world while I train you personally - no matter how hard that might be in the Occlumency department. If we stay in England there's always the danger that someone comes to see me and sees you or that someone spots us on the street, because I definitely am not going to shut you in your room. It's now the 26th but I have to be back on the 2nd for a hearing in the Ministry. We'll figure something out by then in case my Master isn't… available."
"Will I be able to learn the Mind Arts in a week?" Harry asked, visibly nervous. Caelum couldn't help but laugh and the boy blushed and looked down, mortified.
Caelum stopped as soon as he realized the discomfort he was causing. "No, you won't be. Not even with him teaching. It will take months and he will work you hard - if he even agrees to take you as his student." Harry deflated at the thought and Caelum moved to ruffle his black curls. Again the boy tensed at his sudden touch but Caelum tried not to be discouraged. "Don't worry. When you learn to protect your thoughts I can tell you all my secrets. And I'd love be the one to train you - and I will, just in other magics - it's just that my Occlumency is very different and I hadn't realized that earlier."
Harry's expression brightened at that.
"Master leaves for Australia now?" Kreacher questioned, his forehead crunched in thought.
"Yes." Caelum thought for a minute. "I need you to stay here and watch the house. It would be an enormous help if you could clean the house as I'm going to purify this place of all the foul energy that's gathered here as soon as I have enough time. By the way, does the Black Manor or La Tanière d'Ombre have house elves that could come here to stay with you?"
Kreacher turned pensive. "Kreature will check. Master too needs to check those properties as soon as possible." There was a slight reprimand in the elf's voice. Caelum closed his eyes at the reminder and tried to collect his thoughts. Shit. This wasn't working.
Conjuring a pen and some paper he sat down and set out to list his immediate concerns. Harry had no other clothes, and the boy needed to see a Healer. Ollivander was still working on his wand, he had no idea if his old Master was even alive and then the properties. Leaving now was not a good idea but he'd trust no one but his old Master to teach the kid, and his following months would be busy if he truly intended to involve himself in British wizarding world's politics. Then there were the Horcruxes and his relatives...
A swish of his arm produced a shoulder bag and he tapped it, installing the Bottomless Charm effortlessly. Throwing it to Harry, he ordered, "Pack your belongings. We'll get you more clothes on the way." When Harry just stared at him, Caelum became awfully aware of his attitude and sighed in slight irritation. "Harry, Phineas can come back at any time and talk with the other portraits. Though not many have seen you - and I haven't even spoken with any of them - he might find out about you and inform Albus. It's not like we could have gone together into the wizarding world anyway. No one can know I have you with me and it's to protect you as much as give you a place where you can attain some semblance of normal life."
"But I thought the... old man can't take me away from you?"
"No, officially he can't. But he can use his great influence to turn the general population against me. He can undermine my right to have you if he finds out my secrets. I can't give him that much power over me. My secrets... I wish I could share them with you already but I am beginning to think it is better for my Master to train you in Occlumency since mine is so much more profound and uniquely suited for myself. Should Albus stumble upon an opportunity to test both mine and your shields he could find similarities and start to suspect something." He gave Harry a soft smile. "I'm sorry your Christmas got turned around. It might have been easier for you to remain with the Dursleys but I couldn't leave you with them."
Harry was silent and pursed his lips together. "I... I don't want to go back. I... It's the best Christmas of my life! And you don't lie to me or tell me I'm a freak and... And..." The boy blushed.
Caelum stood up and walked over to again ruffle Harry's hair. He smiled down at him. "I wish I could give you a normal life but that's impossible with us being who we are. Now, go pack. I want to be in Sydney in a couple of hours."
Harry was ready to go in ten minutes but it took Caelum more than an hour to write all the letters he needed to and put up the wards to deny access from everyone but the people already in the house. He was slightly apprehensive about creating a portkey to get them to Sydney since the Ministry would probably already be on his case about the earlier arrival but no one could detect the portkeys he created, especially from within these wards, and they'd only be accusations without proof. And he had no intention of even registering himself or Harry in Australia's Ministry of Magic.
Kreacher received many directives on how to handle possible visitors and missives. The elf was too old to make the jump to Australia but could and would take a look at Caelum's properties in Britain and France. And as long as Caelum found time to pop in to collect his mail, there would be no reason for anyone to suspect he wasn't still in the country. Phineas was the only one to present a problem and Caelum knew removing a portrait connected to Hogwarts would at least alert Albus to his power levels - something he wanted to avoid.
The problems Phineas' presence created should have been realised by him earlier.
Malfoy, his relatives and the Ministry, he'd handle in the beginning of the year. Ollivander too. The close brush with Phineas had alerted him to the fact that if he wanted to offer any kinds of choices for Harry, he'd have to get out from under Albus' circle of influence. And it all started with giving Harry the privacy of his own mind.
Finishing the letter to the Malfoys thanking them for the breakfast and then setting it aside on top of the pile he'd already written, he turned to Citala who was regarding him silently. She trilled questioningly.
"Yes, girl. I'm sorry but I can't take you to Australia with me. You are needed here to deliver the letters and I'm pretty sure you'll hate magical transportation so I can't keep popping you in and out of the country."
She screeched haughtily and looked at him along her beak. He chuckled softly and rose to scratch her head. She melted at his touch and trilled her acquiescence through their connection Caelum was quite certain she was not happy to let her wizard leave without her. She might not have been able to talk to him like Syl was but was just as expressive nonetheless.
"Good," Caelum sighed as soon as he had sent Harry's bag to the non-place. Syl was already wrapped around his throat and he already had everything he'd need in the non-place. He took one last look around the kitchen and tweaked around the wards he'd put up, finding them strong and unaffected by the dark energy in the house. Summoning a spoon, he tapped it with his finger and offered it to Harry. The boy took a hold of it and three seconds later they were whisked away from the house and Britain.
oooOOOooo
He absolutely hated his Master for choosing this kind of environment to live in. Nevertheless, it was comforting to know that his Mind Arts Master was living and practicing his art even in this world though finding him had proven to be such a tedious task. But at least nothing seemed to bring Harry down from his happy mood where he'd ascended at his first glimpse of Australia.
They had portkeyed to the Sydney magical district - conveniently skipping past the wards meant to direct them to the Portkey Terminal in Australian Ministry of Magic - that was not so different from the one in Caelum's memories. Though Harry would have wanted them to stay in one of the inns found on the local "Alley" Caelum was of another mind and had them booked into the Haven Inn Sydney after stopping to change some of his British pounds to the local currency, the Australian dollar. After seeing the place Harry had no objections and he had trailed after Caelum with honest wonder shining in his eyes. It was especially wonderfully since it was currently summer in the southern hemisphere and Harry's eyes widened at the sight of the outdoor pool with clear water shining with blue light in the warn darkness of the evening. Even if the boy said nothing of his wishes, Caelum made a quick mental decision to postpone their search for his old Master in order to introduce Harry to some of the joys of life.
He transfigured some of the hotel's towels into appropriate clothing and put Harry under a sleep spell to force their internal clocks to the local time and then fell on his own bed to spend the night in meditation. If he was going to see his Master he was not going to go with half-assed and exhausted shields that the medicine man could pierce with his telepathy but he was going to protect his secrets.
Come morning, he let Harry loose into the pool. The boy actually acted his age and Caelum looked on from the side, not risking the make-up's reaction with chlorine, and spent some time going through the papers from his Black inheritance. He needed to be ready for the Ministry inquiry on the 2nd. But his first priority was getting Harry to a Healer, he decided as he spied the outline of ribs on the kid's torso. He himself was specialised in battlefield first aid and had no idea what kind of potions to administer and at what dosage even if he was a Potions Master – only short of a certificate.
So that afternoon – after a delightful lunch consisting of a lot of healthy foods – he took them back to the local Alley, found out directions from an apothecary and Apparated them to a private Healer clinic specializing in children health care. He had to get a bit creative with the question form and the assistant's memories. Harry looked wide-eyed at his blatant disregard of rules.
"Well, it says here you adopted him a few days back. Blood-adoption?"
Healer Walker was a young woman with beautiful black curls and tanned skin. Caelum was pretty sure she had checked him out the moment she laid eyes on him and did not known how he felt about it. He especially didn't know what to think about the fact that he had noticed at all. Last year all attempts to gain his interest hadn't even registered but in this world he supposed he was healing and that included recognizing social relations for what they were. Not that he was interested.
"No, though the adoption papers were signed in blood." She just nodded and scribbled something down. Caelum just had to love Australia's neutral stance in everything magical.
"Okay, I'm going to do a scan that'll show me your entire medical history and we'll see how you're doing." She smiled warmly at Harry who responded shyly. As her maple wand made an appearance Caelum made to grip her wrist.
"Just… There are going to be some magical anomalies in that scan. Ignore them and just concentrate on the non-magical aspects."
The Healer raised her eyebrows but nodded and Caelum released her. She was all professionalism as she turned to Harry sitting on the leather bed and started waving her wand in wide arcs. Harry was surrounded by a bright white light that a flick of the Healer's wand sent flying towards a parchment where writing started to appear immediately. It took the spell nearly thirty seconds to list everything and Caelum felt his expression darken with each second that ticked by.
He scowled as the Healer looked up only after a second. "No, this can't be right." She raised her wand.
"Yes, he is Harry Potter and yes, he was hit with the Killing Curse at the age of fifteen months. We'd appreciate it if you didn't raise a racket."
Unsurprisingly, the woman simply nodded and lowered her wand though she shot Caelum a look – probably because of the fake names he'd written down. "There was some fuzz about a kid surviving that curse about a decade ago. I remember for the next year or so each medical journal addressed the incident somehow and the most common conclusion was that the Dark Lord somehow botched the curse."
Caelum wanted to roll his eyes at the implication Voldemort failed at something magical. If nothing else the man was a genius when it came to magic. At least before he went and broke his mind along with his soul.
"Did he receive any medical care after the incident?"
"Not that I know of." Caelum raised a questioning eyebrow at Harry who was quick to shake his head.
"I hardly remember that night," the boy reminded him and the Healer gasped while Caelum simply accepted that with a nod. Occlumency would change that but Harry probably wouldn't thank him for the pain the memories would bring along with them.
"Well, I'd love to have a look at…" She let the sentence trail of at the glare Caelum gave her. She shrugged and returned to the parchment. "Well, no mind, I think we're going to have to put you on some nutrient potions to get the levels back to normal and also on a heavier diet …What the hell!" The last came out as a near screech and she immediately shot an apologising look at Harry but Caelum was too busy hiding Syl as he'd been surprised by the sudden loud noise and instinctively tightened around the mage's throat, making it very hard for the said mage to breathe.
"Whathhhss?" he coughed out, the end coming out as a reprimanding hiss. Syl hissed softly his apologies and returned to his dozing.
"Umh… Well, his magical levels are extremely low. I mean for someone his age. Only about 30 percent of his overall capacity remains. You haven't had him do any magic?" Now the Healer sounded accusing and tried to seem imposing. Caelum, who'd stood up against the Dark Lords and demigods raised an amused eyebrow deciding not to take offence.
"No. I'm aware of the situation. We are already dealing with it. Now, the potions?"
"Well, he is quite small for his age but the scan shows that he should be of average height. I really don't think that at this point in time he should be put on Skele-Grow as it might have some unknown effects. But if he wants to after puberty, it's his choice."
"I could be tall?" Harry interrupted, clearly excited about the idea. The Healer was quick to disperse his dream.
"Of average height, Mr Potter. As long as we combine the scan estimation with the magic of the bone growing potion we can counter the effects of your earlier… circumstances. However, going over the estimation would not only put your body but your life in danger as well. Now, when's the last time you saw an Optician?"
Harry thought for a minute. "When I started school. They sent me to the nurse when I couldn't see the board."
"Well, from what I see it would benefit you greatly to go and get your eyes fixed. May I recommend a friend of mine?"
Caelum sighed but accepted the parchment with the name and address anyway. He knew the blood adoption Sirius had performed had changed his looks so it was unlikely for anyone to recognize him and Harry as one and the same, especially with the age difference, but removing Harry's glasses...
Was Harry's own decision.
"Can I get the recipes for the nutrient potions? As a Potions Master myself I'm hardly going to let anyone else do the brewing," he explained as the Healer shot him a surprised look. Some hustling and going through papers produced two different recipes of potions that Harry would be taking. A series of Memory spells and memory modifications later the two wizards were out of the clinic its occupants and workers none the wiser.
Three days later found them driving down a little-used path North-West of Alice Springs. It was Saturday morning and they were practically in the middle of nowhere as the clues they'd got from the wizarding citizens in the village on the way were very little to go with. Caelum would have given up if not for the image of his Master he'd picked up on with Legilimency. And he'd sensed no lie when the woman had told him his Master had lived in this area a couple of years back.
Glancing sideways to his left, the older wizard had to smile at the expression on Harry's face. This was the first time the boy was on a trip of any kind and especially now without his glasses Harry could truly appreciate their surroundings. Especially when Caelum was making sure the sun wasn't affecting them too much in the Holden Apollo he'd bought yesterday.
The reason they weren't utilising the wondrous aspects of magical travel in their search was Harry. Or more specifically Harry's newly adjusted eyes that were very sensitive to any use of magic for the next week. This had resulted in them driving most of Friday and Saturday to get to Alice Springs and early this morning taking the Tanami Road until Caelum decided they should head more towards North.
He stopped the car and climbed out, Harry following his example. If his Master was anywhere near them he could find them by following the vibration of the boy's mind but it would most likely take some convincing for the man to accept another student. Caelum had been one of the three in the last hundred years.
"Are you sure this man will train me?" Harry asked nervously out of nowhere.
Caelum could only shrug. In the end it was his Master's choice and he'd had little sway with the man even when he had known him personally. But he knew his Master would be unable to say no, especially if he took a look at Harry's memories. The medicine man believed strongly in privacy and Harry needed to have that.
"How long are we going to wait?" Now the boy sounded careful. But Caelum supposed being ordered around for a decade and then when finally given freedom of choice anyone would be cautious when asking for things.
"Ah, not for long. Actually I believe your wait has ended."
The boy jumped in surprise and whirled around to find nothing but air where the voice had sounded from. Caelum chuckled at his antics beneath his breath, while tightening the shields around his mind and magic as he felt the tentative touch against them. It disappeared and he resisted following it to the source.
"Caelum Black of England. Have I taught you before?" the voice sounded again and Harry shuffled closer to Caelum his eyes wildly glancing around.
"Enough with your antics, Master. Can you not see Harry is alarmed by them?"
Immediately a middle aged man appeared right before them. Leaves and small sticks were stuck in his long brown hair and he was wearing clothes in different shades of brown that nearly blended into his skin darkened by prolonged exposure to sun. His face had deep lines around the eyes that sparkled in all the colours of the sunset.
"Harry here tells me he will be taught by me yet I remember not owing any favours or even meeting anyone related to you. So why would you give him that idea?"
Caelum stepped forward, effectively shielding Harry with his body and consequently wrapping him in his shields as well. "Perhaps my secrets are worth the training of a young man desperately in need of guidance. You do hoard knowledge, after all."
"Knowledge that doesn't pass my lips. But yes, you are familiar with me." The colour of his eyes shifted to molten lava. "How curious."
His eyes left Caelum's and turned to regard Harry, and Caelum stepped out of the way. Those weird eyes weighed and analyzed and searched deep into the boy's soul while Harry stood paralyzed by the weight of the memories. Caelum should know. He'd experienced it himself, and it was not a happy feeling. Harry shuddered under the blazing glare of the sun.
Finally the man turned to look back at Caelum, leaving Harry gasping for breath. "You bring me a child of Destiny, touched and infected by the worst imaginable evil. You expect a miracle."
Caelum tensed at those words. Infected? Surely not...
"I will teach," his Master replied, interrupting his strain of thought. The man looked up to the sky and the colour of his eyes shifted again. "Time's a wasting. Come, there is much to discuss."
He suddenly grinned and his eyes sparkled with excitement. "I will drive."
Caelum huffed in exasperation. But at least Harry was in good hands even if he wasn't safe.
If what he suspected was correct... Magic help him.
A/N: And another chapter. I don't know if this is actually good or bad news but I've apparently broken my ankle - which is undoubtedly bad for me - and have a couple days off from school. Since most of the next chapter is already written... It should come out within a week.
And I've already published 2 chapters of Many A Mind And Blood which is HP/DM with a creature twist. If you have time, take a look.
Remember to review, review, review...