Harry followed his mentor back into the Room of Requirements.
"Why did we leave to just come back – oh." Harry said, his eyes widening as he surveyed the room.
The Room of Requirements was no longer really a room. Pale blue sky opened up above him, and rolling green hills surrounded him in every direction, forming a valley in which a small pond quaintly sat.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Harry said.
"Thanks!" Emrys said happily. "Normally something like this isn't possible, but –"he shrugged. "It's me."
Harry's smile slowly slipped off his face as Emrys trotted towards the pond. Ever since he had met Emrys, his mentor had done things he never knew were possible. At first he had assumed it was due to his inexperience, but after researching several things, such as wandless magic, he had realized that the things Emrys did were claimed to be impossible.
In reality Harry knew very little about his friend. Emrys looked around 25ish, and displayed magical knowledge that no one, not even Dumbledore seemed to know. He hadn't gone to Hogwarts, at least not under the name Leon, and searching many records, he concluded no one knew him, even though he had a British accent. It was if his friend has simply popped out of nowhere.
~0o0~
Merlin led Harry to the lake, unaware of his apprentice's suspicions.
"Not that I mind the change of scenery but why did we move out of our regular dueling room?" Harry asked.
"We don't know what your form is, it could be a flobbyworm, or it could be a hippogriff. Better to give you plenty of space to practice with." Merlin replied.
Harry nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"So how does this work?"
Merlin smiled, if anything else Harry was almost always to the point. Much like him in fact.
"Your animagus form can actually be several different things. It doesn't direct correlation to your personality, although it does have some effect. It can change based on the situation, but after you have shifted the first time, you're current animagus form is permanent and no longer changes. Understand?"
Harry nodded before asking:
"So how do I actually change into my form?"
"Sit and face the lake."
Harry raised his eyebrows before sitting cross-legged.
"Close your eyes and enter your mind, somewhere is a gate or a door. Behind it is your form. Once you open the door you will instinctively transform, after that it is merely a method of taping into your instincts, which can be admittedly tricky the first few times. The door can be in a memory, a corridor or even deep into your mind."
Harry narrowed his eyes.
"Is this the way everyone does it?"
Merlin laughed.
"No, this method usually takes a few weeks if not a month to master, usual methods take up to a year."
Harry nodded before starting to close his eyes.
"Anything else I should know?"
Merlin hesitated.
"Be careful. You might have to go through some bad memories. The mind is a funny thing, it can conjure up some disturbing things to keep everything, including you, out of certain areas."
Harry warily looked at him before sighing.
"Wish me luck then."
Then, he slowly closed his eyes.
~0o0~
Harry opened his eyes, feeling lush grass against his face. He climbed to his feet and surveyed the area. Trees surrounded him, their leaves sparking with memories, vines acted as conduits and pulsed as it transmitted his thoughts. Looking down he saw flora and grass. He brushed into a tulip and watched a memory play across its petals, his first visit to Hogwarts.
Harry looked around for a door but found nothing but the familiar trees.
"Of course it wouldn't be that easy." He sighed to himself. "Nothing to do but go forward."
Harry started to walk into the forest of his memories, looking for the door. He noticed that as he walked, the forest became thicker and darker. Some of the vines seemed to wilt towards a particular section of the forest. Frowning, Harry changed his course, and walked into the darker shadows.
As Harry walked, he heard footsteps behind him. Whirling around, he found no one. Remembering Emrys's words of some areas being restricted, Harry decided to trudge on regardless.
The Forest became darker still, and Harry started to become confused. Some of the memories he had no recollection of. For example, in a mushroom he saw an old weathered book, with strange symbols and disgusting depictions. Shivering he moved on deeper into the woods. All the while he had a strange feeling he was being watched. But from where? This was his own mind, and he didn't think Emrys would creepily watch him in a dark forest.
Finally he reached a wall of trees, the bark twisted and blackened, the branches were knotted and rotting. Harry looked at it trepidation, unease crawling down his spine. He pushed towards it, but couldn't find an entrance. Finally he stopped and focused, willing it to move. It was in his mind after all. The trees creaked in protest, but eventual a small gap was formed.
Smiling in satisfaction, Harry walked through the gap and stopped in horror. A giant crack blemished the ground, black goo pulsed out of it and mist wrapped around the branches of the trees.
"What the hell." Harry whispered, slowly backing up.
"Not so fast."
Harry whirled around to find – him. Well, if he was made of mist but nevertheless, it looked like him.
"What are you?"
The creature smirked.
"I am you. I am who you will be."
Harry raised his eyebrows.
"I really let myself go then. Is it comfortable being billowing black smoke?"
The creature chuckled.
"I am your beliefs. Your darkest thoughts that you will slowly succumb to."
Harry snorted.
"Laugh all you want. I know you, I know your slow growing derision against the wizarding world, and dare I say, the buddings of dislike towards the muggle one?"
Harry's eyes widened and he stumbled back.
"You're wrong!"
The creature raised an eyebrow.
"Am I? Think of what you could do Harry, if you became me. Think of how you could change the world, make it better, and make the world round again. Wizards are better than muggles, and yet we hide from them. And what has it cost us? A disorganized mess of a society."
"You're wrong." Harry repeated, this time with less conviction.
The creature wryly smiled.
"These aren't my thoughts Harry. They're yours. Think on that Harry Potter. Good luck with your little quest. I hope you find what you are really looking for."
And with that, the creature's eyes flickered red, and then he disappeared. Harry stayed rooted to the spot, fear trickling down his spine. He shook his head and started to run out of the dark woods, leaving the mass of trees behind.
Harry burst through into a clearing, panting and falling to his knees. His thoughts swirled around in his head, quite literally as storm clouds started to brew in the distance.
Do I really think like that? Harry panically thought. Lately he had been critical of Wizarding Society. After all, it had spawned two Dark Lords almost one after another.
Thunder boomed and Harry looked up to see the storm clouds had darkened, and lightning flashed across the sky. He sighed, closing his eyes and willing the storm clouds to fade. He stumbled to his feet, only to stop in surprise.
In front of him were three pedestals. Rings of runes seemed to surround them, and a river gently flowed around them, cutting the ground around them. They each were adorned with three crystals. Two of them were clear, but the third was slowly pulsing with a rainbow of colors. Harry slowly reached for it.
~0o0~
"How did you do?"
Harry blearily woke to find himself back in the old Room, sitting at his favorite desk in the library. Emrys sat across from him, a grin plastered on his face.
He must have carried me back. Harry thought, he opened his mouth to explain that he had failed to find the door.
"I think I did well, Snape actually awarded me points."
Harry's eyes widened and he shot out of his seat and whirled around to see – himself again. This time with a little less mist.
"I'm in a memory." Harry murmured with realization.
"When did Hell freeze over?" Past-Emrys asked.
Harry grinned. Shortly after he had thrown a tantrum, Emrys had started to teach him potions in hopes that he would appreciate it a little more then with Snape.
Past-Harry laughed and sat in his/their usual chair. Harry turned and started looking for an exit. Emrys had told him that he would need to sink further into his mind to find the door, hopefully this was an indication that he was getting closer. His eyes landed on the slightly ajar door to the corridor, something he knew wasn't part of the original memory as they were always careful to shut and seal the door.
Striding over to it, he slowly pulled the door open. He lingered to cast a fond look on his past memory, before stepping out.
~0o0~
Harry's feet landed on cold-black marble. His face drained as he recognized his surroundings. He broke out into a sprint, tearing down the hall until he reached the door.
Visions of Sirius dead body floating through the veil flashed through his mind and he shook his head.
"It's just a door Harry."
He nervously pushed on the door. It slowly creaked open to reveal a familiar circular room.
Harry felt fear clutch him as he slowly walked down the stairs and finally stood in front of the giant stone archway, a veil of cloth whispering in an unseen wind. Harry closed his eyes and bowed his eyes, a tear slowly rolling down his face and splashing on the hard grey ground.
He sighed before turning only to realize the doors were gone. Frantically he paced around the room looking for any exited before, with some trepidations, he turned to face the Veil.
"Only one way to go then." He said. He slowly walked forward until he felt the grey cloth wrap around him, and then he was gone.
~0o0~
Harry slowly woke, his limbs ached and groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet. He felt exhausted, like he had run around the entire world. His legs threatened to give out as he surveyed his surroundings. He was in ancient room, carvings and runes adorned the wall. Pictures showed great beasts fighting men, goblins and other beings. Scrawls of magical texts sat on pedestals and gold highlights and gems raced across the ceiling, forming a galaxy above him. A singular battered door lay across from him. A feeling of excitement flashed across him as he slowly reached for the door-handle. Pulling it opened, he found – a small cupboard.
Frowning he stepped in, recognizing it as his old bedroom. His old pictures still hung on the walls. He smiled as a few spiders skittered under his bed. His eyes flickered to the door as it slowly swung closed and he was plunged into darkness. Harry reached up and turned on the singular lightbulb, only to jump back and bang his head on the ceiling.
Harry winced and rubbed his head as he eyed the shovel that had appeared in the cupboard. His eyes furrowed in confusion as he picked it up, twirling it in his hands.
He gazed down at the ground before shaking his head.
"I'm insane." He muttered before plunging the shovel into the cupboard's floor. Harry continued to dig out a hole about 3 feet down before throwing the shovel aside in exhaustion.
He slumped up against the wall and closed his eyes. He felt the room going dark and knew he didn't have much time left before he would pass out. Suddenly he felt heat.
Harry opened his eyes to find fire pouring out of the pit he had dug.
"What the hell!" He shouted.
Don't be afraid Harry. Accept my gift to you.
The fire began to rise out of the pit, flames seared the walls and licked his legs.
Harry's vision started to blur and the room got darker. He slid down the wall and slumped against it. The fire started to swirl around him, searing his skin and sending waves of heat through his body. He heard the voice say,
This may sting a littlebefore everything faded to black.
~0o0~
Merlin paced back and forth over the slumped body of his pupil. Harry had been unconscious for far too long. Harry had entered his trance nearly twenty-four hours ago. The longest he had ever seen was six hours. That particular man had accidentally transformed himself into a peacock instead of his actual animagus form.
He sighed and finally conjured himself a desk and chair on the grass. He did have papers he unfortunately had to grade. The fifth through seventh years majorly were practically taught, but the younger years learned the theory. And thus boring essays.
He shuffled through a few papers before he heard the door behind him bang open. Merlin calmly set down his quill and turned to find Dumbledore striding towards him.
"How is he?" He asked.
"Still in the trance." Merlin replied. "I've never had anyone go past a few hours before. I fear this could have dire consequences."
Instead of looking worried, Dumbledore chuckled.
"Harry always has, and I suspect always will be, unique. I am not surprised that he is the first to go well over the intended time limit. Could he simply be stubborn and refuse to leave his mind until he finds his form?"
Merlin shook his head.
"No. You can only stay so long inside of your mind before feeling negative effects. Eventually you will simply pass out. I have taught him Occlumency, which could extended his visit but certainty not to this extent."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Not without running the risk of damaging his mind. If he does not wake by tomorrow, I will enter his mind and fetch him."
Dumbledore sighed.
"I'm afraid I have matters to attend to. I trust you will look after him?"
"Of course I will."
"Good day then Merlin."
Merlin slightly shivered. It was always strange hearing his name after so many years. He watched the retreating form of the Headmaster until he closed the doors.
"Back to grading papers. My favorite."
Hours passed and Merlin rolled his eyes several times in exasperation at his student's obvious lack of effort in their essays. He was in the middle of reading a 4th years essay on Dementors when he felt the room shake. He quickly looked up and checked on Harry. Suddenly he and the desk were thrown backwards and a blinding golden light filled the room.
Merlin squinted and made out the form of something massive.
"This should be fun" He muttered. The golden light slowly dimmed revealing….
"Kilgharrah!" Merlin exclaimed.
The ancient dragon chuckled.
"Hello Merlin."
Merlin stood staring up at the giant dragon before him.
"How- how are you here?"
Kilgharrah snorted.
"I see your knowledge on dragons has not improved over the centuries Merlin. Dragons never truly die. Instead we exist on another plane of reality, watching and guiding a few select mortals. It took all of my building strength to transfer my conscious into your young apprentice."
"You can't just hijack Harry's animagus form! That could be catastrophic to his development!"
"The young wizard is fine. His other form is still locked in here somewhere. I'm sure after a few years he may be able to learn it as well. For now, I am his primary second shape."
Merlin sighed and sat down in the grass.
"Is he aware right now? I assume since you are partially his animagus form he can hear and see what you do?"
"Eventually. We are two hosts in two bodies. I have primacy over my own and he his own. With practice we both can see and hear and even take control of each other body. Do not fret Merlin, he is resting now in his own body."
Merlin suddenly leaped up and started to shake with fury.
"You lied to me!" He shouted "For years, years! I have waited for Arthur to come back! I've had so much time to reflect, and I realized that your advice was always self-fulfilling! If I hadn't listened to you, if I had helped Morgana, none of this would have happened!
The dragon carefully observed Merlin and bowed his head.
"I am truly sorry Merlin. I believed myself to be right. On the matter of Arthur, there is much we need to discuss. You rightly suspect what power he has. It is very similar to the power the boy has. Have faith Merlin. You know who and what Arthur is to you. I must shift back now, less the boy suddenly wakes and overhears us. I have the feeling you want to wait to tell him. Do not wait too long Merlin, lest you find yourself with another Morgana."
"I hope to talk to you again Kilgharrah."
The dragon nodded and slowly began to transform. His wings became arms and scales started to mold back into a human body.
~0o0~
The world was dark and bleak. There was nothing but the darkness around him. Why was he there? For what purpose? He drifted slowly around the darkness, the void around him. Who was he?
"Harry!"
Harry. Such an ordinary name. Was it his? He wondered briefly if he had always been here. The darkness and the void that surrounded him. They felt peaceful. Perhaps he could just lay back and let the darkness consume him and take control.
"Harry!"
There was that annoying voice. Insistent thing, whatever was making it. Harry. The name niggled at him until he felt a burst of memories. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One.
"HARRY!"
Harry slowly opened his eyes and groaned.
"Why do I feel like I've been hit by a Bludger several times?"
Emrys laughed from above him.
"You've been out for over a day Harry. It's Sunday night."
Harry bolted to his feet.
"What?!" He yelled. "You didn't say I would be out for that long!"
Emrys raised his eyebrows at him.
"The longest I've ever seen is six hours Harry. Although I shouldn't be surprised that you would break that record."
Harry glared at him before deflating.
"I thought I found the door but… there was just fire and then I woke up. Does that mean I don't have a form Emrys?"
Emrys hesitated and Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"What is it?" He asked flatly.
"Wellllllll" Emrys said. "Your animagus form isn't like the traditional wizards form. It's uh… a sentient century old dragon."
Harry blinked.
"Did you just say-"
"Afraid so."
Harry promptly collapsed into a sitting position in the grass.
"Why? Why in the world do I have a dragon for my form? And I've faced a dragon before, it didn't seem all that intelligent."
Emrys chuckled.
"Long ago there was an ancient breed of dragons. They ruled and dominated the lands. They were mostly peaceful, bestowing there knowledge onto the next generation of Dragonlords. The Dragonlords were humans and non that had the ability to control dragons. It could only be passed down from father to son. Eventually a twisted king tricked the Dragonlords and had them call their dragons. He slew them all. Only one survived, a dragon named Kilgharrah. He is the dragon that resides alongside your soul now. It's said that he gave Merlin advice many times."
Harry mouth had fallen open. The voice inside his head was from Merlin's time! Of all the insane things to happen to him, this was not one that he had expected.
"So every time I use my animagus form, I give my control over to him?"
Emrys merely smiled.
"I think you should have that conversation with the dragon. Id imagine now that you have transformed once, it will allow you to easily talk to him."
Harry nodded before yawning loudly.
"I think I need to head to bed" He murmured.
Emrys nodded before stretching out his hand and projecting the time. He grimaced, it was well past curfew.
"I have to clean up the room and finish grading papers, do you mind using the cloak to get back to the tower?"
Harry narrowed his eyes.
"How did you know that I carried the cloak on me?"
Emrys just smiled mysteriously. Harry rolled his eyes and pulled it out.
"Thank you Emrys. For everything."
The man bowed his head, his eyes sparkling. Harry threw his cloak over him but stopped when Emrys gasped.
"Professor?" He asked.
"You disappeared!" Emrys shouted in panic.
Harry stopped and took off his cloak, concern in his eyes.
"Emrys… This is a cloak of invisibility it makes people… you know… invisible."
Emrys shook his head. "Yes of course, it must be getting late. Goodnight Harry."
"Goodnight Emrys." He cast one last strange look at his friend and left the room.
~0o0~
Merlin sighed as he swished his wand, fixing the two fourth years in front of him. Typical Gryffindor's and Slytherin's, always at each other's throats. Godric and Salazar would admittedly be embarrassed of their houses rivalry.
"20 points from Slytherin and Gryffindor and a detention for both of you! I will not tolerate such mindless pettiness in dueling! This is serious and not something to mess around with!" Merlin shouted. The class stared at him in shock. He was normally a calm and collected person and rarely rose his voice in class. However when students started throwing around curses far above their level haphazardly, he intended to press the seriousness of the situation on them.
The rest of the day continued on smoothly until his sixth year class was up. He watched as Harry walked into the dueling hall. He flashed him his usual smile and let the class begin. As the Christmas break was fast approaching, he had assigned the class the attempt to make their very own spell. Although defense didn't technically cover advanced spell creation, he saw no harm in teaching the basics. Flexibility was always a good part of dueling.
Tables and mats covered the usually empty dueling hall. Students rushed over to them and sat their bags aside. Some worked in pairs, whilst other alone. He wandered over to Harry's table where he had a mass of new books stacked on top of each other and a block of metal sitting on his table.
"What happened to your shifting curse?" Merlin asked.
Harry shrugged. "I thought of something a bit different."
Merlin picked up a book called The Elementalists Handguide. Flicking through it he saw mentions of destructive abilities of the elements.
"Good luck then."
Harry smiled.
"Thanks Emrys."
Merlin wandered from table to table, checking on his students' progress and helping those with questions. He was after all over a millennium, he should be able to handle making a spell or two.
His eyes however, continued to roam back to Harry. The other night, when he had put his cloak on he had disappeared. His signature, aura and core. Merlin was certain that it had not happened before, as he had been able to see him sneaking around under it before.
"I have a bad feeling about this." He muttered. The student next to him looked at him warily.
~0o0~
Harry climbed the stairs leading to the seventh floor with no small amount of trepidation. Tonight he would be by himself as Emrys had detention with two fourth years who had been irresponsible with spells during dueling. Instead of just practicing spells Emrys has instructed him to try to make contact with the dragon.
He reached out and opened the doors to find the familiar training room. Harry smiled and walked in, throwing his bag down on a chair in the library. He settled in to his favorite chair and slowly closed his eyes.
Hello?
Hello Young wizard. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever call.
I was a bit busy.
Too busy to ponder what has transpired? No matter, I sense that you have a question for me.
How did you become my animagus form?
A deep chuckled resonated around his mind, causing Harry to visibly wince.
The ancient dragons do not simply die when we are slain. We transcend into another plane. We slowly build our strength and it allows us to help manipulate the world. I had been saving my energy for you, Harry Potter. It took everything I had to reach you.
So does that mean that you are powerless?
No. Tying myself to you gives me the gift to replenish my powers as usual. I am in essence, reborn inside you.
That sounds creepy.
Fear not, it does you no harm Young Wizard. My power is sadly limited however, I would require my own body to use my typical for of magic. I can still assist you in your training.
Thank you. Anything to give me the edge over Voldemort would help.
Voldemort is fastly becoming the least of your worries Harry.
What? Why?
I wish I could say more, but I cannot. I am bound by oaths to not speak of what is to come.
What can I do then Kilgharrah?
Prepare young wizard. Death is fast approaching this land.
A/N
I'm still not happy with this chapter. I've reviewed and rewritten it several times. Instead of making you all wait for a few more months though, I decided to finally just release it. Anyway, addressing some concerns with the last chapter.
Many of you guessed correctly that his form would be a dragon and the voice would be Kilgharrah, although I hoped I slightly surprised you that they were one and the same. To clear up any confusions, Kilgharrah basically hijacked Harry's animagus form so that he could help him.
Harry isn't going to become more powerful then Merlin. One or two people expressed concerns about this and don't worry it's not going to happen. In a straight up duel, Merlin will always win through this whole story, period. That being said Harry is going to become stronger. I hope my reasoning for including Kilgharrah become clear later on.
Anyway, have a good day everyone and leave a review if you want!