Chapter 24
Harry had been back in the Elven Realm for one week when his mother told him that she wanted to take him to see Elder Gweneth.
"Why, Metha? I am not ill. I have recovered from what happened to me in the graveyard."
"That is not why we are going," she said. "I want her to test your magic—your Elven magic."
"Why? What is wrong with my Elven magic? I can do everything the others my age can do."
"There is nothing wrong with it, Sethrael. You can do more than many of the others your age. I want her to test you to see how close you are to having your magic fully formed."
"Why? I'm not yet 15."
"Why? Why? Why? Is that all you can ask?"
Harry grinned mischievously. "Why do you ask?"
His mother laughed and cuffed him on the arm. "You will give me gray hair like Old Long Beard's," she said.
And so Harry and his mother went to Elder Gweneth to have his magic tested.
It was not a difficult test for Harry. All he had to do was allow her to look into his eyes. They talked together for a few moments using mind magic, and then she asked him to try to do different kinds of magic. He performed all the tasks that she asked of him easily as he had done many times before, but he wondered, if this were a test, why she did not ask him to do something more difficult. Finally, she asked him about the night in the graveyard when he had seen Voldemort's soul.
"I saw it leave his body," he said. "Then it burst through the shield I had made and spoke to me a moment before it disappeared."
She looked into his eyes and asked him with her mind: What did his soul look like?
The same as when I was in first year and it attacked me after possessing Professor Quirrell. The face was twisted and ugly, as if it had not been fully formed. There were no lips or teeth, and his nose was like slits in a flat face. His head was large, well normal sized for a man, but his body was very small. His arms and legs were useless, but his eyes were very sharp.
You saw his soul when you were eleven?
Yes. Remember? I told the story in the circle.
I thought you were making that up.
He blushed, remembering how he used to exaggerate his stories when he was younger. I did not need to make that up. The truth was more frightening than I could have imagined.
She nodded and looked at his mother. "He has the magic of a fully grown Elf. In fact, he has more than most."
"So, he is ready?"
Elder Gweneth nodded. "It is time."
"Time for what?" Harry asked.
"I will tell you later," his mother said. "Come, Sethrael. We must find your dakara."
He followed his mother into the forest. "What are you not telling me, Metha?" he asked. "Why did Elder Gweneth say that I had more magic than I do?"
"She did not say that you have more than you do. She said that you have what you have."
Harry frowned. "There are things I cannot do. Why did she not test me on those?"
"What things, Sethrael?"
"I cannot detect magic," he said. "Well, I can because Hermione helped me learn that at school, but I have to use a spell like Wizards. I cannot do it like Elves."
His mother frowned. "I do not understand. What do mean you cannot detect magic like Elves?"
"If a spell has been performed on an object, I cannot tell what kind of spell was used unless I use a Wizarding spell," he said.
His mother stared at him. "Who do you know that can?"
"I thought Elves could when they were grown."
She burst into laughter. "Oh, Sethrael. You are a silly child. When you go hunting with your dakara, how does he hide himself from the animals?"
"He makes himself invisible to them."
"Can you still see him?"
"Of course. I am an Elf. He is not invisible to Elves."
His mother grinned. "He is not invisible to adult Elves, Sethrael, but you have been able to sense Elven magic all your life. Most children your age cannot see an Elf when he uses his mind to fade out of sight because their mind magic has not developed well enough to overcome the illusion. Elves do not really disappear. We only give the illusion of disappearing. We make others believe what we want them to. We are still visible, but their minds will not allow them to see us."
Harry stared at her in confusion. "We do not really disappear?"
"No. Elves do not perform spells and charms and transfigurations like wizard's do. We are not born with a magical core. Our magic is in our ability to use our minds in a way no other magical being can. We can read thoughts and emotions, we can see through the minds of others, and we can make others believe what we want them to. I thought you understood that, my son."
"But you and Daka can perform spells," he argued.
"Yes, but that is because you gave us a magical core and the ability to perform wandless magic when you became our son. Other Elves do not have that ability."
Harry sighed. "So when I see through the eyes of a bird, I have not become the bird?"
"No, you are still my Sethrael, but you have projected your mind into the bird, and that is why you see through his eyes. You did not change into the bird or possess the bird. You are still sitting on the tallest branch of the tree, but you are seeing through the bird's eyes."
He shook his head. "I feel like an idiot."
"You should not feel that way, my son. You have been influenced by the Wizarding world. When Wizards perform magic, the changes actually take place. Your godfather Sirius actually becomes the dog Padfoot and your godfather Remus changes into the werewolf Moony at the full moon. I should have realized that you were seeing things the way Wizards do, my son, because you are also a Wizard."
"So, I have misunderstood Elven magic," he said. "I have been able to do the things that I thought I could not."
"Yes, my son. You were waiting to develop magic that you already possessed."
She stopped walking and placed her hand on his arm, stopping him also. "When you told us you saw the soul of the Dark Wizard when you were eleven, we did not understand. We thought you were exaggerating the way you used to do when you were telling your stories in the circle. It was not until you awoke from the magical coma and told us how you saw his soul leave his body and burst through the shield that we understood that you were able to see souls. My son, that is the most advanced magic that can be done in our world. When you are able to see souls, your magic has fully developed."
"And that is why you wanted me to see Elder Gweneth today," he said. "You wanted to be sure."
"Yes. Your dakara and I had to be sure before we allowed the Elders to speak with you about the Dark Wizard. We did not want you to try to perform magic that was beyond your capability."
"What am I to do, Metha? What did Elder Gweneth mean when she said 'It is time'?"
"She meant, my son, that it is time for you to vanquish the Dark Lord."
88888888888888888888888888888888888
Beneath the branches of Eldartha, Queen Thespa and the Elders sat on smooth stones that had been placed there many years before. Harry sat on the ground in front of them, between his parents. His mother held young Coriel on her lap.
"Sethrael," the Queen said. "Do you remember three summers past when you went with your dakara to the graveyard to banish the bones of Tom Riddle?"
"Yes, Elmethara. I remember."
"Do you know why the bones were banished?"
"Yes, Elmethara. They were banished so that the Dark Wizard could not perform the spell that would give him a new body."
His grandmother nodded. "We had hoped to prevent his return until you were ready to vanquish him. Sethrael, do you know the Prophecy of El?"
"Yes, Elmethara. Daka and Metha have taught me the prophecy, and they have explained to me that I am the Child of which the prophecy speaks."
"So, you know what this means."
"It means that I am to vanquish the Dark Wizard and set our people free."
The queen smiled at him. "Elder Gweneth has examined your magic and found that it has fully developed. You have the magic of an adult Elf, Sethrael, and you have the magic of a Wizard, although you are not yet fully trained. Your godfathers are going to work with you this summer to help your learning advance in the areas of defense, charms, and transfiguration. The Elders are going to work with you to help you learn two spells. These spells, in combination with the Wizarding spells, will allow you to vanquish the Dark Wizard. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Elmethara."
"Do you remember the book with dark magic that our enslaved brother gave to you and your dakara?"
"Yes. The book that Daka hid in the Realm of El."
"That book houses a piece of the Dark Lord's soul. His soul has been broken into pieces and hidden so that it is impossible for him to cross into the Summerland."
Harry frowned. "Do we want him to cross into the Summerland, Elmethara? He is evil."
His grandmother smiled. "Darkness cannot cross into the Summerland, my grandson, for it is located in the Realm of Light. When the pieces of his soul are reunited, he will be forced into the Realm of El. As he crosses the river that leads into the Summerland, all that is dark within his soul shall be destroy and only that part which is light will remain to complete the crossing."
"But what if none of his soul is light?"
"In that unlikely event, his entire soul will be destroyed. But, Sethrael, even the darkest of souls have some light in their depths. It may be hidden, but it is there."
Harry nodded, relieved that no evil could enter the land where his first parents lived.
"Now, the first bit of magic that you will learn from the Elders is how to unite the pieces of the Dark Wizard's soul to make it whole. That will be the least difficult ritual, but it must be done before you can perform the second one. The second ritual will bring his soul first into the Elven Realm, then to the Realm of El, and finally to cross over into the Summerland. It will take some time for you to learn both rituals, so the Elders will begin to teach you tomorrow. Your father will continue to help you perfect the use of your sword. Your godfathers will also spend the summer here to teach you more about Wizarding magic. It will be a difficult summer for you, my grandson, but when the Dark Wizard is gone, the Wizarding world will be safe once again, and a great darkness will be lifted from the Earth so that you can complete the prophecy. You will then be able to free our brothers."
Harry smiled, for to the Elves, that was the most important part of the prophecy—freeing the enslaved so they could be reunited in the Elven Realm.
"Mithrael," said the Queen. "Did you bring your son's sword?"
"Yes, my Queen," he said, picking up the long leather package he had brought with him. He unwound the leather covering, then the velvet, which protected the sword. He stood and handed Sethrael's sword to the Queen.
"Come, my grandson. Kneel before me," she said, rising.
Sethrael stood and moved before his grandmother and the surrounding Elders. He knelt in front of her, and his family stood behind him.
Queen Thespa grasped the leather handle of the sword and placed the tip of it on Sethrael's head. "Sethrael dina Mithrael, before your family and the Elders of our people, beneath the branches of sacred Eldartha, by the Sword of El, I proclaim you King of all Elven people. Your words shall be law in our land from this day until you cross into the Summerland. As the Red Dragon united the kingdoms of Britain, you shall unite the magical world. And from your mouth will come words of wisdom, and your magic will be used for the good of all people. For in you, the Red Dragon and Great Enchanter have become one. And all people in all lands will honor your name forever and remember you as the first and only King of the Elven Realm."