Harry Potter and the Order of Mercaba
by SeraphimBlue
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all the characters of his universe are owned by J.K. Rowling. I hold no claim over anyone here, except for my original characters and the Order of Mercaba, which is my own creation. In this chapter is mention of a creature thought up by Mercedes Lackey.
Chapter Seven
The sunlight broke through the trees as they came around the curve in the path. "Just a bit further and we'll break off the path. From there it's about a fifteen minute walk through the forest itself to the Gate."
Alisa nodded as she held a sleeping Harry in her arms. They'd been walking for about 45 minutes so far, following a path that only Alex seemed to be able to fully see. She could sense something else was there, but some form of magic she was unfamiliar with was hiding it.
"How long has it been since you've been here?"
Alex pointed out a root poking out of the ground as they walked and Alisa stepped over it carefully. "Well… let's see. The last time was when I was 19. I'd been tracking reports of a banshee in the area and stumbled upon the Gate here at that time. Apparently it had been opened by someone who accidentally released the banshee and was then killed by it. I had to trick the banshee back through the Gate in order to kill it… which meant figuring out how to open it myself."
Alex brushed aside a low hanging limb and let Alisa and Harry pass before taking the lead once more. "I'd been using Gates since I was 12… but those were in America and Australia. The Gates there were easier to open… different type of magic involved than here… but I eventually got this one activated and that was that."
Alisa nodded. She knew her husband had lived all over the world. His parents… his adopted parents… were both lifelong military and traveled most of the year, every year. He never had a real home; moving from base to base, country to country, until he was recruited by the Order at 16 and moved into the dormitory.
She'd met him there, years later, when she herself was recruited. She could still remember seeing him on that day. She'd been working as a nurse in the Infirmary, something she'd had some former training in besides her abilities, when an alarm sounded signaling incoming injured. Rushing along with the rest of the nursing staff, they moved to the incoming teleportation zone and were surprised by what happened.
"It was the first time I'd ever seen him and he arrived… covered in blood, clothing shredding showing off that muscular chest of his... looking so heroic… out of one of his shadow portals. That dot of light that formed and then grew wider before opening… the blast of frigid air that shook everyone to their core and then he was there, striding out of the light dragging the wounded behind him." she thought, smiling at how brave and gorgeous he was then.
To a young girl of 18, this man was everything her young heart could desire… and much much more. He took command of the situation and told Doctor Stephens everything that had happened and how he had temporarily triaged the wounded before transport. She just stared, dumbstruck, until one of the other nurses shook her awake and she started helping.
Silly as it might sound, it truly was love at first sight.
"Okay… we're going to step off here. Let me go first and then I'll lift you off the path. Don't step until I tell you to."
Alisa blinked and blushed. She'd been so lost in memory she'd forgotten what they were doing. She nodded and watched as he took a step, shimmered for a moment, vanished right before her eyes then reappeared again.
"Okay, reach out toward me and close your eyes. I'm going to move you now. Watching this… might make you vomit."
Alisa nodded, pulled Harry snug against her breasts, closed her eyes and waited. She could feel Alex wrap his arms around her then lift her into the air. "He's so strong…" she thought as she was moved through whatever it was he stepped through. A tingle like lightning passed over her skin and she was suddenly so very aware of every detail of Alex; his scent – a mix of cinnamon and cypress; the feel of his hands – strong and powerful; the sound of his breathing – so peaceful and soothing to her ears… it all suddenly made her feel very flush and excited.
Blushing so strongly, she felt Alex set her back down with a kiss on her forehead. "You can open your eyes now love."
Alisa opened her eyes and blinked in shock. The trees were shimmering with a strange silver light and the air felt more alive. "I think I can feel this place. It's beautiful."
Alex smiled and nodded as he lead her onward.
"This section receives magic from the Gate… sort of like radiation. You find places like this in areas with a high magical content. You should see this archway I found once in Utah… in the United States. It has so much magic connected to it, you can almost see it in mundane photographs."
Alisa nodded, understanding and smiled at the thought. "Must be beautiful. We'll have to visit… when Harry's older."
Alex grinned and nodded, kissing Harry's sleeping head. "We'll have to make sure our other children are old enough as well, love."
Alisa blushed and grinned. Other children. She and Alex had decided on a few more children… partially out of need but mostly out of love. She was very excited about the whole process and they had been… practicing already.
"Now… you might see things that look familiar to you. If anything looks like an old pet, a friend who you haven't seen in years… or a family member, you need to ignore it. There are creatures here that can read your memories and become something you know. They will lure you away from me and draw you and Harry deeper into the forest. Once they do that, they will lock you away in dreaming and slowly draw out your essence over years… until you die peacefully in your sleep. I've found the corpses before."
Shivering Alisa nodded and moved closer until she was almost touching Alex's side. Alex wrapped an arm around her comfortingly, protectively and pointed through the trees ahead of them.
"We're actually closer than I thought we'd be. Just a few minutes of walking and we'll be at the Gate."
Alisa looked up at his face and smiled. She loved him so much sometimes that she wondered how she became so lucky to end up with him.
"I love you."
Alex looked at her, eyes shining with magic and love and grinned. "I love you too baby… always."
Kissing her, softly and gently, Alex pulled her into his embrace and caressed her back for a moment as they kissed, then pulled back slightly and giggled. He actually giggled.
"Luckiest… man… alive. My wife is so hot."
Alisa blushed and laughed softly at how her rugged husband could be such a boy sometimes. Shaking her head, they continued walking. Within a few minutes, the forest began to grow brighter and a small clearing appearing.
"We're here…"
As they stepped into the clearing and Alisa saw the Gate for the first time, she blinked in shock. The strangest feeling washed through her and she had a flash of memory. She'd seen one of these before.
"Daphne, Alabama…"
Alex jerked his head to look at her, shock in his eyes. "What did you say?"
Alisa looked from the Gate, to him, then back. "I've seen one of these before...when I was a little girl. We were in the United States visiting my cousins. They live in Mobile, Alabama and we were exploring the surrounding cities. I was so young back then that my father didn't like me traveling too far from him."
She smiled at her father's protectiveness.
"We'd traveled across the causeway to a small town called Spanish Fort and headed south into Daphne to get lunch. We stopped at this wooded area to eat and I heard this humming… sort of harsh and angry buy yet very enticing at the same time. I thought I saw what looked like small creatures climbing about in the trees. I thought they were silver monkeys back then, but I know now they were something else."
Alisa frowned remembering what happened next.
"I followed them into the trees… my parents were busy with my relatives… and I stumbled upon this dark black archway… just like that. It seemed to draw all light into it and being near it made me feel cold… scared."
She pointed to the Gate before them, only this one was a dusky silver instead of pitch black, like the one she'd seen.
"A dark Gate… yes, I know. I've been there. You're lucky to still be alive. How did you get away?"
Alisa looked from the Gate back to her husband.
"My father yelled for me and I turned around and ran back. When I got far enough away, the sound stopped and I just shrugged it all off I guess."
Alex grimaced then shook it off. "You got lucky… but thankfully this Gate isn't dark. It's more… gray than light… but it's safe enough for our needs. I just need to activate it and…"
As he spoke, there was a low thrum… like someone strumming a guitar… and suddenly the Gate came to life; an electric blue shimmer filling the interior of the archway. A low hum filled the air and Alex swallowed nervously.
"Baby… that shouldn't have happened…"
Slowly the surface of the Gate began to ripple, like a stone thrown into water, before with a spark of light… a raven exploded out of the surface and soared up into the sky. It hovered for a moment as it looked around, then turned and glided down toward them.
Seeing what it was… Alex smiled and extended his arm. The raven landed, shook out his feathers, then turned his head toward them.
"Greetings Alexander… greetings Miss Alisa… and the young master as well."
Alex smirked. "Hello Marcus… it's good to see you."
Leaning in, Alex nuzzled the old bird's head and smiled when he gave an exasperated expression… if you can imagine such a look on a bird's face.
"Must you always do that?"
Alex grinned. "Yes… I must. It is a vital imperative that I nuzzle you at least once a decade."
Marcus rolled his eyes and cackled. "You never grow up, do you Alexander…"
Alex laughed. "Not if I can help it." He sighed and smiled. "So… grandmother decided we needed an escort?"
Marcus shook his head. "No… there are Unformed wandering the wastes. She didn't want any… mishaps. She wants you to bring your family across, then take the river path… instead of the way you were planning."
Alex frowned. "The river path? But that goes through…"
Marcus nodded. "Melisande's lands… yes, I know. She's busy at the moment and if we move quickly, we can pass through without her knowing."
Alisa looked confused. "Melisande? Who is she?"
Alex sighed. "She's the ruler of one patch of land Underhill. There is an old pact… or there was… that united her lands with those of my grandmother. Sadly grandmother doesn't like her much and when she declared that she wanted the pact enacted… when I arrived years ago… grandmother refused and there have been tensions ever sense."
Alisa frowned. "What is the pact?"
Marcus saw Alex wavering, trying to think up how to phrase things and decided to just spit it all out. "A marriage contract, of sorts. The male heir of The Morrigan shall marry Melisande Tresadere upon the date of his magical maturation and unify their two lands through the gift of offspring."
Alisa's eyes widened. "Marriage? Oh hell no… Alex belongs to me."
Alex winced as Marcus laughed. "Oh I do like you. You're just as fiery as Mistress said you were. Yes, I definitely like you."
Alisa blushed a little but was still upset. Marcus continued. "She knows… and that is why Mistress has also agreed to letting you Transfer…"
"Shadowwalking, Marcus… not Transfer. It's called Shadowwalking."
Marcus glared at Alex.
"No… it's not, you young boy. It's the elven gift of Transfer, has been for the last 20 millennia. You call it… Shadowwalking… because as a child, you were willful and wanted something that sounded dangerous. You're not so much a child anymore and you need to understand your place."
Alex winced and nodded while Alisa smirked.
"So we step through then… Transfer… to where your grandmother lives?"
Marcus ruffled his feathers. "We walk to the river, which is in a safer zone, then Transfer. If Alexander were to Transfer too close to the Gate… well, it would be bad. Now… we need to go."
Alex nodded and guided his wife and child to the shining Gate.
"Take my hand and hold on tightly. Gate travel feels… different… for each person. Thankfully Harry is asleep, so we don't have to worry about him… but you might feel discomfort, sadness, terror, giddiness, or any number of other sensations."
Marcus cawed and launched himself into the air. "Just hope you're not like that German woman who came with The Marshall a few decades ago. That was funny…"
Marcus laughed and flew into the Gate as Alisa turned to look at Alex.
"What happened to her?"
Alex blushed a bit and stepped up to the middle of the archway.
"She had a very… biological reaction… to the Gate. Very physical and embarrassing."
Alisa smirked as she thought of different possibilities.
"What… like she peed her underwear?"
Alex looked at his wife and where her mind went with that and shook his head. He began to pull her through the Gate as he laughed.
"No… not quite that. No she was so stimulated that she was orgasming the entire trip through…"
Alisa's eyes went wide in shock as she was pulled through the Gate… her shocked voice echoing in the forest as they vanished.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"