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.
Chapter 14
*** Five Years Later ***
Lightning cascaded across the slimy moss-covered rocks as Harry crouched silently in the shadow of an overhang. A look of concentration was fused to his face as he seemed to look up through the rock, tracking the half dozen people hunting him.
"Just a bit longer here and then I can slide down the side to that creek I saw. Dad said the paths met up with every flowing water here so it only makes sense that the creek would eventually lead me back to the path."
Harry waited until the ones chasing him were far enough away, then inched his way to the right and down. Moving very slowly with his head turned upward to watch them, his eyes glowing with the 'Detect Life' spell, he kept an eye on the six glowing pink outlines through the rock until he felt water touch his fingers.
Looking down at the cold water, Harry smiled then frowned.
"Okay this water is much colder than I thought it would be. I'm going to get soaked… at least until I get far enough away to dry myself off. Thankfully they can't track my magic as easily if they're too far away, so if I can make some distance from them, I should be safe."
Harry examined the flow of water, a gentle slope of rock and stream that flowed diagonally down the side of the mountain a bit before dropping into a pool.
"Okay… didn't see the waterfall part… but I can do this."
Moving carefully, Harry slid into the water and panicked for a second when it was much deeper and colder than he was expecting… the shock of the cold especially harsh on his young body.
"Oh shit… that's cold."
Harry blinked in shock and jerked his head back up the cliff face as he heard someone headed in his direction.
"Fuck… someone must have heard me. I need to move!"
Taking a deep breath, Harry pushed off into the water and let the movement carry him over the edge and down the slope. Tilting his head back to lessen resistance, Harry held his breath as water flowed over his head… but kept his eyes above water so he could judge where he was going.
The cold water moved quickly and the smooth rocks beneath him were covered in moss and slime, making his movements that much faster. Soon he was much further away and down the mountain, the ones following him left behind at the top.
Harry could see the creek turned a bit and the angle increased as it approached the waterfall. As his speed increased, Harry braced himself and lifted his head high enough to get another deep breath of air… before he was airborne, launched over the edge of the waterfall and momentarily weightless before plummeting down to the pool below.
As Harry hit the water, the force of impact made his whole body ache as he sank like a stone to the bottom. Staying there a moment, Harry held his breath and looked up at the surface of the water… waiting in case someone heard the splash. He watched the ripples his dive made dissipate until the surface was smooth once more, then slowly crawled along the bottom toward the edge of the pool.
As he floated up toward the surface, Harry's eyes scanned in all directions, looking for anyone who might be nearby. Thankfully, so far at least, he couldn't see anyone. Harry's head broke the surface of the water and he took a slow breath, controlling his breathing as best he could.
Moving in a 360, Harry scanned the treeline and smiled at how quiet it was.
"I think I lost them…"
Climbing out of the pool, Harry moved into the trees and waved his right hand down his body, drying himself with magic. A warm red glow enveloped his hand as he used mild fire magic to evaporate the water.
"This should be mild enough to not be noticed. I could use a heated wind charm, but that one is much louder to those who are watching me. Like grandmother always says… 'Why scream with your magic when a whisper will do the same.'"
Not completely dry, but at least warm enough to not leave a water trail, Harry moved slowly through the trees until he finally saw what he was looking for; the pale golden of the path.
"Found it."
Grinning in triumph, Harry did another quick look around before darting forward toward the path. As he reached its edge, he felt the tingle of the barrier ward across his skin for a second before the welcoming warmth of the path infused him with hope.
"Made it. I'm back on the path and I'm safe for at least a few minutes… the wards will give me that much time to get to safety… though everyone watching now knows I'm back on one of the paths. Stupid alarm spells…"
Harry shook his head and ran full speed down the path. He needed to make up some time and distance from where he entered before those chasing him caught up. As long as he was on the path, he was… well, safer than in the woods itself. He kept thinking about the advice his Dad gave him before he started all this.
Sunburst Pavilion – Three Days Before
Harry looked at the large map on the wall and frowned at how big everything was. There were miles and miles of paths swirling their way through an even bigger forest that looked to be surrounded by mountains to the north, an ocean to the south and west and what looked like a desert to the east.
"I can't believe you did this yourself, Dad. This looks insane."
Alex smiled and played with Harry's hair.
"This is just the most basic of the Trials, Harry. I got pushed into the more deadly version, something we're not mentioning to your mother. She doesn't need to know there is a more deadly version of this. It was hard enough to convince her to let you do this one."
Harry looked up at his Dad and saw the proud smile and happy glow in his eyes. His eyes were their normal blue color, so he knew it was Dad this time and not Father; Father has silver eyes… and seeing those right now would just be weird.
"So these paths… I just follow them from one side to the other and I'm good?"
Alex shook his head.
"No… the paths are a somewhat safe zone, but you can't just stay on them. You see, you're going to be chased by a few dozen elven hunters. They can track your movements and your magic. Every time you use magic, you show up to them and they can track you down."
Harry frowned, confused. Alex smiled and chewed on his lip.
"Radar… do you remember that movie we saw a year ago… how the submarine uses Radar to send out sound waves and those waves bounce off things and come back to the ship… and when that happens, the people inside the submarine can know what's ahead of them."
Harry nodded, understanding.
"So the hunters do something like that, but with magic?"
Alex nodded.
"Exactly. Every time you use your magic, it's like a stone thrown into a lake… the ripples move out and they can see and feel these ripples, then follow them back to you. The more magic you use, the bigger and louder the trace."
Harry frowned. That would mean he couldn't use his magic during this… or maybe.
"So if I do big spells or use a lot of magic… it's like someone screaming; but if I do little bits of magic, it's more like a whisper?"
Alex grinned and ruffled Harry's hair.
"Exactly! I'm so glad you got that… and this brings us back to the paths. The paths are a semi safe zone because they're surrounded by a ward…"
Harry's eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh… and grandmother says every time you touch a ward, it alerts the ones who set it, so they know someone is there. So when I get on or off the path… it's going to let them know where I am."
Alex nodded.
"Exactly. You can use the paths for short distances… but so can the hunters. Once you're both on the path… unless you can get to safety, you're screwed."
Harry chewed on his lip as he thought.
"So only get on the path if it's an emergency… don't stay on it for too long… and run like someone's trying to kill me the whole time I'm on it. Also, probably hopping on and off is bad too because it would make ripples each time… so maybe…"
Harry looked down at his hands as they began to glow a dull gray. Alex looked down and smiled.
"Your bomb spell… yes, that might work. Drop the bomb as you're running and time your escape from the path to happen at the same time the bomb explodes. The ripples from the bomb will be bigger than those of the ward and you should be able to slip by without anyone noticing…"
Testing Grounds – Back on the path
Running full out, Harry went over the memory of the conversation in his mind as he made up time and distance. Thankfully he got lucky with this path, it was one of the more straight ones and it would get him closer to his destination… the monument on the border of the desert and ocean sides of the grounds.
He'd been dropped in the mountains, supposedly random they said, and told to move to the monument on the exact opposite side. Harry had tried to go in a straight line but the terrain was hard to follow and he wandered in a circle his first day there.
His second day was more chaos than anything. He was found by the hunters and had to fight his way out, getting injured multiple times, before finally managing to make it almost to the forest below. Day three dawned with him hiding in a cave and then finally finding the way down… to where he is now.
"Okay… I moved mostly south when I was on the mountains and east a bit. This path seems to be going south by southeast so I think I can run for an hour or so before I should hop off maybe? I don't know."
Harry ran full out, his feet glowing light blue as he directed a small trickle of magic into his muscles to let him keep running without getting as tired as he would normally. He took a look over his shoulder to see if anyone was following him yet and saw that the path behind him was growing darker.
"Shit! Someone's on the path. Why didn't I notice them?"
Looking ahead, Harry saw a break in the treeline and what looked like water… maybe… in the distance. This was his break.
"Gotta time this right…"
Pouring magic into his hands, Harry pooled his magic into a timed bomb and pumped enough magic into it to give him a ten second delay before it went off. Glancing back one more time, he thought he saw something in the shadows on the path… but wasn't sure.
Releasing the bomb, Harry started counting.
"Ten… nine… eight…"
Harry pushed harder and prepared himself to jump off the path.
"… five… four… three…"
Moving to the edge of the path, Harry grit his teeth and jumped just as he heard the explosion behind him. As he passed through the ward, Harry winced at the tingle and took off full speed toward the flash of water he'd seen through the trees.
"Might be the ocean… might just be another stream or a lake… or it might just be illusion. All I know is it's my best shot right now."
Harry looked back at the path as he ran… then jerked his head back around as he felt magic directly in front of him. Headed his way was one of the hunters. It was that woman with the scar over her left eyelid… the one who really hated him for some reason.
"Not some reason… you know why she hates you."
Harry winced and dove under the flaming black fireball thrown his way. He threw one back at her, a smaller bright yellow fireball not nearly as powerful as hers, and tried to find cover.
"I'm going to destroy you… you little piece of shit!"
Harry tripped over a tree root and rolled painfully across the ground, just barely missing a neon green blast that killed the foliage around him.
"She's using lethal spells… she's using lethal! Dad said they wouldn't do that. What's going on?!"
Harry looked back at her as he rolled to his feet and fired three silvery spear blasts at her. She avoided them easily, a look of insane rage on her face.
"She's lost her mind… or someone told her to kill me…"
Harry threw another fireball with one hand as he readied another bomb. The fireball wasn't as powerful as the previous one and she just batted it aside, laughing manically. Harry kept running and avoiding things as best he could, but several spells hit his legs and spine.
It felt like lightning crawling across his skin in some places, fire burning him to the bone in others, or insects crawling under his skin as they ate his flesh. He knew it had to all be in his mind. He wasn't really feeling those things, but they all hurt just the same.
Once the bomb was ready, Harry darted to the side and double backed toward her. Running right at her, he threw it at her face and quickly fired five more silvery spears as the bomb exploded.
She shielded herself against the bomb, but the explosion blocked her vision so much she failed to see the spears until it was too late. At close range, they hit her hard enough to break through her armor and the flesh underneath… turning her into a pincushion.
Crying out in pain, she fell to the ground with three spears sticking out of her chest, one in her hip and another through her shoulder. Harry threw one more as he turned and ran, barely missing her head as he left her behind.
"Oh god… oh god… oh god… I killed her…"
Terror filled Harry's mind as he ran full out; knowing that much magic would show up like a nuclear explosion to the other hunters.
"I killed her… but she was trying to kill me… it was self defense… right?"
Harry felt his cheeks grow wet and realized he was crying. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he kept going.
"She started it… not me, she started it…"
Shaking his head, Harry focused himself and blinked away the tears. He needed to snap out of it and get this over with.
"Worry about it later. I need to get out of here…"
Harry kept running and soon found himself on a sandy beach next to the ocean. He'd found the southern border.
"Made it… now to turn east and hope it's not too far."
Harry sprinted to the east and pumped more magic into his feet.
"They already know where I am… might as well just go for it."
Determined now, Harry went full out and called up his armor. Silvery blue scales of metal formed out of the air around him, encasing his body in almost skin tight armor. Moving like water, it flowed up his body from his feet to his head, forming a sealed full helmet with only his glowing emerald eyes showing.
"At least with this, I can take their attacks easier. If this armor can take the flame of a dragon… then their magic should be a snap."
Running down the beach in his armor, his thoughts drifted back to Princess Esmeralda and how he accidentally rescued her from a dragon while vising her parents a year earlier. He hadn't known that the shiny bracelet he'd found was magic armor… or that there was a dragon invading… or that the much older girl he stumbled upon was a princess.
He was just trying to stay alive… much like now. He had no idea that, back in the Wizarding World… a creative author had, accidentally, written a children's story that almost exactly matched the entire event. Harry Potter and the Daring Damsel in Distress. If only they knew it was all real...
"I really need to write her a letter and see how she's doing."
Harry jumped over a piece of driftwood and heard shouting far behind him. Not daring to look back, he just kept going and saw what looked like a giant white marble pillar in the distance.
"That has to be it…"
Pushing himself onward, Harry poured on the magic and soon could feel the wind whipping past him as the pillar grew closer and closer… until suddenly he burst into the area and light filled his eyes…
Infirmary – some time later
Harry opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times to clear his vision. He could see white walls, hanging lights and could feel people around him… but on the other side of the room. Lifting his head slowly, he noticed he was naked except for his underwear. There were creams on his arms and legs and he could see a few new scars.
Turning his head to the left, he could see one of the Healers talking to his dad and mum… and boy, did mum look mad. He could see their lips moving, but there was no sound.
"Am I deaf?!"
Harry panicked for a second then noticed he could hear his own breathing… so they must be behind a silencing spell of some sort. Calming down, he tried to sit up. This caught their attention and soon he heard their conversation.
"… awake so we can discuss this later."
The Healer and his parents walked over and he was engulfed in a tight hug from his mum.
"Thank goodness you're okay…"
Harry winced at the strength of the hug, but didn't say anything. He knew when mum got like this, she needed it.
"Am I okay?"
The Healer nodded.
"You are now. You were in bad shape when you were brought in here and it took your father to get you out of that armor so I could fix things."
Harry looked at his dad and saw the bracelet in his hands. Alex smiled and handed it back. Taking it, Harry grinned when it snapped back into place around his right wrist… then sank into the skin.
"That creeps me out so much to see it do that…"
Harry looked at his mum and smiled, then turned to look at his dad.
"There at the end… one of the hunters… that lady with the eye scar, she went crazy or something and I…"
Alex shook his head.
"You didn't kill her Harry… she's fine… and she's going to be punished for breaking the rules."
Harry sighed with relief then shook his head.
"She was so angry and when she tried to kill me…"
There was the sound of a cleared voice near the door that drew everyone's attention. Standing in the doorway was an elven man in shining silver armor. He moved into the room and nodded in greeting.
"She has been dealt with. She won't harm you again in the future."
He looked at Alex then back at Harry and chuckled.
"Like father, like son… both went through the Trials and both of you had someone cheat and try to kill you. Makes me wonder what will happen when your siblings get their turn…"
Alisa spun around, her face enraged.
"Evan and Maria will not be facing these Trials… not if I have anything to say about it. You'll do this over my dead body."
Alex reached out and pulled her into an embrace.
"Shhh… sweetheart, it's okay. They won't have to do what Harry did."
Harry watched his parents and frowned. He could understand mum's worry, but why didn't his brother and sister have to do it too?
"Why not? Grandmother is watching them while we're here but why don't they have to do this too?"
Alisa looked at her son, ready to give an angry answer, then saw the hurt confusion on his face.
"Darling… Harry… you're special. You have…"
The armored man moved closer.
"You have a destiny, son. You are special when it comes to magic in your family… same as your father. You were both born to do something great… to defend the helpless and stop some unknown evil. In your father's case… he was born to kill the demonic and defend the worlds from their infestation. In yours… who knows, but there is some talk back on the human plane that you might be connected to those so called Dark Lords. You killed one once and they consider you a savior. Whose to say you won't need to do it again."
Alisa growled at the man again.
"You're not turning my son into a weapon!"
Alex frowned.
"He already is one, love… same as I am. I've been a weapon since I was ten. I tried to stop and ignore it once and so many people died. This isn't something you can just ignore. You do that… and you condemn yourself to something horrible."
Harry listed to his parents and thought about his life so far. This being a weapon… thing… made sense. It explained why things happened the way they did… why he was so strong… why magic was so easy for him.
"It makes sense."
Everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at Harry.
"It makes sense if you stop and think about it. Everything that has happened to me, everything I've gone through. Why else would it have happened? Also... why is magic so easy for me? Grandmother says I'm learning it easier than I should. My control is crazy for someone my age… I mean, I'm only seven but grandmother says I have the control, already, of a teenager or older."
Alex and Alisa looked at each other and sighed.
"You're right… you're all right, I know, but I don't have to like it."
Alisa pulled Harry into a hug.
"You may have to do this, Harry, but your brother and sister don't… and I don't want them to ever go through what you just did."
Harry sighed and nodded against his mum.
"Okay… I can understand that… but how do you think they'll feel about it? They already see my training with grandmother and get upset when you won't let them join in."
Alex frowned.
"I'll try to explain things to them. Maria is only three and Evan is just barely a year older at four. They're still too young to really understand."
Alisa frowned herself and slid her hand down to her belly.
"We'll both try… with them and with your new brother or sister to be as well. We'll give them the choice… when they're old enough to understand."
Harry smiled and nodded then reached out to rub his mum's belly. As he touched her, he could feel something deep inside her and smiled.
"She… it's a girl."
Everyone looked at Harry in shock and the Healer moved closer to examine Alisa. A few hand movements and the Healer nodded in surprise.
"He's right… you are with a female child. I'd say almost five months along."
The Healer turned to look at Harry.
"How did you know?"
Harry shrugged.
"It's just something new with my magic lately. I can feel the difference in people's magic, even if I can't see them. Male or female… both feel different. Same as with human, elven or anything else. Everyone feels… different… in my head."
The Healer smiled and nodded.
"Interesting… I'd love to talk to you again when you're older. This is fascinating… but I'm sure you'd rather go home than sit here. You're perfectly fine to leave whenever you like."
Alex smiled at that.
"Thank you. We'll be heading home then."
Alisa handed Harry some new clothes and he pulled them on.
"The clothes you came in here in were terrible so I just got you new ones instead."
Harry nodded as he pulled his shoes on then turned to the armored man.
"Thank you for helping calm my mum down. Do you need me to do anything?"
The man shook his head.
"No… I just wanted to see you for myself. I'd heard so much about you, I just wanted to see if they were right… and they were."
Harry looked confused.
"They? They who?"
The man laughed.
"The Council of Elders…"
Alex's eyes widened at hearing that while Harry just smiled.
"Why do they want you to see me?"
The man grinned.
"Because they want me to train you… but I needed to see for myself if you were worth it, if you were worth my time and effort… and you are."
Harry nodded.
"Why you? I don't mean to sound rude but I don't even know your name."
The man laughed loudly, his voice booming in the room.
"Ah pardon me… I did forget to introduce myself, although I believe your father might already know my identity. I am Nuada Silverhand, Knight of the Realm… and I will be your instructor in the ways of becoming a grand elven warrior mage."