Adventure Calls for Me
Summary: Medieval Fantasy AU Harry Potter, a well-known mage, is a loner. Then he comes in contact with a brave warrior with blazing red hair and a ranger with the sharpest mind. However, Harry is being hunted and together they must save the land of Hogwarts from the tyrant Dark Lord Voldemort from taking over.
Note: No Pairings decided as of yet!
Book 1 Part 1: The Boy Who Lives to Run Away
In the small village of Hogsmeade, the people are whispering. The people whisper of a man in a cloak of brown, his eyes a brilliant green and hair as black as night. They whisper of the wind moving his hair aside to show his scar, the shape of a lightning bolt before covering it up. Words travels quickly in such a small village, Harry knows this personally.
He's sure the people are whispering of his arrival. Ever since he managed to destroy the body of the bloody Lord Voldemort, wanker extraordinaire, his name has been praised again and again. Harry wanted to scoff. Lord Voldemort is known to have seven vessels; even if he burned the main vessel the man has more who are happy and ready to murder him.
All he needs is a good drink to forget and he's good. Thankfully, the bartender didn't dither before handing him a mug of butterbeer and leaving him alone.
Harry could remember the scent of burning flesh and the brilliant flames of his village burning down. His village had been a village of wizards, people who lived with magic and knew the rules and abide by them properly. All living things were to be respected, hunted animals would have a prayer of mourning, plants flourished and all was well. They were also known for their lack of support for the Dark Lord Voldemort as he had desecrated his soul, a sacred thing to them, in order to make his eight vessels.
Harry had been eleven at that point, still learning from the village. He knew the rules of magic intimately and was hailed as a prodigy though he's treated fairly. It was on the night of All Hallows Eve when Voldemort had attacked.
Harry took a sip from his butterbeer. Today is the anniversary of his village's burning and he planning on drinking away the pain till the sun rises.
Sadly, his plan was wrecked when a man about his age came up to him. From the corner of his eyes, he can see the man is wearing heavy armour fit for an Auror. His hair the colour of red, chocolate brown eyes hardened with resolve and determination, freckles scattering his cheeks, yet the man stood firm. He sat down beside him, the armour clanking and when Harry looked for the sword he found it. Odd, what's a warrior doing in these parts?
"Is it true?" The man asked him bluntly, "Are you- are you Harry Potter?"
Ah, a fan? Harry scowled. Can't he be left alone to mourn the dead in peace? Still he nodded his head before taking gulping down the butterbeer. He might as well prepare for the eventual look of wonder and misplaced awe. What he did was a fluke!
"I…see. May I see your scar?" Ugh, great maybe if he shows his scar the warrior will leave?
As such, he looked around to see if anyone would notice him. Ah, night has fallen, lanterns are lit and the only ones here are the warrior and him as well as the bartender who is busy cleaning a glass. He might as well get this over with then, Harry thought as he pulled down his hood, allowing his hair to come free from the hood and stick all over the place. He swiped his hair to the side and revealed the ugly and horrid scar that came from when his mother's wand had been broken and struck his face. The rumours had twisted the scar to become a residue from a curse gone wrong from Lord Voldemort instead of proof that his mother had tried to protect him.
"So it truly is you. The Boy-Who-Lived, a child who had managed to escape from the grasp of one of Voldemort's vessels and actually destroyed it." Yes, thank you, stranger for reminding him of his unwanted fame.
"I'd rather you simply call me, Harry." He replied with a frown on his face. "And you are?"
The warrior perked up at the mention of his name and sheepishly replied, unaware of his darkening mood. "I am Ronald Weasley of the Weasley clan, sixth child of Arthur Weasley and proud warrior!"
Good for him then, Harry thought wryly. "And what are you here for?"
"Er, well, that would be due to the fact that I wish to accompany you." What? What's this bloke trying at?
The man, sensing his hesitance continued to speak, "You see, You-Know-Who-" Harry scowled at the name. Blasted man placed a jinx on his name to call his attention, as if he was a spirit or even worse, a god. "-had kidnapped my sister because my family had apparently slighted him seeing as my father is staying firm to his oath to serve under King Dumbledore of Hogwarts."
Ah. Weasley must believe that he's got a chance to beat Voldemort if he comes with him. Well, too bad for him because Harry is never going anywhere near that bastard or his already claimed lands.
"I apologize, Master Weasley for you see I am not accepting any companions." Harry downed the last of his butterbeer. "As such, I bid you good night and good luck on your journey to rescue your sister."
With those final words, he turns around, pulls back his hood and exits the inn. Looks like he'll have to sleep in a different place then, Harry thought. Behind him, he can hear the warrior splutter in disbelief. Well that'll teach him to believe the rumours because no matter what everyone says, he will not go on a quest to defeat Voldemort!
"Excuse me, where do you think you're going?" Ah, the Weasley had caught up to him. With a heavy sigh, Harry turned around and glared at the warrior.
"Away from you, Master Weasley," Harry replied tersely, "Now if you excuse me, I'll be off."
"But- you- you're Harry Potter shouldn't you be on a quest to defeat You-Know-Who?" Weasley asked incredulously.
Harry scratched behind his ear as he thought of what to say. "Just because I'm Harry bloody Potter does not mean I'm going on a quest to defeat the Dark Lord." He explained with a frown. "Now, good night and good bye, Master Weasley," He practically snarled as he turned away once more.
The warrior narrowed his eyes at the retreating back of the mage. He had expected that meeting to go differently but he'll simply have to convince the man somehow. Even if it means begging at his feet, he'll do anything to bring back his sister. However, with night falling, he might as well rest first. Defeated for now, the man headed back to the inn to rest.
Meanwhile, Harry slept in the much more unpopular inn that is the Hogshead. He didn't care about the smell of what, goat? Or the fact it's filthier than a bag full of rats, all he needed right then and there was some rest. As much as he'd prefer to sleep in the Three Broomsticks, he'd rather not deal with the pestering of that Weasley. Once he went through the motions of requesting a room and such, the man at the counter gave him the key and he entered his room with slight caution.
Then, because overkill is never enough, he placed a temporary ward over the room and placed down his bag before sleeping. Hopefully, he won't have to deal with Weasley looking for him again. He'd rather not have to deal with Weasley trying to persuade him to let him join him under some misguided hopes that he could work together to take down Voldemort.
The next day saw Harry wandering around town with a persistent Weasley at his heels.
The man simply could. Not. Shut. Up.
Harry had half the mind of using magic on his to make him actually incapable of speaking. As he was at the edge of the village and about to the leave, the redhead excitedly chattered about how apparently harry was allowing him to join him and that this meant they were officially a duo now. Harry turned around, at the end of his wits whirled around to face the warrior with his wand in hand, a spell at the tip of his tongue. His eyes a potent green as his magic swirled around him as a reflection of his irritation.
It's at this moment that a shadow fell upon the both of them.
"Erm, excuse me? But yeh wouldn't happen to be a-uhm, Harry Potter now ey?" The giant of a man asked, fidgeting as he did so.
Harry narrowed his eyes, "Yes and you are?" He strained to remember who this man could be. He dug as deep as he could. Yet he still doesn't remember the man, no matter how must he felt like he knew the man.
The man beamed at him, "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts castle."
Ah! Harry's eyes flashed with recognition. He remembered the man from when his family had visited the capital once for the yearly oath taking to serve King Dumbledore. He remembered sneaking out during the visit and bumping into a kind yet large man who talked with a funny accent. Hmm, still why is the grounds keeper here?
"Thank you. May I ask why you're here though?" Let it not be said that his parents did not instil manners into him.
The man rummaged through his coat, taking out keys and tea bags before finally reaching a small bag. He gave the bag to Harry, who took it regardless of what's in there. It felt…light. As if there's nothing but a feather in there. Strange, Harry though as he eyed the large man.
"That would be the philosopher's stone. Now, King Dumbledor ord'red me ter give it ta yeh an' tell yeh te give it ter the Flamels. Erm, I dunno where they are but I do know yer suppose ta keep it safe till then." Hagrid straightened up after handing the light bag. He glanced around before bending down to whisper in Harry's ear. "That ain't the real stone. The real one's on its way already. That there's a decoy that should arrive a little late."
Harry nodded his head, King's orders hmm? A side eyed glance had him balefully looking at Weasley. Damn, he might have to let the guy tag along. It's not like he knows where the Flamels are now. The warrior's looking at him with bright eyes and so damn hopeful. Harry must be getting soft or must be extremely tired because once Hagrid goes on his way to Hogsmeade, Harry sighs in defeat.
"Fine, you can come along." Weasley broke into a large grin, his eyes practically glittering with glee like dark honey in the sunlight.
"Yes!" He cheered, "You can call me Ron, seeing as we're travelling together now! Hey, can I call you Harry? Or do you prefer Master Potter? I'm alright with both."
Harry resisted the urge to groan, already regretting his decision. "Harry's fine. Now come along, the stone isn't going to deliver itself."
And so, Harry is begins his quest to return the philosopher's stone to the Flamels with a particularly enthusiastic Ron at his side. Harry gives a smug Ron a side glance. Hopefully this won't become an actual trend.
"Uhm, Harry, are you sure this is the right path to the Flamels?" Ron asked as they passed trees and vegetation.
Harry raised an unimpressed brow at Ron, "Look, number one, we don't know where the Flamels are, which means we have to ask around and chase rumours until we can actually deliver the stone,"
Ron nodded his head, his mouth making an 'O' shape as he understood what Harry meant. "So we're off to the nearest village?"
"City, actually," Harry corrected as he knocked a stray branch away from his face. "The city of Sesila is known for being a merchant village. With trade, comes plenty of things, money, foreign items and most importantly…"
Ron grinned as he understood where Harry was getting at.
"Information," They said at the same time.
Harry threw Ron a smirk, "Good, seems that you have common sense, at least."
As they made it through the dense forest that separated Hogsmeade from Sesila, Harry paused. He extended his senses outwards, the world darkening as all life became known to him. He could sense the warmth and the flame like magic that Ron had beside him, flickering in confusion but otherwise staying silent. He can sense a nearby flock of birds a few meters from them and the plant life behind them in a light shade of green. The road is now much sparser with a field of grass that blanketed the ground.
There! Harry could feel it. The city of Sesila is a place brimming with people. He winced at the bright overload of light from his magic senses. However, it looks as if the people are all avoiding an area. As he stretched his senses he realized how close they are to the area. Odd, it looks as if there are plenty of people surrounding one giant signature. The signature itself is grey and foul, with black and brown spots littering it. He recognized that sort of magic, trolls.
Harry withdrew his senses. He blinked back as he adjusted to seeing normally again.
"Harry, what's going on?" Ron asked as Harry took off in a sprint.
"There's a troll in the city. The city rangers are probably trying to subdue it. Come on, we have to help." Harry replied in a clipped manner.
They rushed over, Harry using his magic sense to track the troll, the two of them dodged people left and right. Finally, they reached the troll. Rangers surrounded the troll, shooting arrows however it wasn't effective as arrows kept bouncing off the troll. One of the rangers kept aiming to the head, but with the way it kept spinning around with its clunky wooden club, the arrows didn't miss their mark.
Ron brought out his sword and Harry, his wand. Ron approached one of the Rangers who had run out of arrows and was now throwing daggers.
"Excuse me? May I know of the situation here," Ron asked the Ranger. Something Harry is grateful for.
The Ranger turned to them, "A troll somehow got in, we're not sure how. Still, many of our people are evacuating the civilians and looking for survivors in the rubble. It would be nice if you two could help out."
"Right," Ron nodded before heading off to slice away at the feet of the troll.
Harry jerked away the club. It wouldn't do if it bashed away at the city Rangers now, hmm? As he levitated the club and brought it to its feet, Ron dodged it and watched as an arrow flew right into the eye of the troll.
It let out a scream.
Ron glanced at the club and then Harry then at the troll. Recalling the fact that Harry could levitate things, he called out, "Hey mate! Lift up the club and bash it in the head!"
Harry lift the club back up and with a flick of his wrist, the troll went down. He released his hold on the club and watched as the club fell on the troll that had fallen unconscious-or is it dead? - troll.
A Ranger approached them while their fellow Rangers cleaned up the mess.
"Hey there, I'd have to hand it to both of you. Thank you for your help." They pulled down their hood to reveal a woman with sharp intelligent brown eyes and curly brown hair that poof up the moment the hood was removed.
Ron kept staring at her, raising an eyebrow as he realized the mysterious ranger is female. Not wanting to be rude, Ron sheathed his sword and stretched out a hand in greeting. "Ron Weasley, Warrior of the Weasley clan,"
The woman promptly shook his hand, "Hermione, Ranger of Sesila," He turned to the still hooded Harry, "May I ask for your name?"
Harry sighed before replying, "Harry,"
Her eyes focused on him and took in his appearance. She's heard rumours of the Boy-Who-Lived being around in these parts. Ron grinned and slapped the back of Harry, "He's being shy-" "-I'm not being shy!" "-his real name is Harry Potter."
She nodded her head in respect, "Hello Master Potter, I must say, I am grateful for what you've done,"
"Many people are. Say, seeing as we helped you out with the troll problem there, care to tell us where the Flamels live now?" Harry probed while he crossed his arms.
Hermione smiled, "I've heard from the Beauxbatons traders that they're living on the outskirts of the Kingdom, close to the Forbidden Forest that borders Hogwarts and Beauxbatons."
"Well," Ron said in surprise, "I honestly did not expect that to happen in our very first try."
"Say, I might as well guide you, I have a map. You'll need someone who's familiar with the place and I do have to check up on them, King's Guard orders you see," She explained diligently, her lips in curled upwards in a small but cheeky smile.
Harry realized that this may become a trend. Still, it's quite funny how they're ordered by the King to go to the Flamels. Hermione didn't tell much about her strengths other than standard Ranger training and her sharp wits. At least she'll be able to help them on their quest to deliver the damn rock.
The three of them ventured through the thick forest. Hermione's navigating them towards a short cut the Rangers often use to travel between the two countries without having to deal with the hassle of bandits, wild animals and general nuisances when they have something important to do. Most of the time, these tasks include secret message relays and meeting with the Rangers of Beauxbatons in there for some such thing. Most of the time, the Rangers stationed in Sesila don't get assigned such missions by the King's Guard.
"The cave should be right in front of us," Hermione pointed out as she consulted the map. A glance at the stone at their feet with the symbol of Hogwarts showed that they were indeed on the right track.
"I don't know Hermione. All I see is forest." Ron pointed out.
"Well." Hermione smiled mysteriously at him. "It seems we are on the right track. The cave should be right in front of us. That would be out shortcut."
Ron moved aside a curtain of vines in front of them, revealing a cave entrance underneath trees and forest growth. It looked to be unassuming and simple, though terribly dark. As they stepped out from the vines and into the space in front of the cave, a dark shadow appeared in front of them.
Beetle black eyes and shoulder length black hair, is the first thing that caught their attention. The pure black clothes would be the second that caught their attention.
"Halt!" The mysterious man called out in a sneering voice.
Hermione paused, "I'm not aware of this,"
He reached to his waist and pulled out a black whip, "Fight me, if you wish to pass,"
"Well, Harry?" Ron raised an eyebrow, "Do we do as he says or turn tail and leave?"
Harry shook his head, "It's too late to turn back. We're already at the entrance of the short cut. Tell you what, we all battle him together and get past him,"
"Alright, I'll take the back, Ron's upfront and you'll be flanking him," Hermione suggested.
Together they did their best, Hermione shooting arrows whether to distract the man, or injure while Ron went melee, darting to and fro wincing at the cracking of the whip against his armour and hoping he nicked the fast man who dodged his every attack. Harry used his spells to slow the man down.
"Harry! Why aren't you attack him?" Hermione questioned as she realized he wasn't doing any offensive type of spells but simply making Ron stronger, slowing the man down and making sure her arrows stay true to their intended target.
Harry flinched, "Look, I just- I can't!"
Hermione shot another arrow and Ron danced out of the way, Harry's wand glowed as he sent an expelliarmus at the man.
"You can't win against the Dark Lord if you keep this up," The man drawled out almost lazily. His whip flew out from his hand to Harry's. However, the man merely frowned and took out throwing knives with a flick of a wrist. He tossed them at Ron and Hermione.
"Shut up! I'm not going against the Dark Lord!" Harry snarled out. He used his magic to form a barrier around his friends, the whip still held tightly in his hands. The daggers bounced harmlessly back.
"Oh?" He smirked as he began a barrage of daggers, knives flying straight for the barriers. The barriers began to crack as Harry struggled to maintain them. "This could all be over if you simply." One dagger hit, the barrier continued to break.
"Fought." Another dagger, hitting the same place as its predecessor, Harry grit his teeth as his magic strained to maintain the barrier.
"Back." A final dagger sliced through the barrier.
It shattered.
Harry yelled in pain as his magic snapped back into him. His fingers tingled as magic raced back inwards. He heaved. His head began to ache.
"Harry!" Ron yelled in concern as he moved to protect him. The warrior stood in front of their clearly injured friend whose fingers were red and raw from over exertion from trying to keep up the barrier. Hermione kept her bow trained on him as she manoeuvred herself behind Harry.
"Your people," The man began watching them with such cold disinterest, as if they weren't even worth his time, "The People of Magia, previously nomads who had settled in Hogwarts. They believed that life is sacred and must pray for any loss of life. Yes?"
Harry glared at the man before wincing in pain from the pounding in his head. How dare he?! What did he know of his people and their ways?!
"You may keep your beliefs but you're forgetting the other part of it. Death, your people also understood that death is a necessity sometimes and while they would pray for the dead and the deaths they caused, they knew it was for the balance. Don't forget that. If you want you and your friends to stay alive the moment you face against the Dark Lord then fight." The man stressed, face curled into a sneer.
"Who are you anyway?!" Ron growled out.
The man crossed his arms. "Severus Snape, you best remember that, boy."
Hermione let loose the arrow. Snape moved his hand almost lazily and the arrow was knocked away. Hermione immediately loaded another arrow, ignoring the resounding thunk that came from her arrow digging itself into a tree.
"I shall have my whip back," Snape said nonchalantly as he made a pinching motion. The whip eagerly escaped the weakened grasp of Harry and into the hands of Snape.
"The next time I see you, you better fight back."
He disappeared with a loud crack.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, pulling out a potion. "Here, this should help,"
Harry gratefully took the potion. Already after drinking it, he felt much better. His magic had settled easily after he stayed near many plants, taking bits and pieces of their magic and converting it to his own.
"Better now," Harry replied, sighing in relief his fingers came back and the pounding in his head subsided.
"You think you can stand up mate?" Ron asked, glancing at the cave.
Harry took a shuddering breath before pushing himself off the ground. He stumbled a bit but Ron quickly caught him. With the help of Ron, he stood up. Harry winced as the world began to swirl and he shook his head, blinking until the dizzying swirls disappeared.
"I-" Harry licked his lips, "I can stand now, thanks."
Together, they entered the cave.
*Markus voice* I. AM. ALIVE!
:P Yep, it's funny now that I think about it. I've always wanted to read a western fantasy-esque AU of this fandom. I mean, warriors and rangers and dark lords abound would make for a fun interpretation! I will be taking liberties for some canon divergent stuff and doing my best to write in between school, my own original works and general life stuff.
As for pairings, well, I honestly care not if the pairing is gay, straight or none! In fact, I'd like to ask for your suggestions (lol), I'll be taking the suggestions that come in from this chapter and (learn how to) set up a poll on my profile in terms of pairings. Least voted for pairings will be eliminated every update. (At least, if there's any suggestions at all!)
I hope you enjoyed reading and have a great day!