Chapter 5

The next few days Harry and Dobby spent cleaning up the building during the day, and relaxing at night. It was cathartic in a way, cleaning and sorting through the debris of the former potion lab. It had also been dangerous, as all things in the Wizarding World tended to be, age old expired potions and ingredients did not make for easy cleaning. At one stage Dobby had been rendered unconscious when he scraped the top off some dirt only for a cloud of red smoke to hit him in the face. Luckily there didn't seem to be any permanent damage.

By the third day the floor was revealed and clean enough that they had moved on to the walls. By the fifth, the building seemed well cared for if not for the holes in the roof. They had originally set up the tent just outside the structure, and once it was more clean they moved it inside, securing the ropes with large stones, to give it more protection from the hard winds off the top of the mountains.

Harry had taken the time to explore the rest of the ruin also. The buildings were little more than rubble, all of them. Whatever the fires had left over, time had clearly seen to. He had found bits and pieces of what had clearly been ornate frames, pieces of furniture and other odds and ends, even a crystal ball that had been split in half. The buildings down the road were not in any better states, husks of wood and mortar. But none of it was salvageable, all the magic from this place had gone.

It all left Harry feeling just as empty, a deep sadness and feeling of loss. His family's legacy in two years had been reduced to a vault, some empty land and a monument to everything Voldemort had cost him. The efforts of hundreds of years and wizards, destroyed by only one wizard in two years. It made a mockery of Tom Riddle's claims of protecting wizarding culture and families.

Harry had also gone into the local town where there was a hardware store and picked up cleaning equipment and tarps for the roof. He had also stopped by the local craft store, not unusual for small English towns, for various items he might use to practice rune work, such as wooden eggs, balls and other shapes. The girl at the counter had given him an odd look but Harry just shrugged as though it was explanation enough.

He had made a few more light balls but just had them float around. It was a beautiful sight, reminiscent of the Hogwarts Great Hall. The lights just floated about aimlessly in the air, like jellyfish in the ocean. Dobby often took great delight jumping up and tapping the lights, making Harry smile at his friend having fun with such innocence.

Once she arrived Hedwig also had so enjoyed chasing one around that Harry made one with a inverted follow condition, he had also made it a grey coloured light for her. As he watched it duck and dive away from her talons, he had wondered if the runes he had used were part of the enchantments of snitches. After she grew frustrated and gave him the cold shoulder he had then had to make another one for her so that he could turn off the inverted follow runes so she could eventually catch it.

It was on the fifth night that Harry was sitting out on the cliff as the sun set that he turned his mind to a problem that had been plaguing him.

There was something in the forest.

He had heard it the first night, growling, roaring and stomping through the valley. Since then he had seen some trees move and over the past few days he had heard it closer and seen something in the tree line. It seemed like whatever it was knew Harry was here, but didn't want to leave the safety of the canopy. The concern Harry had though is that whatever the green shape he had spied was, it would become braver, and might eventually become a threat. Whatever it was it needed to be dealt with when Harry was ready, not the other way around.

So he had to be prepared to enter into the forest, and for that he had been experimenting. He couldn't use his wand, so he had to dive further into runes. Dobby at the moment was fashioning some truly ramshackle armour by attaching pieces of metal to double layers of clothing, for padding, which Harry had plans for once complete.

In the meantime Harry needed a weapon of some type, so he had collected a pile of fist sized rocks. The first chapter of the standard third year runes textbook had warned very early on that poorly crafted or incorrectly arranged runes would lead to catastrophic failure. Most likely that the runes and whatever they were carved into would explode, Harry was counting on it.

He had carved in a perfect await beginning rune sequence (bida frysta) which would essentially delay the activation of the following runes for a few seconds. He then created a sequence of runes with an effectively looped meaning, once these start it should build up the magic in the stone until it explodes under the strain.

It was now time to test his intentional failure. Standing in front of a tree stump someway down the hill away from the ruins Harry nervously palmed one of the stones. With sweaty hands, conscious of all the warnings he had read, he ran his thumb quickly along the runes before quickly throwing it. Mid flight the stone exploded, though not as dramatically as he had expected. It was like something had hit it mid air and it shattered sending pieces of rock flying but little more. No fireball, no destuctive force, just a broken stone.

With a sigh he went back to the drawing board.

The next day it was time to try again, this time he had added the fire rune (bruni) into the loop...and made the delay a little longer. He threw another rock and this time it exploded with a loud bang, a flash of fire and then smoke. It wasn't a grenade or anything close to it in explosive force, but it should do.

Dobby had finished the armour too and on each piece he made a simple inscription of the harden (hardr) rune for strength, lift (lypta) rune to make it light and wearable, and protection (skaldborg) runes to tie it together with the intent of keeping him safe, within a continuous array. He had briefly considered adding an inverted harden rune for padding. However, unlike a cushioning charm, which he would have preferred to use but couldn't, it would just make the armour soft rather than actually cushion any fall, so the padding would have to do.

Looking at himself in the mirror he looked like some tin man samurai or a ramshackle knight, with scrap pieces of metal from the local recycling plant strapped to him. One of his arm guards was an old street sign! When he walked he sounded like one too, clunking and clanging all over the tent. Luckily it was all made light by the runes and was somewhat easy to move in.

He and Dobby also fashioned a metal spear by sharpening the end of a long iron pole and adding some hardening and lift runes to it also. All in all he looked both ridiculous and ready for battle.

Harry clanked down the small dirt path that trailed from the hillside, through the grass and stones of the fields and into the forest. It was time to find out what he was dealing with and hopefully make safe his new home.

The forest of Laurel's Peak held a dense and dark canopy. Unlike the Forbidden Forest's tall cold pines that Harry was used to, this place had a moist, claustrophobic feel, with shorter gnarled elms, spindly birch trees and massive oak trunks. It was deep and dark and yet almost magical in it's age.

He could hear pixies chittering to each other moving through the branches high above him as the wind swept through the leaves. Two gnomes raced through and over roots as large as they were. As Harry passed through the forest glow bugs lit up the darker recesses and, if he was remembering the Monstrous Book of Monsters correctly, he thought he spied a Gringwart Goff in a hole in a tree, its horns just poking out, waiting out the day.

Places like this forest, his forest, were what made the dangers of the wizarding world so worthwhile. They were peaceful, beautiful corners of the world where despite the ever looming troubles of Voldemort or the frustrating attentions of his fame.

The Burrow was the same, a slice of magic, a feeling of home, Hogwarts even more so. Something Harry never felt in the antiseptic confines of the Dursleys. It was like his bones, his being, was more complete in places like this, places brimming with life, with mystery and with beauty.

Harry clambered over some roots and just as he crested them a smell wafted through the trees. It was a smell that bright back many memories, of exploding sinks, flying clubs and sneaking through the third floor corridor. A troll.

There was a grunt behind him and Harry hoped that the dumb creature hadn't seen him. But as he slowly turned a low growl washed away that hopeful notion.

It was a large green creature, though not as large as the mountain troll that Quirell smuggled into Hogwarts. It was covered in green fur that looked like moss or lichen, but beneath that it's skin looked thick and coarse. The creature had eyes that were too close together, large ears and had a large mouth of crooked angry teeth. It was also holding what looked to be a small pine tree in its hands, complete with branches and needles.

Why did it have to be a troll. They could normally be relatively easily handled with a wand, but in a straight up fight they were strong, had thick hide and could use tools unlike many similarly robust magical creatures. This was not good at all.

Harry retreated a bit, hoping to put the large tree roots between them, even though it wouldn't be much of an obstacle. The troll was already stomping towards him slowly, clearly unsure what to make of the tinpot teen wizard. Taking out some stones Harry quickly ran his thumb over the runes of three of them, he had gotten better in this method of rune activation, no longer needing to trace them, just pushing his magic into the runes with a glide of his thumb. He quickly threw the stones at the troll, hoping to scare it off, it didn't work.

The stones all hit the troll, it wasn't a small target after all. One even exploded as it did so. But that was the end of it. The sudden fires startled the beast for little more than a second before it roared at its wizard assailant. The smell and heat of the beast's breath made the hair on the back of Harry's neck stand on end and he backed up, almost stumbling on some roots.

The troll charged then, closing the distance quickly, dexterously leaping across the obstacles littering the forest floor.

Harry twirled his spear in one hand and threw it at the creature like a javelin. It struck the troll in its shoulder and actually pierced it's hide but it was too late.

With a swing of its tree trunk club Harry was sent flying, colliding with the tree behind him. It felt like Mr Weasley's flying Ford Anglia had hit square on. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to not breathe too though. Trying to sit up, it also hurt to move. His head was ringing too. Were there birds like in the cartoons?

There was another roar though and he had to. Or would he just die here? The boy-who-lived squashed by a troll. It actually seemed to fit with the usually preposterous wizarding culture. Best not to be a cliché then.

"Dobby." Harry croaked. "Dobby help."

The was a crack and Harry didn't know if it was the troll or the house-elf.

"Master Harry Potter sir!" The elf squeaked in distress and master Harry Potter sir knew no more.

The next week was one of the hardest of Harry's life, which was saying something. Dobby had thankfully been able to get a few potions he had used before when treating injuries, however Harry knew most blunt force injuries wizards suffered were treated by charms. It was only later that he deeply regretted not having read up to the part of his British wizarding society book which discussed St Mungos.

He spent his birthday in bed, Dobby made him a cake that was honestly so big it was impossible to eat in his injured state. He received some kind gifts from Hagrid, rock cakes and a copy of the Monstrous Book of Monsters, Harry would have to give his copy to Ron. He did not receive anything from his friends though, not that he expected to as they were both overseas at the moment.

The potions helped, probably more than he gave them credit for as he had left the forest more bruise than wizard with likely a few broken bones. But he was up again just after his birthday passed, albeit gingerly.

The time spent laid up though was not wasted. To distract himself he set his mind to the next showdown with the troll. Now that he knew what he was dealing with it would be far easier to prepare.

Trolls are simple creatures, strong with tough skin, but not particularly bright. Magic wasn't very effective against them, so the best way to combat them was blunt force, something he had learnt very early on in his wizarding education.

Unfortunately though he couldn't levitate a club around out here or he would be expelled. So he would need to consider how else to knock the creature out.

So he hit the books again. He had already finished his third year runes textbook, the text seemed remarkably straight forward. So he moved on to some of the books he picked up at the second hand book store. One in particular, Runes or ruin, proved to be a treasure trove. The book engaged little in theory, rather focusing on the practical application of runes and then compiled something of a dictionary of runes of different types and their effects.

Eventually he decided that rocks were still his best bet and a delayed activation condition combined with a growth and heavy rune combination would do the trick. If he could make the rock sufficiently large then it would definitely help with the troll.

Unfortunately he did not get a chance to test it though. He was sitting on a rock overlooking the forest with his carving tool, putting the finishing touch on his third stone when a familiar roar peeled from the forest. He flinched at the sound and curled in on his ribs a bit in reflex, and they throbbed in response.

He was shocked though when a unicorn, pure and white and panicked, burst through the tree line. The equine creature took off away from the trees, and the great green troll, covered in mossy hair and swinging a tree club, jumped at it. Harry was surprised by how fast the beast was, being able to keep up with a unicorn, though it was losing distance now they were in open ground. The troll then suddenly changed it's tac, raising his club he threw it like a stick, sending the huge log spinning through the air at the unicorn.

The aim wasn't perfect and the unicorn suddenly changed direction, but it still caught it in the hind. The horse like creature went tumbling with a shriek of terror that cut at Harry's soul.

He moved quickly, scrambling down the rocks and running across the stone covered field which made up the gap between the cliffs where the ruins lay and the forest.

He palmed one of his new stones and quickly activated and threw it. Honed by two years of quidditch practices and pick-up games his aim was true.

Just after it left Harry's outstretched hand, the rock exploded in size, as though the spin made it larger and larger, expanding from the size of his palm to a boulder. It tumbled through the air, spinning in a way so unusual to the eye for something so large, as though it was weightless.

With an almighty thump it struck the troll before the beast even knew it was there and both went down in an explosion of dirt.

Harry scrambled down the slope to see the damage his creation had wrought. He wasn't truly sure he wanted to see the outcome though. The troll didn't deserve to die for protecting it's home. He hoped that it was mostly okay.

As Harry cautiously approached the rock and troll shifted slightly. The rock had come to rest partially on top of the troll's left arm and torso and as the troll moved it rolled off him and down the slope further till it hit another rock with a loud clack. Harry froze where he stood.

The toll sat up, rubbing it's arm and chest before it saw Harry. Two large yellow eyes blinked as it took in the wizard. Harry raised another stone slowly and activated it before dropping it. A boulder thumped to the ground beside him, causing a small tremor. The wizard then held his other hand out to show it was empty.

Quicker than its large frame suggested it should be able, the troll rolled over onto its feet and ran back into the forest. Harry released the breath he had been holding.

He turned back to where the unicorn had fallen. The horse was already back on its feet, though was standing slightly limp on it's back right leg. The creature dipped its head at Harry and moved over to the club that hit it, nudging it with its nose. Then with a huff it too trundled off back into the dense forest, disappearing faster than an almost luminous white animal should be able to.

Harry approached the club and saw instantly what the unicorn had wanted him to find. Caught in the bark of the trunk like weapon were ten golden tail hairs swaying in the wind.

It was only a few days after the altercation with the troll that Harry received his first letters from his returned friends. Harry happily replied, describing some of his holiday but declined their invitation to Diagon Alley, instead promising to meet them on the Hogwarts Express. He already had everything he needed and it would be a pain to get there anyway. He decided to only really tell them about the ruins but not about the visit to Godric's Hollow and the family histories he found there, it felt too personal and like something he should not share, even with his friends.

Responses to his letters came a few days later. Ron's response was short and to the point as usual, that he would tell him about Egypt on the Express. Hermione's was the equally typical thesis on France and a barrage of questions about the property and a birthday present in the form of a book, Charming Constructions, which was about magical house building. Harry was touched by the gesture.

Harry and Dobby spent the rest of the holiday tidying what they could around the ruins and even started on a small garden and vegetable patch. They had decided that Dobby would join him at Hogwarts but also return to Laurel's Peak to work further on the property, within his abilities. Nothing would be built in Harry's absence but Dobby could prepare for construction, work on the gardens and other maintenance.

And so, on the first of September the wizard and house-elf packed down the tent, storing it in Harry's trunk. Harry then grabbed the little house-elf's hand and they both disappeared.

I know this has taken some time and that it is shorter than the past few chapters. I honestly struggled a bit to get it out. I wasn't happy with the pacing of the troll section, I wanted to make it longer even than it ended up being, as I thought it would provide good context for Harry's accelerating skills in runes. There is also just no dialogue and yeah, I just struggled with this one. So I gave up and just went with what I had, hoping that getting it out will let me move past it and get onto more interesting chapters. Anyway, let me know what you think.