Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no profit

Acknowledgments: Rpeh on the beta work.

Chapter Six

Harry felt the disorientation of magical travel surround him. Everything shifted as he felt himself being pulled further and further away from London. It continued for what felt like an eternity but could have only been a few moments. And then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. He fell to one knee as his head tried to get his thoughts in order.

He closed his eyes and waited until the spinning stopped. It took a few moments for him to steady himself as he fought off the urge to vomit. He didn't remember their previous attempts being so disorienting, but both times he'd been expecting it.

When he managed to climb back to his feet and look around, the world he saw was like nothing he'd ever seen before. Painted marble statues lined the street he stood on, interwoven between large buildings with red roofs. The people that walked by him, many of whom gave him a weird look and spoke a language he didn't understand, dressed in ways he'd only seen in history books. And even then, the images he remembered were a little off compared to what he saw before him. Harry glanced around, his eyes looking left and right, up and down the street.

It only took him a couple of seconds to realize where he was. Or at least what everything looked like. Everything reminded him of art in an old primary school textbook. Except this time there wasn't a volcano. He scanned the horizon, seeing a mountain range off in the distance. He raised his brows and continued to look around, his mind racing with anything he should attempt to do.

He knew he needed to find shelter of some sort, anywhere to stay, anyone he knew. He paused at that and spun around. Anyone he knew? How in the world would he know anyone here? He scanned the area for the portal that brought him, but he couldn't find any sign of it. He felt like he should be panicking, that this was all too much.

But then something clicked in his head. There was one way he'd been able to find someone. It was still new to him, sure. But it had worked so well back in London. And, well, it was worth a try.

He closed his eyes and focused himself. Nothing popped up in his head, no red blip, no warmth, no feeling of anything. No, all that was there was the same cold blackness of his own mind. He frowned and opened his eyes again.

He wondered what that could mean. The obvious answer was that she wasn't there. But they were supposed to be linked through the portals. Or at least that had been his first thought about the situation. He'd assumed it was something they were in together. And now there seemed to be no link. Of course, something could have happened to her. Could she be dead? That seemed like an unlikely scenario. But it would explain why he couldn't sense her.

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes once more, trying again. This time he focused, losing himself in his own mind, searching around in his mind as he tried to catch anything. But there was nothing.

He frowned as he opened his eyes and looked around. For a second everything seemed to spin and he wondered how he'd managed to make himself so dizzy. But a few seconds of leaning against a wall straightened everything out and he figured he was fine.

He moved through the street, looking for anything that drew his eyes. Oddly, parts of it reminded him of London, even though the dress was wrong. People milled in public areas, barkers yelled out in a language he didn't understand, and kids ran by without much of a care. There was a familiarity to the humanity of it all. He almost forgot that his clothing made him stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone gave him a rather wide berth.

Eventually he found himself in a large open area. All sorts of commerce occurred around him. But he had no real idea what any of it was. But something about the area made him feel slightly more comfortable than the streets of the town. He found a shady area and continued to observe. He drew a couple of glances from annoyed shopkeepers nearby but they didn't comment on his presence. Or at least he didn't understand it if they did. He did his best to fade into the background as he closed his eyes once again.

This time he tried to sense anything rather than looking for one specific person. He looked specifically for magic. If he could find magic in any organized way he knew he'd have a better chance of being believed, if he had to talk to anyone. Of course he could attempt to wow the locals if it came to that, but something told him that wasn't a good idea.

There was some magic in the area. He could tell that much. But there was nothing massive, nothing organized. And he couldn't feel anything that was even on his level. Which made him feel supremely arrogant for a moment. He turned toward what he could sense before he opened his eyes. What he could sense appeared to lead out of the town.

He focused his attention back on the market and looked around, watching as a man exchanged coins for a sack of something. He didn't know what was in the sack, or what the currency was, but he expected that he'd need to figure that out fairly rapidly if he didn't want to sleep in the street.

Or, he thought, he could just con his way into a bed with magic. It wouldn't be that difficult and it wasn't like the ministry was there to chastise him for it. At least he had no idea if there was some magical form of governance in Ancient Rome.

He left his shady area and paced the forum for a few moments before he leaned against a marble column and peered around, checking to see if anyone was looking at him. When he figured he was in the clear he drew his wand from his pocket and pointed it at some loose coins on a nearby stall. The floated over to him and he grabbed them with his free hand. He examined them closely, trying to place the profile on it but it only took him a minute to decide that he wasn't going to be able to come up with anything based on an odd nose and a laurel.

Still, he pocked the coins, feeling oddly indifferent about the thievery, as he continued to look around the forum. Nothing stuck out. But he still had a feeling that he should stay here. But he had no real reasoning as to why he should.

He closed his eyes once more, still curious about his lack of his new sense. Wondering if he'd imagined most of it in London. But he still couldn't feel anything there. He frowned and closed his eyes harder, trying not to make fun of himself for thinking that. He focused more and more, feeling like he had to look utterly constipated.

The only thing more ridiculous was the fact that it worked. He felt a faint blip off on the furthest corner of his mind. It was so surprising that he immediately opened his eyes and looked in that direction. Obviously, he couldn't see anything and the blip faded immediately. He shook his head doing his best to not curse himself for his own stupidity.

He closed his eyes once more, focusing in the direction of the blip. At first there was nothing. He took a deep breath and tried to focus even harder on where he thought it was. It took a few minutes but eventually he felt it.

The power was different than he'd felt in London. It seemed similar. It had the same qualities to it, but in London it felt restrained, here it was unbridled and massive. Once he felt it he had no idea how he'd missed it. He turned his focus to it and he felt himself move in his mind.

It was an odd feeling. He could tell his legs weren't moving. He could feel that he wasn't moving. But in his mind he felt his surroundings shift around him, he could see land and water pass and as he flew.

In moments his attention was on an island and a familiar villa. A woman kneeled in the garden, tilling at the soil, pulling out some type of root. She had red hair and a wore a golden peplos that was stained in various places with dirt. As he approached he hit a vortex of magic. She looked up and directly at where he would have been had he existed and he felt the swirl of magic hit him, and then he felt his head crack against the pillar and he slumped down against it as everything flashed black.

Blood flowed freely from his nose when he snapped back to. He wiped it with the back of his hand and wondered why he hadn't bothered learning anything that would heal minor injuries while preparing for the tournament. He sighed and conjured a tissue and held it against his nose.

A man gasped and turned to run away from him and Harry cursed himself for using magic in public. He debated going after the man but decided against it as a few other people looked in their direction. Most notably, though, was a tall man with dark hair. Two women were with him, a mousy brunette and a tired looking red-head. Neither seemed to be dressed well but he recognized the man almost immediately.

Except he couldn't have recognized the man. That made no sense. A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind as he started to move through the crowds and toward the man. He had no real reason to help him, and honestly Harry had no idea if he could trust him. But he recognized him! And he knew there was little chance of that happening with everyone else.

"Seth!" he yelled as he attempted to push through the crowd. The man stopped and turned, his brows raised. His eyes scanned the area before settling on Harry. He looked curious, but there was no recognition in his eyes. Harry assumed his outfit stood out enough against the crowd to be of note. When he finally spoke, he spoke in a language Harry didn't understand.

That was a problem. Harry frowned and stared back at the older man. He opened his mouth to reply but closed it as he figured it would do no good. He tried to recall some of the Greek phrases Emily and Cassandra had taught him. But in his haze none of them came to the front of his mind. He wondered if the Greek he knew was even remotely near the Greek of whenever he was.

"Quis es?" Seth asked, peering over at him.

"Fuck," Harry said. Seth raised his brows and started to walk over toward him. The two girls stayed cautiously behind him, almost as if they knew nothing bad could happen to them as long as he was in front. Seth held up a hand and Harry felt the magic radiate from the other man's fingers, growing more and more in each instant, until it dwarfed whatever he'd felt on the island. They stared for a moment before Harry nodded.

Seth brought his hand toward his head and then a searing pain shot through his mind. He screamed and fell down to his knees as everything, sight, smell, taste, flashed bright red and metallic. It took him a few moments to compose himself and climb back to his feet. He looked around, half expecting to find a crowd of spectators, but no one stood in their vicinity. Well, excluding the two girls now hiding behind a bored looking Seth.

"Sorry," Seth said in perfect English. "I forgot that hurts."

"You could have just said hi in English," Harry scoffed.

"That would have been difficult since I didn't speak it a few minutes ago," Seth said. He paused for a moment before adding. "And this borrowed vocabulary seems limited."

"You spoke it when we met," Harry retorted, ignoring the barb.

"And when was that?" Seth asked.

"I'm not sure," Harry admitted, frowning down at the ground.

"Helpful," Seth said. Harry brought his gaze up to the older man, his thoughts seeming oddly muddled. Names, places, and people didn't seem to be lining up correctly. Seth turned and started to walk away. Had it really only been a few days since he'd seen the man on the island? Yet it felt so much longer. But one event from that did stick out in his head.

"You kidnapped Circe!" he said. Seth turned back and looked at him with brows raised.

"Now that is not common knowledge," he said.

"I was there," Harry said.

"No," Seth responded. "You weren't."

"After," Harry said. "She and I…" and he frowned at his own words, knowing full well they made no sense. Seth kept his eyes level on him and then asked again.

"When are you from?" he said. He remembered Circe asking a similar question.

"Nineteen ninety-six," Harry said.

"I took Circe from that island about two thousand years ago, not two thousand years in the future," Seth said. He kept his eyes locked on Harry. Harry thought he could see the wheels spinning in his head. He felt magic flare around the other man. But only for the briefest of moments before it faded away. "And I suspect I'll have drunk myself to death by then."

"Well I'm not sure when you were when I saw you, but you gave us keys to a home in London because a portal was leading there. You said you liked visiting her island," Harry said.

"London?" Seth raised his eyebrows. Harry paused and stared at the man for a few moments, confusion evident on both their faces.

"It's a city," Harry said. "In Britain."

"Really? They've put more than tiny settlements there? I should pay more attention," Seth looked intrigued.

"Yes, really," Harry said. "Where am I anyway?"

"Surrentum," Seth said.

"Wow," Harry said. One of the girls with him, the one with red hair and hazel eyes said something in Latin but Seth waved her off. Both the girls pouted and looked rather petulant as Seth stared at Harry.

"Let me get this straight, though," Seth said. "You went through a portal that took you to whatever that London is. And then another one that took you here?"

"Yes, it was the nineteen thirties in London and here it's….I don't even know," Harry said.

"The fifth year of Emperor Domitian," Seth said.

"Emperor Domitian…?" Harry blinked.

"Yeah, he's a bit of a prick," Seth shrugged. "I liked his brother more."

"That's…like…" Harry blinked.

"Weirdly, too, despite knowing no magic that could create portals that hurtle you through time, I believe your story," Seth said, running a hand through his hair.

"Really?" Harry said again. It never really occurred to him that the other man wouldn't believe him. Yet he found his approval to be reassuring.

"Yes. But mostly because you look like you need a drink. And because this language is awful," Seth made a face as he spoke. As if the words pained him.

"I know some Greek," Harry said. But Seth waved a hand at him and again, he fell to his knees with a jolt of searing red pain shooting through his brain once more. He fought the urge to stay down and curl into the fetal position.

"And now you know some Latin," Seth said. It took Harry a few moments to register that the words weren't English. And a few more moments for his brain to differentiate between the languages in his head.

"Are you ever going to say something before doing that?" Harry groaned.

"No," Seth said.

"What was that anyway?" Harry asked. The words flowed smoothly off his tongue but it still all felt choppy to him in his head.

"Magic," Seth shrugged. "You seem to possess some skill, it shouldn't be that alarming that others possess quite a bit more."

"I'm tired," the red-head whined. "You made us walk all day."

"Oh, come on now, Renata, some fresh air never killed anyone," Seth smiled at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him. The annoyed expression on her face felt oddly familiar.

"It was fun," the mousy brunette said, her voice barely over a whisper. Seth smiled warmly at her as Renata glared.

"Thank you, Elena," he said. She nodded and quickly looked away from both men. Seth turned his attention back to Harry. "I take it you have nowhere to stay?"

"I don't," Harry admitted. Renata glared and started stalking off.

"Well, lucky for you I don't live far from here," Seth said. "And your story about Circe intrigues me."

"Well, I'll tell you all about it," Harry said.

"I know you will," Seth said. He turned and started walking after Renata, Elena followed him. Harry figured the best thing he could do was follow. He walked mostly in step with Elena, who did her bet to not look at him, or acknowledge his presence as they moved. They didn't talk until they entered a villa. The girls stalked off as Seth waved his hand and the door closed behind him.

"You can just do magic openly? Are they witches?" Harry asked.

"No. They know better," Seth said. Harry frowned and felt like he wasn't going to get more out of him there so he decided to be polite.

"Thanks for letting me stay," Harry said, unsure of what else there was to say. Seth waved a hand at him as if it wasn't a very big deal. He wandered into the villa, peering after the girls as he stepped into an atrium. Harry figured the best course of action was to follow. Seth showed him to a room. The bed looked normal enough. A mound of fur blankets rested beneath some pillows.

"You can take this one. You look like you could use some rest. I'll interrogate you in the morning," Seth said.

"Should I be concerned?" Harry asked.

"We'll find out in the morning," Seth shrugged. "Brunette or redhead?"

"What?" Harry blinked in confusion.

"You're right. Stupid questions. I'll take the redhead," Seth said. A few pitchers floated into the room and landed next to the bedside table. Seth waved his hand again and a wall melted into a doorway. "There's a bath through there if you need to relax."

"Thanks," Harry said watching the magic create the aforementioned room. Seth nodded as a chunk of bread landed next to the pitchers as well. After, he turned and left. Harry watched him go, finding the entire situation odd. He closed his eyes to try to feel out Seth's power, but, unlike any other form of magic he'd encountered of late, he felt absolutely nothing.

His stomach rumbling was the cue that thinking about it wouldn't get him anywhere in his current state. He took a chunk of the bread and ate it slowly before moving to the bathroom. A sunken marble tub filled at least half of the room. There didn't seem to be any way to fill it, but he was also a wizard. So, he summoned water and heated it with a wave of his wand before peeling off his clothing.

He relaxed into the bath, closing his eyes as the water washed over his body. He felt her for a moment, a brief blip on his mind. But it wasn't her, or, his her, or something. There were subtle differences he thought he noticed as he tried to focus again on the feeling that was both in his head and thousands of miles away. And then, almost instantly, she vanished from his thoughts, like she was preventing any further connection.

He wondered if he should go looking for her. Except it wasn't his version of her. Seth's presence reminded him of that. Unless the other man was lying to him, it seemed fairly clear that he wasn't, then she wouldn't have a clue who he was. And if the myths were true in the least, that was likely to end poorly for him.

And frankly, he wasn't sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life as a pig or a fox then. The thought made him gag slightly. Which, for some reason, made him oddly hungry. He summoned the remainder of the bread from his room and finished it.

He zoned out then, letting his body relax in the water as he cleared his mind. His thoughts lingered on things he missed. Which, to his surprise, focused more on a certain Greek island and butcher, than Hogwarts and his old life. The realization sent a pang through his chest and he knew he was in for a long night of feeling sorry for what he'd lost.

The sound of soft footsteps lulled him back to reality. He refocused his eyes and looked toward the entry of the bathroom. The mousy brunette from earlier, Elena, stood a few feet away from the bath. She'd changed into a thin shift and let her hair down. She was carrying a plate of fruits, which she put down near the edge of the tub. She shrugged the shift off of her shoulders, letting it pool around her feet. Harry raised his brows at her but she said nothing.

She stood at the edge of the water, the candle light flickering off of her tanned skin. Her dark eyes looked at him questioningly, as if she were looking for permission. Harry let his eyes trail over her. His gaze taking in every inch of her. She said nothing and eventually he nodded. She nodded back and picked up a small cloth near the edge of the tub and waded into the water.

Once she reached him she started to wash him, gently, leaning close to him as she scrubbed the grime from his body. She worked slowly, quietly, inspecting him as she did. And her touch felt wonderful so Harry did the only thing he could, he relaxed and let her.

She took her time, rubbing him down with some sort of scented oils and then sliding the cloth over every inch of his body. He kept his eyes closed, his thoughts drifting to when he'd bathed with Cassandra in a much smaller tub. Although that had been her resting against him as they both dozed off. Still, he couldn't help but think he'd have enjoyed this more if Cassandra switched places with the brunette.

When she finished, she placed the cloth down next to him and slipped into his lap. Her weight pressing against him spurred his eyes open. She leaned her body against his, her chest pressing to his as she reached around him for the platter she'd brought in.

She pressed a slice of peach against his lips until he ate it. His tongue dancing over her fingers as she pressed it into his mouth. She brought them to her own lips, peering at him as she licked them before turning her attention back to the platter. She picked up some grapes and fed herself before offering the last one to him. He ate it slowly, savoring the taste of the fresh fruit in his mouth.

"Thanks," he said softly.

"You're welcome," she responded. Her voice was quiet barely audible even in the small room. "Apple or fig?"

"Apple," Harry said. She nodded and leaned against him again, her chest pressing hard to his body. She grabbed a few slices of apple and held one slice up against his lips. He bit off half of it and watched as she leaned forward to eat the other half of it.

The dance continued through the cherries, figs, peaches and finally a honeyed cake. She kept her body against his the entire time, rubbing against him, grinding against him, pressing to him. Sometimes when she'd feed him she'd slide an arm around his neck and wiggle in his lap.

Harry let himself enjoy it, not sure what else he was supposed to do with a pretty, and seemingly willing girl perched naked in his lap. So, he let her treat him like a king. When the platter was finally empty she let her body slouch against his. He peered down at her as she did, letting his hands slide to her body for the first time. He slid them into her wet hair and she leaned back to look at him, as if she expected him to pull on her hair to make her.

And then he kissed her. She didn't protest. Quite the opposite, she kissed him back. At some point he lifted her out of the tub. In his mind he carried her gallantly back to the bedroom and had his way with her. In actuality, he slipped on the wet ground and nearly dropped her. But she giggled at him and took his hand and led him back to the bedroom.

She slipped from him and tossed herself down onto the furred blankets. She spread her legs and peered up at him through lidded eyes. And that was all the encouragement he needed.

Everything seemed slower than with Cassandra. Through it all there was a lingering sense that he wasn't fully in control. But he didn't care. She was warm and she seemed to know exactly how to prolong everything. And it felt like bliss when she cuddled against him after. He kept himself awake for as long as he could, reveling in having a warm, plaint body back in bed with him. His last thought that evening was that perhaps there were some perks to the Roman Empire.

Elena was still curled against him when he woke. He stroked her hair gently for a few minutes, enjoying her warmth against him while under the heavy blankets. He debated waking her and seeing if she was interested in another go. But the need to be human overwhelmed him and instead he slipped from the bed and decided to explore the bathroom. And, once that was done, the rest of the house.

He found Seth in the atrium. The other man wore a black robe and reclined on a couch while the redhead, Renata, fed him fruits in a very similar scene. She wore a thin purple shift which hung off one of her shoulders, exposing her to the room. Harry didn't mean to stare, but he did.

"You're awake," Seth said as he entered the room.

"Uh, yes," Harry said. Renata looked at him for a moment, but then went back to feeding Seth.

"Where's Elena?" Seth asked.

"Still sleeping," Harry said, sitting on a chaise opposite of Seth.

"Lazy bitch," Renata snorted. Seth rolled his eyes and reached out to ruffle her hair. She didn't resist his touch.

"That's not nice," Seth said. He snapped his fingers as Renata fed him a fig.

As he snapped three women came into the room. The first, a plump, bubbly woman a few years older than Harry, carried a tray of bread and meats.

"Yes, Dominus?" She asked as she rushed out with the food. Seth, pointed at a table near him and she rushed over to it. He said nothing, but that was likely because Renata was shoving more fruit into his mouth. Harry watched the girl lean over and place down the food before looking at the other's that followed her in.

One was likely in her mid-twenties, she had kinky brunette hair and looked rather put out by everything. The other looked younger, probably about Harry's age, and had long golden blonde hair. She peered at Harry and blushed before looking down at herself and then anywhere else in the room.

"You said we'd have the day to ourselves," the brunette said.

"After breakfast, Delia," Seth said. "It appears Elena is not up to her duties this morning. But if you would rather enjoy a few hours in town."

"I see," Delia said. She peered at Harry for a few moments before turning on her heel and walking away.

"I'm surprised you didn't see that coming," the plump one said.

"I'm surprised she even came with you, Mila," Seth said.

"She's loyal," Mila shrugged. "I am going to start on dinner. Pheasant tonight."

"Yum," Seth said. He took a grape from Renata and then peered at the young blonde. "Well, Tulia, feed our guest."

"I can feed myself," Harry said. The blonde girl looked alarmed by that assertion and looked toward Seth.

"I'm sure. But that's what they're for," Seth said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"The slaves. They serve," Seth said.

"Slaves?" Harry blinked.

"Yes," Seth said.

"That's disgusting," Harry said, revulsion rising in his throat.

"Oh? Did that stop you from enjoying Elena?" Seth asked.

"What? She…" Harry started.

"Did what she was told," Seth said.

"That's…wrong," Harry said, an empty feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Seth raised his brows at him.

"Is it?" Seth asked. He looked curious, as if he'd never thought about it before.

"Well, yeah," Harry said. "Slavery is wrong."

"Interesting," Seth said.

"I think it's pretty obvious," Harry said.

"Perhaps," Seth shrugged.

"They can't like being imprisoned," Harry frowned.

"Better here than the streets," Renata shrugged.

"That's not much of an option," Harry said.

"What do you know?" Renata snapped.

"No need to argue," Seth said. Renata turned to him and looked like she wanted to argue but he kissed her on the forehead and lifted her off the couch. "Why don't you go make sure that Elena is still alive and then perhaps some shopping?"

"For what?" Renata asked. Seth waved a hand in the air and a pouch appeared, jingling as if it was full of coins. He tossed it to her.

"Whatever you like. Take Tulia" he said. Renata's face lit up and she nodded before grabbing Tulia's hand and scampering out of the room.

"You…own…all of them?" Harry asked as he watched the girls leave.

"Yes," Seth said.

"And you don't see a problem with that?" Harry asked.

"No," Seth said.

"That feels so wrong," Harry said.

"I wouldn't worry too much about them. It's a pretty good deal," Seth said.

"I'm not sure how being owned by another person can be a good deal for them," Harry countered.

"I'll get bored after a decade or so and leave," Seth said.

"How does that help them?" Harry asked.

"Well, I'll free them when it happens. And Delia is clever she'll be able to look over the info I leave about the finances and estates and end up running them just fine and if she can't, they'll find a great deal of gold in one of the storerooms and as long as they're not imbecilic they'll be fine," Seth said.

"You're still using them," Harry said. "They don't have a choice."

"They can leave," Seth shrugged.

"Can they?" Harry asked.

"If they like," Seth shrugged. "But of all the conversations you could have do you really want to discuss the amount of choice your bedwarmer has?"

"I'd prefer them to have a choice," Harry said.

"You could always, you know, not fuck her," Seth said. Harry looked away from the mage and toward the food. Rather than respond he took a chunk of bread and ate it slowly.

"How long can I stay?" he asked.

"Until you annoy me," Seth said.

"Specific," Harry sighed.

"Judging from what I saw in your mind I don't think I'm going to have a house guest very long," Seth said.

"I have nowhere to go," Harry said.

"Yet," Seth said. "Although I am interested in seeing how this all plays out."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, I went to Aeaea while you were asleep. Circe wasn't thrilled to see me," Seth said. "But she has absolutely no idea who you are."

"She hasn't met me yet," Harry said.

"I gathered that," Seth said.

"How did you get off the island?" Harry asked.

"Teleported," Seth said.

"But the magic always pulls you back," Harry frowned.

"Get stronger magic," Seth shrugged.

"Circe couldn't," Harry said.

"Of course she couldn't. It's designed to keep her there," Seth said. "It will also trap similar signatures, but it can't stop me."

"Oh," Harry said, his mind whirling with just how that could be possible when the man continued.

"And the Circe in your mind does not resemble the Circe on the island," Seth said.

"You said you didn't like how she looked," Harry said. Seth lifted up his right hand and waved his fingers around in the air. Two near-ghostly figures appeared in the air before him. One was strikingly beautiful with bright red hair, golden eyes, and a figure most women would die for. The other looked poor in comparison, but, Harry thought, she was far from ugly, with auburn hair and darker eyes. She was thinner though, with smaller breasts and hips and wore a dour expression.

"The one in your head is certainly less attractive than the one on the island," Seth shrugged. "But I always did have a weakness for redheads."

"How do you do that?" Harry asked.

"It's just projecting a memory. Have you ever been in a Pensieve?" Seth asked.

"Yes," Harry responded.

"Same concept, just project it rather than store for later viewing," Seth said. He waved his fingers and both figures walked toward Harry, until Seth flipped his hand around and they melted away.

"Yeah, but, how?" Harry asked.

"And here I thought I saw she was teaching you some magic," Seth said.

"She did," Harry frowned. "We just didn't touch on that."

"I suppose that isn't surprising. She was only ever worth a damn at gardening, potions, and some transfiguration," Seth said.

"She seemed pretty good at everything," Harry said, feeling the sudden urge to defend his teacher.

"Well, compared to you," Seth said.

"I'm not that bad," Harry countered.

"I'm sure you think that," Seth said. "And by the time we're done you may not be."

"Done?" Harry asked.

"If you're staying here then we're going to teach you something," Seth said. "And I'll be lying if I say I'm not interested in magic in the future."

"I don't have anything to compare it to," Harry said.

"I assumed," Seth responded. Harry reached for some more bread and ate it slowly. He peered around the room as he ate. In a way, it reminded him of Emily's villa. The thought gave him pause as he wondered if that was what he should even think of her as. She didn't care. She'd told him that. But if people around him knew her as Circe should he call her Circe?

It took him a few moments of pondering before he realized he'd never come up with an answer without sitting and talking to her about it. For the purpose of conversing with Seth he figured Circe would be the easiest, if she came up.

The more he thought about her, though, the more he realized how much he missed her presence. He thought back to the day before, of the anger he felt when he saw the girl, and the fact that she was that girl. But she couldn't be that girl. None of that made sense. But it clearly felt the same.

Still, how could she be a girl in the thirties, an adult in modernity, a child in who knows when, and a goddess in antiquity? None of that made sense. And it hurt his head to keep thinking about it.

Of course, now that he was stuck here, he figured he'd have plenty of time to think about it. That just made him realize that there was plenty that he needed to think about. Like his current situation and how long he would be in it.

"Why are you helping me?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"Would you prefer I didn't?" Seth asked.

"No," Harry sighed. "I'm just not used to people being so…magnanimous."

"Yet you lived in a luxury villa on a Greek island for a year without a care in the world," Seth countered.

"And thought that was the exception, not the rule," Harry said.

"You're a guest," Seth responded.

"So?" Harry asked. And, for the first time Harry could tell, the other man looked surprised.

"Guests have rights," Seth said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I invited you under my roof. I will do what I can to help you."

"And helping me involves teaching me?" Harry asked.

"Teaching you will help you, yes," Seth said. "But, you're going to learn because you have nothing better to do."

"I," Harry started, but he frowned as more words didn't come.

"By all means if you have a better way of spending time, go ahead," Seth said.

"I guess I don't," Harry admitted. Although his thoughts shifted. He closed his eyes again, he could feel a faint presence in his mind as he wondered about Circe. But it felt weaker than he was used to now that he focused on it. Like it was incomplete almost. Seth spoke again before he could think too hard about it Seth spoke again.

"Finish your breakfast and then meet me in the atrium," Seth said, rising from his couch and moving to leave the room. Harry watched him go, staring at the plate of food left on the table. Part of him wanted to leave the room and follow the older man out into the atrium. But his stomach and the plate of meat and bread looked too good to pass up.

About fifteen minutes later he walked out into the large open-air atrium. He peered around the columns and looked for Seth. He found the man sitting above a fountain. He was cross legged and floating a few feet above the water with his eyes closed.

Harry focused on him for some time. He could feel magic in the man. But he'd known that. He'd already felt that. He tried to probe deeper into it but he seemed to hit a sort of wall. He could sense the magic there, but he couldn't get close to it, or focus on it long enough to get a sense for it. It was like some sort of barrier blocked his inspection. And all he was able to see was whatever leaked out through the cracks.

He wished he had more to draw on. He didn't remember being able to get such a feeling from, say, Dumbledore. Really, it had been Circe who'd explained it to him, and who he'd felt, and now, who he could sense from afar. He'd assumed most magic users would be the same. But now that assumption felt wrong. He looked up at Seth and wondered just what the man who'd taken him in was.

"What now?" Harry asked. He wondered how Seth got away with such displays in his home. But, moments later, he saw Elena and Renata rush past, giggling and speaking too fast for him to follow. Neither of them seemed to pay any attention to the man floating in the garden.

"From what I gathered in my brief foray into your brain, she taught you a fair amount of potions and transfiguration and skimmed most everything else. Which isn't surprising given her general incompetence at nearly everything else," Seth said.

"I'm really not sure I'd call her incompetent," Harry said defensively.

"By comparison," Seth said. His eyes remained closed and he continued to float above the fountain.

"Anyway," Harry said, feeling like arguing wouldn't get him anywhere. So he tried to redirect the conversation back. "Where do we start?"

"First I think we should answer a simple question," Seth said.

"And what's that?" Harry asked. He found himself growing more and more annoyed with his host. But he felt like commenting on it would be rude.

"What do you want?" Seth asked. Harry paused for a moment. A thousand things flew through his head. He wanted to know just what caused him to be on that island. He wanted to know where Emily was. He wanted to know what Emily's relationship to Circe was. He wanted to know where he was and why he was there and what it all meant.

But none of those things were what flew to the forefront of his mind. No, there was something he wanted far more than all of that. And it was one of the most basic things he could think of.

"I want to go home," he said with a sigh. Seth opened his eyes and looked at him.

"I'm sure you do. I should rephrase my question. What do you want to learn?" Seth asked.

"Oh, I guess I hadn't thought about it," Harry said. "I'd like to learn everything that I can. I guess I'm just not sure of what I should do or in what order."

"Interesting," Seth said. He uncrossed his legs and floated away from the fountain before returning to his feet on the ground.

"I don't really know what's out there to learn," Harry admitted. He tried to think of spells that could have been useful in the tournament. Ones that he ignored because they looked too complicated for the time he had. But a jumble of old pages came to the front of his head. "I don't really know a lot of healing magic. Or really…combat magic I guess."

"Those can go hand-in-hand," Seth said. "Shall we get started?"

"I guess," Harry said. He reached for his wand and held it in his hand as a thought came to him. "Oh, could you teach me to Apparate?"

"You don't know how?" Seth asked, his brows raised.

"No," Harry admitted, feeling an embarrassed flush rise to his cheeks.

"Well then, let's start with that," Seth said.