Disclaimer: Rpeh on the Beta work.
Chapter 7
Apparition training with Seth turned out to be surprisingly easy. So easy, in fact, that he wondered why Hogwarts didn't bother teaching it until so much later in the curriculum. He knew from listening to gossip at school that it often took the older students weeks of practice to be able to even take the test. So, if he'd been asked, he would have expected something that he was going to have to spend days on before it made sense.
It started with Seth talking to him. The man spent a good two hours explaining all of the theories behind instantaneous travel and magical transportation. He got sidetracked easily, often going off on tangents about why those theories were wrong. Which really made Harry wonder why he was even bothering to explain them. But it seemed to be a bit petty to want to ask Seth that, so he kept his mouth shut.
After that he put his hand on Harry's shoulder and a moment later they were standing near the top of the Flavian Amphitheater. There were people around them but none of them seemed to notice their entrance or their presence. Harry peered down at the arena as two gladiators circled each other.
Seth watched for a moment before he put his hand back on Harry's shoulder and they appeared on top of the Parthenon. Harry stared down at the sea before him. He blinked and tried to focus, wondering where exactly Aeaea was from his current location. But before he had time to think about it, he felt himself being pulled away once more.
Oppressive desert heat greeted him and he looked around only to realize they were feet away from the Sphynx. Harry stared at it in wonder before he felt Seth's hand and then he back in the atrium. That was all there was to it, Seth explained. Although, he admitted, it was considerably easier to travel to places one had actually been to rather than randomly to anywhere. There was a larger chance of being wrong, and thus splinching yourself, if you tried to travel to a place you didn't know.
Seth then rambled for fifteen minutes about how it was still possible to travel to places you hadn't been, you just needed a sort of point of reference and a great deal of magical power. Either way he didn't suggest attempting it until one had a much better grasp on the basics.
It was about then he seemed to realize that he hadn't explained the basics yet. So he started on that. It took much less time than the theory. Although, it seemed more difficult for Seth to explain that portion of it. For a moment he seemed frustrated, like he couldn't fathom that Harry already didn't know all of this. And it felt like he was constantly trying to search for the right words, often dumbing down his vocabulary, to communicate with Harry. It annoyed the younger wizard, but again, he thought it best not to comment.
Just when he was about to let Harry try it for the first time, Mila interrupted them. The plump slave walked in carrying a small platter of fruit and bread. Seth thanked her and then decided it was perhaps time for lunch rather than working on an empty stomach. Harry found he was rather hungry. But something seemed lacking given that the entire lunch ended up being a small chunk of bread and a few pieces of assorted fruits. He wasn't near stated when it was finished and half thought he was better before eating.
He wasn't even sure what the older wizard went on about. In a way it reminded him of Hermione. He was trying to correct some minute detail of something he said in regards to one of the magical theories. But Harry didn't even remember which theory he was talking about, much less the details of it. Really, his head was starting to swim with all of it anyway.
So much so that it took him a moment to realize even what Seth was talking about when he'd told him to give it a go. Harry blinked at him for a few moments before Seth gestured to in front of him. And Harry realized the man was asking him to Apparate. Harry took out his wand and readied himself for the attempt. But he paused as something occurred to him.
The man, as far as Harry could tell, hadn't bothered to tell him how to do it. So instead he stood there, feeling like an utter moron, while the man continued to prattle on. He must have zoned out because he could have sworn the man was now talking about seasonings for chicken. Which made his stomach grumble.
And then somehow that turned into fish recipes. And then Harry was pretty sure he listened to a lecture on proper technique for preserving fruit. And then they moved on to desserts. He did everything in his power to ignore the other man as his mind tried to focus on Apparating for the first time. But it just wasn't working. He found himself ready to give up and go find more to eat.
He closed his eyes as tightly as he could manage and tried to focus on moving himself with magic. He tried to make his magic feel how it had felt when Seth teleported him to Rome earlier. But no matter what he did, nothing seemed to be having any effect. He let out a long breath through his nose as his jaw shut tight and Seth prattled on about cinnamon sweet cakes or some such thing.
He took a deep breath, willing his stomach to be less interested in Seth's chatting about food as his hand tightening around his wand. The scent of dinner filling his nostrils as he did. He wondered for a moment if he'd really been standing there all afternoon. He took another breath and let the scent of the food linger.
He cursed the light lunch and then cursed Seth's prattling on about food as he tried to focus on figuring out how to Apparate. It couldn't be that hard, he thought, Marcus Flint had figured out how to do it and he failed a year. He found himself rather frustrated, and tried to use that feeling to help him focus.
But Seth just kept prattling on about food. And now something rather heavenly was wafting in from the kitchen. And he found himself rather annoyed, grumpy, and hungry. And dammit he really wanted something to eat.
And then he heard Mila shriek in sheer absolute terror. His eyes shot open as his instincts took over. He meant to rush to the sound, to attack whatever had caused such a reaction. Except, he realized, he was already there.
He looked around, blinking, as it dawned on him that he wasn't in the atrium. Mila, the plump cook stood pressed against the wall, her eyes wide, a cleaver in her hand as she struggled to regain her breath. He peered around as he felt a blush rising to his cheeks and it occurred to him that he was the source of the unexpected commotion.
"About time," Seth said, appearing next to him. "But do try to not give the staff heart attacks."
"I did it?" Harry blinked.
"You did," Seth affirmed.
"Wow," Harry blinked.
"Whatever it was can you not do it again?" Mila scoffed.
"No promises," Seth said. "How's the bird?"
"Half hour," Mila said. "Assuming no one else tries to scare me to death."
"I didn't mean to," Harry said. Mila glared at him, but her eyes seemed rather playful as she did.
"Let's move to the dining room," Seth said. He walked toward the exit of the small kitchen and moved back through the house. Harry followed, sparing one glance for the cook as he left.
"Sorry," he muttered. But she waved him away as she went back to work on the food. When he found Seth in the dining room the older man was pouring wine in the corner.
"Now," Seth said the instant Harry entered the room, despite not looking in his direction. "The question is can you do it again?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted. Seth placed one cup of wine on the table before moving to one of the couches. After he sat, he gestured to the cup of wine.
"Find out," the man said. "Short distances should be a breeze."
Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Part of him thought that was stupid, that there was no real reason to close his eyes to cast any spell. But he did it anyway. Again, nothing happened at first. It was frustrating. He had no real idea why it didn't work. Or what he could do to make it work. But nothing seemed to come to as he focused. He groaned in frustration and opened his eyes. He focused on the wine.
And then, just as he was growing angry with his inability to Apparate, he was standing at the table, inches from it. He blinked and reached out for the cup.
"Good," Seth said from his couch. "Now return to the couch with the wine. But end up sitting on it. And don't turn to look at it."
"I feel like that will make one hell of a mess," Harry said.
"If it does you'll be cleaning it up," Seth responded.
"And I have no idea how to do that," Harry said.
"With focus. Unless you meant the cleaning. That would be with a great deal of scrubbing," Seth responded. Harry sighed, resisting the urge to comment he could magic any stain away. He knew he wasn't going to get any more instruction than he'd just received. He steadied himself with a sip of the wine. He let it swirl around his mouth, despite not particularly liking the taste. It tasted far too sweet and not at all like the wine he'd had with Circe.
But, he smirked to himself, when in Rome. Except he wasn't in Rome. He was in Sorrento. Or Surrentum as Seth had called it. He figured it was the same city but his ancient geography wasn't something he was particularly well-versed in.
Of course he was only wasting time as he debated wine and geography with himself. He rectified that by taking another sip of the wine and returning his mind to the task at hand. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the couch. But he had no real idea what it looked like. He knew about where it was. Sort of. But that was all.
Then again, he thought, he didn't really know what the kitchen looked like or even exactly where it was and that hadn't prevented him from making it there. He opened his eyes and stared at the amphora with the wine in it for a moment, half wondering if he should refill his cup. At least until he reminded himself that he was stalling and it was time to figure it out.
He focused and thought about where the couch was in the room. And he thought about how he'd have to move to be sitting on it. He bent his knees slightly and thought about appearing on the couch. And to his surprise, he did, wine in hand. The couch did slide back a few inches and he guessed he may have used too much force, but he'd done it.
"Well done," Seth said, sipping his own wine. Harry was sitting right on the edge of the chaise. He shifted himself back, doing his best to disguise the movement by drinking more of the wine.
"Honestly," Harry admitted. "That wasn't that hard. Although I'm not quite sure how I did it."
"You attended a magic school, did you not? Did they teach you nothing? Magic is magic. It all functions the same," Seth said.
"Yes," Harry responded, feeling oddly chided as he did. "Magic is about intent and will. But you still need to understand it and know an incantation and the like."
"That's what they taught you?" Seth asked.
"Yes," Harry said.
"Interesting," Seth said. He brought his cup of wine to his lips. Harry took a moment to do the same. When it became clear that Seth wasn't going to elaborate on whatever he found interesting without being prompted Harry spoke up.
"Is that wrong?" he asked. Seth peered at him for a moment, seeming to contemplate his next words rather carefully.
"I wouldn't call it wrong," Seth said. "But it is rather juvenile."
"I did only complete four of seven years," Harry said as the urge to defend his education rose within him.
"That may explain part of it," Seth said.
"But?" Harry asked, sensing the word.
"Well, you use a focus," Seth said. He nodded toward the wand that was still in Harry's hand. He looked down at it for a moment before tucking it away.
"Where I'm from everyone uses a wand," Harry said.
"It's a crutch," Seth said. "I was trained to avoid them at all cost."
"Wands?" Harry asked.
"Any foci. It doesn't matter the shape they take. It can be anything that helps you channel power. Anything that prevents the magic from being purely yours, well, isn't necessarily helpful in the long run," Seth said.
"You've never used one?" Harry asked.
"I have," Seth said, his voice, for the briefest of moments sounded sad. He looked away from Harry and sipped his wine.
"Who are you?" Harry asked, the question bursting from his lips before he could think better of it.
"Seth," Seth said.
"Well yes, but should I know who you are? Should I recognize you?" Harry asked.
"I hope not," Seth responded. Before Harry had a chance to comment on the oddity of that phrase Renata rushed into the room and hopped straight onto Seth's lap. Elena followed about ten paces behind her. The brunette took Harry's wine as she walked in and refilled it, as well as filled another cup for herself, and then joined him on the couch.
"How was shopping?" Harry asked as he looked away from Renata, who was excitedly telling Seth about every little thing she'd done that day.
"It was fine," Elena said, sipping her wine. She sat close enough to Harry that he could feel the warmth radiating from her. But she didn't touch him. Or seem nearly as enthused about seeing him as Renata did Seth.
"Get anything fun?" Harry asked. Elena peered at him for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders.
"We looked for Tulia mostly. I got a few new shifts," she said dismissively. Harry pressed his lips together and wondered if talking to her served any purpose at all. He wasn't sure what he expected, really. She'd been…entertaining…the night before. But she'd been reserved then as well. And, well, he wasn't sure if she saw him as anything more than a duty.
"I see," Harry said. He could think of nothing better to do than lift the cup of wine to his lips and hope that food showed up quickly so he'd have something else he could distract himself with.
"Sorry," Elena said after a quiet moment. Harry turned his gaze back to her and saw she was rubbing her temples, her eyes closed. "Headache. Too much sun and too much Renata."
"You look like friends," Harry said. Elena shrugged her shoulders.
"We are. That doesn't mean she's not insufferable," Elena said.
"You don't have to feel the need to entertain me," Harry said. "I know you're…"
"I'm what?" she asked, one brow arching.
"Well you…are…well….a slave," he said.
"Do you not have those where you're from?" Elena asked.
"No. Not for centuries," Harry said. Elena opened her mouth to respond but at that moment Mila and a few others entered, carrying a large assortment of food. Renata shot up and moved to make up a large plate before skipping back to Seth. Elena stood a few moments after. Harry rose to his feet as well but she shook her head at him and pushed him back down onto the couch. He wanted to argue, but the words died off in his throat as she prepared a plate.
When she returned to the couch she sat right next to him, their legs touching, placing the large plate of food in both their laps. Harry reached down and plucked some berries from the plate and popped them into his mouth.
"I can do that," Elena said.
"Or you can eat," Harry said. "I'm more than capable of feeding myself."
"Yes but," Elena said.
"Have you had anything to eat since this morning?" Harry asked.
"No but," Elena said.
"Then eat," Harry said as he tried a piece of pheasant. It was pretty good, he thought. A sort of fruity glaze seemed to bring out the flavor of the bird. He chewed thoughtfully before starting on a piece of bread before washing both down with a sip of wine.
"Fine," Elena sighed, before starting on some of the food herself. She kept a close eye on him as he ate, so Harry did everything in his power to act like he wasn't paying attention to her.
"Tell me about yourself," he said, after they'd cleared half the plate. She paused, mid berry, and shrugged her shoulders.
"There isn't much to tell," she said.
"Has to be something," Harry said. "Where are you from?"
"Rome," she said, going back for more berries.
"And how did you get here?" Harry asked.
"Seth brought me here after buying me," Elena said. Harry frowned, wondering just how to pry a conversation out of the girl. He tried to think back to his past experience and, honestly, it wasn't much to draw on. Circe had no issue with conversation. And Cassandra had no qualms about silence. But they'd also fumbled through conversation when either was interested. It had been rather endearing, really.
Still, he thought, it reminded him rather a lot of when people tried to pry conversation out of him. Maybe he should let it die. But, at the same time, he was curious and thought sitting in silence sounded like a horrible idea.
"So where were you before that?" Harry asked. Elena looked at him for a moment, then shook her head.
"You're not really interested in that," she said. A sudden clarity filled Harry. He too often thought people couldn't be interested in the questions they asked him.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked," Harry retorted.
"Rome," Elena repeated. Harry closed his eyes and sighed but Elena continued. "My father was a trader. Although I don't think a very good one. They killed him and my mother when he didn't provide something. Debt repayment I think but I never fully understood what. They sold me to make a profit."
"I see," Harry said, frowning at her. She looked away from him and grabbed another berry, eating it slowly.
"Seth found me at the auction. I'm not sure why he was there. He still won't tell me. He looked at me for, well, it couldn't have been more than a second, but it felt like an eternity. I saw things that...well...He bought me and brought me here. That was about a decade ago," Elena said.
"And this has been it since?" Harry asked.
"I guess," Elena shrugged. "Seth left me alone. Delia took me under her wing, got me started on some basic chores and the like. Renata came a few years later. He found her living on the street. And, I don't know. He likes having us around, I guess. He's hard to read."
"Yes," Harry said, peering over at Seth. "He is."
"It's not so bad, though. We eat better than most. We have ample spending money. In fact I'm not sure he's ever said no to that. We don't want for much of anything. And he's kind, when it occurs to him."
"But you're not free," Harry said. Elena shrugged her shoulders as if that wasn't something she'd ever concerned herself with.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you," Harry said.
"I've lived with him for a decade," Elena said. "And for a while, most of us thought he was some sort of God."
"Did you bring that up with him?" Harry asked.
"Yes. He laughed at us," Elena said. "Told us that Gods don't exist."
"Do you believe him?" Harry asked.
"Well, I've seen the things he can do. And it certainly isn't anything normal. Renata used to tease him that if he wasn't a God he must be a monster," Elena said. She paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side and taking a sip of her wine. She looked suddenly pensive.
"What?" Harry asked, sensing there was more to the story.
"I was just thinking about what made her stop," Elena said. "It was strange."
"What was that?" Harry asked.
"He looked at her one night as she teased him about all of the things he could do. And I don't remember exactly what it was, but he said something like the difference between the two was negligible. I used to think he was talking about the existence portion of it. Like if Gods don't exist then the mythical creatures don't. But there was something in his tone that felt like that wasn't what he meant. Either way, I don't think she's brought it up since," Elena said.
"Weird," Harry said. "And she didn't press him on it."
"Well no," Elena shrugged. "If he doesn't want to talk about something, well, you just don't. Sometimes you remember it later but never when he's around."
"I see," Harry said, recognizing the signs of magical intervention well enough. That seemed excessive in his mind, but really, he knew nothing about the man. And given that Seth was currently sitting on a couch, smirking at Renata as she giggled in his lap, he figured difficult conversations were something best left elsewhere.
They were silent for a moment. Elena took the time to clear away their empty plate of food and refill their wine. When she rejoined him on the couch Harry couldn't help but notice that she sat farther away from him than when she used him to balance the plate of food.
"Are you like him?" she asked after handing him his wine. Harry took a sip before deciding on the answer.
"I don't know," he admitted. Elena raised her brows at him and, Harry thought, for the first time seemed interested in the conversation.
"How can you not know?" she asked, excitedly. But then she seemed to catch herself and went back for her own wine, looking away from him and acting demure.
"Where I'm from you can just sort of tell. The magic leaves a trace. It's always there. You can sense it in others that use it," Harry said.
"Are there a lot of you?" she asked.
"A fair amount," Harry shrugged. "I'm not the best at it yet, but you can get a sense of who has more power. Or more ability. Or just used it more. It's hard to tell exactly. But you know."
"So then shouldn't you be able to tell?" Elena said.
"That's just it," Harry said. "When I focus on him, I get nothing."
"But you've seen him do things. He taught you Latin in like a second when you first showed up," Elena said.
"Exactly," Harry said. "I can sense magic around him. I can sense that it's been used. I can feel the residue of it in the air around the villa. But when I try to get a sense of him? Nothing."
"But," Elena started to argue. Harry shook his head and interrupted her.
"He may know something that can mask himself. He knows more than me. Or we may not be that similar," Harry said.
"So, he is a god," Elena said.
"I don't think he's dishonest," Harry said. Elena frowned at him.
"I suppose not," Elena said.
"Are you two done gossiping?" Seth said from across the room.
"Sorry," Harry said, quietly. Seth shook his head, doing his best to hide a smirk with his drink as he moved Renata off of his lap.
"Oh, it's no problem. But I think perhaps it is time for bed," Seth said.
"It doesn't feel that late," Harry commented.
"It isn't," Seth said. "But we're going to start training you properly in the morning. You're going to want to be rested."
"What are we going to do?" Harry asked.
"That's a question for tomorrow," Seth said as he rose from his couch and left the room with Renata in tow. Harry finished his wine and stood.
"He likes you," Elena said as she stood as well.
"I have no idea why," Harry said. Elena shrugged her shoulders as if that wasn't important. She took his empty wine cup and moved over toward the serving table with the mostly empty plates of food. She started cleaning it all up.
"I can help with that," Harry said. But by the point he'd to her side she'd already had the platters stacked.
"It's fine," she said. "Besides I want to gossip with Mila anyway."
"Well, you can at least let me help carry it," Harry frowned as he spoke.
"You're a guest," she said, the emphasis clearly on the final word as Harry walked with her out of the room. "I'm not going to besmirch the Gods by having you labor here. I don't like that thought. Seth wouldn't like that though."
"And I rather despise not helping," Harry frowned.
"Go to bed," Elena scoffed, rolling her eyes. She paused near the room he'd occupied the night before and Harry got the strangest feeling she wasn't going to move until he ducked inside. He sighed, hoping it expressed his annoyance clearly enough, and stepped into the bedroom.
He stripped, tossing his clothing into the corner of the room out of annoyance before he remembered it was really all he had. He frowned to himself, wondering how he would rectify that. He walked over to where he'd tossed his clothing and dug his wand out of his pocket. He spent a moment cleaning and folding the garments with magic. When he was done, he placed them on a table.
He spent a moment pacing around the room. When he realized he was doing that, and worse, he had no real reason to be doing it, he decided that perhaps it was best to take Seth's advice and try to get some sleep.
He tossed himself down on the bed, enjoying the cool sensation of the blankets and pillow as he closed his eyes. A cool breeze filtered through the room. Harry wondered if it was entirely natural. He focused on the cool air and did feel a tinge of magic in it. An odd form of air conditioning, he thought. But then he busied himself with wonder exactly how Seth had pulled it off.
Runes, he thought. It had to be runes. Probably carved into the walls themselves, likely even underneath the decorative painting. Or at least worked into it so people couldn't tell. They could have been permanently active. But Harry suspected it was triggered by a presence in the room. Otherwise, if Seth were doing it himself, he'd have to have part of his mind focused on it at all times. But that would have been absolutely exhausting.
He thought back about the day and realized that, despite it appearing to be rather sunny and bright outside, and feeling like summer, none of the rooms in the villa had been particularly warm. He assumed Seth must have similar runes everywhere. He must not have been a big fan of warmer temperatures.
Regardless, the breeze was rather soothing, if a bit chilly, and he found himself growing fairly sleepy. He did the only logical thing and crawled under the blankets and curled up in them, willing sleep to take him.
It must have, as he felt himself waking up as the bed shifted. He groggily opened his eyes, noting that it was still dark out. He felt soft hands slide over his stomach. He recognized the touch immediately and he froze.
Feign sleep. That was the only thought that came to mind. So, he did his best to relax and hope that Elena didn't try to do anything. He didn't want her to think he was a job. Honestly, he was surprised that she'd even followed him.
But his solution worked. She let her hands slide over him for a few moments, but when he didn't respond she stopped and rested against the pillow. It took him rather a long time to fall back asleep.
The morning seemed to come far too quickly. He woke with a start, as if something inside him told him it was time to be awake. He shot up with a start, surprised by the sudden urge. He felt the magic of it radiate through his head before he heard Seth's voice in his mind.
"Atrium, five minutes," the older man said in his head and then the presence vanished. Harry looked to his side and saw Elena curled into the blankets. He slipped from the bed as quietly as he could.
He stretched, feeling the exhaustion creep back over his eyes as he wondered just how long he'd managed to actually sleep. He moved to where he'd stashed his clothing, wondering just what he'd do for more outfits when he saw something, well, anachronistic. A few sets of, well, work out clothing, rested next to his old outfit. He changed quickly and moved to the atrium.
Seth was waiting for him. As soon as he entered the room a piece of wood flew by his face. He turned and picked it up on instinct, examining it in his hand. Whatever he'd expected training with Seth to entail, it hadn't been swords. He barely had time to register that Seth was dressed similarly to him.
The next two hours of his life were best described as miserable. It didn't help that he had no real idea how to use a sword aside from 'swing it at the other guy' and that seemed to be a very poor strategy. All he really felt like he learned was that Seth was faster than him, stronger than him, and far more accustomed to hitting things with a weighted wooden sword than him. It hurt.
Eventually, though, Mila entered the atrium and told them it was time for breakfast and they would have plenty of opportunities to attempt to murder each other after they'd eaten. Harry wasn't sure he'd done nearly enough to warrant being categorized as someone who'd attempted murder. But felt like he had the murderee aspect of it down pretty well.
Harry followed Seth into the same room they'd dined in the previous evening and took the cup of water Renata offered him as soon as he entered. He noticed she wore a tank top and shorts and not the usual shift he'd seen her in.
"What's with the clothes?" he asked, looking around. Aside from Renata and Seth, the other people he saw seemed to be wearing their normal attire.
"I pulled them from your mind," Seth said. He traced his fingers over his own. "Seemed to be something you were more comfortable working in. It's certainly an interesting fabric. I guessed on the fit. The ones you had in your mind were much bigger, but that felt wrong. I wasn't sure if the cat was required."
"It's a logo of a brand," Harry said. Seth stared at him as if that had very little meaning. Harry drank more water rather than trying to explain.
"Either way, Renata wanted to see what women of your era wore as well," Seth said.
"Should you let her do that?" Harry asked.
"Probably not, but what's the point if you don't spoil them?" Seth asked.
"I don't know," Harry said. "What's the point of the swords, anyway?"
"It's healthy," Seth shrugged.
"I feel like the bruises and welts I'm starting to develop say otherwise," Harry scoffed.
"And it will teach you footwork and focus while building strength, endurance, and a tolerance for pain," Seth added.
"Sounds thrilling," Harry said. "Is that how you taught Circe? Wooden swords?"
"Of course not," Seth said. "We used real ones."
"What?" Harry laughed.
"Titans heal quickly," Seth said. "And need a bit more pain to get the lessons home."
"No wonder she left," Harry scoffed. Seth glared at him for a moment and turned his attention to Renata as she hopped into his lap. Harry took a moment to gather up some food himself. He ate slowly.
"Who left?" Renata asked.
"No one," Seth said. "It was a long time ago."
"Oh," Renata frowned.
"When do we start with the magic training?" Harry asked, finding himself curious if that would also result in him being attacked repeatedly. Maybe he could start with potions. There seemed to be very little way that could end violently.
"After lunch," Seth said. He finished feeding Renata and took a couple of bites for himself before standing and gesturing Harry back to the atrium. Harry groaned to himself but followed.
The next two hours were incredibly similar to the previous two. But after a while, Seth started to correct him, work on form, and a thousand other things that all seemed to go in one ear and out the other. But eventually, thankfully, it became lunch time.
He barely noticed Elena sitting next to him and fawning over his bruises as he ate. His mind drifting, wondering if he would be better off wandering aimlessly through the Roman Empire to find a portal rather than subjecting himself to this.
Seth led him to a different room after lunch. It reminded him of a classroom, but something about it felt wrong. But before he had much of a chance to look Seth summoned a book to him. He paged through it for a moment before tossing the book down. It wasn't in a language Harry could understand. It looked vaguely Arabic with seemingly always connected flowing lines.
"Can I ask something?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Seth said. He was staring blankly at a wall, moving a hand back and forth in front of him as if scrolling through something.
"What the hell is going on?" Harry asked.
"You got involved with time magic and are now reaping the benefits until you can continue on your way," Seth said. He paused his swiping and held up his left hand. The wall turned into a sort of greenish swirling mass of magic that assaulted Harry's senses to the point where he thought he could taste it. Red Fizzing Whizzby if he had to place it. Of course he and Dean had never been able to agree if red was cherry or strawberry. The only agreement they'd come to was that Seamus was clearly wrong with Raspberry.
Either way, a book flew out of it and landed easily in Seth's hand. He turned away from the wall and the portal disappeared.
"I gathered that but what am I going...wait…benefits?" Harry asked.
"Me," Seth said, paging through the book. "Circe when she decides to show up. Although you may have exhausted that avenue."
"Why's that?" Harry asked.
"There's a multitude of reasons. She might not bother with going to a correct time as long as she's able to be free. She may have already taught you what she can. For all I know missing the portal might have killed her. The only real way to find out is to wait and see," Seth said.
"I hope she's not dead," Harry said quietly. Seth shrugged his shoulders as if it made no difference to him either way.
"Would be an embarrassing end at any rate," Seth said.
"How does that work?"
"What?"
"The immortality?" Harry said.
"No such thing," Seth said.
"But you've said you are thousands of years old," Harry said.
"I am," Seth said.
"So you're immortal," Harry said.
"No," Seth responded.
"But," Harry said. But he closed his mouth after a moment and frowned. He recalled Circe saying they could be killed. But that they simply wouldn't die otherwise. He shook his head. But, thankfully, Seth continued.
"If you're referring to the lack of aging. Well, I suppose magic keeps them healthy. It has that effect on people. The more of it they can throw around the more effective it seems to be," Seth said.
"Them?" Harry asked.
"The Titans or whatever you want to refer to them as. People like Circe," Seth said.
"But not you?" Harry asked.
"Not me, no," Seth said.
"Well, what's the difference?" Harry asked.
"A long story that doesn't benefit you," Seth said.
"But this does?" Harry asked.
"It may," Seth said. "But perhaps we should be more productive for the rest of the afternoon."
"How's that?" Harry asked. Seth tossed the book down in front of him. It was in Latin, but he found he could read it, at least after staring at it for a few moments.
"Go through that, mark what you know, don't touch what you don't. Let me know when you're done," Seth said. He vanished after he finished speaking. Harry stared around the room for a few moments and then did the only thing he could think of. He picked up the book and started to page through it.
It was slow going. The text on the pages was tiny. Some of it he understood, some of it he didn't. Most of it he would have liked to spend more time on. Instead he moved on with the assignment, marking pages accordingly as he went.
Eventually he realized that the best option was skimming for things that seemed familiar, then putting a check by them if he'd seen or done something similar. There would be ten to twenty pages in a row where he recognized the spells enough to check them off. But then there would usually be double that where he found absolutely nothing.
After about two hours he was only halfway through the book. He debated going to find a drink rather than continue on. But before he could stand up the green portal appeared on the wall again and Seth walked through it.
He was carrying an identical copy of the book he'd given to Harry. He was paging through it quickly. Harry could make out the marks he'd made in his own book in the copy Seth was looking at. He opened his mouth to ask how he'd managed that when Seth spoke.
"You don't know magic," he said, sounding frustrated.
"What? Of course I do. I know like…a quarter…of this book," Harry said, defending himself as best as he could despite knowing full well his defense was terrible.
"No," Seth said. "You know a few spells. You don't know magic."
"Isn't that the same thing?" Harry asked. Seth snapped the book closed and tossed it over to a desk in the corner. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.
"So she taught you nothing of value," Seth sighed.
"She taught me lots of things. I know quite a few spells," Harry said.
"Sure, fine, probably potions and a little bit of transfiguring," Seth said as he opened his eyes and let his hand drop. "But you don't know magic."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say. Spells are magic," Harry said, finding himself growing more annoyed with the man after each passing minute. Seth shook his head slowly.
"You know how to swing a sword," he said. "But you don't know how to forge one."
"What does that matter?" Harry asked.
"Magic, Harry, is a power unlike anything else in this universe. You can use some fancy words or some set motions, or some combination of herbs to force it to obey you for a moment or two. But you have no idea how to actually use it. To harness it," Seth said.
"I still don't understand," Harry said.
"You should be able to bend it to your will. To accomplish anything with it. To have it react to you as if it were another limb. Circe knew all of this. She wasn't great at most of it but she should have been able to teach you far more than this," Seth said.
"She taught me plenty," Harry said, feeling the odd urge to defend his former host.
"To an extent. But the one in your head, well, she's less than she should be. She taught you what she could I suspect. But to do what you did. To create a time traveling portal command, if what you're saying is true…should have taken far more than what you are capable of. Unless…." He let his voice trail off, his eyes glancing over toward Harry. He could almost see the idea formulating in the older man's head.
"Unless what?" Harry asked.
"You didn't do it," he said.
"I was there," Harry said. "I felt it."
"She used you as a conduit. She wasn't strong enough to do it herself. And the essences mixed into something completely foreign. That would explain why the spell didn't take you home. She should have been more intelligent than that. I taught her better than that," Seth frowned. He continued to pace.
"I'm not following," Harry said.
"Something for me to mediate on, though. But now we must start from square one with you," Seth said.
"But I know magic," Harry insisted.
"Perhaps," Seth sighed. "You will when I'm finished."
"Is this going to hurt as much as the morning session?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Yes," Seth said.
"Oh good," Harry said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't thrilled with that answer. But, if he made it back, he'd be thrust right back into a war. A war against…he frowned as he thought about it. A war against a young orphan girl? Who he'd been able to find in his head the same way he could find Circe? He shook the thought from his head.
"Are you ready?" Seth asked.
"I have no idea," Harry said.
"Good enough," Seth said. He summoned another book over to him and tossed it in front of Harry before he started something that Harry hoped he'd been done with. He lectured.
It wasn't anything like Hogwarts, though. Seth talked and talked and talked and at first he felt like he didn't follow anything. But then, suddenly, he found himself engrossed in it. He listened to the man and followed along in the book, finding himself shocked as the gibberish turned into something more before him.
He had to forget the incantations, the hexes, the movements, all of it. Well, at least store them in the back of his mind. He may need them again. But for his purposes now, for what he had to learn, it needed to be pushed away.
He found himself rather surprised when Mila interrupted them with a large tray of food. His stomach rumbled and it took all of his willpower to not jump on it.
"Perhaps a break," Seth chuckled as he saw Harry's gaze shift to the food.
"I can multitask," Harry said.
"Prove it," Seth said. He walked over toward where Mila dropped the food and started to serve himself.
"How?" Harry asked.
"Don't get up," Seth said as he took what he wanted from the platter and moved back to another corner of the room, leaning against the wall to eat.
"Do all of your teaching methods involve hunger or pain?" Harry asked.
"Both are exceptional motivators," Seth retorted. "But no. Just interested in seeing how quickly you advance."
"Okay," Harry sighed. He turned his gaze to the platter of food. His eyes focused on one apple sitting in the middle of the fruit. He stared at it. At first that was all he did, all he could think of to do. He thought about what Seth had said. He thought about what it would mean to be able to manipulate magic like that. He thought of wanting the apple and having it appear before him.
He had to stop himself from summoning it. What was the point of all of this, he wondered, if he knew he could say a simple word, hell, he could even think it, and the apple would come. That had to be more advanced than what Seth was talking about.
Except that felt wrong to him. From what Seth was saying, he should be able to do anything. Of course, he thought, that was the point of magic, wasn't it? He could do anything his way.
But then again, Seth wasn't saying he could learn a spell and do anything. He was saying that he could, and should, be able to accomplish anything with nothing more than a thought. And sometimes not even that. The thought of that kind of power felt utterly intoxicating. The things he could do that likely couldn't even be traced back to him. The things he'd do to Draco Malfoy if he ever found himself back home.
Wait did the apple just move?
"Good," Seth said. He sounded surprised and, Harry thought, perhaps even a little excited. "Use your hands."
"You said I shouldn't have to," Harry said, still focusing on the apple. This time he saw it twitch for sure.
"You shouldn't. That doesn't mean it won't help," Seth said. Harry nodded. He raised his right hand but paused. Something felt odd about that. Sure, he was right-handed, and he'd always used his wand with his right hand. But something about this felt better with his left. He wondered why.
His mind answered the question for him. Seth had used his left hand more than his right. He didn't know if that mattered. But he decided to use his left. He brought his hand up and Seth snapped at him.
"No. Don't waste the movement. Focus on the apple and then raise your hand," he said. Harry rolled his eyes. If he were paying better attention he would have noticed the apple lolled a few degrees to the side as he did. He refocused on it after lowering his hand and then, after a moment, raised his left hand again, palm up.
The apple raised with it.
"Holy shit," he said, turning to look at his hand. The apple fell back down onto the fruit, bounced off, and tumbled to the ground. Before it hit the ground it turned sharply and flew toward Seth.
"Well done," he said. "Eat something now."
"I didn't use a levitating charm or anything, it just," Harry said, staring in awe at the platter.
"It did," Seth agreed. "Far better than I expected on a first attempt."
"I think I could have done it without my hand," Harry said.
"Maybe," Seth said. "But sometimes it takes some direction."
"Is that why you use your hands?" he asked, remembering Seth waving away portals.
"No," Seth said. "People find it unsettling when magic happens around them with no indication. It's a way of putting guests at ease."
"If you can do everything with magic why don't you?" Harry asked.
"I like doing things," Seth shrugged. "There's something primal in action. I enjoy it."
"I see," Harry said. He prepared himself a plate of food and Seth continued the lecture between bites. It wasn't until a few hours later, when Renata came in and whined that Seth decided that was enough for the day.
They spent the next few hours listening to Renata gossip about what seemed like an impossible amount of events to occur in one day. Harry found himself zoning out. He wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point Elena led him from the room under the guise of needing a bath.
Sometime later he remembered coming to in the water and being led to bed. He could remember Elena talking to him, but he couldn't recall whatever she said. And he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
When he woke the next morning she was gone. It felt later than the previous morning, but given there was no clock and didn't know when he'd woken up the day before, he couldn't make a definitive judgement.
He rose, dressed, and left the room to find Seth waiting for him in the atrium. He tossed him some bread before floating some water over toward him as he ate. Once he'd finished he found the sword in his hand once more and the routine continued.
The days passed like that, always essentially the same. He'd wake in the morning and he'd train with Seth. In the morning it was always something physical. Most often it was swords. But sometimes they went for a hike or a swim or something out of the villa. It always lasted until lunch time.
After lunch was always magic. It felt like slow going at first. It frustrated Harry. He didn't remember having much trouble learning any form of magic at Hogwarts, and most of what Seth tried to get him to do felt like pushing a boulder uphill.
Seth told him that was normal. He was relearning everything. Some bits of it would feel harder than they should. He compared it to trying to eat with the wrong hand. The only way for it to feel natural would be to practice. So they practiced.
Some days felt like there were no gains at all. Others felt like he took massive strides. Each day ended with dinner and often a bath. Elena was never far from him during these moments but Harry was often too tired to pay much attention to her. But other times he wasn't, and she seemed so very eager that it was rather hard to resist.
He lost count of the days. If he was honest, at point he felt like he was on repeat. Even more so on the days where it felt like he made no gains. Sometimes there were points where he thought he could predict Seth's next sentences or lectures. But every time he thought to bring that up with his teacher, something else seemed to come up.
Either way it was on what he thought was the tenth day when Elena offered him a massage after a bath one night. She claimed she had a balm that could help with the bruises. He'd taken far too many hits from Seth's sword in the last couple of days for that to not sound heavenly.
He lost himself in her hands when she had him lay on his stomach on the bed. Her touch and the salve both felt wonderful. He barely noticed when she rolled him over and continued the massage. And he didn't protest when she'd decided on much more.
It didn't feel as empty when it was over and she snuggled close to him. He let his fingers slide around the bare skin of her back as exhaustion crept up on him. He didn't care for her as much as he had Cassandra, but she was nice enough. And she was interested in him and, as far as he could tell, was now acting on her own volition.
After that he drifted off to sleep, knowing full well he'd be far less averse to her company in his bed from then on out. But still, thoughts of her inevitably turned to others he'd rather be with. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd see either of them again.
He closed his eyes and let sleep come for him. For a moment he tried to reach out and find Circe. It felt easier than it should have. He couldn't sense her. At least not directly. He felt an area that his senses were blocked from and he knew that area was Aeaea. But he couldn't get through whatever she'd done.
He sighed and wondered what happened to whatever version of her was in London in the twenties. His imagination ran rampant for a few moments before sleep won out and he drifted away.
Author's Note: I'm now available on PAT RE ON now, TE7Writes. It's going to be a bit bare bones for a while as I figure out what to do with it. No actual story content will be there outside of the occasional extra bit that doesn't warrant normal publication. But if you'd like to support me I'd really appreciate it. Even a little bit will go a long way to letting me spend even more time on this hobby.
I've got a pretty solid month of updates banked and coming weekly, leading up to what, well, if you've followed me for the last few years you shouldn't be able to figure out by seeing what's about a month away.
Thanks for reading, reviewing and years of support. I do appreciate all of it.