CHAPTER 2:

SIR GIDEON OFNIR

While his manner was still rather rough, Hermione noted that her birth father's demeanour had become gentler and calmer on learning she was his long-lost daughter. True, he hadn't quite accepted it, and to be frank, given his earlier attitude, she wasn't quite ready to truly accept this curmudgeonly old knight was her actual father. But he became less surly and rude, which counted for something.

Then again, Gideon Ofnir was reminding her unpleasantly of Snape, at least to a small degree, though his reaction when he realised who she was was heartening. For all that she respected Snape's intellect and his willingness to sacrifice his life to stop Voldemort, Harry and Ron were right. He was an unrepentant git at best. And that title, 'All-Knowing'…she remembered being called a 'Know It All' by so many.

The main reason she wanted to find out who her father was…well, it was because she had no family left. Learning of her adoption was bad enough, and it was that emotional turmoil that led to her agreeing to Dumbledore's orders to keep Harry in the dark just after their fourth year. A decision she bitterly regretted.

With her parents dead, out of the spite of the Blood Purists, she decided she needed to find her birth parents. Which was why she threw herself into figuring out how to bring herself to them. And she was glad Harry, despite his troubles, stuck with her, as did Andromeda.

In any case, both Delphi and Teddy would potentially be safe on another world. One, the child of Voldemort, the other, the son of a werewolf. Both hated by different and yet not dissimilar parts of Magical Britain's society.

She was here now. A whole new world, with plenty to learn and to experience. And perhaps she could deal with family here now.

She was curious about the name, though. Roundtable Hold…like something out of Arthurian myth. Like the Knights of the Round Table. Was Arthurian myth from another world?

Gideon led them into a study, piled high with books of all sorts, in disarray. Not unlike the library at 12 Grimmauld Place. "Forgive the mess, but of those Tarnished who seek refuge here, few are willing to clean. And those who do oft dispose of things I need for my work."

Andromeda brought out a wand, and used a spell that had a number of the books leaping onto the shelves. Gideon started, before he nodded in what could have been approval. "Clever magic. Just keep in mind, there's a divine ward over most of the Roundtable Hold. No offensive action can be taken, at least any that does any real harm."

"Handy," Andromeda noted. "Is there likely to be fighting?"

"More than you'd think. The Roundtable Hold draws all sorts to it," Gideon said. "Many just use it as shelter to weather the storm, to escape from the turmoil of the Lands Between." He scoffed in disdain. "If it 'twere the Shattering at its violent zenith, I would understand more. But while the Lands Between are still highly dangerous, the war is over, with only guttering embers remaining. Some who come here are peaceable sorts, even if their intentions are not pure. Take Fia, the Deathbed Companion. Affable enough, but ware her offer to embrace her, for she will sap part of your essence. Nothing lethal or debilitating, but I hear many a rumour about her. Or Brother Corhyn. A priest of the Golden Order, and a blinkered fanatic. He'll teach you incantations for a fair price, but he and I tolerate each other at best. And then there's Hewg. A Misbegotten blacksmith, bound here by Queen Marika's will centuries ago. Give him weapons and materials, and he'll improve them for you, but don't expect kindly words. He's as fond of fripperies as I am."

"But there are others who could cause trouble?" Hermione asked.

"I have a few fighters in my employ, but they usually listen to me. But there's others…well, never mind about that. Most of the dangers rest outside the Hold." He sighed, before looking up at them. "How much do you know of the Lands Between? If your claim to have lived on another world is no lie, you are like a newborn babe, knowing nothing."

"That is the case, yes," Hermione said.

"Right…well, where to begin…? Actually, no, not yet. Let's get your children situated first. We lack for nannies, but I'm sure we can find a place for your children…"

Harry opted to stay with Andromeda and the kids for now in the quarters Gideon directed them to, and he found himself hugging Delphi, while Andromeda tended to Teddy. "You all right?"

"…No," Delphi said bluntly, shaking her head, her silvery, blue-tinged locks waving around. "Dad…will we be safe here?"

Harry shot Andromeda a look as she fussed over Teddy, before he turned to Delphi. While young, she was clever for her age, practically an adult in some regards. "…I don't know. But they don't know who your parents are in this world, Delphi, and hopefully, they won't care either. Just…don't go anywhere without Andromeda, Hermione or me, okay?"

Delphi nodded. "Okay," she said morosely.

"Hopefully, we're out of the reach of Magical Britain," Harry said, giving her a sad smile. "Maybe we can find you new friends, Delphi."

"Or a horse," Delphi said. "Like Twilight Sparkle! Do you think they have ponies that can talk like in My Little Pony?"

"Who knows?" Harry chuckled.

Still, from what he had seen so far, they appeared to be in a world that was pre-industrial. Medieval? Renaissance? Or even before that?

And he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched either. Like something or someone was watching them, scrutinising them. No, many somethings or someones. At least one of these seemed to find him wanting, while another…

That was the closest sensation, and he found his gaze turning to a nearby wall. "…Who's there?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

But he got one anyway.

In a flurry of motes of azure light, the cloaked form of a young woman appeared. As he put himself between her and Delphi, she held up a hand, a hand which had faded burn scars, Harry noted. "Peace, travellers from beyond this demesne. I mean you no harm, unless you offer it in return," she spoke in a gentle rasp.

"Are you a ghost?" Delphi asked.

To Harry's surprise, the woman chuckled. "A ghost? Yes, I suppose I am…burned and bodiless as I am." She reached for her hood, and lowered it, revealing the face of a young woman. Unlike the scarred hand, her pretty features seemed unmarred, save for a tattoo-like marking across her right eye, which was also shut. The other had a hazel colouration that nonetheless had a faint shine to it, like gold. Her short hair was a rich light red, almost pink. "I am Melina. A pleasure to meet you."

"…Okay, so, why are you here?" Harry asked. The woman showed herself, and was being pleasant enough. He was just being wary on general principle.

"I frequent this place when I am not abroad," Melina said. "I witnessed your arrival, and knew how different it was to how Tarnished normally arrive. Your claims of being from another world, while fantastic, I certainly believe. Your clothes are unusual." She reached out and plucked at Harry's jacket. Despite claiming to be a ghost, her hand seemed to be able to touch his clothes.

"I thought you said you were a ghost," Harry said.

"…It is a fair analogy to what I am, but I can manifest myself physically for a time. I was watching your group out of curiosity. Most Tarnished come to the Roundtable Hold by invitation of Grace."

"Tarnished? What are those?"

"It is a long story, and one I am not sure is suitable for young ears."

"I'm not that young. I've heard worse," Delphi said defiantly.

Melina looked to her, and then gave a solemn frown. "I see. I see the pain in your eyes, little one. May I have your names?"

"I'm Harry Potter, and this is my daughter, Delphini Potter-Riddle," Harry said. "That is Andromeda Tonks and her grandson Teddy. The one who went with that pompous knight was Hermione Granger."

"Hmm. Interesting names. Perhaps I should start at the beginning. You do not know it, but the Roundtable Hold sits deep within the Erdtree, which itself is the lynchpin to this world…"

"Like Yggdrassil of Norse myth," Hermione mused. On Gideon's bemused look, she waved a hand. "Not important. So, we're actually in the Erdtree?"

"The original Roundtable Hold was in Leyndell, but…it proved to be incapable of fulfilling its function," Gideon said. "I don't know the full circumstances…yet, though admittedly, the accounts are fragmentary and oft contradictory. But that's not important. The Erdtree is the symbol of the Golden Order, and the one who ruled with it was Queen Marika the Eternal, the god who ruled over this world. However, not every living being was touched by the Grace of the Golden Order, and these beings without Grace are known as the Tarnished. In effect, those touched by Grace are immortal, barring accident or malice, whereas Tarnished are mortal. True, those touched by Grace will die if slain, but they are reborn and reincarnate."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "I'm guessing the Tarnished are an underclass here?"

"Of a sort. We were banished from the Lands Between long ago, to other lands across the sea, beyond the fog. Banished by Queen Marika herself. Some of us have been brought back from the dead by Grace long lost, and beckoned back to the Lands Between. We are given a task, to seek the Elden Ring, the very fundamental form of the Golden Order, to become the Elden Lord, successor to Queen Marika."

"…But why? Why would they bring you back after exile?"

"Because of the Shattering."

"The Shattering?" Harry asked.

Melina nodded. "Two of Queen Marika's children, one by her blood, the other by adoption, were slain on a cold, fogbound night, with stolen fragments of the Rune of Destined Death. Godwyn the Golden, the most beloved of the demigods, first son of Godfrey, Marika's first consort, and Lunar Princess Ranni, the daughter of Marika's second consort, Radagon, when he was wed to Queen Rennala of Liurnia. Soon afterwards, the Elden Ring was shattered, and both Marika and Radagon disappeared. The Shattering, however, does not just refer to what happened to the Elden Ring…but to the war that ensued. A war that consumed the Lands Between. Demigod fought demigod, vying for supremacy, each claiming a large fragment of the Elden Ring as their own, known as Great Runes. But now, the war is all but over, with all factions locked in a stalemate."

"And what does that have to do with the Tarnished coming back?"

"The Grace sent out guides them here, hoping that one will grow strong enough to repair the Elden Ring, and take the place of Queen Marika and Radagon," Melina said. "A few Tarnished are lucky to acquire the services of Finger Maidens, priestesses in service to the Two Fingers, envoys of the Greater Will. The Greater Will is behind the Golden Order and the Erdtree, and is a god in a way not even Queen Marika is. Finger Maidens can convert the Lesser Runes Tarnished can gather into power, enhancing their physical strength, their endurance, intelligence, alacrity, and so on."

Harry frowned. "Lesser Runes?"

"Fragments of the Elden Ring that pervade all living things," Melina explained. "Not to be confused with runes used for writing."

"Fascinating," Hermione mused. "But how did you end up here?"

"I heard the call of Grace, calling me up from the grave," Gideon said. "Many of the Tarnished here were dead who live yet again. My approach was to gather knowledge, to assist other Tarnished…though I was considerably more active before. I fought alongside your mother, Dolores the Sleeping Arrow. She was sneered at in her home for wishing to be a hunter, and being a tomboy in a noble line. She was so-named because she laced her arrows with soporifics. We bickered as much as we loved. And then, she fell pregnant with you. We were still debating over a name when…well, it happened."

"What happened?"

"We were on a picnic in Liurnia of the Lakes when Dolores went into labour. We were ambushed shortly after your birth by scholars of Raya Lucaria Academy, who were curious to study the offspring of two Tarnished brought back to the Lands Between. In the confusion, I used an experimental spell to try and send you back to the Roundtable Hold…but you never arrived. Dolores blamed me, and our last words were of an acrimonious argument. She was later found by…a former associate of mine, a Preceptor called Seluvis. She was left in a coma, and he claimed he couldn't cure her. I suspect he had a hand in her condition, but I couldn't prove anything, and in any case, he has the patronage of one of the demigods, and thus her protection. We used to be friends, but we aren't now."

The bitterness in his tone reached Hermione. For all that she was wary of him, she at least understood his attitude somewhat better now. Losing his child and then his lover in quick succession must have hit him hard.

"I'll be perfectly honest, I gave up hope of ever finding you," Gideon said bluntly. "But not ere I tried every spell I could, Sorcery and Incantation, to find you. So you'll forgive me if I don't exactly jump for joy upon your being here. I'm still trying to determine the truth, and, well…I knew you for all of a few minutes when you were a babe in arms. I've mourned you for more than twenty-five years, and I have never been that affectionate even before your disappearance, as your mother would attest to if she was here."

Hermione nodded in understanding. She didn't like it, but she understood. "My parents…my adoptive parents…they treated me well. And Harry…he was, along with another, my first friend. I didn't want for love or friendship, at least after I went to school."

"And the children?"

"Teddy is Harry's godson, while Delphi is Harry's daughter by adoption. He and I aren't in a relationship, at least beyond friendship, anyway."

"Hmm…" Gideon scrutinised her for a time, before nodding. "Very well. As one of my blood, you are more than welcome here, as are your friends and associates. That being said, I do expect you to earn your keep. Nothing too arduous, but while your features favour your mother, I can see the keen intellect in your eyes. I could do with someone competent to help me with my research with fresh eyes. I'll figure out something for the others. Not the children, obviously, but Potter and Tonks…I'll think of something. I always need scouts in the Lands Between, to gather information. Though if they're not Tarnished blessed by Grace, that could be problematic. Oh, and one other thing."

"What's that?"

At this, Gideon looked a little embarrassed. "…I adopted a daughter soon after your disappearance. An orphaned child from the Badlands. A barbarian and a savage, but her skill in combat speaks for itself. Her name is Nepheli Loux, part of a warrior bloodline that stretches back to Hoarah Loux. If you can get along, I'd appreciate it."

"…Why?" This was admittedly something of a surprise, to learn she had a stepsister

"Oh, she gets along well with anyone who fits her sense of honour, overdeveloped though it is," Gideon said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But I also want to make it clear I didn't adopt her to replace you, if that's what you mean by your question. I adopted her because I saw her potential, to say nothing of her then-guardian requesting it of me."

Hermione frowned of the rather cold way he mentioned Nepheli's potential. But she kept her tongue for now. For all that she had been hoping to find her parents, she had to confess to disappointment. Her mother was comatose if not dead (and the Inheritance Test at Gringotts was ambiguous about that), and Gideon, while showing her regard, was still somewhat cold and aloof.

As if sensing her discomfort, Gideon said, in a surprisingly gentle tone, "I'll be honest, Hermione, you have a lot to learn, and a lot to adapt to. What I've given you is but the barest foundation. And make no mistake, this is a lethal world, beset by violence and cruelty. But your parents, the ones who raised you in my stead, did their job well. I see before me a woman with the keen glint of intelligence in her eyes, and a beauty that would draw the attention of many. Work hard, work well, and perhaps together, we can fix this forsaken world…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and Hermione have received a rundown on the situation, from both Gideon and Melina.

No numbered annotations this time.