Disclaimer: None of it is mine if you recognise it; for full disclaimer see
part one
**************************************************************************** *
The sun had just disappeared from sight. Darkness surrounded Hogwarts, and a moon danced around the clouds in the skies above. War Mage Thor was kneeling outside Hogwarts, preparing his spells. Around him he could see his old friends, all curious as to what he was about to do. He smiled a grim smile. Perhaps now they might understand what a War Mage is, he mused to himself.
Draco had yet to come. Thor hoped that the man had changed his mind…and yet part of him rejected that possibility. He knew that Draco was to be his apprentice…and he hated himself for knowing it. With a sigh, Thor pulled a small leather bag from an inner pocket of his shirt, took a pinch of the powder in it, and sprinkled it in a circle around himself. Not that he needed it to speak to the dragons, of course, but this was a demonstration – even if his audience didn't know it.
He looked up suddenly. Draco was here. Green eyes met stormy eyes as for a long, long moment they gazed at each other. Then Thor nodded slowly. "Wait until I make the circle," he ordered. "Then step inside it." Draco nodded. Thor rose, and started walking anticlockwise in a circle that was about thirty metres wide, muttering words under his breath. This part was necessary – and very, very difficult. Technically Mages weren't allowed to perform this magic without at least three other Mages with them…but Thor was no ordinary Mage. A trail of silvery light followed his footsteps, and then the circle was complete, and Thor returned to the centre of the circle of powder he had sprinkled before.
"Come into the circle, Draco," he commanded, his voice echoing across the grounds. Draco hesitated, then stepped over the silver barrier to join Thor. "Good. Now stay quiet, and whatever you do, don't get distracted." Draco frowned slightly, and Thor managed a smile. "This is some of the hardest magic there is," he explained. "To summon dragons from outside the Circle of Mages. There the magics are all so closely entwined with the dragons that it's relatively easy, although we aren't allowed to do it in groups of less than three. Here, where the magic is so diluted by all the people who live and work here, it's much harder."
"But you're doing it alone," Draco protested. "Surely –"
"I am powerful enough to control it," Thor overrode him calmly. "I have a…special connection with the dragons. They have never denied me, so I will not need to complete the summoning. They will come before I finish." Draco nodded, and Thor closed his eyes. He reached deep inside himself for the well of silver power that dwelt within him, and surrounded himself with it. He whispered words in dragon-tongue, and from far away he felt a reply. His eyes snapped open; his power was like a whirlwind, but he had confined it to this circle. He couldn't see anyone outside the circle anymore…the magic was so great it felt like he was being ripped from his body…
'Come,' he whispered in dragon-tongue. 'Come to me…I need you…I speak to you now, dragons, come to your child, come to me…'
A single voice came to him from the dragon-voices shrieking in his head.
'What do you need, little dragon?' the voice whispered. 'Why do you call us?'
'I wish to name my apprentice,' Thor answered it. 'And I need your help to defeat my enemies.'
'The naming of your apprentice, I will witness,' the voice consented after an agonising moment. 'But your enemies, my little one, are your own.'
'I have been promised help by your kind,' Thor protested, pain ripping through his body yet again. 'Please, I beg you, help me!' He waited for a moment. 'He is Basilisk-born in a Chimaera Year,' he told the dragon. 'Please, I cannot defeat him on my own…he will take over all the world! Your own kind are –'
'I know,' the dragon told him softly. 'But you are Mage. Mage do not interfere with wizards…not even you, little one. And you have power enough to defeat him by yourself. You are special, my little dragon-babe. You have the power…now, why don't you stop this ridiculous summoning spell so you can see me properly?' The dragon sounded too amused for safety, so Thor reached out blindly with his open hands and made a gathering motion. All the silver power that was raging around them was swiftly sucked back into him. Thor blinked, and swayed on his feet. The summoning had gone on for longer than he expected, and the pain had been worse than ever before. Draco gripped his arm firmly to keep him upright. Thor had eyes only for the dragon who sat placidly in front of him, but he could hear the uneasy, shocked, and scared whispers of the watchers outside the circle.
'Give me your name, little dragon,' the dragon commanded, rearing his head. Thor frowned faintly. 'Thor,' he said softly. 'My name is Thor.'
'NO!' the dragon shouted. Thor was ripped from Draco and pushed back against his barrier with the force of it. A sharp glance at Draco ensured that the man would stay within the inner circle, then Thor struggled to his feet again. 'Give me your *name*!' the dragon demanded again.
'Harry Potter,' Thor said, the words turning into a scream as pain ripped through him again. This was definitely not supposed to happen. 'Thor. Thunder child. Little dragon. That is my name.'
'Good, little one,' the dragon said, quieter now, approving. The pain receded. 'But you still do not understand.' Thor frowned, but the dragon changed the subject. 'I am Wyvrient-malothkma. Present to me your apprentice for naming.' Thor made his way to the inner circle, where Draco was still standing, watching Thor anxiously and shooting nervous glances at the dragon.
"Draco," he rasped. "Step out of the circle." Draco stepped out quickly. Thor turned to the dragon. 'This is my apprentice,' he said hoarsely. 'Draco Malfoy, born of the Unicorns in a Dragon Year.'
The dragon met Draco's eyes for a long moment. Then he nodded. 'He will do, little dragon. Teach him well. See that he does not stray. When he is Named again, I will come again. Until then…do not hesitate to call upon me, my little one.' With that, the dragon took off into the skies, flying towards the moon until it could no longer be seen. Only when the dragon had gone did Thor let down the silvery magical barrier and allow himself to fall to the ground.
But he didn't fall. He was caught by Draco, who gently lowered him. Thor gripped Draco's arm as the man would have pulled away.
"It's done," he said hoarsely. "You have been named my apprentice."
"Are you alright?" Draco demanded urgently. Thor closed his eyes for a moment, assessing his condition. "I'll live," he said finally. "But by the dragons themselves, I feel like hell." And he allowed himself to fall into a sleep-like trance that would, he hoped, heal him swifter than any normal sleep or potion.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Draco, what did he do last night?"
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, Weasley."
"Malfoy, I've had it up to here with you, you little –"
"Shut up, Fred. Draco's right. If I'm right…last night Draco became Harry's – sorry, Thor's apprentice."
"That's right."
"But what was he saying to the dragon? Draco, do you know if he expected this to happen?"
"I didn't," Thor inserted, not opening his eyes. "I didn't expect anything of the sort. It was quite interesting, really." He opened his eyes, tried to sit up, winced, and stayed lying down. "Even if the consequences aren't so good," he conceded. He quickly glanced around to see who was there; Fred and George Weasley, Hermione, Draco, Sirius, Snape, and Dumbledore. "Draco, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," the blond nodded. "What happened last night?" Thor frowned thoughtfully, trying to ignore the inquiring looks of everyone else. "I'm not sure," he commented. "At least…" He shook his head. "I'll explain later, when I start training you," he said firmly. "The dragons aren't going to help us," he told Dumbledore then. "I know I said they would, and I don't know why they're not…" He frowned again as the words of the dragon came back to him. 'You have power enough to defeat him by yourself. You are special, my little dragon-babe.'
"Come on," Draco said suddenly to the others. "Thor needs to rest, and you need to research." All but Sirius left hurriedly; the older man hovered at the door of what Thor realised must be Draco's rooms.
"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?" Sirius asked anxiously. Thor smiled what he hoped was a comforting smile, and nodded. "I'm fine," he assured. "I just need to think. I'll see you later." Sirius nodded, and left. Thor looked back at Draco, sighed, and closed his eyes again.
"What happened last night, Thor?" Draco asked quietly. "That – I'm certain that wasn't supposed to happen." Thor opened his eyes again. "No," he agreed seriously. "It wasn't. But it wasn't because I should, technically, have had two other Mages with me. It was…I'm not sure, actually. Something about me." Draco raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Thor sighed. "Okay, this is the only time I'm going to explain this," he warned. "It's a despicable subject, and I hate it. We were both born in a Dragon year. I was born under a Dragon Moon, which is, of course, why I was approached by the Mages instead of approaching them. But I was also born on a Dragon Sun, which only occurs every several thousand years, and is incredibly powerful. So I was born in a Dragon Year, Sun and Moon, which basically means that I'm a Dragon Child. I'm bound to them as long as I live and longer, and in return I get to channel their magics more than any other Mage. It's annoying, but occasionally helpful." He took a moment to look at Draco, who was staring at him in disbelief. "There's a lot more to it than that, of course," he relented. "There's a couple of prophecies, the nasty fact that the Circle of Mages now think they own me, and some rather annoying baby dragons I'm occasionally called to look after, but apart from that…" He shrugged.
"I've read about Dragon Suns," Draco said at last. "I know about…how powerful Mages are if they're born under one. But how could you have been born under a Sun and a Moon? I mean, that's impossible!"
"No," Thor contradicted, "it's actually not, if the child is born on the twelfth stroke of midnight, and it only works if it's the same symbol – dragon and dragon, or unicorn and unicorn, for example – because the Sun will reappear for a split second in the sky whilst the Moon is still there. It's a complicated Astral-natal thing, and I pretty much failed that class. Well, I didn't fail it, but it wasn't my best subject, which is why I became a War Mage and not a Moon Mage, or as I more commonly call them, Trackers." He grinned suddenly. "Any chance of some breakfast?"
Draco's snort of laughter rang in his ears as his new apprentice moved away to find some food, and Thor stretched on the bed. I wonder, he thought suddenly, if the Circle felt my spell last night.
Then Draco returned. Thor thanked him absently as he pulled himself into a sitting position, and jumped on the food. It felt like he hadn't eaten in three days. In fact, he mused, he probably hadn't. He had a tendency to forget food if he was busy, and he most certainly had been busy for the past few days. When he was finished, he leant back against he pillows with a sigh, Draco watching him expectantly.
"There is no way on earth or heaven," Thor started, "that I'm teaching you anything practical today. And besides, you need to re-learn all your magical theory." Draco nodded silently. Thor was starting to get frustrated with this silence from the man he'd always associated with passionate, if hasty, words. And he suspected he knew the reason why. "Honestly, Draco, I'm not God just because I'm –"
"Just because you're practically the Messiah for every magical beast and being on the planet?" Draco snorted. "Perhaps not, but you're as close as makes no difference." Thor's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he made no comment. Draco caught the look though, and sighed. "Look, I know you hate having people expect things of you – Merlin knows you had enough of that at school – but no-one here knows that you're the Dragon Child, and I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Thank you," Thor said at last. "I appreciate that." He grinned suddenly. "Now, I'd better go and look at that barrier I put up around the castle to see if there's been any damage. You can start learning this." He pulled a book from the air and shoved it at Draco. "The Elementary Theory of Dragon Magic, or Mages," he explained. "Mages are required to know everything in there…you can start with chapter one, on Moons. I'll be back in an hour or so." He peeled the bedclothes back, stood up on unsteady legs, and gathered his various weapons from the table, placing them in their sheaths or clasps with care. He moved to the door, glanced back once at his new student, then left the rooms.
The hall was filled with people, all of whom openly stared at Thor in his Mage uniform as he strode towards the stairs at the end of the hall. He ignored them; he had a sneaking suspicion that he was in for a visit from the Council, and he couldn't afford to be distracted anyway. Not with Draco as his apprentice, and not with that message the dragon had give him…if that damn prophecy was about to come true, he'd –
"Thor!" someone called. Thor whipped around, his hand resting on his wand. Then he relaxed. 'Sorry, Hermione," he apologised. "Force of habit." Hermione nodded, and joined him on his way down the stairs. "Was there something you wanted?"
"Actually, yes," Hermione admitted. "I've been doing a lot of research on different types of magics…and after that, uh, demonstration last night, I was hoping that perhaps you could help me." Thor halted and looked at her seriously. "Hermione, I've just taken an apprentice," he reminded her. "Draco Malfoy, for crying out loud. I have to be there for him twenty-four hours a day…technically, we should both be in the Circle for his training, but as it is I'm expecting the Council to butt their nosy, annoying heads into my business to see what I'm doing. And there's Voldemort – he was born under a bad Moon, Hermione. I'll be able to defeat him…I hope…but it'll take a lot of time and effort, and I just don't have time for anything else right now."
"Fine," Hermione said quietly. "But can you just answer one question for me?" Thor nodded. "If I can," he agreed. Hermione bit her lip for a moment, then blurted her question out. "How many types of Magic have you mastered?"
Thor frowned thoughtfully. "Uh…well, Basic Magic, and Soul Magic," he said slowly. "Heart Magic, and War Magic, of course. Beast Magic, Unicorn Magic, Basilisk Magic and Illusion Magic. Er…oh yes, Griffin Magic, and, of course, Dragon Magic." Hermione stared at him, completely nonplussed. Thor smiled wickedly. "Of course, Mages are only required to learn Dragon, Heart, Soul, Basic and Illusion Magics," he said innocently. "Then they specialise…only I had a lot of time, so I pretty much learnt everything."
"Okay," Hermione said faintly. "Thanks, Harry. Uh, Thor, sorry." Thor's eyes held hers sharply for a moment, then he softened. "Call me Harry," he said quietly. "Mages…our given names are used by people close to us. I know I haven't been here…but I would hope that perhaps we might be friends again some day?"
Hermione gazed at him shrewdly for a long moment, then she smiled and nodded. "I hope that too – Harry," she agreed. "Now, you'd better go and do…whatever it is you have to do. I have to, uh…go and meet George." She blushed, and Thor couldn't resist. "I never would have thought it," he teased. "You and George."
"Oh, go away," Hermione said laughingly. "It's not the strangest pairing to come out of this damned war."
"What is?"
Hermione hesitated, glanced around them, leant in close to Thor, and whispered, "Parvati Patil and Blaise Zabini." Thor drew back in complete disbelief. "It's true, I swear. But you didn't hear it from me, and I have to take these books to Professor Dumbledore." With that, she swiftly walked away, leaving Thor staring after her.
Then he made his way down to the entrance hall, and managed to slip through the large front doors without being noticed – even if he did cheat by using magic. He gazed down for a long moment at the remnants of the circle he had created last night. The power had completely gone, but there was a burnt circle in the grass in its place. Several dragon scales also littered the grass, and he quickly gathered them up. They would be useful for Draco later on.
Then he made his way down towards Hogsmeade, where, he hoped, he would find the Death Eaters. He needed information, and they would be the best place to start. He was pleased to see that his barrier was still there. Death Eaters were standing at intervals on the other side of it, watching him angrily. He smiled winningly, and stepped through the silver magics.
"Hello," he smiled at the nearest Death Eater. "I don't suppose you could take me to whoever's in charge of you here? I'd appreciate it." The Death Eater stared at him impassively. Thor lost his patience. "Now, if you don't mind," he snapped. His wand leapt into his hand, and he held it up threateningly. "You don't want to see what I can do with a wand."
"Who are you?" the Death Eater demanded harshly. "Why should I do what you want?"
Thor spoke very slowly, as if he was speaking to a child. "Well, one reason is because I'm War Mage Thor," he said. "And another is that I could blow you to bits with one word if I wanted to." He smiled brilliantly. "Or, of course, there's always the fact that I'm Harry Potter."
The Death Eater gaped, stuttered, then turned and led Thor towards the village. The other Death Eaters watched them go in silence. Thor took the opportunity to look around Hogsmeade as he was led towards the Death Eater headquarters. The village that he remembered with fondness had been almost completely decimated; there was obviously no one living here anymore. He could see, over the piles of burnt rubble, the Shrieking Shack, still standing, but silently. He could see other Death Eaters wandering about, laughing, and he grimaced at it. He cast a protection spell over himself just as an afterthought. It wouldn't do, he reminded himself with a small smile, to deprive Draco of a teacher when he had only just begun learning.
"In here," the Death Eater told him, pushing open a door. Thor inclined his head and held out a hand for the Death Eater to go first, then stepped into the building after him. He found himself in a large room, filled with Death Eaters and, for some reason, cages of Elves. Harry felt anger rise in him as the small Elves, recognising who he was, began calling out to him in their language. But for the moment he had to ignore them as a man stepped forward. Thor's eyes narrowed.
"Why, Ron," he said coolly. "I never thought I'd see you here." The red- headed man looked him up and down disparagingly. "Who is this, McLonys?" he demanded of the Death Eater who had brought Thor in. "I thought your orders were clear."
"Y-yes, sir," the Death Eater stuttered. "But sir, he was the one to put up that barrier yesterday – he says he's a War Mage – he says he's Harry Potter!"
Ron's eyes flashed back to meet Thor's instantly. Thor raised one eyebrow slightly. "Personally," he said in a conversational tone, "I think that you should be more worried about the fact that I'm a fully competent War Mage than about the fact that my name is Harry Potter. Although, of course, the fact that you're a Death Eater, Ron, and you used to be my best friend, would give you cause to worry because of my name rather than my powers."
"All of you," Ron snapped at the Death Eaters. "Out, now." They hurried to do his bidding. Thor stepped past Ron and sat down comfortably. "Harry Potter. I must say, I never thought I'd see you again."
"Thor, Ron. My name is Thor," Thor said, the hint of a threat in his voice. "Why don't you sit down? This could take a while, depending on how cooperative you are." The cries of the Elves were really starting to do his head in, so he glanced over at them, soothing them in their language and assuring them that he would help them as soon as he was finished.
Ron did sit down, opposite Thor, his eyes narrowed. He looked absolutely furious. Thor felt nothing less, but his anger was coupled with a kind of pained betrayal that he knew he had no right to feel. He had, after all, been the one to leave. But it had been worth it, his mind insisted, even as his cool eyes took in all of Ron. Oh yes, it had been worth it.
"So," he started pleasantly. "Why don't we start with how on earth you, Ron Weasley, became a Death Eater?" Ron remained silent. Thor started to lose his grip on his temper, something he knew he couldn't afford to do. "Ron, I'm waiting."
"It's none of your business, Thor," Ron said coldly, stressing the Mage's name. "You're the one who left, after all. You no longer have any claim on me." A window smashed. Thor winced as he glanced at it, then muttered a word. The glass re-formed. "Tut, tut," Ron said dryly. "You seem a little upset at my words."
"Upset? No," Thor smiled peacefully. "Angry, certainly. By the way, how on earth did you manage to capture elves?" he looked back at the Elves, who were quietly waiting for him to finish. He flashed them a quick grin. He could see Ron growing more angry. "Alright, we'll leave the Elves out of this for the moment." He leant back in the chair, relaxing. "Now, since I've been away for quite some time, I'd rather like to catch up on what's been happening. I want you to tell me."
"Why not ask those ridiculous freedom fighters up in the castle?" Ron sneered. Thor's eyebrows shot up. "You're worse than Draco used to be," he commented.
"Malfoy!" Ron spat. "What does that slimy traitor have to do with anything?" Thor's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He is my apprentice," he said coldly, his voice deathly quiet. "And he is no traitor, or the dragons would have refused him." He smiled again, his eyes still cool. "But that's besides the point, is it not? I want to know what's happened for the past ten years, and you, Ronald Weasley, are going to explain it to me, carefully, without leaving anything out." He glanced back at the Elves, who were again clamouring for his attention. "And I'd do it as quickly as possible, if I were you. Those Elves won't be contained for much longer."
Ron glared at him with a fury that Thor had previously associated with the look Ron had reserved for Draco Malfoy. Thor steeled himself for a maelstrom of angry words, but they never came. Instead Ron clinically detailed everything that had happened to the wizarding world for the past ten years; the capture of the Ministry, the near-purging of muggle-borns, or those of impure descent. The control that Voldemort now held over all of wizarding Britain, and much of the muggle part as well.
"And Voldemort is now in London?" Thor inquired finally. Ron didn't reply, and a corner of Thor's mouth twitched. "I thought so." He stretched and rose. "Well, you've been very helpful, Ron. I'll be sure to say hello to your brothers when I get back to the castle, oh, and Hermione too." His eyes dared Ron to retort, and Ron did not take up the challenge. Thor made a complicated symbol with his right hand, and the Elves in the cage disappeared. He looked back at Ron, a sad look in his eyes. "Things could have been different, Ron."
"Yes," Ron agreed coolly, "if you had stayed."
"I just want to know one thing," Thor said softly. "Why did you turn, Ron?"
Ron gazed at him for a long, tense moment. "You left," he pronounced finally. "What was the point in staying?" Stung, Thor whirled and left Hogsmeade as quickly as was possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"You have been accepted by the Dragons, and you have received your Name," intoned one of the cloaked Council members. "Now we, the Council of the Circle of Mages, ask of you what you can offer this Circle."
Thor, as he was newly Named, raised his chin, a little defiant. "I offer my powers and magics. I offer my strength, and my knowledge." From the silence around him he could tell that this was not enough. He took a deep breath, preparing to reveal the most guarded secret in the Circle. Only he himself, Zodiac, and two Council members knew of this. "I offer the Bond of a Dragon Child to the Dragon Mages."
There was a murmur of surprise. One of the cloaked men stepped forward disbelievingly. "Who do you say has this Bond?" he demanded. Thor looked evenly. "I do," he replied. "I am a Dragon Child, born under a Dragon Moon and a Dragon Sun, in a Dragon Year. I am under the protection of the Dragons, from where I came, and I trust in them to all things." His voice became a little sharper. "Does this Council accept my offer?"
"We do," came the cool, clear voice of the Council Leader. "We welcome you to our ranks, War Mage Thor, Dragon Child." Thor relaxed slightly as Zodiac stepped out from among the clocked Council. His mentor looked unusually grave.
"Harry," he said quietly. "You know what you have done, by claiming that Bond?" Thor gave him a sardonic look. "No, Zodiac, I only passed Prophecies with an almost perfect score." He dropped the sarcastic act, letting Zodiac see that he was really afraid. "I know. I suspect I shan't get a moment's peace for the next decade." He let out a wry, slightly bitter chuckle. "Typical that it's me, right?" Zodiac had nothing to say; it was always his student, and he could not deny it.
"What will you do now?" he asked instead. Thor's eyes flickered. "Well," he said slowly, "I doubt that the Council will allow me to return to help the Wizarding world." Zodiac scoffed at the very idea. "Exactly," Thor said. "So I'm going to keep on learning. A year for each Magic, right? I figure that I'll get at least three in before they let me."
"What do you want to start on?" Zodiac wanted to know. Thor shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I'll wait for the Dragons to tell me." Deep within his mind, he heard the voices of the dragons begin to whisper to him.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nobody seemed to be around when Thor stalked through the school back to Draco's rooms. Perhaps, he thought to himself grimly, they had seen him and run. It was true that he was not in a good mood; in fact, if he was entirely truthful with himself, he was absolutely furious. He wished that someone had warned him that Ron – Ron Weasley, of all people – was leading the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. But no, they had all chosen to remain silent about that…even Draco.
No, he told himself firmly, pausing to gaze out of a window. Draco had not done that on purpose. Of that he was certain, and with that thought firmly held in his mind he continued up to Draco's rooms.
Draco was still carefully reading the book Thor had given him, but he looked up when Thor entered, a mildly surprised expression on his face. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon," he commented.
"I didn't think I would be," Thor admitted. He sat down on the bed; the spell from last night was beginning to catch up with him again. "Don't suppose you know why no-one thought to tell me that Ron Weasley is a Death Eater?" Draco paled, and looked away. "Draco?"
"I suppose we try not to think about it," Draco admitted quietly. "I'm sorry, I should have remembered to warn you. It's just…painful." He sighed, and leant back in his chair. "Ron turned about seven years ago, just after we'd all left Hogwarts. He and I…we were supposed to take the Mark together, only I wouldn't…I couldn't do it, so Snape got me away, and Ron took the Mark. He…he came up here as soon as he could, as soon as he had enough power. We all try to ignore it, because we had had no idea that he would do that, you see." He fell silenced, staring into space for a long moment. Thor sighed and shook his head.
"It's not as surprising as some people might think," he observed. "As much as I used to like Ron, it is those sorts of people who flock to people with most power. Ron isn't as much of a follower as, say, Wormtail, but he's definitely in the same class of people. And I daresay my leaving without any word didn't help anything."
"No," Draco murmured. "I don't think it did." He met Thor's eyes for a moment, then continued reading his book. Thor rose and moved to gaze, unseeing, out of the window.
"Do you think I was wrong to leave?" Thor asked suddenly. Draco looked up from his book, fixing his stormy grey eyes on Thor. He considered the question carefully. "It depends on how you look at it," he said eventually. "If you had stayed, there's no guarantee that you would have been able to stop Voldemort. Now that you've had all these training, you probably will be able to defeat him. But a lot of people have been hurt." Thor turned to look at him; their eyes connected.
Finally Thor looked away. "You've changed a lot, Draco," he said softly. "I'm not sure whether I understand you anymore." He didn't look back at Draco, but he heard the scraping of a chair, and soft footfalls coming towards him. A moment later Draco stepped in front of him, one hand comfortingly moving to rest on Thor's shoulder. "I don't think you ever really did," he observed quietly.
Thor raised one eyebrow in mute enquiry that was never answered, as Draco's hand drifted up from his shoulder to trace his jaw line with light fingers. Thor's lips parted slightly as Draco's fingers moved down to rest on his chest, and Draco started to lean in closer…
"No, Draco," he said firmly, despite his feelings to the contrary. "You're not ready for this."
"You told me that teacher and student share everything," Draco murmured, clearly a little hurt. Thor's eyes held compassion, but he shook his head. "Yes," he agreed. "But you are not ready for this, Draco, and," with a rueful grin, "neither am I, thanks to that spell last night." He grew serious once more, and he mirrored Draco's previous action, his fingers gently stroking Draco's cheek. "Patience, Draco, is one of the first, and most important lessons that you will learn."
"I have never been a patient man," Draco admitted softly. Thor smiled slightly. "It will get easier," he promised. "For one thing, from tomorrow I'm putting you under a physical regime the likes of which you've never seen. You'll be too tired to even think about sex. For another," and now he allowed himself a mischievous grin, "it's a Dragon law that when you're studying the Moons you have to remain celibate."
Draco gave him a glare that would freeze ice, and returned to his book, disgruntled. Thor laughed at him, then began removing all his various weapons to clean them. After a few moments, Draco looked up again. "Did you say studying the Moons?" he demanded.
"Yes," Thor said innocently. "You know, Moon-gazing, reading the chapters you're reading, that sort of thing."
"And a physical regime."
"Mages are nothing if not fit and healthy, Draco."
"So I'm going to be moving all day and studying all night."
"I did say you wouldn't have time to think about sex. Consider it your first lesson, Draco, and improve in it as quickly as you can."
Draco was silent after that as he read and learnt as much as he could. Thor glanced at him every now and then, a little amused, but mostly he concentrated on his weapons. He was well aware that he would have to face Death Eaters in battle soon, probably frequently, but that wasn't really the reason why he felt the sudden urge to make sure all his equipment was in perfect working order. No, he was sure that any time now the Council of Mages – or at least their representatives – would arrive and demand to know what he was doing. Not that they could really order him around, considering who he was, but he felt an obligation to obey them. They were his superiors in rank, after all…most of them, anyway, and they all had the authority to order him back to the Circle with his new apprentice.
Some of his gloomy thoughts must have made their way onto his face, because after a full moment where Thor merely stared into space, Draco sighed and pulled the dagger from his hands.
"You're going to chop your hand off," he informed Thor testily. "What's the matter?" Thor shrugged. "Nothing much," he lied. "Go back to your book, and careful with that dagger, it was a present."
"From who?" Draco inquired, inspecting the dagger carefully. Thor took it back swiftly and ran his fingers over the engraving. It had been carefully crafted in the dwarf-mines of Armorego, deep beneath the earth's surface, but it had been engraved and given to him by the Dragons when he had first met one of them…a token of her affection, she had called it…
"A Dragon," he replied finally. "It's engraved with dragon-tongue; you'll learn that later. Now go back and read that damned book. I need to go and find Dumbledore." Draco nodded and sat back down; Thor sheathed the dagger, and left the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"Thor, I swear by all the Dragons, if you do that one more time I'll bloody well kill you!"
Thor smirked at the irate woman. "Don't make promises you can't keep," he said glibly. "And don't swear by the Dragons, it's irreverent and pretty much the same as swearing by me." He ducked out of the way of her punch. "Really, Virgo, you should have asked me if you wanted to spar that desperately. You could do with it; I heard Seraph beat you last week."
"She's up herself because she got appointed to the Council ahead of you," Virgo grumbled, but she didn't try to hit Thor any more. "Honestly, if you tried at all you'd have been on the Council years ago."
Thor sent her an odd look. "Why would I want to do that?" he demanded. 'It's much more fun being able to do things, go places. And you can't learn more if you're on the Council; I'm in the middle of learning Beast Magic. You know that, Virgo."
"How many does that make now?" Virgo demanded.
"Seven; I have three more months on Beast Magic, then I'll move on to Basilisk Magic – it helps that I can talk to snakes – and after that, if I'm still here, Griffin Magic."
"There are only twelve magics to learn," Virgo said quietly. "When do you plan to stop, Thor?"
"Not until they let me go back to my old school and help them," came the familiar answer. "Besides, it's not like I can't handle the magic. You know I can."
She gave a hollow, slightly bitter laugh. "Oh yes, Thor. Every novice who comes here knows that. It's only every other week that you're blowing up something."
"I repeat, Virgo, that it is not my fault, it is the Dragons."
"Thor, get in here!" yelled Zodiac from inside the apartment. "Your gadget is going crazy!" Thor heaved himself to his feet with a grimace. "Coming, Zodiac," he called back. He looked down at Virgo, who rose also. "I'll see you tomorrow, Virgo." She nodded, and stepped towards him, aiming to kiss him. He took a startled step back. "Virgo, I'm with Zodiac. You know that."
"I know," Virgo sighed. "A girl can dream, can't she? Every Mage in the place is after you, Thor, hadn't you noticed?" She moved away into the apartment she shared with her teacher, and Thor stared after her in surprise before going in to his own teacher. Zodiac was attempting to get a floating Elven Ball to set itself down on the table. Thor made it rest with a wave of his hand.
"If you are going to key it to your own magical signature, can you please not make it float," Zodiac said sternly. Then he noticed the oddly thoughtful expression on his apprentice's face. "What is it, Harry?"
"Nothing," Thor said absently. "Just something Virgo said." He crossed the room into Zodiac's welcoming arms, and rested his head on the taller man's chest. "I'm just thinking," he murmured. "About going back…"
"They won't let you," Zodiac said after a long moment.
"I know."
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued.
**************************************************************************** *
The sun had just disappeared from sight. Darkness surrounded Hogwarts, and a moon danced around the clouds in the skies above. War Mage Thor was kneeling outside Hogwarts, preparing his spells. Around him he could see his old friends, all curious as to what he was about to do. He smiled a grim smile. Perhaps now they might understand what a War Mage is, he mused to himself.
Draco had yet to come. Thor hoped that the man had changed his mind…and yet part of him rejected that possibility. He knew that Draco was to be his apprentice…and he hated himself for knowing it. With a sigh, Thor pulled a small leather bag from an inner pocket of his shirt, took a pinch of the powder in it, and sprinkled it in a circle around himself. Not that he needed it to speak to the dragons, of course, but this was a demonstration – even if his audience didn't know it.
He looked up suddenly. Draco was here. Green eyes met stormy eyes as for a long, long moment they gazed at each other. Then Thor nodded slowly. "Wait until I make the circle," he ordered. "Then step inside it." Draco nodded. Thor rose, and started walking anticlockwise in a circle that was about thirty metres wide, muttering words under his breath. This part was necessary – and very, very difficult. Technically Mages weren't allowed to perform this magic without at least three other Mages with them…but Thor was no ordinary Mage. A trail of silvery light followed his footsteps, and then the circle was complete, and Thor returned to the centre of the circle of powder he had sprinkled before.
"Come into the circle, Draco," he commanded, his voice echoing across the grounds. Draco hesitated, then stepped over the silver barrier to join Thor. "Good. Now stay quiet, and whatever you do, don't get distracted." Draco frowned slightly, and Thor managed a smile. "This is some of the hardest magic there is," he explained. "To summon dragons from outside the Circle of Mages. There the magics are all so closely entwined with the dragons that it's relatively easy, although we aren't allowed to do it in groups of less than three. Here, where the magic is so diluted by all the people who live and work here, it's much harder."
"But you're doing it alone," Draco protested. "Surely –"
"I am powerful enough to control it," Thor overrode him calmly. "I have a…special connection with the dragons. They have never denied me, so I will not need to complete the summoning. They will come before I finish." Draco nodded, and Thor closed his eyes. He reached deep inside himself for the well of silver power that dwelt within him, and surrounded himself with it. He whispered words in dragon-tongue, and from far away he felt a reply. His eyes snapped open; his power was like a whirlwind, but he had confined it to this circle. He couldn't see anyone outside the circle anymore…the magic was so great it felt like he was being ripped from his body…
'Come,' he whispered in dragon-tongue. 'Come to me…I need you…I speak to you now, dragons, come to your child, come to me…'
A single voice came to him from the dragon-voices shrieking in his head.
'What do you need, little dragon?' the voice whispered. 'Why do you call us?'
'I wish to name my apprentice,' Thor answered it. 'And I need your help to defeat my enemies.'
'The naming of your apprentice, I will witness,' the voice consented after an agonising moment. 'But your enemies, my little one, are your own.'
'I have been promised help by your kind,' Thor protested, pain ripping through his body yet again. 'Please, I beg you, help me!' He waited for a moment. 'He is Basilisk-born in a Chimaera Year,' he told the dragon. 'Please, I cannot defeat him on my own…he will take over all the world! Your own kind are –'
'I know,' the dragon told him softly. 'But you are Mage. Mage do not interfere with wizards…not even you, little one. And you have power enough to defeat him by yourself. You are special, my little dragon-babe. You have the power…now, why don't you stop this ridiculous summoning spell so you can see me properly?' The dragon sounded too amused for safety, so Thor reached out blindly with his open hands and made a gathering motion. All the silver power that was raging around them was swiftly sucked back into him. Thor blinked, and swayed on his feet. The summoning had gone on for longer than he expected, and the pain had been worse than ever before. Draco gripped his arm firmly to keep him upright. Thor had eyes only for the dragon who sat placidly in front of him, but he could hear the uneasy, shocked, and scared whispers of the watchers outside the circle.
'Give me your name, little dragon,' the dragon commanded, rearing his head. Thor frowned faintly. 'Thor,' he said softly. 'My name is Thor.'
'NO!' the dragon shouted. Thor was ripped from Draco and pushed back against his barrier with the force of it. A sharp glance at Draco ensured that the man would stay within the inner circle, then Thor struggled to his feet again. 'Give me your *name*!' the dragon demanded again.
'Harry Potter,' Thor said, the words turning into a scream as pain ripped through him again. This was definitely not supposed to happen. 'Thor. Thunder child. Little dragon. That is my name.'
'Good, little one,' the dragon said, quieter now, approving. The pain receded. 'But you still do not understand.' Thor frowned, but the dragon changed the subject. 'I am Wyvrient-malothkma. Present to me your apprentice for naming.' Thor made his way to the inner circle, where Draco was still standing, watching Thor anxiously and shooting nervous glances at the dragon.
"Draco," he rasped. "Step out of the circle." Draco stepped out quickly. Thor turned to the dragon. 'This is my apprentice,' he said hoarsely. 'Draco Malfoy, born of the Unicorns in a Dragon Year.'
The dragon met Draco's eyes for a long moment. Then he nodded. 'He will do, little dragon. Teach him well. See that he does not stray. When he is Named again, I will come again. Until then…do not hesitate to call upon me, my little one.' With that, the dragon took off into the skies, flying towards the moon until it could no longer be seen. Only when the dragon had gone did Thor let down the silvery magical barrier and allow himself to fall to the ground.
But he didn't fall. He was caught by Draco, who gently lowered him. Thor gripped Draco's arm as the man would have pulled away.
"It's done," he said hoarsely. "You have been named my apprentice."
"Are you alright?" Draco demanded urgently. Thor closed his eyes for a moment, assessing his condition. "I'll live," he said finally. "But by the dragons themselves, I feel like hell." And he allowed himself to fall into a sleep-like trance that would, he hoped, heal him swifter than any normal sleep or potion.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Draco, what did he do last night?"
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, Weasley."
"Malfoy, I've had it up to here with you, you little –"
"Shut up, Fred. Draco's right. If I'm right…last night Draco became Harry's – sorry, Thor's apprentice."
"That's right."
"But what was he saying to the dragon? Draco, do you know if he expected this to happen?"
"I didn't," Thor inserted, not opening his eyes. "I didn't expect anything of the sort. It was quite interesting, really." He opened his eyes, tried to sit up, winced, and stayed lying down. "Even if the consequences aren't so good," he conceded. He quickly glanced around to see who was there; Fred and George Weasley, Hermione, Draco, Sirius, Snape, and Dumbledore. "Draco, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," the blond nodded. "What happened last night?" Thor frowned thoughtfully, trying to ignore the inquiring looks of everyone else. "I'm not sure," he commented. "At least…" He shook his head. "I'll explain later, when I start training you," he said firmly. "The dragons aren't going to help us," he told Dumbledore then. "I know I said they would, and I don't know why they're not…" He frowned again as the words of the dragon came back to him. 'You have power enough to defeat him by yourself. You are special, my little dragon-babe.'
"Come on," Draco said suddenly to the others. "Thor needs to rest, and you need to research." All but Sirius left hurriedly; the older man hovered at the door of what Thor realised must be Draco's rooms.
"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?" Sirius asked anxiously. Thor smiled what he hoped was a comforting smile, and nodded. "I'm fine," he assured. "I just need to think. I'll see you later." Sirius nodded, and left. Thor looked back at Draco, sighed, and closed his eyes again.
"What happened last night, Thor?" Draco asked quietly. "That – I'm certain that wasn't supposed to happen." Thor opened his eyes again. "No," he agreed seriously. "It wasn't. But it wasn't because I should, technically, have had two other Mages with me. It was…I'm not sure, actually. Something about me." Draco raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Thor sighed. "Okay, this is the only time I'm going to explain this," he warned. "It's a despicable subject, and I hate it. We were both born in a Dragon year. I was born under a Dragon Moon, which is, of course, why I was approached by the Mages instead of approaching them. But I was also born on a Dragon Sun, which only occurs every several thousand years, and is incredibly powerful. So I was born in a Dragon Year, Sun and Moon, which basically means that I'm a Dragon Child. I'm bound to them as long as I live and longer, and in return I get to channel their magics more than any other Mage. It's annoying, but occasionally helpful." He took a moment to look at Draco, who was staring at him in disbelief. "There's a lot more to it than that, of course," he relented. "There's a couple of prophecies, the nasty fact that the Circle of Mages now think they own me, and some rather annoying baby dragons I'm occasionally called to look after, but apart from that…" He shrugged.
"I've read about Dragon Suns," Draco said at last. "I know about…how powerful Mages are if they're born under one. But how could you have been born under a Sun and a Moon? I mean, that's impossible!"
"No," Thor contradicted, "it's actually not, if the child is born on the twelfth stroke of midnight, and it only works if it's the same symbol – dragon and dragon, or unicorn and unicorn, for example – because the Sun will reappear for a split second in the sky whilst the Moon is still there. It's a complicated Astral-natal thing, and I pretty much failed that class. Well, I didn't fail it, but it wasn't my best subject, which is why I became a War Mage and not a Moon Mage, or as I more commonly call them, Trackers." He grinned suddenly. "Any chance of some breakfast?"
Draco's snort of laughter rang in his ears as his new apprentice moved away to find some food, and Thor stretched on the bed. I wonder, he thought suddenly, if the Circle felt my spell last night.
Then Draco returned. Thor thanked him absently as he pulled himself into a sitting position, and jumped on the food. It felt like he hadn't eaten in three days. In fact, he mused, he probably hadn't. He had a tendency to forget food if he was busy, and he most certainly had been busy for the past few days. When he was finished, he leant back against he pillows with a sigh, Draco watching him expectantly.
"There is no way on earth or heaven," Thor started, "that I'm teaching you anything practical today. And besides, you need to re-learn all your magical theory." Draco nodded silently. Thor was starting to get frustrated with this silence from the man he'd always associated with passionate, if hasty, words. And he suspected he knew the reason why. "Honestly, Draco, I'm not God just because I'm –"
"Just because you're practically the Messiah for every magical beast and being on the planet?" Draco snorted. "Perhaps not, but you're as close as makes no difference." Thor's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he made no comment. Draco caught the look though, and sighed. "Look, I know you hate having people expect things of you – Merlin knows you had enough of that at school – but no-one here knows that you're the Dragon Child, and I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Thank you," Thor said at last. "I appreciate that." He grinned suddenly. "Now, I'd better go and look at that barrier I put up around the castle to see if there's been any damage. You can start learning this." He pulled a book from the air and shoved it at Draco. "The Elementary Theory of Dragon Magic, or Mages," he explained. "Mages are required to know everything in there…you can start with chapter one, on Moons. I'll be back in an hour or so." He peeled the bedclothes back, stood up on unsteady legs, and gathered his various weapons from the table, placing them in their sheaths or clasps with care. He moved to the door, glanced back once at his new student, then left the rooms.
The hall was filled with people, all of whom openly stared at Thor in his Mage uniform as he strode towards the stairs at the end of the hall. He ignored them; he had a sneaking suspicion that he was in for a visit from the Council, and he couldn't afford to be distracted anyway. Not with Draco as his apprentice, and not with that message the dragon had give him…if that damn prophecy was about to come true, he'd –
"Thor!" someone called. Thor whipped around, his hand resting on his wand. Then he relaxed. 'Sorry, Hermione," he apologised. "Force of habit." Hermione nodded, and joined him on his way down the stairs. "Was there something you wanted?"
"Actually, yes," Hermione admitted. "I've been doing a lot of research on different types of magics…and after that, uh, demonstration last night, I was hoping that perhaps you could help me." Thor halted and looked at her seriously. "Hermione, I've just taken an apprentice," he reminded her. "Draco Malfoy, for crying out loud. I have to be there for him twenty-four hours a day…technically, we should both be in the Circle for his training, but as it is I'm expecting the Council to butt their nosy, annoying heads into my business to see what I'm doing. And there's Voldemort – he was born under a bad Moon, Hermione. I'll be able to defeat him…I hope…but it'll take a lot of time and effort, and I just don't have time for anything else right now."
"Fine," Hermione said quietly. "But can you just answer one question for me?" Thor nodded. "If I can," he agreed. Hermione bit her lip for a moment, then blurted her question out. "How many types of Magic have you mastered?"
Thor frowned thoughtfully. "Uh…well, Basic Magic, and Soul Magic," he said slowly. "Heart Magic, and War Magic, of course. Beast Magic, Unicorn Magic, Basilisk Magic and Illusion Magic. Er…oh yes, Griffin Magic, and, of course, Dragon Magic." Hermione stared at him, completely nonplussed. Thor smiled wickedly. "Of course, Mages are only required to learn Dragon, Heart, Soul, Basic and Illusion Magics," he said innocently. "Then they specialise…only I had a lot of time, so I pretty much learnt everything."
"Okay," Hermione said faintly. "Thanks, Harry. Uh, Thor, sorry." Thor's eyes held hers sharply for a moment, then he softened. "Call me Harry," he said quietly. "Mages…our given names are used by people close to us. I know I haven't been here…but I would hope that perhaps we might be friends again some day?"
Hermione gazed at him shrewdly for a long moment, then she smiled and nodded. "I hope that too – Harry," she agreed. "Now, you'd better go and do…whatever it is you have to do. I have to, uh…go and meet George." She blushed, and Thor couldn't resist. "I never would have thought it," he teased. "You and George."
"Oh, go away," Hermione said laughingly. "It's not the strangest pairing to come out of this damned war."
"What is?"
Hermione hesitated, glanced around them, leant in close to Thor, and whispered, "Parvati Patil and Blaise Zabini." Thor drew back in complete disbelief. "It's true, I swear. But you didn't hear it from me, and I have to take these books to Professor Dumbledore." With that, she swiftly walked away, leaving Thor staring after her.
Then he made his way down to the entrance hall, and managed to slip through the large front doors without being noticed – even if he did cheat by using magic. He gazed down for a long moment at the remnants of the circle he had created last night. The power had completely gone, but there was a burnt circle in the grass in its place. Several dragon scales also littered the grass, and he quickly gathered them up. They would be useful for Draco later on.
Then he made his way down towards Hogsmeade, where, he hoped, he would find the Death Eaters. He needed information, and they would be the best place to start. He was pleased to see that his barrier was still there. Death Eaters were standing at intervals on the other side of it, watching him angrily. He smiled winningly, and stepped through the silver magics.
"Hello," he smiled at the nearest Death Eater. "I don't suppose you could take me to whoever's in charge of you here? I'd appreciate it." The Death Eater stared at him impassively. Thor lost his patience. "Now, if you don't mind," he snapped. His wand leapt into his hand, and he held it up threateningly. "You don't want to see what I can do with a wand."
"Who are you?" the Death Eater demanded harshly. "Why should I do what you want?"
Thor spoke very slowly, as if he was speaking to a child. "Well, one reason is because I'm War Mage Thor," he said. "And another is that I could blow you to bits with one word if I wanted to." He smiled brilliantly. "Or, of course, there's always the fact that I'm Harry Potter."
The Death Eater gaped, stuttered, then turned and led Thor towards the village. The other Death Eaters watched them go in silence. Thor took the opportunity to look around Hogsmeade as he was led towards the Death Eater headquarters. The village that he remembered with fondness had been almost completely decimated; there was obviously no one living here anymore. He could see, over the piles of burnt rubble, the Shrieking Shack, still standing, but silently. He could see other Death Eaters wandering about, laughing, and he grimaced at it. He cast a protection spell over himself just as an afterthought. It wouldn't do, he reminded himself with a small smile, to deprive Draco of a teacher when he had only just begun learning.
"In here," the Death Eater told him, pushing open a door. Thor inclined his head and held out a hand for the Death Eater to go first, then stepped into the building after him. He found himself in a large room, filled with Death Eaters and, for some reason, cages of Elves. Harry felt anger rise in him as the small Elves, recognising who he was, began calling out to him in their language. But for the moment he had to ignore them as a man stepped forward. Thor's eyes narrowed.
"Why, Ron," he said coolly. "I never thought I'd see you here." The red- headed man looked him up and down disparagingly. "Who is this, McLonys?" he demanded of the Death Eater who had brought Thor in. "I thought your orders were clear."
"Y-yes, sir," the Death Eater stuttered. "But sir, he was the one to put up that barrier yesterday – he says he's a War Mage – he says he's Harry Potter!"
Ron's eyes flashed back to meet Thor's instantly. Thor raised one eyebrow slightly. "Personally," he said in a conversational tone, "I think that you should be more worried about the fact that I'm a fully competent War Mage than about the fact that my name is Harry Potter. Although, of course, the fact that you're a Death Eater, Ron, and you used to be my best friend, would give you cause to worry because of my name rather than my powers."
"All of you," Ron snapped at the Death Eaters. "Out, now." They hurried to do his bidding. Thor stepped past Ron and sat down comfortably. "Harry Potter. I must say, I never thought I'd see you again."
"Thor, Ron. My name is Thor," Thor said, the hint of a threat in his voice. "Why don't you sit down? This could take a while, depending on how cooperative you are." The cries of the Elves were really starting to do his head in, so he glanced over at them, soothing them in their language and assuring them that he would help them as soon as he was finished.
Ron did sit down, opposite Thor, his eyes narrowed. He looked absolutely furious. Thor felt nothing less, but his anger was coupled with a kind of pained betrayal that he knew he had no right to feel. He had, after all, been the one to leave. But it had been worth it, his mind insisted, even as his cool eyes took in all of Ron. Oh yes, it had been worth it.
"So," he started pleasantly. "Why don't we start with how on earth you, Ron Weasley, became a Death Eater?" Ron remained silent. Thor started to lose his grip on his temper, something he knew he couldn't afford to do. "Ron, I'm waiting."
"It's none of your business, Thor," Ron said coldly, stressing the Mage's name. "You're the one who left, after all. You no longer have any claim on me." A window smashed. Thor winced as he glanced at it, then muttered a word. The glass re-formed. "Tut, tut," Ron said dryly. "You seem a little upset at my words."
"Upset? No," Thor smiled peacefully. "Angry, certainly. By the way, how on earth did you manage to capture elves?" he looked back at the Elves, who were quietly waiting for him to finish. He flashed them a quick grin. He could see Ron growing more angry. "Alright, we'll leave the Elves out of this for the moment." He leant back in the chair, relaxing. "Now, since I've been away for quite some time, I'd rather like to catch up on what's been happening. I want you to tell me."
"Why not ask those ridiculous freedom fighters up in the castle?" Ron sneered. Thor's eyebrows shot up. "You're worse than Draco used to be," he commented.
"Malfoy!" Ron spat. "What does that slimy traitor have to do with anything?" Thor's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He is my apprentice," he said coldly, his voice deathly quiet. "And he is no traitor, or the dragons would have refused him." He smiled again, his eyes still cool. "But that's besides the point, is it not? I want to know what's happened for the past ten years, and you, Ronald Weasley, are going to explain it to me, carefully, without leaving anything out." He glanced back at the Elves, who were again clamouring for his attention. "And I'd do it as quickly as possible, if I were you. Those Elves won't be contained for much longer."
Ron glared at him with a fury that Thor had previously associated with the look Ron had reserved for Draco Malfoy. Thor steeled himself for a maelstrom of angry words, but they never came. Instead Ron clinically detailed everything that had happened to the wizarding world for the past ten years; the capture of the Ministry, the near-purging of muggle-borns, or those of impure descent. The control that Voldemort now held over all of wizarding Britain, and much of the muggle part as well.
"And Voldemort is now in London?" Thor inquired finally. Ron didn't reply, and a corner of Thor's mouth twitched. "I thought so." He stretched and rose. "Well, you've been very helpful, Ron. I'll be sure to say hello to your brothers when I get back to the castle, oh, and Hermione too." His eyes dared Ron to retort, and Ron did not take up the challenge. Thor made a complicated symbol with his right hand, and the Elves in the cage disappeared. He looked back at Ron, a sad look in his eyes. "Things could have been different, Ron."
"Yes," Ron agreed coolly, "if you had stayed."
"I just want to know one thing," Thor said softly. "Why did you turn, Ron?"
Ron gazed at him for a long, tense moment. "You left," he pronounced finally. "What was the point in staying?" Stung, Thor whirled and left Hogsmeade as quickly as was possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"You have been accepted by the Dragons, and you have received your Name," intoned one of the cloaked Council members. "Now we, the Council of the Circle of Mages, ask of you what you can offer this Circle."
Thor, as he was newly Named, raised his chin, a little defiant. "I offer my powers and magics. I offer my strength, and my knowledge." From the silence around him he could tell that this was not enough. He took a deep breath, preparing to reveal the most guarded secret in the Circle. Only he himself, Zodiac, and two Council members knew of this. "I offer the Bond of a Dragon Child to the Dragon Mages."
There was a murmur of surprise. One of the cloaked men stepped forward disbelievingly. "Who do you say has this Bond?" he demanded. Thor looked evenly. "I do," he replied. "I am a Dragon Child, born under a Dragon Moon and a Dragon Sun, in a Dragon Year. I am under the protection of the Dragons, from where I came, and I trust in them to all things." His voice became a little sharper. "Does this Council accept my offer?"
"We do," came the cool, clear voice of the Council Leader. "We welcome you to our ranks, War Mage Thor, Dragon Child." Thor relaxed slightly as Zodiac stepped out from among the clocked Council. His mentor looked unusually grave.
"Harry," he said quietly. "You know what you have done, by claiming that Bond?" Thor gave him a sardonic look. "No, Zodiac, I only passed Prophecies with an almost perfect score." He dropped the sarcastic act, letting Zodiac see that he was really afraid. "I know. I suspect I shan't get a moment's peace for the next decade." He let out a wry, slightly bitter chuckle. "Typical that it's me, right?" Zodiac had nothing to say; it was always his student, and he could not deny it.
"What will you do now?" he asked instead. Thor's eyes flickered. "Well," he said slowly, "I doubt that the Council will allow me to return to help the Wizarding world." Zodiac scoffed at the very idea. "Exactly," Thor said. "So I'm going to keep on learning. A year for each Magic, right? I figure that I'll get at least three in before they let me."
"What do you want to start on?" Zodiac wanted to know. Thor shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I'll wait for the Dragons to tell me." Deep within his mind, he heard the voices of the dragons begin to whisper to him.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nobody seemed to be around when Thor stalked through the school back to Draco's rooms. Perhaps, he thought to himself grimly, they had seen him and run. It was true that he was not in a good mood; in fact, if he was entirely truthful with himself, he was absolutely furious. He wished that someone had warned him that Ron – Ron Weasley, of all people – was leading the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. But no, they had all chosen to remain silent about that…even Draco.
No, he told himself firmly, pausing to gaze out of a window. Draco had not done that on purpose. Of that he was certain, and with that thought firmly held in his mind he continued up to Draco's rooms.
Draco was still carefully reading the book Thor had given him, but he looked up when Thor entered, a mildly surprised expression on his face. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon," he commented.
"I didn't think I would be," Thor admitted. He sat down on the bed; the spell from last night was beginning to catch up with him again. "Don't suppose you know why no-one thought to tell me that Ron Weasley is a Death Eater?" Draco paled, and looked away. "Draco?"
"I suppose we try not to think about it," Draco admitted quietly. "I'm sorry, I should have remembered to warn you. It's just…painful." He sighed, and leant back in his chair. "Ron turned about seven years ago, just after we'd all left Hogwarts. He and I…we were supposed to take the Mark together, only I wouldn't…I couldn't do it, so Snape got me away, and Ron took the Mark. He…he came up here as soon as he could, as soon as he had enough power. We all try to ignore it, because we had had no idea that he would do that, you see." He fell silenced, staring into space for a long moment. Thor sighed and shook his head.
"It's not as surprising as some people might think," he observed. "As much as I used to like Ron, it is those sorts of people who flock to people with most power. Ron isn't as much of a follower as, say, Wormtail, but he's definitely in the same class of people. And I daresay my leaving without any word didn't help anything."
"No," Draco murmured. "I don't think it did." He met Thor's eyes for a moment, then continued reading his book. Thor rose and moved to gaze, unseeing, out of the window.
"Do you think I was wrong to leave?" Thor asked suddenly. Draco looked up from his book, fixing his stormy grey eyes on Thor. He considered the question carefully. "It depends on how you look at it," he said eventually. "If you had stayed, there's no guarantee that you would have been able to stop Voldemort. Now that you've had all these training, you probably will be able to defeat him. But a lot of people have been hurt." Thor turned to look at him; their eyes connected.
Finally Thor looked away. "You've changed a lot, Draco," he said softly. "I'm not sure whether I understand you anymore." He didn't look back at Draco, but he heard the scraping of a chair, and soft footfalls coming towards him. A moment later Draco stepped in front of him, one hand comfortingly moving to rest on Thor's shoulder. "I don't think you ever really did," he observed quietly.
Thor raised one eyebrow in mute enquiry that was never answered, as Draco's hand drifted up from his shoulder to trace his jaw line with light fingers. Thor's lips parted slightly as Draco's fingers moved down to rest on his chest, and Draco started to lean in closer…
"No, Draco," he said firmly, despite his feelings to the contrary. "You're not ready for this."
"You told me that teacher and student share everything," Draco murmured, clearly a little hurt. Thor's eyes held compassion, but he shook his head. "Yes," he agreed. "But you are not ready for this, Draco, and," with a rueful grin, "neither am I, thanks to that spell last night." He grew serious once more, and he mirrored Draco's previous action, his fingers gently stroking Draco's cheek. "Patience, Draco, is one of the first, and most important lessons that you will learn."
"I have never been a patient man," Draco admitted softly. Thor smiled slightly. "It will get easier," he promised. "For one thing, from tomorrow I'm putting you under a physical regime the likes of which you've never seen. You'll be too tired to even think about sex. For another," and now he allowed himself a mischievous grin, "it's a Dragon law that when you're studying the Moons you have to remain celibate."
Draco gave him a glare that would freeze ice, and returned to his book, disgruntled. Thor laughed at him, then began removing all his various weapons to clean them. After a few moments, Draco looked up again. "Did you say studying the Moons?" he demanded.
"Yes," Thor said innocently. "You know, Moon-gazing, reading the chapters you're reading, that sort of thing."
"And a physical regime."
"Mages are nothing if not fit and healthy, Draco."
"So I'm going to be moving all day and studying all night."
"I did say you wouldn't have time to think about sex. Consider it your first lesson, Draco, and improve in it as quickly as you can."
Draco was silent after that as he read and learnt as much as he could. Thor glanced at him every now and then, a little amused, but mostly he concentrated on his weapons. He was well aware that he would have to face Death Eaters in battle soon, probably frequently, but that wasn't really the reason why he felt the sudden urge to make sure all his equipment was in perfect working order. No, he was sure that any time now the Council of Mages – or at least their representatives – would arrive and demand to know what he was doing. Not that they could really order him around, considering who he was, but he felt an obligation to obey them. They were his superiors in rank, after all…most of them, anyway, and they all had the authority to order him back to the Circle with his new apprentice.
Some of his gloomy thoughts must have made their way onto his face, because after a full moment where Thor merely stared into space, Draco sighed and pulled the dagger from his hands.
"You're going to chop your hand off," he informed Thor testily. "What's the matter?" Thor shrugged. "Nothing much," he lied. "Go back to your book, and careful with that dagger, it was a present."
"From who?" Draco inquired, inspecting the dagger carefully. Thor took it back swiftly and ran his fingers over the engraving. It had been carefully crafted in the dwarf-mines of Armorego, deep beneath the earth's surface, but it had been engraved and given to him by the Dragons when he had first met one of them…a token of her affection, she had called it…
"A Dragon," he replied finally. "It's engraved with dragon-tongue; you'll learn that later. Now go back and read that damned book. I need to go and find Dumbledore." Draco nodded and sat back down; Thor sheathed the dagger, and left the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"Thor, I swear by all the Dragons, if you do that one more time I'll bloody well kill you!"
Thor smirked at the irate woman. "Don't make promises you can't keep," he said glibly. "And don't swear by the Dragons, it's irreverent and pretty much the same as swearing by me." He ducked out of the way of her punch. "Really, Virgo, you should have asked me if you wanted to spar that desperately. You could do with it; I heard Seraph beat you last week."
"She's up herself because she got appointed to the Council ahead of you," Virgo grumbled, but she didn't try to hit Thor any more. "Honestly, if you tried at all you'd have been on the Council years ago."
Thor sent her an odd look. "Why would I want to do that?" he demanded. 'It's much more fun being able to do things, go places. And you can't learn more if you're on the Council; I'm in the middle of learning Beast Magic. You know that, Virgo."
"How many does that make now?" Virgo demanded.
"Seven; I have three more months on Beast Magic, then I'll move on to Basilisk Magic – it helps that I can talk to snakes – and after that, if I'm still here, Griffin Magic."
"There are only twelve magics to learn," Virgo said quietly. "When do you plan to stop, Thor?"
"Not until they let me go back to my old school and help them," came the familiar answer. "Besides, it's not like I can't handle the magic. You know I can."
She gave a hollow, slightly bitter laugh. "Oh yes, Thor. Every novice who comes here knows that. It's only every other week that you're blowing up something."
"I repeat, Virgo, that it is not my fault, it is the Dragons."
"Thor, get in here!" yelled Zodiac from inside the apartment. "Your gadget is going crazy!" Thor heaved himself to his feet with a grimace. "Coming, Zodiac," he called back. He looked down at Virgo, who rose also. "I'll see you tomorrow, Virgo." She nodded, and stepped towards him, aiming to kiss him. He took a startled step back. "Virgo, I'm with Zodiac. You know that."
"I know," Virgo sighed. "A girl can dream, can't she? Every Mage in the place is after you, Thor, hadn't you noticed?" She moved away into the apartment she shared with her teacher, and Thor stared after her in surprise before going in to his own teacher. Zodiac was attempting to get a floating Elven Ball to set itself down on the table. Thor made it rest with a wave of his hand.
"If you are going to key it to your own magical signature, can you please not make it float," Zodiac said sternly. Then he noticed the oddly thoughtful expression on his apprentice's face. "What is it, Harry?"
"Nothing," Thor said absently. "Just something Virgo said." He crossed the room into Zodiac's welcoming arms, and rested his head on the taller man's chest. "I'm just thinking," he murmured. "About going back…"
"They won't let you," Zodiac said after a long moment.
"I know."
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued.