Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to
Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,
Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended
I only own the plot and some characters; I don't own Harry and co.
The Mark of Merlin
Chapter 4: A New Houseguest
The land that time forgot was still, fore all the nocturnal creatures had feasted for the evening and were returning to their habitats for some much needed rest when the forest was set ablaze by bright lights. As soon as it began, and the only change was there was an intruder to there land. The stars shone brightly on Harry's unconscious form until the night became morning, and the morning became early afternoon. As Harry roused, he cursed Dumbledore for not allowing him to leave, while wondering what spell he was hit with. As Harry attempted to open his eyes, he was assaulted by the bright light. He quickly closed his eyes and as he started to turn, he grunted something about the hospital beds being unusually hard. As Harry reached for the bedside table, he realized that he still had his glasses on.
As Harry thought about another way to escape, he listened for the Order members. When he didn't hear anyone, Harry slightly opened his eyes. What he saw caused him to open his eyes to the utmost. Harry looked around in awe, and then he thought that he might have been dumped in the forbidden forest because he was surrounded by trees and whatnot. As Harry took in his new surroundings, he heard a rattling from the bushes several yards away. Thinking that the Order was there, Harry got up and took off at full speed. He ran through thicket, puddles, branches, and everything else. Harry ran until his legs felt like they would fall off, and when he could run any further, he searched for a place to hide. When Harry found what he was looking for, he resized his trunk, took out several books, and then climbed into the apartment compartment of his trunk. Harry then took a shower, made himself a hearty dinner, and planned for the next day. His plans consisted of putting as much distance between himself and the Order as possible; and since he didn't know where he was, Harry planned on searching for the nearest town and flooing to a safe location. After Harry had adequately planned for the next day, he checked on the eggs, settled in for bed, and started reading one of the books he had brought with him for the day. The book that Harry had chosen was very interesting. It dealt with all the theory involved in becoming an Animagi, which was something Harry had wanted to do since he had learned what the word meant.
The next morning, Harry took a shower, ate his breakfast, and packed some fruits for lunch. He set off at a light jog after he was reasonably sure that he hadn't been followed, and made a great deal of headway. By the middle of the day, Harry was exhausted, so he sat against a tall, shaded tree and ate a quick lunch while reading his Animagi book. After finishing one of the final chapters, Harry found that the sun was setting, so he decided to retire for the evening. Things kept to the same routine for about two weeks, until Harry came across a secluded cave. Equipped with his wand in hand, Harry entered the cave only to find it had been abandoned for some time. Harry decided that he would make this his permanent hiding spot; that is until he found a town. As Harry used cleaning spells to make the cave habitable, he began thinking about what was happening to the rest of the Wizarding World. He hadn't had Voldermort induced vision since he had found himself in 'the never ending forest' as he called it, and that fact scared him. Harry figured that Voldermort had several people out there scouring the whole of England looking for him, and with that reasoning, Harry scoured the library portion of his trunk looking for books on wards. Harry found four books on simple everyday wards, but he also found books that included the most complicated spells he had ever seen. Harry found another book that he found useful. It was a small, thin book that contained all the spells needed to make your home unplottable.
With his newfound books, Harry decided to forget about finding the nearest town; fore his new plan was to turn his cave into a hidden sanctuary. Harry spent the next month, learning how to conjure, do large scale transfiguration, learning enchantments to keep his transfigured furniture the way it was supposed to be, and setting up wards. When Harry wasn't building, he was either exploring or practicing. Harry was surprised that he hadn't seen any Order members, but he was a little anxious to find any signs of life excluding the footprints of the local predatory creatures.
One evening, Harry was coming in from his explorations and took stock of the changes that he had made to the cave. The first thing that Harry had done was expand cave. Initially it had only been 8 feet tall by 15 feet deep. Harry tried to use the reducto curse to blast the wall which nearly ended in a cave in. However, Harry then learned how to conjure some tools. Harry spent many hours toiling, but the end result was that Harry dug a mile into the mountain, cast an illusion over the cave so that you could see the actual weather outside, and that it would change(just like outside). Harry had built a stone castle; fore he had a gate that was enchanted to only allow himself, and anyone that he allowed. It was enchanted to look exactly like it had before Harry had gotten there. Once past the gate, there was a nice garden, with a fountain that Harry made after accidentally puncturing a water reservoir that was embedded within the mountain. Inside the house, Harry preferred to have the inside look like the Gryffindor common room. Instead of having portraits, Harry enchanted the walls to look like he was in the middle of a forest. Besides the natural look, Harry had lined several bookshelves along two walls. Harry placed his four poster bed in the corner against the wall, and he had an adjourning bathroom. The last room within his mountain palace was the kitchen, which was completely modern as well as designed to cater to muggles.
That evening after his evening shower, Harry was brushing his teeth when looked into the mirror and gasped in shock. Over the months, Harry had been so wrapped up in creating his new home that he totally ignored his own physical appearance. As he looked into the mirror, the reflection of a grown man stared back at him. Though they'd never admit it, the other boy's thought he was immature for having such a high voice. He'd heard Ron saying that he wasn't sure he wanted to be Harry's friend, to be so scrawny and weak. To be so small, even after the normal ages of puberty, was considered bad blood, or bad luck. Now, Harry felt better about himself because he had changed so much since he had arrived that he was certain that nobody would be able to recognize him. His unruly hair had lengthened to the point where it was a little past his shoulders. He had in his contacts, so his eyes were more prominent, and he noticed for the first time that he was developing facial hair. From his days of running and digging, Harry had developed a well built frame, and he was proud of his abs, which were well defined. To top it off, he thought about his tattoo, and how it really captured who he was. On his left arm, Harry had a phoenix crest, and on his right arm he had a griffin crest. Finally on his back, Harry had a dragon crest that appeared to be at war with the two other animals. Harry was immensely pleased that he had gotten the tattoo because in some ways it told of his history, and in other ways it spoke lengths about his character.
During his time in seclusion, Harry had learned that he was related to both Merlin and Godric Gryffindor. Consequently, in his quest of self discovery, Harry learned that these three mythical beasts were his animagus forms. At first Harry was a little disconcerted by the fact that he had three animal forms, but then he realized that he would always be special or in the limelight. Harry knew that he would have to be great like his ancestors in order to rid the world of a great evil, so he put away his dreams of having a normal life and made plans for a noteworthy future that would make his predecessors proud. After reflecting on his choices, Harry left the bathroom with renewed motivation.
Things were quiet for Harry for some time; he followed the same routine for months until something peculiar happened. One evening, as Harry was rereading his compendium of dark arts spells, there was a huge crash coming from one of the rooms in his home. Harry searched his home thoroughly for an hour only to find that everything was in order. When Harry finally retired to bed, he vowed to make his own version of the Marauders Map as soon as he woke up the next morning. As consciousness started to elude him, there was another loud banging noise that brought him to his feet with his wand in hand. This time instead of dying off, the noises continued. Harry followed the noises to his sitting room/library.
There he observed the griffin egg that he had purchased so long ago. Harry noticed that the egg had lightened several shades since the last time he had checked on it, and with much excitement, Harry watched as the egg started to shake. Instead of hatching, the egg settled after awhile. Harry knew that the egg would hatch within the next couple of days, and he couldn't wait. For the first time, Harry was too jittery and excited to go to sleep, so he spent his time reading books on how to feed and care for griffins. Harry read that it wasn't uncommon for newly born griffins to be the prey of snakes, who actually hunt for the eggs as a preventative to facing baby or full grown griffins. Harry knew that he could ward off such attacks, but he wanted to stay in until the egg hatched. Harry decided to have a nice leisure day while he waited, but that's not what happened because when Harry actually started reading, he noticed that he was dozing off. Before Harry was asleep, he placed an alarm perimeter charm around the eggs that would tell him if anything approached the egg. Later in the day, the griffin within the egg started roaring, so Harry placed a silencing charm around the room. Harry knew that animal hearing was very keen, and he didn't want to alert any would be predators to his home. However, Harry was too late, fore a predator had heard the roar, and was headed for his cave at full speed. Harry felt one of his wards go off, so he quickly conjured a sword, locked the door, and made his way out of the cave. What met him was one of the most feared beasts to ever walk the earth, the hydra. The beast stood ten feet tall, had a dragon-like body, and six heads that were attached to six snake like necks. Upon seeing the mythical beast, Harry quickly devised a plan. While the beast sniffed the ground searching for the hatchling, Harry tried to recall everything that he had read about the mythical creatures in his muggle primary school. He vaguely remembered something about Hercules and fire, so he quickly created a wall of fire that was cloaked behind the illusion hiding the cave. Before he was prepared the first head plunged beyond the fire and started snapping in every direction. Harry was thrown as the head whipped around, and he realized that his sword was almost useless. Harry quickly made the fire denser, so that it stretched outward for at least four feet, and he made it so that the temperature of the fire was almost lava-like. Harry then conjured a huge guillotine. Harry against his better judgment, decided to act as a decoy by making as much noise as he could to attract all of the heads at once. So with a firm plan in place, Harry started to yell and scream as if he had been severely wounded by the last attempt. Within seconds, all six heads were scouring the inside of the cave looking for prey. Harry ran to the back of the cave and all the heads came at him. Harry was scared witless, but he triggered the guillotine. From the entrance of the cave, Harry could hear the blade dropping, and a split second later, he heard the cries from the hydra's heads. When the cries died out, he could hear a sizzling sound that was accompanied with the smell of burnt flesh. After Harry was certain that the Hydra was dead, he thought about the body. Harry knew that other carnivores would soon pick up the scent, so Harry conjured a huge boulder.
Before putting it in place, Harry went out to look at the body. Harry thought that the griffin would like some of the meat, so he used the guillotine to cut into the hydra's hide. It was really thick, so he skinned one side of the hydra, and then cut four huge chunks out of the side of the beast. When Harry felt the wards go off, he quickly levitated the food and hides inside, and sealed the cave wall. Harry then proceeded to make the wall transparent so that he could see if he had more guests coming. Before Harry could get comfortable, he heard faint hissing noises coming from deep within the cave. Harry spun on his heels, and ran at full speed. Outside the door that Harry had magically sealed was what looked like 45 snakes. Harry wondered where they had all come from, but as the first snake coiled and prepared to strike him, Harry came to his senses and backed away. Harry then said "Whhyyy arrrreeee yyyyyyoooouuuuu hhhhheeeerrrrreee?" (I am going to type Serpent Tongue in regular words, but you know how it's supposed to sound) The serpents were all stunned, the ones that hadn't noticed him turned to face him, and the ones that had, just hissed out nonsensical words. Then one among then slithered forward and hissed "Are you a speaker?" Harry hissed an affirmative and bowed. The snakes bowed back. Then the head snake asked "There is an unspeakable evil beyond this wall, can you help us reach it? We have made a home of this areas land and have feasted on its bountiful game, but that evil creature endangers our safety."
"I know of what you seek, and I was the one who created this place. However, I cannot allow you to harm the hatchling that is beyond this wall." The snakes were all in an uproar, several tried to force their way into the room, and were concussed. Others reared on Harry, but were subdued by the leader.
"Why would you keep such a violent creature? You must know the ways of the serpent in order to speak our tongue, how is it that you would us to our deaths?" Harry felt that the snake was a noble creature, so he told them about his life and how he got his gift, his encounters with Voldermort, and his experiences during his second year with the basilisk. He then told them that he found them to be noble, so he guaranteed them that no harm would befall them. To seal the agreement, Harry summoned one if the pieces of meat that he had cut from the Hydra and cut several fist size portions and fed the snakes. For the serpent leader, he reserved a foot long piece. Harry reassured the serpent that he would keep the hatchling insides for a long time, and that when he did leave the house that he would warn the snakes first. Furthermore, Harry vowed to teach the hatchling the difference between friendly and hostile snakes. With the assurances, the old serpent slithered away.
After Harry had finished cleaning and storing the meat, he tiredly unsealed the door and walked into his den. Harry wasn't suspecting anything, however, when he was closing the door, he was tackled by a small furry creature. Harry immediately lit the torches and took his first glance at his companion. The griffin was about a foot tall and about one and a half feet long. The little hatchling was spectacular, and head been well worth the wait. It had tawny brown, fuzzy hair on his body, except for her chest which had a furry tuft of fur that was surrounded by feathers. The creature's feathers were a tan cream color that made it look so regal. In the books Harry had read, it stated that griffins were often used or seen as protective symbol, representing strength and vigilance, and now he could see why. The little hatchling chirped, and Harry rushed out of the room to get his new friend some food. Harry levitated the ice box containing the meat into the room and put out a bowl filled with meat. The griffin chirped happily as it chewed the meat, once it was eating, Harry and the little griffin that was now named Hecate played in the magically expanded room. It would have been funny to watch because the little griffin often tripped over her own feet, and when Harry would laugh, Hecate would pounce on him. After several hours, Harry finally lay in his bed; Hecate curled up in a small ball on his chest. For the first time in a while, Harry was totally content.
After a while, Harry and Hecate had a set schedule. In the mornings, Harry would train, and go work on the Marauders Map while learning about the terrain and creatures. During this time Hecate would hunt, while making sure that she stayed within a mile of Harry in case anything bad happened. In the afternoon, the two would play and fly together. In the evening, Harry would work on his magic or sword work until he was dead tired. This continued until the weather started to change. As the days got shorter and the weather got colder, Harry couldn't help think about the upcoming snow. He made his preparations, but his mind was on the snowball fights that he had fought in while at Hogwarts. Years of neglect had taught Harry how to fend for himself and how to exist, but now that he knew what it felt like to have friends, he couldn't dismiss the dull ache that he felt when he thought about them.
In order to take his mind off of his friends, Harry preoccupied his time by studying spells, working on his version of the Marauders Map that spanned for ten miles in every direction, worked on the animagi potion that would allow him to maintain his multiple forms, played with Hecate, or did chores in order to keep himself physically fit. Harry also wrote a journal of useful curses and counter curses that started off with simple spells and progressively got harder. Some of the spells that Harry added to his compendium were Sorcerer level spells, and the most arcane of the spells were beyond that level. Harry also studied obscure branches of magic like elemental magic, and beast talking but had very little success.
Harry first noticed that his magical capacity was growing when one day he revisited the book on ward charms. Harry was able to perform three complex spells before he passed out. Over the next week, Harry cast all the charms and wards until they were really strong and the process required a slight amount of his magical reservoir to be depleted. Harry's greatest accomplishment was still a spell that he had actually created that made all of his regular books into interactive book. Since most wizarding book had a picture of the author, Harry enchanted the pictures to absorb the knowledge contained within the pages. That way if Harry had a quick question, he could ask the picture instead of having to look up the information. Another of his notable creations was the duplicating tin. Harry was inspired by his never empty refrigerator and depressed by his diminishing amount of sweets, so he decided to enchant a tin to preserve the freshness of whatever was placed inside. Harry then experimented with duplication spells that would recreate the magical nature of the sweets while capturing the flavor. It took Harry three days to get the tricky spell correct, and he was sure that when he returned home that if any vendors got wind of what he had done he would be lynched and his work stolen; however, for now Harry was happy and so was his sweet tooth.
As winter approached, Harry was wondering through the forest he came upon a small huddled creature that looked like it had been trampled by a herd of hippogriffs after fighting with a manticore. The creature seemed to be asleep, and on closer inspection, Harry was startled to find out that the creature appeared to be a human female that was even more malnourished than he was while living with the Dursleys. So without a second thought Harry easily scooped her up, and began making his way toward his new home. While he was walking, he quickly took stock of her physical condition. It seemed that she had been left to die, because she had several wounds, she barely weighed 100 pounds, and by the labored way that she breathing and unconsciously cradling herself, he could ascertain that she had some broken ribs.
As soon as Harry got back to his home, he gently laid her down on his bed, got out his books on healing, took out some of his remaining healing herbs, and got a basin full of water so that he could wash her. Once he had gotten everything that he needed, he cautiously undressed her. He figured it wouldn't do him any good for her to come to, and get the wrong idea about his intentions. While he was cleaning off the blood, gook, and grime that covered her body, he wondered about her story. He wondered what her name was, what her life was like, how she had gotten all her scars, and more importantly what had happened to her that would cause her to be in this carnivorous wasteland alone and unprotected.
Several hours after Harry had started cleaning and healing the girl, his job was finally done, and he decided to just let her sleep instead of waking her to question her. Although he was relieved to see that there were other humans on this plane, he was somewhat leery because he didn't know her customs, he didn't know if she was friendly or not, and most importantly, he had just made his peace about being here and didn't want his training and solitude disturbed until he was capable of handling anything that would come his way. Harry quickly put these thoughts out of his head when his stomach rumbled, and it was only then that he realized that he hadn't eaten since that morning.
As he stepped out of his room Harry walked into his study room with Hecate at his heels demanding food. It was somewhat funny to see the now grown griffin chirping in an agitated manner. Harry chuckled, Hecate knowing that Harry was laughing at her, pounced on him and started nuzzling her beak into his most ticklish spots. After Harry surrendered he set out her meal, and started to prepare his own. While eating Harry pulled out a book on obscure magic entitled Awakening the Summoner Within, and sat down at the table. While flipping through the book he conjured some more food for Hecate who was pacing the room while staring at his plate. During the night, it snowed, so he activated the heating charms within the cave, checked the wards regularly, and kept an ear out for any unusual noises. After about an hour of reading, Harry noticed that the sun was going down yet the terrain was still quite visible due to the snowfall, so he decided to check on his new charge and retire for the evening. After checking the salves and making sure that she was ok, Harry went outside, checked the wards around his home, and went inside. He then proceeded to transfigure a rock into a comfortable cot and get some sleep. Usually he would have studied long into the night, but with his houseguest, he thought it best to not have any light showing his location to anyone that might have tracked them to the cave. As Harry drifted off into nothingness, thoughts of the mysterious girl came rushing back to him, but he figured that he would never get any rest if he continued to dwell on it so he went to sleep, knowing that the next day he would have the answers he was seeking.
The next morning Harry was awoken by a blood curdling scream. He reacted by grabbing his wand and sending stunning spells flying in every direction. After about four spells, he heard the distinct sound of a thud so he wearily squinted his eyes and searched the room, and when he was satisfied that there wasn't anyone in the room, he picked up his glasses and started running toward the door when he tripped over something. During his fall, his glasses fell off his face, so he put them on and was almost face to face with the nude form of the mystery woman that he had saved the previous night. Harry sighed, had he known that she would scare him within an inch of his life, he wouldn't have bothered. On second thought, he knew that he would have helped her no matter the situation.
Harry decided to put her back in bed, and conjure some breakfast for them before attempting to wake her again. After conjuring a huge platter of eggs, bacon, fruit, and toast; Harry uttered the Enervante charm and silencing charm on the room. In a flash, the young woman was standing, backing into a corner, and searching the room frantically. After a few seconds, her eyes centered on Harry, she then began trembling and muttering words that Harry couldn't understand.
"I mean you no harm" said Harry while putting his hands up in a placating manner. She spoke in a low voice, and Harry tried his hardest to understand her, but was still unable. Taking a chance, Harry leaned forward, and fixed her a plate, stood slowly as to not scare her, and placed it on his bed before returning to his seat. She watched him warily as he went back to his seat and started eating. Then she looked at her plate, sniffed it and then dug in as if she hadn't eaten in a fortnight. Harry smiled to himself and continued eating.
After breakfast, Harry sat back in his seat and let out a relieved sigh. The mystery woman began talking again, but Harry still couldn't make out what she was saying, but suddenly he had an idea, he took his wand out of its holster and uttered a quick translation spell. When Harry looked up, he noticed that all of the color had left her face. He quickly put his wand away and said
"Sorry if I scared you.I mean you no harm, I just used a spell so that I could understand what you were saying" in a calm manner. She watched him, but said "What do you mean you couldn't understand me, you are speaking clearly now" with reservation in her voice. "I mean that I am not from here, wherever this is." Harry stated. "All I know or remember is that I was in Grimmaud Place messing with a strange trinket, and the next thing I know I am in the middle of a rainforest. Once I got here the amulet started glowing and its pieces broke apart and flew off to Merlin knows where." For reasons unknown to Harry, the woman perked up when she heard Merlin's name. "If you aren't from here, how do you know of Merlin's name? Do you have any knowledge of his whereabouts?"
"Everyone knows about Merlin where I'm from, he was only the greatest Sorcerer our world has ever produced."
"So you do know him, can you take me to him" replied the woman with excitement and anticipation in her voice. Harry laughed, and replied "I wish I could, maybe he could help me to get home, but he has been dead for over 1000 years." The woman glared at Harry, and said "You lie. Merlin and his apprentices only went into seclusion two hundred years ago." Harry just stared at her.
"Does that mean that I traveled in time.I don't believe this, I mean, I could actually meet Merlin.he could send me back" said quickly while staring off into space. The woman said something but Harry didn't even hear her until she stood up.
"What's your name, why do you bear Merlin's mark, and did you heal me" she asked. "Merlin's mark?" Harry questioned.
"That lightning mark on your forehead, and you still didn't answer my questions." "Oh, my name is Harry Potter, yes, and this mark was the result of surviving a killing curse.What's your name and what does this scar mean to you, what is this Merlin's mark?"
"Well, all of Merlin's apprentices are given that mark, and my name is Lillim or Lils for short."
"That's a nice name, my mothers name was Lily" stated Harry, his eyes getting misty as he thought about is deceased parents. Lillum noticed that Harry was kind of distant so she asked "What's wrong?"
"All this talk of my scar, and your name being so close to my mothers.it just got me thinking about my life, how much I miss." he never finished what he was saying, but Lillum could sense that Harry was greatly troubled by something so she let him be. Ten minutes passed before Harry came out of his daze.
"Well, can you tell me where we are, how you got hurt, and about your people" Harry said trying to change the subject.
Over the next hour Lillim told Harry about the Lodus Realm, some of the tribes that inhabited the land, the customs and most importantly which tribes he wanted to stay away from. Since she had been honest with him, he told her about where he was from, about his life, how he had arrived here, and about his heritage. At first Lillim didn't believe him, but after showing her the books that he had, she started to believe that there was another Merlin out there. If so, Harry would only be too happy to meet the man. The two people were broken from their discussion when Hecate came bounding into the room and growling at Harry. Usually Hecate would stay in her room, but Harry realized that he and Lillim had been in his room all day and that he hadn't fed the now angry Hecate. As soon as the angry griffin settled down, Harry noticed that Lillim was in the corner huddled up trying to hide herself beneath the blanket.
"You needn't fear Hecate, she is tame. She is just upset with me because I haven't fed her today."
"You have a griffin as a pet" she replied with awe.
"Sure, I have been raising her for about six months now. I got the egg back in my own world when I picked up a phoenix egg."
"You have a phoenix, how is it that you can domesticate two of the fiercest beasts there are?"
"Well, I don't exactly know about them being fierce beasts here, but in my Realm, phoenixes are tame but rare. The one I have still hasn't hatched yet so I really couldn't tell you how it acts. As far as Hecate is concerned, she's a cream puff." In response, Hecate growled until Harry started petting her behind her ears. In seconds she was reduced to a purring blob of rolling feathers and fur. Harry leaned forward and whispered "I told you she was a cream puff." Lillim laughed and slowly moved her hand forward to pet Lillim. Once she had gotten over her initial fear, the two became fast friends. Over dinner the two talked about light topics, but once the food had been cleared away, Harry asked the question that he had been wondering all day.
"Lillim could you tell me about your past and how you came to be in the forest?"
"Well that's a long story, and I fear that if I tell you that you might kick me out." With every word she spoke, her demeanor changed to reflect her depression. Harry knew what it was like to relive horrible experiences so he decided to wait.
"I know what it's like to have to tell about bad experiences, so I won't ask you again, but I have to know if you were followed. I need to know if there is someone looking for you so I can return you home before the weather gets too bad."
"There is no one." Lillim said with a soft sob.
Harry not knowing any other way to comfort her pulled her into a loose embrace. When he initially pulled her to him, she stiffened up like a board, but when she was sure that he wouldn't hurt her, she relaxed. After she was calm, Harry decided to show her around his home. While he was giving her the grand tour, he told her about the work that he had put into it, and all the protective wards that he had cast. When they reached his garden, Harry called for the leader of the snakes and introduced the two. She also opened up to Harry and told him that she was part elven, human, and vampire. She assured him that she only had to feed once every third month, and that she had fed while she was in the forest. She also told him that she was a witch, but that she didn't know how to cast spells because most women weren't taught how to. Harry was furious, and he knew that Hermione would try to come here and have a women's rights movement if he told her.
While the tour was almost over another peculiar event happened. While showing her around, the phoenix egg finally starts to get warmer. The closer she gets to it, the warmer the room became. Harry had read that phoenixes often choose whom they decide to serve, and the fact that the phoenix hadn't chosen him slightly depressed him. However, after seeing Lillim's face light up as she touched the egg made Harry forget his foolishness. The two stayed with the phoenix egg until it hatched. In fact the only time they left the room was to eat, sleep, or relieve themselves. During the time in the room they got to know each other better, and Harry started to teach her the basics of magic. Harry also made some trips outside the room to play with Hecate, check on the wards, and make sure that his nearly completed animagus potion was simmering properly.
As Harry suspected, the phoenix chirped at Lillim as soon as his initial burning process was complete. Lillim gently picked up the tiny bird with so much grace and compassion that Harry had a very hard time wondering why she didn't have anyone out there looking for her. Soon all of Lillim's wounds were completely healed, but by that time, the cave was snowed in so she couldn't leave.
What animals do you know of that are stubborn and have a bad temper?
I would like to thank everyone that wrote a review. During the weekend, I intend on writing an Authors note to tell you where the story is going, and to acknowledge everyone who reviewed both of my stories. Later
Kakole
I only own the plot and some characters; I don't own Harry and co.
The Mark of Merlin
Chapter 4: A New Houseguest
The land that time forgot was still, fore all the nocturnal creatures had feasted for the evening and were returning to their habitats for some much needed rest when the forest was set ablaze by bright lights. As soon as it began, and the only change was there was an intruder to there land. The stars shone brightly on Harry's unconscious form until the night became morning, and the morning became early afternoon. As Harry roused, he cursed Dumbledore for not allowing him to leave, while wondering what spell he was hit with. As Harry attempted to open his eyes, he was assaulted by the bright light. He quickly closed his eyes and as he started to turn, he grunted something about the hospital beds being unusually hard. As Harry reached for the bedside table, he realized that he still had his glasses on.
As Harry thought about another way to escape, he listened for the Order members. When he didn't hear anyone, Harry slightly opened his eyes. What he saw caused him to open his eyes to the utmost. Harry looked around in awe, and then he thought that he might have been dumped in the forbidden forest because he was surrounded by trees and whatnot. As Harry took in his new surroundings, he heard a rattling from the bushes several yards away. Thinking that the Order was there, Harry got up and took off at full speed. He ran through thicket, puddles, branches, and everything else. Harry ran until his legs felt like they would fall off, and when he could run any further, he searched for a place to hide. When Harry found what he was looking for, he resized his trunk, took out several books, and then climbed into the apartment compartment of his trunk. Harry then took a shower, made himself a hearty dinner, and planned for the next day. His plans consisted of putting as much distance between himself and the Order as possible; and since he didn't know where he was, Harry planned on searching for the nearest town and flooing to a safe location. After Harry had adequately planned for the next day, he checked on the eggs, settled in for bed, and started reading one of the books he had brought with him for the day. The book that Harry had chosen was very interesting. It dealt with all the theory involved in becoming an Animagi, which was something Harry had wanted to do since he had learned what the word meant.
The next morning, Harry took a shower, ate his breakfast, and packed some fruits for lunch. He set off at a light jog after he was reasonably sure that he hadn't been followed, and made a great deal of headway. By the middle of the day, Harry was exhausted, so he sat against a tall, shaded tree and ate a quick lunch while reading his Animagi book. After finishing one of the final chapters, Harry found that the sun was setting, so he decided to retire for the evening. Things kept to the same routine for about two weeks, until Harry came across a secluded cave. Equipped with his wand in hand, Harry entered the cave only to find it had been abandoned for some time. Harry decided that he would make this his permanent hiding spot; that is until he found a town. As Harry used cleaning spells to make the cave habitable, he began thinking about what was happening to the rest of the Wizarding World. He hadn't had Voldermort induced vision since he had found himself in 'the never ending forest' as he called it, and that fact scared him. Harry figured that Voldermort had several people out there scouring the whole of England looking for him, and with that reasoning, Harry scoured the library portion of his trunk looking for books on wards. Harry found four books on simple everyday wards, but he also found books that included the most complicated spells he had ever seen. Harry found another book that he found useful. It was a small, thin book that contained all the spells needed to make your home unplottable.
With his newfound books, Harry decided to forget about finding the nearest town; fore his new plan was to turn his cave into a hidden sanctuary. Harry spent the next month, learning how to conjure, do large scale transfiguration, learning enchantments to keep his transfigured furniture the way it was supposed to be, and setting up wards. When Harry wasn't building, he was either exploring or practicing. Harry was surprised that he hadn't seen any Order members, but he was a little anxious to find any signs of life excluding the footprints of the local predatory creatures.
One evening, Harry was coming in from his explorations and took stock of the changes that he had made to the cave. The first thing that Harry had done was expand cave. Initially it had only been 8 feet tall by 15 feet deep. Harry tried to use the reducto curse to blast the wall which nearly ended in a cave in. However, Harry then learned how to conjure some tools. Harry spent many hours toiling, but the end result was that Harry dug a mile into the mountain, cast an illusion over the cave so that you could see the actual weather outside, and that it would change(just like outside). Harry had built a stone castle; fore he had a gate that was enchanted to only allow himself, and anyone that he allowed. It was enchanted to look exactly like it had before Harry had gotten there. Once past the gate, there was a nice garden, with a fountain that Harry made after accidentally puncturing a water reservoir that was embedded within the mountain. Inside the house, Harry preferred to have the inside look like the Gryffindor common room. Instead of having portraits, Harry enchanted the walls to look like he was in the middle of a forest. Besides the natural look, Harry had lined several bookshelves along two walls. Harry placed his four poster bed in the corner against the wall, and he had an adjourning bathroom. The last room within his mountain palace was the kitchen, which was completely modern as well as designed to cater to muggles.
That evening after his evening shower, Harry was brushing his teeth when looked into the mirror and gasped in shock. Over the months, Harry had been so wrapped up in creating his new home that he totally ignored his own physical appearance. As he looked into the mirror, the reflection of a grown man stared back at him. Though they'd never admit it, the other boy's thought he was immature for having such a high voice. He'd heard Ron saying that he wasn't sure he wanted to be Harry's friend, to be so scrawny and weak. To be so small, even after the normal ages of puberty, was considered bad blood, or bad luck. Now, Harry felt better about himself because he had changed so much since he had arrived that he was certain that nobody would be able to recognize him. His unruly hair had lengthened to the point where it was a little past his shoulders. He had in his contacts, so his eyes were more prominent, and he noticed for the first time that he was developing facial hair. From his days of running and digging, Harry had developed a well built frame, and he was proud of his abs, which were well defined. To top it off, he thought about his tattoo, and how it really captured who he was. On his left arm, Harry had a phoenix crest, and on his right arm he had a griffin crest. Finally on his back, Harry had a dragon crest that appeared to be at war with the two other animals. Harry was immensely pleased that he had gotten the tattoo because in some ways it told of his history, and in other ways it spoke lengths about his character.
During his time in seclusion, Harry had learned that he was related to both Merlin and Godric Gryffindor. Consequently, in his quest of self discovery, Harry learned that these three mythical beasts were his animagus forms. At first Harry was a little disconcerted by the fact that he had three animal forms, but then he realized that he would always be special or in the limelight. Harry knew that he would have to be great like his ancestors in order to rid the world of a great evil, so he put away his dreams of having a normal life and made plans for a noteworthy future that would make his predecessors proud. After reflecting on his choices, Harry left the bathroom with renewed motivation.
Things were quiet for Harry for some time; he followed the same routine for months until something peculiar happened. One evening, as Harry was rereading his compendium of dark arts spells, there was a huge crash coming from one of the rooms in his home. Harry searched his home thoroughly for an hour only to find that everything was in order. When Harry finally retired to bed, he vowed to make his own version of the Marauders Map as soon as he woke up the next morning. As consciousness started to elude him, there was another loud banging noise that brought him to his feet with his wand in hand. This time instead of dying off, the noises continued. Harry followed the noises to his sitting room/library.
There he observed the griffin egg that he had purchased so long ago. Harry noticed that the egg had lightened several shades since the last time he had checked on it, and with much excitement, Harry watched as the egg started to shake. Instead of hatching, the egg settled after awhile. Harry knew that the egg would hatch within the next couple of days, and he couldn't wait. For the first time, Harry was too jittery and excited to go to sleep, so he spent his time reading books on how to feed and care for griffins. Harry read that it wasn't uncommon for newly born griffins to be the prey of snakes, who actually hunt for the eggs as a preventative to facing baby or full grown griffins. Harry knew that he could ward off such attacks, but he wanted to stay in until the egg hatched. Harry decided to have a nice leisure day while he waited, but that's not what happened because when Harry actually started reading, he noticed that he was dozing off. Before Harry was asleep, he placed an alarm perimeter charm around the eggs that would tell him if anything approached the egg. Later in the day, the griffin within the egg started roaring, so Harry placed a silencing charm around the room. Harry knew that animal hearing was very keen, and he didn't want to alert any would be predators to his home. However, Harry was too late, fore a predator had heard the roar, and was headed for his cave at full speed. Harry felt one of his wards go off, so he quickly conjured a sword, locked the door, and made his way out of the cave. What met him was one of the most feared beasts to ever walk the earth, the hydra. The beast stood ten feet tall, had a dragon-like body, and six heads that were attached to six snake like necks. Upon seeing the mythical beast, Harry quickly devised a plan. While the beast sniffed the ground searching for the hatchling, Harry tried to recall everything that he had read about the mythical creatures in his muggle primary school. He vaguely remembered something about Hercules and fire, so he quickly created a wall of fire that was cloaked behind the illusion hiding the cave. Before he was prepared the first head plunged beyond the fire and started snapping in every direction. Harry was thrown as the head whipped around, and he realized that his sword was almost useless. Harry quickly made the fire denser, so that it stretched outward for at least four feet, and he made it so that the temperature of the fire was almost lava-like. Harry then conjured a huge guillotine. Harry against his better judgment, decided to act as a decoy by making as much noise as he could to attract all of the heads at once. So with a firm plan in place, Harry started to yell and scream as if he had been severely wounded by the last attempt. Within seconds, all six heads were scouring the inside of the cave looking for prey. Harry ran to the back of the cave and all the heads came at him. Harry was scared witless, but he triggered the guillotine. From the entrance of the cave, Harry could hear the blade dropping, and a split second later, he heard the cries from the hydra's heads. When the cries died out, he could hear a sizzling sound that was accompanied with the smell of burnt flesh. After Harry was certain that the Hydra was dead, he thought about the body. Harry knew that other carnivores would soon pick up the scent, so Harry conjured a huge boulder.
Before putting it in place, Harry went out to look at the body. Harry thought that the griffin would like some of the meat, so he used the guillotine to cut into the hydra's hide. It was really thick, so he skinned one side of the hydra, and then cut four huge chunks out of the side of the beast. When Harry felt the wards go off, he quickly levitated the food and hides inside, and sealed the cave wall. Harry then proceeded to make the wall transparent so that he could see if he had more guests coming. Before Harry could get comfortable, he heard faint hissing noises coming from deep within the cave. Harry spun on his heels, and ran at full speed. Outside the door that Harry had magically sealed was what looked like 45 snakes. Harry wondered where they had all come from, but as the first snake coiled and prepared to strike him, Harry came to his senses and backed away. Harry then said "Whhyyy arrrreeee yyyyyyoooouuuuu hhhhheeeerrrrreee?" (I am going to type Serpent Tongue in regular words, but you know how it's supposed to sound) The serpents were all stunned, the ones that hadn't noticed him turned to face him, and the ones that had, just hissed out nonsensical words. Then one among then slithered forward and hissed "Are you a speaker?" Harry hissed an affirmative and bowed. The snakes bowed back. Then the head snake asked "There is an unspeakable evil beyond this wall, can you help us reach it? We have made a home of this areas land and have feasted on its bountiful game, but that evil creature endangers our safety."
"I know of what you seek, and I was the one who created this place. However, I cannot allow you to harm the hatchling that is beyond this wall." The snakes were all in an uproar, several tried to force their way into the room, and were concussed. Others reared on Harry, but were subdued by the leader.
"Why would you keep such a violent creature? You must know the ways of the serpent in order to speak our tongue, how is it that you would us to our deaths?" Harry felt that the snake was a noble creature, so he told them about his life and how he got his gift, his encounters with Voldermort, and his experiences during his second year with the basilisk. He then told them that he found them to be noble, so he guaranteed them that no harm would befall them. To seal the agreement, Harry summoned one if the pieces of meat that he had cut from the Hydra and cut several fist size portions and fed the snakes. For the serpent leader, he reserved a foot long piece. Harry reassured the serpent that he would keep the hatchling insides for a long time, and that when he did leave the house that he would warn the snakes first. Furthermore, Harry vowed to teach the hatchling the difference between friendly and hostile snakes. With the assurances, the old serpent slithered away.
After Harry had finished cleaning and storing the meat, he tiredly unsealed the door and walked into his den. Harry wasn't suspecting anything, however, when he was closing the door, he was tackled by a small furry creature. Harry immediately lit the torches and took his first glance at his companion. The griffin was about a foot tall and about one and a half feet long. The little hatchling was spectacular, and head been well worth the wait. It had tawny brown, fuzzy hair on his body, except for her chest which had a furry tuft of fur that was surrounded by feathers. The creature's feathers were a tan cream color that made it look so regal. In the books Harry had read, it stated that griffins were often used or seen as protective symbol, representing strength and vigilance, and now he could see why. The little hatchling chirped, and Harry rushed out of the room to get his new friend some food. Harry levitated the ice box containing the meat into the room and put out a bowl filled with meat. The griffin chirped happily as it chewed the meat, once it was eating, Harry and the little griffin that was now named Hecate played in the magically expanded room. It would have been funny to watch because the little griffin often tripped over her own feet, and when Harry would laugh, Hecate would pounce on him. After several hours, Harry finally lay in his bed; Hecate curled up in a small ball on his chest. For the first time in a while, Harry was totally content.
After a while, Harry and Hecate had a set schedule. In the mornings, Harry would train, and go work on the Marauders Map while learning about the terrain and creatures. During this time Hecate would hunt, while making sure that she stayed within a mile of Harry in case anything bad happened. In the afternoon, the two would play and fly together. In the evening, Harry would work on his magic or sword work until he was dead tired. This continued until the weather started to change. As the days got shorter and the weather got colder, Harry couldn't help think about the upcoming snow. He made his preparations, but his mind was on the snowball fights that he had fought in while at Hogwarts. Years of neglect had taught Harry how to fend for himself and how to exist, but now that he knew what it felt like to have friends, he couldn't dismiss the dull ache that he felt when he thought about them.
In order to take his mind off of his friends, Harry preoccupied his time by studying spells, working on his version of the Marauders Map that spanned for ten miles in every direction, worked on the animagi potion that would allow him to maintain his multiple forms, played with Hecate, or did chores in order to keep himself physically fit. Harry also wrote a journal of useful curses and counter curses that started off with simple spells and progressively got harder. Some of the spells that Harry added to his compendium were Sorcerer level spells, and the most arcane of the spells were beyond that level. Harry also studied obscure branches of magic like elemental magic, and beast talking but had very little success.
Harry first noticed that his magical capacity was growing when one day he revisited the book on ward charms. Harry was able to perform three complex spells before he passed out. Over the next week, Harry cast all the charms and wards until they were really strong and the process required a slight amount of his magical reservoir to be depleted. Harry's greatest accomplishment was still a spell that he had actually created that made all of his regular books into interactive book. Since most wizarding book had a picture of the author, Harry enchanted the pictures to absorb the knowledge contained within the pages. That way if Harry had a quick question, he could ask the picture instead of having to look up the information. Another of his notable creations was the duplicating tin. Harry was inspired by his never empty refrigerator and depressed by his diminishing amount of sweets, so he decided to enchant a tin to preserve the freshness of whatever was placed inside. Harry then experimented with duplication spells that would recreate the magical nature of the sweets while capturing the flavor. It took Harry three days to get the tricky spell correct, and he was sure that when he returned home that if any vendors got wind of what he had done he would be lynched and his work stolen; however, for now Harry was happy and so was his sweet tooth.
As winter approached, Harry was wondering through the forest he came upon a small huddled creature that looked like it had been trampled by a herd of hippogriffs after fighting with a manticore. The creature seemed to be asleep, and on closer inspection, Harry was startled to find out that the creature appeared to be a human female that was even more malnourished than he was while living with the Dursleys. So without a second thought Harry easily scooped her up, and began making his way toward his new home. While he was walking, he quickly took stock of her physical condition. It seemed that she had been left to die, because she had several wounds, she barely weighed 100 pounds, and by the labored way that she breathing and unconsciously cradling herself, he could ascertain that she had some broken ribs.
As soon as Harry got back to his home, he gently laid her down on his bed, got out his books on healing, took out some of his remaining healing herbs, and got a basin full of water so that he could wash her. Once he had gotten everything that he needed, he cautiously undressed her. He figured it wouldn't do him any good for her to come to, and get the wrong idea about his intentions. While he was cleaning off the blood, gook, and grime that covered her body, he wondered about her story. He wondered what her name was, what her life was like, how she had gotten all her scars, and more importantly what had happened to her that would cause her to be in this carnivorous wasteland alone and unprotected.
Several hours after Harry had started cleaning and healing the girl, his job was finally done, and he decided to just let her sleep instead of waking her to question her. Although he was relieved to see that there were other humans on this plane, he was somewhat leery because he didn't know her customs, he didn't know if she was friendly or not, and most importantly, he had just made his peace about being here and didn't want his training and solitude disturbed until he was capable of handling anything that would come his way. Harry quickly put these thoughts out of his head when his stomach rumbled, and it was only then that he realized that he hadn't eaten since that morning.
As he stepped out of his room Harry walked into his study room with Hecate at his heels demanding food. It was somewhat funny to see the now grown griffin chirping in an agitated manner. Harry chuckled, Hecate knowing that Harry was laughing at her, pounced on him and started nuzzling her beak into his most ticklish spots. After Harry surrendered he set out her meal, and started to prepare his own. While eating Harry pulled out a book on obscure magic entitled Awakening the Summoner Within, and sat down at the table. While flipping through the book he conjured some more food for Hecate who was pacing the room while staring at his plate. During the night, it snowed, so he activated the heating charms within the cave, checked the wards regularly, and kept an ear out for any unusual noises. After about an hour of reading, Harry noticed that the sun was going down yet the terrain was still quite visible due to the snowfall, so he decided to check on his new charge and retire for the evening. After checking the salves and making sure that she was ok, Harry went outside, checked the wards around his home, and went inside. He then proceeded to transfigure a rock into a comfortable cot and get some sleep. Usually he would have studied long into the night, but with his houseguest, he thought it best to not have any light showing his location to anyone that might have tracked them to the cave. As Harry drifted off into nothingness, thoughts of the mysterious girl came rushing back to him, but he figured that he would never get any rest if he continued to dwell on it so he went to sleep, knowing that the next day he would have the answers he was seeking.
The next morning Harry was awoken by a blood curdling scream. He reacted by grabbing his wand and sending stunning spells flying in every direction. After about four spells, he heard the distinct sound of a thud so he wearily squinted his eyes and searched the room, and when he was satisfied that there wasn't anyone in the room, he picked up his glasses and started running toward the door when he tripped over something. During his fall, his glasses fell off his face, so he put them on and was almost face to face with the nude form of the mystery woman that he had saved the previous night. Harry sighed, had he known that she would scare him within an inch of his life, he wouldn't have bothered. On second thought, he knew that he would have helped her no matter the situation.
Harry decided to put her back in bed, and conjure some breakfast for them before attempting to wake her again. After conjuring a huge platter of eggs, bacon, fruit, and toast; Harry uttered the Enervante charm and silencing charm on the room. In a flash, the young woman was standing, backing into a corner, and searching the room frantically. After a few seconds, her eyes centered on Harry, she then began trembling and muttering words that Harry couldn't understand.
"I mean you no harm" said Harry while putting his hands up in a placating manner. She spoke in a low voice, and Harry tried his hardest to understand her, but was still unable. Taking a chance, Harry leaned forward, and fixed her a plate, stood slowly as to not scare her, and placed it on his bed before returning to his seat. She watched him warily as he went back to his seat and started eating. Then she looked at her plate, sniffed it and then dug in as if she hadn't eaten in a fortnight. Harry smiled to himself and continued eating.
After breakfast, Harry sat back in his seat and let out a relieved sigh. The mystery woman began talking again, but Harry still couldn't make out what she was saying, but suddenly he had an idea, he took his wand out of its holster and uttered a quick translation spell. When Harry looked up, he noticed that all of the color had left her face. He quickly put his wand away and said
"Sorry if I scared you.I mean you no harm, I just used a spell so that I could understand what you were saying" in a calm manner. She watched him, but said "What do you mean you couldn't understand me, you are speaking clearly now" with reservation in her voice. "I mean that I am not from here, wherever this is." Harry stated. "All I know or remember is that I was in Grimmaud Place messing with a strange trinket, and the next thing I know I am in the middle of a rainforest. Once I got here the amulet started glowing and its pieces broke apart and flew off to Merlin knows where." For reasons unknown to Harry, the woman perked up when she heard Merlin's name. "If you aren't from here, how do you know of Merlin's name? Do you have any knowledge of his whereabouts?"
"Everyone knows about Merlin where I'm from, he was only the greatest Sorcerer our world has ever produced."
"So you do know him, can you take me to him" replied the woman with excitement and anticipation in her voice. Harry laughed, and replied "I wish I could, maybe he could help me to get home, but he has been dead for over 1000 years." The woman glared at Harry, and said "You lie. Merlin and his apprentices only went into seclusion two hundred years ago." Harry just stared at her.
"Does that mean that I traveled in time.I don't believe this, I mean, I could actually meet Merlin.he could send me back" said quickly while staring off into space. The woman said something but Harry didn't even hear her until she stood up.
"What's your name, why do you bear Merlin's mark, and did you heal me" she asked. "Merlin's mark?" Harry questioned.
"That lightning mark on your forehead, and you still didn't answer my questions." "Oh, my name is Harry Potter, yes, and this mark was the result of surviving a killing curse.What's your name and what does this scar mean to you, what is this Merlin's mark?"
"Well, all of Merlin's apprentices are given that mark, and my name is Lillim or Lils for short."
"That's a nice name, my mothers name was Lily" stated Harry, his eyes getting misty as he thought about is deceased parents. Lillum noticed that Harry was kind of distant so she asked "What's wrong?"
"All this talk of my scar, and your name being so close to my mothers.it just got me thinking about my life, how much I miss." he never finished what he was saying, but Lillum could sense that Harry was greatly troubled by something so she let him be. Ten minutes passed before Harry came out of his daze.
"Well, can you tell me where we are, how you got hurt, and about your people" Harry said trying to change the subject.
Over the next hour Lillim told Harry about the Lodus Realm, some of the tribes that inhabited the land, the customs and most importantly which tribes he wanted to stay away from. Since she had been honest with him, he told her about where he was from, about his life, how he had arrived here, and about his heritage. At first Lillim didn't believe him, but after showing her the books that he had, she started to believe that there was another Merlin out there. If so, Harry would only be too happy to meet the man. The two people were broken from their discussion when Hecate came bounding into the room and growling at Harry. Usually Hecate would stay in her room, but Harry realized that he and Lillim had been in his room all day and that he hadn't fed the now angry Hecate. As soon as the angry griffin settled down, Harry noticed that Lillim was in the corner huddled up trying to hide herself beneath the blanket.
"You needn't fear Hecate, she is tame. She is just upset with me because I haven't fed her today."
"You have a griffin as a pet" she replied with awe.
"Sure, I have been raising her for about six months now. I got the egg back in my own world when I picked up a phoenix egg."
"You have a phoenix, how is it that you can domesticate two of the fiercest beasts there are?"
"Well, I don't exactly know about them being fierce beasts here, but in my Realm, phoenixes are tame but rare. The one I have still hasn't hatched yet so I really couldn't tell you how it acts. As far as Hecate is concerned, she's a cream puff." In response, Hecate growled until Harry started petting her behind her ears. In seconds she was reduced to a purring blob of rolling feathers and fur. Harry leaned forward and whispered "I told you she was a cream puff." Lillim laughed and slowly moved her hand forward to pet Lillim. Once she had gotten over her initial fear, the two became fast friends. Over dinner the two talked about light topics, but once the food had been cleared away, Harry asked the question that he had been wondering all day.
"Lillim could you tell me about your past and how you came to be in the forest?"
"Well that's a long story, and I fear that if I tell you that you might kick me out." With every word she spoke, her demeanor changed to reflect her depression. Harry knew what it was like to relive horrible experiences so he decided to wait.
"I know what it's like to have to tell about bad experiences, so I won't ask you again, but I have to know if you were followed. I need to know if there is someone looking for you so I can return you home before the weather gets too bad."
"There is no one." Lillim said with a soft sob.
Harry not knowing any other way to comfort her pulled her into a loose embrace. When he initially pulled her to him, she stiffened up like a board, but when she was sure that he wouldn't hurt her, she relaxed. After she was calm, Harry decided to show her around his home. While he was giving her the grand tour, he told her about the work that he had put into it, and all the protective wards that he had cast. When they reached his garden, Harry called for the leader of the snakes and introduced the two. She also opened up to Harry and told him that she was part elven, human, and vampire. She assured him that she only had to feed once every third month, and that she had fed while she was in the forest. She also told him that she was a witch, but that she didn't know how to cast spells because most women weren't taught how to. Harry was furious, and he knew that Hermione would try to come here and have a women's rights movement if he told her.
While the tour was almost over another peculiar event happened. While showing her around, the phoenix egg finally starts to get warmer. The closer she gets to it, the warmer the room became. Harry had read that phoenixes often choose whom they decide to serve, and the fact that the phoenix hadn't chosen him slightly depressed him. However, after seeing Lillim's face light up as she touched the egg made Harry forget his foolishness. The two stayed with the phoenix egg until it hatched. In fact the only time they left the room was to eat, sleep, or relieve themselves. During the time in the room they got to know each other better, and Harry started to teach her the basics of magic. Harry also made some trips outside the room to play with Hecate, check on the wards, and make sure that his nearly completed animagus potion was simmering properly.
As Harry suspected, the phoenix chirped at Lillim as soon as his initial burning process was complete. Lillim gently picked up the tiny bird with so much grace and compassion that Harry had a very hard time wondering why she didn't have anyone out there looking for her. Soon all of Lillim's wounds were completely healed, but by that time, the cave was snowed in so she couldn't leave.
What animals do you know of that are stubborn and have a bad temper?
I would like to thank everyone that wrote a review. During the weekend, I intend on writing an Authors note to tell you where the story is going, and to acknowledge everyone who reviewed both of my stories. Later
Kakole