Chapter 5 – Chasing Dreams
Harry looked around. Black. Empty. Darkness.
"Hello there, little boy," said a voice from a corner.
"Who's there?" Harry asked frantically as he looked around the darkness.
"Just an old lady," the voice cackled.
"Show yourself!" Harry yelled.
"Come now deary, we shouldn't yell like bad little boys do."
"I am NOT a little boy!" Harry said, defiantly.
"Of course you aren't. You're brave and daring like all men should be, aren't you?"
Harry didn't answer.
"Come now, boy, don't you want to prove yourself?"
"Y-yes!" Harry stammered.
"Then come over here and help me up," said the lady.
Harry walked forward, reached out his hand, and felt something icy cold grip it.
"Help me up, boy, don't waste your time." The old lady was starting to get impatient. Harry pulled her up. Suddenly, the whole room lit up, and Harry saw the woman's face. He screamed.
The woman was dead. But, how could she be…? She was smiling, her eyes glinting maliciously from their sunken sockets, her cheeks gray and rotted. It made Harry want to be sick, it made him want to run away, it ~
"Not so brave now, are you?" The voice was cold and harsh. The old lady threw back her decomposing head and laughed. A very high, cold, evil laugh. And then she turned into Jeniva.
Harry's eyes snapped open. A breeze coming from a nearby window dried his cold sweat. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but then it all came rushing back to him, like when you have a bad headache in the morning and remember, groggily, that there had indeed been a party last night.
TINK, TINK, TINK, CRASH!
Harry sat up and looked around. Some broken china was lying on the ground maybe five feet away.
"Who's there?" he asked, reaching for his glasses and his wand.
A small green figure twitched behind a table.
"I is…I is very sorry, sir. I is going to clean it up now, sir. Go back to sleep, sir," said a timid voice. It sounded awfully familiar.
"Dobby?" Harry asked, hardly daring to believe it.
The green figure stepped out from behind the table. It looked almost just like Dobby, except that its enormous eyes were nut brown.
"Dobby, sir? I is not knowing who you is talking about, sir. I is Tipsy, sir," said the house-elf.
Harry shook his head and said to the house-elf, "Sorry, sorry…you just …look like someone I know…"
The house-elf nodded.
"Well sir, if you is wanting something, sir, you is just calling out my name and I is coming, sir!" said the house-elf, bowing low. And with that he cleaned up the broken china and vanished.
Harry shrugged and got up. The house-elf had left a pile of clothes for him on a chair. Harry held them up and looked at them; there was a pair of brown pants, a white linen shirt, a green tunic, and leather boots. Lancelot-type clothes. Harry sighed and put them on.
He went out into the hall to find Ron and Hermione already up and about, and, of course, arguing about something. Ron's outfit looked almost identical to Harry's, except that his tunic was dark blue. Hermione was dressed in a red skirt, white blouse, and a red corset. She would've been quite attractive-looking, had it not been for the fact that her face was screwed up in anger and was turning as red as a tomato.
Ron pointed at the stairs at the far end of the hall.
"It's that way, I'm telling you!" he said hotly, while his face grew steadily redder.
"No, Ron! We came in that way! That's the way we go!" Hermione said exasperatedly as she pointed at the opposite stairway.
Ron suddenly noticed Harry standing in his doorway.
"Oi! Harry! Know which staircase we came up last night?" Ron called from across the hall. Harry shrugged.
"Don't look at me…" he muttered.
Ron sighed exasperatedly. "What are we going to do, stay here forever, then?"
Then Harry suddenly remembered something.
"Tipsy!" he shouted.
"What?" Ron and Hermione chorused together.
Tipsy the house-elf appeared in front of them and bowed low, once again.
"I is hearing my name being called, sir, so I is here to help you," said the elf.
"Er…could you take us down to the Banquet Hall?" Harry asked, doubtfully. The house-elf nodded vigorously.
"I is knowing the way, sir. I is taking you there, sir," the house-elf said, his eyes wide.
The house-elf gestured for them to follow him down the nearest staircase. Harry had expected for Hermione to point out to Ron that he was wrong, but she just crossed her arms and said to the elf, "You know, you don't have to put up with this. You could boycott this whole 'house-elf' thing until you get paying."
Ron rolled his eyes as the house-elf looked at Hermione in horror.
"Oh no, miss! I is liking King Arthur! I is liking to work! I is not asking for paying, miss! No, no, no!" Tipsy shuddered. Hermione sighed and Tipsy started heading down the stairs again.
After many twists and turns, which Harry must've not noticed before, they all reached the Banquet Hall. Tipsy waved farewell, and disappeared with a 'POP!'.
The long table that had been there the night before had been cleared away, and now there were just three separate mahogany tables. Apparently everyone had already finished breakfast, for no one was there. Ron turned to Hermione.
"You just had to argue, didn't you? Now we've gone and missed breakfast!" he said furiously.
"Me? You're the one who started it!" Hermione put on an impression of Ron. "'Oh, where do we go, Hermione? I don't know, is it that way? No, it's not over there, it's over here!'"
Ron's ears turned very pink. "Oh, shut up," he murmured.
"There you are!" called a voice from the other side of the Banquet Hall. They all turned to see Merlin walking swiftly towards them. "Hurry, hurry! We'll miss Arthur's farewell speech!"
Ron made a face that said plainly, "So?"
Merlin chose to ignore it and hurried them off towards the gate. Arthur was sitting astride his horse, kissing Gwenivere good-bye. Arthur looked up.
"Ah, Merlin," Arthur said with a bow of his head. Merlin gave him a very grave smile.
"Arthur, you will not be swayed from this quest for anything, will you?" Merlin asked. Arthur shook his head solemnly and Merlin continued. "Then I must ask a favor of you."
"Certainly, Merlin," Arthur said, with a touch of curiosity.
"Give the boy Excalibur. The fates have informed me that you will not need it."
Arthur merely stared at Merlin. "Of course, Merlin. Where is Godric?"
"Godric is not the one to whom I wish to give the sword."
"Really? Well…Salazar, then? What would he want with it?"
"Salazar is not to receive the sword. This ~" Merlin pushed Harry forward ~ "is who will wield it."
Arthur stared curiously down at Harry. "Harry, is it?" Harry nodded, his knees trembling. "Yes…well…onto business." Arthur took out the sword and handed it to Harry with a slight bow of his head.
"Treat it well, boy. I hope to find it in excellent condition when I return," Arthur said, a kind smile lighting up his face. Harry gulped and stared down at the sword with wide eyes.
He was holding Excalibur. The Excalibur. One of the most legendary things in the world. He tightened his grip on the diamond-encrusted hilt and swished it a little. The sword sang its own eerie song. It looked to be made of iron…or silver…or some other type of metal that Harry couldn't name, but one thing he did know for sure was this: the sword was good, and powerful. Harry could feel the energy from it flow through his veins.
"Um…Harry…" Ron nudged Harry with his elbow. Harry looked up to see many people staring oddly at him.
"Uh…" Harry glanced around, dazed. "Yeah…I will…thanks…"
Arthur smiled, gave Gwenivere one last kiss, shouted "I will not return empty-handed!", and rode off with hundreds of other Camelot men, their banners waving proudly in the breeze.
"He's going off to chase a dream…" Harry heard Merlin mutter under his breath.
The many people that had been there to see Arthur off were now leaving, and Merlin seemed to suddenly remember something.
"Ah, yes…your training…"
Ron gulped.
"Sir Lancelot!" Merlin called across the field. Harry was a bit confused. He had thought that Sir Lancelot was going on the quest with Arthur as well.
Sir Lancelot hurried over and asked, "Yes, what is it Merlin?"
"Here are your new trainees," Merlin said solemnly, with a gesture at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Sir Lancelot smiled.
"Aye, we've met," he said, winking at them.
Hermione seemed to feel a bit awkward at this.
"Er…Merlin, sir…um…aren't you training us?" she asked timidly. Merlin chuckled a little bit.
"Oh, no, dear child! I have my own students to teach!" Merlin chortled.
Sir Lancelot gave him a good-natured grin and made a gesture for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to follow him.
A/N: *sigh* I'm so corny, you could bite the kernels off of me…blegh…toodles,
Ron Weasley's Cutie
