A/N: In this chapter, the lay-out of the castle began to confuse me, because all we really know about it is that it has lots and lots of unneeded staircases…
In Which Harry Takes an Unexpected Bath
Morwen, Telemain, and Harry, followed by two of Morwen's cats, exited the tower-like home. Being that this was the first time Harry got a good look at the Enchanted Forest, he was quite startled to see the lush mossy clearing ringed by trees with trunks so wide around that Harry would not have been able to put his arms about one and reach his hands. Since he was staring in amazement at his surroundings, he did not notice Telemain twist one of the rings on his fingers and lift that hand into the air. He did, however, notice when the Forest seemed to melt together and then rearrange itself into another clearing, this time with a castle sitting in the center of it.
"Wow," Harry murmured. It had been very smooth, not like the Portkey or Floo Powder. He didn't know if it was like Apparating, but Harry wouldn't have been surprised if it was more bumpy then Telemain's transportation.
Morwen and Telemain, surprisingly with the cats, strode toward the castle's double doors, Harry trailing behind. He was vaguely reminded of the Hogwarts castle. Telemain lifted the heavy knocker and smacked it three times on the wood. In response, the door creaked open, and, at first, Harry thought it had opened by itself.
"Hello, Willin," said Morwen, and Harry realized that a little man with a greenish tint to his skin stood in the doorway. Hermione probably would not have been happy to see him, and then she would probably ask Morwen and Telemain to join S.P.E.W. Ron would then complain loudly about it and the two would bicker on and on. Thinking about his two friends did not make Harry any happier about being here, though. "We need to see Cimorene and Mendanbar."
"Morwen, Telemain!" what Harry assumed to be an elf exclaimed. "It's great to see you! I'll go fetch the king and queen right away." Willin was just about to leave when he noticed Harry. "And who is this?" the elf inquired.
"Who we need to see Cimorene and Mendanbar about," Morwen replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh," said Willin. "Well, come in, come in!"
The three, plus two cats, entered the castle, and Willin shut the door behind them. He lead them to what was obviously a study, and then scurried away to find the king and queen of the Enchanted Forest. Not as good as meeting the Queen of England, Harry thought bitterly, but it'll have to do.
It was at this point in time that a certain other presence in the room wished to make itself known. "Who do you think you are, to come barging in her without any warning?" a gruff voice said indignantly.
Harry glanced around for the speaker, but saw no one else besides Morwen and Telemain.
"Who do you think we are?" said Morwen lazily.
"Oh, Morwen, Telemain!" said the voice. "I didn't realize it was you."
"Evidently," remarked Telemain. Not knowing where else to look, Harry looked up, and was surprised to see a gargoyle glaring down at them.
"Who's that?" snapped the gargoyle.
"A wizard," said Morwen.
That startled it. "What?! What do you think you're doing, bringing a wizard into the Enchanted Forest? The castle, even! Why, I oughta-"
"That will be enough of that," said an unfamiliar female voice, and three new people entered the room. They were a woman and two men, one much younger than the other, and all very tall. The woman, obviously the speaker, had her jet-black hair in two practical braids down the center of her back, and the two who accompanied her also had the same color of hair. All three were wearing gold circlets.
Not knowing what else to do, Harry bowed. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do in front of royalty?
"No, none of that!" exclaimed the younger of the men. He hurried forward and straightened Harry up. The adolescent smiled sheepishly.
"Daystar, you are going to have to get used to people bowing to you," the queen admonished him.
"I know, Mother," he said. "I just haven't got used to it yet."
"You should," said the older man, and Daystar blushed.
The woman turned to Harry and smiled warmly. "Hello. My name is Cimorene, he's Mendanbar, and he's Daystar."
"I'm very capable of introducing myself, Cimorene," Mendanbar complained.
"I know you are. I'm very capable of taking care of myself, but does that stop you from fussing over me? Noooo…"
"Uh, Cimorene, Mendanbar?" said Morwen. "We have more pressing matters at hand."
"Like what?" the king and queen snapped at the same time. They then looked at each other and grinned.
"Him," said the witch, pointing at Harry.
"What about him?" Daystar asked. "He doesn't look like trouble."
One of the cats meowed.
"No, no, of course Harry doesn't look like your father. That's not what Daystar meant," Morwen informed the upset cat. Though this surprised Harry, everyone else seemed unfazed.
"Of course he doesn't," Telemain said, obviously to Daystar. "A wizard would not want himself to be noticed as someone who may invoke mayhem, therefore he would seek to look as inconspicuous as possible."
As soon as the word "wizard" left the magician's mouth, Harry knew he was in for it.
SPLASH!
Harry suddenly found himself soaked to the bone and smelling strongly of lemons. He took off his glasses and rubbed furiously at his eyes, which had got soap in them. Unable to control himself, he shouted, "What'd you do that for?" How frustrating! Every time he rubbed his eyes to get rid of the soap, his hands just got more soap in them.
Someone handed him a handkerchief, and he finally wiped the soap from his face. While he was at it, he cleaned off the glasses and replaced them on his nose. Harry looked around at the other occupants of the room, who were staring at him in shock. Queen Cimorene held an empty bucket in her hands.
"W-what?" Daystar stammered.
Mendanbar glared intensely at Harry for a while. Finally, he asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Why didn't you melt?"
*%*%*%*%*%*%
Next chapter: In Which Everyone Does Some Thinking and Harry Talks to Dragons
Oh dear…I'm afraid that this story is going to follow a pattern: Action, dialogue, action, dialogue, action, dialogue… Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best! The next chapter will be longer, because I'm meshing what was going to be two chapters into one. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! To all of you who are also reading Tiger's Eye: Don't worry. I'm still working on that one, too. This story is just easier to write. =)
Thank-you's!
LunarBard, Elaine of Shalott, Lunarian, DiamondSky17, Firefox, Kaz, Pyra, Herald Mistylenna, Johanna Steel, Elenhiril, Jeselmium, DumbOldDork, lunatyme, Blue Moon, Aqua Child
And don't forget to review this chapter as well! =)
