The Paths We Take
By Ged
Disclaimer: I know most of you aren't going to read this anyway so I'll make it brief; I do not own Harry Potter or any of its astounding characters. They and everything else in the HP universe are owned by J. K. Rowling. Just about everything in existence is copyrighted these days so really nothing here is mine.
A/N: This is my first official fanfic. I would really appreciate it if you would let me know what you think. Constructive criticisms are welcome, but flamers had best turn back now.
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Chapter 3: The School of Ki
Harry closed his eyes to shield them from the brilliant glare of the fire produced by Fawkes. He felt a slight tingling sensation in the back of his throat (most likely a result of the sudden feeling of weightlessness that came from holding the beautiful phoenix), but aside from that and the bright light, Harry was quite comfortable with traveling by Fawkes's "fire." Harry definitely put it on the top of his "preferred means of travel" list, with portkey being on the bottom. He still had not gotten over the phobia that came from the events of the third task. After several moments, Harry found himself standing in front of a small, yet beautiful village. It was made up mostly of huts, shacks, and cabins, but there was a large ring in the center, similar-looking to the fighting arenas from Dudley's old video games that Harry used to sneak in when nobody was home. Looking out at it, he caught a glimpse of two people fighting in the arena. However the battle wasn't like anything he had ever seen before. The combatants were dealing blows back and forth so quickly that Harry could barely keep track. Moments later, it became clear to him that they were only warming up. Once their "warm-up" was over, the two sparring began to glow, and their movements became faster and faster, until Harry lost sight of them entirely. They were moving faster than a normal human eye could follow, and Harry only managed to catch glimpses of their after-images.
"Welcome, Harry, to the School of Ki." (A/N: It's pronounced "chee." You'll learn all about it later if you don't already know what it is. Sorry about that, back to the story.) On instinct, Harry whipped out his wand and turned to face the source of the voice, which turned out to be none other than his mentor and one of the only people he ever felt safe with, Professor Albus Dumbledore, current headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry lowered his wand and immediately turned red with embarrassment for thinking that Dumbledore could be a threat to him, even if it was just a reaction. Dumbledore let out a small chuckle of amusement at Harry's predicament, which he quickly tried to cover up with a cough to keep from embarrassing the poor boy further. He had been watching as Harry observed the match going on at the arena and had taken note of the boy's impressed state.
Harry looked around in amazement at the village around him. "This whole village is a school?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.
"You will understand why soon enough young Mr. Potter," Dumbledore replied, his eyes dancing merrily. It was rather obvious to Harry that his headmaster was very excited to be, er, wherever it was they were. "Please, follow me," Dumbledore requested, and began walking off towards one of the smaller huts. Harry immediately took off after him, not wanting to be left behind. Upon entering the hut, Harry saw that it was a small, single room filled with candles. He heard soft music being played, seemingly coming from nowhere in particular. He took a moment to listen to the lyrics of the song, something about stars in the sky. It meant very little to him, but seemed to have great sentimental value to the man standing in the center of the room, with his eyes closed and his hands in front of his neck, in what appeared to be a praying position, but with only the index and middle fingers of each hand pointed up. He noticed that one hand seemed to be higher up than the other. However after a moment of staring he noticed that the man was glowing slightly, a brilliant blue color. As he watched, the glow became brighter and brighter and then suddenly, the man opened his eyes. Looking into his eyes, Harry saw a bright flame burning behind the orbs of brilliant brown, and in that moment seemed to gaze into his soul. He saw the raw power the man held within his body, and felt himself grow frightened and yet relaxed and comfortable at the same time. The feeling was beyond description. Suddenly, the small blue aura exploded around the man, turning bright yellow. He began screaming, as though he was in pain. The fire Harry saw in his eyes was replaced by a look of pure longing, of loneliness, of pure despair, and something else. Harry could have almost said pure rage, but there was something strange about it. The look of despair was one he recognized so well, having seen it in his own eyes every day he was allowed to look in the mirror back at the Dursleys since the third task in his fourth year. The energy erupted even further, turning the man into a small sun. Harry immediately brought his hands up to shield his eyes from the powerful glare. Slowly, the man calmed himself down, taking slow and deep breaths, allowing his eyes to flutter closed once more. The brilliant aura around him rapidly faded out and dissipated. He opened his eyes once more and gazed around the room, eventually locking onto the forms of Harry and Dumbledore standing in the corner. He tried to hide the disbelief in his face, but his eyes gave him away. A wide smile lit up his face as he strode over to them and bowed by way of greeting.
"Albus? Is that you my old friend?" the man's voice croaked out, choked with emotion.
"It has been a long time Toomin," Dumbledore replied, tears in his eyes, bowing back.
"Far too long for my tastes. How have you been these past few years?"
"You mean these past 30 years, Toomin. Much has changed since then." Dumbledore's eyes were dancing merrily, and he allowed himself a grin, the likes of which Harry had never seen before on his headmaster. "I am now Headmaster of Hogwarts."
"You mean you didn't take the position offered to you for minister of magic? You always were mad." The look of disbelief was back on the man's face again. Harry watched as the two discuss the old days, when, from what Harry could gather from their conversation, they were allies in battle against many dark wizards, including Grindelwald.
"They should have given you more credit for that victory, Toomin. You saved my life four times during the battle, and we would not have won without you."
"Please, please, drop the 'Toomin' bit, and though it brings back many great memories, we are no longer allies in battle against a dark lord. You can call me by my real name, not my battle name. And as for the credit of victory, I did not want it. I don't want the fame or glory or fortune that always comes with victory. You know that. I even specifically modified the memories of every single witness to make them believe it was all because of you that we won, and that I was unable to make it into battle."
"So, tell me, Ged, why did you not modify my own memory?" Dumbledore inquired in a curious tone.
"I didn't really want to at first, but I realized I had to do a thorough job of it or else not everyone's stores would match. So I tried entering your mind to do some quick 'maintenance' and found out that it was impossible for me to gain access. You were quite skilled at occlumency at the time I'm afraid, and I was rather drained from the battle." For some reason Ged sounded ashamed of himself, as though defeating one of the greatest dark wizards of all time was not good enough for him, that he had to have full energy once the battle was done too. Harry shook his head in disbelief. Who was this man? Almost as though he heard his thoughts (and at this point Harry was willing to bet he could) the man Dumbledore had called Ged walked over to Harry and bowed to him, as form of greeting. "Greetings Mr. Potter. I am Ged Barrie, lord, ki master, and sage of the Light."
"H...How do you know my name?" Harry's voice was shaking. Needless to say, it's a tad bit unnerving to have a complete stranger know your name, even if you are the famous Harry Potter. Also, there was something about this man that was quite intimidating besides the obvious display of power he put on only a few minutes ago, a feeling of authority that seemed to resonate from his very being. He gave the impression of a man who you did not want to trifle with.
"Nothing escapes my watchful gaze, or my probing mind," Ged replied, in a misty voice that almost reminded him of the divination teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Trelawney.
"Yes, yes, there will be time for proper introductions later I'm afraid. However I can only remain here for a short period, so we must discuss Harry's training," Dumbledore's voice held a surprising tone of urgency that Harry had never heard from his headmaster before. It was clear that he was under a lot of stress now that everyone knew Lord Voldemort had truly returned.
"And for what reason is Harry to come to me for training? I'm sure that training under a mage would be far more rewarding for him, granted his situation, and you know I only take on the most dedicated of students and those with a genuine need for my guidance," Ged replied, making it quite clear he had no intention of taking on some random boy, even if he was the famous Harry Potter. Anyone who wanted Ged to train them would have to be truly special, and not in the famous way Harry was. He would have to earn the man's respect and guidance.
"Please, sir. I must train to face Voldemort in battle. It's all my fault he's back and I am the one responsible for taking him out. He came back to life with my blood and it's only right that I be the one to destroy him. It is my fault he killed my friend and my fault that my godfather died as well. Then I learned of a prophecy that stated either I would kill him or he would kill me. I am responsible for him; I must be the one to destroy him," Harry spoke up, deciding to answer for himself this time. He made sure to enunciate every word so that Ged understood the severity of his situation. Ged stared in this boy in wonder. He had read his memories when he first entered the room, and knew what he meant when he mentioned his blood and his friend and his godfather. He knew what Harry had gone through, yet he could not understand how he could continue to blame himself when it was clearly beyond his control. It was very unusual for a mere child to understand the severity of his situation, yet there was something special about his boy, a certain matureness that only came from having to grow up faster than one should. Harry knew what he had to do and was willing to do it, despite the risks. Ged was able to sympathize with him, knowing what it was like to be forced to accept a responsibility nobody your age should have to bear.
"You do understand that once you begin there is no going back. No matter how hard your training may become, and I can assure you that it will get hard, you are to continue. You are not to complain when you are tired, nor are you to stop once your muscles give out. You will be pushed to your limits in every way you ever thought possible, and then some. This is not an easy path to take. Many have tried, and as of this day only seven have ever completed their first month, and of those seven only 4 are still with us. This is not the path most choose to take. Are you sure this is what you truly want?" Ged wanted to make it quite clear to Harry that he should not simply try it, he must do it. A half-asked job could cost him his life. He would have to be totally sure that this was what he had to do, that his cause was worthy enough.
"I understand full well sir, and I do not care how hard it is or how much effort it takes. I must do this. I must destroy Voldemort. If any of my friends are harmed because of him, it will have been my fault for not seizing my opportunity and learning what I must to destroy him." Harry's voice held a steady calm to it, a dangerous undertone that showed he was sincere about everything he said.
"Very well then. Your cause is just and your heart is pure. From this point forward you will address me as 'Sensei.' Your training begins tomorrow at sunup. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sensei," Harry replied.
"Good. Your sleeping quarters and home for the next two months is four huts down from my own. Oh, and I suggest you get some sleep tonight. You'll be needing it."
"I have one more question Sensei."
"Yes Harry?"
"What is it that I'm training in anyway?"
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A/N: Well, here you people go, chapter 3. I actually finished this chapter before I left for camp on the 20th of July, but FF.net kept going down when I tried to upload. So here it is. For anyone who started reading this and thought "Wow this is really boring" or "This isn't very original," I promise it'll pick up from here. Don't forget to review!