Chapter 2 – Who are you?
The army awoke to find their General missing. No one had seen him since he left the soldiers' area the night before. They looked for him everywhere. They tried to delay their march back to Rome, but Ron Weasly assumed control and ordered them to march. The only topic of conversation anywhere, was Harry's disappearance. Everyone in the army was distraught. No one laughed during the whole march back.
When they returned to Rome, the crowds were lined up on the path of the victory parade that was due to end in front of the Senate House. The crowds began cheering and screaming, but stopped when they saw Ron Weasly smiling and waving from the main chariot, not Harry Potter. It seemed as though the whole of Rome was silent. No one even seemed to breathing. 'Where was Harry?' was the question on everyone's mind. The army followed the main chariot. In stark contrast to Ron at the front, no one else seemed joyful. Their heads were down, faces all bearing dark expressions. The Emperor came running down to meet the procession
"Where is he? Where is Harry?" he asked immediately
"He vanished. The night after the battle," said Ron quietly. The Emperor didn't respond. He simply rushed back inside the Senate House.
Rome mourned the loss of one of its greatest heroes. Worst affected by Harry's disappearance was Ginny Weasly. She had loved Harry all her life. She had said 'no' to anyone who asked her, because she was waiting for Harry. Her grief was made so much worse when she found out that Ron and Draco had mysteriously become the best of friends. She certainly found this a little strange, even suspicious.
She hated it when Draco was anywhere near her. He just wouldn't stop leering at her. He always tried to talk to her and flirt with her. He even stalked her at parties, not letting her out of his sight, or letting her talk to other men. He was absolutely obsessed with her. But it was Ron's reaction that made it even worse. He was usually extremely over-protective of her, but when Draco tried to feel her up, he just did nothing. In fact, he encouraged it. She heard him telling Draco that he was sure that she fancied him, and was just playing 'hard to get'. Whenever Draco wasn't around, Ron would try and push her into liking Draco. He regularly suggested that they should marry, much to the horror of Ginny. She hated everything about Draco. His sly, devious ways in both politics and normal life, the way he felt that everyone else was beneath his contempt, the way he walked around the palaces and temples of Rome as if he owned them. He just made her sick. She had told him so, many times, but he still tried to impress her whenever he saw her.
When she went up to her room before bed, she wept for Harry, thinking of the times they had spent together. They had been good friends; he always seemed to be able to cheer her up when she was feeling down. Also, Draco never did anything when she was talking to Harry, except glare at Harry, which he found very funny.
"Harry," she sighed sadly, tears rolling down her face, "Where are you? Are you really dead? Please come home."
XXXXX
Harry looked upwards. It seemed like he was floating. He couldn't feel anything at all, just that he was travelling along somewhere, lying on his back, looking up at a blue sky
"Ah, awake at last," came a voice that sounded extremely distant. Harry shook himself out of his stupor, and he was immediately hit with incredible pain all over his body. He cried out before he could stop himself
"Don't move!" said the man who had spoken to him before, "You will be hurt even more. Just go to sleep, but stay alive." It was only then that Harry felt how exhausted he was, through the pain. He lay back and was quickly fast asleep.
When he woke up, he was lying on the back of a cart. The man who had spoken to him earlier was waiting for him. Harry saw that they were about the same age
"About time too," he said, smiling, "I'm Dean Thomas, by the way. You?" But before Harry could reply, he and Dean were called over to stand with another group of people. They were standing in a large town square, where lots of people were gathered and were examining the crowd in which Harry was standing
"What's going on?" Harry asked. His voice was rough and scratchy, as if not used for years.
"Slave auction," replied Dean casually. Harry started
"But I'm not a slave," he said, outraged
"You are now. Welcome back to the world of the living," Dean told him sarcastically. They waited around, until a middle-aged man came up to them
"Names, please," he demanded
"Dean Thomas," replied Dean coldly
"And you?" he asked Harry harshly
"I have no name," said Harry darkly. The man looked at him, surprised but said
"Very well, we shall just have to call you 'Scar' then, won't we? Now, I am buying both of you. My name is Cornelius Fudge, but I expect you to call me either 'master' or 'sir'. Is that understood?" They both nodded. "Well come on then," demanded Fudge, "Start pulling my cart. I haven't got all day."
Dragging the cart didn't take long, as Harry and Dean were both tall, strong men. They had some fun, by pulling the cart as fast as they could, until Fudge nearly fell out, but they stopped when he began to whip them as punishment for disobeying orders.
Fudge lived in a large house, with acres of farmland, which his slaves worked on, making him his money. Harry groaned. He had a feeling that he was not going to enjoy his time here. However, he soon noticed Fudge's extremely attractive daughter and his mood rose slightly. She had long, brown hair down to her back, a slim body, toned from manual work and had eyed Harry with interest. He flashed her a smile, which she returned, but then Harry was called to go to his room. Harry looked around his "room" disgustedly. He and Dean were to be sleeping in a barn, about a mile away from the house.
"Who are you?" asked Dean abruptly
"I'll tell you another time," said Harry, evenly, "Right now I need to wash. Were you on the cart when I was picked up?"
"Yes, I was. You were just lying in ditch. We thought you were dead, but I saw you breathing and then we picked you up. What happened to you?"
"I'll tell you another time," said Harry again, "But thanks anyway." He left the barn and moved up towards the house. Fudge's daughter answered the door
"Yes?" she said, smiling radiantly
"I need to take a wash," he said, his voice still rough
"Certainly," she said, leading him up to a washroom.
She left slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of Harry getting undressed, but he waited until he was sure she had gone before he took off his clothes and got into the bathtub. But as soon as he got in, he yelled in pain. Fudge's daughter rushed back into the room. She blushed at seeing Harry naked, but then gasped when she saw Harry's body. There were cuts covering every inch of his back, chest and stomach, as well as the obvious deep gash on his thigh. He was also aware for the first time that blood must have dried into his hair and some had to be over his face as well.
"My god, what happened to you?" she asked, horrified. Harry didn't answer. He was still in agony
"You have to get cleaned up," she told him, "I know it'll hurt, but you have to, or you get an infection."
Harry knew she was right, but he certainly didn't like it. He climbed back into the tub, grimacing, but he didn't say anything. She scooped up some water and poured it over his back. She moved her hands slowly over his muscular shoulders and back, but he was in too much pain to notice anything. After a thorough wash, Harry looked more or less him or self. Fudge's daughter, Cornelia, cut his hair to how it was before, but he kept a small goatee, which he didn't have before, in order to try and protect his real identity. He also still had the lightening scar that Ron had carved into his forehead. He had a feeling that it would be permanent.
"Thank you, Cornelia," he said
"My pleasure," she said, smiling slightly.
She kissed him on the cheek and went out the room into the main part of the house. Harry went back out to the barn. Dean had to look twice before he could recognise him properly, but both of them were tired from their journey, so went to sleep quickly.
They worked mostly in the fields over the next few months, or inside if it was too cold for anything to grow. With the heavy labour he was doing, Harry soon got back to the shape he was in when he was in the army. He also practised his swords skills with the scythes he used to cut the crops or wooden poles he found on the farm. About three months after they had arrived, Dean asked Harry once again
"Scar, who are you?" Harry sighed. He had been expecting this for a while. He checked no one else was around
"Alright, I'll tell you. But I'm trusting you not to tell anyone." Dean nodded. "Well, you know that I was in the army, and I told you I got expelled?" Dean nodded again.
"Well, that's not quite true. I was in the army. Well, we had just won a great victory against the Portuguese and I had been talking with the soldiers and was on my way back up the Generals' Tent. I saw my best friend coming across to meet me, and he attacked me. Then, one of my enemies from Rome slashed me across the back with a sword. I turned round and my friend stabbed me in the back. They carried on punching and cutting me for a while and that's all I remember." Dean looked shocked
"How could any friend do that?"
"Beats me. We'd been best friends all our lives,"
"But you were high-ranked in the army? What rank were you?" Harry hesitated
"Err, I was Supreme General of all forces." Dean nearly fell over in astonishment
"But you're only my age. No one could be the Supreme General at that age. The only person to do that was.........No way!"
"What?" said Harry, though he knew what Dean was about to say
"You're Harry Potter," he said. It was a statement, not a question. Harry nodded
"But you've got to keep it quiet,"
"Why? Why don't you send a message to Rome and tell the Emperor to get you out of here?"
"Because if Emperor knew I was still alive, he would ensure that I had a little accident on the way back to Rome,"
"What are you on about?"
"The Emperor was behind the attack. He was the one who sent Ron and Malfoy to attack me. He wanted them to kill me but they didn't finish the job,"
"Why?"
"It'll take too long to explain. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone,"
"Yeah, of course. Just do one thing in return. Teach me to fight." Harry looked confused, so Dean carried on, "I've seen you, practising sword fighting with the scythes when you thought no one was looking. It was incredible. Teach me to do that. I've got some scores I'd like settle myself,"
"Alright, deal," Harry grinned.
The army awoke to find their General missing. No one had seen him since he left the soldiers' area the night before. They looked for him everywhere. They tried to delay their march back to Rome, but Ron Weasly assumed control and ordered them to march. The only topic of conversation anywhere, was Harry's disappearance. Everyone in the army was distraught. No one laughed during the whole march back.
When they returned to Rome, the crowds were lined up on the path of the victory parade that was due to end in front of the Senate House. The crowds began cheering and screaming, but stopped when they saw Ron Weasly smiling and waving from the main chariot, not Harry Potter. It seemed as though the whole of Rome was silent. No one even seemed to breathing. 'Where was Harry?' was the question on everyone's mind. The army followed the main chariot. In stark contrast to Ron at the front, no one else seemed joyful. Their heads were down, faces all bearing dark expressions. The Emperor came running down to meet the procession
"Where is he? Where is Harry?" he asked immediately
"He vanished. The night after the battle," said Ron quietly. The Emperor didn't respond. He simply rushed back inside the Senate House.
Rome mourned the loss of one of its greatest heroes. Worst affected by Harry's disappearance was Ginny Weasly. She had loved Harry all her life. She had said 'no' to anyone who asked her, because she was waiting for Harry. Her grief was made so much worse when she found out that Ron and Draco had mysteriously become the best of friends. She certainly found this a little strange, even suspicious.
She hated it when Draco was anywhere near her. He just wouldn't stop leering at her. He always tried to talk to her and flirt with her. He even stalked her at parties, not letting her out of his sight, or letting her talk to other men. He was absolutely obsessed with her. But it was Ron's reaction that made it even worse. He was usually extremely over-protective of her, but when Draco tried to feel her up, he just did nothing. In fact, he encouraged it. She heard him telling Draco that he was sure that she fancied him, and was just playing 'hard to get'. Whenever Draco wasn't around, Ron would try and push her into liking Draco. He regularly suggested that they should marry, much to the horror of Ginny. She hated everything about Draco. His sly, devious ways in both politics and normal life, the way he felt that everyone else was beneath his contempt, the way he walked around the palaces and temples of Rome as if he owned them. He just made her sick. She had told him so, many times, but he still tried to impress her whenever he saw her.
When she went up to her room before bed, she wept for Harry, thinking of the times they had spent together. They had been good friends; he always seemed to be able to cheer her up when she was feeling down. Also, Draco never did anything when she was talking to Harry, except glare at Harry, which he found very funny.
"Harry," she sighed sadly, tears rolling down her face, "Where are you? Are you really dead? Please come home."
XXXXX
Harry looked upwards. It seemed like he was floating. He couldn't feel anything at all, just that he was travelling along somewhere, lying on his back, looking up at a blue sky
"Ah, awake at last," came a voice that sounded extremely distant. Harry shook himself out of his stupor, and he was immediately hit with incredible pain all over his body. He cried out before he could stop himself
"Don't move!" said the man who had spoken to him before, "You will be hurt even more. Just go to sleep, but stay alive." It was only then that Harry felt how exhausted he was, through the pain. He lay back and was quickly fast asleep.
When he woke up, he was lying on the back of a cart. The man who had spoken to him earlier was waiting for him. Harry saw that they were about the same age
"About time too," he said, smiling, "I'm Dean Thomas, by the way. You?" But before Harry could reply, he and Dean were called over to stand with another group of people. They were standing in a large town square, where lots of people were gathered and were examining the crowd in which Harry was standing
"What's going on?" Harry asked. His voice was rough and scratchy, as if not used for years.
"Slave auction," replied Dean casually. Harry started
"But I'm not a slave," he said, outraged
"You are now. Welcome back to the world of the living," Dean told him sarcastically. They waited around, until a middle-aged man came up to them
"Names, please," he demanded
"Dean Thomas," replied Dean coldly
"And you?" he asked Harry harshly
"I have no name," said Harry darkly. The man looked at him, surprised but said
"Very well, we shall just have to call you 'Scar' then, won't we? Now, I am buying both of you. My name is Cornelius Fudge, but I expect you to call me either 'master' or 'sir'. Is that understood?" They both nodded. "Well come on then," demanded Fudge, "Start pulling my cart. I haven't got all day."
Dragging the cart didn't take long, as Harry and Dean were both tall, strong men. They had some fun, by pulling the cart as fast as they could, until Fudge nearly fell out, but they stopped when he began to whip them as punishment for disobeying orders.
Fudge lived in a large house, with acres of farmland, which his slaves worked on, making him his money. Harry groaned. He had a feeling that he was not going to enjoy his time here. However, he soon noticed Fudge's extremely attractive daughter and his mood rose slightly. She had long, brown hair down to her back, a slim body, toned from manual work and had eyed Harry with interest. He flashed her a smile, which she returned, but then Harry was called to go to his room. Harry looked around his "room" disgustedly. He and Dean were to be sleeping in a barn, about a mile away from the house.
"Who are you?" asked Dean abruptly
"I'll tell you another time," said Harry, evenly, "Right now I need to wash. Were you on the cart when I was picked up?"
"Yes, I was. You were just lying in ditch. We thought you were dead, but I saw you breathing and then we picked you up. What happened to you?"
"I'll tell you another time," said Harry again, "But thanks anyway." He left the barn and moved up towards the house. Fudge's daughter answered the door
"Yes?" she said, smiling radiantly
"I need to take a wash," he said, his voice still rough
"Certainly," she said, leading him up to a washroom.
She left slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of Harry getting undressed, but he waited until he was sure she had gone before he took off his clothes and got into the bathtub. But as soon as he got in, he yelled in pain. Fudge's daughter rushed back into the room. She blushed at seeing Harry naked, but then gasped when she saw Harry's body. There were cuts covering every inch of his back, chest and stomach, as well as the obvious deep gash on his thigh. He was also aware for the first time that blood must have dried into his hair and some had to be over his face as well.
"My god, what happened to you?" she asked, horrified. Harry didn't answer. He was still in agony
"You have to get cleaned up," she told him, "I know it'll hurt, but you have to, or you get an infection."
Harry knew she was right, but he certainly didn't like it. He climbed back into the tub, grimacing, but he didn't say anything. She scooped up some water and poured it over his back. She moved her hands slowly over his muscular shoulders and back, but he was in too much pain to notice anything. After a thorough wash, Harry looked more or less him or self. Fudge's daughter, Cornelia, cut his hair to how it was before, but he kept a small goatee, which he didn't have before, in order to try and protect his real identity. He also still had the lightening scar that Ron had carved into his forehead. He had a feeling that it would be permanent.
"Thank you, Cornelia," he said
"My pleasure," she said, smiling slightly.
She kissed him on the cheek and went out the room into the main part of the house. Harry went back out to the barn. Dean had to look twice before he could recognise him properly, but both of them were tired from their journey, so went to sleep quickly.
They worked mostly in the fields over the next few months, or inside if it was too cold for anything to grow. With the heavy labour he was doing, Harry soon got back to the shape he was in when he was in the army. He also practised his swords skills with the scythes he used to cut the crops or wooden poles he found on the farm. About three months after they had arrived, Dean asked Harry once again
"Scar, who are you?" Harry sighed. He had been expecting this for a while. He checked no one else was around
"Alright, I'll tell you. But I'm trusting you not to tell anyone." Dean nodded. "Well, you know that I was in the army, and I told you I got expelled?" Dean nodded again.
"Well, that's not quite true. I was in the army. Well, we had just won a great victory against the Portuguese and I had been talking with the soldiers and was on my way back up the Generals' Tent. I saw my best friend coming across to meet me, and he attacked me. Then, one of my enemies from Rome slashed me across the back with a sword. I turned round and my friend stabbed me in the back. They carried on punching and cutting me for a while and that's all I remember." Dean looked shocked
"How could any friend do that?"
"Beats me. We'd been best friends all our lives,"
"But you were high-ranked in the army? What rank were you?" Harry hesitated
"Err, I was Supreme General of all forces." Dean nearly fell over in astonishment
"But you're only my age. No one could be the Supreme General at that age. The only person to do that was.........No way!"
"What?" said Harry, though he knew what Dean was about to say
"You're Harry Potter," he said. It was a statement, not a question. Harry nodded
"But you've got to keep it quiet,"
"Why? Why don't you send a message to Rome and tell the Emperor to get you out of here?"
"Because if Emperor knew I was still alive, he would ensure that I had a little accident on the way back to Rome,"
"What are you on about?"
"The Emperor was behind the attack. He was the one who sent Ron and Malfoy to attack me. He wanted them to kill me but they didn't finish the job,"
"Why?"
"It'll take too long to explain. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone,"
"Yeah, of course. Just do one thing in return. Teach me to fight." Harry looked confused, so Dean carried on, "I've seen you, practising sword fighting with the scythes when you thought no one was looking. It was incredible. Teach me to do that. I've got some scores I'd like settle myself,"
"Alright, deal," Harry grinned.