Title: Wisdom From The Dark 19
Author: Jyrnn
Spoilers: All four books. Wait, can't say that now can I? Okay, PS, CS, PoA, and GoF. I'll probably pilfer whatever bits I can from The Order of The Phoenix. Incidently some of it can fit. Thank you J. K Rowling. Well except the part about Sirius.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of its characters. They are the sole intellectual property of J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. I gain no monetary reward for this exercise and do not intend any copyright infringement.
Summery: A child has suffered enough, an intruder encounters unexpected resistance, and the careless words of Voldemort have the most unexpected results. Harry Potter is about to take a stand.
*...* Direct thoughts
Chapter 19: Wanderer No More
Looking at the wreck Harry could only shake his head. The force of
the hurled sections of track had derailed many train cars and made any
travel impossible. Even if the train could resume its journey, there was
the matter of the hundred feet of track that was currently impaling
Harry's private, if ruined, train car. Mercifully the only deaths were
Scarsdale's men. Harry's Patronus had driven off the Dementors, and the
giants were nowhere to be seen. Many innocents were injured and
emergency response teams were Apparating in every direction, pops indicating
their appearance resounding through the area. This leg of the journey
to Durmstrang was a loss. Fifty meters to his right Scarsdale was
arguing with an investigator who seemed to want to speak with Harry. It
was not that Harry didn't want to speak to man; it was merely that the
bodyguard wanted to exert some control over the situation. By protecting
his client's privacy Scarsdale could save himself some disgrace. They
had been sniping at one another for ten minutes and neither showed any
sign of stopping.
Harry understood little of what was being said. The hundreds of
voices of the stranded passengers floated around the clearing and confounded
the Babel Clasp on his ear. Far too many different languages were
being used and he had been forced to pocket it. In the blissful silence
that only a stranger in foreign country can feel, Harry marshaled his
thoughts. *Three hundred and sixty days to live. Funny... it was longer
than I expected from Riddle.* He leaned against the wreckage for quite
some time and studiously avoided looking at the three corpses that lay
covered a scant twenty meters in front of him. He had guilt in
abundant supply and didn't require visual reminders that the attack was
because of him. Despondency threatened to overtake him but his
self-deprecation was interrupted by a group of visitors.
The noisy din altered from a confused hum to an ugly roar. About a
dozen of the older passengers had broken away from where the emergency
workers were holding them. Most stared at him with soul-flaying disgust.
One man spoke up. His voice was loud and accusatory in a heavy German
voice that was incomprehensible. Quickly Harry slipped his Babel Clasp
back on his ear and caught the tail end of the loud declaration.
"...rich fools like you! It is because of you that those men came
here. It was because of you that we were injured. I demand you take
accountability for this." The grey haired man finished his speech in a
roaring tone that attracted Scarsdale from his argument. Harry could see
the burst of profanity escape his sole remaining bodyguard but could
not hear it over the vehement claims of the assembled mob. Harry waited
before he voiced his response. He needed to be very careful with words
lest he incite a riot. There had been far too much violence already
for Harry's taste. In his peripheral vision, Harry saw Scarsdale plowing
his way through the crowd.
As usual his clasp twisted his mouth intricately in order to for his
words to become German. "Please be calm. I understand your anger and
certainly didn't expect..." He was cut off though.
"Expect this, brat!" the leader of the malcontent passengers cried as
he lashed forwards with a quick right punch. At that moment Scarsdale
lunged from behind in attempt to grab the offending fist. He was too
late though, failing to stop the blow before it reached its intended
target. Harry rocked back on his heels with the force of the blow,
rolling with a punch was skill he had attained quickly in the Dursley's
household. This defensive action dissipated most of the force behind the
punch but did little to stop Harry's lip from splitting under the
pressure of the man's fist. Immediately the copper taste of his own blood
washed over his taste buds and a moment latter burning pain of newly rent
flesh. He quickly shook it off though, since Scarsdale seemed to be in
the process of drastic action.
The unnamed German man was now on his knees with his wrist twisted
behind his head. For his part, Scarsdale stood at the man's side with one
hand performing the painful wrist lock and the other holding his large
wand which glowed an ominous, angry red. His bodyguard looked a Harry
questioningly as if the ask "Now what?" Harry simply made a
forestalling gesture as he brushed the accumulating blood from his cut lip with
his thumb. Content that he had shaken off the worst of the blow, he
walked forward and stooped to meet the man's eyes. Pain and disbelief
were readily apparent along with a touch of fear. Harry didn't strike him
back though.
Without raising his voice, in the silence that had befallen the
clearing after the punch, Harry's words were heard. "Giants drove the train
off the tracks, Dementors filled your hearts with fear, and dark
wizards, Death Eaters, killed my guards. I cast no charm, brought no
creature, nor bore any malice. I am a victim here also and I will not take
responsibility for the actions of others anymore." He stood and waved
off Scarsdale who released the man from his painful grasp. "Good Day."
he spoke once more and strode out of sight behind the wreckage of his
train car with his bodyguard in pursuit. Emergency workers quickly
dispersed the crowd and continued the clean-up.
***
They stood amongst the cruelly twisted ruins of Harry's once opulent
property. The windows were all smashed and the pages of his books were
scattered about the floor. A fire had somehow started after his
mid-melee escape and the smell of smoke lingered in the confined space. With
a little disgust Harry snorted as he kicked aside some of the debris.
"A total loss, how discouraging." He sighed and turned his gaze at
Scarsdale. "What did that investigator want? You were speaking to him
for a while."
"It was what I wanted." Responded Scarsdale in his inflectionless
voice. The taciturn guard seemed reluctant to say more. Eventually he
continued when he take no more of Harry's quirked eyebrow and expectant
expression. "I wanted an emergency portkey to the destination. He
wouldn't authorize it. I explained your situation at great length but it
was not until you were in the process of being mobbed that he relented.
Your trip to Bulgaria will end shortly."
"That is good news. A train ride after this mess would be too
stressful. Will you be joining me?"
"A registered portkey is an acceptable fulfillment of my contract.
Delivery is guaranteed. Further accompaniment by me is impossible
because the device will be keyed to you alone. I have obligations here."
Scarsdale replied flatly. Harry winced at his insensitivity.
"Your men, right. I'm sorry."
"They knew and embraced the risk." Scarsdale replied in a slightly
warmer tone.
"Regardless, I'll compensate any family they had."
"That is unnecessary."
"I know, but I insist."
"Fine." His final remark was cut off as a woman loudly Apparated into
the wrecked cabin of the train car. He let out a startled yelp as he
materialized a scant inch from one of the impaled pieces of track.
"Damn, almost splinched myself getting here in order to fall on a
spike," the new arrival said. Gingerly she prodded the protrusion that
almost killed her with one hand as tucked an errant lock of blonde hair
behind her ear with the other. Scarsdale cleared his throat. She was
startled one again and turned towards the tired figures of Harry and his
bodyguard. She removed a piece of paper from her pouch and read aloud
in a bored tone. "Portkey for one Harold James Potter?" Harry nodded
in response. "Perfect, initial here." she said and pointed at a box on
the document with a quill that appeared out of thin air. With that
done she stuffed the paper pack in her pouch and tossed a small,
rectangular object at him. Instinctively he caught it.
"Bon Voyage," Chirped the delivery girl as Harry felt the hook behind
his navel and plunged into darkness.
***
Harry found himself alone before a squat stone building. The wind was
cold and from his vantage he could tell he was on a mountain, a very
large mountain. If this was Durmstrang then it was not at all like
Hogwarts. Gone were the gently rolling hills of Scotland and its ancient
arboreal forests. Here there were only sparse, starved looking trees
like one would find in a graveyard. Craggy cliffs assailed him from all
but the south where he could see the smoke rise from a small, rustic
village. Where he stood he saw mostly the white of the frost line and the
dull grey and black of rock. The village in the distance though was
veiled by dark green woods that mirrored the Forbidden Forest.
Looking away from the south Harry examined his new school. Krum's
description was apt. Lightless and a mere four stories high it seemed
like more Hagrid's Cabin then a castle. It was windowless and without
surrounding walls. Ledges were carved into the edifice of the school and
perched on every available surface were statues. Statues of gargoyles
with lupine features like the ones that had appeared on the bank
medallion Marduk had given him. *Curious.* The features of the gargoyles
were not feral, but instead vigilant and their gaze seemed to trace every
aspect of Harry's figure. It seemed that they were looking, gauging,
and judging him. His dismissed this thought and trudged uneasily over
the snowy path that led up to a small door, incidentally the only part
of the building without one of those wolf/gargoyle hybrids.
The door was before him at its center was situated a plain iron
knocker. It was chilly at this elevation and Harry did what came naturally:
he knocked. The door swung open and an older man was standing on the
other side in the process of clothing himself in a heavy fur parka.
"Hello," Harry told the man in the most respectful tone he could
manage.
"Mr. Potter?" The man said questioningly. Harry nodded and the man
allowed himself a small smile. In a formal but comforting tone he
began. "You are early, excellent. I am Vassily Oblanskov and am the new
Headmaster here. I greet you and bid you welcome to the Durmstrang
Institute."
End 19
Author Notes:
I am immensely sorry for how late this chapter is. I combination of
rationed computer time, sudden social obligations, and a bout of
headaches prevented me from writing as quickly as I would have liked. The
hard part is over though, I got Harry to Durmstrang in a plausible manner
and now I can begin in earnest. Xirleb70 is my beta now, and is
helping get these chapters out quickly.
To my reviewers I must bow and offer my most profuse thanks. That means you all: Nighttime Sunshine, peeweepotter Relle, AJaKe, cricket, sil, Zaln, Lady FoxFire, Them Girl, fan, Otaku Freak, Saiyan Seker88, bostonian, ADJ, Webster, Star Mage, Lilybee2003, ZeonReborn, gallandro-83, Paul, pablo5280, Imaginaryfriend, Destruxion, kapies, rosie. Bill Weasly, Myrddin Ambrosius Jr.book worm, litine, clingon87,Siri Kat, pan, potter-man, DaBear, Potatoes, PheonixMan,GREENDAY 9829, Elessar, Jason Gregory, Ides of March, Orion, I)ark/-)ngel, keebler-elmo, Angelis, lollipozz, Sophie W., Sarah Rochester, azntgr01, Facade, Klover, Renee Fay and Rachel A. Prongs. You feedback is greatly appreciated and if I have missed anyone you have my apologies. I consider all of you suggestions and you support makes me want to write more. A special thanks to Artemis for being the beta of this chapter. Later
Author: Jyrnn
Spoilers: All four books. Wait, can't say that now can I? Okay, PS, CS, PoA, and GoF. I'll probably pilfer whatever bits I can from The Order of The Phoenix. Incidently some of it can fit. Thank you J. K Rowling. Well except the part about Sirius.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of its characters. They are the sole intellectual property of J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. I gain no monetary reward for this exercise and do not intend any copyright infringement.
Summery: A child has suffered enough, an intruder encounters unexpected resistance, and the careless words of Voldemort have the most unexpected results. Harry Potter is about to take a stand.
*...* Direct thoughts
Chapter 19: Wanderer No More
Looking at the wreck Harry could only shake his head. The force of
the hurled sections of track had derailed many train cars and made any
travel impossible. Even if the train could resume its journey, there was
the matter of the hundred feet of track that was currently impaling
Harry's private, if ruined, train car. Mercifully the only deaths were
Scarsdale's men. Harry's Patronus had driven off the Dementors, and the
giants were nowhere to be seen. Many innocents were injured and
emergency response teams were Apparating in every direction, pops indicating
their appearance resounding through the area. This leg of the journey
to Durmstrang was a loss. Fifty meters to his right Scarsdale was
arguing with an investigator who seemed to want to speak with Harry. It
was not that Harry didn't want to speak to man; it was merely that the
bodyguard wanted to exert some control over the situation. By protecting
his client's privacy Scarsdale could save himself some disgrace. They
had been sniping at one another for ten minutes and neither showed any
sign of stopping.
Harry understood little of what was being said. The hundreds of
voices of the stranded passengers floated around the clearing and confounded
the Babel Clasp on his ear. Far too many different languages were
being used and he had been forced to pocket it. In the blissful silence
that only a stranger in foreign country can feel, Harry marshaled his
thoughts. *Three hundred and sixty days to live. Funny... it was longer
than I expected from Riddle.* He leaned against the wreckage for quite
some time and studiously avoided looking at the three corpses that lay
covered a scant twenty meters in front of him. He had guilt in
abundant supply and didn't require visual reminders that the attack was
because of him. Despondency threatened to overtake him but his
self-deprecation was interrupted by a group of visitors.
The noisy din altered from a confused hum to an ugly roar. About a
dozen of the older passengers had broken away from where the emergency
workers were holding them. Most stared at him with soul-flaying disgust.
One man spoke up. His voice was loud and accusatory in a heavy German
voice that was incomprehensible. Quickly Harry slipped his Babel Clasp
back on his ear and caught the tail end of the loud declaration.
"...rich fools like you! It is because of you that those men came
here. It was because of you that we were injured. I demand you take
accountability for this." The grey haired man finished his speech in a
roaring tone that attracted Scarsdale from his argument. Harry could see
the burst of profanity escape his sole remaining bodyguard but could
not hear it over the vehement claims of the assembled mob. Harry waited
before he voiced his response. He needed to be very careful with words
lest he incite a riot. There had been far too much violence already
for Harry's taste. In his peripheral vision, Harry saw Scarsdale plowing
his way through the crowd.
As usual his clasp twisted his mouth intricately in order to for his
words to become German. "Please be calm. I understand your anger and
certainly didn't expect..." He was cut off though.
"Expect this, brat!" the leader of the malcontent passengers cried as
he lashed forwards with a quick right punch. At that moment Scarsdale
lunged from behind in attempt to grab the offending fist. He was too
late though, failing to stop the blow before it reached its intended
target. Harry rocked back on his heels with the force of the blow,
rolling with a punch was skill he had attained quickly in the Dursley's
household. This defensive action dissipated most of the force behind the
punch but did little to stop Harry's lip from splitting under the
pressure of the man's fist. Immediately the copper taste of his own blood
washed over his taste buds and a moment latter burning pain of newly rent
flesh. He quickly shook it off though, since Scarsdale seemed to be in
the process of drastic action.
The unnamed German man was now on his knees with his wrist twisted
behind his head. For his part, Scarsdale stood at the man's side with one
hand performing the painful wrist lock and the other holding his large
wand which glowed an ominous, angry red. His bodyguard looked a Harry
questioningly as if the ask "Now what?" Harry simply made a
forestalling gesture as he brushed the accumulating blood from his cut lip with
his thumb. Content that he had shaken off the worst of the blow, he
walked forward and stooped to meet the man's eyes. Pain and disbelief
were readily apparent along with a touch of fear. Harry didn't strike him
back though.
Without raising his voice, in the silence that had befallen the
clearing after the punch, Harry's words were heard. "Giants drove the train
off the tracks, Dementors filled your hearts with fear, and dark
wizards, Death Eaters, killed my guards. I cast no charm, brought no
creature, nor bore any malice. I am a victim here also and I will not take
responsibility for the actions of others anymore." He stood and waved
off Scarsdale who released the man from his painful grasp. "Good Day."
he spoke once more and strode out of sight behind the wreckage of his
train car with his bodyguard in pursuit. Emergency workers quickly
dispersed the crowd and continued the clean-up.
***
They stood amongst the cruelly twisted ruins of Harry's once opulent
property. The windows were all smashed and the pages of his books were
scattered about the floor. A fire had somehow started after his
mid-melee escape and the smell of smoke lingered in the confined space. With
a little disgust Harry snorted as he kicked aside some of the debris.
"A total loss, how discouraging." He sighed and turned his gaze at
Scarsdale. "What did that investigator want? You were speaking to him
for a while."
"It was what I wanted." Responded Scarsdale in his inflectionless
voice. The taciturn guard seemed reluctant to say more. Eventually he
continued when he take no more of Harry's quirked eyebrow and expectant
expression. "I wanted an emergency portkey to the destination. He
wouldn't authorize it. I explained your situation at great length but it
was not until you were in the process of being mobbed that he relented.
Your trip to Bulgaria will end shortly."
"That is good news. A train ride after this mess would be too
stressful. Will you be joining me?"
"A registered portkey is an acceptable fulfillment of my contract.
Delivery is guaranteed. Further accompaniment by me is impossible
because the device will be keyed to you alone. I have obligations here."
Scarsdale replied flatly. Harry winced at his insensitivity.
"Your men, right. I'm sorry."
"They knew and embraced the risk." Scarsdale replied in a slightly
warmer tone.
"Regardless, I'll compensate any family they had."
"That is unnecessary."
"I know, but I insist."
"Fine." His final remark was cut off as a woman loudly Apparated into
the wrecked cabin of the train car. He let out a startled yelp as he
materialized a scant inch from one of the impaled pieces of track.
"Damn, almost splinched myself getting here in order to fall on a
spike," the new arrival said. Gingerly she prodded the protrusion that
almost killed her with one hand as tucked an errant lock of blonde hair
behind her ear with the other. Scarsdale cleared his throat. She was
startled one again and turned towards the tired figures of Harry and his
bodyguard. She removed a piece of paper from her pouch and read aloud
in a bored tone. "Portkey for one Harold James Potter?" Harry nodded
in response. "Perfect, initial here." she said and pointed at a box on
the document with a quill that appeared out of thin air. With that
done she stuffed the paper pack in her pouch and tossed a small,
rectangular object at him. Instinctively he caught it.
"Bon Voyage," Chirped the delivery girl as Harry felt the hook behind
his navel and plunged into darkness.
***
Harry found himself alone before a squat stone building. The wind was
cold and from his vantage he could tell he was on a mountain, a very
large mountain. If this was Durmstrang then it was not at all like
Hogwarts. Gone were the gently rolling hills of Scotland and its ancient
arboreal forests. Here there were only sparse, starved looking trees
like one would find in a graveyard. Craggy cliffs assailed him from all
but the south where he could see the smoke rise from a small, rustic
village. Where he stood he saw mostly the white of the frost line and the
dull grey and black of rock. The village in the distance though was
veiled by dark green woods that mirrored the Forbidden Forest.
Looking away from the south Harry examined his new school. Krum's
description was apt. Lightless and a mere four stories high it seemed
like more Hagrid's Cabin then a castle. It was windowless and without
surrounding walls. Ledges were carved into the edifice of the school and
perched on every available surface were statues. Statues of gargoyles
with lupine features like the ones that had appeared on the bank
medallion Marduk had given him. *Curious.* The features of the gargoyles
were not feral, but instead vigilant and their gaze seemed to trace every
aspect of Harry's figure. It seemed that they were looking, gauging,
and judging him. His dismissed this thought and trudged uneasily over
the snowy path that led up to a small door, incidentally the only part
of the building without one of those wolf/gargoyle hybrids.
The door was before him at its center was situated a plain iron
knocker. It was chilly at this elevation and Harry did what came naturally:
he knocked. The door swung open and an older man was standing on the
other side in the process of clothing himself in a heavy fur parka.
"Hello," Harry told the man in the most respectful tone he could
manage.
"Mr. Potter?" The man said questioningly. Harry nodded and the man
allowed himself a small smile. In a formal but comforting tone he
began. "You are early, excellent. I am Vassily Oblanskov and am the new
Headmaster here. I greet you and bid you welcome to the Durmstrang
Institute."
End 19
Author Notes:
I am immensely sorry for how late this chapter is. I combination of
rationed computer time, sudden social obligations, and a bout of
headaches prevented me from writing as quickly as I would have liked. The
hard part is over though, I got Harry to Durmstrang in a plausible manner
and now I can begin in earnest. Xirleb70 is my beta now, and is
helping get these chapters out quickly.
To my reviewers I must bow and offer my most profuse thanks. That means you all: Nighttime Sunshine, peeweepotter Relle, AJaKe, cricket, sil, Zaln, Lady FoxFire, Them Girl, fan, Otaku Freak, Saiyan Seker88, bostonian, ADJ, Webster, Star Mage, Lilybee2003, ZeonReborn, gallandro-83, Paul, pablo5280, Imaginaryfriend, Destruxion, kapies, rosie. Bill Weasly, Myrddin Ambrosius Jr.book worm, litine, clingon87,Siri Kat, pan, potter-man, DaBear, Potatoes, PheonixMan,GREENDAY 9829, Elessar, Jason Gregory, Ides of March, Orion, I)ark/-)ngel, keebler-elmo, Angelis, lollipozz, Sophie W., Sarah Rochester, azntgr01, Facade, Klover, Renee Fay and Rachel A. Prongs. You feedback is greatly appreciated and if I have missed anyone you have my apologies. I consider all of you suggestions and you support makes me want to write more. A special thanks to Artemis for being the beta of this chapter. Later