CHAPTER FOUR

Harry felt as if he was flying through space. His arms and legs were flung about this way and that and more than once he suspected that his shoulder had been dislocated. He also could not see a thing- darkness surrounded him, and all the time he had the sensation of falling… falling… falling…

THUMP. Suddenly Harry found himself lying flat on his face. He heard soft thuds all around him as his luggage fell about him.

He could smell a sweet smell coming from the ground- when he gingerly lifted himself up he saw that soft grass had cushioned his abrupt fall. The smell was coming from thousands of large golden flowers scattered around on it. He breathed in and noticed that the air seemed to be cleaner and fresher than the one he was accustomed to. He straightened up properly and took a good look around him.

He appeared to be in some sort of wood- not densely foliaged, but with a fair amount of trees, all which appeared to bear the same beautiful golden flowers. Right in front of him was the tallest tree he had ever seen- it had a long, silver rope dangling from one of the huge branches.

Harry started to feel a bit panicky. Now where was he supposed to go? He searched frantically with his eyes for any sight of living soul but the place appeared to be completely deserted. He was just about to call out for help when he noticed the rope dangling from the tree begin to sway. Someone was climbing down it.

The someone emerged, hopping down from the rope and landing lightly on the grass. It was a very pretty woman, with long brown hair flowing freely down her back and a very slender figure. She appeared to be looking for something, and when she caught sight of Harry her clear grey eyes lit up.

"There you are! I was worried about you," she said, walking briskly towards him, a welcoming smile forming on her lips, "you're quite late, you know. It's a good thing Lena got up to gather those herbs when she did! Though how that girl does dawdle. Did you have any problems getting here?"

Harry, whose tongue had been temporarily magnetised to the roof of his mouth, manage to utter, "Nuh- no, not really, miss… uh… I mean, ma'am, I- I mean…" He couldn't quite match up the appearance of this woman. Her complexion was as fresh and smooth as that of a twenty year old- so were her figure and her face- but her eyes seemed to have been borrowed from another much, much older person. They were the only things about her that gave her age away.

She laughed softly. "I'm so sorry. I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Naisiltirtha- you'll be staying with me for the next three months. You may call me by my name. You must be Harry, yes?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Yes," said Harry, shaking it, and managed a small smile.

She nodded, satisfied. "Well, then, let us not waste any time, hmm?" she said, and walked towards the tree again. "Do you know how to climb a rope?"

Harry stared. "Wait- w-hat- do you mean that we'll be living in a tree?" he asked, bewildered

"It's not a problem, is it?" asked Naisiltirtha anxiously. "Because we do have a little cottage somewhere in the heart of the village, built especially for your kind. If you want you can…"

But Harry was already shaking his head- "Nah, I mean, no thank you," he said politely, "I guess a tree'll work for me." He didn't feel like dragging his luggage all the way through a village, which would be probably be full of onlookers.

"Very well," she said smiling, "you may leave your baggage in a heap at the bottom of the tree. I'll send someone to carry them up for you later."

Climbing the rope was surprisingly easier than Harry had expected. It was slender, and looked very slippery, but in reality it was stronger than any rope he'd ever climbed before. Well, not that he climbed ropes very often, but anyway…

When he got to the top he found himself standing on a wooden platform, which led to… a small, stone house. Harry blinked just to make sure he was seeing properly. He was.

The house appeared to be made out of faded, smooth grey rocks, with wooden doors and windows. A stairway outside led to the open roof, where various clothes and materials were flapping lazily in the breeze. Gigantic branches surrounded the house, shading it without engulfing it, and from them golden flowers tumbled down gently, turning the wooden platform into a shimmering carpet.

"This is called a flet, or talan in our language," explained Naisiltirtha, who had come up before him. "Well, actually, the wooden platform is really the flet. But lately we- the Elves I mean- have taken to building houses on them; it's much more comfortable than sleeping on a hard surface in sleeping bags." She smiled at him. "Shall we go inside?"

"All right," said Harry, still staring around him. She opened the door of the house with a key and he followed her in.

It was quite a simple building- but that was what made it so – homely. Naisiltirtha showed him the kitchen- a small table with a few chairs, cupboards, shelves stocked with all kinds of food; and the living area- a small table with a few rocking chairs scattered around and a large woollen rug, and shelves stocked with hundreds of books, and a large fireplace.

Opposite these two rooms, which lay side by side along a narrow corridor, were three closed doors.

"This is where you will be sleeping," said Naisiltirtha, and opened the door opposite the kitchen. She entered and Harry followed in trepidation.

It was, he thought, quite picturesque. The walls were a stony, calm grey colour, adorned with various fragrant flowers that gave off fresh odours that filled the room. The wooden floor made reassuring creaking noises, and in the middle of it was a thin throw rug made out of a material Harry had never seen before, but knew Aunt Petunia would have slit Dudley's throat to get her hands on it. There was a table and chair in the room, as well as a dressing table with a piece of glass roughly hewed into what Harry supposed was a mirror.

He wasn't sure about the bed, though. It was nothing more than a medium sized, thin-looking mattress, stuffed with a bale of hay; which also stuffed the three huge pillows set up upon it. It didn't look very cosy.

"Don't worry," said Naisiltirtha, as though sensing his thoughts, "The bed is more comfortable than it looks. Why don't you have a look at the view?" and she nodded towards the small window right next to the mattress.

Harry was glad he did. It made up for everything. From the window he could see far down into the forest he'd first seen when he had arrived, which was quite amazing, considering that huge branches surrounded the house. It looked like a greeny-golden carpet, as the forest was made up of the same golden flower bearing trees. He could also see small flets high up in some of the trees, though none had such grand houses as the one he was living in now. If he looked carefully enough he could see small silhouettes as the various occupants of the flets moved around.

Beyond the forest was a small clearing; Harry guessed that that was the village, as he could make out tiny dots from which smoke was rising. And even further away, looming over everything and impossible to miss, were huge, ominous mountains, covered in snow. And surrounding the forest, village and mountains, was a great sea; blue as the bright sky above him, and as smooth as glass.

"Are we on an island?" He asked wonderingly.

Naisiltirtha shook her head, "No," she said, "That is what everyone thinks when they come here. The Great Sea can be seen from everywhere in De-allón, though Alerien holds the clearest view, as it always has.' She straightened up from the windowsill, where she had come to join Harry, and was still for a moment. She appeared to be listening to something.

"Ah," she said, "Fridel is here with your baggage." And sure enough, in clumped a tall, lanky blonde elf, who dumped Harry's cases on the floor with an air of relief.

"Íénó tgôën ehércõ säen nsöoğì säen òyuën dcälĺeõ, ɡmén yládë," he said, bowing respectfully in the doorway of the room.

"Thank you, Fridel, but please, use the Common Tongue amongst those who are not accustomed to our speech," said Naisiltirtha, gesturing towards Harry.

The elf started as he caught sight of Harry. "Ah! Excuse me, but I did not see you there!" he said, in a heavily accented voice. He bowed again. "Fridel at your service, sir. Most pleased to meet you." Then, turning to Naisiltirtha, he asked, "He is here in need of healing? At such a young age?"

She shrugged. "I am not one to argue with Albus Dumbledore of the Earthmen. He saw fit to send him here. I warned him, but he insisted. It does not matter. Be sure you look after him, if ever he falls under your care!"

"Of course, my lady," Fridel said reverently, but Harry was sure that there was more than admiration in the elf's eyes." Well, I must leave you now; urgent business at the village. Farewell, Harry, I feel sure that we'll meet again soon. Fare you well, my lady," and with that he made to leave the room.

"Fridel, wait!" called Naisiltirtha suddenly, and the elf halted and turned around. "Did you see Lena on your way here? I sent her gathering herbs quite a while ago and she has not yet arrived."

"Why, yes," replied Fridel, "She was deep in the middle of the forest, gathering as you say, but she was not alone; she was with Lóni, I believe, and they were doing more talking than gathering, in my opinion."

Naisiltirtha sighed in frustration. "That girl! So heedless and impulsive! I have a good mind to keep her under lock and key until she passes her initiation. She can never stick to one task without getting distracted by something. Fridel, if you happen to see her on your way, would you please tell her to return home immediately? It's getting late now, anyway."

"Of course, my lady," Fridel replied again, and left the room.

"Lena is my daughter," explained Naisiltirtha, turning to Harry, "Her room is right next to mine. I would appreciate it if you would not distract her; she has a very important test coming up soon- her initiation- and she needs to get as much work done as she can."

Harry assured her he would not be of any trouble.

Naisiltirtha nodded. "Thank you. Now, would you like to rest a little for the rest of the day? We will not start any rituals or healing processes for at least three days. We still have to see the way in which you react to your surroundings. Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat, if you like."

"No, I'd… just like to get some sleep, please," replied Harry, realising he was quite tired. It was still the afternoon, but such a lot had happened that it felt like a whole day had passed. He felt a yawn coming up and he stifled it with difficulty.

"Of course," said Naisiltirtha, smiling. As she turned to leave Harry finally realised what had been puzzling him for the last few minutes.

"Wait!" he said, and she turned again. Harry went red, "I mean, can I ask you something?" he asked, in what he hoped was a more polite tone. She nodded, slightly amused.

"How- how did Fridel know he had to come to get my luggage? How did you send that message to him?"

"I sent him a witch message," she said, "by telepathy. Don't worry about it- it's quite complex, and it's only something my daughter, a few other elves and I can do. You won't encounter it very often. If it makes you feel uncomfortable-"

"No, no," said Harry, "I was just wondering, that's all." Weird, he thought fervently. But useful. Imagine if the members of the Order of The Phoenix could do such a thing… or even the DA.

"Well, if that'd be all," she said, "Have a good rest, Harry." And she closed the door softly behind her.

Harry stared around his room one last time, and then looked down at his bags. He felt too tired to do any unpacking, so instead he flopped onto the mattress.

It was, strangely, extremely comfortable. Though it looked nothing like his four-poster in the Gryffindor dormitory, it was the softest he'd ever felt, and when he laid his head down on the pillows, the hay stuffed inside gave off a delicate perfume which slowly, lulled him to sleep…

Before he dozed off, a fleeting thought occurred to him that he had not though about Sirius once that day.