Title: Regnava nel Silenzio

Author: Gia

Rating: PG

Pairing: None

Time: AU

Summary: In a world that's unaware of the Orders' War, a student mage, Harry Potter, must warn the other Orders of the coming evil. Things don't go well when he runs into a student mage, Draco Malfoy, who engages a fencing duel with an inexperienced Harry. The road already begins with a hitch; how will the rest of the journey be?

Disclaimer: The story here is non-profit and for purely entertainment purposes; nor is it affiliated to Bloomsbury or any other publishers of Harry Potter. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the plot belongs to me.

Author's Notes: So what am I doing uploading this when I've got other stories going too? Well… sorry but this idea has been bouncing in my head while I've been trying to write the next chapters for my other fanfics. The only way to get rid of it was to write it down. Which I did. I tweaked it a bit and realized that it had some potential… so here I am.

You might be wondering about that non-magic bit, since I do say that there are magic tricks involved. Well, I make a distinction between magic and magic tricks. Harry's doing the latter, as in, it's not really magic, just smoke and mirrors kind of thing.

And about pairings…I'd rather not have any of that here. Maybe some moments between Ron and Hermione or some other characters… I just don't want that to get in the way of all the fun I'm going to have with this. The main characters happen to center around Harry and Draco but there isn't anything going on between them! You could imagine and it could work that way… but officially, nothing's happening.

Now onto the story!!

Some people are born so much closer to the sun
Holdin' out their hands and grabbin' golden rays, they are the chosen few
But we both know of course that's not you or me
And I'd be telling the truth if I said it don't matter, so how bout you?

Regnava nel Silenzio

By Gia

Chapter Four: Flighty Actions

The wind tousled his hair, although no comfort from this semi-warm breeze helped him face the situation he had gotten himself into. The field was a wide an open space, but the long poles sticking out of the ground were what took Harry's attention. The tops of the poles formed oval shaped circles. Draco was quick in summoning brooms, looking pointedly at Harry when he used his own type of magic.

Harry could only surmise it as a type of shadow magic. He'd never practiced something like that before, although he highly doubted Draco would be pleased if he tried borrowing his magic like he did with Ron.

He looked away from Draco's challenging stare, refusing to be baited. Ron was more discreet in his dislike towards him, managing to only roughly hand Harry one of the brooms. Harry took it hesitantly, glancing at the two boys. He wondered if they were going to beat him with their brooms and expect him to defend himself. Although how those poles above the ground had anything to deal with this, still confused him. Refusing to be left unguarded, Harry held his broom defensively, glancing furtively at the two.

They looked surprised at first, but then mirth shined in their eyes. Ron was the first to crack, pounding his leg as he bent over with laughter. Draco was busy shaking his head, smirking in his direction.

Harry flushed. "What?" he demanded.

"Relax, Potter," Draco intoned, "we're not going to beat you if that's what you're obviously thinking. We're going to fly them."

Ron nodded from the side, and indicated the hovering broom. Harry blinked twice, having not noticed the broom leaving Ron's hand and floating above the ground. Ron grinned and swung one leg over the broom, taking to the skies immediately.

Draco did the same soon after, throwing a look over his shoulder at Harry before following Ron's lead.

Harry stared up in awe at the two boys, wondering at how quickly they were zooming around one another. It wasn't a surprise to Harry that you could fly, but the ease in which they handled themselves was what did surprise him. It became painfully clear that they've been flying for quite awhile, which led Harry to believe that this Order's members probably flew this easily as well. He didn't immediately copy Draco or Ron's action, choosing instead to remain on the ground.

Transforming oneself into another creature that could fly, that was what was familiar to Harry. He'd never had the opportunity of doing this before, and didn't feel like beginning now.

Unfortunately for him, Draco and Ron had decided simultaneously that they should give Harry a taste of what it felt like.

"Look at him down there," Ron called to Draco, "he's not getting on."

Draco smirked, "You know, I'm glad Hermione isn't here."

Ron looked puzzled. "Why would--" Realization dawned on his face, as he glanced once more at Harry's immobile stance on the ground.

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

Draco's smirk grew wider. "Ten galleons say he screams like a girl."

"You're on."

Harry's eyes widened impossibly large, as he found both boys diving down towards him. They didn't make a direct line, but rather straight down and skimming a few inches above the ground. The speed they were going at was exceedingly fast, and both were parallel to each other. Not to mention the fact, they were heading straight at him.

Harry took a step back, shock overriding his senses and making him incapable of getting out of the way. The broom he held in his hand fell to the ground softly, but Harry was too busy staring at the two boys who were rapidly enclosing. Harry sucked his breath in sharply, shutting his eyes and mentally preparing himself for the impact that would surely come.

Instead, he felt two forceful gusts of wind breezing past him on both sides. His eyes flew open as he spun around to stare at the boys who were again heading back up to the skies.

'They were.. They were just doing that to scare me!' Harry thought angrily, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

He held back from lashing out, knowing full well that wouldn't help him now. He needed to gain their trust if he were to join them in the coming war. Still, he wasn't going to stay here and be mocked by the two. With all the composure he had, he started walking away from the field.

"Oi! Draco, look, he's leaving!"

"What!!?"

Draco looked down at where Ron was pointing, finding it true. Harry was walking at a fast rate away from the field.

"Cor, I guess we really gave him a scare there." Ron shook his head, laughing slightly.

Draco narrowed his eyes down at Harry's figure. "We're not done yet." he said after a pause.

Ron raised an eyebrow. "What d'you mean?"

"Follow my lead. Let's give him a real feeling of what it feels like to fly."

Before Ron could ask Draco to elaborate, Draco shot towards Harry's retreating back. Shrugging to himself, Ron sped down as well, coming parallel to Draco.

Harry was unaware of the rapidly approaching duo, until he felt two arms hook under each of his own and raise him bodily off the ground. He swallowed his scream, choosing instead to keep himself from spewing back up his dinner. The cold air was biting, and Harry felt dangerously close to falling, what with only two arms keeping him from certain death.

Laughter echoed in his ears, and Harry dimly heard Draco asking if he was enjoying the little ride. The sarcasm was hard to miss.

His eyes were beginning to sting, and Harry knew that it wasn't due to the chilly weather. He turned his head to glare at Draco, the corner of his eyes tearing up. Draco's smug expression faltered for a moment.

A moment long enough for Harry to think up swift revenge.

He turned his head to his other side, feeling Ron looking at him. He didn't need to look at him to see Ron's smug face falter too.

Before the other two could realize what happened, Harry wrenched his arms away from their hold on him. His descent down was swift. He held his arms out, adding resistance to his quick descent, and found himself smiling at the loud shouts from the two boys. But now was not the time, he needed all his concentration for his next act. Closing his eyes, he envisioned wings.

Like a light switching on, a bright outline of wings appeared in Harry's back. They weren't real wings, only imitations of the outline of the structure. They were large, and flapped soundlessly. The ease that the wings lent to him allowed Harry to safely maneuver himself down to the ground. His feet touching the ground were a welcome feeling to Harry's still fast beating heart. He turned half-way around, his wings blinking out, and he stared up at the shell-shocked boys.

His anger was still burning, but it was cold, giving him a detached feeling. The two had gone too far with their little act, but judging by how they looked now, Harry felt that they were even.

He turned and walked away.

The two didn't move from their place on the brooms. Ron's face was white, his fingers clenching his broom tightly. Draco was in a similar state, his mind's eye playing over and over Harry's face just before he fell.

"Damnit!" he swore loudly, descending towards the ground easily. Ron had followed behind mutely, still trying to calm his heartbeat.

Both of them didn't feel like bringing up what happened, something akin to guilt and shame eating away at their gut. Neither wanted to admit that they had gone too far, choosing instead to ignore it outright.

"Damnit--" Draco swore again, cutting himself off as he tried reigning in his frustration. His anger. He didn't know, he just didn't like what had just happened. He threw his broom aside, not caring if it was scratched in the act, and continued walking.

He gave a momentary pause in his stride, glancing through the corner of his eye at the broom. He raised his hand and made a swift shooing gesture. Something black and slightly transparent flew at the broom, and it broke in half with the nearly visible force. With grim satisfaction, Draco continued in his stride, ignoring Ron's dumbfound look.

"Cor," Ron spoke softly, staring at the remains of Draco's broom, "he-he…" Ron just shook his head in disbelief, continuing down the path and back towards the Order.

Harry wasted no time in rushing towards the room Albus showed him to earlier in the day. The walk back had brought down his anger, leaving him feeling drained. He didn't feel surprised at their actions, not after the first interesting meeting he had with them. Although, he had hoped that Hermione, who had seemed to be the one to keep them in check, would be able to talk to them.

Tell them what, Harry didn't know, but it was obvious that they weren't ready to welcome him with open arms.

He flopped back against the comfy bed, spreading out his limbs and allowing the tense muscles to relax. 'Today wasn't my day..'

He sat up and eased himself off the bed. Harry decided he wasn't going to wallow in self-pity. He had already showed he could take care of himself, so he didn't need to feel stung from their blatant dislike. He felt the corners of his lips tug up into a smile as he slowly twirled around. His robes transformed into comfortable sleeping clothes. The nostalgic feeling accompanied with the transformation brought forth a memory in his mind.

It was when Ligeia had commented on his lateness in dressing in the morning…

...He rushed into the wide, airy room. Panting lightly, he flushed under Ligeia's amused gaze. The third level of the Fides Solarius had several large rooms which were used as practice for him. Today's lesson plan would remain unknown to Harry until she told him. Ligeia was one of the looser teachers Harry had. She made their sessions fun and laughed every chance she had. Harry adored her.

"Almost late again, Harry," she stood up straighter from her leaning position against the wall, "what's keeping you all the time?"

Harry ducked his head in embarrassment, not answering right away. "S'nothing.." he said after awhile, walking closer to the center of the room. He just wanted to start the lesson.

"Ah, come now, what's wrong?"

"Er.." Harry absentmindedly toyed with his robes. "You'll think it's silly.." he pointed out, pouting a bit.

Ligeia laughed and placed both hands on his shoulders. He blinked at the sudden movement, looking up at her affectionate gaze. "I won't," she promised gently, squeezing his shoulders gently to reassure him.

Harry sighed, nodding his head slowly. "Well, you see… it takes awhile to put on these robes."

He noticed her grin get wider and hurried to explain. "It's not as easy you think, you know!"

Apparently, his explanation only served to bring her to giggling. Giving an overly dramatic sigh, he stepped back and allowed her time to laugh it off. He put both hands on his hips, glaring back at her. "See! I knew you'd think it's silly."

Ligeia's giggles subsided easily, and she pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "Oh, come on Harry. I had expected you'd have read about it somewhere. Or at least the others to have mentioned it before."

He raised an eyebrow. "Mentioned what?"

"Watch."

Ligeia held out her arms, spreading them wide as if she were presenting something grand, and twirled around slowly. Harry watched in awe, as her normally white robes, changed into something more elaborate. Like a spider web, threads of colors spread throughout the robe, knitting together to form designs. The shining gold threads formed suns into the fabric, and the color around it threaded into a deep purple.

It took only a few seconds for the robes to be complete, having been finished once she turned back around.

"Wow, Ligeia, that's amazing!"

"Yes, well, you get used to it once you do it everyday. Mow come here, let me show you."

Harry approached slowly, staring at her dubiously. It looked easy from his standpoint, but he was almost positive that it required a lot of concentration. She noticed his hesitant expression and explained.

"You'll need advice color wise, Harry. Fashion wise, really."

"Hey!" he called out indignantly, but his smile stayed in place.

The entire lesson was spent on coming up with different types of robes for Harry to wear. It had been one of the best lessons Harry had so far…

…he smiled fondly at the memory, flopping once again into the bed. Thinking about them now made him feel homesick, and he didn't want to give up so quickly. He'd stick it out in this new Order, and if that included not having friends, then it was something he had to deal with by himself.

The next day, Harry woke up quite early. He wasn't too tired from last night's activities, so he only needed minimal resting time. Today was a new day, and the morning light refreshed Harry. He made a beeline towards to lavatory, cleaning up, before heading down the hall towards the Great Hall.

Rather than last night's quiet mood, he could already hear at least several groups of people his age, chatting inside. He steeled himself for the attention he may bring, and pushed open the doors. To his immense relief, instant silence did not meet him. Few glanced his way, and Harry was glad for this. Not many were actually present, so Harry assumed that they didn't pay much attention to anyone new so early in the morning.

Harry immediately noticed that the high table at the back of this grand room was occupied by all the professor mages. He clearly saw Albus motioning for him to come and wondered if he was expected to make an introduction.

Upon approaching the table, Harry could clearly make out the curious stares he got from the other adults there. He found himself flushing yet again, but he was determined on not shying away. Albus smiled kindly over at him, once he stood beside the man's chair.

"Harry, my dear boy, I should introduce you to the professors first. I think it is necessary now, what with all their inquisitive questions directed at me."

Harry smiled back, feeling the atmosphere lighten considerably. The introductions were brief, merely an exchange of names and nods, before he was posed a question.

"Where would you like to sit Harry?"

He was a bit taken aback by question and asked what he meant.

"You may not be aware of this, Harry, but this order is divided into four Houses. You won't need to go through the customary sorting, as I believe this generation feels no inclination at keeping to their own House tables." Albus' eyes twinkled at the last statement. "So, I think it is alright for you to choose where you would like to sit."

"I see," Harry began slowly, looking back across to the four long tables, "I've really no idea, sir."

Albus inclined his head, nodding minutely at Harry's tentative response, and ignoring his disinclination to use 'Albus' to address him, "Then it seems you know not of the Houses of the three mages you dined with last night?"

Harry inwardly frowned at the mention of them but kept outwardly calm. "No, sir, I'm afraid not."

Harry noticed Albus' eyes stray away from his own to look to the side. Albus suddenly smiled. "Well, you have your chance now. I don't think they would mind making room for you, Harry, and I think you might like to meet the rest of their friends."

Who 'they' were, was quickly revealed to Harry when he glanced behind him. Draco, Ron, and Hermione had just entered the Hall and taken a seat at the same table they sat at last night. Hermione was the first to glance over at the Head Table, wasting no time in bringing to the other boys' attention of Harry's presence.

Harry turned back around before he could see the two boys look at him. He didn't fancy seeing any of their hostility in their faces.

Harry was unaware that they no longer carried hostility in their gazes, merely muted guilt and unease. They had noticed Harry's swift glance away, and were immediately reminded of what transpired last night.

Harry turned his attention back to Albus. "I think I'll sit alone at another table today, sir."

Rather than insist, like Harry thought he would, Albus merely nodded. Feeling somehow worse, Harry approached the four sets of tables. He could feel the expectance of the three as he neared their table, and was grimly satisfied when he pointedly sat away from them.

It was short-lived, however, when something akin to loneliness settled in. Trying to ignore the sight of them, Harry propped up his right elbow on the table, his palm holding his face and thereby covering the corner of his eye. Food magically appeared in front of him, and he tried not to slump as he slowly ate it. In the back of his mind, he could sense magical probing and roughly shut it out from his mind.

Harry became dimly aware of more students coming in. Food had quickly lost its appeal.

"I wonder what's wrong.." Hermione said faintly, glancing back at Harry's figure from her breakfast. She could feel a light wave of sadness coming from him, but it disappeared before she could latch on to anything.

She glanced up at the two boys across from her, taking in quite quickly their guilty emotions. She frowned, narrowing her eyes at Ron's lowered head and Draco's pointless poking at his food.

"What happened?" she demanded.

Draco wasn't immediate in answering, choosing instead to pretend he didn't hear her. Ron, however, was not as immune to Hermione's temper. His ears turned red.

"Ron. Draco. I know you two can hear me. Now tell me what happened." her eyes flashed, as she stressed the last sentence.

Draco let his fork clang noisily back onto the plate. "Look, 'Mione, it's nothing. Forget it."

Hermione frowned, but decided to let this one pass. Whatever took place had really shaken the two up, although she didn't think it was anything like a duel. Neither was sporting injuries, and she didn't detect anything like anger from Harry. So what could have happened?

Any further ideas were halted when students started coming in. The Hall was no longer as quiet, soon filled with the noise of babble. At once, Fred and George Weasley went straight for them. They were definitely jokers, their magical capabilities dealing in explosive magic. Not quite sure how to explain it, it was just sort of a neat chaos that the twins dealt with. Not to mention the fact that they were Ron's older brothers.

"Oi! Who's that boy over there? Never seen robes like that before." Fred asked, using his head to indicate him.

Hermione opened her mouth to explain but was cut off when the sudden hush of silence swept around the entire Hall. Albus Dumbledore had stood up, an action that was immediately noticed by all. All the students, by now, had arrived.

"I apologize in halting your breakfast," Albus began, "but I must introduce a new mage that will be joining us for a time."

It was obvious to those who sat near Harry's seat that Albus was referring to him and now more students were beginning to stare at him. "Harry Potter has arrived from the Order of 13. The circumstances of his arriving," he paused, his eyes roving around the student body, "are unimportant for now. I just hope that we show Mr. Potter how welcoming this Order can be."

His eyes stopped on Harry's hunched position in his seat, his eyes clenched tightly as if in pain when he felt Albus' gaze, before he proceeded to continue eating slowly. Albus tiredly sighed after bidding the students to continue with their breakfast. Albus could understand that any mage his age might not want to be brought to attention so abruptly, but it had to be done.

"Do you think it wise, Albus," Remus started, having stood and personally walked towards the other man's seat, "to trust him?"

Albus hummed an affirmation, his eyes still fixed on Harry's figure.

Remus followed his gaze and felt a little concern at the lack of seats surrounding Harry. It seemed that the students were waiting for someone to sit by him first, before anyone would join in. It wasn't that Remus didn't trust him, he just felt wary at a new addition to the Order. He idly rubbed his arm, feeling through the fabric a scar, before leaving the Great Hall from the back door.

'I think I'll prepare for class.'

Harry was aware of the talk around him, and stopped pushing the food around his plate. He shouldn't let his poor interaction with Ron and Draco disrupt his chance in making new friends.

He slowly looked up, as if suddenly becoming aware of his attention, and hesitantly smiled over at several people who were caught in the act of looking at him. They flushed at being found, but took this as an invitation to meet him. Only two boys stood up first, walking to sit in front of Harry. The feeling of apprehension was beginning to stir, but Harry squashed it down.

"I, well, it's nice to meet you." Harry began, barely keeping from stuttering.

One of the boys smiled widely, the other grinning as well. "Likewise, Harry, m'name's Seamus. Seamus Finnegan."

Harry smiled, instantly relaxing, turning his head to face the other boy. "Dean Thomas," the boy began, "nice to meet you too, Harry."

Food popped up in front of Seamus and Dean, and the three began a light conversation between bites. The two's actions apparently signaled a sign to the other watchful students, because others came in to fill the free seats around Harry and the others.

Soon, Harry found himself engaged in talks with everyone and found that he didn't mind his stay in the Order after all.

"So, d'you know what classes you'll be doing here?"

Harry found himself unable to answer, but was relieved from answering in the first place when a Professor Mage walked towards their table. She was an elderly looking woman, but she carried herself with fluidity only seen in younger years. Her face looked stern, but the shadow of a smile on her lips softened her face. Harry remembered Albus introducing him to her, Professor Minerva McGonagoll.

"I believe I can answer that, Mr. Finnegan." she spoke, inclining her head in his direction. She brought out a single sheet of parchment and handed it to Harry. "I doubt you will have trouble finding your classes, not with your newly acquainted schoolmates."

Harry accepted the parchment, "Yes, thank you Professor."

She smiled and headed back towards the Head Table. Harry looked down at the parchment, aware that the students beside him were glancing as well. Harry was immediately bombarded with directions to each classroom and he felt decidedly happy.

He grinned widely at everyone around him. "Thank you." he said sincerely. No one was really aware that he was thanking them for more than just their help.

TBC