Disclaimer: The usual, none of the characters are mine. JKR is the creator, blah, blah, blah. The name of Harry's ancestor isn't my property either, but I won't tell where it's from, as that will spoil the surprise. I will inform you of the true owner of the ancestor's name in the next chapter's disclaimer. Anything you may recognize from another fic is either coincidental, meaning it's from a fic I haven't read, accidental, meaning it's from a fic that I have read, but forgot it came from someone else's work, in which case I apologize, or is something that I thought up, but someone else used in a similar way before I had the chance to post this, if that makes sense. Does anybody even read these things?
(A/N: First of all, I apologize profusely for the delay. Things were pretty hectic with school ending, and some other stuff was going on as well. Once again, I apologize. However, the second chapter is finally here, and I would like to thank everyone who was kind enough to review, and send special thanks to Devil-Angel-sWEETY for telling me how to get the proper format working. Well, I've kept you waiting long enough, so without further ado…)
Chapter Two: Ancestors and Heirs
Harry awoke to find himself in the middle of a desert. He was surrounded by sand dunes, which stretched out like oceans as far as the eye could see. He noticed that there was something different about the sky. It was a pure, bright white, but Harry couldn't see the sun anywhere.
"This is one weird dream," Harry said to himself.
"This is not a dream, Harry," said a man standing behind him.
Harry turned around and found himself face to face with a relatively tall man, a little more than six feet tall. His hair was as dark as Harry's, but it was also much longer and more well kept. His eyes were dark green; so dark they were almost black. His skin was much darker than Harry's as well, but since he seemed to live in the desert, this was not surprising. Despite some minor differences, the man looked like an older version of Harry.
The strange man also seemed to radiate a feeling of power that Harry had only ever seen in Professor Dumbledore, but this man seemed much stronger than the Headmaster. Dumbledore's strength was subtler and required some effort to see, unless he was angry or someone looked into his eyes, but this man's power seeped from his entire body. It would have been impossible to miss, even if Harry hadn't been looking.
"What is this place? Who are you?" Harry asked.
"This," he said, gesturing at the sand around him, "is a spiritual dream world. Myself and two of your other ancestors brought you here so we could tell you about your heritage and your true powers."
"What do you mean my 'true powers'?"
"Be patient, lad, I'll get to the powers later. First, let me introduce myself. I am Methos, one of your oldest ancestors. You, Harry Potter, are my third heir."
"Third heir? Who were the first two?"
"They will be arriving momentarily," Methos replied, and as he said it, Harry heard two strange popping sounds, and two men appeared behind Methos with a flash of light.
The first man had long white hair and an even longer beard. He looked similar to Dumbledore, but his hair was less bushy than the headmaster's, and his eyes were brown, not blue.
The other man's appearance shocked Harry almost as much as his realizing that he liked Hermione. The man looked exactly like Harry, except for some very small differences. His eyes, for example, were brown and had no glasses on them, and he was slightly taller than Methos.
After giving Harry a moment to examine the new arrivals, Methos broke the silence. "Harry, this is Merlin, my first heir," Methos explained, motioning toward the bearded man, "and Godric Gryffindor, my second. Merlin, Godric, meet my third heir, Harry Potter."
Merlin and Godric approached Harry and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Harry," said Merlin.
"I'm very honored to meet you both, but what does it mean to be the 'third heir'?"
"You don't know?" Godric asked. "Didn't you learn about rare magical phenomena at Hogwarts?"
"Godric, enough questions, just let me explain it to him," Methos snapped. "Come with me, Harry. I'll describe how the Heir Loop works," he began. As he started walking in a seemingly random direction, he continued, "First, it starts with a very powerful wizard, or mage, in this case, me. If the wizard's magical potential is great enough, He will be given the necessary knowledge needed to begin an Heir Loop."
"Who gives you that knowledge?" Harry asked.
"No one knows. Whoever, or whatever it is prevents us from knowing where the information comes from. I understand your curiosity Harry, but please don't interrupt me; I will get to your questions after I am done. As I was saying, once the process has begun, heirs are produced that also have special powers. The first heir is about one-half as strong as the original mage, and the second heir is about one-third as strong as the original. The third heir, however, is different. For some reason, the third heir is supposedly twice as powerful as the original and the first two heirs, combined."
Out of all the shocks that Harry had that day, this topped them all. He couldn't possible be that powerful, could he? He had always struggled at school. If he was really as powerful as Methos said, why wasn't he at the top of all his classes, and even smarter then Hermione? Why couldn't he just go and defeat Voldemort right now?
"I know what you are thinking, Harry." Methos said with some amusement. "Your abilities have not manifested themselves yet, so you do not seem as powerful as you will someday be. It's not safe for a child to be so powerful; you might have accidentally killed someone. We would have allowed you to maintain your full mental potential and then awakened your powers, but unfortunately, that was impossible. The only way we could safely suppress your magical strength involved hampering your intellect as well. Your powers and mind have been waiting until the right time to expand. That time is tonight, which means that now your powers will begin to arise from their dormancy and unleash their full potential.
"We have found that intellectual abilities begin to increase first, before true magical power is unleashed. After all, what good is all that power if you aren't smart enough to use it? Take your classmate Neville Longbottom, for example: he is actually above average magically, but the reason he always makes mistakes in class is because he's…well, a little less mentally developed. Power and intelligence, though sometimes connected, are two separate things, Harry. Never forget that.
"Beginning tonight, you mental prowess will increase so that by your birthday, your mind will be at its full potential. I recommend that you wait a week or so until starting your homework. By that point, you shouldn't have any problem at all. When your mind is fully unlocked, you will be an equal your 'friend' Hermione in academics. She is extremely intelligent, and will still be better than you in some classes, but in others, you may take over the top spot. I think that at the end of the year, you two will be sharing the top spot for grades."
Harry laughed a little at the thought of being as smart as Hermione. He would have thought it impossible, but he had a feeling he should trust the information he was getting. Until he tried studying with his full intelligence, though, he would remain skeptical.
"Your increased magical powers, Harry," Methos continued, "will also begin to appear, but at a much slower rate than your mind. They will really begin to show themselves after your birthday, and will stop growing at about the time you return to school. We believe that having your powers grow slowly is for the best, so that the changes will not be as overwhelming. We will be contacting you again on your birthday."
"Wait a minute!" Harry said. "There are so many things that I still need to know from you. Are you sure I'm your heir?"
"If you were not my heir, Harry, I could not have brought you here," Methos stated simply.
"And where are we?" Harry went on. "I know it is supposed to represent some place on earth, but I just can't think where it is."
"This is Egypt," Methos replied. "Egypt as I knew it, almost six-thousand years ago."
"You're that old!?!?!?!"
"Age is a measure of how long you live, my boy. I assure you that I am quite dead and have been for a very long time."
"So you're saying that my family comes from Egypt?"
"Originally, yes. After I died, my descendants wandered the earth for forty-four centuries. They settled in Britannia about one hundred years before Merlin was born, and have remained, for the most part, ever since."
"You see, Harry," said Godric, "in you, there is at least a small blood connection to almost every great wizarding civilization."
"Godric is right, Harry," Merlin said. "It is important that you learn about those cultures. They are part of your heritage, but more than that, there are magical techniques and spells that died out when wizards began to communicate and share knowledge. Each society had its own way of doing magic and casting spells, which reflected their language and culture. I suggest you try to learn as many languages as you can, both ancient and modern. They will help you immensely in your magical advancement. You should begin to study as soon as possible, and continue throughout the summer.
"Where am I supposed to learn all that from? I don't have anything other than my text books."
"We nearly forgot. As a gift, we are giving you this." Methos extended his hand, and a large trunk appeared at Harry's feet. It looked like Moody's magical trunk, but instead of seven keyholes, there were nine ovals, all in different colors.
"The password to shrink it is 'Phoenix,' and to enlarge it, 'Dragon'. To open a chamber, press your thumb against an oval, and say, 'Gryphon'. The first four compartments are normal sized, for your clothes, schoolbooks, quidditch things, and just random possessions you may want easy access to. The fifth and sixth compartments are much larger storage areas. The seventh is a four-room flat, with a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen with an icebox that is always cold and that will never empty. Compartment eight is a grand library that has all the books you will need for your summer studies. The ninth compartment is an outdoor training area where you can exercise and practice your skills.
"The best part about the trunk is that in the last three chambers, time is extended: six hours inside equals one hour outside, except for the library, where one day equals one minute. You should have plenty of time to study in there, Harry" Methos said with a chuckle. "Another thing is that in the larger compartments that you can enter, there will be a replica of the trunk, so that you can have access to your supplies and travel between the compartments. Also, you can do magic in the trunk, and the Ministry won't be able to detect it. In addition to that, being in the trunk will also block your connection to Voldemort. That, combined with the peaceful slumber spell that the bedroom emits, should ensure that you won't have to worry about visions, burning scars, or nightmares this summer."
"Wow! This is…thank you!" Harry said.
"Use it well, young one. Use it well." Methos said smiling.
Godric cleared his throat to get Harry's attention, "Harry, there are a few more things that you should know, like the physical changes you will experience because of your powers. When you wake up, you won't need your glasses anymore. Your eyesight will not only be fixed, but also enhanced; all of your senses will be. You will also be able to heal yourself and recover from injuries faster than a normal person. This also means that your muscles will need less time to rest after exercise, so you will be able to get stronger faster than normal people. You'll get used to those long morning and evening runs within a week or two, and after that, they will seem like warm-up exercises. The last change I'll mention, which is quite amusing from our point of view, is that your looks will change slightly and many girls will start to notice you. Heirs tend to become incredibly handsome after their abilities begin to develop," he said, with an amused smirk. There are some other changes as well, but I'm sure you'll figure them out on your own.
"Is there anything else I should know?" asked Harry.
"Well, if you want a suggestion about how to get your hair under control, I think you should let it grow out a bit, similar to Methos. His hair is just like yours when it is short, but when it's long, it's too heavy to stick up."
"I never thought about that," Harry said. "Thanks for the advice. I'll try it."
"Well, Harry," said Methos. "I wish we could stay and chat, but our time is almost up."
"We'll contact you again on your birthday," said Merlin.
"Now, however, we have to go, and so do you," Godric said.
"Goodbye, my young heir, and good luck."
It was with these words from his ancestors that the dream world faded away, and the dream ended, replaced by one about Hermione. For the first time in almost two weeks, the boy-who-lived actually enjoyed being asleep.
(A/N: That was the second chapter of Harry Potter and the Heir of Ancients. Hope you liked it. Please review with comments and/or compliments and/or constructive criticism. Also, I have currently written through most of the summer, and I need some ideas for the names of a few first years, and some of the spells and such that the fifth years will be learning. If it's about a part of the year that I haven't written or already have plans for, then I'm open to suggestions. If I really like an idea, I'll try to find a way to incorporate it into the story. One more thing, just in case you were worrying, the original characters present in this story will NOT have major roles; they are just there to help fill the space between the important stuff, and maybe provide a little comic relief. And this really IS the last thing, the typing of Chapter 3 is more than half finished, so it won't take nearly as long to update as it did last time. Thank you, and please review.)