I do not own Fire Emblem or Harry Potter. Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. All song lines belong to their original singers. I own all original characters and the plotline.

Chapter IV:

Timore

. . . You'd better quit what your doin' and look out for us . . .
-'Rockin' by ATeens

Dark aqua-blue eyes opened in weariness and slight mental pain. Commander Fiora of Ilia's fifth wing of Pegasus Knights clutched her aching head and looked around at her surroundings as she stood. Her spear was next to her, inches from her navy-clad fingertips, and her unconscious Pegasus Dea lay on the ground a few feet away from her, wings folded to her marble flanks. Florina's Pegasus Huey and Heath's Wyvern Hyperion were there as well, as were their fallen mistress and master. Rath's horse, the warm brown coat still damp from its spell in the water, was there and the Sacean nomad lay next to Hawkeye, whose large hand still gripped the broad hilt of his massive axe. The other four soldiers were out cold still.

Fiora, relieved to see she was not alone, got quickly to her feet and examined their surroundings with distaste. They were in a vast field between a huge lake and an even larger forest whose trees loomed overhead. The grass was wet and springy from fresh rainfall and shadowed by the immense castle next to them, reminiscent of Castle Bern. Fiora grabbed her spear quickly, pleased to wrap her fingers around the stiff Ilian wood. The spearhead was dull from where it had hit Sonia's barrier, though it was nothing a few minutes of sharpening couldn't cure. She sighed and slid it back into its sheath on Dea's saddle, rubbing the Pegasus' muzzle gently. Her eyes, a liquid fire-red, opened and she stood, flexing her massive and angelic wings.

Fiora cooed softly to the Pegasus, then knelt down by her orchid haired sibling and gently shook Florina to rouse her. "Sister? Florina, please wake up." Her sibling's baby blue eyes blinked open and she sat up jerkily, grabbing the Killer Lance on her back. "Fiora? Fiora, what happened? Lady Lyndis, is she alright?"

Fiora bit her lip and helped her sister up, brushing off Florina's shoulders and hugging her for a minute, pleased to see she was safe from harm. "I don't know where our Lady Commander is Florina. We're not anywhere near the Water Temple, but I assume we're still in Bern. Sonia's magic must haven sent our group in separate pieces. Now it's just you, Heath, Rath, Hawkeye and me."

Florina went scarlet and clutched her elder sister's arm very tightly, her long nails painfully digging into Fiora's skin. "Y-You're the only other female?" she squeaked. From the time the two had spent under the command of Lady Firefly – the tactician of Eliwood's soldiers – Florina hadn't seemed so gender-specific, but in light of the events, her fear of men had returned. Fiora clapped her hands again on her sister's shoulders, looking deep into Florina's doe-like eyes.

"Florina, stay strong. We have to see if there's anyway we can find Lord Eliwood and Lady Lyndis and Lord Hector. For now, we have to deal with the situation on hand and that is helping our commerades, understand?" Florina nodded meekly, eyes glittering at the tear ducts. Fiora sighed and looked down at their fellows. "Poor Rath, he looks the worse after his swim." The Sacean was drenched in water, his normally expressionless face weary from the battle. He would be fine though, she had seen the way he fought and acted and knew a little bit of water couldn't harm him. Fiora instead shook Heath awake, making the Wyvern Rider's head loll from side to side until he mumbled under his breath.

"Please mother, just ten more minutes of sleep . . ." He yawned and turned over, giving a soft snore. It was unusual for him to act this way and she shook him harder.

"Heath, I'm not your mother. I'm Fiora." His silver-blue eyes, eyes which had always slightly unnerved her, opened wide as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Fiora? Fiora, what happened! Did we win?" he asked excitedly, then caught a glimpse of their surroundings.

"No we didn't win, and I'm not sure where we are. To make matters worse, there's only five of us and none of our commanding officers."

Florina, her body trembling with nerves, was shaking the Nomad awake. She screamed when his gloved hand reached up suddenly to grab her wrist, his eyes snapping open at once. He let go of her wrist with apologies, though he reached for the quiver of arrows at his side. "Where's Lyn?" he asked sharply.

"I don't know," said Florina in a high, scared voice, running over to grasp Fiora's arm tightly again. The commander winced slightly.

When roused by Heath, Hawkeye simply looked around the area, his brow furrowed and hand on his massive and well-worn axe. "Impossible."

All eyes turned to him, Rath's ever vigilant eyes leaving his mare and saber to look at the desert man in puzzlement. "What?" asked Fiora, the only one to summon speech.

"Lord Athos mentioned a castle such as this, surrounding by lake and wood and an aura of unsettling serenity. During the Scouring there was trading going on between Elibe and . . . another world in another universe."

There was silence for a long time. Florina's already pallid coloring had turned to milk white shock, Fiora opening and closing her mouth as her mind fought for words to express her shock and disbelief. Rath, even with his seemingly apathetic look, had widened his Sacean-green eyes in pure befuddlement and his jaw had dropped. Heath was the only one to speak, practically bellowing in his disbelief and "Your joking!" yelled Heath, "You mean we're in some mirror dimension!?"

"No." Hawkeye's voice was cold and distant, as it often was when speaking to others. "According to Lord Athos, this place is merely an alternate world. Not like a mirror world, where everything on Elibe is reflected, but there are . . . significant similarities."

"Such as?" Rath said harshly, his hand gripping his iron saber with white-knuckles.

"Dragons," said Hawkeye simply, though here his voice was whispered and slightly edged with fear.

Florina was shaking badly, her face draining rapidly of all blood and she looked like she was about to faint. Fiora held her tightly, as she always had done when her sister had been younger and suffered from nightmares, though in her heart she too was afraid. Heath, gulping down warm saliva, repeated in a hoarse voice, "Dragons?"

"Yes." Fiora envied how calm the blonde man could sound. "Though, as far as my knowledge goes, they are no where near as intelligent as the ones we fought in the Scouring. Humans control dragons here, like you control your mounts, but they were powerful." Heath's ethereal eyes looked at his slumbering Wyvern, with its distinct dragon-like qualities. Hawkeye continued to speak. "The trade routes between worlds were cut off when Dragons left Elibe, as though the connection had been between them. Apparently it seems Nergal found a way to reestablish those routes through his morphs' magic, though it think it was more on accident."

"How are we going to get back though?" asked Rath, his voice once again devoid of most emotion, "Back to Elibe?"

". . . Let's concern ourselves with finding the rest of our party. If this other world has anything worse then Nergal, then Ninian and Nils are in deep danger." Fiora frowned, not understanding why it was merely the dancer and bard who were in danger. It was not her place to question his reasoning however and she nodded her head.

Heath went to his Wyvern's side, pushing Hyperion's triangular head to stir the winged beast. "We can search the skies for any signs of our fellows." Florina nodded to, swallowing heavily and trying to look brave. Fiora went to Dea and her spear.

Their preparations were cut off sharply as a man's calm, aged voice cut through the air, surprising them all. "I don't think that's needed."

Fiora's hand flew to her spear in Dea's saddle and she saw Rath draw his sword quick as lightning. Behind them was the speaker; man who looked both very old and very wise. Draped in long, sweeping robes of deep crimson and gold with his long white hair and beard, he put Fiora in mind of the Archsage. He had glittering blue eyes behind half moon spectacles, eyes showing the weariness of age and maturity, and a crooked nose that looked to have been broken many, many times. What surprised her the most was how he appeared to have just come from nowhere, with no traces of the static electricity that Ephidel had left when he teleported at the Dragon's Gate. It was like he had just materialized out of thin air.

"Who are you sir?" asked Fiora, the grip on her spear never wavering. Though this man had an aura of peace and calm surrounding him, she would not let herself be fooled into losing more of her fellow soldiers, as had happened on the shores of Valor.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," his bony hands gestured to the castle behind them all, "Owner of the estate. I am sorry to have been eavesdropping on your conversation, but I believe I have information on where your friends may be."

"Where and which ones?" said Rath sharply, his grip firmly on the leather-wrapped hilt of his Sacean saber. His concern was focused completely on the well-being of Lady Lyndis, the only one out of the entire army that he seemed content to be around.

The man styling himself as Dumbledore reached into the pocket of his robes and handed Hawkeye a piece of folded parchment, stamped shut with a purple seal. The Beserker read it quickly, his face still expressionless. "It's the Black Fang members, plus Lady Isadora and Brother Lucius."

"Nino and Legault?" asked Florina, her voice surprisingly even.

"And Jaffar," finished Hawkeye, reminding them all of the dark-skinned man.

Although Fiora had no sympathy for the Black Fang, from their murderous actions and slaughter of her entire fleet, she knew Nino was a kind girl who had been used and Legault had traveled with them long enough to prove he was of good intent. Jaffar, though, had yet to prove to her that Sonia and Nergal no longer held his loyalty.

"Well, how about any others? Lord Eliwood, Lady Lyndis, Lord Hector or even Lady Firefly?" asked Heath, Hyperion's massive head arched over his rider's.

"I'm sorry, I have no knowledge of any others," said Dumbledore, "Though intelligence will probably reach soon if they are in the country."

"So, maybe they're still on Elibe?" Florina's voice was scared again and it was clear that she wanted to know where Lyn was.

"Doubt it," said Fiora, as a way of soothing her sister and assuring herself that their commanders were within reach.

"In the meantime, would you like residence in this castle? We have plenty of room." Dumbledore's voice was casual, but there was something about it that made Fiora examine his face closely.

"What about Hyperion?" asked Heath, "And Dea and Huey and Woodfall?"

The man's eyes flickered towards the Wyvern, who was crouched by his master, crimson eyes nervous, then towards the two Pegasi and mare.

"Is that a dragon?" asked the man calmly. That one sentence confirmed Fiora's suspicion that they weren't on Elibe. Anybody who could mistake a Wyvern for a Dragon was certainly not of their native land.

Heath seemed equally resigned to the connection and corrected Dumbledore. "Hyperion's a Wyvern sir."

"Well, our groundskeeper has a rather . . . unusual affection for strange creatures. Your Pegasi and horse will be welcomed too, we have the room."

Fiora bowed her head and Hawkeye spoke in his even voice again. "Thank you for your hospitality, is there anything we could do to make it up to you?"

"I'm sorry if I sound desperate and rude, but your service." At the strange looks the man was receiving, Dumbledore elaborated, "Our country is at the beginning of a war against something we have not faced for over fifteen years, and you have the look of talented fighters. Could I employ you as . . . bodyguards?"

"To whom?" asked Rath slowly. The Sacean had been a bodyguard before, she had overheard him mention it to Firefly one night, but he probably wanted as much information about his charge as possible.

"A young boy who is the main target for the enemy. Harry is, rather difficult to watch, since he has a fetish for getting himself in trouble."

"A prince?" asked Rath again and Dumbledore shook his head. "No, just a very talented young man with quite a lot of dangerous people after him. My previous methods of protecting the boy have proved . . . unsuccessful."

"Y-Yes sir, we w-will except this gladly," stuttered Florina, her face still pale from shock and slight nausea, but she had stopped trembling in her sister's arms.

Dumbledore smiled and bowed his head in respect and thanks. "Something else, and please do forgive me if I am sounding demanding. This castle is a school, for young witches and wizards."

"Like Eturian mages?" put in Heath and Fiora hid a smile. He was not particularly trained against magic, since so few magic-users took homes in Bern, and he wasn't exactly on the best terms with the few Mages in the army.

"I'm unfamiliar with the Mages you might be familiar with, but they do cast magic and spells and the like. We are in desperate need of a new teacher, one for defense specifically. Could you please assist in this position? You could tell our students about this land of yours, and perhaps battle tactics and the like."

Fiora exchanged looks with her companions. Florina had always been good with children, regardless of their gender, and they seemed to comfort her the most in times of need, though Rath was not exactly looking pleased at the idea. It was an odd picture to see him try and teach somebody, and Heath's thoughts were hard to place. Regardless, Hawkeye extended a hand and the professor shook it.

"Thank you very, very much," said Dumbledore and his voice was so sincere Fiora stared at him as he walked back towards the castle.

Nino Reed shuddered viciously under the piercing, electric blue eye of the strange man. Part of her trembling was from fear of this heavily scared man, and part was from the icy water that dripped around her body and made her clothing cling tightly to her body. Jaffar stood protectively over her, eyes and face as emotionless as ever. Despite the confiscation of his daggers, he was a formidable opponent still. What confused her slightly was why their antagonists were not yet dead, or at least acting like they were in power over the Angel of Death.

They and three others were in a square in front of several grimy looking homes whose style Nino had never seen before, and she had seen a lot of interesting looking buildings in her fourteen years. She was wrapped in Legault's cloak, the course navy and indigo material warming her considerably, though the air about them was not the most heated. The thief's own knife had been taken by these people, Dame Isadora's sword and lance also gone. The Lady Knight stood next to her white horse, gauntleted hands gripping Danica's reigns very tightly. These people had also confiscated Lucius's staff, but neither his nor her magical tomes.

Easily she or Lucius could have knocked them unconscious but she was refrained from attacking by her own desire to know where she was and who these people were, who had disarmed three talented people with a wave of their short wooden wands. For Lucius, he was probably not attacking from the priest's code for St. Elimine: Never attack those who do not pose a threat at once. It seemed a little silly to Nino, but she had to honor the young man's loyalty to his church.

"Sir, we mean no harm! We are just lost!" began Lucius for the umpteenth time before having one of another one of their stick-like weapons being pointed at him by an elderly woman with flashing emerald eyes. She was dressed in a long black dress fashioned in the style of Bern's nobility with an opal brooch at her neck, holding her emerald cloak in place and a tall pointed hat with peacock feathers tucked in it.

"We have no way of proving that until Severus returns with the Veritaserum," she said icily, her foreign accent strange to Nino. Her voice otherwise was very harsh and apathetic, strict like Brendon Reed's had always been when addressing his troops.

Isadora looked the woman in the eye, the lady knight unflinching and seemingly unafraid. "Miss, please, we are simply travelers with no idea where we are-" She was cut off by the other of their assailants, whose hard voice was accented identically to the woman. He wore black robes, like a shaman and made Nino think of Brendan Reed by all the scars on his face and grizzled hands.

"Why are we waiting for Snape to show up? Just use the Imperious curse on them," growled the man, "We could get information out then." The woman gave him a cold look and hissed behind clenched teeth. "You know that's illegal Moody."

"And not necessary Alastor."

Nino turned on the heels of her blue boots to see an old man walk towards them, a man who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. He looked very old and wise, dressed in rich robes like a king or high Sage. Jaffar tensed, one of his hands gripping Nino's shoulder tightly. His already narrow eyes were barely slits, scaring her slightly. Legault eyed the man's robes, probably looking for any potential weapons, and finding no bulges he relaxed slightly.

"Albus, what do you mean?" asked the woman, "These people are clearly Death Eaters. They're armed," she gestured her head towards the pile of weapons. It was quite an impressive sum really. "And were trying to get into the homes."

"We weren't –" began Lucius only to have the shorter man's wand point between his eyes. The Sage continued speaking, his voice so calm and collective that it made Nino slightly jealous. She could never be that calm, she let herself get too emotional about minor things.

"I found some of their companions who prove they are not Death Eaters. Common sense also states Voldemort would not employ someone as young as the girl you have here and would certainly not stoop to allowing his Death Eaters to use muggle weapons like a lance or sword." Although Nino didn't understand a word the man said, she knew it made sense, but she frowned when her crystalline eyes caught how their assailants flinched at the name 'Voldemort.'

"What is your proof Dumbledore?" growled the man, swirling his large eyes to this Dumbledore, "They could be spies. They certain have the look of some." Isadora stiffed in disgust, her bright green eyes showing certain fury. It probably insulted her pride as a Lycian knight, though Legault merely gave a thin grin to himself.

"I have the proof I need Alastor. Please release them."

Legault turned to the man, drumming his slender fingers on his forearms. "Who exactly can prove our innocence?" Nino knew why he asked and moved closer to Jaffar. Despite his infamous reputation and cold exterior, she felt safer standing close to him and he probably felt similar. He tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"I believe her name was Commander Fiora," said Dumbledore, turning to Legault with an interested look at the young man's long scar.

The thief's lips twitched upwards in a smile, the answer pleasing him. Lucius and Isadora seemed content as well, Isadora breathing a small sigh of relief and Lucius grinning to himself. Nino didn't know the Pegasus Knight very well but she seemed kind, yet her talent with a spear was extremely impressive for her age, but she certainly had a hatred for the Black Fang. Nino knew why, she had overheard the aqua-haired whispering a prayer to St. Elimine for her departed squadron. The man with the crazy eye leaned in close to them, looking at Legault and Jaffar with dark mistrust.

Dumbledore continued and Nino watched him carefully. There was some powerful aura about this man, something that was both awe-inspiring and comforting at the same time. "I think I can trust you enough to let you into the Order. It is located at number 12, Gimmauld Place."

Isadora blinked, confused beyond words, and Nino frowned darkly, trying to comprehend their meaning. "Sir," said Lucius slowly, bowing in respect for the man. Being a fellow magic-user, he probably sensed the man's powerful aura as well, "What did that mean?"

"Turn around and think about what I told you." There was a strange sort of mirth in the man's voice.

Jaffar gripped Nino's shoulder tighter, hurting her slightly when she turned around. There was nothing unusual about the street, despite its unfamiliar house style. Her brow furrowed, she recounted what the man had just said and with a yell of fright, she saw a house squeeze in between the other two dirty buildings. She pulled Legault's cloak tighter around her shoulders, eyes wide with fear. The thief's pale eyes were wide with surprise, though he made no other movement, Lucius at a loss for words as he turned pale eyes to the house that had appeared from nowhere. Jaffar seemed indifferent, as usual and Isadora kept a firm hand on her horse's reigns as she blinked rapidly.

"You ARE sure it is wise?" said the unnamed man, distrustful as he turned his large eye upon Legault, "This one's got the look of some sort of thief." Legault chuckled darkly to himself.

"Yes Alastor, when have I ever been wrong." The man seemed to be insulted by the comment, turning away to Nino's relief. "Please, show them in. The young girl looks freezing," said Dumbledore, nodding at Nino.

"I'm fine," she muttered, tugging Legault's coat to her tightly. He smiled at her like a grandfather might do.

"Sir, do you know where our Lord Eliwood may be? He's about seventeen with bright red hair and blue eyes, carrying a rapier," asked Isadora, concerned for her young commander, "Or a woman styling herself Firefly, blonde, clad in a thick brown coat and a bubbly attitude?" Nino smiled at the thought of the energetic tactician, who had yelled one night at camp over the fact Lowen had cooked meat. Nino had never before met such an outspoken vegetarian, or any vegetarian for that matter.

"Very sorry, I do not know, but I will send somebody to look." Isadora bowed low. "Thank you sir, it'd be much appreciated."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "If you want, you could rest inside?"

Legault looked at Nino, then at Isadora and both nodded in some sort of mutual agreement. Nino felt Jaffar inch closer towards her and she looked up at the assassin, hoping to see comfort in vain. His blood-red eyes were not focused on her long but they did flicker towards her for a moment. When he caught her looking, he looked away. She smiled, following them into the shelter of the house with her small hands clutching the edges of Legault's cloak and her thick, yet ancient Anima tome.

End Chapter IV: Timore

Review