Chapter 2 – Who are you?
Harry Potter and the Valeru
By Lady Urquentha
PG – 13
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. K Rowling, the exception being any OC characters that might wander in. The plot is my own, and even that may have been influenced by stories I have read in the past. Any resemblance to real events or places is entirely accidental.
Chapter 2
"Remind me again, why you brought him here?" a male voice demanded angrily, "someone who doesn't know who we are!"
"He's one of the Masters, Donald," a determined feminine voice replied, "he needs to be trained."
"He's just a sixteen-year-old boy who uses his fame to get everything he wants," the man spat, "didn't you read the Daily Prophet last year! He's nothing but an attention seeker and a lunatic!"
"I don't believe everything the Daily Prophet says, Donald," the woman replied, "I took the time to watch him over the last couple of years, and he's no attention seeker. Now, please leave before he wakes up, he doesn't need you around for his first moments awake here." Harry heard the swish of robes and footsteps, before the opening and slamming of a door. The woman sighed and he felt the bed go down slightly as though someone had sat on it,
"Harry, you can open your eyes now." Stunned by the fact she knew he was awake, Harry nonetheless obeyed.
He was in a large room, decorated in gold and red. The gold walls shone and gleamed, as did the tiny orbs floating near the ceiling that gave out a soft golden glow. The bed that he was on had red sheets, and the curtains that hung from the posts of the bed were also red. The bit of the carpet he could see was also red, as were the two couches that faced a fireplace. By his bed were two wooden bed-side tables of a deep brown color. Made of the same stuff were two large bookshelves, the bed itself, a desk and a chair. He could see two wooden doors leading off the room, and a pair of large glass doors that led onto a balcony. What really shocked him though was that fact that a large TV screen was built into the wall opposite the bed, and that there was a computer in one corner of the room. These people were clearly wizards, judging from their mention of the Daily Prophet, and yet they had muggle appliances in the house?
The woman who had spoken was sitting on the edge of his bed and looked to be in her late twenties. She had wavy red hair, cropped to shoulder length. She wore a deep red fitting short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black trousers. Harry could see that she had a perfect figure, and her brown eyes radiated warmth and friendliness. A wand was in a wand holster at her waist, on a black belt, beside a black dagger. There was a black watch on her wrist that he recognized as a miniature version of the Weasley family cloak, except that there were only four hands on it. Around her neck was a silver choker with black stones in it, and a matching bracelet around her wrist. A slim silver ring with the same black stone was on her left hand. When he looked down at himself, he realized he was wearing a white robe that he was pretty sure he didn't own.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Harry demanded. He instantly suspected her as one of Voldemort's agents, although he was a bit confused with the muggle appliances and conversation he'd overheard. It hadn't sounded like one of Voldemort's plans or anything, but it could have been planned for him to overhear.
"This is Bellum Exerceo," she answered, "and I am Ingrid Cortez, you can call me Ingrid." Harry frowned, he didn't recognize either name.
"Where is Bellum Exerceo exactly?" he asked carefully, "does this place belong to the Dark Lord?" The lady's expression darkened considerably, and her eyes lit up with passionate anger, disgust and hatred,
"Tom Riddle is a scourge on Earth," she spat, sadness now creeping across her face, even as the other emotions still flared in her eyes, "to work alongside or for him would be a fate worse then death." She seemed sincere, no-one could fake that amount of anger and fury. Not to mention, he noticed that her left fore-arm was bare, and that there was no sign of the dark mark. She also used his birth name, something no death eater would know or use.
"As for where and what Bellum Exerceo is," she continued, calm again although the sorrow was still evident in her face, "it is both a school and organization that trains in the arts of war and stealth, to fight Dark Wizards. It is located on a plane of existence separate to Earth." At his quizzical expression, she elaborated,
"There are twelve planes of existence; the mortal plane where humans and living creatures dwell, the spirit plane for those who die, the magic plane for magical power, the seven planes of hell for the demons, and two traveling planes. Each time you apparate, portkey etc. you enter the outermost traveling plane for a brief moment, before exiting at your destination. We are held in limbo on the innermost traveling plane, by powerful and ancient magic. This allows us to react quickly to mortal happenings, and no-one finds us because their time here is measured in milliseconds."
"Why am I here?" Harry asked, wondering why exactly he'd been brought here with no warning whatsoever. He was also wondering if the spy at Privet Drive had noticed his disappearance.
"You need to defeat Voldemort," Ingrid replied, "and for that you will need training. Training that you won't be able to receive from the Ministry or the Order of the Phoenix."
"Hang on, you know about the Order?" Harry demanded, astonished.
"Of course, from here we can tap into anything, anywhere in the world. We knew about it the moment it started up again," Ingrid explained, "we want to train you to be as prepared as possible, we don't want Voldemort taking over the mortal plane either. A lot of people that live here have family on Earth, and so we have personal reasons as well as moral ones."
"So you want me to stay here and be trained here?" Harry asked. Ingrid nodded. Harry thought that over, it was more then the Order was doing, but it could take years. He didn't want to be away from his friends or the world for that long.
"How long will it take?" he inquired.
"Normally it takes between three and six years," Ingrid admitted, "in a class of about twelve students. That's just to learn the muggle fighting arts and dueling, not magic itself. But in a private class of one or two people, you could learn all that, plus magic, in about a week, if you train in a specialized wing where time is suspended to the point where one year there is a day out here. Of course, doing that course is very intensive and life-altering. Your outside appearance will change according to the time you spend in there, about seven years, but you won't have seven years cut off your life span. You can't spend more then thirteen days in there though, or the magic starts to make you go insane. You could be back in time for the start of the Hogwarts school year. So, what do you say?" It didn't take very long for Harry to make up his mind,
"Of course I'm staying!" Ingrid smiled,
"Good, we'd better get you kitted out then, and then I'll inform the headmaster." As Harry got out of bed, he remembered something,
"You mentioned earlier that I was one of the 'Masters'," he said, "what does that mean?"
"The Masters...they are people who are magically gifted with strange powers, called the Valeru in the Elvish tongue. Each person is different, but most of those who are gifted are descendants of long lines of power. You, Harry, are one of the Valeru."
"Strange powers? What sort of powers?" he asked. Ingrid shook her head,
"I don't know. Each one of us are different," she answered, "there are three people here who are Valeru. I am one, as is my husband, and my husband's niece. We've all got different powers, ranging of telekinesis to healing and element control." Harry gaped at her, frozen in the act of stepping forward, he was going to have that sort of power?
"Come on," Ingrid said, "let's go." As Harry followed her, she opened one of the doors and stepped through it.
When Harry came through, he found himself in a circular room with four doors in it, including the one he'd just come through. The difference between muggle doors and these ones, was that each door had a palm sized square of gold, silver, bronze or platinum on it. A single passageway led away from the room.
Ingrid led him down the passageway, before turning into a branching passage. A hand-sized metal square was in the middle of the door, and Ingrid pressed her hand to it. Light shimmered on her hand, and then the door swung open. Inside, a middle-aged lady sat at a desk, writing something with a muggle ball-point pen. Behind her were racks of grey and silver clothes, and a small set of shelves covered with boxes. She wore a pale blue dress, and Harry could see the matching high heels from under the desk.
She looked up, and rose to her feet smiling.
"Lady Cortez," she curtsied slightly, "and..."
"Lord Harry Potter-Gryffindor," Ingrid answered, "the most recent Valeru. Harry, this is Demetra Azatran, our wardrobe mistress." Azatran curtsied to him. Harry stared back, unsure if he should bow, or why he'd been called Lord, or Gryffindor for that matter.
"Lord Gryffindor will be training privately in the Time Wing, and needs all his clothing," Ingrid informed Azatran.
"Of course, Lady," Azatran nodded, turning to the rows of robes. She flitted among the racks of clothing, pulling out shirts, trouseurs, robes and cloaks. Placing them down on the desk, she flicked her wand at the first one. It shimmered, and then Harry gasped as it appeared on him. It was a robe with a high collar, and long, loose sleeves. It wasn't grey anymore, but pure white, with gold embroidery on the hem, collar and cuffs. On the breast of the robe there was a gold embroidered lion that moved like any wizarding image. The rest of the robe itself was lightly embroidered with gold thread. It was made of smooth and silky material that was wondrous next to his skin.
"White and gold," Ingrid murmured. Azatran gazed at the robe considering, and then nodded. A flick of her wand sent the next item of clothing in it's place, as the first one reappeared on the desk, neatly folded up.
This new piece was a grey-turned-white long-sleeved shirt. It too was silk, with a high collar and gold embroidery on the cuffs, hem and collar. A second flick of the wand had him wearing a pair of silken gold trousers with silver embroidery, and a white belt held together by a gold clasp in the shape of a phoenix, with yellow jewels for eyes. When Harry glanced to the side, he saw Ingrid speaking softly, her watch held up to her mouth.
Forty-five minutes later, Harry had ended up with a lot of clothes. Numerous shirts, trousers, belts, robes, shoes and cloaks, for formal, casual and battle circumstances. He was wearing a set of the formal outfit, including a shirt, trouseurs, a belt, a robe, a light cloak, and a pair of boots. At last Azatran turned to the shelves, and picked up a white box. Opening it, she presented him with a white wand sheath embroidered with gold thread and adorned with yellow jewels. It had two white straps on it, presumably to fasten it.
"It goes on the inside of your wand arm," she explained, "it is a quick-release sheath that will propel your wand into your hand." Harry took it, and fastened it to his right arm. Ingrid silently handed him his wand, which she had produced from her pocket.
Next, Azatran handed Ingrid a gold choker in figures on eight, with small yellow jewels in each hollow. Before Harry knew what she was doing, she'd fastened it around his neck, and slid a matching bracelet over his right wrist. Before he could say a word, Ingrid explained,
"they are a mark of your rank as a Valeru. You must wear them at all times." She handed him a gold ring with the yellow jewel, and Harry obediently slid it on. Azatran gave him a second gold ring, similar to the first. As Harry's hand closed on it, it grew and changed to become a four-foot long staff of gold, inlaid with white wire and yellow jewels. At the tip was a large yellow jewel carved in the shape of a flying phoenix. It remained like that for only a moment before shrinking to become a ring again. Still staring at it, Harry put it on his hand.
Azatran picked up two white boxes, and opened them. She held them out to Harry, who peered in. One held a white watch similar to Ingrid's, while the other held a pair of black sun-glasses. Harry fastened the watch onto his wrist, but wasn't sure what to do with the glasses.
"Put them on, and focus on the glasses themselves," Ingrid told him. Harry did so, and gasped as a list of options suddenly appeared on the edge of the glasses.
"It's a database that connects with your watch," she explained. Harry nodded, taking them off again.
"We need to go get your weapons, and then report in to the headmaster," Ingrid informed him. She pointed at the bags filled with robes, and they all vanished. Aztran curtsied, and then Ingrid led him out of the room.
"Why were you called me Gryffindor?" he asked quickly. Ingrid glanced at him in confusion,
"you didn't know?" Harry shook his head in confusion.
"You are a descendant of Godric Gryffindor, I'll explain later."
The room next-door was where they went in, and Harry's jaw dropped as he saw the array of swords, daggers, spears, bows, quivers, axes, maces, staffs and queer looking items that were everywhere. A young man bowed to them as they entered,
"Lady Cortez," he greeted them, "and...?"
"Lord Harry Potter-Gryffindor," Ingrid answered, "the most recent Valeru. Harry, this is Saliun Aztran. Saliun, Lord Gryffindor needs his weapons."
"Of course, Lady," Aztran gestured around the room, "Lord, please look around. When you find your weapons, you will know."
Puzzled, Harry began to slowly walk around the room. Soon he felt a tugging in one direction. As he followed it, it became stronger and stronger. He found himself standing in front of a gleaming sword. It's hilt was of gold, and embedded with yellow jewels and white wire in the shape of a phoenix. The sheath was also gold, embroidered with white thread and yellow jewels. He reached out to grasp the hilt, and felt a tingling sensation run through his hand. He released the sword, and looked down at his palm. A phoenix was imprinted onto his palm, but this phoenix was different. It was white and gold, instead of red and gold. It's wings flapped and it moved, but it was always in the same place.
He looked up as Ingrid stepped beside him. She glanced at his hand, and nodded,
"it's normal, Harry." She turned her hand over, and Harry saw a panther imprinted on her palm. He reached out to take the blade again, and this time, it felt warm and familiar. He clipped it to his belt, where it was obviously meant to go. The tugging started again, this time in another direction.
Half an hour later, Harry had a number of different weapons at his belt. He had the sword, five daggers, a war-hammer, a glaive, a bow, a quiver with fifty arrows, and a staff. Each had the same white and gold theme, but only the sword had given him an imprint.
Aztran bent behind his desk, and came up with two pieces of clothing. A skin-tight, long sleeved, high collared shirt, and a pair of skin-tight trouseurs. Both were made of black dragon hide.
"Dragon-hide armor," Aztran explained, "it will protect against most spells and charms." As soon as Harry touched them, they vanished, and he could feel them against his skin.
"You'll understand later," Ingrid assured him, "thanks, Saliun."
She led Harry out, and down the hallway. Five minutes later, she stopped outside a statue of a tiger in mid-leap. She touched a hand to it, and a voice spoke,
"Your name please."
"Ingrid Amanda Carmen Echo Sky Cortez-Hufflepuff," Ingrid recited.
"Accepted. And the other?"
"Harry James Daniel Emrys Potter-Gryffindor," Ingrid prompted him. Harry stared at her,
"that's not my name!" he protested.
"Just say it, I'll explain in a moment," she told him.
"Harry James Daniel Emrys Potter-Gryffindor," Harry repeated, dubiously.
"Accepted." The tiger moved aside, revealing a staircase. Ingrid started the climb up, Harry close on her heels.
She knocked lightly on the door at the top, and then pushed it open without waiting for a reply. Harry stepped into the room, nervously, unsure about what to expect. A black haired man sat behind an elaborately engraved wooden desk. The desk itself was littered with parchment, and in one corner of it was a computer. On the front of the desk, bronze letters were imprinted into the wood, reading 'BSS'. Beside his desk was a red stand embedded with rubies and bronze colored wire. The walls of the room were bronze in color, and the carpet beneath their feet was red. Bookshelves stuffed with thick books lined the wall behind the desk and a second wall was completely made of glass, looking out over some gardens. In the third wall was a massive T-V screen, similar to the one in the room Harry had woken up in. There was a set of drawers beside the door, and the top it had three gleaming bronze photo frames. In the middle picture one was a picture of the man at the desk in a suit, kissing a younger Ingrid, who was clad in a white bridal gown. On the left was a picture of a man and a woman in their early fifties, both of whom had a resemblance to the man. On the right was a picture of another couple, these ones in their late fifties, who bore similarities to Ingrid. All three were wizarding pictures.
The man looked up, and Harry saw his dark brown eyes light up. He rose smoothly to his feet,
"Harry Potter?" he inquired, as he stepped around his desk. Harry nodded slowly, as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Ingrid had moved forward towards the man, and stood beside him, his arm around her waist.
"I'm Gregorio Cortez, the headmaster of this school," he held out his free hand. Harry shook his hand, before looking to Ingrid for an explanation. He guessed they were married, since they had the same last name as well as the picture. She smiled,
"we're married." Gregorio nodded,
"eight years ago," he said quietly, "five years after we found we were Valeru."
"Can I ask why you said I am a descendant of Gryffindor?" Harry asked after a moment. Both of them looked somewhat surprised,
"you weren't told?" Gregorio asked. Harry shook his head.
"Harry, your father was descended in a direct pure-blood line from Godric Gryffindor, from eldest to eldest. Therefore, you are the last remaining heir of Gryffindor. Valeru always are descended from powerful magical lines, the Hogwarts Four being four of the strongest witches and wizards ever lived. You are descended from Gryffindor, I am from Hufflepuff, and Gregorio is descended from Slytherin," Ingrid explained, "Slytherin's line is the only one that was jumped from the eldest child. Tom Riddle's family lost their claim when Tom's mother married a muggle. He is not the heir of Slytherin, the influx of muggle blood tainted it. Gregorio's grandfather was the brother of Tom Riddle's grandfather, and is the closest blood relation still living." Harry nodded slowly, beginning to understand.
"But what about my mother, she was a muggle-born?"
"Yes, but Riddle's father was a muggle. Lily Evans still had magical power and blood, and so didn't change your heritage," Gregorio explained. Harry nodded again.
"Your full name isn't Harry James Potter, by the way, it's Harry James Daniel Emrys Potter-Gryffindor. The Gryffindor is at the end because of your Valeru powers, if you weren't one of us, it'd be Harry James Daniel Emrys Gryffindor Potter," Ingrid added.
"So, we'll send you into training with Carmen, my niece who is another Valeru," Gregorio suggested, "she arrived about a month ago, but hasn't started doing much training yet. Ingrid told me you wanted to be out by the time school starts." Harry nodded,
"I'll be out by the time school starts, right?" Gregorio nodded,
"You shouldn't take 28 years to learn it all."
"What sort of subjects will I learn?" Harry inquired.
"Fencing, Archery, hand-to-hand dagger combat, throwing daggers, glaive work, staff work, war-hammer, unarmed combat, spell construction, dueling both with and without a wand, wandless magic, stealth and working with our gadgets," Ingrid answered, "as well as the special abilities you have. If we have time, we'll start teaching you the normal school subjects like Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology etc." Harry stared at her, his mouth open, he had to master over fourteen subjects?
"If you need more time, which I really doubt, we'll continue training you in the outside world, and then go back in time for the start of the Hogwarts school year," Gregorio informed him, "do you accept this?" Harry nodded,
"I accept," the was a brief pause as something occurred to him, "how did you know that I wanted to be out by the time school starts? Lady Cortez didn't have a chance to talk to you since I woke up?"
"Please call me Ingrid," she told him, "Lady Cortez doesn't feel right coming from you." She waited until his nod of agreement before continuing, "remember the watch and glasses you got? We all have them, they work like a com-link system. I can talk to other people, portkey, bring up maps, access databases, all from my watch and sunglasses. We combined the state-of-the-art muggle technology with wizarding powers. In fact, we use a lot of muggle things here. Some of our field agents, especially the spies, are too young to use magic outside school on Earth, and so we have muggle alternatives for them. Not to mention that some muggle inventions are far better then their wizarding equivalents." Harry nodded,
"I'll learn how to use all this?"
"Of course, we're not going to send you back to Earth without a means of contacting us quickly," Gregorio assured him, "now, shall we head into the Time Wing?"
Harry followed the two of them down the stairs. They were having a very quiet conversation, so Harry took the opportunity to look around and see what this place was like. The hallways were made of grey stone, but there were richly woven tapestries of both the muggle and wizarding kind all over the walls. The images made the place feel brighter and more cheerful. There seemed to be doors everywhere, each one guarded by the palm plate. The passages themselves were deserted, he didn't see another living soul through the entire journey.
"Why are the passages so deserted?" he asked, when there was a lull in the adult's conversation.
"The school year hasn't started yet," Ingrid replied, "and most of the adults are away on missions."
Harry found himself being led into the room where the doorway to the room he'd woken up in was. Gregorio stepped up to a door and knocked on it. It opened after a moment, revealing a girl about his age. She was of medium-height, and her black hair was down to mid-back and wavy. She had sky blue eyes that shone with curiosity and friendliness. She was slender and though she looked fragile, you could sense the strength of mind and body that came off her in turrents. She wore a light blue, knee-length skirt and a matching spaghetti strap top. Harry saw a bronze choker around her throat, similar to the one he himself wore, except that there were sapphires, instead of yellow stones. A matching bracelet encircled her wrist, and there were even sapphire drops in her ears. Harry felt something that he couldn't quite explain. She dropped a small curtsey,
"Uncle Gregorio, Aunt Ingrid," she greeted them.
"Good morning, Carmen," Ingrid greeted her warmly, "we've found the next Valeru. He'll be training with you in the Time Wing." Carmen held her hand out,
"I'm Carmen Elizabeth Veronica Serenity Continguo-Hufflepuff," she informed him, "and you are...?"
"Harry James Daniel Emrys Potter-Gryffindor," he answered after a moment, taking her hand. He was seized by a sudden impulse, and turned her hand over to kiss it lightly. She smiled warmly at him,
"what a charming boy you are." Harry blushed fiery red as Ingrid and Gregorio hid chuckles.
"You can get acquainted later, we're going to move you into the Time Wing," Gregorio instructed, "I've already recalled your teachers, they'll be here tomorrow. Once we get into the time wing, you'll have the equivalent of a year to do what-ever you want, before your training starts." Harry and Carmen nodded.
"Hang on, I'll get my stuff," she said, disappearing back into the room. A few moments later she reappeared, her trunk floating behind her. At Harry's curious look, she explained,
"the ministry of magic can only sense magic done on the mortal plane, so we can do magic here without worrying." Harry nodded his understanding, it'd all be a lot easier now that he could do magic with a wand.
Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of a archway. Looking through it, Harry could see only white smoke. Ingrid stepped through the archway, and vanished instantly. Carmen went next, and she too vanished. Harry eyed it nervously, but steeled his nerves and stepped through.
A/N: There, Chapter 2 is finished. Review people! I won't know if I should continue if you don't. You know you want to ï