Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize!

A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers and Anna and stardust for correcting this…

Chapter Eleven

" So I'm just a tool…" said Harry in a cold whisper, barely audible, his face unreadable.

"Well….. I… Umm…. I didn't….." stuttered Traias. "You're making a mistake….!"

"Really?"

"Well…."

"I don't think we have something more to talk about. You clarify perfectly the situation…. So the tool is leaving almighty Traias to his friends." Snapped Harry, icily. He turned on his heels and left quickly, under the stunned gaze of his so called-friend. Then Traias shrugged and went back to his comrades who had seen the whole scene.

Harry walked quickly out of the school to the paddock where Sheitan was. The horse could sense his master fury and galloped towards him to try to comfort him.

Harry petted him lightly before jumping on his back. Leaning forwards, he whispered in his ear.

"Take me far away from them…. "

The horse shook his long mane and jumped forwards, falling into a fast gallop. He quickly arrived at the end of the oasis and continued to gallop in the sand. Knowing it was bad for his hooves, Harry performed a small spell wandlessly, making them immune to all type of grounds. There would be no difference for the stallion between walking on the grass, in the sand or on rocks. He had learned this with Dezer, probably one of the useful things the master had taught him. For about quite a long time, Sheitan galloped. The stallion loved to run, and Harry shared this love with him. Finally he stopped, knowing he would have to come back before night, something which would be quite difficult if he was kilometers away from the school. He was in the middle of the desert with no water nor a square centimeter of shadow. Sighing he dismounted. He'd have to use his two worse elements: water and earth. He put his hand on the burning sand, ignoring the heat and concentrated deeply. It took him quite a long time to accomplished what he wanted. Making a spring and a few palm trees, as well as some grass appear in the desert wasn't what you call an easy task. Once it was done, he sat under a tree, leaning heavily on it. He sighed deeply, he had thought, it would better, he had thought he had a friend, not a close one, but a friend nonetheless, and it had been a pretence.

He closed his fist, anger building up in him. How dare he? How could they have betrayed him like that? What had he done to them? It wasn't fair!! He put his head in his hands, a lonely tear rolling down his cheek. He hadn't felt that lonely since he had arrived there, sure there had been some moment he had longed for a friend, some times he had nearly cried at night, missing Hermione, Ron, Sirius, Dumbledore, Remus, Odyeus' tribe, even Snape or Dezer, he would have seen them gladly. But it had never sunk in that they despised and disliked him that much. Sensing his rider's distress, Sheitan approached and nuzzled his neck. A trembling smile appeared on his face and he reached up to pet the horse's muzzle.

"You're right, I shouldn't let them get to me like this, I'll show them not to mess with me! They won't forget this, I swear they won't" There was a scary glint in Harry's eyes, one that told you to run away if you were on its receiving end. The black stallion sort of snorted. Harry smiled faintly. For the following hour, Harry rested quietly under the tree, waiting for the sun to fall, not looking forward to a ride in the sun. Sheitan stayed at his rider's side, showing his support, eating and drinking a bit from times to time. Finally, Harry stood up, dusk was approaching.

"Come on Sheitan, we must go back."

He jumped on the stallion's back. Before leaving he cast a last look at the small oasis he had created. Should he destroy it? Or leave it this way? Finally he left, leaving it like that. He liked to think he was leaving something from him there, even if it was just a small spring and a few trees, who knows, maybe it will help someone later. He had been careful to put everlasting spells on them so that the desert wouldn't claim his rights back on them.

It took nearly an hour to go back. He was letting Sheitan leading the way, confident in his horse. The stallion's instincts were nearly infallible….

He was back a bit before curfew, having missed dinner. He went straight to his dorm and went to bed, not wanting to see anyone. He didn't fall asleep for a long time, his mind working at high speed to plot the perfect revenge. Around 2 a.m., he found the perfect plan and grinned evilly before falling asleep. This would be his last prank, but it would be remembered for a long, long time…….

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First, Harry had wanted to play his prank before his departure, but he thought otherwise. He'd need a lot of preparation for this so he postponed it to three days after his return, leaving him time to prepare everything. He got up early, packed everything he'd need: clothes, a few weapons likes knives, a bow, a quiver and a dagger, a few books he had taken from the Library and which he had to study for his prank…. Before leaving, he made sure to put a few time-delayed tricks in a few parts of the school, not wanting to be suspected of anything as would have been if the pranks had stopped after his departure. Nothing big, he was storing it for his Master-prank, but quite funny.

He ate quickly and went directly to the paddocks where some of the other members of the group were already readying their horses, the mules and the camels. Harry didn't know most of them, which was, at this point something he was glad for. Most of them were inhabitants of the regions working in the school, taking care of the grounds, the animals…., all used to the life in the desert. Only three students were allowed to come at once. Generally, it was seen as a punishment by the student but now, Harry only saw it as a relief. When he would come back, he would still have a week before the arrival of the pharaoh's emissaries. Hen he would have two weeks until the next test for master that he intended to take. Even though he liked the teachers, he wanted to come back badly….

Sighing, he saddled Sheitan and equipped the stallion. He was careful to not unbalance his horse by putting more weight on one side than on an other…. A man approached him and surveyed his work. Looking up, he smiled at Harry.

"Good job here, you have some experience, don't you?"

"A bit…" answered shortly Harry. The man seemed to be in his mid-thirties and quite nice, but Harry had learned his lesson well. To not trust someone at first sight had now become his rule number one.

"Well, for once, we may have someone useful instead of dragging burden as usual…… These Elementals… apart from their element there's nothing……. Do you know a bit about fighting without your element? No offense, but I must know if I'd have to assign you something in case we're attacked."

"None taken," Harry replied, while pointing to the knives at his sides, his bow and his dagger, tied to the saddle, "I can defend myself."

"Good, I'm Irsal. This time you're the only student to come with us. We're going to Arzanon, then to the Lizern Oasis. No student volunteered and the headmistress didn't want anybody else to come. Saying it was too dangerous for people not trained for this kind of situation. "

Isral was apparently waiting for some kind of reaction and was quite surprise by the indifferent look of Harry.

He looked approvingly at the youth

"It should be an interesting trip. Now I'll leave you, I must check everything."

Harry nodded calmly, before returning his attention to is horse. They left an hour later. The ride to the town was uneventful. It took them two days to reach it. All in all they were ten: the leader Isral, Oral and Kas the camel riders, Shen, Zahl, Hassyn and Ramnys, the soldiers, the last two were Derig, the one responsible of the trade, and Filz, the mules' caretaker. They had been talking among themselves and sometimes included Harry in their conversation. The night when they were talking around the fire, Harry quickly left and went to read the books he had taken with him. His planning was going fine. And his fellow students would be in for a nasty shock. They spent one day in the town, buying, trading, selling what they had brought with them. Harry had been awed by the town. It wasn't a big one and what Isral had told him, nothing compared to the capital, but the abundance of colors, smells, sounds were making him a bit dizzy. While Derig was away on business, Shen, Zahl, Hassyn and Ramnys dragged Isral and Filz to a small building. To be polite, they motioned for Harry to follow. Harry was quite reluctant to follow them. He had already earned his fair share of strange looks and didn't look forward drawing more to him. Even if he was quite tanned now, you could immediately see he wasn't a native.

They entered a dark room and Harry was starting to regret to have come in, feeling quite out of place. He was surprised to see that nobody paid special attention to him. The four soldiers dragged them to a table at the end of he room were about ten people were sitting and talking.

"Theran!"

"Hassyn"

They shared the ritual hug, and the four soldiers saluted the other in the same fashion the whole thing lasting quite a long time.

Finally they turned to Harry, Isral and Filz.

"And who are your friends?" asked

"Well, we're working at the Karkana and he's our boss. That's Filz, the mules' friend. I swear I've never seen someone that infatuated with those beasts! And the young one is Harris, a student the headmistress told us to take with us for this journey."

The ten men looked Harry from head to toes.

"Where are you from? You're not from here."

Harry was ready for this type of question.

"I come from the North, My guardians thought it would be better if I was taught here, having heard about the reputation of the schools and teachers here. I'll be staying a bit before coming back."

"The North?"

"Yes, but he's a good damn rider, you should have seen him, it's liked he's stuck to his horse, and his stallion is obeying his every order."

This made Harry blushed, but sparked immediately the attention of the other soldiers.
"Really?"

"Yeah, and you should see his horse, one the most splendid beast I've ever seen….," added Ramnys, winking at a tall man with clear blue eyes…"

To Harry, the man looked like a young kid in a candy store.

"Do you want to see him?" asked Harry a bit shyly. The other nodded frantically.

"Well," laughed Theran, we'd better go see this horse before him going mad." He stood up and headed for the exit, leaving.

On their way to where they had put their horses, they continued to talk.

"So Harris, Studying at Karkana? What do you want to do after? Take a job as a teacher, in a place where you'll use your power?" asked suddenly a short man called Halen.

"Fight."

This sharp answer earned him surprised stares from his companions.

"Fight?"

"Exactly, I'm going to study with different peoples to learn as much as I could on my abilities and fighting…"

"Why? Sorry for asking, but it's quite unusual for an Elemental to enter this field of activities….."

"There is a mad man terrorizing the population where I came from. I was sent there to train as much as I could before facing him again. While I'm here, he must be wandering, killing people around, people I care about…." They could hear the bitter tone in his voice.

A bit startled, they remained silent for a few moments. The silence was broken by Isai, a tall man with a scar crossing his cheek.

"What have you learn so far?"

"Yes…. I've never seen you practiced," added Isral.

"Well, my first teachers taught me how to ride, the basis of hand to hand combat in their country, fighting with a dagger, knives throwing, archery and above all, survival," answered quickly Harry. Truth to be told, there were some things he taught himself with the help of his friends when they were staying in the volcano, but they didn't need to know this…

"That's quite a lot…. How come I never saw you practicing, you're going to lose it if you don't!" The curiosity was audible in Zhal's voice.

"I practiced late in the evening or early in the morning."

They fell silent for the remaining part of the walk.

Finally they arrived where horses where put when people arrived in town. There were a huge paddock and big stables. The horses were highly respected and very well treated. Harming a horse could earn the culprit an heavy sanction, quite a lot of money and a short stay in prison. The attitude towards horses wasn't pushed as far as the nomads' behavior who treated their mounts like their children, but was fairly special. Here, horses were a gift from the gods.

Harry approached the paddock, followed by the other, impatient to see his stallion.

"Where is yours? You're going to spend a great deal of time looking for him, the paddock is really big," stated Ysar, the one who seemed infatuated with horses.

Smiling, Harry shook his head and whistled sharply twice. Immediately, something rushed towards them, halting a few meters away. A joyful grim plastered on his face, Harry jumped over the barriers and approached Sheitan. The great stallion nuzzled his neck, earning a smile from his rider.

"May I present you Sheitan?" Harry turned to the soldiers, who were, for the exception of Isral, Zhal, Shen and Ramnys starring in awe at the stallion.

Ysar was the first to snap out of his trance.

"It's truly the most superb horse I've ever seen…. Where did you find him?"

"The people with whom I stayed before coming here were breeding-expert; Sheitan is one of their best results."

"How come they let you take him, surely they should have keep it!….."

"I was the only one able to ride him," replied shortly Harry.

There was a short silence following this statement.

"Well, would you like to see him move?" finally asked Harry feeling like breaking the silence….

Ysar nodded widely, as well as the other though not as enthusiastically.

Grinning, Harry jumped on his stallion and started to direct him thorough the paddock. He decided to show off a bit, wanting to impress them. He pulled all the stunts he knew and was quite pleased with himself when he stopped. His demonstration hadn't been flawless, but he knew it had been alright.

He climbed off and leaned on his horse, enjoying their closeness. It would never admit it to somebody else, he would be viewed as crazy if he did so, but he could nearly sense the emotions of Sheitan. Sure Odyeus had mentioned a link but Harry hadn't thought it would be that strong! He hadn't try to talk to animal. Firstly because he didn't have the time to try, but also because he didn't want to attract unwanted attention. Sure, he could have used his gift to talk to Sheitan, but his ability wasn't fully developed, he could only hear the animals when they talked directly to him. He, himself, couldn't talk with them.

Now he could sense that the horse was quite pleased with himself. Grinning, he tapped him playfully on his neck.

"Be careful, or your head may grow so big that you won't be able to gallop anymore…."

The horse snorted and shook his mane.

Harry laughed softly, before petting him a last time and going back to the soldiers. Except Isral, Ramnys, Zahl, Filz et Shen, of course who knew it a bit beforehand, all were quite surprised.

"You're good," said Theran.

"Thank you, but Sheitan does most of the work."

"Yeah, right….."

For the rest of the day, they wandered in the city, the soldiers showing Harry some parts unknown to newcomers. They had took a liking in him, after seeing that he wasn't just gloating about his ability. They respected him for what he could do and not for his appearance. It was something which did lots of good to Harry. He was treated like an equal….

As dusk fell, they parted, the soldiers wishing them good luck for the remaining part of their trip. They would tomorrow at dawn.

They woke up early and as the first sunrays appeared they had left and were heading towards the Lizern Oasis. Contrary to the first part of the journey during which they had been relaxed, they were now eyeing their surrounding carefully, looking for a any hint which would betrayed bandits' presence. Soon they arrived in sight of the Oasis and relaxed a bit.

They were welcomed warmly by the inhabitants of the oasis. Indeed, they didn't get to see a lot of people and were eager for news of the outside. The evening was spent talking, joking. Much to his surprise, Harry wasn't shunned by them. After being rejected by most of his comrades during his stay at Karkana (the school) he found quite odd being accepted by these people. As they parted, going to sleep, he asked Isral about it.

"I know they love power and saw me as a threat, but why? I won't stay here for a long time!

Isral looked at him closely.

"Well, between you and me," he said, signifying to Harry that he was to keep this between them, "I think they're jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yes, you must know that the relations in the school are only based on one factor: power. There is an intense competition as the best will be given the best position. Those can even be offered a job close to the pharaoh which is an honor. So everyone is trying to be singled out by the teachers and will do anything to be noticed during their mastery tests."

"This is stupid…. If they worked together instead of being individual, they'll improved more."

"I know. If you pay attention, you'll see that they seemed to be quite friendly with the others, seeking their help, talking with them. But you'll notice that they'll never offer to teach them something…. You are very powerful, perhaps the most powerful student at the school right now, you have managed to become a master faster than anyone else and have nearly reached the level needed to become a master. So they see you as a threat."

"That's all! All of this because of some petty rivalry!"

"I never say it was a good thing, that's just the way things are here, do you understand?"

Harry looked down, reflecting on the man's words. Seeing this, Isral thought it would be better to leave him alone.

As he left, he heard the youth muttered a thank you and smiled. He liked this young man. He was one of the first student to accompany him and not think himself above ordinary soldier; and he had to admit that the boy was damn good with his horse and his knives. The trip back to the school would take them about three days, so they would leave as soon as Derig had finished his deals.

They left at noon and started their way in the desert.

Isral was worried. Theran had warned him against a group of bandits acting in this area. From what his friend had told him they were quite organized and numerous, but most importantly they were really dangerous. This could be explained in one word: cheetahs. Indeed, they had tamed some and were using them in their attacks, a tactic which proved successful many times. They had even named themselves after their animals.

The first day passed uneventfully, but Isral couldn't get rid of the feeling that he was being watched. In the morning, he saw Harry approaching him.

"Hethera Harris."

"Hethera. Isral, I have a question, do cheetahs approach camps?"

Isral frowned.

"No, they don't like human presence, why?"

"There some traces near the tents and I think it's from cheetahs…."

"You sure?"

"Come and look by yourself."

Harry lead him and he couldn't deny it. Cheetahs had been here this night.

"What's the matter Isral?"

The man hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of telling the youth about his worries.

"Well," he sighed, deciding it would be better for him to be ready for everything. He quickly explained the young wizard the situation.

They were extremely alert thorough the whole morning. In the middle of the afternoon, their attention relaxed. Maybe it had been some wild cheetahs…. They had warned the other too, better be prepared to anything.

As they relaxed and started to talk lightly, Harry looked around him. These days in the desert had been the best moment of his stay in this time so far. He sighed he wished it could be like that at the school. Suddenly as he was contemplating the dunes, he saw something which caught his eye, a cloud of dust was rising at the horizon.

Quickly he signaled it to Isral and the fighters. The men eyed the dust suspiciously.

"What's that?"

"I don't know, it's too far away…" muttered Shen.

"Harris, could you use one of your elements to show us what's this."

There was a silence.

"There's no need for it….," replied the youth.

"Why?" asked Isral, is eyes still fixed on the dusty cloud.

"Look around you."

Reluctantly, Isral tore his eyes off the cloud and nearly let out a gasp.

Alarmed, the soldiers looked around and stopped stunned.

"Oh shit!"

"You said it." Stated Harry, who had drawn his knives.

Indeed they were surrounded by about twenty cheetahs, growling, ready to leap on them at their slightest movement.

"Do you like our babies?" asked a mocking voice.

Seven heads turned sharply towards the speaker.

A group of about twenty riders were standing there, smirking……

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Thanks to all who reviewed again!!

Unicor's brother : Thank you a lot !

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a fan : Thank you.

Xirleb70 : Thank you a lot ! Go on with your story !

Scrat : Thank you. Well, for the prank, one of my friend (with an evil mind) is helping me a bit….. And here is the result of our common work….

The Plot Bunny Whisperer : That was quite good knowing you don't take French anymore ! Thank you a lot for the review.

unknown(even to me : Thank you a lot for reviewing ! I hope you enjoyed this chapter !

Kelly : Don't worry, Traias will learn not to anger Harry ! Thank you for reviewing !

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smilez : Well, still have a few ancestors to meet, I won't tell you how many, as it would spoil he surprise, but I hope that you'll like it….. Anyway thanks a lot for reviewing.

chibi-Tenshi : Thank you a lot. Well, Harry's training isn't only about power and abilities but also about moral values, humanity. He must learn what society is like…..

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Mike Potter 2002 : You certainly seem to love P.S.. Anyway, I changed the summary, but I don't know if it is better or not… I don't like writing summaries….. Anyway to answer your question about time travel, well, Harry isn't controlling his trips through time. His runes are determining his jumps in time.

Phoenix353 : Thanks for the review. Well, you'll have to wait and see….

Soulless : Sorry, but I have to study for school, or my parents would kill me…. Well I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for the review.

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~~~Aztec Leopard~~~ : You'll see, you'll see. His will be answered in a few chapter as Harry will jump in time soon….. Thanks for the review.

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