Chapter six: What a day.
Harry put on his trainers and sporting clothes, getting ready to go to his training. He walked out of the house and into the street as fast as he could because he was a little bit late. Before he knew it he was standing in front of the shop that looked like a house. He walked towards the door and rang the bell, hoping that this would be worthwhile. He waited patiently and when the door opened he saw a woman of about thirty standing in the doorway, dressed in a normal muggle outfit. She had deep blue eyes that looked full of life and energy, dark hair that looked black with red and purple streaks but it suited her. It didn't look outrageous but almost looked natural. She had an athletic build, that Harry was sure had come from training, and had strong facial features.
'Hello, I'm Harry potter. I made an appointment.' Harry said to the woman
'Mr. Potter,' she acknowledged 'please follow me.' She said standing aside for him to enter.
He walked past her and waited for her to close the door. When she was finished she turned to him and pointed towards a doorway to his left, which led to an office, Harry noticed. He walked towards it taking in his surroundings and saw that it was indeed a normal house that was transferred to a workplace in one side. When he entered the study, with her right behind him he sat down on one of the chairs and waited for her again.
'Well, lets get to it, shall we?' she said while sitting down. Once she was seated she continued 'I'm Retashia Cordeur but call me Tasha. I believe you're rather eager to learn Martial Arts.'
'Yes, as a matter of fact I want to learn it as quickly as possible…' He told her, remembering the dream he had.
'Do you have any idea how long it will take!? We took twenty-four years to be at the level we are now. Both our parents sent us for training since we were seven, it takes years to master this art.'
'I don't have years.' Harry mumbled softly to himself while thinking that maybe this was a mistake.
'But don't worry, we dedicated our lives for this. Obviously you don't want to, so it's not a problem.' She said full of life.
'Um, who are we?' Harry asked
'My husband, Xilion, and me, we met each other during training.' She said getting a glossy look in her eyes 'He'll be the instructor.'
'Someone talking about me?' a male voice asked from right behind Harry. He jumped slightly and relaxed when he saw a kind but strong looking man with a smile on his face standing at the doorway.
'Yes, we were. Here,' she motioned to Harry 'is the boy, Harry, who phoned yesterday. He's rather eager to begin so I suggest that you start on him.' she added as an afterthought.
'Yes sure.' He said holding out his hand 'Nice to meet you Harry, I'm Xilion.'
'So I've found out.' Harry said shaking the man's hand.
He was average height, black hair, longer than the average male hair but just too short to tie a ponytail and had eyes that looked light brown but when he changed positions, it changed to darker brown. He looked like the typical male warrior you would find in a movie.
'Follow me, I'll show you the training area.' He said kindly.
They walked through the house and came to an archway. He motioned for Harry to enter and walked in himself after Harry. It was a simple room, about the size of a big dining area but with nothing in it except for a small table at the far corner of the room. There were several swords, spears and poles on the wall right at the back of the room and a small gymnast sponge mat on the ground (two meters in radius).
'Nice place for training.' Harry noted.
Xilion chuckled a bit and said 'that's what it's supposed to be. So what do you want to do?'
'Anything that will be helpful in fighting.' Harry said
'Eager ain't we?' Xilion said 'this is nothing to be played with. You will definitely not succeed if you are in it to beat up other kids.'
'Why would I want to do that?' Harry asked without thinking 'Do I look like that type of person? I mean look at me, I'm haven't got the typical bully build do I?'
'No, no, didn't mean to take a blow at you.' Xilion apologised.
'It's fine. I'm a little bit on the jumpy side today.' Harry said already liking this man.
'Not to worry.' He said and walked to the front of Harry. 'I want you to hit me as hard as you can.'
'What?' Harry said in disbelief 'like in punch you?'
'Yes, how will I know on what level are you if you don't?' Xilion laughed. 'You won't hurt me, I promise.'
'Uh, are you sure this is necessary?' Harry questioned.
As soon as he was finished talking Xilion swung a fist towards Harry's face, but was stopped by Harry who deflected his blow with his left hand and stepped out of the way, standing in a typical duelling stance.
'What are you doing?' Harry asked although he had an idea.
'Provoking you.' Xilion said standing in a different stance.
'So if I hit you, we can stop this?' Harry questioned
'Why yes, glad you caught on.' Xilion mocked but was cut short by Harry lunging at the man with his left arm swishing forth and his right hand positioning itself at his side, ready to punch the actual blow. Xilion deftly block Harry's left hand with both of his hands, but Harry was sure only one was necessary. Harry used the momentum that Xilion gave him by deflecting his blow to the left and when his body started to turn he felt the physical magic working in his arm and shoulder this time (something Harry learned yesterday to give him more force.) he shot his right arm forward aiming for the man's exposed ribs.
Harry didn't want to put so much force into his punch but he was still having trouble controlling it so he let go. Xilion had a look of shock on his face but that changed to something that looked like realisation right before Harry's fist made contact but when it did it lifted the man right of off his feet, sending him flying backwards, but Xilion landed on his feet anyway in another fighting position. He stood up and stretched to one side. Harry who saw his gesture, relaxed slightly and stood normally again.
'A wizard eh?' Xilion said.
It took a moment for Harry to realise what he said but when he did Harry was completely stumped to say the least. He stood there gawping at the man opening and closing his mouth like a fish in water. All that he expected the man to say after he punched him, wasn't even close to this.
'Don't worry.' Xilion laughed 'I know about you lot. Walking around in robes, waving around wands and animating things when they think we're not looking.'
'How did you know?' Harry asked completely stunned
'I observe, my friend.' He said, 'you'll be surprised how stupid people can be. There's you lot thinking that no one is looking and then there's us, not even noticing people appearing and disappearing out of thin air.'
'So you know about us?' Harry questioned disbelievingly
'Yeah, I know about your world and all of that. You wipe our minds hoping that we would forget.' Xilion laughed 'Really, the number of times someone tried that on me.'
'It didn't work?' Harry was having a hard time taking in all of this, muggles knowing about magic, the memory spell not working.
'It works all right. I saw people after it, they didn't remember a thing.' He laughed outright now 'Must be our training, learning to have total control over your body and mind.'
'Did you tell anyone?' Harry questioned
'We didn't need to.' He said sobering up a bit 'Why would we want to tell somebody? It's completely absurd, no one would believe us.'
'I guess you're right.' Harry said thinking about the war. Even Xilion wouldn't believe it.
'What's troubling you?' Xilion asked looking at Harry with concern.
'We're at war.' Harry told him before he could stop himself 'A sick person trying to kill all of the witches and wizards born out of non magical folk.'
Harry didn't know why he trusted this man so much but he felt like his secrets were safe with him. Harry told him everything, from his first year through to his final year at Hogwarts. He told him how the magical world works and what Voldemort did to him and his dead family. All the time Xilion sat and listened to Harry, asking questions when he didn't understand something and exclaiming at the unfairness of it all. At some point during Harry's story Tasha came with three mugs of tea and sat down to listen.
It was well after five when Harry finally finished but it felt rather good to tell it to someone who didn't have a clue about what he had been through. He knew somehow that he could trust the couple to keep their secrecy, he didn't know how but it was just there, telling him it's safe to tell them everything.
'And here I am now.' Harry said
'What a story Harry.' Tasha told him
'I'd like to meet this Dumbledore sometime. He sounds like an intriguing character.' Xilion added
'Are you sure he's that old?' Tasha said 'I mean about hundred and fifty, that's rather old. And you say he's still fighting as if he's in his prime?'
'He never talks about his age but I'm positive he's about that age.' Harry laughed
'This Voldemort, how powerful is he?' Xilion questioned seriously
'Most brave, fully grown men cower in fear before him.' Harry replied angrily, answering his question.
'This dream you had, do you really think he would want to come for you anytime soon?' Tasha asked
'Positive.' Harry said as he stood up 'I better head home. I'll see you tomorrow then.'
'Cheers Harry. They chorused 'And don't worry about all of the secret keeping and what not, we'll keep our mouths shut.'
'Thanks' Harry said while waiving.
He walked out the door and let himself out of the house. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even see the ten cloaked figures slipping out behind the house and walking towards the front door. When he was about to walk around the bend in the street he heard an ear piercing scream coming from behind him that was followed by a loud explosion. Harry spun around and saw the front door of the Cordears' house lying in pieces, smoking a bit. He set off running towards his new friend's house. He heard another scream, this time a man's and sped up even more. He knew exactly what happened but didn't want to believe it. He felt rage build up inside of him, he didn't even have a friend for two hours and already they where fighting for their lives.
He ran in the dusk until he reached the door that was blasted to pieces. He didn't even loose a pace when he deftly ran inside the house towards the training room but it felt to long for Harry, he bumped into the walls as he rounded corners. When he could see the archway leading towards the training area he sped up again and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him.
There were ten Death Eaters scattered around the room with two of them holding Tasha against the wall with binding charms and one of them training his wand onto Xilion, who laid on the floor writhing in pain covered in green light that Harry recognised as the crucatius curse. Harry was stunned to see that Xilion didn't scream out in pain but kept his mouth firmly shut.
One of the Death Eaters noticed Harry and shouted 'Lucius, he's here!'
The curse was lifted immediately but he kept his wand trained on Xilion and slowly turned towards Harry.
'So nice of you to join us Mr. Potter.' He drawled and Harry felt his rage increase three fold when he heard that voice.
'Leave them out of it!' Harry screamed 'You came for me. Why do you want to harm them?'
'But their stupid little toys, icle harrykins. Why is baby Potter sad to see them die?' He heard Bellatrix Lestrange mock. If Harry thought that he was mad a moment ago he was sorely mistaken. All the memories of Sirius came flooding back and Harry lost it. He snarled and summoned his gun without realising it while moving at such a speed that you would have a hard time seeing him even if you looked. He came to a halt right in front of Bellatrix with his wand pointing right in her face and his gun at Lucius.
'Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!' Harry screamed in her face.
'Are you missing your mutt Potter? Did I kill him? O my, I guess I did.' She mocked again, earning a few chuckles from the rest of the hooded figures.
'SHUT UP!' Harry screamed 'STUPEFY!' The red light hit her right in the middle of her forehead and she went flying back against the wall, making impact with a sickening crunch. Harry felt most of his anger leave him at the sight of Sirius' murderer sliding slowly towards the ground, unconscious or dead but he hoped that he could keep his cool from now on and not make such a stupid mistake like attacking when he was grossly outnumbered.
All hell broke loose and Harry knew that he would never be able to beat them all but he couldn't leave Xilion and Tasha behind. He dropped down to the ground and all of the spells missed him by inches. He crawled forward while releasing the bonds around Tasha and putting up a protection spell around him at the same time looking to see Xilion springing up and bolt for the far end of the wall where all of the weapons were being held.
Harry jumped up and ran forward, sidestepping a curse, while renewing his shield. When he came to a halt he was standing next to Xilion, who was holding onto a deadly looking spear and throwing a sword to Tasha.
'We have to get to my house. We'll be safe there.' Harry said hurriedly.
The Death Eaters were forming a circle around Harry and his companions who stood trapped in a corner.
'I believe we have a little problem Harry.' He whispered
'Yes, nine against three. Not good' Tasha added going into a fighting stance.
'Come with us Potter. NOW!' Lucius screamed
'Will you leave them alone if I come?' Harry asked knowing full well that he was doing a stupid thing.
'If you want us to and you come.' Lucius snarled
'Harry, stop this. You cannot go!' Xilion said like a true leader 'We fight! I challenge you to a duel!'
Lucius was completely shocked but then he laughed while shacking his shoulders to loosen them up.
'Come muggle and meet your death.' Lucius still laughed 'take whatever you need. Usually I'd kill you before you could speak but you performed so well against my crucatius curse that I'll give you a chance to die with honour.'
Xilion plucked a sword of off the wall behind him and whispered to Harry 'I'll distract them. Can you think off a way to escape?'
'Yes, are you sure of this. He's got a wand?' Harry said warily
'Of course, he's over confident. He won't be a problem.' Xilion said and yelled to Lucius 'Do you have a second to follow you up?'
'Do you actually think you can beat me?' Lucius laughed while walking towards the middle. 'Nott, my second?'
'It would be my pleasure' someone within the group said while Harry thought most of the inner circle was present.
'Tasha, mine?' Xilion asked
'Of course.' She said nodding encouragingly towards her beloved husband, full of faith.
Xilion walked to the middle and the two men looked at each other, standing at the ready. He bowed slightly and Lucius nodded his head.
'Now, stupid muggle, you die.' Lucius screamed 'Avada Kedavra!'
The sickly green light shot out of his wand with a rushing noise, heading towards Xilion who moved faster than Harry saw anyone move before. He dropped down while rolling forward and when the spell was over his head he jumped out of his roll, two meters from Lucius.
Lucius wasn't a feared follower of Voldemort for nothing because he jumped back and cast another three spells in a fluent movement towards Xilion who in turn twisted to his side, dodging two of the strongest spells and deflected the third small one with the sword. Lucius cast two stunners in quick succession without realising that Xilion was gaining on him.
'Your end, fair warrior.' Xilion said the same moment as he swung his sword towards the enemy's neck but Lucius swirled his wand and stopped the sword right next to his ear. Xilion wasn't done because he lunged with all of his weight towards Lucius, spear point heading straight towards his chest. The point penetrated Lucius' rib cage and went straight through his heart, the blood stained spear point sticking out of his back.
Lucius was completely expressionless as he dropped his wand and fell to his knees. Xilion was standing in front of Lucius, head bowed, and waited until he dropped to his side, dead.
Xilion stared at the fallen warrior, with something like pity on his face and looked up at the stunned Death Eaters, challenging them to come for him.
'Can you see now that it doesn't matter if you can do magic or not? What matters is the will you put into what you do.' Xilion said to them all at random
'Muggle, come forth and fight me!' Nott screamed out in rage and disbelief.
'But I am ready.' Xilion said calmly 'It is you who are scared. Not only for me but what you fear Voldemort will do to you.'
All of the Death Eaters present shuddered, thinking of what would happen to them if they told the Dark Lord that Lucius was killed by a muggle.
Nott didn't waste any time to fight and he to screamed 'Avada Kedavra' but Xilion was prepared for it and went on the defensive. He moved at the same speeds as previously and sidestepped the rushing green light, that hit the window which blasted to pieces, showering them all in sharp glass shards. Some of it hit Harry in the face but he was still in sort of a daze, considering that Xilion killed one of the most feared Death Eaters, in less than ten minutes.
Nott, taking his advantage, however was controlling most of the shards and he sent them towards Xilion with most of it heading for his face. Harry was sure that Xilion was done for because he couldn't counter the spell on the glass, but he was sorely mistaken. Xilion continued as if it weren't there and struck a blow with another sword, glass pieces impaling his skin. His weapon struck Nott on the right arm, slicing a thin but deep cut into it.
Nott didn't loose a pace and countered with a restraining spell, which hit Xilion in the chest. The spell worked its magic and stopped Xilion with sharp cords of metal but he sliced the sword through some of the bounds, successfully breaking the chain and it fell to the ground. Pieces of glass whizzed passed Harry, heading towards Xilion. He dodged some of it but it still impaled itself in his cut and torn skin. Tasha threw him a wooden shield and Xilion caught it in mid stride.
He raised the shield towards the new wave of glass that impaled itself into the wood instead while turning in a low arch, heading towards Nott. With his shield still raised he swung it towards Nott's face and hit him around the cheek. All action stopped that instant when the blow was struck. Nott stood with his free hand on his cheek that had a lot of cuts on it because of the glass inside the shield, while Xilion took this as his advantage and pulled out most of the glass in his face.
'You can't even protect yourself, wizard.' Xilion stated resuming his defensive position.
Nott answered by screaming 'Crucio!' The amber light hit Xilion in the chest who raised his shield but it was incinerated to nothing. He dropped to his knees but didn't cry out or fall completely to the ground, with his jaw clenched and blood streaming out off all the numerous cuts on his face, he opened his eyes to show that he wasn't scared. As soon as Nott realized that the curse didn't do the damage he wanted it to do he lifted it with a look of confusion on his face.
There where numerous outbursts of rage from the Death Eaters and cheers of joy from Harry and Tasha. The current state didn't look good for Xilion though. Nott was relatively unharmed while Xilion had a vast number of cuts all over his body. Xilion sprung up with new resolve that came out of nowhere and ran towards the table where he picked up small darts.
Nott screamed out in irritation and flung a barrage of curses, so much that you couldn't even see one definite colour, towards the general direction of Xilion. Harry knew that Xilion would never dodge all of this so he raised his wand at his side quickly without anyone noticing it and erected a shield charm in front of Xilion who looked relieved to be spared most of the brunt, while Harry started to mutter counter curses as fast and as silently as he could. He managed to stop half of the beams of light either with counter spells or his shield charm while Xilion played his part perfectly, blocking the few that came through and the rest of the time pretending to have a hard time. Xilion used his free time wisely by placing three of the darts in the palm of his hand.
Getting a firm grip on them he pulled back and threw the three pegs with such force that Harry was sure it could kill a man. The darts flew through the air towards Nott at incredible speeds and hit him in the stomach, arm and shoulder simultaneously.
Nott screamed out in pain and staggered backwards while Xilion bolted for the window screaming to Harry 'Jump out of the window!'
Harry and Tasha didn't wait another second to comply and swiftly jumped out of the house landing on the soft grass. Xilion came diving out the window right after Harry with various curses following right behind him. He tilted his upper body towards the ground and landed by rolling one step while Harry and Tasha ran forth, towards Number four privet drive. When they were three meters away Harry casted the strongest barrier charm he could muster over the window that would hopefully give them some time to run. Harry ran like he never ran before and bolted down the street with Xilion and Tasha right behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a spell coming from a Death Eater who obviously thought to run out of the front door.
'Watch out!' Harry yelled sidestepping, narrowly avoiding the curse.
They ran for another twenty meters when two Death Eaters apperated right in front of them. One of them shot a curse that went so fast Harry could hardly see it. The dark blue light stuck Harry in the left knee and he heard a crunching noise. Harry screamed out in pain and dropped down when his left foot made impact with the ground intensifying the pain. Tasha however didn't break a stride and jumped up lifting her pole she had in her hand and slammed it down onto one of the Death Eaters' head. She landed with her back towards the still standing one and shoved the pole backwards hitting him with the point of it. He dropped down, completely winded, while Harry sat up to inspect his left knee. What he saw didn't impress him one bit. His knee was swollen up incredibly and when he poked it with his finger he noticed that it was completely shattered.
'Harry can't you do something about that? They're right at our tails.' Xilion asked hurriedly.
Harry nodded slightly and transfigured a twig into a flat splint which he binded onto his leg. He stood up and stepped lightly onto his leg but the pain was unbearable.
'Aw, screw this!' Harry yelled out in frustration and cast the pain numbing charm that everybody warned him never to use.
He felt it work immediately and the next thing he knew he couldn't feel anything in his leg. He nodded towards Xilion telling him without words that they can go on.
They moved a bit slower from now on because Harry couldn't run fast with a stiff leg but every inch was necessary. When they where in sight from number four Harry moved with renewed strength. Come on, almost there! Hurry! Was all that his mind shouted giving Harry motivation to complete the task at hand. He used some of his physical magic to keep up to the two fully trained warriors and he managed without incident. What troubled Harry however, was the fact that they didn't see too much of the Death Eaters in their run to freedom. He hoped with all that he was worth that they had returned to Voldemort but he knew that that wasn't true.
He was proved right when they moved past the small garden gate at number four and saw Seven Death Eaters appear right behind them. Damn only two more meters! Harry thought morbidly. He knew that if they could get into the house everything would be all right, he could feel the magic's eagerness to protect him but it was rendered useless because Harry wasn't inside the place that he could call home.
'Potter, the games is over!' Bellatrix screamed 'How dare you attack me! Feel the pain that Voldemort can produce to all of those who oppose him!'
With a savage and primal snarl filled with hate and a sick pleasure she shouted 'ADURO!' A black beam of light, darker than anything Harry could imagine raced forth, towards Harry. Harry tried to get out of the way, he really did, but couldn't because of several factors. He was standing between Xilion and Tasha so he couldn't jump sideways and he couldn't duck because the spell wasn't only a straight beam of light. True the main beam had the radius of a football but it had at the same time coils swirling around it, half a meter in front of the point, directing it towards its destination and Harry knew that he was going to get hit with this clearly dark and powerful magic so he braced himself as best as he could, all for nought. The black light, no void, rushed forth screaming a sound that sounded like a banshee mixed with all of the darkest creatures you could think of. The loud and sickening sound almost forced you immediately to cover your ears but Harry didn't take notice.
He was concentrating as hard as he could to force his mind to realize that the pain was an illusion, not real, because that was all the Cruciatus curse was. When he felt that he was ready he opened his eyes just in time to see the coils make contact. It sunk into him but he felt no pain, nothing and he thought that he did it but the main beam stopped right before him. Harry looked with some curiosity at the coils disappearing into his torso but the main beam that stayed right in front of him.
Only when the last piece of coil was inside of him did the main beam move. It reared back like a snake going for the strike and suddenly shot forth with a screeching sound that sent shivers down Harry's back. All thoughts of successfully avoiding the pain were rushed out of Harry's mind when it touched him. In fact, all thoughts were wiped from his mind except one, the one telling him that he was in pain, incredible, unbearable pain.
Harry felt it first in his torso, where the spell struck, but it spread so fast that it was all over his body in an instant. It was the Cruciatus curse all right, but this curse didn't create an illusion of pain, this was real, sick and inhuman. Harry could feel the magic burning his flesh, scorching his skin, breaking his bones and incinerating his body in the worst ways imaginable. Every place where a nerve ending was situated was being assaulted, burned and broken. This was pain; true pain and Harry couldn't do anything to stop it. He couldn't even kill himself because it was the only though that raced through his mind, if he could kill himself this would stop.
Harry lost all meaning of time, he didn't know how long he was under the spell but it didn't matter for him. Every second under this spell was a second too long. When Harry felt the pain ease a bit, he opened his eyes a crack to see Tasha slamming the door shut of number four and Xilion standing right above him looking him in the eye with concern. As soon as the door was closed Harry felt it for the first time, the legendary ancient magic his mother ensured around his house, and legendary it was. Harry felt safe once the magic was released, he knew it wouldn't let any harm come to him. A white light spread out over Harry, coming from his chest, and formed a circle around him, going into the ground, through Xilion who looked on with aw. It was there, protecting him, until Harry finally passed out from pain, exhaustion and fatigue, then it spread out.
Xilion watched with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as the black light hit his new young friend and fellow warrior. He saw the look in Harry's eyes change from concentration to realisation and then to an expression that one could only define as utmost pain. His eyes rolled to the back of its sockets with tears forming on them, while his muscles went stiff as a board. Harry collapsed on the ground with a scream that touched Xilion deeply. First there were only Harry's screams coming from within the black light then you could see smoke rising slowly from his body and finally there came blood. It came out of his mouth, eyes, nose, arms and everywhere you could see. It didn't even take twenty seconds for the smell of burning flesh to hit his nose, and only then did Xilion realise that if he didn't do something Harry would die or loose his mind. Tasha was already at the door, opening it wide while Xilion grabbed Harry around his arm with a firm grip, ignoring the pain that shot up his own. Xilion pulled Harry back as fast as he could, towards the house and when he was finally inside Tasha slammed the door shut.
He looked at Harry's bloodied, tearful eyes and then he felt it, the ancient magic that Harry told them about earlier that day. It was a force so powerful that Xilion was sure it could destroy this very world if it wanted to. Xilion saw it starting at Harry's chest where his heart was, a white dome of light, and then it started to grow. It formed a secure circle around Harry, covering every inch of his body and went through everything, including himself. The white dome was half way through his head but he didn't feel anything except the urge to protect Harry with everything that he had. He looked Harry in the eye again and when Harry finally passed out the light spread out, seeking the person who had intentions to harm Harry. The light spread out and moved at a speed so fast that his own trained eyes were having trouble following it. He looked out of the window and saw the people standing outside, all with looks of pure terror on their faces.
When the dome of white light reached them it stopped for a split second and then suddenly lunged forth with a new, stronger power. It was as if the light was angry, very angry because it expanded so fast it looked like a shockwave from a nuclear bomb, not doing any damage to anything else except the Death Eaters. They were blasted back but it didn't stop there, it swiped them away as it expanded, forbidding them to come within the safety of the dome.
Xilion watched, with amazement, as the light grew bigger, taking the Death Eaters with it. One unfortunate soul had a wall to go through but the light showed no pity because it went forth, pushing the Death Eater right through it. Most of them used their brains and disappeared, which Harry told them was called apparating. Only two of them stayed behind, the one that went through the wall and another who was blasted down the street.
When the light finally stopped it had made a radius of about two kilometres all around. It stood proud and tall, challenging anybody to even try and do harm to Harry. Xilion was glad that the whole ordeal was over, and he was sure it was over.
'Are you sure I'm not dreaming?' Tasha asked.
'You know, that's one of the biggest reasons that I married you.' Xilion replied.
'What's that?' she asked again.
Xilion walked over and embraced her in a hug while saying 'Your ability to make me feel happy when I usually couldn't.'
They stayed like that for a while until they heard noisy pops all around the house.
'Well, here comes the clean up crew.' Tasha said
Albus Dumbledore was beginning to feel the first waves of irritation overcoming him that eventually would become anger because of Fudge's stupidity. The man wouldn't believe a word he was telling him, that the Ways of the Old should not be taken lightly and that Harry and his friends were in possible mortal peril.
'Albus, see reason.' There he goes again. 'Harry is a delusional boy. He made himself a gun for Merlin's sake! The Ways of the Old. Ha, where have you heard about that? I can assure you that we have a rather powerful force at our command.'
Dumbledore gave a huge sigh and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses.
'Do I have to force you to do what I say, again?' questioned the old man 'Have you forgotten who placed you into that chair you are sitting in now? You will…'
But his words were cut short by the feeling that overcame him. The feeling he thought that he would never experience at his command as the leader of the light. He felt the sick spell being cast, a noxious feeling but laced with something one could only describe as Dark. He sunk back into his chair, feeling all of his years. He felt old, but most of all he felt dread. If he assumed correctly, the spell was being cast on Harry and without him all hope was lost. The fidelis dolor curse is long forgotten. All of the dark wizards seek it but none have ever succeeded. He thought morbidly. He couldn't even imagine the pain that Harry was feeling at that moment.
'It has begun!' Dumbledore shouted at Fudge 'Bring Aurors, medics, and anybody willing to come, as much as you can to number four Privet Drive. Do it, or I shall force you from your position as minister of magic, I promise you that!'
Dumbledore pulled his wand and closed his eyes, preparing himself for battle. He had already signalled the Order to go but then he felt it, a force so strong and powerful that he couldn't even begin to rationalise it. He looked over to Fudge and saw the same look on his face.
'The ancient protection magic.' Fudge whispered with awe.
'Yes. Thank goodness.' Dumbledore said feeling the joy in his stomach. 'Get them there, all of them. Harry will need all of the help he can get.'
'And again he causes trouble beyond recognition.' Fudge said
'Heed my warning.' Dumbledore said only a moment before he apperated to number four privet drive.
He landed at exactly the same moment as the rest of the Order and cast one look around him, seeing the typical battle signs.
'Is he safe?' One of them screamed.
'He is.' Dumbledore replied 'The wards wouldn't have gone up otherwise.'
'Goodness me, did you feel it?' Molly asked with awe.
'Molly, I think every wizard in England felt it.' Her husband answered.
Dumbledore moved towards the door but stopped as it swung open, revealing a man with a sword with a woman right behind him pointing a lethal looking spear right towards Dumbledore's crooked nose. Dumbledore jumped back in an instant and pulled his wand but the two people were just as fast and moved towards him.
'Stop!' Dumbledore screamed as he fired a binding spell towards the man who was closer. The stranger jumped to one side and dodged his spell easily while the woman stood her ground, keeping Dumbledore within range of her spear.
'Who are you?' the man screamed
'I am Albus Dumbledore.' He replied calmly.
The man looked at him through narrowed eyes, and for the first time Dumbledore felt how it must feel to be at the receiving end of his trademark, piercing stare. The stranger lowered his sword and stuck out his hand
'I'm Xilion.' He stated 'Harry came to us earlier today for martial arts training. He told us everything that happened in his life and about the war.'
'That can wait for later.' Dumbledore said 'Tell me what happened.'
'As he was leaving ten Death Eaters attacked us.' Xilion began 'Harry came back and stunned someone called Bellatrix. We were outnumbered so our only chance of surviving was to flee. I challenged a Lucius to a duel to buy us time, after I killed him, a Nott seconded him and at that time Harry jumped out of the window. We ran here without much incident but they apperated right behind us and the Bellatrix hit Harry with a spell, Fidelis something… I think. I pulled him into the house and Tasha followed us.' He motioned with his sword towards the woman with the spear 'Once the door was closed a light came out of Harry and enlarged. It blasted the Death Eaters away. Some apperated but two are still here. That's what happened, basically.'
'Where's Harry?' Dumbledore questioned urgently
'Inside, he passed out.' Tasha said.
'Molly, see to him. I daresay that he was in rather a lot of pain and suffering.' Dumbledore said while Molly ran past him, followed by most of the order. 'Tell me, what motivated you to fight. Why not leave him?'
'That is not the way to live. We have been doing martial arts training for about twenty years. We've learned a lot about life and war.' Xilion said
'In short, we're not cowards.' Tasha added
'We want to help you in this war, any way we can.' Xilion said with resolve.
'If the world only had more people like you we wouldn't be at war.' Dumbledore said sadly but perked up 'Tell me about yourselves and your past. Where did you get your magical education and where did you learn to do martial arts, a muggle fighting style if I'm correct.'
Xilion and Tasha looked at each other and then burst out laughing. 'We're not wizards. We are your typical muggle.' Xilion panted
'A muggle you say,' Dumbledore looked at them, his eyes twinkling, 'and yet you defeated one of the most feared Death Eaters. Let's talk.'
After they were finished it was well into the night. Harry was healing nicely in his bed while the Dursleys didn't have the faintest idea of what was happening. Harry's friends were notified that he would recover quickly and everything was settling down. The Death Eaters were taken care of and the muggles' memories were being wiped. The Cordeur's would become part of the order as soon as possible and would train Harry sufficiently. The more Dumbledore talked to them, the more he liked them. They were the kind of people you respected, if only for their personalities. But the best part by far was that Fudge had intended to break Harry's wand and to give him a ministry hearing in front of the Wizangamot but was unable to come closer than two kilometres because of the ward. Molly even managed to take a wizarding photo of him banging on the white light, looking remarkably like a three-year-old kid throwing a tantrum.
When Harry woke up, the first thing he could recall was having a good time with his two new friends, but then it all came flooding back: the attack, the escape, and the strange spell. When he recalled the pain of it he had to make sure he wasn't dreaming or dead by touching his face and feeling the salve on it, he knew someone had tended to his wounds. Another encounter, almost the to death, Harry thought morbidly, and as if I didn't already think that Voldemort was sick and twisted, he had to come up with something like this. He tried to sit up but was restrained some kind of hard material covering his whole body.
'Harry!' he heard someone scream, a female voice he only heard at the Hogwarts infirmary 'Thank goodness, you're awake. How are you feeling?'
'Tied up.' Was all that Harry said to the nurse.
'Yes well it was necessary; you were literary burned all over.' She said sympathetically 'Skin burned; flesh almost completely charred and blood loss. Nothing beyond repair though, everything should be healed in a day or two.'
'Is everyone all right? Xilion?' Harry asked remembering Xilion's duel.
'Yes, yes, everyone's fine. You're the only one we were concerned about.' Madam Pompfrey explained 'Dumbledore will be around here in an hour or so.'
'What time is it?' Harry asked
'It's nearly seven.' She told him 'It was chaos for about three hours but Dumbledore will explain everything, eat while you wait for him.'
Harry started to sit up but the bounds all over him were still there. Madam Pomfrey undid it quickly and left without a word. After he dressed He sat down again and started on his meal, hearing the occasional shout from outside of his window.
After he ate he stood up and went to the window. Outside the street were medi-wizards standing in a group talking to his school nurse, Aurors running around helping Obliviators modify memories of muggles and ministry officials talking to various Order members.
Harry also saw a few people dressed in black with gold lining at the edges doing things like prodding the walls of his house or inspecting the front door. He assumed that they were unspeakables doing some research because of the magic. When he concentrated he could still feel the feeling of safeness and security that came with the barrier.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the sky where he could see a fading white dome. It was still there in all its might and power but it seemed to be settling down a bit. He heard a knock on the door and turned around to see professor Dumbledore standing with an expression on his face that seemed troubled but at the same time happy.
'It's good to see that you healed sufficiently.' Dumbledore said with relief in his voice.
'What was it that they used on me?' Harry asked rubbing his eyes and feeling salve on the lids. 'Was it something to do with this new, Ways of the Old?'
'Indeed it was.' He told Harry with a sad and troubled look in his eyes. 'Let me tell you what has been passed on to me… But where to start?'
'The beginning.' Harry mused sarcastically.
'Yes, I suppose I should.' Dumbledore whispered while sitting down clearly making himself ready for a long talk. Harry followed suite and seated himself on his bed, folding his legs beneath him.
'In a community of not many people, between magical and non-magical there was peace. They had lived in harmony for as long as they could remember. Non-magical people had the imagination while magical people made whatever the muggles told them to. Wizards and Muggles were co-operating peacefully without any troubles. They simply accepted one another for who they were and what they could or could not do.
It went like this for some time, all the while the community grew. Some time later when there was about twenty thousand people one couple decided to go on a pilgrimage that eventually destroyed them. The two lovers were known throughout the community and the people looked up to them. They went on their journey with one plan in their head, to explore the world. But when they came back they were different people, they were bloodthirsty and hated everything non-magical. The kings, yes they had two, believed that something, something evil, possessed them or convinced them to something other than what they were brought up to be. The walked into the gates and killed two muggles with a spell so sick and disgusting that children fell into a psychological illness who witnessed it. The thing gave them power so strong that all of them felt it. But it was not power they were used to… This power was evil. The king came and tried to reason with them but they tortured him with the very same spell Bellatrix hit you with.
All of this happened in the town square and people came out of their houses because of the disturbance. The fallen king stood up after the curse was lifted and asked for a moment to consider their proposal, to kill all the muggles. He walked over to the muggle king and whispered one thing in his ear "We fight, or die trying, to vanquish this evil." When both kings pulled out their weapons, one a sword and the other a wand they called out to the community to finish their job if they died. People lived to the age of six hundred easily in those times and when the kings' wives and family stood behind them, the whole community gathered their arms and went to meet their eventual death.
All of the children who could fight joined their kings except four friends, about the same age as you are. The two boys were friends since birth and grew up together. They told one another everything and would have gladly paid with their lives if the other were in danger. There where two friends, girls, who shared an equally strong friendship and eventually they became friends with the two boys. One of the girls fell in love with one of the boys and their friends fell in love with one another not long after that. These four friends were known by most of the community but none noticed that they were the strongest there. The two girls were Muggles but they could fight like no one had ever seen. They started the Martial Arts and could do all of the forms you could find in a book today. The boys were wizards. They too were strong, stronger that anyone could have imagined possible at that time. They talked to one another and decided to flee. Sure they could have stood their ground and fought but they were wise as they were strong.
The battle went on for three days straight, not once stopping and eventually the people left over died of exhaustion. The evil couple looked over at all of the bodies, some had started to stink, and walked out of the town walls not even a trace of sweat on their faces after three days of fighting, non stop.
The couple dominated the other communities but eventually met their downfall when they placed those two girls under the Fidelis Dolor curse. That battle between the four friends and the evil couple went on for weeks. Neither side backed down, not once to rest or to drink even a sip of water. Some people knew that they were given power by the very entities of good and evil while others simply couldn't grasp the concept of fighting for days, not even mentioning weeks.
The witnesses to the fight couldn't help them; they were forced back by the friends. The friends didn't want anyone to be killed anymore. The two girls died first, and then the boys killed themselves, sending all of their good magic towards the evil couple. The two powers cancelled each other out and that was the end of the four friends who sacrificed themselves in order to rid the world of evil. The people performed a charm that would encircle the world and remove all knowledge of how to perform the evil spells and place it in a small bottle that could contain thought. They hid it has been lost ever since...until now.'
When Dumbledore was finished with his tale Harry couldn't move an inch. Something nagged at the edge of his mind though and Dumbledore seemed to read his mind.
'A dairy was written by the four friends and it was passed on to fighters of the light. There were three spells. Firstly the Heart shattering curse. It sucks all of your blood into your heart and then blows up. Then the Fidelis Dolor curse, pain as you experienced and then lastly the Pain of the mind curse, it puts your mind into such pain, despair and depression that the victim complies to anything the caster tells them to do. The killing curse, Crucatias curse and Imperious curse in their original forms. The wizards designed the spells for good, killing murderers or torturing information from them. The spells were eventually used for bad and the original spells seemed lost.'
'And now Voldemort found it with a resolve to kill all at will.' Harry concluded silently
'That indeed is correct.' Dumbledore said 'We must do all we can or the world will change into something I cannot even think about.'
'I somehow knew that this would come.' Harry said with new resolve 'I will fight and defeat Voldemort.'
'Harry, I don't want a repetition of what happened to the four friends.' Dumbledore told him seriously
'Don't worry sir. I don't plan to get killed nor do I plan to let any of my friends die.' Harry promised his Headmaster
Dumbledore gave a small smile and said 'Somehow I believe you Harry, as strange as it might sound, but I believe you. Everyone has had a rather busy night…'
Later that day, after Dumbledore filled Harry in on all of the happenings including Fudge, Harry found himself in the shower thinking all of it through. With the hot water spraying him clean and the new knowledge, he had he made a mental list of things he needed to do.
After he washed, he promised himself that no matter what, he would still enjoy the small things in life. He thought about the stupid minister of magic and decided that he would arrange the date for his hearing. He wasn't troubled though, he had some things he wanted to say and in one shot give him a clean record while making a proposal to help them all in this war.
He dried himself and wrote replies to the letters from his friends (Dumbledore gave them to Harry), reassuring them that no lasting damage was done and declining the visit to number twelve Grimmauld place. He wanted to use the remainder of summer to spend time with his new friends and to train in martial arts.
Later that day he went down to find everything restored back to normal. All of the people gone and the Dursleys' memory modified. He ate his lunch quickly and went back to his room to find Hedwig, with a note attached to her leg sitting on his bed. He untied the note and saw that it was written in normal paper and pen meaning that it could only come from one of two people.
Dear Harry
Hopefully you had made a full recovery and are doing fine.
If you can, come around at eight for dinner. There are also some things that we need to discuss.
Xilion & Tasha
At seven thirty Harry pulled on his trainers and went out of his door only to walk straight into Dudley.
'Hu, wa?' Dudley mumbled while Harry backed up a bit.
'Sorry.' Harry mumbled sheepishly, not knowing what else to say.
'Mummy?' Dudley asked strangely 'You look like Harry today.'
'Dudley, I am Harry.' He didn't know what was wrong with Dudley but he suspected it had something to do with his memory being modified.
'O, yeah right, I remember now.' Dudley said cheerfully, looking like a pig that had just gotten enough food for a whole year.
Harry didn't waste any more time with his, now delusional, cousin and he slipped past Dudley and trotted down the stairs to find his Aunt and Uncle talking to one another but referring to different people. It looked like each one was making his own conversation that reminded Harry a lot of Lockhart. He walked out of the door smiling slightly to him self thinking that they had had it coming for a long time.
When he finally reached the Cordeur's house he knocked once and waited patiently. Tasha opened the door and smiled at him beckoning for him to come inside. Harry walked in and looked at Xilion standing with a huge grin on his face.
'How about that.' Xilion said 'The first time that we actually see magic it was something that most wizards and witches hadn't seen in their entire lives.'
'I saw a half giant the first time.' Harry laughed along 'Maybe everybody sees something rare the first time.'
'Come on lets eat.' Tasha moaned.
They walked into the dining room where a roasted chicken was waiting on a plate with some fresh veggies and rice. When they finally finished their meal sharing small talk about Xilion's training, Tasha stood up and went to a pile of books in a corner.
'These books will help you.' She told him 'But don't for one second think if you read all of them you can do martial arts.'
'That much I have gathered.' Harry replied dryly. 'But thanks, I'll have them done tomorrow or maybe a bit later.'
Xilion burst out laughing while saying 'Seriously Harry, it seven books.'
Harry smiled and told them with a secretive look 'I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Wait and see.'
'Whatever you say, come by tomorrow at eight and we'll test you a bit.' Tasha said.
As soon as Harry was in his room he made himself comfortable and started the spell. It was some time after four in the morning that Harry finished with all of them, and to say that he was tired would be to call a dragon, an irritating fly. He didn't even try to fend off Osiris', who was sending small balls of flames towards Hedwig, and fell asleep immediately.
It was already three in the afternoon when Harry finally woke up with a start, his body completely covered in sweat. He had a dream where all of the people he killed haunted him while his parents, Sirius and Cedric told him he was becoming exactly like Voldemort. A dream he some how knew would stalk him, like a panther looking for prey.
He went to the shower, desperate to wash himself clean of the thoughts that contaminated him like a virus. He scrubbed himself for what felt like hours but he still felt dirty, his skin was starting to turn red from the sponge that eventually fell apart into small pieces. All of the memories, the things his parents and Sirius said to him clouded his mind like a dense black smoke, the people he killed crying and telling him that they were innocent and the hopelessness of trying to wash it off, it was all too much.
He slumped to the ground, the water still spraying, shaking his head, trying desperately to shake off all the memories but it was hopeless. They kept replaying themselves in his head, tearing him apart from the inside. At that moment the first tears were shed for the people Harry killed.
No matter how evil they where he still felt like a rotten murderer. They had family, you know how hard it is to loose family! They had loved ones! How could he do something like that, become one of them. The thoughts were too much, he felt like all of his power was gone. The very act of breathing was too much, moving a muscle felt like trying to move a mountain. They only thing that seemed to function were his tear glands.
Why did they have to attack us? Why! His mind would scream out in hollow sounds If they left us they could have lived. Why? How could I kill them?
He didn't know how long he was in the shower but eventually when it became dark again he dressed without knowing what he pulled on but only his instinct telling him to cover himself. He walked to the Cordeur's house without much incident, except the thoughts of his dream.
'Harry, what's wrong with you?' Xilion asked worriedly as he opened the door.
He immediately pulled Harry inside and sat him down on the nearest chair.
'Tasha! Come here' He screamed 'Harry, talk, say something.'
'How could I do it?' Harry's voice whispered 'They had family, people loved them and now their gone because of me.'
Tasha came in at the same moment that Harry started to talk but she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight. He looked almost dead, his eyes sunk deep into his skull, looking like they didn't want to see anymore. His skin pale and moist from sweat and a terrible look on his face. It was a look she recognised as one of pure self-loathing, hatred for the very being that made a person unique.
'Harry, remember this.' She said gently, lifting his chin with her hands. His normal green eyes that told everyone he wielded power beyond imagination were gone. His eyes were not the same green, no, this green was nauseating and it would make the most cheerful person remember the worst in all off their lives. He's eyes told everyone that this person hated himself for something that should make him stronger, a better person, not because he killed but because he protected even if his own sanity was at stake.
'The burden would never be placed onto someone that couldn't take it. Never.'
'Come here.' Xilion whispered gently, while leading Harry towards the spare room. 'Sleep here tonight.'
As he lay Harry down on the bed Tasha gave him a small needle, giving him a small nod.
'Sleep Harry and forget about the evil in you.' She told him 'we, the warriors, have to face this everyday but it can be controlled. Believe in yourself and dream wonderful but true dreams. Only The Strong have this placed upon them, but we can handle it. Only if we go down can we stand up again. You'll Be a stronger and better person after this but remember that nothing will be placed onto you if you couldn't handle it.'
She looked at Xilion and nodded again.
'Sleep now Harry.'
Xilion looked at Harry's vacant eyes again but he could see the words was starting to sink in and with an encouraging smile towards Harry, he pricked the skin near Harry's main artery in his neck with the needle and watched as the ancient Martial Artist Remedy took effect and whisked Harry away to a blissful place in his own mind, to sort out all of his troubles.
