Chapter Thirty-Two: The Monk

"Hmm…?" mumbled the stranger as he looked up at Harry.

Harry continued to watch the stranger in shock and fear.

"No, young one, I am not your departed father. I simply chose to take on a form that you would recognize," whispered the stranger.

"Change, now… please," whispered Harry as his voice broke and tears welled up in his eyes.

"As you desire," said the stranger suddenly looked as if his body was imploding. Seconds later, he looked like a small man wearing orange robes.

"Who are you, how did you get here, and what do you want?" asked Harry lethally.

"I… am known as the Monk. It is my job to train certain young people, such as you, in their respective fields. If you knew the number of pupils that I've taught or their identity, I am sure that you would be honored. However, you have been kept in the dark all your life. I seek to change that. As to how I got here, the answer is simple: as I am not human, I cannot be blocked from any place on this earth. I am a being beyond that of a human. In a few dozen millennia, wizard kind would still be light-years from achieving this level of evolution. I believe that the answer to your question pertaining to my desires here is simple," said the Monk, "I only wish to look at my pupil."

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, "I'm not now, nor will I ever be, a pupil of yours."

"I see in your eyes that you wish it were so. You do not wish to have any more attention drawn upon you about your hidden power. Unfortunately, that is something that you must come to grips with," said the Monk, "As much as you try to hide it, you are special and I can tell that you want me to teach you. It's buried deep, just about your power. You may not be my pupil now but you will be."

"What makes you think that I'll live that long?" asked Harry, "If you didn't know, I have a murderous, raving lunatic after me who will not stop until I kill him. I find it unlikely that I'll have time to take lessons from you."

The man walked up to Harry and placed his hand on Harry's third eye, right in the middle of his forehead, causing Harry to close his eyes.

"I know that I will have time to teach you as there is a power inside you that has never graced a human before. Of course, I don't think you are human, not fully at least. There may come a time when you pass it on to your son but we shall see," said the Monk as Harry stand and listen, astounded.

As Harry listened to him, he felt a vast amount of emotions filling him at once.

'Was this the real reason my parent's died for me?'

"I will teach you to control this power, once it has been unlocked and I will be there when it happens. Your power will help you on your journey, for there will be many more quests when you have completed your first," said the Monk quietly and comfortingly.

"What quest?" asked Harry, still astounded as to the Monk's knowledge, "What are you talking about?"

"The quest I speak of that in which you will defeat the current Dark Lord," said the Monk, "The future quests will be to vanquish any evil that should arise over the next few centuries."

"What-" said Harry as the last words sank in and opened his eyes.

Harry looked around the room but found that the mysterious Monk had left. He extinguished and climbed into his bed, utterly confused. After debating with himself for a while about whether or not he had been hallucinating, Harry fell asleep. The next morning, he found his answer. When Harry reached for his glasses, he found a note.

Pupil,

I am very happy to see that you have been increasing your power and finding slight control over it. When you have finished your training, you will be able to wield it like a butter knife. I have taught many since the beginning of time and none have been as advanced as you. At your current level, you rival many when they finished. Their power shall pale in comparison with yours. I look forward to your training. At the foot of this bed is a plant. Care for it until it comes time for your training. Think of it as a test. To make it grow, you must use your buried power. It will not die. However, it will not grow, either, unless you care for it. I expect it to be fully matured when it comes time for your training. I leave you with a warning: your transformation will be painful but will help to unlock your soul. It will be unlike anything you have ever felt but will make you stand apart from your peers. Watch for the one who will share your power,

M.

"A plant? As a test? All those hours in Aunt Petunia's garden should pay off well," said Harry aloud, "'the one who will share my power?' Wonder what that means?"

Harry looked at the end of his bed and saw a six inch brown plant in a small pot. Its leaves were withered.

'Great, another project, just what I need. Why does everything happen to me?'

Harry brought the plant to the kitchen and conjured a glass of water. He poured the water onto soil. The leaves seemed to lift in gratitude but fell immediately. Hoping that he might find a book on it later, Harry took it to a window so that it would get some sun. He then began to fry some eggs for himself and Blaise.

As he began to ponder his visit, Blaise walked into the kitchen.

"I hope you like your eggs fried," said Harry.

"Is that not the only way to have them?" asked Blaise as Harry marveled at his ability to speak every individual word in a sentence without combining them. (A/N: For clarification, I mean this: will and not—won't.)

"I see what you mean," laughed Harry, "How was your meditation?"

"It was calming," replied Blaise simply as Harry handed him a plate of eggs, "That plant looks ghastly."

"Yeah, it's seen better days, that's for sure," said Harry as he began to eat.

Harry spent the morning researching his new plant, leaving Blaise to think by himself. Harry found that there was little information on his plant. He was able to find its name, Sim Socom. He also found that it was rare as wizards had almost forced it into extinction by over harvesting it. The leaves could be used in powerful healing potions.

'Great, this can only mean one thing: I can't get help with raising it.'

As Harry walked out into the den while flipping through the pages, Harry could tell that Dean, Seamus, and Blaise were all in the room.

"Hey, guys," said Harry as he sat down.

"Harry, you do know that there's a Slytherin in your den, right?" asked Seamus.

"What about him?" asked Harry as he looked up and saw that Dean and Seamus had their wands pointed at Blaise, "Put your wands down."

"How do you know he won't attack you?" asked Dean.

"Blaise is too… what's the word? Mannerly, that's it, he's too mannerly to try something like that," said Harry.

"You think so?" asked Blaise as he jumped up and whipped out his wand.

Harry turned his attention at the Slytherin and just stared.

"You are right," said Blaise as he replaced his wand, "I could not attack one who has shown me such undeserving hospitality."

"See what I mean?" asked Harry, "Just give him a chance, he's a good guy."

Harry introduced them and had them talk. After a half an hour, the duo began to warm up to Blaise. Dean began to try to teach the boys how to play football, or American soccer. He found that they were reluctant to learn.

"This would be better if we could fly," said Harry.

Having proved to be a good suggestion, Harry conjured up a few levitating goals. The boys played soccer while flying for a few hours, Dean and Seamus versus Harry and Blaise. Harry and Blaise proved to be an overwhelming team as they trampled their opponents. After the game, Harry went into the kitchen and began dinner. Soon, the others flocked in when the smell wafted to them.

"Harry, mate, I can't stay for Christmas. I'm leaving in a few days. My parents want to go on a vacation to Africa until the end of the break," said Dean.

"I can't stay either, my entire extended family from Scotland are going to be visiting. It's a family tradition. This year, I won't have to worry about my cousin Scott beating me at our annual duel," said Seamus as he reveled in all that he'd learned.

"That's all right, I won't be completely alone," said Harry.

After dinner, Blaise excused himself to meditate and sleep.

"Harry is he all there?" asked Dean, "You know, in the head?"

"Yeah, he's just a quiet kid with a lot on his mind," said Harry.

Harry stayed up later than the others to talk to Ron.

'Hey, Ron, are you awake?'

'Yeah, mate, I won't be asleep for a while still.'

'That's surprising. I think you hold the world record for falling asleep the fastest.'

'Quiet down, you git. What do you need?'

'What are you planning on getting Hermione?'

'I'm not sure, I was thinking an owl.'

'How about this, you get the cage, I'll get the owl.'

'Why do you get to get her the owl?'

'I get to get the owl because I can keep it a secret. If you got it, the secret would get blown, one way or another.'

'True. So, how big should the cage be?'

'I was thinking of getting her a barn owl.'

'That's perfect. Okay, I'm getting tired so I'll see you later.'

'Night.'

Harry went to sleep quickly. He dreamt about the Monk. He saw what appeared to be the Monk's home. It reminded him of Hagrid's hut.