Disclaimer: It's not mine!
Warnings: No Slash Yet!
Author's Note: This chapter is just adding on to the plot that will probably become very complex. As I've repeated over and over again, REVIEW ME! Tell what you think and what you like; or, what you don't like. I don't mind criticism. If you have any ideas, tell me!
All those who reviewed my last chapter, I LOVE YOU! HUGS AND KISSES FOR ALL!
Someone asked me a very good question in a review but I accidentally depleted the email, but the question was why did the one Draco loves (or his "mate") have to suffer. I thought it was a good question and I'll be answering it in later chapters. Also, as requisted, I'll try to add more dialogue in each chapter. This story thing is still new to me, so please be patient with me, even when I'm writing like a maniac.
Chapter Four
Two-Way Mirrors and Wards
As Severus was helping Draco in his escape of the dungeons, the Dark Lord 's meeting was progressing. Or rather, the meeting would have been progressing if one of the participants wasn't late.
The meeting room was similar to all of the circular stone dungeon rooms, dark and smelly. In the room, more than fifteen Death Eaters were standing in a semi-circle, facing the front of the room where a small stone platform was raised for Voldemort. In his black marble carved throne, the Dark Lord sat impatiently, in his blood red robes.
"Where is he! I hate being kept waiting!" shouted the Dark Lord angrily, spittle flying out of his thin mouth. All the occupants in the room to jumped in fear. "You," he pointed at one of his Death Eaters, "go find the fool!"
"Yes, my Lord." The Dark Eater said as he practically ran out of the room.
Pansy, who was standing next to her father's throne, looked at him annoyingly. "I don't know why you depend on that worthless rat, father. He's absolutely useless. We have these meetings every five years, and he's always late. Why don't you just kill him?" the ugly pug-faced girl sneered.
"Because girl, he's the only spy we have in Greenwood!" the Dark Lord snapped exasperatedly.
"I don't trust him father. If he can betray those who've raised him, who's to say he won't deceive us!" she shrieked.
Voldemort sneered at his hideous offspring. "He's too much of a sniveling coward to betray me."
At that moment the dungeon door opened, admitting two people into the room, the Death Eater and a chubby man who was sweating profusely. The man was a balding rat-faced imbecile, with a pointy nose and two pointy front teeth. He kneeled before the Dark Lord.
"Where were you Wormtail? You know how I hate to be kept waiting," the Dark Lord said calmly, looking at the frightened man with narrowed red eyes.
"I-I'm sorry my Lord, it was harder to escape Greenwood without c-catching the attention of the wizard," Wormtail stammered.
"What news have you brought me today? Is that meddling fool Dumbledore planning something?" asked Voldemort.
"Y-yes my Lord."
"Well, spit it out you piece of filth!" Pansy shrieked.
Wormtail jumped, frightened. "I've found out from one of the elves that the wizard is planning on warding Greenwood to keep out unwanted trespassers."
"Do you know when he's planning on warding Greenwood?" asked the Dark Lord.
"N-no my Lord. All I know is that he is planning on doing it soon," answered Wormtail nervously.
"What of the elven king? Has he confided in you any of his plans?"
"He has not mentioned anything to me my Lord," Wormtail answered quietly.
"You're utterly useless!" Voldemort bellowed, once again causing everyone in the room to flinch with fright.
Pansy looked at her father in delight. "Can't we kill him daddy! Please!"
"N-no my Lord!" Wormtail cried looked at the Dark Lord in utter fear. "I've brought you a gift to make up for the lack of information I've brought you."
"A gift?" Voldemort answered looking at the pathetic fat man with an intriguing gaze.
"Yes, my Lord, a gift pertaining to the queen of the elves."
"Lillian," the Dark Lord rasped, his eyes clouding in lust. Voldemort had never wanted anything so desperately as he wanted her. His thoughts were consumed with fantasies of her; he was completely infatuated with the queen. He promised himself time and time again that he would possess her. "How is the lovely queen faring, Wormtail?" purred Voldemort, causing several of his Death Eaters to cringe in disgust.
"You can see for yourself my Lord." Wormtail pulled out a sterling silver hand mirror from his robe pocket. Standing up slowly, he walked carefully to the Dark Lord's marble throne, and handed him the mirror. "It's a two-way mirror with some changes charmed to it. I got one of the wizards from Hogsmeade to make the corrections to the mirror."
"What sort of corrections?" asked Pansy, looking at the mirrors warily.
She didn't trust Wormtail; he was too sneaky and a bit too secretive. Pansy knew he was a coward who was terribly afraid of her father but that didn't mean that she didn't think he could betray them. If it was so easy to betray the elves, who had taken Wormtail in and treated him like family, who's to say that he wouldn't betray the dark? Pansy knew the fiend was hiding something big but she could never figure out what.
Wormtail looked at the Dark Lord as he answered Pansy's question: "You'll be able to look at the queen all you want and she'll never know. She has a mirror identical to this; I gave it to her after my trip to Hogsmeade. If you want to see her, all you have to do is say her name, and if she's looking at the mirror at that moment, her reflection will appear."
Voldemort turned to Wormtail with a wicked smile on his skeletal face, showing his lack of teeth. "You've done well Wormtail! I'll see that you're rewarded properly for such a useful gift." He said as he traced the mirror with his bony white fingers.
Wormtail turned to Pansy with a smirk. "No need to reward me my Lord. Serving you is reward enough," he said magnanimously, causing Pansy to scowl darkly at him. "Why don't you try the mirror now, to see if it works," Wormtail said, (knowing full well that the damned mirror worked) as he continued you look at Pansy arrogantly as if he was royalty.
Voldemort held the mirror to his hideous face and said the words to activate it: "Queen Lillian of Greenwood!"
Pansy stood closer behind her father to get a good look into the mirror.
What poor idiotic Wormtail didn't realize was that Lily gave the mirror to her son whom Wormtail told the Dark Lord nothing about. And at that moment, Harry was looking into the other mirror after his uncle had handed it to him.
Through the mirror, Pansy and Voldemort could see a young elf with startling emerald green eyes, and shiny curly black hair. Though his face was contorted into a grimace as he looked at his reflection, it was still a marvelous face. The evil duo looked at him transfixed.
"Wormtail," the Dark Lord said in a breathy voice, "who is this boy?"
Wormtail faltered. "Boy, my Lord? " he asked carefully.
"Yes, who's the boy?" Pansy repeated the question in an equally breathy voice, as she stared unblinkingly at his fine reflection.
The rat-faced idiot walked slowly to his Lord's throne to look in the mirror. He gasped and cursed his luck. Now the Dark Lord would find out about the prince. Because it was absolutely impossible to lie to the Dark Lord, who seemed to be able to read minds, Wormtail knew he had to tell the truth, or a part of the truth. Wormtail was going to be killed for this.
"Uh….h-he's the prince of Greenwood?" he answered, making the declaration sound more as a question so that it would seem he knew nothing about Harry. It didn't work.
Pansy snapped out of her stupor. "Now I recognize that face. He's the son of Lily and James!" Pansy rounded on the cowering Wormtail. "You knew they had a son and you never told my father! You insolent whelp! You'll be killed for this!" she screamed.
Wormtail was petrified; he fell on his knees pitifully and repeatedly kissed the hem of his Lord;s robes. "I'm sorry my Lord! Please forgive your most loyal servant!" he cried, with real tears pouring out of his beady brown eyes.
Pansy turned to her father, "Can we kill him now daddy? Daddy? Father! Father, are you even listening to me!" she whined.
The Dark Lord wasn't listening at all. The pretty boy fascinated him; he found he was enraptured. At the sight of him, all thoughts of Lily left his mind; Lily couldn't compare to the boy, who was as beautiful as a dream. His loins were on fire at the sight of the boy and his eyes glazed wickedly. His bony hands began to shake slightly and sweat at the palms. He wanted, needed, to be in possession of the boy. He'd have him and make sure no one every saw him again.
It was at that moment that whatever sanity the Dark Lord possessed fled from his mind. Reason escaped him. He was dangerously fixated. He wouldn't rest until he had him.
Not having listened to the earlier discussion, Dark Lord finally spoke. "Who is the boy?" he asked again.
Pansy looked at her father incredulously, "He's the son of Lily and James. I thought you said you cursed the elf into sterility! How was it possible for her to conceive?"
Voldemort was too far gone to answer her question. He turned to Wormtail, his eyes slightly unfocused. "You said that Dumbledore was planning on putting wards around the forest of Greenwood soon, did you not?"
Wormtail stared at his master, wondering if he should he happy he wasn't punished or worried about the punishment that was about to come. "Y-yes my Lord. He'll probably be adding them within a few days."
The Dark Lord stood up abruptly, once again startling everyone in the room, shouting orders "Avery, Dolohov, Nott, Pansy, I want you to get pack up and retrieve the fastest thestrals we have. Wormtail, you will go with them. You must enter the forest of Greenwood before that fool puts up the wards or you'll never find the damned place."
"Greenwood, my father?" Pansy asked curiously
"You go there and retrieve the prince immediately and bring him to me! Use one of the elven prisoners, if you must, to find your way around Greenwood but don't return here until you've got him! If you fail I'll kill you all!" he roared. Once again, the Death Eaters flinched and recoiled at their master's temper.
Wormtail looked at Voldemort with wide eyes. He hadn't told the Dark Lord about the boy for a reason- he wanted the prince for himself. He had tried several times to take Harry, but all his plans always failed….
His first attempt was when the boy was about seven and his mother left him playing alone. He would have gotten to the borders of Greenwood, but Dumbledore stopped him. He tried again when the boy was about ten. He had even recruited some refugee vampires to help him, but he failed again. And now the Dark Lord was trying to steal the boy from him. He wasn't going to allow that. He wanted the young prince for himself.
"My Lord, you don't want him. He's just a whiny brat princling. Why don't you let me find a way to capture Lily and you can have her back…..?"
Voldemort's angry red eyes flashed at Wormtail. He grabbed the round man be his black robed collar and brought their faces only a few inches apart; the Dark Lord breathed his foul breath in his follower's face. "If you don't retrieve that boy for me, you'll wish you'd never been born," he hissed harshly at Wormtail, causing the man to splutter a bit.
"Y-yes m-my Lord."
At that moment a rather fat Death Eater, either Crabbe or Goyle, interpreted the meeting. "My Lord, Prince Draco is dead!"
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It was evening and the sun was just setting on the horizon. The forest was unusually quiet during this time of the day, except for the wind rustling in the trees, the birds chirping, and the hooves of two horses hitting the soft ground. The two riders rode in easy silence, each looking at the landscape they were riding past, both wearing silver colored robes to camouflage themselves in the silvery trees.
They were riding further away from the palace of the elves but the elven lamps were still placed on many of the trees they passed. The forest began to get less dense; they were getting closer to the border of Greenwood.
"I'm a little surprised you decided to go along with the warding Harry," Dumbledore said as he looked at his hooded companion. "After that fight with your father, I thought you'd refuse to help."
Harry pulled the hood back from his cloak so that he could look directly into Dumbledore's eyes. "I would have but I realized I can't take my anger towards my father out on all of Greenwood, it wouldn't be fair. Besides, I enjoy being outdoors. It doesn't happen often so I have to enjoy my temporary freedom while it lasts." The prince replied dejectedly.
Dumbledore looked at him sadly. "I, too, wish your father would stop trying to hide you from the world. But he only wants what he thinks is best for you. Though it is most unfortunate. The light could really use a magical elf like you on the battlefields," Dumbledore said with a wink, causing Harry to smile slightly at him.
The two drifted off in silence again, though the prince's mind was anything but silent. Harry had been curious about what Sirius had told him about his birthing. He knew he couldn't ask his parents; they'd never tell him the full truth because they never did. He figured that it would be best if he'd ask Dumbledore. The wizard had always been honest with him, even when his parents weren't.
"Professor," Harry started slowly, "Sirius told me that my mother was cursed by Voldemort and that you were able to perform a counter curse. Is that true?"
Dumbledore looked at Harry a bit startled; he wasn't expecting the boy to ask him that. "Yes Harry, it is true. I owed your parents a great deal for helping with this war. It took a lot of magical energy, but it all turned out for the best," he said kindly, looking at Harry.
"How is that even possible? Curses that cause infertility and the like usually can't be reversed unless it's by the original caster."
"I see Sirius didn't tell you the whole story." Harry looked at him curiously, waiting for his teacher to continue. "My wand wasn't powerful enough to perform the counter curse. I had to use another's wand."
"Another's wand? It's usually more difficult to perform magic with a wand other than your own, especially when casting a counter curse."
"Yes Harry, that is true, but it depends on whose wand you're using. After the battle that took place in this forest, the only thing left of my father's was his wand."
Harry stared wide-eyed at Dumbledore, "You used the wand of Godric Gryffindor to undo the curse." The prince received a nod of affirmation from his companion. "I thought everything of his was lost in the war at Greenwood?"
"Everything was lost except his wand and sword. Though, I do not have his sword." Dumbledore said sadly, shaking his head remorsefully.
"Do you know where his sword is?"
"Before I could stop him, Voldemort took it and fled the battlefield."
"Professor," Harry started guardedly, "do you know what happened to Godric and Salazar?"
Dumbledore sighed unhappily, "No one is sure what happened. But I can only assume that they transferred their magic to their weapons they were holding at the time. I know that my father's sword was the most magical object he possessed. Though, I'm not entirely sure about Salazar's axe."
Harry looked at his teacher in horror. "If that's true and Voldemort has both weapons, he could use both their powers to defeat us!"
"Theoretically speaking, he could, but it's still most likely impossible," Dumbledore said reasonably. "My father charmed his sword to burn the flesh of the wicked hearted. Voldemort couldn't possibly hold its hilt for long without it burning too painfully. As for Salazar's axe, I'm positive no one could tap the magic from that."
"Why do you say that?"
"Salazar wasn't the type of man to share his power with anyone, including his son. The power from the axe is most likely useless and unattainable to Voldemort."
"Professor, do you think because you used your father's wand to counter the infertility spell, that that's the reason why I've got magical abilities?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore looked into Harry's beautiful face, almost unearthly beautiful. It was even more beautiful then a veela's. There was only one person who had such a beautiful appearance, and that was Godric Gryffindor. Whatever happened when Dumbledore casted the counter curse on Lillian, it effected Harry physically and magically.
"Elves are not able to perform hand magic as a wizard does, except yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that Godric's wand affected you by enhancing your magical ability. Though, your magic is still a bit different from a normal wizard's."
And that was very true; Harry's magic was very different then a normal wizard's. Instead of saying a simple incantation and performing a certain wand gesture, Harry's magic only worked when he sang. It was most unusual, but it was very efficient as well as delightful; Harry had a beautiful singing voice. No other voice could should soft yet firm, sweet yet fiery than Harry's. The mere sound of it often caused the listener to go into a dream-like trance.
The horses finally stopped, after meeting the travelers' destination.
There standing before them were the borders of Greenwood. Harry, not realizing what he was doing, sighed sadly as he looked out into the vast green plains, past the forest. He wished, as he had often wished before, that he could leave this place and travel to unknown places. One day he would….
Harry gracefully dismounted from his pure white horse, Tevildo, as Dumbledore descended from his palomino, Dusty.
The prince was so fascinated with the outside lands that he never realized Dumbledore calling his name.
Placing his hand on the elf's shoulder the wizard tried to get his attention for the third time, "Harry, my boy, are you ready to perform the warding?" he asked calmly.
Harry jumped slightly at the hand on his shoulder and looked at Dumbledore with startled wide eyes.
After calming his excited nerves, he turned to his teacher and friend.
"Yes professor, I think I'm ready," Harry answered firmly.
The professor smiled widely at his pupil. "Alright then lad. Remember what I told you. The procedure for putting up wards is simple- just stay calm and clear you mind. Then, cast the spell."
Harry nodded firmly and took several calming breaths; he hated to admit it, but he was a little worried he'd mess up the spell. He didn't want to make his father disappointed in him-again. Not to mention the fact that the lives of the inhabitants of Greenwood were depending on him.
He took a few steps toward the boundary of the trees as he began to recall the words of the spell.
"Do you remember the words child?" Dumbledore asked quietly, not wanting to disturb Harry's peaceful position.
"Yes sir," the prince answered firmly.
"Then you may begin when you're ready," the wizard said with an encouraging smile.
Harry's soft voice soon cut through the quiet of the forest with his song. As he sang, he felt the magic within him push out of his body and wrap around the trees in Greenwood.
His lovely voice could be heard by all the inhabitants of Greenwood, sending pleasant tingles down their spines as they were wrapped around the elven prince's magic. Chills ran down their spines as his words echoed in their minds, soothing their spirits, putting many in a pleasant dream induced sleep.
"May meus immortalis lux lucis beatus is terra
Servo totus commorantes, servo lemmatutus
Extrinsecus atrum
May meus veneficus emanio per nemus
Servo sicco malum quod peius mos
Ut lurks foris is locus
Ut a parentis servo suus parvulus
May meus diligo of silva servo totus
Ut habito intus tutela of nemus" (AN:1)
The prince's magic spread throughout the borders of the forest, creating a translucent silvery cloud around the boundaries, allowing no one to enter or pass without the knowledge of the goodly elven prince.
Dumbledore snapped out of his daze after the prince stopped his song and beamed at Harry proudly. "Very good, my boy, very good. You did everything perfectly!"
Harry smiled at his teacher, "Thank you sir. I'm just glad I did everything right. I'd hate for someone to trespass into Greenwood unwanted- again."
The wizard clapped Harry softly on the back and smiled down at him. "No need to worry about that son; you've done marvelously. Your father will be very proud." Dumbledore looked at the setting son and turned to Harry again, "Well, we've come and completed our task. I think we'd better get back to the palace before your parents get worried."
The grin on Harry's face was soon replaced bad an unhappy frown. "Couldn't we stay out here for a bit longer sir. I'm never allowed outside this late and I miss being out in the woods. Please!" Harry pleaded sorrowfully.
No elf should be forced to stay indoors; it was unnatural to Dumbledore. The wizard looked at Harry with sad yet understanding eyes. "One day, your father will let you cast your own stones….."
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GUESS WHAT? THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE ONE YOU'RE PROBABLY ALL WAITING FOR. GUESS WHO'S GOING TO COME STUMBLING INTO GREENWOOD!
IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, YOU BETTER REVIEW!
AN 1: Harry's spell was in Latin and it roughly translates as
May my immortal light bless this land
Protect all the inhabitants, keep them safe
From the outside dark.
May my magic spread through the trees
Keep out the evil and ill will
That lurks outside this place
As a parent protects his child
May my love of this place protect all
That dwell within the protection of the trees.