The new chap should be out a lot faster then this one since I've got a lot more time on my hands. It's already been written, I just need to send it off to my NEW BETA for editing. With that, I give much thanks to my new beta, Nancy in Chicago. Thankyou Nancy, you're an absolute gem!
Well enough of all that, Responses to Reviews are at the bottom of the chapter. Have fun and enjoy!
The Emerald Dawn
Chapter Three
Petunia's Story
Remus Lupin watched as Dumbledore sat down shakily at the head of the table. "Are you certain he is gone?" the old man asked.
Alastar Moody nodded grimly. "Yes Albus. Potter is gone. We searched the whole property and questioned the Muggles. Dursley got home from work four nights ago and found his wife and nephew missing. He contacted the police as well. They haven't found any trace of them yet."
Remus felt despair well up inside his chest. Harry.
The three men were sitting in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place along with Severus Snape, and Minerva McGonagall. Even in the warm weather, a fire crackled merrily in the grate of the fireplace. Remus swallowed hard and looked up at Dumbledore who looked to be at a loss for words.
"Is there any evidence of a struggle at all, Alastar?" he finally whispered. Mad-eye shook his head.
"Everything was in perfect order. Dursley even reported that Potter had finished his chores and that some of his wife's clothes were missing, as was a suitcase. It seems as though the wife left the fat prick. Only question is why would she take Potter with her but not her own son?"
"Why indeed . . ." murmured Dumbledore. He stared at the wall for a moment before looking up to meet Moody's good eye. "This cannot be allowed known to the public. Fudge cannot hear of this – he would cause a nationwide panic. Call Kingsley and have him meet with me as soon as possible. We must start a search for young Harry immediately. Have all of Harry's belongings bought here in the meantime. It will not do to have Muggle police searching through a trunk full of spell books and potions."
"Of course Headmaster." Moody paused for a second before reaching into the pocket of his robe and pulling out a vast collection of parchment. "Albus, when we were searching through the boy's room we came up with these."
He placed the papers on the table before the others. Each reached out to take a leaf of it. Remus stared at the page in confusion. Every inch of it was covered in sketching and notes that made little sense to him. Strange symbols covered the pages of the first six sheets. Notes were written haphazardly in corners and margins.
Sand. Desert. Incredible heat – Egypt perhaps?
What does it mean?
It's so familiar – why can't I remember?
Where is it?
Scar hurts, bleeding, the visions keep coming. He's happy. What's made Him so happy?
The temple – the city of stone – why am I seeing this?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Drawings of an ancient city covered yet more pages. The strange symbols were burned onto every page. Newspaper clippings cut out of the Daily Prophet spoke of Voldemort's return and of a few attacks that had occurred in the last few weeks.
The symbols they're a language I'm sure of it – can't find what they mean though.
Ancient, powerful – very old – how do I know this?
Pain. Blood.
Happy – really happy.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
What's happening to me?
The dreams keep coming.
Feels dark – evil is coming.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Dumbledore was staring at the last page. Two great eyes stared back up at him. They expressed such hatred and malevolence that the old man looked physically disturbed by it and set it back down on the table.
Moody sat down in the empty chair in front of him and sighed. "That's only some of it – the kid has notebooks full of it."
Remus put the sheaves of parchment down and looked across the table at his old head of house. Minerva had a hand covering her mouth as she read a page of Harry's ramblings. She swallowed hard in distress and pushed the pages away from her.
"What has happened to him?" she whispered. "He sounds – "
"He's not insane," muttered Snape as he stared at the parchment with wide eyes. Remus looked at him in shock. Snape looked – afraid.
"Not insane." He whispered still staring at the papers. "It all makes sense now. Lily's son – of course. He would be one of the first to sense it . . . the earth has been trembling for over a week. She must be strengthening. . . Merlin save us."
Remus shared a glance with Mad-eye who looked just as out of the loop as he felt. "Severus?" he inquired softly.
His voice seemed to pull the shocked Potions Master from his ramblings. He jerked his head up and met the other man's questioning eyes.
"I must go." He announced standing up quickly and stumbling backwards with none of his usual grace. He grabbed a handful of Harry's sketches and stuffed them inside his robes. "I must see if my suspicion is correct . . . I must make sure." He searched through more of the parchment.
"The Dark Lord is happy – that means . . . oh gods I must warn them – I must prepare. The Light Bearers, the new generation. I must find them before it's too late . . ." he looked up and met Dumbledore's shocked blue eyes. "Headmaster, I will be unreachable for some time – Good day."
Remus watched as he swept out the room. He heard the portrait of Mrs Black begin to wail, as the front door opened and then slammed shut. It was many moments before any of them moved.
Mad-eye prodded the papers suspiciously before growling, "I hope it's not contagious."
o
o
o
Harry awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. He sat gasping for breath in the middle of the large bed, his eyes darting around anxiously, and heart pounding in his chest. The city had loomed before him again last night. Harry didn't know what was so frightening about the dreams but every time he awoke from one, he was left feeling dreadfully afraid and alone.
Harry sighed in frustration and buried his face in his hands. He rubbed his temples trying to ease the pounding headache that had already started. It took him a moment to realise that one of his hands was bandaged. Frowning he stared at it until he remembered the previous night.
"Bollocks." He muttered as he flopped back down into his pillows and closed his eyes tightly. How could he forget? His mad Aunt had kidnapped him and taken him to some strange castle to train to fight a darkness greater then Voldemort ever would be. He already had one Dark Lord too many to deal with! When did he suddenly become the person everyone turned to when there was trouble brewing?
Harry groaned and rubbed his forehead before opening his eyes again. Calithia the Shadow Queen. Armies of dark creatures and immortals. When did life get so complicated? Harry rolled onto his side and looked around the room. The tittering of the birds was muffled by the heavy drapes covering the two windows and the only light in the room came from a crack in them. He became aware of a large trunk next to the bathroom and he frowned. That hadn't been there last night. Had it? Harry slipped out of the warmth of his bed and noticed for the first time that he was only wearing boxers. That meant someone had stripped him last night. He groaned in embarrassment. Merlin, what was he an invalid?
Crossing the room to the trunk, he knelt next to it and ran a hand over the top. It was old but sturdy. It looked like it would last centuries of wear and tear before becoming too shabby and aged to use. A large padlock kept it locked tight. Harry frowned and tugged at the lock half-heartedly. It didn't budge.
He sighed and got to his feet walking over to the window and opening the drapes. Harry squinted as the sunlight filled the room and blinked hard trying to focus in the bright daylight. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked out across the grounds. His lips parted in a soft, "oh," and he stared in awe at the beauty before him.
The castle seemed to be in a valley. Mountains rose to tower over the earth for as far as Harry could see, blocking the horizon. Everything was beautiful and green. His room seemed to be on the fourth floor and it took him a moment to realise that the window was actually a French door leading out to a stone balcony. He turned the handle and opened it, stepping outside into the crisp morning air. The balcony was quite large and flowering vines curled up over the stone balustrade. The air smelled sweet with flower blossoms and Harry gazed out over the rolling lawns and gardens that seemed to stretch on forever. A large lake was to the far right of the view from the balcony, and Harry could see a little jetty reaching out from the sandy shore. The waters were sparkling and water birds were floating across the surface. Harry could make out a black swan swimming in the shallows. His eyes were drawn to a sudden movement not far from the lake and he smiled as he saw several wild horses frolicking beneath the blossoming cherry trees that hung their laden branches over the water, casting pink flowers onto the surface of the lake. Below him, there was a large courtyard containing a fountain with stone benches around it. A jet of water was sprouting into the air from the fountain and rainbows danced through the spray of water in the morning sun. Flowers and trees were everywhere softening the harsh stone of the castle by crawling up the walls and blossoming in beautiful pinks and lilacs, oranges and reds. Harry spied an old stable a few hundred yards away from the courtyard and craned his neck to see if it was in use. His assumptions proved correct when an old groomsman walked out carrying tack over his left shoulder. Everything was wild and beautiful nothing like he would imagine a training facility to be.
"Will Master be having breakfast now sir?" came a squeak from behind him and Harry jumped and spun around to see a small house elf wearing a toga style tea towel. The tiny creature looked absolutely delighted to see him and it was grinning from ear to floppy ear. "Yassie has made blueberry pancakes for masters' and miss' breakfast sir. You is the first young one Yassie has been seeing for long time sir! Yassie has made pancakes and pumpkin juice for young master!" she scrambled back inside and threw open Harry's wardrobe. "Yassie is finding young master something to wear sir! You has very pretty eyes sir if Yassie is not too bold sayings so!"
Harry stepped back inside starring at the house elf in amazement. The cupboard was bare except for the few clothes Harry had bought with him and Yassie frowned at them. "This is not doing well sir." She said and closed the door to the cupboard. She clicked her fingers and the cupboard shook slightly. When next she opened it, the wardrobe was full to the bursting with robes and Muggle clothes. "Much better young Master!" with that she grabbed Harry's arm and bounced into the bathroom dragging Harry with her. Harry saw that a tub filled with water and bubbles. "Young Master bathes now while Yassie cleans sir's room. Yassie will bring sir some clothes when sir is done!" suddenly she grabbed him round the knees in a tight hug and looked up at him with huge eyes shinning with tears. "Yassie is so happy Miss Lily's son is returning to us!" and with that she bounded out the door shutting it behind her.
Harry stood in the bathroom staring at the door in confusion as he scratched his head. What the bloody hell? Shrugging he slipped off his boxers and climbed into the tub. He could hear Yassie in the next room singing to herself as she worked. She was very . . . enthusiastic. Harry thought that would probably be the best word for her.
Fifteen minutes later, he had wrapped a towel around his waist and was turning to go back to his room when he almost tripped over a large pile of clothes with ears. Well that's what it looked like at first glance. The only part of Yassie that Harry could see were her ears, since the pile of clothes she was holding was so large.
"Yassie, you scared me. Here let me help you with that." He took the pile of clothes from her with a smile that faded when he saw that she had tears rolling down her face. "Yassie what's wrong?"
"Young Master is so kind to Yassie even when Yassie scares sir. Yassie is so happy to have young Master at Veridian sir!"
Harry smiled at her. "Thanks Yassie. Er . . . can I get dressed now?"
"Of course young Master, sir! Yassie will wait for young Master outside. Yassie has made blueberry pancakes for breakfast sir. Yassie hopes you like them young Master!"
"I'm sure I will Yassie. Thanks for the clothes."
"Young Master is so kind . . .," she murmured blushing as she left the room. Harry raised an eyebrow in amusement and began dressing.
By the time Yassie had led Harry downstairs for breakfast Harry was starving. He followed the little elf as she led him through the halls to a small-enclosed garden. A long table, big enough for twenty people, laden with food stood in the centre of the courtyard and flowing vines covered the glass roof of the garden. Raif and Petunia sat at the table drinking tea and talking quietly.
Yassie grinned widely when she saw them and dragged Harry forward. "Young Master is here sir and Lady."
Raif smiled. "Thank you Yassie, you can go now." Yassie left with a happy smile. "Harry come sit down. Eat, drink. Yassie's made pancakes."
"Yeah, I heard." Harry smiled and sat down taking the cup of tea that Aunt Petunia gave him. "Thank you."
He reached for the honey on the table but Petunia stopped him. "I've already added some."
Harry blinked in surprise as his Aunt took another bite of her food. Frowning he took an apprehensive sip of his tea and was surprised at the sweet taste. He glanced at his Aunt again as she raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him. "Too sweet?" she asked.
"Er – no. No it's good . . . Thank you."
Raif watched the exchange with a confused frown. Things seemed very strange between Petunia and her nephew. Storing the episode away for further thought he smiled at Harry and folded the Daily Prophet putting it aside. "I thought we could discuss any questions you have before we start you off. How's your hand by the way?" Raif chastised himself for forgetting his young charge's injured hand from the previous night.
Harry shrugged. "It's fine. It'll heal in a few days." He put his teacup down and toyed with the bandage. "I do have a few questions about the other night though."
Raif nodded. "I would have been surprised if you didn't. What would you like to know?"
Harry met the older man's eyes. "Calithia, she's definitely immortal? There is no way to kill her?"
Raif nodded. "Our people have been searching for ways to destroy her for over a thousand years. There is no known way to destroy her. Even when She has been slumbering, we have not stopped our search. I have dedicated my life to finding her weaknesses as hundreds before me have. All without avail, I fear there is no way. It's impossible."
Harry nodded, but his eyes shined with defiance. Raif silently approved. This young man would never stop until he reached his goals. "You mentioned a chest last night. What did you mean by that?"
Raif sipped from his tea before answering. "The Chest of Souls. It came into being the first time Calithia was defeated. The eight clans used their combined strength to tear her stolen powers from her. They were stored inside a chest created for that purpose by the leaders of the clans and hidden away deep in the earth. Calithia searched for it for hundreds of years until she found where it was. The Light Bearers drove her back from it though and found a new hiding place for it. She did not get her hands on it again until twenty years ago when she seized it and took it to her stronghold. Your mother managed to stop her before She could complete the ritual that would restore Her full power. It was a very close thing. Afterwards, Gordon, our mentor from the previous Light Bearers, he took the Chest away and hid it somewhere no one could ever come across. He was the only one to know of its whereabouts and he died shortly after."
"So you don't know where it is?" asked Harry with a frown.
"We have no clue. The only thing Gordon told us was a riddle.
The Chest of Souls lies beyond the horizon of the new dawn
Into the forest where the Oaths of the fathers were sworn.
Blood shall guide you through the place where shadows creep,
Past the dragons lair and into the deep.
The stars will mark the journey and lead you to light,
Where the sun shall shine bright in the darkness of night.
And lead you to the Cavern where lost souls sleep
There you will find what the Shadow Queen seeks.
"We don't know what he meant by it, but he said it would all become clear when we needed to know of the resting place of the Chest."
Harry nodded. "Beyond the horizon of the new dawn . . . Alright. . . I have absolutely no clue."
Raif nodded. "You see our dilemma. Gordon made his clue so that it would only become apparent when there is a need of the utmost importance to find the Chest. Until then all we can do is wait for Calithia to make her move."
Harry sighed. "Why did you pick me?" he asked looking at his Aunt. Her eyes widened slightly but other then that she gave him no sign of alarm at his question. "Why would you bring me here after swearing off magic forever? Why have you never told me of this before?"
Raif watched the exchange with a confused frown. Petunia sighed and placed her teacup back into its saucer carefully. "I never expected you to be called to the Light Bearers so soon child. Harry. Twenty years ago, after we had laid the battle against Calithia aside and continued with our lives . . . you must understand that I lost everything in that war. My entire family, except for Lily, was murdered. Magic had done that. I wanted nothing more then to climb into a hole and stay there. Safe. Protected." Petunia sighed. "Everyone had gone their separate ways. Lily went back to Hogwarts and completed her NEWT's. She dived into a career as an Experimental Spell Crafter at the ministry, excelling in Charm work, and joined the Order of the Phoenix to help in the continuing war against the 'Dark Lord,' Voldemort. She had been seeing your father for some time and it wasn't long before he asked her to marry him. She died not long after her twenty-first birthday.
"Alice began training for a Healers degree at Saint Mungo's University for Magical Medicine, she too joined the Order, and soon married a young Auror named Frank Longbottom. She was tortured into insanity by the Dark Lord's followers along with her husband. She now resides in the hospital she worked in, in the closed ward. They would both be better off dead then in the state of limbo they're in now.
"Severus quickly rose in the ranks as a Potions apprentice becoming a Master by the time he was twenty-one. He became world renowned after inventing several potions that work to battle against the effects of Vampire and Werewolf bites. I believe he now teaches at Dumbledore's school.
"Kate enrolled at the Auror Academy as soon as she left Hogwarts. The moment she was deemed qualified by her instructors she left for Spain on her first solo mission. She was so eager to make a difference in the world, a true free spirit. I believe she was romantically involved with one of your mother's friends before she went missing.
"Jack Peters was a noted seer who scoffed at the inner eye ironically enough. He travelled around the world after Calithia's defeat and was last seen in America before disappearing underground. It's believed he is involved in the Vampire war going on over those parts now. He was a true warrior always looking for a just cause to fight for.
"Cissa quickly married a wealthy young businessman and eagerly settled into the role of beautiful caring wife and loving mother. She is now a busy socialite who is responsible for one of the greatest spy networks in Europe, perhaps the world. All without her rich husband's knowledge, of course.
"Gabrielle opened a youth centre not long after we all left Veridian. She welcomed all with open arms. Runaways, orphans, street urchins – whether they were magical or not – all found a way to her safe haven. Sometimes I wonder if maybe you would have been happier with her . . ."
She cast her eyes down and ran a hand over her hair. "I stayed on at Veridian with Raif for nearly a year. I had nowhere else to go, and no desire to go elsewhere. Finally, Raif convinced me to leave. I was wasting my life hiding behind the walls of the castle that had protected me for so long. So, I left – went to stay with Gabrielle for a while. We were still regular corespondents and had remained close friends. Soon I met Vernon and by the time I turned twenty-three, we were married. Less then a year, later your parents married. It wasn't long until both Lily and I became pregnant."
She smiled softly as she stared vaguely at the far wall.
"We were both so happy. Then another attempt was made on Lily's life, this time by Voldemort who was desperate to kill every woman who had fallen pregnant in October or November. She barely escaped with her life. I was distraught – terrified. She was all I had left of my family. My parents and all my other relatives had been killed years ago. I went to see her to try to convince her to leave her husband and hide in the Muggle world with me. Or at least to – to have an abortion and rid herself of the Dark Lord's attention."
Harry's lips parted soundlessly and he swallowed hard. His Aunt's hands shook slightly as she clasped them in front of her and straightened her back. Her lips were a thin line and her eyes were hard. Harry had no doubts that the woman would have made the request to her sister. She would have had him aborted, still would have if she could go back and somehow convince Lily Potter to do it.
"She was very angry. Asked me if I would kill the baby I was carrying on the off chance that Voldemort would stop coming after me. We both yelled and screamed and when I left there that night I swore that I would never speak to her again. And I never did. We never saw hide nor hair of each other except for a letter to each other telling of the birth of our sons.
"The next time I saw anything of her was the morning I opened the door to find you on the doorstep. As soon as I saw you, I realised what had happened to her. I knew what had happened to my little sister. Magic killed her, just as magic killed everyone else. When I took you in Harry, I promised myself that you would never step foot inside that school. That you would never know the truth of what your parents had been. I was devastated when I saw that your eyes were green. You were the next of the Emerald Dawn and that meant you had the magic in you. Vernon wanted you gone. He didn't want death to come to our door as it had come to my sister's. He had never liked magic, said it was unnatural and unholy. He said the only way to get rid of the curse – the magic – was to squash it out of you. For a while, we thought we had succeeded. That is until strange things began happening around you. Vernon raged for days after you levitated yourself when you couldn't reach a shelf once. We tried everything we could think of to get rid of the magic but it only grew.
"It was then that I made a final promise to myself. If you were truly destined to be the next Light Bearer then I would make you strong. The things that the Light Bearers from my time were forced to see and endure were . . ." She shook her head grimly and looked into Harry's eyes for the first time. "We were not prepared for the suffering and pain that the war bought with it. I swore that when the time came that you would be. And I have almost fulfilled that promise in its entirety.
"When the first letter came from Hogwarts we tried one last time to keep them away, we ignored it and finally fled when things got to be too much." Petunia placed her hands in her lap and stared at the opposite wall woodenly. "Then they found us and took you away. We had failed. The one thing we had promised ourselves never to allow to happen. By the time that you returned a year later there was no denying that you were a wizard. I had not been able to rid my family of the curse of the Emerald Dawn. I was unable to scrub the taint of magic from our bloodline but I had succeeded in making you everything you could possibly be. You were strong, brave, quick witted, loyal, astute and talented. You had a determination to survive that I knew would serve you well in the years to come.
"You have excelled in every task put before you. Dumbledore wrote to me every year telling me of the hardships and trials you had faced. Meeting your parents' murderer at eleven and stopping him from coming back to power showed me that you had great emotional strength. Slaying a basilisk at twelve was all the evidence I needed that you were becoming physically powerful. Moreover, your producing a Patronus Charm at thirteen was when I realised that your magic was growing more powerful with each passing day. I was . . . proud . . . to have raised such a young man the day I received Albus' letter telling of the events of the Triwizard tournament. He neglected to inform me however, that the Dark Lord returned to power. Only that you had been kidnapped, tortured and watched a friend die before bringing the boy's body back to safety with you, when you escaped. You endured and became stronger for it. You became everything I have ever wanted a son of our line to be." Her mouth hardened and Petunia swallowed visibly. "You became everything that Dudley isn't . . ."
Harry watched his Aunt's eyes turn an icy blue. "I often wonder where I went wrong with that child. Perhaps there is too much of his father in him . . . Dudley will never be one of the Emerald Dawn as there is no magic in him. He will never be great like those of our line. Perhaps I loved him too much to push him to the extremes you were pushed to. None of that matters now. He is obsolete to the survival of the family." She swallowed again. "So he is no longer a concern to me. His father will care for him until I can return after this new danger has been adverted. You are my concern now. You will be trained in every aspect of war and battle. We will contact the survivors of the last war and bring together the new generation of Light Bearers. Together we will drive Calithia back into her grave."
Harry nodded and set his jaw. He knew at that moment that there was no love between himself and his Aunt. A grudging respect perhaps and a sense of duty to their family, but that was all the familial bonds between them. And he knew at that moment that he would do as she wished. He would serve his family as his mother had before him.
The sunlight was streaming in through the glass ceiling and open end of the courtyard. A soft breeze ruffled the leaves of the vines above their heads and the sweet scent of fresh grass wafted on the air. He had never been able to walk away from a place where he was needed and this was no exception. He knew he would help. He knew he would fight. The only question was . . .
. . . Could he win?
A/N: Sooo . . . . what do you think? Remember to review!
Snickers: thanks for the review. I hope you like TTD, though I'm thinking of putting it on hiatus until I've got all my plot bunnies sorted out. Don't worry I'll definitely write more now that exams are over.
LucyferPheonixMalfoy: wow, nice name. I'm not sure when this will be finished but not for a long while yet. Hope you keep reading and reviewing!
Hunter Hatake: honey, you don't got to tell me that, I know it rocks! Lol – sori just channelling my inner diva. Thanks for the review!
Nljfs: NANCY! I should check my reviews more often I would have responded in my last email – Petunia's not magical exactly – she comes from the squib line of the Emerald Dawn and only inherited a slight divination talent from the magical gene pool. I can't stand magical Petunia normally, but it was the only way I could write this story the way I wanted. Dudley will pop up later in the fic, but don't expect much from him – it's only a minor role. Ever wondered what's going to happen when Vernon and Dudley find out what's going on? It's a long way off in the future but I will get there in time. Kisses darling! And don't work too hard!
The Best Witch of all: sorry this took so long to get out! The next chap will be out much faster, I promise!
Wolfawaken: Thankyou!
Weaslow: thankyou, I wanted to make sure this was something different to the usual fanfics around the place. I know I get sick of reading the same basic plot in eight different fics. If you are after a brilliant read that is out of this world – literally – check out 'A Stranger in an Unholy Land' it should be on my favourites. Yes the Lightbearers will have their hands full. Hehehehe I'm evil some days.
Rkhiara: thanks for the review!
Silver Warrior: hmmmm . . . you sound very mysterious – thanks for the review!
Chaseme720: my favourite Reviewer! Yes the new generation will be much like the old, but growing up in the middle of the War has made sure that these kids are tough and powerful. Not all powerful mind you, but they will definitely be kicking butt – and getting their butts kicked if my notes on upcoming chapters are anything to go on. Be prepared for more Snape – I love him, he's just sooo . . . . nasty! Stick around sweets, I love hearing from you!
Don't forget to review!