Harry Potter and the Sanctuary of Light
Chapter 5 Contest
About a month later, Harry woke up at sunrise. Living with the elves had been like living in a dream. They had started training him in elven combat and weapons as well as their language and customs. No human in over five hundred years had ever been to Kalayaana, so he was quite the curiosity. Every morning, he went running both in his human form and as Stealth. The elves had been quite shocked to find that he had three Animagus forms. It turned out that the last wizard to have multiple forms had been Merlin.
While doing some stretches, his mind drifted to events in the wizarding world. Voldemort had grown more daring in his attacks and the European Ministries of Magic were being hard-pressed to defend both magic people as well as muggles. The elves had been sending out parties to help protect threatened areas, but sometimes it wasn't enough. No elves had been killed yet, thanks to their skill in battle, but it was only a matter of time. Sadness filled him at the thought of these immortal beings dying. They had become his family, their culture his.
He stood and began his morning run. Pink and orange light glinted against the treetops and sent the waterfall into a burst of colors. Occasionally, an elf would wave and call out a greeting and he would reply back. When he got the edge of the valley, he changed to Stealth and headed into the forest. His goal in this leg of the journey was to run as fast and as silently as possible. He constantly watched for leaves and sticks which could give away his position. Finally after about an hour of running, he headed home for breakfast.
Along with Laurea and her mother and father, also living in the household was Oron and Aranel 'Rea's older brother and sister who were twins and both eighteen. They both had her same reddish-brown hair, just a shade darker with bronze streaks. Ailin, her younger sister was seven with light brown hair and reddish streaks. They all got along quite well with Harry. Oron was teaching Harry to fight with a sword while Laurea and Aranel taught him glaive fighting and they all taught him archery. Ailin just enjoyed pestering him to change into Quist so they could play and she could introduce him to her dolls. He rolled his eyes at the thought.
Arriving back at home, and he did think of it as home, he quickly washed and dressed. His hair, normally short and messy, had begun growing long while in Azkaban. After coming to Kalayaana, he'd considered cutting it, but decided not to after seeing the elven style of hair. Plus, he'd figured that it would make it easier to manage. It was now long enough to be just above his shoulders. He quickly pulled it back into braids on either side of his head and tied the end with a leather cord.
Whistling an elfish children's song, he jogged down the stairs to the dining room for breakfast. 'Rea and Oron were already there along with Serie their mother.
"'Quel re amrun" (good morning) He said cheerfully in elfish. He was getting better at speaking and now knew several common phrases and if he didn't know how to say something there were many willing to help him. Many elves in the city spoke English and were glad to see him working so hard to learn their native language.
"'Quel re amrun Corintur. Malia ten' vasa?" (Good morning Corintur. Care for some food?) She gestured to the plates of fruit and pastries on the table.
"Diiola ile" (thank you) He smiled at how well he'd been integrated into this family. Corintur was his name in Elvish, and barely anyone called him Harry anymore.
Bare feet were heard on the stairs and Ailin walked sleepily into the room, rubbing her eyes. "Corintur, may I play with Quist today?" She asked with big eyes, her lip stuck out.
"Amin hiraetha, Ailin. Sina undome deanamo." (I'm sorry, Ailin. This evening possibly.) He winced at the thought of playing with her dolls again, and glared at Oron and 'Rea who were snickering at his predicament. She looked sad at the thought of waiting, but nodded and went to get breakfast.
"Manke naa ile atar?" (Where is your father?) He asked Laurea when they were almost done.
When 'Rea didn't know, they asked Serie who spoke in English to reply, "He is in a meeting with the elders. A messenger came this morning, and he said not to expect him back until after lunch or later."
After everyone had finished eating, they headed outdoors to continue training Harry. Aranel and Laurea started sparring with their glaives while Oron and Harry got out their practice swords. Oron taught Harry several movements, and then showed him how to use them in combat. Then he would show him the counter movements and Harry would repeat them until he could do them flawlessly. After some easy sparring, with Oron correcting Harry when he did something wrong, they finished up and went to join the girls on archery.
"Lle ume quell Corin." (You did well Corin.) Oron said with a smile, then in English, "You are improving very quickly, quicker than most humans would."
"Diola ile mellonamin." (Thank you my friend.) His heart felt light at the compliment. They reached the archery pits and strung their bows.
As Harry was about to aim, Laurea spoke up. "Corin, Oron, Aranel and I were talking and we think we should have an archery contest. Boys against girls. The losers have to play with Ailin this evening." She gave Harry an evil grin.
Before Harry could reply, Oron spoke. "Lye weera." (We agree.) Giving the older elf an incredulous look, Harry just sighed and shook his head. Oron's insane... I've only been doing archery for a month. There's no way we'll win...
"You'll do fine Corin. I'm better than both Aranel and Laurea. I'm sure you'll surprise them and yourself." With that they started. Going back and forth between the two teams, halfway through, the girls were a little ahead of Harry and Oron. Harry had been doing ok, just average. Then it was Harry's turn again. Aiming, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the only thing he saw was the center of the target. It was like some instinct had taken over and he let the arrow loose; and it landed dead center.
For a moment there was silence. Harry stared slack-jawed at the target. He pointed dumbly at the arrow, and then gave a baffled look the three siblings. Oron, Aranel and Laurea were staring at him incredulously.
"How the... Here Corin, try another." 'Rea handed him another arrow. He strung it and let fly; dead center again.
"How the hell am I doing this??" Harry whispered in amazement.
"Amin caela n'noa..." (I have no idea...) Oron said shaking his head.
"Yeah, you guys win... Perhaps we should head inside, it's almost lunchtime. We'll try to understand Harry's phenomenally accurate aim later." Laurea said trying to drag her eyes from the two dead-center arrows. The four put their equipment away and headed inside.
Chapter 5 Contest
About a month later, Harry woke up at sunrise. Living with the elves had been like living in a dream. They had started training him in elven combat and weapons as well as their language and customs. No human in over five hundred years had ever been to Kalayaana, so he was quite the curiosity. Every morning, he went running both in his human form and as Stealth. The elves had been quite shocked to find that he had three Animagus forms. It turned out that the last wizard to have multiple forms had been Merlin.
While doing some stretches, his mind drifted to events in the wizarding world. Voldemort had grown more daring in his attacks and the European Ministries of Magic were being hard-pressed to defend both magic people as well as muggles. The elves had been sending out parties to help protect threatened areas, but sometimes it wasn't enough. No elves had been killed yet, thanks to their skill in battle, but it was only a matter of time. Sadness filled him at the thought of these immortal beings dying. They had become his family, their culture his.
He stood and began his morning run. Pink and orange light glinted against the treetops and sent the waterfall into a burst of colors. Occasionally, an elf would wave and call out a greeting and he would reply back. When he got the edge of the valley, he changed to Stealth and headed into the forest. His goal in this leg of the journey was to run as fast and as silently as possible. He constantly watched for leaves and sticks which could give away his position. Finally after about an hour of running, he headed home for breakfast.
Along with Laurea and her mother and father, also living in the household was Oron and Aranel 'Rea's older brother and sister who were twins and both eighteen. They both had her same reddish-brown hair, just a shade darker with bronze streaks. Ailin, her younger sister was seven with light brown hair and reddish streaks. They all got along quite well with Harry. Oron was teaching Harry to fight with a sword while Laurea and Aranel taught him glaive fighting and they all taught him archery. Ailin just enjoyed pestering him to change into Quist so they could play and she could introduce him to her dolls. He rolled his eyes at the thought.
Arriving back at home, and he did think of it as home, he quickly washed and dressed. His hair, normally short and messy, had begun growing long while in Azkaban. After coming to Kalayaana, he'd considered cutting it, but decided not to after seeing the elven style of hair. Plus, he'd figured that it would make it easier to manage. It was now long enough to be just above his shoulders. He quickly pulled it back into braids on either side of his head and tied the end with a leather cord.
Whistling an elfish children's song, he jogged down the stairs to the dining room for breakfast. 'Rea and Oron were already there along with Serie their mother.
"'Quel re amrun" (good morning) He said cheerfully in elfish. He was getting better at speaking and now knew several common phrases and if he didn't know how to say something there were many willing to help him. Many elves in the city spoke English and were glad to see him working so hard to learn their native language.
"'Quel re amrun Corintur. Malia ten' vasa?" (Good morning Corintur. Care for some food?) She gestured to the plates of fruit and pastries on the table.
"Diiola ile" (thank you) He smiled at how well he'd been integrated into this family. Corintur was his name in Elvish, and barely anyone called him Harry anymore.
Bare feet were heard on the stairs and Ailin walked sleepily into the room, rubbing her eyes. "Corintur, may I play with Quist today?" She asked with big eyes, her lip stuck out.
"Amin hiraetha, Ailin. Sina undome deanamo." (I'm sorry, Ailin. This evening possibly.) He winced at the thought of playing with her dolls again, and glared at Oron and 'Rea who were snickering at his predicament. She looked sad at the thought of waiting, but nodded and went to get breakfast.
"Manke naa ile atar?" (Where is your father?) He asked Laurea when they were almost done.
When 'Rea didn't know, they asked Serie who spoke in English to reply, "He is in a meeting with the elders. A messenger came this morning, and he said not to expect him back until after lunch or later."
After everyone had finished eating, they headed outdoors to continue training Harry. Aranel and Laurea started sparring with their glaives while Oron and Harry got out their practice swords. Oron taught Harry several movements, and then showed him how to use them in combat. Then he would show him the counter movements and Harry would repeat them until he could do them flawlessly. After some easy sparring, with Oron correcting Harry when he did something wrong, they finished up and went to join the girls on archery.
"Lle ume quell Corin." (You did well Corin.) Oron said with a smile, then in English, "You are improving very quickly, quicker than most humans would."
"Diola ile mellonamin." (Thank you my friend.) His heart felt light at the compliment. They reached the archery pits and strung their bows.
As Harry was about to aim, Laurea spoke up. "Corin, Oron, Aranel and I were talking and we think we should have an archery contest. Boys against girls. The losers have to play with Ailin this evening." She gave Harry an evil grin.
Before Harry could reply, Oron spoke. "Lye weera." (We agree.) Giving the older elf an incredulous look, Harry just sighed and shook his head. Oron's insane... I've only been doing archery for a month. There's no way we'll win...
"You'll do fine Corin. I'm better than both Aranel and Laurea. I'm sure you'll surprise them and yourself." With that they started. Going back and forth between the two teams, halfway through, the girls were a little ahead of Harry and Oron. Harry had been doing ok, just average. Then it was Harry's turn again. Aiming, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the only thing he saw was the center of the target. It was like some instinct had taken over and he let the arrow loose; and it landed dead center.
For a moment there was silence. Harry stared slack-jawed at the target. He pointed dumbly at the arrow, and then gave a baffled look the three siblings. Oron, Aranel and Laurea were staring at him incredulously.
"How the... Here Corin, try another." 'Rea handed him another arrow. He strung it and let fly; dead center again.
"How the hell am I doing this??" Harry whispered in amazement.
"Amin caela n'noa..." (I have no idea...) Oron said shaking his head.
"Yeah, you guys win... Perhaps we should head inside, it's almost lunchtime. We'll try to understand Harry's phenomenally accurate aim later." Laurea said trying to drag her eyes from the two dead-center arrows. The four put their equipment away and headed inside.
