Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power
Usual Disclaimers apply, folks – but you know that don't you.
AN: Author's page has been updated. Please review and thanks especially to those of you who have reviewed every chapter and added this story to your favorites list.
Contest: Help me name Salazar and Helga's baby. We know it's a boy. Best one will be used. Thanks.
Chapter 10: Apprentice Potter
Harry awoke to the sound of Severus cursing loudly at a laughing Salazar Slytherin. "Bloody hell, Sal, watch where you are aiming. That was my head you rammed into the door!"
Sal just laughed harder, "Sev, you are complaining louder than Harry did. I need to get you into my wife's gentle hands so I can go brew that fantastic potion once more. Too bad we didn't keep two doses yesterday!" That said he placed Severus Snape into the bed next to Harry while yelling loudly, "Precious! I have another unwilling victim ready for your tender ministrations!"
Helga came out of her office, brandishing her wand to smack Sal upside the head with every unused pillow in the infirmary, laughing at him all the time. "Remember, Sal, I am much better at wand work than you will ever be!" You could tell it was an 'argument' they had had many times. Sal tried to reach around his wife's stomach and was unable to encircle it. "Woman, when will you pop this child so that I can once again throw you over my shoulder and win an argument again?"
Helga smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "What makes you think you ever won one, dearest?" She observed the new patient on the bed next to Harry and became all professional as she caught the sight of a disheveled and hurting Severus lying on the bed with a bloody left leg. She drew her wand and waved it over him, head to toe as she spoke aloud to those in the ward, "Obviously broken left leg, bruised ribs, and a minor concussion, not too bad. Sal, are you able to brew some of that miraculous potion for me? Or perhaps there is some left from your brewing yesterday?" Sev groaned and said, "We shouldn't have thrown it away, but I was sure he was going to have me brew it ten more times to perfect it. And I wouldn't have bruised ribs and a concussion if he hadn't dropped me on the steps and then banged my head into the doorframe, twice!"
Sal completely ignored Severus' very vocal complaints, "At least you did write all the directions down, I will return in several hours with your potion. In the meantime, tell Harry all about the courageous battle and your bravery under fire." With that, he exited the infirmary, his laughter echoing down the hall. Harry turned a curious and concerned face towards Severus and asked, "What happened to you? Are you going to be okay? Was anyone else hurt? Are the villagers safe?"
Before Severus could answer even one of Harry's questions, Merlin and Godric entered, both laughing heartily. "How was your ride?" asked Godric with a deep smirking grin, "Next time you might wait for someone else to levitate you down the hall. How many times did Sal drop you or bang your head into the wall?"
"You knew he would do that! And you let him take me without warning me! When I get up you will wish you hadn't been born!" Severus sputtered while the two just chortled with glee.
Merlin stopped laughing first, "Now, now boys, nothing too deadly, keep it clean and in fun."
Harry looked bewildered, from the two still smiling to his frowning potions teacher. "What happened, Severus? What are they talking about?" Severus clamped his mouth shut and glared at everyone. It didn't appear that he was going to answer Harry's questions anytime soon.
Godric drew up a chair and sitting in it backwards; he leaned against the top and started to talk. "It was the same group of lawless bandits that attacked you on the way here two nights ago. Luckily they were more drunk than organized. Several of the farmers' had used pitchforks to good use before we got there. The apprentices rounded up the remaining six and took them into custody. None of them was magical, just incredibly thick skulled. They will be facing Lord Victor, since the village is technically on his land and magic wasn't involved in the attacks. We were able to rebuild most of the houses magically after we extinguished the flames. Godric's apprentices are remaining to make furnishings for the homes that were destroyed. Some of the women and children want to stay in the castle for a few days to get over their fears, but only one elderly woman died, probably from the smoke, and several of the farmers have cuts, minor burns, and one has a broken arm. The worst injury was to Severus here."
"I have never tried to duel against a drunken archer while on horseback before. It was more difficult than it appeared or I would have dismounted before sending spells. It appears the horse took exception to spells shooting between his ears while having a flaming arrow shot at him." Severus explained in a regal, aristocratic tone. He sounded just like Malfoy as he tried to explain why he didn't deserve detention for some infraction. Of course his disheveled and dirty appearance spoiled the effect somewhat. That and it's hard to look haughty and regal while lying in a bed with others laughing at you!
Godric leaned over towards Harry and whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear very clearly, "He fell off his horse!" The two started laughing again.
"And then that bloody Slytherin dropped me on the entrance hall steps and banged my head twice against the infirmary door!" Severus looked even more irritated when Harry and Helga joined in the laughter. "And these two bloody fools didn't warn me about his lousy wand work. I could have walked with an arm for support, but NO he had to levitate me! Stupid man." With the last word, he turned so he was facing away from his tormentors.
With a friendly pat on Severus' shoulder, the two turned and left the infirmary leaving the time travelers alone with Madame Hufflepuff once again. She flicked her wand and changed Severus into hospital pajamas, cleaned all his cuts and bruises, then handing him a sleeping draught, she checked on Harry again before gently kissing the boy on the top of his head and walking out to tend those in the Great Hall. Harry watched Severus closely until he relaxed and his breathing evened out telling him he was asleep. He quietly snuck out of his bed, gave a shy hug to the man, brushed his hair out of his face and whispered, "I'm glad you're okay, Severus." He tucked the covers in around Severus, climbed back in his own bed and picked up his book again. He continued looking at the man sleeping peacefully beside him every few minutes, silently echoing the vigil the man had kept over him last week.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Harry had tried to keep his mind on the book he was reading, but it was no use. Severus had started to make restless noises and was shifting his weight from side to side trying to get comfortable. Harry scooted off the side of his bed and climbed into Severus'. He lay beside the man with one arm lying protectively under his neck, and stroked his hair with the other, as he whispered meaningless sounds of comfort to him. Severus stilled almost instantly and leaned his head into Harry's hesitant touch. Helga stepped out of her office and stopped, her eyes filled with tears at the sight of the brutally abused child offering comfort to one he had hated. If it had not been Merlin recounting the story of the two, she would not have believed it seeing the two of them now. The sound of footsteps coming towards the infirmary doors broke her quiet reflection. Sal entered carrying a goblet of foul smelling potion, followed by two serving girls carrying laden trays with soup, sliced pork and bread pudding for the two inhabitants. Harry scooted quickly back into his own bed, hoping no one had noticed him.
"Ah, gentlemen, time for some lunch." Helga said cheerily. Sal handed the goblet to Severus, who evaluated it in a manner reminiscent of a student sample from Harry's feared potions classes. He looked at the color and texture, dipped a finger to test the consistency, smelled it with his overly large nose, and finally tasted just a drop. He nodded without a word to Sal and drank the entire goblet in one long gulping swallow. He turned to Harry and smirked as if to say, 'See, that's how it should be drunk. No making faces, no snide comments.' The whole effect was spoiled however, when he gagged on the last little bit, and had to gulp several times to keep it from coming back up. Sal just smiled as he helped him sit up in the bed and placed a tray on his lap as Helga did the same for Harry.
Merlin and Artemus entered just as the two were finishing up their pudding and drew up chairs to sit between their beds. Merlin asked Helga how each was doing and if it was okay to have a long discussion with them, followed by a short lesson for Harry. She assured them it was and let Sal lead her back to their quarters for a nap. It had been a long three days and the baby was making her tired also.
Merlin began the conversation by reminding them of what he had told them of the cleansing ritual as they camped beside the lake. "Now I never got the chance to explain the purification, or second, ritual to you. The first night you were too tired and then we were attacked. Then the attack last night. There hasn't been enough time to have this discussion. I hope you don't think I was trying to keep something from either of you. As you know, the first ritual cleansed you of all dark magic and removed the touch of evil that had been placed upon you from external sources. You remember how clouded your mind was? That was the gaps and spaces where the evil one had been. If we had not done the second ritual, you would have filled in those spaces on your own with memories and experiences, or the evil one would have been able to reattach his presence to you once you returned to your own time. But the second ritual, 'The Ritual of Purification', filled all those spaces with pure goodness and love. The evil one will never be able to re-forge his links to either one of you because there is nowhere for him to attach his evil. You both, but especially you Harry, are now unable to cast a spell using a negative emotion. It will be difficult for you to become angry unless it is a righteous anger which is necessary because your magic out of control could become very deadly both for you and all those around you. You will be able to defend yourself or others, and your magic will be unaffected in most ways, but you must understand that you will not be able to instigate combat or indeed any aggression against another. I understand that Harry wanted to be an Auror, which I understand to be some kind of magical law enforcer, somewhat like our sheriff? Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is what I wanted to do, but I don't think so now. I can't imagine having to follow Fudge's or Umbridge's orders, and they think Professor Lupin and Hagrid are animals that don't deserve the rights of people. I can't follow people like that, even if that is the law! It's not right no matter what the Ministry says!" Harry was indignant by the end.
"Well, that's very good, Harry. After the Purification Ritual, you would not have been able to capture someone unless you were defending yourself or someone else. You would be unable to subdue someone without them spelling or physically attacking you first, and that would make it difficult to apprehend someone easily. It might have been very difficult to manage a job such as that. What do you think you would like to do now?" Merlin asked relieved at Harry's response. He had been worried that he had taken away the child's dream without asking or explaining. But the two rituals had to be done at the same time and he had been horribly afraid that the evil one would somehow renew the connection as soon as Harry and Severus returned to their own time. And without the second ritual, that had been a distinct possibility.
Severus was pleased; he had thought he would have to talk Harry out of being an Auror. He had heard Harry, Ron and Hermoine talking about their goals in the halls on more than one occasion and had serious misgivings about how Harry would take to being an instrument of a corrupt Ministry. If the bureaucrats and aurors had been righteous and moral it would be different, but many of them were after the same kind of power being a death eater gave. Just not quite so blatantly. Cornelius Fudge just used others to carry out his wishes as he strove for wealth and limitless power over the wizarding community.
"I have been teaching a student club, in 'Defense against the Dark Arts' since the beginning of the year, and I really enjoy it. The others really seem to like the way I teach, and so, I think I would like to be a teacher. If you think I would be able to…" Harry looked through his fringe at Snape, looking with hope for validation or approval.
Both Severus and Merlin nodded. "I think you will be a marvelous teacher, Harry." Severus responded, obviously proud of the boy's reasoning and resolve. "And what does this mean for me, sir?" he questioned Merlin.
"Severus, you obviously cannot continue spying; foremost being your arm no longer displays the evil one's brand. The first meeting, the evil one would kill you. I assume you would continue brewing potions as you have been, though I suspect that any without a good use would be ineffective if not totally unable to be brewed by you. So no poisons or other potions that can only be used for harm, such as those the evil one had you brew."
"What about Wolfsbane? It allows a werewolf to keep his human mind during transformation, but several of the ingredients are poisonous if not used correctly. Since I am not a werewolf, they would be deadly to me for example." Severus was getting concerned; he was now willing to begin a friendship with Lupin, especially for Harry's sake. And he certainly didn't want Harry spending much time around Lupin if the werewolf had no access to the Wolfsbane.
"I do not know of this potion, but your intentions, it would seem to me, are to help the werewolf, so you should be fine. I suggest that you speak to Sal about this potion. He may know more about it than I do." Merlin merely shrugged his shoulders, conceding his lack of knowledge.
"He does not know this potion since I developed it myself less than ten years ago. I am still making improvements to the brewing and efficacy though, and would be happy to discuss it with him to see if he has any ideas for improvement." Severus looked perfectly willing to have many long discussions with Salazar Slytherin about potions. Harry was sure he would not like to be present when the two really got deep into their 'shop talk'.
"Now, Harry if it's all right with you, Artemus would like to begin Occlumency with you. If you feel up to it, that is. And Severus, if you like I could see if Sal would like to discuss this potion with you? It sounds like something he would like to know about. I know he is interested in helping werewolves and vampires, as well as something to control or destroy Dementors. I know you are stuck here in bed for several hours and might enjoy the diversion. As well, I think he might owe you an apology for not mentioning his problems in levitation spells." With Severus' eager acceptance, Merlin swept out of the room. 'I've got to learn how to make my robes billow like him, that is so cool!' thought Harry, 'He does it even better than Professor Snape!' Harry suspected he would have a hard time consistently thinking of his teacher by any other name for a long time.
Artemus sat on the end of Harry's bed and grasped the boy's chin in his strong hand. Harry was apprehensive; Occlumency lessons with Snape had been downright painful and humiliating. He understood the need for them; he just wasn't looking forward to the actuality of learning them. Artemus smiled gently at him; apparently reading his apprehension. 'Well, duh, he is a legilimens!" thought Harry. Of course he knows how I feel. Just like with Merlin, he heard a gentle voice speaking within his head. Unlike Merlin's deep melodic bass, this man's voice was a mellow, caring tenor.
'Harry, look deeply into my eyes and allow me access. Do not fight me or it will cause unnecessary pain to you. Good, now think back on the day at the lake and think of the fog. That's right, you've got it. Now we need to begin to order your mind.' As if a light had been turned on Harry could see a room with about 20 doors appear. The center was still filled with fog but the individual doors were clearly visible. 'We will start with this door and mark it Merlin. I am sure you have no painful memories associated with him so it is safe to begin here.' He opened the door by laying his hand on it. Inside was a series of bookshelves, all totally empty. There was a small table in the middle of the room and an empty book lay upon it open to the first page. Artemus' voice said, 'Let's start with the first time you met him. Think of it clearly, and imagine a picture of it appearing on this page. Not bad, now make it clearer.'
Harry's mind supplied more details than he knew he remembered. In no time at all he had a very clear picture of their first meeting, even though he had been barely conscious at the time. Like all the wizarding pictures that Harry was familiar with, this one moved. 'Now Harry, turn to the next page and put the next memory on it. Excellent. To organize your mind, you make a door for each person, event, class subject, or whatever makes sense to you. It will take you several weeks to completely organize your thoughts and memories but after the initial time, it will only take a few minutes each night before you sleep. You can put a password on each book or just on each room if you like. A memory can be in as many different books as makes sense to you. You will find as your magic grows, that you will be able to access any memory much faster than you do now, because you will go directly to that memory. I expect you will find that you quickly develop your memory so that everything you read is written directly onto the page in your memory and will be forever accessible to you. Now, I will leave you to start organizing your thoughts. I will check back with you in a couple of days to see if you have any questions or need further help with anything. Take care, young Harry!' The whole lesson had taken only about twenty minutes and hadn't hurt one bit!
Harry delved back into his own mind and began organizing all the memories he had of the Founders, Merlin and Artemus. It only took him about thirty more minutes before he was satisfied with his efforts and was beginning to tire. He left his mind and looked around. Snape and Sal were deep in discussion of some disgusting potions ingredients, sounded like they were talking about whether pickled pig embryos were better or fresh ones. Harry shuddered; he hoped he never had to take whatever they would be making with any pig embryos in it! He picked up the book on wandless magic that Merlin had left for him and began reading until dinner time, hoping he could still eat after an afternoon of listening to Snape and Slytherin discussing potions. No wonder Helga wouldn't let Sal talk about potions at meals!
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Harry and Severus had both been discharged from the infirmary after breakfast the next day and escorted to guest quarters on the fourth floor, which was the top floor of the castle, not counting the five towers that loomed another three floors above the main building. They had a luxurious sitting room with a small area for eating, another for reading and a large fireplace directly across from the corridor entrance. One side had two bedrooms with a bathing room between. Harry was pleased to notice that they had something similar to flush toilets, it was a chair you sat in with a porcelain chamber underneath that emptied itself automatically when needed. He hadn't been too sure what to expect.
On the other side of the main room there were two more doors. The first was a small library complete with working desks, oil lamps and bookshelves. It also had a smaller fireplace and one entire wall was windows that looked out over a luxurious forest. The last room was a completely stocked potions lab that was set up for just two or maybe three people to brew in. Snape looked like he had died and gone to heaven when he read the potions ingredients, many of them no longer available in the future. Harry knew he would have to drag the man out to eat or sleep, but since he intended to spend just as much time in the library it evened out.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Harry bounced on his bed in his room. He had never been so happy. He had not had a single nightmare since the rituals, he had an adult he felt he could talk to, who had said he would always be there to talk to him and care for him. He was going to be Merlin's apprentice, Merlin's for Merlin's sake. He idly thought he would have to think up some different phrases because it was awkward to say, 'for Merlin's sake' when he ate dinner with the man every night! He felt like he was dreaming, life had never been better for him.
No Voldemort hanging over his head, no Death Eater's trying to kidnap him at every turn, no Order members having to watch and guard his every move. He could be a kid! Sure, the other apprentice's treated him differently, but he was only 15 and Merlin's apprentice. But that was something he was earning, not fame because his Mum and Dad died, or people thought he was going to defeat the Dark Lord, or he was the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. He sighed; it would be perfect if he didn't miss his friends, and most of his teachers, and Sirius and Remus – and his Firebolt. They didn't have Quidditch here at all, maybe he could introduce the game, after all, no one really knew who started the game, and it had been around since the Founder's time. He knew that from reading Quidditch through the Ages about ten times.
Harry brought his mind back to his task. Artemus wanted him to begin sorting through his memories and categorizing them. He 'said' to begin with innocuous ones, like school work, flying, having fun with his friends. He said it would be easier and faster as he got better at it, and by the time he had to start on memories that he didn't want to remember, he would only have to begin one and then move on, he wouldn't have to relive the whole thing or even concentrate on it very hard. Severus, Artemus, and even Merlin had all made him promise that he wouldn't do traumatic memories without one of them in his mind, helping to guide him and remove him if he got stuck in one of them. He certainly knew he had gotten caught in enough flashback memories before about Cedric's death or abuse from his Uncle to know that was a bad thing so he didn't mind promising.
After an hour of focusing, he had all the good memories up until the end of his first year of Hogwarts sorted. There hadn't been that many with the Dursleys, but he had been very surprised to find several of him with his parents that he had not known he had until he started sorting and focusing. He now knew his parents had loved him and he had better memories than of them being murdered or his Dad being a 'git' to Snape. He especially liked the memory of his Dad sneaking him out on his broom for 'flying lessons' one day when his Mum hadn't been home. Of course she had found out, because as soon as she got home, Harry kept saying "Fly, fly, fly, dada!" Their argument sounded remarkably like the one he had overheard between Sal and Helga.
He went to sleep thinking about the classes he would be beginning the next morning, a smile upon his face for the first time in ages. Severus quietly opened the door and walked across the room to look down fondly at the boy sleeping there. For the first time in his memory, Harry looked like a normal teenager, no longer holding the weight of the world on his shoulders or traumatized by horrendous nightmares and visions. As Severus awkwardly tucked the boy in, he hoped he could remain the 'child' he now was, after they returned to their own time. He almost wished that they never had to return. He brushed the hair off of the teen's forehead and gently kissed him goodnight, wishing he could remember his own father ever doing that.