"Harry!" he heard her shriek out his name as he strived to fight off Snape, LeStrange, and several other Death Eaters. He fought his way back to find the bane of his existence, the Dark Lord Voldemort, with his wand pointing at the young witch to his side. She was bound and gagged and had a look of utter fear across her face. "And now I will take from you the thing you value most." Voldemort said in a menacing voice before pointing his wand "avada kedavra" he shouted as he shot a green light toward the bound and gagged witch.
"NOOOO!" Harry screamed aloud as he awoke with a start.
"Nightmare?" Sean asked as he came back from the horses and handed Harry a canteen and biscuit.
Harry took a long and refreshing drink before he answered. "Yeah, it was awful."
"You have to realize," Sean began, "that the only way to overcome your fears, including the fear of loss, is to face them and learn to accept them without allowing them to control you."
Harry had learned to listen to what Sean said, and now he wanted to be sure that he understood and remembered what he heard. "I need to face my fears and accept them without letting them control me," Harry repeated to Sean.
"Exactly," Sean answered as Harry began to eat his biscuit. "I can teach you a technique for this when we get to the monastery…so let's get moving." Harry nodded and the two of them mounted the horses and rode off.
The two of them didn't say anything because they both wanted to get to the monastery as soon as possible. Sean wanted to get to the cast off point because it had been far too long since he had been at sea; Harry wanted to get started with his training so that he could be ready for Voldemort at the opening feast. The horses rode at a very fast pace through the hills and woods of England on their way to the coast. Harry loved the rush of the wind through his face, it reminded him of the first time he rode Buckbeak during his third year at Hogwarts, as he and Sean continued on their fast pace to reach the coast, which they did in about two hours.
They arrived at the cast off point to find a man there dressed in a robe like Sean's sitting next to what looked like some kind of small barge, with another horse standing behind him. Harry looked at the barge and thought it could have been a private ferry. Harry saw Sean talk to the man on the coast, "Eric is coming here to England on assignment," he heard Sean say, "So I will send the ferry back with him." The other man nodded and then he and Sean exchanged what Harry could only imagine was some kind of salute made by each of them putting their right hand in a fist and thumping their chest. After this, the man mounted the horse that was behind him and rode off. "Put Cuchulainn and Collins on the raft," Sean said to Harry.
"Who was that?" Harry asked Sean after he had put the horses on the ferry.
"That was Winston, he's a Knight currently assigned in England and was assigned to make sure we make it to the water." Harry nodded and finished securing the horses to the metal bars that were on the side of the ferry.
As soon as everything was ready, Sean started the boat and they were off to Ireland. Sean gave a sigh of pleasure as the spray of the sea hit his face. "It's been years since I've been at sea" Sean said out of the blue, "far too long." Harry was slightly taken aback by this; it was very rare for Sean to speak without being spoken to first.
"I haven't been sailing since I was eleven," Harry said remembering the trip he took back at the beginning of his first year at Hogwarts.
"Then enjoy this," Sean said to him, "getting there is all the fun."
"Don't you mean getting there is half the fun?" Harry asked in a respectful tone.
"No," Sean replied, "getting there is all the fun because once you are there it is time to take care of whatever you set out to do."
Harry looked out at the water and watched it pass by while Sean steered the boat. They could already see the Irish coast after only a brief time on the water, so Harry knew that they didn't have much time until they reached land. He looked out at the water and remembered what Sean had told him about water, and how using this had enabled him to master occlumency and illegumency in a matter of minutes. Harry closed his eyes and allowed the bobbing of the ferry and the rushing of the sea to calm his nerves and he let his mind drift.
He was wondering what Hermione and the rest of his friends were doing at that moment. He would have thought back to better times, but he had realized that doing that was pointless and that he needed to focus on the present so that he and the ones he cared about could have a future. It seemed that he and Sean were only on the water for a few minutes when Harry felt the boat come to a stop…he had no desire to pry further into Sean's mind, he had already seen enough.
"We're here," Sean said to Harry as he stopped the ferry at a more secluded part of the Irish coast near the cliffs of Moher, it was near a high cliff and Harry remembered seeing what he thought was a castle or a late Roman fortress from the water, but then he thought of something.
"Was that building I saw from the boat the monastery?" he asked Sean.
"Aye" Sean answered, "and these horses know the way up, just follow me and trust the horse." Sean jumped off the ferry and anchored it.
The horses had obviously been on a trip like this before because they were incredibly calm the entire time. They got their things together, let the horses off and then gave them a moment to drink, Ginny had included some carrots for the horses with her mum's biscuits and Sean gave some of the carrots to the horses.
After the horses had rested and Harry and Sean had finished off Mrs. Weasley's biscuits, they mounted up for the final leg of the journey. Sean led the way and Harry followed, they went to the base of the cliff and Harry looked up. The cliff looked as though the only way up it was to climb, but then Harry noticed that Sean had already started around, Harry quickly followed and was surprised to see Sean's horse climbing up the cliff as though there were a clear trail…and then Harry felt the horse he was riding doing the same.
Harry was more than a little terrified as he looked at the rough terrain of the cliff and the constantly increasing distance to the ground. Then he realized that the horse was perfectly calm about it and that Sean had said for him to trust the horse. He also remembered Sean telling him to pay attention and that the training process started right when they left the Burrow. So Harry tried to think about what lesson he should learn from this. He thought about what Sean had told him so far, and about what conditions were apparent at the time. He still wasn't quite sure as to what he should take from this when he could see the top of the cliff.
Sean had brought his horse to a stop and was waiting for Harry to come in beside him. After Harry did so, Sean began to speak as the horses moved forward at a slower pace.
"Harry, there are some things you need to know before we enter the monastery. First, you are here as a special guest, normally no one outside the Order is allowed inside, the only two exceptions have been you and Albus Dumbledore, so act like an honored guest. And second, Bill and Remus have told me about some of your adventures and habits at school. And I have to tell you that it would really be best if you would not wander on your own here."
Harry nodded to show his understanding, and then they proceeded to the front gate of the monastery. Harry could see the large front gate and the parapets on either side. Harry could also see a man on top of the parapet looking down at them. The man had a large high-powered riffle in his hand and was aiming it between Sean and Harry.
"Who goes there?" the man yelled down to Harry and Sean.
"I am Sean Alexander O'Sullivan of Ireland, here by permission of the Priest with the boy wizard!"
They saw the guard turn around and yell, "Sean's back, open the gate!"
Shortly after, the doors came open to welcome Sean and Harry, and they rode into the Order monastery. Harry saw that the inside was massive, so much so that he turned to Sean to inquire about it. "This place is huge," Harry said, "is all this really needed for a monastery?"
Sean was expecting questions, so he patiently responded. "This monastery was built shortly after the Order was first founded. That was during the early parts of the Middle Ages, after Vindolanda had been built. This was designed to be a training ground for warriors who would be monks and knights. Therefore, those in charge felt it best to build it after the manner of the fortresses of the time."
After seeing that he had given a satisfactory answer, Sean continued onward to the stables. Harry couldn't help noticing several Knights stopping to look at Sean as he rode in. Some of them brought their right hands up to a fist and held them over their chests, a kind of salute, which Sean returned. Others of them would utter a strange phrase to Sean; something like "Errand go Brawh" that Harry didn't understand but that Sean would repeat.
In a few moments, they came to the stables where a man, who looked closer to Bill's age, with long brown hair and a fairly jubilant manner in his walk, greeted them. The man immediately ran up to the black horse Harry had been riding and began to stroke it's mane as the horse affectionately nuzzled the man in front.
"So wonderful to see you again Collins" the man said as he continued to stroke the horse. Sean then dismounted from his brown horse and Harry followed suit. Sean gave the reins of his horse to another Knight who greeted them as the man in front of the horse called Collins did the same. Sean and the man came together in a brief embrace and broke as Sean spoke.
"Daniel my old friend, I am glad to see you here and well."
"And I am glad to see that you aren't dead yet," Daniel responded in a somewhat humorous tone. "I always said that you were too young to be made a Knight…but you have proved me wrong."
Harry watched all this from a short distance away and couldn't help but notice how close the two men seemed. After a few moments, Sean turned to Harry and spoke to him.
"This is Daniel Xavier Flanagan," he said pointing to the longhaired man in front of them, "he is a Knight stationed here and the owner of the horse you rode."
Harry tried to imitate the salute he had seen the men giving Sean earlier, which brought a smile to Daniel's face. "Thank you for letting me use your horse" Harry said very politely.
"For Sean O'Sullivan," Daniel began, "I would give my bloody limbs and innards."
Sean turned to Daniel and spoke. "This boy will be my pupil for a few months, and I would appreciate it if you would look after Cuchulainn while I am teaching." Daniel nodded in reply and he and Sean shook hands by gripping each other by the forearm.
"The Sagart asked me to report when I got here with the boy, so I will take leave now." After Sean said this, Daniel urged him on and Harry followed. They began to walk on foot and Harry surveyed his new surroundings. He thought it looked like a smaller Hogwarts, it was in the same style of a castle, but it was apparent that this was a place for a different type of learning.
"We will be meeting with an old teacher of mine," Sean said, "He is the equivalent of the Headmaster here…"Priest" is his title. You will refer to him as Priest or Sir, understand?"
Harry nodded and continued on with Sean, taking in every step of the place that would be his home and training grounds for the summer. As they had entered, Harry noticed that the different people inside were not regarding him much at all (something he was not used to with being a celebrity in the wizarding world), but that every single one of them would stop and salute Sean by placing their right fist over the left side of their chest, or by raising their right hand in a sort of open fist and saying that same phrase Harry had heard on entering the monastery, but this time he heard it as "Erin go Braugh."
"They show him so much respect," Harry thought to himself as they continued on.
"What does that phrase mean?" Harry asked Sean, "The one the men say to you?"
Sean answered with almost an air of pride in his voice. "Erin go Braugh, is Gaelic for "Ireland go brave" and is an old Celtic war cry that we Irish Knights will say to each other."
Harry understood now, and the two of them continued onward until they came to what had to be the main part of the monastery. It was a fairly large building that was completely enclosed, and looked large enough to be a dormitory. It had two levels, and Harry would find out that the top one was where the Sagart stayed and worked.
As they entered the building, Harry saw on either side of the room, a large trophy case with glass in the front of it that stretched the entire length of the building. He looked closely and took notice of some of the items inside. There were letters, some of which looked like they were centuries old. There were also swords and other weapons, carefully preserved and labeled with things like the sword that Lancelot used at Baden Hill, or the longbow used by the great Knight Henry Exeter in the clash with the dragon at Edinburgh, some carried labels like gifted to the Knight Thomas Spardo from the Greek rulers. There were also portraits and some photographs.
"Hey" Sean said to Harry to get his attention, "you may like this one." Sean pointed to a large painting that depicted some kind of battle and had a fairly large plaque with many names on it.
"Many centuries ago," Sean began, "there was a Dark Lord like your Lord Voldemort who tried to enslave the wizard world and the human world. But the wizards and the Knights of St. George had an alliance at that time and joined together to fight this Dark Lord, his name was Edmund Iandrown, and they met his forces at a place we call Bloody Hill. Many Knights and Wizards died that day--but they won."
Harry looked at the painting with interest and fascination, noticing that on the plaque there was no distinction between which names were wizards and which names were knights. Instead, there was an inscription that read: Brothers in arms. Brothers in cause. They fought and died as one, together.
It was at this point that Harry's eyes wandered to another large plaque, this one with the words "Those Who Gave The Ultimate Sacrifice In The Fight For God, Truth, and Justice" along the top and had several names engraved into it with the date and place where they had made that sacrifice.
Harry grabbed Sean's robe to stop him for a moment before they came to the stairs that would lead them up. When Harry had Sean's attention, he asked him "what is this place?"
"This" Sean said, "is where the Priest lives and works."
"Here in this room?" Harry asked.
"Of course not," Sean replied, "this is the trophy room where we keep precious artifacts, gifts, and other things that different Knights of the Order from this monastery have acquired over the centuries. You see, every Knight will have a permanent station, but will leave from there for different missions that are best suited to his skills. The others and I are here in Ireland for our home station, but sometimes are sent abroad. In the course of various missions, we will often obtain or be given something of note…and we will present it to the Sagart who puts it in one of these trophy cases."
"And the plaque?" Harry asked pointing to the one he had noticed earlier.
Sean's voice became quieter as though he were in a holy place. "That is a record of Knights who have fallen in battle. We don't bury them; we burn their bodies and cast their ashes heavenward. But their names are immortalized here on this plaque.
Sean then pointed to the name of Sergei Romanovich on the plaque. "This was the vampire I told you about who became a Knight of the Order. He served and fought in the Order until he fell in battle and he received a true Knight's burial."
After he finished, Sean performed the salute Harry had seen before and dignifiedly shouted, "For God, truth, and justice; Erin go Braugh!" He paused for a moment and then pointed to the staircase. "The Sagart is upstairs, he is expecting us."
They went up the stairs, and Harry noticed how they were made of cold stone, much different from the sometimes-treacherous stairs back at Hogwarts. The stairs went on for a little while until they reached the top and Harry could see a clearly visible door. "We are going to meet with the Priest, I will go in first, you can stay out here, and I will call you in."
Harry nodded and Sean knocked on the door. A figure walked out of the door, he was an older man of about fifty or sixty, about three inches taller than Harry, who had grown to six feet, with a slim build that Harry was sure had been quite muscular back when the man was younger. Sean dropped onto his left knee, placed his right fist over the left part of his chest while placing his left hand on the ground and bowing his head. Harry paused for a moment and then did the same.
"Sagart" Sean said in a low and respectful voice to the man who now stood in front of him. The figure told Sean and Harry to arise and then began to speak to Sean in a language Harry had never heard before. During the conversation, Harry heard Sean say his name and point to him.
"Ah," the man began "this must be Harry Potter, I look forward to having a few words with you after I meet with Sean." Harry simply nodded, and then the older man and Sean went back into the office.
After they had entered the office and the Priest had sat down, he invited Sean to do the same, and he did. The office was fairly massive, for it doubled as a study and was often used for meetings involving the Knights. The last quarter part of the room was separated from the office by a door and was the Priest's bedchamber. The two of them spoke in Irish Gaelic and the conversation started out in a very friendly way, they spoke with each other like a father and son, and since the Priest had raised Sean as his own, they pretty much were.
"Sean my boy, I am glad to find that you have made it here okay, were their any problems?"
"No trouble" Seam answered in his usual voice deciding to leave out the incident at the creek.
"You're keeping something from me," the older man stated with no doubt in his voice.
Sean gave a smirk, "I never could keep anything from you. There was an incident on the trip where the boy had a slight outburst, I really don't blame him, a slight scuffle ensued, but I am confident that he is over any bad feelings and will be open for the training."
"Are you sure about this," the man asked.
"Absolutely." was Sean's response.
"I must tell you," the Sagart began, "that I am very hesitant about this whole thing. Given our current relations with the wizard community and the fact that many of our Knights are already in the field on assignment. I don't think we can spare you, or that you are ready to train."
The Sagart said the last part with a pause as he looked to Sean who had risen to his feet and moved his way to a door to the side of the desk that led to a balcony overlooking the monastery grounds.
"I only ask for Tristan Bruce, John McGregor, and David McAllen, three good werewolf hunters," Sean began to the Sagart, "and if you feel this way, then why did you give me permission to meet with Bill, attend his wedding, get the boy, bring him back here, and I assume I still have permission to train him?"
As Sean spoke, the Sagart moved from his seat and came beside him. After Sean finished, the Sagart answered, "because if what you told me about the message and this Dark Lord is true. Than by you training this boy, who is a hero in their world, you can further the effort started by Dumbledore, God rest his soul, and the previous Sagart to further relations between our two groups."
"But, you said I'm not ready to train" Sean said without question in his voice.
"Given the fact that you have a friendly relationship with a wizard, and your background is similar to what Dumbledore told me about the Potter boy. You are the best for this task."
Sean had mixed feelings about this confession by the Sagart. On the one hand he had told him he was the most qualified of the Order Knights. But on the other hand, he was told he was not ready to train, but Sean was a very obedient Knight and devoutly loyal to his Sagart, so he answered honestly.
"Thank you for putting so much faith and trust in me Sagart."
"It is very well placed" the Sagart began, "I raised you since you were a very small boy, I trained you from when you first arrived at this monastery, and I asked you to accompany me when I was named Sagart and to Gringott's so long ago. There is much you have left to learn, but you have come farther in less time than anyone in, I believe, the history of this Order."
Sean continued to glance outside at the beautiful summer day in the Irish cliffs, but the Sagart had turned to face him and was now looking at him with a look of genuine concern.
The Sagart chose to continue. "Ever since I found you in that closet sixteen years ago, terrified and alone, I knew that you would not last long in the real world…that they would come for you. I took it upon myself to train you, even though you were far too young for it, and you have never disappointed me. Now, you are about to attempt something that has never been done. You are going to pass on our secrets to a wizard. Do you have any idea what that could entail?"
"You are worried that another Dark Lord will become like what I will make the boy. One who can use what we know and magic, but who will be evil and use this combination to destroy everything we stand and strive for."
"Aye" the Sagart responded to Sean's statement.
"I have a good feeling about this boy," Sean said, "if for no other reason because he loves and feels a need to protect."
Understanding dawned on the old Sagart, "and those traits are central to the Order of St. George" he ended Sean's thought for him.
"Aye" Sean answered.
"You have my blessing" the Sagart said, "and my faith and trust."
"Thank you Sagart." Sean said with gratitude. The two of them faced each other for a few moments before the Sagart told Sean to send in Harry. Sean dropped to his knee, saluted his Sagart and mentor, and bowed low in honor and respect.
"Get up," the Sagart said, "you do me too much honor for me to ask you to bow."
Sean stood up and said "but it would be disrespectful and ungrateful of me not to," he then gave one last nod, and went to send Harry in.
There was a knock on the door and the Sagart bid Harry to enter. Harry entered and found that this was much like Dumbledore's study, but without stairs and without the many wizard decorations that had adorned his office. Harry felt a wave of emotion come over him as he thought of his old mentor and the source of protection, comfort, council, and direction that he had been for him…and now he was gone.
As Harry entered, one particular portrait caught his attention; it was a large canvas, framed and hung on the wall. It depicted a young man on a horse, with both of them in the grasp of an enormous dragon, and the young man about to plunge a long lance into the dragon's chest.
"Saint George and the Dragon," the Sagart said to Harry. "He is the patron saint and founder of this organization. Come out here please Mr. Potter," he said from the balcony, "I think you will enjoy the view from here."
Harry had noticed that the Sagart's voice was quite different from Sean's. The Sagart had a deep voice like Sean, and there was a trace of an accent in it, but it sounded like the accent had been lost for the most part.
"I hope you realize what a benefit it is for you to be here, and especially with Sean." Harry made his way next to the Sagart and prepared to bow but was halted, "your gesture is appreciated but you need not bother yourself with such. Sean does that out of respect for me, and he has since before I became Sagart."
"Um, priest?" Harry began slightly uncomfortably due to the fact that he had not heard Sean use any of the terms he had told Harry to use when addressing this man.
"Aye?" the Sagart responded.
"I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."
"Of course," the Sagart replied.
"Why does Sean call you Sagart, and what language was that you two speak in?"
A smile appeared on the older man's face as he looked at Harry, "You remind me of Sean when he was about your age, the way you have a tone of seriousness about you and a desire to know more."
There was a pause while the two looked each other over, Harry thinking of Dumbledore and suddenly finding many similarities between him and the aging priest beside him.
"But to answer your questions," the Sagart began, "Sean and I are both Irish Celtic in our ancestry, and we speak to each other in the old Irish Gaelic language. The title I was given about two years ago is Priest, and the Irish Gaelic word for Priest is Sagart."
"The view is nice from here" Harry said as he could see the grounds of the monastery. He was particularly interested to see that much of it was not stone floor at all, but had been built around the natural grass of the hills. He could see many men out training in those fields with all sorts of weapons, including guns and swords, or training in unarmed combat. The Sagart speaking to him brought him back to the present.
"This will not be a holiday for you Harry, you are here to train." The Priest began to gesture to the outdoor part of the monastery, where Harry had noticed the different men training. "You will be doing much of your physical training in that area, and you must listen to Sean and do what he says. Dumbledore spoke very highly of you, so I will be expecting great things from you in these next two months."
Harry realized what had been said. "You knew Dumbledore?"
"Aye" the Priest responded, "he and I met together often soon after I became Priest here. Dumbledore dreamed of the Order of St. George and the wizarding world uniting to defeat Voldemort. He came to us after the Dark Lord began recruiting werewolves and Inferi for his cause. He figured that both our causes would be met by us uniting."
The Priest paused after this and looked down, "his loss was a terrible blow to this effort. But we have Sean who has friendly ties to your world through his friend…and that's all we have going for us at the moment."
"There was something I wanted to ask you about Sean" Harry said quickly to the Priest.
"And what might that be?"
"He taught me how to empty my mind during our journey here…"
"Did he use the water analogy?" the Priest interjected.
"Yeah he did," Harry said, "how did you know?"
"He learned that from his teacher in China and from a book he received from him," the Priest answered, "but what was it you wanted to ask me?"
"When I empty my mind, I can map other people's minds. I discovered this with Sean's mind and I saw a part of a memory that I have been wondering about ever since I saw it." Harry told the Priest about the memory and how it ended with Sean shooting the woman through the leg and then him hearing his name.
The Priest paused, not knowing how to continue. "You are describing to me something that happened three years ago, when Sean was eighteen. This may be rough for you to take, but it will also help you understand him better." The Priest then told Harry the rest of the story.
"Sean!" The figure turned over and revealed herself to the young man with his sword drawn and ready to strike. The face had changed with her condition, the eyes were red, the skin was pale, but somehow Sean knew who it was.
"Mama?" Sean said with disbelief.
"Oh Sean" the woman said as she stood up and moved to embrace him, "I missed you so much."
Sean lowered his sword, but stepped back causing his mother to stop with a questioning look on her face. "What's wrong son?" she said.
"You're dead" Sean said, "I saw your body as I was being taken out of the house…you were dead along with dad."
"Oh Sean, Raiganzi chose to turn me into a vampire rather than kill me. It took effect a few hours after I was bitten; I woke up in a morgue and then joined him."
"You willingly joined the head vampire?" Sean asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice, "the same man who murdered your husband?"
The woman looked at him with a look of realization, realization that he was an enemy.
"Come with me son," she said, "I'm your mother and I love you, it will be like it was before that monk took you away from your home and family." She was trying to appeal to the part of him that remembered the brief perfect childhood that he had.
Conflict was brewing inside the young man, he had loved his parents, he had missed his childhood, but he knew that there was no going back to it. The expression on his face never changed, he looked at the woman who had given birth to him and raised him with his father and now she wanted him to go with her and be with his mother forever.
He then thought of the kind man who had taken him from the closet and off to a mysterious place on a far away land. The man who had taught him to let go of what he feared and devote his efforts and strength to something greater than himself. The kind man who had given him purpose and taken him in after the horrible tragedy he witnessed. He thought of what he had told him about evil, and that it could come on straight out and without question, or that it could be deceitful and come across as appealing.
"Son?" she asked him seeing that he was taken back in thought.
The face on the young man didn't change, "my mother…" he began, "is dead."
The woman got a terrified look on her face…and then the boy, with tears in his eyes, brought his sword through her heart. The woman shrieked and caught Sean's eyes one last time before her eyes rolled back and she dropped to the ground.
"He came back here to the monastery," the Priest continued to Harry, "for purification, a three day process that the Knights coming back from a field assignment go through to become pure after being exposed to such evil and having to kill. I was in charge of bringing him his meals," the Priest paused at this point, choked up with emotion, before he continued. "And it was the only time since I first saw him in that closet that I have heard him cry. After that, he put up his katana and has been using the two swords he uses now ever since."
Harry didn't know what to think, the Priest was right that he would never look at Sean the same way again. On the other hand a lot of things began making sense to him.
"Does that have anything to do with why the other Knights here respect Sean so much?" Harry asked.
"Aye" the Priest responded, "the other members realize that Sean showed more devotion to this cause and more resolve to the oaths he had taken than they would have been willing to do."
An even greater sense of respect came over Harry, he thought that if he was to meet his mother now and it turned out that she had become a Death Eater, would he have been willing to do what was necessary and destroy her? Harry knew that he did not want to know the answer to that question, and he did not want to think about it anymore.
The Priest spoke to Harry, "The dormitories are over there," he said pointing to a group of smaller buildings. "Since you are a guest here I am afraid we cannot offer you a private room. But you will find clothing provided for you when you get to Sean's room, and you won't need your wand for a while."
"Okay" Harry said in response, still not getting over the fact that Sean had killed his own mother when he found her to be a vampire. "Thank you priest" Harry ended, and with that he was excused from the study and found Sean.