Review Responses:
Adi Phoenix: I thank you for your several reviews, and for your time which you took to read my story, and I am glad that you are enjoying it. In regards to your review of the previous chapter, I must ask if you are not all that fond of Harry. I mean no offense, but your tone does imply that. Personally, I sometimes do get irritated with him but, alas, it doesn't matter. Thank you again for reviewing.
MinorMistake99: Yes, I do think I will enjoy writing about Zotzion, though I am trying to think about how Harry will react to being immersed in the Dark Arts. Thank you for your amusing opening comment, and for reviewing. As always, I enjoy hearing from you.
Nataly S. Potter: Thank youfor reviewing and good luck with your English.
uknowho: I share the same opinion, though perhaps not as intensely; thank you for reviewing.
Chapter10: We'll Still Help
Harry stared at her. "Regulus Black?" he repeated, and then looked at Dumbledore's portrait. "Isn't he... wasn't he Sirius' little brother?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed he was." He looked at Diega. "It would seem that perhaps you were not the only one whom was not fully on the Dark Lords side."
She smirked, her eyes flicking over to Harry, but she did not say anything in reply to either of them. Harry did not like the glint in her gaze; it was if she knew something he didn't. Which is probably true, he thought bitterly, if only about the Dark Arts. "Can I speak with you for a moment, Sir?" he asked Dumbledore, "In private?"
The former Headmaster seemed to want to say that privacy was not necessary, but he obviously decided that he would loose the argument, and nodded. "Diega? If you would pardon us for a moment?"
She got smoothly out of her chair and gave a satirical bow before leaving the room. Harry glared at her backuntil the door was shut. "I don't trust her Sir, that's why I asked to talk to you alone." He said firmly, looking back at Dumbledore. "She might be spying for the Order again, but that doesn't mean I have to give her information that she could pass on to Voldemort to better 'gain his trust'."
Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, Tom never knew that she was a spy, and he did not order her to spy; she will have no reason to report any information to him."
"I don't care, it's better to be safe than sorry."
He shook his head sadly. "Very well Harry, I will not force you to trust someone. What is it you wanted to talk to me of?"
"Hermione and Ron want to come with me," he said uneasily, his agitation towards Prince gone for the moment.
"Miss Granger is willing to give up her education?" Dumbledore replied, an amused yet surprised smile on his face.
Harry couldn't hold back a smile either. "Yes, she said she'd get plenty of it while searching for the horcruxes. But, well, I'm not sure if they should come to Zotzion. From what Diega described of it, I don't think that they would be able to handle it."
"Handle what exactly?"
"Well, being so involved with the Dark Arts. I know Ron's got a major thing against it, and well, he'd want to stay with Hermione, who wouldn't mind learning, as long as she didn't have to use it."
The portrait fingered his beard in thought, eyes grave. "I am sad to say that you will have to use what you learn, in order to progress at Zotzion."
"So I'll be tested on the use of Dark magic?"
"Without a doubt."
Harry frowned; how would he convince Ron and Hermione that they need not come to Zotzion with him? "How long would I be there for?"
Dumbledore smiled, but there was bitterness to it. "It depends on how hard you work yourself, and how hard they work you, Harry. If you do not pass all the things they teach you, eventually, then you have a small chance of leaving at all."
Harry swallowed. "And if Ron or Hermione don't pass?"
"They will have to remain there."
"It could take years, couldn't it," he said.
"Indeed, it could; I myself spent three years, however, that was because I was not driven as you are."
Harryasked in surprise, "So I could do it sooner?"
Dumbledore nodded. "I have faith in you Harry."
"Thank you Sir." He took a breath, running a hand absently through his hair. "Should I enroll as Harry Potter? Or a different name?"
"They have tests to ensure your identity. However, upon your graduation from Zotzion, you will receive another name, and it will be your choice to use it or not."
He blinked; that'sanodd thing to comment on. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll go as soon as possible then."
Dumbledore nodded. "A good idea; however, Harry, make sure you are ready."
"I am." He replied firmly.
"Then good luck."
"Thank you Sir." Harry stood, a great deal on his mind as he left to inform Ron and Hermione about his decision.
"Packing list done?" Remus inquired as they ate dinner.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, for the most part."
"Did you fill out and semdthe application forms for Zotzion?"
"Yeah."
"Did you tell Ron and Hermione?"
Harry grimaced. "Erm...not really."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "You are going to tell them, aren't you?"
Harry sighed. "Remus, how in Merlin's name will I be able to convince them not to come? How am I supposed to tell them that they risk not being able to ever leave Zotzion if they don't pass? How am I supposed to tell them that I'll be doing Dark magic? How am I supposed to tell them that I'll be learning what Voldemort did?"
The older wizard set down his fork. "Harry, sometimes, when you're a friend, you have to accept risks, and you have to take a fall or two to get something done."
"But they don't have to take this risk!" Harry cried.
"What are you afraid of Harry?" Remus asked gently.
A lump formed in his throat. He'd known, ever since Diega's description of Zotzion, that he was afraid of going totheuniversity.He'd known that he was afraid of what might happen, what he might become. "They say the Dark Arts are like a drug," he said, his voice barely above a whisper as his emerald eyes dulled to a haunted glow. "That, when you do them, you want to keep doing them, forever. I—I don't want that to happen to Ron or Hermione. If—if it happens to me, then I know others could bring me back. But I-" His voice cracked, and he had to take a breath before continuing. "I don't know if I could bring them back...I don't know if I'm a good enough friend..."
Remus' eyes softened. "You have every right to feel that way Harry, and I understand what you mean: you don't want to turn out like Voldemort." Mutely, Harry nodded. "If I know anything, Harry, it's that you won't end up like him."
"What? Are you a Seer or something?" Harry croaked, but his joke failed miserably.
Remus shook his head seriously. "Nor would I ever want to be one. But Harry, Voldemort has had rage, anger, hate, and cruelty ingrained into him for years. You don't. He wants others to feel pain. You don't. He was easily overcome by the lure of the Dark Arts. You won't be. Do you see what I'm getting at? You're stronger than him Harry, you won't be beaten."
"But that doesn't mean I can bring Ron or Hermione back..."
"You won't know until it comes, Harry, that's life. But I believe that you can. I believe that you are the best friend either of them could ask for." Harry did not voice his opinion that a better friend wouldn't be putting their lives at risk. Remus seemed to take his silence as acceptance. "Well, tomorrow you should get a letter back from Zotzion, and then we'll go get all the things you need, alright?"
"Alright," Harry replied, voice somber. He would not tell Ron or Hermione... But didn't they deserve to be told? They'll come after you if you don't explain it to them, a voice whispered in his head. It was true. He sighed, and finished meal before putting the dish in the sink and heading upstairs to write a letter asking Ron and Hermione to come over.
Waking up the following morning, Harry found a sinister black hawk sitting on his windowsill. Its eyes held keen malice, which was reflected in its wickedly sharp, curved, yellow beak. Tied around its powerfully arched neck was a scroll. Harry cautiously approached the bird, gingerly reaching out to take the message. The bird snapped at him, a chuckle in its eyes, before flicking its head and causing the tie to come undone, and the letter to fall into Harry's palm. Harry stepped away from the bird, and looked at the seal on the scroll. It was blood-red wax, and the design stamped was of a sharp-fanged wolf's head howling, along with the letter 'Z', two crossed swords below, and a wand hovering above the wolf's ear. For some reason, it sent a slight shiver up Harry's spine.
He cracked the seal open, and unrolled it to see the message. In slick, cursive writing were the words:
To Mister H. J. Potter
You have been accepted to the Zotzion University of Bulgaria
Arrive at the campus in three days, or forfeit your enrollment.
The station to the campus is in the city of Sofia, and will depart at noon,
Your ticket is enclosed, along with a Charter of Enrollment, which must be signed and filled by yourself and no other.
We await your arrival.
How friendly, he thought dryly, looking up from the letter. The hawk gave him a haughty look and then flew from the sill, vanishing into the sky. Harry sat down on the edge of his bed, staring at the letter. Three days... he had three days to tell Ron and Hermione, three days to pack, three days to find out where the heck 'Sofiya' was, and three days to decide his future... Why couldn't it have been a month, or even a week or so? Why just three days? How did they expect him to decide that fast? Harry shook his head. He would just keep delaying if it wasn't soon. He got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. When Remus came down, Harry told him about the letter and the Charter of Enrollment.
"May I have a look at the Charter?" Remus asked. "I might be able to find out all the little requirements that they're trying to hide, so you won't be tricked into promising something you'd rather not."
Harry smiled gratefully and immediately handed over the Charter. "Thanks Remus."
"No problem Harry, I want to help you any way I can; have you decided how to talk to Ron and Hermione?"
Harry sighed, his smile gone. "I guess I'll just talk to them about it, I though about what to say last night."
Remus nodded. "Good; call them now, and by the time you finish, I'll probably be done with this."
"Alright." Harry went to the sitting room and lit the fireplace. Taking a pinch of floo powder form the jar on the hearth, he threw it into the fire, turning the flames green, and called: "The Burrow." He stuck his head in and waited for someone to notice him.
It was actually Ron. "Hey Ron," Harry greeted.
Ron smiled. "Hey mate; everything okay over there?"
Harry hesitated; now was his chance to back out of telling them... "Yeah, but I need to talk to you and Hermione about something, okay?"
Ron shrugged. "Sure; where at?"
"Erm, Hermione's at her house, right?" Ron nodded. "Then why don't we meet at mine? I'll call her and ask her to come."
"Sounds good, I'll be right over." He looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes, scanning the room, before looking back at Harry and lowering his voice. "Is it about... you know...those things?"
"Sort of," Harry replied uneasily, "More about where I'm going."
"I'm going with you," Ron said immediately.
Harry withheld a sigh. "I'll meet you over here in a few minutes then." he said, avoiding making a reply tohis best friend'scomment.
"Right, see you soon mate."
Harry withdrew his head from the fireplace and then called Hermione's address to the flames. He saw Mr. Granger, a tall, brown-haired man with cheerful grey eyes and glasses, sitting on the couch. He looked up in shock when the fire roared into life, and Harry had to stop himself from allowing his amusement to show. "Hello Mr. Granger," he instead said politely, "I'm Harry, may I speak to Hermione for a moment?"
The man nodded, "Yes, of course, I'll go get her." Still slightly shaken from surprise, he exited the room, and Harry heard him call, "Mione! It's one of your friends, Harry!"
"Coming Dad!" Hermione's voice called, and Harry heard quick, light footsteps coming from upstairs. Within moments, Hermione came into the room and knelt before the fireplace. "Hi Harry!" she said breathlessly. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," he replied, "I just wanted to talk to you and Ron about... well, where I'm going."
She looked at him suspiciously. "You know we're coming too, right?"
He sighed. "That's practically what Ron said." He muttered.
"What was that?" she asked primly.
"Nothing," he replied hastily, "Um, listen, could you come over to Remus' and my house for a second? Just to talk? Ron said he'll be here in a minute or so too."
She nodded. "Let me go ask my parents for permission; I'll be back in a moment, don't go anywhere." She hurried from the room, and Harry caught the sound of a quick conversation and explanation before she came back into the room. "Okay, I can come over; I just have to be back by lunch."
"Great, I'll see you here then."
"Yes, yes, now let me through."
Harry withdrew his head from the fireplace, chuckling. Hermione sometimes could be bossy, but that's what made her Hermione. He got up off the floor to find Ron standing behind him; he jumped a little in surprise. Ron grinned widely. "Gotcha."
"How'd you get through?" Harry asked.
"The upstairs fireplace, remember?"
"Oh, right. Well, Hermione's-"
"Here! Oof, ow, I hate that form of tran-ahh!" she tripped over the edge of the chair and Ron caught her by the arm.
"Careful," he said, steadying her. He only let go after lingering slightly, causing Harry to hide a grin; neither of them noticed. They then looked at Harry, Hermione absently brushing soot off of her skirt. "Where will we talk?" Ron asked.
"Here or upstairs, I suppose." Harry replied.
"Upstairs," Ron said promptly, "It's not as blue up there." Hermione rolled her eyes slightly, but a small smile was pulling at the corners of her lips. Once they were seated in the Den, Harry took a breath and explained to them about his meeting with Dumbledore and Diega yesterday. They were silent as he told them what he would be required to do, where it was at, the several restrictions he'd read over in a small manual he'd found in Dumbledore's office, and about the stay-till-you-pass policy of Zotzion. He explained about the lure of the Dark Arts, of how Voldemort had been learning the same things, of how he'd been consumed by them, about how he himself was afraid that he or they would fall into the same pit as Tom Riddle. Once finished, he fell into silence.
"You know we wouldn't let that happen to you, Harry." Hermione said quietly.
"But I don't know if I could stop it," he replied, "You've got no idea how creepy it is to realize the similarities between me and... and Voldemort. Neither of us had the best of childhoods, neither of us had parents or friends to grow up with until we went to Hogwarts, we even share some of the same powers...! If I do fall to the Dark Arts, I don't want you to be there in case..."
"Incase what?" Ron asked when his friend didn't continue.
"Incase I try to harm you," he finished softly. "I know you want to help me, and I know you could, and I know you're willing to take the risks, but you don't have to!" He looked pleadingly at them. "You've always been there for me, and you still can be, but you don't have to go to Zotzion. I can tell you about anything I learn when I get back, if I haven't fallen, but you can still help me even if you're not there! The fact that I know you're alright, that I can ask you something or just talk to you through letters if I want, that's all the support I need! I—I just don't want to put you two in any more danger than I have to already..."
His two friends were silent, thinking similar thoughts. Harry didn't want to be rid of them, but he didn't want to give them up, he just wanted to protect them. "We're not kids anymore mate," Ron said finally, "We're not first years, or anything like that. We're giving up school to help you-"
"But you don't have to!" he exclaimed. "Hogwarts is one of the safest-"
"For how long?" Hermione interrupted. "Yes, it is safe, Harry, but for how long? How will we be prepared for the war if we spend our time locked inside, safe from all the danger? We won't Harry, you have to realize that. We're better off out of the country, learning things to fight back with."
"But Zotzion is...is... it's hard, Hermione, Ron; Diega told me about the tests they'll put me through, and I know you guys don't have to do them, I can tell you about the magic later! You don't have to go through with it?"
"So you don't want us to go to Zotzion, is that it?" Ron demanded. Harry nodded miserably.
"Then we won't," Hermione said calmly. He looked up rapidly. "I happen to know of several other universities that have information about the Dark Arts, and are not necessarily immersed in them. One is relatively close to Zotzion, I'm sure."
Harry sighed; they didn't seem to be getting the point. "Listen-"
"No, you listen Mr. Potter," Hermione said sternly, sounding so much like McGonagall that Ron and Harry both looked at her in surprise. "We'll still help you, no matter what, no matter where. We'll get an education we couldn't at Hogwarts, we'll be a little ways from the war, and we'll be able to contact each other, possibly even meet every now and then. We will learn about how to find and destroy horcruxes."
"And we'll do it together." Ron added firmly.
Harry looked at them carefully. They really did have their hearts set on this; they really did want to help. "Alright," he said in quiet defeat, though inwardly he was glad that they would be close by, and farther away from Voldemort. "But I have to be at Zotzion in three days."
They merely nodded. "We'll get applications," Hermione said firmly, her hand held lightly in Ron's.
A/N: Ah, now the journey actually begins! Some of you might be saying "FINALLY!", and I apologize for the wait. As a thank-you for being so patient, I'll tell you that in the next chapter, Harry will arrive at Zotzion, and I'm fairly sure that he will meet some new characters there. Currently I'm doing a bit of research on Bulgaria to get ideas for the magic, folklore, locations, climate, etc. of the country, and therefore as a basis for Zotzion. If you have any ideas, please, I would be interested and grateful to hear them. Thank you one and all for reading, sincerely,
-- A. S. Leif