Review Responses:
MinorMistake99: I'm glad that you were amused by Harry's bad luck, I myself found it extremely satisfying to bully him slightly. Sigh, it was such fun. Of course, there will be plenty more of that later evil grin. Perhaps you are being slightly dramatic, since no one else has complained , I'm sorry to say, but your dramatization is funny, I have to admit. So please, continue to be dramatic, your reviews make me more eager to update in order to reply. Thank you for reading, my ever-faithful-and-amusing reviewer, sincerely, A. S. Leif.
Chapter 12: Zotzion
The castle was sinister-looking, made of extremely dark stone that seemed to swallow the light that reflected off the snow around it. There were several towers, tall and spindling, grasping towards the sky like jagged fingers. Long, thin archways connected various towers to either each other or the main building. They were so slim that Harry feared they would break the moment he set foot on one. Mist hung in the air, shrouding the top of the castle and its towers in cloud, giving it an ominous air. Harry huddled deeper into his robe and continued to walk towards the University. The doors, when he reached them, were large and black, the wood they were made of seemed twisted in an almost agonized way. The knarled black iron handles were a foot long, and glossed with ice. Dangerously large icicles hung from the archway above the door, and Harry took care to skirt around the ground which they hung over. A few of the other students noticed and snickered; Harry glared, but it only was seen by their backs.
With a loud creak, the doors opened inwardly, and the students walked inside. To Harry's annoyance, inside was only a few degrees warmer than outside; nevertheless, he did not complain. Torches and crystal globes filled with smoky light illuminated the hall in which they were in. Another staircase was at the end, and they briskly walked up it, Harry looking around him to see if there were any portraits or statues of interest; there were none. Compared to Hogwarts, Zotzion so far seemed barren. The grand staircase led up to a large room similar to the great hall, with towering statues of menacing-looking dragons and gargoyles. At the head of the room was a large table, over which hung a large tapestry of the Zotzion crest. Before the table were other witches and wizards, all dressed in matching robes of black with blood red trim, though upon closer inspection, each bore a different sign on the right sleeve and left side of their chest. Seated at the table were who Harry assumed to be the professors. The one seated in the large black throne-like chair he guessed to be the Headmaster, of sorts. Silence fell as the newcomers reached the front of the hall.
The Headmaster could be described in one word: eerie. His skin was milk-white, his hair a strange blue-black. His ice-blue eyes glinted with power and cunning, and his long-fingered hands stroked a short, neatly trimmed beard. His nose was strongly arched, but it gave him the look of a vicious bird of prey. He scanned the newcomers with his piercing, chilly gaze, smirking slightly as he passed over Harry's face. Said wizard felt a blush rising in his face, and fought it back down; he already didn't like the Headmaster. "Welcome to Zotzion University," the wizard said in flawless English, his light voice sliding over Harry like oil. "I am Elder Vladimir, the head of this University and you shall address me as such. The Magisters of the university shall be introduced to you in due time. But for now, you must be assigned to your...sponsor, shall we call it. When your name is called, step forward."
All of a sudden, Harry felt like he was a first year again: nervous, not knowing what to expect, wondering if he would be treated different, and all those things. But one thing that had certainly changed was that he already did not like the 'Elder' of Zotzion. Vladimir had looked at Harry with amusement, and the young wizard got the feeling that the Elder was having a joke at Harry's expense.
The names that were called first Harry could barely understand. They were mostly Bulgarian, though there were two or three which seemed Greek. It made sense, seeing as how close Bulgaria was to Greece. When the students were called forth, they were picked by one of the Magisters, and remained at their new sponsor's side while the others were called and chosen. Harry's worst fears were realized when he discovered that he was the last one to be called; apparently they didn't believe in alphabetical order. "Harry Potter," droned the Magister. Harry took a resolute step forward, fighting to keep his face from flushing as they looked him over. No doubt he looked like a rag-tag teenager with his skinny build, the bruise on his jaw and hand, messy hair, glasses, and the tear on the hem of his robe.
The hall was silent for several long minutes as the Magisters and students looked him over. Wonderful, he was already being judged... There were a few snickers from the back, and they did not bother to try and muffle them. "A sponsor must be chosen," Vladimir drawled, idly twirling his wand in his fingers. As the Elder said this, he looked at a particular Magister, one who did not look at all pleased by the glance.
"Come over here boy," the wizard snapped, and Harry silently walked over, feeling more embarrassed by the moment.
Vladimir said something in Bulgarian, and the crowd dispersed. Harry looked around, wondering where he was supposed to go. When he looked back, he found that his Magister-sponsor had already begun walking down another hall, towards a large stairwell that led downwards. Harry hurried over to catch up, his footsteps echoing on the stone and off the walls. "What are you following me for, boy?" his sponsor snapped, and Harry froze in shock. "Go to the tailor, you need new robes. Come to my quarters in two hours, I'll introduce you to your fellows then."
So then it was that Harry was left standing in the middle of a hallway, staring stupidly after his so-called 'sponsor' (who seemed to want nothing to do with him) and with bypassing students snickering at him, talking to each other in Bulgarian while shooting taunting looks at him. What a wonderful start.
Harry finally broke free of his deer-in-headlights trance and resolutely looked around; he'd do best to start taking note of places so he'd know where to get around. Determinedly, he turned around and walked down the left hallway, certain that he would find the tailor soon enough.
Fifty minutes later, and he was totally, helplessly, embarrassingly lost.
"They should have maps or something around here," he muttered angrily to himself, cheeks flushed from annoyance and the cold. For some odd reason, the castle only got colder the more he explored; you'd think that they liked turning into ice cubes! It was by sheer chance that, ten minutes later, he saw someone walking with a damaged robe down a hall he was near. Silently, Harry followed him, hoping that they were going to the tailor. When he turned a corner and saw an open door leading to a room filled with tables, lamps, cloth, thread, and needles, he nearly gave a shout of joy. Stepping into the room, he found it much warmer all of a sudden, and his feet began to thaw out.
He waited while the other wizard spoke with the tailor and got his robe fixed, then cautiously approached; would the tailor be as rude as the others? "Er, hello," he said hesitantly.
The tailor was a mild-looking wizard in his late thirties, with graying-blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a plain black robe, and had narrow glasses that gave him a squinting look. He looked up and blinked at Harry. "A new one, eh?" he said, his English holding a trace of an Italian accent. "I suppose you'll be needing new robes?"
"Yes Sir," Harry answered.
The tailor straightened, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, come along then, into the back room." He led Harry through the aisles of cloth, robes, pants, shirts, and boots, until arriving in a relatively clear space with a stool and measuring instruments. "Step up, lad." The tailor ordered, getting the measuring tape while Harry obliged. The wizard's knobby hands were quick and efficient, easily sliding the tape around Harry's shoulders and back. After a few moments of writing down his finds, the tailor picked out a set of uniform robes, along with some pants, a few shirts, two pairs of boots, a heavy, fur-lined cloak, a small pouch-like bag, and socks, all of which he placed in Harry's arms; the overall weight was surprisingly heavy.
"Who's your Magister, lad?" he asked, taking the robes.
"Um...Magister?" Harry repeated, feeling stupider by the minute.
He sighed. "Your Sponsor? Your teacher?"
"Well," he hesitated, "I don't know, he didn't tell me his name, Sir."
"Did you see the crest your fellows were wearing?"
"Sort of, Sir."
"What did it look like?"
Harry wracked his brain and described it as best he could. "Well, it was diamond-shaped, with an animal head of some sort inside."
"What color was the border of the diamond?"
"Red, I think."
"Ah, that'd be..." his voice dropped to a low murmur as he busily set about embroidering the sign Harry had seen and vaguely described. While he worked, Harry looked at the detail of what his Sponsor's sign was. The red diamond was the border of a complex design. In the center was a dragon's head. It was black with silver eyes, sharp horns that jutted backward from its head, and a forked tongue along with sharp white fangs. A four-pointed star was behind the dragon, and beneath it was a spear and wand crossed. The background was a series of intricate knot-like patterns that looked like a mixture of waves and lightning bolts; it was hard to tell really. When the tailor was done, he handed the robes back to Harry. "Thank you Sir," he said.
The man blinked. "No trouble, lad; there's a pack near the door that you can put those in."
"Thanks again, Sir." Harry replied as he headed out the door.
As he left, he thought he heard the tailor murmur, "And don't let them turn you into a heartless, manner-less person either..."
A/N: You'll find out more about Harry's Sponsor in the next chapter, and several more characters will be introduced. His education will begin somewhere in the next two chapters, I'm not entirely sure which. Also, updates will be delayed, since my computer is being stupid and refusing to let the internet work at random times, so I apologize for the delay(s). I hope to hear from you all, and thank you for reading, as always. A.S.Leif
This notice added at 11-17-2005, as opposed to the update of this chapter on 11-11-2005:
Firstly, I must apologize,for there will be a delay in the story for a few days, perhaps even a week. The reason for the disruption of my usual once-a-week update schedule is both due to heavy schoolwork and the recentdeath of my uncle by cancer. I apologize to you, my faithful readers, but I need some time away from life. I hope you will understand, and I will return to the story as soon as I feel able. Good luck and God bless, A.S.Leif.