Author's Notes on Summons: Some explanations on the summons in case there is some confusion even if no one has asked. lol Fenghuang is simply the Chinese phoenix. Lamorte is a union of La Morte (Death). Meles is the genus of the Eurasian badger. Simple, huh? Undine is truly the name of a mythological water spirit and the name is common in fantasy anime and many video games (I at least remember it from Secret of Mana for example). Bijon I have already mentioned that I made it up by playing with the word 'vision.' Gryphoner doesn't need an explanation I bet. 'wink' Ouraion, which will enter in this chapter, is how the Egyptians called the basilisk. In case you were wondering where I got the names from, hope this explains it. As you can see I didn't complicate my life and went simple. -embarrassed- Nothing cool about it. -sighs-
Another Note: I've picked up many things from anime and video games for this fic, but I twist them for my own purposes so I hope I to make them 'original' in a certain way for the plot. Now, there is something in this chapter called the Evolution Portal. I really don't remember ever seeing something like this before so I kind of made it up. lol It's possible that someone has seen something similar before, but I honestly haven't so that wasn't influenced by anything at all. Hope you all enjoy the idea.
Beta-Read by Menecarkawan! Thanks love!
Song: 'Raimei - Out of Kontrol' by MOVE (I must be getting very into m.o.v.e. songs... They're so cool!)
Ch. 11: Evolutions
No one could do anything to stop what was happening to Harry so they waited in horror for it to pass. He was thrashing and screaming for about five minutes and when it finally stopped he went completely still.
"Is he dead?" Asked Nemaisse speaking for the first time since they had arrived to that land.
Dionaius kneeled and checked Harry's badly scratched form due to thrashing so much on the earth. He shook his head and everyone sighed in relief. He then said: "I've never seen something like this before..."
"I have," said Neville looking blanched. "That almost looked like the Cruciatus curse, but it can't be... Not here... Please!"
Harry opened his eyes and with difficulty got into a sitting position. His bespectacled eyes looked unfocused, but he kept trying to straighten himself. He noticed their expressions and quickly explained with a sore throat: "An after effect of whatever that mage hit me with. The dark lord of this world spoke to me through that magic before it could completely fade."
"He spoke to you?" Soshlan looked fearful.
"What did he say?" Dianeia asked with a determined expression.
"He already knows I'm not from this world. He wants my power."
Dianeia quickly moved towards the teen, dropped to her knees, and wrapped her arms around him from behind his body at the same time curative magic came from within her to heal him. "Everything will be alright," she whispered. Harry nodded at that.
"Does he know about us?" Luna asked, but not looking worried at all.
"I don't know," said Harry looking a little confused. "I'm not sure."
"Why don't you use that scan thing of yours and we move out of here? I have a feeling we shouldn't stay in the same place for long." Janryu said this looking everywhere as if fearing something might come out and attack them.
Harry nodded at the vampire. "Let's move on." He used his scanner and found there was indeed a fragment in that island. "There's one here, about three kilometers from where we are now."
Janryu sniffed the air and Soshlan got his boomerang ready. "Fiends!" The elf-fairy exclaimed.
In seconds, green humanoid creatures that had fangs and reptilian tongues surrounded them. They were hairy and their eyes looked like red marbles. One of them spat some fluid at Neville that confused him and made him attack Soshlan with his knuckles. Soshlan leapt back avoiding the attack and used his boomerang against one of the fiends hitting it squarely on its head. It bruised the creature, but made it get angry and its skin got reddish. It enlarged its arm, grabbed Soshlan by the neck and threw him away a few meters. Soshlan fell to the ground unconscious. He was out of the fight.
Dionaius got a prism-topped rod from under his current light gray garments. He chanted some words and his runes glowed. A dusty smoke came from his rod and consumed one of the five creatures, but another threw some spines from its skin at him and Dionaius fell to the ground in deep slumber.
Janryu threw some knives at one of the four remaining creatures stabbing it everywhere, but the wounded creature went reddish like the one Soshlan had previously attacked, enlarged its arm and tried to grab Janryu, but he dodged with ease. The arm kept trying to grab him and moved faster and faster until it grabbed its target and crushed him fiercely against the ground knocking him out instantly. At the same time that happened Neville had started to shoot at Luna and Dianeia and both had to create shields to defend themselves from a confused Neville. Harry had to use his sword's hilt to knock Neville by hitting the other boy on the stomach with it. After that Harry went against one of the now reddish fiends and decapitated it, making it vanish. He pierced another one, but it didn't kill it. Quickly leaping back he avoided being hit by its enlarged arm and he swung his sword to chop the arm off accomplishing his task. The monster created a new arm and went redder. At that moment Dianeia and Luna were fighting two of the monsters along with Kroy. Luna was put to sleep by one of them after she used a weak lightning bolt on it.
Kroy had been doing hand to hand combat, but changed his tactic. He opened his arms and under them appeared what looked like very strong scales and he threw some of them at one of the creatures. It tried to attack him, but Kroy moved his arm in a circle and as he moved it a shield of scales formed following the circular movement. The monster's arm hit there and shattered.
Nemaisse had been observing everything, looking as someone who had never fought before in her life, but she suddenly got courageous and opened her mouth. What looked like fog came from her confusing the three remaining monsters as they couldn't see anymore. Dianeia used the vacuum magic she had to swallow one of the monsters while Harry charred another to ashes with a powerful flame. Kroy's eyes glowed brighter and he growled before he sent scales against the last monster. The scales started to horribly skin the monster and make it melt in what looked like its own blood. It was a gruesome sight that surprised the others, but the monster vanished keeping them from seeing anymore of it.
Harry looked at Kroy: "That was... err... a bit disgusting?"
Kroy laughed. "I'm used to it."
"Are those scales a weapon or part of you?" Nemaisse was actually brave enough to ask the half Draconian something.
"They are part of me. I cannot turn into a dragon at will, but there are Draconic abilities I can use at will."
"Let's wake the others," said Dianeia with a raised eyebrow.
XxXxX
They had decided to walk the three kilometers, which meant several encounters with fiends, but Dionaius insisted that the training was much needed. Harry actually agreed with that. He still felt like an amateur and if he was going to fight the dark lord, he had to be ready.
He finished cutting a plant monster in half before saying. "We're close to the fragment."
The place they reached was volcanic and very hot. The fiends there were all made of lava and Luna scanned them and confirmed that they could easily be defeated with ice magic. After a while, they had finally reached the top of a volcano. Harry wondered why a summon would be in that rocky and volcanic area. He already had the fire summon so it couldn't be a fiery one. Neville, Luna, and Harry extended their hands at the top of the volcano and a fragment floated upwards. It was gray in colour and it kept checking the three teens as if rejecting the three of them. Harry wondered what was wrong until Kroy spoke: "It seems that none of you is powerful enough to wield it, but wait. It will probably choose the strongest of you three in the end."
Kroy was right. The fragment seemed to hesitate several times in front of each teen, but it chose Harry in the end and entered the boy's body. Harry felt as if he wasn't entirely compatible with it. "I don't think this is right... It doesn't feel right."
Luna and Neville looked at him with worried expressions. "Maybe you will be able to handle it after you train enough or after your power increases?" Asked Neville.
"I hope so, but I don't feel comfortable with it." Harry looked very disturbed as they started their way down. Just then, a huge lava fiend appeared blocking their path. It started to throw lava balls at them and they all scattered dodging like crazy because the monster was extremely fast at throwing. Janryu kept trying to hit it with ice magic, but as he had to dodge the barrage of lava balls, it was very difficult to aim so he kept missing the monster. The same happened with the others and none of the three foreigners had an ice summon yet. Harry didn't think 'death' would be something to affect that monster either so summoning Lamorte was out of the question.
Harry suddenly felt the new summon coming out of his body and Dionaius yelled at him. "DON'T!"
Harry yelled back looking alarmed: "I'M NOT CONTROLLING IT! ITS COMING OUT ON ITS OWN! IT'S GONE MAD!"
A huge serpent that looked like a silver basilisk with golden eyes was what came out of Harry's chest. It emitted a horrible sound that made them cover their ears and it stared fiercely at the lava monster. The monster got paralyzed and starting from its feet its body started to turn into stone. It growled one last time before its head was also made of stone and then it crumbled at the horrible screech the serpent was still emitting. What they didn't expect was the serpent to turn against them afterwards. Harry felt fear creeping inside him as he yelled: "DON'T LOOK AT IT! I'LL TRY TO TAME IT!" For some reason he was sure that he wouldn't be turned into stone, but the giant snake still attacked him by thrusting its head at the boy and showing its poisonous gigantic fangs. Harry dodged and dodged and then the snake violently turned into steam and went into Harry in a way that was painful to the young man. Harry screamed as the summon entered his chest and fell on his knees. He panted and trembled as he said desperately: "I don't want it! I don't want it! I don't want it!"
Kroy placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Get a grip. It will be fine once you develop more power. Give it some time."
Harry had always feared being reminded of his Slytherin side, which he knew was childish, but he still despised it. It seemed that snakes would follow him everywhere though and now there was that summon to remind him about it. He suddenly gasped.
"What's wrong?" Asked Dianeia concerned.
Harry shook his head. "It just surprised me by telling me its name. That's all. It also told me I wasn't ready for it."
At least Harry looked calmer then. Luna was the one to ask: "And what is its name?"
"Ouraion." Harry got up and they continued their way downwards.
After they had finally left the volcanic area Dianeia, Dionaius, and Kroy reacted at the same time, opening their arms to keep the others behind them. "What?" Soshlan asked.
The twins answered in unison. "Evolution portal."
"What's that?" Nemaisse asked the question everyone had at that moment.
At that moment, the three adults started a whispering discussion that got on the others' nerves. "Can you please explain what's happening?" Harry asked in a commanding tone, but not in an arrogant way.
Dianeia, Kroy, and Dionaius looked at the children. The twins then looked at Kroy, who was the oldest, and he explained. "Evolution portals appear when a child reaches the age of twenty. They can detect when a child is ready to evolve. They can appear on the same day the child reaches twenty or even weeks or months after that has happened. Dionaius, Dianeia and I are confused because an evolution portal has appeared in front of us blocking our way as if there was someone between you who is ready to evolve. It won't go away until it evolves the child who is supposed to have become an adult. That's why we are so confused. Are any of you twenty?" They all shook their heads. Kroy looked alarmed and looked at Janryu. "Are you sure you turned nineteen? Are you sure of your birth date?"
Janryu looked offended. "Do you think I'm a moron just because I'm a vampire? Of course I'm sure I just turned nineteen!"
Kroy closed an eye as he scratched his head thinking. "Have you done something that only adults are supposed to do? Attempted some difficult magic?"
Janryu turned red and nodded. Ever since he had joined Harry and friends, he had been secretly practicing magic at night when the others slept. He knew he wasn't supposed to practice some of the magic he had attempted. "Yes." He looked defeated as he confessed with just one word.
Kroy sighed. "Here is the cause." Kroy said to the twins and then turned to the others. "He will evolve at nineteen. It's rare, but there are cases like these. We'll go through the portal because we have no choice. It's the only way to make it go away. Don't worry as it will only affect the one who is ready to evolve." He spoke to Janryu then: "It will be painful, but it will pass after a while. You will be weak and vulnerable afterwards." Janryu nodded looking pale and they entered the portal.
Something no one expected happened then. Indeed Janryu fell to the floor gripping his chest in pain and screamed as his hair grew and his boyish features started to change, but he wasn't the only one. To everyone's surprise, Harry had also dropped to the ground. Both boys screamed as the evolving magic claimed them.
Harry could listen to the beating of his heart and feel changes occurring inside his body. He could also feel his blood changing for some reason. The magic pierced him like shards of glass and tears formed on his eyes from the pain. It wasn't like the Cruciatus curse, but it was still horribly unbearable. He also felt his goggles entering his skin violently and the lenses disappearing into his eyes, clawing into them. They had become part of him instead of being something external. After it all passed, he felt a tingling cold sensation washing over him and the magic settled. He could hear Kroy's voice: "They will be feverish for several hours. We have to find a shelter." Harry felt his body being carried and could hear what he was sure was a quarrel between the twins. He listened carefully to what was steaming between them.
"LIKE I SAID! FIRST THE TRANSFUSION AND NOW THIS! WHAT DID YOU DO DIANEIA? ANSWER ME!"
"I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT EITHER! JUST STOP ASKING!"
Dionaius stopped yelling, but kept interrogating his sister. "Dianeia, you are hiding something! If he is only seventeen he wasn't supposed to evolve! And the magic he possessed was already his to begin with, not attempts like in the vampire's case! Dianeia! Please, tell me you didn't! His body has obviously merged with yours! Will you deny it?"
Dianeia started to cry. Harry wanted to say something, but he didn't have the strength to even speak and could feel the burning of fever on his body. He knew that the one carrying him was Kroy and that Dionaius had to be carrying Janryu, but couldn't see anything. He wondered if he had lost his sight along with the goggles and with them, the scanner to find the fragments.
"I... I didn't know it would affect him," said Dianeia as she sobbed. "I didn't know!"
"A very terrible way to turn him into a man..." Dionaius sounded irritated. "Do you know why our race avoids mixed marriages? Because we are dominant, sis'! You mess up with another race and you can mutate it according to his power because it was changing! You... Oh God, Dianeia! What have you done?" (Their race is monotheist.) Harry thought it sounded like Dionaius was the one crying then. "What have you done?" He repeated. "No wonder his blood was compatible with Kroy's Pegasus line even if it's halved! It was probably compatible with yours and mine too! You've ruined his life! I don't even know what he is now! Certainly not human anymore! Even his physical form is changing!"
A big 'WHAT?' formed in Harry's mind, but he couldn't voice it. Was his physique truly changing? He didn't feel much because he was so numb after all that pain plus burning with a fever.
"I'm sorry," muttered the young woman. She had never known she would affect Harry's body. It had never crossed her mind.
"I don't even want to know how Zheylks will react to this... And our parents? Oh God... This is not happening!"
"I won't return then," Dianeia stated matter of factly.
This took Dionaius by surprise: "What?"
"You heard me." She was sure of herself. "I screwed up, I'll pay the consequences."
"Dia... Maybe... Maybe it won't be so bad if they learn that he is from the other world... They do admire that other world... Our people I mean."
Dianeia remained quiet at that.
XxXxX
After hiding the children under cloaks, the group entered a village and went to the town's Inn. Janryu and Harry were placed in beds immediately so that they could rest. Everyone else had been quiet, although Neville had felt his ears burning during the word exchange between siblings. He wasn't dumb. He could figure out perfectly what had transpired between Dianeia and Harry to bring chaos upon them. Harry was indeed changing and Neville wondered what would happen. Would he even look like Harry Potter by the time they returned to Hogwarts? Even The-Boy-Who-Lived's hair was changing dramatically. The waves it had had softened giving it an appearance of straighter hair although it still had waves. The rich black now had blue streaks all over it that in Neville's opinion were very cool. He wondered if Harry's hair would turn completely blue in the end or would simply stay with those blue streaks, but that wasn't all. Harry's hair had grown and now fell below the teen's shoulders. The goggles were also gone and Neville remembered how they had pierced into Harry's skin. The lightning scar seemed to be fading and Harry's skin looked translucent. The small frame was also gone, making Harry look less like a child. Now he looked his age at least because he had grown taller. Neville wondered about Harry's eyes. He wouldn't know how they looked like until Harry opened them.
"What is it that happened?" Nemaisse asked Soshlan and the elf-fairy shrugged.
Luna approached the youngest ones and said dreamily: "Harry and Dianeia became one." The two youngsters still looked confused and looked at each other, but suddenly Soshlan started to turn pink and Nemaisse averted her eyes. It seemed they were grasping the meaning of what Luna had said.
"I have to leave you now, like I said before. Kroy, take care of them. Dianeia, I won't tell Zheylks, but sooner or later he'll find out and I don't think he'll be happy." Dianeia nodded with a soured expression and Dionaius kissed her on her forehead. "Take care."
Dionaius left and there was silence in the room where they were all cramped together. It had several beds, as it was a room designed for travelling groups. Kroy had stripped both evolved boys of all their clothing and had placed cold towels over their bodies before covering them with warm blankets. Janryu was the first to start reacting. Light violet eyes instead of dark fluttered open. He rubbed his eyes and looked at everyone. They all gaped as they saw the new Janryu. The change was truly remarkable. He now looked like a very handsome man instead of a disheveled boy. His hair looked moist instead of hay dry and fell in neat waves below his shoulders. His Asian eyes looked refined. Everyone thought Janryu looked very mature and even Kroy stated: "You won't be considered a child anymore. You don't look like one."
Janryu jumped from the bed, sheets and towels falling from his body. He quickly looked for a full length mirror and enchanted it with magic he didn't have before so that the mirror would show his reflection. As he saw himself, he started to jump up and down with excitement and exclaimed: "I'm a man! I'm a man! And I'm... Wow Janryu, you look good! The girls will want you now! Just look at this body! It'll make the girls drool!" He certainly looked more muscular, but hadn't realized that the three females in the room were actually covering their eyes in horror rather than admiring him. That's when he noticed he was naked: "Eep! Where are my clothes? I know I look good, but you didn't have to steal my clothes!"
Soshlan sighed: "And here I was thinking he looked so mature and he spoiled the image in such a horrible way. Now I take my thoughts back. A pity that the physical maturity doesn't reflect in his brain..."
Janryu glared at Soshlan. "You're just jealous of my beautiful muscular body because you have a wimpy frame!"
"Jealous of a freak like you?"
Janryu showed his fangs to Soshlan making the elf-fairy step back, but then the vampire's clothes landed on his head and he quickly dressed up after muttering a 'thanks' to Kroy.
"Look! Harry is waking!" Neville exclaimed before running to Harry's side along with Luna and Dianeia.
Harry's eyes opened and he looked confused as he started to perfectly focus on everyone. He hadn't gone blind as he had thought previously, but could feel that his senses had sharpened and his eyesight was one of them. Now he could see without his glasses, but he felt very strange. He grabbed a strand of his hair and was taken a aback. He reacted with a muted gasp as he saw the blue streaks in his changed and longer hair. He touched his face feeling under the tact of his fingers that his boyish features had refined themselves. Luna gave him a mirror wearing a smile on her lips and saying: "You look beautiful. Look at your eyes."
Harry touched his eyelids and lifted them. His brilliant green eyes now had a fluorescent turquoise border. His face still looked juvenile enough to be considered a child unlike Janryu's though. Harry pulled his face back as another face appeared in front of his to check him out. Janryu studied him and stated matter of factly: "You still look like a child to me."
Dianeia looked saddened as she spoke: "He evolved prematurely and he is still only seventeen. We couldn't expect for him to look really older, but at least now he looks between seventeen and eighteen instead of fifteen..."
Harry gave her a playful glare and she glared back, but then he whispered. "I want to speak with you, privately."
Kroy signaled at the others and they all left the room for a while. Dianeia sat on the bed Harry was in. "You heard me and my brother, right?"
"Yes. What exactly is happening to me? I don't look like me. In fact, I feel I'm starting to look like your brothers. Will I keep changing? Will it stop? Will I change back to my normal form in the near future?"
"So many questions!" Dianeia was thoughtful, considering everything that was asked. "You have evolved, that is what has happened to you. In this world when you evolve your features always change like in Janryu's case, but he still looks like himself in a certain way. In your case, it was a little more drastic because you have mutated. It is not that you look like my brothers, but more like you looking like someone from my race rather than human. Dionaius was right when he said that you are not human anymore. You might change a little more until you reach real adulthood so for now it won't stop. About you changing back... That is impossible. You will remain mutated for the rest of your life. There's no going back. I'm sorry. I still have no idea of what you are right now... I can't be sure if you'll become like one of my race completely."
Harry felt his breathing quickening as he absorbed the words. There was no going back to how he was physically. "I love you, but I didn't expect this to happen."
"I'm as confused as you, Harry, but I can't go back in time to change it. I'm so sorry... But I love you too..."
Harry laughed bitterly as he remembered about time turners, but they didn't have those in that world plus they had been destroyed in the Department of Mysteries anyway. "It's alright. I might be able to use this to my advantage. I feel more powerful and perhaps I can even use Ouraion now..."
Dianeia placed a quick kiss on Harry's lips and held his face between her hands. "Maybe it won't be so bad then, right?"
Harry joined his forehead with hers. "I'm sure it won't, but I still wonder what I am now."
Thanks to the reviewers: YOyo: You're scaring me! lol; and FK306 animelover
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