Beta's note: Took a bit longer, sorry 'bout that ;-)
I'll try to be quicker in the future... ahem
Chapter
5: Eve's Children
Harry opened his eyes and blinked away the sunlight that blinded him temporally. He sat
up and tried to remember where he was.
He memorized Amelia's
arrival and the talk he had had with her. He had explained the situation to her and she had
taken Diana with her.
The knights had been ordered to guard the pub and the damage had been repaired, the mess cleaned up.
He rubbed his twitching scar and looked around. He was in a forest.
/You woke up, I see, Osiris announced in his back.
Harry turned around to face his friend. /Yeah, but I don't remember, how I got here/. The Thestral stepped near and explained, slightly amused/You passed out half the way back/
/I'm a bit groggy. Guess, it was a bit to much yesterday, Harry claimed after he yawned.
/You have to be more careful, young one, Osiris warned concerned. /You're right, you're right. I'll go back to the castle and study a bit. Will you join me tonight again/
/I'd love to. The food is excellent, you know/
/Great. See ya, Harry said and walked up to the castle, through the morning chill. When he arrived in his room, he was attacked by a flying Dobby. "Master Harry, Dobby is most relieved to see you again. Dobby was very concerned", Dobby muffled, his head pressed into Harry's cloak. Harry lowered and pushed the house-elf gently away.
"Don't worry. I slept in the forest. No cause to be concerned at all", Harry tried to calm the little creature, but Dobby looked aghast. "The Forest is dangerous, Sir. Nasty creatures are in there", his ears wagged up and down while he spoke, eyes filled with tears.
Harry was touched by the devotion of his friend and it cheered him up as well. "Dobby, it's okay. You're not the only friend, who takes care of me. Be so kind and bring me something to eat. Join me then and we can talk further", Harry ordered and took of his cloak. After the breakfast and his extensive chat with Dobby, he visited the library again.
A few hours later he returned to his room, packed with books. A mass of giggling girls and admiring boys had made it impossible for him to study in earnest. During the lunch, Dobby offered to retrieve the dispatched books and to fetch new ones. Harry did not think twice to accept and ordered a lot of books.
While Dobby was gone, he wrote a letter and sent Hedwig to Madame Malkins, with an order to deliver 20 pairs of socks to Dobby.
Colorful and mismatched.
In the evening he left again and joined Osiris at the rim of the hickory. /Hey ye. Ready for another round, Harry greeted the creature. /Welcome, young one. What's our destination this time, the Thestral replied gleeful. /Cardiff, the house of a Deatheater, I think. Or is it too far for you, Harry teased in a strange joyful mood. /For me it would be the same, if I were to fly around the world, but I doubt that you are able to bear such a long ride, Osiris snapped back. Harry jumped on his back and proclaimed /Come on, lets prove each other wrong/.
On the ride Osiris told Harry his tale. Harry was right in his assumption that he was royal. Osiris was an descendant of the sovereign line of the Thestrals. Once the Thestrals had ruled the forests all around the world. Their natural abilities enabled them to hunt everything without risk. But the wizards feared and hunted down many of them.
United under one king the Thestrals had gathered in Scotland and retreated in the remote forests. This way the Thestrals prevented their extermination, but they could not stop the downfall of their race. Only a handful survived, till Hagrid found them and took care of them. Osiris was the chieftain of the herd, once a powerful position, but now the Thestral were tamed by privation and dependence.
This story helped Harry to understand Bor's statement about the wizardkind. They ruled all other living beings. The Elves, the Thestrals, the Dragons, the Goblins, all the other magical beasts and even the Dementors. In many matters they supervised the Muggles and all this was done by magic. Simply because the wizards ruled the magic, they claimed the world. Or the wizards are ruled by the magic, too
His brooding was interrupted by Osiris. /We'll reach Cardiff in two minutes. Where exactly shall I land/Outside of the city, we're going on foot./As you wish./ Osiris headed down and touched the earth gracefully. Harry took the lead and together they walked through the streets. After ten minutes Harry stopped in front of a small shabby house. /Here we are, he declared. /What do you think? How much are in there, Osiris asked with a hungry glare. Harry shrugged with his shoulders. Osiris took a deep breathe through his nostrils.
/Strange, I can't smell anyone in there, he announced after a few seconds. /Maybe your nostrils are frozen after the flight, Harry suggested, smirking. /Oh, shut up. My nose is fully intact and there's nobody in there./I'll see it. You wait here./
Harry prayed to God, for protection and opened the front-door. The room was dark andt empty, except for some chairs, a table and a bit more furniture. A stair in the corner led upwards and door was opposite from him. He approached the door carefully and listened. When he heard no noise, he pushed the door and it swung inwards. Again he found only furniture. Disappointed he walked upstairs, only to find a deserted kitchen and a bathroom. Even more unsatisfied he left the house and joined Osiris outside.
/You were right. Nobody's there. No midnight-snack for you, Harry announced the result. /What a pity. Did your informant lie to you, answered the Thestral. /Nope, they were here. We're just to late. But if they come back, they will find out that I've been here, declared Harry. /Any other targets this night, Osiris asked hopefully. /No, said Harry while he mounted the creature /I assume they have a meeting and Peter couldn't tell me where the HQ is. Let's fly back./
The first sun-beams hit Harry's face as they landed on the ground of Hogwarts. They bade each other farewell and departed to their shelters. In his room again, Harry fell on his bed and was at sleep before he hit the mattress.
When he awoke in the late afternoon he found a tray with lunch and a letter, with the red paw cross on the front. Curios he fetched the letter and opened it. It was an invitation to join the Council at dinner this very evening.
Aware of the fact that he would miss the marvelous dinner of the Hogwarts' Elves, he consumed his lunch with great enthusiasm, since the Templar were able to fight all villains of the world at the same time, but to cook a decent meal was beyond their abilities. After he had finished his lunch and a quick chat with Dobby, he put his Executor robe on and triggered the port-key.
He arrived in the dining room that was reserved for the Council members when they wished to talk in private. Additional to the five chairs another was arranged to the table. The Council was already seated and spoke quietly with each other. When they noticed Harry they rose from the table and Uther welcomed him, "Harry, I am glad you made it. Come here and take a seat." Harry approached the table and shook hands with Amelia, Cris, Garret, Bor and Uther. After that he massaged his hand. Bor's grip had been much stronger than necessary. Before he seated himself, he bowed to the cross.
When Harry was finally placed and provided with wine, Uther proclaimed, "Amelia told us from your adventure the night before yesterday." "Good job, man!", exclaimed Cris. "Why thank you, but it was nothing to be proud of. They were all drunk, as if it matters, but those heretics were still living beings and it is sad, that so many humans walk the way of Lucifer. But they will see that this way only leads to death", Harry said with a trace of sorrow in his voice. "Well spoken, my friend", uttered Garret, the youngest member. Their conversation was interrupted, because the dinner was served up. It was like Harry had anticipated; not bad, but miles apart a standard Elven meal'.
Harry brought the matter up, when they had finished. "Did you consider to hire a few house elves?", Harry asked without ulterior motives. Suddenly the members' faces bore poignant expressions.
"What? What did I say?", Harry inquired, a bit agitated. Uther answered slowly, "You know, the house Elves were not so, ever. Today they are slaves." He stopped as he saw the bitter face of Harry.
"Oh no, I didn't mean the wizards. No, no, they are oppressed by a much greater might than wizards. They are slaves of their very own magic", Uther explained, before he continued, "God created them after the Great Flood. They were powerful and good, much like angels. They used their powers to help the humans, but the frequent use of magic changed them. Their bodies crippled and their fondness for the humans turned to devotion and devotion into slavery." "I didn't know that. Could this happen to the wizards? Or to us?", Harry asked worried. "No", Garret calmed him, "Our magic is not strong enough to cause an addiction to such a great degree, nor are humans so good-hearted to give everything up for another being." "Yeah, I think you're right. But I assume you didn't call me here, to discuss elven history, did you?", Harry stated, suspecting that there were matters at hand as a reason for his summoning.
Amelia knotted her hands and spoke quietly, as if the affair should better not be voiced. "We fear another betrayal hit our ranks. A group of rebels departed from our base in Wales and neglected every contact.
They committed a great sin as they interfered into a fight between Deatheaters and Muggels, for they were not authorized to do so. But a much greater crime is that they killed without hesitation."
The sentences came slowly, as if she had to think hard how to express such a unspeakable crime. In reality this speech was the result of a long debate in the Council that took place the last days. And Harry reaction was exactly like they had anticipated. The words betrayal, Deatheater, Muggel and kill led him to the conclusion that the betrayers had killed Muggels and rage built up inside him. He was on his feet before anyone had the possibility to utter another word. "I'll find them and I promise they'll meet God before the next day ends", exclaimed Harry and left.
When he was gone Bor said, "I don't like this, still. He will kill them for real, if he finds them." But Uther appeased him, "Don't worry. He is much to good to harm anyone without a white mask and a black robe." "I don't share your optimism. He's blinded with fury. He lost to much peoples and this 'betrayal' hurts him much. He thought us good and now…", Cris didn't finish the sentence, but took up his glass and drank a gulp. Garret continued instead, "I don't like the lying", and looked meaningful at Amelia. She sighed in response and announced, "Garret, we had this discussion a hundred times. We didn't lie to him, we told not the whole truth, only. He drew his own conclusions. As matter of fact the Children of Eve betrayed us, or better they disobeyed an old law, which will crumble soon, anyway."
There was a long silence till Uther spoke, "I'm much more concerned about what he will do if he does not kill them."
