Well it's been about seven months since DOVA chapter 3. First is a little house keeping. To the four named reviewers;

Monster King: thanks

Lazymanjones96: I hope it'll stay interesting for you then.

reaperblaze: well here's another chance to enjoy this then.

MeraHunt: I hope you'll enjoy what's coming then.

Now please everyone else who reviewed as a guest or favorited slashed follow, please enjoy chapter 4.

The start of change


Harry Potter stared at the tanned woman in the doorway between the bedroom and the hallway, not fully comprehending what was just said. Behind her was the caretaker who was eying both the strange woman and him. Oddly, Mr. Jones wasn't acting like this was a normal meet and greet. Then again, it wasn't always when someone decides here and now to adopt a child they just met.

"Harry, are you OK?" He asked from behind the woman.

"Yes… just a little surprised, that's all." Harry admitted in surprise as his eyes traveled from the woman to the caretaker. The way she smiled put him on edge for some reason, like she was examining a rare treat. She was what the older kids would call exotic with what he assumed to be what was called a Californian tan from the States or perhaps Mediterranean slash Easterner? He didn't pay attention to that sort of thing.

"I hope I didn't surprise you too much, child." The woman said in a slow cultured voice as she entered the room and sat down on the bunk across from Harry. It's usual occupant was out doing a school function.

Harry shook his head. "No madam."

"Harry, as I was saying Miss Faethar here wished to get to know you personally." Harry stared at the women with wide eyes, ignoring the sounds of uneasiness coming from his long time adult supervisor. Mr. Jones went on, "It is unusual for this sort of sudden meeting between a child and a potential guardian but she insisted. Perhaps this was too soon for you both?"

"It's fine," Harry said quickly. "I mean… I'm free right now and she did wish to see me."

"Yes I did." The lady reached out with her hand with a small polite laugh. "Perhaps we should reintroduce ourselves even if Mr Jones said our names."

Harry nodded his head. "I'm Harry."

"And I am Faethar. It is wonderful to meet you, Harry."

As Harry and Faethar got to know one another Mr. Jones walked to his office, conveniently situated a few doors away from the room that his ward and … guest were chatting. Closing the door behind him looked over to a non descript mirror. Waving his hand he activated the runes that hid magical signatures within the room as a ward appeared on the door and windows.

"Hopefully he'll respond." He muttered as he placed a soul gem into a slot on the mirror's side after removing a figurine. It was a fee moments before the mirror fogged before clearing up, showing a room lit by candle light with a man staring back at Jones. "Esbern."

"Agent Tolan. To what do I owe this pleasure?" The old blade member spoke softly to prevent ears on his end from listening in. Soft music played from the mirror, suggesting a tavern or way station was where the blade member was. "You know better than to contact me."

"I'm afraid this couldn't wait." At Esbern's silence Tolan went on. "It seems the Altmer have discovered a way to these lands."

"This is distressing news. No, not distressing. A disaster in the making." Esbern breathed out in worry. "I had hoped it was just a rumor, that my informant at the capital was wrong…"

"Esbern, what rumor?" Tolan prodded the hesitant old man.

"Nearly half a decade or so ago there was a surge of activity in the higher echelons in Summerset, days after a break-in located in a secret unknown value in the catacombs of the white-gold Tower. The emperor did not know what was taken and paid no mind as it could have been a regular adventure to being a lucky tomb raider. However it was later discovered that on the same day of the theft an important double agent had been killed. Taken together these events seem unrelated…"

Esbern paused to collect his thoughts. "I don't see the connection yet. Tell me, did the elf recognize you?"

"No, in fact all she said was she was looking to adopt a child."

"An Altmer adopting a human child? Not unheard of… perhaps she's attempting to plant the seeds of an alliance between the Dominion and the powers of the land you're in, however unlikely."

"But why come to this orphanage? Why ask for an adoption of a young boy? Questions with no clear answers yet." Tolan paused. "I'll try to contact you when I have more information on her activities. Perhaps because of the British laws I might be able to use this adoption to keep tabs on her and learn something."

"I'll be out of reach for the next several weeks as I make my way to my next hideaway." With his final piece said Esbern disappeared, turning the mirror back into a regular mirror.

"Just what is the Dominion's play?" Tolan spoke softly to himself as he put away the soul gem and set everything up so the room would appear normal. Looking at the clock he took note of the time. It had been only ten minutes but he knew he had to find Harry and the elf before something happened.

Just before stepping out of his office he took a deep breath in. Before the breath he was the knight brother Tolan of the blades. Now he was back to being the alter ego Mr. Jones, a kind worker at the orphanage.

'To think, I left Tamriel to escape with my head attached to my neck from a chopping block and now? An Altmer agent from Tamriel has appeared here and now.' He thought to himself with a smirk at the irony. Sighing, he made his way to Harry's room, only to see no one there. Concerned, he flagged a junior worker.

"Excuse me, but what ever happened to the Potter boy and the women he was with?"

"Oh Mr Jones!" The young woman said in surprise. "Miss Faethar and Harry went out together to get some ice cream at the park."

"That is highly irregular. There are forms to fill out and protocols to follow to protect the safety of our wards!" Mr. Jones got louder as he spoke, concern in his voice at the idea of what the Altmer was doing with Harry.

"Sir, one of my coworkers volunteered to keep an eye on them as they went and the paperwork is all signed…" The young man stared at his boss. "Is everything alright Mr. Jones?"

"Never better, just a rather emotional conversation with an old acquaintance. Carry on." Mr. Jones walked past the worker who struggled for a moment to understand his boss's behavior before shrugging. It wasn't his place to ask about the older man's strange behavior after all. Turning down the hallway a little the man opened the door to meet with the man who wanted to learn about the children here. Opening the door the man gave the sitting figure a polite smile.

"Mr. Dumbledore, always a pleasure. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"So what will be Harry? Vanilla or chocolate ice cream?"

Harry stared at the menu of the kart with an inquisitive and focused look as Faethar looked on along with the teenager manning the post and in the distance the monitor from the orphanage. So far he had found himself enjoying Faethar's presence and company, even as she attracted attention with her golden tan skin. She was fun to talk to and was interested in his love of fantasy books and like him, was a fan of the Lord of the Rings.

But he had the most important decision to make today and she was waiting for an answer. "Um… vanilla please."

She nodded to the teen. "Two vanilla cones please."

"Of course madam." The teen said with a smile as she went to work making the cold treat. Sure it was off season for ice cream in Britain but everyone enjoyed ice cream on a warm day like the one they were having. "Here you go and here's yours kid."

"Thank you." Harry said happily as he licked his treat as Faethar paid for them. Harry waited until she was down to lead her to his favorite spot in the park, a lone English oak that stood vigilant over the park on the hill next to a natural stream. Harry loved the tree and the stories told about how it was once home to fairies or fey in a time when magic filled the world.

"It never ceases to amaze me the wonders of ice cream." Faethar said happily as she licked her cone. She sat down on the stone bench under the leaves leading towards the playground. Harry followed her down, however he sat on a bench next from her.

"It's delicious."

"Indeed it is. A shame it melts so quickly." Flicking her left hand Harry watched with awe as a small condense stream of crystals appeared and froze the ice cream.

"You… you used magic." Faethar gave Harry a a grin as she licked her cone. If it wasn't for the angle Harry was sure the orphanage worker would have seen it too. "How did you do it?"

"Do this? Only a simple modification to a frost spell. A basic for any mage who studied the art of destruction magic Harry." Faethar softly said as she eyed the boy. "And also one of several basic spells known to mages. Although basic it has it usefulness to help young novice magic users learn their limits."

"Wow. "

"Indeed wow." Faethar paused, as if considering her next words. "Would you like to learn how to do it yourself?"

Harry nodded his head excited. "Yes please!"

Faethar laughed at his reaction and Harry found himself enjoying it very much. It was a beautiful sound that enraptured him, filled with amusement. She went back to her treat for a moment before Harry spoke to her again, this time in a soft almost whispering voice.

"Miss Faethar… does that mean you're going to adopt me?"

Faethar blinked and set down her hand holding what remained of her dessert. Harry's was not as far along and was making a sticky mess as he stared at her with worry. Did he say something wrong? Looking down he could feel her eyes wondering over him, judging him. He couldn't tell if she she was staring at the scar on his head, an old roommate said it was cool and reminded him of the symbol of the Roman god Jupiter.

"... If you wish it." Faethar said in a soft tone. Harry looked up with shock as she placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyes met hers and for a moment he could have sworn that while she was happy there was something under the surface of her joy. She pulled him into a hug and Harry put it out of his mind as he accepted her warm embrace. "Harry, do you wish to be mine?"

He had only a singular response to her question.

"Yes."

-Earlier at the Orphanage-

"Mr. Dumbledore, always a pleasure. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Not at all. It feels nice to let my old bones rest for a few minutes. Now tell me everything."

Dumbledore was no stranger to the world of the muggle orphanage system. Many fine witches and wizards had come from humble beginnings like this one. True Tom was what one would call a bad egg but not everyone was dark. Most were shades of Grey, some darker and some lighter, like himself. It was his idea to hire muggleborn or squibs to watch out for those children who exhibited hints of magic. After all, the enrollment book was limited to students who should attend because of some lost charm. The smaller schools had to take what they could find and Hogwarts possibilities who didn't make the cut.

It was not a perfect system and many magic born children did fall through the cracks. Therefore the old wizard was sure to prevent any lost talent from being wasted away or worse, sealed by the ministry to prevent any incidents from occurring, no matter the age of the individual who did not enroll.

Theodore was one such agent of his, put in place after arranging for his competition to be unavailable for employment. All for the greater good as Harry Potter was growing up and needed to be watched. The Potter boy had a great destiny in store for him, Albus Dumbledore was sure of it. The only concern of his was preventing a future Riddle and a catalyst of change in the wizarding world. Well, more to steer it in his vision after all. People needed a beckon to follow and someone had to be in control of that light for the masses so they would not lose the light.

It was all for the greater good.

Theodore poured a cup of tea for them both as they began talking of the nondescript news, funding and other such bland news. Dumbledore made sure to pay attention to each mention of an adult coming to adopt a child. Resentful dark and or rouge wizards were known to take muggle children for experimentation or targets practice for the dark arts. Fortunately sense the war thise events were less and less common but it was important to know if a wizard was close to discovering Harry Potter.

"Currently Mr Potter is on a walk with a potential adopter and I must say sir she is quite exotic." Theodore said slowly, gauging the headmaster's reaction.

Dumbledore's eyebrows did narrow a bit at that. "Exotic?"

Theodore nodded. "Some lady with an accent I cannot place. But she's not from around here even if her credentials are near perfect. I'm telling you there's something off about her and Mr. Jones also is acting odd around her. He was in his office doing the lord knows what and came out all flustered and in thought. Do you think she is a witch?"

"It's too soon to tell. For all I know she could be just a regular foreigner or a descendant. What was her name?"

"Faethar. No clue if it's her first or last name." Theodore paused and game Albus a picture. "That's her."

"She is exotic looking for sure." Dumbledore mused as he looked at her image on the still photo. How he wished it was an enchanted photograph. "But I do not know her in any circle."

"I see. Well I wish I could stay and chat some more but if I don't get back to work…"

"Yes yes." The old wizard waved him on before lifting the picture. "Mine if I keep this…?"

Theodore chucked. "Keep it. Right now all I know is that women has an interest in Harry. Hopefully she'll be a good mother for him."

"We will see." Pocketing the image Dumbledore made his way out, thoughts swirling in his head. A few months back Snape had found the body of an elf nearby the orphanage. It was sad to learn of the house elf death as she cared for the boy dearly and had helped prevent inconveniences with Harry's accidental magic. Sighing he took a deep breath of the crisp September air before walking down the sidewalk to his favorite muggle candy store.

As he made his way down the sidewalk however he noticed Harry Potter and the woman that Theodore had mentioned.

"She is exotic." He murmured as he watched her from the corner of his eyes as he crossed the street to prevent running into them. Meeting Harry Potter again outside of the school setting before he had joined the wizarding world was far too risky and could lead to the Jeopardy of many of his plans and sub-plans for the future. Looking at the woman via a reflection in a window Dumbledore stroked his beard as he saw the smile on Harry's face.

"... It's for the greater good." He whispered as he took out a few pounds for the local phone, too risky to use magic. Waiting for a moment he spoke once the line was picked up on the other side.

"We have a problem."


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