Please Review. They are as light percing the darkness of my mind...
Chapter Two
Secrets, Powers, and Answers
The next three years past so quickly to Harry that he swore he must have been asleep for at least half of it. Despite the Dursleys complaining loudly about how that mean De Vries boy was to have hurt their precious Duddy and practically forbidding Harry from ever seeing him again, Piter continued to show up every week, and even Vernon's continued offensive snipes at him couldn't discourage the boy.
Dudley was actually rather terrified of the smaller boy, and he refused to be left in the same room as Piter whenever he came to pickup or drop off Harry. Harry had to stifle his laughter whenever Dudley would run from the house if Piter came too near.
Harry did become worried about how the Dursleys would act when, on Dudley's eleventh birthday, not only was Harry forced to come with his relatives, much to the chagrin of both Harry and Dudley, but that the Dursleys and Harry walked into the main gate of the zoo just to find Piter sitting near one of the booths of refreshments.
"Hi Harry!" he called out as they passed, and he immediately rushed over to join his friend.
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked furious at the boy's presence, and Dudley seemed like he was about ready to throw the tantrum of the century. However, Aunt Petunia's finely tuned radar for Dudley's fits kicked in and she quickly suggested to Vernon that they should buy her sweet Diddydums some ice cream. Both Vernon and Dudley bought a large chocolate each, but nothing for either Harry or Piter, but they didn't mind much. Piter afterword whispered to Harry that there wouldn't have been any left for them even if they wanted ice cream, and Harry snorted loudly, only covering his mouth at the last minute before any of the Dursleys heard him.
Harry should have known that this day was far too good to be true to last.
After a short lunch, where Harry and Piter sat far away from the Dursleys, eating sandwiches that Piter had had the foresight to bring for himself, and graciously offered half to Harry, Dudley practically dragged his parents into the reptile house, and curiously both Harry and Piter followed. Cool air wafted over them as they entered, and it took their eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness, then they stared in amazement at all the different lizards and snakes that lined the sides of the building behind thick glass walls.
Dudley quickly became bored with the boa constrictor in the largest exhibit, which appeared to be sleeping, and slumped off, allowing Piter and Harry to see inside. Harry moved right up against the glass, Piter right beside and a little behind him, but Harry didn't notice as he was focused intently on the snake. Slowly, the snake roused slightly, and opened its eyes to look directly at Harry.
"I'm sorry if I woke you." Harry said softly to it.
The snake suddenly rose up and silently moved close to Harry's eye level. Piter's eyes widened as the snake actually started to hiss back at Harry, and Harry was shocked to find he could understand it.
"It'ssss not your fault, young sssspeaker of our mosssst noble tongue." The snake said gently."
"Harry," Piter said with quite excitement "Do you know what you're doing?" The boy was almost bouncing with enthusiasm.
"Um, no." Harry replied confused.
"You're speaking Parseltongue! Do you even know how exceptionally rare and amazing that talent is!" Piter was visibly trying to keep himself from yelling; so great was his exhilaration at Harry's ability.
"I'm what?" Harry was completely lost, thinking this might be more of Piter's strange almost made up language again.
"You honestly don't know, do you?" Piter looked almost shocked. "Harry . . ." But what Harry didn't know he'd never find out as Dudley screamed for his parents and shoved past both smaller boys, knocking them to the ground.
Harry fell hard on to the concrete floor. What happened next was so fast no one saw how it happened. One second, Dudley was leaning right up against to the glass, and the next, he had leapt back with a howl of terror. Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had completely vanished. The large snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, it whispered to him once more before trailing out the door.
"Freedom, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."
Piter had dashed over to help Harry up and was practically jumping out of his skin in his urgency to talk to Harry, but Uncle Vernon reached him first. Taking Harry by the upper arm, Vernon practically dragged him while Petunia guided Dudley out and into the parking lot. By the time Piter arrived to wave goodbye, the Dursley were peeling out back onto the road leaving behind a cloud of dust.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
The punishment Harry received from the boa incident was longest Harry could ever remember. Finally Harry was released from his cupboard on the week before his birthday, not that the Dursleys would ever have remembered it, and was finally setting down for a rather fractional breakfast when compared to the rest of the Dursleys', when the clink of the mail slot was heard and Uncle Vernon commanded Harry to 'get the mail'.
Harry was just picking up the three items as the doorbell rang and Harry quickly opened it after Petunia yelled for him to answer the door. It was Piter, looking breathless and highly ecstatic.
"Harry!" he wheezed slightly. "Did you see; did you get one?" Piter looked down at the mail in Harry's hand and gasped "You did!" he crowed snatching the bottom letter from Harry and jumping on the spot in delight.
"Piter whoa, what, slow down." Harry said attempting to calm the over excited boy, to no avail.
"We get to go, we get to go" Piter was chanting louder and louder until Harry finally clamped a hand over the boy's mouth to silence him as Uncle Vernon yelled for Harry to hurry up and bring the mail. Closing the front door he left Piter, who was doing a kind of war dance in the hall, thankfully silently, Harry returned and gave the two items of mail to Vernon, bolted his breakfast, and returned quickly to find Piter comparing two almost identically sized letters written upon in green ink on yellowing parchment. Harry looked over his friends shoulder to read the addresses on each letter:
Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
And the second, opened with the letter underneath in Piter's other hand read:
Mr. F Undol
1st Guest Bedroom
12 Wisteria Walk
Little Whinging
Surrey
"Piter, who is Mr. F Undol?" Harry asked, concerned that his friend might be slightly more delusional.
"I am Harry, my real name is Faykan Undol, I'm sorry for giving you a false identity for so long, but it was necessary for my safety from the people who killed my parents."
Harry could tell this wasn't the whole truth, because Piter-Faykan wouldn't completely meet his eyes.
"Then, where'd you come up with the name Piter De Vries?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I think I read it in a book somewhere*," Faykan replied dismissively. "But that's not important, the fact is we both got accepted!" he continued joyously.
"Accepted for what?" Harry said starting to get slightly annoyed.
"Hogwarts of course, what else did you think we were accepted to?" Faykan replied, finally handing Harry his letter back and watching with baited breath as Harry opened and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Harry was dumbstruck, too many questions spiraling inside his head and he couldn't even compose a simple sentence for a few moments. His friend, Faykan, Harry actually thought that his real name sounded a lot better than the one he had made up for himself, seemed to be enjoying the faces that Harry was making as he processed the information presented before him. Harry was just about to fire off questions when Uncle Vernon came out of the kitchen and saw them holding their letters.
"What are you doing boy!" he said sternly, as he approached. Harry tried to move the letter out of sight, but he wasn't fast enough. Uncle Vernon snatched it out of his hand, read it twice over, and his face turned from red to green and finally, purple.
"Uh oh." Faykan whispered to Harry as Vernon yelled for Petunia and stood, fuming until she came and read the letter.
Staring down to the same similar letter in Faykan's hand, she said hotly. "SO, now we know why you seemed like such a freaky child Mr. De Vries!"
Faykan actually laughed out loud at Petunia. "You have some nerve, Dursley, trying to hide Harry from who he is, driving others away, and generally being as horrible as possible. I've tolerated it for the last three years for Harry's sake, but no more." He smirked nastily at their shocked looks. "We've both been accepted to Hogwarts, and we won't have to deal with people like you for quite a long while."
"He will absolutely not be going!" Vernon yelled flabbergasted at Faykan's audacity.
"Oh, and you, the great king of the muggles is going to keep him away are you?" Faykan retorted with a curt sarcastic bow.
"What did you call me boy!" Vernon hissed icily.
"A muggle, you know nonmagic folk like you are Dursley." Faykan explained with a wink to Harry. "Now, unless you want some very nasty things to happen, you'll be wise to just step aside and let Harry come with me to get our things for Hogwarts so we can leave in September."
"HE WILL NOT BE GOING!" Vernon roared, grabbing at Faykan, clearly with the intent to throw him forcibly from the house, but before he could reach him, Faykan shoved out a hand and spoke, "lanta n'alaquel tuulo' amin"[1] and at once an invisible force threw Uncle Vernon away from the small eleven year old, and he landed in a heap against the kitchen door. Electric sparks seemed to jump around Faykan and the room seemed to quake in fear as he glared at the Dursleys
"Never, attempt to physically harm me Vernon Dursley. You do not want to see my true power." Faykan said coldly as he lowered his hand. Turning to Harry, he motioned to the door and opened it for him to leave. "Let's go Harry; you can stay with me for the next month if you don't want to come back here."
Harry swiftly moved outside and was followed by Faykan, who slammed the door to number four loudly and together they turned and walked down Privet Drive and headed to the closest train station.
"Piter, um I mean Faykan" Harry started, "How did you do that to Uncle Vernon?"
"What you mean when I threw that stupid fat muggle across the room? That was just a simple blasting hex."
Harry hadn't the foggiest what a blasting hex was. In fact he was completely lost in all that had just happened this morning and was feeling slightly dazed. It was all he could do to just keep walking. Faykan, noticing Harry's vacant expression, sat him down on a bus bench and started to explain.
"Harry, I know you are very confused, and I'm going to take all day to explain this if it comes to that, but first off you need to know one important thing. You relatives, the Dursleys, have been keeping many secrets from you. Firstly you are not a normal person, you and I are wizards. We can do magic, just like when you vanished the glass on the snake cage at the zoo."
Faykan started then to answer all of Harry's questions very patiently. When Harry admitted that the Dursleys told him that his parents died in a drunk driving car crash, Faykan leaned over and hugged Harry, apologizing profusely for everything those 'horrid muggles' had lied to him about. He them explain that they were actually murdered by an evil wizard, Lord Voldemort, when Harry was only one year old, and that Harry survived the evil killing curse that Voldemort used to try and kill Harry also.
"But the strangest thing happened, Voldemort's curse rebounded upon himself or something and he just vanished, no one had seen or heard of him for ten years now. That's why you've been named the Boy-Who-Lived. Your name is known throughout our world Harry." Stunned couldn't even begin to describe how Harry felt about this bit of news.
"Harry, we should get going, London isn't getting any closer with us just sitting here." Faykan said standing.
"London?" Harry said stumped. "Why do we need to go to London?"
"It's the only place we can reach that will have all the materials we need for Hogwarts Harry."
Harry finally got up and he and Faykan continued to walk to the train station. When they reached the station and boarded a train that was to depart in five minutes, simply passing the ticket taker without a word to him. As he turned to call after the two boys, Faykan turned and waved him hand speaking the high singing words Harry had heard when Vernon was thrown across the front room of number four. "Collanta lye anta tuulo' ron rina," [2] the guard face went blank momentarily and he turned back as if they hadn't been there. When the train finally started to rumble down the tracks towards London, Faykan turned to Harry and showed him the list of Hogwarts require items, since Uncle Vernon never gave back Harry's letter.
"Faykan, don't the letters say that we need to respond via owl post to tell them that were going to attend." Harry asked worriedly. He had no idea when was meant by 'respond via owl'.
"Not a problem, I will handle it when were done getting out things at Diagon Ally." Harry was about to ask what Diagon Ally was when the train arrived at the London station. Faykan had to drag Harry down the street by the arm to get him to keep moving, as Harry kept trying to stop and see everything around them all at once. Thankfully the walk wasn't too terribly long, or else Harry was too wrapped up trying to see everything at once to noticed, because it seemed moments before Faykan was pushing Harry into a dirty pub with a sign saying 'The Leaky Cauldron'. Faykan steered Harry around all the people and tables without either noticing or acknowledging all the stares and whispers they were attracting. The name Harry Potter was circulating and Harry was shocked that everyone seemed to know exactly who he was even with Faykan effectively guiding him toward the back of the pub while simultaneously discouraging anyone from approaching the two boys.
"Hello again Faykan, out for some more shopping in Diagon Ally I see," said the bartender, as he peered at Faykan and Harry. "Who's you friend?"
"No time to chat Tom, we got our Hogwarts letters today and we need to get our things as soon as possible." Faykan retorted dismissively.
Tom was about to push further, but Faykan pulled open the back door and pushed Harry out into a walled courtyard in that was behind the pub. Harry was about to question why all the people were whispering about him, but Faykan was studying the back wall near the trash can. Lifting both hands he spoke again, "annon edro amin naia lle." [3] The bricks forming the back wall shuddered, and started to rearrange themselves into an archway that lead to a cobblede street that lead on and out as far as Harry could see.
"Welcome Harry, to Diagon Ally," said Faykan.
He grinned at Harry's amazement as they stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. Glancing around, Harry desperately wished they could stop and look in all the interesting shop windows, but Faykan was back to dragging him along by the wrist, winding through the throngs of people towards a large white building that rose above any of the other shops.
Faykan only let go of Harry's arm when they finally passed the bronze doors of the magnificent edifice. Faykan proceeded on inside, and by this point Harry thought it was safest to just follow him rather than be dragged anymore, his wrist was feeling slightly sore. As the two boys pass another pair of doors, silver this time, they entered a long hall filled with small creatures with long fingers and pointed beards.
"Faykan, what exactly are those?" Harry asked in a whisper.
"Goblins Harry," Faykan replied as he approached one who didn't look as busy as the others. He coughed softly to attract its attention and the goblin scrutinized the eleven year old with a calculating gaze.
"May I help you young man?" the goblin asked, glancing down from its high stool at the two boys.
"Yes, Misters Harry Potter and Faykan Undol wish to make withdrawals." Faykan replied coolly.
"Do you have your keys?"
"I have mine," said Faykan pulling out a tiny silver key, and then he shot a glance at Harry, "However Mr. Harry Potter does not." He added.
"Then Mr. Harry Potter needs to submit to a brief blood test to confirm his identity and receive a replacement key," the goblin stated as it examined the tarnished key that Faykan gave him. "This key is in order." The goblin then slipped off its stool and moved toward Harry, motioning for him to hold out his arm. Harry did so and winced as the goblin pricked his thumb with a small crystal needle. When a small drop of blood trickled down the crystal, gold writing wrote itself along the handle, spelling out Harry James Potter in small letters.
"Very good, one moment please Mr. Potter," the goblin snapped its fingers and a small golden key flew from somewhere and sailed into its hand. The goblin then handed the key to Harry, and motioned for them to follow it deeper into the hall. The goblin held the door open for the two boys and the walked through to find a small platform with a metal cart waiting with a goblin inside who was introduced as Griphook. Harry climbed in, followed by Faykan, and they started off at a tremendous speed. As they plunged down into the depths of the bank, Faykan let out a whoop of pure delight, and Harry noticed that the cart wasn't being steered by any mechanisms or controls.
As quickly as the cart started, it stopped again next to a protruding ledge. Griphook hopped out and walked over to the far wall where a small door was inlaid into the rock.
"Vault six hundred eighty seven," said Griphook, "key please." Harry handed the goblin his small golden key, and stood back as the goblin unlocked the large padlock on the door and swung it open. As the light reflected off the mounds of metal coins within, Harry let out an audible gasp of astonishment. It was more money than he hade ever seen in his lifetime.
"I'd explain the money system to you Harry, however you have enough money that it won't matter a lot right this moment and you'll pick it up quickly enough." Faykan said with a grin. He then helped Harry fill a bag with the golden coins that he called Galleons. They then piled back into the cart and sped off through the tunnels until they arrived at vault number two hundred sixteen, and after Griphook opened the silver door that was slightly larger than Harry's had been, Harry though his eyes would fall out of their sockets. Not only were there piles of money, at least three times larger than in Harry's vault, but there were a shelves in the back of the vault that held a variety of strange looking objects, including a large sword that was hung on the wall next to the shelves. Faykan piled a similar bag full of gold just as Harry had and he ushered Harry back into the cart to take the wild ride back up to the surface.
As the two boys exited Gringotts, Faykan sighed to himself, "Those cart rides never last long enough," he moaned. Harry laughed out loud at his friend's longing look back at the marble building as they started back up the ally.
"We might as well get our robes first." Faykan said, pointing at 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. "I mean, its probably going to take the longest and be the most boring, but since its right there…" Harry simply shrugged and they walked into the store together. Inside a squat witch with a bright smile bustled out of the back and made her way over to them. "Hogwarts dears?" she said and Faykan and Harry both nodded. "Been getting loads today, another young man is being fitted up right now, I can take one of you now, but the other will have to wait a bit."
"I'll wait until Harry is finished," Faykan said before Harry could offer to wait, "We both want full compliments for first years as well as day robes for home if you don't mind." He added as an afterthought. Madam Malkin beamed at that, and guided them both into the rear of the store.
[1] lanta n'alaquel tuulo' amin : Fall away from myself
[2] Collanta lye anta tuulo' ron rina : Mask our faces from their memories
[3] annon edro amin naia lle : Door open i command you
* Piter De Vries comes from the Dune series by Frank Herbert