Loving the upswing of reviews with the Prologue, please keep sending you thoughts, i love hearing them! Now finally comes the moment I am sure many have been waiting for. Enjoy!
Chapter One
In the House of Undol
Much to Harry's surprise, Faykan came to get him far earlier than he had expected. Only a week into the summer holidays, Harry was found reading from his 'A History of Magic' book for more information about witch burning in the fourteenth century and working on his corresponding essay one night, when the now-familiar crack of Dobby apparating sounded behind him.
"Master Harry, your friend Mr. Undol is here to see you, Sir," he said just seconds before the shout of Vernon Dursley was heard from below, calling him downstairs.
The Dursleys were not too thrilled about finding Dobby in their house. Aunt Petunia had almost attacked Dobby when he appeared at the table to serve Harry during his first day back for the summer. Uncle Vernon had tried to force Harry to keep Dobby away from them, but to very little avail, as Dobby did everything Harry asked of him in completely strange and twisted ways. Since Harry asked Dobby to avoid his family, Dobby took to moving invisible throughout the house, which only unnerved the Dursleys more when they found out.
Harry went downstairs to find Faykan waiting in the entryway for him, a smug grin on his face at the looks of contempt and fear on the three Dursleys. Faykan was wearing robes of a sea blue colour which, Harry noticed, made his bright eyes even more pronounced.
"Hello, Harry," Faykan said as Harry descended the last step, "Hope you haven't been too bored while I was away?"
"Naw, just was wrapping up that last of the summer work." Harry replied, causing his friend's smile to widen.
"Excellent, now we'll have the rest of the summer to do as we please."
Harry raised his eyebrows, "We're leaving so soon?" he asked, confused.
"Yes, unless you'd rather stay of course," Faykan said in all seriousness.
"No way!" Harry said, punching his friend in the arm for being joked with.
"Good, then have Dobby pack you things. You'll only need your wand for the moment, as I want to give you the scenic route to my home."
Harry dashed back upstairs and asked Dobby politely to pack up his things, while he grabbed his wand. He turned to rejoin Faykan, and almost ran into his friend as he entered his room.
"Almost forgot," Faykan said as if their conversation hadn't been interrupted. "Dobby, you'll take Harry's things to this location." He showed Dobby a piece of parchment. The house elf studied it for a second, and then nodded affirmatively.
"Well, shall we Harry?" Faykan finally said as Dobby ran around the room, levitating and shrinking all of Harry belongings so they would fit into his trunk. Harry smiled as he followed his best friend out the door and down into the moonlit street. As they made their way down the street, Harry noticed that despite the few inches he had grown the last year, Faykan had finally caught up to him in height, and in fact was about half an inch taller than him. Harry took the time they spent walking in silence to study the changes in his friend. Not only had Faykan grown like Harry, but he had let his hair grow slightly, and had it pulled back and tied with a silver ribbon. Harry noticed that Faykan was still as thin as him, but he paid it little mind, as he considered that normal.
They had just turned down to Magnolia Crescent when Harry felt a funny prickling on the back of his neck; it almost felt as if they were being watched. Faykan had paused in searching for wherever he was leading Harry, and was looking around. They pulled out their wands and lit them with a lumos spell.
Harry held is wand high, looking for the source of their discomfort, when he heard the padding of feet behind him. He whirled, and saw in the sudden wand light a large black dog hiding in the shadows of a back alleyway. "Ah, just a dog," Faykan said before turning to Harry offering him the same parchment he had shown Dobby. "Read this," he said.
Harry took the parchment and read: 'The Treegarth of Orthanc is the home of Faykan Undol.' Harry looked up at his friend in confusion, "What's this rubbish?" he said giving the parchment back to Faykan.
"You'll see…" Faykan said as he grabbed Harry arm and spun on his heel. The sensation for Harry was completely unexpected; like being squeezed through a tube backwards…
Harry landed hard, and would have fallen over if Faykan hadn't grabbed him for support. Blinking slightly, Harry looked around to see where they were. He couldn't recognize anything, so Harry felt it safe to presume they were not in Little Whinging anymore. He and Faykan were standing in a small forest clearing, surrounded by the strangest trees Harry had ever seen. They made the Forbidden forest outside Hogwarts seem tiny and insignificant. The air was close and rather warm, even for July. "Welcome to my home Harry," Faykan said and Harry turned to see him pointing westward where, over the lines of trees, Harry could make out a large, dark, stone tower.
Harry kept close to Faykan as they made their way through the dense foliage toward the tower, as Harry kept hearing strange sounds echoing through the forest: grinding and crunching and many other sounds that Harry couldn't identify. After a particularly loud groan-like echo sounded, Harry cried out in fear, "What was that?"
Faykan paused, listening. After a moment or two, he ushered Harry ahead and quickened their pace, "Keep moving Harry, something is amiss in the forest tonight."
Harry was worried and confused during the rest of their walk to the large tower. Faykan was silent and kept stopping suddenly when loud noises were heard in the forest, but they saw nothing. Fifteen minutes later, they entered a large clearing directly surrounding the quite massive tower. The black stone shone in the moonlight, rising some five hundred feet into the sky. The sides were sheer, and craning his neck, Harry could see it ending in four large points at the very top.
Faykan mounted the steps up to the large double doors two at a time, Harry right behind him. He watched with interest as Faykan pulled out two solid black keys and slid them into the double lock in the center of the doors, causing them to grind slowly open, revealing a torch-lit circular room with several doors spaced around the walls. Harry took his time to glance around the chamber. The entire room was made of the same black stone as the outside of the tower, polished and carved in an artistic form that, to Harry, seemed far older than even the architecture of Hogwarts. The light sources came from several large orb-like braziers posted on each side of the five double doors that fanned around the room. Each pair of doors had the same design of a single white hand painted onto the iron bound wood. Directly across from the main doors that he and Faykan were standing in was a large throne, coated in moonlight that came from a window high in the ceiling. And most curious feature of all was the small pillar in the exact center of the room, rising about three feet off the floor. Upon it was a black cloth covering a spherical object that Harry couldn't see. As Faykan and Harry entered, there were a pair of loud cracks and two house elves appeared, both wearing black robes emblazoned with the same white hand symbol on the chest. They bowed lowly to Faykan, "Welcome back, Master Faykan," they said in unison.
"Mae govannen, Tua, Mool," [1] Faykan said, nodding to them both, then gesturing to Harry, "This is Harry Potter; I would like you both to treat him as you would me." The elves nodded and bowed low to Harry before popping out of sight again.
"If you need anything Harry, feel free to call either of them." Faykan said turning to Harry, "Now, let me lead you to your room."
Faykan led Harry through the central room and up two long flights of spiraling stairs, and finally down a corridor that ended in three more pairs of double doors. Faykan indicated the doorway on the right "That is the main guest chamber," he then pointed at the right doors, "This is my room, feel free to enter if you need me for anything, and that," and nodding at the last pair of doors, directly ahead, "leads to the terrace overlooking the forest. We're a good three hundred feet up so the view is pretty amazing."
Harry nodded, suddenly feeling very tired; the adrenaline from the forest was wearing off. He pushed open the right hand doors and walked into a well-lit study with a large black writing desk and several chairs. In the back was a smaller door that led to the bedroom, which had a large four-poster feather bed that reminded Harry of the dormitory beds at Hogwarts, except that this one much larger, and stuck to the theme of black and white. Off to the side was a bathroom, complete with a walk in shower, sink and full body mirror. Thankfully, Dobby had already brought all of Harry's possessions, so he quickly changed into a pair of his pajamas and slid into the soft linen sheets of his bed. He fell asleep immediately as his head hit the pillow.
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Albus Dumbledore sat in his study, pondering over a book he had recently acquired about Ancient Runes. He had hoped to strengthen the wards over this summer, especially since the breakout of Sirius Black, and the coming of dementors to Hogwarts this next school year. He was startled out of his thoughts as one of his many silver instruments started to flash and whir, signaling that Harry Potter had left Little Whinging. Dumbledore rose quickly, the book forgotten, and strode to observe the movements of the instrument. It should have been able to pinpoint wherever Harry was taken, but it continued to spin in confusion. Wherever Harry had gone, it was shrouded by magic from anyone looking for it, either unplottable or under a Fidelius Charm, or both. Even then, however, the tracker should have been able to pinpoint a general area that the boy was in, as it did when he was at the Burrow last summer. Yet the spindle continued to turn, unable to find any trace of Harry's magical signature. Albus didn't like this new development; Harry's disappearance would set heavily on his mind. He should have stayed at least three weeks at the Dursleys to ensure the blood wards were at their strongest for the rest of the year.
Running to the fireplace, Albus flooed for Severus, and waiting as the Potion Master stepped through, looking as confused as Albus felt.
"Harry is gone from Little Winging, Severus." Albus said quickly, showing Severus the silver tracker that was keyed to Harry's magical signature.
Severus studied the instrument for a short time, and finally glanced back at Albus, "How can this be? He has no way of traveling magically or else we and the Ministry would have been alerted…" Severus grew thoughtful for a moment, "Unless, Undol… Undol must have taken Potter; it's the only way the boy would have gone willingly. Undol has hidden him away from us, whether knowingly or not though, I cannot say…"
Albus pondered his friend's words. If indeed young Faykan had spirited Harry away from his watchful gaze, then his usefulness was definitely starting to grow thin. Albus had allowed the young Undol boy to be close to Harry, hoping that he could use the boys' apparent friendship and brotherly love for each other to further bend them to his will. To help mold Harry into a perfect weapon to use against Voldemort, but this… Albus needed to find a way to tighten his grip on the free spirited boys, or they world would suffer for it. Albus remember clearly the words that he had snatched from Faykan's mind last year: 'The sleeper must be awakened, or the world will fall.' Albus realized the meaning with a start. Undol must have his own plans for Harry, and this act proved that he would fight against Albus just a readily as Voldemort to achieve them.
"You must find him, Severus, if you can before the school year begins. Otherwise we need to formulate a plan against Undol. For the greater good, Harry must fulfill the prophecy…"
"Honestly Albus," Severus complained, "Now you're making me look after these boys like a nursemaid. Isn't it bad enough that I must teach the brats as well as spy on the Dark Lord for you?"
"Severus… Please."
The Potion Master sighed heavily, and nodded.
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Harry awoke to the pleasant warmth of sunlight pouring from one of the small windows in his room. He sat up, stretching and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table. He had just had the best night of sleep he could remember in a long time, even at Hogwarts. After a refreshing shower, Harry walking back into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. Dobby or one of Faykan's house elves must have known he had woken, because a set of his day robes were laid out on the corner of the bed for him. They were emerald green; of course, Faykan had ordered the colors for his non school robes for the last two years to be specifically tailored for Harry to bring out his eyes. Shaking his head slightly at the memory, Harry pulled them on and stepped out into the hallway. The doors on his right were open, leading to the rather large balcony, and the smell of food was wafting down the corridor.
Stepping through the open doors, Harry gasped. The view was amazing. Harry could see the tops of trees spreading out on all directions for a several miles, breaking off to long green plains in one direction and rising into large snowcapped mountains in the other. Harry's stomach growled, bringing his attention back to his immediate vicinity. There were two chairs positioned on either end of a small table piled high with eggs, bacon, and sausages. Two goblets sat next to a pitcher of clear water. As Harry sat down one of Faykan's elves apparated nearby, started piling food into a plate and filled Harry's goblet with the water.
"Um, where's Faykan?" Harry asked hesitantly. He still didn't know how to address house elves very well.
"Master Faykan is taking a walk in the forest Harry, Sir." The elf replied, pushing the plate towards Harry, "Master Faykan asked little Tua to make sure Harry, Sir, was fed and clothed before he returned so they could spend the day together." Tua added with a sheepish grin. Clearly the idea of making sure that Harry was clothed was slightly embarrassing to the small creature.
"Well, thanks." Harry said, picking up his utensils and starting to cut into the sausages.
The elf simply smiled and disapparated away, leaving Harry to his food and his thoughts. The food reminded Harry of the feasts at Hogwarts, and he guessed that there might be house elves to cook at the school as well, which made sense to him, seeing as they had so many people to feed multiple times a day.
As Harry was finishing his second plate of food (Tua came back and refilled it after he finished the first time) he spied movement on the edge of the forest. Peering down, Harry saw the small figure of Faykan making his way slowly through the gaps in the trees. He seemed to be taking his time, and kept turning as if talking with someone else, but Harry couldn't see anyone with Faykan. When Faykan made it to the edge of the tree line, he looked up at the tower, saw Harry on the balcony, and lifted his hand in greeting. Harry waved in return, and watched as Faykan turned back toward the forest for a few extra seconds, and finally made his way into the tower.
"Morning Harry," Faykan said as he walked onto the balcony and popped a piece of bacon into his mouth.
"Morning," Harry replied, picking up his goblet of water and taking a long drink. The flavor was unlike anything he had ever had before, and Harry looked at the water in surprise, noting its earthy rich taste, but he couldn't see anything in the water that could have changed it. Glancing at Faykan, Harry saw that his friend was watching him closely while eating through a plate of eggs, "It's not poisonous, if you're wondering," he said teasingly after swallowing his current mouthful. Harry stuck out his tongue in reply, and took another long swig of the water, relishing the cool and surprisingly filling drink.
Just then a large brown barn owl came soaring over the forest toward where the two boys sat, landed on the handrail on the balcony, and extended a newspaper in its beak to Faykan, who took it and placed a Knut in the tiny pouch attached to the bird's leg. Faykan unfolded the paper, and sighed audibly, finally tossing it aside, onto the table. Harry leaned over to read the top headline:
BLACK STILL AT LARGE
'Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it-who'd believe him if he did?"
While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.'
Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one.
"He murdered thirteen people?" said Harry sitting up and looking to Faykan.
"So the Ministry says at least…" Faykan replied looking troubled. "But the thing they don't bother mentioning Harry, is that they sent Black straight to Azkaban without a trial, so he could possibly be innocent. Not that they'll ever change their mind about it…" He sighed again, a deep sorrowful sound, and finally turned to Harry, a small smile on his face.
"But enough about Sirius Black, we've got almost two months of activity to plan out. So Mr. Potter, what would you like to do first?"
Harry had no idea what there even was to do here, "Um, maybe you could start by showing me around?"
"Of course," Faykan said jumping to his feet, and together they set off into the twists of the tower, exploring it from the kitchen and potion lab in the basement, all they way through the many guest rooms and studies up to the flat platform on the roof that was set between the four spike-like mounts. Faykan then took the time to point out landmarks and places that he said Harry might find interesting. Namely he indicated a large river about a mile southward that he called 'The Isen,' and the wide plains beyond it that was call the Westford, which ironically traveled further east of where the tower stood.
"How would we get there, Fay?" Harry asked, as he was rather interested on where they actually were, and was eager to go traveling around the area.
"We ride of course…" Faykan said absently, as if Harry was silly for not knowing the answer.
"Ride?" Harry choked. He had never even seen a horse in his life, let alone ridden one. Faykan turned to him, frowning slightly as he realized this. "Well, unless you'd rather walk the entire distance… Rest assured, I'll teach you how to ride, and the horses here are very gentle with new riders."
Faykan and Harry walked down to the forest edge, Harry wondering the whole time where the horses they were going to ride even were. Harry was terrified of having to ride, sure he was going to fall off and make a fool of himself. He started when Faykan let out a piercing whistle, and echoing out from the trees came a responding whinny. Harry turned toward the trees in time to see two horses walk out, the most amazing looking animals he had ever seen. They were large; one a black-grey with white legs and the other was white with a dark colored head.
Faykan walked forward and patted the black horse's head and murmuring soothing words in its ears. Harry wanted to edge away, nervous at having to sit on top of such a large creature, when he felt a nose nudge the side of his head. Harry jumped, spinning to the black faced horse looking at his with its large brown eyes, almost reassuringly. The horse nudged him again, and slowly trotted over to a bent tree that Harry could use to climb up to the same level of the horse.
"You better go over to her, Sootnose will keep pestering you until you follow her instructions," Faykan said and Harry turned to see him already mounted on the black horse. "Don't worry, she is very gentle, just like Snowhoof here," he added, patting his steed between the ears, which twitched in an affectionate way as he touched them.
Harry slowly walked over to the tree and walked halfway up it, until his waist was level with Sootnose's back. The horse then edged over until she was right next to Harry, allowing him to swing a leg over her and ease his weight onto her back. Sootnose, seeming to sense Harry's agitation at being off the ground like this edged away gently from the tree, and walked slowly to where Faykan waited atop Snowhoof. Harry caught Faykan watching his progress and he quickly focused on staying on the horse, trying to match the bouncing gait as Sootnose trotted after Faykan's mount into the forest.
"You ready to quicken our pace, Harry?" Faykan called back to him after a short time. Harry was most definitely not ready, and tightened his hold on his horse's mane, leaning forward slightly to ease the pressure on his lower body as the she quickened her pace. Harry found a pattern in the movements of the body beneath him and finally was able to stop his entire body bouncing with every step Sootnose took.
Almost a half hour later, Harry could see the trees thinning out as he and Faykan exited the forest and came to the banks of a wide lazy river. Sootnose edged up beside Faykan's horse, and Harry could see Faykan smiling at his progress of learning to ride. Faykan slid off Snowhoof and helped Harry dismount as well. "Welcome to the fords of Isen, Harry." Faykan said waving his arms wide to indicate the river. Harry glanced around at the wide expanse of the river and saw Faykan grin at him again, before he started to pull his robe off over his head. Faykan stripped down to his pants and, with another quick glance at Harry, dived headfirst into the water, which clearly was deeper than its name implied. He resurfaced moments later, tossing the water out of his hair.
Faykan swam backward a few strokes, deeper into the river and called out, "Come on Harry, the water is great." Harry sighed, knowing that telling Faykan that he couldn't swim would not be a good excuse, and pulled his clothes off. Instead of diving in like Faykan however, Harry waded slowly into the river, becoming accustomed to the temperature of the water gradually. Harry was certain that Faykan was watching him while he attempted to swim a few strokes, and knew he was going about it completely wrong when Faykan swam over to help. "Here, let's try this," Faykan said as he lifted Harry's body and set him horizontally using his arms to support his weight so that he could practice the correct arm and leg movements.
Nearly two hours later, Harry had finally managed to learn the proper technique and was able to swim on his own. He and Faykan swam side by side for several lengths, Faykan giving Harry final bits of instruction when they heard the distinctive crack of apparition and turned to see both of Faykan's elves and Dobby waiting for them on the bank near their clothes. The two boys waded out of the river just as the three house elves were setting out a large blanket on the sunlit grass. Dobby handed Harry a large towel to dry himself while Faykan simply cast a wandless drying charm on himself. Faykan then spoke a long quick stream of elvish and both of his robed elves vanished with a pair of loud cracks, only to reappear moments later carrying a large basket of food between them.
"Could anyone learn to speak like that?" Harry asked as he dried his hair.
"Of course," Faykan answered, "Are you asking for me to teach you?"
"I don't know," Harry said playfully, "Are you offering?"
Faykan smiled as he bit into a sandwich that the elves had brought. He chewed thoughtfully for a bit, swallowed and finally said, "Sure, but not just yet. Let's wait till around your birthday."
Harry nodded and together they ate the wonderful lunch that the house elves had prepared for them, Harry drinking another two glasses of the rich, earth tasting water. After they had finished and the house elves had whisked away the remains of food and the blanket, Faykan and Harry both rode back to the tower on Snowhoof, as Sootnose had wandered off somewhere into the forest.
They then spent the rest of the day, and several days afterward practicing dueling (As Faykan told Harry that they could use magic freely in and around his house) and Faykan started teaching Harry the basics of sword combat, allowing him to borrow one of the many blades that were housed in his several drawing rooms. Harry had selected a light one handed sword that Faykan said was called Hadhafang, and was of elvish make, very similar to his own Glamdring. Harry also spent a lot of time in the tower's library, pouring over all the books he could read, since there were many that were written in languages that he could not recognize. Faykan also took to reading some of these other books to Harry, on his request, and Harry enjoyed hearing the tales of the past ages. Professor Binns' lessons had never gone earlier than the middle ages, therefore all this knowledge was new and very exciting, even more so because Faykan was a very good story teller.
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Severus Snape cursed Undol and Potter's names for about the hundredth time as he stormed up to the door of number four Privet Drive. He had spent the last few days looking for the two boys, starting at the Burrow, and slowly expanding to Diagon alley, Hogsmead, and several other wizarding locations in and around London. He finally had decided to simply ask Harry's relatives if they knew where their nephew had gone, even though he doubted that they knew where their pampered little prince of a nephew had gone. His secondary reasoning for coming here was to find some of Potter's magical signature so he could try and follow it directly.
Petunia Dursley opened the door and narrowed her eyes at the Potions Master, scrutinizing the man's appearance. Severus had decided to forgo wearing his black Professor robes in favor of a simple black pinstripe suit. Petunia studied Severus' face for a moment, and finally widened her eyes in recognition, "You!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, me…" Severus said coldly. She moved to slam the door in his face, but Severus blocked it with a well placed foot, "the only reason I am here Petunia, is to ask the whereabouts of your nephew, Harry Potter."
Petunia's face blanched for a moment, "He's not here. His freak of a friend De Vries took him away somewhere." She said shortly, struggling to close the door on Severus' foot.
Severus sighed, obviously Undol had used a false name for these Muggles just for this purpose, to throw off anyone who might try to follow him and Potter if they took off out of the blue. "Then kindly permit me to see Mr. Potter's room for a few moments, and then I will gladly disappear as quickly as I have arrived," he said snidely.
She glared at him for a moment longer, then finally opened the door and allowed Severus to enter. She pointed up the stairs to the smallest bedroom and he quickly ascended them and entered the room. The room was essentially bare, except for the furniture. It was almost as if Potter carried all his worldly possessions with him.
Shaking the random thoughts about Potter aside, Severus held his wand aloft and muttered, "Ostendo sum veneficus vestigium."[2] Slowly, soft colors representing different magical signatures lifted from all over the room. Most prominent were emerald green, deep azure, and bright gold. The gold was contained to the room, so it must have been the magic of the house elf that Mr. Potter had acquired at the end of his second year, which meant that the other two colors had to be Potter and Undol themselves. The twin trails of colored light washed around the room, and Severus followed them, being lead down the stairs and out of the house. Petunia slammed the door behind him as Severus left, but he paid her no mind, focusing only of following the twin trails of magic. They lead him down the street and around the small muggle town for nearly fifteen minutes, until they simply stopped. Apparently they had used some means of long distance travel from that point; a portkey or apparition. Severus sighed in defeat, another dead end; Albus wasn't going to be pleased about this development. A glint of light caught Severus' eye, and he turned as a faint scarlet signature emerged from the side alley near where Potter's trail had dried up…
[1] Mae govannen, Tua, Mool : Greetings, Helper, Servant
[2] Ostendo sum veneficus vestigium : reveal magic traces (Latin)
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