Many thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was a welcome reception for the chapter, and the changes that had been made. A great thing has occurred regarding this series, but I shall not drop too many hints regarding it just yet. for the time being, I bid you all enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Two

Shadows of the Past

Severus Snape cursed Undol's 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 been whisked away to. 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 wizarding 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 replied 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, and good riddance, another lovely summer without that despicable child underfoot." She said scathingly, struggling to close the door on Severus' foot.

Severus was surprised at the amount of venom that the woman had for her own flesh and blood. It shattered every thought that he had once held regarding Potter's family life, as the memory returned full force of how cruel Petunia had become over the years.

Still, he sighed, as 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, knowing that any sort of calm collective reasoning wouldn't work on this woman, but only fear and anger.

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, watching him the entire was as 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. That only reinforced the new narrative of how Potter lived that was steadily forming in Severus' mind.

Returning to the primary reason that he was here, Severus held his wand aloft and muttered, "Ostendo sum veneficus vestigium."

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 belong to Potter and Undol respectively.

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 all but slammed the door behind him as Severus left, but he paid her no mind, focusing only on 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 in the middle of a deserted section of the street, near an alleyway. Apparently they had used some means of long distance travel from that point; a Portkey or apparition perhaps, which somehow Severus figured that Undol would be capable of doing, despite its illegality for one of his age to know how to apparate.

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…

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For once in his life, Harry awoke with anticipation that it was his birthday. He had exited the private bedroom to find a smiling Faykan in the adjoining study and presented with a tray of all his favorite breakfast food, along with a tall glass of pumpkin juice. Faykan told him to just relax and eat while he and the house elves prepared for the rest of the day.

"First however, I need to get the other party guest," Faykan added with a grin.

"Who?" Harry asked, his thoughts immediately jumping to Ron or Hermione.

"Why, Draco of course..." Faykan said, still smirking as he moved to the fireplace in Harry's room, his sea-blue robes dancing across the floor. He grabbed a fistful of Floo powder and with a shout of "Malfoy Manor," and the roar of the emerald flames, he was gone.

Harry didn't have long to ponder why Faykan was only inviting Draco out of his other friends that he typically felt closer to, because only a few moments after his best friend vanished into the fireplace, Harry heard the rustle of wings and turned to see three owls fly into his room. One landed with elegance on the small table, but the second owl, which was large and gray, landed hard and keeled right over, lying motionless where it rested. Harry recognized Errol, the Weasley's family owl, and after quickly checking that the bird was still alive, he inspected the large package tied to its leg.

Hedwig arrived immediately after, her beautiful white body soaring over to his tray of food and landing with a small clatter of talons to present him with an affectionate nip on the ear and the mail she carried. The first owl that had arrived, a large tawny one, offered him a letter and package that had the Hogwarts seal upon them. It ruffled its feathers importantly as Harry took them and flew back out the window it had entered through without any treat or payment of any sort.

Hedwig nudged the graying Errol until the bird roused itself, and finally the old bird maneuvered to deliver its items to Harry, who took them eagerly.

Harry sat back against the chair and grabbed Errol's package first, ripped off the brown paper, and discovered a present wrapped in gold paper, and his first received birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out; a letter and a newspaper clipping. The clipping had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black and white picture were moving. Harry picked up the clipping, smoothed it out, and read:

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE

'Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.

A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend.'

Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at him, standing in front of a large pyramid, plump little Mrs. Weasley; tail, balding Mr. Weasley; their six sons; and one daughter, all, though the black and white picture didn't show it, with flaming red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his shoulder and his arm affectionately around his little sister, Ginny.

Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys, who were very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it.

Dear Harry,

Happy birthday!

It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.

I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.

Harry remembered only too well the occasion when Ron's old wand had snapped. It had happened when the car the two of them and Faykan had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree on the school grounds.

We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you and Faykan there?

Try and come to London,

Ron

P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.

Harry glanced back at the photograph. Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly smug. He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn rimmed glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun.

Harry then turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was another note from Ron beneath it.

Harry,

This is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says its rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.

Bye,

Ron

Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds, and then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought.

Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from Hermione.

Dear Harry,

I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you, what if they'd opened it at customs? But then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday. I bought your present by owl order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world), did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous; the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.

There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out; I hope it's not too long; its two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.

Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you and Fay make it? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September First!

Love from Hermione

P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased, though Ron doesn't seem too happy about it

Harry laughed as he put Herrmone's letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells; but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a shrunken, dragon-hide bound trunk with silver words stamped across it, reading Harry J. Potter.

"Wow, Hermione!" Harry whispered, unlocking the trunk with a tap of his wand and looking inside. There were multiple compartments, all organized to be opened by any chosen method of the owner's creation, as well as protective charms and locks to keep out others, which Harry was grateful for. Ever since the previous year and, the issues with Tom Riddle's diary, he had had trouble trusting that his things might not be rifled through by his housemates while he was away.

Harry put the shrunken trunk aside and picked up his last parcel. He recognized the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He tore off the top layer of paper and glimpsed something green and leathery, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly, as though it had jaws.

Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders, buy vicious, three headed dogs from men in pubs, and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin.

Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again. Harry reached for the lamp on the table, gripped it firmly in one hand, and raised it over his head, ready to strike. Then he seized the rest of the wrapping paper in his other hand and pulled.

Out fell a book. Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden title 'The Monster Book of Monsters,' before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the floor like some weird crab.

"Uh oh," Harry muttered.

The book shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry got up and followed it stealthily. The book was hiding in the dark space under the far desk. Harry got down on his hands and knees and reached toward it.

"Ouch!"

The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it. Hedwig and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his trunk in the other room, and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and returned to the study, searching for Hagrid's card.

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday!

Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating you right.

All the best,

Hagrid

It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's, grinning broader than ever. Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts left. Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and read:

Dear Mr. Potter,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September the First. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.

Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.

A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning. He couldn't exactly go back to Privet drive to just get one permission form signed, if the Dursleys would even do it. They'd probably refuse just to spite him.

Harry finally shrugged; he could live without going one year. Next summer he'd get them to sign it, somehow. Sitting back down on his bed, Harry reread all of his birthday cards while polishing off the wonderful breakfast Faykan had brought him, as his mind wandered to what his friend had planned for the rest of this wonderful day.

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Draco sat expectantly in his private parlor, waiting for Faykan to show up to take him so they could plan Harry's birthday.

Faykan had owled his father weeks ago to tell him, not ask Draco had noticed, that he was coming on July thirty-first to take Draco to his home for the remainder of the summer holiday, and that they would return in time to depart for Hogwarts on September the first. Lucius clearly also had noticed the lack of a request, but had said nothing about the matter, he himself being busy with meetings that Draco had not been permitted to attend or hear about.

Draco had a sinking feeling that they had something to do with the Death Eaters, and that they might have been planning something terrible for the next year or so, but he was started out of his thoughts by the fireplace flaring into life and Faykan entering his room with the grace of royalty.

"Ready to go Draco?" his friend asked without preamble.

Draco nodded. He had packed the things he was sure to need for the next month, as well as his things for Hogwarts only a day after Faykan's letter had come. Draco crossed the room to join Faykan just as his door opened and his mother came in.

"I thought I heard the floo just now Draco and, oh, Mr. Undol how nice to see you." she said as she noticed Faykan.

"Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy," Faykan said with a flourishing bow, "good to see you again. I have come to take Draco with me for the rest of the summer."

"Of course," Narcissa replied, walking to Draco and straightening his robes. Draco blushed slightly at the display of affection in front of his friend, but Faykan just smiled knowingly, giving them all the time they needed to say their goodbyes.

Narcissa double checked that Draco had all his things, told him to behave while in another wizard's house, and finally kissed him on the forehead, giving him a small wrapped package and whispering in his ear, "Give your cousin, Harry Potter, this for me, my little dragon." Draco nodded and went to stand by Faykan, who offered him a small paper with the name of his house written on it.

Draco studied it, allowing the magic of the secret keeper to wash over him, granting him access to the hidden location as Faykan pulled out a portkey; a small black key, and muttered the activation word.

With a final look at his mother, who waved in farewell, Draco felt the distinct pull behind his navel as the portkey sucked him and Faykan through space…

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Severus was meeting with Lucius Malfoy and other leading Death Eaters to discuss plans for the Quidditch World Cup finals the following year. Severus was only mildly concerned with the happenings, as he was certain that not only would Dumbledore do little to nothing to stop this, but that there would be little harm that the Death Eaters could inflict before the Ministry swooped it to attempt to arrest anyone.

Severus decided that he would simply slip out and go back to Hogwarts, seeing how Nott Sr. was arguing the details of their plan with Lucius, and he had no intentions of participating personally anyway.

Severus left the drawing room and was about to head toward the main entrance when he saw Narcissa Malfoy climbing the stairs to the family bedrooms. He decided that it was only polite to notify the matron of the house of his intended departure.

Climbing after her to the Malfoy family's bedrooms, Severus heard the sound of voices coming from his godson's room. He had pushed the door open just in time to see Undol and Draco being pulled away by a Portkey, and Narcissa waving farewell to her son.

She turned and jumped slightly as she saw the Potions Master, but recovered herself quickly, "Oh, Severus. I didn't hear you come in."

Severus wasted no time in questioning the Malfoy matriarch about Faykan Undol's presence in her house. Unfortunately, she knew very little, only that he had sent a letter earlier that month saying he would be taking Draco to his home around this time, and that it was most likely under a Fidelius charm, which she explained because of the note Undol had shown Draco right before they had portkeyed away. She also mentioned that she had given a birthday present to Draco to pass along to Potter, assuming that he was also with Undol.

Severus thanked her for her hospitality and honesty concerning the matter, and flooed back to Hogwarts. Instead of remaining in his quarters as he had intended, he decided to immediately go up to the Headmaster's office, knowing that Albus would want to know of this development, even if it wasn't that promising.

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Harry was practicing the sword techniques that Faykan had drilled him on during the past month when Faykan and Draco appeared nearby.

Draco landed hard, and had to take a few seconds to steady himself. He then looked up at the tower that was Faykan's house and audibly gasped. The look on his face clearly said that he had never seen anything like the black marble-like structure before him. Harry sheathed Hadhafang as Faykan approached him, allowing Draco a moment alone to pick his jaw up off the ground and reset his dignity. When the blond Pureblood finally joined them, the three boys set back toward the tower, Draco badgering Faykan with many questions regarding the tower, many of which were along the same lines that Harry had already asked.

"Oh, here you are, Harry," Draco said in the midst of his questions, handing Harry a small, brightly wrapped package, "this is from my mother."

Harry took it gratefully, and pulled off the paper to reveal a box of sweets from Honeydukes, the popular candy shop in Hogsmeade.

"Thanks!" Harry said as he bit into one of the many treats the box contained, and closed his eyes, relishing the taste. Faykan tried to steal a small chocolate out of the box, but Harry slapped his hand away. Faykan pouted at that, but cheered up greatly when they all reached the front doors.

Throwing them open with a grand flourish, he stepped aside and Harry stared in surprise. The entire main room was decorated with red and gold ribbons, cloths, and balloons. As they made their way through the tower, Harry became more and more impressed to find that every room had been decorated in like manner, and when they arrived in the upper main room, they found that the large throne had an enchanted lion's head mounted over it, which growled and roared occasionally.

As the three boys walked into the room, small rockets zoomed up into the vast vaulted ceiling and exploded, showering them with sparks and forming the words 'Happy 13th Birthday, Harry Potter'.

Faykan and Draco had to force Harry to sit in the large black throne, and spent the rest of the afternoon treating him like a king, presenting him with the best selections of food and teasing him by referring him as 'your majesty' or 'milord'.

They played wizard chess and exploding snap for several hours, both Faykan and Harry losing pitifully to Draco, and by the end they were all significantly singed from the exploding cards. Finally, Dobby and Faykan's two house elves appeared, levitating a huge thirteen layered chocolate cake that the three boys were sure they could never hope to finish before the end of the summer, let alone that day.

After they all ate as much as they could until they felt fit to burst, Faykan pulled out a large leather bound book and handed it to Harry, explaining that it was a book about the languages of the elves, and how to learn to read and write in it. Harry was surprised to learn that there were multiple, and not a single language that the ancient race used.

Draco also gave him a watch that worked underwater, glowed in the dark, and could point to true north when the command word was spoken. Afterward they had lounged on the balcony near their three rooms, Draco having deposited his things in the roomnext to Harry's on the same level, and Harry read from his new language book with Draco while Faykan answered their questions and smoked from a clay pipe, sending large smoke rings drifting out over the forest.

Harry found it odd that his friend smoked at such a young age, but Faykan simply shrugged and said it was something he had always wanted to try. When the sun had finally set below the horizon, the three boys agreed that it was time to turn in.

They all disappeared into their individual rooms, and Harry tried to settle down to sleep, but had some difficulty because of the excitement of the day. He was finally lulled to sleep by music that drifted from Faykan's room across the hall, sounding very much like the same song that he had sung the day after Harry initially arrived, which soothed Harry's mind and relaxed his body until he simply drifted off.

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Draco was exceedingly impressed not only with how Harry's party had gone, but with Faykan's house in general.

The artifacts that he had decorating the walls of his many rooms were both fascinating and beautiful. Suits of armor, weapons, and banners from long dead kingdoms and cultures were among the many exotic possessions that drew Draco's attention. But the one thing that seemed to call to him was the strange spherical item in the upper chamber; the cloth covered object on the pedestal. It seemed to speak to him when he was near it, and during the night Draco could almost hear his name being whispered from rooms far below.

During the day, Faykan kept both Draco and Harry exceedingly busy either practicing horseback riding, sword fighting, dueling, or just strolling through the forest surrounding the tower. Draco had grown quite proficient at the stunning spell, while Harry tended to favor the disarming charm.

Faykan paired them against each other for the most part, jumping in himself only to offer specific instruction to either of them or to correct their movements. Draco had borrowed an elven blade to practice against Harry and his weapon as well. Draco also noticed that his two friends seemed to grow significantly taller during their months stay at Faykan's home.

When he arrived Faykan seemed to be only slightly taller than Harry, even though both boys were shorter than him by at least two inches, but by the second to last week of the holidays, Harry was almost as tall as Draco, with Faykan trailing behind him by a half inch. Harry's hair had changed a bit as well, slightly longer and marginally less messy due to the growth.

The night before they had planned to go get their things at Diagon Alley, Faykan was reading to them from a book he named 'Quenta Silmarillion.' He was just reading about the awakening of elves under the stars long before the creation of the sun and moon, long after the creation of the world during the Ainulindalë, when there was a loud bellowing groan from the forest below them. Faykan leapt up, wand in hand, the book forgotten in the chair behind him. Within seconds he had reached the window and peered out into the gloom of night.

"Stay here, I'll be back soon," he said turning to Draco and Harry, before storming out and closing the door behind him.

Draco blinked at Harry for several seconds before speaking, "Wonder what that was about?"

Harry just shrugged before picking up his book about the language of the elves. Draco tried to read also, but something was pulling his attention to the center of the room, where the strange orb-shaped object sat. Draco tried to ignore the whispers, but after several minutes of the subtle tugs he finally stood and walked towards the plinth. As he approached, Harry turned to watch him but his friend said nothing. Draco ran a hand over the cloth covering the sphere, gently pulling it away, revealing a blackish stone, perfectly round and glass-like. Within the stone were swirling grayish clouds and shapeless lights.

Harry got up; his eyes drawn to the stone just as Draco reached out a hand to touch it, clearly just as curious as Draco was regarding the object, and everything in this tower as well.

"Draco…" Harry said but he stopped, unable to voice anything in protest. The stone was warm in Draco's hand, almost as if it was gladdened that he was touching it. Draco felt himself wondering just who Faykan was to possess such a wonderful object. Suddenly the flames of the braziers dimmed, casting the room into near total darkness.

Draco looked around, surprised, before his eyes were drawn back to the stone in his hand. The clouds within the object slowed and eventually vanished from sight, replaced by images and scenes that neither Draco nor Harry could explain.

At first, they saw an image of five figures appear, disembarking from a pure white ship onto a grey stone pier. They were all old men; bearded and carrying staffs. Two wore blue robes, one a dull brown color, another wore grey, and the last who was in the forefront wore robes of shimmering white. Their eyes were the most piercing colors that Draco could ever remember seeing and they radiated power and majesty as they walked. Just as strange and different as they felt, Draco could swear that they felt familiar to him all the same.

As suddenly as the image appeared, it changed. The two blue-robed men were riding horses through a strange forest, their staves in one hand, and bows strapped to their backs. The images whirled faster and faster, and soon Draco and Harry could only see glimpses of things before they changed into something else. The brown-robed man sitting in front of a large cabin, speaking to a large eagle before it took off into the sky. Then they saw the white robed man speaking to a group of men wearing ragged hides.

Finally the scene focused onto the old grey-robed man as he led a group of eight strange people through dark tunnels. Four of the strangers were small, only around three feet tall, another was only slightly taller, and Draco recognized him as a dwarf from last Valentine's Day and Lockhart's ridicules celebration, but this one was far older and nobler looking. Two were older men, though not nearly as old as the grey clad leader. And the last, the last was a person more beautiful than Draco could describe any being he had ever laid eyes on. The male figure was slender yet strong-looking. He had bright eyes and long silver-white hair very similar to Draco's own, and his ears were pointed. He was clearly an elf, one of the ones that Faykan had mentioned quite often.

Suddenly the group of nine started running. Many dark shapes appeared behind them and began pursuing them through the winding tunnels. They entered a large hall, and fire surged up behind them. And finally, the old man spoke, his voice ringing through the chamber as Harry and Draco watched. The language was strange, but both boys had no difficultly understanding.

"Look ahead! The Bridge is near. Be careful, for it is dangerous and narrow."

The figures were running towards a large black chasm. Their only means of crossing was a long slender bridge that jutted across it, only wide enough for them to cross one at a time. The old man stopped at the near side of the bridge and ushered the others before him, constantly glancing back with fear at the way they had come. Arrows were flying toward them from the darkness, striking one of the small people and bouncing off them. The fire far behind seemed to be cutting off their pursuers, strange creatures with slanted eyes and blackish skin covered in dark iron armor and carrying large bows and cruel-looking scimitars.

The elf-like man turned to fire an arrow back at the dark creatures in retaliation, but cried out in dismay and fear. Two giant shapes, trolls, Draco recognized, were setting large slabs of stone across the fire, and the sea of smaller evil creatures had parted in fear as something large and shadowy, man-like in shape but greater, full of power and terror that even Draco could feel it through the vision, moved to the edge of the wall of fire. Then with a rush it leaped across the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. In its right hand was a blade made of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs.

"Ai! Ai! A Balrog! A Balrog is come!" the elf cried in horror.

The dwarf stared with wide eyes at the dark creature as his axe fell from his grasp, "Durin's Bane!" he cried, covering his face.

The old man in grey faltered, and leaned heavily on his staff, "A Balrog, now I understand. What an evil fortune, and I am already weary."

The dark figure streaming with fire raced towards them. The smaller creatures yelled and poured over the stone gangways behind it. Then one of the younger men raised a horn and blew. The challenge rang loud and bellowed, like the shout of many throats under the cavernous roof. For a moment the small creatures quailed and the fiery shadow halted. Then the echoes died as suddenly as it sounded, and the creatures advanced again.

"Over the bridge!" the old man cried "Fly! This is a foe beyond any of you. I must hold the narrow way. Fly!"

But none of the others heeded his commands, waiting on the far side of the bridge to watch him face the mass of creatures alone.

The Balrog reached the bridge first. The old man stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand a shining silver sword gleamed, cold and white. Draco recognized it as Faykan's sword Glamdring. His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But the man stood firm.

"You cannot pass," he said firmly. The small creatures stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."

The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still the man could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.

A red sword leaped out, flaming, from out of the shadow. Glamdring glittered white in answer. There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The Balrog fell back and its sword flew up in molten fragments. The old man swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.

"You cannot pass!" he repeated, his voice booming off the far walls of the cavern.

With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed.

"He cannot stand alone!" cried one of the younger men suddenly, and ran back along the bridge. "Elendil!" he shouted. "I am with you, Gandalf!"

"Gondor!" cried the other man as he leaped after him.

At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud, "You shall not pass," he smote the bridge before him. The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked and broke right at the Balrog's feet, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, jutting out into emptiness.

With a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about Gandalf's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered, fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. "Fly, you fools!" he cried, and was gone.

The stone went black afterward, and the lights from the braziers returned. They weren't as bright as before, seemingly lessened after what they had seen. Neither boy spoke, too shocked at all they had seen, and not comprehending why they had seen it.

Draco started as a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Faykan was staring into his eyes, worry and excitement gleaming in the shining azure, "What did you see?"

Ostendo sum veneficus vestigium : reveal magic traces (Latin)

Potential Spoilers Ahead, You Have Been Warned!

This section marks the beginning where I had to do a great deal of content shuffling between chapters, as I was seeing many swelling quite large, and to keep the chapter size as uniform as possible, bits and pieces had to be moved from the end of one chapter to the beginning of another, or the opposite, and so far in my editing it has become quite the trend. Elaboration, caused by a wise and eagle eyed reader, has been done with regards to the languages of elvish that Harry, Draco, and later Ron and Hermione will start to learn, and I had to solidify that it was Quenya that they were learning, and modify some of the incantations that come up later on, as I was primarily using sindaren, which turns out to be the more difficult language to learn, as a dialectal modification of Quenya. Lots of fun, by my college life is trying desperately to infring on my time to edit, so things have been slow. with that and the new top secret something in relation to the ANP storyline; however, I will be very much invested in the proceedings for a long time to come.

much fun for all to be had, and thanks for reading! ~F