Sorry for the long delay. Work has been quite busy and I have not had the time I wish to focus on my writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

To those who still feel there is no plot in this story, well I hope you see what is unfolding now!

The next morning the five travellers sat together talking quietly in their own language at a table in the corner of the Inn's dining area. They were all wearing the same black robes and gold jewellery they had the night before, however their head coverings were different. The three women wore black hijabs that revealed their faces and some of their hair which was long, black and wavy, the older man had taken his off completely and let his ear length black wavy hair hang loose while the scarred younger man had the same material wrapped tightly around his head leaving the status of his hair unknown. All wore serious expressions as they talked in hushed tones. They had eaten a simple breakfast, eggs, bacon, toast and water. They had refused coffee and only the older man had spoken this morning, always in a cheerful and polite manner. Sonia and Olivia had been watching them intently all morning, they could tell that all five were quite athletic. While their robes didn't hug the figures too tight, it was enough to tell that each obviously lived a very active lifestyle.

Sonia had noticed when she brought over their breakfast that they all had rough hands, clearly they worked hard for a living. The blue eyed woman had a completely scarred left hand. She seemed to be able to use it fine but it was quite disfigured and Sonia wasn't sure she wanted to know the story of how she got it. She wasn't the only one who revealed more in the daylight. The older gentleman had numerous scars on his forearm, nothing huge but enough to see that he had been a few scraps. The woman who had spoken the night before had one long scar from the base of her middle finger up to her wrist which disappeared under the many bangles while the remaining woman was missing her pinky and ring finger on the right hand and Sonia realised that her grey eye was actually blind. Upon seeing these many injuries Sonia grew even more nervous.

Sam had seated the group but had left for his morning walk, much to Sonia and Olivia's annoyance, they had an uneasy feeling about these guests and didn't know why. Sam eventually returned and joined the group with a cup of coffee. He was welcomed with small nods and struck up a conversation.

'No raven today' it wasn't a question by Sam. Rather it was a statement that was aimed to cause a reaction from the guests. The five merely glanced at Sam for this comment and went back to eating. 'Strange isn't it. The raven watches my Inn for three weeks despite the heat and people pestering him, yet the morning after you arrive, he disappears. Curious. It seems the gods are moving.'

Olivia had heard her father's conversation and decided to save the strangers from her rambling further, just as she reached the six seated individuals they heard the door open to the Inn and instinctively all eyes turned to the door. There stood a tall young man, he was wearing a simple white t-shirt and black trousers with black boots. His black messy hair was long and hung just to the tops of his shoulders. He had a long beard that reached his chest with bright green eyes that pierced out of the black hair covering his face. Sonia was immediately drawn to his eyes and when she saw the strong physique of the man she was definitely interested. To her surprise, and the surprise of her mother, the hairy green eyed man walked straight over to the table with the strangers and spoke clearly.

'Princess Zubaydah', the young man addressed the woman who spoke last night, 'I am Harry Potter, Lord of House Potter, welcome to England.'

'Lord? I didn't know we had a Lord living up here?' Everyone turned to look at Sonia who turned red with embarrassment, 'Sorry', she mumbled.

The green eyed young man, Lord, simply smiled a small smile at her before responding, 'I do not like to draw attention to myself, however I have international guests and it was necessary for me to use my title today.' Sonia nodded dumbly at this and Harry turned his attention back to the group.

'As-salaam 'alaikum, Lord Potter.' The woman with the husky voice spoke, or Princess rather. 'Thank you for your welcome. This man and his family have been kind enough to allow us shelter for the night, but we must speak with and wish to do so as soon as possible.' She had motioned to Sam without taking her eyes off of the young Lord.

'I have made arrangements at my Manor, we can leave immediately. Thank you for looking after my guests, where can I settle the bill?' the Lord spoke to Sam and his family. All Olivia could do was point to Sonia standing at the desk. As the group got up and made their way outside the young Lord walked over to Sonia who grew weaker at the knees as he approached, his green eyes never leaving hers.

'Thank you again miss?' he asked

'Bellamy, Sonia Bellamy' Sonia managed to stumble out.

'I appreciate what you have done for my guests.' With that he paid their bill and walked out to join the Princess and her entourage. Sam and his family watched from the door as barely a word was exchanged between the six newcomers to the Inn. Lord Potter began walking down the street while his guests followed, they soon turned a corner and disappeared. Olivia and Sonia were stunned at all that had transpired in the last 10 hours. Sam, however, had a small smile on his face and decided it was time for another walk.

Six small pops were heard as Harry and the Medjai appeared at the front of Potter Manor.

'I did not know how many of you would arrive and so I have not keyed you into my wards. Please allow me a moment to grant you access.' With that Harry turned and walked into the Manor. He returned 5 minutes later and ushered the five Medjai into the home.

'Through here', Harry led them into the study where he had arranged extra chairs for his guests. Once they were all seated, and under the watchful eye of Winston, Harry spoke first. 'Firstly I would like to welcome you to Potter Manor. I believe you are the first of Sa'id al Saff'ar's descendants to enter here. May I offer you any refreshments?'

'No thank you Lord Potter.' Zubaydah replied for the group.

'Harry, please. I do not enjoy my title so address me as Harry.'

'Then it is Harry.'

Both exchanged nods while the other four watched in silence. They were all watching the young man in front of them carefully, only the older Medjai showed any emotion on his face, a small smile tugging at his lips.

'These are my kin, family in all but blood. We are from an ancient tribe that wanders the desert near the Ancient City of Ad. This is Hamzah al-Sirafi, our transfiguration master' Zubaydah pointed to the elder Medjai who bowed his head, she next pointed to the man with the scar on his face. 'This is Hamdun al-Basir, our potions master, This' gesturing to the blue eyed woman, 'is Khayra al-Zarqa our runic master, and this is Rayya al-Aliyya, our specialist in offensive magic, and I am Zubaydah Amira, Princess of the Medjai, master of charms and mind magic, you may call me Zubaydah.' All nodded their heads in greeting to Harry, who finally realised who had been slightly probing his mind. It seemed that all those years of meditation had also helped Harry's Occlumency skills. Harry found their introduction quite interesting, clearly part of their culture was to introduce their area of magical expertise, he tried to think what his was but quickly decided against it. Instead he tried to move the conversation forward. He wanted to get to the end of this meeting as quickly as possible so that he knew what they expected of him.

'What brings you to England now? What has happened that has caused the relics to be in danger?' This question was met by a few small reactions. Zubayadah frowned, Hamzah raised an eyebrow, Hamdun let out a dissatisfied grunt, Rayya sighed and Khayra remained impassive.

'Are you not aware of the muggle wars that are currently affecting the magical community?' Zubaydah queried.

'I have heard something of a war, however I have had very little contact with the magical world for five years now.'

'We had heard that you had disappeared from public life after your victory over Lord Voldermort, but we had no idea you had also closed yourself from our world entirely.' Harry flinched ever so slightly at the mention of Voldermort which brought a sudden change to all the Medjai who stared at him with disbelief.

'Do not tell me that you are afraid of hearing his name? Surely the man who killed him does not buy into his mythology?' Zubaydah spoke to Harry with disappointment clearly evident in her voice.

Harry gritted his teeth. 'I do not fear Tom. He was nothing but a man. I have not spoken of that time in my life in many years. There are many memories of that war I do not wish to remember.' Zubaydah had the grace to soften her face a little at this comment, but her wariness of Harry was still evident. Clearly he was not living up to whatever stories they had been told of him. It seems history was repeating itself.

'Very well, however your lack of awareness of the magical world will make this discussion a bit more difficult. Hamzah, please explain what has been happening and our purpose here.' Zubaydah was clearly a woman on the mission and needed answers, but Harry also had the feeling that all the people in the room knew enough about war that they understood his feelings towards reliving those times.

The older man leant forward and began his tale, he spoke in a strong voice that spoke of a long life, but also of humour. 'Almost two years ago, muggle terrorists known as the Taliban crashed mugle 'aeroplanes' as they are called into some buildings in America. This caused American Muggles, as well as English, Australian, Canadian and German forces to begin a war in Afghanistan. At first we watched this with a curious eye, uncertain of how this would affect us and the secret of the relics. For the last year and a half we have found a few witches and wizards searching for the relics and managed to put a stop to their efforts. However, only a few months ago the same muggle armies launched a new invasion of Iraq. This attack has caused more unrest in the Arabic nations with many magical folk fleeing and old secrets coming to light. We have heard rumours of the return of the Brotherhood of Acer. We know they never fully went away but it seems these events have driven more witches and wizards into their ranks. They are fearful that these muggle wars will expose our world and put us all in danger. They believe that the relics will protect our kind from destruction. They do not know the dangers these relics pose and we need to stop them. We come to you to fulfil your oath. The location of the relics has been lost for many centuries now and we need to find them before the Brotherhood does. We need your library, your knowledge and your wand to help us keep the relics safe.'

Harry listened intently to what he was told, elbows on the desk and fingertips together in front of his face. He waited a few moments before responding. 'The first two I can fulfil. You can stay here as long as you need, as you can see I have enough room for many more people than this and I am here alone. I will gather all the books on the relics and my ancestors' journals in the library where you can use them to help guide your search. I will not, however, pick up my wand to help fight. I cannot fulfil that part of your request.'

'But what of your oath!' came the voice of Rayya. It was higher than Zubaydah and without the husk as well. She had immediately reminded Harry of Narcissa Malfoy, beautiful, strong and deadly if pushed and her voice matched this perception.

'I took an oath to protect the knowledge of the relics. I did not take an oath to fight for them. I took an oath to do whatever was necessary, I do not believe it is necessary for me to fight.'

Hamdun and Rayya both showed obvious frustration on their faces with Zubaydah's frown deepened. Khayra remained stoic and unreadable while Hamzah spoke again. 'Harry. We do not mean to offend, we have lost much fighting to defend these relics and for us it is much more personal than you know. We thank you for the aid you have supplied us and we are honoured that you will have us in your house.' Hamzah nodded to Harry, who returned the gesture. 'I do not mean to offend, I know what it is to fight and to lose much for a cause. I swore I would not lift my wand in war again and I mean to honour that. Let me show you where you can stay.' With that Harry stood up, ending the conversation, and led them to the guest wing. The Medjai were more than happy to sleep in a warm bed after having spent so long on the road. It was not what they were usually accustomed to, sleeping in huge magical tents, but they adjusted well enough.

Harry had decided that he would stay at his cabin during the Medjai's stay and so the guest rooms were open for them. Once he had shown them their rooms and the other important parts of the house they needed access to, he gathered all the writings on relics from Walter's study, ignoring the irate Walter in the process, and deposited them in the study for the Medjai to start reading. He would join them later to share what he knew but for now he needed to prepare dinner. He was determined to be a good host and ensure that the Medjai were fed well, besides, he had royalty in his house.

It was early afternoon when Harry returned from his hunt. He had managed to catch a large doe which would be enough to feed them for the rest of the week. As he neared the house he saw Hamzah waiting for him. 'Greetings Harry. I see your hunt was successful' 'Yes it was, you and your kin will be well fed during your stay here. I will make sure of it.; Hamzah chuckled at this, 'I am sure we will. Would you like some company while you strip the carcass?'

Harry looked at Hamzah carefully and saw only a genuine interest in his eyes and so he agreed. 'That will suit me fine; however, I insist that you do no work. I enjoy the process and you are a guest here.' Hamzah chuckled again and replied, 'That will suit me also!'

The two men made their way into the cellar where Harry began preparing the doe to be eaten. Hamzah was the first to speak. 'I would like to apologise again for my kin Harry, it has been a long journey and we have faced many trials over the last two years. We have heard of your defeat of the Dark Lord Voldermort and we had expected you to be a warrior ready to fight by our side. We are disappointed that our hopes were... misplaced, you might say.'

Harry felt like he should take offence at these words but like so many times in the last few years, he found himself not caring. 'I am sorry to disappoint. I am no warrior and never have been. I was forced to fight for my life and hated every moment of it. That war took a toll and I am not willing to enter into another one.'

'I understand. War is a terrible business and leaves many scars. Both externally and internally.'

Harry nodded silently to that statement.

'I had never heard of the Medjai until I learnt of the relics two years ago, and even then I do not know much about your people. Can you tell me more?'

'Of course' And so as Harry worked on the doe, Hamzah told him the history of the Medjai.

'Thousands of years ago we were the elite bodyguards of the Pharaohs of Egypt. We would protect these mighty witches and wizards from assassins and would also wage their wars. It is because of us that Egypt grew so powerful. However during the 20th Dynasty of Egypt, things began to go awry. The descendants of Ramses III bickered between themselves and the infighting allowed the High Priests of Amun at Thebes to gain more power. These priests began to delve into evil and dark magic and their influence over Egypt grew. It was they that stole the book of Thoth and used it for their own purposes, corrupting many of the spells created during Egypts golden age. It was here that the knowledge of the Horcrux was first discovered and used. Due to the infighting our forces had been weakened and by the time Ramses XI ascended to the throne we were a shadow of our former selves. With their new found power the Priests of Amun seized power and banished us from Egypt. Our ancestors roamed the desert for many years aiding those in need and trying to stop the rule of the Priests, however we were not strong enough. Our ancestors swore an oath to always protect the magical world from those who would bring destruction upon it. Since then we have fought in many wars and protected untold evils from causing havoc on the earth. We have also failed in many eras to prevent bloodshed, yet we keep heart. We have been fighting to protect the relics a lot longer than our alliance has been around and it has taken a great toll at times. There have also been times of great peace where we have lived our lives amongst our kin and enjoyed the pleasures of life. We are a nomadic tribe at heart, just like the muggle Bedouin tribes, and spend our days travelling the deserts of Arabia helping those we can all the while keeping an ear out for news of the relics. Unfortunately we have not known peace for many years now. Twelve years ago muggles entered into Suadi Arabia and waged a small war. Once they had left a Dark Lord tried to use the chaos left behind to gain power in the Arabian area, we fought and defeated him but not without cost. The men and women upstairs fought him and suffered for it. I will not share their stories and perhaps another time I will share mine in full.'

By the time Hamzah had explained the general history of his people Harry had finished with the doe. Soon dinner was served up in the kitchen and to be a good host, Harry sat with the Medjai. It was a quiet dinner with no one really in the mood for conversation. It was clear to Harry that the Medjai were tired from their journey and needed rest. It was early when all five thanked Harry for the meal and returned to their rooms.

'How is it going Harry?' Cassandra asked Harry once the Medjai had left.

'Interesting. I told them that I wouldn't fight and they were disappointed, but apart from Hamzah they haven't spoken to me much. Although I suppose I haven't spoken much either. We will see how things progress.'

With that Harry made his way to his cabin to read before he too had an early night.