"I have to go home and get changed." Cyrus said quickly as he stood at the door. They were still in the same room as before. Tyler had already left to go and talk to his family. "I'll be back in about half an hour and then we can request to take custody of you and for the ritual that will prove you're the Shadow Keeper."
"Are you going to put on your ceremonial robes?" Harry asked with a small laugh.
"No. Those are only for executions. I should put them out just in case though…" Cyrus said, trailing off at the end of his sentence.
"Cyrus!" Lyla said with indignation.
"I'm only joking with you, Harry." Cyrus assured Harry with a chuckle. He crossed the room from his spot to give Lyla a hug. He then turned to Harry and knelt down so he could look Harry in the eye. "I promise everything will be fine Harry. I don't want you to worry."
"Kind of easy for you to say." Harry said nervously. "How do you know that I'll be allowed to stay for sure? Your father still is king…"
"If you're not allowed to stay, me and Lyla will just have to leave with you. From here on out, the three of us are in this together." Cyrus said reassuringly, giving Harry a bright smile. He gave Harry a hug, continuing to hold on even when Harry tensed. He let go of Harry after another second and stood.
"I'll be back." He said simply, leaving the room quickly.
"What do we do now? Besides waiting, I mean." Harry asked after a few moments of silence.
"Well, I guess now would be no better time than to get to know each other. There isn't much we know about each other, is there?" Lyla said with a smile. Seeing Harry's nervousness, she offered to go first.
"Where were you born?" Harry asked as he took a seat on the sofa.
"I was actually born a few houses away from where me and Cyrus live now." Lyla replied as she took a seat in one of the room's chairs. A light wind came from the still open windows and Harry was pleasantly surprised it didn't give him a chill.
"What is your family like?"
"We were always really close. I was an only child but I considered Tyler to be my brother. Our fathers were old friends and they always kept in touch. One day, Tyler's father brought him along and after that we became attached at the hip. Tyler was the one that introduced me to Cyrus." Lyla said with a smile.
"What was it like the first time you and Cyrus met?" Harry asked, smiling at Lyla.
"The first time I met him, I actually punched him in the face." Lyla said, laughing.
"What? You punched him?" Harry asked, shocked. He tried to think of a child version of Lyla punching Cyrus when he was a child. Even only knew the couple for less than a day, but he couldn't see Lyla attacking Cyrus.
"He had been acting like a complete snob when we met. He kept talking about how he was going to be king when he was older and how that obviously made him better than me. He went on and on about how he was richer and better. Then, he took a look at my clothes and made some comment about how I got them out of the trash. He got me so mad I punched him right in the mouth! I gave him a fat lip and everything!" Lyla said with a laugh.
"Cyrus doesn't seem like the type of person to act like that." Harry said, confused.
"He isn't, and wasn't. It turned out Tyler and Cyrus had thought it would be funny to pull a prank on me. After they told, I gave Tyler a good slap. After that though, the three of us started hanging out and we became inseparable. I did have to give them a good punch every now and then though." Lyla said with a laugh.
Harry just sat there and tried to imagine child version of Lyla, Cyrus, and Tyler. It wasn't that hard seeing as the three of them were still young.
"How about I ask you some questions now?" Lyla suggested innocently.
Harry gave a tentative nod. "She'll find out eventually," Harry thought to himself. "and I can always say I don't want to answer her questions."
"Ok. Guessing from your accent, you're probably British. Am I right?" Lyla asked with a calming smile. Harry nodded tensely.
"Yeah. I was born in a hospital in London but I lived in a small town called Godric's Hollow." Harry quietly replied.
"I've never heard of it. But, then again, I've never really explored much of Britain. Ok. New question."
Harry tensed, waiting for a more personal question. He wouldn't be surprised if she asked about the bruises or scars on his body. It was then a surprise to him when she asked him his favorite color.
"Uh, I don't really have one. I just prefer bright, calming colors. Light green, light blue, yellow…" Harry answered, relaxing into the couch a little bit.
Lyla gave a small, "hmm" as if saving the info for later use. Before she could ask another question, Cyrus walked back into the room.
"You're back soon." Lyla noted. Cyrus just gave a nod. He had exchanged his old clothes for a black suit with a yellow tie and handkerchief. Harry noticed he had even jelled his hair back. Harry got the impression of some fancy lawyer, like the ones he had sometimes seen on TV.
"Me and Harry were just getting to know each other. I told him about the first time we met." Lyla said with a smile. Cyrus just let out a laugh.
"I can sometimes still feel the pain." Cyrus said as he let out a fake moan of pain.
"Don't be such a wimp." Lyla joked as she stood up and kissed him. "Feel any better?"
"Of course. One kiss from you could heal any pain I have." Cyrus said with a smile. "We should leave though. We don't want to wait too long. The day's end is quickly approaching."
"What happens when we get down there?" Harry asked nervously.
"It's all very routine. All we have to do is request custody of you, which we'll be granted, and request the ritual to prove you're the Shadow Keeper, which will also be granted."
"How are you going to take custody of me though? What about Lil- my parents?" Harry asked, catching himself when he almost said Lily and James.
"They don't have custody of you here, so when it gets granted you'll be our ward as long as you remain here. After we get custody of you here, we'll delete all records of you in the magical and muggle world. It'll be like you've never even existed."
"How can you just erase my records though?"
"We have our ways." Cyrus said with a mysterious smile. "Now, are you ready to go?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Harry said quietly as he walked towards Cyrus and Lyla. When he reached them, Cyrus quietly held out his hand for Harry to take. Harry stared at Cyrus for a second before taking hold of his hand.
"Let's be on our way then." Cyrus said as Lyla took his other hand. The three walked out of the room, hand in hand. To Harry, the walk towards the throne room seemed to take longer than the walk away from it.
"Shouldn't Lyla and I have gotten all dressed up too?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.
"No. I'm the only one of the three of us that will be talking. When you talk before the kings, you're supposed to be dressed in your best clothes. This is only my second best suit though, so don't tell." Cyrus said with a wink. The three continued in silence until they eventually came upon the door Lyla and Harry were led to before. Two guards stood at attention.
"I'm here to request an audience with the kings." Cyrus said when they stopped in front of the door.
"Who are we to announce?" One of the guards questioned, though Harry was almost positive he knew who Cyrus was.
"Cyrus Shade, accompanied by Lyla Shade and my temporary ward." Cyrus said, adopting a more formal tone of voice. One guard nodded and walked into the room. He came back within a few moments.
"Your audience is granted." The guard informed them. The other guard quickly patted the three of them down. When he found nothing, they followed the first guard back into the room. As they walked into the room, Harry quickly averted his eyes to the ground so as to not look at Darius.
"Announcing Prince Cyrus with his wife, Lyla Shade, and their temporary ward." The guard announced loudly. His words echoed off the stone walls. Cyrus led Harry and Lyla to the middle of the room. He let go of their hands, took a step forward, and dropped to a knee.
"Good afternoon, my Kings. It is an honor to be in your presence." Cyrus said formally. Harry smiled at the ground at the irony. Wasn't it normally Cyrus that heard those words?
"Good afternoon." King Tyler and King Darius replied in sync.
"Thank you for granting an audience with me."
"What do you request of us?" King Tyler asked, though Harry knew Tyler already knew.
"I would like to request full custody and responsibility of my now temporary ward." To Harry's surprise, King Darius erupted in laughter at Cyrus' words.
"You know Cyrus," Darius began when his laughter died down. "I think this is the farthest you have ever gone to try and rebel against me."
"I can assure you my king, this is no joke."
"Cyrus…" Darius replied, a slight growl in his tone. "Stop the act. You know you can't let this happen. You think I would actually let you taint our family's line with his blood?"
"Darius…" Tyler cautioned. "You must not let your personal issues get in the way of this choice. Think of it logically. This boy has no guardian or anyone at all who would be willing to take him in. Cyrus here is doing us a favor. By taking responsibility of the child, we don't have to worry about him running amuck and causing damage."
"I still say no." Darius said with hate in his tone.
"I vote yes." Tyler said kindly.
"It's a tie. What happens no-" Harry thought, only to have his mental question cut off.
"I vote yes." A third, unfamiliar voice said clearly. Harry quickly looked up and noticed the chair to the right of Tyler was now occupied. He hadn't noticed the small boy before in his fear to look at Darius. Harry noticed that the boy seemed to be about the same age from what he could tell. Even though he was sitting, Harry thought the boy might be tall for his age. He had broad shoulders and had some amount of muscle under his still there baby fat. He had straight brown hair that fell to the bridge of his nose, though it had been pulled back in a simple ponytail. Golden yellow eyes observed Harry as his mouth curled into a smirk. Was this Tyler's son?
"The notion is passed." Tyler said with finality, smacking his hand loudly onto his chair. Harry snapped out of his observations to look at Tyler. Passed? It had actually worked? "Harry is now your permanent ward and you must claim full responsibility for him."
"I also have another request to be voted upon." Cyrus said as his eyes quickly flicked to his father.
"If you request to make that boy of our blood, I will strip you of the family name and all of its privilege!" Darius yelled. Harry watched as spittle flew out of Darius' mouth as he yelled.
"As horrifying as that would be," Cyrus said with the undertone of sarcasm. "I am the only child in the noble house of Shade. If you were to disown me you would not have a successor and the council would then be forced to elect a new king. Is that really what you want?"
Darius glowered at his own son as he thought over his words. He seemed to weigh the options over in his head and after a minute or so, he barked out a "proceed".
"I would like to request that my ward be put through the Shadow Keeper examination so that he may claim his rightful place in our society." Darius let out a bark of laughter at something only he seemed to find funny but stayed silent.
"I approve your request." Tyler said, echoed by the boy seconds later. Tyler didn't even bother to hear what Darius had to say before he slammed his hand down on the chair. "Your second request is also approved. We shall have council again at a later time to decide when the examination shall take place. Meeting adjourned!"
"What do we do now?" Harry asked as the three of them exited the castle through the shadow portal.
"Well, for now we just go home and wait for Tyler and his family to come over. And then after that, we'll take it day by day." Lyla said as she held out her hand for Harry. She smiled when he grasped it after only looking at it for a second or so.
"Does Tyler's family always come over?" Harry questioned as they started walking away from the castle.
"Most of the time." Cyrus said as he pulled at his tie. He looking around slyly and added in a stage whisper, "Bunch of leeches, they are. We can't get rid of them!"
"Oh, shut it you!" Lyla said with a smile. She nodded at the guards as they opened the castle gates for them through the same method Aaron had used. Harry only hesitated for a second before walking through the wispy black shadow that had appeared on the door. The trio continued in silence as the entered the courtyard in front of the castle.
"Was that boy next to Tyler his son?" Harry asked as they approached the town square. Harry noticed that a few people sent them looks but most minded their business.
"Yes, that was Tyler's son. Our godson, like we mentioned before. His name is Nick." Lyla informed Harry as she sent looks back at anyone who glanced at them.
"Oh, that's the boy you were talking about. How old is he?"
"He actually just turned just turned seven in October, which I'm assuming is pretty close in age to you?"
"Yeah, I turned seven in July." Harry said in reply. The three continued their walk in silence as they walked through the busy streets.
"Home sweet home." Cyrus said happily when they walked up to the house. He swung the door in and let Harry take the first step.
"You first step into your new home. How does it feel?" Cyrus questioned.
"Actually, it does feel more… homey." Harry said with a small smile as he looked around the room. When he first entered the house, he felt out of place and unwanted. Now it felt like a place he could actually live in.
"You'll be taking Nick's old room. Is that ok? If you want, me and Cyrus can help you paint and rearrange the furniture. Or buy you new furniture if you want." Lyla said uncertainly.
"The room will be more than enough for me. Maybe when I get more comfortable I'll repaint the room?" Harry suggested as he tried to reassure Lyla.
"Whatever you need." Lyla said with a smile.
"Tyler and everybody won't be here for a while. Why don't you go freshen up in your room? Help yourself to any of Nick's clothes. He has more than enough and won't miss it." Cyrus suggested. Harry nodded and walked down the hallway until he reached the far door on his left. He opened the door and quietly shut it behind him. Harry took a second to look around the room. Before he hadn't really had time to appreciate the room for what it was.
It was a large square room was a door that led to a bathroom and French doors that led to the backyard and allowed an abundance of natural light to brighten the room. The rug was a plush dark green that reminded him of grass in a forest. And to Harry's surprise, he noticed that all along the walls tree were expertly painted. As Harry scrutinized them, he realized that they had even painted animals into the forest scene. Completing the forest scene was the ceiling. It was painted a deep, rich blue color that matched the night sky. Painted on stars flickered when Harry looked at them at certain angle. The entire scene made Harry feel calm and relaxed. Pushed up against the wall with the door was a king sized bed with a lighter green than what was on the ground. At the foot of the bed was a white loveseat. Across from the loveseat was the door that led to the room's bathroom. On the left wall stood a dresser and a bookcase that was filled, to Harry's delight. Finally, on the right side of the room were the French doors that led to the backyard. Harry walked over to them and looked out into the backyard. The pond that Cyrus had described sat directly in the middle of the clearing with a picnic table near it.
Looking around the room, Harry definitely felt like he could get used to this new life.
"Harry, they're here!" Lyla called from the living room. Harry looked up from the history book he was reading. His shaggy black mop of hair was stilling dripping, Harry having not bothered to dry it off after his shower. He had wanted to get into the stack of books in the bookcase right away. He didn't even care that he was reading a history book; it was still a history book from another world. Harry quickly set the book down and shook his head to try and dry his hair a bit more. Giving it up as a lost cause, he quickly left the room and went back to the sitting room. Tyler and Nick were already sitting down and Harry noticed what he thought to be Tyler's wife.
Harry stared in shock as he looked at the woman. Harry had sort of stereotyped what she would look like based on the others. He was completely wrong.
The woman was downright gorgeous. Not that the others were ugly, but she knew how to make it more pronounced. She had straight blonde hair that went to a little past her shoulders. She wore a necklace of pearls and a black cocktail dress that ended a few inches above her knee. The tight black dress beautifully showed off her hourglass figure. She wore black high heels that made her tall legs seem even longer. She looked at Harry with bright blues eyes that seemed to be brimming with happiness. Harry got the overall impression of a model he had once seen on the cover of one of his mother's magazines.
"Hi Harry! It's sooo good to meet you! My name is Marie!" Marie said, sounding over excited.
"Er… How are you?" Harry asked nervously.
"Soo good! I got my nails and hair done today!" Marie said, showing off her fresh pink nails and giving her hair a flip.
"That's good…" Harry said uncertainly. Just as he was about to talk, Marie became a blur and in a second felt his legs being swept from underneath him and realized he was now looking at the ceiling.
"Wha…?" Harry questioned as he looked up at the ceiling. Marie's face hovered over Harry's and the previous look in her eyes was replaced with a look that seemed to penetrate his soul. She stared at him for a few more seconds, as if searching for something in him, before breaking eye contact.
"He underestimated me. Rule one of surviving is to never underestimate an opponent based on how they look or act." Marie said seriously as she pulled the boy to his feet.
"It's his first day Marie. You can't expect the boy to be on guard against everyone. Believe it or not, we're actually trying to get him to trust us." Cyrus said as he rolled his eyes.
"That may be so, but I had to test the boy. If I were forced into a new situation I would be on guard constantly." Marie said as she looked Harry up and down.
"Sorry about my mother, she fancies herself to be some sort of super-secret spy." Nick said to Harry with an apologetic smile as Cyrus and Marie continued to argue. He gave Harry a brighter smile and held out his hand. "My name is Nicolas, but you can just call me Nick."
"My name is Harry." Harry replied nervously as he shook Nick's hand. Harry looked over at the adults as Cyrus and Marie continued to argue. "Are they always like this?"
"Unfortunately." Nick said with an exaggerated sigh. "Cyrus and my mother and my dad and Lyla bicker like they were brother and sisters. It feels like I'm stuck in a cage match with a bunch of wild animals who don't know any better. I feel so neglected sometimes!"
At Nick's last comment, Harry's posture stiffened. He knew Nick was joking around, but the comment still brought up bad memories. He quickly shoved aside his emotions and gave Nick a nervous laugh.
"Harry." Marie said before Nick could reply. Harry looked over and noticed that the four adults were all looking at him. Marie gave him a tentative smile. "I'm sorry about the way I acted. In hindsight, it might not have been the best way to greet you when I'm sure you're already nervous about being here. I probably seem like a cruel woman, but I'm honestly not."
"I accept your apology." Harry said with a small smile at the woman. He stuck out his hand towards Marie. "My name is Harry and it's nice to meet you."
"Hello Harry, my name is Marie." Marie replied seriously even though her lips were pulled upwards in a smile. She shook his hand firmly as her eyes twinkled.
"If you want to get out of that dress, you can borrow some of my clothes." Lyla offered Marie with a smile. Marie thanked Lyla and walked off into the hallway.
"We should make ourselves comfortable; we have a lot to talk about." Cyrus suggested as he and Lyla sat down of the loveseat in the middle of the room. Tyler, Harry, and Nick each claimed one of the chairs.
"Since you'll be living here, I guess you'll be taking my old room?" Nick questioned, breaking the room's silence.
"Er… Yeah. Sorry about that." Harry apologized.
"It's fine. I can always have Uncle Cyrus build me another room." Nick said with a wink to Harry.
"You wish kid." Cyrus replied with a snort.
"But what about when I come to stay the night? Will you throw me out in the cold?" Nick asked as he put on his best puppy dog eyes. Harry tensed up as he tried to block memories of the one night he actually had been thrown out into the cold for a night. When Remus found him the next day, he was starting to get hypothermia.
"Yeah Cyrus! Would you really let my poor, defenseless son freeze to death?" Tyler added with a smirk.
"Ha ha. You two are so funny." Cyrus said jokingly as he sent them both a weak glare. "We'll see about getting you a new room. I have no idea where we could put it though…"
"Why don't you give Harry your room, I'll keep mine, and you and Aunt Lyla can expand the house to add another room for yourself." Nick suggested innocently.
"Before you know it, he'll be suggesting we give him the house." Cyrus stage whispered to Lyla, who laughed at their antics. Before the conversation could continue, Marie walked in wearing a simple outfit that consisted of jeans and a blue blouse. Harry still thought she looked beautiful, though he now knew that under that there was a dangerous woman. He did silently appreciate the lesson she had quickly taught him, however.
"I have a question for Harry before we start. Well, for all of you really." Marie said as she claimed the last chair in the room. "What about your parents Harry? Lyla and Cyrus adopted you, but what about your parents back home? Won't they freak out when they find out their son is gone?"
"Um…" Harry began nervously. He shifted in his seat and glanced at Lyla and Cyrus and he realized that they were waiting for his answer. "Cyrus and Lyla asked me if I wanted to stay and I said yes. My parents won't really miss me…"
"I highly doubt that." Marie said as she continued to watch Harry. Anger rose in Harry. How could this woman that he had only just met act like she knew his parents more than he did?
"Well, you don't know my parents, do you?" Harry snapped back at her. "My parents abused and neglected me and they wouldn't give a damn if I dropped off the face of the earth!"
Harry glared at the group as his gaze swept over everyone. Everyone looked at Harry in shock, having not heard the boy raise his voice since he had arrived.
"Did you two know this?" Marie asked, looking over at Cyrus and Lyla.
"Not everything…" Lyla started, glancing over at Harry. "I saw the bruises and scar on his back and I just sort of figured… And then when we asked Harry if he wanted to stay, he didn't say no."
"That's all there is to it. Let's just talk about something else." Harry said, trying to veer away from the topic of his personal life. Everybody looked at him when he talked and he didn't like how their gazes lingered longer than necessary.
"Well, we can start by going over what we already know." Lyla suggested, causing everyone to look at her instead. "For one, if what we believe is true we can say that the Shadow Keeper line didn't die out. We also know that the line also now has magic flowing through their veins."
"Is that good?" Harry asked to no one in particular, feeling embarrassed still from yelling at them.
"Well," Marie began. "You certainly have more at your disposal. You'll be able to accomplish more things and do them faster than any other Shadow Keeper before would. However, certain people aren't going to think you're worthy or pure enough."
"Like my father." Harry heard Cyrus mutter.
"Don't your people have magic in them too though? I mean, there must be some type of magic in your kind if you can do what you do." Harry questioned as he thought about everything he had seen since he had arrived.
"We do have magic in us. Some have more than others. There is even the rare few who can get a wand and study magic. However, most of us learn to suppress it. For most of us it causes more trouble than it's worth." Cyrus informed Harry.
"Well, people here already hate me." Harry said. "It won't really affect me if even more just because I have magic."
"As many that will protest you being here, even more will rejoice at it." Cyrus said, to which Harry just nodded.
"We should start from the beginning now." Lyla said as he adjusted her position on the couch. "How did you get here?"
"I… I have no idea." Harry said seriously. He looked down at his hands. "The last thing I remember before I arrived here was going to sleep." After yelling at Remus. Harry silently added.
"Is that all?" Cyrus gently questioned.
"Yes." Harry said as he gave a small nod of his head.
"And then after you arrived here?"
"I woke up in a forest. I had no idea what happened so I climbed a tree to try and see any sign of civilization. I saw the castle so I started walking towards it. I heard an animal so I started running. I… I don't know how it happened but one second I was a couple miles away from the castle and then I was at the edge of the forest. Once I got out of it, I met Cyrus."
"I think you probably transported yourself when you were running because of how you panicked. The extra adrenaline must have caused it." Cyrus said as he looked at Harry. "I know that forest pretty well, and the nearest cleaning isn't for a couple miles, like you said. And you said you weren't running for long either."
"I.. I do remember it getting all dark right before I came out of the forest." Harry said. It was amazing to him that it had only happened this morning. To him it felt like a lifetime!
"If you could have done it in the forest, why couldn't you have done it to get here? We'll just have to try and figure out what caused you to get here." Cyrus reasoned.
"But exactly, what could have caused it? If fear and the burst of adrenaline caused him to jump a couple of miles, what sort of terror did you go through that caused you to transport here?" Tyler asked as he scrutinized Harry. Harry didn't like the way the adults looked at him as if he was as a specimen to be dissected and he shifted in his seat.
"Stop looking at him like that." Nick snapped at the adults, forcing them to look away sheepishly. Harry smiled gratefully are Nick, who smiled back.
"We'll have to figure out what happened somehow." Cyrus concluded.
"Well," Harry started. "If it was something really big, it'll be in the Daily Prophet. That's our newspaper. If it was something small that happened in my family, I doubt we'll ever find out. My family was in hiding and only eight people, including my family, knew where we were. And the four that weren't family would never talk to strangers about what happened." Harry explained as he tried not to get too deep into his family's past. That wasn't really a subject he wanted to bring up so soon.
"So then we check the paper and hope that it was something big." Marie said. "How can we get a copy of that paper?"
"Diagon Alley." Harry said immediately. "Even if you couldn't find the paper, I'm sure if you listened to somebody's conversation you would find out what you needed to know."
"Sounds great! And easy!" Cyrus said happily.
"There is one problem though…" Harry said sheepishly. "I've never been. I've only heard stories about it. It sounds great though."
"Hmm. I can do some snooping around. We do have some magical contacts in Britain that we keep up with." Cyrus said thoughtfully.
"We'll have to do that tomorrow though. It would be rude to question them at this hour." Tyler said as he checked his watch. Harry looked out the window and to his shock, noticed that it was dark outside.
"What's for dinner?" Nick questioned, causing the atmosphere in the room to change. Before it had been formal and business like but now it seemed with the one question, everything had changed. Harry had to admire Nick for his ability to completely change the atmosphere with one sentence.
"I don't feel like cooking and I'm sure nobody else does either. Why don't we just go out?" Lyla suggested.
"Nothing fancy." Marie said quickly. "I don't feel like getting back into that dress."
"Anywhere is fine with me." Tyler said, to which Cyrus agreed.
"Why don't we go somewhere in Britain in honor of Harry?" Nick suggested.
"I don't remember saying I was British…" Harry said as he gave Nick an odd look.
"Your accent kind of gave it away, Harry." Nick said with a laugh. "So, do you know anywhere good?"
"Not really. Remember, my family was in hiding? We couldn't really sneak out for a burger and chips whenever we wanted to." Harry replied with a shrug.
"Why was your family in hiding?" Nick asked curiously.
"I really don't want to get into that right now. I know it's inevitable, just not right now. Please." Harry muttered, knowing they heard him.
"Whenever you're ready Harry." Cyrus gently agreed.
"We could just go to a local pub?" Nick suggested.
"That's fine by me." Tyler said, to which everyone else agreed.
"Won't it seem weird if we just appear out of nowhere in front of a restaurant?" Harry questioned as everybody stood up.
"That would seem extremely suspicious." Cyrus agreed. "And that's why we have safe areas we know we can shadow to without fear of being seen."
"That's pretty clever." Harry said as Cyrus walked towards the center of the room.
"Can I?" Nick interrupted just as Cyrus raised his hand. Raising an eyebrow at Nick, Cyrus gestured him forward nonetheless. Nick smiled at Harry when he saw that Harry was watching him closely. Nick raised his hand into the air and held it there for a few seconds as he closed his eyes. Harry noticed a black ring on Nick's finger that darkened as Nick concentrated. After a few second, Nick slowly lowered his hand and caused shadows to pour out of his hand. Though Nick's hand didn't continue to the floor, the shadows did.
"I'm not going to end up in Alaska, am I?" Tyler joked as he stepped forward to test the portal. Nick shook his head happily as he admired his work. Tyler walked through the portal and disappeared.
"It's amazing." Harry said as he stared at the portal.
"You'll learn how to do it." Nick said with a smile. Harry smiled back at the boy.
"What's the ring on your finger for?"
"It's sort of like training wheels for opening portals and controlling the shadows. I've only just started learning so I wear it to help open them. Once you start training you'll get one. They're family heirlooms." Tyler came back through the portal and cut off any remark Harry might have made.
"All clear." He said simply before disappearing again.
"You go first Harry." Lyla offered. "If you want, close your eyes and just walk. You've already done it, so this should be no problem."
Harry walked towards the portal so that he stood right in front of it. Even though he had traveled through the portal before, he followed Lyla's suggestion and closed his eyes as he walked towards it. When he opened his eyes, he stood in a small wooden shack. He walked out of the door and found Tyler standing guard at the end of a gated alleyway.
"Alright there Harry?" Tyler asked when Harry walked up to him. Harry just smiled and nodded his head as a reply. Tyler took out a key and opened the gate and gestured for Harry to follow him out. Harry watched from the end of the alleyway as the rest of the group emerged from the shack. Looking around, Harry realized that he was somewhere else in Britain other than Godric's Hollow. Smiling, Harry spun around and soaked in the tall buildings that surrounded them. His smile grew as a warm breeze blew through his hair. The breeze made him realize how warm it actually was.
"It's certainly warm for November." Harry commented, talking to no one in particular.
"November?" Lyla asked, confusion lacing her voice.
"Yeah. November 1st, right?"
"Harry…" Cyrus said uncertainly. Harry turned to look at them and noticed the confusion and worry on their faces. "We're halfway through June already."
"But, that doesn't make any sense! Last night was October 31st!" Harry replied, looking at the group to see if they were lying in any way.
"It must be connected to what happened that brought you to us." Marie said with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "If the Shadow Keeper line had gone dormant, something had to have brought it out. When this happened, it could have put you in some type of stasis as the changes started in your body."
"I can't believe I lost so much time!" Harry whined, thinking of all he could have done in the recent months. "And that means my birthday is next month already!"
"Well, I suppose it's something else to add on to our list of mysteries surrounding you." Cyrus replied with a chuckle. "Come on, let's try not to fret and we'll go grab some food. We can all sit around and ponder mysteries another time when I'm not so famished."
Sighing, Harry silently agreed. Cyrus ruffled his hair as a silent reassurance and the group walked out onto the bustling London street looking for a pub to eat at. What followed was one of the happiest dinner Harry remembered having in his childhood, falling into an easy sort of companionship with the group.
A/N: More editorial changes!