AN : Sorry for the delay. I was busy navigating my way through a hectic part of my life.
Shoutout to my main men ricky and po for their unwavering support. yose rock
Harry woke suddenly to find the werecat walked on his posterior.
"Hey gerroffme!" Harry growled.
"You are funny, beat my ass then." Solembum deadpanned and prowled away. Harry frowned at him under the faint freckled sunlight. Lately, the acerbic werecat had taken a liking to Harry that had escalated to borderline obsession.
Though it was early, he still got up, eager to get on with the tasks Pandora had set for him for the day. She had been disappointed in Harry when she realized his thorough ineptitude when it came down to dealing with combative magic. Evidently she had expected more of the boy who lived.
Over the past few days, both Pandora and Harry delved into the consequences of him being able to talk to dragons and what it boded for him. Pandora, in her five years in Alagaesia had become quite versed in ancient language and was proficient and powerful enough to bend it to her will. When Harry confided in her that he knew dragon tongue she presumed that he was already in control of the ancient magic. However, to her surprise and dismay it was not so. Despite his innate ability to talk to dragons in parseltongue, he had no knowledge about the Ancient Language.
Thus, Pandora Lovegood found a rather heavy burden on her shoulders. For starters, Harry had no idea how to survive in the wild. The 21st amenities he took for granted at the Dursely's were sorely missed. Though life at Privet drive was no picnic, compared to the misery Harry had to go through now, he would gladly return to it.
Not only Pandora had to impart the skills of surviving in the wild to him, (and in the erstwhile middle ages that they had dropped into) she also had to pass down magical lessons that no modern age wizard ever faced or learned. Though Harry's resilience and resourcefulness was apparent to her, she knew he was still woefully lacking in the skills and power that makes a prodigious wizard. Breaking out of Urubaen's centre was mostly luck and Pandora was determined not to let it happen again. She knew once they face the king's spellcasters or anyone with a grip on magic, it was going to be a different story altogether.
Then again there was the matter of teaching him ancient magic. Harry with his facility to communicate with dragons should find it relatively simple to grasp the magic so-
"So how come I find it so hard?" asked Harry through gritted teeth, thoroughly exasperated with himself.
Pandora had no answers to satisfy him. She replied calmly though she could feel her frustration rise "We'll get there. Let's try it again." She encouraged him.
Once again, Harry gazed into the fistful of soil with as much concentration he could muster and exclaimed, "Deloi moi!"
The dirt glowed and shimmered and turned grudgingly into a clear liquid. Harry scooped it up and tasted it.
"At least its water." He conceded lamentably.
Pandora gazed at the water just transformed from a fistful of dust. Gauging by his telepathic capabilities with the dragons that he had mentioned, he should have displayed a much greater skill in manipulating the magic by now. She remembered him mentioning his mental bond with the dragons. A tiny shade of dubiety crept in her mind.
"Won't it be great if we could conjure food up like that?" Harry said, looking at the freshly transformed liquid.
"Can't do that. Afraid that would violate old Grawp's law of magical transfiguration. If it were possible I wouldn't have treated you to my beggarly meals otherwise."
"Right." he said wiping the sweat off his brow. He was aware of the fact that Pandora had been hoping more from him. He was especially embarrassed when he failed to perform some of the basic wizarding spells and incantations, wryly regretting all the time he had fooled around with Ron instead of learning his books like Hermione wanted him to. Pandora had taken it upon herself to teach him as much as she could, both in conventional wizardry and ancient magic. He noticed her absence of a wand, which upon enquiry she revealed that she lost hers in a fight several years ago.
"I was in an escort, a special assignment for the Varden. A group of rather powerful mages had defected from the empire and Ajihad, the Varden leader," she recounted, nodding at Harry "sought for me to guard them till they reached Kuasta, from where they will depart to Surda on ships. Unfortunately we were waylaid by Galbatorix's soldiers and the Raza'ac. I lost my wand there in the subsequent fight, and nearly a hand too, though losing my wand felt the same as losing my hand."
Beyond all this was the tingling anticipation of the news of the rider's whereabouts. Harry and Pandora made daily excursions into the parts (leaving Solembum behind at their camp) outlying the capital to gather information. It was there where they heard the rumours of a failed heist in Teirm and the involvement of the rider and a trader native to port city. Neither of them knew how much of the story was true. Nor could anyone down at the villages and in Urubaen itself could prove the veracity of these reports.
Later that night, a development took place that considerably affected their strategy. They had camped on a mound that offered them a well hidden refuge as well as an unfettered view of Urubaen. It was time for them to turn in for the night when a distant bestial roar froze them. Harry, startled out of his wits, looked at Pandora who listened quietly along with Solembum, whose hair was on its end. She turned around to face the direction of Urubaen. Harry's heart missed a beat when he finally saw it. Atop one of Illyria's many tall spires was crouched a dark gargantuan creature, unmistakably a dragon.
"Douse that fire now!"
Harry pointed his wand reflexively at the campfire and hissed "Aguamenti!" A spout of water flew out and extinguished the flames.
Darting to Pandora and crouching beside her, he asked, "Is that who I think it is?"
"Yes. Behold. You are looking at Shruikan for the first time. And Galbatorix."
Silhouetted against the pale light of the moon, it had its massive feet wrapped around the tower walls; bestriding it was a figure that was hardly discernible at the distance. The dragon unfurled its wings and took off; the sound of massive wings buffeting the wind being carried easily over the still night. Harry and Pandora both crept back into the shadows as the pair rose upwards though it wasn't necessary; they were already well hidden. Compared to the monster, Harry thought the Horntail seemed more like a kitten.
"Our great king is apparently on a punitive expedition." Pandora murmured to him. "His spies reported an inordinate amount of Varden support in Surda. Reports of a secret alliance between the rebels and the Surdan government. All these years Surda managed to stay out of Galbatorix's attention with its neutral stance. But they say there is an outright voice of support for the Varden rebels now. Looks like he has decided to take things personally in his hands."
"Is he going to war?" Queried Harry, peering at the receding sight of the rider and his dragon.
"He has already amassed an army at the Surdan border. Although that could be for a display of force it is entirely possible he had prepared for an invasion of Surda. Still, it's not like Surda has been caught off guard. It was only a matter of time before he turned his attention south."
Harry slept uneasily the rest of the night dreaming of being lost in strange lands being chased by unknown beasts. Little was he aware of how dramatic the events of the next day were going to be.
The next morning Pandora and Harry ventured out into the city again. Hidden under Harry's trusty invisibility cloak, they scoured the capital but in vain. For them, this had almost become a ritual that would invariably yield futile results. It was only much later in the evening when the city started buzzing with the news of an armed convoy heading towards the city.
They hurried to the city gates as did most of the crowds. When they were close enough to afford a view of the convoy, Harry's jaw almost hit the ground. The first thing capturing his sight and attention amidst the mass of humans, shackled and locked in a large cage, was a blue dragon the size of a small wagon. It looked immobile. He first thought it was dead but he noticed its lethargic breathing. It was much smaller in size than the dragons he had encountered so far, although he was wise enough to know it was still formidable.
Moving ahead of them was a carriage heavily guarded by both soldiers and dark robed men and women who Harry supposed were mages. The carriage was padlocked and secured and he had more than inkling as to who might be inside it
"What do we do?" He hissed.
Pandora was thinking hard and fast. "The way I see it, we have two options. One, we attempt a rescue now while they are still moving; two, we wait till they are inside the castle and try to enter unnoticed and break them out." she mused.
"If they plan on keeping them there." Harry added. He deliberated. He looked at the multitude of soldiers and magicians that flanked the convoy. Risking a rescue now would be suicide.
"Have you ever been inside the castle? Do you know how to sneak in there?" he asked Pandora.
"No." she admitted. "It's usually too well guarded and I never had reason to enter it."
Harry suggested, "We can move under the invisibility cloak and mix with convoy and slip inside the castle and break them out."
Pandora looked a bit taken back, perhaps at the boldness of the plan. "That might actually work. Provided we manage to find our way out of there."
"We'll figure it out once we are inside the castle. Galbatorix isn't there anyway." Harry replied. "Let's just hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew."
"Do you think it's the right thing to do?"
"Well there's absolutely a great chance of being caught and tortured and being fed to Shruikan but it's the best we got. I don't really see an alternative here." Harry wasn't very pleased with the reply.
They speedily made their way to the column of soldiers. Crowds from outlying farms and hamlets had draggled after the convoy, wide eyed and astounded, unable to suspend their disbelief over the spectacle.
Several times they were jostled by the crowd that followed them shouting, crying, lamenting and praying, doing their best to get a closer look at the rider, or brushed by the soldiers who'd glare in their directions unable to see who it was.
Harry and Pandora gingerly navigated their way through the throng of human bodies and dust, at their utmost care to not bump into any person. They drew closer to the cage that housed the dragon. Instinctively, Harry could tell it was a female. Despite being unconscious it gave off an aura of beauty and grace. Harry felt pity and anger well up as he spotted the still gaping, angry wounds in her wings and legs and the dried blood on her blue scales. But there was nothing he could do to help her at that point, nor attempt any contact with her.
Inside the city, the crowds have swelled. Like a surging billow, the sea of bodies all desperate to have a look mobbed them. Excited shouts, yells, cackles, prayers and lamentations filled the air along with the sharp orders of the soldiers to keep the crowds back. Harry could tell that trouble was brewing.
"Pandora, something's wrong."
Up ahead someone had tried to rush the troops, evidently trying to get closer to the carriage where the rider was held. The soldiers, whose nerves were already frayed were having none of that, and hacked at them staving them off like wild wolves. The captains in the center of the perimeter yelled at the soldiers to pick up the pace.
Someone in the crowd threw a rock towards them, striking a soldier. More missiles followed Elsewhere fights were breaking out. Order amidst the ranks of the soldiers was collapsing. Both Harry and Pandora were being increasingly jostled and shoved around by the crowd. A full scale riot was teetering on the edge of the precipice.
"When the cat is away, the mice will play." Pandora murmured, warily watching the agitated mob.
His wand in his hand, Harry pointed at the people ahead of him and muttered "Confoundus! Confoundus!"
Several people stopped in their tracks and their expressions became blank and dazed. Harry and Pandora squeezed their way past them.
The entire company was now double-timing it to the castle, barreling anyone and anything out of the way. Within an hour they reached the castle courtyard; Harry and Pandora hurrying as fast as they can after them without being seen. The convoy stopped and several columns filed out around them creating a defensive perimeter against the crowd that still trailed after them.
The two wizards stepped back as the soldiers pulled the cage apart freeing the dragon. The dark robed mages who were at the head of the convoy walked forward to her. They lifted their hands in unison and before their eyes the comatose dragon was lifted several inches off the ground
At the same time the soldiers had removed three bodies from the carriage. Two were covered from head to toe in bags while the last one was tied and blindfolded. It was a young boy. He was pulled ahead, barely able to stand upright, to the front of the entrance. Sandwiched between the troopers, he was marched through the castle doorways.
"Okay then." Harry thought. Exchanging a look with Pandora, they silently and unseen slipped inside the cavernous entrance with bated breaths. The troops kept marching, unaware of the two intruders. Harry's heart banged furiously. He glanced around, wondered silently at the massive entrance hall of the castle, its towering pillars and windows. Everything was built to accommodate a size of massive magnitude.
The company swiveled left and prepared to go through another door that led to a sloping corridor. Harry paused and looked around to see the dragon floating off the ground and being led by the king's mages. Most the troops that accompanied the convoys were now falling back to the courtyard outside to join the others in controlling the crowd.
"Harry before we attempt any sort of rescue, it is imperative we take out the mages. Understood?"
"Right."
"YOU LOT THERE!" Someone bellowed. "What in the BLAZES do yo-?" Harry looked around to see the man who yelled at the soldiers staring at the inanimate dragon with his mouth hanging open.
"What the-" he spluttered.
"Ah, Chancellor Garner. Pleased to see that you finally could make it down here." A warlock said smoothly, walking forward, flanked on both sides by soldiers, to the perplexed Chancellor.
The Chancellor screamed, apoplectic with rage at the perceived intrusion "What in the name of the devil is that abomination doing in the castle? How dare YOU enter here without my permission?"
The warlock bowed low to the man, jeeringly. "Perhaps if you had managed to find the time to remove yourself from your lavish indulgences, then you'd have received the urgent message that we conveyed to you several hours ago. Well, it's better this way. The rider whom the King has earnestly sought for has been captured along with his dragon as you can witness yourself with your eyes. Outside lies Brom, who has been charged by the King himself for the murder of Morzan. We found him in the company of the rider. No doubt corrupting the young impressionable boy with his dammed lies about the empire. Along with his traitor friend, Jeod. I trust these names aren't lost on you, my lord."
He turned to the praefect waiting for him and ordered, "The dragon stays here for the time being. Take the rider to the lower levels. Keep him secure and await my return. It looks like lord Garner needs to have his mind refreshed of what duties a king might expect of him."
Looking back at Chancellor Garner, he added, "You are fortunate that Durza is still scouting the feral lands to the north. I doubt you have the defiance to take the same tone you did with me."
Lord Garner looked sickly pale. Leaving the two of them behind Harry and Pandora silently followed the assembly. Turning into a corridor that gently sloped downwards, they kept walking till torches replaced the long lancet windows.
Pandora turned her head to scan her surroundings. The sounds of the clamor in the hall had subsided. Besides them, the captives and the troopers, there were no one else. She nodded to Harry.
Harry pointed his wands at them and murmured, "Stupefy! Stupefy!" red sparks shot out of his wand under the cloak and hit the guards knocking them to the ground, Pandora shouted words of power; two of the soldiers slumped to the floor.
"Petrificus totalus!" Metal clanged as the soldiers arms went rigid and slammed to his sides and he toppled over.
"Expelliarmus!" The raised sword was knocked out of the remaining soldier's hand. "Stupefy!" and the man was flung back and slammed into the wall behind him.
Harry scanned the collapsed bodies in the middle of the corridor. None were moving.
Pandora knelt at his side murmuring incantations. She already had her phial out and was administering potions to the boy. Slowly he came to his senses.
When she saw he was coming around she asked him, "Are you okay?"
"I think so." he whispered. "Who are you? Where's Saphira? Where's Brom?"
"Patience, rider." She soothed the feverish boy. "Calm down now. We are not your enemies, Argetlam. Believe us."
"Where am I?"
"The worst place you could possibly be. Galbatorix's castle. But fear not, he is not here now. Come on, up you get. Better start looking alive if you want to leave the premises in one piece. There's no time to waste." Pandora said briskly. "What's your name?"
"Eragon." He pulled his hand away roughly. "I am not leaving without Saphira." he growled.
"Is that your dragon?" Pandora asked him. Eragon nodded in affirmative. "She's upstairs in the castle hall. Can you reach her mind?"
"No. They drugged her after they captured her."
Suddenly a bolt of energy whizzed past Harry; he could feel its heat sear the hair on his face as it passed him. He whelped and shot off half a dozen stunners and hexes in the direction where the spell came from.
"Pandora they know we are here, we have to leave now!" He yelled at them
Pandora came beside where Harry was now discharging volleys of curses at the mages and soldiers. She raised her arm and a bolt of green energy flew forward striking a mage and tearing him in half. The soldiers howled and fell back in fear. Harry recoiled in horror as he witnessed the carnage through the smoke, horrified at the gore and blood. He didn't realize Pandora was capable of killing anyone. Absurd as it was, for the first time Harry fully realized that they were now fighting for their lives.
"Harry this way!" He tore his eyes away from the bloodied scene to see Pandora hurry forward with Eragon groggily following her. Harry ran after them, retracing their path backwards.
But there was more trouble up ahead. A column of troops interspersed with mages blocked their way out. Pandora stopped and pulled Eragon to her side and shoving him into a side corridor, at the same time shouting incantations.
Spells crisscrossed the air, ricocheting off the walls and ceiling. Troops caught in the crossfire buckled and collapsed to the floor. Harry ducked behind a stone statue, blindly throwing curses at the soldiers. Pandora, on the other side behind a side corridor was locked in combat with the mages; Eragon beside her crouched and helpless. The young rider was too weak to be of any help at the moment.
The statue behind which Harry was hiding exploded; debris rained on him. Harry raised his wand and yelled "Protego!" The sudden sally took even Pandora by surprised; bolts of energy battered Harry's shield. Seconds later, he heard a deafening explosion and he felt everything around him burst to smithereens. Pandora screamed and moments later Harry felt the floor beneath him give away and he tumbled down with the wreckage and ruin.
Translation
Deloi moi – Earth Change!