Servitude of a Peculiar Sort

Chapter Three: Explanations

Hogwarts

6:32AM, June 2nd, 1996

Hogwarts had been in a state of panic for two days straight. Headmistress McGonnagall had personally scoured every inch of the castle. Every Professor that could be found was busy looking for Harry Potter.

Ron went through Harry's trunk and got the Marauder's map. But of course, Harry wasn't on it. He informed Hermione who informed McGonnagall. She was forced to tell her about the map, but in a rare fit of goodness, the Headmistress didn't confiscate it.

When the train left without Harry, Minerva had been forced to contact the Ministry. Now, the school and grounds were buzzing with Aurors, photographers and Ministry officials.

Eventually, Minerva decided to cast a modified point me charm. Her wand spun like a top before settling on a direction. Straight up. Then it started spinning again, like it had changed its mind. After an hour of her wand pointing off in seemingly random directions, she had to ask a nearby Auror to dispel it.

She tried sending Harry an owl with a tracking charm on it. The owl flew in circles for awhile before returning the letter.

Wherever Harry was, she was certain he didn't want to be found. Or... something else was hiding him.

Catriona's Grove

11:15 AM, June 2nd 1996

Harry awoke in darkness with a pounding headache. His muscles were all cramped and something was wrapped around him in such a way that he couldn't make any large movements.

With some creative wiggling, Harry managed to get his wand from his pocket. Wand movements of any type were impossible so Harry was forced to do without. It took him half a dozen tries to cast a cutting curse without the movements, and a dozen more before he actually managed to put a decent amount of power into it.

Harry could see sunlight on the other side of the grassy mess he was tangled in. He eventually sheathed his wand and started tearing away the grass by hand. After a few minutes of work, his legs were free. He tried to sit up and felt an unbelievable pain rush through him. It felt like he was ripping out chunks of his own flesh. To his credit, he managed not to scream. Needless to say, he didn't try to sit up again.

'You're awake. Good-' Harry cut her off.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Harry demanded. Even as he said the words, he regretted them. Something inside him made the words hurt him as they left his mouth. He didn't want to fight with her. "Sorry." he apologized.

"It is fine. You are mine now. You may know these things." She smiled down at him from her seat on the lowest branch of the great oak. It made Harry feel like a recently praised house elf, and he couldn't help but beam back at her. "I am a Dryad. I am bound to this place and this tree, just as you are now bound to me. Though I can release you from this place temporarily to do errands for me, but I digress. Last night, I performed the ritual that would bind you to me until the day of your passing. You would be my servant during the daytime, and would do my bidding in order to better preserve the grove and forest. During the night, our roles reverse and I am your servant in any capacity you desire." She sent him a mental image of some of the things she could do for him. Harry shivered in anticipation.

"By being bonded with a male gives me additional powers and makes me far stronger than normal. This is compounded by you being a wizard. It has been a long time since I have had a wizard in my grove..." Catriona seemed to be unable to control herself when it came to Harry. Her mental pronunciation caused every word to have a second, more sexual meaning.

"You also are granted powers for being my servant." Harry opened his mouth to ask about the powers but Catriona was already talking about them.

"They're minor bits of forest magic. Plant and animal identification, knowing where to find food, purification of water... really simple useless things. Still, I suppose that for a human they may be helpful."

"You mentioned a ritual... Was that the thing where the grass tried to eat me or was that a dream?"

A dark look passed over Catriona's face. "I was getting to that." Catriona said, sounding slightly guilty and ashamed. "Yes, that was the ritual you remember, but not how it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be sensual. The grasses wrapping you in their embrace, and in the morning I help you emerge. It was supposed to be a metamorphosis, not torture. It wasn't supposed to hurt you... If I had known.. then I would not have attempted the ritual."

"Known what?" Harry asked, sensing that she hadn't only been talking about the pain.

"That your soul was already linked with someone else's. You already belong to another. I tried to take something that was already spoken for, and our bond was corrupted because of it. It is because of this corruption that you are still stuck in the ground.."

She continued to talk for several minutes, but Harry's mind went elsewhere. Voldemort owned his soul? The very thought of it made Harry feel like vomiting. Having a bond to him at such an intimate level was absolutely unthinkable for Harry. He couldn't accept it, and simply shoved it to the back of his mind.

"...and so the forest is attempting to claim you to cleanse the corruption." she finished. "I will attempt to convince the forest to release you, but as it is with all things, you cannot get something for nothing. I suspect I already know what it wants from you, but I have to know for sure. The question is: what are you willing to give up in order to be able to move again?"

Harry thought for a moment before responding. "My life is just about worthless if I am unable to get up from where I am. Ask what they want, and I will tell you if I am willing to give it."

Catriona smirked. "I suspected as much." She turned her attention to the plants that had dug themselves into Harry's flesh. Then, she Spoke. Harry knew that this just wasn't a language. It was The Language. The bark of every dog, the rustle of every leaf and the roar of every lion could be heard in her voice as she Spoke the tongue from which all living things had come. It was the language of the forest, the language that man had forgotten a long time ago when they left the forests in favor of building villages, which eventually became cities. Hearing her speak that tongue made Harry feel as if he was hearing some piece of forbidden knowledge that mankind and wizardkind alike were prohibited from knowing after leaving the forests of old. Harry wanted to cover his ears, to shield them from the power in her words but curiosity kept him still. If he concentrated, he could almost make out what she was saying. Just as he thought he knew what she was saying, she stopped and waited for a reply.

The response nearly deafened him. It came from every tree, every flower, every predator and everything they hunted. Every instinct told him to run but he was held fast to the forest floor. It seemed that the entire forest was speaking as one unified entity and it wasn't pleased.

Catriona didn't even flinch. She released a torrent of Words in The Language that silenced the forest's outrage. Whatever she said must not have been pleasant. It seemed the entire forest was talking amongst itself. Catriona Spoke again and the forest quieted down until she finished.

The forest sounded much more civil when it responded this time. Its Words still held the same power as before, but it no longer held anger. Instead, it sounded almost...sly.

Catriona gave a brief response before switching to her own language. "They have a deal for you." she said. "You're not going to like it."

Harry's face stayed blank. He didn't know what to say, so she continued her explanation.

"The forest has claimed you. Its opinion is that by already having a soul bond when entering the bond with me, you were in breach of..." she stopped, obviously looking for the human equivalent of the word she wanted to use. She made a face, as if the word she was using was a very poor comparison. She continued on regardless. "...contract. Therefore, the forest is allowed to intervene and only sees two options. The first is that it will leave you there and decompose you into your material components to nurture the forest. The large reservoir of magic your body contains would be exceptionally beneficial to it. The second option is that it re-binds you and allows you to go through a complete metamorphosis, turning you into its pawn. You will lose your free will and you will gain untold power. Your life will be tied to that of this forest. You will be protector of the forest in every way, but you could never leave. Your old life would be gone to you. At least you would be allowed to have me. You would simply lose everything else."

Harry was distraught. Could he give up everything to save his own life? Could he give up Ron, Hermione and all of his other friends? Could he stand to never see Hogwarts again? More importantly, could he stand by and let everything he once loved die at the hands of Voldemort? Harry knew the answer was no. He knew that there had to be compromise. A third option would have to present itself. Or else, he would have to make one.

"You can tell the forest that its terms are unacceptable." Harry said with more conviction than he knew he had.

"I can't. They decided to give you one full day to make your decision and will speak to you at this time tomorrow. And for your sake, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah. Me too." Harry replied, praying that his newfound backbone would last until the next day.

They lapsed into silence for awhile. Eventually, Catriona spoke.

"You must have lead an interesting life to already have a soul bond at your age."

"I suppose." Harry responded.

She left her perch on her tree's lowest branch and laid down next to him. "Aren't you going to tell me about it?"

Harry smiled at her, and started in on the story of his life.

Hogwarts Kitchens

4:58PM, June 2nd, 1996

Minerva fought back a yawn as she tickled the pear on the portrait that guarded the entrance to the kitchens of Hogwarts. The search for Harry had only gotten worse as the day had progressed. She had spoken with the Daily Prophet, dozens of concerned parents, every member of the school's board of governors and the Minister of Magic himself. She was exhausted and hungry. She'd only eaten a single apple that morning before the shit had hit the fan and she'd missed lunch.

The House Elves, the wonderfully helpful creatures they were immediately sensed her distress and brought her a comfortable leather-backed recliner from somewhere else in the castle. She collapsed in it gratefully.

"What can we's get for you's Headmissus?" a smiling elf inquired once she was seated.

"Pork chops, some of those divine spiced potatoes you make, a small bottle of brandy and a pint of Haagen Dazs. Cherry flavor." She replied. "Please." she added as an afterthought.

They all vanished with pops and went off to do her bidding. She leaned back into the recliner and felt some of her stress lifting away.

The elves popped back quickly, her food prepared in the exact way she'd asked. They'd even gathered some of the Muggle ice cream she'd requested. She ate as daintily as she could manage with a growling stomach, but it didn't last long. The pork chops and potatoes were gone very quickly and she made her way into the Haagen Dazs. After her second bite, something occurred to her that hadn't before.

"Dobby?" she asked in between bites.

"Yes Headmissus?" he replied helpfully.

"How did you know where to go and look for the ice cream? I doubt you had even seen any before in your entire life." Minerva inquired.

"House elves has to know where to find stuffs, Headmissus." Dobby answered. "Tis part of House Elf magic."

Minerva got an almost predatory look on her face. "Dobby... can you help me find Harry Potter?"

Dobby shook his head sadly. "Can't, Headmissus. Not in place Dobby can go. Dobby is sorry, Headmissus."

"Can you at least tell me where to find him?" She asked.

"Harry sir is in the green place, Headmissus."Dobby answered, pointing a shaking hand in one direction (north-east).

Minerva gave up for the time being and took a large swig of brandy. It was too late to start a new search tonight. And besides, the reporters couldn't come to the kitchens. Minerva kicked back the recliner and drank herself into a stupor.

Catriona's Grove

6:10PM, June 2nd 1996

"So, you're saying that you have to kill this Voldemort person bonded to you or he has to kill you? There is no ground for compromise?"

"None." Harry replied. "I have a feeling that the prophecy is what is causing me to defy the will of the Forest. I think the prophecy is making it impossible for them to win."

"I hope you're right. Do you know how much pain you will cause me if you die so soon after the bonding?" She shuddered. "It's been five hundred years since the last time that happens to me and it still pains me."

Their conversation came to an end and they sat in silence for several minutes.

"It's almost dark."

"I know." Harry responded, having temporarily forgotten the significance of her statement. Then: "Oh." which was followed by a sudden blush. She smiled at him.

"Relax" she said. "I'll do all the work."

Catriona's Grove

11:32 AM, June 3rd, 1996

As was determined the day before, the forest assembled its collective minds at precisely twenty four hours after their first conversation.

This time, Catriona acted as a translator between the forest and Harry, instead of standing up for him personally. The forest rumbled and roared as it had in their last conversation, but the voice had lost its edge for Harry. It no longer made him cower or even flinch.

"Have you reached a decision, Mortal?" Catriona relayed.

"Yes, I have." Harry replied. "And I regret to inform you that the specific nature of my previous soul bond makes your options unacceptable."

The very ground was shaking with the anger of the forest before Catriona had even finished his message.

"Speak more of this other bond."

"I was marked by my nemesis, Voldemort during he first year of my life. The spell he sent to kill me backfired, nearly killing him. Now, there is a prophecy that says 'either must die at the hands at the other, for neither may live while the other survives.' I cannot 'live' here until he is defeated because of this."

The forest and its denizens spoke for a very long time about what he said before talking to him once more.

"We believe that we may have found acceptable terms, mortal. You will undergo the metamorphosis process and bloom into the Protector of the forest. After emerging, you will be given a tree here, and like a Dryad will be bound to it. This bond will activate upon your destruction of this Voldemort, and will call you back here to spend the rest of your days under our complete control. You will not linger, and you will not dawdle. You will fight, you will win and you will return to us. Is this agreeable, mortal?"

Harry thought long and hard about this. He wasn't ready to give up his outside life just yet. However, it was a very nice offer and difficult to refuse. The forest magic granted to him through the metamorphosis could conceivably be the "Power the Dark Lord Knows Not" and would make things significantly easier. But was the gain worth the cost? Perhaps he could haggle.. Then, an idea came to him. He took the thought and ran with it, hoping it was what he needed.

"I like this deal a whole lot better than the last one, but I believe it is still incomplete." Harry said. A deep rumbling from the forest told him to backpedal, and quickly. "Or we could keep it how it is." Harry added sheepishly.

"Then it is settled. Prepare yourself, Mortal."

Harry didn't even have time to scream before the grasses of the forest consumed him.