A/n: my old dividers weren't showing up on Let's hope these work better.

Servitude of a Peculiar Sort

Chapter Four: Emergence

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Catriona's Grove

June, 1996

It hurt too much to scream. It was as if he was being ripped apart at the molecular level and reassembled into something new. He couldn't move or breathe because those functions were not installed into his being yet. And still, he was aware of every change that went on inside his body. Not that the changes were subtle. It was like trying to calculate how many different places you were being stabbed.

The most painful part was the addition to his magical core. His core had been sliced down the side and sewn into the fabric of another core. Then, to compensate for the new size of his core and the magic that had flooded out into his body, more was added. More power of an entirely different kind. His magic was controlled, orderly and stable. This new magic was chaotic, unstable and running rampant through his body. They didn't mix. They fought each other. His magic lost, and he felt a part of himself die.

The new magic charged through his veins like a poison. It ripped out everything it didn't like and rebuilt it from scratch

He was becoming something that hadn't ever existed before. He was becoming what Wizards would have been if they had stayed amongst the great forests millions of years ago.

By all rights, he should have died. But fate had already decreed that the only thing that could kill him was Voldemort, and that kept him alive. Barely.

Time passed, and he spent his every moment in agony. He suspected it had only been days, but it felt like centuries. Gradually, parts of his body came back on-line. His heart started beating and he began to breathe. He wondered how he could think without blood reaching his brain but could think of no answer. Later came his senses of smell and hearing. He knew he'd been hungry and thirsty at one point, but his cocoon was giving his body the nutrients it needed through some other method.

His pain lessened and his body strengthened. Eventually, something told him he had gained all he could from his chrysalis. Once, the cocoon that held him had been as hard as ironwood, but now it had the consistency of rotten logs. He could hear the forest calling to him from the outside.

He opened his eyes for the first time in ages, and pushed his way through.

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Office of Headmistress McGonnagall

10:54AM, June 24th, 1996

Minerva had all but given up on Harry Potter. She knew that he'd shared a special bond with Albus and that they had spent a large amount of time together this past year. It didn't take Merlin to put two and two together and realize they were discussing Voldemort. She suspected that Albus had been preparing him for something. She suspected that he had found someone to teach him and that Harry was in hiding and learning some unthinkably powerful magic to aid them in the fight against the Dark Lord. He had at least an eight hour head start by the time they'd started looking. He could have been just about anywhere by then if he could Apparate or use Muggle transportation.

But that wasn't what Dobby kept telling her. Every day he would pop by and make a not too subtle comment about looking for Harry in the Forbidden Forest. While it was getting quite annoying by now, she had to admire the elf's persistence.

Yesterday, though was Bill and Fleur's wedding and none of Harry's friends had heard anything from him yet. Even Harry wasn't inconsiderate enough to leave his friends hanging for nearly a month. She began to doubt her conviction in this matter and with no other options, she elected to take a look about the forest.

She gathered Hagrid and Dobby and together they began to search the Forest.

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Catriona's Grove

11:30 AM, June 24th, 1996

There were so many voices that Harry could hardly think. His eyes hurt, and he clenched them shut. Everything was so chaotic he couldn't make sense of anything. He staggered forward a few steps, covering his ears with his hands. Harry began to panic. There was a soft, soothing voice in Harry's head, and he felt the familiar sensation of warm breath on his neck and relax. Strong, soft hands guided him forward and he followed them blindly. Then he went downwards into the fresh cold water of Catriona's spring.

The water felt like a breath of life into his changed body. His strength returned and he managed to tune out some of the voices in his head.

"What...happened?" Harry managed to rasp out. It was difficult to speak. A sip of water helped change that.

"You emerged. You are one of us now, and as such can speak the language of the forest. The voices you hear are all the things you formerly associated as noise. Everything from the buzzing of the smallest bee to the whistle of the wind and rustling of the trees. You will come to ignore them until you need to hear them. It gets easier." she soothed.

"What else did it change about me?" he asked.

"Perhaps, that would be easier to explain if you open your eyes."

Harry did, and gazed down at his hands. His skin was the color of springtime grass. It felt tougher and more leathery than it had before. Thin, yellow veins like the ones in leaves criss-crossed under his skin. Something told him they no longer carried blood. Even the tiniest of hairs on his arm was now a deep green and felt like grass. Further inspection proved that it was grass. His nails were rough and brown like tree bark. He also thought that his arms were longer, and that the shape of his hands was...different.

He gazed past his hands and into his reflection in the water. His face was more alien than his hands. Like Catriona, his hair was green and made up entirely of plants. His tongue and lips were brown, as was the skin inside his mouth. His ears now stuck out more and were larger and shaped in a more dog-like fashion for better hearing. His face had stretched outwards giving him a more animal appearance. The only things that looked familiar were his eyes and scar. He suspected his glasses wouldn't even fit his head, but he could now see better without them.

"Where's my wand?" Harry asked, feeling somewhat insecure without it.

Catriona grinned and looked past Harry's shoulder at something behind him. He turned and followed her gaze. His wand had grown at least a foot since the last time he'd seen it and was now firmly rooted in the ground. Its first branches were shooting off the sides of the trunk and it was growing a few leaves.

"Someday, when your soul bond is broken, that will become your tree. And someday, with your power as Protector aiding it, your tree will grow even taller than mine."

Harry felt little attachment for his tree at that point. It was a stunted little thing that still had visible amounts of wand polish on it.

Harry leaned against the side of the pool and sighed.

"You have questions." Catriona stated. "Ask them."

Harry took a deep breath before starting. "Why does it still hurt to talk? How does my magic work? How is it different from wizard magic? How do I use it? Am I still human? What else has changed about me that I can't see on the outside? What can I do that I couldn't before? What day is it? When should I leave?-"

Catriona's dry chuckle cut him off. "Let's start with those for now, shall we?" Catriona said with a smile. "Your throat adapted itself to speak the natural tongue. To use it for something so simple as human speech is like asking a dragon to light a cigarette. The physical effort involved in making your voice stoop to such a narrow, primitive level is demanding. While I know he human tongue, I prefer to speak through thoughts like this. "

"I know next to nothing about your magic as it is. I assume it would be like casting spells without incantations or wand waving. Simply will it to be and it shall happen if it is withing your power. I do know that your magic has no talent for subtlety. You will find controlling it to be exceptionally difficult, but the strength of your spells should make it a worthwhile trade."

"Technically, Wizards aren't human if you want to analyze things like that. You are what you see yourself as, and nothing less."

"As for your other changes, I can only speculate. No wizard has ever been declared protector of this forest. At least... not in my lifetime. Usually a tree is declared protector, and becomes what you wizards know as an Ent. There are a few Entlings left in the forest, descendants of our last protector five centuries ago... but I digress. I suspect your plantlike qualities will make you require more water and possibly sunlight. I suppose you'd eat less to compensate... I say figure it out for yourself."

"And as for leaving... you can leave any time you like. I heard the trees muttering of a group of wizards and a house elf entering the forest shortly before you awoke. If you like, I can change the properties of my grove and bring them towards this place instead of leading them away."

Harry tried his best to absorb all the information tossed at him. He took in as much as he could but most of it passed him by.

"I'll find my own way back. I suspect it's Dobby with them and as soon as I leave, he'll find me. He has a way of doing that."

"If it suits you then it is fine by me." Catriona responded. Her voice said otherwise.

Harry was about to answer when something struck him as odd. "What happened to our bond? It's different now. No charm or infatuation. I can freely think about the outside world without wondering about how it pertains to you. Why?"

Catriona smiled sadly. "In order to make it possible for you to leave the forest, they had to loop your bond to me in with your bond to your tree. While you are still drawn to them both, you won't feel it until after you've completed your task. I suspect that the moment the dark one dies, you will feel like you swallowed a dozen love potions, and want to return as soon as possible. But until then, you will feel no physical attraction to anyone. Less distractions gets the job done quicker."

Now Harry understood. It seemed that everything would be put on hold until Voldemort was defeated. Even love would have to wait. Still, Harry felt manipulated and cheated. With this new, unshackled power inside him, he hated being a puppet even more than he had before Dumbledore's untimely death. Motivated mostly by spite, Harry climbed out of the pool and over to Catriona. Though he felt nothing, he kissed her with a savageness that surprised them both. The pleased look on Catriona's face confirmed what he'd thought: though his half of the bond was suspended until Voldemort's demise, her half was not. She would long for him every day while he was gone. It was cruel, and yet he understood the motive behind it. He just didn't like it.

Still, he suspected he could stay with her awhile longer. For her sake as much as his.

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The Forbidden Forest

1:18pm, June 24th, 1996

Minerva was beginning to have her doubts about this forest trip. But still Dobby urged them on with all the enthusiasm he had.

Hagrid was next to useless now as they had now traveled further into the forest than he had ever been. She was about thirty seconds from insisting they turn back, when Dobby suddenly stopped. His ears perked up, and he sniffed the air a few times, like a hound noticing an unfamiliar scent.

The elf then jumped in the air and let out a cheer of "Harry Potter!" and began to run off to the right as fast as his elven legs could take him.

"Why didn't he just pop to Harry?" Minerva asked.

Hagrid shrugged. Minerva shrugged back and they followed the sounds of Dobby's cheerful yells towards what they presumed was Harry.

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The Forbidden Forest

1:25 PM, June 24th, 1996

It had been exceedingly difficult for Harry to have sex with someone he had no feelings for. Still, he was filled with satisfaction both from his sexual release and the belief that he'd done the right thing.

Harry left the grove after a reluctant goodbye and was now heading back towards Hogwarts and his old life. He'd been gone only a few minutes, when he realized that he was completely unclothed. His only clothes had been missing when he emerged from his cocoon.

He couldn't bear the thought of encountering any of the Hogwarts staff while nude. Magic was his only option. He concentrated on his Hogwarts uniform in his trunk and willed it to come to him

Nothing.

He tried again, this time concentrating only on the robes, ignoring the fact that they were in his trunk. There was a crackle of static electricity and the rumble of distant thunder. Harry felt a rush like he'd been given a shot of pure adrenaline and BOOM! There was an explosion twenty feet ahead of him. The shockwave forced Harry to stagger backwards. Up ahead, in the center of the crater sat a freshly cleaned pair of Hogwarts robes complete with socks, shoes and undergarments. Harry got dressed and continued on his way towards Hogwarts.

As Harry walked, something bowled into him from the side, knocking him off balance. He caught himself against a nearby tree and gathered his magic, preparing to defend himself.

"Harry Potter, sir!" the thing that bowled into him squeaked.

Harry forced the magic he'd gathered back into himself with extreme difficulty. "Dobby?"

The elf grinned. He was hugging Harry's hip very tightly. "Yes, Harry Potter sir?" the elf asked

Whatever Harry was going to say was interrupted by Headmistress McGonnagall pushing through the underbrush. "Why'd he go quiet?" she demanded "and where'd he get off to?"

Hagrid came through the brush behind her. "E's over there." Hagrid said, pointing.

"Hello, Headmistress." Harry said politely.

"Oh dear sweet Merlin..." she responded.