Disclaimer: If you want to read it, go to the first chapter, cause I'm too lazy to copy and paste.
Warnings: Cursing, name-calling, and Adrian/Harry bonding. (and not like that, you pervs!)
Destiny Awaits:
Chapter Six: Arcane, here we come.
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Harry fidgeted slightly, glancing at the clock again. When he heard the door open, he had to restrain himself from leaping up and tackling Adrian. He continued looking at his book until they entered the room, then looked up. Eyes roving over the other black-haired teen, he noticed slight lines of exhaustion around his dark violet eyes, but nothing other than that.
"Hey! Looks like you survived the Malfoys!" Ron said cheerfully, and a bit loud. Harry flinched slightly, rubbing his ear. While Adrian had been gone, his senses had started to become keener, stronger. Adrian blinked and looked up.
"Oh, hi," he scratched his head, then shook it and headed up to his room. Harry nearly sighed with pleasure, slumping into the thick cushions. He didn't notice Remus and Hermione watching him.
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Adrian groaned and flopped onto his bed, exhausted. As his birthday crept closer, he was feeling flashes of his soul mate's emotions. He couldn't find them until after his birthday, or in his other form, which was quite annoying. He could be standing next to his mate for days and not know who it was until midnight on August 3rd.
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"Harry? Are you alright?" Hermione asked softly, settling beside the dark-haired Gryffindor.
"Yeah," he mumbled, staring off into space idly. Hermione and Remus traded looks. They had noticed Harry's attentiveness when Adrian was near, but when the mysterious Arcanus left, he'd start spacing out. They were worried about him, frankly, and curious to what was going on between the two of them.
"Harry?" Dazed emerald green eyes blinked at him incomprehensively, before widening and then squeezing shut. Whimpering, Harry curled up, clutching his scar, wondering what had happened. His scar hadn't acted up all summer, and now he could barely think through the pain.
Hermione and Remus had immediately pulled his curled body off the chair and onto the floor, Remus holding him in his lap gently, whispering comfortingly. Hermione rushed to get help, effectively alerting almost the entire household. Ginny, Ron, Molly, and Tonks rushed quickly over, Adrian appeared, wondering what was going on. Just as he approached the circle, Harry screamed. It was piercing, heart-rending, and such a tortured scream that most covered their ears in agony. Adrian, stunned and slightly deafened, took a moment to recover before squeezing through them. Running his fingers along his belt, he plucked a potion vial seemingly randomly and uncorked it. Blowing softly, he swished the liquid inside and poured it into Harry's gasping mouth. As he began to gag, Adrian covered his mouth and gently stroked his throat, easing the liquid down. Swallowing reflexively, Harry calmed and stopped thrashing, breathing softly like he was asleep.
Adrian looked up into the stunned faces around him, his eyes narrowed. "What the hell was that?"
"Harry has visions from Voldemort," Hermione explained, curious to why he seemed so angry. Adrian frowned thoughtfully, bringing to mind different spells and rituals that would create such a powerful bond.
"How?"
"When Voldemort attacked Harry when he was a baby," Hermione blinked, seeing the confusion on his face. "Do you know anything about Harry?"
"Not particularly," he said idly, "we were cut off from the world except for major events. We were taught that there was a war going on, and that a babe defeated Voldemort, but we didn't know who it was. Huh, so Harry Potter is the one?" Hermione blinked, remembering how he didn't react to Harry when they introduced themselves.
"Bloody hell, you didn't know that Harry was famous?" Ron burst, staring at him in shock. A flicker of annoyance appeared on the Arcanus' face for a brief moment.
"Moony?" Harry's sleepy voice broke the conversation immediately.
"Harry, cub, you alright?" Remus helped him sit up, pushing his bangs away from his face, revealing the scar. It was a dark red and was throbbing slightly.
"Moony, I-I don't know what happened," he stuttered, rubbing his head.
"Shh, it's okay, was it Voldemort?"
"That's the confusing part, it wasn't him." The adults looked at each other worriedly. "It was, I don't know, some sort of meadow? The wards were glowing, gold, I think, and there was a building, but there were wizards and witches, but they weren't wearing robes, but armor…And the fight's still going on!"
"Shit," Adrian shot away from them, running upstairs. Remus gasped softly.
"Arcane, Arcane was attacked!" he whispered.
"Oh Merlin! Somebody inform the Headmaster!" Molly frantically moved everyone out of the way, so Tonks could run for the fireplace. In seconds, Dumbledore, Severus, McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick appeared, Molly flicking her wand absently and cleaning the soot off them.
"Arcane was attacked, Adrian's upstairs," she explained shortly. A soft creak made everyone turn to the door. Adrian slipped into the room, adjusting his armor. He wore a tight black long-sleeved shirt tucked into black baggy pants over his combat boots. Dark blue dragon-scale armor was strapped to his shins, thighs, hips, chest, back, and arms. Two long knives were strapped to his thighs, a sword rested in its scabbard against his back, while a deadly glaive was strapped to the other side of his back, forming an 'X' with the sword. Around his waist was his belt containing potion vials. He completely ignored everyone in the room, securing his armor and pulling out an amulet with a dark red stone, that hummed dangerously.
"Adrian, you cannot go," Dumbledore said dangerously. Adrian's eyes locked with his, the cold fury within them making the dark violet deadly.
"I have to," his voice was mechanical, "Arcani must return to protect the school and the weakened young. It will NOT fall into the enemy's hands," absolute truth, faith, and conviction, there was no way he was staying here. Slipping the amulet on, he pulled on black gloves with dark blue scales sewed into them, spikes sliding out the knuckles once they were secure. Touching the stone and murmuring a soft chant, the teachers quickly grabbed onto him, being transported with him. What no one realized, until hours had passed, was that Harry was also missing.
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Adrian felt the drain immediately, cursing quite vividly once he realized what the teachers had done. Glaring icily at the four Heads and the Headmaster, he dimly realized he had another tagalong, whom was gripping the back of his shirt tightly. "This is none of your business," he hissed, directing his anger at the five adults. When he felt his tagalong tremble slightly, he moved his hand slightly and touched their side reassuringly. Harry smiled faintly. While he was certain he'd get an earful later, Adrian was directing all of his anger to the five adults now.
"Now Adrian, we cannot allow you to go into battle alone…" Dumbledore started patronizingly. Adrian hissed softly, but not at them. In an instant, a dark blue shield shot around them, in time to protect them from the barrage of fireballs. Adrian looked around him, his heart aching. The meadow he and Bliss had shared only a few days before he left was completely ruined, black twisted stone, charred plants and trees, there was barely any grass left. Black clouds covered the sky, small fires burning at the remaining plant-life. Marching through the charred stumps of a previously dark green forest, were what could only be called as monsters. Tall humanoids with boiling red lava skin, multiple orange eyes strewn around their twisted bodies, their arms were nearly to their knees, while their legs were short. With every step they took, flames and decay appeared. There were only ten of these monsters, but the damage they wrought was tremendous.
"What are those things?" Severus stared at the monsters, fear showing. The others were worse off, trembling and pale. Besides the damage, the creatures had an air of death around them, similar to the Dementer's chilling presence, only theirs was about ten times as strong.
"Dead," Adrian hissed, unaffected. Raising his hands, he murmured softly in several foreign languages, his eyes locked on the creatures. Slowly, swirls of magic enveloped his hands, flickering between his fingers. As he chanted, they watched the creatures turn to them, somehow shrieking -since they have no mouths- before raising their hands up. Their skin pooled into their crude hands, forming fireballs, which they then threw but Adrian's shield held. Motioning with one hand, the magic around Adrian vanished. Cocking his head slightly, he watched with lidded eyes. The monsters screamed, before lines of dark blue started appearing on them. They frantically scratched at them, trying desperately to stop whatever was happening to them.
"Goodbye," the Arcanus murmured, smirking. With a soundless shriek, the monsters exploded, froze, then imploded. Small flickers of light hit the ground, no trace of the monsters present. "Come on," he ordered, the shield dissipating. The five teachers wordlessly followed, not noticing the student walking beside him. They came across three more groups of the monsters, but were destroyed without a twitch from Adrian. As he led them though, they sensed the wards strengthening and fighting to protect the school.
Moving closer to the center of the island, they stared at the glowing golden dome surrounding a rather small building. Adrian ordered them to stay still, drawing the glaive and twirling it expertly. Holding it with his thumbs, so it was horizontal, he adjusted the light reflecting off the blade, then murmured a strengthening spell. The reflected light shot off, slicing through the monsters surrounding the golden dome, like a laser beam.
Two more attacks from other sides of the school were unleashed, destroying what was left of the invaders. One was a deep dark red; the other was a pure unforgiving white. Smirking slightly, Adrian beckoned them to follow as he made his way towards the school. As they approached, they saw two figures also approaching. A tall darkly tanned man with dark red hair and orange eyes came from the direction of the dark red light, while a slender dark-skinned woman appeared from the white light. Both wore exactly what Adrian wore, except their armor colors and weapons. The man wore burgundy armor, and held a scythe and sword on his back; while the woman wore tan armor with a long bow, sword, and a dagger on her belt. The two also had the same amulet Adrian wore around his neck.
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Harry watched, smirking with delight at how the Arcanus so easily shocked the teachers into silence. A bubble of content rested in his chest, the strong protective presence keeping him at ease. He watched the two people coming, his head cocked slightly to the side.
"Shadow," the man greeted Adrian with a nod, while the woman gave a kind smile as she embraced the smaller Arcanus.
" 'ow 'as Ein-gland, been?" her accent was heavy, but the warmth was clear.
"Stressful," Adrian nudged his head in the adults' direction. "They have a few good books and ingredients though." The two stared avidly at the adults, annoyance flashing over their faces. The woman looked at past Adrian's shoulder though, spotting Harry. Blinking slowly, her black eyes flashed gold for a moment, before she blinked rapidly and let out a soft purring chuckle. Harry eyed her cautiously, his eyes shifting slightly. As he saw with Adrian, she wasn't truly what she appeared to be. He blinked, her true form, hidden by spells and charms he couldn't identify, wasn't at all humanoid: a sleek golden-brown lion body, golden hair framing her golden-brown face, and two giant golden-brown wings.
"Pretty," he murmured, his eyes readjusting. Her eyes warmed with content, a smile flickering at her lips.
"Ah see, you 'ave zee Sight, fledgling." she purred, softly. "For ye Ah shall reveal mahself: Ah am a Lammasu. (1)" Harry smiled faintly back, noting that Adrian was looking pleased, yet thoughtful.
"SHADOW!" they turned in time for a silver blur to slam into Adrian, nearly knocking him to the ground. A woman with long metallic silver hair and deep blue eyes, wearing white robes smudged with dirt and blood, clutched him tightly.
"Bliss," Adrian hugged her back, his eyes softening.
"How have you been Bliss?" the man asked, kissing her hand gently.
"Oh! Koran, and Rae! You three are back!" she jumped up and down excitedly. "Master Eldon will be so happy, his three favorite students, all together again!" she clapped her hands before slipping an arm around Adrian's and leading them in. The golden dome flickered before an oval doorway appeared, allowing them entrance. The wizards and witches followed the Arcani, staring in disbelief at the school of Arcane. It seemed rather plain from outside the golden dome and from a distance, but up close, was much different.
The building appeared to be made from opals, the silvery-white walls flashed the colors of the rainbow as the light shined against them. It formed an incomplete square around a thriving garden. Silvery-white marble pillars supported a walkway poised over the garden; vines wrapped gently around the pillars and flowered on the walkway. A calm serene air was felt around the school, though tension was nearly solid around the wards. There appeared to only be two floors, but they weren't going to underestimate the mysterious school. Harry, still close to Adrian, looked around curiously. Rae, the woman, gently squeezed his shoulder, giving him a small wink.
"It doesn't look like much, does it?" Koran rumbled, looking back at the teachers. They shook their heads dumbly, their awe apparent. Harry blinked, then chuckled: someone, three guesses who, had put a Silencing spell on them, not that it seemed to be needed. Rae glanced back, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the adults. Dumbledore and Severus seemed to make her edgy, tightening her grip on Harry's shoulder protectively.
"Shadow!" a young tanned brunette called, waving over to them. Her honey-colored eyes danced with mischief, her clothes were dark blue overalls with a dark red shirt under it, but they were covered with dirt.
"Terror," Adrian nodded, hugging her back when she strode over. She eyed his tagalongs suspiciously then frowned darkly.
"I don't like you," she announced, staring intensely at Dumbledore. He blinked, then attempted to reply but found he couldn't. "Why are they here?" she demanded, turning to Adrian. He scowled briefly, showing his irritation.
"They grabbed me when I transported myself here, thought I was too young to go off into battle." He explained. Her eyebrows, as well as Bliss's, Rae's, and Koran's, shot up.
"They truly are ignorant, aren't they?" a calm voice broke through their stunned silence. Walking towards them was a tall golden-brown haired male. His piercing eyes were a dark gold, his loose hair fluttered into his eyes and down to his shoulders in short strands. A white silk shirt covered his powerfully built chest and shoulders, his long legs covered in dark gold breeches with brown boots tucked under them. His hands in his pockets, he looked harmless.
"Hello Sin," Adrian greeted, smiling warmly. Sin strode forward and rustled Adrian's hair affectionately, like an older brother. He was two heads taller than the young Snape, a few inches shy of Koran's enormous height, whilst the women came to his shoulders, except Terror, she came to his chest.
"Well, hello there," Sin greeted Harry, looking him over. His eyes flashed slightly, eying the ragged clothes and stunted height. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, he smiled at Adrian. "I think I'll show this little guy around," he winked before leading Harry away. Terror scowled, mumbled she wanted him, then frowned at the adults.
"Well, Master Eldon's probably waiting for them," she nodded in their direction, then headed back to the garden. Bliss smiled sadly, kissed his cheek, then headed down to what appeared to be a hospital wing. Adrian sighed, ruffled his hair, then started off again, waving absently as other students called out to them. The further they entered the garden, the more students and creatures they seemed to meet. A few hippogriffs snorted in their direction before continuing to graze in a meadow area, while small lizard-like creatures ran around on their hind legs, muttering under their breath in their strange language.
"Hey Eric!" Adrian called, "Do ya mind?" he waved absently to an unplanted tree that had tipped over. A soft grunt before a head popped up from behind a few trees. The half-giant waved as he picked up the tree and started planting it carefully. "Very nice Eric!" he shouted encouragingly. Eric smiled, shaking his matted hair. "I'm sure Bliss will come and visit you later, she's busy in the hospital."
"Thank you," Eric moved off to the side.
"He can't speak very good Common," Adrian explained, "But he understands it." He led them into the building, up a grand staircase, and to the right. Down the corridor were a few doors, he went straight down to a set of silver doors. Tapping on the door, he opened it and ushered them in.
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Harry didn't know what had happened. One minute he was with Adrian, the next he was with this Sin person. Sin had quickly led him to a large bedroom and immediately disappeared into an enormous wardrobe. Moments later he had returned with an armful of clothes.
"Alright Harry, don't look so glum," Sin put several colors against him, frowning thoughtfully.
"How do you know my name?" Harry asked, curiously, taking a shirt and looking at it himself. Sin smiled slightly, rustling Harry's hair like he did with Adrian's.
"Adrian told me," he said simply. Harry blinked confusedly.
"When?"
"In the garden," Sin picked out some jeans and a black shirt. The jeans were baggy but fit, while the shirt would fit nicely against his slender frame. "We spoke mind-to-mind," he added.
"Legilimency?" Harry took the clothes absently, staring at the tall man with awe.
"Sort of, we have a bond between us, so we can talk to each other without anyone overhearing." He nodded to a bathroom, shooing him in. Harry dressed slowly, thinking about what Sin had said. Stepping back out, he was surprised to see Adrian slumped on a thick plushy chair.
"Adrian? You okay?" Harry hurried over, worried. Adrian cracked open an eye and looked at him.
"I hate those people," he complained, rubbing his head.
"Who? The teachers?"
"Yes" Adrian slid down into the chair more, groaning softly.
"What happened?"
"They got Master Eldon mad," Sin offered, pouring some tea. Adrian wrinkled his nose but took the cup Sin nearly forced into his hand. A soft explosion shook the windows.
"Oh boy," Adrian groaned, "He's pissed," He gulped the tea down, his face showing how disgusting he believed it was, before he turned back to Harry. "Alright, what were you thinking?" he asked calmly. Harry winced, knowing where this was headed.
"I wanted to help," he said, keeping his eyes on Adrian's. The taller boy stared at him for a moment or two, closed his eyes wearily, before sitting back.
"Sin, you take over, I can't scold him very good." he pleaded. Sin chuckled, stood up and winked to Harry.
"That was very wrong of you, irresponsible, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah, you get the point." He sat back down, looking very pleased. Adrian snickered, then threw a pillow at his head. Sin deftly caught the pillow and put it behind him, not spilling a drop of tea. Harry chuckled softly, sitting back into another chair.
"Rae says you have the Sight," Adrian spoke, looking at him lazily.
"Um, well," Harry blushed slightly, "I don't really know…"
"The Sight is simple," Sin started, "It means you can see past glamours, spells, charms, deception, plus you can probably see auras," Harry nodded, "as well as people's true selves."
"Yes, I saw Adrian's aura and true self when we first met him," Harry said quietly. Adrian studied him quietly, leaning his chin into one hand.
"What did you see?" he asked softly. Harry bit his lip, looking at them cautiously, then explained the humanoid form and exotic details. Sin smiled, his eyes closed.
"That's him, perfectly, except, he has wings," he chuckled softly. Adrian pouted slightly at him, but nodded to Harry.
"Rae is a Lammasu, as you know, Arcane accepts mostly magical creatures as students, so long as they are strong enough to transform or hide their true selves. Rae is one of the extremely few Lammasus who can take human form." Adrian explained.
"So, what is Sin?" Harry asked, trying to see his true self.
"Sin, is an Incubus, but he looks exactly the same," Adrian smirked at Harry's disappointed look. "Well, guess we need to train you, though, I don't see why you didn't receive an invitation."
"It's only started this summer," Harry protested.
"Meaning someone put a restraint spell on you," Sin broke in, looking disgusted. "You are powerful Harry, more powerful than I've ever seen, and I grew up with Adrian," he nodded to the sulking boy. Harry blinked in surprise.
"I'm more powerful than Adrian?" he whispered. The black-haired boy nodded, frowning.
"I'm going to go check something out," he murmured, standing up.
"Ah, Adrian?" Harry got up, looking nervous.
"Yeah?" Adrian cocked his head slightly to the side.
"Whateversideofthewaryou'reon,thenIwanttobeontoo," he rushed, holding his breath. Adrian took a moment to sort through what was just said then smiled faintly.
"Don't be so hasty," he said before leaving. Harry looked at the floor, embarrassed.
"Don't worry kid, Adrian really appreciates it," Sin said softly, "he just needs to find out why you weren't invited here. If you continue on without training, you'll go insane. He's furious at whoever messed up, not you," he comforted him. Harry nodded, cheered up slightly. The thought that Adrian cared enough to be pissed off was a mark of improvement in his book, and with training he'd both be preparing for this war as well as spending time with the mysterious Arcanus.
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"Hey Mai! I need some help!" Adrian called, striding into a massive library. The bookshelves were so tall they disappeared into the ceiling, which wasn't at all visible. A head popped up from behind a counter of books, green and yellow hair tightly pinned back with small narrowed black eyes peering over a pair of small reading glasses. Squirming, "Mai" managed to free herself from the counter and slithered out to be in front of him. Her upper body was covered in a white backless shirt, while her serpentine lower body was clearly visible. Greens, blues, and yellow scales covered her body while two wings of the same colors fluttered behind her.
"Yessss, Adrian?" she hissed, weaving slightly to the sides.
"Where's the registrar? Of those who received invites here?" she hummed slightly, picked through the books on the desk before coming up with a thick leather-bound tome.
"It'ssss organized by year, sssso you sssshould find whatever it issss you are looking for," she explained, slithering away.
"Thank you, I promise to take very good care of it," he swore, settling in a nearby chair.
"You had better," she hissed threateningly.
He nodded seriously, you don't anger a Lillend (2) with little respect for their chosen arts. Flicking rapidly through the pages, he found what he was looking for quickly. Sure enough, Harry Potter was written in the book, but had a check in the refusal column. Three columns, one was the name of the invitee, the middle was the Accepted column, and the last was the Refused column. Frowning, he searched for the letter that refused their offer. Finding it, he immediately knew something was off, the letter dated after Harry's parents' deaths. The writing was spelled too, it was a simple task to break the deteriorated spell and large loopy letters were revealed. Staring intensely at the letters, his eyes unfocused and locked onto the magical imprint left behind. His mind flickering to everyone he had contact with in England, he immediately recognized the signature. "Dumbledore," he hissed. The man was becoming quite annoying. Adrian paused; his feelings were quite intense for barely knowing the kid. He quickly reasoned that the fact that Harry was supposed to be an Arcanus student was making him become protective of the boy. "Time to visit Master Eldon and Dumbledore," he muttered, turning the book back in but keeping the two letters: Harry's acceptance letter and Dumbledore's refusal letter.
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That's it, and well, we meet Adrian's friends. Didn't really come out the way I thought it would, but hey, it turned out good anyway. More of Dumbledore's manipulations are coming into sight. I didn't plan on actually making them go to Arcane, but it is actually turning out pretty well.
1) Lammasu- a magical creature in a book called The Monster Manual, for roleplaying games. I figured it was a cool creature and wanted to add a creature few would know about, without making up my own.
2) These guys are also in the Monster Manual, they're basically lizards that run around on their back legs, wear armor and have daggers. They're called Kobolds.
Here's another vote: Who wants Sin to take the DADA position instead of Nicolas? ME! ME! ME! Ha, no really, I want your input.
Thanks to:
DebsTheSnapeFan – Thank you! –beams-
SirenLore- nice name –winks- I love magical creatures. I don't like Dumbledore anymore either, I used to, but then things didn't add up. I made Severus more human? Must have been the whole hugging scene in the first chapter. Well here's another reason to hate Dumbles! He refused to let Harry go to Arcane.
Aamaya- I feel greatly relieved by your support of Harry/Adrian/Voldemort, thank you. Well, I believe I answered your statement, Harry is more powerful than Adrian, though he needs to be trained of course. He may have a glamour on, -looks to the side- maybe not, you have to continue reading. Harry and Adrian will in fact be getting closer now, first as a teacher/student relationship, but they will become closer. Adrian should be spending far more time with Harry now, knowing about Dumbledore's manipulations and such.