Chapter 6: Shields
:Again, your shields are starting to fade: The voice called in the back of his mind and a gentle nudge pushed him from behind. He set his feet firmly again and sunk back into his mind pushing the wall into existence in his mind. The more detailed she had told him. A bead of perspiration trailed down his brow and into his eye stinging and distracting him. The wooden stave smooth against his hands cracked against Sian's.
"You're broadcasting your thoughts and I imagine that you would be picking up mine without me even noticing if I weren't shielding." Sian had told him gently before they started. So here they stood practice staves in hand, She would correct his stance and grip before showing him how to block a particular attack. All mixed with instructions on how he should be about shielding his mind. "As soon as you can properly hold shields even while sleeping or when distracted then we can continue into Haven. I'm mixing this with some basic staff defence because the other method I know would probably have you in tears and I can't teach the meditation based method."
"Imagine a wall don't start with a complete wall start at the base build it slowly imagine each brick of the wall as you build it up. Make the wall surround you. When you are ready hold that in mind while we practice. Something about learning how to fight and mentally shield at the same time makes your shields stronger and more likely to kick unwanted guests out."
Breakfast had been the best he could remember better than the burned toast and cup of juice his aunt usually gave him. He wasn't sure about this business with the staves and imagining a wall around his mind. But Alastrine reassured him several times. Since they couldn't head up to Haven and the Collegium just until he had full shields they had proceeded down the next branch of the road to continue Herald Sian's circuit.
This was the best week of his life that he could remember. Sian and he would have breakfast just before the sun came up then they would practice with staves and his shields. After lunch they would ride the path to the next waystation or town. Towns were interesting but he was glad they didn't stay long at them. Even with only a few people at each town their thoughts still bled through the shields he did have. The first town they had stopped at was the most trying. It felt like all people were trying to talk to him at the same time. their thoughts echoing around in his mind by the time they left he had a terrible headache. That was what convinced him the most to work hard at shielding his mind.
A sharp crack brought him back to the present out of his reminiscing, his arms slightly numb from the blow to the stave. He reinforced the shield in his mind somewhat feeling the spots where the wall had started to loose it's sharpness. He split his attention between the wall and the moves of his instructor. "At least you're getting better at holding your shields even while distracted. But you should always be aware of your surroundings. If you must daydream at least keep your eye's open and your attention focused on what you are doing."
"Yes, Sian." Harry replied between breaths as he moved to block the next attack, and hold the mental shield as she tried to push past the wall he had built. They continued sparing for a while as she showed him another block and a few different attacks. Then they broke for lunch.
"We will reach the third town on this road today. Do you remember the names of the roads and towns this far?"
"Yes, you said we met up with Alastrine on the Exiles' Road. You found me in the forest near Deercreek, Briary holding was our first stop, I did not like the headache I got there. We passed Halfway Inn and Whitefell on the way to Forest Reach. Soroll is up ahead. We should be there just in time for the harvest fair, then you said we're headed to grayhall which should take a few days." He stumbled a few times on some of the names but eventually managed to say all the names correctly and in the right order.
"Yes, and when we get to greyhall we'll see if your shields are good enough to head south to runefork, you'll have to be careful there and stick close to Alastrine. We'll only stop long enough for resupply then back on the road for a few more days to reach Hall just off of Exile's Road and then Haven."
Harry nodded taking note of the place names as she continued.
"We should make Soroll by this evening. I expect you to join the village children and have fun. Keep your mental shields up while we are there ok?" She looked at him concern filling her brown eyes.
The heavily scarred man stepped from the shadows his cloak grey against the dim. The streetlights had not yet turned on for the night, their soft steady glow was missing from the twilit street. Overhead the sky threatened with low hanging bleak clouds to let loose a deluge on the unsuspecting street of Privet Drive.
He scratched an ear slowly examining the street. He wondered for a moment why he felt drawn back to this place before shrugging the feeling off. He went where the star-eyed willed. There would be a reason he was here and he would endeavor to discover exactly what that reason was.
He slipped into mage-sight closely examining the wards around number four. All appeared well. The new ward that he had tied to petunia seemed much stronger than the one that had been tied to Harry. He paused for a moment curious. The fat lump of a boy was sitting on the porch out in front. His blond hair plastered to his forehead. Interesting, the man thought looking at the boy. He had a mage core it seemed. Though it was blocked at the moment. The man shifted into the shadows making himself invisible as he waited.
The great lump dursley called the boy inside and sent him up to bed. Arwin slipped into the house a few hours later ghosting up to the boy's bedroom. He paused examining the feeling of the magic in the place. He pulled a stone out of his pocket and held it to the door, which glowed faintly blue before a feeling of weight dropped off. That made him just a bit mad. The old meddler had placed magic suppression wards around this room. And perhaps a few other wards but they were obliterated when he pulled the magic from them into the null stone.
He raised his eyes on closer inspection of Dudley. The boy's magic was completely bound. He couldn't tell if they had been placed by Dumbledore or if they were natural from his reaction to his parent's actions. Oh well, serves them right if their own son ends up magical, he thought vindictively as he gleefully dissolved the binding. Have to do something about that attitude. He pushed in and found signs of tampering. Subtle nudges to the boy's behavior that pushed him to gluttony and bullying more so than would be expected. Now that the boy's magic was unbound these changes were being fought and unravelled. He would probably slim up in a few weeks as his magic pushed his body to become better.
He slipped down the stairs and slowly examined every room in the house a few items had compulsions on them malice and discord. They appeared to be items that had been intentionally sold by a dark wizard to harm mundanes. He replaced the compulsions with charms for happiness, and calming. These items looked to be the result of the Dursley's attempts at social climbing. Likely gifted by other unsuspecting mundane well to do couples who just wanted to be rid of something they felt overly ugly. There was a vase in the corner of the living room that glowed ominously a hatred compulsion pulsing slowly with a dull red magic. He twisted the magic until it changed to a soothing blue and green signifying health and healing.
It seemed that dumbledore didn't actually intend for the Dursley's to kill the boy. Just mildly verbally abuse him. He had only placed a few minor compulsions on the dursley's themselves. None of the objects in the house matched his magic or eccentricities. Arwin decided to add one more ward to the house that would strip any harmful compulsions from objects or make the person bringing them want to take them back to wherever they got them from instead of bringing them into the house.
He slipped quietly out of the Dursley's home, back into the night he moved some ways away before apparating directly to the leaky cauldron. Tomorrow he would visit the goblins and throw another wrench into the works by exercising his new guardianship. He gave a feral grin at the prospect that the goblins would be proud of.
Harry looked off in the distance to the welcome sight of Soroll about an hour away. He was getting tired from sitting in the saddle all day. Alastrine huffed at him, and he mentally reassured her, :It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, It's just that my muscles are getting sore and i'm still not used to riding:
:Perhaps young one we should take your mind away from the situation, try this: she outlined an image of him holding his hand out and a vague feeling of warmth flowing from his gut into his arms and out his fingers into a ball of light. :Concentrate hard on the feeling as you hold your hand out:
He did so and maybe thirty minutes later was rewarded with the tiniest soft blue glow from a tiny ball of light hovering in his hand. Alastrine eyed it over her shoulder. :hmm.. not bad a bit more concentration and you should be able to make a bigger light that will last longer: she said as the light faded a few minutes after he stopped concentrating on that warm feeling.
:You'll want to only do that while we are alone for now Harry, at least until we get to the collegium: Alastrine said as they approached the edge of the fair on the outskirts of the town.
"Well met Herald Sian!" A well dressed gentleman with brown hair and a slight resemblance to Sian called from a booth. "I see you have brought a young one with you."
"Well met Mayor Colin." Sian called back. "This is soon to be Herald Trainee Harold Potter" She grinned at her slight pun.
"Please! Just Harry." He begged as Alastrine trotted the rest of the way to the man. Harry gingerly picked himself out of the saddle climbing back to the ground with Colin helping him down. He still felt overwhelmed given the changes over the past week from his previous existence with his former relatives. He was starting to look healthy for his age still a bit on the lean side. Sian had given him grey trainee leathers to wear since it would stave off the questions of why he was riding a companion generally headed away from the main road to Haven. Though it seemed to have the opposite effect.
"Harry this is my brother Colin. I don't know how he managed to convince these fine upstanding members of the community to make him the mayor but somehow it happened." She winked at him as she said this. "Colin, this is Harry, I found him about a week ago in the woods near Deer Creek he was injured when i found him and no sign of how he got there. on the way back up the road Nolan informed me that Alastrine was coming to see my new rescue."
"Not even around him for a day and he get's chosen eh sis? Looks like being a herald might be contagious." Colin grinned at her.
Harry just stared at the antics of the two siblings bewildered. "I'm just going to back away slowly now."
Colin Just laughed even more at this while Sian soothed Harry reassuring him that this was just normal sibling banter. Colin composed himself before informing them, "You're just in time there is a bard in town tonight who has graciously volunteered to perform this evening for the festival, and Tomorrow I'll put you to work with resolving the few disputes we've managed to have since the last herald came through."