Chapter Four- A Night Spent In Memory

Harry yawned before dropping onto the bed in Ron's room. The Weasley's and Hermione and greeted him loudly, asking him if his escort had treated him well. Selean had also disappeared moments before he had entered the Burrow. Strangely enough, Hermione was the one who asked if they had harmed him at all, causing him to launch into an angry speech about how prejudiced she was being. After all, they had complimented her.

He had then refused to speak to anyone until Hermione apologised. After that he told them everything. He shook his head as he remembered how the group had stared open-mouthed at the way his escort had dealt with the Death Eaters. After that he feigned tiredness, surprised that when he reached Ron's room his head was actually feeling light with sleep. He closed his eyes and sighed in content as sleep rushed in.

He was in a room filled with brilliant shades of colour, each representing an element and form. On a pedestal in the centre was a beautiful girl, around the age of eight, who chewed her bottom lip nervously. Her violet eyes danced around as a wind ruffled the long raven locks of hair.

A man with cold black eyes and brilliant gold hair spoke in a voice that belied his hatred for the small child. "Alena Renald, you are called here today to be tried for your element and place within the Magical world. Are you prepared to accept whatever is chosen with pride, honesty and humility?"

"Yes sir." Her voice trembled a little.

"You are younger than most, child." A silver leopard with dark spots spoke. "Are you prepared to give up your family name?"

"Yes."

"And are you prepared to take on whatever life the council chooses for you?"

A gulp. "Yes."

"Proceed."

Around the room the winged Weylans raised their double horns to the sky and fanned out their wings. Power shook the walls and coursed through everyone. A child of Alena's age had never been tried before; her power should have stayed hidden until her sixteenth birthday. They hardly knew what to expect.

Suddenly the girl glowed darkly, shadows wisping into being, obscuring her from them. But the amount of power radiating from her frightened them more than her element. And then... there was a flash of silver light, the stream of purity joining the shadows and the room turned icy cold. The shadows cleared suddenly and the occupants of the room gasped.

"It is done." A deep green dragon rumbled in approval of the changes.

Where Alena Renald had stood, now there was only Alena; Master of shadows and Wielder of the Night. Her eyes glowed fiercely and her hair, now short and raggedly cropped, ruffled in the magical breeze. She was clad in all black, a deep blue cloak with the silver coat of arms that symbolised her change standing out sharply.

"You are now...an assassin."

Harry groaned and tossed in his sleep. The memory was disturbing, the way they all looked at her in horror. But the creatures…they had seemed pleased by the choice.

Now he was standing in a field, the grass wet under his feet. He knew, somehow, that centuries had passed by. There was a castle nearby, and he started as he recognised Hogwart's. There was a ring of people standing around a lone figure.

Alena glared out at the cloaked figures. Their robes bore the insignia of the Council and oh how she loathed them. "Get away."

"We will not, Assassin Alena."

"I am not an assassin!"

"You were born one. Your only ability is that to cause harm, to reign death upon those who have wronged the Council."

"No." Her voice was quiet, steely cold in the night.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. You know I can't kill for you. The shadows won't allow it. I am no murderer to blindly shed blood for your happiness. I couldn't kill him. I won't do it."

"So you will join him?"

She laughed, musical notes that spoke of moonlit nights and misty fog. "Join him? How can I? I am the first wielder of the Night for two millennia! I can join no one in this time."

"In this time? Alena, your death will come. You are approaching your thousandth year, no shadow walker lives past that."

"Then you are all fools. I am no shadow walker. I wield the Night. I will live for as long as it requires me." Her piercing purple eyes flashed as a wind picked up around them. Thunder rumbled, lightening splitting open the sky as clouds rolled in.

"Who do you serve, if you do not serve the Council?"

Power rippled as she turned to face the figure who spoke. "I serve no one. I am not something to be owned and controlled. Leave."

"We can not allow you to gift power to any student of this school."

"What makes you think I would part with any of my power? It is all that keeps you back. All that keeps you from destroying my chance at life."

"Assassin Alena, Shadow Walker. You will return with us to the Council Chambers. Immediately."

She laughed again. "No."

"You will not disobey us!"

She spun, the deep blue cloak whipping around before settling against her heels. Her eyes bore holes into the surrounding figures before glancing up at the castle. "Get. Out. Of. My. WAY!"

Her voice broke through the night, waking up all manner of creatures, calling those of the Shadows and of the Night to her. Her power lashed out, forcing the figures to the ground, knocking them off unsteady feet. Where Alena had stood, now a violet-eyed panther growled. It sent one last look at the Council before loping off into the darkness.

Ron murmured in his sleep as Harry shivered. He was unable to pull himself from the throes of the dreams. Or were they memories? It was like being in the pensieve again. He faintly wondered where Selean had gone before he'd entered the Weasley residence.

The moon lit up the night with silver streams of light. There was a large cage sitting on a drought burned ground. Inside, double-horned winged horses milled about, some rearing, others shying away from the witches and wizards who prodded spells at them to test their defences.

There was a sudden flash of dark light and a cloaked figure appeared. An unseen wind tugged at the folds of the deep blue cloak. Purple eyes flashed angrily and the surrounding people gasped as one in fear. The hood was pulled back, freeing the cropped raven strands.

"How dare you seek to cage them!"

A wizard, with a weather hardened face, swallowed before speaking. "I caught 'em. They're mine!"

"They are not property. Free them. Or else." The short sentences had the desired effect. The men reeled back from the icy anger that rolled from her in waves.

One of the horses reared, flapping its wings and sending a pulse of magic at the witch who had cast a spell on its smooth black flank. She stumbled back as the magic hit her, causing her to have to grab on to her neighbour for balance. Alena strolled over and sent an icy glare at them before turning to soothe the frightened creature.

She reached through the bars of the cage and laid her hand on the velvet nose, sending calming thoughts through the physical link. The winged steed relaxed instantly, leaning into the touch and folding its wings back in. She smiled and waved a hand, the cage disappearing instantly.

"Oi!"

Alena bristled with anger as some of the wizards sought to trap the animals who leaped into the air, chasing their natural freedom that the wind gave them. "No!" with another flick of her hand, they were thrown backwards, slamming hard into the dusty ground. "You will not harm them."

The black horse snorted and brought her attention back to it. There were three remaining and they all watched her expectantly.

"I have nowhere to keep you safe." They shook their heads. "My life is nomadic." A swish of the tail. "I am a hunted Wylerian! I cannot protect you!"

And we are Weylans. We are not so different, Night Wielder. Your safety is now our concern.

She stared in disbelief as the deep voice filled her mind and their wings touched her in a feathery caress. She smiled and let her power flow out, watching as it touched coloured strands that edged their way from them and towards her. The pleased feeling rose as the bonds solidified before disappearing from sight.

The stars twinkled outside the window, shining in an effort to make a blank canvas glow with beauty. Ron slept, his snores breaking the silence. Yet, somehow, they did not wake Harry, so deep in the memories that he could hear nothing outside of them.

He blinked and looked around. He was standing nearby a grey-cloaked figure. Her hood was thrown back and dark hair spilled about her slim shoulders. Her onyx eyes reflected the light that seemed to surround her. It was like she was glowing, unconsciously battling the shadows that swirled about her.

"You can stop trying to hide, Wielder."

She winced as the voice drifted over to her on the wind. Violet eyes flashed through the darkness and she sighed. "I was not trying to hide...Wielder."

Soft, bitter laughter broke through and the purple eyes danced. "Ah, so the Council has lost control of another. How...quaint."

"How did you know they were losing control?"

"I haven't lived as long as I have only to forget the way they treat us. You are of the Light...have they made you a healer?"

"Yes."

"Then they have tried to squash what comes naturally. You need to fight, don't you?"

She stepped forward, tendrils of light parting the shadows and revealing a rather tired looking Alena. "Yes, I do. It is in my blood. I am not the only Wielder at this time. What will you do to help them?"

Alena smiled. "You are Raiye, are you not?" The other girl nodded, a frown creasing finely shaped brows. "Then there are two others, Impan and Laeo. I have met the Flame Wielder and heard much of the Serpent. I am working to free them, even as we speak. But are you free now?"

"I have turned from the Council. Their control and resolve is crumbling. They are worse than the Ministry." Black eyes narrowed suddenly. "But what is it, that makes us seek you out?"

"Do you even know when the last Night Wielder walked this earth?" Raiye shook her head. "Over two millennia ago. He died within his first thousand years of life. I have lived over four now. The older you are, the stronger the pull of power. The Night is not something to be taken lightly."

"So...because you were the first Wielder born of this time, and because of the amount of power you now control...we are drawn to you?" Alena nodded. "It makes sense...in a way."

"Do not worry, Light Wielder. I will not allow the Wylerians to fall because of the Council's stupidity."

Raiye cocked her head to the side and searched the carefully guarded violet eyes. With a sigh, she nodded. "It looks like we have no choice but to trust you... Night Wielder."

The memory ended and Harry found himself smiling despite the cautious feelings that had been emanating from the dream-like memories. He had seen the four of them, had seen the love and friendship. He knew that anything in the past was just that, the past. He sighed softly and drifted further into Alena's memories.

A rather frail looking old man glared at a group of four who stared at him defiantly. He realized with a start that it was Dumbledore sitting there and openly twirling his wand.

"A wand? Really, a silly little stick of wood scare us?" Laeo grinned.

Impan sneered, something that looked rather out of place on a face that had been grinning during the flight to the Burrow. "Rather easy to burn, isn't it?"

"Why are you here?"

Dumbledore turned to Alena, noting the way the other three tensed up. Her vivid eyes were watching him carefully. It wasn't just defiance in her expression, but a stubborn refusal to follow another's orders. Although her stance was casual, everything else, even the icy daggers she sent his way and the careful tone in her voice told him, warned him; she wouldn't hesitate to end his life with nothing more than a flick of her fingers.

"I am here to ask that the four of you perform a...favour for myself and Hogwart's."

Raiye's eyes flashed in anger. "You want us to step foot in a country that was quite happy to hunt us all down!"

"You old fool! You know what they did!"

"They almost killed Alena!"

Purple eyes closed a moment. "Guys. Stop." She opened her eyes and smiled bitterly at the other three. "Really, it's okay now." She fixed Dumbledore with a surprisingly empty look. "What is it you want us to do?"

He noted that the other three Wielders looked rather shocked at her question, and it was a test of their loyalty that they were silent as he answered. "I would like a Defence teacher who has actually fought more Dark beings than any other living creature, to teach the students how to protect themselves. I was also asking if you would protect someone, a student, who is rather important in the war against Voldemort."

Impan fixed him with a rather amused expression. "Harry Potter? Sure, why not. Let's just announce to the world where our loyalties really lie."

"And lose any control we had over an already tedious situation." Laeo was frowning. "Voldemort is likely to take this as an answer." He looked up at Alena. "Are we really ready to do that?"

She nodded slowly. Her eyes glowed bright a moment before she spoke in a soft voice, edged as sharp as a sword. "We are. Our defences were re-organised the moment we felt his resurrection. Let him take this as an answer. The Wylerians are prepared to defend Australia, and, with it, Terra Australis. The students will not be harmed."

"But is the Council likely to give us free reign over this decision?"

Raiye laughed. "I doubt it. But when has it ever stopped any of us? I say we go, protecting Harry Potter should be easy."

"And teaching a school of witches and wizards is fun?" Impan's amber eyes flashed gold. "You know how they react to our kind. They see only blood on our hands."

"Prejudice is what they are--."

"If I may speak on behalf of my own kind..." Dumbledore's blue eyes narrowed as the four turned angry eyes on him. "I believe the students will accept you into their midst. Long as you appear to belong, both as teachers and defenders. You merely need to prove you are determined to keep them safe."

Alena looked at him thoughtfully, her brows drawn together. "Alright. We will do this. Let us know the time and date and we will send our own messenger to Harry Potter's residence."

"Lord help us, we're going back into hell."

"Again."