A/N: To clear up what one of the lovely reviews has asked, it's about Ebony and Adela's names. As I mentioned, Adela's is because when I thought of the word 'celestial', I would think of something heavenly or royal. Adela's name is meant to be of English aristocratic origin. Ebony's name is my fault. I am really sorry for not thinking it through. I'll amend it soon enough. The reviewer asked me why I had named someone who is supposed to live deep beneath the world named after something that needs light. Give me a few chapters and I'll have it fixed up. Lastly, what do all of you think if I made a Facebook account or a blog? Please tell me what you think because for those who review with their own accounts I respond in Private message, as I know some people usually skim through the author notes and review responses. Also, I apologise for the name change but something occurred and I had to change it. This will be the last time my pen name shall be changed and I will do my best to keep to it. So, thank you for taking the time to read this and enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2. Accidental Magic
When Harry turned seven-years-old, he had his first bout of accidental magic. It had happened when Bramble had pulled his book out of Harry's hands to get him to play with him. Harry had turned into quite a bookworm when he learned out to read fluently and hated being disturbed while reading. Instead of yelling and throwing a tantrum, Harry glared angrily at Bramble and unknowingly; his magic blew up some of Jessamine's cups and teapots.
When he had calmed down, he looked around and was shocked to see his mother's cups and pots on the ground, shattered into pieces. He wondered what had happened, it looked as though a mini hurricane had swept through the cave and disappeared. He started panicking, his mother would be angry when she saw the mess. He tried to pick up the pieces and cried out when one of the sharp pieces pierced through his delicate skin and blood started to trickle out of his wound. He was in a dilemma, should he go and find something to stop the bleeding or clean everything up. If he cleaned everything up, he would be hurt again but if he stopped cleaning to find something to staunch the flow of blood, the mess would still be there. He was still thinking when Jessamine and Iris returned. Bramble and Marigold had run out of the cave in fear, looking for the adult Nymphs for help.
"Harry! What happened?" Jessamine asked in horror.
"I don't know mom!" Harry had slowly stopped calling Jessamine 'mama' and slowly switched to mom as he grew.
"Well, I'll clean this up and tend to your wound. I'll have to make some kind of clear path. How about you use something in your surroundings to get you out of that mess?" Jessamine suggested.
Harry glanced around and spotted the bush that he had first manipulated, he had dropped it there and Jessamine had tended to it till it made the cave its permanent home. Carefully, he lifted it out from the ground and brought it to him, he clambered up and moved away from the ground covered in broken glass and porcelain.
"I remember when you swore you would never get on a bush to move around. You needed quite a bit of concentration but now you do it almost effortlessly." Jessamine chuckled.
Harry whined and asked his mom to hurry up and clean his wound already earning him another bout of laughter from Jessamine, Iris and the twins.
Once that was done, with the help of plant manipulation, Jessamine safely cleared up every bit of glass and porcelain making the cave once more safe to walk in. By the time it was cleared up, the sun was still high in the sky but Harry's thoughts were far from the wonderful weather. He began wondering what had caused it? According to what Bramble had been blabbering about, the plates just exploded. Did he cause it? That was not possible, right?
"Blaze, what are you thinking about?" Jessamine asked, affectionately using his nickname.
"I'm just thinking." Harry mumbled, annoyed that his train of thoughts had been cut off.
"About the cups and pots?" She persisted although the child's annoyance was rather evident.
Harry did not give her an answer but instead turned to look in a different direction.
"Harry, I think you are a bit young to know about this but I trust that you can handle this okay? Harry, I'm not your real mother as I'm sure your intelligent mind had already guessed. You are too smart to not have some sort of suspicion. Something happened to your parents that led to you becoming my son. Your parents were magical folk. Wizards and witches. They can do magic and that is what you did. You've just had your first bout of accidental magic. In four more years you'll be getting your letter to Hogwarts. I've heard from one of my wizard friends whom I met because his mother is a Nymph too. He says Hogwarts is really fun." Jessamine said gently, not mentioning that her friend had been killed in the war.
"What happened to my real mom and dad?" Harry asked curiously.
"I think it would be best if I told you when you were a bit older Harry, love." Jessamine answered kindly.
"If you can tell me you aren't my real mom, you can tell me what happened to my real mommy and daddy." Harry said determinedly.
"Blaze…" Jessamine trailed off.
"Mom, please tell me!" Harry begged.
"Harry, please don't make this hard for me." Jessamine replied.
"I want to know what happened to my real mommy and daddy." Harry raised his voice a little.
"Please understand, I can't tell you now." Jessamine sighed.
"Why won't you tell me?" Harry yelled, tears welling in his eyes. Childish as it maybe, he still wanted to know.
Jessamine got up and walked away, what Harry said next almost made her cry, "I hate you!"
Jessamine was drinking her tea when Iris returned from dropping the twins off with their dad, she immediately noticed her sister's worried look.
"What happened?" Iris asked.
Jessamine explained what had happened before bursting into tears again. Did Harry really hate her?
"Jessie, you know he can never really hate you. He's just saying it. Maybe you should tell him now. You can't protect him from the world forever." Iris said.
"You're right, I won't always be around to protect him from everything." Jessamine sniffed and wiped her tears away with a tissue and blew her nose.
"Let's go for a walk while Harry's training with Ebony and Airlia. We can visit Diagon Alley again. We'll be back there in four years with Harry, might as well know that place better." Iris suggested gently.
"That sounds like a good idea." Jessamine answered with a small smile.
Together, the two sisters head to Diagon Alley through the floo in a nearby wizarding building. While walking around, they noticed the big man that had tried to take Harry away that fateful day six years ago.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir! What are yeh trying teh say?" The man asked, astonished.
"Hagrid, I'm saying that the prophecy states that either one must die or the war cannot end. I believe that Voldemort will return again and that is when the war will get violent. Harry has been marked by him for sure." Dumbledore answered.
"Sir, please don't say his name." Hagrid said.
"How many times must I say it Hagrid? Do not fear his name." Dumbledore answered firmly.
Iris shifted into her flower form and was shortly followed by Jessamine, it was a rather secluded alley and if they were to be discovered who knows what they might do if that man, Hagrid recognized them!
"Now, when you collect him after I've gotten Minerva to check out his address. I want you to hand him the book I will give you, it has a tracking charm on it that will immediately be transferred to his body when he touches it. Once that is done, bring him to Gringotts and while picking up his gold, make sure you go to the vault 713." Dumbledore instructed.
"Why's that sir?" Hagrid asked curiously.
"Something that someone like you, does not need to know." Dumbledore said distastefully before apparating away.
"Maybe he just meant meh as a groundskeeper. Surely a great man like him wouldn't insult meh like that. A great man wouldn't insult meh 'cos of my ma, right?" Hagrid mumbled to himself before stumbling off towards Knockturn Alley.
When they were certain the coast was clear, they shifted back to their original form and silently went home. The only thing on their minds was the prophecy and what Dumbledore had said about vault 713 and a tracking charm.
"We must visit Griphook now! It's of utmost importance." Jessamine fretted and was about to make her way to Gringotts.
"Dumbledore may still be here possibly at Gringotts. I have heard that he is quite an accomplished legilimens. If he knows how we look like, he might do something to us. We must think rationally for Harry's sake." Iris reminded.
"Then at least bring me home, or I might be tempted to run off at the mere sight of the bank. Maybe I could pay Gringotts a visit soon with Harry anyway. It'll be good for him to meet other magical creatures. Griphook could help him manage the Potter accounts as well. I know Griphook is an extremely trustworthy Goblin." Jessamine stated.
"That can wait till you won't just go charging about demanding to know what is in Vault 713." Iris chuckled and led her sister to the floo.
When Harry returned with Bramble and Marigold, it was time for dinner. They ate their meal in silence and cleared up.
"Harry, I want to speak to you once you're done with the dishes." Jessamine said her voice trembled a bit.
Harry merely nodded in acknowledgement before returning to his chores. He had acted aloof towards her since he had gotten back and it was killing her on the inside.
After he wiped his hands dry, he walked towards the plant Nymph and stood in front of her, waiting for her to start talking.
"Harry, after talking to Iris, I've decided to tell you what happened to your real parents." Jessamine said hesitantly.
"Well?" Harry asked, his eyes glowing with anticipation.
"Blaze," Jessamine started, reverting to Harry's nickname, "Your parents were killed by an evil man. He tried to kill you, based on what I've heard; I suspect your scar is the result of it. You are destined to help the wizarding world, love."
Harry's young mind tried to process it all, being an avid reader he had quite a wide range of vocabulary and understood what his mom had said. Although the concept of death was still quite unbelievable to him, he had to deal with it. After all, he is a Necromancer.
"Are you all right Blaze? What's troubling you now?" Jessamine asked gently.
"Why is it me mom? Why am I supposed to help the wizarding world when I'm just a little kid? Why did that man try to kill me? Why can't I just be normal and be like you mom?" Harry asked, so many questions to ask but now he just wanted to know the answers to those.
"I don't know Harry, I just know that we'll all be there for you. We're your family now." Jessamine soothed the trembling child and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm sorry mom. I don't hate you at all." Harry mumbled into her dress.
Jessamine just smiled and hugged him tighter.
Iris turned around to look at her sister, causing her children to stop their work and watch the two. They might have been young but they understood what was going on. Whether it was completely understood or not, they were family and family means never leaving or stop loving each other.
"Okay, how about we stop work and head down to the nearby muggle village for ice cream?" Iris suggested. Harry excitedly broke the hug and nodded his head.
"The one that Aunt Ebony brings us to if we're good?" Marigold asked eagerly.
"Ice cream!" Bramble roared with delight.
"I guess that's a yes." Jessamine giggled.
After ordering and paying, the three children busied themselves chatting and eating their ice cream. Jessamine was still grinning like a fool as she ate her chocolate ice cream covered with hot fudge and marshmallows.
"We should do this more often." Iris smiled, the people she cared for were with her and enjoying themselves.
"Yes, we should." Jessamine nodded in agreement.
The sun had already set and it was a wonderful sight to see the village lit up with bright lights and sound of children running home as they laughed, their cheeks flushed with joy. Tourists snapped pictures and chatted nineteen to the dozen about their day while others complimented on the peacefulness of the village. A small boy throwing a tantrum disrupted it all.
"I want that toy! I want it, I want it, I want!" The boys shrill shrieks had gotten louder and louder.
"Now Diddykins, we've gotten you so many toys we can't possibly fit them all into the car on our way home tomorrow.
"I want it!" The fat boy insisted.
"Petunia, get the boy the toy! It's giving me a headache." An obese man boomed it was quite evident that was where the child had gotten his obesity from other than the lack of exercise and an enormous appetite.
"Vernon, you know it would spoil him silly! We can't have that. Look at how he's turned out. He throws a tantrum whenever he doesn't get what he wants." The woman, Petunia argued.
"Just shut the boy up!" The man, Vernon grumbled.
"Diddykins, be good and we'll get some ice cream. We can't get anymore toys till we get home." Petunia said.
The boy licked his lips greedily and nodded. He started running as fast as his stubby little legs could go, which, mind you was not very fast.
The boy ordered so many flavors, the ice cream man's face was hilarious. He was caught between laughing and crying. At the rate the boy talked, he could barely catch the names of the ice cream flavors he wanted.
"Dudley, choose three flavors. At this rate the poor man won't have anything else to sell and we'd be broke." Petunia sighed.
"Want more than three." Dudley frowned.
"We'll get more ice cream at home Diddykins." Petunia said.
"Okay, I want mint, vanilla and cookie n' cream." Dudley ordered.
"What's the magic word?" Petunia asked.
"Please." Dudley grunted.
"Good boy." Petunia crooned.
The ice cream man smiled as he handed the boy his ice cream and the child, Dudley thanked him.
"Let's go find a seat now shall we?" Petunia suggested.
"My feet ache from all this standing. Hurry up and find a table Petunia!" Vernon demanded, sounding a lot like a child.
Petunia rolled her eyes and spotted a vacant table near where Harry, Bramble, Marigold and the two adult plant Nymphs sat. She quickly hurried over and was followed by her husband and son. She was patiently waiting for her son to finish his ice cream, blocking out the sound of her husband's irritating complains when she spotted Harry.
"Harry? Is that you? I haven't seen you since the day you were born and Lily insisted I was in the delivery room with her." Petunia said, not daring to believe it was really her nephew. She got up and swiftly pulled him into a hug. Harry stiffened, not comfortable with the contact.
"I guess you were too young to remember me. Here, this is your mom, your dad and right there. Your mom was so proud to have given birth to such a handsome young boy. You have her eyes." Petunia continued, pulling out a picture from her purse.
"You knew my real mommy and daddy?" Harry asked in awe.
"I'm your mommy's sister. That boy right there, your cousin Dudley and that's your Uncle Vernon." Petunia smiled, her husband did not detest magic but he did not openly welcome it either.
Petunia admitted she had been awfully jealous that her sister was always getting all the attention but after a while, she had talked to her sister and they managed to get through that short period. She stopped thinking magic as something freakish but as something curiously amazing.
"You really knew my mommy and daddy? Tell me about them? Do you know about magic?" Harry asked, his voice going softer when he asked about magic.
"Your sister would do magic so often when she started accidental magic. Have you started doing accidental magic yet Harry?" Petunia asked.
"I have. What do I call you?" Harry asked curiously.
"Just call me your Aunt Petunia, now why don't you introduce me to your friends?" Petunia suggested.
"Aunt Petunia, this is my mom, Aunt Iris, Bramble and Marigold. They're my family." Harry announced proudly.
"Nice to meet you. Thank you for looking after Harry. How is he?" Petunia asked Jessamine.
"It's very nice to meet you too. I'm Jessamine. Harry's a very smart boy. You should see the things he did when we found out he's a Necromancer and an Elemental wizard. I can explain it to you when we have a bit more privacy. There may not be many people but I can't be too careful." Jessamine answered warmly.
"I would like that. One day we should arrange for a play date or a meeting. I'll just tear Dudley away from his ice cream, he's just like his father. Eating most of the time. I can't get him to exercise either." Petunia sighed.
"We're plant Nymphs, we live in the forest. I'm not too sure if your son would like going in there." Jessamine laughed.
"The forest? How do you survive there?" Petunia asked, appalled.
"We're plant Nymphs, we can manipulate plants and do whatever we want. We of course have a cooker; we use the kind that non-magical folk use for camping. We've made a few modifications so it's a bit more ecofriendly. Nature is pretty helpful. We've made bedframes with some sturdy vines and woven beds, blankets and pillows with moss. Very comfortable and soft. We've stopped sleeping outside the cave since the children have come into our lives. You see, boys can't be Nymphs so Bramble can't shift into a plant form." Jessamine answered not at all offended.
"I apologize, I was distraught when I found out Lily and James had passed on. I had no idea what happened to Harry then." Petunia said, the thought of her brother-in-law and sister's death still made her sad.
"Quite understandable. Shall we go for a stroll? This way the children can get acquainted. Maybe your husband could go back to wherever you are staying for your visit." Jessamine suggested.
"That would be lovely." Petunia answered.
Jessamine sat there waiting and thinking. Petunia seemed like a lovely lady, who knows what Dumbledore could have done with his magic to the couple and their son. Maybe he would have just left Harry there to have a normal childhood but she did not know him well enough to judge.
"Vernon's gone off and Dudley's finished off his ice cream. Shall we go?" Petunia asked as she returned, holding Dudley's hands.
"I think introductions are in order first. Don't want the child to get all confused. Hello Dudley, I'm Jessamine, this is my sister Iris. These are her two children Bramble and Marigold and this is your cousin Harry." Jessamine smiled.
"Be a good boy and say hello Diddykins." Petunia said.
"Hello." Dudley grunted.
"Mom, can we play at the playground instead? I don't want to just walk. It get's so boring when we can't find anything fun to talk about." Bramble complained.
"What do you think Jessamine, Petunia?" Iris chuckled.
"That might just be a good idea." Jessamine answered as Petunia nodded.
"Yay!" Bramble cheered and ran towards the village playground. His sister and Harry followed him. Dudley was left trying to catch up, not used to running.
"Come on Dudley!" Harry yelled as he continued to run.
"I'm trying!" Dudley panted.
"Don't give up Dudley." Marigold called out.
"I think the children are doing quite a good job in getting Dudley to move about." Jessamine laughed, when they had reached the playground, the three active children went wild swinging on the monkey bars, running about playing tag and going on the rope bridge.
"I'll see if we can bring him around more often. Do you have any way that I can contact you with?" Petunia asked.
"Just post it to the post office, I'll tell them that I'll go around collecting mail every Thursday if that's okay with you." Jessamine said.
"Wonderful." Petunia smiled and went back to watching her son now enthusiastically participating in the games.
Barely half an hour later, it was getting close to their bedtimes and the four children were tired out and yawning. They said their farewells and parted.
"Mom, can Dudley come to play more often?" Harry asked sleepily as she tucked him in.
"We'll see, Blaze. We'll just have to see." Jessamine said and planted a quick kiss on his forehead.
"Night mom." Harry yawned and was soon asleep.
When the two adult plant Nymphs were sure that all three were asleep, they settled down on the soft earth near the cave entrance and fell asleep.
The next day, Jessamine woke up bright and early. She hummed as she prepared oatmeal and fresh raspberries for breakfast. When she was done, she checked the clock that she had bought from the village that now hung on the wall. It was about time for Harry to get up, his training with Adela was about to start in an hour's time.
"Blaze, get up. Time for breakfast." Jessamine gently shook the child awake.
"Don't want to go for training today." Harry mumbled sleepily.
"Get up sleepy head. You have to brush your teeth and eat breakfast." Jessamine continued.
"Don't wanna get up." Harry moaned and huddled deeper into his blanket.
"You can play with the water Nymphs if you finish training fast. Don't forget, you have lessons after training and if you don't cooperate during training it means less play time." Jessamine reminded.
"Fine…" Harry mumbled and got up, his untamable hair was as messy as ever.
"Come on, brush your teeth, change and eat your breakfast. Hurry up." Jessamine ushered the boy towards the sink that the land and water Nymphs had help construct. The land Nymphs molded the shape while the water Nymphs helped create a small pond that was used as the source for the shower and sink. The cave was the biggest cave in the forest and was discovered after a lot of scouting around. It was different from the cave that Harry had slept in on his first night. Jessamine and Iris used vines and plants to create a feeling of separate 'rooms' and also gave them a sense of privacy. Vines were used as a curtain to cover up the cave entrance, to Harry it was as good as any home. Perhaps even better.
Harry ate his breakfast in a rush, the thought of playing with the Water Nymphs fresh in his mind and with a quick 'good-bye' he ran out of the cave and towards where the entrance of the home of the Celestial Nymphs.
Once his usual training was over, he rushed back to the cave. "Mom! Training's over." He yelled as he ran in.
"Harry, your Aunt Petunia has decided to stay a little longer. Dudley's here to play. Do you still want to go to the river? Dudley's not so good at swimming but I'm sure you can stick to the shallower end." Jessamine called out from where she was sitting with Petunia who was delicately sipping her tea while Dudley squirmed in the chair next to her.
"Hi Aunt Petunia! Hi Dudley! Marigold and Bramble have most probably gone off with Aunt Iris while I was at training. We still have about two more hours before lessons start." Harry greeted cheerfully.
"Hello Harry." Petunia and Dudley greeted in return.
"What would you like to do Dudley?" Harry asked.
Dudley stared at him and Harry said, "Come on, we can go visit my Aunt Bluebell, she's really fun. Maybe she can help us think up something."
Dudley nodded and followed his cousin out of the cave.
It was with smiling faces and flushed cheeks did the two children return hours later, the two boys chattered away happily about games and lessons that Dudley had joined in. With sad good-byes, the bunch parted but Harry was happy with how the day had turned out. While Jessamine prepared dinner, she was busy thinking of Gringotts and her friend, Griphook. Maybe they could visit him the following day. She had a few ideas in mind and she was rather pleased with herself. She began humming as she continued to cook.
"Mom, what's got you in such a good mood? You've made shepherd's pie for dinner and that chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallow dessert. You don't usually allow us to stuff our faces with so much sugar for dessert unless it's a special occasion." Harry grinned through a bite of the sweet dessert.
"I'm just happy for absolutely no reason. Now, tomorrow we're going for an outing tomorrow. We'll be visiting Diagon Alley, it's part of the wizarding world." Jessamine announced, ignoring her sister's annoyed look that the matter had not been discussed first.
"Cool! What time are we leaving?" Harry asked excitedly.
"After lessons and training. We'll be there for dinner. Iris, would you and the twins like to come?" Jessamine asked.
"Actually, I'm bringing them out tomorrow." Iris made up, ignoring the twin's protests.
"Very well." Jessamine said stiffly and went back to her dessert, doubt ran through her mind, maybe she should have consulted her sister but then again, why should she? Was she not old enough to make her own decisions?