Chapter Ten

Light slowly penetrated Harry's eyelids. He blinked as the world slowly came into focus. As he became aware of his surroundings, the memory of how he got here returned.

He looked down at his chest expecting to see a bloody wound where his lung should be, but there was nothing but smooth unblemished skin.

"I healed you."

Harry turned at the sound of the voice to see a man standing behind him. His skin was pale. His hair was sapphire blue and his eyes looked like two suns in his face.

"Dad?" he whispered.

The man inclined his head. "Hello son, you've grown."

"Babies do that," Harry quipped.

"Indeed they do."

"I thought you were dead."

"Yes and no. My hearts not beating, but my body is still intact. I'd say I'm on the border. That's not important right now. We need to talk."

"About?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow.

"Magic," Oberon said seriously.

"I'm going to be teaching you how to use your magic. Think of the runes like a wand for a wizard. They are training tools, not the foci you use to cast spells. Once you have truly mastered your magic the runes will become unnecessary. It is clear that Aeval is not going to stop coming after you, so you do not have the time to learn your magic the slow way."

"But Mum said it would take years to master my magic."

"Luckily for you, time is no barrier here. I'll be able to teach you all you need to know and no time will pass in the living world.

"Okay," Harry said, "so when do we begin?"

"Now," Oberon said sitting down and gesturing for Harry to join him. "First, I need to ask you a question. Have you ever noticed a drain in your magical reserves?"

Harry thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I get tired, but I am never magically drained at least not for long. When I am, I usually recharge very quickly."

"That is because the fae are magic. Every drop of blood and inch of flesh is magic. Although you may be unaware of it, the fae are attuned to the magic around them, specifically the closest ley lines; the lines of mystical energy that run throughout a realm. This gives us the ability to draw on extra power if needed. It also gives us the ability to know exactly where we are at all times.

In most realms, we draw power from ley lines when necessary. The danger for us is in overtaxing our body. Draw too much magic and we can die from exhaustion. Once you are aware of the lines, you can not only draw power from them, but teleport along the lines as well. Unfortunately, with the gates to Elphame shut, the power you will have access to will not be what it should. Also, if someone else is drawing power from the lines, you won't have access to as much energy."

"What about a realm that has no ley lines? Does that mean we won't have any magic?"

"No, we have our own magic. We don't consciously draw power from the ley lines unless we have to because of the risks involved. Most realms that don't have lines are filled to the brim with magic."

Harry stood. "There aren't any Ley lines here."

"Nope, but this realm is pure magic. Unlike me, you have a physical form, so you will be able to tap into more of the energy of this place. I cannot tap into the energy I would if I had a body because the magic of this place is keeping my soul here. The last time I Drew on it too much I passed out."

Enough of that," Oberon said clapping his hands. "First I want you to relax, let your senses expand. Search for the energy around you."

Harry obeyed. He let his senses stretch out feeling for a source of magic. Dimly, he could hear Oberon's voice.

"It's different for everyone, but try and visualize a body of water. That may help."

Harry immediately thought of the lake at Hogwarts. He pictured the icy waters in the middle of the grounds. He could see the crystal clear depths. He could smell the clear clean scent of the water mixed with the musty smell of mud and fish.

It was as if he'd been plunged into the depths of the lake in December. Icy cold power flooded his veins. It was so cold it burned. He could hear a rushing in his ears. The smell of hot metal filled his nose. The power filled him to overflowing. It pushed against his skin as if trying to rip him apart. It was too much. He was going to explode.

His eyes flew open. Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were glowing fiercely. Blue lightning crackled along his skin. His breathing quickened as the power built. He watched in horror as his skin rippled. The small hairs on his arms stood straight up.

"Relax," Oberon said firmly. "Don't fight it. Embrace it, accept it. This power is yours to command."

Harry tried to obey. He forced himself to relax. He felt his muscles uncoil. The power flowing through him lessened. He could fill it flowing through every muscle and nerve filling him with energy.

"That's it," Oberon said. "It'll be over in a moment."

The burning power flowing inside him began to fade. Harry watched as the lightning crackling along his skin seemed to sink into him. He sighed in relief as his skin stopped rippling. He became aware of the reservoir of energy at his command. It was amazing. He felt as if he could do anything, accomplish any goal. It was as if a part of him that had been missing had finally been restored.

"Easy," Oberon warned. "Don't get over confident. Remember, your body can only handle so much power."

"Is there any way to increase the amount of power our body can channel?"

"It's just like everything else. You have to practice. Come on, we need to get started. Time may stand still here, but I bet your Mother will be worried. As much as I'd like to spend time with you, I want to allay her fears as soon as possible."

XXX

Lily snarled as she slammed Dumbledore into the wall. "What do you mean he's gone?"

Dumbledore grunted as his back hit the stone. "We'll find him," he choked as he stared into Lily's eyes. "He'll be fine. We won't let anything happen to him, I swear it."

"You said he'd be safe here. I send him to take his exams and he gets kidnapped by one of your professors. To top it all off, we then find out that professor was really Voldemort. Am I missing anything so far?"

"The wards never alerted me to anything," Dumbledore said his voice calm. "As far as they were concerned, he was Quirrell. I never noticed anything different besides the fact he had a desire to teach the students as proficiently as possible. He wanted to be the best Defense against the Dark arts teacher he could be."

Lily slowly relaxed. She let go of Dumbledore and collapsed into a chair. "Why would he do that?"

"Voldemort was always concerned about the muggles. What made him so dangerous was his belief that he was doing the right thing. He honestly believes it is best for the wizards to destroy the muggles, not because he thought wizards were superior, but because he believes muggles are a danger to all magical races."

"He's probably not wrong there," Lily said. "Humans as a rule fear what they do not understand. If the muggles ever found out about us, they would start a genocidal massacre. My parents accepted me, but we can't count on an entire race to be as accepting."

"What about the fae?"

Lily shrugged. "It'd probably be a war. A few in the muggle government know about the fae, but not the general public."

"Who would win?"

"I don't know. Tanks couldn't kill the fae, but as you know, if iron enters their bloodstream they become poisoned. Also, if wounds are inflicted with iron weapons, they heal far slower than normal."

Their conversation was interrupted as Ginny and Hermione rushed into the office.

"Where's Harry," Ginny yelled. "We can't find him anywhere."

"He's missing," Lily said, "but don't worry we'll find him."

"Missing," Hermione said shrilly. "I thought you said we'd be safe here."

Before anyone could respond, McGonagall entered the office. "Albus," she said holding up a stack of parchment. "You may want to take a look at this."

XXX

Harry flexed his hand to get the cramp out of it. "I still don't see why you had me do this," he complained. "This has nothing to do with fae magic."

"No, but it does have to do with your education."

"Where did you get parchment and quills anyway? What did you pull them out of your butt or something?"

"Right," Oberon said with a smirk. "You've been using my crap to write your essays. I bet that's a great mental image isn't it?"

Harry glared at him.

"Don't look at me that way you said it not me."

Harry flicked his fingers at the parchment. He watched as it wavered before disappearing.

"See," Oberon said. "That did have to do with fae magic. You had to teleport the parchment to your professors."

"What now?" Harry asked.

"I'll be sending you back, or more precisely, you'll be going back. Since this will be your first teleportation using the lines, you're probably going to pass out. I'd recommend aiming for a person instead of a location."

Harry looked at his Father. "I'm going to miss you."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Oberon drew him into a hug. "Stay alive, okay son?"

"I'll try," Harry said.

Oberon ruffled his hair. "There is no try there is do and do not now get going."

Turning away, Harry tapped into the well of power surrounding him. He visualized his Mother. He concentrated on that image, before giving the energy flowing through him a sharp tug. The ground dropped out from beneath his feet and he began falling.

XXX

"Where did this come from?" Dumbledore asked leafing through the pile of parchment.

McGonagall shook her head. "I don't know. They just appeared. It is Mr. Potter's handwriting?" she asked Lily.

Lily nodded looking stunned. "Oh yes, that's his handwriting alright. I can tell that from here. What is on the parchments, Albus?"

"It appears to be the written exams. There's even one for potions."

"But he's only been gone an hour," Hermione spluttered. "How is that possible?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Dumbledore said. "I do not have a clue how this happened."

"So where do we look," Hermione said. "You said he was missing. He's got to be here somewhere if he wrote those exam results."

"We have no idea how long ago he wrote that," Lily said gesturing at the parchment.

"We have no idea who took him from Voldemort either," Dumbledore said rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. "We have to assume they wanted him alive, but why they would allow him to take his written exam I cannot even hazard a guess. In order to have written these, he has to be on a different time stream than ours." He turned to Lily.

"Is there anyway Aeval could've taken him?"

"I don't see how," Lily said. "The gates are shut. She couldn't get through to take him. That is after all why she needed an agent. It was the only way she could get to him. Even if she did, she would've killed him, not given him work to do."

"So what are we going to…?" Ginny began.

Blue lightning lit up the room. There was a crack of thunder as a figure fell out of the air. It landed with a heavy thud on the floor. When the light faded, they all saw Harry lying on his back.

"Well," he croaked trying to sit up. "That was unpleasant." His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped backwards, unconscious.

XXX

Harry blinked his eyes open and stared around the sterile white room. He instinctively reached for the nearest ley line. As the wild untamed energy flowed through him, the drowsiness faded from his mind. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his Mother sitting beside him.

"Harry?" she looked up from the book she was reading. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, the trip was just a little ruff. Dad warned me about that. He said the first trip was always the most taxing."

"Oberon?" Lily said confused. "When did you see him? We know you were fighting Voldemort, but you disappeared. Did your Father help you in some way?"

Harry quickly explained everything he'd learned while in limbo.

"So it is their magic that sustains elves and helps them heal faster and more effectively than humans?"

Harry nodded.

"So your Dad taught you how to use magic without the runes?"

"Yeah, it was hard, but I finally learned to use my magic with will and intent alone. At first, it took a lot of concentration, but the more I practiced the less concentration it took."

"Do you feel up to showing me?"

Harry gestured at a glass sitting on the bedside table. Water flowed out of thin air and filled the glass to the brim. With another gesture, the glass rose off the table and floated into his hand. He drained the glass and grinned at his Mother.

"See?"

"I thought your element was fire?"

"It is, but my secondary element is air. To get the water, I simply reach out and find the closest source of water then you air magic to lift the water and bring it where I want to go."

"Fascinating," Lily said smiling. "So what else can you do?"

"Unfortunately, I only know the basics of elemental magic. Limbo was not the best place to practice. There's not even earth there as such."

"So you still have plenty to learn?"

"Yeah, Dad was only able to teach me how to use magic without runes and that was more of a concentration issue. The rest was just theory. Now that I'm here again, I am going to have to put everything I've learned into practice."

Lily hugged him. "I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"Thanks Mum," Harry said hugging her back."

"You have some friends that are dying to see you."

No sooner had she spoken, the door burst open revealing Hermione and Ginny.

"Harry," the girls shrieked.

The next second Harry found himself in a three way hug.

"We were so worried," Hermione cried.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"I would like to know that myself," Dumbledore said eyes twinkling.

"It's a long story," Harry said.

"We have time," Dumbledore said holding up a stack of parchment.

"Yeah, Dad wanted me to get that taken care of," Harry said scowling. "He said it would be less for me to do when I got back."

"He was quite right," Dumbledore said eyes still twinkling.

Harry quickly explained everything that'd happened from the time he'd been kidnapped by Voldemort to the time he appeared in Dumbledore's office. He only left out the specifics of what his Father had taught him. He didn't want to make Dumbledore aware of what he'd learned.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said finally. "I wonder if he knew his soul would be trapped between worlds."

"I don't think so," Harry said. "He said something about his spell having unforeseen consequences."

"Well, we can talk about that later. For now, we need to determine what you three are going to do for schooling next year."

Harry and the others looked at each other. "Mum?"

Lily rubbed her forehead. She glanced at Dumbledore. "It would be easy for me to blame you for what happened to Harry, but I do recognize that this was extenuating circumstances. The odds of this incident happening again are very low. Having said that, I don't know that I feel comfortable with Harry coming here."

"I could offer you a position," Dumbledore said. "Harry and the girls could even stay in your quarters if you like."

"Why do you want Harry here so bad?"

Dumbledore didn't answer.

"I don't like not knowing your reasons for wanting Harry here, but I do think it'd be beneficial for Harry to be around other kids his own age. I've talked to the Grangers. They said as long as I was here they'd allow Hermione to return to Hogwarts if she wished."

Hermione smiled slightly. "As long as Harry and Ginny are here, I'd be willing to try."

Lily nodded. "We'll try it for a year and see what happens, but if anything happens that endangers these kids, we're gone, understood?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Flitwick wishes to retire. You will be taking his position if that is acceptable?"

"That is fine."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said smiling broadly. "I'll be in touch."

Harry watched as Dumbledore swept from the room. Lily handed him his clothes.

"Come on, we're going home."

"What about Hermione and Ginny's written exam and my potions practical?"

"Professor Slughorn has agreed to allow me to test you in potions. Hermione and Ginny will return in a week to take their written exam."

Harry got dressed and followed his Mother out of the hospital wing. As he walked down the hallway, he sincerely hoped his next year at Hogwarts was not as exciting as this one had been.

XXX

Voldemort drifted in the darkness. It was complete and utter sensory deprivation. Where was he? Was this hell? Was this the fate that awaited him when he passed beyond the vale? Distantly, he became aware of a voice.

"Tom," it called. "Come back."

Who was Tom? Did he know a Tom? Why did that name sound so familiar?

The world snapped into being around him. Everything came crashing back. Voldemort looked frantically around the throne room.

"So you have returned," Aeval said her lips twisted in a sneer. "You have failed me."

Voldemort said nothing. There was no point. He had failed her. He couldn't deny that. The only thing left to do was see what she was going to do with him.

Aeval regarded him as if she were looking at a bug underneath a microscope. "You shall have one more chance."

A small black book appeared in her hand. Voldemort stiffened at sight of it.

"How did you get that?" he whispered hoarsely.

"You are not my only agent in the mortal world now," Aeval said flipping through the pages of the book. "This book contains a pseudo soul of your sixteen year old self. Quite ingenious for one so young."

Voldemort said nothing. He was too absorbed with staring at the book in Aeval's hand.

"You designed this to open the chamber of secrets, did you not?"

Voldemort nodded.

"This was a last resort?"

Another nod.

"I am going to merge you with the magic of this book. By absorbing another's life, you will be able to restore yourself to a corporeal form. Remember, this is your last chance."

Before Voldemort could say a word, Aeval gestured and he was sucked into the book. The pages fluttered wildly for a few seconds before the book slammed shut.

Abaddon stepped from the shadows. "He will fail," he said casually.

"Perhaps," Aeval said dismissively, "but one more chance won't hurt. Besides," she added with a smile. "That's why I have you."

She watched as Abaddon turned away. She hoped Voldemort succeeded this time. She didn't want to have to trust Abaddon. There was something unsettling about him. She always felt like she had to be on her guard when she was around him.

Nevertheless, she would work with him, if necessary. She would do whatever it took to reopen the gates of Elphame.

A/N Please read and review. Let me know if the explanation of fae magic makes sense. If not, I'll need to rewrite it.