Antien
Description: Antien Potter, second son of the savior of the Wizarding world, had never seen Hogwarts, but when he enters his 6th year at the school his father once called home, events will be put into motion that will change the course of the wizarding world.
Disclaimer: You'd think after the many times I've written this I would have something witty, but nope. NOT MINE!
Started: March 12, 2008
A/N: So yeah, I don't really know how to explain the THREE year wait in between this chapter and the last. So I won't try to explain but just say enjoy this chapter!
Chapter XVII:
Alexa peeked into the doorway as Legolas gently laid his wife on the cabin's bed. Around her the strange gathering of family pushed to see how she was. It was only when one of the twins took her hand softly that his eyes turned grave. He turned to Legolas and whispered so softly that Alexa couldn't hear, but as Legolas crumbled next to his wife on the bed she could guess the words passed between the old friends.
The twins herded everyone out of the cabin to resume packing and the last Alexa saw of the couple was of Legolas with tears running down his face quietly singing, reaching for his wife's hand and Vanya's limp form, barely breathing.
... ... ... ...
Estel burst through the door wand and sword drawn having expected an army on the other side. Instead the doors opened to an empty room, one that seemed so out of place among the somewhat modern ministry building.
"Is this a throne room?" Neville whispered. In front of them an ancient looking chair stood surrounded by the only light of the room.
"I have no idea..." Locien answered.
As the trio walked cautiously deeper into the room, torches flared to life, bathing the rest of the space with light.
"Estel..." Locien breathed as they examined their surroundings. Paintings lined the walls and from the looks of it, it was the histories of the Wizarding world.
Suddenly, Locien seemed to tense and the three turned to the sound of rustling fabric. Estel paled at the sight of his son standing in the shadows near an empty throne.
'Antien!' Estel nearly rushed forward but a hand on his arm stopped him.
'Look closer," Locien whispered and Estel did.
'What did they do to him?' Neville asked.
"A simple Imperious curse until the boy learns his place." The curtain moved again revealing a man clad in black leather and a similar cloak around his shoulders. "It is certainly a welcomed sight to see the heir of Elendil gracing my halls."
"Who are you?" Estel asked, his body fell into his battle stance, ready for any attack.
The man laughed and stepped further into the light. Estel could see his pointed ears through the long black hair and wondered if his family wasn't as alone as they thought. "I should thank you as well, Mr. Potter. If it wasn't for your defeat of the Dark Lord known as Lord Voldemort, I wouldn't be here today ready to kill you and take over the world."
Estel and Locien shared a look that said Really?
Ada
Estel stiffened and glanced at his son to see his clear eyes looking back.
"Imperio!" Antien's eyes glazed over and his legs nearly collapsed from underneath him.
"Your son certainly has a strong mind. One that will come in handy in the coming war." Estel's hand tensed around the sword handle and he itched to attack him but he didn't know anything about this enemy and not knowing could mean his death.
"What makes you think that you can take over the world? The people are strong and not easily conquered." Neville said from his place just behind them clearly taking in a lot more than Estel was and he was grateful fro his friend's clear head.
The man sneered. "The wizarding world is fractured and the rest of the world is little better. It will be easy to take over."
"If you truly think that, hir nin, then you will be in for a wonderful surprise." Antien leapt forward with surprising speed dagger in hand and the minister didn't have time to defend his master from the elfling's attack. The trio leapt forward as men started pouring into the room and the true fight began.
... ... ... ...
Legolas looked up at his wife's gasp and saw that her eyes were wide open but unseeing. 'Vayna?'
She smiled. 'Not much longer then.'
Legolas tensed. 'What?'
'The heir will take his place, and we will be free to sail to the West.' Her eyes cleared and she groaned in pain as she tried to sit up only to fall back into the stack of pillows. She looked over and frowned at his grief stricken face. 'Another then?' He nodded. 'Was it at least a good one?'
He smiled. 'It was everything we could have hoped for.'
The couple tensed at the sound of hurried knocks and Elrohir walked in looking panicked. "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Vayna asked leaning up against her husband who had sat behind her on the bed.
"Ministry officials are here claiming some ridiculous law that forces them to take us all into custody."
"They don't have any right, even with their laws." Vayna pulled herself up and with Legolas's help made her way onto the deck. Outside she was shocked to see teachers and students, armed with their practice swords, had formed a barrier between the dock and the shore beyond where Aurors stood with wands drawn. One man stood apart from the rest and from the look of his robes they were able to deduce that he was a senior Auror.
"What is your business here?"
The man tried to look sheepish. "We received reports of attacks and other nasty things going on here at the school. Since you are not on our records we will have to take you in. It is the law."
"I am afraid you are mistaken. You don't have to do anything. Rather you do not have the the right to do anything, by ancient creeds set forth by Merlin himself, we are exempt from your laws. It has been ratified every year since by your Wizengamot."
The man turned to the Auror nearest to him and said something before the she ran off and Vayna hoped it was to verify what she said and not to call for reinforcements. She slumped further into her husband's embrace and she could feel his concern rolling off him in waves. Then something changed in the man's expression, only Vayna wasn't sure what.
'Antien,' she whispered. 'Hurry.'
... ... ...
Antien, in a lull of the battle around them, cocked his head to one side and frowned. Time was shorter than he thought. A few feet in front of him, the-elf-with-no-name stood hiding behind his men. Behind Antien, his rescuers still fought. Sometime in the fight the Minister was struck down. Whether he was dead or dying remained to be seen.
He pushed through the crowds knocking whoever wouldn't let him through out. His face was grim as he pulled his hidden blade that he always kept on his person, one that only Vayna knew about. He pushed it up his sleeve as he approached his quarry. The man black had his back to him and just dispatched another foe when Antien pulled him into a headlock and forced the dagger into his ribs. The man collapsed as the poison worked its way through his body. Antien bent over and whispered into his ear. 'My father is the heir of Elendil and Telcontar. Do you really think that you would have won?' The man's eyes were huge as Antien turned his back and walked away. He almost didn't hear his final breath over the sounds of lingering fights.
... ... ... ...
Vayna sank into the chair that was brought out when she refused to go back to the cabin and lay down. She stared at the assembled men that still stood on the banks of the Black Lake. She wasn't sure why she wasn't warned about this possible interference, maybe because it didn't really matter.
Tonks had taken over when she emerged from below and taken one look around.
"Half are the minister's private guard and the rest are Aurors." Tonks explained when she returned to the ship. "The Aurors don't even know why they were called up but there is a bylaw that forces them to follow the head of security when the minister commands it. I didn't even know that bylaw existed and I'm glad my number wasn't called up."
"What would have happened?"
"Pain mostly," Tonks answered. "Because I would have refused."
"It sounds like something Voldemort used," Remus said.
"It is exactly what Voldemort used, minus the mark," Severus added.
"What did Raelin get into?" Sirius asked.
No one bothered trying to answer.
... ... ... ...
Estel put a hand up, stilling everyone's movements as the door burst open and Aurors poured in, wands at the ready. They paused at the carnage and Estel knew that they must have looked crazed with all the blood and bodies surrounding them.
"Alright there, Harry?"
Estel started, surprised at the use of his edain name. He looked past the casually raised wand and saw his old school mate Seamus Finnigan standing behind it. "We're fine, Seamus."
The Irishman smiled and lowered his wand only to pull Estel into a hug. He pulled away long enough for another to move up next to him. "So it was true..." Estel shared a confused look with Locien and Neville.
"The department suspected for a long time that Raelin was in league with someone," Seamus explained. "We just didn't know with who or how deep it went."
"We learned a lot from the war with Voldemort." The dark skinned fellow smiled.
"Blaise?" Locien was beaming at his old friend.
Blaise did a double take, speculation in his eyes. "Do I know you?"
Locien looked crestfallen but wasn't able to answer when Antien let out a groan and collapsed against his father. "Ada..."
"What is it?" Estel gently lowered him the ground. Antien looked pale and in pain but there were no visible injuries.
"Time is running out. Naneth Vayna..." His body seized up and he let out a grunt. Panic began to settle in and he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"We need to get him back to Hogwarts." Estel nodded and gingerly picked his son up.
"I will stay and fill in these guys," Neville said quickly.
Estel heard his brother thank him before the door shut behind them. Estel wasn't really paying attention to their travel being focused on his son's breathing and making sure he was as comfortable as possible and he let out his own sigh of relief when the ship came into view. He didn't bother with the apparent bodies and confused looking Aurors as he walked passed them onto the deck.
"Naneth!" he called. "Naneth!" Legolas opened the door to the state room, took one look at them, and motioned them inside.
Estel stopped dead in the doorway when he saw Vayna in the bed looking pale and weak. "Ada..." Antien said. "Please, let me down..." He still sounded in pain but Estel did as requested.
Antien gingerly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. "It's time."
Legolas nodded and tried escorting Estel out the door and back onto the deck but he resisted. "Time for what?"
"Ada." Antien hesitated. "I knew that I wasn't long for this world. I wasn't going to die but I wasn't going to stay here."
"Were you even going to say goodbye?"
Antien smiled. "It's not goodbye, Ada." He laced his fingers through Vayna's and a small smile appeared on her newly-calm face. "We just won't be seeing each other for a while, but now we need your help. There are those that still won't let us leave. We need you to convince them."
"What do you need me to do? What can I do?" Estel said. "I have no power over them."
"Are you sure, Ada?"
James stood near the door to the cabin trying not to panic when he saw his younger brother looking so pale and frail. A part of him knew, even if he didn't want to admit it to himself, that his brother wasn't going to stay with them, but sail with the rest of their elven kin.
"James?" He looked up to see Alexa's concerned face. "Do you know what is going on?"
James pulled away from the door in time to miss being bumped into by his father. 'They are ready. Get the rest and move to shore.'
"What about saying goodbye?"
"Goodbye?" Alexa asked. "Why would we say goodbye?"
A sad smile graced Estel's lips. "Be quick. Vayna doesn't have a lot of time left."
Antien appeared at the door of the state room looking pale, but smiling. 'Brother.' James launched himself at Antien pulling him into a tight hug. 'It will be alright," he said. Then his voice became no more than a whisper. 'You are the heir now.' James froze and only pulled away when Antien did.
He vaguely heard the rounds of goodbyes as the rest of his family moved from the boat onto shore. Everyone was surprisingly calm with Antien and the rest leaving, including his mother and James wondered if they all knew before him. Yet as he disembarked, he felt the calm wash over him and he knew that it was going to be okay. He looked up just as his father stood in front of the deputy minister, a man with murder in his eyes.
The man was already shouting when James cared enough to listen and after that he wanted to turn away in disgust.
"This man killed our minister out of cold blood. There is no doubt that it was a coup to take power and make himself ruler. That's what they have been planning all along and why they have been at Hogwarts all year."
The calm James felt when he left the ship was gone as he realized that people were starting to believe him. He glanced at his father trying to see if he was going to counter the verbal attack and saw the peace in his face.
"There was once a time when I thought that the Ministry could and would finally do good for our world only to see that it would always be filled with people too blind to do anything but follow. That was why I left and raised my family beyond that influence." Nary a cricket could be heard in the crowd and James only hoped that he could one day do that. "I came back to the wizarding world to make sure that my family was safe. I quickly realized that I should have known that they weren't. Trouble seems to follow us Potters everywhere." A hushed murmur swept through the crowd and James thought that most forgot who they were. "I wanted a quiet life with my family. A chance to put everything that happened with Voldemort behind me, but fate had another plan." Many people still flinched at the name. "By the right given to me by the laws set down by the Wizengamont and by my blood, I, Harry James Potter, Son of James Potter and rightful descendant of Elessar Telcontar, do claim kingship, left dormant at the death of King Arthur Pendragon, of Wizarding Britain and all those countries and principalities that they lay claim. So I have said, so mote it be."
James knew by the look on the Deputy Minister's face that he fully expected his father to die. Yet as a light engulfed Estel and settled, many knelt at the sight of the circlet that graced his brow.
Behind them, a wind blew and the ship pulled away from shore.