Disclaimer: Usually I write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so this time as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am not making any money off of this story or any of the other stories I have written.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 57: Standing on Ceremony
"Allow me to be the first to welcome you and the nation of New Avalon to the Earth Sphere and Space Coalition, your highness," an elderly man declared a week after the initial session where Harry had presented his petition for the recognition of New Avalon as an independent nation to the E.S.S.C.
"Thank you, sir," Harry replied as he shook the man's hand and tried not to fidget under the weight of the two hundred some eyes (and countless more video cameras) that were currently watching his every move.
It had been a nerve wracking two weeks for the nineteen year old wizard and soon to be king. The days leading up to his appearance before the Coalition had been stressful as he scrambled to make certain he had everything that he would need to present his case. Once he'd made his petition, he'd been grilled and roasted over an open fire for two days straight in regards to New Avalon, his past, his claim to the throne, and a hundred other minute details. If not for the efforts of Relena, Quatre, Dorothy, and Wufei, Harry might have lost his temper and hexed the entire committee that had been interviewing him. There had been a short period of time when he feared his petition would be denied right up until they had unfurled the official E.S.S.C. Charter, which all countries of the E.S.S.C. had agreed to follow, for him to sign.
He'd barely taken hold of the pen he'd been offered to sign the charter when he'd been charged with kidnapping by Duke Dermail and a man by the name of Valder Farkill; both of whom tried to claim that Harry had stolen Dorothy from her betrothed (Farkill). That had sparked a brutal three day trial in which both Harry and Dermail had been raked over a bed of hot coals in front of thousands. Harry's past as a captive in the hands of OZ, Zechs, and White Fang was brought up, with Harry claiming himself as his own brother and speaking of the experimentation that OZ had intended to perform upon him.
Several individuals had been called upon to testify during the trial, including Treize, Zechs, Dorothy, Cathy, Princess Relena, Duke Dermail, Harry, and a handful of soldiers. Things had turned ugly the moment Harry and Dorothy's engagement had been revealed; Farkill had gone on a rampage as he ranted about how he was destined to be the leader of OZ, that the Catalonia fortune belonged to him alone, and that he was the rightful ruler of the entire earth. The man ended up killing six people during his tantrum and injuring another thirty; including Harry when he'd thrown himself in front of Dorothy to protect her and his unborn child. Wufei and Takoda (both of whom had been acting as Harry's bodyguard during the trial) subdued Farkill shortly after that.
Harry had then spent two days recovering from his latest gunshot wounds and helping to save the lives of the other wounded, willingly sharing his stock of healing potions with those who had been critically injured during the incident. Dorothy stuck to his side like glue during those two days; alternately berating him for throwing himself in front of a bullet to protect her, thanking him for protecting her, and grieving for her grandfather as Duke Dermail had been the first man that Farkill had turned his gun on. Harry had been sorely tempted to forget about joining the E.S.S.C. at that point; his fury over his family being attacked (both verbally and physically) making him reconsider his decision to abolish the Statute of Secrecy.
Dorothy, Relena, and Wufei had eventually convinced him that backing out now would create negative repercussions down the road and issue an open invitation for another country to attack New Avalon. That was how he'd found himself once more standing on the floor of the assembly chambers within the E.S.S.C. embassy in Paris, France once more in order to sign the E.S.S.C. Constitution just four days after Farkill's rampage. It was a defining moment for New Avalon as it gave legitimacy to the newborn Wizarding Nation (even if the rest of the world wasn't aware of the wizarding part of it yet).
The New Avalonian delegation would spend another week in Paris finalizing New Avalon's induction into the E.S.S.C., which included numerous press conferences, countless meetings with various leaders from around the world, and more than one extravagant feast followed by music and dancing. At the end of the week, the delegation would split into two groups; one group heading to the Catalonia Estate in Bern and the other returning to Hogwarts. Harry had initially wanted to stay with Dorothy as she dealt with the fallout over her grandfather's death but she had insisted that he go home to Hogwarts to finish the preparations for his coronation and their upcoming nuptials. He did, however, send half of his squad with her in order to make certain that she would be well protected while they were apart.
Upon his return to New Avalon, Harry soon found himself buried under a flood of job applications, immigration inquiries, supply requisitions, and status reports (the former two a direct result of the press coverage New Avalon had received while the latter two were generated by the day to day running of the newly acknowledged nation). With the help of Quatre, Harry drafted a generic response letter for the immigration applicants that basically told them their inquiry had been received that he sent out to each applicant along with a thick application packet that included a rather extensive questionnaire for them to fill out.
Another two generic response letters were drafted for those seeking employment; one acknowledging the receipt of their application with a note stating they'd be contacted within two weeks to schedule an interview (unless their application was denied for one reason or another) and one that thanked them for their application but let them know that Hogwarts didn't currently have an opening for their specified field of expertise. The rest of the paperwork was fairly simple to deal with as most of it just required his signature of approval (or disapproval) or was simply an overview of the various ongoing projects.
In order to process the immigration and job applications in a timely manner, Harry put together a pair of committees that would screen all incoming applications; one for the immigration side of things and one for the job applicants. The members of each committee were made up of current employees, his advisors, and a couple of trustworthy individuals that had been among the refugees that expressed a desire to become part of New Avalon. Both committees were supervised by Wufei; who had worked closely with Harry during all previous rounds of hiring. With the two committees sorting through the steadily growing influx of applications, Harry would only need to handle the final interviews and handle the memory alterations for those who were not hired for one reason or another.
After delegating the task of sorting applications to the two committees, Harry got caught up in finalizing the details for his coronation; which unfortunately would be televised due to the publicity he'd received upon establishing New Avalon as an independent nation. Due to the need to publicize the coronation, Harry decided that he would split the ceremony in half; allowing the smaller, magical portion of the ceremony to take place in private several hours prior to the televised ceremony that would be broadcast live.
That would allow him to perform the magical rites necessary to instill him as the King of New Avalon without advertising his magical heritage to the world at large (something he was in no way ready to do just yet). It also allowed Obduro to be part of the ceremony; much as the ancient centaur had been present to bless each of the nine magical infants born (Ayame having given birth to a healthy little witch on the day New Avalon had been formally recognized by the E.S.S.C. and the day Harry had signed the E.S.S.C. Charter).
When he wasn't overseeing preparations for the coronation (which involved redecorating the Great Hall and the Entrance Hall, being fitted for a new wardrobe, warding and setting up the news cameras, organizing food and entertainment, issuing invitations, and a hundred other tiny details), Harry was meeting with various officials via internet conference, conducting interviews, meeting with various employees and crews, and putting out the various fires that cropped up. He also finally made time to visit the former headmaster and headmistresses portraits so he could thank Everard for helping him find his way back and apologize for not coming to visit him sooner as promised (his two hour lesson after his return from Gringotts having been focused on other things).
He ended up sequestered in with the portraits for close to forty-eight hours after he revealed the status of the wizarding world as a new world nation and his upcoming coronation. Instead of calling him an upstart and a delusional fool (as he half expected) the portraits gave him their blessing before putting him through a rigorous training session that involved five new spells (for his coronation), proper deportment befitting his new station (above and beyond what Aunt Petunia had taught him), and crash course in wizarding politics.
Shortly after his two day cram session with the portraits of ancient witches and wizards, Harry found himself in a conference with Obduro, Dr. Watanabe, and Ragnok about the resurrection of the goblins. The conversation had been enlightening for Harry as he'd learned far more about goblin culture during the course of that four hour meeting than he had during four years of history classes under Professor Binns.
Dr. Watanabe had walked away from the conference filled with excitement over the prospect of bringing back a third species of sentient beings from extinction (centaurs and elves being the first two). Ragnok requested and received permission for his portrait moved to the clinic so that he could monitor the growth of the first goblin clones after which he'd be transferred to Harry's office so that he could help raise the newborn goblins. Harry also had plans to create at least two additional frames for the former Director of Gringotts so that the goblin could travel freely between key locations without having to constantly borrow another's frame.
Despite how busy Harry was kept during the two months of separation, he found himself continuously missing Dorothy's presence at his side. This was mostly especially true during the nights when Harry slipped into bed each night alone. He still spoke to her two and three times a day when they both had the time to spare but it just wasn't the same as having her there for him to hold. Only the knowledge that the separation wasn't permanent helped Harry cope with her absence and the fact that he could see that she missed him just as much as he missed her helped him keep his insecurities in check.
Dorothy returned to Hogwarts with the remainder of the New Avalonian delegation a week before Harry's coronation, bringing with her three quarter's of the Catalonia fortune (one third in liquid assets, one third in business stocks and bonds, and the final third in treasured heirlooms and property deeds); half of which Treize (as the new head of the Catalonia Family) had signed over to Taliesin as part of Dorothy's dowry. Treize also sent a substantial gift of money, textiles, farm stock (pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, and poultry), and several tons of processed metals and alloys from his own personal fortune with a formal apology and his blessings for Harry and Dorothy's upcoming nuptials. That gift made up the remainder of Dorothy's dowry and included restitution for the harm Treize had inadvertently caused during his possession.
Following Dorothy was half of the staff that had been employed by the Catalonia family (all of them carefully vetted by the members of Harry's squad that had gone with Dorothy). They were all highly skilled men and women that were loyal to the Catalonia Family and therefore loyal to Dorothy (most of them also more than a little fond of the young heiress). The reason they had not stayed in Bern was because Dorothy had relinquished the headship of the family to Treize after they'd come to an understanding about the things he'd said while possessed by Voldemort's shade and the fact that Treize would have had to lay off most of the Catalonia staff since he still maintained his own staff as he'd been quite wealthy in his own right.
The largest reason Dorothy had relinquished the headship of the family was mostly due to her desire to stand by Harry's side and help him finish rebuilding the wizarding world. The other two reasons were because she had no wish to be reminded of the life she'd lived prior to becoming a refugee and because she could not bring herself to work with those individuals that had once sought to imprison and experiment upon Harry (particularly those that had been part of the Romefeller Foundation). Treize had actually been surprised when Dorothy had offered him the family headship; the man not technically a Catalonia by birth. Dorothy, however, knew her cousin was ruthless enough to turn the family in the right direction and humbled enough to not take that ruthlessness to the degree he had prior to his encounters with Harry.
Harry had grumbled a bit about Dorothy giving up her birthright on his account (even if that wasn't the only reason she'd given it up) but he couldn't really bring himself to be all that upset when he knew it had been her choice to make. It also helped that her doing so reaffirmed her intention to stand by his side and support his efforts to rebuild and repopulate New Avalon. Most importantly, the fact that Dorothy was happy with her choices meant that Harry couldn't really find fault with them since her happiness had quickly become important to him.
As happy as Dorothy's return made Harry, his didn't really have time to enjoy the pleasure of her company due to the number of last minute details he had to oversee for his coronation. Part of that was seeing to it that the dock at the foot of the cliff below the castle and the stairs leading down to the dock were repaired and that part of the lake cleared of debris as the magical portion of his coronation would be taking place down on the dock and in the lake. He also commissioned a wooden lift that could safely transport the centaurs (the centaurs' hooves ill-suited for the steep stairway that led down to the dock from the top of the cliff), a floating platform (for those observing the magical coronation to stand upon), and a set of stairs leading down into the water (as part of the ceremony required him to fully submerse himself beneath the water and it would be inappropriate for him to just jump in).
The watery ritual was meant to represent his supplication for the Lady of the Lake to wash away the sins of his soul and cleanse his magic so that he might be born anew upon his reemergence. The five spells that the portraits had taught Harry during the two days he'd been sequestered with the former headmasters and headmistresses were part of the purification ritual and though the portraits didn't tell him, those spells would also determine whether or not he was worthy of ruling the magical world as king.
On the morning of the day before his coronation, exactly twenty-five hours before the magical portion of the ceremony was to start, Harry reluctantly slipped out of bed and brushed a kiss across Dorothy's brow as she slept. He was required to spend the twenty-four hours preceding the magical rites in prayer, silence, and fasting. It was also supposed to be a time of reflection and meditation as he prepared to shoulder the mantel of authority and responsibility of leading the wizarding nation of New Avalon. His only company during those twenty-four hours would be a small handful of magical and mundane creatures so that he would he would not be distracted from his duty.
Sighing, Harry padded into his bathroom and took a quick shower before dressing in the unadorned white cotton tunic, pants, slippers, and robes that had been created specifically for the magical rites of his coronation. Both the tunic and the robes had been designed to accommodate his wings since he wasn't allowed to use any magic to alter the clothing in any way. In fact, for the next twenty-four hours he was prohibited from using magic period (including mind magic). That would be the most difficult part of his vigil as he had grown used to using his magic on a constant basis over the past several years.
Once he was dressed, Harry slipped out of his rooms and headed up to the phoenix aerie where he'd chosen to hold his vigil. On his way passed the snake habitats, he picked up a passenger in the form of Seth. Inside the aerie, he found both phoenixes, several owls (including a trio of young female snowys), a newborn unicorn foal, a kneazle, a family of knarls, a pair of nifflers, a garden gnome, a few pixies, several young crups, and a bowtruckle. There were also several non-magical frogs, a toad, a pair of rabbits, a pheasant, a normal cat, a family of field mice, and several different kinds of songbirds.
The animals had been carried up to the aerie the night before as they would stand witness to his vigil. There would have been more but there had only been a limited amount of room available and Harry hadn't wanted to spend his vigil outside because then he'd be inundated with magical creatures seeking his attention which would have defeated the purpose of the vigil.
A quick check of the time showed that he still had fifteen minutes before his vigil was supposed to start and Harry called for Dobby and Winky so they could offer food to the various creatures. His oldest pair of elves would then be allowed to remain with him for the duration of his vigil while the other four elves covered Winky and Dobby's chores during that time. With nothing else to be done, Harry knelt on the stepping stone path near the cauldron of bluebell flames and emptied his mind of his doubts and insecurities.
Over the course of the next twenty-four hours, Harry would pray to the gods and goddesses of old for guidance and strength each time his doubts and insecurities rose up from the depths of his souls. The various creatures in the room occasionally perched upon him or explored his clothes and wings as he sat in their midst silent and unmoving. Winky and Dobby both diligently watched Harry and made certain that none of the creatures harmed one another and that there was plenty of food available when they grew hungry.
Harry was only vaguely aware of what was going on around him as he searched for inner peace while reflecting upon his past, contemplating the future, and pondering what becoming king to an entire world turned country would mean for him. Through it all, Harry never once stopped seeking guidance from the spirits and beings that had given birth to the world into which he had been born. Hoping and praying that he was doing the right thing while trying not to let his fears and doubts get the best of him.
Exactly twenty-four hours later, at five in the morning, Heero and Trowa turned up to fetch Harry and the young mage climbed wearily up onto his feet (his knees stiff and sore from having knelt on them the entire time). As the two younger teens helped Harry down the stairs, Winky and Dobby set about returning the various creatures to their homes bar Seth, Spero, and Spera (all three of whom were hitching a ride with the three teens – Seth inside of Harry's robes and the two phoenixes each on one of his brothers' shoulders). In order to prevent Harry from taking a tumble down the stairs, the three teens slipped into the secret passage that led down to the ground floor and by the time they reached the dungeons Harry's legs no longer felt like they were on fire.
The trio then slipped out the front entrance and headed for the stairs leading down to the dock where the rest of their mismatched family had already gathered. As he walked the length of the dock, Harry was a bit surprised to find that several portraits had been brought down from the castle and hung on the cliff-side so that they could witness history being made. Most prominent amongst the portraits present were Everard Peverell, Phineas Black, Fred and George (the twins for once not goofing around), the Fat Lady, and Ragnok the Pigeon Toed.
Quickly pushing aside his surprise (since he should have expected the portraits to be interested in watching), Harry finished making his way to the center of the dock. At that point, he passed Seth to Trowa and accepted his wand from Heero so he could cast the needed spells at the small roped off section of the lake where the purification ritual would be taking place. The first spell stilled the water's current, the second spell turned the water crystal clear, the third spell chased away any living creatures within the sealed off section of the lake, the fourth adjusted the temperature so that it was just a few degrees above freezing, and the final spell called forth Ceridwen, the Welsh goddess of magic (known to the Romans as Terra and the Greeks as Gaia – or mother earth – and in Arthurian Legends as the Lady of the Lake), to judge Harry's worthiness (not that Harry was aware of that tiny detail).
Harry then handed his wand back to Heero and continued the rest of the way to the end of the dock alone where Obduro was patiently waiting for him beside the stairs leading down into the water. The old centaur had been painted over with several symbols and runes that Harry only vaguely recognized from his early attempts to create a ward to protect the suits from his magic. Obduro also wore a circlet made from woven alder and oak branches and a robe draped over his horse body made from birch, elder, and pear braches that had been woven together and lined with spider silk. In his left hand he carried a five foot long rowan staff wrapped round with vines of ivy and holly and topped with a polished sphere of petrified wood that was three inches in diameter. Standing behind the ancient centaur were all five of the young centaur foals. The three fillies were each holding a hand turned wooden bowl while the two colts were empty handed.
The wizard silently bowed to the centaur who nodded in response before turning to carefully pass his staff to young Firenze so that he could carefully take the small wooden bowl that little Luna had been holding. The centaur then lifted the bowl to Harry's mouth and indicated that he should drink; the bitter taste of willow bark tea filled Harry's mouth as he complied and only a long familiarity with worse tasting potions allowed him to swallow the bitter liquid without choking. Obduro then passed the empty bowl back to Luna and indicated that Harry should strip out of his clothes as Orsus stepped forward to take possession of his clothing as it was removed.
Harry shivered a bit in the cold morning air and the knowledge that he was standing naked in front of close to thirty people and tried not to give into the urge he felt to wrap his wings around his body to hide his nakedness. He was distracted from his discomfort when Obduro gathered the bowl that Caleo was holding and took out a unicorn hair brush that he dipped into the silvery-blue paint that was inside the bowl. It took considerable willpower for Harry to avoid squirming as the centaur began painting his body with a series of symbols and runes similar to the ones that the centaur wore; the fine brush tickling as it ghosted over his skin while the paint itself was ice cold.
He was at least thankful that Obduro hadn't needed to paint anything onto his wings; he didn't think he'd have been able to keep still for that despite the fact that his wings weren't as sensitive as they once were. Harry nearly let out a sigh of relief when Obduro passed the bowl of paint back to Caleo before taking the final bowl from Stella. Like the bowl that Luna had held, the bowl Obduro took from Stella contained a liquid that he was meant to drink. Only this time it was an extremely heady and potent alcoholic and herbal mix that tasted like spices, high altitude, and earthy loam. It also hit Harry like a brick wall the instant it reached his empty stomach.
The first thing he noticed was the heat rushing through him; enough to make his wings ignite (something that usually only happened when he lost his temper). Just as suddenly, it felt like his mind had been cut off and cast out from his body so that he was looking down on himself. He panicked for a split second over the unnaturalness of being outside of his body before his emotions were dampened and calmed by the stuff that Obduro had given him to drink. Harry then felt himself dragged forward as his body walked robotically down the stairs into the lake.
Harry's body continued to walk until the water closed over his head completely at the same moment as the first rays of the morning sunlight spilled over onto the lake; blinding Harry's spirit as the light reflected off of the water. When the light receded, he was shocked to see that the water of the lake had frozen over completely and he was more than a little worried when he realized that his body was trapped inside of the now frozen water while his spirit was floating above the water. He probably would have started panicking again, despite the calming effects of the drink that Obduro had given to him, if not for the sudden appearance of a woman appearing beside him in the air.
The woman was, in a way, more beautiful than any other woman he'd ever seen once he managed to look passed the other-worldliness of her appearance. Her long, thick hair was made up of vines and moss in shades of yellow, brown, and green that were all twisted together and shot through with dainty flowers of every color imaginable. Her skin was made from pale bark, appeared to be peeling away from her body in places, and was colored white, brown, and gray. Finally, her eyes were cold hard diamonds that sparkled with a rainbow of colors as the morning light danced over their surface.
The dress she wore defied all logic as it appeared to have been woven entirely out of mist and shadows that left very little to the imagination. Draped over her shoulders was a cloak made from the feathers and fur of hundreds of different animals. Seated upon her head was a crown of aged copper set with chips of emerald, ruby, sapphire, and opal. In her left hand she held the hilt of a flaming sword while in her right hand she held a tall staff made of ice. And even though she was several inches shorter than Harry, her very presence seemed to loom over him and it was very obvious that she was more than a little upset. Harry swallowed thickly the moment she turned her jeweled eyes upon him.
His eyes widened in shock when the woman suddenly smiled warmly at him; her entire demeanor going from annoyed to delighted in a heartbeat.
Heero idly twirled the wand in his hand as he watched Taliesin approach the centaurs waiting for him on the far end of the dock. When the wizard began stripping out of the ceremonial robes he was wearing, Heero couldn't help but marvel over how much Taliesin had grown since the day they'd first met (and not just physically). When he'd first met Taliesin, the wizard had been a complete mess emotionally with a volatile hair trigger temper and a sharp tongue. The temper and sharp tongue were still there but they were now tempered with a maturity that Taliesin had previously lacked. The once pint-sized teen had also gained a measure of emotional stability alongside that maturity.
Physically, the wizard had grown considerably; seeing as when Heero had first met him he'd mistaken the older teen for a seven or eight year old. Now, Taliesin looked like the teen he was, though he could easily be mistaken for a fifteen or sixteen year old at first glance. The fact that the nineteen year old had put on a rather descent amount of weight since the Zero incident (as the pilots had taken to calling Taliesin's brief sojourn as a wolf) had helped dispel the lost waif look the wizard had previously portrayed; now that the wizard was finally eating regular meals with normal sized portions instead of the scattered half meals he'd eaten previously.
Heero's eyes were drawn to the numerous scars that littered his brother's body as the centaur painted the wizard's skin with the silvery paint. In addition to the rather unpleasant collection of scars that Taliesin had gained during the four years he'd attended Hogwarts as a student, there were numerous bullet and blast scars littering the wizard's body from where he'd been shot multiple times over the past two and a half years. Those newer scars didn't stand out quite as much as the older ones did but that didn't make Heero feel any less guilty over the knowledge that he'd helped put those scars there because he'd helped drag the wizard into their war.
Oh, he knew that ultimately it had been Taliesin's decision to join the fighting but that didn't really make him feel all that much better about it. He'd known that the temperamental teen would choose to fight long before they'd actually begun teaching Taliesin how to protect himself. Sadly, Taliesin had been far more interested in protecting others than in protecting himself. Despite their best efforts, the pilots had been unable to instill a sense of self preservation into their not-quite-so-little little brother. Sure, he'd gained self confidence and self control but his sense of self worth was still lacking. No, that wasn't quite true, as Taliesin had come to accept that his life was worth living. He just placed everyone else's life far above his own.
Taliesin was the most selfless individual that Heero had ever met; the wizard lived entirely for others.
Heero's focus was drawn back to his self-claimed brother as Taliesin's wings caught fire after drinking from the third bowl that the centaurs had brought with them. Heero frowned; the only time Taliesin's wings ever ignited was when his temper got away with him. He turned to face the floating platform tied just outside of the roped off section of the lake where Taliesin's ritual was taking place to check on Quatre (the empath always being adversely affected by Taliesin's negative emotions) and felt relief to see that the blonde was unaffected. That meant that something else was affecting Taliesin aside from his emotions.
The pilot glanced back towards the older teen in time to see him mechanically entering the lake. His eyebrows climbed up towards his hairline in mild surprise when the flames dancing along the feathery scales of Taliesin's wings continued to burn even after coming into contact with the water. The bright flash of light that blinded him the moment the sunlight touched the lake caught him off guard but the moment he could see again he felt a flash of fear as he immediately noticed that the section of lake in which Taliesin was standing had been frozen solid.
"And so it begins," a voice declared and Heero whipped his head around to stare at the line of portraits that had been brought down to the dock by Taliesin's elves earlier that morning.
"What are you talking about? What is happening to Taliesin?" Trowa demanded as he pushed passed Heero to glare at the portraits of the deceased wizards and witches.
"The mage's soul is being weighed and measured by Magic herself in order to ascertain whether or not he is worthy of the crown he seeks to claim," the portrait labeled as Dilys Derwent explained.
"What happens if he is found unworthy?" Heero asked tightly as he glanced back to the frozen lake.
"He dies," the first painting, one Phineas Black, intoned ominously and both teens sucked in a sharp breath at the unexpected revelation.
"Have faith in the child," Everard Peverell admonished as he scowled at the other portrait. "His heart and soul are pure and he does not seek the crown for the power it holds nor does he truly wish to rule."
"Does he even know that he is being judged down there?" Trowa demanded as he scowled at the portraits.
"No. His doubts would have consumed him," Everard admitted with a soft sigh. "He still has a difficult time accepting his status as a true mage. Dumbledore did that child no favors when he meddled in his life. He is filled with untapped potential that he is too terrified to acknowledge."
"You should have warned him what he would be facing during this ceremony," Heero growled irritably. "He does not take kindly to being manipulated and the moment he realizes that you sent him down there unprepared he's going to grow angry."
"We did not send him down there unprepared," Phineas countered haughtily. "We taught him everything he would need to know to survive and if we had sent him into the waters full of doubt about his own capabilities, then he would have been judged unworthy; for one can not rule a nation when one is consumed by fear alone."
"He will be annoyed with us when the ritual is complete but in time he will understand why we chose to withhold that information and he will be a stronger ruler for it," Dilys assured the two pilots with conviction.
"Too late to do anything about it now, anyway," Trowa groused with an annoyed frown. The green eyed teen then glanced at the frozen lake for a moment before he turned back to the portraits and asked, "You said that magic was going to judge him; how can magic judge a person? Magic isn't actually alive, is it?"
"No, magic is not alive in the same since that you and those around you are alive," Everard answered as he gestured to those that had gathered to witness Taliesin's magical coronation ceremony. "However, it does have a degree of sentience that allows it to act in defense of its wizard and enables it to learn. It is not the physical manifestation of magic that will be judging the child though; it is the embodiment of magic, the goddess of magic, who will judge his soul."
"The goddess of magic?" Heero parroted with more than a touch of skepticism.
"Yes, to the Romans and the Greeks, she was known as Mother Earth and named as Terra and Gaia respectfully. When I still lived, she was known as Ceridwen to the Welsh and to the Britons she was known as the Lady of the Lake. She has long been a guide and protector to those bearing the gift of her Magic, though the number of magicals that believed in her existence dwindled through time until most believed her to be nothing more than a legend or a myth."
"The Lady of the Lake…? Does that mean that Hogwarts actually is the long lost Avalon?" Trowa inquired with a trace of surprise.
"No, nor is Hogwarts Castle the long lost seat of Camelot," Phineas replied with a sniff of superiority. "The ruins of both Avalon and Camelot are both located in what was once Southern England."
"Then how is it that the goddess of magic can judge Taliesin here if this lake is not part of Avalon?" Heero asked as he briefly glanced away from the portraits to worriedly check on the wizard trapped beneath the frozen lake before turning his attention back to the portraits.
"Lady Ceridwen is no more bound to Avalon than you are bound to the place you call home," Dilys stated in a patient tone. "The Lady Ceridwen is found wherever there is magic and magic is found everywhere because magic is connected to the earth. A magical may call upon her for aide no matter where they are but she can only be summoned to this plane of existence through water; hence why she had been named the Lady of the Lake by our ancestors."
Neither teen had a chance to comment further as at that moment the sound of ice cracking drew their attention back towards the lake where they could see the frozen water breaking up and melting as Taliesin's head rose above the surface once more.
As the nineteen year old waded back to the stairs leading up onto the dock, Heero studied the changes that had occurred while the teen had been trapped beneath the frozen lake. First, the wizard was now wearing a thin circlet made of woven copper, silver, and gold upon his head that reflected the light of the morning sun onto his hair and enhanced the red highlights hidden amidst the black locks. Next, Taliesin's eyes stood out brighter than ever before; the mismatched green and blue orbs deeper and richer in color and lit from inside with the power of his magic. As the wizard's wings crested the surface, the flames that had covered them poured from the feathered scales like thick paint along with the black and green pigment that had once colored the dark wings; leaving the scales mostly white in color except where they were shot through with swirls of the palest green, lined with speckles and veins of gold, and tipped with a dark red.
Once his shoulders cleared the water, it became apparent that Taliesin was no longer naked; the wizard once again wearing a white tunic, robes, and pants. This time, the clothing was made from spun silk and decorated with intricate Celtic designs running along the edges in copper, silver, and gold threads. Heero could just make out what looked like leather boots on Taliesin's feet but it was hard to tell with the way the water rippled with each step the wizard took. In his right hand he held a crystal staff that was topped with a teardrop shaped fire opal that appeared to hold living flames inside of it. And around his waist was a heavy leather and gold chased belt from which hung a very familiar sword in a white scabbard trimmed with gold.
The biggest difference between the Taliesin that had waded out into the water and the Taliesin that was climbing out of the water was the way in which he moved and carried himself. Taliesin had been stiff and robotic as he'd entered the water whereas he now walked with confidence and grace as he exited the water.
An insecure wizard had entered the lake and a regal king exited the lake.
Taliesin patiently held his arms out while Cathy and Dorothy straightened his bow-tie and smoothed down the shirt and vest he was wearing for the public portion of his coronation. The two ladies stepped back a moment later as Quatre stepped forward holding out the jacket of his tuxedo and helped Taliesin slip it on over his shirt and vest. Taliesin shrugged his shoulders and buttoned the jacket (leaving the lowest button undone) before he turned around to critically inspect his reflection in the mirror.
He was wearing a traditional white tuxedo (complete with tails); made from fine wool with gold silk peak lapels. The white dress shirt he was wearing was also made of high quality silk and decked out with a wing pocket. The pale gold and ivory vest he was wearing, on the other hand, was made from thick velvet. Both his bow-tie and the handkerchief tucked into his right breast pocket were the same gold color of his lapels (which was a medium gold) and also made from silk. On his feet he wore polished white leather formal slip-on shoes with two inch heels and his hands were encased in thin, skintight, silk lined, white cotton gloves.
His cufflinks were dark green emeralds set in gold and bore the newly designed Bard Crest which had a black cobra coiled around the blade of a vertical sword (tip down) with gold wings forming the hilt set inside of the silhouette of Hydria shaped Grecian vase with a rampant lion on the right side and a rampant dog on the left. Around his waist he wore the leather and gold belt and empty scabbard that the goddess Ceridwen had gifted to him; the blade he'd worn previously (which happened to be Gryffindor's sword) currently sitting in the Great Hall along with the other items that were to be part of the ceremony. And on his head he wore the magical circlet that identified him as the rightful king of New Avalon; the magic in the circlet preventing him from removing the crown from his body (though he could take it off and loop it around his arm when he washed his hair – he just couldn't take it off and set it down as it would simply reform upon his head the moment he let go).
On his right hand, he wore the Potter and Black family rings on his ring and middle finger respectively while on his left hand he now wore the Bard and Peverell family rings on his ring and middle finger (both rings newly commissioned). The Bard ring bore the same crest as his cuff links with the addition of the new family motto of Staterae et Aequalitas (meaning Balance and Equality). The Peverell ring on the other hand had the gold outline of circle set inside of a triangle that was vertically bisected by a wand etched onto a polished black stone and set in gold. The original Peverell ring had been lost sometime after Tom M. Riddle had stolen it from Morfin Gaunt; something Everard had lamented over just before he'd asked Taliesin to have a copy of the ring created (the original ring carrying unique magical properties that could not be replicated).
Overall he looked rather regal in the tux though he felt uncomfortable in the slightly restrictive clothes. He couldn't help but compare his current reflection to that of the ragged child he'd been growing up. A smirk tugged at his lips as he briefly wondered what the Dursleys would think of him if they could see him now before he suppressed his amusement over the fit his relatives that he knew they would have thrown the moment they learned that he was rich and titled. That line of thinking had him thinking back to the purification ritual and soul weighing ceremony he'd participated in earlier that morning.
He'd entered the lake still seeing himself as Harry Potter (even if no one really called him that any longer) and he'd left the lake as Taliesin Bard. He'd been reborn in that moment and he'd left behind the negativity that had clung to him for most of his life. He was still the same person that he'd been prior to the ceremony but at the same time, he was so much more as the grief, anger, and fear that had shackled him to the past had been stripped free of his soul. That didn't mean he couldn't feel those emotions again or that he didn't remember the memories that had given birth to them; it simply meant that those negative emotions no longer weighed upon his soul or hindered his growth (mentally, emotionally, or spiritually).
"Don't worry, Taliesin; you still look handsome," Cathy lightly teased with a warm smile as she stepped up behind him.
Taliesin snorted and smiled at her reflection over his shoulder before his eyes sought out Dorothy's as he retorted, "I feel like a kid playing dress up in his father's clothes. Just whose idea was it to stick me in a white and gold tux instead of the traditional black I originally planned to wear?"
"Black is too boring and all of the guests will be wearing the darker colors," Dorothy primly explained for the fifteenth or sixteenth time with a sigh of exasperation. "You are about to be crowned as the ruling monarch of New Avalon and as such you need to set yourself apart from everyone else."
"And here I thought having you at my side would be enough to set me apart from everyone else."
"Down boy," Duo jokingly ordered from where he'd just poked his head through the door. "All of da guests have arrived and I was sent ta let ya know that we're just about ready for ya."
Taliesin sighed as Cathy and Quatre slipped out the door with Duo to go collect James from the nursery, leaving him alone with Dorothy for the moment. Spinning on his heel, Taliesin allowed his eyes to drink in the lovely vision that was his fiancée as intently as he'd studied his earlier reflection. She was wearing a wine colored, empire style, floor length satin ball gown with gold trim and accents that emphasized her modest bust and hid the slight evidence of the babe growing in her womb. The dress had off the shoulder poet sleeves that were snug along her upper arms and flared out at the elbow to hang down to the wrist with a slit from the tip of the sleeve to her elbow to prevent the flowing sleeves from hindering her hands.
On her arms she wore elbow length gold silk gloves that matched the darker gold accents on Taliesin's tux and the long stole she wore wrapped around her shoulders for warmth. She wore a pair of gold satin, leather soled dress slippers (for comfort and so as not to tower over Taliesin) that were held in place with snugly tied gold ribbons that wound around her legs all the way up to her knees (something Taliesin only knew because he'd seen her put them on). Her thigh length pale hair had been braided through with rich gold silk ribbons, neatly coiled on top of her head, and held in place with gold hairpins and a wine colored silk ribbon whose ends fell loosely down to the base of her neck. For jewelry, she wore the gold and diamond teardrop earring and pendant set that Taliesin had purchased for her along with the diamond solitaire engagement ring that Cathy had helped him pick out a while back.
"Have I told you how beautiful you look right now?" Taliesin asked softly as he crossed the short distance separating them, gathered her left hand in his, and brushed a kiss across her gloved knuckles.
"Not for at least twenty minutes," Dorothy replied with a soft laugh.
"It would seem that I have been remiss in my courtly responsibilities, my lovely lady; please tell me what I must do to make up for my dereliction of duty."
"I require the first and last dance at the ball this evening followed by a moonlit walk by the lake shore."
"As my lady wishes, so shall it be," Taliesin promised as he leaned forward to gently seal the deal with a chaste kiss so as not to muss Dorothy's makeup too terribly. "Would that I could dance the entire night away in your arms instead of being compelled to dance with my female counterparts from around the world in addition to the wives of the rest of the leaders and dignitaries of the various countries that were invited to attend my coronation."
"It could be worse, you know; you could be forced to dance with their unmarried daughters as well."
"And I am eternally thankful that the world will not need to play matchmaker on my behalf. My poor brothers are not so lucky and they shall find themselves hounded by those men and women looking to marry their daughters off to the nobility of the newly rising nation. Do you think I should have warned them that I would be bestowing upon each of them the title of dukes immediately after my coronation?"
"Are you really? Why didn't you tell anyone? How will that work when you technically don't have any land to award them and what are the exact titles they are going to hold?"
"Yes, the titles are a way for me to honor my brothers for everything that they've done for me and for New Avalon. I kept it a secret for the most part because I didn't want the five of them to know what I was up to, though I did make certain that those individuals that needed to know in order to prepare the ceremony knew about their elevation into the peerage. And I actually do have a number of hidden properties scattered throughout the former British Isles that I can give to each of them; they won't be true dukedoms but I don't think any of them will complain."
"As for their titles, Wufei will be the Duke of Ravenclaw, Quatre will be the Duke of Hufflepuff, Duo will be the Duke of Slytherin, Heero will be the Duke of Gryffindor, Trowa will be the Duke of Hogsmeade, and Cathy will be the Duchess of New Hogsmeade. Zechs will become the Earl of Honeydukes and the rest of my squad will be knighted. I am saving the title of Duke, or Duchess, of Hogwarts for our first child since little James will be named crown prince. I will need to come up with other titles for the rest of the children that will be cloned from the remains of my first family but it will be years before I really have to worry about that. "
"You really gave a lot of thought to creating your court, didn't you?" Dorothy remarked as the two of them left the Wizard's Roost (formerly Gryffindor Tower) after a knock on the door let them know that it was time for Taliesin's coronation to start. "The only title that doesn't make any sense to me is Zechs'; wasn't Honeydukes a candy store?"
"Ah, his title is kind of an inside joke," Taliesin whispered conspiratorially as he led Dorothy through a shortcut that would drop them out near the top of the main staircase so they didn't have to traverse through the maze of corridors and staircases to get down to the first floor. "During that farce of a dinner party that I was forced to attend alongside Trowa and Cathy after we performed at Luxembourg Castle, I told Zechs that I was allergic to chocolate when our dessert had been served because I'd been paranoid at the time; for good reason. I would admit to the lie shortly after he captured me during my first assault on the Lunar Base."
"You made a complete mess of the formal dining room that night and about gave my grandfather a heart attack. I'd been stunned speechless by the sheer level of violence that you'd unleashed given that I'd thought you were just an eight year old at the time. And I'd never before heard anyone call my grandfather or my cousin such foul names."
"I was a little upset at the way the dinner party ended that night."
Dorothy snorted and shook her head at that understatement before schooling her face as they stepped out of the shortcut and moved up to where their family and friends were waiting for them. Ten minutes later, the two of them gracefully descended the main staircase while their friends and family followed behind them. Several video cameras broadcast their entrance live while the flashes of multiple cameras filled the entire hall as the numerous cameramen, reporters, and photographers recorded history in the making. The procession then moved into the Great Hall and between the multiple rows of benches that had been brought in to seat the five hundred guests that had been invited to attend the coronation.
Taliesin delivered Dorothy to her seat before he climbed the dais to take his place off to the left of the small table that had been set up on the right side of the dais. At twelve noon on the dot, the bells of Hogwarts rang out and the audience rose to their feet as one as the door to the former antechamber opened and a small procession of clergymen filed out followed by Pope Alexander X who had agreed to preside over Taliesin's coronation. Taliesin was a little uncomfortable with the idea of being crowned by the pope due to the fact that he was a wizard and not catholic but his choices had been rather limited since there were no surviving druid priests or priestesses that could have officiated the ceremony. Pushing his discomfort out of his mind, Taliesin focused on the Pope as the man began speaking.
Despite paying close attention to the man's every words, Taliesin would not be able to repeat any portion of his coronation ceremony to anyone. The entire three hour ceremony (which included the elevation of his brothers, sister, and squad) was nothing but one long blur in his mind. He vaguely recalled being presented his sword (which he'd protected with a tight sheath charmed to be invisible so that no one would be accidentally nicked by the deadly blade) as he gave his oath to protect his kingdom; having a thick Gryffindor red, white, and gold velvet cape draped over his shoulders as he swore to feed and shelter his kingdom; feeling the weight of the fancy gold and velvet crown being placed upon his head where it butted up against the circlet given to him by magic as he swore to bring order to his kingdom; and being presented with his crystal staff as he swore to uphold justice and peace within his kingdom.
The wizard king also recalled the looks of stunned disbelief on the faces of his brothers and sister as each of them were called up to receive their honors and titles after little James had been crowned as heir to the throne. The newly appointed Dukes of the Founder's Houses were all given rings holding the crest of the Founder they represented and cloaks in their House's colors while the Duke and Duchess of Hogsmeade (both new and old) both had the Hogsmeade Crest (which was the logo from the Three Broomsticks since the pub had been a central feature of the original magical village) on their rings and their robes were pale green and copper. As the Earl of Honeydukes, Zechs' crested was that of a frog seated on a cube of chocolate and his colors were deep brown and gold.
The remaining eight members of Taliesin's squad were then promptly inducted into the Order of the Star as knights of the realm. The two young ladies and six young men were slightly better prepared than the seven newly elevated nobles had been; they'd had a good thirty minutes to suspect that something was up when Zechs (who was the second in command of their squad) received his title. All eight of them received rings with the newly designed crest of the Order of the Star on it (a gold starburst with a pair of crossed silver swords over top carved into a piece of polished obsidian and set into a silver ring with the motto; Forever Fly Free etched onto the banner below the stone).
Instead of being given cloaks, the newly knighted men and women were given matching long swords with the two ladies receiving swords that were slightly shorter than the men's swords. Each doubled edged blade was forty-five inches long (the ladies' swords only forty inches) with a black and silver hilt with the Order's crest engraved upon the pommel. Down the center of the blade, each member's last name had been etched into the blade. The scabbards were made from black leather with silver fittings and matching belts. Furthermore, each blade had been enchanted with the same protective and practical runes that had been set on Taliesin's silver cards that would prevent them from being damaged or stolen and keep the blade's edges from growing dull or rusted.
The two hours immediately following the ceremonies, was spent mingling with the guests with Dorothy upon his arm while the men and women he'd hired to serve the evening meal cleared the benches from the Great Hall and replaced them with the usual tables and chairs that filled the hall (though there were considerably more tables present than there would normally be). A number of black clad waiters and waitresses wove through the shifting crowds with trays of light refreshments and fluted glasses of fine wines, rich meads, water, and non-alcoholic ciders. If his investiture as the King of New Avalon had been nothing but a blur, the two hours spent socializing was nothing but a sea of endless faces and the droning of endless conversations and Taliesin would be hard pressed to remember the names of everyone he'd been introduced to during that time.
The early supper was a pleasant affair and would be the clearest memory Taliesin would have of the entire day. All seven courses had been done to perfection, the men and women he'd hired to serve for the occasion (since he'd had no desire to perform magic in front of so many world leaders whom he didn't really know) were professional and courteous, and because he'd been surrounded by his closest friends and family at the head table the conversation had been pleasant and tension free.
The dancing after the meal, however, was just as tedious as Taliesin had predicted it would be (bar those dances he'd spent with Dorothy in his arms or when he'd danced with friends and family). There had been a few glory hounds and a couple of gold diggers that he'd barely managed to avoid (thanks to the efforts his brothers and his squad) but they'd missed the scandal hunting reporter with telepathic capabilities. As Heero led the woman away (discreetly so as not to alarm the other guests) Taliesin couldn't help but wonder if she was a direct descendant of one Rita Skeeter. Whoever the woman was related to, she would be Obliviated first thing in the morning and blacklisted from New Avalon (despite the fact that she was a squib); he wanted nothing to do with any person that was willing to invade another's mind just to make a fast buck by printing people's private thoughts.
Dorothy's promised moonlit stroll along the lake shore was cut short when Taliesin fell asleep standing up after the two of them had paused to watch the moon beams dancing upon the surface of the lake while a small handful of playful pixies flittered and danced in the air above the water. The exhausted wizard (who'd been awake for over forty-hours by then) had needed to be carried up to his rooms by Haddock and Brian (his bodyguards for the evening).
AN: And we're three for three so far... and for once I didn't end on a cliffy... though I don't think the last chapter ended on one either. I've been trying to avoid those lately. Not sure when the next chapter will be up but I hope to have at least two posted over the course of the week. I've nearly finished writing the final chapter of this story (not counting the epilogue) so it looks like I'll have it finished before the New Year which will allow me to focus on WWY2 and Discovering the Heart for a bit before I start posting Stubborn Shadow.
As always, a big thank you to all of my readers and reviewers! This story has been, by far, the most popular stand alone story I have written and the most reviewed story I've posted to date. ~ Jenn