THE BIG 4-0!
For this story, of course. Not me.
I don't always answer every review on every chapter, but I will for this and every 10th chapter from here on out, at least! Feel free to ask any questions you have and leave some really thoughtful reviews! I won't answer any questions that ask for spoilers though.
Onto the chapter!
"Welcome to Isis, gentlemen. Glad to have you here," a tall man with neat, greying blond hair, standing next to a shorter woman with her own dark blond hair, streaked with steel grey cut into a short, slanted bob greeted them as Harry, Darian, Aki and Lucas made their way off the airship once it landed at a port there.
"Thank you, Your Grace." Harry stepped forward and did a small bow, followed by his squad mates.
"None of that. You may call us by our given names for now. Please, just call us Alamar and Cherette. No 'Your Grace' and certainly no 'Duke' or 'Duchess'. That goes for all of you." the man said.
"Very well... Alamar..." Even though he was given permission to do so, Harry still felt awkward using the older man's name.
Cherette chuckled. "You socialise with royalty and nobles rather frequently. Why are you still nervous about such things?" she asked as they were escorted to their own local transport.
"Not really. It's just Roxy and her family, really." Harry shrugged. "I went to that Young Royals Gala and met some other nobles and royalty there, including the Winx Club, but it never really does seem to get easier..."
"It will in time. With the things you and your friends here have been doing recently, you will have a lot more of us interested in meeting you all, I'm afraid..." Alamar said.
"Just what I need..." Harry murmured, causing Alamar, Cherette, Darian, Lucas and Aki to chuckle.
They approached a smaller airship than the one Harry and his squad had arrived in and one of their security detail opened the door and they all got in.
Once settled and the airship took to the sky, the Isisan nobles began to speak again.
"The De L'Ors are good family friends, so naturally, we appreciate what you have done for them. The witching community in general appreciates what you've done. There have been murmurs about you in particular, Harry- even amongst the fairies- but this just raises opinion of you amongst our kind..." Cherette said.
"What exactly does that mean?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"You'll have a good amount of witches and witch-aligned people approaching you. They want to get to know you. You have been making a lot of waves since you arrived in Magix. Doing this sort of thing for us... It shows that you are not biased against us as most with more fairykind leanings are..." Cherette explained.
"I haven't met a witch that I really disliked before- except the Trix, but I'm sure everyone dislikes them... Granted, I don't really know any that well, but the thought of being so against you as I've heard some people are... Honestly, it never occurred to me..." Harry admitted.
Lucas chuckled and shook his head. "Poor, poor, clueless Harry. No idea that he's really drawing the attention of all sorts of different magic users here. He's just that kind of guy. When he found out that I come from an entirely witch line, he never balked at it. He was never raised in this universe to pick up on those biases, but still..."
"We never flipped out on you either and all the women in my family are fairies and Darian's is a mixed bunch..." Aki pointed out.
"It wasn't always like this between fairies and witches, you know. The story behind that is a long and interesting one, but it is a story for another time." Alamar smiled, but it was humourless one. "Nowadays, they and those who align themselves with them are viewed with suspicion and apprehension at best. Fear and loathing at worst. Simply because their views on what one should and shouldn't do with magic."
Harry blinked. "Lucas told me a lot about it, but when you put it like that..."
"Witches like the Trix will never help matters." Cherette almost seemed to growl. "Their antics, their schemes... so many- fairy and witch alike- were hurt by them, yet they only focus on the fact that they were evil witches. There have been evil fairies in the past, but they do so seem to conveniently forget that..."
"Our daughter Gemma... Our only daughter... our only child... she was in the Trix's year at Cloud Tower. A fellow Senior witch. If they had not gone and done what they did in their quest for power and gotten expelled, they would have likely graduated alongside her. None of the witches in that school- witches that they'd been going to school with for years even, were spared when they decided to take it over that time and imprison all the students and staff there." Alamar scowled at the memory.
"Ah... The Trix. Rainer has told us about the time they helped Valtor take over Cloud Tower. Since Nephele was there- only a Freshman at the time- she fell under their mass hypnosis spell too... Nephele apparently describes the experience as being a living nightmare." Lucas frowned. "My realm's queen was also a Freshman in that year and she only escaped that fate simply because she was not on campus at the time..."
"The fairies forget that we do not endorse those actions, especially as they also harm our own. The Trix are insane. And now they've spread their insanity to Earth, from what we have heard since you took a few competent students from all three of the schools in Magix alongside others to fight against what they did in your home area of that planet..." Cherette glanced at Harry.
"Fame there, fame here... I like that we helped to save people and all, but sometimes I just wish I could slip off for some quiet time and just be ordinary..." Harry sighed.
"From all reports, you are anything but ordinary..." Alamar commented. "Enough about such matters now. I feel as if Cherette and myself are being a bit... preachy with you all..."
"I didn't mind," said Harry. "I actually found it quite enlightening..."
Cherette smiled. "I am glad to hear it. Now, since you are to stay with us until the De L'Ors return, there's a few things we'd like to tell you about what is likely to happen during your stay..."
"What a lovely home you have here..." Harry looked around in admiration as he stepped onto the roof of a large mansion taking in everything he could see- spacious, well-maintained grounds filled with different kinds of exotic plants and trees; a water fountain out in the distance where he estimated the main gate to be, and a large swimming pool in the backyard.
"Thank you," Alamar smiled as he waved his hand and a garage of sorts formed on the roof and over the airship, completely sealing it away from the elements and from view.. "It has been in my family- the Orvilles, by the way- for several centuries, though via magic and other means, it doesn't really look that old, does it?"
"No, it most certainly does not." Lucas said. "My father and mother are into history and we get to basically visit a lot of old buildings and museums when they have time for vacations. Fascinating stuff, really..."
"Ah... you are from a predominantly witching planet, are you not? Spectra, it was?" Cherette questioned him.
"Indeed. Travelling outside of it and living amongst so many fairies has been a bit of a culture shock for me, but one gets used to it, I suppose..." Lucas shrugged.
"We need to come and visit someday. I hear that your planet is truly a beautiful one..." Cherette smiled.
"I would be biased, but I certainly believe it is..." Lucas smiled back.
Alamar put his hand on the scanner next to a door that had also risen up from the roof with a wave of his hand and it swung open.
"After you, gentlemen." he gestured for them to go in first.
"Our daughter Gemma is away on a trip with some co-workers to Lucis for a research project at the moment, so I won't be able to introduce you until at least tomorrow when she returns. Tomorrow afternoon is also when you'll be having your little press conference- all with approval from the De L'Ors and the Isisian witching community in general. I assume you'll be intelligent and sharp enough to have tact in certain areas of the case, correct?" Cherette asked.
"Correct. All of us were advised on this before we left Magix and even Queen Morgana managed to give me a bit of advice via Roxy before I left..." Harry answered.
"A good enough person in that regard, according to the stories about her. Rather decent for a fairy as well..." Alamar shrugged.
"Now, here we are..." Cherette spoke up when she opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, revealing that they had made it inside a part of the mansion that looked like a simple lounge. "This is always the first room you'll arrive in when you take the rooftop entrance. Why don't you relax here for a few minutes? We'll be right back..."
Cherette made her way to another door that seemed to lead out to the rest of the mansion, followed closely by her husband.
Harry sat in a rather plush armchair first and stretched his legs out. "So... Here we are, on Isis. This is the first time I've travelled to another planet within this whole Magix Dimension... which I'm still trying to understand the concept of..."
"Don't even bother trying to understand all of it. It'll only give you a major headache," Darian advised. "So many different worlds and planets out there, all with their different views on magic, different creatures... It's a lot to take in..."
"And Tir Nan Og is on Earth, but it's like a pocket dimension on the planet, compared to being an actual planet in and of itself..." Harry rubbed the back of his head. "You're right, Darian. I'm not going to try to understand it. Perhaps my sanity will be better off for it..."
After a few minutes, the Isisan couple returned.
"Everything is ready for your brief stay here. Please, follow us." Alamar poked his head back inside the room, motioning with his hand for them to follow him. "We shall give you a tour of our home..."
"I think we'll enjoy some breakfast out in the front gardens today. It really is lovely out there and enjoying a lot of beautiful surroundings and good food will help you with what you'll have to deal with later today. On that note..." Cherette waved her hands and they all glowed amber and suddenly found themselves in the front gardens.
"Here we are. We gave the servants the week off so that's why you've not seen any around. That also means that Alamar and I did the cooking ourselves this time. We do enjoy doing so on occasion..." she smiled at the young men as she and her husband took in the sight of the young men taking in the sight of the small bounty of breakfast foods now in front of them on a buffet table.
Alamar snapped his fingers and a large, round table covered in a silver tablecloth popped into existence with twelve chair surrounding it.
"Well, what are you waiting for, gentlemen?" Cherette smiled. "Are you not hungry?"
"We are!" They moved towards the buffet and began helping themselves.
Minutes later, a flash of dark green light appeared on the water fountain and with it, a young woman and man.
The woman had strawberry blonde curly hair that reached just past her ears and her eyes were neon green and felt as if she were X-raying all that she surveyed with them.
The man was tanned, rather lanky, had shaggy light brown hair, a small, neatly cut beard and grey eyes behind a pair of rectangular glasses.
"Hello, Mother, Father. I see you have guests..." the young women glanced over at Harry and his friends.
"Hello, Gemma. I see that you have brought your own guest. Alfonso..." Alamar noted.
"Duke and Duchess Tesora..." Alfonso inclined his head slightly.
Alamar rolled his eyes, but motioned for them to join him and the others.
"Gentlemen, this is my lovely daughter Gemma. Accompanying her this morning is her boyfriend Alfonso." Alamar introduced them.
"So... you're the guys who rescued Amethyst and Jasper." Gemma looked them up and down. "You don't look like much, but you were good enough to rescue them, so I suppose I owe you a thank you..."
"We should all know that looks are deceiving. Why, if I judged you on your looks alone, I'd guess that you were nothing but an insignificant airhead who merely coasted their way through Cloud Tower because your parents have status and money..." Harry retorted.
Darian, Aki and Lucas all "oohed", while Alamar and Cherette looked vaguely impressed and Alfonso looked nervous.
Gemma's eyes became catlike as she narrowed them at him.
Then her eyes went back to normal after a few seconds of staring.
"I like him." Gemma said finally. "No worries, Al." she glanced back at her boyfriend. "I'm completely with you and he's dating that Earthling fairy princess anyway. Any guy who would date a fairy isn't worth my time. Besides, he's far too young for me."
Cherette sighed. "Gemma, please behave and go eat some breakfast before I hex you out of here. Again."
Gemma rolled her eyes, but led her boyfriend off to the buffet table.
"Again?" Aki looked appalled as he whispered to Lucas, who merely shrugged.
"Hello Harry!" Amethyst ran up to him out of seemingly nowhere several minutes later and greeted him enthusiastically.
"Hello Amethyst!" Harry greeted her warmly. "Where's the rest of your family? How are you feeling today?"
"Oh, they're coming. They sent me ahead because they had to fix something up with Jasper and I really wanted to come. As for your other question, I'm better, but I'm not fully recovered yet. I'm still weak, sore and my magic isn't working properly at all..." she scowled.
She suddenly seemed to remember that the other members of Harry's squad were present.
"Hi guys! Darian, Aki, Lucas! How are you all?" she beamed at them.
"Now she remembers us! We're just an afterthought over here..." Darian rolled his eyes, but spoke good-naturedly.
"She's forgotten us too, in case you haven't noticed..." Gemma pointed out, gesturing to herself, her boyfriend and her parents.
"I could never forget you guys! You saved my brother and I from those creeps!" Amethyst shuddered. "To think about what could have happened if you didn't step in... Jasper dead, me being sold off to some creep..." she went silent and began to shake horribly.
"Those horrible people..." she whispered, looking ready to cry.
"Oh no. Topaz told me, but..." Cherette moved forward and crouched down slightly to gently hug the young teen.
"Amethyst, it's okay. You're safe. You're among family and friends. Those horrible people will never be able to hurt you or your brother again. Calm down..." Cherette whispered.
"My chest hurts..." Amethyst gripped at her chest and began to cry and wheeze at the same time.
Harry looked at his friends, then at Alamar, then Cherette, who nodded.
"Come on, Amethyst. It'll be okay." Harry spoke in the most soothing voice he could muster. "Those horrible people are gone. My friends and I made sure of that. I know you'll still feel scared after that. Angry. Sad. You might have nightmares. Believe me, I know what it feels like..."
Alamar, Cherette and Gemma all shared looks at that statement.
"But you have family and friends to help you get through it. Wonderful family and friends. You're a strong witch. I know it. You'll pull through..." Harry reassured her.
"I... sorry. I thought I would be over it by now and yet, here I am, still freaking out about it!" Amethyst began to breathe normally, although she still spoke through tears.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Amethyst," Lucas had approached and spoke to her gently. "Those were bad people who did bad things to you and your brother. It wasn't your fault. It never was your fault. It never will be your fault."
"They're right you know. Come on, Amethyst De L'Or. You'll be fine someday. I know... we know that it doesn't seem like it right now, but with the right help and the right support, you'll be fine someday." Aki smiled at her.
"You're Amethyst De L'Or! Witch of Gemstones! They couldn't take your powers and your strength from you permanently, so why should they have been able to take away your happiness?" Darian asked her.
Amethyst took a deep breath. "You're right. All of you, but... Can I go inside and eat instead? I don't want... I..."
"Sure, Ame. Go on. I'll get some food for you and send it in. Harry," Cherette straightened up and looked at Harry. "She seems to like you the most. Why don't you go in with her and find a nice place to sit and eat?"
"Of course." Harry held out a hand to Amethyst.
"I know you're a teenager and all, but I hope you don't mind holding my hand..." he smiled at her.
Amethyst giggled and blushed slightly as she took it.
"It's okay..." she wiped her eyes with her free hand and allowed Harry to take her inside.
Harry fiddled with his uniform cape's badge pin as he paced up and down in the holding area they'd arranged for him and his squad/friends in the headquarters of the Isis Enforcers- (Isis' version of police, he'd learnt) and his friends before they (or rather, he) addressed the media.
"Dude, stop it." Darian put a hand on his shoulder. "You're kinda giving us all the jitters now. Well, maybe you're giving Lucas and Aki the jitters. I'm fine..."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "I am perfectly fine, thank you very much, Darian..."
"So am I, but I get the underlying point of Darian's statement." Aki said. "Harry, legend has it that you've fought against some pretty foul, loathsome people and creatures before. Why does the media faze you? Surely they can't be worse..."
Harry gave him a look over the top of his glasses. "Perhaps not, but they're still pretty up there..."
He immediately thought of his experiences with Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet, particularly in his Fourth and Fifth Years.
The mere thought of them started to make him feel annoyed.
Someone- an assistant of some sort, likely- poked their head in.
"We're ready for everyone to come out now. Please, follow me..."
Harry stretched and shook himself slightly, psyching himself up.
He could do this. He could totally do this...
Harry sat calmly as he watched the Chief of Police... Chief Enforcer... address the crowd of journalists, all of whom were poised to get their perfect shots/recordings with looks on their faces that Harry would picture Hermione would have if you'd just told her that you'd discovered a rather old, rare book that she'd been wanting to find and read for years.
The thought scared him slightly. Such eagerness should be outlawed...
"And now I'd like to hand over to four very brave young men, who carried out the rescue..."
When the older man gestured to him, Lucas, Aki and Darian, Harry's wandering thoughts snapped back to the present.
All four of them stood in unison and made their way over to the podium.
The other three introduced themselves first, then Harry took the microphone.
"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Harry Potter and my friends here..." Harry gestured to them. "...elected me as the main spokesperson of our little group. I don't know why they did that, but unfortunately, the responsibility fell on me so I have to do it."
The audience chuckled.
"They'll help me to tell the story we have to tell along the way though and help to answer questions afterwards."
"Now, this is how it began..." Harry started the story and was indeed helped along at some points by the other three Red Fountain students.
He spoke firmly and clearly, standing up straight, deflecting all attempts to interrupt them as they spoke.
When that part was finished, all four of them fielded questions from the audience.
"We've answered all the questions we can for today. Thank you for allowing us to speak with few interruptions and generally being a rather polite crowd." Harry stepped back from the podium, the others following him.
"That was some good work, Harry. One would never be able to tell that you didn't even want to do this in the first place..." Aki whispered.
"Thanks. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be..." Harry shrugged.
They listened as the Chief Enforcer spoke to wrap up the press conference and soon, it was all over.
They were led to a different room afterwards, where the Enforcers started talking to them.
"You did pretty good out there, Potter,'' one of them greeted him as soon as he stepped into the room. "Handled yourself well and all that. You could never tell that you were new to this sort of thing..."
"Well," Harry rubbed the back of his head, a habit that he noticed he did when he was feeling nervous. "It's not my first time being in the spotlight, but this is the first time that I actually had to talk to a live audience like this. My past experiences with the mass media haven't exactly been pleasant..." he winced at the memories.
"Ah." the older man nodded in understanding. "The media can be a double-edged sword at times, can't it?"
"Indeed, sir..." Harry nodded.
"Impressive work out there, you four." the Chief Enforcer stepped into the room a few minutes later and addressed Harry, Aki, Darian and Lucas. "And of course in rescuing those two children. Views on magical alignments or no, they were still children and those kidnappers crossed a line. The woman in that group is a fairy herself, so that goes to show that fairies aren't always the heroes in every tale..."
They nodded seriously.
"If any of you were from our planet by birth or otherwise, I'd recommend you at the very least, for an internship with us. As it is, I can only put in a good word for you with your home worlds if you want." he said.
"Much appreciated, Sir..." Lucas smiled slightly.
"Now come on. I'm sure you'd like to go back to the De L'Ors to relax somewhat. There's a couple of people who'd like to meet you first, so let's get to work on that, shall we?"
With that, he began to take them around the room, talking to various different officials and Enforcers.
Morgana and Rick sat together in the living room of their Gardenia home, watching the television that the former had had spelled so that it could also show channels from Magix and the other fully magical planets.
"That young man carries himself well," Rick noted. "He didn't look flustered at all. Never let those reporters steer him off track even once..."
"I noticed that as well. From what I heard of his life before we met and observing him since that point, he's come along way..." Morgana looked pleased at the thought. "He's becoming a wonderful young man..."
"I still don't like the idea of them dating, but at least he's treating Roxy well. She doesn't seem unhappy with him at all..." Rick muttered.
Morgana chuckled. "When will you get over the fact that our daughter has a boyfriend? It's only natural for teens her age to want to date. I am just glad that she found someone as acceptable as Harry, rather than some scum that I would have to threaten with permanent bodily Transfiguration if he stepped out of line..."
Rick shuddered. "Even I wouldn't advocate that. Unless they hurt her. Then I'd be suggest some things for you to turn him into. Right after I broke out the handgun..."
Morgana rolled her eyes. "I am sure that won't be necessary with Harry..."
"He'd better hope it isn't necessary or no magic in the world could ever save him from me..."
"That is if she or her aunt don't get to him first..." Morgana pointed out.
"Ah." Rick looked somewhat scared at the very thought. "Good point..."
"Your boyfriend looks like a pro at doing this sort of thing, Roxy." Krystal said as they all gathered in the living room to watch the press conference on Isis on a television that Athena had somehow mysteriously acquired. "You wouldn't believe that this was his first press conference if someone told you so..."
"I know." Roxy smiled. "He's handling himself so well. And to think that he thought he'd mess things up. He did fine..."
"I've said it before, but I'm gonna say it again. Roxy, certain girls are going to have their eyes on him now..." Rainer snickered.
"That's all they'd better have on him or I'll free them of those particular body parts," Roxy growled. "and possibly others..."
"Whoa, down, Roxy. Down!" Athena looked mildly surprised at the animal's fairy's sudden display of jealousy.
"A natural reaction, if she really cares about him." Anahita shrugged.
"How would you know? You've never had a boyfriend!" Athena raised an eyebrow at her twin.
"I read." Anahita said simply.
Athena rolled her eyes. "You can't learn everything about life from books... You have to go out there and experience things!"
Anahita ignored her twin. "Harry seems to care for you though, from the little I know about you two. You have nothing to worry about..." she reassured Roxy.
"I think it's just adorable." Krystal cooed. "You really snagged a good one, Roxy..."
"Um... Thank you?" Roxy looked slightly uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading.
She retrieved her phone from her pocket and glanced at it.
"Oh! This free period's almost over! We need to head for WizGiz's class!" Roxy exclaimed.
The other four fairies looked at each other for one split second, then there was a wild scramble as they got up and rushed for their school things.
Somewhere, out in the Realm of Magix, Icy and Stormy were holed up in a small cabin somewhere in the midst of a dark and rather creepy looking forest.
Icy was reading a newspaper by the light of a fire in the fireplace, which had just been lit by a spark of lightning from Stormy's finger.
"Hmm... That Potter kid and his little squad friends actually risked their lives to save a witch and her brother... Despite him hanging around that cutesy little animal fairy that the Winx brought back with them from Earth..." Icy spoke aloud.
"The stories do say that the Earth Fairies were more favourable towards the use of dark magic than other fairies. They're still fairies though, so bah!" Stormy scoffed.
"Indeed," Icy agreed. "but I think there's more to him than meets the eye. He has quite the potential. I think we should keep an eye on him. In the meantime, let's go mess around with Voldemort, shall we? I could do with some amusement..."