The keepers were rather distraught in the morning, and let out a collective sigh of relief as Hari exited Asha's pen. She'd been up for hours, chatting away with Asha and the others. The Chinese Fireball called herself Guang, which means 'light' in Chinese. The Short-Snout was called Frigi, and the Welsh Green was Silva.
They'd performed a really complicated bit of magic on their minis when they gave their gifts to Hari. The minis became extensions of their consciousness. Hari didn't understand how it worked, but Asha had explained that while the mini's would usually have a mind of their own, they could also link with their originals, so the dragons would be able to communicate with and train Hari. Regardless of their distance apart.
Hari had cried at the revelation. The connection she and Asha had was similar to that of a mother and child, while the other three were like aunts. Asha promised that Hari would never be alone again, that they would always be there for her. Asha had cried too, and then very diplomatically instructed Hari to collect her tears. Hari didn't know what she'd do with them, but there had to be some use for dragon tears. Asha wouldn't have offered them if there wasn't a purpose. She tucked the vial of tears away in her robe and forgot about them as the others explained their gifts.
Silva had only said 'memory' while bestowing Hari with her gift, but gave more details in the early hours of the morning. Hari would now be able to recall everything she read, saw, or heard, and she'd have an enhanced ability to process and store information. Silva instructed her to do some research on mind magics, which would help her organize all the information she'd be taking in.
Guang had gifted her with dragon fire. She wouldn't be able to breath fire, but she'd run hot, and she'd be more in tune with elemental magics in general, since they're all intertwined. Guang then went on a long rant about Fiendfyre, and how wixen had no business trying to control it. Apparently, it wasn't everlasting fire, like humans thought. It was sentient fire. Fire spirits that are summoned by the spell; and the trick to controlling it was to not try controlling it. You had to have a relationship with the spirit in order to access the true power of Fiendfyre. Guang had given her strict instructions not to attempt to summon a fire spirit until she had good control over regular fire, though Hari had to admit that she was anxious to try.
Frigi had given her the gift of strength. This one required little explanation; she'd simply be much stronger than is usually possible for humans. She'd have to start exercising though, which she wasn't looking forward to. Frigi said she'd need to be careful as she came into her new power; if she wasn't paying attention she could hurt someone. So Hari had promised to start endurance training the next day.
Asha's gift took the longest to explain. Apart from the knowledge of the Dragon's Keep, the forest of their birth, Asha had given her dragon skin and claws. It would manifest slowly, but eventually Hari would be able to cover herself in pseudo scales that would prevent her skin from being easily broken, and would give her incredible resistance to foreign magics. She'd also be able to strengthen and elongate her nails.
"~Humans are so fragile~," Asha had said. Hari had been a bit offended, but was smart enough to see the truth in her statement. "~You will also not be needing that silly stick anymore~," she'd added, referring to Hari's wand.
"~I'll have you know that I'm quite attached to my silly stick~," Hari had responded.
"~Humans always are~," Asha rolled her eyes. "~It will happen quickly, now that you are in tune with both elf and dragon magics. Though it is prudent that you not reveal the extent of your new powers until it is necessary.~"
"~So I should keep using my wand in front of humans~," Hari reasoned.
"~Yes. But that is not all. I know the question you are dying to ask~," Asha said with a pointed look at Hari.
"~You called me 'Child of Prophecy,' and 'Slayer of the False King~," Hari began. "~What does that mean?~"
"~The basilisk is called the 'King of Serpents.' And while they have never been large in numbers, they are extremely powerful and can live for thousands of years. The basilisks believed that this gave them the right to rule over all reptilian species. Snakes, of course, but dragons and birds as well. We did not agree. There was a war, and while we remain in control of Dragon's Keep, the forest was badly damaged. It has never been the same.~"
"~And the prophecy bit?~" Hari asked, already dreading Asha's response.
"~You know of wixen prophecy, yes?~"
"~I know that it exists,~" Hari replied.
"~All magical beings are capable of prophecy, though some are more adept than others. Centaurs are the most in tune, and humans are the least. We dragons are somewhere in the middle, though our skill is closer to the centaurs than the humans~."
"~So you have a prophecy about me?~"
"~Yes. As do many others,~" Asha said gravely. "~As much as I wish to keep you from harm's way, it is imperative that you have this information~." Asha took a deep breath, and began reciting the prophecy.
"~The one with the strength to unite all draws near.
Born as the seventh month dies,
Marked for death before her birth.
Forgotten by love and cursed with power,
Death calls her friend.
Vanquisher of false lords and kings,
She will be marked first as their equal,
And then as their better,
For she has a power they know not.
The False Lord of Light will test her,
And attempt to control her,
But he is blinded by her false destiny.
The False Lord of Dark will hunt her,
Desperate for her death,
Blinded by his own ignorance.
The outcome she seeks is far easier than she believes,
But cannot be accomplished alone.
Await the founders return,
Or all will be lost.~"
Hari turned away from Asha and the others to stare out into the forest. The sky had taken on a faint blue tint and the first rays of sunlight were drifting into their encampment. Asha remained silent, as did the other dragons, well aware that Hari needed a moment to process.
"~That's rather ominous,~" Hari she finally commented. Her voice was strained and tears were already falling down her face.
"~You will prevail, my child. I will make sure of it,~" Asha promised.
"~As will we,~" Guang added, and the other two nodded in agreement.
"Gosh, Hari. You gave us quite the scare," Charlie said nervously as she exited Asha's cage.
"Yeah, sorry about that. They kind of adopted me," Hari responded, chuckling to herself. "I need a parchment."
"What?" Charlie asked.
"They have complaints," Hari informed him with a smirk. "And they don't like the names you gave them."
Charlie wandered off quickly and brought her what she needed, watching as Hari went from cage to cage, speaking with each dragon and writing down whatever they had to say, most of which was food related, though Asha requested that her main keeper be Charlie, or 'Fearless Red' as they called him. Then she shared a painful goodbye with Asha, handed the parchment off to Charlie, and headed to Hagrid's cabin to give him an update on Norberta.
Cedric had read the article. Everyone had read it, and it was horrible. It mapped out Hari's entire childhood, up until Hogwarts at least. Before getting her letter, Hari had been forced to live in a cupboard. She hadn't known her name until she started muggle schooling at the age of five. She alone was responsible for cleaning the house, making the meals, doing the laundry. And if she was lucky, she'd get one meal per day. Nothing grand either, just scraps. She was treated like a house elf by the people who were supposed to love her.
The way Skeeter portrayed it, her uncle would beat her every chance he got. For burning food, if the neighbors were asking questions, if she accidentally did better than her cousin in school, if she asked any questions about her family or her past. She thought her parents had died in a car accident for Merlin's sake! The injustice of it made Cedric's chest burn, but he didn't dare broach the subject with Hari herself. He wasn't sure he'd be welcome; they weren't especially close after all.
In the weeks that followed the first article, Skeeter had put out a few more. They were a lot smaller than the first, and none of them made the front page, but they raised important questions. How did Hari end up with muggles in the first place? Why didn't anyone check on her? Why didn't she tell someone sooner? Had she really not known anything about our world before setting foot in Hogwarts? Someone was to blame, and Skeeter was determined to find out who.
Cedric watched the way the student body reacted to the news. Hari hadn't made any public statement about it, other than calling out Malfoy. Most of the Slytherins seemed to be angry on her behalf. Someone had stolen her heritage from her, and the old families were pissed. The only one's against her were Malfoy and his posse. And while he had once ruled over Slytherin through fear and money, Draco was losing his grip. He couldn't see past his hatred of the girl, and all of Slytherin knew it. Most of the student body had let go of the idea that she'd entered herself, though there are always exceptions. Some of the dissenters actually thought she was faking the abuse, but anyone with eyes could see how ridiculous that was. Most people just pitied her.
Cedric also watched how Hari reacted to the article. The day it came out, she'd been angry. He'd seen her shove the article away and try to focus on her food. After a short verbal spar with Malfoy, in which Hari had not denied the articles claims, she had left the great hall with her head held high. That was the moment Cedric Diggory fell for the Girl-Who-Lived. He'd watched her throughout the years, everyone had. But he'd convinced himself that that had been mere curiosity. In the days that followed the article, Cedric had been watching closely. People from all houses stared at her in the halls, but Hari glared right back at them; shaming them until they averted their eyes. She'd asked more than a couple students if they had anything to say to her when she caught them whispering, but none had risen to the challenge. Cedric was impressed with Hari Potter. If even a fraction of the article was true… Cedric didn't want to think about it. It was all so horrible; he couldn't imagine anyone coming out of an environment like that with the ability to function. He didn't know how she was still standing.
A week after the first task, Cedric spotted Hari alone by the lake. She was wearing muggle clothes, a sweater and a pair of jeans that were rolled up at the bottom so she could dangle her feet in the water. Her shoes and socks were nowhere to be found. That was another thing that Cedric had taken notice of. In her first and second years, Hari's had been wearing… well, rags. She almost always wore her school uniform, even on weekends, but when she didn't, her muggle clothes had left a lot to be desired. But last year she'd come to school with a whole new wardrobe, full of clothes that actually fit her.
"Hey Hari," he greeted. "Mind if I take a seat?"
"Go for it," she replied without looking at him.
He sat in the grass about a foot away from her and took off his own shoes, rolling his pant legs up and joining his feet next to hers in the shallows. "Something on your mind?" he asked.
Hari's face scrunched up a bit before she spoke, "It's the article, I guess. I could ignore it before the first task, you know? There were other things to worry about. But now…" She trailed off and Cedric scooted closer.
"Skeeter isn't exactly known for publishing the truth," he offered.
"I think that's what pisses me off the most," she said, and Cedric saw the fire in her eyes for the first time since her name came out of the goblet. "She may have glossed over my very public outburst and the fact that I was 'missing' for a day – Dumbledore's doing no doubt – but everything else she wrote was true. And that stupid picture," she punched the ground between them. Cedric knew the picture she was talking about. It was of the cupboard. She'd carved 'Hari's Room' into the back of the door.
"I'm not going to pretend like I understand what you've been through," Cedric said. "Or that I know how to help you at all, but I'm here if you want someone to listen. The Puffs tell me I'm good at it. Plus, this year is absolute chaos. I mean, what were they thinking? Nesting mother dragons? We could have all died." Cedric reached out cautiously and took Hari's hand in his, surprising both of them. "I'm not going to let you do this alone."
Hari looked up and met Cedric's eyes, almost daring him to let go and said, "What happens when the year is over?"
"I'm afraid you're stuck with me, Potter," he said and squeezed her hand tighter. "You've earned my loyalty, and in Hufflepuff, loyalty is for life."
"How exactly did I do that?" she questioned.
Cedric looked away for a brief moment and then locked eyes with her again, suddenly looking quite serious. "I've been trying to tell myself that I would have done what you did. Telling me about the dragons, that is. I like to think myself noble, but I would have taken the advantage."
Hari searched his eyes for a moment, then turned her hand around to interlace their fingers. "I don't think that's true, Cedric. Remember last year? The dementors at our Quidditch match? I know you tried to contest your win."
"That's not the same-,"
"Yes it is," Hari interrupted. "I almost died that day. And I probably would have died if I hadn't known about the dragons. You would have told me; I'm sure of it." She gave his hand a squeeze and turned back to watch the lake.
"You would have done well in Hufflepuff," he said after staring at her for a moment.
"The hat didn't even consider it," Hari laughed.
"What did it consider?" he asked, scooting a little closer.
Her face fell slightly before she spoke. "It told me that I would be great in Slytherin," Hari whispered, obviously ashamed of this fact.
"They're not all as bad as Malfoy," Cedric said. "I'm sure you would have made a great snake."
"I've never told anyone that," she said, sounding a little confused by her own actions.
"Why not?"
"I guess… well everyone expects things of me, you know?" she asked and Cedric nodded, "Everyone also thinks that Slytherins are evil. I've already been accused of being the next dark lord… I don't think it'd go over very well."
"You're second year would have been a nightmare."
"Exactly," Hari laughed. "The Chamber is pretty cool, though; I always meant to go back down."
"Wait, what?" Cedric sat up straighter and turned to Hari, "Is there actually a chamber?"
"Of course there is!" Hari responded. "What do people think happened?"
"I mean, it's mostly rumors…" Cedric trailed off.
"Oh… I thought… well, Dumbledore made it sound like everyone knew."
Cedric wanted to ask. He wanted to ask so badly he thought it might come out of his mouth at any second… but he also knew that he didn't have any right to that story. Or any of her stories. Not until she was ready. So he kept quiet and just enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his.
After a moment, Hari scooted closer. Cedric didn't know if it was intentional, but it didn't matter. Now that she was right up against him, Cedric caught a whiff of her on the wind. She smelled like fire and earth. Like smoke and flowers. The dichotomy of it bewitched the older boy. It took all of his self-control not to lean over and sniff her wild hair.
"Where are you staying this summer?" he asked cautiously, rubbing his thumb over the back of hers.
"The Weasley's," she told him with a smile. "We'll be neighbors."
"We will, won't we?" Cedric said with a crooked grin.