The air was turning cooler as the sun slowly started to decline in the sky. Jaya sighed as she stepped out of the woods, carrying in her arms the familiar tiny form of Harry James Potter. The Jinko then sighed as she saw the rocky pass that lead to their destination but took a deep breath before going forward.
The little boy in her arms was looking around with childish curiosity but also some tiredness while the one holding him glanced at him from time to time.
Many hours had passed since his encounter with Esther the Succubus and things had been… interesting to say the least. Jaya shivered as she retailed what had happened after Esther pulled out the strange misty thing from Harry's scar.
00/(Flashback)/00
"Esther ? What was that ?!" Lana asked the Succubus with narrowed eyes.
Jaya did the same while comforting the crying boy in her arms. The Succubus slowly turned her gaze toward them before sighing deeply.
"Well… Where should I start ?"
"Maybe you could start with what you saw in Harry's memory ?" the Jinko replied calmly but with a stern look in her eyes.
Clearly, she was a bit upset at seeing Harry crying his little heart out.
"All right… but we warned it is NOT good at all..." Esther told them with a serious expression as she glanced back and forth between the Lamia and the Jinko.
The two glanced at one another than at Harry (who had stopped crying and instead with sniffing) before looking back at the Succubus with a serious expression on their faces. Esther waited for a few seconds before nodding her head with a sigh.
"Very well...first of all, yes Harry here, is a Wizard… as were his parents…"
"Really ?" Harry's shocked question interrupted her.
"Yes child… Your father, James Fleamont Potter, was apparently the Lord of an Ancient and Noble House and your mother, Lily Evans Potter, was the brightest witch of her age..." Esther answered him with a smile.
"So that mean… that mean they weren't drunkards ?" Harry asked her with a surprise but hopeful expression on his face.
Lana and Jaya growled a bit at those words but couldn't vice their thoughts as Esther answered him gently
" No child from what I saw, your parents were honorable people who gave their lives to protect you..."
"What do you mean ?" Harry asked her with confusion clear on his face.
"Harry, they died to protect you from someone who wanted your death..." Esther's answer was not what they expected.
Lana and Jaya looks between their friend and Harry with shock and horror, unsure of what to say. But the most shocked one in the group was none other than the boy himself ! His emerald eyes showed nothing but shock and surprise as he stared at the Succubus with disbelief.
"But I was told that they died in a car crash !"
"They did not child… They were murdered by a Dark Lord who wanted to kill you..."
"Me ?" Harry asked her with shock while pointing at himself with a finger.
"What ? Why ?!" Lana blurted out in equal shock as, at her side, Jaya's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Because of a prophecy apparently..." Esther answered the Lamia with a scoff.
"A prophecy ?" Jaya asked her with a deadpan expression on her face.
"Yes… Here is the exact wording 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...' "
The little group staid silent as their minds processed what they just heard. Harry didn't understand what it mean but it did sound intriguing. Jaya and Lana were looking either at the ground or at the little one while Esther was looking at everyone, letting them processing her words.
"That's rubbish..." the Jinko muttered after a moment of silence.
"I agree but this Dark Lord, whose name was apparently Voldemort (snorts could be heard at that)… Funny name I know but back to topic, this Dark Lord took the prophecy seriously and tried to prevent it by killing young Harry here..." Esther explained in a calm tone but her eyes showed how much she wanted to sneer.
"That's stupid !" Lana growled in anger as her tail tip shook a bit like a rattlesnake's. Her arms were crossed under her bust and her eyes showed nothing but disgust.
"Again I agree but there is more…" Esther said with a sigh before telling them about what happened AFTER the death of Harry's parents.
She explained to them how Harry's godfather (a new shock for the boy who didn't even know he had one) had gone to avenge his friends while leaving his godson in Hagrid's care. Lana and Jaya were intrigued by Hagrid's description but didn't voice what they were thinking as they listened patiently to Esther's observations.
When the Succubus reached the part about Dumbledore's words… she paused. Esther was conflicted about telling it in front of Harry and shot a pleading look toward her friends, hoping they would understand. Jaya, seeing her expression, frowned before looking down at her charge in hesitation.
In her mind, it was only fair for Harry to hear what the succubus had seen because it concerned him, but if Esther stopped like that... then that must mean that it must be far too terrible to say.
"Harry ? Can you go back to the room please ?"
"But I want to stay, Miss Jaya… I want to know why I was left with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia..." Harry answered her in a soft tone.
"I understand but are you sure ? What you might hear will probably scare you ?" the Jinko asked him kindly, rocking him in her arms.
Harry looked hesitant at first but then he looked up at her with a face showing nothing but determination. Or at least tried as instead, he looked like he was pleading her to allow him to stay !
Lana cooed in surprise at the sight while Esther smirked in amusement as she crossed her arms, staring at both Harry and Jaya. What of the Jinko ? She was frozen in place as her fiery orange eyes were locking on Harry's face.
He looked so cute right now… her heart melted at the sight of his shining emerald green eyes, looking at her like a puppy wanting to receive hugs.
"Very well… you may stay..." Jaya answered after a few seconds of silence and her reward was a bright smile on the little one's face.
Then she shot her friends a glare, threatening them to say anything about this but only received amused giggles from the two, much to her chagrin. Esther was still a bit hesitant at resuming her 'story' with Harry still present but seeing that the boy WANTED to hear it…
She had no choice in the matter…
"You remind me of my daughter little one… Perhaps one day, you will meet you~" the Succubus said to Harry with a tiny grin as she patted the top of his head.
"I would love to Miss Esther..." he responded shyly with a hint of pink on his cheek.
The three Mamonos giggled in amusement at this reaction before Esther's face turned serious again.
"Once the woman and Hagrid left, old man Dumbledore said something to Harry... Something that made me want to go find him and skin him alive..." the Succubus said with a growl and clenched fists.
"What did he say ?" Lana asked her curiously but also with dread.
"Are you sure you want to hear it ?" Esther asked them hesitantly.
"Yes !" the Lamia and Jinko said at the same time with stern expressions while Harry merely nodded his head.
"Very well… He said and I quote 'Everything is going into motion…You, Harry Potter, will make me become the next Merlin… Thanks to the wards I will place around this house, the Dursleys will hate you even more… You will become the malleable boy I need to fulfill the prophecy…The perfect weapon ! And once you will sacrifice yourself to Tom, I will end him once and for all and I will make sure the name of Potter will disappear from Wizard History…with your family knowledge will be mine just like its fortune !'"
Another long silence followed those words… but all four of them felt nothing but shock, horror and most importantly : ANGER. Harry was angry because it was because of this Dumbledore that he suffered so much at the hands of his relatives.
Jaya and Lana were angry because this man wanted Harry to be neglected so he could use him. The Lamia and the Jinko wanted nothing more than to find this Old Fart and make him wish he was never born. Esther herself wanted to him Dumbledore to give him a piece of her mind.
"Why ?" Harry asked softly but it was loud enough to be heard by the three females who turned their heads to look at him with questioning looks.
"Why did this prophecy have to exist ?! Without it, my parents would still be alive !"
"Maybe… Maybe not… No one knows what Fate has in store for us..." The Succubus answered with a wise but gentle tone.
"She is right… but you know, I'm wondering if this prophecy is still in motion..." Lana muttered with a frown.
"Huh ?" the other three asked intelligently.
"Think about it : this Dumbledore wanted Harry to suffer but not killed… at least until he said so. And yet, his Uncle toss him off a ship to drown… Sure he didn't die but he is not in his world anymore…" the Lamia explained calmly.
Jaya and Harry all blinked at this before thinking about what Lana said.
"And I think I know how our little darling here came to OUR world..." Esther declared firmly as she looked at the boy in question.
"How ?" Jaya asked her with a curious raise-brow.
"Look…" the Succubus said before waving a hand above Harry's forehead.
A second later, they all could see (except for Harry) a strange mark on his forehead… It was not where the scar was but more to the left. The mark looked like… Lips ?!
"What does this mean ?" Lana asked the Succubus with confusion.
"This little one was blessed by Lady Magic herself..." Esther answered with a strange grin on her face.
00/(End of Flashback)/00
After that, things went a bit better… even if Harry had been strangely silent for a whole hour. After being asked why, the young boy explained that after Esther healed his scar, he had received strange flashes … they looked like memories. Somehow, he now knew things he never knew existed before.
The Succubus explained him that he simply received this misty creature's knowledge in magic… which both amazed and startled Harry greatly. However, Esther had promised to Jaya to be back so she could teach him some magic… while also helping him with his.
The Jinko had been grateful for this and thanked the Succubus for her kindness before Esther left to do her own business… but not being telling Jaya to be careful with the boy as there might be Mamonos out there who would try to have him for themselves.
Why ? Both for his rather surprising magical powers AND for his cute look.
In fact, before leaving, the Succubus told Jaya that it might be best if he received the protection from Powerful Mamonos. Jaya was far from a 'nice kitty' but even her, wouldn't win a fight against creatures such as Chimaeras or Dragons. Thankfully, Esther accepted to become one of his protectors after Lana and Jaya almost begged her to.
Once the Succubus left, the remaining three (Jaya, Lana and Harry) returned in the inn-hotel to think about what they learned so far. The young boy was still in shock about the fact his parents didn't loose their lives in a car crash like his relatives said but ,instead, were MURDERED by someone… who apparently wanted to kill him because of a stupid prophecy.
The young boy was angry at whoever made this prophecy but also at all the people who wronged him… but he was also furious about that man, this Albus Dumbledork or something. Harry was still in shock of the man's last word to him and vowed that if the old man dared to show his face, he would received no mercy from him.
He will never be anyone's puppet… He will never be anyone's little pawn…
NEVER AGAIN WILL HE BE USED AGAINST HIS WILL !
For too long he had lived like this but no more… No it was time for him to face the world instead of hiding from it. He vowed to become the strongest man possible… and with the help of Miss Esther, Miss Jaya and Miss Lana… he will succeed.
Hours later, they left the village (which was named Paradise) and Harry had been sad at first at the idea of leaving Miss Lana and Miss Rosie as they were really nice to him but Jaya promised that they will come to visit them as soon as possible… which comforted him a bit.
Where were they going ? To Jaya's home.
As they walked, Jaya asked Harry some questions about his birth world and in exchange she told him about the world he was in. Why ? Because after learning of his past and the fact Harry came from another world, let just say they were both curious.
(Note : Harry not only used his own knowledge of his world but also the one he got from the misty creature from his scar)
Anyway, the Jinko was a both a bit amazed and disgusted by what she heard so far from the little one in her arms. While the use of technologies amazed her, the how the governments worked and the way people lived disgusted her (corruption, pollution etc…).
But once he finished, Jaya took over speaking of the world he landed in and he couldn't help but listening in amazement.
Apparently, this world was called Mysteria and was created many centuries ago to protect the Mamonos from the cruelty and prejudice of Humans. This world was created by Gaya the Mother of Life and Lady Magic, the entity who apparently sent him to this world.
Harry didn't know why a GODDESS would do such a thing for him but was grateful for it as now he had the possibility to experiment a far better life than the one he had on Earth.
He made a mental note to thank her whenever he could.
Back to present, Jaya was still walking through a rocky pass while holding Harry in her arms. At the first part of the journey, the little boy wanted to walk and the Jinko reluctantly allowed it. However, she had been impressed by how far he went on alone despite his conditions and felt proud very proud of him.
However, once they reached the other side of the woods, Harry began to feel tired and without hesitation, Jaya picked him up in her arms to carry him. He had tried to protest but lost the argument after the Jinko told him that he couldn't walk on rocky roads… yet.
The climbing went mostly in silence as Harry was curious about his new surroundings while Jaya would sometimes shot him furtive glances as well as keeping an eye on their surroundings. Why ? To be sure that he was alright of course but also to be sure that nothing would disturb their journey.
However, at some point, the little dark haired boy fell asleep and the Jinko was all to eager to leave him be as the poor dear was clearly exhausted and in need of rest.
A few minutes later, Jaya stopped at the top of a rocky hill to not only catch a breath but also to admire the view ahead of her.
"Look Harry… this is your new home~" the Jinko whispered into his ears to wake him.
Harry hummed sleepily as he blinked a few tomes before yawning cutely as he slowly turned his head to look ahead. A second later, a gasp of amazement escaped his mouth as his emerald green eyes widened in shock by what he saw.
Before his very eyes, was a gorgeous valley surrounded by many mountains,and filled with beautiful forests, nice rivers and he could even see a large waterfall in the distance. But what had really caught his eyes was the large city built on the spurt of the mountain closest to them.
From the look of it, it was a dark colored five-walled fortress-like city and on each level, we could see plants or buildings… and from the tiny black figures, Harry could clearly say that the place was habited. Speaking of black figures, he could see some flying in the air but because of the distance, he couldn't tell what they were.
But then his emerald eyes caught something at the last level of the city : it looked like a rather large dark castle with high walls, five large towers and flying buttresses. Just like the city itself, the castle clearly was built with dark bricks as it was as dark in appearance than the rest of the area.
Harry could; however, see the castle's courtyard and it was filled with colorful plants. Sadly, he couldn't tell what plants as it was too far for him to see at the moment. However, his little trance was broken by none other than Jaya who, upon seeing his expression, couldn't retain herself from giggling in amusement.
"Do you like the view dear ?~" she asked him gently and yet in a playful tone.
"Yes Miss Jaya… It's pretty..." Harry said back in a really soft tone, his cheeks as red as tomatoes.
"I'm glad to hear that sweetie~" the Jinko cooed at him before nuzzling the top of his head with affection.
The young boy shot a soft smile to the Tigerish Mamono and she smiled back at him lovingly before giving him a kiss on the forehead. He giggled at the mark of affection and felt a warm feeling spreading in his body. It felt good to be kissed and hugged after years of suffering and torture.
"Now how about we get a closer look, huh ?" Jaya asked him with a tiny grin and a strange glint in her fiery orange eyes.
"Yeah !" Harry cried out in childish excitement that caused the Jinko to laugh with amusement at his response.
"Alright then~"
00/(Time Skip)/00
Harry's big green eyes shined in amazement as he and Jaya stood in front of the large gates that marked the entrance to the city. The gates, which were made with dark wood, seemed to be around 33 feet tall while the walls looked to be around 50 feet. Then his eyes fell on the two guards standing in front of the large gates (which were open of course).
The guards were Mamonos but different that the ones he saw already. They stood taller than Miss Jaya and looked pretty muscular. Both of them had fair-skin but the rest was totally different.
Both were beautiful women but one had purple hair and the other dark blue. Harry noticed (much to this shock) that they had Dragon-like features such as scaly arms and legs, claws on the hands and feet, fins-like ears, horns on the head (curved for the blue haired one), wings and tail. The color of their scales matched the color of their hairs : purple and blue respectively.
Both were wearing what looked like armors but it only covered their breasts and a loincloth was hiding her nether regions. In one of their hands, they held spears.
"Welcome back Lady Jaya..." the blue haired Dragon girl greeted the Jinko in a respectful tone while the purple one merely bowed her head.
"Hello girls… Still on guard duties I see…" Jaya replied to them with a tiny smirk.
"Yeah… The Captain caught us doing se-" the purple haired Dragon girl began to say only to be interrupted by her comrade who hissed
"Shhhh there's a hatchling here !"
Blinking, the purple Dragon girl then turned her eyes (which were amethyst in color by the way) toward the little one in the Jinko's arms.
"Awwww he is adorable~" she instantly gushed at the little boy who blushed madly in embarrassment before burying his face in Jaya's cleavage.
"Who is he ?" the blue haired Dragon girl asked the Jinko with a raise-brow.
"His name is Harry and he is an absolute darling~" Jaya answered with a warm smile as she gazed down at her charge who blushed even more at those words, which caused the purple guard to release another coo in adoration.
"I can see that… Where did you find him ?" the Blue Dragon girl asked the Jinko with curiosity.
"Its a long story… and not a good one..." Jaya answered in a somber tone and narrowed eyes.
The two guards blinked in shock at the sudden change of behavior and glanced at one another before looking back at them.
"How bad ?" the purple guard asked her in a serious tone.
"Really bad Lila..." the Jinko answered in the same tone than earlier while Harry merely tried to look at anywhere but at the Dragon girls.
"I see…" the blue guard muttered with a sigh before a long silence followed between the four.
"Well… I should get going..." Jaya said in an attempt to break the silence.
"Of course ! And before we forgot, Lady Grefya was looking for you… Something about asking for a service..." the Blue Dragon girl said with a tiny smirk.
The Jinko blinked in confusion at first but then a flash of remembrance passed through her fiery orange eyes.
"I see… Thank you Saphira for telling me ! I should get going now : the last thing I want is to make her angry… See you !" Jaya retorted gently before dashing into pass the Dragon girls who watched her leave with smiles on their face with 'Saphira' shaking her head in amusement.
Harry was taken aback by the sudden action but had to admit that feeling the wind against his face felt GLORIOUS ! He cheered the Jinko to go faster… and she did after hearing him. However, arrived at the third level, Jaya stopped her run which disappointed Harry greatly but she promised him to do it again in the future. He only had to ask.
After that, the two of them made their way through the streets toward the fourth level of the city and as they walked, Harry noticed that many people, mostly Mamonos, were looking at him. Like in the Village of Paradise, he could hear some people cooing at him and like before, Jaya made sure that no one tried to approach him by glaring at everyone.
Was she possessive of him ? Yes… Was it a bad thing ? No… at least for her.
Ignoring Miss Jaya's glares, the little one took the time to look at his surroundings : there were many merchants here as he could see shops and arrays of food (fruit, vegetables, meats, fish etc…). People here looked just as happy than in the village but there were no Holstaur here and instead saw different type of Mamonos.
After a hour or more, the Jinko smiled as she reached one of the many buildings of the fourth level. It was also dark in color but much more… grandeur looking than the ones he saw in the third level. After putting her charge down, Jaya opened the door, revealing the interior to Harry who had to admit that it was really… spacious, cozy and well decorated.
"Look like she isn't here…" the Jinko muttered to herself with some relief.
"Miss Jaya ? Is this your home ?" the little boy asked her with some amazement as he looked around.
"Yes and no..."
"How come ?" Harry asked her while looking at her with a frown of confusion.
"Because you will also live here dear~"
"Really ?!" the dark haired child asked her with excitement and hope.
"Yes ! Welcome to your new home Harry~" Jaya said to the little one with a warm smile when Harry looked up at her with those gorgeous emerald green eyes of his, shining with happiness.
A few seconds later, the two embraced one another tightly with one of them tearing up with happiness and joy.
(To be continue…)