Ravenwood Magus
Chapter 3: When a Phoenix betrays for Prophecy
Days later, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, high in the Scottish Highland areas, the school sitting impressively against the Black Lake, would wake to another day of peace and tranquility, far from the mundane world's problems and needs. A silly way to see their neighbors, really, but, in the words of a young bushy haired child from another reality four realities away once said – "A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic'' – and she would be correct. This fine morning, in the office of one Headmaster Albus 'too-many-names' Dumbledore, said Headmaster would enter the main part of his rooms from the bedroom, to find several silvery contraptions no longer spinning, tweeting, or generally working correctly. About the only one at this point was a small teapot looking one emitting silvery smoke, which he took heart in, before checking the rest.
"My word, what on earth happened to that blasted Potter child?" he asked himself and the portraits around him, though they declined to answer. He turned, and looked to his faithful 'companion', a shining phoenix he befriended while he was younger by name of Fawks, and sighed "we must check in on the Dursley's, my dear friend, come, please" he requested, holding out an arm to the bird of legend, who swooped in, engulfed in flames as he did so, and they vanished from the office, to appear in the early morning steps of Number 4 Privet Drive, which he swiftly approached, knocking on the door.
"I SWEAR IF THAT'S YOU, FREAK, I'M GROUNDING YOU FOR FOUR LIFETIMES" roared a deep male voice, the door nearly ripped from its hinges as it was yanked open, and the purple face of a man with no neck appeared, going from purple to pale in a flash "y-you! Y-your not allowed here, leave now!" he stammered, quickly trying to shut the door again, but Dumbledore wasn't allowing it, and with a near invisible flick of his wand, was able to freeze the door in place.
"Mr. Dursley, may I speak to you and your wife about young Harry?" he asked politely, trying to put on his grandfatherly persona he generally wore in public. Without waiting for an answer he pushed past the fat walrus of a muggle, in his opinion, and into the rather...plain...home "such as, when was the last time you saw him?" he asked, looking to Petunia, who had just come in, holding a frying pan like a weapon.
"We haven't seen him since that giant of a man you sent to get him got him while we were on that damned island!" she squealed "he never came back, and neither did that giant oaf!" she continued "now leave us normal folk in peace, we want nothing to do with you OR him!" she threatened the older male with the frying pan, and seeing he wasn't going to get much else from them, nodded, before moving to leave, unfreezing the door before he and Fawks vanished in flames to the surprised shouts of the horrible muggles, appearing back in his office. While the flame bird returned to his post, the elderly wizard sat at his desk, thinking about the report his groundskeeper had given him, something, he barely recalled, about how he had taken young harry to the pub, where he was exposed to being famous, and then to the alley itself and to the bank. This, he remembered, was when they were separated from the boy, something about the goblins saying only Harry could go to the trust vault, and while Hagrid was led to the philosophers stone he had fully planned to use as bait this year to test young Harry. Hagrid had then reported that he was escorted out of the bank, and told that Harry was taken home just minutes before by a Goblin Liaison, someone named Gamma, though he had no knowledge of who this person was, just that they would see Potter home safely. He runs a hand along his his beard, and looks towards the small enclosure in his wall that hid the Philosophers stone at the moment, till he had found that blasted mirror he knew was in the castle.
"Fawks, I must ask of you, travel to the young Potter, find him, bring him back to the safety of the Light." he said, though both knew full well, one reluctantly in this case, that the 'Light' was simply another word for 'Sacrifice' in the young Potter's case. Dumbledore knew the Prophecy meant one had to die by the others hand before they could both die, and he, Albus Dumbledore, would be the one to vanquish Tom, or Lord Voldemort as he was now called. He fully planned for the Dark Lord to kill the young Potter heir, take the victory for himself, and then claim the Potter vaults, as well as many others, as Right of Conquest for defeating Tom. He would then be the richest Wizard alive, and would lead the British Wizarding Empire to a future of his own design and making, with him as king for centuries, using the stone to gain immortality. Fawks, of course, being a being of true and Pure Light, was very much against the plans of his 'companion' against a child touched by Death as young Harry was. Magical beasts of increased intelligence weren't dumb, far from it, and even they knew the scent of Death, the being to take all to his domain one day. Fawks knew he would never grace that door, and he wasnt going to invite the Being to try by helping his demented and senile partner plan the murder of an innocent child who would grow to be Death's Champion. Creatures of Light, like Fawks, weren't as interested as hindering a Prophecy child, as Fate wasnt kind to those who did. Of course, it did seem Fate hated the young Potter as well, to take the poor boy his parents, godfather, and any family he would have grown and raised safely with. The phoenix trilled, and vanished in a burst of flame. He followed the soul of the young Potter, recognizing it from when he was in the castle as a babe, to be healed of a small head wound. When he arrived at the childs side, it was to find him asleep in a bed the magical bird certainly hadnt seen in many a lifetime. So, the Child of Prophecy had been taken to Ravenwood? Unsurprising, as it was truly a better school of Magiks, in the Phoenix's opinion. This, however, was definitely NOT biased because of the fact he himself had imbued some of the Magiks in this school, lost to the world of the Potter boy originally, with some of himself to creature the Phoenix spell card. He looked around, seeing he hadnt been placed yet by their standards, and trilled, before using his magiks to create a ball of ethereal blue fire, or Soul Fire. It took much of his strength, thankfully he was an old bird, and had saved quite a bit before the burning day he knew was coming in a couple years. The Soul Fire orb he made soon solidified into the shape of an egg. Fawks had offered up this magical energy to the boys chosen Deity, Death, to make for him, of his own power, a Familiar that would never betray or leave the boys side. Death seemed to have been listening and watching, for the deal was made, and now a dark blue egg with black sheen in the light sat on the side table, with a note to the potter boy. Fawks, nearly spent, left one last gift, a true copy of his original Phoenix card, to always be with him. He then, tired, and happy with himself, flamed back to his new world and his idiotic assistant in it, nearly failing to catch himself on his perch. Dumbledore, having seen his familiar returned, had tried to question him, but Fawks was tired, and simply gave a soft trill before falling asleep, leaving the old man to wait for another day to question him.
Meanwhile, several hours after Fawks departure, young Harry was waking up in the new sensation of a clean, fixed and sizable bed where he found the Egg and note. "huh?" he asked aloud quizzically "who left me an Egg?" he asked, before picking it up as well as the note. He nearly dropped it however, when he felt something akin to lightning strike through his nerves..though it wasnt painful, it was more of just the surprise and shock. He stopped for a minute, simply to make sure nothing was wrong with himself or the Egg, and then felt something new inside him, a small ball of warmth that seemed to grow as he held the Egg. He looked at it, curious, then turned to the note, gently setting the Egg down on his sheets, which seemed to make the warmth in his chest go colder, as if sad.
'Dear Mr. Potter
You will not know me for many a year yet, but a friend of yours from your younger years as a babe and I both agree that you should have something to keep you anchored and happy. In so much, we have banded together to gift you this Egg. Inside is your familiar, a magical creature who will become more then any mere pet. They will be friend and family to you, I am sure.
As for I, I will not tell you my name yet, you will learn soon enough. But I will have some of my underlings watch for you as you grow into the wizard Magiks of Ravenwood. Headmaster Ambrose is an old friend, so do treat him kindly.
I wish you luck
A Friend
The note he had just read, if was true, had truly gave him something to treasure more then anything the Dursley have ever given him. He turned to the Egg once more, and gently picked it up, holding it close as that warmth once more shimmered in his chest.
"I wont let anything happen to you." he said softly, cradling the egg carefully and lovingly, already so attached without realizing it. A glint from the light of the window on his bedside table caught his eyes next, not a glint of his glasses however, as those had been taken by the headmaster to be fixed and made better, to be returned today. He frowned, and reached out, picking the item up, and discovering the odd red card with a bird completely made of flames on it. "Phoenix…" he said softly, feeling the card, or maybe it was a trick of the mind, heating up slightly in his fingers. He shook his head, and pocketed the card, holding his Egg as he grabbed some of the new clothes he had bought yesterday, and made his way to the bathroom and shower to perform his daily ritual and clean up.
After having finished his cleaning up and daily rituals, Harry and his Egg stepped out of the small guest dorm room he had been given, looking around the Commons, as it was called. He saw that, since it was so early, not many folks were out and about, mostly just some of the Guards, who, from what Harry could remember, didn't have magik or chose not to practice it. He then turned, heading towards the area labeled the Golem Court, where the headmaster had told him to meet early last night. Upon exiting the tunnel, he was greeted by the headmaster, Ambrose, and the assistant headmaster, Gamma the owl,who had been talking as they waited, stopping their conversation once he arrived.
"ah, there you are!" said Headmaster Ambrose happily, waving to the boy with one aged hand "come, come, we have much to do before you start classes today'' he said, chuckling as he started to walk towards the large tower behind him "please, join us inside" he added, leaving the door open as Gamma swooped in, entering as well. Harry followed soon after, gazing around the antique room with shelves of ancient books and dusty artifacts he had no true name or idea of. In the middle of the room, however, was a book pedestal, and on it sat a large grimoire, a book of such size he had never seen before.
"That, dear Mr. Potter, is the Ravenwood Grimoire, a powerful book to help determine what school of Magik you would be best to become." he said "Hogwarts, had you gone, would sort you into simply one of four houses, which seems very silly and outdated to me, truly." he added with a chuckle.
"Wait, sir.." started Harry "if the other school is silly, isnt this silly too? Isnt magic all the same?" he asked, which the Headmaster simply chuckled at.
"To be truly honest, Mr. Potter, no, its not. You see, your worlds magik isnt the same as the formes of True Magik we teach at Ravenwood. Magik is a force, yes, but it isnt all one thing. Magik can be as split and different as you are from me, or Gamma. We at Ravenwood know that students sometimes cant handle certain magiks themselves, so we sort them to what their inner cores say they can handle the best, and let them work from there. If they can handle more, we encourage that, but we also know that to be careful and safe will make sure our students thrive." he explained "as such, its taken me many years to learn all the magiks I have, though I dare say I am no true Master of any such. Some of your teachers, however, like the ever fiery and lovely Miss. Dalia Falmae, has spent much of her lifetime to study and Master one particular type of magik as her heart and soul define to her. In her case, this was the school of Pyromancy, or Fire Magik, if you would." he said, tossing a hand and sending some sparks and small tongues of fire up towards the empty roof. He then turned to the young boy, motioning to the book.
"go on, young Harry. See what the Grimoire has to say about your magik, so we can introduce you to your teachers and start your studies." he said, giving a true and meaningful grandfatherly smile, something that, had anyone met him beside Albus Dumbledore, would know instantly that Albus was faking it. As Harry approached the book, he set the Egg down beside it, which intrigued Ambrose, as he hadnt even seen the egg before. As he watched, Harry touched the book, which sprang open and to life, pages flipping rapidly as it seemed to examine and judge Harry from just the one touch, soon landing open, and an image appeared above the pages. Black lines of magik in the shape of a half formed skull floated above them, before fading from sight as the book then closed.
"well that most certainly wasnt expected at all." said the wizened Headmaster, his assistant seeming as struck curious and quiet as he was. That is, till another voice, soft and whispered like something from the grave spoke from behind the trio.
"it would be, Old Headmaster, had many of those in this Spiral not felt his coming"