I'll See You When I Fall Asleep
Chapter Three
I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the related characters. The Harry Potter series is created by JK Rowling and owned by Warner Bros. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Harry Potter story belong to Warner Bros.
Beta'd by me! No one was available. Any and all errors in grammar, spelling and plot are mine.
The first trickles of awareness brought sensations to Harry's consciousness. The cold hard ground under his back, the faint smell of smoke from a wood fire, and the coldness from his blankets suddenly being removed accompanied a too cheerful voice.
"Wake up, sunshine."
Harry's retort was less sunny. "Piss off. You snore."
"I do not. I'm a lady, ladies don't snore."
The voice contained an edge, but Harry refused to open his eyes.
"I was sleeping next to a mountain troll then."
Silence.
Harry cracked an eyelid and cautiously looked around without moving his head. All he could see was a green sky. Green sky? Oh leaves.
"Tell me that any noises I make are delicate and ladylike."
Harry snorted. "Okay, if you say so, Banshee. Argh!"
He jerked upright at the Stinging Hex that hit his thigh. Daphne put her staff down with a satisfied smirk. "You should have said something nice."
Harry sat up, now wide awake and looked around to find his bedroll neatly folded on the log next to Daphne."I take it you don't appreciate someone sleeping when you can't?"
Daphne gave him a toothy smile but made no comment, busy as she was bottle feeding the wolf cub.
"I was still half-asleep, how was I supposed to know that was a threat? I thought it was just banter."
Daphne's smile grew into a grin. "Oh, it was, or It wouldn't have been a mild Stinging Hex."
"Mild?" Harry muttered as he pulled his boots on.
"As you're up now, let's get cracking."
Harry huffed out a breath which vibrated his lips in a raspberry sound. He shot her an annoyed look to which she replied with another brilliant smile and prodded the fire with a stick. Her leather trousers creaked, and he smirked, remembering their conversation in the abandoned classroom at Hogwarts.
"I can offer you fish or fish. It's your choice really."
"I'll have the fish, please."
Harry rose to his feet and stretched, the pops and cracks from his stiff body felt great. He plopped down onto his log and regarded the fish on sticks.
"Think it's ready?"
"Only one way to find out." She smirked at him and stopped the fish rotating on their spit.
"Trial by uncooked fish? Doesn't have the same ring to it." Harry accepted a stick and regarded the browned flesh.
"I could set it on fire if you want."
"Ah, no thanks."
"How is it in the Gryffindor common room? What do you do on a night?" Daphne asked in between bites.
"It was quiet tonight, errâ last night? I could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep on Hermione's shoulder reading her novel."
"How cute, err, what's a novel?"
"Muggle story book, this one is for young adults. She said it was a mystery. Her mum sends her ten or so a month."
"Granger reads, I'm shocked!"
"It's more shocking that people think all she reads is 'Hogwarts: A History'. She doesn't need to read anything more than once, she said she has a photographic memory."
At her confused look he explained. "She remembers almost everything she sees, reads and hears. It's dead useful if occasionally annoying."
"I bet, I remember our first year. It's a good thing she stopped giving all the answers. A couple of Slytherins were going to jinx her."
"Ron almost did, when he upset her enough that she ran off and we had to save her from the troll."
"I heard some rumours about that, what happened?"
Several minutes later after an abridged explanation about how Ron was a prat, the fish had been eaten and the wolf cub woke up and finished her bottle. Harry cleaned their campsite up and shrunk the remaining firewood and stowed it in his pack.
Harry looked up from his self-assigned job to see Daphne had conjured a wide strip of cloth and tied it across her body in a bandolier fashion. She laid the sleeping wolf cub inside so it was snug against her stomach.
"I'm jealous of the wolf cub."
Daphne smirked at him.
"You can trade places but we won't get very far."
Harry stood up from his self-assigned task and planted his fists on his hips. "Are you calling me fat?"
"The wolf can't see yet, she'll walk in circles." She had a look of innocence that he didn't believe.
Harry hefted his staff and brought it up to shoulder height and pointed it in a random direction. Daphne copied his movements and they cast together.
"Point me, Durendale."
The direction chosen and all evidence of their camp stowed away or vanished, they set off to find the village. Daphne caressed the lump on her stomach and asked the question that Harry had been thinking about.
"If we're keeping the little lady we can't keep calling her wolf cub, she needs a name. What do you think?"
Harry smirked and thought about one of his favourite books which he had read dozens of times. He had a copy of the Jungle Book in his trunk, dogeared and well read.
"Have you read the Jungle Book?"
"I have, most wizarding children have, Rudyard Kipling was a wizard. Are you thinking about Akela?"
"Raksha - the wolf who raised Mowgli."
"Raksha, I like it."
They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, Harry was aware they were in a predator infested forest and kept checking over his shoulder until he realised his mistake.
"Bloody hell."
"What is it?"
Daphne looked up, startled.
"I've been checking our surroundings, completely forgetting about this."
Harry hefted his staff, He forced a whisper of will down his arm and focused his intention to know what was around him. A bird's eye view bloomed in his mind. It was like an ordnance survey map from just underneath the canopy. The map zoomed in onto Daphne and himself, and two red dots streaked in from either side to right on top of them. Harry flinched and crouched his staff at the ready. He slowly spun and eyed the area critically but saw nothing. A chittering sound from above, and, although he couldn't see them, two small creatures were having an argument high above.
"Tell me."
"I set my intention to know what was around us and now I've got a map in my head. Two red dots zoom in here on the map. I thought we were being attacked but it was those two squirrels."
"So we have to take height into account. Let me try."
She paused for a few seconds as they continued their walk.
"Wow, that's useful, I've changed the colours to be more vibrant close in."
"Keep it up all the time or just check regularly?"
Harry asked as he experimented with colours and contrasts on his map.
"It's not much of a drain. We could probably try and keep it up constantly. Eventually we wouldn't notice and it'd be like another set of eyes."
"We still need to find out why we're here. To fight a dragon?"
"It's not something I've ever thought about. I wouldn't know where to start. What did Edward say to you?"
Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged. "He didn't. He said there was a prophecy and that we had a task to do, but didn't know anything else."
Daphne huffed. "Yeah, That's what he told me too, I was hoping that you'd gotten more out of him."
"He was too busy laughing at me for holding my staff the wrong way round."
Daphne laughed and smoothed a hand over the cub who she had disturbed. "Me too. Did you spray him? I accidentally missed the fire."
"I thought about it. Did he seem odd to you?"
"You're joking right? We're dreaming, I'm carrying a wolf whose parents were trying to kill me and there are two moons in the sky at night." Daphne slid a hand under the cub and adjusted the weight slightly.
"Two moons?"
"They both set shortly after I arrived. You'd have seen them yourself if you'd been on time."
Harry gave her a sour look.
"Blame Ron and Seamus, I do. Chainsaws the pair of them. I meant when I arrived I was alone. No Edward, no campfire, nothing. I turned around and the campfire was there. I looked around again and my staff and bag was by the log then Edward justâ appeared."
Daphne shrugged and glanced around a clearing as they left the cover of the canopy.
"I'm pretty sure he's not human, maybe some kind of magical construct. I asked him some questions that he couldn't answer, just kept repeating the same phrase."
"I didn't get to ask that many questions. He just told me I had to hurry and catch you up. I think he knew about the wolves."
The walk was easy and the path was straight, but Harry felt the skin on the back of his neck itched, like something was watching.
"Maybe, he did keep telling me not to leave before you got here, that we're always stronger together."
"Point me, Durendale." Harry kept his staff in his hands to see if he could get the same spell reaction without pointing the staff and was pleased when it worked.
Daphne huffed. "I think I'm not a fan of walking. Distance to Durendale. Huh, two miles. Wonder if we can get a couple of horses, or better yet a carriage."
"We've still got some walking to do. At least it's not raining."
A rumble reverberated through the air and Daphne glared at Harry.
"What? It's just bad timing. How was I meant to know?"
"You jinxed us! You know how these things work."
Daphne prodded a sharp finger into his shoulder and he shied away from the pain.
"It's not my fault!"
--Scene Break--
Harry was trying to smother a grin. Daphne was not a happy bunny, and she was not quiet about it. The rain arrived when they were half a mile from Durendale, and it was torrential.
He was amused because when the heavens opened Daphne had shrieked and ran to make the village faster. Harry had given her a funny look, cast the umbrella charm and continued his measured pace.
When Daphne had realised he was not running with her, she squelched back to him, scowling the entire way. She was annoyed at everything, the mud tracking up her legs, the rain cooled air that caused her to shiver and at Harry who kept sniggering.
"Are you a witch or not?"
"What do youâ"
She cut herself off and looked down at Harry's legs. His boots were clean and dry apart from the soles. She scowled at him. She huddled under his charm then proceeded to dry her clothes and apply waterproofing charms on her shoes.
She accidentally transferred some of the rainwater onto him, her smirk had him doubting how accidental it was. She cast her own umbrella charm and stepped away with a huff.
"Why didn't you say something?"
"I tried but you weren't listening."
Harry chortled and they walked in silence for a minute.
"You run like a girl."
"I do not! Hey! I am a girl!"
It was a pissed off Daphne and an amused Harry who finally entered the outskirts of Durendale. The rain hadn't lasted long but the mud was everywhere.
Durendale wasn't so much a village as a small town. The town hall and chapel dominated from the centre, concentric circles of buildings continued until outhouses and rude farmhouses demarcated the outskirts.
People were everywhere, children ran in small gangs, labourers loaded wagons, women chattered and a dozen armoured soldiers sat around tables at the inn.
It seemed that the entire village saw their entrance as one and all activity ceased. Movement at the inn doorway brought their attention to a man, his chest plate more elaborate than his fellows with a sword slung across his back. He regarded them for a few seconds then raised a hand.
"Greetings, travellers."
He rested one hand on the shoulder of one of the seated soldiers then approached the pair and no one followed him.
"What brings two Adventurers to Durendale? It's been years since one of your kind ventured here."
The man stood calm and composed but clearly blocking the way. Harry glanced at Daphne and extended his right hand.
"Hi, I'm Harry and this is Daphne."
The soldier shook Harry's hand and offered Daphne a curt nod.
"Well met, Milady, Milord."
"Do you know Edward? He sent us here." Harry asked as he looked around. This was like something out of the Lord of the Rings.
"Edward, you say? I have not seen him in five years or so. He usually sends folks like yourselves into the kingdom but it's not often he comes by."
"He said to ask for Winsome."
Harry glanced at Daphne in surprise.
"Well you're in luck. I'm Captain Winsome of the Redfast city watch. On detachment to Durendale to deal withâ well, never mind that. Come to the inn and we can discuss affairs."
Harry felt a quiet ping in the back of his mind and as he looked around he could see Daphne glance over her shoulder.
"Ah! I've heard about that, you've just had a ping in your heads?"
At their confused nods he continued.
"There was an Adventurer in the city who worked with the guard on occasion. I heard her tell my commander about being an adventurer, that a ping goes off in her head when she was called to a quest. It sounded like a bell. You've been called and I would guess that you're here to help with my problem."
"Which is what?" Daphne asked and pulled her braid over her shoulder.
"Come and have a drink surrounded by my men, you might be less inclined to say no. Although if a couple of swords and grumpy looks dissuaded you, then maybe this life is not for you." Winsome turned back to his table where his men sat with individual rain clouds over their heads.
"A happy bunch." Harry murmured as he drew closer and started to pick out tells: a soldier growling at his mate, his hand clamped so tightly to his mug of beer that his knuckles were white. Two recruits, barely teenagers, a boy and a girl, looked like they were about to faint.
"Who was the Adventurer?" Harry asked after they had sat with the captain and a jug of wine appeared between them, the young woman who brought it smiled shyly at the Captain.
"She goes by the name of Sheba, most other people I know have two names. You know her?"
Daphne shook her head as Harry sniffed at his cup of wine and took a sip. He grimaced slightly and put it back down.
"Not by that name, can you describe her?"
"About your height, dark hair, dark skinned, very pretty. She wore wizard's robes, midnight blue with moons and stars sewn into it. Quite eccentric but she could draw a simple picture and have it explode. Very useful in goblin tunnels for laying traps."
"Sheba, Sheba, Bathsheba?" Harry asked Daphne quietly and she nodded contemplatively.
"Babbling? The runes mistress? Dunno."
"What's this about a quest?" Harry asked as he tried the wine again but shook his head. Not for him. Daphne on the other hand drank the entire thing in three swallows.
"If you've just arrived you've not been on many quests yet. I'm not in the profession of taking innocents into danger, I will need proof of your abilities before I will put you in harm's way. If you want to do that over at the town hall there are jobs posted on the board. It states the task and the reward for completion. Show me you can handle less dangerous quests first."
"Can you tell us anything? We're new here and don't know anything apart from Durendale. I heard a dragon yesterday." Harry asked as Daphne picked up his cup.
"Oh yes, that thing lives in the wastelands beyond the Kingdom's southern border. It comes occasionally and takes a couple of cows and maybe burns a village. Nasty business but not much we can do about it. The King has a bounty on the dragon's head. Ten thousand gold and the thanks of a grateful nation."
"Who is the King?" Daphne asked.
"King William, fourth of his name. He has ruled alone for several months now, ever since his wife and daughter were taken, sad business but the Kingdom is a dangerous place. Many ways to get yourself killed. Pirates in the east, ice monsters in the frozen north, massive sea creatures lurk under the sea."
Harry and Daphne exchanged a look.
"So this quest." Harry asked Winsome who looked uncertain and his troops grew grimmer.
"There is a monster's hereabouts that I have been charged with vanquishing. An ogre. How to deal with it I am still working on, but if you have been given a quest then maybe you can help. It hasn't returned yet and there's no telling if it will come, get ready for a fight and I'll send for you when it's time."
Lunch was a solemn affair, the bread, ham and cheese was tasty enough and the mead was sweet and much better than the sour wine, but the atmosphere could be compared to that of a funeral.
Winsome stood and shook their hands. "Head to the village square, It's market day so you'll have lots to see, you'll find the message board by the chapel. There's always jobs and things to do there. Usually decent gold, too."
The two Adventurers wandered through the town, up and down streets, in and out of shops. They finally found the square and were astonished at how busy it was. The chapel dominated one entire side of the square on the opposite side to them, the area between a teeming mass of humanity.
The other three sides hosted dozens of shops and homes. Colourfully painted doors bisected awning covered tables with all manner of wares, from pots and pans to vegetables, herbs and spices, smoked meats and unplucked game birds, armour and weapons, from treated leathers and fine bolts of cloth to various animals and birds in cages.
The noise of the crowd could be heard from three streets over, the hubbub of bartering and good natured haggling, and hawkers yelling offers to entice the unwary. Harry and Daphne spent almost an hour working their way towards the chapel. Harry had been drawn towards the swords and maces and he would have bought several if Daphne hadn't dragged him away.
"You can cut yourself later, let's find this board and choose a quest."
"Alright, but I want a sword."
"You're a wizard, you can probably conjure a flaming sword or a lightning spear with the way magic works here." Daphne realised what she had just said and slowly turned her head to regard her companion.
Harry had a strange look on his face which slowly morphed into a massive grin.
"Not now, come on Doofus, it's right over there."
"Isn't Doofus a muggle insult?"Harry asked amused.
"My cousin is half-blood,. he calls me that all the time. He doesn't go to Hogwarts, he goes to one of the other magic schools in England, near Manchester I think. He spends most of his time in the muggle world."
They stopped to allow a donkey and cart to pass by them as it brayed at the sullen teenager who led it, then stepped up to the board and took a minute to read through all the messages, jobs, items for sale and minor quests.
"I can't read any of these." Harry muttered and Daphne shrugged.
"I suppose that makes sense, it is a different world after all."
"But everyone speaks English."
"I think it's magic altering us. The sounds, occasionally the words I hear don't match the mouths that are speaking it, I noticed Winsome did it earlier."
"Oh, then maybe Edward cast it on us when we arrived? Let's try something."
Harry stared at his staff and pushed his intent down his arm with a whisper of will. Before their eyes, the unknown words turned into plain English. Harry leant forward as he studied the wall of quests.
"Wow, there are a lot of them, how much is a chilen worth?"
"I guess we can ask Winsome when we get back. This one looks like a good place to start. Wendigos are attacking a farm and stealing the chickens, fifteen chilen." Daphne ripped a strip of parchment from an iron nail and handed it to Harry.
"Okay. I'll ask, what's a Wendigo?"
Daphne shrugged.
A voice from behind them caused them to turn.
"Wendigos are like dogs but are much bigger and smarter, they probably steal the chickens just to mess with the farmer as much as for food."
The man who addressed them had shoulder length silvery hair and wore a loose fitting white shirt stained by sweat and mud, and black breeches. He carried a woodcutter's axe over one shoulder and had the build to swing it all day.
"Thanks, do you know where Fletcher's farmstead is?" Harry looked up from the paper at the lumberjack.
"North just outside Durendale, keep to the road and it's the first farm you come to."
"Thanks, I'm Harry."
"Clint." the lumberjack offered his hand.
"Hi, this is Daphne."
"Well met, Daphne, I've heard tales of Adventurers, not too many around these parts. Most are up north or keep to the cities, more exciting I'm told."
"What do you do, Clint?" Daphne asked as she shook his hand then went back to cradling the wolf cub.
"I work at the lumber mill down by the river, they are always looking for a strong back who isn't afraid of hard work." Clint brandished his axe then noticed Raksha. "Why do you have a wolf cub? They're such pests, the more that are killed on sight the better. We had a pack come to the lumbermill last year, it took the guard to chase them off."
"We killed three in the forest yesterday, this little lady is the only one left." Daphne said as she scratched the slumbering cub's head.
"Three? You must have some skills then to beat three of them."Clint regarded the pair of them and the wolf cub whose nose was poking out of the bandoleer.
"I've got a vague memory of a warlock coming to my da's cottage years ago, he had several animals with him. I seem to recall saying that if you have some kind of bond you can bind them to you with a ritual. Can't quite remember but it might be worth something to look into."
Harry felt a ping at the back of his head and saw Daphne twitch. Another quest.
"Thank you, Clint, we'll keep it in mind."
"I'm for lunch, nice speaking to you."
As Clint wandered off in the direction of a tavern, Harry and Daphne exchanged a look.
"That was convenient." Daphne said as she peered down at the wolf.
"It was weird. Like he came to tell us that, then his job was done and he could go have his lunch."
"The gods command us all."
Harry and Daphne turned towards the chapel and saw an elderly man in a cassock watch them benignly from the dirt packed steps.
"Little things like that happen far too often for it to be a coincidence. Nudges to help a traveller stay on the anointed path or to reach a certain destiny. The shroud of destiny surrounds the two of you, I can sense it. The kind that surrounds kings and heroes."
"We're not heroes." Harry said and exchanged a look with Daphne.
"Well, then you must be royalty my friend. I am Father Simon of the Order of Tevos."
Daphne looked up at the chapel and tilted her head. "Hello Father. Do you think this is another of those conversations?"
Father Simon laughed self-deprecatingly and shrugged.
"Who knows, probably."
"How many gods are there?"
"As far as we know a countless number, or just the one with many aspects. My Order worships Tavos, the blind God of Truth and Knowledge."
"Do you hoard vast knowledge?" Harry joked then grunted as Daphne elbowed his side.
"Not to my knowledge we don't, but I am a lowly father and not the Primate in Redguard. I acquire knowledge, I ask questions and get to know my flock."
Harry scratched his neck and pulled a face. "I'm not very religious, I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Some people need something bigger than themselves. Others need hope that there is a master plan, not just randomness, and others still prefer their own counsel and just to be left alone. It takes time to learn what each needs, the latter I just greet them and ask after their health. Less arguments that way." Father Simon smiled kindly.
"You don't need to be religious, it doesn't even require faith. The Gods exist, it's common knowledge. There is suspicion that they are in an aeons long 'great game' but no evidence to support that. What people do is worship. If you worship a God or Gods, there are tangible benefits received in return."
"Like a transaction?" Daphne asked.
"Yes I suppose so. 'I will pray to Temourand the Goddess of Fertility to increase the chance that my baby is born without deformity,' for example. My baby was born without issue, so I will pray to Temourand for the rest of my life, or maybe for a few years until another reason requires me to worship a different God. You can also pray to more than one God at one time."
"That sounds veryâ"." Daphne paused, as she groped for the right word.
"Mercenary? In a sense yes, but the Gods don't care. A prayer is a prayer."
"May we come back to discuss this with you later? We have a quest to complete."
"Of course, my door is always open." Father Simon offered a nod and turned away.
"Let's go see a man about some dogs." Harry said.
--Scene Break--
There were signs that Fletcher's Farm had been successful at one point. The house was large with a half a dozen windows that overlooked the courtyard, the outbuildings were of sturdy construction, wooden slats ran from floor to gable with the doors flung wide open were at the points of the compass from the houses north.
The neatness of the layout was where it ended. Bales of hay had been ripped apart and straw was strewn everywhere. The water troughs were overturned and the vegetable patches to the sides of the house were upturned and half eaten like they had been chewed then spat out.
It was like a tornado had hit.
As they walked into the courtyard proper, a scream reverberated off the walls that was so loud and sudden that Harry jumped a foot into the air and dropped his staff with a clatter. Daphne glared at him as Harry sheepishly reclaimed his staff.
Footsteps hurried toward them, and a harried looking man with two black eyes and a wonky nose appeared in the main house's doorway. His dishevelled clothes looked good quality but poorly maintained.
"What do you want?" He demanded and charged stiffly out into the courtyard, a length of wood clasped in one hand.
Daphne stepped forward with a placating hand raised. "Hello, this is Harry and I'm Daphne, we're Adventurers answering your message from the village message board."
The man's arm sagged to his side, the makeshift club rattled to the ground, and he looked heartbroken. "That message has been there for weeks. One came but wouldn't even face the Wendigos. It's too late, my daughters are gone. Taken last night. Gone."
His whole face trembled until he clapped a hand to his face and shook at the intensity of the emotion. Harry and Daphne exchanged an uncomfortable look and stepped towards the man.
"What happened?" Daphne asked, her tone soft.
A harsh voice snapped from the doorway caused them all to turn. "Those dogs stalked us for a month. At first a chicken went missing, the next night another, then three. Then a pig, a cow was half eaten and we had to listen to their cackling laughter as it screamed and they banged on the door and walls all night. A few days later, they came during the day. We were just moving what animals we had left into the house when they came, a dozen of them. They tried to take our youngest but Fletch managed to fight them off long enough to get the girls into the house. We lost the last cow, they didn't even eat her, they just slashed her throat."
A beautiful blonde woman, a little taller than Daphne, sobbed deep and wracking, the kind of sobs which made your chest hurt for days. She moved behind her husband and laid her hands on his shoulders as she brought herself under control. The comforting gesture brought him out of his stupor and he stood and she slid her hand around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. She pulled a rag from a pocket sewn into the skirt of her red dress and dabbed at her eyes.
"I'm Fletcher and this is Adeline. We have nothing left, last night they broke into our house. We still don't know how, the doors have been barred and nailed shut for weeks. We woke to their horrid chittering laugh and teeth at my throat." He lifted his throat and pulled a bandage down to reveal a serrated wound. It looked to Harry like a mass of blood blisters.
"I heard the girls scream, Victoria was carried like they would a puppy by the scruff of her nightgown, but Gwen, Gwendolyn, she is older and put up a fight. They dragged her off by her ankle, you can still see the blood streaks in the kitchen."
"You said you don't know how they got in?"
"No, but they left though the kitchen, threatening to rip Toria's throat out if Gwen didn't open the door. We told her it would be okay, to do what they wanted. She did and we haven't seen them since. I chased after them but was ambushed by something, somethings. They weren't human. No idea what they were but they did this."
He gestured to his face, raised his shirt to show the mass of black bruising over his ribs.
Harry's growl was audible.
"Which way?"
All three looked at Harry and all took a step away from him in surprise. His eyes glowed an iridescent green, and a dull glow framed his head and shoulders like a heat shimmer. He ground the staff into the packed dirt and it creaked slightly before it erupted with glowing green runes down its length. Harry regarded them for a second before he met Daphne's eyes.
"I don't like bullies."
"Neither do I." She turned to the parents. "Do you have anything of the girl's possession? A doll or comb? It will help us find them."
Neither parent moved for a long second, unable to break eye contact before with a hitched breath Adeline ran for the main door.
Harry's breathing slowed, and the runes faded to become the old script engraved in its place before they faded completely. The aura remained, however, and gave off a heat shimmer.
The woman returned, holding a ratty one-eyed doll with long stringy hair, and a large hairbrush. The bright blue contrasted with the strands of black lacing through it.
Daphne accepted both, pushed the doll into the bandoleer on top of the wolf cub, and studied the brush. She twisted it in the sunlight, pulled a hair out, then pressed it to her staff. Harry wrapped his hand around her staff just above hers.
Both Harry and Daphne tracked their heads and gazes to one side until they were both staring towards the west. They both walked to the edge of the farm, and the Fletchers followed. No one said anything. Soon all four were staring at the tangled and dark forest edge.
"No," Adeline whispered.
"At least one is still alive, or the spell wouldn't have worked." Daphne said quietly, and Harry could hear the stress in her voice. Adeline's raw emotion was overpowering him too. He couldn't imagine the pain she was in.
"What do they look like? Do you have a phrase that either of you say, so they will know we came from you?" Daphne asked. Her hands squeezed the staff so hard her knuckles were white.
"Gwen is twelve, she has long black hair down to here." Adeline gestured to her back. "Victoria is blonde like me, I've been keeping her hair cut short as she gets into more trouble than half the boys in the village. It's always tangled." She laughed out a sob and buried her face into her husband's shoulder.
Fletcher hugged her tightly to his chest and rasped out. "Tell Gwen I want my little duchess to come home."
"We will go now. I'm, I'm not going to promise anything other than we won't give up. I grew up without parents and I wouldn't wish it on anybody."
Adeline looked at them for a second, then sprang at Harry and hugged him fiercely. "You're a good man Harry, both of you are good people. Do your best, so many people have gone missing in recent years and never come back." Her chin quivered and she shuffled back and took Fletcher's hand in a death grip. His other slid around her waist.
Ping.
"RIght then, no time like the present." Daphne said as she took a step forward, but Adeline touched her shoulder.
"Wait, leave your little friend with us. You don't need to be caring for him while you chase after our children."
Daphne looked down at Raksha, and sighed as she exchanged a look with Harry. He nodded and she lifted the sling over her head. The little wolf mewled for a time until she was nestled against Adelines warmth.
"It will give me something to do while I wait."
Harry and Daphne exchanged a look; they both shook Fletcher's offered hand then left the farm. Once they were on the dirt track and out of sight Daphne flung herself at Harry, her staff clattered to the ground and she burst into tears.
Harry could barely move such was the strength with which Daphne clung to him. He never even thought about the soft curves which contoured themselves to his body until later on. He grimly accepted the waves of emotions and rubbed her back until the tide retreated.
Daphne stepped back, no trace of self consciousness or embarrassment on her face at all.
"Oh God, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that you caught up with me. Such a horrible thing to happen. I'm glad I'm not dealing with this alone." She picked up her staff and set off at a brisk pace. She stopped after a dozen steps and turned to see Harry in the same place she had left him.
Harry was a wash with emotions himself, she had derailed his thought process with her sudden change in gears.
She walked back to him and took his free hand. "What?"
"Huh? Nothing, just that was a lot. I'm ready."
The rough cart troughs that split the track into thirds were smooth and free from large rocks, and allowed them to keep a good pace. It took Harry half a mile to realise that they were still holding hands, and when he caught Daphne's eye she let him go with a slight blush and cleared her throat.
"I was thinking, we should probably come up with some tactics to fight together, or being a fated team won't be much use to us."
"One of us shields while the other is slinging spells?"
"Maybe in certain scenarios. I think we need to practise." She paused and looked at her staff. "Oh wow. Twenty three miles. We won't find them tonight. Practice when we stop?"
Harry scratched his nose and smelled the air, there was a faint smell of wet dog. "I dunno, I've got a feeling that we don't have the time to rest. I think we should move quicker."
"Okay, but we need to decide how to deal with the Wendigos before we find them." Daphne cautioned, and Harry shrugged.
"Dogs bite and are fast and agile. Figure some spells to keep them at a distance and others to take them down." He turned around and stepped away from Daphne, staff held towards the butt. A tall flame erupted from the top and when he swept the staff through the air a long trail of fire followed it.
"That may be a last resort."
Daphne tried the same move and pulled a face.
Harry thought for a few seconds and concentrated. Ten metres away three large dogs appeared and began to scamper from side to side. He brought his staff to the ready position and fired a couple of cobalt blue bolts of energy at one. The second one hit and spread across the fur until it was a running fireball and collided with its brother.
"Let me try that." Daphne held her staff in a similar way and fired a red bolt. It impacted on the third dog's chest, and a frisson of red lightning coursed across its body, and it collapsed, twitching.
Harry nodded and hefted his staff.
"That's handy. Were you thinking about stunning?"
"Yeah, yours?"
"Sticky fire. I thought that they would be fast and hard to hit, even a glancing blow would do some damage." Harry conjured five more dogs, then leant on his staff and settled in to watch her work.
Daphne watched the dogs move, took aim, then fired a spread of azure blue bolts which zipped across the ten metres in less than a second and missed all but one. That one was engulfed in flame and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The other four dogs chittered with an unnerving laughter and continued to prance. Daphne glared at Harry who smirked.
"You need to hit them," he offered helpfully. Daphne's staff swung to point at him and he held his hands up in surrender. "Only trying to help."
"Well, don't. I got this."
Daphne fired again and missed two. The laughter increased and another glare was sent Harry's way.
He smirked. "You got this."
Two final blasts, and she turned to Harry with a worried look on her face. "Do you think we'll need to kill them? Those wolves didn't leave us much choice, but this feels different."
Harry sighed. "I've been thinking about that, too. Maybe not, I really don't want to, but if they don't want us to rescue the girls, then we might not have a choice. Plus, what's to stop them doing it again? Bully's like this don't stop unless you make them."
"Yeah." Daphne stared down at the dry dirt of the track. "Harry, these pings we've been feeling. How do we know what we're supposed to do and when it's finished? Are there rewards that we don't know about?" Daphne looked up quizzically.
Harry shrugged and continued his line of thought and pushed will and a thought down his arm. "Quest."
A transparent block of text appeared in front of his face. There were two in a column on the left, one in the middle and two in a column on the right.
"Wow, that worked."
Daphne tried herself and intoned. "Quest."
"I guess it is self explanatory. 'Meet Winsome' in the middle is complete. 'Rescue the girls' is active on the left, with another one underneath that I can't read. I'm guessing that's linked. On the right is 'The Ogre' and 'The Forest Dock'."
"So, I see. I wonder what The Ogre is? You're the expert on trolls and ogres. What's the difference?"
"I am not. Hence the wand up the nose. No Idea, the smell?"
Daphne snorted. "I guess we'll find out. Anyway, what else should we do before we walk the next twenty three miles?"
Harry scratched his chin. "Transport? Flying or levitation? I wonder if one of us can sleep while the other walks."
Daphne looked at him in surprise. "Those aren't bad ideas, refreshing or healing charms?"
"Don't look too surprised, your highness. Erm." Harry thought about it and pointed his staff at Daphne. "How do you feel?"
"Lighter, and my feet don't hurt anymore."
Harry smiled and nodded. "I tried to heal you, and then I thought if we were going to have to run I thought we should weigh less."
Daphne bounced on her toes. "Did you do that to yourself, too?"
Harry shook his head, raised his staff, and soon he was bouncing like an excited toddler.
"We should apply scent masking charms. Dogs have a strong sense of smell."
"Silencing charms on our feet and staff?"
With a thought and push of will the ideas were implemented.
"Did it work? I wonder how long it will last for."
Harry bounced his staff off a nearby milestone. Not a peep and not a rattle.
"Wow, I didn't realise how bad you smelled. You need a shower." Daphne said loftily with a grin.
"Oh yeah, I'll get right on that, maybe there's a stream or waterfall I can throw you into."
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him. "I do not smell, you just want to see me all wet."
Harry laughed. "You're definitely getting thrown in."
"I know magic, Potter, my revenge will be swift and brutal."
Harry's laughter was loud enough to scare a flock of birds to flight.
--Scene Break--
They had journeyed through the night, and It had been hard going. There were more twisted roots and low slung branches than in 'Edwards' forest, but they had been steadily gaining on the girls and thankfully no sign of wolves or bears or for that matter Wendigos. Just an eerie silence, as if they were near an apex predator. The magical effects they applied to themselves lasted for an hour or so and had to be reapplied regularly. They became proficient in little time with the amount of recasts they had to do.
"This will get old fast, I think we should figure out talismans or rune carve our boots or something," Daphne said.
"Hey, you're the runes mistress."
"I wish, I took Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures."
"Something else for us to learn, I suppose."
The rough terrain began to smooth as their altitude began to change, dense foliage became sparse and the going became steeper. Rolling hills and the occasional game trail allowed them to pick up the pace and as they crested a rise they glimpsed a white cliff in the middle distance. It towered high above them and dominated the entire valley they descended down into and as they filtered down through the trees they spotted their prey, chained together, bedraggled and dirty, surrounded by five large dogs and five ugly green things, slightly taller than the two girls, but much wider and much stronger. Both hid behind trees as quick as they could and had a conversation in a glance.
Harry reapplied his stealth spells then gestured to Daphne to follow him towards better concealment off to their left. As Harry and Daphne crouched down behind their chosen log, the girls were unceremoniously pushed and dragged into the only opening in the cliff face, through a small wooden door. A rickety wooden bridge crossed a small stream which could be easily waded, on the far side of the stream a pair of ramshackle huts stood, their decrepit state indicated that no creature spent much time in them, maybe guard posts.
"If we hadn't had the maps or the trace on Gwen, we would never have found this place." Daphne murmured as she sat to pull a boot off.
She tipped it over and caught the stone which rolled out, then tossed it away with a grimace.
"Yet, I don't feel as if we're any closer to rescuing the girls, those are big dogs."
The dogs chittered and laughed like hyenas, an unsettling sound and as the canines faded into the shadows their cries faded with them. Boot back on, Daphne nudged him and led the way further around to get a better vantage point. They hunkered down behind a fallen log, with their eyes and ears focused below, one corner of Harry's mind was allocated to watch his map. He gazed down at the depressing scene below and scratched his ear. With the dogs, girls and green, gnarly monsters gone the sounds of wildlife gradually returned to the forest. It was eerie just how quiet it had been before.
"Were those goblins?"
"Um, probably. I'm pretty sure they're not elves."
Harry sneered slightly and craned his neck to see the path down to the gorge below. "They're ugly enough to be goblins. I'm not a fan."
"Most humans aren't. Anyway, let's go find our girls."
Harry sighed. "I wish I had my cloak."
"You'll have to show me that. We tried several times and it didn't really work. You want to try again?"
Harry paused. "I've just had an idea." He concentrated and pushed his will.
Daphne gasped. "You've changed colour, like the grass and wood behind you. That's really weird."
"I was thinking about army camouflage."
The two mottled magicians creeped down a game trail and hugged the cliff wall as they snuck up on the guard shacks. One was inhabited by slumbering goblins, the other was empty. Three flashes of red light, and they were in the mine where Harry could see just how effective their camo spells were. He reached out to sweep his arm through where he thought Daphne was and clipped her ear with a finger tip.
"Ow."
"Hey, this is good."
Noise made them duck and hug the wall as a portly goblin shuffled past.
Harry cast a stunner at him and tried to reduce the bright flash. The result was a dimmer zip and an electrical zap which left the goblin twitching on the ground.
Daphne followed it up with several lengths of rope wrapped themselves around it.
Each lone goblin was stunned and tied up in an out of the way tunnel or room and camouflaged. Harry stared down at the tenth one they had waylaid and chewed his lip.
"What is it?"
"I really don't like the idea of leaving these boys behind us." He sighed again and Daphne huffed.
"You think we should kill them?"
"No, I know we discussed it and that we're here to rescue the girls, not kill defenceless beings. Not that I don't think this thing wouldn't kill us or do worse."
"I suppose we will have to at some point, but unless they attack us we can keep doing this."
"Yeah I think so too."
It took a very tense hour and more than a few wrong turns to navigate the warren of tunnels undetected to where the girls were held in poorly constructed cages. Even with the mind maps the going was not straightforward.
This was the area with the highest concentration of goblins. Twenty of them were in various levels of repose and alertness. It had been going too well. The largest goblin, the one who was slumped in a slightly bigger chair that could have charitably been thought of as a throne, rumbled a question.
"Has anyone heard from the sentries? You should be in the north tunnels by now, Gralick. Mortlak, when Hargrath gets back from the catacombs, go chain the human filth together. We will be leaving for the Forest Dock as soon as it is full night."
Nothing happened for twenty seconds until a double movement caught Harry's attention. A much smaller green skinned goblin was kicked by a leather clad comrade, and he slid off his perch to thump and rattled off the stone floor.
"Ah! What Murpah? We don't leave until the others return."
"And what happens if they don't return?"
"Will we get to sleep in?"
A rumble of laughter echoed through the room, and Murpah jumped to his feet. His chair tipped onto its back with a crack of wood, and he roared in sudden anger. He raced over to Gralick with a horrifying turn of speed, and snatched up the smaller Goblin by his neck and shook him like a dog would a rabbit. "All of you, go find my Goblins!"
Like a kicked ants nest they scrambled to their feet and made panicked exits from the room, many collecting swords and spears as they went, several with bows and quivers of arrows. Murpah gazed dispassionately down at the struggling goblin in his grasp and said something that Harry couldn't hear, then, in a savage motion, he ripped Gralick's throat out and began to slurp on the blood.
Harry and Daphne exchanged a disgusted look and hurriedly reapplied their various spells, they then had a hushed strategy meeting.
Harry sighed wearily. "Bullies don't stop unless you make them."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that, too. I'm thinking we should try and take him out now before his horde returns."
"Not sneak into the cage, spell the girls and sneak out? We might have a better chance in a narrow tunnel, one of us in front, one behind."
"We don't know how tough he is, it might end really badly."
Harry pulled a face and hefted his staff. "Hit him now quick and hard while he doesn't know we're here?"
"Yeah, get close. You fire first, when he turns, I'll get him in the back. Make sure you don't miss."
From the little of Daphne that he could see, she looked nervous but resolved. They exchanged nods and left their tunnel and separated. Harry focused all his attention on his mind map to the detriment of his other senses for ten steps right up into he trod on something in the gloom and turned his ankle. He opened his mouth in a silent scream as he hobbled on to where he had decided to start his assault. Harry directed the pain and embarrassment, all his tension and stress into one massive overpowered shot and aimed for Murpah's chest.
The overpowered blast of pure energy tore through flesh, bone and gristle like it was paper. The light continued unabated to splash off the wall up near the cave roof and gouged a trough up to the roof and disappeared into it. A scream split the air as body parts and entire goblins fell to the rubble strewn floor with wet thuds. Harry could see Daphne's shocked expression through the gaping hole in the goblin chieftains chest as she reached up to pat the hair on her head.
"I didn't miss."
Harry dropped to one knee, suddenly as weak as a kitten.
The screams started then, coming from several directions at once. The girls in the cages were panicking, the goblins who had streamed out of the chamber were wailing in alarm and weirdly the corpse of Murpah was still on its feet and warbled wildly, hands scrabbling at the gore that had been its stomach.
Daphne barged it out of the way as she hustled her way past to get to Harry and it spun on one foot, bounced off a pillar then landed awkwardly and laid still.
"Come on, get up."
Harry let her haul him back to his feet as he tried to regain some equilibrium and watched her aim her staff.
"Accio gates."
With the screech of tortured metal four metal hatches flew towards them and she directed them absentmindedly over their heads to clatter away into the gloom. The girls in the cages were crowded at the back in small huddles, they were quivering in fright.
She grabbed his arm and glared intently at him. "Can you do that again?"
"Can I? Bollocks, I can barely stand!"
Daphne rapped him on the head with her staff and Harry jumped an inch as if every muscle became electrified for a fraction of a second, and he barely regained his footing with his free hand rubbing a tender spot on his head. "Oh, fuck you, that hurt."
"Can you do it now?"
Harry paused.
"Probably."
"Go, get'em, tiger."
Harry approached the cages and had to stop and let a tremor pass over his body. God, but he wanted to sleep.
"I'm Harry Potter, I'm here to rescue you."
The terrified knot loosened slightly, but no one was brave enough to approach the edge of the light the cages are placed inside. Harry huffed and stepped forward as he allowed his camo spell to drop. He could hear Daphne's footsteps retreat and realised her silencing spells had worn off.
"We've come a long way to get you girls out of here. Is Gwen here?"
A head twitched but no one spoke.
"Gwen, your dad wants his little duchess back."
A quiet voice spoke as two girls got up. "Dad? He's here?"
Harry shook his head. He could hear spellfire behind him, and the screams were closer.
"Not here, my friend and I had to travel fast. We've got to get you out of here before those monsters come back. He's at home with your mum."
Gwen was at the cage entrance now and curled her fingers around the bare metal. The spellfire was further away.
"They're Kobolt goblins, horrid creatures. He was their king."
The screeching started up again, much closer this time. Harry looked over his shoulder and could understand why they were reluctant to leave. He tilted his staff down and a spell flashed towards Gwen.
"Episkey."
Gwen jumped and looked down at her leg.
"What was that?"
"Healing magic, can you run?"
"I- Yes I think so."
"We need to go."
Everyone got up now but they were still too slow. Harry did a quick head count and saw ten pairs of wide scared eyes watch him from four cages, no one moved.
"GIRLS, MOVE!"
They surged past him and massed together. Harry watched them as they glanced around. "Stay together, hold hands and don't let go."
As the girls organised themselves, Harry fired a couple of spells off. A neon flash zipped to one side and expanded as it went. By the time it impacted the wall around a tunnel, the floor was trailed with a luminescent phosphor. The next spell settled a dome shield over the girls and followed them as they clustered together. Black arrows arched overhead and flickered in the gloom, clattered off rocks and zipped past, too close for comfort.
"Head that way."
He focused and pushed his will again, and a pulse of magic radiated from the tip of his staff. It shot out like a supernova halo, bypassed the shield, and bowled everyone else in the cave over like a hurricane wind. Harry frowned. He wasn't sure where that had come from.
Daphne sat up and looked his way, he assumed that she was glaring at him but his nightvision was flashing white and he couldn't see much detail.
"Clear the way Daph."
He could hear her grumble as she lurched to her feet and led with her staff. Bolts of light flashed out as she went.
The pained yells around him confirmed his initial instinct and the idea of that spell came from. These goblins were nocturnal, subterranean dwellers, and the shock of being knocked over was not as bad as the sudden intense light. Harry joined her and aimed more by mind map than vision as he followed the girls stumbling ahead. His spells stopped being the weird stunner they had been employing and became more bolts of kinetic force which sent whoever was struck by them flying backwards like they had been banished. Within a minute, the group was in the tunnel and moving up in a much straighter route than he and Daphne had come down.
Daphne set a punishing pace with her intermittent spellfire lighting the way. Harry had to make several last minute interceptions as shadows rocketed out from side passages. A couple received blasts of energy in their ribs, three he had to swing or jab with his staff, and one he missed completely. It careered directly for Victoria, who squeaked and leapt for her sister until the shield rang like a bell and the creature staggered away into a red spell from Daphne, who cocked an eyebrow back at Harry as the creature collapsed and spasmed.
In amongst the chaos, arrows had been constant and Harry tensed each time he heard a twang of a bow string but all the arrows seemed to be aimed at the shield. The drain Harry was feeling from keeping the shield active, and the damage the arrows were making was unsustainable. The shield flickered and guttered.
"Keep going!" Harry reapplied the camo spell and stopped running. He focussed on his mind map as much as he dared and took aim at the cluster of red dots that kept their distance. An angry red ball of roiling plasma left his staff like a cannonball and sped the distance in a very brief instant.
Harry turned to run but found that it was impossible as he was lifted bodily by a blast of hot air and tumbled up the tunnel. He rolled, and had the presence of mind to keep hold of his staff and was back on his feet within a second, the heady rush of adrenaline had returned. He staggered at first as he shook his head to clear the ringing and forced his legs to work properly, but eventually he gained his bearings and ran.
The arrows had stopped but so had everyone else. The shield was gone and most of the girls were sprawled on the ground. Daphne had just turned around in alarm as they both watched a larger goblin emerge from a shadow and snatched a thin forearm with enough force to ragdoll a little girl and drag her away.
"No!"
"Accio!"
Harry growled as Daphne cast desperately. The girl shot towards her but the goblin held on, both arms outstretched. It gave Harry's spell a gap in which to zap under the girl's body and slam into his ribcage. The snapping of ribs echoed around the enclosed tunnel and the girl was suddenly in Daphne's arms.
There was no sound for several seconds apart from the pained wheezing of the goblin and everyone else's panting. Harry caught Daphne's eye.
"Let's move. Not far now."
The climb began anew, and after two more corners the door appeared right in front of Daphne's nose. She blasted it off its hinges and the girls surged through it.
"Keep going, Daph."
Harry slipped to the side as soon as he crossed the threshold and applied the camo spell he had grown very fond of in the last few hours. He crouched down by a bush and thought leafy thoughts as the remaining four goblins slunk out of the tunnel slowly.
The goblins set out in the direction Daphne went, then they stopped as one, and turned in Harry's direction. He heard one of them sniff loudly. He sniffed his armpit and grimaced. Maybe he did need a bath.
A flash of light zipped through the night and slammed into the back of the rearmost goblin's head, Two spun to face Daphne,who had just come into view, and Harry fired three rapid-fire spells. These were the kinetic kind and the crunch of bone and stillness of their bodies showed the results.
Harry stood on shaky legs and approached Daphne the long way by circumventing the downed goblins. She leant on her staff as if it was the only thing that kept her on her feet.
"Can you zap me again?"
"I'm not sure I can do much of anything right now."
Harry shrugged and scratched his neck.
"How do we know the quest is finished? Another ding? A quest reward appears in front of us?"
He huffed a laugh but was stopped from replying by a ping inside his head followed by a howl and a chittering laugh in the distance, Daphne glared at him.
"Quest."
"Quest, oh, you've got to be joking!"
The blurred follow-up quest under 'Rescue the Girls' was visible now.
"How do you outrun a pack of dogs? That's just not fair."
"Or funny."
Harry dropped to one knee and leant on his staff so hard he almost toppled over. Daphne fared a little better and managed to stay on her feet but swayed and clutched his shoulder for support.
The girls were exhausted physically and emotionally, and all of them burst into noisy tears. After a brief round of energising spells and everyone drinking from Harry's or Daphne's canteens a concerned Harry encouraged everyone to their feet and to get moving.
"We can't stay here Daph, this doesn't feel right."
Daphne nodded and turned to hurry a lagging girl up and gasped in dismay.
"No!"
As the girl tripped and stumbled a hulking shadow loomed over her and a hideous grin shone white in the gloom. The chittering laughter again and the thing actually spoke.
"You might have taken what is ours from the Kobolts but you won't take them home. We'll come for them, we won't stop. Not ever."
Harry and Daphne exchanged a glance as the girls all screamed in terror.
"This place is weird. A talking dog, it figures."
Harry shrugged and shot from the hip, the cobalt blue light fizzed away from the staff tip followed by two more in short order, the first directly at the dog the other two to either side. Its smirk disappeared into howls of pain as it dodged into the left bolt and the blue fire coursed over its fur to engulf it entirely in blue flame. It started to run in panic but the damage soon became too much and it collapsed. Every eye was on the spectacle of the dead Wendigo apart from Harry's. He had seen the other members of the pack as his first two bolts shot the length of the valley and extinguished themselves in the turf on the far end. He had seen shadows illuminated, brief glimpses of savage fur and gleaming eyes. The screams of rage as their packmate died echoed around them.
"Run!"
Everyone turned back the way they had come and just as quickly stopped as shadows moved towards them from the cliff. Harry and Daphne exchanged a glance and came to the same decision at the same time. Harry turned to face the Wendigos and Daphne took several steps towards the advancing goblins. They were both panting and not just from the exertion of running around the mine, magical exhaustion was a looming possibility now too.
"Maybe we should have killed them when we had the chance." Harry grunted
He fired off a sticky fire spell, it ran true but the Wendigo dodged to one side and laughed as the spell missed by a metre. Harry tried his triple shot again as Daphne shot a fireball. The Wendigo chittered and giggled as it flattened itself to the ground and the spells fizzed clean over its body but the very tip of its tail wafted into the path of the central spell and the fur caught blue fire. The Wendigo yelped and spun in a circle as Harry fired off two more, mainly to keep the other three occupied. Harry's balance wavered for a second and the three chittering dogs wound their way closer. The yelping turned to a scream as the chain reaction signified the creature's demise.
The village girls whimpered and sobbed between them as the noise and chaos raged all around. Daphne was shooting her fireballs from one knee now, sweat streamed down her face and her aim wasn't as true as it had been down in the caves.
"Harry, I'm not sure I can do much more."
He turned and saw her staff dip and his anger spiked, the runed on his staff lit up green and bathed the immediate area with an eerie light. The three remaining goblins slow approached stopped warily and the chittering changed to a whining bark.
Harry spoke through gritted teeth as he hoisted his staff above his head and the runes pulsed on the staff length.
"Everybody down."
As Daphne flopped to her back the girls huddled closer together and although they were no nearer to the grass they were nearly in Harry's pocket and their height didn't matter. Harry pushed his remaining magic with every ounce of his will and projected a disk of flame which blasted out in all directions, one of the Wendigos flattened itself to the ground but the other two were caught and died within seconds and each of the goblins lost their heads.
As Harry's body slammed back into the dirt his staff rolled free from numb fingers the growl of the survivor rolled over the group. Harry lay still, his eyes were open as the Wendigo slunk into view. The light from the charred corpses faded as the darkness encroached again. The girls whimpered as the growl emanated again.
"You've killed my pack. I will tear you apart."
Harry wheezed as he desperately tried to move. His eyes roved around to try and see Daphne, his staff, anything. The Wendigo circled into view again and Harry could smell the foul stench of decayed flesh and blood. The voice dropped to a harsh whisper and he felt drops of hot saliva drip into his exposed throat. Harry's hands twitched and scrambled around for any kind of weapon but they remained empty.
A red flash zipped an inch from Harry's nose and the furry muzzle was suddenly gone along with his night vision, half of his hair with stress and his last nerve. Harry slumped in relief as a hand gently caressed his shoulder then patted his chest.
"Sorry about that Harry. I know I only had one shot left in me and I couldn't afford to miss."
Harry huffed a quiet laugh and nuzzled the back of her hand with his chin.
"Is it over?"
"Apart from getting back I think so."
"Yay."
Harry's world faded to black.
--Scene Break--
Harry's world swam into focus as he crawled his way from a sleep so deep it might have been described as unconscious. He could make out comforting sounds which indicated that the danger had passed and he could relax and let himself recover.
The birds were singing in the trees overhead, the crack and snap of a merrily blazing fire was nearby, the smell of something roasting made his mouth water and most importantly many female voices talked, laughed and sang.
"Is it more fish?"
"Roasted Wendigo tastes surprisingly good."
Harry sat up and looked around. They were not in the clearing anymore and from the state of the fire had been there at least one night. He accepted a piece of Wendigo leg from Gwen and was pleased at how healthy they all looked.
"Thank you Harry. That was horrible and was only going to get worse."
"You're welcome. Is everyone alright?"
Gwen nodded and glanced over at her sister. "Yes. Scrapes and bruises but we're okay. Madeline has a massive handprint on her arm from where that Kobolt grabbed her but we don't think it's broken."
Harry absently took a bite of the greasy meat in his hand as he listened to her and groaned in pleasure at the taste. The girls all giggled at his astonished expression and Daphne offered him more on the point of her knife.
She looked more than just tired. She looked drained, her hair was flat and her skin had a sallow gleam to it.
"You alright?"
"Not really. You look better than I feel. When I couldn't wake you up, we gathered up what we could, Gwen said to harvest the Wendigo and we managed to get up out of the valley. It was slow going trying to levitate you but I wasn't staying a night there we managed to climb out of the valley, ish. We're in a glen just at the top. You can just see the white cliffs over those trees."
Harry followed her finger and could just make out the white rock through the top most branches and leaves. He nodded and finished the last morsel with a thoughtful nod.
"Do we have a plan?"
Daphne grimaced and nodded. "Walk back, not all these girls are from the same village let alone from Durendale so we'll take them all back there and pass the responsibility onto the guard."
"Cool." Harry glanced around and took stock of their food supply. "Tomorrow?"
"Harry, it is tomorrow. We've just started to pack up when you woke up. Get off your lazy arse and help."
The girls all laughed at his sour face and he grumbled. "I can use bloody magic, I'll do it from right here thank you very much."
Daphne smirked at him. "Good luck with that."
Harry brandished his staff and willed the wood to collect themselves into a pile he could string together and shrink. Nothing happened, he gaped as Daphne laid a consoling hand on his shoulder.
"Me too, we did all this by hand. These girls are great. I'm currently a muggle."
A small voice piped up from Harry's other side and a small hand slipped into his.
"What's a muggle?"
--Scene Break--
The flood of emotions which Harry felt was overwhelming as they returned each child to their parents. Three families were reunited with their children in Durendale; the remainder were handed over to a confused Captain Winsome. He looked up from the shy Judith who was hiding behind Harry's leg to glance between him and Daphne with shock and a dawning realisation. Harry could hear the cogs whirred and the mental reassessment move from enthusiastic amateurs with delusions of grandeur to professional magicians who are potentially very useful allies.
Winsome inspected each of the girls as he was introduced to them and gave each solemn promises that they would be returned home as soon as he could manage it. Movement caught Harry's eye and he turned to see a parent of a recently returned child approach the Captain's table outside the Inn.
"Excuse me Captain."
Winsome nodded at the woman who Harry thought might be a wine seller in the market from what felt like an eternity ago.
"Lyra, how can I help?"
"It's how I can help you, these girls can't go home yet can they?"
Winsome looked regretful and placed a comforting hand on the head of the child who had sat next to him.
"No, I'll need to get as much information as I can on where they are from and get it to Redfast as fast as my riders can manage it. Then either their parents travel here or someone takes them home."
Judith tugged on Harry's fingers and when he looked down at her she spoke up with a gap tooth lisp.
"Can't you and Daffy take us home?"
Harry bit his lip to stop himself from laughing and caught a warning glint in Daphne's eye and she shrugged. He lent down so he was at her eye level and shrugged himself.
"Maybe Judith, we don't know where you're from and your parents might want to come get you. I bet they would."
Judith tugged on her pigtail in thought and smiled up at him impishly.
"Yeah maybe. But until then I can play with Toria and Megan!"
Lyra smiled and nodded at Judith.
"That's what I came to offer. Until it is decided the girls can be shared between our homes. We've been talking and it's the least we can do."
Winsome looked relieved and nodded quickly.
"That's a weight off my mind if you could. I was wondering what I would be doing with four little girls on top of my armoured children."
Lyra held out her hand to Judith who gave first Harry then Daphne a hug then ran off to take it. The three other girls repeated the hugs and chased after their friend.
A silence descended for a few seconds as all present watched the children leave until Harry snorted and Daphne turned an raised eyebrow toward him.
"You held that in longer than I thought you would."
"What's this?" Winsome asked.
Harry giggled uncontrollably for a second then managed to stammer out. "Daffy!"
Daphne rolled her eyes as Winsome smirked and she walked into the Inn.
"Come on then comedian. We've got to get a room, I'm exhausted."
Harry nodded at Winsome who leant forward and beckoned Harry closer.
"I've had intelligence that the ogre is nearby. Please don't wander far, I may have to call on you."
Harry sobered up and nodded thoughtfully.
"Maybe we'll need to stay for a couple of days then."
"Good luck with that. This Inn is pretty full."
Harry collected his staff and trotted inside after his friend and soon found her sat at a taproom table with the owner and his wife. Harry slid into a chair as they answered Daphne's request for accommodation.
"It has been ridiculously busy these last few weeks. We only have one room, right up in the attic. One bed but it is big enough for two."
The pub owner, Brice smirked as he gave them the bad news and his wife slapped his arm lightly.
"Now Brice, don't you be teasing them. It depends how long you're staying for but we should be losing a few customers when the market moves on to Rutherford after the weekend."
Harry shrugged at Daphne.
"The captain asked us to stay around here for the next few days."
Daphne looked at him for a second with narrowed eyes before they grew large in realisation, she caressed the wolf cub back in her wide cloth strap and nodded.
"Well then the one room it is. How much?"
"Two bronze Drakens a night or an even half Chilen for the week."
"We'll take it and whatever you have for lunch. I'm starved."
"Roasted chicken or Wendigo, your choice."
They exchanged a look and Daphne smirked. "The chicken please, I've had enough Wendigo for a while."
--Scene Break--
The next day dawned bright and clear as Harry lounged on their customary bench as he waited for Daphne to make an appearance and the breakfast he had just ordered.
He waved back at a gaggle of children and amused himself and the children by magicking bubble animals and watched them float away.
"How childish. Is that for you or the kids?"
Harry half twisted to see Daphne smirk at him. Her usual white shirt twisted in a knot to be much tighter on her body but still baggy enough to not show too much. Her leather corset was missing, as was her bag and her hair was artfully tousled and twisted over her shoulder.
"You're only three months older than me."
"Four. But girls mature faster than boys so therefore I'm much older."
Harry huffed and shrugged. "Fine. What's the plan then Little-Miss-Three-Months-Older?"
"Four. Winsome asked us to wait so I guess we wait. Plus I'm still feeling a little drained anyway."
They fell into an easy silence and watched the world pass by for a minute or two until the busty barmaid from their first day here appeared and winked at Harry as she deposited plates of bread, cheese, ham and an assortment of strange looking fruits. They bickered over Harry wanting a sword and a mace from the market as they made steady progress through the meal.
A loud clatter broke their pleasant morning as an armoured soldier approached at a dead run and skidded to a halt on the cobbles.
"Excuse me Lord, Lady. Captain Winsome had requested your presence at the river."
It was ogre time.
Ping.
T.B.C.