A/N- So a little owl hopped in my inbox hooting something that I had not thought would see. The weaver of magic, the enchanter of fanfictions, the wizard with marvellous words our very own James Spookie started following this fanfic. While I had been carefully weaving this fanfic before, this message let me take a pause and relook upon everything and proceed with the story ever more cautiously to make it worth time for everyone who is reading this fic.
I am thankful to ObsessedwithHPFanFic for his valuable comments on each chapter. I accept I made some little mistakes which in hindsight look like some grave errors and I assure you that I will ensure that any such error is not repeated. As to your questions, Susan tried to approach Harry Potter again and again but Ronald every time was in the way, telling her off. I am not going to bash anyone but I m not going to make anyone flawless either. Ronald made mistakes and he will atone for them. As to his not taking up the mantel of Lord Black earlier, I purposely did not do that because as Rug Nut said, there were 3 potential heirs for the lordship and each had their claim as good an any. I wanted Sirius there because being a father figure to Harry Potter I thought he should be there to see his ascension to at least one of the houses. Not to mention, Sirius needs to blood adopt him so that his claim is indisputable to the lordship. So, Sirius needed to step out and get him to Diagon Alley.
I am also thankful to MarilynT who has been reading the story with diligence and giving me some positive reviews.
Dault 3883, I know my formatting is terrible. My other job is of lawyer where we do briefs and just make checks for spellings and grammar while we do not concern ourselves with formatting as such however, I understand your concern and I will remedy this malady that is present.
This chapter will get a little violent and some of you may not like it but please remember that the mystics are assassins with a reputation of not taking prisoners. They simply cannot keep prisoners or they could have imprisoned Old Tom.
Now, I know some of you may be wondering about that blond Slytherin and wondering when she would enter the story but have a little patience. She will come in her time.
This chapter has been edited to make it more interesting and a little details here and there have been added however they do not change the story in any way.
THANK YOU HYPERGYM for the editing that you did.
From this chapter, we will go aboard the Marichika and traipse with Harry Potter to India. Let's get on this adventure, now.
DISCLAIMER- This pains me to say but I do not own anything except the OC. Harry Potter is in the firm possession of JKR. I am only playing in the ground.
The Pirates
Harry Potter was excited. They had started sailing from London the previous evening. Two hours after the ship left the port, they ran into the first obstacle. A ship that appeared to be a muggle cruise liner approached their ship. At the sight of it, all the men aboard went to their battle stations. The Captain rushed into the ward chamber to get the ship airborne. The men took positions all over the ship, wands out and alert. A group of them had climbed atop the mast and placed themselves in the crow's nest, in battle positions ready to fight.
Harsh was barking orders to his men, telling them to take positions before he himself touched a rune on one of the stones. Immediately the ship started making whirring and scraping sounds. In a few moments, there were cannons raised on the star board side of the ship. Harsh ordered the captain to steer the ship to port so that the starboard side was facing the approaching cruise ship.
Harry was perplexed with all these preparations. He hesitatingly asked Harsh, "Mr. Harsh, why are we readying for battle? Isn't that an ordinary muggle cruise liner which is passing through this area?"
Harsh merely grunted, "That is not muggle ship, Mr. Potter. They are pirates and they have magic to assist them."
Harry asked again, "But it looks like any other muggle cruiser. Are you sure they are pirates? Did they not go extinct like years ago as we charted all the waters?"
Harsh looked at him with incredulity and asked him, "Mr. Potter, this ship is enchanted to stay off the radar and there are no means by which a muggle can see this ship much less approach it. Besides, we had sunk that ship 5 years ago in another naval battle with these pirates, Mr. Potter. Charting waters do not work for them who have the talent to go around unobserved."
"Who are these pirates?", asked Harry intrigued, "I would have thought that nothing can escape the mystics."
Harsh smiled warily, "Remind me of this question later, Mr. Potter. For your curiosity, these pirates are scum of the sea who were blessed with the generous gifts of mother magic and they chose to use those gifts for their nefarious purposes." Suddenly, the captain walked up to him, "Master, we are ready to be air borne. In 5 minutes, we can escape this menace by being air borne."
"No Dishant, we are not escaping just like that. Let's give them a taste of our wrath. They have been punished so many times and they keep coming for more. Sinking that wretched vessel does no good but for the fun of it, let's send it to the bottom of the sea again", he said winking at Harry who wanted to laugh at his humour but could not bring himself to do so, in this setting. In the last hour that he had been aboard the ship, he had seen such a level of reverence for the man from his sub-ordinates that he had understood that the mystic was not an ordinary man. It was this observation which made him decide to tread cautiously around the older man, lest he offend him.
As the cruise ship came into range, the first volley of spells left the Marichika and several of the pirates went down. The next second, the cannons began their thunder as they came to bear. Although there was a terrific noise and flash as each cannon fired, there was no smoke. They were firing spells, the likes of which Harry had never seen before. With unerring accuracy, each spell hit the pirate ship alternating between the water-line and the gun-deck, tearing huge holes in the hall. The final shot of the volley blew the rudder off.
With the pirate ship unable to navigate and already showing a visible list to its starboard, it seemed that the battle was already over. As Harry searched the water, he saw that there were pirates in small boats, which he could have sworn were not there a second ago. One of the men threw a grappling hook and hooked it on the rail of the ship. As soon as the hook took hold, the men began scrambling up the rope.
Harsh was barking out orders and the crew made haste to obey him. He turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter, make sure that not a single man can climb those ropes and on the deck. Kill them if you have to."
Harry rushed to the point where the first rope was. He cast a diffindo at the ropes but they did not budge. He racked his brains for any other spells that he could remember. He remembered a spell which he had heard some seventh years mention that was used to loose the hold on an object but he could not remember the wand movements.
He levelled his wand at the ropes and cast 'Relashio' firmly but nothing happened. Then a hand grasp the rail followed by the torso of the man which galvanized Harry into action. Harry stunned the man who fell back into the water knocking the man behind him off the rope as well. The two of them made one splash as they fell into the sea. Desperate, he thrust the wand forward and put his will into the spell and cast "Relashio!" again. To his joy, the rope untied itself from the ship and fell into the water. Relieved, he turned to the deck and found that two men had boarded the ship and were advancing on him. He immediately fired a reductor hex at the first man followed by a disarming hex at the second man who had just climbed the rails. The first man easily side stepped the reductor but he did not see a pink spell approaching which nicked his wand hand. In pain, the man fell on the deck and one of the mystics banished him back into the sea. The second man had lost his wand to the disarming hex and was in the process of pulling another wand from inside his robes when Harry petrified him but did not have the heart to banish him. Rather he turned to the other ropes and started dislodging them. A few who had just climbed engaged him in a duel and for 5 minutes Harry cast as many spells as he could, disarming one, stunning another, petrifying the next, banishing another to the mystics who were standing on the side with their wands out and looking at him with a scrutinising gaze. He shielded when he could, dodged when he could not and avoided being hit for about 5 minutes when a bone breaker grazed him in the ribs making him wince however he did not sustain any injury. Soon there were no more ropes and all that he had duelled were subdued by the other mystics.
A few of the pirates who had climbed already and did not engage Harry Potter were converging on the deck and readying themselves to attack in formation, when it happened. The sky thundered for a moment and the final flash of lightning revealed a single man who was facing the pirates onboard the ship. The man was dressed in the usual mystic garb but in place of his orbs, Harry thought he could see fire in those eyes. The man's face was obscured by a leather mask which was terrible to look upon. It was hard to describe for Harry but he was in awe. The man's magical aura was pitch black and shrouded around him like a cloak obscuring his features from everything. His body was glowing like he was on fire and his hair was falling in front of his face. He had his wand in his right hand which he moved like a baton and the next few seconds were a blur. As the intruders started to attack, the man rushed into them, using his wand as an extension of his arm. His motions were fluid and quick. In those moments, Harry could see pink, red, blue, orange and many coloured spells and when he was done, none of the foes were standing and most of them were not moving either. Some had their intestines hanging out of their stomach while some looked like they had been burnt. A few were bent at such crude angles that Harry did not have to guess that they had broken bones. The figure turned to Harry and he shivered, however, the figure did not approach him but rather waved a hand in front of his face. With the mask gone, Harry could see the face of Harsh Vardhana but without the usual jovial expression.
Harry had trouble connecting this ruthless man with the cheerful and helpful trainee healer who had helped him so much in the last few days. They seemed to be so different like opposite sides of a coin. One was kind, jovial and friendly like the favourite uncle while the other was a ruthless, merciless killer. One spoke of life and things which intrigued him like war, family, glory while the other had just shown him the ugly side of war. This scary side was what Harry had imagined but wished never to meet and yet here it was. This explained why the mystics revered the man. Harsh was extremely powerful and capable with a wand. This was a person that even Voldemort would not engage. After all he had never sought to engage Dumbledore in a direct confrontation in the first war.
Harsh turned to the captain, "Dishant, gather a few of our men and transfigure these pirates into fish and leave them in the sea. Their worthless lives will be useful to feed the hungry animals, at least."
Harry was shocked, "but you cannot do this. You cannot transfigure them into fish and leave them to die. That is not right."
He turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter, I thought I had told you that basically we are assassins. We kill those who offend mother Magic or whose atrocities are so much out of
hand that there is no other way than to kill them. These men before you have been declared dead for years now and no magical government even knows if they are alive. We cannot take them to any country and hand over to magical law enforcement there because the mystics always work from the shadows. Ordinary wizards do not know us and those who have heard of us do not believe about our existence. There is nothing that we can do. Besides, how will we explain this heavily armed ship not to mention the people onboard who have not been heard of for years now?"
Harry could understand what Harsh was telling him. The first time he had met the mystic, he was told that they were basically assassins and even Moody had told him that the mystic had no hesitation about killing anyone but Harry could not simply kill anyone. He had not even had the heart to banish a petrified pirate into the sea when he knew that the pirate would be rescued by others. Coming up with no reply to the mystics questions, he only nodded.
Within 10 minutes, the pirates were fish in the sea and the Marichika was in the air, coursing through the sky at incredible speed. Harry Potter was standing on the bow, enjoying the cool air on his face and yearning to be on a broom again. Flying on the ship was an incredible experience but nothing could beat flying on a broom until he learned to fly. He was determined to pester the mystics to teach him to fly.
"Mr. Potter.", someone called him and he turned to see one of the mystics, "master has asked us to take you to the broom shed. He has instructed us that you are free to take up any broom from the shed if you wish to fly."
"This was strange", Harry thought. It was like the mystic could always tell what Harry was thinking. There had been instances when the mystic had done things he wanted but could not ask. Shelving that thought for later, he accompanied the mystic who was of average height for a wizard, stocky build, brown eyes and black hair. All the mystics that he had met, so far, seemed like ordinary wizards and had nothing obvious to set them apart.
He started taking brooms out of the shed and inspecting them, admiring their craftsmanship. He observed that each broom was different from the others. His first instinct had been to go for the firebolt but he already owned a firebolt and knew what it was like. This opportunity may be a once in a lifetime for him. He decided to test the other brooms. He found one which was rather large and a bit heavy. It had an oak handle which was much thicker, the twigs in the tail were far more than in any other broom and it bore the name, "Wind Lord".
"Interesting name for a broom", he mused.
When he asked the mystic about this broom, the mystic told him a very interesting tale. "This broom was a prototype version and was developed in the U.S.A. by a wizard who had no interest in selling it. This broom had more features on it than other brooms. The wizard was a contract killer who had killed a number of wizards when he ran afoul of the mystics. The mystics were in the U.S.A. dealing with a dark wizard who had escaped from Europe and was in hiding. The dark wizard had hired the contract killer as his security detail. The mystics had taken it upon themselves to kill the dark wizard who had killed numerous muggles with the darker spells. While the mystics had no problem with the spells, they could not stand by and do nothing when someone used them to kill. So, while they were hunting, they ran into the contract killer who was riding that broom at the time and engaged them in combat. After a long battle of 30 minutes, the contract killer was downed when the mystics used a flock of hawks to distract him then hit him in the skull with a bone breaker. The broom was retrieved and studied at length. It had a built-in disillusionment spell activated by tapping a rune. A rune was etched into the handle to control the twigs and consequently control the movement of the broom. A wand holder and the tip of the broom sharpened to act as a javelin though Harry could not understand why anyone would use a broom to impale someone. It was also apparently enchanted to fly as you wished and the charms were done so that the rider could not fall off the broom in any case.
Hearing about the qualities of the broom, some of which did not impress him much, he decided to test it. As soon as they reached the deck, he mounted the broom and kicked into the air. Within seconds he was airborne and looking down he realised that he was flying at a height he had never flown before. This was exhilarating. Looking back, he found that the mystic was tailing him on a firebolt. Deciding to test the speed, he willed it to go faster to its maximum speed. Soon the broom was whistling through the air at such a speed that he found it hard to breathe with the wind in his face. He slowed down and found that he had left the ship far behind, but; the mystic joined him again after a few moments. While flying he somersaulted in the air, did the famous barrel roll, sloth grip roll and just for fun, he did the Wronski feint while the mystic just kept flying beside him smiling but saying nothing. When the time came to return to the ship, the mystic shot his broom up and within moments, he was invisible to the eye. A few seconds later, Harry saw him rushing to the deck at such a speed that Harry was sure he was going to plow himself. Suddenly the mystic jumped from the broom while grabbing the handle in his hand and disapparated. With a pop, he appeared on his broom, flying beside Harry. Harry's heart leapt to his throat at the sight of the dive. The mystic was shouting in joy at the top of his lungs and as they were about 200 meters above the deck, he disappeared again. Harry was surprised to see him disappear like that but in a moment he realised that the mystic had appeared on the deck, grinning like a lunatic and beckoning Harry to come down.
Harry was impressed with the mystic's flying. He had not done any of the moves like Harry had been showing off with, but he did something which Harry had not thought possible. Harry had seen professional quidditch players in action and none of them could do what the mystic had done. But then Harry remembered that Quidditch stadiums had anti-apparition wards around them so to jump from a broom like that would be suicide.
As he landed, he was accompanied to the dinner hall where food was served. While it was no Hogwarts feast, the food was delicious. What he did notice was that many of the men did not even touch any of the meat but other things on the table. And there was no juice or any drink other than water. After he had his fill, he picked up the glass of water which seemed to vibrate in his hand. Blaming the sensation on his tiredness and thinking that he was imagining it, he took a large sip and felt like someone had just fed him an elixir. With each gulp of water, he could feel his magic singing and he was relaxed within minutes, all his tiredness gone.
But, the effect of the wonderful water did not last long. After dinner, he was about to drop from exhaustion. The mystic who had accompanied him on his flight earlier carried him to his cabin where he crashed on the bed and immediately went to sleep.
Black Town House, London
The children who had been to training returned in the evening looking a little worse for wear. They were tired and fell asleep as soon as they reached their rooms except Hermione Granger. She had sought the Marauders out and asked them for books that they may have for her to study.
She had cut her holidays short when Fawkes found her in her hotel room in Italy. She had been reading a book in her room which she had picked up from a store in the magical section of the city. While Hermione had gone there with her family to visit and enjoy her vacation, she had met a man at the airport who was dressed like a wizard does when he goes out in the muggle world. She asked him where the magical part of the city was and, after letting her parents know, took a magical taxi there. The bookstore there was huge and the number of books had her salivating. She bought a few books which she found interesting and had returned to her room when Fawkes appeared in a flash of flame, a letter in his talons. Opening the letter, she was surprised by the invitation that Dumbledore had sent to her. She immediately replied in a lengthy letter that she was ready to end her vacation and come back to train. The next day, she received a portkey which brought her to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. She was baffled at this. No one could appear in Hogwarts by a portkey or apparate in the grounds. When she raised her question to the head master, he merely chuckled and told her it was part of head master privileges. While she wanted to know more, she could not exactly goad the head master into telling her.
As she sat in the head master's office, she could not contain her query. Finally she asked the headmaster, "Professor, what is this training program? Who else is going to participate? Where will we train? How can we use magic during summer?"
Dumbledore smiled at her inquisitiveness, "Miss Granger, this training program is for Harry's friends who are always around him. Mr. Potter has a knack for attracting trouble, a fact which you can attest to. So, a few of us in the order decided that you all need to be trained sufficiently so that you are able to hold your own in a duel. While you have a commendable repertoire of spells, merely knowledge of spells cannot win you a fight. In this training you will be trained to use those spells among other things. This training is being imparted so that young Harry does not have to worry about the safety of his comrades if he finds himself in a sticky situation. You, the Weasley children, Miss Bones and Mr. Longbottom have been scheduled to take part in this training. You will all be training in a location which is situated in a magical settlement so you will not have to worry about being reprimanded for underage magic. The ministry will not be able to track any magic you do while in training."
While she pondered over what she had been told with her brow furrowed, she noticed something Dumbledore did not mention, "Professor, you did not say if Harry was going to train with us."
Dumbledore smiled at her, "Mr. Potter has made other arrangements for training. He has agreed to take training under some very accomplished masters who will be teaching him things which are not available to ordinary wizards."
"But that is bias. Why is he being trained under different teachers than us. He does not even have the best grades,' she protested, 'I think this is discrimination. Is it because he is the boy-who-lived?"
Dumbledore frowned at her. He knew that Miss Granger was a very competitive individual but he had not thought that she would complain about something which she did not understand. It looked like she had the perception that everyone should have the same access to everything. A rather mundane muggle concept but it did not apply to magicals. He decided to curb her competitiveness a little before it got worse, "Miss Granger, the things that Harry will be learning are rather arcane arts which cannot be performed by everyone. While you have the best grades courtesy of your eidetic memory, you simply are not as powerful as him. The wizard power index which gauges a wizard or witches power has gauged you at 50 which means, you will be around 85 by the time your magical core is fully mature. while Harry Potter stood at 110 before the third task and as of now, he is pegged at 200 and by the time his core has completed its growth, he will easily clear 380 which is more than me or Voldemort. The Arcane arts he will be learning cannot be performed by any wizard or witch below 100 points. The only one in your class who is nearly as powerful as him is Neville Longbottom who will be around 250 by the time his core fully matures."
Hermione was astounded. She knew about the index but she had not known her power levels. Wizarding Britain was averaging around 75 for the last few generations and while 85 sounded pretty respectable, it looked like a trifle when compared to 380. And to think that Neville was that powerful was simply mind boggling. He had never shown any such power in the last 4 years. May be there was something that she had missed. She was miffed that she could not access the arts that Harry was being taught but she still had the gift of knowledge and Harry Potter depended on her to find a solution when there was a problem.
Dumbledore gave her the Fidelius Secret and had sent her to her home via the Phoenix Express. After packing her trunk, she was whisked away to the headquarters of the order where she was bunked with Ginny. Ginny was still feeling disenchanted with everything and was keeping herself to herself, so she wasn't much of a roommate. This morning Hermione Granger had realised how much she relied on Harry Potter in situations such as these where she required him to act. He was quick with a wand and swift in immediate responses.
As of now, she was sitting in front of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, "Sirius, do you have any books in this place?"
Sirius smirked mischievously, "The house of Black has quite an extensive library, Hermione. At last count, there were some 1,000 or more books in there."
Hermione immediately went into her customary rapid fire, "Where is it? Can I see it? What kinds of books are in there?"
Remus kindly said to her, "The library is situated on the 2nd floor but no one here save for Sirius, Tonks or her mother can enter."
She frowned, 'Why can't anyone enter the library?"
Sirius off-handedly said, "Because the entrance is warded by blood wards and only those possessing the blood of the House of Black may enter."
She immediately started ranting, "But blood magic is illegal. No one can use blood wards. And why is it that only members of the House of Black can enter the library?"
Now Sirius gave her his full attention, "Hermione, you are very bright and you learn things quickly, but; there is still so much of the wizarding world that you do not yet understand. Some wizarding families are very old. We have our own magic and many other special achievements which are considered our proprietary magic. These things are considered our private property and are not shared. The wards which protect them are older than the ministry, its laws and even Great Britain as a nation. Besides, there is a lot of stuff in there that is downright dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt or worse."
"But what about the muggle born and half bloods? I think it is barbaric and archaic to keep magic contained in families. It should be made illegal. It is all part of the pureblood tripe that you-know-who and his followers spew", she continued her rant.
Sirius just shook his head, "You know, when Moony told me that you are smart like Lily, I had thought you would think like her. While she always thought she was muggle born and was pretty vocal about their rights and better treatment, she understood the family magic and proprietary magic. She did not just slap a label on everything she didn't agree with as archaic or barbaric, but; she studied things before forming her opinion. While I do not take offense at your words, some well meaning pure bloods who do not support the pureblood ideology of Voldemort (she shuddered) like the Weasleys would be offended by your words."
Hermione had never been chastised by Sirius of all people but she could see his point. She had been spouting her opinion without even listening to other people. She never even thought that there might be another facet to something that she did not know about. In the last few weeks, twice she had been humbled and perhaps it was time to stand back and do some introspection.
"I can remove the blood wards," Sirius's voice cut in on her thoughts, "but the library is full of books on dark magic and magic that has not been seen for ages. There are books on the black family magic which cannot be read by anyone other than a Black and if anyone else even touched them, they would be cursed horribly. For your own safety, I must insist that you are supervised at all times while you are in that library and in fact you are not allowed in the inner parts where the most dangerous books are. However, there are several books which were recently bought by your former Professor which would be useful to all of you."
She instantly perked up knowing that Remus would not select books for them which were dark or dangerous.
Sirius called Winky, who appeared with a loud crack. Sirius told her that the students were to be permitted to use the library under the three conditions that they were not to touch any of the dangerous books, no book was to be taken from the library and that they were limited to no more than five hours per day. All three conditions were to be strictly enforced. He waved his wand and muttered something under his breath. Then, his instructions delivered, he asked Winky to take Hermione to the library.
She immediately followed Winky into the room, occupied a table and started working on her Summer homework.
The Marichika
Harry Potter woke up early in the morning to a loud noise and for a few moments he could not get his bearings and it took a minute before he realised that he was on the flying ship. Wiping sleep away from his eyes, he emerged on the deck, where he found the mystics engaged in exercise. What astonished him was that they all were engaged in muggle exercises. Some of them were running laps of the deck, a few were doing push-ups and some were lifting heavy weights which they evidently had conjured. A couple of them were flying on brooms and some of them were sitting in meditation as Harry had seen them do. What was different was that they were no longer flying. The ship was rising and falling with the gentle, slow rhythm of the ocean swells. Sometime during the night, they had landed the ship.
Harsh was in the crow's nest. When he saw Harry, he climbed down with a speed and grace almost supernatural and leaped the last twenty feet and landed softly on his feet. Grinning at Harry, he said, "Good Morning Mr. Potter. I hope you had a restful night."
"I had a restful night, thank you", he replied, "But I have a lot of questions."
Harsh laughed, "I know. I have been procrastinating answers from you like your head master however it was not my intent. We were in haste these last few days. Now I can start answering these questions but I beg you to be discrete and do not ask questions which are rather personal."
After a hearty breakfast, they were sitting in Harsh's suite.
Harry began, "Who are the mystics? I have heard hints and whispers of you and things you have done. Other people seem to hold you in awe. But, who are you really? My curiosity is piqued."
Harsh pondered the answer for a moment before he began, "when Great Britain was still Avalon and the world knew of magic, there was a time when some wizards started using magic for nefarious purposes. These wizards were very powerful and adept in ways of magic. They by their deeds dishonoured Mother Magic and kept doing so. Anyone who wanted to stand up to them was killed. In those times, the ancient lands of magic India, Greece and Egypt were prominent and to deal with this menace, some Indian warlords who were very powerful due to being descended from very ancient families formed an order which had access to all ancient magics. The chief work of this order was to eliminate those who defile magic; they also worked in keeping a balance in the society. Evil has always been in the society, sometime at the fringes, sometimes in its full glory. Therefore, to combat evil and to serve mother magic, a group of Wizards of Aryavarta formed an order. Since then we have been fighting evil. Sometimes we are able to nip it in the bud, sometimes we fight full-fledged wars."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. He could understand how old the order was and the noble purpose for which it was formed. "My second question is how old are you? That is, if it is not too personal a question", he asked the mystic.
Harsh was silent for a few moments before he replied, "it has been so long that I answered this question that I cannot even remember however I was old when your house was formed. Avalon was populated by wizards and powerful families which precede all the houses. There were three houses which are considered Reverent houses meaning any descendant of those Houses is more important than others and they get 5 votes on the Wizengamot instead of the traditional 2. Those were the house of Pendragon from which came King Arthur sometime later, the house of Le Fay which produced the nefarious witch Morgana and the House of Peverell which produced the three brothers- Cadmus, Antioch and Ignotus. The House of Pendragon went extinct some generations before Arthur was born. It was due to his ancestry that the wizarding world bowed to him as its King. The house of Le Fay was broken in three houses of which only house Greengrass remains."
"The three brothers?", harry asked, "Which three brothers? I have not heard about them."
Harsh smiled at him, "Three brothers in the story written by Beedle the Bard. The three brothers named Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus who became the last lords of the House of Peverell before it was merged with Potters. Antioch was lord of the House of Peverell's before he was killed by an enemy of his and he was succeeded by his brother Cadmus who killed himself in grief over his lost love and lastly there was Ignotus who coincidentally happens to be the last war mage of Avalon. Their glorious tale has been reduced to a children's story We, the mystics have been visiting Avalon since the time that the council of Lords which was founded by Merlin ruled upon magical Britain as representative of the crown. I personally met Myyrdin when he was assisting Arthur in reclaiming his throne."
Harry was shocked. The mystic did not look like he was older than Sirius and to hear him tell of Merlin as if he knew him personally was astounding. He could not close his mouth before words tumbled out, "But you do not look like you could be more than 40."
Harsh did not say anything but shot a stinging hex at him and Harry yelped in surprise. What Harry didn't notice right away, was that the mystic had not used a wand to cast the spell. While Harry was gathering his wits about him, the mystic shot a barrage of stinging hexes at him, making him whip out his wand and hastily produce a shield. Harry was always proud of his power and the shield he had produced could take a good pounding before it gave way. He had practiced his shield with Hermione and Ronald where they had shot everything that they knew at him and his shield had always lasted at least 15 minutes. He was confident that his shield would hold up longer against the lone efforts of Harsh's attack. He quickly realised he was in for a surprise when after about a dozen stinging hexes, his shield shattered. He erected another and it gave away after another few shots.
A good half an hour and around 60 welts later, Harry Potter was tired from all the magic he had spent erecting shields when he finally gave up and slumped down on the deck panting.
Harsh immediately levitated him upside down and barked, "Constant Vigilance, Mr. Potter. I cannot believe that you can give up defending yourself so easily. Has the recent events did not teach you yet to remain alert to your surroundings? You thought I was playing with you? This was your first lesson, Mr. Potter. Never ever turn your back on an enemy who is still standing or he will hex you in the back."
Harry was sufficiently chastised. He had started to enjoy the trip and was thinking that he would be able to relax and enjoy his time aboard the ship. He had relaxed his vigilance and now he was paying the price.
Harsh released the Levicorpus and Harry crumpled to the deck. Before he could collect his wits, Harsh zapped him with another stinging hex and, sufficiently motivated, he quickly conjured a new shield and climbed back to his feet. Harry's reserves were gone and he felt his strength waning, but; he was going to pass-out cold before he let Harsh zap him again.
Now that Harsh could see that Harry was taking this seriously and knowing that Harry was on the point of exhaustion, he lowered his wand and gently told him, "At ease, Mr. Potter. This lesson is over."
Harry lowered his wand, wavering where he stood as he relaxed and looking down, he murmured, "I am sorry Mr. Harsh Vardhana. I will try to keep sharp from now on."
Harsh looked into his eyes and Harry shivered. Harsh's black eyes were intense and there was a strange kind of power in them. Harry had looked at Voldemort eye to eye and he had never felt that kind of power but this was different. He sensed that those eyes were looking into his soul.
"Mr. Potter," Harsh was saying, "I have known you for a month now and yet we are the stage of using this prefix of Mr. for each other. For the summer, I am going to be your teacher and in India, we have different culture than England. While I have no aversion to any place or culture, for me and my mystics, teacher is on a pedestal higher than god. We address our teachers as 'Guru' meaning teacher however if you do not like, you can call me sir and likewise I will call you Harry."
Harry thought it over for a moment. Until he learned of his heritage, he had been Harry to others and likewise he called them by name. As for his teachers, they had more of a professional relationship with the students and what Harsh was explaining felt like a familial bond to him. An Apprentice, if you will. He had been noting that the purebloods even the light ones like Longbottoms and Weasleys practiced certain manners which he once would have called snobbish but perhaps there was some reason behind these customs and manners. He knew that while not everything was good there were some things which needed to be kept. In his quest to defeat Voldemort, he would have to ensure that the wizarding world did not change its identity altogether. While some practices decidedly could not be retained, some were worth saving. As to Harsh's offer, he had made up his mind already.
He turned to Harsh, "I would be honoured to address you as Guru. I would like to learn your ways and customs and add them to my own. I recall having read recently that in the older days, newly graduated wizards used to go touring the world so that they could experience the customs and ways of other people first-hand as well as learn other magic. I have the opportunity to visit your land, one which has an ancient and rich history, culture and magic. I would like to make the very best of it."
Harsh smiled at him producing an enchanted piece of string, "Harry, whenever we take a new student, we tie this thread to their wrists. This is enchanted to inform me if you are in trouble ever and this is a sign of a bond between a teacher and his student. Another hidden purpose of it is to remind you that you have been taught by a teacher and that if the time ever came, that teacher can call upon you to serve him. If he ever has to call on you, then the teacher unties the thread meaning you are free of the debt. May be I will never have to call a favour on you and I will untie it the day you will come back. So, do you accept?"
Harry readily accepted and Harsh tied the red and yellow thread on his wrist chanting something. As he finished tying the thread, the thread glowed golden before it returned to its original color.
Harry was looking at it in surprise while Harsh was looking curiously at him, "This happens when mother magic approves of something that is done. If she had not wished so, the golden glow would never have come. Now this thread cannot be untied by me before I make you ready for the task that is your stepping stone to a greater destiny."
Harry nodded his head and wondered at how every single one of his steps had a deeper meaning. He had never stopped to consider the consequences of his actions before but now that he did, he was beginning to realize that his every action and choice had consequences.
Harry turned to Harsh, "Guru, what...".
Harsh cut-in quickly, "Guruji, Harry. That is the correct title. I would not insist upon it but others may think little of you or may think that you are a little boy trying to
show-off."
Harry nodded. "Umm Guruji, what is the story of the men who met us when we went to St. Mungo's?", he asked the mystic.
Harsh smiled, "I was wondering when you were going to ask me about that. The men who met me are parts of the Chayya (shadow) whose work is to carry out covert tasks. They are kind of our intelligence gathering units who work in shadows to gather intelligence or information. From the time you left Hogwarts at the end of Summer Holidays, we have had a shadow present around you all the time. He has been present there in your room at the Black Townhouse where he popped at time to keep vigil over you. When we had to visit St. Mungo's, he was present in your kitchen and after listening to Dumbledore, he silently left and went to scout around St. Mungo's and found two of the death eaters lurking in corners, avoiding eyes of ordinary wizards when our shadows cornered them and took them captive. Since then they have been in care of the shadows."
He clapped his hands and the men Harry had met the other day, appeared before them. Bowing low, he bent touching Harsh's feet, "Guruji, you called?"
Harsh asked him, "Nayak Himvat, have our guests told you anything of consequence?"
Himvat grinned maliciously, "At first they were reluctant and even had the guts to threaten us with the name of that abomination on Mother Magic. But when Meru Dand used them as whet-stones for sharpening knives, they sung like the koyal in the morning."
Harsh smirked at his nayak's expression, "I trust you have not killed them because I was looking forward to have some enlightening conversation with them."
Himvat grinned, "They have been free boarders of the prison since the last few days and their trash talk has been grating on my poor ears. The sooner you have enlightenment from them, sooner my ears will relax."
Harsh stood, "Very well. Tell Sumerdhwaj to get the ship airborne. I will have my enlightenment and then we will have to pace up our journey. I do want to go all the way like a muggle cruise. I wish to see the Indian coastline by morning tomorrow."
Harry accompanied Harsh to the lowest deck where there had been nothing but empty space. Tugging at a spot in the air, he grasped it and whispered something and a door appeared followed by a prison. There were two men in the room hanging upside-down in chains. Harry thought that they could have apparated but soon realised that perhaps the chain was enchanted to prevent apparition.
Harsh lowered the two men to the ground. "Hello my esteemed guests. I am very sorry that I could not already come and welcome you to our ship but I had been busy. We will remedy the situation now. So, why don't we take off your masks before we talk", he winked at Harry, "that will make our conversation easier since I would be able to understand you better."
One of the death eaters snarled, "You cannot take it off, fool. This is a gift of our great master and only he or I can take it off."
Harsh had not lost his calm demeanour and spoke in his jovial tone, "Then either your master is too vain or you are a fool to think he is infallible." Harsh gestured and immediately their masks started to smoke. Harsh lowered his tone and menaced at the prisoners, "The abomination you call master thinks that he is the most powerful wizard."
The men were pulling at their masks, trying to get them away from their faces as the masks smoked more and began to burn.
Harsh continued, "But, he is a great fool. I can easily remove those masks, and your faces with them if I so choose."
Now the death eaters were howling in pain as their masks burst into flame. They became frantic as they tried to get the flaming things off their faces. With another gesture from Harsh, the masks vanished with the flames, revealing the two faces. Harry recognized them immediately. They were Crabbe Sr. and John Caldwell, two of the death eaters who were present in the graveyard the night when Voldemort returned.
Harsh smiled at the men, "Now that I have seen your charming faces, maybe you should start talking about what that abomination that you call master, is doing. And remember gentlemen, you lie for once and I will make you regret it forever."
Crabbe Sr. who apparently was a larger and smarter version of his son, started to speak, "the dark lord is recruiting more people to his cause. We were sent to scout the hospital and discover any weaknesses in its defences. Last time, he was not able to take St. Mungo's which had become a sanctuary for the injured. He wanted us to study the wards and find out how much time it would take to break them if the need arose. We were also told to make note of the prominent healers who could be abducted and used for his bidding. We had just started that day and were caught."
Harsh nodded at his words and tilting his head to the side turned to Caldwell, "What he has been doing and how many have pledged their loyalty to him yet?"
Caldwell refused to open his mouth. Harsh simply fast-drew his wand and shot a bone breaker at the man's chest. It struck him with such a force that Harry could hear his bones breaking and the man cried out loud. Seeing his friend in such a desperate position, Crabbe immediately started again, "the dark lord has been busy recruiting. He is also trying to pick up a glass orb in the department of mysteries. Something is in there and will give him an edge in the upcoming war but we have been unable to pick it up yet. One of his followers, Marcus Flint tried to pick up that orb from the shelf and since then has been in St. Mungo's. Last I heard, he had appointed some of his inner circle men to pick up the said object without any harm coming to us. He has also sent envoys to the giants to bring them in on our side."
Harry shuddered thinking of giants coming in to aid Voldemort. He had known two half giants in his life and had seen the amount of ridicule that they had to face for their heritage. He could not even think of what would happen if there were some giants in the war. He remembered Dumbledore had sent Hagrid on some mission during the summer vacation and guessed that perhaps Hagrid was going to the giants with Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons.
Harsh who had been silent all this while, turned to the death eaters, "You gentlemen have told me all you know and it is time that you leave our ship. I detest free loaders."
He clapped his hands again and two mystics appeared, "Yes Master."
He turned to the mystics, "we are flying through the zone where there is abundance of predator birds. Last I remember they were fond of partridges. These two fine gentlemen here have offered to feed those birds. Take them to the bow."
The guards hauled the death eaters out of the cell and took them to the bow with Harry and Harsh following closely. As they reached the bow, Harsh drew his wand and with a quick gesture, the two death eaters were replaced by partridges. "Mr. Potter, would you like to do the honour of feeding the predators?"
Harry could not bring himself to do it. It was true that the two death eaters had killed many people, but; Harry was not a killer. He had caused the death of Quirrell, but; that was a life and death struggle, with a walking corpse possessed by Voldemort and it was more like an exorcism than a killing. There was the shade of Tom Riddle in the chamber of secrets, in that case, he had not attacked the human looking thing directly, but; destroyed the diary with the very same basilisk fang which had pierced his own arm. This was different. This was an execution, cold, calculated and deliberate. Even though his parents and grandparents had done their best to convince him of the need to kill, he still could not bring himself to do it, not this way. He shook his head to the mystic telling him that he was not ready to take a life.
Harsh merely shrugged and tossed the partridges into the air. Harry watched in horrified fascination as the two of them dived desperately toward the ground, hopeful of finding some cover there. But, to no avail. A griffon swooped down out of the sun with blinding speed, then all that remained of the partridges was a few drifting feathers.
Harry felt like throwing up but Harsh shot a spell at him and his queasiness was gone in the next moment. Feeling the need to get his thoughts in order, he retired to his room where he remained until he was summoned by Harsh.
Longbottom Castle
Neville arrived at the castle early in the morning and was surprised to see his parents sitting at the window of their room in the chairs that had been conjured by the healer. These chairs had been prescribed by the healer for them till they were in the prime of their health again. Augusta was happy to buy two of them. These chairs served the same function as muggle wheelchairs with the difference being that they could be moved with intent. The user only needed to think of a specific function and the chair would do it.
Frank and Alice were looking out at the ring of trees in the distance and talking in low voices. Neville did not want to listen to their private conversation, but; mention of Harry Potter made him falter.
"Frank," Alice was saying, "I want to bring Harry to live with us as soon as we are fit enough to care for him. He looked so lonely and small. I remember James at his age was well built and quite the charming young man. Either Sirius Black has failed in his duties or he is not around or he would not have let any harm come to Harry. In any case, when we get shot off that bothersome healer, I am going to discover the truth and if I find that the mutt is still around and failed in his duties, then I swear by Merlin that I will neuter that mutt."
Neville snorted hearing his mother cussing and they turned to him. Frank was smirking at him while he mock frowned at him, "How long exactly have you been eavesdropping on our private conversation, young man. Has no one ever taught you that is not proper."
Neville put on an air of offended innocence, "I am sorry, Father. I could see that the two of you were talking and I was about to leave when I heard Mother mention Harry Potter. I just could not resist staying to hear what she would say about him. Imagine how my innocent, young ears burned to hear her cuss so."
Alice, joining in with the spirit of the thing, adopted an air of utmost contrition, "My dear boy, I shall have to wash my mouth out with soap.". Then, more seriously, "Young man, if I ever catch you listening in on our private conversation again, I shall have words with you when I get out of this infernal Chair."
Neville did his best to feign mortification and abject horror at being thus threatened. Frank, no longer able to contain himself, burst out laughing. Alice and Neville tried to maintain their charade, but; one look directly at Frank and they were undone. They laughed until they were clutching their stomaches and tears flowed from their eyes.
Frank sobered up after a while, "Now Neville, these past few days that we have been back in the world of the living, you have only asked of our past and told nothing of the present or how things are going in the world yonder. We are strapped here in these infernal chairs away from the world. It makes me wonder if we are any better off now than we were when we were trapped in our own mindscapes."
Alice glared at Frank, "Speak for yourself Frank. I for one am very happy to be here joking with the two of you and being able to embrace my son and my husband once more. We are on the mend and will be strong again soon enough. My mindscape, without the two of you, was a very lonely place indeed."
"Mindscapes? You have both mentioned mindscapes. What are they?", Neville asked curiously.
Alice's face fell then she started out, "Do you mean to say that you haven't started... That your grandmother didn't teach... Oh! Neville… I am so sorry." Then she collected herself and started to explain, "A mindscape is a construct of magic and your mind. It serves some vital functions. First and formost, it is a defence against Legilimency, preventing unwanted intrusions into your thoughts, feelings and memories. As such, it is part of the art of Occlumency . Second, it is a valuable tool to help you to organize and retrieve important information, things like core memories, facts and your spells. Third, and this is what saved your father's life and mine, it can also be used as a place of retreat to protect your mind and soul when you are subjected to torture or unbearable pain from injury."
There was one thought there which Neville latched on to with enthusiasm, "Do you mean that if I had a proper mindscape, that I would be able to store and retrieve important information with ease? Mom! I have struggled with a terrible memory and this would be a huge help! Why do they not teach this at Hogwarts?"
Frank, who had been content to listen to his wife teach, took the lead now, "My son, there are some things of which we never speak outside of pure-blood families. This is one of them. Had I not been in a coma, I would have begun your training around the age of eight. As it was, this would have fallen upon your grandmother. I am so sorry that you have struggled. I will begin your training as soon as I am strong enough."
Neville had a lot to think about, but before one more moment passed, he needed to let his parents know that Gran had done her best, "Mother, father, Gran did try to teach me. I had no idea of what it was or how it would help me and ... well, I didn't try very hard."
Frank softened a bit. This is his son and he fully accepted responsibility for his failure. Then he remembered that it was his father who had instructed him. Perhaps his mother was not much of a teacher. He began, "It's alright Neville. I will teach you as my father taught me. I hope that now that you understand how important this art is, that I will find nothing lacking in your efforts to learn it. In the meantime, please ask healer Lynn to instruct you in meditation. You will need to know how before we can begin."
Neville brightened at this, "Yes sir! I will be ready when you are."
"Just one more thing, Neville. Please don't choose a forest mindscape. You'll have a devil of a time finding anything in one of those."
Neville instantly perked up, "Forest mindscape? That would be amazing!"
Frank turned to Alice to see a broad smile across her face. "He is my son, Frank", she said with visible pride.
Frank sighed, "Yes Neville. This charming lady here, who I have the honor to call my wife, has a forest mindscape and she had a lot of animals in the forest. I once tried to enter and was baffled at the first step when I ran into an Acromantula. As I ran away from the beast, I was goaded by a Unicorn. Running from them, I fell into a river and then I decided to make my exit before any harm came to me."
Neville turned to his mother who was looking a little sad, The last 14 years have not been kind to my beloved mindescape. By the time Harsh found me, the trees were all uprooted and burned and all the creatures were dead with the exception of one Romanian Longhorn who was my protector. It is the only defense I have right now."
Frank shuddered to hear what had happened to her mindscape and seeing the effect it had on Neville, he spoke to distract him, "Neville, I know that you are under orders from the healer not to say anything, but; answer a few of my questions anyway."
Neville knew he should not tell him anything, but; he could not refuse a direct request from his father. He merely nodded, "I will answer those questions which will not open a whole can of flobberworms."
Frank grinned, "Excellent. Now tell us if Dumbledore is still around? Are Sirius, Remus and Peter alive? What happened to Voldemort? What happened to the war?"
Neville could not answer those questions without other questions being asked, "Father, it pains me to refuse you, but; the questions you have asked would lead to more questions which I am not at liberty to discuss with you at this time."
Frank did not chastise Neville but grumbled about telling off the healer.
So it was that Healer Lynn found them in the chairs and when she tried to use a diagnostic spell, Frank stopped her saying that he would not allow her to cast any spell unless she permitted Neville to answer his questions.
Consequently, half an hour later, Augusta Longbottom arrived at the castle. After a quick diagnostic, Augusta agreed to allow some questions to be answered while Healer Lynn monitored their condition. If they became over-excited or showed signs of stress, she would call a halt to it and no more questions would be answered for another week. Although Frank wasn't too happy about it, he agreed to his mother's terms.
As Neville was asked the questions, it fell upon him to answer them, "Albus Dumbledore is still alive and in good health in the position of head master at Hogwarts. Sirius Black and Professor Lupin are also alive. Peter Pettigrew is in the custody of the DMLE head, Madam Bones who is going to try him for betraying the Potters. You-know-who was vanquished at Godrick's Hollow the night of October 31 1981 after killing Lilly and James Potter but failing to kill Harry. If anyone knows how that happened, they have not told me. In my first year at Hogwarts, he turned up again, possessing Professor Quirrell, the DADA teacher that year and Harry defeated him again. And again, if anyone knows how, they are not talking to me about it. Finally, I'm not clear on the details, but; Albus Dumbledore announced that he got his body back last June and he is active again. All the death eaters who claimed to be under the Imperius curse and bribed their way out of sentences in Azkaban when he fell, are working for him again. They are doing so quietly for now. Cornelius Fudge, the minister for magic, is being difficult. He is trying to silence or discredit everyone who believes that You-Know-Who is back and some are saying that he is being bribed.".
"Fudge!", Frank exclaimed, "they gave the position to Fudge? Did the wizarding world lose its mind? Fudge was a pacifist. Absolutely the wrong man for the job with a war brewing. He barely managed his department as it was. What happened to old cousin Barty? He was tough as nails and it was assumed that he was a shoe-in as the next minister."
Neville looked to his grand-mother before answering this time. He already felt that he may have said too much.
Augusta cast a meaningful glance at the healer who shook her head in response. She sternly glared at her son, "That will be quite enough for now, Frankie. We have agreed that you will have to wait for the rest of the answers. I promise next week, when you are stronger, you will be given more answers."
Frank did not say anything but pouted making everyone laugh.
Black Town House
Sirius was tired from the exertions of the day. Today there had been no training for the members of Harry's circle so he had taken Moony with him to the cottage on the hill where Moony had put him through his paces.
First the werewolf had made him run laps around the property for an hour. Then they duelled, keeping it to nothing stronger than stinging hexes. Sirius started off by dodging when he could and shielding when he had to, but; he was rusty and some of them got through. He managed to get a few stingers off himself, but that wasn't the point of the exercise. Now he was weary and sore from the run as well as smarting from the hexes that got through. But there was also the feeling of euphoria from a really good work-out after far too long a time. In spite of his aches and pains, he felt better than he had for a long time. He thought that even though he wasn't a teenager anymore, a couple of days rest and he would be back at it, stronger than before.
After Moony finished using him for a training dummy, the werewolf had him practice disarming while he kept disapparating all over the property, sometimes appearing behind Sirius and stunning him before disappearing again. Sirius had to work harder and concentrate harder because he wasn't using his old wand.
Amelia had told him that his wand was placed in ministry storage after he was arrested and last time she checked, the wand was under the best protection that the ministry could offer. The wand he was using belonged to the last Lord Black, Arcturus Orion Black. A lesser known secret about Arcturus Orion Black was that he was a master wand maker but he only ever crafted five wands in his entire life and he sold all of them to a wand maker who was on the payroll of the family of Black. Perhaps, he could convince Dumbledore to let him visit Mazarin.
As he stepped into the kitchen, he found himself being hoisted to the ceiling by one ankle by means of a muggle snare. A few moments later, the twins entered the kitchen, saw him, howled with laughter and then disillusioned him and left. Sirius smirked. He could rely on the twins to make things fun when it got monotonous. He quickly called Kreacher and the elf freed him in a matter of seconds. Then he gave some instructions to the elf and went to find Moony. He did not want to be in the house when his pranks became apparent and everyone started looking for the culprit behind the mayhem. He silently prayed that the witches in the house would never figure out that it was him.
He found Moony in the library and quickly explained why it would be a good time to make themselves scarce right now. Moony did not have to be told twice. The two of them left on the motorcycle the same minute. It was for just such occasions that the cottage on the hill was well stocked with provisions.
He thought that while he was hiding from the rest of the Order, he could send a letter to the wand maker and arrange a meeting. To do so would require some pretty creative planning. Good thing that he had brought the brains of the Marauders with him.
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