|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Author: mysty Story: Harry Potter and the Mystery of Myrddin's Torch Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: WIP Reviews: 0 Words: 40,548
They held hands as they walked near the pond at the Burrow. The sun was shining. Somehow the water was very still yet a small cool breeze rippled Ginny's long beautiful hair and blew her white sundress closer to her shapely curves. Harry carried his new sword in his other hand and she was admiring it. She looked up into his eyes and leaned in... The sunlight suddenly shone so brightly in Harry's eyes that he couldn't stay sleeping. Two bright green eyes were staring at him as he finally gave up and opened his. He was back in the four poster guestroom at Hogwarts. "Good morning, Harry Potter, sir," said Dobby happily. He threw the rest of Harry's curtains back to let in even more sunlight. ‘It must be late,' thought Harry. Looking at the small elf who was so happily moving around his room, Harry said, "What brings you here, Dobby? Shouldn't you be on your summer vacation or something? School hasn't started yet." "Harry Potter is joking with Dobby. Why would Dobby want to be away from work, especially when he has been asked to look after you, sir? What an honor!" "Who asked you to look after me, Dobby?" Harry wondered. "Did you see my new sword?" "Headmaster asked Dobby 'specially to look after Harry Potter. Is that your sword? It stung when I tried to clean it," answered Dobby. "I'll clean it myself. The scabbard especially needs some shining. I'm glad you'll be here, Dobby. Thanks for looking after me. Could you find a school owl to take this to the Burrow?" He held out the letter he had written to his friends the night before. Too excited to sleep, he wrote a letter addressed to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. He figured Dean couldn't get too upset about him sending a letter to Ginny if it was addressed to her brother and another friend, too. He had been careful not to include anything about the cave or the sword, just hinted that he had uncovered something interesting that he couldn't wait to share with them. "You're most welcome, sir. I am honored." Dobby looked very pleased as he disappeared. Harry headed off to the showers collecting the fresh clothes that Dobby had laid out for him. The bathroom was an en suite and beautiful. Not as large as the prefect's bathroom, but spacious. Harry took extra time under the showerhead thinking how nice it was to have time to himself. So much had happened in the last couple of days. There were so many things he wanted to figure out. When he came out of the bedroom, there was a breakfast tray on the table near the terrace with a note from Dumbledore asking him to join him as soon as he was ready. "...and bring your new sword," the note said. Harry was excited about the sword. The sparks and glow and the feeling of power that surged through him was like what happened when he first received his wand only stronger. Dumbledore would know what to make of it. He decided he would bring the sword and the box with the carving. It couldn't be a coincidence that the scene carved on the box depicted the area where they found the cave. The sword and box must be related. He wanted a better explanation than just it might have something to do with Merlin. What did Merlin have to do with the Potters? As he approached Dumbledore's office, Harry realized he did not know the current password. Last night he had sailed through with the Headmaster. He started listing wizard candies, then switched to Muggle sweets, finally getting the gargoyle to move by saying, "Maltesers." He couldn't imagine Dumbledore liking those, but it had worked so he moved on toward the Headmaster's office. He could hear voices as he knocked on the office door. He heard Professor Moody say, "It's Potter" before Tonks even opened the door for him. Professor Snape wasn't there, but Harry was greeted by many of the Order of the Phoenix, most of whom he knew. "Is this a good time, Professor Dumbledore? I can come back later," Harry offered. He knew they wouldn't want him to intrude on the Order's business. "Please, come in and stay, Harry. We've all been waiting for you. Many of us are curious to see the new sword you have acquired," Dumbledore said, while motioning Harry to a seat near the fireplace next to Remus Lupin. He took the box that Harry had brought and said so quietly that only Harry could hear, "Why don't we save this for later?" Harry nodded his response. "Morning, Professor Lupin. Did you get some good rest?" Harry asked. He looked pretty good considering he'd spent the last couple of nights in a cave and it was only a couple of days before the full moon. As Harry sat down, the room quieted. Everyone seemed to be looking at him expectantly. He looked up at Professor Dumbledore who seemed amused. His eyes twinkling, he said, "Harry, would you care to show us your sword?" Harry smiled. His new sword was cool. He held it out for everyone to see, then laid it on the table. The hilt was beautifully worked. Even though it fit Harry's hand perfectly and comfortably, it was covered with Celtic designs. On one side an elongated bird that could be a phoenix faced a snake. The snake's body and the bird's tail stretched out to become tendrils that were entwined in an elaborate Celtic knot. On the opposite side, a winged lion and a dragon faced each other, their hind legs elongated and twisted into a similar design. Maybe the symbols represented something significant. Maybe they were just meant to be decoration. "Do you know what the symbols mean, Professor?" asked Harry. "Minerva is the real expert here. What do you think, are they significant? Can they help us discover the origin of this fine sword?" Dumbledore deferred to her with a twinkle in his eye. Harry suspected that Dumbledore knew all about his sword, but wanted to give Professor McGonagall the chance to explain part of it. She reached out her hand to touch the sword, but Kingsley grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Right. Thanks for reminding me, Kingsley. I'll point instead. This is several centuries old. Difficult to really say how old since it is clearly a magical object. The symbols could have a different meaning today. We think of a serpent as a symbol of dark magic, but in ancient times a snake could have meant wisdom, cunning and reincarnation. Both the snake and the phoenix were symbols used to represent the cycle of life: life, death and rebirth. Both are powerful signs. The winged lion is a Griffin, a powerful magical creature that is virtually unconquerable. A dragon is the same, difficult to overcome, full of magical power. These are both powerful signs signifying strength and invincibility. As to whether or not these are symbols for decoration or they have some greater importance, I cannot say." She finished speaking and looked at Dumbledore. "Albus?" she said. She seemed to be asking him to comment. "Thank you for your assessment, Minerva. I have nothing to add. Except to suggest that Harry start fencing and sword fighting lessons this year. We don't usually teach that subject, but I would like to arrange a private tutor, if Harry and Professor Lupin agree." Dumbledore's eyes still had that twinkle. Teenager and new guardian looked at each other as if to say, 'that's right, we should both be consulted.' Remus raised his eyebrows questioningly. Harry nodded his reply. "I think that would be a good idea," Remus said. "Where could we find such a tutor?" "We have one here. I anticipated your response," answered Dumbledore, indicating the figure of a young man who was on the edge of the group leaning against a wall. He was not very tall, probably in his late twenties. His long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a black, short sleeved shirt and black pants - no robe. "Allow me to introduce Rhys Powell. He is a former Hogwarts student and a master swordsman. While he lives in Wales, he is willing to commute to Hogwarts on a part time basis to tutor Harry." The young man stepped forward and exchanged pleasantries with Harry and Remus. Rhys Powell seemed like a nice person, about the same age as Bill Weasley. Harry was struck by how awkward and formal Professor Lupin was toward him. He hadn't noticed it last night, but they had been in a special situation. He was glad for the presence of the crowd and Professor Dumbledore. All summer, he had hoped to talk with his old Defense Professor, Sirius' best friend. Now he was glad to have a little more time to prepare before he would have to face him alone. Everyone else broke into small groups to talk or gathered around the sword to take a closer look. The meeting in Dumbledore's office seemed to have reached a conclusion. People began to leave. *** The early morning sky was on fire over the Burrow. Clouds of brilliant red gathered on the eastern horizon promising a storm later in the day. Ginny was the only one up. Her parents must have risen even earlier because they had already gone for the day. She was sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea and daydreaming about walking around the pond with Harry. Only a few days ago, they had been walking down to swim, holding hands and talking. It had seemed like nothing could intrude on their world. Harry was telling her about the time he turned his teacher's hair blue. He'd been debating whether or not the twins lip gloss had turned her hair that exact shade of blue on the day he'd arrived. One moment they were laughing. The next moment, they had stopped walking without realizing it. Harry was smiling and looking deeply into her eyes. He had such amazing green eyes. She felt like they were pulling her toward him. Somehow he reached up and held her cheek, stroking her lower lip with his thumb as though to test how soft it was. Just then a screech interrupted them and they both looked up. Must have been a bird or something. Harry dropped his hand and they walked on as though nothing had happened. Did he almost kiss her? She'd never know. 'After the way Dean greeted me in Diagon Alley, he must think we are a couple. Are we? I haven't heard from Dean since July. I couldn't talk to Harry before he left. Everything went so quickly. One minute Harry was here and the next he was gone. And Cho! Why had she suddenly reappeared on the scene? Were they back together? Is that why Harry never kissed me? He seemed like wanted to.' It was all too confusing. Ron came stumbling in looking for food. Poor boy, he was a little helpless in the kitchen, especially for someone with an appetite like his. Ginny smiled at him fondly. "I'll make you some bacon and eggs if you like." "Thanks, Ginny, how long have you been up?" Ron asked as he took her place at the table. "Couldn't you sleep?" She looked pale and tired. "I'm worried about Harry," she said as though that explained everything. "Is that a Hogwarts' Owl?" A large brown school owl landed on the counter. "Sure enough, it's a letter from Harry," Ron said comfortingly to let her know he understood how she was feeling. "He's probably worried about you." Ginny rolled her eyes then turned toward her brother and looked at the letter he held. "It's addressed to you," she said, sounding disappointed. "It's addressed to all of us - even Hermione," answered Ron defensively. "Even Hermione," mimicked Hermione as she made her morning entrance. "Is that 'even Hermione' as in ‘just' Hermione or 'even Hermione' as in ‘Hurray, Hermione is included." Her voice held a trace of sarcasm, but she didn't really seem upset. A week ago she would have started a fight over this kind of comment. Now that Ron had declared his feelings for her, she wasn't as inclined to be insecure. Ron looked worried anyway. "I'm sure I'm always in the ‘Hurray, Hermione is included' camp. How about a good morning, beautiful, instead?" "Oh, you are getting better," she said running her hand across the back of his broad shoulders as she passed his chair and sat down. Ginny groaned inwardly. Flirting Ron and Hermione wasn't that much better than arguing Ron and Hermione. Maybe she just had to get used to it. Handing Hermione a cup of tea, she said, "Well, open the letter, Ron. What if it's urgent? What if he needs our help?" She couldn't help panicking a little bit. Harry wasn't there to calm her down. Ron and Hermione turned their heads in unison to level incredulous stares at Ginny, but neither said anything. Ron turned his attention back to the letter. He read it quickly and passed it over to Ginny. "He's fine. Sounds like he's run into some excitement. But more than anything, it sounds to me like he can't wait to see you." As she quickly scanned Harry's writing, she said, "He wrote the letter to all of us, Ron. Harry and I are just...we are..." Ginny struggled to find the end of that sentence. Ron and Hermione exchanged raised eyebrow looks, but again neither said anything. Ginny turned back to the bacon and eggs. ‘What are we?' She thought. ‘I know what Harry is. He's wonderful. I know that I want to be with him. If he just wants to be my friend, then I have to accept that. If Harry gets the idea that I want more than that, he will distance himself because he won't want to hurt me. Being friends is good. Friends are important.' Aloud she said, "You both know that Cho is the only girl Harry has ever fancied. She's the only one he's ever talked about. Right? We can't count Parvati Patil because she was his second choice for the Yule Ball and that was a long time ago. Now Cho's hurt and he has to help her. Harry has a lot to deal with in his life. The Dursleys, Voldemort." She brought two plates to the table filled with breakfast food and placed them in front of her brother and her best friend. They both gave her understanding looks. Their sympathy only made her feel exposed, as though they read all of her thoughts and feelings. ‘They think I'm a fool.' She couldn't take any more of their pity, and she couldn't pretend for one more second that she didn't love him. She raised her chin. "Harry needs all three of us to be his friendsnow. Whatever comes, good or bad, he is going to need his friends more than ever." With that pronouncement, she turned and fled outside. A moment later, a loud explosion rocked the Burrow. A/N: Thanks for beta-reading, Hollow Godric!
|