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Harry Potter and the Return of the Ancients | ||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All, All, Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, General Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 10 Summary: *** The author has been reminded via the e-mail address on file that this story is listed as incomplete and has not been updated since 2005 *** When a mysterious stranger from the past returns to take up his role in the war, he brings with him forgotten and forbidden magic from long ago, and an unsettling amount of knowledge about Harry Potter; his arrival heralds the Return of the Ancients. (A serious rewrite of Harry Potter and the Bond of the Gryphon - please read and review) Hitcount: Story Total: 5137 |
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A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Georgentosser, ZZ9PluralZAlpha, YamiPaladinofChaos and Omega of Team Graecisso. Georgentosser and ZZ9PluralZAlpha for being such awesome betas, YamiPaladinofChaos for inspiring my sadistic side, and Omega for (however accidentally) actually convincing me to write a better version of BotG. Disclaimers are in my profile. Also, the spelling of ‘Gryphon’ is a kind of tribute to Mercedes Lackey. At least, that’s what I’m saying. To be honest, I prefer that particular spelling over ‘Griffin’. One thing: Can anyone volunteer their services to make my story html'd? I tried and it came out all bahlooey, which will be why things will look confusing. I advise you to take a look at the version posted on ff.net. The link is http://www.fanfiction.net/~nimbirosa. Thank you. The Thunder’s Shadow — Part One Harry Potter and the Return of the Ancients Prologue — The Unseen Watcher Strong wings sprouted from his shoulder blades, black and gold like the flame-tipped cat’s tail protruding from under his cloak. Feline, hazel eyes tinted with amber gazed with quiet intensity into the scrying pool. “Harry James Potter,” he spoke softly. The waters rose and swirled, frothing before turning crystal-clear as images and events swirled within their depths. ~*~ It had been an accident. A pathetic, easy-to-prevent accident. Harry cradled the small body in his arms, weeping with frustration. It had not even been related to Voldemort! It had been because of Piers Polkiss, the substitute sitter that the Smiths had hired in Harry’s absence. Harry clenched his hands into fists. The stupid moron had left the stupid gas stove on, and it had blown that stupid nearby sack of flour up and that stupid explosion had taken two precious lives. If only Uncle Vernon hadn’t insisted on Harry doing the groceries that day. If only Harry had put up a larger fight about it. If only. If only…. Harry wiped away his tears. It would be useless to cry when he could do something else. He looked at Jordon’s still form, and his brows furrowed. Where was Sarah, her sister? Hastily rising to his feet, he ran to the nearest fireman. “Sir!” “What is it, kid?” “Did you find any other…bodies in the house?” “No, and anyone that’s still in there is as good as dead. I won’t risk my men going in there now — the entire structure’s going to collapse any minute.” Harry gritted his teeth. He was Harry-fecking-Boy-Who-Lived-Potter. He had his wand, and he had his magic. He teetered on the edge of indecision and caution for one precarious moment. What if he finally got expelled? “Screw the Ministry,” he decided, and, ignoring the fireman’s panicked calls to come back, he cast a flame-freezing charm on the fires and sprinted into the burning building. Harry coughed. He hadn’t counted on the smoke and sulphuric fumes, which made his eyes water, and caused him difficulty in breathing. Deciding that he if he was to be arrested or expelled by the ministry, then he might as well do it without being under the effects of some kind of smog poisoning, he cast the Bubble-Head charm on himself. That was better. He peered through the kitchen, the living room, the playroom, the dining room... Nothing. He made his way upstairs, strengthening the wood beneath him with a quick spell. Feeling the heat begin to affect him again, he redid the flame-freezing charm. “SARAH!” He screamed into the flaming house around him. “SARAH!” Harry strained to listen for an answer, any kind of reply to his call. The only thing that was willing to be heard, however, was the roar of the flames as they continued to lick at the walls and furniture. Making his way through the remnants of charred ceiling supports and walls, he used the Reductor Curse repeatedly on the doors, staying at a safe distance. If he had been standing directly in front of a door when he opened it, the result would have been a very scorched Harry Potter, even with the Flame-Freezer. The air rushing into the room would have fanned the flames, causing them to lurch outwards in a fiery inferno. Keeping this in mind, he searched the master bedroom, the bathroom, and the smaller bedrooms. No one was there! “SARAH!” He continued to scream her name, hoping against hope that she would hear and answer. He stopped in his tracks as he thought he heard the six-year-old’s voice answer him. “Ha…rry….” Harry thought his heart would thump out of his chest, so great was his relief. “WHERE ARE YOU?” “In…linen…the closet….” Came her muffled reply. He ran over to the linen closet in Jordon and Sarah’s bedroom and yanked it open. Huddled under a large amount of heavy fallen shelves, sheets and bedclothes was the little girl in question. A dirty, smoke-stained face looked out at him, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t wanna die, Harry,” she sobbed. Harry drew his wand and cast strengthening and reinforcement charms all around the immediate area as he dug her out of the closet. “Thank Merlin you’re all right,” he murmured, protecting her with the reinforced Flame-Freezer and Bubblehead charms. He glared fiercely into her eyes. “And you’re not going to die — not if I can help it.” “I — I don’t think I can stand,” she said dimly. Harry just shoved the rest of the blankets aside and picked her up, running to the staircase. CRASH! Harry swore and turned around as Sarah whimpered, burying her face in his shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll get you out of this mess in a few seconds,” he assured her, hating the way his voice shook. Harry looked around wildly. There was no real escape. Downstairs was out of the question — the stairs had just fallen in. Biting his lip, he looked out the window, the beginnings of a mad idea forming in his mind. ‘Yes…that could work….’ Harry tilted his frightened charge’s face to his. “Sarah, promise that you will trust me?” She nodded slowly, tears forming in her eyes. Harry’s jaw tightened as he checked outside the window again. There were a lot of muggles milling around outside in that street. He wouldn’t be able to do what he was planning without being seen by them. His lip curled. Like he gave a shite. “Cervicalis!” He incanted the cushioning charm. The lawn flashed a vivid blue before reverting to green. Harry turned to Sarah. “Remember your promise from earlier. Trust me, don’t squirm, don’t move. I’ll get you down there.” Sarah nodded, obviously petrified. Harry put her down, careful not to disturb her broken leg. “Wingardium Leviosa!” He levitated her out of the window gently, and she drifted slowly down to the ground. Harry sighed in relief as people flocked to her, giving her emergency first aid and splinting her broken leg. Harry looked at the cushioning charm. It was fading — he could not jump of the window now, as he had planned. Recasting the charm on the lawn was out of the question. It was, regrettably, one of those spells that could be cast only once in a certain place, or on a certain object. Once it had faded away, a minimum of five minutes had to be used to ‘rejuvenate’ the object enough for it to be used again. He didn’t have the time. He couldn’t use wingardium leviosa on himself, either. Levitation charms did not work on the caster without using up an obscene amount of energy — energy he did not have. He would have to climb down. He closed his eyes, trying to remember if there were any windows large enough for him to climb out of. The one in the master bedroom had melted, the glass dribbling a molten red-gold over the charred floorboards. The bathroom ones were too small, and couldn’t be opened. Blasting holes in walls would just weaken the house’s structure further and cause it to fall in sooner. Realising he didn’t have a choice, he made his way to the stairs. Casting another cushioning charm, he redid the flame-freezing one and — The last thing he knew was that the world was falling around him, blazing, burning. ~*~ The watcher cursed eloquently and let the scrying waters calm and settle once more. A heavy fist smashed into the stone masonry of the room in a fit of bad temper, leaving the part of wall in question fissured with cracks before they melted and fused together again. Exiting the room with a dramatic swirl of the rich red and gold material his cloak was composed of, he appeared to shimmer and melt. He was there one moment, and the next, gone. ~*~ Godric Gryffindor swore colourfully again as he made his way through the collapsing house, conjuring a shield that blocked solid objects and casting a flame-freezing spell of his own. “Damned boy,” he muttered to himself as he scanned the wreckage of the stairs where he had seen them cave in on his heir. ::He’s over here, Godric,:: Godric blinked and looked up at his Gryphon Bondmate. Dark gold with a black mane, wings and tail-flame, Pyrador was almost the size of the car and about half the weight of one. “How did you get here?” Godric demanded even as he unfurled his wings and flew up to where Pyrador was nuzzling Harry Potter’s still hand. ::Is that even important right now?:: The Gryphon-lion snapped angrily. ::His bubble-head and flame-freezer charms were negated by the shock of having the roof fall in on him — that was nearly five minutes ago. He’s been breathing in smoke for that long, and while that bloody pile of plaster and wood protected him somewhat from being burned, he’s still got some pretty bad ones so do something!:: Godric obeyed meekly, using his staff to levitate the fallen debris from the injured teen. His sharp intake of breath showed his shock at the teen’s condition. He knelt down immediately, golden fire spraying from his fingertips to flow through the young wizard. “Five broken ribs, three of which have punctured his lungs and the lungs themselves are black from smoke inhalation. There’s internal bleeding in the renal area, a fractured sternum, femur broken in two places, fractured cheekbone, shattered forefinger and hip, a lump on his head the size of a pigeon’s egg and he’s likely concussed. That’s not counting the numerous cuts and bruises. Some are bleeding freely.” ::Well, don’t just stand there!:: Pyrador shrieked once more. Godric winced as the blast of telepathic mind magic hit him. “All right, all right, just don’t kill me with your girly screaming,” he grumbled, knowing that his tone and words were childish but feeling unable to muster enough energy to care. He raised his hands, healing magic flickering at his palm. ::One moment, Chosen,:: Pyrador’s tone made him pause. ::If you heal him now, Albus will know what you have done!:: Godric’s thick eyebrows knitted together. “Talia’s old Bondmate?” ::Yes.:: Pyrador nuzzled Harry’s limp arm tenderly. ::Albus was once Bonded like us. He will know Gryphon healing magic when he sees it, and he is not so young that he does not remember you.:: “Indeed,” Godric murmured to himself. “All the same, Harry will need to be stabilised. He will not survive with wounds like this, and I know nothing of their new healing methods.” ::More’s the pity,:: Pyrador rumbled. ::That blasted Order of the Phoenix had better come soon. Wasn’t there supposed to be a guard standing by?:: Godric sighed. “There has been another attack, this time on that Minister’s home — what was his name again? Corny Pudge? Trudge? Sludge?” ::Fudge,:: Pyrador supplied. ::Hang on…I’ll get Sagezza, shall I? She should know the modern medical spells.:: “Please do,” Godric bit out as he began to weave a time suspension spell around his heir. Pyrador misted away in search of the woman in question. “How in Circe’s name do you get yourself into these fixes, Harry?” He sighed. A moment later an irate young woman appeared, straggly dirty-blonde hair flowing behind her. Her protuberant pale blue eyes were flashing in anger. “What has the idiot gone and done to himself this time?” She hissed quietly. “Hello Sagezza,” Godric pinpointed each of Harry’s injuries and she bit her lip. “You’ll have to revert to your true form. That body doesn’t have quite enough magic for this kind of healing job.” She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t, but I don’t have time to revert to my natural form. I can, however, draw on Cyanri for energy.” “As long as you hurry,” Godric sighed, finishing off the time suspension ward. Now, they could take as long as fifteen minutes to heal Harry when they would have had no time, as the Order was apparating — right now, the entire neighbourhood existed within the time space of two seconds. “Where is she, by the way?” ::Right here,:: the black and blue Gryphon-leopard said, settling back on her haunches. ::You had better hurry up. The Muggles are panicking, and Albus has just gotten wind of Harry’s predicament. I wouldn’t want to be Mundungus right now. The fool ran to report to Dumbledore as opposed to actually helping Harry.:: “How far off are they?” Godric asked Pyrador, who was shadowing the Order’s movements. He himself was warding the house so it would not collapse or cave in on them. Sagezza had opened up an energy channel from Cyanri to herself, and was cleaning up Harry’s internal bleeding. ::Close, too close. We have two options — we take Harry with us back to Rhy’da’Kohr and heal him there, or leave him outside and do an illusion fooling the Muggles into thinking he had just stumbled out and fainted from his injuries.:: Godric was torn. “We can’t take him now — he needs some kind of preparation. In fact, I do not think it would be prudent to separate him from this dimension until he has undergone his first transformation.” Pyrador thought about this. ::When is Thor due to arrive, then?:: “Today, in fact. It is the twenty-first sun of the seventh moon in this dimension, and only three candlemarks past noon. He will exit the portal soon — very soon, and his mate will do so two and a half score suns from now,” Sagezza said, now trying to mend the tissue of Harry’s torn lungs. “I think our best course of action would be to leave him for the so-called Order and place a selective memory bank within his mind. Perhaps mask his magical signature to keep him out of trouble.” ::Don’t you think that would get him into more trouble?:: Cyanri asked sardonically. “Hush, you,” Sagezza scolded. She swore as she let her hands fall in her lap. “We will have to let Thor Heal Harry. I managed to stabilise him for the time being, but if he is left for too long like this, then he is…well, he’s a gonner, as the folks say nowadays.” “Thank you, Sagezza. Does Akira know you are here?” Akira Kamaji was the Japanese Bonded that played Sagezza’s father. They were part of the Bonded intelligence network in the British Isles. Sagezza grinned ruefully. “Yes, he’s covering for us. I was supposed to go to the Weasleys’ place today, after all.” ::They’re right on their way here!:: Pyrador said from his vantage point high in the inter-dimensional area, which allowed him to see everything and everyone. ::My, doesn’t Albus look nice and mad,:: he added gleefully. Godric sighed and began to weave the illusion of Harry’s likeness as Sagezza concealed both Harry and herself, then lifted him with the mobilcorpus spell before steering him gently outside and onto the grass where she watched the wreckage of the burning house carefully. “My, Godric,” she murmured, watching the bruised and beaten Harry Potter stumbling over to her, hacking phlegm and blood, his eyes sore and swollen from the smoke. “Your illusions are very well done.” The illusory Harry’s right leg was almost dragging behind him, and his hand was a smashed mess. Suddenly, his eyes rolled up inside his head and he crumpled to the ground. Taking that as her cue, she moved the real Harry there and lifted the invisibility charm just as the illusion was dispelled. For a moment, everything was silent. Sagezza felt, rather than saw, Godric move to her, their two Bondmates flowing catlike to their sides. All were under the influence of strong invisibility charms and a silencing charm was cast on the area they stood in, so that they could hear, but others could not hear them. It was lucky they had done so, for Godric was seething. “See them? They care not for my heir, who is so much greater than they! He could snap their necks — all of them at once — with a snap of his fingers!” ::Peace, Godric,:: Pyrador rumbled, though his own hackles were raised. There was disgust on quite a few of the onlookers’ faces, and one or two actually turned and began to walk away. “Harry! Harry!” A little girl, five or six years old, with dirty chestnut curls had been fighting to run to the house the entire time, and she now broke away from the confining grip of another faceless adult. “HARRY!” She rolled him over, shaking him urgently. Sagezza and Cyanri winced at how that would feel to the injured teen, but made no move to reveal themselves. Suddenly, all four Bonded looked up to the sky. “He comes,” breathed Sagezza. A man strode out of the shadows. He was tall, taller than even Godric at over six and a half feet. He had close-cropped midnight black hair, eyes that shone like a steel blade in sunlight and possessed a gaze just as sharp as one. His face was chiselled and defined, the features beautiful. Black and silver wings protruded from his shoulder blades, and a black tail tipped with a silver flame lashed powerfully from side to side. He wore a flowing black garment with silver symbols embossed all over it, and the garb was obviously made for freedom of movement. In his hand he carried a polished ironwood staff inlaid with silver and capped with an emerald the size of a fist. By his side loped a Gryphon-panther easily ten feet long from tip to tail. Godric felt Sagezza make a half-step forward and he yanked her back into concealment. “He hasn’t turned off the glamour!” The Gryffindor Lord hissed. “Watch your thoughts and hormones, my dear.” He was referring to the Veela-like charm that all Bonded exuded once they had matured past their third stage of transformation to fully Bonded. Members of the opposite sex were powerfully attracted to it, and its originator. Sagezza blushed and lowered her eyes demurely before looking back up to watch the scene unfolding before them. They held their breaths as Thor approached the bloody heap that was the Heir of Gryffindor. The little girl stopped crying and glared angrily up at this stranger that dared intrude on her grief. “GO AWAY!” She screamed, hitting at the man’s strong chest and shoulders as he picked her up gently and set her aside. She turned to run back to Harry, but a swift motion made by Thor cut off her sound centres and rooted her to the spot. ::What does he think he is doing?:: Cyanri hissed, sapphire blue eyes flashing. ::She’s just concerned for Harry!:: ::Saving his life,:: Pyrador said shortly. ::He doesn’t need a hysterical girl hanging around him right now.:: Like an Angel of Death, all-powerful and unstoppable, Thor knelt and brushed a gentle hand over Harry’s forehead before lifting him with strong arms, his Gryphon companion nuzzling the young wizard’s lolling head. “Citizens of Privet Drive,” Thor’s voice was flat and devoid of emotion, yet it rumbled through all present. “You need not worry about this one.” He bared white teeth that glinted in the afternoon sun. “He is mine.” Spreading a vast wingspan of at least fourteen feet, Thor Bella’Toris rose into the air, carrying the broken body of Harry James Potter with him. He and his Gryphon Bondmate shimmered iridescently, and smiled once more. And they were gone. Suddenly able to speak and move again, Sarah ran to the bloodstained patch of lawn where her rescuer had lain dying. Her wail of agony and grief for her dead sister and friend haunted the dreams of all present for a long, long time. A sharp splintering noise rent the air as the suspension of Time snapped and it flowed regularly once more. A heartbeat later, several loud cracks indicated the hasty Apparation of five members of the Order of the Phoenix. “Come, Sagezza.” Godric murmured. “It’s time to leave.” He watched as she misted and faded away before following. ~*~ Albus Dumbledore surveyed the scene and sighed upon seeing the confused gaggle of Muggles milling about. After extracting the prudent information, he had only one thing left to say. “Obliviate.” A/N: -screams and ducks as people pelt her with rotten fruit- Sorry! I know the chapter is kinda cliché, what with the heroic rescue in the fire, but it works on developing character later. Sorry, sorry, sorry…. -Coughs- Ahem. Flour is very volatile near heat. It will react like I said it did in the story. That’s why most store flour in a cool, dark place. Not damp — cool and dark. By the way, I’m hoping for thirty reviews. After all, I demanded nearly a hundred last time, and got them. Remember now. Thirty. Three-Oh. 30. —grins-. Cheers! An enthusiastic Nimbirosa Sometime in the next few chapters…. Harry scowled at the redhead. “No.” He snapped. “Harry, you’ve got to eat!” Ginny glared. Harry swore her eyes were starting to tinge red. However, he remained stubborn in his ‘decision’. “I don’t care if I starve to death. I — am — not — being — spoon-fed, and by my best friend’s little sister no less!” “Oh, your best friend’s little sister, am I?” Harry cringed and eyed her ears, certain that smoke was going to come out at any given moment. Luna Lovegood sighed. “Ginevra, don’t give him a chance to argue. It’s very simple,” she took the bowl from Ginny and shoved the spoonful of porridge into the arguing boy’s mouth. Harry made a half-choked, half-outraged noise of furious protest. Luna smiled serenely. “Now, see? Aren’t you much happier now that you’ve got some food in you?” Harry swallowed his mouthful of porridge and tried to look intimidating. Considering the fact that he was wrapped heavily in blankets and was incapable of moving of his own free will, his attempt was rather unsuccessful. “No.” He missed the wink that passed between his two female companions. “What a pity, then.” Luna sighed. Ginny nodded and took the spoon from her friend. “Indeed,” she trilled, refilling it cheerfully. “Now, here comes the Firebolt!” “The wha — snrph!” “Good boy.” |
| Reviews 10 |
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