Harry Potter and The Elven Queen

Harry woke up breathless. The Dursleys were pounding on his door, yelling for him to open up. He slowly got out of bed, still catching his breath, and groggily opened the door.

Uncle Vernon, still unchanged, stood in the dim hallway. His face was the same purple, his eyes were still bulging, but this time he had a cricket had a bat in his hands. He was hiding Aunt Petunia behind him. He wore a bathrobe, hastily thrown over his pajamas, but he looked no less dangerous.

Aunt Petunia hid behind the bulk of Uncle Vernon, and she looked terrified. Her horse face was the epitome of terror. Her hair was in disarray. She shrank behind her husband, pale faced and anxious; the angles of her face were jutting out even more than usual.

Dudley stood next to his father, looking fearful yet determined. He had lost a considerable amount of weight, and was now as healthy as he could get in a year. Smeltings had put him on a diet and made him exercise for hours daily, and it had made a noticeable of difference. He too held a bat.

Harry, still half-asleep, murmured, "What's wrong?" Harry had grown over the summer. He was more muscular, and had gained about three inches. He was now almost six feet tall. He had had his hair cut, in a stylish new fashion. It was shorter, and slightly spiked, and it didn't look as messy as it once had. He had also gotten permission to get contacts, so his bright green eyes were no longer hidden beneath thick black glasses. His aunt and uncle, thinking, no doubt, that he would have his godfather murder him in his sleep, had been kind, and had gotten him shoes and new clothes. He had chosen darker colors, mostly blacks and dark reds, blues, and greens.

His uncle grew even angrier. "You scream like something's trying to kill you, and you wonder what's wrong? You make the beds move, there are noises downstairs, and you dare to ask us that question? Now get downstairs and stop making the furniture move!"

Harry nodded, used to his uncle's tirades. He didn't usually make things move, but he had often woken up screaming. Most of his dreams centered on Cedric, the boy who had died last year, but there were some about his parents, mostly vague and unclear.

He trudged softly down the stairs, long habit making him quiet and swift. He wasn't in any hurry to get an owl from the Ministry of Magic, saying that he had yet again broken the code against under-aged wizardry.

When he looked in the kitchen, however, there was nothing moving. Behind him, he heard his family moving down the stairs, as softly as they could manage. When he moved to the dining room, it was empty too. He hesitated in the dark hall, but he could see flickers in the living room. The fireplace must have been left on, he thought. He gently pushed open the door and cautiously walked in. he could never be too careful.

The fireplace was off. The entire room was encircled in flame, but nothing burned. The flames burned blue, green, and silver, and he knew it must be magic. He stood frozen in the middle of the floor as a tall robed figure walked towards him.

"Harry Potter..." the voice hissed. A snake, long, sinuous, and familiar coiled around the large armchair. Nagini, Harry thought. Then the menacing figure was Him.

Voldemort advanced on Harry, his hands pale and bloodless, his ruby eyes gleaming under his midnight black robes, swept his skeletal arms out, uncoiled a too-long finger, and touched Harry's scar, murmuring something under his hissing breath.

The scream that was ripped from Harry's throat could have woken the dead...

Harry collapsed on the ground, convulsing, as Voldemort hissed. The flames went out, and Voldemort and Nagini vanished. Dudley, braver than even he had thought, crawled to the living room. He saw Harry on the ground, then raced over as fast as his 200 pound bulk could move. He reached towards Harry, then jerked his hand away. He looked at it; his hand was raw and red, as if it had been burned.

He looked around the room. Nothing was wrong; nothing had even been touched, except for Harry, so the first thought in his head was Magic. He called for his parents, then went up the stairs to Harry's room. He saw Harry's owl, then decided to send for help. He wrote Harry is in trouble at the Dursleys', send help on a slip of yellowish paper, then tried to tie it to the owl's leg as he had seen Harry do. He was getting frustrated. She pecked at his hand. Then he said, in a tense voice,

"Owl, Harry is in trouble." She looked surprised for a second, then began to flap around in a panic. "I need you to get someone to help him. I am going to tie this to your leg, then you can get help, okay?" Hedwig stopped flapping, then let him tie the note to her leg, and flew off as fast as she could. He saw a brilliant white flash, and then she was gone.

Dudley went downstairs, where his mother and father stood in the door, looking on as Harry clawed the floor, his mouth open in a silent scream, his back arched. He shot a dirty look at his parents, then sat by Harry to wait until help came.

He didn't have to wait long. Hedwig appeared outside the window, tapping; there was a forceful knock at the door. His parents didn't move, so he ran to open it, and saw a man in robes, with a long white beard, long white hair, and a sparkle in his merry blue eyes.

"Ah, Dudley, is it? I am Professor Albus Dumbledore. Tell me, what sort of trouble is Harry in now? I got an urgent message from his owl, in an extraordinary way, and I truly hope I am not intruding."

Dudley stared for only a second, then grabbed Dumbledore's arm and hurried him into the living room. When he got there, Dumbledore hurried ahead and felt Harry's scar. After a second he too jerked his hand away, looking at the burn. He mumbled something that sounded like a curse, then turned to the Dursleys. "I am afraid that I am going to have to take Harry away for a time. He will of course return to you next summer?"

Vernon growled, "That thing isn't allowed to set foot in this house again." He then turned away, pulling Petunia upstairs. "Come along Dudley." Dudley hesitated, then said to his father, "I'll be up in a minute, Dad." He turned to Dumbledore. "Tell Harry to write me, okay? I don't want him to forget me. I need to talk to him about... things. Thank you, sir." He then hurried up the stairs after his parents.

Dumbledore sighed, then Apparated Harry and himself to just outside the Hogwarts gates. He gave another wave of his wand, and Harry's things appeared, floating an inch off the ground and following him to the large castle beyond the high stone walls.

Harry woke up, to blurring blacks, whites, and grays. He reached over to the nightstand and put on his glasses. He recognized where he was, but didn't know how he had gotten there. Madame Pomfrey walked in, and saw that he was sitting up and awake. She bustled over, then tsked.

"You really should be asleep, Mr. Potter. You had a hard time getting through, these last two weeks. I had not thought to see you for another month, at least." Her voice said that she should not have seen him at all any of these years, but she wouldn't say that out loud.

Harry had jumped when she said two weeks. "I've been unconscious for two weeks?"

She sighed, then gave him an unreadable look. "Yes, and a fitful two weeks it has been. I don't know what You-Know-Who did to you, but you are lucky to have a cousin such as yours." What? thought Harry, Dudley? What did he have to do with this? Madame Pomfrey continued, "And if not for our two new teachers, you would be dead."

What two new teachers?

Just then, Dumbledore walked in, followed by two people that Harry had never met before. Dumbledore was as exhausted-looking as Harry felt. He smiled at Harry, and said to Harry, "Ah, yes, you are finally awake." He looked over at Madame Pomfrey and said, "Poppy, could you leave us for just a moment? I would like to speak to Harry privately for a minute. I promise that I will not move him the slightest. " She left in a huff, and Dumbledore turned back to him. "Harry, I would like you to meet your two new Professors, Professor Liadin Ether and Professor Thomas Duncan." He pointed to the two people standing behind him. "Professor Ether will be your Drama teacher, and Professor Duncan will be your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. They saved your life."

Duncan was a tall, plain young man, with short unruly red hair and black eyes. He could have fit very well into the Weasley family, and looked like he smiled a lot. He had laugh lines, and looked to be about twenty-five or so. He wore simple dark blue robes, with black edges, and had a black leather belt with a wand stuck in it.

Ether, however, was beautiful. She had long, silver-blonde hair with lovely grey-green eyes. She was shorter than Harry, and had milky white skin. She looked almost like what Harry thought an angel looked like, in her plain pale green robes with silver edges.

"Um, hi." Harry stammered. She was just so pretty, and he felt stupid sitting in the hospital bed. She smiled, and said hi to him, then Duncan did the same.

Then they turned to Dumbledore. "We have work to do, on the Project. If you will excuse us Professor, Harry?" she asked in a calm, melodic voice. They left, and Harry was alone with Dumbledore.

"Harry, I am going to tell you what happened. Please don't interrupt, and save questions until afterwards.

"The Dursley's have removed you from their care. You will not be going back there for two reasons. Number One, Voldemort was able to enter, when he shouldn't have, and that puts you in an even greater danger then usual. Without you there, they will be fine, and will live normal lives. Number Two, your godfather has been acquitted of his crimes, publicly, and Peter Pettigrew has been locked away in an Animagus proof room. You will stay with Sirius next summer.

"For the remainder of this year, you will stay at Hogwarts.

"When Voldemort came into the Dursleys home, he activated three spells. One, to make it seem as if the room was on fire. Two, to make the furniture in the house move, to wake you up and draw you downstairs. And three, to kill you, for the same reason he has tried to the last few times you have encountered him. However, because of your scar, and thus your connection to him, you didn't die. You were thrown into a deep coma, and only just awoke. Voldemort, however, didn't, so far as we know, receive any damage. There have been more deaths, Muggle and wizard alike, and Azkaban itself was overthrown, but you are safe now, Harry, and you are our last hope." The last was said as if he didn't want Harry to hear.

Harry turned to Dumbledore. " `Your last hope?' Me? Why?" he was terribly confused. "And Sirius is free? The Dursleys will be safe? What about my friends' families?"

Dumbledore replied, "Sirius helped the Ministry to capture Peter, and, oh yes, I nearly forgot Fudge was dismissed for incompetence, but more on that note later. Sirius' house will be open to you in a few months, but you will not go there until summer. He has been welcomed back into the wizarding world, but with slight apprehension. The Dursleys have said that they will not allow you to return, but you would not have been able to anyway. Dudley has asked you to write. He saved your life, you know. He notified me of when Voldemort came to their home, and showed great courage. Your friends have not been targeted, and will be arriving at school on the train, as usual.

"Now, as for Fudge. While Peter's trial was going on, we found many, many discrepancies in his report of events, in the wizarding and Muggle worlds. We have now informed the wizarding community of Voldemort's return, and they have elected a new Minister of Magic. You know him. His name is Arthur Weasley." In Harry's elation, he didn't notice that Dumbledore didn't answer his question about him being the last hope.

"You may want to write to your friends. I informed them of what happened, in all the cases, and they were anxious to hear from you, to hear that you are safe." Dumbledore slowly got to his feet. "You will have to stay in hospital wing for another two days, Harry. After that, you may move into your room in Gryffindor Tower. Your things have already been put there. Before I forget, Dobby wants to see you when you are better. You have my permission to go to the kitchens at you own discretion." He didn't tell Harry how to get into the kitchen, so Harry felt a little sheepish, but he smiled anyway. Dumbledore left the room, and Madame Pomfrey came back, to fuss over him again.

Three weeks of only teachers to talk to became boring after awhile. He missed the business of the school, and his friends. Hagrid and Snape were gone. He missed the former, but not the latter. He did, however, get to know Professors Duncan and Ether very well.

Duncan, it seemed, was from Scotland. He was twenty-nine. He wasn't married, but was hoping to soon. His family had been rulers over Loch Lairn for over four hundred years, and had all been witches or wizards. He had three sisters, all witches, and four brothers, all wizards. His parents were at home, with one of his brothers. The others were all over the world. Meghan was an Auror, and chased after Deatheaters all over the world. Deirdre was a doctor, who had opened a clinic in Ethiopia. Colleen was a dragontrainer, who worked in Romania. She had a daughter who would be starting school this year, at Hogwarts. His brother Samuel was to rule over the Loch when their parents died. Andrew was a Quidditch player for the Chudley Cannons. David was a teacher at a small wizarding school in America. Nicodemus was also an Auror, who was currently in places unknown. Several were going to visit him during the school year.

Ether, however, had a smaller family. She was twenty-seven, and came from Ireland, and only had two sisters. They were triplets, and had been raised in an orphanage. They had always been kept together, and had been adopted at age eleven, the same year they moved to America. They had gone to school there, and had stayed until this summer, when Dumbledore called them all over. Sorcha was a singer, who worked in Hogsmeade, in the Three Broomsticks. Niamh, however, was working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, in place of Mr. Weasley. They were all identical, she said, and were going to visit during the school year.

In the second week before school started, he received a letter from Hermione and Ron. They were going to Diagon Alley the next day, and asked if he could come, too. Dumbledore said that he could go, and so he did.

He met them at Gringotts, with Ginny and the twins, where they got their money and went shopping. Ron was getting all new things, as were Ginny, Fred, and George. They went to all the shops. Afterwards, they met with the rest of the Weasleys at the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Weasley was very nicely dressed, in new robes. So was Mrs. Weasley. They ate a hearty meal, with lots of conversation.

Harry noticed that Ginny had turned into a beautiful young woman. She was taller, her hair had darkened, and she had had it cut, to her chin. He was still a half-foot taller, though. He also noticed Hermione. Her bushy hair had highlights, and she had gotten it cut in a sleek new way. It wasn't so busy anymore, but it framed her maturing face. Ron had grown taller, so that he was taller than Harry, Fred, and George. Percy looked the same, ever proper but happier, and he noticed that there were new additions to the table. Percy and Penelope were engaged. The wedding was on June 18, her 19th birthday. The Weasleys were thrilled. Bill had met a girl in his travels to Egypt, and they were engaged as well. Her name was Chione, and she was very beautiful, with a wicked sense of humor and a laughing smile. She worked for Gringotts, too, and they were getting married in January. Charlie had also met a girl, and they were getting married, in September. Her name was Olivia, and she was also a dragontrainer. Fred and George had brought dates, too. Fred was with Alicia, and George was with Angelina. Angelina was Head Girl, along with Rodger Davies. She winked and said that prefects hadn't been announced yet, but would be soon.

After having such a great time, Harry regretted having to go back to Hogwarts, while the Weasleys and their guests went home. Ha had been invited to all three weddings, as had Sirius. The first one was Charlie's, on September 16, on a Saturday. He arrived in time for a late snack, then went up to Gryffindor Tower for some sleep. He woke late, and rushed to breakfast, where he was amazed to see Snape and Hagrid. All this in the first two days, he thought. What a great week! He went to talk to Dumbledore, who said that he could go to the wedding. After all, Hermione and Ron were going, too. He would also talk to Sirius. He smiled, then waved him out. He talked to Hagrid, who would say nothing of where he had been, then went to see Liadin. He walked in to her classroom to see her and Thomas in the middle of a fight, over what he didn't know. He backed out, then ran straight into Dumbledore. Dumbledore motioned for Harry to follow, and then they went to his office.

On their way up, he said, "Harry, I have a surprise for you." Harry looked shocked. A surprise? Just then, Sirius walked out, with a pretty young woman with a huge smile. Dumbledore smiled. "Harry, this is your godmother, and Sirius' fiancée, Amanda Quinn."