Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 3 - A Tutor Denied

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The only sound in the room was the crackle of the fire and the pounding of Harry's heart. You could smell hints of pipe tobacco mixing with the herbs and spices emanating from the dinner being prepared on the stove. The old man shuffled over and began to stir the small pot, then he tapped it with his wand and it tripled in size. He wasn't much to look at; his frame was thin and frail, his posture was stooped, and the wand in his hand trembled as he stirred the oversized pot. How could this wisp of a man be a vampire?

"I suspect you're all hungry," he said with a thick accent and a deep scratchy voice. His wrinkled skin was an earthen brown and his hair white. "I must say, I am not much of a cook."

Gabriella squeezed Harry's arm as her other hand slipped down to her wand. Harry wasn't surprised; he was reaching for his own wand. All summer, their thoughts had often mixed together without the two saying a word. It wasn't mind reading, but it was more than mere intuition. They would fire together. In unison, they jumped to their feet and thrust out their wands.

"Petrificus Totalus!" they cried together. Orange-yellow beams erupted from their wands. The old wizard, or vampire, or whatever he was, caught a glimpse of the light heading his way. Harry was sure that they had him when the shuffling old man flicked his wand with the most subtle of wrist movements.

"Áreddotu," he whispered.

By the time Harry's mind processed back to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class he had when Snape was substituting last year, it was too late. The spells were reflected back upon the casters, and both Harry and Gabriella went rigid and fell to the floor like nine pins. Harry fell facing the old man as he returned to the pot and continued to stir as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, his stooped figure became more erect; his white hair turned grey and then black. He was now clearly taller than Harry and the age that had racked his body a moment earlier was wiped from his face. Somehow, from somewhere, Harry knew this man.

"I should drain you now for killing Bogden," the man whispered, still stirring the pot. His head snapped up and he looked to the side of the room, to a place Harry couldn't see. "Yes, I know," he answered apologetically, as if answering someone who wasn't there, "for Antreas." The man then slipped his wand away and stood, fully facing Harry and Gabriella in the light. He was quite tall and looked, perhaps, forty years old.

"It hardly seems possible," he said, his gravelly voice scraping like a tin can across bare pavement. He poked Harry with his foot and turned once more to the spot Harry couldn't see. "It can't be done," he said waving his hand in the air dismissively. "He's too young. I won't--" He stopped, as if interrupted by his own thoughts. A smile spread across his face, but Harry could see no fangs.

"Marek has the other three," he said. There was another pause, and then a sigh. "Yes, that is good news, very good news, indeed." There was a long period of silence; finally he said, "Very well, but if I release them they'll want to blast me again. I can see it in their eyes, especially that young one of yours."

There were steps across the floor as someone else moved out from the shadows. The figure stepped in front of Harry and Gabriella so that they could both clearly see her. She then bent low.

"Yes, my dear," Soseh said softly to her daughter, "I am still alive, and no, I am not under his control." Soseh reached down and slipped Gabriella's wand out of her hand, and then did the same with Harry's. "Release them, Dakhil." An instant later, Harry and Gabriella were free. Gabriella jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around Soseh.

"Mama, I thought..." and she buried her head in her mother's shoulder. Harry rose with more caution, looking to see if perhaps he might Accio the wand from Soseh's hand.

"Dakhil flew to protect me against the beasts," Soseh answered. "He is an old friend, very old." Soseh smiled saying these last words.

"What did you say about Sirius and the others?" Harry asked. "Who's Marek?" He turned and faced Dakhil. "And who are you?" His tone was not meant to be biting, but Harry did not like the man standing before him, and Harry never liked losing a duel.

"And I see he has the memory of a gnat," sneered Dakhil, turning his back on Harry and returning to the stove. Gabriella released her mother and looked closely at the large man before her.

"Mr. Barghouti?" she asked slowly, and then Harry remembered - he had met Dakhil at the Darbinyan's last year during Christmas vacation. He had been smoking with Gabriella's father, and was introduced as a colleague of Grigor's at the university. Harry hadn't cared much for him then either.

"Do you not see the fire in his eyes, Dakhil?" asked Soseh.

"And you think this is enough for him to be accepted into the Votary of the Dragon?" Dakhil squealed, his deep voice pitching higher.

"Green fire," replied Soseh calmly. Dakhil's eyes widened, but Harry took no notice.

"Where are the others?" Harry asked with irritation. "Tell me now! Are they safe?" Soseh stepped over to him and smiled.

"Yes, Harry," she answered, looking into his eyes and then handing him his wand. They are but a few doors away." Harry moved at once to the door.

"Where?" he asked, failing to open the lock. Soseh took him by the arm.

"It is not safe," she said. "The beasts still fly overhead."

"Then we'll Apparate," said Gabriella.

"Not through these walls you won't," growled Dakhil. "If you could Apparate out, they could Apparate in, at least, some of them."

"We will have to wait until morning," said Soseh. "Right now, we should eat." Harry was still not sure he should let down his guard. Was he any more than a prisoner? He stepped closer to Gabriella, took her by the elbow, and walked her over to a corner of the room. It wasn't much privacy, but it was the best they could do.

"I know they're a long way off, but can you sense them?" he asked. "Sirius and the rest, are they okay?"

"I know Mama," she replied, "and she speaks the truth. They are safe."

"Unless she is under some kind of vampire spell," said Harry with concern. At this, Gabriella laughed and walked over to her mother and hugged her again. Soseh handed Gabriella her wand. Harry was feeling very trapped, but slipped his wand away and pulled off his wet robes.

"Here," said Gabriella, and she dried them with her wand. Harry returned the favour, and set the robes across a chair near the door. His stomach was grumbling, but he had a vision of blood stew. Still, his nose drew him nearer the stove.

"So," he said to Dakhil, trying not to stare, "you're a... em, a vampire." Dakhil just glared at Harry, and pulled bowls down from the cupboard. "Erm, how did you know what spell we were going--"

"Because I can read your mind, what there is of one, like an open book." Dakhil conjured a table in the middle of the room and set down the bowls. Soseh stepped over and helped him set the table.

"Dakhil joined the Votary long before he became a vampire, Harry," she said, placing spoons around the table. "His allegiance is ever first with Asha and her kin." She touched Harry gently on the arm. "As it will be with you."

After dinner, Dakhil lit his pipe and sat by the fire. Soseh sat next to him. There was a small couch in the room and Harry sat down, hoping that Gabriella would choose to sit next to him. He hoped she had forgotten about Hermione, but she was as cold through dinner as ever. Harry slid over and offered the space next to him, but Gabriella ignored the offer.

"I'm tired, Mama," she said quietly. "I think I'll lie down." She kissed her mother on the cheek, thanked Dakhil for their rescue and, saying nothing to Harry, she retired behind a set of curtains that the vampire had set up as a make-shift bedroom. Dakhil noted the expression on Harry's face.

"Things don't seem to be as cosy between the two of you as they were last Christmas." He took another long drag from his pipe and blew a billowing puff of smoke that circled in on itself as it rose to the ceiling. "Do you know why you're here, boy?" Harry never liked being called boy and certainly found the term even more offensive since he'd turned of age. He'd faced the greatest dark wizard of the century and destroyed him; he was no boy.

Harry glared back at Dakhil with fire in his eyes. "Read my mind now," he whispered. He rose from the couch and walked to the corner of the large room and sat on the floor, staring intently at the bloodsucker before him. Harry had no intention of sleeping tonight. He pulled his wand and closed his mind. The wand made Dakhil chuckle; and the barrier rising around Harry's mental faculties caught him by surprise. Still, the vampire's tongue was sharp.

"You'd destroy me, if it weren't for Soseh," conjectured Dakhil, his eyes narrowing. "And you'd leave if it wasn't for Gabriella, even though I saved your lives."

"There are butchers in London," said Harry wisely, "that keep their chickens alive in back so that there's always a fresh one to kill." He rolled his wand in his hand. "There'll be no killing here tonight, and at first light we'll join our friends and finish what we started."

"Someone has ALREADY died!" spat Dakhil, rising to his feet. "And YOU killed him!" He crossed the room, pointing his finger at Harry, but looking at Soseh. "Bogden would still be alive, if it weren't for his indecision!"

"That could not be helped," Soseh said calmly, but with a deep regret in her voice.

"Is this boy's training worth a man's life?!"

"Yes," she replied with certainty. Dakhil shook his head in disbelief, and walked away from her.

"Tell that to Bogden's children," he sneered. He began to pace the room, clearing tables, moving objects from one spot to another and, every so often, casting glances at Harry, who still sat in the corner. Finally, he sat back down in his chair.

"Soseh," he said in a calmer, almost soft, voice, "since you were a young girl, you have never been wrong, and I learned long ago not to question your sight. But this... this child?" He stood again and turned to Harry.

"Tell me, boy, wouldn't you rather gather your friends and be on your way to that cosy little school of yours?"

Harry shook his head no. "I face the dragon tomorrow, and join the Votary."

"If you live," Dakhil emphasized, with a hiss in his voice that sent a cold shiver down Harry's spine. "And for what? The love of a girl? Bah!" He spat on the floor. At this, Harry took to his feet.

"Ebyrth returns," Harry said. "Soon, the Dementors and the Centaurs will battle." Dakhil only laughed - a deep, throaty guffaw of tearing tin.

"Through the centuries, I have seen three such wars. Can you look around the world and tell me what mark they have left? The kin of Asha will not interfere in such a battle, even if it were to save your neck." And with these words, Dakhil seemed to convince himself that he had found the nugget he'd been searching for. "Is that what it is, boy? You're afraid. The Centaurs called on you as their sacrifice and even though you survived the Cleansing, you're afraid you'll die in the battle to come." He stepped closer to Harry, and his voice dropped to a low whisper, his eyes flashing white and revealing, only for an instant, the vampire that was within. "Let me tell you, boy, death at the hands of a Dementor will seem delightful when compared to what will happen to your soul when you fail at the breath of Singehorn!"

Harry narrowed his own eyes and rolled his wand in his hand. The gesture was clearly threatening, and Dakhil took it as such. The vampire's movements were incredibly fast. He muttered something in a foreign tongue and in that instant, Harry's wand was flying from his hand.

"Threaten me, boy?" Dakhil moved forward toward Harry raising his own wand.

"Dakhil!" cried Soseh. "Don't!"

Harry raised his right hand and cried out, "Levicorpus!" Then, he closed his right hand in a fist. The result of the spell was not what one might expect. Yes, Dakhil's body was lifted from the ground, but not by his legs. Rather, it was as if someone had tied a noose around his neck and was drawing the knot tight, high into the air. Dakhil's head hit the ceiling and he began to sputter for air unable to speak. "Accio wand!" Harry called, retrieving his wand into his left hand while still clenching his right.

"Harry, stop!" demanded Soseh. "You're choking him!"

"Vampires can't die, can they Soseh?" He stepped next to the dangling Dakhil. "Besides, I'm only a boy, I don't know if I remember the counter jinx." He took Dakhil's wand, levitated him over to the corner where he sat, and bound him with ropes, all the while keeping a grip around his throat that would not let him speak. Finally, ignoring Soseh's protestations, he stepped close to the vampire.

"Mr. Barghouti, let me introduce myself," Harry said with a vicious voice. "My name is Harry Potter. I've been touched by darkness and death. I have defeated both Dementor and Dragon, and if you think that this boy is afraid of either, you are sadly mistaken, for I am no more afraid than I am a boy." Harry turned and considered the ten inches of oak in his hand and what a well placed thrust would accomplish, and then he looked back at his captive.

"There is a darkness returning to this land, and if you too have been touched by both darkness and death as I know you have, then you can smell it in the air and taste it in the water. Unless, of course, you are its servant." For a moment, Harry again pondered driving the oak wand into the vampire's heart, but in the corner of his eye he saw Gabriella. She had stepped out from the curtains and was simply watching, silent; for how long he didn't know. He threw the oak at Dakhil's feet. "I join the Votary to defeat the darkness and all who would stand against the light." Harry raised his own wand, uttered the spell and released Dakhil from his stranglehold and bonds, and then he turned his back and walked away.

He fully expected to be jumped, or stunned or screamed at, but nothing came. He looked at Gabriella, but her eyes were fixed on the man behind him. He noted the wand in her hand and realized she too was waiting for something to happen. Instead, Dakhil, without saying a word, walked over to the cupboard and poured himself a glass of wine, drinking it in one large gulp; then he poured himself another. Finally, he looked at Soseh.

"I can not teach them," he said shaking his head. "They are too brash, too young. They would never listen."

"The old ways are new to them, Dakhil," answered Soseh. "They have much to learn, and too little time."

"And this one." He pointed at Harry. "He is not ready to face the dragon," Dakhil insisted stubbornly. "Let him return next year. Maybe then--"

"You heard Harry," Soseh interrupted. "His words ring true; you have said as much. The darkness will not wait. If you do not teach them the old ways, it will rise again. He will be blind against the darkness. I have spoken of our fate if we do not act." For a moment, Dakhil considered her words, and then he faced Harry and considered the young wizard before him.

"Never," he said bitterly. A moment later, Dakhil had conjured a cloak, spun in a whirlwind of blackness, and disappeared as if he were being sucked into the earth. Soseh let out a tremendous sigh of resignation and rubbed her face with her hands.

"Well, that could have gone better. Come, Gabriella," she said, "let's be off to bed. Harry, I'm afraid you'll have to take the floor. I don't know where he conjures the beds from and I'm sure the couch is too small." Soseh stepped over to her daughter, who still stood at the curtain shielding the bed behind.

"What fate, Mama?" she asked. "The fate I have seen? My fate?" Gabriella's words held fright, an emotion he'd rarely seen in her.

"It's time for bed, my dear," Soseh replied, reaching up to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Good night, Harry." And the two women slipped behind the curtain, out of sight.

Harry's pulse was pounding as he squatted on a small strip of dirty carpet that lay at the foot of the two chairs in the living room. He hadn't been this angry since... since.... He clenched and released his hands, trying to let the rage run out his fingers. "Let it go," he whispered to himself. He grabbed a small pillow and slid down to the floor. It didn't make sense, any of it. Three weeks of pure heaven and the last 24 hours had been pure hell. Why now? Why just before he was to meet Singehorn? And how, in Merlin's name, could a vampire be a member of the Votary? And worse, how could such a beast think Harry unworthy?

He found his heart pounding again and looked over to see the coffee table floating a few inches off the ground. He took in yet another deep breath, trying to gather his emotions, and the table slowly settled to the floor. He dimmed the room's light, but would not extinguish the candles completely. Closing his eyes, he could hear in the distance the faint screech of what he now knew to be vampires. Were they in pain, or striking for another kill? Harry could not tell, but with each distant yell his mind's eye flashed on the sight of Bogden's corpse.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the darkness. He rubbed his face and sat up, looking over to the curtain that shielded Soseh and Gabriella. Were they asleep? He certainly wasn't; he certainly wouldn't be able to. He stood and walked over to the corner where he had considered killing the vampire... Mr. Barghouti.

"A member of the Votary?" he whispered in disbelief.

In the same corner, he fell backwards against the wall. From here he could see the room in front of him; from here, he could protect them, keep them safe. Still holding his wand at the ready, he slid down to the floor and pulled his knees to his chest. He would not sleep tonight. Soon, the cries and distant screeches faded into silence. The night's voice began its rhythmic beat as the sound of crickets mixed with the whistle of the breeze. Still, Harry's eyes remained fixed and firm, steadfast and sure. He watched as the onset of dawn was greeted by the song of birds just outside the door.

He impatiently stood guard as the darkness gave way to light, and then the first beam of the sun's rays broke through a crack in the top of the door. The moment the shaft of light entered the room he heard the door click and he knew its enchantments had been released. Stiff and sore, he took to his feet, walked over and tried the latch; it moved freely. He stepped out blinking in the morning's light, the cool mountain air sending a short shiver through his body. A large man was pushing an old wooden cart down the path that entered into the forest where they had found Bogden's body. What the cart was carrying Harry couldn't tell. He took another step into the light; the man was headed toward danger and Harry needed to warn him.

"Wait!" Harry called. "Sir, there are vampires in there." The man looked over at Harry, squinting his eyes; he was rather burly with long reddish hair that shot out in every direction. Still, there was wisdom in his expression, something learned about his eyes.

"English?" he asked, setting down the cart and walking briskly toward Harry, a bit too quickly for Harry's comfort. A few feet away, he put on a broad toothy grin, wiped one of his large hands on his pants and held it out for Harry to shake. There was a none-too-pleasant odour about the man. "You must be the one they have been talking about." He grabbed Harry's hand and shook it vigorously. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter. My name is Marek. The whole village has heard what you did back in Britain - and for a boy your age! We're all forever in your debt." He stood smiling, placing his hands on his hips, which only served to broaden his shoulders. Harry wondered if perhaps he might have giant blood in him. "Well, I'm sure your friends will be happy to see you're alive; they wouldn't take my word for it."

"Friends?" shot Harry. "You've seen my friends? Where are they?"

"Back in my cabin," answered Marek. "They would have stayed up all night if I hadn't slipped them a sleeping draught. Advantages of being a Healer, eh? They should all be waking up soon. I needed to get these things--"

"Cabin?" interrupted Harry. "Where?"

"Second on the left," answered the man pointing a finger back into the village. "There's a caduceus outside the door." Harry took a step and began to run down into the village, then stopped himself and turned back. "You... you're Marek?"

"Yes, sir. I am." Harry stepped up and took Marek's hand in both of his.

"Marek," said Harry, with a slight bow of his head, "it is I who am forever in your debt. Thank you, sir, for taking in my friends, my family." Marek blushed a bit and nodded his head back at Harry.

"I couldn't have done it without Dakhil's help," said Marek. The words took Harry back a bit. Marek slapped his hands together. "Well, we won't have to worry about those monsters coming back for a while. I've never seen anything like it - Centaurs killed about eight of the beasts. They don't usually roam these parts. I'm taking all that's left of their blood sucking evil, their dark robes, to burn now. Just in case... you know." But Harry didn't know, and for a moment he thought to ask, but his mind was more focused on his friends. Marek took a deep breath and let it out as if the mountain air rejuvenated his very soul. "Well, like I said, they should be waking soon." He turned and started pushing the wooden cart back into the forest. Harry shot down the hill into the village and toward Marek's cabin.

When Harry pushed the door open, he found his three friends sleeping in separate cots, each covered by a thick bear skin. A tremendous sense of relief washed over him as he stood watching them sleeping peacefully. Sirius was the first to rouse. He blinked as Harry stood smiling over him.

"Well, it's about time," said Harry with a smirk. "Some of us have been up all night, sick with worry."

"Harry?" asked Sirius groggily. "Harry!" He shot up and grabbed Harry around the shoulders and squeezed him hard. "Merlin, we thought you were gone forever. When I saw them take you into the air like Soseh..." Sirius quaked and squeezed again, as if trying to make sure that Harry was still alive.

"Keep squeezing like that," gasped Harry, "and I'm a goner for sure." Sirius released Harry, but then held him about the shoulders.

"And Soseh? Gabriella?" he asked with apprehension. "Marek said--"

"They're both fine," answered Harry. "We were all taken in by a... er, man Soseh knows."

"The vampire, Dakhil," came a voice from the other side of the room. Remus was awake and sitting up in his bed. "She told me that we might meet. I didn't think it would be like this."

"She's friends with a vampire!" exclaimed Sirius.

"Well," answered Remus, rubbing his face as he took to his feet, "we can't all have the same great taste in friendships that you do Sirius." He slapped Sirius on the shoulder, and Harry could have sworn he let out a little growl as he walked by.

Harry sat over on Hermione's cot and roused her awake. The moment she saw Harry, she wrapped him in her arms. "Thank God," she whispered.

"You were brilliant," Harry said. "I saw you take down two of them."

"I was an idiot," said Hermione. "They weren't down for long. If it hadn't been for Remus, I think we would have all been taken last night." Harry looked over at Remus with a questioning look.

"Vampires don't like splinters," he answered quietly with a shrug.

"No," laughed Sirius, "not when you're firing a whole tree at them, splintered into a thousand pieces. Do they teach you that in werewolf school?" Remus just rolled his eyes and washed his face at the kitchen sink.

"Well, we're safe now," said Remus, drying his hands with a towel. "We'd best get cleaned up and start on up the mountain."

"Mama will have breakfast ready in fifteen minutes."

Harry turned to see Gabriella standing at the door. How long had she been there? Quickly, he pulled his hands away from Hermione and stood. He wanted to say something like, "It's not what you think," but before he could utter a word, Gabriella had slipped out the door and headed back up the village road. His shoulders slumped toward the floor.

"She's not very talkative," said Sirius. "Did something happen we should know about?" Harry did not answer. "I see. Well then, Harry, you'd best be on your way. We'll get ready here and meet you at your... erm, where are you, exactly?"

"We're at the wood shed that looks like an outhouse," answered Harry weakly.

"Very good," said Sirius. "We'll meet you at your outhouse in fifteen minutes!"

"Sure," said Harry without conviction. He wasn't too keen on heading back to meet with Soseh and Gabriella. He was feeling a tiny pang of guilt for being such an ass toward Dakhil, but just thinking of the creature made Harry slip his hand into his pocket and feel for his wand.

Breakfast passed with very few words. Marek had found the Hippogriffs feeding in the forest and was able to retrieve the group's gear, but the creatures were too injured to fly further.

"As it should be" said Soseh as she slipped a shawl around her shoulders. "We will walk the rest of the way."

"But we won't make it before nightfall," asserted Hermione.

"No. We won't," agreed Sirius, who was also concerned. No one wanted another night-time run in with the vampires.

"Within an hour we will be within Singehorn's realm and under his protection," answered Soseh with cool confidence. "Nothing will dare attack us the rest of the way without his approval."

"Without his approval?" asked Sirius. But Soseh ignored him and looked at Harry with, perhaps, the coldest eyes he had ever seen.

"We are mere guides on the rest of the journey, nothing more than companions. It is Harry who must be prepared for attack... for death." There was no smile. Soseh was serious, deadly serious.

"As you have been told, Harry, once we cross into Singehorn's realm, Harry," Soseh continued, "the trials will begin. I had hoped that Dakhil would have instructed you for the challenges you must now face. Alas, not even I can see everything. Your fate and the fates of those who would travel further are now in your hands." There was a moment of silence that was broken by Harry's godfather.

"This is bloody insane!" he cried, spinning on Harry. "It's time to head back home. You should be worrying about what classes you're taking at Hogwarts this year, what parties you'll be going to, not facing vampires and the challenges of some damn dragon." He held Harry by the arm and pleaded, "Let's just go home."

Harry glanced into Sirius' eyes and quickly scanned the room. Once again, all were waiting for his decision. All that is, except Gabriella. She had made every effort not to look at Harry throughout the morning and this moment, however important, was no exception. She was purposefully avoiding him as she washed the morning's dishes. Since the two had arrived in Greece, he had been thwarted on this journey. It was as if at every turn and at every new step a sign was posted warning him to stop and turn back. But he couldn't stop now. It was bigger than him, bigger than them all. Whatever his future with Gabriella, he needed the power of the dragon to help turn the tide against the darkness he could feel growing all around them. Harry thought back to his Astronomy class with Professor Sinistra. The gears of the clockwork which had been humming so marvellously of late were, at least to Harry's senses, grinding. Something more than just a Dementor attack on the Centaurs was looming in the future.

"The next person who asks me to stop and turn tail will find one growing out between their buttocks. Is that clear?" Sirius smiled slightly, and everyone but Gabriella nodded in acknowledgement. Gabriella dried the last dish as if nothing had been said at all.

Soon they were on their way. Scattered rays of sunlight shot down through cracks in the canopy of the forest, but the air remained cool and damp. A thick layer of pine needles layered the forest floor as they moved silently ever upward. Sirius was having the most difficulty hiking, and at one point turned into a dog.

"Just an excuse for me to carry his pack," nagged Remus to Harry as they trudged onward, the dog panting blissfully ahead, sniffing at every opportunity.

After about an hour, the trees began to thin, and soon even the scent of pine had disappeared completely. They were entering a region that had long ago been sheered by glaciers. The earth had been stripped to the rock below, and very little grew except for the short grasses which gave everything a mossy look. Large, rough hewn rocks were everywhere, and the terrain climbed ever upward toward the sharp peaks still tipped with snow.

"Ostrý Roháč," breathed Soseh. "We will enter from the western edge." She pointed to a sharp peak that looked like a horn jutting upward. "I'm sorry Sirius, but Harry must lead from this point. He will know the way."

Harry took a step forward in front of the others. It was hard to imagine that they would make the peak by nightfall, particularly with Soseh. In fact, he knew it would be impossible. He took another step forward and could feel the tips of his fingers tingling. It wasn't winter, but at this altitude, when the sun fell, it would be bitter cold. Harry turned to the others.

"You don't need to be here with me," he said. "Apparate back down to the village. I'll... I'll be fine."

"No one can Apparate from here, Harry," answered Remus. "We can walk down, but we won't - unless you choose to join us. Which way will it be?"

Harry looked at the path winding its way back down into the forest. If they began now, they would easily return safely. Then he looked at the rocky path upward, if one could call it a path. Few, if any, travelled this way, and despite what Soseh said, Harry had no clue which way to go, other than up. A large eagle, set against the blue sky, was soaring in the distance and soon faded from view. Finally, he gathered himself and focused his thoughts on the way ahead.

"We climb to the dragon," he said with confidence. Everyone's expressions, to his surprise, brightened noticeably. It was as if they'd been waiting for this moment all along. But when he looked at Gabriella, he couldn't help but notice something even more surprising. Sliding down the right side of her cheek was a glistening tear that caught the afternoon's sunlight. For a moment, her black eyes looked as if they might explode with tears, but as quickly as the look appeared it had vanished. He turned and looked back at the dead terrain and the ominous peaks above. His back to the others, Harry swallowed hard.

"Of course, she would know," he thought to himself. Climbing up onto a rock that he thought might be the path ahead, his hands began to tremble. It wasn't the cold that made him shiver; he was afraid.