Magic's Apprentice

Magic's Apprentice

Prologue

Harry Potter trudged up to the smallest room of number four Privet Drive. He had just finished his chores for the day and he was very exhausted. It was July 15th, the first half of summer was almost gone, and Harry was thoroughly miserable. Not only were the Dursleys being worse than ever towards him, but Harry had the constant memory of Cedric, and the Tri-Wizard tournament on his mind.

Sighing, Harry lay on his bed and glanced at Hedwig's empty cage. He had sent her to live with Ron for the rest of the summer because the Dursleys had threatened to get rid of the owl. Harry's things had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs the moment he walked in the door, and he had been lectured and yelled at for hours about the ton-tongue toffee incident the previous summer.

"I wish Hedwig were here so I would at least have someone to talk to," Harry said quietly to himself before he drifted into what he hoped would be a dreamless sleep; something he hadn't been granted all summer. He had been having terrible nightmares about Voldemort, Cedric, his parents, and the graveyard. They never seemed to end, and then he would wake up in a cold sweat and he would feel like he had just gotten to sleep.

Harry's wish of a dreamless sleep was not granted however, but this dream was unlike any Harry had ever experienced before.

Harry was standing in complete darkness. He could see nothing around him, only himself. He called out; hoping for an answer, but all he received was the sound of his own echo. Confused, Harry began to think of where he could possibly be. This was certainly unlike any other dream he had ever had before.

Then he felt it; a phenomenal power coming from seemingly everywhere around him. However, instinct told him not to fear this strange power. For with the power, he could also feel something else. It was indescribable, and yet so familiar. It was the sense of all things good, all things right and just. It was the sense of light. Following his instincts, he headed in the direction the feeling was strongest. And the farther he walked, the more light seemed to cascade around him, until finally, he no longer seemed to be in the darkness, but he was outside in a large beautiful forest. It was definitely the most beautiful forest Harry had ever seen, even though he hadn't seen many. The trees were very large; in fact they seemed to be twice as big any normal tree. There were flowers everywhere, and the sound of nearby animals and the soft wind gave Harry a sense of euphoria. And for the first time in weeks, if not years, Harry felt at peace.

Harry stopped; the presence he had felt wasn't as strong anymore. Then he heard it, the most beautiful, and eerie sound in existence. It was phoenix song. Looking up quickly Harry saw the source of the beautiful music. It was Fawkes! The great bird was flying just ahead of him and Harry began to follow him frantically.

Harry followed the Phoenix for what seemed an eternity. He was sweating considerably and very tired, but he pressed on, determined to stay with Fawkes.

Finally, Fawkes landed on large rock overlooking a mist-covered lake and Harry, grateful for a rest, stopped to catch his breath. When he had finally recovered, Harry walked over to Fawkes. "Hello Fawkes. So why did you bring me here?" Harry asked, not really expecting an answer. The beautiful bird just stared at him as if the answer were as clear as day. Fawkes then began his song again, only this time the song seemed different, almost like it was calling for something or someone. There was a great gust of wind, and Fawkes flew away. Harry was about to follow him again, but he heard his name being called from across the lake. Looking closely, he could see a figure coming toward him. When they were closer, Harry was able to see a very beautiful woman with long white hair and silver robes. She had the most amazing eyes, for they were the deepest blue Harry had ever seen. They were almost translucent, like water. Harry stood there in shock, for not only was this woman very beautiful, but he could also feel that she was very powerful.

"Harry...son of light, your destiny awaits you, come....." the woman repeated the last part repeatedly, and Harry could do nothing but obey. He felt as if his mind were fogged, not unlike the effects of the imperious curse. But he felt no urge to fight this. Without any thought, he began to walk toward her, hoping against hope to be able to reach her. But every time he came within an inch of reaching her, she would back away even farther, still calling out his name.

Finally, the mysterious woman stopped where she was, and the spell she had over him (if that's what it was) seemed to lift. And for the first time, Harry realized he was standing in the middle of the lake! He had actually been walking on the water.

"How did I..?" Harry started to ask.

"Twas your destiny, son of light, that helped to bring you here. I merely guided you along the path."

"Path? What path?" he asked.

"The path that is always there, yet never seen."

"I don't understand. Why am I here? Who are you?"

"I am Vivian. And you are here to seek what is to be sought."

"You're not making any sense! I'm standing in the middle of a lake! What could possibly be here?" Harry was frantic now. What if this wasn't a dream? What if all of this was real and this was just a plan of Voldemort's? The thought kept tingling in the back of Harry's mind.

The woman, who called herself Vivian, smiled at him. It was a warm, gentle smile.

She then closed her eyes, held out her hands palms up, and began to chant. The language she used was unlike any Harry had ever heard. It didn't even sound human; it was melodic, yet powerful.

Harry then noticed that the water under Vivian began to swirl and swirl until a small whirlpool was formed. Slowly, and quietly, Vivian began to stop chanting, and as she said the very last word, a bright, white beam of light shot out of the whirlpool, blinding Harry. It only lasted for a moment, and when he looked again, he saw a small circular mirror where the whirlpool had been. Vivian was standing next to it and seemed to be watching it, as if she were seeing something in it. Slowly, Harry stepped toward the mirror, and looked at it carefully. All he saw was a reflection of himself. Confused he looked at Vivian who was still watching the mirror as if she could see something he could not.

"What is this for? What's the point? I mean, I only see myself!" asked Harry.

The mysterious woman never took her eyes off of whatever it was she saw in the mirror. She simply said, "If you only see yourself, then worry only for yourself."

Without thinking, Harry said, "I don't care about myself! I just want everyone else to be safe! I want Cedric to be alive, my parents, everyone! People are dying out there because of me! And I can't do a thing to help them! It's all my fault!" Harry broke down and began to sob. The pain and grief of the last few weeks had finally caught up with him once he had said those words...

Harry felt a hand gently grasp his shoulder. Through teary eyes he looked up and saw Vivian smiling down upon him. She pointed to the mirror, and said, "Look again son of light." Obeying, Harry looked into the mirror, expecting to see the same reflection. Instead, he saw the Weasleys. They were each tied to a chain that linked to a large stone block, making them unable to go very far. They, along with many other were being forced to work as slaves. Some were digging large ditches, others were carrying stones, and some were doing little things that the death eaters surrounding them told them to do. Harry could hear the screams of those who were being tortured, and those who were digging the ditches would stop when one was deep enough and carry the bodies of the dead to be dropped into it. Sometimes, Harry saw, that as someone was carrying a body to the ditch, a death eater would for no reason at all, shoot the Avada Kedavra curse at them. So they too would be dead, and another would carry them to the ditch. They were literally digging their own graves. Harry took a closer look at the Weasleys, horrified at all he was seeing. Their spirits had obviously been broken. Even the twins seemed to have lost their good natures. It was then that Harry realized he was no longer on the lake, but standing next the Weasley family. It was a little like the experience he had with the pensive earlier that year. Harry yelled to the Weasleys. They didn't seem to notice him, so he ran over to them.

"Hey! It's me! It's Harry!" he yelled. There was no response. A tall man wearing a death eater mask walked up at that moment and yelled at Percy. Harry had a hard time understanding what he was yelling about, but the next thing he knew, Percy was on the floor with the Death Eater using the cruciatus curse on him.

"Noo!!!" Harry yelled as he tried to tackle the Death Eater. But to his surprise, he passed right through him, like he was a ghost.

"What the...."

"They can not hear you, or see you, let alone feel you. You are non-existent in this reality. You are simply here to see what would have been." Said Vivian as she suddenly appeared.

"What do you mean what would have been?" Harry asked

"You blame yourself every day for the death of your parents. You constantly wish that they had not sacrificed themselves for you or that you had never been born. This is one of the possible futures that could have happened if that wish had come true. Your parents would still have been killed by Voldemort, and he would have destroyed you as well without the protection of your mother. Because of that, he was able to gain control of the world and enslave its inhabitants, both Muggle and magical."

"What about Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

"Voldemort killed him in a final duel."

"Sirius?"

"He was tortured until death in Azkaban after the Potters were killed."

"Professor Lupin?"

"He was hunted down and killed when Voldemort began recruiting werewolves. Lupin in your reality wasn't killed because Dumbledore was there to help prove his loyalty."

"Hermione?"

"Killed shortly after Voldemort killed the Potters, along with the rest of her family and many other Muggle families."

Harry stood there in horror. It couldn't be true. None of this could be possible. Just because he hadn't survived in this reality everyone he knew was dead or dying! He tried looking around him, but the horrors of this reality made him sick, and he could no longer look. There were dark ominous clouds covering the sky, and indeed there were slaves everywhere being beaten and tortured. The world was definable only as chaos. He then noticed something.

"All of the Weasleys are here, except Ginny. Where is she?"

Vivian looked sad for a moment and then muttered a few words. The world around Harry swirled until finally he was no longer in the chaotic world, but in a small throne room. Sitting on a large ebony throne was Voldemort himself, only he looked much more powerful than Harry remembered him being a few weeks earlier. Surprisingly, Harry's scar didn't hurt as he watched the scene unfold. Ginny had just walked into the room. She was much older than the 13 year old girl Harry knew. Everything about her was different for Harry. Her height, her age, even her eyes; her eyes didn't hold the familiar glow in them. They were empty, almost soulless. It was as if she simply didn't care about anything anymore. She walked slowly up to Voldemort who had an evil grin on his face, and bowed.

"How may I please you, Master." It was more of a statement then a question. Voldemort's grin grew wider as he hissed at the woman kneeling before him, "You would please me by answering my question. Have you considered it?"

Ginny hesitated before answering. "My family, what would happen to them?"

A malicious look flashed in Voldemort's eyes briefly. "Why, I would set them free of course. But only if you agree to give yourself to me." It seemed Voldemort was too much of a coward to commit rape, or maybe he wanted someone to give themselves to him freely, Harry wasn't sure. A small tear rolled down Ginny's cheek and she nodded yes.

Voldemort signaled to a Death Eater standing guard by a large door. "Send Lucius to the camp where the Weasleys are being held with my permission to kill them any way he sees fit." The Death Eater grinned evilly and nodded his head before leaving the throne room.

"But...but you said you'd set them free!" Ginny screamed.

Voldemort got up and walked towards her. "And they will be. Free from this life. Therefore I kept my end of the bargain, now you will keep yours. You will give yourself to me, body and soul." Until that moment, Ginny had had her head down as she cried heavily. She then slowly lifted her head and glared coldly at Voldemort. "You will never take me. My body maybe, but never my soul, that is only mine to give, it is not meant to be taken, nor could it be taken. I would welcome death before disgracing myself and my family so greatly." With that, she spat in his face and turned her back on him as she walked away. Voldemort was shaking with rage as he drew out his wand and pointed it at her retreating form. "Then so be it." He hissed. There was a blinding flashing of green light, and Ginny lay there on the floor lifeless.

Harry couldn't watch any more. It was a nightmare, all of it.

"VIVIAN!!!" Harry screamed.

Vivian appeared and once again the world around Harry swirled... This time, he saw Hogwarts in ruins... and the lawn was covered in blood. Bodies lay everywhere. Some were students and teachers, some were clearly death eaters. Harry saw the body of Ron and Hermione, and of all of his school friends. He even saw Cedric lying there as he did in the graveyard, only it was clear that he been through hours of torture from the marks and blood on his body.

"What reality is this?!" Harry asked in shock.

"If you had taken the Triwizard cup alone instead of with Cedric, Voldemort would still have been reborn. You would have been killed, because you would have lost the will to fight. Your anger over Cedric's death had helped to fuel your need to survive in your reality. Of course, Cedric would still live, but only until Voldemort attacked Hogwarts the following day. He, along with everyone else you ever knew would have been killed. Voldemort did not attack Hogwarts in your reality, because Barty Crouch Jr. had been discovered, and he was to help Voldemort gain entrance to the school. But because you were able to return, and Dumbledore was able to discover the truth about him, he was killed, and Voldemort never attacked."

Harry sat there stunned, staring at the death and destruction around him. Vivian crouched next to him, and held him in a tight embrace. And then Harry realized they were once more on the lake, hovering above the mirror. She then whispered in his ear, "You are not responsible for fate. Fate itself is controlled by no one. What is meant to be is meant to be. You see Harry, it is futile to blame yourself for the decisions of fate. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry said quietly and wiped the tears from his face and stood up.

"Then you are ready. The day is coming, son of light. Soon your journey towards your destiny will truly begin, and it will be up to you to decide which path to take of the many fate has lain before you. Go now, follow Fawkes. He will guide you to your awakening."

She then handed him a necklace. It was a black rope with a small silver and gold pendant hanging from it. The pendant was shaped like a crest and gold outlined its edges. It had a phoenix rising from the ashes in the background of it, and in the foreground was a griffin and fox facing one another. A unicorn stood on its hind legs on the breast of the phoenix, making it look as if they were one being. It was truly beautiful. Harry put it around his neck and thanked Vivian. She simply smiled and said, "Live your journey to the end, son of light. Live it to the end." With that she disappeared, and Fawkes flew ahead of Harry and once again began his song, and Harry followed the great bird. He followed him past the lake, through the forest and once again into darkness, where he felt himself fading.

Opening his eyes to the light of dawn, Harry looked around his room in astonishment. 'Was all of that real?' he wondered. He then felt the necklace around his neck and pulled it out. It was just as it had been in his dream. Only this time, he noticed something on the back. An eye had been lightly carved on the back, with a deep blue iris. Seeing it, Harry knew that he would always be reminded that sometimes you had to see beyond your own reflection.