HARRY POTTER AND THE PROPHECY TRUE

Chapter Five

"Parker, I have to go," Harry grumbled. He had spent over a week in the Mexican jungles and was eager to get moving. The parrot had arrived as the sun was rising and began eagerly tapping on the tent. He insisted that Harry go to the ancient structures and listen to what the tourists were talking about. He was excited about how fascinating the humans were and eager to share that with Harry.

"I have to find the land where time begins and then I have to find a man called Trong and answer his riddle. I am running out of time."

"But you must come. The humans today are different. These are the kind that search for things and learn their meanings. It is always fascinating. Besides, some people think the Mayans were the beginning of civilization. Maybe you already have found the land where time begins."

"All right, listen," Harry sighed with exasperation. "If I go to the stones, will you leave me to finish packing?"

"Must you leave?"

"Yes, I've already told you I have to go. I am running out of time. School will be starting soon and if I'm not there, Snape will dock about a thousand points from Gryffindor."

"What?" Harry shook his head, retrieving his cloak as they spoke.

"It's not important. Lets just go see what these humans are doing and have done with it." Harry followed behind Parker, pushing his way through brush and limbs, all the while trying to keep himself hidden under his father's old cloak.

Parker had been right. The normal groups of tourists had seemed to vanish and in their place was a full-blown archeology team of diggers, investigators and specialists. Harry slipped around behind the group and leaned against the edge of the stairs that led to the very top of the great pyramid. He listened on with interest, realizing that this group was not actual archeologists, but rather students of the art.

"The first thing all of you have to do, is translate the writings on the south wall of the temple," an older man said, his beard, though not nearly as long as Dumbledore's and his shoulder length, curly gray hair made him think of the old Headmaster. His demeanor was different however. Where Hogwart's headmaster was kind and caring, this man seemed irritated and rather rude.

"Sir," a young blonde girl asked form where she stood just in front of Harry. "Are we looking for something in particular?"

"Yes Miss Harris," the man said in an air that would put Snape to shame. "An education," he continued, raising his nose high in the air and walking away.

"All right everyone, lets get busy," a younger man said, much less stuffy and much more liked by the students. Harry listened and followed the group around, forgetting his desire to leave and go about his task. He was fascinated by what the students were saying the symbols on the walls meant. It wasn't until he heard a young man, who appeared to be little more than nineteen, claimed to have found a rather interesting symbol.

"It appears that a man is turning into the shape of a snake," he exclaimed as the group gathered closer to him. "Look here," he said again; pointing at the carved image of a bearded man in one block, then a half man, half snake in the next and finally a full snake, nearly twice as large as the images of people next to him.

"That is impossible," the older man said, pushing his way through the group. "There has never been any mention of a shape shifting god."

"I didn't say it was a god, sir," the young man said boldly. "It appears to be an ordinary man. He is changing into a giant snake, if you would just take a look..."

"If you insist on continuing to translate the stones improperly, Mr. Michaels," the older man said bitterly, "then you may as well pack up now and leave. These stones have been investigated and interpreted since before you were born. Do not assume that you could possibly have found something the greatest scholars of the world have overseen. Now get back to work and see if you can do it properly this time, eh?"

"Don't worry about Professor Weston," the other man said with a warm smile and a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "He has been here every summer for twenty years. He's lost the magic this place possesses."

"Why aren't you leading this expedition?" a young red haired woman asked, smiling invitingly to the slightly older man, who laughed cheerfully.

"I have a lot of other things to worry about. I only join Professor Weston, because I love this place. I have been with him since I was sixteen, and unfortunately, he is right. Great scholars from all over the world have studied these stones for years, but unlike the Professor, I do believe in finding new and interesting treasures. After all, this is one of the greatest places on earth. The Mayans believed in the magic of the world around them. Why shouldn't a special person find something hidden from the eyes of others?"

"Hey Trent," another young woman, this one with short curly blonde hair said, joining the small group. "Maybe the gods have taken an interest in you and showed you a piece of their world. Why not? It happens in the movies."

"This Teresa, is not the movies," a bitter Trent Michaels said, a soft smirk on his face. Little did he know, his secret affair with this curly haired woman was not quite as hidden as he had hoped.

"All right you guys, lets get back to work," the other man said, his dark hair sticking to his forehead with sweat, his dark eyes shining like glass as he smiled at the three students. "Professor Weston will flip if you aren't working. Just use your books and record what you see."

"Does that include the snake-man?"

"No, leave that out. He would never believe you and the only thing it would get you is a failing grade. Just remember it, so when you have your degree, you can come back and investigate it on your own."

"Thanks, that's really a lot of encouragement." Teresa smiled back at her secret lover and turned to leave, glancing up to the top of the large temple.

"Did you hear what the tour guides told Professor Weston?" she asked. "They claimed to have seen one of the Mayan gods this summer. A tourist said he backed into a spirit and they saw a floating head in the temple."

"A floating head? Don't be ridiculous," the red haired woman said.

"I'm not kidding Lisa, they said they saw the head of a young boy. They nearly refused to let us here for the whole week. The insisted they would miss out on some kind of great ceremony that would reveal the gods to them."

"Superstitious rubbish," the voice of a blond male said, stepping up to the group. Harry glanced over the head of the red haired woman and looked at the speaker, his mind thinking back to Malfoy. He had nearly the same smirk on his face, the same arrogant air of wealth surrounding him and he seemed to reject everyone else's theories as useless, if the ideas presented were not from him, they obviously were not worth listening to.

"Shut up David," Trent said, turning away from the young man. "The Mayans were one of the greatest races of all time. Their calendars are so precise; they are off only by thirty-three seconds, even after all these centuries. Why shouldn't people think about spirits in a place like this?"

"You would believe that stuff, Michaels. Your kind always has believed in wishes and magic. Anything except hard work to get you where you think you deserve to be." Trent turned his dark blond head toward the other man, his blue eyes shooting angry daggers at him, his jaw set in a rigid line.

"I've had enough of you, you sod off little pecker," Trent bit out with venom.

"Enough!" the older man said, stepping into the group. "Mr. Michaels, if you plan on remaining with this group, I strongly suggest you get back to work and stop causing trouble. David, I thought you were going to investigate the tower?"

"I was Professor, until I heard Michaels and his girlfriends stupid ideas of the Mayans. Their theories are positively outlandish."

"Be that as it may, you have your own work to get started with," Professor Weston said. "You wouldn't want your excellent standing in this class to be lowered because of the misplaced ideas of others, would you?"

"Absolutely not, Professor," David said turning a smirk toward the others, before leaving the group. Harry watched in amazement. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn he had just witnessed a confrontation between Ron and Malfoy, with Snape interrupting and taking his favorite student's side.

"Come on Trent, get back to work," the other man said sympathetically. "Don't let the likes of David Hampton stop you from getting an education. This is important to you and you have a right to succeed."

"I still wish you were leading this expedition," Lisa said in turn.

"So do I," mumbled Trent.

"You are so much better at this than he is," Teresa said in a soft voice, nodding toward the older man walking beside the pompous blond. "I don't know why you couldn't run these summer expeditions."

"Because I am not a professor for one thing. The college would never allow me to take you out on my own."

"Sure, could you image it?" Lisa snickered softly. "Professor Trong? Please. I'm glad you're just plain old Richard."

"Thanks a lot," the man chuckled, stepping away from the group and leaving a very wide-eyed Harry to stare at him from under his cloak.

"Trong?" he said to himself. What was it Parker had said, some people think the Mayans were the beginning of civilization. Maybe his search, at least the second stage of it, had come to pass. But how would he learn if this man was the Trong he searched for? How would he confront him and ask him his riddle? And what was all that with the stones? A man turning into a snake? An Animagus perhaps? There seemed to be more questions popping up every moment, then there were answers. Harry sighed in frustration. He would have to spend another night here, right now there were too many people around and that Trent was still looking at the stones of the snake-man as he called it. Harry would have to return when the others were gone and see what the stones meant. In the meantime, he wanted to learn more about this Trong.

For the next several hours, Harry followed the man he estimated to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven, listening as he aided the students with their translations and ideas of what the stones meant. Harry learned a lot, but it wasn't what he wanted. He needed to know more about this man and so far all he was able to make out was that he was very friendly, kind and spent more time listening than speaking. It was as if he too were looking for something. Lunch was served by means of box meals delivered from the nearby village and the students paused from their research only long enough to eat them. Harry managed to sneak a box unseen and sat on a stone far enough away from the others, to prevent having someone sit on him or back into him, eating his cheese and avocado sandwich, fried bananas, cinnamon tortillas and papaya juice, listening to the talk of the day's progresses. Everyone had pretty much the same sort of day, reassuring the writings of the scholars who had investigated the ruins before, were right.

By twilight, Harry was exhausted. He had literally spent the entire day walking from one end of the stone structures to the top of the towers and back again. He returned to his tent, collapsing on the bed, his feet hot and sweating inside his shoes, his clothes sticky from the heat and sweat of hiding beneath the confines of the old cloak. His legs hurt, his arms ached from holding the cloak around him. He couldn't remember ever being so tired. Even the long, grueling hours of Quidditch practice couldn't compare to the day he had just spent. But worse of all, he still wanted to investigate those stones Trent Michaels had found with the snake-man.

With a heavy sigh, Harry stood back up. He went to the small bathroom and washed his face and neck, rinsing away some of the sweat and frustration from the day, then taking his father's cloak once again, he left the tent and returned to the ancient structures of the past. The moon was slowly rising above the mountains; it was now half the size as it was a few short days ago when he watched the wizards perform their spell in the clearing. The light from above etched the stone pyramids in an eerie silence and Harry actually found himself breathing harder with anxiety. He was getting used to hearing so many voices from the night creatures around him, but the ever-present sense of alertness was still unnerving. He always felt as if he were being watched, as if there were others around him, even when he was alone.

The snap of a branch behind him, caused Harry's already alert nerves to jump, causing him to practically fall backwards over a tree root, wand in hand and feet stumbling to keep his balance. He peered through the darkness, as a shadow grew nearer. The image of the man he had spent the day following came into sight, he didn't take precautions against being seen and for that Harry was surprised. He watched as Trong made his way to the stones Harry was wanting to investigate, watching as the man stooped down to the ground and raised his hand.

"Lumos," Harry heard him say and the end of the wand he held in his hand began to glow. Harry frowned. This was becoming as frequent a place for wizards as Hogsmeade, he thought to himself. He carefully made his way to the stones, staying well out of reach of the man investigating the writings and carvings hidden among the ancient structure.

"It's true," Trong said in a sad voice. "This was were he disappeared to. But why? What was he trying to accomplish?" Harry frowned as Trong began to trace the image of the snake-man with his fingers. "What would your guess be, Harry Potter?" Harry froze, his hand instinctively reaching the cloak to assure it was still covering him. The man chuckled under his breath, turning toward the spot Harry stood and smiled warmly. "My father told me you were curious, I just never would have guessed you were so bold. I suppose I should have, considering all you have gone through over the past seventeen years. By the way, happy birthday."

"You know me?" Harry asked, lowering the hood to the cloak from his head. Trong's smile continued as he sat down on a nearby rock.

"I know of you. I have heard the stories for years, but until now I couldn't wrap my head around all of it. I would never have expected a young boy to defeat Voldemort, much less a baby. I suppose Lily's spell saved you in more ways than Dumbledore has said."

"Who are you? How do you know so much about me? Who is your father? How do you know about Voldemort? Why do you use his name?"

"So many questions," chuckled Trong. "Let me think, who am I. My name is Trong, Sulong Trong. I know it rhymes; my mother was somewhat of a comedian. How do I know so much about you? Because I'm an old friend of your mother's, sort of. We worked together in the early years of Voldemort's reign. I was very sorry to hear about what happened to your parents, Harry. They were good people. I swear, you look just like your father. He couldn't do much with his hair either, though it was very much a joke to keep it messy. He thought it made him look rugged and sexy. Lily always told him it made him look unkept and messy, but he didn't mind."

"How did you know my parents?"

"We were a part of the Order together. That was many years ago, almost a life time it seems."

"That's impossible," Harry insisted, his wand held tightly in his hand as he looked at the man's reflection from his own wand. "You're barely more than few years older than I am, you couldn't possibly have worked with them."

"I did Harry. I'm what you would call a Miramage. I can make myself look younger or older, male or female, depending on the need. My father always found it quite irritating; he's a normal wizard you know. He hated my talent, especially when I wanted to sneak out of the house. Even as great as he is, he never really could see through my disguises when I didn't want him to. I don't know, maybe he could and he just wanted me to feel powerful."

"Who is your father?" Harry asked, his frown deepening his brow. Trong shook his head with a smile.

"Sorry Harry, that's not for you to know. Just know this, he is a great supporter of yours and a good friend, as am I. You were sent here by the three witches of old. Have you figured out the riddle yet?"

"No. I hate riddles and I'm really not very good at it."

"Then we won't worry about that just yet. How's your Occlumency coming along?"

"Why?"

"You have had a lot of questions since you arrived here, haven't you? Questions about a new talent you've recently developed?"

"How did you know that?" Trong chuckled again.

"I know a great deal. It comes with the talent of being able to appear as different people. That was quite a show you put on for the Muggles, revealing your head to them. I thought for sure they were going to crap their pants."

"You were there?"

"I was. I have spent many long years searching this place, but until today I haven't been able to find out the true theory behind the Mayan rise to power. Has your friend Hermione, ever told you about the Mayan connection to our world?" Harry shook his head, stepping a little closer to the man, then sat on a rock near by, his wand still held tightly in his hand.

"The Mayan people were just a primitive tribe until one day when they met a god in the form of a snake. Within a few short years, he had taught them his magic, instructed them on how to build these temples. As ordered by their god, the Mayan began to populate, those with magical powers ruled over those who were refused the right to practice it. Sound familiar?"

"Pure bloods and Muggles?"

"Exactly Harry. Their snake god struck fear into the hearts of the Mayan people and ordered sacrifices be made to him. In exchange, he would grant them prosperity and riches beyond their wildest dreams. They were willing, the promises and magic making them drunk with power. Muggles were taken from the nearby villages, told that their sacrifice would be greatly rewarded, which it was. The families of those sacrificed were showered with gifts of gold and food and praise. They were given privileges to make all the other households envious. Eventually even their children were being given up as sacrifices in exchange for the gifts their god promised them."

" Kukulcan, the winged serpent," Harry said, repeating what he had heard the students earlier that day talking about.

"Yes, but that was only a name, Harry. The serpent god brought many other gods to the Mayan people, but they were no more gods then Kukulcan was. They were wizards of the darkest kind. They rewarded only loyalty and when denied, destroyed all that stood against them. Eventually a great disagreement erupted between the different so called gods. They each wanted the admiration of the Mayan as the greatest god of all, but Kukulcan was their one true god, the one they worshiped above all others. This made for grounds of jealous anger and eventual battle. When all was said and done, the gods were driven out of Mayan territory and Kukulcan placed a curse on the surroundings, forcing the people to abandon their homes. They sought refuse in the outer skirts of the wizarding world, but never gave up their hopes of restoring power to the great temples."

"Who was Kukulcan, if he wasn't a god?" Harry asked, now completely enthralled with the story. Trong smiled as he stared at Harry.

"Can't you figure it out?" he asked. "A man who can turn into a snake could only be an...."

"Animagus," Harry answered.

"So who do you think would possibly choose a snake as their Animagus?" Harry frowned, thinking as hard as he could. There was Voldemort, but he wasn't old enough, then there was the Malfoys, but again they weren't old enough to be involved with the Mayan.

"My head hurts," Harry finally answered in frustration.

"Then try looking at the stones," Trong said, leading the way to the stones Trent Michaels had found earlier that morning. "I have spent years trying to find something like this and it took the accidental findings of a Muggle to see it." Harry leaned down next to Trong and looked at the set of stones. The first one was of a man, long beard and hair, robes long and flowing. The next showed a light emerging from the man as the lower half of his body began transforming into a snake. The last showed the man fully transformed, his body and head the image of a Basilisk, towering over the many smaller images of people who circled the snake, pointing and bowing.

"Slytherin," Harry whispered.

"When the great fallout with Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor came, Slytherin disappeared and was never heard from again. There have been stories for centuries about snake gods celebrated and honored by cultures around the world, but this was the one that I could actually take as fact. This proves Salazar Slytherin was trying to build his own world of pure bloods, by sacrificing Muggles."

"So the curse that was placed upon the city, that was real?"

"Yes. I found another passage today while you were eating lunch. It mentions a great curse placed upon the Mayan by the gods when their world was torn apart by upheaval. It's my theory that Slytherin and his followers found their demise in their jealousy. When Kukulcan left the Mayan ruins, he placed a curse to guard it from the other wizards who would try rule over the area. The Mayan people were cast out of their city and forced to find a new home that is why they return. The full moon holds great power and every month the high priests return to find a counter-curse that would allow them to reclaim their home."

"So Slytherin was the key to the entire Mayan culture? It's hard to believe."

"Why? The Mayan practiced and believed in magic, they had to have learned it from somewhere."

"Your friend, Trent, he said the Mayan believed the gods came from another planet."

"That is badly translated, they believed the gods came from another world, and they did. Our world, Harry."

"This is incredible," Harry said sitting back down on the rock he had abandoned a little while earlier. "Hermione would flip if she were here."

"She would also be able to figure out the riddle." Trong said, sitting back across from Harry, watching him intently.

"I am really bad with riddles, really, really bad with them. If it wasn't for Ginny, I would never have figured out Gilda's riddle."

"Are you sure?" Trong asked in a soft tone. "You are much smarter than you could ever have imagined. The answers are inside you Harry, just relax and let it flow through you." Harry drew a deep breath; closing his eyes and feeling the cool evening breeze wash over him.

"What force and strength cannot get through, but many in the street would stand, were this not a friend in hand," he whispered.

"Think Harry," Trong encouraged. "The answer is in you." Harry sighed with disgust. He was really getting tired of hearing that from people.

"What force and strength cannot get through," Harry said again. "It has to be a barrier, something blocking off the outside, right?" Trong didn't answer, but smiled, watching Harry struggle to find an answer. "Okay a barrier, a...door maybe. So many in the street would stand, were this not a friend in hand. Something to get through the barrier. A spell, or a charm. Maybe a key." Harry paused considering the riddle and the possible answer, and then he thought about Gilda. She had told him a story of her lost love who was a centaur, which was in fact the answer to his first riddle. Maybe Trong had done the same thing. What had they talked about? Slytherin being the key to the Mayan civilization, the god Kukulcan. Then Harry thought a little harder.

"A key?" he said with a frown. "A key can open barriers and is held in the hand, without it many would stand outside in the street. That's it, isn't it? A key." Trong smiled, reaching beneath the collar of his shirt and pulling out a golden key, dangling on a chain.

"Very good Harry. I told you, you had it inside you. Without a key, every situation would seem hopeless. All you have to do is look a little harder to see what is right in front of you. Even here, the key was staring me right in the face all these years and I have never seen it."

"You cheated," Harry said a little said. "So did Gilda. She told me about her centaur lover and you told me about the key to the Mayans being Slytherin."

"Was it cheating, or simple listening on your part? You can hear the voices and thoughts of animals, Harry. Why?"

"Because I'm going mental. Ron will love this when I get back. Snape will have me committed to St. Mungo's."

"You spend too much time worrying about Snape. He isn't as bad as he seems, you know? If Voldemort were to learn about his admiration to you, it could mean his death and it wouldn't be a pleasant one."

"You didn't answer me earlier. Why do you speak Voldemort's name? Most wizards I've met are afraid to even attempt it."

"I'm not afraid of him, Harry. He brings out anger in me, not fear. I hate him for what he has done to people like you. I loved your father like a brother and Lily, well lets just say if she didn't have James in her life I would definitely have been more than a friend to her."

"Voldemort said she didn't die right away," he said in an angry whisper, thinking back on his last confrontation with dark lord.

"Do you believe that?" Trong asked solemnly.

"I don't want to, but..."

"Then don't. I knew Lily, Harry. She would never have allowed anything like that to happen. She loved your father hopelessly and she would never do anything to tarnish that love."

"He said she did it to save me."

"He lied. Lily's love for you saved you, not her sacrifice of her virtue." Harry was silent for several moments. He wanted to believe, he needed to believe but there was a part of him that didn't. It was that part that made him want Voldemort dead more than anything else.

"Your first task taught you about the loyalty of a loved one, Harry," Trong said at last. "Gilda was loyal to her love, even after all these centuries. Ginny was loyal to you by helping you understand the riddle, and you were loyal to her by keeping her in your heart. Your mother was loyal to your father and to you by sacrificing her life, just as your father had. That is the truth and the only thing for you to remember. Loyalty has many faces Harry, but only one heart, it is how you look at it that depends on how you find it."

"And what has this task taught me?"

"That's a question you have to answer for yourself. Look deep inside your heart Harry. The answers lie within."

"I am so sick of hearing that. You said it, Mutgeb said it, Dumbledore said it, even Gilda said."

"Sounds like you have a lot of very wise people in your life."

"Yes I do," admitted Harry. "And good friends. You're right Trong, I did learn loyalty with Gilda. And I think I know what I've learned with you."

"What might that be Harry?"

"Compassion. Parker and the others, who would have known that I could speak to animals. But they accepted me and taught me compassion for the past and for the unknown. Parker holds great admiration for the ancients, yet he fears them at the same time. Who are the wizards who come her every full moon? Are they followers of Voldemort?"

"No Harry, just lost souls looking for the past, but they have not learned yet that the past is with us like a cloak, just as the future holds out its hand to us, so the past supports us when we fall. They are just trying to regain the heritage they once had, yet they have not discovered their heritage has always been a part of them."

"Like my parents, they are always a part of my life even though we aren't together."

"Exactly, Harry. I think you have learned all you need to here and I have found what I needed to learn as well. I thank you for that Harry Potter."

"Now what?" Harry asked, standing up and taking his cloak, walking toward the clearing where his tent waited.

"You'll have your next task soon enough. Just wait for it and be patient."

"I'm running out of time," Harry insisted, growing weary of saying that. "I have to get back to school and back to Ginny. I miss her."

"And she misses you. But what you're doing here is of great value to both of you and to the world we belong. Patience is a virtue Harry, it would be wise if you learned that now rather than when you get older."

"Who is your father?" Trong chuckled softly, lifting the key from around his neck and fingering it in his fingers.

"The key is the key, Harry. Just remember that." Harry watched as the other man disappeared through the darkness of the jungle, listening to the soft rustle of the wind and the soft murmurs of those living within.

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"Harry, you've done well and much quicker than I had anticipated," Mutgeb said, stirring Harry from his deep slumber to join her in a state of soft dreams.

"I've been here too long," Harry said through the silence.

"Not at all. But time is running short. You must look in the land down under. Find the place the dolphins swim and ask their leader this question; you soar without wings and see without eyes, you have traveled the universe from once you've come, you've conquered the world without leaving home. Who are you?"

"I hate riddles," Harry grumbled again, hearing the soft chuckle within his mind.

"You are nearly there, Harry. Remember what you must do and keep on task. You have only one to go to find your goal. The flame waits for you, Harry. The world awaits your saving."

"Why me? I'm not that special."

"You are the chosen one, the one to confront the past and bring it into the future. You must join with time, to learn to control it."

"What does that mean?"

"Patience Harry. You will learn shortly what needs to be done. Keep on task, Harry. Your quest is nearly at an end."