Like the Roses

Chapter One: It Begins

"Okay, so explain to me what's been going on," said a blue-eyed young man. His light brown curls fell loosely around his head, and wanted a haircut.

A dark-haired man replied. "Well, Kraddoch has been putting members of his gang all around England. They murder and kidnap as many Muggles as they can each week." He paused, thoughtful, and his fingers reached up to feel the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. "Kraddoch was one of Voldemort's most loyal hands. When Voldemort was defeated, Kraddoch disappeared for several years. When he returned to the Wizarding world, no one recognized him; he had disguised himself as a wizard called Duglam Hadding."

"And now that Kraddoch's returned, he's been trying to finish the job that Voldemort started. And --"

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. A young lady stuck her head into the room. Her wavy brown tresses were pinned back neatly. "Harry," she began. Then, "Oh...are you in the middle of something?"

"Hi, Hermione. No, it's okay, what do you need?" said the black-haired twenty year old.

"Well, Ginny sent me a message from downstairs saying someone is here to see you with an urgent message, but if you're busy I can tell him to wait..." Hermione looked hesitant, and glanced at the other man.

"Oh no, it's okay. Tell him to come up." Catching her glance, Harry added, "This is Tylendel. He's an old friend of mine, and he's just joined the team."

Hermione smiled warmly and her eyes shone with friendliness. "Hi, Tylendel. Welcome to the team. I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Granger," Tylendel said politely.

"Call me Hermione, we're all friends here. No need to be formal." Her smile widened.

"Hermione, then." Tylendel gave a friendly smile in return.

"Okay, I'll tell Ginny to send him up," said Hermione with a conclusive nod at Harry. She left the room, and Harry and Tylendel sat down again.

"So, what role do we play in all this?" began Tylendel.

"Well," Harry paused. "Our job is a bit more complicated, though it sounds quite simple. These past months, more and more victims have been taken. Many are dead, and the number of people who just disappear is growing steadily. We need to stop Kraddoch, and we need to do it fast, and in secret."

"In secret?" Tylendel looked puzzled. "Why can't anyone know?"

"Because Kraddoch isn't sure whom his opponent is yet. Of course, just about everyone who is not with him is against him, but he doesn't know who is actually going to fight against him. We can take advantage of this element of surprise."

Tylendel nodded. "I get it."

"Roassir wanted me to formulate a plan that would let us attack from the inside out." Harry ran his fingers through his hair.

"And Roassir is?"

"Roassir is the boss," replied Harry.

"I thought you were the boss." The statement was simple, but a question was framed behind it.

"I'm the head of the team. I give instructions and make the plans, but Roassir tells me what needs to be done, and I do my best to follow his orders."

Tylendel nodded. A few moments of silence, and then a loud and clear knock was heard.

"Come in," said Harry. The door opened, and a silver-blond man entered the room. His face was pale and arrogant, and his eyes were haughty and cold. He wore fine black robes which were no doubt very expensive, and they seemed to add to his aloofness.

"Well," began the young man with a smirk. "I might have known that who Weasley called the boss was you. You always did have a way of shoving yourself to the top, Potter. If it can be called the top."

"Malfoy. Long time no see. And not unfortunately, either. Well, what's this important message you have for me?" Harry's voice was both hard and flat.

"I don't know if I should tell you. After all, such important information can't be chanced to fall into the wrong hands." Draco yawned, his cool, silver eyes never blinking. "I might be offering it to the wrong person."

"If you are offering this information, as you say, then you should give it freely. I did not have you come up to play games with me, Malfoy. I have important business to attend to and you are wasting my time." Harry knew perfectly well that Draco was trying to wind him up. Malfoy wouldn't be smirking his face off if he wanted a good bribe.

Draco decided to ignore this statement from Harry, and pretended to notice Tylendel for the first time. "And who is this?" He asked with a cold smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Malfoy --" Harry began.

Tylendel interrupted, speaking for the first time since Draco had entered the room. "My name is Tylendel. Who the hell would a rat like you be?" His eyes glared at Draco threateningly. Tylendel had been observing the fair-haired man, and decided he did not like him at all.

Draco looked surprised by this immediate hostility, but recovered quickly. "I must say, Potter. Where did you get such a charming friend? Did you find him in a box of chocolates?" Malfoy sneered and turned his gaze back to Harry.

"Very funny," said Harry in an irritated voice.

"I wasn't trying to be. I'll thank you to know that if I was being humorous, you would go insane with laughter."

"Back to the subject, Malfoy. Are you or aren't you going to tell me what you have to say?" Green eyes held silver with a penetrating glare for several moments.

Draco gave in with reluctant haughtiness. "Alright." Moments of silence passed.

"Well? I'm not telepathic. You need to actually say words, you know, like combinations of consonants and vowels?" Harry stifled a yawn and continued to glare at Draco.

Draco opened his mouth angrily and looked as if he were about to retort, but then shut his mouth again. "Well, Kraddoch has been attacking Muggles." Draco paused.

"Nothing new there. And since when have you cared about the welfare of Muggles?" said Harry with a smirk to match Draco's.

"Listen, Potter. I care about what happens to those Muggles as much as I care about you. However, that is not the point here. The point is, well -- damnit, Potter! I'm trying to help and I would appreciate it if you would at least acknowledge that!" Malfoy glared at Harry with an anger that turned his eyes a silvery-black.

Harry was silent a few moments before responding with a strange quietness. "Why are you even offering to give me information, Malfoy? Since you don't care what happens to the Muggles? What makes you think I need to know what you have to say?"

"Look, I know what your job is. I also know that I can't tell anybody what you do, and I also can't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you. So just listen, okay? Because, trust me, you need to know this."

"Malfoy," began Harry in a quiet voice that revealed no emotion. "You have never given me a good reason to trust you since the day I met you."

"It's...because of my father," said Draco after a hesitant pause, abandoning all pretenses of arrogance. "It started in the sixth year. He'd been training me to use the Dark Arts, and suddenly he wanted me to join with Voldemort. I had always assumed I was already part of the Dark Lord's group, because my father was, but I learned I had to be sworn in just as he was.

"The process was complete torture. I went through a year and a half of terrible pain, both physical and mental, until the last part came. I had to make a sacrifice for Voldemort..." Draco shut his eyes tightly for a moment before continuing. "It had to be the ultimate sacrifice from me." A deep breath. "He wanted me to give up my wizard powers."

"Your powers? But...that would make you a Muggle!" Harry's eyebrows knit together in thought.

Draco nodded. As he was speaking, his eyes had seemed to glaze over, as if he were caught in a daze. "Exactly. I would be a useless hand. But giving up my powers would be my ultimate sacrifice. So Voldemort decided to use a Funiculus spell on me. The Funiculus spell would collect my powers into a kind of power-node, and through a line, Voldemort would be able to access my powers. This meant that I would have only a small fraction of my powers to use myself, and I would not be able to use it freely. Everything would be controlled by him."

"Wait," Harry said, a bit perplexed, "What was the point of using the Funiculus spell? Couldn't he have just taken your powers and then used you as a servant, like the dementors?"

"He could have," said Draco thoughtfully. "But he didn't, because to be sworn in to the circle of his followers is to offer your life to him. If he took my powers completely, it would strip me of my being; I had a chance of dying in the process, and in the event that I survived, I would be almost useless to him. Voldemort already had enough soulless and mindless minions to obey him. Using the Funiculus spell would allow him to have and use most of my powers, while I could still prove a valuable follower.

"Voldemort and my father began the Funiculus spell after the torturing pain had started to lapse. The Funiculus spell began by eating away my mind and soul. It was as if my insides were on fire. I could no longer think, and I lost control of my hands and legs. It was like my body was on autopilot. At times, I ran out of fuel, and I would have trouble breathing properly. Several times I nearly died."

Tylendel spoke slowly and hesitantly, "Why did you let them perform the spell?"

"I didn't," replied Draco. "It was forced on me. The Funiculus spell is closely related to the Imperius spell. I couldn't do anything to stop it. The spell needed two months to complete itself. It is a very strange spell, and is classified as something beyond the Dark Arts.

"A few days after the first month ended, it began to thin out a little. Slowly, I began to regain consciousness of the real world in intervals, but only for a few minutes each time. Then I would fall back into my trance. After a week, the intervals grew to be an hour, or two hours. I learned to control my powers during these small amounts of time.

"One night, I woke up, drenched in sweat and trembling. Suddenly, I realized something was wrong. Not with me, but with the spell. There had been a flaw in the magic, and I was free from its grasp. But I did not know how long that freedom would last. That night, I packed my wand, books, and important possessions, and I escaped. I flew to a friend's--" Draco paused and looked as if his head had begun to throb.

"Are you okay?" asked Harry, half-worried, half-dazed. Draco's words had caused him to feel an internal pain which ached terribly. For the second time in his life, he felt pity for Draco.

Draco did not answer the question, but continued. "I flew to a...friend's house. He took me in and protected me, and --" Draco paused again, this time longer. "I knew that my father was trying to track me with the Funiculus spell, but I was fighting it. I used a counterspell, and two years later I had complete control again. I sought the help of Severus Snape, our former Potions professor. I knew he had experienced much the same thing I did.

"When I found him, he was dying. I saved his life and nursed him back to health. I spent a year with him, and learned many new things. He took me to Dumbledore, who provided sanctuary for me. Dumbledore told me I should find you, because I held valuable information you needed. Last August, I left Hogwarts to find you. And now I'm here.

"Right before I left to search for you, I learned from Dumbledore that you had defeated Voldemort. One of the reasons you defeated him so easily is because the Funiculus spell had weakened him. To perform it, he had poured some of himself into it, because the spell would let him share my power. It did not occur to him that the spell might not be finished.

"When I broke the spell, the power he had put into it was gone. It perished with the spell. This made him weaker, and he tried to find me to punish me, as well as to take from me what I had caused him to lose. I tried to find you to warn you that Kraddoch and my father, Voldemort's most loyal hands, would be following through with Voldemort's unfinished plans."

Harry nodded. "We had a hunch Kraddoch might try to do that."

"Yes, but that's not all. He's working with my father, now, and they have a new objective. They want to capture you, and try to channel your powers with Funiculus, instead of mine."

Harry turned pale. "And what would that achieve?"

"Well, apparently, you have a certain power that runs in your blood. You are a wizard, and that's also in your blood, but this is different, this is a potential that's in your blood. A potential that's very likely to be triggered sometime soon." Draco watched Harry's face carefully.

Harry said nothing, but Tylendel nodded. "I know what you're talking about. It's the Mage Gift. Harry has that potential, I knew it the day I met him. It's what I have. I'm a Herald-Mage, not a Wizard. But the two are very similar, except a mage uses his hands, and a wizard uses a wand to conduct his magic."

"Yes, exactly that," said Draco. "And if I'm correct, there are different powers that mages can carry."

Tylendel nodded again. "For instance, I have the gifts of Mindspeech, Empathy, and Fetching. But you, Harry, are a very different case. You don't need any other gifts; you can already use your magic, and that means that if the potential inside you is triggered, you will become a Mage."

Harry spoke in a very quiet voice. "So...you're saying that I'm a mage and a wizard?"

"A potential mage. But basically, yes," said Draco with a slight nod.

"But you still haven't told me why that makes me a target." Harry looked from Tylendel to Draco.

Draco paused. "If they use Funiculus on you," he said slowly, "they would gain more power than Voldemort could ever have given them. It would destroy you. There would be no way for someone with that much power to survive after the Funiculus spell was performed. With that power, gained in that unnatural way, they could destroy the earth itself with a mere wave of their hands."

A few moments of tense silence.

"But you could always look on the bright side. Ladies love power. Assuming Kraddoch and my father don't get to you before the women. And there's also the fact that girls don't have a taste for men who are out of style, but hey, power's a big attraction." Draco attempted to grin, but the corners of his mouth refused to budge.

After a moment, Tylendel spoke. "I'm trying to recall something my mentor Savil told me a long time ago. She said that there was a wizard world, and that there was a difference between wizards and mages. There are many people in Valdemar and surrounding countries who think wizards and mages are the same. Savil said...that a Wizard-Mage combination was very rare, and only one Wizard-Mage has ever been known to exist before. You may soon become the second one, my friend."

Harry looked grim. "I don't want all that power."

"Why not?" said Tylendel in a surprised voice. Then he looked pensive for a few moments. "No one ever seems to," he murmured.

"Sorry?" Harry looked unsure.

"I said no one ever seems to want Mage power. I remember Van's reaction when I --" Tylendel stopped abruptly. He quickly stood up looking as if he had sprained his foot, drew a deep breath, and sat down again. No one said anything about his queer behavior, nor asked who "Van" was.

Several awkward minutes passed which seemed like several hours. Finally, Draco stood up, his eyes flat and revealing no emotion. "I need to go. I'll keep in touch."

"Wait!" called Harry, raising his voice. "It just struck me." Harry paused, gritted his teeth, and continued. "You could be of some help. Would you...consider joining the team?" Harry looked as if he were yanking his own teeth out.

Draco froze in his steps, caught off guard. He was shocked, unsure, and suspicious all at the same time. He opened his mouth and closed it, and then gazed thoughtfully at the door for a few moments.

"Malfoy, I know you aren't fond of me, and you're not exactly my favorite person either, but we can help each other to defeat Kraddoch and your father." Harry watched Draco's face carefully.

Draco's haughtiness swiftly returned. "Come to beg for help now, have you?" He sneered and took a single step towards the door.

"Please," called out Tylendel, unexpectedly. Draco started slightly at his soft voice. He looked surprised himself. "I know Harry well enough to know that he wouldn't ask someone like you for help unless he really needed it."

Draco looked surprised by the sincerity in Tylendel's voice, and for a millisecond he seemed hurt by the words that bit him in a strange way. Someone like *you*. Draco resumed his blank expression and lowered his eyes. He gave a single, curt nod. "Alright," was the word spoken softly, but in a hard voice. With a few paces, Draco's feet carried him to the door, where he paused. His fair-haired head moved slightly; he had begun to turn to glance back at Harry and Tylendel, but he hesitated, thought better of it, and exited.

Harry and Tylendel were quiet for several minutes.

"Sooooo..." began Tylendel, trying the fill silence's empty gap. His voice was somewhat inquiring.

Harry decided to answer the unasked question. "That was Draco Malfoy. An old Hogwarts classmate. We were never too fond of each other."

"Let me guess, he was a Slytherin?"

Harry grinned. "How ever did you guess?" he said, with mock-surprise.

"So, why were you enemies?"

"I never said we were enemies," said Harry in a somewhat surprised voice. "Where did you get that from, Ty?"

Tylendel chuckled softly. "Your head told me. So, tell me about him."

"Well," started Harry. "He was arrogant, conceited, wore expensive and overpriced robes to school, had a habit of drawling and sneering, and it was terribly queer how his mouth was just the right shape to form the perfect, irritating smirk. He made it clear the first day of Hogwarts that he could give me lots of help in becoming a stupid git like him. He entered Hogwarts knowing tons more about Dark Arts than anyone else. He was just as evil as his father, Lucius Malfoy."

"Huh," said Tylendel thoughtfully. "Sounds vain, and it also sounds like he hasn't changed a bit."

Harry nodded with a small grin. "You're right, as always. He hasn't changed at all. Except that he's no longer part of his father's evil group. That's a big and significant difference."

"But you can't say that for sure," said Tylendel evenly, holding Harry's gaze. "He might be spying for Kraddoch."

"That's a possibility," Harry agreed. "But I can tell he's being honest. He's never been so serious and sincere in his life. At least not as long as I've known him."

Tylendel lowered his eyes to the floor, his expression half hidden.

"What?" Harry sensed something strange.

Ty looked up and gave Harry a small smile. "Nothing."

Harry frowned. "It's not nothing. I can tell. What is it?"

"Just..." Tylendel looked thoughtful. "It's started already."

The boy-who-lived (now a very sexy man) looked puzzled. "What do you mean."

"Your Mage powers" said Ty in a what-else-would-I-be-talking-about voice. "They've been triggered, though at a very late age. You can sense what others are feeling, what they're thinking. It might become painful for you at times, but it will get better. You're one of those who don't have powers that actually work until a late age. I started training to be a Herald-Mage in my teens."

Harry's face was grim, and he did not like the prospect of gaining powers at all. Tylendel didn't seem to understand that. He sighed inwardly and told himself to stop fretting so much. I can't do anything to change it, so I might as well learn to live with it, thought Harry.

"That's the spirit, old friend." Tylendel smiled.

Harry looked up, startled by the sound as well as Tylendel's words. He had long learned to expect the unexpected with Ty, but still he was often surprised. He grinned back at Tylendel, who stood up to leave.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Harry. Good-night." Tylendel picked up his cloak and left.

It was the last two words that Ty said which brought Harry back to reality with a jolt. It was almost nine thirty in the p.m., and he was about to be late for his meeting with Ron and Ginny. Harry quickly gathered together his things and grabbed his cloak, stifling a yawn that was the result of working hard and non-stop all day.

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Harry entered Ron's office feeling exhausted and not at all looking forward to an important conference.

"Harry!" a voice half-yelled, adding to Harry's headache. "Where have you been?" The lanky young man was the same age as Harry and still had the same head of bright red hair. He now had less freckles than he did when he was still at Hogwarts, and had grown taller.

"Hi, Ron. Sorry, I'm late." Harry looked around the room. "Where's Ginny?"

Ron frowned. "I thought she might be with you."

"No," Harry shook his head. "I haven't seen her since this morning. Maybe she's just late."

"Maybe," nodded Ron, but his voice sounded hesitant and worried. Harry knew that Ron was thinking of Kraddoch, and wanted to tell him to stop being paranoid, but couldn't.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ginny was flying as fast as she could, her silky red locks unbound and blown back by the wind. It was quite warm, and July was quickly approaching. She had gone back to the Burrow to pick up some important files she needed for her meeting with Harry and Ron. The files had just been sent to her by Hermione last night via m-mail (magic-mail, the new and improved way for wizards to communicate with each other anywhere, anytime, and without any annoying birds), and they contained updated information about Kraddoch's plans. Hermione could not attend the small conference because she had other work to do, and though she offered to make time for it, Harry, Ron, and Ginny had all agreed that she needed a rest from overworking.

Now, Ginny was on her way to Ron's office. She landed gracefully near the broomshed in the back of the building, and locked her broomstick away. Ginny turned to walk to the entrance at the front, but found herself blocked by a tall, young man of twenty years gazing at her with mild interest and leaning casually against the brick wall. His hair was dark brown and wavy, he had a pointed chin and high cheekbones and eyes that were green, blue, and gray all at the same time. Ginny drew a deep breath.

"Tantras. What are you doing here." The crimson-headed young lady pursed her lips.

"Good-evening," was all Tantras said in return. Then, without another word, his hands reached out and caught hold of Ginny's shoulders and pulled her to him. Tantras kissed Ginny passionately on the lips, catching her by surprise. He felt Ginny tense under the power of his kiss.

Ginny turned her head to the side and pushed Tantras away with a hard shove. Tantras stumbled backwards a few steps before resuming his balance. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" snarled Ginny.

"Gin, I want to tell--"

"It's over! Get that in your head!" shouted Ginny in a harsh voice. Tantras looked at the ground unhappily. Ginny's voice softened. "I'm sorry, Tran. I can't see you anymore." Ginny began to walk away.

"Wait! Ginny! Please, I have to talk to you!" Tantras ran forward and grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me," she said coldly. And with those last words, Ginny turned and ran as fast as she could.

Tran stared after her. I can't see you anymore. Those were the words she had said one month ago. The words that had ended their relationship. It was all my fault, Tantras thought. He sank to his knees and stared hopelessly at his hands.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ginny ran as fast as she could, blinded by tears. Why did he have to go and kiss me? A hand reached up to brush the tears out of her eyes. Ginny shook her head as if to clear away the spider web of thoughts. Entering the building, she ran up the flight of stairs, until she got to the third floor, where Ron's office was. She burst into the office panting heavily.

"Am I late?" she asked.

At the sound of her voice, Harry and Ron awoke with a start. Ron had been drowsing on his paper-littered desk, and Harry was just about to fall asleep in his wooden chair.

"Gods, Ginny, you're all right!" Ron visibly sighed with relief.

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Ginny, puzzled.

"He got paranoid and thought Kraddoch kidnapped you or something," said Harry with a yawn.

"I did not get paranoid. You were late." Ron said to Ginny, but turning his head to glare at Harry.

"I know, I'm sorry. I had to go back to the Burrow to get these," said Ginny, pulling out the files. "And when I finally got here, I was...held up."

"Held up?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Er, yeah," said Ginny in a conclusive tone that said don't ask.

"Uh huh," said Ron in a voice that was unsure. "Well, it's too late for us to have a meeting now, so --"

"Wait. Hermione sent me these files through an m-mail last night. I didn't have time to go through it, but I brought it with me, and I think we should probably go through them now." Ginny handed the files to Ron.

Stifling a yawn, Ron flipped through the files, skimming the pages. When he got to the seventh and final page, he froze.

"What?" asked Harry curiously. Ron said nothing but handed the sheet to Harry. Harry skimmed the page as Ron had, until he came to the middle of it. The words on the page seemed to pop out at him. They basically stated that it had been overheard that Kraddoch was searching for Harry. Once he captured Harry alive, he planned to use a spell, which Harry had a hunch was the Funiculus spell, to control Harry.

Ginny was reading the sheet over Harry's shoulder, and when he heard a gasp, he knew she had read that part too.

Harry looked grim. "Well. It's not so much of a surprise to me. Today Malfoy paid me a visit, and in more or less words, he pretty much said the same thing."

Ginny nodded. "So that's why he was looking for you. He wasn't very pleasant today when he asked me where he could find you."

"Malfoy told you this already? I wouldn't trust anything he says, Harry. You know how he is." Ron frowned and looked at his hands thoughtfully.

"Yes, but it was the way he said it..." Harry paused. "I think he was being honest, for once."

"Well, we'll find out eventually won't we," said Ron grimly. He just hoped Harry would be able to watch out for himself.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The meeting over with, Harry had gone back to his apartment. Now, he trudged up the steps tiredly. Reaching the door, a wave of relief swept over him. Finally, he could go to sleep. But wait. Something at his feet shimmered in the moonlight. Harry bent to pick it up. It was a stone. The stone was shaped so perfectly it looked as if it were man made. It's color seemed to change between red and purple when he held it at different angles. The stone had strange engravings on it, carved in jagged symbols. Along with the stone had been a note, which said:

Harry-

I found this the other day and forgot to give it to you. It's a destiny stone, and I haven't yet had time to decipher the symbols. Please keep it safe for now, and don't mention it to anyone, nor speak of it with me in public. Good-night, and see you tomorrow.

- Ty

That's strange, thought Harry, but he pocketed the stone all the same. If it was so important and secret, why did Tylendel leave it on the ground right outside his door? Wasn't that a bit senseless? Harry decided not to think any more on the subject and went immediately to sleep in his bed without even bothering to take his clothes off.