- Rating:
- PG-13
- House:
- Schnoogle
- Genres:
- Action
- Era:
- Multiple Eras
- Spoilers:
- Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Stats:
-
Published: 12/18/2003Updated: 01/29/2004Words: 6,408Chapters: 2Hits: 1,481
To Live Two Lives
Mila
- Story Summary:
- Instead of going home after the Triwizarding Tournament, Harry finds himself on the run from the Ministry, who insists that Harry did, indeed, kill Cedric Diggory and should be sent to Azkaban. ````However, Dumbledore won't stand for that. Harry needs his schooling, and he will get it, whether the Ministry wants him to or not.````But where exactly has Harry gone? Shandris Academy isn't of this world, or the next. They teach a form of magic that is alien to Harry. What is going on? How can he ever get back to his own world, with his own friends, and his own life?
Chapter 02
- Chapter Summary:
- Now a student at Shandris Academy, a bewildered Harry is about to meet his Squadron and learn more about the destiny chosen for him.
- Posted:
- 01/29/2004
- Hits:
- 545
Harry followed
Krzysztof through more corridors until the two reached a solid metal
door. Krzysztof tapped lightly on the door, then turned to Harry and
said, “Once you open this door, you will find yourself in a hallway
lined with door. On each door is a different symbol or picture. Just go
through the door that feels right.”
Harry looked confused. “What? What do you mean 'feels right?'” he asked, looking up at the old man.
Krzysztof simply raised an eyebrow and replied, “You will know. Trust me in this, Mr. Potter. You will know which one is right.”
If anything, this served to confuse Harry further. But before he could ask another question, Krzysztof put a finger to his lips in a 'shushing' motion. Then he stepped backward through the walls, simply melting into the stonework.
Harry blinked in surprise and then moved to run his hand down over the wall that Krzysztof had disappeared through. But his hand did not pass through it, but came in contact with cold, solid rock. Shaking his head in amazement, he walked over to the door.
Before he had a chance to grasp the doorknob, the door opened before him. Stepping through, Harry saw what Krzysztof had told him he would see ... a corridor lined with doors. It stretched far into the distance before turning a corner. Harry guessed that there were more doors past the bend. Each door was made of solid wood and had a singular picture on it. The first two on either side had a picture of a tulip and a picture of a giraffe, respectively. As Harry passed them, he wondered once more what Krzysztof had meant by a door “feeling right.”
He kept going down the corridor, glancing at the pictures. He passed many that seemed interesting ... bears, dragons, various weapons, what looked like a muggle airplane ... and some that were rather dull ... flowers, feathers, mice .... But he tried none of them. Turning the corner, he found another long passage stretching into the distance. And he walked onward.
Harry looked confused. “What? What do you mean 'feels right?'” he asked, looking up at the old man.
Krzysztof simply raised an eyebrow and replied, “You will know. Trust me in this, Mr. Potter. You will know which one is right.”
If anything, this served to confuse Harry further. But before he could ask another question, Krzysztof put a finger to his lips in a 'shushing' motion. Then he stepped backward through the walls, simply melting into the stonework.
Harry blinked in surprise and then moved to run his hand down over the wall that Krzysztof had disappeared through. But his hand did not pass through it, but came in contact with cold, solid rock. Shaking his head in amazement, he walked over to the door.
Before he had a chance to grasp the doorknob, the door opened before him. Stepping through, Harry saw what Krzysztof had told him he would see ... a corridor lined with doors. It stretched far into the distance before turning a corner. Harry guessed that there were more doors past the bend. Each door was made of solid wood and had a singular picture on it. The first two on either side had a picture of a tulip and a picture of a giraffe, respectively. As Harry passed them, he wondered once more what Krzysztof had meant by a door “feeling right.”
He kept going down the corridor, glancing at the pictures. He passed many that seemed interesting ... bears, dragons, various weapons, what looked like a muggle airplane ... and some that were rather dull ... flowers, feathers, mice .... But he tried none of them. Turning the corner, he found another long passage stretching into the distance. And he walked onward.
Then he saw it.
The door was made of solid oak and had a beautifully painted Gryffindor lion atop it. 'This must be what Krzysztof meant,' Harry thought, as he stepped forward to grasp the doorknob. But as his fingers came in contact with the cold metal, he realized that the knob would not budge. It was not the right door, he realized with a start.
Head spinning at what it could possibly mean, he wandered aimlessly further down the passage. He turned a corner again, and then another. He was about to give up in exasperation and turn around when he heard a hiss behind him.
Spinning around, his eyes darted everywhere. Then he heard it again ... faint but there all right ... a hiss in parseltongue ... “Here, you fool.”
Slowly he backtracked down the hallway, carefully keeping an eye out for what could have possibly said anything. “Where are you?” he said in reply, imagining that he was speaking to a snake in front of him.
“Closer than before. Come, fool, keep walking.”
He passed a few more doors before stopping and saying, “What about now?”
“Almost there.”
Two doors later, he stopped once more. “What about now?” he asked.
But there was no answer. Frowning, he glanced up at the door on his right and froze in shock. The stylized black snake painted upon it winked at him, hissed wordlessly, and froze in place. Harry stared at it for a moment longer before he reached out tentatively to feel the painting. But instead of scales, his hand came in contact with hard wood. With a shrug, he tried the door latch.
The latch was warm to the touch, and the door opened easily before him.
The door was made of solid oak and had a beautifully painted Gryffindor lion atop it. 'This must be what Krzysztof meant,' Harry thought, as he stepped forward to grasp the doorknob. But as his fingers came in contact with the cold metal, he realized that the knob would not budge. It was not the right door, he realized with a start.
Head spinning at what it could possibly mean, he wandered aimlessly further down the passage. He turned a corner again, and then another. He was about to give up in exasperation and turn around when he heard a hiss behind him.
Spinning around, his eyes darted everywhere. Then he heard it again ... faint but there all right ... a hiss in parseltongue ... “Here, you fool.”
Slowly he backtracked down the hallway, carefully keeping an eye out for what could have possibly said anything. “Where are you?” he said in reply, imagining that he was speaking to a snake in front of him.
“Closer than before. Come, fool, keep walking.”
He passed a few more doors before stopping and saying, “What about now?”
“Almost there.”
Two doors later, he stopped once more. “What about now?” he asked.
But there was no answer. Frowning, he glanced up at the door on his right and froze in shock. The stylized black snake painted upon it winked at him, hissed wordlessly, and froze in place. Harry stared at it for a moment longer before he reached out tentatively to feel the painting. But instead of scales, his hand came in contact with hard wood. With a shrug, he tried the door latch.
The latch was warm to the touch, and the door opened easily before him.
The room was rather unfurnished. It was a square, stone room ... perhaps 20 ft x 20 ft x 20 ft. The hard stone floor was bare, as were the walls. A large fireplace was set into the wall that Harry was facing from the doorway.
Taking a step into the room, he examined the other people in the room with him. There were five other people, all appearing to be his age, in the room – four guys and one girl. Four of them were sitting on the stone floor in front of the fireplace. The last was sitting in a shadowy corner.
The first to notice his entrance was the girl. With startling alacrity, she surged to her feet. “Why may the fates bless us all – he has arrived!” she exclaimed to the others. Straight brown hair was tied back severely in a ponytail hanging down her back. Two rebellious strands hung down along the side on her angular face. Frighteningly pale grey eyes inspected him quickly, and a grin revealed unusually sharp teeth. She extended a hand, “I had near despaired myself of finding another human. My name is Lech. Lech of the Clan McPhearson.”
Harry shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you Lech,” he replied, manners kicking in. “I'm Harry Potter.”
The other three people who had been sitting on the floor along with Lech had stood up and gathered behind Lech as she had been making her introduction. Now one of them shoved Lech aside. “My turn, Lech,” rumbled the tall, green skinned Orc. He was perhaps six and a half feet tall and had shaggy black hair, a flat-looking nose, and four fangs protruding from his mouth. His eyes were black and close-set, giving him an unintelligent look. He extended a large, paw-like hand for Harry to shake. At the end of each calloused finger were razor-sharp looking claws. “I am Gru'ut,” he said in a deep voice, grasping Harry's hand.
Gru'ut then stepped aside and another Orc stepped forward. This one was not as tall as Gru'ut, and, other than size and the fact that he had crystal clear blue eyes, looked virtually identical to Gru'ut. He extended his hand as well. “I am Laru'ut,” he said, in a voice that wasn't quite as deep as Gru'ut's. Even his speech seemed more refined than the other orc's ... as if he were actually more intelligent. “Gru'ut is my brother. Welcome.”
Then Laru'ut stepped aside as well and the third person stepped forward. He had a round, smiling face and blond hair that reminded Harry strongly of Neville Longbottom. He was very short – no taller than 4'6" – and seemed to exude an aura of cheerfulness. He grasped Harry's hand and pumped it excitedly. “Hello, hello!” he exclaimed. “The name is Dito Windwalker. Welcome to our little abode!” He let go of Harry's hand and skipped off happily, giggling.
Lech came up behind Harry and said quietly, “Dito is of the halfling people; he is as excitable as the rest of the race.”
Harry nodded in understanding and then pointed over at the figure hidden in the shadows over in the corner. “Who's that?” he asked.
The two orcish brother exchanged glances with Lech. Then Laru'ut – the smart orc – replied, “That's Zul. He's a Dark Elf.”
Lech frowned at the corner. “Whether he be drow or deity, he had ought to come forward,” she said firmly. “Zul, come forth and greet Harry.” There was no reply. “Now,” Lech said again, putting a touch of command into her voice.
At first, Harry thought that it was a shadow – albeit a tall shadow – that had emerged from the darkened corner. And then he realized that the drow's skin was pitch black. Coming to a stop in front of Harry, Zul sneered at him, exposing pure white, pointed teeth. The firelight glinted merrily against Zul's long silver hair as he said simply, “I am Zul.”
Harry blinked at the drow's abrupt introduction. “I am Harry,” he simply replied, imitating Zul.
Zul glared at him a moment more before saying disdainfully, “A human.” The word was practically dripping with his disgust.
“Yep,” Harry replied cheerfully, quickly deciding that Zul was just this world's form of a Draco Malfoy, and should thus be treated as such. That meant that the current mode of attack was to annoy him. “And I couldn't be prouder.”
With a scowl, Zul replied, “I cannot believe that the Masters would permit a human to lead.”
“Of course they would,” Harry replied with the same cheerfulness, without fully processing what Zul had said. “Wait– what did you mean by lead?” he asked after a second's thought.
Zul sniffed disdainfully and rolled his eyes. “Not only did they give us a human – but a stupid one at that,” he muttered, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “Lead. It means to command, direct, guide, head, control. Come, human– tell us that you do have a better command of your own native tongue than that!”
Harry was getting rather tired of being addressed as 'human' all of the time. He opened his mouth to reply, but Lech beat him to it. “The human has a name, Zul,” Lech said matter-of-factly. “He would rather be addressed by it than his species. Unless, of course, you prefer that we call you 'drow'?”
Zul snarled wordlessly at Lech and returned to his corner. Lech shrugged and returned to her sitting position next to Dito on the floor. Gru'ut and Laru'ut soon followed. Bewildered, Harry blinked a few times as if to clear the fog from his mind, and then joined them on the hard stone floor.
Dito was practically bouncing in his seat as Harry sat down. “I'm so excited!” he gushed in his cheerful, bubbly manner. “Our squadron is complete – we can begin training now!”
Harry raised his hand timidly, “Um, I'm a little confused here,” he said. “Might I ask a question?”
“You just did,” Zul said from his corner. Everyone ignored him.
Laru'ut shrugged and replied, “Why not? We'll do our best to answer.”
Harry nodded his thanks and said, “I just got here less than an hour ago and I have no idea what is going on. What are we training for? What are the squadrons for? And what does it mean that I'm the leader?”
Gru'ut poked Harry in the side and grunted, “Newbie.”
Lech laughed and scolded Gru'ut, “Come, now. He wishes to learn of his situation – that is fair.” She turned to Harry. “Shandris Academy is a training facility for the mastery of various arts and skills. These include the arts of magic, the skills of woodlore, and the arts of war.”
Laru'ut nodded and continued the explanation. “Each squadron is made up of five to ten people. They participate in what are called 'challenges' together and work like a team. The leader is in charge of the squadron and makes the big decisions. If the Masters wish to know if we wish to go to training or to the washroom, they would ask you – and you only.”
“Oh,” Harry replied, feeling stupid. “Who are the Masters?”
“Dark robes in charge,” rumbled Gru'ut. Harry mentally filled in the rest of the words in the sentence: 'the people in dark robes who are in charge.'
They sat in silence for a few seconds. Then Harry asked, “So what do we do now?”
“We wait for the Masters,” Zul said from his corner. And this time, everyone listened.
As it turned out, they didn't have very long to wait. Not very long at all.
They spent perhaps five minutes speaking a little about themselves. Well, at least, that's what Dito was doing; everyone else was listening politely to the enthusiastic halfling.
When Dito stopped to take a breath, the door behind them opened. Harry suddenly felt himself strongly compelled to stand up. He did so, aware of the others doing the same. As one it seemed, they turned to face the two robed Masters standing in the open doorway. One stood slightly in front of the other, who was carrying a large wooden crate.
"Attention Black Snake Squadron," said the first Master. "You are about to depart on your first Challenge. Before you depart, we have some information and items to present to you."
The Master carrying the crate stepped just inside the door and placed the crate on the ground. He lifted the lid up. The other Master continued speaking, "First, you must know that the land you are about to depart to is not as advanced as your own. They know not of the modern wonders of which you are familiar to. They know only the truths of the earth and the blade."
The other Master reached inside of the crate and pulled out a small leather bag. He emptied it out onto his hand, revealing that it held six silver rings topped with a reddish-orange stone. The first Master picked one out of his companion's hand and held it up. "These are Rings of Fire Portal," he said, making sure each person got a good look at it. "They will allow you to travel from your Command Area to the Challenge World. Simply twist the top –" he twisted the stone, which then glowed blue, "–and step into a fire. You will be transported to your next destination."
The rings went back into the bag and returned to the crate. The second Master replaced the lid as the other continued speaking. "Within this crate you will find un-hardened leather, 60 pieces of gold, daggers, slings, and various other implements and tools that you will find useful in your travels," he said. "Now Master Kiathin will explain your mission in the Challenge World. I wish you luck." The Master left, deftly stepping around the other Master, who remained.
The remaining Master surveyed the six young people in front of him. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Your mission in this First Challenge is two-fold. First, you must deliver a message to King Yored at Ghostwind Castle. Then you must cross the Swamp and deliver a message to Lord Learsohn at the Camp Camed Outpost." He reached inside of his robe and withdrew two scrolls. "These are the two messages," he said, holding them out.
Harry remembered that he was the leader of the squadron, so the Master would probably be expecting him to retrieve the scrolls. Stepping forward, he accepted the two scrolls and returned to his spot, holding them tightly at his side.
The Master then said, "Should you wish to decorate this room in any way, it is your perogative. This is your personal Command Area – none other shall ever use it. Do with it as you wish." He glanced around one more time before finishing up. "There is a meal contained within the crate. You should eat it sometime before tomorrow morning. You will be summoned an hour after dawn in order to start your mission. At that point, your Rings will be activated and you will be able to move across Worlds. Good Luck." The Master moved to leave. Right before exiting, however, he turned back and said to Harry, "I would not attempt to read the scrolls – they are warded. Painfully, I might add. You are advised against it." And then he, too, left.
Author notes: :: PRONUNCIATION ::
Camed: pronounced "Cah-med"
Dito: pronounced "Deeto"
Gru'ut: pronounced "Groo OOT"
Kiathin: pronounced "Kie-ah-thin"
Laru'ut: pronounced "Lah-roo OOT"
Lech: pronounced "Leck"
Zul: pronounced "Zool"