Elementals of Magic: Prophecy of Lies

Chapter 26

Paradoxical Riddles

May came too fast for Harry. Hermione had trapped Ron and him after lunch and had given them study schedules, which gave the two boys almost no free time. Besides a fifteen minute break after lunch and another one after dinner, the rest of the time was spent studying, going to class, sleeping, and eating. Hermione had cut their meals short, though Ron and Harry badgered her nonstop until she gave them back their meal times.

Hermione also became frustrated when she discovered the inadequacy of Harry and Ron´s notes. She had saved all her notes from First Year, all written legibly and highlighted precisely. After much distress and scolding on the brunette´s part, she grudgingly agreed to share her notes and explain them to the boys, who were very prone to falling asleep during her lectures, which caused Hermione to sigh exasperatedly and shake them roughly awake, all the while muttering about boys with limited attention spans on studying but could stare all day at a pretty girl, or in Harry´s case, Draco.

Harry found a way to worm out of studying by telling Hermione that he had to prepare for the last contest, Slytherin´s. She was surprised that he had already received his instructions, and she reluctantly agreed to give him Sundays to research in the Library, though Hermione threatened that if he was caught flying or not researching, she would make him study even harder, and Harry did not take her threat lightly, knowing how his friend was when it came to studying.

Even the teachers had entered into studying mode, constantly reminding the Seventh Years and the Fifth Years to study for N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s, respectively. Homework, however, was not lightened, and Hermione complained that they must have less homework in order to study efficiently.

Even with his spare time greatly reduced and made to stay up until midnight each night to study, Harry still sneaked out every night to be with Draco. However, even spending time with Draco did not lessen Harry´s worries or tiredness, and he started to act mechanically in classes, though that still did not deter Hermione from alleviating his amount of studying, saying that if she could, then he most definitely could. Of course, she did not suspect that Draco would usually keep him up until the wee hours of the morning, causing him to barely be able to catch a few hours of sleep before he had to sneak back into Gryffindor Tower.

The first Sunday of May arrived with Harry greatly looking forward to it. He gladly made his way to the Library, leaving Ron with Hermione, which was not good, as Hermione was especially hard on her boyfriend, and leaving Ron alone with her was really a bad decision, since Hermione acted like a slave driver in her attempts to get the two to study.

Harry retrieved several books from shelves that contained information about Love Potions, and yawning, he opened the cover of the first book in the large stack, a result of the few but thick books. The words soon became a jumble of disjointed fragments as Harry´s vision swam from the lack of sleep, and he tilted headfirst onto a page about the powers of Veelas.

The thump was received by a glare from Madame Pince, whose expression did not soften when she saw the source of the noise, though she did not take any action. The other students in the Library all sent annoyed looks at the now sleeping Harry, then resumed studying.

Harry saw a magnificent griffin in front of him, flapping its glorious wings. It then landed and looked at him inquisitively. A figure appeared by the griffin, the shadows obscuring it from view.

The griffin then spoke.

"So you are the Heir."

"The Heir to whom?"

"The Heir to Gryffindor," the figure beside the griffin replied, and it stepped into the light. Harry made an astonished cry.

"Dad!"

James Potter smiled wryly.

"Yes and no. I am your father in essence, though only a dream shadow. This is not my true form."

"Enough, James," the griffin ordered, and James fell silent. "He is not to know yet. She will be angry if we jeopardize the vessel´s plans and reveal the information too early. The vessel will reveal all soon."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Nothing that concerns you as of yet," the griffin responded, "though you shall know soon enough. After all, you play an important part in the Prophecy, especially with the dragon. She must be pleased that everything is going to plan, though the Heir of Ravenclaw has meddled too much. The Prophecy never intended such extremes, but this shall insure your loyalty and his."

"The Heir of Ravenclaw? Who would that be, Dad?"

James started to speak, but the griffin silenced him.

"James. I cannot believe your impudence, especially considering that you were an Heir. You know better than to reveal the names of the Heirs, especially since all four of them are alive. You most certainly cannot reveal the identity of the Heir of Slytherin, as he is not who he seems."

"The Heir of Slytherin?" Harry asked. "I know who that is--Voldemort, or Tom Riddle."

The griffin laughed, but Harry could not see the humor in his answer.

"Am I wrong?" Harry asked, frowning. "But that´s what Dumbledore said."

"That´s what Dumbledore said. An Heir trusting him so much? He is like you in many ways, James. Both of you believe in the Elemental Aether foolhardily, and you place too much trust in him. But you do know that he is not omniscient, though he may seem like such, do you not? He cannot see the Heirs with his magic."

"But who could it be if Voldemort isn´t the Heir of Slytherin?"

"I did not say that Tom Riddle is not the Heir of Slytherin, though Voldemort most certainly is not."

Harry blinked bemusedly. What did the griffin mean by Tom Riddle being the Heir but Voldemort not being the Heir? Weren´t they one and the same? Harry voiced his thoughts.

"Don´t be so insolent, Harry," James reprimanded. "You are not to question the Initial. In fact, you haven´t even bowed to him."

The Initial cut in.

"He does not know the rituals yet, James, so he is spared for now. Besides, he will think that this is all a dream when he wakes up."

"Dad, what´s going on?"

The Initial laughed.

"I wanted to see the Heir for myself. The vessel hates you, you know. She hates that you had to be the one, especially since you are already famous. But she dares not disobey Her, and neither do I. Treat him well, Heir."

"Who?"

A translucent image appeared, one with pale blonde hair and shimmering gray eyes. Draco. And as Harry watched, one of the creatures that Draco had seen appeared in a transparent form and wrapped loosely around the Slytherin, as if protecting Draco.

"Draco?"

"You call him Draco, though we call him by a different name."

"What name, and what is that creature around him?"

"You cannot know the name yet until the vessel deems it fit to reveal to you, and the creature around him? You truly do not know?"

Harry shook his head.

"The vessel will have much to do to clear you and him of your ignorance. But it is a dragon, a firewind dragon to be precise. Do not think of looking such a species up in your books," the Initial said, as if he had read Harry´s thoughts, "as they are merely a legend in your world. No mere mortal will ever see one. Only those deigned fit are able to see them."

"But why? And does that mean I am fit?"

"Why? Firewind dragons are very precious and very powerful. They´re no normal dragons, Heir. And are you fit? Yes, you are. Even had you not been, you are now, what with your current affair with him."

"With Draco? But what is it that makes him fit?"

The Initial chuckled.

"A most foolish question, Heir, though you shall know soon enough. The vessel will tell you."

The Initial and his father started to fade, and Harry slowly fell awake to see Hermione glaring at him.

"The common room was becoming too loud, so I came here to study with Ron. You tell me that you´re researching but sleep instead!"

Harry rubbed the grogginess out of his eyes and stretched, then apologized to Hermione.

"Sorry, Herm. I really was researching, but I just kinda fell asleep."

Hermione harrumphed.

"And what did you dream about?" she asked.

"How did you know I was dreaming?"

"You had a really bewildered expression on your face, not the normal calm one people have when they´re asleep. Besides, your eyes were moving."

Harry started to open his mouth, though Hermione interrupted him.

"Do I really want to know? You weren´t dreaming about him, were you?"

"Which him?" Harry asked bewilderingly.

"The one you´re with," Hermione mouthed.

"Oh. No, Herm!" Harry´s cheeks flushed a bright red.

Hermione fixed him with a steely gaze.

"All right, then. Just get back to researching, and I don´t want to see you falling asleep again, alright? Tell him to lighten up and let you sleep for me."

She left to join another table, where Ron was sitting at. He pulled her towards her and started kissing her neck, though Hermione swatted at him and then pulled a textbook towards them, and Harry could distinctly see Ron groan.

Harry skimmed through the books, and though they held much about the effects of Love Potions, there were no actual instructions on how to make one, which made Harry realize that he would have to ask Sirius.

***

That night, as Harry lay with Draco, he told the blonde about his dream of the Initial and his father.

"At least we know that they´re called firewind dragons and that they are very special and legendary. But we don´t know anything else. We don´t know anything about the vessel or the Prophecy or who She is."

"The Initial said that the Heir of Ravenclaw has meddled too much, but I should be the Heir, and I haven´t meddled in anything. And what did he mean by Voldemort not being the Heir of Slytherin and Tom Riddle being the Heir of Slytherin? It sounds like a paradox to me."

"Do you think I should talk to Dumbledore, love? He seems to know an awful lot about things, and maybe he could help."

Draco shrugged.

"It´s your choice, love."

Before Harry could speak more, however, Draco showered his mouth with sweet kisses, which made Harry forget about everything except Draco for the time being.

***

The next day, Harry went to talk to Sirius about getting a pass to the Restricted Section. Sirius, of course, gladly signed one without asking why, though he did trap Harry with an uncomfortable talk.

"Harry, what´s been going on with you?"

Harry started.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, though perhaps a bit too quick. "Why?"

"You were out of it more than usual some time ago, and I wasn´t the only who noticed it. Professor Lupin did, also. And then, you and Ron had a fight. I, of course, had to be worried about my Godson, Harry."

"Nothing was wrong, Padfoot. Really. Ron and I just had a little misunderstanding, that´s all."

"Over what?"

"Some little thing that I don´t even remember," Harry lied, though he didn´t think Sirius really believed him. However, the older man chose not to pressure the Gryffindor.

"I´ve also noticed that you haven´t been getting enough sleep. You have dark circles under your eyes, and you look ready to fall asleep all the time. And I really don´t think that Hermione would keep you up that late with studying, especially since she looks fine. What´s been keeping you up?"

Harry´s mind drifted to a beautiful Slytherin with pale blonde hair and stunning gray eyes and his mouth doing the most ungodly things to his body. Harry could feel his cheeks starting to burn and quickly stifled his inappropriate thoughts with an image of Snape in a bikini.

"Nothing. I just haven´t been able to sleep."

"Do you need a Sleeping Potion?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"It´s okay, Sirius, it´s nothing big," Harry reassured his Godfather, not wanting the older man to go to trouble over a problem that did not even exist. Harry felt awful about lying to Sirius, but he didn´t think he could tell his Godfather the real reason why he was so tired all the time. Draco was very demanding, and Harry was not going to not satisfy his lover.

"Have you been having dreams about You-Know-Who lately? Is that it?"

"I haven´t had a single dream about him this year," Harry replied. He hadn´t even thought about that. This was something abnormal, not dreaming about Voldemort and his newest plan to destroy the world or him.

Sirius remained silent for an abnormally long amount of time, and Harry wondered if the should take it as a cue to leave. Just as the Gryffindor was about to leave, Sirius spoke.

"Do you have a girlfriend? Is that why you´ve been staying up late? You know you can tell me, Harry. Is it Ginny?"

Those words froze Harry in his tracks. A girlfriend. Sirius was becoming extraordinarily close to discovering Harry´s secret.

"Nope," Harry answered as calmly as possible, though his heart was thumping so loud that he could barely hear himself talking. He hoped that Sirius would not ask anymore. "I would have told you if I did, Sirius."

"I don´t know, Harry. You might have been embarrassed. But I trust you, and I know that you would talk to me if you were having any difficulties. You know that I´m always here to listen, right?"

"Of course, Sirius. You´re my only family." And Draco, Harry silently added.

***

Later that day, Harry went to talk to Dumbledore about his dream. Little did he know that Sirius had already talked to the Headmaster earlier.

"Ah, Harry, what a pleasant surprise," Dumbledore greeted. He motioned for Harry to take a seat, which the Gryffindor did. "You haven´t been in my office for all this year. Perhaps it was due to your lack of prophetic dreams concerning Voldemort or perhaps your newfound responsibilities as champion of Gryffindor. Now, what did you want to talk me to about?" he asked amiably, eyes twinkling.

Dumbledore was still the same merry yet mysteriously omniscient Headmaster, which gave Harry comfort, as he was the one unchanged thing in a world fast filled with changes. Enemies became lovers in a matter of months, and friends became enemies in a matter of seconds. It was all in the timing.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, yesterday, while I was researching, I fell asleep, and for the first time this year, I had a weird dream."

Harry waited for Dumbledore´s reaction, but when nothing came, he told Dumbledore about his dream.

"What do you think it means, Professor?" Harry asked, as Dumbledore absorbed the information. "And who are they talking about?"

"A very interesting dream, Harry. You say that the griffin was called the Initial by your father?"

"Yes, sir."

"And they mentioned the Prophecy?"

"Yes, sir, and how the dragon is important, whoever he is. Who would the Heir of Ravenclaw be, sir?"

"Young Draco Malfoy, if I am not wrong, but if Draco Malfoy is indeed the Heir, then I wonder what the Initial meant. And he told you that Tom Riddle is the Heir of Slytherin, but Voldemort is not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very intriguing. Tom Riddle is indeed the Heir of Slytherin, though why would Voldemort not be? Perhaps it is due to his transformation," Dumbledore mused. "And you say that Mr. Malfoy has connections with firewind dragons? Quite fascinating that he would be bestowed this honor."

"Sir, what did the Initial mean by saying that you are the Elemental Aether?"

Harry sensed a change in Dumbledore.

"Exactly what he says, Harry, though you will know soon enough. He mentioned a prophecy, also, did he not?"

"Yes, sir."

Dumbledore became immersed in his thoughts, and Harry did not know if he could ask the Headmaster another question or ask to leave. However, Dumbledore chose that very moment to speak.

"Harry, it appears that the Initial did appear to you in your dreams, and so did your father. Though what they said is a riddle to me."

"Headmaster, sir, who is the Initial?" Harry blurted, and he noticed that Dumbledore seemed to gain a tired aura around him.

"The Initial? If I am not mistaken, then he would be the very first of all griffins and the king of them all. They spoke of the vessel, did they not? I believe I know who she might be, and she is most likely the one who has all the answers."

Harry felt lost. Dumbledore had always been able to provide answers for him, and now, he was uncertain about his words, which made Harry feel that nothing was stable in his hectic life.

"And who would that be, sir?"

"Victoria York. Do you know who she is?"

Harry started.

"Yes, sir," he breathed, and he hastily left, mumbling some excuse, so he could talk to Draco about this new piece of stunning information.