The Art of Peace

Chapter 16

Of Monks, Wizards, and Negotiations

American Kang Duk Won Creed

I stand before you empty handed

My weapons are my mind and body

Shall I be forced to defend

I will abide by the code

Using only the necessary force

To counter the opposing force

Be it necessary, here then are my weapons

My mind and body

The monk's spade flashed through the air, whistling as it cut a few stray locks of hair from Sifu's head. Sifu spun as he evaded the strike and landed in a deep crouch, one foot out in front and his staff stretched out behind him. Even as he landed he was attacked again with the spade. Without thought he brought his staff firmly to the ground to propel him into a flip that carried him above the strike. Throwing his staff out he caught the spade handle, ripping it from the monk's grasp even as Sifu lost the staff as well. The monk came forward undeterred with a high kick that Sifu dodged easily. Once he had recovered himself, Sifu attacked with a flurry of blows that left the monk hard-pressed to defend himself though none got through. Finally Sifu made his mistake. His last kick left a slight opening that allowed the monk to grasp his leading hand which he then twirled almost carelessly, although the force of the spin became apparent as Sifu was hurled face first into the ground. The monk moved back to allow Sifu to spring upright again. Slowly they faced each other and bowed.

Harry was speechless. He had been cutting wood as he had done every afternoon that week when he heard the noises in the adjacent training area. Much to his surprise he had seen Sifu sparring one of the senior monks Harry had yet to meet. Even though he had seen Sifu fight before, it had been nothing compared to the beauty of the display before him now. Sighing in longing he returned to his work. Every morning he and Claude were sequestered in a room with the same two monks receiving a crash course in Tibetan. Following these lessons they had lunch where some days they saw Sifu but generally ate by themselves. Following lunch Claude went with the two monks while Harry was sent to chop the wood needed for the next day. It was unbelievable how much was required for a monastery. The two times he had finished with time to spare before supper he had been sent to sweep the innumerable rooms in the complex. He had yet to do any practice but his muscles were feeling as if he had been having twenty-four hour training sessions with Sifu.

After supper on his first day he had been brought to one of the elder monks and was told to recount his story. Sifu had told him previously that this would happen and when it did, to hold nothing back, so Harry told everything. He started with his scar and told it all up to the TriWizard Tournament and the summer and following travels with Sifu. He had left nothing out, even telling them all about him being a wizard. To his amazement they had not been shocked by this claim. In fact, he was introduced to three other monks who, through a translator, told him that they were wizards as well. All three had learned their skills from a master and were passing them on in turn to their apprentices, two young men and a girl who resided in a small village up the mountain. They were very interested in Harry's techniques and had spent a couple evenings in demonstrations. It turned out that they used wands as similar to Harry's own, one had a full length staff much like the pictures of Merlin Harry had seen as a child, and the last used a sword of all things, which although it was made out of wood had an edge as sharp as any sword back at Hogwarts.

What little time Harry had to himself he used studying his newly expanded collection of books on wandless magic. The trip to the monastery from the port in India had provided ample opportunity to visit other magic shops, and thanks to the graciousness of a couple shopkeepers as well as their knowledge of translation charms, Harry had been able to expand his resource base considerably. All that time on the cargo ship had allowed him to read all his books several times, so this was a welcome addition. Harry still had Hedwig there as well while he attempted to write a suitable response to Ginny's letter. He had to admit that he had indeed been rather shortsighted in his flight, not thinking of what it was going to do to his two best friends. However, as much as it hurt him to think of what they were going through, his determination remained the same. With him gone it was infinitely safer for them. Now they did not have to worry about Voldemort coming for them to get at him. Harry was not stupid; he knew that he had been Voldemort's only real enemy once his power was regained. On the other hand, though, his being there would undoubtedly have forced Voldemort's hand as he tried to kill Harry before he was fully trained. Now they could both prepare at their own speed, even if Harry had to work much harder to reach Voldemort's level. Just because he had left did not mean he was planning on skipping out on his destiny. Something had made the Killing Curse rebound, and that same thing had made Harry a target for the rest of his life, and the only thing that could remove that threat was Harry killing Voldemort, so that is what he was going to do.

A disturbance at the gates drew Harry's attention away from his work. A harsh and decidedly English voice was arguing with the more melodic tones of one of the few brothers who spoke the language. Curious as to whom this new visitor was, Harry set down his axe and started to walk towards the gates.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts:

When Ginny saw the last name Riddle on the list of people near Hedwig, her heart leapt to her throat. She could hardly forget the devil that had made her first year a living hell, and it would be folly to think that the common surname was merely a coincidence. What was she to do now, then? She had given Harry her word that she would tell no one of his survival, but not to tell could lead to Harry being hurt, and she could not do that either. Gathering herself she quickly picked up her things and ran towards Professor Dumbledore's office.

Thankfully she remembered what Ron had told her once about the Headmaster's fascination with candy passwords and after a few tries, "'Chocolate Frogs' proved to be the key. Taking the steps two at a time she was soon in the office, almost out of breath from her run. Bursting through the door she interrupted a surprised Dumbledore from his work.

"Headmaster! Headmaster!"

"Miss Weasley? What can I do for you today?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I never told you, and now he could be in trouble?"

"Told me about what? Come now, you know you can tell me anything."

"It's Harry, sir, he's alive!"

"Alive, you say? And how do you know this?"

"You know he gave me his owl before he left? Well, it wasn't sad like a magical animal would be when its master died, so I sent a letter, and he replied. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but I think he's in trouble."

"It's quite alright, Miss Weasley, I'm sure you meant well. However, what sort of trouble might he be in?"

"Well, I sent him another letter right after school started, but Hedwig never came back so I started to worry. I found a potion that would tell the location of an owl as well as the wizards nearest to it, so I made it. I finished it today. Here are the results."

Nervously she handed him the paper. Dumbledore looked over it quietly, his face settling into a frown as he reached the least name on the list.

"I take it you understood the significance of this last name from your regrettable experiences in first year?"

"Yes, sir. I came to you right away."

"Thank you. In light of this, your most recent actions, I think I can say that you did the right thing. I must ask you to continue to keep this secret as there are people who would use this knowledge for their own ends. Can you do that for me, Miss Weasley?"

"O-o-of course, sir, I won't tell anyone. Will Harry be alright?"

"If I have any say in it, yes, he will be alright. Run along now; I believe you have a class."

Ginny turned and walked slowly out the door, praying she had done the right thing. In her wake she left the Headmaster looking over the document once more.

The Headmaster Ponders:

Dumbledore sat there in silence as the young Weasley left. This was a welcome turn of events that was for sure. One thing puzzled him, and that was young Potter's choice of Virginia Weasley as a confidant. Surely Miss Granger or Mr. Weasley would have been a more obvious choice? Ah well, that was a useless line of thought. What was important now was that Harry's location had been determined. The existence of this Claude Riddle was puzzling to say the least. To the best of his knowledge, Voldemort was the only surviving Riddle after his elimination of the rest of his family. However, to assume a mere coincidence in last names would be to turn his back on the always changing face of magic. The only option was to chase Harry yet another time while being ready to face Death Eater's if need be. Slightly irritated at Harry's continued stubbornness and ability to evade his pursuers, Albus turned to the fireplace and threw in some powder.

"Sirius? I need you to gather a team. I have a location for you."

Sirius and Remus take action:

It had taken almost a week for Sirius and Remus to get the men to back them up. Granted, there was no shortage of men willing to get in a fight, but the problem was getting those who knew of Sirius' innocence and were not planning on turning him in. Once they had their team, eight other men prepared for the worst, they met at Hogwarts under cover of darkness. The portkey had been prepared and was ready to go by the time they arrived, so a touch was all that was required for the otherwise arduous journey to mountainous Tibet. Their destination had been a small field outside of the city of Lhasa from which they began the walk to the monastery found by the Weasley girl's potion. As they had previously decided not to use apparation due to their lack of knowledge of the terrain, it was afternoon by the time they reached the gates. Raising his hand to the door, Sirius knocked loudly.

A few minutes of impatient waiting later a wizened man eased the door open quietly and addressed them in another tongue. After realizing they could not understand, the monk motioned for them to wait and disappeared inside once more. Another monk was soon with them, addressing them in English.

"What do you seek here, sirs?"

"We are looking for a boy. He would be around fifteen years of age with blonde hair. He is English like us and he is very important to us. Could we see him?"

"I am sorry you came this way for nothing. All who enter these gates are dead to the world unless they wish to return."

"You can't say that! We know he is here, and we need to see him!"

"You cannot, sir, I am truly sorry."

As they spoke Sirius saw other faces through the slightly open doorway; other monks curious as to the intrusion into their lives. He then saw something that made him start. There in the midst of the monks, trying to get a glimpse of him was an obviously European boy, about the same age as Harry and fitting the description Snape and the aurors had given them.

"Harry!"

The boy looked at him in shock, recognized him and ran the other way into one of the buildings. Sirius was perplexed. While he had not had the closest relationship with his godson, he had done nothing to inspire fear; at least not once Harry had realized that he was actually innocent of his parents' deaths. So why was Harry, for he was sure that was who it was, running away? Without another thought Sirius tried to follow. He soon met resistance in the form of the door slamming in his face. Try as he might, it refused to budge, and attempts to apparate inside proved fruitless as well. It appeared that anti-apparation barriers similar to those at Hogwarts were in place. Defeated, Sirius turned to Remus and the other men to decide on what to do next.

A member of the team addressed him.

"We've verified the identity of the kid, sir. It is definitely Potter. What do you want us to do?"

"Stay put for the moment I suppose. With that apparation ward in place we cannot get over the walls, and to try to force entry may be perceived as an attack."

"But what if they are hurting Harry, Sirius?" Remus asked. "What are we going to do to protect him?"

"I don't see anything we can do at the moment. I mean he seemed to be free with that glimpse of him, so it would be best not to aggravate the situation. They can't ignore us forever or stay in there indefinitely, so sooner or later we will either get a chance to get in or someone will come out and talk. Until then I want two man teams to surround the compound to watch every vantage point. Remus and I will stay here; the rest of you move out."

The two of them settled in for a long wait in front of the gates. However, it was only an hour before the gates opened and two monks came out: the younger monk from before and an older, obviously important monk. After introducing himself, the older monk launched into a monologue that was then translated by the younger man.

"I understand that you knew young Harry before his arrival. He is a troubled youth, driven by forces of destiny he does not yet understand. Yes, we know about Voldemort and his recent resurrection. I also know that Harry blames himself for a death he had no control over and wishes to gain the strength to stop future needless deaths. Your presence would be a hindrance to this, and I must ask you to leave. Fear not; he is perfectly safe here. There are those who can protect him from your magic and those who can defend him from an attack of a more physical nature."

"We cannot accept that. There is someone there who may be connected to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and to not discover who it is would be dangerous. Besides, this is my godson; you cannot keep me from him!"

"He does not wish to confront you and be forced to return to England. This relative must be the other boy, Claude. You have nothing to fear from him. He is but a child, and a good one with much potential. Leave the training to us and they will both become men you can be proud of."

"You expect us to be satisfied with this?"

Sirius was flabbergasted. Who did this monk think he was? For all he knew this could be a Death Eater stronghold. On the other hand, they were drastically outnumbered and the Order did not yet have the manpower for an assault of this magnitude. It seemed they had no choice but to accept the decision and return to Dumbledore. Hopefully nothing bad would come of it. It took another five minutes of frantic conferral with Remus for them to accept the inevitable.

"Well, I suppose we have to be, don't we. Okay. We will leave four men behind however to secure the area in case of attack. Take it or leave it."

"We will allow them to stay in the houses nearby, but they may not enter the monastery. It is only for those committed to bettering themselves."

With that the monks turned and went back inside. Remus and Sirius just looked at each other for a few minutes before moving to gather the rest of the men. They might not like their options, but to start a war with the monastery would have resulted in a much worse situation, of that they were sure. With nothing else to do, they assigned four of the men to remain and with the rest of them touched one of the return Portkeys to report to Dumbledore back at Hogwarts.