Harry Potter and the Prince of the Enchanted Forest

Chapter 1: In Which Harry Makes Some New Acquaintances

"Good day. So, are you Harry Potter?"

Harry had heard that question (and the anxious excitement that always went with it) before several times. In fact, it started to irritate him. Yet, there was something about that voice that made him turned around. He saw a young man in gardener's-like clothes, unlike most of the ordinary robes of all the other witches and wizards here on Diagon Alley. He had messy, dark hair (like Harry's), green eyes, and a friendly smile, yet an air of importance about him.

"Yes," Harry answered.

The stranger gave him a small bow. "Daystar, at your service. I've heard about what you've done, and I must say, I'm quite impressed."

He extended his hand for Harry to shake. Harry almost took it, but then he saw something else. A silvery sword hung by Daystar's side in an old scabbard. Harry winced and shook Daystar's hand weakly.

"What's the matter?" Daystar asked. "Oh, the sword. Don't worry; I won't draw it unless I absolutely need to. They let me use this in place of a wand because I had more experience with it. Isn't that nice of them?"

"Who?"

"Oh, um, the good people at Hogwarts."

"You're going to be in Hogwarts?"

"That's right. I'm here to get my supplies. Will you please help me by giving me the grand tour?"

"Certainly. I'm heading to Gringotts right now to make a withdrawal. Do you have an account there or anything?"

"Nope, but that's ok. I brought a king's ransom with me. I can wait out here."

"No, come along. It's part of the fun!"

So, the two went on into the large, snowy-white bank and met with one of the goblin guards. Daystar bowed and said to the guard, "Greetings. I wish you good fortune on your travels today and in the days to come."

The guard looked at him blankly. "OK. Same to you, Mr. Uh . . ."

"Oh, forgive me; I have not introduced myself. I am Daystar, and--"

"Daystar? Oh, beg pardon good sir. I had no idea! Please, how may I serve you?"

"Thank you, I'm just here for the ride. Harry here would wish to make a withdrawal out of his vault."

"Absolutely. Right this way, please."

Not much was spoken as they traveled down to Harry's vault. Harry thought this exchange was rather odd. Maybe Daystar was more important than he realized. After he gathered all he needed for the day and they went back, the goblin bowed. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Thank you; that will be all," Daystar replied.

"You're very welcomed. It was a pleasure to serve you." He bowed and walked back.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked.

"Mother always taught me to be polite to everyone, especially creatures that might prove to be vicious."

"Makes sense to me. OK, over here is Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Now, Hogwarts requires loose robes only, so--"

"It's all right. A witch friend of mine fitted some special robes for me at home."

"Oh. Where is you're home? You're certainly not English."

"You're right; I'm not from around here. I'll tell you more about this later."

"That's fine. Here's Flourish and Blotts, our bookstore. It will have some required texts, and hey! There are my friends!"

Sure enough, there were Ron and Hermione waiting right inside Flourish and Blotts. "Harry!" Ron called out. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Guys, this is Daystar. Daystar, I'd like for you to meet Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

"My pleasure," Daystar said shaking their hands.

"Honestly, Harry, you know better than to wonder off with strangers," Hermione scolded. She would not offer her hand to him.

"Hermione! I've heard you're the brain of the school!" Daystar bowed.

Hermione blushed. "Well, maybe not the brain, but I now have the chance to show exactly how smart I am."

"Yeah, you sure do."

"Whatever are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Didn't you read in the letter? Their starting the first ever Honors Program at Hogwarts!"

"Obviously, we didn't qualify, huh Harry?" Ron muttered.

"I'm not surprised," Harry muttered back.

"After all that you've been doing for Hogwarts, you're not in the Honors Program?" Daystar asked.

"Well, I don't always have the greatest grades. I've had some trouble specifically in potions."

"With Professor Snape? I can understand that."

"You met Snape?"

"I met all the professors, but that's a long story. We've got books to buy!"

"Right!" Everybody pulled out the letters from Hogwarts and looked at the required texts. Daystar was also in the Honors Program, so he looked at that section first. "Let's see: Advanced Healing, Conjuring, Spells Spelled Out, The Magic Behind Magic by . . . oh no! This is too good!" Daystar nearly fell on the floor laughing. He finally controlled himself and called, "Hermione, come over here a sec. Have you noticed who wrote this last book?"

Hermione looked at her own book. "Telemain? Yeah, he's teaching magic theory. What about it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot . . . well, just a suggestion. If you want to take this class, you better get one of these." He picked up a book and handed it to Hermione.

"The Magic Technical Dictionary by Noel Wobstar? How come? It's not required."

"Trust me, you're gonna need it. Otherwise, you won't understand a word he's saying."

"Oh, I gotcha."

Daystar went on to get the rest of his books. "Let's see, where is it? Where is it?"

"May I help you?" the manager asked coming up to him.

"Yes, I'm looking for The Monster Book of Monsters, and I can't seem to find it. Do you--"

"No! No! I'm not getting that book! They repeat that stupid course and keep us buying that stupid book!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's that bad?"

"It's worse! Just look!"

He led Daystar to the middle of the room and showed him a large cage. The books were alive, biting and fighting each other. The manager had to separate them with a large stick.

"Seems to me you could use some help," Daystar observed.

"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I don't think you want your hand bitten off." He yelled at the books, "Stop that! I won't feed this evening if you don't . . ."

As he continued to yell, Daystar made some kind of yanking motion around the hilt of his sword. Suddenly, all the monster books fell over silent.

"I don't believe it. Their dead!"

"No, not dead. Look!"

Daystar pointed at one book in the corner. It was snoring, blowing out pages with each exhale. Ron and Harry saw the whole thing from nearby.

"You put all the books to sleep?" Harry marveled.

"I didn't know they did sleep," the manager gasped.

"All right, I believe you could get one now without any trouble," Daystar advised. The manager hastily pulled out one of the snoozing books, and Daystar cradled it in his arms.

"Now, they'll wake up, right?" the manager asked.

"You want them to?" Daystar joked. "Seriously, they should wake up well refreshed whenever; I just gave them a catnap, that's all."

"All right. Anything else?"

"I think I can find the rest, thank you."

"Wow, that was some of the neatest magic I've ever seen, and I live with wizards!" Ron told him. "How did you do that spell without saying a word?"

"Uh, you have to have certain authority," Daystar answered.

Whenever they finished getting their books, the four students went up to the counter to pay. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all paid in the usual wizard amount: Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons. Daystar, on the other hand . . .

"How much gold would you like, sir?"

"Gold? Do you mean in Galleons?"

"No, I mean gold." He reached into his pocket and took out a handful of really heavy golden balls, which appeared to be made of golden thread. "Don't worry, I didn't steal these. These balls are given to me from a friend of my father's, a gnome who knows how to spin straw into gold. I know you work on a different monetary system, but unfortunately, so do I. This is all I have, and I'm willing to pay you something reasonable."

The flabbergasted cashier just nodded, and Daystar put the balls down.

"Straw into gold? I thought that was a dead art!" Hermione observed on their way out.

"Herman does it for a scholarship fund. He considered money for my going to Hogwarts was a suitable scholarship."

"Herman?" The two boys raised their eyebrows.

"The gnome who spins straw into gold. That's another long story. Where to now?"

"The apothecary. We got to get some supplies for (ugh) potions," Harry answered.

That went on pretty normally, except for some unusual items Daystar purchased. "I need four of each ingredient, one group in a normal case, three in tiny ones please. I would also like three tiny cauldrons, and three small stools, if you would, please."

The person behind the counter just laughed. "What's up, Robin Hood? Teaching potions to mice?"

"Nope, just to cats."

The store went silent. Harry and company turned toward Daystar. "My witch friend suggested they start a familiar program, and their taking her up on that."

"Whatever," the cashier answered, and got everything Daystar requested.

Daystar didn't need an owl or a pet (his witch friend was giving him a kitten to take care of), he wasn't interested in Quidditch, and--

"Are you sure you don't need a wand?" Harry asked. "Ollivander's is right over there."

"Haven't you've been watching them Harry? That sword is better than all our wands put together!" Ron shouted.

"All right, then I guess that's everything."

"It certainly is," Daystar answered. "Thank you all for showing me around. Sorry if I startled you any. Things work much differently where I'm from."

"That's fine," they told him.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts in a couple of weeks."

"Wait!" Harry cried. "We're going to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for shakes. Would you like to come?"

"Thank you, Harry, no. I must be going home. I need to concentrate."

Daystar stood still and closed his eyes. For the first time since he came to Diagon Alley, Daystar unsheathed his sword. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gasped at its brilliance. Daystar held the sword high above his head and began swirling it in small circles. His circles gradually got bigger and bigger. The wind began to pick up, but just a little bit, as clouds began to spin just above his sword. It looked as if a tornado was forming right above Daystar, but the weather condition hardly changed. Witches and wizards surrounded Daystar, mumbling in astonishment. Daystar called out to the swirling sky:

Wind and Water,

Sky and Sea,

Take me where I wish to be.

Epithanah!

The formation began changing colors and even seemed to show some kind of picture. Then, it touched down, right on top of Daystar. Finally, without a breath of air, the formation dissolved, and everything disappeared. Daystar was nowhere to be seen. The crowd gasped. Some applauded, Harry being one of them.

Ron was the only one who found the words to speak. "That was some neat magic!"

Daystar's teleportation spell was all the rage in the wizard world. No one had ever seen anything like it! It was on the front page of the Daily Prophet. The front-page picture showed step by step how Daystar traveled back to his home, wherever that was. Many experts from the Ministry of Magic were making their own theories as to how he did it, but Dumbledore refused to comment. No one seemed more curious about the ordeal, though, than the three prime witnesses. Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed the event on the Hogwarts Express.

"All I can say is that spell was one work of art!" Hermione told them. "I researched it in The Magic Behind Magic and Spells Spelled Out, and they both seem to say that spell was a combination of several spell types. Mermaid, Medieval Witch, even Draconian elements were used!"

"Did you find the meaning of Epithanah, perchance?" Ron asked.

"That's the Draconian part. It's a derivation of the Aramaic word 'Ephatha.' I had to do some extra research for it's actual meaning."

"In what? Charms 202?" Ron cracked.

"No. In my Bible. It was spoken by Jesus to heal a dumb man. Mark 7:34 says it means 'Be opened.'"

"Wow," Harry and Ron said together.

Before they could say anything else, the three heard a small mew. Hermione's cat Crookshanks followed the sound and landed on the floor. There, the threesome saw another unusual sight.

"Hmm, a pink Persian?" Ron marveled.

It was true. The newcomer was a kitten whose fur was mostly pink. Her eyes were even stranger; they were cloudy and often changed colors. She and Crookshanks were there on the ground casually chatting as if no one was staring at her. Hermione pulled out some kind of strange glasses and used them to inspect the kitten's coat. "Will wonders never cease?" she whispered.

"Genie!" a new voice blurted out. "This is no time for chit-chat!"

The three looked up at the doorway of the cabin to see a witch in loose, black robes. She had ginger hair, glasses with rectangular lenses planted firmly on her nose, and a stern look directed at the kitten on the floor. Ron and Harry sat up straighter at the sight of her. "Professor McGonagall," Ron cried out.

The kitten rolled her eyes. "Mrow, mew yow," it mumbled.

"What do you mean, 'You did your job'? I don't see--oh, there you are."

The newcomer stepped up in front of Harry. He was surprised; he had no idea she could talk to cats. He finally stammered out, "I-i-is something wrong, Professor Mc--"

"The name's Morwen, dear, and nothing's wrong. I just wanted a chance to meet you." Morwen sat next to Harry.

"You look an awful lot like--"

"Oh, yes, I know. I met Minerva, and we were wondering if we were twins separated at birth, we look so alike! By the way, I've heard about your accomplishments, and they are quite amazing!"

"Oh, thanks." Now that he looked closer at her, he saw a marked difference. Morwen's hair wasn't quite as dark. She looked younger, and in Harry's opinion, prettier.

Hermione stared at Morwen. "Have we met somewhere before?" the girl asked. Morwen looked closely back at her, and Hermione turned away. "No, it can't be. Never mind."

Ron looked at her still confused. "You speak cat?"

"I speak to my cats. There's a difference. Don't worry; I'll teach it to you."

"You wouldn't happen to be Daystar's witch friend, would you?" Harry asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am. That's right, you did meet Daystar, didn't you? He's probably waiting for us at Hogwarts right now."

"He's already there?"

"Dumbledore wanted to talk to him for a little while."

"We keep wondering how he did that spell. Everybody's talking about it."

"It's rather difficult, all right. Not much like the magic you're used to."

About that time, another witch walked in with a cart full of snacks. All the kids must have been hungry, because they ordered lots of chocolate frogs and a large bag of Every Flavor Beans. Harry was always more interested with the wizard trading cards than he was the frogs, so he gobbled a frog up quickly to see the card. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "I never saw this one before."

"Let me see," Ron said. He leaned over Harry's shoulder and shook his head. "Doesn't look familiar to me either."

The picture showed a wizard holding a long staff of polished wood. He had hard, black eyes and a very long, gray beard. He wore blue-brown robes. The name underneath his picture was "ZEMENAR."

Upon seeing Harry, the wizard slyly smiled. He gave a small wave, but Harry did not feel comfortable waving back. The wizard pointed the staff at Harry, and the top began to glow a bright blue.

Ron began to sneeze. He couldn't stop sneezing, and pulled out a handkerchief. Harry felt something even worse. He felt as if a rope was pulling out of his soul. It hurt him deeply, especially in his scar. Hermione tried to say a spell to stop Ron's sneezing, but it wouldn't work. None of them realized it, but the wizard in the card was stealing their magic!