Harry sighed and then drew his wand and woke up Hermione. Both Guinevere and Sanan gasped.
"How did you do that?" Sanan demanded, gripping Harry's wrist.
"Do what?" Harry asked, carefully extracting his arm.
"Wake
her up so easily! I mean, it takes me a few minutes to build up the
energy to wake someone and I'm more magical than most!" Sanan
explained. She patted the horse's nose. It nuzzled her and then ran
off. Sanan turned back to Harry.
"My wand helps me focus my
magical energy so that I don't have to worry about time." Harry said.
"What do you mean 'more magical than most?'"
"I'm from Avalon. Where did you get that wand? Is it from Ollivanders?"
Harry nearly choked. "What?"
"That wand shop in--" Harry cut her off.
"Nah."
"Then--" Sanan started, but Hermione cut her off.
"You're from Avalon? Really? I've heard so much about it! What's it like?"
Sanan
launched into a lengthy discussion about her place of birth. Hermione
turned her head and winked at Harry, who nodded in relief. Hermione
then went back to listening to Sanan's explanation, no doubt filing it
to her memory. Thomas smiled throughout her explanation; this was
obviously ancient history to him.
Sanan finished after nearly
half an hour, and Ginny asked Thomas where he'd come from. The look on
his face went dark, slightly, but he began his explanation anyway.
"I
was an orphan. I don't really know who my parents were, but I do know
they were vassals of the lord on the manor where I grew up. I didn't
even realize I was magical until someone came along and figured it out
for me."
"Who?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded, curious himself.
"Godric Gryffindor."
Harry's head snapped toward Thomas at the same instant as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's did.
"He
watched me for a while, and then asked me if I had any plans on magical
education. I told him he was mad and went on with my work tending the
gardens. He pointed at the carrots I was picking and muttered
something. In an instant, the entire row of carrots was picked and lay
in a pile at my feet." Thomas' eyes clouded over as he relived the
memory. "Needless to say, he had my attention. I brushed myself off and
stood. 'How did you do that?' I asked him. He shrugged and muttered,
'magic.' I was impressed."
"I'll bet," Harry muttered.
"He
took me to see the lord of the manor, but some of the lord's guards got
in the way. Now that I think about it, he must have charmed them to let
us pass. Anyway, we got to the lord's chamber, and Godric told him I
was being taken off his hands." Thomas continued.
"What did he say?" Ginny asked.
"He
told Godric there was no way he was stealing me unless he paid the
right price. Godric stared at him and told him he was taking me for
free. The lord summoned a few of his guards. Godric pointed at one of
the lord's tables and turned it into a pile of dung. Then he pointed at
one of the guards. They all ran. He turned back to the lord and told
him again he was taking me."
"Did the lord put up any more fuss about it?" Ron wondered aloud.
"He'd just seen one of his tables turned into a pile of dung. Would you press the issue?" Thomas asked.
Harry laughed uproariously along with everyone else.
"It's nearly time for dinner," Thomas muttered, steering the group in the direction of the castle.
"Excellent. I'm starved!" Ron exclaimed.
"You're always hungry," Ginny muttered.
"I'm a growing boy. 'Course I'm hungry!" Ron snapped back.
"I daresay there will be enough for you," the queen said softly. "I'll make sure of that."
Ron blushed. Hermione smiled at him, causing his ears to turn red. Harry looked away.
"We're
having dinner in the main audience chambers today. The king will be
there, along with various nobles," Thomas said, to break the silence
following the queen's assurance to Ron.
"What will we wear?" Ginny wondered aloud. Guenevere stopped so suddenly she almost fell over.
"Leave that to me,"she said, nodding at both Ginny and Hermione. The girls' glanced at one another, clearly excited.
"Well,
that's that. We'll be lucky if we see them again by next week," Thomas
said, grinning. Sanan smacked him in the back of the head and stuck out
her tongue.
"Ouch! What did I do?" Thomas complained.
Sanan smiled at him. "Prat."
"Well, you hang around me, dear. What does that say about you?" Thomas retorted.
"That
I'm a sucker for hopeless causes. Or maybe just craz--" Thomas kissed
her, so she stopped talking. Again, Harry looked away.
"They're always like this. You get used to it," the queen whispered loudly.
"T-cha,
Gwen. Clear the room, or rather the castle, when you and Arthur get at
it," Sanan said, breaking loose from Thomas for a moment.
"That's
enough of that," the queen said, laughing. Thomas reached back toward
Sanan and tickled her sides, causing her to shriek and laugh. Thomas
ran ahead and she chased him up toward the castle, while Harry and the
others chuckled at the both of them.
A few minutes later,
Harry, Ron, and Thomas found themselves alone, the girls having gone
their own way, laughing and carrying on.
"Now what?" Ron asked. Thomas snorted.
"We take five minutes to get ready, and then wait a good hour or so?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't doubt it."
"Women folk are like that all the time. Especially after they see someone like me," a new voice cut in. Harry sighed.
"Good lad. Not my fault if women see me swoon with joy." Lancelot said.
"Lancelot," Thomas began. "I have it on good authority that when women see you, they fall to the ground, nauseated."
"Why you insolent little--" Lancelot cut in, but Thomas overrode him.
"Furthermore, I'm half surprised we men haven't lost our lunches as well."
Lancelot
grabbed Thomas' shirt. Thomas shrugged him off, so Lancelot drew back
his fist. Harry drew his wand and said brightly, "A friend of mine once
taught me a bit of magic I've been itching to practice. I've heard it
turns someone's hair a rather shocking shade of pink. Bit of fun for
the feast tonight maybe?"
Lancelot visibly paled and he took
a step back. A moment later, his courage returned to him and his face
turned purple. "If I were you, I'd mind my attitude."
"You're not me, and unless you want to be all the rage tonight, you should turn and leave. Now." Harry replied, raising his wand to the level of Lancelot's nose.
Lancelot
glared at Harry for several more seconds, before he turned and stormed
from the room. It wasn't two seconds before another voice broke the
silence.
"What a git."
"Malfoy," Thomas said, "for once, you and I actually agree on something."
"The scribes may drop their quills," Agustus said.
"For real. Stop the presses. A Malfoy and a Black, agreeing on anything?" Ron whispered in Harry's ear. Harry snorted and then elbowed Ron.
"Ow! Damn!" Ron snarled. Everyone else chuckled.
Harry and Ron broke away from the others then, going to their room.
"Crazy bunch aren't they?" Harry said to Ron. Ron shrugged, and glared at Harry, rubbing his side.
Before
Harry realized it, the time for the feast had come. He and Ron sat with
Thomas and Sanan. Malfoy further down, and Lancelot sat nearly at the
end, as far away from the queen as she could arrange. Sanan, Ginny, and
Hermione sat near her. Various nobles crowded around other tables
filling the room. Harry noticed Godric Gryffindor, who waved to him.
The room was abuzz with conversation, but it stopped the moment Arthur
raised his goblet.
"Let us thank the lord for this excellent meal, and let it never be said that a soul should leave the tables of Camelot hungry."
As soon as Arthur had begun eating, the rest of the room dug in, and the conversation level rose again.
"Are you enjoying your stay in Camelot?" Arthur asked Harry.
Harry nodded. "Absolutely. Beautiful place."
"Glad to hear it," the king said, before Merlin tapped him on the shoulder and he turned away.
"Are you going to be able to handle all that, Harry?" Thomas asked. Harry glanced down again at the food he hadn't touched.
"Hmph," Harry said. Thomas clapped his shoulder.
"Eat up. You'll need your energy tomorrow."
"I will?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Oh yes. Merlin's going to show you a few wandless tricks you don't know yet."
"He told you?"
"I suggested it," Thomas replied.
"Why?" Harry wanted to know.
"Le Fey and her lot are active right now," Thomas said, his face going dark. "You need to be really careful."
"Careful?" Harry pressed.
"Yes. She'll try to pull one over on you. More if she's able."
Harry nodded, already lost in thought. Thomas turned away and Gryffindor beckoned to him. Harry joined him a moment later.
"How are you, Harry?" Godric asked.
Harry shrugged. "Alright."
"Ready for some wandless lessons?" Godric asked.
"Does everyone know about that but me?" Harry complained.
"No. Just Thomas and I. We're close to Merlin, I like to think," Godric replied.
"Do you know a man named Salazar Slytherin?" Harry asked. Godric began choking on his wine.
"Yes. How do you know him?" Godric asked when he finally caught his breath.
"His reputation I guess." Harry replied. Godric gave him a very long and measuring look.
"It's not well known that Salazar is here. I'd ask you to keep this to yourself. That includes your friends, I'm afraid."
"They already know," Harry muttered. Godric nodded.
"I see."
"Why? What's wrong?" Harry pressed. Godric sighed and leaned slightly closer.
"It's
well known that Le Fey wants him. There's talk he can speak to snakes.
Codswallop in my opinion. Salazar is a friend of mine. I'd know. He's
here at my request. I appealed to Merlin. Le Fey isn't above murder,
and I know if Salazar won't join her, she'll kill him."
The
color drained out of Harry's face. He nodded curtly, then turned and
found Hermione. He gave her a hard look, then turned and walked out of
the audience chamber. Hermione soon appeared.
"What's wrong Harry?" she asked.
"Slytherin is here," Harry replied.
"So?" Hermione asked, shrugging. Harry paced back and forth a minute before turning back to her.
"Have
you thought that he may have been involved in the fall of this place?"
he whispered angrily. "I don't much trust Malfoy either."
Hermione gave Harry a searching look. She bit her lip for a moment, and sighed.
"Harry
this is a thousand years ago. For all we know, things could be
completely different than we've been taught. How do we know if
Slytherin would have wanted to bring Camelot down?"
"Hermione! It's Slytherin! There's not a dark witch or wizard in our time who wasn't from Slytherin!" Harry snapped.
"Did you know there used to be inter-house parties before our time?" Hermione asked him.
"So?" Harry snarled.
"Just
because the Slytherin of our time are a bunch of prats is no reason to
believe they all are...er...will be." Hermione said calmly, "About
sixty years before we came to Hogwarts, there was an accident in
Transfiguration class. The Gryffindor head of house was nearly killed.
A group of Slytherin kept him alive long enough for the mediwitch to
save his life."
Harry opened his mouth, and then closed it
again. He opened it once more and then abruptly deflated. He took a
deep breath. "Who was the Gryffindor head of house?"
"Albus Dumbledore," Hermione whispered.
"Wow," Harry breathed. "I never knew that."
"You should read Hogwarts: A History," Hermione said smugly.
"Maybe," Harry conceded.
"We should probably get some rest. We have some wandless magic lessons tomorrow," Hermione muttered.
Harry nodded, his hair flying in every direction. "Night,"
Hermione bid him goodnight and Harry walked away. He was asleep by the time Ron entered the room, several hours later.
***
Merlin
waved his hand, and a flock of doves appeared. They were out of sight
moments later. Ron said, "Wicked!" and Hermione asked Merlin to show
her the precise hand movements again. Harry and Ginny just watched.
"Now try it," Merlin said, standing behind Hermione. She waved her hand. Nothing happened.
"Don't get discouraged. It takes a long time," Merlin said. No one else did any better.
"Maybe we could start with a charm we know, and work from there," Harry suggested. Merlin agreed.
"Do you have any particular charm in mind, Harry?" Merlin asked.
"Well..." Harry trailed off. He hadn't thought that far.
"How about Wingardium leviosa?"Ron said.
"What is the effect of that spell?" Merlin asked him. Hermione jumped in.
"Rudimentry levitation. The ability to make objects fly."
"That sounds like a wise choice," Merlin conceded. Harry raised his hand to do it first, but then faltered.
"D'you suppose we'd just move our hands the same way we move our wands?" Harry asked Hermione, who nodded.
"I suppose. Best to start that way anyway,"
"Wingar--" Harry began, but Merlin stopped him.
"Silently. Don't say the charm aloud. Why give an enemy the clues they need to defeat you?" Merlin said. Harry shrugged.
Wingardium leviosa, he thought, swishing and flicking his hand. Nothing happened. He tried again with the same results. WINGARDIUM BLOODY LEVIOSA! he
screamed inside his mind. The rock he was pointing at didn't do so much
as twitch. Nor did it move for anyone else, except for Merlin.
"As I said, it takes practice."
"There
is no try. There is only do. Help you I can, yes. Hmmmm" Harry
muttered. Hermione laughed uproariously, but everyone else looked at
him like he'd grown a second head.
"Care to try again, Harry?" Merlin asked, when he and Hermione had calmed down.
"Not really," Harry said, turning serious again.
"I understand. This can be frustrating," Merlin replied. "We'll try again after lunch."
"Okay," Harry said. "I'm going to walk on my own for a while."
With
that, he left the rest of the group at the magical studies area. It
wasn't long before he found himself in a densely forested area. A
stream splashed and bubbled by. Harry nearly cursed it for laughing at
him, but shook his head at himself instead.
"That's it. That's it. Just a little more and we'll be all finished," someone said. Harry crept up silently.
A man stood a bit further up the path in a relatively secluded area, milking a snake.
"That's a big snake," Harry
observed. The man jumped nearly six feet in the air and yelled at the
top of his lungs. The snake disengaged from it's jar and slithered away.
"Damn it! Do you know how long it took the catch that snake?" the
man screamed. He opened his mouth to speak again, but clapped it shut
as though something occurred to him. When he spoke again, it was in a
very different tone of voice.
"Wait a minute. You're speaking Parseltongue," he said in English.
"Yep."
"You must be a strange one. That's not a very common gift."
"As far as I know, we're the only two for miles and miles around who can do it," Harry replied.
"I'm Salazar Slytherin," Slytherin said.
"I'm Harry Potter."
"I know. Godric's told me about you. Says you're a bit different than most around here," said Salazar.
"I suppose," Harry replied carefully.
"How
long are you staying in Camelot?" Salazar asked. Harry began to feel
uneasy in a way he couldn't readily define. A moment later, Salazar
shouted, "Stop! Leave him be."
Harry turned
around, to see a large constrictor curling up behind him. Harry could
almost have sworn that the snake looked disappointed.
"It's not nice to eat guests," he remarked to the snake in an offhand voice. Salazar chuckled as the snake drew back in alarm.
"My apologies," it said.
"What were you doing milking a rattle snake?" Harry asked. Salazar shrugged, "Snake venom is useful in some potions."
"That's true. Most of them are dangerous," Harry replied.
"Only if they're not handled properly," Salazar said.
"Right. No one is accidentally poisoned in Camelot," Harry said dryly. "You weren't at the feast yesterday."
"No, I don't attend social functions. I don't enjoy them," Salazar explained.
"Oh. I thought it might have to do with something else."
Before Harry or Salazar could say anything more, Thomas appeared. His face was grave and Harry instantly went on guard.
"What?"
"Sanan disappeared from the feast. We can't find her anywhere," Thomas spat.
"What?" Harry asked, unable to put Thomas' sentence together.
