When the ferry reached the port of Calais, Harry was not only provided with a second mode of transport for the Order of Pendragon, but also a personal escort, courtesy of the French Ministry of Magic, his mantle of Holy Knight obviously meaning more to them than it did the British. All throughout the journey, Harry and Hermione sat together, both enjoying the luscious French countryside as well as the looks of the many villages and towns from afar, their rented villa located in a magical district on the outskirts of Paris, the district itself known as Les Terres Magiques, a location that Sebastian translated for Harry into The Mystic Lands.
Climbing out of the car, Harry and Hermione both assisted the Order in moving their things into the villa, while Dan and Emma placed their cars in the rented garages, Harry and Hermione choosing to explore while the Order, with help from Dobby, helped settle their Lord and Lady into their accommodation.
In Harry's opinion, the magical world certainly knew how to make a visitor feel welcome: their villa had five bedrooms and three bathrooms, each one decorated like a member of royalty was staying within its walls. Somehow, Harry had a feeling that word had leaked out through the Ministry as to just who was staying on this holiday; as well as the perfectly designed sleeping accommodations, there were also two training rooms – one for physical and one for magical – as well as a library that had Hermione and Emma drooling, until Harry made a rather intimidating comment as he told them, "From what I've heard, the libraries owned by Godric and Salazar are more like whole complexes under one roof."
"Harry!" snapped Hermione, "Don't tease me like that."
Harry just laughed as he then discovered a large lounge and dining area complete with full Muggle entertainment systems and a whole wall filled with the latest films and CDs. To Harry, this wasn't just a rented villa, this was a palace that could only be complete by the sight and presence of a…
"Harry!" called Hermione from the back end of the villa, "You need to see this pool: it's amazing!"
"Okay," Harry laughed, "Now it's perfect."
HPHG
For the first few days, the Grangers, Harry and the Order all divided their plans into exploring Les Terres Magiques as well as training on their physical and magical strengths and weaknesses, as well as – in the case of Harry and Hermione – having long, informative conversations with one of the five warriors about their future skills and powers. In fact, Harry found himself enjoying the holiday so much that a part of him realised, four days into the three-week vacation that he wouldn't have minded if someone had offered him the place on a more permanent basis.
On the Friday morning of their holiday, Harry was lounging out by the pool, his eyes closed and his hands at his sides as he concentrated on the powerful rushes of magic he had experienced lately, his mind trying to clear away the cobwebs of misinformation that Harry had been forced to endure throughout his life. Now that he was destined to be the new leader of a band of warriors for the wizarding world, Harry knew that he needed to go into any situation, battle or otherwise, with a clear head and so, with his daily relaxations and meditations, he was always able to clear his mind of the stories he had been told and finally decide on his own course of action.
"My Lord?"
Opening his eyes, Harry was surprised to see that Sebastian was stood at his side, dressed not in sun-enjoying attire, but the same long, and to Harry's eyes, extremely heavy-looking white robe that he had been dressed in on the ferry. Sitting upright, Harry curled one of his knees against his chest and gently lay his arms across it as he asked, "What's up Sebastian?"
"I was just wondering if you would like to go through some of the training sets necessary for the Knight of Thunder, my Lord," Sebastian explained, his head low as he remained standing, "Lady Hermione is currently running through some water-taming techniques with Elora and Tyler, Felicia and Dante have gone into Paris with Master Daniel and Mistress Emma for protective purposes."
"I see," Harry smiled, chuckling as he imagined the kind of reaction Dan would give if he heard himself being addressed as Master. "And just what kind of training is necessary for me Sebastian?"
"First and foremost," Sebastian explained, "There is the matter of your emotions, my Lord: as Knight of Thunder, you are pretty dangerous when it comes to being angered and your moods can change as quickly as a lightning flash. If you will permit me, my Lord, there is something that can help with this."
"Only if you stop being so formal Sebastian," Harry insisted, shaking his head, "Or do you not remember my telling you to use my name?"
"I'm sorry Harry," Sebastian grinned, "A bad force of habit."
"I understand," Harry laughed, before he stood up and asked, "What do I need to do?"
"Well," Sebastian answered, "I was thinking we could turn this training into a game: you see Harry, when you grow annoyed with any kind of situation, you immediately lash out, but here's my point: how long does it last? Does it last until you have defeated your enemy or does it last only a matter of minutes?"
"I see your point," Harry nodded, "I mean, when I first grew angry with someone who dared to insult Hermione, it took a full body bind to relinquish that emotion and, even then, I was still annoyed; but the second time I did it was when I cast the Spider Swarm Jinx and it lasted only a couple of minutes, which wasn't necessary, I agree, but it was fun."
"I see," Sebastian commented, stepping past Harry as he added, "Come with me Harry."
Stepping through the French doors at the rear of the villa, Harry followed Sebastian down towards the magical training room, his eyes wide as he opened the door…and found his own reflection staring back at him.
"What is this Sebastian?" asked Harry, looking around, noticing mirrors that surrounded almost every point of the compass around him.
Sebastian's voice came from somewhere within, "Muggles, Harry, would call this a mirror maze and the key thing here is to not rely on your sense of sight or sound to guide you. Plus, if you cannot find your way around, then you will grow angry and maybe even start to panic; now, as I told you, this game is to test your emotions and how you would control them. I have placed a mild Power Dampening Ward around this room to stop your magic being out of control during the game and, in this game, the aim is this: Death-Match."
"Aha," Harry replied, trying his hardest not to make himself dizzy as he saw himself all around, the walls of the mirror maze making him confused and, as he took deep breaths, he began to realise that it was also making him slightly annoyed. "And what's a Death-Match Sebastian?"
"Not what you would expect," answered the Warrior Commander, "In fact, my lord, it is a means of fun and enjoyment for Muggles and certain magical users. Now, here are the rules: we are both only allowed to use one spell and it is a spell known as orbis pigmento, which will fire a ball of paint at a target. I have already cast this spell before Harry and my paintballs are lime green; would you mind testing the spell yourself?"
"All right," Harry remarked, lifting his wand; pointing it to one of his mirrored selves, he commanded, "Orbis pigmento!"
A ball of silver light flew from his wand and splattered against the mirror, leaving a paintball mark that, to Harry's amusement, was actually shaped like a slightly disfigured bolt of lightning. Casting it again to make sure he wasn't seeing things, Harry saw another bolt lying on top of the first; with an amused chuckle, he called out, "Silver!"
"I guessed as much," Sebastian replied.
Harry, however, sensed a problem here; raising his voice, he called, "Sebastian?"
"Yes Harry?" replied the warrior.
"Will these balls hurt?"
"No," Sebastian replied, "Not if we aim for the body and the legs; nowhere near the head or the mouth as these balls can be considered poisonous, especially if the spell is untamed, which is also the second point of this exercise: to prove to me that you can tame a spell that you have never used before. Now, because of the mirror maze, we won't know if we get a hit, which is why an alarm will sound as and when we get hit: if you get hit, there will be a sound like a crack of thunder. If I get hit, you will hear a sound like the howling winds and then, we will have a ten second respite while the room adjusts the maze. Time will expire when one of us reaches…I don't know: what say you Harry?"
"How about fifteen?" suggested Harry, "Given that's how old I plan on being by the time I truly earn the mantle Holy Knight of Thunder!"
"Ideal," Sebastian laughed, before he added, "We shall have one round of fifteen today then my lord and, next week, we shall increase it to twenty and have Lady Hermione join us as well as either Elora or Tyler."
"Why them?" asked Harry, "Why not Dante or Felicia?"
"Because Dante and Felicia are newly anointed knights," explained Sebastian, "Elora and Tyler are more experienced in this exercise: next week will be a team Death-Match and then, to finish, I shall have some special equipment sent for Dan and Emma and the five knights shall take on the four of you."
"That doesn't seem fair," Harry retorted, until he caught the hidden meaning, "Oh…I see; in battle, it won't be fair and so we need to know what to do when we believe that the enemy is all around us, correct?"
"Precisely Harry," Sebastian laughed, "So, I will give you ten minutes to explore the first base design of the maze and then, when you hear the lion's roar, the game shall begin: for what it's worth, my Lord: good luck."
"You too," Harry replied, a part of him hoping that he was going to emerge from this exercise in one piece. Keeping himself as calm as possible, Harry took his first step forwards and began to explore the maze, relying only on instinct and his other senses to help direct him around the mirrored environment, a part of him actually wondering just what part of this Muggles found fun.
Several times, Harry almost stumbled as he found the opening through to the next section of the maze and others, he'd turn in the wrong direction and walk smack into his own reflection, a part of him growing slightly agitated; finally, after what seemed like an age, there was a sound like a thousand lions roaring and Harry prepared himself, using the mirrors not only as cover, but as a means to see his enemy.
The first strike was completely unexpected: Harry had been aiming his wand around an opening when he had felt a sting on his neck; slapping his hand to the sting, Harry pulled it away and found lime green paint lining his fingers.
"One to nothing," he laughed, "Good work Sebastian."
The mirrors shifted and Harry heard Sebastian's voice from just to his right, "Thanks very much…oh shit."
"Orbis pigmento, one-all," Harry whispered, a silver bolt now adorning Sebastian's white robe as Harry watched the mirrors shifting around once more, the young wizard using his senses and his instincts to guide him through the maze.
The hunt was on…
HPHG
Over three hours later, covered in lime green and silver paintball markings, Harry and Sebastian both emerged from the training room, the Holy Knight of Thunder humming the tune to We Are The Champions while Sebastian simply patted Harry on the back, proud of how Harry had won the round:
Flashback
With the score tied at 14 all, both Harry and Sebastian were now like deer caught in the headlights: they had been in here an awful long time and, with the maze adjusting itself every time one of them scored a point, it was almost impossible for them to gain a point now that both of them were on the attack and the defensive.
If it hadn't been for Sebastian allowing a slightly longer respite to regain their breaths, as well as using a mild Aguamenti charm to help hydrate their bodies, then the warrior feared that his young lord would have collapsed from emotional exhaustion a long time beforehand. As the respite ended, Sebastian curved through the maze like a fox through the brambles, his eyes on every mirror and every route as he hoped that he wasn't the one to break the stalemate while another side to him reminded the warrior that this was still a game of survival and he was determined to win. True, Harry was his lord and master, but this was a battle of wits and magic and the experienced commander was determined to emerge victorious.
Turning through another maze exit, Sebastian stopped dead: Harry was standing right in front of him, leaning almost mockingly against a walled exit to another part of the maze; when he saw Sebastian there, Harry smiled and waved as he asked, "Game over?"
"Yes Harry," Sebastian grinned, raising his wand, "Orbis…"
"…pigmento maxima!" Harry finished, surprising Sebastian as the balls of silver paint flew from Harry's wand, splattering the mirror and…wait what?
'Mirror?' thought Sebastian, until he felt a barrage of silver balls striking him in the spine; wheeling round, the commander saw Harry there, his wand actually smoking as the barrage finally found its target.
It wasn't until Sebastian looked back to the mirror that he realised what had happened: he had made the biggest mistake in any battle and allowed his enemy – literally– to back him into a corner and the Harry that had been leaning on a walled exit had in fact been standing right behind him, leaning on an ordinary mirror.
A double-edged sword had been played against Sebastian: the master had been outfoxed by the apprentice and, as he turned and shook Harry's hand, Sebastian knew that with a one-on-one contest, Harry was the victor.
Sebastian was determined to even the score in the Team Death-Match…
Flashback End
Looking down at his lord, Sebastian laughed as the fact of the matter came back to him: he, the seemingly self-proclaimed expert at this exercise had fallen for the oldest trick in the book and allowed himself to be taken advantage of.
Yet, the crazy part about that was the fact that he just didn't care: Harry had been acting a little too stoic in the past few weeks and yet, when he had been focused in battle, he had let nothing slip. This mask had also faded in the room when Harry, for the first time in a very long time, was allowed to actually live his life as a child on holiday was supposed to.
To him, it hadn't been an exercise-based game: it had been fun and games and, as the smile on his face would suggest, Harry was more than convinced of the fact that he was eagerly awaiting round two against the top two experienced members of the Order of Pendragon.
What Sebastian didn't know, however, was that Harry wouldn't just be ready by then: he would also be changed as a warrior and as the Holy Knight of Thunder all thanks to the ritual.
But for now, he needed to get a well-earned shower, fill his growling stomach and then go to find Hermione, the two of them both having agreed on their first night that the first weekend was the perfect time to perform the Ritual of Release.
HPHG
The bedroom shared by Harry and Hermione had lost all its grandeur as the two were now sat in the middle of the floor, in the centre of a large runic circle that had been drawn in blood, the runes symbolising each of the elements and each of what Harry had read to be the emotional states of the Holy Knights: Strength, Honour, Valour, Trust, Bravery and Truth.
Looking to Hermione, who was kneeling before him, her body stripped bare save for her undergarments, Harry asked, "Are you sure you're ready to do this love?"
"I am," Hermione replied, taking Harry's hand as she sat down, crossing her legs and, with her right hand, taking his left and vice-versa, forming a near-perfect X-shape between them. Looking to Harry, who thankfully had gained a fair bit of weight since his freedom from the Dursleys, Hermione asked, "Are you? I know that it will hurt you more because you're a Pure Knight."
"For our unity," Harry replied, his bright emerald eyes emphasising his point, "I will take even the ultimate risk to do any kind of release on my body: now, remember love that it will hurt us both and that, until I say the word, we cannot let go of one another, understand?"
"I do," Hermione answered, watching as Harry sat down with her, his own legs wrapped around her body as if cocooning her in his embrace, their arms ever-straight as Harry took a deep breath.
"And remember," he whispered, "You must say every line we rehearsed after I have, okay?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, watching as Harry closed his eyes, a soft, silvery glow suddenly rising around his legs and flowing upwards until it began to coalesce within his chest, the area around his heart now glowing like white lightning as he spoke in an almost ritualistic chant.
"Fulmina perrumpunt libera animam meam," Harry's voice was both fuelled by power and yet, as he said the words, the glow began to spider-web its way down right arm, slowly making its way to his fingers, the feeling of raw magic being channeled through him causing Harry's face to twist and contort in discomfort. Nevertheless, he continued, "Vestra potestate publica fieri consors!"
Hermione gasped herself as she felt a warm tingling now covering her body, her legs being massaged by the tingles as they swam from Harry's encasing grip into her body; at the same time, she felt her hands warm up, the tips of her fingers feeling like she had dipped them into molten magma as the white glow began to crawl across her skin.
Knowing that this was her time, Hermione spoke up, her voice in the same tone as Harry's, "Sit vis tempestatis fiat meum, et dimitte nobis aquam iungere."
At her words, the silver glow began to increase its crawling speed; however, when it reached Hermione's heart, it seemed to become snared by a cyclone of silver and blue that swallowed it up into her, neither Hermione or Harry daring to open their eyes or release the other from the pain. Hermione was now grinding her teeth and actually gripping onto Harry's wrists, feeling him return the favour as well as almost lock her in a full-body lock with his legs as the blue light now left Hermione's heart and began to crawl down her left arm and gather at her fingertips, the power of water flowing through her as an ominous rumble of thunder sounded in their ears.
Now came the hard part: the last part was something they had to say in unison and, if they got it wrong, then the ritual had its deathly possibility engaged, which meant they could die. However, unlike other casters of this ritual, Harry trusted Hermione and she trusted him; together, as if one voice, they began to chant once more, "Iam virtutem tonitrus et mare unum omni tempore, ut simul nos et opus faciunt origine spirituali elementis leo bestia nobis; vobis mandamus!"
As the chanting was finished, Harry and Hermione gave a collective cry of pain, their eyes opening, the colours in their eyes coming alive as waves of white magic flowed from Harry, a similar collection of waves flowing from Hermione, though hers were ocean blue. Together, the two of them seemed to bind together, forming a spiralled chain of magic that formed over the heads of the two knights, both Harry and Hermione lost in the awe and wonder of what they were witnessing.
As they watched, the two wizards then saw the chain descend between them, its magic forcing their arms apart before the tip of the blue began to snake towards Harry, linking directly to his still-glowing heart while the white slithered over to Hermione, bonding in a similar fashion to her still-glowing heart. Then, as if simulateneously linked by this moment, both Harry and Hermione whispered one last piece of the ritual, "Donec vobis unum nobiscum."
The blue and white snakes of magic began to slither into the knights' hearts, both Harry and Hermione now laying their hands upon their laps as they doubled over, the heat and energy shared between the two driving their pain levels to the extreme; this time, however, they did not cry out as they looked upon one another, Harry now sporting a pair of eyes that were heterochromic: one was his mystical emerald green and the other was pure silver, like a bolt of pure lightning.
Hermione had undergone a similar transformation: her eyes were also heterochromic, but, unlike Harry, she bore her usual – and in Harry's opinion, attractive – chocolate-brown eye as well as one that could only be described as sea-blue, her second eye almost shimmering like waves upon the sea while Harry's seemed to glow like it was caught in a never-ending flash of lightning.
'Hermione is more beautiful now than ever,' thought Harry, smiling as his energy and fatigue began to slowly fade away.
"Thank you Harry," Hermione whispered, her own magical levels falling as the pre-organised rest period following the ritual took effect.
The last thing that both Knights did was look each other in the eyes as they realised what had just happened, both of them losing consciousness with one word, 'What?'
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