HPNSA - BOOK TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
IN ANTIQUITY



The sun had begun to set and Harry knew that the hour had come for him to join Lai in the world of the Keepers. He bowed his head as the sadness claimed him fully. His eyes stung for they were bereft of tears though his heart ached with so much sorrow. He was leaving behind the only life he knew without any certainty that he’d be getting it back.

Everything depends on Ron. Although he knows that Ron would do anything and everything within his abilities and beyond it to fulfill his task, Harry now doubts if he would ever be enough. The whole universe seem to be against them and their love and though he knew he will never love again, nor would he chose any other man to love, it was during this hour that he questioned his choice. Ron would never be in this predicament if he did not give in to that kiss.

Another thought that haunts him is the fact that his son has been dragged into the fray. The child he loved so much, borne by their love, is now in mortal danger and he is unable to protect him. These thoughts will burden him even in the world of the Keepers where he is supposed to find peace.

“There will never be peace,” Harry whispered, “Not for me. Not ever.”

“It is time.”

Harry turned around and saw Lai standing in the middle of the room. Her hue-less eyes and monotonous, uncaring voice seemed to overpower the golden light that made her look like a piece of the sun.

“Come to me, bearer.”

Harry obeyed, and as he walked closer to the golden Keeper the room began to change—in place of the maroon carpet that covered the floor, stones with blue green moss around its edges began to appear. The walls of books and paintings changed into a blank gray wall on one side and large archways covered in browning leaves of ivy on the other. The ceiling disappeared into an ancient gothic architecture. Harry continued walking until the change was complete, and then he stopped, a feet away from Lai.

“This is your new home.” Said Lai her golden face had changed into its human form – the face that Harry once thought was like a sad, caring mother.

“Until---“ Harry hesitated for a while, but when his own heart told him to show faith in Ron, he nodded and said, “Until Ron finishes his task.”

Lai looked at him and smiled. “That is right. Until the Defender finishes his task.”

Lai walked passed him and out the arched doorway and into the garden of wild flowers then disappeared. Harry looked around him and observed that not only was this place old, but it was also quiet. Not the frightening kind of silence that was always a sign of impending danger, but the peaceful kind--- like the lazy summer afternoons he spent in the Burrow except here there were no sound of birds or any other animal. Just the rumbling sound of breathing as the wind exhales through the thick nameless trees and bushes surrounding what Harry thought was a castle.

“Well,” Harry said softly, “Might as well have a tour.”

He walked through one arched pathway and unto the next. The path leading him to more paths that opened to even more paths. Some opened to wide halls, others to closed doors, and still more to inner chambers that no doubt had not been disturbed for a very long time. Harry realized that it was impossible to go in and around this place without a map.

“A map,” Harry said, smirking as he remembered the Marauder’s map and the adventures he had had because of it. Then his father’s invisibility cloak followed this memory and it, too, brought a smile to his face.

“My very first Christmas gift,” Harry said loudly, as though talking to someone. “All my memorable Christmases were spent in Hogwarts--- most with Ron.” The memory of Ron, before they became lovers eased the burden of his tired heart, and he realized that what he needed to endure this waiting were memories such as these --- happy memories.

So, he dug them up, which was a not difficult to do since he had very little to dig up. There was Quidditch and the first time he rode on a broom and went flying into the air. The memory of exhilaration as he soared into the open skies ---that moment of complete freedom --- made him spread his arms and close his eyes as he pretended to fly again. The joy of remembering was a gift in this place where there were no memories to make.

“What are you doing?”

Harry stopped and opened his eyes and looked around for the source of the voice with a strange accent. A few feet away, standing in the middle of the garden Harry saw a child not more than seven years old. The boy wore a colorful silk dress with intricate embroidery and a red cylindrical hat on his head. His fiery red hair, braided beautifully hung loosely on his right shoulder. Harry walked closer to the child and something told him he has seen this boy before. He frowned at him though a smile was beginning to erupt from his lips for the boy was looking at him excitedly, reminding him of the Creevey brothers.

“What were you doing?” The child asked again. His emerald green eyes looked up at Harry.

“I was---I---“ Harry began but could not continue; There was something oddly familiar about him and Harry tried desperately to remember. However, he could not recall a name nor any event he had shared with this boy, and Harry began to suspect that this was a trick from the Keepers.

“Were you playing? Is it a game?” The boy asked again, his face beaming with excitement.

Harry could not stop himself from smiling. “A game? No. I---I was---I was pretending to fly.”

“You can fly?”

“Yes. Yes, I could---Before. But, I lost my broom.”

The little boy giggled and Harry felt a shiver run down his spine because the boy reminded him so much of Ron. “You have a broom that flies?”

“Yes. I had.”

“I have a dragon.” The child boasted.

“A--a dragon?”

“Yes, over there!” The little boy points his hand to the left and Harry saw a bright red dragon perched on the roof.

Harry slowly stood, turned around, and found that he was not in a castle instead he was in what could only be classified as a temple. The edifice in the center had a dome-like appearance, with covered pathways stretching like large arms meeting in a complete circle, embracing the garden where they stood. Outside the covered pathways was an endless forest of wild flowers and unnamed trees. Harry covered his eyes but could not see the edge and knew that he would never find it even if he tried.

“What is this place?” Harry gasped.

“Antiquity.” The child answered.

Harry looked at him again. “What did you say?”

“This place, you ask. It is called Antiquity.”

“Antiquity. Where’s that?”

“It is not where…it is when. This place is where time begins and ends.”

It was difficult for Harry to believe that the words came from the boy’s mouth. His angelic face was the picture of innocence that Harry even felt a sense of protectiveness toward him for he seemed vulnerable, dependent---like any normal child his age should be. However, the flicker of light in his brilliant green eyes whenever he spoke said something else: A hidden power, a wealth of knowledge, and a complete sense of self that Harry has never seen before not even in Dumbledore. This boy knew exactly who he was and what he is capable of.

“Is this not the world of the Keepers?” Harry asked.

“No, that world is beyond the forest. This is my home.”

Harry knelt again and looked at the boy. “Can I share it with you?”

The little boy giggled again. “Of course!”

“What is your name?”

The boy looked at him and his eyes filled with wonder at the question. “Don’t you know my name?”

Harry felt the chill running down his spine again. For reasons he could not explain he knew he’d be lying if he said ‘no’, but no matter how hard he tried he could not remember the name of this boy.

“You do look familiar to me. But I can’t seem to remember your name.” Harry said.

The child nodded and then he smirked. “I suppose you can’t help but forget me. You have been through great sufferings.”

The child ran his stubby fingers through Harry’s cheeks. “How do you know that?”

“I have seen it.” The child replied.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at the little boy again. The sadness in his voice seemed to echo a past life that he had begun to forget. A deep rage springing from wells of unspoken anger bubbled inside him and Harry realized he already knew who he was.

“You are---“

“I am called Cush.”


---***---

Three years have passed and the child now named Cush had taken abode in Wu Peng’s house providing the temple the protection it needed against the forces of Nin. Lai had left the temple when he was capable of speech though she had left the portal to her world open and would readily come when her son calls for her.

Wu Peng had nourished the child with the wisdom he hoards in the temple, and he grew knowing all the Prophecies governing his very existence and the part he needed to play. However, Lai had commanded Wu Peng not to divulge the identity of the Defender and the Bearer to her son but truth had an uncanny way of revealing itself. It was inevitable and soon, Cush learned of his mortal parentage.

[“I understand that this Prophecy was made after the first attempt to replace Nin failed.”] Cush said.

[“Aye, my Lord! When you are ready, Aum will unite the worlds, and you shall fight the condemned daughter and cleanse the house of your father.”] Wu Peng replied.

After a moment of deep meditation, the child opened his eyes and Wu Peng could see a deepening sadness in them. [“What happened to my parents.”]

Wu Peng looked up; his heart filled with fear for Lai had specifically instructed him never to reveal this. [“My lord---”]

[“Servant of the Temple, it is not by your lack of zeal that I have come to know that which I am entitled to know.”] Cush assured him. [“Do not fear for your life, for it has been redeemed and you shall be rewarded for your service.”]

[“Thank you, my lord.”] Wu Peng bowed.

[“Now, tell me what I need to know.”] Cush commanded.

Wu Peng looked at the boy and the sadness in his eyes nearly compelled him to tell. However, when he opened his mouth his fear for Lai’s punishment conquered him, and bowing low so that his lips nearly kissed the golden floor, Wu Peng lied. [“Please have mercy on your faithful servant, who has served you, and the Golden Goddess. But I cannot reveal that which was commanded of me to conceal, for thy mother has prepared a punishment so severe, that my life will be condemned from here to the next till the third. Forgive me, my Lord. I cannot grant that knowledge.”]

The silence that followed made Wu Peng’s heart race. The child had already displayed incredible power and though he was gentle and almost treated him like a father, still his anger has not been tested. Wu Peng could tell he was searching his heart. When he looked up, Cush was no longer looking at him rather he was looking at the door. [“You are shamed by your own weakness. You are dismissed, servant of the Temple.”]

Wu Peng bowed low and took his leave. As he closed the door to the golden chamber, a thought came to his mind; by this time, the Bearer would be fourteen, under Dumbledore’s care. To reveal him to Cush would mean working with Dumbledore again and Albus was still under the power of Ji.

There was too much at stake, Wu Peng thought. [“Cush would have to get the knowledge from someone else.”]


---***---


Cush called upon his brother Dei’son; the opening above swirled with dark blue skies and a pillar of dark blue smoke funneled down. Out of the funnel came a being with light blue skin, a thin hexagonal glass between his hands, and galaxies inside his wide eyes.

[“Ah, my dearest brother, youngest of the seeds of Lai, you called upon me, and here I am.”] Dei’son said delightfully. His hands continuously swirling hexagonal and octagonal glasses stretched forth and retracted again displaying the dimensions he had made.

[“Greetings, Dei’son, Guardian of Dimensions. I need your power to find my parents.”] Cush asked with a smile.

[“Ah, do you ask for our mother?”] Dei’son teased. [“Or do you wish to meet the Bearer and his Defender?”]

[“It is they. Have they not crossed worlds?”] Cush asked.

[“Nay, they have not, they are here, with you--- in this dimension. The cup and his blade are here.”] Dei’son replied, showing him a pentagon with one white star. [“The Bearer is alive, and young. Oh, and today he faces great danger but he will overcome it.”]

[“And his Defender---where is he?”] Cush asked.

[“He is--- here,”] Dei’son answered, pointing his thin, smoke-like finger in a dot of star that expanded. Cush saw a red-haired boy tied to a pole in the bottom of a lake.

Cush smiled widely and said, [“I thank you, my brother.”]

[“The pleasure was all mine! Until you call upon me again.”] Dei’son smiled at him. He flicked a small piece of dimension to Cush. [“Beware --- for Kilshe’ has granted the bearer’s dying wish.”] The Keeper nodded and left the room in a swirl of blue smoke.

Holding a piece of dimension in his hand, Cush felt something that he had never felt before. A crushing pain deep inside him was making his eyes wet and his chin tremble. The child of the Iranna was crying for Dei’son had revealed that the Bearer would die. It made him more anxious to meet the two people who have sacrificed greatly to bring him into existence. Cush knew there was only one person he can trust to tell him everything he needed to know. He only needed to reassure him of his life and the protection of this house. Cush called for Wu Peng once more.


When he was called in, Wu Peng had no choice but to reveal the truth about how Cush came to his house. Wu Peng told him the tale that Lai had commanded him never to reveal because Cush threatened to leave the temple in order to search for them.

[“The Defender does not know the Prophecy, nor does the Bearer, though no doubt it would soon be revealed. You came here with four other people, borne by a magic ticket that I had given to another Sorcerer. You cannot stop things from happening until that day, or you would not end up in my house, and the prophecy---”] Wu Peng explained.

[“—May not come to pass. I will not try to alter what has already been recorded, if that is your fear.”] Cush finished.

[“There is little you can do for the Bearer,”] Wu Peng said.

Cush frowned at him. [“I have heard the fate of the Bearer. The Defender’s fate---my father---is yet to be written. I can help write it.”]

[“He would parley with Ji. Parley for the task, which would bring you here. That cannot be rewritten.”] Wu Peng explained.

[“His parley has made me who I am. Without that parley there would be no Cush.”] The child said. [“He would suffer greatly because of that Parley, for Ji is a deceiver. It is by the power of Aum that her mouth has been sealed from revealing secrets to her mother, Nin. When I am seated in her throne, Ji would be destroyed.”]

[“You cannot stop the task.”] Wu Peng warned. [“He would not give up the Bearer.”]

Cush frowned again. [“Then I would help him with the task. So he can have his bearer back.”]

[“It requires that it be done by him alone, or the pentagram would be forever etched in his body.”] Wu Peng said.

[“Why are you adamant to stop me from helping my father?”] Cush cried.

[“He would open a door that would release Nin, you cannot reveal yourself to her.”] Wu Peng said covering his face in fear.

[“When will this occur?”] Cush asked.

[“Within the hour of the Bearer’s death. Two years from today.”] Wu Peng replied.

[“Then I shall wait.”] Cush replied. [“My powers are growing, and soon they will be enough to face even her.”]

[“Nin is a Keeper whose powers have been harnessed by eons of wickedness and malice, my lord!”] Wu Peng warned again.

[“I am aware of that, servant of the Temple.”]

[“If she finds you, she will try to kill you and the Defender. You cannot reveal yourself to her!”] Wu Peng begged. [“My lord! I implore you! Do not show her the piece of the prophecy which had been denied!”]

[“And I have been denied the love of my parents! Must she have power over me as well? I will be reunited with them, one way or another! I will help my father claim his bearer for it will be the last thing I can do for them! They have given up everything and for what --- an eternity of misery? Have they not suffered enough?”] Cush cried and as he did the temple shook and Wu Peng cowered to a corner. [“Do not cower in a corner when it is by your insolence that my anger has been released upon you. You are dismissed---servant of the Temple.”]


---***---

“Cush,” Harry repeated, “That is a--- strange name.”

“No more stranger than yours---Harry Potter.” Cush replied.

Sweeping emotions filled him as Cush said his name. It was like hearing it from a long lost beloved friend, moving him to tears. He knew that his eyes were dryer than a desert, and that no matter how much his heart bleeds no tear would run down his pale face.

Yet, that moment, as Cush stretched forth his small hands and touched his face, Harry wept. His eyes closed and the memory of love returned to his empty veins refreshing his tired mind. Memories that had been silenced came rushing back and he heard the laughter in the common room of the Gryffindor Tower. He remembered the intimate nights spent in the room of requirement. He remembered his wedding night and that magical moment when he and Ron first made love. It came to him like a rushing river washing over his parched soul filling the emptiness in his heart.

“Ron --- “ Harry whispered.

“Is that his name?” Cush asked.

Harry opened his eyes and saw that the child was also crying. “I’m --- I’m sorry. Did I make you cry?”

Cush shook his head. As he closed his eyes, more tears fell down his chubby cheeks. “My tears are for joy for you have told me my father’s name.”

Harry’s eyes widened as Cush confirmed his suspicions. He could feel his entire body tingle with anticipation and his mouth quivered though no words would come out.

“My father…you called him Ron. That is his name!”

“You’re---You’re ----“ Harry gasped. “You’re my son!”


---***---



[“My lord,”] Wu Peng bowed.

[“I am going to reveal myself to the old one.”] Cush said.

Wu Peng slowly stood and said, [“He had parleyed with Ji, my lord. He has dealt with the Keeper of the dead twice.”]

[“I know, and I have heard his latest parley. He will stay only until the bearer fulfills the other Prophecy.”] Cush answered. [“In exchange for his life, she asked him to offer another, and he has agreed.”]

Wu Peng felt a pang of fear rising to his temples. [“Albus has no other life to offer but his own. Who is it that he paid for in exchange for the Prophecy?”]

[“The one whose life depends on him and his protection. He has tried to reverse it by sending the boy to another house. The boy has been found by the demon while the old man is away.”] Cush revealed.

[“Who is it, my lord?”] Wu Peng asked nervously.

[“The one that my father must never find.”] Cush replied. [“His name is Draco Malfoy. One of the seven that have defiled the Bearer.”]

Wu Peng frowned in confusion. [“He is part of the Parley then. Why would you hide him from the Defender?”]

[“He is not part of the Parley. This Draco did not take part in the ritual by choice. He was forced to do it--- by magic. That was why the ritual failed because all those who partake must do so willingly. To kill him would be murder, and my father would fail thinking he had killed enough, when he’d be short of one.”] Cush asked.

[“You need Dumbledore to protect this Draco from Ron.”] Wu Peng analyzed.

[“That is my plan.”] Cush said.

[“Another piece of the Prophecy--- Ji seems to know more about the Prophecy then what we were led to believe.”] Wu Peng said.

[“Ji had asked the Defender to pay a price because that is what the Prophecy compels her to do. The Defender agreed to pay the price though it was never made known and Ji reveals to him the task.”] Cush began to explain.

[“Ji does not know that you were the price, my lord.”] Wu Peng said.

[“No, for Lai alone heard the prophecy in its completion. No other Keeper was present when Aum spoke.”] Cush continued. [“Ji was commanded by Aum to ask all the Defenders that came to her asking for the Bearer’s life. Ji, like her mother, thinks that the price is the Bearer and they have plotted together to bring the bearer back to life.”]

Wu Peng’s mind reeled in confusion. [“Why would they want the bearer back? Isn’t that Nin’s unbecoming?”]

[“I assumed that by now you have understood what the curse entailed. A bearer must never live beyond his sixteenth age.”] Cush said.

[“But he is already--- dead, my lord.”] Wu Peng objected. [“I --don’t understand.”]

[“Of course you don’t. For this is far beyond your comprehension. Let me explain so that you may.”] Cush proffered. [“Nin has used her powers to influence events to kill the bearer thinking that without the bearer, the prophecy will not be fulfilled. In her haste to have him killed, Nin forgot the power of love, and overlooked the Defender.”]

[“And his seed. She still has no knowledge of you.”] Wu Peng added.

Cush smiled. [“That is right, for Aum has blinded her to everything that she must never know. She knows not that I exist, nor is she aware that I can see and hear her and her children.”]

Wu Peng marveled at the amount of power the child bore. [“You’ve seen her?”]

[“Yes. I know what she plans to do and her plan must never come to pass. In her mind, the bearer is everything; he is the beginning and the end of the Prophecy. She thinks that he will be exalted to her place. So it alarmed her greatly when Lai has placed Npindë in her house after his death.”] Cush explained.

Npindë was the timekeeper of the gods. It is said that when one of the gods spoke a prophecy, Npindë was summoned to track the time. It is only used when a prophecy is sure to unfold. The fact that Lai had summoned Npindë and placed it in Nin’s house meant that the prophecy spoken by Aum was about to be fulfilled and this confused her because the one whom she thought was the key had just died a horrible death.

[“Nin thinks that Lai has beseeched Aum for another bearer to replace the first one she lost, that is why she kills every single one. What she does not know is that her minions destroyed a son and that Lai weeps not for the cup, but for her lost seed. I am the answer to the Prophecy, and Npindë is about to anoint me.”] Cush continued.

[“Then you do not need to intervene in the affairs of the Defender. The prophecy will be fulfilled whether he succeeds or not.”] Wu Peng contested.

[“That is true. The Defender and his bearer have already played their part in the prophecy, and much like the first one, discarded by the gods. Is that what you want me to do?”] Cush asked.

Wu Peng could not answer for the details of the prophecy were still twirling his consciousness. When he looked at the child, he found scorn in his emerald eyes. Cush has displayed such god-like qualities until this moment, and Wu Peng realized, there was still a huge part of him that was human.

[“I love them, though I have very little memory of them. Their blood flows through my veins. I feel their love---even now, and it has grown stronger everyday. It has made my world smaller than what is should be for I see nothing else but them. I cannot be a god and watch my parents die.”] Cush replied.

Empty of words, Wu Peng just stood there and nodded for he at last understood why the child had been so eager to find the Defender and help him in his task even though he knows it has nothing to do with the Prophecy, and might even jeopardize his very existence. The one thing that made them weak and strong at the same time was the most powerful force that guided Cush. It was love that brought him here, and love will move his destiny.

[“The golden goddess---might have overlooked that.”] Wu Peng said at last.

[“I will help the Defender with all the powers bestowed upon me. It is enough that they loose a son to the Prophecy. For them to lose themselves and their love is too great a price to ask.”] Cush said. [“The gods will not deny them this. I will never allow it.”]

Wu Peng was now anxious to serve the boy more than ever. [“What is your plan, my lord?”]

[“The Defender must never find Draco.”] Cush said. [“Nin has found all those who have taken part in the ritual and gave them a pendant that, when worn by the Defender, would show him who were those that partook in the ritual, what they did, and where to find them.”]

[“That will hasten his victory. Why would they do such a thing?”] Wu Peng marveled.

[“When the task is near its completion, the Defender will be shown two visions: one, which is the truth, and the other a lie. He will choose the lie and with it abandon the Bearer.”] Cush continued.

[“The task will never be completed! What wickedness!”] Wu Peng gasped in horror.

[“I will try to stop the Defender from using the pendants, though it would be difficult to do so without telling him who I am. Even now, he hides one in his pocket.”] Cush said sadly.

[“He has one already?”] Wu Peng gasped.

Cush nodded. [“He has acquired one, and one symbol has been erased from the pentagram.”]

[“Has he seen---?”] Wu Peng asked.

[“No. He has not used it yet. He will --- soon. I am going to stop him, or at the very least try. Nin will surely win his trust if he uses the pendant for it would seem to make his task easier.”]

[“If you do, she might see you.”] Wu Peng cautioned.

[“Not if I were covered in darkness. Even so, I will risk it---my father’s life depends on it.”] Cush said.

[“And, Albus---what of him?”]

[“The old one must be warned; Ji will try to use his parley against him. I must go to him before it is too late.”] Cush said.

Wu Peng could not help but feel deep respect for the love the child felt for the parents he has not met. He knew that Dumbledore will press him for the Prophecy and he just might reveal it in order to get his cooperation. However, he could not stay in the temple while the child risks his own life. [“Let me go instead, my lord.”]

Cush looked at him, his eyes glistening with renewed hope. [“That is acceptable. But make haste and return swiftly, for I need you here when I reveal myself to my father.”]

[“Yes, my lord.”] Wu Peng bowed and took his leave. His next stop: New York City.



---***---


“Chancellor DeMorney!” cried one of the Knights.

“Yes.” DeMorney replied.

“The wizard Dumbledore has finished sealing the crack in the Border. The clans are retreating!” The Knight reported.

“Excellent! Escort him to the Headquarters and make sure that a carpet is made ready. He would want to return to Hogwarts the soonest time possible.” DeMorney instructed. “Didn’t expect the old warlock to do it this fast.”

“Yes, Master.” The knight bowed before him and left to join the ranks of Knights that have been fending off the Vampires that attacked them as Dumbledore tried to restore the border.

“Chancellor DeMorney, how delightful to see you---at last!”

DeMorney reeled and found an old sorcerer standing behind him. “Wu Peng? What are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too. I come here to speak to your guest.” Wu Peng answered.

“Albus? You’ve come for Albus.”

“Yes. I understand he has helped you repair the tear in the border. Has he finished?” Wu Peng asked.

“Yes. He’s being escorted back to the Bureau.” DeMorney replied.

“Then let us go there.” Wu Peng suggested.

“Very well. Come then, my carpet is on the other side of 247th street.” DeMorney said.




Dumbledore anxiously paced the room where he was confined, waiting for his carpet to be readied. He was uneasy knowing carpets take two days to travel and the Knights were taking careful time preparing one for him to use. He decided to spend his waiting hours analyzing the task that Ron agreed to take.

“Eleven souls he has to take. Ten that defiled Harry, and one that took the Iranna. The ritual called for seventeen to partake. Seventeen, minus Lucius, leaves sixteen. Minus Draco---” He contemplated. Suddenly, his concentration was disturbed by a loud knock. “Come in!”

“Professor Dumbledore sir, someone is here to see you.” The knight announced.

“Who is it?” Dumbledore asked.

“It is I.”

Dumbledore recognized that voice. The last time he heard it, they were having a great debate and the owner threw him out of the temple.

“Wu Peng.”

“Albus.”

“What brings you to New York?”

“I have come with an errand from Archer.”

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. The boy named Archer is Ron’s lost son, who was brought to the temple in Tibet when Arabella Figg, and the Dursley have accidentally activated the Magic Ticket. He is now six years old and from the looks of it, has taken over command of the Temple.

“What errand?”

“You have a Draco Malfoy in your care, do you not?”

“Yes. Yes, I have. What about him?” Dumbledore quizzed.

“You need to keep him away from the Defender.” Wu Peng replied.

“That has been arranged. He is on his way to Ireland even as we speak.” Dumbledore said.

“He won’t make it there. He has been found by enemy.” Wu Peng warned.

“What? How do you know?” Dumbledore asked.

“The child has seen it.” Wu Peng answered, walking into the light so that Dumbledore could see his face.

“And you believe this child?” Dumbledore contested.

“Yes, and so should you.”

“Why? Why do you believe him? I know that he has powers, perhaps beyond yours and mine. But that is not enough to trust his words concerning that which is oceans away from him.” Dumbledore responded. “Draco is no concern of yours.”

“But he is of great concern to the child, and the child is my concern.” Wu Peng explained.

“Why? Why do you follow him, Wu Peng? He is only a child.” Dumbledore complained. “Or perhaps you have lost in a wager. It is not to be wondered at, he is, after all, Harry Potter’s son.”

“Albus--- He is part of the Prophecy!”

Dumbledore froze in his spot. “The- the Prophecy?”

“Do not ask me more, for you have parleyed with Ji anew.” Wu Peng cautioned him, and this time he aimed his wand at Dumbledore.

“You know of my parley?” Dumbledore awed.

“Yes. For the child saw you seal another Parley with Ji. You agreed to give up Draco’s life in exchange for yours. He was not yours to give, but Ji agreed to your parley knowing she can use you because of it.” Wu Peng said.

Dumbledore could feel his body numbing from the revelation. Wu Peng reminded him of the deception he thought would never be tested. The first time he parleyed, he agreed to surrender the Defender and his Bearer, and it ended up with him killing the Bearer. He did not understand it then, however, he has grown wiser now, and knew that Ji was not the kind of Keeper one should trust. He knew that if he tried to help Harry, him being this century’s bearer, escape the fate from which he was condemned, the penalty was death. He did die, but before he did, he already planned another parley; something that did not involved Ron or Harry.

Now Wu Peng counsels him against it, because a child of six years has told him that this plan is about to backfire. His mind was filled with doubt but his heart told him that this time, he should follow.

“What do I need to do?” Dumbledore asked.

“If he returns to the castle, keep him in, and keep the Defender out. If he is out, bring the Defender inside and keep him there.” Wu Peng instructed.

“That will be impossible to do. Ron would never stay in the castle. He needs to fulfill his task.” Dumbledore complained.

“Then you know what you must do, and what will happen next.” Wu Peng replied.

Dumbledore nodded. The knight came in and told him that the carpets would not be ready to ride until the evening.

“Tell your Chancellor to open a channel. I apparated here from Tibet, Albus, Scotland would not be farther than that” Wu Peng said.

Dumbledore smiled at him, and nodded to the Knight to do as Wu Peng instructed. The knight bowed and left quickly.

---***---

Harry wrapped his arms around his son and thanked Lai for this gift. Of all the things that the Keeper of Magical Beings did for him, this was the kindest.

“I’ve missed you! So much!” Harry whispered hoarsely. “The last time I held you in my arms was two days ago, and now, here you are---with me! How can this be? Have you passed through the veil?”

“No, I am not dead. I have been glorified to an existence far beyond yours because of the choice my father made.” Cush explained.

Harry nodded. “He agreed to the Parley without knowing he paid you for it. I know he would never do so if he knew…he was deceived. I just wished he asked first before agreeing---”

“Forgive him, please. He did it out of desperation and love.” Cush said.

Harry looked at him again and smiled. Then he pulled him closer and kissed his head. “There’s nothing to forgive for I do not blame him. I think, although he is unaware of it, what he did has even saved you from what could have been an early death.”

“Yet you still carry anger in your heart. Why?”

Harry asked the same question. Why was he still angry when he knew all along that Ron did it because he wanted him back so badly? He found the answer lodged in his lips and he spewed it out in all its bitterness.

“Because nothing about this is fair. All I wanted was to have a peaceful life with him---That’s all! I did not mean for him to suffer or for you to be taken away from me so soon. If I had known that loving me meant a lifetime of misery, I would do everything to spare you and Ron. I loved your father---with all my heart--- I love him still. I guess my anger is for the whole situation that we have been thrown into---it is cruel, and there is nothing I can do to change it.” Harry explained.

“Forgive me, because what I’m about to reveal will burden you further. I have come here to tell you that he will be faced with memories of the Forbidden Temple.” Cush revealed.

“What?”

“Nin is out to destroy him and she will use your memories to do it.”

Suddenly, Antiquity felt icy cold though the wind had stopped moaning. Harry could no longer hear the rumbling of the sleeping dragon, nor the crumbling sound of drying leaves for his ears were filled with the throbbing sound of his heart.

“He must never see the ritual.” Harry whispered.

“It is not the ritual that would destroy him to see. It is the vision that Draco saw before the second ceremony began.” Cush said.

“What vision? What did Draco see?” Harry asked.

Cush covered Harry’s eyes with both hands until the darkness evaporated into the Southern Tower.




Harry saw Draco in the middle of their classroom it was empty and the morning light outside, entering through the stained windows, illuminated his handsome face. Draco seemed displaced, wondering where he was, or why he was there. Suddenly, a voice calls out from his bedroom.

“Draco,”

Harry frowned recognizing the voice to be his though this scene was entirely new to him. “When was this?”

He saw Draco run towards the room. He followed him and saw himself standing in front of the window, wearing a black robe.

“Potter! You’re alright!” Draco said.

“This never happened!” Harry exclaimed.

He saw himself walk towards Draco wearing a devious smile on his face.

“My name is Harry, Draco.”

Harry gasped as he saw himself reach for Draco’s loins. “I never did this!”

“What is wrong with you, Potter?”

“Wrong? You think what I’m doing is wrong? How is it wrong, Draco?”

“This never happened!” Harry cried.

“Because you’re married to Weasley,” Draco said.

“That is right, and I have honored our vows till my dying breath!”

“So? He’s never stopped you before,”

“This isn’t real!” Harry screamed.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you never once fancied a night with me? You often listen to us while we fucked each other blind; surely, you pictured yourself engaged in one. I know I was. I’ve been thinking about you, and what it would be like to have you in bed.”

Harry fell to his knees as he watched himself teasing Draco.

“Stop it Potter!”

“NO! This never happened! I have been faithful to Ron!” Harry screamed, for not only was he kissing Draco, the movement shifted the robe he wore revealing his bare skin underneath.

“Don’t be scared, Draco. After all, it’s just sex. Oh, I forgot, you haven’t had that yet!”

“I know how it’s done, Potter.”

“No---” Harry gasped, anticipating what was about to happen next.

“Then show me.”

He watched with horrified eyes as he slowly ushered Draco in bed --- the bed that he and Ron shared for many nights. He watched as he hungrily took him in, Draco reeling with ecstasy as he inserted himself, pumping hard and fast. Every kiss filled with lust. Every moan filled with passion. Every movement was so real and it terrified him because Harry knew what it would do to Ron should he see it.

Cush’s embrace took him away from the nightmare of Draco’s vision. Harry found it hard to breath and though the wind slapped against his face, blowing away the tears that rained down to his neck, it did very little to clear the terrible vision that Cush had shown to him.

“That never happened! I have never been unfaithful to your father…”

“I know. That was a vision that the Warlock Voldemort implanted in Draco’s mind to force him to do that abomination for he would not have done it otherwise. That is why the ritual failed.” Cush explained.

“Ron will think that I betrayed him!” Harry cried. “I loved no other man!”

“That is why I must go to him and make him listen before he finds Draco and be destroyed by this lie.” Cush said.

“You---“

“I wanted to see you first before I do this, because if I fail,” Cush sighed, “I will never see you again.”

Harry at last understood why his son had been permitted to join him here. It was not common for Lai to do such a deed, and Harry had been wondering why he was favored so. Cush --- Archer, James --- his son was here to say goodbye.