Boy and the Begining

October 14th – October 16th, the Island of Pantelleria, part of Italy...

The Island of Pantelleria, an Italian piece of earth in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea and 100 km southwest of Sicily, Harry's current port, a day or two after he was released from The Vault. (1)

Harry smiled as he took in a deep breath of fresh air.

He had decided to make camp and instead of concentrating on studying the local stories, his language studies, magic, or even experimenting with the new goodies he had obtained. Instead, he had decided to just relax and take a vacation from all of that, and just be like all the other ordinary little normal boys out there for once.

He took on a rueful look, thinking that there was a certain irony that after all this time of being happy that he was Abnormal, he would still appreciate, sometimes even crave moments to be normal, the very thing he had run from.

He had decided to just spend a few days lazing about, maybe sew a few holes in his socks, sketch some of the scenery, and cook.

In fact, that was what he was doing now.

Over a cheerfully burning fire sat a large pot on a stand and in the large pot, -or cauldron really, as his had nicked the equipment from The Vault's potions equipment room (and as much as he was looking to forget all that for a moment, he couldn't deny useful tools), -there was a bubbling chunky sauce made of a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions, cauliflower and gherkins. The assortment was being pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomatoes, apples and dates with spices such as mustard, coriander, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cayenne pepper with sugar (2).

It had taken him awhile to find all the ingredients over his travels, but with the help of numerous storage containers and his shrinking ability, he could carry a grocery store's worth of food on him quite easily now.

Whenever he hit populated areas, he always made sure to get a few things here and there that he could not otherwise get out in the wild. With his new collection of magical preservative jars, he would be able to now get perishables like cheese, milk, and eggs, even ice cream! And not have to worry about it going bad. He wouldn't have to dry out his fish or eat it right away, or get the canned stuff anymore either as well. He would be able to hunt and fish to his heart's content! 

Harry had decided to use some of his ingredients to make some pickled Chutney. While he had not been allowed to have it at the Dursleys, he'd fallen in love with it during his travels through his home country. He had developed a taste for cheese and pickle sandwiches, and had enjoyed many a hearty Ploughmen's lunch (though without the alcohol of course and only when he could get his hands on some eggs) it was one of the things he missed about his home country. As much as he enjoyed expanding his palate, he had to admit there were a few things he enjoyed that were reminders of where one comes from (3).

He was just scrubbing his cauldron in the river after jarring and shrinking the last of his pickled chutney when something came rushing out of the bushes. They both froze; Harry with a jar full of pickle and another boy with white blond hair and twigs sticking out of the slick blond locks.

The boy eyed Harry's camp, his worn cloths, his numerous piles of socks awaiting patching, and sniffed disdainfully, raising a pointed nose and chin in the air.

"Just my luck, all that time walking around lost and all I find is some peasant boy."

Harry stared at the finely dressed youth for a moment, before his lip twitched and then he burst out laughing.

"Hey!" the boy yelled, "don't laugh at me!"

Harry laughed harder, and the boy's nose came down a notch and his face flushed in both anger and embarrassment.

"What do you know anyway?" the boy huffed, grabbing a boulder close to Harry's fire and sitting primly.

Harry, amusement clear in his voice stated casually, "oh, I may not know a lot, but at least I know where I'm resting my rump."

The blond boy slumped a bit at that, flushing again.

Eventually Harry's amusement faded and he said, a little friendlier, "are you lost?"

The boy sneered at him, but grudgingly nodded and explained reluctantly, "my father needed to pick up a rare ingredient for my godfather and had to visit this Merlin forsaken island to harvest some, - why father bet he could win at chess with uncle Severus is foolish really, He's a champion!, -So he brought me along, as mother is in France, to the Aegadian Islands to obtain some of the ingredient that Uncle Severus asked for his prize. Then, while father was harvesting, I thought I saw a Purple Breasted Royal snake (4), and wanted to catch it to give to my godfather, as he is rather fond of rare venom, but I soon became lost and my query got away."

There was silence for a moment as Harry contemplated the brief, though long-winded recitation of the family dynamics of an obviously wealthy family and some posh eccentric chef, or mad scientist, godfather/uncle. 

Harry finally said "no need to worry really, I spend a lot of time in places like this and I can assure you that your father can't be far. What type of ingredient is he after?"

"Blood Dagger Mushrooms," the blond boy sighed, not able to hide his relief.

Harry hummed thoughtfully, "I don't know what those are really, but I think I have seen something like what it sounds like while I was out for a walk yesterday."

Harry got up and gestured for the boy to follow him.

It wasn't long before they crested yet another hill, the blond prat was sweaty and wheezing a lot by that point, obviously not used to all the exercise he had been getting lately, then Harry spotted a rather impressive, though oddly dressed, blond man who looked like a grown up version of the blond snob gasping at his heels.

"That him?" he checked, and the boy nodded relieved, "well good then, I have to be off. Have fun with your fungus I suppose."

The blond boy whirled around to state that he didn't play with fungus, but the mysterious rude peasant boy was gone.

The blond blinked, looking around but the boy could not be seen, and he was soon distracted from the odd disappearance when his father strode up to him, looking relieved and began lecturing him about wandering off.

Ooo ooo ooo

Harry had decided to take a ferry instead of body bubbling, because he wanted to avoid being cooped up for a bit, and left from a port in Kamma, spending the last of his euros, getting off at Marsalla in the island of Sicily.

Harry's choice for Sicily was partly due to it being the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea; he figured he would meander around about through here, and then drift towards the other surrounding minor islands, a decent point of start, being located in the central Mediterranean (5).

 He decided, as he had during his time on Pantelleria, he would expand his more mundane skills, and the various locations available in Central Mediterranean offered the best places to do so. Sicily in particular was excellent for his purposes as it has a rich and unique culture, especially in things that Harry was interested in expanding upon such as delving more into his appreciation of the arts and architecture. Harry was also keen to visit the various archeological and ancient sites such as the Necropolis of Pantalica and the Valley of the Temples and Selinunte. He used to enjoy history in school, and had been developing a bit of a taste for it, as was somewhat necessary when delving into mythology. (6)

It was the cooking that he was looking forward to the most, since Sicily has a long history of producing a variety of noted cuisines that Harry was eager to add to his repository, though any place nicknamed "God's Kitchen" was bound to attract any foodie looking to expand their horizons (7).

According to his research, and later observations, every part of Sicily has its food specialty: such as a food called Cassata (which is a type of rather fancy cake that looked like mini one tiered works of art)typical of the city of Palermo. There is Granita, which is a specialty of Catania, a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings (and Harry would later discover quite refreshing). (8)

Many of the dishes of Sicily are viewed by consumers to be particularly healthy as well, do to locals using fresh vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, artichokes, olives (including olive oil, the most popular oil base in the area), citrus, apricots, aubergines, onions, beans, and raisins commonly coupled with seafood which Harry was curious to try, having never thought to combine those two before, but always eager to expand his seafood experience.

Seafood, Harry's primary diet base, would consist of tuna, sea bream, sea bass, cuttlefish, swordfish, sardines, and others for this neck of the water, it was going to be some mighty interesting picnics at the local docks that's for sure. (8)

Harry thought that was all pretty impressive, and was looking forward to seeing if it lived up to the hype.

Ooo  ooo  ooo

Harry spent weeks wandering from town to town, city to city, in a state of bliss.

He went through several stacks of sketch books as he drew image after image of sprawling green covered mountains, jewel calm coastlines, thousands of years old buildings and other breathtaking architectures. He also had stacks of photo albums were his recent post card collection was steadily growing, and a book shelf's worth of cook books and notebooks with recipes that made him practically salivate with anticipation.

While he was learning a great deal, he also took the time to relax and watch a little of the local recreations, such as sneaking into stadiums and watching football games, one of the most popular sports on the island, which, according to Harry's self-taught expansion into history, was introduced in the late 19th century under the influence of the English, but was now deeply embedded in local culture. All over Sicily each town has its own representative team and the cheerfully ardent competitiveness to match.

Harry had been bemused by another encounter with local spirits haunting more then one stadium sharing bets and snarks over games, though what the ghosts bet with they never revealed (7).

Harry was also able to observe local celebrations, some if his particular favorites being Feast Days (of course), which are marked by colorful processions through the streets with marching bands and displays of fireworks that he oohed and ahhed over among a group of similarly excited local youths, in celebration of each town and city's own patron saint. The colorful, nearly iridescent floats in some cases were Harry's favorite part of those days. (7)

Harry was enjoying his time in Sicily, and it would be quite a while before he would move on.

Ooo ooo ooo

February 16th, Heading into the mainland of Italy, Harry is Age 10...

Harry had never stayed in a country so long! Particularly in just one part, no matter how big!

His time had certainly been fruitful, and he was proud to say that his Italian was particularly strong, out of all the languages he had attempted to teach himself so far. He was glad that he had delayed his trip further North to linger and learn.

As much as he loved Sicily though, he'd finally felt the urge to move on, and had turned his sights further North.

He had yet to decide which country to visit next, so the wandering boy had decided to take a lazy coastal flight, skirting along the edges of Italy's seaside, figuring it was as good as any.

Harry was in the city of Pescara which was on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, having long since leaving the Mediterranean behind. He was enjoying the relatively calm midnight flight a little further out to sea. He was contemplating whether he should continue flying up the coast, take a body bubble, or a ferry across to Croatia, when something caught his eye.

He halted mid-flight, moving closer towards the surface of the water halting a way's up and stared at the unusual sight below.

It was a glowing whirlpool, a rather distinctive sight as the rest of the waters remained calm and inky black, reflecting the clear starry sky and moon back at Harry.

Harry had no idea what it was, but it was strangely beautiful, swirling greenish-blue, silver and whites.

His lingering ended up being his downfall, literally, as a great giant brackish tentacle suddenly shot out of the water and wrapped around his waist.

The hovering youth narrowed his eyes. With a yell, he set the beast's grabby appendage ablaze in hungry orange flames.

The creature quickly released him, and the tentacle sank under the waves, though this time it was replaced by at least 11 more towering over him. They moved rather quickly for something so large, and despite Harry's efforts with his fire, there would still be others to replace what he burned, and the flames never did very much damage, to quickly snuffed out.

He also found that whatever it was could not be effected by sizing, happy feet, or anything else he had on hand. It was either immune to it or it was just too big or both.

Eventually, the thing managed to catch him around the middle again with a tentacle and began reeling Harry towards the water.

He had no other option but one and that was to face whatever it was underneath the waves. Perhaps he could escape from it there.

He managed to free one hand and reached into the pocket of his back pack, grabbing two vials. One filled with gillyweed, the other empty.

He did 2 things in quick succession.

One, he shrunk his backpack and stored it tightly inside the empty vial, sticking it in one of the numerous pockets of a pair of khaki pants he'd been wearing.

Two, he uncorked the other vial, unshrinking some of its contents, and swallowed the sample of gillyweed that he'd been planning to experiment with but hadn't gotten around to it yet. He grimaced at the slimy rubbery taste as he quickly hung the vial from a chain around his neck he'd started wearing to hold quickly needed things like a pouch with money and other immediate supplies.

He swallowed and the waves closed over his head. He hoped this worked.

The first thing Harry acknowledged was that yes, he wasn't drowning.

The second thing he noticed was the creature itself.

The thing had the body of a great humpback whale with a crab-like shell on its back, a dark reddish black colour, and a set of six tentacles on either side of what Harry assumed was the head, like a horrible nightmarish mane that dragged him towards a beak-like mouth filled with razor sharp Buick sized teeth.(9)

And did he mention how big it was? It was like being caught by a small monstrous island that wanted to eat him.

He writhed and struggled futilely. The grip on him was tight this time.

Harry was just about to see his life flash before his eyes when a voice interrupted the climax of his death or near death as the case may be.

"Rura! How many times have I told you? We do not eat other guest members!"

The irritated female voice was followed by a sharp looking spear stabbing the tentacle holding Harry, passing inches from his nose.

The creature let out a noise that was more vibration then anything, making his teeth rattle in his head, but thankfully let him go.

He quickly swam free and took a moment to float and catch back those lost years off his life with a few deep breaths through his new gills.

The new addition to the party was, like the thing that tried to eat him, definitely an Abnormal.

From waist up, she looked relatively human shaped, but that was as far as he could go in saying such. Her hair was ash grey filaments that looked more like hundreds of thin fin trails like the kind found on those fancy looking fish he saw during his numerous dives. She had iron grey scaly skin and a long torso that was more reminiscent of an eel, very lean and without much in the way of curves. Her face was relatively human, oval shaped, but with large white-less black eyes. Her arms were long and appeared to have an extra elbow or two, and the fingers were also long and many jointed and webbed. (10)

The lower half was octopus-like and a darker slate grey with dark navy stripes.

The woman (?) huffed, blowing a stream of irritated bubbles out her frilled nostrils, watching as the creature slunk away before turning to Harry and taking him in.

"Well, we don't see to many of your sort around, I hadn't thought there was any more Gillmen (11) willing to attend these little summits we have every 5 years or so, especially so young! Still, I suppose that experience breeds maturity and viable mates so I can't really fault you for wanting to attend, though you probably should have waited for a local fresh water ball, not to many Freashies attend these things, especially ones with the ability to switch between salt water and fresh water as you seem to be able to."

She grinned, revealing teeth rather similar to the creature that had just left them, though on a much smaller scale.

Harry let out a stream of relieved bubbles, scratching at his own flowing black hair nervously, eyeing the spear she had re-shouldered, it looked wicked sharp.

He paused before trying to explain anything, finally noticing his elongated fingers and toes that had become webbed and the frilled gills on either side of his neck, huh.

"Kraken," she supplied with a proud smirk, as she gestured to the sulking creature that had been denied it's snack, "you Freshies probably have never even seen one before. You should be lucky that you weren't a seal of the non-magical sort or you would have been eaten long ago."

'Kraken,' he mentally moaned, and discreetly gulped. He'd heard about it from a book he had read on Scandinavian mythos. They were giant sea creatures that supposedly ate ships.

"Well, well! A Freashy and a newbie! An ignorant one at that! How perfectly delightful! You shall accompany me then. You're in luck that you happened across the one being in all the waters that has a fin on the current of our marvelous world and all those who swim in it, and thus not likely to eat or skewer you...for the moment."

Harry was beginning to wonder if he really was so lucky, but he didn't want to arouse suspicion if he tried to refuse her aide (which seemed to consist with dragging him off somewhere). She was rather intimidating and she had saved him from the Kraken so he couldn't really use his abilities against her, even if he was unsure how they would work underwater, so he was given no choice but to follow the…whatever she was.

"Since you have apparently never seen a Kraken, I suppose you haven't heard of my people or my vaunted self. I am the Lady Mung, third daughter of Queen Zel and ambassador to the Water Herders. We are the children of Pontus and the Kraken. My people specialize in communicating and controlling the creatures of the sea and oceans."

Harry nodded along as she regaled him with stories about her various adventures with herding various sea creatures until she was given the honor and duty to oversee Yagb, the oldest Kraken of the heard.

"…and so I told the siren (12) if she wanted the dolphin she would just have to take her overblown attitude and…" Mung paused in her conversation when she noticed Harry's goggled eyed look that wasn't pointed at her this time.

Before them was what looked like a field of various angled whirlpools of light, and from those pools emerged various creatures, people, and all in-between. It was like being on the freeway for all things water based fantasy.

"Ah! You spotted the Hub. These are clustered gates that are created by various persons and channeled from various locations all over the world to allow for those coming to the summit to attend without traveling over great distances. We time it so the air breathers do not notice our presence."

She guided him forward by grabbing his wrist and weaving through the rather crowded setting. At one point they past dangerously close to being squashed between two whales that sang out swear words in their direction, and were forced to wait long enough that Harry was discreetly dipping into his second dose of gillyweed when he felt the tell-tale warnings of it wearing off (1hour and 35 minutes, good batch!) as a very old and stately water dragon, with gleaming silver scales flowed lazily by, followed by a contingent of smaller and less grand water dragons and magical sea serpents.

They were all converging upon one particular point, a deep dark crevice that was protected by overarching jagged rocks like thousands of clawed fingers.

Inside, Harry couldn't help gasping at what he beheld. It was a sprawling citadel of hundreds, if not thousands of glowing bluish colored spheres of various hues, heights and sizes all connected by iridescent pale greenish thread-looking tubes all surrounding in a loose necklace around a tall tower of spheres, one on top of another with a large trident made of what looked like diamond.

"A stunning sight is it not?" Mung chuckled, amused by his expression, "The Crown of the Sea, or simply The Crown, was a citadel created by the most ancient of us, some even say the first of us, as a place where all water dwelling beings can be given voice. It is a neutral place and the rulers change hands every century or so, appointed by the council. The city also houses the highest concentration of Water Mages, Elemental land dwellers that are cousins, of a sort, to wizards and witches, though they separated some time ago, with the other Elementals, and now dwell in the oceans, seas, and lakes where they lend their powers to such things as the creation of the Hub, allowing all water dwellers, no matter their home, to come and go here. They also use their magic to hide us all from the land dwellers that they left behind so many eons ago. If you're lucky you might actually spot one in a crowd, they very rarely intermingle with others outside their conclaves."

Harry was dragged along by his wrist as they converged upon the underwater metropolis while the friendly and overly talkative Herder continued to explain things, obviously having come to the conclusion that Harry was a rather ignorant entrant. Which Harry was, deeply so, but incorrect in why he was so ignorant.

Harry couldn't help goggling like the newbie she thought him, as he beheld great heaving water serpents of all shapes and species, stately and wild people of little to no dress with flowing hair and beards, or no hair at all, some floating as easily as he flew in the air, others sitting or standing on carriages, floats, and chariots pulled by underwater creatures such as large fish, octopi, giant eels…so many he couldn't name. One man in splendid silks and a golden crown was sitting lotus style on the back of what looked like a crocodile. (13)

Harry soon noticed that the largest crowd of Abnormals he has ever seen were queuing up in front of various sections of those thread-like tubes.

"These are the pipes. I am sure they had a more majestic name sometime back, but some land walker slang has a habit of making its way even into our terminologies. Anyway, these tubes are condensed magically created currents that operate on vocal commands and take you to wherever you want. Since you're new, just follow me."

Harry, not that he really had a choice, still in her clutches and all, nodded, still rather to intimidated to say anything.

Soon, it is their turn, after a rather large hefty merman disappears from their view.

"Alright, all you have to do is lay your hand on the surface of the pipe, state clearly "Reception Hall" and it will take you to the reception hall, it's where we will be assigned our quarters for the duration of our stay."

Harry nodded again and watched as the Kraken Herder went first and lay her webbed, talon tipped hand on the glowing bluish surface and clearly stated "Reception hall!" and was sucked in through the surface of the pipe and whisked away.

It was Harry's turn next. He took a moment to take another bite of his gillyweed before he lay his hand on the surface. It felt like touching a water balloon filled with warm water.

He opened his mouth to say "Reception Hall!" only then, too late, did he realize to that because he had not been able to get a word in edgewise beforehand to test himself out, he could not speak. Only a stream of bubbles escaped his mouth.

With a sinking sensation, he was to late also in removing his hand from catastrophe as he was sucked into the pipe and whisked away to what he was sure was not going to be the Reception Hall.