Boy and the Begining

May 14, Harry is 10, China…

"Er…let's see…ni? No…no… its nǐn, yah, that's it!, nǐn zǎo, nín jiǎng yīng yǔ ma? Hah! Got it that time!," Harry fist pumped as he walked along a bare stretch of rock, his tail perked up and bobbing merrily (1).

China was a large country, a very large country, and the most populated one by Normals in the entire world. As such, Harry figured that he was going to be here for a while exploring, so he decided that the first thing he needed to do was find a nice quiet place out of the way and due a bit of language learning.

He chose a small valley located outside the westernmost city in China called Kashgar, located near the border with Tajikistan. (2)

Luckily for him, Kashgar had a few stores that offered some handy books in their hotels for tourists. Harry acquired himself a thick conversational Mandarin tome, Mandarin being spoken by about 70% of the population of China (3), figuring that it was a good gamble for possible understanding.

For the time that Harry was stationary in Kashgar for studying, it wasn't all work. Harry also snuck into the local movie theaters occasionally when he saw a movie poster outside one and it looked interesting. He quickly became utterly fascinated by the elaborate special effects, the costumes, the rich colours and textures of these films. He marveled at House of Flying Daggers, cheered on Detective Dee in Young Detective Dee, practice punches and kicks back in his camp later after seeing an exhausting number of Bruce Lee films, and laughed and cheered while he watched the films of Jackie Chan (The Drunken Master one of his favorites).

After a month of preparation, and a dubious experience with salty plums, he was finally ready to continue.

Ooo ooo ooo

June 14the, Lhasa, China…

His stay in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa was relatively short, a few days or so. (4)

He hovered over the Roof of the Jokhang Temple; examined the Norbulingka monastery main gate and pondered going inside, he sketched the Potala Palace; and a Wheel of Dharma.

He enjoyed the Jokang Market, carving out his own little space to sell sketches, a few of the other vendors giving the foreigner boy amused looks and when he wasn't doing that, looking at the wares, humming appreciative into a lunch time rice ball.

When he wasn't in the market he entertained himself by sneaking in and watching cabaret acts, the performers singing in English, Chinese, Tibetan, and Nepali, and the dancers wearing traditional Tibetan costume with long flowing cloth extending from their arms, which interested him, rather liking the look.

After a few more days of selling sketches and generally absorbing his surroundings and seeing all there was to see, he eventually said so long to Lhasa and took to the starlit sky.

Ooo ooo ooo

June 30the, Jiuzhaigou Valley…

Jiuzhaigou Valley had to have been one of the more serenely beautiful places he had stayed in outside of his little bit of paradise back in France. Because a lot of the area is considered a wildlife preserve and a national park, there was a lot of unspoiled beauty that Harry could pick from and be out of the way of some of the populated areas. (5)

Harry found a nice little out of the way crevice and enlarged his birdhouse, tossing his things inside, but for a journal, taking the time to make an entry about his journey so far, and reminder notes about dressing more warmly for the higher altitude, and taking special note that China had a particularly busy sky, the various planes that had nearly beaned Harry along the way was mind boggling.

After that he grabbed his camera, pocketed extra film, and went shutter happy.

He took pictures of Five Flower Lake, marveling at its multitudes of jewel greens, blues, and turquoises cradled like a multicolored gem in the steep lee of timbered hills.

He pulled out a fishing rod at Reed Lake, not catching even a nibble but sketched the russet coloured reed-covered marsh that had a clear turquoise brook that zig-zagged through it, and camped there overnight, gazing at the stars and taking pictures of their reflection in the water.

Unsurprisingly, it was also a popular tourist destination, and Harry had to occasionally dodge tourists and their guides, knowing very well that he would likely piss off some of the local authorities if he was found wandering through the protected area outside of the pathways reserved for the tourists.

At one point, Harry stumbled across a group who appeared to be rather stressed looking college students muttering about term papers. Why this caught his particular interest, he was unsure, so he decided to shadow them discreetly out of curiosity as they gathered samples, wrote on clipboards and generally did rather academic science things that Harry only partially got.

It was soon after the group left that Harry realized why it had caught his attention.

It had been so long since he had been in school, that it was almost jarring to be reminded that he was not only a primary school drop-out, but he was not likely to return to school and eventually mutter over his own term papers in college. After some thought, he came to the conclusion that he felt perfectly fine with that.

After that bit of soul searching he soon becoming bored and drifted off to explore some more.

The Town of Zhangzha at the exit of the valley and the nearby Songpan County had a number of hotels, including several luxury five-stars, such as a Sheraton. Harry amused himself by sneaking in and helping himself to the little shampoo and conditioner bottles, some towels to replace his rather grotty ones, and a rather nice housecoat that he acquired from a honeymoon suite to wear when he was in his birdhouse during bad weather.

He only felt slightly guilty when a housemaid screamed and fainted from the sight of these items dancing out a window (after all, the maid did fall on a nearby bed, so she wasn't hurt or anything).

He also worked the crowds outside the hotels and acquired himself some more of the local currency to buy some more blank journals as well as some handicrafts, snacks and souvenirs at Heye, Shuzheng and Zechawa along the main paths that cater to tourists.

The only thing of real concern during his time here was when he went to explore Guodu and Hejiao villages which are no longer populated, and had an encounter with a rather disturbing ghost of a little girl who kept appearing in random spots and covered in blood, clutching a plushy, and smiling creepily at him. (7)

She followed him around the entire village, and Harry was quick to vacate, and was relieved when she seemed confined to the village and didn't follow him.

Harry peeked in on endangered Pandas, had a staring contest with a Snub Nosed Monkey as they both hung precariously by their tails over some tempting fruit, daring each other to make the first move.

After about 4 days Harry had filled two sketchbooks and gone through 4 rolls of film, and barring the incident with the ghost, he considered it a good run and continued on his way.

Ooo ooo ooo

July 5th, Somewhere in the province of Qinghai…

Harry had been lost on his way to the province capital, cursing maps, when a sudden storm had driven him to hurriedly erect shelter in a small copse of trees and hunker down for the night.

When he awoke, it was to find the gateway entrance to a path towards a freakin' mountain fifty feet from his birdhouse door.

He stared, blinked, and pulled out his map, lowered it, the mountain was still there, and went back to the map but no matter how he looked at it and studied it, it still insisted that there should be a stretch of grassland in his general vicinity for miles, not a bloody mountain!.

The mountain itself was rather narrow for a mountain, but exceedingly tall, the peak disappearing into the clouds.

Harry cleared up camp, tossed his map disgustedly into his bag, and scratched his head, mentally calculating the best way to fly through this unexpected, but non worrisome obstacle. He could fly after all, and barring possible avalanches or something sinister of the unnatural variety, which still wasn't as prevalent as many thought, despite his experiences. After all, he was a danger in his own right.

He had the almighty penguin power on his side after all.

It was also a singular mountain, not a mountain range. He could easily fly around this.

The only problem he had was that he was uncertain precisely where he was. It was highly likely that the storm had confused his navigation somehow, or else there wouldn't be a mountain in front of him.

He supposed that he could just pick a direction and continue flying until he hit the next populated area…

Then his eyes got some movement in the distance, a woman who was huffing with a heavy looking basket dragging behind her.

Harry let out a relived breath. Here was his chance to ask for proper directions, so he hurried up to the woman, and asked in halting Mandarin, "Excuse me, but I am lost, could you give me directions to the capital? Or even a bus stop?"

The woman, perhaps middle aged with lines in the corners of her eyes and mouth and a hardy look about her, dressed in a simple grey and white garments with her hair worn under a plain grey headscarf let go of her heavy basket. She leaned against it and regarded him.

"I don't know myself, as I tend to stay close to home, but" perhaps noting Harry's disappointed look she continued, "my mistress who lives at the peak of the mountain is quite knowledgeable, she would be able to provide you with directions."

Harry nodded and was about to walk off to find a secluded spot to take to the air, when he heard the grunts of effort the woman who had helped him was making as she renewed her toil. Harry, while being self-interested to a fair degree, was not unkind and had, from time to time, stopped in his meanderings to help someone if they needed it.

"Excuse me again, but I noticed that you're having some trouble, do you need help?"

The woman wiped the sweat from her brow and replied, "Are you sure? It's quite a journey; I don't want to keep a quick lad such as yourself from your own journey."

Harry shrugged, waving it off and took his position on the other side of the large basket. After all, it was contemporary China, what was the likely hood that there wasn't some elevator or cart or something somewhere further ahead to take them up the mountain? After all, lugging heavy baskets or whatever up a wicked tall mountain like this would just be plain…well, ridiculous.

"Thank you very much," the woman said giving a quick bow of thanks then produced a carrying pole from somewhere, making Harry blink in confusion, and ran it though the basket handles and handed Harry a cloth for his shoulder and the two heaved and lifted the basket and began walking.

Harry would be lying if he said he didn't apply a little Lift, enough to make it lighter, but not to the point of suspicion.

Harry's judgment of the path that led to the foot of the staircase at the base of the mountain was definitely misjudged, as it suddenly stretched out before him for what looked like two miles ahead, instead of the fifty feet.

He blinked again, rubbing his eyes.

As soon as he set foot passed the gate onto the white stone path, his eyes happened to look to the side and what had been plain grass on either side of the path at first glance had suddenly morphed into a river that circled the mountain like a moat.

"What?!" he gasped, "where did that come from?!" he exclaimed.

"What?" the woman asked from her position behind him.

"The River!"

"Rivers are quite normal," she replied simply.

Telling himself that it wasn't completely unlikely, he'd seen mirages a time or to while traveling after all, (though more of water then mirages of no water) so shrugging it off he plowed forward.

At first, it seemed a relatively calm crossing, but after only a few minutes of walking, the water on either side of the path immediately began frothing and churning and suddenly out of the water, to Harry's horror, leapt hundreds of long shining eels!

Harry yelped as some of them hit his head in passing, smarting enough to make his ears ring.

"What's with the eels?!" Harry hollered as he began to run, dodging, leaping and ducking, the woman keeping up with his movements (Harry being in the front).

"Eels are quite normal," she replied casually, not sounding perturbed or winded at all.

"Yeah, but like this?" he muttered under his breath. Still, he had seen flying fish; perhaps some breeds of eel did that as well? He wasn't an expert in eel after all, only on eating them.

The woman offered to turn back after another eel got his shoulder painfully.

Harry imagined the woman huffing and puffing with the basket through all this on her own, and how much worse it would be for her, and grit his teeth, shaking his head and increased his speed.

Finally they reached a roofed pavilion that was set one third of the way along the path, and Harry lay over the basket panting for breath.

The eel had stopped leaping out of the water as soon as they had entered.

They took a break there and the woman who was still not even out of breath and completely uninjured by the eels somehow, helped to treat his injures with a strong smelling balm that she kept on her person.

Then they took up the basket again.

The second third of the journey though proved much more precarious…literally.

"A deep pit with jagged rocks?!" Harry exclaimed as he took a long, long, long look down.

"A treacherous drop is quite normal," the woman replied, unperturbed.

"But the path is only 2 feet wide now!" Harry pointed out.

"A narrow path is quite normal," the woman replied, still unperturbed.

Harry was sensing a broken record.

Harry eyed the path apprehensively, but pictures of the woman falling to her doom filled his brain, and the imagined screams of "if only someone had been with me to keep me from falling!" caused him to sigh in resignation and pulled forward.

As soon as they ventured no more than a few feet, a sudden strong wind began to blow, making the large basket between them sway, pulling them towards the edge.

Now, Harry knew good and well that he didn't really need to worry about the fall, he could fly and all, but the woman couldn't and if they fell he would be forced the reveal his powers to her, something he was certain wouldn't go over well.

It was with sweat beading on his brow, and intense focus to the loss of anything else as Harry kept making adjustments while Lifting to compensate for the wind which kept coming at them from different directions, something Harry was not sure was entirely possible, but he wasn't a scientist, so he couldn't be sure.

When they got to the second rest pavilion the woman prepared them some tea to help with Harry's headache and nerves, and Harry shared his fish stuffed buns.

When they were refreshed, Harry, still in the lead, peaked out onto the last third of the path.

It looked relatively clear. He cast suspicious glances up, down, and either side.

Nothing but solid rocky terrain.

He licked his finger and held it up, nope, barely a breeze now.

Casting one last suspicious glance at the path, he determinedly shouldered the pole and took his first steps onto the path.

He was just beginning to relax when the relatively peaceful silence was ruptured by the sound of several stony clicks and scrapes as hundreds of lion shaped spouts made of gold erupted along the much wider path like ugly fast growing daisies.

Then they began spitting intermittent columns of flame and fireballs.

He took a breath then another and turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder.

"Flame throwers?! F****ing flame throwers!?" he bellowed, his manners out the window by this point.

"Fire is normal."

"Flame throwers?!"

"Using fire is normal."

Harry took a few bracing breaths, set down his end of the basket, the woman following him. He rubbed his temples as she and lit up a pipe with the edge of one of the columns of flame in front of their path and sticking it back in her mouth.

She offered to turn back, Harry growled wordlessly at her.

He knew what he was going to do was probably stupid, but he couldn't stop now, the woman could just continue on if he backed out, but going forward without doing something, was suicidally foolish, even if this was apparently a rather normal path for the woman (by this point he suspected ridiculously high wages and a heavy dose of insanity on part of her employer).

'F**k caution.'

"Don't fear what is about to happen," he told her firmly. With that Harry, the basket, carry pole and woman all rose into the air.

Harry raised them upwards, higher and higher, and carried them until the clouds were a carpet beneath them.

It took Harry a surprisingly long time to lift them up the mountain, it must have been taller then he thought! The sweat was dripping from his forehead, but eventually, he spotted his destination as the clouds parted again before him and revealed…

A bloody castle!

Though the term castle didn't seem to do it justice!

It was enfolded in gentle swells and spiraling towers like the body of a snake. It was made entirely out of white jade with stylized symbols etched with exquisite detail into each and every single solid brick. There were a hundred water falls falling through crystal and rose quartz spears, bridges of gold and silver, paths of jewels in the shapes of mosaics of fantastical creatures. Beautiful elegant cranes of every species and colour, thousands of them! flying, perched, or strolling elegantly through sprawling gardens of rainbow hued flowers and trees that embraced the entire site.

When Harry landed in what he presumed was the court yard with his passenger and cargo, he turned slowly around to face the woman that had not screamed or otherwise reacted to the presence of his power.

Only it wasn't the craggy faced woman with a pipe he found.

He scrambled back, leaning against a breadth of a crystal wall. The new figure was otherworldly beautiful with glowing pale gold skin, silky black hair that flowed like rivers about her body and interspersed with jewels, flowers and crane feathers topped off with a head dress of plump peaches. Her poor clothing had morphed into fine robes of glowing silk. He couldn't rightly describe her eyes when he met them; there was something about them that made it hard for him to settle on a color in his mind.

There were many reactions that Harry could have at that moment.

Harry sighed, rubbed his temples and took a seat at a handy nearby marble bench with…yes, that was goose down pillows.

"Why am I not surprised?" Harry muttered to himself as the glowing figure took a seat across from him, "oh wait, that's because things like this always happen to me."

The woman raised an eyebrow and said in a melodious voice.

"Of course it has."

Harry looked at her through his fingers; a little startled by the blunt affirmative, and then drawled dryly, "enlighten me."

The woman gave an amused laugh and said "if you knew who I was!" another chuckle, "you would find that demand vastly amusing."

"Who are you?" Harry asked, then to be polite, after all he had learned by now it didn't hurt to be polite with Abnormals of awesome power and finished with "Great Lady?"

The regal figure gave an approving nod at the address and replied, "we will get to that in a moment, but to explain a bit as to why you are here, that is something that is an intrinsic part of you, of others that have attracted the mountain, it is a mien that is beyond mundanity, it is those that bare the hand of great power or the great power to change."

Harry frowned, something about how she talked about change sparked a memory, "I remember the old monkey man talking about something like that," Harry said after a moment.

"I'm not surprised," her tone was decidedly dry, "considering who the founder of his race is." (8)

She sat back on her own bench which appeared out of nowhere and regarded him thoughtfully and asked "did you understand what he meant?"

Harry bit his lip "not fully."

She nodded, "in existence, there is an intricate web of cause and effect. A pebble that is knocked loose by a bamboo cutter's shoe can one day rain an avalanche on the heads of a great army. You are something like this pebble, but the possibilities and outcomes you generate, are generating, and will generate in the future will change the world into something else. Whether it is good or bad…that will be hard to decide. It can go either way. It is partly why after my mountain sensed you close and appeared before you, I decided to test you, to see if some of these changes will emerge from a source worthy for the effects he will garner."

Harry leaned back and was unsurprised by this point when a cup of tea in a delicate pearl cup appeared out of nowhere near his hand.

"Drink, it will rejuvenate you and heal your injuries, you have my word it is harmless."

Harry took a sip and was surprised at the delicate sweetness and that he did indeed feel infinitely better as soon as he swallowed his first sip.

"I must say that I am pleased. You have demonstrated kindness in your willingness to help another; you have shown bravery and perseverance with difficult roads ahead of you, and a level of self-sacrifice in risking exposing yourself to someone who may react badly to your uniqueness and see them and yourself out of danger."

"What's the name of this place?" Harry asked, ignoring the praise uncomfortably, "and who are you?".

She smiled and explained "this is Kunlun mountain, the Heavenly Palace were immortals congregate and talk, and where I guard the herb of immortality. I am Xi Wangmu." (9)

Harry nearly choked on his tea as he blanched. He set it aside, got up, and awkwardly bowed.

"Ah, so you have heard of me?" she asked amused, "please, there is no need of that. You are not one of my servants or disciples, take a seat."

Harry did, took up his tea with slightly shaking fingers, and concentrating on finishing it and rasped.

"I read about you in one of my books. You're the Royal Mother of the Western Paradise, the dispenser of prosperity, longevity, and eternal bliss. You were a favored subject during the golden age of Chinese poetry of the Tang Dynasty. You've been said to teach emperors, Shaman's and Taoists and also considered the embodiment of yin, highest goddess, and ruler of female Transcendents." (9)

She hummed approvingly, "so you are learned, that is good. You will find as you continue your path that knowledge gained, learned, and used with wisdom will be your greatest power, even beyond what you will gain in the future." She leaned forward and said, "Being a teacher, I understand this very well, and if nothing else is imparted to my students, it's that lesson that is the most important."

Harry remembered reading about a few of her students who had not heeded her teachings and nodded.

Harry finished his tea and set his cup aside, not noticing her pleased secret smile when the cup disappeared.

After that, talk dissolved into an exchange of stories once the shock of being in the presence of one of China's most honoured goddesses wore off. As they talked, Harry mentioned the things he had seen, both normal and abnormal, and Xi Wangmu talked about her various encounters with deities, sages and heroes over the centuries.

Talk eventually shifted to favorite poems, then books, then art, then movies and television which yes, goddesses in mythical heavenly castles enjoyed from time to time.

Eventually after a light lunch of greens, seasoned rice and steamed black carp fillets with yak butter and after the plates vanished she stood, Harry quickly following her, and guided him further into the palace.

There Harry saw things that he would never forget. Art works of every age and style that took his breath away, made him cringe or left him confused, there were leopards, lions, and tigers of every colour and size strolling down paths with great stags and deer, antelope, horses and…Harry goggled, rather hairy unicorns that startled Harry when they occasionally burst into flame, still walking around calmly, she informed him were called Qilin (10). Birds of every colour also flew around, though the cranes, and some species of blue, black and green bird that looked vaguely like a crow with three legs with messages tied to their feet were the most pervasive (11).

There were also men and woman alike, sages and heroes alike that were either famous once or remained unknown to history that had gained immortality and chosen to remain and study or create or invent things. They bowed deeply at the goddess' passage.

Harry fed Buick sized koi in the garden of a hundred fountains, petted the silky fur of baby llamas as he watched two headers make bets on who had the longest distance spitting llama.

Harry was fed treats from immortal cooks that would never reach the tongues of mortals and the goddess was patient as he lingered the most with them, asking this and that excitedly and asking, politely, if he could watch them cook.

At night, Harry grew tired and was led to a luxurious room with a bed that Harry suspected was stuffed with clouds.

Harry lost count of the days, or was it weeks, he spent at the heavenly palace, and he loved everything, but he knew that he would not be able to remain. He didn't know why, he was the happiest he had ever been, he was content, and everyone accepted his presence and what he was. Some of the sages even taught him meditation and exercises that did wonders for his control with his magic.

Still he felt that itch that he could feel deep in his bones to the tip of his tail.

He knew when he woke up one morning with the calls of a nightingale and a parrot trying to outdo each other, that it was time to go.

He searched out all those he had made friends with, saying his good byes, they plied him with treats, trinkets and pouches of money and jewels which he put away with deep thanks and went to find Xi Wangmu.

The goddess had been waiting for him. At her feet was a new pack with an infinite space that could hold whatever he wanted and never show it outside or be any heavier then an empty bag, and a sturdy traveling staff of juniper.

"I knew that you would not be able to resist your own nature for long," she greeted him, "I am glad that we have meant and I have only one request before I send you off."

"Of course," he agreed respectfully, having become deeply grateful and fond of the goddess during his stay, "you have done a lot for me, I have no other idea to thank you for this experience."

She smiled and handed him a small velvet bag the size of a coin purse of deep lavender blue. He looked inside at her nod and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Seeds?" he asked.

"Seeds," she agreed, "they are peach pits, an endless bag of them."

She chuckled at his wide eyed look and suddenly weary looks, "no worries, they are not from those peaches. These are the pits of a cousin to them. Peaches that cure diseases, increase health, and heal minor injuries."

Harry relaxed and seeing this she chuckled again, "immortal peaches is not something that you would want?"

Harry shuttered delicately, "what would I do with something like that?! I want to grow up and eventually maybe have a family someday, besides I don't want to be a kid forever. I love Peter Pan, but I don't completely hold with his philosophy."

She gave him a smile, "an interesting answer. Perhaps one day you will change your mind. Now, as for my favor," she reached into her sleeves and pulled out a single peach pit like the ones in the bag.

"As you journey, I ask that every time you break camp or at least leave an area, you drop a seed from the bag onto the ground."

To demonstrate she tossed her pit over her shoulder and to Harry's surprise a tree grew rapidly and burst into flower. Out of nowhere bees came and began harvesting nectar, flew away and the flowers turned into fruit which ripened quickly and the branches sagged under their weight.

Harry hummed thoughtfully. It was something that was definitely unusual, but seemed harmless, and he didn't see anything wrong with leaving peach trees behind him. He remembered the story of Johnny Appleseed. He supposed that concept could be applied to a magical peach, global version of that, and it had helped people in the long run in that tale, so he supposed it would be alright (12)(13).

He accepted the duty.

He packed everything in his new bag, handsome brocade with a stylized crane.

She handed him a new map and he said his final fair wells bowed deeply, then took to the sky.

As soon as he was in the air, Xi Wangmu and the heavenly castle and even the mountain disappeared, leaving flat grasslands spread out below him.

He shook his head in amazement and continued on his journey.

Ooo ooo ooo

November 15, Harry 11 years old, still in China…

Harry had only thought that he had been on the mountain for maybe about 2 weeks, but he was shocked to learn that 4 months had actually past! It was like the Hidden Place of the Trials. Harry suspected that time must pass differently sometimes in Hidden Places, though thankfully not in all of them, reflecting fondly on his little slice back in France.

The fact that he had turned 11 without realizing it didn't overly bother him. He had spent would could be considered the best birthday ever!

Harry spent the rest of his time in China traveling as usual, but as he traveled, toured, and learned and entertained, he didn't forget about his promise to the goddess and always remembered to plant a tree in the first patch of soil he could find after breaking camp.

Though Harry never heard them, odd reports of beautiful peach trees full of ripe fruit even when it was not in season, would be reported in the mundane news, and soon stories began to swell of the wonderful properties of the fruit would circulate following Harry as he continued his travels through China and in many other places to come.

Meanwhile, a couple of months back while Harry was on the mountain a week after his birthday…

An aggrieved Barn owl with a letter to one Harry Potter but no address tied to his leg returned to one Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, unopened. (14)