A Rider's Legacy

Chapter 6:
 
Murtagh could not help but let a small grin slip onto his face when he saw that Eragon was still shocked from Harry's story. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly open. It was quite amusing.
"Eragon." He said, trying to break his brother out of his shock. "Eragon, are you alright?"
He tried snapping his fingers in front of the younger man's face. He didn't even blink.
"A basilisk?" He finally said faintly. "He actually fought against a basilisk and survived?"
"Yes." Murtagh replied.
"How... When...?"
"According to Harry, about a year ago."
"But..." Eragon spluttered. "That would have meant... He fought against it when... When he was only..."
"Twelve." Murtagh finished, a slight frown appearing on his face.
"How?" Eragon asked again.
Murtagh shrugged.
"You will have to ask Harry himself."
Murtagh then turned to the rest of the Rider's, who were still talking excitedly about Harry's story. He cleared his throat loudly to gain their attention. Instantly, the room fell silent.
"Now," He began. "I believe you all have approximately half an hour until training begins. I would advise you make your way to the training yard and get prepared."
Instantly, every Rider in the room got out of their seats and began to quickly walk to the doors.
Murtagh smiled. While the vast majority of them no longer feared him as strongly, they still greatly respected both him and Thorn. This meant that they were usually quick to follow his orders.
In only a minute, the Dining Hall was almost clear of Riders. Murtagh watched as two of the younger Riders, an elf male and a human female, said goodbye to Harry and followed their fellow Riders through the doors. Murtagh walked over to where Harry still sat, (After a small detour to the grand-food table). Eragon, still in shock, followed him.
"Making friends I see." Murtagh said as he and Eragon sat down.
Harry's gaze flickered down, as if belatedly embarrassed by the attention.
"Well... They came to me, not the other way around. Not that I don't mind... Brinla and Hurzomna seemed pretty friendly..."
"The Riders who were sitting with you in the middle of the crowd?"
Harry nodded.
"We were talking and they wanted to know if I had any experience with swords, as I told them that you were going to start teaching me how to fight with one, and I told them about the time I fought the basilisk, but they didn't believe me, so I showed them where I got bitten. And then, next thing I know they want to hear the story, and so I told them. I actually didn't realize how many people were listening in... Well, I could tell that some were trying while attempting to make it seem like they weren't... But I didn't realize the entire room was listening in until the end when they all started going crazy."
"And," Murtagh said. "How did you feel, being in the middle of so much attention?"
Harry shrugged.
"Well, as I said, I'm used to it. But, it does feel kind of nice, being praised for something that I actually did, instead of just going into a new society and instantly being hero-worshipped for something I don't even remember. At least if any of them start to like me here, I will be able to feel that I actually earned it."
Murtagh smiled.
"That is good. Did you have enough to eat?"
For a minute, Murtagh could have sworn he saw Harry frown in annoyance, however, he quickly replaced it with a smile that Murtagh was not entirely sure was genuine.
"Yeah, I had enough." He replied.
"Good." Said Murtagh, deciding not to push the issue. "We shall be in the smaller east training yard, so that we do not get in the way of Eragon and the other Riders in the large South yard and vice versa."
"Is Eragon okay?" Harry asked.
Murtagh looked to see that Eragon was still in shock.
"Eragon, Eragon." He said, snapping his fingers in front of his brother's face.
Eragon was not paying attention to Murtagh. His gaze was solely on Harry.
"You fought a basilisk when you were twelve?" Eragon asked.
Harry shrugged.
"Yes."
"Why? What were you thinking?"
Again, Harry shrugged.
"Students were getting petrified, including one of my closest friends, and the school was about to shut down, and my other friend's sister had been taken down into the chamber where the basilisk lived."
"This was in your school?" Eragon asked incredulously. "Why would there even be such a dangerous creature in a school full of children?"
"Because one of the founders thought that people who came from non-magical families did not deserve to learn magic, and so he hid a giant snake in his secret chamber so that he and his descendants could purge the school of those they deemed unworthy of magic. You see, this guy and all of his descendants could speak to snakes, which gave them some control over..."
"And how long ago was your school founded?" Eragon interrupted.
"About a thousand years ago." Harry replied.
Eragon spluttered.
"A thousand years! You mean to tell me that... That you fought a basilisk that was at least a thousand years old. Why, it must have been..."
"Big?" Harry asked. "Yeah, it was huge."
"Again I ask, what possessed you to think confronting this monster was a good idea? Please tell me that you at least had someone experienced to help you."
Harry shrugged.
"Not really. It was just my friend Ron and I. Well, we had Lockhart, that years Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. But he was a bit of a joke and everyone knew it by then. The most he did was cause a cave-in which led to me having to face down the basilisk alone."
Eragon began to rub his temples.
"Why, oh why, would you do such a reckless thing in the first place?"
Harry shrugged.
"I was only doing the right thing. Ron's sister was only eleven at the time, and she could have died if I didn't do something."
"But you were only twelve!" Eragon exclaimed. "And you thought that fighting a basilisk by yourself was a wise decision?"
"Hey," Harry began. "Didn't you once fight a shade and his band of Urgals, just because you saw a pretty girl in your sleep? How old were you again, sixteen?"
Eragon's jaw dropped and Murtagh could hardly hold back his laughter.
"He does have a point." Murtagh said.
Eragon glared at him.
"I was not alone. I had Saphira, and Murtagh. What did you have when fighting the Basilisk? And I do not mean your friend or the useless professor."
"A magic talking hat, a very old sword, and a Phoenix." Harry replied. "I kind of pulled the sword from the hat."
Eragon furiously rubbed his temples. Suddenly, he got out of his seat.
"I am going to check on the Riders. I am beginning to believe that training Dragon Riders is less stressful than family."
And with that, he left the Dining Hall. Murtagh turned to Harry to see that his son seemed concerned.
"Is he okay?" Harry asked. "I didn't say something wrong, did I?"
Murtagh attempted to shoot him a reassuring glance.
"Do not worry. He is only shocked that you managed to survive such an encounter at such a young age. I believe he is also concerned about the situation you had been put through, as well as what else you might have had to face."
"I... I'm sorry." Harry said, his eyes flickering down to the table.
"Don't ;." Murtagh replied. "You are right in saying that you were only trying to do what was right, even if your methods were less than favourable."
"I'm sorry." Harry repeated. "I'm just not... Not used to people being this concerned for me."
Mmurtagh's heart clenched. He, at least, had a basic understanding of what Harry had had to go through year after year. He felt as if he should be the one apologizing. If he had only been less of a coward and more of a responsible parent, then Harry wouldn't have had to put himself in such dangerous situations.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, snapping Murtagh out of his thoughts.
Murtagh shook his head. There was no use in thinking over it. What was done was done. Now, Murtagh had to focus on the present and make sure that Harry was not plunged into any more dangerous situations. Or at least ensure he was properly trained, so that he could rely on proper skills and not sheer courage and dumb luck to protect him.
"I am fine." Murtagh replied finally. "Come, are you ready?"
"Yeah, I guess." Harry said, smiling.
Together, the two got out of their seats and left the Dining Hall.
 
The East Training Yard was smaller than the other training yards. In all, the academy had approximately four main training yards, north, south, east and west. However, the Riders were free to train wherever they so wished, excluding only a few private locations reserved for the council's use only. One such location, was the East Training Yard.
Upon Murtagh's first arrival to the academy, he all but claimed this yard as his own. This was due to him believing that the Riders may feel uncomfortable if they were to see him with a sword in such close proximity. Murtagh did not wish to distract them from their training, so he decided that it would be best if he trained in private, at least until they were more comfortable around him.
Another reason for him wishing for privacy was because he did not like drawing attention to himself when he was training. Since he was a small boy, he had found that weapons training tended to have a calming effect on him. He did not know why, maybe because it helped him exert some of his energy.
Either way, he essentially had an entire Training Yard to himself, which meant he would be able to teach Harry without any interruptions.
Upon entering the yard, Murtagh noticed that Harry's eyes were wide with amazement. The young wizard was looking around the yard at the large collection of blunted weapons, heavily marked targets and practice dummies, and peaces of armour.
Murtagh let Harry look curiously around before clearing his throat.
"Before we begin, I believe it would be best to do some stretching exercises, just so we can loosen are muscles."
Harry snapped out of his amazement.
"Umm, yeah, sure."
As Murtagh led Harry through some basic stretches, he could not help but marvel at his son's flexibility. His limbs and muscles seemed as fluid as water, and it seemed as if he was used to stretching.
"Have you had previous experience with stretching exercises?" He asked.
Harry's lips twitched into a slight smile.
"Yeah, Oliver Wood, the old captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, always made us do stretches for about half an hour before all of our team practices. Combine that with the constant rants describing new tactics, which more resembled battle plans, and it was a miracle we ever got into the sky."
Both of them chuckled.
"You must show me your skills with your broom." Murtagh said.
Harry grinned.
"Maybe we could see who's faster, you with Thorn or me with my firebolt."
[I think I would be faster than a broom.]
Thorn replied jokingly.
[And I do believe that Saphira may think that Harry's broom is no match for her.]
Murtagh could not hold back his laugher. He could practically imagine Saphira's reaction to the mere thought that a broom could be faster than her.
"Well, I believe that we should be ready to begin. That is, if you also feel ready."
Harry smiled.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Murtagh walked over to one of the weapon racks and grabbed a blunted Training sword for himself. He looked over at Harry and gestured for him to come over.
"I think it would be best for you to find a sword that you are most comfortable with." He explained.
Harry looked wide-eyed at the many training swords before him. For a few minutes he went around, feeling the grips and weight of the swords, to see which he preferred. Finally, he decided on a thinner sword that was designed for agile movements.
Murtagh led Harry to the centre of the yard and began to help him with his stance.
"Remember, keep your feet a shoulder's width apart. That way, it will be harder for you to become unbalanced. Keep a firm grip on your sword. Do not tense your muscles up so much. You need to stay loose."
"Okay." Harry replied.
Murtagh took a deep breath and walked to face him, a foot or two between them.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yes." Harry replied.
"Alright, then let's begin."
With that, Murtagh swung at Harry. The teen quickly blocked him. Murtagh was impressed with his reflexes, and went for another swing, only to be blocked again.
This continued on for a long time. Murtagh was attempting to hold back as much as he could. He had a tendency to get lost in the fight, whenever he was training. Whenever he spared with Eragon, his brother told him that it was as if he became focused on only one thing, and that was his own survival, even if the fight was only a training exercise. Murtagh did not wish to accidentally harm Harry with his overly-active survival instinct, hence why he focused on not fighting as he usually did.
However, after a while of back and forth, Harry seemed to notice what he was doing and called him out for it.
"Hey, your holding back." He said.
"What?" Murtagh asked in shock.
"I can tell that your holding back." Harry replied. "I can see it in your eyes."
Murtagh was amazed. His son was truly observant.
"I do not wish to hurt you." He explained.
"Don't worry." Harry said. "No pain, no gain. Come on, do you want me to become better at fighting or not? I won't be able to achieve this if you keep holding back."
Murtagh sucked in a deep breath.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Harry replied. "Come on. Hit me with your best shot."
Murtagh sighed. With some hesitation, he began to slowly increase the strength and speed of his attacks.
At first, Harry seemed to be able to hold his own. But then, he began to seem to struggle. Murtagh tried as hard as he could to keep his instincts at bay. However, after Harry actually managed to get a hit in on his left leg, his arm seemingly took a mind of it's own.
Swiftly, before either of them had time to think, Murtagh's sword hit Harry's side so hard, that he had completely lost his balance. Unfortunately, their duel had caused them to go closer to the practice dummies. Before either of them could stop it, Harry had fallen straight into one of the practice dummies. With a loud crash, Harry fell to the ground.
"Harry!" Murtagh yelled, panicking.
He quickly went down to examine his son for injuries. However, Harry merely brushed him off and stood up.
"I'm fine." Harry said, rubbing his arm.
Murtagh narrowed his eyes when he saw Harry wince. He too, got back to his feet.
His mind was reeling. How could he have been so foolish. He had actually thought that he could teach his son how to use a sword without hurting him. He should have expected it. He knew that his instincts tended to take over his thought processes when he was fighting. He should have been more careful. Oh, why did he listen to Harry when he requested for him to not hold back? Why did he even agree to this? He had wanted to be able to do something that would help him bond with his son, but he wouldn't have agreed to this if he knew that Harry would get this hurt. But he should have known in the first place. All he did was hurt people.
"Hey," Harry said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Are we going to get back to fighting or not?"
Murtagh looked at him. Harry was obviously in pain, but he was doing a very good job at hiding it.
"First, I need to check you for injuries." He said.
Harry frowned at him.
"I told you, I'm fine."
Murtagh shook his head.
"You are obviously in pain."
"I'll be fine." Harry retorted. "This is nothing. One time, I cracked my ribs and never had any medical treatment or anything. Really, I've dealt with worse."
Murtagh clenched his fist at the reminder of how much his son had suffered. Then a sudden thought struck him. Had Harry ever had any proper treatment for his injuries? Murtagh highly doubted it. But if Harry had suffered from broken bones, and they hadn't healed properly, then this could cause great harm to him.
"Harry," Murtagh said slowly, attempting to remain calm. "Please, at least let me heal you. I do not wish for you to be in pain."
After a long time, Harry finally nodded in agreement.
Murtagh quickly walked over to him and put a hand on his arm, where he saw Harry rubbing.
Murtagh gently pocked the arm, then the shoulder. Harry winced, and Murtagh flinched. The arm was definitely broken.
"Alright, I'm going to heal you now." Murtagh said.
He closed his eyes and focused on channeling his magic into Harry's body.
While he did heal Harry's arm, he also examined his son's entire body. The results, while not unexpected, were still shocking. This would take much, much longer than he expected to heal. He decided that he would have to tend to Harry's extensive injuries later.
Finally, the arm was healed and Murtagh opened his eyes.
"I think that is enough for today." Murtagh said.
"What? No, I'm fine." Harry replied.
"No, I think we should continue this tomorrow." Murtagh replied. "We have both been fighting for hours. Soon, it will be time for the midday meal."
Harry looked up to see that the sun was indeed in the middle of the sky.
"Oh, right." He said. "I guess time does fly when you're having fun."
"You found this fun?" Murtagh asked, astonished.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, it felt great." He replied, smiling.
Murtagh smiled in return.
"Well, I expect that you must be hungry after this long morning."
Harry was about to reply, when his stomach did it for him. Harry chuckled.
"Well, I guess that answers that question." He said.
And so, after putting their training swords away, they walked back to the Dining Hall.
 
Later that afternoon, Murtagh went in search for Harry. He found him sitting on his balcony, apparently working on some of his summer homework.
"Harry?" He said from the doorway. "may I come in?"
Harry looked up from where he was writing something.
"Yeah, sure."
Murtagh walked to where Harry was sitting on the balcony.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Transfiguration." Harry replied.
"Do you have a moment?"
Harry put his book down.
"Okay. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Murtagh replied, though there was most definitely something wrong. "Can we talk?" He gestured to the bed.
Harry shrugged and got up. Together, they walked to the bed and sat down, side by side.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Harry asked.
Murtagh sucked in a deep breath.
"I am concerned, about your medical history."
Harry frowned.
"I told you, I'm fine."
"No, you are not." Murtagh retorted. "Have you ever been properly treated for injuries or illnesses?"
Harry shrugged.
"I did manage to wind up in the hospital wing at Hogwarts every year."
"Besides that." Murtagh retorted. "Before you went to Hogwarts."
Again, Harry shrugged.
"The Dursleys never took me to a hospital whenever I got hurt. I guess they didn't want to waste money on me. And whenever I got sick they would just lock me in my cupboard until I got better."
Both Murtagh's heart, and his fists clenched at these words. He sucked in a deep breath to calm himself.
"So any broken bones were just left to heal on their own?"
"Yeah." Harry replied. "But I don't see the problem..."
"The problem is," Murtagh said. "Is that if your bones heal in the wrong way, then it could cause great damage to your body."
Harry frowned.
"And," Harry said slowly. "I still don't see the problem. I'm pretty sure that my bones healed the right way."
"No, they haven't." Murtagh retorted. "When I was healing your arm, I did a quick check on the rest of your physical health. The results... Well, they were not unexpected considering what I know of your past. However, they were still alarming."
"Why, what's wrong?" Harry asked, beginning to sound concerned.
Murtagh took a few seconds to think about how exactly to fraise it.
"Lets just say, the only bones in your body which did not seem to have even a slight fracture were the ones in your right arm."
"Oh, you mean the one where Lockhart accidentally made every single bone disappear?" Harry asked, with a bitter smile on his face. "I guess he was good for something."
"That is not the point." Murtagh replied. "The point is, your bones are suffering from a great amount of damage from which they have not been properly healed. The bones also did not seem as strong as they should be. Did you not have enough calcium in your diet?"
"Well, to be quite frank, I didn't have much of anything in my diet." Harry replied.
"And that's another thing." Murtagh continued. "I have noticed that you do not eat much."
"I am fine." Harry said forcefully. "I have never been a big eater. It's because the Dursleys never gave me that much food as a kid. But I'm fine..."
"Your not fine." Murtagh retorted. "You need food to help your body grow and become stronger."
"I'm fine." Harry repeated. "I'm used to it. It's not an eating disorder or anything. I just can't eat heavily unhealthy food... Or well, a large amount of food."
"And what would you consider to be a large amount of food?" Murtagh asked skeptically. "A normal serving of food."
Harry glanced down nervously.
"Can you really define a normal serve of food? I mean, my normal is different to your normal, which is probably different to Eragon's normal, which is..."
"That is not the point." Murtagh interrupted. "The point is, we need to do something about your diet."
"No, we don't!" Harry practically yelled. "I told you, I'm fine."
For a long time, they were both silent. Finally, Harry sighed.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I'm just not used to people being this concerned about me."
"Do not worry." Murtagh replied. "I once felt the same."
He then grabbed Harry's hand tightly.
"But you no longer have to feel this way. You are not alone any more."
"Thanks." Harry said, smiling. "I guess... I guess we're both dealing with our scars."
"Both figuratively and literally." Murtagh agreed.
Again, they sat there in silence for a long time. Finally, Harry began to look curious, but hesitant.
"Hey, umm... Speaking of scars..."
"Yes?" Murtagh prompted.
"Can I... Can I see yours?"
Murtagh blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... The one on your back... You know..."
Murtagh's eyes widened.
"You don't have to, if you don't want to." Harry quickly said. "It's just, I'm curious."
Murtagh thought over the request for a long time. Despite it's reputation, very few people had actually seen his scar. It was something that he kept hidden, as it served as a constant reminder of who exactly was his Father. He was afraid of how Harry would react to it. Would he be frightened, or would he be disgusted.
Finally, Murtagh decided that if Harry wanted to see it, then he should at least grant him this wish. After all, he had seen Harry's numerous scars already. And so he stood up and removed his tunic.
He could hear Harry gasp before standing up. He could feel Harry tracing it with his fingers.
"Wow, this... This is..."
"Not a pretty sight." Murtagh finished.
He put his tunic back on and sat down again.
"That looked like it really hurt." Harry said, wide-eyed.
"I think it did." Murtagh replied. "Thankfully, I can barely remember it."
They were silent for a long time.
"I'm sorry." Harry finally said. "I'm sorry that Morzan did that to you."
"You do not have to be sorry." Murtagh replied gently. "This happened long before you were born."
"But still," Harry retorted. "It's still kind of sad, to be so badly scarred by someone related to you..."
"I suppose we have both been hurt but people we unfortunately shared blood with." Murtagh said.
"But we don't have to let ourselves be marked by our scars." Harry said. "We can either hide from them, or grow from them. So what if we have scars. We might be damaged, but at least we're still here."
Murtagh smiled.
"Yes, we're still here."
Harry then grabbed Murtagh's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Your scar doesn't make you any less of a person." He said in almost a whisper.
Murtagh had to hold back his tears. Lily had said something very similar to him, when she had first seen his scar.

"You might have a scar, but that does not make you any less beautiful to me. I love you, regardless of what you have done."
The words now echoed in his mind.
"Thank you." He said in little more than a whisper.
"Errr, thanks to you too." Harry replied.
They sat in silence.
"So, will we be training tomorrow?" Harry asked, a smile appearing on his face.
"Of course." Murtagh replied, also beginning to smile.
Murtagh went up to leave, but then he turned.
"Harry?"
"Yes?"
"About your bones," He began. "The amount of damage is quite extensive. Would it be alright if Eragon and I attempted to heal them some time?"
"Yeah, sure." Harry replied. "I mean, if you think it'll be a good idea."
Murtagh smiled. He would have done it himself, only the damage was so great he felt that he may need some help, lest he accidentally do more harm than good.
With that, Murtagh left the room.