Dark Summoner

Harry had been brewing something when Tidus got back to camp. The Summoner was deftly stirring, cutting and mixing the ingredients in the caldron he must have transfigured from something. The potion itself smelled like rotten fruit and was a teal color that swirled with streaks of silver as it was stirred. Gatta was already picking up some small objects he’d left lying around the campfire and Auron was nowhere to be seen, most likely hiding from the dark skinned native of Besaid.

“Where’s Auron?” He asked, sitting down as close as he could get to Harry without disturbing him.

“Checking out the road to the moonflow.” He answered distractedly; tipping in a load of powdered something from a transfigured mortar. Tidus leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. It was still relatively early in the day.

“Gatta wants to go down to the Temple and find out why the Crusaders aren’t moving.” Harry shot him a look and stirred the concoction a few times as it gave a puff of smoke and turned white.

“Hand.” Harry ordered, holding out his own, still looking deep in thought.

“Gatta go into the woods with O'aka or something and come back in an hour, don’t go down to the temple yet.” There was no room for argument in the Summoner’s tone and the islander skulked off into the trees. Once he was gone Harry pulled off the glove and revealed a knife holding it above a finger.

“What’s this about?” The blonde asked, eyeing the blade apprehensively. Harry gave him a reassuring smile, finally loosing his distracted look.

“You told me the other day that you became irrationally angry, I had an idea about what it might be but I don’t know for sure. This will tell me if I’m right or not. All it needs to finish it is a few drops of blood.” Tidus looked at the white potion and then back to the knife before he nodded. Harry made a quick slash with the blade and let the blood drip into the caldron before whipping the excess away and bringing it up to his lips. Tidus felt a chill going through his hand before Harry let go of it and the guardian realized what the Summoner had done.

“Whoa! That gives a whole new meaning to the saying ‘Kissing it better’.” Harry grinned at him tiredly before he grabbed the roughly crafted staff he and O'aka had designed over the last few days and transfigured a rock into a wide pan. Picking up the now gold potion he poured it into the pan and watched as it sloshed against the rim like a storm was stirring it within the confines of the transfigured metal. Then Tidus was reduced to watching in shock as the potion rose from the pan and twisted its mass into the shape of a dragon.

It was gold all over and had a silver and green crest on its chest that looked like the necklace he always wore. When the living potion creature opened its eyes it stared at him with orbs that where an eerie solid blue, Tidus reached out with a gloved hand to touch it, but it went right through. The creature roared but reformed again when he pulled the hand away.

“What is it?” He asked as the tiny dragon paced around the pan.

“This is a model of what your Animagus form looks like.” Harry said throwing him a smile as the dragon suddenly began to melt into nothing, leaving no indication as to whether or not it had even been there. A staff wave later and everything that Harry had been using for the potion disappeared, the magic that held them to their shape having been dispelled. “It’s also why you have problems with your anger.” He went on, shifting a little closer to the blonde now that he didn’t have to concentrate.

“Dragons are very proud, possessive and noble creatures. Trust me, if you upset one you need to be able to run away fast.” The guardian detected a hint of exasperation in those words but said nothing as he listened to Harry’s lecture. “An animagus form is basically the shape out our inner beast, although I’ve never seen a dragon before. Usually wizards don’t have magical creatures as a form because as far as I know, no one’s been powerful enough, but somehow your inner beast has been influencing you. Like I said, Dragons are very proud creatures and won’t tolerate a slight against them.” Tidus was quiet as he looked at the place where the little golden dragon had been before.

“What do they do? The animagus forms I mean.” Harry gave a slightly bitter smile as he remembered something from his past.

“We become them. Wizards change their shape and join with the beast to utilize their power.” Tidus looked startled.

“You mean I can turn into that?” He asked incredulously. Harry laughed loudly.

“Yes.” He said when he got the giggles under control. “I was never able to become one but I knew others who could. One of my old guardians, Neville could become a lion. I sat in on his lessons so I can guide you through the change, that’s if you want to learn…” Tidus sat up rigid.

“Are you kidding me, if I can get this under control I won’t have to worry whether or not I’m going to hurt someone the next time I go nuts.” He emphasized the point by sliding an arm around the Summoner. Harry smiled and shook his head, no doubts there.

“Ok, first lesson then.” He said, sliding away and sitting in front of Tidus. “Getting your mind organized.” An hour and one completely distracted Guardian later Harry called back everyone else and after a serious session of playing mother hen, Gatta finally made his way down the cliffs and staggered off down the Djose highroad toward the temple. From their perch on the cliffs the rest of the group watched in tense silence as a patrol picked him up and rushed him off to their makeshift command center. Harry felt Tidus shuffle closer as they listened to the stone that Harry had charmed to hear everything that was said within ten meter’s of Gatta.

“Captain Lucil! Another Survivor was found on the highroad today, M’am!” Some unknown Crusader was saying in a military tone. Not long after the calm but strict tone of the Captain of the Chocobo Knights sounded from the stone.

“What’s your name and rank?” She asked as footsteps shuffled around them. There was a cry of a Chocobo from somewhere in their vicinity but no one seemed to pay it any heed.

“I… I’m Gatta, ma’m.” The young islander managed to stutter out. “I was one of the soldiers guarding the command center during the operation…” He seemed to trail off and his voice took on a strained tone as he spoke. Rikku whispered that he sounded like he was ready to cry again but thankfully he didn’t. The topic was already reminding him of Sir Luzzu so the last thing he needed was to burst into tears in front of his commanding officer.

“We’ll Gatta, I’m glad you are well. There have been very few survivors among our ranks, we’ve waited days to find who ever we could and clean up the bodies that have washed ashore.” There was an awkward kind of silence before Gatta spoke up again.

“Uh… Captain? Permission to speak?” Lucil must have nodded because Gatta continued on with his thought. “I was wondering… is that why you and the others are still here?” He asked, pausing nervously. “I would have thought you and the other knights would have moved on to the north by now, searching out Chocobo’s.” It was an innocent enough question and Lucil seemed to see no reason not to tell him.

“We’ve been waiting here in hopes that we can find the Summoner who performed the sending in the cove that day.” She said tiredly and there was a sound as Gatta shifted slightly. Back on the cliffs the other guardians had frozen after hearing that comment.

“Why do you think there is a Summoner out there?” Gatta asked in a voice that thankfully didn’t betray his thoughts. Lucil sighed.

“Lady Yuna did try to take credit for the sending.” The captain conceded. “But I feel that she was not the one to do so. Maester Seymour vanished from the battle site too quickly to have sent those souls on to the far plain. The other Summoner’s who have passed through the temple have also denied having done so, leaving only the possibility that the Summoner some of my men and the Al Bhed refer to as the ‘Master Summoner’ is still out there somewhere.” Gatta wasn’t the only one who was surprised. O'aka nearly fell off the cliff in shock while, Auron grabbed him so he didn’t, in fact, fall. Harry took a deep breath in a pitiful attempt to clear his mind before he looked back at the stone, nearly glaring.

“There’s that name again!” The Summoner hissed. “First the people in Kilika, then Seymour and that bloody legend and now this!” The anger he seemed to display would have fooled anyone else, but to his four guardians it was all just a facade to cover the fact that the teenage Summoner was scared out of his mind. Auron frowned, as did Tidus who abruptly reached out and pulled the other boy into his lap for what was probably the millionth time in as many days. Harry sat there looking pale and small as they focused on the stone again in time to hear Gatta being dismissed. A few minutes later they heard a quiet thump and then only the distant babble of the temples inhabitants. Gatta spoke up again but this time it was directed at them.

“Did you hear all that?” He asked before he realized he wasn’t going to get an answer and hurried on. “They’re waiting for Harry, I asked Lucil why, although you probably heard that, I think she was being honest when she said that everyone here where friends. I think I might try asking one of the priest’s about it though. They usually follow whatever the Maester’s say…” His one sided conversation ended as he got up again and found one of the monks to speak with. The monk had replied to the questions with absolute certainty in his tone.

“Traitor or not, the young Summoner did a great service by performing the sending.” The monk had said. “If he see’s fit to pass through the temple we will not bar his way.” There was no lie in their voices.

“They are beginning to see a change.” Auron said in his low monotone a few minutes later when Harry didn’t look like he was going to pass out anymore. “All the Warrior monks have left the temple.” He pointed out the fact coolly. “They crossed the Moonflow not long after the Maester’s and Yuna did. The monks know something isn’t right.” He concluded. The other’s lapsed into silence and Gatta’s voice came out of the charmed stone again.

“So do you think it would be alright to come down?”

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Harry and Tidus sat a good way away from the camp while the other guardian’s went about tearing it down. The Summoner still looked pale as her stared blankly into thin air, thinking hard. It was a while before he spoke.

“Tidus… what would you say if I told you I was born thousands of years in the past?” For a moment Tidus didn’t say anything, he just went on absentmindedly rearranging Harry’s messy hair with no real recognition of what he was doing.

“Well…” He began at last. “I just saw the destruction of Zanarkand a thousand years ago, so the idea wouldn’t be all that… weird.” Harry gave a little nod before he looked up at the lazy clouds floating off to the south as the sun began it’s decent toward the horizon in the west.

“Then what if I told you that my full name is Harry James Potter.” It took a few seconds of the comment to sink in and a good minute before he remembered where he’d heard the name before. It took a moment after that to put it all together in a form his mind would understand.

“Shit, Harry I…” He began but Harry cut in softly.

“Don’t tell the others.” He said, not looking back at the blonde. “They don’ t need to know. It’s bad enough the people of Spira call me that now, if it got around that I really was the Master Summoner… I don’t think I could handle it a second time.” Silence fell again and Tidus didn’t really think as he tightened his grip on the Summoner briefly before letting go.

“It’s time to go now.” The blonde guardian said, taking a glance back at where the others where waiting for them patiently. Harry nodded and got to his feet and for a moment anyone looking up at the cliffs would have seen him standing there, looking far more imposing than he really was, makeshift staff held in both hands, it’s gold color standing out brightly against his dark robe. For a moment Tidus could see the kind of person that lived hidden deep under everything that had been piled on him in life as he held out a hand to help him up.

For Harry it was like another burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He’d told Tidus the truth and he’d accepted it with next to no thought. The blonde would keep his secret, and for the teenage Summoner, it made the world look just a little brighter.

“Let’s go!”

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Gatta fidgeted by the bridge that lead to the temple as he waited for his new friends to arrive. Although he hadn’t heard them make any decisions he’d sure as hell seen Harry on the cliff and that was answer enough. Another patrol marched out past him along the highroad and Gatta let out a sigh.

“When are they going to get here already?” He sagged against the railing before a voice spoke up from directly beside him.

“Who’s going to get here?” The newcomer asked and Gatta nearly jumped out of his skin in shock as he got a good look at who it was.

“RIKKU! DON’T DO THAT!!” He yelled, making a lunge at the blonde who laughed uproariously and skipped out of the way of his clumsy strikes. After one particular attempt he found himself overbalancing and nearly went into a swan dive toward the stones of the bridge only to come to an abrupt halt in mid air, floating comically just a foot from eating dirt.

“Hey! I did it!” O'aka’s loud voice announced his victory before the spell he was using cut out and Gatta went the last foot to the ground anyway, knocking the wind right out of him. “Ooops, I lost it.” He said belatedly as Gatta crawled to his hands and knees only to be grabbed by the back of the shirt and hoisted off the ground before being set back on his feet by a familiar red clad figure, Auron. There was a soft laugh behind him and the islander turned to find Tidus standing slightly to the left of and behind the dark haired Summoner looking generally amused.

“You’re improving O'aka.” He said with the faintest of smiles. “But I don’t think Gatta would quite appreciate being used for levitation practice.” The ex-merchant gave him a sheepish look and a muttered ‘sorry’. Harry paced along the bridge before turning back to face his guardian’s.

“Last chance to turn back.” He mused pensively. Auron raised an eyebrow.

“Not having doubts are you?” He asked, his voice tinged with humor that might have gone unnoticed. Harry gave him a withering look and shook his head.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rikku asked loudly, “Let’s get moving!” Tidus rolled his eyes as they set off once more. This time, all together.

Their group encountered more and more people as they approached the temple and as Harry stepped off the bridge the huge stone building suddenly sprang to life. Half the crusaders and the monks nearly leapt out of their skin in shock as the rocks began to rotate around the temple, lightning dancing around it’s spires and energy practically sizzling through the air.

“Cool.” Tidus said as he looked at the spectacle. “But didn’t you say that the place only lit up like that when someone was with the Fayth?” The last part had been directed at Auron. The old man was frowning again.

“Yes…” He confirmed Tidus’s thought. “But there are no other Summoner’s here.” He looked at Harry with slightly narrowed eyes before they where distracted by an approaching group. Until now the inhabitants of the temple had stayed back but Captain Lucil and the head priest of the temple where walking toward them. Both flanked by their respective… sidekicks. Unconsciously the guardians slid into formation around Harry, eyeing the newcomer’s warily.

“Oh! Hello! I didn’t know you where a guardian! Where’s your brother?” The tension that had begun to build drained away like someone had pulled the plug from underneath them. That somebody was, of course, Clasko. Tidus suddenly had to resist the urge to burst out laughing as Rikku blinked stupidly at the question, confused beyond all hell.

“Brother?” She asked, her hand moving toward her face as she played with her lip. Clasko’s smile faltered before there was a snort from somewhere behind her. Tidus was now bent double, leaning on Harry and nearly cracking his ribs in an attempt to keep quiet, unfortunately, he was failing that particular task miserably. A lot of the others around them just stared at him dumbly, not getting why the guardian had just lost it like that.

“I think he meant me Rikku.” Harry spoke up as he gently patted the chocking blonde on the back. Rikku’s eyes widened as she remembered and suddenly she smiled.

“Oh, Ry wasn’t my brother!” She slipped in her nickname for him. “He just did something funny that made him look like he was my brother, so that you’ think he was my brother, but he really wasn’t my brother, but you didn’t know he was my brother, so he was my brother, but he wasn’t my brother and is this even making any sense to anyone?”

More blank stares answered her question and in the background Tidus laughed a little harder… if it was even possible.

Soon enough though the temple priest shook off his surprise and moved before Harry, bowing deeply and giving the prayer.

“Summoner Harry. Will you be entering the temple?” He asked, blatantly ignoring Tidus. Green eyes studied him for a moment before the Summoner nodded.

“Thank you for allowing us to visit the temple.” He said with a brief bow but leaving out the prayer. It didn’t really feel right to use it. The monk smiled at him.

“We would never turn anyone away, traitor to Yevon or no. Maester Seymour did insist that you be captured but we are peaceful peoples. None wish to see anyone hurt by our actions.” Harry nodded in understanding.

“Neither do I.” He answered honestly, his tone faintly haunted. “Neither do I.”

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The air in the temple was so charged with electricity that Harry’s hair stood on end, making him look as though he’d been shocked himself. The cloister of trials presented no real problems for them. With all six members of their party working together they found the chamber of the Fayth in no time. Harry entered on his own as the others scattered around the room Rikku pulled out a deck of cards Harry had been teaching her to play with and began a game of ‘Go Fish’ with Gatta while she waited. No one had really said anything about Gatta coming with them. It was just a fact of life that those really dedicated to Harry would follow him to the ends of the earth and back and nothing would stop them. Tidus was proof of that after all. O'aka and Auron watched them silently from not far away while Tidus sat right beside the entrance to the Chamber of the Fayth. Time dragged out and the blonde nearly fell asleep, lulled by the resonating hymn of the Fayth as he sang along quietly. He didn’t notice Auron watching him as he zoned out, focused on two things. The door Harry had gone through and the hymn.

After what felt like an eternity there was a rumble and the door to the Chamber of the Fayth slid open. Not a second later Harry stumbled out and smiled weakly before his knees gave way. Tidus caught him and eased him to the stone floor before crouching down beside him and checking him over.

“You alright?” He asked and Harry nodded, a spark of electricity dancing through his hands, which clutched his staff tightly.

“You took a while.” Auron said coming over to them. “Night has fallen already.” Nearly everyone looked out the barred windows of the antechamber in surprise. They hadn’t noticed that the sun had set in the near constant blue flickering light of the temple.

“Hmmm…” Harry acknowledged tiredly. “We’ll stay here tonight.” With that said he drifted off to sleep, his skin still buzzing as Tidus picked him up and lead the way out of the temple.

But once more, for whatever reason Rikku stopped when she saw a glint coming from a crack in a wall. Curious she grabbed a grenade from the pouch attached to the thigh and shoved it into the gap and pulled the pin. She ducked behind a wall just in time as debris exploded outward. Once the dust had cleared the Al Bhed girl crept forward and looked at the sconce that had been revealed. The only thing within was a long object that shone as the flickering blue lightning of the temple danced over its black and silver surface. She reached in and pulled out the staff, shocked when she discovered the emerald the size of her fist attached to the end. The shaft was made of a strange black wood that ate up the light around it and was inlaid with silver wire that formed strange patterns up and down its three-foot length that sparked with electricity.

It instantly reminded her of Harry and if it wasn’t compatible with him she’d eat her glove.