Disclaimer: Harry Potter and related characters and settings belong to J. K. Rowling. The Lord of the Rings and related mythology belong to the heir of J. R. R. Tolkien.
A/N OK, here's the usual title explanation. This time its written in Quenya. `I' is Quenya for `the'. `Ninque' is Quenya for `white'. And `Istar', the word means `scholar', people should be more familiar with it as the singular form of the word `Istari', the wizards of Middle-Earth. Hence, the title of this chapter becomes `the white wizard'.
Chapter 8: I Ninque Istar
No matter what the situation, no matter what crisis was going on there is always time for Quidditch: that was the general attitude of the Wizarding World during the Second War and Hogwarts was no exception. All of the House Games were still played fanatically much to Hermione's displeasure though the schedules were adjusted somewhat. Once again, Gryffindor was a contender for the Quidditch Cup and as it was Harry and Ron's last year in the team, they were adamantly against missing any of the matches, though Ron often wondered how his sister got selected for the position of Quidditch Captain ahead of them.
Today was Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, the last match of the season. Whoever won this match would win the Quidditch Cup and most assuredly the House Cup. It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for a game and the stands were packed, cheers emanating from every level. Over the din of the cheers was the voice of Colin Creevy, commentating on the game.
"And the Quaffle is caught by Gryffindor Captain Ginevra Weasley as she dives down under that bludger. Weasley passes to Stryker who dodges Ravenclaw chaser McCain and passes back to Weasely. She shoots! She SCORES!"
The crowds went wild as Ginny soared around the stands, blowing kisses to random people.
"10 - 0 Gryffindor leads," shouted Colin. "And the first goal was scored by none other than the lovely Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley who despite my persistence still won't go out on a date with me. Why Ginny? Why?" No one was surprised when the next time Ginny threw the Quaffle, instead of going through the Ravenclaw hoops it smacked Colin Creevy in the face.
"Ow... Ravenclaw's Boot passes Quaffle to McCain who dodges bludger sent by Gryffindor beater Kirke. McCain passes to Boot who passes back to McCain. McCain shoots! No... YES! Gryffindor keeper Ronald Weasley successfully blocks McCain's shot!"
"A perfect save no less," said Ron with a self-satisfied smirk as the crowds started singing the Gryffindor version of "Weasley is our King".
"When you're done admiring yourself, maybe you could put your attention back on the game," snapped Ginny as she flew by, taking up the Quaffle again.
"Gryffindor's Ginevra Weasley flies toward Ravenclaw stands. I have lent my camera to my brother Denis; I hope he gets some good pictures of her... No Ginny, I didn't mean it like that. Ginny no! Don't throw the Quaffle at me... OW!"
Hermione really wasn't paying much attention to the game: her focus was on Harry as usual. Things between them were still very awkward and she was starting to regret ever kissing Harry. Harry for his part didn't appear to be too focused on the game either as he simply drifted around on his Firebolt high up above the other players.
`There must be a lot on his mind' thought Hermione. `With Voldemort and Sauron's pact, his right to the throne of Gondor-Arnor, and Grawp in Azkaban.' She sighed sadly as she thought, `And I just had to add more to his mind with that kiss.'
That was indeed what Harry was thinking about while he flew around above the other players. His mind was of course on Voldemort, the War, and Anduril (which was hidden at the bottom of his trunk at present time) but most of his thoughts were still on that kiss he and Hermione had. At least, that was the case until a familiar golden ball with wings fluttered right past him.
"What?" exclaimed Harry. Going right into Seeker mode, Harry dashed after the Golden Snitch.
"Potter has seen the snitch! Potter has seen the snitch!" screamed Colin Creevy. Colin might as well have been shouting in Chinese though as Harry centered his entire focus on catching the elusive golden ball. So focused on it in fact was Harry that he failed to noticed the bludger that was moving in on him fast from behind.
It was Hermione screaming "Harry!" that Harry somehow heard over the roar of the crowd that alerted him to the presence of the bludger. By then it was too late however, as the bludger smashed into the front side of Harry's Firebolt, completely splintering it into two. For a moment Harry didn't even realize what had happened as his body reflexively went into his diving stunt mode. He simply shot his hand out and grabbed the snitch that had been hovering nearby. Only after he had grabbed the snitch did he realize that he was at least 70 feet in the air, his broomstick had been smashed, and he was now plummeting toward the ground at an alarmingly rapid pace. The one thought that crossed his mind summed his situation well: `Oh crap!'
Harry thought he heard Hermione screaming his name over the roar of the wind in his ears. But there really wasn't much anybody could do now. Dumbledore wasn't attending that day and while the thought there maybe there were other wizards capable of saving his life did cross his mind, he could imagine that the impact on the ground would still be very painful.
It was then that Harry saw it, toward the sun, high up on the ramparts of the castle. `What?' he thought, `What is that?' Due to the glare of the sun, he couldn't make out any exact details but what he thought he saw was an old man, dressed in shimmering white robes and carrying a staff. He had long white hair and a white beard. For a moment Harry thought it was Dumbledore he was seeing but he almost instantly realized that whoever this old man was, it was most certainly not Dumbledore.
As Harry observed the white wizard, he heard a single voice in his head, "Rancina!"
Almost by instinct Harry yelled, "Rancina!" Harry's own wand suddenly appeared before him, floating in mid air when it burst forth in a flash of colors. Harry felt rather than saw the wand transfigure itself into something that fitted itself right over his clothing. Before he could see what had happened however, he crashed into the ground.
A calm silence descended over the Quidditch pitch as Harry's collision with the ground left a small crater in the middle of said pitch. However, what was really shocking was when Harry simply climbed out of the crater more or less unhurt though somewhat stunned.
"I'm OK! I'm OK!" he yelled to the astonished crowd before he finally took a close look at himself and gasped.
Harry was now wearing a shining armor. It was primarily chain mail based though there were a series of plates that covered certain parts of the body. The main defense was clearly magic however as it had been the armor that had defended him from the impact of the crash on the ground. He wore a grayish cloak hanging from his backside below his shoulder plates and the golden snitch was still fluttering in his now gauntleted hand. A pair of metallic boots had replaced his sneakers and his glasses appeared to have disappeared though his vision had improved vastly while he was in his armor. The one thing Harry noticed over everything however was the image of a white tree surrounded by seven stars displayed on his breastplate: a sign he instantly recognized as the symbol of Gondor-Arnor.
"Blimey" he said, just as the crowd went wild and started gathering around him. When Harry looked up at the ramparts of the castle again, the white wizard was gone.
* * *
"What the bloody hell was all that?" yelled Ron Weasley. He, Harry, and Hermione were seated in the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry's armor had reverted back into his wand with a simple "Finite Incantatem" and his Quidditch Robes and Armor were back. They had just managed to calm a near hysterical Hermione down and were now facing Ron's questioning glare.
Harry glanced around nervously, starring at everywhere but Ron. "Well... its quite a story actually," he said. "Quite unbelievable actually."
"Well, spill," demanded Ron.
Taking a deep breath, Harry started telling Ron everything. He told him about being called to Dumbledore's office that day, the second part of the Prophecy and being taken to Minas Tirith. He told him about Voldemort's union with Sauron, about the fact that he was the Heir of Elessar, his claiming Anduril, and thus the rightful king of the Wizarding World. When Ron heard that, he sunk to the sofa. "Blimey," he said. "Everything just happens to you doesn't it?" Unfortunately, Harry couldn't help but notice the slight tone of bitterness in Ron's voice.
"Ron, I didn't ask for this," Harry said. "I can't help who I am."
"Yes, yes I know," said Ron. "Oh well. The King. Guess I could get used to that. I mean its not like you and Hermione are dating behind my back." He started chuckling but immediately stopped when he noticed the looks of guilt on his best friends' faces. "Wait a minute, you two really aren't dating are you?"
"No!" said Hermione. "We haven't been dating behind your back Ron."
"We'd never do that to you," said Harry.
Ron looked satisfied; until Hermione said, "We kissed."
"You WHAT?" shouted Ron, leaping to his feet.
"Just once!" said Harry. "Immediately after I returned from Minas Tirith."
Ron was now absolutely livid. After spluttering a few times he finally managed to say, "Then tell me that the kiss meant nothing." When Harry and Hermione said nothing, merely blushing red, Ron spluttered a few more times before turning on his heel and storming out of the Common Room. The Fat Lady was heard from the other side complaining for being slammed closed.
* * *
For the next two days, the whole school was a buzz with what had happened with Harry at the Quidditch Match. Harry's Firebolt thankfully wasn't permanently damaged though it would have to spend several weeks in repair, but that news was the last thing on Harry's mind. People were cornering him in the hallways asking him about his armor and what it meant. It didn't take to long for the news that Harry was the heir to an ancient throne of the Wizarding World to come out with mixed results. Some at the school absolutely loathed at the idea having to bow before Harry Potter some day while others thought it was absolutely cool. There were even those who were suddenly desperately seeking to catch Harry's attention in the hopes of someday holding a special post in the new kingdom Harry was bound to establish. And there certainly was a new furor amongst the female population in the hopes of someday becoming the queen of the Wizarding World. For Harry however, what hurt the most was that he and Ron weren't on speaking terms again: it was just like before the First Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament in their fourth year.
Any news of Harry's kingship however was quickly washed under the rug however on the third day when the morning owls brought in the Daily Prophet. The headlines immediately caught the attention of all students, faculty, and staff: DURMSTRANG INSTITUE ATTACKED!
To be continued...
A/N Sorry this chapter took so long to come out but it's been blasted difficult trying to get on a computer with a proper word processor. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner but I am not making any promises. Hope you all enjoy these chapters because the main plot is about to start.
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