Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and her various corporate partners. Keldorn Firecam is owned by BioWare, Atari, or whoever it is that owns the rights to Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn these days, although I have taken several liberties with his character. I own nothing, and I am making no profit by my little ventures into the shadowy realms of fanfiction. I do so purely for enjoyment. I would, however, like to thank JKR for allowing us all to play in her sandbox.
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Harry Potter and the Knight of the Radiant Heart
XVIII
"Come on, Harry."
Hermione led a dazed Harry Potter through the corridors and into the Gryffindor common room. Once inside, she guided him over to one of the couches by the fire and had him sit down. They had just finished talking with Keldorn and Dumbledore about Harry's new status as Keldorn's squire and how that would impact his life at Hogwarts. To say that Harry was a bit shocked about the consequences of his new position would be an understatement.
"Do you want me to get the others?" she asked.
"I can't believe it," whispered Harry, seemingly unaware of her question.
Hermione sat down next to him and took his hand.
"I know this is hard to swallow, Harry. I know this wasn't what we were expecting when we decided to try and get Sir Firecam to teach you to be a paladin, but we'll get through it."
Harry just shook his head in disbelief.
"Harry," Hermione tried again, "do you want me to get them so we can tell them now and get it over with? Or would you rather wait a little while? We can't wait too long, they'll figure out that something's up by tomorrow."
After a moment of silence, Harry finally responded.
"I suppose we'd better get it over with," he said. "Ron's going to kill me."
"He'll understand," Hermione replied.
Harry just gave her an incredulous look.
"Well, he'll eventually understand."
The young witch then stood up and went to gather the people that Harry needed to talk to. While he waited for the group to assemble, Harry's mind couldn't help but go back to the meeting in the Headmaster's office.
"As my squire," said Keldorn, "Harry will be required to devote much of his time to my service and to his training."
"That's understandable," replied Dumbledore.
"Normally," continued Keldorn, "squires would not be permitted to be enrolled in any other sort of training or education at the same time."
Harry and Hermione found themselves in a sudden panic when they heard this, afraid that the knight was about to pull Harry out of Hogwarts. Harry was about to interrupt when Keldorn's next words somewhat alleviated his worries.
"However," said Keldorn, "it is clear that his training as a wizard will be essential to his life as a paladin in this world. He should not lightly dismiss any tools that are likely to be an aid to his fight against the Darkness."
Harry exhaled and almost collapsed in relief and he noticed that Hermione visibly slumped down into her chair as well.
"But the fact remains that Mr. Potter's schedule here is far too busy. He would never be able to meet the demands of being a squire as well as a fulltime Hogwarts student. He would be dead on his feet within days."
"What then do you propose?" questioned Dumbledore.
"Several of his courses will have to be dropped," said Keldorn. "Anything that is not absolutely necessary for the fundamental understanding of magic and the ability to use it in this world will have to go."
Harry was okay hearing that, after all, fewer classes meant less homework. Hermione, on the other hand, looked to be ready to panic again. Meanwhile, Dumbledore waved his wand and a piece of parchment flew over to his desk from a small cabinet.
"Well," said the old wizard, "here is Harry's schedule, let's have a look, shall we? Harry here is taking Charms, Transfiguration, Defense against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy and Riding and Magical Mounts."
"And which of these would be the bare minimum for being capable of wielding magic against the slaves of the Darkness in this world, Headmaster?" asked Keldorn.
Dumbledore thought in silence for a moment with his fingers steepled in front of his chin.
"I would say Charms, Transfiguration and Defense," the old wizard eventually said.
"Agreed," said Keldorn, "although he shall stay in Riding as well. It is a skill that he shall need."
"WHAT?!" shouted Hermione as she jumped to her feet. "You can't be serious! Harry can't just abandon his education like that!"
"Harry is not abandoning anything, Miss Granger," replied Dumbledore, "he is merely taking his education in a rather unorthodox direction. Dropping a few classes will allow him the freedom to do so."
"But what about his N.E.W.T.s?!"
"That is a good question, Miss Granger," responded Dumbledore before turning to the old knight with a twinkle in his eye. "Sir Firecam, what are the N.E.W.T. scores required for becoming a paladin?"
The Headmaster's little joke seemed to only anger the young witch further.
"This is unbelievable!" she shouted.
"It's okay, Hermione," Harry said interrupting her, "I can probably make up the classes down the road if I really need to."
"Well said, Harry," said Dumbledore, "and besides, perhaps we can include your new status as an independent study program, with N.E.W.T. scores to be determined by the instructor?"
That suggestion seemed to mollify Hermione enough that she once again took her seat. Keldorn then spoke up once again.
"There's something else that will need to go…"
Harry was shaken out of his memories by Hermione returning and sitting down beside him. She slipped her hand into his and gave him a soft smile before he turned his attention to the Gryffindors seated around him.
"What's up, Harry?" asked Katie Bell.
"Yeah, Harry, why'd you need to see all of us? Have a new strategy for tomorrow's practice?" asked Demelza Robins.
"Err… no," said Harry.
"Then what is it?" asked Ginny.
"Umm…"
Everyone was looking at him expectantly and Harry found himself filled with dread.
"Look, the thing is, well…" Harry began but trailed off. He huffed and looked up to the ceiling as if the right thing to say would be found inscribed there. Finally he looked back to the assembled Gryffindor Quidditch team that was seated before him.
"I'm quitting Quidditch."
Harry's declaration was met with stony silence. After a moment, Ron smiled.
"Good one, mate, you had me going there for a moment."
"I'm serious, Ron."
"Sure you are. Harry Potter, best Seeker in a century, quits Quidditch. Pull the other one, mate, it's got bells on it."
Harry sighed and looked over at Katie.
"I think you'll need this," he said while handing her a small object. Katie looked down to see that it was the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain badge.
"You're not joking, are you Harry?" asked Ginny.
"No, I'm not," Harry replied.
The group lapsed into silence for a moment before Ron once again broke it.
"Are you mental?!" he shouted while rising to his feet as his face became bright red. "You can't quit Quidditch! You love Quidditch! We need you! The team needs you!"
Harry merely hung his head in shame as Ron unloaded on him.
"Stop it, Ron," said Hermione coming to Harry's defense. "Harry didn't want to do this, but he has to. It wasn't his decision."
"Oh really? Whose was it then?" asked Ron with a vicious look on his face. "Now that you're his girlfriend you get to make all his decisions for him? Can't bear to let your Harry play the game he loves?"
"That's ridiculous!" shouted Hermione as her face brightened and she rose to stand face to face with Ron. "I would never make Harry quit Quidditch! I know how much it means to him. And I'm not his girlfriend!"
"Oh yeah right," said Ron. "You've always wanted Harry to quit playing. Go on, admit it, you hate the way he flies about after the snitch. You're always getting all antsy about it."
"I never…! Of course I don't like seeing Harry do all those crazy stunts on his broom! I just don't like seeing him nearly get killed! But I didn't ask him to quit Quidditch."
"Likely story. I always knew you were a bloody nag," Ron shot back at her.
Hermione merely stood there with her mouth open in stunned silence. No one else seemed to know what to say either.
"That's enough, Ron," Harry finally said. "This wasn't Hermione's idea. So stop being an ass to her."
That seemed to only make Ron angrier.
"Just because you asked her to one bloody party doesn't mean that you have to do everything she says!"
"I said enough!" shouted Harry. "Hermione didn't make me quit Quidditch. It was Dumbledore and Firecam. I'm going to start a new program with Sir Firecam and he said that I simply won't have the time to be playing games. He made me drop half my classes too."
Silence once again reigned in the group before Ron turned on his heel and left to storm up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.
"What are we going to do without you?" asked Ritchie Coote after Ron was gone.
Harry gave the younger boy a small smile as he replied, "I'm sure your new captain will figure it out."
"I don't know what to say, Harry," said Katie.
"Just take good care of the team," Harry replied.
The girls on the team all hugged Harry before wandering off while Ritchie and Jimmy settled for handshakes. Ginny decided to hang around and she dropped back onto the couch with Harry and Hermione.
"I can't believe that empty-headed git you call a best mate," said Hermione with her arms crossed over her chest. "To think that I would try and control your life just because you asked me to a party. One date doesn't mean that I'm suddenly running your life."
"So you're not my girlfriend then?" asked Harry. "You seemed pretty adamant about that point."
Hermione exhaled as her lips twitched into a small smile.
"Well, you never actually asked me that," she replied.
"What would you say if I did?"
"Why don't we wait and see how the Christmas party goes?" said Hermione.
"Alright."
They sat in silence for a moment before Hermione turned to Ginny.
"I feel like cursing your brother into a million pieces."
"Don't worry," said Ginny, "he'll calm down and realize he's an idiot soon enough."
"Yes, well, he better stay out of my way for the near future if he doesn't want to find himself with fire ants crawling into uncomfortable places."
Harry found himself tuning the two girls out, however, as he once again thought about his new lot in life. He was still in shock over the abrupt changes, but he couldn't help but wonder at what Keldorn had in store for him. The only thing that he was certain of was that Slughorn would be greatly disappointed to learn that the Boy Who Lived was no longer in his potions class.
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The next morning Harry made his way toward Keldorn's office after breakfast. While he was still upset about having to quit Quidditch, especially since Ron was refusing to talk to him, Harry was curious about what new activities would soon be added to his daily routine. Once he reached the out of the way room in the fourth floor corridor, he gently knocked on the door.
"Come in," the voice of Keldorn responded from the other side of the door.
Harry stepped into the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. His glance quickly took in the old knight's office. There was a mid-size, unadorned wooden desk in the middle of the room facing the doorway with a simple wooden chair behind it and a pair of matching chairs in front. The far wall had a door that Harry guessed led to Keldorn's living quarters, as well as a mostly empty bookcase that contained only a handful of books. Harry looked to his right to see a small desk and a simple chair that were pushed up against the same wall as the doorway that he just entered through. There was a rather thick book on the desk as well as some parchment, a quill and an ink pot. Other than that, the room was bare and empty.
Keldorn was seated behind his desk and beckoned Harry to come forward and to take a seat in one of the two unoccupied chairs.
"Welcome to your first full day as my squire, Harry," said Keldorn. "I hope you are prepared to work."
"I am," Harry responded.
"Good. You're here to be shaped and formed into a paladin, or at least to find out if you are capable of such formation. You have some disadvantages that most squires do not have to deal with, such as the fact that you are a bit older than normal to be starting, but that is not unheard of. The real disadvantage is the fact that this world does not know the Light, and thus, you do not know the Light. Yes, you have your magic, and while magic may be related to the Light as the Headmaster suggests, it is not the same thing. The Light is alive, Harry. It is personal. It is all that is good, true and beautiful. It is justice and right, as well as mercy. It is the creator and source of all good things. But above all else, the Light is love. It is not an abstract thing that exists somewhere far away, removed from us, but it is here, now. It knows us better than we know ourselves. The Light loves us, and wants us to live forever in glory.
"In order for you to become a paladin, you must come to know the Light. The Light is the source of our strength as paladins. Yes, my arm could swing a sword just as well as any other man without the trust that I place in the Light, but I would not have the guidance that I need to ensure that I am swinging that sword at the right target. The Light enables us to see and hear the truth, to know what motivates the actions of those around us. This is what you will work toward, coming to know the Light, just as well as if it were your best friend. First and foremost, this is your task.
"You will do so through the means of meditation, study and discipline."
Keldorn slid a small book across the desk to Harry.
"This is the Liturgia Horarum, a selection of passages from the Codex Luminis used for meditation. It mostly follows a month-long cycle before starting over again, with a few exceptions for particularly important days. You will meditate with it twice a day, in the mornings after you rise from sleep and in the evenings before you retire.
"As for your studies, you will focus on reading the Codex Luminis itself as well as St.Tomus' Summa Philosophica, which you will find on your desk in the corner." Keldorn gestured to the small desk that Harry had noticed when he entered the room. "Each night we will discuss what you have read that day and how you understand it. When you have no other task to perform, I expect you to be in here, studying.
"Finally, as for discipline, you will perform the various tasks that I assign you without question or complaint. You will soon be used to performing both tiring and menial tasks in my service.
"Do you have any questions?"
Harry simply shook his head.
"Good. Get to it, then."
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Harry was quite tired by the time he made it back to the Gryffindor common room just before curfew that night. He had spent most of the morning reading first from the Codex Luminis and then from the Summa Philosophica. The Summa was actually quite difficult to work through; it was written in a question and answer style that Harry was not familiar with, and each paragraph was packed full of information. It seemed as if the author wanted to get as much information as possible into the bare minimum number of words needed for the task. Harry found himself constantly rereading each paragraph to make sure that he understood what was said and that he didn't miss anything. Reading the book turned out to be mentally exhausting.
After lunch, Keldorn brought Harry with him to the stables to assist with his third and fourth year riding class. He helped the students with their technique during the lesson and afterward he was charged with cleaning up and inspecting the tack and harness for damage as well as repairing whatever was found. He was instructed to do this by hand and without the aid of magic. He then had to muck out the stalls in the stable and provide fresh hay, again without magic. Harry had begun to think that if this was what training to be a paladin was like, it was going to be as if he was assigned to perpetual detention.
Then Harry was told to spend a couple of hours working on his swordsmanship followed by study, dinner and more study. He rounded out the evening by polishing Keldorn's boots and then dusting and sweeping the already pristine office before being quizzed on the reading he had done that day. He was dismissed for the night with orders to return in the morning an hour before dawn.
Harry staggered into the common room and was greeted by an anxious Hermione.
"Harry!" she practically shouted as she leapt up from her seat by the fire. "Where have you been? Other than the ten minutes you spent shoveling food into your mouth at lunch and dinner, I haven't seen you all day!"
Harry walked over to the young witch and sat down on the couch she had risen from before replying.
"I'm a squire now, remember? Apparently that means that I'm going to have to spend all my time working. I didn't have any classes today, which means I spent the whole day doing whatever Firecam told me to do."
"Really?" Hermione asked as she sat down beside him.
"Really. Did you know that being a squire means that I have to muck out all of the horse stalls twice everyday? And without magic? It's like being in permanent detention."
Hermione grimaced at that.
"I'm sure that won't last forever."
"Yeah right. Sir Firecam told me that he's letting me ease into things this week. Starting next week I have to do the hippogriff stalls too."
"I'm sure there's a good reason for it," said Hermione.
"Sure there is. Cleaning up horse crap is the secret to defeating Voldemort, didn't you know that?"
Hermione huffed in response.
"Don't be like that. You know that he wouldn't make you do those things if there wasn't a reason."
Harry leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.
"Yeah, I know. I'm probably just tired. He's had me reading this philosophy book that is just killing me. I think it would be more fun to bash my head against the wall."
Hermione's eyes lit up at the mention of the book.
"Oh? What's it called?"
"It the Summa Philosophica, written by some saint from Sir Firecam's home world."
"Could I borrow it sometime?"
Harry cracked open one eye and cast a sideways glace at Hermione.
"Sorry," he said, "but reading that book is one of my main tasks. I have to read it for hours everyday and he's constantly questioning me about what I've read. It's pretty thick too, so I've no idea how long it's going to take. I don't think I can let you borrow it anytime soon."
Hermione looked somewhat dejected at hearing that, but soon recovered.
"Well, maybe I can make a copy. Most wizarding books have built in charms that prevent unauthorized copying, but something that Sir Firecam brought with him from a different universe probably wouldn't. Do you think he'd mind?"
"You're free to ask him about it."
They lapsed into silence for a while before Harry spoke up again.
"Did you talk to Ron at all today?"
"No," Hermione answered, "he wouldn't even look at me. Don't worry, Harry. He'll come around. Especially once he sees how hard you're working."
"He's a right git," Harry responded. "He had no right to say those things about you."
Hermione chose not to respond.
"How was your day, then?" Harry asked after another moment of silence.
"Well, to be honest, it was a bit lonely actually. What with you busy all day and Ron refusing to talk to me."
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault, Harry. You're only doing what you need to do."
"Yeah, but if I wasn't doing this paladin thing…"
"Which was my idea, remember? So don't go blaming yourself for me being lonely in class today without you. I'll survive. It's not like you won't be in any of my classes ever again. I guess Wednesdays will just have to be a little rough.
"Maybe Sir Firecam will let me come and study with you in his office?" Hermione added after a moment.
"Err… I don't know…"
"Why not?"
"Well, it's just that… I don't know. He's pretty big on me avoiding distractions. But I guess you're free to ask him that too if you want."
A few moments later Harry felt someone shaking his shoulder.
"Wha…?"
"Harry, I think it's time you went up to bed," said Hermione in an amused voice.
"What? Why?"
"You can barely keep your eyes open. You've been asleep for the past ten minutes. Sir Firecam must have worked you harder than I thought. We'll see each other tomorrow."
Harry wanted to deny it, but he was honestly too tired to put forth the effort.
"Fine. Goodnight, Hermione," he said as he pushed himself to his feet and shambled over to the staircase.
"Goodnight, Harry."
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AN: Another relatively short chapter, I know. So it goes.
Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading!