Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 13:00:56 -0400 From: ron Subject: Heritage of the Ancients - ch 03 Sunrise T-Minus 5 months 29 days Harry woke up the next morning and lay in bed for a few minutes just relaxing. Frowning when the events of the past day came crashing down on him, he threw the covers back and quickly dressed in his work out clothes. "Aloria how is Remus doing?" "DNA sequencing was complete at 03:30 this morning and is being analyzed right now. His energy levels have climbed slowly to eighty nine and he seems to be resting comfortably." Aloria started her report "I recommend reducing the soma settings and bringing him out of the induced coma slowly with the goal of full wakefulness by noon" Entering the transfer point Harry told her to do so and asked "Is anyone else up and moving yet" Aloria checked her internal sensors before replying "There is no movement so far, but that really does not mean much other than your guests are not walking about outside the bedrooms" Pressing his finger on the screen Harry gave the mental command to transport himself to the transfer station nearest greenhouse Sigma alpha thirty three he had renamed it the park as the other was to much of a mouthful. Stretching as he walked down the corridor and through the doors into the massive dome shaped greenhouse. Taking off at a steady pace Harry started his morning jog around the three kilometer perimeter and let his mind wander to process the past twenty four hours. Picking up the pace Harry sprinted for the second lap around the dome letting the mindless exercise soothe his troubled thoughts. Finishing the last lap with a sheen of sweat beading his body Harry stepped off the path and moved towards the center where he slowed his breathing and started moving through the forms that merged his mind and magic. XXXX Walking into the bathroom Bill longed for a long hot shower, walking towards the sink he noticed a pile of gray clothes laying off to one side. Picking them up he noticed that besides being clean they looked to be in his size. Well Harry did say he had taken care of things and to relax and unwind last night Bill thought to himself. Feeling much better Bill finished dressing and walked towards the door to his room and jumped back slightly when they opened by themselves as he approached. Muttering to himself about possessed buildings, Bill stepped out into the corridor right into Charlie who was dressed just like he was. "Hey bill, you're already up." Charlie grinned mischief in his eyes. "Oh like you are totally innocent. Planning on waking me up were we." Bill smirked. Turning serious Charlie replied. " Actually I was hoping that the two of us could go have a talk with Harry before the others woke up." "That's what I was planning on doing, the only problem is I might be able to get us back to that room that brought us here, but I have no idea how to get back to the med bay as he called it." Bill said stumped as he stood in front of the darkened panel in the room they had arrived in last night. "Harry did say last night if we needed anything we just had to call out to Aloria." Charlie threw out before doing what he suggested. "Aloria, can you help us find Harry, that is if he is even awake yet?" Charlie asked. Bill was slightly startled when the panel in front of him lit up and zoomed in to a corridor near some large dome near the center of the city. He would have been a lot happier if he could read the language and runes that scrolled near the image, which more than likely identified the place. Noting that the display changed once again and showed that the room they were in, it felt wrong calling it a room somehow seeing as it was the size of a closet his thoughts drifted for a moment now showed the dome closer and it looked like a set of doors to the left of their location. Spinning around, Bill uttered as he looked out the doors and saw they had moved. "Bloody hell remind me not to piss her off, no telling where I would end up." Charlie just chuckled as he walked out of the little room behind Bill and followed him as he went left down the corridor only to run into Bill's back as he had stopped suddenly in front of him. "Merlin." Bill exclaimed in awe, as he took in the sight in front of him through the clear panels leading into what looked like a dense forested park. "Mother of all dragons." Charlie uttered. "Do you see what I am seeing?" They both stared in awe as the took in the sight of Harry moving through moves that looked like some type of dangerous dance, all the while encased in this glowing green energy that seemed to flow from him with his movements. Charlie was the first to break out of the stupor and run down the corridor to the doors and into the park. Unfortunately for him it startled Harry, who twisted and threw his arms out causing the energy to pick Charlie up and slam him into the wall and hold him there. Opening his eyes, Harry left the trance like state he was in and let a smile cross his face as he stood up straight and let his arms down to his sides, which caused Charlie to slide down the wall and drop to the floor. Harry gave a snort as he sent a mental command, of 'Wake up you idiot' and smirked when Charlie gave a small jump like he had been shocked on his bum knocking over Bill who had just knelt down to check on his brother. "Is there a reason the two of you were sneaking up on me." Harry said as he willed a towel to appear in his hand and started to wipe the sweat off of his face. Deciding to take mercy on the two Harry told them. "Come on let's go check on Remus and Tonks and get her to go clean up and by then the others should be up and you all can come to my quarters for breakfast." "Wait a minute Harry, we wanted to talk to you about dad's body." Charlie said as he hurried to catch up with him in the corridor. Stopping before the transport station's Harry turned to face the two jovial mood gone. "I am sorry your dad was caught up in this mess. He was a good man that did not deserve to have the ministry turn on him like that." "It's not our fault Harry. It's Scrimgeour's. And he will pay for it...Not you." Bill ground out with hate in his voice. Nodding his head Harry looked at them both. "What can I do?" "With dad passing on, head of the family passes to me. Normally tradition holds that we bury our family, But with Voldemort active and his penchant for making Inferi and sending them against family members, I need to make arrangements to have him cremated and the ashes interned in the family plot." Bill explained. Pausing to think on how to compose his answer. "Voldemort was infected by the potion I created and even now as we speak his core is unraveling." "Three months tops, that is if he has more marked death eaters than I think he does. And even if he would somehow survive the shock he will be no more than the weakest of Muggles." Looking at Bill once more. "So what I am asking is, do you really want to break with tradition?" Seeing the indecision cross Bill's face Harry added, "Could you wait a couple of months? I assure you your fathers body is safely in stasis and can stay that way to the end of eternity if need be." Hesitating Bill spoke slowly. "I don't know, instinct is telling me to cremate him but you have a point." "A few hours won't matter too much why don't we ask the twins and Ron what they think before broaching the subject with mum." Charlie asked. Seeing Bill nod his head Harry once more started walking towards the transfer station and smirked slightly at Bill's mumble, about possessed buildings as he waited for the other two to enter the room and doors close. "Harry I meant to ask you just what is this thing?" Charlie asked. Going into teacher mode Harry explained. "All over the city you can find these transport points, or TS for short, it is best to think of them like floo's but without the sickening twirling or soot." "Step in, and by tapping a location on the display, or in your case until you learn to read and speak ancient, by voicing your destination." Harry demonstrated by speaking clearly "Med Bay One Main Floor." "If you noticed the slight flash around the panel, that was the system activating and transporting us to the requested TS." Harry finished as he walked out of the station and into the med bay. "And the door's, Harry what is up with them. They act like they are charmed or something." Charlie asked. "I suppose in a way they are, but not by means that you are familiar with. They simple sense when someone gets close enough to them and open so you don't have to do it yourself." Harry laughed at the gob smacked expression on the dragon handler's face. Walking over to where Tonks lay half sprawled in a chair near Remus's side Harry gently shook her shoulder. "Tonks... Tonks wake up it is morning." As Tonks started to rouse herself, Harry went over to the bed and removed the band from around Remus's neck, now that he was out of danger and placed it back in the drawer under the table. Noticing the gray in Remus's hair had somewhat receded and his face looked a little younger, Harry felt pleased that the new regeneration potion worked as he expected it to. Examining the readouts while Bill and Charlie took over waking Tonks up fully, Harry ran one last scan of Remus's internal systems and was pleased to see that cell regeneration was still ongoing at an accelerated rate and seemed to be reversing some of the hard years Remus suffered by being a werewolf. "He looks younger somehow." Tonks whispered in awe. Turning towards Harry Tonks asked. "Is He..." Smiling, "He is going to be fine, better than fine as you can see." Harry told her as he pointed to the mans now dark hair. Letting the tears fall silently. "Thank you." Tonks said. Walking around the table and taking Tonks in a brief hug Harry told her. "Tonks go get cleaned up. Charlie is going to take you to the guest rooms set up and when you are finished you and the others can meet back in my rooms for breakfast." "But I want to..." She started to protest. "TONKS...Tonks, Remus is going to be asleep at least until noon, there is not a thing anyone can do until he wakes up. So I want the first thing he sees when he wakes is a calm and refreshed you. Not someone that looks like the cat spat them out after the war traipsed all over them." Harry knew he almost had her. "But what if he wakes earlier than you say." Tonks tried to fight the decision. Waving his hand at all the equipment surrounding the bed Harry replied. "This will not let him wake up until he has finished the healing cycle that we started last night. He does not have a choice in the matter." "Oh." Tonks mumbled, and then taking a deep breath and letting a little grimace out as she took in the slight smell of over ripe Tonks. "Ok as long as you are sure." Then bouncing back to a little of her more cheerful boisterous self she added. "Can I get one of those nifty skin tight hottie outfits you were wearing yesterday?" Laughing Harry replied. "Only if you can pass my modified training course Tonksie dearest. So you will have to be satisfied for something along the lines Bill and Charlie are wearing." As he moved his hips out of the way to avoid the slap Tonks sent his way. "Charlie if you would escort Tonks to the rooms next your yours." Harry asked. "The destination you want is Alpha Level One corridor seventy one. And to meet up with me when the rest are up you need Command One Embarkation." Harry told him. Hearing Charlie repeat the destination and giving him a nod Harry held Bill back with a hand on his shoulder as the others left. "Bill on the other side of this field...hmm, ward is close enough, is your fathers body. I want to key you in. Later on you can determine when the filed is dropped by asking Aloria to do so." Harry explained as he steered Bill over to the quarantine filed. Asking Aloria to mentally give Bill control of the field, and permission to decide when it was time to drop it, Harry then proceeded to escort Bill through the field to his father's side "take all the time you need." "Do you remember how to ask for the command deck?" Harry asked the grief stricken curse breaker. "Command One Embarkation." Bill said softly through the tears running down his face. Unsure how he felt, as anger over the ministry's actions was still to recent Harry fell back on some of the ancient etiquette books of the alliance he had read. "Your loss is great, I grieve with thee." Before giving a half bow and turning and walking past the quarantine field and towards the command TS hidden behind some med bay equipment XXXX Letting the hot spray of the shower cascade down his body Harry finally let loose his grief over the murder of his first friend, Even though not human she filled a void that had been missing from Harry's life. The solid fact of knowing without a doubt that there was a being out there that had unconditional love for him is what kept him sane through the trials he had suffered. As the tears ran down his face Harry turned off the water and engaged the hot air drying cycle. "Aloria is there someplace where Hedwig can be laid to rest without being disturbed?" "There is a glade at the center of the park where you do your morning exercises that would be perfect. If you wish I can have the remotes prepare everything so that later on tonight at sunset she can be laid to rest." Aloria told him quietly. "Thank you." Harry told her stepping out of the shower. Pulling one of the uniforms out of the closet Harry mused on how much more comfortable they are versus the Wizarding worlds silly notion of robes and innerwear. After securing the belt and adding his arm bracers Harry felt ready to face the Weasley clan. "Aloria, have the remotes finished setting up the tables in the embarkation area." Having decided the view would help with his explanations. "Yes Harry, and breakfast is ready and waiting buffet style over by the windows so they can get the full effect." Aloria told him with a hint of mirth in her voice. "Also all you guests are using the TS system now so they should be waiting for you by the time you get there." As Harry stood outside the embarkation room he took a moment to take in the differing conversations. Finding that none of the current conversations laid blame on him for the death of Mr. Weasley he strode through the doorway into the main area. A clear note of a bell sounded as Harry crossed the threshold, along with Aloria's voice "Lord Commander on Deck." Harry inwardly groaned, and once again thought of tracking down certain control crystals and transfiguring them into a hygiene product of the feminine variety. "Good Morning everyone. I hope you all slept well?" Noticing that even Molly Weasley was wearing one of the Alteran uniforms, though she had added its cloak as Harry walked over to the food table and picked up a plate and started to place his breakfast selection on it. Sitting down at the table Harry looked around to see the mostly confused looks on everyone's faces as they looked around the room that was larger than the great hall at Hogwarts. "Tonks are you feeling a bit better this morn..." Harry started to ask. "Incoming message...Message identifier denotes Atlantis origin...Data dump commencing." A strange masculine voice announced. "Aloria, Alpha Priority Command. Quarantine data stream...Avatar access only." Harry quickly yelled out startling his already shaky guests. 'H...Ha...Harry?" Questioned Molly from across the table. Holding up his hand to forestall any further questions. "Alpha Priority Command accepted, Data dump received and Quarantined." Aloria said, slightly distracted as she interfaced with the Alteran Computers. "Aloria?" Harry questioned, concerned about potential trojan encoding in the message. "Really, Harry I am fine. Did you forget that my systems are totally separate from the city's." Aloria asked. "Not really, but I do not want to loose a friend by taking an unnecessary chance do I?" Harry replied with passion. "Harry dear could you explain where we are and what in Merlin's name is going on." Molly asked softly quite bewildered with the events transpiring. Seeing the other heads nodding in agreement Harry waited until the rest of the Weasley's came back over to the table and sat down before explaining. Deciding on telling them about discovering his heritage and the last few years of his schooling later Harry started his tale. He reminded them to think back to the day of graduation and told them about how within an hour of leaving Hogwarts for the last time He had skipped out on the train ride back to London and taken off to a clearing near the edge of the Forbidden Forest and transported up to the city. He briefly touched on the next three years, and how by linking to the city he had gained a tutor in magic's and sciences and the arts of war unsurpassed by any one in the world. Finishing his breakfast Harry asked Aloria to rotate the city and docks slightly so that when the blast shields opened his guests would get their first view of the Earth, and know they were no longer on the planet of their birth. Sensing the amusement through their link Harry stood up from the table. "You wanted to know where you are." Motioning them to follow him Harry led them over to the wall and through his link asked for the blast shields to be lowered. "Harry." Fred started. "Is that." George said while placing his hands on the window. "Brother mine." Fred whispered joining him. "We are not in London anymore." George whispered back. Her tone slightly panicked Molly asked. "Dear where are we?" Asking that the blast shields be closed Harry waved his hand as he turned causing a hologram to appear in the middle of the room showing a top down view of the city. "You are in the central command tower." Harry said as he walked into the center of the hologram and pointed at one particular spire. "I know that this really does not give you an idea of how large the city is so lets compare it with Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmead." Harry told them, as another hologram appeared this time slightly darker, and he merged it with one of the outer pylons of the city and watched the shock cross their faces when it did not even cover a fourth of the pylon. Giving them a minute to let the information sink in, Harry continued. "This city was built during ages past during a dire time of war in a far away place. It was built to be a rescue platform with the power to take war to their enemies along with the power to utterly destroy worlds if needed." "Before the city was complete, it seemed the war was over and the Ancients had lost. The remaining ancients poured all their knowledge and a little bit of themselves into the construction of the city, before going down to the Earth below and founding our magical society." Harry told them as he watched Ron pass his hand through the hologram with the funniest confused look on his face. "That is a very simplified version of events and I left a lot out of the story." Harry told them as he dispelled the hologram. Then making a decision he knew he was going to make but in a way wished he would not have to added. "Those who choose to join me, you learn the complete history of the ancients, their accomplishments and this city. But more importantly they will learn what I plan on doing with it." "You are leaving aren't you Harry." Ron made the connections he would not have while at Hogwarts, as the war was not really real to him then, more of a thrilling adventure, that was until the war hit home and the death eaters killed Ginny and Hermione. Sitting back down at the table Harry looked at his friend. "Yes Ron I am." Molly sighed sadly. "I wish I could ask you why, but I know why. You no longer consider Wizarding England your home do you." Snorting she added before he could answer. "With the horrible way you have been treated in our world Harry dear I can see why." Ignoring her own children, she stared intently at the young man across from her. "I only have one question. How soon can you take me back to the Burrow so I can pack it all up and move it to those lovely set of rooms you gave me." "MUM." Charlie yelled as he crossed the room. "What are you saying...Why would you leave us..." Ron looked at his mother with horror before looking at the rest of his brothers and noticed the twins looked determined and Bill looked thoughtful. Turning back towards his mother he almost missed the start of her answer. "You boys are all grown up now." Looking over at Charlie. "You don't live at home anymore and haven't for a long time." "The twins live above their shop, and stop by now and then and Bill is out own his own. The only one of you that is still home is Ron, and even then he spends most of his time working with what's left of the order, or out practicing new spells." Molly started to gather steam. "The war took from me my little girl, and now the so called side of light, our own government took my husband, your father." Molly started to break down with tears in her eyes. "I can no longer stay in a world that would condone killing a good man to make another good man do what they are to frightened too do." Molly quietly said as she put her head down in her arms and finally gave into the grief she had been pushing back. "Where Harry goes." George told Charlie. "We Go." Finished Fred. "What about V...Vol...Voldemort." Ron stuttered over the name but proud in the end he was able to say it. "His magical core is being destroyed. There is no way he can save himself, and even if he manages to survive which I doubt seeing as his new body is not quite human, he would be weaker than a muggle and totally powerless without his death eaters." Harry told them. "Right now his followers are being weakened as he bolsters his fracturing core by pulling magic through the dark mark he has branded on all of his little slaves. They will also die as their cores collapse under the strain of Voldemort draining theirs dry in an attempt to fix his core." Harry smirked at the thought. "Bill, Charlie why don't you take your mom and brothers down to the park where you found me this morning. Take a walk around and discuss this, as nothing needs to be decided today. While I take Tonks to go spring Remus from the med bay." Harry told them while standing up and moving towards a rising Tonks told them. "I will have the remotes fix up lunch that will be laid out near the inner doors of the park so you can have all the time you need to talk things out. I will meet up with you to take you to the dinning hall just short of six tonight at the TS closest to the park." Seeing the nods from most of the Weasley's Harry left with Tonks. Editing provided by Scott