Part 2,
Harry listened for anything as he knocked on the door only to hear a feminine voice say. "Come in."
With now having permission to enter the doors swung open by themselves to reveal a room made of ice so pure it looked like glass, in the center of the room was an ice fountain along with a crystal hanging from the ceiling. At the far end of the room were two curving staircases that joined together and led up to a platform that led further into the castle.
As his eyes tracked the room they fell on the figure standing on the platform at the top of the stairs. It was a woman, in her early twenties. She was tall and slender with blue eyes and rosy cheeks. A small nose and long platinum hair tied into a french braid that fell down her left shoulder, she was pale-skinned with a light dusting of freckles on her face. Harry would be the first to admit that she was a stunningly beautiful woman. She was wearing a crystal-blue off-the-shoulder dress made out of much to his shock, ice with a right knee-high slit, a crystallized bodice, and translucent powder blue sleeves. She also wore ice-made kitten heels and a long transparent floor-sweeping cape of sheer ice decorated with large snowflakes attached to the back of her bodice. How she had managed to make a dress made of ice Harry had no idea, he didn't know Ice Elemental could do something as intricate as that!
Elsa meanwhile was getting a better look at her intruder, he was wearing some kind of black cloak which was frayed at the edges and looked burnt at the edges yet, strangely enough, there wasn't a speck of snow on it nor was there any dirt on it. She couldn't actually see their face, it was hidden by the hood they wore. Though strangely enough whilst she had considered the figure to wear a weapon on their person all she could see that even resembled such a thing was a long thin piece of wood in his hand, though something inside her told her that that stick was dangerous though why she could only guess.
"Who are you?" She asked, pulling herself together with all the training of a royal Princess as she tried to project an air of power and authority even when she was feeling greatly out of depths. She might be far less naïve about the world than her sister but that didn't mean that she hadn't been protected all her life and had never fought either with her magic or physically and from the way the figure had relaxed minutely it seemed they had recognized that she was no fighter, Elsa wasn't sure if she should sigh in relief or feel insulted by that fact.
"Me, no one of any importance." The figure said with a masculine voice, thought heir was a note of teasing in it as if he didn't fear Elsa in any way and in fact found her amusing something that knocked her off guard for a moment.
"Are you here to take me back to Arandelle in chains then?" She asked icily as she glared down at the man imperiously.
"No." Was the short response from the man as he stood impassively in front of the door.
Narrowing her eyes she gathered her powers in ready for combat and said. "Are you here to kill me then?"
"No." Now there was a note of amusement in the man's voice and Elsa realised he was enjoying this, teasing her, and that annoyed the young Snow Queen.
"Leave this place then, if you are not here to attack me then you have no place coming to this castle."
"Wait! Just here me out. I just wanted to meet you. I mean you no harm!" The man said as he raised his arms in surrender, one hand still holding that strange wooden stick.
"Why would you want to come to meet me?" She asked suspiciously, it had only been the night before that she had run from her own coronation ceremony and had her powers revealed to the world after all. She was naturally suspicious.
Raising his empty hand he put his palm out in front of him, and as he snapped his finger Elsa's eyes widened in shock. For floating in the palm of his hand was a flickering blue flame.
She froze as she looked at him in a mixture of shock and wonder. That… that was… wait what?
"Y-You have magic?" She said, stuttering slightly.
The strange magical blue flame in his hand vanished as quickly as it appeared and with one hand he pulled back the hood of his cloak. In her shock at seeing someone else use magic for the first time, she felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she took in the man standing in front of her.
He had deep black hair that fell around her head to his shoulders tied in a ponytail, he was fair-skinned and had aristocratic features. It was his eyes though were the most captivating thing, bright emerald green eyes so bright they seemed to be glowing. Idly as she stared at him she thought if she continued to stare into them she might get lost in them.
"H-How do you have magic?!" She asked in wonder. She had never seen anyone else with magic in her entire life, in fact, she didn't believe that apart from her there were any other people who could use it that didn't exist in legend and fairy tales though there were rumours
"I was born with I,." he replied with a careless shrug.
Yet she attempted to temper that excitement as she gazed down at the magic-user below, she still didn't know what he was here for after all. She needed to be extra careful now that she knew he had magic, no wonder he wasn't afraid of her.
"Why are you here?" She asked now somewhat nervous.
"To meet you, Your Majesty, you are the only other magic user I have found since I arrived here and I wanted to meet you." He said with a shrug.
She looked into his eyes, bringing up all her training as a Princess to see if he was telling the truth, he didn't seem to want to hide his intentions as he stared back into her eyes. They both stood there in silence for about a minute eye bring into each other before she nodded. "I believe you." Even as he said that she found an emotion beginning to burn deep in his heat.
Happiness, she wasn't alone. This man was proof that she wasn't alone with her abilities, there were others like her.
He sighed. "Thank you."
"What is your name then Mr?" she asked leadingly.
"Harry Potter at your service." He said with a mockery of a bow, humor clear in his tone.
"It's a pleasure, come up here we shall have a discussion like civilized people, not over a balcony." She said as she tried once more to establish dominance in the conversation and the now named Harry Potter nodded in understanding.
The piece of wood in his hand seemed to disappear back into the sleeve of his cloak as he moved forward following her up the stairs and further into the castle.
Harry Potter glanced around the room he was sat in, it was further into the palace and had an open window that led out onto a balcony that overlooked the front of the castle. He was sitting in front of the one had searched for. She was not what he had been expecting to be honest. He had expected someone… darker he supposed instead she looked more like a woman that had just had the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders, though from all the pressures she had been under in the castle, it was likely her burdens hadn't felt any lighter than that.
The most fascinating thing about her could be found not when he looked at her, at least not through his normal vison but when he activated his Mage Sight then everything changed. Wizards and Witches had their magic concentrated inside of their bodies, contained whether in some kind of container or not no one knew but it was known that the magic stayed within the body but the Snow Queen's magic was different. It was being pulled from the world around her into her body but rather than being stored there it was just flowing through her! That meant that when she was using her magic she wasn't pulling it from inside of her but instead form the world around her, that not only meant she wasn't a Witch but most certainly an Elemental not to mention she was able to pull on the nearly inexhaustible amount of magic of the world itself something he could never hope to compete with. He had seen Rituals and Wards that did the same thing but a person capable of doing that, never seen the likes of it.
She was looking at him with both suspicion and a strange emotion Harry had been rather surprised to see the moment it appeared in her eyes.
Hope.
It was strange, Harry wondered what she was so hopeful having just met him when the answer appeared in his head as he stiffened slightly in his seat before relaxing. He understood it was much like him when he was a child, she felt alone and unlike he, there didn't seem to be a community of magic users in this world to take her in. and show her how to master her powers, though from what he could see so far she seemed to be doing quite a good job of that at the moment.
He had written her off as a threat the moment he had caught sight of her standing on the balcony looking down at him, it was clear that she had neither training to use her power in an offensive manner or the mentality found in soldiers who had fought on a battlefield. Whilst she was far more powerful than he was sure he could easily take her down if it came to that.
"Are you like me?" She asked intently, still fixated on that information not that Harry blamed her, he was probably the only one who could possibly understand her, more than her parents, more than her sister more than anyone.
"First you tell me about your abilities then I'll tell you my story because I can almost guarantee that my story is going to be the stranger one. " He said humorously with an almost self-deprecating tone to his voice that surprised Elsa and stopped her from insisting he went first. He couldn't fake that tone of voice, she would have been able to tell. Something inside her, something intrinsically linked to the powers she had so recently accepted as part of her told her to trust him, to tell him the truth. The whole truth.
"Fine." She said before she began her story.
"I was born with this ability and have always had it, through my powers ice and snow are mine to shape at will."
Harry nodded in understanding though he interrupted and asked in interest. "Did your parents shave this ability as well?"
She shook her head, a strange sense of happiness welling up inside her as she spilled her story. It was strangely cathartic. "No, neither mother nor father possessed the abilities I do?"
He nodded and asked another question. "Do you know of any ancestors who had powers like yours?" He wanted to know if her powers were hereditary or not, it would help narrow down why she was so powerful and why an Elemental had been born in the first place in a world that seemed to possess far less magic than he did.
She frowned as she thought about it. "You know I am not sure."
"Hmm." He said as he asked her to continue allowing her to get back into her story.
"I used to play with my powers when I was very young, I could only do it away from the servants but my sister and I used to play with it." She smiled as her mind went back to those moments. "Anna used to love playing in the snow I created but then. But then." As she finished her sentence her demeanor seemed to do a complete one-eighty and she looked devastated.
She seemed to marshal herself as she took a deep breath before she continued on. "We were playing in the grand hall of the Castle when I… when I hit her with a blast of ice and snow in the head. My mother and father found us and took Anna to the Trolls in the Valley of the Living Rock. Their leader a Shaman by the name of Pabbie was able to stabilize her condition by cleansing her of all magic, taking even the memories of our time together."
She sighed as she finished the last sentence before she continued. "After that my parents had me stay in one of the rooms as they sealed the castle from anyone entering it. I was to stay in that room as I learnt to master my powers, Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show. That is what my father said to me and for the next few years that is what I did I trained with the encouragement of my parents even as I kept my distance from Anna."
Harry frowned at that sentence, especially at the advice her father had given her he very much doubted that his advice of suppressing her power had actually helped the young Princess and had in fact created a fear of her own powers. It was a natural response that was common in the cases of Obscurials Hermione had told him about once, he really wished he had paid more attention to her at the time. If that was the case though it would make sense that she hadn't been able to control her own powers if they were so closely linked to her emotions, her fear would have caused her power to go out of control as her emotions would spike and become unstable with her magic reacting to it. He couldn't say that he agreed with her father's choice of dealing with his daughter's powers but he doubted the man could think of any better way to deal with it, he was likely way out of his league dealing with an incredibly powerful magical daughter. Hell, his advice sounded like something a Jedi from Star Wars would say!
"I was getting somewhere with my powers, not a lot but they were coming under my control when… when my parents died, they were going on a sea voyage to visit another Kingdom but the ship never made it, they were swept up by a raging storm and never seen again." She looked down after that though seemed to marshal herself to continue.
"I lost the control I had gained that night, froze my entire room in my grief and closed myself off completely from the world never stepping a single foot outside of my bedroom, not at last until Coronation Day and well I think everyone knows how that turned out." She finished with an almost sarcastic tone to her voice at the end that caused Harry to raise an eyebrow even as he felt the temperature in the room that was already low drop slightly more.
Harry looked her in the eye and held back the desire to sigh. She was like him, in so many ways. she had spent her entire childhood shut away and left alone just like he was with a power she didn't truly understand much like he was when he was with the Dursley's and performed accidental magic. He knew what it was like to be alone with no one else to turn to, to be alone without any help. He could sympathise with her plight. He had often felt that he should stay away from his friends in order to protect them from Voldemort and his Death Eaters less they be harmed in revenge just as she feared hurting anyone with her powers.
Though he did have a problem with her father's advice, suppressing magic was never a good idea and something told him that in someone whose connection to it was as unique as Elsa's, it had a great detrimental effect on her control.
Pushing those thoughts away he nodded to her. "Thank you for sharing your story. Now would you like me to share mine?"
She nodded. "Yes, yes I think so. I had thought that I was the only one capable of magic so to learn that you could as well is quite the shock. Can you create fire as I do ice then? That was what you summoned earlier."
He shook his head. "No, whilst I can summon flames that is not the only thing I can summon."
She looked shocked at that announcement before asking. "You can use multiple elements then?!"
He grimaced before answering. "Not quite, ugh I'm not really explaining this properly am I?"
Sighing he seemed to gather himself as he started speaking once more. "What do you know of the Multiverse Theory?"
She blinked then asked. "The what?"
Harry nodded he had expected her not to know so he began to explain. "The Multiverse Theory is the idea that there are many alternate realities or rather worlds that are similar to one another yet slightly different all coexisting together in a Multiverse. For example, there is a universe out there in which you don't possess control over ice but your sister does instead, there is likely a universe out there in which you aren't born a Princess of Arandelle or one in which Arandelle never existed in the first place."
Her eyes were rather bug-eyed at that explanation, she didn't think that he was lying but it was certainly a rather outlandish and confusing concept though she did wonder why he was talking about it in his explanation of his past… unless…
She gasped before looking at him. "You're from another world aren't you?"
He nodded. "Yes, yes I am as best I can tell anyway."
"Now." He said as he pulled out that strange wooden stick forms his pocket and held it aloft. "I Harry James Potter hereby swear on my magic and my life that the story I tell Elsa of Arandelle is the truth and nothing but the truth." As he finished the last syllable of the sentence sparks exploded out the tip of the stick even as a soft glowing light surrounded the Wizard for a moment before dissipating.
"What was that?" Elsa asked in both wonder and suspicion.
"That was me swearing that upon my magic and life that the story I am about to tell you is the truth and should I lie then both my magic and life will be taken as a forfeit." He said with steel in his voice.
That caused the young Queen to gasp in shock at the actions of the man opposite her, at least she now knew he was serious and it gave serious credence to his declaration that he was from another world.
"I come from a world much like this one except that it was is more technologically advanced than this one, man has managed to create machines that can fly in the sky and travel far faster than by horse over land but that is not the focus of my story." He took a deep breath before he continued his story.
"I was born into an ancient family of Wizards and Witches, you see on our world there exists thousands of people across the globe who can wield magic."
He was interrupted by Elsa leaning forward and asking with sparkling eyes. "You mean there are thousands of people who can use magic like I can?"
He shook his head, he understood where she was coming from but he had to tell her the truth. "No, you are a unique case amongst magic users. I will explain what I mean later after I have told you my story."
She looked taken aback slightly by his words but nodded all the same.
Taking a deep breath he began his story. "In my world, Wizards and Witches those who possess magic live in secret societies hidden away from the normal people, those we call muggles and have done for the few hundred years since they began persecuting any magic users they found."
Elsa's eyebrows rose at that, so many magic users was something she could barely imagine but she understood the hatred normal people had for her magic. She had seen those look son the people in the ballroom when her magic had been revealed to the world.
"In the country of England, the Wizards and Witches in their secret society were in a state of Civil War. There had been fighting between the Wizarding government and a group of Wizards known as the Death Eaters, they believed that those who possessed magic were of a higher status than those who didn't and were allowed to treat those not born with magic as if they were mere vermin. They were led by a monster of man, a Dark Lord who went by the name Lord Voldemort, he was so feared by the people on the country that they took to calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Elsa looked both enthralled and yet disgusted by the very thought.
"It looked to everyone that the Dark Lord would win until one night he was given a part of a Prophecy, a Prophecy that predicted the birth of a child, a boy who would be the downfall of the Dark Lord and so he hunted for the one who could vanquish him even as the war raged on. It would take him a year but he would manage it when a friend of the parents of the boy would betray their location to the Dark Lord, one night he attacked the home of the boy killing his parents, cutting them down like cattle even as the mother begged for him to spare her sons life." Elsa could see how much this was affecting him, his fists were clenched so tightly they had gone white. Not that it hadn't affected her, it was a horrifying story and it looked like it had only just begun. Though she did have an inkling to the identity of the prophesied child.
"He murdered James and Lily, that was their names then he tried to murder the child only a year old but when he uttered the spell something happened, no one I sure what but the Killing Curse, the spell that was supposed to be unblockable was reflected back that day hitting the Dark Lord tearing him from his body and sending his wraith fleeing." He said causing her to lean back and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
"The boy was taken from that broken house and was sent off to his Aunts and Uncle's even as the rest of the Wizarding World celebrated his name for vanquishing the Dark Lord." He said as Elsa interrupts him.
"At least he got a chance to grow up with his family," Elsa said trying to find the positive in the story.
Harry looked up and gave her a flat almost dead look as he stared her in the eyes, it was enough that she had to stop herself for recoiling in shock. "No, no it was perhaps the worst decision that could have been made for the young boy for he was raised in a house filled with love yet denied even a hint of it, banished to live in a cupboard and made a slave by the family that should have loved and protected him. It was not a way any child should be forced to live. For ten years he was forced to live like that until he was saved by a letter. An invitation to a school of magic hidden away from the eyes of normal folk."
Elsa was horrified to hear that, the thought of any child growing up in such a manner horrified her. She had grown up with her powers away from everyone else even her sister after she had hurt her but she had always had the unwavering support of her parents even in the darkest of times when she had been barely able to stop herself from lashing out. The very thought of being forced to grow up without any parents to help her through it was one she didn't want to contemplate.
"At this school, he would meet many new people as he was introduced to a world of magic, a world of miracles and wonder but it was just a vainer for under the miracles was darkness he could never have fathomed in his cupboard under the stairs. He with the help of his friends would clash with the Dark Lord who had murdered his parents multiple times as the Wraith that refused to die plotted its revival. In the end, in the boys fourth years, the Dark Lord would return with a body after performing a foul ritual and wreak havoc across the country. Taking control of the Government and attacking any who stood against him yet the boy did not give up and continued to fight the tyranny of the monster that had butchered so many." He said grimly.
She had never heard such a tale, she didn't think she could even imagine what a battle between those who could use magic would be like. Her powers were great and the idea of hundreds of those similar clashing was something that terrified her. Especially if they seemed to have control of their abilities like this Harry Potter seemed to do.
"The battle was hard, the Dark Lord had performed the vilest of magic's and sundered his very soul in order to hide from death. It proved bringing him down incredibly difficult but the fighters who fought his tyranny perceived and at the battle of Hogwarts they emerged victoriously." He said as he looked at her even as she stared at him in shock.
"He split his soul? Such a thing is possible?" her voice was aghast, such magic was something she could barely fathom. It dwelt even outside her comprehension, she who was all but ice and snow.
"Yes, with the murder of an innocent a Wizard or Witch can sunder their soul in order to stave off death." He replied grimly.
Looking at him she asked softly. "You're that boy aren't you?" She already knew the answer to her question but she asked it anyway.
Closing his eyes he nodded slowly. "Yes, I am?"
They sat in silence for a few seconds before Elsa asked gently. "H-How did you get here though, to Arandelle?"
A look of utter devastation crossed the young man's face before he opened his mouth. "We thought that it had all ended with the death of the Dark Lord but it was not to be. He had sensed the destruction of his soul containers and began to create contingency plans in the case of his defeat. For if he could not rule over us all then he would see us die with him." The man spat bitterly.
Elsa almost didn't want to ask, but the curious nature she shared with her sister shone through and she couldn't help but ask. "W-What did he do?"
He looked at her before sighing as he ran a hand through his mop of black hair, something Elsa privately thought looked rather cute. "He created a Ritual that summoned the spirits of the dead and grafts them onto the tested forms of magically created beasts in order to wreak havoc across the world. It took nearly three years and a joint effort between the magical and non-magical governments the world over in order to stop the destruction but eventually after much hardship and battle along with the loss of many of my friends we were able to stop the Demons and end the threat, though when I destroyed the Ritual site I fell into it and something went haywire and I ended up dumped onto the ground in the middle of a grassy meadow just outside of the city of Arandelle." He looked bitter and defeated but sighed and continued on as he looked her in the eye. "Then not a month later I awake to find that the Queen has fled the castle after being discovered to possess magic and well I couldn't resist." He finished with a shrug.
Elsa meanwhile was staring at him in shock jawed disbelief, she thought her life was crazy what with being a Princess with control over ice but she didn't think she had heard such an absurd story. The green-eyed Wizard meanwhile rose one eyebrow as he looked at her. "You don't believe me?"
He bit his lip, he really didn't want to share his experiences but it was clear that the women wasn't going to believe him until he showed her more despite him swearing the vow. It wasn't like she truly knew the significance of the thing in the same way he did. Coming to a decision he said. "Fair enough, I wouldn't believe me either." Then he looked her straight in the eye and said. "But I can prove it to you."
Elsa looked at him and couldn't help but ask. "How?"
Grinning he pulled back his cloak slightly and reached into it finding a beaded bag that seemed rather out of place compared to the rest of his rather cloak and dagger outfit and much to Elsa's astonishment opened it and reached in, his entire arm up to his shoulder disappearing inside the bag. He rummaged around in there for a moment before he pulled out a strange-looking basin with odd-looking markings on its edge.
With a flick of his wrist, the Elder Wand appeared in his hand and with a wave of it a wooden table appeared between them shocking Elsa once more, she had never seen anything like it. Creating an element was one thing but just pulling items out of thin air was another entirely.
She watched in fascination as Harry pointed his stick or wand she supposed at the basin which he had placed on the table. Water began to pour out of its tip as the basin was filled, the water becoming murky and clouded as he did so and by the time he had filled it Elsa could almost see clouds moving and twisting in the water.
"What is this?" She asked curiously, much of her fear and suspicion having disappeared though not fully gone.
"This." He said gesturing at the bowl. "Is a Pensieve, it is a magical device that allows one to record and playback memories of the past. I know my tale is a fantastical and with your permission I would like to show you the proof."
She bit her lip in thought, she didn't know if she could trust the man but her curiosity at not only seeing his adventures but also experiencing such a new magical device meant she couldn't resist. "Yes, I would like to see that."
He nodded and placed his wand next to his temple and closed his eyes, as he sat there Elsa began to think that maybe the man was lying to her or had in fact fallen asleep. Just when she was about to open her mouth and ask what he was doing he opened his eyes and pulled his wand away from his head and much to her surprise she could see thick strands of strange glowing energy attached to the end.
"What are those?" She asked in shock and surprise.
"Those are my memories." He replied as he let the strands of memory float into the basin.
Looking at her he said. "Well, shall we?"
"How?" she asked in confusion.
He blinked. "Ah, take my hand and lean into the bowl, it will draw you into the Pensieve."
Nodding she reached out in slight trepidation, she rarely ever hold the hands of others. It had been far too dangerous for her when she had been suppressing her powers constantly and wearing her gloves. So she gasped when she felt the slightly calloused hands of the other Wizards envelope her own and she couldn't help the slight blush, the only other man to ever hold her like that was her father the King.
She quickly pushed such thoughts away and together they both leaned into the bowl and Elsa felt herself get pulled inside and fall.
..
Down.
..
Down.
..
Down.
..
Until she hit the ground outside a quaint little house on a street which wouldn't have looked out of place in Aradnelle except for the strange-looking road made of a material she had never seen before only to freeze and gasp as two figures walked right through her.
"W-What!" she exclaimed.
Harry looked at her and chuckled. "We are in a memory, you can't affect anything in here and nothing in here can affect you. Don't worry about it."
Elsa looked around and recoiled in shock as she got a closer look at the two figures, the only two people she could see around them. One was short and rat looking whilst the other was the one that truly caught her attention. He was tall, pale and had slit-like nostrils instead of a normal nose, his red eyes were gleaming with a level of hatred and malice Elsa had never seen before. They said eyes are like the window to the soul then if that was the case this man was hatred incarnate for Elsa could think of no other title more worthy than that for this thing.
"Voldemort." She heard Harry's ay as he looked over at his grim visage. "That's Voldemort, this is his memory of the night it all began, the night my parents died."
He turned to look at her and said. "I said I would show you everything, so that is what I will do."
And show her he did.
Elsa bore witness to the death of his parents, she cried alongside him as it happened.
She watched as he was dumped on the doorstep of the hateful couple who shoved him into a tiny cupboard and she raged as he was treated like dirt.
She celebrated and laughed at the antics of Hagrid and the letters when he was invited to Hogwarts.
She shared in his wonder of both Diagon Alley and Hogwarts and was fascinated by the lessons he was learning on magic.
As year blended into year she celebrated his victories over the Troll, Quirrell, the Basilisk, Dementors and more as she grew to admire the young man standing next to her watching in silence. She watched him bare the fate of his society with a grim determination that she found awe-inspiring as she fought for what was right even when he suffered loss after loss.
She cried at the heartaches he suffered. The petrification of his best friend, the fate of Sirius Black and the lives cut brutally short by the Voldemort controlled Ministry and the Death Eaters.
She hissed in anger and hated at the acts of Umbridge, Bellatrix and Voldemort. Recoiling in disgust at the sight of Voldemort's resurrection.
She nearly fell over in shock upon hearing Harry was a Horcrux and actually screamed and grabbed hold of him when he walked to his death and was hit by the Killing Curse.
She celebrated alongside the people in the memory when Harry finally killed the Dark Lord
She exclaimed her shock at seeing the Demons and watched the horror of the war against them, in order to keep humanity safe form their never-ending hunger. She watched in horror and shock as he was ambushed as he worked to shut down the Ritual that would end the threat of the Demons and stop the mad final act of the Dark Lord.
She had no idea just how long they had been in there, a few hours at least judging by the movement of the sun in the sky but as she felt herself land on the chair she had sat in she felt like it had been a lifetime ago.
Though in the truth that wasn't quite far off, she touched a hand to her face and felt the tears running down her cheeks.
Looking up she saw Harry staring back at her, a look of fear, compassion, vulnerability and nervousness in his eyes as he looked at her and she understood in that instant. He had shown her everything, the highlights of his entire life and Elsa couldn't help but stare at him in a mixture of shock, sadness and awe before she moved slowly around the table and much to his surprise she enveloped him in her arms.
He was shocked at her actions, from his interactions with her he hadn't taken her for someone who was very physical and so he was both surprised and rather touched by the gesture.
"I wish I could be as strong as you." He heard whispered into his ear form the women hugging him.
"Don't worry, just be happy that you never have to go through such things," he replied back gently before pushing her away so he could look at her face. "You are pretty amazing yourself though, growing up knowing you were alone with such power and not getting drunk on it must have been difficult."
She blushed slightly as she looked down in embarrassment. "Thank you."
Together they sat in silence as they both tried to wrestle control of their thoughts, Elsa having returned to her seat.
Once more in control of her emotions, she asked him a question that had been on her mind for a while as she watched his life. "Does that mean I am a Witch?" she asked.
"No" he responded, "you aren't a Witch. You are something different, something greater. My people only have a few records left of them. Elementals, those who possess an absolute control over a chosen element. Nobody knows how they exist or where they come from and the only records my people possessed were badly damaged extracts from a civilisation that lived thousands of years ago. As far as I can tell the difference between the two is that Elementals can channel the ambient magic in the world around them to manipulate their elements whereas Wizards and Witches must draw their magic from inside themselves."
Elsa looked surprised at that, she had never had any idea how or why her powers had appeared nor how they worked though in honesty she hadn't really thought much about it. She had long been too afraid of her power to explore it in any meaningful way. Though she did not forget her manners.
"Thank you for telling me, Harry." She said with a smile that caused Harry to blush slightly, he was unused to such honest praise form a woman as beautiful as Elsa that wasn't a rabid fangirl of the Boy-Who-Lived.
Looking at her he asked a question. "Do you want to learn how to use your powers then?"
Elsa's eyes sparkled as she replied with a solid yes, though when she asked how he was going to help but all she got in return was a rather devious smirk that did nothing to set her confidence straight.
Half an hour later they were stood in front of the large ice castle, a large circle of snow on the top of the mountain had been flattened and compacted leaving a flat piece of snow for both figures to stand on. Around the edge of the circle was a dome of almost invisible energy that pulsated blue with magical energy.
Harry still wearing his cloak and Elsa in her dress were stood across from one another, Harry was twirling the Elder Wand in his hand, a small smirk on his face as he looked at the Ice Queen opposite him who was looking at him in mild confusion.
"I thought we were going to train my powers?" She asked in confusion causing Harry's smirk to deepen somewhat.
"We are, I always found that experience is the best way to explore a magical ability." He responded.
"Experience, in what way?" She asked in response.
"Duelling." Was his prompt response.
"What, like a fight?" She asked in shock, she had never used her powers maliciously, ever. The mere thought of doing so was… strange.
He just shrugged. "I have always found that the best way to learn is by doing and using your powers when they matter and in a duel, you have to use your abilities creatively or you will lose. I have already set Duelling Wards around the arena for us to fight so we should be okay to go."
She looked nervous but readied herself anyway. She would do this and prove that she could use her powers to the best of her abilities. Prove herself to this man in front of her, someone who could only be described by the word Hero. Even though he would reject the very notion.
Pulling out a coin from within his pocket he held it ups o she could see it and said. "When this hits the ground we begin, standard Duelling Rules apply so we go until one of us surrenders or can no longer fight, no killing and avoid maiming your opponent. Ready?"
She looked surprised at the mentioning of killing but still nodded. "Ready."
"Well then let's go." Announced Harry as he threw the coin into the air both of them keeping an eye on it as it twisted through the air reaching the apex of the throw before it began to plummet.
Harry tightened his grip on his wand even as Elsa flexed her fingers in readiness. It seemed to both their senses that the coin had slowed down to a snail's pace as it slowly descended towards the ground or perhaps that was their perception of it. It didn't matter in the end.
Thump!
As it hit the compacted snow neither of them should have been able to hear it due to the distance yet both heard it as if it was ringing in their ears and they exploded into action.
Elsa rose her hand up in a swiping motion causing spikes of ice to grow out the ground in front of her and continue to grow in the direction of Harry looking like massive spikes coming out of the ground.
Harry didn't panic and instead rose his wand in his hand and with a flick of his wrist the air in front of him seemed to shimmer and the moment the ice spikes hit the distorted air it shattered like glass on his Shield Charm.
"You're going to have to do better than that Elsa." He taunted back.
She was surprised, no one had ever been able to defend against her powers, it was the first time anything had actually stopped them. Though she was forced to defend herself when Harry sent a bright ball of energy towards her. Raising her hand the ice responded to her will creating a wall of ice and snow in front of her that blocked the spell sending fragments of ice and snow everywhere as the spell exploded on impact.
Slamming her hands down Elsa lowered the wall back into the ground before she rose both hands and created rolling waves of ice arcing towards Harry from both hands, only this time the ice looked much more durable and thicker than the last time causing Harry to grin, looks like the girl was learning.
Harry flicked his wand and sent a Reductor Curse towards one of the ice spikes coming towards him that caused it to explode into shards whilst he transfigured the ice shards into a cohesive whole and into rock. The Golem moved quickly and just before the ice spike was about to hit Harry the Golem smashed into it shattering the ice.
The Golem then turned around and with a mental command, Harry had it charge towards Elsa who looked at it in shock before she took some inspiration out of his book and with one hand raised she called on her power and moulded it with her intent. The ground began to shack slightly though whether that was from the Stone Golem or what Elsa was doing, was anybody's guess.
As the Stone Golem was crossing the ground between the two it was halted when an arm made out of ice and snow burst out of the ground and grabbed the stone foot and pulled. With a groan the Stone Golem fell forwards and smashed into the ground, hitting it with a thump that shook the ground. As the Stone Golem hit the ground another hand broke out of the ground and pulled itself out of the snow. It had a body made of compacted snow and claw-like hands made of ice, its head was low down and had a somewhat nasty looking face.
It let out a bellow as the Stone Golem got back to its feet and from a mental command of Harry's began to attack its snowy counterpart. The two Golems then began to slog each other, taking large chunks out of the other as they tried to pummel each other. Harry meanwhile didn't stop to watch as he sent a series of prank spells at Elsa who dodged out of the way of them except for one, a blue light hit her and her light blonde platinum hair was turned a light blue colour which caused her to glare at him.
He just gave her an innocent-looking smile as she glared at him, oh he would pay for that. With a stamp of her foot, she sent a wave of snow cascading outwards him, it was like a mini avalanche tumbling toward shim and all Harry had time to do was crouch down and slam the Elder Wand into the ground at his feet, erecting an almost solid-looking blue shield of magical energy as the cascading wall of snow and ice fell upon.
All he could see was ice and snow pressing in on him from all sides, stopped only by the powerful shield he still held up around him. He showed no sign of nervousness or fear of being crushed that a normal person would do instead, he was grinning. She had impressed him, she learned fast when forced to use her powers. He could work with this, oh yes but first it was time to show her exactly what he could really do. As a savage grin began to form on his face his magic responded to his call and came like roaring tide in answer of his desire, fire beginning to coil and writhe out from his Wand as he began to turn the wood in circular motions, the fire coiling at his feet imitating the same movement as it began to move in a circle getting larger as more and more fire pooled from his wand.
Elsa was waiting for the avalanche for any sign of Harry, she was beginning to get nervous as time went on, and she hoped dearly she hadn't hurt him by burying him under all that snow. As she watched a sight the likes of which she had never seen before occurred.
Within the snow and ice Elsa could see a glowing light beginning to shine through the crisp white frozen water, getting brighter and brighter before the entire area around them burst into flames twisting and turning in a vortex of raging fire that caused Elsa to stumble back in shock at the sight, heat of the thick raging fire washed over her like she was standing in an oven. She could see the snow around the edges of the fire melting almost instantly from the heat turning back into water as the avalanche became water.
All of sudden though the vortex of fire vanished into nothing. Leaving embers floating in the air around them and a smiling Harry standing there in the middle of what had once been the vortex looking none the worse.
Harry then pointed his wand at the water that was around his feet and flicked his wand upwards sending the water flying in the direction of Elsa who turned and just before the water was about to hit she threw her hands up in the direction of the wave of water and froze it before it could hit her.
With a crack of air the likes of which Elsa had never heard before she watched Harry disappear in thin air before she heard the sound again coming from beside her and she had just enough time to see a flash of red light cross her eyes.
…
…
…
Elsa groaned as her eyes flickered open. Her blurry eyes looked around to see what happened, she was on the ground and could feel the snow under her as she saw a figure standing over her with green eyes looking at her with amusement.
Groaning she grabbed the hand Harry had put in front of her face and pushed herself to her feet with his help.
"Thank you," Elsa said as she looked at him and he waved it off.
"You did well Elsa. Very well but you still have some way to go before you master your powers." He said as he smiled at her.
She sighed and asked. "Harry, what, what is going to happen now?"
Harry shrugged and smiled at her. "I don't know but I promise you that whatever it is we will do it together." His voice was filled with the determination that had defined him all his life and seen him through the worst times.