After a good night's sleep, Harry was awoken like he guessed from John, already in his training clothes telling him that he would await him by the place where the Witcher's exercised their spatial awareness.
Ciri told Harry once how she could do that course even with her eyes closed when she was his age, so Harry was a bit nervous on what John had planned for him. As he went to grab his glasses, he remembered that Doctor Halsey had the matrix for Callie and because of that she couldn't talk to him. So, he walked over to his wardrobe to gather his things, thinking about if the others were already awake and wanted to watch how he trained here. Compared to the courses in Hogwarts, these were are much harder to master.
Hermione and Daphne had indeed woken up too, but their reason was a small owl with a letter in its beak, bouncing up and down on the windowsill nearest to where Daphne slept in and flapping its wings rather loud. It was almost funny as Daphne opened the window and grabbed the letter; the little owl looked at her accusingly for letting her wait that long.
Hermione was laughing as the small owl hooted, demanding bacon it seemed as it flew up a little and then dove down into the Daphne's bag, climbing back out with its treat in her beak.
"She's like a smaller version of Hedwig, she just lacks the demanding snip she does when Harry does not give her the bacon immediately" Hermione laughed even as Daphne told her to not give the small owl any funny ideas. Of course, it was too late already as the small owl perked up by the mention of Hedwig. After it had eaten her bacon, it looked for a place to perch on top of one bedpost. After Hermione calmed her laughing fit down a bit, they decided to go look if the breakfast was already served or not.
Arriving in the kitchen, they saw that Yen and Triss were preparing something what looked like scrambled eggs, buttered bread and multiple mugs with different jugs containing milk and coffee. Offering to help set the table, they were shown where the cutlery and plates are and carried some over to set up.
"Is Harry still asleep? I thought that he would be here already." Hermione put her plate down by a chair on the table as she turned around to Yen with that question. Yen shook her head and told her that she saw him earlier outside with John, doing some morning training. She was just a bit worried that they were by the swings and Harry was jumping back and forth between them.
Daphne asked her where those swings are and if they could watch him. Yen pointed them to a place next to the outside wall of the castle and told them that they should also tell them that breakfast was ready.
Hermione and Daphne nodded and walked out of the grand hall towards the place they were told Harry and John was. While they walked through the courtyard, the sun began to come up over the mountains surrounding the valley where the castle resides and giving the landscape a warm color despite the barren trees that were seen all over the place. The snow on top of the mountains was a nice contrast to the brown landscape around the castle, as they saw Harry and John train by the swings, they saw Harry jumping and flipping on the stakes under the contraption where the swing pended fore and back. They were in awe as they watched Harry this high up evading the swing, using every movement a human body could manage.
John saw them coming out of the corner in his vision, nodding to them and then concentrated his attention back on Harry. Even if they had switched the spikes on the swing with painted polyester, it was still dangerous enough if you would fall down when you would not expect it. As Harry moved even faster as he get into a rhythm of evading and jumping, he did not notice the girls arriving as his eyes were blindfolded. But as they told them that breakfast was due and John stopped the swings, Harry stopped and took the blindfold off, looking at the astounded faces of his friends.
"What?" Harry walked down to the ground via the ladder which stood beside one stake.
Hermione found her voice first, asking him why he would train like that. Harry answered her that they always trained like that here, as Geralt and the others were warriors of old times and still needed to train even harder as the monsters they had to fight had become stronger and more intelligent, so they could not relax as much as normal people and needed to keep their ability's sharp. As if they were summoned, they heard a motorcycle coming up the road, signaling them that the rider would soon arrive. As the driver came through the gate into the courtyard, he directed it to an empty spot between some cars and even a small truck, turning the engine off. After lowering the kickstand of the bike, he got off from it and removed his helmet, showing them long, white hair. He looked up to them and smiled, his scar on the face not bothering him as he had it a long time now.
After grabbing some items out of some pockets and his sword out of the carrying case to strap it on his back, he walked up to them and greeted them. "Hello, you must be Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass. My name is Geralt, nice to meet you. Now I guess breakfast is soon ready?"
"Yes Geralt, the girls here just came down to tell us. How was the hunt for the manticore?" John shook his hand, walking beside him as the children trailed behind them.
"Well, as good you may expect of such a beast. When I did find it, the manticore just came back from a hunting trip, with a sheep in his mouth. It attacked me almost straight away, not even giving me the time to pull my sword out, but I had at least the pistol ready to slow it down a bit. After I had slain it, the ministry had their own work to do, as some non-magical people had seen the creature. But they paid me, so I don't have anything to complain about."
Daphne wanted to ask if he really fought a manticore but forgot it almost immediately as something in Geralt's eyes caught her attention. She decided to ask Harry if he would know about it and if not, she would ask Geralt later why his eyes looked like those of a cat.
"Ah, Geralt you're back. Any injuries we need to take care of?" Yen set her serving plate down and walked over to them, kissing Geralt on the lips to greet him. Geralt just laughed and told her that he was not hurt, but hungry. So, they sat down after Geralt put his sword and items down, Harry between Hermione and Daphne, Triss next to John and Geralt next to Yen, enjoying their breakfast.
As the day moved on, Harry began to wonder how long Doctor Halsey would stay inside her laboratory, as she did not leave it since dinner the day before. And because she still had Callie, he could not ask her and as Cortana was not with John either, he was clueless too. So, Harry showed the girls the rest of the castle, including the highest tower with its breathtaking view over the snowy mountains. As the girls marveled about the beauty of this place, Harry spotted something shimmering above the highest mountain peak, as it flew around it and came a bit closer. He stood closer to the railing of the balcony they stood and stared up, getting the attention of the girls.
"Harry, what's wrong? Is there something up there? WHA-?" Daphne gasped loudly as the golden colored creature came even closer to the castle, showing them how big it really was. Harry began to run down the stairs to call for Geralt, but he was already on his way out, sword in hand. John also had a weapon shouldered, it looked like a twin-tubed rocket launcher with the letters SPKN written on its side. John was also armored, as he wore his helmet and full MJOLNIR, he just wished he had more time to pick up an assault rifle. Harry guessed that the people down in one of the mines had spotted the creature too and called them.
"YEN, TRISS KEEP EVERYONE INSIDE THE CASTLE UNTIL WE SAY OTHERWISE!" Geralt called over his shoulder, opening the door to the hall and closing it right behind John once more. The woman nodded and sealed the door with their magic, Triss even opened a portal to where the girls were and pulled them through. Daphne was still shocked of the sight, as Hermione tried to remember where she read about it once.
They heard a loud boom as it landed in the courtyard, but somehow John and Geralt did not attack immediately, as the creature did not show any sign of aggression. It looked over the castle and then looked down to Geralt, folding his wings on his side and lowered his head slowly.
"I see that you changed Geralt, but you still are eager to protect those who are important to you. How are you, old friend?" The voice they heard was deep, vibrating in their heads as Geralt lowered his sword and told John that there was no danger.
John kept his guard up regardless, as the creature morphed into a human form, now talking normally.
"And I guess you met another golden Dragon for you to come out in arms?" The male human spoke clearly, standing still in his place to show that he meant no harm.
"Villentretenmerth? Is it really you? How did you find us?" Geralt now sheathed his sword, so John lowered his weapon too, a curious look under his helmet. The man just laughed out loud and walked now over to Geralt to greet his old friend.
"Please, call me Borch like before, my name is still to long for your speech. As for how I found you, did you forget what kind of being I am? Something like me has powers beyond your comprehension, so I used those to find your lifeforce. Imagine my surprised as I sensed also others near you and how happy you seemed. As for the people down in the valley, I hope your friend over there can tell them that I mean no harm?" Borch looked over to John, who just nodded and spoke into his communicator that the situation was under control and that they could stand to down.
Geralt invited Borch inside the castle after he told the others that they could open the doors. As Yen saw the man with Geralt and John, she stood a bit more rigid and attentive before him while Triss wondered who that was and where the Dragon had gone. Meanwhile the children did not know how to respond to this situation, as Daphne grabbed one arm from Harry while Hermione grabbed the other one. Harry sensed that this man was powerful and was somehow afraid, but he did not know why. He grew up with all this mighty people, but this man was from another plane of existence. Borch looked over all the people inside the hall, his gaze landing on Harry and his scar.
"Ah, and here is the reason why I am visiting you, old friend. You still asking yourself what the dark aura is around the boy?"
Geralt watched his friend closely as did John, calling Doctor Halsey via the communicator to come up for a minute, as the Witcher nodded to the old, wise man. "We still need to figure out how we can get whatever it is out of him, as we observed that it is like a leach or something like that and hinders his magic to come out with all its might. I guess you will confirm our theory about that it resides inside his scar? And if you want to help us to get rid of it, I must first know why and if there is any danger to Harry. If so, we have to decline." Geralt looked seriously at Borch, telling him with his eyes that he would protect Harry even from a golden dragon if need be. Harry was like a son to him as Ciri was his daughter in all but blood. Borch was just grinning as Doctor Halsey came out from the door which led into her laboratory.
"There will be no danger for him if we act correctly Geralt. But the sooner we perform the cleansing, the better. As for what it is, I guess we should invite Dumbledore to come here too and yes, I know of him. And I think he would listen to me when I explain everything, he would need to know for the fight that awaits us." Borch also became serious, and his smile vanished from his face. Geralt knew what this meant and got right on his face.
"If you suggest that for his cleansing, he needs to go through the transformation into a Witcher, get that idea out of your head. Even if our losses during the rituals have greatly reduced, there is still the possibility of him dying during the process." Yen now stood before the children with Triss and John, while Doctor Halsey still stood inside the door analyzing the situation.
Harry glanced over to her, seeing that she wore his glasses.
Borch just shook his head and lifted his arms. "There are many ways, the trial is just one of them. But like I said I will explain as soon as Dumbledore is here too, and I guess this lovely old lady over there wants to speak with me." He looked now over to the door, where Doctor Halsey just stood, her arms crossed over her chest.
"YOU ARE A DRAGON!" Hermione exclaimed, finally remembering where she had read about the golden creature that came down before and seeing Borch now in his Human form got her mind in a spin as dragons were classified as dangerous beasts.
Borch let out a loud booming laugh and nodded to the young witch, as this motion got Daphne out of her petrified state, and she also wanted to know more.
"I have read about dragons in our schoolbook for care of magical creatures, but your color was not mentioned inside it. Can I ask you what race you are?" Hermione once more was in learning mode, getting just a small chuckle from Harry.
"I am sure that one book here in Kear Mohen has a description about me and my line. You can read it up in there." Borch was now walking over to Doctor Halsey, who just stepped aside with a curious look in her face.
At his words, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm harder and pulled him off to the library while Daphne was dragged along as she still held his other arm. If the situation was not as tense as it was just before, this scene looked almost comical. Yen was walking up to the tower to her owl, while Triss prepared the letter they would send to Dumbledore. Sarina was perched up in front of a window in the tower as Yen entered the room they had for the owls, as Hedwig also was there and nibbling on a rat she caught before. Yen saw that there was a new one, a small brown looking around and getting familiar with the place.
"And who might you be little one?" She had learned to understand the owl's just like Triss did this many years ago as they adopted Harry into their special family. The little owl looked down to Yen and then looked to the other two owls. They had spoken before of course, as the small brown owl was flying outside the castle to stretch her wings a little until her mistress was once more in need of her services, as she saw the snowy owl diving down to get a rat that dared to come out of his hiding place. As it saw that Hedwig was flying up to the tower, it knew that she was like her, just as the girl with the bushy hair told her mistress before. So, she followed the other owl and was permitted entrance to this place that the other two called home.
She hooted her answer, that her name was just Nina and that she arrived with Daphne as her personal owl. Yennefer accepted that as she walked over to Sarina and let her jump on her outstretched arm, as the letter was still being written down in the Hall by Triss. After those two left the room the owls resided in, Nina looked over to Hedwig and studied her. To see such a noble snowy owl was rare in these parts of the world, but what the humans seem to not understand is, that Hedwig was something like royalty by her kind. And for her to serve the boy like a pet, there had to be a special connection with him, something she herself wanted too and hoped that her time with her Mistress would result in something similar. It was at this moment when she spotted the small snake on the floor eating a small mouse and she also saw the same kind of bond with the boy like Hedwig had. For a wizard having two pets was nothing special, but two familiars who could amplify his magic was unheard of. She would need to learn more about the boy she decided as she flew off once more for her food.
Meanwhile in the library of the castle, Hermione looked over all the books if the titles could indicate the answer for her question about Borch. Daphne was doing the same on the other side of the bookcase, while Harry was reading one from his school. He had read almost everything in here and could faintly remember about a golden dragon in one of the books, but he did not know any more in which one it was.
"This is hopeless, almost no book talks about dragons. Did you find anything Daphne?" Hermione did not want to give up so easily, but she knew that she missed something.
Daphne shook her head and grabbed another book to flip through it. "No, just some songs from a 'Dandelion', what kind of name is that. Wait." She looked over the titles of the different songs Geralt's friend of old had written, as she stumbled over one called 'The Golden One' "Could that be?" Daphne walked over to Hermione and showed her the book, now seeing why Borch knew Geralt and Yen. The song was about a contract to kill a dragon, something that Geralt tried to prevent by participating as, in his eyes, dragons needed to be protected from Humanity. They were approached by an old man with two female warriors beside him wanting to accompany them, only to fall to his presumed death with his company on a hillside high up the mountains.
As it happens this old man was the same that was now inside the castle, as soon they others found the nest of the dragon in question, he flew down and breathed fire over those he did not seem worthy so close to his mate. He also saved the two female warriors, as they knew already what he was before they came with him. After the brief fight, which only Geralt, Yennefer and his friends as well some dwarves survived, he told them that he needed to know how Geralt was using his moral compass, as he assured him that he was glad that even when a monster killed a human that he would first listen to it, if it was able of conscious thought and intelligent enough to speak. They parted as friends as the dragon took the egg in the nest and carried it away with his two companions.
"Well, I think we need to look for a book about mystical creatures, as I don't think that a real golden Dragon is common enough." Hermione stood up once more, as she almost froze in place as she saw Borch and Doctor Halsey coming into the library one after the another. While Borch was looking around for something, Doctor Halsey was just walking behind him watching him. Hermione decided to gather her courage and approached those two with the intention getting her question answered.
Borch noticed Hermione coming over while Harry and Daphne were reading something that looked like an old notebook.
"Excuse me sir, can I ask you a few things? The only book I found that has something written about you is this songbook from a 'Dandelion' and I think he was not truthful to the source. For example, I don't think that he saved the Witcher and his sorceress from certain doom from a sneak attack."
"Oh, Dandelion did embellish many things, so his audience was entertained. But almost everything he sang about was the truth. Just keep on reading his songs and you will know many new things about your hosts in this castle. But I must ask you to wait with your questions for me, as I am momentarily occupied with Doctor Halsey here, as I may have an answer to one of her own questions." Borch answered her, continuing his search for a certain book.
Hermione looked at Catherine in puzzlement, what could evade the knowledge of this woman that she needed the view of an almost godlike entity? And why was she wearing the glasses Harry always wore in Hogwarts?
As Hermione noticed that her head whipped around, and she saw how green his eyes really were without his glasses, as he looked back at her. She melted almost on the spot, trying to keep her blush hidden behind her bushy hair.
Harry just tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, which in turn had Daphne giggling right beside him.
Borch could see this exchange out of the corner of his eye and smiled, as the bond those three shared were almost like Geralt had with Yennefer and Triss, he was just hoping that those three could arrange this triangle that will happen sooner or later, as the bond they were forging was already stronger then they would think. He soon found the book he was looking for and gave it to Catherine as Hermione walked back to the other two, her blush back in check.
Borch spoke quietly as he understood that the knowledge of where Catherine and her people came from was still a secret. "Here it is, my dear, the book about the conjunction of the spheres and how elves could traverse those different dimensions. It seems that you and your people can do something similar with your ships, but as the border between the spheres are hard to overcome, that would answer why only such, in comparison, small ships can come here. As for the bigger ship that arrived lately, I think they happen to stumble upon a bigger gateway through the veil that seperates our dimensions and fell through it, but those are impossible to track or predict were those would open once more. But as the crew can fit into one of the ships that can pass, you could send them at least home while the ship itself has to stay here. And if the story of this ship is correct, it should be allowed to stay in this plane of existence so she could just rest in peace for the end to come." Borch explained the finer details to this book to her, also giving his opinion to the destiny of the Spirit of Fire as the ship was already old as the war began over 40 years ago and deserved the rest now.
Catherine took the book from Borch and thanked him, also telling him that they would talk about the Spirit of Fire with their superiors when In Amber Clad II would go for a supply run once more, taking some of the crew with them. Borch just nodded at the woman and then walked over to the children, as Hermione still wanted to ask him some things after all. She jumped almost at the opportunity what induced another round of laughter from Harry and Daphne, of which Hermione mock glared at them a short time before she began to laugh too and apologized to Borch for being this curious.
"Oh, please don't apologize for something so minor like asking questions that you want to know. It is admirable for such a young witch to be so eager to learn what she can. So, what do you want to know, little one?" Borch sat down at the table they had the books, ready to answer what he could.
Hermione began her questions for him, like what kind of dragon he was as she never heard of a dragon who could change into a human form. He told her that he was a golden dragon, one of the few still alive. They were hunted once for their scales, but as he met Geralt he could convince them to tell the people that he left for good and would never return. He even met Newt Scamander once in his human form and felt that he would keep his secret in exchange for other knowledge of dragons in general.
Borch had to smile at the memory of the quirky magical-zoologist and his little wooden companion.
Her curiosity sated, Hermione thanked Borch and began to take the books back where she found them from the shelves. Daphne meanwhile had still some questions for him, she realize that this was almost a unique opportunity to ask many things from such a powerful individual. Borch gladly answered her questions too, as he had also some for her while Harry helped Hermione put the books back.
"So, what do you think of him Hermione? He knows a lot as he proved." Harry took another book and put it back on the opposite side of the bookcase. She nodded and hummed thoughtfully, getting the book with the songs from Dandelion and looked at it.
"Do you think I could borrow this? The songs he wrote are rather interesting." Hermione looked over her shoulder to Harry, holding the book up for him to see. He nodded but told her that she still had to ask the grown ups first before she takes it with her. Daphne soon joined them as lunch would be soon served in the hall. Hermione saw her light reddened cheeks and decided to ask her later in their room what Borch had asked her.
In the great hall were already multiple people sitting on the table and discussing today's events, as it was not common that a dragon just fly's in and lands in front of the castle, so they would have many topics to speak about today.