A Forest Lord

Chapter Sixteen

                                                                                                  ~Harry Potter-LeFay~
The next morning I woke up Forrester telling me that I had guests-forest lords. Nodding, I changed into the outfit Forrester put out for me and asked quietly, "Forrester...Where are my clothes coming from? I don't have nice clothes like this. I haven't been shopping-the only nice clothes I have are my school robes."
Forrester smiled softly and admitted, "I have been making you clothes, my Lord. I do it inbetween whatever I'm doing. I'm hoping once we have enough outfits you'll allow me to burn or repurpose those awful rags in your trunk."
I smiled gratefully at him and nodded, "You can do whatever you want with them, Forrester. I really like the outfits you've made me, thank you. Do you need money to buy more fabric or supplies?"
Forrester paused for a moment before nodding, "If you wouldn't mind, my Lord. We can sort that out later, if you like?"
I nodded, shrugging into the outer robe and grabbing my wand and my dagger, sliding it into the sheathe that never left my arm. Forrester led the way out of the room and down into the parlor where a group of men and women gathered, sipping tea and chatting.
Forrester cleared his throat and announced, "Harry James Potter-LeFay, Lord Potter and Lord LeFay, Forest Lord of the Great Forest, King of the Forest Lords."
Most of the people stopped what they were doing, standing and bowing or curstseying at me, but three simply stood and stared at me. Forrester glared at the three, and told me quietly, "Those three are the ones that William created, and all had become close friends of his. They will test you, question you, perhaps even openly insult you. You may answer their questions but do not allow them to push you around. Assert yourself, and be strong, my Lord. William chose to adopt you. It was not necessary for him to do, but he wished to give you the LeFay inheritance. He would not have if he did not wish to."
I nodded, "What are their names, Forrester?"
Forrester nodded and stated, "The one on the left is Professor Sprouts' uncle, Kit is what he goes by, but his full name is Kadamus. Kadamus Sprout. Her family generally keeps to the name in his honor. If you want to roil him up, call him Lord Sprout. The one in the center is Lord McCalley, he usually goes by John to the other forest lords. The one on the right is lord Reed, Reed Thomasson. He goes by Lord Reed, generally."
I nodded, "Thank you....Now what do I do?"
Forrester chuckled, "Mingle, speak to everyone. I suggest at some point you step out to give Xeldris his eyedrops. Maybe allow them to follow you, see how the nymphs and the forest responds to you."
I nodded, stepping further into the room. I smiled slightly and said, "Good morning, everyone. I apologize for the delay, but Forrester was filling me in on who...Some of you are."
A forest lord off to the right of the group who still glared at me chuckled and said, "Yes, my King, probably those who plan to give you trouble, such as these three."
I nodded, "You're not wrong, sir, may I ask your name?"
He nodded, sweeping into a low bow and stated, "Cassian Glover, at your service my king. I, unlike them, have caught both parts of your name and realize that King William blood adopted you, which he could not have done under duress...Nor would he if he thought you were going to be a bad forest lord."
I smiled at him, sadly, and stated, "Well I'm afraid King William didn't truly get to choose me, the forest chose me. I was out on the grounds because I'd noticed the forest looked sickly, you see, and I wanted to see if I could find out why. My former-my former guardians were muggles, and hated magic. I was treated similar to a bound house-elf at their home. I cooked, I cleaned, I was punished physically, and I was thrown into a small space when I wasn't needed. I had no idea that forest lords existed until King William explained it to me. I had no knowledge of magic at all until my eleventh birthday when the half-giant Hagrid, the grounds keeper and keeper of keys at Hogwarts, came to get me from my relatives. Anyways, the forest portaled King William out right in front of me. He was sickly, and we began speaking as he asked me to bring him to the center of the forest, and eventually he explained that the forest had chosen its next lord, and then accused Hogwarts of teaching hogwash because I had no clue what he was talking about."
I swallowed tightly, unclenching my fists from where they'd formed fists as I got to the more emotional bit of the story, and continued, the silence in the room palpable, "He explained a bit about forest lords, and asked if I'd protect the forest, keep it safe, keep the creatures and animals safe that called it home. Last year I-I faced the wraith of Voldemort out in the forest during a detention, and I'd saved a unicorn from him. I guess the forest remembered. I told him I would, and eventually we spoke about my family and-and my former guardians, because I didn't know the term forest lord. He told me some more about the forest, as there were so many animals staring at us, I had begun to get scared. Eventually he asked me if I would keep the forest safe, if I would keep the animals and other beings safe, and I said I would. He spoke the words that would transfer his powers, and then he added a bit about naming me as his heir and child. He cut our palms, and held them together, and apologized for the pain." I felt the stinging pain behind my eyes and admitted, "And then I didn't just gain abilities, I lost another parent, once again before I had the chance to know them."
I didn't realize I'd begun crying until a pair of arms wrapped around me, and I looked up to see Aubrey there, glaring at the three who were still glaring at me. I hugged her back, and said, "Aubrey, is Xeldris ready for his eye drops?"
Aubrey let go of me, nodding, and I smiled slightly at the forest lords in the room as I said, "Excuse me, I need to go give Xeldris his eye drops. I rescued him from Gringotts, you see, and being underground was very bad for his eye sight. The nymphs have been helping me heal him, but he prefers if I place the drops in his eyes myself."
A woman, tall and thin with long brown hair, spoke, "My name is Lady Edith, may I accompany you? May I assume that you have the All-Speak?"
I nodded, "Yes, I do, Lady Edith. Everyone is welcome to come, but you all need to give him space. He's been trapped underground since he was a hatchling."
I turned and made my way out of the house, not shutting the door as I knew at least two people were coming behind me. Forrester handed me the eyedrops and I made my way over to where Xeldris was standing, slowly stretching out his newly healed wings. As he saw me coming he spoke, "Good morning, my Lord. I sense that there are other forest lords here? Have they come to swear fealty to you?"
I smiled slightly, "You know, I'm not really sure, Xeldris. They might have, or they might have just come to judge me and see if I'm worthy."
Smoke billowed out of his nostrils and he rasped, "They will not attempt to harm you, my Lord, or they will face my fire. I will not allow harm to come to the one who saved me and my kind from the goblins."
I gently patted the scales between his eyes and stated, "No one is going to hurt me, Xeldris. The only ones who seem to dislike me are the ones who were made forest lords by King William, the Forest King who adopted me and chose me as his heir, and passed his powers to me. I do not fault them for wanting to make sure he wasn't murdered for his powers, or taken advantage of." I held up the medicine and stated, "Shall we do your eyedrops?"
More smoke billowed from his nostrils but he nodded, lowering his head to the ground so I could reach to put the drops into his eyes that were brightening into a beautiful shade of silver with every dose of medicine. Once that was done, Bane approached me and stated, "I see the forest lords have come to swear their allegiance, Lord Potter-LeFay."
I shook my head, "To be honest, Bane, I'm not sure if they did. I know that some of them seem friendly while others don't. I suppose we'll see what they want when they tell me what they want."
Firenze, who stood at Banes' left, looked concerned, "Do not fear to ask the forest for help should any turn on you. We will come to your aid, my king."
I smiled brightly, "Thank you, Firenze. I appreciate it, and I'll do my best. However, I don't think any will be stupid enough to attack me with Forrester here, or Xeldris. After all, he's already threatened to burn them to death should they try anything. Well, he said they would face his fire, but I'm assuming even Forest Lords are flammable."
Firenze nodded slowly, "Yes, and dragon fire burns very hot. It's one of the goblins secrets. They harnessed it for their forges, and thats how they make such wonderful weapons."
One of the three that didn't like me stepped forward, Professor Sprouts' uncle, Kadamus. He scowled, "Threatening us will not make us like you, Little Lord. Why do you do so?"
Turning to him, I glared, "I don't threaten you, Lord Sprout, I simply state what my allies have threatened you with. You came to my home, my forest,  hostile. I have been a forest lord for less than a week, and yet instead of simply asking what happened, you three came in glaring at me and refusing to even be kind. Why should I be kind if you can't?"
I sucked in a deep breath and stated, "One of your wizarding relatives is my teacher at Hogwarts, you know? You could have owled her and asked her for her opinion of me. You could have even approached her and asked her. For Merlin's sake, you could have asked the nymphs, or the centaurs. They're not biased, not yet. I became a forest lord because I tried to help the forest, because I wanted to help King William. He stumbled out of the forest, clearly sick, and all's I wanted to do was help him. I didn't do it for the powers, for the home in the forest, or the status of being king. I did it out of kindness, and all's I've received from the three of you is rudeness and hostility, so unless you three have a plan for me to prove myself to you, or you plan to change your attitude, you can go back to your forests, because if this keeps up you will not be welcome in mine."
He looked surprised for a moment before he breathed out, "Pomona works at Hogwarts?"
I nodded, "Would you like to go see her? I'm not sure if she has a class right now or not. I'm supposed to be in classes, but I thought meeting you all was more important. I can portal us to her greenhouses if you like? She's the Herbology Mistress."
Kadamus hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Perhaps she'll have a pensieve, then we could view your memories of your...Meeting with William, and we'd be able to be reassured that you did not hurt or manipulate him."
Forrester popped into existence with a furious scowl on his face, "You think I would serve someone who hurt or manipulated my last friend??? You truly think so, Kadamus, after it was I who helped you convince William to choose you to become a forest lord?? I am ashamed to have called you friend, if you can think so low of me." He turned to me, "My Lord, I believe there is a pensieve in your vaults in Gringotts. May I have your permission and a note to give to King Ragnok so he knows it is on your orders I do so?"
I heard murmurs of people speaking about King Ragnok, and I nodded, "Of course Forrester, a brilliant idea. Could you bring me some parchment please? There should be some small scraps in my trunk."
Forrester rolled his eyes, "I will find proper parchment fit for a king, my Lord. More importantly parchment fit for a king who is writing to a king."
I chuckled, "Of course, Forrester. I'm sorry. I'm still not used to the-the title thing."
Lady Edith chuckled, walking closer, and stated, "If you wouldn't mind, my King, I would like to pledge fealty to you. Before you say it is not necessary, my King, I would like to point out that there are several ways that otherwise we could be forced to harm you, should any of your enemies get a hold of us. Most of us are immune or at least able to throw off the imperius curse, but a fealty vow would literally force us to do whatever we could to keep you safe and keep your secrets hidden, so even if we hate you, we cannot go telling your enemies your abilities, or the location of your home, nor could we bring enemies into your forest."
Forrester hesitated for a moment before he nodded, "I believe with your fame with the wizards, and the fact that Voldemort is not dead, that a vow of fealty would indeed be for the best."
Hesitating for a moment, I nodded, "I would like everyone to do it at once, Lady Edith. Perhaps you'd all prefer to stay for dinner afterwards. Any who would prefer to leave directly after they pledge their fealty are welcome to, of course."
Lady Edith nodded, "Very kind of you, Your Majesty, I would be honored to dine with you. May I accompany you to Hogwarts? It has been many years since I've visited this forest, and I usually look in on the school."
I nodded, "As long as everyone is respectful to the school, I don't have a problem with anyone who wishes to visit coming with us."
Lord Kadamus nodded, "Shall we be on our way, little lord?"
Frowning, I shook my head, "Even if you are unsure of whether I deserve the title, I am still the forest king, and I take offense to being called 'little lord'. You can address me as Lord Harry or King Harry, but you may not call me little lord, Lord Kadamus. I may only be twelve, but even as a wizard we have long life spans. King William was well over five hundred. Would you have called him little lord? No, because he was well into being a forest king when he made you a forest lord. Please, don't be disrespectful. Let's be on our way-I'll open a portal to Hogwarts. You simply walk through it."
Lord Kadamus, Lord John McCalley and Lord Thomasson shared a dark look before nodding to one another. Nervously, I opened a portal into a large tree to the grounds near the front doors of the school, hoping they weren't planning to cause any trouble. As a group we walked through the portal, Kismet flying down to my shoulder as I walked into the portal.
"I am with you, Harry."