Of Shadow, Shine, and Shades

Ch.15 New Addition

Egypt was hot.

This was Harry's first and foremost opinion of the country. It was hot. There was a lot of sand and interesting things in Alexandria but it was damn hot.

Or it had been until Caelum had realized to cast Cooling Charms on all of his clothes but even those could not stop Harry from feeling that it should be hot.

He loved the city. It was so lively and there were so many people there. So different from the silence of Privet Drive and the Australian wastelands. He had come to know many different ways people interacted in their travels these past few months and it was all so interesting, so different from before. He barely remembered the cupboard anymore, or what it felt like to be hungry. He had never even dared to dream about getting to see Japan and China and now he was in Egypt, getting to know the magical side of things.

He adored the different little magics that Caelum took to teaching him. And few times Caelum had purposely taken him to places where his touch could let him know so much. They'd gone to the Graeco-Roman Museum and Harry had gotten his first taste of what feeling history was like. He'd watched glimpses of past that glided over his eyes and had felt such respect that he'd thought only Caelum could make him feel.

Caelum. His pseudo parent had spent a couple of days in the desert but then had seemed to give up on trying to find these artefacts Voldemort was using to stay alive. The man did not know where they were and - to Harry's great relief - had decided starting from scratch was not worth it. Not when there were only four months left before September.

They talked a lot nowadays. Harry knew Caelum wanted to know his opinion and it didn't matter to the man if it was different from his. Actually, he seemed to encourage him like that. There were no rules. At the Dursleys' rules had been everything and at Berrigan's he'd also had to follow certain rules. But with Caelum it was as if the man didn't care what he did as long as he stayed sensible. Because the trusted Harry.

That idea still made Harry's heart beat with gratitude, even after all these months.

He knew Caelum wasn't perfect. The man sometimes sneered at people in a way that told Harry exactly what he thought of the people but he never acted on his dislike. Unlike Vernon - that the wizard had called "whale" in the conversations they'd had of their past. Harry knew something very different had happened when Caelum had been six and Vernon had been sent to prison but the wizard had not wanted speak about it anymore. He'd said it was in the past and it would stay there. Harry hated the look that sometimes took over Caelum's now black eyes. It was as if the usual warmth was sucked up into some deep corner of the man's soul and all that was left was a hard man, ready to make the worst decisions. That was how Mika-sensei had described it.

But sometimes Caelum would become almost playful.

"We'll be doing what?"

"You remember Albus, right? Well, the Weasleys are close with him and one of their sons is in town, working on the curses on a pyramid close by. I thought we could make an appearance. Just to spite the old coot."

The thought of the white bearded man sending spells at him and Caelum flashed through Harry's mind but he tried to swallow his nervousness. What he'd read about Albus Dumbledore did not put him at ease either. "Wasn't he quite powerful? Grand Sorcerer? Chief Warlock of British Ministry of Magic? Supreme Mugwump of the ICW?"

Caelum was looking through his collection of potions. Harry had actually helped him with those and gained a crash course in potion making at the same time. It had been nice, though he like Arithmancy and Charms much more. The wizard seemed to find what he was looking for, judging by the victorious "A-HA!" and chunked down a vile-looking purple concoction. When he looked at Harry the boy was met with the sight of familiar green eyes. Their real eyes.