A Forest Lord

Chapter Ten

As Silvertooth led us through the armoury, I couldn't keep myself from admiring the blades and bows all throughout the room-and the axes. Perhaps if I did well with my daggers and bow, I could convince Silvertooth to teach me how to wield an axe.

Once we got to the dagger areas, Silvertooth led me over to a case and said, "These are our more ornate daggers, and as a friend of the nation you deserve better than just the standard make. Do any catch your attention?"

I stared down at the case, noticing a beautiful dagger with a twisted type of design, I turned to look at Silvertooth and asked, "Are-are you sure I can pick any of these? They seem like they would be worth a lot."

Silvertooth chuckled, as did King Ragnok, and Silvertooth shook his head, "This is a gift, Lord Gryffindor. You may choose whichever you like. Have you seen one you like?"

Shyly, I pointed to the dagger with the twisted design, and he opened the case, pulling it out of its sheath and handing it to me. He waved his hand over the sheath, making me gasp I felt his magic settle over the sheath. He looked over at me and asked, "Did you-my Lord, did you feel my magic, just now?" When I nodded, he smiled and stated, "Yes, we have chosen our student well, my King. A sensitive."

King Ragnok nodded, and Professor Snape sighed, "Hogwarts will be difficult for you, then, Mr. Potter-LeFay. The classes may overwhelm you at first, at least the practical ones. I know you're upset with Dumbledore, but he's the only other sensitive I know of, so you may need to take lessons from him about how to get used to it, and use it to your advantage."

Forrester cleared his throat and stated coldly, "That will not be necessary. Every forest lord is a sensitive, and Harry will not need to learn from that-that old coot. I can teach him just fine."

King Ragnok chuckled and stated, "That may be for the best, as Albus Dumbledore is a very manipulative wizard. I would like to add a health scan to the paperwork, Harry, if that is okay with you. You did mention something about being able to fix what they did to you, and I can't have our healers tend to you unless they know what they're tending."

"That sounds fine, Your Majesty. I would appreciate your help immensely. May I ask, Silvertooth, what type of magic you put on the sheath?"

He nodded, "Yes, it's so it will stick to any surface you stick it to, such as your belt, or your arm, or your ankle. There are many places you can hide a dagger. If you hand me your dagger for a moment, I will make it so that it will automatically return to its sheath after it's been out of your hand for five minutes."

Curiously, I handed him back the dagger, feeling the magic once again as he waved his hand over the length of it before sliding it into the sheath, and handing it to me. "You'll need to blood bond it to you, my Lord. Please use it to cut your palm, and leave the blood on your dagger as you slide it back into the sheath. Blood will bind it to you, and it will never stray from your side."

I sliced the middle of my palm open, allowing the blood to get onto the knife before I slid it back into its sheath, and hesitantly slid it up my sleeve, gasping slightly when I felt the sheath magically wrap itself around my wrist and forearm. I grinned at Silvertooth and exclaimed, "That's wicked, sir! It wrapped itself around my arm all on it's own!!"

Several people chuckled at this, including Professor Snape, before Silvertooth motioned for me to follow him and stated, "Follow me so we can choose out your first bow. You'll receive many of these, as the better you get, the bigger you can get, and the further you can shoot. We'll be starting with a child-sized bow, first. You may choose out of this selection." He waved his hand towards a rack of bows, some made out of wood, some made out of metal, and some made out of a combination of both. It was one of those that I chose, one that had the main part made of wood with metal accents on the ends, holding the string.