Disclaimer: The Disclaimer of the first part shall be herefore known as the Disclaimer of the first part.

Chapter 15: Camp I-Don't-Even-Know Part 2: The Counselors?

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The wizard and the goat-flower had gotten very little sleep that night.

Between the odd reaction of magic around the grove, the fact that they were effectively isolated in this remote location, and the large dog like, sharp toothed animal currently sitting on the other side of the fire, neither of the travellers honestly felt like sleeping that night anyway. Most of the evening was spent huddled by the fire, ensuring that the flames were both well kept, and directly between them and the potentially dangerous animal that had apparently decided to make camp with them. The grim, of course, didn't seem to pay their fear any mind, and after a few minutes of shuffling around the campsite, a sort of stalemate was reached. The dog would sit on one side of the flames, looking at them curiously, would sniff the air, turn to the woods for a moment, then return to it's vigil. Harry and Asriel basically spent the entire evening some combination of confused and terrified at the clearly dangerous animal apparently deciding that it wanted to spend time by the fire with them.

"This is getting ridiculous. Why won't it just go away? Or eat us, or do... i don't know, something!?" Flowey complained, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. The annoyed tone in his voice didn't quite cover the fear that lingered there, however. Harry shook his head a bit to clear his mind and frowned.

"I have no idea. I'm beginning to think that it just wants to be here for some reason."

"Well of course it does, idiot! It wants dinner, and we're basically caught in a trap here, easy pickings."

Harry shook his head again, a bit more firm this time. "I don't think so actually. I remember seeing a documentary on wolves once when I was younger. They tend to hunt in packs, and I don't see any other signs of wolves out here. Also they don't just wait like this if they were going to eat us anyway. If we were going to be dinner, it would have already attacked."

Asriel picked up a small rock and tossed it at the beast with a vine. "Well then it should probably just go away to wherever it came from!" The rock, of course, was too small to do much of anything, and the grim just looked at the pair, head tilted to the side. Despite the situation, Harry found himself giggling at this particular reaction, causing Flowey to scowl at his human companion. Harry simply shrugged at him.

"What? it's funny. Anyway, I don't think at this point we have much to be worried about from him. I'm more worried about getting out of this clearing."

As if on cue, the beast's head snapped up and turned to the treeline. As the other two froze, it quickly bounded off into the woods for a moment and the two heard a screech and rustling, then silence. Neither Harry nor Asriel wanted to move, completely unsure as to what was happening, until the wolf came trotting out of the brush, carrying a surprisingly large, clearly dead hare in his jaws. As the others looked on, the wolf laid back down in his place on the other side of the fire, and began to rip at the meat in his paws, chewing loudly enough to make both wizard and flower slightly ill.

"Ugh. Well, at least that means we likely won't starve if we're stuck here for a while" Harry said. "Wonder if the animals are stuck here, or if it's just us?"

As if on cue, drifting on the wind, they heard a noise. Indistinct at first, Harry began to pick out the noises as they slowly became clear. Asriel noticed them too, apparently.

"Sounds like we're about to find out. What is that exactly?" Harry listened for a bit and frowned.

"... Sounds like... Pink Floyd." Then he grimaced as the tone became rather grating. "Very off-key Pink Floyd."

The rustling through the underbrush, and the off-key singing grew louder, and Harry grabbed his staff, arms tensed and ready to cast... something, likely, though he was unsure as to what, as there were few defensive spells available to him that couldn't be countered by an adult wizard. Asriel, as well, grabbed a rock in one of his vines, and prepared to strike. The wolf, though he turned his ears towards the sound, didn't look up from chewing the remains of his breakfast. After a moment, the source of the sound revealed itself as a young man, clearly lost in his own world, weaved his way through the brush into the clearing. Turning around to brush some leaves off of his pants, he looked up, and Harry and the stranger locked eyes for a moment, both blinked for a moment, before the stranger let out a rather surprised, and apparently pleased sounding, "oh!". Harry immediately tensed, his experience with meeting strange people in new places having been often negative. The man didn't appear to be any sort of wizard Harry had seen before, at least. Instead of the typical wizard robes or mismatched muggle mess, the man wore what appeared to be fairly normal, if rugged, muggle clothing, and wore a shoulder pack that looked like a standard backpackers rucksack. The man pulled the headphones out of his ears and smiled.

"Well, isn't this a surprise? It's been a long time since someone has actually found their way here, couple of years at least." Looking down at Asriel, who was clearly confused and annoyed, and the Grim, who clearly didn't care much either way, his smile grew "...and it's been even longer since someone has arrived with such... interesting company. A Grim and an Earth Spirit? Such interesting friends for a kid." Harry floundered for a response to this, but Asriel quickly beat him to it.

"Oh, no way, that overgrown pair of slippers is not with us!" The stranger cocked his head to the side in surprise, turning to Asriel with a raised eyebrow. He then turned to the side, and Harry followed his gaze to find the Grim had finished his dinner and had moved to sit quietly beside him. Harry jumped in surprise, but the grim just looked at him, then turned to the stranger as he laughed.

"You might want to tell him that, it seems he's rather taken with you."

"Oh, no! Absolutely not! I hate dogs. Hate them. Harry, tell him that... thing is just out to eat us!" Harry opened his mouth to reply, but then frowned for a moment.

"I don't know, Asriel, it hasn't been aggressive yet, and... it seems to be okay enough." he turned to look at the grim, who just looked back, tongue hanging out of the side of it's mouth. "Honestly, I've just got a hunch he's okay." Then he smirked at Asriel. "And under any circumstances, I may just keep him around if he annoys you that much."

Asriel scowled at Harry, and started to argue back, but thinking better of it after a moment. Instead he turned to the much easier target, who had set his rucksack down in front of him and had seated himself on a log. "And what exactly do you know about this dog, eh?" He raised himself up so he could look down on the seated man, and made himself about as intimidating as a flower could be, without calling up his more dangerous powers. "Who exactly are you, and why did you trap us here, huh? What do you want?"

The stranger reared back with his hands up in surrender, surprised at the aggressive tone Asriel was clearly taking, but after a moment furrowed his brow in confusion. "Wait... you aren't... you haven't..." He looked from Harry to Asriel, and to the Grim. "Odd. If you didn't know to come here... tell me, how exactly did you get to Casper's Grove?"

Harry looking around, replied "Well, honestly, sir, we... don't really know how we came here. My... um... " he looked over at Flowey for a moment. "friend... and I, we were actually out for a bit of a... um.. camping trip." Harry had to wince at his rather lame attempt at a lie. Flowey just rolled his eyes, while the stranger simply raised an eyebrow. "We, well, we camped out here in this clearing two nights ago, planning to make our way out of the forest this morning, but we seem to be... stuck?" He glanced at the Grim, laid down beside him. "The Grim is... a new addition, he just seemed to want to... come around for a visit last night. Gave us a bit of a scare, honestly, with everything else happening."

The stranger nodded for a moment. "Hm. Well first, you don't have to worry about that, this place is sort of a safe zone. Though you may not be able to leave for now, you certainly don't need to worry about being hurt by anything. Some forewarning, though, it is likely that the reason that you were even able to enter this grove in the first place is that there is either something Gaia needs you tell you, or give to you, so expect things to get... interesting later." Harry, of course, hearing these words, felt the familiar sinking feeling that seemed to creep into him anytime he heard things that likely shouldn't be bad for him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though barely.

"But that's later," the man continued with a smile. "The first thing's first, introductions!" He stood up and picked up his walking staff, holding himself tall and would have looked rather formal if it wasn't for his cargo shorts and headphones. "Hello and good afternoon, fellow traveller and new seeker. I am known as Casper, Druid of the Isle, chosen of this grove as it's protector and maintainer." He paused for a moment, then rolled his eyes. "Really, my name is David Goodwin, perpetual backpacker, accidental Druid, and part time small business tech support contractor" he finished with a snicker.

Harry smiled at Casper, or David, he wasn't sure which one to call "I'm Harry Potter... um... " he searched in his head for anything else he could give to the man. "... student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, soon to be third form, first time backpacker... and... um... apparently terrible navigator?" He finished lamely, much to druid's apparent amusement. Harry surreptitiously glanced over at his other companion, who rolled his eyes, whether in fond amusement or annoyance Harry couldn't tell, and gave the tall man his typical wink.

"And I'm Flowey! Nice ta meetcha!" he then broke character and turned on the two humans with a glare. "There! Introductions over! Now can someone tell me what the heck is going on here?" Harry corrected his previous thought; Asriel was definitely annoyed. He frowned at his friend, but Casper seemed to take it in stride, laughing heartily.

"Oh this is fun! Not only are you new to Gaia's blessing, but a wizard as well? This will really be fun!" Casper wandered around the unlit campfire, settling himself down near the Grim, who sniffed at the man for a moment, then settled back down into the same relaxed sit he had been in the entire morning. "The answer to your question, though, little Flowey, is a bit complicated, and it involves history, not my best subject if I'm being honest... However, I can give you a bit of good news, you should be able to leave this clearing easily enough come sunrise tomorrow, at least assuming the gathering is completed as expected tonight." he then frowned to himself. "And I really hope it does, to be honest, I scheduled a networking job at a primary school in the city tomorrow." Shaking his head, he continued, "Until then, how about a meal? At least one of the three of you don't look like you've eaten in awhile," he nodded at Harry, "and while I'm fairly certain that you don't eat food, Flowey, was it? I have to assume that at the very least you would like some time to relax and recuperate, since it seems you've had a trying night."

Flowey just looked at the tall man for a moment, glanced sideways at Harry, then rolled his eyes with a sigh. "I still don't like any of you. Especially you." He said, glaring at the Grim. But he didn't argue anymore, instead disappearing into the ground and reappearing a few yards away from them, closer to the center of the clearing in the sunlight. He basked in the late morning sunlight, keeping an ear turned back towards the group, carefully listening in on the two humans as they continued to converse.

Harry rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. "Sorry about him. He's really a lot nicer once you get to know him." Casper merely chuckled and set down his pack, pulling out some cooking supplies.

As he set up the supplies and started on cooking up food, he said "I can understand. Both of you seem to be in a fairly new situation. You go to Hogwarts then?" Harry nodded. "I've known a few people who went there. Mostly newly gifted families, of course, most of your kind are rather secretive. Had one suggest they needed to have my brain scrambled, thought I wasn't gifted since I didn't have one of your wands." he scoffed. "The one problem with some people, always thinking too narrow minded." Harry couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Can't argue about that. I've only known about magic for two years, but I've already seen enough narrow minded people to last me the rest of my life."

Casper smiled back at that, sitting down and pulling out a camping stove from his sack, he settled in to cook some packaged food. "Now, Harry, as I was saying before, what you accidentally happened to stumble upon here in this grove is... well it's basically a sort of... magic upwelling. Basically magic from the earth builds up and releases in particular places at certain times."

Harry thought back to his Hogwarts classes. "I remember them mentioning things like... Ley lines in school. Is that what this is?" Casper just shook his head.

"Not really. I mean, yes it's connected to the ley lines, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Maybe it's best if I just tell it to you from the beginning..."

==oo00**00oo==

Long ago, before most of currently recorded history, that which is known as Magic was birthed. Brought up from the wellspring of the earth, the energy of the world itself, gathered from the raw material of the cosmos combined with the energy collected from a near infinite number of living beings over the millennia. No one knows exactly what happened to cause such an explosion of energy, even now with all of our discoveries, magical or otherwise, but we are well aware of it's effects. Vast columns of magic rose from the Great Mother and dispersed into the atmosphere, the great cloud of energy settling around the globe. It was this that spurned the building of great monuments to magic and nature; stonehenge was said to be a memorial to the great catalyst built by unaware tribes who happened to be in the right place at the right time. It has even been surmised, though never proven, that Atlantis itself fell in the wake of the great catalyst, the city and it's inhabitants swallowed by the great mother herself as Magic was birthed.

After a time, the magic itself came to settle on the people in this world in two different ways. The first, in which the magic that settled upon those women who were with child at the time, were known as the Magus. These children found that the Catalyst had given their bodies the ability to generate this magic directly as an extension of their soul. Harnessing that magic would often be tied to the will of the magic user, and in the early days truly gifted individuals would be able to manifest their wills in almost a literal sense, the magic inside them instinctually harnessed. In some places, these early, powerful magic users were considered gods, and it has been said that many of the legends of deities passed down from ancient times were nothing more than early generation magus, whose stories became more and more embellished over the generations. Of course, the Magus continued to grow and expand their knowledge of this power, and began to devise ways to harness it, the first wands and staves coming shortly thereafter. Over the generations, enterprising cultures found ways to mold and shape that energy from raw expressions of power to the magic that wizards use today. That wasn't the only tale to tell in the story though.

Some of the power, however, returned back to the earth instead of settling on it's inhabitants, settling into the ley lines and converging on the sources of the initial outlet like a magnet. This energy took on a life of it's own, and created what is known as the Mother's Will. For some of our ancestors, the earth itself would call for them, and if they heard and answered, Gaia and her children would bless them with the power to see and understand the magic that flows through the earth itself. Those that were chosen as stewards of Gaia's gift became known generally as the Druids. Mother's Will, however, was not particularly picky, either, and it was not just Humans who received that gift. In fact, most of the magical creatures known today are direct descendants of various species of animals that earned Gaia's favor in those early days, even if many of them aren't aware of their heritage, the gifts still remain, ingrained in their very being.

==oo00**00oo==

Harry frowned as Casper paused in his story to get the stew he was cooking into a pair of bowls for the two of them. "But... if that's the case, if we all came from the same magic, why don't wizards know about you? I mean, none of this stuff is taught to us in school."

Casper chuckled as he sat down to eat, throwing the stock bone to the Grim, who quickly began to gnaw on it with a pleased expression. "Well, I'm not completely sure as to why, was never really into the history side of things. From what I know, sometime back a couple of centuries ago, some sort of war broke out. Magus ended up fighting against druids over a few things, likely just standard prejudices, if the older people I've met from both sides are any indication. There was also something about a king getting pissed about magic users scaring the subjects or something, and sending a bunch of Mancers out. Under any circumstances, point was at the end of it, the Magus chose to drop into hiding, and the druids were mostly dead." He shrugged his shoulders "honestly, there's probably more there, but I don't know a lot of that. Remind me to give you some contact info on the way out tomorrow, I know a few other druids who are more into history. One's a librarian even." Harry nodded. Hearing a shuffle of leaves beside him, he turned to find Asriel had settled himself next to the fire, looking into it confusedly.

"You said something about Mancers. What are those?" he asked after a moment, to which Casper's smile widened.

"Now that is something that I can tell you about-" he began, but suddenly paused. He looked up, as the setting sun started to give way to the evening starlight. The Grim as well stood and looked up towards the center of the clearing. "But not now - it seems it's about time for the show to start. Lets finish up with this story later." Harry was about to ask what was happening when he sensed, rather than saw, a buildup of... something coming from the center of the clearing. Standing and grabbing his staff he stepped forward towards where Asriel and Casper were standing, tensing for a moment, but waiting as Casper waved him down. "Don't worry, Harry. This is all going as it's supposed to go. Oh, and don't look her in the eyes, you'll end up getting a bit of a headache in the morning."

Harry was about to reply to that particular remark when the cascade of energy seemed to reach a zenith, and they watched as the moonlight above seemed to coalesce into a glowing energy, shining down in the center of the grove. The earth itself in the clearing seemed to waver and shift, as though it was the sea in a storm. Wondering if this was perhaps some hallucination, he glanced to his side, only to find both Asriel and Casper transfixed by the sight as well. He watched as the light itself seemed to form into an energy, coalescing into a form of some sort, revealing a figure. Harry found himself both transfixed and terrified of the figure, his mind reeling.

The figure was... literally indescribable to Harry, constantly shifting shapes and forms. He thought it might have been humanoid, but then again it might not have been. But more than what he saw... what he felt was even more indescribable. Currents and flows of energy, sounds like whispers on the edge of hearing, speaking secrets known to no one, and truths known to everyone. Harry found himself almost dizzy, squeezing his eyes shut tightly for a moment, and looking down, up, anywhere away from the beautiful and terrible thing in front of him. He felt all at once that what was in front of him was both the most devastating thing that could be found on the face of the earth, and the one possible thing that could spare it from an eternity of pain. His breath came in short gasps, his ears ringing and his skin both numb and highly sensitive. Vaguely, he recognized that both Casper and Asriel were talking to him, speaking in tones that might have been concerned, but for now, nothing could overcome the overwhelming nature of the presence before him. The figure approached the group, and the sensations only grew. As the figure came within a few feet of them, Harry could only focus on simply staying alive, staying himself, as the presence of nature, life, death, of Magic Itself seemed to lean towards him. He felt like it took every piece of willpower he had not to die... not to simply un-become... not to explode into a thousand pieces of magic and scatter to the winds. The presence was all he could know, and it was all he was, at least at that moment...

"Hello, child of my eyes." It spoke, and something in Harry twitched. That sound, that voice, where had he heard it before? Was it his mother's voice? His father's? He needed to know, to see. Everything in him wanted to understand what he was seeing and hearing, impossible as that may be. His head snapped up, and he saw the power's eyes and-

==oo00**00oo==

And that's another chapter gone. Delays delays. Though I guess it doesn't really matter to you readers, I feel somewhat obligated to explain my relative absence to you, as I continue to want to commit to this piece but find myself with much less time than I had began with. Over the last several months, I have found myself thrust into doing a significant amount of work with the Extra Life and Children's Miracle Network charities for my company. Something that I originally thought was going to be another smaller side project quickly grew into a massive undertaking, one that I honestly can't say I'm unhappy about though. After seeing the joy that we can bring to kids just by helping raise money, I find myself with little recourse but to throw myself into yet another project. That does mean less time for some of my other pursuits however, and though I've been focusing a lot more on time management (particularly in the last several weeks) I've found it difficult to keep up a consistent writing schedule. That being said, this will not be abandoned by any means. I have an outline setup for the next several chapters, and a very rough draft of chapter 16 written. I am hoping to turn out a new chapter once every 2 to 3 weeks, but until I start settling more into a routine, I feel difficult to commit to even that. But fear not readers, this will certainly not be an abandoned story as far as I am concerned, I'm having too much fun writing it.

==oo00**00oo==

Up next, we've heard from a few groups, but what about another we haven't heard from yet?

It was simple enough, really. He would understand if she just wanted to separate from the group, simply become an acquaintance. There wouldn't even be any bad feelings, she didn't think he would even have that capability really. The heartbreak she would feel would be a cakewalk, compared to the alternative really. Trouble and Fear and Bad Things followed at Harry Potter's heels, and that would continue, and anyone with him would be caught up in it. Only an idiot would think otherwise, and Hermione Granger most certainly was not an idiot.