The Way of the Warrior

By: Cubster

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Movie King Arthur. That credit goes elsewhere

"I die a warrior's death, yet I am still among the living?" was the thought of one of the Sarmatian Knights of the Hadrian wall. Tristan lied in a bed inside a room he had never seen before. The room was small only a bed and a table were in it. On the table were Tristan's things his sword, bow, armor, clothes, and even his hawk was on the table sleeping, his head under his wing.

Tristan looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing nothing and only covered by a blanket. He had no wounds and he felt fine, except he was confused, the last thing he saw was his hawk fling above him before the Saxon leader cut him down. "What of Arthur and the other knights? " Thought Tristan as he made to get up and gather his things. Before he could fully get on his feet a women came in and pushed him back on the bed.

"You are in no condition to be up and about." The women scolded. She pulled out a stick, waved it over him once, and shook her head. "I guess I am wrong, you are free to stand up and get dressed. Step through the door when you are done and you take a seat in front of the desk. I am Madam Pomfrey by the way but feel free to call me Poppy. Welcome to the Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry."

Tristan was confused but figured he would get his questions answered soon enough. He watched as the healer left then he immediately got up, dressed himself in all but his armor, and equipped his weapons. "The School of witchcraft and Wizardry?" He thought as he sheathed his sword and put his knife into his boot. "What sort of place is this?"

Tristan left his Hawk sleeping on the table and he left the room, as soon as he left the room, he found himself inside a circular room with trinkets and books lined the shelves that covered the walls all over the room. A desk sat in the middle of the room with two chairs in front of it and crimson high back chair behind it. Behind this chair on the wall were many portraits of old men and women sleeping On a perch sat the most beautiful bird Tristan had ever laid eyes on, it was gold and crimson, and the size of a swan. However, Tristan left it alone as it was sleeping and had respect for animals of all kind.

Remembering what that woman known as Poppy said he sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk and waited. Tristan looked back up into the portraits again and noticed that they were moving. "What sort of sorcery is this?" Tristan said to out into the empty room, he stood up immediately knocking the chair back off its legs on to the ground, and he then unsheathed his sword from his back and pointed it in front of him.

The door behind him opened and Tristan pointed his sword towards it. In walked in the strangest looking man Tristan had ever seen before. He was taller than Tristan but not by much, he had long white hair down to the middle of his back and a beard that went down to his belt. He wore Purple robes with stars and moons on it and he had a long slightly crooked nose. "Ah you have awoken young knight, please take a seat," The old man said as he continued to walk to the chair behind the desk.

Tristan did not say a thing but instead quickly went up to the man and pointed his sword to the old man's throat. "No worries knight, all will be explained to you momentarily, now please sit" Tristan stared at the man for a moment before sheathing his sword and sitting down across from the man.

The old man sat forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the desk; weaving his fingers together, he rested his chin on his hands. "Now young knight, may I ask you your name?"

"Why am I here?" Tristan said. He was not going to answer anything until his own questions were.

The old man smiled before leaning even further "You helped save Briton once before I have had you brought here so you could help do it again. You are a great warrior from what Merlin has told me and he said that you can help the magical world defeat an evil that is plaguing the world."

Tristan did not say a word; he just raised his eyebrow and smiled. He then said, "So you wish for me to kill," it was not a question but more of a statement.

The smile that was on the old man's face shrunk and his face grew serious. "No I am not; I am asking you to train a fifteen year old boy how to kill."

Tristan remained silent for a moment before asking, "Tell me how I got here." He did not want to hear of any hero plots he just wanted answers about his situation.

"I am going to tell you what you need to know young knight, then I wish for you to return the favor and answer some questions of my own."

Tristan nodded his head to the agreement and waited for the old man to explain himself.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore; I am the headmaster of this school. This school is here to teach young witches and wizards to control their magic. They are here for 7 years and then are ready to start their own lives. The magical world does not interfere with the non-magical world or as we call them muggles. We use magic by ways of wands, like this." Dumbledore pulled out his wand and showed it to Tristan. "This wand enables us to tap into our magic and bend it to our will. The possibilities of magic have no boundaries except of course, raising the dead. "

Tristan was about to interrupt at this but Dumbledore raised his hand to keep him from doing so. "You did not die, you were very close of course but you never died Merlin himself came and saved you from your fate."

Tristan stood up and took a leaned over Dumbledore's desk. "Why do such a thing, surely you could have used Arthur, or Gawain, or even Bors, I accepted a warrior's death with open arms and you and Merlin took that from me." Tristan showed no anger but only had a calm appearance as he stared at Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes.

"Like I have said, I have a boy who is almost at the age of manhood, he is the once who is destined to defeat the evil that plagues our world. He needs training in arts that many do not use anymore, which means that of the sword. Merlin has told me of your skill and your ruthlessness and finesse on the battlefield. I ask of you to train him in your ways. Everyone you know thinks you have died, no one will miss you."

Tristan scrutinized Dumbledore for a moment before nodding his head. "And in return you will take me back to my own world when my task is complete. I care not if I am thought dead."

Dumbledore nodded and asked, "Shall I continue to tell you about the magical world?"

"Not about magic, I can learn as I go. But tell me about the boy I am training. I wish to know what kind of man he is."

Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled "He is a very brave and courageous young man; he has done many great things for this school since his first year here. He's seen things that most grown men do not see. He is a little rash but all teenage boys are, he is very loyal and will do anything he needs to do to help someone in need. He is very smart though does not do as well in school as he can. That is because of distractions of course and his friend Ronald who does not set the best example for the boy. He has never let me down young knight. He has been in many battles, just several weeks ago he and 5 other students faced the Voldemort himself and his followers."

Tristan interrupted Dumbledore and asked "Who is this Voldemort?"

Dumbledore's smiling face dropped and became a frown "I am afraid that he is the evil that plagues this world. He is a very powerful wizard who has many followers. He hates anyone who is not of pure magical blood. Though he himself is not he has many follower who believe he is. "

Tristan nodded and stood up "I know enough for now, I wish to see the boy."

Dumbledore stood and walked out of his office signaling Tristan to follow. "We must leave the castle before we can travel to the location of where the boy is. Now young knight tell me, what is your name?'

"Tristan"

"Well Tristan you are in for many surprises in the near future, I can assure you that. I also promise you that the boy will not disappoint,"

"It is not you who can promise such things, only the boy can promise me that, and not with words, only through his actions and hard work can he promise me anything."

Dumbledore smiled at Tristan's comment and continued to walk through the castle corridors. When they reached a stairwell and began to walk down it, they began to move and Tristan quickly grabbed onto the railing with a hand. He showed no surprise or fear however, he only showed his usual calm face.

"You do not seem surprised Tristan, why is that?" Dumbledore inquired as he looked at the bold knight who showed no emotion at all.

"You should learn that just what you see means nothing. I don't show emotion because showing emotion is a weakness."

There were no words spoken after that and the rest of the trek through the castle was silent. They soon reached the main entrance to the castle, the large double doors creaked open as they approached them. They were soon out onto the grounds of Hogwarts and Tristan had his first look of them. He noticed the lake and a strange stadium with three hoops on each end of it.

Dumbledore saw where he was looking and smiled "Quidditch, the wizard sport, you'll see a match eventually, the boy you are soon about to meet is quite gifted in it if I do say so myself." Dumbledore chuckled and popped a sweet into his mouth. He looked at Tristan and offered him one "Lemon Drop?"

Tristan looked at the candy warily for a moment before taking it and putting it in his mouth.

Dumbledore laughed, "You are the first person in a long time to try one, and you've made my day." Tristan could see an even larger bounce in the old man's step; Tristan had the slightest of smiles on his face when he noticed this. Dumbledore saw this but did not comment on it.

When they both reached the castle gates Dumbledore pulled reached out his hand "Take my hand, we will be there shortly"

Tristan did as he was told and soon felt a sensation he never before experienced before. He soon found himself in front of what looked to be a reinforced hut. "What sort of building is this?" Tristan asked as he inspected it.

"This Tristan is a house it is made with different materials than what you are used to. The world has advanced in the last thousand years, young knight. Roads are no longer rocky and houses are no longer made with straw and dried mud. Wood and stone is still used however, you will see many strange things in this day and age and you will come to understand this world in time. Now come we will now meet your soon to be protégé.

Tristan nodded and followed Dumbledore down the walkway to the front door. Dumbledore knocked twice and they waited several moments before the door opened. In the doorway stood one of the fattest men Tristan had ever seen,

The fat man was a few inches taller than Tristan and about 2 feet wider. He had a purple face and large bushy mustache. The fat man looked angry to see Dumbledore and himself at the door. "What do you think you are doing here your crack pot old fool? We've been treating the boy civilly, how dare you come here uninvited."

Tristan raised an eyebrow at what the fat man said but stayed quiet and let Dumbledore handle it. "Ah Vernon Dursley I apologize for this surprise visit but I have come to collect Mr. Potter for the rest of the summer, may we come in to get him?"

To both Tristan's and Dumbledore's surprise, Vernon slammed the door in their faces without a word. "That is quite strange Tristan, they have never done anything of that sort to me, they are afraid of anything that is magic. I am afraid what he has done to Harry. That is your protégé's name by the way and I am hoping you will get to meet the young man behind the name."

Dumbledore did not wait for a reply from Tristan but instead took out his wand and pointed it towards the door.

"Alohamora" Tristan heard a click from the door "Magic has many uses Tristan" Dumbledore simply said as he opened the door with his wand out in front of him.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING FREAK? I THOUGHT I MADE IT CLEAR THAT YOU COULD NOT ENTER." Roared Vernon as he stampeded into the hallway his fists clenched ready to hit anything in his path.

Before Dumbledore could even mutter a spell Tristan had his sword unsheathed and pressed against Vernon's neck. "Where is the boy?" Tristan asked in a smooth calm voice still showing no emotion.

Vernon did not answer. He only stuttered for a moment before dropping out cold onto the floor. "It seems that Petunia and Dudley are out for the moment, let us hurry and retrieve Harry before anymore interruptions come." Dumbledore quickly went up the stairs taking two at a time with Tristan taking his time behind him.

Dumbledore stopped in front of one of the doors; the door had locks covering it with a cat flap at the bottom. "Horrible people." Dumbledore mumbled before working on opening all the locks. He soon had them all open but did not open the door. "I fear what we will find on the other side of this door Tristan; I am hoping Dursley was just being difficult."

They both found out that this wasn't so, when Dumbledore opened the bedroom door what they first encountered was a foul stench and flies all over the room many dead and even more alive. Some of the walls had blood splattered on them as well as the carpet floor. On the bed was the sickest site of them all.

Tristan saw Harry for the first time, but he was sure if he was not in this condition he would look much different. Harry's whole face was bruised and beaten and skin was missing on one side of his face. His eyes were swollen shut and his hair was matted to his head with dried blood.

His upper body had scars all over it and Dumbledore and Tristan could make out the word Freak carved into his chest. His whole chest and stomach were burned black his shirt melted and charred to his skin. His left arm was snapped in two, the bone was sticking out through the skin and many of the fingers were as well. His right arm was not as bad but still broken at the forearm and it looked as if the right collarbone was broken.

His lower half they could not tell, his pants were bloody and his right leg stuck out at an odd angle but that is all that they could see. Harry thankfully was breathing but not a lot and it was raspy and it sounded as if he were gurgling as well, which meant the blood was in his throat.

Tristan was not fazed by what he saw, he had seen much worse in the last 15 years during his servitude to Rome as a Sarmatian knight. Dumbledore however had tears in his eyes, his face was going red in anger and his wand hand was trembling. "Dumbledore, you contact anyone you need to give medical attention to the boy immediately, I am going to go deal with Dursley."

Tristan had no hesitation or remorse when he went down stairs and kicked Vernon in the ribs to wake him up. He yelped in pain as he shot up in a daze. "Are you proud of yourself? Are you Happy that you effectively tortured a boy almost until his last breath? Well want to know what reward you deserve for such a deed?" Tristan got no response from Vernon but he did not expect one, Vernon was obviously scared into shock.

Tristan then decided to give this sorry excuse for a man his reward. He unsheathed his sword and in one fluid motion cut of Vernon's right arm at the shoulder. Vernon screamed in pain his fat arm fell to the ground and blood sprayed from his open wound on to the wall and carpet.

"Maybe this will teach you a good lesson in how you treat others different than you. I could kill you right now but you will suffer for the rest of your life may any god out there, if he or she exists, have mercy on you." Tristan left the bloody heap of Vernon Dursley on the floor in the downstairs hallway and went to look around the rest of the house. Tristan noticed that this family was extremely clean and probably just as boring. He saw no character in this house, only people who cared about the material things in the world.

Dumbledore was not in the room and neither was Harry, Tristan looked around the room and saw a sheet of parchment on the table beside Harry's bed.

Tristan,

I have taken Harry back to Hogwarts for immediate medical attention. This note is a portkey and when you have finished reading this note it will activate and take you to the Hogwarts infirmary.

Albus Dumbledore

When Tristan finished the note he felt as if a hook were pulling him by the naval through thin air. The only thing he could see were a blur of colors and wind whistling through his ears. When he stopped he landed shakily on his feet almost buckling under himself.

"Tristan there you are, quick in the cabinet to your left is a blue potion labeled Skele-gro, quickly retrieve it for Poppy here." He heard Dumbledore behind him, Tristan did as he was told and went to the cabinet that Dumbledore spoke of.

When he opened it he saw a myriad of different potions of all different colors. He looked at some of the labels and was truly amazed how much magic could cure. He even saw one that restored blood, "Many warriors in my time could have used such a medicine" Tristan thought sadly, he had seen many deaths and every single Knight that died on Britain was for a cause not of their own.

Tristan shook himself out of his reverie and brought the Skele-gro over to Dumbledore who handed it to Madam Pomfrey. Tristan saw here pour the potion into Harry's mouth and then massage his throat to get him to swallow it. "He won't feel the pain." She told Dumbledore who nodded in return.

Dumbledore looked over at Tristan "Growing bones is a painful affair, Harry has went through it once before."

"What of his internal injuries Dumbledore?" Tristan asked as he inspected Harry's external injuries.

"Several cracked ribs, one punctured his lungs, his heart had started failing not long before me and you got to him. His stomach was filled with blood; Harry once again escaped death Tristan."

Tristan could only imagine what this boy has gone through in his life; perhaps his and Harry's lives were similar in a way. Forced to do something since childhood, and born to become a warrior. "I will train him the best I can Dumbledore." Tristan simply said and he sat down in a chair located in the corner of the room to wait for Harry Potter to wake up.

Dumbledore soon joined him and Tristan began asking Dumbledore questions of the present time just as Dumbledore asked Tristan questions of the past. A bond of trust was born between Tristan and Dumbledore in the infirmary room that day.