Chapter 4: Sarovo

Harry landed on his back.

After the portkey activated Harry was swept away to the eastern slope of the southern Ural Mountains, just above Kazakhstan. And he landed on his back, again, like always. Harry shook his head as he climbed to his feet; he really needed to figure out how to stay on his feet.

Once he had gained his feet Harry took a look around. He had landed in a small clearing surrounded by trees and bushes. Some of these trees Harry recognized from books and Herbology classes. Trees like oak, maple, birch, pine, and spruce were interspaced with berry bushes like cloudberry and bilberry. Moss and lichen covered the ground and lower portions of the trees.

The air was fresh and filled with the smells of dirt and decaying leaves. Harry took a few deep breaths and was startled to catch the faint trace of wood smoke. Just as he was about to move toward the smell, a figure detached itself from the shadow of the trees.

The figure was a goblin, of average height, dressed in brown linen shirt that laced at the throat and dark brown leather pants that were tucked into knee high sturdy black boots. The goblin carried with him a satchel of some kind of white hide.

"First Lord Potter?"

The words were more of a statement then a question but Harry decided to answer anyway, "Yes, I'm Harry Potter, who are you? Where am I?"

The goblin had reached Harry and held out his hand in greeting, "I am Bloodsaw, Gringotts liaison here at Sarovo."

Harry took the hand in strong grip and gave it a good shake, "Nice to meet you Bloodsaw. Could you please explain a little about why I am here and what Sarovo is?"

"If you would come with me First Lord, I will explain some things as we walk."

Harry and Bloodsaw set off in the direction the goblin had come from, which was also the direction the smoke was coming from. "Sarovo is a magical settlement located in the Southern Ural Mountains in Russia. It is a joint goblin-human settlement with the humans coming from every country in the world. The only way to find Sarovo is to be given a portkey by one of the Chief goblins at a Gringotts location."

They had exited the woods while Bloodsaw talked, and were approaching a scene that could have been taken out of the middle ages. The houses were stone or wood of the Tudor style with diamond paned windows and wooden shingled roofs. The roads were dirt or cobblestone and a few carts were set off to the side peddling wares. Bloodsaw lead Harry along the central road and toward a large white building that bore the Gringotts seal.

"You, First Lord Potter..."

"Please don't; just call me Harry or even Mr. Potter." Harry still hasn't recovered from the shock Firedome had delivered. He was one of the six people in the whole world that governed the wizarding world. He was the leader of this council, he lead the people that lead the whole world. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. But as far as he knew, he didn't want to be called First Lord until he knew what it really meant for him.

"Very well. As I was saying Mr. Potter, you are here to grow up. To have the blocks removed from your mind and magic. This process will take quite some time as the blocks are so numerous and strong."

"I have to be back at Hogwarts on September 1. Will this take longer than that?"

"Do you have the pocket watch that Chief Goblin Firedome gave you?"

Harry pulled the watch out of his jeans pocket and held it out.

"Good, now this watch is very special. It can affect the flow of time."

"You mean it's a time turner?"

"No, a time turner can take a person back a set number of hour, days, even weeks. But you always run the risk of causing problems with the time stream. That pocket watch does something quite different, but it's rather hard to explain. It doesn't stop time, slow time, or take the user back in time; instead the user will just always have enough time. No matter what you are doing or where you are going you will always have enough time to finish and arrive just on time."

"So, instead of measuring time in seconds, minutes, hours, days and so on, it measures time by the amount of things needed to be done?"

"That's it exactly," the goblin seemed relieved that Harry understood the concept.

"If that is really true, then no matter what I do this summer, I will be in time to catch the Hogwarts Express."

Bloodsaw nodded his head.

By this time the two figures had reached the doors of the white building. It was almost exactly like the Gringotts found in Diagon Alley except much smaller. Bloodsaw was reaching for the door when it was suddenly pulled open from the inside.

Framed in the doorway was Healer Winterfrost, a pleasant smile on her face and wearing the same healer regalia as earlier with the addition of a white fur lined cloak. With a wave of her hand, Bloodsaw and Harry were ushered into the bank.

The inside of the bank was much cozier then its western counterpart. To the right of the door was a small sitting area, made up of a large leather sofa and two matching leather arm chairs situated in a square. The leather was tan and looked well worn in places. A marble topped coffee table sat midway between the sofa and chairs. A colorful but faded rug covered the floor underneath. The right side of the room was taken up by a fireplace so large three grown men could stand within. A short marble counter stood near the rear of the room. Two goblins were behind it, directing the few patrons through one of the two doors that stood on either side of the counter. One led to the tunnels where withdrawals were made and the other to a series of offices where deposits were made. The whole room was lit by a series of bronze sconces along the walls, giving off a soothing glow.

Bloodsaw lead Harry toward the back of the room and through the door at the right of the counter, the one leading to the offices. The two men and Healer Winterfrost walked decisively down the polished floor, so similar to those in England, and through a large wooden door with ornate bronze fastenings.

The office that was exposed was about half the size of Firedomes, but no less richly decorated. Beautiful oil paintings decorated the walls, the subjects ranged from turbulent seascapes that occasionally revealed the shimmer of a mermaid tail, to gentle pastures crowded with grazing unicorns. The walls were lined with solid oak bookshelves, some shielded with glass to protect their valuable contents. Bloodsaw lead the way across the room and took the high backed leather chair standing behind a massive oak desk. He waved a hand to indicate that Harry and the Healer should also be seated. Once the two were comfortable the door opened to admit a tall man in the Gringotts livery bearing a tea tray which was set down on the desk.

Harry took a moment to study the man. He was taller than Harry by several inches, but his lean build made him seem even taller. His hair was a light brown streaked with blond, long enough in the front to hang in warm brown eyes.

Bloodsaw had notices Harry's scrutiny, "Mr. Potter, I would like to introduce you to Mikhail Barkov, my assistant and the man who will primarily be responsible for your education and edification while you are here with us in Sarovo."

Harry stood and shook the hand offered to him, surprised by the warm firm grasp. "Pleased to meet you Mr. Barkov."

"You as well First Lord, it is my prerogative to help you in any way I can while you are here." Mikhail smiled widely at Harry as he released his hand and went to stand behind the goblin.

Harry returned the smile and resumed his seat, accepting the proffered cup of earl gray tea.

"Now," started Bloodsaw, "that we have all been introduced let me tell you a little more about where you are and why you are here. What has Firedome told you thus far about Sarovo?"

Careful not to scald his tongue, Harry took a hasty gulp of tea before setting his cup down with a small clatter. "Firedome didn't tell me much and most of which you know, beyond the fact that I would be staying here for a while to have mental and magical blocks removed, he said that I would be relatively safe from Voldemort."

The goblin was nodding his head slowly and picked up the explanation when Harry stopped. "Yes as I said earlier, no one can enter this community without a special portkey. This is because the whole village is under an array of charms and wards keeping strangers away and erasing the memory of anyone who leaves; anyone that is, who has not been given a countercharm. People of high position, like yourself and the Chief Goblins of Gringotts, are given a token that allows them to come and go freely from the community."

"Isn't that a bit harsh? To just rip the memory out of everyone like that? What about vendors and people you purchase things from?"

"Very good questions," Bloodsaw smiled at Harry's strong sense of morals, his was a refreshing change from most wizards who felt it was their right as 'superior' beings to erase the memory from any one they wished. "The memory isn't completely taken, just the specifics. People will still remember that they spent time in a small village in Russia and that they learned a good deal and that the village was very unusual. They will not remember what the name is, how they got here, or even that it is in the Ural Mountains. This is done to prevent people who have finished their business here from returning with friends or governments. You see, Sarovo is a completely neutral settlement, free from government entanglements and open to every race, gender, species, and class regardless of the policies of the person's place of origin."

This time Harry nodded his head, it made sense to have some safe guards to prevent the village being controlled by governments. Governments who might prevent people who really needed help from getting it just because they were what the government might classify as 'creatures'.

"As for the vendors," continued the goblin, "they are given a special charm that, while not revealing the express location of the village, allows them to remember that they have business in the area. They return to a clearing, the same one I found you in, and meet with a guide who brings them to the village for the day. As you might understand, we don't invite vendors very often, we prefer to grow what we can and only have strangers come a few times a month. As soon as the business is concluded, the vendors are shown out, their memories erased, and returned to the clearing with knowledge that they did very profitable business and should return in a couple of weeks."

"That makes sense," stated Harry. "So I won't have my memory erased when I leave?"

The answer this time came from the quiet man standing behind Bloodsaw, "No, because of your rank as First Lord, and your authority over all magical beings and their settlements, you have the right to come and go anywhere you wish, it would be illegal for us to erase your memory and prevent you from returning. In fact, it is in our interests to have you knowledgeable of Sarovos' existence."

"In your interest; what do you mean?"

"Well," here Bloodsaw took up the explanation, "as First Lord you can solve any dispute that might call for a higher authority. Say, if a government does discover our existence and wants us to fall under their control, you could step in and declare us neutral and under your protection. Now," here Bloodsaw had to raise a hand to forestall Harry's protest, "we are not saying that is what would or will happen, it is just an example of the type of dispute you could pass judgment on."

"But I don't want to pass judgment on anything, I don't know enough to do something like that. I'm only 15 for Merlin's sake." Harry was starting to get a tad hysterical at the sudden responsibility thrust upon him.

"And that is what Mikhail is here for," stated the goblin. "He will teach you everything you will need to know about politics as well as any other subjects you might be interested in."

Mikhail stepped forward, "It would be my pleasure First Lord to prepare you for the role you will take. And there is no rush; we have the time you will ever need"

Harry calmed down a bit, these people weren't going to just throw him in to sink or swim. "You will teach me everything I need to know?"

"I will teach you all I can."

Harry nodded his head and turned to the woman beside him who had remained silent though this whole conversation. "Healer Winterfrost, you mentioned earlier that this healing process would take quite a lot of time due to the strength and number. Could you explain a little more about how things are going to happen?"

Winterfrost cleared her throat and set her now lukewarm cup of tea on the tray, "of course." Sitting up a little straighter, she glanced at the other two occupants of the room uncertainly.

"Mr. Potter, we could leave if you wish to discuss this privately with Healer Winterfrost," the offer came as Bloodsaw rose from the desk.

"No, it's alright, I trust you both to keep this information to yourselves. And it might be advantageous to have other aware of the situation in case something happens."

With a nod of understanding Bloodsaw resumed his seat.

"Well," started Winterfrost, "as I said earlier, you have numerous blocks on both your mental and magical abilities that vary in strength. Several of them are so broken down that they should barely be affecting you at all. Others are so strong as to prevent you from using more than a quarter of your abilities."

"Broken down? How did they get broken down?" asked Harry.

"Blocks such as these are placed over years, and the longer they are in place the more likely the person is to wear them down by sheer will power. People with strong wills are able to fight blocks to the point where they might begin to weaken or dissolve. From my earlier scans I was able to discern one magical block that is almost completely broken, which seems to have been broken about two years ago. Did something happen when you were about 13, that demanded you use an unusual amount of power?"

Harry thought back carefully before it came to him, "the dementors. When I was 13 Hogwarts was guarded by dementors, and every time I came near one I would hear my mother screaming and pass out. I went to my defense teacher and he taught me the patronus."

"The patronus? You cast a patronus charm when you were 13?" the question came in a hushed whisper from Mikhail. "Was it corporal?"

Disregarding the question Winterfrost spoke, "to case a patronus at age thirteen would call for an unusual amount of power, and the severity of your reaction to the dementors would have made you very motivated. Yes, that is most likely what caused that particular block to break down. Now that we have solved that mystery, let me answer your question."

Harry nodded.

"Once you are settled here, probably tomorrow, we will start slowly by breaking down your blocks. At most we can only remove one block a day; this ensures we don't damage your mind or magical core by releasing too much all at once. The stronger blocks will have to be removed over a series of days and maybe weeks or months."

"In the time between procedures," interrupted Bloodsaw, "you will be able to work with Mikhail preparing yourself for your role as First Lord and studying anything you would like to. This will give you time to rest and other things to focus on."

Harry did what he had been doing quite a lot that day, he nodded. "So other than the one procedure a day, I will be studying with Mikhail. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Of course Mr. Potter, you can do anything you like, short of leaving here at the moment. While you are undergoing these procedures it would be unwise to submit yourself to magical travel."

"You will also be under a strict nutrition and exercise program, young man," the Healer seemed to forget who she was talking to for a moment. "You are far too small."

Harry smiled at the thought of being taller. He had always known that his short stature and slight build were due largely to his mistreatment at the hands of the Dursleys. It would be great to no longer be the shortest male in his year.

"Now," Bloodsaw clapped his hands together, breaking into Harry's pleasant thoughts, "let's get you settled so that you can be refreshed for tomorrow."

With those words, everyone stood to their feet. Healer Winterfrost preceded the others out the door, followed by Mikhail, Harry and Bloodsaw bring up the rear. Once they had exited the building the Healer wished the others a goodnight and veered off in a different direction. Bloodsaw and Mikhail lead Harry toward the center of town.

Now that night had fallen the streets were much less crowded and Harry was able to get a better look at the village. Torches were set into some of the walls along the street, lighting the way for the few stragglers still walking the streets. Seeing the flames, a question came into Harry's mind.

"Why are you using torches? Why don't you use the fairy lights like Hogwarts? Or baring that, electric lights like the muggles?" Harry had noticed in the past that beyond a few open torches and braziers, Hogwarts seemed to be illuminated by some kind of invisible light source. Sometime around his second year he had decided to investigate the issue. After scouring the library he found in 'Hogwarts: A History' the answer. Because Hogwarts was a magical structure, inhabited generations of magical beings, lights called fairy lights were used. These lights absorbed a small amount ambient magic to remain lit. Upon entering his third year Harry had noticed that many of Hogsmeades streets were illuminated the same, though the lights were confined to posts like regular lamps.

Mikhail glanced at the torches and back to Harry, "Sarovo might be a magical settlement but not everyone who comes or lives here is magical. Fairy lights require a fairly constant flow of ambient magic to maintain them. Several races of magical beings are incompatible with fairy lights. Meaning they don't give off the correct type of magic to be absorbed. On the flip side, there is still too much ambient magic to allow for the use of muggle electricity. Torches provide a good substitute."

During this explanation Mikhail had led the others toward one of the houses off what seemed to be the central square of the village. This house was somewhat larger than the others around it; the cobbled street lead right up to a short set of stairs and a solid wood door with a brass knocker. There were two windows on either side of the door with shutters closed to block out the night. Three large windows were set into the second floor; two with shutters closed tight, cracks of light piercing the shadows around them. The last window wasn't shuttered but the room was dark beyond the diamond paned glass. The roof was wood shingles, with a rock chimney gently expelling sweet smelling smoke into the cloudless sky. Bushes and flowers formed a sleepy border around the edge of the house, buds closed tightly in the face of the night.

Harry ran his hand gently across the leaves of a plant he recognized from his aunts gardening books as a wild rosemary shrub, identified by its thin, almost furled leaves, and small five peddled white flowers. The strong scent that was stirred up by the touch was one Harry looked forward to smelling for many weeks.

Mikhail opened the front door when the three men had reached it, saying as he stepping into the flagstone entry, "This is my home, I hope you will be comfortable here."

"Harry looked around the entry way with its dark stone floors and white washed plaster walls. Two paintings were hung on opposite sides of the room from each other, each depicting distinguished men bearing a strong family resemblance to the lean man in the door way. "This is your home? I'm sure it will be wonderful." In truth, despite the lack of modern conveniences, the room looked much homier then the Dursleys ever had. "Do you live here alone?" Harry didn't want an inconvenience or underfoot of anyone who lived there.

Walking deeper into the room, Mikhail drew his wand and lit the candles liberally spaced around the room. The added light brought out the gold accents in the walls and the red veining in the stone floor, making the room seem much more elegant then it previously had. "I am currently the only one living here. This house had been in my family for five generations, though in recent history it has been opened to any dignitaries or high ranking visitors we might have."

Harry found himself standing, not in a single room as he had originally thought, but in a very wide hallway. To his left was a wide set of stairs with an intricately carved banister depicting native dancers frolicking with birds and wildlife. A single doorway opened on his right, the room beyond shielded from his eyes by a heavy drape of shadow. The hall in front of his wasn't terribly long, ending in a set of doors, flung open to reveal a kitchen, lit by a dancing hearth fire.

"I'm sure you would like a tour, but I'm afraid that will have to wait until the morning." The words came from Bloodsaw as the goblin indelicately smothered a yawn. "Now that I have assured myself that you are safely delivered to your lodging, I will bid you both a good evening." With that, the neat figure turned on his heels and walked into the night.

"Bloodsaw is correct; a tour will have to wait till morning." Mikhail led Harry to the left and up the stairs.

The upstairs landing opened up into a comfortable yet lavish sitting room. A neat array of couches and arm chairs in dove gray suede were centered in the room. Antiques from all over the world were displayed on polished teak tables. Harry saw golden headed figurines of Ra and Anubis sitting next to Ming vases and diamond encrusted Faberge Eggs. On a table against one wall was a whole collection of nesting dolls, intricately painted and highly polished, gleaming in the torch light. Four doors lead out form the room, three on the left side and one on the right. It was to the door on the right that Mikhail led Harry.

Mikhail opened the door and ushered Harry in but didn't go into the room himself. "This is your room; there is a bathroom through that door, and a closet through the one beside the bed." Mikhail motioned to the closed door across the room from the bed and the open one next to it. "If you need anything, my room is the first one on the left at the head of the stairs. I will see you in the morning First Lord." With that he closed the door behind him.

Harry looked around the room. The floors were stone like the rest of the house, but a thick green rug was spread over most of it, protecting the occupant's feet from the cold stone in the winter. A full length mirror dominated the wall to the left of the bathroom door. On the far wall, across from where Harry stood, was a beautiful mahogany Chippendale six drawer dresser. The room was dominated however, but a huge matching mahogany canopy bed. The four posts were elaborately carved, displaying unicorns and nymphs. The headboard showed a detailed scene of fawns and nymphs frolicking under willow trees. Harry found the combination of dark wood and whimsical scenes a perfect combination between masculine and feminine. The bedclothes were a geometric pattern of dark brown and bright green, again a perfect balance. Matching nightstands stood on either side of the mammoth bed.

One detail in the room surprised Harry though; at the foot of the bed was his school trunk. Walking over, Harry inspected the lock. Finding it still secure, Harry opened it with his key and assured himself that nothing had been tampered with. On top of his belongings Harry found a note from Firedome telling him that the goblin had taken the liberty of retrieving Harry's belongings from The Leakey Cauldron.

Harry gathered up his pajamas, a bright red cotton set Hermione had gotten him for Christmas last year, and his bath bag and went in to the bathroom.

This room was unlike any Harry had ever seen. Longer than it was wide, the right side of the room was partitioned off into a water closet, comprised of only a modern toilet. Straight in front of Harry was a row of counters with a double sink. Two large oval mirrors reflected the room back at him. The left side of the room was the most impressive though. A huge sunken tub sat in one corner of the room, big enough for three people to fit comfortably. In the other corner was a shower just as large with multiple nozzles and heads. The shelves around the room were stocked with bottles and oils and fluffy towels. Everything in the room was done in a neutral earth tone, making the room very relaxing.

Harry set his things on a shelf by the door, where they couldn't get wet. Stripping out of his robes and the over sized clothes beneath; Harry started the shower and jumped in. He would indulge in a long bath tomorrow, but for now he wanted to get to bed. Lifting a bottle full of a mint green liquid to his nose, Harry took a sniff. It smelled like pine trees and soap, just what he was looking for. Pouring a dollop into his hand he scrubbed it into his hair. Rinsing his hair Harry found another bottle that yielded regular soap and washed the rest of his body. Once he was clean Harry turned off the water and dried himself with a towel. It took only minutes for Harry to dress, brush his teeth and hair, and return to the bedroom. Minutes later the lights were off and Harry was fast asleep.