16,748The castle was burning, and the lord and lady were dead. Their heads cut off by sword.
The young heir was missing, and everyone believed the Black Lord had either killed him or missed him entirely.
The land was in mourning over the death of Lord and Lady Potter. Lady Potter's cruel sister, Petunia, took over the rule until the heir could be found.
A small baby with brown hair, almost black, was crying in the stable the night of the deed, and not found until morning by Petunia's suitor.
Thus began the story of Ebony, and his tale is not for those of weak heart.
As far as he could remember, he had been called Boy, or Stable. But when he was finally trusted enough to take care of the King's Horse, a striking Ebony colored stallion which according to his keeper belonged to the Lord who ruled before the murder.
For some reason he felt like he had seen this horse when he was an infant, which was impossible. According to his keeper he was the son of a prostitute who gave him to Vernon in exchange for a huge debt.
Since he loved the horse, he decided to call himself Ebony.
All the horses behaved only when it was Ebony who took care of them, and reared if Vernon or anyone else went close. Particularly the king horse. Ebony had a knack for choosing a good horse, so Vernon had him pick them for clients. But something was obviously off about the horses he sold. If the owner was cruel or neglectful, it somehow reappeared in the stable in less than a month.
So Vernon made a huge profit selling them to cruel masters and getting them back.
Either way, things were calm.
Ebony was in charge of the stables, and even slept there instead of the mansion Vernon owned thanks to him. Vernon was by far a cruel man, and only let him go to school long enough for him to learn how to read, write and do math. He beat him whenever Ebony couldn't his chores, even if the reason was obvious, like he was sick.
Ebony's only friends were the horses he took care of, and when he turned eight, a stray dog that Vernon only allowed him to keep when the horses refused to do anything unless Ebony was there. He named it Sirius, after the star.
(Vernon had no idea that the boy he had reluctantly sent to the school was a quick learner, and had already master math and language. Ebony had stayed there longer only to learn the constellations he stared at every night.)
Sirius was surprising, a very smart dog that the horses answered to. He could bring them in without Ebony's help, once they got used to him being there. It made his job easier, so he didn't mention it. It also curled up next to him in the king's stable, where Ebony made his nest each night.
The only reason Vernon even allowed him to stay there was to prevent thieves.
Ebony was eleven, the age that all children were required to head to the town and be evaluated. The lucky ones would be chosen by the Wizard's Court, or an apprenticeship. Ebony was forced to stay in the stables for the week, and he never got the chance.
All the children his age were either living at their new master's house or in the capital for training in the Court.
The Court! How he wished he could at least see someone from the Court. Each and every single noble in the land was Court trained. Including Lord and Lady Potter!
The Court of Wizards were an exclusive group of masters, who could wield magic and support the aging king, Albus Dumbledore. At any time the king could call upon the Court for something as small as justice to fighting in the army. To be picked was to guarantee noble-ship for life, or at least mayor-ship.
But the Court came with it's own price. To be singled out first whenever the Dark King struck. He had been quiet recently since the Lord and Lady died, but everyone knew the Dark King wanted their home. Ebony's main concern was the stables, and not getting a beating.
Sirius Black, the Lord of the Black lands was furious. Ever since he had convinced his blood brother to use Peter instead of him, everything had gone downhill! Why could they never see Peter was the spy to the Dark King!
Now that he had escaped, his original plan had gone out the window once he saw the boy in the stables. He was hiding the tears he felt from pain, and Sirius could see it all. If he had his lands back, he would have adopted the child in an instant without a thought. James always did say he was a softie under all that fur.
Probably why he sponsored all those orphaned waifs at the Court.
The boy was definitely abused by his keeper. No way he was related to the fat pig who owned the stables. The child curled up next to the largest stallion he had ever seen in his life...and why the hell did it look so damn familiar?!
The stallion saw him, and would have reared if the child hadn't been asleep next to it.
'YOU! BETRAYER!'
Sirius was the one who jumped.
HOLY CRAP! That's James' horse! was all that flashed through his mind.
'BEGONE BETRAYER OF BLOOD!'
Sirius snorted.
'Betrayer of blood, right. I never would have betrayed my blood brother. I abandoned my own lands so I could help James against my own king, remember?'
The horse calmed down and looked him in the eye. Sirius willed his memories of the truth to the horse, and it settled.
'So Peter was the traitor. Very well.'
Sirius nodded to the child, and it snorted.
'The fat one hopes that the child will be of some use eventually. He forces the boy to work even in the dead of winter. But the boy is kind and takes good care of the others. Even the more wild ones.'
'Kid have a name?'
'The fat one calls him Boy, but the child calls himself Ebony...after me apparently.'
Sirius curled up next to the child, and a bond was formed.
A broken Lord, and an abused child with no home.
Ebony was twelve and it was assessment time again. Once again he was locked in the stables, until the Court left. He began to realize that his keeper was afraid of something. But what?
Thirteen, and he hadn't seen Sirius or the younger foal all day. He was really worried about them, and knew Vernon would notice the missing foal before long. Maybe the centaur herd beyond the fence knew where they were? He did visit them as often as he could without getting caught.
They loved the boy who acted more like a horse than human. The fact that he would often listen about the stars, and asked which was which only made them love him more.
If only the Regent Petunia would allow them to adopt the child into the herd! But no, she was a normal human who only tolerated magic because the King allowed her to rule. Her consort, the man who ran the stables, was a cruel human and they hated him. The King allowed them the forests out of respect, but would never allow them to wage war, especially over a human child.
A commotion outside, and he dared to look.
"SIRIUS!"
Ebony ran to his only friend, and took the foal inside. Why the hell did his hound look so damn smug?! Then he noticed the people before him. He gulped silently, Vernon was going to be pissed.
It was the Court. He had completely forgotten that he was forbidden to go outside when they were in the town. And the woman before him really made him nervous, with her strict aura.
Ebony had always been able to see auras, but he kept it to himself. And with good reason. Vernon would kill him without a thought if he knew.
Vernon came outside, saw him and tried to hold his rage back in front of the Court.
The Lady looked at him sternly, clearly furious about something.
"Why is this child not at the Court?"
Ebony stood there with his arms around Sirius, stunned. Was this why Vernon locked him in the stables every assessment?
"The boy is addled and can barely do simply chores with the horses."
The Lady took a good look at the horses, particularly the foal which they had been chasing for causing trouble in the square.
Ebony saw the mischievous look in it's eye, and said clearly "Fin, no! You've done enough mischief for today. That goes for you too Sirius!"
The Lady saw the foal back down, and go into the stall without prompting. Every horse in there was well cared for, and clearly intelligent. Seeing the odd bumps on their backs, she knew something was off about them.
The king stallion reared, and something broke from it's back. The others followed suit, and soon feathers filled the air.
The stable was full of Pegasi!
Seeing the evident surprise on their faces, it was clear the horses had kept their wings in. The dog barked, and nudged the child to the Lady.
"Sirius quit it! What has gotten into you?"
The child was not addled, and the Pegasi listened to him alone.
They were running low on messenger horses.
Suddenly the centaur herd came out, and she spoke to them. Whatever was said between them was obviously enough for her to come to a decision.
"Stable-master Vernon, you are under arrest for fraud, abuse and neglect. The Pegasi shall be requisitioned for the King's stables, and the child shall go to the Court. Where he SHOULD have been for the past two years."
Vernon lost it, and tried to attack her.
He fell to the ground, unconscious.
Ebony couldn't believe what was happening. He awoke that morning knowing something big was going to happen...but he usually got that feeling every year on this date anyway.
It was the day he picked out for his birthday. The thirty first of Silversun.
He was on the king mare, who refused to let anyone but him near it. He patted the neck affectionately as he said quietly "You're being unusually stubborn today."
The horse...no Pegasi if what the Lady had called it was true, snorted.
Ebony was an expert rider. He had to be, in order to break the fillies and foals that came from the other Pegasi. Because he was around them constantly, he was the only person who rode them at that age. That and he was the lightest person who could do it.
The other pegasi followed him without a single halter or rope. It had baffled the Court until they realized that they regarded the small boy as part of the herd. They were well trained then. One of the younger members tried to chat up the small boy leading the herd, but it was clear he wasn't used to talking to people, period. He was extremely shy.
"Nymphadora leave the child alone!" scolded the Lady.
The girl's hair turned an interesting shade of red.
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" the girl growled.
Ebony gaped. How had her hair turned from black to red?
She then saw his look and explained. He was still very shy though, until the king made a comment.
'Why not treat them like horses? She could be a new filly.'
It was sound advice, and soon they had something akin to a conversation going. He was still shy though.
The King was interested in the child. After hearing how he had been overlooked, he watched as the boy put the pegasi through the paces without trying. Even the large stallion listened to his commands, which was unusual.
Even if the herd regarded him as one of their own, why did the king still listen?
Time to meet the boy.
Ebony watched the old man walk to him. He had no idea who he was, or why his aura was skewed. Still, he kept the king nearby.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" the man commented.
Ebony kept his guard up. He so did not trust that twinkle in the man's eye.
"I suppose sir," he said.
The man tried to keep the conversation going, but obviously no one had told him how shy he was.
Eventually he left, and Ebony went back to the horses.
Rumors were abound in the castle about the overlooked child. He was rumored to be half horse, which was ridiculous. Centaurs would never send one of their own to become a wizard.
Eventually everyone figured it out, if only because he was the only new face that wasn't eleven; though with how small he was he was easily mistaken for one. It didn't help that he always smelled of horses.
Still, he did managed to catch up on his training in less than a month, once they explained things so he could understand. He even had his own room, though he rarely stayed there. He preferred the sanity of stable work to the oddness of the halls.
Sirius turned out to be a major help in studying, by using his uncommon amount of intelligence to request books for him. The librarian had gotten used to the dog taking books to it's master. Even if it was damned familiar to her.
Not that the Lady Sakura would admit that the dog was familiar. She ruled the library with an iron fist and screeched at anyone caught harming her precious reading material...or found in her section of the library without her permission.
Oh yes, everyone knew what happened to those foolish enough to be caught in THAT section without her consent. She made damn sure not to kill or maim them, but that sure didn't stop her from making the punishment public...and she had a hell of a sadistic side.
Not that the King would protect them from her wrath.
Ebony was in class yet again, this time learning about history. Or he was supposed to anyway. That bloody ghost put everyone to sleep without trying! So instead he was using it for something more constructive, reading. He loved books, and swore to himself never to harm them. (Especially after the incident where a red head named Ron ripped the cover of a book and the librarian had him outside cleaning all the tallest windows...wearing a frilly pink dress with bows in his hair.)
He had heard that the Lady of the Library was very interested in sponsoring him, whatever that was. When he finally worked up the courage to ask, he found out.
If someone sponsors you, it means you're set until you start to earn a steady income after schooling. It also means that you would serve under whoever sponsored you if called into service.
A week after learning that, the Lady made decision and was now his sponsor. He didn't actually mind because he liked her.
For all her craziness and sadist ways to those who vexed her, she was really kind and gentle. Especially to those who treated the books with respect. She also snuck him apples and sugar cubes for the Pegasi.
A full year of living at the Court, and Ebony learned a lot. Like how to avoid the dour Lord Severus whenever he was brewing a potion, escape the attention of the King, and that if you were good and showed respect to the Lady Minerva you didn't have to do the regular chores.
He got along best with Lord Remus, the ruler of the werewolf clans. For some reason he hit it off with the usual sad man.
A month after his fourteenth birthday, he heard something interesting.
The Dark King was sending one of his Lords to negotiate. In the meantime the Lord's son would attend school with the other Court initiates.
Naturally this was met with suspicion, but they couldn't do anything about it. It was sent in the spirit of peace after all.
The fanfare could be heard all the way to the stables, and it annoyed the Pegasi greatly. Ebony quieted them down, enough that they didn't throw off the riders.
Ever since he had arrived, it was clear the Pegasi would only do as told if he were nearby. Which is the only reason he was allowed to teach the novice riders how to care for a horse properly.
While he was shy around people, he could raise his voice when it came to horses.
Ebony saw a new face about his age. The boy had platnium blond hair (was that actually natural or did he get hit by the twins?) and quick silver eyes (no way he got hit by the twins. ~Pause~ I really have to quit hanging around Crazy Lady so much.)
There is something to be said of the Librarian. She loved pranks. And for some bizarre reason, not only did NOT mind being called crazy but she actually encouraged it! She even loved being called a sadistic, evil woman. (Hence why if you mentioned Crazy Lady, everyone knew you were talking about her.)
The boy looked interested in the Pegasi, and went to approach one. It was obvious he had experience with horses, since he breathed into the nose of one. The pegasi was a foal, and well trained at that. It let him pet it, calm as ever.
Ebony immediately liked him.
The boy walked up to him, and held out his hand.
"Draco," he said.
"From the dead tongue meaning dragon. Ebony," he replied, seeing the boy's eyes widen in surprise.
"From the color of black."
Ebony smiled, and gave a few of the girls who worked with him fainting spells.
Since Ebony turned out to be the only student willing to give Draco a chance, he was chosen to show the boy around. It shocked everyone in the castle when they heard Ebony's voice, most for the first time. Draco seemed to pull the quietest boy in the place out of his shell.
Eventually the twins asked Draco his secret.
"Secret? What secret?"
"How in the name of magic do you get him to talk? Most days we can barely get a word out of him!" said Fred.
Draco was mildly surprised about that. Sure Ebony didn't talk his ears off like the girl the Dark King was planning on making his Lady, but he wasn't a quiet boy either.
"I don't know. He started talking to me when I went to see the infamous stables."
George looked at him in surprise.
"Our stables are infamous?"
Now Draco looked surprised.
"You didn't know? The Court's stables have been infamous for over a year now. Everyone knows if you want a good horse you should get them from there. Everywhere else pales in comparison...and from what I hear the Dark King is pissed off about that."
The twins looked amused.
"We do have a secret weapon with horses. Maybe that's why."
"They have been behaving more than they used to..." said George.
"What secret weapon?"
"You've already met him. Hell, you've gotten him to talk when everyone has been trying for months!"
Draco liked Ebony, mainly because he didn't care about the fact he was from the Dark King's Court. Or the fact that he was being sponsored by the grumpy Lord Severus. It was clear that Draco enjoyed spending time with Ebony in the stables, where they shared a common interest.
All too soon they had to leave, but Draco left with something not even the Dark King could figure out.
How the Court had gained well behaved and stronger horses.
The Dark King was furious. All this time he believed that the old coot who ruled the other kingdom had found a secret spell to improve his animals, and the entire time it was a shy boy who loved animals!
So he did the only thing he could. He ordered the boy to be kidnapped.
Ebony woke with a start. Something wasn't right. Then he realized what it was.
He wasn't in his room or the stables.
Looking around in a panic, he tried to find a way out. When the door opened, he backed away quickly. The man in front of him had the most sinister aura he had ever seen. And his eyes...they were cold as ice.
"Hello little wizard. Do you know who I am?"
Ebony stayed quiet.
"I am the Dark King Slytherin."
Ebony was terrified. How the hell did he catch HIS eye?
"You will tell me everything you know about animals, and maybe I will let you live."
The king stallion reared, and no one could find Ebony. He was the only one who could calm the stallion down. Suddenly everyone stared, as the usual pegasi feathers came out.
Before they could react, it took off into the night.
Ebony was terrified, as the Dark King sent his most fearsome servants to find out his secret. They would never believe it was because the horses were the only friends he ever had in his life. Or that his keeper forced him to sleep in the stables each night.
There was a commotion outside, and he dared to look.
It was the king stallion, majestic and flying!
As if sensing his stare, it galloped up the tower to the room. Draco happened to be in the room with him, to try and help him calm down. Even the Dark King noticed that Ebony only felt comfortable enough to talk around the boy.
The stallion broke the door down. Draco had an idea, and blew a hole in the wall, large enough for a horse and rider to get through. He then turned to them, with a sad smile on his face.
"Can't stay here anymore."
The stallion allowed both to get on, and took off out the hole. It was in the moonlight that Draco noticed something.
The stallion not only had wings, but a horn of pure silver and gold. His gasp of realization was drowned out by the wind. It took them the entire night to reach the Court, and by then it was in a state of panic.
All except for a dog and crazy woman, who spotted the horse.
They managed to get off, and Ebony was swarmed by several people. The twins, the Lady, the librarian, the werewolf lord and surprisingly enough, Lord Severus! Sirius ponced on him, his tail going a mile a minute.
Severus was the first to spot the other rider and said in disbelief, "Draco?!"
Ebony spoke up, shocking everyone.
"He helped me escape."
They stared, except the librarian who looked very smug.
"Did I, or did I not say the idiot who runs the other kingdom kidnapped him?"
"What happened Ebony?" asked Lady Minerva.
"I woke up in a room I didn't recognize and someone claiming to be Dark King Slytherin was there. According to him he wanted my secret in controlling animals."
Draco looked sheepish, "I may have mentioned that Ebony was responsible for the well behaved pegasi to my father."
Lord Severus knew the boy didn't mean any harm to Ebony, since he was the only person to befriend Draco.
"And since Lucius is loyal to the Dark King he let it slip to him. And being a power hungry monarch he had you kidnapped," he deduced.
The librarian was very smug, as she had guessed what had happened right off. She was also the only one who could calm down the horses with Ebony gone. And she managed to keep Sirius from driving them insane by telling him to look through her section of the library. It kept him occupied for hours and most importantly quiet.
No one except a very rare few even knew what she kept in that section. Those that did kept a tight lip in case she banned them. Rumor was that she kept addictive spell books or books that controlled you in it.
(Not true, in fact her collection is the most extensive of the subject, or related subject. Not that the King even knew what she had in there, he only agreed to let her put them there for a select few that she would choose.)
So when Draco finally said something again, he had most of the people there looking at him in shock and disbelief.
"Hey Ebony, why didn't you tell me your last name was Potter?"
Everyone either gaped or looked at him like he was nuts.
"What?" seemed to be the general consensus.
"You mean you didn't notice the horn on that stallion's head when we were flying?"
They turned to the stallion. He wasn't kidding, it did have a horn along with those wings.
"And the only pegasi with a horn is the one belonging to the Potters," said Lady Sakura, seeing where he got the idea.
"My keeper did say that the king stallion used to belong to the Lord of the castle," admitted Ebony.
"But why didn't it reveal that earlier?" asked Fred.
A new voice spoke up...one that should still be behind bars.
"I had a feeling he was James' son. No one else could control that bloody horse other than James."
Ebony turned, and saw something around the new person's neck. It was a collar he had given the dog that was his only friend when he earned money helping out in the library. It had the constallation of the Dog along with the name.
"Sirius?"
Apparently there was a reason everyone respected the librarian. She was the one to vouch for the man and kept him from being hexed nine ways to Moonsday.
"Sirius Black would not have been able to get close to Ebony when he was with the stallion unless he could prove he wasn't responsible for the death of his blood brother James."
The King himself was still suspicious, until Lady Sakura gave him a clear look.
"Tell you what, if you agree to give him a chance and let him plead his case with a truth serum and memory viewer, I will allow you and one of the others into my section of the library."
That was a rare offer indeed. Lady Sakura jealously guarded that section, and the extremely rare few who knew what it held after sneaking in had been gagged into secrecy...and if they had taken care of those books allowed in anyway. Ebony had a pass into there once he hit 15.
The King reluctantly allowed it. Even he was curious as to what she had in there. The only Lord in the Court who was allowed in there was Remus, and that was because and he qouted her about this 'I like wolves'.
Everyone was in a state of shock as Lord Pettigrew was given the choice of the gallows or permanent banishment. Lord Black received all his titles and money back, and reinstated as a Court Master.
Though no one could believe the King's reaction to finally finding out what Lady Sakura kept in her section. Or Lord Severus.
Neither of them could look her in the eye for three months once they finally found out. She cackled at the sight of their blushed faces, and everyone really wanted to know what she did to them. The King wasn't a young wizard after all.
But perhaps the biggest shock of all was that the shy horse master, Ebony, was in fact the missing Potter heir. It at least explained why the Regent had treated him like trash and why Vernon had given him that tripe story about his mother. Everyone knew Petunia despised her sister.
The other rumor that the missing Potter heir had convince the heir of one of the Dark King's most loyal supporters into joining the other side was a mere side note.
In a rage, the Dark King began to train his forces to prepare for something. Everyone feared war was soon on it's way.