Heroes Assemble!

From The Ashes, Rise

Harry wasn't sure how deep into Africa he currently was, nor how far from Wakanda itself. What he did know was that Zuri, the Wakandan shaman had provided him with a portkey – or, at least, the African version of one.

The two had fallen into a conversation about magic and how integrated into society it was in Wakanda. Magicals and non-magicals alike knew about its existence and cohabited peacefully. And, keeping the secret really wasn't that big of a deal, especially with the fact that Wakanda as a whole was being kept secret from the rest of the world.

Africa had an extremely large magical presence; indeed, the largest magical school in the world was located on the continent. Thus, it didn't take long before their conversation turned to the various magical plants and animals that could be found there, comparing notes from Harry's own travels as well as Zuri's more extensive knowledge.

It was when Zuri mentioned that he'd encountered a number of phoenixes far to the west, that Harry had become quite excited. Slowly over the last couple of years, his supply of phoenix tears had gradually been used, healing people from the worst of the wounds that they had received – Pietro being a prime example.

Thus, the portkey that Zuri had given him. Oh, there was no guarantee that any phoenix that Harry located (assuming that he could even find one) would be willing to gift him with some tears, but considering the likelihood of getting some any other way, he was happy to take the chance.

Landing, Harry took a moment to take stock of his surroundings.

He was in a kind of grotto in the middle of what looked to be a dense rainforest. Turning about, he found that a wall of cliffs rose at his back, vines crisscrossing them and entire trees either struggling to gain purchase amongst the rocks or pushing right up beside the cliffs as close as they could get. Along to his left, a small waterfall fell, splashing noisily into a deep pool of water and making the air incredibly dense and humid.

Birdsong permeated the air while the rustle of leaves high in the trees was either made from the wind or, most likely, animals moving about. A sharp sting on the back of his neck had him slapping at it. When Harry then looked at his hand, it was to see the remains of a mosquito. Without a second's hesitation, he waved his wand in a circle above his head before bringing it down and around his body, creating a magical barrier around himself that would keep any other insects from getting too close.

Just as he was about to put his wand back into its holster, something caught his attention and he froze. Harry's eyes darted backwards and forwards even as he kept his head perfectly still. Not seeing anything, he then focussed on his other senses. Sound wasn't any help, as all he could hear was exactly what he'd been hearing since he'd arrived. Nor was smell much help, him not knowing what the area normally smelt like to determine if there was an unfamiliar scent in the air.

Closing his eyes, Harry reached out with his magic, letting it wash away from him and return, not unlike sonar or echo-location. It took four magical 'waves' before he found something. Whatever it was was almost directly in front of him, standing or perched on the lowest branch of a tree. Opening his eyes, he stared at the spot, only to see ... nothing.

Letting out another pulse of magic, Harry nodded imperceptibly to himself. Yes, he was certain that something was there. Something that he'd never encountered before but whatever it was, he didn't think that it was unfriendly, just wary.

"Hello, there. My name's Harry. It's nice to meet you. I promise that I'm not going to hurt you," Harry said, channelling his inner Luna.

And then he waited. Finally, after what felt like close to an hour of standing perfectly still (but what he suspected was probably less than five minutes), a strange being slowly faded into being.