[Belarus] - The Illusive Forest

After stopping off momentarily at Usad'ba Grebnitskikh and satiating his own curiosity, Oz started to head towards the forest that the giants were said to be residing in. Alfreda kept to his side as the both of them headed towards the dense forest in the distance.

As they got closer and closer however, Oz started to notice something strange about the forest. He activated his eyes as this feeling grew more in his stomach and as he peered into the forest as deeply as he could with his eyes he could see the giants ward in the centre. This ward was to be expected though, after all the magic government of Belarus wouldn't want a curious muggle walking into a giants domain one day and breaking the statute of secrecy in one night. Oz's main feeling that he regarded as strange was that it felt as though the forest was being closely 'watched' by something, he just couldn't pinpoint what it was or where it was watching from. He even began to doubt his own senses as he search more and more. Regardless of this though he had a good idea of 'who' could be watching the forest.

Eventually, Oz and Alfreda found themselves just a bit away from the forest, a few more yards and they'd be entering in. Oz stopped as they approached this point and Alfreda stopped immediately as he did looking at her master with a confused glint in her eyes.

"What's the problem master?".

Oz looked deeply at the forest before turning to Alfreda.

"Seeing as though we are basically at this 'Giant's Forest' now I thought it best we cloak ourselves before we head in. Let's both put our cloaks on along with using a cloaking spell for good measure. After all we are walking into unknown territory here, these giants may attack us instantly if we just walk right in".

Alfreda nodded at her master's words seeing no issue with them. After all it would be silly to waltz into unknown territory, especially a giants territory without some kind of precaution or foreplaning like cloaking. Oz however had two reasons as to why he felt cloaking would be a good move here however he didn't mention the latter point to Alfreda.

They both put there cloaks on and after they pulled their hoods over their heads, Oz casted a wandless cloak spell onto both of them so they would be invisible. This spell was elementary to Oz now after all the times he used it in Hogwarts to sneak around at night. Wandless casting of it did still sap a bit more magic than he would have liked however he wanted to stick to his own handicap on this journey, that being he wasn't allowed to use his wand he had been heavily relying on for so long.

With both of them fully set, Oz called out in Alfreda's direction.

"Okay, lets head in".

.

Walking through the dense forest was trickier than Oz would have expected. His eyes were able to spot the ward within the forest from afar however he couldn't tell how deep in the ward was. From a distance however he thought the ward encompassed nearly the entire forest however as they entered into the forest and kept walking, he realised he underestimated to sheer size of the forest these giants resided in.

The two continued to walk and looking up through the trees Oz could see the time of day change each time he decided to look up. Eventually night fell on the forest and they still hadn't made it anywhere near the ward he had spotted when they walked towards the forest initially.

'Is this forest really that big?'.

Seeing that night had fallen, Oz decided to stop and set up camp for the night. After casting a few protective spells on the area, with the help of Alfreda this time as she insisted on helping out, the two set up camp and placed a tent. Oz and Alfreda both headed into the tent and sat down on the centre table. Both of them seemed tired, mainly mentally more than physically. At this point it seemed even Alfreda was having questions about what was going on.

"Master... You don't think that 'death eater' was lying do you?".

Oz shook his head at Alfreda's questioning.

"No... When we were walking towards this forest initially I could see the ward with my eyes. It looked like it was in the centre of the forest from the distance we were at. However, the size of the ward I saw... we should have already come close to it by now".

Oz scratched his head seemingly confused. Alfreda seemed to be thinking hard on what could be happening as well. Looking at Alfreda contemplating, Oz decided to ask her for her views on this.

"Do you have any ideas on what could be happening?".

Alfreda frowned deeply as she heard her master's query. She trusted her masters words about the ward he saw in the centre of the forest, however much like what her master said afterwards and judging by their speed of travel they should have already reached the centre of the forest. As Alfreda thought long and hard a glint seemed to appear in her eyes as she whispered out a certain phrase.

"Illusion...".

Oz he heard this leaned in closer to Alfreda who seemed to have figured something out.

"Illusion?".

"Yes master, Illusion magic to be precise. Back when I lived in the elf kingdom we had numerous wards placed on our kingdom to keep us hidden away from the public. We went unseen for centuries until the event with Merlin. I remember that one time when I was younger I asked about the wards placed around our kingdom and I was told by my teacher at the time that there were multiple wards and one of them was an 'illusion ward'".

Considering that Alfreda knew of this magic, Oz realised that this 'illusion ward' must be a rather advanced magic technique, ancient even. Hearing her explain it Oz was already beginning to formulate an idea on what was happening in his mind. He was also growing an interest again towards Alfreda's homeland.

"I actually asked my teacher about the 'Illusion ward' further and he explained that it was a ward devised solely to trick those who entered. Compared to a ward that would be strictly defensive and attack trespassers, this ward was one that took a more 'passive' approach simply confusing those who entered until they eventually went back the way they came".

Oz sighed as he leant back in his seat in the tent.

"So we've been walking in circles then?".

Alfreda nodded at her masters words.

"That seems like the most likely answer to all of this...".

Oz sighed a second time to himself as he realised he had underestimated the Belarus wizarding government. He was innocent in thinking that they would only have a single ward that barred entry for muggles.

'Of course they'd have a contingency against other wizards too especially ones advanced enough to be able to see wards... after all, if a wizard decided to come and fight some giants enraging them, the giants could storm out the forest and instantly cause mass panic'.

With this talk they had now confirmed that their are two wards at play in this forest. The one Oz saw from the outside is a simple ward to block anyone seeing the giants in the centre. The 'Illusion ward' however was once that must encompass the entire forest, tricking anyone who entered specifically targeting witches and wizards who entered with intent to bother the giants within. The main question Oz now had and something that irked him was how he didn't spot the ward at all when he entered into the forest.

'I should have seen it with these eyes at least yet I only saw the one in the centre... Even after all that in Romania am I still no way near close to having a dragons true sense?'

Thinking about the error on his part Oz remembered Norberta who he had left in Romania. Thinking about her he thought that she probably would have been able to spot the ward left.

'Regardless, the illusion ward around the entire forest must be a rather ancient ward for it to trick my eyes...'.

Oz tapped his finger on the table in annoyance realising the situation he was in now. How was he meant to progress from here?

"Wait a minute...".

Oz's mind clicked after some thinking as he voiced his thoughts to Alfreda.

"That death eater talked as if he had been here before... how did he get through this ward?".

Alfreda's ears perked up as she heard Oz's question. Her eyes seemed to flash for a moment as she remembered something from her past.

"Thats right master! My teacher told me that all illusion wards usually have a 'keyhole' or at least a way to enter through it. It could be hidden anywhere though... Inside a hollow tree, in a hole, in a river. The main central area of this forest is completely sealed off however if we find this 'keyhole' then maybe we can get out of this illusion ward and enter into that central area... Either that or we leave and try to find someone who knows about the ward".

Hearing Alfreda's explanation Oz felt a bit of hope come back to him. He couldn't spot the ward with his eyes however he hoped there was a chance that he could spot this 'keyhole' Alfreda mentioned if they spent a few days searching for it. As for Alfreda's latter point...

"The only person who might have known about where this 'keyhole' as you call it is now dead. Remember when we arrived at Minsk the wizarding community there seemed as though it had completely vanished. If we went back there's a small chance we'd even find a witch or wizard let alone one that would have information on this ward... It's clear that the death eaters spread across Europe must have infiltrated different ministries which allowed the ones we found in Minsk to know about how to reach the giants here in Minsk...".

Thinking about how hasty he was in his questioning of that death eater in Minsk, Oz cursed at himself internally. If he spent more time questioning him he may have found out how to find this 'keyhole', heck he might have found out what was going on with the wizarding community in Minsk just vanishing. Only muggles were roaming the streets there which made no sense considering it was the capital of Belarus.

"So are we to just search the forest for the entrance then master?".

Oz nodded at Alfreda with a strained grin.

"As annoying as it will be... Yes thats all we can do for now".

.

The second day came rolling around and both Oz and Alfreda ate breakfast, packed up and started to walk again through the forest cloaked for safety still. Knowing they were now walking in circles to some extent Oz began to mark trees using a simple 'diffindo' cutting an X into them. After a half a day of walking he started to see the trees he had marked again which confirmed their theory that they were walking in circles.

Truth be told, Oz didn't need to mark the trees as he could recall scenes perfectly with his 'Perfect Memory' however he still felt the need to do it in order to physically confirm that they were walking in circles both to him and mainly to Alfreda who doesn't wield the same memory power as Oz.

Arriving back at the first 'Marked' tree Oz ushered Alfreda to stop and they both sat down in the forest. Oz rested his back on a tree and Alfreda warded off the area they were in before uncloaking herself and then placing a mat on the dirt to sit on. Oz closed his eyes as Alfreda seemed to be preparing some kind of food for the both of them. Inside Oz's mind presently he was recalling the entire journey around in a circle that led to this point. His focus was on anything that seemed 'off', even if it was little.

Each trees shape, each rock's placement, each stream that shot through the forest. Every single one surfaced in Oz's mind as he searched for some kind of pattern, something to go off of that could potentially be the 'Keyhole' into the central area of the forest and to where the Giants resided. He sat with his eyes closed for nearly an hour getting frustrated at how there was no obvious sign before he was tapped lightly by Alfreda. Opening his eyes, he could see Alfreda's emerald eyes peering into his.

"Master, I've made some food for us".

Looking at the mat Alfreda had placed down Oz could see a spread of food. As such with Alfreda all the food seemed nutritionally balanced showing her deep care for her master. Oz's demeanour and character could easily make one forget sometimes however he is a boy whose growing still.

Oz moved himself from the tree he leant against onto the mat and sat opposite Alfreda who sat herself down first. Looking at Alfreda he gave a warm smile.

"Thanks for the meal".

Alfreda pouted slightly as she spoke.

"I told you master you don't have to thank me each time I make food... It's my job after all".

Oz laughed a bit as he helped himself to some salad.

"It just feels natural. When I was... younger I'd always thank those who presented me a good meal. If I don't do it feel all antsy even if its the persons 'job' to feed me".

Of course Oz twisted the truth slightly on that point, the reason he would always thank whoever fed him actually stemmed back to his previous life as Blake. He couldn't remember much of his parents even with his perfect memory now however certain scenes surfaced in his mind from time to time and one was his then dad telling him to always be polite to those who fed him. He'd always thank his parents for a meal from then on and even after their accident, he would still continue that 'thanks' when he was at the orphanage he ended up at. For a time after he lost his parents, all the orphanage owners would hear from him was a 'Thanks' when food was given to him, thats how ingrained that rule was in Oz's mind. Although it was only recently in this world he started to do it again, mostly brought on by Alfreda personally cooking for him. It wasn't like he would eat in the great hall at Hogwarts and thank each elf in the kitchen afterwards. It only happened in the case when a meal was prepared for him specifically.

'I guess she just reminded me of those days...'

With a slight nostalgia tinted in his eyes, Oz began to eat the food presented in front of him. Alfreda smiled seeing her master appreciative of her cooking as she also helped herself to some food. The light in the forest seemed to dim more and more as they continued their meal and eventually the two of them finished as night fell. Looking up at the moon Oz sighed realising he'd spend a second night in this forest and not where the giants were.

Then again, it wasn't like he was in a rush. Sometimes taking it slow like this was needed...

.

Waking up on his third day in the forest Oz stepped out of the tent and looked towards the direction of where the sun was rising. The light pierced through different parts of the forest, bathing the area they were camping in in a warm light. As Oz breathed in the fresh air a thought crossed his mind.

"It's been... 39 days now since I left Hogwarts last year".

Recalling back to when he apparated with Alfreda back to Merlin's hideout, creating the Magi-Cast and stocking up for the journey, making the trip to Romania and then to here he calculated in his mind that already nearly 40 days had passed since the start of his journey around the world. Only a couple weeks of Hogwarts summer was left until the rest of the gang would find themselves back in Hogwarts again, the gang with the exception of Oz.

'I wonder how those guys are doing... I'm sure they will be fine'.

Oz was confident in those he left behind. Not only that he had the mirrors as well as his marauders map. The mirrors would allow him to correspond with Harry and Rose whereas the map would allow him to track movements even if he isn't at the school. Oz didn't think the latter would still work out of Britain however it still seemed to be connected. Even whilst not being at school this year he'd still have it all in his grasp.

Turning back to the tent Oz noticed that Alfreda was still sleeping which was rare. He decided to let the elf sleep as he exercised himself a bit, stretching his muscles so he was ready for the day. As he finished his exercise he sat down again against a tree and began to contemplate over the situation he was in still.

'This 'keyhole' is still impossible to find... There's no section of this ward that seems 'suspicious'... Will I have to keep walking into trees and jumping into puddles until I eventually find the entrance?'.

Oz sighed as he hit his head against the tree behind him. A light smack of annoyance as he tried to rack his brains over what could be going on here. The light that pooled through the forest was changing direction as the sun rose. Looking towards the direction of the sun Oz felt the warmth of different waves of light hitting him. As he relaxed a bit he started to hear Alfreda wake up in the tent, it seemed she woke up and immediately started preparing breakfast.

'Such a caring elf... How the fuck did you abandon such a kind person Merlin?'

If it was Oz before Romania he might have made an excuse in his mind for Merlin however now he saw Merlin in a truly negative light. The man definitely had flaws and that 'Obsession' for knowledge obviously led to him becoming somewhat sociopathic. Helena Ravenclaw was another example of a victim of this nature of Merlin.

Oz might be cold-hearted at times and even manipulative however if he truly came to like someone as he did with both Alfreda and Norberta, he couldn't just abandon them for his goals. Both of them had become important characters in his journey in this life and his connection with them was the greatest out of everyone he had met thus far. He never wanted to allow his hunger for knowledge to overtake his emotional aspects as it did Merlin. He was already alone in one life until the end he'd rather not have the same happen in his second life as well.

'Although one thing I have to admit is that if that damn ancestor of mine was here instead of me I bet he'd have found a way through already... heck he'd have probably blown the ward up or somethin-'.

As Oz was continuing his thoughts about Merlin his eyes locked onto a certain area in the forest in front of him past the tent him and Alfreda had set up. A normal wizard would never have noticed this incredibly small detail however Oz noticed something that seemed 'off' with his heightened sight from his eyes. The light that pooled through the forest from the sun, the rays that pierced towards him. There was an area ahead where that light seemed to not reach... No, it'd be better to say that the light did reach the area but it almost looked fake in that area, as if it was refracting weirdly.

Looking at the tent where Alfreda was still cooking, Oz put his cloak and and then cloaked himself also as he ran towards the area that seemed suspicious. His mind seemed to start to piece together why this specific location was so hard to spot before. The light that came from the sun through the forest had to hit the 'off' area in a specific way for anyone to notice it was 'off'. The Illusion ward was practically flawless as nobody would usually notice the slight difference in light refraction however this was Oz we were talking about, not some normal wizard. He dashed through the forest and as he arrived at the area he got a closer look at the weird rays of light that were definitely strange. Sure enough as Oz got to the area, there was a tree within the 'off' area. Oz stepped up to the tree and as he got closer and closer to it the tree seemed to grow in size. It was a strange phenomenon but it felt as though Oz himself was shrinking as he got closer to the tree that was in the 'off' area in this illusion ward.

When he finally was face to face with the trunk of the tree the tree itself seemed 10x bigger than it initially was. The trunk was as thick as a double-decker bus. Oz reached his hand out and placed it onto the now huge trunk of the tree and injected some magic into it. As he did the magic within him entered into the tree and seemed to follow the bark forming different runes. Each rune displayed on the tree seemed incredibly ancient.

'These runes... they are incredibly similar to the ones at Stonehenge'.

Noticing this Oz took a deeper look at the runes as they formed from his magic power. Eventually all the runes lit up on the tree and the trunk of the tree seemed to fold in on itself, opening up a massive door. Looking through the door, Oz saw an incredible sight.

'I've finally found you tall bastards'.

Within the door was a forest where the trees where as big as the one Oz was facing now in the Illusion ward. The giants within made the trees look normal however. Within this giant forest though were countless massive houses and areas where the giants seemed to reside. Looking through this door it was like looking into another world completely, as if this ward was cut off from the world in a more mystical way than Oz could have ever guessed.

Oz really wanted to enter however he knew he shouldn't just ditch Alfreda here. Stepping back the runes on the door seemed to dim and the tree unfolded closing the door to the Giant's forest leaving just the big tree behind. Oz looked in the direction of the camp he and Alfreda had set up and could still see it there. Quickly he ran back towards camp to tell Alfreda the good news...

.

Oz arrived back in the ward just as Alfreda exited the tent with breakfast. Oz smiled at her as he began to explain what he had discovered.

"Over in that direction is the tree that is the 'keyhole'... I would never have found it if it wasn't for chance, luck and these eyes. I made sure to fully memorise the area where the entrance is alongside marking it a whilst running back".

Alfreda smiled widely hearing that her master had solved this Illusion wards riddle.

"That's great master! However... you should eat first before we head there~".

Oz calmed down his excitement as he saw all the food Alfreda had made. Although he was keen to go to the Giants Forest now, it'd be extremely rude to just ignore the food made for him.

"You're right, You're right... thanks for the food".

Quickly eating his breakfast along with Alfreda they both finished their meals and packed up their tent. Cloaking themselves as they destroyed the ward they were in. Oz grabbed Alfreda's hand as he led her towards the direction. As the two approached the familiar tree Oz let go of her hand and spoke.

"This here is the 'keyhole'... The closer you get to this tree the bigger it gets until you finally are face to face with its bark".

Oz and Alfreda started to walk towards the tree and as Oz experienced the first time it grew and grew until the were face to face with its bark. Thinking on how complex this entrance was to find Oz had it on good authority now to believe that both the death eaters as well as Hagrid must have had help in getting into the Giants area. To put it simply, it was like they had the 'password' in whilst Oz had to try to crack the password by force. Heck, there was a chance that they might have even just been apparated in by someone in the Belarus Wizarding Government considering their connections.

Placing his hand on the tree, the runes that Oz saw before lit up once again. Alfreda looked at the runes in wonder and Oz noted that she was probably recognising that the runes were similar to the ones at Stonehenge. The trees bark folded in on itself and inside the tree was the same view Oz had seen earlier.

They had both finally arrived at the 'Giants Forest'.

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A/N - Here's an early Christmas present for you all. Probably one of the longest chapters I've written to date (4200 words). Includes some Oz back story, Alfreda and Oz talk, Riddle solving (not tom). I could have easily done 3 parts for this like the Romanian mountain however I'd rather not keep that a normal occurrence... so sometimes a chapter just needs to be bible length.

I hope you all have a good Christmas. I'll be back properly in the new year :)