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The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: jamnaz79

At the end of 2nd year Dobby was not fast enough to stop Lucius Malfoy

from unleashing the Killing Curse at Harry. The result is the soul of the

Dark Lord within the boy has been destroyed releasing bits and pieces of

the knowledge and power of the Dark Lord to the boy. Harry's life from

2nd year onwards and how he will cope. Grey Harry, abandoned this

story

Rated: Fiction M - English - Adventure/Drama - Harry P. - Chapters: 27 -

Words: 137,006 - Reviews: 1,522 - Favs: 4,432 - Follows: 5,237 -

Updated: 18.04.2016, 07:30:59 - Published: 21.02.2014, 01:01:02 -

Status: Complete - id: 10129108

1. Prologue

Hello Everyone,

This is a quick prologue for the new story I am doing for Harry Potter. It will

be a AU of the boy starting at the Summer of Second Year and it will continue

through and beyond 7th year. The premise is what if Lucius Malfoy had not

been stopped by Dobby in casting the killing curse at Harry. No slash, Grey

Harry, character deaths and Harry will be a bit of a player

Note: I do not own Harry Potter or any products associated with it, nor will I

ever profit from the story of Harry Potter. This is just for fun and enjoyment.

Harry looked down at the Headmaster's desk while biting his bottom lip

in concentration. "Headmaster, can I have that book sir? I think I have a

good purpose for it."

Dumbledore glanced at the boy for a time then smiled grandfatherly. A

twinkling filled the eyes of the old man as he met the gaze of the boy

before he spoke up, "Go ahead Harry."

"Thank you Sir!" The boy quickly enacted his plan pulling off his shoe

and sock to slide the dirty sock into the cover of the book before rushing

after Lord Malfoy and his house elf.

"Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Malfoy! You forgot your book." The boy called out as he

shoved the book into the hands of the elder bleach blonde wizard.

The man took one look at the book then glared at the annoying child.

Without thinking he passed the book off towards the house elf at his side

before speaking up with a hiss, "Why don't you prove it Potter! There is

nothing you can do about it."

The man turned and started to walk off after giving one last sneer

towards the boy. Harry motioned to the house elf to open the book.

The giant eyes of the small creature lit up in surprise as he opened the

book. His gaze was riveted to the treasure in his hands, for being gifted a

piece of clothing meant freedom, "Master has freed Dobby! Master has

given Dobby clothes! Dobby is free!"

The blonde aristocrat turned around in surprise that shifted to anger as

he spotted the elf holding a small destroyed journal open in front while

dancing around with a dirty sock. The eyes of the man darkened onto the

thin black haired child with a glare, "You cost me my servant!"

The scream of the man was followed up by him pulling out his wand and

casting at the child so fast that Harry could not move for fear. The

angered Malfoy screamed out, "Avada Kedavra!"

The green light burst from the elder statesman's wand to strike the child

in the face. The boy was blown back against and through the door of the

headmaster to settle into a heap against the man's desk.

The sneer was wiped from the older man's face as he realized what he

had done. The realization came only moments before Dumbledore

appeared in the hallway. The kind old man lost his gentleness as he knelt

down at the side of the boy-who-lived checking for a pulse with a frown.

The eyes of the Headmaster were saddened for a brief second as he felt

no pulse from the boy at his feet before he turned and looked towards the

noble.

The old man slowly stood up and turned to face Lord Malfoy with his

wand drawn. The sight brought the strange though across the mind of

Lucius that he had not seen Dumbledore pull out his wand. The man lost

his nobility a moment as he stuttered, "This is just a misunderstanding

Dumbledore…"

The old man started to walk forward slowly towards the nobleman, "I

think not Lucius, you have just murdered a student in these halls. I feel

you will have to come with me, and I do not expect your money will get

you out of this one. Finishing the task that your Dark Lord had tried to

start will see this turn badly for you."

No words were spoken by the headmaster as Lucius tried to raise his

wand at the old man, yet it was ripped away from the noble's hand to fly

into Dumbledore's own. The bit of wandless, silent magic was followed

up by a bright flash of a Stupefy spell that found the noble stunned and

fallen to the ground.

Albus looked down at the man with a rarely seen seething rage. The man

had the audacity to murder a child in his school. He had killed the last

Potter right before his own office, he had murdered a helpless boy in his

fury. All of his work and plans were destroyed, if the Dark Lord came

back then with Harry gone there would be nobody to fulfill the prophecy!

He had truly failed the boy and the world of magical Britain.

It was at that moment that the Headmaster felt a drawn to snap and slice

the offending noble to pieces for what the man had done but Dumbledore

was stopped by a cry of a phoenix and a flap of the wing.

2. The Light and Dark

Harry Potter had felt the strike of the green ray hitting his body. He also

felt himself being flung back to drive through the Headmaster's door.

Unfortunately for the boy the world became blurred and went dark soon

as he felt the pain. The last sight of the-boy-who –lived was Dobby

looking at him with tears falling from his huge eyes and lips whimpering

in sadness. Perhaps he should not have told the elf to never save his life

again.

Despite the circumstances that would not be the last sight of the boy-

who-lived. The curse struck against Harry blinding him with pain as he

felt his scar creaming through his head. The darkness of the world

opened up as his eyes fluttered awake to a room filled with rays of sun

shining down. A strange song filled the chamber floating to his ears soft

and gentle as a mother's lullaby. He could feel the warmth spread over

his body from the light. The brief pain of the killing curse which had

spread over his body began to disappear into the warmth of the song and

sun.

The world around Harry was a field filled with flowers. Squirrels jumped

from tree to tree, while a slight wind ruffled the hair of the boy as he

found himself sitting on the top of a hill in the field. Harry looked down

as he heard a croak of a moan as he found laying a few feet from him the

tormented and deformed body of Tom Riddle. The man's pale skin was

burning from the light as a green glow seemed to slowly creep upwards

from his toes disintegrate inch by inch in a path up the man's body. Tom's

flesh was melting from his bones as his screams of sheer agony rumbled

from his chest. The fingertips of the man reached out towards the boy

trying to claw and grasp at him but falling short. The spirit sought to

hold onto something desperately to try to find a way to keep alive.

Harry made a mistake, he let his kindness of heart guide him as he took a

step closer to help the dying man. It was at that moment that the fingers

snaked around the ankle of the boy. The touch felt cold, colder than the

deepest darkest winter. It felt as if the night was eternal and no matter

how much wood a man would burn he would never feel warmth in his

life again.

A dark grin spread over the lips of the Riddle as he opened his mouth to

mock the boy. The words came out as a hiss of pain but nothing that

could be understood. But the grin on the shade's lips was short lived as

the green light continued its rush of destruction up the body of Tom

Riddle's soul to complete its purpose fully destroying it. A look of Horror

came over the face of the shade as it met its mortality.

Harry felt a coldness that had seeped into him not disappear when the

shade was destroyed. Instead the coldness intensified rushing from his

ankle up the body of the boy. Finally, the pain was too much and the

darkness crept in as the boy passed out.

The light started to fade from the room as spasms of pain spread over the

body of the boy. He dropped to the ground unconscious landing in the

withering bed of flowers as the warmth of the world started to pale. It

was then at the sad, song trilled from a bird filled the land slowly letting

a bit of warmth creep back into the body of the boy.

Immediately after dealing with Malfoy, Dumbledore turned towards his

office yelling out, "Fawkes!" The bird had flew to the Potter boy whose

body as a cooling copse on the ground at the foot of his desk. The

phoenix seemed to know what to do as instinctively it started to sing to

the child. A soft song of loss and mourning filled the corridor bringing

even the old man to stop and stare. It was a rarity that a phoenix would

sing for a human that was not bound to it. Some claimed that the

phoenix song was the greatest gift that a servant of the Light could hear.

Dumbledore even had rarely heard the song, and the haunting beauty

chilled his heart of the brewing anger he felt.

It was said in legends that the songs of phoenix were powerful enough to

return a soul lost on the way to death. Perhaps this was a symbol of hope

for the child and the truth of the prophecy. Dumbledore stood there

watching the rare bird sing to the child, waiting to see what might take

place.

Harry didn't know how long he had been out when he awoke but he once

again found himself in the middle of the strange warm light. The same

song seemed to float around his body warming the last bit of the deathly

chill. His eyes blinked a few times as he looked around blurry light

waiting for his world to focus. When it did he found himself lying next to

a beautiful woman with long auburn hair and bright emerald green eyes

staring at him. Her right hand gently reached out to stroke his forehead

as she watched him with a smile, "Hello Harry."

Harry licked his cracked lips as he watched the woman, barely trusting

his voice as he spoke softly, "Mom?"

Tears glistened in the eyes of the woman at the single word as she spoke,

"Yes Honey, I am here for you."

The boy sat up quickly and wrapped his arms around the woman

squeezing her pressed to him, "Mom! I never thought I would see you…."

He paused a moment as he leaned back from the hug in surprise, "Am I

dead?"

The auburn haired woman smiled sadly, "No dear, you are not dead. You

are just waiting."

The haunting melody lightly floated through the air as the boy squeezed

his mother in another hug that he never though he would get to give. The

woman brushed her fingertips against his now scar free forehead

brushing the messy hair over the ears of the boy only for it to spring free

again. She could not help but smile, yet wish the poor child didn't end up

with that trait from his father.

The boy spoke up softly, "What am I waiting for mother?"

Lily Evans Potter smiled warmly to her child, "You are waiting to wake

up. You almost died Harry. Lucius cast the killing curse at you. Instead of

killing you it destroyed the fragment of Voldemort's soul that was left in

your body. The night of my death Voldemort bound a part of his soul to

you and gave you that nasty scar. The blood magic I cast on you

rebounded the spell back at him destroying the Dark Lord. When that

happened he reached out to latch onto the nearest thing. That was you

my baby."

She paused a moment stroking his hair gently back and forth just

watching her son. Harry could feel the warmth of her fingertips against

his skin as he smiled brightly for her. Lily then softly spoke up again,

"What you saw before I came was the destruction of that segment of Tom

Riddle's soul. When Lucius cast the spell it struck against the fragment

since was a partial soul and obliterated it from existence. It still tried to

latch onto you but it is gone now. A part of it's knowledge may be placed

into you when you let it grab onto your ankle."

Lily paused for a second as she reached down to raise up the chin of her

son so she could look directly into his eyes before she spoke the next

words, "This may affect you in the future but always remember you are

my son."

Harry looked down at his left ankle to see a set of fingerprints frozen into

his flesh. But his faze turned back to face his mother's smile as she spoke

again, "You will be fine my son."

She continued swiftly as she seemed to be growing fainter, "Now that the

fragment is gone the restraints on you will be too. I don't have long my

dear as my time grows dim, you need to wake up. Use your mind, learn,

live, love and laugh. Find a girl and settle down. "

Lily's eyes sparkled as she grew a mischievous grin, "and your father

would want me to tell you to do some pranking."

"Mom don't go!" Harry cried out to her trying to enclose her into a hug.

He felt her warmth one last moment before his arms went through her.

Lily smile with love in her eyes for her boy, "Don't let your godfather's

get you into too much trouble Harry. Give them a hug for us. Remember

your mother and father love you always!"

The boy woke up sitting right up in his hospital bed as he yelled out, "I

love you too mom!"

The words startled Madam Pomfrey as she worked at the side of the

room. Harry saw her jump at the scream turning to look at him. The boy

also felt the wind ruffling as he looked up and saw Fawkes sitting above

his hospital bed grooming himself. He met the eyes of the phoenix with a

bright smile that the bird seemed to return.

Harry's attention was turned from the bird to the house elf sitting at the

side of the bed twiddling his little thumbs. Dobby sat there in a chair far

too large for the little elf as his bottom lip trembled with tears of

happiness. Before the elf could say something the voice of Madam

Pomfrey filled the room, "Welcome Back Harry. Now sit back and rest. I

will let the Headmaster know you are well."

Harry reached up to grab his head that seemed to be pounding in pain as

Madam Pomfrey gently handed him two vials to drink and pushed him

back down on the bed at the same time. The boy quickly drank the foul

tasting brews which caused the headache to lessen. The woman gently

tucked him in under the covers as she spoke up, "I swear Potter, you are

in here daily. I think I might make a bed for your own private room. A

basilisk wasn't enough? Now the killing curse?"

The woman let out a sign of concern that Harry could tell that she was

grumbling just because she was relieved that he was fine. He noticed the

side of her mouth had a small hidden smile as she spoke to Dobby,

"Dobby, please go let the headmaster know that Mr. Potter is awake."

The little elf smiled brightly, "Dobby go help!" The House elf disappeared

in a flash only to reappear back in moments. Part of Harry's mind

wondered if that was enough time for the elf to tell anyone anything, or

if knowing Dobby he was so excited that the words ran together to be not

understandable. The House elf yelled out happily, "Headmaster comes.

Dobby tells the Headmaster!"

The elf looked at the boy lying in the bed, "The Great Harry Potter saved

Dobby. Dobby is now and forever Harry Potter's elf."

Harry turned his burning bright emerald gaze onto the elf with a small

smile. He reached out with his hand trembling towards the elf. Harry

gave the smaller hands of the little creature a squeeze before he spoke

up, "Thank you Dobby. I am glad I was able to save you."

The elf blinked with a frown, "The Great Master Harry Potter doesn't

understand. Dobby is now Mater Harry Potter's elf. Does Harry Potter

want Dobby to do anything for him? Dobby can make certain Harry

Potter is comfortable!"

The boy blinked remembering how Dobby had tried to help him out

during the year. Especially how many times that caused him to get into

trouble and pain, he realized if Dobby helped him he might never get out

of this hospital bed. Harry spoke up quickly waving his hand to ward off

the idea, "No dobby. I am comfortable."

He could see the sadness creep into the eyes of the elf as it looked at him

unable to help. He let out a sigh knowing that the little hyperactive elf

would not be satisfied till he could do something. Suddenly his mind

pictured his mother from the dream holding him and he had an idea. A

small smile came over his lips as he spoke up, "Dobby, I have an

important mission for you. I want you to find out everything that you can

about my mother and father and their families. Take a good amount of

time but find out as much as you can okay?"

The eyes of the house elf lit up sparkling with tears of surprise and pride

at the mission that he had been given. Master Harry Potter had asked

him to find out about his family! Dobby stood up proud and spoke,

"Dobby promise to find out for Master Harry Potter!" Then the house elf

disappeared in a flash.

Harry was only able to take a few moments to relax after the elf's

departure before the next interruption. The Headmaster Albus

Dumbledore entered the room next to a portly little man with rumpled

grey hair wearing a pinstriped suit and a scarlet tie. Beside the pair of

men walked a middle aged woman with auburn hair, a stern looking face

and a monocle. The trio walked to the bedside of Harry and smiled at the

boy as the Headmaster spoke up, "Harry my boy, you are looking well.

How do you feel."

The boy turned his killing curse green eyes on the pair of men and

groaned slightly, "I feel like the Hogwarts Express ran me over. What

happened to Mr. Malfoy... After he tried to murder me?"

The pudgy man spoke up, "Now, Now Harry don't be hasty. I am sure

Lord Malfoy did not want to murder you."

Harry blinked and looked the man in the eyes with a glare that could

freeze the dead. He grit his teeth then spoke slowly, "Mr…"

Dumbledore spoke up seeing Harry about to retort, "Harry this is

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic and Amelia Bones, the Head of

the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Now Harry can you tell us

what you remember?"

The boy frowned a moment then slowly spoke up, "I went to return the

book back to Mr. Malfoy."

Harry paused a moment as Minister Fudge was about to interrupt him

with a correction of Lord but the glowing glare of Harry's eyes shut the

man up. He cleared his throat and started again. "I went to return the

book to MR. Malfoy I knew it was his because I remember he had it with

him at Flourish and Blotts over the Summer before coming to Hogwarts.

We ran into him and he slipped it into Ginny Weasley's cauldron. That

book is what was used to cause the Chamber of Secrets to open as

planned by MR. Malfoy."

The boy paused as he saw the frown on the face of the Minister and

interest on the faces of Dumbledore and Madam Bones. Madam Bones

spoke up, "Please go on Mr. Potter."

Harry reached out to sip a glass of water at his bedside then spoke up,

"Sorry. My throat was burning. I guess being hit by an Unforgivable Curse

does that."

He watched the pair of men a moment as a strange thought popped into

his head seemingly as if he always had the information. He reached up to

rub where his scar was and noticed it was gone. He caught the eye of

Dumbledore noticing this with a twinkle in the man's eyes. The

headmaster saw the missing scar and reached out to touch the boy's

forehead, "Harry where is your scar?"

The boy shrunk back from the human contact , unused even now to it

since his horrible home life. Afterwards Harry spoke up, "It was fixed by

my mother. She saved me when I heard the music."

Fawkes decided at that moment to let out a squawk which caused Harry

to look up and smile. The phoenix leaned down and rubbed it's head

against Harry's cheek.

The boy smiled warmly at the bird before looking back at the three most

powerful political figures in Magical England. Another strange idea

popped into his head as he smiled warmly towards Madam Bones before

glancing towards the Headmaster, "Hmm, Professor instead of talking of

what happened. Do you have a few vials so I can show you the fresh

memory?"

The Headmaster pulled out four vials from his robes as he stared in

consideration at Harry. It was remarkable to the aged man that the boy

considered memories and the use of a pensive. It was magic that was

normally far advanced for a 2nd year child, most adults never got the

chance to use one due to their expense. It would be a conversation to

have later with the boy about where this knowledge was coming from.

Harry reached into his robes and pulled out his wand slowly drawing out

four memories to place into the vials. He placed down his wand onto his

blanket then immediately handed over the vials to Madam Bones,

"Director Bones, I would like to formally press charges against the House

of Malfoy for attempted murder and conspiracy with the Dark Lord to

harm innocent children at this school. Here are memories that will show

you that MR. Malfoy willingly placed the diary of Voldemort into the

cauldron of Ginny Weasley. The vials contain events that happened in the

Chamber of Secrets, and the attempted murder of MR. Malfoy against

myself."

Harry reached down again to pluck up his wand from the blanket then

looked each of the adults in the eye before he spoke formally, "I swear on

my magic before the Chief Warlock, Director of the DMLE, and Minister

of Magic that I was attacked by the Killing curse by Lord Lucius Malfoy.

If I am lying, may my magic be stricken from my body forevermore. So

mote it be!"

The boy then wordlessly pointed at a candle on the far side of the room.

Immediately a burst of fire erupted and the candle lit up with a rather

large flame. Madam Pomfrey put out the flame with some muttering

about children and fire.

Dumbledore frowned at Harry reaching out to try to take on of the vials

but Madam Bones placed them away first, "Harry, are you certain that

you should be getting involved into this?" The old man obviously meant

with the disgruntled look that he didn't approve of the young man to get

involved into the political and legal situation he was about to get into.

Harry smiled brightly at the Headmaster then shook his head, "Thank you

for your concern Headmaster but I am confident that I want to be

involved. The man tried to kill me in cold blood in the middle of the

school. I offer to take veritaserum about the event as well Madam Bones.

Please have your Department contact me for any further questions that

may need to be answered after you review those memories."

The woman smiled kindly at the boy, "Yes Harry, that would not be a

problem at all. I believe that a magical oath and memories will be

enough without the need for veritaserum. For now though I should get

these to the office vials to be analyzed right away. There are Aurors

stationed outside the door Harry for your protection, so please rest and

relax."

Dumbledore looked at the boy with a sad smile then spoke up, "Harry,

the rest of the students have already left for the year. But, I have

arranged to have you floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron where you will be

given a ride home by your relatives."

Harry grimaced then spoke up, "Professor, Do I have to go back to those

abusive muggles? The hurt me, they locked me up in a cupboard for ten

years. Last year they didn't feed me or let me drink any water for almost

a week at a time just to purposely abuse and torture me. I almost died.

Why do you keep forcing me to go back there all because some silly

Blood ward?"

The Minster of Magic and Head of the DMLE were about to leave the

room when Harry spoke loudly about his home life. Harry mentally

grinned to himself at the situation he just caused knowing that he would

be free of the Dusely's soon. The look on Dumbledore's face was priceless.

The man simply was stunned, he was facing to Harry with his mouth

hung open unable to respond for the moment. He could not believe that

Harry would reveal this information in front of the head of the magical

law offices and the Minster. He could already calculate the amount of

political favors he would owe for this situation.

Amelia Bones walked back over to Harry with a frown. "I want to hear

everything about this situation Harry. An you provide me with a few

memories too?"

Harry looked at her with a bit of concern at giving up those memories,

they were situations he did not want to relive he spoke carefully, "Can

you do anything about the muggle abusing me?"

Madam Bones face took on a dark cast as her eyes Harry would say

shimmered with anger, "Abusing a child? Yes, I think I can handle a

situation like that Harry."

Harry looked at the frown of worry that was on the face of the

Headmaster then back to Madam Bones giving her a small smile that

barely curved the end of his lips, "Of course Madam Bones, I trust you. I

will tell you everything."

Dumbledore stepped towards Harry and started to speak up, "Harry…"

But, he was cut off by the Minister of Magic who was frowning at

Dumbledore, "Perhaps Albus it would be best if we let them talk quietly.

Amelia, I will get Harry a room at the Leaky Cauldron for the next week

and you can assign him some Auror protectors during that time."

The woman turned a smile towards the Minister with a bow of her head

respectfully. She then gave a look that could kill towards Dumbledore

before finally speaking up, "Thank you Minister. I think that indeed will

be necessary for Mr. Potter."

Amelia then turned back towards the boy as the pair of wizards left the

room, "Now Harry tell me everything that you have gone through at

home and this school so I can help you."

I hope everyone lines chapter 2. I have about 20,000 words already

written for the story. I haven't decided a pairing yet, but I am open for

suggestions. Just it will not be Ginny or anything Slash. Any suggestions

let me know. Please review and let me know your thoughts on the story. I

am always open for ideas

3. Who am I really?

Note: I don't own Harry Potter, I don't own anything to do with the stories,

movies, characters, etc etc etc.

Two Days Later

The boy appeared through the fireplace into the Leaky Cauldron with a

stumble. Harry stood up covered in soot as he grumbled under his breath

about always falling whenever he used the floo network. The boy stepped

to the side and started to brush the soot from his clothing. A moment

after Harry stepped away the fireplace allowed a tall black wizard with

broad shoulders to step through. The man was bald and wore a single

gold hoop earring. He was dressed in a set of blue wizard robes with a

dragonskin vest about to be stopped to those carefully looking under it.

He turned towards the boy and smiled warmly, "Come Harry, I have the

rooms prepared."

The man led the boy up the stairs after a wave towards Tom the barkeep.

They entered in a room that appeared to be suite; it had a large

antechamber filled with couches and a fireplace. Two rooms were set off

to the side for bedrooms. Overall Harry felt a warmth from the place, it

was definitely a step up from the Dursley family. Between the couches

the boy saw a small coffee table with a few books placed onto it. Harry

spotted a card on top of the books with his name on it.

Kingsley gave the boy a disarming smile, "Harry, the room on the right

will be yours to use. I need to handle a few matters downstairs and setup

a few extra wards for your protection. I was told that you were raised by

some muggles, so I had my apprentice get you those books on the

Wizarding world. I figured that after everything you went through

learning a bit about the world you are stuck in might be useful."

Harry blinked in surprise at the kindness of the man then spoke up softly,

"Thank you Mr. Shacklebolt."

The man gave a squeeze to the shoulder of the boy, "Just Kingsley is fine

Harry. I will be your protector with my apprentice till your situation is

settled. Rest and relax for now, just please stay in this room. Now I will

be back to check on you in a few hours with some good food."

A few hours later Harry woke from a nap to some knocking on the door.

The boy had curled up on the sofa promptly fell asleep. Rubbing the sleep

from his eyes he walked over and opened the door. Standing in the

doorway was a wizard that appeared to be in his late forties. He had dark

black hair falling down his shoulders that was touched with a few lines of

grey at the temples. His eyes, a pair bright sky blue that seemed to shine

while being settled between a strong nose. The man had a chiseled chin

and a businesslike demeanor that was lessened only by the smile he

projected towards Harry. He spoke with a deep voice, "Hello Mr. Potter. I

am your solicitor Cyrus Greengrass."

Harry blinked in surprise looking the man up and down noticing the

expensive leather briefcase for that the first time that the man was

holding. The thought just occurred to him that perhaps when the Auror

had told him to stay in the room he meant not to open the door to

strangers. But, it was too late for that idea, "A solicitor for me?"

A patient smile came over the man's face, "Yes, I notified your protector

that I would be coming over. May I come in and explain?"

Harry realized he was keeping the man in the hallway so he stepped

aside allowing the man to enter. After closing the door, the boy slipped

his left hand into the pocket of his robes holding to the end of his wand

as he watched Mr. Greengrass carefully. The man placed down his

briefcase on the coffee table before the couch then sat down raising an

eyebrow at the boy waiting for him to join the man.

Harry stepped over and sat down on one of the chairs next to the couch

as he placed his wand down before himself in easy reach.

The black haired man reached over and placed a large vanilla folder

down before Harry that had the name Harry James Potter on the front of

it, "Now Harry. You are an important person and your situation is very

different than normal for our world. So I have been contacted by

Gringotts, due to your family using my firm, to represent your family's

interests in the coming trials."

The boy blinked at the man with a frown, "I am important because I am

the boy-who-lived? Why would that matter to the goblins?"

The dark haired man shook his head back and forth, No Harry, although

it is important to many that you are the boy-who-lived, the goblins do

not care for that matter. They only care because your family is rather

well off. They view your care as important to your Household as Heir of

House Potter and because the recent events of attempted murder, in

addition the abusive treatment of your relatives, they wish to make

certain that you are being properly raised and cared for. To put it

bluntly, you are important to them because of your family fortunes and

nobility. If you were to pass away the gold of your family would no

longer be available to them to make use of due to the conventions of the

goblin wars."

Harry frowned a moment at the idea that Binns class may have actually

been useful, he would have to pay attention next year. Then he shook his

head and the thoughts away, "What do you mean? I saw my vault it has a

few thousand gallons in it only. Why would my family be so important?

We are not different then any other wizard family."

Cyrus frowned back at the boy, "You don't know anything of your family

history Mr. Potter?"

He let out a frustrated sigh at the shake of the head of the boy, "House

Potter has been around since the times of the Romans. They were an

important Ancient and Noble House and one of the remaining ten

founding families of the Wizengamot. Harry, you are far better off

monetary wize then just what you saw in your trust account."

The man paused a moment before he continued, "Mr. Potter, you haven't

been told anything about you family? Not even by your relatives or

magical guardian?"

The boy frowned at the question before he spoke up, "No, I have a

magical guardian?"

The man watched the boy with a frown for long moments then let out a

sigh. He stood up closing his briefcase and shrinking it away then looked

at the boy, "come let's invenstigate this situation. I was not able to access

your parents Will in the Ministry of Magic. It has been sealed there from

public view, accordingly for your own protection. But, there is no reason

you would not be able to see it."

Harry frowned as he started to follow the man out of the room.

Immediately as he stepped room out of the room a pink haired young

woman in her late teams seemed to step out of the wall across from the

doorway.

The woman looked vaguely familiar from school, she stood around five

foot seven with bright pink hair. She wore black robes that seemed to be

rather tight against her skin as he noticed a few curves under them. Her

feet were in combat boots and her eyes darted around the hallway as she

frowned.

Harry assumed that she must be the apprentice that Kingsley had spoken

about so he turned to follow Mr. Greengrass whom seemed to ignore the

girl. "Where do we go to find my parent's Will if it is sealed Mr.

Greengrass?"

The blank haired man stopped and looked back at the boy with a patient

smile, "Gringotts Harry. They have all of the Will's on file for the noble

families. Even if the Ministry has sealed the Will it would not be sealed

by the goblins for a family member."

Harry pulled up the hood of his cloak to shadow his face as he turned to

follow Mr. Greengrass again. The trio walked down through the Leaky

Cauldron to out the walled entrance to Diagon Alley. When the y reached

the brick wall Harry turned to look at the woman still following them

with a frown, "I know you but I can't place the face."

Tonks dark eyes scanned over the face of Harry with a warm smile. She

had pulled the hood of her Auror cloak up to cover her hair, which Harry

noticed was now black instead of bright neon pink. He noticed she had

dark brown eyebrows and a smaller cute nose. She offered him a bright

smile with shining white teeth as she spoke up, "Am I that forgettable

Harry? We were in school together last year. Tonks from Hufflepuff? "

The boy blinked at the cute young woman then smiled brightly, "Now I

remember. Yes, you played Beater for their quidditch team right? You are

an Auror now?"

The young woman shook her head as the wall opened up by Mr.

Greengrass and the trio started to walk towards the goblin bank. While

they moved along Tonks spoke with Harry, yet the boy could see her eyes

were always shifting around towards buildings and other people. "I am

just an apprentice for now to Kingsley. I will be going to Auror training

for a year after the Summer, but for today I get to watch you along with

Mr. Greengrass. Though, we were not supposed to leave the Leaky

Cauldron."

The woman shot a quick glare at Cyrus whom seemed to not notice as

they walked up the steps of the six story building of Gringotts Bank. The

building was made of white marble with columns raised from the ground

to support the second level. The bank seemed to be constructed to lean to

the left and right depending on the level.

The trio made it up the steps and entered into the main chamber walking

over to the fist goblin teller that was free. The creature looked up and

spoke in a rough haggard voice, "What do you want?"

Mg. Greengrass spoke up calmly in return, "We come in the interests of

House Potter, we wish to speak with his account manager and view Mr.

Potter's Will."

The goblin shifted his gaze from the tall black haired man over to the boy

with a perpetual frown which turned to a glare as he noticed the lack of

scar on the forehead of the child. "Do you have his key?"

Mr. Greengrass turned to look at Harry whom shook his head slowly

negative, "No, I was never allowed to keep the Key."

This of course caused the older man to frown again before he looked

back at the goblin, "He will take a blood test to prove whom he is."

The goblin grunted with a frown, "Very well, wait here."

The trio waited for around ten minutes till a small goblin that seemed to

have more white hair in it's ears then head walked forward. He looked

over the trio stopped his gaze to linger on Harry, "Mr. Potter, I am

Grrack. I am the account manager for House Potter. You will follow me

for blood testing of lineage and then we can review your family Will."

The goblin turned around and walked down the hallway expecting the

trio of humans to follow it. After a few minutes that Harry was certain

that he would be lost here after walking through numerous corridors the

goblin stopped and looked at the three humans. He spoke gruffly before

entering the room. "The solicitor may enter but the woman waits outside.

I should also mention that if you are not truly Harry James Potter then

the goblin nation has the right to terminate all false claimants on the

spot."

Tonks glanced at Harry whom seemed a bit white then settled down on

the bench facing the doorway to keep an eye out. She flashed a smile

towards Harry the boy seemed to not notice as he walked into the room.

The room was small around ten by ten with plain white walls and a large

table in the middle with four chairs. There was a stack of white papers on

the table next to a large intricately looking porcelain bowl. The boy was

carved with numerous rubes of all different shapes that Harry had never

seen before. Laying across the bowl was a large silver knife that too was

carved with runes. The goblin sat down in one of the chairs while looking

up at Mr. Greengrass and Harry.

The boy swallowed then walked over to sit before the goblin. He felt Mr.

Greengrass take the seat next to himself as Grrack spoke up, "Mr. Potter

we will perform a blood testing to verify whom you are. This will be

allowed to notify all possible claims that you may have on blood

relations. Now provide your hand."

Harry let out a sigh, rolled back the sleeve of his too large, faded muggle

shirt then reached out his hand towards the goblin.

Grrack took the hand with small, calloused and rough fingers then turned

so the wrist facing down before sliding across it with the silver knife.

Harry winced at the cut as his vein was split, watching the blood flow

down into the clear rune carved bowl. After a few moments Grrack

placed down the knife and plucked up a cloth to press to the wound. The

cloth glowed briefly and Harry felt a cooling sensation on his arm.

Removing the cloth the boy could see that the cut was no longer there.

Under his breath the boy muttered to himself "Wish I had this to deal

with the Dursley abuse."

Mr. Greengrass looked over at the boy, catching the words as his lips

pressed together into a distinct frown.

The goblin in the meantime had placed a parchment over the top of the

bowl. The parchment started to glow crimson color as the blood seemed

to disappear from the bowl. A few minutes past in silence before the

goblin pulled away the parchment. The boy was spotless as if it had

never been filled with blood. The parchment's glow seemed to fade from

crimson to a soft blue as Grrack laid it down before the two humans.

Grrack cleared his throat then spoke up, "You are the pureblood son of

James of House Potter and Lily of House Golge."

Mr. Greengrass blinked in surprise as a slight frown formed on is lips,

"House Golge? I am not familiar with that Household. I thought Lily

Potter was named Evans."

Grrack growled in frustration at the humans question before answered,

"She was adopted by the muggle family of the Evans Household. As for

how, I do not know of human matters like that perhaps something was

left to indicate why in her grandmother's vault." The goblin stopped to

gaze at Harry closely to see how he was taking the knowledge.

The boy sat perfectly still in concentration over what he had just heard.

His mother was adopted. She was not a muggleborn! Hell, he wasn't even

related to the Dursley family! Why the fuck was he with the Dursley

family then? How was those wards powered?

Harry cleared his throat then spoke up, "Mr. Grrack if a blood ward was

set to a location that supposedly used as a connection for my blood to my

mother's adopted sister how would it be powdered?"

The goblin frowned and looked at the boy a moment, "There could not be

a ward by blood there Mr. Potter. You are not blood related to that

muggle family. I would guess that if there was a ward it would then be

powered by your own and the casters magic to sustain it."

Harry closed his eyes and thought about how he felt so much weaker

whenever he came back home to the Dursley family. Whenever he was at

the house he would feel a bitter drain on his body. He would often feel

sickly and not well, even though he was never actually sick. It had to be

the case that Dumbledore had been using him to power the ward, then

perhaps whatever happened to him when Malfoy hit him with the killing

curse served that link. Harry's killing curse green eyes snapped open,

"The goblins are good curse breakers currect?"

Grrack for a moment looked very insulted, to the point that Harry

wondered if he should have asked that question, "We are the best."

Harry's fingertips started to drum onto the tabletop as he frowned, "My

account would have enough ti pay for two teams of curse breakers on a

rush notice then correct?"

Grrack raised an eyebrow looking between Harry and Mr. Greengrass

with a single nod. "Your trust vault would cover the expense. You can not

access your main fault value of the Potter family and unfortunately we do

not have ant information on what is contained in the House Golge vault

in Istanbul. It is quite an expense but your trust vault will refill on your

birthday to full."

Harry frowned as he looked down at his knuckles seeming them turn

white, so he removed them from the table to fold into his lap. The boy

took a deep calming breath, making a note that someday he would need

to do something for his anger but for the moment it felt righteous, ""I

want to know what the ward is before it disappears. The Headmaster

required me to stay at my aunt's residence every year. Supposedly, if I am

there I am safe from some ward. I just want to find out why. I will pay

the cost to find out what the ward did to me."

Mr. Greengrass slightly frowned at the corners of his lips as he watched

the goblin and boy speak, The idea of a blood ward being placed and

powered by a child was sickening to the man. He considered someone

doing that to his two little girls and became incensed. Blood magic was

darker magic and although most old families still used it sometimes for

protection to power it with a growing child was unheard of. He spoke up,

"We would definitely be interested to determine what Mr. Potter has been

subjected to. The sooner these services can be acquired the better."

Grrack frowned then pressed a button on the desk. He pulled out a piece

of parchment then passed it to Harry in which the boy read over and

signed at once, "This is the authorization for two teams and the fees

associated. They will be dispatched within the hour. I will see the report

delivered to each of you."

A goblin walked in and picked up the parchment before departed without

a word. Once he was gone Grrack turned back to the humans, "Now here

is a list of your assets from House Potter. Most of the Potter family assets

will not be able to be acquired till after you are considered an adult at

fifteen or you have special disposition to emancipate yourself."

Harry took hold of the paper studying it over with a frown. The top of

the parchment read the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Under the

heading Harry saw a list of seventy five million gallons in the family

vault. His own trust vault was replenished to seven thousand gallons

every year. Still with the exchange rate listed ten pounds to a gallon

Harry would never need to worry about money in his lifetime. In

addition to money there was a list of assets including foreign and

domestic businesses in the muggle and magical world including part

ownership in the wizard wireless company and Mr. Greengrass firm.

There were six current residence that the Potter family owned. The one

he knew about was Godrick's Hallow residence which had been destroyed

and left unrepaired. It appeared to have been claimed as a magic

historical sight by the Ministry of Magic. Harry was not certain how he

felt of the place of his parent's deaths being a considered the Disney

World of Magical Britain, but he let that stay for now.

In addition there was Potter Manor which was located in Scotland near

Hogwarts actually. Unfortunately, the Manor was also listed as being in

ruined condition. Perhaps he could get the goblins to fix the Manor when

he became of age to move in. He also owned a flat in downtown London,

a second flat in downtown Paris, a house in strangely enough Istanbul.

That house begged the question if his mother knew of her heritage.

Finally, the most interesting part was that he owned the residence that

the Dursleys lived in at number 4 Privet drive. A smirk crossed the lips of

Harry as he considered at the Dursleys had never paid him rent.

Harry looked up with a grin splitting his face that the Cheshire cat from

Alice in Wonderful would be proud of, "I believe that we need to evict

the family living at number 4 Privet Drive. Please have them out on the

streets as soon as possible. That should make it easier to have your teams

study the wards."

Grrack's face took on a grin, that looked like a glare but perhaps that was

just the way of goblins, "It shall be done by this evening. I have someone

acquiring the Will of your parents first. But, after that Mr. Potter we have

three vaults that you may visit. Your trust vault, a Ministry started Potter

family vault containing items from your residence at Goddrick's Hallow,

and finally a secondary family vault for House Golge is here. Which do

you wish to visit?"

Harry glanced at his representative then back to the goblin, "I would like

to see my families Will then visit the Golge vault and the vault with my

parents processions."

Grrack pressed a button and the same goblin as before walked in and

placed down a sealed envelope onto the table. Grrack handed the

envelope with a dagger to Harry and watched quietly.

The boy pricked his finger and pressed his against the envelope, slowly it

unraveled into a long sheet of paper. The boy glanced it over quickly

with a frown, it simply outlined that Harry would acquire all of their

processions and would become the Heir of House Potter. There were

instructions that Harry would be required to enter his mother's family

vault once he became eleven years old. There was no further instructions

for Harry of what he would do within the vault on that he would enter

alone. The boy glanced down at the common list of items on the Will till

he stopped on the guardians with another frown. Not speaking a word

Harry just shook his head and passed the Will over to Mr. Greengrass.

Mr. Greengrass took the Will to read quietly, as he did a small tick

started to form on his forehead before he spoke up, "It appears that you

were not supposed to be placed anywhere near your Aunt or Uncle ever."

Harry quietly nodded his head and his right hand tapped his fingertips

onto the table, "I should have been given to my godfather Sirius Black

and if that failed House Longbottom or House Diggory to be raised."

The killing curse green eyes of the boy turned towards the goblin, "I

would like two copies of the Will to be made for Mr. Greengrass and

myself. Also could we have a record of all transactions since the date of

my parent's death for my trust vault and House Potter's vault."

The old goblin stood up slowly then glanced towards the boy and

solicitor, "It shall be done. Do you wish to see the vaults now?"

The boy offered a nod towards the aged goblin in agreement then

followed the creature from the room to find out what was in store next

for him.

Author note: I just wanted to say thank you for all of the reviews and reader

so far. I was very surprised that people liked it so much after just a chapter

really of writing. I tried to answer as many reviews as possible and I look

forward to more ideas. I expect year three to be slightly different than normal

for Harry and the boy will grow very different then the Harry in the normal

books. Hopefully he is coming off as slightly more mature but still not

completely sure of himself. I am looking for a Beta if anyone wishes to do it

for the story. I should have another chapter up this week on Wednesday or

Thursday. Thank you again for reading it and I hope that everyone likes it so

far.

PS Golge is Turkish for Shadow

4. Gringotts Family Vaults

I want to first thank my new Beta Winged Seer Wolf for the assistance on

the chapter! I really appreciate their help already and I am very lucky to

have them working on our story! I hope you all enjoy the chapter, it is a

building chapter instead of an action one but I think it has some

interesting subplots. There should be around 4 more chapters for the

Summer left before year 3 starts. As always please let me know your

thoughts good or bad for the story in reviews.

Note: Please note I still don't own Harry potter.

The three humans followed the goblin to a large cavern. Grrack turned

back with a vicious smile then got into a strange railed cart, almost like

an old mine car that appeared to have been changed for fast travel. Once

all three were in the cart the goblin slammed the lever forward and they

burst off like a gunshot.

Harry leaned back and enjoyed the brisk air as it flew by him making

him feel like he was on his nimbus 2000 streaking through the sky. The

journey was exhilarating to the boy as this was the closest he had ever

gotten in his young life to an amusement park. Unfortunately for Harry,

the trip ended too fast as Grrack slammed on the brakes almost causing

Tonks to fall out of her seat.

The boy looked up and noticed that they were before vault 687, his trust

vault. Harry leapt free of the cart to follow the goblin up to the door. All

Harry needed from his vault was some coins to use over the summer. He

had plans to change his clothing, remove the Dursley stench, and acquire

some components and new books to start his studies. Once the locking

mechanism was done, Harry walked in with a small pouch that had an

expansion enchantment along with security and feather-light

enchantments. He quickly started to scoop up piles of the coins into the

pouch filling it as quickly as possible. Then Harry turned and walked

back towards the others on the cart.

The second part of the journey was far too quickly again for Harry's

tastes. It seemed as soon as they had got back onto the cart they were

standing before the vault with his parent's processions. Harry stood up in

the cart just watching the doorway for a time. The pit of his stomach was

rolling about with back flips of concern as he watched Grrack move

towards the doorway. As much as Harry wanted to go forward he felt

frozen in place watching as time passed slowly. Harry felt a hand on his

shoulder and a squeeze from Mr. Greengrass that finally jolted him back

to reality. Together they got off of the cart and walked towards the vault.

Grrack drew his fingertip down the center of the doorway as the locks

started to slide open one by one before he allowed the two humans to

enter. The family storage vault was about the same size as his trust vault.

The far back was stacked to the ceiling with furniture of different ages

and conditions. Some of them were still blackened from an explosion that

had made his former scar. The right side of the room was filled with

books and piles of sealed boxes stacked up to the ceiling in rows. The left

side held two frames that seemed to be covered up under sheets.

Harry stood there for a time as he felt the wetness on his cheeks as he

looked over the ruins of his parent's life. Slowly the boy took a deep

breath then let it out, glancing back at the entrance he saw Mr.

Greengrass standing there. The man smiled at the boy and Harry returned

it, "Sir this might take a while if you want to go back. I need to go to the

last vault by myself anyways."

Cyrus Greengrass smiled at the child before him, wishing he could do

more to help the poor boy. He could see the pain etched on the child's

face and swore that he would never let his daughters go through

something like this. He nodded his head then spoke firmly, "I will do that

Harry, but if you need me. I will be there for your Harry."

"Thank you Mr. Greengrass," Harry spoke up before he turned back to

walk over towards the right side of the room. He picked up a few books

seeing that they old class books from Hogwarts, along with a few that

seemed to be from advanced studies.

Harry never had known that his parents did any advanced studies after

Hogwarts but it seemed some were from transfiguration and others from

Charms. He placed them back down after glancing through them making

a mental note to review them later on during the summer. Instead the

boy turned his glowing green eyes towards the stacks of boxes.

Harry reached up and pulled down the first large box. He placed it onto

the ground then opened it up, inside seeing piles of clothing neatly folded

up. He slowly reached into the box then pulled out a dress. The dress was

a white summer dress that seemed to be fit for a woman with a slender

waist. The boy stood there looking at the dress then raised it up to his

face as tears spilled down his cheeks. He could smell the scent of

lavender on the dress. Harry couldn't help but wonder if this was the

smell of his mother's perfume? He held the dress close wishing to feel the

warmth from his parents. Harry collapsed to the ground for a good hour

crying to him over what he had lost and for what he never got to know.

An hour later, Harry placed the dress back into the box and stood up to

start searching once more. He started to go through the other boxes

determined to find every scrap and detail that he could of his family. A

few of his father's clothing items, most of which were too big, he placed

the side. Harry also found a black leather jacket that had the word prongs

written on the back in Ancient Greek. Part of Harry couldn't help but

wonder when he learned the word in Ancient Greek but that was quickly

dismissed. He started to make a small pile of things he would find a way

to keep near him, perhaps in a larger trunk for the future.

Harry kept searching for items of interest for a few hours. While going

through the boxes the boy found one that contained a chest of jewelry

that his mother must have worn. He carefully pulled the box out and

placed it into the growing pile. He could share it someday with someone

special, he was certain that his mother would want that. Under the

jewelry box Harry noticed two small books, and a small rectangular

shaped sealed box. He reached down and pulled them out feeling each to

be covered in green dragon skin.

Harry slowly opened the green dragon skin book and saw it was a journal

of his mother. The first entry was listed as a month prior to her start at

Hogwarts. Harry sat there and started to read it over, skimming parts as

quickly as he could to get more. He was a thirsty man stuck in the middle

of the desert and this book was his last can of water. He felt the need to

know and learn more.

Harry looked back down at the diary so far he had read the basics of Lily

Evans life. He had read where she had found out she was a witch. The

book talked about her best friend Severus and their hope to become

sorted into the same House at Hogwarts. It turned out that Severus Snape

actually was the first person to tell her that she was a witch. It also

appeared that she knew she was adopted as Aunt Petunia had taken

every opportunity to tell her that she was. Reading the diary Harry

started to get a perspective for the life of his mother and a new

perspective on Professor Snape. He forgot the time unfortunately while

this was going on till he heard the clearing of a throat from outside.

The rough voice of the goblin calls out, "Mr. Potter, you have been in

there three hours. Remember time is money."

Harry cleared his throat then called out. "I will not be much longer

Grrack. You may charge the House Potter account for the time of your

services."

The same voice as before called into the vault, "Agreed Mr. Potter."

Harry looked back down at the book carefully then slowly flipped it to

the last page. The final page was dated by the book in the top right hand

corner October 31, 1981. It was written in scratched quick handwriting

that showed urgency unlike Lily's normal hand. The writing was drawn in

a crimson pen that took Harry a moment to realize it was blood.

Harry

I know it will never make up or not being there but know that your father and

I love you my dear. I hope and pray I am wrong, but Voldemort is here. The

wards are falling and the portkeys are blocked. He found us. Peter broke the

secret and told him. Take the box to Sev. I placed a blood….

The writing stopped as if she ended in the middle of the sentence. For the

second time that day Harry felt tears stared to squeeze free. Part of him

wondered if there was any water left in his body at this point. A sad

chuckle broke from his chest as he closed the journal holding it tightly to

his side. After a time the tears ended from the laugh which turned to a

scream of rage. At what had been taken from him.

Harry felt tired and exhausted, he felt pushed to the edge emotionally

after the past few months. First, the whole school including many of his

friends seemed to turn against him believed he was some sort of killer,

next he was almost killed in cold blood. Now here he was looking

through the belongings of his parents realizing what he truly lost. Harry

determined no more tears, no more pity, no more crying. He was tired of

being a fool, tired of being a patsy. He would find his own want to make

his destiny and learn whom he truly was.

Harry glanced down at the journals picking them up with the jacket with

a small smile. He may be lost but he had found a guide for the path to

walk, he wasn't unsure anymore whom he was. It was a few hours all

together between the shy little boy entering the cavern vault and the

young man with a different heart exiting it.

After Harry left the vault he scanned the darkness to see the cart waiting

for him. Seated up front was a frustrated Grrack, the goblin appeared to

be glaring at Harry for making him wait so long. In the back seat instead

of Mr. Greengrass the boy spotted Tonks. She was leaning back cleaning

her nails looking calm as possible, yet the boy could see from the raised

eyebrow towards Harry she was in a rather poor mood.

The young woman looked up from her nails as she studied Harry. When

Tonks got a good view of his red eyes she bit her lip letting out a sigh.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Harry just looked at her for the question raising his right eyebrow. It

seemed to him a silly question. He had just left the vault of his dead

parents of course he was not alright. Well he was better than he thought

he would be. He realized lashing out at an Auror, a young beautiful one,

was most likely not the best idea so he shrugged his shoulders and pasted

on his best fake smile, "I am fine Ms. Tonks."

The green eyed boy settled into his seat in the cart, with a motion from

Grrack the trio was off to the last vault. This time the trip down the

railway took far longer to reach then the previous two combined. They

actually sped up even faster, from the corner of his eye he noticed that

Tonks hair had turned a distinct green one might associate with motion

sickness. They swooped past later and larger vaults, some of them even

had a dragon outside. Finally, after a good fifteen minutes then slowed to

a stop before a large cavern area. The Golge vault had a large door that

was carved out of the ten foot tall twin blocks of the blackest obsidian. At

the side of vault doors stood two obsidian giant statues each of masked

men wearing cloaks that covered the statures from head to foot. Only the

eyes of each statue were visible and they seemed to be carved out of

rubies the size of Harry's head.

Harry got up to walk towards the doorway noticing that the goblin did

not stand up this time. He glanced back with a frown before Grrack spoke

up, "Mr. Potter only you can open the vault. All of the ancient House

vaults contain this requirement. Simply cut your hand and place it

against the stone. If it accepts you then the door will open. If not…" The

goblin fell silent as he just grinned darkly at the boy.

For a brief moment Harry's Slytherin side had to wonder if perhaps the

goblin had it out for him. But he shook off the idea as too many would

know that he had disappeared here in Gringotts for that to be plausible.

He took out a small pocket knife and made a tiny incision along his right

palm. The boy watched the crimson flow well up from his hand for a

moment wondering if he was destined to always be bleeding. Harry

shook off the thoughts then reached up to place his palm against the

center of the doorway.

There was an echoing groan in the cavern as the two obsidian statues

turned golems shifted their bodies towards Harry. For a second the boy

for a shiver down his spin as the glowing red rubies watched him. He felt

a touch of magic up and down his body as if they were scanning him to

determine if he was worthy. The single though ran through his head that

if he was found lacking at least it would be quick! The silence felt

deafening to Harry before the large twin black doors disappeared into a

smoky mist that sent a shiver down his body. The Statues seemed to

rumble in twin voices that Harry could not understand but felt in his

bones the need to enter. "Giris"

Harry took a deep breath then slowly stepped forward into the darkness

and unknown. He was surprised as soon as he stepped through the

barrier to find the obsidian walls behind him returned. The mist was

gone and there was a faint green light filling the chamber from moss

growing above the large chamber. His emerald eyes scanned the room

but found it contained a single table. On the tabletop was a pair of large

thick books and a dagger. The books appeared to be ancient even from a

distance he could see the yellowing of pages and dried husks on the cover

that once appeared to be basilisk skin. The dagger at their side seemed to

flicker in the torchlight with crimson runes carved into the blade.

Harry stepped closer to the dagger and gently picked it up in his left

hand. The dagger flickered in the torchlight; shadows seemed to cling to

the dagger causing it to disappear in his hand if he did not look directly

at it. The dagger felt light as a feather to the boy as he moved it around

his left hand. After a moment Harry switched the blade to his right hand.

The moment Harry switched the dagger to his right hand the hilt touched

to the remains of the blood on his palm. The Harry felt warmth start to

run over his body pulling on the magic from his core. It felt as if some

force was rapidly draining on his core, squeezing the magic from his

body. He panicked and tried to drop the blade but it was too late, a

crimson glow was burning from the dagger starting to fill up the whole

cavern. That glow rushed up his hand and arm to his shoulder. Chasing

the bright crimson glow was pain, and aches as if every muscle in Harry's

body tried to spasm and rip at the same time. The pain was too much and

the boy blacked out falling to the ground at the feet of the table.

He was uncertain how long he stayed there when he awoke, it could have

been five minutes or five hours. Harry looked down and saw that the

dagger was not gone replaced by an obsidian ring with a blood red

symbol carved on the top that he knew instinctively was for House Golge.

The sigil looked to be an upside down V with a half-moon under it that

appeared to be drawn in blood red. The outside of the ring was etched in

tiny blood red runes carved into the surface.

Harry finished his inspection of the ring and reached up to rub his

forehead stopping has his hand pressed against his chin. He felt surprise

rush through his as he had hair on his chin! He ran his hands along his

chin to find fresh stubble grown into a small goatee. Shocked he reached

up to touch the hair on his head not finding the short scruffy hair but

instead long falling down locks that touched almost to his shoulders.

Harry blinked in surprise pulling some of his hair around before his eyes,

"Shit."

Harry slowly stood back up feeling a little unbalanced as he did then

leaned over the table towards the pair of books. The pair of books were

marked in a language he had not seen before. Harry stared at it for a few

moments before his eyes seemed to sort out the letters. The first book

title was "The Path of Truth." The second book was titled "The Clan of

Golge."

Harry slowly reached out to open the Path of Truth book. He found that

it was divided into sections on the first page. The sections were the Path

of Wisdom, Path of Battle, Path of the Mind, Path of Blood. He let out a

smirk to himself, "I wonder if they have a path to get rid of this

headache."

He flipped a few pages through the Path of Wisdom and it seemed to tell

of the code and philosophy of House Golge. The Path of Battle was all

about different spells to be used and when to use them. He found an

array of spells listed for offensive and defensive use, some elemental

spells, and a few things he was sure the ministry would consider Dark. He

tried to flip to the spells themselves but found only a few of the assigned

pages filled out. The only spells he could find were basics of the forms for

the different disciplines. It was as if the book felt he was not ready for the

knowledge and would not provide it to him. He let a smirk touch his lips,

"It is a good thing I plan to be different this year, to apply and learn."

Harry flipped to the Path of the mind next. He found that it talked of how

to use magic without vocalizing and movements when necessary. In

addition it seemed to explain ways to train the mind to protect your

secrets. Harry figured it might be useful even though he doubted anyone

would really want to see what was in the mind of a thirteen year old.

The final segment of the book was the Path of Blood. This area spoke

about numerous rituals for everything from blood wards, seasonal rituals,

how to place or remove blood curses and even virginity rituals. Harry

was not certain that the Ministry would be less than pleased to see this

book. He frowned to himself thinking that he had an Auror outside

waiting for him, he would not like her to find out about it. Harry closed

the book to put it down thinking he would store it for now then come to

retrieve it later. When his ring touched to the book it seemed to dissolve

into darkness. A few seconds later he saw that the darkness was gone and

instead a red rune on the right of his new ring appeared.

The young man took out the book for the Clan of Golge next and started

to flip through it. The book seemed to be about the history of the clan.

The language it was written in seemed to change through time periods

from Ancient Greek to Latin to Arabic to Turkish. In the back of the book

was a chart that traced down the ancestry of the family through the ages

from four hundred BC till the modern day. He even saw his own name

listed in the chart. The boy closed the book and tried to touch it to the

ring. At first nothing happened then he concentrated on the book

thinking storage and it too disappeared into shadow to become a rune.

Harry looked around the chamber seeing that it was completely empty.

So he turned and walked outside of the vault. Unfortunately walking

seemed to have betrayed him as he almost tripped a few times as he tried

to leave the chamber.

Once the young man was outside of the vault Tonks perked up and stared

at the boy in surprise. Her eyes flickered from blue to green to red as her

hair matched the transition. The surprise was clearly evident on her face

as she broke the stunned silence, "Harry, what happened to you?"

Harry looked at the young woman in surprise, "What do you mean

Tonks?"

Tonks pulled her wand out and flicked at the ground next to Harry. Out

of the ground a conjuration of a full length mirror rose from the floor

showing Harry to himself. The mirror betrayed that Harry had grown

massively since he entered the chamber. He stood around five foot seven

inches tall now when before he was closer to four foot eight inches. His

body had filled out with wiry muscle all over his frame. His hair had

grown from short and scattered over his head to now filling out with full

long locks that fell to the shoulders. His chin was chiseled with a small

goatee and he had a scruffy exterior almost making a five o'clock shadow

along his cheeks. To put it simply he appeared to be a twelve year old in

the body of a sixteen year old, "What the Fuck?"

Tonks slowly climbed from the rail cart to stand looking up and down

Harry with a frown, "I don't know what happened in there Harry but

family magic is powerful and always does things for a reason. I haven't

ever seen anything like this before though. The important question is are

you still you?"

Harry frowned at the mirror and her question then turned to look at her

with his killing curse green eyes, "I feel like I am me."

As he spoke up he couldn't help but notice his voice seemed to have

changed from the crackling of puberty to a deeper tone. He turned back

to looking at the mirror studying himself in wonder. He gave a shake of

the head, he shouldn't be surprised it seemed he was always fate's bitch

for the world of the strange. Why not go through express puberty then

too? At least he wouldn't have to go through "The Talk" as Ron told him

he had to do with Percy.

Tonks raised an eyebrow as she watched Harry carefully with a frown.

She could see his hair started to shorten before her eyes. His eyes seemed

to decrease and grow a few inches intermittently. A small smile spread

over her lips, this would be an interesting summer indeed. "Remember

always what is outside doesn't make us whom we are. As long as you are

the same inside is what matters Harry."

Harry frowned at the mirror as he lost his concentration from her words.

Harry let out a sigh and gave her a small smile which turned into a grin

as he looked down slightly towards her, "Looks like I am almost taller

then you now Tonks."

Tonks smirked at the younger teen, "Judge me by my size now do you?

Hmm?"

Right after the words were spoken Tonks concentrated and grew taller

before the eyes of the boy. A smile crossed her lips as she became close to

sixe foot tall with her chest at his eye level. This fact was that was not

missed by Harry. Tonks leaned forward towards the boy bot realizing the

view she gave as she spoke up, "Remember Harry some of us can control

our size."

The boy looked down the Auror's blouse then smiled up at her, "Indeed, I

see you control your size well."

Tonks realized where his eyes were located and smirked as she shrunk

herself back down to normal. The young woman smiled at the boy then

pointed at the cart, "Come, get into the cart so we can get you some new

clothing."

Harry looked down at his shirt that was far too tightly and his pants that

were ready to rip at the seams, not to mention up to his mid calves. Then

he leapt into the cart with a cheeky smile, "Here I thought tight pants

were all the rage."

The boy received a swat on the back of the head as Tonks joined him in

the cart then the shot off to Diagon Alley.

5. Summer Days

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. I could say

that if I did own Harry Potter that I would have found a way for the tri-

wizard tourney to contain more schools. It seems silly that there are only three

wizard schools in all of Europe.

-SotWW-

Albus Percival Brian Dumbledore sat in his office leaning back into his

old chair to watch a group of tiny silver artifacts sitting on his far wall.

The artifacts normally spun together in a random patterns to tell the aged

wizard the situation regarding one particular boy of interest. They had

been setup ten years before when events unfolded that made Harry James

Potter into the boy-who-lived. While Albus could not be there with the

boy daily or raise him, heaven forbid that he was far too old! He did care

what happened and found the boy important to his plans. Hence the old

wizard was staring at the wall, since all of the artifacts at once had

stopped moving.

Each of the five different artifacts were keyed the magical core of young

Mister Potter. One was keyed to the wards that were strung through

Harry's and his own Magical Core to provide protection to the boy. A

second was placed to determine if the location of the boy, it would be

able project the address of wherever the boy might go unless he was

behind extremely powerful wards. The third artifact would display the

relative strength of the boy's core growth. It could determine how

powerful the young wizard was and project his learning and where it

might become more powerful. The fourth determined the leanings of the

heart, or so he believed, it helped to show if Harry was on the right path

to a proper life as a light wizard. The final one was the most important as

it showed that Harry was alive and living. So of course there was some

consternation when all of these artifacts at once stopped and went silent.

In fact Dumbledore had just stood up about to go check on the devices as

surely there was a mistake that they had somehow malfunctioned when

three of the devices exploded shattering the shelf, dumping the rest of the

contents to the floor and turning to silver slag. Luckily for Albus he was

the Supreme Wizard of his age and was able to weave a quick wandless,

silent spell of protection for him. Yet, he was not so lucky for his

belongings in his chambers.

It had taken the aged wizard an hour to put back together the two

artifacts that had not exploded. The artifact linked to young Harry's

magical core health glowed bright as the noon sun when it was turned

back on. It caused even his phoenix familiar to squawk in anger as the

light disturbed it's nap, funny enough it had slept through the explosion.

Albus took this to be wonderful news since this meant that Harry was

fine magically and actually surprisingly out of the blue he had become

extremely powerfully charged to his core.

The second artifact was the health tracer which now spun putting off a

warm light. Albus could tell this meant that Harry was better now

physically and emotionally then he had been ever before. Of course the

fact that most likely he was partly responsible for the past trauma's and

home life did bother the Leader of the Light. He knew that for the

Greater Good was a great slogan and he wanted to always do what was

best for the masses, but even to him it could still hurt the sacrifices that

he had forced on young Harry.

It had been a trying few weeks since the end of the term for the

Headmaster. He had time to think and think over his mistakes, which

were numerous since he had such a long life. He knew he had made a

horrible mistake now by putting the boy with that terrible excuse for

people and a muggle family. He was quite certain if his sister were able

to come back from the dead she would slap him for his mistake. He

should have listened to Minerva when she mentioned the type of people

that they were. Perhaps he could have placed the boy to be raised with

the Weasley or Longbottom family or even raised by a different light

wizard family.

The problem had been that the Longbottom's were a target too and just a

day after the attack on the Potters if he had placed him there he most

likely would have been killed when Frank and Alice were harmed. The

Wizengamot would never have allowed Remus Lupin to take the boy, not

to mention that the man became a drunkard and disappeared unable to

reached until a few days ago. Perhaps bringing him in to become the

teacher of the Dark Arts this year might help young Harry calm down

and adjust, and be a good influence on the boy. Still, the question

remained whom could he have trusted with the most important boy in

the world. If you cannot trust your own family who can you trust?

Albus let out a sigh at the thoughts running through his head, he glanced

over towards his phoenix familiar, "Do you think I will be able to get the

boy to forgive?"

The bird seemed to bow its proud head towards the Headmaster before

letting out a squawk. Albus gave the magical bird a smile the nodded his

head, "I hope you are right Fawkes. I will give him some time to calm

down then speak with him. Harry has the ability to forgive in his heart, I

am sure I can make him understand that what I did was for the best for

him."

The old man took out a quill and parchment and started to write a letter

to the boy.

-SotWW-

It had been a few weeks since classes had let out. At the moment Harry

was living in the London Flat that belonged to House Potter. His fate for

who had the right to raise him was in dispute in the Ministry between the

Diggory and Longbottom families. Not to mention more than a few

families tried to make a claim to have the right to adopt the Boy-who-

lived. A few of those seemed to have eager mothers that might play

matchmaker, one most likely being Ms. Weasley.

Harry though was very happy in his flat for the time being. It was on a

tenth floor condo located in downtown London with a beautiful view of

the Thames River. The flat had four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a

large sized kitchen with an open feel to the place. The place had been

cleaned to a spotless shine by the happy House Elf Dobby.

The House elf had returned a week ago to Harry notifying him that he

had this residence ready to live in. While it appeared that the Manor was

not able to be reached till his age of majority, and would need exhaustive

repairs that could only be afforded with his inheritance, Harry still had

the right to live in the flat here or in Paris. Harry had already started to

learn French, the chance to visit another country excited the boy!

Dobby's mission had been successful in a typical Dobby way. Harry first

entered the flat to find an entire room stacked floor to ceiling filled with

Potter family items and artifacts. What was worse was that each of the

boxes were magically filled so there was literately enough heirlooms,

books, clothing and random junk to last Harry all Summer to sort

through. But, that had been resolved from a few orders from the boy

which Dobby returned most of the items to the storage in Gringotts.

Dobby had acquired two paintings that were kept, along with numerous

family histories and journals for the Potter family that Harry found

interesting. These new books and portraits lined the walls of the library

which was formally the fourth guest bedroom. Dobby had also found a

tapestry which magically showed all of the Potter family relatives that

carried up to first cousins. Unfortunately it appeared there was only

Harry left on the chart, it was still a great resource to track in the future.

The two paintings that Dobby had found were of Theodore Potter, a

former Headmaster of Hogwarts that lived from 1598 till 1621.

According to one of the family books he was part of House Ravenclaw

and grew in renown as a great scholar at the time and helped to invent

the levitation charm! Ironic that the first magical spell that Harry had

cast willingly with a wand was actually invented by one of his ancestors!

The second portrait that was found was of Dorea Potter nee Black. Lady

Potter was the wife of Charlus Potter, Harry's grandfather. He was excited

for the chance to talk to her and connect to his own real blood family.

Unfortunately both paintings had been asleep since they had been found.

According to his roommates that would eventually wake up and be able

to chat with him before the end of the Summer.

Harry figured that his next task for the dedicated House Elf would be to

investigate his godfather Sirius Black, a known convict, and then perhaps

he would set the elf over the school year to looking into details of the

past of his mother's mysterious family. So far all Harry had been able to

determine was that her House name was Turkish for Shadow. The

question was why?

One of the guest bedrooms was occupied by Tonks, whom had become

the unofficial guardian of the boy. Rather ironic that her mother

Andromeda Tonks was one of the families trying to adopt Harry to raise

him as well. Kingsley stopped by daily just to check on Harry but had

assigned Nymphadora to the boy full time. Or at least till it was decided

whom would be in charge of the care of Harry.

The residence was warded, as heavily as possible for a muggle condo

could be, for the time being. But the ministry was taking no chances that

any trouble could occur to Harry while he was under their protection. He

had even been able to get Kingsley to submit and get approved a request

to allow him to practice magic in the apartment for the time being. It was

done under the decision that was in his best interest for "safety" due to

recent events.

Harry's roommate Tonks had to do a daily regime work out for her Auror

training, even on assignment it was expected for her not to slack off. So

luckily for the boy he had been drafted into the same routine. The

workout included a brisk run at the break of dawn, a series of physical

exercises, weight training, hand to hand combat and finally meditation.

She had "invited" Harry to join right away into these activities and to her

surprise Harry had been happy to join. It could have had something to do

with Tonks wearing a tight top, yoga pants during the work out and the

boy being a thirteen year old with high hormones but Tonks had instead

spun it that he looked up to her. In either case the important part was

Harry was keeping up his new body and even working to improve it.

The part of the training the peeked Harry's interest the most was the

meditation training. Tonks mentioned this was useful for learning to feel

your magical core. Harry remembered the conversation with Tonks about

it a few days ago.

Harry was seated on the couch enjoying a cup of tea with his mother's

journal open in his lap. He had been reading up on her life from start to

end. He craved to know every detail he could possible know of his

mother and father. Unfortunately this morning he had not been able to

concentrate to read anything so far from the book.

The reason of Harry's distraction was off to the right; Tonks sat on a

blanket going through stretches. She was starting up some new type of

eastern routine for physical training called Yoga. It seemed to involve

stretching the body in random positions that to a guy might be rather

painful, but to the metamorphic woman, it was rather easy. Not that

Harry would ever complain, after all the way she bent her body was just

too lovely a distraction. He couldn't help but wonder if some of the girls

at Hogwarts could bend like that! Most girls at Hogwarts didn't have a

matured body like this.

Harry sipped his tea as he watched Tonks lean her body forward in a

push up position then drop her large chest to the ground before she

thrust her firm backside into the air. The boy prayed to god in thanks to

whatever muggle invented the spandex yoga pants. He watched the

eighteen year old drop her ass back down to the ground only to push her

arms upwards thrusting her chest, trapped in a sports bra, up as her hair

whipped into the air. Harry couldn't help but think how much better this

summer was then the Dursley Summers were, besides the almost dying

part.

The boy's moment of enjoyment was interrupted as he heard Tonks speak

up, "If you are going to stare Harry, you might as well join me. It will

make you loose and relaxed."

Harry's cheeks turned crimson at being obviously caught but he

swallowed his back while speaking, "I think I am loose and relaxed up

here Tonks. I will do a bit of stretching before this new exercise you want

to try today. What is it by the way?"

The woman sat down and crossed her legs before herself meeting Harry's

emerald eyes with her own dark gaze. She let out a sigh and frowned, "I

have two new exercises we will be implementing. First, daily we are

going to start a dodging program for each of us. What we will do is one

of us will dodge the other casting spells at them for a time period I

determine. Nothing too serious, but it is good training as the first rule of

defending in a duel is not to get hit."

Harry smiled at her and nodded his head accepting, "That sounds

interesting to try out. But, painful."

The older teen's hair flashed from pink to black as she raised an eyebrow,

"I am hurt Harry. Don't trust me to not hurt you? Or are you afraid

nobody will be there to kiss your boo-boo's better."

The boy smirked at her, "I have you here Tonks."

The girl rolled her eyes at the younger boy, "Sorry, too young for my

taste new body or not. Either way, this training will be done for an hour

a day."

Harry grimaced at the idea of an hour a day having to dodge Tonks

shooting jinxes and curses at him. Then let out a sigh, "Very well. What is

the other conversation?"

The hair of the older teen flickered again from black to pink to blonde as

she smiled at Harry warmly, "Harry, you know that I am a

metamorphmagus correct?"

She paused but after seeing the nod of understanding from Harry she

continued, "I have the ability to change my appearance and body in any

way I can desire. It is a very useful skill to blend in to a crowd to get

away from someone or follow someone."

Harry watched as the arms of the woman became muscular to skinny, her

eyes flickered from bright red to matching his emerald green to become

her normal black. She smiled at the boy, "It is useful to be able to blend

in, to change as needed for an assignment. Harry, I could pretend to be

anyone."

To make her point the features of woman shifted before his very eyes to

become a mirror image of himself. The only way to tell the difference

was the higher pitched and sultry voice speaking, "I can even become

someone else if needed."

Harry looked her up and down and winks, "I am one damn sexy man."

The woman rolled her eyes and turned back to her normal pink haired

self, "We are the perfect spies, assassins, and even bodyguards. That is

why I am joining the Aurors."

Harry smiled and nodded towards the woman in understanding. A bit of

a frown brushed his lips, "Tonks, do you ever get confused on what is the

real you? Your real body?"

A chuckle came from the lips of the woman as she smiled, "No Harry. I

always know my real form. I can hide it or change it but I can always

revert back to whom I really am."

The dark haired boy raised an eyebrow as he spoke up, "Can I see?"

Tonks grinned teasingly, "Can you?"

The woman leaned forward and Harry got another lovely view down the

sports bra of the girl. She rolled her eyes as she caught his eyes looking.

Tonks let out a sigh. She couldn't help but wonder about the age of the

boy before her. Some days he seemed so distant and quiet as a young

child with no experience to the world around him. But other days like

this he was a wonderful tease, a boy that seemed mentally and physically

far older then thirteen. The question resounded in the mind of the young

woman, who was the real Harry Potter? And did Harry Potter even know

anymore? The thoughts were put on the backburner as she leaned back

with a smile and tease to her younger friend, "If you were older you

might, But, for now no you will not get to see."

Harry raised an eyebrow and tossed her his best smile, "Is it too personal

to see the real form of you?"

Tonks frowned as a small tick came over her forehead, "Yes Harry, when

I was younger I was often teased so I do not like others to see me. The

real me is very personal."

Harry smiled sadly towards Tonks as she could swear his eyes sparkled in

the light, "I understand. I look forward to the day that I will get to spent

time with the real Tonks."

She met the gaze of Harry with her own smile before she spoke up, "Not

to change the subject but my real reason for bringing this up was that

you have some metamorphmagus abilities. I doubt you can do the

extremes that I can do but with training you may be able to cultivate

your talent. I am sure there have been times you wanted to disappear

from sight?"

The boy nodded his head as he thought about first year and all of the

whispers and stares, then second year the pranks, attacks and whispers

about him, "Yes I can definitely say it is nice to sometimes not be

recognized."

Harry smiled brightly at the woman, "So you will train me?"

The boy saw her give a nod of accent before he stood up and walked over

to kneel before the teenager giving her a big smile, "Then I am in your

hands to mold how you like Teacher."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Thank you again to my wonderful Beta Winged Seer Wolf! I have to

say it is amazing that we have this many favorites and follows

already! In a week's time breaking 100 of each is amazing, I never

expected that. Thank you so very much! I am glad that people like

the story so far. My only hope is that I can keep you all entertained.

Please as always toss me some feedback for what you like and

dislike. There should only been a couple of more chapters for

Summer before we start up with School. Next chapter is the Case of

Harry James Potter vs. Lord Lucius Malfoy.

6. The Trial of Lucius Malfoy

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. But, I

wouldn't trade my life for it as I am a lucky man nevertheless with a

wonderful wife.

-SotWW-

It was the beginning of July and today was the day that the trial of Lord

Lucius Malfoy was to take place. Harry had a busy Summer up to this

point, but that was not surprising considering the start of it. He did

manage to continue his training with Tonks on becoming a

Metamorphmagus, work on his athletic build, dodge ability, complete his

Summer homework, pick classes for next year which included Runes and

Arithmancy, and exchange a few letters with the Headmaster.

It seemed to Harry that the Headmaster was extremely concerned for

him. He stated in the letters point blank that he was wrong for placing

him with his relatives and told the reasons why he chose to place Harry

with them for his protection. While Harry completely disagreed that he

might be safer with the Dursleys, hell they weren't even his blood

relatives, he did partly understand the stated reasons for Dumbledore's

choice. If nothing else, he now had written proof that the Chief Warlock

had circumvented his father's last Will and Testament, which could

become nice blackmail material someday. The pair would speak face to

face after the trial, and Harry still had more than a few questions.

Harry had also managed to meet the Diggory family, Madam

Longbottom, and the Tonks family. He was informed that after the trial

was decided he would need to choose where he felt most comfortable.

Due to his unique situation and age, Madam Marshbanks and Madam

Bones declared that Harry would be able to choose his future adoptive

family to live with till he became a full legal adult. Harry, liked all three

families. Each of the families had distinct advantages for Harry to choose

them.

The Longbottom family had the advantage that they were always House

Potter allies. Both of the Houses were Ancient and Noble Houses and had

a formal alliance dating back six centuries. The Houses had worked

together ever since the Longbottom family came with the Norse invaders

to England. In addition, Harry would get to have a brother for the last

few years with Neville and he was already friends with the boy from

school. The disadvantage, while Neville had a few Uncles and Aunts still

alive he would live with Madam Longbottom whom came off as a stern

lady. A smart, determined, intelligent woman, but a woman driven for

the best for her family and Harry was concerned if her demeanor towards

Neville might transfer to him too.

The Diggory family was a smaller Noble House. Amos and his wife Anne

had one son named Cedric, whom was a Hufflepuff a few years older

than Harry. They were bright and friendly and their House too had been

allies of House Potter for centuries. The Diggory family were actually

Liegeman at one time to the Potter Barony hundreds of years ago and

always kept their Knighthood in their realm. They actually lived near

Potter Manor. Harry couldn't find any downsides when he met them, they

seemed extremely friendly and they had been friends of his parents when

in school and work with the Ministry.

The other choices were the Tonks family and supposedly the Weasley

Family both wanted him. The Weasley's were currently off in Egypt and

Romania on some tour that they had won so they never got a chance to

make a formal bid for his fosterage. Supposedly Dumbledore put in their

name as a recommendation so Harry was not too sure about that. The

Tonks family also was put in by Dumbledore even though he supposedly

seemed less happy with the idea. The possible idea of living with Nym all

the time pleases Harry immensely but he wasn't sure. Anything that

Dumbledore supported at the moment Harry couldn't help but feel a little

bit of concern over in his heart.

This was the concerns of the day for Harry as he was rushed through the

fireplace foo at the side of Kingsley and Tonks to the Ministry of Magic.

He was taken not through the normal front entrance in the atrium but

instead through a private floo to the office of Madam Banks since he was

a star witness in today's case.

Harry was flung from the flames with a slight stumble and covered in

dust from the fire pit. He coughed as he looked around noticing that the

room was Spartan in style with a pair of chairs for visitors and a pair of

filled bookshelves, a pair of cabinets for files and one desk with a sturdy

chair. Current filling the chairs were Cyrus Greengrass and Amelia Bones,

both smiling towards Harry. Or a determined fierce look that might be a

smile at least was on the face of Amelia.

As always getting spit out of a fireplace headfirst was never a pleasant

experience. But, Harry was picked up a moment later by Cyrus

Greengrass whom used a quick scourify to clean off the new dress robes

of the boy. He gave the boy a quick smile as he helped him up, "Harry I

hope you are doing well?"

Harry nodded his head as he saw in from the corner of his eye Tonks

stumble out of the fireplace into the room. The quick through ran

through his head at least he was not the only person that was clumsy

with magical travel. "I am doing very well Mr. Greengrass. I hope

everything has gone as planned?"

"Indeed, I expect things to go rather poorly for the Malfoy Household." A

vicious grin split the man's face and an eager glint in the eyes truly

showed the Slytherin side of Mr. Greengrass. After all what greater

ambition could be met then to become the solicitor that took down a

powerful Ancient Household.

Harry smiled towards the man then looked back towards Director Bones,

"Thank you for allowing us to come to the Ministry through your private

floo. I am glad to escape the press at least till afterwards."

Amelia returned the smile to the boy with a nod, "It is not a problem Mr.

Potter. I see the reports of your improvement in health by my Aurors

were not exaggerated Mr. Potter. It is good to see you are well."

Harry bowed his head politely at the compliment with a smile, "Thank

you for allowing me to tutor from them over the Summer. I need to

recommend them to Headmaster Dumbledore for the Defense against

Dark Arts post. Perhaps then we will have a bit of good teaching for once

in school."

Tonks snorted at the comment," Thanks a lot Harry. I see how it is you

want Kingsley and myself killed off. Since every dark arts teacher for

thirty years goes insane or dies off after taking that post. You wont see

my butt anywhere around there."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her comment mentally thinking it was a

shame not to see that cute backside around Hogwarts!

Amelia cleared her throat before looking over the individuals before her,

"I am sorry Mr. Potter that we were not able to determine any

information from what was written in your mother's journals in regards

to your godfather. I do promise you that the DMLE is looking into the

matter about a re-trial for Mr. Black."

Harry politely bowed his head with a frown touching his lips. He had

found out unfortunately that his mother's journal was blood warded that

the only one that could ever read it was himself or her. It seemed that she

had made the journal so that if the ward was removed from it then all of

the information inside would be destroyed. Still he had been able to pass

the information on that Peter Pettrigrew was the House Potter secret

keeper not Sirius Black and hopefully that would be enough to start the

chain reaction to get his godfather out of jail.

One thing was for certain if Harry ever found the rat he would kill the

bastard! If Sirius had never gone to jail that Harry would have had a

family all this time to live with! It was another reason why Mr. and Ms.

Tonks wanted to adopt Harry, because once they found out that Sirius

was innocent they wanted to try to take care of his godson till he was

free too.

The Director closed the file on her desk then stood up picking up the very

same files, "We should get down to the trial chambers. You will be

questioned before the Wizengamot in regards to Mr. Malfoy. Your

memories have already been made available for the court to review for

the incidents. In addition, a transcript of our conversation at school has

been made available. Finally, I do not expect you will have to take any

truth serum. The Malfoy estate tried to enter in a please bargain for the

crimes but I believe your solicitor has stated repeatedly that House Potter

is not interested, correct?"

Harry firmly nodded his head with a smile as he followed Director Bones

from her office, "Our request for judgment is that Mr. Malfoy be given the

Dementor's kiss or tossed through the veil."

Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Nym shiver at the statement he

had made, but the boy pretended not to notice. Madam Bones spoke up,

"Very well, so shall it be."

Harry followed the Aurors and solicitors through the Department's

corridor to the elevator. He quickly grabbed hold of the hanging handle

when he noticed everyone else did as well before they were zipped off

past different levels of the Ministry. A slight frown crossed his lips as he

passed the doors labeled Hall of Mysteries, "Nym, what do folks in the

Hall of Mysteries do?"

Tonks gave Harry a knowing look that seemed to say later. This was

covered up by a wink with a smile as she spoke up, "They are known as

Unspeakable because they take an unbreakable vow on their research not

to speak of it outside of their chambers. Some say that they are super

secret magical scientists, others say that all of the knowledge of the world

is behind those doors. Even the Directors do not know everything about

what they look into."

A nod of agreement was given towards Harry from Madam Bones as the

doors opened to the floor of the courtroom. The party exited and walked

down a long wide hallway that was lined with office doors on each side

towards a set of double doors at the end. Harry noticed that each of the

doors had different crests of ancient and noble households, he even

spotted the Potter crest on one of the doors.

The group passed numerous older looking witches and wizards. Each

group glanced at Harry, Director Bones and companions as they walked

past. A few offered greetings to either Madam Bones or Mr. Greengrass or

even Harry. He just responded with a friendly smile and bow of his head

formally and respectfully. It would not do to upset the voters before the

trial after all! It had been drilled into his head would be deciding the trial

today and he needed to be as personable as possible to them. Lucius had

years to try to engender support from these politicians and nobles and

many would be in his camp, but those that were neutral were the key to

today's match.

Director Bones pushed open the doors to the courtroom to give Harry his

first glance at it. The chamber was a large circular chamber with five

rows of seats on the left and right sides. A large bench for three chairs

stood on the far side of the chamber. The middle bench was raised

slightly above the left and right side benches. The symbols on the

benches were for the Minister of Magic, Chief Warlock and Director of

the DMLE. On each side of the bench stood five chairs larger than the rest

of the standard sized seats. These ten chairs were marked with House

seals affixed to them for Abbot, Black, Bones, Davis, Longbottom,

Ollivander, Parkinson, Potter, Smith, Slughorn.

Harry noticed a balcony above the Minister's side of the chamber that

had the House nobility crest of Her Majesty the Queen with a throne and

two side chairs.

The young Potter smiled towards the director of the DMLE then turned

and walked over to the House Potter chair. Mr. Greengrass followed the

boy, as Tonks and Kinsley stayed out of the courtroom. Harry stopped

before the chair that held the backside of so many of his ancestors, "I

read about these chairs. It is said only the true Lord of the family can sit

in them. I assume that is why the only chairs left are the Houses that still

exist. The book said there was once twenty of them."

Cyrus studied the boy with a smile; Harry was speaking rather louder

then needed on purpose to draw the eyes of many of the lords of the

courtroom. Normally something so obvious would not work too much

over a crowd as skilled at politics as this group, but the boy had the

ability to draw the eye. Now that it seemed Harry was trying to truly get

their attention, the question was what for, "Indeed. It is sad to see so

many of the Ancient and Noble Households that founded the Ministry be

lost."

Harry gave a small wink to Cyrus before stepping up the stairs to his

family chair. He caught the surprised look at the face of Cyrus as the man

started to step forwards to stop him. But before the older man could do

anything Harry ran his fingertips along the right arm of the chair feeling

the tingling of the blood ward on the old chair. He smiled brightly feel

the ward not resist his touch, he turned and sat down on the chair

praying to god that this would not burn him into toast!

To say it was a surprise to many to see a fourteen year old take the seat

of a Lord in the Wizengamot chamber was an understatement! Harry

could swear that many of the Lords and Ladies of the chamber were

waiting for him to be blasted from the chair, but all he felt was a warm

tingling sensation filling his blood. Harry closed his emerald eyes as he

felt the wave of magic sweep over him then slowly opened them up to

slits scanning over the chamber. The slight bit of fear for his actions

dimmed and disappeared after he felt the magic stop it's warming effect

on him. After all if he had been wrong there was a good chance that he

would have been killed outright!

The boy could see that all conversations in the chamber had stopped as

people were staring at him. So he figured to play it up. Harry gave a

bright smile for those watching him as he leaned back into his

grandfather's chair. He continued to speak a bit loudly to Cyrus, "It is a

shame Mr. Greengrass that Mr. Malfory wanted me dead so badly. If had

succeeded his so would have been able to try to claim this seat. All the

more reason for him to want me dead, besides him being Voldemort's

servant don't you think?"

Cyrus tried to resist the cringe from the use of the name of the former

dead Dark Lord. He could spy numerous others cringe, and knew that his

charge had succeeded in acquiring a good sized audience. It seemed

young Harry knew that he had every ear listening to them now a. His

words would be remembered, as he just planted a third reason for the

possible attempted murder of the last heir of an Ancient and Noble

House.

Harry started to continue but Albus Dumbledore stepped into the

chamber wearing a purple and white polka-dot set of robes. The Chief

Warlock always seemed to dress in a stand out fashion, that some might

cringe at seeing. The man walked over to stand before Harry and gave

the boy a warm smile. At his side walked a large fat old man that had a

few white hairs on his head. The Headmaster spoke up at once, "Harry,

my boy it is good to see you looking so well."

Harry bowed his head respectfully to the Chief Warlock, despite his

current anger still at the man, it would not do to show such thoughts in

public after all. He turned to smile brightly towards the man at the side

of the Headmaster, "It is a pleasure to see you, and I believe this man is

Professor Horace Slughorn?"

The fat man smiled brightly towards the young boy with excitement in

his eyes, "You knew me? Of course you must know me through some of

my relations? I have taught many of the men and women in these seats

right now."

Harry leaned forward with a warm and friendly smile offering his hand

to the man, "Of course Lord Slughorn. I know you through the diary of

my mother. She wrote how wonderful a Professor you were. You were

her favorite you know?

The smile of the chubby man grew even wider at the mention of Lily

Potter as he shook Harry's hand happily and furiously. "Indeed! She was a

wonderful woman, always she was my favorite. " He leaned towards

Harry with a smile, "Just don't tell the Headmaster though."

Harry laughed lightly as he smiled at the man, "It is a shame nobody as

qualified and honorable a teacher as you still teaches potions. I must say

Professor Snape is a pale shadow in comparison to you my Lord. Perhaps

someday if you are ever free I could call on you for some advice for the

subject? There are very few true masters in the arts of potions after all."

Albus Dumbledore had been quiet watching the trading of words between

the young man and his old professor. A thought for the future of a

possible use for Harry to drag back the old man to the school took place.

Although it was too late this year, the possibility still to learn some vital

information was there. He also took note that the boy was seated in the

Lord Potter Chair. That was surprising, although he obviously had grown

tremendously over the summer and looked a new young man compared

to the skinny thing he remembered, Harry was far too young. Even the

olden days would require him to be fourteen years old unless another

House Lordship had accepted him.

It was strange to the Chief Warlock to see the former stuttering boy, that

avoided attention and fame now be at ease in it. He saw Harry wipe his

forehead gently and noticed that the scar was gone, which was truly

fascinating, perhaps there was a chance that the boy was not infected a

horcrux as he had thought? He would need to speak more with Kingsley

about the subject, Tonks had been giving very little information for a

young woman living with the boy. He was drawn out of his thoughts as

he head Harry's comment on Snape, "Now Harry, just because you have a

dislike of Professor Snape does not mean he is not a good potions

master."

Harry turned to smile warmly towards the Headmaster and bowed his

head respectfully, "I am sure he is a good potions master, most likely a

prodigy, but they say those that are gifted at their skill often do not

understand the fundamentals to teach it. Still, I understand it is a poor

time for the subject."

Harry turned his gaze back towards Slughorn with a smile, "My Lord, I

hope that you will remember how fondly my mother was as your student

as the trial progresses. It was her sacrifice that was able to save me from

the half-blood Dark Lord Tom Riddle Junior known commonly as

Voldemort. It was also her love that allowed me to live there the killing

curse that Lord Malfoy cast at me."

Slughorn blinked at the words seeming in thought as he mumbled under

his breath, "Oh yes, that is true. Very true."

Harry turned his gaze back to the Headmaster as he was still keenly

aware of many in the crowd watching the conversation as he spoke with

a smile, "I expect this should be an interesting secession today Chief

Warlock. Will Madam Bones be presiding since you are a witness to Lord

Malfoy's attempt to murder the last Heir of the Ancient and Noble House

of Potter?"

Harry was extremely aware of the sight he portrayed seated in his family

Lord's Chair as he spoke out warmly and respectfully to the Chief

Warlock. He saw out of the corner of his eyes a nod and smile from Cyrus

towards him and not for the first time he was thankful to have the man

as a guide.

Albus raised an eyebrow at the question, he could see the boy had started

to use his mind at least in the political arena. Perhaps if indeed the

Horcrux was gone, Harry would not need to be sacrifice. Instead he could

modify his plans and turn the boy into a proper champion of the Light.

He would want to retire once Tom was fully gone for good, and someone

would need to take up his mantle. Why not the boy-who-lived as his

apprentice, the student of the Great Warlock, Albus couldn't help but

muse over the thoughts. A smile touched his lips as he decided to

consider this over the next year or two, "Indeed Harry. Madam Bones

shall allow Mr. Greengrass to be chief prosecutor as she will run the trial.

Since I did witness the end results of the incident and see the bright

green of a killing curse spell from Mr. Malfoy's direction I will be a

witness."

Harry bowed his head respectfully to the Headmaster as his long black

hair mixed with slight shadows that crept up over his face hiding his

smile. He peeked out at the reaction of the room considering his just hit a

double, why not knock it home? Then he smiled warmly, "I noticed that

the seat for House black is empty Chief Warlock, I wish to let you know

that House Potter will be petitioning for my godfather Lord Sirius black

to get a proper trial. It appears that he never received one the first time."

The response by Dumbledore was cut off as the Minister of Magic and

Amelia Bones entered the room and proceeded to the bench. Harry gave

the two older man a smile and nod of his head as they turned towards

their respected seats.

It was a few minutes later that Lucius Malfoy was escorted into the room

by four Aurors. As soon as Lucius was placed into a chair in the center of

the room large chairs sprouted and wrapped the man in bindings. The

man had been kept in Azkaban Prison since his arrest. The results were

that the man appeared dirty, covered in soot and muck. His eyes looked

wild from the effects of the Dementors and his skin paled from the lack of

light. He truly looked like a mad convict that Mr. Greengrass was hoping

to project to the Lords and Ladies.

Dumbledore took his seat the bench and banged down his gavel to call

the Wizengamot court to order. He looked around the chamber before the

old man spoke up, "The Wizengamot has been called to order for the trial

of Lord Lucius of House Malfoy. The accused is charged with the casting

of an Unforgivable curse, attempted Murder again the House of Potter,

attempted line theft, actions under the Order of Lord Voldemort, and

finally conspiracy to commit murder of numerous Hogwarts students by

use of a dark artifact."

The room was silent as the list of crimes echoed through the chambers. A

bit of surprise showed on the face of the Minister as it seemed that

Dumbledore had just added the final charge to the listing. Or he had at

least not informed the Minister of Magic of that single charge. Many of

the eyes turned between Harry and Lucius. The boy squared his shoulders

and gave his best resolute look staring at the defendant while waiting for

Dumbledore to end his dramatic flaw. The stray thought echoed through

the head of Harry that someday he needed to get Dumbledore to teach

him how he was able to perfect the timing of such dramatic moments.

The man always seemed a natural.

Dumbledore ended his dramatic pause to begin to speak once again,

"Would the representative chosen for the Defendant and Prosecution

come forward."

A solicitor stepped down from the Wizengamot to walk to a table beside

the accused. He had dark brown hair that was touched with grey and

black eyes with a medium build. The man's Wizengamot robes ha a house

sigil for House Nott. Lord Nott turned his gaze onto Harry for a moment

with his lips curled into a vicious sneer before he gaze a slight bow

before the Chief Warlock.

Cyrus stepped from beside Harry down to the chamber floor. He walked

to beside the table on the other side of the accused and placed down a

few files. Next the man turned and executed a bow before the Minister,

Director of the DMLE, and Chief Warlock.

Dumbledore smiled politely to both of the counsel then cleared his

throat, "For the trial I am a material witness. So I shall accede to allow

Director Bones to proceed with the trial in accordance with status

10.24.125." Dumbledore passed the gavel over to Amelia then left the

bench to walk over and take the Wizengamot seat for his family.

A bit of chatter had started up in the chamber after hearing Dumbledore

would bear witness. Those folks that had been outside of the room for

Harry's little show found this information rather interesting. The gavel

hammered down onto the podium as Amelia Bones called the meeting to

order. "Lord Nott, how does your client plea to the charges placed before

him?"

Lord Thomas Nott stood up with the same, seeming ever present, sneer

on his lips and spoke smoothly, "Lord Lucius of House Malfoy pleads not

guilty."

A bit of chatter again arose about the chamber from the plea but that was

quickly removed by Madam Bones, "The formal charges have been stated.

Solicitor Greengrass please make your case."

Cyrus stood up and stepped to the middle of the chamber. His eyes

slowly started to roll over the faces of the one hundred members of the

Wizengamot, "My Lords and Ladies, representatives of the good magical

people of Great Britain and loyal servants of Her Majesty's realm."

Cyrus paused in his words for a moment as he turned his gaze back to the

front of the court and Judge Bones, "The accused first knowingly placed a

dark artifact into the cauldron of a Hogwarts student that would control

the mind of said child. This child was influenced by the dark artifact for

the purpose to set forth a basilisk on the students of Hogwarts school of

Witchcraft and Wizardry. All of the students and staff of Hogwarts was

placed in danger including man of the children and grandchildren of the

members of the Wizengamot. It was only by the noble work of young

Heir Harry James Potter that the basilisk was slain and did not murder

multiple students."

The middle aged solicitor paused again as he turned to look at each of

the different faces of the assembly. A frown of disdain started clouded his

features as his eyes came back to narrow looking at the accused. "After

the attempts to commit murder failed the man became incensed and cast

the killing curse on the Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter.

This attempt to murder the boy-who-lived was committed for three

purposes."

A third dramatic pause made Harry wonder if Cyrus went to a school like

Dumbledore just to learn the times to do this at when he heard Cyrus

continue, " Lord Malfoy's family has a possible claim to the wealth of the

Potter Family. Second, he wanted revenge because it was Mr. Potter that

ended his scheme with the journal, and finally Lucius Malfoy was

working under the guidance of the Dark Lord he used to served, He-who-

must-not-be-named. Or as he was once more commonly known the son of

a muggle Tom Riddle Junior."

The Wizengamot members now started to talk rather loudly together, not

just in debate over the charges but about the fact that the name of

Voldemort was revealed to the general public! Harry couldn't help but

wonder what the blood supremacists would say about their Dark Lord

now. Harry overheard a few of the members talking about just that

concern while others seemed more concerned with the trial at hand.

Finally the gavel hammering down brought order back to the courtroom.

The trial proceeded rather quickly in Harry's opinion. Dumbledore was

called as a witness and told exactly what he saw. Ginny Weasley was

called in too as a witness for the diary. She volunteered to take

veritaserum to tell her story. A few members of the Board of Governors

testified about the threats that they received from Mr. Malfoy to remove

the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore from the school during the middle of

the crisis.

Harry's memories were placed in a large pensive etched with runes. The

work was directly from the Department of Mysteries and was said to be

unique in the world. The pensive reflected the memories to float like a

muggle hologram before all of the chamber. A small part of Harry's mind

almost felt like he was watching a movie, or was he was in one as the

show was of his own sights and sounds. The memories were particularly

damning in the fact that you could hear Lucius cast the Killing curse at

the boy. Harry finally took the stand himself to take a magical oath to tell

the truth and told of the events that took place to back up the memory.

Cyrus was not done with his damning trial for the Malfoy Head of

Family. He stepped to the center of the chamber and spoke up, "The

Prosecution calls for the use of Veritaserum under the Law of 1665

Protection of Life Theft to be used on the accused. The attempted murder

of Heir Potter was a direct attempt to end the Potter male family line.

This law states that when an Ancient and Noble House such an attack for

the purpose of line theft then the defense is required to take veritaserum."

Harry couldn't help but let out a grin as he saw the look of despair cross

the face of Malfoy and Nott. Lord Nott stood up at that moment and

spoke with a frown, "I object your Honor. This has not been enforced in a

hundred years! To think we would allow this to be used on a member of

the Wizengamot as upstanding as Lord Malfoy for the protection of a

Half-blood Lord."

Amelia Bones sat there looking between the two barristers with a stern

face before finally speaking up, "It shall be allowed due to the extensive

evidence already presented and the prior claim of innocence under the

Imperius Curse by Lord Malfoy to working for the Dark Lord."

Lucius started to struggle against the restraints but could not remove the

heavy chains. A trio of Aurors came forward and held him tightly in

place. One pried open the jaws of the man and forced the potion down

his throat before they stepped to the side.

Cyrus received a nod to continue then turned towards Lord Malfoy with a

smile, "Lord Lucius Malfoy is your name correct?"

The blonde lord frowned but was forced to speak up, "Yes."

Mr. Greengrass continued at once, "Were you a willing servant of the

Dark Lord know as He-who-shall-not-be-named?"

Once again the blonde Lord tried to fight the potion but spoke, "Yes."

A smirk came over the lips of Mr. Greengrass, "Did you cast the killing

curse at Harry James Potter?"

A growl came from the nobleman's throat as he spoke up, "Yes."

Cyrus smiled at the man as the Wizengamot was so quiet you could hear

a pin drop, "Did you know the claims your family had on the Potter

family fortune?"

Again Lucius spoke up, "Yes."

Cyrus kept a glare at the man as he spoke firmly, "Did you place a journal

in the cauldron of Ginny Weasley with the purpose to cause the deaths of

students through the area known as the Chamber of Secrets?"

Lucius growled under his breath, "Yes."

Cyrus turned to look at Amelia Bones and smiled, "The Prosecution rests

out case Chief Warlock Bones."

Amelia looked towards Lord Nott with a frown, "Does the dense wish to

ask their client any further questions?"

Lord Nott looked at Luciius still under the effects of the truth seru, he

knew if anything was asked the man would not be able to lie smoothly.

He shook his head slowly knowing that Lucius was a lost cause, "No, the

defense will ask for a please from the prosecution of mercy."

Cyrus looked towards Harry who smiled at is solicitor. Harry pulled out a

parchment and handed it to Cyrus whom look it over and raised an

eyebrow. The man cleared his throat, "House Potter denies the request for

mercy for any servant of the Dark Lord. Instead we ask for commentary

compensation of one third of the Malfoy fortune for the attempted line

theft. For the attempts of murder on Heir Potter, The House of Potter

demands the Dementor's kiss to be executed immediately for Lord

Malfoy."

There were a few gasps in the audience at the demands before a gavel

sounded against the bench by Director Bones. The red head, stern woman

stood up, "For unleashing a plot to cause murder of innocent children in

the name of your Dark Lord in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and

Wizardry, attempted line theft of House Potter, attempted murder, lying

previously to this esteemed body, and crimes committed as a servant of

Tom Riddle Junior, The Ministry of Magic accepts House Potter's request

of terms."

The slene of the chamber was deafening as Director Bones looked down

on Lord Malfoy, "You shall have five minutes to meet your family in a

room with four Aurors present. After that Lord Lucius of House Malfoy,

you shall receive the Dementor's kiss."

Harry watched as the chained man was released then led away from the

chamber by a group of Aurors. He turned towards Cyrus and offered the

man a grim smile, "Thank you Cyrus, I am in your debt."

Mr. Greengrass waved off the words of Harry with a smile, "Mr. Potter

you just made my firm millions of gallons, not to mention your family

owns part of the firm. We will always represent your interests. What you

requested today will cause some enemies."

The boy smiled to the elder man then winked, "I have a few ideas to turn

this situation into some good press."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow then smiled, "How about you come to my family

dinner this evening to celebrate the victory and we can discuss it then."

Harry bowed his head respectfully to the elder man, "Thank you Mr.

Greengrass, I would like very much to meet your family this evening."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Thank you again to my wonderful Beta Winged Seer Wolf! I hope

you all like this chapter. It was a bit longer, more like I want most

chapters to be honestly. I will be gone for a week on a cruise but as

soon as I am back I am sure I will have a few chapters ready to be

uploaded for you all. I have planned out most of the chapters

through the fifth year. And no sorry Sirius did not get out of jail

from the journals, that would have been too easy I think. Besides

year three would be pretty boring otherwise.

I hope you all liked the trial and death of Lucius Malfoy

Note: A Story recommendation to read if you have not yet The

Pureblood Princess by Endless7

PS Still taking suggestions for any ladies you think fit this version of

Harry :) (but no Hermione or Ginny or slash)

7. The Greengrass Dinner

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. But, I

wouldn't trade my life for it as I am a lucky man nevertheless with a

wonderful wife.

-SotWW-

The silence of the chamber was deafening as Director Bones looked down on

Lord Malfoy, "You shall have five minutes to meet your family in a room with

four Aurors present. After that Lord Lucius of House Malfoy, you shall receive

the Dementor's kiss."

Harry watched as the chained man was released then led away from the

chamber by a group of Aurors. He turned towards Cyrus and offered the man

a grim smile, "Thank you Cyrus, I am in your debt."

Mr. Greengrass waved off the words of Harry with a smile, "Mr. Potter you

just made my firm millions of gallons, not to mention your family owns part of

the firm. We will always represent your interests. What you requested today

will cause some enemies."

The boy smiled to the elder man then winked, "I have a few ideas to turn this

situation into some good press."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow then smiled, "How about you come to my family

dinner this evening to celebrate the victory and we can discuss it then."

Harry bowed his head respectfully to the elder man, "Thank you Mr.

Greengrass, I would like very much to meet your family this evening."

Leaving the Ministry served to be far harder than entering it had been.

First, Harry had to get past a large group of Wizengamot members as

many of them wanted to meet the future Lord Potter. Harry managed to

make polite smiles and softly spoken words to the men and women. He

hoped that these actions would be enough to give them a good

impression. More than a few of these men and women had been friends

of his father or grandfather and remarked on the family resemblance.

Still, Harry was able to slowly make it through the well-wishers with the

help of Cyrus to swerve through the crowd towards the exit.

It was at the exit though that Harry came face to face with Narcissa

Malfoy nee Black. As expected the woman looked rather upset but

strangely determined as she walked up to him. The boy tensed supposing

at a minimum a possible assault, and at worst a second attempt on his

life. He was surprised when instead of attacking the beautiful, blonde

haired woman stopped and turned her dark eyes onto him. Harry could

feel her gaze studying him over.

Harry noticed a bit of surprise in the eyes of the elegant woman, as she

watched him. He took that opportunity to study her over in return. His

eyes roamed up and down her figure, which was rather flattering despite

being in formal dress robes. He could tell her robes covered up a slim

build which most likely had flattering curves in the correct places. Her

bust seemed to fill out the robes that were a perfect tailored fit to her

form. The boy couldn't help but notice the high cheekbones and perfect

skin of the pureblood woman. Her hair was perfectly styled to fit her

head and her eyes were a smoldering black. To put it simply Lady Malfoy

nee Black was a perfect image of a pureblood lady. Harry's thoughts were

interrupted when Lady Malfoy spoke up, "Are you done staring at me

young man?"

The boy's lips twisted into a smile at the older woman, "Only if you are

done staring at me."

The woman's left eyebrow rose slightly to arch as she pressed her lips

together in contemplation, "I wish to speak with you in regards to the

settlement that was ruled by the Wizengamot."

Harry raised an eyebrow towards the woman then inclined his head, "We

can meet at the House Potter chambers. Perhaps we could have a meeting

in a week's time?"

The beautiful blonde woman eyed the boy over a moment before she

frowned, "I believe it would be better to handle this matter quickly.

Would you be available tomorrow to meet?"

The boy saw Cyrus nod his head slightly in the corner of his eyes so he

smiled towards Narcissa, "Of course lady Malfoy. I am sure we can

resolve the matter between our Houses, and move forward peacefully for

the future."

The woman saw the boy finally understood her meaning, "I believe it is

possible as well. Please excuse me, I must depart."

Harry stepped next to Cyrus as they watched Lady Malfoy walk away. He

heard the older man speak up, "You handled that well Harry. I was afraid

you would balk at the offer to speak."

The dark haired boy broke his gaze from the woman as she disappeared

into the crowd to look at the man beside him, "What would she want to

speak over? Wouldn't she hate me for her husband's death?"

The man motioned for them to walk, together they made their way from

the courtroom speaking softly, "Her House is in a position of weakness.

While her husband was considered a master at manipulating the

Wizengamot and politics in general that position has been destroyed.

Politically and now financially they are close to being regulated to minor

status after this day's events."

The man paused as they passed a few older members of the Wizengamot

with a smile offered to each man. As soon as they passed he spoke again,

"But, I knew her before she was Lady Malfoy. She hated he man with a

passion in school; it was not her choice to marry him. There is a

possibility she may be willing to make a good deal to support something

you are interested in if you agree not to take the allotted funds. That

much money would cripple their estate. Most families keep a large

percentage of their money tied up in land or long term investments.

Come lets head to my home."

Cyrus did a side along apparition with the boy to the front entry chamber

of his home. Harry immediately stumbled slightly and grimacing at the

feeling of being flung magically to reappear in the location of the home.

The world seemed to spin for the boy as if he was in a ship at sea during

a terrible storm. But, he held his dignity keeping down the rising vomit.

Cyrus could see the boy turning green and gave him a squeeze of the

shoulder, "Don't worry everyone feels like that the first time."

The Greengrass estate resided in a large manor outside of Oxford. It was

a beautiful sprawling estate that was centered on a hill overlooking a

small creek. According to Cyrus the family owned three miles in each

direction which were heavily forested. The residence had been built in

the mid eighteen hundreds when the family came to England from

Germany. It was an impressive sight to see for the young Potter heir.

The man snapped his fingers as a house elf appeared before him, "Flaggy

please escort Mr. Potter to a guestroom so he can freshen up." Mr.

Greengrass turned to glance at the boy, "I believe dinner will most likely

be in thirty minutes. Please relax some till then."

Harry watched the man walk away then followed the house elf down a

hallway to the left. He was escorted to a guest chamber that contained a

nice dresser and queen sized bed. Off of the guest chamber was a

washroom complete with a shower. Harry washed up quickly and waited

for his escort to dinner relaxing on the bed.

The boy didn't have to wait too long as fifteen minutes after he had been

brought to the chamber a knock signaled someone was the door. Harry

walked over and slowly opened the door up to find a beautiful young

teenage girl standing before him.

Harry had seen Daphne Greengrass before in her school robes but those

bundled up things covered up the girl completely. This girl before him

looked completely different then the sight he was used to in class. The

fourteen year old young lady stood before Harry around five foot two

with dark midnight black hair falling down to mid back. The girl had

smooth, pale skin without a blemish visible to the eye. Her face was

pretty with light sky blue eyes that at the moment stared at him hard as

ice. Set between those eyes was a small pert nose, matched by light ruby

lips which brought out the beautiful face of the young lady. She wore a

white summer dress that fell down to her knees drawing the eye of the

hormonal boy to her body before he snapped his gaze back to her face.

Harry realized she knew he had been staring and crimson covered his

cheeks.

The beauty of the young lady was perhaps diminished slightly by the

glare she now leveled at the young Potter heir. It was not a glare of hate

but instead of gold indifference. While the boy was different then she

remembered from school, he had been a scrawny kid that didn't draw the

eye except the famous scar he now seemed to fill out with a massive

growth spurt. The Potter boy was very different in appearance but most

likely he still was the child that seemed to get into endless trouble and

get special treatment. Daphne wasn't one to be impressed by just a

difference in looks.

Still is the boy was going to stare she might as well determine his worth.

She carefully studied the boy as he did the same to her. First, she noticed

that his glasses were gone along with his famous scar. Next, the boy had

grown in size and developed muscle that had not been present on his

arms and chest. But, the strange part that intrigued her, though she

would never admit it out loud, was that her father seemed to approve

and speak highly of the boy. The Harry Potter she remembered had little

knowledge and no care to learn about the Wizarding World. The boy in

school whenever not in robes for classes would wear giant old muggle

clothing with holes in them. He seemed worse then a muggleborn with

his belief that the traditions were wrong; perhaps it was the influence of

his muggleborn friend Granger. But, somehow this boy had impressed her

father; something must have changed but what?

Harry interrupted the inspection by Daphne as he lowered into a bow

before gently cupping her hand to place a small kiss on her fingertips,

"Ms. Greengrass, I don't believe we have ever have the chance to be

formally introduced while at school."

Daphne felt a tinge of pink on her cheeks as she swiped her hand back as

if it had been burnt, then she spoke up, "No we have had multiple classes

but you never saw fit to speak with me. I am after all a filthy snake as

your best friend would say. I am here to take you to dinner Potter."

Harry felt a frown tug at the corners of his lips before he turned it into a

smile, "I am sorry that we have not spoken before. I was in a different

mindset due to circumstances beyond my control. I can only plead

ignorance and hope that someday I may make amends in the future?"

An eyebrow slowly raised on Daphne as she started to walk along next to

Harry. She kept up her icy coldness to the boy as she guided him down

the hallways past expensive paintings and rare sculptures. Her voice kept

the coolness, "We shall see Potter."

The rest of the walk was in silence as the pair came into the family

dining room. The table had been set for five as Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass

were already seated. Harry stepped forward and pulled out a chair for

Daphne. The girl stared daggers at the boy with a glare that could kill

while Mrs. Greengrass watched the display with a twisted smirk on her

face. The girl finally took her place and Harry followed suit next to her a

moment later.

Harry smiled as he looked towards Mrs. Greengrass, "Thank you for

inviting me to your wonderful home Mrs. Greengrass. It is truly

beautiful."

Mrs. Greengrass was a beautiful woman in appearance; in face she looked

to be an older, more developed copy of her daughter. Where Daphne

hinted as possible future beauty her mother, Sylvia Greengrass fulfilled

those expectations. She had the same dark straight black hair that seemed

to shimmer in the light. The woman had high cheekbones to match her

elegant smile that captured the eye. The boy of the woman must make

Mr. Greengrass very happy, she was in a long Ravenclaw blue dress that

hugged her full chest but smoothed over her slim figure. Sylvia had the

same blue eyes of her older daughter that seemed to peer into the soul of

the individual. Those eyes now fixed on Harry and he felt warmth that

her daughter never showed as she offered him a smile, "Thank you Mr.

Potter. It is a pleasure to have you here. Cyrus has told us much about

you."

Harry returned the smile as he placed a cloth over his lap, "I hope

nothing too bad."

Cyrus interrupted as he poured four glasses of wine, "No, I kept the

terrible parts for after desert Harry."

Sylvia lifted her glass to sip the wine then spoke up, "I am sorry that

Astoria will miss your visit. She is at her aunt's place tonight. But, she has

been ecstatic at the chance to meet you. She starts Hogwarts next year."

Harry gently picked up the wine and sniffed it once having never tried

the stuff before. He took a small sip then blinked liking the sweet taste, "I

am sure I will get a chance to meet her next year then. Perhaps Daphne

will introduce us at the train."

Daphne provided Harry with a sickly sweet smile that did not meet her

eyes as she spoke up. "I am sure that can be arranged." Her words may

have stated the possibility but the tone and facial features seemed to

portray that it would be a cold day in hell first.

Harry returned the smile to the girl before breaking his gaze back to

Cyrus, "Mr. Greengrass from the bottom of my heart thank you for your

assistance. I am in your debt for all that you have done. Without your

assistance, going above and beyond I am not certain where I would be

right now. I am certain I would not know my heritage or much of my

family. I cannot thank you enough for giving me the chance to learn of

who I am. For an orphan there is no greater desire then to learn where

they are from. Thank you for giving me a chance to learn who I am

where I come from."

The elder man looked surprised at the heartfelt statement by the boy and

smiled warmly towards him, "I am happy to be of service Harry. I hope I

am not too bold where I would say that our work together has been

enjoyable and I consider our families to be friends."

Harry bowed his head respectfully to the man with a smile then raised

his glass of wine, "I agree completely, to new friends."

The foursome clinked their glasses together and sipped the wine. Harry

smiled again to the man, " I wonder would it be possible for you to

handle two more cases I am considering?"

Cyrus raised an eyebrow at the boy, "Two more cases? The Headmaster?"

The boy shook his head slowly back and forth before speaking up, "No, I

don't think politically it would be smart for me to bring a suit against

him. I think there might be other ways for that situation to be resolved.

Thanks to your assistance I have started to learn about the Wizarding

World. In the past I was kept withdrawn and it seems that may have been

on purpose. Now, since I have learned a bit, I noticed that my name has

been used for a number of years on books, toys, even my own cereal

among other things. All of these profitable business ventures have been

done without my consent. Does the magical world have any type of laws

to protect the unauthorized use of my person without my permission?"

The older man's eyes started to sparkle as he listened to the boy

considering the possibilities then he smiled brightly, "Harry. I do believe

we can rectify that situation. It will take some time to compile the list of

companies but I believe that we can start very soon. What is the second

situation Harry?"

Harry learned forward eager noticing the glint in the eyes of the older

man, "Tonks mentioned something about the right of conquest?"

Cyrus leaned back and took a sip of wine as he watched the boy, "The

right of conquest is an old law at the time of the founding of the

Ministry. The law is divided into wizard wards and creature battles. On

creature battles it states that when a Wizard defeats a dangerous magical

creature in battle the corpse of the creature is the wizard's by conquest.

Ten percent of the value would be given to the holder of the property,

but the rest of the value would be the Wizard's to use. It was considered a

hunting law. In older days wizards would often go out and hunt down

creature for sport. Now many of the creatures are protected species so

they would not fall under the law."

Cyrus paused a moment studying Harry closely, "The second potion deals

with wizard wars. If a wizard were to assault a noble Wizarding families'

household in an official war or blood feud and die in the process then

they could be forfeit of their titles or wealth."

Harry looked at the man stunned at the idea. He had been told of the

creature laws by Tonks but nothing of the second part of the law. A

thought occurred to him that seemed fitting while a grin spread over his

lips, "then it seems that I must make two claims under this law."

Daphne watched Harry and Cyrus talk with keen interest. The boy

seemed so very different then when he was at school. Was this new Harry

Potter the real boy or was he just another face of the Headmaster's

favorite? This new Harry Potter intrigued her, he showed more Slytherin

then Gryffindor. If this was the true Harry Potter, he would be a

fascinating study. Perhaps he could even someday be a worthy political

ally as her father had just earlier announced by naming their Houses

friends. Her thoughts were distracted as Harry continued to talk.

"I wish to make a claim on the corpse of the Basilisk that I slew in the

bowels of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is under court

record of the Wizengamot that I slew the creature as stated by the

Headmaster's own testimony." Harry smiled warmly towards Mr.

Greengrass before he continued, "This creature was well over forty feet

long so I believe it might hold some value. If nothing else it would look

sharp for clothing. Perhaps I could wear a bit even if I am not a

Slytherin."

Daphne and Sylvia blinked at the size of the creature as they stared at

Harry in Astonishment. Sylvia spoke u, "The creature that Malfoy

unleashed by was a basilisk?"

Cyrus nodded his head towards his wife with a frown, "Yes, and if what

Harry says is true to the size it might be the largest specimen ever found.

I am certain Harry that we can win that claim. I will have someone at the

firm draw up papers. What is the second request?"

Harry downed the rest of his wine glass with a single gulp. Then he

placed it down at the table and looked at the three Greengrass family

members with a firm gaze. "Tom Marvelo Riddle was the last of the

Gaunt family. He attacked my family in a war time in their household

with the attempt to end the line of House Potter. I believe that may

qualify for the requirements for right of conquest?"

The eyebrows of Cyrus rose into his hair at surprise he started to open his

mouth but Harry spoke formally, "I wish to claim the titles and wealth of

Tom Marvelo Riddle, commonly known as Lord Voldemort, last heir of

Lord Salazar Slytherin. I, Harry James Potter by right of conquest claim

the title of Heir of Slytherin."

As soon as the words were spoken the light in the room darkened to pitch

black before flickering back on. The boy's body seemed to glow darkly,

the shadows of the chamber to cling around him as they rushed from the

walls to enshroud his right hand. Harry looked down as he felt pain shoot

up and down his arm. It felt as if every bone in hand was being broken

squeezed at once in a bitter torment. Next his hand started to feel as if it

had been stuck into the fire pit. Boils started to erupt over his hand as

Harry dimly heard screams coming from the other occupants of the room.

Harry cried out in pain as he grimaced holding his hand tightly. The

lights kept flickering as more shadows seemed to creep from the corners

of the room attaching to his flesh. The shadows touch felt as if they were

trying to cool the burning torment to his body. The boils started to recede

and the bones seemed to crack back into place.

Harry felt light headed as he looked up into the eyes of Daphne, "It

appears that the school was incorrect. I am not the heir of Slytherin."

Immediately after the words left his mouth, Harry collapsed to the

ground passed out.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

AN: I broke this chapter up, originally it was supposed to be far

longer. But, I felt the meeting with Ms. Malfoy could come next.

After that one more chapter then back to Hogwarts. I know I spent a

lot of time on this summer but I felt there was an extreme amount of

things happening to Harry. Please as always give me your wonderful

feedback. I love hearing your thoughts and critical of the work.

8. A Meeting with Narcissa

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc.

-SotWW-

Harry felt light headed as he looked up into the eyes of Daphne, "It appears

that the school was incorrect. I am not the heir of Slytherin."

Immediately after the words left his mouth, Harry collapsed to the ground

passed out.

Harry awoke as the light of day struck his face. Quickly he glanced

around for his wand finding it on the bedside table. Once the warmth

started to seep from the wand he felt better, safer. A quick glance at his

surroundings brought back the memory of the room he was in from the

night before. Slowly he sat up, reaching for his head as he felt the

pounding of a headache. The boy tried to remember what had taken

place but all he remembered was going to dinner, having a bit of talk and

wine then a claiming oath. It seems that the oath didn't go so well for

him.

He quickly shook his head then slid from bed discovering himself just to

be in boxers. The question entered his mind if this was done by the house

elf or perhaps Daphne had placed him to bed like this. But, that question

as forgotten moments later when he started to dress knowing that girl

would let him rot on the floor then help him. Still if she was Cyrus

daughter she couldn't be all bad could she?

Harry spotted his clothing from the night before neatly cleaned and

folded on the edge of the bed. A curiosity touched his mind as he spoke

up, "Dobby?"

A flash later and his house elf appeared before him, "Great Master Harry

Potter called for Dobby?"

The boy smiled at the side of the elf, and made a note that the house elf

could pass the wards of the Greengrass household with seeming ease.

Were house elves able to do this in his own House wards? Or every house

wards? He would need to have that looked into, as doubtful as

Purebloods might be use house elves as thieves still the idea of one

appearing to cause trouble at any time was present. "Dobby, can you

bring those clothes home and bring me a fresh pair? I need something

business casual for a meeting today."

Dobby bobbed his head excited with a bright smile, "Yes Master Harry

Potter Sir!"

A pair of bright flashes later and Dobby was gone and back with clothing

for Harry to wear. Harry picked up the white cotton button down shirt, a

nice emerald green tie, finely crafted black slacks, black boots, and

finally a set of fine silk robes. He started to place them on as Dobby just

stood there watching. He is useful, even if he is a little creepy. "Thank you

Dobby. That will be all for now. I am sure I will summon you later for the

meeting to help bring some refreshments. For now you can return to your

assigned duties."

The house elf smiled brightly, "Yes Master Harry Potter Sir!" Then Dobby

disappeared in a flash of light leaving Harry to finish getting ready.

One he was done getting dressed he quietly stepped out of the guest

chambers to follow the hallway towards where he met the family before.

After wandering a few minutes trying to remember the route he came to

the dining room. Seated there drinking some morning coffee was Mr.

Greengrass as he read the daily prophet.

Upon the sight of Harry entering the room the man placed down the

prophet and smiled to the boy, "It is good to see you are up and about

Harry. I was worried last night that you might be asleep for a while.

Please sit and join me."

Harry stepped over to sit down as the house elf, Flaggy, appeared in to

place down a plate filled with pancakes, sausage and eggs. Next to the

plate was a cup of steaming hot tea and a glass of orange juice. Before

Harry could even thank the elf it disappeared away. He slowly started to

eat as Mr. Greengrass talked.

"Luckily Sylvia has her master's in healing so she was able to look you

over quickly. She saw there was nothing found to be wrong with your

body or core after the excitement. Still I would suggest not to try to do

that again. There is a reason that it is done through Gringotts. They take

certain precautions that allow for situations like you almost experienced

not to take place."

Harry placed down his tea after a sip, "Situations Sir?"

Cyrus leaned forward to stare into Harry's eyes, "Trying to claim

ownership of a family line without being one hundred percent sure it is

your right Harry is dangerous. Your magic could have been stripped or

even your life. Please never do that again understood?"

The boy was wide eyed at the possibility that he could have just lost his

magic or even ended his life.

Seeing the look on the face of the boy Cyrus chuckled, "Do not worry

Harry. We all do dumb things when we are young. My sister once forced

me to make a magical oath when I was a boy. It was an oath to paint the

neighbors fence pink and purple. Nothing big, but if I had not done it I

would have become a squib. You should have seen the look on my

mother's face when it was done."

Harry watched the man chuckling and couldn't help but smile, "I didn't

know you had a sister sir, does she live in England?"

The older man shook his head slowly back and forth before sipping his

coffee. He slowly placed it back down as Harry continued to eat his food,

"No, She was married to an old family in Germany. One of the old

marriage contracts the family had was enacted. So she had no choice but

to go and be wed. Turned out well for them as she seemed to like the

man and has a nice family now. I think her oldest daughter is at

Durmstrang right now in her fourth year. Nasty business marriage

contracts, I believe that was the last one for my family at least, it had

been left over since the 1600s."

Cyrus looked up at the boy as he noticed the confusion on his face. "A

marriage contract is a political agreement between two families.

Normally it is written by the head for a gain for each family. But, I

wouldn't worry too much the goblins would have presented it if the

Potters had any when you became the official Heir. Not to mention that

the Potters never held much to the contracts, they actually seemed to

hate them. Actually that was how Narcissa and Lucius were married."

The boy looked down and saw his plate was empty. He never realized

how hungry he was, but then he didn't get to eat much last night due to

his own stupidity. He sipped the tea enjoying the breakfast brew, "So

Narcissa never wanted to be married to the man? Do you have any ideas

for the meeting today?"

The older man slid a wrapped scroll over to next to Harry, "Read over

this. It was something that that firm worked for possible terms if the

Wizengamot accepted our requirements of funds. I hope you will find it

fitting."

Harry carefully unrolled the parchment and looked it over slowly then

frowned, "Do you think she would agree to this?"

The boy passed the scroll back to the older man whom slid it away with a

smile. "I think it is possible. It would be to her House's benefit and your

own. We should be off once you are ready."

The breakfast was quickly pushed away from him, and then the Potter

heir stood up at once with a smile, "I am ready. Mrs. Greengrass and

Daphne are not here today though sir? I wanted to thank her for last

night."

"Unfortunately both are gone. Daphne had plans to visit her friend from

school and my wife is at work. I will pass on your thanks to her." Mr.

Greengrass smiled as they reached the study. He plucked up some floo

powder to toss into the fireplace. "You first, Harry. I will come right

afterwards, just call out for the Ministry. I believe your Auror friend will

be there waiting for us."

Mr. Greengrass was right as not only Tonks by Kingsley were waiting for

them as they stepped out of the floo network into the atrium of the

Ministry of Magic. The pair of Aurors quickly guided Harry past the

crowds keeping them back from approaching him. The boy was

practically dragged out of the large gathering of folks heading back and

forth for duties of the ministry.

It was a surprise that it only took them ten minutes after bypassing the

wand check in and other normal requirements for the special guest to

make it to his meeting. They actually were able to make it thirty minutes

before the assigned time. Still, he found Lady Malfoy standing outside of

his family chamber awaiting him.

The boy caught a look at the beautiful, mature woman and smiled

politely as he lowered into a bow keeping his eyes raised not to lose sight

of her, "Good morning Lady Malfoy."

If the woman was taken aback from having two Aurors show up with

Harry and Mr. Greengrass she didn't show it at all. Instead she offered her

hand to the teenager with a polite, if forced smile, "Good morning to you

Heir Potter and Mr. Greengrass."

The door to the House Potter chambers was a large dark red oaken door

with no knob. The symbol on the front was the Potter crest brushed in

gold with tiny runes carved onto it. Harry reached upwards to touch his

hand against the symbol. For a full minute nothing happen, he closed his

eyes as he concentrated on the symbol and then he could feel it. There

was a ward on the door that would only work for a Potter, a ward tied to

his blood and magic. A small smile curled on his lips as he concentrated

to push against the door and finally it swung open. For a brief second as

Harry opened his eyes he caught sight of a second ring on his finger

before it disappeared from sight immediately.

Harry turned towards the pair of purebloods and his guards and

motioned them into the chamber. "Please have a seat. My apologies for

the poor state that you might find the room, it has not been opened since

the 1970s."

After Cyrus and Narcissa entered the chamber Tonks leaned against the

wall as Kingsley slipped off to other duties. Harry followed his guests into

the room, and found it to be a small chamber. The room was around

twelve by twelve feet in size and reminded him at once of a professor's

chamber at school. The walls were lined with old books of Wizarding

laws, families, traditions and history. In the middle of the chamber was a

lark dark oak desk with three comfortable looking chairs available.

Behind the desk was a painting that at the moment had nobody visible.

Harry stepped forward to take his seat before he spoke, "Dobby."

In an instant the former House elf of the Malfoy family appeared before

Harry and bowed, "Dobby is here to serve Master Harry Potter Sir!"

A slight cringe came over the shoulders of Harry at the excited demeanor

of the house elf, "Dobby please bring us some tea and biscuits."

The house elf bowed before the three purebloods then disappeared in a

burst only to return before the boy could even open his mouth with

steaming tea on a platter and a kettle. Next to the tea was a silver plate

with ten biscuits to enjoy. Harry smiled towards the elf then nodded his

head, "Thank you Dobby that will be all."

Harry waited for Mr. Greengrass and Lady Malfoy to take up their cups

before he plucked up his own to sip the Lady Grey twinning's tea. His

emerald eyes sparkled as they watched the blonde woman over the cup

waiting.

Narcissa sipped at her tea as she scanned over the chambers studying the

room. She knew of the man that once owned this place, he was

considered a political power and her Great Uncle. But, those days are

gone, gone perhaps forever. The tea brought a small smile to her lips, the

house elf had remembered exactly how she liked it. It was yet another

mistake of her husband to lose that elf to Potter.

Her eyes wandered back over to the boy and she again debated her

choices today. She knew that with Cyrus here as his representation her

plan might be a little more difficult then she would expect. But, still the

boy according to her son was a blunt Gryffindor so it should be possible

to fix the situation, "Mr. Potter, I fully understand your decision in

regards to my former husband's actions. I understand that his choices

have determined his own demise. I will not argue with you over that."

A slight raise of the eyebrow was all that betrayed Harry's shock at the

coldness of the woman over her husband's demise. He waited for the

woman to continue and was not disappointed a moment late, "I will be

blunt for you Mr. Potter. Taking one third of our family fortunes would

put myself into dire straights. I understand that you wish to take revenge

for the actions of my former Husband and his master but I was not a part

of his plot nor would I condone it."

Harry grimaced at her words as he leaned back placing down the tea cup

with a frown, "Lady Malfoy there is three slight problems. The first issue

is that the court has already made their ruling. The second issue is that I

understand you may not condone your husband's previous actions but

you did not stop them. Finally, how would I know that you would turn

around and use those finances against me? Your own son has repeatedly

tried to cause trouble for me since I came to the Wizarding World."

Lady Malfoy calmly placed down the cup of tea onto the countertop, "I

will address your concerns Mr. Lord. First, I and my son will take oaths

not to ever harm House Potter or ever join any plots against your

Household. I will even take an unbreakable vow that I was never a part

or nor will I join the madman that was my former Husband's master. Did

you know Mr. Potter that we are blood-kin through House Black?"

The woman paused in her words letting them sink in as Harry studied her

carefully with consideration then he spoke up, "Did you know my

grandmother Lady Dorea Potter nee Black?"

Narcissa smiled warmly to the young man before her with a nod of her

head, "Yes, I knew her very well. She was my favorite Aunt growing up.

It was even talked about for a time that I might be contracted to your

father, but that was before he took to your mother."

Harry blinked in surprise at the words then frowned, "I might be able to

consider changing the terms. I would not wish to ruin family. But, I

would have some requirements. Please hear me out on all of them before

you agree."

Narcissa picked up her tea cup and sipped pleased with herself that the

route of family seemed to be working. She stared at the boy attentively as

if her life depended on his words.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed scroll placing it

down before the Lady Malfoy. He met her eyes with a small smile, "Mr.

Greengrass prepared this document in case of a situation like this

happened. I will take these terms along with the oath of you and cousin

Draco."

The blonde woman plucked the scroll off of the desk then slowly broke

the seal opening it up.

House Potter and House Malfoy Settlement Terms

By signature of this agreement the undersigned parties accept the terms below.

House Potter and House Malfoy shall enter into a formal alliance pact. None

of either Household shall willingly harm the other. House Malfoy will share

any information that could lead to the direct harm of House Potter. Neither

Household shall allow any member to enter into service to a Lord that would

be against the other Household.

House Malfoy shall assist House Potter in any way possible for the cause of

freedom of Lord Sirius Black from Azkaban Prison.

Lady Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Heir Draco Malfoy will take oaths not to

harm House Potter or it's members in anyway for revenge for the deceased

Lord Lucius Malfoy. They shall not assist any other associates in seeking

revenge for the legal decision of the Wizengamot.

Reparations for the assault on House Potter's heir shall be five percent of

House Malfoy's Gringotts tallied fortune. That amount shall be placed in a

trust account under the James Potter Foundation. The James Potter

Foundation shall be created for the express purposes below.

The James Potter Foundation shall be formed for the express purpose of

protection of Muggleborn and Muggle raised magical children. The foundation

shall employ hit wizards to track and protect muggleborn children from

aggressive and abusive muggle actions against the child.

The James Potter Foundation shall House any magical child that has been

abused or found to be living in a muggle orphanage.

These children will be allowed to be magically adopted into magical families in

need of children if they so desire.

The James Potter Foundation shall award scholarships for any Wizarding

School in Europe or North America for a foundation child upon their eleventh

birthday.

The foundation shall be managed by a set panel appointed by Heir Harry

James Potter and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black.

Lady Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and shall formally recognize Ms. Andromeda

Tonks nee Black and Nymphadora Tonks nee Black as members of House

Black.

Draco of House Malfoy shall accept the choice of Lord Sirius Orion Black as

the next Head of House Black and shall not challenge that claim.

House Potter will receive 10% instead of one third of the Malfoy's Gringotts

Estate.

By my signature I formally recognize the terms of this agreement between

House Potter and House Malfoy

Harry James Potter

Heir of House Potter

Lady of House Malfoy

The Lady Malfoy placed down the scroll to the table, picking up the

blood quill to sign the document under Harry's signature. She looked at

him curious, "You do not seem to be like my son descried you Mr. Potter."

Harry offered a bright smile at her words then winked, "I am not at all

what I let other believe Lady Malfoy. Did you have any questions for the

terms?"

Narcissa looked down as two copies of the scroll appeared with Gringotts

seals attached to them while the original disappeared most likely to be

filed into the Bank vaults. She considered with a frown, "Two questions,

no future marriage requirements? Why the interest in House Black?"

Harry tilted his head to the side slightly as he studied her dark eyes

before he spoke, "I don't want to saddle any children with marriages that

they may not find love. Perhaps someday Draco and I will find it a good

idea but first we need to learn to get along."

He paused biting his bottom lip, a bad nervous habit before he continued,

"As for House Black, my Godfather is innocent. He was not the secret

keeper of my mother and father. Peter Pettigrew was, I read it directly in

my mother's diary. I want to see him freed. But, in addition House Black

is the last family I have, the next closest would be fourth cousins with the

Longbottom House. I have never had …. Family."

The stern woman frowned as her Slytherin façade faded with a smile that

was rare but warm, "I understand. Family comes first is the motto for

House Black. I never loved my husband. It was a contract marriage.

Furthermore, I never was a part of Lucius plots with the dark fool. But, I

do love my family and my son."

Harry watched carefully as Narcissa pulled out her wand and held it

aloft, "I, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black do swear on my magic that I was

never a servant of the he-who-shall-not-be-named. I swear not to seek

revenge for the death of my Husband on House Potter now or forever. My

life and magic be forfeit if I break this oath. So mote it be."

Narcissa gave a warm smile to Harry as she kept her wand a lot and

spoke, "I, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black do formally recognize Andromeda

Tonks nee Black as my sister and a member of House Black. Further, I

pledge myself to the support for freedom for Lord Sirius Orion Black, my

cousin. So mote it be."

The woman lowered her wand down and looked firmly at Harry, "I

believe that should be acceptable. I will have Draco come find you on the

train early so he may give his oath."

Harry smiled to the woman, "May I ask a favor?"

Narcissa started to rise then stopped at the question intrigued, "You may."

She paused a moment then spoke again, "You may ask one Nephew."

Harry slowly stood up to join Narcissa, his smile now turned genuine

which caused her emerald eyes to sparkle, "Thank you Aunt Narcissa.

Will you please express my apologies to your son that when we originally

met I did not understand that by publically shunning his hand of

friendship I was committing what traditions might dictate to be a feud? I

was kept ignorant of the Wizarding World at the time by forces beyond

my control. Perhaps that understanding will be a start to change our…

rivalry."

The woman stared at him for long moments as she smiled, "Thank you for

expressing that and on behalf of House Malfoy we accept the apology. I

promise my son the importance of today."

Harry moved around to offer his hand to assist Narcissa to the door when

she startled him by reaching up to touch his hair, "You look so like

James, but your hair is different."

She lowered her hand and placed it onto the young man's arm, "You are

not a Gryffindor."

Harry leaned close to whisper softly to her ear, "Want to know a secret

Auntie?"

A slight raise of the elegant eyebrow of the beautiful blonde haired

woman, "Please do tell."

The young teenager continued his whisper, "I am not. I was to be placed

in Slytherin but I did the most Slytherin thing of all. I convinced the Hat

to place me into Gryffindor."

The look of surprise in the eyes of the woman was of complete surprise.

She opened her mouth twice then smiled turning to look at Mr.

Greengrass. "You have started to train him well Cyrus. Please keep my

handsome nephew safe and sound." With those words spoken the Lady

pulled a black veil of morning back over her head and disappeared from

the room back into the mass of people.

Harry watched her go before turning towards Cyrus with a frown. "I

believe that was not what I had expected. Do you think she will

genuine?"

Cyrus' lips twisted into a smile, "Indeed, Narcissa is often different than

expected. I went to school with her and remember her in Slytherin

House. It is hard to forget she was the Queen of the House, and ruled the

House as tradition demands. It was not her Husband that was the power

behind that family. She was a force politically but demurred to her

husband for the spotlight. Now that he is gone, she has the power and a

cause, I pity her enemies. You did well today Harry. You made an ally

that could be very useful someday, but never forget to be careful."

Harry frowned depth in thoughts then nodded his head firmly, "A

powerful ally is better than a powerful enemy. Shall we head off?"

Cyrus placed down the empty tea cup then smiled, "I believe this

situation might help your decision for where to foster your remained

years till you are of age."

Harry raised an eyebrow and then nodded his head, "Yes, perhaps it will

be able to fast track my godfather being freed."

The pair exited the doorway as Harry closed and sealed the door,

activating the wards over it. He turned and looked at Tonks and smiled,

"I believe I have something to show you at home that you might like to

see."

A slight crimson came over the cheeks of Nymphadora, "Harry not in

public."

She rolled her eyes at the look of surprise that came to the face of Cyrus

Greengrass. Then she spoke up, "It is a joke Mr. Greengrass. I would

never be improper with my charge."

Harry waived off the words of the woman then smiled to the man, "I shall

meet you at your office next week Mr. Greengrass. Please convey my

apologies again to your wife and daughters for not getting to enjoy more

of their company last night."

"We will have you over again soon Harry. Have a good day both of you."

Cyrus spoke before he turned to walk off into the masses.

The young Potter lord waited till he left then opened the door walking

into the chamber. He picked up a few books off of the shelves to shrink

and placed into his pockets. He walked out of the room, sealing it then

looked at Tonks, "Lets head home now, so I can complete your fondest

desire."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Author Note: I am surprised at the great results of my cliffhanger

last time. Some of you love it and some hate it. I teased a little bit

about the Heir of Slytherin here but next chapter will go more in

depth. I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews (150 already, I

never expected so much interesting) and reading the story. I am

glad so many are enjoying it so far. I promise I will keep trying to

somehow fix my terrible excuse for grammar. Next chapter will

return Hermione and the manipulative master of the greater good.

Then after that will be the train ride back to Hogwarts.

AN2: A slight change for the compensation. I added one thing and

fixed the wording a bit.

Story Recommendation of the week: Harry Potter And The Summer

Of Change by lorddwar

9. A troublesome Old Man

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc.

-SotWW-

A week after the meeting with Narcissa, Harry was enjoying an afternoon

nap. After all, everyone deserves a nice deep nap once in a while and his

life this summer had been training, business, politics, headaches, and life

changing events. Still, it seemed for Harry Potter a nap was not in the

cards. He had just settled down and fallen asleep about ten minutes prior.

He was just starting to thoroughly enjoy his rest when a splash of

freezing cold water fell onto his face and brought him to a frightful

awakening. His emerald eyes darted open as he spotted the pink haired

culprit of his trouble standing above him.

Nymphadora Tonks couldn't keep the smile from her face as she watched

the water splash over the face down to the lap of Harry. She had made

certain that the water was on the verge of icing over before she dumped

it. He might be the son of a marauder, but it doesn't mean that she

couldn't have some fun too.

Now watching Harry leap and almost falling off of the couch she couldn't

keep the grin off of her face. This attack, after all was just the latest in

the line of pranks back and forth. It was nothing compared to the muggle

itching powder in her bras, the invisible ink that became visible on the

back of her shirt when she walked into the Auror office that said, "Fuck

you Death eaters." Perhaps her favorite had been Kingsley had stopped

over and stolen the fresh blueberry muffin that Harry had made for them.

The man had eaten it at work and turned into a large rolling blueberry.

Harry had sworn he got the idea from a muggle movie called Charlie and

the Chocolate factory. But, now this was just a small personal bit of fun.

"Oh you think that is funny Nymph?" The words came from the mouth of

the younger teen boy just moments before he reached up and grabbed

ahold of her arms pulling her forward into his lap. The boy whipped out

his wand and cast a silent augmenti spell. The back of her mind was

impressed that he had managed to cast the spell silently, but the other

part of her was too surprised to care.

A screech filled the room for a second time that afternoon as icy cold

water splashed against Nymph's face and chest drenching her white tee

shirt. She reached out quickly and started to try to wrestle the wan from

Harry's hands. The two of them rolled around on the couch before falling

down hard onto her backside. Luckily Nymph succeeded in overpowering

Harry to grab the wand and toss it to the side. The cost of acquire the

wand for Nymph was unfortunately to end up with Harry straddled above

her looking down at her evilly.

The girl couldn't help but tease her friend in between deep breaths, "You

have me now. What will you do with me?"

Harry looked down at the beautiful, wet, teenager and blushed crimson.

Two thoughts ran through his head counter to each other, the first was

the need for revenge for the loss of the nap, but the second was purely

hormone driven. The second seemed to win the day as Harry reached

down pulling the girl up seated towards him "I think I will do this…"

The teenage boy leaned his head downwards towards the girl about to

give her his first kiss. But, when they were a haired breath away a

pounding sound echoed from the door shattering the moment and

distracting the two.

The two teens became alert right away as Harry rolled off of Nymph

grabbing his wand before taking a position at the side of the doorway.

His back was against the wall in a place that had been magically

reinforced with steel to be impenetrable. He crouched down to so he

would be at the height of the knees of an intruder, where most adult

attackers might aim at the chest or head. He could shoot upwards easily

and remove the threat quickly, one swift strike.

Tonks slipped quickly behind the couch which had reinforced magically

to act as a barrier. She crouched down waving her wand at the door to

trigger the runes carved into it. After a moment the other side of the door

started to act as a two way mirror. They could see out at the individual in

the hallway but the individual would not see back in. The spell was a

trick tied through the runes to the apartment, a development of Harry's

mother before her death.

On the other side of the doorway stood a sight that neither of the

teenagers expected to see, Albus Percival Brian Dumbledore. Neither of

the two moved from their protected locations at the sight, after all

anyone could use polyjuice potion.

Nymph flicked her wand again to activate a second charm on the runes.

The voice echoed outside of the room into the hallway like a muggle

speakerphone, "Albus Dumbledore, please prove your identity. What did

you say to me, Tonks, in private after I told you of my assignment?"

The old man seemed to listen to the question then smiled, "I told you

Nymphadora that Harry was the most precious young man you will ever

find. And to be careful not be captured by his spell. He seems to ensnare

others to his ways."

Harry turned his gaze towards Nymph for a brief moment to see the

crimson her cheeks. A surprise since a metamorphmagus can easily

control their skin coloring, "He is laying it on a little think. Perhaps we

should blast him to see if he really is the Headmaster?"

Nymph took back control of herself with a growl, "Next question, What

did you say to my mother when you spoke to her in private in regards to

Ted Tonks her seventh year at Hogwarts."

Amusement was plainly visible on the face of the aged man as he spoke

up, "I told her to follow her heart and everything will sort itself out. I was

right of course, since they had you Nymphadora."

The woman let out a sigh with a frown, "It is him, but if he keeps calling

me Nymphadora I might just go with your plan."

Harry nodded his head towards his assigned protector before flicking his

wand to lean up his and Tonk's clothing with a quick household drying

charm, "Please come in Professor. I have been expecting you to visit us."

Albus stepped through the doorway and spotted Harry and Nymphadora

setup in ambush position. He smiled at the pair of them, "Perhaps one

more show of who I am? Fawkes, please join us."

A bright flash of fire and clap of thunder signaled the arrival of the

phoenix as it appeared in the living room. The creature ripped right

through the wards of the house to appear in the center of the room, then

flapped it's wings to land lightly onto the kitchen counter.

The tall boy flicked the door flossed then walked into the kitchen to pull

out two bowls. He poured some habanera peppers into the first bowl then

some water into the second bowl before he placed them down onto the

kitchen counter for the phoenix. "Welcome to my home Fawkes. Please

know my friend, that you are always welcome in any residence of House

Potter."

The phoenix seemed to be happy for the words of the boy but it was hard

to tell as it was eating the peppers as if they were its last meal. The boy

heard the voice of the Headmaster which seemed to dance with delight,

"I think Harry that you have made a friend there. Perhaps when I am on

to the next great adventure Fawkes will want to live with you."

Harry raised his emerald gaze from the phoenix to look at the

Headmaster's twinkling eyes, "I am sure that will be a long time coming

Albus."

A slight raise of the eyebrow from Tonks was all the surprise that was

given from the tone of Harry accompanied by his use of the Headmaster's

first name.

The old man smiled at the boy but before he could speak up Harry

motioned to the dining room table, "please sit, would you like some tea? I

have a bag of muggle candy I thought you might like."

Harry placed a kettle of tea on the stove before he reached into the fridge

and pulled out a variety package of different mini chocolate bars. He

walked over and placed the package down onto the table as the tea

started to heat up, "These are multiple different types of American candy

bars."

Harry pushed over a snickers, kit kat, almond joy, and milky way before

the Headmaster, I know you love your sweets. The best part is there is no

earwax flavor."

The boy settled down to sit across from the old man as he watched the

excitement and joy in the most powerful wizard in perhaps the world

over muggle candy. To put that he looked like a kid in a candy store truly

was correct. He mentally checked off one Christmas gift off of the list to

acquire. Of course, that would assume this conversation would go as he

had planned it to.

Tonks walked over to the table and placed down three cups of eat for the

group and settled down herself. The old man tried one of each bar then

gently took up the cup of tea from Tonks, "Thank you Nymphadora."

The grimace that came over the face of Tonks was a beautiful sight to

behold for her roommate. He awaited the yelling response to erupt from

her but she held her tongue. Instead he hair flashed between bright red

that would make a Weasley cringe to neon green.

Dumbledore placed down his cup of tea and smiled, "It is good to see you

are both doing so well. Especially you, Harry my boy."

The aged Headmaster straightened his glasses with his best grandfatherly

look as his eyes rested on the boy studying him , "Harry, you are truly a

special boy… err young man."

The old man placed boy of his hands down onto the table before him as

he continued, "I owe you an apology Harry. I never knew of the abuse

that you put up with. I had someone that was supposed to keep a watch

and let me know if there was any trouble. But, she never let know of

anything. I should have personally made certain that your family took

care of you. I never considered that your relatives would be that terrible

of people. They were your blood-kin and the idea of abuse is a foreign

one in magical society. We treasure our young because there are so few."

Harry frowned at the old man considering his words, "Albus…" He

paused a moment as the Headmaster stopped his talking to still a bit

unused to his name coming from Harry's lips. He let the silence sit there a

moment his eyes meeting the Professors before he continued, "They aren't

my blood relatives Albus. My mother was adopted."

The old man froze with his hands halfway to his mouth with the cup of

tea. His eyes narrowed and for a moment lost their twinkle. The old

grandfather sitting there moments before disappeared in an instant to be

replaced by the angry archmage. The man's voice became demanding,

and Harry saw perhaps the power behind the war against Grimmwald.

"You mean to tell me that those muggles abused you and they were not

even your family?"

The nod that Dumbledore saw from Harry didn't quiet the anger of the

old man but instead stoked the fires, "They lied to me and took my

money to care for you. Then they treated you like shit and blemished my

name!"

The fact that the old man cursed was startling. The fact that this was a

Dumbledore that Harry had never seen before was perhaps a bit scary.

Before him now and started to sprout a magical radiance was one of the

most powerful wizards in the world. The fact that this was happening in

the middle of his dining room did not bode well for his mother's china

cabinet. Perhaps he should have been more afraid but, somewhere in the

back of his mind he knew Dumbledore wouldn't harm him. He was

needed for the prophecy. The curses coming from the mouth of the old

man were in languages that Harry had not heard before but judging from

the interest on Tonk's face they must be colorful. Finally, five minutes

later the old man started to calm down.

Now that Harry saw the man calming back to his normal self, he figured

it was best to give the true details of the situation, "I had the goblins look

over the blood wards you had placed over the residence. It was due to

their findings that I am here meeting with you today and not in New

Salem or a dozen other schools."

The Headmaster was brought up short with interest turning his gaze back

towards Harry with a studied calm demeanor, "What do you mean

Harry?"

The boy tossed ten acceptance letters onto the table from schools from

Japan, India, Italy or America. Then Harry spoke firmly, "The blood

wards were not able to be keyed to the Dursley family Albus. Because of

that they have been relying on mine and your life force and magical

cores to work. You have been draining your very life to empower the

protections there and did not know it. I was giving away my magical

strength to strengthen the wards to protect those people. When it comes

down to it, I cannot give a punishment to you Albus greater then what

you gave to yourself."

The Headmaster suddenly looked a very old man as he became pale at

the thought that he had spent years of his own life just to have Harry

beaten. A wizard could live a very long time, and he had lived already

one hundred and fifty eight years. He did not have much longer, and

perhaps far less now. Suddenly Albus felt very old as he swallowed the

tea. He looked up with heartbreaking sadness in his eyes instead of the

normal twinkle then slowly reached out to touch his gnarled old hand

against Harry's hand. "Harry, I cannot make up for what I have done even

with a lifetime. I am sorry and I was wrong to have placed you there. I

was wrong to seal your parents Will. Even though I thought it was more

important to protect you from Death Eaters after Sirius betrayal. You

don't know what it was like in those days after the war suddenly ended. I

didn't know who I could trust, especially with you. The Malfoy's were

trying to claim you as blood relatives as were half a dozen pureblood

families. If they had, I don't think we would be here today. I thought at

the time protections and a childhood away from all of this would be

best."

Harry stated at the headmaster for a long moment then slowly slid across

the table before the man the documents from the goblins, "If you had told

me anything but the truth I would have thrown you out of the House and

never returned. Now, I will give you one chance and I want the truth, the

whole truth Albus." The boy paused a brief moment staring at the old

man, "Why did Tom target me for attack? What were his reasons?"

The twinkling eyes of the old man met the gaze of Harry and he could

swear he felt a shiver down his spine as the Potter family ring felt warm.

Then the old man seemed to deflate, "I will give you the truth. Your

parents were not the target by Voldemort. It was you Harry. There was a

prophecy spoken about you my boy."

Albus swung his gaze towards Tonks with a stern look, "Nymphadora,

before I continue you will need to make an oath not to repeat this."

The young woman was about to argue but after a glance at Harry whom

nodded she took out her wand and completed a quick oath. Albus turned

back to Harry meeting his eyes as spoke.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord Approaches… born to

those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the

Dark Lord will mark him his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord

knows not... either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live with

the other survives.."

The old man finished his words a pin could have fallen and none would

have noticed.

Harry just sat there staring at the Headmaster wide eyed. Tonks reached

over and grabbed hold of Harry's hand giving it a squeeze. The boy

returned it before he stood up and walked away to the living room to

stare out of the windows at muggle London. The silence of the room

stretched for a good five minutes as Dumbledore and Tonks patiently

waited for Harry. Finally, the boy turned and looked back breaking the

silence, "Were you going to train me or serve me up as a lamb for

slaughter so he might destroy the part he had left in me on the night of

my parents death?"

"I would not serve you up for slaughter Harry. Of course I was going to

train you. But, I wanted you to have a childhood. I needed you to be

mature enough and ready. I had not seen it yet, till this summer. I had

only seen a boy and not a man that is ready for this responsibility." The

old man spoke up quickly trying to hide his shock that Harry knew of the

Horcrux within himself. Even to Dumbledore's own ears the statement

sounded hollow and untruth. The old man had tried to hide the tremble

from his voice but could not. When had he gone so far astray? It was true

that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. He felt as if he

was a perfect case. He had let his fame go to his head and this was the

price to pay. The old man looked up and met the emerald eye of the

young boy and he could see it. Harry knew he had failed him. He could

read it from the boy's mind screaming at him in barely restrained fury.

He spoke softly, "Then he did leave a fragment behind?"

The situation was enlightening for Harry but for Tonks it was world

shattering. She had always believed the Dumbledore could do no wrong.

She had been raised by her parents to be skeptical, to question things.

But, somehow that rule never applied for her to Dumbledore. Not sitting

there was the man that had caused her friend, future brother, and

perhaps something else to be terrorized for most of his life. The same

man that had been planning to have Harry fight a Dark Lord without any

form of proper training. To say Nymphadora Tonks was pissed would be

an understatement.

The boy let out a deep breath and shook his head slowly back and forth

with a frown. He looked up and met the gaze of the Professor and he

could tell that the old man knew that he knew. He dropped that thought

before it could get confusing still the fact remained Dumbledore had set

him up. Yet, now he was trying to make an effort. He broke the gaze of

the man and looked at his teacup to consider.

He had three choices lying before him to consider. He could kick out the

Headmaster, end any sort of relationship with the man. This would end

up with making the man an enemy, a powerful and dangerous one.

Further knowing Dumbledore, the man would start to paint him as falling

to the dark and use him for a political end.

The second choice would be to accept the apology of the man, distance

himself completely and transfer to another school. Perhaps Imperial in

Italy, Mediterranean girls are rather enjoyable to watch. Of course he

would need to learn Italian other another language. Then again there was

also New Salem in the United States. That could be an interesting school

to try out. Still, that would mean abandoning all of his current plans and

power bases that he had started to build up. Plus eventually he would

need to come back, he couldn't walk away from being a Potter. He had to

do it for his father's sake to rebuild his family.

The third option would be to use the old man, gather what he could from

him and then find an appropriate punishment. Dumbledore had defeated

a Dark Lord, and if one was still out there and going to come back then

he might be useful. The man was useful politically and he could twist

him for his needs before leaving him to rot. He couldn't trust the man,

but that didn't mean he couldn't use him.

Harry sipped his tea then looked up at the Headmaster, "I want your

opinion on something before I accept your apology."

He saw the nod of agreement from the Professor so he placed the cup

down, "I tried to claim by right of conquest the title of Heir of Slytherin."

The excitement in the eyes of the old man came back as they twinkled.

Harry could swear the man licked his lips like a creepy bond villain

before he spoke up, "What Happened?"

Harry let out a sigh of frustration, "Something attacked my magic, as if

the claim was invalid. I am not certain why my claim failed. What are

your thoughts on this Albus?"

Albus studied Harry carefully for a time with a frown of consideration, "It

is a quandary. My first thought would be that Voldemort was not the

Heir of Slytherin just another Parselmouth. But, the Gaunt family were

related to Slytherin. We know that Voldemort lives, even if it is not in

human form any longer. There was proof of that first year. It could be

that since he is alive in that form you will not be able to claim this right.

You did defeat him but it was with the gift of your mother as a child. The

protection she had given you through her love. The same protection that

defeated Professor Quirell could be considered by the magic to be your

mother's victory and not yours. The magic was from Lilly Potter so

perhaps the magic of Slytherin House does not view you as defeating

Voldemort but instead your mother as the victor. Still she had died prior

to this victory so the magic could see the heirship as forfeit to any claim.

A disturbing bit of news to consider and something that I may have to

research into."

The boy sighed as he stood up again to walk now into the kitchen and get

some food. But, soon as he stood Dobby appeared with a platter of

muffins and refilled the tea to everyone. Harry sat back down and leaned

back into his chair, "Then I believe that we will need to find some

common ground to work together. But, if we are to do tis Albus it will be

as allies. I will not be controlled again. If I find you life to me, or mislead

me, I will walk away from our arrangement. And your pet death eater

will behave himself to me for now on understood?"

The old man smiled at the boy not wanting to argue about Snape at the

moment, as he knew that it could ruin everything, "That is most wise my

boy. I am glad to see you are indeed growing up. I half expected you to

hear the prophecy and decide to blow up the place in anger. You do have

your mother's temper."

Harry watched Dumbledore pluck another piece of muggle chocolate to

enjoy. He gave a smile back to the man, if forced before speaking up, "I

would like your support on the matter that I mentioned at the trial."

The piece of chocolate was placed back down on the wrapper as

Dumbledore looked at the boy sadly, "Harry, that is another reason for

my visit today. It appears that Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban to join

his Dark Lord. He may be coming after you Harry."

The long black locks of hair flipped back and forth as Harry shook his

head with a frown, "No, He wouldn't. He was not my parent's secret

keeper. Pettigrew was their secret keeper. Sirius was imprisoned for the

wrong reasons."

For the second time that day the Headmaster was surprised by the young

man, "Why do you believe that my boy?"

"My mother left a journal, it is blood encrypted so you would not be able

to view it. But, she details many things including who is the secret keeper

for her and father. She also wrong up to the moments before Voldemort

came for me. " The boy paused as he frowned deeply, "Sirius Black is

innocent of crimes against my family and he never received a trial."

The Headmaster frown deepened as he considered the words, "He is still a

killer of those muggles and Peter."

A matching frown was plainly visible on Harry's face, "We don't know

that for certain without a trial. If Peter was a Death Eater he could have

been capable of anything."

A sip of tea was drawn from the cup of Dumbledore as he considered the

information that boy provided. There was no proof that could be

provided to support his claims still this was a matter he needed to show

trust. If had failed Sirius by not forcing Crouch to have a trial he would

have convicted an innocent man to insanity. Plus if he was able to help

free Sirius he could be useful in the future as the Lord of House Black. "I

will do what I can Harry but the Minister is already setting up plans of

his own. I will try to get him a trial as soon as he is captured. That way

the truth will come out and he can be freed."

"Thank you Albus. I am sure that the Black Family would appreciate that.

"The words came from Tonks instead of Harry surprising the old man as

he had forgotten she was present with his concentration on Harry. The

girl should be a black, another useful and interesting possibility. This was

indeed too useful politically to keep his hands off of. Dumbledore spoke

up, "We will do what we can to resolve the issue peacefully. Speaking of

family Harry, did you decide whom you want to be adopted by for the

next few years?"

A bite of muffin saved the boy a few moments to think before answering,

"Well I have narrowed the list down to the Tonks, Longbottom or Diggory

families. All three are very nice and have added benefits. But, I want to

wait till after Christmas to decide. I was hoping that Sirius would be free

by then."

The old man could feel a touch of sadness in the voice of the boy when

he spoke of his godfather, "You could consider the Weasley family. I

believe Molly wanted to put in for you, and they are a good light family."

A forced smile touched the lips of Harry as he looked up to Dumbledore,

"The Weasley family is a good light family Albus. But, I wouldn't choose

them for a few reasons. I would prefer my family's traditional allies, and I

could not be sane under Ms. Weasley's mothering for that long. She is a

sweet woman but a little strong willed for my taste."

A bit of amusement danced in the eyes of the Headmaster as he stood up.

While the Weasley family was a supporter and allied house of

Dumbledore it was true that they had never been of the Potters. The

Potters always seemed to ally more with neutral houses till the last few

wars. Strange House Potter numbers seemed to drop only after the

change of alignment. He could understand the boy's decision and he

knew that if he pressed today it would only ruin the progress that he had

made, "I understand the sentiment. I believe in school we may be able to

arrange some extra lessons. Provided your grades improve from previous

years? I saw that you have signed up for Ancient Runes, Care of Magical

Creatures, and Arithmancy."

Harry smiled politely to the old man, "Now that I understand what it

means to be a Potter. I feel I have an obligation to live up to my

ancestors. I would welcome the extra lessons any of the professors except

for Snape could provide to me."

Albus picked up the bag of muggle candies and walked over to Fawkes, "I

believe it is time to depart as I have taken up a lot of your day already.

Please enjoy your summer Harry. It was good to see you too

Nymphadora." He touched to Fawkes then in a flash and bang both were

gone from the flat.

After the old man departed Harry turned to look at Nymph with a frown,

"Something tells me this will be an interesting year back at Hogwarts. I

fear I will not be able to get away from all of his manipulations until I am

strong enough to position myself and those I care about far away from his

claws. But, I will deal with that bastard someday once and for all."

Nymph stepped next to Harry and gave his shoulder a squeeze, "We will

get there Harry. I promise I will be there for you whenever you need me."

The boy smiled brightly looking at the beautiful girl, whom always

confused him, at his side. Then he leaned up to give her a small kiss on

the cheek. "Thank you Nymph. You don't know how much that means to

me."

The girl stepped back and grabbed his hand with a grin, "Come lets go

blow something up. It will make you smile."

A week before returning too Hogwarts, Harry was again sitting on the

couch studying after his morning workout. The runic powered record

player was playing an old Pink Floyd album that they had purchased

while Nymph was again performing her wonderfully seductive yoga

workout. Harry swore to god he would miss this workout each day.

Nothing said good morning like a metamorph in a spandex doing yoga.

Perhaps he could find a travel pensive just to relive the memory when

there was a need. Still, there was nothing more he could ask for in the

world then to sit there relaxing as he watched the girl go through her

thrusting and limber exercises.

Of course this peace and quiet, like his naps, could not last. It was

interrupted this time by a pounding at the door from an angry young

woman whose voice echoed with a scream, "HARRY JAMES POTTER!

You open this door right away!"

Harry grabbed his wand and pointed it at the door, activating the one

way mirror rune. Through the door all Harry could see at first was a mass

of bushy brown hair. Then he could see the pale skin of the young

woman standing around five foot three outside of the flat. The voice and

appearance could only belong to one person. He turned to look at Tonks

and cringed, "I think I forgot to write to her all summer."

"Don't worry little brother, I will protect you." Tonks smiled towards

Harry as she stood up and walked to the door. Slowly she opened it up

with her wand drawn and leveled right at the girl, "Name?"

If Hermione had expected anything this morning, it was not to be held at

wand point by a young woman with neon pink hair and wearing a 1980s

leotard. She stuttered softly, "Hermione Jean Granger Miss."

The wand of Tonks swirled around slowly in a circle glowing on the tip,

"and why are you looking for Heir Potter Ms. Granger?"

A thin bead of sweat formed on the forehead of Hermione as she spoke, "I

wanted to see my friend and I was told by the Headmaster that he was

here in London. He didn't bother to visit or write back to me all summer

and I wanted to know why."

"A friend comes up screaming out the name of a boy and pounding on the

door to wake the neighborhood? Did you know he is in hiding and under

Auror protection?" The brow of the older teenager rose as it turned fiery

red along with the red of her hair. "How do I know that you are

Hermione Granger and not someone out to harm Harry Potter?"

The girl slowly pulled out her wand and raised it up into the air. She was

very aware of the wand pointed directly at her face by Tonks. "I swear on

my magic that I am Hermione Jean Granger and I am not under the

Imperius spell. So mote it be." She finished then flicked her wand to cast

a luminous.

The red hair flipped back to pink as Tonks studied the girl, "I couldn't

help but notice that you didn't promise not harm him."

The busy haired girl smiled at the Auror, "I owe him for not writing to

me. Now let me see him."

Tonks stepped to the side as Hermione swept into the room and ran

straight at Harry wrapping him into one of her bone crushing hugs. She

was surprised when he returned the hug; normally Harry was adverse to

all physical contact. She leaned back and smacked him across the cheek

before she whispered softly, "You are alright. I never heard back from

any of the letters that I sent to you. I even went to look at your House in

Privet Drive but it was gone. Someone turned it into a parking lot! I was

sure something bad had happened to you!"

The hug felt good to Harry, he didn't realize till now how much he had

missed his friend. He closed his eyes to enjoy the warm embrace, which

led directly to him being surprised when he felt the smack across the left

cheek. The smack he had honestly deserved. Even though the Ministry

reviewing all letters and packages to him, the expected delay was three

months till they were cleaned. He should hopefully get his birthday gifts

by Christmas. Harry reached up to rub his cheek with a smile, "I deserved

that for not writing. I was supposed to be hiding till the trial and then

afterwards I was force to keep hidden after the escape of my godfather. I

am sorry Hermione."

He felt another crushing embrace as she tried to squeeze the life out of

him. The pair separated as they heard the clearing of a throat then Tonk's

voice, "I think I will get some food for lunch together for us all Harry,

why don't you catch up with your friend."

For some reason he felt in the back of his mind that Tonks was angry or

perhaps jealous? He watched her stalk away into the kitchen and he

couldn't determine why. After all this was Hermione, she was his sister in

all but blood. Harry shook off the thoughts then dragged the girl over to

the couch to sit and talk. "Well this summer has been a long story

Hermione. If I tell you everything I am sure you can keep a secret

though."

The girl sat down next to him and smiled, "I won't tell a soul Harry, you

can trust me. If it is a long story then let's start the beginning."

"Alright, I will." He smiled then started to tell Hermione of all that had

happened to him lately. He explained to her what took place at Hogwarts

after the end of the term. They spoke about the attempted murder of Lord

Malfoy, the vision and destruction of his scar. He talked to her about the

trip to Gringotts, the Greengrass family, and his godfather. He went into

particular details about Dumbledore's plans, the Dursley family and his

life prior to Hogwarts. He was very careful to illustrate exactly what

Dumbledore was responsible for and had admitted to him. He knew her

penchant for following authority figures and seeing them do no wrong.

So he needed her to understand everything. Even a bit about the

prophecy was shared with her.

Tonks came back into the apartment with some take out Chinese food

and placed it down before but didn't interrupt the tale. She simply sat

down at his other side and listened to him spill his guts about his life to

Hermione.

Hermione had suspicions about Harry's home life and questions over why

he was not more like the Potters in the books in the library but never had

asked. Harry was a closed individual. He was one that would save a life

before he would share about himself. Still, she knew him better then

anyone in the world as he always shared more with her. Now though he

was pouring it all out.

Harry finally was starting to let go. E was letting out all of the anger,

rage, and pain of his young life so far. He was actually opening up to the

two girls that were with him in the room. In a way each of them were

special and unique to him. It was a strange feeling for the-boy-who-lived

to feel loved and feel safe.

When he finished he looked up and smiled to the two girls as he felt each

of them uncertain for the response. He didn't have to wait long as they

each latched onto him and squeezed him into a hug. A bushy haired mess

of hair on his right side and a pink haired vixen on his left, both were

squeezing his bones till they creaked. Harry was amazed at these two and

did the only thing he could think of to express his wonder. He hugged

them back.

Author Note: I hope you liked this chapter. I brought out a few of

Dumbledore's thoughts on why Harry couldn't become the Heir of

Slytherin. I will let you all decide yourself the reason and see what

happens in the future of the story. I didn't want to make a bashing

Dumbledore in this story. Instead I think I made a manipulative old

man that wants to be good and thinks he good. Hopefully he comes

off as politically cunning enough that his schemes will adapt along

with his goals. As interesting for the future as this chapter was

(besides the fluff), next chapter will be far more long term effecting.

As always let me know your thoughts and thank you for reading.

10. A dark train ride

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc.

-SotWW-

Harry finally was starting to let go. He was letting out all of the anger, rage,

and pain of his young life so far. He was actually opening up to the two girls

that were with him in the room. In a way each of them were special and

unique to him. It was a strange feeling for the-boy-who-lived to feel loved and

feel safe.

When he finished he looked up and smiled to the two girls as he felt each of

them uncertain for the response. He didn't have to wait long as they each

latched onto him and squeezed him into a hug. A bushy haired mess of hair on

his right side and a pink haired vixen on his left, both were squeezing his

bones till they creaked. Harry was amazed at these two and did the only thing

he could think of to express his wonder. He hugged them back.

The last week of summer before heading back to Hogwarts went by

quickly. Hermione's parents actually lived not too far from the flat. So

she was over every day after Harry and Tonks completed their work outs.

They would spend a few hours a day reading different books that were

acquired from Harry's vault. Normally Harry would just further read the

journals of his mother to learn more about his parents. Hermione was in

heaven at some of the aged books for master's level charms that Harry's

mother had stored away.

A few times they went shopping in muggle London and explored

London's famous sights and museums. Hermione was a walking Fromer's

encyclopedia. She knew dates, facts from different uses of the rooms of

the Tower of London to the names of paints found on museum walls. For

Harry it was a first time he ever had been shown this type of culture. He

had only see the dark side of the muggle world, namely his cupboard.

The trio even managed to take in a play. Harry and Tonks loved the

guided tours and had a blast exploring London with Hermione.

Finally, the day of the train back to Hogwarts arrived which found Harry,

Kingsley, and Tonks at the station early. They were the first to arrive for

the day but it didn't bother Harry none. It at least gave him time to say

goodbye and relax without the stares that always seemed to follow him.

Plus it was nice not to be rushing and late like he was the first two times

traveling to Hogwarts.

Harry shook hands with Kingsley with a bright smile, "Thank you

Kingsley. I am in your debt for seeing me taken care of over the summer.

If there is anything I can ever do to assist you please just let me know."

The bright smile was shined back to the young man from the Auror,

"Thank you Harry. It has been a pleasure to guard you this summer. I will

remember that favor and someday cash it in."

The boy couldn't help but chuckle warmly, "Indeed, perhaps I can hire

you away from the Ministry someday."

Harry slowly turned from the dark skinned man to look at the pink

haired girl with a smile, "Going to miss me?"

Harry received a light punch in the arm for the question, followed

immediately by a hug. While not a Hermione squeeze till you can't

breathe hug. Nymph's hug instead was far squishier at the chest, which

Harry enjoyed immensely. Since they were in public Harry resisted the

urge to tease the older girl with a wandering pinch and settled for a smile

and whisper, "Winter Holiday's Nymph?"

The young woman smiled back to the teenager, "You going to work out

and follow the regime that I gave you?"

He offered his best grin towards her, "Everything but Yoga. Tights fit you

better."

"I will tell Mom and Dad to expect you. It should be fun and perhaps I

will come to visit you on a Hogsmede weekend. Just write to me when

you have one." The smile was genuine for Tonks as it reached into her

eyes looking at the young man whom confused her. She knew he was far

too young, but he looked almost her age and acted it normally.

Sometimes she felt like a muggle cartoon she saw once with a little

talking duck had with a devil and angel on his shoulder arguing over

what to do. For now the angel won out. But, no matter what Harry was

to her in the future, there was the simple fact that he was important to

her. The young man was a kindred spirit to her, both a

metamorphmagus, very few of which were found in England. The young

man had found a way to grow into her heart. She gave Harry a single kiss

on the cheek and whispered, "Go have some fun with the ladies. I expect

some good stories when you get back at winter time."

One last hug to the older teenager was given by Harry where he did give

a quick pinch to a pert backside before he turned and quickly entered the

train. His luggage had already been delivered by Dobby who arrived and

disappeared with a pop after Harry had gotten there. The elf was already

at Hogwarts getting ready to look after his master, an added protection

for the boy. He would be the only elf to prepare Harry's meals and check

his clothing and room over.

An advantage of arriving early was that Harry had the choice of

apartments. So he went to his normal compartment at the end of the

train. But, when he got there the door was already open and a man was

passed out sleeping on the bench. Something about the sight of the man

tingle the back of his mind but the youth quickly shook it off. Deciding

not to be a bother to the man, Harry turned to the next compartment

down and settled down there. He un-shrunk his trunk, quickly removing

his runes books, a few records and his shrunken portable record player

out of his trunk. Then he slide the trunk away, plopped on a Led Zeppelin

record that Tonks had given him then settled down to relax and read.

Harry fired he had a good hour before the earliest of the arrivals would

show up. Which gave him about two hours till the platform started to get

very busy. And of course it would be around three hours till the Weasley

clan would show up minutes before the train started to depart. It was

tradition after all; they were always the last to arrive. He wondered

briefly if he could tease Ron if that was his families' slogan. But, knowing

his best mate it might make the red head boy a bit too upset. He did have

to say he was looking forward to hearing stories about Ron and his

family's trip to Egypt. The idea of visiting tombs of powerful wizards and

Pharaohs sounded amazing. Perhaps someday it would be possible for

him, for now he had other concerns, like staying alive.

The book for Runes was extremely interesting. This book was actually not

the standard third year Runes book for class but a supplemental book

that Harry had found in his family vault for learning to use runes. He had

already read the standard book of class and found it intriguing. So he

figured he might as well use his new resource and had Dobby acquire

multiple other early level books on Runes from the family vault to study

over. The ideas and concepts for Runes was amazing, it was truly a

unique version of spellcasting.

Harry found it fascinating the idea of making something unique that

could survive him, if he didn't make it. After all, he was the last Potter

and he needed to make a statement. Hopefully, it would be a statement

for the restarting of his family tradition and tree and someday he would

die around two to three hundred with many times many great

grandchildren. Of course, there was a higher possibility whatever he

accomplished could be the last act of greatness of the Potter family.

Runes gave Harry that possibility, they had the amazing ability to help

create something that would out survive him and his magic. He could use

them to empower his wishes into almost anything. Harry loved the idea

of someday taking some of the muggle items and turn them into

Wizarding things like Haggard's motorcycle. He was already planning as

soon as he picked up enough knowledge to make one of his own. He also

was curious about the possibilities of using runes to hold energies, or to

allow locomotion to items like his record player. Of course, Harry was

aiming higher then just bikes or trinkets to foster a business in the

Wizarding World. He wanted to figure out something grand, something

special that would change the way the Wizarding World was run. He

didn't know what he would do yet, but he felt it in his bones that Runes

was the way to get there.

So Harry had read ahead on the Runes textbooks, already memorizing the

standard Celtic and Norse runes in the school books and learning the first

full year of the subject. He was now working on his mother's third year

notes on the subject and starting the fourth year textbooks he picked up

to get ahead. He knew he was only beginning a journey that would take

years to truly show fruits of his labor but he couldn't help but feel it was

worth it. Actually, in the summer with the help of Nymph he had been

able to learn most of the concepts from Transfiguration, Charms, DADA,

and Runes. It just felt to him almost as if he had studied the knowledge

before. He seemed to pick up the subjects faster then before even though

he would start a new charm. Instead of it being a task to learn it felt

more like a review. Would that have been from the rings? Or from what

happened at the end of the school year? Or was it just applying to learn

something in a way to actually was fun, and enjoyable as he did with

Nymph?

His thoughts of the semester work was interrupted by the door opening.

Normally when he saw the bleach blonde hair of the boy walking into the

room on the train he would cringe inside with annoyance. But, in this

case he had been honestly looking forward to seeing Draco Malfoy. The

young man was without his two sidekicks this day, he still had the

arrogance written on his face that he was famous for. But, there was a

difference lingering in the eyes. The eyes now knew what it was to lose in

the Wizarding world, they understood perhaps a little of what so many

before him had felt from his father's actions. Perhaps it was a new day for

Draco and he would be a different man. Of course, it could have been just

gas.

The young man was slid the door closed behind him then turned and

looked at Harry. A moment of silence as the two rivals stared at each

other than Harry figured it was better to break the ice and motioned to

the seat across from him, "Cousin, please come sit with me."

He waited till the blonde haired pureblood took his seat, while offering a

polite smile to the boy, "I understand this is not our usual style of

meeting. I hope your mother explained to you the details of our working

relationship for now and into the future?"

After a nod from the boy Harry continued. "I know you may not believe

me but I am sorry for your loss. I also expressed to your mother that I am

sorry when we originally met that I did not take your hand as friend. I

was not aware of how it is viewed in our society to publically ignore a

hand of friendship. For that you have my apologies Draco. I can only

plead ignorance due to the environment that I was forced to be raised in."

The young Slytherin studied Harry in silence for a few long moments

before speaking, "I accept your apologies. I do not know if I can ever

forget your role in my father's death but I can recognize that it was his

choices that started the conflict with you. The past can't be forgotten

Potter, but perhaps we can change things for the future."

Draco seemed to come out of his shell more as he spoke, "My mother

explained to me the situation from first year. I did not know at the time

you had been forced to live with a disgusting group of muggles. It only

shows how they are truly much of lower level creatures they are then us.

It is understandable to not be aware of traditions to our society due to

that. But, you have been learning now about the proper etiquette?"

The dark haired boy smiled politely to his counterpart, "Thank you

Draco. I have been learning but it will take time to truly understand

everything that is different where I was…forced to be raised. Perhaps in

the future if I have a question or concern I could call on you to straight

out the correct, proper way to look at something?"

Harry watched the nod and smile from the blonde haired boy giving a

smile in return, "Now for this year and onwards I don't expect us to

suddenly become best of friends. But, perhaps a truce of cursing one

another might be best? I do not mind keeping our rivalry if you do not. It

would look odd otherwise."

The blonde haired boy studied Harry for a time then offered a forced

smile. A part of Harry's mind recalled for a brief moment again the look

of loss and defeat in the eyes of his rival. Too much had happened for

them to become close, but he was family so shouldn't they at least try?

He never had family before, so really he was uncertain.

Harry was drawn from his thoughts as he heard Draco's voice speak up,

"That is acceptable Potter."

The boy reached down and slowly drew out his wand holding it aloft

before him as he spoke, "I, Draco Malfoy, do swear on my life and magic

that I will not seek revenge for the death of my father on House Potter. I

agree to accept all of the terms of the alliance that my Head of House

agreed to between our two Houses. Furthermore I shall not seek harm to

House Potter, so mote it be."

Harry smiled at the other young man, a little mischief leaked into his

eyes, "Good now please just tell me when the magic of the contract takes

effect to change you into a woman so we can consummate the marriage."

The eyes of Draco popped out of his head as his mouth fell open in shock

at the words. Harry pressed on with the same innocent smile, "Didn't

your mother tell you that part of the contract? You are to become my

bride? I think I have it here somewhere."

Harry stared to reach into his robes and slowly drew out a copy of the

contract with the signatures of Narcissa and himself. He unrolled it and

held it out for Draco to see clause number ten. It listed that Draco would

take magical potions for a change of sex and accept servitude and

marriage to House Potter.

The fact that Draco Malfoy was a very pale young man was not lost on

the whole of Hogwarts. He was a pureblood and it was a matter of pride

to have such unblemished traditional skin tone of nobility. But, the fact

that at this moment he was whiter then nearly headless Nick was

enjoyable for Harry to see. Still, he could only take this too far before he

gave the boy a heart attack.

Feeling that the joke had gone too far Harry smiled and ripped up the

fake contract with a chuckle. He after all did have a large breakfast and

while the amusement of torture was enjoyable, the idea of being married

to Draco was something to lose one's lunch. Add to the fact that Draco

looked to be crossed between fleeing and having a stroke and Harry knew

it had been enough torture for one day. "Draco, I am kidding."

The fear and shock left the eyes of Draco as he quickly became angry and

glared at Harry, "I will get you for that Potter."

Those words brought a sense of rightness to the universe for Harry. He

had to fight to keep from laughing but he somehow managed. "I am

sorry, but I could not resist. Your mother did suggest a marriage contract

but it was more between our future children for political reasons."

The blonde haired boy calmed down but his eyes still lingered with a

glare that showed he would find a way to get revenge on Harry for the

prank, "She told me. We will cross that road when we get there. Is there

any message that needs to be communicated to her?"

The dark haired boy considered for a time as his right hand rose to slide

through his long hair. A habit he had been forming over the summer that

he did whenever he had to think something over carefully, "Just tell her

that I have decided whom will represent me in the Wizengamot and I

believe she will enjoy the sight of my choice."

Draco nodded his head in understanding then glanced out at the train

station as it was filling up with people, "I must depart, we do not want to

be seen like this. I will contact you if anything important comes up."

Harry rose to stand and offered his right hand to the boy, "and I will do

the same for you."

The blonde Slytherin stared at the hand offered for a few moments then

took it with a shake before he turned to depart the room.

As the door slid open Harry called out, "Draco a favor before you go.

Please don't call Hermione that anymore. She is my friend and I consider

her my sister."

Draco glanced back over his shoulder at Potter as he studied the boy. He

considered the statement earlier of his ignorance and let out a sigh, "If

you consider her a sister then make her one Potter. You have that power,

but true to have her understand our society better. A mudblood is not

just a muggleborn. It is a muggleborn that flaunts her culture and ignores

our ways believing us to be wrong. She needs to learn more than just

spells to be a witch."

After those words the young heir left the cabin leaving Harry to his quiet

thoughts. He plucked up the runes book and tried to flip through it but

instead he couldn't get the ending words of Draco out of his mind. Was

she just as prejudice of the magical world as the purebloods were of her?

It was just moments before the train left when the door opened and a

ginger haired boy and bushy haired girl pushed into the compartment.

Both were, of course, fighting together. This time the argument was

about them being late and hot was it all Ronald's fault. Harry stood up

and helped both put up their trunks. He didn't say a word as he just let

them bicker. He had learned a while ago not to get into the middle of

these two which fought like an old married couple.

Finally, twenty minutes later Ron turned to look at Harry and blinked. He

spoke up right away starting to ramble, "Bloody Hell! You look different!

You are telling then I am. Your hair is longer than a pureblood and you

even lose your scar! What happened to you Harry? Mom said you were

fine after the end of last year before we left. But then I was told you

caused the death of Malfoy's dad! Bloody brilliant move to get rid of him

Harry. I was told by Mum she wants to adopt you, wouldn't it be great to

be brothers?"

The rambling was interrupted only by two brief calls for language by the

bushy haired girl. Still, a part of Harry couldn't help but smile. It was

good to be back with his two best friends. He gave the other boy a bright

smile, "It is good to see you too Ron. I have missed you mate. How was

Egypt?"

Any with that question the ginger haired boy was again easily

sidetracked from his own questions and started to talk about Egypt. The

family had visited Bill, his older brother who worked for Gringotts. He

was assigned to Egypt because of all of the tombs there and according to

Ron he was part cursebreaker and part Indiana Jones. It seemed the clan

had traveled from there to visiting Charlie. Charlie was another of Ron's

older brothers whom was in Hungry. Charlie had taken up the career of

working with dragons. Ron, it seemed, go to help him at the range some

so the next hour was spent just telling about how he had somehow

managed to save his brother from being eaten by a nesting mother

dragon.

In the meantime, Hermione added bits of information of her own trip

over the summer in addition to correcting Ron about facts from Hungry

and Egypt. Part of Harry wondered if it was strange that she seemed to

know more of the trip and places that Ron had visited then Ron did. Then

again she did always seem to know a bit about everything so he shrugged

it off.

Eventually Harry did have to talk about his summer. He explained bits

and pieces to Ron from what went on. He let him know the basics of his

life with his relatives and early years. He tried to keep out most of the

information and had to give a few meaningful looks at Hermione when

she was going to ask questions that he didn't want her to. It was not that

he didn't trust Ron, but whatever he told the boy would find it's way to

Ron's mother and eventually Dumbledore. Since the situation was still a

possible future blackmail topic for the headmaster, he didn't want wide

information about his situation to become known. Else it would be more

difficult to someday press charges if he needed to, it wouldn't have the

shock value. He had after all already picked out the Prophet headline

"Chief Warlock condemns child Boy-who-lived to life of torture." It

certainly did have a ring of removal for the old man, but that could wait

till there was no other choice.

Hermione broke into a conversation about recent quidditch games with a

question, "So Harry who are you going to live with after this year?"

A grimace came over his lips as Harry didn't want to discuss the topic for

now, "I am not sure Hermione. I am leaning towards the Tonks family.

But, I am hoping that I can prove Sirius is innocent. I just don't know

how to go about it."

The ginger frowned at the idea as he fed some cheese from his mother's

packed sandwich to his pet rat, Scabbers, "Are you sure he is innocent

Harry? Maybe your mother was wrong. Dumbledore is normally correct

on these things and my mother told me that he is who got Sirius thrown

in Azkaban so quickly without a trial. Him and the old minister Baghold

along with Crouch Senior put away Sirius quickly. I overhead them

talking about it a few nights ago what took place with your parents

before coming to school. He seemed very certain that Sirius wasn't

innocent to me. Plus, he did kill Pettigrew."

Harry resisted the urge to growl at the idea of Dumbledore and what he

might be planning. He reminded himself that he would need to get word

of the situation to Cyrus and Narcissa. Instead of arguing he gave a smile

that didn't reach his eyes, "I am sure Ron. And if he didn't kill Pettigrew, I

would do it myself."

The bushy haired girl spoke up with a frown, "Harry James Potter, you

should not be saying that. Besides I know you wouldn't take a life."

The dark haired boy raised an eyebrow to answer back but cut off his

reply as the train came to sudden full stop. The sounds of luggage

rumbling or falling echoed down the hallways. Harry felt the train rock

as if something just got onto the train near his compartment. It was then

that he noticed the windows, they started to mist up almost as if is they

were freezing over. The air rising from under the doorway suddenly

acquired a bitter cold, almost as if jumping out of a lake on a cold

morning and getting hit by the wind. Harry could feel his breath frosting

over as he breathed out slowly and deeply. Out of the corner of his eye

he watched Scabbers flee to hide under the bench desperately getting

away from the door. The boy slowly stood up and drew his wand at

ready, "Get ready something is not right here."

Hermione shivered as she stood up and moved towards the doorway, "I

will check what is going on. Perhaps a Prefect will know."

Harry saw her moving and started to step towards her but he couldn't

move his feet. It felt like they were jello and would not respond to his

will. Instead he yelled out for Hermione, "No, don't go near the doorway!"

But it was too late as she unlocked the door and it slid open. A massive

black cloaked form floated towards them from the hallway. The being

emanated evil that seeped from it to fill the train and compartments. The

cold was more bitter then the harshest Siberian winter and chilled to the

bone. But, it was the feelings and emotions that were startling. It felt as if

all of the happiness and warmth in the world left his body. It was almost

as if the world lost the brightness of the day and faded to dim. His breath

escaped is body and his eyes rolled up into his head as Harry started to

feel faint.

Distantly Harry registered a scream that belonged to Hermione. The

black creature was reaching forward to try to grab hold of her. Before it

could reach her Rob jumped towards her grabbing hold of the back of her

blouse and flung her back into Harry. But, the dementor grappled hold of

Ron's arms with dark boney, clawed fingertips. The creature seemed a

mass of black robes and shriveled up skin with eyes burning red as two

stars in a deep dark night. Harry felt helpless as his vision faded fully and

he slipped into the darkness.

The darkness was fleeting for Harry. Instead he heard a woman's scream

echoing through his mind. The first time he couldn't place the words but

he knew that voice. He had felt it before when he was attacked. It was

the voice of his mother crying out, "Not my Harry! Anything but my

Harry! You can't have him!" Then the death scream would echo through

his mind as he felt a blast of neon green light before his vision.

AS soon as the sounds would stop it would start again repeatedly

tormenting him. "Not my Harry! Anything but my Harry! You can't have

him!"

It was the fifth time that he noticed something was different. The voice

was replaced by Hermione screaming, "Not Ron! No, you can't have him!"

The dark haired boy willed his eyes open as he awoke from being a

crumpled up mass on the ground. He saw a vision that would haunt his

dreams for decades to come. Ronald Weasley was held up in the hair by

the grasp of the dementor. The creature's head was tilted downwards at

an angle with his lips sealed to Ron's. Terror and pain was written over

the face of his best mate. He could see it; a blur in his vision of light. The

spirit or soul of Ron's life was leaving into the dread creature of darkness.

Harry's body reacted on it's own. He flung himself from the ground,

dropping his wand in the process as he sprinted towards the doorway and

the creature holding his friend. He didn't feel or notice as he leaped over

the terror ridden form of Hermione on the ground. He only felt the anger,

righteous anger burning in his heart as he saw the demon drop the

lifeless body of his best friend to the ground.

It seemed unconscious or even he was controlled by something else as the

boy drew back his right arm reading back almost to stab the dementor.

When it was cocked back the ring on is right hand of the House of Golge

shattered reforming into a long thin black dagger seen in the vault. Harry

felt the shadows in the room stream from the compartment. The filled a

stream in the light pulled from every corner of the room to wrap around

Harry's right arm rolling from the shoulder down to the glistening blade.

The young man landed before the dementor and thrust his right arm

upwards towards the head of the creature. The startled dark monster of

nightmares didn't move as it had just dropped it's finished meal. Harry

felt the blade pierce the part of the neck which meet the head of the

beast tearing through the wrinkled flesh as if it was dry old parchment.

The blade slid through the wrinkled mass of dead skin swiftly upward

slam through the brain cavity to exit the top of the head of the beast.

A screech of the dead echoed from the cabin down the halls of the train.

The pain filled cry sounded like sweet music to Harry even as his ears

started to bleed from the pain of the death call. The sound was

horrendous as the creature looked down into the eyes of the boy with

utter terror at its fate. For a brief second the thought passed through

Harry's mind that it wouldn't die, it would consume him with its anger

and pain. Then the dementor started to break apart into black flakes of

cloth and dusted bones fell to the ground in a pile.

Harry breathed deeply as he looked over the fallen creature he had

destroyed. No idea of what he had done or how he had done it. He

blinked and then felt the shadows abandoning him as he breathed deeply

once, twice, then passed out falling to the ground. For the second time

Harry fell unconscious in the compartment, this time no longer in mortal

danger. Just before his head hit the ground as he fell he was caught by

that strange man that he saw before and felt so familiar. He heard the

man whisper, "James..." Then the boy was lost to the darkness again.

The bed was so very soft and warm when he awoke. He didn't remember

going to sleep in any bed, actually he didn't remember anything after

getting on the train. Perhaps this bed was somehow as part of the train

compartment? Did Hermione make a bed with transfiguration? Harry

shivered under the warmth of the blanket as he felt a cold hand touch to

his forehead. Slowly, painfully aware of the shining light of the room

Harry cracked opened his eyes to peer at the woman standing over him.

Truly, it must be a record that Harry Potter somehow managed to end

last year in the infirmary and now started this year in the infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey was the woman standing over him and he could see her

checking his vitals carefully. He cracked open his dried lips and spoke in

a whisper, "Hello."

The stern woman pressed her lips together as she looked down in

disappointment at Harry. But, he could swear that there was a touch of

sadness in her eyes, "Mr. Potter, I didn't expect to see you right away to

start the semester. I figured you would at least give me a week. But,

fighting Dementor's child? What are you going to do next year, dragons?"

The word dementors was a light switch flicking on in realization for his

mind. Those evil, vile creatures that attacked them on the train were

dementors! He shivered then looked around in fright, as the memory of

his mother's voice screaming for him to be saved crept over his mind. He

whispered softly, "The Dementors…"

His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton as he voiced his question, "Is

it still alive?"

The voice that answered his question was not Madam Pomfrey but

instead the Headmaster as he exited a curtain in the Hospital Wing. "That

one that attacked you is not alive anymore Harry."

Harry swiveled his eyes towards the Headmaster, the sound of his voice

held sadness. The same sadness was filling his eyes as he looked at Harry.

The boy felt his heart jerk as Dumbledore's eyes looked old, dreary at a

loss of their shining twinkle.

The man walked over to the side of Harry's bed and sat down. Slowly the

Headmaster reached out and gently took hold of the boy's hand as he

spoke softly, "Harry, I have some news to tell you."

The boy looked up to meet the gaze of the Headmaster and knew what

the news was. He could feel it in his bones as the battle started to play

over and over again in his head. His lips parted as he gasped softly, "No."

The grandfatherly man gave a squeeze to the hand of the boy. But, he

continued in a soft voice despite the protest spoken by the youth, "I am

afraid that Mr. Weasley did not survive the attack on the train."

Author Note: I hope too many people don't dislike the way this

chapter went. It was always my plan for this to happen on the train.

Not because of a dislike for Ron as a character but because it fit the

story properly. I hope any of the folks that enjoy the Weasley's will

not be too upset. I also hope you liked a bit of the power-he-knows-

not being shown. It wont come up too much for a while but it will

eventually play a good sized part in the story. Year three will be

different then the books and I expect it to go by rather swiftly.

Please let me know your thoughts good and bad. I always welcome

them.

AN2: I am also looking for a 2nd Beta. I know that WSW and myself

both miss things sometimes. I would love to get further assistance

for the story. Thank you all for your support and enjoyment for it so

far.

J

11. Aftermath

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Winged Seer Wolf

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc.

-SotWW-

The man walked over to the side of Harry's bed and sat down. Slowly the

Headmaster reached out and gently took hold of the boy's hand as he spoke

softly, "Harry, I have some news to tell you."

The boy looked up to meet the gaze of the Headmaster and knew what the

news was. He could feel it in his bones as the battle started to play over and

over again in his head. His lips parted as he gasped softly, "No."

The grandfatherly man gave a squeeze to the hand of the boy. But, he

continued in a soft voice despite the protest spoken by the youth, "I am afraid

that Mr. Weasley did not survive the attack on the train."

Harry sat alone on the banks of the Black Lake as he watched the giant

squid swim around just as the sun started to set. He had been sitting here

for two hours since he got back from the ceremony. The day had been

overcast and windy, fitting for his feelings. The wind ripped off of the

lake to brush his dark hair about; unconsciously Harry shortened it to his

old short messy patch. His eyes were dried out by the wind yet it did not

stop the tears.

Part of Harry wondered if the year could get any worse. The other part of

him was worried that he just cursed himself with this thought. He mostly

doubted it was possible to be a worse start of the year then he had so far.

Hell, it was not every day that you find out that one of your best friends

died to try to save you. It was a shock and burned into his heart and soul

the words of the Headmaster. Harry slowly closed his eyes feeling the

wind kiss against his skin as he thought of the past two days.

Flashback

"I am sorry Harry for your loss. I know that Ronald truly meant a lot to

you." The aged Headmaster spoke up as he gave a squeeze to the shocked

arm of the boy.

For a moment Dumbledore wondered if he had broken the child as Harry

sat there unblinking and seeming not to even breathe. The only way to

tell that the young man was alive was the eyes of the boy flicking back

and forth about the infirmary seeming to look for escape. The shock

seemed to fade from the boy as he spoke a single word

"Why?"

Albus leaned back into his chair and stared down at the boy with a

frown, "We all have our times to go Harry. He went to the next

adventure. Asking why someone is taken is something that even the

greatest of minds have wondered. I cannot give you that answer. I only

hope to know that he touched our lives and changed us…."

The words of Albus stopped suddenly as he felt the hand of the boy grab

to his arm. The grip of the boy squeezed to the point that it was painful

on his old wrinkled flesh. The voice that came from Harry was no longer

a silent whisper as he spoke, "I don't care of that flowery rhetoric. I want

to know why the demons were on the train."

To say that he was taken aback would be an understatement for Albus

Dumbledore. First, rarely would someone speak to him that tone or way.

Second, the child asked a question that difficult for him to answer, or at

least answer and not bring down Harry's ire. While he paused a moment

to consider his reply, Harry could see into the eyes of the old man. The

boy knew that he was going to give some polite answer that fed nothing

to the truth, the old man's tell was getting obvious after the repeated lies.

"Harry, the Dementors were placed there for your own protections."

The emerald eyes of the boy hardened as he narrowed his gaze at the old

man, "And what were they protecting us from Albus?" The boys words

took on an edge that could break apart a diamond as voice seemed to fall

to the point that the Headmaster's name was spoken in a whisper. It was

a very deadly whisper that could cause a shiver to run up the spine.

The ancient Headmaster withdrew his arm from the boy's grasp resisting

the urge to rub it where it was marked. Then he spoke calmly, "Your

godfather Harry, remember he is an escaped convict."

The boy did not flinch at the statement as Albus seemed to desire instead

his gaze seemed to glow with anger as he whispered, "Whose idea was it

to place the Dementors at Hogwarts?"

The gnarled old fingertips steeped together onto the lap of the

Headmaster as he leaned back into the seat. This position let him look

down on the boy as he attempted to take on the persona of a parent

looking down on a disobedient child. Or perhaps better in this case an

angry grandparent looking down at the boy, "The new Minister of Magic's

cabinet along with several other important individuals reached the

decision to place the dementors at Hogwarts."

The boy stared at the old man in the eyes, for a moment he almost

accepted agreement and talked of his understanding of the decision. Then

he felt his House Potter Heir ring heat up and looked down at it breaking

eye contact. He looked at the other beds within the hospital wing and

noticed that they were all empty. Harry looked up at the Headmaster,

careful to have his eyes focus on the man's chin instead of his eyes this

time. He made a simple, yet damning statement, "You were one of those

that helped make this decision."

The silence was damning after the statement. It was a defining moment

for the boy for he had just learned two facts. The first that somehow the

Headmaster was influencing his thoughts and his ring warned him. But,

far more important this man didn't care of the truth that Harry had given

him. He would do what he felt was best for his greater good.

The Headmaster broke the silence changing the subject, "You will be

happy to know what magic you did to the creature allowed your friend

Ms. Granger to be okay. We will have to discuss what you did Harry…"

"Changing the subject does not change the answer Albus. You are all fools

and your mistake has cost a good young man his life. I told you Sirius

was innocent. If you cannot trust me, then I cannot trust you." The words

came out almost as a growl as Harry spit them forth with venom, "Leave

me."

The old man frowned as he looked at the young man. Then he opened his

mouth to try to correct the situation, "Harry… Let us…"

Another growl accompanied Harry's mood as his eyes seemed to glow

with energy as he spoke, "Leave me Albus. I have no desire to talk to you

right now."

The ancient Headmaster let out a small sigh, remembering the boy's

mother had the same temper. In time she always cooled down so would

Harry. He gave a pat to the blanket over the legs then started to walk

towards the door, "I will send in Ms. Granger."

Soon as he heard the door close Harry lowered his head into his hands as

tears burst forth. He had acted with strength, fueled by anger but now

that disappeared from Harry's body as it shivered and was wracked by

sobs. The young man did not notice the feminine arms wrap around him

from his friend. Nor did he see the tears mirroring his own on her cheeks

flowing down as she held him. Hours past and the two never said a word;

they just sat there together in silence and cried over the loss of their

friend.

It was hours later when the boy was gently awoken by the strands of hair

tickling his nose. His eyes started to flutter, a quick safety check drilled

into him by Nymph ran through his mind. First, his eyes flicked about

and he saw he was in the hospital wing. Second, he felt what had awoken

him; it was long busy hair that fell over his face and tickled his neck. This

meant one person, Hermione. There was a weight resting against the

right side of his body which had numbed the arm in his sleep. Third, he

heard the breathing at his side coming from the weight and silence that

filled the rest of the chamber, which meant that they were alone. Fourth,

the devastating news, that he did not have his wand in its holster on his

left hand. This caused Harry to look around as he felt something was

wrong. His summation was confirmed moments later as he saw it sitting

broken on the stool next to him. His left arm slowly reached out to try to

hold it but it was just a few inches too far.

Harry let out a sigh as his emerald eyes flicked to his right again at

Hermione sleeping against him. He never remembered her entering and

joining him last night in his grief. Yet, here she was beside him sleeping

away. As he thought back to last night, she must have been the warmth

that he felt while in tears. The loss he felt now was terrifying. He had

been through hell in his life, from beatings to worse. But he never had

experienced true loss. His parents were barely a memory yet Ron and

Hermione had become his new family. Now that family had a black hole

in the middle of it. Part of him wanted to run, to never experience this

again. But, the more logical part of him, perhaps the aged part of his

mind knew that these were the costs of friendship, but the cost was

outweighed by what was granted.

His first friend was dead, he had failed to protect him. It was his fault

that Ron was gone, his fault that he was not ready. He didn't know what

he could have done differently but perhaps if he had been faster, more

determined he could have stopped it. His throat let out a small growl of

frustration, which caused the weight at his side to stir.

Hermione opened her eyes to see the despair on the face of Harry. She

felt his chest, where her head was resting rumble with the growl of

frustration. Her eyes spied the tears running down his cheeks and true

sense of loss that wrapped up the boy. That was a look that Hermione

knew, it was a look that she had seen before and she wouldn't let him

close himself off. She slowly reached up with her free hand to touch

Harry's chin. She touched him lightly as she turned his cheek to look into

the boy's eyes, "Stop, It is not your fault."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by the girl speaking

again, "It was not your fault Harry."

"Hermione, I …."

"It was not your fault Harry."

She could see the look in his eyes, wanting to fight her words. She knew

that no matter what she said it wouldn't change him. He had a complex,

a need to save others and what he truly valued. A part of her was

flattered that he cared for them so much, but it was something that

needed to be fixed. The girl growled back at her best friend, "It was not

your fault Harry. He saved me! He saved my life, do not cheapen what he

did by blaming yourself! Would Ron want that?"

Finally, she could see in his eyes the understanding. He knew that she felt

the same concerns that he did. After all she was who opened the door

and let the monster in, she was who froze up and screamed instead of

reacting with her wand. It was her that Ron pulled out of the way and

saved from the distress. Harry spoke gently repeating her own words

back to her, "It was not your fault."

The bushy haired girl smiled sadly as she spoke in a whisper, "No Harry,

it was not our fault."

The emerald eyes sparkled as the boy looked up at her and whispered

softly, "Indeed, but the key now is to find out whose fault it was."

For a brief few seconds Hermione was scared from the look in the eyes of

her best friend. It was a look of pure anger and malice that burned with a

passion strong enough to destroy a soul. Then it was gone, almost as if it

was a bad dream as she heard Harry whisper softly, "I was so worried

about you. You both are my family Hermione, I can't lose you too."

She smiled at the boy and gave her one of her patented hugs before

speaking softly back, "You won't lose me Harry. I promise you." She

ruffled his hair with a smile, "You are a brother to me as well."

The raven haired boy grimaced at the ruffling of the hair. He offered her

back a small smile that faced away after a few moments as he let out a

sigh, "It was all to capture an innocent man. He died to a demon that was

there to capture an innocent man."

The statement ended the joy as the pair settled down into silence resting

together for the next few hours till Madam Pomfrey finally kicked out

Hermione and allowed Harry to be released from the hospital ward.

It was a few hours after midday when Harry was released from the

hospital ward. He had been given strict instructions to go to the

Gryffindor Tower and rest. In addition, Madam Pomfrey wanted to see

him the next morning before the funeral to check over his recovery from

the magical exhaustion. It seemed his magical core had been almost fully

depleted from whatever had happened with the Dementor. Whether it

was the demonic magic of the creature sucking his magic from the very

air by it's presence or the dagger Harry didn't know. He merely shrugged

at the question when asked by Hermione or Madam Pomfrey. All he

would tell of was that it was the power of Ron's sacrifice and love for his

friends that must have destroyed the dark creature. It had worked with

his mother, so why not here?

The boy stumbled through the hallways leading up to the Gryffindor

common room. The fat lady opened the portrait to his home away from

hell with a quick whisper of the password. Harry could swear he saw

tears on her eyes as she looked at him, but it must have been his

imagination as portraits cannot cry.

He stepped through the portrait feeling like he was in a daze, like he was

damaged goods. The common room was filled with every member of

Gryffindor tower. It seemed every person was in their different little

groups or cliques and talked together, everyone but the Weasley family

whom were absent.

When Harry entered the room numerous heads shot up and looked at

him. A few of the students even pointed and started to call out. Harry

could see some of his schoolmates had eyes filled with concern for his

welfare, but others seemed to have the same lingering distance that he

had experienced last year when he was thought to be the Heir of

Slytherin. It seemed the whisper of the day was that if you get near Harry

Potter, you end up in the hospital ward or dead. Harry couldn't deny it, it

seemed his friends always were in trouble for something.

Mentally the boy really did not want to deal with the numerous people in

the chamber. He really had no intention of sharing the story of his

experience. But, in the back of his mind, the new local and Slytherin side

knew that if he blocked out the others they would decide for themselves

what happened. Instead he must seek to control the situation. He would

need to be firm and control what was told, since Hermione didn't

remember, it was the perfect opportunity.

So with a heavy Heart Harry stepped into the room and looked about the

chamber with no need to call attention. He cleared his throat and all of

the whispers died off. Knowing this was the best chance he would get

Harry spoke up, "A good man died yesterday. One of our friends, one of

our brothers is gone from us forever. What happened on that train was

wrong in every sense of the word. The Headmaster and Ministry were

wrong to allow it. What is worse they are chasing an innocent man with

those very demonic creatures of nightmare. I say we mourn our brother

of Gryffindor and make the world know of his sacrifice. His nobility

should live on as what it truly means to be a member of House

Gryffindor. He stood up when the darkness was surrounding him, he

saved the lives of those he cared for the most and sacrificed himself for

their welfare. There is no higher form of love then what Ronald Weasley

did for Hermione and myself."

Harry paused a moment letting his eyes linger over the crowd in the

silence. He could tell that they were feeding off of his words, they were

living for every breath let out. Now he had them it was time to go for the

kill, "While we mourn our brother we need to remember that this is a

terrible mistake. This should not have happened! We need to stand up

and tell our parents. We need to tell the media and even Ministry what

took place. It could have been anyone in this very room and the danger

continues as those monsters are still outside our walls. We are besieged

by evil placed there by the Headmaster of this Institution. All to hunt an

innocent man whom was tossed into prison without a trial. Now the

Chief Warlock is trying to cover it up with these monsters, cover up what

the previous Head of the DMLE and Minister did. The blame of Ronald

Weasley's death lies on their shoulders."

Again there was silence in the chamber as Harry watched the gathered

students with a sadness in his eyes, "I urge each of you, if you wish to

remember the heroic actions of Ron then to take up this fight in his

name. Make certain that it is not labeled as a tragic loss and forgotten.

But, instead make his name a rally cry for justice. We need to know those

responsible for this event are dealt with. We need to see the innocent not

suffer. Remember Ronald Weasley and live to stand up for the innocent."

Harry fell to silence a final time and looked about the room. The moment

was held in silence as it seemed nobody wanted to even breathe to break

the spell of Harry's speech. Most everyone in the common room was

without a dry eye, he even felt the tears on his own cheeks. Before a few

of them, including Hermione started to come over Harry held up his

hand, "Good night, I am going to my chambers to grieve for my first ever

friend."

Harry walked into his empty room that he had shared with his best

friend. His eyes lingered for a moment on the empty spot where Ron's

bed was last year. The House elves seemed to work quickly, was the sad

thought that came over him. Then his lips twisted in a disturbed grin of

malice.

The boy took out a quill and parchment and started to write multiple

notes. He quickly scrawled out the letters then sealed them with his ring

for the Heir of House Potter. "Dobby."

In a flash the elf appeared before the boy. "Great Master Harry Potter

called for Dobby? Dobby sorry Master Harry Potter's friend Ron died. Ron

Weasley was always good to Dobby."

Harry smiled sadly to the House elf who tried to give him a hug. He

returned it with a squeeze then gently handed over four letters, "Please

bring these to the assigned people. I have placed the names on the

outside of each of them Dobby. It must be done right away, do not let

anything stop you. This is my order Dobby. They must receive these in

the next hour or I will be very angry."

The big eyes of Dobby blinked and looked large as saucers. He appeared

to be startled at the idea of Harry Potter being angry. Then he bobbed his

head quickly and disappeared with the scrolls quickly.

Harry let out a sighed before he plucked up his invisibility cloak then

stepped out of the room. He moved quickly away from all others from the

Gryffindor common room to climb the stairs to one of the seldom used

towers of the school. There he pulled open the window and sat on the

ledge staring out into the night unseen to the world. The boy remained

alone in his thoughts and tears till he passed out asleep.

The boy was awoken in the early hours of the morning by his House elf.

Dobby was gently grasping to his left shoulder and giving a shake. The

invisibility cloak had fallen off lightly to uncover only a bit of the boy,

yet the elf had found him through his magical core. Slowly the eyes of

Harry Potter opened just as the night seemed to start to fade away with

the dawn. He looked up at Dobby and held out his hand as three letters

were placed into it. Slowly the boy broke open the scrolls to read them

over not speaking an acknowledgement to the elf. It was after he finished

that he looked up with a smile, "Thank you Dobby. I appreciate what you

did last night. I appreciate a friend like you."

The house elf looked wide eyed at his master then started to tear up as he

leaped forward almost knocking the pair from the window sill. He

blubbered and cried against Harry's hip as the boy patted the house elf on

the back.

Harry smiled down at the creature and spoke softly, "Dobby, I need to get

back to my chambers in order to get ready for today. It will be a hard

day, the funeral is today and I need to make an important side trip soon

as it is completed. Will you take me to my room?"

"Yes Harry Potter Sir!" The elf spoke up as he snapped transporting the

pair of them to Harry's shared room to get ready for the day.

The funeral had gone how Harry had suspected it to go. His very bones

felt like they were aching in pain from what he saw. The boy could see

that the Weasley family was crushed. Hermione was crushed, and many

of his friends were as well. Harry, knew in his heart that he was in

despair for what took place, but a part of his saw that he needed to seize

this chance while he could. That logical, perhaps dark, side of him knew

that he would mourn later as there was work that needed to be done. If

Ron was ever going to be avenged he would have to outwit powerful

people. But, it was more than just making them pay. This was an

opportunity to use them, make a fool of them and someday destroy them.

He never had liked to use his fame as the boy-who-lived. But, today

would be the time to do that.

He met up with Nymph at the funeral and had left just after it was

finished. The excuse given to Professor McGonagall was that he would be

taken to the Ministry for his question of what took place. But, what was

more important was that in three hours the Minister of Magic would be

making a speech. Depending on how that speech went, most likely he

would be removed from office. Would the Minister then pay for what he

did? He would lose his job, but others under him that had actually most

likely controlled the demon would be free. Others that failed to protect

his friends safety and his own would get away. He was tried of letting

others get away, it seemed all of the Death Eaters had managed to get

away in the past. But, this time, this situation, he would find a way to

change this to his advantage and perhaps control what took place.

They arrived in the Ministry through the front entrance. As always his

appearance caused a bit of stares. It was not often that the "Hero" of the

Wizarding world of Britain was seen escorted by an Auror into the offices

of the Ministry. He was sure that the newspapers and wireless would

know of it soon. Actually he was positive that the wireless already knew

of it, as he had told them the night before through the member of the

board controlling his interests.

Once they were out of the public eye a familiar blonde haired woman

and dark haired man stepped from one of the side rooms to flank Harry

and Nymphadora. He turned and smiled at the pair of them with bright

eyes as they walked towards the Minister's office, "Mr. Greengrass, Aunt

Narcissa. It is an unexpected pleasure to meet each of you this day."

The eyes of Cyrus looked a bit saddened to the boy ass he forced a smile

towards Harry, "Harry, I am sorry for your loss. If there is anything…."

Harry waived him off with a returned smile filled with sadness, "Later I

will mourn Mr. Greengrass. I know, it could have been anyone. Even

either of your own children or cousin Draco. We are just lucky that Ron

made the sacrifice to destroy that vile creature. He shall be remembered

for what he did. I need only find the proper way."

If his aunt had any sadness it was not seen in her eyes, yet there was a bit

of pride as she looked at the boy. Her lessons at the end of summer had

seemed to been paying off. She reached over and gaze slight squeeze to

his left arm of support that was unseen by any but the closest eyes

studying them before continuing to walk in silence. After all it should be

a pretense that her family and House Potter were not friendly or allies for

this to work. It was merely a coincidence that she was here at the same

time as her rival over the issue.

They arrived at the desk of the secretary of the Minister as a short curvy

witch saw there. She had dark black hair and brown eyes with a smile

that seemed to reflect the light to blinding proportions. She smiled at the

group before her without it reaching her eyes, "Name and do you have an

appointment?"

Narcissa stepped forward with a returned smile that did not meet her

eyes for the young witch as she spoke first, "I am Lady Malfoy and the

Minister will hear me right away."

"And I am the boy-who-lived, Heir Harry James Potter. I would also like

to speak with the Minister. It is the up most importance for my

conversation to take place prior to his press conference." Harry gave his

best smile to the young witch who suddenly grew stars in her eyes at the

side of the young celebrity.

"Right away Lady Malfoy and Mr. Potter, "the young woman spoke up

with a bright smile directed at Harry. Her eyes seemed to be looking at

the boy like a piece of meat as she wrote onto a pad of parchment with a

quill. The message disappeared then a different message appeared back

moments later. She smiled brightly, "The Minister will be happy to see

you now."

The chambers of Minister Fudge were filled with lavish luxury. There

were rare hand painted middle-eastern porcelain tiles on the walls,

Chinese vases, even an old English suit of armor. His desk was made of

rich mahogany with gold inlay. A few pieces of rare art from Wizarding

France hung behind the desk. On the desk itself was a stack of papers

that needed to be worked, a silver pocket watch, a few quills, booklet like

the secretary's own, and finally a parchment filled with ink stains that

appeared to be a speech.

The Minister was a portly little man with rumpled grey hair. He was

dressed in a pinstripe suit with the jacket hung over the back of his chair.

The man's eyes looked up as the entered, quickly he stood up with a

smile, "What was a wonderful surprise. I did not expect such interesting

company this day."

Harry took one look at the greed, and surprise in the man's eyes and at

once he knew this would be easier then he thought. He turned on the

charm with a bright smile, "Minister, it is an honor to get an audience

with you. I wished desperately to speak with you about the recent

episode on the train."

The man rubbed his hands together as he let out a sigh and seemed to

shake to his core at the idea, "A terrible thing. A terrible, terrible thing. I

am sorry for your friend my dear boy."

The raven haired boy had to resist the urge to grind his teeth at being

called "My boy." Yet, he was able to smile brightly as the prize needed to

be his concern, "Indeed Minister. It is because of that incident that I felt

the need to come to visit you right away. I was wondering if you might

want some friendly assistance or advice?"

The grey haired man's eyes widened at the idea and a smile came over

his lips, "Oh you would stand up there with me at the speech my boy? A

show of support for the Ministry despite the situation would go a far

ways."

"I am sure it would Minister. But, it would be dangerous for me to stand

up there next to you. Don't you think the rest of the Wizarding world

would want to view me in a poor light as they do you right now?" Harry

raised an eyebrow as he frowned in fake consideration.

Narcissa chose that moment to speak up as she kept a neutral look on her

face, "Indeed Mr. Potter. I would be close to political suicide unless there

was a proper plan." Her eyes turned to look at the Minister whose face

seemed to be growing pale by the moment, "But, I am sure the Minister

would be grateful for any assistance at the moment?"

Cyrus joined the conversation by placing a hand on the shoulder of Harry

with a sadness etched to his face, "Harry, I know you want to help the

good man but remember it would be dangerous. Others will take it as an

opportunity to try to claim you are not ready to run your own household.

Dumbledore may try to claim your seats again. Unless …"

Harry frowned as he looked up at Cyrus, "But Mr. Greengrass, I want to

help the good Minister. Perhaps you are both right Lady Malfoy and Mr.

Greengrass. It would not be good for House Potter to become the middle

of this. Though Ron was my best friend and I am sure my word would

sway many an opinion. Perhaps the Minister would be willing to agree to

some terms for my risk?"

Emerald eyes turned towards the Minister with a sad smile as he spoke

gently, "Would you be willing to consider a few minor things Minister?"

Fudge seemed caught up and pale as a ghost as he looked back and forth

between the three. He had been given the carrot and well informed of the

stick that awaited him. He let out a sigh with a frown, "What would you

wish for your assistance in this endeavor Harry?"

Harry motioned to the chair before the Minister's desk. At the wave of the

Minister he sat down as did the two purebloods at his sides. With a smile

that was warm and friendly, yet had a predator's glare in his eyes he

spoke smoothly, "I have a few ideas that I would like your consideration

on. A few ideas for how the Ministery can improve the education at

Hogwarts, and finally a way to distract the Wizarding World from the

terrible tragedy that took place to my best friend."

The Minister frowned as he looked at the boy in consideration, "A

distraction?"

"Yes, The Wizarding World will talk of the incident on the train as the

lead story unless they have something more satisfying to consider

Minister. What would be a better option than a Lord of a Most Ancient

and Noble House imprisoned without a trail or chance to speak his peace

to Azkaban by the former Minister that was truly innocent?" Harry spoke

gently and smoothly with the option as he looked the Minister in the

eyes. A sad smile came over his lips as he spoke softly, "But, first I need a

single answer. I want the truth of this Minister Fudge or else I will walk

out there and rant and rave before the press about my best friend's

murder. I will remind the world daily with stories of his bravery and

goodness. I will remind them that the Most Ancient and Noble House of

Potter almost came to an end by a kiss of that demon that Ron slew."

There was silence in the room as the minister looked white in the face as

he looked at the young man. His lips pressed together as a bit of anger

was in his eyes, yet understanding too.

Harry spoke up gently as his emerald eyes burned with a killing curse fire

in the sockets. A stark reminder of this boy that survived that very curse,

"But, I do not want that Minister. I like you. You helped me this summer

and protected me when you did not have to. My only question was this.

Which of your Undersecretaries were in charge of the Dementors

controlling Hogwarts?"

Cornelius Fudge slowly looked between the three purebloods for a

second. A bit of shock in his eyes as he met the gaze of Narcissa Malfoy,

the family that had always backed his bid in politics, only to see her nod

once. The man let out a sigh then spoke one word, "Umbridge."

The lips of the young man curved into a bright smile, "That was not too

hard. Now that we know that truth, lets save your career. I have prepared

a list of things to do in order to survive this terrible tragedy Minister. I

believe these suggestions are necessary for today to become a success."

Cyrus placed a sealed scroll down onto the desk of the Minister while

Harry talked. The Minister slowly opened it up and read it over. Harry

smiled for the man, again not reaching his eyes, "I truly believe Minister

that we can have a long fruitful relationship together. I look forward to

seeing you become the longest, most beloved, Minister ever."

Flashback end

Harry let out a side as he plucked up a rock to skim along the waters of

the black lake. The daylight was fast fading away but he knew this was a

day he would not forget. A part of him felt that he had betrayed his best

friend, sold his soul for what? More power? Still, it was the best

alternative; the press conference had gone on perfectly as he expected it

to. The Minister spoke then he did and the press ate up what he said.

There were investigations going on right at this moment on this

Umbridge woman, not to mention Barty Crouch Sr. for his throwing

Sirius into jail without a trial. The Dementors had been recalled from

Hogwarts and the school was safe. Just as important the arrest warranty

for his godfather had been recalled, he was now wanted for

"questioning". Even a few of his suggestions had been taken into effect

and should come to fruition soon.

Still though his thoughts plagued by what he had done. Did the ends

justify the means?

"Hello Harry Potter." The voice was soft and distant almost distracted but

it pulled him from his thoughts as he turned his emerald eyes onto the

girl that spoke the words in surprise. She was small, most likely a first or

second year, standing barely five foot in height. The girl had dirty blonde

hair and pale skin. But, it was her eyes that stood out, they were very

beautiful silvery grey eyes that seemed to be large and open to the world

around her. She smiled easily at the boy, "I am sorry I distracted you. You

looked like you might need someone to talk to."

The boy didn't truly feel like being near others but he didn't feel like

being alone anymore either. He offered a polite smile and stood up

slowly brushing off the dirt from the back of his elegant robes, "It is okay,

I am Harry. It is nice to meet you."

The girl blinked in surprise but smiled brightly, "A wakenspurt must have

made me forget. I am Luna Lovegood."

"It is nice to meet you Luna. What brings you out here to the lake so late

in the day?" Harry smiled warmly to the girl since she seemed good

hearted.

"The nargles have stolen some of my things and I thought that they might

be out here. I found some out here at the end of last year. Then I saw you

swarmed by wakenspurts and I thought you might need to talk to

someone." She spoke as she tilted her head to the side seeming to study

Harry or at least look through him at the magical beasts.

"Nargles? What are nargles and wakenspurts?"

Luna looked at him with a frown at his confusion, "Nargles are creatures

that like to steal things and hide them. They are trouble. Wakenspurts are

creatures that caused your thoughts to be clouded and you to become

moody."

Harry smiled at the girl, not certain if she was just trying to cheer him

up, or if these were true creatures in the Wizarding world or perhaps she

was insane. But, no matter what at least he was starting to get out of his

thoughts and forget his long bad few days, "Perhaps you can sit here and

tell me about Nargles and how I can protect myself from them and

waaakenspurrts."

Harry pulled off his cloak and laid it down for both of them to sit on with

a smile, "Please sit with me my new friend Luna and tell me about these

creatures?"

Luna lowered down to sit crossing her legs and leaning back with a

bright smile, "I am your friend?"

The boy lowered down next to the girl with a smile, "Of course Luna

Lovegood."

"It is nice to have a friend, I never had one before." Luna spoke up quietly

as she looked over at the boy with wide eyes.

Harry held the gaze of the girl for long moments before he looked back to

the sunset over the lake with a sad smile, "You do now Luna. Now tell me

about these nargles..."

Author Note:

I am very glad that some folks liked the last chapter. To those that

disliked it, and are Ron fans. I am very sorry. He wont come back

but he will be a theme in the story in the back of Harry's mind often

and his death made imo a bigger impact then his life did in cannon.

Also for the final pairing(s) that still will be figured out eventually. I

can promise it will not be Hermione or Ginny though. This chapter

felt a little rough. I had it written about a day after the death of Ron

chapter but I kept having problems with the ending. Part of me

feelings I do a very poor Luna unfortunately. As always thank you

for reading, I can't believe we have so many followers and readings.

I appreciate all of the reviews and advise.

Author Note 2: I am looking for a Beta to help out as I know WSW is

busy with college. If anyone would want to help out, please just let

me know.

Story recommendation: Harry Dursley and the Chronicles of the

King

12. First week back

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: Looking for a Beta for this story

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc.

-SotWW-

Luna lowered down to sit crossing her legs and leaning back with a bright

smile, "I am your friend?"

The boy lowered down next to the girl with a smile, "Of course Luna

Lovegood."

"It is nice to have a friend, I never had one before." Luna spoke up quietly as

she looked over at the boy with wide eyes.

Harry held the gaze of the girl for long moments before he looked back to the

sunset over the lake with a sad smile, "You do now Luna. Now tell me about

these nargles..."

It was supposed to be a quick trip to the alley to get a new wand. Yet,

Harry Potter was still standing there in the main room of Ollivander's

after the noon sun was turning to afternoon. It had been six hours so far

and Harry could swear that he had seen every single wand in the entire

store. More than three dozen of the beautiful creations laid on the ground

in shattered remains from the experiment to find him a wand. Kingsley

stood in the corner of the shop close to falling asleep.

The old shop keeper at first had seemed ecstatic at the opportunity to

match Harry with a wand. He had been a difficult customer before and

now this was a chance to truly shine and show that he had everything

possible for any customer. As the different wands tried started to pile up

the man seemed to become more determined. But, after the hours had

passed he slowly started to realize the fact. There was not a wand here

for Mr. Potter.

The old man shuffled out of the back room with a pair of boxes and

placed them down onto the counter with a frown, "Mr. Potter, I believe

these are the last two in the shop that we have not tried this afternoon."

The wand crafter unboxed the first wand looking it over with

consideration before holding it out to Harry. "Twelve inches, made of

birth with a basilisk fang for a core."

Harry gently looked over the wand then gave a subtle flick at the plant in

the corner. He could feel the wands strength, a vicious power filled the

wand to bursting then the spell was released at the plant. A bit of smoke

slowly rose from the tip of the wand as the boy lowered it down with a

frown. "I don't think this was the one. It couldn't handle the strength

behind the spell."

The old crafter took back the wand with a frown then placed it down into

the box. Slowly he opened up the final box and handed over the wand to

the boy, "Fourteen inches of Black Holly, tears of a sphinx willingly

given."

Harry looked over the wand that seemed very ancient with runes carved

into it. He looked up with a frown at the wand maker, "You didn't make

this wand did you?"

Ollivander shook his head slowly back and forth, "No, it was an ancient

wand from a powerful witch. The wand was crafted after a witch bested a

sphinx in a contest of one hundred riddles. She won the tears for that

wand and the land of her castle. That wand has been in my family for

numerous generations and is considered priceless."

Harry gently examined the wand, his fingertips trembled as he could feel

the care and history that it had been given. He could feel the eyes of the

old man staring at him in curiosity, watching with a calculating

consideration. Slowly the boy hefted the handle of the wand and closed

his eyes concentrating. He could feel the power of the wand shooting

through his core far stronger than his old wand. Just as when he first

touched his original wand he felt the light seeming to wrap around his

body and a wind pick up to swirl around him. His fingertips raised the

wand upwards to point at the plant with concentration magic shot forth

to cause the aged dried husk to grow into a vibrant plant.

The boy turned to look back at the old man with a smile, "We have found

one. Now the only question to consider is how much is priceless Mr.

Ollivander?"

Twenty minutes later the Auror walked from the shop following the

young man. The boy had his new wand, for a price that was outrageous

and would clear out most Wizarding families. The wand was now

attached through a special holster to the right hand of the boy. He had

two other holsters attached to his left arm and his right leg both empty

but purchased for storage in case he had to hide the wand. At least that is

the excuse given by the boy to Kingsley.

His orders had been to take the boy to get his wand then back right away

but it seemed his charge had a mind of his own. The boy was walking

away down the alley swiftly towards a supply and antique store. "Harry,

where are you going?"

The young man looked back with a smile, "I need to get one item first

before we go back to school. I hope they still have them available

though."

Harry continued to move quickly to inside of the shop shooting the

owner a quick smile as he walked around to look at the cases stopping

before a selection of knives. His emerald eyes looked over the stock

before stopping to linger on a trio of pairs. He raised his right hand and

motioned to the owner.

George Smith, owner of Smith's supply and antique store walked over the

young student that had come into his story. He had seen the man that

trailed the boy, an Auror or at least part of ministry, before in the streets.

Like hell was he going to be caught selling to minors a dangerous weapon

and getting into trouble, "How can I help you young man?"

The young man raised his emerald eyes to meet the gaze of the older

man. He made a quick motion to the three sets of daggers in the case, "I

have an interest in those three sets of hunting knives. Would I be able to

see them?"

"I do not mind showing you them young man but you know that you are

too young to purchase them without your parents here with you."

The boy frowned as he looked up at the shopkeeper then tapped his right

hand onto the display case. The distinctive sound of a ring knocking

against the case was easily distinguished pulling the eyes of George down

to it. The seal was one that was easily identifiable and easily

remembered. The older man blinked then looked up at the boy searching

for the telltale scar that used to be there on the forehead. Strangely the

look caused the boy's smile to slip into a frown.

The frown of the boy broke as he raised his chin with an arrogance that

would make a Malfoy proud, "Mr. Smith, I am Harry James Potter, Lord

of House Potter. I am old enough to purchase some hunting equipment.

Now will you show me those three sets of daggers or will I need to go

elsewhere and make known that I do not shop here?"

The idea of the boy-who-lived letting it be known that he shunned his

shop was not a pleasant concept for his future business prospects. On the

other hand, letting it known that Lord Potters shops often here would be

a pleasant chance for his business to get some free advertisements.

George Smith smiled at the boy, "My apologies my Lord, I was not aware

that you had been emancipated."

Harry waved off the comment and looked down at the daggers as George

pulled them from the case, "It was just done very recently by the

minister. It is perfectly fine. Now tell me of these daggers."

George held up two knives that seemed to be modeled after the American

Bowie knife style. They were crafted in all silver with a dragon hide

leather handle and capped at the end in ivory. Along the blade was an

etching of a rhino, "My lord these are fine African hunting knives crafted

in the late eighteen hundreds for hunting in Africa. They are enspelled to

easily sheer away hide from flesh, even the tough hides of dragons can be

cleaned away. In addition they are self-cleaning. The price on these sets

are fifty gallons."

The shopkeeper placed down the knives then plucked up a pair of slender

silver daggers that were about ten inches for the blades. They were

wrapped in regular tanned leather that looked worn and cut to groves.

"These are throwing daggers once used by travellers for a throwing game.

They are enspelled not always be sharp and to return to their sheath

whenever they are thrown. The price on this set of daggers is one

hundred gallons."

The man slowly plucked up the final set of final set of daggers. These two

looked ancient in appearance. The dirks had silver blades that were only

an inch and a half wide by around six inches long. The hilts were

wrapped in horse hide and had Latin scrawled in small letting over the

blades. Harry leaned over closely to try to read the words and whispered

softly, "Alea iacta est."

The shopkeeper smiled at the boy nobleman with a nod, "The die has

been cast. These daggers are ancient and the most expensive of the three

pairs. They are enspelled for protection, it is believed that they will

vibrate when they are in the presence of a sworn enemy. They were said

to be crafted in ancient Rome for a man named Brutus as a gift for his

friend. I believe the man is known as Julius Caesar."

Harry leaned back and frowned tapping his fingertips to his chin. "I am

intrigued by each of them Mr. Smith. You did not name a price for the

final set of daggers?"

The shopkeeper could see the eyes of the boy were drawn to the final set

of daggers and he smiled. He always knew when he could drag in a

nobleman for a sale. A muggle raised, supposedly, nobleman would love

the idea of owning a knives held by the famous muggle. "The price would

be five thousand gallons for the final daggers."

Harry frowned as he shook his head slowly with a sight, "Unfortunately

that is far too much. I am sure you would consider to take three thousand

for the trio of sets."

Smith frowned back at the boy not expecting the bickering over prices.

While it was done by many, most would expect a youth to leap at the

chance to purchase expensive items for their own prestige. "Four

thousand for the three sets."

The boy again shook his head, causing his long locks to slide back and

forth against his shoulders, "No, that is too much Mr. Smith. I would pay

you three thousand four hundred."

The man frowned for a second time as he glared down at the

merchandise, "We will be at this all day my Lord. How about we end the

game and agree at three thousand seven hundred gallons for the set."

Harry held out his hand to the man with a smile. The shop keep went to

reach out to accept the handshake with a returned smile, "three thousand

six hundred gallons."

George Smith couldn't help but laugh at the boy's tenacity, "Very well

Lord Potter. Of course I will make it known that you shop here."

"I look forward to being back regularly to inspect all of your available

goods."

The words caused a slight raise of an eyebrow from Smith as he glanced

towards the Auror noticing the man was looking around the shop away

from the transaction, "I think that can be arranged perhaps over next

summer. Please sign here and add your vault number."

Harry initialed in the correct places then smiled, "Thank you for the

business Mr. Smith." He carefully tied the sheaths for the throwing

daggers to his ankles. Then he took hold of the dirks and bowie knives

and walked out of the store followed by the Auror.

The boy stopped a few feet from the store and frowned to himself looking

down at the dirks, "Dobby."

A crack was heard as the House elf appeared before Harry, "How many

Dobby help great Lord Harry Potter today Master?"

Harry gently handed over the bowie knives first to House elf with a

smile, "Dobby these will help with the project we talked about. The

hunting trophies that I want to acquire. You have gathered the other

house elves that I wanted correct?"

"Yes Master Harry. I have acquired three other House elves for the

rebuilding of the estate manor and they all are trained for the hunting

project." The big eyes of Dobby shined as he carefully held the knives

given to him. He smiled with adoration up at the young Lord.

"Good Dobby. I want you to start working on the project right away. But

first, please take these back to the apartment and let Nymph know that I

got her a gift. Just tell here where to get it but not what it is.

Understood?"

Harry watched the little elf nod repeatedly then smiled, "Good, if I need

further assistance I will call for you Dobby."

He watched the little elf disappear in a burst of light then felt a hand on

his shoulder. At first went ridged still not used to the human contact. But,

his emerald eyes turned towards the Auror with a small smile, "I am sorry

I have taken your full day Kingsley."

"It is no trouble Harry, but we should get back before the old man gets

upset." The Auror offered back with a bright smile which drew a nod

from Harry.

"Indeed, let us return. It has been a productive afternoon." Harry was

about to walk over towards the Auror when out of the corner of his eye

he spotted an art's gallery. A smile was given towards the Auror, "One

more quick stop I think."

The pair walked into the gallery for a quick look around before returning

to school.

The first few days back for classes were very different than normal for

Harry. While Hermione seemed to be attached to him as a shadow, he

sorely was missing Ron. The rest of the Weasley family had not yet

returned to the school. Harry could feel the distance from the family just

by their lack of being there. He may not be blood to them but he

understood a bit of their pain right now. Harry tried to keep a bit of

distance from most folks, including members of his house after

remembering how last year he was shunned. Most of the school had

shunned him from the belief that he was the Heir of Slytherin. A fact that

he had disproven over dinner with Cyrus this summer, yet it still hurt to

know that he was so easily turned on. He kept a list over the summer

remembering those that turned against him over the incident. Perhaps

someday he could pull a bit of marauder on them all, maybe once the

twins returned.

Harry took the time to start a routine for himself. He would wake up

around six in the morning and get dressed for a brief run. He would jog

up to the quidditch field and run laps around it before heading back.

Tonks always said to him, the stronger the body the stronger the core. He

would then take a shower and head to off to an early breakfast normally

studying at the same time. Now that he knew that he would have to

make a proper impression for his family Harry was determined to be at

the top of his year.

The teachers seemed to be much the same as every year. Binns was still

terribly boring but now Harry was trying his best to stay awake. He even

took some notes and with Hermione's help he was able to keep awake

during the same droning lectures. Perhaps one of his next goals could be

for next year to hire an exorcist to get rid of the ghost!

Potions seemed to be much the same, Snape was still a complete asshole

to him. A few of his comments for the first class were caused Harry to be

close to going over the line. Once again Hermione was there to help keep

him on the correct path. The two of them now worked as potions lab

partners since Ron was no longer there. Harry found it be far better

having her as his partner then Neville. The poor boy was a good guy but

terrible at potions.

A second thing that Harry noticed in potions was Daphne Greengrass.

The Slytherin girl he had met over summer was in the class, of course,

since she was part of House Slytherin. She seemed to do her work with a

strawberry blonde girl at her side. He wasn't sure her name, but then he

never really asked anyone's name in the first few years for those outside

of Gryffindor. That was a practice he would have to change, hell his

house hadn't really supported him fully perhaps he can make some more

friends. Not to mention that many of the children in this school were

future heirs of their family, he would be working with them someday. It

was best to foster the business and political contacts now to grow for the

future.

It did bother him at first that Daphne had never visited him on the train.

He was looking forward to meeting her sister Astoria, was her name. At

least he thought that was her name. Perhaps she had planned to come

near the end of the train ride, if so he was sorely out to the world at that

moment. Perhaps sometime he could quietly get a message to meet the

girl and talk to her. She was a very intriguing individual, if a little distant

and cold. Then again it could just be hormones and the normal belief to

want what you can't have acting up.

Herbology was something that Harry still found relaxing. The subject was

all about gardening, something that thanks to his aunt he had gotten

plenty of practice in over the years. He never had been given top marks

in the class but he was far better than most there.

Transfiguration had started off well for the year. Professor McGonagall

had done a practical review with an essay for anyone that could not

complete ten different transfiguration assignments that had been learned

over the two previous years. Harry was actually able to accomplish it first

for the class earning Gryffindor ten points. His new wand felt perfect in

his hand, it made the magic feel easier than his old one ever had for him.

It was as if the requirements to cast the spells that he once struggled to

do were a breeze. This summer he had reviewed most of these spells

while with Tonks, but this time it was far easier. It seemed a smooth class

till the end when he was asked to stay late.

"Potter, please wait a moment after class. I would like a word with you."

The classroom quickly emptied of students so he packed up then walked

up to her desk, "Yes Professor?"

The elderly woman gaze a tight lipped smile, the most one could get from

the stern battle axe. "Potter, your performance today was very good. I

was told by the Headmaster that you had been practicing. He also told

me you might be interested in extra sessions during the year with

Professor Flitwick, Professor Lupin and myself. That is of course if you

feel up to it?"

Harry blinked in surprise, with all that had happened he had forgotten

the Dumbledore's agreement over the summer. Then he offered a warm

smile, "I would love the chance to have sessions for study professor. Do to

my unique circumstances I fear I might need them someday in the

future."

A frown etched at the corners of the woman's mouth at his statement, her

eyes locked onto Harry's for a moment, "Very well. You will be meeting

with each of us for two hours a night, one to two days a week. That will

take up a lot of your time and I expect to not see your grades fall in your

other courses. It was made clear to me that this year you will work

diligently to keep up with Ms. Granger at the top portion of the class. If

you fail at this, I might even have to remove your quidditch privileges. "

A bit of whiteness crept into the cheeks and neck of Harry at her

statement as he swallowed, "I promise, you won't have to worry about

that. I will work as hard as possible Professor."

"Good." The single word seemed to sum up the conversation and act a

dismissal. Harry smiled to the Deputy Headmistress then turned to depart

the room.

Just before Harry left the room he paused not looking back at the

Professor, "Professor, I found a journal of my mother's this summer. She

wrote that you were always my father's favorite"

If Harry had turned around he would have seen the cheeks of Professor

McGonagall turn pink and a bit of wetness start to creep at the corners of

her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out of the

woman that always seemed to have a word ready at all times. She was

surprised by the statement and hit emotionally.

Harry smiled to himself as he pushed open the door and spoke as he

slipped out, "I just thought you should know that he was thankful and

cared."

The door closed slowly as an old woman walked over to her window and

looked out at the grounds in silence for a long time in her memories.

Charms class was a repeat of transfiguration in that it was a review of the

previous years. Harry again performed the practical parts very quickly,

getting a slight look of surprise from Hermione. Harry earned ten points

for his quick and perfect execution of his charms work. After class he was

asked to stay afterwards.

The classroom had cleared as the diminutive professor sat at his desk.

Harry walked up with a smile on his face, "Professor, I was told by

Professor McGonagall that I would get some time to tutor with you this

year?"

"Yes Harry, I was asked to help you out learning some charms and other

things. " The diminutive charms master spoke up with his squeaky voice.

The smile given to the man was genuine as he always seemed happy and

willing to help students. Even more than his own head of house the

charms master was truly a pleasant person, "Professor, I read in my

mother's journal that you are a dueling champion?"

The little man's chest puffed up a little bit at the title as he ruffled his

mustache end, "Yes, I was before coming to Hogwarts in the early 1970s

Harry."

"Would you be willing to teach me the art? I was thinking of trying my

hand at junior competitions this summer. The chance to learn from a true

master would be a wonderful thing." Harry smiled brightly to the teacher.

A blink of surprise at the request as Flitwick was quiet in thoughts, "I

never have taken a student Harry. I put that part of my life behind me

when I came to here. But, perhaps we can work something out in your

extra sessions."

Harry bowed his head respectfully with a bright smile at the professor,

"Thank you Master Flitwick. I look forward to our training sessions."

Again the charms master was surprised at the title then smiled brightly,

"Just remember to do your homework young man. I expect you to be one

of the best in the class this year if I am giving you extra training. Now off

with you to your next class before you are late."

Harry turned and started towards the door, "I promise you Master

Flitwick, you will be surprised at how good I will do this year."

For defense class it seemed the teacher was competent. Harry knew who

Remus Lupin was from his mother's journals and just as important he

knew what Remus Lupin was. The boy was curious how long would it

take for one of his father's former best friends to actually talk to him and

tell him who he was. The man was supposed to be an uncle to him. There

was a good chance he would have been a close family member if his

parents were not killed. Instead the man had disappeared and never

bothered to check in on him. Was Harry upset by this fact? Of course, he

was very upset at the man, to the point that the mere sight of him made

him grit his teeth.

For the class itself, it seemed to be run well. At least it was not total crap

like Lockhart or unable to be understood like with Quirrell. Instead,

Harry merely left right away instead of getting drawn into a conversation

for his special studies. He managed to ignore the calling of his name,

pretending not to hear as he left the room to his next class. Eventually of

course he would have to meet the Professor and have a conversation. But,

he would take his time for now.

That was how the first week went for Harry Potter, no near deaths, no

possible murders, not even a trip to the infirmary. Perhaps for once Harry

might get a quiet year, then again he was Harry Potter, fates bitch so that

was unlikely.

Author Note:

Hello Everyone,

First I want to say thank you to everyone that has been reading the

story and letting me know how much they are enjoying it. I am

truly surprised that so many are following and I hope enjoying the

story. I really do appreciate and love the critical views and support

for the story. I try to answer back as many reviews as possible. So

please keep up the comments, I love to read them.

Beta – WSW hasn't reviewed the last couple of chapters and I haven't

heard back for a few weeks. I know they are most likely busy which

is cool. Everyone has a life. I am looking for a new Beta if possible.

Anyone want to assist please just say so. I really do need the help

with my grammar.

I hope you all enjoy

J

PS: Year 3 should go by pretty quickly, but there will be a few major

events.

13. An interesting month

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: NedryOS

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

That was how the first week went for Harry Potter, no near deaths, no

possible murders, not even a trip to the infirmary. Perhaps for once Harry

might get a quiet year, then again he was Harry Potter, fates bitch so that was

unlikely.

Harry realized, jogging around the Black Lack early in the cold October

morning, that it had been an interesting first month back to Hogwarts. It

seemed that each morning now he used this workout as a planning

session. He would wake up at five in the morning, going for a brisk five

laps around the lake, more than eight miles total. When done with his

cardio he would then do strength training, carrying heavy stones from

one pile to another pile across a clearing. Finally, the third year would

end with a few callisthenic routines and a period of meditation before

heading back to Gryffindor Tower.

This was Harry's private time. It was a time to consider mistakes and a

time to prepare for what was to come. The boy thought back to over the

past month of classes and training to consider how it went so far. Despite

the nightmares of Ron's death that plagued his dreams every night, Harry

had accomplished a few parts of his plans. One particular high point was

potions class, surprisingly. That first class of the second week was hell

but it set the tone for the coming weeks.

Harry had been working besides Hermione in potions. As always, she was

brilliant at her work despite the efforts of Snape. So far this year, Harry

thought he was not doing too poorly. He knew the assignments; he had

read ahead and learned about the ingredients. It seemed to click for

Harry that potions class really was just cooking with magic. The potion of

the day was a plant growth potion that would allow certain flowers to

grow even in winter snows. It was a brilliant concoction that could be

very useful for growing food and herbs. He had followed the instructions

and carefully handled all of the ingredients and the resulting potion was

very close to the book's description of medical grade. Of course that

success would be ruined in just under twenty seconds.

"Potter, that potion is not correct. The coloring is off." The voice drew a

shiver arching up his back and to his shoulders. The professor seemed to

not notice or, more likely, not care, "Just because you got your friend

killed doesn't mean I will go easy on you Potter."

Harry had started to get a better control of his emotions but that pulled a

burning anger to the forefront. His emerald green eyes seemed to glow in

the light as he looked up at the greasy haired, long nosed professor.

Snape met the glare with a calm arrogance waiting for the expected

reactio. Yet, for the moment Harry contained himself.

A look of disappointment broke through the man's sneer just long enough

for the class to see it. In an instant, his wand was out and Harry and

Hermione's potion was vanished. "It appears that you failed this class

assignment again Potter. Perhaps in the future you will learn to follow

the directions."

Harry snapped. Vanishing his perfect work was one thing, but failing

Hermione and insulting Ron's memory at the same time was too much.

He slammed down his fist into the table anger boiled over. Hate filled

green eyes met empty black eyes. "You know Professor. If my mother had

lived, she would very disappointed in you. You truly became what you

hated. A worthless bully like you never would have been worthy of her

love or friendship."

The shocked class silently watched as their professor stepped backwards,

looking as if he had been physically slapped. The raven haired boy

quickly gathered his supplies and walked from the chamber, not

bothering to look at the pale man, his shocked classmates, or his equally

horrified partner.

The petrified professor nearly missed his class erupting in chaos. Neville,

though he had been spared the emotional torment that usually comes

from professor Snape, had therefore not been watched as closely as

previous classes. His potion had been left on the fire too long, and began

to overflow, mixing with the ingredients on the table and scraps on the

floor. The resulting explosion set off a chain reaction, melting cauldron

after cauldron before the potions master recovered from his stupor.

Throughout the disaster, he never noticed the target of his hatred had

escaped, along with one of his own snakes.

Harry stopped his quick pace when he was two hallways away from the

potions chamber. He leaned his back against the wall and breathed

heavily and slowly, distraught over what took place. He had been

working so hard to keep his temper and in one session with that foolish

twit he lost it. While what he told him would have been true according to

his mother's diary, it still wasn't the way to use that knowledge. He could

have coerced something from Snape or twisted a bitter revenge for the

years of pain the man had caused. Instead, he chose a childish reaction to

the man. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't see Daphne as she

turned the corner fast and ran right into him.

Daphne saw Potter leave the room after the display and whispered to her

friend Tracy Davis to clean up for them. She quickly left the room

slipping out just before the cauldron eruption. By the time she made it

through the door, she could barely see the edge of Potter's robe

disappearing down another hallway. Of course the bloody twit couldn't

just wait or walk at a reasonable pace for her to catch up! She sprinted

after him.

Daphne reached the corner only to see him turn into another more rarely

used hallway so again she took off not to lose sight of him. This time

though when she turned the corner she ran right into a hard piece of

stone. The teenager fell backwards, slamming hard on to her backside. A

confused, painful groan escaped her lips. She looked up and discovered

that the wall she had run into was actually her quarry himself.

Daphne narrowed her eyes and growled at the boy. "Potter, help me up."

Harry tried to place a mask of indifference on his face when he saw that

it was Daphne. Yet, he carefully reached down and offered hand up for

the girl, "I am sorry I was in your way Miss Greengrass. A thousand

apologies to you for not watching where I was."

Perhaps it was a little too much sarcasm but he didn't expect to see the

girl or particularly want to see her right now. He looked over here

curiously, wondering why she, of all people, would follow him out of the

classroom.

The girl tried to again reacquire her dignity and after accepting the hand

up she moved a step away from the boy, brushing off her robes.

Eventually her cold eyes caught his, and a frown touched her lips, "I

thought you were smarter than that Potter."

Harry bit back a groan of annoyance at the girl. He shook his head

slowly, "Greengrass, I don't need a lecture right now. I know what I did

and I know that even if the greasy git deserved it there was a better way."

The girl was a touch surprised that he admitted his foolishness instead

being a pigheaded Gryffindor, "Indeed there was but that snitch was

caught. The question now is what you what will you do? You are allied

to my family, Potter, what you do represents us as well."

A flash of anger appeared in the emerald eyes of the boy and showed that

he understood her. Daphne continued before he could interrupt. "If the

potion master of Hogwarts is not going to grade your work fairly, then

get a different potions master to grade it."

Harry blinked in surprise. "We can do that?" he asked. Daphne rolled her

eyes and nodded. A slow smile crept over his lips as he stared at this

brilliant witch with true excitement, "I think I know just the one. Daphne

I could kiss you for that idea!"

A crimson blush came over both of their cheeks as Harry's brain caught

up with his mouth. Harry quickly cleared his throat then spoke up, "What

I meant was thank you Ms. Greengrass for the words of wisdom."

Harry executed a bow towards her and started to pick up his stuff to

leave before he glanced back at her, "I never did get to meet your sister

on the train Ms. Greengrass. I would still like the chance to meet her

when it is possible. Was she sorted into your House?"

Daphne's long black hair waved shook back and forth against her

shoulders. She gave Harry a sad smile. "No, Astoria's best friend is going

to Durmstrang so she decided to got there as well.

Harry's tilted head and raised eyebrows betrayed his thoughts. "I am

surprised. Your parents were okay with that?"

Daphne gave a brief smile, it seemed that talking of her sister allowed

such emotions to break the ice façade that she normally wore, "My

grandfather and great uncle both attended." She explained. "The

Greengrass' are from Germany, so Durmstrang was first choice for many

of my family members."

The girl seemed to catch herself with her statement, her eyes hardened

again as she looked at Harry, "Do you have a plan for speaking with this

potions professor?"

Harry executed another formal bow before Daphne but kept his gaze up

at her face with a smile, "Of course, my Lady. I shall at once request an

arrangement with the individual I am considering. I am quite certain that

he will enjoy the opportunity to grade and tutor me in the subject

matter."

Ignoring his haughty tone, Daphne turned and walked away. "Good,

shape up Potter." she called over her shoulder. The sound of her boots

receded as she walked off down the hallways leaving an intrigued boy

behind.

Now over halfway done with his morning routine, Harry thought of the

professors he'd been working with.

Harry took Daphne's advice and contacted Lord Slughorn. The former

potions professor agreed to allow Harry to send a copy of his work to him

which would then be graded from his own practical view. Their

correspondence over the past month often spoke about Harry's mother. It

seemed that she had been a favorite of the professor, a fact that Harry

exploited. Not only was the man a good educator but he was a valuable

political contact to gain a friendship with.

During these letters, Harry learned that the man used to have formal

meetings and balls at the school. The Yule and Summer Balls were a

tradition that was once a part of the Hogwarts school that over time had

been forgotten. Harry drew upon the man's suggestions and encouraged

him that the student body needed this tradition to return to Hogwarts. It

would give the students a chance to mingle with important members of

Wizarding society and a good fund raiser for the school.

For the time being Harry had kept the sending of the potions quiet from

the Hogwarts resident potions master. But, every time that Professor

Snape looked at Harry with a sneer the boy smiled inside knowing that

he would get his just rewards. The greasy git was still being a cruel jerk

to the boy-who-lived but Harry had a way to get his revenge. And as the

old saying went, revenge is a dish best served cold.

To further help with his potions class, the boy also spoke with Professor

Flitwick and acquired from him a charm to place on his possessions that

would reflect any vanishing charm back at the caster. Harry suggested

that he almost had a student cast the charm on his clothing as a prank,

which convinced the master to teach him this charm. He was still

awaiting the day that Snape would try to vanish his potion again. It

would certainly be an amusing sight.

His extra charms and dueling work with Flitwick continued and Harry

actually started to truly love the training. Whether it was learning his

mother's favorite subject was Charms, or working on dueling, Harry truly

enjoyed spending time with the little man. According to the professor, he

was a fast study and was easily absorbing the material given to him.

Flitwick was teaching him how to use normal household and common

charms in battle situations. Harry's favorite so far was the Aguamenti

spell and Congelo spell. The first spell drenched the opponent and

everything else with water, and the second froze it. Frozen opponents

and iced battlefields were a distinct advantage. It was combinations of

spells like these that could be used in a duel or even combat to surprise

and win a fight.

Flitwick was proud that Harry began to exercise properly, and also saw

fit to work on his dueling stance, mobility, and ability to dodge a spell.

He would have Harry spend thirty minutes every session dodging hex

after hex that was cast at him. The faster that Harry got at the exercise

the faster the former dueling master would attack the boy.

There was one spell that Harry was determined to learn. After the attack

of the dementor on the train Harry had spoken to the diminutive

professor about spells that would drive away the demons.

"Yes Harry, there is the Expecto Patronum spell that will stop the

creatures from harming you. It is pure light magic and it will chase away

the creatures." The part-goblin professor twisted the ends of his

mustache. "Are you certain you do not wish to speak with Professor Lupin

about this? He is, after all, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Harry responded with a derisive snort at the suggestion and resorted to

begging. The boy shook his head slowly back and forth, "Please Professor.

I would rather learn it from you then from that man. I beg you master,

please teach your humble student?"

A sparkle came to the eyes of the professor at the dramatic request

followed by a chuckle, "Very well Harry. I will teach you the Patronus.

But, do not be disheartened if you do not get it fast. It is very advanced

magic that even most seventh years do not know."

Harry bowed before the professor with a bright smile, "Thank you

professor. I am in your debt as always."

While the training for transfiguration and charms went smoothly Harry

refused to go to the extra classes with professor Lupin so far. He just

couldn't forget the man's past transgressions. This was the direct result of

the confrontation after one of the classes.

"Mr. Potter please stay after class." The words came out just before the

end of the period and Professor Lupin's gaze met Harry's so there would

no excuse this time for him to quickly depart.

Hermione perhaps could sense the trouble with Harry as she gave him a

squeeze to the boy's hand before she departed. Harry quickly packed up

his belongings before he awaited the approach of the professor. His eyes

kept locked to the man as he stepped up before his desk, a burning anger

ached in the boy's chest.

"Mr. Potter, you have been avoiding me. You were assigned by the

Headmaster to spend time with me in order for your extra training. Are

you forgetting these duties?" A frown came over the teacher as he looked

down at the boy.

Harry leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms disrespectfully as

he looked the man in the eyes, "I am not interested in learning from you."

A blink came from the eyes of the man as he frowned at the boy, "Why is

that?"

"I could take my pick of reasons Mr. Werewolf." Harry spoke the words

with a sarcastic note to his tone. He saw Lupin draw back as if struck, so

he continued, "But, my main reason Moony is I don't like those that

abandon family."

Harry left his seat as his parents' friend stood there with shame in his

eyes, unsure what to say. The man looked down as the child of his best

friends walked away with tears in his eyes, "Harry, I didn't want to

abandon you."

The boy stopped facing the closed door, "Then where were you Moony?

Where were you when I was abandoned to horrible muggles that tortured

me mentally and physically? Where were you when I was beaten and

starved? When I was locked in a cupboard under the stairs? When I was

beaten by my uncle because I did better than my cousin in school or

when I was denied food for a week straight? Where were you for Padfoot

when he was locked up for something he didn't do?"

The boy punched the door and it crumbled from wild magic rippling off

of the boy. On the other side was Hermione. She appeared to have heard

every word and was crying silently. Only then did he turn around and

glare at the older man. "Where were you Moony? Were we so

unimportant to you? My mother wrote about you, said you were like

family. Better than family."

Slowly Harry shook his head back and forth a sadness coming into his

eyes mixing with the pure anger rippling from him, "That is why I don't

trust you Professor Lupin. A man that was forget about family and walk

away is a man that I have no interest in being a student of, let alone

whatever kind of relationship you were hoping for."

Harry turned and left the room. He escorted Hermione through the halls

to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry shook off the thoughts of that meeting as he continued to jog

around the lake. After that took place Professor Lupin kept away from

Harry. The man never spoke a word privately and never brought up

again meeting for extra lessons.

Most of his other classes were enjoyable. He found Arithmancy very

intriguing, the formulas were very interesting to understand how and

why magic works. The science behind the power gave a clearer view on

what could truly be used for.

Runes on the other hand were more memorization. Right now they were

working on Babylonian and Egyptian runes since they were the eldest of

the runes. Once they learned those sets they would work on Greek and

Roman runes and finally ancient Norse runes. It was fascinating to learn

that runes were one of the cornerstones of magic. They were used to

create magical protections, magical structures, and magical items. After a

few classes he studied his father's cloak and found on the inner side was

actually runes woven into the cloth. He couldn't identify them so far but

hopefully by taking this class eventually he could learn something.

Runes class required a final project each year instead of tests. He had

already decided on his own project. He wanted to find a way to invent a

device with runes that would copy and play back vocals. He would

hopefully be able to make a recording and playback device to take on his

jogs to listen to music, not to mention the possibility of recording lectures

in class or political conversations in back rooms. He had heard about

quills that record what an individual says and figured he could start to

design his product with those runes in mind.

The previous year, Hermione might have gone off and done her own

excessively large project, but she was far less high strung now. She

started off with plans to take all of the electives, but the stress of the first

week put her off that path. Harry and Hermione both knew enough about

the muggle world to get O's on the Muggle Studies OWLs and NEWTs

(assuming they taught the truth) and Hermione didn't make it through

one class of Divination before quitting. Ron's death was a high price to

pay for the lesson that she needed to enjoy life and not just study all the

time. Instead of working on her own, Hermione became interested in

Harry's idea and they decided to work together on the project.

Harry moved on to his strength exercises, and continued to think about

his best friend. Draco's strongly worded advice replayed in his mind

every day, and he considered what he could do to help Hermione. Now

that he knew more about the Wizarding world he had decided it was time

to slowly guide Hermione's path. He developed a strategy of giving her a

few books at a time as gifts. She was his best friend and a book addict so

it couldn't be helped. The first few books were about the traditions and

Wizarding culture. She took them with a bit of surprise to read the topics.

Harry impressed on her the need to learn about Wizarding culture since

she will be part of it now and in the future.

The second set of books were about rules and bylaws of the Wizarding

world. He got these through Dobby from his family chamber at the

Wizengamot. They were books that he had read that summer and thought

that while she might not like what they have to say, she would find them

informative. The third and fourth set of books though were more

complicated situation and had to be a careful touch.

Harry came into the library and walked over to their normal table. He

noticed a few looks of some of the girls of the other houses but ignored

them: most of those same girls last year were looking down on him with

fear and anger as the Heir of Slytherin. For now he would ignore their

interests, besides there were more important things to do. He walked up

to the table of the bushy haired girl that had piles of books lying about.

Slowly a smile came over Harry's lips watching her be so entranced by

her books. That smile slipped away as Hermione looked up from the set

of books she had been reading, a distraught frown upon her face, "Harry I

read the books that you gave me last week. They were terrible! I thought

it couldn't be true!"

Harry sat down before the girl and placed down the last pair of books.

One of the two was not fully a book but instead a collection of

parchments wrapped up into a bundle, "I take it you have finished the

books."

"Not just that Harry but I checked all of these other books too. How can it

be? Professor McGonagall told my family and I that I would be going to a

better world, a place where I can do anything. But, that is not true! There

has never been a muggleborn Headmaster, there has never been a

muggleborn on the Board of Governors, there has never been a

muggleborn Head of Department in the Ministry or even undersecretary

for the Minister. There has only been three muggleborns ever to be part

of the Wizengamot and they all mysteriously disappeared. Even the

Aurors have had only five muggleborns in their history. Harry this is

terrible and can't be right!" By this time in her rant her voice was raising

and her hair was flying about her body through accidental magic. The

brief thought that this must be what medusa looks like with her snakes

crossed the mind of Harry before he shed it away quickly.

The boy reached out and took hold of her hands to calm her before they

got kicked out of the room. He smiled sadly at the girl, "It is all true

Hermione. But, I have one more book for you to read. Well it might not

be a book yet, but it is a special work to read please."

Slowly Harry pushed the stack of parchments with loving care across to

the distraught girl. His eyes lingering on the cover of the work, A

Muggleborn Way to Change Wizarding Life by Lily Potter nee Evans. Harry

lifted his eyes to meet the chocolate brown eyes of his best friend with a

smile, "My mother's work and plan. Please read it over and then come to

me. I have an idea but I want you to understand everything first

Hermione."

It had been yesterday that he gave her the book. If he knew his Hermione

he should hear from her before he even got to breakfast, he just hoped

that she would take to his plan. It was a lot to take in, which was why he

spaced it out. But, if she took to his idea she could make a difference like

she wanted.

Harry wrapped up his workout and headed back in to shower, change

and start the day. This morning's breakfast should be an interesting one if

the letter from Mr. Greengrass was correct. He wanted a front row seat to

watch the exchange.

He was quick for his morning routine in the Gryffindor dorm before

heading back down to join the masses for breakfast. He slid into his

normal spot between Hermione and Neville. His gaze lingered down the

table as he started to fill his plate spotting the Weasley family. Since their

return it had been a tense situation for Harry. Unfortunately Hermione

wasn't ready to distract him with his mother's plan, so he let out a small

sigh starting to eat his eggs as he slipped once again into his own

thoughts and memories.

It was a week after the funeral when the Weasleys returned to the

Gryffindor common room. Harry of course was excited to see his adoptive

family. He had not seen them since the funeral and Harry was not able to

be around them much then. It seemed they were distant but that was to

be expected considering what they were going through.

He shot up from his seat next to Hermione when they came into the

common room. His eyes scanned over the faces of Fred and George, the

sad smile that lingered on the lips of Ginny Weasley and the determined

gaze of the Head Boy Percy Weasley. Harry took all of this in as he

moved to the front of the group of Gryffindors to welcome home the

wayward family. Unfortunately it would not be a happy homecoming.

At first it seemed they were ignoring him, looking anywhere but at him.

Their eyes and smiles were given towards the others of the room, except

for Harry and Hermione. Everyone else was given hugs of welcome or

small words. Harry considered in the back of his mind that it might be a

prank by the twins. But, in his heart he already knew it was not. Still, he

would need to confirm this fact.

"Hello Fred and George." His voice cracked the condolences of others and

it seemed that silence came over the chamber.

One of the twins started, his voice trembled as he spoke, "Harry…."

The other took up the words, "You look well."

It was polite but a distant greeting almost as if a line was being drawn.

The boy pressed his lips together into before speaking, "If there is

anything I can do. Please know I am always here."

"You can leave us alone Potter." The words caused Harry to whip his gaze

around to lock onto the eyes of Percy Weasley. The Head boy continued

now that he had the attention of the young man, "Our family always

suffers when they are around you. Whether it was Ginny last year almost

dying, Ron and your foolishness with that car or the train ride this year.

Always a Weasley seems to suffer from what a Potter does. We are not to

interact with you and if you force it then a feud will be called."

Harry's eyes flashed with anger as the emeralds burned. They considered

that he cause of their danger? Ginny was the blasted reason for that

basilisk to be released into the school! Did he put the bloody dementor

on the train that attacked them? He felt his magic starting to hum in his

veins yearning for release, but he fought down the anger.

Slowly he turned his eyes over each of the Weasley clan members with a

frown. He could feel the hand of Hermione on his arm squeezing to him

to pull him away. "I see, if that is what you wish so be it. Ginny Weasley

you owe me a life debt. Further, the Weasley Clan owes me a debt for

hiding some activities of certain members of your family. I will call on

these debts when I feel it is necessary. Otherwise I will have no contact

with you."

Harry grabbed his things then walked from the room with Hermione

following him moments afterwards not to speak with the Weasley Clan

again.

He broke his gaze from the end of the table where the Weasley Clan sat

together talking. He had not spoken to them and had ignored them since

that moment. He even went so far as to resign from the Gryffindor

Quidditch team. That was not a happy discussion with Professor

McGonagall. But today wasn't a day to think of that.

He saw the doors open to the great hall and in walk a group of older

wizards and witches. The hall fell to silence as the Minister of Magic,

Undersecretary Arthur Weasley, Lord Slughorn, the Hogwarts board of

Governors, and a half dozen reporters came to the front of the room. The

Minister gave a smile to Dumbledore and spoke a few quiet words. Then

the Headmaster stood up which drew the room's attention to him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, The Hogwarts Board of Governors and the

Minister of Magic have some good news for the school. Minister, the floor

is yours." The Headmaster spoke then sat back down.

The Minister smiled to the Headmaster then motioned to Harry to stand

and join them. The boy stood up to walk beside the Minster next to Lady

Malfoy. Once the Lord Potter had joined them the Minister spoke, "I am

pleased to be here before you, the student body of Hogwarts to announce

a few changes going forward at our beloved school. "

The man paused a moment as the muttering at the tables picked up. He

raised his hands upwards to silence the crowd, "Now quiet down. "

When it was quiet again the Minister spoke up, "The first change is that

twice a year Lord Horace Slughorn has decided to provide a Yule and End

of Year ball. These celebrations will be open to all students third year and

beyond that wish to attend and follow the proper wizard decorum."

Once again the room erupted into chatter, and again the Minister quieted

down the room with a bright smile, "That is not the only thing please

hold your applause and questions till the end. The second reason I am

here today is to announce that a new position on the Hogwarts Board of

Governors. A student shall once a year be elected to hold the position of

school population representative. The individual that shall starting next

year be elected by the school to represent them. It shall be open to

students fifth year and beyond. This position shall be known as the

Ronald Weasley position in honor of the young man."

Another wave of talk rippled over the Great Hall but the Minister

silenced the room before speaking up, "Normally this position would be

decided the previous year, but, as it is already October, we have chosen

the first representative. It has been decided that the first individual to

hold the spot shall be Percy Weasley the Head boy for Hogwarts. He has

graciously accepted in the name of his little brother. Please stand up

Percy."

The stern red head stood up from the Gryffindor table looking around the

room giving a small wave to everyone. Then he sat back down. The

Minister turned and motioned to Harry and Narcissa with a smile, "Lord

Potter and Lady Malfoy have a few words for you."

Harry smiled and motioned to Lady Narcissa to start. She granted him a

polite formal smile with a bow of her head then stepped forward to

before the Great Hall. "It is the honor of House Malfoy and House Potter

to announce formally the James Potter Foundation. This foundation

controlled by our two houses shall offer assistance for muggleborn and

muggle raised children in trouble from the muggle world. Those in need

of assistance or protection can come to the Foundation and we shall offer

them that aid. We are a force to protect and guide our children for the

future."

A warm motherly smile was turned over the chamber as she tried to meet

many different sets of eyes from each of the tables, "Furthermore the

James Potter Foundation shall supply scholarships for individuals of

financial need to the school starting next year. We shall at the end of the

year provide the needed paperwork to the Heads of Houses that is to be

filled out by those looking to acquire the scholarship. If you have any

questions about the scholarship please see your Heads of House."

A glance was given towards Harry where he smiled and nodded in

agreement. She then stepped to the side of Harry with a nod towards the

Minister.

The Minister smiled at the happy talk surrounding the chamber before he

turned and inclined his head towards the Headmaster. He opened his

mouth to speak when the doors opened up and in walked Amelia Bones

with the Auror Kingsley and his apprentice at his side. She walked up

next to the Minister and whispered something to him.

Tonks took the moment to step next to Harry and whisper, "You look

good all things considered."

"It has been a rough start of the year Nymph.." Harry whispered with a

sigh towards the Auror trainee.

Harry felt a pinch on his backside as she whispered, "Tonks in public

Harry and you are going to want to hear this news."

A small smile touched the corners of Harry's mouth as the young woman

tried to cheer him up.

The Minister stepped forward with a smile towards the reporters then the

students, "It is my great pleasure to announce due to the hard work of the

Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that Lord Sirius

Orion Black has turned himself in to custody. He has placed himself into

the hands of the Ministry and undergone magical oaths and veritaserum.

It has been determined with the statements by Lord Potter that Lord

Black is innocent of all charges."

Author Note: First I want to say my apologies for the lateness of this

chapter. Unfortunately I had finals that got in the way and now that

exams are done though I should have some more free time. I hope

everyone enjoyed this chapter, please let me know your thoughts.

Author Note 2: I just want to thank NedryOS for doing an amazing

job helping me on this chapter. Truly he rewrote more grammar

issues that I could count and gave fantastic advice. I can't say Thank

you Nedry!

Recommendation of the week: Beltane Child by White Angel of

Auralon

14. The Dogfather

discreteThe Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: NedryOS

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

The Minister stepped forward with a smile towards the reporters then the

students, "It is my great pleasure to announce due to the hard work of the

Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that Lord Sirius

Orion Black has turned himself in to custody. He has placed himself into the

hands of the Ministry and undergone magical oaths and veritaserum. It has

been determined with the statements by Lord Potter that Lord Black is

innocent of all charges."

My Godfather is a free man! The thought ran through Harry's head as he

smiled brightly after hearing the Minister of Magic's words. The room

seemed to be forgotten, until the discreet squeeze to his backside from

Tonks brought him out of his reverie. He looked up at Minister Fudge

looking at him expectantly. "I am sorry Minister, I fear I was caught

surprised at your wonderful announcement."

The man offered a bright happy smile for the boy, "I asked Harry if you

would like to come see him?"

"Of course, thank you Minister!" The boy smiled to the politician. He

reached upwards with his left hand to brush back his black locks of hair,

"Would it be okay with Hogwarts if I were to leave?"

"Harry, my boy, you are officially a Lord of the Land and Head of your

family. You are not required to stay at Hogwarts on the weekends

provided that you are keeping acceptable grades. I would not abuse that

too much though." The grin that the Minister gave reached the man's eyes

as he gave away a bit of information that surely the Headmaster would

not wish to have released.

"Interesting." Harry considered how best to use this information. "Perhaps

I will be able to get an escort in the future when necessary to leave the

grounds." Harry spoke as he gave a sidelong glance towards Tonks. Then

his eyes snapped back to the Minister with a smile, "If I remember right

you were planning a promotional event in a few weeks for the Montrose

Magpies? I am sure House Potter could arrive as a show of support for

you."

The Minister chuckled at the offer with a smile, "If House Potter and

family were to come as a show of support I am certain an escort could be

arranged to the charity event."

"I will look forward to it and be prepared with an appropriate donation

necessary." Harry bowed his head respectfully before turning his gaze

towards Narcissa and Tonks, "Narcissa shall we go and see how the Lord

of House Black is doing?"

Narcissa turned and looked for her son before giving him a motion to join

them. Once the boy came over she gave him a kiss on the forehead which

caused the blonde child to wiggle his nose in dismay and whine, "Mother,

not in public!"

The beautiful lady brushed down the hair of the blonde boy as the group

left the great hall. A few snickers were given as Draco was mothered in

public. Harry himself had to bite his bottom lip to keep a straight face.

The Blacks and an escort of Aurors including Madam Bones left the

school apprarating to the designated entry area in the main chamber of

the Ministry of Magic.

The chamber was quite impressive, making even Gringotts' main floor

look bleak by comparison. The two main attractions were a massive

banner of Minister Fudge and the Main Fountain. To some, the fountain

was a symbol of peace and prosperity, to others, it was a symbol of

wizardkind lording over "lesser" races. Some felt this was right of them,

others not so much. Harry noticed neither. The boy was lost in thoughts

over the current successes of his plans and considering where to go next

with them. The large party meandered towards the lifts which brought

them to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Harry barely

noticed that instead of going to Madam Bones' office the group was

brought to a side chamber, a meeting room.

Harry walked into the chamber and saw a long narrow room with a huge

wooden table in the middle. The chamber had three people seated at the

table on the side of the room. The first was a plain looking man with

brown hair and eyes; he had a narrow face and slender build. If he was in

a crowd of people nobody would be able to easily pick him out. Harry

had gotten the chance to meet the man once before and his name was

Ted Tonks. Next to him and beside the man at the head of the table was

an older version of Nymph's natural form. Andromeda was a beautiful

and elegant woman with high noble cheekbones and dark black hair and

eyes; she sat next to the final man in the room.

The last in the room was the one that drew the eye of Harry. He had seen

pictures of him, but that was before his time of incarceration. That time

away in Azakaban had turned the man into a ghost of his former self.

Gone were the eyes filled with fun and adventure and in their place was

a look of loss and horrors that should not have been seen. Lines of worry

creased the man's forehead marring his classical look of nobility, but a

smile was given as the boy entered the room. Slowly Sirius Orion Black

rose from his seat ignoring the talk of his cousin as his eyes locked onto

the boy.

The sliding of a chair was all of the notice given before Sirius walked up

to Harry sweeping him up into his arms, "Pup."

The word was a whisper that caught on to memories of the past,

memories that Harry had thought he didn't have. He remembered a

strange house that felt warm and friendly, a flash of red hair and a right

deep laugh of his godfather as he bounced on the man's knee. Harry

looked up into the eyes of the man again as he felt tears against his

cheeks a whispered word on his tongue, "Padfoot."

A large hand ruffled Harry's hair and brought him out of his memories to

look up into the face of his godfather. The Black Lord whispered softly, "I

know what you did and I can't say how proud I am of you Pup. I know

your father would be too. We will talk of it all soon together."

Harry gave a squeeze to the hand of his godfather as he stepped aside to

watch the man turn his gaze onto Nymph with a smile. Harry whispered

softly to Sirius as he stepped away, "She wants to only be called

Nymphadora Padfoot." Then Harry stepped to the side of the room

crossed his arms to wait and watch the show.

Sirius turned from his godson to look at his niece with a bright smile,

"Little Nymphadora. You grew up very nicely."

The man started to walk towards the woman with his arms open to give

her a hug only to meet her eyes. When their eyes met a vision passed

before his gaze almost as if he was trying to use legilimency. In this

vision he received a swift knee to the nuts. Their gaze broke just as the

woman called to Sirius, "Call me Tonks not Nymphadora!"

The man groaned in artificial pain as he leaned over a second only to

hear a snicker from the woman. A soft chuckle of laughter drew the

attention of the Lord from Tonks. Sirius turned to glare at Harry who

offered a smile, "A poor prank for welcoming a Marauder home. I will

have to find one better."

Sirius shook off the pain from his niece then turned his gaze towards the

blonde haired with black streaks woman who had her son at her side.

"Narcissa, I am told that you took part in my gaining of freedom."

The elegant lady offered a polite smile as she inclined her head, "I had a

small part to play, my Lord Black. Lord Potter was the true architect,

along with his solicitor, Mr. Greengrass."

The rail thin man took a few steps forward till he was right before the

woman. His hollowed eyes meeting her gaze as slowly he reached out to

grasp her left arm with a hesitant touch, "I am appreciative of what you

have done cousin. Please know that if there is anything I can do to repay

your kindness then I shall do so."

Narcissa gave Sirius a gracious smile as a hint of crimson touched her

cheeks, a whisper came out, "Thank you My Lord Black." She cleared her

throat and spoke again in a stronger voice I do not believe you have met

my son. This is Draco, Heir of House Malfoy. Draco please properly greet

Lord Black."

Harry watched Draco making a sophisticated greeting to his godfather

with a smile. The boy may be part fop but sometimes he did have style.

Perhaps it was something he should work on for the future and his own

political career, better manners and customs. It was also another thing

that he would need Hermione to study if his plan for her was to work

properly. A consideration crossed his mind as he studied Draco and

thought of Hermione but not before his lips cracked into an evil grin. Oh

yes, the former pureblood bigot tutoring the former 'mudblood trash'

would be quite a coup.

The family talked together for a good half an hour before Harry cleared

his throat drawing attention to himself, "I think there is some family

business we shall need to discuss and while the Ministry has been kind

enough to offer this chamber perhaps it would be better to do it at a

secure location instead?"

He looked around and saw the nods of most of the individuals then

smiled, "We can go back to my flat if everyone wishes, it is not large but

it should work for the day."

"No Pup, I have a better place that will work, " Sirius interrupted with his

marauder grin as he twisted the heavy golden ring with a large onyx

gemstone etched with the letter B in the middle band on his finger,

"besides I think I will get a kick out of showing my dear old mum the

family ring."

An hour later had the gathered families related to House Black walking

through the doors of 12 Grimmauld Place. The eighteenth century style

townhouse was the city London home of the Black Family. While the

family had numerous residences in other locations, most notably a

Caribbean island and castle on the southeastern coast, most often the

family head had stayed here near the political power of Wizarding

Britain. Unfortunately, it appeared that the place was in disarray with

dust and debris all over the chambers, as if nobody had lived there for

close to a decade. In truth, that was because nobody had been there for

over a decade.

The wards of the house easily allowed Sirius to walk through them and

escort the family. Upon reaching the door he took the handle which

pricked his finger drawing a bit of blood before the door swung open.

The view inside was a simple entry corridor with imported marble

flooring and a small closet for coats to be hung. While there were

abundant cobwebs and dust in the chamber there was still a feel of

power, wealth, and prestige in the old house.

Though most of the guests had been there when Lord Arcturus or Lord

Cygnus were alive, Sirius guided a modest tour of the home. From the

entry corridor the house opened up into a broad foyer with a grand

staircase cycling up three levels. A massive fireplace was built into the far

right wall out of the black marble; next to it a staircase spiraled to the

upper floors While above the staircase hung a row of house elf heads

mounted to the stone. The room was filled with furniture that appeared

to be expensive on sight with luxurious taste but dated. The chamber

branched off into four separate hallways. The hallway on the right

seemed to run towards the kitchen. To the left was a hallway that had

multiple chambers off of it which according to Sirius was the Library and

sitting rooms. The far back wall had two hallways which contained guest

chambers, a formal meeting room, and a banquet hall and ballroom. The

second floor was traditionally reserved for House Black family and

extended family members that were staying and the third floor was

reserved for the master and heir of the Household only. Each of the levels

was spelled with wards and heavy protections.

Harry walked along beside Sirius as they entered his home. The man was

excited to have his godson here finally with him. "Harry, now that I am

free I expect you to live here with me. We lost a lot of time but I plan to

make up for that."

"You have no idea how much I would love that, Padfoot, but you need to

recover." Harry disagreed and raised his hand to stop the argument from

starting, "I will be in school anyways for now. We can spend the Yule

holidays together. But, we need to get you a few beautiful mediwitches to

nurse you back to health first."

Sirius smiled at his godson at the thought while he could hear a sniff of

disdain coming from Narcissa, "I am certain I will be able to find some

proper healers to take care of me."

The pair was interrupted by Nymph tripping over an umbrella stand

made from a troll's foot. She fell down and a painting above her seemed

to wake up at the same time. The painting was of a noble looking woman

with long dark hair and eyes, her face looked very much like Sirius own

facial structure. The noble woman in the painting looked startled at the

sight of so many people and started to screech, "What are you doing

here? No traitorous son of mine should be in this house! Be gone blood

traitors! Kreacher get rid of these fools!"

A pop was heard as an ancient and ragged looking house elf appeared

before the painting. "Mistress called Kreacher. Kreacher come for

Mistress!"

Harry stepped over to help Nymph up from her fallen state as he saw

Sirius handling the situation out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't help

but notice Narcissa seeming to have a smirk of enjoyment at the events

unfolding.

A few minutes passed as Sirius and Narcissa talked to the painting and

house elf. The raven haired boy whispered to Nymph as he reached over

to brush some dust off of the chest area of her robes to help her out,

"Always clumsy there Nymph. I can't take you anywhere."

The pink haired girl shot a glare back at the boy before giving him a

pinch at his backside, "Keep wiping my boobs in public Harry and I might

need to call the Aurors. Besides that troll's foot tripped me!"

Harry blinked as he looked down at his hand realizing where he was

wiping and quickly withdrew it with a blush. He cleared his throat before

whispering back, "Indeed, the umbrella stand just happened to reach out

and trip just you. I guess Aurors aren't very nimble."

"Maybe someday I will show you how nimble I am Harry." Nymph called

out before cackling at the sight of Harry's cheeks again blushing. "You are

falling out of practice for controlling your metamorphmagus."

Harry rolled his eyes with a grin before dancing away from the girl

towards his godfather. He stepped to beside Sirius as the man was still

arguing with the House Black elf, "Kreacher, you will clean this place

properly. It is filthy."

"Blood traitor is dirty master so has dirty place. Kreacher do what must,

spit in food of blood traitor." The House elf mumbled under his breath

barely able to be heard.

Sirius noticed Harry walking up next to him and reached out to give the

boy a squeeze on the shoulder, "Kreacher, furthermore you will listen to

Harry here and follow his commands as if they were my own. He is my

godson."

"Nasty blood traitor's heir is not fit…" The elf started to mumble under

his breath before looking up at the face of Harry and blinking in surprise.

The creature slowly reached out towards Harry to touch the boy's hand.

Just before their hands connected, a spark flashed between them. A

second after the jolt the decrepit house elf disappeared with a pop.

Harry turned to look at Sirius in confusion but the man's face displayed

the same look. Before he could ask anything of his godfather, the house

elf reappeared before them with a locket. The locket was finely crafted

made of gold and emeralds. One side was etched with a large S. Kreacher

held it out towards Harry and begged him to take it, "Kreacher try to

break locket as Master Regulus wanted but couldn't. Kreacher tried

everything Master! Master break this for Kreacher! The Kreacher be good

elf for true master!"

The raven haired boy blinked in surprise, his eyes kept locked onto the

locket. Darkness seemed to cling to the locket, a darkness that he had felt

twice before. He opened his mouth then closed it slowly with a frown.

Taking a deep breath he reached forward to slowly take the locket from

the house elf with a slight cringe at the feelings emanating from it,

"Thank you Kreacher. I will destroy the locket for you and Master

Regulus. You have my word. Kreacher is now a good elf."

The eyes of the ancient house elf opened wide in surprise. A tear of

happiness rolled down the cheek of the little monster as he reached

forward to hug Harry tightly almost dancing for joy. "Thank you Master.

Kreacher is so pleased to have master. Master Harry is great master

unlike ugly blood traitor. Kreacher lucky to have Master as Master!"

The boy gave an awkward pat on the back of the house elf as he caught

Nymph out of the corner of his eye. She and several others barely

contained their amusement. He slid away the locket and smile, "Kreacher

if you go and prepare the dining hall and start to clean the house

properly I will let you watch as I destroy the locket. Will you help my

house elf clean the house properly so it will impress any visitors of the

Noble House of Black?"

"Yes Master, Kreacher will go do so now!" The words were followed by a

burst of light as the House elf disappeared.

Harry turned towards his godfather, doing his best to act unaffected by

the sudden changes in the elf. Sirius however was fishing for flies and

having trouble forming words. "How…. what… Harry… the bloody hell?"

Mr. Greengrass stepped forward, frowning. "Um, Harry, for all intents

and purposes, according to the law, House Potter just stole an elf from

House Black. I know you're allies and related by magic, but in the eyes of

the law this is pretty serious and we need to take care of it right away."

Harry understood the sincerity of the words, and saw that Ted Tonks was

nodding as well, but he couldn't help himself. "No, no, no. Didn't you

hear Kreacher? This is ugly Sirius." Harry pointed at his godfather.

The whole room groaned, except for Sirius who swept up Harry in a big

hug. "I'm so proud of you pup."

A few hours later found the family gathered in a clean dining hall. The

chamber was a large room filled with paintings of House Black members

of the past. An ancient black oak table sat on white marble imported

from the Far East. The room had been cleaned to a spotless shine by

Kreacher and Dobby whom were now clearing away dinner plates.

Harry turned his eyes over the gathered family with a smile. He actually

had a real family now. There was the Tonks family, the Malfoy family

and now his godfather. For a brief moment Harry had to fight back tears

of happiness. They were squashed away as he took a deep breath and

raised his goblet of wine, "A toast!"

The attention of everyone was drawn to the boy as he smiled glowingly

and affectionately at each person, "So far my life has been lived without

the comforts of a family. I never knew what a blessing it was to have

such a thing. I can now say though that I am blessed and honored to be a

part of the Black Family. I wanted to say thank you to each of you for

allowing me to join your life."

Narcissa raised her own goblet after everyone finished taking a sip to the

toast, "Familia Primum, Familia Semper."

The group talked together over different family members and relatives of

the past. The Black family used to be a large family but over time they

had dwindled in number to the small gathered group. From what Harry

understood there had been numerous cousins and family members that

had dwindled with the rise of Tom Riddle. Those in the family that had

lighter, neutral, or even simply less actively dark leanings seemed to

disappear off of the face of the earth, mostly assumed to be dead. His

own grandmother was one of those relations, she had been killed by a

"sudden localized outbreak of dragon-pox."

Given that the Blacks were predominantly Dark for many generations, it

was unlikely many of their squib children had survived being blasted

from the family tree, but that still meant some would have. Harry

frowned as he considered, if they had once been magical, could not their

children and grandchildren had become magical? It would be something

to look into; it was possible there might even be other Blacks and Potters

and other descendants of pureblood squibs out there in the world that did

not know who they were. His own mother after all had never known and

considered herself a muggleborn. He would need to have a study done

and some tracking of family lines. Perhaps the James Potter foundation

could be used to track the hereditary lines. It might make it easier to

determine where magical children were likely to be born.

The evening passed and the enjoyment and talk quieted down. Sirius had

taken Harry to show him around his future home and now stood in the

Black Family Library together. Sirius spoke up, "You know Harry, I owe

you my life for getting the dementors off of me."

Harry ran his hand along the spines of the library with a smile, "I know

Sirius. But, that doesn't matter."

"I disagree Pup."

Harry shook his head and but kept his gaze on the good titles with a

studied determination that a Ravenclaw might admire. He spoke up with

a smile, "Again it does not matter. You are giving me a family Sirius even

if I am just a godson. You are giving me a chance to be a part of

something."

The sunken face and shallow eyes took on a sadness as he frowned at his

godson, "Harry you are not just a godson. You are like a son to me."

Harry looked up now towards his godfather with a warm smile, "I just

wish I could be your son Padfoot. Then I would have a blood family

always."

The room fell into silence for a moment as Harry broke away his burning

emerald eyes to look at the spines again. A few minutes later Sirius broke

the silence, "There is a way to have you join as my son. There are blood

rituals that will allow it to take place."

The waxy skinned man paused his words as Harry looked back towards

him awaiting him to continue, "Harry Potter would you become my son

and heir, Harry Potter-Black?"

Harry smiled brightly to the man as his emerald eyes flashed killing curse

green in the torchlight of the room. "Yes Godfather, I would be honored

to be your son."

The pair shared stories into the night. Kreacher popped in from time to

time to bring Harry a butterbeer and Sirius a few glasses of fire whiskey.

Harry learned of stories of his parents and new father. He learned about

their adventures and school and James' disastrous courtship of Lily Evans

for years.

"So you are the Gryffindor Seeker I hear?" Sirius questioned his godson

with a smile. "Your father played some seeker but he was always a better

chaser."

"I was the seeker but I quit this year after some difficulties with a few of

the teammates." Harry frowned at he admitted the situation. "But, I have

a different desire."

"Oh, what desire is this?" Sirius perked up interested but a little confused

that Harry no longer was playing Quidditch. What boy would drop being

seeker for the Gryffindor team?

"I am hoping to enter the fifteen and under division of the duelist

tournament this Summer in France." Harry spoke up tentatively before he

smiled at his godfather, "That is of course, if you will allow us to go

there? I had thought perhaps we could together go visit Turkey where my

mother's family was from at first during summer. I hear there are some

beautiful beaches there and along the Greek Isles. Perhaps we might find

a Mother and Daughter there." Harry already knew Sirius was caught,

hook line and sinker.

Sirius barked out a laugh and smile, "Oh looking for beautiful daughters?"

Harry returned the smile with a impish grin, "Every Lord needs to find

some experience in the good things in life, Father."

Sirius threw his arm over the shoulder of the boy with a grin, giving him

a squeeze, "Now I know why I went to prison. I got to skip the difficult

years of raising a child and changing nappies right to enjoying the fun

chasing skirts. Do you have any girls that you are after so far?"

Harry stood up and walked over to the bookcases to escape that

conversation, or at least turn his back so the blush was not present as he

thought about Nymph. "Not yet Father. But someday soon perhaps I will

find a few. Perhaps when we travel this summer I can learn how to

properly charm a lady from the master." If he had been in his dog form,

Padfoot's tail would have been wagging away at the expert ego stroking.

Sirius grinned at the boy then sipped from a glass of iced fire whiskey.

The man fell into his own thoughts for a time. Harry had noticed that

often the man was jovial and outgoing just like his mother had written

about. Remus had been the brains, his father the leader of making

trouble but Sirius had been the playboy, the outgoing star of the group

that could charm an eskimo to buy an ice maker if he wanted. Yet, Harry

could see when he lapsed into silence the man seemed to lose himself to

deep dark thoughts. Perhaps it was the effects of Azkaban on the man. He

was in the hellhole too long. Far, far too long.

Sirius broached a formal topic with the boy breaking his silence and

Harry's thoughts about his adoptive father, "Harry tell me about this

foundation you and Narcissa started."

The boy smiled brightly, "Do you wish the public information or the full

information?"

An eyebrow raised slowly on the face of the former convict and he

chuckled, "Hah! I knew I sensed a snake underneath the lion. You've been

spending too much time with our family!" Sirius was only teasing Harry,

as both knew full well it took many traits to make a person. Bravery,

loyalty, intelligence, and cunning, on their own, were worthless. Sirius

smiled, "The full information, of course."

"Very well but I know you would never betray my trust, but the only way

to make your magic fight to prevent others from gaining this information

is to ask for an oath. Only Narcissa and I know of the whole plan. We had

already decided that, after you are better, " you would be read in, so to

speak."

Sirius studied the boy as he wandered again around the library. He

noticed that Harry had pulled off the shelves a book called Magic of the

Mind, Protect your Thoughts and seemed to be flipping through it as he

awaited the oath. He let out a half drunken sigh, "I, Sirius Orion Black,

swear on my life and magic that I will not reveal the information told to

me in confidence by Harry James Potter-Black to anyone without his

leave. So mote it be."

Harry walked over to the seat where Sirius was and placed down the

book onto his own chair with a smile then reached out and took hold of

the arm of his godfather, "I, Harry James Potter-Black accept the oath of

my father Sirius Orion Black. So mote it be."

There was a flash of blue between the two. When it faded the boy sat

down on the chair next to Sirius, placing the book into his lap, "Can I

borrow this book father?"

The man rolled his eyes at the boy changing the topic after the oath,

"Yes, you can borrow any book here Harry. What is mine is yours,

especially after we do the ritual."

Again Harry was touched by the offer and strange warmth from the man

that filled his heart. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what he

would have grown up with if his parents had survived. He shook off that

thought to try to deal with later on, "The James Potter foundation will

serve three purposes. First, it will be an organization for the protection

and education of muggleborn children. We will watch over and if needed

protect them from abusive muggles and threats from the magical world.

When required we will separate them from the abusive parents to find

them a magical family to adopt them into. We will help them get

educated in the proper customs, history and rituals of our society. Too

many muggleborns come to us then leave because they don't understand

what it is to be part of the wizarding culture. To them it looks backwards

and arrogant and it is because of that belief that they are looked down

upon by the purebloods. It starts a vicious cycle that causes Britain to

lose some of the best and brightest minds and needed populace to grow

and change as the world changes around us. The James Potter

Foundation is going to be here to help foster a kick in the ass to the

magical world."

Harry smiled as he continued, "The second function is the establishment

of a protective, trained and dedicated force that will be ready for when

the Dark Lord returns. We are going to start to hire Protectors for the

muggleborn children. These protectors will be able to blend into the

muggle world around them. They will be hopefully trained in defensive

magic up to near Auror levels. I want to see them taught curse breaking,

warding, infiltration and tracking skills. It is my hope that we can branch

out to offer services like warding of areas that might not be profitable

enough for Gringotts to get involved or protection for some businesses

that might need a guard like import and export businesses. I have a few

other ideas that I think could help make the foundation self-sufficient in

time."

Lord Black blinked in surprise as he studied his godson, "You are building

a private army. You really think he-who-must-not-be-named will return?"

"I know for a fact that Tom will return. Do you know the prophecy?"

The shake of the head was all Harry needed to know, "The basics are that

he shall return and I will be the one that eventually will have to destroy

him."

Harry paused a second only before he continued, "Did you ever wonder

the reason that Dumbledore mysteriously skipped your trial and allowed

Crouch to handle it? Or did you consider the reason that my parents had

to go into hiding and were targets for Tom? He came after us because he

learned of a prophecy somehow I think through Dumbledore."

The grinding of teeth was heard as Harry growled out, "That was the

reason that the bastard has been trying to control my life. Sirius, he

views me as a weapon because of that prophecy. He wants me to be his

ticket for killing Tom. I am to be his pawn if he had his way."

A frown crossed the lips of Sirius as he listened to his godson, a slight bit

of confusion came to his eyes, "Tom?"

"Tom Marvelo Riddle is the half-blood son of the Gaunt family and the

muggle Tom Riddle. He is Lord Voldemort." Harry drew his wand and

wrote in the air the letters of the man's name just as Tom had done in the

chamber of secrets. Then he swished his wand as the letters reformed to

become I am Lord Voldemort.

Sirius stood up from his chair holding his whiskey in hand as he walked

up to the small lit fireplace. The flames dancing caused shadows to

appear on his narrow, pale features almost akin to a vampire from lack of

sun. "So let me understand this. James and Lily were killed because

somehow Tom, who is the Dark Lord, learned of a prophecy. He learned

this perhaps through Dumbledore somehow that you would be the one to

kill the bastard. After my friends were murdered you were forced to live

with those horrid excuses for muggles, whom I will kill someday. While I

was left to rot in Azkaban without a trial even though he could have

done one as Chief Warlock, and all of this was so he could control you."

Harry placed the book onto a side table before standing up to walk to the

side of Sirius, "Yes Padfoot, That about sums up the situation. I expect

that Dumbledore will continue to try to get control over me."

The sound of glass hitting the floor mixed with whiskey splashing was

heard as Sirius' grip shattered the glass, "I will have you withdrawn from

Hogwarts at once for private study or transfer to a different school. I

won't let you be controlled by that man. Perhaps I can have Remus come

teach you. He was almost the best of us in school."

A grimace came over the face of Harry, "Sirius…"

But the man didn't hear the boy as he continued, "I will find a way to

keep him away. Perhaps there could be a lawsuit or two against the

man.."

"Padfoot!"

Despite the cry of the boy the man still was in his own world as he

continued to plan out loud, "We could always just move to one of the

residences in the Caribbean or France and Germany. French women are a

wonderful treat. I wonder if the Delacour family still owns those

vineyards with house Black. Yes, definitely it has to be French over

German for women especially with those beaches."

"Father!" Harry shouted at the man and finally he broke out of his

thoughts to look at the boy in surprise. The raven haired boy smiled at

the man, "I thank you for the plans but I am fine where I am. As much as

he is trouble, we need him for now Padfoot. He is a good target to have

out there instead of myself. Plus, I am using him and the teachers at

Hogwarts for extra training to get ready for what is to come while we

prepare ourselves."

Harry caught his breath before he continued, "Besides, I do not want

anything to do with Professor Lupin."

Sirius frowned at that as he opened his mouth to speak Harry held up a

hand, "Think about it Padfoot. I was alone for all of my life and one of

my father's best friends never bothered to check on me. He never did

anything while I was attacked and abused daily. He never even came to

meet me when I first went to Hogwarts. It is only now when Dumbledore

needed a link to you and me that Remus mysteriously shows up like he

never was at fault for anything. How can we trust him?"

"But, he is Moony." Sirius spoke up as if that said everything to Harry.

The boy slowly shook his head with a frown, "Maybe he has a reason,

maybe I can someday forgive him Sirius. But, for now, till he proves

otherwise I consider him a creature of Dumbledore."

Harry looked over to the grandfather clock in the corner then smiled

sadly seeing it was two in the morning. He picked up the book that he

had pulled from the shelves, "I need to rest Padfoot. Tomorrow I must

return to school and deal with Snape's potions."

The boy was stopped as he reached the door as he heard his godfather

speak up, "Pup, on Christmas we will do the ritual to make you my son."

Slowly he turned his emerald eyes towards Sirius with a mischievous

grin, "Then it will be the best Christmas gift that I have ever received

father. Good night padfoot and enjoy your mediwitches. I picked them

out for you."

Omake

It had been two weeks since Harry had gone back to school and Sirius

was looking forward to his home visit from these beautiful mediwitches.

He had heard from Harry that they were requested from afar because

how great they were at giving massages to go along with their magic.

The magical massages were said to be a mystical experience that would

help to cure all wounds. Sirius was only hoping for a Harry Ending.

Supposedly they were reknown in Germany for the amazing work that

they did. He had spoken to one over the floo and while strangely there

was not visual on the international floo call the voice of the woman

sounded wonderful.

So it was that Sirius had gotten dressed up with new silk robes of the

finest cut. He had gotten his hair styled and even had a cane ready to

pimp out to meet the beautiful Helga. He wanted to make the best first

impression when he met the woman, if her voice was only half as

beautiful as the woman he knew he would enjoy these sesessions.

There was a knock at the door followed by a pop of Kreacher going to

answer it. Since Harry had met with the elf, it seemed that it had

changed its attitude. Now Kreacher was an amazing House elf, except the

cursing at him. Still, it was better than having to worry that his food

would contain elf spit. Then again that meatloaf last night did taste

funny.

Sirius called out to the elf before it could open the door, "I am coming

Kreacher, Please let them in to the main chamber."

He quickly looked around and saw that everything was in order. The

fireplace was roaring, the magical record player had a record of Barry

white enspelled to play repeatedly. He had a bottle of Taylor Fladgate

Scion 1855 Vintage, a three thousand dollar bottle of wine being chilled.

The table was setup for the massages with oils was off to the side.

Everything was perfect to play the perfect host.

That was until the ogress walked into the room. The woman was about

the size of Hagrid in width and height, actually Sirius wasn't certain she

didn't have a little bit of Beard. Her nose looked like it had been broken

three or four times at least. Her face looked like someone had pinched it

till it shrunk to be far too small for her body. The blonde hair of the

woman was very straight, plain and matted looking like it could give

Snivilleus a run for his money for who had washed it last. It was the arms

of the woman that scared Sirius the most. Her arms were the size of tree

trunks and more muscular than a troll.

The woman walked into the room and took in the wine, candles and

decor of the room with a smile showing a few green teeth. "Good, you

prepared for me. Your son told me that you would be ready for the extra

special package."

It was at that moment as Sirius was pondering if it was not better to be

locked back up in Azkaban that he realized that his future son was truly

worthy of being a marauder.

Author Note: I am very sorry for the delay on this chapter. I seemed

to have problems writing it specially Sirius for some reason. But, I

do have the next chapter already written and with Nedry to be

beta'd soon. So it should be up soon for you all. I hope you like the

chapter and how the story is going so far. Please give me feedback, I

always welcome thoughts of anyone out there for ways to make the

story better. I expect there to be only about 3 more chapters for year

three before summer hits and there interesting changes start.

6/23/14 edited per suggestions of David305, Thank you David for

the help!

15. A Happy House Elf

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: NedryOS

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

Author note: My Beta hasn't been around so this chapter has been

delayed. I am sorry for the wait. I figured it was better to release

this chapter non-beta'd then to keep folks waiting. Chapter 16 is

pretty much done too btw so that will be up next. I will try to clean

this up to make it more presentable.

Author Note 2: We broke 1000 favorites and follows. I just wanted

to say thank you for that. I am still amazed anyone wants to read

my story (I know my writing is horrid). But, I am glad you all are

enjoying it so far.

Harry looked over to the grandfather clock in the corner then smiled sadly

seeing it was two in the morning. He picked up the book that he had pulled

from the shelves, "I need to rest Padfoot. Tomorrow I must return to school

and deal with Snape's potions."

The boy was stopped as he reached the door as he heard his godfather speak

up, "Pup, on Christmas we will do the ritual to make you my son."

Slowly he turned his emerald eyes towards Sirius with a mischievous grin,

"Then it will be the best Christmas gift that I have ever received father. Good

night padfoot and enjoy your mediwitches. I picked them out for you."

Harry stood in the corridor, dead to rights in trouble, because floating

before him was an angry poltergeist. There was little chance of escape.

The corridor was a long straight passage with no doors around to dash to

safety. Of course he had to be in the middle of the corridor when the

poltergeist appeared. Peeves floated on thin air, one hand holding paint

pellets in various colors and the other filled with dung-bombs. The boy

knew that he had to be down in the dungeons for potions class in fifteen

minutes. Being late to the potions class one second meant detention and

deducted points. Harry did not have one minute to spare for running to

his dorm to change his robe. He was in trouble in either way; Snape

would give him a detention slip for showing up to his class in a

disrespectful appearance, not to mention the embarrassment of smelling

like dung through the whole class.

So there they were in a stare down, Harry had his wand drawn even

though there was little he could do to harm the poltergeist with it.

Luckily Peeves didn't seem to realize that since he just stared back at the

boy. He did make a mental note to look into spells that can cause pain to

spirits for future situations. On the other side of the stare down was

Peeves ready to throw the dung-bombs of death at the boy. The creepy

undead voice of the angry spirit filled the air, "Potty Potter is caught,

whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when Peeves comes for you."

"Potter going to smell like Potty for class," The cackle of the spirit echoed

down the hallway as it seemed to be enjoying itself. Harry knew the time

was ready for action when Peeves raised his arm to throw the dung

bomb. A cringe came over the boy's shoulders as he took a deep breath at

least not to inhale the toxic smelling chemicals. It was a surprise when

they never came. Instead the boy felt a cold shiver shoot up his spine as a

ghostly hand, that sucked the warmth from his very bones, touched his

shoulder.

Harry turned towards the touch as out of the corner of his eye he saw

Peeves fleeing swiftly from the hallway. The spirit fled leaving its prey

which meant only one creature could be touching his shoulder. There

was only one individual in the whole castle that could cause the

poltergeist to flee. The boy swallowed as he looked up with emerald eyes

going wide as they met the deep dark black eyes of the ghost of House

Slytherin.

The ghost floated there before Harry giving him his first true chance to

study its features. The Bloody Baron had a gaunt face with deep dark

black eyes settled around a strong nose with a sharp chin. The ghost was

filled out with what appeared to have been some muscle on its body at

the time of the Baron's death. The appearance of a few wrinkles on the

cheeks and forehead showed the man to have been close to or surpassing

middle age at the time of his demise. It wore a robe of green and silver

covered in blood. That same blood was splattered into the hair of the

ghost. Those locks of hair not covered by blood were a mess of black,

almost appearing to be windswept like his own often looked. The voice

that resonated from the spirit could easily pull the attention of a room of

nobility; it was a tone that was used to giving commands. The Baron

definitely had the attention of at least one young man at the moment as

he spoke, "Descendant, he will not harm you further. I will have a

conversation with those that bribed him to assault you."

Before Harry could say anything the spirit disappeared into the floor of

the castle. Harry stood there for a full two minutes going over the words

of the Slytherin ghost in his thoughts then he shook his head and ran to

get to class.

It was Friday before the first Hogsmeade visit of the year which of course

found Harry and Hermione in the library. Harry glanced over at his best

friend to see her pouring over different texts about numerous topics. The

pile of books was so high he could barely see over them to the top of her

head.

A small smile came over the boy's lips as he watched his friend before he

turned back to his own research. Today he was not looking for answers to

some forgotten potion or theory. He actually was far ahead in all of his

classes except astronomy. According to Professors McGonagall and

Flitwick he could actually take his Owls at the end of the year in Charms,

Transfiguration, and Defense against the Dark Arts and do pretty well.

But he wanted to perform exceptionally after all he needed to be top of

the class for the honor of House Potter. His runes assignment has been

going well overall except one minor setback that actually might be useful

someday. He let out sigh thinking about the last Sunday.

It was Sunday and Harry had repeatedly mulled over the different

theories and sets of runes required to make his project work. According

to the theory that he and Hermione had worked out the object would

first need to become enspelled to hold magical energy, this energy would

then have an overlay rune that would allow the recording of sound and

then finally a rune that would allow the playback of the sound. Hermione

was currently working on the sound recording rune; but the problem was

that you could not be certain if it was working unless you actually were

able to perfect the playing rune first. Harry's portion of the project was to

create an object that could be etched with runes and filled with magical

energy enough to empower and keep the sound recorded.

So here he was now in an abandoned classroom on the third floor of

Hogwarts. Nobody ever came up there, especially after the events two

years ago so it was a perfect place to cause possible destruction. After all

nothing in Harry Potter's life ever caused destruction. Harry had decided

to use a normal clay brick to hold the energy first. Unfortunately as soon

as he tried to apply the runes to it, it crumbled to dust seeming unable to

hold the magical energies. After that failure he tried to use a glass ball,

reminded of the old crystal balls of legend. Again this did not hold very

well to the runes when it shattered into numerous pieces. The third

choice that he tried was a piece of dark maple wood. Wands often could

contain magical energies to be channeled through them so he figured that

it might be able to as well. Unfortunately the rune scheme this time

caused the wood to catch fire and burn down. It seemed no matter the

object that Harry would use it could not contain the power.

Finally, Harry tried a different approach; the muggles used cd players

and Walkman why couldn't he use metal? Normally metal couldn't

channel magic very well for a medium which is why there were no metal

wands. But in ancient times swords like the sword of Gryffindor could be

produced to contain the magical energies. So Harry had gotten Dobby to

acquire some pieces of steel about six inches by two inches each. They

had been pounded together into a rectangular shape and now today he

was finishing etching the Egyptian runes on five of them for his

experiment.

Harry carefully finished up the runes overlays on the items then placed

the first rectangle down into the middle of the chamber. He smiled as so

far it had not failed to hold the complex chain that had been carved into

it. Harry and Hermione were proud when they showed their project rune

chain to Professor Babbling. She was so excited that she wanted to

announce it to the class but they had forbidden her. Instead they took

twenty points for Gryffindor and the accomplishment to know that it was

worthy of fifth year work. The boy shook off the thoughts as he

concentrated trying his hardest to focus on his own magical core. It was

something that he had read about in the book he took from Sirius' house.

So far he couldn't do that clear his mind nonsense, but he had learned a

bit about meditation and when trying it he was able to feel his own

magic. Now feeling and using it were different, still the boy was

determined and when Harry Potter was determined one of two things

happened. Either the boy was wildly successful and lucky, or else he

would end up in Madam Pomfrey's clinic.

Today was Harry's lucky day as he was able to reach in and touch his

magic and propel some of it into the runes charging them without the use

of his wand. He could feel the energy inside of the rectangle and smiled.

He quickly repeated the process charging all five of them swiftly before

pocketing away four of them for future tries of Hermione's own runes.

The fifth steel rectangle the boy left in the middle of the chamber. The

boy cast a silencing charm on the room before he quickly walked to the

far side of the rune to test a theory that had come to him. It seemed with

all of the other materials when he overcharged them they would fall

apart in one way or the other. But, what would steel do? The boy used

his wand to transfigure the floor to make a stone wall in front of him, he

was crazy but not stupid. At least he was not stupid most of time. Then

the boy raised his wand pointing at the rune and whispered the Latin

word for empower, "Quaecunque."

A thin beam of magic shot yellow from his wand towards the hardened

steel rectangle. It was only pure instinct and seeker reflexes that saved

Harry Potter from being killed. The overcharge of the steel reacted and

right away it exploded shooting shards of steel all over the chamber as

shrapnel. The explosion shook the chamber and when Harry looked up he

saw there was a two foot by two foot hole in the middle of the room. All

around the chamber from floor to ceiling and covering the walls he found

the place covered in pieces of steel.

Harry whispered to himself, "Fuck, I just invented the magical grenade."

Harry shook off the remembrance of that day he looked down at his

history book that he was using for research. He had shown Hermione the

amazing success he had with the four new steel containers but he didn't

tell her about the magical grenade. He figured that might not be the best

information to share with her, but someday it might be useful if he could

perfect it. His eyes slowly traveled over the amazing ancient tome before

him.

The book was a register of the students of Hogwarts past and present. It

was actually an ancient tome that supposedly had been created by Helga

Hufflepuff and given into care of the Head librarian by tradition. Madam

Pince had glared at Harry when he had requested it and gave him a stern

lecture on how to be careful with the magical book. Something that she

had not done since he was a first year! The volume was so old that it was

kept at the uptight Head Librarian's desk instead of on the shelves just for

safe keeping. Today Harry had a mission of curiosity, a mission to find

out who truly was the Bloody Baron.

The boy had started out asking the other ghosts. Unfortunately that got

him nowhere with the Fat Friar and Nearly Headless Nick. It seemed

Peeves would not come near him after the previous encounter and Myrtle

knew nothing of the Baron except she was terrified and fled whenever he

was mentioned. Strangely the Grey Lady, when tracked down and asked

merely glared at the boy for a long time then cursed his family name. The

Bloody Baron himself was not to be found; unfortunately it seemed that

the ghost was hiding from him. Even using the Marauder's map the spirit

seemed to disappear whenever Harry got close.

Harry did have one clue, it seemed that the Baron had once been a

student in the halls of the keep and from the reaction of the Grey Lady

she must have known the man too. So he merely needed to find out who

the Grey Lady was. It was a strange encounter that gave him that answer.

Harry sighed and knew that no matter what every encounter with Luna

was a strange but uniquely interesting encounter.

Harry had found Luna on Wednesday night wandering the halls of

Hogwarts without shoes and in a bathrobe for some reason. She was up

on the seventh floor of the castle with bath supplies. The boy had been

trying to track down the Baron at the time but the ghost had given him

the slip when he almost ran into the girl.

"Hello Luna, how are you doing?" The boy asked brightly to the cute little

blonde haired girl.

A bright dreamy smile was returned, "Hello Harry, I was up here looking

for the bath. For some reason the baths in my dorm room will only work

cold for me. I bet it was the nargles."

The boy immediately frowned at the thought, what the hell could cause

the showers to go cold only for one person? Was there a jinx that could

do that? He was sure that the twins wouldn't harm the strange girl, that

wasn't their style so who would even want to jinx Luna. "Are you sure it

was the Nargles Luna and not something else?"

"Oh yes Harry, the Nargles most likely are the cause. They have been

acting strangely lately. My shoes even disappeared from them. But, I am

sure they will turn up eventually. They always do." The silvery grey eyes

sparkled as she spoke to him with a smile.

Harry bit his bottom lip with a frown at the thought then nodded his

head slowly, "Are you sure you don't want my help? Perhaps Professor

Flitwick would be able to help with the showers and make them work

right for you?"

"No, I am sure I will find that bath around here again, I found it a few

nights ago." The girl gave him an impish grin, "Why are you up here

Harry?"

"Oh, I am trying to find out about the Grey Lady, who she was. I am

researching into the Bloody Baron." He noticed as he spoke the slight

cringe that came over the shoulders of the girl.

"I know who the Grey Lady is Harry but I need to ask if it is okay if I tell."

The girl hugged her towel closer to herself then looked around down the

hallway, "But I need to go find my bath, I am sure it is getting cold as we

talk. I will see you soon."

Harry had watched the girl run off down the hallway to disappear. He

looked around for a bit longer for the Baron but couldn't find him. Finally

deciding to follow Luna to try to make certain she was okay he turned

the corner of the hallway that she had gone to and she was gone. After a

sigh the boy had left to go to back to his own room and start his extra

studies on his new book.

It was this morning that Harry had been slipped a card on the way to

class. When he noticed and pulled it from his pocket it simply read, The

Grey Lady is Helena Ravenclaw. The boy was certain that it had been Luna

that somehow slipped it into his pocket but he never saw her. Perhaps it

was a nargle?

So here he was now with his current tome as he had tried to search

multiple other books in the library. It was only after he found in

Hogwarts a History; Hermione's favorite book that this Hogwarts registry

existed that he had an idea to look it over.

His touch was careful with the aged pieces of parchment. Slowly he went

through the book starting at the earliest of years for Hogwarts looking up

famous students. Particularly he was trying to concentrate on the Potter

family since he was called a descendant. Of course with all of the

interbreeding in the Wizarding world being a descendant could mean any

number of families. The book was labeled by House that the person was

sorted to and time not by family name. It was strange when he realized

that there were no Potters in Gryffindor House for many years. Actually

the Potter family was almost always in Slytherin of all places. Perhaps

the Sorting Hat had been right in wanting to put him into the snake pit.

Still it was confusing as he had often been told how the Potters were

always part of Gryffindor. Hagrid and Dumbledore had both made a

point to make it sound like it was his legacy to be part of the crimson and

gold. Now he was conflicted as it seemed until the last hundred years his

ancestors were almost always either in Slytherin or in Ravenclaw.

Harry did find the first of his ancestors to attend Hogwarts. Baron Robert

Ignotus Potter, Slytherin House and apprentice to Salazar Slytherin. The

Gryffindor boy was excited as he read the information it seemed that

Robert Potter was First chair apprentice of Salazar Slytherin, the man had

a masters in Transfiguration, Battle magic, parselmagic, and had even

taught Runes and Wards at Hogwarts. The man had been a member of

the Council of Wizards and born March of 998. It was written that Robert

had died in June of 1052. There was no record for his children or how he

died. But, it was a possible solution for the question, who was the Bloody

Baron?

The boy was drawn from his thoughts as Hermione closed her book with

a sigh. The emerald eyes of the boy sparkled with mischief as he spoke

up, "I never thought I would see the day that Hermione Granger is tired

of studying."

The girl looked up, and proclaimed in an almost haughty, lecturing tone,

"I am not tired of studying. I am tired of trying to figure out what was the

point of all those books you gave me."

The girl continued right away with a bit of frustration leaking into her

voice, "I mean Harry I understand you wanted me to realize that

muggleborns are not given a fair chance for success. I can see you wanted

me to be ready for it and your mother's book was amazing for her ideas.

She really was brilliant, but…"

Hermione paused a moment to breathe and Harry reached out and gave

her hand a small squeeze. The boy's words were a soft whisper, "You do

not understand what can be done to change things for you?"

Harry could see the frustration layered over his best friend. She was

prideful that she was the smartest the best in their class. She was titled

by teachers and told repeatedly that she was the most brilliant witch in

Hogwarts for their generation and here was a problem that she couldn't

fix alone. Harry gave her hands another squeeze, "I have an option for

you if you want to choose it. My plan would give you a place and

position among the elite. It would be a way for you to change someday

the whole wizarding world. But, I do not know if you would want to do

it."

The energetic Gryffindor girl looked up at Harry expectantly waiting for

him to continue. The boy sighed and stood pulling her up from her seat,

"Come, I won't talk of this here."

Harry carefully returned the ancient tome of Hogwarts rolls to Madam

Pince then left with the bushy haired girl following him closely towards

the second floor girls' toilets. He only stopped when he walked through

the door pulling the girl. She at once pulled away after realizing where

they were. She immediately snatched back her hand with a little bit of

crimson spilling onto her cheeks for holding a boy's hand so long.

"Hello Harry." The too sweet voice of a ghost called from one of the stalls

towards her visitors.

Inside the boy cringed but turned and smiled on the outside towards the

ghost, "Hello Myrtle. You look lovely today, have you lost weight?"

Harry swore he could see the ghost appear to perk up as she ran her

hands down her school uniform trying to smooth it out. Her smile took in

Harry and Hermione before she narrowed her eyes at the girl, "This isn't

your girlfriend is it Harry?"

A blink came to the raven haired boy then he smiled, "No Myrtle. I am

not with her like that but she is my best friend you remember Hermione

from last year."

A giggle came from the ghostly teenager as she looked at Hermione, "Oh I

remember her. She was purrrrrfect when she turned into a pussycat."

The boy paused as he forced down a grin that was daring to spread over

his lips wider than the Cheshire cat, "Have you seen the Bloody Baron

around? I have been looking for him and I was expecting him to show up

soon to find me."

"The Baron? Here?" A bit of fright leaked into the voice of the girl as her

voice rose two octaves. She looked around quickly then dove into the

toilet to hide.

Harry turned back towards an angry Hermione and gave the girl a wink

before he spoke in a series of hissing noises. The first was a simple

command to open the sink for the girl's bathroom, then he followed it up

with a command for stairs. It seemed that Salazar was not fond of slides

like Ron and Harry had done last year. Finally the boy hissed out the

command for light and a series of torches lit up detailing a set of

slippery, mold covered stairs leading down into the darkness. A series of

green lights faintly lit up the stairwell. The boy turned towards Hermione

and smiled, "Shall we?"

The girl started to follow her best friend down the stairs with careful

steps over the slippery muck, "Harry what was that about the Baron?"

"Oh, that is nothing important Hermione. I just wanted to get moving and

while Myrtle is nice and funny, I felt if we were to get somewhere safe to

talk we would have to hurry up. I have another errand to run in the

chamber that I promised a friend too." The boy continued down the steps

till they came to a large chamber filled with skulls and broken bones of

animals that had obviously been eaten in the past by the basilisk.

The young man graciously helped steady Hermione over the pile as they

walked to an area that had experienced a giant cave in of stones. For a

moment Harry frowned studying the pile of rocks that had blocked the

exit. Before if he remembered correctly, Fawkes had zipped him and

Ginny back to the world above through use of phoenix flames. Of course

that was not an option now, still it would be a nice work out for his

transfiguration to see how much he truly had learned.

He let out a sigh and pulled out his wand concentrating hard as he

whispered under his breath the words of the transfiguration spell

necessary. Slowly the rocks before him started to shift. First, two

boulders changed to large sturdy walls slowly molding shape and form.

Harry added a bit of extra flair and detail to the work as he changed

them to look like Romanesque pillars. Then he turned his concentration

to the giant boulder sitting on the newly made walls and changed that

into a curved dome roof of stone to match newly created walls for a

walkway. To add a bit of good luck to the detail he quickly carved HJP

was here. The display might be a bit childish of Harry but still it was

enjoyable work.

The boy started forward after finishing up with a few heavy breaths as it

did take a lot out of him when he stopped after a shout, "Harry James

Potter!"

He blinked and turned back towards his busy haired friend, "Yes? It is

safe Hermione."

"I know it is safe but how did you do that? Those spells for such a large

amount shouldn't be possible to be transfigured to this type of details at

our grade level. Not to mention how much power it would take to

transform this much stone, this should be impossible for you." The girl

ranted for a few moments in a lecturing tone with an obvious frown on

her face.

The boy couldn't help but laugh, if there was one thing he was certain it

was Hermione would always he Hermione, "I just did it so it is not

impossible and remember I studied a lot over summer with Tonks. Also

Hermione you know those err detentions every night I have with either

Professors McGonagall or Flitwick? They are actually lessons for training

to improve my skills."

The boy snatched the girl's hand with a shrug and smile as he started to

lead her towards the entrance of the actual chamber hoping to head off

an argument he added, "This was fifth year work. I will help tutor you if

you want. I owe you for the first two years anyways."

For a moment Harry thought that his best friend might react in jealousy

and spurn him. But, perhaps he had misread her or perhaps she had

grown with Ron's death. Instead of jealousy she gave him a quick hug

and kiss on the cheek with a whisper, "Thank you Harry. I would like

that."

The boy only responded with a crimson cheeked smile, he still wasn't too

used to human contact despite the efforts of Hermione and Nymph. He

quickly stopped before the doorway of the chamber and hissed out the

command to open.

For Hermione it was the first time she had actually seen the chamber.

The place was truly magnificently huge! There were giant hooded statues

on the sides of a large marble walkway that led to a giant pool of water.

Above the pool was a massive statue of the face of Salazar Slytherin

himself. Of the basilisk there were no remains left as they had all been

removed by the hard work of Dobby and his team of elves. Right now all

of the parts were carefully placed away into the Potter vault under stasis

spells for use or selling depending on what needed to happen.

Harry dragged Hermione forward with a smile on his lips, "Amazing

history within this place. Just think there have only been a few people to

set foot in here in over a thousand years Hermione. This was literately

the protected lair of one of the most powerful wizards to ever walk the

earth."

The girl seemed a bit shell-shocked at the size of the place as she didn't

speak up. Instead Harry came to a stop leading her to just before the

pool. Slowly the boy reached into his inner robe pocket and pulled out a

pouch covered in runes. He first pulled out a pair of dragonhide gloves

and slid them on, the same type often seen for use in Herbology. Next he

reached into the pouch with his now covered hands and pulled out a

locket. The boy moved fluidly as he placed down the locket. He looked at

it a moment with a frown then called out, "Kreacher!"

There was a flash then an ancient looking house elf appeared before the

boy and girl. The elf bowed before Harry with bright shining pride in his

eyes, "Master Harry called for Kreacher. Kreacher Honored to come to

master."

Harry gave the elf a warm smile then motioned towards Hermione,

"Kreacher this is my friend Hermione. Please treat her as you would me.

She is almost a part of the family and very important to me. She must

always be protected, understood?"

The elf nodded quickly as it spoke up, "Kreacher understands Master."

"Harry James Potter, when did you get another elf?" The girl snapped at

the boy. Harry turned his warm emerald gaze towards her as the elf

seemed to tense up ready to snap at the girl.

"Hermione, Kreacher here is a House Black elf. He is the honored favorite

of the family. Kreacher had requested to be able to watch me destroy this

locket. It was the dying wish of his master so I agreed to the promise."

The boy carefully reached into the pouch a third time and pulled out as

basilisk fang. He smiled again towards the elf and girl before looking

down at the locket. "This locket is filled with dark magic. Please stand

back, I do not know what will happen, but I doubt it will be pretty."

Harry closed his eyes as he lifted the basilisk fang, he could feel the pull

of the vicious locket wanting him to place it onto his neck even as it sat

before him about to be destroyed. He could swear the thing knew its

demise was coming as it seemed to mentally fight him trying desperately

to compel him to put down the fang of the fabled snake. Yet, as harsh as

the pull was for Harry it was nothing in comparison to the feeling the

scar would give sometimes when growing up. If it had been anyone else,

the locket would have been saved from demise, but Harry was resolute.

The boy slammed down the basilisk fang letting it pierce into the locket

of Salazar Slytherin. At once a heavy black mist started to pour out of the

locket. The black darkness tried to surround the boy but Harry leapt free

and ran towards the house elf. Kreacher snapped his fingers and a

magical barrier made purely of wind appeared to surround the two

humans and elf. The mist rose high into the air taking the form of the

face of Tom Riddle before dispersing into nothingness.

For five minutes the boy lay on the ground coughing and spitting trying

to get the taste out of his mouth. That mist had tasted worse than any

flavor of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean could contain! Finally, the boy

shook his head to clear it and smiled at his companions, "Well that is

done."

Hermione looked at her best friend in confusion after seeing what took

place. A frown came over her lips as she tapped her foot, "I think you

owe me an explanation Harry."

"I wanted to risk certain death at the start of the term instead of at the

end of the term this year?" The boy tried with a cheesy grin. Seeing little

reaction Harry let out a sigh.

"Very well, but first Kreacher." The boy turned his bright glowing green

eyes onto the elf. He saw the elf staring at the locket longingly, "You did

very well Kreacher. I am proud of you. You can keep the locket Kreacher;

show it to your Mistress though so she knows that her son can rest in

peace."

Harry was bowled over by the elf as the little monster plucked up the

locket and charged the boy. It had wrapped its wrinkled arms around the

boy and squeezed. He let out a grunt from the surprising grip before

Kreacher disappeared to home.

The boy chuckled and smiled at the disappearing elf before looking back

at his best friend. He decided perhaps it was better to just sit there than

stand back up. He seemed to be getting knocked over a lot this day, so he

patted the spot next to him. "There is a lot to explain Hermione. But,

some of these things are not my secrets to tell. I am sure it would be no

problem to include you in them but you would need to make a magical

oath to never reveal what I am about to tell you."

He could see the deep doe-like eyes of Hermione widen in surprise at the

request of the oath before she sat down next to him. She started to open

her mouth to ask a question but he held up his hand to forestall her,

"Perhaps before we talk of secrets and oaths I can answer your question

from the library? Why I have given you all of those books and hinted at a

way for you to change the way that muggleborns are treated?"

The smile of the boy disarmed her as Hermione nodded her head towards

Harry. So the boy continued, "It is a very simple solution Hermione. If

you want to have the power to change a society where muggleborns have

no power then you just need to not be a muggleborn."

"So you will change things Harry? What about me?" the girl asked

tentatively towards her friend.

He smiled back at her then shook his head slowly, "I will try to change

things slowly step by step with the Foundation. But, I was hoping you

would consider instead another option so you can join me in making

changes to our new world."

The boy paused as his lips curled into his best smile while mischief

danced into his eyes. Harry slowly shifted to one knee as he looked up

into the deep dark brown eyes of his best friend and speaking softly,

"Hermione Jane Granger will you consent to become Hermione Jane

Potter?"

Chapter 15 Omake

Harry sat there at breakfast a few days after returning from officially

meeting his godfather for the first time. He had just finished up his

morning workout and shower he was now ready for a huge breakfast.

Today was going to be a good day! It was Thursday and on Thursday he

had double transfiguration today and double ancient runes. Of course

they were his two favorite classes and the classes he could sit in and

enjoy learning every moment. There was no teacher hounding him for

answers about his life so far, no professor putting him to sleep,

distracting him from arithmetic formulas with the sway of her backside,

or breathing down his neck to take points or cause a potion to explode.

Yes, Runes and Transfiguration were the two classes that Harry Potter

always looked forward to.

Of course all good days for Harry Potter cannot be without a certain

sentiment of bad. Today was no different as a familiar white owl carried

in a letter with the morning post. This letter was all in red, he had seen

one last year when Ron received it from her mother. But who would send

him one? Surely it was someone else's beautiful pure white owl that had

flown next to him and was eating his bacon. So what if the creature

looked exactly like Hedwig and about to nibble on his fingertip for

attention.

"Harry, are you going to open that?" Hermione frowned at the boy as she

stared at the envelope.

The boy let out a sigh and slowly took the red container knowing it was

better not to let it explode. Soon as he touched it a voice rang out over

the table. A voice that he remembered very well, his godfather.

"How dare you pull that prank on me son! It is one thing to pull a

prank on a normal man but on a marauder? I promise you revenge

when you least expect it and from the least likely source. "

"On a completely different note Helga has been a wonderful massage

therapist despite being the giant hulking German transvestite part."

"Be good and love you Pup."

"Oh and Tonks said something about needing a few more pairs of

your boxers. It seems that one that you left her in room was

destroyed. I don't know what she did with it."

Harry looked around the Great Hall, it was so silent you could hear a pin

drop as the red envelope disintegrated. He quickly picked up his books

and walked smoothly out of the room not looking in any direction as he

rushed off for his day.

Author note 3: I hope the chapter wasn't too bad. I plan a few more

till the end of the school year. It will be the summer where things

will start to go differently. I am sorry again for the delay. Please

review and tell me what you like so far!

6/22/14 edited by suggestions and assistance from David305. Thank you

David305

16. Family History

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: NedryOS

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

He smiled back at her then shook his head slowly, "I will try to change things

slowly step by step with the Foundation. But, I was hoping you would consider

instead another option so you can join me in making changes to our new

world."

The boy paused as his lips curled into his best smile while mischief danced into

his eyes. Harry slowly shifted to one knee as he looked up into the deep dark

brown eyes of his best friend and speaking softly, "Hermione Jane Granger will

you consent to become Hermione Jane Potter?"

The girl sat there stunned as she looked at her best friend. Her eyes were

so wide that even Dobby would be impressed. Her cheeks had turned so

bright crimson that it would put a Weasley's hair to shame. Hermione

opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out except for a squeak.

"It you keep your mouth open like that you will catch flies." Harry smiled

with mischief dancing in his gaze. The boy was still on one knee with a

teasing bright smile over his lips.

The teasing seemed to snap the brain of the bushy haired girl into

working order. Her hands settled onto her hips as she narrowed her eyes

at the boy, "Harry James Potter, what nonsense are you talking about?

We are too young to get married and I …."

She seemed to catch herself and calm down as Hermione looked sadly

towards Harry for a moment, "Harry you are my best friend… To be

honest you are everything I might want in a boy. Smart, kind, honest,

loyal, and you would do anything for someone in trouble. But, I love you

like a brother."

Harry looked at her his mouth falling open a look of mock sadness filling

his face at the sudden rejection. He fake sniffed a few times as if trying to

stop the a crest of tears. Then he reached out and pulled the girl into a

surprise hug.

To say Hermione was stunned by the hug would be an understatement.

Despite her best friend becoming more open and friendly since the end of

last year, he still rarely showed physical intimacy. Her right hand

reached out to tentatively pat against his shoulder, "It will be fine Harry.

I promise you will find a girl. You will…"

She stopped as she heard a giggle coming from the boy. She realized the

shaking of the boy's body was not from tears but from laughter. Quickly

she pushed him back from the hug to look at a smiling face of her best

friend. Slowly Hermione's left eyebrow rose upwards arching in question,

something that seemed to be genetic to all angry females.

Harry let out a sigh to catch his breath knowing that he would need to

respond quickly for he was now playing with fire with his prank. He

offered his most charming smile, "I love you too as a sister Hermione. I

wasn't asking you to marry me. I was asking you to allow me to adopt

you into the Potter family. You are…"

He paused a moment as his eyes glowed with warmth, "You are what I

would want in a sister. You are friendly, kind, the smartest witch in the

school, a little bossy but only when you feel you need to get a point

across to me, and most importantly you care about me. You are my best

friend and I would like you to officially become my family."

The smile that Hermione gave him could have outshined the sun. A bit of

crimson touched his cheeks her compliments to Harry and his own words

relayed. Still he could see questions in the yes of his friend so he

continued before they poured forth like a raging river, "If you wish to

accept my offer I have two ways I could help you. I could accept you as a

ward of House Potter and I would become your magical guardian. Your

current magical guardian is the Headmaster by default and of course your

muggle guardians would remain your parents. You would still be

considered a muggleborn but would at least have some protection legally

and financially because of my family name. It might help in the future for

employment and future education possibilities. I would prefer the other

option though."

Harry paused to let Hermione consider his words. He watched her biting

her bottom lip as she considered what he said, then after a few minutes

of silence he continued, "I would rather do a blood adoption ritual that

would make you officially a member of House Potter. You would be

considered a Potter and my Heir apparent till I have children. Every

possible avenue and door would most likely be open to you and I think

then we could together be successful in our plans. In the eyes of the

Ministry you would be considered a half-blood since your parents would

be muggles. I would even be able to share some of my family magic with

you, which can only be used by those of our blood. Most important

though Hermione, you would be my sister and we could change our

world together."

The girl stared at her best friend in silence considering her words

carefully. She felt Harry's hand reach out and encompass her own giving

it a squeeze, "Harry I need to look into this first. I have too many

questions. Will I still be my parent's daughter? Will I change physically or

mentally? Are there risks with this ritual for you or I? Magic always has a

cost, what would be this cost? I need to look into it and learn about it a

lot first."

Harry smiled at the girl and gaze her hand a squeeze before releasing it.

He reached into a pouch and pulled out a book slowly to place into her

hand. The title of the book state So you want to adopt an Heir.

A few weeks later

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining yet there was a bit of

cloud cover so it was not too bright. There was a breeze blowing gently

from the northeast, even though it was not the frigid cold of autumn that

was soon to come. Some would call it the last breath of summer. The

Black Lake seemed to capture and reflect the light spinning it out into a

bright shining rainbow for all to see.

The boy-who-lived leaned his back against an old oak tree as he sat in the

grasses of his favorite hiding spot to enjoy the day. It was Sunday and

there was no class. It was also the one day a week that he allowed

himself to relax and forget about his intense study plans. Normally he

kept active from six am till eleven pm each day with extra study session

and personal training. But, Sunday's were promised to Sirius to keep

them always for recovery and rest physically and mentally. It was the day

that he would get a chance to do something non-academic and just relax

as he saw fit.

Today Harry had decided to get into some swimming trunks, an activity

that he had never done, and go down to the lake to sun, relax and

perhaps try to wade into the water. He went to his own personal spot, a

place of a hidden peninsula not seen from the path around the lake. He

had promptly setup a few towels, a basket taken for lunch and un-shrunk

his record player. The music of the day was the new popular American

band Pearl Jam.

While he laid out on the towel, he flipped through the large black tome

that he had found in the Golge Vault in Gringotts. Last night he had

finally figured out how to remove the tome from the family ring. He was

able to determine a small inscription rune which required a blood price

of the family to unseal the tome. So his plans for relaxation came

together quickly with the determination to read the history of his family

from overseas.

The book was fascinating. It seemed to cover over six hundred years of

history for his family. The Golge family was one of the five families that

were on the matriarchal council. They made up the ruling families under

the Ottoman Empire and controlled the magical society in the form of a

council. They were officially part of the advisors of the Sultanate till near

to the end of the Empire. The Five families were all created from the

Devsirme system run by the Ottoman Empire to create their army known

as the Yeni Ceri or Janissary Corps.

The Devsirme system was a program implemented in 1361 by Sultan

Murad I of the Ottoman Empire where children around the age of five to

seven were taken from conquered lands to be raised by the muggle

government. These children were indoctrinated into the culture, history,

traditions and policies of the Ottoman Empire. The further the Ottoman

Empire expanded the larger the size of the system grew to support the

Empire. These individuals would either enter into the bureaucracy or the

Janissary Corps. This allowed for a stable loyal force to back the Sultan.

Eventually there would arise problems from the Janissary as they became

too powerful. Eventually they would even overthrow Sultans that would

not live up their standards, or during times of disharmony in the Empire.

But for over five hundred years the Ottoman Empire would be supported

by the Janissary corps and the Devsirme system.

The Council of Five used the Devsirme system for a recruitment policy, it

was a change to acquire all muggleborn children. Through artifacts and a

system of runes and rituals done once a year they were able to pinpoint

all muggleborn children who had committed accidental magic anywhere

in the Empire. This was extremely impressive since the Empire spanned

over a thousand miles at one point from Egypt through Romania. The

children would be rounded up unless they were registered to approved

families and entered into a teaching program for magical children.

This schooling was a live in facility, much like Hogwarts, but it would

train the child for their magical muggle future lives in service to the

government. Most of the children when of proper age were turned over

to apprenticeships in different areas of the Empire. It gave the Five

Families of the magical council and eventually later families that arose to

power the ability to control and support the muggle government of the

Ottoman Empire.

The ICW ended this arrangement through its bid for power around the

world forcing the separation of Egypt from the Ottoman Empire in 1867.

The organization was originally developed by the European Powers

during the age of Colonialism. With the witch hunts of the middle ages

fresh in their minds the elite of the wizarding world decided that the rise

of muggle technologies in conjunction with their global expansion would

signify trouble for wizards and witches. The idea was proposed that the

European Wizards would lead the world onto the proper path and control

dangerous magic. Furthermore it was imperative that as the "intellectual

muggles" of Europe would explore the world that they would not

encounter magic in other lands.

During the conquests by the Spanish of the New World this led to the

direct destruction of the Inca and Aztec cultures. They were both

societies controlled by the magical families in their domain as such it was

deemed that they could not be allowed to continue to exist. After the

wholesale slaughter it was determined by the Elite Wizarding Families

that although muggles were lesser creatures they should not cause

wholesale slaughter of their cultures. Instead there had to be a way to

keep separate magical from muggle.

Hence the major wizarding councils of Europe including the Holy Roman

Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, British, Spanish, French, Portuguese,

Kingdom of Norway and Italy and Russians gathered together in 1659 to

form the International Conference of Wizards (ICW). The express purpose

per the charter was the subjugation and domination of foreign magical

societies to the proper way to deal with muggles in their domain. The

council would eventually start to expand and accept other strong wizard

cultures around the world.

In 1789 it was decided by the ICW that the magical and muggle world

could no longer survive together. A new charter was created with the

major rule the Statue of Secrecy. It was drawn up by the American

Wizard Benjamin Franklin with the purpose to protect the secrets of

magical society. All countries a part of the ICW would be required to

separate their societies with a policy of non-interference with the muggle

world. There were strong penalties to countries that would resist this new

rule that none would defy except the Magical Ottoman Empire.

While the policy of the Devsirme had fallen away from the muggle

Ottoman Empire, the magical side kept with the removal of muggleborn

children and their indoctrination. The ICW warned against these actions

and the control of most major muggle institutions in the Ottoman

Empire, a warning carried multiple times but ignored. Finally, an

invasion force of forty different countries and hundreds of force in

wizards attacked the council of Five and their Assembly. The ICW and

the Ottoman Wizards fought a fierce twenty year war before finally the

Ottoman's strength was torn asunder.

The ICW took control of the Ottoman Magical Government and society

for a period of eighty years as punishment. This resulted in failures of the

financial and political system throughout the muggle Empire. The land

controlled by the Ottoman's started to be carved piece by piece away

from them by European powers. Eventually it would become known as

the Old man of Europe, a weak and crippled thing of its once past glory.

Finally, World War One put the Empire out of its misery.

Harry's family, The Golge, was one of the Council of Five. Traditionally it

would be a family member that would sit on the council as the leader.

According to the family grimoire after ICW war his great grandmother

was taken captive. She was taken to England as a permanent hostage for

the good will of the Golge family. The information was sketchy for what

took place after her removal from England, it seems that somehow she

had setup the Gringotts account. There was little knowledge available till

his mother was by the Evans family. There was nothing for what had

taken place in Turkey since the ICW withdraw at the time of

Grindelwald. This brought up questions that he would need to answer

before he took a trip to Turkey. Would he be allowed to go there? Was

there anyone there left of his family? How were the families of the

Council of Five looked at and treated now? Too many questions to

consider for this day.

The tome further went into individual family members of important and

some of their contributions over the centuries. But, he skipped that for

now. Instead his eyes were drawn to the ritual section. Most of the rituals

held components of Runes, Arithmancy, potions, positions of the stars

and ley lines of power. After looking a few over Harry was honest with

himself that he had no clue what he was looking at. A genius he may be

for his studies but these were far beyond him to contemplate and enact

for the time being. It was a disappointment but at least it was also

something to look forward and work to accomplish.

Harry was interrupted just as he sealed away the magical tome into his

ring. A shadow cast itself over the ground from the forest's edge

stretching to before him in the shape of a person. His fingertips itched to

draw his wand instead he slowly turned his emerald gaze towards the

individual casting the shadow.

When he looked he found a petite blonde standing there next to an old

oak tree with an airy demeanor about her. Today she a towel in her arms

and wore a one piece bathing suit without any shoes. Harry made a

mental note to ask about the shoes even as he smiled towards her. The

suit Luna was wearing was bright fiery orange in color that seemed to

sparkle from the sunlight. It took Harry a second to notice that she was a

growing girl and starting to fill out the bathing suit. "Good Afternoon

Luna. I hope the wrackspurts are not bothering you today?"

A bit of amusement danced in her eyes at the question, "No Harry. But, I

did hear that the water near here had a tentacleoppous. I wanted to come

see it."

"A tentacleoppous? I am not familiar with that creature." He spoke as he

scooted over and pat the ground next to him in offer.

Luna ran over and flopped down next to him with a bright smile, "It is a

creature that looks a lot like a smaller version of Rocky but instead of

suction cups at the end of its tentacles it had little mouths on all twelve

of them. I am told that they like to nibble on the most sensitive parts of

swimmers unless they wear bright orange."

A slight cringe came over the boy as he squeezed his legs together at the

mention of sensitive parts. "Rocky?"

She gave him a duhh look then pointed at the Giant squid on the far side

of the lake.

"Oh, I didn't know that was his name. These creatures sound very

interesting. Why do you want to swim with them?"

"In summer Daddy says we will be looking in Japan for the Legendary

Tentclamonstorous. It is said to be the father of all tentacleoppous and

hard to find. It only comes out to find virgins. Daddy told me we need to

go before it is too late." She spoke with a smile as he doe-like innocent

eyes met his emerald greens.

Part of Harry wanted to scream that she was trying to pull the wool over

his eyes. But, a part of him wondered if she wasn't and she was actually

serious. The last part of him worried what type of strange things her

father was into! "Maybe there might be a safer place to go then see a

tentacle monster that likes virgins over summer?"

Luna stuck out her tongue trying to touch the tip of her nose for a few

seconds. "Well, we can always try Daddy's other plan. He said he wanted

to summon some monster named Cthulhu."

Somewhere in the back of Harry's mind he pictured the end of the world

all because of Luna and her father. Perhaps Voldemort wasn't the worst

enemy the world had ever seen? He was drawn from the thoughts as she

asked him a question.

"Are you going to swim Harry or just read all day?" She smiled dreamily

towards him again.

A slight blush came over his cheeks as he admitted, "I don't know how to

swim Luna. I have never been before."

She stood up pulling out her wand. With a flick of the wrist she turned

his swim trunks bright orange before offering him a small impish grin,

"Need to protect you from tentacleoppous. Come on lets teach you."

The girl grabbed his hand and physically dragged the boy off to the

water. A stray question went through his head as she did, 'Why could

Luna always pull down my walls and defenses?'

Omake – Stubby Boardman – Ads campaign

A crack rumbled through the room as Kreacher appeared next Sirius' desk

as the man worked on reports for the family. The man looked over to see

the elf holding a letter addressed to him. With a sigh he took hold of the

letter and broke the seal.

A quick read of the letter made it seem to be from Mr. Greengrass. A

publicity stunt was arranged for him to appear as Stubby Boardman at an

event for talk about a new set of muggle pills for recovery from injuries.

The letter hinted at numerous females that wanted a chance to see

Stubby might be there waiting for him. Not to mention that the muggle

firm would make a donation in his name to the James Potter Foundation.

All he needed to do was make an endorsement of their pills and it would

be captured on some posters and advertisements.

The idea seemed simple enough to Sirius as a smile crept over his face.

He remembered when the marauders snuck out of Hogwarts one day and

played a gig as the infamous band the Hobgoblins. It was a blast and

surprisingly they somehow managed to become famous as a band. There

was even a piece done in the Quibbler that talked about Stubby

Boardman appearing from retirement.

The memories and smile made the Lord of House Black laugh brightly,

"Indeed, this will be a good event to do. It will remind me of the good old

days. Plus perhaps I can help convince some wizards take this muggle pill

to help their pains."

So it was decided that Sirius would arrive to the event in three days.

The event seemed pretty straightforward when Sirius arrived. He was met

by a beautiful red haired woman with a slender body and large rack that

was barely covered. She smiled brightly towards him, "Mr. Boardman, I

can't say how much of an honor it is to meet you. I am Anna. I will be

helping to oversee the advertisement. Thank you for doing this, you will

help change the lives of thousands of men."

Sirius gave the woman a once over with his eyes then smiled brightly, "I

hope to change the lives of more than a few women as well."

She let out a bright laugh as she smiled, "Indeed, I am sure you will. I just

want to say though how brave it is that you are doing this."

He was a bit confused at her words but offered a smile as she guided him

over to the set. The setting was a study room that one would find in a

nobles house. Actually just like the one back at the Black Household.

There was a large fireplace that was lit with numerous books on the

mantle. A huge leader chair was parallel to the fireplace which he was

directed to sit down in.

"Now Mr. Boardman, we need you to sit there and when it is time read

the line off of the cards. We will take a few pictures and using a new

technology the pictures will be placed on large screens at a few quidditch

stadiums. We have found a way to have the words you speak play

whenever your picture cycles through." She spoke with obvious

excitement as she bounced on the toes of her feet. This action drew the

eyes to her large chest bouncing with her movements.

She smiled at the rock star and motioned to the chair, "Take a seat and

get comfortable. The photographer will start in a moment. Oh here is the

new product."

Sirius took hold of the box and looked it over. It seemed to a large

number of strange chemicals mixed together. He gave a sigh then

shrugged. Muggles who knew what type of madness they created with

their scientific experiments?

The photographer and recorder called for everyone to get ready. Then a

few pictures were taken of him holding up the product and smiling or

giving a wave.

"Perfect, now Mr. Boardman please say your line." The recorder called

out as they hit a few buttons to record his voice

"I am Stubby Boardman. I use Viagra because it gets me up just like I

used to as a teenager!" Sirius spoke proudly with his best winning smile

as the photographer took a few photographs.

"Perfect, that is a wrap!" The Photographer called brightly as they started

to pack up their things.

Anna met him quickly and guided him away with a smile. She tried to

get her number but instead she merely took his and said she would call

someday. He left there quickly after being told that it was a success and

the donation would be done shortly for the James Potter Foundation. As

a bonus he was given tickets for two for a box at the next Puddlemere vs

Chudley quidditch game which would have the banner up before the

start of the game.

A few weeks later Sirius and Narcissa arrived at the box that they were to

share for the quidditch match. Originally Sirius was going to try to take

Harry but the boy was still at school so he couldn't make it. So he took

Cissy with him as it never hurt to have a beautiful woman on the arm. He

escorted her over to the front row of their box where they could see the

large banner floating in the middle of the stadium.

The banner was cycling through different advertisements as it floated

there in the middle of the stadium. After five minutes it flashed to a

picture of Sirius. As soon as it did he felt something in the pit of his

stomach.

The top of the banner read the line, "if Stubby can get it up so can you!"

The bottom of Banner read, "Viagra, better than a Pepper-up Potion!"

While he was noticing this he head his voice call out filling the stadium,

"I am Stubby Boardman. I use Viagra because it gets me up just like I

used to as a teenager!"

He turned his gaze from the banner to his date for the night Cissy. She

looked at the banner then back at him then broke out in laughter.

Sirius turned red as he whispered softly, "Harry James Potter, I will get

my revenge!"

Author note: I am sorry for the large information dump in this chapter. I

know it was a bit much but I felt it was good for the future chapters if my

plans come to fruition. I know the chapter was slow but I promise the

story will pick up. I hope the little bit of Luna wasn't too far off and the

Omake was amusing. Sorry for not getting this chapter Beta'd but I

haven't heard from Nedry still. I figure I will give him another chapter

before looking for a new beta. I am sorry for being a little mean making

folks think Harry wanted Hermione for a wife but unfortunately for HR/

H folks it won't happen in this story. Please give me your opinions on the

chapter and story. I look forward to your feedback always!

6/22/14 – reposted for quick edits suggested by Shade314

17. An overdue visit

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: ?

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

"Are you going to swim Harry or just read all day?" She smiled dreamily

towards him again.

A slight blush came over his cheeks as he admitted, "I don't know how to swim

Luna. I have never been before."

She stood up pulling out her wand. With a flick of the wrist she turned his

swim trunks bright orange before offering him a small impish grin, "Need to

protect you from tentacleoppous. Come on lets teach you."

The girl grabbed his hand and physically dragged the boy off to the water. A

stray question went through his head as she did, 'Why could Luna always pull

down my walls and defenses?'

Breakfast in the great hall was always a noisy affair. Students would

devour their food quickly while awaiting the arrival of mail owls from

home. Today was no different for the hall in general as numerous owls

flooded the chamber carrying news and warm wishes of love from home

to the assembled tables.

What were different were two things. First, an owl landed before

Professor Flitwick. The bird was a school owl carrying a parchment

attached to its leg. It was uncommon for a school owl to be used by a

student to send a message to a professor. But, it was not unheard of it the

student didn't want to let others know who had sent the message.

The little professor took the parchment and unsealed it to read quickly.

The parchment was very short and simple.

Nargles infest your House; deal with them before I exterminate them.

No name or signature was on the parchment and the writing did not look

like any that he was familiar with. A weird occurrence and rather

frustrating that something was a threat against his young Ravens. But,

that brought up the question of what was these nargles that were written

about? He never had heard of any creature and he was certain that

Hogwarts would protect against anything too serious. Still, there was that

troll first year, so he resolved to speak with Hagrid about the nature of

Nargles later that day.

At the same time as Flitwick received his letter a pair of owls swooped

down to the Ravenclaw table carrying boxes. They both landed before a

cute little dirty blonde haired girl with dreamy blue-grey eyes. She

looked extremely surprised to get mail other than the quibbler, not to

mention gifts. Tentatively she reached forward to plug up the scroll

attached to one of them of the boxes and read it over.

You never told me your birthday was last week Luna. Friends normally get

each other gifts for their birthday. Please accept these as gifts from me.

Your friend,

Harry

A startled look came over the girl as she looked up and met the emerald

gaze of the dark haired boy. A bright smile was given to her from the boy

who caused her chest to flutter. Nibbling on her bottom lip to hold back

the tears, this being the first time she could remember getting a gift from

anyone besides her father, she slowly opened the boxes. The boxes

appeared to be enspelled to be enlarged. The first box opened up to show

ten pairs of shoes, everything from trainers to boots to heels. The bottom

of the box was marked in a series of runes; she noticed the same runes

were etched onto the bottom of each shoe. She wasn't certain of what the

different runes were for; still the gift was wonderful and unexpected.

The second box was much smaller in size then the first. When opened

Luna found a pair of bracelets and earrings. The bracelets were made of

Dwarven silver interlace with butterbeer cork while studded with

emeralds. The earrings too were crafted of silver each containing one

large emerald in them. All of them contained the same rune which

appeared on the bottom of the box. The bracelets each had etchings in

Latin, "Friend of House Potter."

By the time Luna finished looking at the gifts now she felt tears on her

cheeks. Still nobody around her could mistake the tears for anything but

happiness as her smile could light up the room. Despite all of the Ravens

around her trying to talk to her and find out who sent the gifts the girl

only had eyes for one person. She sought out those emeralds of her only

friend and saw him mouth to her, "You are welcome."

The young blonde haired boy stood in the middle of the empty quidditch

pitch. The late afternoon sun had merely an hour before it would

disappear behind the curve of the earth. His eyes roamed over the empty

stadium imagining the seats filled with wizards and witches and all of

them cheering for him.

Unconsciously his grip on the broom tightened as he imagined the place

screaming his name. His mind's eye could see the numerous beautiful

witches wearing little to nothing leaning over to congratulate him after

his victory. Each of the many women wanted to rush the pitch and give

him their own special showing of how appreciative they might be for his

victory. The young man raised his fist into the air imagining he was

holding up the snitch after a victory for House Slytherin, winning the

quidditch cup. He chanted to himself, his last name softly at first then

rising in volume to a yell, "Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy!"

"Was it a close match?" The teasing question broke the blonde out of his

imagination. The boy spun around on a knut before coming face to face

with Harry Potter. His cheeks turned crimson at being caught in a

childish daydream which caused a rare moment of stuttering for the

Malfoy heir, "I….."

Harry waved it off with a smile, "Don't worry despite who we are, we are

still young enough to dream cousin. Besides this year maybe you will get

a chance to win the House Cup."

A un-Malfoy like snort came out from the Slytherin boy as he watched

Harry, "of course Slytherin will win the cup Potter. We are the best."

"Well, you weren't the last two years." A slight grin came over the lips of

the boy-who-lived as he mounted is broom to float over the ground. "But,

I am not playing this year so it is possible if you brush up your seeker

skills a bit, you may win."

"My skills at being a seeker are fine Potter." The blonde haired boy

snapped back at his raven haired rival.

"Perhaps but I can make them better." Harry said as he floated away a

few feet in the air before shooting like a rocket towards the far end goal

rings. He quickly dove through the middle ring before sweeping around

to streak high into the air. The raven haired star seeker then dove

towards the ground at breakneck speed onto to perform a Wronski feint

before he finally floated back to his cousin. The crimson robed boy

appeared to not even be out of breath as he grinned at Draco, "For a

price…"

"How very Slytherin of you Potter." The lips of the blonde haired boy

twisted into a smirk as he studied his school nemesis. "What do you want

for these extra lessons?"

"I am not looking for very much." Harry smiled as he pulled off his seeker

gloves and studied the fingernails of his right hand. "I want you to agree

to train someone in etiquette for Wizarding society. You can meet them

once a week for a few hours privately. Both of you will be respectful at

the time to each other though."

"Who is this person?" The Malfoy heir narrowed his eyes at the Potter boy

and the express sentiment of being respectful.

"It is a secret. Do you accept?" Harry pulled back on his gloves reaching

into his pocket to palm a golden snitch.

Draco studied the boy and the snitch knowing that picking up a few of

Potter's tricks would help perhaps make the different against Chang,

Diggory and whomever Gryffindor put up, "Very well Potter, as long as it

is not a Weasley we have a deal."

Harry activated the snitch then offered a rare smile for his cousin, "Good,

then let's get to work."

Hermione had an interesting few weeks. She had been busy with her

work on the runes project, which was completed already! She just needed

to let Harry know that it was ready. In addition, she had been

researching everything she could on House Potter, magical adoptions and

laws in the magical world. The great thing about all of this research is

she had stumbled on her future career choice.

She realized with all of the intricacies and knowledge required for

solicitors she might be a perfect candidate to become one. Always

Hermione had been perfect at the details which seemed to be another

requirement of a good solicitor. After all the brightest witch of her age

should find a good job that can make an impact. Plus she could perform

this career in the magical and muggle world. Sure she would need to find

a good college, and she wasn't certain how the Hogwarts grades would

translate but she was certain she could figure it out. The possibility was

there that she could learn every law in the magical world, and then she

might be able to help change their world.

Harry had given her keys and the opportunity with his offer of adoption.

Still a part of her was fighting the chance. Before meeting her friend,

Hermione had always been on her own. She had always made due for

herself, and of course she was proud of the results. Taking the offer from

Harry seemed in her heart to be cheating, a quick path to finding her

success.

The other part of her mind made her consider that this offer wasn't just

political. It was a chance for Harry to have a family. He never had one

growing up and the face he care for her that much that he wanted her to

become his sister was amazing. It warmed her heart to think that he truly

cared for her that much that he wanted her as his only sibling. A brother

was something she had always wanted but unfortunately due to

complications with her mother it was never a possibility. This could be

that chance.

This was the moral dilemma running through her head as she walked to

the door of the room on the third floor. The message from Harry had

been vague, only that she was to meet in the room hat had held Fluffy in

first year. Her friend had written that he had arranged a gift of

knowledge. Could the boy be vaguer? Harry could be such a pain when

he wanted to try to hide something!

The busy haired girl reached forward and pulled open the door walking

in to find the last person in the world she expected or wanted to see.

It was Harry's least favorite day of the year. The day known commonly as

Samhain, Halloween, or to the Wizarding World of Britain, the day that

He-Who-Shall-Not-be-named was defeated but to Harry Potter it was a

day that his parents were murdered. Normally Hogwarts held a large

feast that required all members of the student body and staff to attend.

While everyone else experienced a party, tonight Harry would be in

turmoil the entire time.

So it was on that morning Harry was surprised when he walked he

walked into the great Hall for breakfast and found two people standing at

the staff table walking to the Deputy Headmistress. These two people

Harry would know from anywhere. The bright neon pink hair, beautiful

body that was plain to see even under robes and great smile next to the

mischievous man that had an aura of confidence. His godfather Sirius

Black and dear friend Nymphadora Tonks.

It took all of Harry's restraint not to rush to them both right away to

wrap them into a hug but the young man resisted. Instead he slowly and

quietly walked forward to stand just behind the small gathering. Harry

was silent as a mount and careful to be seen since it appeared that this

was a rather animated chat. The only two questions on his mind were

what had he done wrong lately? And second was Tonks here to pick her

up underwear that Sirius had sent via Owl to him?

"It is most irregular to take a student from school without prior notice

Sirius. Unless it is a family emergency it is not done Sirius." Professor

McGonagall seemed to be getting annoyed in her lecturing tone.

"I don't care. He will be going with us today Minerva." The glare shot to

the woman by his godfather could truly fit in the past rumors that the

man was crazy. "I don't care about your bloody feast and party. He is

needed elsewhere today."

"And where is he needed that is so important? The Headmaster has plans

here, and guests coming, I can not release the boy without his

permission." The woman spoke up with her arms crossed over her chest.

The pink haired young, sexy woman interrupted the talk, "Professor, may

I ask a question?"

"Of course you can Nymphadora." Professor McGonagall turned her

unsympathetic gaze onto the young woman. The use of the young

woman's full name, despite knowing she hated it stated the older

woman's current demeanor. Still a polite smile touched her tightly sealed

lips, which was more than Sirius was getting at the moment.

"What is today's date Profess?" A pink eyebrow raised as the teenager met

the gaze over the older woman challenging.

"October 31st, Samhain of course." The woman seemed to not put

together the pieces of Tonks question. Honestly she was partly wondering

if the young Auror may have just be a little lost mentally, she never was

the most put together person after all.

"And what even happened to Harry on this day?" The younger woman

continued with patience despite the demeanor of the older witch.

"He …. Oh dear lord… We have been…" The older witch seemed to

shrink into herself. It was a heartbreaking sight, especially to Harry who

had gotten close to the older witch over the past few months.

The boy in question stepped from behind his godfather and reached out

to surprise the old, strict woman by reaching out to give her arm a

squeeze. A rarity as normally he never sought out human contact, "It is

okay Professor. You never realize what this day meant to me… I am

certain now that you know you will not mind if I leave for the day with

my family to mourn?"

The boy looked up and met the gaze of his godfather; he couldn't help

but admire the fire in the gaze of Sirius Black. The man looked better

than he had a few months ago; he was getting better after his years of

treatment in Azkaban prison. He still had a long way to go till he was

back to his old form, but today he could see the fire in those eyes that

would not be denied. Today was the day he was going to spend with his

adopted son and to hell with anyone that gets into his way, minister,

Chief Warlock or Merlin himself wouldn't stop the man from spending the

day of James and Lily's death with Harry.

The trio left the Great Hall at a brisk pace to get away from the school.

They would walk down to Hogsmeade before apprarating to their

destination. It took only a few minutes to leave Hogwarts grounds before

they slowed their pace.

On the way Harry smiled at the pair, "Not that I don't mind being rescued

on today of all days but what do I owe the pleasure exactly? Is Nymph

here for her panties that you stole and sent tied to the legs of the Black

Family Owl?" I love the pink by the way; it matches your hair nicely."

A pink eyebrow raised as a glare was turned towards Sirius. She jumped

almost falling over in surprise as she felt a pinch on her backside, "Eeek!"

The swat on his shoulder was a small price to pay for the feel of the cute

Auror for the rave haired boy. Add to the fact that Nymphadora didn't

think to remove his hand from her backside as they walked, or so he

thought.

"Harry, I am going to beat you if you don't remove your hand." The older

teen whispered with playfulness to her threat.

The boy grinned back at her and winked, "You say that now but later you

will be whimpering for my hands to give you a massage. Just like you

were crying for them all summer."

"More like you will be crying for the chance to touch perfection green

eyes." The sentiment of sternness was ruined for the pink haired girl by

her sticking her tongue out at the younger teen.

"We shall see Nymphie." Harry's eyes flashed with enjoyment at the

challenge at the girls smile.

Sirius, on the other hand was enjoying the two of them together and

making a mental note to file these moments away for future teasing. The

other part of his mind was considering the possible ultimate prank. The

fact that his niece and godson were getting close promised the possibility

of hours of future enjoyment and teasing opportunity for the Lord of

House Black.

The evil calculating gleam in the eyes of the man was noticed by Harry

who cleared his throat and decided to speak up," Padfoot, what is the

plan today?"

All happiness on the face of Sirius drained away; it was almost as if was

dementor had appeared to suck away the warm thoughts that had been

flowing through his mind. He spoke somberly, "We are going somewhere

you should have been brought to a long time ago. Another failure of your

magical guardian, the only consultation is that I get to be the one to take

you. It is more fitting in my opinion, too bad Remus couldn't come."

The trio walked down to a magical plant shop. There Sirius purchased a

dozen white lilies and a dozen roses before handing them to Harry

Nymph to carry. Finished what they needed from Hogsmeade the trio

quickly apparated to their destination.

Harry, Sirius, and Nymph appeared in an alleyway of Godric's Hollow.

Godric's Hollow was a small town, with a mixed population of muggle

and magical. In the past the muggles there were once squibs that slowly

forgot their magical nature. The magical population was about the same

size as Hogsmeade. Harry was a little surprised as he looked around

having never been there before. Then again he had rarely been anywhere

before this summer. They didn't spend too much time looking around as

instead Sirius quickly dragged them down the street to the cemetery.

The cemetery was filled with muggle graves, the trio walked past them

quickly towards a ward line. Harry could feel wards as they passed into

the magical section of the Graveyard. Once there they noticed numerous

graves of families he knew. There were graves of the Dumbledore family,

The Moody Family, The Smith family, and some of the Peverell family.

Strangely he didn't see any members of the Potter family till they came

upon his parent's grave. Once there the concern over why there were no

graves to his family was dismissed instead at the sight before his eyes.

I loving Memory

Of

James Potter Lily Potter

Born Born

27th March 1960 30 January 1960

Died Died

31st October 1981 31st October 1981

The Last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death

For twenty minutes Harry stood there speechless. He didn't notice when

Sirius placed his arm around his shoulders. Nor did he feel when Nymph

wrapped her arm around his waist. He didn't notice the wind whistling

through the trees or the birds chirping in those same trees. He only stood

there staring at where his mother and father rested.

The silence was broken after twenty minutes as Sirius spoke up. The

man's voice was broken as tears touched his cheeks as he whispered,

"Harry, I know it is tough. It is hard to think of what might have been…"

The man fell silent as his voice gave out and instead gave a squeeze to

the shoulder of the boy. Another few minutes went by in silence before

Nymph stepped forward and placed down the roses on the grave of

James Potter. She broke the silence to speak softly, "Thank you for giving

us a wonderful gift. Your son is an amazing person. He is warm and

friendly, thoughtful and kind. I am sure you are watching over him and

you are extremely proud of him. He means a lot to us and I swear I will

do anything to keep him safe and happy for all of his days."

Harry looked up as Nymph fell silent; he felt warmth spread over him

from his heart after hearing her words. Slowly he raised his hand up and

latched onto her own hand as she stepped back to his side. He could feel

her give a squeeze to his hand and gently pull him forward. He could feel

his godfather step forward behind him.

Sirius whispered through a cracked voice choked with tears, "She is right

Harry. I know they would be proud of you. They loved you so very much.

We love you very much too."

The fingers of the older man squeezed to the young man's shoulder.

Harry leaned down to place the flowers down on the grave of his mother.

He felt the hands of Nymph and Sirius withdraw as his godfather spoke,

"We will give you some time alone Harry."

The raven haired boy nodded his head as he felt them withdraw back to

give some privacy. Then he turned his gaze back to the gravestones a

stray thought went through his head, 'never knew their birthdays.' He

made a mental note to remember the date to come back each time.

Harry gently reached forward to brush his fingertips against the grass.

"Hello Mum and Dad. I know I am a decade late in visiting. If I had

known you were here I would have come earlier."

He swallowed and closed his eyes, "I haven't had the best of life so far.

There are so many things I wish I could have done with you both." He

paused again as he felt tears run down his cheeks but forced a smile,

"Thank you for Sirius, he is going to help take care of me now. It seems

that something good is finally happening in my life. We have made some

plans to change things. Just like mum always wanted to change things."

Harry smiled as he started to feel better. The more he talked of them the

better he felt. So he started to tell his story. For the next three hours he

told them everything from his time with the Dursley through his first

years of school. He talked of his first year of school. How he was made a

seeker, how horrible Snape was to him, what it felt like to know that he

killed a man who was his own Professor. Harry poured his heart out

about his second year, the whole school turning against him, his fight in

the chamber of secrets with a thousand year old basilisk and finally how

Lord Malfoy tried to kill him.

A smile crossed the lips of the boy as he told his father about getting to

meet his mother. How he met Nymph and learned about his family. He

blushed as he spoke of the summer with her. The trial, joining the

Wizengamot and the rest of the summer followed. He spoke of everything

he could think of and before he knew it three hours had past.

Finally, he stood up and carefully walked to the gravestones there giving

each of them a kiss and gently touching it. Though he knew it was only

his imagination both felt warm to the touch just as his heart felt lighter

after telling his tale. The touch on the shoulder and hand taking his own

told him that the others were back. The boy turned towards the touch

and smiled, "Thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"I know Pup, I know." Sirius spoke before giving him a strong hug. The

man gave him a squeeze that was surprisingly strong for someone that

had been in prison for years on end. "Let me go pay my respects then we

will go home for a nice dinner. We can come tomorrow to visit the

house."

He stepped away from Harry only to be replaced by the warm embrace

that smelled of lavender and vanilla. Pink hair obscured the vision of the

young man as he felt his head nestled against the crook of her neck. A bit

of crimson touched his cheeks as he felt a pair of rather large melons

pressed against his chest. Then fingers slowly rolled through his long

raven hair as a warm whisper brushed against his cheek, "Are you

alright?"

"I am fine Nymph. I promise you. Thank you for everything." Harry spoke

softly as he leaned forward to squeeze her back in a tight hug. His cheeks

still stained crimson at the closeness to her despite feeling comforted.

She leaned back and looked into the emeralds of the younger teen a smile

crept over her face at the look of red over his cheeks. "Are you sure you

are alright?

"You two ready to go? We will have a small family dinner tonight at

Grimmauld place. I am going to make certain you have one safe and

happy night for Samhain." Sirius smiled at the two of them as he reached

out to offer his hand.

Harry gave a smile to Nymph then glanced at graves one last time before

he took the hand of his godfather, "Yes, let's spend time together as they

would have wanted."

The trio took hands then apparated away for a safe happy Halloween.

The first Harry had since coming to the magical world.

Author Note: I am sorry for the delay. I had problems writing this

chapter. I seem to have lost my beta as well sadly. If anyone would

be interested in going through my horrid grammar and proofreading

for the story I would welcome it. I had more than a few people

wanting me to go faster with the storyline. As always please feel

free to give me suggestions and advice for a better story. Any

comments and suggestions are always welcome. No Omake this time

but I promise one next time. (do folks like them?)

Story Recommendation: Harry Potter and Hogwarts U by zArkham –

He is an amazing writer with rich worlds. The story puts an older

harry going to Hogwarts as a University instead of a normal high

school.

18. A Black Morning

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: ?

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

"You two ready to go? We will have a small family dinner tonight at

Grimmauld place. I am going to make certain you have one safe and happy

night for Samhain." Sirius smiled at the two of them as he reached out to offer

his hand.

Harry gave a smile to Nymph then glanced at graves one last time before he

took the hand of his godfather, "Yes, let's spend time together as they would

have wanted."

The trio took hands then apparated away for a safe happy Halloween. The

first Harry had since coming to the magical world.

It was the best dream he had ever experienced in his thirteen years of

life. In the dream slowly a beautiful woman with a firm backside and full

C cup breasts slowly rubbed against his side. She wore a black corset and

matching silk panties. Her skin was ivory reflecting the moonlight and

long curly pink hair fell down her shoulders to spill like curtains over her

back and chest. In the dream he never saw her face but he knew who she

was. Slowly she rubbed all over his side and as her hands wandered over

to the tent in his boxers. Her fingers were magic as she slid down his

body to between his legs. A quick flash of a smile was all that was seen

on her face through the curls before she disappeared under the sheets.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and this was one of

them. While the dream seemed to just start to get to the good part Harry

awoke with a surprise. On the bright side he was awoken by the girl of

his dreams as standing over him in a short skirt, too tight Led Zeppelin t-

shirt and thigh high socks was Nymph. The downside was she was

holding an enchanted cup that had contained an endless supply of ice

cold water which had just been tossed onto his nether regions. The

scream that Harry let out was most girlish even according to Kreacher.

The only nice part was when Nymph wasn't expecting the younger teen

to reach up and grab hold of her pulling her down into the freezing cold,

wet bed. The ensuing wrestling match was something that could have

sold out if tickets were released at Hogwarts.

Of course it was in the most compromising position that they were found.

Harry pinned down by Nymph who was straddling his hips. Both of them

had their shirts soaked wet and heaving for breath. The room had a

definite chill between the ice cold water and the thrashing of the pair as

Nymph's nipples promptly stood out from her shirt.

Narcissa Malfoy cleared her throat drawing the attention of both of the

teens to her and Sirius standing at the doorway.

"I told you the Pup had it. He is a lady's killer already." Sirius commented

to Narcissa whose lips were compressed into a definite thin smirk.

She raised her chin as she studied the pair, "Indeed, while it is

understandable for him to have a few bastards to prove he is viral and in

case of trouble, I am not certain if my niece should carry one of them."

"I don't know. Think of it the child would be more pure Black blood in it.

Plus wouldn't it be enjoyable to see the look on Andromeda's face." Sirius

lips twisted into the largest possible smirk.

At this moment both of the teens looked between the pair of adults then

back at each other. The blood vessels in their faces seemed to explode as

they turned completely crimson in color before leaping off of each other.

Nymphadora showed her famous dexterity falling down to collapse onto

the ground instead of her feet after she leapt off of Harry.

Harry on the other hand pulled his covers all the way up, partly to hide

the rather impressive bulge for a young man and partly just to hide. He

did try to recover by clearing his throat and speaking up, "I didn't hear

anyone knock on my chambers door."

"Oh we knocked three times. Just there was so much groaning and noise

in here…." Narcissa kept her smirk as one eyebrow raised slowly studying

the boy. She turned to look at Sirius, "I will be reviewing the first month's

budget for the Foundation downstairs. When they are done with their

play perhaps the young Lord can come join me. We can share the news

then with him."

She turned and walked away with a sway of the hips that drew the eye of

both men to her. Both Sirius and Harry let out a sigh when she was out of

sight then caught each other looking and broke out into a pair of

identical grins. That was at least until a clearing of a throat turned their

attention to Nymph who shook his head once then scampered past with

far less grace, "I will be downstairs for breakfast."

Harry saw her shoot one glare at him, as if all of this was somehow his

fault! Then she was gone and he was left alone with Sirius. He started to

get dressed and ready for the day as his godfather leaned against the door

frame. "You know, despite the joking she might be a good choice

someday."

"She is my cousin, my family… I couldn't…" Harry babbled out at once

before taking up his tooth brush and tooth paste.

"And my parents were cousins as well. I turned out pretty good if I do say

so myself." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows with a smile that screamed

mischief.

"She would never want me, I am far too young for her. She just loves to

tease me is all." Harry rolled his eyes as he started to brush his teeth

before grabbing a towel.

"I don't know about that Pup. Age is just a number after all." Sirius smiled

as he turned to head downstairs.

Harry yelled back as his godfather walked off, "You just say that because

I know you want to hit on some of those seventh years for a fresh catch!"

He didn't need to hear the stumble down the stairs by his godfather to

know he hit the mark.

It was three hours later and the Blacks had finished their morning

breakfast and retired to the Library office. Narcissa had taken over the

small office attached to the Black Library for her own use. She had

turned the desk there into her own private workplace for the James

Potter Foundation. Everything from designs, plans, policies and even

Wizengamot bills they were planning to submit was located there. It was

part of that stack that Harry was currently reviewing.

The bill, as he understood it was a rider that would be attached to a

Wizengamot bill. It was an amendment that had been proposed to help

fund the foundation through Ministry taxes. The tax was something that

was already collected just at the moment was given to the Improper Use

of Magic Department. Since that Department normally helps to contain

the use of magic in muggle areas normally the muggleborn issue would

be added to their overview. This bill would shift the responsibilities from

the Improper Use of Magic Department to be paid out instead to the

James Potter Foundation. The Foundation would already be protecting

the muggleborns, now their officers would actually have the power to

investigate and legally protect muggleborn children.

The Ministry didn't know that the purpose of for the James Potter

Foundation was that they were planning to hire a large number of

muggle raised and muggleborn graduates from Hogwarts to use them in

the future as a protective force and even when Voldemort comes back a

military force. Part of the problem for financing would be cleared up but

the major issue of recruitment was still there.

Harry placed down the documents with a frown, "Where did we decide to

base the organization?"

Sirius broke into a rather large grin, "I have offered Castle Black. I felt it

fitting that we will be putting the operation there. Officially it is off of

the coast of England so it could be qualified as not part of Wizarding

Britain if we must. It is completely hidden, unmapped under a ritual like

a Fidelius charm that I can remove the power of someone to find. If

things go pear shaped up here in England then we can easily withdraw in

the future to there as a safe location to plan and counter attack. To put it

simple, it is the perfect place for our activities. I already have some of the

Black House Elves preparing it. We shall move training and operations

there by Yule."

"It sounds perfect Padfoot." Harry smiled to his godfather before turning

his gaze onto Narcissa, "All so far have accepted the oath and written

contract without complaint?"

The elegant woman gave a slight shrug, "Three candidates declined our

offer after they realized it required a binding magical contract and

magical oath to work for us. But, overall the support has been rather

receptive. We have hired ten muggleborns in multiple areas as we

outlined. Two are hopeful potioneers, One is a muggleborn healer, Sirius

was able to contact two retired Aurors who were both muggleborns for

trainers. The others are fresh graduates, mainly from some of the smaller

schools about England that needed work. Since they are muggleborns and

not from Hogwarts it is extremely hard for them to find work despite

impressive grades. If we can keep Sirius from chancing away the women

when he interviews them I am certain we will do well."

The Lord Black put on his most innocent look towards his godson and

cousin before letting out a sigh as if he was hurt by their words. "I cannot

help it if they feel amazed to be in my very presence."

Harry glanced at Nymph as they both smirked at the words. Then he

turned his attention back onto Narcissa, "I will speak with some of the

professors for recommendations of past and future graduates to consider.

Or at least speak with the Professors to find out which students are likely

to get an O grade on their NEWTS in Runes, Transfiguration, Charms and

Defense against the Dark Arts. Well, Sirius you can ask Professor Lupin."

Sirius' lips lost their smile as he frowned at his godson, "Harry, I know

you don't like him right now. But, I am asking you please as a gift to me

give him one chance."

Harry met the dark eyes of his godfather with his own emeralds holding

fiercely to his gaze. The frown that marred his face only added to the

anger in his emerald eyes. "I do not believe I will ever trust him…"

"Not even if he took an oath to prove he is trustworthy?" Sirius raised an

eyebrow as he looked at the boy.

A grimace crossed the lips of Harry as he broke the gaze with a sigh,

"Fine, I will give him one chance if he takes an oath that I prepare for

him. If he does that then I will give him another chance. Now on to other

matters, Narcissa have you encountered any push back in the

Wizengamot to our plans?"

"Yes, strangely enough the Weasley's seem to have sided with Lord Nott. I

always thought they were in Dumbledore's pocket, but now that Arthur

has gained a bit of power he seems to become more of a traditional

pureblood." The woman spoke with a patented smirk.

This news did surprise Harry, after all the family had been one of the

most down to earth prior. He may have had a falling out with them but

he never suspected Arthur to turn his back on his ways. Harry leaned

back into his chair and let out a sigh. So far the Weasley family had

denied his requests to get any memories of Ron from them to create the

memorial he wanted to have done. Still, did this change of position for

the Weasley family mean that they have moved away from the Chief

Warlock too? Or was this a way for Dumbledore to use his first family to

spy on the Darker Houses. Harry shook off the thoughts as he felt a

headache coming on if he followed that logic, "Keep me up to date on

what happens. I am curious to see if this will turn into their true position

of it they are merely playing the political game. I just hope I didn't create

my own enemy when I helped Mr. Weasley get that position."

"I will let you know what happens Harry, for now we are in a good

position between Andromeda and myself to control anything that comes

our way." She smiled then looked at the grandfather clock. Quickly she

stood up and brushed off her robes, "I need to depart for a meeting

shortly. Enjoy the rest of your semester and please don't fight too much

with Draco."

Harry rolled his eyes at the idea then let out a sigh, "I promise to be as

well behaved as Nymph was at school Aunt Narcissa."

After she left Nymph leaned over and whispered to him, "You do know I

was the Hufflepuff version of your father at school."

Harry locked his gaze with hers as his eyes danced with mischief, "I

know, we are Blacks so we have standards to keep up to."

"Damn right you do!" Sirius joined in with a smile. He let out a chuckle

then stood up too, "Well now that the paperwork is out of the way let's go

have some fun for the day. I promised you back by curfew so I think we

should enjoy the day."

While the past few months had not been bad for the Black family it was

far from nice for one particular rat. This rat had hidden for ten years with

the Weasley family, spending time there with them to find safety, food

and comfort. Well as much comfort as one could have when a rat. Of

course he had not always been a rat with them.

See Peter was a very dark and twisted soul. Peter was had a soul so dark

and twisted that he had needs and he would go to any length to appease

these needs when they came up. He was rather lucky in a way that Ms.

Weasley was an accomplished potions maker. She would often make

potions on the side to sell to help raise money for the family. These

potions would range from simple boil cures, to complex pain reliever

potions, she even made potions that would cause an individual to

daydream to pass the boredom. One particular potion she had actually

created, which sold rather well in witch weekly under an assumed name,

was a potion to allow a lover to see a different person. This potion when

taken would let the woman, no matter the shape or size of the man make

him appear as if he was the perfect form that she desired. She had put

the potion to quite a bit of testing for herself with Arthur. Actually often

he would sneak home to visit her during lunch from work and she would

take the potion to be ready for him and their "lunch dates."

Now poor Ms. Weasley had agreed with her husband to help spice up

their marriage they would always pretend that these lunch dates would

be a stranger with her. Furthermore after the first time they had arranged

one of these dates they had decided that she would never bring them up

except when they happened.

It was a funny thing that during the school year normally Scabbers would

disappear and make his way home. Funny indeed that often when the

boys got back from Hogwarts the rat had somehow almost always found

his way home first. It would have been far less funny to Ms. Weasley if

she ever found out that excitement of her marriage was actually never

with Arthur but instead with Peter Pettigrew.

But, all of that was past as now Peter had been on the run for weeks on

end. First he had tried to run to a few of the former Death Eater

residences but that did not go very far. It seemed no matter where he

might go, he was turned away. So finally the man had decided that there

was only one place he go to for safety. He knew that the shade of

Voldemort had returned, he had overheard that conversation already

between Ron and Harry. He knew too that Sirius Black had escaped. It

had even been printed in a copy of the Daily Prophet that his former

friend had placed a bounty on his head and hired bounty hunters to track

him down. So there was only one place to run to for safety, that was out

of England and to find the shade of Lord Voldemort.

Harry was walking towards dinner after he had been dropped off by

Nymph and Sirius. His mind was dwelling partly on the conversation

with his godfather about his future family duties. It seemed since Sirius

never could have a child it would be expected of him to someday give

heirs for both the Black and Potter families. It was a tall task to tell a

thirteen year old boy. But, the worst was part was when Sirius started to

give him "The Talk." Luckily his talk was very simple, he tossed a dozen

issues of play-wizard at Harry and told him to study up and ask him if he

had any questions. Of course on his way out he had to mention if Harry

asked too many questions he might have Nymph give the boy a quiz.

It was in these thoughts that the boy was lost, which is why he didn't

notice Malfoy stepping out of an abandoned classroom to grab his arm

and pull him in. When he recovered, which was soon as he was pulled

into the room, the Malfoy heir found a wand snapped to under his chin

and a blazing eyed Potter Heir staring him down. Draco wisely released

him and stepped back, "Potter, I needed to see you right away. The deal

is off. I can't do it."

A single eyebrow rise from the Potter Lord at the other young man, "Oh,

a Malfoy backing out of a deal? After I gave you enough lessons to

completely destroy Gryffindor as you had dreamed; now you will back

out of the deal?"

"No, but we can't stay in the same room. She is just too arrogant. I will

not put up with it." Draco glared at Harry as he spoke with barely

concealed rage.

Harry had to fight back a snort and will himself not to break into

laughter. He was almost certain that tonight he would be jumped by

Hermione and have this exact conversation about Draco as well. He let

out a sigh, "Well, you did make a deal. Do you have another way to keep

your end of the bargain for a tutor for Hermione?"

The Malfoy heir turned away and started to pace in his thoughts. He then

stopped and turned towards the raven haired boy, "I do know a good

candidate. Very well, I will arrange it. It will cost me a favor that she

owes me but it will be worth it."

"Good, then in my eyes the situation is resolved. Now, I shall be off to

dinner." The Potter Lord turned and left the chamber leaving Draco to his

plots and plans. It was nice this year that for once those plots and plans

didn't involve him.

The conversation with Hermione did indeed come later that evening.

Harry told her to wait and see and strangely enough Malfoy had come

through. Instead of meeting with Draco, Hermione started to have

meetings with Millicent Bulstrode. The large framed girl was a half-blood

but wizard raised for the traditions of Wizarding culture. It seemed even

better that she was an outsider caused by her looks and blood status and

had little friends. She seemed to fit well with Hermione and the two

strikes up a friendship.

Over the next month no major concerns happened to Harry for once. He

was able to go to classes, get exceptional grades, beating even Hermione

often, and continue his special lessons with professors. The lessons with

Flitwick and McGonagall were going smashing. Add to the fact that

Hermione and his special project were finished. He had gotten Mr.

Greengrass to place a magical patent on both the recording and playing

features of the device and the magical grenade he accidently invented.

They were already planning ways to remotely activate the devices to

record at key actions, people, or phrases. It would eventually be perfect

for the James Potter Foundation to protect the children. He was truly

considering taking his Owls at the end of the year for most of his classes.

There was nothing that stated he couldn't take the tests already and not

even retake them if necessary. But, with his ability since summer to pick

up anything the teachers taught him the first time, it seemed smart to try

to advance as quickly as possible.

He did accept Sirius' request and speak with Remus Lupin. It was an

interesting conversation when he came to the werewolf. He purposely

chose a day after the full moon, since the werewolf would be at his

weakest.

So there he stood before the desk of Remus Lupin. The man seemed to

have aged drastically through the year, but in reality he knew it was due

to the night before. The bags under the eyes highlighted the wrinkles and

exhaustion that the man felt. He was a man that Harry didn't trust, didn't

want to be here. Yet, he was because he made a promise to his godfather

and he would always hold his word when it came to Sirius Black.

"So Sirius wrote to me and told me that you might be willing to give it a

try with extra lessons Harry. I am glad you have come around. I really do

wish to make up for our time apart and I am sure that James would want

me to help look after you." Remus spoke up with a smile despite his tired

state.

Harry didn't respond at first, instead he reached into the pouch at his side

and pulled out a scroll to place down before the werewolf. He gave the

man a few minutes to look over the scroll before he spoke, "I don't need

someone to look after me Professor Lupin. I have family already with the

Blacks and I am not a child anymore since I am emancipated. But, I

promised my godfather I would give you another chance to be a part of

my life since you threw that opportunity away before."

He ignored the dark look given to him from the werewolf and before the

protest could be made he raised his hand, perhaps a little pompous but it

worked. "These are my requirements if we are to work together and

perhaps become friends. I have found too many individuals have had

ulterior motives for my life and I do not need to let someone into my life

that might have wishes like that. So I will accept tutoring only if you

agree to these terms."

"So in order to teach you, Harry, I need to swear not to share anything I

learn during our lessons or about any operations of House Black with

anyone else except if you release me to do so. Second it seems that

whatever we speak about together would be kept private. Finally, you

will choose the scope of the extra lessons. I take it that I can make

suggestions?" The older man raised an eyebrow after reading off the list.

He frowned noticing that it was written as a magical binding contract. He

couldn't help but wonder what the Headmaster would say since he

wanted updates on exactly what Harry would be learning from him. Not

to mention Albus wanted him to get comfortable with the boy and fish

for information about the plans he had and how he felt about many

different subjects. According to the old man, the boy had change

remarkably from last year where before he was withdrawn quiet and

yielding to everyone. Now it seemed Harry stood out proudly, knew what

he wanted and would stand up for himself.

The choice though was simple for Remus, he truly wanted to be in

Harry's life. He wanted to have the chance to learn who his best friend's

child really was. The only way to do that was to agree to Harry's terms

and take advantage of this opening. He pulled out his wand and raised it

into the air, "I, Remus Lupin, swear on my magic to the terms listed on

this contract. Furthermore I swear on my life that I will help and protect

you Harry James Potter."

The haggard man slid away his wand but not before slicing open his own

hand and picking up a quill to sign the magical contract in his own

blood. "Will you give me a chance to get to know you Harry? I want to be

part of that family you spoke about."

Harry was stunned by the actions of the man. In one move he had

removed almost all of the possible restraints he had from the man. He

parted his lips to show what the action meant to him, "Thank you

Mooney."

The smile that broke out over the worn down man's face was so bright

that it seemed the weariness melted away, "Good then let's get started. I

was told you were working on a certain charm?"

Harry raised his wand into the air concentrating on Halloween this year

with his new family then spoke firmly, "Expecto Patronum!"

Author Note: I wanted to give a quick follow up chapter to the one I

posted last night since I felt horrible that I made you all wait nearly

three weeks. I am looking for someone to help Beta my horrid

grammar if anyone feels up to reviewing my chapters. For this

chapter I incorporated a possible omake for it to see if it fit well into

the story. If folks end up liking it better separate let me know.

Thank you for the reviews and letting me know of your enjoyment

of the story. I always love to hear your thoughts.

19. The Crafty Transfiguration

Mistress

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: ?

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

The choice though was simple for Remus; he truly wanted to be in Harry's life.

He wanted to have the chance to learn who his best friend's child really was.

The only way to do that was to agree to Harry's terms and take advantage of

this opening. He pulled out his wand and raised it into the air, "I, Remus

Lupin, swear on my magic to the terms listed on this contract. Furthermore I

swear on my life that I will help and protect you Harry James Potter."

The haggard man slid away his wand but not before slicing open his own hand

and picking up a quill to sign the magical contract in his own blood. "Will you

give me a chance to get to know you Harry? I want to be part of that family

you spoke about."

Harry was stunned by the actions of the man. In one move he had removed

almost all of the possible restraints he had from the man. He parted his lips to

show what the action meant to him, "Thank you Mooney."

The smile that broke out over the worn down man's face was so bright that it

seemed the weariness melted away, "Good then let's get started. I was told you

were working on a certain charm?"

Harry raised his wand into the air concentrating on Halloween this year with

his new family then spoke firmly, "Expecto Patronum!"

He stared at the back of the werewolf as the man closed the door to leave

his office. A sigh of frustration escaped the lips of Albus Percival Wulfric

Brian Dumbledore before he picked up a few pieces of his favorite candy.

The elder wizard tossed a couple of the sweet and sour gems into his

mouth to enjoy the tart taste of the lemon drops. If only life was as

simple as a good piece of candy. But instead sometimes it seemed for the

old man that life was far too frustrating.

The boy-who-lived seemed to be getting more and more independent.

While this had resulted in a few rivals and supporters of the Dark Lord

being dealt with not to mention the larger focus of support for

muggleborns it still went against the plans of his Great Good. After all,

Harry was supposed to follow his wisdom and his path. The boy should

become his apprentice and take after him as tradition dictated. He could

be the perfect choice for the next Leader of the Light, assuming that he

somehow survives his confrontation with Voldemort.

According to reports from his teachers the boy was excelling at every

subject except potions. He seemed to have finally flipped the switch as

muggles say and started to show he was worthy of attention. Perhaps

telling him the prophecy had been the correct choice, even if it was

forced. The boy now worked with a reckless abandon that shamed even

the brightest Ravenclaw. According to Minerva, Babbling and Filius there

was a good chance that the boy would be ready for his owls at the end of

the year! This was truly remarkable to accomplish, especially when

considering in prior years the boy had been a middle of the road student.

There had been a remarkable very few students that had been capable of

learning at a pace like the boy was. He was proud to say he was the last

one that had skipped years to take his owls early. Perhaps this was the

power that the Dark Lord knows not at work?

If so what was the reason that the boy was different now? There was so

many factors different with the boy from the end of last year to this one.

It could have been the influence of those horrid muggles or perhaps it

had been the poor influence on education of the Weasley boy? The

muggle wouldn't be bothering anyone ever again at least. Poor excuses

for humanity, steal from Albus Dumbledore? Ignore his plans and

requests to raise the boy properly, the beasts instead took his money to

spend on their fat pig of a child! A slight smile crossed the lips of the old

man as he sucked on the lemon drop wondering how that family will

enjoy the winter in Siberia. A few compulsion charms never hurt anyone

and nobody had to know. The family's house seemed to have already

been destroyed by Harry. He had given them a chance to start over;

everyone deserved a second chance after all. So what if it was starting

over with barely any money just before a Russian winter. It was only

fitting that they leave the country to never return.

The Weasley situation had been a frustrating one as well. It seemed that

not only had he managed to lose a valuable spy on Harry in the loss of

Ron Weasley but the family was now estranged to him. Molly, bless her

heart, still believed in the Greater Good. She will always see the long

term, after all she is the last of the Prewett family and they had always

been staunch fighters for the Light. She had understood and taken his

suggestion that the Dementor attack was the world of that Umbridge

woman. It was a surprise that she had ordered her family to abandon

Harry and saw him as much to blame as the Ministry. Of course Arthur

now having a prestigious position in the Ministry means there is little

need to be at the side of Harry. The family seemed to have distanced

itself from even himself slightly of late. Perhaps they were merely

shaking their wings or else it might be a possible sign of trouble in the

future. Still they were members of the Light and would come around to

the cause when Voldemort showed back up. It nothing else Arthur's new

position may be valuable in the Ministry to the Order.

Still, despite all else Harry was distant and that was a problem. Perhaps

he had made mistake in not listening to the boy's warning about Sirius.

Perhaps he should have called for a trial right away and investigated the

situation further or even forced the Dementor's away from the school.

While it would have been useful to have the Lord Black in debt to him,

he only had so much political capital. Choices had to be made and

sometimes sacrifices, that was the way of the world. Choose the good

fight for the Greater Good and sadly Sirius was not required for the

success of the plan. A missed estimate by him, but there was still

possibilities for fixing that situation. While Black now had legal control of

the boy, he had been making small inroads with his professors to the boy,

still there had to be more to regain his loyalty and trust.

The plan had been for the werewolf to be brought in to teach this year

and befriend the boy. Hopefully Remus could gain the trust of Harry by

talking about his father and their youth. But, it seemed that Remus, the

foolish brave boy that he was, decided to take a loyalty oath to Harry.

Remus would not talk about anything that he would teach the by without

Harry's permission. Furthermore he wouldn't let slip purposely any

knowledge he might impart on the boy or what the boy was planning. To

put it simply, it ruined the whole reason he had fought with the Board of

Governors to get the werewolf approved to teach.

It seemed Remus was a wash to be useful; perhaps he could at least guide

the boy to walk the path of the Light. A split second the thought that

Snape could perhaps infiltrate the boy's mind using legilimency but that

was dismissed right away. From the actions of the boy it seemed he had

already started to learn enough about the mind arts to know when he

would be assaulted. Add to the fact that Severus was a childish fool and

would not be able to ever control himself with anyone named Potter. It

just spelled disaster. No, Severus would not be a good choice unless he

wanted to end up getting charges filed against him for mental torture.

He would have to do it himself. When the boy was ready he would need

to just take young Harry under his wing and start to teach the boy some

of his special abilities. It might be called favoritism butit was more

important to get the boy prepared for what was to come.

Next year with that ridiculous tournament that the Ministry had coming

it would be the perfect time to train the boy. There would be multiple

schools visiting, since the boy was too young to be a champion he would

certainly want to learn more. No smart lad like Harry would be able to

resist comparing himself to students of the other schools. Harry will want

guidance to try to make up to the other students and he would be there

to give him that grandfatherly guidance. This would be the wonderful

chance to give the offer to tutor the boy personally. Yes, next year should

be the perfect opportunity to impart some wisdom and direct the path of

Harry. Plus if the boy had his OWLS already so much the better! He will

have to tell Minerva to push the boy even harder so this year he can get

the tests out of the way.

Albus smiled as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth happy over his

new plan to regain the trust of the boy.

~~~ SOTWW ~~~

Harry smiled as he looked down at the fish bowl that he created after a

month of work. Two little goldfish swam in circles around a tiny little

castle that was a replica of Hogwarts. He was ecstatic at his results. Not

only had been able to turn the block of wood into a fishbowl but he was

completed the multi-part transfiguration. He turned part of the wood into

water filling the bowl; some was of the wood turned into the castle along

with the rocks on the bottom. He had managed to create the water in the

bowl along with the very alive fish swimming around within it. It was a

remarkable work to complete, a five part transfiguration. Normally it was

not something seen until NEWT level work. But, Harry was anything but

normal and he had been working on the concepts and laws of the

transfigurations repeatedly over the month. It had been drilled into his

head relentlessly from Professor McGonagall.

She had started with the bowl first which was simple and something

learned in first year. Next came the difficult part to learn to transform the

water into the bowl at the same time. The creation of the water was

neither a big deal nor the bowl; it was doing both at the same time which

was difficult. The more directions the magic had to be imagined to take

at once, the more force of will and power required by the wizard. This

was an advanced concept that started to be touched upon during fifth

year normally. Harry had mastered it quickly and now was up to five

instant transfigurations at once. Finally, the creation of the fish was truly

a magnificent work since that normally could only be done during sixth

year work. All together it had been a frustrating few weeks where he

spent every night with Professor McGonagall.

Did he mention that he was annoyed with Professor McGonagall? She

was rather frustrated because of a game. Well not just any game,

Quidditch. So far Gryffindor had been defeated twice in the House

Quidditch league. It appeared that despite last year being the best team

they had in a number of years and easily winning the cup on the back of

Harry's amazing seeker play, this year's team was in ruins. Harry had not

asked about it but from the rumors the team was ready to implode.

There had already been a few fights between the Weasley twins and

Wood. The start of them happened once Harry had pretty much been

forced out of the team. The troublesome twins had taken to ignoring

some practices and instructions from Wood in games which ultimately

ended up in a fist fight. If that was not bad enough Katie Bell had been

continuously in arguments in Alicia and Angela. According to Hermione,

she was rather upset at the other paid from the "Flying Foxes" of

Gryffindor because of Harry's situation. Not only were the trio estranged

but she had threatened to quit after finding out about Harry's chosen

replacement. The new seeker for the team, Ginny Weasley, seemed to be

a competent flyer but she wasn't in the same league as Harry.

All of this had resulted in Gryffindor being destroyed by Slytherin and

then following that up by horribly losing to Hufflepuff by 300 points!

Was Harry a little sad and embarrassed for his House? Perhaps he was

slightly concerned that they looked like fools. Katie had been nice and

really didn't deserve the torture, neither did Wood whose only dream was

to play professional Quidditch. Maybe he was a little guilty of teaching

Draco how to fly better and become a better seeker. Currently the snakes

were 2-0 and looking to become Champions this year. But, overall Harry

just didn't care. Quidditch was fun, it was a wonderful game and he loved

to fly. But, he had no intention of giving support or even watching the

games when his heart wasn't in it.

So while Professor McGonagall was partly blaming herself for the

situation with her Quidditch team she was also proving demanding to

Harry with her expectations. She had made the fishbowl assignment to

Harry not expecting the boy to complete this level of transfiguration. In

all, this would be something she would expect of a NEWT level student to

try to complete in seventh year or someone special like Ms. Granger in

fifth years. Yet her lion cub had done it! He had become a prodigy just as

good as his father had been and perhaps even better!

She reached over and gently rested her hand on the shoulder of the boy.

He looked up at her with his mother's eyes shining. Her own gaze was

filled with pride for what the boy had accomplished. "This is simply

amazing Mr. Potter. It is a work of art to accomplish this level of

transfiguration. This is where we stop just casting spells and start to mold

creations that are astounding to the eye. I am so very proud of you."

The raven haired boy's cheeks turned pink at the compliment ad praise.

His left hand reached up slowly to embarrassedly run his fingertips

through his long hair. Just at the same time a sheepish smile crossed his

lips, "Thank you Professor. I just wanted to be up to your challenge."

The sound was strange to the ears of Harry; it was not something he had

ever heard come out of the lips of the stern witch, laughter. She was

actually laughing with a smile! "Mr. Potter, you have been up to the

challenge all year. I gave you this project hoping you would complete it

by the end of the next year or in two years not in a month's time! This is

something that will be hailed as remarkable, a generational talent."

The young Potter Lord blinked at the words in surprise and just realized

how much of his ability he had shown to the stern woman. Perhaps the

overwhelming drive to prove himself and make up for the past mistakes

may have bit him in the ass this time. He cleared his throat and tried his

best to look bashful, "Professor, can we not tell other of this? Please?"

The words brought the woman up short with a frown edging on the

corners of her lips, "Why ever not Mr. Potter?"

Harry scratched the back of his head as he looked down at his feet with

his best lost child look, "I already get attention all of the time because of

my parent's death and Voldemort. I don't want any more if I can help it.

Would it be possible to make this our secret? At least for now, please?"

The boy looked up with hopeful, innocent eyes to his Professor. She

swore that she felt her heart melt a little bit at the sight of young James,

her favorite pupil ever, looking at her. She was reminded when James

came to her asking for her help to learn to become an animagus. He had

gotten her to promise to keep it quiet and it had been a promise she kept

to this day. She knew in her heart that his son just managed the same

request. She let out a sigh, "Very well Mr. Potter. But, I expect you to

come to me only for any questions on transfiguration. If I am going to be

your confidant I will consider you my apprentice when you are ready."

She paused as she watched the boy blink and nod his head swiftly. A

slight smile touched the corners of her lips, one of the few this year,

"Good, but now that I know you are capable of completing this work I

will start to be demanding with your assignments. Am I understood Mr.

Potter?"

"Yes Professor. I swear I will do my best! I won't let you down! "Harry

smiled brightly to the elder witch.

"Good now let's work on your little hair changing ability that little

Nymphadora mentioned to me." The stern woman enjoyed the sight of

the boy's cheek's turning pink at the name of the teenage witch. So like

James.

~~~ SOTWW ~~~

The old saying is that time flies when you are having fun. In this case it

flew because Harry was so busy this year. Between classes each day,

extra lessons that he attended till late at night, homework, and extra

studies perfecting the rune project with Hermione the months seemed to

fly by and before he knew it was almost winter break.

The rune project had been perfected by Harry and Hermione. They

decided to name it the JP-Record or JPRec for short, and it could now

record up to ten hours of music or the Wizarding Wireless. Then it could

play what it recorded back. The James Potter Foundation would be the

front to sell the product. The Foundation was already designing

headphones to work with the product for those that want to list quietly

and not disturb others. In addition the Foundation was able to work out a

deal with the British Quidditch Leagues to record their playoff matches

and sell them as a permanent record for their fans.

The device so far was a success for the Potter foundation. While it was

difficult to create them as they were actually a rather intricate craft the

runic pattern, this was partly because there was a secondary overlay rune

pattern which hid all of the carved runes. The devices were set to be sold

for a profit, there was already numerous pre-orders from many of the

major shops in the alley that wanted to be the first to order the devices.

Sirius had even been able to arrange for a free hobgoblins song in each

device sold for the first year.

It was early December and he was truly getting excited at the prospect to

spend his Winter break with a real family. It was something that he had

never experienced before. So naturally he was excited when he received a

familiar owl. The beautiful white owl, Hedwig landed before him with an

angry hoot. She still was rather upset at him for this summer and it

seemed no amount of bacon would make up for it. Naturally he tried

again offering her a few pieces which she took, yet the glare was not out

of her eyes. Carefully Harry plucked out the parchment and broke the

seal from his godfather.

Hello Pup,

I hope this Letter finds you well. I figured I would let you know that the family

holiday dinner will be held at Castle Black instead of Grimmauld Place. I

figured it was a good time to show and our guest the operation. Yes, we will be

having a guest family join us. On another note, I remember your last letter

stated you have not gotten a date yet for the little dance at your school. Do

not worry Pup, I have taken the liberty of getting you a pair of dates. Trust

me, you will than me later. Also I would recommend be careful of Tonks. She

is rather upset at that prank you played which caused her clothing to become

see through whenever she entered the Ministry. I heard that it took her a full

ten minutes before she realized it. You are in sooo much trouble. Good luck.

Sirius

Harry slowly lowered down the letter with a bit of concern entering his

heart. He knew he was in deep shit with Nymph for that one, but even

more he knew that letting Sirius pick his date would mean trouble. Could

he trust his godfather not to stick him with a horrid date on purpose as a

prank? A part of him was worried that was just what the man would do,

but the other part knew that his adoptive father would most likely set

him up with the best time possible just to enjoy the outcome. At least he

got some mail; it was the first time in over a week. So he couldn't help a

smile creeping over his face from getting a letter.

So it was a surprise that Harry received a second owl while eating

breakfast. A school owl showed up carrying a letter addressed to him. At

first he was hesitant to take the letter but the writing on the front seemed

familiar. Slowly the young man reached out to take hold of the

parchment and broke the seal reading it over. At once his eyes rose

towards the Slytherin table and he saw the raised eyebrow of a dark

haired beauty as she met his emeralds with her sapphire gaze. He gave

her a single nod then carefully stood up and left the Great Hall.

It didn't take too long till he found the third corridor empty classroom

which once held Fluffy. A flick of the wand transfigured a bit of the

rubble from the past explosion into a pair of chairs for himself and his

guest. It was not too long till the pale dark haired beauty entered the

room. He allowed her to place the privacy wards before holding out a

chair gentlemanly for the beautiful snake. Then Harry stepped over and

settled into his own chair, "You wished to meet me Daphne?"

The young woman was absolutely stunning on the eyes. Her skin was

flawless, hair styled perfectly no matter what time of day, her clothing

kept properly ironed. No matter what the situation Daphne Greengrass

always appeared to the eyes of others calm and in control. Harry couldn't

help but wonder if her hair and clothing would be ruined in a blizzard.

Somehow he doubted it, yet a part of him wanted to find out someday if

he could stir the hornet's nest and find out. A tiny smile crossed his lips

at the thought as she started to speak. "You are in trouble Potter. Or at

least you are becoming a target again."

"What do you mean?" An eyebrow slightly rose at her words, yet

otherwise he appeared to be calm.

"I mean that it has been noticed over the past few weeks the lack of

tension with you and Malfoy. Sure there is a slight rivalry still but it is

not the same. Not to mention it is widely known your problems with the

Weasley family. Put it together and it means many of the snake pit that

you are vulnerable." She fell silent with a look of distaste on her lips after

having to speak such a large explanation that should be obvious.

"I see. I will just have to be careful. Do you know who I might need to

watch out for?" He leaned back into his chair to concern her words.

"Most of the seventh years are too busy with their own concerns except

for Marcus of House Flint. He seems to have a grudge with you. I would

look out for a few of the fifth years and fourth years if you are found

alone like Jacobs, Wright, Robinson, Lee, Bailey or Rodgers. From our

own year Nott may be a problem in the future. But he is cautious and

will test the waters first before he decides what to do. To put it simple, be

careful." The beautiful young woman stuck the tip of her tongue out

between her lips biting gently to it in thought.

Whatever the thought was it was interrupted by Harry as he reached out

to touch her arm gently, "Thank you Daphne, I seem to often be in your

debt."

A heat wave seemed to take the girl as she turned crimson in the cheeks

at the touch from the boy. Her tongue disappeared as she pulled back her

arm. A clearing of the throat was done before she spoke, "This benefits

my House as well as yours. But, you can do a small favor in return

perhaps."

The hands of the boy folded together onto his lap as he waited for her to

continue. He was not disappointed as her soft voice picked up again,

"Tracey needs to learn to dance. I was going to teach her but I prefer not

to dance as the male lead of course. Perhaps you will consent to standing

in?"

It was Harry's turn to turn crimson in his cheeks and clears his throat, "I

do not… I mean I have never danced before."

She rolled her eyes at the boy and let out a huff, "Very well, you will both

learn together. But, I expect you to provide the music. We will need

classical, a waltz and perhaps some muggle rock and roll."

At that request a smile crossed the lips of the boy, "I will definitely not

disappoint in that. You will have the music you require for our lessons."

Harry stood up slowly then glanced at the Slytherin girl. He still was

sometimes confused by her, was she a friend or simply an ally? Did it

matter right now? He truly rarely ever had friends; perhaps it would be

nice to have a few more. "Thank you Daphne. I honestly do appreciate

you looking out for me."

"There is nothing to thank me for Potter. If I let something happen to you

my father would be rather annoyed." She paused a moment in

consideration her eyes seeming to roam down his body to his boots then

back up before she continued. Her voice was softer almost hesitant, "You

have a proper date for the dance?"

The question stunned the boy in shock. At first he merely looked at her

so long that he could spot a hint of crimson at the edges of her pale

cheeks. He gave her a small smile with a nod, "Yes, My godfather seems

have arranged a Black associate's daughter as a date for family reasons. I

am to be hosting them a few days before at the family dinner."

A haughty sniff came out of the girl, "Letting your godfather ask out your

dates?"

She rolled her eyes and continued before Harry could speak up, "I guess, I

shall see what this date looks like when we have that dinner. I expect her

to be up to standards worthy of our family alliance."

The boy's lips turned to a small smile as he folded his arms over his chest

then spoke out in a snooty voice, "Indeed, We do have high standards.

Very few could meet the requirements to someday be worthy of

becoming the next lady Potter or Black."

For a brief second surprise passed through her eyes as she stared at him

then a hint of a smile crossed her lips. Daphne turned and walked away

from the boy, her hips seemed to swivel back and forth enticingly. The

thought crossed Harry's brain, wasn't there some sort of law against a

woman being able to do that already at their age?

"Keep safe Potter." The words were whispered just as the doorway was

closed behind the girl leaving the boy to the chambers and his thoughts

about her, surviving the holidays from Tonks, the threats from Slytherin

House and finally who the hell was his godfather setting him up with?

Author Note: I hope you like the chapter. Next one should be up in

about a week's time and should be less filler. No beta on this

chapter which caused a bit of the delay. I still am looking for a Beta

if anyone wants to volunteer. If anyone is up for it please just pm

me. I need someone able to fix my horrid excuse for grammar. A few

people asked me recently how far the story will go. I expect to end

the story around the 350k mark. But you never know it could grow

past there too if I can grow it past my outline. Please toss me

suggestions and reviews, I welcome them always and look forward

to them.

Story Recommendation: The British Reformation by Kb0 – A T rated

story that is a solid Fleur and Harry story. Always a good bit of fun.

20. Twin troubles

The Shadow of the Wizarding World

By: Jamnaz79

Beta: ? (Looking for one)

-x-x-x-x-x-

Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I

claim to.

-SotWW-

A haughty sniff came out of the girl, "Letting your godfather ask out your

dates?"

She rolled her eyes and continued before Harry could speak up, "I guess, I

shall see what this date looks like when we have that dinner. I expect her to be

up to standards worthy of our family alliance."

The boy's lips turned to a small smile as he folded his arms over his chest then

spoke out in a snooty voice, "Indeed, We do have high standards. Very few

could meet the requirements to someday be worthy of becoming the next lady

Potter or Black."

For a brief second surprise passed through her eyes as she stared at him then a

hint of a smile crossed her lips. Daphne turned and walked away from the

boy, her hips seemed to swivel back and forth enticingly. The thought crossed

Harry's brain, wasn't there some sort of law against a woman being able to do

that already at their age?

"Keep safe Potter." The words were whispered just as the doorway was closed

behind the girl leaving the boy to the chambers and his thoughts about her,

surviving the holidays from Tonks, the threats from Slytherin House and

finally who the hell was his godfather setting him up with?

It had been an interesting time for Harry leading to the winter holidays.

He had spent a large amount of time with his late night "detention" study

periods with his professors. A second draw on his time was the lessons

with Daphne and her friend Tracey for his dancing skills. At first he was

hesitant, not because they were Slytherins but to relax around the two

beautiful girls. Still he had gotten over that after a few dozen stepped on

toes. Now it seemed normal to laugh and joke in their company, or at

least getting Tracey to laugh and joke. Daphne was still frustrating

sometimes with her stony silence.

The trouble for the past few weeks was the twins. To be correct the

problem was the pranks that the twins were playing on his friends. While

it seemed he was officially off the mark for all pranks, or interactions

with the Weasley family that courtesy did not expend to his pranks. In

the past Hermione and others he knew had been immune to their

mischief. But, now that he was officially no longer a part of their little

family it seemed to be open season. Unfortunately they were making up

for lost time.

The start was when Neville showed up to potions class with a blue

Mohawk. Of course this ended up with him getting a detention. The poor

boy ended up getting bombarded by Peeves for stink bombs the next

potions class which earned him a second detention. Hermione was the

victim of not only getting her hair turned bright pink but on the back of

her clothing for a full day read "Brains of the boy-who-lived." Hermione

and Harry were able to figure out a removal for the hair and break down

the charm for the curse on her back by the end of the day. But, the twins

were not done; they managed to ruin her copy of Hogwarts a History, her

favorite book. The book now only read a single line repeated throughout

the entire book, 'Nobody likes a know it all.'

While this pissed off Harry and put the twins on his official shit list. A list

they had obtained in the past when they had stuck Peeves on him, which

luckily the Baron stopped, the prank that truly set him off was done to

poor Luna.

Harry walked into the Great Hall to get lunch when he found Luna

rushing from the hall in tears. The sight at first startled the boy because

despite her repeatedly being picked on in the past there had never been

an instance where he saw her break down and cry in public. Quickly he

followed her down the hall. Once he caught up to her he pulled her into

an old abanadoned classroom to talk. The blonde haired girl crumpled

against him in tears, "Shhh Luna, it is okay. I am here."

The tears from the girl did not stop as she held her head against his chest

crying her eyes out. Her face buried into the folds of his robes as she

continued to cry away. Harry gently reached up and rubbed her back,

unsure what to do with the crying girl, "I am here Luna. It is going to be

fine."

Slowly she raised her head up to meet his emerald gaze as she let out a

sniffle. His eyes swept over her face even as he reached up with his free

hand to softly brush away the tears from her cheeks. AS he was lowering

his hand he noticed her butterbeer cork necklace was gone. Instead of the

necklace was a red mark around her neck that looked as it is had been

torn from her body. The anger that seemed to often be buried under the

surface these days started to boil. His voice was almost a hiss as he

whispered, "Where is your necklace Luna?"

The girl slowly held up her left hand. Found in her palm was the snapped

necklace along with both of his bracelet that he had given to her. Harry

gently reached over and took up the bracelets with a frown. The crest of

House Potter had been changed into the shape of a man bent over

showing his ass to the world. Perhaps a poor tasting prank that the man

was mooning everyone for the girl named Luna. Furthermore both

bracelets felt extremely hot to the touch, almost to the point of burning

the flesh. Gently Harry reached forward and pulled back the sleeves of

her robes showing burn marks against her wrists where the bracelets

normally sat. A growl escaped his lips as his eyes dangerously started to

glow, "What happened?"

The beautiful young girl flinched; her dreamy demeanor was completely

absent. Harry tried to calm himself when he realized he may be scaring

her. His hand free from the bracelets again started to rub her back

calmingly, "Please Luna, was it the nargles?"

Slowly while biting her bottom lip the girl shook her head back and forth

for no. The dreamy quality of her grey-blue eyes seemed to glaze over as

she calmed down meeting his own gaze. Her voice was horse almost

dried up, "The twins did it. They were hiding in a hidden passageway

when they cast it but Helena saw them do it. I didn't know till I got into

the Great Hall. It was so hot, I ripped off the necklace and broke it."

She paused a moment and swallowed, the angry line against her neck in

stark contrast to her pale skin. Her whisper broke up against, "It burned

so hot. Mother's necklace is ruined."

"We will fix it good as new, I promise you. The charms will be fixed too.

First let's get you to Madam Pomfrey to get you fixed up. I will fix

everything, I promise you." Harry lowered his gaze to linger on the

bracelets as he knew this had to end right away. A prank was one ting

but they seemed to let their new freedom go to their heads. If they

wanted to make others feel pain now, then it was time to end their

pranking ways once and for all. He would not let his friends become

targets for the twins!

The walk to the infirmary was done in silence. Luna leaned against him

the entire way, which under other circumstances might not be

unpleasant. But, Harry's mind was distracted as he held tightly to the

charmed bracelets. A plan was already starting to form to humiliate

repeatedly the twins in every possible way. If they enjoyed ruining the

day of others then he would ruin their lives. Once at the infirmary he

gently placed Luna into the care of Madam Pomfrey. The witch seemed

slightly surprised that he wasn't the one going into her care for once.

A polite smile was given to the medical-witch before he whispered softly

to Luna that he would be back. He waited till he saw Luna guided away

behind a curtain then he sprinted off towards the 2nd floor woman's

restroom. He needed a place that nobody else could hear his plans, he

wanted to be precise in his attacks and they wouldn't be completely legal

in his methods. No trail should be left, that was a rule of a prankster. A

rule it seemed that the twins never understood.

Once he raced down the stairs and traveled through the parselmouth

wards he called out, "Kreacher! Dobby!"

There were twin cracks as younger and older house appeared before him.

They spoke almost in unison, "Master called Kreacher/Dobby!"

Harry watched as they each shot the other distrustful looks. A slight

smirk touched his lips as he studied the ancient house elf, Kreacher. The

demeanor of the small troll-like wrinkled monster was still horrid as ever

according to his godfather. But, since he destroyed the locket the elf

seemed willing to walk through fire for him. "Kreacher, someone has

insulted the protection of the Houses Potter and Black. I need your

assistance to resolve this problem."

The eyes of the small, old house elf narrowed in anger that Harry also

felt. Kreacher leaned in towards his young master excitement glowing in

his eyes to get revenge.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the crestfallen look on Dobby's

face. He turned towards the elf with a smile, "I will need you as well

Dobby to execute this plan. We are going to ruin these two individuals.

Are you both with me?"

The pair quickly nodded their heads towards Harry, "Good then this is

what we shall do."

~~~ SOTWW ~~~

They say it is normally a difficult thing to prank a prankster. But when

someone is willing to go to any lengths, spend any amount of money for