A Murder of Crows

by bluegreenfish

Some wizards are born different. Some to prophecy, others to fate. Our protagonist is neither, a character who is content to spectate and intervene at the last possible minute. Mr. Everell has no love for the Dark side nor the Light. Content to remain perfectly balanced, Everell finds his already confusing world changed as the events of the Harry Potter series twist and shape it.

1. Prologue

Title: A Murder of Crows
Category: Books » Harry Potter
Author: bluegreenfish
Language: English, Rating: Rated: M
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Published: 15-01-13, Updated: 27-10-13
Chapters: 6, Words: 23,202

Chapter 1: Prologue (Revised)

Prologue:

It was a normal day in London. The traffic went by and by; the spidery roads and lanes were choked with parked cars with little leeway to get by. The sounds of horns as angry drivers pursued incompatible schedules. Pedestrians and commuters all moving about in their daily lives, hoodies and tracksuits mixed with business suits. Camera flashes signaled the gaggles of tourists who documented the sights with single-minded determination to remember the moments that they themselves would forget.

In a flat overlooking Regents Canal lay a boy in his bed. The bed was a little to the side underneath a shuttered window and opposite, a desk took up much of the space. A small wooden cabinet occupied the back of the desk. On it was an array of jars filled with river stones. There was a wooden chest of draws at the foot of the bed, and a small spiral rug next to it. Sunlight filtered through the shutters illuminating the room in milky white bars. Sleep lidded eyes slowly opened, taking in the bedroom. The blur of the room quickly sharpened and he sat up slowly, turning the note taped on his door. He rubbed his eyes slowly, then the boy jumped out of the bed padded over to his door.

The note read,

Corax is going to be seven today! When you get up (Mr. Lazy Bones), wrap the presents and then wake up Cor.

He remembered he had written that note last night as a reminder for Cor's birthday. Which was-today! How could he have forgotten? Today going to be something special and he had it all planned out. He opened the door and walked into the bathroom to get ready. After brushing his teeth, he quietly tiptoed out of the bathroom and glanced into his brother's room. There Cor was, soundly asleep. With a sigh of relief he turned to enter the kitchen to prepare a special breakfast.

There on the table was a post-it note, a brief note from their mother informing them that she had gone to get shopping. He sighed happily, went over to the fridge and picked out a cucumber. He cut off the ends with a butter knife, threw them away and washed it before settling down in a chair to eat. As he took a big bite into it, he began to think of what to do for the day.

It needed to be a special surprise even for his parents. Last night he'd decided he'd look at getting something magical. The previous evening he'd sat back and looked at the piece he'd finished charming. It was a watch that had been charmed to go underwater to a depth of twenty metres. It had taken him a while to test out the different depths without any of his family knowing and a few accidents that had landed him into all sorts of trouble but it would be worth it today. Cor was going to be so surprised!

He finished off his cucumber and rinsed his hands. He then went back to his room to wrap the watch he'd charmed. There was some spare parcel tape in one of the drawers of his cabinet and he had some tape on his desk. After wrapping the watch he got changed, put on some wellies and after pocketing the flat keys and a tea strainer, headed out for with an empty jam jar. He walked down the stairs and walked over to the canal. It was a cool summer day, the sun shining in the sky and a few clouds overhead. He headed to the bank and put the tea strainer over the rim of the jar. He then scooped the jar into the canal, the strainer filtering any pondweed and plants. He put the weed back into the canal and washed the tea strainer before screwing the lid back onto the jar. Carefully holding the jam jar, he walked back into the flat with the wet tea strainer in his pocket.

When he got back into the flat, he heard a noise in the kitchen. It was his mother. He walked over to her and showed her the canal water in the jar. A few years ago, Cor had a pet fish called Gilbert. The fish had died and his father had flushed it down the toilet but they'd told Cor that he'd gone into the Canal. Cor had cried for a week before viciously demanding that they'd bring Gilbert back. Eventually, to humour him, his father would go down to the canal with a jar to 'bring Gilbert back'. His father would not always be able to do this so every week, any one of them would go down to the canal and bring back a jar of Canal water for Cor. They had never 'found Gilbert' but they did it anyway. His mother suspected that Cor had figured out that Gilbert was never coming back but still kept on pretending.

The boy looked at his mother. She looked tired so he helped her with the shopping and put the eggs in the fridge. She then took out a large vanilla cake and put it away in the back of the fridge before putting a finger to her lips, looking at him. He smiled and nodded his head. She then said,

"I'm quite tired Tyr. I think I'll take a little nap. Wake me up to surprise Corax, I need to surprise him with the cake, you know how your brother likes his surprises."

Tyr nodded and watched her go. He checked the clock. It read twelve past one. It was just past lunch. He went through the fridge and sliced some cheese on bread and ate it. He would wake them up at two; give them plenty of time to get ready for the evening. Though, it was unusual of Cor to sleep in this late. He hadn't even gone to bed late. Well, he was waking them up at two, it would give his mother plenty of rest. Tyr remembered he hadn't made a card and raced upstairs to make one. He took out some watercolour paper and painted a murder of crows circling a watchtower. Cor loved crows, so it seemed appropriate. He opened it and wrote "Happy Birthday from Tyr" and then let it dry.

He then went out for a walk across the canal, making sure to lock the flat door as he left. He saw a few couples laughing together and some children running around playing tag. Tyr pulled out some bread he had bought with him and fed it to the ducks. They snapped at the bread, and asked him for more. He gave a little more until half the bread was left and then walked away nibbling on it. Tyr walked around and then came back into the flat and checked the clock. It was two o'clock.

Time to wake them up. He went to his parents' bedroom first. The door was ajar and his mother's shoes lay by it. He opened the door his ears pricked at a faint murmuring, which grew louder as he walked in. He looked past the clothes that were left on the floor. Not neatly folded. His mother always folded her clothes away, even if she was tired. A sense of foreboding gripped him. He reached down and picked up one of his father's boots and walked to the bed. A figure in dark clothes lay bent over his mother, murmuring and holding a stick to her face. His mother's face was paling, the veins turning black and prominent on the skin. Tyr felt fearful and remembered his hoodie, which was back in his bedroom. His mother's face was getting paler and paler and Tyr quickly aimed and threw his father's boot at the stranger. He remembered as the boot flew that it was one of those steel cap boots.

The boot landed right on the stranger's temple. The figure crumpled and the stick they held fell to the floor. Tyr realized that the stick was a wand. A shiver of fear went up his spine as he realized that the figure in front of him was a wizard or a witch. Tyr instantly reached for the wand and picked it up. He put two hands on the ends and snapped it in two. He remembered what his parents' had said,

"Snap their wands and they will be powerless. They can't harm you otherwise."

Tyr knew though that the stranger could still overpower him physically and moved over to the bed to wake up his parents. If they woke up they could take care of the wizard. He moved to his father and prodded him. He didn't move. Not even a stir. His father was a light sleeper. With the stranger in the room, Tyr knew something bad had happened to his parents. He pulled the covers away and watched in horror as his parents' bodies withered. The skin yellowed and peeled away like dry wallpaper as the flesh disintegrated into fine powder leaving leathery skin over rotting bones. It happened in a few seconds as Tyr smelt the stench of rotting bodies. The foul scent overpowered him and he managed to turn away before vomiting heavily upon the floor.

Heaving, he wiped a bit of sick from his mouth and looked up to see the stranger getting up. Tyr ran around the bed to the broken fragments of the wand and snatching them away before the stranger could pick them up. He then ran out of the room and into his Cor's room. He pulled back the covers in a rush only for the same thing to happen here. He watched his seven year old brother shrivel up into a skin and bones corpse. The smell was more intense here and he dry retched. A voice at the door startled him,

"The damn brat got what he deserved. You all did. None of you participated in the War. You Know Who took so many lives whilst you were lording it up with the Muggles. You deserve this."

Tyr turned around with tears in his eyes to see the wizard looking back at him. The wizard looked at Tyr grimly and then smiled and stepped forward. Tyr remembered the jar of pondwater and reached out and threw it at the wizard. It didn't break but hit him again on the head and knocked him out. Tyr walked over to the fallen wizard and rummaged through his person. He found some coins and a holster and a few other items, which he couldn't make any clue of. There was also a miniature bowl about the size of a jam jar filled full of silvery stuff. He took it all and more until the only thing on the wizard were the robes he wore. Tyr knew he only had limited time before the assailant woke up and he went to his bedroom to pack his things.

If the wizard knew where his family was then there as a good chance that all the wizards knew. Tyr's choice was clear: stay and call the police; who would bring more trouble on him than good or run and hide. Either way, this flat was no longer home. He packed his clothes and his favourite pens and watercolour set and put them into one of his father's duffel bags. He got his hoodie out from the hidden drawer in his cabinet and then put it on. Tyr walked into Cor's room to find the wizard gone and a few drops of blood in his place. Tyr went over to Cor's bedside table and took the photograph out of the frame that had all four of them by the Canal.

He then went to his parents' room and took his father's bracelet and the letter that he said was for when Tyr was older. He took the one meant for Cor as well. He went over to his mother's bedside and took the ring that had his father's old family name and seal on it. There were a few odds and ends and keepsakes that he also took.

Everything packed away in the duffel bag; Tyr opened the door and making sure to take the key, left the flat. He made sure to leave the door slightly ajar. Hopefully the neighbours will notice.

As he pulled the hood over his face whilst leaving the building, Tyr announced,

"I want to disappear."

Then he vanished, just like that.

XXXXXXX

Ten months later, in an empty chilly flat with the bare concrete foundations showing, an owl tapped its beak on the window. It opened and Tyr collected the letter from it, making sure to feed it some spare bacon and its due fare. He gave the barest of grins as he read out:

Dear Mr. Everell,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipement.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

The grin turned slightly feral as Tyr Everell thought , 'this time, I'll be ready.'