Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, take claim of the most brilliant Harry Potter series written by J K Rowling, although the plot is mine. Any names or real places are purely coincidental, all characters either belong to J K Rowling, or me. Thankyou for your time, please read and review my fan fiction.
-Harry Potter and the Animagus Stone-
Chapter One
-The Discovery-
The wind was high, almost abnormally so. Ernie Trout was making his way back from a drunken night at the pub. Staggering along the small country lane. He stumbled over some rubbish, cursing and swearing he crawled on his hands and knees looking for someway to get up. His hand met something cold and stoney; it was rough and circular in his hands. It was emitting a silvery light, and inside it was a silvery, thick liquid. Ernie moved his bony fingers and touched the thick substance; it seemed to draw him in. Curiosity getting the better of him Ernie watched as the liquid began to swirl, finally becoming transparent. In the circular stone object was an image, a moving image. Ernie poked it again and took a deep breath as he lurched into the pensieve...
Ernie was standing in a courtroom. A young looking scribe was feverishly scribbling sentences down on a piece of parchment. On two large chairs before the court were two figures, covered by a cloak. Before them were an old looking man with a long silvery beard, and another man with greying hair.
"Albus, you know the consequences of such actions. You yourself mentioned them not long ago." The man with greying hair stated to the taller man.
"And thus these young wizards do not. They did not mean to expose us to the Muggles, Cornelius." The older man said wisely.
"But they did, Albus, and it's beyond our control of what happens to them now. We must hand them over to the Azkaban Guards." Cornelius said, emotionlessly. The two figures squirmed in their seats. Ernie turned as he heard a female voice echo through the courtroom.
"You can't Minister, you just can't!" The red haired girl cried, standing up worriedly. She was wearing robes with an 'H' on the emblem and a badge with 'Head girl' and 'P' on it. She had stunning emerald eyes and fiery dark red hair.
"Please be seated, Ms. Evans." Albus continued.
"Yes, sit down, Mudblood child!" A drawling voice said.
"That was uncalled for, Lucius-" Cornelius began when one of the young boys beneath the cloak stood up.
"Don't you dare call her that! You filthy, disgusting rat. I know you're a Death eater, I know you're one of them!" His companion pulled him down, whispering something.
"You're only making our position worse, James." The boy said quietly.
The red haired girl sat down again, burying her head in her hands. The boy sitting beside her, a pale, peaky looking brown haired one patted her lightly on the back, wiping away his own tears as well.
"It'll be alright, Lily, just wait and see." The boy tried to smile, he too was wearing the black robes like Lily's, he was wearing a 'Head boy' badge and a 'P' one pinned to his robes.
"Oh will it, Remus? Well thanks for letting me know, they'll be handed to the Dementors and everything will be alright?" She asked, breaking down into her hands again. Remus patted her awkwardly.
"I feel sick..." She commented, standing up again, "Mr. Fudge, Professor Dumbledore, may I be excused from court?"
"Very well, Ms. Evans, come back when you are feeling better." Cornelius answered. Dumbledore gave her a pitying look as she swept out of the room.
Ernie looked around, deciding to follow the red head. No one had noticed him yet, but him, being in the drunkard state he was, just staggered out. Lily was kicking a statue of a Griffin, then howling in pain.
"It's not right." she growled, throwing a Knut into the fountain. She shut her eye's, making a wish. Ernie reached over to comfort the girl, but his hand fell straight through her shoulder. Without even a flinch Lily continued down the corridor, sorrow and doubt flooding after her. Her robes billowed behind her as she laid a hand on a door handle, turning it she walked into the darkness.
Before her was a mirror, it shone and reflected some non-existent light. Lily stood before the mirror, wiping her tears away. Ernie looked hard, but all he could see was Lily's reflection. Lily gasped at what she saw standing before her, it was not her own reflection but her, standing beside James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They were beaming at her; James had his arm lazily draped around her waist, hugging her tight. Sirius had his arm over James's shoulder, laughing as usual. Lily could take it no more; she stepped back, stumbling into the wall. Her tear's reforming.
"They can't send them to Azkaban, they just can't. They exposed the wizarding world to Muggles, it's not a big crime, the Muggles's memories were erased..."
"Court dismissed," came the echoing voice. Lily pounded on the wooden door, crying. The two prisoners were muttering quietly to each other as they were led away by two men with their wands out, pointing at the two black haired boys.
Lily ran to meet them, flinging her arms around James's neck.
"Looks like you got what you wanted, Prongs." Sirius said, trying to smile. James growled at Sirius playfully, hugging Lily back.
"You're a fool Potter, and you Black." Lily added, flinging her arm's around Sirius's neck too.
"Ooooh, she two-times." Sirius said, playfully, giving Lily a tight squeeze.
"Never thought you cared about us, Evans." James said his voice serious for a second.
"You may be idiots, but you're still human." Her voice suddenly filled with anger for them, "Why did you do something so utterly stupid in the first place?"
"We were having a little celebration, Evans, can't you let that slide?"
"Well, Potter, getting drunk and spilling to a few Muggles all about our world is disgraceful; I'm not saying you two don't thoroughly deserve what is coming to you.... But I'll miss your pranks on the Slytherins, and having to shout at you to stop bullying Severus."
The two boys exchanged looks, and burst out laughing. Lily looked confused as Sirius patted Remus on the back.
"Don't be silly, we're not gone forever, Evans. Moony here managed to get us down to a Six month prison sentence. We owe him our lives." Sirius remarked. James nodded furiously in agreement.
"Six months doesn't sound too bad, ah, Padfoot?"
"Only if the food's as good as the Security." The handsome black haired boy laughed. To be honest, none of them were looking forward to even one second inside a wizarding prison surrounded by Dementors.
"You mean I was worried over nothing?" Lily asked her anger reawakening. Remus smiled and joined her beside James and Sirius.
"Goodbye Prongs, Goodbye Padfoot. Hogwarts will miss you two, but maybe now the Gryffindors will be able to get some house points and keep them."
"Oh, we can't let that happen." James said, looking over his glasses at Remus.
"And if those Slytherins decide to play mean, feel free to put them in their place, Moony." Sirius laughed along with James and Remus.
"Goodbye then, James." Lily smiled, taking James's hand. James could feel something inside of him, like he had just been electrocuted.
"See ya later, Lily." He smiled; she leant over and kissed him softly on the cheek. James blushed as he and Sirius were again led away by the Guards.
"I hope they'll be ok..." she muttered.
"They'll be fine." Remus assured her, "They are, after all, the most intelligent students in Hogwarts."
Ernie suddenly felt a shiver, doubling up he sneezed hard; falling back against the road.
He was shivering and worried, he had been all too soon brought back to being sober. He backed away from the pensieve, looking at it as if was a ticking bomb.
"Witches, Wizards, prisons, Hogwarts." He repeated. Scrambling up the side of the road, he was still on hands and knees. He crawled along 'till he came to a shoe, he looked up. A man stood before him, holding out a long, thin piece of wood.
"Going somewhere?" The man asked, he had a cloak drawn over is face, and bony fingers like Ernie.
"I-I need t-t-to get out of h-h-here," Ernie stammered.
"Not now you don't." The man growled, grabbing Ernie's collar and dragging back to the rubbish and fallen scaffolding beside the road.
"Guess who died here."
"I-I d-d-don't know…" Ernie said, shaking again.
"Well, their names were Lily and James Potter…… Would you like the same fate as theirs?"
"N-n-no." Ernie stammered, grabbing the hem of the man's robe.
"Well, you're much too late…" The man drew his wand and pointed it directly at Ernie.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Ernie flung his arms out in a bid to protect himself against the fierce blinding green light. Within seconds his life had been swept from his body. The man in the robe threw back his hood, his silvery blonde hair shining in the dim light. He grabbed Ernie's body and dragged it off the pavement, taking one last look at the Potter's house before leaving the wreckage of the small cottage. The robed figure dragged Ernie to a small graveyard down the lane, finally resting at a gravestone. He dropped the lifeless body before the gravestone, wiping blood from his hands and wand. Taking a quick look around he dissaparated leaving behind the quiet graveyard. Beside a tall statue of an angel in tribute to some lost soul a figure stirred. A giant black dog growled, staring directly where the Death eater had been moments before. Padding over to Ernie it flopped down, breathing heavily, its brown pupils shone black; it rolled sideways and disappeared as quickly as it had came.
Harry Potter groaned as his Uncle spoke the dreaded words.
"Your Aunt Marge is coming to stay, boy, and if there's any funny stuff, any at all, you'll regret-" Uncle Vernon stopped, Harry was holding a piece of parchment, his eye's trailing over it.
"Are you listening to me, boy?"
Harry looked up, his face emotionless.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon. I was just taking the time I had to write to my friends. They want to hear from me every three days, make sure everything's alright, checking up on me." Harry smiled pleasantly at his Uncle. It was more of an evil grin; Harry hadn't smiled properly since ….. Since Sirius's death.
Sirius Black was Harry's godfather; he had been the first person ever to escape Azkaban, the wizard prison. Harry had met him almost two years ago now, on a dark and hateful night like the one they had that night. Harry had looked up to Sirius; he had been the nearest thing Harry could have to a Parent. Both of Harry's Parents were dead, they had been murdered by Lord Voldemort, the most feared wizard of all time, well, not entirely, Lord Voldemort only feared one wizard, Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster.
"Your Aunt is bringing your ruddy cousin with her, what's her name?" Vernon asked, turning to his wife, Petunia.
"Oh, I'm not quite sure. Daisy, maybe, or was it Maisy?" She asked, frowning.
"Yes, well, besides that, I don't want you giving Maisy, or Daisy, any trouble, boy, you hear me?" Vernon said gruffly.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said, tiredly, "can I go to bed now?"
Vernon checked his watch, "Go on, boy, but don't make any noise." Harry nodded, grabbing the parchment and making his way wearily up the stairs. He checked his black hair in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. Desperately trying to flatten the front and back of his hair down, which it refused to.
He locked his bedroom door and sat swiftly down on his bed, sighing. He looked up at the stars through his window, pointing up towards Mars. He could almost hear Professor Trelawney's voice now:
"Because, my dears, Mars is in Conjunct with Pluto you may experience some strong desires. Mars and Pluto, when conjunct create strong emotional feelings." The misty voice inside Harry's head said. Harry stared at Mars for what he felt like was a minute, checking his watch he realised seven minutes had passed.
"You in bed, boy?" Vernon asked as he passed, "Turn your light off."
Harry reluctantly switched off his lamp and settled down in bed, closing his eyes tight.
Before Harry was a graveyard, the graveyard where he had seen Cedric Diggory murdered a year before. He could hear two figures talking in the dark, each whispering to the other. He got close enough to catch some of what they were saying.
"It's that precious to our Lord, that he would risk… all his followers' lives for it?" One asked, the voice sounded oddly squeaky and out of tune.
"Yes, I am afraid so," came the calmer reply.
"He can't do this to us…. We've always been faithful…" said the man with the squeakier voice again.
The other man sighed, starting to walk away. Harry got a glimpse of him before he left.
"You know, Remus, its funny how things turned out." The man squeaked.
"Really? Well, I believe in fate, Wormtail, I believe in fate."
Harry awoke; he was sprawled on the floor, sweating. Groping in the darkness for the lamp, he heard a crash and a shatter of glass. His hand met the carpet and he winced in pain as a piece of glass slit his hand. Squeezing his hand hard he stood up, running for where he thought the door was. He immediately fell down and felt a shot of pain stream through his cheek. He reached out, seeing the hallway light streaming through the keyhole; he fumbled in the dark for the lock, trying to undo it. He could feel the blood trickling down his cheek. He desperately made one last attempt to find the lock, tripping over an invisible, inanimate object in the darkness. Miraculously he found the key lock, turning it so he heard a click. Turning the handle he pushed the door open, quietly as not to wake Vernon, Petunia or Dudley. He stumbled into the bathroom and switched the light on. Taking some toilet paper he dabbed his cheek gently. Looking down at his hand he dabbed the blood off of that too and started to make his way back to the bedroom. He stopped suddenly, there was a noise coming from downstairs. What could it be? A burglar maybe? Sneaking downstairs Harry heard the fridge door slam. What was this? A fridge raider? Harry reached the kitchen and put his finger over the light switch, gasping when he saw the thief.
"Dudley?" Harry asked, watching as his cousin turned, his arm's full of chocolate.
"Be quiet!" Dudley ordered, switching the light off again. Harry frowned and switched the light back on. After a few minutes of fighting for the light switch with Dudley, Harry gave up and took a seat at the kitchen table.
"You're meant to be a diet, Dudley." Harry reminded his overweight cousin.
"I know. I was just a bit hungry." Dudley replied coldly. "Why are you down here anyway?"
"I couldn't sleep." Harry said, coolly, looking up again through the curtains. "You scared me; I thought we were being robbed by someone normal." Dudley growled. "Were you with Piers Polkiss all of yesterday?"
"Yeah, why?" Dudley asked, stuffing his fat face with some chocolate.
"Did you beat up poor Mark Evans again?" Harry asked, walking to the kettle to start boiling some water.
"Why are you asking?" Dudley replied, with his mouth full of half eaten chocolate.
"Oh, I just wondered, that kid doesn't get an ounce of sympathy from 'Big D' and his gang." Harry teased; impatiently poking the kettle to see if that would help it boil quicker. Dudley sneered at him and went to the door.
"Sweet dreams, Diddykins." Harry laughed, as Dudley left him alone with his thoughts. Sliding into a seat with his tea Harry began to recall his dream. Remus couldn't be a Death Eater, it was crazy…..
But his dream had seemed so real, not unlike the one he had of Arthur Weasley being attacked by a snake. Harry stirred his tea with a spoon, taking a sip then placing it back down on the table. He checked his new watch, the one he had received from Hermione as an early birthday present. Hermione Granger was in Portugal and had sent Harry his present early because she feared it wouldn't get past customs if she sent it the Muggle way, and she wanted to make sure Harry received it. Harry groaned, after turning the light back on again, and checking his watch he realised it was 1:45 in the morning. Harry wiped a tear from his cheek; he refused to believe what he had seen in his dream. It was impossible, Remus wouldn't…. not after all he had done and been through. Harry's mind slipped back to the Werewolf, deciding to write to Ron asking if he could stay for a while at the Burrow. He didn't want to return to 12 Grimmauld Place; it held too many memories. Finishing his tea he swirled the dregs in the bottom and looked deep inside, throwing the cup in the sink when he saw the Grim appear in the bottom.
'Dear Ron,
How are you? Have you heard from Fred and George recently? I wonder how their business is going. I need to tell you something important but I can't tell you in a letter. Would I be able to stay with you the Burrow for the remainder of the holidays? Being at the Dursleys is like enduring a twenty-four hour potions lesson
Hope all is well,
Speak soon,
Harry.'
Ronald Weasley read the letter thoroughly before running down the stairs of the Burrow to his mum.
"Mum!" Ron cried, jumping off the stairs, Mrs. Weasley turned to her youngest son, frightened.
"Oh, don't scare me like that, Ronald, I thought you had fallen or something." She took her hands out of the washing up, "This better be important, I'm trying to talk to your father and Remus," Mrs. Weasley added.
"It is mum; Harry wants to know if he can stay for the rest of the summer. The Dursleys are annoying him, and he wants to stay with us…" Ron said, excitedly. Remus and Mr. Weasley looked up from their positions set around the kitchen table.
"Just annoying him, right, not… being cruel or horrid, right?" Arthur Weasley asked, concerned.
"Just being annoying," his son confirmed. Remus nodded, "Well, I had better be off, Molly; Albus wants me at Grimmuald Place sharpish tomorrow morning." Remus said, stretching, he stood up from the table and turned to Ron. "Best you tell Harry to stay about another week at the Dursleys; he's staying there under Dumbledore's recommendation after all, I wouldn't like to say whether of not it would be…. wise to let him come yet. It's only been two and a half weeks maybe since the Holidays began."
Remus then turned to Molly and Arthur.
"It's best to leave it another week; we've got to make sure the magic's working…." Remus trailed off as he remembered Ron was present in the room.
"Do you think I'm not responsible enough to tell Harry he can't come to stay?" Ron asked seriously.
"It's not that Ron, believe me," Remus said, quickly, "I know you're responsible, but I just don't want you telling Harry he might be able to stay, it might get his hopes up too much." Remus ended, flatly.
"What do you mean? Can he not stay then?" Ron asked defensively.
"Well, yes and no. He might be able to stay…. But as me, Molly and Remus we're discussing we might need to leave the burrow soon." Arthur said, looking up at his son.
"What? Why?" Ron asked, sliding down into a chair.
"Because it might not be safe for us if….. You-know-who …. Found us, all our lives could be in danger, Ron; You-know-who might be planning to get rid of all the people closest to Harry." Arthur continued, rather sadly.
"And if Harry came, dear, he would be in danger too." Molly added.
"Where are we going? Grimmuald Place?" Ron asked excitedly.
"I'm afraid not," Remus stated, "You'd be staying at Nymphadora Tonks' house for a while, up in Scotland."
"Do we have to move then?"
"Ronald! Have you not been listening to a word we said? Yes, we have to!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed.
"And what about Fred and George?"
"What about them, dear?"
"Where would they stay after they finished setting up their business?" Molly pursed her lip and took her eyesight off of Ron.
"What would happen?" Ron asked, angrily, standing up so quick the chair fell back.
"You have all the right to be angry, Ron, but it really comes down to mine and your Mother's decision," Arthur said.
"I can't believe you would chuck your own sons out!" Ron shouted, making towards the stairs again, "I better warn Ginny she might be next! Or maybe I should pack now, save the trouble." Ron yelled as Molly slid down in a seat, her eyes fixed on the kitchen door.
Presently, Ron heard shouts and the noise of something breaking. He knew the fight between his older twin brothers and his mum had started. He crept out of his room, carefully trying not to make a noise as he stood on the landing listening to the fight. No one needed Extendable Ears to hear this conversation.
"You can't throw us out!" Fred's voice shouted.
"We don't have enough Galleons to support a Grindylow!" George complained simultaneously. The sounds of Molly's cries could be heard from upstairs, even Ginny began to edge her way closer to her door to hear the racket.
"You're old enough now, and your 'business' is getting you enough money!" Molly shouted.
Ron backed up against the wall as Fred and George marched past him and into their room. There was a clattering and the chant of a curse and Fred and George marched back out again, all their possessions packed away neatly.
"We'll be seeing ya, lil' bro," Fred said to Ron.
"Yeah, look after Mum, Ron, don't let that great git Percy get to her." George added. Ron nodded silently as he watched Fred and George dissaparate from sight with a little pop. Making his way back to his bedroom, Ron wondered where the twins had disaparated to...