The Peverell Castle: Ignotus's Legacy
What if, the magic behind Ignotus Peverell and his brothers is much greater than ever explored in cannon? That, is this story.
This story is almost completely non-cannon from the Marauder's 7th year onward. It has a very manipulative Dumbledore, and a significantly less trusting James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, and Sirius Black. The story begins when Dumbledore informs the Potter's they need to go into hiding. As such, in a world that diverged from cannon four years earlier, there will be things that may be unclear at first. I promise, if you stick with me, everything will be explained in time. This is, after all, only the beginning.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, places, or anything else you may recognize from the cannon world. That all belongs to JK Rowling. Anything you don't recognize, however, such as several characters and a castle mentioned in this chapter, are mine.
James Potter sat on the couch, hands linked with his wife's. Dumbledore sat in an armchair opposite them. A little girl, a just three year old Katherine Potter-Black, her curly black hair framing her face, sat on her stepfather's lap, while her bright green eyes stared in wonder at the little black haired, green-eyed baby her father held in his own arms. Harry had been born just over a year earlier, and Katherine thought he was the perfect birthday present. Sirius Black smiled as his little girl watched him rock her baby brother back and forth.
"Lily, there is a spy in the order, are you sure you want to speak of these things now?" Dumbledore glanced at Sirius.
"Oh that's nice, Albus, imply I'm the traitor right in front of me. Why don't I just call Voldemort here and he can finish all you off right now!"
"MOLDYWART!" Katherine squealed, clapping her hands, proud of her attempt to copy her dad. James was roaring with laughter, not even stopping when Katherine tumbled to the floor. Sirius would have been laughing just as hard if he didn't have his godson on his lap and wasn't positive Lily would murder him if anything happened to her baby boy. Harry giggled happily at Katherine's laughter, as Lily Potter watched her family with love radiating from her eyes. James was still laughing slightly as he picked Katherine off the ground and placed her back on his lap, holding her there firmly despite her squirming.
"I'm not the traitor," Sirius said bitterly.
"It's not Remus either!" Lily protested.
"Who else could it be? Peter?" Sirius asked disbelievingly. "Right, he'd be at the top of my recruitment list if I was Moldywart!"
"He'd be at mine!" Lily snapped. "He's weak, James, and he is close to us! You know what the prophecy says!"
"And you know what I think Albus can do with that prophecy. Maybe it meant Fortuna for all we know!" Sirius growled at James as Katherine looked up at the sound of her other name.
"The prophecy says he!" Dumbledore interrupted.
"All prophecy's say he, Albus!" Lily said. "What about Neville? And what exactly does 'defied him' even mean? People defy him every day! I may not agree with it or divination at all, but the point is Moldywart does!"
"Just so we're clear, we're all calling him Moldywart from now on?" Sirius asked grinning as Lily glared at him.
"Fine, we'll go into hiding," James said bitterly. "We'll be on the first flight out."
"Flight?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.
"Muggle airplanes are the easiest way to get to the Americas. My family owns a rather large castle in northern Canada."
Sirius snorted at James's modest description of Peverell Castle.
"You cannot run, James," Dumbledore said, almost angry.
"If I'm going into hiding, I'm taking my family where it is safe." James said angrily.
"Harry has a job here!"
"HARRY IS A BABY!" James shouted.
"'IG BOY!" Harry said, clapping his hands and laughing.
Sirius shushed him, before placing him on the ground so he could crawl about. With a sigh, James let Katherine off his lap, slightly dreading the mischief the two would be getting into soon enough.
"I will not allow my son to be a martyr for your so called greater good, Dumbledore. You've had years to clean up this mess and you've done nothing. My wife was attacked and raped in Hogsmeade and when we found out she was pregnant, you refused to listen to her. You told her you were disappointed in her. You only stopped when Poppy showed you the damage from the rape. And when those bastards tortured her, when she lost that baby," James hoped his acting was up to par because said baby was currently on the floor chasing her brother around, "all you said was it for the best!"
"As a preemptive measure for you going into hiding, I've informed Gringotts that you fear people pretending to be you. They've issued new keys, I will give them to you when this is over."
Sirius saw red and he and James went for their wands at the same time.
"And I need to borrow your cloak for a while if you don't mind."
"As a matter of fact, I do mind," James retorted. "And as a preparation for you manipulating my life, the cloak is safely at my ancestral home in Canada."
"Pick your secret keeper, I will be back in an hour to perform the charm. Sirius, take the muggle back to her parents." Sirius felt his blood boil. Lily had told Dumbledore that Katherine was Petunia's daughter to keep her safe.
"My sister and her husband are away on a trip, Katherine is staying here!" Lily said firmly. "And you have outstayed your welcome."
"I can persuade them to return early."
"You will do nothing of the sort!" James growled menacingly, holding Katherine in his arms. "And for the record, she is very much a witch." As he said that, Harry began floating towards Katherine.
"Katey!" Lily grabbed her son out the air, glaring sternly at the grinning three year old.
"Very well, I'll be back in an hour."
Dumbledore left, leaving two furious wizards and a very concerned witch.
"What do we do, James?" Lily asked softly.
"I've opened the portal," James whispered, shock setting in. "When I called it my home, it opened."
"As long as a member of the Peverell family lives and calls the castle home…" Sirius trailed off, and he was hopeful for the first time in years at the implications of the statement.
"No one who is pure of heart and chooses life will die in battle," Lily whispered. "James!"
"I know," James pulled his wife close to him. "Dumbledore cannot know about this!"
"Meaning neither can we," Sirius murmured.
"You want to obliviate us?" Lily snapped harshly. "Then…"
"Sirius, you can't be our secret keeper," James said softly. "He won't just kill, he'll torture you, and worse yet, he'll go after Caelum or Katey."
"Who else can we trust?" Lily asked. "I know the portal is now open, but still…"
"I sincerely doubt Moony's the spy," James said softly. "But I guess Wormtail."
Lily bit her lip, not wanting another fight with James over his friends. She knew Wormtail, and more than that, she did not want him to be the one she placed the lives of her family in.
"James, I'm not sure…" Lily began anyway.
"We let Dumbledore do the charm with me, but we'll switch to Peter soon, tomorrow even. Everyone will think it is me."
"No!" Lily shouted. "And what if something happens, Sirius? You know we cannot return here if we go through the portal! They'll throw you in Azkaban!"
"She's right, Pads," James whispered. "It is too big a risk."
"You're worth it, Prongs."
James sighed, knowing full well he could not convince Sirius of anything. "He'll be back soon," he spat, thinking of the manipulative bastard he had once trusted. "I can recall knowledge of the castle from anyone I wish, even hide my own knowledge of its existence. Once I fall through the portal, I can communicate with my heir. He'll know, Sirius, so if something happens, make sure you get to Harry. He'll hear me, and he will know what to say to trigger your memories."
"He's a baby!" Lily snapped. "How will he…"
"It will be simple enough, he'll manage it." James said softly.
"But what if Moldywart kills him too?" Lily asked shakily.
James closed his eyes, grimacing. "He can't."
"James," Sirius warned.
"I have no doubt that he is the child the prophecy speaks of," Sirius was shocked by the seriousness of his friend's voice. "Harry cannot be killed, because of the ancient magic that protects the castle. He can't die, because it would leave the Peverell family without an heir. His death would signal the end of the Peverell line, and that, by magic and by Ignotus's protection, can never happen, at least not until he reaches 11."
"So, Harry can't die?"
"Not by the killing curse, no," James said quietly. "He is too young to pass through the portal. Once he hits 11, he can. Until then, Moldywart cannot kill him with Avada Kedavra."
"Wicked," Sirius breathed. "But what would happen to him?"
"No one has ever been foolish enough to try and murder an underage Peverell heir before."
"But you go by Potter, not Peverell,"
"Even if I did go by James Charlus Peverell instead of James Henry Potter, I doubt Moldywart knows anything about the Deathly Hallows or Ignotus's legacy."
Without any warning, James retracted all knowledge of his home from both Sirius and Lily. They would, hopefully, know again soon enough.
Four months earlier.
Sirius Black was not having a good day. Word had come back that more members of the Order had died in the battle the previous evening. So when he was summoned to the Ministry of Magic to meet with a member of Child Services, he was none too happy.
"Mr. Black, I presume?" An older woman asked him softly.
He nodded, eyes locked on the tear stained cheeks of the little boy sitting on a chair in the office.
"Mr. Black, this is Caelum. Caelum, say hello."
"Mummy says you're a blood traitor!" Caelum spit out, glaring daggers at him.
"Your mother?"
The older woman took the liberty to answer his question. "Your cousin Bellatrix."
'Well that explained plenty,' Sirius thought.
"Your mum and I have different opinions on right and wrong, Caelum," Sirius said gently, sitting in the chair beside the boy. He had a good idea why he had been called here, and befriending the little boy would do wonders.
"She doesn't want me," he whispered.
Sirius felt his heart break for him, he certainly knew the feeling.
"Mr. Black, as Head of the Black Family, you are first in line for custody of him," the woman said gently.
"Absolutely," He didn't even have to consider it. He knew he would have Andromeda's help if he ever needed it, but he doubted he would. Being the father of Katherine Potter-Black and the godfather of Harry Potter had prepared him well enough for parenting.
"You want me?" Caelum had stopped crying, and was looking at him with such hope.
"Of course I do!" Sirius insisted, picking the boy up, and securing him on his hip. "Now, come meet my daughter and nephew, yea?"
"Yea!" Caelum said happily. He was desperate for other kids to play with.
Caelum would become fast friends with Katherine and Harry, fitting in perfectly to the Potter-Black little family.
"LILY it's him! Take Harry and run!" James fumbled for his wand, racing to the bottom of the stairs in hopes he could delay the mad man. He knew he wouldn't win, not this time. All he needed to do was hold him off for a few minutes, to give Lily and Harry enough time to get out safely.
The front door was blasted off its hinges. James felt a dagger hit his gut as he realized that Wormtail was the spy. A man he'd considered to be another brother had sold him, his wife, and his child to their mortal enemy.
"You could have joined me," The cold voice hissed. "Had you given me the child, you would have been spared. But you, James Potter, are a fool."
"I'd never join you!"
"A fool." He raised his wand, pointing it at James's heart and shrieked "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
His last thoughts were of his baby boy, praying that Lily had gotten them both to safety.
Katherine Potter-Black was scared. Her mother and Uncle James thought she was still at her Dad's with Caelum. They didn't know the two of them had snuck through the floo back to Godric's Hallow because she wanted to play with Harry.
Caelum Lestrange was terrified. He stood protectively in front of Katherine, seemingly forgetting that they were both hidden by James Potter's invisibility cloak. He had met the Dark Lord before, before Sirius had managed to get him away from his parents. He had heard the crash, could see part of James's dead body lying halfway up the stairs. He knew that Mrs. Potter and Harry were going to die, and that there was nothing he or Katherine could do about it. Wrapping the younger girl in his arms, as tears streamed down both their cheeks, he wondered what would happen to them now.
Katherine heard her mother beg for Harry's life and heard her scream as the killing curse took away her life. She heard the evil man turn on Harry. And then the roof began to crumble.
"RUN!" Caelum hissed, grabbing her hand and trying to pull the frozen girl towards the stairs. He froze for a moment as he realized he'd be pulling her past her uncle's dead body, but then a baby's cry startled them both.
"HARRY!" Katherine raced into the nursery and tried to get her brother out of his crib. Caelum raced in after her, shock flooding him at the lack of evil murderer and the still alive, albeit shrieking, baby Harry Potter.
He helped Katherine lift Harry and noticed the cut on his forehead. Grabbing a blanket from the floor, he mopped the blood off of it, trying not to look at the body on the floor. Somewhat reluctantly, he pulled Katherine back under the invisibility cloak as Severus Snape came into the house and cried over Lily's body. Katherine was snarling at the man, but it went unheard over Snape's sobs and Harry's shrieks.
Suddenly a noise from downstairs shook them all out of their misery. Snape, looking fearful, disapparatedimmediately and Harry's wails became louder. Katherine clung to Caelum like her life depended on it, and moments later, a completely distraught Sirius Black appeared in the doorway.
"DADDY!" Katherine cried, flinging herself into her father's arms.
Not appreciating his godfather ignoring him, Harry began shouting 'Paddy!' over and over again, until Sirius picked him up in his other arm.
"Come on," Sirius motioned for Caelum to follow him, his voice hoarse, tears streaking down his cheeks. "We've got to get out of here."
"Go home!" Harry demanded. "Dada home!"
Sirius froze, memories of his own childhood slamming back into him. Peverell Castle. Harry had never seen it, but somehow he knew. James had a similar experience after his mother had been murdered and his father went into hiding, if Sirius recalled correctly.
"Yes, Harry," Sirius said softly. "We're going home."
Caelum took the man's offered hand, clinging to it tightly.
"Do not let go, Caelum," Sirius ordered, and as Hagrid's giant form made its way over to the house, the four disappeared from Godric's Hallow. Sirius Black and Katherine Potter-Black would never be heard from again. The rise of the Peverell family had begun.