12.01am Wednesday 31st July 1985
Harry snarled into the darkness. Bloody typical, the Department of Mysteries was always loosing their lights. Just his damnable luck that it would happen while he was studying the Veil. He rose from his crouch, reaching for his wand in his sleeve-holster… only to hit his head on something.
Something that shouldn't be where it was. There was nothing in the Veil room, expect the Veil and it's platform and he hadn't been close enough to the Veil or the Arch to touch either of them. So what, exactly, had he hit?
His fingers met bare skin. That wasn't right, either. He was wearing a lightweight, long-sleeve T-shirt and had been wearing the same type of shirt for the last month, as the DOM was always cold and he dressed for comfort. But right now? His arms were bare.
He huffed a sigh and whispered 'lumos'.
And was met with a sight from a nightmare.
The cupboard under the stairs, #4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
It took Harry a few seconds to pull himself out of the start of an anxiety attack. Loosing focus right now could be fatal. If this was just an illusion and he moved the wrong way, it could mean that he inadvertently put himself into the Veil. Not a good idea. So Harry focused. He sent his hard-earned wandless magic tendrils out to sense any magics within a set distance, in this instance, he knew the Veil room was roughly 20 yards from side to side. And he'd been in the middle, so sending out tendrils to 10 yards should be enough to locate the Veil's Arch or the enchanted door to it's room.
The tendrils came back, one by one, small images embedded in their surfaces.
"What the…?"
A single image stood out. An oval shaped plaque, a house number. 4. The rest were things he was intimately familiar with, a Beef-eater's guard-house, a toy soldier, cricket bat, board game and a stuffed grey sheep. Things Dudley had broken and thrown out, things Harry had found and his accidental magic had repaired.
"Oh, you have gotto be kidding me." Harry groaned. He flopped back down on the mattress and rested his head against the cupboard door, until suddenly he sat up straight, an excited expression settling on his face. "Sirius!" He gasped. "Sirius is alive. But…" He trailed off. His tilted and he thought for a bit.
"No. I'm not doing this, I'm not anyone's slave, I'm not going to be abused." He very deliberately didn't say anything about Privet Drive not being his home. Until he had a new identity sorted and established, saying anything like that would bring Dumbledore down on him.
"Right, first things, first. Do I transfer the Blood wards to Dudley or not?" He sighed again. "Probably a good idea. It'll buy me time. And once Dumbles starts looking for me, who knows who he'll tell and who they'lltell. I may loathe Vernon, but mum loved Petunia and Dudley turned out alright in the end." Harry smirked a wicked little grin. "And I know exactly where Petunia kept mum and dad's stuff."
He hauled himself to his feet, his bruised five year old body shaking with the effort. A few seconds to pulse his magic through his body and heal the worst of his injuries and Harry quietly pushed open the cupboard door. He took a deep breath and after making a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a set of tongs and a crystal drinking glass, he headed up stairs. Taking care to stay close to the wall, he began to climb the stairs to the bedrooms. Standing in Vernon and Petunia's doorway, he tossed a pair of weak stunning charms at the two sleeping figures, that would keep them asleep for the next half hour, plenty long enough to Harry to do what he needed to. The same charm was tossed at Dudley, as Harry entered his room.
Five minutes, a stasis charm, a cutting hex, an open window, summoning and banishing charms and Dumbledore's wards were transferred, leaving Dudley with the best anti-wizard security he could get.
Back in the master bedroom and Harry was digging around in the wardrobe, hunting for the loose screw that opened the wardrobe's false floor. When that lifted up, he pulled out the two boxes, one jam-packed full of cash, the other held two shrunken trunks and a handful of magical photos. These Harry pulled out, using the kitchen tongs, he wasn't sure that Dumbledore's shiny silver doodads, the ones that were blood-bonded to Harry, would alert the old wizard if Harry touched the trunks, better to be safe.
The photos, the trunks and the cash were shoved into the crappy second-hand school backpack that Petunia had found in an Oxfam shop in Guilford, a few days earlier. Over to Petunia's dressing table and Harry found the two pieces of jewellery that, on her death-bed, Petunia admitted that her mother had asked her to give to Lily, but that she'd kept for herself.
Then it was back down the stairs and after snatching up an apple from the kitchen, Harry opened the sunroom's French doors and left the house, intending to never return.
Across the yard and into the back lane, up the lane and onto the garbage truck lane, down that to the far end and he was far enough from Dudley and Dumbledore's Blood-ward to apparate.
But…? Where to apparate to? Did he go to Gringotts? Search out Remus? To the Wheelhouse?
Before he could decide, a blue/white light appeared. Faint and small, no bigger than a firefly, but it pulsed with magic and Harry knew it was a wandless patronus. But more than that, it was a wandless message patronus. It bobbed around Harry's shoulders and a tiny canine shape settled on Harry's left shoulder.
"Be brave, pup, Padfoot's coming. Love you, Prongslet." Sirius' voice whispered.
"Oh for…" Harry snarled again. He lifted his right hand and moved his index finger in the twirling wand-movement for the charm and whispered.
"Expecto Patronum." Once the tiny stag appeared, he went on. "Message to Padfoot." The stag nodded. "The shrieking shack, you stupid dogfather."
If Sirius was calling him Prongslet, that meant somehow, Sirius remembered, as Remus had told him that, as Lily's Animagus form was a dark red, brindled Boxer dog, James had been outnumbered when it came to Harry's nickname. Lily, Remus and Sirius had called him pup, while James had sulkily called him Bambi. It wasn't until after Harry and Hermione had saved him with a stag patronus, that Sirius had started to call him Prongslet. Although, Harry had to admit that Sirius called him James, just about as much as he did Prongslet or Harry. And as Hermione hadn't coined the phrase 'dogfather' until the summer before 5thyear, Harry calling him dogfather would tell him, they were coming from a similar place, time-wise.
He'd better get a move on, because God knows what sort of plan the marauder had come up with.
The shrieking shack stood desolate and lonely.
At least… until Harry pushed the door open and entered the long narrow hallway, then he could hear whistling. Bright and cheerful.
He crouched low and crept forward, staying as quiet as he knew how to be, until he could see into the first room. There, sitting on the floor, scratching notes onto a board with a nail, sat Sirius Orion Black. A so-called mass-murderer that was supposed to be in maximum security in Azkaban prison.
A smirk crossed Harry's face and he crept back from the doorway, once a few feet away, he pointed his finger at a dusty corner and swirled it in a spiral motion. With a mini tornado of dust floating front of him, he started to add a chain of jinxes and hexes to it. A ticking jinx, followed by a stinging jinx, a tripping hex, followed by another tickling jinx, a toe-biter jinx, a jelly-legs jinx, another tickling jinx and lastly a hair-growing hex.
This chain of spells was crated by Harry and Sirius during their only summer together. Their usual victims were Moody and Tonks and they did it in such a way that even Molly was forced to admit that it could not have been the twins. But not once did anyone, even Remus, think that it might have been Harry and Sirius.
With his tiny whirling dust-storm, Harry crept back to the door and with a flick of his finger, sent it whirling across the room. Sirius saw the cloud of dust coming, but given the position he was in, he wasn't able to avoid it impacting on his shoulder.
He laughed and groaned and squeaked and laughed and squawked and laughed, but until the chain had run it's course, there was nothing he could do. He'd been the one to show Harry how to add a anti-cancelling charm into the mix, so only the caster could cancel the repeating chain.
"Pup! Harry! Please!" He gasped. "Please."
While this was happening, Harry had entered the room and was standing in front of Sirius.
"Please, what? Huh, Sirius? What?" Harry snarled. "Please don't let me go near the Veil? Please stop me from duelling Bella? Please remind me not to call you James? Please help me escape from Azkaban?" Harry waited until Sirius was laying on the floor whimpering, before he cancelled the dust-borne spells.
"Um…" Sirius looked at Harry. "Um…"
"You irresponsible mutt!" Harry screamed. "I needed you and you let bloody Bellatrix hit you with a bloody first year spell." Harry flopped onto Sirius lap and hugged him tightly. "Stupid bloody dogfather." He muttered in Sirius' ear.
Sirius' arms closed about the tiny body. "I'm sorry, pup. I won't do it again. The Veil sucked."
"The Veil sucked? The Veilsucked? Living the next ten yearswithout you sucked, Siri." Harry smacked at Sirius' shoulders with a tiny hand.
"So, um… Pup?"
"Yes, Siri?" Harry sighed.
"How'd we get here?"
"We apparated, Siri. Duh."
"No, here. It's 1985, it's your birthday. Last thing I remember is going through the Veil. In June, 1995. How'd we get here? The Veil should have killed me, but here I am." Sirius drew in a sharp breath. "Please don't tell me you're dead? Please?"
"I'm not" Harry paused. "Or at least not as far as I'm aware."
"Then… how?"
"I've no idea, Siri."
"So… what do we do next?" Sirius tilted his head. "Should we go see Dumbledore?"
"No! Definitely not." Harry snarled.
"Pup?"
"Dumbledore… he… I won't say he set us up to die. Mum, dad and me, but he was prepared to use any advantage he could. Mum and dad's death were just… He didn't cause it, but he knew you weren't the secret keeper, he knew mum and dad didn't want me to go to Petunia, he knew the full prophecy and he decided that if I was going to be the one to kill Voldy, then I needed to be shaped a certain way. And I couldn't be moulded the way he wanted, if I lived with any of the people that mum and dad named in their Wills. So he had Hagrid take me away, he sealed mum and dad's Wills and left me on Petunia's doorstep. He knew they didn't want me, he knew they were going abuse me and he was fine with that. It was for the Greater Good, after all." Harry finished sarcastically.
Sirius went still, his face blank and when he spoke, his voice was quiet and devoid of emotion. A sure sign of extreme rage.
"He what?"
"You heard me." Harry huffed. "I'm not doing that again, Siri."
"Alright. So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I need time to think and I doubt that Dumbledore is going to let me have it."
Sirius frowned in reply, his head nodded in agreement. Then he suddenly drew in a breath and lifted his head sharply.
"What if…? What if we can buy you that time?" He said.
"What? How?"
"Easter holidays, the last time I saw you, you and Ron were telling me about the DA."
"Yeah?" Harry replied hesitantly.
"You said that you were using the Room of Requirement."
"Yeah." He wasn't sure where Sirius was going with this.
"You said… it transforms into whatever you need it to be." Sirius went on.
"Yeah."
"What if we went there and needed it to be somewhere that time slowed so we could work out a plan?"
Harry's eyes widened, then narrowed.
"We'd have to take our own food. It's the only think the room can't provide."
"I know how to get into Rosmerta's storeroom." Sirius grinned. "That was the last thing I did before Moony left Hogwarts, I had to feed Buckbeak after all."
Harry burst into laughter, trust Sirius to feed a hippogriff and not himself.
"It's a good thing it's Wednesday morning." Harry was still chuckling as he and Sirius headed for the path that lead to Hogsmeade.
"Why? What's so special about Wednesdays?"
"In general, nothing. But the last week of July is Dumbledore's Meetings Week. Monday and Tuesday are ICW. Wednesday is Board of Governors. And Thursday and Friday are Wizengamot days."
"Oh. Okay…"
"So… how did you get out this time?"
"Same as last time. Animagus and squeeze through the bars, this time I didn't bother attacking a guard for a wand, I just headed for the dock and swam to Auskerry island, that's where I was when I sent you that patronus message. I was just about to apparate to John O'Groats and on down towards London, when you sent a message back."
"Right. So how long before the guards work out you're missing?"
"I was in maximum security, Harry. The human guards only check once a week. On Mondays." Sirius answered.
"Good. We've got a few days, then, 'cause it's unlikely that Petunia and Vernon are going to announce that I escaped a locked cupboard under the stairs."
"What?" Sirius' voice was back to that blank unemotional voice.
"Oh, get over it. They're abusive, Siri, always have been and always will. Don't dignify them by even thinking about them. Dumbles is going chuck a tantrum at them, when he finally figures out I've gone."
"True." Sirius sighed. "Hogwarts and the Room. Then what?"
"Then I hope that Lady Hogwarts is feeling generous and agrees to help."
"Lady Hogwarts?"
"Yeah. Hogwarts is sentient, Sirius. If I ask right and she's feeling generous, she may help us get new identities." Harry answered.
"But what about old snake-face?"
"He's easy. I know exactly where all his Horcruxes are, if we can get a hold of them now, before he gets a body, destroying the Horcruxes means his wraith-body won't have anything to anchor it to this realm and it will blow away in a gently breeze."
"How ignominious for a megalomaniac like him." The older wizard agreed.
Harry just nodded and that obviously distracted him from the path, in the dark it was hard to see and taking his eyes off the path for just a few seconds caused him to stumble and fall. The pain left him on his knees gasping.
"Damn I hate Vernon."
"Pup!" Sirius leapt forward and grabbed at Harry's small body. "Maybe I should carry you, pup." He said, making Harry smirk.
"Onwards to Hogsmeade, then, my knight in dripping armour." He chortled.
"Oh, har har." Sirius responded with sarcasm, but he still grasped at Harry and swung him up onto a shoulder. "So… Where is the Room of Requirement, Harry?" Sirius asked, almost seriously.
"Seventh floor of the main keep. Left from the Great Tower."
"Anywhere near the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy? Or further around near Simon the Saracen?"
"Right opposite Barnabas, actually."
"Cool. At least I know where I'm going." Sirius tickled Harry's leg as it rested against his chest.
"Oi, geroff." Harry kicked at Sirius' hand.
"There's Rosmerta's, you wanna wait here?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah. See if you can get some bread and cheese, maybe some fruit. We can use a duplicating charm, if we've got some basics."
"I'll see what I can get. I've got a window of six minutes, before her alarms go off. I should be right, if she keeps things in the same place she did when we were at school. She did with the meat while I was on the lam." As he was speaking, Sirius swung Harry down from his shoulder and boosted him up into a tree. "This tree was our lookout, we usually put James or… the rat… up here to keep an eye out. If you swing around to the next branch, clockwise, there's a flat spot just big enough for a teenage boy's butt. Should be plenty big enough for your tiny little carcass." He danced out of the way and his barking laugh became a true bark as he shifted into Padfoot and run off into town.
Harry waited as patiently as he could, thoughts and ideas running through his mind. Creating new identities was no easy thing. If, and it was a big if, Lady Hogwarts agreed to help them, they stood a fair chance of succeeding before Dumbledore figured it out and stopped them. But what direction to go?
Age him up? Age Sirius down? The options might be few, but the variations that went with them, were almost limitless.
Ten minutes later Sirius reappeared, he had a basket over one elbow, a bag hanging off the other arm, a second hanging off his shoulder and was holding a box of butterbeers in front of his chest.
"Hey, pup? Any good with featherweight charms? Got a nice haul." He said as he stopped under the tree.
Harry eased himself down onto Sirius' shoulder. "Yep, I can do that. What didja get?"
"I raided the cold store. Cold cooked ham, boiled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, cooked chicken, cooked potatoes and some butter. Most of that's in this bag." Sirius shrugged his right arm and the bag hanging off it swung about. "Then there was some bread rolls and some fruit. The bread is in the basket, along with some of Rosmerta's scones." He held out the box of butterbeers and waited patiently while Harry cast a featherweight charm. "And a jug of milk. That's the best I could do."
"Siri, that's brilliant. I was inly hoping for a loaf of bread and maybe some meat and cheese. To get fruit, eggs, meat, cheese, milk and a whole carton of butterbeers? I'm stoked. Just… we need to reimburse Rosmerta."
"And we will, pup. She's too good a woman for us to cheat." Sirius assured him.
"Thanks, Siri."
"To Hogwarts?"
"To Hogwarts." Harry agreed. "Can we use any of the secret passages?"
"Yeah, of course we can. There's one from the station, that comes out behind a mirror on the fourth floor, between Walter Aragon and Vindictus Viridian, and another from the back of the Three Broomsticks that comes out under Bell Tower."
"Hmm… probably better to use the station passage. There's a hidden passage from the fourth floor, to the seventh."
"Really?" Sirius asked. "We never found that."
"Yeah, behind the landscape at the opposite end of the hall to Headmistress Burke's portrait. It comes out at the junction of the Fat Lady's corridor and the North Wing."
"Oh, nope. Definitely didn't find that one."
"There's a missing portion of the brickwork covered by an illusion, if you know what to look for, you can see the edges blur slightly where they meet up with the real brickwork."
"And how far is that from where we're headed?"
"Well… The passage comes out at the corner of the north and east wings and the Room is just off the north wing, onto the west corridor, so about a hundred yards? Maybe a little less." Harry answered.
"Just hope we don't run into Filch." Sirius frowned.
"I can cast a disillusionment charm on us, before we reach the fourth floor." Harry offered.
"What if he's already on the seventh floor?" Sirius fretted.
"If we create a noise or let one of the portraits spot something, they'll alert Filch and while he's searching the fourth floor, we'll be up on the seventh floor heading for the Room."
"Oh… Okay, that'd work."
"Yeah. Hang on. Take over to those bushes. I'll grab a bunch of leaves. I can toss a notice-me-not on the fourth floor landscape and throw the leaves, just as we shut the painting. The other portraits shout see and hear that."
"And then they'll call Filch." Sirius nodded and sidled up to the bushes that Harry pointed at.
Forty-five minutes and two heart-stopping scares later, the two wizards sat on the floor of the Room of Requirement and sighed in relief.
"Alright, pup, we made it. How do you find out if Lady Hogwarts will help us?" Sirius asked.
"We ask, Sirius, we just ask."
"Okay. How do we ask? I mean, she's a castle, how does she hear us?"
A chalkboard appeared in front of them, slightly off to one side and the two wizards watched as, with no sign of a stick of chalk, words appeared.
'Greetings, wizards. I am Hogwarts. I hear your words through my bricks and mortar. As you speak, your voice echoes and those echoes touch my stonework, allowing me to hear them.'
"Ah, thank you, Lady Hogwarts, I was uncertain." Sirius gave a seated bow.
Harry stood and laid a small hand on the stones beside where the door had been.
"My Lady, I know you have a way of seeing into my mind. So much has happened, that I believe the best and easiest method of explanation is for you to get that explanation direct from my mind."
'It is that bad, young wizard?'The writing asked.
"I believe it is. An hour and a half ago, I was 35 and was 30 years in the future."
'Time travel?'
"I'm assuming so. I don't know what caused this to happen, every other time I've had time do a Wronski Feint, I had least had a reason. Not this time. I was studying the Veil and it's Arch, everything went black and… here I am."
'Yes, a direct explanation would be best. Please wait one minute.'
The two wizards could feel a slight hum emanating from the stones they leant against. Less than the minute that Hogwarts had asked for, there was a flash of light and a trill and a beautiful red and gold phoenix burst into the room.
"Fawkes!" Harry face lit with a smile. "Hello, Fawkes. How you doing, old fellow?"
The bird answered with a chirping trill, bright and cheerful.
"Oh, good stuff, Fawkes. Now, what've you got there?"
"Oh, just an old hat, young wizard." The voice came from the crumble bit of leather that Fawkes had dropped.
"Aldwin? Is that you under there?" Harry asked.
"You know my name, young sir?" The Hat, for all that it had no limbs, still managed to scramble out from underneath Fawkes and give the appearance of brushing itself off.
"I do, but come, Aldwin, Lady Hogwarts has need of you. Look into my mind and pass that knowledge along to her, please." Harry requested. "We desperately need help and we know not where to find it." Harry's phrasing was formal and elegant.
"Then place me upon your head, young wizard and let me be my Lady's eyes and ears." The Hat replied.
Harry speak in answer, what he did do was pick the Hat up and gently dust off a few places, before placing the Hat on his head.
Sirius waited patiently, or as patiently as he knew how, until the Hat, Aldwin, sighed and spoke, again.
"That wasn't pleasant, Mr Potter."
"No, it wasn't. And trust me, it was worse living it." Harry agreed.
"Very well. If you would be so kind as to place me against Lady Hogwarts' stonework, I will share with her, everything you've shown me. It may take a few minutes."
"Not a problem, Aldwin. I'm going to have a nap, call me when you're ready." With that Harry clambered up into Sirius' lap and using the, way too skinny, man's shoulder as a pillow, went to sleep.
Sirius looked down at Harry, in sleep, his face was innocent and like Sirius', way too thin.
"Lady Hogwarts? Can you speak with me while the Hat shows you Harry's life?" He whispered.
'I can.'Was written on the board.
"Good. Harry and I need help, my Lady. We just aren't sure what sort of help. We know that we both need new identities. I'm also thinking that we need to change our appearances. Can you…? Will you help us?"
'I will.' Was written on one line and then a new line was started. 'There are only thee options for new identities, but there are a massive number of alterations that can be made in the finer details.'
"What are our main options?" Sirius asked. It was so odd having a conversation with a chalkboard.
'One of you is de-aged. One of you aged. Or you get a new identity and adopt Mr Potter.'
"Ah… I kinda like that last one, but I'm not sure it's a good way to go. I escaped from Azkaban a few hours ago and when the human guards do their next rounds in a few days, they'll discover I'm missing. When that happens, Dumbledore's going to be told and he going to assume that I've gone after Harry."
'Yes. It is likely he will make that assumption.'
"Right. the Aurors are going to be on the lookout for a man of my approximate age with a male child of Harry's approximate age."
'I see. I had not considered that.'The writing moved to the next line. 'In that case, I would suggest altering the age of both of you.'
"That makes more sense." Sirius nodded. "I'll think on it and see if I can come up with anything, while you sort through what the Hat gives you. Then when you've done that, if you'd like, I'll wear the Hat and you and he can see my life. After that, we'll wake Harry and see what he has to say. How's that sound?"
'I think that is a sensible decision, Mr Black.'
Sirius removed that Hat with one hand, while he held Harry to his chest with the other. He carefully tucked the Hat up against the stone wall, making sure that it was sitting flush on the floor. After that, he dropped his head back against that same wall and let himself fall into a light doze. He wanted to wake as soon as Hogwarts and the Hat called for them.
Harry wasn't sure how much time had passed, or even if any time had passed, outside the Room. But he was certain that Sirius' bony chin was digging a hole in his skull. He yawned and began to wriggle. Less than ten seconds later Sirius jerked awake and looked around with almost-alarm. Upon seeing the piles of discarded items, he slumped back and yawned.
"Waz up, pup?" The older wizard mumbled.
"Headache." Harry muttered back.
"What? Why?" Sirius jerked forward and studied Harry carefully.
"You got a bony chin and it's been digging into me." Harry whined.
"What? Oh my god, Harry! I thought it was something bad. Don't scare me like that, pup." Sirius slumped against the wall and lightly knocked his head against the wall, more for effect than to cause injury.
"Don't do the Siri." Harry's little fingers grabbed at Sirius' head and held it away from the wall. "You've got enough damage from Azkaban, already, you don't need any more self-inflicted damage."
"Oh, har har, Harry bloody Potter. You definitely your mother's son, she always hit when we were down." Sirius grumbled.
"Well, of course she did. Evans' are vicious people, just look at Petunia. They were sisters, after all." Harry reminded him.
A look of consideration crossed Sirius face before one of realisation settled.
"Damn it. I didn't want to remember that."
"Mr Potter, Mr Black." The Hat's voice cut the discussion off.
"Aldwin?" Harry answered for them both.
"Lady Hogwarts has gone through the memories provided to me and it appears she has come to a conclusion." The rumbled piece of leather stated.
"Ah. My Lady?" Harry asked, turning to the chalkboard.
'I have indeed. My conclusions are thus…'A second chalkboard appeared and lady Hogwarts began to write on it.
To Do
· Repair health (correct damage and defects)
· alter ages for both
· new identities (bloodline conversions?)
· bloodlines to keep Black and Potter lordships
· identify a caregiver
· create a back history
· locate finances
· destroy tom riddle's Horcruxes
· locate suitable residence
· add to book of names (or have OWLs and NEWTs misfiled at ministry)
Once that was complete, writing appeared on the first board again.
'No particular order, gentlemen, but I would like Riddle's Horcruxes dealt with first. If you don't mind, that is?'
"Not at all, my Lady" Harry started, only for more writing to cut him off.
'Please, formality is overrated, my name before my untimely death was Gwendolyn Hogwarts. I would have you call me Gwen, please?'
Harry and Sirius exchanged startled looked, neither of them had known that Hogwarts had once been a living person.
"Of course, Gwen. It would be our honour. And I do believe I speak for both Harry and myself when I respond in kind. We are Harry and Sirius, Gwen."
'Thank you, Sirius. I remember you and your friends, two of them were good and true.'
"…and one was a rat." Sirius nodded.
'He was.'
There was the impression that all three nodded and another line appeared on the second 'To-do' board.
· identify and neutralise Death-Eaters where applicable
"Where applicable is correct, Gwen. But I'd like to add something to that?"
'Of course, Harry.'
"The removal of the DarkMark."
'Why?'
"For some it will be a freedom and for some it will destroy them. Some truly were victims, they paid for that for the rest of their lives. Some learnt the hard way that Tom wasn't the better option and they too paid, even if they did work passed it. But for some it will be completely demoralising, his true and loyal followers, those that sort him out, won't be able to comprehend the loss." Harry explained.
'I see. Yes.'
· Remove DarkMarks
Was added to the 'To Do' board.
'Anything else?'
"So… Riddle? Who's he, then? Why's he more important than Voldemort?" Sirius asked.
The words TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE, appeared in the air seemingly made of fire and as Sirius watched, the letters moved and formed four new words. I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
'He is Voldemort.'
"Oh, bloody hell. Voldemort isn't a real person? He made himself up?" Sirius' eyebrows rose steeply.
'Yes.'
"Typical. Right, destroy Riddle, destroy Voldemort." Sirius shook his head in not-quite-disbelief. "Okay. I don't think there's anything else, but we can add to the list as needed." Sirius said after Harry shook his head.
'We can.'
"How do we destroy a Horcruxe?" Sirius asked. "I didn't think it was possible."
"It is, it's just really hard and requires either basilisk venom or fiendfyre." Harry grimaced. "Gwen? Can you tell? Do I still have one behind my scar?"
"What?" Sirius' voice was flat.
'You do.'
"Without killing me, how do we remove it?" Harry asked.
'There are two options. 1) de-age you beyond the age you were when the Horcruxe infected you, 2) cut open your scar and very carefully drip the venom directly onto the Horcruxe capsule. Followed by phoenix tears to heal the injury afterwards.'
"No." Sirius snarled. "We're not cutting into your head, pup. No way."
"Yeah, I don't fancy that, either. So it seems we're going with the de-aging, then." Harry shrugged.
'De-aging you to prior to that point will also repair any other physical and mental injuries and remove any blocks or charms that have placed on you, since.'
"Okay… we might want to hold off on that for a bit, then. I don't want there to be any chance of alerting Dumbledore until we absolutely have to." Harry reminded them.
'I can create a golem. Using live tissue from you, means it can leave the Room.'Gwen offered.
Harry and Sirius tilted their heads in thought.
"If we… make a golem.." Harry started. "… then we could put timer on it."
'For what purpose?'
"Have a Sirius-golem found… not dead but soulless, Dumbledore will assume it was Kissed by the dementors. The guards don't do rounds until Monday. If they find the golem then? They're not going to be looking for an altered Sirius with a new identity. Are they?" Harry smirked.
"No they won't." Sirius grinned and shook his head in amusement, before pausing. "Why can't we do something like that with another golem for Harry? Have it found by muggles and taken to a muggle hospital, it would take St Mungo's a week or two to be notified. Most muggle hospitals are checked by St Mungo's once a month."
'If we were to put it where it'd be taken to one of the smaller hospitals, one that St Mungo's only gets to three or four times a year. That would be better.'Gwen wrote.
"They do that?" Harry asked.
"Which ones would you suggest?" Sirius asked at the same time.
'They do. Some of the smaller more remote hospitals don't get the same turnover of new patients, mostly just the same locals. They're fairly isolated and don't get a lot of tourists.'
"Sounds almost perfect. What's the catch?"
'They may decide to send the golem on to a larger hospital if we select something too small.'
"Or maybe we could have the golem appear to improve and deteriorate by turns, if they think it's improving, they're less likely to send it away, but then a deterioration would keep it in one place." Harry suggested.
'Ups and downs. That might work better if we select a district or community hospital.'
"Okay. Where do you suggest?" Sirius asked.
'Perhaps Wales? Maybe… Tregaron Community hospital? Cardigan District Memorial? Or Withybush General? They would all work.'
"Whichever you feel best. Probably not a bad idea it we don't know." Harry mused.
'Agreed. You can't tell what you don't know. I shall deal with the golems.'
"How do we make a golem that will pass St Mungo's testing?" Sirius questioned.
Two large bowls appeared, one much larger than the other and in front of the bowls a barrel of wands.
'I will require certain things from each of you. Firstly, both of you look through the wands, find something that will work with you, remembering that you will only need it for a few hours.'
Harry and Sirius shrugged and began to dig through the barrel, Sirius quickly found an oak wand that warmed in his hands, but Harry was forced to reach almost to the bottom of the barrel before an ash wand accepted him.
'Very good. We will start with Sirius.' Gwen began, but Harry cut in.
"I though we were doing Riddle first?"
'We will be, it takes time to grow a golem, given Sirius' age and size, I would estimate approximately six to eight hours. For you, Harry, half that, maybe less. But I need to get the process started and then we can concentrate on Riddle.'
"Ah. That makes sense. Sorry for interrupting."
'Not at all, Harry, you didn't know and I did ask for Riddle first.'Gwen moved to a new line. 'Harry I need you to cast a nerve-blocker on Sirius' hand, I'll need a portion of one of his fingers.'
"What? Why?" Sirius asked.
'To create a living golem, not a earthen one, I need blood, sweat, tears, muscle, bone and hair. Once it's fully grown, you will each pulse your magic through the golem and it will fill the body and give the appearance of a shattered core.'
"Ah… Sorry." Sirius grimaced.
'It's fine. I can get half the requirements from one finger, a severing charm to cut a finger off at the distal joint will provide enough material. Add to that tears and hair. And while I said sweat I don't actually need liquid sweat, I need the oils and skin detritus that can be found in sweat. A hard edged scrapper along an arm will provide what's needed.'
"Ew." Harry screwed his nose up.
'True, but that's why less than half of 1% of Healers will recognise a living golem for what it is.'
"How do we heal the wounds?"
'A few drops of de-aging potion, just enough to revert you backwards by a few hours.'
"Okay. I'm going to assume the larger tub is for Sirius and not me." Harry grinned and ducked Sirius' swipe.
"Cheeky pup."
"Line up, Siri, let me get balanced and I'll start. I'll put the nerve-block at the wrist. No, Siri, your other hand, let's not cut up our wand-hands. Once I'm done, you can repay the favour."
Ten slightly uncomfortable minutes later and Harry turned away from the tubs.
"That's gross." He flicked the wand in his hand and conjured a pair of screens to shield the tubs from sight.
"Thanks pup." Sirius was slightly green-faced.
"At a guess, I'd say you'll never be a healer, Siri."
"Gods, no." Sirius put one hand over his mouth and ran for a newly appeared bathroom.
"Okay…" Harry drawled. "Wasn't expecting him to be like that."
'He was like that when he was at school, too. It wasn't the sight of blood or even severed limbs, but the sight of a body being repaired, that he could never watch.'Harry thought he could read Gwen's amusement in the words.
"So… next is?" He asked.
'Destroy all the Horcruxes but the one behind your scar.'
"Okay. I'm going ask for a basilisk-venom-proof vessel, large enough for all five items."
'I was under the impression of there being seven?'
"That was then. Right at this point in time, there's six. The diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the diadem and me. It's not until he murdered a ministry witch, whose name I always stuff up, in 1994 that the 7thwas made. And if we're leaving mine alone until the golems are grown, that makes five."
'Yes, I understand, now.'Gwen wrote and in a newly created clear space a tall, narrow, phial-like vessel appeared. At first Harry thought it was glass or crystal, but seeing the way it glittered in the light, he suspected that it was diamond or some other magical equivalent. As he watched, it filled to the ¾ mark with a silvery/green liquid, raw basilisk venom. The deadliest substance known to the Wizarding world.
Sirius emerged from the bathroom, still pale but no longer green.
"Better, now?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. Gwen gave me a nausea potion, so I don't see the golems, I shouldn't have any more problems." He nodded at the new clearing and it's occupant. 'What's that, then?"
"That is the basilisk venom we're going to use to destroy the Horcruxes." Harry answered.
"Right. Um… where are they?"
'Simply request that I bring them to you. One at a time, please. I don't want my castle being blown to pieces.'
"Got it." Harry took a few deep breaths and then said clearly. "Lady Hogwarts, I require the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw and the Horcruxe it contains, to be brought to me and placed within this vessel containing the venom of a basilisk."
Gwen made no reply, but the diadem appeared, inside the vessel and dropped down into the venom. The diadem twisted and turned, rolling over and spinning in place, trying to avoid the poison. But there was no escape. Abruptly the diadem shuddered and an inky black cloud burst out of it, only to be dissolved by the venom. The diadem sank to the bottom of the vessel and settled face down, rocking to a halt.
"One down, for to go." Harry grinned.
"Four? I thought…" Sirius trailed off.
"Seven in 1994, six in 1985. Five plus me. With one destroyed that leaves, four plus me."
"Oh, right, gotcha. Four." Sirius nodded.
"Lady Hogwarts, I require the diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle and the Horcruxe it contains, to be brought to me and placed within this vessel containing the venom of a basilisk." Harry directed.
Within a minute, the diary lay in the bottom of vessel, resting against the diadem, it's pages fluttering in the still disturbed liquid.
Sirius nodded and Harry spoke again.
"Lady Hogwarts, I require the ring of Marvolo Gaunt that holds the fabled Resurrection Stone and the Horcruxe it contains, to be brought to me and placed within this vessel containing the venom of a basilisk."
'Placing the ring in the venom will shatter the stone, Harry.'Gwen warned.
"I know, Gwen and that's not a bad thing. Calling souls back to this plane of existence is painful to those souls. The loss of the ring will also put a serious kink in Dumbledore's plans and I'm okay with that. I only used the stone six times, once one my way to face Tom. Once each to call Fred, Tonks, Lavender and Colin. And once to yell at Dumbledore."
Sirius laughed at Harry vicious expression, before his own eyes widened and he stared to bounce on his toes.
"Wait. Wait, I've got a fabulous idea." He crowed.
"What, now?" Harry asked, his voice pained.
"We need to create a new identity for you. What if we used Remus' sister as your new mother and had James and Lily blood adopt you? If Gwen can provide James' blood?"
'More details, please, Sirius.'Gwen wrote.
"Remus has a twin sister, Rommy. If we made her your new mother, as she's a squib, Remus could be your magical guardian. And James…? Well, he had an accident at school and until Lily announced she was pregnant, no one was quite sure whether James could actually have children. St Mungo's had to do some sort of fancy blood binding thing when you were born, apparently James sperm weren't strong enough to make you healthy, so they bound your blood to the Potter bloodline to repair any damage and make you a healthy bouncing baby boy. If we make you older, born before Lily got pregnant and have James blood adopt you, that way, regardless of the Harry-golem, you will still inherit the Potter estate." Sirius explained.
"Oh, Oh. OH! Yes!" Harry nearly screamed.
"What? What?" Sirius frantically asked.
"Make you and me, twins. Our mother will be Remus' sister and our father will be… wait for it… Sirius Black!" Harry yelled Sirius' name.
Sirius blinked a few times, before starting to snicker.
"Gwen, belay my request regarding the ring. We may need it for-" Harry trailed off when he saw Gwen writing.
'No, we won't. I can't provide the blood of a deceased person, but… I am able to take a sample of Harry's blood and extrapolating Lily and James' from it. Also in regards to Romulinda Lupin? I'm sorry to say that Miss Lupin is fatally injured at this moment. I can summon her blood. Not enough for Conversions using the ages you are now, but if we were to de-age Sirius to be the same age Harry is? I should be able to get enough for that. Let me do some checking…'
The Room was still as both Harry and Sirius waited for Gwen. The idea of being Sirius' brother filled Harry with joy. While Sirius was slightly stunned that Harry would want him for a brother. Harry conjured a notebook and pencil and started making notes, there was so much information they needed to have to make this work.
'I can get enough blood for Conversions to make the two of you Miss Lupin's twin sons, but only if you are aged-altered to be roughly seven years old, born sometime in 1978.'Gwen's next words weren't written for nearly ten minutes.
Harry started to laugh. "Our birthday will be the 1stof April 1978."
"April fool's day?!" Sirius laughed as he asked.
"Yep. Fred and George will just have to share with us." Harry grinned.
"Oh, hell yeah. The second generation of Marauders." Sirius kept laughing.
'Lovely, all four of you together. My halls will never be the same.'Both Harry and Sirius could feel the amusement and resignation in Gwen's words.
"Okay, that's settled. Gwen my last request stands. Bring on the ring." Harry waved at the venom-filled vessel and watched in surprise as the ring dropped into the liquid.
The gold of the ring-band twisted and stretched, letting the stone fall free. A cloud of black emerged from the band and was quickly dissolved. The band then fell to the bottom and joined the dairy and the diadem, but the stone seemed to float in the venom. Finally it gave a twitch and exploded, the force rocking the entire vessel and causing the venom to slap up it's sides. It took nearly a minute before the liquid settled to just ripples.
"Lady Hogwarts, I require the locket of Salazar Slytherin and the Horcruxe it contains, to be brought to me and placed within this vessel containing the venom of a basilisk."
Another minute and another Horcruxe was gone.
Harry paused when Sirius gave him a bread roll with ham, cheese and tomato slices sandwiched inside it, he quickly munched away, finishing off his impromptu meal with a mug of milk.
"Ta, Siri, didn't realise how hungry I was." The boy grinned, still wearing a milk-moustache. He turned back to Gwen's boards and picked up where he'd left off. "Lady Hogwarts, I require the Badger cup of Helga Hufflepuff and the Horcruxe it contains, to be brought to me and placed within this vessel containing the venom of a basilisk."
60 seconds later, Harry sighed in relief, they were all gone. The only Horcruxe left was the one behind his scar.
"Finally." Sirius slumped back and flopped into a seat that he'd conjured earlier. "What do we do next?"
'Now we finalise the details of your new identities.'Gwen wrote.
"I thought we were going to be…" Sirius frowned. "How the heck do I say this… my godson and I about to become my sons?"
'There's more to it than that, Sirius. Let me bring up another board, so we can get the details down and add or clarify where we need to.'A third board rolled out of the piles of discarded items that filled the Room and took up a position between the other two. A list of incomplete details wrote themselves on this new board.
Names:
Date of Birth:
Father:
Mother:
Residence:
Finances:
Guardian:
'How much can we fill in?'Gwen wrote on the original board.
"Names. As we've already decided that we'll be Sirius' sons, we decided to stay with the Star-theme that the House of Black favours." Harry said.
"Harry's new name is going to be Ares Evan Black and I'm going to be Mars James Black. Evan and James after our blood adopted parents, James Potter and Lily Potter neeEvans." Sirius added.
"And our date of birth will be the 1stof April 1978. Sirius first, that way he will become Lord Black when the current Lord Black dies. And I will be Lord Potter, again." Harry offered more details and Gwen wrote them in the appropriate place.
"Like Harry said, our father will register as Sirius Orion Black, with blood adoptions by James Potter." Said Sirius.
"Our mother will be Remus' sister, I'm sure you know her details better than we do. Plus a blood adoption by Lily Potter." Harry said.
"Can we use a house that Dumbledore doesn't know about for a residence?" Sirius asked.
'I think it might be better to start fresh. Romulinda, as I said earlier has been fatally injured, she's not dead yet, but that's only because of that fact that I've slowed time in the Room to extreme levels. Outside this Room time is almost at a standstill.'
"Thanks for that." Harry said. "Isn't there anything we can do for Romulinda?"
'No. Her throat has been slit, along with all the major vessels, windpipe and oesophagus. There's nothing the muggles could do and even with magical help, she would never be able to talk again or swallow food. The damage is too great. And being unable to use a wand, the chances of her long term survival are poor and her quality of life would be even poorer.'
"Bugger." Sirius muttered.
'Indeed. What I can do is… Romulinda won a small amount of money in the National Lottery, just over a month ago. I can enlarge that, by tapping into lost and unclaimed winnings, and create a paper trail, use that to show that Romulinda purchased a cottage somewhere, in the country.'
"Devon." Said Harry. "Ottery St Catchpole, as close to The Burrow owned by the Weasley's, as possible."
The boards remained static for a few minutes before Gwen began to write.
'There's an empty cottage quite close, opposite the end of their drive, in fact. It's a semi-muggle cottage, as many are around that village, it has power and lights, but no telephone. The previous owner died some months ago, splinched himself while drunk-apparating. It's remained for sale through the Ministry since. I can alter the Ministry's records to show that Romulinda bought it with her winnings, almost a month ago, taking full possession just yesterday.'
"Great. That's another bit sorted." Sirius beamed at the nearest board and patted a brick in the wall.
'Two actually. That just leaves guardian.'
"Remus." Harry and Sirius spoke together.
'Won't happen. Remus Lupin is a werewolf, there's no chance that either St Mungo's, the DMLE or the werewolf register will let that happen.'
"Damn." Sirius grumbled.
"Oh, I don't know about that." Harry smirked.
"What?" Sirius frowned. "What do you know that I don't?"
"Lots of things, Siri. But… Gwen? Did you see the potion I made for Teddy and St Mungo's?"
It took a few moments before Gwen replied.
'Oh… my… goodness. You created a cure for lycanthropy? Truly? Does it work?'Gwen's amazement was obvious.
"It most certainly does. If we dose Remus? Gwen what then?"
'He'll be questioned about being registered. But… I can alter his memories, just a fraction. I can't make many changes, but I can make him think he's suffering from partial side-effects related to lycanthropy without actually having lycanthropy. It won't change any other memories, he'll remember the pull of the moon, but not that he actually shifted.'
"That's going to confuse the crap out of a few people." Harry warned.
'Too bad. Remus Lupin has suffered enough. If we can do this right now, there's no reason we can't have Remus at St Mungo's on the night of a full moon. The next is tonight.'
"Which will just prove that he not a werewolf." Sirius crowed.
'Exactly.' Gwen drew a smiley face at the end of the line.
"How do you think he'd like to raise us? Would he be happy about it?" Harry asked Sirius.
"Yeah. I think he would be."
'Check that you're happy with what I have, please.'Gwen requested.
Names: Mars James & Ares Evan Black
Date of Birth: 1stApril 1978
Father: Sirius Orion Black (birth) & James Fleamont Potter (blood adoption)
Mother: Romulinda Jeffery Lupin (birth) & Lillian Juliet Potter nee Evans (blood adoption)
Residence: Sorrell Cottage, Ottery St Catchpole, Devon
Finances: Heir Black (Mars), Heir Potter (Ares), Romulinda Lupin (National Lottery)
Guardian: Remus John Lupin (birth Uncle)
Harry read through the details and turned to Sirius, he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm happy with that. But I'd like the Book of Names to read La Pen, base it on a badly handwritten 'Lupin', our mother's name. Let the book think that as Romulinda isn't a witch, if we're raised by our maternal Uncle, we must be muggleborns. McGonagall does the home visits, we can widen the wedge between the late Harry Potter or Sirius Black and the Black twins. Otherwise I like it. You?" He asked.
"Yeah, that's fine." Sirius agreed. "I have a question about Romulinda, though. How can we be certain that Remus will be called?"
'The area she lives in is a poor area, not quite a slum, but definitely a lower income area. The residents try to avoid the police being called, it tends to not end well.'
"Right and Romulinda's killer?" Harry asked.
'He's still in the flat. Romulinda was planning to use her lottery winnings to leave his control and he walked in on her, as she packed the last of her things. He saw a box of legal papers on the table and reacted badly, he beat her, before slitting her throat. She not the first he's killed, but I'm going make sure she's the last. I can simulate an outburst of accidental magic directed at him. It would have to be significant enough for the Aurors and obliviators to be called in. I will ensure that the outburst carries enough of Romulinda's magical signature that the outburst will be attributed to her.'Gwen informed them.
"Will the golems be ready by the time we need to move?" Harry wanted to know.
'Harry's golem will be ready for use in about an hour, but Sirius' is still three to four hours away. For now I suggest that the two of you, eat, bathe and get some sleep. When the golems are ready, many things will have to happen in a short amount of time.'
"I bags first shower." Harry yelled and ran for the bathroom.
"There's two showers, pup." Sirius was only a few steps behind him.
"What have we got left to do?" Sirius asked.
Gwen answered by showing an updated list.
To Do
· Repair health (correct damage and defects)
· alter ages for both
· new identities (bloodline conversions?)
· bloodlines to keep Black and Potter lordships
· identify a caregiverDONE
· create a back historyDONE
· locate financesDONE
· destroy tom riddle's Horcruxes 5 done -HARRY'S SCAR
· locate suitable residenceDONE
· add to book of names (or have OWLs and NEWTs misfiled at ministry)DONE
· identify and neutralise Death-Eaters where applicable
· Remove DarkMarks
· Activate golems
"Okay… more than I thought."
'Not really. Most of it is planned. Harry? The Death-Eaters and DarkMarks? Who do I need to eliminate and whose marks do I change?'
"Once my scar is dealt with, I'd like every DarkMark to fade to nothing. As for the Death-Eaters? The ones that need eliminating are the Carrow Twins, Alecto and Amycus. Barty Crouch Jnr, he's at his father house, by the way. Thorfin Rowle. Walden McNair. And of course the rat, Peter Pettigrew." Harry sneered, before sighing. "Unfortunately, they need to be spread out. Crouch first and the rat last. Space them out over the course of a few months, maybe even a year. As long as they're gone before we get to Hogwarts. Oh, and make the rat's come-uppance public. Very public. Diagon Alley, public. Make it clear the Weasley's are victims."
'That I can do.'
"And Severus Snape?"
"What about Snivellus?" Sirius screwed up his nose.
"I found out why Dumbledore trusted him."
"Oh? Why?"
"After he found out that Tom was going to target us, he went to Dumbledore. Begged him to hide us, swore to spy for Dumbledore in exchange, but demanded that no one be told. After mum and dad died, he swore an oath to mum that he would do everything he could to keep me safe and help me kill Tom. He wasn't aware that I was a Horcruxe or that Dumbledore had other plans for me. He knew nothing about my home life other than the lies Dumbledore told him. It wasn't until just a few weeks before the Ministry and your spectacular fail at Flacking (quidditch foul), that he discovered how wrong he was and by then Dumbledore had him by the short and curlies. He died during the Battle of Hogwarts, Tom set Nagini on him, he died basically in my arms, but he gave me his memories first. Of meeting mum for the first time, fights with you four, discussions with Dumbledore and the things he'd done to try and protect the students from the Death-Eaters that Tom had put in the school. To his last breath, he was loyal to mum and did everything he could to help me win. And he died for it."
Sirius sighed. "Well, shit." He muttered. "That means I gotta respect him for doing the right thing over the easy thing. Don't I?"
"Yep." Harry nodded.
"Damn." He sighed again, before shaking his head and focusing on Gwen's board.
The list had changed.
· identify and neutralise Death-Eaters where applicable IN PROGRESS
· Remove DarkMarks IN PROGRESS
'That leaves us with-'Gwen created a smaller list on the first board.
· Repair health (correct damage and defects)
· alter ages for both
· new identities (bloodline conversions?)
· bloodlines to keep Black and Potter lordships
· activate golems
'The second item will actually deal with the first item. The fourth item will include the third.'Gwen informed them. 'I'd like to explain what I will do. From here on, things must happen in a specific order and within a limited timeframe.'
"Alright. We're listening." Sirius placed Harry on the seat beside him and sat forward, giving Gwen his undivided attention.
'Firstly are the golems. You must pulse your magic into your golem, in short bursts and keep going until I say stop. I suggest that Sirius does his first, as his physical condition is the more fragile. Then Harry, you will do the same. At that point I will dispose of the golems, one to Azkaban and the other to… you don't need to know where. Or when I will terminate them.'
"Right."
"Agreed." Sirius and Harry spoke at the same time.
'Next is Harry's scar. For that I will provide a de-aging potion that will regress you to exactly one year old. To the minute. This will expel the Horcruxe from you and reverse any damage and remove and charms or spells that may have been placed on you after that age. Then there will be Harry's re-aging. If the 1stof April 1978 is going to be your new date of birth, I need to calculate the exact number of days you need to be, days and hours by preference. To do that I'll need a time of birth as well.'
"1stof April 1978 for both of us, but Sirius is to be older. Time of birth could be… 4.21am for Sirius and 4.49 for me." Harry suggested. "How's that sound?"
'In that case I can just use round numbers, I don't need to fiddle with minutes, at least for Harry and all I need to do for Sirius is to make him so many minutes older than Harry. Easy.'Gwen scribbled out quickly.
"When is this all going to happen? I mean what time outside the Room?" Harry asked.
'Outside the Room it's not quite 2.15am. I'd like to have Remus done before 3am and the golems relocated by 3.30am. Drawing blood for the conversions and adoptions and the recovery time should take us to 4am, give or take a few minutes. The actual conversion will take only tem minutes at most.'
"That's quick." Sirius commented.
'It is. It's complicated and obscure, but quick. You and Harry will drink the same potion from the same goblet, at the same time. Before entering the Conversion Basin, I'll set off the runic sequence and the two of you will submerge, you only need to be completed submerged for a few seconds. Once completed, you'll need to do an identity test, you'll need to confirm your names and date of births using a black quill. It will set the changes using your blood and magic.'
"Ouch." Harry muttered rubbing his left hand at the memory of Umbridge's detentions.
'After confirming, next are the blood adoptions. New because I'm using Harry's blood to extrapolate back to get James and Lily's bloods, the adoptions will register as having been done prior to Harry's conception. So you shouldn't need to confirm them. Another identity test will let us know for sure.'
"Fingers crossed." Harry muttered.
"How do we drink from the same goblet as the same time?" Sirius screwed his face up in confusion.
"Straws? Would drinking straws work, Gwen?" Harry asked.
'They would and if I mix the potion and put a barrier down the exact centre, a straw on each side would ensure that you both get the same amount of potion.'
"Oh hey, speaking of Moony? The potion? When will that happen?" Sirius asked.
'Ah… that had best be first.' Gwen's list altered and she continued. 'I want to dose him before he wakes, it'll make it much easier to alter his memory if he's asleep.'
"You know your capabilities best, Gwen, we'll trust you to know how long you'll take to do something." Harry assured her.
'Thank you, Harry, I shall do my best.'
"I know you will, you always do."
'From there it's simply a case of depositing you two in Romulinda's flat, placing the supporting documents, magical residues and supplies. Residue of accidental magic for you two and a burst large enough to summon the Aurors and obliviators. I've an idea for that, but it's better if you two don't know, your reactions need to be genuine. Supplies consist of clothes, photos, toys, that sort of thing. Your signatures will be on a number of items, just basic things like summonings, reparos, colour changes, that type of thing. Now, nothing is going to be expensive, very little is going be new, we have to keep within what was Romulinda's budget.'
"Fair enough." Sirius nodded.
"What about the documents?" Harry asked.
'There'll be notice of her winnings from the National Lottery, receipt of purchase for the cottage, copies of her Will, your birth certificates, her diary, banking details and various other odd bits and pieces.'
"Okay. It there anything else we should know about?"
'The Conversion potion I offer is an unusual one, in that after confirmation with a black quill, it becomes permanent and it will take affect on your mind. You will still remember everything, but as we don't want this to be reversible, it's the only option, so your minds will have to become as physically immature as your bodies. Your behaviour and attitude will change to match that physical age.'
"So…?" Sirius drawled.
"So, there'll be little change for you, Siri, and I'll act more like you than I should." Harry grinned.
"Pup." Sirius warned.
"Alright. Our bodies and minds will be the same as any other seven year olds, we'll be children, Sirius, inside and out. We'll feel like children, act like children and behave like children." Harry explained.
"Oh.. okay." Sirius shrugged. "I can deal with that. I think."
"If we do this? You'll have no choice, because it's not reversible, it's permanent."
Sirius took a deep breath before answering.
"I had a shitty childhood, Harry, Gwen. Blacks aren't good parents. Mine used the Cruciatus on us, on me and Reggie. We had to act like purebloods every minute of the day. If we slipped, we paid for it."
'They were unfit to be parents. I saw that even as young as at their sortings.'Gwen agreed.
"They are, so let's not think about them, anymore." Sirius nodded. "So we're going to be kids, again."
"Yep. God help Moony." Harry grinned.
'Indeed.'The two wizards could see the amusement in Gwen's writing. 'Alright. This is the list as it stands now. Have a read and let me know if you think anything need to move.'
To Do List (Harry/Ares and Sirius/Mars)
· brew LycanFree - dose Remus and alter memories
· golems - activate and relocate
· draw blood (Sirius' for conversion) (Harry's to extrapolate Lily and James' for blood adoptions)
· de-age Harry to remove Horcruxe
· re-age Harry (to be 2678 days old)
· de age Sirius (to be 2678 days, 28 minutes old)
· bloodline conversion (+identity testing to set names and d.o.b's)
· blood adoptions
· deposit Mars and Ares in Romulinda's flat (+supporting documentation, photos and accidental magic residue)
· use Romulinda's magical signature to create magical outburst sufficient to summon Aurors and obliviators.
Harry tilted his head as he read through the list. He ran through a few scenarios in his head before nodding.
Sirius read the list and thought about what Gwen had to do behind each item, before shaking his head.
"That's fine." Both wizards spoke at the same time.
'Are we ready to do this?'Gwen asked.
"It would be nice to have had a few others come back, too." Harry mused. "To have help."
"Yeah?" Sirius asked. "Who were you thinking of? Remmy?"
"Nah. Remus married on the quiet, he knew the Ministry wouldn't allow or accept it. I won't say who to, but they had a son, Teddy-"
"The one you made the potion for?"
"Yeah, that's him. So if Remus came back like we did, it would be sad, he'd know his wife was dead and that's not good. No I was thinking of Fred and George… and maybe Cedric."
'Who are they?'Gwen asked.
"Fred and George are the fourth and fifth sons of Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley nee Prewett. Pranksters almost on the same level as the marauders. Started here in 1989 and caused merry hell from their first week. And they basically adopted me as a brother. No matter what happened , they always had my back. Fred was killed during the big battle here in 1998, leaving George alone and at a loss. Cedric Diggory was in the same year, from the same village, he was the Hufflepuff seeker and a good guy. The Tournament? I told him about the dragons and he warned me what to do about the dragon's egg. The Rat killed him. Tom said, 'kill the spae' and Pettigrew hit him with a killing curse. No warning, no chance to fight, no chance to live. Nothing." Harry was almost in tears.
"Easy, pup, easy." Sirius rocked back and forth until the small boy regained his control.
'Are they the reason you chose Ottery St Catchpole?'Gwen asked.
Harry just nodded.
'I will make a request to Lady magic, but I have no way of knowing if she will help or not. And if she does, there's no way to know unless they tell you, personally. You could very easily be in this on your own, Harry.'Gwen warned.
"No, I'm not alone. I've got Sirius…" He paused. "Is there something we can do that will make us only react to our new names?"
'Yes, Harry, once you do the confirmation using the black quill and your new names and date of births are set, you will think of yourself as 'me', as 'Ares Evan Black'. And that's how magic will identify you. you will remember Sirius, but you will also know that he is now your brother, Mars. If you call his name, you will call Mars. If someone calls 'Harry' you will look around for the person being called. If someone calls 'Ares', you will react. You will be Ares. Harry will be gone.'
"Thanks, Gwen."
'Not at all. Now… the last thing I want to know is… What would you like done with the Horcruxe containers?'
"The day the Harry-golem dies? Dump them on Dumbledore's desk, leave a note that says the Horcruxes are gone and let him worry about it. I've done what the prophecy said I had to do, twice even. It's not my problem, now."
'Alright. In that case, Harry? Write out the recipe for LycanFree. And let's get started.'