Hi there, I can't thank you enough for all your support, I have to admit that I never expected to have 18 reviews, is way more than what I have with my other two stories combined.
I read the reviews from chapter one, and I made a few changes to the opening sequence, is nothing big but it was necessary to make it more realistic.
N. Flamel and Deliberatee, thanks for your observations in my grammar, I'm trying to fix it.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Harry Potter series, no its characters, *sniff*
So, here comes this week chapter, I hope you like it.
Three years later…
The wind was whistling in the blackness of a sunless morning. The winter arrived early that year bringing with the raging cold that was characteristic from the Scotland forests. Snow covered the sea of trees masking the hunter's scent from the unaware prey. The moment is getting closer, the breaths become shorter, calculated, the posture changes, crouching to hide better from the poor animal that was soon to become food; a strong arm movement stretched the cord and with a soundless action the prey becomes the victim.
A raven haired boy approached his home carrying his trophy on his shoulders; a small deer had become today's menu. His emerald eyes determined, filled with the joy of a good hunting; his breath deep, muscles relaxed, walking relaxed as well.
Harry Potter was not a small, abused, terrified kid anymore.
His life changed three years ago when his godfather and his uncle rescued him from his mother's relatives. The boy had become an accomplished hunter, being taught to handle a lance at six and bow and arrow at seven he had gained great expertise.
"Hey pup, looks like you got up early for a morning walk" said his godfather with a sheepish smile in his face while looking at his godson and the small deer on his shoulders.
"Hey Sirius, yeah, I wanted to eat rabbit but I came across this little guy so I took the chance, his mom wasn't around so it was easier to get him" replied the eight year boy while the morning lights started to appear.
"Excellent, taking chances is a skill that everyone should learn" Sirius added, "It makes you use your judgment to the better approach, it forces you perceive what others can't, indeed something we should learn well"
Harry listened to his godfather's words, "Have you taken your chances before, Sirius?" he asked.
"Yes, I did…" he paused for a moment while he grabbed his son-in-all-but-blood shoulders, "when I escaped Azkaban to take you" he finished with a goofy grin.
Harry smiled at his godfather's response. Sirius smiled as well and took a few moments to evaluate his godson.
Time, love and care really did great things on a person's heart and mind. This Harry Potter was a happy outgoing gentle soul; he had become the perfect mix of his parents both physically and mentally.
'The Pack' had discovered that inside that shy interior, Harry was a really outgoing kid. With the year he became confident but not a complete arsehole like his father was in his early Hogwart's years; he was a modest kid, not a glory hound. Despite the years he always felt shy when being appraised, demonstrating his real character, in that way he was very like Lily.
He was compassionate like his mother, even when hunting, he never felt good about killing, he did about succeeding his task, but not about killing. He knew that food was necessary and he knew that the Pack couldn't always afford to go to the civilization to get supplies so he had to do it too. The Marauders had insisted in teaching him to hunt the year before and gave him the chore to hunt twice a week.
Harry had developed some fascination for the forest and the outdoors; he liked the feeling of freedom that the forest gave him. Since he was five years old, Moony taught him to move in a forest, to look for trails, scents, footprints, read the sky by the stars or the moon, read the time with the sun and always find north.
He had developed a lean body and great agility, his complexion wasn't going to let him have a big bulky body but he was extremely fit. He had an adventurous side and he learnt to travel in the forest, evading trees, logs, jumping on boulders, swimming, climbing trees and moving trough them.
Harry Potter definitely was a happy kid.
"Sorry pup, you're cooking today again, Moony is arriving late from his trip to the city, and you know I can't cook, unless you want to be poisoned of course" said his godfather with a grin on his face as he finished his musings.
Harry gave a thought to what he said and he knew that Sirius wasn't allowed to approach the kitchen; even sandwiches became poison in his hands, so he accepted the task.
"Alright, I'll handle it, God forbids I got to eat your food, can you imagine the headlines? 'Boy-Who-Lived-Dies-by-Eating-Bad-Food' that would be a blow" Harry joked about it, "Let me take a shower and I'll get on to it" he said while he entered the tent.
About an hour later he had cleaned himself and cooked the deer. A warm stew served on their plates became their breakfast.
The 'Wolf's Den' had a schedule, Moony cooked breakfasts and meals while Harry cooked dinners, the days Harry hunted (Saturdays and Sundays only since Harry attended school in Fort William, the second largest settlement in the Scottish Highlands) Moony handled all the cooking of the day. Remus knew since their school years that Sirius couldn't cook even if his life depended on it so he made it clear since the beginning that he was to stay away from the oven.
Lupin had left to the city the day before to get supplies for Christmas dinner. The Pack made a tradition to spend Christmas on the tent and New Year on the Tonks's. This year was no different.
They ate with a light talk about dinner that night. After they finished Sirius did the dishes and they headed outside to train. Since Harry was five he had been trained in different ways, he started with hand to hand combat. Sirius used to be an Auror (the magical version of the S.W.A.T. in Magical Britain) with James Potter, they were partners. Their training included hand to hand combat and that was the first thing Harry learnt.
When he was six, he was taught to use a lance to fight and hunt by Remus including fencing and throwing, when he was seven he was taught to use a bow and arrow to hunt and to fight, both in close and long range (he learnt that the bow could be used like a staff to hit close enemies and use the arrows to pierce his enemies like if he had a pike); and now that he was eight, Sirius started teaching him to handle a sword while Andy helped as well when she was around. The Black family had a great history of sword fencers; it was their family sport for a reason.
"Again!" Sirius exclaimed. Harry thrust his sword hard towards Sirius only to be blocked away.
They had been at it for two hours straight, and Harry was feeling sore already. He always admired how Sirius could keep up.
Despite his years in Azkaban, Sirius Black hadn't lost his edge. He was still a fierce fighter and a force to be reckoned. He had changed in these three years as well. He had a recovered his shape and regained his weight, he wasn't bone thin anymore. He had a clean beard and mustache and shoulder length hair like Harry's. His gray eyes kept the hollow feeling that could only appear from being an inmate in magical Britain's high security prison. However he was the same cheering man he was before the war, having recovered his family and Harry helped him heal the loss of the Potters.
"Alright pup, let's call it a day" announced Padfoot much to Harry's relief.
Harry headed to the shower and took a bath. When he left it was Sirius's turn.
He sat on the big couch wondering about how could his life could have been if he had his parents, but he threw away the thought as soon as it came. He had learnt that it did nothing good to live in the past, it only caused grief, so he focused on the family he had now.
Sirius came out of the bathroom and sat with his godson.
"What is it pup? You look like you're in deep thought and that's freaking me out" joked Sirius. Harry threw his towel to his godfather.
"Na, I was just thinking about family… you've never talked about YOUR family, I know that you and Aunt Andy are cousins but I don't know how come. Dora tells me cousin but I don't know why, other than the way we treat each other, and I'm complaining, I like it and you know I love them, but I'm curious too, Care to explain?" he asked Padfoot.
"So that's what's been troubling you?" Sirius asked and without waiting for an answer he continued, "Well, that's easy to answer. Let's see… My grandparents, Pollux and Irma Black had three children, Orion, my father, Dorea, your grandmother, and Cygnus"
He took a deep breath, "My mother Walburga and my father married and had two sons, my brother Regulus and I. My aunt Dorea married Charlus Potter and had a son, your father, James Potter, there comes our relation" he said while fingering Harry and himself, "By blood I'm your uncle; and then comes our uncle Cygnus, he married Druella Rosier and had three children, Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa Black. Andromeda, well you know her so I don't have to say anymore than what you know. Bellatrix married one of the Lestrange brothers; I don't remember which one she married, Rodolphus or Rabastan. Finally, Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy and had a son, Draco" Sirius finished.
His face by some reason was grim. This wasn't unnoticed by Harry so he asked, "What is it Padfoot?"
Black turned his face to the kid, "You remember we told you about Voldemort, right?" he asked Harry, to which he nodded, "Well… it…" Sirius started having trouble to talk, ire and grief reflected on his hollowed eyes, "You see, most of the Black family joined Voldemort and his cause. My mother and my uncle Cygnus shared Voldemort's pureblood views of supremacy and they raised their children that way. My brother, Bellatrix, his husband and brother along with Lucius Malfoy became death eaters. Narcissa wasn't one but she had an arranged marriage with one so she hadn't much of a choice. They all became part of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, the most trusted supporters of Voldemort" he told his godson.
"My mother, being the only elder Black alive, expelled Andy from the family when she married Ted, a muggleborn as you know. Both my mother and Cygnus never related with the Potters due to their differences in beliefs. My father died before I started school so he couldn't do anything about it… he was a good man" The Prisoner of Azkaban ended the explanation.
Harry finally understood a lot of things of his family that had buggered him before.
"Thanks Sirius for sharing the family history to me…" Harry said in a low voice while looking to the nothing.
After a few moments of thinking he turned to his godfather, "Say, there's something I've been wondering, if you are my godfather, do I have a godmother?"
Sirius had a shocked stare with his eyebrows disappearing in his hair line; he definitely didn't expect that question. He answered after he took a big breath "Yes you do, her name is Alice Longbottom, wife of Frank Longbottom"
"How come we haven't looked for her? Maybe she was in the same situation as you and Remus… you know, not knowing about the will and everything along with Dumb and Dumb's manipulations" Harry asked. He knew thanks to the Pack's investigations that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief of the Wizengamot and many other titles, had frozen his parents will and he was the one who sent him to the Dursley's. He still remembered that day about a year ago.
"I swear, if I ever get my hands on dear old Headmaster I'm going to strangle him to death!" screamed Sirius in anger. Andy and Ted were looking at him with an understanding look, after all they were the ones who discovered Dumbledore's actions.
Ted worked at Gringotts and had investigated the Potters archive, and learnt that it had been the old goat that ordered James and Lily's will to be read until Harry was seventeen and it was him that sent Harry to the Dursley's.
Remus intervened, "Padfoot, the important thing now is not having revenge but find out the reason why" he said exasperated.
"Come on Moony! You know as well as me that the old man in going to tell shite!" Sirius replied to his friend.
Ted spoke, "Cursing and getting mad won't work at all, let's just calm down and think what to do now with this information"
"I believe dear that it would be a good idea to get a copy of those files, I can add Harry's records I made when I examined him two years ago and start creating a case against Dumbledore to have a leverage against him, we could turn this information if he doesn't speak his true motives" Andy suggested.
Remus grin was something to be afraid of, "Blackmail, it could work but we will have to wait until Harry enters the school and had claimed his Lord status, this way we can use his influence as The-Boy-Who-Lived and his position in the Wizengamot along with Sirius's place once we have cleared his name, this way, we could have an edge and protect us from his retaliation in a way, remember, a cornered animal is the most dangerous and this one sure knows how to Obliviate a person" Moony finished.
All the adults agreed to the suggestions and talked to Harry who had been in his room (Dora was at Hogwarts at the time), and he agreed to the plan. The Pack had made the decision to not hide things from Harry, they knew he deserved the truth, and being honest, he was more mature than kids his age, they used to joke that he was more mature than Dora, always angering her and making them laugh.
Harry was taken from his memories by his godfather's voice, "You see, we DID try to find them, and we succeeded but we found out that after your parents death and Voldemort's disappearance, Bellatrix, her husband, her brother-in-law and Barty Crouch Jr., another death eater, found the Longbottoms and tortured them until they become insane, they are currently hospitalized in St. Mungos in a vegetable state" Sirius explained with a low voice.
"They have a son, Neville, he is a day older than you actually, he lives with his grandmother, and he was also your mother's godson" he told Harry.
Harry started thinking about how much his family had suffered because of Lord Voldemort. That pissed him off big. He took most his family away from him. He killed his parents, most of his uncles and aunts joined him, by his orders his grandfather Charlus was killed, his godmother had been driven insane by his own family, supporters of Voldemort, and left his newfound cousin as well as an orphan like him.
Sirius and the others had told him that they believed Voldemort didn't died that fated night of 1981, so he vowed himself that if Voldemort were to appear again he was going to fight, for his parents and his family.
The rest of the day was spent in a blur, and soon came the night. Christmas Eve was a date that he started enjoying when he was rescued. The Tonk's were Catholics so they went to Mass that day.
By their insistence they took Harry with them every Sunday to church, so he became a catholic as well. He actually liked the celebrations and the priest's words, they always gave him peace. It was in church where he learnt to forgive but also about justice.
Since he was six he starting forging his own beliefs and he agreed that it was good for one's soul to forgive those who hurt him, but he knew that every action had to be dealt with correct reprimand, making the offender pay what is just so he could learn. If that didn't worked then he believed more absolute measures had to be taken, otherwise, everyone would do wrong and there would be chaos in the world. In his point of view, a person who had offended him should be forgiven once or twice, but they had to face justice nonetheless, if the person kept wrongdoing more definite measures had to be taken.
Harry arrived from Mass with the Tonks's and started helping with preparations from dinner, Remus arrived from the city while they were in mass. By tradition, Harry and Dora arranged the gifts in the tree, while Remus and Andy made dinner. Ted and Sirius arranged the table and did the dishes after dinner.
The next day on Christmas Day, the family woke up early and exchanged presents. Since Harry didn't have money (he didn't liked to ask Sirius for money), he had to be creative, and so his gifts were usually handmade. That year he gave Dora a necklace made of small river stones that he worked on, he gave them the shape of stars. To his aunt Andy he made a scarf with deer's hide (he had become adept to sewing), and to the males he gave them all rock made knifes for protection. Both presents for Andy and Dora were charmed by Sirius and Remus to have protections against minor spells.
He received a book about Magical Creatures and Plants from Dora (he had learnt about them in the forest by several encounters he and the Marauders had, but this was a danger free form of learning and he loved it), from Sirius, he got a broom (Sirius had taught him how to fly since he was five), Remus gave him a necklace made with the fangs of a bear that Remus killed a few months back when he was hunting with Harry, the bear surprised them and attacked them, Moony killed him to defend Harry. Harry was touched by Remus's gift. Finally Andy and Ted (he always received a single gift from the couple) gave him a BMX mountain bicycle so he could learn to ride and use it in the forest (Mountain biking and motocross was particularly popular in Fort William, to the extent of being home of the Scottish Six Day Motorcycle Trial every summer since 1909 and like most male children and some female, he loved them both, but since Aunt Andy and Uncle Remus didn't let him stay close to a motorcycle, much to Sirius dismay, he had to settle with BMX).
After the present's exchanging everybody split up to do their own business. Harry left the tent to try his new broom.
"Wotcher Harry!" his cousin greeted him, "Looks like your hands are itching for trying the broom, am I right?" she gave him a mischievous smile.
"Of course!" He replied simply.
She laughed, "You know, sometimes I believe I'm a seer" she joked while she made some weird hand movements, like if she was reading a crystal ball.
"Yeah… sure you are" he said laughing at her antics.
Dora smiled at her cousin, "I know is not a broom but I hope you liked your present" she said.
"I did, I really like your present, thanks a lot Dora," Harry said to his cousin. The kids had moved towards the duel platform to have fun with the broom and the bicycle.
"No problem Harry, I liked your gift too, I still can't believe you make your presents every year" she said sheepishly while looking at the necklace.
"Well believe it dear cousin, since I have no money I have to figure something out every year, is not hard, but it is tedious to work with it" Harry told his fourteen year old cousin.
"So, you brought your broom?" Harry asked Dora; "You bet I did" she took out his broom and went up in the air.
Flying was something Harry and Dora loved and shared, it made them closer when they were younger.
They spent the day flying around in the forest. After that New Year was a fine affair. All was good.
Two years later…
The forest raised its voice, every animal surrounding the tent could be heard easily, a mix of smells were dancing in his nose, he could feel his hair moving with the blow of the wind. His godfather seem a little bit taller, or rather, he felt a little bit smaller; it was a weird sensation but pleasant nonetheless.
He turned to see his aunt and she was beaming at his nephew, he turned his head and he could see Ted and Remus's faces filled with admiration, he took a few steps and he turned again to see Sirius smiling with pride of his godson and Dora was awed with the sight in front of her.
"You know, I think only Harry could have achieved this…" said Dora with a mocking tone, "…being the Boy-Who-Lived and all that"
"Maybe… but we can't deny, he actually did it" added Ted with a scowl on his face.
"The probability to become a magical creature is quite low, to become an extinct magical creature is abysmal, but well, here he is" said Remus with a smirk on his face.
Sirius conjured a mirror so Harry could see what all the members of his family were seeing. What he saw impressed him.
Standing in front of the mirror was a 3' tall Dire Wolf. His hair raven black, medium sized, he was close to 5' long. He had a strong gaze that combined with his emerald green eyes made him look intimidating. Above his right eye was the infamous lightning bolt scar with white fur, making it quite contrasting. But the most contrasting trait was the white marks of fur that Harry had on his arms, legs, chest and back.
The reason of this marks dated back in Harry's ninth birthday, when Sirius gave Harry a beginners set of books of every subject given in Hogwarts. Harry read his books and found Study of Ancient Runes interesting.
All the uses of Runes in objects and its effects made Harry have a keen interest in that particular subject asking Remus to get him more books of Runes.
With time he learnt about the runes ability to change an object's properties like making them stronger, faster or more durable, etc. This information gave Harry and idea and he invested himself in a personal project that actually worked.
It took him about six months to do it, but in the end he made it. He inscribed runes in his body with ink and asked Sirius to use a variation of the Sticking Charm to permanently attach them to his body. This, combined with the partial metamorphmagus abilities he had (which covered changing his skin color as well as his hair length; he discovered them by accident before Dora's fourteen birthday) he was able to conceal them and they gave him a little edge in a risk situation by making him stronger, faster, and his boy became harder, capable of withholding a strong attack (given the complexity of the runes and their use, its effect lasted only ten seconds and needed twenty four hours to recharge).
Everyone was amazed to see Harry's transformation.
With an affective bark, he invited Remus and Sirius to join him in a run. Both Marauders understood and they changed as well. The three canines ran to the forest in a graceful non stopping dance. The feel of the earth on his paws, the air nuzzling his hair, Harry felt excited because of the feeling of ultimate freedom. He turned his head to see his canine family and he could see they could enjoy the same way he did. They kept running for an hour, enjoying the freedom their forms gave them.
It was an incredible sight when the three returned. Harry was slightly larger than both adults and he looked like the dangerous one in comparison to the other two.
They shifted back and Sirius spoke, "Harry, you don't know how happy I am, even though it took you five years to manage it, you did it, you've become an animagus and what is even more astonishing is that you did it at the age of ten!"
The wolf approached them, "You know Padfoot, Harry here needs a name if he wants to become officially one of the Marauders" he said.
Harry had a face of glee and awe when Remus said those words; he started turning his face to Moony and Sirius back and forth in his excitement while the older wizards were thinking of a good name for Harry, they kept trying names like Fang, Claws, Midnight, Shadow, and others, however it was Dora, who beat them up to it, "How about Fenrir?"
Both Marauders look at each other and then to Dora, "Why Fenrir?"
"Fenrir was the son of Loki, the god of mischief in Nordic mythology; he was a wolf who was destined to kill Odin, the king of Asgard, who was supposed to be the strongest warrior of the realm and father of all" Dora replied sheepishly.
Sirius thought about it for a moment and couldn't help but to see the similitude between Harry and this Fenrir. Harry was indeed the son of a Marauder, one of the biggest mischief makers Hogwarts had in his whole history according to Sirius (then again, according to him, the other two were Moony and himself), and Harry WAS destined to defeat Voldemort, who was considered to be the greatest and most powerful Dark Lord to walk this earth since the days of Morgana, or die trying like Fenrir in his story.
He liked the name and with a simple glance to Remus he knew he approved as well.
"Hem hem, okay, then I, Sirius Orion Black, Padfoot of the Marauders, baptize Harry James Potter as Fenrir, the Dire Wolf" his godfather said in a serious tone.
"And I Remus John Lupin, also known as Moony, accept Fenrir as a member of the Marauders of Wolf's Den" the wolf said.
"I, Harry James Potter, baptized Fenrir, the Dire Wolf, accept the honor to be part of the Marauders and part of the Wolf Den's pack" said Harry in the same mocking tone as both men.
Everyone started laughing with the mock ritual and started clapping to such a rare event.
Unknown to him, Harry had got one step closer to become the man he was supposed to be, a fighter, a warrior, and a great leader.
One year later…
Harry was ecstatic; he had received his Hogwarts letter that day, Wednesday, July 31st, 1991. It was the day he had become eleven, the day he was finally going to get his wand, and most important of all the day he was going to learn the truth.
He stood up that morning only to find a regal looking owl standing in his window with a letter in one of his claws.
He read the letter and headed to the shower to start the day, it was already past nine in the morning (every birthday the pack let him oversleep) and he was surprised to see the whole family reunited already.
"Wotcher Harry! Happy Birthday!" Dora was the first one to greet him. She gave a firm hug to the now eleven year old young man.
When she stepped aside, Andy, Ted and Remus followed. They all congratulated him and hugged him as well.
Last but not least Sirius approached his godson, "Happy Birthday pup, I'm really happy that I've managed to stay free and alive to see you turn eleven" the Marauder told him with emotion. Harry was sobbing by the loving expressions of his family but most of it for Sirius words.
"Well dear cousin, you just woke up and you're smelly, go take a shower and you'll get to see your presents then" Dora mock ordered his cousin.
"Yeah, yeah, I know Pinky" he said to his pink haired cousin while waving his hand, dismissing her and left to the bathroom while she was being restrained by the older Marauders, her eyes screaming murder.
Harry showered quickly and headed to the dining room.
He was received by a slap in the back on his head, "Want to try that joke again?" Dora challenged.
Harry fake pouted, "Hey, is not my fault you change your hair color to the extreme" he told his cousin, "You are just jealous that you can only change your skin color and hair length" she mocked him.
"Why you little…" Harry started but couldn't finish because Sirius's arm had surrounded his neck, "Anyway, is time to open your presents, then we'll eat some breakfast and we'll head to Diagon Alley" Sirius said to his pup.
Harry was enthralled by the thought of finally going to Diagon Alley, he knew the muggle world but he hadn't been able to enter the magical world yet.
Andy took him out of his little fantasy world, "Alright Harry, time for presents"
Harry took the one that was in front of him. It was from Remus, it was a Defense Against the Dark Arts book. Harry smiled at the werewolf. "Thanks Moony" he said to his uncle (DADA was his favorite subject after Ancient Runes).
Next he opened the Tonks's gift. It was a couple of books, a muggle one of first aid and another one of healing spells. They knew he would need them when he grew up. Harry thanked them sincerely.
After that it was Dora's gift. It was three cassettes, one from Nirvana, one from Metallica and one from Iron Maiden.
Dora started listening heavy metal in her third year and she introduced Harry to that music as well as other music genres. Because of that he also liked The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin.
"Whoa, thanks a lot Dora, I love them, I love you!" he said happily to his cousin while he hugged her. She started laughing at his reaction, "I know… I'm the best cousin you could ever ask for" she joked; "Now you'll be able to practice the songs without me lending you the cassettes and depriving me from good music" she said.
Because of Dora's influence, Harry started playing the guitar when he was nine. Dora learnt to play when she started listening Iron Maiden in her third year, and in Christmas that year she gave Harry a guitar so he could play with her after he started nagging her about lending him her guitar, which she got on her birthday. Harry was especially annoying when he got to hear 'One' from Metallica; he really liked the sound of the guitar in that particular song.
Harry laughed and released his grip on his cousin.
Finally he opened Sirius's gift. When he opened it he was shocked that he could actually give him something like that.
When he turned ten, his weapons training changed to a concealed weapon called hidden blade. While Sirius was an Auror, a friend of his that was a hit wizard (hitman, assassin, etc.) from Canada showed him his weapon and taught him how to use it. After the long intensive course, he gave Sirius his own hidden blade, the one he used to teach Harry (he had it stored in the Black Vault and had it removed after they fixed the vault's problem in Gringotts six years ago).
In front of him was his very own hidden blade.
"Since you can't carry any weapons with you on the magical world, except for your wand of course, I thought it would be nice for you to have a little extra protection, it has the hidden blade, that you already know how to use, and a strap compartment for your wand, it activates with a voice command or with wandless magic, and it can't be accio'd by anyone other than you. The gauntlet has a concealed small silver plate in your knuckles in case you have a hand to hand combat. As you know, it goes on your left hand, it also has a disillusionment charm" Sirius explained to his awed face godson.
The weapon was a fine piece of work. "How did you get it? You told me only very few hit wizards had them" Harry asked his dogfather.
"Easy, I took it to the goblins and they replicated it with the modifications I instructed them to have. It has a slim retractile blade made of mythril, impervious to physical damage. The upper plaque is mythril too, has the Potter's shield engraved and it's super slim, weightless and impervious to physical damage, it can block and deflect minor curses like Expelliarmus, Tarantallegra, Stinging hex, and such, Please don't try to block a Confringo or a Bombarda with it, and even less an Unforgivable, you'll end up dead, understood pup?" he told his godson. Harry just nodded in admiration to his weapon and his godfather.
The pack started eating after that and without haste they put a few Glamours on Sirius, Remus and Harry and headed to the fireplace. They had decided to travel to the Leaky Cauldron by floo.
The group arrived to a dark bar/restaurant hybrid. They were greeted by the barman.
"Ah Ted, Andromeda, good to see you, going for Hogwarts supplies I'm guessing" he said while looking at Ted's daughter and the kid that was behind him and his wife.
"Indeed Tom, that's where we are heading so if you excuse us, we have a lot to do" Ted Tonks replied.
"Yes sure, don't mind me, you know the way, have a pleasant day" the barman said happily.
"We will, thank you" Ted finished the conversation.
The group headed to the back door and entered an outside area in front of a brick wall, Ted knock some bricks in a sequence and the wall started to change its shape to become an arch that let them pass to Diagon Alley.
Harry was amazed by the display of magic and the appearance of the Alley. The street was filled with witches and wizards in their usual robes, there were shops of all kinds and sold all kind of stuff, brooms, potions, pets, quills, etc.
They headed down the street letting Harry to take a look in the windows the articles exhibited.
Harry slowed down when he came past Magical Menagerie, the pet's shop. In the display was the most beautiful owl he had ever seen, she was a snowy white owl with amber eyes, 'Very much like Moony's' he thought. The owl and the boy locked their eyes; something about the animal seemed to be calling him, like the voice of a woman telling him that they meant to be.
"I see you like the owl; we'll get it for you when we come out of Gringotts" Sirius said when he saw the scene displaying in front of him between the young man and the owl, "Remus has already told the attendant to reserve her" Sirius continued with a lopsided smile.
"Thanks Padfoot" the boy replied.
They kept walking passing Ollivander's, Madam Malkin's Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, and Flourish and Blotts, places Harry wanted to enter once they came out of the bank.
They finally arrived the goblin controlled wizarding bank. Harry was awed with the place and the creatures; he had never seen a goblin before. Sirius approached the closest teller.
"Excuse me, my party and I would like to have a private meeting with the Potter's and the Black's account managers" he told the goblin. The creature looked at them curiously for a few moments and nodded, "Come with me"
He led the wizards to a private room. It looked like a meeting room for the staff of a high firm of lawyers or something like that. The walls had the same sandy color of the bank with a red carpet. It was a dark wood table in the center of the room and a set of six chairs waiting for them.
The humans took a seat. "The responsible of the accounts will be shortly, please feel free to have a snack or a refreshment" The goblin said as a tray with sandwiches, pumpkin juice and coffee appeared in the table.
All the wizards just stayed seated. Harry and the rest were uneasy, if this didn't worked it could mean trouble, and that could be potentially problematic.
Harry came out of his thoughts when a couple of regal looking goblins entered the room.
One of them started speaking, "Greetings my name is Greatfang and I'm the account manager of the Potter account" the other goblin spoke as well, "My name is Sharktooth and I'm the account manager of the Black family, how may we help you?" said the goblin.
Remus spoke first, "Before we start, I'd like to ask about the privacy and confidentiality of the conversation we're going to have"
Greatfang replied, "Anything that is spoken here, will stay here, it won't be used against you in any manner, so I would really appreciate if you could remove the Glamours, it would be easier to handle my client, Harry Potter's business with our bank"
The group was shocked at the revelation. They had no idea that goblins could see through Glamours. 'No wonder the teller looked at us the way he did' Remus thought.
The three disguised wizards did as they were told and removed the charms.
"Ah, excellent, it is a pleasure to finally meet you Harry Potter" Greatfang said.
"The pleasure is all mine sir" Harry replied.
"Let me guess you are here to open your parent's will, am I right?" The goblin asked. Harry nodded. "Well, you see, Headmaster Dumbledore ordered in his quality of Head of the Wizengamot to have their will frozen until you were of age, and we at Gringotts have to obey unfortunately…" the group and especially Harry hung their heads a little trying to figure something if they should use their 'claim the Lordship card' with the goblin but he was ahead of them, "…however, I believe you know that since you are the last Potter you can claim your Lordship once you are eleven, and by this giving you the status of an adult wizard, so may I ask, are you eleven already?" the goblin asked the boy with a confident smile.
Harry smiled, "Actually, I turned eleven today" the goblin smiled showing his sharp teeth, "Splendid! Then we can keep this up quite fast, mister Potter, if you could lend me your right hand, I'll need a little bit of blood to perform the ritual, it won't much" he said while taking out a silver knife and a little black velvet box.
Harry did as told and the goblin made a small cut on Harry's hand, dropping three drops of blood on the small box, which started glowing momentarily.
"I believe there will be no problem at all" Greatfang said, "Now, please open the box and put the ring on your ring finger, it will start to glow confirming that you ARE indeed the last Potter and because of that, the new Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter" the goblin finished instructing.
Harry did as told again and after opening the box, he put the ring on his finger. It was a beautiful gold ring with a ruby on top of it surrounded by the Potter crest in gold too. The crest had a griffin holding two swords. A sudden burst of magic came from the ring when it resized itself for Harry, confirming he was the new Heir and Head of House Potter.
The group had been silent during the whole exchange, they already had anticipated this and Harry had learnt what he was supposed to do in case everything came out alright.
"Congratulations Milord, you are now the Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter" the goblin said while shaking Harry's hand, "Now, what would be your first action as Head of House Milord"
"Please, is just Harry, I'm no Lord, only by title" Harry said, "And my first action will be to read the will of my parents"
Nobody had seen the goblin that had entered while Harry was opening the box. The small creature approached the account manager and handed him an envelope when Harry stopped speaking.
"Then you are to call me just Greatfang" the goblin said, "Here is the Will presented by your parents, feel free to read it"
Harry nodded nervously as he took the envelope the goblin handed him. He took a few moments and a few breaths to calm himself before opening the letter.
It read this way:
Harry,
if you're reading this it means both your mom and I have died, I'm sorry son for not being with you during your infancy, it must have hurt and for that your mother and I am really, deeply sorry.
This also means that we were betrayed to Voldemort by our real Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew. When we went into hiding, we told everyone that Sirius Black, your godfather and my brother-in-all-but-blood was our Secret Keeper. That was a lie; we did it by his suggestion so that Voldemort would chase him. Nobody thought that Peter could bear that kind of responsibility. It turns out this was a mistake.
Sirius, if you are there, I'm sorry mate, I know it would have been hard for you too. Harry, if he's not, that means that the probably is dead or in Azkaban. If he is in prison, then take this letter to the Head of the DMLE so they can get him out as soon as possible.
Harry there's so much your mom and I want to tell you but we can't so we'll just say this: We love you, we always have, and we always will, rest assured that we are watching you from the stars. Remember that.
Please, tell this to Sirius when you see him: Please teach my son the way of the Marauder and give my son a cousin, the world needs a new generation of Marauders.
To Remus: Buckle up and be a man, get a wife too, I'm sure there is a lady out there that won't mind your 'furry little problem', have sex, and give my son another cousin.
Harry, before I forget, Headmaster Dumbledore has a family heirloom, ask him to give it to you. It's an invisibility cloak like no other, hope you use it for mischief and pranking.
Instructions to my account manager: I'd like to have one hundred thousand galleons trespassed to Remus John Lupin, another one hundred thousand to Sirius Orion Black, another one hundred thousand to Alice Longbottom. The rest of the Potter's fortune as well as the items in the vault and the properties are to stay with Harry.
By means of this document I leave Harry both mine and Lily's school trunks hoping they will help him to know us better and to be a better student in Hogwarts.
In this letter is a list of persons who Harry should be placed in our absence:
Sirius Orion Black
Alice Longbottom
Remus John Lupin
Amelia Bones
Minerva McGonagall
Filius Flitwick
Under NO Circumstances my son is to be sent to my in-laws Vernon and Petunia Dursley.
There are no words in our vocabulary to express how much your mum and I love you. I hope to see you not so soon, live long and happy my son.
We love you Pronglet.
Harry had tears running down his cheeks when he finished reading the letter, he knew he couldn't get them back and reading this letter was the last anchor he had to that long desire. He knew now that there was no turning back and that he had to move on. This letter had become the closure he needed.
Harry handed the letter to Remus and Sirius so they could read it too. Andy closed the space between her and Harry and hugged him while Dora did the same while both women had tears in their eyes as well. A few minutes later, Remus and Sirius had tears in their eyes as well and got close to Harry to hug him as well.
Ted read the letter too and spoke, "Greatfang, Sharktooth, I believe you need to read this" the goblins complied and Sharktooth finally understood why he had been called to a meeting with Potter.
"Milord Black" he said when the group had calmed down, "Would you like me to summon the Head of the DMLE to settle your legal issues?"
"Yes please, do that Sharktooth" Sirius said trying not to choke with the sobs that were still coming out from his chest. Remus handed the manager the time-charmed letter he received that started the whole sequence of events that led to Sirius escape from prison and Harry's rescue.
The goblin stepped out the room. A few minutes later, Sharktooth entered the room accompanied by a tough looking woman. She had red hair, white skin, brown eyes and a monocle on her right eye.
She gasped when she saw the persons in front of him, long time Azkaban escapee and the disappeared Harry Potter.
"What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded. The woman shocked Sirius; he looked at her like if he had seen a ghost.
Sharktooth spoke in behalf of his clients, "Madam Bones, I believe you'll need to read this letters so you understand" he handed the documents to the woman.
After a few minutes, the woman had a somber look on her face and spoke with a choked voice, "I… I had no idea" she turned to see Sirius, "Sirius, I'm… I'm sorry I didn't believe you, in your innocence… we were all grieving and… the evidence all seemed to lead to one single direction…" she finished with tears in her eyes.
Sirius stood up, approached the woman and for Harry's surprise, he hugged her, "That's alright Am, it's not your fault, Wormtail did a fine job incriminating me" he paused for a moment, "I never believed he had it in him" he joked trying to relieve some of the woman's obvious grief.
"No it's not alright Sirius!" Madam Bones screamed at Sirius, rage, regret and guilt could be heard on her voice, "I should have believed in you, I should have pressed the issue to at least give you a trial, I knew you, I knew you couldn't betray James and Lily and still I didn't do a thing!" she kept screaming, tears running freely down her eyes.
Sirius just kept his arms around her, speaking soothing words for her, "Maybe you didn't do it back then, but you can do it now, you have read the letters and I'm willing to drink Veritaserum and be questioned, I can give my memories to be viewed in a Pensieve. Hell, I'll even do this, I, Sirius Orion Black swear upon my life and my magic that I did not betray the Potters to Voldemort or any of his followers, the one who did it was Peter Pettigrew and I swear that I'm not responsible of the death of the muggles who were killed while I chased Peter after his betrayal, so mote it be" he said to the woman while a white light came out from his wand and surrounded him momentarily.
Director Bones smiled at the man, "That wasn't be necessary, I believe you, ten years later maybe but I believe you, and as Head of the DMLE, with the overwhelming evidence in my hands, my authority is enough to clear you of all the charges, which I do, as of right now" she paused for a moment, "I, Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in presence of goblin officials of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, declare Sirius Orion Black free of all the charges given to him on October 31st of 1981, so mote it be" she said in an official voice and a light surrounded her and Sirius for a few seconds.
"It is done… I'm sorry I couldn't do this before Sirius" she said sadly to Padfoot, "Like I said, is alright, now I'm finally free" he replied to the woman.
She smiled at him.
Sirius blushed for a moment and spoke as he recovered, "Well Amelia, I thank you for your help to me and my family" he paused and turned his head to Harry and the again to Amelia, "But right now we are going to do some shopping, not every day my godson turns eleven, right?" he said grinning.
She turned to Harry, "Really? Today is July 31st? In that case, Happy Birthday Harry" she said with a kind, motherly voice.
"Thanks Ma'am" he said shyly to the woman.
Amelia turned to Sirius blushing, "Sirius, I was wondering if you would join me to have a drink later this week to catch up, if you can of course" she said to the raven haired man.
"Wouldn't your husband be mad at you for sharing some drinks with his wife" the man asked worriedly.
"Not at all, I never married as a matter of fact, so I have no problem with that" she answered the question.
Sirius gave her a goofy smile, "If that's the case, would this Saturday be alright to you, we could go to a good place I know, say…. Around seven? I'll pick you up in your office"
"That would be perfect" she said, "I'll see you Saturday" she finished as she walked out of the door.
Harry had been watching at the byplay of Madam Bones and his godfather and he couldn't help but ask, "What the heck was that all about Sirius? You get free of your chain and you already start to enter the neighbor's yard?"
Sirius laughed, "You know, I'll tell you the reasons later, right now, we're off shopping"
Harry laughed, "By the way, congratulations Sirius, you're finally a free man!" he said while he practically jumped to hug his godfather.
"Looks like it" Sirius said while being hugged by the rest of the pack.
Harry headed with Sirius to the Potter's vault after receiving a key from Greatfang and combining his trust vault with the main vault. Harry was amazed to see the mountains of gold coins that covered most of the space in the vault.
"Excuse me Greatfang; is there a way to use both magical and muggle money while not carrying all the coins?" Harry asked.
"Well yes, actually, we have a credit card that can be keyed to your vault and you can use it in both magical and not-magical establishments, do you want one?" he asked the boy. Harry nodded, "Alright, I will deliver it to you when you head out the bank"
Harry nodded again and started looking around. He found every kind of objects in the vault. Weapons, books, tapestries, clothes, and many other stuff. Harry found his parents trunks; they were both engraved with their name's initials. Sirius shrank them and gave them to Harry. By Harry's insistence, Sirius rounded every book he found and shrank them as well and put them in one of his pockets.
The wizards came out of the bank after adding the Glamour to the three Marauders and headed to get Harry's stuff.
They got his school books, robes, a cauldron, and a special trunk that could held all his clothes, had a library, a storing room for his potion supplies, a weapons cabinet where he was going to hide his sword, spear, axe, bow and arrows; and a place for a broom (his had broken during an evading exercise of the Marauders in the forest a few week ago) they finally headed to Ollivander's.
Harry entered the store and he was received by a creepy looking man, "I knew I'd meet you one day Mr. Potter" he said mysteriously.
Harry wasn't able to form an answer before he was given a wand, "Just swing it" the man, who Harry assumed was Mr. Ollivander, said.
Harry did as told and swung the wand. A flower vase exploded. Mr. Ollivander took the wand from him and gave him another having a very alike result, this time he broke a table in the bottom of the shop. Harry repeated the operation a few dozen times until Ollivander gave him a curious look and left to look for another wand. When he returned he handed it to Harry. When the emerald eyed boy took it, a sudden rush of magic came from him, the wind started moving towards him, like a vacuum and red sparks started flying out of the wand.
"Magic definitely works in mysterious ways. You see, the wand always chooses the wizard, always. It's curious that this particular wand chose you since it was its twin that made you the scar you hold in your forehead" the old man said.
Harry was shocked to learn that the twin wand of his was Voldemort's wand but he maintained a neutral face.
"You'll do great things Mr. Potter, great things, remember that" said the man, "It'll be seven galleons" he charged. Harry handed him the card that Greatfang had given him.
When they left he discovered that Remus wasn't with them, "Where's Moony?" he asked.
"Remus is right here" he heard his uncle said from behind. Harry turned only to see his uncle carrying the snow owl he had seen in the pet shop, "It's a really beautiful owl Moony, thanks!" he said to the werewolf.
"You welcome Harry, Happy Birthday again" the sandy haired man said to the birthday boy while he hugged him.
The group laughed when they heard the owl's happy hoots. They headed to the Leaky Cauldron to have a meal in family.
After they finished, Sirius asked, "How are you gonna call your owl?"
Harry thought for a moment and he brightened up, "I'll call her Hedwig, I read that name in 'A History of Magic' and I've always liked that named" he said simply.
Everyone listened the boy and nodded in acceptation to the name.
Sirius started speaking; "Harry, I have one more gift to give you before we go back to the tent" Harry looked at his godfather with attention.
Sirius handed him an envelope, when Harry opened it, his eyebrows lifted up reaching his hairline in surprise, "Are you serious?" the boy asked amazed.
His godfather started patting him all over and with a smirk said, "Yeah, I'm still me, why do you ask?"
Harry throwed him a piece of leftover bread of his meal for the bad joke, "You know what I'm talking about"
Moony and Dora laughed at the man and child antics while Ted and Andy face palmed while shook their heads in shame of such a bad joke from their cousin.
Sirius laughed, "Yeah, is for real, next week you, Dora and me are going to the SSTD (Scottish Six Days Trials)" he said while Harry and Dora jumped from their seats and hugged their uncle.
After the interesting day they had, the Tonks's headed to their house while the Marauders returned to Wolf's Den.
Harry, Remus and Sirius sat on the living room, Harry looking expectantly to the older men. Both wizards looked at each other and nodded in unison.
"Harry" Sirius started, "I promised before and now is time for you to know the reason your parents were killed back on Halloween of 1981" Sirius said to the anxious little man.
Well, that's it, like I said before, thanks for your support and please R&R. By the way, some people told me about looking for a beta, but I'm new at this and I have no idea how to, if someone can help me with that, I'd appreciate it. See ya next week.
