Author's Corner: I really, really appreciate this support I've gotten! It's really great since this is actually not a well traversed part of . Thanks everyone for your help!

You really annoyed my friends, so here's another chapter to celebrate with. Here's to a young L and his bad social skills!

Now, I think that I should mention some things about parings. First is that I'm probably going to have this little lovely be more than one book. Second, I have no intention of pairing anyone (other than hints) until much, much later. Next, I will have no pairings involving Ron. I hate Ron. I don't like Ginny much either, but she's kind of inconsequential to the story, so it doesn't matter. Ron is (to me) the most irritating character in the entire series. I will keep my hatred of him to a minimum in this story, but I seriously don't like Ron. I know most crossovers go along with canon pairings, but I really like the ones who take initiative to go with different ones. I will not bash Ron. I think bashing is a low thing to do, but don't expect him to feature much more than he has to, unless I try to...improve...his character, and any fan of him probably wouldn't like it. (He'd probably end up being something like Matsuda.)

Now, a lot of you have recommended L and Luna as a couple, and it's an interesting idea. (They're both ostracized and have odd tendencies) We'll see how things develop. If that does fly, it will probably be Harry/Hermione as well.

I wouldn't worry too much about it anyways, romance isn't going to play much of a part of this story. That was one of the things I did kind of admire about Rowling. She didn't put as much focus on romance as many other books do, and I was grateful for it.

I will try to follow in that spirit, focusing more on the friendships and hardships that the characters face rather than on the romance of their later lives.

Thanks to Ibby (MegaB) for his wonderful work as my beta. Even when Harry Potter isn't really that interesting to him.

Coincidence may be described as the chance encounter of two unrelated causal chains which—miraculously, it seems—merge into a significant event.

- Arther Koestler


Harry Potter was having the time of his life.

Never before had been able to get up when he liked, do what he liked, eat what he liked and generally bum around without anyone to tell him what to do. It was a very sudden change from having to stay with the Dursleys.

It wasn't that long before Hogwarts started up again, but he was enjoying this brief freedom, and he was still kind of shocked that he had gotten off so lightly after blowing up Aunt Marge. All he had gotten was a 'don't go into Muggle London' as if he actually wanted to. Diagon Alley was so much more interesting, and he was able to do his homework in peace, even getting some help (and free ice cream) as well.

But Harry's mind wasn't completely clear.

He was still thinking about what that the black dog that he had seen when he was escaping the Dursleys, and how there was one on the front over of a book of death omens that looked completely identical to it. The fact that the Knight Bus had almost run over him when he had seen the dog didn't help the worry much.

Another thing that vaguely upset him was the fact that last year, he had gotten a warning from the Ministry of Magic that said he would get expelled if he practiced magic again just because a house elf smashed a pudding in the living room. This didn't match up with what had happened before.

These worries were only small questions in his mind though as he enjoyed basically bumming around Diagon Alley and finally getting his homework done, including that awful shrinking potion one for Professor Snape. He was even able to get free sundaes every half hour from Fortescue, the owner of the ice cream parlor while he told him what he knew about medieval witch burnings.

It was only a day before school started, and for the first time, Harry wasn't looking forward to the start with anything less than breathless anticipation. He was going to miss having this time to himself.

Harry wandered through the streets, wondering just what to do and where to go now that his witch burning essay was completed. He could go over the Flourish and Blots for a while and look at the books or maybe over to Dervish and Banges...

"Excuse me,"

Harry turned around to face the boy who had spoken to him.

He was about Harry's age with black hair and eyes and a permanent seeming slouch, and it looked like he had been dragged out of some alley with his beat up looking white sweater and jeans. But what was disturbing about him was the fact that his eyes didn't seem to reflect light. They were just like two holes.

What was also strange was that Harry didn't recognize him. Hogwarts was a big school, but you would know most of the people who were close to your year by sight at least. The fact that he was a total stranger was slightly disconcerting. Almost as much as the fact that the boy's face was only about three inches away from his.

Harry backed away a little bit.

"Um...yes?"

"I was looking for a bookstore. I believe that its name is Flourish and Blots. Could you direct me towards it?" The boy asked in a calm monotone voice.

"Oh, yeah, it's-" Harry began.

"Wallace!" A frustrated sounded voice called, and Harry gaped as he saw Professor McGonagall appear out of the crowd to step behind the boy, "I thought I told you to wait."

"You seemed like you were interested in the conversation, and I didn't wish to wait anymore," The boy, Wallace, said in the same monotone.

"That is no excuse," Professor McGonagall said, her mouth very, very thin. She turned to look at Harry and she nodded, "Hello, Potter. Wallace, this is Harry Potter. He'll at least share some of your classes. Potter, this is Justin Wallace. He'll be in your year."

Harry and Justin blinked at one another, or rather, Harry blinked at Justin and Justin just stared and started to chew on one finger. He didn't make the now familiar motion of looking up at the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, which was a relief, but his eyes never left his or seemed to change at all. The feeling that he was being analyzed was disconcerting.

"Er..." Harry really didn't know what to say.

"Potter, I'm sure you have somewhere to be," McGonagall said, looking at Harry very sternly.

Harry decided that it was best to do what she said and nodded.

"Good. I'll see you at the beginning of term," McGonagall dismissed him, and Harry decided that he wanted to look at Quality Quidditch Supplies again.

He did wonder what house Justin was going to be in though. It might be fun for him to be in Slytherin. It would be fun to see if they could manage to intimidate him.


"That was Black's target?" Lawliet asked as he watched Harry walk away.

He was abused. Not physically, but psychologically and emotionally. He hid it well enough for it not to be noticed, and there was a seventy-three percent chance that he would managed to function with it. Aside from that, Lawliet didn't see anything especially different about him at a first glance.

"Yes, I believe that Professor Dumbledore has informed you of the situation," Minerva McGonagall said, watching him go.

She wasn't as stern as she appeared, was prone to being very sentimental as far as her students were concerned, and held an unprofessional bias for her old house Gryffindor and against her old rival Slytherin. She also had a vast interest in a sport referred to as "Quidditch" which Lawliet was completely uninterested in. All in all she was a good (if not sometimes biased) source of information on the Wizarding world.

"The circumstances were all explained to me," Lawliet nodded.

Apparently, Harry Potter had, through means unknown, managed to kill a terrorist who styled himself Voldemort as an infant. This lead to his becoming extremely famous in Wizard Europe, but whether this was through Harry's inherent powers or some mistake on Voldermort's part couldn't be tested. That wasn't important anyways. What was important as far as Lawliet was concerned was that his family had trusted a man known as Sirius Black to protect them, but he had betrayed and caused the deaths of James and Lily Potter.

Lawliet was annoyed that Albus Dumbledore would, or could, not let him see the transcripts of the trial. It was always more convenient to learn that way, but Fudge, who was sure that he was wasting his time, would not allow it. It was making him want to solve the case even more. Just to rub it in the man's double-chinned face.

Lawliet must have been getting spoiled. He'd just have to go about things the way he had before meeting Whammy. It was more time consuming when he didn't have the law working with him, but he would get the result.

"Our first stop is at Olivander's shop. He will equip you with a wand. That is the one essential to every Wizard. Then we will get your books." McGonagall said to him, "I don't want you telling any of this to Potter by the way."

"Excuse me?" Lawliet was honestly surprised. Wouldn't you want to inform a target that they were being targeted?

"He's...happy the way he is right now. The truth..." McGonagall trailed off.

"He's slightly older than I am," Lawliet pointed out, "A target should be informed when they are being targeted. It decreases the amount of foolish things that they will do. The stress is a factor, but one that can be worked with."

McGonagall's lips thinned and she looked at him as if seeing something else.

"That's a ruthless approach to this, Justin," She said, "Harry is barely thirteen."

Lawliet shrugged, "In order to catch criminals, ruthlessness is often necessary. People are able to put up with more than you would expect."

McGonagall said nothing, but Lawliet could sense her disapproval.

She hadn't much liked him from the beginning, but he had probably gone too far for her. All of them, even Dumbledore had the idea that this Harry Potter had to be protected from some unknown horror, but if he had been able to put up with the emotional abuse, he shouldn't have too much trouble with the idea that a person who he has no emotional feelings towards wanting to kill him. Lawliet simply didn't understand.

They walked in silence with Lawliet taking in the sights and sounds of Diagon Alley. It was a large place, very old, with a large crowd of men, women and children wearing robes of varying colors and shades. The shops looked interesting, but there were plenty of things that Lawliet was confused or amused by. The fact that Wizards and Witches really did ride on broomsticks was actually pretty funny. He wondered if some used a mortar and pestle like in the Russian stories.

He had taken the effort to read the books that Whammy found on Witches and Wizards, and had enjoyed them more than he remembered doing when he was younger.

This was and wasn't what he had expected from them.

Some of the children looking at the brooms looked around his age or older. It was probably that Quidditch sport again. Lawliet vaguely remembered a boy who had been completely obsessed with football at the orphanage.

"Jack...Jack Mason. Ten years old. Wanted to play professionally. Had a bad habit of trying to challenge the other boys to matches and getting beaten. Did not like milk," Lawliet muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Professor McGonagall had turned to face him.

Lawliet blinked and chewed on his index finger. "I didn't say anything, Professor," he said, reaching into his pocket, taking out a lollipop and sticking it in his mouth.


The wand shop was dark and smelled like something musty. It wasn't a bad smell though. It wasn't filth or decay. Just age. And when you lived in places that were always sterilized, it was nice to smell something different once in a while.

Lawliet looked around, taking in the rows of thin boxes that were stacked on the shelves. He didn't turn around when he heard the sound of someone coming, and only at the sound of his name did he look towards the speakers.

"Mr. Olivander, this is Justin Wallace. Wallace, come over here please," This please was more or less an afterthought. McGonagall didn't like him.

Lawliet turned around to look at the old man who was calmly looking him over. He looked like he could have possibly been the original Olivander from whatever B.C. His face was ancient but what was intriguing about him were his amber eyes that seemed to be looking right through him.

Lawliet stared at him for quite a while, and Olivander stared at him. It was Olivander who at last broke the staring contest.

"Well, Mr. Wallace, it's good to meet you. I don't recall your coming here for a wand, so you must be a first time customer. I assume something happened to your last wand," Olivander said.

Lawliet was going to say that that was the case before McGonagall got there first.

"No, Justin's a different case, if you know what I mean. This is his first wand," she said.

"Well," Olivander said, his eyebrows rising quite a bit, "Then this should be very interesting. My wands are made of the finest wood with the best cores from unicorns, dragons and phoenixes that I can find."

"How?" Lawliet asked, leaning forwards.

Olivander smiled, "That, dear boy, is a trade secret."

Lawliet blinked and nodded slowly, "I see,"

"Would you be so kind as to give me your wand arm," Olivander said, looking at him expectantly.

Lawliet assumed that he was asking which hand he would be using, and held out his right, and instantly a stick was placed in his hand.

"Yew and dragon heartstring, a very powerful combination. Give it a wave,"

Lawliet waved it around, and almost instantly it was switched with another.

"Holly and unicorn hair, very good for protective spells," Olivander seemed to be getting more and more happy with every wand that was discarded.

Lawliet wasn't sure just how long until Olivander disappeared into the shop for a minute and came out with an ancient looking box.

"This was left by my predecessor. It's the only one of his that never sold. Every so often I try to see if it's willing to choose someone, and you're an especially tough costumer. I haven't seen one like you since Mr. Potter a few years ago," Olivander sounded thrilled "Monkey puzzle wood with thestral hair."

Lawliet noticed that he didn't say anything about the properties. Maybe because it was something that someone else had made, and wandmakers didn't even share that information with other wandmakers. That did make sense in a way, but it made him want to know as much as he could about wands. They seemed to be the main focus of power. Maybe there was something in making them that caused the phenomena. Maybe it wasn't even magic at all.

The moment that Lawliet touched the wand, he felt a warmth from it, and when he waved it, red and silver sparks shot out of it.

The lollipop that he had been sucking on fell out of his mouth.


"Harry! Harry!"

Harry turned around to see both Ron and Hermione sitting in one of the benches of the ice cream parlor and walked quickly over the see them.

Ron had been in Egypt over the summer, visiting the tombs and seeing all the curses that the Ancient Egyptian Wizards had placed on the pyramids. He had found time to get him a pocket sneakoscope, which was in his trunk in his room. It looked like Egypt had agreed with him. He looked even more freckled than before and was grinning as he waved.

Hermione had been in France with her family, who Harry didn't know that much about, aside from being dentists. Her bushy hair was a little longer from the last time that he'd seen her, and she looked like she had tanned a little herself.

It was wonderful to see both of them.

"We were looking all over for you!" Hermione said breathlessly, "We checked the Leaky Cauldron, but they said that you'd already left, and then we looked at Flourish and Blots and the Apothecary and..."

"I bought my school things ages ago," Harry said, shaking his head, "And how did you know that I was here?"

"Dad," Ron said with a shrug.

That was right. Harry should have remembered. Mr. Weasley worked for the Ministry, so he would have known that Harry had blown up Aunt Marge and come here.

"Harry, that was really, really dangerous," Hermione said, crossing her arms, "You're lucky you weren't expelled."

"I think I'm lucky that I wasn't arrested," Harry muttered, "Last time, when Dobby smashed that pudding, they said if something like that happened again, I'd be kicked out. I think that blowing my aunt up was a little worse than a smashed pudding."

"Well, it is you," Ron said with a shrug, "Famous Harry Potter and all that. I don't want to think about what they'd do to me if I blew up my aunt. Probably wouldn't matter though. Mum would have killed me by the time they got to me..."

Harry didn't bother to mention that they hadn't seemed to care much the last time. Ron might have a point though. Maybe the person who had given the note had supported Voldemort... Ron's dad had said there were a lot of supporters still running around, like Lucius Malfoy... If Harry couldn't practice magic anymore, they would probably feel like it was some kind of justice.

"We just got finished getting our school things too," Hermione said, looking like she was trying to change the subject to something that didn't upset her and kind of amuse Ron.

"Have you seen hers?" Ron jerked his thumb over to the three bulging bags besides her, "I don't think she wants to sleep this year."

"I'm just taking a few more classes then you, that's all," Hermione huffed, "I'm perfectly able to handle some more classes. I want to see everything that Hogwarts can offer!"

Hermione's over enthusiasm was starting to make Harry tired just looking at her. What was worse was that he knew perfectly well that Hermione would want to talk to them about what she'd learned or would get annoyed if they fudged things on their papers.

"My parents said that I could get myself a birthday present though, so there is one last place to look around," Hermione said.

"How about a nice...book?" Ron asked innocently.

Hermione was completely unfazed.

"No, I really want a pet. Probably an owl. You guys both have owls, and I'd like to be able to talk to my parents more," Hermione said, looking over at one of the many magical pet stores that littered Diagon Alley.

"I don't have an owl!" Ron said, "All you've seen is the family owl! All I've got is Scabbers, and it doesn't look like Egypt agreed with him..."

Ron pulled the rat out of his pocket, and Harry could see Ron's point. He wasn't anywhere near as fat as he had been the last time that Harry had seen him, and he could see the lose skin around his body. Scabbers' eyes were looking decidedly cloudy as well, and Harry didn't want to put into words the first thing that came to mind when he looked at him.

"But you can still talk to your family easily," Hermione pursued.

"The pet store closer to Knockturn Alley has more owls in it," Harry said before Ron and Hermione could begin bickering too much. He was starting to know Diagon Alley pretty well by this time, and led the way into the small, dark shop that he had pointed out.

It was cool inside, but very noisy. The shop was jammed with cages, and the inhabitants of all the cages were squawking, whining, meowing, hissing, croaking and chirping to one another and to the newcomers into the shop. The witch behind the counter was busy talking with a wizard about the care of poisonous newts, and Harry followed Hermione as she wandered over to the part of the shop where there were several owls, all of them looking unhappy, while Ron when over to talk to the witch about Scabbers and if there was a medicine for him.

As they walked, Hermione bumped into someone about their age who was in the same area.

"Excuse me," Hermione mumbled.

The person in question turned around and stared at her as if she was a talking two headed elephant. Harry recognized the large black eyes with the circles around them.

It was that Justin guy that he had met earlier.

"Harry," Justin said, turning to stare at him when Hermione took a step back in surprise.

"Oh, hello again," Harry said, trying to sound natural, "Are you here for an owl?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall said that they are the main means of communication in this world," Justin said, looking over at the birds.

"Wait...are you...an exchange student?" Hermione stepped forwards again, the original uneasiness fading, "That's really, really rare! Where did you come from? Durmstrang? The Black Academy in Italy?"

"I only learned about the Wizarding World a few days ago," Justin said.

Hermione's interest was even greater now, if it was possible. Her eyes got wider, and she seemed to be dancing from foot to foot as she thought about this information.

"Really? I'd read about that! It almost never happens!" Hermione said, looking a little past Justin. She was probably trying to remember what book she had read it in.

They were interrupted by the sound of Ron's surprised and pain filled scream. Harry and Hermione ran over to the counter to see him looking at a large ginger cat with a look of surprise and anger as he cradled Scabbers closely to him.

"No, Crookshanks!" the witch cried and reached out for the cat. She only managed a brief hold of its bottlebrush tail, and it was gone.

"Crookshanks..." the witch sighed, "You'll be the death of this shop...I'm never supplying part kneazels again..."

"Kneazel?" Hermione asked, looking curious, "They look like cats don't they? I read in Magical Pets and Companions that they were very loyal and intelligent!"

"Yes, but they don't do well in pet shops," the witch said, but then stopped and changed tone, "however, he's a lovely creature and very affectionate. He's been here for ages though; I just don't know what I'm going to have to do with him..."

"But I thought you wanted an owl?" Harry said. He didn't want Hermione to end up buying something she didn't want just because the witch was going to make her feel sorry for him.

"But if he's been here for so long..."

"That thing nearly scalped me!" Ron said indignantly, "Don't tell me you're thinking of buying that monster!"

Hermione looked at Ron and huffed a little.

"Just because he's does something that he thinks is perfectly good and natural doesn't mean he's a monster. Hedwig would probably eat Scabbers too if she ever had the chance, and so would Errol or Hermes!"

And with that, Hermione started looking through the shop for Crookshanks, who cautiously came out from under a shelf and sniffed at her.

"I'm out," Ron said, "I don't want poor Scabbers to get eating be something else in here...besides, I got a bottle of Rat Tonic that she said might help him since he's getting older."

He slid out the door and Harry was torn between following him and waiting for Hermione to get her cat. His decision was made for him when Hermione came up, gave him a bag of cat food and asked him to wait in line while she coaxed Crookshanks out from under the shelf where he had gone back.

Harry sighed and took his place, which was, apparently, right behind Justin. Justin had found an owl. Only, it was probably the biggest, most evil looking bird that he had ever seen. It was huge, having to grab both of Justin's shoulders just to stay on, and while its jet black plumage was nice enough looking, when it turned its head to look over at him, Harry noticed that it had crimson eyes. The owl blinked at him disdainfully and looked away.

"You're getting that one?" Harry said, unsure what to say in advice.

"Hm?" Justin turned a little bit, moving carefully so that he could maintain his slouch and the owl didn't dig into his shoulder with its claws, "I suppose."

"You...suppose?"

"Well, since the wands chose their respective owners, don't pets? The cat that your friend is trying to get seems to like her, in the way that I've seen many cats like their owners. This owl landed on me and kept trying to bite me when I moved him. I suppose that that means that I have to buy him," Justin said, taking a chocolate bar out of this pocket and taking a large bite out of it, showing a lot of teeth.

While that was logical, it didn't really make sense. Just because the owl decided that he looked more comfortable perch then the wooden one he had been on, didn't mean that it was some kind of 'bonding ritual'.

"I..." Harry didn't know what to say.

For a moment, they just stared at one another, and then Justin started to dig through his pockets again and pulled out another chocolate bar.

"You've been staring at me since I started eating," he said, "You must want one."

He held out the thing to Harry, who hesitantly took it. Justin turned back slowly, and shuffled up to the witch behind the counter just as Hermione came back with Crookshanks.

"I finally got him," she said smiling as she held the limp cat between her arms a little tighter, "He's gorgeous isn't he?"

It depended on if one was judging his fur or his face. He looked like he had run into a wall, other than that; Harry supposed that he could agree with her.

Ron was waiting for them impatiently when they left. He glowered at Crookshanks, but didn't say anything until they were a little ways from the shop.

"So how are your parents going to react to your having a cat?" he said at last.

"I don't expect that they'll mind much. He'll be at school most of the time anyways," Hermione said with a shrug.

"What!" Ron turned, his face red, "I thought that you were going to keep him home. What about Scabbers!"

"What about Scabbers?" Hermione looked genuinely confused, "Crookshanks will be in my rooms. Not yours. If you're worried about him, don't allow him into your room."

"You make it sound so easy,"

"It is easy. You're just making a bigger fuss over it."

"What happens when your cat eats him?"

"He won't eat him if you keep the door to the dorm closed!"

"What if Neville forgets to close it?"

"Then put a spell on the door!"

"What if the spell doesn't work?"

"You're so infuriating!"

Harry closed his eyes. For some reason, the sound of his friends bickering was actually welcome after the long silence at the Dursleys. It was funny. He never realized just how much he missed the Wizarding World until he was back. It was like he was home again.


The Leaky Cauldron was quiet other than Harry and the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley fussed and fretted over Harry while the twins did extremely accurate and extremely insulting imitations of their older brother, Percy, who was acting particularly smug about his new position as Head Boy. Ginny, the youngest Weasley, didn't talk to Harry, but she did look at him a great deal, but when he looked back, she usually would blush and look away.

It looked like her crush on him was even worse now.

He smiled nervously at Ron's dark look and hoped that she would be over it soon.

"Terrible business," Arthur Weasley said with a sigh, "The Minister's pulled us off all of our regular jobs trying to catch Black. I wouldn't be surprised if they got old Mad-Eye out of retirement for this. He was his teacher you know."

Molly Weasley sent her husband a very dark look.

"Moody?" Fred and George both leaned over the table, "You mean that nutter-"

"Mad Eye Moody was one of the best Aurors of his day," Mr. Weasley said with deep dignity, "Most of Azkaban is full because of him."

Harry listened with great interest. He wanted to ask what an Auror was, but he also didn't want to sound stupid or interrupt. Besides, it sounded like they were Wizard policemen. He knew that Azkaban was the Wizard prison, and they everyone was positively terrified of the Azkaban guards, whoever they were, but he hadn't ever heard all that much about who caught dark Wizards.

"He's still a nutter," Fred muttered.

"Completely irresponsible," Percy agreed, "There's always some kind of report about him attacking someone or something for an alleged attack."

"On second thought, I love Moody," Fred said.

"Me too," George nodded.

"You two," Mrs Weasley did not look amused, "Just to disagree with Percy!"

Percy gave his mother a long suffering look, "Well, at any rate, I am going to bed. It's far past bed time, and we have school tomorrow."

"You're right, Percy," Mrs Weasley nodded approvingly, "Everyone, it's time for bed! Off you go,"

It was hard to object that you weren't really tired as you were being shoved off to bed by the woman. As Harry looked around for an excuse he noticed for the first time that they weren't alone in the pub. Justin Wallace was sitting in a crouch with his knees drawn up to him at a table in the far end of the pub, watching the family. His eyes were completely and totally empty.

Harry suppressed a slight shudder that went up his spine. Well, there was one thing about Justin that he could say with total optimism.

He was too obvious to be an enemy.


The Weasley family was an interesting group of watch.

Lawliet liked to watch families. They were complex with plenty of petty problems that could easily become huge divisions.

For instance, the oldest boy in the group treated his siblings with barely concealed arrogance. He truly saw himself as smarter, more talented, and better than them just because he was clever enough to flatter the right people and report other's misdemeanors when it suited him. He would probably rise in government, but only so much. His type usually remained someone's subordinate, but at the same time, he would isolate his family and had a chance (Lawliet wasn't sure what percent yet) of choosing his ambition over any kind of loyalties to them.

They were also too poor to have afforded a dinner at a pub that Professor McGonagall had called an icon of Wizard culture. While this spoke very badly about Wizard culture, it also said that the pub's prices were positively ridiculous. Someone whose clothes were so obviously second hand and repaired shouldn't have been able to afford this.

So someone was funding this little trip.

Probably the Minister Fudge. The Weasleys were very close to Harry, from what he had been told, so their coming to get him was natural. Harry had a bad habit of not noticing inconsistencies with other people, so it would be, and had been, a complete success. The report had so far been very accurate about Harry Potter.

But what was silly was that, from the report, he had already dealt with two attempts on his life since his going to his school. Why wouldn't they have thought that he could bear having someone else after him?

Well, that wasn't his concern.

If Black had been smart enough to have escaped from Azkaban, he was smart enough to get to Hogwarts. Therefore the best place to catch Black was to trail the target. It was crude, and Harry Potter's death was a possibility, but it was the most effective thing that he could manage without the help that he was used to mobilizing.

He hadn't done things this way since the Bombings.

Now that the Weasleys were gone, Lawliet was able to pick at his chocolate cake and think about what he actually had to go on.

Sirius Black, supporter of Voldemort, had been arrested on the first of November for the murder of thirteen people. One Wizard and twelve normal people, whom the Wizards termed 'Muggles'. Those twelve had not been named, but through Wammy, Lawliet had already gotten a copy of the newspaper for the event. It was called a gas explosion, and the authorities were maintained that it had not been caused by any neglect on their part. The pipes were new, there had been no leaks. The event that been classed under the ambiguous phrase 'Act of God' and forgotten by everyone but the families of the dead.

There had been no compensation paid at all, and there had been no mention in the Wizarding World of his connection to the deaths of James and Lily Potter.

He had no record of Black's trail, and it must have been a very quick one since he was sent to Azkaban the next day. The case was closed and everything was forgotten. Until of course Black managed to break out of a place that the Wizards had deemed impossible to break out of.

From what Lawliet understood, the place was like some kind of Wizard Alcatraz with some of supernatural creatures that secured the place. The fact that it had never had a break out before was impressive, and it made Lawliet feel a bit of excitement that the first case in this world was one that had this kind of puzzling nature to it.

The only problem was the lack of motive.

Lawliet took another large bite of cake and looked at the newspapers in front of him.

Killing Harry didn't seem like the best idea to him. If it were Lawliet, he would have tried to get out of the country. Was it simple insanity brought on by a fixation and guilt and the memory that Harry had caused the downfall of his life? Maybe.

Lawliet simply didn't understand people sometimes.

He wished he could get his hands of some older newspapers or anything and get more of a knowledge of Black's personality. Would he plot something our carefully? (Sixty-three percent, this seemed well thought out.) Jump into a situation before thinking? (Forty-seven percent.) Something between those two? (Seventy-one percent.)

Well, there was little more that he was going to find out this way. Hopefully he'd be able to find something in the school's library.

Lawliet carefully stacked up his papers just as the barman was starting to put out the many candles that lined the blackened walls of the little pub. He was staying there the night, apparently to grow a little more accustomed to the Wizarding World. At least Wammy didn't have to put up with the black owl that he had bought under the mistaken impression that all animals were like wands. Wammy didn't like animals all that much. Even though there was a seventy percent chance of their improving people's moods.

At least the owl, now named Nero, would not easily be intercepted.

He noticed Harry Potter walk down the stairs, apparently looking for something. Lawliet passed by him. There was nothing he wanted from Harry at the moment. He finished organizing his things, placed them in the bag he had brought, and started up the stairs with Harry, who obviously hadn't found what he was looking for, coming behind him.

Neither spoke as they walked up the stairs past on of the rooms where the lights were on and the door was open a crack.

"But you don't even know that Sirius Black is after Harry!" Molly Weasley's voice was extremely clear.

Both of them stopped.

"Molly," Her husband sounded frustrated, "I told you. The Ministry wanted to keep it secret, but when the guards were talked to, they said that he had been talking in his sleep. Always the same words: 'He's at Hogwarts. He's at Hogwarts,'"

Lawliet watched as Harry's eyes widened, and he looked over to Lawliet in shock. Lawliet took another sucker out of his pocket.

"But..."

"Black is deranged, Molly," Arthur sighed, "He's been sitting for twelve years thinking about how Harry Potter ruined his life by defeating You-Know-Who. If you ask me, he thinks that killing Harry will bring You-Know-Who back into power. I'm going to tell him. He has a right to know."

Lawliet couldn't have agreed more.

"But he's just a child! The knowledge would terrify him!" Mrs. Weasley protested.

Lawliet noticed with some satisfaction that Harry looked mildly offended.

"You know how Harry and Ron are. They've already ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice, but they can't do that this year," Arthur was starting to sound annoyed, "Even recently. With this aunt business. I'm willing to bet that if the Knight Bus hadn't picked Harry up, he'd have been dead before the Ministry could find him."

"But the Azkaban guards will be there won't they," Mrs Weasley said.

"Yes." Arthur's tone changed to one of contained fear, "The Ministry wanted them to be in the school itself, but Dumbledore objected. They've compromised so that they'll be around the school."

"Why would Dumbledore object if they're there to protect the students? I know Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain, but it's always best to be sure."

Arthur sighed, "You've never seem them. You've never had to be with them. I once had to go out there...to Azkaban. I wasn't even in the prison itself. Just outside. I've never felt that way before... Besides, if Dumbledore's there, we shouldn't have to worry about Black."

"But they're working on our side," Mrs. Weasley pressed.

"No, they're just working on the side that tolerates and feeds them, but at times like this, I'm willing to ally myself with something that I'd rather avoid."

"If they save Harry..."

"Then I'll never say another word against them,"

"Oh, the door's open,"

Lawliet moved with a speed the probably surprised Harry and pulled him out of the line of vision of that crack. There was a click and the door was closed. The voices continued, but Lawliet brushed himself off and held out a lime sucker to Harry.

"When I get a shock it sometimes helps to have candy," he said. Lawliet was lying, but it would be something to distract Potter from wanting to know why he didn't look surprised. He had been ordered not to tell Harry anything, and, while annoying, would be less troublesome than Potter knowing who he was.

Harry was quiet for a minute and then took the candy.

"Just as a question, how big are your pockets?" He asked.

"Hm?" Lawliet said.

"Well...I've seen you pull out two chocolate bars and three suckers. How do you keep those in there?" Harry asked, sounding like he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Lawliet stared down at his pockets.

"...I don't know..." He said after a moment, "By all logic it should be impossible."

Both them stared at each other.

"Maybe it's...unintentional magic?" Harry said, but it sounded like a question.

"I had never really thought about it," It was possible that he had been using magic for his entire life without realizing it, "This is vaguely disturbing."

Without saying anything else, Lawliet turned away and walked down the hall, past the snickering twins who had obviously stolen whatever it was that the person inside the room they were listening to was searching for and into his own small room.

Were his cases a product of magic too? No. Lawliet refused to believe it. He solved cases due to his own intelligence, not to some strange supernatural gift that broke all the rules. He did not cheat. He just controlled the situation so that it turned out the way he wanted it to. There was nothing even remotely magical in that.

Lawliet promised himself that he would get back to normal cases as soon as this was done and never have anything to do with this world again.


So that was the big secret. That was the reason why everything had happened that way. When the Knight Bus had dropped him off, the Minister himself had come to make sure that Harry was absolutely safe. He hadn't punished Harry because they were relieved that he was alive, and they might have even thought that Black was controlling him or something.

Then he had made Harry promise not to leave Diagon Alley. Not to leave a safe, public place where there were several people there to watch him. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if some of the people who he had seen staring at him had been actually told by the Minister to keep an eye on him.

And now, only he and Justin knew.

Harry lay on his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, trying to see what to do with himself and this situation. He had to tell Ron and Hermione. Even though he knew that they'd panic, but really...how could Black be any worse than Voldemort?

It was strange, but he actually felt calmer about the whole thing now that he knew what was going on. The worst thing had been the uncertainty of the whole thing. Now that he knew what was happening around him, he was able to think about it.

It was upsetting, and Harry was worried, but remembering last year in the Chamber of Secrets reminded him of just how lucky he was to be alive easily. He'd really have to do his best to keep his head down.

The problem was that he didn't need to look for trouble. Trouble usually found him.

Harry turned over, listening to the sound of Percy tearing about his and Ron's room. It looked like Fred and George were still snickering outside with their 'Bighead Boy' badge, waiting for things to settle down, or Percy to give up.

It looked like it was going to be another interesting year. Harry had been hoping for boring.


The trip from Diagon Alley to Kings Cross passed in something of a blur. There were bags to be packed, Percy's picture of his girlfriend to be found, and pets to be taken care of. Crookshanks refused to be put in the carrier that Hermione had just got him, and she had to peel the cat off of her. Scabbers had to be found, sleeping in Ron's bed. Harry's copy of The Monster Book of Monsters was found lurking under his bed and while Harry wasn't sure if it was really alive, he supposed that it was a very cheap pet.

There was no sign of Justin in the place. Harry wished that he could find him simply to ask him to please not tell anyone about this. While he didn't like the truth being kept from him, he really didn't want everyone and their brother trying to help him either.

The Ministry had apparently provided them Company cars to travel in, and while Fred and George were taking great delight in telling Percy that the reason was him (and they would have little flags on the hoods with HB in them for Humongous Bighead) Harry was pretty sure that the reason was him. A lot of things made more sense that way.

The problem with the company cars was, although they seemed to be able to fit into very small gaps, they were basically ordinary cars. That was good for blending in with the Muggles, but it was making them late.

When they finally pulled into the station, they had about five minutes to get on the train.

"Let's go together," Mr. Weasley said, pulling his cart close to Harry, "It'll be faster."

Harry had a suspicion of another reason, but he nodded and the two took off at the run.

The Platform 9 ¾ could only be reached if you were a Wizard or Witch and if you walked through the barrier between Platform 9 and Platform 10. Muggles couldn't get in, which was a good thing. There were plenty of Wizard families who apparated there.

Harry didn't feel anything as he ran through the barrier. All that happened was that one moment he was looking at a solid wall, and the next he was looking at the platform.

The Hogwarts Express, an ancient steam engine with red and gold colors painted along it, billowed smoke as Harry made his way through the sea of robes and cloaks with Mr. Weasley.

"Harry, would you wait for a moment before you get on?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking rather uneasy.

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley's voice called over the crowd, "Arthur what are you doing?"

"I'm not supposed to be talking about this," Mr. Weasley said, "I you need to know..."

"It's alright," Harry said quickly, "I know."

"You know? How could you know?" Mr. Weasley blinked.

"I..er...overheard you and Mrs. Weasley talking about it," Harry admitted, looking down, "But this way...you didn't really tell me, so...you didn't do anything that the Ministry won't want right?"

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley's voice sounded over the train whistle, "The train! Arthur!"

"Harry, you must be very scared..." Mr. Weasley started.

"No, I'm not," Harry said, and then quickly added when he saw Mr. Weasley's disbelieving look, "Really! I mean, he can't be any worse than Voldemort right?"

Mr. Weasley winced, "Harry you have to promise me..."

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley shouted as the whistle blew again.

"You have to promise me...not to go looking for Black,"

Harry blinked a few times in total surprise.

"What?" Harry said in faint surprise.

"Arthur!"

"Promise me!"

"I-I promise," Harry said the moment that the train started to move and Harry had to run after it.

Ron and Hermione had both been waiting for him, and they grabbed his hand and helped him up just as the train was starting to pick up speed. The three of them fell together in a heap, and Harry gave a sigh of relief. He didn't want to repeat last year's flying car adventure.

There was a yowl from Hermione's bags, and Crookshanks, who's cage had apparently gotten lose, jumped out, made a flying leap at Ron, or more specifically, Ron's pocket where Scabbers was.

With a strange squeaking squeal, the rat managed to get out of the pocket, bite Ron, who had tried to grab him, and make a dash down the corridor with Crookshanks in hot pursuit.

"Scabbers!" Ron yelled, dashing after him, his hand bleeding a little bit.

Harry managed to untangle himself from Hermione and ran after Ron.

It didn't look like a promising year.


Cornelius Fudge might not have looked like it, but he was an able politician.

He had been able to win the election against extremely charismatic men from extremely powerful families, even though he was not a member of one of the seven Ancient and Most Noble Houses. He had managed to keep Britain under control the last year that Voldemort had been on the loose, and he was carefully maintaining Britain's isolation against an increasingly aggressive world.

Isolation was necessary. After all, if the world found out about them, they would be flooded for Muggles who would want a magical way out of their stupid problems. As if they didn't have enough of their own. Muggles were best left alone. They didn't understand anything anyways.

That was why he was there.

"I still object to your allowing this detector to have any privileges at all," Fudge said to the Hogwarts Headmaster. While Dumbledore was undoubtedly a powerful Wizard and a respected man, he didn't have the right to go making exceptions to laws where he wanted to, "He's a student and should be treated as such. You should go back and Obliviate that Quilish person."

Albus sighed, "Quilish is an old friend of mine. I could never forgive myself if I did such a thing. And his requests are not particularly hard to fulfill. He simply wants L to be able to work on his job."

"That was a child. Are you telling me that Muggle put their children into slave labor?" Cornelius asked.

Barbarians.

"Quilish has told me the reasons," Albus said, "It's an amazing story. If you ever have time, I suggest that you speak to him."

He was avoiding the problem again. Just as he avoided the problem of the Dementors. Cornelius knew that Dumbledore was against them. Everyone knew that he wanted Azkaban cleared of them, but it just wasn't practical. They were the best security that money could buy, and they were cheap.

Well, Dumbledore might not be moving an inch on the detector, but maybe he could use that to his advantage...

"Dumbledore, the Azkaban guards are more than willing to protect the school," he started again, "I think that the fact that he managed to escape them really upset them somehow. There are wards. Ways to keep the...side effects...from harming the children."

Dumbledore was quiet and then he shook his head, "I can't allow them to be here in good conscience," he said, "It is not in their nature to be in a place with so many children without desiring to feed. Also, many children have heard terrible stories about them. It will cause more fear than anything else would."

"Hem hem," A soft, high pitched voice coughed.

Cornelius turned to his companion, who smiled at him in a reassuring way.

"I know that you have always disliked the Azkaban Guards, despite the Ministry's constant reassurance that you are all completely safe, but you should think headmaster, that the Ministry could object a great deal more to your suddenly enrolling a student who has had no training into third year," she reminded Dumbledore gently, "Such a thing has never been heard of before. Surely you could be a more amiable... We have the best interests of the children at heart just as you do. We all know that it is completely unlikely that the Ministry could fail to catch Sirius Black before he was anywhere close to Hogwarts, but the parents of children must be appeased."

Dolores was one of the best people that Cornelius had under him. She was clever, had a way of winning arguments through a mix of flattery, intimidation and condescension that left most opponents unsure of just how to react. Now she was smiling sweetly at Dumbledore.

"I suggest that if you are not willing to allow the Dementors to do their job properly, the least you can do is allow someone from the Ministry to be allowed to at least see what is being done to keep the students safe. Hogwarts does not have a good record of late...with the incident with the Chamber of Secrets and the Philosopher's stone...both completely understandable of course, but now you've chosen a rather...questionable...individual as a member of a staff..." she pressed. "Of course, those silly rumors about the position being cursed make things difficult, but, with everything that's happened...maybe a Ministry official should at least be present to make sure that there is absolutely no threat to the children."


Omake: Freedom

Bertha the Pet shop owner couldn't have been happier. The kneazel mix that had chased more people out of the shop than she could remember and the evil owl that Bertha was sure had been a Dark Lord in his past life were both gone. In one day!

She smiled happily as she unlocked the door to the shop. She would sell more animals than she ever had before that day. Maybe she'd even clean up a little bit!

As she walked into the shop, she was greeted by all the animals in the cages and by a small box in the center of the room with several holes in it. Bertha assumed that this was that new rare pet that she seen advertised in a small magazine that she used to get things. Sometimes it was a little mysterious and offered some animals in less than perfect condition, but it had the best prices anywhere. It was strange that Phil hadn't stayed around to talk with her.

Bertha happily opened the box, ignoring the loud growling noises. Maybe it was another winged cat. Those had sold like hotcakes. Even if they had been molting a little.

As she opened box, out jumped a pitch black, red eyed cat like animal with tails that hissed at her, tried to take out one of her eyes, and then darted under the shelf that Crookshanks had so adored. In shock, Bertha looked at the inside of the box, which had showed signs of the animals attempts at escape. There, on the soiled, filthy looking bottom, was a small note.

Thank you for your purchase of this lovely, full blooded nekomata. You shall soon find it drinking lamp oil and speaking to you in at least three languages. Note: effects of possession, devouring of humans, and any other ill effects of owning this nekomata are not our responsibility.

Bertha cried.


Well, this cot done faster than I had hoped. As you can see, I'm messing with canon, but it would be a kind of boring story if I didn't. You guys don't want to see POA with a few different scenes do you?

Thanks for reading!

Additional Notes:

Mortar and Pestle: In Russian folklore, the Baba Yaga used a mortar and pestle, which are usually used to grind things into powder, to fly. She also had a house with chicken legs that moved around, so if I ever mention that, you'll know where it came from.

McGonagall: I don't see her as the kind to have much patience with L and his views of the world. Not that I dislike her or anything. She just doesn't agree with him, and sees him as too Slytherin in his ways of handling situations. I'm not going to abuse her in this story. I don't go into the idea that if you don't like my main character you're evil, so don't worry.

Thestral Hair: I've been looking around Rowling's site lately, and she mentioned that thestral hair could only be used by someone who was willing to deal with and face death. I kind of felt that off all things that made up wands, that suited L best. I really don't like giving people 'special' wands. I feel like I'm acting like some crack author who has to make her main character 'speshul', but I just couldn't see anything else working for L as far as his personality went. I did try to even things out with the monkey puzzle tree, which is a South American tree that's as ugly as sin and named that because monkeys have trouble climbing it. It doesn't have many good things attributed to it from what little I read.

The Black Academy: A place in Italy where people believed that Wizards were taught in the middle ages. It was believed that all of their needs were cared for, but the last person to leave the classroom as a fully trained wizard (the gender neutral term for an advanced spell user as opposed to witch, which was just as gender neutral for untrained magic users) would be devoured.

Everyone's reactions to L: I'm trying to make things pretty natural for how people would react to a character like him. I don't want to have everyone just become friends for no reason just because L and Harry are my main characters. Harry wasn't really that close with that many people other than Ron and Hermione, and I want to stay true to that character, so this friendship will be one that slowly develops over the course of the story.

The owl: In a lot of fanfiction, Harry or the other main character gets a spiffy pet that can talk to him, shapeshift, is soulbound to him, or is just generally cool. I kind of wrote this as a joke off of those. Poor L. Nero just decided that he was a good perch, and he thought it had 'chosen him'. I remember reading somewhere that some owls do get red eyes, but I don't remember where...

Dumbledore: I just love him as a kind of ambiguous figure. A lot of people write him as the evil manipulative old man who's going to kill Harry at some time for the power, and others have him as good incarnate. I dislike both views. My Dumbledore shall be unveiled throughout the story, but I'll give you this warning: I have a much harsher view of him than canon had.

Thank you and please review.

Pryotra.