A/N: Wow. Thanks everyone for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! Appreciate each and everyone of them!
Published: 03/26/2016
Warnings: None
Chapter 2
The Furious Wolf
Remus Lupin tended to avoid the United Kingdom.
Britain was, to be blunt, behind in the Magical World. Oh, sure, it was the most powerful magical nation in the world- there was no disputing that. They'd produced Merlin. Other figures like him had existed but there was a reason even Muggles told legends and tales of Merlin.
And they didn't even know half the actual story.
Great Britain also tended to produce other powerful witches and wizards, churning one or three out ever couple of decades. The Hogwarts Four whose magical artifacts still held power today, Morgan le Fey, Morgause, Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore: That wasn't even counting the ones that came between those two eras.
Needless to say, Britain produced powerful mages.
Oh, sure, there were other powers all over the world to counteract that, but still. No one could deny that the most powerful mages came from there, as was expected of the birth land of magic.
Remus was aware of the Wiccan witches of America, and their odd abilities followed by chants that were almost always in English. He avoided San Francisco.
The so called Charmed Ones were said to be benign except in the face of true evil but Remus refused to test it.
There was also tales of the so called Grand Coven, but Remus was pretty sure they'd been founded in England. He wasn't even entirely sure they existed.
He'd also heard tales of a so called Vampire Slayer and was determined not to discover if this so called 'Slayer' also killed werewolves.
He also avoided Japan. No sane wizard would walk into that place. There was so much wildness that Remus was determined to avoid it.
France was, by far, his favorite country.
With Veela being a recognized and respected species, living here was just wonderful. Werewolf rights were strong here, he didn't have to worry about Wolfsbane as it was provided for him, and it was illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their species.
For someone who had been discriminated his entire life, France was a godsend.
Remus had been betrayed. This was a fact. He sneered at the memories of the so called 'Marauder's'.
Always stand by him his ass.
Sitting in his home in Eastern France, Remus sipped at his tea and opened up the newspaper. It was best to always keep up to date with world events, after all.
He promptly spit the tea out when he noticed the headline.
Dumbledore's Leadership Called into Question
Following Revelation that he Lost the
Boy-Who-Lived
Two Years Ago Without Reporting It
Remus felt his arm began to shake.
Little Harry…
Little Harry who'd looked up at him with wonder.
Little Harry that had been the only reason he hadn't died after the rest of his pack had, for the most part, turned on him.
James, Sirius, and Peter may have turned on Remus, but Lily never had. She alone wasn't enough, however, not with Sirius being the Secret Keeper.
He was never told their location.
When they'd gone into hiding, even the comfort of Lily not believing he was a spy for the Dark Lord had faded in the face of scrutiny and suspicion.
But, now… Now… Lily's son.
Remus hadn't been invited to the Will reading. Then again, he'd avoided England so he'd never learned Dumbledore had suppressed the will reading. When he hadn't gotten an owl, he hadn't been surprised. Sad, but not surprised.
A growl escaped his lips. Glowing golden eyes examined the rest of the newspaper.
Sirius had escaped as well. In fact, according to the paper, Sirius had escaped shortly after it had been discovered that Harry's relatives were not only dead, but that they had died years ago. No doubt, Sirius would join the hunt for Harry Potter- to finish what his Master had started.
Lucius Malfoy was having a field day with the information, as was Rita Skeeter.
Remus would find Harry. He would protect the last member of his pack.
And, if he came across Sirius, all the better.
He'd tear that traitor apart with his bare hands.
Lucius Malfoy smirked.
Oh, this… This was just wonderful.
The aristocrat, within his private study, gave a laugh.
He, like many Death Eaters, had viewed Harry Potter as a second coming.
Yes, the child had defeated the Dark Lord. On the other hand, that child defeated the Dark Lord.
A mere boy!
A babe had defeated the most powerful Dark Lord of their age!
There had been fear. There had been awe. Most Death Eaters saw Potter as a plague and wanted him dead. He was a symbol of the Light, a Half-Blood of all things born to a Pureblood who'd betrayed his kin and fell in love with a filthy Mudblood.
It was disgusting.
It made Harry Potter a symbol for unity between the Pure and those of tainted blood. It was such a sickening thing.
On the other hand, if Harry could be turned, if the child could be broken and twisted to the Darkside…
Lucius had searched. The younger the better. Children are impressionable. If he could break a young Harry the Light would lose their so precious champion.
The idea on its own made Lucius laugh with the irony.
Harry Potter, champion of the Dark.
Yes. That had a nice ring to it.
So, when the wards had fallen, Lucius had pounced. Potter missing was unexpected. What he found in the mind of that Muggle crone nearly had him jumping for glee after the rage had worn off.
Oh, how Dumbledore had erred!
They had abused him!
Locked him in a cupboard!
Treated him like Lucius treated Dobby, only slightly better!
A child like this… Yes. He must be filled with anger. With resentment. With fear.
So easy to twist.
That is what Lucius had initially thought.
However, two years later, he still couldn't catch the damn brat. In two more he'd be at Hogwarts and it would practically be game over to corrupt the boy. Under Dumbledore's watch? Ha!
So, he'd released information to the Daily Prophet.
Potter missing…
Potter missing for two years…
Relatives dead…
All the while, he attacked Dumbledore politically for his blatant screw ups. Admittedly, Lucius had began the claims out of curiosity. Hunting Harry was useless if the enemy already had him.
However, he was now sure.
Considered the controversy he'd put Dumbledore under, if the Headmaster had the boy he'd have revealed it by now.
Now, this!
Lucius smiled as he gazed down at the paper.
"Oh, cousin of mine. Falsely accused. Let's see what Dumbledore does when that scandal breaks out as well, hm? How does it feel to know you'll be instrumental in the defamation of the leader of your oh so precious Light? Considering what they've done to you, I'm sure you'll rejoice."
Yes.
Lucius Malfoy had more chaos to cause.
Harry was currently busy preparing his breakfast in the kitchen of some random couple that was likely on vacation.
He tended to do this when ever he had the chance.
Ben had never approved, but Harry enjoyed the luxury, even if it technically involved stealing, which Ben repeatably told Harry was wrong.
On the other hand, Harry's typically slept in an old abandoned flat and was forced to move constantly. Those weird Force users kept hunting him so staying in the same place was out of the question.
Harry had once suggested he reveal himself to them.
The look Ben had given him had convinced him to never ask again.
"So, where'd you learn about the White Current?" Harry wondered out loud as he flipped his omelet.
He truly enjoyed cooking. At least that was one thing he could thank the Dursley's for.
Ben, in fully materialized form, sat at the table.
It was a trick Harry had finally managed to master. There were many abilities in the Force. The power to read minds, to move objects with a thought, to see the future.
Harry wasn't particularly skilled at any of those, although, that might just be his age.
He did, however, have a particular affinity for illusions. It was a good thing he did or tapping into the White Current would have been hell.
Ben blinked.
"You know, I have no idea. Probably in the Netherworld." Ben shrugged.
"What's a Netherworld?"
"The Netherworld of the Force. It's where Force spirits go, all of them, after they die. It's where I went, I guess."
Harry blinked.
"You guess?" He asked as he set his breakfast on the table and began to pick at his meal.
Ben nodded.
"I probably died long ago. Force Ghosts can last for a long time. The Jedi Exile lasted for a thousand years before she passed on and the Sith Lord Exar Kun survived four thousand years."
That was another thing Harry was curious about.
"You remember history but not your own?" That always confused Harry.
Why wouldn't Ben remember his own life but remember other events?
"I don't know, Harry." Ben said sadly. "Maybe I have some kind of block. Maybe it got erased. Maybe I was really a droid. Maybe all I remember are things I learned in the beyond but that had nothing to do with me specifically. I just… Don't know."
The heartbroken expression on his teacher's face made Harry change topics.
Bringing up Ben's memories was something he did often in the hope something would trigger. Other than mentioning something about a princess, a farmboy, an assassin and a smuggler, it hadn't amounted to much.
"Did you figure out what we're gonna do about the other project?" Harry asked.
Ben rolled his eyes.
"Harry, I know you have some strange desire to see him actually have a physical form, but I'm… Well. Dead." Ben stated bluntly.
Harry raised a single eyebrow.
"Your point being?"
Ben snorted.
"Dead stay dead. 'Sides, I'm comfortable like this." Ben smiled and motioned to his body with his transparent ghost like hands.
Idly, Harry wondered how ghosts sit in chairs or why they just don't fall through the ground.
Then, his head snapped up as he felt a new presence in the Force materialize nearby.
Ben froze.
"Time to go, Padawan."
"Yes, Master."
Half eaten meal abandoned, Harry stood and concentrated, allowing the Force to flow around him, hiding in its currents. Staying here was definitely out of the question.
Dumbledore felt like ripping out his hair.
Harry Potter was an annoyance.
The boy was unreadable.
He couldn't find him anywhere.
Worse, news of his disappearance had leaked. Even worse than that, shortly after the leak that Harry was missing there was another leak that the Dursley's had, in fact, died two years back. On top of that, Sirius Black had escaped.
Lucius looked like Christmas had come early.
Dumbledore smashed a fist into his desk.
Sirius could be a problem.
Getting Sirius thrown into a cell sans trial had been difficult. The strings he'd had to pull, the favors, the effort. Modified memory here and there, the works. A couple of bribes. Etcetera.
Not that Dumbledore believed Black innocent.
Oh no, as far as Albus Dumbledore was concerned, that traitor could rot.
No, he'd prevented the trial to prevent Sirius from demanding the Potter Will be read. Harry needed the protection of his mother's blood, parents wishes be damned. This was war. War was brutal. You had to make the hard choices.
Yes, he may have condemned Harry to a less than pleasant childhood but it was better than being hunted.
(read: emotionally abused by by literal xenophobic sociopaths)
Except, apparently, Harry Potter was quiet capable of evading capture.
Dumbledore snarled.
It was then that the alarm for his office went off. Normally, this would give him more warning. However, it seemed his visitor had stormed the stairs in record time for the exploded as a hand ripped it down.
Dumbledore flinched back and drew his wand. Old he may be but defenseless he was not!
His defense dropped when he noticed Remus Lupin. His fear spiked again when he noticed glowing golden eyes.
Well.
Remus was pissed.
Werewolfs were normally indistinguishable from humans. It took great emotional turmoil for their eyes to change colors like that.
Which meant-
"Dumbledore," Remus said pleasantly, a sadistic grin adorning his face that reminded Dumbledore of Snape whenever he was dealing with James, "where the fuck is Harry Potter?"
Oh dear.
Oh dear indeed.
