Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful world... Damn it!
A/N: Fixed a couple of errors in the previous chapter that slipped past the approximately eight times I'd already spell checked the damned thing before posting. Plus, being aware of the 'clunkiness' of the blend betwixt JKR's OoP canon writing and my own, I've tried to smooth it out a fair bit; I think I succeeded.
As usual I don't directly respond to reviewers, simply because I write, predominantly, for myself; and I've already received, all up, over 800 emails in the past SIXTEEN HOURS (each 'Follow', 'Favourite' and 'Review' automatically generates an email to me; plus there's the 'PMs'). I do not doubt that - once many who don't have me set as a 'Follow (Author) pick up this story is being posted - that rate will increase, as usual, for a couple of weeks.
Anywho... as a reward for the minimalist whining I've received (of those PMs and Reviews I've managed the time to skim through) I decided to post the second Chapter.
Chapter Two - Sirius Takes Charge
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When Harry woke once again he knew time had to have significantly passed, as it was now definitely night. And the two moons had moved further across the sky.
Setting the unbelievable sight of two moons in the sky aside, he then looked to the heavens to see if he could recognise any of the constellations. He might have been an average student, but he'd studied hard for his OWL... fifth year... exams; and the Astronomy exam was one of them.
Again, he couldn't recognise any of them. He couldn't even see the North Star, the first star he'd been taught to find in his first first year Astronomy class. A further search of the heavens and he couldn't recognise any of it.
'I am sooo screwed!' he thought.
With nothing else to do under the quite bright light of the twin moons, he sat on 'his' hilltop and thought about what he could do to get himself out of this mess.
"I need shelter, I need food, I need water and I need to make sure I don't go too far from that big ring thing," he muttered. When his stomach then rumbled he thought, 'I need food and water first, though.'
It took him about half an hour before he felt like face-palming himself for being an idiot.
Looking around on the ground he found a rock and quickly transfigured it into a large goblet. He almost knocked himself over onto his back when the magic seemed to almost explode out of his wand and transfigured the rock into a goblet almost double the size he expected.
Shaking that off he then aimed his wand at it and cast the Aguamenti, water, charm. What came out of his wand, again, was far more powerful than he expected. Instead of fresh water pouring out of his wand under low pressure, it poured out as if a garden hose was on full blast.
He managed to get water into his transfigured goblet and fill it, alright. However, about twenty times as much ended up on the ground around him, also drenching him in the process. That woke him up.
Again shaking off the surprise, he drank deeply of the water in the goblet and sat it beside himself as he continued to think.
'That's water taken care of,' he thought. 'Now food and shelter.'
He wasn't bothered about the wet clothes as it was still a warm night and he knew he'd dry soon enough.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Of the six students in the Hogwarts Infirmary only the young witch, Hermione Granger, and the young wizard, Ron Weasley, were of severe enough cases as to warrant being placed into stasis and be shipped to the Casualty (Emergency) ward at Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Dumbledore was summoned by messenger Patronus and ordered, lest he be arrested for Child Abuse for the young wizard and witch, to open the Infirmary floo for immediate transportation of the two. He, reluctantly, complied. However, even while doing it he tried to bluster his way out of it by saying he had complete faith in Madam Pomfrey to handle any issues.
Periwinkle drew his wand and aimed it right at Dumbledore's wand arm. "How about I blow your naffing wand arm off and we'll see if you're willing for only a medi-witch to see to your injuries. Hmm?"
Dumbledore scowled back, but complied with the ordered command. He had the floo open and active in short order.
However, surprising him, instead of the two healers immediately taking the two students through to Mungo's, the younger witch Healer activated the floo and only stuck her head within. A few moments later she quickly withdrew and four orderlies, a medi-witch and a medi-wizard stepped out.
Indicating Hermione and Ron, Periwinkle said, "Those two. Have the witch seen to by Alderton, if she's available; and the young wizard is to be seen to by both Sweeney and, once he's awake, Mind-Healer Justinian."
"Yes, Sir," said the clearly lead medi-witch.
All six then quickly had Hermione and Ron on portable stretchers and back out through the floo. Dumbledore continued to scowl at them and what they were doing, but kept his mouth shut with both Bones and Periwinkle glaring at him, daring him to say anything.
Once the six with their patients were gone, Dumbledore subtly flicked his wand at the fireplace and silently deactivated the floo again.
"Right!" said Bones, turning to the Master Auror who'd been with Dumbledore. "Hammer! You and Petersen can take Dumbledore, here, back to his office and sit on him again."
"Now, Amelia," he spluttered. "As in loco parentis for these stu―"
"You are not!" she snapped back. "Their ILPs are their Heads of Houses. I'll be summoning them to be with them while I talk with them. You... will be sitting in your office, waiting for me to come and talk to you. You will be waiting qui―"
"Amelia!" he shot back, cutting her off. "As Headmaster of this establishment it is―"
He saw the flash of red of the stunner she snap point-cast at him, but had no chance to block or avoid it at the short distance they were standing from one another. He crumpled to the floor.
"Put him on a bed and manacle him to it," she said to Hammer. "And, if necessary, stun his arse again."
"Yes, Ma'am!" replied a clearly amused Hammer, as she raised her own wand to levitate the old man.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Other than the capture of eleven Death Eaters, five of which were Azkaban prison escapees, the only successful outcomes of the night of the 18th of June 1996, the night that came to be known as the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the 'Light' kept a prophecy out of Voldemort's hands; and Ministry personnel, including the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, saw for themselves that Voldemort had indeed 'returned' from believed death. Even then Fudge could not accept for more than two hours what his own eyes had witnessed, believing it to have been a trick. However, the admission from the captured Death Eaters, as well as the thirty plus other witnesses, put paid to that.
For almost exactly a full year since the night Voldemort had been 'revivified' in a graveyard in the township of Little Hangleton in June 1995, no one on the supposed 'light' side except a small few had believed the Dark Lord was back. The only ones who did were Dumbledore, those members of his (illegal) vigilante organisation known as the Order of the Phoenix and who five of quickly came together and formed the rescue party who turned up late; and Harry Potter and his small group of friends, five of whom accompanied him that night to rescue who they thought was being held there and tortured, Sirius Black.
Another 'captured' on the night was Sirius Black himself, an escapee of Azkaban three years earlier and believed 'right-hand man' of Voldemort. He, however, was no such person – he was an innocent man who had been tossed into the wizarding prison without even the by-your-leave of a trial, where he would have been able to prove his innocence.
After her interviews of the five remaining students of the Ministry Six who'd hared off from the school to the Ministry, including both the Granger lass and the Weasley boy, Bones then had Severus Snape arrested and dumped into the cell with Lucius Malfoy. Once she'd found out from the Longbottom boy and the Lovegood girl that Dolores Umbridge had cast the Cruciatus curse on Professor Minerva McGonagall while at the school, once they found her in the back, back end of the Forbidden Forest that witch also found herself in a holding cell.
Next, she set-to with interviewing the supposed Order of the Phoenix members, including a very reluctant Dumbledore, who'd been part of the group to race to the Ministry to rescue the kids. That had four of her aurors - Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, Emmaline Vance and young Nymphadora Tonks - 'ordered' into the DMLE and put into Interrogation rooms to be interviewed. She held off on calling in Mad-Eye Moody and Remus Lupin, the other two Order members besides Sirius Black who were there that night, until she'd dealt with those she already had.
Shacklebolt, Jones, Vance and Tonks would have been immediately fired for what had happened if it wasn't for just how much she now needed them. Instead, they were each demoted - except Tonks, because she was already at the lowest rank - and would be denied promotions for at least a year.
Now with enough evidence she interviewed each of the eleven Death Eaters who were there that night. All of them tried to use the excuse they were Imperius victims, then immediately refused to have Veritaserum used on them as they were all pure-bloods. However, Snape's interview with Veritaserum was delayed because he turned up 'positive' on the anti-Veritaserum Potion detection charm. He was removed to a separate cell and force-fed the neutralising agent, then flushing potions.
His interview was then delayed two days. However, even though Dumbledore had tried his hardest to get the man released, Snape was dosed and sang like a canary - or, rather, 'jailbird' as that was where he was clearly headed.
From the subsequent trials and irrelevant of not being forced Veritaserum, the five Death Eaters who had escaped Azkaban, since there was now a law on the books that escapees were to be immediately executed when caught, were sentenced to death. They were first 'Kissed' by a dementor, demons that consume your soul through what is known as the Dementor's Kiss, then their soulless bodies were tossed through the Veil of Death. The six caught who were not escapees found themselves sentenced to Life in Azkaban as being Death Eaters caught in the act of 'being' Death Eaters and as parties to the 'murder' of wizarding Britain's boy-hero, Harry Potter.
Another sentenced to Life in Azkaban was Dolores Umbridge, after she was dosed with Veritaserum. Someone had discovered the witch wasn't the pure-blood she had claimed to be - and was, in fact, a half-blood born of a wizard and a muggle woman by the name of Ellen Umbridge née Cracknell - and had provided proof of that by way of verifiable documentation to the DMLE by an anonymous post owl. As such, she was not protected from being forced to take Veritaserum under the pure-blood exemption statute.
What she admitted to while under the serum was enough to send her to Azkaban for Life and for Cornelius Fudge to immediately lose his position as Minister; he, however, quit first. It was a certainty he'd have been fired within a few minutes later if he had not.
Dumbledore had tried to have those sentenced to death only returned to Azkaban. However, he was vociferously overruled by the Wizengamot as a whole. They were not prepared to let the murderers of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, be consigned to anything but the toughest of punishments.
As for Sirius Black, once he was properly interrogated for his 'crimes', it was discovered he was innocent after all. The Wizengamot, thoroughly embarrassed, then had no choice but to declare him exonerated, not pardoned, of all charges. He was immediately compensated one hundred and twenty five thousand galleons for what he'd had to put up with over the past... including his twelve years in Azkaban... almost fifteen years.
Not wanting the 'blood gold' as he thought of it, Sirius secretly handed the lot over to Madam Bones; to only be used to train more aurors and properly outfit them with protective armour and similar. As the newly instated Lord of the wealthy Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Sirius didn't need the gold anyway. 125k in galleons represented less than two percent of what he now had access to as Lord Black.
Bones deposited that gold into a secret vault at Gringotts and, at Sirius's urging, told no one at the Ministry about it. Then she used the galleons, as promised, to start buying as much armour and the like as she could for her aurors.
When questioned about it later, she informed those asking it was all donated with the proviso it was to be used to outfit her aurors in battle armour, nothing else. She knew that if the Wizengamot discovered just how much had been given her, she'd quickly find her DMLE budget yet again slashed; irrespective of their 'nation, once again, being at war. She was no idiot.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
On his 'planet', Harry had spent his first week simply surviving. He had no interest in risking moving too far away from the ring thing, as he knew that once people figured out where he was they would go there to start their search for him.
However, after the first week he knew his chances of them coming for him had dropped down to single percentage points.
He had, however, managed to erect for himself a small shelter he'd transfigured from rock and dirt, had managed to kill a few small animals that looked like a cross between a lizard and a rodent of some form so he could eat, and was working on his meditation and Occlumency as he knew he'd need them once he got back to wizarding Britain.
He'd cooked the animals using a flame charm and rock transfigured into wood so he had a fire. Actually, just about everything he'd done was transfiguration or basic charms to help himself.
It was while he was meditating one evening he began to think about what magic was; what it truly was. 'Intent forms a very large part of magic,' he thought. 'Professor McGonagall told us that. It's what that book on Magical Theory told us, too.'
'Intent!' he thought. 'What if I can accomplish what magic I need to do just through intent.'
Coming alert again, he exited his little shelter and, from about ten feet away from it, turned back to look at it.
Focusing on what he wanted his shelter to be, he pictured it as best as he could in his mind. Then he pointed his wand at it and firmly pumped magic down his wand and to the shelter demanding the magic transform his shelter into what he wanted it to be.
In an almost pure white beam, magic surged from the tip of his wand and to the shelter. Firmly concentrating on the image he had in his mind, he continued to demand the change.
Ten seconds after first beginning the cast he cancelled pumping magic and almost staggered in relief.
Then he caught his first look at what he'd made happen.
Where his stone and dirt shelter had stood, now stood a much larger construction of solid stone. It was about fifteen feet by fifteen feet, had a doorway, but no door, an 'unglassed' window on each side of it and even had a flat roof made of what appeared to be a solid sheet of stone.
He gaped back in stunned surprise. Yes, it was what he'd wanted to appear, but in the back of his mind he did not think for a moment it would actually work.
However, for the time being he was somewhat exhausted. The transfiguration had taken a lot out of him.
He staggered inside, collapsed onto the smooth stone floor and was almost immediately asleep.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When he next awoke it was daylight again.
After a quick 'hunt' for more food, a quick cooking of it over a fire and, even though the meat tasted somewhat foul, he was able to wash it down with water. He was even still using the goblet he'd transfigured from rock that first night.
'Now, doors and windows,' he thought.
Though he'd yet to see any creature larger than the rabbit-sized lizard rat things he'd been eating, that did not mean there were no larger predators out there. He needed to be able to secure his hut in case one or more of those predators came a-calling.
Over that day he made a door for the cabin, windows for the window frames, then made a bed, bedding for it and a pillow. Then he began to make more furniture. All of it basic, but all of it serviceable.
'I don't know how long it's all going to last, but the goblet's still here,' he thought.
Because he was taking his time to make each piece, it took him all day just to get that far.
Once he knew he was now somewhat secure in his shelter/hut, he could concentrate better on his meditation and getting his Occlumency up to snuff.
As soon as the light started to fade, he transfigured a rock into a small bowl and cast a bluebell flame in it to give himself light.
Then he settled down to meditate again. After all, he didn't really have anything else to do to while away the time. He hadn't even brought a single book with him.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
A week after the incident in the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore made his way to Gringotts. He took with him a copy of the Ministry's Declaration of Death for Harry James Potter, last remaining member of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter.
After getting in to see the goblin in charge of inheritances and knowing goblins were not a people to bother with the niceties of polite discourse – instead, wanting matters to get right to the point - he immediately said, "I have with me a copy of the Declaration of Death certificate for young Harry Potter." And handed it over.
The goblin, Hooknose, opened the document and then looked back at Dumbledore. "And?"
"As is my right as Mister Potter's lawful magical guardian, I've come to claim his estate," said Dumbledore.
"Denied," Hooknose immediately returned.
Shocked, Dumbledore was a moment before he said, "I do not believe you understand me. I am... was... Mister Potter's lawful magical guardian. By law and, unless Mister Potter wrote a Last Will and Testament... which I know he has not... I am the sole beneficiary of his estate.
"As such I've come to―"
Hooknose cut him off and said, "Do you know what we do with thieves in Gringotts, Mister Dumbledore? We put them to work before executing them."
Again shocked, Dumbledore spluttered a moment before he said, "I'm sure I do not know what you mean. I was Mister―"
"Heir Potter's magical guardian is Lord Sirius Black," snapped Hooknose. "We do not care that the Ministry appointed you, as the Ministry had no right to do that. As such, you were never Heir Potter's magical guardian.
"You may have been his legal guardian, at one time. However, you chose to abrogate your responsibilities as Heir Potter's legal guardian quite some time ago; thereby stripping yourself of legal guardian status.
"Now, if Lord Black, as Heir Potter's true magical guardian, was to find himself attending me... I would be happy to discuss matters with him. You, however, have no right to any further information regarding confidential matters relating to the Potter Account."
As Dumbledore sat there, stunned, Hooknose then said, "That will be all, Mister Dumbledore; you may leave. Should you attempt to access information or assets of the Potter accounts any further, you will be determined a thief and be... dealt with."
When Dumbledore still didn't move from his seat after a long few moments, Hooknose's expression turned into a scowl. "Leave, wizard Dumbledore; before I have you thrown out at halberd point."
Dumbledore finally rose and left. His plan to acquire the Potter account for use in the, now once again upon them, Voldemort War had failed. He couldn't even send someone in with the boy's key, as it was not found in the boy's personal effects in his trunk. That meant he had to have had it on him when he went through the Veil.
He had to get to Sirius and 'convince' him to access the Potter accounts on his behalf. However, Sirius was currently not speaking with him. He'd even shut Grimmauld Place down to access, ordering the Order of the Phoenix to 'immediately vacate the premises'. Then locked himself and Remus Lupin behind the wards.
When he'd tried to convince Sirius, via floo, to allow the Order to keep using the place as their headquarters, he found himself almost violently ejected from his own fireplace. Two minutes later his office suddenly filled with the personal effects of the members that had, at the time, been at the place.
A moment later he received, via the house elf Kreacher, a formal notice from the man stating that if he or 'any of his lackies' attempted to enter the premises he would employ the war wards of the house against them.
Dumbledore knew that would mean the very likely death of anyone who tried.
As such, he had no choice but to try and communicate with the man via mail.
His first attempt, using a Hogwarts school owl, had the owl fly around in circles before returning unable to deliver. His next attempt was by using young Harry's owl, Hedwig.
Hedwig had flown off with the letter and not returned. He suspected Sirius of keeping the owl with him. Now that Hooknose had made him aware Sirius was the rightful magical guardian of Harry, meant the owl now belonged to him; which explained why it hadn't returned.
Next he called the little house elf, Dobby; the house elf he knew had secretly bonded with the boy after the boy had freed him from his abusive previous master, Lucius Malfoy.
Dobby had taken the letter and also not returned.
His next effort was asking Nymphadora Tonks, now Auror First Class after what happened at the Department of Mysteries and on-again-off-again girlfriend of Remus Lupin, to try and act as intermediary.
After being kicked out of the bank, he immediately sent her a letter via Fawkes, his phoenix companion, just to make the letter look more impressive and important by being delivered by a phoenix. He asked for her to attend him in his office that evening.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Just after dinner had wound up for the evening in the Great Hall of Hogwarts - only the staff were attending as the students had left school the previous Sunday - Dumbledore was in his office when the chime of an incoming floo call sounded.
He quickly waved his wand at the fireplace and waited the few moments for the call to connect.
A moment later, the 'ghostly' head of Tonks appeared in the green flames of the fireplace. "Headmaster?" she asked. "You wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes, my dear," he immediately replied. "The floo's open. Please step through."
The head gave a nod before it suddenly lifted and morphed into the no-longer-ghostly form of Tonks as she stepped out of the fireplace.
"What can I do for you, Headmaster?" she immediately asked, walking forward to sit on one of the chairs before his desk.
"I need you to act as my... agent... in speaking with Sirius... excuse me... your Lord Black," he began.
"No," she flatly and immediately replied. "I'm sorry, but I cannot do that."
Frowning back he asked, "Why ever not?"
"As you may or may not be aware, Lord Black has graciously brought my family back into the fold of the House of Black, recognising me for the first time and my mother again, as daughters of the House of Black. Further, he has formally recognised the marriage of my parents and recognised my father as a son of the House of Black via marriage.
"I have already been informed by my Lord Black he has no wish or desire to communicate with you, at this time, through any means or form. As a daughter of the House of Black it is my duty to my Lord to obey that instruction. As such I cannot act as your, as you put it, agent.
"My Lord has not yet ordered me to resign my membership of the Order of the Phoenix. However, I've no doubt he'll do precisely that if you attempt to push matters. So, please don't do that.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Headmaster; that does not involve me speaking with my Lord on your behalf?"
Through the tone and words used by the young witch opposite, knowing them not to be her normal tone or conversational English structure, Dumbledore knew what she'd just said to him must have been rehearsed; or at least prepared in advance. As such, he knew that whoever had prepared her had anticipated he'd try something like this. That meant he wasn't going to accomplish anything by pushing it.
With his typical hard-done-by sigh and expression of disappointment, Dumbledore sat back in his chair and said, "No, Miss Tonks. I believe you have made your point."
As Tonks then gave a firm nod back and began to rise, he said, "I find myself most bitterly disappointed Sirius thinks so little of me after all I've done for him."
Now standing before his desk, Tonks developed a light frown. "All you've done for him?" she scoffed. "Did you know that Madam Bones told him that if you had immediately gone to her back in mid-1994, when you first learned he was both innocent and hadn't received a trial, she would have given him one? She swore she'd have ensured his safety.
"That meant he'd have been found innocent back in about July of 1994. That also meant he wouldn't have lived for the past two years as a virtual prisoner in his own home. That also meant his godson would not have gone haring off to the Ministry last week in an attempt to save him.
"In other words, Headmaster Dumbledore, he knows that, as a result of your deliberate inaction, you got his godson killed.
"And you're trying to force the issue of speaking with him?! Blood feuds have been called for less, Dumbledore."
She then spun away, walked back to the floo, used her own supply of floo powder kept in a pouch at her belt for that purpose to activate the floo and disappeared through the fireplace with a call of "Diagon Alley!"
She left behind a yet again shocked Albus Dumbledore.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once Tonks had left his office, thinking of Sirius Dumbledore thought, 'At least the boy now recognises young Harry is dead.'
That led him to allowing his eyes to fall upon the various trinkets sitting on a small 'occasional' table off to his left. On that table were trinkets, doo-dads and knick-knacks that were... or had been... tied to the boy. They had been used to monitor the boy's health; the Horcrux behind the scar; his emotional state; the wards on his aunt's property in Little Whinging, Surrey; the blood magics his mother had wrought upon him; and ones to track his exact location. They were all now inert. And, to Dumbledore, that meant the boy truly was dead.
He could not have used those to prove the boy was dead to anyone else, though. The fact he had tracking charms and the like on the boy was, due to him not legally being the boy's magical guardian, illegal. Now that he was legally declared dead it meant they were no longer necessary, anyway. For the time being he would keep them right where they were, though, as a reminder to himself he needed to pay closer attention in future to his pawn- people.
However, what Dumbledore was completely unaware of was that the monitors and trackers did not fail because Harry was dead. The monitors all failed, in part, because the magic tying the trinkets to the boy could not stretch the approximately 8.6 light years between them and where Harry ended up. As such, they simply snapped. The only ones that were accurate, even though they too would have snapped, were the ones monitoring the Horcrux and the protection magic on the boy. Both had failed.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When Harry went through the Veil, the 'magics' of the wormhole on the other side stripped away the soul fragment - not a Horcrux - from behind his scar, as well as the blood magics that were being use to protect the boy and block the ongoing attempt at possession of him by the soul fragment. This released back to him the approximately ten percent of his magic being used to empower the protection enchantment cast on him by his mother. It also broke the blood ward link between him and his aunt and uncle's place in Little Whinging; thereby freeing up a further approximately fifteen percent of his magic.
Further, the darkness and subtle confusion magic that had constantly plagued him, though he did not know if it, since the night his parents were murdered and he was 'infected' with that soul fragment had also been wiped away. As he had no idea that was what was causing him to be only an average student, as he had been 'average' for all of his remembered life, with it now gone he was finding himself able to rationally and logically think things through. He had quickly begun to notice that when he returned to trying to teach himself Occlumency.
He was now using that rational and logical thought process to make life better for himself on a planet he realised had to be light years from the planet Earth. His primary school education on the subject of 'Outer Space' told him at least that.
Without access to texts on magic he was using his wits, memories and fifth year magical education to figure out what he needed to do to survive. His first big epiphany was, of course, that magic was all about intent. Even with supposed accidental magic you needed to intend for something to happen for it to happen.
His second epiphany was realising accidental magic, in most cases, wasn't as accidental as most witches and wizards thought. Wandless in almost all cases, yes; but it had to have been driven by willpower.
While spells he had learnt and began to learn from his memories of texts he had read and could now far more vividly remember came much easier, he still had to create his own charms and such through employing sheer willpower and intent.
One thing he had reasoned out related to Gamp's Fourth Law, transfigured food could not be consumed without great harm to the person who ate it. However, if you transfigured existing food into another food, then Gamp's Fourth Law didn't apply.
Knowing it could possibly kill him, but also knowing he really had no choice if he was going to do more than survive on this planet, he first tried to transfigure water into pumpkin juice.
It worked. Further, it didn't kill him.
His next effort was to transfigure the lizard meat he'd freshly caught into a roast lamb, his favourite meat. It, too, worked; so long as he made the transfiguration only last long enough for him to get the food into his stomach. He'd already realised that, once it was past his taste buds, how it tasted no longer mattered.
Realising as an 'omnivore' he properly needed plant-based food as well as meat to stay healthy, he'd also found a few edible plants that didn't make him sick; though they did taste foul, even after cooking them. He'd watched what plants the lizard rats ate and believed those to have the least risk. These, too, he cast weak transfigurations upon to last only long enough to get into his stomach.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After leaving Dumbledore's office, Tonks flooed directly to the Leaky Cauldron, the pub that acted as a gateway between muggle London and Diagon Alley. From there she apparated to a small grove of trees to the side of a park she knew of not far from Harry's home in Little Whinging.
There, she met Remus Lupin, who immediately scanned her for tracking and listening charms and the like. Surprising them both, they found none. Then both apparated to the Ministry atrium in London before then taking a floo, the only method of access to the place other than using the front door, to 12 Grimmauld Place in Kings Cross.
As they stepped out of the floo, with Tonks leading, Sirius was waiting for them. "How'd it go?" he asked.
"Good," Tonks replied. "I only felt Dumbledore once try a weak probing passive Legilimency scan. The moment it touched my shields he withdrew and didn't try again."
Sirius nodded and raised his wand. Before he cast, though, he asked, "Ready for me to remove the memory block?"
She nodded back and replied, "Please."
Sirius performed a couple of quick swishes and flicks and Tonks felt certain memories pop back into existence in her mind.
"They're back," she sighed in relief.
The memories that had been blocked were of her knowing Sirius had been to Gringotts Bank and made arrangements concerning Harry's affairs. He'd gone directly there after being released by the Ministry on being found 'Not Guilty' of the crimes he'd finally been actually charged with.
He'd first gone and demanded to see the life-stone he knew was attached to Harry's soul. It was still gently glowing, but greatly diminished. When he'd asked why it was behaving that way, the goblin's only guess was that 'Heir Potter' was alive but a very great distance away.
Now knowing that Harry was alive, he took control of the Potter estates as Regent and made damned sure no one at Gringotts could inform anyone else, especially including Dumbledore, that Harry was still alive - that his life-stone still glowed. Then added that no one was to know that he had taken control of the estate as Regent, or any other confidential matters relating to the estate.
Next, he formally renamed the now missing Harry Potter as his personal heir apparent and Heir of Black.
Again next, he took back Bellatrix LeStrange née Black's dowry paid to House LeStrange, annulled her marriage, then kicked her out of House Black by magically 'disowning' her. He used the excuses she'd both failed to birth an Heir of House LeStrange, as required by contract, and supposedly 'killed' the rightful Heir of her primary House, Heir Black Harry Potter, to accomplish that.
During the recovery of the dowry, the goblins discovered a Horcrux, soul fragment, in the LeStrange vault and that the 'phylactery', container for it, was the fabled Hufflepuff Cup. The goblins destroyed the Horcrux without destroying the Cup and moved the Cup to the Black vaults as part of the recovery.
Then he brought his cousin, Andromeda Tonks née Black, back into the family as a recognised daughter of the House, recognised Edward 'Ted' Tonks as her husband and a son-through-marriage of House Black and recognised Nymphadora Nanette Tonks as both their daughter and a newly instated daughter of House Black. Then added Andromeda as the Heir of Black after Harry and Nymphadora as the Heir after Andromeda.
Next, he stipulated that Narcissa Malfoy née Black and Draco Malfoy, her son, were kicked from the line of succession for House Black and had caused to be sent official notice to both of that fact. He did not put it past Lucius Malfoy, once he managed to 'escape' from Azkaban - that is, buy his way out - to try and have him, Sirius, assassinated believing his son would immediately inherit the Black Lordship.
With the parchmentwork out of the way he moved to have both the Black and Potter accounts fully audited.
Other than the payments that went out as stipends to those members of the House of Black still alive at the times, that account had not been touched. However, he was immediately informed that 'wizard Dumbledore' had borrowed certain artefacts from the Potter vaults over a decade ago and hadn't returned them. They included the Potter pensieve and a small stack of priceless books.
Furious, Sirius had them immediately retrieved by the goblins employing their recovery magics.
'Let that old bastard wonder what happened to them,' he thought. 'I certainly won't be telling him.'
One of the items they recovered through the magic was in no one's possession. It was a family signet ring with a chunky stone magically affixed to the underlying family crest - the House of Peverell crest. The goblins immediately detected it contained a Horcrux and had the Horcrux destroyed without destroying the ring, the phylactery, or the stone just as with the Cup. However, they informed him it had been recovered and that it had contained a Horcrux. The ring and stone were separated and went into the Peverell vault.
The exercise, though, confirmed for Sirius that Harry was also the Heir of Peverell. A 'state' that had never before been confirmed by the Potters. The knowledge of that, too, was covered under the confidentiality contracts of Gringotts.
He also learned that Harry's trunk, still at Hogwarts at the time, had been 'rifled' through with a small sack of coin missing. However, he also found out that Ronald Weasley had 'claimed' Harry's Firebolt broom for himself, as he believed 'Harry would want him to have it'. However, he did not learn of those two until Dobby had turned up with a letter from Dumbledore and Sirius confirmed that Dobby had bonded to the boy.
The first thing he did after ordering Dobby to go and get Harry's things from Hogwarts - and finding out Ron Weasley had stolen Harry's broom and the coin pouch - was to send the elf with a note to Arthur Weasley, the boy's father, informing Arthur what his youngest son had done and that the Weasleys, as a whole, were now considered 'undeclared' enemies of House Black until he knew that the boy had been suitably punished.
The letter he received back by owl, the Weasleys' elderly owl Errol, informed him that Arthur had 'tanned the boy's bum' so much he now had to sit on a very soft cushion just to sit for short periods; otherwise, he had to lie on his stomach as he couldn't lie on his back. When he visited the twins in their new store in Diagon Alley a day later, they told him that their father had just about drawn blood from Ron's bum-cheeks from hitting him with a switch on his arse so much. They'd also informed him that their father had come very close to disowning the boy and that it was only the begging and pleading of their mother that stopped him from doing so. His mother claimed Ron had done that because he 'must be' still suffering from the effects of the 'brain things'.
Another act Sirius was very happy to accomplish was to eventually kill the remaining Black house elf, Kreacher, for actions that led to harm to both the Lord and Heir of the House. Dobby had immediately taken the role of house elf for Black and, though he swore he was still 'Harry Potter Sirs' house elf, soon had Grimmauld Place cleaned and once more presentable. That Dobby was still a Potter house elf and loyal to Harry was yet further proof Harry was still alive.
Further, once clean, Sirius realised it didn't do much for the shabbiness of the place. So he immediately began making plans to have the whole interior almost gutted before then rebuilding and refurnishing. They'd get started on that as soon as they could.
With Tonks once again remembering her blocked memories, she headed for home, leaving Sirius and Remus to talk.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Another event that occurred over the past week was Sirius receiving a floo call from the young Ravenclaw girl who had accompanied Harry to the Department of Mysteries, Luna Lovegood of House Lovegood.
As her head floated in the flames, Sirius walked in and asked, "Miss Lovegood? What can I do for you?"
"I need to speak with you in private and most urgently, Lord Black," she replied. "May I step through?"
Knowing her to be a Fourth year and no real threat, and that she was willing to accompany Harry to 'rescue' him from Death Eaters simply because he was a friend, Sirius frowned and then waved his wand at the fireplace. "The password is 'Harry lives', Miss Lovegood. You may step through."
The ghostly head of the young girl gave a short nod back and said, "Thank you."
She withdrew for a moment and Sirius heard her call from her side of the connection, "Harry Lives!"
A few moments later she was stepping out of the fireplace.
Having already met her and spoken with her to thank her for being in the Ministry with Harry, he was not surprised by her dress. She was wearing a floral summer dress over blue denim jeans, had a handmade necklace of butterbeer corks around her neck and tiny radishes dangling as earrings from her ears. Her platinum blonde hair was also tied back in a ponytail with what looked like mistletoe.
"What can I do for you, Miss Lovegood?" he asked, choosing once again to make no comment about her style of dress.
"You need to set aside your plans to go through the Astra Porta... what you call the Veil of Death... to chase after Harry," she firmly stated. "It will not work. You will die."
Shocked, he demanded, "How did you know what I was planning?"
"Like I have told no one else of your plans, I pray that you will tell no one else why I know," she replied. "I am an undeclared and unregistered Seer."
Again shocked, he was a moment before he asked, "And you See that I will be unsuccessful?"
"Yes," she replied. "Harry needs to be where he is for some time yet. Have no fear, he will be found and he will be brought back; but it will be by others who mean him no harm. You merely need to remain patient."
"Where is he?" he demanded.
"To find out, you merely need to walk outside on a cloudless night and look to the heavens," she replied. "Look for the brightest star - the one whose name shares your own - and you will know where he is."
"I..." he tried. "That makes no sense!"
"It will," she returned. "When the time is right you will know I did not lie to you.
"Harry needs to remain where he is. Where he is, though he is currently feeling alone, he is learning the secrets of magic at its most basic level. When he returns he will be able to accomplish his destiny. If he returns too soon he will fail in his destiny and will die."
That shocked the old dog to his core.
"He will die?" he hesitantly asked.
"Yes," she immediately and firmly replied. "Unless he remains where he is for the time being."
"For how long?" he demanded.
"Long enough," she replied.
Sirius racked his mind trying to think of a way to help his godson and knew he didn't have the answers. Finally, he turned to Luna and asked, "What can I do to help him?"
Luna had stood there watching her friend's godfather coming to the conclusion she needed him to. Then saw when he came to that determination and asked his question.
"You have already discovered that the Dark One... and he very soon truly must not be named by his false name of Voldemort as he will soon have a taboo on it set up again... has created abominations of magic known as Horcruxes."
That had Sirius give a quick start of shock.
"... Four have already been destroyed; the diary, the Cup, the signet ring and one other. A fifth phylactery resides in Hogwarts in a room the Marauders never found, the Room of Requirements. It is the Diadem of Ravenclaw. Dobby can get that for you and you can give it to the goblins to be cleansed, just as they have cleansed the Cup and the ring. Be aware, though, that it has a strong compulsion charm for anyone who touches it to don it. You must not."
"How many..." he tried, not truly wanting to ask.
"Besides the Diadem there are two others. One is the Locket of Slytherin." And she pointed to the glass cabinet sitting in the corner of the room. "It is there."
Sirius immediately whirled to look at the cabinet in horror.
"Your brother stole it from where the Dark One had hidden it. He died while retrieving it," she explained. "He gave the task of destroying it to the then Black house elf, Kreacher. However, Kreacher was unable to destroy it and had still not been able to accomplish that task before you killed him for his betrayal. It is now up to you to take it, along with the diadem, to the goblins and have them strip the soul fragment away."
"Regulus?" he hesitantly, painfully, asked. "Regulus tried to destroy one?"
"Yes," she replied. "However, as I explained, he died in the act of collecting it from where it was hidden and tasked the house elf with destroying it."
"He turned to the light?" he querulously asked.
"No," she replied. "I'm sorry, but he only found out that Tom Riddle, the real name of the Dark One, was actually a half-blood and not the pure-blood he claimed to be. Regulus was angry at having been fooled and that many of the Dark One's followers were the same. His intent to destroy the Horcrux, once he learned of it, was to punish the Dark One for lying to and fooling him and others, no more."
Sirius nodded back. The Lovegood girl's explanation made sense to him.
Thinking a bit more he then asked, "You said three more and you've only told me of two. What's the other one?"
"Sorry," she replied. "But that is one that only Harry can deal with. I cannot inform you as it would lead you to hunting it down and destroying it before it is time for it to be destroyed. It would also lead you to your death and you need to be here once Harry returns."
"You'll inform Harry?" he asked.
"No," she replied. "I will not need to. Harry will destroy it in the process of destroying the Dark One."
Sirius collapsed onto one of the armchairs and indicated for Luna to sit on another.
Once she sat he asked, "You named the Veil of Death the... Portia Astra?"
"Astra Porta," she corrected. "It's Latin."
Sirius frowned in thought and muttered a bit before he looked to her in shock. "Star Gate!?" he exclaimed.
"Yes," she calmly returned. "That is its proper name in modern English. It is also far, far older than the Unspeakables think it is."
"How old?" he demanded.
"Literally, hundreds of thousands of years," she returned.
Sirius damn near fainted.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Two days after Hermione returned home from Saint Mungo's, the day after the Hogwarts Express returned to Kings Cross from Hogsmeade loaded with students returning home at the end of the 1995/96 school year - and after Hermione had 'sequestered' herself in her room, crying for the first of them - she had finally stopped that and was now reminiscing. She'd been doing that for the past day.
The Grangers had a knock at their front door and Hermione's father, Marcade, answered it. He and his wife, Sandra, had taken the week off to 'be there' for their grieving daughter. As far as they all knew her best friend, Harry, was dead with not even a body left behind to bury.
When Marcade opened the door it was to a man dressed impeccably in a bespoke suit standing outside. The only thing that stood out against his apparent appearance was that his shoulder-blade length dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, tied with a black ribbon.
"Mister Granger?" the man politely asked.
"I am he," replied Marcade.
"I am Lord Sirius Black," replied Sirius. "Your daughter is a friend of my godson, Harry Potter. May I... come in?"
Surprised, Marcade stepped out of the doorway while holding the door open and replied, "Of course, my Lord."
As Sirius stepped forward he held out his hand to shake and said, "Please, call me Sirius."
Marcade automatically accepted the hand and said, "Marcade Granger. Please call me Marcade... or Marc, if you've a mind to."
"You prefer Marc?" asked Sirius, releasing hands.
"Yes," replied Marcade.
"Then I thank you for allowing me to address you so informally, Marc."
Marc then indicated further into the house and a door off the hallway in which they stood. "Please," he said. "Our sitting room is right there."
Sirius gave a nod and said, "Thank you." And preceded Marc into the room.
As he entered he saw a woman of similar age rise in surprise; and paused.
Marc smoothly stepped past and said, "Lord Black, this is my wife, Sandra."
Sirius walked over, took the woman's offered hand and, instead of shaking it, turned it palm down and raised it to his lips as he bowed forward. He lightly kissed the back of her knuckles and, as he released her hand and straightened, smiled and said, "A pleasure. And, please, call me Sirius."
"S-Sandra," she hesitantly and softly returned. "Or Sandi."
"Please have a seat," said Marc, indicating an armchair. "Can I get you anything?"
As Sirius sat in the offered chair, he said, "Whatever is available and you care to join me with is fine."
"Tea?" asked Sandra.
Sirius smiled back and said, "That would be lovely."
Sandra muttered, "Yes. Tea." And hustled out of the room.
As she left, Marc said, "We heard about what happened to your godson. We're sorry for your loss."
Sirius sadly smiled back and said, "Thank you."
"And, what can we do for you?" asked Marc.
Getting right to the point, Sirius replied, "I would like the opportunity to speak with your daughter, Hermione. However, if you allow me to speak with her, I must insist that at least one of you... you and your lovely wife, that is... also be present. It would be... ungentlemanly... otherwise."
"As proper," nodded Marc.
Once Sandra returned with the makings for tea on and in a lovely serving set of silver, Marc quietly said to her, "Could you go and inform Hermione that Lord Black―"
"Just let her know 'Sirius', please," said Sirius, cutting in. And explaining, "She would be unlikely to know I've taken up my Lordship and already knows me as 'Sirius'."
Sandra gave a nod and said, "Will do. I shan't be a moment."
Less than a minute later and before she could return from going upstairs, there was the rapid falling of feet coming down the stairs. Sirius stood and was braced, ready, as he already knew and expected Hermione's reaction.
Hermione came barrelling in the door, hesitated only a jot to locate her 'target' and ran across the few feet from the doorway to him before throwing herself into his arms. She was already sobbing piteously.
"They told me he's dead, Sirius!" she wailed. "They told me he fell through the Veil of Death!"
As Sirius, now with his arms wrapped around her back as she had her arms wrapped around his shoulder and neck, held her, he quietly made consoling and 'there there' noises for her.
"Please tell me he's not!" she sob-begged.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," he sighed. "I can't do that."
As Hermione wailed even more in his arms, Sirius felt like a real heel. However, he knew he could not tell her what the Lovegood girl had told him.
For a start, he had promised Luna he would not disclose he knew her to be a Seer. That information would be restricted to only three people, not including Luna, and Hermione was not one of them. Secondly, he knew Hermione would very likely go straight to Dumbledore with the information. And thirdly, even if she did promise and was willing to keep the secret, she had no Occlumency to protect her mind from the likes of Dumbledore if the old bastard decided to use Legilimency on her.
For the time being, Hermione would not be made aware Harry was still alive and only so far away no one was able to get to him yet.
However, Sirius was not there to lie to the girl about Harry's 'supposed' fate. He was there to get answers to questions he had and knew the girl was the only one – with the Weasley boy proving himself to be a thief and liar - who could answer them. Secondly, because of her loyalty to Harry - even if tempered with her loyalty to Dumbledore - together with her willingness to go to the Department of Mysteries to 'rescue' him even though she knew it to very likely be a trap by Riddle, he was going to go out of his way to help the girl. He'd promised Luna.
After a minute of the girl sobbing in his arms (and possibly ruining his brand new expensive muggle suit in the process) he firmly, but gently, pushed her away from him and nearly to arms length away. "Sweetie, I need to talk to you about Harry. I need that talk to be open and in-depth," he firmly said. "As such, I need you to set aside your grief... just as I have needed to... and talk with me. Can you do that?"
Wiping her eyes with a sleeve of her long-sleeved blouse and while accepting a small handful of tissues her mother compassionately handed to her from the side, Hermione nodded.
"Thank you," said Sirius. He then looked to a still standing nearby Sandra and used his chin to indicate the couch opposite.
Sandra wasn't daft; she immediately latched onto Hermione and carefully guided her back to sit on the couch while Sirius sat back in the armchair opposite. Sandra sat alongside her daughter, while also holding her hand.
As everyone sat again, Sirius said, "I've been talking with others of your little group who accompanied Harry to the Ministry that night. I've already heard a lot about what happened. However, many of them said the best person to speak to about it was you.
"While Ron Weasley has been telling everyone he was Harry's 'best mate', it was very apparent that his best friend was, in fact, you. I have had that information confirmed by two others."
"No," stuttered Hermione. "But... Ron..."
"No, Hermione," he gently said. "What you seem to be unaware of is that, while you were recovering in hospital, Ron... after being released from hospital... returned to the school for the last two days before the Express returned to Kings Cross.
"The first thing he apparently did on returning to the castle was to rifle through Harry's trunk and claim for himself whatever he wanted. Apparently, that was Harry's coin pouch and his Firebolt.
"When the boys in his dorm tried to stop him, he told them that Harry had told him that, if anything was to happen to him, Ron was to take from his effects whatever he wanted... especially his Firebolt."
"No... but... you bought that for him!" she decried.
"Indeed," he nodded. "The only other thing Ron took was, as I said, his coin pouch."
"When I had the goblins of Gringotts employ their magics to recover everything that had been stolen from the House of Potter, I found out Ron had stolen the broom and coin pouch."
A small lie, it was Dobby who made him aware of that.
"I then wrote to Arthur and demanded them back. Ron lied to his father and told him that Harry had told him he could have them. The other boys in his dorm told me that, to the best of their knowledge, Harry did no such thing.
"When Arthur confronted the boy about it and after some effort on Arthur's part, he finally admitted Harry didn't do that and that Ron believed Harry would have if he'd thought of it.
"That's theft!" declared Marc.
Sirius looked to him and nodded. "It is, yes. I've also since recovered both. However, I also believe young Mister Weasley also didn't return all that was in the coin pouch, either. However, I know Harry didn't keep that much―"
"Approximately thirty galleons, ten sickles and five knuts," Hermione promptly stated.
Sirius smiled and said, "That you knew that does not surprise me. I'll also tell you that the boy did not return anywhere near that much. However, I'm not going to chase after him for it. Obviously the boy thought that little of Harry's friendship and legacy he was quite willing to steal a little gold from him, plus the broom, after he died.
"Just so you know, Hermione, as a result of that... treachery... I've formally announced the House of Weasley to be enemies of the Houses of Potter and Black. The theft of the broom, valued at over one thousand galleons, was more than enough for me to do so."
"But... you've got it back," she whined.
Her father cut in. "That is neither here nor there, Hermione," he firmly said. "Lord Black only got it back because the Weasley boy was caught with it. It was still theft."
Sirius added, "I could have easily had young Ronald charged with that theft, Hermione. And, because he's over fourteen and knows right from wrong, the charge would have stuck.
"I did not do that because I have respect for Arthur. The shame of having a son publicly labelled as being a thief would have gutted the man. I'll also tell you that, according to the twins, only the begging and pleading of their mother stayed their father's hand from formally disowning the boy. That's how big an issue this is."
Hermione looked down and away and sadly nodded, understanding.
Relaxing, happy in that she was finally understanding, Sirius sat back and said, "Now. I need you to tell your side of the story about Harry and what has happened at the school. And... please... start at the beginning."
Hermione instantly developed a guarded expression and said, "I... don't know if I should do that."
"No, Hermione," said her father. "You will do that. As your father and rightful guardian, I'm afraid I'm ordering you to do it."
Hermione winced and tried, "Sirius... ummm... perhaps if you and I were to go somewhere private―"
"No, Hermione," he firmly said. "You are a young witch and under-aged. It wouldn't be proper."
"Indeed," muttered Marc.
"Only for another couple of months," she returned. "I'll be seventeen in September and of-age in the magical world."
"Firstly," said Sirius, "That is irrelevant. Secondly, I'm led to believe that of-age in the muggle world... where we are now... is eighteen."
"It is," said her father. "Hermione, this talk has been a long time coming. Your mother and I also want to know what's been going on. And, now that Lord Black is here and obviously has already talked to quite a few others to get their sides of the stories..."
Sirius nodded.
"... He'll be able to tell us if you're leaving things out or... heaven forbid... you try to lie to us."
Again, Sirius nodded.
"I'm insisting, Hermione," Marc firmly said. "I am your father and it's time to come clean."
Hermione had a pained expression on her face and clearly appeared to want to be anywhere else, but in that sitting room.
It took her mother firmly saying, "Hermione. I, too, am going to have to insist. Start talking, young lady... and you can start with your first year."
She started slowly - reluctantly - and it took a while. However, she soon started opening up to her parents and Sirius everything that had happened across the last almost five years that 'weren't right'.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ