Edited Mar 6 2013
Chapter 3: My Way
August 28th
Harry waited calmly for his guards to arrive. Supposedly the Dursleys had won an award for 'best kept lawn' but he had recognized the hand writing as Remus's - it was the end of August so it was reasonable for them to come pick him up. In light of that he had closed up all his potions equipment the moment he had seen the letter and started packing all the generic stuff in his old trunk while squirreling his new goodies away in his new trunk, which was in its backpack in the old trunk under everything else.
Hedwig was sitting on the windowsill, glaring menacingly out at the dark, she liked doing that lately. She would stare straight at whoever was on guard, no doubt freaking the poor people out. He thought it was funny and encouraged her to have fun with them.
A crack echoed down stairs and Harry smiled, imaging Petunia's fit at the broken dishes. Sighing he rolled out of bed and headed out the door. He paused, wand drawn, just around the corner from the stairs listening. He heard a thud and a soft curse and frowned.
"Damn it Tonks! Watch were your going!" A voiced growled softly, Harry's eyes narrowed. Was that...Moody? He shifted, reaching into a pocket and feeling the vials there. Each kind had a different number of bands of tape wrapped around them, he picked the one with three. Holding it carefully, it wouldn't do to drop it if this was legitimate, he leaned around the corner ready to duck and hurl the potion if anyone downstairs so much a breathed funny.
"Whose there?" he barked, earning several thuds and startled curses from the people in the hall.
"Oh for God's sake!" hissed another familiar voice as light bloomed downstairs, reviling an annoyed looking Remus, his wand emitting a soft white light. The other dozen people in the hall all glared at the werewolf. Remus just rolled his eyes, unaffected by their scowling.
"Hello Remus," he drawled, eying the others. Remus smiled wryly.
"Good to see you, Cub. Been holding up?" He asked. Harry merely raised an eyebrow.
"I'm fine. Who are all your friends?" He asked, shifting his grip on the vial, not missing the fact that Moody's fake eye was looking strait at his hand through the wall.
"Sorry Harry, this is the order of the Phoenix, well part of it at any rate." He amended. "Dumbledore sent us to pick you up and take you to a safe house for the rest of the summer." Harry stared at him for a long moment after he explained
"And I would believe this...why exactly? Whats to say your not just a bunch of polyjuiced Death Eaters?" He deadpanned, Moody giving a harsh bark of laughter.
"Finally! A lad with some common sense! Out of curiosity what is that potion your waitin' to throw at us?" He asked, the others in the group tensed, looking worried. Harry snorted, unimpressed at the attempt to trip him up.
"Well, if you can prove you are who you say you are I'll be happy to tell you, otherwise you'll be finding out the slightly more direct way." Moody grinned happily, a truly terrifying expression of the ancient Aurors face.
"Good lad! Now Remus?" He asked sharply. Remus nodded.
"What did you use to kill the basilisk?" He asked. Harry eyed him for a moment before responding.
"The sword of Gryffindor, and Fawkes helped too. How did I rescue Padfoot?" He countered.
"Good timing and creative use of a hippogriff." Harry snorted, relaxing a bit.
"Well that's one way to put it," He responded, stepping out from behind the wall, not letting himself really relax until a few moments with no attack went by.
"Ooh, he looks just like I thought he would," Said a witch in the hall, she looked the youngest there; she had a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet. "Wotcher, Harry!"
"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," Said a bald black wizard standing furthest back - he had a deep, slow voice and wore a single gold hoop in his ear - "He looks exactly like James."
"Except the eyes," Said a wheezy-voiced, silver-haired wizard at the back. "Lily's eyes." Harry resisted the urge to curse them, his safety was being trusted to a bunch of fangirls, wasn't it?
"So what now?" He asked tartly. Remus snickered softly, guessing the source of Harry's irritation.
"Now we get you to headquarters without getting killed," He explained.
"And we will be doing that how exactly?"
"Brooms." Was the violet haired witches excited response. Harry stared at her incredulously.
"Brooms?" He echoed.
"Yeah. Floos being watched, and apparition and portkeys can be tracked. Flying is the only way to go." Moody growled.
"And how exactly is flying out in the open across the country side a better idea? Why can't we just barrow Fawkes?" He asked flatly. Moody blinked while everyone else sans Remus looked shocked.
"Hadn't though of that," Moody finally muttered. "TONKS!" He barked turning to look at the violet haired witch. "Head back to headquarters and ask Albus if we can barrow Fawkes instead of flying Potter there." The witch, Tonks apparently, nodded rapidly and darted out the door. A few moments later the sharp crack of apparition heralded Tonks departure.
"Right, I'm going to go get my trunk." Harry said after a moment of awkward silence, Remus quickly volunteering to help.
"So how have you really been?" The old werewolf asked. Once they had entered the bedroom Harry shot him a smirk.
"Oh this and that. You really think I've been sitting on my ass all summer, Remus?" He asked, Remus chuckling.
"Of course not, but Harry, I have to say I've seen that grin before. Your mother always had it when she was about to do something particularly devious." Remus pointed out, a particularly ominous tone in his voice. Harry just stared him down without turning a hair.
"I have no idea what your talking about," He responded blandly. Remus snorted, unimpressed.
"Your a few decades to young to pull that on me cub, try again."
"Oh come on Remus, let me have my fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing Dumbledore pulling his hair out in frustration when the fun starts." He answered with a grin. Remus eyed him wearily.
"Must be a doozy, Harry, just what have you got planned?"
"You'll see." Remus was prevented from arguing any further at the sound of Fawkes' singing down stairs.
"Well there's your ride I suppose." Remus said, sending him a look that promised a more thorough interrogation later.
X X X
Harry decided upon arrival, in a dark neighborhood after being consumed in a blaze of fire, that traveling by Phoenix was officially his favorite form of magical transport, being the only one that didn't send him to his ass on landing. Within a few moments a dozen sharp pops sounded and the rest of his guard arrived. Moody flicked his wand in several complicated motions, no doubt casting some kind of detection spells, whatever he found met his approval however.
Stalking over to Harry, who still had Fawkes perched on his shoulder, he roughly held out a piece of paper. "Quick, read it and concentrate on what it says." he growled. Harry took the paper, a bit confused, but obligingly read what it said.
The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix
May be found at number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Um...ok?" He asked uncertainly. The paper was abruptly snatched out his hands and burned.
"Concentrate on what you read boy! Look there!" The old Auror snapped, pointing at the spot between numbers 11 and 13. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when a building seemed to sprout from the ground between one place and the next. "Don't dawdle! We could be seen any minute! Inside now!" Harry glared before walking quickly up to the porch, Tonks opening the door with a grin.
"I see you made it in one piece!" she said brightly as Fawks launched himself off Harrys shoulder and flew inside. Moody growled and all but pushed Harry through the door, forcing Tonks to retreat or get knocked over.
"Hello Pup." Harry just about broke his neck he wiped it around so fast, his eyes locking onto the form of Sirius in an instant. A moment later he tackled his godfather in a hug knocking them both to the floor. Sirius laughed and hugged him back.
"Alright you lot, get up, its time for the meeting." Remus called with a chuckle as he finally arrived, Harry's trunk in hand. Harry sighed but got up, giving Sirius a hand as well.
"What meeting?" He asked. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Order of the Phoenix stuff. I'd let you come but unfortunately kids have been banned."
"Of course they have," He agreed drily, earning a smirk from Sirius.
"Hey mate!" Harry looked up and tried not to scowl when he saw Ron grinning down at him from the second floor landing.
"Hello Harry." Hermione added, appearing as well.
"Hello Mione," He answered, smiling
"Hey! What about me mate!" Ron called, annoyed at being ignored.
"Fuck off Ron." Was Harry's only response, he hadn't forgotten Ron's betrayal during the tournament and he wasn't about to let the jealous little bastard be his friend again anytime soon. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Come on Harry, we need to talk." Harry nodded and took his feather light trunk from Remus before darting up the stairs past Ron, who was steadily turning purple. Downstairs the others headed into the kitchen for their super secret meeting.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to send you any letters Harry. I did try but Dumbledore had all the bases covered," she said once the door was closed. Harry smiled wryly.
"Its alright, I had a busy summer so I wasn't to bored." Hermione stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
"How? They were guarding you night and day. How could you have gotten out of the house?" she asked. He smirked.
"This is me were talking about Hermione, you honestly think I couldn't sneak out if I wanted to?" He asked.
"That's the point! I was going to tell you about them, but you couldn't have known they were there already!" She argued
"They need better guards then because I knew they were there within a week." Hermione stared at him for a long moment before nodding.
"They are a bit idiotic, aren't they?" she agreed, making Harry laugh.
"Yeah, just a bit. As it is Dumbledore apparently forgot his guards aren't the only ones with an invisibility cloak, or the fact that the house has a back door." Hermione snickered.
"So where did you go?" She asked amused. Harry smirked.
"Diagon Alley. I had some things I needed to get."
"What are you up to Harry?" She demanded, grinning Harry gave her an innocent look.
"What are you talking about Hermione? I just wanted something new to read!" He argued. Hermione gave him a flat look. Harry sighed, turning serious.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" He asked. She frowned sharply at him.
"Of course not!" She snapped, outraged that he honestly thought he needed to ask her something like that! Harry smiled faintly.
"Sorry Mione, but this is big," He answered, "I found something that may help me get rid of Voldemort, but I'm going to have to leave for a while to figure it out."
"Wait a second. Why not tell them then? If it'll get rid of Voldemort they may actually make themselves useful for once!" Harry just shook his head.
"No, they would never let me do this Hermione. Dumbledore for one would never let me go somewhere out of his control. You know how he is." He argued. Hermione closed her eyes for a moment before sighing and nodding.
"True, so whats the big plan?" Harry popped his trunk open and pulled out the book that had changed everything and held it out.
"Page 217." He said quietly. Hermione hesitated for a moment before flipping the book open and beginning to read the brief entry about Snow Point Academy. It only took her a minute, but she stayed frozen staring at the page for almost five minutes after she had finished. Finally she looked up and considered him for another long moment.
"I think I see where your going with this." She finally said.
"Where else would teach something like that? I figure he used some kind of necromancy to keep himself alive and to come back the rest of the way. If all else fails I can just ask the professor about making sure people you kill stay dead," He explained. "That and the place probably teaches a lot more powerful magic as well. I need something with a bit more kick then reducto if I'm going to survive now that he's back." Hermione grumbled, annoyed.
"I hate it when you actually make sense Harry," She muttered darkly.
"Whys that?" He asked, amused.
"Because you always get yourself into trouble!I happen to like having a brother! I don't want you getting yourself killed!" She snapped. Harry hugged her.
"I'll be fine Mione." She sighed.
"Idiot," she muttered darkly. Harry just laughed. "So when are you planning on leaving and how are you going to avoid the order until the 10th?" She asked, getting back down to business.
"I'll leave on the 1st, around 2am or so, and catch a flight across the pond then make my way south. I'll be more difficult to track if I take the normal way," he answered easily. Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, an exasperated look on her face.
"Harry?" She asked drily.
"Um..yes?"
"Do you even have tickets?" She asked sweetly. Harry balked at the look she was giving him.
"Er..." She sighed.
"That's what I thought." She deadpanned.
"I was going to get them at the airport!" He squeak defensively. She just shook her head.
"What would you do without me, Harry?"
"Fail to get out of the country?" He asked brightly. Hermione face palmed. "Er...right, how do I get tickets then?" He asked, she snorted.
"Your lucky I found out about how to do that when I went to France last year."
"So?"
"You have an ID, right? Give it to me and I'll have my dad plot it out for you and get all the tickets." He all but tackled her in a hug again.
"Thanks Hermione!" She pried him off, looking annoyed.
X X X
Later that night
Harry was awoken later by a muttered silencio and petrificus totalus, he didn't freak out though, he recognized Sirius's voice. Honestly he was surprised the marauder had waited this long to kidnap him for that interrogation that Remus had promised.
So he waited, amused, as he was levitated out of his bedroom and down the hall to a staircase behind a door. A minute later he was dropped to the floor next to Buckbeak. With an internal smirk he twisted his magic and snapped the weak spells easily.
"Hey! No fair Pup!" Sirius squawked, outraged.
"Right, what do you two want?" He asked, ignoring Sirius's whining.
"Well, you've got us wondering with your hinting earlier, and we want to know what you're cooking up that would get Albus's nickers in a twist." Harry smirked.
"You're just going to have to wait like everyone else." He told them. Sirius gave him a wounded look while Remus laughed.
"Are you sure Harry?" He asked, amused.
"Yup, your going to have to suffer, but don't worry to much I'll explain after the fact alright?" Sirius and Remus exchanged a look before nodding.
"Alright. Just don't doing anything your going to regret."
"No worries."
"Alright then, time for the real reason we brought you here." Sirius grinned wickedly. "Remus?" he asked. Remus nodded solemnly and looked at Harry.
"Harry James Potter, son of Messers Prongs. With the completion of your animagus transformation and the agreement of Messers Padfoot and Moony, it has been decided that you shall be inducted into the exalted Marauders. Are you Harry James Potter prepared to take the oath of the Marauders, and take up the solemn duty therein?" Remus finished. Harry stared at them in shock for a moment, not quite comprehending what they were asking for a moment. After a moment later a frightening grin appeared on his face.
"I, Harry James Potter, accept." Remus and Sirius grinned before turning serious once more.
"Then hold out your wand and repeat after me." He said, and Harry realized with a shock that this was no joke oath, this was a real magically binding oath, but that didn't bother him.
Holding out his wand he grinned. Remus nodded and began. "Do you Harry James Potter, hence forth to be know to the Marauders as Talyn, swear on your life and magic to bring mischief and chaos wherever you may go, and help those who would do the same, bring amusement in times of darkness and strife? Do you swear to uphold the honor of the Marauders and to continue the legacy of chaos when you find those who are worthy? And finally, do you swear to have fun no matter how dark the world becomes?" Remus pronounced solemnly.
"I do." Harry stated and both wands flared with light, a coil of glowing golden light wrapping around both his and Remus's arms before sinking into the flesh. Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face as Remus lowered his wand and grinned.
"Welcome to the Marauders, Messers Talyn," They both said.
"Now for the moment of truth Pup, what will your first act as a Marauder be?" Asked Sirius. Harry looked thoughtful and chuckled softly as he thought of what he already had in the works.
"I think we should consider my current undertaking to be my first act of chaos and discord guys, its certainly spectacular, if I can pull it off anyways." Harry answered with a grin, the two looked at him intrigued.
"I know you said its going to be good before Pup, but just how big is this going to be?" Asked Sirius. Harry just laughed.
"You'll see! I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."
"I don't think your going to get him to spill Padfoot, so you might as well stop asking already." Sirius pouted, making Remus roll his eyes. "Oh and Cub? One last thing before you head back to bed. Contrary to what everyone else thinks, the Marauder names aren't simple nicknames. Because its worked into the oath it truly is your name just as much as Harry is. That's why letters and things addressed to Moony and Padfoot can actually find us. If you wanted to you can even sign legal stuff as Talyn and its just as binding as if you put down Harry Potter."
Harry blinked, well, that certainly made things a lot easier. If he could legally go by Talyn then when he went to Snow Point no one would be able to just look at an enrollment list or something, not that he thought a place as secretive as Snow Point would ever let the ministry within a hundred miles of the school, let alone look at documentation.
"Nice." he agreed. They nodded.
"Right now, time for bed, Talyn."
"Hey!" He squawked, outraged as he was picked off the ground by a wordless spell from Moony and floated down the hall.
X X X
August 30th
As the days ticked down it took all of Harry's self control not to act like Moody, but only Hermione, Sirius, and Remus seemed to notice he was twitchier then normal. Hermione of course knew why and she was still waiting for word from her father. Hopefully he would get back to here sometime tonight, she needed to look over the route with Harry so he wouldn't get lost.
"Anything yet?" Harry asked, retreating to her room after lunch. She shook her head.
"Not yet. He'll get it Harry, don't worry. Planning a trip halfway across the planet takes a little research."
"I know but we're getting down to the wire here, I need to leave tomorrow night!"
"I know Harry, have you been working on that charm?" she asked. He nodded, exasperated but glad he could practice the charm none the less. The twins spying had revealed an interesting fact, as long as they were under the fidelius spell the underage magic detectors couldn't pick them up. Hermione had jumped on the loophole like a starving lion on a gazelle, and in the process saving him from another potential problem. Tracking spells. The charm he was learning would hopefully remove all tracking spells that might be on him.
A loud hoot distracted them a moment later as Hedwig winged into the room through the open window, a thick envelope in her claws. Harry all but snatched the letter out of the air when Hedwig dropped it on his head. "Great job girl!" he congratulated the tired owl. Hermione snagged the letter out of his hand and opened it up, pulling out several print outs and a note. Reading quickly she laughed.
"Your going to have to send dad a thank you note Harry, it looks like he pulled it off!" She picked up the print outs, looking them over carefully. "Alright it looks like your going to have to switch planes 5 times."
"Five?" Harry asked incredulously. She just shot him a look.
"They don't exactly have none stop flights from Heathrow to Ushuaia Argentina Harry. You have to hop around a bit. Be glad its only five, it could have been worse."
X X X
August 31
Harry waited until the ancient house had been silent for several hours before getting out of bed. He opened his trunk, pulling out the backpack that held the new trunk, now with books from the Black library as well. Harry had found some good spell books with Sirius's help to read at school, Sirius just didn't know that the school wasn't going to be Hogwarts, but that was alright he would learn in the morning.
Tossing his invisibility cloak over his shoulders he silenced his feet and crept out of the room, he didn't head out of the house immediately however, first he detoured to Hermione's room. The door had been left cracked to lessen noise, he had after all promised to say goodbye before he left. Creeping over to the bed he tapped Hermione on her shoulder, her eyes snapped open and he flipped the cloak over his shoulder so she could see him. "Well I'm off then. See ya?" he grinned as she hugged him.
"Good luck." she agreed with a smile. " I expect you to use that journal I got you, those things cost a lot."
"I will. I'll try to talk to you everyday, at least until I get there, but I don't know if those will work through the wards on this place."
"Excuses, excuses," she deadpanned, "Now get! You have four hours to get to the airport and catch your flight!" Harry nodded and quickly left the room, sneaking down the stairs and out the door. It wouldn't be until nearly 10:30 the next day that anyone realized Harry was gone, but by then he was already 5 hours away across the Atlantic
X X X