Chapter 3: A Visitor
Harry woke up sometime later feeling a bit odd. What was odd was the fact that he felt a mild pain all over his body (even his toes felt sore) but at the same time he was feeling totally refreshed. After his numerous stays in the Hospital Wing in Hogwarts, he came to associate feeling pain with tiredness, so this was something new to him.
Looking at the broken but still working clock on his night stand, he knew he had slept about six hours, it was mid-afternoon at the moment and he was hungry. Since dinner wasn't due till a couple of hours, he decided to get a snack. Ten minutes later, he was back in his room with a ham and cheese sandwich. It seems no one was home, meaning no one troubled him on his little trip downstairs. He stood in front of his open window finishing up his snack. The weather was very nice, with a bright blue sky and the occasional white cloud, and the generous sun. The only sounds he could hear were the birds happily chirping in the trees and the water sprinkles working in the neighbour's garden. 'Who would have said that there is a war going on right now?' he thought gloomily. He stood there for quite a while, thinking about the guest he will be receiving tomorrow night. Then out of the blue, a wide grin made its way on his face. 'I shall arrange a special welcome for Moony'. Satisfied with himself, he went back to his books.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened during the rest of the day. Harry ate dinner with his relatives, received a note from Remus via Hedwig informing him of his time of arrival, then went to sleep. The following morning, he took care of the garden. And in all his free time, he finished his computer tutorial book and started re-reading his Potions 5th year manual. Harry knew he wasn't as pathetic in this subject as Snape loved to portray him in class. That man had it in for him. He was holding a twenty year old grudge. Harry knew that what Snape saw in him was just his father's looks and his celebrity. Snape hated him for things he wasn't responsible for, and Harry hated him back for treating him like he did in class and outside of it. If he was treated like any other student in this class, he would have much better grades in the practical section of the subject Snape taught. In fact, reading the manual without the professor looming around was almost as interesting as reading Defence books. Harry loved reading the captions below the step-by-step description of the making of each potion, where the author provided reasons why each ingredient should be prepared the way it was demanded for the present potion, and why the potion brewer should use one ingredient and not another one belonging to the same category.
At seven, Petunia called for dinner. Harry was so much enjoying his reading he didn't feel the time speed by. He started to feel excited about the prospect of meeting Remus in two hours. Not wanting to show any feelings to his uncle, he made his face as expressionless as he could muster and headed down the stairs.
The dinner was a solemn affair, as always. As soon as he could excuse himself, Harry went outside to throw the garbage. The sky was still light and by the time his guest arrived, it wouldn't be dark enough not to see, as the moon was still young, but it would be dark enough to hide most details. Afterwards, the black-haired boy went to the little garden shed and brought out the water sprinklers. He put them each in the place he had in mind and connected each to a water tap inside the shed. He made sure his uncle couldn't see them when he would make his way to the car, as it was accustomed every evening after dinner. Harry would only have to sit in the dark shed and wait for Remus to arrive while looking through the crack of the door. Happy with himself, he walked back inside to wash the dishes, and then went upstairs to stay out of his uncle's way.
At fifteen to nine, Harry crept downstairs. There was only his aunt in the living room, and she was busy watching the telly. He opened the door very slowly and left it barely open behind him. Well positioned in his hiding place, the green eyed wizard set himself to wait. Remus came on time. He walked up the street in a very casual demeanour. Harry had to squint his eyes to make sure it was him, anybody looking would have thought that Remus lived in the neighbourhood, by the way he was walking as if he was used to his surroundings. Harry saw Remus step on the lawn and walking straight his way. As soon as he was at the same level as the first water sprinkler, the young wizard opened the tap. Water sprang from the other side of the hose, and Remus jumped in surprise pulling out his wand and looked back. He rapidly figured out the problem and made to run out of the range of the sprinkler, but Harry was fast to open the second tap, and Remus was caught in the middle. Cursing loudly, he made a run and stepped above the second sprinkler, as it was in his way to make it to the backyard. Meanwhile, Harry was rolling on the ground, laughing hard. Soon, the werewolf was standing above him with a half-amused half-annoyed expression that Harry couldn't see.
"Well thank you for the reception committee." growled Remus. He took out his wand and spoke a drying charm. Harry stood up with the help of his ex-professor, still chuckling.
"Hello Remus." Harry answered back as if nothing just happened. "Would you care to join me to my luxurious bedroom? Just keep quiet, I don't want my relatives to see us, unless you want another reception committee …"
Remus just nodded. Harry had told him that the Dursleys must not know he was here. He followed Harry, and silently slipped inside the door, the young man closing it with extreme care. He could hear the noise coming from the living room, but he followed quietly up the stairs. Once he was inside Harry's room and Harry had closed the door, he took out his wand again and cast a silencing field around the room.
Harry didn't recognize the spell and raised an eyebrow to inquire. Remus obliged.
"It's a silencing field charm. It's very useful when you're discussing private matters in a public area, or when you do not want others to know somebody is talking nearby. So you can understand why it is not taught at Hogwarts, you can imagine students casting silencing fields around them and their friends nearby, and tuning out the professor while he is raving about one subject or another. It can be made to be from the two sides, that way someone outside can't hear you and you can't hear them either, but most of the time the silencing is just from one side of the field …" Remus trailed off when he saw Harry enraptured by his lecture. He couldn't believe how easily he could slip into teacher mode, as he liked to call it. "Sorry, I know you didn't ask me to come here for a lecture on silence fields"
"No, no, keep going" Harry asked him urgently. "It is very interesting and I want to learn how to cast something like that"
Remus saw the eagerness in the emerald green eyes and decided Harry should know, even if this wasn't to be taught to a Hogwarts student. As a fact, hadn't the Marauders cast silencing fields in every other class to come up with new pranks? "Ok. It isn't hard to cast such a spell. You just have to concentrate on the image of the space where you want the field to be active, and then say a modified version of the normal silencing charm, Silencio. See how I put the accent of the first syllable, and not on the second one like in the normal case, and we use the same wand movement. If you think about it, I could have cast the muffling charm, Muffliato. But the muffling charm makes a buzzing for the people who are trying to eavesdrop, and alerts them that there is an active spell somewhere near. The silencing field is undetectable in this regard, and you remove it with the normal Finite. However it is only one-way, so you can still hear what is going on outside the field, and it also can be cancelled from outside the field. If you want a two-way silencing field, you should use a modified version of the Imperturbable charm …" Remus trailed off while smiling sheepishly. He had slipped again into his teacher mode.
Harry was absorbing the information and trying to memorize everything. Remus had the ability to explain even the hardest of spells in simple ways, making it much easier to learn. That is why he was adored by most of the student body back when he was a teacher at Hogwarts.
Harry shook his head out of his stupor. "But I didn't hear you use any incantation, just the wand movement". He was rewarded with a mischievous smile rarely seen nowadays on the ex-professor's face.
"That's because I used wordless magic!"
Harry was surprised. He didn't know such a thing existed, but now that he thought about, it made sense. Didn't Dolohov use it with his purple slashing curse on Hermione? "Is it as difficult as wandless magic?" He asked, as curious as he always was.
"No, far from it. It just requires a lot more concentration, but most people are not willing to make the effort. But that's a lesson for another day" Remus said while smiling. "Tell me Harry, how have you been? Are the Dursleys treating you well?"
Harry considered the question and decided that Remus deserved honesty. "They have been treating me better than the last summers, mostly due to the threats you gave them at King's Cross. I mean, I have fewer chores to do, I can wake up whenever I want …" Harry trailed off, he didn't know how to tell his friend about his uncle. Remus, seeing the hesitation, put his hand on the soon to be 16 year old wizard's left shoulder, in an encouraging way. Harry took a deep breath and continued. "But things are different this year. Before, they used to push me out of the picture, now I'm the one isolating myself, especially because of uncle Vernon's predicament." Harry gulped, but seeing the curious and unsure expression on Remus' face, he pushed on. "He's taking to drinking after he lost his well-paid job. And I don't want to be around whenever he comes back home, pissed and without any moral or mental inhibitions".
Remus kept an expressionless face, while he was thinking furiously. It was a fact that the Order was keeping watch over Harry's residence, but it was solely from outside threats. Nobody ever thought that the Dursleys would harm their nephew. What's more, Harry is defenceless on his own without magic, in particular against huge bullies like his uncle. There were only 2 viable solutions: allow Harry to use magic, or remove him from the care of his relatives. But to where? Grimmauld Place could be an answer, but why would Dumbledore send Harry back here if he could stay at the Headquarters.
"Harry, did the Headmaster ever tell you why you have to stay with your relatives? I mean, the Wealseys would have been thrilled if they could have you for the summer, and it's not like you like this place …" he muttered the last part. He made sure not to mention Sirius' old house, Merlin knows how bad the young man in front of him was affected by the death of his godfather, and he didn't want to discuss this gloomy issue so early in the evening. Remus was not even sure he wanted to talk about the subject with Harry, as he was still hurting from the loss of his best friend. Shaking his head out of this train of thought, he found an expression out of place on the said boy's face: a sneer.
"Dumbledore" Harry spat the name as if it was something filthy "told me about some blood protections placed around this house, which will remain as long as I spend a certain amount of time each summer here." Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. "He thoughtfully forgot to mention how much time I should stay here." He added sarcastically.
Remus was a bit surprised by the amount of anger Harry clearly felt towards the headmaster. Dumbledore had told the Order during their first meeting after the end of the school year that he had lost a considerable amount of the trust Harry had in him, and that he had made some mistakes that he could no longer correct (Remus had a suspicion he was talking about Sirius). What also surprised the werewolf was the loose control Harry had over his magic. For a moment, he had felt the magic pouring from his young charge, and had feared that some kind of accident might occur. So, he put that subject on top of the ones he will discuss tonight with Harry. His conscience reminded him that he was stalling the discussion about Sirius' will, but he didn't give it any notice.
Seeing that Harry had calmed down, he started his questioning: "Tell me, Harry, have you ever felt magic rush out of you like you did just now?". He tried using a neutral tone in order to get Harry talking. He was answered with a blush.
Harry had thought about the previous time he had a magical outburst, as he called it, and about using such energy for other purposes than making black marks on the walls of his room. Getting even redder in the face, he murmured back: "About two days ago, when I received an undesired letter, there was bolts a multicoloured lights emanating from all over my body, then one big bolt darted for the wall and made a scorch mark". The only situation where Harry would have felt more embarrassed was if Ms. Weasley asked him about his sex life. For some unknown reason, his magic was a very personal matter to him. Thinking back to other occurrences, he continued: "A couple of times at school, when some article of the Daily Prophet made me angry, I made the breakfast cutlery rattle on the table. I can't remember any other occasions when something like that happened. I mean, I did some accidental magic before going to Hogwarts, but I don't think you were talking about that." He looked up from watching his fingers to find a thoughtful expression on Remus' face.
Remus knew that a loose controle on one's magic can be caused by many things. It can be that one's raw magical level has increased faster than the body can cope. It can also simply be that one's magic is closely related to emotions. And that is just two of the common reasons for accidental magic after the beginning of one's magical education. Going back to his line of questions, he smiled mischievously to Harry: " And what about that accident with your aunt? I think it counts as one". Harry didn't think he could get any redder but he felt more blood flush to his cheeks. "Yes, I forgot about that accident" he answered sheepishly. "But I wasn't punished on that instance. In fact, I received a notice from the ministry when Dobby levitated a cake in the summer after my first year, I didn't do any underage magic that time. It kind of makes a very unreliable image of the ministry, if you ask me."
Even if Remus was interested in knowing the details, he didn't want to change subjects, something he seemed to be doing a lot since he arrived here. "Did you know that accidental magic seldom happens to students after their first couple of months at Hogwarts?" It seemed that Harry didn't since he shook his head, so Remus decided to push on. "That is due to the fact that one of the first things school teaches to magical children is to control their own magic. No, there is no lesson explicitly about this subject, but you learn to channel your magic into useful things, like transfiguration or charms. The magic that pours out of you, for lack of other expressions, is kind of wasted in your case. It is true that your body generates what you loose but meanwhile, you will feel drained, thus dangerously exposed to attacks."
Harry felt more embarrassed, to say the least. But he kept his head held up, he wanted some answers, he wanted some help, and who better to ask than the Marauder version of Hermione Granger. "But how am I supposed to channel my magic if I'm not supposed to do any during the summer holidays? Are there other means to control one's magic? And how come I have trouble controlling my magic and not others, even if we all learned the same things? Why ... " Harry trailed off once he saw Remus raise his hand. He was frustrated by the fact that he couldn't be normal even in the simplest of things.
"One question at a time, Harry. First, you can do magic during the holidays, it's just that you can't use focused spells. And since wizards and witches use a wand or a staff to focus their magic, wandless magic is not forbidden, but it is extremely difficult to control. I can't even levitate a feather wandlessly. As for other means to control one's magic, it's better to act on the reasons why the control is lost, feelings in your case. And the best way to control feelings is through occlumency, or meditation. Now, I know that your experience with occlumency is not a good one, and I don't blame you for it at all, we all know that Snape can be a greasy git, specially when it comes to you" Remus finished with a wink.
"But how come I received a warning from the ministry when Dobby made a levitation charm? I mean, he didn't use a wand. As a matter of fact, why did I receive a warning when it was him that used magic?"
"Nobody really knows how Elfs' magic work, so I really don't know the answer to your first question. However, since you're the only magic user in this house, any focused spell would be attributed to you. The ministry looks for magical signature if more than one magic user live in a house. If you ask me, they're just trying to cut their work load, slacking off in other words."
"So that leaves me with occlumency or meditation. Can you help me to learn one or both of these practices?" Harry asked almost pleadingly. The idea of magic, his magic, going to waste was revolting for some reason.
"I don't know much about occlumency, because werewolves have natural mind protections, but I'll try to find you some books on the subject. Since we're at it, do you need any books? I can get you some on my next visit to Flourish and Blotts. As for meditation, I use it rather frequently to help me distinguish between my genuine feelings and those of the wolf inside. I have the perfect book on the subject for you. I'll bring it with me with the other books next time I come by."
"I wish I could come with you and choose the books I want, because I really don't have a precise idea of what I want. Damn Dumbledore and his manipulations. One thing I want to learn that school doesn't teach us is offensive magic, and not spells easily countered like the impedimenta or the stupefy. I learned of my little adventure at the Department of Mysteries that Death Eaters do not duel one on one, they use their bulk to attack and to counter whatever curse one of them is hit with. Anyway, I'll read any book you deem good for me, you know I have almost nothing to do here. But it will only be theory, I can't even practice."
"Well you can practice occlumency, it's not a focused magic." Both wizards stayed silent for some time, thinking. Remus was beginning to seriously question Dumbledore's decision to leave Harry with his relatives. 12 Grimmauld Place was under the Fidelus Charm, meaning that Dumbledore has to willingly give the address to someone if that person wanted to get in. And even if there was a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix, the traitor can't tell the address to anybody since he is not the secret keeper. So if ever there was a traitor, he would have to kidnap Harry from the Headquarters under the watchful eyes of the entire Order, assuming that Harry was staying there of course.
Remus looked at the hour and found that it was already after 10. He couldn't disappear from his guard duties for a long period of time. That meant that he should discuss Sirius' will right about now. "Harry, I'm sorry to bring this subject now, but I should tell you about the will Sirius left with Gringotts." He saw that Harry's face got sombre just at the mention of the name of his godfather. "I know you're still hurting, Merlin knows I still am, but you told me that Dumbledore haven't sent you the letter Sirius left to you in his will, and I can guess now why." Harry looked up at him with questioning eyes. "I don't know the detailed contents of the will, but one thing I know is that Padfoot wanted to get you emancipated, and Dumbledore was totally opposed to it, saying that you're not responsible enough."
Of all the things to ask, Harry said "Emancipated?", and Remus obliged "Meaning you will be a legal adult in the magical world in the least. You would use your magic without restraints, you would have access to your vaults, you would take care of your affairs without having to have the approval of a legal guardian ..." Remus trailed off, seeing that Harry had other questions yet. "My vaults?" Again, Remus was surprised by the question. "Yes, your vaults. You already have access to your trust vault, but not your family vaults until you're an adult. You didn't think your parents left you with only the trust vault, did you? The Potter family is one of the oldest magical families, even older than the Blacks. Add to that your mother's shrewd business mind and all the investments that she made, and you'll be one of the richest men in England once you become an adult."
"Why do all people know more about my family than I do?" Harry complained exasperated. "I don't even know what my parents did for a living!"
"Your father played professional Quidditch for a year, but he got bored and decided to become an Auror. He finished the Auror training in a record time, however he joined the Unspeakables. Your mother worked for the Ministry, in the department of International Relations to be more precise. They both stopped what they were doing when they went into hiding. Now you know what Lily and James did after school. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I guess we all assumed that you already knew. I'm becoming more and more convinced that placing you with the Dursleys was a mistake. Enough with that, I have to tell you about what other things Sirius said in his will. I told you about the emancipation, Dumbledore is trying to block that part but I don't know if he will succeed, since Sirius used ancient laws that exist since the Founders' time to grant you more freedom. Sirius also left for you a considerable part of the Black family wealth, which was also an old family with a noble title and the riches that come with it."
Remus was about to continue when Harry interrupted him. "I don't want it." Bewildered by Harry's vehemence, Remus asked "What don't you want?". Harry's answer was short. "Sirius' money."
Harry looked away and gazed through the window of his small bedroom. He knew he was being irrational, that Sirius would want him to enjoy himself with all the possible means, but some part of him still thought that Sirius will come back one day, and taking his money was cementing the fact that he will never be back. Remus' voice interrupted his musings.
"Harry, you have to accept his will. Since you're the primary benefactor, refusing the will would make it void, hence giving all the Black family wealth to the closest living relatives, the Malfoys and the Lestranges." Seeing that this got a reaction from Harry, Remus went on. "Harry, I know that you would give the contents of all your vaults to have Sirius back, I know I would too, but you have to accept that he's gone." It seems that Remus knew what Harry was thinking. "Sirius wants you to enjoy your life, and he's giving you the means to do it, so just take the money and cherish the memories that you have of him. That would make him very happy, wherever he is."
Harry's will to argue was faltering, but he did nonetheless. "But I already have plenty to go by if what you're telling me about my family vaults is true." Remus wanted to end this argument to get to his last point. "What I'm telling is true, but what Sirius wanted was to keep your family vaults for necessary stuff, and to buy yourself every whim with the Black vaults. Harry, we know that you didn't have much before coming to Hogwarts and you still don't have much, that's why Sirius left all this to you: he wants you to live your life, not just to survive."
After a minute of silence, Harry had resigned himself to his new wealth. But he wanted to do something. "I want to give you and the Weasleys part of what Sirius left for me." Remus had to smile, he was waiting for Harry to say this ever since he knew of the contents of the will. In some way, it was very reassuring. "Sirius has already taken care of that, cub. That's why you have the big part of the vaults, and not all their contents. The Weasleys won't have to buy second hand clothes and books for the next generation, and seeing how the boys are taking care of themselves, their reputation of modest background should change fast enough."
"What about you?" Harry asked. "I know you used an eagle owl the other day, but you're still wearing the same old clothes." As a matter of fact, the robes Remus was wearing were well worn off.
"Sirius left me a considerable amount of money and other things, but I like to keep a modest outfit. A werewolf wearing new clothes arises suspicion, as people tend to think that since they aren't well paid everywhere they do an honourable job, they certainly stole and killed to afford such commodities."
Seeing that Harry had nothing to add, Remus moved on. "The Black family also had several residences. Sirius left most of them to you, but he gave me a flat in Hogsmead, and we share the lease of Grimmauld Place. I know it's not my place to ask you, but do you want the Order of the Phoenix to keep it as their headquarters?"
Harry thought about the question. The Order was not acting as he would have liked, he wanted a more offensive role for it, but it still saved a lot of lives. "Yes, no problem with that." Harry answered offhandedly.
Remus stood up, he had to leave. He still had a little less than an hour of guard duty, and then he would be going back to the Headquarters. Even though he didn't like the gloomy atmosphere of the Black mansion, especially now with Sirius gone, he knew his absence won't pass unnoticed and he didn't want to answer any awkward questions. "Sorry Harry, but I have to leave now, it's pretty late already, and you should get your beauty sleep." He said with a smile.
Harry also stood up. He didn't know if he should give Remus a hug, shake his hand or do nothing. But Remus made the decision easier when he got closer and took Harry between his arms. When they separated, Remus had glassy eyes. An unspoken agreement was established at that moment, they both knew it and even felt it. Remus was Harry's parents' only true friend that was still alive, and Harry was the only member left in Moony's pack.
Even though he already knew the answer, Remus had to ask. "Sirius also wanted me to be a kind of unofficial godfather to you, since you won't need one once you become an adult and I can't be one because of the current ministry laws about werewolves." he said without breaking the eye contact. He knew he was babbling but he didn't care.
Harry approached Remus again, this time less awkwardly, and gave him a hug while saying "Of course Moony".
Remus left, and Harry, alone again and emotionally drained, went to bed soon after