Chapter 4
Sirius wasn't happy. Harry had disappeared, and the only clue was it looked like he was going to Africa. Why Africa? Harry had never mentioned Africa or a safari to him. It just didn't make sense. Remus and he discussed the matter for hours after the Order meeting was over. He wanted to talk to Harry's friends, and see if they had ever heard him mention Africa or not. Other than that, he didn't know what to do. Africa was a very big continent and finding one person would be nearly impossible, especially if he didn't want to be found.
After Remus and he discussed the matter, until they were repeating themselves for the third time, Sirius decided to go to bed. When he started to dress for bed he found Harry's letter. He immediately opened it and read it.
Sirius,
I just want to let you know that I'm safe and nothing has happened to me. To prove that I'm not coerced into writing this, I want you to know that I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good.
I couldn't take it with the Dursleys anymore, and the opportunity presented itself for me to solve my problem. The Dursleys are out of the country and safe from any danger. I'm nearly certain that no one can find them. Even if they did, the Dursleys have no idea where I am.
It seemed to me that the only option that was available to me was trying to leave the Dursleys and being dragged back against my will. Even if I were allowed to leave, I would be taken to Grimmauld Place or the Burrow. Then I would be watched so closely that I may as well be imprisoned. I need to be doing something productive with my time, instead of being locked away. You should understand what it is like being held prisoner. You can understand how I felt being at Privet Drive. I found another option and I have taken it. I don't intend to return until school begins.
If I told you where I am, you would laugh your head off, and you would undoubtedly agree that I couldn't be safer. I don't want to tell you at this point because someone might find this letter, and all my effort would be for nothing. I will have to work on some way for us to communicate. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Everything has happened so fast that I haven't worked out all the kinks.
Rest assured that I'm safe, and don't worry, nothing is going to happen to me.
Harry
Sirius read the letter twice and felt relieved that Harry was alright. There was nothing in the letter indicating where he was. He didn't know how Harry had pulled it off but he had to give the kid credit, it seems that he managed to hide his tracks very well as well as those of the Dursleys. Maybe he was a Marauder after all.
Sirius thought about showing the letter to Remus after making him promise not to tell anyone else. Remus was very worried, but he had a tendency to think that the Order should be informed about everything. Remus had never broken a promise to Sirius, and showing him that letter wouldn't lead to Harry being found. He decided that he would tell Remus in the morning.
~~oo000oo~~
Harry was famished. He couldn't remember the last time that he ate, but he was ready for supper. He knew just what he wanted. He went the kitchen, opened the freezer and took out a pizza. He read the directions and placed it in the oven. Twenty minutes later Harry and Dobby were enjoying pizza. Dobby had never seen pizza before and he liked it. He also liked the Coke that Harry gave him.
After supper Harry decided that it had been a long day and was ready to get ready for bed. He thought about the whirlpool in the hotel. He realized that he hadn't seen one in either of the bathrooms. Mr. Terwilliger said that the tent was equipped with one, although he didn't say that it was exactly a whirlpool. Harry went into the jungle and looked at the pool and wondered if that could be it. He put his hand in the water and it was the right temperature. Beside the pool there were a lot of buttons to push, he pushed one and the water started bubbling and churning. This was going to be great. He was a little nervous that it was out in the open, but Dobby was the only one around and Harry could keep his back turned.
Wearing a towel after undressing, Harry returned to the jungle and slipped into the pool, it felt great. There was a lot more room than in the hotel and Harry liked it better. After nearly thirty minutes Harry got out looking like a prune, wrapped a towel around himself and made his way to his room. He finished drying himself off, dressed for bed and went to sleep. This night, he wasn't woken up with nightmares.
~~oo000oo~~
"What do you have to report, Severus?" Voldemort demanded. The dark lord had found out that Harry was no longer with his relatives, and immediately summoned Severus in the middle of the night. "I have heard from Diagon Alley that Dumbledore is looking for Harry Potter."
"Potter is missing. The Order has little idea as to where the worthless brat is. The only clue leads to his going to Africa, but no one is any more certain than that. They don't even know if he is there at all. His relatives were taken very quickly from their home, either willingly or unwillingly, and are presumably out of the country. They took all their clothes with them, and it looks like they may never come back. The Order has no idea how to find them."
"It is not acceptable that Potter has gone missing. Keep your eyes and ears open for any information regarding him."
"It will be as you desire, My Lord." With that Severus left the room and returned to Hogwarts.
~~oo000oo~~
Breakfast at Grimmauld Place was quiet. There were only Remus and Sirius today as the rest of the Order was out on assignment or at their regular jobs. Remus was getting more upset about Harry and what problems that he could be in. Each sentence was more frantic than the one before.
"I'm telling you that he is being held by Voldemort and probably being tortured as we speak. We have to do something… anything… anything is better than nothing!" Remus was getting more anxious as time went on.
"Remus, calm down a little, I don't think that this means that Harry is being tortured. Finish your breakfast, and I have something to show you."
"What is it?"
"I'll show you upstairs."
"I'm done with my breakfast. We can go when you are finished."
"Alright, I'm done." Sirius led the way up to the sitting room off from his bedroom."
"Kreacher!"
"Worthless master calls Kreacher. Kreacher must do as worthless master…"
"That is enough, you useless piece of rubbish. I'm going to be talking to Remus in my room. I'm not to be disturbed for the next hour, and you are forbidden to eavesdrop. Is that understood?"
"Kreacher will do what worthless master demands." Kreacher immediately popped away leaving Remus and Sirius alone.
"Why did you bring me here?" Remus asked as he watched Sirius cast an imperturbable charm on the room.
"Remus, you must give me a Marauder's promise that what I'm about to show you is kept secret. You are not to tell anyone."
"What are you hiding?"
"The promise first."
"I give my Marauder's word and I solemnly swear that I'll tell no one about what you are about to show me."
The letter was brought out from a drawer and given to Remus. Sirius watched as Remus read it two or three times.
"It is pretty clear that Harry is not being held captive, but where is he?" Remus asked.
"I don't know, but it is clear that he is safe and not in any kind of trouble. I understand his need for freedom, Merlin knows I understand what it is like being held a prisoner around the Order. Neither Harry nor I are free to do anything due to our circumstances."
"How are we going to get him back if we don't know where he is?"
"Moony, you are not thinking like a Marauder… we don't try to get him back… we find a way to help him."
"Alright Padfoot, we'll do it your way. What do you have in mind?"
"I don't think that there is anything that we can do but wait and watch. I trust Harry to find a way to contact us"
~~oo000oo~~
The morning had brought Harry out of a deep restful slumber, he wasn't exactly sure what time it was since his watch was broken, but he was well rested after a good night's sleep.
The pantry in the kitchen had the basics of what was needed to fix a good breakfast of bacon, eggs and waffles. Now that Harry was fed, he was ready to start his day. After breakfast, Harry decided to leave the rest of the stuffed animals alone. He took Hedwig to the surface to take notes to Ron and Hermione.
"Hey, girl, do you want to make some deliveries for me?" Hedwig came down from the tree in the jungle and landed on Harry's shoulder. He scratched her in all the places that she loved, and he walked with her to the bell by the vault door. Fifteen minutes after ringing it, there was a cart with Nearfang in it.
"Do you need to return to the surface?"
"I need to send Hedwig on her way with notes to my friends, so I guess that I will want to go up and come right back down again."
"I could take your owl for you to Gringotts' owlery, but there will be a fee."
Turning to Hedwig, "Would that be alright with you? Do you need me to come with you?"
There was an indignant chirp, and she flew to perch on the back of the cart.
"Hedwig, I don't want you to wait for answers, just deliver the notes and leave." She blinked in understanding.
Turning next to the goblin, he said, "Thank you, Nearfang, I'll pick her up from the owlery when I hear the bell."
With that, Harry left Nearfang and Hedwig to their tasks and returned to the vault. He decided it was time for some exploring. He walked around, trying to get an idea of where to start in his studies. He decided to start on the far left and work his way around the vault. There were a few shelves of books that were nearly surrounded by furniture, and he decided to start there. The books were on a wide selection of subjects, nothing that really caught his eye. There was one about fighting styles of the fourteenth century, but he thought that he could read that some other time. There was more furniture, armor, and mirrors. He didn't understand why there were so many mirrors, but it was no big deal. He found some more shelves of books that looked interesting. After sorting through some books on politics and banking, he found a book titled: "The Definitive History of the Potters" by Penelope Potter.
Harry spoke aloud a "Wow!' and a single portrait nearby woke up.
"Who goes there?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Drusilla Potter. Now that you know who I am, who are you?"
"Drusilla Potter…? I think I'm your many times great grandson, Harry."
"Harry? I'm pleased to meet you. Can you tell me what year this is?"
"It's 1995."
"I have been in this vault for… 270 years I think. What brings you here?"
"I have decided to learn about my family history. I intend to learn as much about the family as I can in the next few weeks."
"What have your parents told you?"
"My parents died when I was a year old, and I was raised with my muggle aunt. She hates magic, and I wasn't allowed to ask questions. I was told that my parents died in a drunken accident. I didn't even know about magic until about five years ago. No one told me that I had this vault or how old and rich the family is."
"Muggles! That is outrageous! You are going to have to work hard in order to learn about the family in only a few weeks."
"I have brought a magical tent into the vault, and I intend to do just that."
"Where do you intend to start?"
"I'm not too sure. I just found a book called "The Definitive History of the Potters" that looks interesting."
"That is by Penelope Potter, she is my mother-in-law. She knows a great deal about the family history. She has a painting around here near the middle of the vault somewhere. I hope that she has enough magic to be of help."
"Enough magic?"
"That is something else those muggles need to answer for."
"Don't worry, I just took care of them, they aren't going to be an issue from here on out."
"Good. Paintings are imbued with magic when they are painted. When the magic fades then all the portrait can do is sleep. In fact, I'm getting tired and will need to sleep before long. Why don't you read that book and then call out to my mother-in-law and discuss it with her. I'm going to go back to sleep before all my magic is drained again." With that she closed her eyes and was asleep. There had to be some way to get more information out of these portraits. Maybe they could be recharged in some way so that Harry could learn faster. As he was walking to the middle of the vault, Harry thought that he should at least try to find Penelope Potter and see if she could help him learn about the family.
"Penelope Potter?" A portrait of a woman opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Go away, I'm tired." She closed her eyes again, and she was asleep.
He returned to the tent and started to read Penelope's book in his study. Once he started, he found it fascinating. It seems that the name Potter started as just that, a family of potters. The family made pottery and were famous for it. They used their kilns to fire special clay in ways that made the pottery nearly unbreakable. They painted beautiful designs and scenes on the pots and dishes, and the pottery was treasured by kings and noblemen. One of the Potters, Hadley Potter, started using the kilns to make glass. His son Hannibal learned how to use the glass to make mirrors imbued by spirits. They were the earliest talking mirrors.
Harry remembered seeing a talking mirror in his room at the Leaky Cauldron last year, and he seemed to remember the Weasleys had one.
Later, the grandson of Hadley devised a way for someone to look through the mirror from the backside and to move between the mirrors, like subjects can do in portraits. The Potters kept how to do this a very closely guarded family secret. The Potters then used this ability in order to spy and sometimes communicate with whoever was using one of their mirrors. For hundreds of years, the Potter family made and sold their mirrors at very little profit. The mirrors were so inexpensive that nearly everyone had them. The Potters, in essence, were able to spy into nearly every household.
The more Harry read, the more he learned that his ancestors weren't the paragons of virtue that he had previously believed. Much of the Potters' investments were based on information gathered by spying through the mirrors of rich merchants and nobles. There was a family tradition that they would only use this practice on people of questionable ethics. Simply, they were targeting people who often stole from others. The Potters were pilfering from crooks.
~~oo000oo~~
Ron saw Hedwig approaching and was hoping that it was a note from Harry. He took the note addressed to him, and Hedwig immediately took flight. Ron hurriedly opened it and read:
Ron,
I want to let you know that I'm fine and nothing bad has happened to me. My uncle pushed me too far, and I took advantage of an opportunity to do something about it. I know that if I simply left my relatives, the Order would force me back. Even if I got free of the Dursleys, I would be with Snuffles or with you at the Burrow. Not that I don't like to be with you, but I feel that I'm watched twenty-four hours a day and forbidden to leave. I just don't want that. I have things that I want to do and have some freedom to do so. Don't worry, I'm perfectly safe so don't be concerned about me.
Harry
Ron put the note down and felt a little better. He couldn't understand what was so bad about coming to the Burrow. They could play quidditch and have a lot of fun. But he did understand about not being able to leave, Ron didn't like it, but he understood it.
~~oo000oo~~
Hedwig caught Hermione napping by the pool and had to land on top of her to get her attention.
"Hedwig! That wasn't very nice. Do you have something from Harry?" Hedwig stuck her leg out for Hermione to get her note. As soon as the note was untied Hedwig took flight.
Opening the note she read:
Hermione,
I know that you are worried about me, and I want to reassure you that I am perfectly fine. I couldn't take it anymore and left my relatives. I have arranged it so that I never have to go back. I know that you think that I'm reckless and should listen to the Order. Maybe I should, but I'm not. There are things that I want to do and I can't do them stuck at the Burrow or with Snuffles.
Don't worry about me, I will be fine and I will see you on the train.
Harry
P.S. I AM studying, so don't worry about that either.
Hermione didn't know what to think. She couldn't believe that Harry would go against the Order. Didn't he know that they knew best? He could be safe if he was at the Burrow or Grimmauld Place, it was crazy to think that he could protect himself better than that.
Just wait until she could tell him that.
~~oo000oo~~
The Potter family history book was so interesting that Harry spent most of the day reading it. He found that the Potters continued their larcenous practices until this book was written, and probably after. Harry didn't know how much longer the practice went on. He wondered if his father knew anything about it. The book said that there was a manual that detailed how to make the mirrors and how to use them for the nefarious deeds described in the book.
Using the mirrors to help him against Voldemort was the first thing that Harry thought of. He wasn't exactly sure how to do that, but he was going to figure it out. This was too great a weapon not to use it to the fullest extent. Maybe he could learn of Death Eater attacks before they took place. The possibilities were nearly endless.
Harry was so engrossed in the book that he had missed lunch, and it was nearly supper time. He and Dobby had pizza and Coke again, he didn't think that he could ever get tired of pizza, but this one didn't seem as good as the ones he had before.
After supper Harry went back into the vault looking for the manual. He needed to find it. He started to look through every book that he could find. He went late into the night searching and searching. There was a lot of stuff to sort through, and he was beginning to get tired. He found that he was looking through the same stack of books that he tried earlier. He started moving the books that he searched into new piles, he put them on tables and desks and even in other armoires.
It was well passed time that Harry should be in bed. Midnight had come and gone hours ago, but his mind was still so fixated on finding the manual that he didn't think that he could sleep. He decided to take a long shower instead of a soak and went to bed in an effort to relax and get some rest so he could start his search again in the morning. After an hour and a half of no sleep, while his mind was still searching, Harry gave up and decided that he was going to have a soak anyhow. He got out of bed, dressed in a towel and walked into the jungle and to the pool.
As he soaked, his mind started to calm and he asked himself if he were to hide such a valuable manual what he would do with it? He wouldn't leave it in the open mixed with stacks of books. No, he would conceal it in some way that it would be hard to find. He was sure that he would put it in this vault. Only a true Potter could open the vault and it would be safer here than anywhere else. Harry was pretty sure that it had to be here somewhere, somewhere concealed in something. He decided that he would stop looking in the stacks of books and concentrate on other objects. Again he thought of where he would hide it. He had seen ornately carved desks earlier with lots of drawers, maybe it would be in one of them. A hidden drawer! That is where he would hide it. He hoped that he was right. He jumped from the tub and ran from the tent to where he had seen the desks. He didn't notice that he was dripping along the way. He frantically started looking in drawers of the first desk and couldn't see it. He pulled the drawers out of the desk and looked underneath them. This was such a great place to hide it, it had to be here somewhere. He looked at the drawers again and couldn't see anything out of place. On the third desk that he tried, he noticed that one of drawers was a little shorter than the others. He reached his arm into where the drawer had been and he found a hidden latch. Behind a door he found the manual, and he started yelling. He was jumping up and down when some portraits woke up.
"What ARE you doing, young man!"
"Why, I never!"
"How scandalous!"
"Put some clothes on immediately!"
Harry had been so fixated on finding the manual that he had run directly from the pool and he was buck naked. He took the manual and covered himself. His face was as red as a ripe tomato. He hurried as fast as he could back to the tent, passed Dobby, and into his room. He was so embarrassed… he couldn't believe that he had done that. He was going to have trouble facing the portraits in the future. Oh well, he thought, he had the manual, and he would just have to deal with the portraits later. Even with a red face he was still very happy, things were looking up. After a few minutes, his exhaustion became overwhelming and he was coming down from his excitement, he crawled under the covers, and he was asleep when his head hit the pillow.
It was mid afternoon when he woke up. It took a moment to remember what he learned about talking mirrors and how he could use them. He had a grin on his face when he got dressed in his sweat clothes and headed for the kitchen. Dobby was there working on sandwiches and he had baked a cake. Harry remembered streaking past Dobby early this morning and his face started to turn red again.
"Dobby, I apologize for earlier, I didn't mean for you to see me naked, I was just so excited about the mirrors and how to use them that I forgot what I was doing."
"Master Harry shouldn't apologize, Sir. House elves always knowses what their masters are doing. We watches and waits in case we is needed. For years Dobby has always wished to be Master Harry's elf. Dobby has seen you lots and lots of times." Harry's mouth opened, and he was turning red again, he was momentarily speechless and didn't know what to say.
"I… um… guess that is okay then," Harry paused again, "you said lots and lots of times?"
"Lots and lots, Master Harry."
Harry decided to drop the subject, he was still red with embarrassment. He mentally sighed and resigned himself to the idea if that was the way it was with house elves, then he was going to have to get used to the idea, but not right now. The sandwiches and cake were just what he needed, he was now well rested and his stomach was full again. He was ready to head to his study and read the manual.
Potions in the reflective coating on the back of the talking mirrors, and some charms, were the secrets that were needed to make the mirrors work. The directions for making the potions were difficult, but he thought that he could do it. He wished that he was better in potions, but he was determined that he would learn how to do these. The charms seemed easy enough. With what he learned, the Potters before him were able to make hundreds of mirrors in a week's time.
Instructions as to how to enter the mirrors were going to be easy. The mirrors in the vault were mostly master mirrors. The Potters used to have a master mirror in each of their homes, but they had been brought to the vault for safe keeping. A mirror had to be in a dark room so that light wouldn't show in the back of the mirror, and there was a simple incantation to activate it. Once the mirror was activated he only needed to speak the name of who he wanted to see. It was recommended that he use the invisibility cloak or stay well back from the mirror so that he could hide and not be seen. The spirits of the mirrors obeyed the commands of whoever controlled the master mirror. The spirits normally left while the master mirror was in use, unless they were called back for any reason.
That is how the past generations of Potters had gathered secrets. It all seemed simple enough, and Harry was anxious to start.
One of the spare bedrooms could be used for the darkened room, but the taxidermy still needed to be cleared out. Dobby went into the vault and found another trunk that he could empty. Harry was a little nervous about facing the portraits again. He knew that he was going to have to sometime, but he was going to put it off for as long as he could.
After the stuffed animals and heads from one of the bedrooms were in the trunk, he decided to clear the lounge as well. It would be more comfortable to read in a chair or lying on a couch than to use the study all the time. With that done it was time to move a mirror into the spare bedroom. He didn't know how elf magic might affect the charms and potions on the mirror, so he thought that it would be best to move it manually for now.
Harry and Dobby very quietly entered the vault area and selected a large full length mirror on a stand. They lowered it over and each grabbed an end to carry, when part of the frame dropped on Harry's toe and he yelled 'Ouch'. That was enough to wake the portraits again and they started chastising him, one even called him a pervert. His face turned red again, and they headed back to the tent as quickly as they could.
Once they were in the spare bedroom, they were sure to block any light from entering the room and Harry was ready. He put on his invisibility cloak and spoke softly, "Visum speculum,… Sirius Black." There was a little blur and then Harry could see through a small opening into the sitting room of Grimmauld Place. He could see Sirius sitting on a couch reading. It looked like Sirius was alone, but he decided to wait a little while to be sure. After ten minutes, Harry took off his cloak and called out.
"Sirius."
"Who's there?" Sirius was looking around the room but couldn't see anyone. It had sounded like Harry, but he could see no one. "Harry? Are you under your cloak?"
"Sirius, look in the mirror." Sirius saw Harry's reflection and couldn't believe it.
"How are you doing that?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. Can you lock the door and silence it?" Sirius did as he was asked and then looked back in the mirror.
"Is it really you, or am I having a hallucination?"
"It is really me. We are looking at each other through a mirror, and I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good." Harry was grinning from ear to ear."
"I thought only my mirror could do that."
"It is an old Potter family secret. I just found out about it yesterday and you are the first person that I have contacted."
"I'm so glad that you are here. Magic can do strange things, but this is incredible."
"Sirius, I trust you, but I need you to swear that you will keep this a secret. I'm not ready to tell anyone else right now."
"As a marauder, I solemnly swear that I won't tell anyone without your permission."
"I do have some things to tell you. I'm studying the Potter family history in the Potter vault. I got permission from the goblins and brought a tent into the vault, and I'm staying here for the foreseeable future."
Sirius doubled over in laughter. It took a few minutes before he was calm enough to talk again.
"When you wrote that you were safe and that I would laugh my head off when I found out, you were absolutely right. That is a brilliant idea."
"I thought so. How is everyone taking my disappearance?"
"About as you would expect, only better. Dumbledore found out that you bought a tent."
"Does he suspect where I am?" Harry was a little panicked.
"Nope. He found out that you bought an African safari model tent, and he thinks that you're in Africa." This time it was Harry that doubled over in laughter. Sirius had joined in, and it took a few minutes again for them to compose themselves.
"I want you to understand that I fully support your adventure, you're safer than you would be anywhere, and you are where you want to be. Are you learning anything?"
"So far I have only been here for a couple of days, and I have only scratched the surface. But if I don't learn any more than I do now, these mirrors are enough."
"Have you thought about what you are going to do with them?"
"I was thinking that I would try to spy on Voldemort and the Death Eaters. I can hide in a mirror and see if I can learn about any attacks before they happen. Maybe I can figure out how to get word to you so that something can be done."
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to explain how I know such things, but we will figure out something."
"Do you know anything about portraits losing their magic? Can something be done? I have loads of portraits that I would like to talk with, but they are too weak to speak for long."
"I don't know very much about that. The old Black portraits are not something that I want to deal with. I would rather that they stay asleep or be destroyed. Do you want me to find out what I can?"
"That would be great, I'm going to ask the goblins too, maybe they have an idea."
"That's a good idea…" Sirius paused for a moment, "I hear someone in the hall, I have to go. Can we meet again at the same time tomorrow?"
"I'll be here." With that Harry uttered, "Stareé in speculo". With another blur, the view into the mirror ended. Harry was pleased beyond belief, he knew he had a weapon against Voldemort. He didn't feel as helpless as he did after the graveyard.