Harry Potter – Hunter
By : Andor Swiftblade
Disclaimer : Harry Potter belongs to the beautiful blonde lady famously known as J K Rowling. ZPM belongs to the Stargate Universe. No monetary gain is being made from this story. Any non-Canon characters belong to me. Certain creative terms which have been used probably belong to some of my brilliant fellow fan fiction authors. (I don't really know to whom, so please forgive me.)
Summary : After the DoM Mayhem, Harry decides that he is tired of the Dursleys and figures that he wants to take a unique summer job. Follow him as in his bid for freedom, he has the adventure of a lifetime. Post OotP. Probably AU. Might include crossovers.
A man who has never passed through the inferno of his emotions will never overcome them.
It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
The only thing to fear is fear itself.
Men talk of killing Time, while Time quietly kills them.
What does not kill you makes you stronger.
Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are always won by men.
* * * * * Chapter 7 * * * * *
*|* The Storage Room *|*
The house of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was very old. Purchased by the Black Family Patriarch of the time, the house had been Warded very thoroughly by many powerful spells and enchantments. The memories of the location of the house were removed from the minds of the people who had constructed it. The neighbors thought that there had been a mistake in the numbering of the houses and that Number Twelve did not exist.
The house was Unplottable to anyone who did not know of its location and existence. It was not the complex Fidelius Charm, merely a simple version of it. But the simpler charm took more magical power to cast and maintain as it had no requirement for the Secret Keeper that a Fidelius Charm demanded.
The reason this place was so heavily Warded was because it was used as a last option in the time of crisis. The place was considered to be the safe house of the Black Family. Indeed, many of the younger members thought of it to be the ancestral house of the Black Family since they had lived in the house since birth. And it was also because there was the Family Tapestry depicting the Black Family Tree.
They did not know that what was behind the Tapestry was the reason why the house was built in the first place.
The Black Family Tapestry served as an entrance to the Black Family Storage Room, which was a simpler name for High Security Vaults. It was thus named so that no one, not even the children of the Black Family, would suspect that there was a hidden horde of artifacts and Heirlooms in the very house they lived in. But very few could access the place, even if they had prior knowledge of the place. The privilege was only for the main line of Black Family, which had the control of the Ward Key, a Key made of onyx which was responsible for controlling all the Wards of the house. A key that the members of the main line had protected with their lives, so that no outsider could get their filthy hands on the treasures of the Black Family.
That was where Harry Potter, the last Black of the main line and the current Heir of the family, was currently heading. In his hand was a small key made from onyx. It had a shine unto it that any normal onyx did not, a shine which indicated its special qualities. This key was the Ward Key, one of the most important artifacts that the Black Family possessed. The Key would allow the Wielder to enter the Storage Room, and it would also activate all the dormant Wards that – when fully activated – could stop an entire colony of Dragons from attacking and destroying the place.
'And that is, honestly, awesome!' thought Harry as he entered the Drawing Room. With a wave of Fletcher's wand, the hidden gas lamps ignited, bathing the room in bright yellow light.
Walking over to the tapestry, Harry stood still for a moment and just studied the thing before him. It was so skillfully woven that no one would suspect if there was anything behind the tapestry other than a bare wall. But on looking carefully, Harry could see that the Tapestry did not move even when touched. It was then that he realized that the Tapestry was not a Tapestry at all; it was just the wall that had Cushioning Charms on it to make it soft to touch, giving it the feel of soft cloth. It was an ingenious idea that no one else could even think of.
Harry smirked as he found his name. It was at the very bottom of the Family Tree and it was glowing softly, indicating that he was the current Head of the family. So Walburga had not lied when she said that the magic of the house recognized him as the Heir.
Kneeling down to look at his name, Harry raised his hand and reached out to touch the writing. Hand still extended halfway, Harry paused, wondering if he should stop or continue. The golden thread that his name was weaved in glimmered invitingly, and Harry decided his course of action. Tapping his name, Harry was surprised to feel that on pressing the small rectangle with his name, it was as if he was in fact pushing a button. The wall shimmered and rippled like a curtain, as if it was a breeze was moving it. Then before his eyes, the tapestry started melting into the wall, the Family Tree disappearing without a trace.
The wall was shining with a dim light being emitted from it. Suddenly, Harry could see the fiery outline of a door appearing on the wall where the Tapestry had been. The outline of the door shone a dark red, as if the entire length of the door was wreathed in flames.
Harry searched the bottom left of the door to find the keyhole for the Ward Key. And he immediately found it, because the keyhole was emitting a silvery blue glow. Key in hand, Harry quickly inserted it into the keyhole and moved back in case something happened.
At first he could see no change. But then suddenly, Harry could hear clicks of many locks turning as the entire door glowed a bright red while the key glowed a bright blue. As many colors started flashing over the door, Harry immediately drew both the wands, not willing to take a risk in this situation. Slowly the flashing lights reduced in intensity was the door stopped glowing. The key was still in the keyhole but it too was no longer glowing.
Cautiously approaching the door, his senses on high alert, Harry reached out to the Key and quickly snatched it out of the door. As soon as the key was removed from the keyhole, there was a slight hiss as the door immediately started sliding and disappeared behind the walls.
The storage room was entirely dark; not even the space a meter in front of him was visible. Wands in each hand and the Ward Key in his pocket, Harry carefully stepped forward. As soon as his foot crossed the threshold of the wall's boundary, he could feel a jolt of magic pass through him. Jerking, Harry retreated slightly and quickly assumed a fighting stance to prepare for any possible attacks from inside the room. Who knew if the Storage Room – a heavily guarded High Security Vault – had defenses set up like the Philosopher's Stone Chamber?
When nothing happened, Harry pondered on what he should do next? Should he try again? Should he step back and return later? No, the latter was not possible because he needed to activate the Wards that protected the house so that no one else could return here. And one of the followers of Tommy Boy – who went by the proper name of Severus Snape – had access to this house at the moment. And if he didn't activate them to full power, soon enough, many others would have access too. This would not be good for his continued existence.
Concluding that trying again was the better idea for now, Harry raised Fletcher's wand and whispered, "Homenum Revelio!" When the spell indicated that there were no life forms inside the room, Harry lit up his own with a quick muttered "Lumos Maxima!"
Bright light erupted from the wand tip, showering the area in his immediate vicinity with the white wand light. Raising his arm, Harry flicked the glowing wand, launching a sphere of light into the air. The glowing sphere slowly floated into the room and hovered there, casting more light on the surrounding. When he saw discernable grooves along the upper side of the walls, Harry deduced that this room too had hidden gas lamps on the walls. As he waved the other wand in a sweeping motion, the gas lamps sprang to life, and for the first time, the entire Storage Room was visible.
Harry tried to control himself, but a gasp of amazement escaped him. The name 'Storage Room' did not do the place justice. For what was before him could not be called a room. It could not even be called a chamber. No, the place in front of him was comparable to the Great Hall in length and width and nearly rivaled it in terms of height. But it was not the size of the room that amazed him much; it was what the room was filled with that amazed Harry.
The room was huge, about the size of the Hogwarts Great Hall. The ceiling was quite lower than that of the Great Hall, and there was no charmed sky. Instead of the sky and windows, the room was lit with lamps and candles. There were candle stands at intervals and there were at least three chandeliers in the room, all covered entirely with candles, which were all lit. The lamps were in brackets along the wall, placed at specific intervals. All in all, the lighting of the place was strategically planned so that there would be no dark corners.
The walls were made of smooth grey stone. The floor was made of rough brown ones, obviously well worn. The entire room was filled with rows upon rows of wide tables, shelves and cabinets. Each one of them had labels on them to identify the contents. There were several large wardrobes at many places all over the hall. In one corner that was raised slightly above the floor, Harry could see several money bags filled with gold Galleons and he assumed that to be the place where the Black Family stored their money. There were several suits of amour, all of them fully armored with plate-armor and chain mail, each of them carrying multiple weapons. The small space occupied by them appeared to be a mini-armory. There were several shelves lined along the walls that were supporting several dusty tomes. Harry gathered them to be the books that the Blacks did not place on display in their Library.
There were many cabinets with glass-doors. They contained a variety of items like silver and golden goblets, large dinner plates, a collection of table utensils, as well as a lot of other things that Harry did not know the names of. But he did remembered seeing them in the house last year before they had been thrown away by the Order. Confused as to how they came to be here, Harry decided to ask Kreacher.
The Elf arrived at his summons and bowed deeply. Not bothering with trying to tell him off for that, Harry asked the question that had been troubling, "Kreacher, how did all these things come here? The Order threw them away, didn't they?"
"Yes, Master Harry, the Order be throwing them away. But Kreacher be finding them all and bringing them back here," said Kreacher, looking around the hall.
"You did well, Kreacher. Thank you for bringing them back here," said Harry sincerely.
The Elf shuffled a little in embarrassment as his Master praised him. "Kreacher be doing what he has to, Master, nothing else."
"You may leave, Kreacher," said Harry, his attention once again returning to the hall.
Kreacher bowed once again and disappeared with a loud crack!
Wandering ahead, Harry silently looked around the room, glancing at the objects in passing before moving ahead. He had entered this room for one purpose : finding the Fuel Crystals to activate the Protective Wards. That was what he was trying to find, and he was having quite a lot of difficulty in finding them.
Harry cursed himself for not asking Walburga about those Fuel Crystals. She had said that they were important for the functioning of the Wards, but she had not informed him of where to find them in this large and cluttered hall, nor had he bothered to ask.
As he neared the centre of the hall, Harry could see from over the medium height tables that the centre of the hall was not as jumbled up as the rest of the hall. In fact, it was clear of all the odds and ends in this room. Assuming that there must be a reason for that, Harry trekked forward to take a look.
As he cleared the maze of tables and shelves, Harry found himself at the centre of the Storage Room or Storage Hall, as he had started calling it. At the centre of the hall was a raised pedestal with a curved basin-like formation on it. The pedestal was made of a milky white translucent marble. The basin was made of a brownish metal-looking material and it was supported on the pedestal within claw-like structures that jutted out from the pedestal.
Inside the basin was an object that was shaped like a rough cylinder, perhaps twelve to eighteen inches in length, and approximately six to eight inches in diameter. The cylinder appeared to be made up of a yellowish-orange crystalline substance, with black etchings on its exterior. There were some smaller sections of the cylinder that were tinted red and green, but they did not appear to be separate pieces from the cylinder, as by visual inspection, the entire cylindrical object appeared to be a single solid roughly carved crystal.
Harry peered at the thing with curiosity. The thing looked quite weird in his opinion. It was made of many colored crystals that appeared to be fused together. When he extended his hand over it, he could feel the magic the cylinder had inside it, and the magic contained inside it was tremendous. He had no idea that such a small thing could contain so much magic. Scrutinizing the object closely, trying to make out its composition, Harry discerned that it appeared to be made from a different variety of quartz crystal – which was primarily yellow – and he knew that crystals were the best materials in which magic could be stored. So he assumed that this was the 'Fuel Crystal' that Walburga had mentioned, since the thing had so much magic stored inside it and appeared to be made up of crystal.
Relieved that he had found the Fuel Crystals, Harry looked around the basin and pedestal for a niche for the Ward Key so that he could activate the Wards. As he investigated the entire pedestal, Harry could see the yellowish-orange end of the Fuel Crystal that was inside the pedestal. Through the translucent marble, he could see that there was something that appeared to be similar to wires present inside the pedestal and that they were connected to the end of the Fuel Crystal. He was surprised to note that a notoriously Pureblood Family like the Blacks would have something like Muggle wires inside their house, and that too for protection of their house. But he concluded that if the Blacks could buy a house in Muggle suburbs to hide their possessions safely, then they could also have Muggle cables for protecting said possessions from everyone.
Feeling inquisitive, Harry once again summoned Kreacher to seek an answer to his query. The Elf once again appeared before Harry and bowed. "Master Harry called Kreacher?"
"Yes, Kreacher." Harry nodded towards the pedestal with the Fuel Crystal. "Is that the Fuel Crystal?" Harry inquired, wanting to confirm his assessment.
"Yes, Master," Kreacher replied.
"Why are there cables inside the marble pedestal, Kreacher?" asked Harry.
"Kreacher not know, Master. This is how the Fuel Crystals have always been since Kreacher knows of them," said Kreacher.
"Why do you refer to it as 'Crystals', as in plural?" asked Harry, confused.
"It be made up of many crystals; it appears to be one because it be held together by magic," said the Elf, before adding, "Kreacher be told that it be made and used by Great Wizard Merlin himself to protect his house."
Harry was surprised to hear that this was made by Merlin. But how in the Hell did the old Mage know what wires and cables were, when in fact they were invented by Muggles centuries after his demise?
As Harry puzzled over this slight conundrum, Kreacher suddenly spoke up. "Master, why have you not fully activated the Wards yet?"
Brought out of his brief silence, Harry looked at the old Elf and said, "I'm searching for the place to insert the key, Kreacher."
"Master, you have to press the Fuel Crystals inside the basin. When you be doing that, the key box will come out," the Elf informed him.
"Oh. . . "
Moving towards the Fuel Crystals, Harry reached towards the cylinder and pressed it lightly on the top. It appeared that the slight push was enough, as the entire Crystal slid into the pedestal until the slightly bulging outer shell of the top was the only part of the cylinder that remained outside the marble pedestal.
There was a slight whine from inside the pedestal as a small square box emerged from the side of the pedestal through a small aperture, where a portion of the pedestal had vanished. The box was attached to the pedestal through a cable similar to the ones on the inside of the pedestal. With a snap, the lid of the box opened. Inside the box, there was a groove that perfectly matched the shape of the Ward Key.
Harry grasped the small onyx Ward Key that was currently residing in his pocket. Removing it from the pocket, he placed it inside the groove and let go. The key fell smoothly into its groove and glimmer slightly before the lid of the box immediately closed with a snap. The box swiftly retreated into the side of the pedestal and the aperture sealed itself. It appeared as if the slot had never even been there.
Suddenly, the lights of the entire room dimmed slightly as the milky white translucent pedestal started glowing. The internal cables of the pedestal started emitted a bright blue glow as magic started flowing out from the Fuel Crystals through the cables and started powering the Wards. There was a sudden oppressive feeling as the magic in the room suddenly increased and the semi-active Wards started powering up.
Harry became very still as waves after waves of powerful wild magic flowed through the entire hall and through him as the Protective Wards of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place became active. Kreacher too was rooted to his spot besides his Master as he felt the magic pass through him.
Slowly, the oppressive feel of magic lessened and finally disappeared. As he became aware of his surrounding, Harry could hear a low humming noise coming from the pedestal. As he took a glance at the pedestal, he was surprised to see that the Fuel Crystals were glowing brightly with an inner light, bathing the metallic basin in a yellow glow. The cables inside the pedestal which were connected to the base of the Fuel Crystals were pulsing with a soft blue light, as if they had a heartbeat of their own.
"What are they, Kreacher?" whispered Harry, awe filling his voice at the strange but beautiful sight.
"Mistress once told Kreacher that they be Crystal Conduits," Kreacher whispered back, not wanting to break the magical moment by speaking loudly. "They be transferring the magic from inside the Fuel Crystals to the Ward Stones placed throughout the entire house. They be like the veins, and the Fuel Crystals be the heart."
"Ward Stones? What are they, Kreacher?" Harry asked, turning to look at the old Elf.
"They be the ones that take the raw magic and turn it into proper Wards. They be carved in different Runes, depending on the function of the Ward," informed Kreacher. "Every different Ward be having different Ward Stones."
"Is there a book on Runes and Wards here, Kreacher?" asked Harry, now intrigued by the subject of Runes. He had never taken the Ancient Runes class at Hogwarts, so he did not know that they were so important in the construction of Wards. He remembered Hermione talking about Runes during the O.W.L.s, something about mistranslating them.
"There be many in the Black Library," Kreacher replied. "If Master wants, Kreacher will fetch them."
"Bring me two of them, Kreacher, but bring the ones that explain the basic Rune theory," ordered Harry.
"Yes, Master," said Kreacher, and disappeared at once.
The lamps in the hall were still glowing dimly and there were very few lit candles in the candelabras around the hall. The chandeliers were all but extinguished. Harry assumed that this was the effect of the oppressive magic that had been affecting the entire Storage Room a short while ago. Dung's wand in hand, Harry once again flicked it; the candles relit and the gas lamps in their wall brackets ignited once again. The Ward Pedestal was still glowing, but not as brightly as before.
Kreacher appeared in the hall again with two books in one hand and a small duffle bag in the other. He held both hands out to show the contents to Harry.
"These be the two books that be the most simple, according to Mistress Walburga. Kreacher be asking her as he doesn't know about the books," said Kreacher hesitantly. "Mistress tells Kreacher to give Master Harry this bag. It be for keeping his books and other things that Master wants."
"Very good, Kreacher. Thank you," said Harry, smiling as he took the proffered items. "Can you tell me if this room has a collection of proper wands?"
"There be many spare wands that Older Masters had collected. They be near the money," Kreacher answered.
"You may leave, Kreacher."
The Elf bowed and disappeared as Harry turned towards the section of the hall where the Galleons were stacked in piles. He could get a better wand than Dung's and he could also stock up on Galleons in case he needed to make an emergency trip to the British Wizarding World's shopping hub, Diagon Alley.
After fifteen minutes of trying many of the collected wands, Harry's temper was swiftly rising with each failed trial. It was just like the day when he had been getting his first wand from Ollivander. None of these second-hand wands were working for him; even Dung's worked better than these. Harry could not understand why these refused to comply and work. The best result he had from one of these had been a few green and blue sparks; with the other wands, there had been no reaction at all.
Getting tired of trying all these useless wands, Harry gave up and went to the stacked Galleons. There was no use in wasting precious time trying these wands when there had been no result from most of them. And he had to get back to Privet Drive to masquerade as Mundungus Fletcher when the next Order member arrived to take the shift.
The Galleons, Sickles and Knuts were arranged in separate piles. Bags full of coins were kept on each type of currency. Harry reached into the uplifted area and snatched a few bags of Galleons, two bags of Sickles and one bag of Knuts.
Putting them in his new duffle bag, Harry noted that the bag was enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, an older type of the modern Space Expansion Charm used on bags and trunks. The problem with the older charm was that though it was Undetectable, there was no guarantee of when it would fail. And if it failed, it would mean that all the objects stored inside would be crushed as the bag shrunk back to its original size. As such, the charm had to be reinforced at regular intervals so that it did not fail. And it could be negated by a simple Finite Incantatem Spell. Hence, most people preferred the newer Space Expansion Charm. It expanded the bag only up to a certain extent, but it did not have to be regularly reinforced. And it could not be negated by the Finite Incantatem.
Harry decided that he would use this bag only to store unnecessary things, not important ones. Those he would store in his own bag enchanted with the Space Expansion Charm.
Now that he had some of the essentials that he required, Harry convinced himself that there was still some time left before returning to Privet Drive, and so he decided to take a look at the armory of the Black Storage Room.
There were several pieces of weaponry that were scattered around the place. Harry knew that most would be enchanted or have poison on their blades, as it was common in the Magical World. He looked around for something that he could use without cutting himself up or poisoning himself.
There were many types of swords : Scottish Claymore, Standard English Broadsword, many Long swords, Short swords, Rapiers, Flamberts. There was even one Japanese Katana. Harry looked at it in amazement. Picking it up, Harry removed it from its sheath. It was made of steel and it was deadly sharp. Hilt in his hands, Harry swung the sword experimentally. It was very light, too light for his tastes. Harry knew at once that this was not his type of close-range combat weapon. Returning it to its place on the special stand, Harry once again recommenced his browsing.
There were many interesting weapons scattered around the small armory, and Harry picked up and tried quite a few of them. None of them were fit for his use, as they were not his style. And the odd thing was, Harry did not know what his own style was. But whenever he touched a weapon, something made him put them back. It was once again like the wand selecting from before. He wandered for five more minutes before becoming bored when he did not find anything more useful.
Deciding that he was just wasting more time, just like with the wands, Harry moved to leave the Storage Room. Walking past the shelves and cabinets full of miscellaneous objects and instruments, Harry arrived at the exit/entrance of the hall. Just as he was about to leave the room, Harry remembered that he had still not recovered the Ward Key from the Ward Pedestal. And he had no idea how to recover it, but that was not the problem.
Once again, Harry sighed and summoned the Black Family House Elf. Kreacher appeared once again with a crack! and bowed. Harry just sighed and spoke once the Elf stood erect.
"Kreacher, the Ward Key is still inside the pedestal. How will I enter the room again without it?" asked Harry in a tired voice.
"The Key stay there until Master deactivates the Wards," said Kreacher. "Master will not need it as he can now enter the room by just tapping his name on the Tapestry. The Ward Key will not be needed now."
"Thank you, Kreacher. You may leave," sighed Harry. He was really bored now, and he had to get back to Privet Drive in an hour before the shift changed and Diggle arrived.
Walking out of the Storage Hall with the duffle bag in his hand, Harry once again found himself in the Drawing Room. As he turned back to look at the room, he only saw the Black Family Tapestry depicting the Black Family Tree. Deducing that the room must have sealed itself when it sensed his exit, Harry turned and walked towards the only table in the room, on which was the potion box that had once belonged to Regulus Black.
Opening the clasp of the box, Harry reached into the expanded box in search of the Polyjuice Potion, a potion which was necessary for the next stage of his plan. His entire right arm and head disappeared inside the box as he looked for the section of the box which housed the Polyjuice Potion. Finding the potion near the bottom, Harry picked up the small conical flask in which the thick, dark, mud-like Polyjuice Potion was stored. The potion stored inside was still bubbling at random intervals. The flask itself was charmed to be unbreakable and it had been in stasis for quite a long time, but it was still healthy for consumption, or as healthy as a Polyjuice Potion could ever be.
Removing his hand out of the potion box with the flask held in his hand, Harry reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small vial that had a few strands of ginger-colored hair. Taking a few hairs out with the help of a tweezers, Harry once again put the stopper back in its place and pocketed the vial. Placing the tweezers back into the potion box, Harry closed the lid and fastened the clasp.
Absently thinking of reminding himself that the box needed some Security Spells placed on it, Harry held the Polyjuice flask in one hand and dropped the hairs into it with another. As soon as the hairs made contact with the potion, it hissed loudly like a boiling kettle and frothed madly. A few seconds later, the potion had turned into a grey colored thick gooey liquid. Holding the small flask up to his nose, he took a small whiff and was not surprised to note that the potion smelled a bit like tobacco. Harry was not willing to admit it, but he was scared as to how it would actually taste like when he drank it.
'Now I'm really regretting killing that thief. If I knew that I'd have to drink this, I'd have left him alive till later tonight,' thought Harry to himself, holding the flask away from him as if it had the most poisonous substance inside it. And to Harry, it really really did.
Repeatedly telling himself that this would help him in his quest of freedom, Harry finally gathered enough courage to bring the flask near to him. Taking a deep breath, Harry brought the flask to his lips. Pinching his nose close, Harry closed his eyes and tilted the flask. As the potion poured down his throat, its taste similar to Dragon dung, Harry only had one thought in his mind before the burning sensation of the change started :
'Sometimes I hate it when I'm right!'
After the sensations related to the Polyjuice change passed, Harry once again had the full control of his body. His entire body was tingling due to the change and his clothes felt really tight. Cursing himself for not remembering that Dung was a squat man, Harry tried to get out of his clothes. Struggling for full two minutes, Harry finally managed to get rid of his clothes. Calling Kreacher to him once again, Harry asked him to bring him some clothes that fit his current body.
Kreacher bowed and immediately did as he was told. Coming back with a few frayed and tattered articles of clothing fit for Mundungus's body, Kreacher handed them to his Master. As he was putting them on, Kreacher suddenly asked, "Master, why you be looking like Thief Fletcher?"
"Well," said Harry, "Fletcher was a member of the Order, and today he was on guard duty when I brought him here. If they do not see him at the end of his shift, then they will assume that he died or was killed when he was on guard duty, and due to that, some amount of suspicion would fall on me, however small." Harry smirked before continuing, "That's why I'm Polyjuicing to be in his place at the end of the shift, which is in half an hour, so that an Order member will remember seeing Fletcher leaving the Guard post safely. When they will learn about this, they will assume that he died or was killed after he left the Guard post, and so no suspicions will fall on me."
Kreacher listened to his Master's brilliant plan and was awed by his thoughtfulness. After a few moments, he posed another question.
"Master, when will you be returning?" he asked.
"I'll try to return as soon as I can," said Harry sincerely. "In the mean time, if I need any assistance – say more books or some food – I'll summon you."
"Kreacher will be happy to serve," said the old Elf, bowing once again.
"I've got to leave now. I'll take the Knight Bus to get there," muttered Harry to himself. "Kreacher, can you quickly gather my possessions?"
Kreacher nodded and snapped his fingers. As Harry looked on, the clothes which he had removed on changing into Fletcher were quickly folded, the duffle bag – which had been on the table – was lying at his feet, and the potion box was next to it, with his glasses that he had removed placed on top of it. The two wands were lying next to the glasses. The things that Harry had taken from Fletcher at Privet Drive was lying on top of the neatly folded Invisibility Cloak
Harry quickly rushed forward and picked up his glasses. Putting them in his shirt pocket, Harry quickly pulled the mouth of the duffle bag open and stuffed his clothes into it, along with the potion box. The items from Fletcher were also tossed inside, with the Invisibility Cloak finally resting on top of all the things inside the bag, so that it could be easily and quickly accessed. Placing the wands in his pockets, Harry staggered to his feet, the extra body mass making it difficult to maintain balance.
Once he was standing steadily on his feet, Harry quickly bid Kreacher adieu, picked up the deceptively light duffle bag and hurried out of the Drawing Room, down the staircase, past the plaque of Elf heads, and into the entrance hallway of Grimmauld Place. Harry quickly rushed to the portrait of Walburga Black and opened the curtains.
Mrs. Black was awake and looking at him with a critical eye. After a while, she asked, "What is your plan, Harry?"
"I think Kreacher will be able to explain it to you later, lady. Right now I'm in a hurry. I came here to say farewell," said Harry hurriedly.
Mrs. Black just nodded imperiously and said, "Farewell, young Heir."
Harry nodded back and with a swift bow, he rushed out of the house through the front door. As the door closed, Harry could hear the sounds of various locks clicking and sliding shut, barring anyone from entering the house without permission. This had never happened before, but Harry assumed that this was the result of the Wards being activated to full power.
Now on the empty streets outside of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Harry looked around to see if anyone was looking outside. While he would become immune to Ministry Law when he became a Hunter, currently he was still a teenager and subject to the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery as well as bound by the ICW's Statute of Secrecy. After confirming that there were no spectators, Harry drew Fletcher's crooked wand from his pocket and stuck out his wand hand, just like he had accidentally done in the beginning of his third year.
There was a deafening BANG and Harry quickly stumbled backwards, not wanting to be squashed under the vehicle that had just appeared. A triple-decker, violently purple bus with gold lettering over the windscreen that spelled The Knight Bus, had suddenly appeared out of thin air.
As Harry watched, a familiar conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak a familiar speech.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard," said Stan Shunpike in his loud voice, "Just stick out your. . . "
The pimpled man stopped abruptly when a wand was shoved under his nose.
"Shut your trap and get moving, or I'll shove this wand where the sun doesn't shine," said Harry in Fletcher's gruff voice. He was running out of time, and here this idiot was wasting his time reciting his useless speech.
"A. . . A'right, Sir," squeaked Stan in fear, "Co. . . Come on in."
Harry quickly got inside and saw that the arrangement was different now. When he had traveled by this bus the last time, it had been full of brass bedsteads. Now, it was crammed with an assortment of mismatched chairs grouped haphazardly around the windows. Quickly occupying the empty seat near the entrance to the bus, Harry sat down before the bus moved again and tossed him around, the duffle bag enchanted with a Featherweight Charm in his lap.
Stan was standing nearby, glancing fearfully at the short-tempered squat man who had just now threatened him. He wanted to inform the man that he was occupying the conductor's chair, but he decided not to in case the man fulfilled his earlier threat. So instead he asked in a stuttering voice, "W. . . Where'd ya like ta go, Sir?"
"Magnolia Crescent, Surrey," the man muttered gruffly. "How much will it cost?"
"Nine Sickles," said Stan, "but for eleven Sick. . . "
"Shut up and take this," the man growled, holding out nine Sickles in his hand. Stan immediately quieted down and took the money with quivering hands. As he put it in his money pouch, he nearly dropped as the man suddenly turned to look at him.
Harry smirked to himself as he saw Stan shaking like a leaf in the wind. 'Mission accomplished!'
The idiot had been shouting Harry's name very loudly last year when he and his friends had taken a ride back to Hogwarts, and that could have been the cause of an attack on Harry and his friends if a Death Eater had by chance heard that they were traveling without proper protection. (And only Lupin and Tonks as guards was not proper protection, as much as he hated to admit it.) This guy had nearly endangered their lives by not keeping his loud mouth shut, and Harry was extracting payback for that. Now at least he would think twice before opening that trap of his.
"Take 'er away, Ern. Surrey first," said Stan, gripping a nearby support pole very hard.
There was another loud BANG and the bus started moving again. Harry held the hand rests of his chair tightly so that he would not be flung around in the bus like a rag doll.
As he looked out of the window, Harry could see that the bus was moving at ridiculously high speeds and it did not collide with anything, because everything – lamp posts, letter-boxes, bins – jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position once it had passed.
After a few minutes of speeding in the wrong direction, the bus once again came to a stop with a BANG on the somewhat familiar ruined park of Magnolia Crescent. Harry quickly hefted his duffle bag before Shunpike could say anything and got out of the purple bus. Striding away from the bus – which had disappeared with another BANG – Harry quickly walked towards Privet Drive to reach his relatives' home on time before the Order member arrived. Opening the duffle bag in mid-stride, Harry quickly pulled out the borrowed Invisibility Cloak and gripped it tightly in one hand. Closing the mouth of the duffle bag, he slung it over his shoulder and gripped the strap with the other hand. Unfolding the Invisibility Cloak, Harry quickly threw it over his shoulders.
Anyone watching the scene would have seen a short squat man suddenly become invisible as he was walking briskly.
Dedalus Diggle was a member of the Order of the Phoenix – a secret vigilante organization created by Albus Dumbledore to fight against Darkness. He had fought in the First Wizarding War against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He had been a member of the Advance Guard – a special Team selected to escort Harry Potter from his home to the Order Headquarters – last year.
At the moment he was heading towards the house he had visited last year. His job was the protection of Harry Potter. Dedalus had always liked the lad since he had defeated You Know Who in 1981. He had seen the lad several times when he had been out shopping and he had bowed in greeting. When they had finally met face to face in the Leaky Cauldron, Dedalus had been surprised that the lad had remembered him from the shop. That had increased his admiration of the lad by several times.
When they had met again last year, the little lad had now grown into a strong young man, and Dedalus could see from the way he walked that the lad had been through a lot in his short life. Yet the lad had not given up and forged ahead in face of the challenges and come out as the victor. That had finally turned the admiration into frank respect.
As Dedalus walked towards Number Four Privet Drive – because Apparating there was not possible due to the Wards around the house – he saw that the man who he had to relieve was currently sitting under the window sill and appeared to be dozing. The man was a waste of space, every Order member agreed on that, except the leader of the Order, Albus Dumbledore. Dedalus did not know why Dumbledore was so insistent that Dung remain in the Order. Even after last year's Dementor Disaster, Albus had ordered Fletcher to once again be a guard here.
'At least the drunkard stayed here this time,' thought Dedalus to himself.
As he entered the lawn of Privet Drive with his own Invisibility Cloak, Dedalus noticed that Fletcher did not have his Invisibility Cloak. But knowing that he would not get a proper answer from the drunkard, he decided to forego the question. Approaching the window sill where the thief was currently sitting, Dedalus could smell the faint traces of tobacco hanging in the air. Dedalus sneered. 'So that's why he's still here. He brought his goods with him this time.'
Walking up to the man who was lazily dozing around, Dedalus prodded the thief with his foot. The man twitched for a while before he looked around for the source of disturbance.
"Oi! Whaddya want?" the man asked, his voice slurred.
"Did Harry leave the house?" asked Dedalus, his voice concerned.
"Nah! The brat's been inside tha 'hole day!" Fletcher exclaimed. "Didn't even peep out tha win'ow!"
"Well, that's good," said Dedalus. "It's time for you to leave, Fletcher. Now get going."
"Whaddya say?" the drunkard asked.
"I said get going!" said Dedalus, his voice rising a bit.
"Ah, so mah turn to watch the brat is over?" Fletcher slurred.
"Yes, now get lost."
"Otay!" the bumbling man said as he stumbled across the lawn and onto the street. He nearly fell over as he crossed the pavement, holding onto the post-box of a resident. Righting himself, the drunkard stumbled his way down the street, away from Dedalus Diggle's vision, before disappearing around the corner.
Ten minutes later, soft footsteps could be heard approaching the back door of Number Four Privet Drive. Slowly the sound became a bit louder and a slight huffing could be heard, but the source of the noises was not visible.
Indeed, Harry Potter was currently hiding under the Invisibility Cloak that had at one time belonged to a thief known as Mundungus Fletcher. The man had kindly given it to him before his unfortunate death.
And right now Harry Potter was making full use of his new gift as he walked up the backyard and to the back door to the house that was connected to the kitchen. Quiet mutterings could be heard from the teenager as he was slowly making his way to the door.
"Damn, Potter, you should get an Oscar for that acting," muttered Harry to himself as he grinned slightly, "Then again, fooling an Order member is very easy, especially when they are old geezers like Diggle-Giggle."
"Didn't even ask for the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry, shaking his head sadly before smirking, "Well, his loss, my gain, isn't it?"
"Well, that stumbling was quite real," muttered Harry, "Fletcher's really heavy, and the thief's got nearly no muscles in his body. How he walks around is a surprise. I nearly collapsed from the weight."
Walking up the few steps that led to the door, Harry removed the Invisibility Cloak and knocked the door loudly as he yelled, "Aunt Petunia, I'm home!"
'I always wanted to do that!' Harry grinned as he heard his aunt shrieking from inside the house.
» Next Chapter : Harry has returned to Privet Drive. But what about Dung? Where is he? How did he die? What will Dumbledore do? Find out in the next chapter.
» AN : I have not specifically used the name in the story, only the description, but the ZPM is the only tech from Stargate universe that I'm using right now. Later in the story, I may add a few other techs if necessary. Any suggestions?
» Dumbledore's character in this story has been decided. He'll be a good-Dumbledore with a 'for the Greater Good' problem. I'll be writing a few stupid moments of Dumby. Who wants to invite Grindelwald to distract him?
» I don't like stupid people like Stan, so to anyone who likes him, I'm sorry for his slight bashing.
» I'll be using J.K.R's wand theory : someone defeats the owner, the allegiance of the wand changes.
» Poll's still open. Results can be seen on profile page. There is still time. Vote for your favorite girl.
Thank you, all my readers and reviewers, for reading the story, and this chapter! Please review and tell me your opinions!
May your sword stay sharp!