Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 8:
Secrets
As enjoyable and paramount as they may seem to be, secrets are our downfall and ultimately not worth the risk they pose. Why lie, why fabricate when we can simply be honest? Safety seems important at first, yet are we not more protected by the truth?
**TDC**
Memories swirled about her, and Amelia found herself following along behind Harry and Daela as they strolled down a quiet London street. Night had fallen so there were few others around them. Harry was gesturing and explaining about modern mechanics and technology to Daela when the damned dementors showed up.
The warm air chilled in the span of a few seconds and the few muggles in the vicinity seemed to find this unnerving and scattered. Harry's hand went in to his pocket before he cursed, how awful it was to know you were in danger and didn't have your wand. Amelia had been there before, but it hadn't been until she was already an auror.
Two cracks upon the air and men appeared, one in front of them and the other behind, spells on their lips. And the darkness came. Four, four dementors swarmed the two teens, ripping away joy and feeding on concern and fear. Harry ducked and rolled out of the way of the spells and Daela pointed at Harry, bringing an emerald shield in to being around him. One spell struck her outstretched hand and bones snapped. The other passed harmlessly through where Harry had stood. The druid began to glow and through the pain in her eyes, Amelia saw deep rage. Silvery light emanated from her, a torch in the dark assault and the dementors halted their inexorable approach.
More spells flew at her but this time Daela ducked and sprang to the side with a single elegant motion. Two bone-breakers flashed against the shield protecting Harry and vanished. One green curse nearly hit Daela but a block of earth shot up from the ground and shattered when struck. The teen's working hand made a fist and she slammed her left foot to the ground. The death eaters cried out as dirt and rock rose up around them, encasing their bodies in a mixture that quickly hardened in to stone. Only their words, bellowed and cursed, still flew. Harmless.
The silvery light had faded slightly through her distraction, and the demons crept closer, one reaching out a skeletal hand to touch the shield protecting a terrified Harry.
Light blossomed, and if Amelia hadn't been briefed beforehand, she might not have understood, but the girl could do wonders with what they called the patronus charm.
A wave of righteous energy slammed in to the dementors, blasting them away from the two. Daela glowed brighter and brighter as subsequent shockwaves of patronus light leapt from her, driving away the four shadows like never before seen to Amelia.
The light faded and the green barrier about the boy flickered and died. Daela was cradling her shattered hand in the crook of her other arm, glaring at one of the death eaters.
"That was, brilliant, promise you'll teach me that later?" Harry asked as he clambered to his feet.
Daela's glare faded and she smiled at him. "Of course Harry. Now, why don't we leave them here and find ourselves somewhere to fix ourselves up a bit."
The two men encased in mounds of rock, disagreed with this idea, but the memory faded before she could see what happened to them.
**TDC**
Tuesday, July 25, 1995
Daela materialized before the gates to Hogwarts castle as the sun peaked in the sky. Before she could even step forward though, the winged boars bowed to her again. Oh yes, that again. Why were they doing that?
The gates opened and she walked through the ward boundary, senses opened to the vibrations of magic in the air. They accepted her and at first she sensed a spark that attempted to rocket toward the castle, but it froze and dissipated.
Lovely, now they wouldn't even let the headmaster know she was here? Albus was going to love that.
It truly bore the question though of why? Why were they accepting, and even relenting to her, more so than the master of the wards? Unless they were designed that way, they shouldn't be acting in such a manner. Why did everything have to be a mystery with these people? It was as if attempting to stop Tom wasn't enough, she also had to get involved with loads of other plots and secrets to meet some sort of, balance.
Ah well, balance must be kept, and if no one else was going to do it, it might as well be her.
Time to go see what the headmaster thought of his rebellious wards.
She made her way up through the empty castle back towards the headmaster's office; and yet as silent as it was, it did not feel empty. The castle had an energy of its own, ancient and slumbering. Clearly some part of it was not being utilized. Were they unaware or lazy, not to tap the full potential of the magic at their fingertips? Her mother could not stand untapped potential. It made her skin crawl, which meant that growing up, it had made Daela's do likewise.
The gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office shuffled to the side at her approach waving her through with a Stoney fist. She would rather the castle not treat her differently than everyone else; such attentions were not helping her in any way. As she rode the stairway upwards, she couldn't help feeling that this was doomed to be a pointless venture. Dumbledore had diverted the topic when last she brought it up, so why should this be any different? To add insult to injury, before Daela could even reach for the knocker, the door at the top of the stairs swung open, the knocker rapping twice as it did so.
On the other side sat a shocked headmaster. His eyes flicked from Daela to the open door and she could almost see the short-circuit frying his brain.
"Ms. Ermaine, how lovely to see you. Please do come in. I daresay I have no idea how you came to be here without my being notified." he greeted.
By the time she was comfortably seated in a plush armchair, the shocked expression had been replaced by calm serenity.
His eyes twinkled.
Daela recognized it just in time to flick her eyes down to stare at the toe of her boot. A brief rushing sensation in her mind, and then nothing. Albus Dumbledore had just attempted to read her mind. What in the name of the stars was wrong with this man? If she hadn't looked away, he might have been heavily damaged by the mere attempt to lightly scan her.
Once the attack passed, Daela looked up at him again. "Sir, to be honest I have no idea how you think you can simply read a person's mind so casually, but I will inform you, had I not looked away, you may not have recovered from the response. I am not a master of the mind arts myself, but my mother, our High Priestess uses her own power to protect my mind. As our diplomat, I am likely to be placed in situations requiring such protections. I will advise you to never again attempt such folly. Is that clear?"
He smiled at her in a grandfatherly way, completely ignoring the severity of the situation. "Of course. I simply was concerned as to whether or not there was a flaw in the wards. I do have the students to look after."
Seemingly without her input, her eyes attempted to roll. Stopping that took more effort than she would have thought. Best move on and see if he dropped the topic.
"I wish I had an answer for you. I came to meet with you today as there is one concern in particular that I fear must be addressed as soon as possible."
"Pity, I was hoping... Please, go on."
"The matter of the horcrux within Harry Potter."
You could have heard the wind talking. Then finally, "Please, do explain what you mean Ms. Ermaine."
"Were you unaware that a soul magnet is currently leeching off of him? It has rather, influenced his life up to this point."
"Go on."
Daela tilted her head and eyed his motionless face.
"Headmaster, I have no issue with telling you what I know, which is clearly what you wish me to do. The issue comes when you fail to impart your knowledge on to the situation. Please, do tell. What do you know of it?"
"As headmaster Daela, I am unable to discuss personal matters involving other students, especially not with other students."
"And yet you will allow me to speak of it?"
"Of course. As headmaster I am always available to my students as an objective listener."
Well there was no easy way out of that one.
The fireplace burst to life and the head of Cornelius Fudge popped in to view.
"Ah, Albus. Is now a good time?" he prompted.
"Of course Cornelius."
"Good then."
A few seconds later, in which Daela knew her entire reason for this visit had just been concluded as a failure, the minister stepped out of the flames. He brushed off the few ashes that clung to his robes and then spotted Daela. An expression of dislike flitted across his face before it was replaced by kindness.
"Ms. Ermaine, I am glad to find you here. I hear that headmaster Dumbledore has accepted you as a student. Very lucky, yes, I trust your summer is beginning well?" he rambled off in an exaggeratedly kind tone. As if he hadn't been bellowing at her just a month before.
"It is nice to see you again minister. My summer has been well and I am very appreciative of the allowance of late entrance to Hogwarts."
"Yes. Anyway, I do wonder about communicating with your people. Is there someone more, experienced I might contact. We at the ministry would be eager to learn more about your people."
"I am the diplomat for our people, and until, or unless, it is determined that opening our people to the wider world will not destroy our culture as it once nearly did, I will be the only point of contact. I do hope that will be satisfactory to your ministry and that you can understand our reticence to expose ourselves. We have in the past been subject to much, judgement."
His jaw clenched. "Of, course. Well then, we shall work with what we have. I will have someone contact you to schedule a meeting." He took a breath before turning back to Albus. "Dumbledore, are you aware of what that man has done now? Black—Lord Black, has claimed the Potter boy as his ward and adopted him in to his family."
The headmaster's eyes twinkled and he smiled lightly at the minister. Did he attempt to read everyone's mind? The gall of that man. "It was to be expected Cornelius. I can hardly fault Lord Black for trying his best to protect his godson."
"Yes but." More blustering. "The articles, Dumbledore. How is The Prophet supposed to properly report about all this balderdash about the Dark Lord, when they can't even publish the boy's name?"
"I hear that they have a particularly gifted reporter at their disposal and I am certain they will find a way to express whatever message you wish them to, regardless of the legal restrictions. Personally, I believe that young Harry will be glad for a break from the reporting that has been done about him in the past year."
The minister glanced at Daela. "Perhaps we should continue this in a more private setting Dumbledore."
The older man smiled at Daela. "Ah yes. Before you go, was there anything else I can help you with Ms. Ermaine?"
Waste of time, waste of time.
Waste of time.
"Thank you headmaster, but no. Unless you are able to tell me where my friends are?"
"Ah but if only I could. I must apologize for the safety measures required to protect Mr. Potter, but they must remain in place for the present. Do travel well Ms. Ermaine and if you perchance recall how the wards may have malfunctioned, please do remember to contact me. We will see you soon at the feast."
And Daela was dismissed. As she made her way back through the castle and grounds, Daela could not help but wonder if diplomacy was normally this frustrating or if it was this group of people in particular. The day before she had sent a letter to Harry and Hermione each, but the owls had returned rather frustrated. She could project herself again, but it took so much effort that it was nearly useless except for emergencies. It was one of the few spells that worked well or not at all. You could project for about four seconds, which used most of your energy as it was; yet if you went anywhere past that, it drained all the magical energy you had left throughout the day, and only at the next dawn could one begin to recharge properly. Dangerous and yet extremely useful. Projecting to that particular location however had given her a massive headache as well.
The only reason that might happen was if someone projected in to a protected location without knowing the secret. It was the equivalent of bashing one's head against a window, trying to gain entrance to a home that they did not have the key to. The secrecy ward, or charm, was rather unique in its ramifications. That meant that her friends had been taken forcefully in to a protected area that they might be unable to leave from, and would certainly not be able to share the secret with her; thereby making her use of projection useless and agonizingly not worth it.
So far in the month she had been here Daela had seemingly discovered plenty of things that were either not worth it, or just simply painful. The world loved her it seemed.
**TDC**
Memories swirled about her and Amelia found herself near an outdoor seating area for a cafe. Harry, Hermione and Daela were seated around one of the tables, talking and laughing like normal teenagers which it seemed n[q~"]one wanted to allow them to be. Even Daela who came across as so mature was filled with happiness and giggles. How could anyone take this away from them?
In one instant, the sound of all but the three magical teens became muffled and all the muggles seemed to focus on anything but the area around those three. In the next, all the teens began to rise to their feet, scanning about them as spells flew in from behind Daela. To her credit, the young Druid spun about, one hand raised in an attempt to block what she knew was coming. However, contrary to normal tactics which more than not advised to fire toward the center of gravity, Alastor Moody always opened with a spell or two aimed at the target's head. Make them duck or dodge and get them off balance. Nearer to Harry and Hermione, three figures materialized. Tonks, Remus and Mundungus Fletcher, to their credit seemed surprised that spells were being exchanged and were slower on the draw.
The first spell was a stinging hex which caught Daela on the forehead. Her head twitched and the bludgeoner that followed hammered in to her face. The third spell she caught in her upraised hand, but the fourth was a bright red stunner; and she collapsed, the spell in her hand winking out of existence.
Remus raised his hands as if to stop everything and began to call out, but seeing their friend fall, Hermione's wand flashed and a hex flew toward the center of the three figures she most likely hadn't even recognized, and Tonks' auror training kicked in. The hex was batted away and a stunner caught Hermione lightly in the abdomen.
Harry focused on Remus and glared. "Professor, what the..."
Moody's stunner took him in the back as a seriously delayed spell from Mundungus soared over everyone's heads and disappeared uselessly.
The memory went dark.
Bollocks that was not good. That was not good at all.
**TDC**
Daela,
I'm so sorry you were attacked like that. Saying so, please be aware that Hermione is standing over my shoulder to make sure I add that it is not my fault you were attacked, but that I am sad that you were. Nope, it wasn't my fault at all. Right.
Anyway, for now I suppose we will have to miss out on spending time together until school starts. I hope this gets to you at all, I'm not sure how this place affects owls. It's awful what happened and we hope you are feeling okay.
The thing we mostly wanted to tell you is that we found something, I think it's like the diary. It's a gold locket with snakes on the front and it makes me angry just touching it. For now Hermione and I have locked it in my trunk, but we thought we should write you and see what you think. Is that even possible? We found it while cleaning out this mess of a house and were able to hide it from everyone, though Sirius's house elf doesn't seem to be happy with us.
We hope that you can at least write back with Hedwig; I don't know if you've tried to write already or not. We've been trying to get Dumbledore to tell you the secret and let you in, but he's not budging. In case you can't write back, we hope to see you soon, on the train maybe?
Your friends,
Harry and Hermione
**TDC**
Friday, July 28, 1995
Bugger!
Thankfully that one had been an internal thought. Sirius didn't think his mind healer would much appreciate him cursing as he left the office. That ugly fellow in the corner looked like he could use a laugh though, so maybe...
Keep your thoughts straight Padf—Sirius. Keep your thoughts straight Sirius, you have to do this for Harry.
Harry, right. That was what had led him to almost curse. His thoughts about Harry being press-ganged in to cleaning number 12. That was like setting a house elf free, then telling it had to come back and work for you again. Damnit Molly, didn't you know what you were expecting of that boy?
Sirius was at least glad that he had thought of it. Having someone to motivate you was really as good as it got. If he hadn't been going to meet with Samuel twice a week, he likely wouldn't have even made the connection to Harry's past. He would have to find more opportunities to learn all he could about his godson.
Thoughts of Harry had kept him sane long enough to get out of prison, and Harry now would be his anchor, his motivation. He would do anything for Harry, anything. Even break away from Padfoot.
One of the first things he had determined with Samuel was that while being in his dog form had helped him massively with the dementors, it would not serve to continue influencing him so intensely now. To begin he would have to stop referring to himself as Padfoot. Yes they were one in the same, but a dog's instincts would not serve a man. Particularly not Lord Black. Not as though it meant anything these days.
All the title of Lord meant was that sometime in history, his family had been honored by the crown, and granted certain privileges. It was mostly an honorific now, though it did allow him to sit on the Wizengamot. Harry could claim his title when he came of age, but Sirius doubted that Harry would have any interest in sitting in the midst of that government circus.
Sirius made his way on to the sidewalk amongst both wizards and muggles alike; since it was rather easy to an expert eye to tell the difference. Both Samuel and his primary healer had advised him not to apparate until he was more prepared for it. As they said, a fractured mind could easily lose its place in the world during transport. Walking didn't bother him much really since it provided time to think that he otherwise might not have had.
Sirius had nearly hexed Albus upon returning home from one of these walks, to find that Harry and Hermione had been attacked and kidnapped, under the man's orders. Yes, he wanted them safe as much as anyone else, but this was a bit much. By a bit much, he meant, way too much. What had Albus been thinking? He had talked to Harry and Hermione about everything and when he'd heard all about the meeting that had been had, he'd been forced to take a few quiet moments alone in a silenced room to vent his frustrations. It was either that or start hexing everyone over seventeen in the bloody house.
There was certainly going to be some reassessing of Albus in the near future.
He had at least been glad to take Harry to buy a new wand. Poplar and unicorn hair. Perfect for the boy; loyal to the end, strong in character and not too overpowered. He had been so proud.
Oh and if Harry and Hermione didn't start dating soon then someone was going to start a prank war, and it wasn't going to be them. He could start a prank war and still be a mature adult, right?
Padfoot passed a steak house and...
No!
Sirius paused where he was, quivering, fighting the instinct to collect all the steak in his belly and worry about the consequences later. He fought it, forcing a picture of Harry holding his new wand, in to his mind.
I have to do this for Harry. Pull yourself together Sirius.
The quivering ceased, and his inner canine whined pitifully.
No one had said this was going to be easy.
**TDC**
People often forgot how important loyalty was. It was funny really how overlooked such a simple and yet powerful emotion had become. Once a man's word had meant everything. Now people lied as if their lives depended on it. It was one thing to bind yourself to someone with a word or mark, but it did not enforce your loyalty. Or at least, that didn't mean your loyalty was enforced.
What was most important about loyalty, true loyalty?
Honesty, truth, and sincerity.
Well, that was easy enough to enforce now wasn't it?
His ritual circle improved with the recent absorption of the spirit horcrux, Voldemort had absolutely no difficulty in bringing about such regulations. His followers could once and for all be trusted.
A single drop of his blood landed in the center of the ritual circle, the binder, that which would connect him to his followers. The symbol of the dark mark, now carved in stone within the circle itself, glowed blood red and he felt his followers scream. They were his.
None of them could lie to him now. His blood bound them to him and him alone as the owner of the mark. They could not lie to him. They could not abandon his orders.
They. Were. His.
With a thought, Voldemort summoned his spy to him. The man appeared at the edge of the circle already bent to one knee.
"My lord calls."
"Yes Severus. I have need of information. Tell me where the children live."
His pawn's face turned up to him, and Voldemort saw the knowledge in Snape's features. He couldn't lie to his master this time.
**TDC**
*Chapter Updated: 7th December, 2018
Elise
