The Odd Combination of Fate and Humor

Notes:

Disclaimer:

You know the drill already: I do not own Harry Potter in any way; those rights belong to J.K Rowling. The plot and any extra characters are my own though.

Warnings:

This story WILL contain slash! This means that this story will be purely male x male slash regarding the main characters. Please do not read if you find it offensive to read about two guys kissing…etc.

Everyone else… please enjoy

Key:

"speech"

"soft-spoken or seemingly vague speech"

'thoughts'

- Parseltongue -

'Latin words'

Mental messages

Letters

Chapter 10: The Ritual

Harry felt apprehensive as they walked to their designated room in Gringotts after arriving safely under their disguises. Half of him couldn't wait for the ritual to be over and the other half of him wanted to shy away from the idea of pain. He felt someone squeeze his hand and he looked up at Tom. The man looked just as caught between the two emotions as he was and Harry mentally thanked Remus for giving them a spell that would block each other's thoughts and emotions until they both said the counter-spell.

He wouldn't have been able to go through with the ritual if he knew that Tom was experiencing the same pain that he was feeling. The idea would drive him crazy. His mate had, of course, denied the potion until Harry had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he would have to stay behind if he didn't take it.

Not that he really would have been able to leave Tom behind, but the telepathic and empathic link seemed to lose its effectiveness if they weren't close together. Harry hoped that they would be able to enhance the distance as time passed so that he would always be able to know that Tom is alright.

Harry greeted the goblins when they greeted him, but they could all tell that his mind was occupied elsewhere. Not that they really minded since they knew that he was about to go through a blood-adoption ritual. It would have been a breach of secrecy if it had been any other wizard, but since Harry had been adopted by the goblin nation, they were entitled to know when something happened in his life so that they could protect him if needed.

No one in Harry's group knew this, but the Savage Clan was actually something equal to royalty within the goblin nation and they had only been there to ensure that the bank was running smoothly. So this meant that if Killerfang 'adopted' him, then he would have access to only the best spell-casters that the goblin nation had to offer.

Harry didn't understand why Severus, Sirius, and Tom froze when they entered the ritual room. He only saw three goblins who were dressed in nicer clothes than the rest that they have been seeing. But then Tom spoke up. "We are sorry for disturbing you, wise ones. It seems that we have entered the wrong room. Excuse our intrusion so that we may find our way into the right room."

The oldest goblin bowed slightly but shook his head. "You are not in the wrong room young one. Your mate is here for his blood-adoption ceremony and since he has been adopted by the entire goblin nation, we endeavor to only give him the best." Harry would have laughed if it had been any other situation. Seeing Severus, Sirius and Tom shell-shocked seemed to be almost picture worthy since they never seemed to be at a loss for words. But he himself didn't understand the implications.

He tried to copy Tom and spoke politely to the one who seemed to be the head goblin in the group. "Uhm wise ones, I am sorry if my words seem a little blunt or rude, I do not intend for them to be so, but I have not yet learned the proper way to speak. The great goblin named Killerfang said that he would lend me his aid and in return, I will endeavor to give him Dumbledore if we are the first to find him. No adoption was mentioned."

The goblins grinned. "We goblins are supposedly a neutral party; we do not make alliances with wizards. You must have impressed our leader a great deal when you met him since he has decreed that although you would not be his adopted son in writing, you will be his adopted son in name and this means that you require the best. You will, unfortunately, find that most, if not all of the goblins, know about you, but you should not be alarmed. We have only been tasked with keeping you safe."

Harry looked at Tom, Severus, and Sirius uncertainly. But since they all just smiled even though it seemed like they were trying to hide their shock, Harry tried to ignore what he had just learned. He didn't relish the fact that he now had more people, or in this case, beings to worry about, but it was nice to make new friends.

One of the goblins walked over with a greyish potion and Severus and Sirius quickly added their blood. The potion flashed gold for a second before settling back much to the goblin and Severus' surprise. Harry didn't know what the meaning of it was, but he could guess it the way Severus was looking at Sirius was any indication.

He looked at the oldest goblin who winked at him before giving him the potion. "It seems that we can expect something interesting for you in the near future esteemed Potions master." Harry was sure he was seeing things when a light blush streaked across the man's face before he could control himself. Sirius just looked oblivious.

The goblin smirked and turned to completely face Harry. "I am going to enter the circle with you and give you the potion. An interesting fact is that the more your adoptive parents care for you, the sweeter the potion will be. I want you to finish the potion and to then give me the vial before you lay down. You may then close your eyes and try to sleep if you wish once we finished chanting since most people find the pain more bearable when they are not completely conscious of it. Another perk of having elder goblins completing the ritual is that we will be able to spare you most of the pain."

Harry both looked and felt relieved as he nodded to the goblin. He glanced at his family and saw that they were visibly relieved as well. He followed the goblin into the circle and downed the potion. His eyes widened as the super sweet syrup ran down his throat. The goblin nodded with a smile and Harry gave back the vial before lying down on the floor. He was pleasantly surprised when the floor suddenly softened to such an extent that it felt like he was lying on a bed of feathers.

The oldest goblin motioned Severus, Tom, and Sirius to a door on the other side of the room. "We know that you will be worried if you had to leave so we had this room prepared with anything you will need until the ritual is finished. It usually takes a maximum of 48 hours. You will find a magical monitor that will allow you to check on Mr. Potter whenever you wish. All that we ask is that you do not try and enter this room since it could kill him and you for that matter."

They nodded and Harry regretted not hugging each of them before he took the potion and it was clear that they were thinking the same thing as they glanced back one last time before shutting the door behind them. Harry relaxed his body as the goblins took their places and started chanting.

The chanting didn't take long and the goblins soon left the room. At first, nothing seemed to happen and he closed his eyes to try and sleep like the goblin suggested. He must have lightly dozed off since the next thing he knew was that a fire had started to run through his veins. The pain gradually increased until he had to bite his lip to keep from screaming his lungs raw. If this was what it was like when the goblins dimmed the pain then he didn't want to know how the ritual usually felt like.

Red spots started dancing around behind his closed eyes and he suddenly felt detached from all feeling. He started to panic when he realized that even though it felt like his eyes were open, he still couldn't see anything beyond darkness and red spots. A faint whining reached his ears and his eyes cleared up. He was confused when he found himself lying under a tree in a huge garden.

He looked to the side as he heard another whine and saw a huge black dog standing in front of him. He wanted to follow his natural instinct to run, but the dog dropped down with his head on his paws. Harry saw that the dog's eyes were looking at him pleadingly while another whine escaped. He moved back to sit with the tree at his back. The dog's eyes seemed to grow sadder until Harry slowly beckoned for him to come closer.

The dog yipped happily before laying down next to him and resting his head on Harry's leg. Harry ran his hand over the soft fur until a sparkle caught his eye. He looked down and saw that the dog had a nametag on. "Padfoot huh, kind of reminds me of an old legend I read about in a book." Padfoot brushed his head against Harry's leg and he laughed before continuing to give him attention.

A faint purr caught his attention and he was startled to find a huge black panther staring at him from where the dog had been. The dog barked happily and jogged over to the cat before Harry could stop him. He expected the panther to attack the dog, but the dog nipped the panther lightly on the neck before jogging over to him again.

He watched as the panther seemed to almost roll its eyes before it slowly and gracefully started walking towards him as if making sure that he wasn't scared of it. Harry found himself too shocked to be scared and he was pleasantly surprised when the panther sank down to the ground on the other side of him before closing its eyes. Harry spotted another nametag and he smiled as he read it. "Prince fits you perfectly."

He looked around in order to see if any other animals would appear, but nothing did. He knew that he should be wondering about how he suddenly found himself in a garden, but since he didn't feel the pain anymore, he thought he might at least stay a little while before worrying about a way to get back.

He looked at his companions and smiled. At least he wasn't alone in this world, he would probably freak out if he was. He felt slightly tired as he gazed around the garden. It was made out of a great variety of plants and trees, most of which he had never seen before. He looked up at the sky, but couldn't really see anything except blue skies. There wasn't even a sun or a moon.

It was kind of disconcerting, but he shrugged it off when he realized that Padfoot and Prince were looking at him worriedly. The panther got up and walked away before stopping and looking at him and Padfoot. The dog got up and pulled Harry on his hand before following the panther that had started walking again.

He didn't know where they were leading him, but Harry supposed that any place would be better than just laying around, even if he had been quite comfortable. He followed them into what seemed to be an arch made out of vines. It felt like they were walking through a long tunnel until a light alerted him to the fact that they were reaching the end. They emerged and Harry froze as he gaped at the large house that towered out in front of them. Padfoot barked and ran towards the gates while Prince followed at a more graceful pace.

Harry forced his legs to move as he followed them. The group passed a whole lot of rooms and the boy told himself that he would definitely check them out if he had time. Prince stopped in front of a set of double doors and looked expectantly at Harry, who then walked forward and opened the doors. His jaw almost hit the floor when he saw the masses of books that piled high inside a giant library, but something looked familiar though.

He walked to a pedestal with an open book and realized that it was the book he had been busy reading the previous night. He looked around and recognized, even more, titles until it clicked in his mind. "This is my mindscape!" Prince and Padfoot grinned or at least gave their equivalent of a grin and Harry smiled in relief. At least he now knew where he was and the books had to be most of the knowledge that Tom and Severus had given him to learn.

He turned back to Prince. "So why did you want to bring me here, unless it was just to stop me from panicking." Prince shook his head and wandered over to a shelf where he gently pulled out a book before walking back over and placing it in front of Harry. He looked at the title in surprise. "A Witch and Wizard's guide to becoming an Animagus. You want me to learn this while I'm here?" The panther nodded before patting him twice on the leg then pointing at the book.

Harry was extremely confused. He knew the taps meant two, but what did it have to do with the book? He looked at Prince. "Ok I know that your taps mean two, but two what? And what does it have to do with the book?" The Panther seemed to think for a bit before tapping twice again then pointing to the book and then itself and Padfoot.

"Hm, two, the book on an animagus form and the two of you…are you trying to say that you are animagus forms?" Prince nodded and Harry turned thoughtful again. "Does this mean that I have two animagus forms?" Prince shook his head and Harry realized that he was trying to tell him that they were not his animagus forms. So did that mean that they belonged to someone else? He knew that Tom's animagus form was a Griffin so they didn't represent him, so who could it be?

He suddenly remembered the ritual and he glanced at the two animagus forms. If he looked closely, he saw that Prince's attitude and mannerisms resembled Severus a lot and Padfoot's behavior fit Sirius' behavior extremely well. He smiled. "So I guess Severus has a black panther as an animagus form and Sirius had the form of a black dog. That is simply amazing!"

Prince and Padfoot nodded before Prince moved to take out another book from the shelf. This time it was entitled: "Shaping your Mindscape for Protection". Harry looked through the book and decided to implement a few changes since he was already in his mindscape. It wouldn't hurt to be able to keep people out, especially Dumbledore and it would help him to contact his mate more easily if needed.

He looked around the room and wondered what was happening in the ritual room. A whoosh sound made him look up and he was surprised to see a mirror showing himself, still lying on the floor in the ritual room. Green sparks covered his body and it almost looked like electricity. He looked at his body and noticed that there were quite a few changes. He seemed a little taller and his hair didn't seem so wild anymore.

His features seemed to be a bit sharper, but only slightly. Looking at himself, he was reminded of the strange ability to see people and he decided to try and see how it worked. His thoughts turned to his mate and he found himself floating in a room where Tom, Severus, and Sirius were watching a mirror much like the one he was using. He shuddered a little but tried to test the ability out further as he thought of Dudley, but his mind didn't snap to a new place.

Harry wondered whether it wasn't working because Dudley was a muggle and he decided to find someone else who wasn't part of his crest circle. He tried to think of Fenrir Greyback who Remus had dragged along to visit a few times, but still, nothing happened. He almost itched to see if he could see Dumbledore, but that thought was discarded.

Severus had asked him to not go looking for trouble and Harry didn't want to destroy that trust so he decided to see what Remus was doing instead. It didn't surprise him when he saw that Remus was talking with Peter about their upcoming classes judging by the books in front of them. He thought about Draco and he couldn't help but smile when he saw that the twins were hugging the life out of the blushing blonde.

Bellatrix and Narcissa were running around the shops while their husbands followed her in a daze. Judging by the many packages that the two men had to carry *wince*, they had been at it for a while. His family all seemed safe. The fact that he could only see his new family members with the ability, allowed him to think that it might be because of the ritual. The fact made him happy since he didn't want to find his mind in all kinds of dark places when he couldn't help it.

He made a note to himself to ask Severus, Remus or Tom about it once the ritual was finished. That way he could confirm it. He thought about Tom again and the mirror returned to the room next to the ritual room. He smiled at the three men in the room, then allowed the mirror to go dark. He looked at Padfoot who was lounging on the couch while Prince seemed to be very interested in the book about mind-shields.

Harry decided to do that first since the mind-magic would both protect his mind and help with his Animagus form. He took the book and Prince nodded his approval before jumping onto the other couch and settling down next to Harry as he sat down as well. A small whine echoed through the room and Harry couldn't help but smile. He enlarged the couch that they were sitting on to make room for Padfoot to lay on his other side.

Padfoot nuzzled him lightly before closing his eyes and promptly falling asleep with Prince following him soon after. Harry finished the book in record time and he wondered why the reading sunk so easily into his mind until he realized that the books were in his short-term memory at the moment. Once he finished the book, it disappeared and he was shocked to find that he could remember almost every single word.

He knew that the best guess would be that the information had entered his long-term memory. He looked around his mindscape. The place looked perfect and he didn't want to change anything, so he decided to just add a few protections instead. He wondered whether Padfoot and Prince would stay in his mindscape once the ritual was gone, but for some reason he doubted it.

He used to love myths and legends so he decided to make defenses by using those. His first thought was a giant maze that surrounded the manor and the garden. He imagined the winding paths and then ends with high un-scalable walls. The walls had to be impenetrable and he briefly wondered whether he should use diamond, but he canceled the thought. Diamond would be see-through no matter what he did with it since he only knew diamonds to be white and clear.

He remembered reading somewhere about a metal called osmium that was extremely strong, but it easily shattered when it finally gets broken. He wished that he could have the best of both, but then it hit him. Why not have the best of both? He could use diamond for the center of the walls to keep the osmium strong and the osmium would hide the diamond so that the walls weren't see-through.

The idea made him grin and he immediately set about to work and he closed his eyes to concentrate. Once he finished the maze, he placed a two Minotaurs in the center of it. Why only have one when you can have two? Harry smiled before picturing the garden. He had read about manticores and sphinxes from the books that Remus gave him once and so he placed a few of each in the garden surrounding the manor. He also remembered the legend about a three-headed dog that was a Cerberus that guarded the entrance to the underworld and so he created two to guard the area immediately surrounding the manor.

He knew that he had seen a lake that bordered the manor and so he also created a hydra. It surprised him when it came out looking like a water dragon since it only had on the head, but the hydra informed him that it would only grow more heads if it was attacked. At this point, he looked at the other creatures that he had created and he was extremely surprised that they all seemed to be able to completely think on their own, but they made a vow that he was their creator and so he was their master. Harry could just nod in shock before he snapped himself out of it when he felt nails lightly digging into his leg.

He looked at Princes worried face then grinned. "I'm just adding a few defenses around the manor." The panther nodded then fell asleep again. Harry wondered whether it would be too cliché to add a dragon to his mindscape, but he figured it was his mindscape so who would know unless they tried t enter without permission. He added a dragon for each of the main elements and asked each of them to guard a section of the sky above the manor.

He considered harpies, but he knew that the noise would probably interfere with his thoughts and the Echidna wasn't really something that he wanted to add. He thought for a moment more and then he realized that he could try and add a basilisk to the mix, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get it right so he decided to leave it for now. He looked around in his mind and smiled. The place looked amazing. For the final touches, he laid down fake memories out in the open and buried his own memories deep in the heart of the manor behind a door that could only be opened by a parseltongue.

He glanced back to the mirror to see if his family was still alright and he nodded to himself even though it bothered him that Tom seemed very worried. He looked at his own body and saw that the green lightning was still trailing all over his skin, but the changes didn't seem to be very different like they were when he checked the previous time. He allowed the mirror to go black again. He had no idea about how much time had already passed and that included how much time was left.

But he could at least use his time to find his Animagus form. He read the book and once it disappeared he relaxed his 'body' and allowed his mind to drift. The book said that most people had an animal that was particular to their very soul. The animal was said to be a guardian of sorts and it was usually comprised of the soul of an ancestor that willingly watches over its descendants. That was why many people did not have an Animagus form.

The dead were informed about the secrets of the living and this allowed the oldest and the strongest of the family line to appear as a guardian in the form of an Animagus to the people who have important parts to play within their lifetime. Once the ancestor finds their charge, they may teach them their form and once this is done, the ancestor may move on to where all souls find peace.

Unfortunately the Animagus form also comes with a lot of responsibility since once the ancestor has passed on their animal, the descendant will be the one to become the next guardian of the form and so when they die they will stay in limbo to watch over their descendants until the day comes that they must pass over the animal once more. Only after this is done, can they move on.

Harry allowed himself to think about it for a moment. It made sense to him, but he wondered what happened to the ancestors who never find their charges or when their charges never bothered to learn to change. Did the information about the secrets mean that they knew what the future held and then prepared for it? Harry would like to think so since it would be cruel to leave a soul to wander around for eternity without being able to pass on.

He knew that Tom had a Griffin animagus, but the man didn't want to tell him how that came to be until he got his own animagus. Harry grinned. Maybe he could be with Tom even in the afterlife if he also got his Animagus. He didn't want to leave him just because death decided that they should part.

Two chuckles echoed in his mind and he opened his eyes and looked around him just in time to see two forms appear right in front of him. Harry jumped up in fright. The younger man, who wore green robes and who had long black hair, looked at him. "I do believe that you will find yourself with your mate for quite some time still. You have good tastes for picking someone from my house." The older man looked at the younger one in fond exasperation. He had long white hair that was tied back as well as a very long white beard and he wore a red robe.

"Salazar, your infatuation with your house has got nothing to do with his choices; Tom would be a good match for him even if he were in another house." The younger man rolled his eyes, but Harry could hear a bit of humor in his voice. "It's just a shame that goody-two-shoes Godric jumped ahead of me when he said that he would be one of Tom's guardians, otherwise I could have easily helped them both."

The older man shook his head. "Be nice to your cousin." The younger man smirked, but Harry could see absolutely no ill intent. Instead, he looked like he was fond of his cousin even though they seem to fight a lot…WAIT, SALAZAR?! Harry looked at the man in shock. "Please tell me you are who I think you are!" He had read and heard so much about the amazing potions that Salazar Slytherin made and it would be amazing to be able to meet the man in person...well uhm in spirit anyway. The pair laughed again

"Yes I am Salazar Slytherin and this great wizard here with me is known as Myrddin Emrys, also known as Merlin and we are your guardians." Harry looked at Padfoot and Prince for help, but the two (well Padfoot anyway) seemed a little too preoccupied with feigning sleep so he took a deep breath instead before looking back at them. "It is a great honor to meet two legends such as yourselves, but I thought each person with an Animagus form had only one guardian."

The two men shook their heads and Merlin spoke. "Not everyone had just one guardian, but it is very rare to have two guardians. I will explain why after we found your animals since we each have two." They walked closer to Harry and each man took an orb out of their pocket. Merlin spoke again. "Place your hand on each orb and it will show your animal." Harry nodded and placed a hand on each orb before they could stop him. An explosion went off, but no one was knocked back, but Harry suddenly found himself being lifted up on the back of something soft.

He looked down as the smoke cleared and he couldn't help but gape at the fact that he was sitting on what looked to be a black griffin and it almost looked like it was burning with a black fire. Harry passed his hand through it since he didn't feel any pain and he realized that it wasn't fire, but smoke or shadows. He looked down just in time to see the two men composing themselves before Merlin muttered. "We have to change that wording, it is clear that it confuses the descendants into placing both hands on the orbs if they have two ancestors instead of just placing one hand on each orb separately."

Salazar looked at Merlin. "I don't know, it kind of suits him." The older man nodded before looking at Harry. "You and your mate seem to be really similar in these aspects you know. Tom placed his hand on both my orb and Godric's when we told him to do it and that is also how he ended up as a Griffin. He is a lion merged with a fire phoenix and thus he has power over fire. You, however, have a shadow panther merged with a phoenix and the shadows took over the Phoenix form in order to give you extra abilities. I am very sure that you can hide in the shadows now."

Harry looked up at them and nodded, before almost giving in to the urge to gape further. Salazar and Merlin looked at him and Salazar spoke. "We will be around until you can fully master your Animagus form, so don't hesitate to call on us." Harry nodded and watched them disappear before turning to the shadow Griffin.

"Shall we finish the transformation here?" The Griffin sent out a cry and stepped closer. Harry tried to determine what was going to happen, but the transformation acceptance bond was different for a lot of people. Instead, he decided that instinct told him to walk towards the griffin and so he did. The Griffin suddenly burst into a black flame and flew towards his heart, but he felt no pain as it entered him. If he had to be honest, it actually felt like being safe.

He felt his body warm up and suddenly he was on all four legs and he was the shadow Griffin. He concentrated on his human form and changed back. It made him grin that it was so easy so he shifted back and forth a few more times. He then bounded to the mirror in his human form. He wanted to check up on Tom for some reason.

He activated his ability and was shocked to see that Tom, Severus, Sirius and the goblins were anxiously watching him from the room. One of them had a tempus activated and he was even more shocked to see that he had already been out for four days instead of the two that they had expected. He itched to comfort Tom and his new fathers so he pressed his hand to the glass and the men froze as if they felt his touch. Harry was bewildered to find that he could actually touch his mate and his fathers through the mirror.

Tom said something but he couldn't hear him and it frustrated Harry, suddenly he could hear the voices of the people in the room and they were all distressed that he wasn't waking up. They all knew that they couldn't enter without harming both him and themselves so they refused to risk it. Harry thought for a moment then willed his magic to allow them to hear his voice like he heard theirs.

"Hey, it is okay, I'm fine. I just got so carried away in my mindscape while I was waiting for the ritual to end that I forgot that I had to will myself out instead of trying to find a way." The occupants of the room looked everywhere to locate where the voice was coming from, but they found nothing.

Harry cast a gaze back at his body in the ritual room and he saw that the green lightning had completely disappeared. He looked at the people he cared about then spoke. "Listen I'm going to try and wake up now, so please stop worrying. The entire group, even the goblins, agreed skeptically and Harry sighed with an exasperated smile before kissing Tom on the head through the mirror and willing himself awake.

Thank you for reading, it took longer, but I also made the chapter a bit longer so I hope you all enjoyed it.

I only have one question for those that read this part: Draco, Harry, and Severus or just Draco and Harry? This is for a One-shot I am working on.