Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, the 'verses, the song. Oh, but I do own the story.
Shout out: Some of you expressed a wish about seeing what was going on after Harry's explosive exit in good ole Angleterre. Rejoice, you got your wish! Sadly, no wrath-sky chibis this time, mainly because I've drawn a blank which song would be good for that kind of chapter. The chapters will be from now on posted up at random times because the workload intensified. All of of you who have exams, I wish you luck!
Warnings: AU on multiple scales, interlude-ish, bad language, bad moon in England.
I see a bad moon a-rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin'
I see bad times today
Don't go 'round tonight
It's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise
('Bad Moon Rising' by Credence Clearwater)
Not even a week, and the entirety of the magical Unitend Kingdom was in furor. At first, people didn't believe - didn't want to believe - that their beloved Savior could so heartlessly leave them behind in the dust just with a proverbial click of the fingers. The society was used to the outrageous stories of Harry Potter doing one or another heroic misdeed then be praised or reviled for it. And they hadn't expected the reality to shift anytime soon. Because what - Harry Potter was a child, utterly loyal to the greatness that was British wizarding world and he would be staying here like Dumbledore or his parents did. Never, ever in a million years would they think that this boy would have the guts to just up and leave - forever.
But when he had been invited to that disastrous hearing - even now, the Daily Prophet was mulling over just why had an underage wizard been tried before the full Wizengamot - why, it was unprecedented to have a boy of all people tried before the entire tribunal, so to speak, and the media made for a very uncomfortable time for one Mr. Fudge questioning him about the wisdom of such decision and who exactly was the culprit for the this gross misdemeanor in justice.
Some, especially pureblooded fact, said it was a good riddance of the bad rubbish, but even they felt out of depth what with the recent happenings. It was not an issue with Muggleborns leaving the British wizarding world after being treated barely better than lepers and go on with living in some other country. But when a national icon has done the same, then it became a bone of contention not only for the British , but also - in a minor way - for other countries. Even if they didn't outright admit it, people knew that Harry Potter was a powerful wizard, and with time...he could've been even more so. But now, all this power was out and up for the grabs for anyone, and they could do nothing about it.
The mood in the Grimmauld Place was somber. The only one who was even moderately relaxed, was Sirius Black, and that irked the rest of them something fierce. When the old dog heard about what his errant godson had done his first reaction wasn't fear or concern, but laughter.
He laughed and laughed and laughed, until he was lying on the floor and laughing some more, until the only thing coming out of his throat were pained wheezes and whines from the stomach cramps he got via laughing. Of course, Molly Weasley wasn't happy with his irresponsible behavior, but all Sirius could say on the matter, was that this was the grandest and most awesome prank ever he had the honor to witness to, like befitted of a true sprog of Prongs and Lily. Good for him.
He relaxed on the semi-clean floor, not heeding Dumbledore's disappointed gaze on his person or even the Twins' inquisitive ones.
It was so, so good to know that his little pup was safe. And he would love to know his two friends, especially the cunning one, because dayum, it wasn't every day that someone managed to shut the fat gobs of those boring people in Wizengamot. Moody too, approved, but he had been a little too interested when he heard that the self-same lad had also managed to somehow kill the Dementors. He would be a good addition to the Order, but the grizzled Auror had a strong suspicion that the boy would rather follow the Potter scion than ever offering his services to the wizards in any way, shape or form.
As the time went by, the invisible lines had been drawn in Grimmauld Place. Molly was wholly disapproving of Harry just upping and leaving, and there hadn't been a day when she didn't mention that Sirius ought to do a responsible thing and get Harry back, because the poor dear was undoubtedly starving and alone somewhere, but her tirades only had an effect of earning Sirius' unimpressed, if amused and wholly defiant glare back. No, this old dog wasn't moving to sniff out his pup at her behest just for him to land smack dab in the middle of the danger again, thank you very much!
The old crowd was more or less of Dumbledore's opinion that Harry ought to come back - they didn't know exactly why, but if the Dumbledore said so, then it was undoubtedly for the Greater Good, even if they didn't know what kind of Greater Good that was. But their until then unshakable belief into their leader had been irreparably fractured, especially that of the younger generation.
It was an ordinary hot, sunny day. Not that it was shown as such in the Grimmauld, where it seemed only gloom and doom ruled. The only one marginally happy was of course Sirius, while all the others adopted the concerned or depressed mien emanating from their erstwhile white-bearded leader, whose twinkly eyes at the moment were not twinkly at all.
And of course this was the n-th mandatory meeting of Getting Harry Back, starring the uncaring dog person named Sirius Black, concerned false grandfather, one Albus Too-Many-Names Dumbledore and of course, the obligatory peanut gallery consisting the majority of the Weasley family, one miss Hermione Granger, three Aurors, a single werewolf, one petty thief, one grumpy spy and hangers-on whose main action right now was twiddling their proverbial thumbs in their imaginary corners.
"It's of an utmost importance that Harry comes back." Dumbledore reiterated once again with a somber voice, prompting his supporters to make agreeing noises and show appropriate facial expressions. "I am fearing that the boy may have made a huge mistake in choosing his new friends – " Hermione bit her lip, while Ron put a protective arm over her shoulders as he scowled at the thoughtlessness of their more famous friend.
"Ting-a-ling." Sirius sing-songed, causing the gathered people to look at him with prejudice at his all too cheerful disposition. The convict rose his arm and waggled his fingers mockingly. "If I'm not mistaken, we've just heard the sound of bullshitting. And any friend of Harry's who is badass enough to take down two Dementors, I think it's safe to say that my favorite godson is more protected than if he had been under those measly wards you've said they protected him. Pull another one out, Dumbledore." He sneered at the now frowning leader of the Light condescendingly.
"Sirius Black, how dare you!" The resident banshee, known under the name of Molly Weasley began. "Do you really have be such an irresponsible person? Right this moment, Harry may be in trouble and – "
"And he has a backup." Sirius interrupted her. " Which is - no offense, you two – " He addressed Ron and Hermione "-More than he could claim when he had been in Hogwarts." Dark eyebrows rose up challengingly.
"Typical." Snape sneered. "All the best for the spoiled Potter brat." The people tensed, expecting Sirius to explode with anger. But surprise, surprise, the convict remained seated in his chair, just looking at the Potions Master, causing the beak-nosed man to shift in his own chair and sneer at him. "So tell me, Black, how did you manage to do it?"
"I didn't." Sirius spoke out, calm as a cucumber. Two words caused uproar in the household.
"Are you shitting me, Black? " Snape barked out, jumping on his feet, the chair clattering on the floor with a crash as he slapped his hands on the desk while he amped up the glare at the canine Animagus. "Who else but you would have the resources to – "
"To do what, exactly? Send a cavalry when I, just like any of you, didn't have a Merlin-damned clue that he was about to be beset by those eldritch horrors I've spent ten years with?" Sirius' voice was equally as scathing. "Sorry to disappoint you, Snivellus, but I am no God, but thanks for the compliment." He paused, his face morphing into incredulous cast as if he didn't believe what he had just said. "Ewww. Now I am feeling all slimy. Remind me to take a long, hot shower afterwards and for the love of Merlin, keep your compliments to yourself." Snape looked a hair away from leaping across the desk and strangle him, but a stern glare from Dumbledore made him pick up his chair with jerky movements and slump back into it, even if his body still fairly vibrated with violent tension.
"Sirius my boy – " Dumbledore gave him one of his best 'I-am-very-disappointed-in-you' stares, only for Sirius to examine the nails on his right hand.
"I reiterate once again.I. Did. Not. But is it so hard to believe that Harry would have some other friends than those in Hogwarts?" He addressed the crowd, eliciting confused murmurs.
"It is, when they are capable of busting Dementors. Who were they?" The bushy-haired girl volleyed back, her gaze concerned but still hungry for any information. Waggling his eyebrows, Sirius gave her a small smirk. "I know just as much as you, sweetheart, which is to say… " He trailed off secretively. Hermione leaned forward expectantly – "Nothing much." Sirius then blithely announced, grinning like a fool. The bushy-haired girl's hopeful face abruptly drooped with disappointment, causing Ron to glare at the shameless dog in human shape.
"The real question, Dumbledore, is why are you gunning for Potter's return so much?" Moody's scratchy voice drew the attention of the gathered people, both Kingsley and Tonks nodding at his words. "As I see it, the lad has potential in Defense, but he had really gotten through all those adventures of his by a sheer dumb luck." He snorted, thumping his stick against the floor hard and causing more than one person jump in their seat with the unexpected sound. Blue eye rolled around madly until it zeroed on the gaudily clothed wizard with an unnerving intensity.
Dumbledore sighed. "I promised his parents to take care of him – " He began, only for Sirius to rudely snort at his grandfatherly spiel.
"So did I, as his godfather." Sirius grinned, his expression more of a macabre than any joy. "And look how it turned out." He sent a sharp glance to Dumbledore. "I've failed him for fourteen years. And I've paid my dues quite heavily - I don't doubt when I will go to the other side, Lily will gift me with more than just one earful for abandoning her precious baby boy, however unintentionally. You, on the other hand," - Gray eyes drilled into light blue ones "Have failed him since the very beginning. Petunia, Albus? Really?" Dark eyebrows rose in askance while the other members looked at the now uncomfortable old wizard questioningly. "Lily told us - and by proxy, you, just how much of a shrew that woman was. What, did you think, that just because she got her own happy family, that she turned out to be a mild-mannered Puffskein? For Merlin's sake, Petty even spurred her when Lily personally came to invite her to her wedding!" Molly gasped at the revelation her hand covering her mouth with shock.
"Is that true, Albus?" The rotund mother demanded of the ancient wizard.
"The wards only worked if Harry was with his own blood." Dumbledore replied calmly and the woman calmed down.
But someone wasn't satisfied with the elusive answer. "Then why did that friend of Harry's - Kerry or something - tell me to ask any Ward Master worth their salt why exactly were the Blood Wards banned in the fourteenth century?" The pink-haired Auror spoke out, unintentionally causing a certain Gringotts' employee to choke on his coffee.
"Blood Wards!?" Still spluttering for air, one William Weasley, more commonly known to his family and friends as Bill, practically shrieked with outrage. "Were you fucking daft, old man? Those Wards were prohibited for a reason!"
" William Weasley! Mind your tongue!" Molly tried to intervene, only for her eldest to turn back on her.
"Don't you 'mind your tongue' me, Mum!" He rounded at his mother, causing her to draw back with surprise. Bill was usually very laidback, but for something to piss him off to such a degree, it had to be something very serious. "Would you say the same if I tell you that Blood Wards take their magic directly from the family - yes, directly, and considering that Harry's sorry lot is all Muggles it's a fucking wonder that he hadn't keeled over with the drain!" He slammed the cup he was still holding in his hand on the desk, causing it to shatter into many pieces. "Did you even think to counsel a professional before raising up an equivalent to a life-sucking machine - and bonded it to a baby of all things?!" Brown eyes, usually cheerful, turned into twin pieces of steel as he glared at Dumbledore.
"But his mother's sacrifice circumvented most of the load – " Bill had to gape. He really had to. Because this old man's foolishness was just that astounding.
"You idiot. There is virtually nothing to circumvent that kind of Wards." His voice, despite being completely flat, was no less forceful. "Any novice in Warding could tell you that, but you still hoity-toity those monstrosities up and expect that everything would be well and dandy. Hermione," Bill turned to Hermione, whose eyes were now huge. "Did Harry have any trouble with his practical schoolwork?"
"N-Now that you mention it, he did." She stuttered, but her voice became a little bit more confident with each word she spoke. "When he came to school, first three months he usually has trouble with channeling his magic properly. But later on, he gets better, and at the end of the year he's usually at his best." She swallowed audibly at the ugly picture those seemingly unimportant fact had painted in her mind.
A grave silence greeted her proclamation.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the man who we ought to trust to lead us." Bill was disgusted. Abruptly standing up, he tore the necklace with phoenix pendant from his neck and dropped it on the table, the small ornament making a heavy clinking sound. Swiftly pointing at it with his wand he fired out a wordless curse, causing the pendant to melt into a puddle while the spells enchanted into the object died a shrieking death. "I am out. Don't call for me, don't contact me in any way, shape or form, or I will give you the exact taste just what have you subjected Harry to for fourteen years." With that piece spat at Dumbledore, Bill strode out of the kitchen, and five second later, there was a tell-tale sound of a Floo being activated.
Sheer and utter disbelief and confusion.
That was what reigned after Bill's thunderous departure.
"My, my, Dumbles." Sirius' voice was deceptively mild, but his eyes were sharp, and more than a hint of insanity was glittering in them. "You were really naughty, naughty boy. What else are you hiding from us, hmmm?"
The ancient man in question didn't answer, he was sitting still in his chair as if he couldn't believe that his judgement had been so horribly wrong.
"Now, Sirius, I am sure it was just a mistake on Dumbledore's part. " Remus finally spoke up, but he was even paler and more withdrawn than before. Thinking of that, Sirius noticed that Remus was looking even more haggard and unhealthy than before, which was kind of strange, considering his furry nights weren't due yet.
"A mistake, Remus, is when you are adding powdered skunk root instead of a diced one to a Fyrebyrd's solution." Sirius' voice was still gentle, as if he was speaking to an easily spooked deer. "A mistake is when you trust a rat to protect your best friends in your stead." His face hardened. "A mistake is grieving for recently dead friends, killed because you trusted the wrong person, in the middle of the explosion-destroyed street, thinking that people will give you a benefit of doubt when it appears you are a culprit." Sirius paused.
"But what a mistake isn't, is to meddle in a field you know jack shit about without consulting a professional. Last I've heard Dumb-as-a Rock here didn't hold any license, much less a Mastery in Warding." The last living Black tilted his head like an inquisitive dog. "Unless ol' Wonderboy here was holding out on us." The eyes of all collected swiveled to the still catatonic warlock questioningly.
"But Dumbledore has Harry's best interests at heart and - " Remus, poor, misguided Remus, still tried.
Sirius gave him a doggy grin, all teeth and nicety, but his eyes didn't hold any warmth in them. "And so do you, I presume?"
The werewolf gave a jerk. "O-of course I do!" He spluttered, glaring at his old friend. "He's my cub too!"
That prompted him to be subjected to one of Sirius' scanning stares, which made the ratty-clothed man shift on his chair uncomfortably . Most of people thought that he was the one who sensed the moods of people the best, but it wasn't.
It was Sirius. That man was scarily perceptive of the shifts of the masses, blind to only what he passionately loved or hated. Sirius could've been a Slytherin with that ability and his silver tongue, it was lucky for the world that the man abhorred the underhanded games, though he could play them just as well as any seasoned Slytherin.
Remus' heart jumped into his throat. Seemed that this time it was he who was target to this ruthless side of the doglike man…. And he was sure he wouldn't like the outcome.
"Then why were you stinking with guilt and fear every time you were in Harry's presence, hmmm?"
Tawny eyes widened with shock.
"I - I do?" What attempted to come out as a denial, was instead a feeble question. Sirius stood up from his chair, circling the desk and coming at the back of Remus' chair, causing the man to hunch but look at him anyway, visibly trying not to lower his eyes.
"Of course. I would know that stink everywhere. Animagus, remember?" Sirius tapped his nose mockingly, causing Lupin to jerk back, almost unbalancing himself off his seat.
"Is it so hard to believe that I regret not spending more time with him?" He gritted out, eyes flicking on the side before once again, glaring up at Sirius.
"Tell me something, Remus. When you were a wolf, did some cute vet chick get a snip of your balls and made you Dirty Martini with them? Otherwise I can't imagine just why are you so ball-less on the issue." Sirius sneered back at him, slapping the palms of his hands on the werewolf's shoulders, causing Remus to tense further.
Molly made a scandalized noise, but Arthur motioned her to be silent. This now was apparently a long time coming.
"My balls are in a working order, thank you for asking. " Remus snapped back, this time truly glaring at the bastard standing behind his chair. Sirius gave him a tight-lipped smile back, his eyes still flinty and the tips of his fingers whitened with the pressure they exerted on the werewolf's shoulders.
"Oh. Oh. Ohhh. Of course, my mistake. But dear me, now you stink of anger and …" Sirius sniffled, eyes flaring open dramatically, as if he just discovered something very interesting. "….surprise, surprise, guilt, guilt, guilt. So excuse me, I am still whiffing your bullshit. Care to enlighten us what naughty things you've been up to?"
That made the werewolf squirm in his chair.
"C'mon Moons. You know something, and you know me, I am dying to find out what you are hiding in your noggin. So spill the beans, you will feel all the better for it." Sirius coaxed him, his tone now a little more relaxed, but still with that calculating edge underneath the honeyed words.
"Why am I thinking that it is the exact opposite with him?" Kingsley muttered to Tonks, who only groaned and covered his face with both hands before shooting him a glare.
"He's a Black. What did you expect, unicorns and rainbows?" She snarked back, causing the twins who were sitting close to her to muffle their giggles at her quip.
"My dear boy, surely this isn't necessary..." Dumbledore tried again, only to be confronted with Sirius' unimpressed glance yet again.
"The very words you've said mean that it's very necessary to find out what bad thing had the wolfie here done this time. And considering he had so many, many bad moons, we can expect some very interesting bits." Sirius crowed, now grinning like a death reaper himself.
"Bastard." A simple word out of the usually mild-mannered man had everyone astonished. Because Mr. Remus Lupin didn't curse. Never. It was, like, written in the laws of universe or something.
"My mummy and daddy were sadly married, Moon-Moon. I would prefer to be a true-blue bastard, but we can't have everything we want now, do we? Now. What. Have. You. Done?"
Scribbles:
Fon was a humble man. Even if he had been hailed as a pinnacle of martial artists everywhere, he remained realistic. There was always someone stronger, or at least at a comparable level to him. And one Kotomine Kirei was just that. His strength and endurance were inhuman, even by Fon's standards and his knowledge of martial arts was hair-raising. The only reason Fon was still leading in this little match of theirs was because the priest didn't really bother to truly go all out and using everything at his disposal. Fon was curious of those Black Keys, for they seemed to be more of a bother than useful weapon. But curiosity killed the cat… and Fon was too curious not to poke at that particular subject. "Let's take it up for a notch." He murmured. If his smile was a little bit more bloodthirsty when he said that - well, then, it was nobody's business but his own.