~ Chapter Fourteen ~
After a series of floos and a short hike, Charlie spelled himself carefully in through the wards of the reserve. Harry was sitting outside his cabin, fingers running absently over the scales on Norbert's neck and, from what Charlie could tell, deep in conversation with the little dragon. As he made his way closer to the pair, Harry turned to him and then quickly rose to his feet, brushing loose dirt and grass from the back of his trousers.
"Harry," Charlie nodded in greeting. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he angled his head slightly to the side and nodded a second time. "Norbert." The dragon blinked at him before inclining his head in return, and Charlie's mouth dropped open in shock. Suddenly, Charlie remembered Ron telling him that Harry could speak to snakes, and he spun on the teen, eyes wide as saucers. "Harry, you're a parselmouth. Can you talk to dragons?!"
"No," Harry said slowly, but turned to look at Norbert thoughtfully. "Well, not that I know of." This time when Harry opened his mouth, only a smooth, low hiss came out. Norbert watched him intently, but otherwise didn't react. Harry shrugged and turned back to Charlie. "It doesn't look like it. But…" he fidgeted nervously before continuing, "I mean, I can sorta sense things, sometimes. Like a feeling, or an idea, I guess… is that not normal?" His shoulders drooped as he asked, and Charlie couldn't bear to make Harry feel any more different than he already did.
"I imagine it has more to do with Norbert than you. Even before I came to get him from Hogwarts, he has always acted strange compared to other dragons. I wouldn't worry too much about it right now Harry."
"Right," the younger boy responded, sitting on the ground once more. "Why worry about that when I have a wedding to plan." He scowled, and luckily missed the corners of Charlie's mouth twitching as he held back a smile. At times, Harry seemed wise beyond his years; then he would sulk as he was now and it was easy to remember that the boy was in the same year as Ron. Charlie quickly cast that thought aside, though, as he wasn't entirely comfortable associating Harry with his baby brother under the circumstances. Instead, he sat down a few feet from Harry, leaning back against the wall of his hut and trying to figure out how to ask the pouting fourteen-year-old to bond with him.
"What is it?" The question was quiet but insistent, and when Charlie glanced up his gaze was trapped in the deep pools of green watching him. He considered playing dumb, but only for a moment. Putting off the conversation wasn't going to change anything, and frankly that was a luxury they did not have the time for.
"Harry, do you know the difference between a wizarding bond and a marriage?"
"I guess. Bonding is about connecting the magic, or blood lines I guess. Marriage is like… well, what you think of when you think of marrying someone; loving them and being a family together." There was just the slightest blush of colors on Harry's cheeks now, as though he'd rather be talking about anything else or to anyone else right now, thank you very much.
"That's… pretty much the idea, yeah. Bonds are political agreements. Marriages are about sharing your life with another person." He paused to make sure Harry was following the conversation, and the younger boy watched him intently, trying to figure out what the point to all of this was. "If you bond with Ginny, marriage comes with it. My parents will be both of your guardians, and mum won't give either of you a choice in the matter." Harry was suddenly much paler than he had been a moment before, but when he spoke his voice was steady, albeit soft.
"I know. But I have to bond, Charlie. I'm not letting anyone else get hurt because I can't control my magic."
"Probably. I'm going to be honest with you, I don't see any way around the bonding, and I'm sorry for that. But Harry… you don't need to do the marriage bit if you don't want to."
"But you just said…"
"…that if you bond with Ginny, the two go hand in hand. There's no reason it has to be Ginny, though. You can bond with someone who isn't looking for anything from you other than to see your magic stabilized. Someone who will use being your guardian to help prepare you for the war instead of to hide you away from it."
"I appreciate the thought Charlie, but who exactly do you think is going to be volunteering for that job? 'Hey, no big, but I need someone to make a life-long bond with me that they will never be able to share with anyone else, and oh, by the way, there's nothing in it for you except getting dragged into the heart of this bloody war. Any volunteers?'" His voice was sarcastic, certainly, but not mean. He shrugged at Charlie when he finished, in a casually self-deprecating manner that the redhead was quickly growing to hate.
"I… well, I was trying to volunteer myself, actually..." A silence hung in the air after the proclamation, and Charlie had to resist the urge to fidget.
"You… are a man." Harry blushed again at the rather obvious statement, and Charlie was at that point torn between laughter and tears at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. He wisely chose neither, and forced his voice to maintain its calm, neutral tones as he explained.
"The magic of the bond itself reacts no differently to either gender, it wouldn't be the first time a same-sex bond was cast. I'm not going to lie though; it's looked down on in wizarding society. Every decade the proportion of wizards to muggles in the world lowers, and magical folk, especially the Old Families, get more and more frightened that we are letting our race die out. If people find out, and you know they will eventually, there will be backlash."
"Then why are you offering to do this?"
"Because I think it's the best option we have right now." Charlie could tell Harry was already starting to get himself wound up, so he cut the boy off quickly with his own calm response. Leave it to Harry to completely overlook the negative consequences to himself and worry about how Charlie would handle it. "Besides, Harry; I'm a dragon keeper. I live in a hut in an uncharted dragon reserve in the middle of Romania. Everyone I talk to is related to me, in the Order, related to me and in the Order, or also a dragon keeper living in a hut in an uncharted dragon reserve in the middle of Romania. I can't say I'm terribly concerned about any backlash."
Harry had to admit his initial distress was eased a little bit by Charlie's explanation. Not to mention the not-altogether-unpleasant tingling in his stomach when Charlie had used the word 'we.'
"How…" Harry flushed at the high squeak in his voice and cleared his throat before trying again, this time in far more controlled tones. "How would this work, exactly?"
"Sirius would cast the bond. This was actually his idea first. Once we were bonded, all the life-debts and Dumbledores in the world couldn't change it." He looked at Harry carefully. "I care about you Harry, and I want you safe, but no one can shield you from this war in the end. I would rather your guardian wanted you prepared than sheltered."
"If you bond with me, Voldemort will be after you," Harry argued, hoping the threat and shock-value of the name combined would knock some sense into Charlie and show him what a foolish offer this was.
"I'm a blood-traitor member of the Order, Voldemort is already after me," he countered smoothly, seeing what the boy was trying to do, and refusing to rise to the bate. He would keep his promise and not push Harry into this, but he wasn't about to let him offer himself up as a sacrificial lamb either.
"Charlie I'm being serious. Voldemort has tried to kill me four times already, three of my professors have tried to kill me or erase my memory, I've been attacked by a giant three-headed dog, an Acromantula, and a Basilisk, not to mention everything from the damn tournament last year, I even had a house-elf nearly kill me my second year!" Charlie blinked a few times in response, but didn't hesitate before answering.
"I live with dragons, I cook almost as well as Hagrid, I am affectionately referred to by my colleagues as a right bull-headed bat-dropping, and once when I was five I had to go to St. Mungos because I got a jelly bean stuck up my nose when Bill dared me to see if I could swallow it that way." Harry blinked right back at him after this very strange announcement, utterly baffled.
"What?" He finally managed to ask, sure he had missed something. Charlie just shrugged.
"Sorry, I thought we were sharing unfortunate facts of life that had nothing whatsoever to do with us bonding." Harry couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. Charlie grinned at him as he clutched his sides, trying desperately to calm down, but the entire conversation was just too surreal. Charlie, he noted, looked annoyingly pleased with himself. Once he had caught his breath, Harry sat back and stared into the other man's eyes, looking for any hint that he was having second thoughts. He had to admit to himself he saw none, and sighed, unaware that his brow was knit with worry and he was anxiously picking at a loose seam where his jeans had ripped.
"I don't know how to thank you for being willing to do this." Charlie waited for the 'but…' and when nothing else followed, he realized with shock that Harry wasn't backing down from the offer.
"There's no need Harry, I'm happy to help." Oh, I bet you are, pestered a small part of Charlie in the back of his mind; the same part that had his fingers tingling to reach out and brush the bangs back from Harry's forehead, feeling the smooth skin there as he did. His stomach clenched guiltily, and he opened his mouth to try and convince Harry that this was a bad idea, but Harry's breath caught sharply and he looked up to see the boy rubbing at his scar, which was once again glowing brightly. Norbert shifted restlessly, watching the boy with concern, and Harry looked at Charlie solemnly.
"We figure out how to make this happen today, or I'm letting them bond me to Ginny. The Order needs to know about my vision. No one else is going to die because of me." Charlie opened his mouth, no doubt to deny Harry's fault in anyone's death, but a snowy owl chose that moment to swoop in through the wards trilling urgently at her young master and dropping two official-looking letters at his feet. Exhausted after the long and rapid trip, Hedwig fluttered onto Charlie's windowsill and hooted consolingly to herself.
With a growing sense of dread, Harry retrieved the first letter and opened it with trembling hands.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a muggle. The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.
As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9a.m. on the twelfth of August. Hoping you are well.
Yours Sincerely,
Majalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
[Copied from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling]
The letter was dated two days previous. Harry thought that Charlie might be trying to speak to him, but he couldn't make out the words over the dull roar of fear filling his mind and crushing him beneath it. He handed of the first letter without consciously deciding to do so, turning his attention instead to the second letter, which looked alarmingly similar from the outside.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Due to your absence at Number 4 Privet Drive upon arrival of ministry officials, along with your continued disappearance, I regret to inform you that the Ministry of Magic has deemed you guilty of evasion. Be forewarned that failure to surrender your wand by the end of business today will be taken as a sign of further resistance, and you will be considered a wanted individual and taken to Azkaban upon arrest.
In addition, please consider this a polite reminder that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9a.m. on the twelfth of August. Hoping you are well.
Yours Sincerely,
Majalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
The second letter was dated from earlier that day, and Harry numbly handed it over to Charlie as he had with the first. He watched with a bizarre sense of dispassion as the other man read and re-read both letters before looking at Harry in shock. In a voice of deathly calm, Harry broke the silence.
"On second thought, perhaps we should get this taken care of right away."
XxXxXxXxX
"Black, don't you dare hex me…"
Sirius felt the rage boiling in the back of his mind, but his focus lay on what the old Auror was saying, holding his wand at the ready just in case Sirius exploded.
"The lad needed to stay at the Dursley's, and Dumbledore wanted to give him time to heal from what he went through in that blasted graveyard with the Diggory boy. We couldn't risk you running off to him, and Albus had a point when he said that losing you if you got caught would have been one straw too many for Potter. I won't apologize, I did what I felt was right, but I am telling now: I gave Dumbledore the idea of the magical trace. The Auror office has a lot of tricks up its sleeves, but even we aren't that good—"
"Stop." Black would never know how he managed to get the word out. He was hurt, yes, and furious, most definitely, but he had spent his months trapped inside reflecting on all the reckless ways he had helped worsen his godson's life, and because of it he knew that the headmaster had had cause to worry. Still, it was taking every ounce of self-control he had not to blast Moody through the wall, and he wasn't about to push his luck.
"Look, Black—" Black responded with a growl that would have made him proud in animagus form, and a glare to rival even Snape's.
"NO! Just. Don't." His words were clipped and filled with venom, and he nearly knocked the older man over as he shoved past him to march down the hall. Mad-Eye sighed and watched him through the walls with his magical eye, limping after him at a much slower pace. He meant it when he said he wouldn't apologize for his actions in this case, but he also acknowledged that Black had every right to be furious right now.
He saw Dumbledore meet Sirius in the foyer, and was impressed that Sirius kept from shouting and rousing his mother's portrait. He had just reached them when Black pushed past the headmaster and out through the front door. It was pouring outside, and he stood with Albus as they looked out at the dark-haired man sobbing in the rain. The force of his emotions at feeling his freedom had brought Sirius to his knees, and he let the water pour over him and soak into his robes as his hands pressed flat against the ground almost reverently. No one heard as the kitchen door opened and soft footsteps approached.
"Albus…" The word was spoken softly, but the look in Lupin's eyes as he regarded his leader was filled with realization and disappointment. "This was cruel." The werewolf swept past them, conjuring an umbrella and walking out to kneel by his friend, hand on the other man's shoulder and head bowed to speak quietly in his ear, too softly to be overheard.
Others had come out from the kitchen as well to see what was going on by the time Remus coaxed Sirius in out of the rain, and no one spoke as he stumbled back into the house, staring blankly at the ground in front of him. Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet the headmaster's, who was watching him tiredly, the usual twinkle missing from his eyes.
"I understand that the past stays with us," Black rasped, gaze never faltering as he spoke to Dumbledore. "I have paid for my recklessness now." A sharp glint came into his eyes then and his last words carried an undercurrent of warning that the first had not. "Do not hold it against me again." He shook Lupin's hand from his shoulder and began disappearing up the main staircase.
"My boy," Albus called softly, voice filled with regret. "I was wrong. And I am sorry." Black paused to listen, back still turned, then a moment later continued on his way without a response. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore had the front door closing with a soft snick, and those gathered took it as a cue to return to what they had been doing. Finally, only Moody remained in the hall with the headmaster. He was waiting for Albus to make the first move, knowing that he had gone behind the other's back in telling Black the truth. Suddenly, there was a gentle hand patting his shoulder and he turned to see softly twinkling eyes and a small smile directed his way.
"You were right to tell him the truth, Alastor. Thank you." Mad-Eye watched his friend walk back to the kitchen, the headache he had been fighting off all day finally settling in. The old man had his faults, but his entire life was devoted to protecting those around him. There was just no way to do that and still make everybody happy. Whatever disagreements the two might have, Moody knew that he would follow his old friend to the gates of Hell and back.
XxXxXxXxX
Sirius had fully intended to retreat to the solitude of Buckbeak's room and indulge in some long, self-pitying moping. It came as a bit of a shock, then, to find Fred and George waiting for him when he opened the door.
"You know, when I sent you on your way so I could speak with your brother this isn't exactly what—"
"Harry sent us." Well. That cut the building rant rather short.
"What?" Fred, who had made the startling declaration in the first place, merely pointed to where George sat cross-legged on the floor, brow creased in concentration while writing furiously in a small journal. Holding his temper for the moment, Sirius joined the two boys and leaned over George's shoulder to see how this book could have anything to do with his godson.
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
Fred, George? I need your help.
Harry! Are you alright? Merlin am I glad Fred remembered to find your journal when he went back for your trunk. Sounds like it wasn't easy, neither. You—
George, focus. I need you to get Sirius.
We'll look mate, but last we saw he was talking to Charlie.
Charlie says to tell you he is finished speaking with Sirius.
Oh. Hey Charlie! (Fred says hi too, he's mad that I won't let him take a turn writing.)
George!
Right, okay, got it, fetch Sirius. Ha! Get it, fetch? He's turns into a dog, so it's—he just came in. What did you need to tell him?
Black, it's Charlie. Something has come up, it needs to happen now. Harry says you've been to Little Whinging, back before his third year. There's a graveyard there, and a forested area behind it. Can you get there?
Sirius stared in wonder at the Maurauders' code written across the top of the page, and his godson's messy scrawl answering George down the page until it reached the point where Charlie Weasley's hasty words were appearing on the parchment as though he were right there writing them.
Black?
Quickly, Sirius snatched the journal and quill and replied.
Why there?
I'll explain later, can you get there or not?
On my way.
He thrust the book back in the arms of one of the twins and rushed to gather what few things he might need, forcing his eyes to stay off the journal so he wouldn't be tempted to demand an update on Harry immediately. Charlie was with him, Charlie said Sirius needed to leave now. He would just have to trust the redhead to know what he was talking about. Meanwhile, the twins were quickly catching up on the part of the conversation they had missed while Black was holding the journal.
"What needs to happen now?"
"You're leaving? We thought…"
"…you couldn't leave the house?"
"Is Harry in danger?"
"If Harry is in danger, we're coming with you."
"You can't stop us from coming…
"…we made a vow."
"Besides…"
"…we know the area," they finished together. Sirius turned to them thoughtfully.
"I was told I couldn't leave the house; I can. Harry is not in danger—well, not any more danger than usual anyway. And you two have no idea just how easy it would be to stop you from coming." The steely undertone to his voice left no doubt to his words, but he hadn't finished. "However, you're of age, and the three of us are going to be a little wrapped up for a few moments" he smirked as though he had made a joke, but whatever it was was lost on the twins. "So some back up wouldn't hurt. On one condition."
"Name it." The twins agreed readily, clearly shocked that Sirius wasn't fighting with them about leaving headquarters.
"You cooperate fully in any and every way required with what happens when we get there."
"Done." "You're on." Sirius nodded and picked up one final item; his godson's invisibility cloak.
"You coming?" He asked, holding up one side of the cloak as he disappeared beneath it. Quickly the twins scurried over, and the three began their painfully slow trek out of the house, all crouched at half their height in order to stay hidden. No one spoke until they apparated into the familiar muggle playground and began walking towards the cemetery up the hill.
"So what exactly…"
"…is going to happen?" The twins asked, breaking the silence.
"Harry and Charlie are being bonded." The twins stared open-mouthed at the scruffy man walking on ahead of them, not even glancing back at where they had both stopped walking in shock.
"Well…"
"…that escalated quickly." They muttered, hurrying to catch up.