(A/N All Harry Potter characters belong to JKR I'm just having fun with them)
Chapter 21
Harry tiptoed into the tent, making almost no noise; only the scuffing of his feet, gritty from the late night walk on the beach. He moved to the washroom quickly to wash up and get to bed. The stench that assaulted his nose violently from the commode area, reminded him that Barns was staying with them; and was in fact, looking at him through bleary eyes.
"Hello Harry, mind giving me a minute?"
"Yup, a minute, no problem!" He stated quickly, rushing back out the door. Rethinking his idea for a shower, he waved his wand in a quick cleaning spell to remove the sand, and went to bed.
"Wakey, wakey Harry, it's time to face your day." Bill's grinning face was looming over Harry as he was rudely awoken. Harry stumbled up, and headed for the washroom again, grabbing his towel on the way. A steamy wave of heat rolled out the door into his face, the sound of water flowing indicated once more that the room was in use.
"Ughh, does he ever leave that room..." Harry stated aloud, mostly to himself, but Bill chose to answer.
"Sometimes, but it has become annoying. He told me you got back pretty late last night, what gives?"
"Ah well…"
"So she finally made a move then."
"What?"
"Belle, I assume she is the reason for your late night. Good job by the way."
"Yeah, I…" Harry looked over his shoulder before continuing, "Well, she kissed me and…"
'You don't have to explain yourself to me Harry; you're an adult in my book. Just make sure you use the spells."
"What! We didn't do that… I mean take it so far. I think she wants to, but I've never..." Harry said, red in the face.
"I would be surprised if you had, but only because I know you from before this summer. Looking at you now, it would be hard to believe, that you are as young as you are. You appear older, tall, well built, tan, and confident. She probably expected you to have been down that road, or wants to take you." Bill said with a mock leer.
"But should I… with the contract and her getting married?"
"I can't tell you what to do Harry, if it was me, I would without a doubt. What you have to realize, is where she is coming from. Look at it this way; she is going to be married soon, and for us Wizards and Witches, that's permanent-barring death. She probably wants to let loose a little, and out of us all you're the safest candidate. Owen is taken now, or at least I think he and Alessandra are starting something. Barns is a bit crude, and that can scare a girl off; and I have a slight reputation, that while not completely accurate, there is enough truth in it that a girl would think twice before choosing me as a causal fling. So what you have to decide is, if it's right for you."
"Oh, I didn't think of it that way, it does make sense with what she said. But does that mean she doesn't like me? No of course she would like me," Harry rambled, "but how do you just go your separate ways after?"
"By knowing that it's not going to last, before you get involved in it... now come on, we are here to do a job, and Ian wants a meeting."
HPCS~HPCS~HPCS
Albus Dumbledore stood with an expression on his face many would have paid to see. Dumbledore was dumbfounded. He stood on Privet Drive looking into Number Four, watching the family go on about their day without a care in the world. One thing he was sure of was that it wasn't the Dursley's. Which left the question of, where were the Dursley's? He would ponder that when he had the time, it seemed lately that things were moving too fast for him to keep up with. The Wizengamot was set to meet, in what was sure to be a long argument over security for the World Cup, and just who was going to run the Heir's Test, and he couldn't be late.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The wooden gavel rapped on the Chief Warlock's podium. "This session of the Wizengamot is now closed!" Dumbledore sighed as chairs scraped and people started exiting. He was lucky and got a vote pushed through for the Goblins to do the actual bloodline testing; this would insure accuracy that no one could setup or dispute.
"Chief Warlock, may I have a moment of your time?"
Dumbledore looked up, startled out of his thoughts to see Lord Cyrus Greengrass before him. The man was an able politician, the leader of the Neutrals Party, and a ruthless business man.
"Of course," Dumbledore said after a slight pause, "what can I do for you?"
"I wish to discuss a private matter, regarding Mr. Potter, if you would." It was said in a low tone but still conveyed a great irritation.
"Ah, I see… would my office suffice?"
"Yes it will, lead the way."
Dumbledore nodded and gathered up his things, and made his way to the public floo with Lord Greengrass following at a discreet distance, both left in a flash of green flame, not noticing the narrowed gray eyes following their every move from across the room.
"Now that we are private, what is it about Mr. Potter that you wish to discuss?"
Dumbledore lead the conversation, curious and wary to find out what interaction Harry had with the Greengrass Head of House.
"Are you Mr. Potter's legal guardian?"
"No…not exactly, I assist in school matters. His guardians are Muggles, although that is soon to change I expect. In the meantime, I shall do my best to fill that role." Dumbledore left off that his magical guardian was a wanted mass murderer, despite his innocence it could add little to the current conversation, he thought.
"That sounds as if he has had little guidance; which may explain, but not excuse, the disrespect to the House of Greengrass's honor."
Dumbledore paled slightly, if honor was at stake, it very well could involve a duel.
"Please, tell me what the slight is, and I will try to explain it to Harry and seek a remedy as soon as I can."
"I would like to speak to the boy directly, if he has no guardians that I can hold responsible," Cyrus stated, his tone neither harsh nor pleasant, in fact if not for the piercing gaze coming from icy eyes, he was a mask of calm indifference.
"I will accept that responsibility for Harry, and act in his best interests." This time Dumbledore made the statement direct and locked gazes with the man before him.
"Very well, the tale begins with a Life Debt owed to my father by Druella Potter. In payment of this, a marriage contract was signed for an Heir to the Head of House Potter to wed a daughter of the Head of Greengrass, thus making a tight political alliance between the two houses. This never happened as there was a buyout clause that would allow for a generational skip, if the sum of ten thousand Galleons was paid. Incredibly, James Potter paid this amount to escape the marriage to my sister, and marry Lily Evans. That leaves an inactive contract, until another Heir claims his place and activates the contract."
"I do not think Harry has claimed his status, or that he even knows about it. I have not yet gotten around to teaching him the pesky nuances of the Houses and their Honor, or about his responsibilities if he chose to claim that Headship."
"Yes, your feelings on that matter are very clear Dumbledore, but it is the system in place, and traditions and custom dictate that he should be instructed on this topic, and as the last Potter, take his place in our society. He is the last child of an Ancient house, and to be a member of our governing body. To use him for your own political agenda, is quite below what I thought you capable of!"
"I have not," Dumbledore stated, "used him for any agenda!" Cyrus Greengrass was a moderately powerful wizard, who relied more on cunning and intellect than his power, but at this moment he was very aware of the power of the man he had insulted in the heat of the moment, and as Dumbledore's magic crackled in the air, he watched warily as Dumbledore visibly calmed himself and continued.
"I have distanced that side of my life from him, so as not to be tempted at all. In my haste to do so, I have neglected having him informed of things he needs to know. Something I shall, as I said earlier, remedy as soon as I can. Harry is currently away on a Cursebreaking Expedition, but is scheduled to return soon. Now, how it is that he has slighted your Honor?"
"I received notice that the contract was active, and he sent no explanation of his intentions. Understand this Dumbledore, I love my daughters very much, and I will not have them fooled about with. It is imperative that I know his intentions as soon as possible. If he plans a buyout, then I need to have another contract in place before this Heir Test that Lord Malfoy is pushing."
Dumbledore sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, in exasperation.
"Harry Potter is as noble and kind hearted of a boy as I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is very generous, and I have not ever seen him act hurtful to another student. Now, that said, he has a knack for finding trouble, despite my best efforts to give him a normal year. I feel confident that he will not be disrespectful to your daughters in any way. I know the Potter's were nearly broke, James confided this to me shortly before his death. He spent nearly all the House gold aiding the war effort. He had a vested interest you understand, and it was a small price to him if it protected his family. In the end, this only backfired and left Harry on his own, not that he cannot afford school and the necessities, but to buyout the contract, I think it would be too much."
"Very well, I shall be patient and trust your word on his character. Please setup a meeting with him as soon as possible for us to discuss this."
As Cyrus Greengrass left by floo, Dumbledore dropped the Imperturbable Ward, and put his head into his hands. "Oh Harry, how I have failed you," he thought. He didn't have the time to wallow in his regret though, because the fire flared, and a hurried looking Remus Lupin was in the fireplace.
"Headmaster, Sirius and I are in Albania…" Albus eyebrows shot up, "we were tracking Peter, so that Harry doesn't have to remain the Head of the Blacks, but we found Bertha Jorkins dead, she had been tortured by dark magic, and…"
Albus let the rest wash over him as it all piled up, he needed help to keep an eye on things, as they were moving too fast for him to stay on top of.
HPCS~HPCS~HPCS
Tracy Davis walked slowly into the dining room, fashionably late to a family meeting, her eyes surveying the room. Her mother Marilynn sat to the left of the head of the table, wavy brown hair slightly frizzy, as if she was just brewing potions. Her older brother was a surprise, he was usually away, and if he had been called home, the meeting would be more than just catching up. A seat was left for her, in respect of her family place of eldest Davis daughter, and only. Her aunt, Karella Zabini, who was her father's sister, sat at the foot of the table, Blaise to her right. On the other side was her half-sister's mother, Megan Greengrass, cool and aloof, with her long raven black hair so shiny and smooth. Next was an empty chair, it was always empty, signifying the mourning of a child, the first born to the Greengrass side. Next Tracy's eyes flipped to her half-sister Daphne; as usual her attention was wrapped up into a book, on owls of all things. Tracy suppressed a moment of jealousy at her sister, she looked flawless as always. Then came little Astoria, such a happy girl and starting Hogwarts this year, beside her was the only male son, Dracer Greengrass, whose head nearly didn't clear the table top.
Tracy sat in her place as her father huffed.
"Now that we're all here," a slight disapproving look was sent to her, "I shall tell you of the coming events. It's not in my power to avoid the fallout of this Heirs test, so I have done my best to ensure the happiness of you all. Daphne… Tracy… you will each go under contract."
Tracy felt her insides churn; she had long ago looked into her House history to see if a contract was present, and felt great relief when none was. She had long dreamed of finding a husband who had money and power enough to provide a life of leisure, dining in the premier restaurants of the world, and attending gatherings with the rich and famous. Now it was crumbling around her. Her eyes locked with those of Daphne, they had spent countless hours talking of the future. Their dreams were so different, but they were no less committed. Daphne wished for travel, to study magic freely, delving into whatever she wished, writing essays on her findings, and gaining respect for herself that didn't involve her looks.
"Who… who am I to be bound to then?" Tracy asked, her words coming out slowly.
Her father met her gaze, it was clear he was unhappy, and sad.
"The House of Boot has agreed to a contract. The boy's name is Terry. I am told he is intelligent and the family is well off."
Tracy felt strong arms wrap her up, she smiled at her brother who held her, but her mind was running a mile a minute, dredging up everything she could remember about the Ravenclaw who was to be her intended.
"And me Father, who is to be in my future?" Daphne questioned, her cool was a little cracked, but she had her head up, looking directly at her father.
"A dormant contract was activated; and I can find no other that would be of high enough status to supersede this contract."
"The Potter contract? Will this Potter honor his side of the contract?"Karella asked in a waspish tone, still bitter over the rejection of James Potter.
"It seems he has little choice, and as Dumbledore has implied, he would not have the means to buyout the contract.
Daphne processed that information, Potter was not unexpected, she had been aware of the contract for many years, ever since she learned that such things existed. It was not at all what she would want if she could choose, although he had potential. He was small and dressed poorly, an average student who got into a lot of trouble. Yet he was powerful, easily on par with herself, maybe even more so. But he had no wealth, and no ambition to learn that she had seen. Perhaps he would allow her to go her own way after an heir was produced. All this went through her mind in a flash, and her father continued to speak.
"I sought to meet with him, but it seems he is unavailable," here Cyrus paused to look at Daphne, "it seems he is on an Expedition with Cursebreakers. A little research told me he is with Ian McDougal."
Hope surged into the raven haired beauty, perhaps there was a chance for her dreams after all.
HPCS~HPCS~HPCS
Harry and Bill were flying, searching the cliffs at sea line for a cave; everyone had split up into teams to search. It seemed that there was no map with an X to mark the treasure, other than it was on the island and concealed. Lonefeather and Owen were searching the beach with spells to detect metal. Ian and Xo were searching the lower end of the island, thinking it would be not far from the water; after all, gold is heavy, and hard to spell. Annalisa and Belle were searching the top and inland side of the cliffs, leaving Bill and Harry to the rocky cliffs.
"Harry, do you see anything?" Bill yelled, the tide was returning when they arrived, water causing a great roar and sloshing sound so that Harry could barely hear.
"Nothing yet!" Harry replied, casting yet another Detection Charm on the cliff front.
Spray from the waves splashed up, misting Harry as he flew low at water level, it was a cool relief from the sun that was beating down on his bare chest and shoulders. It was just too hot for a shirt. Harry was lost to his work: fly, cast, fly, cast, inching along the cliff. So much so, that with the sound of the waves and his focus, he didn't hear Bill yell.
Bill looked up as he wiped sweat out of his eyes, just seeing the burst of red sparks fizzle out, someone was calling for help.
"Harry! Harry!" No response. Bill flipped his wand up, sending a Pinching Hex to hit Harry, who looked at him angrily until he saw Bill's face. He turned quickly, and flew to Bill in a blur, not noticing the flare of light just below the water from his last Detection Charm.
"Red sparks! Someone needs help!"
"Let's go!'
They were off, flying up the cliffs, seeing another spark shoot up at an angle, exploding just at tree level. Following the smoke streamer in the air back to a cave, Harry pulled up and stopped in horror. Annalisa was down, and Belle was standing over her blasting away at skeletons that were animated and coming closer, bony hands reaching out as if to grasp her. Harry paused, floating just out of reach, looking on in shock. The cave had a low roof of vines grown all around, the bottom was clear and sandy, a few large rocks scattered about, and Belle in the center of a moving pile of bones. Harry quickly understood two things; one: she had been at it awhile, and two: because of the angle out the cave, her call for help could only just make it to the treetops.
"Pericullum!" Harry cast straight up, as he swooped lower on his broom. Red sparks burst into view high in the sky.
"Reducto, Reducto!" In rapid succession Harry cast the blasting hexes behind Belle, spraying bones from the skeletons in all directions.
Bill had also cast red sparks up, before flying in just about as fast as Harry went in. His eyes widened at the amount of spell light, as Harry was casting like a madman, his arm a blur, yet all on target. Bill added his own spells to the mix, and soon all the skeletons were down. As soon as Bill landed, his wand was flinging Detection Charms and Revealing Spells left, right, and center. It was clear they were in a warded area, not only that, but it was triggered. It was the dark magic in the ward that made him wary. "Watch out, the skeletons regrow!" Belle yelled, as she blasted one that was half reformed, right behind Harry. It was then Harry noticed that the bones were scorched and chipped, but not shattered like they should be.
"It's that rock, in the middle there!" Bill pointed, moving forward to drop the Animation ward. Harry recognized the runes as well, and was watching the skeletons reform as Bill moved to drop the ward.
"NOOOO!" Belle screamed. "It's a trap, a-
"Reducto!" Harry's spell cut Belle off, shattering a skeleton.
-black light got my sister from there." Belle continued, pointing to the side of the cave.
Bill whirled, his wand flashing with spells, focusing on the wards and trusting Harry to watch his back. Harry was blasting half formed piles of bone, but as they reformed they were coming closer, reforming almost on top of each other. It was impossible to tell how many skeletons there were with all the loose bones moving, trailing across the ground, wiggling and reconnecting. At any one time, three were trying to rise and another two or so were half formed. Harry was banishing the bones now as Belle was blasting, keeping them from fully forming. It was gaining them a little space. A sudden flash of light told Harry a ward had been dropped, Belle noticed a light flash from her sister as well. Harry turned to some movement at the mouth of the cave, his wand up, recognizing Alessandra and Barns who were left at camp, waiting at the ready to aid anyone in need.
Barns landed and watched Harry spin, he flicked his wand and a shield popped up just in case; luckily it wasn't needed, as Harry turned back around, blasting a fully formed skeleton. He noticed Belle on her knees holding onto her sister, which allowed the skeletons to reform faster. Barns and Harry blasted several skeletons that reformed in Belle's lapse, as Alessandra moved forward trying to move over all the wiggling bones, to help Belle and Annalisa. Another bright flash lighting up the cave told of more wards down, and the piles of bones clattered down to the ground, finally unmoving.
"Bloody Hell!" Harry panted, looking around at the carnage.
"Indeed, it looks as if we arrived too late." Ian, Xo, Lonefeather, and Owen had all arrived.
Harry gave Belle a brief pat on the shoulder, before stepping away to make room for Ian and Alessandra to help Annalisa out. He joined Bill near the side looking on. It wasn't very long before a stretcher had been conjured, and Ian divided the group up. Harry, Bill, Xo, Barns, and Ian himself were heading deeper in. The rest were heading back to camp, escorting Annalisa who was now awake but suffering from a bad headache, due to the coma curse that hit her.
"It was a clever defense; I'll give them that," Ian was saying, "distraction by skeletons, the controlling runes in easy view, and a hidden rune cluster to protect it, very sly." His tone was tight, it was clear that if help hadn't arrived when it did, that two of their team members would have fallen on this island.
"Bill and I will take point; Xo in the middle, Barns and Harry bring up the rear, and be careful. It appears this Pirate knew a little Necromancy.
HPCS~HPCS~HPCS
Hermione was irritated. This had not been a good summer break at all. First, her parents mostly ignored her, not that she needed much, but even an interest in what she was doing would be nice. Then, Harry went on an adventure without her, one she thought she would have enjoyed a lot, not that he could have helped that. Then there was Ron, he would jump back and forth between treating her as one of the guys, and then flirting with her, she wished he would decide one way or the other. She knew he was bored now just waiting for Harry to return, and wanting to do nothing but play Quidditch. She had fun with Ginny swimming and talking, but it was as if something was missing without Harry around, like he was the glue that held them all together.
"Hermione dear, would you go tell the boys it's time for dinner please?" Molly asked from the kitchen.
"Of course." She jumped up, glad to be interrupted from her thoughts, and set her book aside.
Dinner was a welcome event; something to do, people to talk to, and information to be gained about the simple things in the world she now almost fully lived in. That was when it hit her; life here was a little too simple. Do the gardening, cook, and clean. Not that it was bad, but it was not for her or her future. Harry brought excitement and mystery into her life, that was one of the things she loved about him.