My Dark Protector

Chapter 25

Abartagh Alley

The small group of protectors had inevitably decided that using a Portkey would be the easiest means of travel for Harry, using the Floo or Apparating could be quite jarring and suffocating, it wasn't something they wanted for Harry's first experience travelling, it might panic him and they didn't want an episode in the middle of what could potentially be a crowded alley. Albus was disappointed that he couldn't go, unfortunately he was too well known, and if talk got around, well they feared that the chatter could reach the Ministry of magic. Something nobody wanted, at all.

There was just too many ways that it could blow up in their faces if Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, found out about Harry. While his power wasn't absolute it was enough to make Harry's life hell if he should wish. By hell they mean locking him up in St. Mungo's and never letting him out. Or getting Harry made ward of the Ministry and taking him in to bolster his own image, and neglecting Harry - not giving him the care he so badly needed. Or more terrifying being bribed into having one of the dark families adopting him, such as the Malfoy family who would make Harry pay for the 'death of their Lord' in all likelihood.

Abartagh Alley, or as it was better known by the Irish Abartagh magical shopping district, although nine times of out ten the word 'shopping' was cut from the sentence. The Portkey had deposited them near the large fountain with seven people situated all around in a circle, the Ballycastle Bats Quidditch players, they were the most famous of Irish players, having won twenty-seven times in the Quidditch league cup, there was only one other that did better, Montrose Magpies, Scottish Quidditch players that had won thirty-two times. They each had their Quidditch gear on with the mascot clearly displayed, holding onto a cup shaped fountain of water that was spouting down over them. There were many Knuts lying in the pool of water.

Harry couldn't help but stretch out his hand and let the water run freely through his fingers, it was cool, pure and wonderful, he loved water, it was very soothing and showed everything, it was the opposite of being in the dark dank underground unable to see anything laying in his own filth. He hated the feeling of being dirty, it made his skin crawl.

Abartagh Alley was completely opposite from Diagon Alley, here you could actually walk comfortably in a group and passers by could still walk comfortably, while in Diagon Alley you were hard pressed to have three people walking side by side and being squashed. The smell of freshly baked bread, goods and coffee were the most prominent smell lingering in the air from the café to their left.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Poppy asked placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, letting him know he wasn't alone and that everything was going to be alright. To her immense surprise and delight, Harry didn't even flinch, the slightest, was he too enchanted by the water or was he finally beginning to trust her as much as Severus? Or rather as much as Harry would ever trust anyone other than Severus. Since Severus would probably always come first to Harry, the trust they had was an unbreakable bond that would never be severed.

Harry turned to face her, nodding without saying anything, feeling a little overwhelmed, his gaze quickly searched for Severus who was behind him as always and only then did he truly relax. There was so many people here, more than he was used to, and it felt like they were all staring at him, but when he looked they weren't at all.

"Hold on to the handles," Poppy said, placing the wheeled walker, which had a chair on it for when Harry felt too exhausted to continue, in front of him. This way he could move independently without having to rely on them, which according to Severus he didn't want. He was going through phrase of wanting to do everything himself, whether it exhausted him or not. Thankfully it hadn't quite gotten to the extent where he was being rebellious though, which probably would be the most difficult time for both Harry and Severus. He had come along in leaps and bounds since he was found, they were all astonished really, talking, walking, they were so hopeful that it would continue, that he would one day be able grow into the adult he could be. "Now let's go see those cats," she informed him, watching those green eyes sparkle in delight.

Minerva watched Harry's interactions with Poppy, and more importantly observing Harry constantly looking behind him every few steps to make sure that Severus was still there. "He has come along way hasn't he?" Minerva said in awe, she hadn't been able to spend as much time with Harry as Severus or Poppy having to visit the homes of Muggle-Born students as well as go through all the replies and even take them to Diagon Alley if they required it.

"He has," Severus replied his face impassive but his voice was laced with pride. He was proud of Harry there was no doubt about it, he had such determination and spirit to overcome what life had thrown at him. He wasn't bitter, at least not yet, and yes he sometimes got scared but he looked to all the new and wonderful things he was seeing and lit up. Severus honestly didn't think he would be the way Harry was if it had happened to him, in many ways though Harry was still a child, still had a lot of growing up to do. He doubted Harry would ever be outgoing but he had sworn to make sure that he lived life to the fullest, even if it meant Severus himself had to spend the rest of his life taking care of Harry if he couldn't look after himself.

"Do you think his progress will continue?" Minerva asked, continuing her conversation with Severus while watching Harry. He was beginning to strain a little, she was unsure of how much longer he'd be able to continue walking.

"We have no idea," Severus replied honestly, giving Harry a nod and small smile of pride when he turned to look at him again. Harry thrived on his approval, it made him try harder, Severus could see that, and it was a terrifying thought to have someone so utterly dependant on him even now, at the same time he felt a sense of accomplishment and pride at what he had helped to do. "Matters of the mind are extremely delicate, but the progress he's made this far? It means there's a chance, and it's greater than we thought when we first found him."

"True," Minerva nodded conceding the point, they had feared Harry wouldn't recover, she couldn't have imagined that they were the same boy, he had been so skeletal, but he was up, walking and talking, it was miracle to her.

"Do you need to sit down, Harry?" Severus asked his voice soothing.

Harry once again shook his head, before tilting it, just staring in the window with a look of wide eyed wonder.

Severus glanced to see what had caught Harry's attention, it was the aquarium shop, which obviously dealt primarily in fish, there was a large tank in the window with dozens upon dozens of colourful fish swimming around they had just been fed he could see the remnants of their food still floating about. Of course something like this would gain Harry's attention; anything water related seemed to enchant him. He gazed himself wondering what Harry found so fascinating, but he came up empty.

"It's getting a little busier now, Severus," Minerva said with caution, wondering to herself when she had gotten so damn paranoid. It must be Severus' influence she had never been overly paranoid before in her life.

"It is that, and he doesn't seem to mind," Severus replied wryly, it seemed their worry about Harry being surrounded by too many people would be hard for him was for nothing.

"Perhaps not for now, he's easily distracted but I believe such a time will come," Poppy informed them quietly, glancing pointedly at them.

"Cats?" Harry turned to Poppy, wanting to leave now, as peaceful and beautiful as they were he wanted to see the cats now.

"Of course, this way," Poppy said, moving again, but keeping close enough to catch him if he got too exhausted and didn't stop. Not that she'd be needed, Severus was behind Harry for that exact purpose, and despite his shaking legs was continuing to walk slowly but surely towards the pet shop. Which was just one more shop down, she realized as they passed the owl store.

Harry felt excitement thrum through him when they got to the store, large pens were all around the shop with kittens inside them, and others had cats. There were so many of them that he didn't know where to look first, he was that excited he was completely ignoring the signs his own body was trying to tell him, that he was exhausting himself, pushing himself too far.

"It's time you too a rest, Harry, you need to sit down," Severus informed him, his tone serious, he tended to use that tone when he didn't want Harry fighting with him and Harry seemed to understand when he meant business.

"Can I help ya?" a very Irish sounding accent asked them, making an appearance in front of them.

"We are interested in buying a cat as a familiar," Minerva replied in her usual curt manner when she was dealing with something. "But thank you regardless." a familiar wasn't something even a shopkeeper could help them with; it was solely between Harry, his magic and the animal of his choosing.

"Alright, how are we best going about this?" Minerva asked, looking around pensively. "Will his magic be up for seeking out a familiar?"

"Of course it will," Severus couldn't contain his snort at that question, Harry's magic was strong, stronger than Harry was able to deal with emotionally, which made it an admittedly very unstable combination that they were going to have to keep an eye on very carefully. As already proven, Harry's magic was quite violent in its backlash.

"This will definitely take a lot of time," Poppy did admit, there were more cats than she'd ever seen in her life in this shop, and that is if bonded to Harry as his familiar.

"Harry?" Severus called, kneeling down so he was eye to eye with him, or was when Harry's inquisitive green eyes landed on him. With calm contentment in his eyes, Severus knew he was doing the right thing, and prayed that Harry didn't have to return to Hogwarts without a cat, no doubt he would feel disappointed and perhaps frustrated, and Harry of course wouldn't know how to handle those emotions. "Minerva, would you do me a favour?" he asked, an idea coming to mind.

"Name it," Minerva said, she would do anything for Severus as long as it was within her capabilities he knew that.

"Look for a jewellery store, a focus stone is something I think would be beneficial for Harry," Severus replied, "The strongest one you can get, perhaps amethyst would be the best gem?"

"That's an excellent idea, I'll go now I'm sure there's a store around here," Minerva nodded vigorously as she spoke.

"Thank you," Severus replied he knew Harry would need to return to Hogwarts soon.

"Focus stone?" Harry repeated, blinking in confusion.

"I'll tell you more about it later," Severus informed him honesty, "Right now I need you to be very brave and do something for me, something that might seem scary to you, but if you would like a cat you need to do it, okay?" Severus remained frank and honest, he wasn't one for lying and he didn't want to lie to Harry.

Harry remained confused, his brow furrowing but he answered the question, "Yes?" with a question.

"You need to feel your magic, it will help you pick out a familiar that's just for you," Severus explained, hesitating only slightly, with good reason after what happened the last time he brought up magic. "You'll be able to feel it, it's like a pinching," not truly able to articulate it, but doing the best he could.

"You'll want to go to a certain cat, it will guide you," Poppy added to be helpful. "Like it's calling to you."

"Yes, hopefully it will be a sphynx cat," Severus said wryly, it didn't have much hair.

"It has," Harry murmured quietly, flinching as he admitted this.

"You already feel the pull?" Severus required confirmation.

"Yes," Harry replied, green eyes wide and apprehensive, he had just assumed it was the feeling of wanting to see them all but until his dark protector, who he was becoming to know better as Severus these days, said he could.

"Good," Severus said nodding encouragingly; it was obvious to him that Harry still feared admitting anything when it was regarding magic. "That's very good." he added laying it on, he had to get it through to Harry that magic wasn't something to be scared off, but baby steps.

"It's nothing to be scared off," Poppy added, giving him a smile. "Do you want to stay in the chair and let us push you to the cat you can feel?" it was obvious to them both that Harry was beyond exhausted but he wasn't going to give in until he had his cat, he was one determined boy.

Harry wanted desperately to believe that, but he didn't, he just couldn't all his experience had taught him that magic was very, very bad and should be hidden, if he didn't use it his aunt and uncle wouldn't have hated him, and that woman wouldn't have hurt him or other people if he hadn't had magic as well. He would have preferred if he didn't have it at all, yet these people could do magic too and they weren't scared and they wanted him to use it. Needless to say he was very conflicted and confused, but those feelings were becoming increasingly familiar to Harry nowadays.

"Harry?" Severus queried, worried about how quiet he was being.

"I'll walk." Harry finally said, "Is that okay?" he added, biting his bottom lip, feeling vulnerable with magic actually being brought into a conversation.

"Of course it is," Severus stated firmly, staring pensively at Harry for a few seconds before he stood up, he would ask him later if he was aright, right now wasn't the place for such a conversation. Gripping Harry's hands in his own, he helped the teen out of the seat and Poppy turned the four wheeled walker so Harry could grip it tightly. His gait was uncomfortable, weak and shaky at best, but he moved.

Severus remained right behind him, his hands outstretched just a bit almost touching Harry's back. Watching each time he passed a pen of cats, Siamese cats, Ragdoll cats, Abyssinian cats, Burmese cats and then he stopped, peering into the pen that had Bengal cats, of course, thought Severus sardonically, of all things it had to be a Bengal cat. He shouldn't complain really, at least they'd found one in a relative short amount of time.

"Point to which one it is," Severus encouraged him, he was rather pleased with how well this trip had went. Perhaps during the Christmas holidays they could come back here and properly look around, by then Harry might not even need the walker, especially if his physical therapy continued to go well.

Harry pointed, to the one that wasn't playing with what Severus assumed was its siblings seen they were all the same size roughly at least. The one he picked was definitely the runt of the litter, and it wasn't lost on Severus that he would want that one. The cat looked like a miniature leopard.

"I'll go and get everything it will need," Severus said, "Sit down, Harry, this might take a while, Poppy would you get the cat for him?" it would keep him occupied while he got the rest of the things a cat would need to be contented with life at Hogwarts.

"Of course, go ahead," Poppy said, gesturing for him to do what he needed to.

Severus nodded and stalked off to the shelved area of the shop, taking a basket he began to load everything he'd need into it. Bowls, cat food, some packed mice and other treats it would like to eat. A dozen toys, and scratching posts, a litter tray, pine cat litter, a scooper, a collar with an ID tag, nail clippers, he did not want his home destroyed or to be scratched by a blasted cat, a brush and comb, sponges and scrubbers, non-toxic cleaner, a bed, a throw, and last but no means least, a cat travel carry case, it would mean the cat could easily be travelled through the Floo, Apparation or even flying without being jolted around even if the person was being jolted around.

He looked around thoughtfully, tying to discern whether or not he was forgetting something. Not that it would be too much trouble, he could just owl order it if he did. He'd rather not have to pay for an owl to deliver something he'd forgotten though truth be told. His eyes caught the vials, cat flea and tick treatment, he wouldn't be using substandard potions, he would create his own, which would require a potions book specifically aimed at potions for animals, cats specifically obviously. That would be easily purchased at the bookstore.

He found Poppy at the check out counter, with the cat already; he swiftly made his way over, placing the basket and cat travel case on the counter. "This should cover the cost, I'm going to go to the bookstore and get a book on potions for the cat."

"Wouldn't Hagrid have something like that already?" Poppy asked curiously.

"No, I brew all his required potions, but I've never been asked to brew anything for a domestic animal, such as a cat or dog surprisingly." Severus replied wryly, especially considering he did in fact have a dog, Fang, but he didn't think the dog had ever been sick, Hagrid loved those animals and if he thought he was sick then Hagrid would have come straight to him. Dropping his money pouch into her hands before he left the store as quickly as he could.

Once it was all rung up, did the teller speak, "One hundred and sixty five galleons, fifteen Sickles and twenty Knuts please," which Poppy worked out to be five hundred pounds in total, but that wasn't a problem, she handed over her Gringotts card, not touching Severus' money, the money spent today was a pittance compared to what she had in her vaults. Harry deserved to be spoiled, and she didn't mind spoiling him one bit.

"Where's Severus?" Minerva enquired as she returned, with a small brown wrapped box in her hands.

"He's just popped over to the bookstore," Poppy explained, accepting her card back giving him a smile of thanks before the two witches grabbed the packages and got Harry as well as the cat outside the shop to wait for Severus to return. "It's alright, he'll be right back." Poppy assured Harry, seeing him looking around worriedly, the cat couldn't even keep his attention it seemed.

"He's right over there," Minerva said spotting him a few tense moments later, both of them sighed in gratefulness, they weren't sure how long Harry would have remained quiet and calm without Severus' presence. The pure and unadulterated relief on Harry's face was obvious for all to see, even Severus whose face creased in concern for a moment before smoothing back out again.

"Thank you, Poppy," Severus said, taking the travel case, and taking the cat delicately from Harry and placing it inside so it was safe while they Portkey'd back. Which was what he explained to Harry, telling him he could let him out again just as soon as they got back, and yes the cat was a he.

Severus handed Harry the case, which he clutched tightly, nodding in approval he removed the Portkey, waiting until everything was shrank down and they all quickly gathered around, holding onto each other, the walker, the cat and Harry. He put the Portkey out, and once he was sure they were secure, he said the phrase and the Portkey activated. One moment they were at Abartagh Alley the next moment they were at Severus' quarters in Hogwarts.

None of them were overly surprised when Harry fell asleep curled up within moments of getting on the couch; he had pushed himself quite far this morning. Severus opened the cat travel case and his lips twitched as he watched the Bengal cat curl up next to him.

Minerva couldn't help but summon her camera, this was definitely a picturesque moment, Harry would love it she was sure, and all she had to do was develop the picture herself and transfigure a picture frame. "He did very well today,"

"That he did," Severus agreed.

"Here you go Severus," Poppy said handing over the pouch which Severus accepted and tossed onto the bookcase without a second thought not realizing that Poppy had paid for the cat at the moment.

"I got a variety of focus stones, some mixed, as well as a booklet that explains their properties, there were so many of them that Harry could use so I thought you might like to choose which ones appropriate for him." Minerva answered, handing over the box.

"How much?" Severus asked, flicking his wand out to summon the pouch.

"Nothing, it's fine," Minerva said her tone going stern knowing Severus would try and pay her back if she didn't.

Severus sighed in exasperation, "Very well," he admitted defeat, before conjuring an additional seat since Harry had taken the sofa to himself, and he had only two other chairs so Minerva would require one to sit on for however long she remained. He knew she got extremely busy around this time when it came to the students returning. "Coffee?" he asked them both as he ripped open the brown paper to get into the box.

"I wouldn't mind, I've been gasping for one since we passed that café," Minerva admitted.

"Me too," Poppy chuckled quietly, consciously lowering her voice so she didn't end up wakening Harry.

They were doing everything they could to ensure Harry had a normal life, as normal as they could, and they prayed it was enough.

There we go! what do you think? Hogwarts will be starting back up soon and you'll probably see some time skips again so who will be together for Harry's first Christmas (well that he can remember anyway!) still can't decide what to do with Voldemort, whether to have the light side continuously in the dark so to speak about Voldemort's return for longer...because lets face it there won't be much fighting :) would you like to see them all brand together to safeguard their world and make it better for them all? perhaps Voldemort will still get to rule his people and feel as though his goals are being accomplished without all the bloodshed :D if and when they find out will Dumbledore and Voldemort meet to put down ground rules on whats what like no killing children or innocent people in exchange for the Ministry to stay in the dark about who he is? how about Tom becoming Minister of Magic or something? hmm so many possibilities here and its so different I love that about this story...and look where i took it before in the other version? I must admit i do love this one more :D anyway R&R please!