Chapter 36: The Council of Shadows

Once away from the peering eyes of the other students and professors, Harry instinctively shadow-walked away. His Pack gave chase and instantly found themselves in a beautiful grotto, a very large cavern. The ceiling and walls were high and wide that none would suffer from claustrophobia. Along one side of the cavern walls appeared to be a series of carved out shelves, sturdy to hold just about anything. In the far side of the cave, there was a large, natural niche which held an extremely large pile of pelts and hay. Harry made a straight bee-line to the pelt-bed and plopped unceremoniously face first on it. The others followed suit, being mindful of the large hearth in the middle of the compacted ground. It was obvious to the small Pack that the ground was well worn since the mud and hay were grounded under heavy foot traffic to create a sturdy flooring of mud bricks from a long and forgotten time. Absently the girls thought of how nice the floor would be with a few rugs and soft pelts here and there as they climbed onto the surprisingly soft pelt-bed and laid themselves on top of their Alpha's prone form. While the girls comforted their Lead, Neville and Sirius seated themselves around their pack-mates.

"Hm mo morri muh muhun my hmher, hmm." Harry stated, but his words were muffled by the thick furs.

The others grinned as they looked to their stoic brother, who had a small downward twitch of his lips.

"He sorry." Sirius' low voice translated the muffling.

Harry then lifted his head up, taking a deep breath.

Feeling the slight shift in their pack-brother's muscles, the girls sat up and watched Harry right himself up. As he sat cross-legged in the middle of his Pack, Harry rubbed his forehead to stem off the beginnings of a headache. It was then that the others noticed the silver great sword.

"Harry!" Ginny gasped in surprise as she recognized the blade that had saved her life during her First Year. "Why are you wearing Gryffindor's sword?"

"That's Gryffindor's Sword?" The others gasped as they looked upon the fabled great sword of one of the great Four Founders.

"Yeah," Harry mumbled, "apparently it was also my ancestor's wand, and now it's mine."

"Really now!" Mina questioned in astonishment as she suddenly became curious as to how a sword could be a wand. Immediately her mind conjured up questions and theories, but refrained from saying anything because she knew that now was not the time.

"Yeah…"

"Curious…" Luna murmured, "Why hasn't anyone noticed your dress? And more specifically, the fact that you're carrying that Sword?"

"Yes, I would think that Dumbledor would notice it missing." Neville remarked.

"First of all, I'm wearing a glamour. It's not powerful. Just enough to let people's mind to infer to what I'm suppose to be wearing." Harry answered as he rested his chin on his fisted hand. "As for my wand, Dumbledor will know soon enough, and when he challenges for it back, I'll let him know that it's mine by Ritus Blod."

"Rite of Blood…" Mina whispered, "The Headmaster can't challenge that! It's the oldest heredity laws that not even the Ministry can touch or amend."

"Well, that's good news for us." Harry replied. "But unfortunately, it'll also bring more attention to me than I want…"

"Yes, the Ritus Blod would bring unnecessary attention to us…" Luna murmured, which caused Harry to arch a brow. "It is known that Lord Godric Gryffindor had no children." She explained.

"Interesting…" Harry replied, "I'll need to speak with my source…"

"Could they have lied?"

"No." Harry stated with conviction, leaving no doubt within Luna's mind that this source was credible.

"Then that would be best." Luna agreed with her Alpha.

"Okay," Ginny interjected, "then what are we doing to do when the Headmaster challenges for the sword back?"

"There might be a way…" Neville quietly mumbled then looked up, "It's common knowledge that the sword was made by the goblins, and goblins recognize ownership through a right of combat."

"Yeah… it was a gift for saving them from the dark dwarves." Harry absently replied as he thought of the pros and cons with Neville's idea.

Silence suddenly fell over the group as the Pack looked upon their Lead.

"What?" Harry blinked in confusion once he felt his Pack's eyes on him.

"Your source?" Luna asked.

"Yeah… Is there a problem?" Harry frowned.

"No!" Mina exclaimed, "It's just that … there's nothing in the history books that would explain why the goblins commissioned a sword for a wizard, especially since at that time goblins kept out of the affairs of humans."

At this the others nodded in agreement. Harry's frown became more pronounced as he glanced back to Sirius, who too held a slight frown on his face.

"I wonder what else your source can tells us about the Founder's Era!" Mina suddenly whispered in rapt awe. As much as she wanted to beg for her Alpha to have his source speak with them and teach them their own history, she knew that it was not right. She could not believe that something so significant as how and why a Founder's sword was commissioned was not taught in their history. It made her wonder how much of their education was undermined by not only the Board of Governors but also by the Headmaster, both past and present.

It was then that Mina frowned as she looked at her brother.

"But what are we going to do about you suspension? You can't shrink on your education, even if it is seriously compromised!"

The others frowned, but Harry understood. He too came to the same questions and curiosity as his Delta-sister. How much of their education and history have either been ignored or perhaps re-written?

"The Headmaster will keep me close." Harry frowned. "That way he'll have better 'control' of me. So there is no worries about me being sent away."

"But your schooling!" She persisted, "It's not good for a Lord to slack on his education! Human or demon!"

Harry smiled at his sister as he reached out and gently brushed against Mina's cheek. Instinctively she leaned into his caress.

"Don't worry, Mina. I'm not about to let the yathus gain any form of advantage over me."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" Ginny asked as accepted her timetable from Luna, who thought that moment was appropriate to hand out everyone's schedules.

"Well, we do have the cleverest witch in all of Britannia in our Pack, do we not?"

At this, Mina's mouth formed an 'o' shape as she watched her brother's eyes for any signs of dishonesty. But all she saw was pure and unquestioning pride in her. She sat tall with a beaming smile on her face.

"I'll be happy and honored to help you study!" She exclaimed, which caused everyone to smile. Although it was small, they all noticed the manic glint in her hazel-brown orbs as she thought about what her on'frat would need for his Auror studies. "And don't worry! By the time the Headmaster allows you back to classes, you'll be ahead of everyone on the Auror Track!"

"Ii-lus…" Harry patiently corrected, "Being an Auror is something expected of 'Harry Potter' but it's not something that 'Harry' wants to do."

The others stared at him curiously as their Alpha stared at the unopened scroll in his clawed hand. With the exception of Sirius, they were all surprised to hear Harry make that comment. It had never occurred to them that their Lead may not want to be an Auror. They had just assumed, but now that they thought about it, it made sense. Being an Auror was just another expectation of the idol named 'Harry Potter'; it was part of the idea that everyone had of who and what 'Harry Potter' was. The Scion of the Light training himself to be an Auror and hunting down Dark Wizards…

But what about what 'Harry' wanted? After all, he was still his own person. He had his own identity hidden from all around him, save for a lucky few. His Pack. Only they knew who Harry truly was. He was a loyal friend, who was willing to help any who asked him regardless of House affiliation. He was a physical person, who enjoyed the freedom of the skies. He was smart, but opted to keep it hidden. It was a hidden wisdom that he gained from his past experiences; the Muggle term would be 'street smarts'. He had to grow up faster than any child should have. But despite knowing all of this about their pack-brother, they had no idea what interested their secretive pack-mate.

"If you don't want me to help you with your Auror studies than what do you want to do?" Mina voiced their unspoken thoughts. At this Harry just shrugged; knowing that he himself did not know.

"Dunno." He confessed then whispered, "Incinerare."

Suddenly a tiny reddish-orange ball of fire came to life and began devouring the scroll in Harry's hand.

"Harry!" Mina admonished the raven-haired teen, who then just cheekily grinned.

"Oh! Professor Dumbledor!" Harry suddenly bemoaned, "I was so angry! I didn't know what I was doing! I just wanted to hurt someone so badly and then the scroll caught on fire! And then I got so scared! Professor! I'm scared! Do you think Voldemort is trying to take control of me again? Please, Professor, I don't know what to do!"

The others stared at the dark haired teen once he finished his dramatic monologue. Then suddenly they burst into fits of laughter.

"Too much?"

"No! It's perfect!" Ginny answered as she wiped her tears away. "Are you going to actually use that?"

"Yep! Once my 'punishment' is up." Harry replied then moved off of the pelt-bed and stretched out his muscles. It was then that Harry truly noticed the den that he and his Pack were hiding in. It was the same den that he and Colin had gone to the other day. He was curious on how he came to the beautiful grotto, but he quickly remembered what happened to Colin and the fact that the Pack might also have a pup in their care soon.

"Alright…" Harry started as he looked at the dead hearth then sent another Incinerare spell to bring it to life. "Down to business, before you have to leave to meet your professors."

Usually on the day before the start of the semester, the students would receive their timetables in the morning, which gave them a few hours to go over it to either accept the schedule or re-arrange one's classes; however, most students just simply accepted the already written schedule. After all, who were they to say if they wanted this particular class or that class. Then after lunch, the students would go to each of their classes for a fifteen minute introduction with the professors and with their fellow classmates while also receiving the course syllabi. And then the next day, the real class session would begin.

Sensing the seriousness of their Alpha's tone, the others gathered themselves off of the soft bed and moved toward the hearth. Rather than sitting on the compacted ground, each of them conjured a simple little stool from the ground, which appeared as a semi-circle around the square pit. The stools were solid with a small back and had emerged from the ground as if they had been carved from the ground naturally. Once they were seated, only Harry and Sirius opted to remain standing. Sirius stayed close to the shadows as it was his position as his Lord's Man, and Harry began to pace as it was his habit to pace while talking.

"First of all, the other day, I received troubling information from Colin about Ron."

"Oh? What did that rat do this time?" Gin asked as she crossed her arms.

"Apparently he's been selling Colin's photos of me and most likely has been pocketing the money."

"He what?" She gasped, "He wouldn't dare!"

"Evidently he did. Using the guise that the money is going to charity."

"That bastard!" She growled.

"Where would he put the money? And how's he getting it?" Neville asked, "Gringotts?"

"No, Ron hates goblins." Gin answered, "He doesn't show it, but he hates anything that isn't human."

"Really?" Mina blinked in surprise, "I wonder if that's why Kreacher and Dobby avoids him…"

"It is." Ginny sighed, "Aside from Gringotts, there's only one other Wizardry Bank that he could use. It's not as secure as Gringotts, but it's run entirely by humans. It's called Midas Vault."

At this, Harry nodded his head. Even though he had never heard of this bank, he did not doubt his imoutsor. After all, there was much he was ignorant of in regards to what existed in the Wizarding World.

"Can you get access to his accounts if he has any?"

"No, I can't." Ginny shook her head. "But the Twins can."

"Alright. Let them know what's going on." Harry instructed.

"Consider it done. Is there anything else that you want them to do?" Ginny asked. Harry paused for a moment then grinned.

"Haita, I would like a list of all the charities in Britannia, and their description."

Ginny smirked.

"Done!"

"Now, onto the next thing…" Harry sighed, "I'm sure you remembered my comment about a First Year being attacked, right?"

"Yeah, what was that about?" Neville asked.

"Apparently a Slytherin First Year was attacked because his Housemates thought he caused the quakes."

"What?"

"How strange…" Luna muttered.

Harry looked at his aloof friend once he heard her comment.

"How's that, Luna?"

"Well," she began, "although wary and distrustful at first, Slytherins are not known for actually harming a First Year, their own or not. There must be something remarkable about this one for them to openly distrust him."

Harry narrowed his eyes as he remembered the Headmaster's comment about the little Slytherin.

"Dumbles called him 'foreign-born'."

"Foreign-born? Are you sure?" Luna questioned.

"Yeah, the yathus tried to spin it around that Severus didn't want him because the kid was foreign-born. Whatever that means."

"It means that the little one wasn't born within the Britannia Empire." Mina stated, "But it's strange that he was even accepted to come."

"What do you mean?"

"None of the Wizarding Schools accept exchange students. Each school keeps their teaching styles exclusively to themselves. They think any exchange students could be a spy sent to steal their teachings. Remember during the Tri-Wizard Tournament? The only time the students were on campus grounds was during meals and during the tournament itself." Mina explained.

"Great. Not only are we dealing with megalomaniacs but also xenophobes." Harry grumbled as he did remember.

"I highly doubt that's ever going to change." Neville honestly replied.

"You're right."

"But what does this have to do with the First Year?"

"Dumbles isn't going to do a damn thing about the assault, and Severus' afraid of a possible future attack on the kid." Harry explained. "I suggested that we take him in and protect him."

The others were furious to hear that their Headmaster was going to do nothing about the attack, but they were not surprised by Harry's offer. They would have done the same if the House Head Boy or Girl could not protect the student.

"Of course, he can stay with us!" Gin stated without hesitation.

"I wonder why Draco isn't taking the little one under his protection." Mina absently commented, which caused the others to turn to her. "Well, it's one of the responsibilities of a Head Boy and Girl to take in students to protect them from bullying until the student in strong enough to be on their own. It's an adaptation of the page-knight concept."

"So as Head Boy, Draco should be taking him in?" Harry asked.

"Yes, unless something is preventing him from doing so." Mina stated, which caused Harry to frown.

He could not really think of any reason why Malfoy could not take the First Year in unless Malfoy also held some sort of prejudice towards foreign-born.

"On'frat," Ginny whispered, causing Harry to look up, "can you find out why Draco can't take the boy in?"

"I can. Why?"

"There has to be reason, and I don't believe it's because of some sort of prejudice. I - I just don't sense that from him." Ginny replied as she clutched her fist over her heart.

"Okay, I'll look into it." Harry promised.

"Thank you."

Translations:

Haita (youma-lingua) - yes

Hm mo morri muh muhun my hmher, hmm. (muffle-ese) - I'm so sorry that I lost my temper, guys.

Ii-lus (youma-lingua) - no

Imoutsor (youma-lingua) - younger sister

Incinerare (Latin) - Ignite

On'frat (youma-lingua) - older brother

Ritus Blod (Latin) - Rite of Blood

Yathus (youma-lingua) - bastard