The Death's Raven Chapter-6
The Twisted Knots Of Mysteries
Author's Note- Hello Everybody. How are you all doing? Hope you all are fine. So, we have a new chapter.
Summary- Harry Potter has just entered the Wizarding World, but why is he hearing the name 'Peverell' so often? What is his relationship with the 'Peverell?' Is it greater than the relationship of Descendant and Ancestor? ...Perhaps...(Rewrite Of 'The Sole Heir Of Peverell') -Fanon.
Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter.
BETA: Thestral Manor Discord Server.
I know that I am late, and I have said that I have a solid reason for it in the last chapter. So read the end Author's note, and you would get more information.
If you are new to my content, do try to read my other story The Warrior's Way, it has very bad grammar but I am trying to improve it.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.
A deep conflict was running in Albus Dumbledore's mind. It was nothing new for him to get engulfed by his own thoughts. But it was new for him to get engulfed so deeply. After the troll incident, his mind drifted to only one thought or a … boy, Harry Potter.
Should he say Harry Peverell? Perhaps …
It was no secret from anybody that Harry Potter may be the most gifted student who appeared in Hogwarts. Better than Albus Dumbledore or Lord Voldemort, there was no doubt about it. On his first day, he had made an impression on everybody, and his body language screamed, 'I am the best.'
But then again Albus convinced himself that he was a Peverell, and he would be one of the most skilled individuals in Magical Britain. But after the Troll incident, Albus' view of the boy completely changed.
"Do you feel any guilt by killing the Troll… Mister Potter?"
"I do not … Headmaster."
The bland tone made Albus shiver in fear, only. The way those words were spoken, the way his lips parted to let the words escape, the way he pierced through his gaze in his. Albus noticed it all, and he certainly did not like that. The boy was least bothered by the blood present in the location. The immense blood, even, made Albus uncomfortable, and yet Harry looked at the blood like his old friend.
Harry told him how he defeated the Troll, and certainly, there was no deception in his tone, nor did his eyes betrayed, and yet Albus could not believe it. The boy, indeed, launched some potential lethal spells, but they were not enough to knock down a troll. The skin of the troll was very thick, and Albus checked it, yet the Troll was knocked out.
Confingo was the strongest spell the boy launched. A fifth-year spell, hard to master, lethal. But those spells were not enough, so Albus asked the portraits about the incident, in order to check the deception, and he was slightly flummoxed when they told the exact same story which Harry did. He was sure that the portraits would not lie, at least to him. So he believed the story and decided to let it go.
His next concern was- Harry was showing his tendencies. No, not any bad one but the ones that Peverell's possessed. The bloodlust, the ruthlessness, the intelligence, the power, the cunningness, the hard work, the bravery, they all had it. They had cunningness but no true ambition, they were intelligent but not friendly, hard workers but not loyal, and finally brave but not noble.
The Peverell's were a paranoid bunch who only cared about themselves and their Family Magic. Albus and Gellert -who would later become the Dark Lord- had traced the Peverell from its beginning. The only living Peverell's were Potter's, and thus Harry Potter.
Albus looked at the glistening cloak at the right of his desk. Another Peverell possession. One of the three Deathly Hallows.
Deathly Hallows.
Oh, how he hated those things. Deathly Hallows were three gifts given to the three Peverell brothers (Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus) by Death itself as a gift for her to defeat it. These three contained a wand, a stone, and a cloak.
The Wand. The Elder wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Deathstick, a bloodthirsty wand. Wherever it went, led the place to war, blood, misery. Albus had been in the possession of the Hallow once, but he had given it to Ollivanders, fearing that it would corrupt him too. He was sure that the Ollivanders were taking good care of it.
The Stone. The Resurrection Stone brought any human back to and Gellert never found it.
And finally the cloak, the infamous Invisibility Cloak which could be everything from anyone. The Potters possessed these cloaks, and Albus had to give the cloak to Harry on Christmas. Albus knew that Harry would find his heritage, eventually. A shiver went to his spine by thinking about the power Harry would possess.
The Peverell Family Magic.
Many had tried to find it, but everyone had failed. The Peverells were Warmages, the ones who attacked to kill. While many consider that Warmages and Battlemages were the same, they were different. Battlemages were the people who protected the empire, and its people, but the Warmages were the ones who fought in the battle, they were like Barbarians but more ruthless, and dangerous. And how dangerous they were was evident from their family magic.
The Family Magic they possessed was far above the others. There were no healing spells, only potentially dangerous and lethal spells. Many had tried to uncover the secrets of Peverells but had failed miserably. Albus was another example of it, the same went for Gellert. He had his mentor about the Peverell's but he had refused, also he knew very little about it.
No one knew of what happened to Peverell's after they went to extinction, the Potter was a branch of the family, and Albus knew that only the Potter family were descendants of the Peverell family.
Even after their extinction, the name Peverell possessed immense recognition between the Ancient and Noble families. Even now if you ever talk about the Peverell's people would become pale, or fearful. There was a reason why the Peverell's ruled Wizarding Britain.
And when Harry would come to his heritage, the power he would possess would be extreme. He still prayed that Harry would remain the same good person he is. Merlin knows! what would happen when Harry would possess the power? After all, Power had corrupted the people, and corrupted people were dangerous, especially the one named Harry Peverell.
But Albus was that sure these upcoming years would be intriguing and … terrifying.
{SCENE BREAK}
Sighing he climbed the stairs, still not looking at them. He had to admit that he had got a very bad habit of ignoring the surroundings when he was focused on a sole task. He just could not focus on two things at the same time, why? He did not know, but this was his disadvantage. Though his Occlumency training was helping, it was still tough for him to focus on two tasks at the same time.
Today morning the Weasley twins' pranks went a little overboard and they had to go to Headmaster. Why was he thinking about it! They had an eerie aura around them, the polar opposite to Harry, but he was fairly interested in them.
Snorting slightly at thinking about them, Harry climbed the stairs hastily. He was brought back to the realm of living when he noticed sudden motion in the stairs. So the stairs were moving. McGonagall had explained that the stairs moved, but he did not pay much attention to it.
Now he was experiencing it, and if he was being truthful then he would say that they were showing. He meant, just settle them away, Damn it! In Harry's past two months he had observed that the people in Wizarding World were extremely indolent. They never thought that there was a possibility that magic might extinct, and it would extinct sooner if Pureblood kept practicing their inbreeding.
He reached the end of the stairs when it stopped. He realized that he was on the third floor. Raising his eyebrows, he recognized that it was the same floor that Dumbledore said was forbidden. It was not like he cared, he just wanted exhilaration, and so far, Magical Britain had not been able to do that.
He wandless shrunk the book he was reading before pocketing it. He observed his surroundings and sighed with a feral grin. Time for exploration!
He went to the right side which was out of bounds. The room was dusty, old, and unused as expected from a forbidden floor.
He saw a large gate with a lock. Letting his shoulder fall, he sighed as he retrieved his wands, he pointed it to the lock before thinking 'Alohomora.'
From the past few days, he had been doing a lot of Non-verbal, and Wandless magic. Shooking his head, removing those thoughts he made his way past the gates.
Harry had another bad habit. Bad habit of not looking forward first but looking left and right. He checked right and left. Large windows were fixed on the walls as the moonlight penetrated itself. Finally, he looked in front of us and found something interesting.
Sitting in front of him was a large pitbull with three heads. From Harry's assumption, it was almost twenty-five meter tall, with six eyes which were glaring at him openly. His skin was slightly floor which was now covered by the drool that left his mouth dropped on the fur. So it was Cerberus. Thanks to Harry's knowledge of the Magical beasts, he was able to recognize them.
Harry glared at it as it glared back at him. The Cerberus three heads snarled and growled at him which was getting deeper and deeper. Harry stared at the dog, there was no fear but curiosity. Why would Cerberus be placed in the school, let alone Hogwarts?
He was getting more and more interested in the third floor. He was able to observe the harp which was playing recently because of the vibration of its string. Harry exhaled a deep, audible breath, and with lightning speed, he retrieved his wand.
Seeing his actions the dog also charged towards Harry, but it was too late since Harry had already cast his spell at the harp which began to play a beautiful melody. Hearing the melody, Cerberus' ears perked up as it stopped in his way.
Harry blinked several times when he saw the dog start to sit without even acknowledging his presence. He knew that music affects dogs or any mammals but he did not know it affected them this efficiently.
As the Cereberus sat, Harry moved slightly towards him. Seeing his actions, the dog became attentive but Harry showed his bare hands and acknowledged him as he moved towards the dog fearlessly. The dog was a realist Harry had to admit, it observed his movements, his smell, his sounds, his clothes, everything.
When he came enough distance to touch him, Harry gently patted his snout as the snarl which was present on the dog's face disappeared. Harry rubbed its snout affectionately as the dog … purred? … in content. Harry continued the little touch until the dog was asleep.
Finally, when it was asleep, Harry deflated audibly. 'It certainly helped, huh?' He mused internally.
In the Orphanage, a dog was brought once. Nothing too special, just a Labrador Retriever. Harry found it extremely childish to play with dogs, after all, his maturity was two thousand at the time, yet he decided to give it a try.
Harry did not enjoy it, but the dog enjoyed it, tremendously. A chuckle escaped his lips when he thought of the dog who remained by his side after the incident for a few weeks.
He made his way past the dog in order to find what it was guarding. He moved with slow, and heavy steps, and found a hole that was covered with bars. Harry frowned seeing it. What would be there? He did not know, but he wanted more information about the Cerberus and what it was guarding. He would not go and act like idiotic Gryffindor. Charging at something without a proper plan was not his specialty.
When he was leaving the door, Harry noticed a tag which was labeled on the dog, 'Fluffy.' Harry raised an eyebrow, slightly after he read the name. Seriously, Fluffy, it should be named as Hades' Ride or Direct Way To Hell, not Fluffy. But then again, everyone in the wizarding world was senile in a way or other.
Well, he needed to find out about this Fluffy, and he could get the information from the Gatekeeper of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid who was a half-giant, but now he wanted to finish his homework, and assignments.
{SCENE BREAK}
"This is all you have got," he taunted her, resulting in the strings of her spells getting faster and fiercer. When he noticed she was getting tired, he taunted again, "Tired so easily, but then again, you can not match me," he snarked as she growled.
Just lit the flame, and the flame would spread itself. The same happened in her case. The more he mocked her, the more she pushed herself. They were dueling in his training room at her request since she wanted to perfect her charm spell, and there was no better way than dueling. It was not a simple task to start it, but they managed. He had to explain stances, rules, positions, bans, and many more to her.
She sent a series of a stunner, fire-making, and blindfold spells at him. He was slightly flummoxed when he noticed advanced charms by her but then again she was also taking advanced classes.
Harry swatted another spell that had a blue light. Casting a Protego shield, he positioned himself in the middle of it. The shield absorbed the spells, as Ashley finally collapsed on her knees from Magical exhaustion. (Harry doesn't know this.)
He canceled his spell as he made his way towards her. When he came near her, he gave her his hand for help which she took gratefully. "You ok?" He asked with his mixed mirth and concern.
She gave another pant before she groggily spoke, "Yeah… Just a little tired." He frowned at her and helped her to the chair which was present in the room. When she sat down, he took out his wand and cast several charms, "What are you doing?" She questioned, electing a sigh from him.
"Just checking your health," he replied, not sparing a glance at her.
"There's no need for that," she denied vehemently.
"There is," he snapped. "Your father would kill me if anything happens to you," he added as an afterthought, earning a giggle from her.
Over the past weeks, their relationship had grown immensely. Since Harry was an orphan, it was usually Ashley's family which they talked about. Surprisingly, she had a brother who was two years younger than her, and her grandfather and grandmother are still alive.
'Good for her,' Harry thought softly.
"You have not met my father, yet," she pointed out, interrupting him from his thoughts. Harry sighed, "Then too," He said in a voice which said 'End of conversation.' Finally, when he was done, he left the room before she could utter a word.
Ashley shook his head in amusement even though he was rude, and pretended like he did not care about anybody, he failed miserably. He was not good at lying, and she did not want him to be. Her heart fluttered when reminisced about the moments which happened before. He came back after 5 minutes with a vial of potion which she was not able to recognize.
He handed the vessel to her as she looked at him questioningly, "Pepper-up … Comes in handy, especially in Magical Exhaustion." He replied, glancing at her eyes.
She blinked at him, trying to comprehend his words, "Wait, do you mean I have magical Exhaustion?!" She blurted out.
"Yup. Drink this, and go to sleep. You should be fine by tomorrow," he answered promptly. Ashley nodded as she took the vial near her pink lips, and drank it in one go.
Harry's voice gained her attention, "Do you want me to escort you to your common room or you can go?" He asked with his eyebrows furrowing, slight concern could be seen in his eyes.
She shook her hand, and gulped the potion which was left on her tongue, "I can go just fine," she assured him. He gawked at her, neither blinking. "Very well, just be careful," He sighed. She nodded as she stood up, "I will."
Harry watched her left through the ladders, struggling slightly. He wanted to escort her, but as brazen she was, she denied it. When she left, Harry went to his library with hasty steps. Events from between the duel were still roaming in his mind.
"Serpensortia," she spoke as the beautiful black appeared from her wand. This did not shock Harry as she was using advanced charms in the duel. Currently, he was in defensive charm, and she was assaulting his defenses.
"Which stupid human had sssummoned me?" The snake hissed. Harry's eyes went wide as he just stood there frozen. Did he really just hear the snake speaking? Did he comprehend the words of those hissing sounds? He shook his head, maybe a daydream, but it was no longer than the snake hissed again, "Ssstupid humansss, calling mee for fun!" The snake hissed in anger.
Okay, he could hear snakes which was not a common ability. Before he could think more, Ashley spoke to him, "Surprised Harry?' She gave him a cheeky grin. Harry shook his head violently, "Yeah… Yeah, I am … I am very surprised.," He muttered before vanishing the snake non-verbally.
"Can we take a break?" He asked, still not over the shock. He sat down near a chair with his mind focused on the past event.
"Yeah sure," She said as she approached him. Ashley frowned at him, "Are you sure that you are tired?"
Harry tilted his head a little, "Yeah, I am sure."
They stayed quiet for a moment until Ashley questioned again, "You are tired first? Usually, it was me who got tired?"
Harry sighed in a little annoyance, "I am low on carbs." He stated as the reason,
She looked at him, bewildered, "What's carbs?"
"Damn Purebloods," he grumbled.
Harry interrupted those thoughts as he entered his library to find the book. Rummaging through the bookshelves, he read the titles of each one of them. He did not care about the mess, he just wanted to fill curiosity, he found a book with a title, 'Special Abilities.'
He turned each page, briefly checking their heading until he reached the 46th page.
Parseltongue
Parseltongue is a special ability that allows its user to talk to snakes. A person who speaks Parseltongue is known as 'Parselmouth.' The ability is rumored to be dark because Lord Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin possessed the very same ability. Herpo The Foul was the first rumored Parseltongue who also invented a beast known as Basilisk. A Basilisk could be controlled by a Parseltongue only.
Nearly all the Parseltongue were descendants of Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts.
So... he was a Parselmouth, but they were descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Harry cast the tempus charm, it was pretty late. He went to sleep with a new task of studying his family history.
{SCENE BREAK}
He trotted his way to his hut. His hut was little considering the man -or giant?- of his height. Harry assured his curiosity by thinking that it would be bigger from inside like all Wizarding Buildings. He was going to his hut without an invitation, so he thought it would be pretty rude, but who cared! Neither he did nor the giant would.
From his personality, Harry assumed that Hagrid was jovial, and a cheerful half-giant, though a little slow. His hut was located out of Hogwarts, near its end. From the scent of the wind, it seemed likely an agricultural area, and this was proven true when he saw vast varieties of vegetables growing outside. There was also a scarecrow between the cultivated land, but it did a little help.
As the crows were surrounding the scarecrow, Mavis took flight and flew towards those little birds and 'Caw'ed' in disdain. The birds flew away, as Mavis wore a look of smugness. Harry shook his head in amusement, it seemed like she was being a bully.
He made his way on those trodden grass and inhaled the deep scent, and came in front of the small door of the hut. He knocked twice and waited for the giant to come. His and Mavis' eyes were fixed on the pumpkins which were growing nearby.
(Okay, I would not write Hagrid, 'It is tha'.' speech. Just try to enjoy it normally. )
The door cracked opening revealing the half-giant, Hagrid whose frown turned into a smile after seeing his face. Harry did not show many emotions, but his lips were graced with the ghost of a smile. He gave him a big wide smile, "Harry! Why have you come?" He asked him, happily.
Harry nodded to the giant respectfully, "Hello, Mister Hagrid." He greeted him.
Hagrid waved him off, "None of Mister stuff, just call me Hagrid. Like everybody does." He explained with a big smile.
Harry nodded his head as Hagrid continued, "Come inside." He said as he went inside the hut. Harry stepped inside the hut, he noticed how beautiful all things were settled. There was not too much space for decoration.
The walls were made of cobblestones which were slightly policed. A huge fireplace with chairs, and a bed. Harry was surprised to see a small kitchen at one end. Overall it was acceptable. Whilst many considered Hagrid slow or dangerous, for being a giant. Harry did not mind it. He was living here for many years, besides he was not a full giant but a half-one, a fact that Harry found very interesting.
He meant how a human and giant could mate?
Anyways, shaking these thoughts away, Harry focused on Hagrid who was trying to cut ginger with a very short knife, at least considering him. Harry took out his wand, waved it, and made the knife bigger along with the other cooking instrument. Harry was amazed to see advanced magic by such a young wizard. He glanced at Harry and gave him a grin, "Thanks." Harry smiled back, slightly.
He shrugged, "No problem."
"So how do you like your tea?" Hagrid inquired as he placed the water to boil.
He thought for a second before answering, "With some ginger." Earning a laugh from the half-giant, he stared at him, "What happened?"
Harry pointed a finger at him, "James also drank tea with ginger."
Harry looked speculative before realization hit him, "By James you mean my father? James Potter?"
Hagrid nodded, "Great man, he was," he praised. He continued, "Greater with a wand, he came here almost every day." He finished.
Harry nodded in appreciation, "Can you tell me more about my father? And… mother?"
Hagrid nodded happily, "Of course. Your father started dating your mother in their sixth year, though he was in love with her from their first year ..." Hagrid soon launched the puddle of stories in which they both drowned. Harry, actually, was taking interest in his stories and not getting bored.
After five minutes, Hagrid presented some to Harry who took a sip of it. The tea was good, very good if Harry was being truthful. The ingredients were fresh, and the tea had slight bitterness along with savory sweetness, just as he liked.
After a few moments, Harry decided that this was the time. In Harry's whole, he had realized that timing was an important time. Every professional deal was based on timing, if his timing was right then the deal would be in his hand. The timing could make and break a deal. The timing for the jokes should be perfect, or the joke would not work.
"So, what do you know about the Cerberus in the castle?" He asked, taking another sip of his tea.
"Wha- Hot!" He hissed in pain as his tea fell over his sweater by Harry's question. Harry waved his wand after retrieving it and cleaned Hagrid's t-shirts. The half-giant placed the cup of tea on the table as his eyes narrowed, and he gawked at him, suspiciously.
"Who told you about Fluffy?" He asked, his smile faded by now, and his narrowed.
Harry looked at him for a few seconds before he sighed, knowing that there was no way to get out, "I was exploring the castle the day before yesterday, and found Cerberus, who was locked away in the castle. Why was it there?"
Hagrid's skin paled considerably, even though it was covered with hairs, and Harry could see it, "You shouldn't be asking questions about that; top-secret, it is. Private business between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flammel…" Hagrid explained absentmindedly before he realized what he was speaking, he shook his head violently, "I shouldn't have told you that…no more questions. Don't ask any more questions." He waved him off.
Harry finished his tea, said his goodbyes, his next target was the library- information on Nicolas Flamel.
{SCENE BREAK}
"So, finding something?" An amused voice asked. Madam Irma Pince was a lady in her forties. Her skin was very ...thin? Her cheeks were sullen. A shriveled face with very terrible-looking skin. In these past two months, she had been noticing Harry a lot, after all, he was coming to the library almost every day.
She respected the boy, and he respected her back. He did not break any rules, and read books peacefully without any noise, unlike other swine who create mayhem in the library.
Harry, without looking at her, replied, "Yeah. Doing some research."
Irma nodded. "Ask me for help if you want." She offered.
"Sure," he answered as he turned another page. He was searching for a page on Nicholas Flamel, still after the tenth book. Turning another page, he read the heading and then, turned another, then again. After he finally found out.
Nicolas Flamel
"Nicolas Flamel is a historical character. Flamel lived in France in the fourteenth century and is supposed to have discovered how to make a Philosopher's Stone. There are mentions of sightings of him through the centuries because he was supposed to have gained immortality. There are still streets named after Flamel and his wife Perenelle in Paris." (Credits- JK Rowling and Harry Potter Fandom.)
He did not really mind the introduction and about the Flamels, but what got his attention was the Philosopher's Stone. He gave the whole thing a quick glance, in order to check about the Philosopher's Stone. He turned another page and found the title in big, bold pages.
The Philosopher's Stone
"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal."
(Credits- JK Rowling and Harry Potter Fandom.)
So, this was certainly interesting, a lot interesting. The Philosopher's Stone was something Harry was impressed with. A stone that could grant immortality and could change any metal into gold was precious as hell!
But what was the business between Albus Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel? Some common business but why would the Fluffy guard it? What truly was that thing that Fluffy was guarding? Was that the Philosopher's stone? Perhaps or perhaps not… The possibilities were endless, maybe it was some other new project of Flamel. Certainly, it would need some investigation. Perha-
"Out! The library is getting closed!" Harry groaned.
{SCENE BREAK}
Puffs of hot breath escaped his mouth as he embraced himself to become warm. His emerald orbs fixed up the snow falling. Weird. The snow had started to fall early this year, after all, it was only the end of November, and there were still many days left until Christmas.
Stretching his body, he allowed himself to yawn, and he became indolent. It was not often when he decided to relax, his days were covered by his hectic schedule which did not allow him to relax, and certainly, he did not like to relax.
Sitting on the chair near the shade, he took the Hot chocolate that he had brought with him. He sipped it a little, savoring its taste. Several thoughts wandered his mind, reminiscing about his life three months before, he never would have believed about magic, and yet here he was, in a school which taught magic.
His friends were finishing their assignments which they had left, so he was enjoying himself. It was not his choice to take a break but his friends' pressure, to take a break or else he would die. He assured them it was part of his schedule, but finally, their stubbornness overcame and overwhelmed his stubbornness.
He took another sip of his drink which he had grown addicted to. He had promised to himself to never get addicted to anything, but alas! He was not able to keep it.
"Caw!" His most trusted companion, his trustful Raven, came through the window from which he was looking outside and landed on the armrest of the chair he was sitting on. He trailed his fingers through her feathers and then stroked them making her trill. He took some bird food he had purchased and placed it in front of her on the armrest.
She looked at the food, and then looked at him as if she was asking permission. He let a tiny smile grace his lips, giving her permission.
Throughout his life in the Muggle world, he had unraveled mysteries, but the one which he was investigating was far more complex than he ever had unraveled. There were several knots of suspicion, and he was not able to untwist those knots.
He would admit that he was fairly interested in the stone, but not in the use of the stone but how he made it. The Flamels had lived for 600 years, and they must know other protection other than Hogwarts to hide the stone
Sure, Hogwarts was a safe place but then too, they could hide it anywhere. They could cast bubble-head charm, go to the ocean bed, make a hole there and dump the stone there, and take it back when they want.
Also why they announced it when they wanted to hide it. Literally half of the school population go there to just explore as he did, but they would panic when they would see the Cerberus.
He needed more information to unravel this mystery.
Author's Note- How was it? Hope you liked it. Anyways, do a review about it.
Now the reason for my lazy upload. My exams have started and just today, I have given one. So, I need to focus my mind on studying rather than on the stories. It is not like that I am abandoning or anything. I am just going on an unofficial Hiatus to 6th July 2021. Until my exams are over, I may or may not upload anything. Without going further, let's cut it here.
Hope you liked it. My team and I worked our best in it.
Thank You, Leave A Review,
Love You all,
Fanon1