The Mutt who Lived
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
If you don't like my stories, don't read them. I am only writing for my own fun and for those, who like reading my stories.
Harry and Dorea used the Sundays, which they had previously spent in the common room practising the Animagus transformation or Dancing, to work on the mobile phones.
It took them a few weeks, before they managed to get the phone to work on magic – with their mother's invaluable help.
"I'm not a Charms mistress for nothing," Lily informed them, smirking.
"Mum," Harry spoke up, thoughtfully, "did you take your masteries in Charms and Potions at the same time?"
"Almost," Lily nodded. "I already began studying for the Charms mastery during our time at Hogwarts. Actually, it was Professor Flitwick's idea, not mine."
"Dorea is brilliant, just like you," Harry replied, feeling very proud of his sister.
"I know," Lily replied, giving his sister a look of what he assumed was pride. "Professor Flitwick is telling me that whenever the first-years had Charms."
Harry chuckled, as he had witnessed the diminutive professor's expressions of excitement many times.
"Now, what are we going to do about the mobile phone?" Dorea asked, sounding impatient. "Can we duplicate it and give one each to our friends and family for Christmas?"
Harry shrugged. "We'll just have to try if we can simply duplicate it," he replied, thoughtfully. "I suppose that it's similar to the Merlin Strawberry, where we could simply duplicate the hardware, but had to develop a spell to copy the software."
"I think so, too," his mother agreed. "We've one advantage here though," she added, smiling.
"We already know how to copy the software, and it should work the same way for the phone," Dorea said in understanding.
"Let's try it out," Harry said, eagerly, and pointed his wand at the device in front of him.
"Wait," Dorea protested, indignantly. "I think we should do something about its form first. Why don't we change the ugly box looking thing to the form of Inu? He's our school mascot after all."
Smirking, their mother pointed her wand at the first and subsequently at the new device, changing both to a flat form of a sitting dog. "I have one request," she then informed them. "Don't give any mobile phone to anyone younger than eleven."
"Not even Charlus and Regulus?" Dorea asked in apparent surprise.
'The twins are only three years younger than her,' Harry thought in understanding. 'For us, it's a five-year difference though; that's quite a lot, and they're not responsible at all.'
"No," Lily replied in a firm voice. "It suffices if you give them their phones for their eleventh birthdays in three years' time."
"So, we'll give one…"
"… to all the adults and to the Mini Unspeakables as well as the members of our Unspeakable groups," Harry interrupted Dorea to complete her sentence.
"It's unfair that I can't be a Mini Unspeakable, too," Dorea pouted, causing Harry to cast her a pitying look.
'As an Aesculapian serpent, she could be a valuable asset for the Unspeakables,' Harry thought, resolving to ask Arcturus about her in private, so as to not get her hopes up.
"So we simply need to copy the hardware and software and change the colour, depending on whom to give the phone," Harry concluded, looking up in surprise, when his mother contradicted.
"No. You need to assign each phone a specific number, as the way to distinguish them. How else will, for example, Granny Minerva's phone know that you're calling her and not Dad?"
"All right, can we simply begin with the numbers from 1?" Dorea enquired with obvious eagerness.
It was not as simple, as it first seemed; however, by Christmas, Harry and Dorea had managed to produce enough working mobile phones to give each of the extended family above the age of eleven one of the colourful devices in canine form.
HP
Just when Lily and Severus had begun to cure the werewolves, the news about the mobile phones spread like wildfire through the magical world.
Harry assumed that someone at the Ministry of Magic had seen Amelia accept a phone call from Arcturus, causing the news to spread through the ministry and to the Daily Prophet.
It was as soon as New Year's Eve that Amelia addressed Harry and Dorea. "Would you be willing to make mobile phones for each of the department heads at the ministry and for what price?"
"Price?" Harry and Dorea mouthed, simultaneously.
"Yes, price," James replied in a firm voice, giving Brian a questioning look.
"What about 500 Galleons per phone, and as Amelia is the Minister of Magic, you could give her a discount of, let's say, fifty percent?" Brian suggested.
Harry and Dorea nodded in agreement, glancing at each other in delight. 'Two hundred and fifty Galleons is a lot of money for just a few minutes of work,' Harry thought in surprise.
They spent the rest of the day producing 20 mobile phones, assigned them the numbers from 1001 to 1020 and decided to make them all black and in a simple rectangular form to distinguish them from the private phones.
"Thank you so very much," Amelia said, as she accepted the box full with phones. "I'll go and distribute them right away, and I'll see to it that 2500 Galleons each will be paid into your accounts."
Harry and Dorea happily thanked her, glad that their parents had set up their own Gringotts accounts for them, when they turned eleven.
Promptly, on New Years' Day, the Daily Prophet reported about the mobile phones, and one of the new, black phones was displayed on the front page. The main headline shouted in red letters,
'A new, brilliant device for the magical world – Minister of Magic provides them for the department heads'
Underneath, a small paragraph told the readers, 'Yesterday afternoon, Amelia Bones, our esteemed Minister of Magic, distributed 20 new mobile phones, similar to the muggle telephones, however, mobile devices, which work perfectly in the magical world and might be a fantastic method to replace floo calls, to the department heads within the Ministry of Magic. Rest assured, dear readers, that we will find out who is the brilliant inventor of these dazzling devices. Perhaps, these devices are going to be the new hit for 1994.'
"Oh Merlin," Amelia blurted out upon reading the article. "Harry, Dorea, would you mind me giving her your names?"
Harry and Dorea exchanged a glance, before Dorea replied, "No, Aunt Ami, that's fine."
"Just tell them the price without the discount though, and tell them that we're only able to make ten per week," Harry added, grinning.
"Now, that's my godson," Sirius quipped, causing everyone to laugh.
"All right, thank you," Amelia replied, letting out a deep sigh, before she added, "By the way, I've patented your mobile phones as well as the Merlin Strawberry in your names. No one else will be able to produce either of them, even if they had the expertise to do so."
The siblings profusely thanked the witch. 'That's brilliant, but we didn't even think about such a thing,' Harry thought, gratefully.
Two days later, just when school commenced again, the headline of the Daily Prophet informed the magical world about the mystery of the mobile phones.
'Mysterious mobile phones made by Dorea and Harry Potter, siblings of the Mutt who Lived', shouted the main headline in red letters.
The text below informed the magical world that the mobile phones could be ordered by owl sent to Teddy Potter, Dorea's personal house-elf, who had offered to organise the matter for them, for a fee of 500 Galleons per device. It also advised everyone to wait for the summer holidays to commence before ordering, as both Potter children were still only first- and third-years at the Merlin Academy for Magical Arts.
After dinner, Harry went to the high table to speak with Minerva. "Granny," he addressed the headmistress, "what if other students ask me for mobile phones? May I make them?"
Minerva gave him a thoughtful look, before she replied, "Let me discuss this with the extended family tonight. I'll inform you about the conditions tomorrow."
Harry nodded in understanding. "All right. I just thought, as they're easy to make and don't cost anything, I could make them for students for 5 Galleons each. Plus," he added, turning to his mother, "Dorea and I want to put that money into a separate account and think about what to do with it later on. We're thinking about founding a scholarship for students who can't afford attending the MAMA or such."
"A very nice plan," Granny Augusta spoke up, smiling at Harry.
HP
At breakfast the following morning, the headmistress informed them that whoever wanted a mobile phone could tell Harry or Dorea. "However," she added in a no-nonsense voice, "the use of mobile phones is strictly forbidden in the atrium, in the classrooms, in the corridors and in the dormitories – except in emergencies. If we catch anyone using a mobile phone in one of these places, it will be confiscated and only returned after the leaving feast at the end of the school year. Now, I believe that Harry wished to announce a student discount."
"Yeah," Harry spoke up, as he rose from his chair. "For students, we decided to offer the phone for 5 Galleons. If you want a phone, please hand Dorea's house-elf Teddy a parchment with your name and the colour in which you want it. We'll contact you, when your phone is ready. It might take some time though."
James rose from his chair and added, "If I hear anyone pester my children to hurry up or make their phone first or such, I tell you now that you won't get a phone at all."
HP
During the remaining months of Harry's third year, he and Dorea spent every Sunday morning making mobile phones. As promised, they produced ten mobile phones for costumers from the magical world, before they spent some hours making phones for their fellow students. By the time the summer holidays began, the whole student body of the MAMA was equipped with their personal mobile phones.
HP
Two weeks into the summer holidays, Dorea suddenly spoke up. "Harry, I have an idea."
"And what might that be?" Harry enquired, as he put the last mobile phone for the day onto the pile of completed tasks.
"Teddy told me that we've already received thousands of Galleons for the phones. You know, Mum and Dad have their fifteenth wedding anniversary on July 15. What if we bought them a gift this year?" Dorea suggested in clear excitement.
"Such as?" Harry asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"We could ask Granny Minerva or Uncle Sirius for an idea," Dorea continued. "I thought about something like a voucher for some magical resort, so that they could go on a holiday for two or three days, you know, just the two of them."
"That's a brilliant idea," Harry immediately agreed. 'She's brilliant. How does she even come up with such ideas?' he wondered. "Let's go and ask Granny Minerva about it."
HP
Lily looked at James' sleeping form, smiling. 'It's fifteen years today,' she thought in amazement, 'and I don't regret it at all,' she thought, chuckling at the idea.
"Wha'?" James asked, sleepily.
"Today is our wedding anniversary," Lily reminded him, smiling.
All of a sudden, the Marauder seemed to be wide awake. He got out of bed and stepped over into the children's room, which – to her surprise – was already deserted. From behind a curtain, he pulled out a bunch of flowers and handed it to her. "Happy Anniversary, Lils," he said, grinning, before he pulled her into a passionate kiss. "Come back to bed," he told her; however, Lily merely rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Breakfast is going to begin in ten minutes," she informed him. "You better hurry up."
HP
'Thank Merlin,' Harry thought, when his parents entered the atrium, where everyone else was already assembled for breakfast.
"Mum, Dad," Dorea was the first to speak up. "Happy anniversary."
"Thank you, dear," Lily replied, seemingly happy.
James cast his daughter a surprised look, before he, too, thanked her.
"Happy anniversary," Harry echoed, pushing the light blue envelope that was lying on the table in front of him over to his parents.
"Happy anniversary," Neville added, placing a small plant next to the envelope.
"You better open that envelope right away," Dorea instructed them, causing their mother to comply in apparent amusement that quickly vanished upon seeing what was inside.
"James," she spoke up, clearly shocked. "Listen, our children have bought us a voucher for a magical holiday resort in Ireland."
"Exactly," Minerva spoke up, "and the Portkey is said to go off at 9:30 a.m., which is in thirteen minutes."
"What?" James blurted out in apparent disbelief, giving his children a questioning look.
"Yes, your children are brilliant," Minerva spoke up, handing Lily a very tiny, lime green bag. "Everything that you need is in here. This is the gift from the colleagues and extended family. The voucher is from your children. This bag is also your Portkey to go there and to come back at exactly 5:00 p.m. on the day after tomorrow."
Harry could not help chuckling, as his parents abandoned their breakfast and made their way around the table pulling every member of the extended family into hugs.
"Thank you all so very much," James said, as they both held on to the Portkey.
"Thank you, everyone, especially Dorea, Harry and Neville," Lily added, hastily wiping an errand tear from her cheek, right before the Portkey activated.
"I wonder if they've taken their mobile phones with them," Dorea quipped, causing Harry to glare at her.
"Don't you dare phone call them. They're supposed to get some rest from us," he stated, causing the adults to laugh.
"I don't think that you're so bad," Luna finally stated, wearing a dreamy expression.
'Apprarently, Mum and Dad think so, too,' Harry thought, when later the same day, his mother called him through the mobile phone to tell him how brilliant their holiday was and to thank him again.
HP
The 31st of August was Dorea's twelfth birthday. She and the other children of the extended family had a pleasant summer day on the nearby beach, supervised by the Marauders. Just like everyone else, she enjoyed herself greatly, especially, when she and Iro went for a long dive into the sea.
=Let's follow them,= Inu suggested and ran into the water with Lucy on his heals.
Harry and Neville merely exchanged a glance, before they transformed into their canine forms and followed the dogs for an extended swim.
Only on time for dinner, they returned to the MAMA.
To everyone's surprise, Arcturus was sitting next to Minerva at the dinner table, which was earlier than the usual time, at which the Unspeakable returned to the MAMA in the evenings.
"Don't look at me so surprised," he spoke up, apparently noticing that everyone cast him astonished looks. "I merely came home early to wish our princess a happy birthday."
"Thank you," Dorea replied, smiling.
"And I wanted to give you this," Arcturus continued, pushing a small piece of parchment into Dorea's direction, which was quickly forwarded by helpful hands.
"What is it?" Harry asked, curiously, glancing over her shoulder, as Dorea eagerly unfolded the parchment.
It only contained a few words:
'Your Unspeakable name: Aesculapius. Your team: 5.'
"Thank you!" Dorea blurted out, jumped up from her chair and ran around the table to hug the old wizard in apparent happiness. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, and we'll be glad to have you," Arcturus replied, smirking. "Just see to it that you get along with Devil. He's strict," he added, winking at Harry, who could not help chuckling.
Their teacher was, indeed strict, but he was also very kind and understanding. 'Dorea will do well,' he thought, feeling very happy, as it was him who had suggested Dorea to the head of his team months ago.
HP
On the following day, the students returned to the MAMA and school began again. 'Fourth-years,' he thought, feeling very grown-up.
While he and his six best friends among his classmates including Inu had chosen Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as electable subjects in their third year, they could now optionally choose Alchemy or Law in addition.
While Susan, Hermione and Draco chose Law, which was taught by Andromeda, Harry, Neville, Christa and Inu took Alchemy. 'It seems much more interesting than Law, and Bill is really nice,' Harry thought. 'Oh well, Andromeda is nice, too, but still.'
Dorea was now a second-year, and this time, the new second-years took it upon themselves to care for the new first-years. Lucy still accompanied Dorea to her classes; however, the fifteen-month-old was not as studious as Inu. 'Perhaps that's because she's still young,' Harry thought, knowing that Inu had already been four years old, when they began to attend school.
'I think so, too,' Inu replied on his telepathic question. 'She seems to be very intelligent, and she learns quickly.'
HP
A few weeks later, the Halloween feast at the MAMA was already half-way over, when Hogwarts suddenly contacted Lily through telepathy.
'Lily dear, I urgently need to speak with you, James and Harry,' the castle informed her.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the few but kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. My muse really appreicates the feedback.
Next chapter: "Hogwarts' call".