"Dora?" Harry called as he left the basement of Ezekiel's house. "Are you there?"
Silence was the only answer he received, which only increased his uneasiness. Harry tried calling for her again but it was in vain as he looked around the house nervous. Had she left without him? He asked himself. No, of course not. Dora always waited for him to finish depleting his was the first time she hadn't been there to receive him and joke about his tired face.
It wasn't until he reached the main hall that Harry heard it. Muffled noises from the second floor caught his attention. He slowly climbed up the stairs, careful not to make a noise. For all the time he had spent in this house, Harry had never set a foot on the second floor.
Ezekiel had moved all the Dark objects the day he had moved in and had been very clear he should stay away from them. Problem was, as he found out later, the house was full to the brim with such things. Even after storing the worst of them on the attic, there were simply too many of them left. Enough to fill in an entire floor, actually.
The entire second floor was packed. The only thing remotely resembling order had been a narrow path leading from the stairs to Ezekiel's bedroom.
Harry could see light coming behind the closed door. He approached the room where the muffled sounds came from. He touched the doorknob with a trembling hand, his heartbeat so loud he could actually feel it on his ears and his breath slowed to a crawl. Harry slowly twisted the knob and...
Dora was in the middle of the room, carrying a bunch of vinyl records on one hand from Ezekiel's bed to a closet as rock music blasted from an old record player. Harry watched in disbelief as the woman who couldn't take two steps without crashing, sometimes tripping over herself, danced to the rhythm with a grace unlike anything he had seen before.
Dora finished placing the records on the closet as the song ended. Her body still swaying to the vanishing rhythm as she mouthed the lyrics.
"Hey!" Dora said noticing the smiling boy. "You finished early!"
"I... I don't know, I finished." Harry replied smiling.
"Ah, never mind. Liked the music?" Dora said gesturing at the player.
"I thought magic and electricity didn't mix?" Harry said unsure.
"Nah, this isn't complicated enough." Dora waved her hand. "This and radios are fine, if it gets more complicated then the magic fries it."
"Ah." Harry nodded.
"So, what kind of music you like? Zeke has everything there." Dora asked pointing at the closet.
"Really?" Harry asked peaking into the closet.
"Yeah. Queen,, Beatles, Iggy, Black Sabbath, Weird Sisters, you name it." Dora said showing him row after row of records. "Hex Sisters? Ugh, and he tells me about taste." She said frowning at an album cover showing a burning rose. "Even if you don't like them, he's got all the other genres. Except for techno, he can't stand that one for some reason."
"But why are you here?"
"Oh, I lent him a record of Hungry Hippogryphs almost a year ago and he never gave it back." Dora replied. "And since I couldn't find it, I'm taking all this. Seems fair, right?"
Harry opened his mouth to answer but the words failed him as he looked into the closet where Dora was taking the albums. The 'closet' as Dora called it looked more like a large hallway with shelves on the sides packed with music records from top to bottom.
"See anything you like, Harry?" Dora asked happily.
"It's larger than the house." Harry said pointing at the closet.
"Oh, absolutely." Dora replied taking him by the hand and guiding him in. "Zeke has so many records you could fill rooms with them. This saved up some space."
"But, how could he do something like this?" Harry asked looking around the room.
"Well, for the most part magic helps a lot." Dora explained. "You might not see them but Zeke placed a spell here and anchored it with runes. That way the magic won't dissipate."
"Dissipate?" Harry asked with interest.
"You need to understand something, Harry." Dora said taking out her wand and conjuring different objects seemingly out of thin air. "We can make a lot of things with magic. Even things Muggles think it's impossible. Specially those. But those things won't last. We use our own magic to make changes to the world around us but our magic disappears once it leaves our bodies. The more magic you use, the longer it lasts but in the end all magic vanishes."
"And the runes?"
"Runes are special." Dora replied. "Runes can be used to anchor one's magic with the magic of the world. But people don't use them anymore."
"Why not?"
"Muggles." Dora replied placing a new record on the player. "They're everywhere. Taking vacations, taking pictures. You can't go around doing magic without them noticing it."
"And why don't wizards tell the truth? You could help people..." Harry asked.
"Because we'll be better than them, magic will do everything faster and safer. Imagine going to school for years and all the sudden some guy or gal looking like a period drama does everything in the blink of an eye with just a stick."
"But..."
"And what about the people who doesn't want help?" Dora continued. "You have to think about wizards too, Harry."
"But I saw how you and Ezekiel use magic! You can defend yourself if you need to!"
"What do you think is faster, Harry?" Dora asked. "Waving a wand while saying some words or pulling out a gun and shooting you in the head?" Harry's silence was her only response. "Don't fool yourself, wizards and witches can't compare to Muggle ingenuity. If they find out about us, chances are we die. And that's the best case scenario. But that's enough of that." Dora smiled. "How did it go down there?"
"Fine, I guess." Harry replied unsure.
"Anything on your mind?"
"No, I'm fine." Harry replied looking at the records.
"Is it about Zeke still not calling or mum getting released next week?"
Bingo, Dora thought as Harry fidget his fingers. She had received the message from her father at her place. Apparently Andi was doing better than expected, her magic assisted in the healing process or whatever, and she'd be discharged soon.
The timing couldn't be better, in her opinion. Zeke had disappeared from the face of the earth, unless you believe the rumors going around and she hoped they weren't true. That had been over a month ago.
She hadn't thought about her mum much in all that time. It was by choice, honestly. Dora knew she was in good hands and between her, her dad burying himself in work and Harry, not to mention work, she had to get her priorities straight. It was that she didn't love her, there was simply nothing she could do.
Now Christmas was coming to them like the iceberg to the Titanic and quite frankly, Dora wasn't sure she'd survive it. She needed her family, all it.
"You think she'll be mad at me?" Harry asked from within the closet.
"Come on, Harry." Dora assured him. "She's probably more anxious about you than anything else."
Harry's response, if he ever gave one, Dora didn't heard it. He had this habit of placing the blame on himself, regardless of the problem.
The Great Fire of London?
The Great Depression?
You lost your keys?
Sun too bright?
Blame Harry Potter! Merlin knows he'll do it anyway.
"You think she'll be fine?" Harry continued.
"Of course she will." Dora replied. "She's on the best hospital there is. Gringotts can do anything if you have the money and trust me, Zeke has tons of it."
"Will he be there?"
"I don't know." Dora sighted to herself.
Zeke had banished. This wasn't the first time, although it was by far the longest one. Problem was people had started noticing too and the rumors had started circulating. Then the Minister's secretary had to open her mouth and started talking about all those 'congratulation's' Fudge had started receiving. One after the other, country after country, thanking him for his help dealing with x. It seemed the same words were used in each case, one might think they were using a model.
'We (insert name of the country here) graciously acknowledge and thank the assistance of Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, Elizabeth The Second with the help of the Ministry of Magic in dealing with (X)."
There were so many of them and in such a quick succession, even Fudge realized something wrong. otherwise the politician would've made sure page one to ten of the Daily Prophet were filled with copies of the letters before they started showering him with praise. And then there were those words. 'In dealing with'. One didn't have to be a genius to realize what they meant. Then Dora had the indescribable pleasure of running into Dolores "The Bitch" Umbridge. 'A happy coincidence' as she left the office one day, only to be questioned on Ezekiel's whereabouts. The only thing that had saved that bipedal toad from getting her teeth down her throat was the timely interruption of Madam Bones. Who then took Dora to her office to ask her the same thing. The only difference was the tense tone on her voice. Amelia Bones, Head of the Auror division was scared, as much as she wanted to hide it. Credit where it was due, she had been pretty good on her attempt. Had Dora not been a Metamorphmagus, her ears would've never get the way Bone's voice changed when she asked. Subtle, like a string slightly out of tune. If she used Occlumency, Dora couldn't tell.
Amelia Bones was that good.
Amelia Bones was that scared.
Dora couldn't tell her even if she wanted to. The rumors weren't helping either. Different stories in different countries, all ending the same way. Death. The beginning were different, she supposed people would get bored after a while if all the tales started the same. It was the endings which told her which story was true and which one wasn't. Not the death part, she had figured out a long time ago every time Ezekiel came back from one of his 'errands' someone or something had their ticket punched. The how, the method used to end their stay in this plane of existence, was the tell.
There was something about how people told Ezekiel's stories, despite them seemingly never realizing he was behind them. People at the office gathered around in a circle some times, like children telling scary stories around the campfire. There were crazy stories, there were werewolves stories. But what really scared them, the ones who broke down those little meetings, those were Ezekiel's. Oh, how they laughed, dismissing them as nothing more than products of a deranged imagination.
"Dora?" Harry's head peeked out of the closet, breaking her internal monologue.
"Sorry, Harry. I was checking the cover of an album." Dora lied. "No, I don't think he'll be here by then."
"Do you think he knows?" Harry asked.
"Nobody knew about it until Gringotts sent dad the owl." Dora replied. "It doesn't look like Ezekiel will get one too."
"Oh." Harry replied. "That's too bad, I'm sure Andi would like to see him."
"Yeah." Dora nodded in agreement. "But he'll come back eventually, he always does. Then they'll be able to talk all they want."
"You really think he'll come back?"
"Oh, yeah. Trust me, no matter where Zeke is, he's already planning a way to come back here. He loves London too much to be away for so long. Have you ever heard Iggy?" Dora asked changing the subject.
"Is he a wizard?" Harry asked confused.
"A wiz-?" Dora couldn't finish the sentence from the sheer disbelief. "Bloody Hell, come here Harry. I got loads to teach you."
Dora placed the stylus on the record as Harry exited the closet. The sound of drums filled the room and Dora quickly seized the opportunity to grab Harry by the hand and started dancing to the rhythm. Harry tried to follow but it became clear that he had the same grace as a duck on land. Further from discouraging him, Dora made him spin on his feet as a guitar began sounding. Both of them laughed as a young man began to sign.
Here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And the flesh machine...
China, Beijing.
Ezekiel looked around the patio, sitting in a stone seat. He was currently in the middle of an old building, a tea house if he understood correctly. The patio had no roof over it, which let warm sun and gentle wind pass trough. There were a two more tables and chairs around him, made of stone just as the ones he was currently sitting in but those were currently empty.
It had taken Ezekiel what seemed like forever, but he had finally got his hands in a new suit. He wasn't a fan of the Chinese style truth be told. It just wasn't for him. His body was better suited for the English style, or Italian in some cases. Still, better this than the blood soaked, bullet-thorn rags he had before. The sunglasses had self repaired themselves overnight. Goblins might be the most annoying species to buy anything from, but their quality was undeniable.
All in all, he had been in a rather cheerful mood. The fact he had some actual food in his stomach, warm for what it felt like the first time in ages and a hot bath also helped.
Yes, he had been rather happy. Right until this very moment. Ezekiel frowned as he lightly tapped his fingers on the warm stone. This continued even when the noise of cars screeching to a halt sounded outside. It continued as the sound of many steps reached him.
He watched with disinterest as a mob, and given their attire the word suited them in more than one way, of men surrounded his. The people around him were all dressed in fine clothes but it was clear those using them didn't treat them with much care, or any at all. Probably because they had spares in spades.
"«You.»" One of the men said in Mandarin pointing at Ezekiel. "«You'll come with us.»"
The man fumed as Ezekiel ignored him, more interested in this new rhythm he had found. He looked around, the rest of the group taking out their wands before moving towards Ezekiel. His fingers were inches away from him when Ezekiel spoke.
"«Touch me and I'll rip your head off.»" Ezekiel said I Mandarin without taking his eyes off the table.
"«You can't do anything to me, stranger.»" The man replied. "«My Master demands your presence. He rules this city, the fact that you're breathing right now is proof of his mercy. Don't test his limits by disrespecting him.»"
"«Your Master was told to meet me here.»" Ezekiel replied matter-of-factly. "«Did he not receive my messages? Or perhaps I should drop the subtlety and drag him out of whatever glorified hole he's in?»"
"«Don't let your arrogance fool you, stranger.» The man harshly replied. "«Our Master has risen to heights of which the likes of you could never dream of. He stands on a stage far beyond humanity.»"
Ezekiel finally lifted his eyes from his eyes and studied the man's face with interest. He didn't utter a word, his silence only broken a few moments later with laughter as he slapped his forehead, as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"«That's right!»" He said laughing. "«You measure yourself in stages. My apologies, for a moment I seemed to remember it as layers instead. No, wait, wasn't it layers and stages?»"
"«You dare to insult our ancestral methods?» The man angrily asked.
"«Far from it, my friend.»" Ezekiel replied waving his hand. "«Just a small faux pax of my part. I've came with no I'll will, quite the contrary. I bring quite the opportunity for your Master.»"
"«I will never lower myself to do a deal with a criminal such as yourself, Black.»" An elderly voice sounded behind Ezekiel.
Turning around, Ezekiel found a decrepit old man walking slowly towards him. The mob parted as the elder made his way towards them.
"«Master Gao.»" Ezekiel asked raising from his chair and giving him a traditional salute. "«I hoped to meet you, we have much to discuss you and I.»"
"«There won't be any discussions, Black. No honored man will ever do business the one who has dishonored him the most.»" The elder said.
"God-fucking-dammit." Ezekiel muttered in English before switching back to Mandarin. "«Master Gao, I beg for your indulgence. What offence has the House of Black committed against your family?»"
"«The reason?.»" The elder replied seething. "«The criminal asks for the reason he is judged for.»"
"«Excuse me?»" Ezekiel asked tilting his head in confusion. "«I'm not aware of any insult committed against you or your family. If anything, I should be the one to claim insult for the treatment I've received and which cause has yet to be explained."»"
"«You still feign ignorance, after what you did?»" The elder asked, all pretense of civility forgotten.
"«What I've done?»" Ezekiel replied, confused and somewhat interested. After a lifetime of burdening the sins of his family, being hated by something he did was a fresh breath of air.
"«You killed my son!»" The elder accused him, pointing his wand at him. "«My firstborn, my heir! The last member of my family, dead because of you!"
While the elder ranted, Ezekiel noticed two things.
One, the only man who had spoken to him prior the elder's arrival had looked away when the elder spoke of his dead son being the 'last' of the main family. Interesting.
Two, and he really should've paid attention to this one, was the fact that no other people were in the building. And from those who were, only the old man and and the one who had confronted him had said a word.
The rest of the mob remained still, standing straight on the very same spot. A quick glance around showed they all shared the same glassy eyes, some of them hidden behind a small parchment with a symbol he couldn't understand. Zombies, he was surrounded by swarm of Chinese zombies. That was a first.
"«Are you sure I'm the one you're after?»" Ezekiel asked. "«I don't recall ever meeting him.»"
"«You murdered him in Romania.»" The young man replied.
"«Romania, Romania... Romania? Ah, yes. I remember now.»" Ezekiel nodded to himself. "«Don't suppose you'll be willing to let bygones be bygones, given what he was up to?»"
"«I don't care what he was doing, he was my son. You had no right to take him from me.»" The elder replied.
"«Right, this isn't going anywhere. You.»" Ezekiel addressed the young man, the only living being in the room. "«Why did you look away when he spoke about that son of his?»"
"«Don't bother with my servant, his loyalty is unbreakable.»" The elder boasted.
"«What are you? Illegitimate son, adopted, a member of the lower family?" Ezekiel began counting. "I'm going with illegitimate child, did I get it right?»" Ezekiel continued, the man looked at him seething with rage. And a bit of shame. "«I came here to propose a business, a small job on the side. Great profit, very small risk. I also came to make sure this family walked the line given by the British government until Hong Kong is back on Chinese hands. If they don't, I'll just kill everyone and call it a day. Now, given the circumstances, would you be able to inherit the main position?»"
"«NEVER!»" The elder raged.
"«Impressive.»" Ezekiel said looking around at the still stoic corpses. "«I take it you are the one controlling all this. That's good, I like working with competent people.»"
"«THAT RUNT WILL NEVER BE THE HEAD OF THIS FA-!»" The elder didn't managed to finish his rant, clutching his chest before collapsing on the floor.
"«Sorry about that.»" Ezekiel said smiling. "«I just can't stand rudeness. So, my friend. About my offer..."
The man examined Ezekiel from top to bottom. He noticed a silver ring on his right hand which wasn't there before and swiftly vanished before his eyes. He also noticed the ashen tone his skin had taken, now resuming its normal pale estate. His eyes then dashed towards the corpse lying a few feet away from them and back to the stranger. The young man nodded.
"«Wonderful!»" Ezekiel grinned. "«But I can't just call you 'friend' can I? What is your name my fellow Lord?"
"«Jun.»" The man replied.
"«Jun... no last name?»" Ezekiel looked as Jun pointed at the corpse. "«No problem. I heard from a very reliable source 'Gao' has become available.»"
"«The branch family won't allow it.»" Jun said. "«My mother didn't have the power. They'll claim I don't have the rights to claim the seat as Head. They'll send their men after me.»"
"«Don't bother with such menial details, Jun.»" Ezekiel replied placing one arm over Jun's shoulders and walking him towards the exit. "«After all, what are friends for?»"
Gringotts.
This was weird, Andromeda thought. She hadn't taken a single meal nor a drop of water in what seemed to be ages. And yet, she was fine. Yes, fine seemed to be the right word for how she felt. Which was almost surreal given the circumstances.
She had lost consciousness well before entering what he now believed to be a sarcophagus of some sort. The only source of light was the dim glow of the liquid in which she was suspended. Bright enough for her to see the stone lid which covered her and yet not too bright to stop her from sleeping. That didn't mean she couldn't move, in fact she had plenty of space to move her body. She could make angel figures if she wanted to.
This was so bizarre. No food, no water. No clock. No bowel movements. And yet, everything was fine. It would be unnerving in any other circumstances. The liquid must had some really good calming qualities because her heartbeat hadn't risen once. Not that she wasn't concerned, those she had plenty.
Ted, the look on his face as he promised to help their children. How unfair it was, Andromeda knew, for Ted to be dragged into yet another mess. Her husband was smart, compassionate, warm, kind and just enough of a bastard to make him interesting. He could be sneaky, he could be 'cold' as much as anyone with a conscience could be. And above all, he respected the law. He believed in it. It was an endearing quality for her, coming from a family that made a point to break as many as possible as a form of entertainment. But in that family she also learned to discern those who'd survive a conflict from those who wouldn't. She had little doubt to which category Ted belonged to.
Nymphadora would be far trickier. Her daughter's strength was also a major weakness. She was a woman of strong convictions just like her father. She was powerful and delicate. Strong and soft. Gracious and clumsy. And above all, she carried her heart on her sleeve. Andromeda's mother would've hated her. She adored her. But for all her abilities, she had but one flaw. Nymphadora's abilities were directly tied to her emotions, more so than other wizards. If what happened with Ezekiel proved something, it was how deadly it could be for her if the situation became more than she could handle. Not that it concerned Andromeda that much, Dora wouldn't have made it trough the Auror training if she wasn't capable of dealing with rough situations. But that was when she could detach herself from the situation. Andromeda anguished, shortly thanks to the chamber's liquid, about how she might be dealing with all which had transpired.
Ezekiel was the opposite. He didn't need others for his survival. No, Ezekiel needed others so he wouldn't become Orion. Andromeda had caught glimpses of who Ezekiel was before the madness that was The Ancient and Most Noble House Of Black twisted him. He was kind and gentle soul, just like her Ted. Unlike herself, Andromeda truly believed Ezekiel had been born Light. The way he healed himself or others despite his now Dark nature seemed to prove it. Orion's mouth must've watered at the though of corrupting such an innocent soul. It had taken years of nurturing for his better nature to flourish, even if it was a fraction of what it should've been. Still, Orion's mark could be seen in his Heir. Andromeda was aware of the extreme restraint Ezekiel conducted himself around their family, just as Orion did. It all came down to how much he valued the people around him. If they were dear to him, Ezekiel would be as polite, helpful, understanding and loyal as humanly possible. If they were somewhat useful to him, he'd be civil. If they were none of those things then, in Ezekiel's mind, they'd be nothing and thus he'd have carte blanche to do anything he deemed fit to get the desired result. This accommodated a wide range of behavior far larger than anyone could fathom. Since Orion had inculcated such beliefs with such passion on him, the results were...disturbing to say the least.
And Harry? He'd probably be blaming himself for all that'd happened. Andromeda already had played plenty of scenarios in her mind and what to say depending on how Harry was.
Andromeda's inner monologue was suddenly interrupted by a cracking noise above her. She arched an eyebrow, halfway between confused and intrigued, as the lid slowly began to rise. She had to close her eyes as new bright light entered her sarcophagus as she had called it. Eventually she opened her eyes as she slowly adjusted to the new brightness. Andromeda tensed up as she felt a hand on her cheek but her surprise disappeared as she felt the familiar touch. Opening her eyes slowly, she was greeted by Ted's concerned face.
"Hey, you."
I don't own Harry Potter, all characters except OC belong to J. K. Rowling.