In no way am I connected to Harry Potter.
Home.
Potter Manor felt different than it did at Christmas. It had been comfortable before and had a warmth that Privet Drive had never had but now it felt like something had been missing back then.
Privet Drive…Maybe it's the knowledge that I am never going back there again. That this home is permenant…
Harry shook himself back to the present. It was only the second day of the summer holidays, but Harry had already decided to get his homework out of the way so he could enjoy the rest of the time without the worry.
He had yet to hear from Ron or Hermione. The Quidditch Final may or may not be the plan, though if they didn't hear soon, Hermione would leave for her holiday in Europe. Harry had never left Britain and so he didn't know the sort of preparations that were needed, but Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia planned them months or even years in advance.
Harry and Sirius had planned to visit the Potter properties this summer. Those plans were sitting in the living room at the moment. That was currently Harry's personal incentive to finish his homework.
Though some subjects are just generally fun to study.
Harry frowned. At what point had magic stopped being fun? He had only started to enjoy Potions this year (thanks Snape) but where had his excitement for other subjects gone? He was so excited to learn he was a wizard and couldn't wait to learn magic when he was eleven. At some point, he had started treating Hogwarts as if it was Stonewall.
Maybe that's not what happened. Maybe the innocent wonder was dampened.
His mind was drifting again. He closed his eyes, breathing in on one second and breathing out on the next. Harry did not count his breaths or the seconds. The point was to calm and clear his mind.
It still irritated Harry he was not very far into the training for Occlumency. However, this had started as a way to control his accidental magic and that had worked. He hadn't had an incident since Snape's first Potions class last year.
In.
Out.
Harry opened his eyes. He glanced down at the Arithmancy homework. He immediately saw the problem with his calculations: he was reading a five as a six.
After once again grumbling about quills, Harry muttered "Evanesco," taking care to focus on the ink of his incorrect maths. The offending maths disappeared, leaving his correct figures. "Reparo." Ink seeping into the parchment did do damage and Harry wanted to write over it.
Ever since he had found this use for the Vanishing Charm, Harry had reduced the amount of parchment he wasted immensely. It was a spell that Professor Flitwick had initially taught him as an attempt to drain his excess magic down, so Harry had needed to find things to practice it on. It was watching Percy Vanish his empty ink pot sitting on the desk that gave Harry the idea. The Mending Charm afterwards was learned as necessary from experience.
Harry did assume that contracts had safeguards to ensure that lines couldn't be removed this way. It might be why Gringotts were heavily involved in drawing up or negotiating contracts, despite their high fees on that particular service. Most people did seem to think the goblins knew best on whether contracts existed.
Half an hour later, Arithmancy was done. Harry checked his watch, thought about what time he got up and decided he wanted lunch.
Harry had only entered the kitchen when Jinxy appeared.
"Master Harry ready for lunch?"
"Thanks Jinxy. Surprise me."
Jinxy had a wide smile before she disappeared through whatever method house elves used.
Harry still wasn't sure what to make of house elves. Dobby had been horribly treated and was completely a slave. Jinxy and the other Potter house elves loved their family, had no injuries that Harry could see and were dressed respectively. Dobby had been miserable; the Potter elves were happy.
Was it just Dobby's treatment that made him unhappy or were all house elves like that but didn't show their masters?
They had certainly seemed happy to see me but was that how they really felt?
Harry pushed it out of his mind. He would probably never know. He would never mistreat them and he would never know the truth of the matter.
Did Mum have a problem with them?
That made him pause for a moment.
A dish with some wraps on it appeared on the table. Jinxy bowed and again vanished.
Harry sat down and considered. Deciding he wanted a surprise, he took a bite. He couldn't name everything that was in it, but there was definitely salmon and salad. He liked it a lot.
I know Mum liked fish. I don't know much else. Who would know?
Snape was right out. If he never saw him again, it was too soon.
But who else was there? All the names Sirius had given had disappeared during the war. He wasn't sure if they died or if they fled. He did not fault them in the slightest if it were the latter.
Though that then begs the question of whether or not they even want to be contacted by anyone from the Wizarding World.
Harry put it out of his mind. He was getting good at that.
After he had finished, the plate had disappeared.
It was still weird not having to do the chores. He had asked Jinxy once and she had stated in rather simple terms that it was her duty and pleasure to do the chores and Harry need not worry. Sirius had later stated that, according to James, Lily had asked Jinxy something similar and the elf had been scandalised at the thought.
He returned to his homework. This time, it was Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Sirius had told Harry that Lupin's contract at Hogwarts had been for a year and had not been renewed. He had no more information than that or so he said. Harry hadn't pressed further and Sirius had then disappeared for an hour. Again, Harry had not pressed where he had gone.
Harry had his secrets. Sirius was allowed his.
This particular homework wasn't difficult. It was a questionnaire of the topics covered during the previous year and how well he thought he understood them. This year had been a good year.
Lupin was a great teacher. Terrible friend but great teacher.
Harry had just finished his DADA homework when Hedwig flew into his room. She settled on the end of his desk and chirped to him. She held out her leg.
"Thanks girl."
She took off back through the window. Harry knew there was a tree outside she was fond of sleeping in. It was easy to forget at times she was normally nocturnal.
'Potter,
Your bird is clever. It managed to get into my current place without getting Stunned. Impressive. I still say that she is too easily recognised. No protection on it either.
Do you still want another training session?
Meet me in where Black made his first arrest.
Moody'
Harry smiled. He did wonder sometimes about Hedwig.
Well. I know I can do better than I did last time. I am absolutely up for a rematch. This time will be different. This time, we know what we're doing.
This time, Harry and Sirius would have a plan.
Right, how long do we have to…Where's the time? Moody hasn't put in a time.
Strange. Was that another point Moody wanted to make?
Harry would talk to Sirius about it later. He put the letter to the side and focused on his next piece of homework. He didn't fancy anymore Hogwarts homework, so he focused on something else: Potions.
Mrs Tonks had set him and Neville something a little different than normal. Normally, he needed to know what ingredients were needed, become familiar with the recipe itself and consider what issues could arise. This time however, she wanted them to look into the history of Pepper Up, Wiggenweld and Blood Replenisher.
While Harry had brewed all these potions before under Mrs Tonks' supervision, he had yet to brew Blood Replenisher alone. It was currently missing from the potions he kept in his trunk for emergencies.
This was history Harry quite liked studying. Some of the sources provided by Mrs Tonks were more of case studies expected to be found in medical literature. One incident in particular surprised him: a record of a student that took both Wiggenweld and Pepper Up during their OWLs and nearly died as a result of an overdose of flobberworms mucus.
And here I thought flobberworms were completely harmless. Why would you mix these two potions?
There were a lot of different cases about other potions in the books. Harry's attention drifted quite far from the three potions assigned after he had written his initial notes for the essay.
Three hours later, Jinxy popped in.
"Master Harry, dinner is ready."
"What?" Harry looked up. "Oh. Thanks, Jinxy."
Jinxy bowed and disappeared.
Wit-Sharpening potion. Interesting but not important.
"Tempus." Half seven. That was rather late for dinner. They normally had it nearer to six.
Sirius was already in the dining room when Harry arrived. Now he thought about it, Harry had no idea what he had been doing all day.
"Hey Sirius."
"Hey Harry. How's the homework going?"
"Slowly. Why do we have so many subjects at Hogwarts?"
Sirius chuckled. "You wouldn't be complaining if you didn't have homework."
Harry considered that. "No. I wouldn't. Fair point."
It was a full roast dinner today. Jinxy often cooked that on Sundays. That was the danger of the holidays; it was very easy to lose track of the days.
"Moody sent me a letter today. He's offering another lesson."
Sirius nodded. "Sent one to me too. He gave me a time. Did he give you a place?"
"Yeah. Where you made your first arrest?"
Sirius frowned. "I'll…get back to you on that. It'll come to me. What time was it when you first met Moody?"
Harry groaned. He had first met Moody in Diagon Alley in Fortescue's. What time had that been?
"It was a few days before Christmas…" Harry remembered that. He had been having little luck Christmas shopping. "It was…It was in the afternoon." Harry stabbed a potato a little too fiercely. "Does Moody honestly expect me to remember that?"
"Not exactly," Sirius replied. He wasn't annoyed. "He will grade us on how close we get though."
Harry groaned. "Great." He picked his way through the cabbage to find another slice of beef. "We need a plan against Moody."
"Agreed." Sirius thought for a moment. "But most likely, he's picked a place that he can manipulate just like last time."
Harry considered this. "Would it be a place we could destroy whatever he does?"
"Possibly. He picked the 3rd. We have time."
3rd. The Quidditch Finals were on the 5th August, if the Weasleys got tickets. As much as Harry enjoyed Quidditch, he didn't want to go without them. He loved flying far more than watching.
"Though, with Moody, we can't rely on a plan. He would expect us to plan. It's how we adapt to it after."
"So, we need to be unpredictable."
"We need to be more than unpredictable. We need to be quick to react and think fast."
It occurred to Harry then that Sirius had almost no hope of them actually defeating Moody. After a thought, he agreed it was remarkably unlikely but Harry was certainly going to try.
For a few minutes, both Harry and Sirius focused on their meal. There was nothing more to say about the Moody subject; they would plan later.
Hmm…Beef cooked to perfection. Is that mint in the gravy? There's a ting of butter in the cabbage, I think. And the Yorkshire puddings…I think that's my new favourite. Crunchy on the sides and top but nice and soft inside.
Maybe I should become a food critique in my spare time…
Given that muggles had all sorts of jobs and hobbies, Harry wouldn't be surprised if critiquing food was a genuine job. It probably didn't pay well in terms of money, but as long as Harry was careful with the investments, he would never have to work anyway. It would pay remarkably well in food though.
Harry was smiling as he put his knife and fork down.
Sirius was only a few moments behind him. Both the empty dishes then disappeared.
"Do you want to look at the houses now or another time?" Sirius asked.
"Now." Harry was done with work for the day. "Where do we start?"
There were a lot of files.
"I was thinking with the Potter properties in Britain. The market's good at the moment, especially for…ones that need doing up."
Harry felt a pang at that. His parents…
"Yeah." A thought struck him. "Do wizards sell to muggles? I mean, when the house can be sold to muggles."
Sirius seemed to understand what he meant. "I know that Gringotts does if that is the highest offer. The Blacks never would. I don't know about the Potters, but probably. I remember James had a great flat in London he used during Auror training."
"Dad? Not Mum?"
"Well, she knew about it but it was mainly used when they wanted a fun night out, together or otherwise. James often used it when he forgot to make potions for a hangover." Sirius smiled. "Your mother swore me to secrecy from your father when she met up with some old friends from Hogwarts that night."
Harry shifted a little. Dad had jumped into the war almost immediately after graduating Hogwarts. Nights out like that must have been rare.
"Did Dad ever find out?"
"Not from me," Sirius near sang. "But I don't think so. Even if he was smart enough not to mention it to Lily if he knew, I think he would have mentioned it to me."
Harry was old enough to know what his parents might have been up to and that he did not want details. Even if they were only on a night out with other friends and not each other.
"Right. So, shall we take a look?"
The pair headed into the living room. Harry claimed the sofa while Sirius made himself comfortable in the armchair. They often gravitated to these spots when they were relaxing in here.
Sirius and Harry took a pile each.
For some reason, a Potter ancestor had initially separated their assets across the countries, then the north/south divide and that had become a family tradition. For Harry, who only had a muggle primary school education in this area, a few problems quickly became apparent.
I suspect that British geography is taught to every Potter when they are young. What the heck are the Midlands? How do you even pronounce that name? That's not a name; that's…That is a prank.
Sirius had clearly anticipated part of this problem. He had now spread a map of Britain across the coffee table, facing Harry. He did not make any comment on its necessity.
Okay, what's the story behind this prank? Why would the goblins go along with this in their official documents?
This…isn't Dad's name on the deed.
"Sirius? How do you say this?"
Sirius did not even look up from his reading.
"Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch."
What.
"What."
"Llanfairpwll is acceptable for short."
"That…" Harry couldn't help but laugh. "That's never a place."
Sirius looked at Harry then. "It's a village in Wales. Lovely place, if a little small. There's not much there. Do the Potters still own it? I would have thought it would have been sold."
"No, according to this, it's being rented." Harry offered the parchment with the connected transactions.
Sirius checked it. "Looking at the values and dates, I think this is for tourists."
"The note says there's a high conversion rate…?"
"When the goblins include that, they mean that the rent would normally be collected in pounds and were converted to galleons for your vault for the exchange rate on the date."
Harry nodded. "Okay." He hesitated, then continued. "Granddad's name is on it. Um…Why? I would have thought…"
"…You would have thought it was James." The humour was gone.
"Well, yes. It seems like his sort of thing."
"James was a prankster Harry, but not when it came to his heritage. He was big on family honour. That…was a big thing he shared with his father."
"So…"
It was a money maker. Not a big money maker, often only made double digits of pounds and not the high profit of most of the other investments. If it was never going to generate much profit and the fact it was still standing suggested that his parents didn't frequent there, then why have it?
Sirius put down the parchment he had been looking through. "It was the name that initially attracted Charlus' attention. I don't know where he first heard it. He visited the village and spent a few days there. He bought that property when he came back. For the market at the time, he deliberately overpaid."
Harry leaned back in the sofa. He hadn't been expecting a story but he was never going to turn it down.
"James was sixteen when Charlus gave it to him initially. He told him that location was important when looking for a home and not everything could be read through figures and gossip. The initial plan was for James to stay there for a few weeks that summer and focus on being a man."
Harry blinked.
"The plan was that James would pretend he was moving there and focus on what was needed as if he were not the Potter Heir. Where would the food come from without house elves? If he had a family, what was good about the area and what might not be suitable for him? Where would it be safe for children to play and which areas were to be avoided?"
"…Was that normal? I mean, pretending not to be the Potter Heir or…" Harry made a vague gesture. "You know."
Sirius did smile for a moment. "Self-sufficiency, absolutely. Family was there when needed but every Potter would need to be able to stand on their power. Every Potter needed to be wise to the world, even if they were self-entitled or arrogant." The smile faded. "Dorea pushed for this. She was worried that the Marauders always being together might have made James too dependent on others."
That…was not something Harry wished to dwell on. The four Marauders had been friends at school, something happened with Pettigrew that caused him to betray his parents and Sirius later. He would not think any more on that.
"So…what happened? You said 'the plan was'…Sixteen. So it would be the summer after your Sixth Year. So…"
"…I ran away from my parents. They took me in. James never went anywhere that summer. He never went to that house." Sirius shook his head. "It's how I remember the name so well. It took a while for me and James to be able to say it."
Harry could read between the lines. He knew not to press.
The silence began to drag.
Harry turned his attention back to the documents.
The Potters had properties all over Britain. Although, now Harry looked, it seemed most of the ones in England had been attacked. Many of the ones in Wales and Scotland had survived.
I guess Voldemort didn't know about those. Many of them are in places not in a tourist pamphlet. In fact, a lot of them are quite far from even motorways. They would not be easy to find.
Though how did Voldemort find out about the ones he did?
"A lot of the ones left have people living in them."
"Yeah, I noticed that. I don't think that was the case before. Looking at the dates, Gringotts were responsible for that." Sirius put his parchment down and started flicking through the pile. "Not exactly unheard of but there must be…Here."
Rather than look at it himself, Sirius offered the parchment to Harry.
Harry took it, took a breath and had a look.
"Okay…What have we got here…?"
The words weren't too technical. It did take Harry a moment at times for him to remember what Mrs Tonks had taught him about contracts, wording and clauses. Gringotts often set out their contracts in the same way across all clients, but that wouldn't be too much help at the moment.
Honestly, all the Gringotts contracts I have seen so far have not been too difficult to understand as far as legalese goes…So this one…
Harry started with the signature. A Potter must have signed off on this at some point.
"Henry Potter…"
"That would be your great-grandfather. Charlus' father."
"Yeah." There were a few Henry Potters, but the date was definitely for his great-grandfather. This meant this contract was long-term and the goblins would abide by it automatically. "Err…Here. It looks like…If a property is on a certain list for seven years and not removed, it should be rented out 'in a manner appropriate to the location'. Meaning…Meaning…"
Sirius didn't contribute. He was waiting for Harry to work it out.
"Meaning, if it was a muggle area, they would go to muggles before magicals. And this list…is just properties that the Potters own but aren't using."
"Back in the day, old families had loads of members. Even if there was one Lord or Lady Potter, there could have been twenty or more magical Potters. These days, there aren't so many."
"Voldemort?"
"He was a big problem, but some families were dying out before that."
Harry frowned. "Why?"
"That's not known. What is noticed but not commented on is that families are a lot smaller. Most pureblood families used to go for two boys and a girl. Not so much anymore."
That…is true for Hogwarts at the moment, isn't it? Except for the Weasleys. Seven kids there. I think the others do have one or two kids.
Come to think of it…
"What happens to the magic that is considered 'family magic'? The books that can only be read by someone with that blood?"
"Thought to be lost forever. Lily wondered if muggleborns counted if they had that family blood in them somewhere. At the time, I didn't care about it so I don't know her actual theories. I do know Dorea was interested in the idea."
There were some books that only a Potter could read in the library here. Harry had yet to look at any of them. Sirius had confirmed that he had a Black library in a property in London with their family books.
We've drifted.
Harry put the contract down. He understood now that if rent was being collected, then the Potters hadn't been there for years. They would leave those for now. People just moved on with their lives; it meant nothing to those who were living there.
Which left the properties that were damaged. Only four were empty and undamaged.
Well, we have got a summer ahead of us.
'Harry
DAD GOT THE TICKETS
Mum's offered you to come to the Burrow the night before so we can all go together.
5 August, Harry. 5 days after your birthday. Don't forget.
See you then.
Ron'
'Ron
That's fantastic news! I will definitely be there. I'll ask Sirius to Apparate me over the day before. Talk about that later in the holidays.
I've told Erol to head back to the Burrow. I'll send Hedwig to Hermione. She's faster.
Looking forward to it.
Harry'
'Dear Hermione,
How's your summer going? Still planning to go to Europe?
Ron's got tickets for the Quidditch Finals on 5 August. I'm heading over to the Burrow the night before. Are you going to be here for it?
See you later, at school or before
Harry'
'Dear Harry,
Thank you for your letter and sending Hedwig. I didn't have time to go to Diagon Alley and hire an owl. I am leaving for Italy tomorrow and be back on the 25th July.
As such, I am going to be here for the Quidditch Finals. I will talk to my parents on how to get there, but I promise I will be there. It will be a fun time.
I look forward to seeing you then. Enjoy your summer with Sirius.
Take care,
Hermione'
This had not been an easy morning.
Sirius normally allowed the Conjured glass animals free reign of the house except for the study. They had yet to damage themselves or anything else. However, he suspected they would be very distracting, so he was trying to shut them in his bedroom.
For some reason, the stag and the impala were the pair causing problems. Sirius knew they were nimble, but they weren't normally this stealthy.
After the third failed attempt, Sirius chose to leave it. The magpie and dog were shut in and they were the most disruptive. The stag and impala had yet to get in the way.
Sirius had gotten Harry an Invisibility Ink and Revealer set for Harry to unwrap. His proper birthday present was not something that wrapping paper could be put around.
Harry had received quite a haul of birthday presents. Even Hedwig had contributed by heading to Hermione's of her own violation.
It did bring Sirius a great amount of relief and joy; Harry had friends and said friendship had survived secret-keeping and jealousy. It had to turn out better than the Marauders.
It has to.
There was nothing to worry about.
It was Harry's birthday. This was not the day to be worried about that.
Harry had decided against a party. This was the first time in his life this was an option, but he had not offered the idea. Maybe it genuinely didn't occur to him. Sirius should have offered. Next year definitely.
Harry spent much of the morning on his Firebolt. His flight pattern was based less on speed and more on aerobatics. There was no reason to use those stunts during a Quidditch match so he could only practice them away from the Pitch.
Sirius had offered to go somewhere for his birthday, but there was the problem in that they went to these places whenever they fancied. The last time they went to a muggle amusement park was earlier in July. They had spent quite a bit of the month at muggle attractions.
It has certainly been an…educational month. How the hell did muggles manage all that without magic?
Sirius would never look at muggles the same way again.
He remembered Lily telling him about muggles, but he had not truly believed her. Visiting these places with Harry…
Harry had had fun. Nothing else mattered there.
Many of the places they had visited had been near the Potter properties they were checking on. Of the four they visited, only one had been salvageable. As it was in a muggle area, Harry had wanted to hire muggles in order to fix it up. That contract was still being negotiated, with Sirius overseeing Harry's part and adding his name as Harry was not old enough in either world to be the only name on a contract.
Harry had yet to decide what to do with the three that couldn't be restored.
He seemed very carefree at the moment. Far more than Sirius would be if he kept watching the reckless stunts Harry was pulling on that broom.
British Museum Tube station. That was where my first arrest was. 26 November 1979. A fight between some drunk muggleborns and half-bloods.
Moody's going to be a nightmare. Although, I remember it being quite crowded that day, with muggles too. It's certainly worth looking at the place before we go for our training session.
The stag remained in the living room with Sirius for most of the day. The impala disappeared from his view. It was probably keeping an eye on Harry. Sirius just hoped the dog and magpie didn't break anything in the bedroom due to being locked up.
Harry missed lunch altogether. He came in at five with a huge grin.
Jinxy popped in. "Would Master Harry like dinner now?"
"Yes please Jinxy."
Jinxy popped out.
"And what does the birthday boy want?"
"Don't know. Jinxy tends to know better than me."
House elves were good at that. It was the main reason Sirius had thought cooking was not for him, other than the habit.
Harry did not need prompting to get cleaned up.
Sirius chose to wait at the dining table. Harry hadn't gone into the shower, so he wouldn't be long. He was only upstairs a few minutes; barely enough to wash up and change.
Harry had barely settled at the table before the meal arrived. Sirius didn't recognise it; Jinxy must be trying something new. It had pasta, but the base wasn't exactly a sauce, but mince and spinach. There wasn't any tomato in the dish at all.
Harry's face lit up even more when he tried it. "Thanks Jinxy."
Jinxy wasn't visible, but that didn't mean anything. House elves were very good at staying invisible.
"At some point, I'm going to ask her for her recipes."
"Good luck with that. She may not have kept records." Sirius doubted Harry would get too far. These were not the same things Sirius was served by the Potter House Elves when he was a teenager, but then he and James had liked different things.
This often resulted in recipes getting altered a lot in a short amount of time.
"I can ask for the basic steps, at least."
"True." Like what mince this was and what the sauce was before seasoning was added. "Thinking about becoming a cook?" Certainly not what the Potter Heir should be doing, but it was his life.
"Maybe. Why not?"
"Nothing wrong with that. I just thought you had done enough chores." Sirius wasn't going to pry any further. If Harry still enjoying cooking even after his experience with the Dursleys, then it was something he really loved and Sirius would absolutely support him continuing that.
Harry shrugged. "Might be more enjoyable when I'm allowed to eat it. I'm definitely asking Hermione if it's a thing in the muggle world to test restaurants."
Possibly. Who knows? I never would have thought they were capable of the things I've seen recently. Maybe they have jobs like that.
"You've got the money to do what you want. If you take care of your investments, you don't need a proper job." Sirius considered for a moment. "It would be one way to occupy your time after you graduate."
Harry thought about that and sniggered. "Harry Potter. Boy Who Lived. Food Eater."
Sirius grinned as well. "Celebrities can be eccentric."
Harry stuck his tongue out at him.
Sirius pretended not to see it. He stood up. "Come along, godson. I have one more present for you."
"Huh?"
Again, Sirius ignored him. He headed into the living room and waved his wand, moving the furniture against the walls. He left the rug on top of the carpet; that would make them more comfortable. Sirius sat down on one edge of the rug and waited for Harry to appear.
He only had to wait three seconds.
Harry gave him a confused look, but he did mirror Sirius' position. "Okay, Sirius. What's going on?"
"How would you like to become an Animagus?"
"…Really?"
"If you'd like. It's a branch of magic I think you will grasp well. Which animal you are…We can think about it."
"Cool…Where do I start? Meditation right?"
Sirius carefully kept his body still. "There are two ways to become an Animagus. There's the 'normal' way that the books will tell you and then there is the way we used." He stopped there, waiting for the obvious response.
Harry obliged. "You mean, the way you and Dad did it…wasn't the way it was supposed to be done?"
"No. While we could find books in the Hogwarts library about Animagus transformations, they did not exactly have the instructions." For a good reason, to be fair. Kids and idle hands and all that. "So, we looked outside the Hogwarts library. James looked in the Potter library and found some answers in a book that has since been banned by the Ministry. As it wasn't a Potter family book, we could all read it and try."
Sirius stopped for a moment, waiting to see Harry's response.
Harry shifted impatiently, but he didn't say anything. He waited without question for Sirius to continue, no matter how much he didn't like it.
"I did see it in the Black library when I returned there when I researching blood wards."
There was definitely a scowl there but it was gone in a second. Harry really didn't like to be kept waiting.
There was also the fact that Harry had read James' journal when he was learning to become an Animagus. It certainly attested to Harry's patience and restraint.
"The biggest difficulty in learning this method is that you need to understand the 'feel' of your magic. Has Flitwick mentioned anything about that?"
Harry thought. "Not Flitwick." He raised his left hand. "This though…Did you know the bracelet would help channel my magic?"
So it did work. "It's a very old method and not one that has worked well recently, so it's fallen out of practice." Harry's look was curious. "A bit of a mix of gemstone finding problems and then compatibility problems. And this was before they began to fully take off in the muggle market. It's seen as a waste of time and energy now. Most witches and wizards feel that about the Animagus transformation as well."
Harry nodded. "Well, I suppose it depends on what animal you can become."
"Exactly. And it is at least a month of constant discipline and a fair bit of luck using the well-known method before you can even find out. Unless there is a strong reason, it's not worth the effort. Like playing chaperone to a werewolf."
"I…don't have a reason like that. I just want to."
Sirius decided not to question that. Whatever the reason was, it was Harry's business.
"However, this can go horribly wrong. People have been stuck halfway; some people have died as a result. Being stuck with paws or wings is one thing. Things like cold-bloodedness and gills is something you won't recover from."
Harry seemed to relax as Sirius got back on topic. "Which is why you studied the animals."
"We got lucky. When we finally managed to see our animal forms in our souls, we only saw silhouettes. We didn't keep trying to get more information. James was a deer or antelope of some kind. I was a canine of some kind…Pettigrew was a mouse, rat or something similar. All warm-blooded. All mammals. If something went wrong, we had time to correct it or get to the Hospital Wing. A simple Finite doesn't cut it. We learned that the hard way."
"…What do you think my form will be? Something like Dad? Or Mum, like my Patronus?" His voice was carefully neutral. "Or maybe…The magpie?"
In Sirius' mind, the magpie was the most likely of those. Harry had allowed his magic to guide him then.
"The Patronus is tricky. While a lot of the known Animagi have a similar Patronus and animal form, there are enough in history to make that…uncertain. I'll admit we didn't look much, but we did look."
"So probably the magpie."
"Maybe." Sirius paused here, carefully considering how he wanted to say the next part. "We…Me and James at least…We wanted something somewhat big. We were going to be keeping a werewolf company. Pettigrew didn't have those thoughts. He was too afraid he wouldn't be able to do it. That might have something to do with why I am such a big dog and James was a stag while Pettigrew was something small. You don't have a reason, so that won't influence your decision."
"Hmm…I like to fly. Dad wouldn't really have been able to be a bird. The biggest ones don't fly."
Sirius laughed.
Oh, the things I would have said to James…
"So. As you feel for your magic, try to keep an open mind. The magpie may have been you at Christmas. It's been a while since Christmas. A different animal might suit you more now."
It had only been about half a year, but Harry had changed a lot in that time. While Sirius was happy with his dog form, he was now beginning to wonder what he would be now.
"Don't try to use your magic when you look for your form. You don't want to accidentally transform anything."
Harry smiled. He closed his eyes. His right hand moved to rest on his left wrist. His breathing deepened and his body stilled except for his slightly moving chest.
Sirius struggled the most with this part: actually finding his animal form within him. There was no simple trick; no guidance he could give Harry. Harry had to 'feel' it himself. James had found it quickly. Sirius had needed a lot of time.
Transforming into it was easier. Maybe it was because there was then an end goal.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus." This was part of the well-known method: incant that every day. Pettigrew had done it anyway. James did after a while; helped Pettigrew get some confidence. Sirius hadn't.
But it might help Harry, so Sirius said it.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus."
Harry repeated it back.
He had never got an incantation exactly right the first time before and this should not have been an exception. It should have taken practice to get right.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Harry repeated. He wasn't saying it out loud anymore, but his lips were moving in that way.
"Don't think, Harry. Don't try to remember what animals you know. Just let your magic guide you."
Sirius was mainly here to keep Harry relaxed and to make sure there were no accidental transformations. He didn't want Harry trying this on his own until he was practiced enough not to panic and possibly reverse any damage himself.
Harry didn't appear to have heard. He was still mouthing that chant.
When did his wand get in his hand?
Sirius waited patiently. He had no intention of rushing Harry.
The stag and the impala had appeared on the side table that was now in the corner. They could be mistaken for actual ornaments with their lack of movement.
I wonder what Lily would have been. Would she have been an antelope? Or something else? I wouldn't have put a bear past her. Or a lioness. Or a snake.
Sirius wouldn't have put anything past Lily.
Harry's lips stopped moving. His breathing became a little shallower. He opened his eyes. They were focused.
Sirius had a quick, but thorough look. He looked completely human.
"I want to be the magpie."
"…Alright then."
"D-Did I change? I saw myself changing…"
"Nothing."
That seemed to be a relief to him. "I didn't see anything until I decided I wanted to be the magpie. It was just…foggy."
Sirius considered that. "…Maybe…you had too many options or they were too different. So you needed to choose something first. Even if it was bird, cat, dog, fish or something."
That was likely a problem a lot of people would have, come to think of it. People were not so easy to label as the initial Sorting suggests.
Sirius was a dog. James had once said he could have been a wolf or even a bat.
But I can't see myself as anything other than a dog now. Even if I could change it, I wouldn't.
"Magpie. Definitely?"
"Definitely. I liked it then and I like it now. Others are cool but not…me. Besides, what good is a lion, even if I could turn into one? I would struggle to find times to change into it."
True. Sentimental, but not practical.
"Then magpie."
Magpie was simpler. They had done a little research into the bird after Christmas. The bird was a member of the covid family, which were known to be very intelligent; including recognising people and whether they were kind or dangerous and even recognise themselves in a mirror. They were known to eat anything and did not migrate.
They were seen as a symbol of wit, intelligence, deceit and opportunists.
These could apply to Harry. They just weren't the most obvious and other traits were more dominant.
Medusa might disagree.
That thought made Sirius reconsider.
"Magpie." Harry nodded with a stern expression. "I know what a magpie looks like."
So did Sirius. "The difficult part is going to be turning your brain off to allow the magic to work by itself. Fur doesn't matter. Feathers do." That was all he knew. Feathers were important to flight. He didn't know how; only that they were.
"Then I just have to learn how to fly."
"I'm sure Hedwig would be willing to help." Sirius just needed to be certain Sooty wouldn't go after Harry, thinking he was prey. Hedwig likely wouldn't make that mistake if she was teaching him.
"Yeah. She'd love that."
Sirius stood up. "I think that's enough for tonight. We can try you transforming starting tomorrow. We'll take it slow. Don't practice without me there."
"What about at Hogwarts?"
Sirius was hoping Harry would learn before going back to Hogwarts but he wasn't going to tell him that, in case it got his hopes up and he didn't manage. Sirius had waited for Harry's birthday mainly for sentimental reasons and he had wanted Harry to relax for a while.
"We'll see how you are then."
"Okay. I mean…It's a magpie. It might not be a mammal, but it's still warm-blooded and even same number of limbs."
"Let's see of you think that when your head becomes a bird's and you can't eat. Or stand for that matter."
Harry winced appropriately.
Harry idly wondered how long it took Sirius to write his letters to him. He was currently looking at the map around the British Museum Tube Station. Sirius' notes were incredibly difficult to read.
This is why pens are superior to quills.
It was four days before the Quidditch Final. The day after his birthday.
Harry and Sirius were currently going over initial battle plans for Moody. They had drawings for the general layout of the building.
"Right Harry. While this is called a museum, it is not a tourist hotspot. There are almost certainly no muggles outside the building, as well as inside. This means Moody can set up something like that mirror trick he used before."
Harry could see a few walls where that would be very difficult to deal with. "Do you think he will?"
Sirius hummed. "I don't think he'll do the same thing again, but that doesn't remove mirrors entirely. Mirrors can reflect spells, but put it here for example," Sirius pointed, "and we could have other problems. If it was here, Moody could be here and we wouldn't see him unless we were here." Sirius pointed appropriately.
"Okay. And he'll be ready for our Lumos trick." Harry thought. "What if one of us gets him into a spell chain and the other goes for him from the side?"
Sirius shook his head. "Moody's too clever for that. He will be using short incantations when they're necessary. He's good at silent casting Stunning spells, but he tends to verbally say more permanently damages spells. Partly a warning and partly to restrain himself."
"Yeah." Restrain. "He doesn't know that I've been learning how to do that too with my off hand."
"I think that's something to save for later, especially when you are only at the stage of spells that don't have incantations."
Harry shifted uncomfortably. Still, it was a good idea. Just not for this time.
"Right. So, our entrance?"
"There's nowhere outside the building we can Apparate to safely without the risk of being seen. London's irritating like that."
Outside of areas near Diagon Alley, for example.
"Moody's going to have alerts at all entrances. He'll know when we arrive. If he's fighting like a Death Eater day raid, he'll be in a corner like this, out of view. If he's acting like a Death Eater night raid, he'll be in a more open area."
"If he's in an open area, we can move around more. I think we're quicker than him." Moody may be good, but his age and leg made him slow. He hadn't moved much last time. Only as much as he had to.
"That makes me think he'll be sneaky."
Harry really wished he was already an Animagus. A magpie would be brilliant at dodging.
But while he could now get the image of a magpie, he hadn't been able to transform any part of his body last night. He got the impression from Sirius this was not a quick process.
"So we have to be sneakier. But how? Attack him with Snitches?"
Sirius chuckled.
Hang on.
"Could we fool the monitoring charms? What will he use?"
"…Maybe. The motion charms could be a rat or something like that. Magic could be anything from an enchanted book or a magical owl. The issue is setting off any of these in there around the expected time means he'll know it's us."
So he'll know.
"This isn't going to go well, is it?"
"Nope." Sirius sounded almost cheerful.
Harry sighed. "Well, I say we run in like Gryffindors and attack head on. He probably won't be expecting that."
"…I'll keep thinking on it. Until then, let's practice not hitting each other when we're going after an enemy. He commented on that last time."
Harry would count the battle a success if he lasted longer than last time.
Or at least, not get knocked out with my own Stunning spell.
That was still embarrassing. Harry was not going to let himself live that down for quite a while.
AN: Thank you for reading and sticking with me.
Durmstrang being in Scandinavia was not something I knew; I genuinely thought it was in Bulgaria. I've had a look at the map and I think, for the purposes of this story, I will leave it in Bulgaria. Scandinavia and Bulgaria are quite far apart with quite a few countries in-between where Krum could play instead. As he supposedly grew up in Bulgaria as far as I can see, I understand why he would want to play for that country even so, but I don't think it is practical for someone still in school, even with the instant travel available.
The other thing I looked up was the actual Animagus transformation. While I have no problem with the 'canon' process, I think the 'fanon' processes are more applicable for this story. So I decided to keep both. Looking at most books (outside Hogwarts) will give you the 'approved' method while the Marauders used internal searching and own magic. The idea is that most students will like the idea when they learn about it in school, potentially read it outside of school, come across the method that includes month long mandrake leaf in mouth etc. and decide it's not worth the effort.
Again, thank you for your patience and enjoy.