IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTES: I have just finished school for the year (I'm Australian). I am about to start 5-6 weeks of school free time. That goes over Christmas, as you'll be aware. I'm going away for Christmas, and probably won't be able to post again till about the 4th of January. I'll do my best to write a few chapters while I'm away so I'll be able to post a lot once I get back … Sorry about that!
IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTES2: I have put up an original fiction story, which is called Tenebrae Evigilo. It's on fictionpress, and there is a link to it in my bio if you wish to read. I'd like to see your response to my original works. Thank you – on with the chapter.
After the Dawn
Chapter Eleven: Staying
Harry and Dan lazed side by side at the rivers edge, watching the rare sunlight dancing over the water. It was afternoon, and Summer, and they were free.
"It's funny, I've been here for a year now," Harry murmured. "I think it's the longest I've stayed anywhere since I began coming to school."
"Well I'm glad you chose this place, mate," Dan said, voice almost dreamy. "I don't know what I'd have done without you."
Harry dragged himself up to a standing position. "Race you to the Dojo?" he offered his friend, helping Dan up.
Dan had profited a lot from Harry's friendship. He was never picked on any more, at first because Dan was never seen without Harry, and then because Harry persuaded his new friend to start Tae-Kwon-Doe.
It was two weeks into the summer holidays, and they were going to their eighth class today, it would be starting fairly soon.
"Just think mate, soon you're going to be eight. We can have a birthday party. I've never been to anyone's birthday party – except mine and mum's – before," Dan remarked as they jogged towards the dojo, having decided not to race and therefore tire themselves out.
"I haven't either," Harry confessed. "We never stayed in one place long enough to make friends or get invited to parties."
Dan nodded slightly in understanding and sympathy.
"Well, if it isn't Kellith and Sull," the cool voice of their Sensei echoed slightly in the room.
Harry knew her as nothing but Sensei. She was a middle aged woman, her midnight hair bound in a tight plait that hung to her waist. The Gi she wore seemed to suit her more than it did anyone else. When she walked, she made no sound that Harry could detect, no matter what the floor was made of. She seemed feather light, just looking at her, but Harry knew that she was as strong as steel.
She was very small, most of pupils towered over her, but she could keep her own very easily. She walked with a natural grace that was now beginning to show in Harry, after three years of training in Tae-Kwon-Doe.
She was sarcastic, could be insulting when she felt it was necessary, persuasive and firm, depending on the situation. She was also and excellent teacher.
After nearly a year of her tutelage, Harry hoped he would be able to come to her classes for a long time yet. She could push him to his limits, then shove him a little further into the unknown, at the same time making sure that every other one of her students had a thorough understanding of what she was teaching them.
"Hello Sensei," Harry said, bowing Japanese style, as Dan copied his movements. "I hope I find you well?"
"You do indeed, Harry," the woman said, a smile gracing cat-like features. "No one else seems to have arrived yet, and the class should be starting right about … Now. Very well, we will begin."
Harry and Dan followed Sensei to the sparring court. "Kata!" Sensei barked at them. Harry immediately allowed his mind to roam as his body automatically began the half dance that was Kata.
Kata did not require anyone else to be present, and was merely an almost-dance that incorporated moves that you would use in Tae-Kwon-Doe, against an imaginary opponent.
"Well, you two did well to be the only people in class today," Sensei remarked as the lesson ended after she'd revised several moves and taught them one new one.
"Thanks Sensei," both boys chanted back to her, and she smiled.
"Be off with you!" She laughed. "I'll see you next lesson!"
Harry and Dan tumbled out of the dojo, taking off at an easy jog in the direction of Harry's place. The pair of them had only rarely spent more than a day apart, and that was only because Harry went on day trips to 'visit relatives' – or go to Potter Mansion and Grimmauld Place.
"Well Harry, do you have many relatives to visit over the holidays?" Dan asked, sounding a little forlorn.
"No, I don't think so. I won't be gone more than a day at a time, most likely. I think that Keith (A/N Sirius) is going to be going away occasionally, so if it's alright, I'll stay at your place," Harry replied.
"Thank goodness for that – I hate it when you go away," Dan replied, smiling widely. Harry smiled back, but didn't say anything, because he wasn't sure if he hated it when he went away or not.
The pair of them stumbled to a halt outside the door to Harry's place. Sirius was standing outside the door, watching something in the distance.
"Hey Keith, how are you mate?" Dan asked.
Sirius started slightly and shook his head. "I'm ok Dan," he replied. "Just remembering times gone by and friends long dead."
"That sounds depressing. Do you want to come and play monopoly?" Harry offered his godfather. The monopoly game had become almost sacred to Harry and Dan, being the first game they'd ever played together, and it hadn't taken long for Sirius to join his godson and Dan in playing it.
"Yeah, sure!" Sirius replied, his usual happy demeanour returning quickly.
"Can't keep you down for long," Dan laughed as the three of them headed inside.
"Nope," Sirius was happy to agree. "Come on! I get the dog!"
The three of them charged inside to get their favourite pieces and organise the beginning of the game.
That night Harry and Dan didn't sleep over at one of their houses, as they usually did, but rather at their own individual houses. Harry and Sirius went to Potter Mansion.
"You haven't made any friends apart from Dan, in the year that you've been here," Sirius remarked.
"That's because I don't like any of the other kids much," Harry replied, shrugging slightly. "I don't know why I like Dan, when I don't like any of the other kids who are kind of like him … It just goes that way."
"That's ok. Dan's a good kid – I like him!" Sirius replied cheerily. "You two are a bit like me and James, really. Though Dan's not quite as mischievous!"
"I wouldn't say that," Harry replied with a soft laugh. "On the last day of term he helped me set up buckets of water over all the classroom doors. You should have heard the teachers scream!"
Sirius laughed too. "Good, good!" he replied. "You mentioned that before … And you didn't get caught – well done!"
"The teachers would say you're being a very bad example," Harry smiled at his godfather. "When we are caught, the Headmaster always says that I should find a good example to follow. But when I ask him who I should use as one, he's completely lost. He realised pretty fast that you're even worse than I am!"
"I'd prefer you to say that I'm better than you are, in the area of pranks and disobedience," Sirius said with a fake sniff.
"But he means worse, because according to him it's a bad thing… Dunno what's wrong with him though."
Sirius laughed again. "You find that in teachers. They don't like it when you muck up. Seem to think it's a bad thing. One of the reasons you always get in trouble… But you know what I always say."
Harry chorused along with his godfather, "rules are made to be broken!"
"Exactly!" Sirius nodded firmly.
"What are we doing tonight?" Harry asked.
"Just going over what you've done already," Sirius replied. "We'll do what we can to extend on what you can do with your magic soon. But you still get tired very quickly, so I don't want you to overwork yourself."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Seriously Sirius! I want to learn new stuff! Practicing is boring!"
"Too bad," Sirius replied sternly. Harry knew that when Sirius decided on something, it was absolutely impossible to change his mind … Even when it was something like this, which Sirius would usually hate.
"Sirius! What would you do if you were in my position?"
"Be very angry," Sirius replied promptly. "And frustrated. And annoyed … You get the point."
"So if you know how I feel, why are you making me do this?" Harry demanded.
"Because I would rather you be angry, frustrated and annoyed than dead because you tried to do more than you could," Sirius replied immediately. "I know you don't like it, kiddo, and I know I would hate it too, but the main thing is that you have to stay alive."
"Because I have to kill Voldemort?"
"Because you're my godson and I love you. And because, one day, yes, you will have to kill Voldemort," Sirius replied. "But I don't care about that. I just want you to stay alive. I don't want to lose you like I lost James."
"You didn't lose me Sirius," James Potter's voice came from the wall side. "I'm right here in this portrait! And inside your heart, where I'll always be!"
"But you aren't here completely any more," Sirius pointed out.
"But I'm not lost either. I know exactly where I am," James replied.
"Whatever," Sirius sighed. "It's still not the same."
"Never said it was mate! Off you two go now, I have to find Lily," James replied, wandering out of the side of his portrait.
Harry and Sirius made their way further into Potter Mansion, running across the life sized portrait of Harry's mother. "Dad's looking for you," Harry told her.
"I know – we're playing hide and go seek," Lily replied. "See you later!" she disappeared from the frame.
Sirius and Harry laughed as they went onwards. James and Lily were always playing games together.
"Here we are," Harry and Sirius walked into the larger living room. Immediately a fire lit up in the grate, and the torches on the walls leaped into life.
"So, what are we doing today?" Harry asked, knowing that there would be no chance of persuading his godfather to let him move ahead in learning magic.
"Making fire again," Sirius replied. "And light … and possibly levitating, depending on whether or not you're getting tired."
Harry nodded. Of all the things he could have picked, making fire was near the top of the list, and light wasn't that far down it … Though levitating things was getting a bit boring now.
"Fire first," Sirius said. "Make it in your hand, the blue fire."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I do remember," he pointed out, and opened his hand, concentrating hard. With a soft, welcoming crackle, blue fire suddenly sprang to life, hovering over his palm.
"Good!" Sirius smiled at him. "Quicker than the last time. Now put it out."
A seconds thought was all it took to make the pretty blue flames die, all that remained of them being a slightly warm feeling on Harry's palm. Harry gave a faint sigh – he always hated getting rid of the things he brought to life.
He could feel a slight ache starting behind his temple, but ignored it for the moment. He already knew that he would not be able to do anything with his magic after he'd made light.
"Up to making light?" Sirius asked.
"Yup," Harry replied gamely.
"Ok, off you go."
Harry had gone beyond making light just in his hand now, as he closed his eyes and concentrated hard for a moment. There was a sudden starburst of pain in his temple, and he opened his eyes to find his whole body glowingly slightly.
It was a good thing he was sitting down, Harry thought, otherwise he would have fallen over and given the game away to Sirius.
With a wave of his hand, Harry put the fire, and the torches out. That wasn't the same as magic, that was commanding the house to do something, which, as it's master, Harry could do.
The soft white light radiating from him lit up the immediate area around him, throwing everything else into pale shadows. "Now put it out and wait while I get the house elves to bring you some butterbeer and chocolate," Sirius ordered.
Damn. Sirius had realised what was going on anyway. Harry banished the light, and felt another starburst of pain as his eyes swam. Why was it so difficult and tiring to use magic?
Some days he was better than others, Harry had noticed. Today was a particularly bad day. Sometimes he could do up to five spells at one time, and now his was reduced to two. Simple ones at that.
A few seconds later Sirius returned with Kiby, who was bearing a tray with a mug of hot butterbeer and a large lump of chocolate. "Eat," Sirius told Harry sternly.
Harry did so without a second bidding. From experience, he knew that both the food and the drink would help his headache immensely. "You should have told me you started to feel a headache after the fire," Sirius remarked coolly. "But done is done, and I don't really mind."
Harry nodded slightly, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt even more. "Here, let me refill that," Sirius said, splashing more butterbeer into Harry's glass from a bottle he was holding.
Harry smiled his thanks and drank only a few sips before the cup fell from loose fingers, only to be caught easily by Kiby's magic before it could spill so much as a drop.
"Why is Mister Black making Master Harry go to sleep?" Kiby asked, turning suspicious green eyes in Sirius's direction.
"Because if he's asleep, he'll be more comfortable on the way home," Sirius replied. "His head hurts bad, so this way he won't be disturbed by the passage home."
Kiby nodded. "Mister Black is a good man," she said with a loyal smile, before disappearing with a crack.
Lifting Harry easily into his arms, Sirius walked over to the fire place, and, with some difficulty, managed to throw a handful of floo powder onto the fire.
"The Leaky Cauldron," he said clearly as he stepped into the now green fire. After a dizzying journey the tunnels, he stumbled out of the fire and into the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hello stranger," Tom greeted him with a smile. "What's up with yon boy?"
"He's a bit tired. We've been moving all day," Sirius replied. "Just came here to catch the Knight Bus – we're staying in a Muggle apartment – can't attach those to the Floo network, though it'd make things a sure sight easier!"
"Well, I hope you and your boy get home alright. Hope he don't wake up on the Knight Bus …"
Sirius laughed, nodding in agreement, and walked outside, still carrying Harry easily in his arms, and called for the Knight Bus.
"Phineas, are you absolutely sure there is nothing you can do to find out if Sirius ever used the Black residence?" Dumbledore demanded. Another year was gone, and he had still had no word of either Harry Potter or Sirius Black.
"I told you," the portrait of a man named Phineas growled in response. "The stupid house elf, Kreacher, took my picture of the wall and put me in his den. As I am no longer on the wall, I cannot move around. "
"Why would he have done this?" Dumbledore asked now.
"You are repeating old questions, Albus! I have not been on the wall since just after Mrs. Black's death! About the same time Potter and my no-good nephew disappeared from the wizarding world," the man snapped, annoyed at having old questions repeated.
"Do you think the two events are connected?" Dumbledore asked.
"No. Kreacher hates my nephew," Phineas replied with a faint sniff. "Can't say I blame him at all …"
"Get to the point please, Phineas," Dumbledore interupted tiredly.
"Kreacher would no more aid Sirius than he would start hating Mrs. Black, his former mistress, in case you are wondering, that will never happen," Phineas replied. "If that is all, I'm trying to get some sleep!"
"That will be all, Phineas. Continue trying to get into the house and find out what is going on. I still think this is suspicious," Dumbledore said, bowing his head tiredly.
"Dumbledore, relax! The Potter boy will be alright. He'll come when he is ready. He will be fine," several pictures tried to placate the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Sirius walked into Harry's room in the early morning, carrying a cup of warm butterbeer. Harry was sitting up against his pillows, nursing his head.
"Here, it'll help," Sirius said, offering the cup to Harry.
"It's not drugged?" Harry asked, and Sirius smiled, shaking his head. Harry accepted the cup happily.
"Is Dan coming over today?" Sirius asked.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something about Dan," Harry replied suddenly, putting the cup on his bedside table and looking seriously up at his godfather.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Well … We've been here for a year, right? Dan's my best friend, he's closer to me than any other kid I've known! It looks like we won't be moving on for a while from here, maybe not until I go to Hogwarts …"
"So what is your question?" Sirius asked, looking a bit confused. "Because as far as I can see, you appear to be babbling."
"That's just because I don't know how I should phrase this," Harry replied, smiling faintly. "So I'll just come right out and say it. Sirius, I want to tell Dan what, and who we are."
Sirius sat down hard.
***
I'm sorry! Really I am … I didn't mean to end this in a cliff hanger, because I won't be updating for ages … But it just had to come out! I couldn't ignore the need for a cliffie, and it was SUCH a good place for one! Sorry again! Please review and tell me what you liked/disliked about the chapter …
I don't have time to type all the thanks up, but I'll do it when I come back, along with everyone who reviews this chapter! Thanks for reading!