Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to Mrs. Joanna K. Rowling, who is the ruler of the HP universe. Princess Aurenia of Atlantis and ruler of the Ayras belongs to me as well. Everything else elven (Entari or Ayra) belongs to me, unless it is already used by another. If another AFTER me uses it, then it belongs to me. If anyone has tried to use it after me, you better give my OCs back, or at least ask permission to borrow them.

Chapter 3

For about fifteen minutes, everybody stood in shock. Everybody, except perhaps Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. His eyes were twinkling knowingly. Part of the shock was discovering what the elves had looked like under the shadows of their hoods. The other part covered of the shock of realizing that Prince Ember of Eirith and the Prince of the Entari was actually their beloved Harry James Potter. Aurenia counted in her head the time it would take for them to explode. '10… 9… 8…' she thought.

"Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a soft yet dangerous way, breaking the shocked silence. '… 4… 3… 2…' Aurenia thought, a smirk coming up to her lips. Ember flinched. Mrs. Weasley reared up to release her rage. Ember braced himself. '…1.' "HARRY JAMES POTTER, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!? DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED WE'VE BEEN FOR THIS PAST YEAR?!" Ginny and Hermione – who had arrived when she heard voices – rushed out to hug him. As soon as they came in contact with him, he was nearly thrown off his feet at their force. They let go and twice the two girls smacked him. He winced at the contact. Each slapped him on different cheeks, and it damn hurt!

"Er, Mrs. Weasley, could you please lower your voice?" Ember asked politely, covering his ears and struggling to keep his balance. Aure flashed him a sympathetic smile and was obviously trying to conceal her laughter. Aure's smile faltered slightly as she heard a rustle behind her.

"Mission accomplished," said a voice from the shadows. Elsar emerged, dusting off his hands casually. "The Deyers are tucked safely in the Ministry cells. Private ones. I made sure of that." Elsar grinned triumphantly. He had been told to tell them he was under the orders of the Minister to lock the Deyers, not in Azkaban, but in the interrogation room in the Auror Division. The vast room was dark and void of all objects except a chair and dozens of empty cells. He had once been working in the Auror Division himself and knew that someone would inspect the room sooner or later, noticing the foul stench that exuded out of it.

"Ah, dear Elsar, it is time for you to reveal yourself as well," said Ember with a sly grin. Elsar grimaced and smiled lamely. "Don't try to be subtle. We don't have much time left to stay here before we have to go back." 'That means we're late. Snape's little escapade took longer than we thought, then. Must hurry with these things then…'

"Lord Elsar of Eirith… otherwise known as Sirius Black, at your service," Elsar said with a bow. Apparently, they didn't believe that this was Sirius Black. All of them had been explained to of Sirius's innocence, and all of them saw, or heard, of his death. Hermione was seething. She reared her hand back and slapped him like she had done with Malfoy back in her third year.

"How dare you ruin Sirius's memory? Is this some kind of sick joke?" Hermione hissed dangerously. Elsar cleared his throat and was about to speak when he clamped his mouth shut again. He looked thoughtful for a while, then spoke, "Ember, I am in need to talk in a normal human-like way."

"Why not? We aren't in the presence of any other elves, but I'm sure Aure won't mind if we talk 'normally', right Aure?" Ember said sweetly – much too sweetly. Aure rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in defeat.

"Fine, fine," Aure said with a defeated tone. "I wanted to talk normally as well anyways. Damn elves don't know how to be casual, I tell you… And plus, it was Arwy's fault in the first place for rubbing it on me!"

"Wow, Aure gave up to Ember! I'd never thought I'd see the day!" Elsar cried in a way similar to the way he had been before he had been imprisoned in Azkaban. Aure slapped him in the back of his head indignantly. Elsar shrugged and smiled. Ember cleared his throat.

"Oh yeah," Elsar said, noticing the Weasleys, Hermione, and Dumbledore staring at him with strange looks. He motioned for them to sit down uncertainly. They did so robot-like. They sat in silence for a while.

"Cat got your tongue?" Elsar asked, his eyebrows were raised the whole time they were silent. "Not the right thing to say, wasn't it?" A few seconds after his last statement, questions were shot at them at top speed. Elsar nearly fell over from the noise.

"Okay, okay! Stop! One at a time," Ember yelled over the noise. They silenced after a moment. Ember rolled his eyes as Aure snickered. "Now, one at a time!"

"Sirius Black is dead, so who is this elf?" Ron asked, pointing at Elsar angrily. He, too, had been affected deeply by the godfather of his best friend's death.

"You know, it's rude to point," Elsar remarked, looking disgustedly at Ron's index finger that was pointed at him. "You didn't expect me to look so healthy, didn't you?" They all nodded, some somewhat hesitantly. Dumbledore was sitting in an armchair on his own, looking on with amusement. "It's really me. I swear!"

"Uh, Black," Ember started, calling his godfather by his last name as he was used to doing. Calling him Sirius would open a chance for Sirius to make those 'Sirius-serious' jokes he always made. He and Aure were tired of his lame joke and settled for his last name. "Just to remind you, Remus doesn't know." Elsar nodded, thinking to himself, as he was expected to do.

"When we meet him next, I'll tell him," Elsar replied. He smiled wryly. "Won't he be in a surprise?"

"You may tell him when he arrives for the next Order meeting," Dumbledore suggested. They tilted their heads thoughtfully, as if saying 'maybe, maybe not'.

"So how do we know that you are Sirius Black?" Hermione asked suspiciously. Elsar rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Ask me anything that only the Sirius Black would know," Elsar finally said.

"What happened in our third year when you attacked us?" Ron shot at him.

"Eh, nice one." Elsar rubbed his forehead in thought. His eyes brightened as the memory came to him. "Crookshanks and I attacked you, Harry, Hermione, and Wormtail. We brought you into the Shrieking Shack through a secret passageway in the Whomping Willow. Remus came in and we explained to you about that night. Snape also came in the picture. You three disarmed him, got a cut on his head, I believe. Then, we started towards the school. About a hundred Dementors came flooding to Kiss me. Before that, I asked Harry," he inclined his head towards Ember, who was half-listening and bored, "to live with me after I got my name cleared. He said 'yes' as I remember. I think he fought off the Dementors, but I was unconscious then. I was brought into Hogwarts for the Dementor's Kiss, but Harry and Hermione here got me out with Buckbeak. How did you do that anyways?" Elsar turned to Ember, who had his head on his hand and staring out the window in a daze. Elsar knocked off Ember's elbow, which had been resting on the couch, and his head landed on the couch painfully hard.

"OW! What the hell was that for?" Ember asked confusedly. Ginny – who had stayed quiet all this time – smiled at his amusing antics. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly turned away and blushed. Aure noticed this and smiled at her. Ginny looked down.

"We got some help from my Time Turner that I had in that year," Hermione answered. Her expression suddenly changed from pride to horror as she looked at the other Weasleys who had not known about it.

"Can you forget what she just said?" Ember said lamely. Everyone ignored him, instead, turning to Hermione in interest.

"YOU WHAT?!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, standing up. Her eyes were wide with fury and disdain.

"Molly, let him explain everything that has happened first, then you may scold him all you want," Mr. Weasley said soothingly. Mrs. Weasey calmed slightly and sat back down. Fury was still etched on her face, from the thin setting of her lips to her reddening ears.

"Why did you help Black escape?" Bill said, his eyebrows rose towards Elsar.

"Hey, I'm innocent!" Elsar retorted. He launched into the story of that fateful night. He ignored all the pain and guilt that came with it. The ones that had raised their wands lowered them sadly. They tilted their heads towards Elsar sympathetically. 'Excellent… conversations are going just as planned,' Aure thought, hiding her pleased smile behind her hand.

"And how do we know that you are our Harry?" Hermione asked Ember.

"Even though my appearance has changed, the scar never left," Ember replied, lifting up his hair. The familiar lightning bolt was there, exactly where it had always been.

"You could have used Polyjuice, though," Hermione pointed out.

"And how exactly do you know that potion?" Mr. Weasley asked with raised eyebrows. "Students don't actually learn that particular one until seventh year… which you haven't even started." Hermione blushed and Ron shifted uncomfortably.

"That can be for another time," Ember said, saving them from the uncomfortable explanation and saving himself from the verbal onslaught Aure no doubt would've given him if he wasted more time. He himself was getting nervous about explaining the incident in his second year. "Curse scars don't apply to Polyjuice. You can't get them because you didn't survive that particular curse." Hermione nodded, getting her answer. She grinned at him.

"So what happened this summer, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, getting back to the point. Aure thanked the man mentally. They needed to move on.

"Ah yes… that…"

Flashback

Harry leaned against the door for support. His body ached mercilessly. He had been working on his chores for the past few days and this day was just one of the hotter ones. He had been finishing up a side of the fence, as the Dursleys had instructed him to do. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and entered his room. He collapsed onto the bed tiredly. Groaning in pain, he looked towards the clock. The red numbers flashed 9:37. It was already dark outside.

He closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to overcome him, yet regretting to do so. For the past weeks, he had been having nightmares of Sirius falling into the veil, and him standing next to the veil, yelling out for him helplessly. As usual, the nightmare began.

He saw Sirius dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange, his cousin that he was ashamed of being related to. He laughed as Bellatrix missed him with a spell of hers and taunted her skills. Bellatrix drew up in fury and sent a simple Stunning Curse to his way. He was sent back… right into the veil.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled out. He tried moving from his spot next to the veil, but he found that he couldn't. Something bound him there. He watched as Sirius flew back in a graceful arch and into the veil. "NO! SIRIUS! COME BACK!" He tried to move again, and again failed. He broke down into tears, something he had not done in his past nightmares. Guilt and pain overtook him as he watched Sirius disappear into the veil, the voices in the veil taunting him mercilessly of his guilt. Tears of guilt and shame escaped his eyes. As soon as they came, they stopped. Harry stood up, his face full of pain and anger, glaring dangerously at Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius's murderer. He felt a sudden surge of bravery and anger. He had never done this in a nightmare before… "How dare you?" he whispered dangerously. Bellatrix didn't hear him in this nightmare. Or so he thought. Bellatrix continued laughing, but looked around uncertainly as if she had heard him. She couldn't hear him…could she? "HOW DARE YOU!" Harry bellowed.

He woke up in sweats as he had always done. He had never done such a thing like that. Thundering could be heard from his Uncle and Aunt's bedroom. He looked at the clock. It was 3:48 in the morning. 'Oh no…' Harry thought as he heard the thundering of footsteps come closer to his bedroom. He closed his eyes tightly shut, waiting for the blow.

Harry's door blasted open as his Uncle Vernon came charging into the room furiously. "YOU WAKE US IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AGAIN WITH YOUR HORRID YELLING!" Uncle Vernon spat. Harry didn't know why he still called that pathetic excuse of a man uncle. His Uncle Vernon raised his fist up to hit him. 'Here it goes again…' Harry thought as the first blow hit him full on the stomach.

His uncle had been striking his anger at Harry at every little thing that Harry had done wrong ever since the beefy man had to shut down Grunnings, the grill-producing company that he worked in, since it was coming out with negative money instead of taking in money. Harry braced himself and made his face emotionless. He had learned that his uncle…or rather…this monster had taken great pleasure in making his life hell and giving him much pain after the first few blows of the summer and was pleased to hear his screams and see his pain.

Vernon stopped promptly at 6:30 in the morning so he could go down for breakfast. Harry managed to get to his feet after a few painful stumbles and collapsed onto his bed. The door creaked open. Harry's eyes shot to the door, hoping it wasn't Uncle Vernon yet again. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Aunt Petunia had never shown him any care before. In fact, she avoided her family as much as she could this summer.

"What do you want?" Harry asked emotionlessly. He noticed Aunt Petunia flinch slightly at his tone. She gained a concerned look when she saw his body.

"D-did Vernon d-do that to y-you?" she stuttered nervously. Harry nodded slowly but without emotion. She gulped uncertainly.

"J-just last one m-more night, Harry," she said quietly and unsurely. Harry raised her eyebrows at her, interestedly. "Y-you're turning s-sixteen tomorrow aren't you?" Harry nodded slowly. So she had known when his birthday was. "I-I think you can d-do m-ma-mag…" she struggled with her words, "magi-magic at sixteen. There was a w-waver f-for you, since y-your godfather d-died right?" Harry nodded again. "I-I'm sorry I can't help more. I'm just no match against Vernon. I'm scared for you, Harry." She left the room nervously, looking around to see if anybody heard. She rose up again in a more Petunia Dursley manner that he had known and looked at him sharply. "There will be no chores today. Vernon and Dudley are going out for lunch later. Vernon got a job offer and you are not to do any chores, you got it?" Harry nodded again painfully. She left, but not before giving him a sympathetic look.

End Flashback

"That hag actually cared?" Ron asked incredulously. He had been hearing of how his aunt and uncle treated Harry from the letters he had received. He had never heard that his uncle abused him though. Harry had always said that he was fine in his letters so no one had come to check on him.

"I was thinking along those same lines at that time as well," Ember answered.

"You told us you were fine in your letters, though!" Mrs. Weasley protested, echoing Ron's previous thoughts.

"I wrote those letters under the supervision of Uncle Vernon," Ember replied bitterly.

"Please continue," Dumbledore said calmly, his voice wavering just slightly.

Flashback

Later that day, Harry just stayed in his bed, not daring to move, even to get food. It was still the second day of the three-day cycle and he didn't need to send a letter to the Order. He heard Uncle Vernon's car pull up in the driveway. He heard Dudley trudge into his room and then heard the thundering of his uncle's footsteps. They were coming towards his door. 'What?! Time for my beating already? I didn't think he did it in the middle of the day!' Harry thought frantically. Unfortunately, he was still in great pain from the last blows and couldn't move.

The footsteps stopped at his door. In those few last seconds, Harry made his face emotionless and unfazed. The door to his room banged open and he saw his Uncle Vernon purple-faced and his moustache quivering unnervingly. His uncle looked at him in great anger. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU DID SOME OF YOUR MAGIC AND MADE ME LOSE MY JOB!" Uncle Vernon bellowed. And the beatings started again. It was more painful than any he had ever had before because he was still fresh from his last one. He bit his scream back and his lip started to bleed from all the pain. His uncle continued for a few more hours, letting his anger and frustration out on Harry. By the end, Harry had fallen unconscious. 'Sweet darkness… come to me…' was his last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.

End Flashback

"HE DID WHAT?!?!" the Weasleys and Hermione cried out simultaneously. Elsar, Aure, and Dumbledore had raging furious looks on their faces, but remained silent.

"He beat me… twice in the same day," Ember said quietly. "He's in Muggle jail. He didn't use magic so he's in there. He's in there for life. I was almost dead after he was done with the second beating." Ember smiled wryly as he remembered that fateful day and exhaled soundlessly.

"Please continue, Harry," Dumbledore said, his voice somewhat shaking from either anger or extreme hatred for Harry's abusive uncle.

Flashback

Harry woke up in a white room. Very very bright room. He blinked a few times before finally getting used to the whiteness of the room. He guessed he was in a hospital. He turned his head to the side slowly and painfully. To his surprise, his Aunt Petunia was sitting in a chair next to him, leaning on the wall and dozing quietly. He saw a Muggle contraption next to him, pumping a clear-ish liquid into his arm.

"I see you have awoken," said a voice from the other side of the room. He turned his head to that direction slowly, ignoring the pain coming with it. He saw a man with a white coat and something – was it a stethoscope? – was around his neck. "That is good. I will have the nurse check up on you and take your information. You've suffered a lot, young man." Harry nodded and the man – he guessed it was a Muggle doctor – left the room.

Harry closed his eyes and focused on breathing. Even that was painful to do. He heard the taps of high heels in front of him. He opened his eyes slowly and saw a nurse in a white outfit holding a clipboard and pen. "Name, sir?" the nurse asked.

"Harry James Potter," he answered.

"Parent or guardian's name?"

"Petunia and Vernon Dursley." He saw the nurse flinch slightly at the last name he said.

"Age?"

"Turning sixteen tomorrow." He looked at the calendar for confirmation. So he had only been out for a few hours. It seemed like days that he was floating around in the comforting darkness.

"Date of birth?"

"July 31, 1980." The nurse asked him questions about his school. He chose to say that he went to a foreign boarding school in Scotland named Hogwarts. The nurse frowned at his answer and continued. After his little 'interrogation', he sat back on his bed and fell into a – for once – dreamless sleep. After what seemed like seconds in the comfortable darkness, he was awoken again by the sound of footsteps. The footsteps were very faint. It seemed that his Aunt Petunia had left his bedside and he was alone in the dark room. He guessed it was already night.

The nurse checked in again, asking him questions on how he felt. As the nurse closed the door behind her to leave his room, he felt a pull behind his navel as he was jerked away from the hospital.

End Flashback

Ember paused dramatically in his tale. He waited for a few minutes while the Weasleys and Hermione watched him with bated breath.

"Aww, Ember, you're always good with cliffhangers!" Aure cried out, clapping, her giddy mood not quite reaching her eyes. Her eyes were flashing 'Get on with the story so we can go!'

"You've learned well, my boy!" Elsar said, clapping his back. His eyes were portraying the same message as Aure's. Ember bowed cheerily, his eyebrows lifting ever so slightly, almost as if saying 'Patience'. Ginny slapped him on the back of his head.

"Continue already!" she said irritably. Aure and Elsar mentally cheered Ginny on.

"Fine, fine!" Ember said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Well, next moment, I met my sister and godfather, Princess Aurenia of the Ayra from Atlantis and Lord Elsar of the Entari from Eirith. Though I certainly did not know that at the time."

Edited: June 2, 2004 and July 6, 2004

Many Thanks to: Istalksiriusonweekends, insanechildfanfic, athenakitty, pingpong5, Amy, blondie, junemoon777, SilverKnight7, Siripiritus, crazyNproud, Anakhsenamoon, Lord of Darkness13, Rayna, FawkesRises, BloodRedSword, and lily4james for reviewing.

Author's Notes: I didn't edit much in this chapter, except adding in a few little things here and there so it could be a little amusing and it would match the other chapters.

No need for Pronunciations and things. Nothing new here, except that Ember is Harry Potter.