Chapter 5, Searches and Situations
A/N: I know where I'm going with this story, though I could use some feedback on how well I'm getting there.
Harry won't be a "powerful!Harry," or if he is he won't be as "powerful!" as say, "The Awakening of a Magus." However, he will be much more educated than his peers, and will in fact be powerful, though he will still be "Harry." He will still wear glasses, he will still struggle at times with his studies, as well as his fate. Severus Snape will make a larger appearance in the next few chapters. He will be quickly disabused of his illusion between James Potter, Harry Potter, and Harry, and will make the adjustments with some difficulty all around.
I apologise for the "slow" progress to Diagon Alley. Rest assured, Prince Harry will get there soon, though he has several hurdles to clear first, and the clearing of those hurdles will make a big difference to the way Harry treats those he finds there, and on the Hogwarts Express. I see a emotionally traumatized Slytherin, and an unexpected emotionally traumatized Gryfindor, and I'm not talking about Ron! Twenty points to the house who guesses which Gryfinfor I'm talking about, before chapter eight, and why. Now, on with the story.
1 Jan 2005-changed internal header to reflect correct chapter, some minor typo corrections, others may have been missed. Thanks.
24 September 2005-added content.
Severus Snape knew Kokirish magic when he saw it, even if his mentor had forgotten what it looked like. In many ways, Kokiri magic was identical to other general forms of magic. But in some ways it was different. Like High-Elven magic, Youki magic, and Elemental Magic, it was just different from "normal" spellcasting.
And the weird obliviation Petunia Dursley had suffered was most assuredly Kokirish. It most closely resembled some trick related to a contract gone wrong, contracts with this peculiar feature almost always being criminal. But, to the extent that there was a Kokiri Underworld, they never engaged in kidnap or anything remotely resembling kidnap. They tended to steal or smuggle, and occasionally loan-shark.
But even so, Severus had but one contact to the Kokiri, one he was loathe to re-establish. The man had told Severus that the necessity of their business was ended, and that Severus need not worry about meeting again. This had pleased Severus no end. For, despite the man never being unpleasant, he frightened Severus even more than the Dark Lord. Severus had no intention of interacting with this man again. Ever.
Yet, after a few days of listening to the impotent bleating of Lucius Malfoy, Avery, and Nott, it was either that, or make Death-Eater lampshades and explain to the Wizengamot why he killed and skinned three of Magical England's finest subjects. So, with a heavy heart, he went out to the Forbidden Forest, with message already written. After several minutes, he gently stunned a sparrow, and summoned it to him. He placed a calming charm on the frightened bird, tied the note to its leg, and enchanted it so it would fly one time like a post-owl to its intended destination.
Four days later, Link was reading to Prince Harry and Prince Neville when a sparrow flew into the window of his office. He took the bird, and removed the note from its ankle.
The note was written in High-Elven. It read: "Harry Potter vanished from his aunt's house in Surrey, time uncertain. His aunt displayed symptoms of Kokirish obliviation, though most wouldn't recognize it, and even I'm unsure exactly what spell or spells were used. Do you have any answers?"
Link thought for a moment, and banished the writing from the parchment. He wrote back, again in High-Elven: "Your observations should go no farther under any circumstances. Do not worry, I will find the answers you are seeking if they can be found in my part of Britain. You should counsel patience. After all, if others were to get the wrong ideas, things could become most unpleasant. You seem to be running short of dimes. I've enclosed a fresh bag. We should talk more."
Link took a pouch of silver dimes from his desk. He charmed them, and then he attached the bag of dimes with the note onto the sparrow. He silently and wandlessly cast strengthening and calming charms on the small bird. Then he called for Guy, one of the phoenixes that frequented the castle and carried Link's mail from time to time.
While continuing to read to Prince Harry and Prince Neville with his own mouth, he spoke through Navi's to the phoenix, as he gave the sparrow to the larger magical avian.
"Guy, please take this bird to just outside of the Forbidden Forrest, in Scotland. Do not be seen. You may visit your brother, but if you do it must appear as if that was your only purpose for being there." Guy trilled in assent, took the sparrow, and vanished in a flash of light.
"Brilliant!" shouted two two-year-olds. Prince Neville asked, "Why doesn't Guy come around more often, Dádí?"
Link said, "He does, Neville. He helps sing the two of you to sleep sometimes. But he must let the other phoenixes have their turns too."
Link went back to reading them their story; a story too close to Link's heart about a young orphan forced by fate to ride off to fight monsters and save damsels; they oohed, aahed, and cheered in all the right places. With story-time done, Link took them to their cot and put them to sleep. Much as he wanted to, he could only have them sleep properly at night; he did have a realm to run and couldn't well do it from his bed. Just the same, he muted most of the noise coming into their cot with a partial one-way silencing charm, and placed a screen strategically so he could see the cot and children where his visitors and callers could not.
He was not a moment too soon, a Parliamentary page knocked at his door with the Dispatch Box.
That evening, Severus Snape was taking a walk near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, expecting a reply to his note. His expectations were not disappointed. The same sparrow he sent had returned, obviously with some help, but that was the way it normally worked. He gently plucked the bird from the sky, relieved it of its burden, and set it free again. Severus cursed silently even before he read the note.
He had gotten into the wrong crowd when he attended Hogwarts. Because of this, and other mistakes he made, he became a Death Eater. Once the true horror of what he'd done set in, he promptly tried to kill himself. Lily Potter, then Lily Evans saved his life, and took him up quietly to Headmaster Dumbledore; as head-girl she could call on the headmaster almost as if she were herself a teacher, without having to explain such niceties as why she was in the astronomy tower at three in the morning to find a slytherin bleeding out after deeply cutting his wrists and quaffing several anti-clotting draughts.
Albus stabilized Snape physically, and when the teen regained consciousness, offered the boy a alternative to self-slaughter, Azkaban, or continuing as a true Death Eater. Severus would spy for Albus, avoiding the "action" wherever possible, but under all circumstances giving the warning as quickly as possible without being caught or discovered.
This situation lasted unchanged for some time, until just after James Potter and Lily Evans were married. At that moment, a lower-ranking Death Eater by the name of Worley caught Snape in the middle of sending a warning to Dumbledore. Snape faced certain exposure, torture, and death. That is, until the Duke of Hyrule happened upon the scene and intervened. He placed a mind charm on Worley so that he went to Voldemort and bragged that he himself was the spy, and killed several Death Eaters as proof before Voldemort killed him. Thus, Severus was once again safe.
Severus was also bound to yet another master. Link's cost of intervention was quite simple, and quite high. "You will send me reports of everything you find out about Voldemort's movements; and Dumbledore's movements too. Do this faithfully, and you will live. Fail, and you will be exposed to Voldemort. I will not let him kill you, but you won't be able to spy on him any longer."
Severus communicated with the Duke of Hyrule by the means of sparrows and American silver dimes. He would write his reports in High-Elven, a language Snape learned as a boy from his half-elf grandmother, but was otherwise almost unknown. He would take the note, fasten it to a sparrow along with an American silver dime, and send the bird on its way. The dime would act like a portkey; as well as providing a warning if Snape had been turned, or voluntarily betrayed his unique position to anyone. Link in turn would send his answers and instructions back using the same sparrow, and whatever means came to hand to speed the small bird safely on its journey. After Voldemort was dispatched, the bag of dimes vanished, replaced by a note reading "thanks." Snape was free!
But the fresh bag of dimes revealed that Severus' freedom was transitory at best. Once again, he was drafted into the service of the Duke of Hyrule. For what purpose and duration, Severus could only guess. This bothered him no end. He had had no loyalty to Voldemort, once he found out the truth behind the flowery and euphemistic propaganda the failed half-blood turned Walpurgian was fond of. But, he was loyal to Albus Dumbledore, the only man ever to earn his respect. Yet, the English Potions Master was held hostage to the will of the Duke of Hyrule. For the Duke would indeed expose him if Severus failed to produce and produce faithfully. He cursed to himself again, shaking his head. He was a man prone to brooding, but not when there was work to be done.
He opened and read the note, reading between the lines. The Duke of Hyrule knew where the brat was hidden! He might in fact have hidden the brat himself; the Duke was even more arrogant than Albus Dumbledore, which was saying something. He thought to himself as he walked toward the castle, burning the note and pocketing the dimes as he went. How much could he tell Dumbledore without betraying the Duke of Hyrule, and make no mistake, Dumbledore could no more save him from the Duke's wrath than stop the sun from rising in the morning. He arrived at the stone gargoyles and pronounced the password, "Milky Way." The gargoyles stepped to the side, admitting Severus, and at the same time telling Dumbledore who was coming up, as each person had a different password.
Albus opened the door magically as Snape topped the staircase. He said, "Do come in, Severus. Are we taking a break from grading final exams?"
Snape walked into his boss's office, cursing beneath his breath at the damned twinkle Dumbledore had in his eyes; a twinkle that simultaneously betrayed his boss's good mood and provided a fixation target so the old coot could legillimize whomever he was speaking to. But, it was in fact a game between the two of them. Severus was a master of Occlumency, the counter-art to legillamancy, and was one of only two people in the world whose thoughts were safe from Albus Dumbledore.
"If you had to grade the potions exams I've received this year, Headmaster, you'd be taking a break too!" Snape exclaimed as he took a seat, and silently refused Albus' offer of a lemon drop.
Snape continued, "I've still heard nothing. If any Death Eater had Potter, they would be crowing from the roof-tops. Likewise, any who would fancy themselves the next Dark Lord would also be crowing if they had him. I would recommend doing as we are; looking, but looking discretely. After all, while we know who doesn't have him, we don't know who does, or why."
"Wonderful advice, as always, Severus" the headmaster replied. The two men talked of various things on into the night.
This regime of searching quietly continued on into the next year, with identical results. No one had Harry Potter, and no one knew that anyone else didn't have Harry Potter. The Death Eaters thought Dumbledore had him, the Ministry thought Dumbledore had him, Dumbledore had no idea who had him, and Link was raising him openly, with none save his own Lord-Keeper and Parliament being aware of just who Prince Harry really was.
Meanwhile, the Hyrulian Press were finally publishing the rare, black and white photographs of Prince Harry and Prince Neville, in the society pages of The Day, The Pantograph, and the other leading Hyrulian newspapers. They also had an agreement with the Ducal Household, which they honoured scrupulously. Firstly, only black and white pictures were to be published, until further notice. Secondly, no pictures of Prince Harry were to be published without his makeup firmly in place on his forehead. Thirdly, only pictures approved by the Duke of Hyrule himself were to be published. The pictures tended to not emphasize Prince Harry, rather focusing more on Prince Neville, or Prince Neville and Prince Harry's playmates. The precautions weren't entirely without reason; Albus Dumbledore read The Pantograph at least twice a week. But, in the end, it was the scar, and the brilliant green eyes that first gave Harry away as Harry Potter, and only to those who knew him. After all, the boy was only fifteen months old when he disappeared. And everyone knew that the Duke of Hyrule had actually raised Prince Harry and Prince Neville from infancy, taking them in the very day that their parents gave their lives bravely in service to Hyrule. Thusly Prince Harry was Prince Harry well before Harry Potter came up missing.
The situation continued yet another year. Dumbledore went so far as to write the Duke of Hyrule to enquire if he might be willing to aid in the search. Link was in a particularly bad mood because he had just received a note from Prince Harry and Prince Neville's school asking him to tell the princes that there were some words nice boys didn't say to their teachers, such as words that had four letters and referred to bodily functions, etc. He wrote back that "he wasn't in the Harry Potter finding business" and "in future kindly ask me where your children are before you misplace them!" Severus occasionally checked in with Link, enquiring as to the state of affairs; always receiving the same answer in return—patience and discretion.
Remus Lupin finally had to find work again, something very difficult for a werewolf in wizarding England. Lupin had taken correspondence courses, and later had gone to night-school in the muggle world. Thus, Remus Lupin was qualified as a muggle school-teacher as well as a wizarding one, thanks to Albus Dumbledore. But there were no steady jobs for werewolf school-teachers in either wizarding or muggle England. The muggles wouldn't tolerate consistently being sick and away from the job with every full moon, even not knowing the dangers. If they for some reason knew of magic, then they would refuse to hire Remus outright. After all, Lyncanthropy was indeed an incurable and potentially contagious disease! Who would hire a man with such an illness to care for small defenceless children?
Remus was able to make some money as a private tutor, usually tutoring Lycanthropic children. Unfortunately, Remus had indeed been an exception to many rules; among those being that English children infected with Lycanthropy died of complications between three and five years after infection under the best cases; often children with this disease were killed by their parents or doctors far sooner, with the tacit approval of the Ministry of Magic.
Remus thought about applying for work in Hyrule. Unlike in England, there were few restrictions on werewolves; there were even some working as school teachers. But, in the end, he always held out for a few more months. He didn't want to be out of the country when Professor Dumbledore finally found Harry. He swore that this time there would be no chance of the Dursleys getting Harry. Remus would raise the child himself, even if he had to kidnap Harry again and run off to Hyrule to do so! He had failed James and Lily once when Sirius betrayed them. He had failed them again when Harry was placed with his screwed-up Aunt and Uncle, and he failed them again as far as he knew when whoever kidnapped Harry struck. He would never fall them another time. Thusly, on this nineteenth day of July in 1984, Remus was most conflicted by the letter he had received from the employment agency with which he was working, trying to find a job.
The letter read:
"Dear Mr. Lupin: We have found a possible situation for you, tutoring two small gifted magical children. Neither one is a Lyncanthrope, and your potential employer knows of your own Lyncanthropy. Depsite that, the employer is particularly desirous of interviewing you for the situation. The only draw-back is that the posting is abroad, and due to the demands placed on your time should you be hired, travel back to England will be difficult. However, the employer offers you payment to the tune of £100,000 per year, full medical and healing benefits including all Lyncanthropy treatments, room, board, and a generous clothing allowance.
"We have no way of confirming who the employer is, though we suspect some Danish or Hyrulian noblemen or wealthy magical commoner. The employer's agents have posted an assurity bond and have sworn a Wizard's Oath that their employer is not, never has been, never will, and has no sympathy for Death Eaters, Walpurgians, or any other Evil Wizards. The potential employer wishes to met you at Ellsinore Castle in Denmark on the twenty-first of this month at Noon local time. We would strongly encourage you to take this posting; several of our other clients, clients we feel quite frankly would be better suited to this job, have already been explicitly rejected by the employer's agents. We doubt that we could find another situation this lucrative in the next one hundred years, and if an interview is not honestly held, we are unsure that we would find another situation at all.
Time is of the essence! We apologise for rushing you, but we need your return owl at once. Sincerely, TutorHire Inc, the leading employment agency for wizarding, squib, and knowledgeable muggle tutoring in all of England."
So, it was there in black-and-white. Remus would attend this interview in two days time, or his employment agency would drop him for good. He had originally tried smaller agencies, but none would take him; surprising, only the largest and most prestigious agency in England had the stones as well as the resources to work with a werewolf. But, their patience was at an end; if one turned down employment Abroad, and employment Abroad was the only employment available, then any agency who made their money off of the commission of successful hires would soon turn away; they were an employment agency after all, not a charity.
So, with heavy heart, and no other choice, really, Remus wrote and sent his reply. "Dear sirs: My apologies for being behind the time in sending this. I will be at Ellsinore Castle at noon on the twenty-first. As per our contract, I will advise of the success or failure of the interview, and pay the appropriate monies whether the interview provides a situation or not. Sincerely, Remus J. Lupin."
Remus wrote another letter, this time to Professor Dumbledore. "Dear Headmaster: I am financially at my wit's end. My employment agency wrote me with an interview appointment for a situation Abroad. I have no choice but to make the interview, or to be dropped by them altogether. As they were the only agency to take me in the first place, I would in effect be on the dole, something my parents always feared, and something my respect for their memory will never allow happen.
"I will not be able to communicate regularly should I get the situation. However, if I find anything out about our special project, I will let you know as soon as I can.
"Please accept my apologies for what I must do. If there were any other way, I would indeed find it. Sincerely, Remus."
Remus received a reply on the morning of the twentieth, just as he was about to start his journey to Denmark. "Dear Remus: Don't worry about your situation. It may in fact be for the best. Let me know how your interview goes, and if you find out anything else of interest. Yours, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
The morning of the twenty-first found Remus Lupin standing at the wizarding plaque outside the ruins of Ellsinore Castle. Remus read the plaque to pass the time.
"Ellsinore Castle. This castle was once the seat of government for the Kingdom of Denmark. After the tragic demise of Prince Hamlet, his uncle, and mother, the Danes were forced to turn to the Duke of Hyrule for protection. The Duke administered a government from this castle for the next fifty years, his price being that he alone would occupy the castle in future. As a political compromise, once Prince Hamlet's successor was finally agreed upon, the new Royal House moved to Copenhagen, and Ellsinore Castle was abandoned, and allowed to fall into ruin, as you see today."
"Remus Lupin?" someone asked.
Remus turned around to see a man with reddish blond hair and piercing blue eyes looking at him. The man stood six feet tall, making Remus feel slightly small, shrunken, and vulnerable. The werewolf Gryffindor found his courage and answered, "Yes, I am. And you would be, sir?"
The man answered, "I am your potential employer. You have come alone, which is a good thing."
Remus suddenly felt as if every thought and dream he ever had was being perused, and that he was in fact on trial for his life! He had read of being legillimized, but had never thought of it; one of the few side-effects of Lycanthropy was that it's sufferers were resistant to the Imperious Curse, and immune to being legillimized. Yet, the reading of his thoughts continued unabated.
Remus heard a voice in his mind, one he knew for a fact was planted there by the strange man before him. "Remus Lupin, does your loyalty to Harry Potter rise above your loyalty to Albus Dumbledore?"
Remus was paralysed with fear and uncertainty! For he was indeed loyal to Albus Dumbledore for all the things the Headmaster had done for him over the years, when lesser men could not or would not be bothered. Yet, Harry was not only his friends' son, he had indeed become his own "cub," werewolves were most devoted to their children; and if the parental bond travelled from man to wolf, the children of Lycanthopes were indeed almost perfectly safe from contracting Lyncanthropy from anyone.
In his mind's eye, Remus saw a pile of Galleons and thousand-pound notes. The voice continued, "Remus, no man is perfect, but you are a good man. I only require the truth from you. The money you see as a vision will become real, you must only tell me the honest truth. If the truth is not to my liking, you will not be barred from that you would honestly do in later years, unlike some. You would only be barred from harming those I have sworn to protect, until you would give them no harm. If the truth is to my liking, you would receive this money, and more besides. Moreover, you would be engaged in the work of your heart as well as that of your mind. But fair or foul, I must have the truth, and have it now! I ask again, who do you chose first, Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore."
Remus' mind was frozen. Yet, his heart was clear. Before he could reconsider, Remus answered hopefully, "Harry?"
The voice left his mind, and the man before him spoke normally. He said, "If you answered in truth, the situation is yours, Mr. Lupin. I will allow you to meet your students, in their home, within the hour. At that time, I will explain the details of your situation, and theirs, and I will require a final and binding answer from you. As you know, I've already read many of your thoughts and memories. Rest assured I can obliviate you as well, should I need to, as that is the only way left to me to honourably protect my charges should you prove more loyal to Dumbledore, or should you think Dumbledore serves their interests more faithfully than I do.
"Pick up the satchel by your feet" the man commanded. Remus picked it up, noting it was rather heavy. "That, Remus, is the money you saw. It is an interview bonus, whether or not you accept the situation. If you refuse it, you won't remember the true details of our conversation, only that your interviewer had filled the posting elsewhere; your agency and you both will be paid generously, and they will in turn be encouraged to continue to try finding you employment. If you accept the situation, with all the restrictions it entails, your agency will be paid by me for both my commission and yours. They will be happy to work with you in future, though I venture you will never need them again; after all, I can't remember the last time I've had to fire someone, and I doubt that you will quit, though you will be free to do so, subject to the restrictions of your employment. Do you wish to continue?"
At first, Remus was unaware he had been asked a question by his prospective new boss. But, he came around, and numbly nodded his head. The man stated pleasantly but finally, "This satchel is also a portkey. We will be there in three… two… one!" Remus' vision became a swirl of colours.
Link braced Remus as they landed in the Duke's office. He said, "Remus, if I may be so bold, I am Link Arlisson, the Duke of Hyrule. I haven't decided how to have you address me, but until and unless I tell you otherwise, never refer to me by my name! 'Your Grace,' 'His Grace,' and 'your Father' when speaking to the boys will do for now. Let's sit down and speak further."
Remus answered, "Yes, Your Grace?" as he sat down on a rather comfortable sofa.
"Excellent, Remus. You'll do just fine. Now as to your situation. You're familiar with Prince Harry and Prince Neville, are you not?"
Remus answered, "Before this morning, I would have thought myself as familiar with them as any other Englishman, and more so than most. But I now sense I am quite ignorant about them, Your Grace."
"Indeed, Remus. I'll tell you the short version of what happened. Before James and Lily Potter were killed, Lily wrote me, as her kinsman, asking me to help her keep Harry alive and safe. If you've ever studied Kokirish custom, you would know that to refuse her would have branded me niederling and unfit to rule or live. I travelled with all possible speed to Godric's Hollow, but I was to late to intervene otherwise, Lily and James were murdered, Voldemort's killing curse at Harry rebounded, and thus began the English legend and hysteria about the "Boy Who Lived." I followed Harry's travels from Godric's Hollow to Little Whinging, where Albus Dumbledore intended Harry to be raised, not even knowing of the fate of Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. I watched Harry's Aunt and Uncle, and immediately found them profoundly unfit to raise Harry. I was thus honour-bound to remove Harry from their care permanently, and find him a more suitable home.
"So, the following morning, I paid the Dursleys a visit, and paid them the 'Traitor's Payment' in exchange for Harry. I had already determined that Frank and Alice Longbottom would make ideal adoptive parents for Harry, provided they were true to Harry, and not Dumbledore's limited understanding of blood shields as opposed to other forms of protection, and I will explain that in just a moment.
"The day I went to do the final interview with the Longbottoms happened to be the day when Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, and young Barty Crouch decided to torture the Longbottoms into insanity and attempt the murder of Frank Longbottom's mother. Neville had vanished himself, and would have died for sure if I hadn't found him. Unfortunately, I had lost the one place I could have placed Harry, and had another child to deal with as well.
"Or rather, I should say, 'in a sad, yet desirous, but politically inconvenient circumstance.' Harry bonded with me the very night Dumbledore left him on his aunt and uncle's porch, and I in turn bonded with him later that morning. Neville bonded with Harry the moment I placed him in the car with us to leave the remains of his home, and bonded with me that night, as I bonded to him. They are now my sons, in all manner of ways except by direct biology.
"I had an adoption bill drafted and passed by the Hyrulian Parliament. Prince Harry and Prince Neville are now my sons, and my political heirs. They will not be removed from Hyrule against my will or theirs. However, Harry and Neville both will be directly involved in the final defeat of Voldemort, something even I can't do, and herein lies the problem, and why this situation is best filled by you, and you alone.
"Though I disagreed with Dumbledore on his choice of adoptive parents, I did not disagree with his motives. If Harry were to grow up with all the fluff and crap adoration of wizarding England thrown at him, it would likely turn his head, something no one can afford. However, he will be trained in all the forms of magic he can perform, his magic will be as natural as breathing, and Neville's too. And make no mistake, either boy is more powerful than many adult English wizards! I will not have that power squandered; especially when the want of that power could prove deadly to them down the road. They will be educated as well as loved. However, they will not know their birth identities until they are ready to attend Hogwarts, and I will explain that as well.
"If they learn their birth identies before the proper time, Albus Dumbledore will have an easier time trying to kidnap Harry and place him in some other inapropriate circumstance, such as with the Dursleys again. They will also have to deal more directly with all the empty praise and incorrect exagerations of Harry's abilities. As I said, and as I'm sure you will agree, the truth is bad enough. The commonly held falsehoods are potentially poisonous!
"Moreover, I can't surrender Neville to his Grandmother as would otherwise be the right and honourable thing to do. If Neville Longbottom were to 'return to the living,' if you will, it would only be a matter of time before Dumbledore would start asking where Neville had been all these years. Were to find the answer to that question, Harry would once again be in danger.
"Prince Harry and Prince Neville will, of course, have to attend Hogwarts, despite the fact that the syllabus of that institution will be beneath them by the time they're old enough to enter. Under the best of circumstances, we will only be able to frustrate Voldemort for so long. By the time Prince Harry and Prince Neville are seventeen or so, Voldemort will surely have found a way back to a physical body. In order to have the best chance of beating Voldemort, and having the support of the English public that will entail, they will have to be reintroduced into English society. I believe that the best way to do that will be by having them attend Hogwarts, as their birth parents did.
"Your job will be difficult, but quite simple. You will be their primary tutor, especially in things related to English magic. You will help teach the truth about Harry Potter, which is in itself going to be rather difficult to teach. Yet, neither Prince Harry nor Prince Neville are to know who they were born! They already know they were adopted, and that their birth parents were killed by Voldemort. They will soon learn that once they turn eleven, they will be required to help Harry Potter to prepare, to fight, and to defeat Voldemort for all time. They just won't learn why until their Hogwarts letters come, in the summer of 1991.
"You will help teach them all they will need to learn in all manner of things, and assist the efforts of others in the subjects you don't know yourself. Harry and Neville are fated to battle Voldemort, and are also Margraves of the Realm of Hyrule. Harry is the Margrave of Ivanhoe, and Neville is the Margrave of Ellsinore. Both will be ready to assume all their duties, and I charge you with that responsibility. They are both incredibly bright children, and absorb learning almost like sponges, though Harry is more temperamental, and sometimes has to be persuaded to learn; this is just wilfulness, not lack of talent, and with the right teacher, he will learn quickly.
"Now, as to blood shields and blood wards. Albus Dumbledore knows a lot about them, yet not nearly enough. The blood wards from the magic Lily used to save Harry's life are far more portable, yet far more sensitive to emotion than he realized. So much so, in fact, that the shields lasted for several months after I removed Harry, yet have also followed here to Hyrule Castle, where they are indeed damn-near impregnable. The wards would have travelled to the Longbottoms as well, with a short ceremony similar to the muggle ceremony of 'blood-brothers.' However, with the dislike Petunia and Vernon Dursley felt towards Harry, the wards would have provided negligible protection at best. More realistically, the wards would have fallen quietly within a few years time, never to be raised again, as those monstrous things destroyed Harry's self-worth and joy of living. As Hyrule is threatened by Voldemort, I could not tolerate that. As the kinsman of Lily Potter, I could not tolerate that. As Harry's father, I will never allow a chance of that to come to pass again!
"And as for why you." Lupin nodded, though he sensed the answer. Link continued, "You are the last of the friends of James and Lilly Potter; oddly enough, Harry still dreams about you, and remembers you by your old school nickname. I would take similar liberties with Neville were it possible. But, his only living sane relatives are hisGrandmother andGreat Uncle. And as I've already mentioned, havingPrince Nevillediscovered to have been Neville Longbottom would place Harry in mortal peril. Most undesirable, wouldn't you say?"
Remus thought of the man, and answered, "Right. Most definately so."
"But back to you, Remus Lupin. Do you accept the situation? Do you work for me?" the Duke asked.
Lupin answered at once. "I work for Harry Potter. Not Albus Dumbledore, nor for you, though you may be the one paying me. You sought candour, you have it."
The Duke of Hyrule sat quietly for a few moments. Finally, he answered, "That is enough to be getting on with, Remus. Follow me, and I will introduce you to the princes."
As the two men left the room, Remus couldn't help but second-guess himself at answering so truthfully. What if he decided that Harry was better off somewhere else? Hadn't he just given the Duke of Hyrule notice that he could be second-guessed by a common-born werewolf? And, how would he handle Harry now. Harry had loved him almost as much as he loved his Mum and Dad. But Harry loved everyone except for Peter Pettigrew that way! Everyone, including Sirius Black, the man who betrayed the Potters to Voldemort! And, that was over two years ago, an eternity for young children. What was Remus to do?
The two men entered the Princes' nursery, and all doubt was removed from Remus' mind. Harry saw Remus right away and exclaimed, "Moony?" That was followed up by a burst of strange language until the Duke of Hyrule said sharply, "Harry! English! Moony doesn't speak Kiríál yet, you are the one who's supposed to teach him!"
Harry looked at his adoptive father and answered, "Yes, sir." Harry looked back at Remus, green eyes sparkling and shining andsaid, "Where have you been, Moony! I thought you died like Padfoot and my birth-parents, when Wormtail betrayed them! Please don't leave me again! I promise to be good…"
Remus Lupin's heart melted in that instant, as he charged and embraced his cub. His mind spun and whirled in confusion though. How did Harry remember him, and Sirius Black? How had the child decided that Peter Pettigrew had betrayed his birth-parents and him, and not Sirius? Could Sirius at least be innocent of the Potters's demise, if not that of Pettigrew and the innocent muggles whose only crime had been being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
A second timid voice asked, "Mr. Lupin? Will you be my tutor as well, or just Harry's?"
Remus and Harry answered as one, "Both, of course!" Remus caught the other child in his arms, and hugged them both. Remus too found himself with more children than he had bargained for, and like his employer, couldn't be happier for it.
Later that evening, Harry joined his father in his dreams. "Papa," the boy asked, "Why did you bring Mooney here? I'm glad you did, but why?"
The Hyrulian answered, "So I wouldn't have to endure you keening again at school. But you still won't tell me why?"
Keening is a type of crying unique to Kokiri children when they are profoundly terrified,ocassionally when they leave home for the first time to attend school, but more usually if they are being attacked, kidnapped, etc. The sound of keening is such a piercing cry that any non-Kokiri within several miles who have even the slightest ill will for the child or who the child perceives as being a threat are immobilized in great pain. Fortunately Harry and Neville were at the Kokiri School in Mido's Clearing, otherwise many people could have been hurt.
Harry answered, "Papa, I told you I can't honourably say why I did, only that I had misperceived something."
Link said, "I have read far enough into your memories to sense that. I give you my word that I will never read any further. But I ask you that someday you do tell me why. It will make your heart lighter to share with me this burden."
"Perhaps it may, someday. But until that day comes, Papa, I beg you not to force your way in."
"I'll never do that, son. I could also tell that for me to take that secret would harm you even more than your giving that secret willingly would help you. You are my eldest living son. My love for you and my responsibility as your father have me do things that you don't like because you are still a child. Yet I will never truly harm you, and to go further than I already have would do just that."
Neville announced his entry into his father's mind by asking, "Do I have to keen at school like an idiot to get someone from my old life, too?"
Link said, "Certainly not, Neville! That was a mean thing to say! Besides, Mooney is a great tutor and I can trust him! It's not my fault that Harry knew him before and you didn't, and it's not Harry's either! I thought you loved your brother?"
Neville started sobbing and looked at his feet. He mumbled, "Sorry, but I'm jealous, and it hurts..."
Harry hugged his brother, and sadly asked, "Would it make you feel better if Mooney left? I'd miss him terribly, but if it would make you happy..."
"No!" Neville shouted. "I don't want you sad! But it hurts that you can remember you Mami and Dadi's friends when I can't! Don't let Mooney go, Papa. Please..."
"Don't worry, Mooney isn't going anywhere any time soon" Link answered.
The two children calmed down and started to play noisily in Link's mind as the night wore on.