Last time on Black and White:
"This sucks." he said to no one in particular.
Tonks walked up and joined him by the bank.
"I know it does, but hey you'll see. Soon you'll be making eyes at another girl and she'll be smart, and pretty and a badass. And when you finally man-up and ask her out, she'll say yes."
The two of them sat there for a moment, watching the lake and noticed the squid playfully swimming below the surface.
"This sucks." Harry muttered again.
"I know... but I promise, it'll get better." Tonks replied as she tilted her head and rested it on his shoulder.
Book 4 – Chapter 1: Summer Shenanigans!
The exams were rough on the group even Andrew as he started second guessing himself when it came to certain questions. But soon they found themselves on the last day of their third year at Hogwarts enjoying their breakfast.
The meal was relatively quiet until the school ceiling was filled with owls, everyone was quite confused by this until they saw what they were all holding, a morning addition of the Prophet. They all waited patiently as the owls landed but soon gasps and whispers filled the hall.
Andrew and Harry noticed the commotion seemed to once again revolve around them. Looking around they saw Hermione reading her own paper with a bewildered expression. Quickly going over to her and reading over her shoulder they saw the headline which caused all the excitement.
Sirius Black: Proven Innocent! Ministry offers official Apology and compensation.
Ex-Convict demands custody of God children!
Harry and Andrew shared a look before laughing to themselves. They looked to their friends and noticed their happy expressions matching their own. They weren't hard to spot, considering the fact that the faces around them seemed to be nothing but shocked expressions.
But the Potter's mood took a quick downswing when they noticed Dumbledore's face.
Crap.
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They weren't surprised when their Head of House approached them and informed them of the Headmaster's request to see them in his office, followed by the unsubtle password information.
This is how the boys ended up in Dumbledore's office staring at the Headmaster as he stared back at them, his cool blue eyes not giving any indication to his thoughts.
"Boys, I assume you know why I have called you to my office?" he asked them softly.
"Yes sir." Harry responded.
"Well, I'm sure this news about Sirius is very exciting and I'm sure he made you promises that night you saved him."
The boys chose to not speak wanting to see where this conversation was headed.
"But unfortunately you cannot move in with him."
"What?!" they yelled in unison.
"The protection around your home in Surrey..."
"That hell hole isn't our home!" Andrew retorted hotly.
Albus sighed tiredly. "None the less, you boys will be much safer there." he finished.
"Sir I don't understand, you mentioned that our mother's sacrifice keeps us safe so what does that have to do with Surrey?" Harry asked barely containing his own anger.
"The wards around Privet Drive are not only keyed to you but your Aunt, it is her blood that keeps you both safe." he informed them.
"Well, interesting isn't it? That apparently those wards aren't keeping tabs on our actual health or our mental state." Andrew said his words drowning sarcasm.
"Now Andrew I'm sure you are overreacting..."
"And how would you know?! 10 years in that hell! 10 fucking years and you never once decided to check in on us and now you believe you have any right to dictate our living arrangements?!" Andrew yelled at the old man, shocking him. Usually the dark skinned boy was more composed than this.
"I have people keeping an eye on your safety, Andre-"
"Well they're doing a shit job aren't they?! Don't you find it weird how we'd be more than happy living with a complete stranger before headed back to that... place?!" Andrew asked his temper reaching new levels.
Dumbledore seemed to deflate at that, he had certainly noticed it.
"Andrew, there really isn't much that can be changed, besides, Sirius' claim as your guardian has been rejected until he fulfills a year of recuperation. So you must return anyway. Boys, I implore you to trust me. Privet Drive is the safest place for you."
"Sir, no offense, but I agree with Andrew. We hate the Dursley's and they hate us. We want to move in with Sirius as soon as he is allowed to take us." Harry told him with finality.
Dumbledore stared at the two boys in front of him. This was certainly going to be a difficult situation, he couldn't risk them being outside the protection of the wards while at the same time, he really couldn't lose their trust, not when their trials were just about to get harder and they needed him.
Sighing he thought of a compromise.
"Alright, how about going to the Dursley's for a few weeks before joining Sirius when he is allowed to take you? This will allow the wards to recharge allowing them to protect your fami-"
"Relatives." Andrew cut in.
Dumbledore sighed once more. "...your relatives and you can spend some time with Sirius?"
The boys shared a look and turned back to their Headmaster.
"How many weeks are we talking about here?" Andrew asked, with furrowed brow.
"Three, at least."
They shared another look and turned back to Dumbledore.
"Fine." Harry said shortly.
Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the two boys.
"Thank you for trusting me boys." he told them, with honest sincerity.
"This isn't trust, we're simply doing whatever we can so that we don't have to be there any longer than we have to be." Andrew said clearly. "Is that all professor? We have to go pack now."
Dumbledore felt a small shiver run up his spine. Andrew had never really trusted the Headmaster, well he never trusted any adult to be fair but he seemed to be much more suspicious of Dumbledore than the others. He didn't like this lack of trust he getting from Andrew, but knew for the time being that there was little to nothing he could do about it and simply nodded, allowing the boys to leave his office.
"Thirteen and already with so much anger on his shoulders. I fear his condition will only worsen, and should Voldemort return and Andrew has completely lost all respect for the light side..." he couldn't even finish that thought.
There was a lot he had to account for when it came to Raymond's son. His temper, his heritage, his history. Andrew was a dark horse in all his plans, but he needed to make it work, and for that he needed the boy to be trusting of him and his advice.
He was already starting to affect Harry, proven by the boys prank pulling and general back chat. This was going to be a long road, but a road Dumbledore had to endure none the less. He walked over to one of the portraits in his office and requested that it go and alert Severus that he needed to speak with him.
With Pettigrew caught it was anyone's guess as to who would be the one to find the Dark Lord. Dumbledore had been searching all over for the wraith of his former student ever since the first encounter with Quirrel and the Diary, he had heard whispers and rumors and he was confident he knew Voldemort's next move.
There was a knock at his door, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Enter."
"Good morning, Headmaster." Snape greeted as he entered the office.
"Ah Severus, good to see you. Lemon Drop?" he offered with a small twinkle in his eye.
"No thank you."
"Severus I suspect you know why I have called you here."
"You've found him?" the potions master asked.
"I have heard... certain stories, one of which I was hoping you could convince a previous... acquaintance of yours to check..." Dumbledore hinted.
"Ah... which acquaintance did you have in mind?" Severus asked with a raised brow.
"I'll leave the selection to your discretion. I fear certain sacrifices must be made, in order to once again restore peace to our little corner of the world." the silver bearded man said with a sad sigh.
"Of course, I will go find a suitable candidate." Severus stated before nodding his head and leaving the room.
"Thank you."
With that the grumpy potions professor exited the office and headed straight for his floo to contact an "old friend".
Albus watched him leave and turned to his drawer, he pulled out Tom Riddle's diary and placed it on his desk before sighing lightly.
"Oh Tom, where has your pursue for power landed you?" he muttered quietly.
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The Potters headed off to the train leaving for London. They didn't speak much in the carriage each one lost in thought, about the scenario regarding their living arrangements. The others noticed their silenced states and shared a look between themselves.
Once they boarded the train the others couldn't take it anymore.
"Guys..." Hermione probed softly.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay? You've been awfully quiet." Luna asked her headed tilted slightly.
"Yeah, sorry just thinking about stuff. So, what are the plans for summer?" Harry asked the people in the room.
Luna perked up and was the first to answer the question. "Oh well daddy and I have plans to go to Sweden, we've heard rumors of a gaggle of Crumple-Horned Snorkack near the Alps."
"..."
The others turned to Andrew who watched the girl and blinked. "I hope it's from a verified source. I remember you telling us how elusive they are." he answered while gesturing between Su and himself.
"Oh and make sure you take warm clothing, I know it's very exciting but the last thing you want to get get sick and need to cut the expedition short." Su added as she looked up from her book at the tiny blonde.
"Oh yes, I'll make sure to remind daddy as well." she told them with a happy smile.
There was a slight pause as everyone else tried processing what they had just heard.
"So... my father scored some tickets for the Quidditch world cup and managed to get extra for you three." he told them with a smile while looking at the Potters and Hermione.
"Quidditch... World... Cup?" Andrew asked slowly.
"Yeah we should be free, but how will we get there?" Harry asked with a frown.
"You mean... Quidditch, played professionally?"
"Oh well, we could probably come by your house a few days before the tournament and pick you up? I'm not sure exactly, but I'll ask my dad and owl you when I find out." Ron answered.
"And nobody thought to tell me about this...?"
"Andrew! Every sport has a tournament, it really shouldn't be that surprising that Quidditch has one as well!" Hermione snapped before she too turned to her book.
"... rude. What about you Su, any particular plans?" he asked the Ravenclaw.
"Well, my mother has been planning a trip to China for a while now she sent me an owl a little while ago asking if I wanted to join her and I... well I agreed." Su answered with a smile.
Hermione gasped in excitement. "Anything you're looking forward to in particular?"
"Well, I'll probably be spending some time with my family on my father's side while I'm there, but I'm also excited to learn the customs and how the magical community works over there."
Hermione, Luna and Su started discussing the trip with more vigor as the boys shared a look and Andrew pulled out a pack of cards.
"Exploding Snap?" he asked with a raised brow and they nodded in enthusiasm.
The ride was comfortable with only a small amount of irritation caused by the arrival of Malfoy and his little band of minions.
"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" he asked after he had swung the door open.
"Jesus Christ, Malfoy... why?" Andrew asked tiredly.
"I just came by to ask you if you were going to the World Cup." he said smugly. "Probably not though, you Weasley's probably couldn't afford it."
"Shut up, Malfoy." Ron sneered.
"Nice comeback, Traitor. Well, father was personally invited by the Minister himself."
"I'm too tired for this." the dark skinned boy said throwing his head back.
"Oh? Too busy with your half-blood whores, hey?"
Before anyone could speak Andrew stood up and held the blond by the collar of his shirt in a tight grip.
"Watch your damn mouth." he growled lowly. "Oh, that's right, don't you owe me a favor? I'm sure I could make you do some horrible shit, couldn't I?"
Once again reminded by the debt Malfoy owed Andrew he paled and his eyes grew wide. He pulled himself free and straightened his collar before snapping his fingers and dragged his party with him. Since his back was to his friends, they missed the look he shot one particular member of Malfoy's little gang who turned away and caught up with the others.
Andrew entered the carriage once again and sat down.
"Why don't you use the debt yet?" Hermione asked genuinely curious.
"The threat of calling in the debt is enough to hold him off for now. I use it too early and there goes all our leverage." he answered with a shrug.
"That's a decidedly Slytherin tactic." Luna observed.
"Nah... just a smart tactic. Why show all your cards when you can just bluff them into a corner." Andrew responded with a shrug.
The rest of the ride back to London was relatively quiet and before they knew it they arrived at the station and got off the Express. They said their goodbyes as Luna went off with her father and had a short talk with the Weasley's who promised that they would get back to the boys regarding the World Cup.
Next they came across Su's mother whose eye's lit up at the sight of her daughter.
"Su!" she greeted with a large smile.
"Hello mum." she greeted as she smiled back.
Su's mother turned to her daughters friends and smiled at them.
"Hello, thank you for watching out for my daughter." she said as she gave them a small bow.
"Oh, ma'am, please don't worry about it." Hermione said slightly flustered.
Andrew and Harry simply waved off her thanks and said it wasn't an issue at all. Just then they heard Hermione's mother in the crowd.
"Oh we'd better leave now." Hermione said as politely as she could.
"Not an issue, goodbye."
"We'll see you next term, Su." Andrew called just before he and his friends turned away.
"Suoyi, ni hai aizhe ta ma?" Su's mother asked as she watched the group leave.
"Mama!" Su called out her face a bright red shade.
Finally they met with Hermione's parents who were as nice as they were when they met them last. There was some casual conversation before they knew they had to leave the station and meet their relatives outside.
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They arrived on number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey and were pulling their trunks out of the car. Once they entered the residence the warmth of the summer heat instantly died and was replaced by the cold atmosphere from the residence of the house they were currently in.
"Now listen here...!"
"Jesus not this again." Andrew said as he leaned against the wall.
"Shut up." Vernon sneered at the boy. Once again the boys received the whole talk about chores, normality and the usual threats.
Once everything was said and done they dragged the trunks up to their room and began their summer homework. A few hours passed and they had just finished a third of their work load when they were called down to prepare supper.
Soon enough the boys found themselves back to their Dursley routine. This went on for about a week and half before Andrew started showing signs of snapping. Harry went off to Petunia and informed her that they'd be out of the house from after lunch. She seemed to be against it in the beginning before she realized they would be away for her for an entire afternoon and allowed it.
Leaving the house they made their way to the park and saw Dudley and his gang once again terrifying some of the younger kids. Unfortunately they were spotted as well, the group made their way to the two boys.
"Potter! What are you doing here? Didn't you hear? The park is only allowed for those with parents." Dudley said as he approached the boys, all the while his gaggle of henchmen laughed mindlessly at his joke.
"Honestly, how do you not explode? What normal person finds the death of another person's parents a joke?" Andrew asked frowning.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about you, orphaned twice, huh? Must've been really hated, hey?" he shot back at Andrew.
"Shut it, Dudley." Harry warned.
"Or what?" Dudley threatened as he stepped closer.
"Or we'll make you." said a new voice.
Turning they came face to face with a tall guy with dark near black hair that came over his eyes, next him were two girls with brightly colored hair and a smaller blond haired boy who looked like he didn't want to be there.
"Ian! What are you guys doing here?" Andrew asked with a raised brow.
"On our way to the skate park and saw these punks bothering you." the tall teen answered with a shrug.
"Who're you?!" Dudley asked sneering at the group.
"Friends of theirs. Do we have a problem here?" Ian asked his brow raised.
"Yeah right, like these freaks have any friends!" Dursley Junior and his group once again chuckled.
"Well, we can assure you they're our friends so why don't you leave 'em alone." Jessie said as she stepped forward.
Dudley seemed to weigh his options before huffing and turning away with his group and disappeared down the road.
"Thanks guys." Andrew said gratefully before realizing he hadn't seen this group in a while and they had changed somewhat.
Ian the oldest of the group probably around 17 was the leader and was an amazing skater from what Andrew could remember. He was quite tall with long black hair, he wore black which Andrew had to image was quite uncomfortable in the summer heat.
Next was Jessie who had purple hair the last time Andrew had seen her changed it to a bright cyan blue color and a few piercings along her ear. Christy was the quiet one of the two girls, but going from their last lesson with the two girls, they found out she was just as vicious as the former girl. Christy had chestnut brown hair and pretty brown eyes, by all accounts she seemed like an average everyday girl.
Last but not least was Andrew's least favorite member of the skaters; Mark, the blond prick had given the brothers hell last time they had seem them. He was the youngest in the group being around 14 but acted as if he were the most experience member of the group.
"So anyway, where were you guys last summer? You just kinda disappeared." Jessie asked.
"We were... grounded." Harry informed them.
"What did you do?" she asked again this time decidedly more excited.
"Well, our guardians had guests over and well, stuff happened which resulted in a woman having cake dumped on her head. We were blamed and were punished." Andrew answered, careful to make the story both vague and informative.
"Well, that sucks... well, since you guys couldn't do it last summer how about this summer? Come by the park with your skates and we'll start your training over tomorrow." Ian offered.
The boys agreed and thanked them for the help before headed back to the house to finish their essays and start with the supper.
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Weeks passed and the boys were happy with their new schedule: Waking up earlier than everyone else, completing a section of their homework then preparing breakfast. They were usually finished by 7:30 am and after a ten minute shower each they were out of their relatives way when they prepared for their own day.
They then left the house with their skate equipment and headed down to the park to practice before Ian and his gang would arrive. Honestly they built up a bit of a bond with the members of the skate team. Ian filling the role of their older brother, Christy and Jessie who were the older sisters and Mark filling the little brother slot.
Everyday they had met up and everyday was filled with skating tips and tricks, some of which the boys picked up rather quickly and others not so much. They were supplemented with days filled with laughter and jokes and a ton of bruising from all the falling they had to endure during their "training".
Later in the evenings they would tend to their duties such as mowing the lawn and managing the garden. Once all of that was done, they retreated to their room without so much as a 'hello' to the Dursleys. They acted as if they didn't exist and were given the same courtesy. Once in their room they read letters from their friends and sent back their responses.
Harry had been talking a lot with Ron about the Quidditch world cup and Hermione about the coursework they'd likely be facing the upcoming school year and even tried keeping contact with Tonks, which was honestly a bit tough since the last he heard from her she was dead on her feet from the Auror training. Her responses were short and to the point, barely any mention of crazy stories or even people's names, though she did mention her mentor who'd seen a lot of potential in her; Alistor "Mad Eye" Moody. Apparently the man was crazier than a nest full of pixies.
Andrew was too conversing with Ron about the date of the tournament and so on so that he knew when he had to be prepared. He's talks with Hermione while not too different were slightly... weirder than usual. He couldn't quite place why it felt so strange but he knew something must've happened and vowed to ask her about it. She had mentioned that she had very recently come back from Paris; a surprise vacation her parents had presented to her. They came back into the country a few days ago. Andrew figured that it explained her late responses.
Though letters from Su were taking even longer to arrive seeing as she was on the opposite side of the world visiting relatives. Luckily she had a bird which traveled from England to China quite happily, it was a small black bird, which seemed to have a tuft of feathers collecting on the base of his beak. It seemed only slightly exhausted after the haul but was relatively fine.
Andrew spared a glance at his majestic coal black owl as she eyed the smaller bird enviously.
"Oh come off it, Arcanum you would be in an absolute mood if you had to travel that far." he snarked as she barked back at him.
Andrew occasionally sent letters off to Luna as well finding her way too fascinating and her stories genuinely entertaining to simply ignore.
After a few hours the boys went to bed and again the cycle continued into the next day.
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They were once again in the skate park when Harry landed a perfect kickflip receiving praise for the trick.
"Awesome! Not long now before you can finally drop in on a half pipe!" Ian said happily.
"Thanks, but I couldn't do it without you guys." Harry responded as he glowed from the positive feedback.
"True..."
The two laughed slightly and turned to see Mark and Andrew glaring at each other.
"Oh Christ. Not again." Ian muttered as he rolled over to the two of them easily. "Oi, what are you two doing now?" he asked.
Harry joined him soon after.
"Nothing." Mark responded with a shrug.
"He's just mad I landed a decent grind." Andrew replied with an eyebrow rise.
Harry and Ian shared a look before deciding it wasn't worth it and moving away.
"So any plans for the rest of summer?" the older boy asked curiously.
"Yeah, my brother and I might be going to... err an event with some of our... boarding school friends." Harry answered as cryptically as possible.
"Hmm, alright then, when you suspect that you'll be going?" Ian asked.
"Not sure exactly but probably within the next week or so. Then we'll be staying with them until the start of term."
"Hmm." Ian hummed while nodding his head.
"And what are you planning to do?" the younger boy asked curiously.
"Not sure, I've been thinking of becoming a bobby or I don't know maybe join MI6?" Ian responded with a small laugh.
"Whoa... you a copper?"
"Oi, don't act so surprised. I am the responsible one here."
"Yeah responsible for most of the fights." Jessie commented as she skated past.
"Prat." Ian muttered as she dismounted her board and ran up the half-pipe.
As the evening drew near Andrew and Harry bid their friends a fair well before headed off to the Dursley residence. Once they entered the house they were met by a few things. The biggest being the silence of the TV in the other room and the smell of obviously burnt food in the kitchen.
They walked further into the house and found the cause of the... oddities. It was none other than the oddest people they knew; The Weasleys all standing in the dining room while the Dursley's looked on in shock and confusion. Ron, Mr Weasley and the twins all stood staring at a member of the Dursley's while they stared back.
"Hiya Harry, Andrew. You ready to go?" Ron asked hoping to diffuse the awkwardness.
