I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC
Hello guys, Badger here. Back again. New chapter. I'm sure you know the drill by now. Before we get on to reading the new chapter, I would like to apologise, if you think the ending of this chapter is a little wonky and rushed. I haven't had much sleep lately and, as I've said in previous chapters, I'm trying to balance a lot of things at once, from stress with everything involving university, stress of the possibility of not getting into university and looking for Apprenticeships as a back up plan, my own personal issues with everything going on in my head, making youtube videos, writing fanfiction and working on a large scale project for my youtube channel. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I hope you can at least understand.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and I will see you at the end.
Chapter 75
Taking the Mark
Remus didn't like that he was sat in Dumbledore's office. He wanted to be with Harry and mourn Sirius properly. There may not be a body to bury, but he still deserved a funeral. Remus was still surprised he was able to restrain Harry from running into the Veil, after Sirius. His Lycanthropy may give him, what some may call super strength, but in that moment, he could feel his body weakening, as he tried to keep in the tears and pain. He sighed, as he thought of Harry. When he entered, Dumbledore was waving his wand and fixing up his office which looked like it had been hit by a muggle bomb. When asked, Dumbledore replied simply said 'Harry'. It made Remus wince, thinking about how much pain Harry must be going through at this moment in time.
"I'm glad you could come Remus" Dumbledore said, sitting on his chair "There is something urgent, I wish to discuss with you"
"And what is that Dumbledore?" Remus asked
"Concerns on where Harry will be living" Dumbledore sighed
"I don't see why that is a concern Dumbledore" Remus' eyes narrowed
"Well dear boy, with the Dursleys locked up and the unfortunate passing of Sirius, Harry doesn't have someone to look after him" Dumbledore replied
"Don't call me boy" Remus glared "And you don't need to worry…he'll be staying with me"
"Remus, I don't believe that's a good idea" Dumbledore said softly
"Bollocks to what you think Dumbledore" Remus snapped, standing up and slamming his hands on the desk "I remember you being there, when James and Lily made the list of people that should look after Harry should something happen to them, my name was on that list…with Sirius gone, he is my responsibility…I will look after that boy to the best of my ability…you denied me the right to look after him 14 years ago…DON'T YOU DARE DO THE SAME TO ME NOW!"
The brown of Lupins eyes turned to the werewolf yellow, making Dumbledore pale slightly. Knowing he would be treading on eggshells, Dumbledore tried a different approach.
"But Remus, where will you live?" Dumbledore asked "Whilst you could continue living in Grimmauld Place, it could bring back too many bad memories for the boy"
"I've already thought of that" Remus glared "I own a cabin, well-hidden and away from any large town or city…Highley unlikely for a Death Eater to find it, even without a Fidelius…we will be staying there"
"And what about James?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow
"If he wants to come with us, he can" Remus replied "With how close they are, I imagine he will, but I can't be certain, with the way Harry is, James might want to give him some space…it doesn't matter what you do, or say, Dumbledore…Harry will be living with me and there is nothing you can do to change that"
Dumbledore's eye twitched in slight annoyance as Remus got up and left. Whilst Dumbledore wanted Harry in a secure location where he can keep an eye on the boy, he didn't want to enrage Remus and unleash the wolf. His shoulders slumped, when the door to his office closed. He remembered when Remus worshipped Dumbledore, because he was able to get Remus into Hogwarts all those years ago. However, things have changed in recent years and, no doubt, denying Remus his rights to raise Harry 14 years ago didn't help things either. He could only hope things will improve. He needed Harry to work with him to stop Voldemort and not have Harry trying to kill him. In the meantime, he can focus on the Horcruxes. He was now certain he had the location of one of them. He will need to tell Harry about the Horcruxes soon. Before that though, he will head to the location of the Horcrux during the holidays and destroy it. If things went well, then Voldemort will be long gone within a year. Sadly, that would also see Harry dead before he turned 18. But, alas, there was no other way.
…
Harry sat on a rock, overlooking the Black Lake. It was beautiful this time of day, at least he thought so. Hedwig sat, perched, on his knee, stroking her head against his, hoping to give him some comfort. Harry smiled, as he gently stroked her feathers. It was times like this he wished he spent more time with her. It was a shame his Animagus Form wasn't a bird of some kind. Harry had seen James fly around, with his owl Loki, whilst in his Crow form, on a few occasions.
"What am I going to do Hedwig?" He asked
Hedwig let out a soft hoot and trill in response. Whilst Harry didn't understand what she was saying, he still smiled at her attempts to cheer him up. He often found that Hedwig was smarter then most owls. As the cool air began to brush against his face, Harry laid back against the rock, staring at the sky, wanting to forget everything that has happened in the last few hours.
…
It was a few weeks later and Dumbledore decided to end the school year slightly early, similar to the previous year. However, before they broke up for the holidays, Cornelius Fudge arrived, along with Amelia Bones and a few high ranking Aurors. They stood on the podium, where Dumbledore usually stood, to make an announcement.
"As you may know, Sirius Black was sadly killed by Bellatrix LeStrange a few weeks back" Fudge said "and what you may also know, is that a few students went into the Ministry to save Black and ended up battling several of You-Know…Voldemort's Death Eaters…those Death Eaters, are either now in custody or dead, though a few did escape…one even encounter Voldemort himself once more, and lived to tell the tale…because of these heroic acts, we would like to award Harry Potter, James Badger, Daphne Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley and George Weasley the Order of Merlin First Class, the highest award the Ministry can grant…if they would like to come up and receive their awards"
There were claps all around, as the group made their way up, shaking hands with the Minister, before being handed a case, which held the platinum medal attached to vibrant purple ribbon. Whilst Harry had a small smile on his face, he felt like he didn't deserve this award. He was the reason why Sirius was dead and why they walked into the trap in the first place. All because of this stupid link he shared with the Dark Lord. Meanwhile, James couldn't help but notice two students were currently missing. Malfoy and Nott. He hadn't seen them all day actually. Something was happening, he just knew it.
…
It was later in the day and James stood on the platform, talking to Remus who was waiting for Harry to finish talking and saying goodbye to Susan.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Remus asked
James sighed. After a small discussion with Remus, James decided to move back into his mothers flat above the Albrights for the time being. He didn't want to do it, but with the way Harry was at the moment, James believed he needed space. That didn't mean he wasn't leaving Harry alone. He was going to visit and write regularly.
"I'm sure Sirius" He said, after a moment "I'm sure you've seen Harry's demeanour recently…he's more cold, distant and more snappy…almost reminds me of myself…I just think giving him some space, will be best for now…and, before you ask, I will write and visit…just let me know if he does anything stupid"
Remus nodded, before Harry made his way over, a hint of lipstick on the corner of his mouth. After greeting the two, he turned to James.
"I'm guessing you're not coming?" Harry asked
"No, I'll visit you though" James replied "Just don't get into any trouble, without me"
A small smile made its way on Harry's face, before the two hugged. When they parted, James remained where he was, as Remus and Harry made their way through the barrier. When Harry disappeared, he let out a small sigh, before calling for Jinx.
"Kind Master called for Jinx?" She asked, popping next to him
"Yes Jinx" James said softly "Take me home…to the Albrights"
Jinx's ears dropped, as she felt her Masters sadness. She gave a small nod, before grabbing his arm and popping off the platform. When his vision cleared, James found himself in his bedroom of his flat. Seeing his bed, he immediatley dropped down on it, the last few weeks finally catching up to him.
"Can Jinx help Kind Master?" Jinx asked, as she didn't like the way her Master was feeling
"Not right now Jinx" James replied "I'll call you if I need you"
Jinx nodded, before popping away. James continued laying on his bed. He'd go and see the Albrights soon. For now, he just wanted to relax. A small tear fell down his cheek, as he thought about Harry. It may not of been right giving him some space, but he thought it was necessary. He could only hope Remus could break Harry out of his weird funk.
…
Voldemort paced back and forth, as he kept his gaze on Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott Sr. They stood in front of every Death Eater, sat around a long table.
"So, you wish to join my ranks" He said smoothly "what can you two possibly offer me?"
Malfoy went to speak, but was stopped by Nott placing a hand against his mouth. Malfoy glared at the boy beside him, as he took a step closer.
"My lord" Nott said "We may not be able to offer you riches and wealth like our fathers, but we can recruit more members to the cause…with us still in Hogwarts for the next two years, we can find and recruit students that believe in your cause"
Voldemort looked at the two boys for a moment. His eyes narrowed, before he then looked to Nott Sr, and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. After a short moment, a small smile made its way onto his face.
"You may prove useful" He said "I was going to kill your fathers for failing me, but if you succeed where they failed, I will spare them…you will take your Mark, but to join the Death Eater ranks, the two of you will need to earn it"
"What…what do we need to do, my lord?" Malfoy asked
"We have many enemies" Voldemort replied, as he paced, robes dragging on the ground "I will have you kill one of them…I have already claimed Potter and Michael has already claimed his dear nephew, James…I know who you will kill…I was going to kill him myself, but this is even better…the two of you will kill Albus Dumbledore"
…
New chapter done. I hope you've found it alright. Lately I've been trying to make each chapter a little bit longer then they were originally, but it is difficult writing a long chapter with long pointless filler and repetition of things you've already said, which is why I tend to keep them between 1000-3000 words on average.
Anyway, the beginning with Dumbledore and Remus. This is a moment I wished happened in canon. Of course, I am doing something different with Remus in this story, but I would like to think that Remus would try to claim custody of Harry, as he is the only connection he has left to his friends. I never liked that Remus just left Harry for 13 or so years and I can't remember, to the best of my knowledge, when Remus tried connecting with Harry after Prisoner of Azkaban. We also have a small mention of Harry's and James' Animagus abilities. I keep forgetting to include them. If you remember, in the Department of Mysteries, I scrapped segments involving the Brain Room and the Time Room, these segments did include Harry and James using their Animagus Abilities to help them in battle, however when I scrapped those parts of the chapter, I forgot to modify the chapter, so their abilities were included. I'll try to add them later if I can.
Two final things. First being James going back to the Albrights. You may be wondering why James would 'give Harry some space'. Remember this OC is based off of myself in a few ways and I try to include some of those real life things into this character. When one of my friends are in a bad place and get more snappy and cold, I tend to give them some space and not be around them as much, until they have cooled down a bit. Don't worry, James isn't leaving Harry.
The second thing, Malfoy and Nott, taking their Marks. Despite being labelled as Antagonists, they have been pretty minor, not really appearing much. This changes from this chapter onwards. There will be multiple moments involving these two in the story, and they will, hopefully, become major antagonists by the time Deathly Hallows comes up.
Wow, I rambled on for a while haven't I. Side note, the poll will be ending next week, so vote while you still can. That is all for now, I'll see you next time.
Badger Out.
