Another long one. There was a chapter from another story posted in error earlier this week in this story. Feels like it happens once or twice a month. I caught it a second later, and deleted it, although the alert came out. This is the real chapter 13, you missed nothing.
An Interesting Bargain.
The Dursleys were completely terrified. Petunia, Vernon, Marge, and Dudley all stared at me when I stepped into the house, along with Sirius, Astra, and Kreacher.
"Y-you!" Vernon yelled. "I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T COMING BACK!"
I just smiled and waited for it.
"Merry Christmas, to you as well," I said. "I hope you enjoyed my present."
"You sent us that hideous tree!" Petunia yelled.
At that statement, the tree branch swung out and almost smacked Petunia. She had the sense to duck it before it smashed into her, and it as a result hit Vernon on the backswing.
"I don't think the tree likes being insulted," I told them.
"Boy, you have some nerve coming back here!" Marge shouted. "After everything my brother and your family has done for you, you just walk in and ruin Christmas. If you had the decency…"
"Ah, dear Aunt Marge," I told her. "Thought you were Vernon for a second. You two look a lot alike."
Although Vernon is definitely prettier. Maybe.
"You remember Astra Logue, don't you?"
Dudley screamed in terror as Astra gave him a casual wave. And then he bolted, going wee-wee all the way to the nearest bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. I could hear various bits of furniture being slammed against the door to further trap himself inside.
I think Dudley most certainly remembered Astra.
"B-but, she's supposed to be, she was sent, she was…" Petunia said. "Dumbledore said you wouldn't remember her. Why is she back? What have you done?"
"Have you been making deals with demons, boy?" Vernon asked.
"Not recently," I said with a shrug.
"WHAT IN THE DEVIL IS THAT HIDEOUS THING?"
Marge pointed frantically behind me where Sirius and Kreacher were standing.
"Oh, that's just the blood traitor brat of my dearly departed Mistress," Kreacher nonchalantly replied. "Don't mind him, he's housebroken, mostly."
Sirius flashed Kreacher a dirty scowl in response and Kreacher just smiled. Marge and Vernon looked like they were going to have stereotypical strokes.
"You remember me don't you, Petunia?" Sirius asked. "Sirius Black. We met."
"Sirius Black, but Dumbledore said you were sent to Azkaban," Petunia said.
"What's Azkaban?" Marge asked. "Is this some kind of code? Is the boy in a cult? Is this girl involved? Is this Black involved? Is this some kind of demon?"
"I told you, he's not a demon,he's just a blood traitor brat," Kreacher said.
Well Marge had no idea. As far as she knows, I was sent to Saint Brutus Beefcake's college for demented barbers or whatever, nonsense the Dursleys had told her. I cannot be bothered to keep these things straight.
Some guy named Fred went there. Heard he was kind of naughty.
"LOOK HERE, BOY!" Vernon shouted. "YOU BARGE INTO MY HOUSE WITHOUT BEING INVITED. I HAVE HALF OF A MIND TO…ARGH!"
The Whomping Willow nailed Vernon in the back of the head.
"I don't think the tree likes it when you shout," Astra said. "Or maybe it doesn't like you. And saying you have half of a mind is really giving you too much credit, isn't it Dursley?"
"Listen here, you stupid little b…"
And Marge got smacked by the tree, likely before she said something very offensive which would cause Astra to skin her alive. Again. Likely a good thing she got wacked by the tree. A quivering Petunia looked at me.
"Please, Harry," Petunia breathed. "We didn't want you. You don't want to be here. And since this Black was your godfather, he should have you. Not me. He obviously got free. Unless you broke him out of prison."
Petunia had been struck with horror.
"You didn't break him out of prison?"
"Thankfully, not, although it was plan B," I said.
"So, you can take him, and he can never come back," Petunia said.
"Unfortunately, Dumbledore did something highly questionable and borderline illegal to make sure the custody went to you," I told her. "I've got papers you and Vernon can sign, which would free yourself of any and all guardianship of me."
"Do you have the papers?" Petunia asked.
"Yes," Vernon said, spitting a couple of teeth out. "Give them to me. I'll sign them. We'll sign them. And you'll be gone. Wish you would have been sucked down to Hell along with the other freak."
Whack, Vernon got nailed by the branch of justice from the Whomping Willow.
"Eventually, he'll learn," I told Astra.
"Doubtful," Astra said.
Have to agree with Astra," Sirius said.
"And I unfortunately will have to agree with the blood traitor brat," Kreacher grumbled.
Vernon rose up and I presented the paperwork. I wordlessly pointed out where the Dursleys could sign it and then it would be showtime.
"I'll never see you again?"
"Never," I said. "I'll be gone."
"So, you're going to live with this ex-criminal," Marge said. "Fitting, for a filthy deliquent like yourself."
Marge ducked the tree branch this time and it nailed Vernon in the back of the head.
"We better sign these, while your husband still remembers how to spell his name," I told Petunia.
Petunia scrawled her signature without reading the document. Oh, that will cost you big time, Tuney. And Vernon did the same thing.
I could feel the blood protection fading. The power of my mother's sacrifice would ideally return to me in the coming weeks. Such powerful magic squandered to shield these idiots.
"Maybe you should have had a lawyer look that over before you sign it? "Marge suggested.
Hey, the massive amounts of wine didn't murder all of your brain cells after all. Bit too late to have a thought though.
'It's fine, Margie," Vernon slurred. "It will be fine. His type will never bother any of us again!"
"I'm serious, Vernon, he could have made…"
This time the Whomping Willow smacked Marge in the face, breaking her jaw in the process. Yikes, that was a nasty one. The papers vanished when Vernon and Petunia signed them.
"Merry Christmas," I said.
I rose up, along with Astra, Sirius, and Kreacher. Petunia's eyes widened in terror when it dawned on her that something was not right. I waved cheerfully.
From her perspective, we faded. I decided to teleport the Whomping Willow right in front of Walburga Black's portrait. It would be an interesting social experience.
The doors burst open yet again. A swarm of goblins entered the room.
"Petunia and Vernon Dursley!" one of them yelled.
"Yeah, I'm Petunia, she's Vernon," Vernon slurred. "We're done giving to charity, we've got all of the tax write-offs…"
The goblins shoved Vernon down to the ground along with Petunia. Marge rose up and waved violently, swinging her arms back and forth.
"You received a small amount of money for the upkeep and the care of Harry James Potter," one of the goblins said. "We require a full audit of where every single bit of that money it has went to, as we have received intelligence that you have not used it for it's intended purpose."
"We've given the boy a place to sleep!" Petunia yelled. "We never asked for him."
"Well, that money wasn't yours to spend either, and we feel that you did, given evidence that has come to light," the goblin said. "We will garnish all of your assets, as you will repay the funds owed to Mr. Potter, with interest.
Oh, that's got to hurt. Given how goblin interest rates were highway robbery to put it mildly.
"Unless of course you can prove you spent the money on Mr. Potter. Although the evidence is mounting against you."
Several Ministry Aurors came in next.
"Vernon and Petunia Dursley!" the lead Auror barked. "You are under arrest for child abuse and neglect and the theft of gold from a magical family. Along with willing intent to keep a pureblood heir from obtaining his right to a magical education by preventing him from receiving his letters."
"He knew!" Petunia yelled. "I swear he knew! He's doing this on purpose. I DIDN'T WANT THIS, I DIDN'T WANT ANY THIS!"
"Well, this just keeps getting better," the lead goblin said. "The Ministry can have the scraps when we get done with our investigation. If there's anything left to scrap."
"Amelia Bones will wish to meet with you regarding their charges," the Auror said.
"Well we'll arrange a meeting for Monday," the goblin said. "Nine in the morning, sharp. Tell her not to be late."
Marge waved her hands, almost demanding answers. It was a pity her jaw was broken. It was very hard not to give our position away from gidding. Vernon and Petunia were ushered out by some very surly looking goblins.
Suddenly, a third group swarmed in. Non-Magical law enforcers and they swooped in on Marge.
"Ms. Marjorie Dursley, you are under arrest for your part in breeding bulldogs for an illegal dog fighting ring."
Marge raged, as all three Dursleys were restrained. It turned out that Petunia and Vernon were wanted for questioning, and obviously the goblins were not too happy because they got here first. I doubted very much with the multitude of charges they were under, they were going to see the light of day.
"My son is upstairs, he must be terrified, my poor Dinky Duddydums," Petunia wailed.
Oh, and not the nephew you left starving in the cupboard for days at a time. I am sure arrangements were made for Dudley to get out of here. Not that I could be bothered to care too much. All three Dursleys were in a whole lot of trouble. And no one would advocate for them.
Sad, only not really.
"Illegal dog fighting ring?" Astra asked in disgust. "I really went too easy on her when I had the chance to torture her."
I nodded. Seeing all three Dursleys being brought to justice caused me to bubble over with Christmas spirit.
"Dumbledore, he can sort this out, he promised to take care of us, if we took the boy in!" Petunia yelled. "As long as we took him in, we couldn't be touched by any of your freaks!"
And then realization dawned on Petunia. Took her long enough. By signing those papers, she just lost Dumbledore's protection. The last thing I saw was Dudley being led out the door. Marge by the non-magical authorities and Vernon and Petunia by the goblins, who looked particularly blood thirsty.
"Show's over," I told our group.
"Kreacher was hoping to see the goblins do a full cavity search," Kreacher said in disappointment.
I will let that one go without a comment.
The Daily Prophet the next day was one for the ages. A full report on the terrifying tale of the magic-hating Muggles that the Boy-Who-Lived had been put with. New evidence came to light of a number of alternatives provided by the Potters in their recently rediscovered will, none of which were Vernon and Petunia Dursley. Rita really made this look far worse than it really is and it looked pretty damn bad on it's own.
Those who did not know better. It was really telling how the other big story of the day almost slipped underneath the radar.
"The Founder's Protocol?" Nymphadora asked by reading the paper.
"Yes, the Founder's Protocol has been enacted," Andromeda said. "It's a charter which governs the regulations of Hogwarts, and at any given time, the founders or their chosen heirs can decided to retake control of the school from the current head."
"But, aren't the founders long dead?" Nymphadora asked.
Yeah, about that.
"The Grey Lady of Ravenclaw, she's the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw," Ted commented. "Although, she never seemed like the type to be interested in school affairs. Did not stand out as much compared to Nick, the Baron, or the Friar."
True, I didn't really notice her until I needed to find out about the Diadem. She really did not stick out as much.
"Dumbledore's pretty much done," Sirius said. "Can't say I'm sorry about that one."
"After all we learned about him over the past few months, he really needed to step down a long time ago," Andromeda said. "He's made too many questionable decisions."
"According to this, the person who enacted the code does not want any kind of Ministry involvement in Hogwarts," I said. "They want a full and complete separation of the school and the Ministry."
"Oh, that's going to ruffle a few feathers," Andromeda said. "Fudge isn't going to like that in all. Or the Board."
"The Hogwarts Board of Governors had been disbanded and all of the current staff will be under review," I continued to read. "Changes will not be apparent until the next school year, although there may be a few new staff appointments after the Christmas holidays."
Well, that should be interesting, and everyone nodded around the table.
"So, who did this?" Sirius asked.
I really had a bit of trouble casually telling everyone that I brought Rowena Ravenclaw's spirit back to a corpoeal state. Because, it was a really long story, and given that a lot of the people here had to go to work soon, not one that I wanted to have right now.
"Well, it's something," I remarked. "Hogwarts is long overdue for a change. Hope they get rid of Binns."
I intended to get rid of Binns, once Rowena gave me the go-ahead she found someone.
"I think he might have actually been alive during the time of the founders," Sirius said. "And where's Astra, by the way?"
"Oh, she comes and she goes, when she wants to," I said. "Best to let her do her thing."
"She's twelve years old, surely she…"
Any statement had been cut off due the Tonks fireplace going off.
"It's Narcissa Black-Malfoy. She says it's urgent."
"Narcissa?" Ted asked. "Your sister? She's never visited you before."
Everyon had been baffled by Narcissa's sudden arrival.
"I know," Andromeda said. "Send her in."
The fireplace kicked to life and Narcissa walked out.
"Narcissa, what a pleasant surprise," Andromeda said. "Won't you stay for breakfast?"
"I'm meeting with Olivia Parkinson this morning, but I had to speak to Mr. Potter," Narcissa said. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Me?" I asked. "What did I do now?"
I had several different schemes up in the air and messed with so many people at any given time. So, I honestly had no idea what Narcissa was asking me about now. So deny everything about anything is my default in a situation on this.
"You must have put him up to this," Narcissa said Sirius.
"What did I do?" Sirius asked. "I don't have the clearest idea what she's saying. Do you, Harry?"
"Not a clue, old dog," I said to her.
"Bellatrix asked me about Tom Marvolo Riddle, and asked if I knew anything about him."
Oh, right, that.
"She did, did she?" I asked. "Well, I was asking Bellatrix about Horcruxes…"
"What in the devil for?" Narcissa hissed. "You better not be thinking of making one!"
"You better not be," Andromeda said.
Nymphadora looked confused, and was about to ask what they were talking about, but she thought better of it when catching the sight of the look on her mother and aunt's face.
"I'm not, why does everything think I'd do that?" I asked. "But, that's not the point, I mentioned about Riddle, who created multiple Horcruxes."
"You were the one who had me get that diary, and I know why," Narcissa said. "I know Tom Marvolo Riddle is the Dark Lord himself."
"Oh, right, that,' I said. "Yeah, I know."
"Do you enjoy poking the hornet's nest, Potter?" Narcissa asked. "Bellatrix ranted endlessly for an hour about how Riddle was the densest wizard she ever met, and she wanted to know if I could find anything on him or his background. I told her I couldn't, but I wondered why you would think it was a good idea?"
"Because, if I told her outright that Voldemort was the product of a Muggle and a squib, she wouldn't believe a damn word I said?" I told her. "You didn't tell her, did you?"
Narcissa pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Safeguards or not, I would rather not be in range when she finds out the truth," Narcissa said. "She's going to put it together."
"I know," I said.
"Sometimes, I wonder if you have a death wish," Narcissa said. "Given you called some very powerful and dangerous men weak-willed at a very public trial just recently."
"Oh, well they were underneath the Imperius Curse, weren't they?" I asked her.
Narcissa threw her hands up in exasperation.
"I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish," Narcissa said. "I just hope it doesn't blow up in your face. You've barely gotten started."
Narcissa looked around the house.
"Andromeda, your home is quite…nice," Narcissa said. "I have to leave. Try and stay out of trouble."
I turned to Sirius as Narcissa departed.
"I think she was talking about you."
I stopped in on the Greengrass resident to get a look at how the Ice Cream bars were. Daphne waited for me with a smile and her younger sister, Astoria, seized me up with interest in her eyes. And also Dean Thomas had been sitting around, talking to the Greengrass sisters, along with Megan Jones.
"This is my sister, Astoria," Daphne told me.
"And you're Daphne's boyfriend, right?" Astoria asked.
My lips twitched in amusement and Daphne show Astoria one of those looks. Astoria flashed her younger sister a grin.
"What gave her that idea?" I asked Daphne.
"Well, it's obvious how Daphne gushes about you, almost as much as she does ice cream itself," Astoria said. "You're going to be the future ice cream King to her Ice Cream Queen. Although, you did put some high standards for inclusion in your collective."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said to Astoria.
"Same," Astoria said.
"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mrs. Greengrass."
I turned to a stunning beautiful blonde woman, with the perfect hourglass figure which showcased how her daughters, when they got older, would come across their assets naturally. The robes hugged her in all of the right places.
"We're business partners, Harry," she said. "It's Anastasia. And I'm happy you brought this matter to my attention. Can you believe that no one ever did Harry Potter ice cream bars?"
"I know, it's a crime, isn't it?" Astoria asked. "Consider that they put your face on pretty much anything else"
I was quite aware of that. I had been in the process of obtaining royalties. I'm not greedy, but if people want to prostitute my name for profit, I feel like I should get my fair share.
"And I would like to thank you for your help, as well, Dean," Anastasia said. "Your mother was happy that you got this opportunity, and we've agreed to set up a trust for your part in this establishment. And you get one of the first free samples, other than the star himself."
"And other than the six Daphne snuck this morning," Astoria said while smirking.
"Oh, you little snitch," Daphne growled.
Anastasia flashed her daughters a warning look, and they fell into line.
"Saw the package, and they look pretty good, Dean," I said. "It's hard to get my likeness right."
"The eyes were the hardest," Dean admitted. "I mean, they never get the right shade of green, but I think that I got it. And I captured your best side. At least my sisters thought so."
"Sisters?" Daphne asked.
Oh, fuck, Daphne, don't start with this.
"Yeah, I have six sisters, all of them older, I'm the youngest of the family," Dean said. "And they wanted to know if you are as dashing in real life as you are in person. Good thing, they're all busy working or in school, because otherwise they might seek you out yourself."
Likely for the best, with the number of women swarming around me already. I am trying to be more selective.
Stop laughing. All of you.
"There's a long line of women seeking him out, isn't it?" Astoria asked. "Can't see I blame your sisters. His eyes are amazing."
"They are," Megan said. "Anyone could get lost in them."
"Why don't we show them what else we were working on?" Dean asked.
"Oh, right, of course," Megan said. "With the first run of comic books, there's a Harry Potter Adventure comic book. And I know what you're thinking, a bit silly."
"No sillier than anything in the Silver Age though," Dean chimed in.
"And no sillier than those Harry Potter Adventure books," Astoria said.
"The artwork in those was rubbish," Dean said. "And the writing was trash."
I'm sure Rita will be saddened to hear your assessment. Dean and Megan presented me with the comic, and I amused myself by reading my adventure against a hook-nosed sorcerer.
"I'm sure he resembles no one we know in real life," I said.
"Oh, of course," Megan said in amusement.
"All of your Dunderheads will pay for mocking me," I read. "Nope, can't think of anyone who resembles that."
Not in the slightest. Not even a little bit.
"We figured it would be a nice treat for those who pick up the first run of ice cream bars," Anastasia said. "Something whimsical. But we want the real draw to be the quality of our ice cream brand."
"And I think we've stalled for long enough," Daphne said. "I couldn't help myself, but they are so good."
Anastasia passed me an ice cream bar. I opened it up and looked at it. It looked almost too beautiful to eat, almost, but not quite. I ate it and the first bite was pure magic. I savored the taste.
"You've really outdone yourself," I said. "Great. Perfect overall. Eleven out of ten, the best treat I've had in a long time."
"You flatter me," Anastasia said.
"And I couldn't have thought of a better person to do business with," I told her.
It was Dean and Megan's turn to have their sample and they enjoyed it. They had similar thoughts overall.
Daphne had been looking up towards the stairs every couple of minutes. I reached underneath the table and grabbed her hand. We walked up under the pretext of talking about a school assignment.
"Dad's upstairs," Daphne said. "We were a bit too late to save him."
An incurable and rare magical illness swept Daphne's father, and he passed away the summer after her first year. Daphne put on a brave face, for the sake of her sister and her mother, who had hope he could turn things around.
"If there's anything I can do…"
"We both know it's too late," Daphne said.
Astoria had been watching us for a long moment.
"Dad's dying, isn't he?" she asked Daphne.
"No, he's just…he'll be better soon," Daphne said.
"The fact you're lying to me is insulting," Astoria said. "He can't last long. He worked with them for years, the Unspeakables, and I think something down there happened."
"You've been reading the Quibbler," Daphne told her.
"Don't change the subject, it's more than some mad theory, the Cloaks are real," Astoria said. "I heard the Black trial on the radio. I'm pretty sure that's what happened to the Longbottoms."
"Astoria," Daphne said warningly. "You're much too young to be involved in anything dangerous."
"Your sister is right," I said.
Mostly because there was something dangerous going on behnd the scenes.
"I'm not too much younger than you are, when you shook things up," Astoria said. "Dad's suffering because of them. Just like Frank and Alice Longbottom suffered."
"Astoria, come over here and help me with dinner!" Anatasia called.
Astoria smiled and walked off. I followed her progress strange.
"Cloaks?" I asked.
"Oh, some rubbish about a super-secret cabal inside of the Department of Mysteries," Daphne said. "Dad's was a researcher, Potions before he took on the family business after my grandparents died. He didn't do any work with the Unspeakables."
"Astoria seems to think he did," I said. "Did she make the jump?"
"No," Daphne said. "She gave up on her theory about those cloaks, by the time she was in her fourth year. Of course, by the we had Umbridge and far worse problems to deal with."
I answered her with a nod and looked thoughtful. Her expression darkened ever so slightly.
"You can't be considering this, can you?" Daphne asked.
I evaded the question and made my way over to the table, to join the rest of the group for lunch. Neither Daphne nor Astoria acted like the conversation never happened. Chasing rabbits could be amusing.
I just wondered if it would be worth my while to chase this one.
Flamel invited me to a meeting to join him. I had thought about having an early breakfast before setting out. Sirius was already up and in the process of eating one of the free Harry Potter ice cream bar samples I brought.
"You're going to need another vault to hold all of the Galleons you're going to get from the sale of these," Sirius said. "What's up?"
"Meeting with Flamel," I said.
Sirius nodded. I filled him in to the extent about the deal with the mirror, and what happened to Dumbledore. And how Flamel was trying to figure out exactly what Ariana was.
"Sure you can trust him?" Sirius asked. "He did work with Dumbledore for years. I would feel a lot better if I joined you for that meeting."
"Well, maybe you should," I said. "I heard you walking the halls last night. Anything wrong?"
"It's supposed to be my job to be concerned with your well-being, not the other way around," Sirius said.
"That wasn't an answer."
Sirius responded by shaking his head.
"Dreams. And weird ones. I've been having the same dream about fighting Bellatrix and then I fall through this mysterious curtain."
"Are you serious?"
Crickets.
"I've been having it ever since I was acquitted," Sirius said. "There's got to be a reason."
I mulled it over for a second.
"I understand if there's secrets that you have, and I understand if you don't trust adults fully, after your upbringing, I couldn't blame you," Sirius added. "I wouldn't if I was you. It's just there something…."
"Unsettlingly unchildlike about me?" I asked him.
"Yes," Sirius agreed. "So, what's the deal?"
"How's your Occlumency?" I asked him.
"Good, we were all taught from a young age," Sirius said. "Why?"
"Just checking," I said. "That wasn't a dream you're having. An echo from a past timeline. A temporal shadow."
Sirius looked confused.
"I'm from the future."
Now Sirius looked completely bemused.
"This really isn't the time for jokes, kiddo," Sirius said. "From the future?"
"How did you think I knew what I needed to do to get you out of Azkaban?" I asked. "I'm not acting as a normal eleven year old, because I've never had to be one. And you died, when I was fifteen, when you were fighting Bellatrix in the Department of Mysteries."
"I should feel you're crazy," Sirius said. "But, if you are, we're both crazy. Because it's the only thing that makes sense."
"That's about how Penny reacted," I told him.
"Penny?" Sirius asked.
"Penelope Clearwater," I told him.
"Oh, right, that fifth-year you have the hots for," Sirius said. "Shooting high, aren't we, kiddo?"
I just smirked at Sirius.
"You told her before you told your godfather though?" Sirius asked.
"Well, to be fair, I had to because she discovered that Astra and I had just accidentally ressurected Rowena Ravenclaw."
Sirius fell back on the nearest chair.
"How do you…what…she's…is she from the future too? Wait, Rowena Ravenclaw is actually back? She's the one who…"
Sirius could not follow the train of thought.
"Take a deep breath," I told him. "And I'll explain everything."
Sirius whistled, and nodded. Everything which happened over the past four months, I told him. I had a feeling he would not be the last person I would be telling this story to.
"You just took a machete to the entire Wizarding World in four months and pretty much hacked everything to bits," Sirius said. "You don't fuck around, do you?"
"Given the last time around, I was not going through that again if I could help it," I told him. "I might have screwed up everything, but I promise you, it's for the better."
"If you say so," Sirius said. "I don't know what to say. I knew there was something a bit unsettling with how you were acting when we first met, but I convinced myself it was because you were stuck with Petunia and her husband for all of those years. This is just too much."
"Can you handle this?" I asked him.
"I…I can," Sirius said. "No wonder, you gave Remus the business when you talked to him. And the thing is, even after all that, he still blames himself worse than you ever could."
"Well, it's just like I told him, it's not a matter if I can forgive him, but rather if he can forgive himself," I said. "Look, I know this is a lot. And I don't know why you're having these dreams. I wonder if anyone else is subconciously aware of the changes, although no one died like you."
"No, I suppose they didn't," Sirius said.
Astra popped into the room and almost gave Sirius a leap by her sudden appearance. She eyed Sirius for a few seconds.
"You told him everything?" Astra asked.
"Yes," I told her. "It's a lot."
I feel like I made an understatement. And judging by the look on Sirius's face, he agreed with me.
"Too much," Sirius said. "I think I've got to go for a walk, clear my head a little bit. Try and figure out where I stand. The truth is, I was struggling after Azkaban. I have no idea how to adult, and well, I hate for you to take this the wrong way, but the fact you can take care of yourself takes a burden off of me."
I kind of got that sense with Sirius before. He was sent into Azkaban at a very young age and in some respects, had to hang onto the memories of his time at Hogwarts, for some sense of stability and seriousness, stupid pun not intended this time.
"Happy to help," I told him. "Are you coming to Flamel's?"
Sirius shook his head.
"I've got to go for a walk," he admitted. "You two can handle anything a lot better than I can."
And with that, Sirius sauntered off. I read his thoughts. He was relieved and thrown off at the same time.
"So, another one knows," Astra said.
"Sirius won't say anything," I said. "Not even to Lupin."
"If you say so," Astra said. "So, guess Nicolas Flamel awaits."
To be fair, I never gave much thought to where Nicolas Flamel would live. However, his home seemed so absurdly normal, that it even made Number Four Privet Drive look weird and eccentric. For someone like Flamel, I realized experiences could be deceiving.
Astra and I walked up to the front lawn. Outside on the door, I caught sight of Ariana, who sat on a rocking chair on the front porch, drinking a cup of hot cocoa. She put it down and smiled at me.
"Thank you for everything," Ariana said. "You will free her soon. And with it, seek the truth."
Ariana wrapped her arms around me in a hug and did the same to Astra. Astra had been surprised. I went to knock on the door, but the door opened up before I could do so.
"Harry Potter, and his charming twin sister as well," Flamel said. "Come in, and you as well, child. It's going to be dreadfully cold out there, fit for neither man nor beast, and I've been accused of being both during my time."
Flamel escorted us into the house. Ariana moved over the fireplace and stirred the fire, nonchalantly. Astra had been following her.
"Have you figured out what she is?" Astra said in a low voice.
"No more than who she is," Flamel said. "She is Ariana Dumbledore, in mind, body, and spirit. Although, how she would have been if that dreadful accident did not happen to her and she was not forced to retreat upon herself. Her powers are both extraordinary, and a bit intimidating. But, we're working through them, one day at a time."
A shadow flickered outside of the window which made Ariana jumpy. I saw nothing, but she feared something.
"Cloaks," Ariana whispered.
Curious and curiouser. Maybe I should follow that rabbit if the opportunity presents itself? Although, rabbits could distract me from other important matters, even though something insidious might be going on here.
Ariana moved and hid underneath a blanket. Flamel moved over and gently patted her on the head.
"It's okay, darling, no one can hurt you here," Flamel said. "The shadows move and it spooks her."
Ariana slowly peaked out and I smiled at her. She returned the smile shyly, her pale cheeks going transparent. She moved over to take a tin by the fireplace and offer Astra and I a biscuit. We took them both. They might not be as tasty as my own ice cream bars, but still very good.
"My wife is entertaining some very important guests, although she would prefer if I interrupt her for you to meet her."
"Lead the way," I told him.
Ariana, Astra, and I followed Flamel into the kitchen. At the table, I noticed quite the radiant sight. A stunning gorgeous woman with alluring blue eyes, a stunning face, midnight black hair, wearing a nice stylish black dress which hugged every inch of her curvy body, and came down to show her long, beautiful legs, placed in stockings. She gave off an aura which seemed somewhat familiar.
"That's Perenelle Flamel?" Astra asked in surprise.
I had noticed her guests at the table were Rowena and Zari, and given she stood out even among these two other beautiful women made me rather curious. I looked at Perenelle, who had looked not to age a day past thirty, if that, and also Nicolas, who looked like a wizened old man, the type who screamed stereotypical wizard, even more than Dumbledore himself. He might have used the stone, but you could tell he was a much older man.
Perenelle, Rowena, and Zari all looked stunning and I cursed my younger self. Ariana was rather attractive as well, and I knew Astra grew up to be quite gorgeous, once she hit her maturity. And she was still cute right now. So, I was surrounded by some extremely beautiful and powerful women.
Story of my life, really.
"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Harry," Perenelle said with a warm smile. "You might have guessed that I'm Pernelle Flamel"
She grasped my hand to shake it. I planted a light kiss down on her soft hand, which made her smile. She lightly her fingers down my palm which made me shiver.
"Yes, he's a time traveler, I can tell," she said. "An older soul who had the misfortune to be trapped in a younger body. You were not insane, at least not this time, dear."
She smiled at Nicolas, who just nodded.
"And Astra as well," Perenelle said. "You escaped Hell early this time, although the lessons you learned the last time will serve you well."
"Have we met?" Astra asked. "Seriously, I feel like I've met you before."
Perenelle just smiled a mysterious smile.
"Time travelers, they get mixed up so easily," she chuckled. "And you know these two young ladies."
"We do indeed," I said. "Zari, Rowena, fancy meeting you here. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Flamel."
"Calling me Mrs. Flamel makes me feel so old," she remarked. "It's Perenelle, or Elle if you prefer. Actually, I prefer Elle, a bit less formal."
I just smiled at Elle. She was right, slides off the tongue easier too.
"Harry, you're going to tell Rowena she's completely insane, right?" Zari asked.
"Why is she completely insane?" I asked.
"She wants to make me the Deputy Head of Hogwarts, and the Muggle Studies teacher," Zari said.
"Well, you work quickly," I said. "I have to say, Zari's more than qualified, but I'm going to ask why? I know you think McGonagall is too connected to the previous regime, and I have to say, as good as a Transfiguration teacher is, she's not very qualified to be Deputy Head. And the less I say about how she's doing as the role of Gryffindor House, the better."
"My thoughts exactly," Rowena said. "Ms. Tarazi is more than qualified."
"What's wrong with Professor Burbage?" I asked her.
"Well, she's qualified, to a sense, and eager to learn and open-minded, which is fine. She got an Exceeded Expectation on her Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test for Muggle Study, and damn it Godric, you just had to be cute naming those things, didn't you?'
Rowena took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
"But, her students know more than her," Rowena said. "And the textbook is out of date."
"It's from the seventies," Zari told me.
"Well, it's not that bad," I told her. "I've seen more outdated textbooks."
"The eighteen seventies," Zari amended.
Okay, that's pretty bad. I caught Flamel busying himself at the tea kettle.
"I think you would be great," I told Zari.
"I do too," Astra said.
"Of course, you two do," Zari said. "And I guess it would be. Fine on the Muggle Studies thing, but not sure about the Deputy Head thing. I'm not sure if I'm qualified to run a school."
"You ran your own social media empire when you were eighteen, how hard can it be?" I asked her.
"I don't think I can even answer that question without being sarcastic," she said. "So, I guess I'll take the job, if you can't find anyone better. Would give me an excuse for to be at Hogwarts, and continue to work on my other project."
"Oh, you mean trying to get a magical school built a thousand years ago to pull data off of a phone from the future," I said.
"Yes, although I'm going to need a bit more help, if I'm going to pull this off," Zari said. "And plus, I can be there for you if you need my help."
"We'll be there to help you," I said.
"You'll be great, dear," Elle said to her. "And you said you want to do a companion class to Muggle studies, to explain the ins and outs of the magical world."
"Yes, and I want both classes to be core, for first-years," Rowena said. "There's going to come a time soon, where the line between both worlds are going to blur completely. Muggle technology has come a long way."
"And it will come an even longer way in the next ten to fifteen years," I added. "Some for the good, and some for the not so good."
Zari responded with a nod.
"Elle has been telling us stories about events she's lived for the past four hours," Zari told me. "You know, if I'm going to be Muggle Studies teacher, she should teach History of Magic."
"It's most certainly a subject which needs a more competent teacher," I remarked.
"That's for sure," Ariana said. "Albus even complained about it when he went to Hogwarts."
"He didn't do anything about it?" I asked her.
Ariana shook her head and it seemed like the fact her brother, after all of his complaining about the standards of Hogwarts as a child, did nothing to improve the problems he saw as Headmaster. And that upset Ariana.
"To be fair, that ghost is very attached to his post," Elle said.
"Oh, I can detach him from that post," I said. "Much like I detached Sir Nicholas's head from his body."
"You did that, didn't you?" Elle asked. "Master of Death, you can get rid of a rather bothersome ghost, who won't take the hint when he's not wanted."
"You should teach History of Magic," Rowena said.
"She has a flair for story-telling which makes history come alive," Zari said. "Makes you feel like you're standing in the room and watching it happen."
"Well that's a damn good upgrade, although a lot of people will be missing their nap," I said. "Still, history is important."
Even if people constantly try to rewrite it, because it offends their delicate sensibilities.
"Will you do it, please?" Rowena asked. "I don't have many other options, if I get rid of Binns. There's only been one person who took the History of Magic NEWT in the past hundred years. And I would prefer not to hire him."
"Who?" I asked.
"Gilderoy Lockhart," Rowena said with a shudder of disgust "I learned enough about him not to want him anywhere near a school of children. But, I don't have any other options."
Lockhart, huh well the more you know. To be fair, he had to have a knack for knowing details, to be able to cover all of his tracks when modifying those memories. And you cannot have any loose ends, as one strand could have caused the entire charade to crumble.
Which made his original fate even more hilariously tragic. He lost that fine ability to recall details, namely his favorite details regarding himself.
"I'll take the job, until someone more qualified comes along," Elle said. "Although, I've got my work cut out for me."
"I'm sure you'll be up for it," I said. "I trust Zari to have good judgment on something like this."
"I want to go to Hogwarts," Ariana piped up suddenly. "As a student."
Elle turned to Ariana. Nicolas did his best impression of the tea kettle. They sounded oddly in sync.
"Honey, we've been through this," Elle told her.
"I've learned all of the charms, brewed all of the potions, and mastered all of the Transfiguration in the books you and Mr. Flamel gave me," Ariana said. "If I study hard, I can take my Ordinary Wizarding Level exams over the summer, and enter school next year, sixth year. I just..wanted to go ever since Albus did, he told me stories all of the time. Mummy didn't want me to go after..they messed with me."
Elle reached in and grabbed Ariana's shoulder to gently stroke it.
"She should be able to go," I said.
"Even, Harry agrees with me," Ariana said. "And maybe, I can help, find out how to get rid of the bad soul in his lightning bolt. It's my brother's fault it's there in the first place, if he only would have dealt with Riddle earlier, none of this would have happened. But he's always bad at doing it."
"But, it's not your responsibility, there, it's Albus, and he's living that burden," I told her.
"I know, but I really want to go to Hogwarts, I'll work really hard," Ariana said. "You think I'm dangerous? You think if someone upsets me, I'll do the same thing I did to them, that I did to Albus. But, I swear, I won't. I only did that because Albus was really bad to Harry and didn't understand, and he needed to be taught a lesson. He's always been so bloody stubborn, feeling he's right about everything! And these people, praising him, made him worse!"
"Ariana!" Elle said sharply.
Ariana closed her eyes and started to hum. I realized the house had been levitating from it's foundations. I could see clouds just outside of the kitchen window. With Elle's help, Ariana guided it down.
"She's getting more control over that," Nicolas commented. "And if she works hard, she should be able to attend Hogwarts. All children should get a magical education, no matter the circumstances. Isn't that the principle of what Hogwarts is founded on?"
"It is," Rowena said. "If she demonstrates the aptitude and makes strides at improvement, then there's no reason why she should not go there."
"I will work hard," Ariana said. "And that gives you another reason to become a teacher there, doesn't it?"
Ariana smiled and Elle sighed.
"Well, you've convinced me," Elle said. "Remove the ghost, and I'll take the post. It's about time that students actually learn something about the History of Magic."
"That's great," Nicolas said. "I've felt you could use a change of pace. You know what happens when you fall into too much of a rut."
"That hasn't happened in one hundred and fifteen years," Elle protested.
"I know, but you're about due for a fit of boredom."
Flamel winced and clutched his knee.
"Problem?" I asked him.
" Arthritis is kicking my arse again," Nicolas said. "Every year, it gets worse."
"Doesn't the Elixir of Life take care of that?" Astra asked. "It's supposed to restore you to peak physical condition."
"It does, if one doesn't use it for centuries," Nicolas said. "But, with how much time I've used it, the effects have weakened. Over the past century, I've looked my age a little bit more every time. It's staving off death, for now,although my time runs short. Five years, at the most charitable."
"But, Elle doesn't have that problem, does she?" I asked her. "She looks as beautiful as ever."
"Thank you," Elle said. "You're too kind."
"Yes, because she doesn't need the Elixir of Life," Nicolas told me. "I haven't been able to keep up with her needs in a century and a half, although thankfully we've come to an understanding. Although, I fear once I go, she may become listless."
Flamel turned to me.
"But, you, Harry, you have the potential to make my wife a very happy woman once you hit your maturity," Nicolas said. "And I understand, this time around, you are being more selective with your choice of mates."
Astra snorted and even Ariana looked kind of amused. And Zari could hardly keep the grin off of her face.
"The best, the brightest, and the most beautiful," I said.
"Yes, although I fear that you may have underestimated how competitive women can get, when there is a sufficiently powerful sorcerer involved. And you will find few women better, brighter, and more beautiful than Perenelle."
Elle had the grace to look modest, although I saw the grin coming from her face.
"And I can sense great power from you, as well," Elle said. "And if Nicolas's time grows short, I cannot think of a better person I would spend the rest of my days with, if he so choses to indulge me."
"Although her days were much better, before the Elixir started to lose it's potency," Nicolas said.
"There's something familiar about you," Astra said. "You weren't born on Earth, were you?"
"No, we both have the same former residence," Elle said. "Up until the fourteenth century, I was condemned to Hell. I was sent there by the Greek Fates due to questioning their hardline stance against Free will. Perhaps you've heard of them? Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos?
Astra whistled in response, as Zari and I nodded. We were quite familiar with them indeed.
"I apparently got through to one of them, when Clotho stole and destroyed the Loom, and scattered it across the multiverse," Elle continued. "And then whilst in Hell, I saved a very powerful, although weakened, Succubi queen, who gave me the gifts I had now. And sometime later, I found my way out and returned to my home where I met Nicolas."
Succubus, that explains why her aura was stronger than any Veela. Although she was quite beautiful without the aura. And very mortal, unfortunately.
"How did you two get together?" I asked.
"Well, Nicolas stopped my first attempt to take over the mortal world," Elle casually said.
Where do I even unravel a statement like that?
"I think there's a stray dog outside," Ariana said.
Nicolas rose up to answer the door.
"Ah, Sirius Black, I wondered if you will turn up. And judging by that worn look, Harry told you of the time travel. Come in, have some hot chocolate. We were just about to talk about my wife's first attempt at world domination."
To Be Continued.
