A/N: I wish to announce this while I am still in the beginning stages of this journey. There is no set schedule with which I plan my updates. I may post once a day, every day, or once a week. It all depends on my real life duties and problems, but for the time being, I do not have a hectic schedule, so I will spend a lot of attention to this.
To those that might ask questions, Dora just turned two years old at this point and is a few months older than Harry. She will be in her second year when Harry starts at Hogwarts. Also, I feel that magic would allow witches and wizards to mature faster than muggle children, Thus Dora can walk, talk and eat on her own the same as a 3-4 year old would. The equivalency I am using, is 1-2 muggle years to one magical year. Harry is traumatized and still repressed because of his parents dying, and will soon start walking and talking off-screen. I am doing this to show that magicals mature faster than muggles. Children are still childish, though.
Let`s head straight into the story!
Chapter 2: Truths among falsehoods
A few hours after the end of Chapter 1
Sirius woke up to a small weight on top of him, jumping up and down, jarring him from a fitful and nightmare riddled sleep. Opening his eyes, he could only see the blurry form of a child, with bright blue locks and a peach colored knee length sleeping gown. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, inwardly groaning and rolling over to dislodge the child and hopefully get more sleep.
"Uncle doggy! Uncle doggy! Wake up! Mama made lunch," little Nymphadora exclaimed while bouncing on Sirius in an attempt to wake him up. She started pulling on the blankets and started squealing loudly when Sirius grabbed her and started tickling her mercilessly. He stood up and pulled little Dora over his shoulder and made his way to the kitchen, the little girl screaming and laughing loudly from her perch.
"Was it your idea to send this little tyrant to wake me up?" Sirius grumbled as he sat Dora down in a chair, before taking his own next to hers. Andromeda laughed at the sight and handed them both plates filled with food. Sirius pushed a cup of orange juice toward Dora and poured himself some tea.
"Where is Harry? Is he still asleep?" Sirius stifled a yawn as he dug into his food with gusto. Dora looked up at him as if she was about to ask a question, but was distracted when her mother wiggled her plate in front of her face, giggling lightly, she started eating, abandoning all proper manners, food flying everywhere.
"Ted took Harry with him when he left, if our suspicions are correct, concerning what you told us, we need the goblin medics to look at him at Gringotts. Don`t worry, he is fed and comfortable. We gave him a nice hat as well to keep his abilities secret for now," Andromeda explained while trying to limit Dora`s destruction to her own plate.
The fact that Harry is a Metamorphmagus, shocked them all. Lily and James were stunned, Charlus and Dorea Potter were too proud for words. Metamorphism is a unique trait among the members of the Black family that was thought to be extinct due to in-marraige and metamorph hunts. People used to try and hunt those with the gift to brainwash and use them as spies, due to the price hikes and regulations on Polyjuice potions. When Nymphadora Tonks was born of Black blood, but to a muggle-born man, everyone was shocked, but some proud at the explicit proof that she was born a Black. No-one expected there to ever be two metamorphs in one generation, nevermind that both were born from pureblood/muggle-born union.
"Do we know how to help Harry and little Dora here with learning about their abilities? I think I will need to raid the Black family libraries once I take up my Lordship, maybe there are some old, dusty, musty tomes hidden in a dark dungeon somewhere," Sirius pondered, while scratching his scruffy patch of chin fur. Dora looked up at him with wide, vibrant purple eyes, when she heard her name. Her hair lengthened to just over her shoulders and had a dark blue tint to it.
"Unfortunately, I don`t know, but we can look into it when the time comes. I still don`t appreciate what my dear aunt did to me, because of my choices, but at least she`s gone now," Andi mused with a thoughtful, faraway look in her eyes.
"My dear mother was a lot of things, loving, was not one. Why do you think I stayed with James? Aunt Dorea was much more of a mother to me than my own ever was," Sirius took a deep breath, settling himself, before going on, "I really hope everything works out at Gringotts. I know that old man, he will try to pin this on me somehow."
"You were right to come to us, cousin. Ted will help you sort this out, both of you," she smiled at Dora, who started climbing onto Sirius, looking for attention, "we will sort your hearing directly through Amelia Bones, she owes Ted a favor and I am sure she would like to see you again," she laughed out loud at the rose tint covering Sirius` face.
"Ted and Harry should be back soon, then we will know where we stand at this point. Are you doing okay? All things considered, I think you might need to see a Mind Healer to help with the shock of what happened," Andi spoke softly, her eyes full of worry while looking at Sirius.
"I don`t think that is necessary. As long as I have these little ones, I should be fine, I will keep it in mind, though," he nuzzled his nose against Dora`s neck as he spoke, eliciting giggles from the little girl in his arms. Hugging her tightly, while Andi looked at them with adoration in her eyes.
0o0o0
Meanwhile in Diagon Alley
Ted looked at his watch as he stepped out of the Apparition point in Diagon Alley, noting that he is on time. Pulling the wrapped bundle closer to him as he walked, he couldn`t help but laugh at the yellow blanket with badgers on it.
He bought the blanket as a joke when Dora was born, telling his wife that he didn`t want his little girl growing up with snakes, much to the ex Slytherin`s ire. His wife wasn`t very happy with the Hufflepuff`s lighthearted teasing.
Shaken from his reverie, he walked up the steps in front of the massive white and gold building, bowing respectfully to the heavily armed goblins at the big reinforced oak doors, while heading to the furthest raised platform, the one for inquiries.
"What do you want, wizard?" the goblin growled, not looking up from his parchments in front of him, his long fingers gliding along as his eyes raked across the scribbles.
"I am looking for Sharpclaw, I am here on behalf of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black," Ted stated formally, raising himself up and maintaining non-existent eye-contact with the goblin in front of him.
"Ironmaw! Go get Sharpclaw, tell him the Potters are looking for him. I assume you are here on behest, and with approval of, Charlus Potter?" the goblin finished, looking down at Ted, who nodded, while taking out an envelope out of his pocket.
A few minutes later, another goblin came down a corridor to his left, "Mister Tonks, I will take that letter, and you can follow me, so that we can talk in private, especially if this concerns the Potters," the goblin spoke as he led the way down the hall to an empty conference room.
Sharpclaw cracked the seal and folded out the parchment and started reading.
This letter is written for, and dedicated to, the Goblin Nation
Sharpclaw,
May your gold flow as freely as the blood of your enemies,
I, Lord Charlus Potter, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, write this letter in hopes that the Nation can provide assistance and temporary protection of a legal nature to any of the following individuals,
My Heir, James Charlus Potter, his wife, Lily Potter nee Evans, and their son, Harry James Potter. Sirius Orion Black, family through my wife, as well as Edward Tonks, his wife, Andromeda Tonks nee Black, and their daughter, Nymphadora Tonks.
My hope is that this letter is not needed, but I am afraid that I may not be there for my family soon and thus wrote this as a contingency, along with my Will, in preparation for the worst.
The person bearing this letter, must give the name of a person on the list above and explain the situation and what plans they are making to solve said situation.
This letter is merely a request for the goblins to assist in providing a secure meeting place for the legal matters and to help ensure no foul play is involved or harm intended to my family.
Time is money and I do not wish to waste either.
Lord Charlus Potter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Friend of the Goblin Nation.
"Well?" Sharpclaw looked at Ted after reading the letter and putting it down.
"I bear this letter on behalf of Sirius Black, of the House Black, and Harry Potter, of the House Potter. I will explain the situation, but due to the nature of the events that transpired after midnight this morning, this little boy needs to be looked at by Healers, but as per the situation surrounding this explanation and that letter, I cannot take him to St. Mungo`s," Ted revealed the boy to the goblin, who immediately took out two pieces of parchment from two different places and walked over to the boy with a little needle-like device. He gently took Harry`s little hand and lightly pricked a finger with the sharp end while humming, to soothe the child. He looked at the glowing, broad end of the device, and dripped a few drops of a pinkish fluid on one blank parchment.
"Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, Heir of the House Potter, godson to Sirius Black, of the House Black. Metamorphmagus and a Parselmouth, it seems, most interesting..." Sharpclaw muttered to himself, while Ted looked wide-eyed at him.
"A Parselmouth? Are you sure? There has never been a Parselmouth in either the Black, or the Potter families," Ted asked, looking down at the baby in his arms, hair a reddish-pink and curly.
"I am positive Mr. Tonks, but until he is old enough to do a Family Bloodline Test, we would not be able to tell how this came to be,' he spoke while writing on the other parchment and sending it away with a wave of his hand, "follow me Mr. Tonks, once we get to the Healers here, you can explain everything to me, while they look him over."
Once they reached the goblin Healers and handed Harry over to them, with the explanation of why he is there, Ted launched into the story Sirius told him. The goblins looked Harry over for close to an hour, the same amount of time it took for Ted to give a summarized version of the events that led him to be there. Throughout the whole story, Sharpclaw focused on every word with the intensity that only a goblin counting gold could muster, this was in regards to his most loyal and honest customers, after all.
The goblin Healers finished up and handed a parchment with their findings over to Sharpclaw and placed Harry back in Ted`s arms. Sharpclaw let out a long, soft whistle as he read through the findings. Ted started getting more and more worried by the second, until he felt like yelling out loud. Finally, the goblin led him to a nearby table and motioned for him to sit down, discussions were about to commence.
"Mr. Tonks, this is a lot more serious than I thought. I must say I am astounded that this child is alive, but if I am reading this correctly, there are a lot of forces at play here," he spoke, while looking at the bundle in Ted`s arms with a mix of respect and admiration in his eyes. Ted looked at him expectantly.
"Firstly, due to the magical residue and desity found on and in the boy, we believe he was hit with the killing curse, and by the dark lord himself." Ted gasped loudly, his face rapidly drained of color. "Secondly, the reason he survived was due to a sacrificial ritual, based on blood magic, tied to his mother, I think. The interesting part regarding this, is that the ritual was created by using Parseltongue as a magical catalyst. That means his mother is also a Parselmouth," Sharpclaw spoke, while looking at the parchment in front of him. Ted, still ashen, looked down at the child in his arms.
"Thirdly, and this is very confusing indeed, is the fact that his magical core is bound. He only has access to about 25% of his magical core as is, even if he is already showing signs of accidental magic. Very unusual, indeed. The binds on his core, however, was placed with a delay, or a specific trigger, some time before the blood ritual was placed, for what reason and when, I cannot say," Sharpclaw looked thoughtful while staring at the parchment.
"Is there a way to remove the binds? Would it be safe to do so?" Ted looked worried while asking, not voicing his true fears, letting his tone ask for him.
"Unfortunately, it is impossible to do so. Little Harry needs to grow and release the bonds with age and experience. As for the size and stability of his magical core, I shall refer you to the history of the Potter males, specifically Charlus and his father Fleamont Potter. The males of the Potter family have a history of large magical cores, as well as steady growth leading up to their magical maturity and an exponential increase during their maturity," Sharpclaw looked at Ted with a serious expression, "I remember the late Lord Potter telling me that his maturity lasted for almost two weeks, as opposed to the standard six or seven days."
Ted stared off into an unknown distance before speaking softly, "So that means that he has a lot of potential to live up to, just like the rest of his family. My wife is setting up a meeting with Madam Bones, the Head of the DMLE, would we be able to hold the meeting here?"
"Tell Mr. Black, as well as Madam Bones to be here on Wednesday, at 11 o`clock, in the meeting room we sat in earlier. I will ensure that the meeting room is ready, the Potter Will released into my custody and any parties asking questions regarding the Potters or Mr. Black, be handled with utmost discretion. Give this to Mr. Black," Sharpclaw pushed a small card with the Gringotts logo on, across the table, "and tell him that this portkey will activate at 11 o`clock, on the dot, he must be ready. You and your wife, as well as the children, need to come through the floo or via apparition."
"Thank you Sharpclaw, we will be here," Ted said as he took his leave, walking back to the Apparition point with Harry, turning and disappearing back home.
A/N: There we have it. Questions answered, more questions asked. Meetings planned and revelations made.
I wish to admit to the fact that there might be a few points and concepts that I will use that I found in various other fanfics, but I do not remember all the fics or authors. If anyone sees anything they recognize, please let me know what, and from where, by whom, so that I can give credit where it is due. It is not my wish to steal anything from hardworking members of the Potterverse, thus I would like to thank them for their stories and if anyone can help me in this regard, I would like to thank them directly as well as give them feedback on their respective ideas and stories. Peace out homies :D Leave them likes and reviews, Love ya'll long time.