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Chapter Five:
Spirits in Albania, without hosts, without power, without any followers excluding dear Bella, did not take the news of Avalon's reopening well.
Because Tom Marvolo Riddle (Jr) knew exactly who the blasted Prince was and it was not Charlus Potter as the reporters claimed. No, it couldn't be. One look at the brat, even ten years on, showed him clearly that he could not be the powerful child that reduced him to this all those years ago.
The idiot wasn't even wearing proper robes to represent his family!
However the small picture below of a child on the shoulders of a redhead - a Weasley? - with lightning forking across his face detailing him to have been heard addressed as 'Le Fae', that boy he recognised. And he was now faced with a dilemma. Did he try to befriend the boy?
He would be his downfall, yes, but befriending him could alter everything. Change it from a death at a mere sixty years, fickle time by wizarding standards, to a grand and noble death after a century teaching the boy, defeated by his wand as a mercy?
Did he risk it?
He sunk into the weak form of a Muggle child Bella had captured, smiling dearly at the witch, before observing the changes to the child as a result of his possession. Red eyes, easily glamoured, and an idea, a brilliant, cruel idea came to his mind.
"Bella, love, I have a task for you." He purred, a truly terrifying grin cracking his face.
Bellatrix shivered but bowed to her Lord obediently, wondering what plan could have the most evil wizard of their time grinning so.
~
"Dad, where's Harry?" Charlie Potter narrowed his eyes as his father coughed and his mother looked anywhere but his face, instead focusing on his little sister.
"With Uncle Sirius." Dad responded shortly, a dark look crossing his eyes.
Now, Charlie may not have been the most observant, especially when it came to the misdeeds of his parents, but he knew when he was missing something big. And he most certainly was now.
"Why? He didn't come to Diagon with us either." He paused. "Did he not get his Hogwarts letter?" Sympathy entered his voice.
James looked up, startled, before a strange gleam entered his eyes and he nodded.
"Yes, son, Harry didn't get his Hogwarts letter. We didn't want him to feel jealous so Uncle Sirius is taking care of him."
That didn't feel right, call it a magical feeling, but Charlie accepted it grudgingly.
"Mum, can you show me the levitating charm again? I want to make sure I can do it for Hogwarts!"
~
The holidays flew by for Sirius. Harry was quiet, but slowly coming out of his shell, and had his head almost permenantly buried in books, either from the Goblins - who insisted on Harry coming to the bank every other day for 'lessons' in etiquette, politics, and his positions as the Heir to many houses and Prince, Prince, of Avalon.
Moony wasn't much better, reading about Avalon and researching, though he still spent a decent amount of time with Sirius, reassuring him, and wandering Diagon aimlessly when Harry was at his lessons. But at least he had his boyfriend at night, when he finally let Sirius get some sleep and blew out the candle by their bed.
Sirius just sat and thought, at the kitchen counter in Black Manor, no longer where Uncle Alphard holed up but the magical home warded every which way with a secret around every corner and, thankfully, a house elf who was only half mad.
"Would Master like a fresh cup of coffee?" Mopsy asked with far too much sweetness, bouncing on the spot.
"Have you finished cleaning the guest room?" Sirius asked, already knowing the answer. He just couldn't find enough work for the damned elf to do. It was worse than Kreacher, who didn't do anything, she had even tried to change his bedding while he was sleeping in it!
"Yes Master, would Master like Mopsy to start making dinner from him and his Wolfy?" She asked cheerfully.
"Me and my - what about Harry?" Sirius blinked down at the little elf.
"Little Harry is going to Avalon today, Master, there'll be house elves there to feed him." Her big ears drooped pathetically at the idea of losing Harry, even for that short time, and Sirius silently agreed. Sure, the kid was quiet but it was far better than the usual silence.
"Right, right, no Harry. Well, why don't you make us a nice big feast and we can invite the Longbottoms over for dinner?" Sirius suggested, managing a smile as those ears perked up and she nodded vigorously, popping away as she muttered about what meal to cook.
One problem dealt with, now to take Harry to the Bank to go to Avalon.
Harry had been packed for a week and by the time Sirius was ready to leave for the Bank, having showered, changed, sent an owl to Augusta Longbottom, and applied his eyeliner three times to get it straight and sharp, Harry was waiting downstairs in comfortable Muggle clothing with one of Remus' cardigans around him, sleeves rolled up so the kid could still use his hands, with a small bag Sirius knew to have far more than it told inside.
So he took the boy's hand, and Apparated the two to the Apparation point inside the bank.
Harry walked with purpose beside him, as he had began doing after a few lessons, and gave a polite, closed-mouth smile to the goblin teller they met.
"Good afternoon, Esteemed Sir, I'm here to see Ragnok." Harry said cheerfully, voice loud enough to catch the attention of a few wizards in the Bank who looked over in shock.
The teller sneered down at Harry in such a way that had Sirius wanting to grab his godson's hand and hold it tight, prepare to protect him, but then the goblin nodded, calling in Gobbledygook to another teller, who sent down a stack of forms with a flick of its wrist. A quill flew over the form and their teller sealed it with a stamp and stabbed its pudgy finger with the quill, smearing some blood across the bottom of the parchment.
The parchment was rolled and tied with a gold ribbon, and handed to Harry, who took it with another smile.
"Many thanks, Esteemed Sir. May your gold flow freely and your enemies cower at your feet." Harry said with another closed-mouth smile, which widened when the goblin spat something in Gobbledygook, looking like the whole ordeal left a rather bitter taste in its mouth.
But that could just be his face...
"Come on, Uncle Sirius, Gornuk will be taking us down to Vault 712." Harry said cheerfully, tugging on the man's leather jacket.
"Vault..." Sirius spluttered. 712? He'd heard that before, but he couldn't quite recall where. All he could remember was a half-formed rant from his father about goblins, laziness, and that particular vault...
Sirius was startled out of his musing when his godson detached from his hand to hug, hug, a goblin that met them at the doors that led down to the vaults.
"Gornuk!" He exclaimed.
The goblin looked highly uncomfortable, at least Sirius thought that was the expression it was pulling off, but patted the boy's back and carefully removed the excited preteen from itself.
"Prince Auallonia," Was the goblins greeting, and Sirius got the impression from the dull drool of its voice that it was used to being hugged by Harry.
The goblin looked up at Sirius, and intense displeasure entered its face, a hearty scowl on its lips.
"Lord Black, your presence is no longer required, though we thank you for bringing the Prince here, however late," this was spat at him with true disgust, "you may be."
Harry looked up at his godfather before smiling and giving the man a hug.
"I'll only be gone a few days, Uncle Sirius. Don't get all mopey." He said, attempting humour. Sirius forced a smile onto his face. "And be nice to poor Mopsy, she didn't know you don't like apple pie."
His smile became a bit more genuine. It was great to see his godson alive and joking and not the quiet husk they'd had those first few days.
"You be good too, kiddo. No sneaking off and don't adopt another house elf. I think Mopsy would have a heart attack." A pause. "Can house elves have heart attacks?"
The look on the goblin's face behind Harry said they could and that it was a very stupid, very rude thing to say.
Hardy just shook his head and laughed at his godfather. "I'll see you next week, Uncle Sirius."
And with that, the goblin, Gornuk, he believed its name was, opened the doors down to the Vaults, and it disappeared with his godson into the depths of the bank.
~
The trip to Avalon was, surprisingly, beautiful and not at all horrid and painful like most forms of Wizarding transport. From Vault 712, where the Goblins took breaks and spent their free time dancing and enjoying the music of elusive female goblins - who tended to stick to the underground of the banks, where they could forge and mine and work in peace without egotistical wizards trying to prey on them - they took a form of goblin transport involving a crystalline box-thing they stepped into and a lot of bright circling colours.
They called it Crystal Metaphysicalisation, the name making very little sense to Harry and apparently to most goblins too, but the basic principle was they were transported from one Crystal to another by use of EM rays from various points on the spectrum (hence the range of colours) that did something of the other by way of magic to transport them at such a speed they couldn't even feel it, only noticing a light tingling sensation, and a few seconds of blindness from the brightness of the lights.
From the new Crystal, they were escorted to a beautiful boat made of a silvery white wood with plants encircling it and growing in and around the cut wood, giving an impression of fae otherworld-ness. Harry was taken abord with Gornuk, Ragnok (who had joined them at the boat, much to Harry's surprise), and Bill Weasley, along with the Ifrit messenger who had been used to carry scrolls pertaining to Harry, who was now apparently his guard.
The Ifrit sat on his shoulder and provided him with a book on Avalonian History, governmental structures, societal complexities, and basic governed rules to read during the journey provided he was not travel sick. After a bumpy start and a near throwing up, he was able to settle down and read up on the top deck, taking use of the natural light over the seven hour journey until the sun began to set, at which he watched the dazzling display of reddish orange light, the Ifrit on his shoulder happily watching with him, encouraging him to stay out by creating a little ball of fire above his head once darkness fell, illuminating the words of his book and providing him with much needed warmth.
It was nearing nine at night when they finally reached the shores of Avalon, the Isle of Golden Fruit glimmering from behind crystalline gates which opened as the ship passed through.
Black hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes that matched his own greeted him once they reached the docks, illuminated by golden lights, the woman staring him down with an unimpressed brow raised with such elegance and grace that she gave of an impression of regality without even trying.
Her clothes were decidedly casual and deceptively modern, in fact, ahead of their time for the early nineties: black skinny jeans, an oversized jumper, and smart ankle boots. She looked so out of time that it took her introducing herself for anybody to recognise her, and when she did, shocked silence settled over them.
"Henry, welcome to Avalon. I am Morgan Le Fae, though I have come to prefer Morgana."