A/N: So we meet again :) This is our last 'Hogwarts Era' chapter. After this, were moving forward in time a bit. As always, if you see any grammatical, factual, or spelling errors, please tell us so we can fix them with greater efficiency. Normal reviews and critisism are appreciated to, but flames will be used to...let's be creative and bake scones. Flames shall be used to make scones. :)
Also, the section immedeatly succeeding this one is a general review response and background information source. It is part of this A/N, but seperated.
Finally, it should be noted that the entire chapter takes place on October 31st, 1994.
Now then, if we may procceed...
Yes, we know. Sirius is dead. This story is meant to be an AU of what would happen if Harry Potter never went to Hogwarts, but grew up away from the wizarding world altogether until an accidental encounter with ? (See a couple of chapters from now).
Yes, we do see Albus Dumbledore as a manipulative old fool. No, we do not see Albus as such a manipulative old fool that he would seek to kill Sirius as soon as possible. One consequence of having Sirius out and about, but not having a Harry to interact with is that there is less reason for Albus to keep Sirius around. At the same time, we assume in this fic that Albus was not aware of the switch of secret keepers. Thus he truly believes Sirius is guilty and thus has little objection to the Kiss although he does not like Dementors.
And yes, he will find out in a year's time that Sirius Black was not guilty: that he was innocent. This will trouble him but as we have seen in other issues, while he may personally regret having made people suffer through his decisions (witness his conversation with Harry in OoTP), he does not change his course as he is convinced that it is best "for the greater good."
As well, in many of the fanfics we have read, the starting point is that Sirius dies or is dead and Harry is dealing with the emotional aftermath of that death. In this story, the future discovery that Albus Dumbledore assisted in the death of his godfather proves to be an additional wedge between the two men.
We are really interested in exploring how a Harry who has grown up away from the wizarding world until the age of 20 will come into his own, learn about magic from a source not often explored, and deals with Albus while refusing to be put back into Albus' plans.
So, if you mourn the death of Sirius, so do we. He is a lovable character, but in this story, unfortunately, he has a tragic fate.
Now that that's out of the way, without further ado...i give you...
Chapter Six: The Death of the Living
11:00 AM EST
The Temple of Bondyè , The World Below
The dreams had been disturbing of late for Narcissa, the voodoo priestess. The spirits were disturbed everything pointed to a major disturbance and crisis for the young boy for which she had been praying and burning a candle since the spring.
Tonight would mark a critical time in the life of the child of power, young Harry, the adopted son of Vincent and Diana.
Even now, she still marveled that they had no idea who Harry was or the power that destiny would call him to yield. She could tell what he was, but he would have to survive the events of this night. If he did, the future looked incredibly bright and the shadows that darkened his future would be removed.
The soft voice of Vincent calling her name penetrated the distant howl of the winds. Good, the blind mambo thought. I only hope that she came as well.
"Narcissa," Vincent repeated, now sounding closer. "You sent Diana and I a message that you needed to see us? We have come."
A sigh of relief came to Narcissa. Yes, the fae-touched woman was here as well. She could walk where Vincent could not; reach the boy in time before the dark curse came. Now if they could only believe.
"Children," she began in her singsong voice as the couple moved into her chamber. "The spirits are calling you and we do not have much time. One whom you love is in danger: a dark curse comes."
Diana had only met the voodoo priestess a handful of times. But, even with her criminal psychological training and her practical mindset, she recognized Narcissa as a woman of power in her own right. At the Haitian woman's words, a chill gripped her heart.
Vincent however spoke first. "Narcissa, what riddle are you suggesting now? We have come: what do you mean by a dark curse?"
Diana's mind was making intuitive leaps and an irrational fear blossomed in her heart. "She means Harry, Vincent. Something's coming, something bad."
"Touched by the fae you are, child of Erin, woman of flame, huntress," Narcissa's voice continued in a stronger singsong tone. "Your child whom you have taken in out of the greatness of your hearts is a child of destiny, of power. However, great evil and great good war within him. A dark curse comes, will even be cast within the hour and if you are not there to greet it and him, your son will die.
"I have been praying the spirits for your son. Your love for him is deep; his for you is equally deep. Yours is the love that can heal him and bring him back: back to life, back to love."
With a sudden movement, Narcissa grabbed Diana's hands and held them tightly, her blind eyes seeming to carefully inspect the auburn haired woman.
"Go to the child now, huntress. He needs what only you can give now. Go now…the curse stirs even now. It is about to be cast.
"Go or you will not have time."
With that, she let Diana's hands go and turned away back into the mists, leaving behind a bemused set of parents.
Diana thought quickly and realized she believed the black mamba's words. "I don't know how I know, Vincent, but I believe her and I think I should get to Harry's school as soon as possible."
Vincent's reaction was more mixed. He did not know what to think of this woman: her voodoo beliefs, candles and chanting repelled him. But she had helped him more than once and even helped his Catherine in a critical time. As well, he had grown to trust Diana's instincts.
"Go and Godspeed, my heart. Make sure that our son is well," he said, and with that his wife turned and moved as quickly as she could back to the Hub and then the route to Harry's school.
5:55 PM GMT
The Great Hall, Hogwarts
The Great Hall was filled to overflowing with the students of three schools all waiting with bated breath for the drawing of the three names. Only Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody knew that there would be riskier events tried that evening.
After four years of active searching, no sign of the lost Harry Potter had surfaced. No hint of a black haired boy with green eyes and a lightning bolt scar had been seen or heard from. It was as if Harry Potter had dropped off the face of the earth.
It had taken Albus a year of research to find the ritual known as Sanguis Vocatio, or the Blood Call. He was now glad that he had visited the Dursleys so long ago and had gathered some dried blood that could only have belonged to Harry Potter from the cupboard under the stairs. Even now, he refused to think about how that blood had arrived there. Surely it had simply been an accident. But he would use that blood now.
The ritual was simplicity in itself. He had placed Harry's name ,in blood, in the Goblet of Fire under the school name Pigfarts, with the understanding that the Goblet would call his name and then the magic of the Goblet and the call of his blood would force Harry to step forward and finally take his place in the wizarding world.
That Harry was too far away to be able to respond did not even cross the Headmaster's mind.
That and what penalty the Goblet would exact should Harry not appear was also far from Albus' thoughts.
12:55 PM EST
Village Community Middle School, New York
While there were few signs of the gold and orange displays that decorated the stores of commercial New York down below, there was no mistaking the excitement and thrill of the planned celebrations for the festival of Samhain among the tunnel folk. There were whispers of a special visitor from Ireland, someone who had not been there for some time, and of course, the discussions in the Bennett-Wells family also centered on the annual Masque ball to which both Vincent and Diana had been invited.
Since the entry of Joe Maxwell and his wife, Jenny Aronson, into the secret of the World Below, communications between the DA's office and the Hub were now regular events. Of course, with Diana naming Joe and Jenny as godparents for their first child Catherine, the relationship between the two families grew close and Joe relished his role as "Uncle Joe".
So it was no surprise that Joe and Jenny had invited both Vincent and Diana to their annual Masque. It allowed Vincent his one yearly opportunity to walk unmasked among the people of the upper city and it allowed him to show off his blushing auburn haired wife without the pressures of being on the council and guiding young children.
Of course, this left much more responsibility upon the oldest member of the Bennett-Wells family. Harry Jacob Vincent Wells still rolled the name in his mind. While he had been reluctant to let go of the name Harry James Potter, this new name represented for him a new beginning and an acceptance as just Harry rather than freak or boy. He had chosen this name just before the adoption ceremony and the pleased look of love and surprise on the face of his grandfather, "Father Jacob Wells", as well as the approval of Vincent and Diana sealed his choice for him. He had chosen this name and he would bear it proudly going forward.
That he was now an official US citizen also hammered his new situation home for him. He had a family, a country, a new name: he was a new person. They accepted him, even with his occasional strange 'incidents' and he was loved.
Tonight he would have exercise some family responsibility. It was his task to look after young Jacob and baby Catherine: the Halloween party would actually begin the next evening when Brigitte came to tell Celtic Samhain stories. For now, however, he would have to survive the pumpkin carving contest that, as a new Grade 9, he would undergo that afternoon.
6:00 PM GMT
The Great Hall, Hogwarts
"Welcome, one and all to the drawing of names for the right to compete in the Tri Wizard Tournament," Albus Dumbledore began. "All entries have been made and now we call upon the Goblet of Fire to call forth the champions."
With a flash of fire, the Goblet exploded and a piece of parchment rose up and floated into Dumbledore's hand. He opened it and called out, "The first Tri Wizard champion, competing for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour."
"I would ask all champions to remain with their schools until all names have been called."
As the slim blond young woman stood to polite clapping from the students of other schools, Hermione Granger, now wearing the blue of Beauxbatons, thought of how the worm turned. She had fled Hogwarts due to the dangers here and yet here she was, returning as a Beauxbations student, in the school she had left only 16 months before. Yet if anyone deserved to represent Beauxbations, it was Fleur.
1:00 PM EST
Village Community Middle School, New York
Harry was sitting with Steven, his tunnel friend and Bill, his study buddy from the peer helping group he had been placed in. Why had the peer helpers, a group tasked with helping freshmen to integrate into high school easily, waited until this afternoon to hold the pumpkin carving contest, he did not know. Perhaps it was because of the fact Halloween was a Monday and no one wanted pumpkins to stay in the school over the weekend previous. Or perhaps it was for another reason.
Still the peer helpers were now bringing out the pumpkins and the knives for carving, all very carefully supervised of course.
6:03 GMT
The Great Hall, Hogwarts
Again the Goblet exploded and another parchment flew into the air. A deft catch and Dumbledore's voice called out, "For Hogwarts, the Tri Wizard champion is Cedric Diggory." The Hufflepuff student stood to loud applause from his house and polite applause from his school and the other students present.
1:03 PM EST
New York
Diana's breath was coming in gasps as she walked/ran along the row of brownstones one block from the school Harry was attending. The sense of urgency had not diminished, indeed it had grown and somehow she knew whatever was coming was coming soon. But she could see glimpses of the school building from where she was walking and soon had turned the corner and begun the climb of the stairs to the school's office.
She hoped she would be in time though she had no idea what she was supposed to do yet.
6:05 PM GMT
The Great Hall, Hogwarts
The third Champion for Durmstrang, Viktor Krum, had just been called and everyone's attention looked towards the call for the three champions to exit and receive their instructions from the judges and the tournament organizers. That was of course until the Goblet emitted a red flame, a loud explosion and a fourth parchment flew into the air. Dumbledore caught it and slowly opened it; aware that everyone's eyes were on him.
"It appears that the Goblet of Fire has called a fourth champion. Harry Potter."
His voice took on power and a visible aura could now be seen around the old man. "I call upon blood and magic to bring forth Harry Potter to this hall. So mote it be!"
There was a massive flare of power from the cup and from Dumbledore and then all who were there could see a pulse of power move at high speed out from the hall.
With that the Goblet dimmed and all sound ceased. Dumbledore next spoke in a normal sounding voice. "I would ask the three TriWizard Champions already present to join us in the adjoining hall." With that he rose and was followed by the champions, their heads of school and the tournament organizers.
1:15 PM EST
Village Community Middle School, New York
Harry had been paying attention to the instructions being given by the lead Peer Helper. Any moment the word would be given and the carving contest would begin and he had already convinced his small group of the design he wanted them to use.
Then he felt it.
It began first as a slight tug on him and it seemed to be pulling him towards the east wall of the cafeteria.
Unsure of what was happening, he lowered his hands to the seat of the cafeteria bench and gripped tightly. An unformed "No!" crossed his mind.
What happened next no one was able to completely recall. Harry felt himself being ripped from the bench all the while struggling to stay seated and stationary. Those around him told him later that he was crying out, "No! No! I won't go! Get your hands off me."
He was being pulled to the eastern wall of the cafeteria and once he had let go of the bench, he felt himself flying towards the wall, hitting it with a thud.
The pull was growing exponentially stronger with each second and Harry felt strong waves of compulsion and an overwhelming urge to surrender to the pull. It was seductive and strong and an element of it was calling to him, almost feeling as if it was him.
Yet at the same time visions flashed in his mind: Kipper and the meeting for the first time in Chinatown; meeting Father and receiving his first hug; walks with Jacob; the naming ceremony and calling out "Harry Jacob Vincent Wells"; holding his new sister Catherine for the first time; being hugged by his mom.
And at that moment, he knew that she was there with him. Diana had somehow made it to the school and was holding onto him, hugging him, crying his name even as the pull intensified.
And with a snap, it let go, taking part of him with it.
Diana was trying to explain her reason for requesting to see Harry when the call came from the cafeteria of a disturbance involving Harry Wells and some force pulling him to the cafeteria wall. Looking at the secretary, she flashed her badge and put on her official face.
"That is my son and I am going down to see him now. If you have any problems, we'll talk later."
With that she turned and moved quickly down the hall.
The sight that greeted her was chaos. Benches were overturned and various freshmen and senior students were huddled around one end of the cafeteria while she could see Harry being held spread eagled against the eastern wall. She swore she could see a glow around him and his hair was standing on end as if he were in an electrical field. Two teachers were attempting to get closer, but were obviously nervous about getting close to whatever was causing the electrical effect.
She however had no hesitation and she pushed through to him, noting in passing that she felt as she was crossing a barrier of some sort as she got close to him. By now, Harry was being lifted from the ground and she reached out and grabbed him by the leg.
Once her hand connected, she could feel a tremendous pull – a force that appeared to be able to carry her off the ground as well. But she could also feel the warring emotions within her own son and with her special empathy; she could feel the memories flowing through Harry's mind.
He loved them. He loved her. What she had secretly been hoping for had happened: to Harry, she, Vincent, Jacob, Catherine, and one other were a family.
One other? She was shocked. Where did that idea come from, she wondered. But she could not focus on that now.
She was fighting for her son. "He's mine, whoever you are. Harry Jacob Vincent Wells is my son and you can't have him," she screamed in her mind to whatever or whoever was behind that pull.
Then she turned to her son and began pulling him towards her, as the pull on the other end appeared to intensify. "I love you, son. I love you and I won't let them have you."
She heard a muffled "Mom, I love you", then a heart rending scream ""NO!" and with what she swore years later was an audible snap, the pull ceased and her son collapsed to the ground and in her arms.
However, there was no pulse and no breath. Her son Harry was dead.
6:30 PM GMT
The Great Hall, Hogwarts
The sudden return of the magical pulse that had left a half hour before was a shock to the members of the judges, the Hogwarts staff and the tournament organizers who had gathered in the anteroom to finish off the evening with a few glasses of mead and Fire Whiskey. Albus was growing increasingly concerned: the magic of the ritual should have found young Harry by now and even now should be carrying him to Hogwarts. What he would do with the young Potter boy once he arrived was still unknown: it would depend on how much magical training he had had or if he even knew about magic.
He could feel the pulse of the magic returning as it crossed the wards and it appeared to be in a chaotic state. With a rush of his robes, he got up from his seat where he had been talking with Ludovic Bagman and rushed to the Great Hall where the Goblet was still standing. If young Harry Potter was coming the magic would bring him there.
Other curious members of his party got up and followed him to the Great Hall. What greeted them was a Goblet wreathed in dark flames and a thickening cloud of smoke and then with an explosion, the Goblet disappeared.
"What is the meaning of this?" Igor Karkarov questioned Dumbledore. "That ritual, those words: you invoked a blood ritual to find Harry Potter, didn't you?"
"And with the Goblet exploding and disappearing?" Madame Maxime questioned.
"It means that the Sanguis Vocatio could not work because Mr. Potter is dead," Retired Auror Alastor Moody and current DADA instructor at Hogwarts said.
Albus Dumbledore could only hang his head and weep. His last chance and he had failed.
Harry Potter was dead.
1:16 PM EST
Village Community Middle School, New York
"No way you're dead, Harry," Diana swore as she carefully, but efficiently lay Harry on his back. It took her only seconds to lay him out properly and then the process began: clear airway, check breathing, thirty compressions, then two breaths.
Thirty compressions.
As she was beginning CPR, she called out to the two teachers nearby. "Get me paramedics stat. Time is of the essence here. Move!"
Two breaths.
"Harry, come back to us. Come back. I think that."
Thirty compressions.
The sweat was beginning to collect on her forehead as she fell into the routine, so familiar from training, but never so important as now. Never a good idea to perform CPR on your own kids.
Two breaths.
She was sure that she had heard at least one or two ribs crack from the weight she was putting on him. And she was not a heavy person.
Thirty compressions.
Was this even working? Was Harry coming back? What would she say to Vincent?
Two breaths.
To Jacob and Catherine? To that new other?
Thirty compressions.
That was it. She must be pregnant again and she had touched the new mind of a still unborn child.
Two breaths
Check pulse. There...a hint, more than a hint. Praise the heavens, Harry had a pulse. The rise and fall of his chest, as well as the barely audible noise, confirmed a weak but improving breathing.
"Harry, you're back, you're back," she cried into his hair even as he weakly lifted an arm around her.
In what only appeared to be seconds, but was actually five minutes, the ambulance had arrived only to find a crying Harry being thoroughly embraced by his mother.
They quickly moved in and stabilized Harry as Diana was coming off her adrenaline high. She was barely cognizant when one of the ambulance attendants called out to her.
"Mrs. Wells, do you have any idea what this black stuff on your son's forehead is?"
She came to herself and glanced over to Harry's forehead. His scar seemed to be bleeding a black substance, but even as she watched the flow was slowing and finally stopped.
"No idea," she finally said.
The paramedics completed their on site treatment by bandaging Harry's chest. "Two broken ribs," one said to Diana. "Good consistent method: you've taught this before?"
"No, just trained a lot. I'm with the NYPD."
"He's a pretty lucky kid. How did you know what was going to happen?"
"Mother's intuition. Do we need to take him to the hospital?"
"Just for a short checkup – they may want to replace those bandages for his ribs."
"Thanks for your help."
"No problem. You had already done the important stuff before we got here."
2:00 PM EST,
New York
The hospital stay was long in the waiting room, short in the treatment room. Dr. Peter Alcott arrived almost immediately and went over Harry with a careful eye.
"Seems like he's already on the mend," he said, speaking to Diana. "And have you noticed his scar? It seems to be fading finally as a normal scar would."
"There was some black stuff that came out earlier this afternoon. But nothing after that," she replied.
"I would suggest a few weeks of bed rest, but I suspect he will want to get back to school as soon as possible."
Saying their goodbyes, the two made their way slowly to the Central Park exit where an obviously worried Vincent was waiting for them.
Despite Harry's protests, his father picked him up and carried him down the tunnels, an obviously exhausted Diana following in his wake. The young teen was quickly carried to his bed where his grandfather was waiting for him.
"Not another exam, Grandfather. Dr. Alcott already did the whole nine yards."
The sound of that American expression coming with a slight British accent brought smiles to all the adults in the family. It was obvious that Harry did not appear the worst for the experience and would soon be on the mend.
"I sent my regrets to Joe and Jenny for this evening," Vincent told Diana moments later as they were sitting on 'their' sofa and his arm was around her.
"Don't ask me how, but Narcissa's warning was bang on," Diana began, finally shaking as she could feel the stress leave her body. She began telling Vincent what she had seen, heard and done from the time she had arrived at the cafeteria until Vincent had greeted them at the tunnels entrance.
"It was unlike anything I have ever experienced, babe. I could feel the pull on him and I swear that there was an element of him in that pull. If it could have pulled him through that wall, I suspect it would have become even stronger.
"But he was fighting it. He was telling it no. He was using the memories of this place, of us, of our love to say no.
"And I think that was what finally broke the pull on him. I swear I could hear a snap."
The familiar singsong voice of Narcissa interrupted their conversation. Diana looked up and saw the Haitian woman at the door.
"It was also your love and your pull on him that kept him here," Narcissa continued. "And as a result that little one you now carry is also touched by his power and his destiny."
Vincent looked first at Narcissa and then Diana. "Little one that you carry?"
Diana's face broke into a smile. "Yes, babe, I felt our unborn child's mind while I was trying to save Harry."
"She is destined to be a great one," the black mamba continued. "Her mother after all broke the dark curse over her brother and her father is the great heart of this world. And her brothers will both be men of destiny.
"You have done well, child of fae. You have liberated a great soul and helped to destroy the great evil within.
"As for you Vincent, you have been doubly blessed. While your first love rejoices in the place with no pain, knowing that the child of your love lives on, she also rejoices at the love you have found.
"Sleep well for you have won a great fight."
With that she turned and was gone. Vincent and Diana looked at one another, unsure how to take her latest pronouncements, but profoundly grateful of her warning earlier today. And another child, a child of destiny?
"As she's another girl, I have an idea for a name, babe."
"Yes, my love," Vincent smiled.
"Narcissa called me a child of Erin. I think Erin would be a fine name for a woman of destiny, don't you?"
"Harry, Jacob, Catherine, Erin. Four fine names as long as I get to get to give Erin a middle name of my choice."
"Fire away."
"Erin Diana for the Huntress of Erin." The silence that greeted Vincent did not alarm him: he could tell from the feelings of the woman by his side that she understood the source of their new, as yet unborn child's name.
Erin Diana it would be.
A/N: From here we go completely AU. We hope you can figure out the significance of the death of Harry and of course, the mysterious black substance on Harry's forehead. Hint: This story has nothing to do with the X Files.
We will be jumping ahead a few years now as our Harry takes his place as a young New Yorker in school when he makes a sudden accidental encounter, the first of two.
Our Harry can be very resourceful at times, very clumsy at others. The road to a new future is never easy.
Oh yes, it will take us a little time before we return to our white haired old manipulator.