CHAPTER 20:
A SIRIUS SITUATION
Harry badly wanted to punch someone's face in, so much so that he had a rather long list of potential candidates for impromptu facial panel beating. Ron was on the list, albeit fairly low down: taking a brief flight on the Firebolt had mollified the redhead a little, but there was no denying that their relationship had been damaged, and badly. Considerably higher up was Cornelius Fudge and his cronies for sending Dementors to Hogwarts.
And then there was Draco Malfoy, who, along with his inbred minions/bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, and Slytherin Quidditch captain Marcus Flint, had decided to dress up as Dementors and crash the game. Harry cottoned on soon enough when the distinctive aura of the Dementors didn't pervade the air, and he cast a Patronus at them, deliberately forcing it to be non-corporeal. And it was just as he caught the Golden Snitch, too. Still, the rollicking they got from McGonagall would rank amongst his best memories of the past week.
As the party continued in Gryffindor Tower, Harry noted that Hermione was in a corner, reading her Muggle Studies text. She looked even worse than before, tired and strung out. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
"…No, I'm not. I have over four hundred more pages to read, and…"
"Hermione," he said quietly, ensuring nobody would overhear when he checked. "That thing you're using is bad for your health. Remember what you promised."
"…I know. I've been in talks with Professor McGonagall about it, I'm stopping it after this year at least. She knows you figured it out, Harry, and she's glad you support me, but you can't tell anyone."
"I won't. But your health is more important than your education, okay? An education is important, but when it affects you like this, you need to think about how to fix it. Promise me, Hermione."
The bushy-haired girl nodded morosely. "I will…"
Once the party was stopped by an irate McGonagall at one in the morning, Harry returned to the darkened common room, wondering whether he should risk a trip to the Chamber of Secrets. He was working on his notes when the portrait of Sir Cadogan swung inwards. He froze, and looked to it warily, wondering if it was McGonagall…only to see a ragged, ill-kempt form.
The man had been handsome once, but was gaunt, his eyes gleaming fervently. He was dressed in tattered rags. His hair and beard were matted and unkempt.
Harry knew who this was straight away. It had to be Sirius Black. And soon, the fugitive noticed him, and froze.
Harry then said, as loud as he could without alerting anyone else, "Pettigrew isn't here. He fled a couple of nights ago. That's who you're here for, isn't it? Not me? Though if you are here for me…then I warn you…I'm not going down without a fight."
Sirius blinked in astonishment, before rasping, "…Harry? Is that you?"
"Yes and no. But I told the truth. Pettigrew isn't here. He fled, and I haven't been able to see him on the Map for some time. We don't have much time before they know you're here. Grab me and bring me to the girl's bathroom on the second floor, the one Moaning Myrtle haunts."
Sirius seemed confused by it, before nodding. "All right. You seem to know something of what's going on."
"Believe me, if I didn't see Pettigrew's name on the Map, things would be different. I would be trying to capture or at least repel you," Harry said grimly. "I had doubts about your guilt, but that didn't mean you were innocent. Let's go…"
Sirius brought him to the Chamber of Secrets, and left him down there, telling him to wait, before he emerged, taking the time to clean his clothes, then dirty up himself in other ways. He made his way to the DADA office, hoping Remus was around. And from there, it pretty much became bedlam.
Harry had to pretend to the other teachers that Sirius had dragged him from the Gryffindor Common Room. But to muddy the waters, he claimed Sirius was demanding to know where 'he' was, where 'the rat' was. Harry feigned ignorance as best as he could, as did Remus. But he wasn't sure that Snape believed him, given the scrutinising glare that the Potions teacher gave him. He had escaped by sheer chance when Harry used a wandless Stinging Hex and Banishing Charm, buying him time to flee, so Harry claimed.
Of course, there was chaos. The problem as to how Sirius entered Gryffindor Tower was solved when Cadogan revealed that he had read it off a piece of paper…which Neville admitted to have dropped. McGonagall's anger towards Neville was mitigated a little when Harry quietly intervened and pointed out how unsuited Cadogan was to being a guardian of Gryffindor Tower, especially as he kept switching the passwords and putting Neville in a tight spot. It didn't stop her from putting him into a detention or banning him from Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the year, but it did mitigate some of her fury.
Still, it took until late the next day for Harry to sneak back into the Chamber of Secrets, promising to keep Remus appraised, to speak with Sirius. They found him sleeping on a couch, the Duke watching on. As the rotund merchant noticed them, he smiled. "Well, I do believe this fellow has set the cat amongst the pigeons. I've spent the past little while feeding him, as well as getting his side of the story. It seems that our suppositions were correct."
"He was framed by Pettigrew," Harry said grimly. "What about the other people? The ones who died in that explosion?"
"Pettigrew's doing, so he claims, Pettigrew using a curse of some kind to destroy part of the street to facilitate his escape. I believe him. I did warn him that you are…different to how he may think. I haven't told him about you being Henric Stan, I thought it best for you to break that to him, but I did warn him that there were many secrets involved. I also confirmed that he was the dog you saw in Surrey, as well as during that Quidditch match. And yes, he sent the Firebolt too, and with considerable difficulty, too."
"Right…well, I'd better talk to him, then." Harry looked at Sirius sleeping on the couch, before he sent a Stinging Hex into a very sensitive place. With an almost canine yelp, Sirius tumbled off the couch, clutching his groin. "Rise and shine, Padfoot."
Sirius looked at him, before his feverish eyes widened. "…Harry? How do you know…?"
"Remus was very informative. The Duke has confirmed a number of things we suspected. It's thanks to him that I began questioning the official story regarding you. Of course, exonerating you is going to be another matter entirely. Just keep in mind, I will be doing what we can to do that, keeping an eye out for that rat bastard traitor. Same for Remus. My friend Hermione also knows."
Sirius blinked, trying to digest things. Eventually, he said, "…Merlin's saggy scrote, you remind me of your mother when you talk like that. You've even got that same look in your eyes. It's weird seeing that in your father's face."
"…I'm afraid some of that is coincidental. Sirius…I am going to reveal something important, something that will change your perception of me forever. I need your assurance that you will keep an open mind. Remus knows, and he's accepted this. Reluctantly, yes, but I need you to trust me enough to listen and let me finish first, okay?"
After a moment, Sirius laughed. "Look, if you bat for the other team, I don't care. I've known a few wizards like that. Thought Moony was like that for a time. And I admit, I was a bit startled about you being a Parselmouth, but as it got me a place to hide out, I can't complain."
"Okay, firstly, I have a girlfriend," Harry said flatly. "I don't care about sexuality in others either, as long as it's consenting adults. Secondly, it's potentially worse than me being a Parselmouth. So give me time to explain before you start asking questions…"
And to give Sirius credit, he did. He did nearly interrupt more than once, but Harry quelled him with a look. It took some time, but he eventually managed to tell Sirius everything about his past as Dr Henric Stan, the Mutamycete, and Cioarăfsat.
By the end of it, Sirius was rubbing his forehead. Harry wasn't sure if telling someone who was skirting the boundaries between sanity and insanity was wise, but he needed to clear the air. Eventually, he said, "Morgaine's tits…and here I was thinking that my family was fucked up. Actually, this does make sense, even if it sounds utterly unbelievable. Your mother was an Unspeakable, and I know she worked with the relics of Grindlewald. In fact, I do remember her showing me the Cadou once. Hideous thing, floating like the world's ugliest rotten pickle in a jar. Gave me bad vibes, but she used it to save herself from a curse. This was before you were born, and…fuck. Fuck, I have missed so much of your life, because I handed you off to Hagrid instead of explaining anything, all because I was obsessed with getting revenge on Peter."
"Yes, you were," Harry said, a little frostily. "I lived with the Dursleys for over a decade, and they treated me like a live-in servant for most of it. It's a miracle I didn't become an Obscurial, though given my powers as Henric, I have to wonder if that was a factor. Do not misunderstand me, I understand why you ran off, but you fucked up. You chose revenge over being a good godfather, and in any case, given what I am now, well, a godfather/godson relationship doesn't exactly apply anymore. I'm technically your senior in terms of memories and experience."
"It doesn't help that I spent over a decade in Azkaban. That hasn't helped my mental health, even with the knowledge of my innocence keeping me as lucid as it could." Sirius sighed. "Even with your claim that you're the reincarnation of this Henric Stan person, you're still so much like Lily, it hurts. And I know I fucked up. I've been beating myself up over it every day in Azkaban."
Harry gave him a cold glare, before it softened. "Well, what matters is the present, and the future. We have to consider what to do with you, and how we're going to trap that treacherous little shit of a rat. If we can track him down, of course. I have the Marauders' Map, courtesy of twins who believe themselves your successors. Though honestly, given the lack of time, I can't watch it as often as I want to. I might have to give it to Remus. Handy though it is, I have my hands full with more than this."
"Yes, so I've heard. This man, the Duke…he said this is a microbiology lab. A Muggle laboratory in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets! That old bastard must be spinning in his grave." Sirius barked a few weary laughs.
"The question is, what to do with you?" Harry mused. "Castle Dimitrescu or Heisenberg's factory would be right out, because if Miranda caught wind of you, that could lead to trouble. Oh, she would harbour you, but only if you proved useful. I'm not sure about leaving you here, in case someone somehow manages to get in here."
"I think I have a solution," the Duke said, before he took out a mirror, and smirked at Sirius. "I think you'll be interested by my…colleague…"
Sirius' reaction to his brother being alive and well was…hilarious, especially once he learned the circumstances around Regulus' disappearance. After much discussion, the two Black siblings decided that they would hide out in 12 Grimmauld Place for now. Regulus' usual base of operations was away from Britain, but he could shift operations for now until they could find a means of exonerating Sirius…or there was a coffin nail in his chances. It all depended on finding Pettigrew.
However, that evening, Harry learned something that would complicate matters. As dinner concluded, Dumbledore made an announcement. One that would cause him problems.
"I have an announcement to make," the elderly wizard declared. "In light of Sirius Black's infiltration of Gryffindor Tower and his attempted abduction of Harry Potter, additional security measures have been taken. We will list these measures in good time, but the most immediate measure is that Sir Cadogan has been dismissed from his duties, and the Fat Lady has been returned. However, she has been insistent on additional security measures. Aside from security Trolls hired from Gringotts, I have taken the liberty of hiring a…private security consultant of sorts."
As if on cue, the massive doors on the entrance were slammed open, and a figure walked through. Despite the apparent strength of the figure, it was actually shorter than Harry would have expected. The figure was dressed in a long coat, a trenchcoat, with a wide-brimmed hat. Most of the features were obscured, until they drew closer, and Harry could see a vaguely beaked mask, like that of a plague doctor's, but metallic and with glowing eyes that spoke of some sort of technology. Something about the figure made him uneasy, setting his instincts off screaming, and it was more than the sinister appearance.
"I would like to introduce to you our guest, who will not cease her efforts until Sirius Black is brought to justice," Dumbledore said. "Please welcome Medea to Hogwarts…"
CHAPTER 20 ANNOTATIONS:
Well, that's set the cat amongst the pigeons. The mysterious BOW Medea has been brought to Hogwarts. As you could probably tell, her appearance is a hybrid of Mr X's from the Resident Evil 2 remake, with Jill's costume in Resident Evil 5. And yes, Medea is wearing a skintight catsuit underneath that coat.
I had much of this chapter written for some time, but circumstances meant I had to focus on other stuff. I thought I'd release it for the new year. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.
Review-answering time! For those of you commenting on Harry/Henric's friendship with Ron, keep in mind that a significant portion of this person is still Harry. Ron was Harry's first friend, and he doesn't want to break that off, despite Ron's many faults. And Henric has enough perspective to realise that Ron is still young, and not truly malicious, just immature and self-centred. He wants to keep the relationship if possible. Unfortunately, events are conspiring against him, so even if their relationship survives, it will be significantly weaker.
NightBringer325: A very good question, to which my answer would be: I don't know. Given how destructive an Obscurial could be, though, I don't think it's wholly out of the question for one to be capable of destroying a Horcrux.
Itharax: Probably not. Regulus will be a mortal, if somewhat long-lived, wizard.
WhiteElfElder: I'm not sure where Peter canonically buggered off to, but here, he's basically headed for Hogsmeade to lie low for now.
DivineBahamutXZ: I nearly had her say that, but "TOASTY!" only came in with the second game, not the first game, and while the second game has come out in arcades by the time this story takes place, Cassandra has only recently discovered the series, partly thanks to the Duke. So the arcade machine she's playing is of the very first Mortal Kombat game.
No numbered annotations this time.
