The Shadow of the Wizarding World
By: Jamnaz79
-x-x-x-x-x-
Note: I do not own Harry Potter for the book, movies, etc etc etc. Nor do I claim to. I also don't own Disney (well I own stock in them but I don't own the rights to things like pirates of the Caribbean)
Harry placed the note back down into the box then blinked as the box faded from sight completely disappearing. He moved his hand where it was a moment ago and nothing was there. The boy frowned then looked back at his godfather and Nymph, "Did you see that?"
"See what Pup? We were just waiting for you to get ready to go. You look all dressed so are you ready?" Sirius smiled brightly towards his godson excited to spend the day with him.
Harry turned towards Nymph who smiled at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "We are a matching pair, are you trying to tell me something Harry?"
Harry rolled his eyes then looked back down at his bed noticing that the book was there before the three of them but only he noticed it. Quickly he picked it up and slid it away into his robes, "Let's go to Castle Black. I can't wait to see what you and Narcissa have accomplished so far Sirius."
Sirius took out a rope and held it out to the other two. Harry sighed hating these things then took hold the same time as Nymph did. A moment later the three of them spun around and disappeared into from the room.
~~~ SOTWW ~~~
A sigh escaped the old man's lips as he entered his office for the fourth time this week to the sound of muggle music. This time the Sorting Hat seemed to be listening to some song called Highway to Hell. The man's voice that was singing it sounded like he was from Australia. A grimace touched the lips of Albus before he glared at the Sorting Hat.
The Hat's edge seemed to ripple into a smirk as the JPRec clicked off. "You know they say the Road to Hell is paved with good intentions old man."
Albus let out a second sigh as he dropped down into is desk ignoring the hat. A new copy of the Daily Prophet was placed open for him. The Headline on the front page had large bold letters standing out,
"Who is Tom Riddle? Why does the Ministry not want you to know the Truth?"
By Rita Skeeter
The grimace returned as he started to rub his temple. This was going to be a long day for the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
~~ SotWW ~~
Castle Black was located on an island about twenty square miles in size between Ireland and Southern England. The Black Island is rather large pieces of private restate which contained croplands, rolling hills, grasslands and even a large set of natural springs. The Black Family built a large stone keep for the family to live when times of trouble became too hot on the main land. This would be their sanctuary whenever trouble would come to the British Isles. The estate was made to be self-sufficient with crops, animals and fresh water always available for the family. In addition the Island was spelled to be unplottable and untraceable; a permanent Fidelius was placed on the island under the control of the Head of House Black.
In addition to the Keep which overlooked the Bay of Cassiopeia there was a set of ruins from the Roman days. The Black family traced their ancestry back to the time period of the Triumvirate of Roman and was part of the Roman invasion of Britannia. It was said their political ability was a gift passed down through the generations from their Roman ancestry.
It was on the beach below the cliffs and Castle Black that the portkey deposited Harry, Sirius, and Nymph. The beach was a mixture of sand and rocks, unlike the white sands and clear Caribbean waters that was Black Island. There was a pier but no ships at dock and the bitter cold was far different than the warm Jetstream. The winter chill took all warmth out of the bones of the trio as the wind whipped past them.
"Come on Pup, Let's go inside." Sirius yelled over the biting cold wind.
Nymph and Harry bundled up tightly and quickly followed the man towards the rock edge. Harry slipped an arm around the wait of Nymph when he saw her shivering, pulling her close to him for body warmth and to block out some of the wind for her. This earned the young man a smile from the cute, older cousin. Sirius reached up and brushed his fingertips against the windswept stone before lingering at an indentation. Quickly the Lord Black sliced his fingertip letting a bit of blood tickle onto the stone. The wind was whipping by loudly but Harry could hear Sirius whisper, "Open and protect your children."
The rock face rumbled, shook then slid open reverting into the stone above and sands below. When the entrance opened a large dimly lit passageway stayed open before the three. They quickly stepped forward out of the cold sea wind. Once the last of the trio stepped into the dark hallway the wall sealed up closing off all of the light.
The darkness was pitch black, the same as the darkest night Harry had ever seen. The only sound was the breathing of his companions. So of course the young man jumped when someone pinched his backside. He let out a non-lordly squeak in surprise, "Ack! That better not be Sirius."
The culprit was easy to determine with the female giggle in the dark. But before Harry could retaliate torches along the wall started to light up one by one. They seemed to flicker aflame down a corridor then up a winding staircase. Sirius turned towards his two younger companions with a smile, "The interior décor needs a bit of work but it is a wonderful place. I always feel like I am from the Count of Monte Crisco when I come to this place. Come lets head up."
Harry was used to stairs since Hogwarts was filled with them. But, it seemed to the young Potter Lord that he walked up more stairs over the next thirty minutes than he had in his entire life. It seemed that the stairs were an endless spiral rising upwards. That cliff couldn't have been that high could it? On the walk Harry noticed that the wall had numerous holes for arrow slits. But, instead of having anything on the other side there were spears filling up the holes with sharp points ready to stake someone. Even the stairs below Harry was covered with small holes filled with spikes and pitched etchings on the stairs almost from acid. A glance at the ceiling showed that vials were attached to the ceiling. Most likely each of those vials contained some type of acid that had imprinted the flooring.
When the stairs stopped they reached a platform. The first thing he noticed was that the platform seemed to sway like a bridge from four giant giants connecting it to the ceiling. There was a small crack on the sides which allowed him to peer down into the endless darkness. Sirius seemed to ignore the wobbling ground but Harry reached out to steady Nymph knowing her lack of ability to keep her balance. The door leading into the keep was a pure iron affair that looked to have large claw marks ripped into the iron each mark was wide as Harry's arm. The door was carved with so many series of runes from different languages that Harry was certain he could spend an entire summer and not read them all let along translate the meaning. Whoever had built this was a master of rune-crafting far surpassing anything he had seen in the modern world. Sirius calmly opened the door up nad stepped inside the castle with Harry and Nymph right behind.
~~ SotWW ~~
Castle black on the inside looked a lot like Hogwarts. The major difference was it was a smaller keep instead of several thousand rooms there were only a few hundred. Instead of the rooms being designed as classrooms each had distinct purposes, commonly joined into large chambers for noble guests, family, armories, barracks, servant quarters, guest halls, and other chambers.
A second difference was as soon as the trio stepped onto the stairway from the back entrance they were met with two wands and an Enfield 2 World War 2 revolver pointed in their direction. It was quite a shock to see the deadly muggle weapon. The voice of the man holding the handgun rang out, "What is your favorite color?"
"Blue, no green!" Sirius called out in answer at once and winked at the confused Harry. Nymph's lips twitched at the password that was chosen. But, it seemed to be correct as the gun was lowered as were the wands.
"I am sorry Lord Black for doing that, security protocols." The older man was waved off by Sirius who smiled. When Sirius waved him off, the older man stepped forward and offered a salute towards Harry. "You must be Lord Potter. It is an honor to meet one of the founders of our organization. I am Major Jeremy Parker a squib Sir."
Jeremy was a tall middle aged man, with salt and pepper in is short cut military styled hair. He was broad in shoulders and layered in muscle, he had a hard edge on his chiseled face and a large scar that looked to be from a knife wound that curled around from his left earlobe down to his jugular. The man was dressed with a finely pressed pale British SAS uniform.
Harry was more than a little bit surprised but recovered quickly with a bright smile. He tried to pass off a salute back towards the man but knew he was far from proper with it, "It is a pleasure to meet you Captain Parker. Thank you for the services you provided to our nation. I am pleased to see you have chosen to join the JP Foundation."
"How could I resist a chance to rejoin the world of my kin? Lord Black gave me the chance to train a unit under the Foundation for support and protection of children. I felt it was a fitting chance to prove to everyone that a squib can have a place in our society." Jeremy spoke with a professional demeanor to the young man. Even when relaxed from no threats present, Harry couldn't help but notice that the man's eyes seemed to dart around the hallways in almost every direction at once looking for a threat.
"Captain Parker will be one of your instructors this summer Harry. He will be teaching you close combat techniques and muggle weaponry as he does to all members of the JP Foundation." Sirius smiled and placed a hand on his godson's shoulder.
"I look forward to the opportunity to learn from you." Harry smiled brightly to the retired military officer.
The major chuckled as his eyes sparkled with mischief. This sudden change in demeanor took Harry by surprise; he noticed the grimace from the two wizard guards at the side of the man after the mention of training.
Each wizard wore a set of black robes with a red JP in a green circle. One of the two spoke up, "You say that now Lord Potter, trust me when you are done with your first day of training you will be saying differently. Enjoy the tour of the facilities."
The trio left the guards and walked down the hallways past a few armories stocked with muggle weapons and mundane weapons like daggers swords and even what looked like parts of a ballista. Harry had to admit it seemed they were supplied with enough weapons to fund a small army, which was pretty much the goal.
Sirius led them past a large chamber which was used as a dining hall with individual tables' setup with chairs around them. He noticed numerous bedrooms for guests which had been converted into permanent quarters for those staying on the island. A few of the chambers were locked and sealed and contained items that were family heirlooms that were considered often too dark to be useful. It was a plan to remove these items to Gringotts for storage in the future if the extra room became necessary. Overall the castle could hold comfortable one hundred and ninety individuals plus staff of twenty house elves. Currently the numbers were far less.
The JP Foundation had a team of seven trainers which were Captain Rank, two majors who ran day to day operations and the Lord Council to handle major decisions. That council currently considered of Lord Black, Lord Potter, Lord Delacour, and Lady Malfoy. Each of the seven trainers would eventually be given a team to setup into squads and consisting of witches, wizards, and squibs. The squads would consist of one sergeant and four other members.
The seven teams were divided up into essential personal needs. Three of the Captains were assigned to field monitoring and security deployments. These teams would rotate with a fourth team which would be used for rapid deployment in emergency situations. These teams were focused in their training of physiological training to deal with children along with military close combat and defensive training.
One team was assigned to wizarding society monitoring. This team worked with the founding of Muggleborn Orphanage, the integrating the children into wizarding society as a primary function. The event plan was to start offering training for the wizarding world to muggleborns before they went to Hogwarts so they could understand the heritage and culture of their new world. Their secondary function was to find information in the Ministry and all levels of the Wizarding Society. In addition they managed the locator board which was used to pinpoint accidental magic performed in muggle society. They had gotten permission to acquire a copy of the one at the Ministry. These individuals would need to be able to meet and explain wizarding society to muggles that had special children. This group of teams would also be the face and front for the JP Foundation in the world.
The final two Captains worked in house at Castle Black. The first was a research division that sole purpose inventing and creating items of use for sale and manufacturing in the JP Foundation. These were responsible for the JP Rec's updating and changes. They were working on a type of relay system like the muggles used for television. These divisions were made up of mainly muggleborns and half-bloods that received their masters in Charms, Runes, or Arithmancy. The mirrors would be sent to them for study and possible conversion into items for sale from the Foundation. The hope was that small mirrors could be connected to a system like the floo network to allow instant communication anywhere.
The final captain was in charge of the internal demands for the company and island. They were in the process of creating a magical village on the island itself, which had been nicknamed Avalon. The plan would be to use the Castle Black as a last fallback point if everything else in the possible future war went poorly. So it had been decided to make the entire island self-sufficient for support of up to one thousand people. This included multiple green houses to be constructed and magically expanded for food. A few ponds were created and stocked with fish for breeding them, crop silos were created and magically expanded, food was placed in cold storage and enspelled to remain good for decades. There was consideration of possibly starting a bank since technically it was not on British soil so it would not be part of Gringotts past agreements with wizards. There were plans for shipping docks and even an idea was being tossed around to determine if it was possible to create a power plant that would allow for lighting and heat for dwellings and still be safe with magic. They had gotten permission through bribes to study the knight bus to see how that worked with magic and were trying to apply those principles. It was a vast project but if completed the future of the village and Castle Black could become the most advanced combined magical and muggle community in the world.
There were a few other essential personnel on the island. The JP Foundation had an accounting staff which coordinated supplies necessary for the island. There were a number of House elves that were acquired by the House of Black, Potter, Malfoy and Delacour to service the island.
Every individual before coming onto the island was required to sign a magical binding contract not to release the location of the island, job duties, procedures, or any knowledge of the JP Foundation except the standard positions of the company. This contract and oaths were enforced by blood and magic and held in trust by the board members. Secrecy was security for what they were planning and what they thought might be coming.
Overall Harry was impressed by what had been accomplished by his godfather and Aunt Cissy. Their plans were well under way and honestly he had nothing to add to the preparations. If war came to the Wizarding World they would be prepared, if it didn't then they would be able to slowly execute their plan to change the world from behind the scenes.
~~ SotWW ~~
Harry stood next to his godfather from a high vantage point watching the wizards and witches below undergo their live fire training. Each of the combatants was given a training wand, something developed a long time ago by the Black family. These wands would allow for someone to cast any spell but it would lessen the power of the spell to be non-lethal. Some spells were still not allowed, primarily the three unforgivable. But, almost every other spell was capable of being cast by the wands and became non-lethal. That is not to say that the spells could not be dangerous and that the Foundation didn't have their medical staff standing by in case.
"These exercises are carried out under multiple different scenarios. The first is what you have before you now." Sirius motioned to the rounds below as a team of two was trying to fight off six adversaries. The pair was darting around muggle houses, fences, and even garbage cans using them as cover in the spell fight. He offered his godson a smile, "This is a scenario when unacceptable elements launch a surprise attack on one of our charges. The team must defeat the assault team in pairs. It shows a combination of skills in teamwork and quick thinking."
The Lord Black crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to explain, "The second scenario commonly run is a squad retrieval mission. They would need to go in and rescue a charge or downed member of another squad from the assault team. The third most commonly run scenario is the assault. That is undertaken in a different training yard where we will simulate ward removal, attack on a household in a wizarding area like Diagon Alley. In all of the scenarios the squads practice against superior numbers."
Are there any scenarios with multiple squads having joint missions?" Harry asked curious as he kept his eyes locked onto the combat down below.
"Yes, though we have been concentrating on situations that might commonly crop up against muggleborns as our charge mandates first and foremost their protection." Narcissa spoke up from where she stood on the other side of Sirius.
"The squads are designed to be a link between the muggle world and the wizarding world. They are the shadow in-between the two worlds to keep them separate and protected from each other. Hence they have chosen to call themselves Shadows." Sirius smiled towards Harry whose killing curse green eyes seemed to glow slightly from each spell cast on display below.
The young Potter Lord broke his gaze away and smiled towards Sirius, "I like it. They are the Shadows of the Wizarding World."
~~SotWW ~~
There was one trip away from Castle Black that Harry undertook with his cousin and godfather. Together they went to the Ministry of Magic. They traveled quickly through the front entrance careful not to cause a scene. It was not uncommon for Lords of Houses to visit their representatives in the Wizengamot. For Harry that would be Andromeda who was handling House Potter's positions. She had taken over the duties since Harry could not make most of the debates and meetings with his schooling.
But, today was not meant to be a meeting with Nymph's mother. She was too busy to meet with them after the political fallout of the recent news article in the prophet about Tom Riddle. Sirius had actually been cackling for a week after the release of the information that he offered the reporter print in a deal. The world now knew that Tom Riddle, known as Lord Voldemort was the child of a almost squib and a muggle. It would be interesting to see the final reactions of the darker families, if their loyalties would change.
Instead of the meeting they took the elevator down the flights till they reached a floor that was not commonly visited by the Ministry staff. The iron door swung open as the voice rang out, "Hall of Records."
As soon as they excited the elevator they were met by a man wearing a mask and cloak. The mask seemed to be almost a wrap over his head that conformed to his face yet shifted every few seconds into different blank features. The hood over his head was a dark blue that seemed to not have slots even for eyes. The cloak seemed to be made of some type of scale most likely a dragon, matching a pain of dragon hide boot. The voice of their escort was direct and firm in speech while they could not even determine if they were male or female. "Welcome."
Still the Unspeakable was polite and offered a slight bow as Sirius spoke up, "We are here to visit the orb for my godson in the Hall of Prophecy. Are you our escort?"
A simple nod of the head was given by the Unspeakable before they turned around and started to walk off. The party quickly followed after the man/woman without a word.
They made quick work through a maze of hallways that seemed to make no sense. At one point Harry could have sworn to have seen the same rooms repeatedly disappearing and reappearing into the walls. It felt almost as if they were in a maze that was purposely designed to cause visitors to become dazed and confused on their location.
Finally, after what could have been thirty minutes the group entered the Hall of Prophecy. There were hundreds of rows filled with tens of thousands of prophecy orbs. Each orb swirled around with a mist that contained a prophecy that had been captured by an ancient device that sealed the orbs. Quickly they moved down the rows till they found the location of the prophecy about Harry. He stared at it for a moment noticing the initials of Dumbledore as witness to the prophecy.
He had forgotten the Unspeakable was still there because how quiet the presence of the individual was. They seemed to blend into the background and be forgotten until they made themselves known. Harry was only reminded when he reached up for his prophecy about the voice of the Unspeakable broke the hushed silence, "The prophecy is about you. Any prophecy about a Lord of a noble house may be claimed by that Lord. The individual can then do what they feel is necessary with it. They may remove it from the Hall or even destroy it. I only recommend to think carefully before you decide what you shall do Lord Potter."
After the words were spoken by the Unspeakable the individual turned and glided away from the trio to the end of the hallway to give them some privacy together. Harry wondered over the man or woman why they were being helpful to him in regards to advise. A slight frown touched his lips as he reached up to take down the orb. For a moment he felt a shock as power rushed through his body. It felt as if the power was checking his core to match who he was. It was only there a moment before it disappeared.
He gently handled the orb, keeping is back to the Unspeakable he slipped it away into a pouch for viewing and destruction later on. When he slipped it away he pulled out the new orb that his godfather had created. His eyes looked up at the man who had a goofy grin in place. He could tell that the marauder was even now picturing the possible fun that might be had from this little switch. He let out a sigh and shook his head before placing it down onto the location of the previous orb. Harry again felt the rush of power shooting through his core before he let go of the orb. Once the boy released the orb he turned and smiled towards Sirius, "Easy as ice cream. Hmmm. Perhaps we should stop by and get some ice cream before we head back."
Nymph's eyes lit up at the possibility of a sugar rush. She nodded her head enthusiastically with a smile, "I agree. Sirius can pay.
"Perfect it is decided." Harry grinned to himself f as he started to walk off towards the Unspeakable and the exit. They were escorted from the chamber and back to the elevator before the Unspeakable left their side. Still it was a sense of accomplishment as they completed their little mission that day.
~~ SotWW ~~
"If you don't eat your meat how can you have any pudding? How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" The words echoed throughout the private library in Castle Black as Harry was studying an old tome. He looked up at the other occupant of the room and saw the cute blonde girl's lips twist into a pout.
The cute blonde with dreamy blue-grey eyes slowly started to bundle her long blond hair. She twisted and tied it together into twin braids then smoothed out her clothing which was a blue and white school girl uniform. Luna looked to be around seventeen now had grown and filled out that uniform rather lovely. Finally she raised her eyes to meet Harry's own gaze, her bottom lip trembling as she whispered, "I have cleared my plate, can I have pudding?"
The teenager blinked at the adorable, cute, and a little bit sexy trembling lip of the teenage girl. He opened his mouth to speak once before closing it. A second try found again noting coming out in surprise. Harry took a deep breath then spoke calmly, "You heard the voice, your need to eat your meat before you have any pudding."
Luna looked curiously at Harry for a moment tilting her head to the side studying him with interest before understanding flashed into her eyes. She dropped down from her chair onto her stocking covered knees and started to crawl towards Harry. The young woman stopped right before him and looked up innocently. Her eyes were innocently wide as saucers as she reached forward and started t unbuckle and unzip his trousers. Her voice took on a husky tone as she whispered, "Then I should eat your meat…"
Harry woke up with a startled gasp from one of the best dreams of his life. His cheeks were stained crimson as if someone had smashed hundreds of cranberries against them. He breathed slowly and deeply before he pushed the covers away and sat down looking about his private chambers. A few deep breaths later and he remembered he was in the middle of Castle Black. He had been here for a few days now and met many members of the JP Foundation and today he would be returning to school.
He let out a sigh and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a groan. The youth slipped out of bed, clad in just his boxers. He quickly walked over towards the shared bathroom. He was still half asleep remembering that lovely dream of an older Luna when he opened the door not noticing the steam coming from the shower. He let out a sigh as he reached for his toothbrush and started to clean his teeth the old fashion muggle way. The steam in the room was so thick that it covered the mirror. Quickly the boy finished the brush, swirled some mouth wash and spit out. He reached up to clear the mirror to check his image and get ready for the day.
It was at this point that the brain started to finally question why there would be steam in his bathroom. The second realization was the sound of running water behind him. Perhaps it would have been the best point to stop but Harry's teenage brain was still concentrating hard on that dream. He wiped away the condensation and remembered at that point that he shared the bathroom with a pink haired Auror. That very Auror was now in the shower behind him and the mirror was showing currently the drapes matched the currently black curtains. Not a bad shock, after all from the number of curves in the right places and beautiful long black hair running wet down the young woman's back. Harry had to admit had made a mistake that might cost him his life, but would also be perhaps worth it. It was at this moment that he realized he was staring into the middle at a very naked, wet Nymphadora Tonks and while the tent in his boxers loved the sight, the fact that she was a very well trained Auror with a short temper might make this a poor position for a long life expectancy.
Harry did the only thing any sane man would do. The boy quickly and quietly slunk out of the bathroom to the safety of his own chambers. Once there he shut the door and leaned against it with a sigh. His eyes closed as he let out a groan at the sight he had seen, something far nicer than any girl at his school. It was almost too much for his teenage brain to comprehend.
It Harry had listened closely enough he would have heard the snicker from the wet metamorphmagus. Or if he had looked at her face, a difficult thing to do for a man confronted with that situation, he would have seen the subtle smile on Nymph's lips. But, he never saw those things so instead he would just spend the remainder of the school year remembering his stolen view in the bathroom mirror.
~~~ SotWW ~~~
School returned for Harry and he returned to the rhythm of classes and is nightly detentions as study secessions. The second portion of the semester flew by. He spent every possible moment trying to study for his upcoming exams.
Harry was in the library so much that even Hermione was surprised at his detailed work. She had given up her quest to make him not take the OWLS early and instead seemed determined to try her best to match him. While Hermione might not get the extra lessons that he was getting she had been studying for years before he really started to take his education seriously. So she was ahead of the bookwork and theory almost up to her OWLS. Of course she lived in the library studying every possible item that could show up on the OWLS with the expectation to pass them all.
While studying took up much of Harry's life he did find time for one other pursuit. His secret gift to the castle, which his Head of House had approved, had been placed at the entrance of Gryffindor Tower. It was a painting to replace the Fat Lady who had been moved across the hall to mentor the newcomer. The painting had been a commission not long after the start of the year. He had gotten memories from almost every member of Gryffindor, with the exception of the Weasley family who would not speak with him. He even had acquired memories for the creation from the staff and individuals from other houses. The new guardian painting of Gryffindor Tower was Ronald Weasley. He had honored his friend by getting the boy painted in a Chudley Cannon scarf and Gryffindor quidditch uniform. There was even a broom in hand for the boy and a quidditch stadium in the background. Harry had made certain that there was a chess set in the background of the painting too since his friend had always loved to play chess.
It was amazing still to Harry how the wizarding world paintings can take on the aspects of life on their own. It was so unique that they seemed so lifelike. But, in the bottom of his heart he knew that this was only a mimic of his former best friend. A faux person the painting may be but it lifted his heart. Still it was his friend, so often he would pull up a chair and talk about nonsense late into the night under the invisibility cloak and play a game of chest together after everyone else had gone to sleep.
He had seen the reaction of the Weasley family when they had found his gift on the door of their common room. It was surprising where he expected joyfulness in some like Percy he instead found fury. The young man looked as if he was a kettle boiling over with anger at the sight. The twins though had tears in their eyes of happiness at the sight of their brother and little Ginny had also broken down and tried to hug the picture. No mention was made to Harry of the painting of thanks, not in word or even a letter from Mr. Weasley. Despite the extreme cost, and generous actions for their deceased son Harry never even got a thank you. Still the twins and young girl never looked at him poorly or angry again.
The days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months as Harry fell into his routine. He would study till his core ached and worked his body till he was so fatigued he could barely stand. Then he would study all night till he passed out like Sirius on a free alcohol bender. He did have some minor interruptions, a few letters from a particular pair of French Veela, a few brief meetings with Daphne about proper etiquette, time with Luna just enjoying afternoons in the sun at the Black Lake where she taught him to swim, or time spent with Sirius on a visit to Hogsmeade. But, in truth Harry was sheltered in the castle just living for his studies.
The end of the year came far too quickly. It almost seemed the winter snows had gone to April showers which turned to May flowers. So Harry found himself in his exams. He tested for the OWLS in Charms, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes History, Muggle Studies, Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts.
The tests went well; he actually was surprised how confident he felt and how easy the work actually was when he prepared for it. His practical was easier than his theoretical work but in either case he felt that he had gotten a good score on every time he took. Hermione was a wreck. She had pushed herself to the brink, she had stretched every possible moment of study and had demanded Harry to spend many late nights that turned into early mornings just working on spells with her. Even if she wouldn't admit it, in the bottom of her heart she would know she didn't well on the OWLS too.
So it was that the end of the year was almost here when Harry was seated at the Gryffindor table for dinner with Hermione and Luna at his side. The one constant at Hogwarts was walking towards their table, cloak billowing after him, Severus Snape. It seemed whatever was in the box that Harry had sent Snape at the holidays it had not the man's demeanor to him. If anything that man was even more hostile towards the raven haired young man.
"Potter, it is my distinct pleasure to tell you that you will not be attending my classes next year. Your performance in class was horrid this year. No matter your score on your OWLS, I will not accept your presence due to your poor classwork." The sneer that the man provided would have been considered world class even by Snape's impressive standards.
The young Potter Lord slowly raised a single eyebrow at the loud statement by the Head of Slytherin House, "Professor, I had no intention of taking your class. Since I realized you do not grade objectively in your class for students no in Slytherin House, I have not been concerned of your opinion at all. I am glad to see that some things never change."
"I grade perfectly fairly, and it will be obvious when your substandard work fails the OWLS with a troll." The hatred that burned in the eyes of the man was startling as they glared at the student.
Their little debate had drawn the attention of numerous members of the staff and students by this point. Harry let out a sigh of frustration then reached into his pouch and pulled out two sealed scrolls with Hogwarts Board seal on it. He gentled placed one down onto the table before the Potions Professor with a smile, "I believe this is yours then Professor Snape. You will find the required time for your investigation with the Board of Governors listed along with the reasons for the meeting."
Harry turned his back on the man and walked away without another word heading towards the Headmaster's seat. When the young Lord reached the old man's chair he placed the second scroll down next to the Headmaster, "I received these last night along with my own. I was asked by my aunt to convey them to you both. I am certain you will want to be there when Professor Snape is brought before the Board. I have submitted enough memories, documented statements, copies of potions that had incorrectly graded or destroyed on purpose to end his tenure here. You should note that I have supplied it from individuals of every House and the potions have been cross checked by three different Master Potioneers for their quality. This includes a study showing the failing number of NEWT graduates in potions over the previous decade to years earlier. I am sorry it came to this."
Albus watched the young man over the brim of his glasses. He placed his best interpretation of a disappointed grandfather look on for the young man. It seemed it did not make a difference at Harry didn't even flinch. Still the old Headmaster stated, "We shall see what will happen Mr. Potter. I am sure Professor Snape will stand up to any expert you might have picked to review your grades."
Harry's lips twisted into a vicious smile, "I am sure that the Board will decide what is best for the students of the school. After all if standards continue to fall behind New Salem, Beauxbatons, Imperium and others I am certain many would depart from here." After speaking those words Harry turned and walked from the Great Hall.
~~~ SotWW ~~~
Harry dodged out of the way as a blue light whipped past is head. He could feel the energy of the spell fix his hair as the bright blue light for a split second almost blinded him. He knew he would not be safe as he landed so he tucked into a roll to the side before rising to one knee and shot out three wordless spells in rapid succession. A stunner followed a bone breaking hex, followed by a bombard at the ground of his opponent.
His opponent slapped away the stunner with his wand, sidestepped the bone breaking hex before leaping away from the floor as it shattered from the bombarda. With a silent flick of the wrist two wolves rose up out of the ground and charged the young wizard. Then the small wizard followed up with his transfigurations with a trio of spells flashing out of his wand.
"Serpensortia maxima!" Harry called out as he sliced his wand in a downwards arc. Unfortunately it was not one of the few spells he had been able to so far master casting silently. But the spell still had amazing results. He had seen Draco cast this spell against him second year and it had created a viper, now instead a massive snake appeared before Harry that easily overshadowed the two wolves that his opponent had transfigured. The flick of a tail and both conjurations were tossed out of the way into the wall before crumbling back to stone. But, the serpent was so busy with its pretty it did not move out of the way of the three spells. The first one impacted the hard scales and did nothing but the second spell froze the massive serpent in place before the final spell impacted causing the creature to shatter into a thousand little chunks of ice.
Harry wasted no time as he flicked his wand and banished the thousand shards of ice at his opponent. But he was not surprised when a wall of flames sprouted between the wizard and the shards. Steam filled the chamber blocking out the view between the combatants. Harry closed his eyes and tried as he had been trained to listen for the hum of the next spell. He tried to sense the magic in the air as he was being taught. Unfortunately he was not fast enough; six spells in rapid sequence came at him. He danced out of the way from the first two by sidestepping the first then dropping into a roll on the second. The third spell and fourth crashed into and destroyed a hastily erected shield. But, it was the fifth spells inbound just as he tried to regain his feet from his knees that he could not stop. The spell flashed into his chest launching him into flight as he felt the crack of ribs. The sixth spell struck jus as the boy was in midflight heading towards the wall and removed his wand from his hand. The result was a rather smashing success for his opponent as she slammed his back into the wall with a groan and fell down to his knees.
The steam disappeared to show a small man step forward holding Harry's wand. Professor Flitwick had actually broken a sweat as beads dripped down from the little man's beard, his clothing was drenched from the steam and there were more than a few small cuts on his roes. He had a bright smile on his face for his apprentice, "You did wonderful Mr. Potter! Twenty minutes in a dual against myself, a smashing success!"
The raven haired boy opened his mouth to speak a retort at the chosen words for praise but instead a groan escaped his lips. The professor leaned over and brushed his wand against Harry's tender ribs and the youth could feel them knit back together. He let out a sigh of relief at escaping a possible rip to the hospital ward only choosing then to finally speak up, "I don't feel so successful Professor."
"Nonsense, you did very well Mr. Potter." The diminutive man offered a hand and helped up the Gryffindor boy. He smiled brightly at the taller student, "In fact, I believe you are almost ready. You just need a few weeks of practice on your silent casting and I shall expect you to do very well in the sixteen and under bracket."
"Are you going to be able to train me outside of school Professor?" Harry asked with a bright smile as he conjured a towel to wipe off his sweat.
The little man shook his head slowly with a sigh, "Unfortunately I need to visit with some family for a few weeks. But, once that is completed we can make some arrangements for some training for the competition. I understand your godfather will be taking you overseas for a bit of time. Please be careful, remember every country's magical society is very different from each other."
"I promise you Professor, I will be careful. I will also give my best effort and make you proud winning the competition." Harry smiled brightly to the man as he cracked his back before stumbling from the room.
The half-goblin watched the boy leave the classroom with his own smile. Even though the boy did not believe him he was extremely proud of the young man. He whispered softly, "You already have Harry."
~~~ SotWW ~~~
The train ride back was to take place so Harry hurried up and enjoyed his breakfast. Hermione was at his side at the moment quiet as she worried about the tests she took for the end of the year. While on the other hand Harry was confident in how he did. Hell, after the scene a few days before with Snape before the school he had to feel assured. Today Luna had again joined him at the table. Normally the Ravenclaw would often still sit at her own table despite Harry's assurances that he wanted her presence with him. Every once in a while Luna would join him for a meal at the Gryffindor table, but every time she did so something seemed to happen. It was almost as if she knew what would be coming.
It appeared today would be no different, even before the morning mail arrived a regal looking dark horned owl swooped down to land before Harry. The owl was one that Harry knew well, it was the post owl that Sirius used when he acted in the role of Lord Black. This owl landed before Harry and lifted it's leg to hold our the sealed scroll to the boy. Harry took the scroll and carefully unrolled it reading it over.
Harry,
The Minister was found dead this morning. Do not take the train and do not leave Hogwarts. We will be coming to pick up and escort you, Draco, and Daphne. Please stay in the school for now no matter what till we get there. This is a serious situation.
Sirius
The young man frowned as he read over the scroll then quickly rolled it up. He looked towards the staff table and found the Headmaster not there. He glanced back at his town companions. Hermione was looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern while Luna was busy building a fort out of her waffles. He quickly shook his head to ward off the questions of Hermione, "I will be right back. Neither of you will be taking the train home."
"I understand Harry," Luna spoke up as she seemed to be cutting one waffle into a flag for the top of the fort.
Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Harry was already walking away. He quickly moved over to the Slytherin table noticing more than a few glares. He offered a polite smile towards any that glanced at him yet walked quickly over to Daphne. When he reached her, he leaned down to whisper into her ear, "We will be picked up from the school and not ride the train today. The Minister was found dead."
To a normal person a slight widening of the eyes would not have been much. But, on the beautiful face of Daphne Greengrass it was as distinct as a surprised gasp. She recovered quickly and turned towards Harry, "I am sorry Mr. Potter but I am not interesting in being courted right now. I thank you for the offer."
Harry's eyes danced at her statement in amusement, knowing her game well. He let out a tired sigh, "I understand though I cannot help but ask Ms. Greengrass. If you change your mind…"
The raven haired teenager walked away from the Slytherin table accidently bumping into Draco. The bump caused the blonde haired youth to glare at his in-school rival, "Potter so distressed you can't even walk straight. I should have Greengrass make a fool of you more often."
Harry rolled his eyes at the boy with a smirk, "Like you would have better luck Malfoy."
The teenager quickly walked back towards his own table leaving the letter from Sirius behind in Draco's palm. The blonde would read it later on when breakfast was finished. A few hours later the five students would be picked up an armed escort a half hour before the other students would leave for the train.
~~~ SotWW ~~~
Author Note: I know, I know, please don't shoot me for taking so long to put up this chapter. I had it written up for a while but I ended up scrapping it three times. I wanted to finish up the full year that is why it ended up taking so long. I ended up going about 40,000 words more on year three then I planned. I always have gone off of my original outline by a little bit. I am planning to stop this story for a little bit. I need to go back and fix up a few of the previous chapters. Now that I have re-read them some of them are so horribly done that it is appalling. I also want to adjust my outlined plans for the future of the story. Harry will still be in Hogwarts for year four but I am leaning towards the war starting right after that. Most likely the story will end up at around 300,000 words if all goes to plan. It will be a very different year four for Harry Potter. I will not ruin the surprise. Please give me your reviews, opinions and thoughts on the chapter and story overall. I welcome any thoughts and opinions on it.
Recommendation: Harry Black by Notsoancientmariner – This story is a extremely good Sirius raising Harry story. It is creative and unique. There is not a huge number of cliques in the story. I highly recommend reading it as I think anyone that likes Shadows would find it a wonderful story and very entertaining. Please give it a try, the story really deserves more attention than it is getting!