A/N Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are great!
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"Wait, there was another attack?"
Row looked at her brother and nodded grimly. "Yeah, another muggleborn student named Justin Finch-Fletchley."
"When?" Asked Harry quietly.
"About a week and a half ago," replied Row. "Same as the first one, he was found petrified in the hallway with one of the school ghosts."
"Ghosts?" Asked Jack, bewildered.
"Yeah, no one knew that ghosts could be petrified, but apparently they can. Anyway, it's not that big a deal since he'll be fine in a month or so-"
"Stop it Row," interrupted Harry. "I know what you're doing."
"What's she doing?" Asked a confused Jack.
"She's afraid we're not going to let her go back," replied Harry. "That's why she's trying to downplay the attacks. Am I right?" Row nodded glumly. "So that's a total of 3 attacks so far," Harry muttered. "And they're getting more frequent."
"Ok, I know it's serious," said Row. "But I really like being at Hogwarts. It doesn't even really feel like school, you know? It just feels right, somehow, and if I leave now I might never go back."
Harry gave her a small smile. "Relax, Row. We're not talking about pulling you out of school." Row visibly relaxed. "However, I am wondering what is being done about all this."
"We were thinking the same thing," replied Row. "Hermione thinks that if the professors don't do something soon, the school might be closed."
"What about Dumbledore?" Asked Jack. "Isn't he supposed to be the most powerful wizard in the world? Why can't he do something?"
"Mostly because pretty much everything we know about the chamber is rumor," Row replied thoughtfully. "Nobody is really sure what's true and what isn't, even Dumbledore."
"Still," said Jack, looking unconvinced. "You'd think that he'd at least have some idea, wouldn't you? You said that this same thing had happened before, right?"
"Actually, it wasn't the same," Row replied. "Apparently, the last time the chamber was opened there was only one attack, and the girl died."
"Died?" Jack gulped.
Row nodded. "Actually, Padma said that gave her an idea, but she needed to do more research, and would tell us after the holidays."
"Well, whatever it is, don't go looking for it," said a concerned Jack.
"Of course, Jack." Row just rolled her eyes before turning to Harry. "So, what's new around here?" She said, obviously trying to change the subject. "Did you get through all those books?"
Jack snorted. "He better have; practically all he does is read. Speaking of which, where did you go last week? You said you'd tell me when Row got here."
Harry sighed. "Well, I came up with an idea that would allow us a little more freedom, so I've been making sure that it was viable. Actually, I've learned a lot from the books I bought," he said, turning to Row, "but for the last couple weeks I've been looking into emancipation."
"You mean…?" Asked Jack, wide-eyed.
"I paid a visit to your father."
"YOU WHAT!" Screamed Jack and Row together.
"I paid a visit to your father," Harry replied calmly, ignoring their outburst. "I convinced him it was in his best interest to file emancipation claims for both of you. I had a similar meeting with my aunt."
"How could you go without me?" Asked Jack desperately.
"I know this isn't what you want to hear, Jack," said Harry carefully, "but it wouldn't have done any good. You told me yourself that if you had your way, you'd never have to see him again. Hopefully, now you don't."
"It's not just about that, Harry," Jack continued angrily. "I don't need you always looking out for me. I can take care of myself, you know."
"I know, Jack," Harry nodded slowly. "But the fact remains that I was the best person to do this, and if everything goes through, you can be yourself again."
"How did you do it Harry?" Asked a concerned Row.
"The last time I was in Diagon Alley, I picked up this book on mind magic. Actually, I found out that the mind reading trick and I do is actually called leglimency, and it can be used for alot more. It's based on eye contact, so I'd recommend trying to avoid looking your professors in the eye, Row. One of them might have the same ability." Harry paused for a moment before continuing. "There was a lot of information in the book, and one of the things it mentioned was a mind control spell that was based on leglimency."
"Mind control?" Asked Row, horrified. "Oh Harry, are you talking about the Imperious curse? Please tell me you didn't use it!"
"Calm down, Row, it wasn't the Imperious curse," Harry assured her. "I know about that curse also, and although it's also a type of mind control, it's a completely different spell. What I used was an advanced form of leglimency called compulsion; basically I just convinced them that they really wanted to do what I told them to. Actually, if I tried to make someone do something that they were really strongly opposed to, it would make them resist more and break the spell, so it can't be used to completely control someone, unlike the imperious curse. It worked quite well on both your father and my aunt, though," he finished with a small grin.
Row visibly relaxed until a sudden though struck her. "Hang on, how'd you learn how do that? You didn't just try it for the first time on your aunt did you?"
"Well, no," Harry fidgeted uncomfortably. "I've been practicing for almost two months now."
"But how?" Pressed Row.
"On random people, mostly," Harry admitted. "At the library, at the dojo, walking on the street. Any time I can make eye contact I've been practicing my leglimency. Never for anything bad!" He hastily explained, seeing the expression on Row's face. "The most I ever did was make master Choi pick Jack as a volunteer five straight times in class once."
"THAT WAS YOU!" Jack exploded.
Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, that was when I knew I could do it. Sorry."
Jack was not mollified, and voiced his displeasure in rather colorful language.
"I don't think that's possible for a vertebrate, Jack," put in an amused Row before turning back to Harry. "Back to the real topic, when will we know the results?"
"As near as I can tell, we'll have to see a judge sometime in the next year," answered Harry. "I hired a solicitor, and he suggested that it would be best to wait until Jack's birthday before we actually have that meeting, so we've got almost 6 months. Basically we have to demonstrate some type of guardian neglect, which is easy since I convinced our guardians to admit to it. Then-"
"Wait a minute," interrupted Jack. "You mean they're going to confess to everything?"
"Unfortunately, not everything," Harry sighed. "If they admitted everything, they'd probably be arrested, and I don't think I'd be able to make them do that with leglimency; they'd resist too much. Basically they're going to admit that they've never really treated us well, they don't want us, and we'd be better off on our own. From there, we have to demonstrate that we can take care of ourselves, but with the money in the vault I don't think that will be a problem. I've already moved most of it into a normal bank account."
"And we've been doing fine by ourselves for some time already," said Row, thinking out loud.
"Exactly," agreed Harry. "The fact that we've been out on our own already is evidence of neglect since they never filed any type of missing persons report. We've been doing fine and continuing our schooling, basically doing everything that we're supposed to. Plus, if anyone gives us a hard time, I should be able to use leglimency to push them to agree."
"I'm not sure how I feel about that, Harry," Row frowned. "I mean, you can't just go around forcing everybody to agree with you."
"I know Row," Harry replied softly. "But if you think about it, this is really important for us, especially if we're ever found out. Once we're emancipated, it doesn't matter who finds us; nobody can force us to move. You know I only use magic when it's absolutely necessary."
Row looked like she was about to argue, but finally relented and nodded.
"So if all this comes through, then what?" Asked Jack.
"Well, we'll have adult rights so we won't have to hide anymore," answered Harry. "At least in the regular world. I've been talking to the goblins at Gringotts, and they've been really helpful with financial advice. Unfortunately, even if we're emancipated as muggles, we're still children in the wizarding world."
"How is that possible?"
Harry shrugged. "I asked my goblin advisor what he could tell me about wizarding emancipation, but he gave me the same 'we don't interfere' line that he gave me before. Basically, if it doesn't deal directly with your money, they won't talk to you about it. Still, they've been really helpful with the financial stuff, even set up a regular bank account for us."
"So they still won't tell you if your parents had a will?" Asked Row.
"No, all they'll say is that if my parents did have a will, they've never seen it."
"I read a little bit about that," interjected Row. "Most wizarding families appoint an executor for their will. The will itself is spelled so that only certain people can touch it unless given permission, and the executor is responsible for carrying out the wishes of the deceased. There's actually a lot of magic that goes into a proper will to safeguard against it falling in to the wrong hands, so if your parents had a will, their executor probably still has it." Row paused before adding, "of course, it's possible that your parents didn't have time to make a will…." She trailed off sadly.
"What does this mean for Row and Hogwarts?" Asked Jack, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"The most likely scenario is that you'll be appointed as her guardian, Jack," Harry replied. "Progress reports, permission slips, and anything else will go straight to you. It's also possible that she'll be emancipated without a guardian, but seeing as how she's your sister, it's more likely that you'll be responsible for her." Jack nodded like he'd expected this. "As for me, I told my aunt to push for me to be declared an emancipated minor, same as you. If the judge thinks I'm still too young, then you'll probably be my guardian too. All this will be covered when we talk to the judge."
The group lapsed into silence again which was broken when Row gave a rather spectacular yawn.
"Well, looks like somebody's ready for bed," laughed Jack. "Go ahead, we have the entire holiday to sort this all out."
Row smiled and gave both Jack and Harry a quick hug before retiring. When she had gone, Jack turned to Harry with a serious expression on his face.
"Harry, why didn't you tell me you were going to see my father?" He asked quietly.
"What would you have done, Jack?" Harry replied just as softly.
"Dammit, Harry," Jack muttered forcefully, "when you told me what you did to the Dursleys, I didn't judge because I knew you needed revenge. Didn't you think that maybe I did too?"
Harry shook his head slowly. "What I did wasn't about revenge, Jack. I didn't do it because I was angry, or because I would enjoy it. I did it because it was the only way I could get on with my life." He paused before fixing Jack with a steely gaze. "Do you know that I still have nightmares about my uncle showing up and hurting you and Row? I know it's completely irrational because he's dead, but I'll never be completely rid of that vision. I had to punish the Dursleys; I had to bring them to justice if I was ever going to get on with my life. I didn't do what I did because of the past; I did it so that I could have a future."
"So you're telling me it had nothing to do with revenge, then," asked Jack skeptically.
Harry sighed. "I'm not perfect Jack. What I did was cruel and malicious, so I'm not going to lie and say that none of it was revenge. What I can say is that it wasn't revenge that drove me to return. It may have driven me to be more vindictive than I would have been otherwise, but it wasn't the reason I went back." Harry sighed again and leaned back in his chair. "Do you remember when I asked you what you would do if you saw your father on the street?" Jack nodded. "You said that if he didn't see you, you'd avoid him, and that you hoped you never had to see him again. When you said that, I knew that you'd moved on; you didn't need what I did, and that's a good thing. It doesn't make you less of a man, Jack."
Jack slumped back into the sofa. "Yeah, I know all that," he sighed. "I just don't feel right having you out there fighting my battles, you know?"
"I understand," Harry agreed. "But it was the quickest way, and the only way that he was guaranteed to do what we wanted."
"I know," Jack sighed. "Just promise me that you won't make this a habit."
Harry nodded solemnly.
"I promise."
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Harry awoke early the next morning and fixed breakfast for the three of them. Jack and Row joined him a short time later and Row was reminded of just how good a cook Harry was.
Harry was the first to finish, so he excused himself and put his blindfold on as he made his way over to the area he and Jack had set up for training. Row watched him leave and got her first look at the new training area, causing her to give a low whistle of appreciation.
One of the first things Harry had done upon returning from Diagon Alley was to look up any spells that he could use to improve their home. As a result, what was once a very modest flat had become much more comfortable, and now sported an interior that was several times larger than it had been originally. This had enabled Harry to block off a corner of what was once the living room and set it up with targets and training dummies for him to practice on.
Harry entered the training area and began his warm up exercises while he waited for Jack.
"Hey sis," whispered Jack as he got up from the table. "Watch this."
Row watched as Jack silently picked up the 3 spoons that were left over from breakfast and crept slowly forward. When he was within 10 feet of the entrance to the training area, he lobbed the first spoon high in the air and then threw the other two as hard as he could at the unsuspecting Harry. Moving quickly, Jack ran into the area, grabbed a wooden practice sword, and attacked.
The first two spoons Jack had thrown hit Harry's position at the same time, but he was no longer there. Row watched, slack jawed, as Harry immediately spun to the side to avoid the projectiles, summoning a sword from the rack as he did so. Ducking to avoid the third spoon, Harry extended his right hand to catch the incoming sword and swung it diagonally across his body, meeting Jack's blade with a loud CRACK.
Completely unsurprised, Jack began to attack Harry in earnest. Using their locked blades for leverage, he pushed back and tried a sweeping kick at Harry's legs. Harry sidestepped the kick and leveled a slash at Jack's midsection, which Jack blocked with his own blade. Harry quickly closed the distance between them and tried to grab Jack in an arm lock, but Jack was immediately jumped backwards and regained a defensive position.
The duel continued for another 30 seconds, until Harry was a split second late countering one of Jack's sword strikes and was pushed off balance. Jack immediately seized the opportunity and sent him to the mat with a sweep kick.
Harry groaned and removed his blindfold as he grasped Jack's extended hand.
"How did you know I was coming in with the sword?" Jack asked as he pulled Harry to his feet.
"I heard the wood scrape against the rack when you grabbed it," Harry replied. "Somehow my first instinct was to summon a sword as soon as I heard it, I guess subconsciously I just knew."
"Well, you're certainly getting better at the whole 'no sight' thing." Jack said, grinning. "What'd you think, Row?"
"Ohmygod, that was amazing!" Row blurted out. "How did you do it? And so fast? And just…WOW!"
"That's our Row," Jack chuckled. "It's good so see you haven't changed much."
"Oh, shut up, you," Row mock-grumbled. "Seriously though, how long have you been training blindfolded like that?"
"Almost three months now," put in Harry. "At first I was pretty bad, but getting beaten up consistently can be a pretty good motivator to improve. I'm still too slow in a real fight, though."
"Too slow?" Jack snorted. "You have better reactions with a blindfold on than most of the class does without one. I think you're doing fine."
Harry shrugged. "There's always room for improvement. The advanced class still kicks my ass even without the blindfold."
"So, do you guys do this everyday?" Asked Row.
"Pretty much," Jack replied. "We try to practice at least twice on days that we don't see Master Choi, and once in the morning otherwise. Once you get used to it, it's actually pretty fun."
"Well, they'll be no more training today," said Row firmly. "Today is strictly for Christmas shopping, and I want to go to Diagon Alley before the really big rush hits."
"Yes ma'am!" Jack saluted smartly, earning him a punch on the arm.
"That could work perfectly," said Harry thoughtfully, "I need to see the goblins sometime in the next week anyway, so might as well be today."
"It's settled then," said Row, before scowling at her brother. "And I'd better not get prank materials as my present, Jack Thomas!"
Jack just grinned.
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The next week passed quickly for the trio. Between his usual training, studying, and spending holiday time with Row, Harry found himself with no free time to think about Hogwarts or the Chamber of Secrets, which suited Row just fine. Christmas was an intimate affair for the small family, as they traditionally had no one outside of themselves to exchange gifts with.
It therefore came as a surprise when 3 large owls swooped in the flat on Christmas morning carrying packages for Row.
"What's all this then?" Asked Jack suspiciously.
"They're from my friends at Hogwarts," Row said as she checked the tags. "This one's from Hermione, probably books," she said as she lifted a package. "These are from Sarah and Padma."
Jack was still looking bewildered. "Did you get them presents?"
"Of course I did, silly," Row rolled her eyes. "You did tell me to make friends, remember?"
"Sure," Jack snorted. "And of course you always listen to me…" Even Harry cracked a smile at that.
Opening her new presents, Row found that Hermione had indeed sent her a book, as had Padma. Sarah had sent her a collection of wizard candy that Jack immediately became interested in.
Jack himself had received a collection of wizarding prank items from Row and a special training outfit from Harry. The training gear had been specially charmed to reduce the damage he would take from direct hits and was guaranteed never to be ripped or torn. In his usual style, Jack had given both his siblings gift certificates to the bookstore in Diagon Alley.
Harry and Row had also given each other books; Harry's was a newly published Defense Against the Dark Arts book that was dedicated to different ways of shielding yourself from attack, and Row's was an introductory guide to creating various magical items. As everyone began to pack up their gifts, Harry pulled out one last box from behind him.
"Ok, I have one more present for everyone," he said as he opened the box. He withdrew three small notepads and tossed one each to Jack and Row.
"Ok, I know this isn't just an ordinary notepad," said Jack as he examined the gift.
Harry grinned. "You're right about that. All three of these are connected magically, so anytime Row wants to talk to us, all she has to do is use it."
Row's eyes lit up. "Really?" She squeaked. "Oh, Harry, that's perfect! But, where did you get them, they must have cost a fortune!"
Harry shook his head. "Actually, they weren't that expensive. It's a modified protean charm, which isn't that hard for an adult wizard. I was actually going to try making them myself, but it was complicated enough that I decided to just buy them."
"So they work instantaneously?" Asked Jack.
"Yeah," Harry replied. "Everything that's written in any of these automatically gets written in the other two. If there's a new message for you, the pad will grow hot and vibrate a little. Oh, but you have to be careful about using it, Row," Harry eyed her carefully. "They're banned at Hogwarts because students have been known to use them to cheat. You'll have to use it in secret unless it's an emergency."
"I can do that," Row nodded. "This is a great idea, Harry, especially since I can't phone from Hogwarts."
"That's what gave me the idea, actually," said Harry as he magically cleaned up the living room. "This way if there's a problem, we'll know immediately instead of having to wait for an owl. One more thing though: I couldn't charm this like I could the parchment that we use the letters for, so you have to be careful what you say."
Row nodded thoughtfully and set the notepad aside while Jack took his presents to his room.
"You know, Harry," said Row thoughtfully. "You never did tell me how you were coming on all the other books that you bought."
"I'm actually done with most of them," Harry replied. "I think I told you in a letter than charms came really easy for me, so I went through all The Standard Book of Spells volumes pretty fast. I got through my beginning Transfiguration book too, but the intermediate one is really hard. I don't know if it's just more difficult or what, but I got stuck about half way through."
"Really?" Asked Row, interested. "They don't seem that different to me."
"Well, they're very different to me," muttered Harry. "I have to concentrate almost exclusively to transfigure something, but I can cast all sorts of charms simultaneously." Two of the living room chairs suddenly lifted into the air and began dancing around the room. "See? That's two separate objects and a mix of summoning, banishing, and levitation charms." Harry waved his hands and two balls of bright light joined in the dance. "I can keep all this going and still talk to you." He returned the room to its normal state. "But if I try to transfigure that chair into a pig, say, it takes almost a full 10 seconds of complete concentration, and most of the time I still don't get it right."
"Maybe it's just because transfiguration is new for you?" Suggested Row.
"I don't think so," Harry shook his head. "It feels different, I just don't know how."
Row shrugged. "What about Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
Harry's brow furrowed. "That's another problem. I think I'm doing the curses right, but without someone to practice on I can't be sure. Shield charms too, I can see that the shield looks right, but until somebody fires a spell at it I'll never know." Harry paused for a moment. "There's something else, too. Sometimes when I'm trying a new spell from a book, I think of ways it could be better, and it ends up doing what I thought it should instead what I got out of the book. The problem is, I'm never quite sure if what I'm doing is the same spell, a different spell, or something completely different. Like with those charms; when I'm doing them, I don't think banish, ok now summon, now levitate. I just move it where I want it, when I want to. There's nothing like that in any of the books I've read."
"Sounds frustrating."
"It can be," Harry nodded. "But that's why I've been focusing on mind magic lately. Some of the spells I've come across are really dangerous; there is one that can completely erase your memories."
"A memory charm, right?" Asked Row. "They give them to muggles when they don't want them to remember that they saw something magic."
"Right," Harry agreed. "But just think about all the ramifications of being to erase somebody's memory. You could do anything to them, take anything from them, basically you could do whatever you want and they would never remember." Row paled. "That's another reason I've been concentrating on mind magic; if I have a strong enough mental defense, memory charms won't work. There's a technique called occlumency, which is basically the opposite of leglimency, so I've already studied it a little. It helps strengthen your mind against all kinds of attacks and it's very similar to meditation." He paused. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"
"A little," Row grinned. "It's good though, I haven't seen you really excited about something like this for a long time." She gave him a thoughtful look. "You really should think about coming to Hogwarts, Harry. Magic is a part of you, and you obviously enjoy learning about it. You just might find the answers you're looking for."
"Maybe," said Harry noncommittally. "Of course, I could also end up getting memory charmed and taken away to live somewhere else." He gave her a meaningful look. "You only get one chance in something like this, Row."
Row sighed and the two lapsed into silence until Jack came back into the room and turned on the television. Jack and Row immediately engaged in an argument over which Christmas movies were best while Harry sat back and watched, thinking about where the next year would take his small family.
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The rest of the holiday passed quickly for the three siblings. Jack and Harry kept up their martial arts training, and Harry continued to walk around the house blindfolded, much to Row's amusement. Row and Harry set aside time each day to talk in general about doing magic and how spells differed between disciplines. Even though Harry was far ahead of her in using spells, he still couldn't help but be impressed at the knowledge Row had acquired in such a short time at Hogwarts.
Row continued to exchange owls with her friends, and spent time visiting both Sarah and Hermione to do what Jack dubbed "girly things." Sarah had invited her entire family, but Harry thought it unwise for him and Jack to go since it would only invite unwanted questions about their parents and living situation.
Still, despite the restrictions, Row thought it was perhaps the best Christmas ever, and said so as her brothers dropped her off at King's Cross Station.
"Well, I do try," Jack replied with a smile.
"It's not the same without you, Row," said Harry honestly. "Remember the notepad messenger if you need anything."
"I will," Row said as they exchanged hugs. "And Harry?" Harry looked up. "Thanks." With that she made her way inside the station.
A/N There we go, another chapter. Thanks again for all the suggestions people made. Next chapter we get back to some action, and maybe even a few surprises. Thanks for reading!