My life - An adventure
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter works belong to J.K. Rowling.
AN: This story is an idea I got from "Harry Potter and the Memories of Old" by Snowy123. Some of spells are from the story "Harry Potter and the Unlocked Knowledge" by kmfrank.
Chapter 07
I stepped out from Minerva's fireplace to see a rare smile upon on her face.
"Good job, Harry." She dabs at her eyes. "I wish your parents were here to see you. They would be very proud."
That's the first time she called me by my first name and talked about my parents. Yeah, I wish they were here too. I respond with a smile.
"Thanks Professor."
She walks with me to the common room. I guess some silly precaution or something. I am too tired to argue about it.
As I step into the common room, a wave of applause goes up. It seems the entire Gryffindor house followed the match on the wizarding wireless, which Lee managed to smuggle in. Our head of house doesn't comment about it and leaves as the students start to celebrate. The twins smuggled in a few items from Hogsmead including a large case of butter bears.
I settle down on a nearby couch with a butter bear in hand. Even though I am quite tisred I wanted to spend some time among my friends and housemates. Among a few pats on the back they asked a few questions on how the match went by. As predicted the match against Japan was considerably easy than the one against Luxemburg. We won 350 to 50, a considerable margin considering that it's the world cup.
Angelina settles down nearby. "Harry, how would you compare the school games with the internationals?"
"Well… being a seaker, the job is about the same, except you have a faster impossible to predict snitch and the bludgers move as if they have their own minds. The biggest difference is with the chasers. They zip about the ground and on average the score is about 500 or more for the winning team. Faster reflexes, more strength and a fearless attitude Angelina. That's what you need to be a chaser in the national squad." And its true.
The talk progresses on to getting tickets for the matches. I tell them that I can get the tickets if England makes it into the Quarters and above. But they still need to get permission from the school and their parents to see the matches as both the Quarters and the Semis are during the school year and outside the country.
I look around to see Hermione hunched over a pile of books. She wished me and went back to her studies. She's taking more subjects than anyone in the school. Even attending 3 classes at the same time. I wonder how she does that. She couldn't possibly have a time turner. I did hear from Ron that she dropped out of Divinition. She is clearly stressed.
I glance at Ron. "Did she have anything to eat?"
"Yeah mate, but I had to force her to come down for dinner. She keeps complaining about having to read 400 pages before the end of the week."
I think I will leave it to her to learn whatever lesson she will get out of it.
Over the next few days I spent sometime with Remus. He tells me about my parents and what they used to do. Dad was an Auror and Mom just got into the department of mysteries before she got pregnant with me. I try to talk about Sirius, but he kept changing the topic. I can understand why, but I still wish he would tell me something about him.
I can't think of any reason why he would break into the Gryffindor tower, unless it has something to do with me. I can think of many ways to contact me other than by slashing through the portrait. The ministry are using this to portray him as a crazy lunatic who needs to be put down. Fudge is calling me a confounded young lad who doesn't know the truth. Of course he is subtle about any comments. I am sure if we are to lose a match, the comments would turn into accusations.
Our next match is with Transylvania in 6 weeks time. The training has become brutal with the coach stressing on the fact that we need to win this match and Transylvania is one the best teams in the league after Argentina, Brazil and the Irish.
Today is the day of the first match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The weather is anything but suitable as a thunderstorm rages on. I sit down with Ron and watch as the teams take their place. Slytherin tried to get out of the match, but without a suitable reason, they weren't allowed to.
It was a very trying match, what with the weather and Slytherin's brutal tactics. The match was even paused for a while as the Dementors got into the grounds. All the players took to the ground as Dumbledore drove the Dementors away with his Patronus. I was about to cast my own patronus, but it wasn't needed. Ginny went on to catch the snitch and win the match comfortably for Gryffindor. We had a small party to celebrate the win.
The next day as I was sitting in the common room going through a particularly interesting ward scheme from the book I bought in Venice, Ron came down shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Look what I found."
I turn around to see him screaming at Hermione. He's holding a cloth with blood and orange fur on it. Ah oh!
"Look. Your bloody cat ate Scabbers."
Hermione narrows her eyes at that. "No it did not. I told Crookshanks not to touch it."
"It bloody well did."
The entire common room is caught up in the drama. I slap Ron on the back.
"What are you on about, mate. You hated Scabbers anyway. This is a good excuse to buy yourself a pet you like."
I lean forward and whisper. "Remember you have the 100,000 from the Basilisk."
Ron's eyes glow in sudden realization and he walks away mumbling something about "Buying an animal which will eat the cat."
It reminds me of the letter I got from Dumbledore the other day. He agreed to allow the Goblins into the chamber during the Christmas vacation. I need to check the chamber thoroughly to make sure there's nothing in there, which can be confiscated by Dumbledore.
Hermione gives me a brief hug with tears in her eyes. She seems unusually emotional.
I pat her on her back. "I think you are stressing yourself, Hermione. Why not drop Muggle Studies, you don't need it."
"Oh! Don't worry Harry. I am fine. I can't drop the class. How can I compete if I keep dropping classes? I already dropped Divinition. And you are so far ahead of me in nearly every subject. How you acquired so much knowledge over the summer I don't know Harry. I know you are keeping some secrets." The last sentence came out more as an accusation.
I smile at her. "You are far more intelligent than I will ever be. I think you need to sit back and think back on what your motives are. Studying just for higher marks or to compete I think would only help you to a certain extent. Instead of believing and memorizing the books, think about the whys and whats. Why does a spell act the way it does. The very concept of magic. When you grasp that, I think you will find a new way of looking at magic."
She looks at me for a long moment, nods and then goes back to her books.
I sigh in my mind, a little exasperated. I guess some habits are hard to let go.
I pick up my bag and walk out of the common room heading for the room of requirements. It's time for my own studies.
After nearly 3 months and nearly 200 hours of practice, I am moving on to NEWT spells in Defence, Charms and Transfiguration. It will probably take me until April or May to be proficient in those. My speed casting has improved as well. I can cast the stinging hex 50 times a minute and for nearly 5 minutes before I get slightly tired. Starting next year, I will be able to focus on chain casting, as well as practice the different battle spells… Deadly spells, which do not need too much of emotion or soul magic behind them. Soul magic is very powerful. But at the same time, if used in the wrong way can lead you down a path of hate and self destruction. I rather stick to those spells, which require just the intention of say breaking a bone or piercing a hole.
I also made considerably progress in the past month on the wandless levitation. I can now levitate myself about a foot for a minute before I get tired. Wandless summoning is very weak for now. My goal is to be able to perform these 2 for at least 5 minutes without getting tired by end of this year. Next year I can concentrate on strengthening them more and also get proficient in wandless banishing. Once I get that down, I will start work on the Animagus ritual.
I am also working on three rune schemes. One is completed. A strong privacy and protection ward around my bed, which will prevent anyone from hearing anything or opening the curtains once they are closed, unless their magical signature is keyed to it. I wanted some privacy, especially when I start working on my new projects.
The second is almost done. And it's a ward, which will help me with the Sirius situation. The third rune scheme is the most complicated one yet and has to do with dimensional spaces. The book I bought in Venice is about creating dimensional spaces in trunks or other solid structures. What I am working on is a rune scheme, which will create a dimensional pocket in free space and is tied to a magical signature at all time. The uses for such a pocket are incredible. You can carry anything and everything you want with you at anytime without any restriction for space. A very exciting prospect.
As the next match and our final group match with Transylvania closes in everyday, the tension within the team sky rockets. Argentina is through to the quarters. Luxemberg is out. If England wins the next match, it will equal Transylvania in points and we play a decider. Who ever wins that match goes through to the quarters. Nearly 30 hours of training every week, including running and weights has made a huge difference to my body. I have never been this fit before. I grew a couple of inches since summer and put on a decent bit of muscle.
On Christmas day I woke up to Ron's joyous scream about opening presents. I close my eyes remembering the Christmas of my first year at Hogwarts when I was surprised that I got presents. Things have changed quite a bit since then.
I open my presents to find a broom care kit from Hermione, the traditional sweater from the Weasley family matriarch and the box of chocolates from Ron. All three expected and well appreciated. They know me well enough I guess. There are 4 more presents. I pick up a small rectangular present and open it to find a rune box for storing rune stones from Ginny. Nice. Luna gave me a subscription to the Quibber. I smile at that. The second but last present is from the Longbottom Heir. A variety of herbs and plants, which are used in different potions. They will be very useful for some of the potions we have to do next year. I thank them all for their presents. I myself gave everyone a Dragon hide wand holster.
I look at the final unopened present. It's a small palm sized rectangular trunk. I set it on the floor and enlarge it. I open it to find 5 large and very old tomes. Among the tomes is a letter.
I open it to find that it's a letter from my Godfather.
Harry,
I don't know how you knew I was innocent, but thanks for believing in me. I will catch the real traitor, I promise.
I saw you on the hogsmead weekend when you created that snow golem. Your father would have patted you on the back and have said Good Show for punching a foul mouthed Malfoy. Your mother would have grounded you, and bragged about your knowledge and power. James was special when it came to transfiguration, as was Lily when it came to charms. But I doubt either could have pulled a golem in their 3rd year. Brilliant work.
Good luck with your next match.
I wish I were there to see you grow up.
A proud godfather,
Sirius
I set the letter aside and pick up the tomes. These are some of the oldest books I have seen, even with Voldemort's memories. Some are as old as 1800 years, with the earliest publication being 700 years back. 3 of them are written in Latin, while the other two in old English. I can understand the Latin and old English thanks to my new memories. The oldest book is on using ambient magic or wild magic to control nature to a certain extent. One book is on elemental magics, the other three are on Transfiguration, Charms and battle magics.
I stare at the books stunned to even think clearly. How did he get these books? They would have cost a fortune. I don't know how much of these even Voldemort knows. I get a glint in my eyes thinking of what I would find in here.
"Harry, what are those books?" I look up to find Hermione staring at the books.
I explain what they are and who sent them to me. She reads the letter and looks up at me.
She looks fluttered. "Are you sure, they are not cursed Harry? Maybe you should let a professor look at them first."
I stare at her seriously. "They are not cursed, Hermione. As I told you before, I believe Sirius to be innocent. And no I am not going to let a professor look at them."
She looks at me shrewdly. "But how can you be so sure Harry? Is this one of your secrets?"
Ron pitches in. "What secret?"
I roll my eyes. "Nothing Ron."
He shrugs. "Leave him alone Hermione. Who in their right mind will curse a book?"
Ginny hits him on the head. "Did you forget last year?"
Ron goes red and mumbles something.
I blow air. "Look guys, how about I run a diagnostic? It's pretty thorough and should point out any magic within the books."
Hermione and the rest agree.
I do the same and the only magic I can find is a permanent upkeep charm woven into the books to make sure age doesn't affect them.
Hermione looks nervously at me as she shuffles around while glancing at the books. I laugh and hug her. "Don't worry, I will let you read them once I am done. Okay?"
She smiles. "Thanks, Harry."
I look around at my 5 friends, even Luna who is celebrating in the Gryffindor tower. They have made good progress on the spells I have thought them. The don't have the same level dedication I or for the fact Ginny has. And I can understand why. I and Ginny have an advantage on them with the memories, but we also understand the level of evil, which can come back any day. In a way we have matured more than them. But they will see it as well.
The next day I walk toward Headmaster's chambers as it's the day the Goblins are supposed to come for the salvaging the Basilisk. I am also excited about finally getting the pensieve I ordered. It a brand new one and took a pretty big chunk, 42,000 to be exact, out of my vault.
The headmaster, Snape and the 6 of us head down to the second floor bathroom with 5 Goblins. Brimspear is part of the team and gave me a box, which I presume has the pensieve in it before we departed the Headmaster's office. I gave it to Dobby and asked him to take it to my dorm and put it in on my bed. Dumbledore looked at me, hoping I would explain. But I smiled and left it at that.
"Open" I hiss at the sink in the Myrtle's toilet. The sink slides down and I hiss "Stairs". And the pipe turns into stairs. This is one of the thing I discovered a few days back when I went to retrieve the remaining Slytherin books.
The party of 13 steps down into the chamber. I cleaned it up a bit. We reach the second door and enter it. And there lies the Basilisk. Except for Ginny and I, no one else has seen it. As such, there are many surprised exclamations on seeing it.
Ron summarizes their reactions succinctly. "Bloody Hell."
I glance at Ginny to see how she's doing. She's a bit pale, but does have a determined expression. Good for her.
We approach the Basilisk and the Goblins get to work dissecting it. I decided to buy part of the skin for myself for body armor. Much stronger than Dragon hide.
"You killed that Potter?" I look up to see Snape standing beside me. This is probably the only time I heard him using a civil tone while talking to me.
I smirk at him. "With a sword."
He scowls at me and looks back at the Basilisk. "Such rare ingredients…"
Hmmm… "You know, professor, I can keep the eyes for my share... Only the outer membrane has been destroyed. It can still be used, in say the eye correction potion."
A look of surprise passes over his mask, before he looks down at me. "And prey tell, how you know of such an ancient potion?"
"Oh! I have my sources. Haven't you seen a marked improvement in my potion making skills? I have been reading quite a bit."
He thinks about it. "Very well, Potter. You give me one eye and I will make you the potion with the other."
As I expected. I nod my acceptance. "With one condition. I want your oath that, it will not be used for the benefit of any death eaters or Voldemort himself."
He flinches at the Dark lord's name and sneers at me. But finally agrees as well.
I have a word with Brimspear about what I want to keep of the Basilisk. He tells me that it comes to approximately 120,000 galleons. I tell him to remove the 20,000 from my vault and divide it among the other three.
I look around to see my friends staring at the salvage operation in fascination, even though some are a little green. I follow Dumbledore as he heads into the Basilisk inner chamber, probably to see what's left in it.
I follow him inside and we stand in a room with enough space for a couple of bookshelves, a table, couple of chairs and for the Basilisk to sleep in.
"Interesting isn't it, professor. I would say we found a source for some of Tom's knowledge."
He removes his wand and mutters a couple of spells. I think diagnostic and reveling charms. "I would say so, Harry."
He turns around and stares at me, with his wand back in his sleeve. He sits at the table and directs me to sit as well.
"It's a common practice to have regular staff meetings during the school year, Harry. Mostly to discuss any pending issues. But we also cover the performance of students and your name has come up consistently."
"Even Snape?"
"Professor Snape, Harry. And yes he did comment about how you are not being such a dunderhead anymore. Quite a praise if I say so myself."
I laugh at that. "What can I say professor? I did read and practice quite a bit over the summer and I have been doing the same the past few months."
He nods at that. "And how far have you progressed?"
"By the end of this year, I can take NEWT's in Defence, Transfiguration and Charms and get O's in all of them." I didn't tell him that I could take them now and still get O's. But it doesn't mean I am perfect.
"Is that what you want to do?"
"No. The fewer people who know about it, the better."
"I agree. But if you permit an old man's curiosity, why the sudden haste in your studies? I didn't take you for someone who is as studious as you are now."
I think its time to give him a part of the truth. "After the chamber incident, I felt more free than I ever was before. It's like a part of me which was being blocked, was released."
He sits up suddenly and waves his wand in an intricate fashion around my scar. I don't know the spell he used, but I can understand the reason behind it. I raise my eyebrows in surprise and look at him. He nods asking me to continue.
"Well… I feel different professor. I was living a non-existent life at the Dursleys for the first 11 years. They never took me on any holidays. I never traveled beyond the borders of Little Winging until my eleventh birthday. And then Hagrid came and showed me this wonderful hidden world. The last two years were… memorable. But now… Now I want more."
I take a breather. I remove my wand and wave it across a couple of pebbles lying on the ground. They expand and become a wolf and a lion.
"I have a thirst for knowledge. For adventure. There is so much more to magic I want to learn. I want to explore the world. I am young. I have the strength. I have a load of galleons sitting inside my family vault, which I will have access to in about 2 years or so. I have the means. But what I lack is the knowledge."
Dumbledore looks a little disturbed but nods sagely at me. "Ahh… Adventure. Take the advice of an old man who followed the same path, Harry. Life in itself is a great adventure. Every day you spend can be one. But I can also understand the exuberance of youth. But take heed, Harry. When you explore the world, you will come across many unsavory magics, which at first glance might seem powerful. They are undoubtedly. But they are also addictive and can lead you down the same path the result of which gave you that scar."
I understand where he's coming from. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. To a certain extent, even Dumbledore is not an exception to that rule.
"I am still Harry professor. I will always be just Harry."
He smiles at that. "I know dear boy. Forgive an old man's over cautious nature."
I reach out and pat his hand. "I appreciate it professor. I always viewed you as crazy old grandfather who looks after his many grand children."
"Thank you my boy. There's no greater compliment to me."
The moment passes and he nods toward my transfigured animals. "Excellent work, Harry. May I suggest that you share your knowledge with Minerva and Fillius? They will only help you further."
I nod and cancel the spell and the animals turn back into pebbles.
I smile cheekily at him. "And maybe one day soon, we can sit and talk about the different aspects of magic and maybe duel?"
He laughs. "I am an old man, Harry. But yes. I would like that."
As we reach the door he stops me by placing a hand on my shoulder.
"And maybe then, you will trust me enough to share your secrets?"
No one said Albus Dumbledore was an idiot. I nod and we walk out of the room.
The match against Transylvania was brutal. We won, but just barely. 720 to 800. Without the snitch it would have been impossible. And I will be the first to state that there was a certain amount of luck involved. It's not everyday you find the snitch favoring your direction. At the end it was an easy catch. We tie each other at 3 wins each and will play again in 2 weeks. A match that will decide which team will go to the quarters.
The coach decided that we should keep up our regular practice, but avoid any brutal sessions. The next 2 weeks will be dedicated to a new strategy, as they now know how we approach the game.
I'm too tired to take part in any celebrations. I drag myself to bed and skip into the dreamland quite happily.
I wake up to the feeling my wand vibrating. I look at the time to see it's 4 in the morning. What do we have here?
I open my curtains to make sure everyone's asleep and I move out of the dorm quietly. I step into the common room to find Sirius frozen with a look of surprise on his face. This was one of the rune schemes I was working on. It is a combination of three rune sets. The first rune set captures the magical signatures of everyone who passes the doorway into the common room. I allowed that to happen for a week before I added the second rune set. It compares the magical signature of anyone who enters the common room with the ones already collected. If they exist no action is taken, if they don't, it activates the next and final rune set. It's designed to freeze the person with the unmatched magical signature in a suspended animation. And that's what happened to Sirius.
As I step into the common room, his eyes meet mine and if they could, they would have widened in surprise.
I step in front of him and gaze up at him.
"Sirius Black, what a surprise."
I stun him and then I disable the rune scheme. I transfigure him into a lizard and put him in my pocket. Time to get some answers.
I sit on a sofa in the room of requirements. I turn Sirius back to his own self. I gaze at him for a few moments. He doesn't look like the half starved prisoner the posters depicted him as. In fact he looks decent. I enervate him.
He shakes of a wave of dizziness. "What… what happened?"
"Your godson happened."
He snaps his eyes open at that statement and stares at me in unflinching gaze. He whispers, "Harry… It's really you?"
"It's really me, Sirius."
"It has been so long. The last I saw you was when Hagrid took you from your house. You like James, but you have Lily's eyes."
"I know, Sirius." I reply not too unkindly.
"I am innocent, Harry. I didn't betray your parents."
"I know that as well, Sirius. It was Peter. He was the secret keeper."
He looks surprised. "How… How do you know that?"
"I have my secrets. As I said, I know you are not the secret keeper. But what happened the day you cornered Peter… That I don't know."
He laughs out loud at that, a little insanity in it. "Little Peter with his chubby cheeks and stuttering voice pulled one over the whole wizarding world. The little bastard accused me of being the traitor and blew up the street. HE SET ME UP."
"So it wasn't you? Then, why the hell didn't you say anything while they carted you off to Azkaban? You were an Auror, you must have friends in them?"
"At first it was shock, Harry. I didn't yet morn your parents. James was my brother in everything but blood. And then when I finally realized what happened, it was too late. I was already in my cell and my pleading fell on deaf ears."
"So why now, Sirius? Why after 12 years?"
He removes a paper clipping from his pocket and shows it to me. It's the clipping of the Weasleys winning the lottery. I don't get it. What of it?
"I recognized him at once. How many times did I see him changing into the rat, Wormtail…" He's lost in his thoughts and I gaze down at the picture again.
Scabbers. Peter Pettigrew. I never realized it. He only showed Voldemort his form once to show how useful he can be.
"An animagus…"
That brings Sirius out from his memories. "Yes, like me and James. I am a dog and James… James was a stag. Prongs…"
"Show me Sirius."
And he changes into his dog form. I recognize him. The same dog from Privet drive. He changes back.
I process this information in my mind. "Has Dobby been feeding you?"
He smiles sheepishly and nods. I laugh at this.
"Now what Sirius? Scabbers might be dead…"
He pales at that. "What? How?"
"I am not too sure, Hermione, one of my friends, has a half Kneazle who might have had him for lunch…"
"Is that the orange colored one?"
"Yeah…"
"Then, it didn't eat him. I befriended it and asked him to get Peter for me. It was trying all year round."
"So he's still at Hogwarts?"
"I know he's at Hogwarts. He's too much of a coward to move away from it."
"So you plan to capture him?"
"Capture…NO. I plan on killing him."
I look at him as if he has lost his mind. And maybe he did… "Don't be stupid man. We capture him and secure your freedom. It's more important than your damned need for revenge."
"But…"
"No buts Sirius. We capture him and that's it. You said in your letter than you wished you saw me grow up, do you still wish it?"
He gets a glint in his eyes at that and smiles softly at me. "You are your parents son in more than your looks Harry."
"Maybe you can tell me about them, when you are free?"
"Oh! I can tell you so many stories… There were many good times." And there he goes back into his memories.
"Dobby."
The little elf pops in. "What can Dobby do for you, Harry Potter sir?"
He glances at Sirius and smiles shyly at me. I roll my eyes at his actions. Crazy elf.
"Dobby listen. Sirius will stay in this room. He's not to leave it. Make sure of it."
Sirius snorts at the statement. I ignore him. "Get him as much food as he wants."
Dobby nods at that. He's doing that anyways.
"Can you also get me the pensieve from my trunk?"
Dobby pops away.
"Pensieve, Harry? Aren't they rather expensive?"
"They are. But they can be dead useful." I already put it to good use destroying quite a few of Voldemort's memories. I kept nearly all the duels he was involved in. Especially those with Dumbledore and some good Auror's like Moody as well as the training he took to be able to duel like that. The rest were nothing but mindless slaughter and some not so mindless killings. I also kept most of his death eater strategy meetings for future reference.
I stare at my godfather for a moment. "Thanks for the books, Sirius."
He waves away the thanks. "Think nothing of it, Harry. They are some of the books in the Black family vault. They were just gathering dust."
He laughs again. Like a bark I think. "I never thought I would see a day when a 13 year old can produce a patronus, a golem and play international Quidditch."
I smile at that. He doesn't know half of it. "And you don't know the half of it."
He barks a laugh again. "So, what's your plan?"
"We play Transylvania again in 2 weeks time… This is what we are going to do."
I walk back to the common room, invisible and silent. I told Sirius what the Room of Requirements is and how it works. I suggested he place his troubling memories in the pensieve and get some physical exercise.
I enter my dorm to find my roommates sleeping soundly. It's nearly 6 in the morning. No use trying to sleep now. And I need to check a certain map. I recognized the names Wormtail and Prongs from my conversation with Sirius.
I open the map and point my wand to it. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map introduces itself with the names, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. I know Wormtail is Peter and Prongs is my dad. Padfoot has to be Sirius and Moony, Remus.
I sigh as I think about the plan. There are a few things, which need to happen for it to succeed. The most important being able to capture Peter. The other is winning the match. The ministry would be hard pressed to ruin the public reputation of a player who was part of the team, which will play the Quidditch world cup quarterfinal.
There are three main adversaries against Sirius.
Minister Fudge, who was an Obliviator and was part of the team, which captured Sirius. And in 2 years he became the minister of magic, with immense financial support from many families who fall under Lucius Malfoy. If this comes out, he will lose the public support and will not win the next election, which is due in a year's time.
Bartemius Crouch, the then head of DMLE. He authorized the incarceration of Sirius without a trial. He's looking to gain more support in time to bid for the ministry. That's not going to happen unless Sirius gets the kiss.
And finally, Lucius Malfoy. He is one of the richest wizards in Britain. But with the Black fortune, he will be untouchable. And that's not taking into consideration the kind of knowledge he will have at hand from the Black family vault and the library. Voldemort tried to get hold them, but the then Head of House, Orion Black, Sirius' father, declined saying that, even though he supports his views and ideals, he cannot share the knowledge of his house. Even through a memory I can feel his anger at being declined. He vowed to end the line of Black, even though only to himself. It will not do to have an Ancient pureblood family with anti-muggle views as his enemy.
The Black's were a unique family. Even though they supported many dark lords in the past, they were business minded. They never let any lord interfere with their family or business. Potter's are the exact opposite to that. They are well known to marry muggle borns and supported many wars against the dark lords over the centuries.
I know from Voldemort's memories that he expected the Potter's to be as rich as the Malfoys or the Blacks. There should be quite a bit more than 11 million galleons to support the view. I guess my family fortune dwindled over a period of time.
For Lucius Malfoy to get hold of the Black Family fortune, Sirius should die.
I sit back and close my eyes thinking of a plan to capture Peter. The map should help. But I can't keep looking for him in the map all the time and I don't trust Sirius to not go after Peter if he finds him on the map.
I look down at the map. I don't see Sirius in it. Probably because of the unplotable nature of the room he is in. I don't see the Chamber of secrets as well. That means there might be other places, which are not on the map. Peter must be hiding in one of these places as I don't see him on the map.
Hmm… That gives me an idea.
I walk out my dorm for the second time that night… err, day. I walk to an unused classroom, as I cannot use the RoR for the next couple of weeks.
After I close the door and raise proximity and privacy wards, I swish my wand, conjuring 4 snakes of the non-poisonous kind, but with venom powerful enough to paralyze a smaller animal. Perfect.
"Do you understand me?" I hiss to them.
They all answer in different variations of, yes master.
"Good. I am going to make you invisible. I want you all to search the castle. You are looking for a rat with a toe missing. Can you recognize such a creature?"
"We can master. Can we eat it?"
I am tempted to say yes. "No, you may not. Capture it and bring it here. And do not attack anyone else."
I disillusion and put a tracking charm on them. I direct them in different directions. That's the most I can do for now. I have to think of a better plan. I head for a run around the castle to clear my mind.
It's been 11 days since I released the snakes. In the meantime I analyzed the map with some help from Sirius. They basically placed a combination of identification, tracking and communication runes in every room and hallway they came across. The runes identify the person based on what that person think of themselves as. Similar to how Owls operate. Once they identify, they communicate that to the map and show their actions within the identified spaces. Simple and ingenious.
I spotted him a couple of times when I was looking at the map. But by the time I got there, he was already gone and nowhere to be found on the map. Two of my 4 snakes have perished since then. After seeing their pulverized carcasses, I can only assume that Peter destroyed them. He has a wand with him.
I made Sirius a permanent portkey similar to mine, which will take him near his ancestral home at Grimmauld place. He gave me the rough location for it and I was able to grab the coordinates from a map. Sirius was quite surprised that I have the ability to create a permanent portkey. HA… Wait till he learns what else I did and can do.
The match is in 3 days time and we are yet to find Pettigrew. Sadly even with the knowledge I have, I cannot find any other way to track Peter. Maybe we need to postpone the plan? There is always the Quarterfinal in March. But it's a huge risk for Sirius to stay at Hogwarts till then.
I look down at the map spread out on my bed once again. I did add one new feature to the map. A name search based on voice command. I place my wand tip on the map.
"Show me Peter Pettigrew."
A red dot flashes briefly and I follow it to see a red dot on the traitor's name. Got him. I follow him a couple of seconds to identify where he is. Looks like on the third floor. I get out of the bed with the map and rush outside into the common room.
"Dobby."
"Yes, Harry Potter sir?"
"Peter's on the third floor, two hallways from the Charms classroom. Stay invisible and follow him, I'll be there as soon as I can."
He pops away and I run out of the room disillusioning myself. I conjure a snake in case I need it. I don't want him to escape me a third time.
I near the place where I last saw him on the map. I glance at the map to see him disappearing a few feet in front of him.
"Dobby, are you here?", I whisper.
He pops in and replies back in a whisper. "Yes, Harry Potter sir. The rat man went throughs the wall." He points to the wall in front of me.
I put the snake on the floor. "Bite any rat, which you comes across."
I activate the mage sight on my glasses to see some kind of magical barrier and a room behind it where the wall should be. I run my wand across the wall to identify any curses or wards it might have. It seems it's nothing but an illusion.
I turn off the mage sight and stare at the wall. What could be behind it?
I slowly walk in with my wand at the ready. I pass through the wall and enter a dimly lit room to see it empty. It has a passageway leading out of it and I follow it.
I walk on silent and invisible, stopping every few seconds to listen to any revealing sounds. The passageway ends in a well-lit circular room with symbols of the 4 founders in the four corners. There near the wall opposite to entrance, is a makeshift bed, probably conjured and a variety of food. Sitting on the bed, eating what looks like one of Hagrid's rock cakes is Peter. I silently erect a temporary ward preventing him from escaping. I remove the disillusionment charm.
Some might call me hypocritical. But seeing him sitting on the bed… I want my revenge. I breathe in loudly to calm myself.
Hearing that, Peter glances in my direction and freezes.
"Hello Peter."
He drops the cake and grabs his wand. "Expelliarmus."
I swerve out of the way and he shoots another spell. "Reducto."
I put up a shield to absolve the curse. I smirk at him. "Now now, Peter. Play nice."
"Avada Kedavra."
Blast that rodent. I dive out of the way.
I come up and touch my wand to floor. "Redimio matris terra" and I swish it toward Peter.
I feel dizzy at the level of power that rushes through me. It's one of the low level wild magic spells I learned recently. It took me nearly 3 weeks to learn this one spell.
As the invisible wave touches him, vines sprout from the stone floor and bind him from head to toe. Before he can transform into his animagus form, I hit him with a charm, which will prevent the transformation for the next few hours.
He struggles but the vines hold on tighter.
"Give up, Peter. The more you struggle, the more painful it will be. Like the Devil's Snare."
He is shaking from head to toe. "Harry, sweat Harry… You are just like your father…"
"Don't say another word or I will cut your head off."
"But Harry…" He struggles… "I betrayed your parents."
Huh! He looks panicked at that statement.
"Glad you agree, Peter."
"Sirius… Sirius wasn't the secret keeper."
Okay, what's going on here?
"I know."
"What… what are you doing to me?"
"I am doing nothing, Peter. You did it to yourself."
He struggles and I let him for a few minutes just for the fun of it. As he starts gasping for breath, I stun him. "Idiot."
I touch a vine with my wand. "Gratias ago vos matris terra."
The vines sway as if saying welcome and retreat back into the floor. I transfigure Peter into a rat and store him in a box I specially prepared for him. It prevents any magic being performed within it.
I pocket the box and clear away the mattress and the food. I pocket Peter's wand.
I look around the room at the different house emblems and wonder what they are doing here. I walk toward the Gryffindor emblem and activate the mage sight. I see a ward. As I analyze it, I realize it's some kind of password-protected barrier. There is also provision for entry based on blood, but which can be overridden if the password is known.
I look at the other three founders and find the same. I step in front of Slytherin's symbol. Worth giving it a shot. If nothing happens, I will at least let Dumbledore know.
"Open."
The snake within the symbol slowly comes alive. "Who are you speaker? I sense the magic of Slytherin within you, but you are not of his blood."
"My name is Harry James Potter. And how do you know that I am not of his blood?"
"There are no secrets within this chamber, speaker. Only the truth can be spoken. Your very essence is open for the guardians to judge."
"I do not understand."
"No you do not. But you may enter Harry James Potter, to the final resting place of Salazar Slytherin."
AN: And here is chapter 7. The next chapter will take us to the end of third year and its already done. I will post it in a few weeks time. Quidditch is not the primary focus of this story, so I am not including a lot of description. The last match Harry plays will have that though. Please review. The more reviews I see the more inclined I am to write. Thanks. I am also looking for a BETA. If anyone is interested, please email me.