Chapter Two: Head Hunted
The hall was silent as Harry and Nicolas just stood there, the two seemed to be evaluating the other. Even though Harry hadn't even touched puberty, he was regarding the man before him very carefully. Where most kids would smile, listen to whatever the man had to say (While not listening) and then let the adults handle the details; he knew better. Harry motioned towards the table, near the back end of the hall "We were just finishing breakfast, would you care for some coffee?" He asked in a calm tone.
The elder wizard was silent before cracking into a smile "While I much prefer tea, I think coffee would be wonderful." He expressed, following the young lad into the next room.
When the two had sat down, Harry was the first to speak. "I believe some introductions are to be made." He jerked his thumb to Sirius, who had a face stuck between shock and respect "This is Sirius Black, he's my God-Father."
Sirius held his hand out, almost instantly really "I've heard much about you, Mr. Flamel." He said in a strangely serious voice.
Nicolas looked at the hand and shook it lightly, though he didn't seem fond of the idea "I've heard much about the….Black family." He said in a dry voice, before sipping on his beverage "Much in recent years."
Sirius seemed to back away, like a wounded dog but continued to keep eye contact with the man. Harry gestured next to the aging werewolf to his left, who was perfectly calm in the situation "This is Remus Lupin, he's my uncle…sort of."
Remus gave Harry a small look, then nodded to Nicolas "Yes, I am Remus Lupin, I'm only sort of his uncle. Pleasure to meet you Mr. Flamel." He spoke in a polite voice, but even Harry could see the suspicion in his eyes.
Nicolas was silent, giving the man before him a suspicious glance. "Pleasure." He spoke after several seconds.
Harry distanced himself from the two men a little bit, they seemed to not like each other much at all. "This is Cora, my God-Sister." He said wrapping the smaller girl in a one armed hug.
Nicolas looked down at the girl, who stared back at him with her bright pink eyes. "My word." The elder exclaimed with a smile "I haven't seen a true reader in several years… or has it been decades…?" He questioned himself, before looking back at the girl "You know you're only scratching the surface, I assume you can see my colour; grey by the way, but with enough skill you'll see so much more." Nicolas explained, kneeling before the girl "What interesting people you surround yourself with Mr. Potter."
"Thank you?" Harry said in a slightly confused voice, standing a little in front of his sister who was glaring at the man before her. She was still new to it all, and he told her that her skills were novice and already knew his shade? Conceded much? "Nymphadora Tonks, my cousin." He said waving his hand to the fairly tall but average looking girl.
Flamel nodded to the woman, bowing a little "Pleasure Miss. Tonks." He said with a smile.
Nym had changed her appearance when Flamel had came in, a fairly tall woman now with fairly average in appearance with eye length black hair and bright blue eyes. She was pretty much just hiding her ability from the man.
"This is Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass and Christian Kidd. They're my friends from school." Harry explained looking over at the ragtag group.
Nicolas smiled at them politely, looking at the two girls and then raising his brow at the young man "A Physical sage huh?" He said calmly "Interesting, I heard your kind stayed to the tribes of the Northwestern Americans."
"Well, you're wrong." Christian said in a calm, cocky voice "The monks of China are normally sages as well."
"I always forget about them, they never do anything but meditate and whisper to each other." Nicolas explained, taking a seat at the table. "And who is this?" He asked gesturing to Ginny.
"Ginny Weasley, Sir." She said with a smile, adding the end as an afterthought.
"A Weasley? I have heard of your family a quiet large one at that. But that is not what is interesting about you but I believe Mr. Potter can help me with that at a later date."
Ginny glanced at Harry, all he did was shrug 'He's kind of weird.' She whispered through their link. 'Agreed, but I think he's been around so many years he thinks he knows everything.'
"So, onto the subject at hand. You said Dumbledore had my stone?"
Harry nodded "I did, Daphne and Christian helped me get through the traps to get it." He explained, leaning on the table top.
"Really?" Flamel said with a small sigh "You realize that Albus wanted you to get to the stone, correct?"
Daphne nodded "I had assumed that much, I believe Harry did as well." The Slytherin girl spoke out, before leaning back in her seat.
Nickolas nodded "So Dumbledore wanted you to get it….Why?"
"I think he meant to test me?" Harry spoke in a confused voice.
Nickolas seemed to ponder this "I see….Then he thinks you and Voldemort share something…." He said rubbing his bearded chin and glaring at the table "You encountered him there didn't you?"
Harry faltered a moment but nodded in the end.
Flamel nodded, rubbing his lip as he was in thought and reaching for his half-empty coffee cup "The question I have, is why you?" He asked, looking up at the group.
Harry shrugged, looking at everyone else for an answer to the question. Remus saw the glance and sighed "I think it has some sense of failure for Voldemort, Harry was the only one to best him after all." He stated with a calm grace "He will likely not stop either."
Harry frowned, looking over at his uncle who only shrugged.
Nym reached over and smacked him on the back of the head "Thanks for the depressing thought." She growled.
"That was rather dark Moony." Sirius whispered, leaning back a little looking up at his friend.
Remus sighed, nodding a little "I was being honest though, Harry knew it as well."
They all looked back to the boy with the raven black hair, who was nodding softly "I thought about it, but I also kind of thought he'd be dead…so…" He trailed off, before standing. "Will you need anything else Mr. Flamel."
Nicolas stood himself "No, not a present. I have much to think on, I'll be in contact soon though." He tapped the coffee cup with his wand, and the object floated over to the sink "You all have a wonderful day."
The elder man walked towards the door, knocking twice on the worn dark wood and it slowly glowed a bright white. He cast it open and inside Harry could see the halls of a marble floors and great white pillars "Farewell, Mr. Potter." He spoke once more before walking through the door.
With a bright silver flash, the worn wood was shown again. Harry being curious as he normally was, walked over towards the door and opened it, only seeing the busy street in front of him as he closed it once more.
XX~XX~XX~XX~XX
"Christian!" A honeyed voice shouted from the floor below him, causing the boy to jerk and growl a little "It's time to get up!"
"It's eight! Let me sleep woman!" He shouted back, grabbing his cover and pulling it over his head.
"What did you just call me you little bastard!?"
"I called you Mom! Like I always do!" He rubbed his eyes, arm extended over the bed and was quickly attacked by his mutt causing him to laugh at the licks. "Fine, fine I'm up!"
Christian pulled himself up, shrugging off the dark blue cover and looked around his room. It was classified as a mess but he liked it this way, made it so only he could find stuff. It was small, but had four walls and a roof so it was good enough for him. He had a desk, bed, dresser and boxing bag crammed in tight in his room, meaning if need be he'd only have to leave for food and bathroom.
The walls were painted in a black colour, but in some spots you could see the old red and it gave it a lava look that he thought was cool. On those walls were an assortment of posters from bands and native gear; dream catchers mainly.
He slowly pulled himself out of the bed, rubbing on his mutts head "Good boy, Dirk." The dog wasn't really a mutt but was closer to an American Foxhound than anything else. He'd had the hound for about six years now, his mother rationalized it to help him cope with his father's death. The hound had a white coat with a few large black spots and large brown eyes, Dirk was normally easy going and always ready for a good run but some days he'd just like to sleep.
"Let's go bug mom, eh?" He tossed the large ears from side to side, before leaving the room and trotting down the steps from his room "I'm up, why?"
"Because we need to go shopping today, get some of the things you'll need out of the way. I just got paid so let's do it now." His mother explained, turning the oven off and pulling out something.
Christian took his seat at the table, Dirk hidden under his chair tail wagging and hitting him in the ankle. "Cinnamon rolls?" He asked with a grin, the heavenly scent was in the air.
"If I'm going to wake you early, you at least need to be happy about it." His mother said setting a plate and mug down in front of him "I blame your coffee love on myself but, no harm done."
Christian glanced up at his mom, she looked a lot like him other than the overly strong jaw and stern looking face. Her hair was short and bright pale blond, it barely touched the nape of her neck and her eyes had a similar mischief to them in the bright blue gaze.
"Not like it matters, some of the seventh years drink it so they have it at the tables. I take it and no one questions me." He spoke before shoving an entire roll in his mouth "Rah!"
Auriel laughed, sticking a roll into her mouth to and growling back at him before the dog barked at them. The woman pulled a piece of a roll and tossed it to Dirk, who caught it mid air and nearly crashed into the table. "Dozy hound." She laughed again, taking a drink from her mug.
"Looking forward to going back?" She asked, after the hound lapped up the morsel.
Christian with his mouth full, answered her with nothing but garble "O Curs I em. Mi Fren r der."
"Swallow your food!" She barked fixing him with a glare, he glared back but swallowed his food "Now what?"
"Of course I am, my friends are there." He repeated much clearer.
"Thank you, you mentioned some of them. Potter, Granger and a Greengrass?" She stated it like a question but the answer was already known "I'm impressed, that Potter made friends with you now I know Sirius raised him but I didn't think he'd notice the maiden name."
"Huh?" Christian frowned, looking confused.
Auriel frowned with him in thought, connecting the pieces and then laughing "I'm sorry, Sirius is an idiot so no harm done. I used to be friends with Lily, not the best of friends mind you but friends none the less."
Christian took another bite and chewed it quickly "So you knew Harry's mum? He's always carrying her diary with him." He gave a gagging look, but smiled.
"Not surprising, Lily was always writing everything down. Meticulous."
Christian was pretty much already finished with his breakfast, and so was she truthfully "Walk the mutt, I'll do the dishes then we'll change and leave. Deal?" She asked standing up collecting the plates.
"Sure, let's go Dirk!" Christian spoke with a grin, running out the backdoor with the hound trailing his feet closely. They lived on the outskirts of the city of Greenock, if the rain was bad then the large yard in the back would flood and make it rough on the dog but overall they liked it here.
Both of them did miss Atlanta, but when you get transferred you have to make the most of it. The home was beat down, the paint was peeling in the corners and their furniture had seen better days but they'd only lived here for barely a year and she worked far too much to bother with home repair. With Christian back though, her job took a side step as she told her boss Mr. Perkins would happen.
So maybe they'd get some things fixed and some things swapped out, the kitchen would be first then the bathroom. If she was lucky they'd get it all done before he had to go back to Hogwarts, if not then no harm done.
Auriel quickly did the bulk of the dishes and then let the magic brush finish the rest of it, she showered and changed into her normal garb; which was a lot like her sons, leather and jeans. "Christian!" She called out the back door "Get in here and get dressed!"
She waited a minute, when he didn't respond with some insult or anything at all she pressed her wand to her throat. "Christian!" She shouted once more, her voice carrying more weight and distance this time.
After a few seconds she saw a flash of white, then a bark as the hound started to run up to her and then frowned when she found it was covered in mud. "Dirk you dozy mutt." She mumbled waving her wand over the beast and swishing the dark mud over in the field.
After a moment she heard a cry of shock and then a curse "Damn it!" It was her son and he was covered in leaves and mud "Stupid mutt, got under my feet and tripped me." He growled slapping the mud off his arms.
"Go shower, stupid." His mother laughed, flicking her wand at him to get rid of most the mud.
The blond growled again, walking into the house and taking his shoes off at the door. Auriel looked down at the hound "I have taught you well." She whispered, a grin splitting her face.
Dirk looked back up at her, his face happy and gave a loud bark.
XX~XX~XX~XX
A young girl flicked a piece of stubborn blond hair out of her slightly sharp face, her green eyes scanning the pages of her book for anything useful. That was of course before a brown haired girl with similar features started to bug her, her bright blue eyes asking all sorts of questions.
"What are you reading?" Was the main one.
"A book." Was her short reply, and a glare.
"What? That's obvious Daph, come on! What you reading?" The girl asked her older sister, jumping onto her chairs arm rest.
"Fine!" Daphne growled, glaring daggers "I am reading a book on Dark Creatures, you know Basilisks, Cockatrice, Minotaur's."
Astoria smirked at her, but then frowned "Why?" She asked with a small voice "You won't take creatures until next year?"
"You're right, but I want to learn about it now." The older sister explained, leaning back in her chair and grabbing her cup of green tea. "You never know."
Astoria pouted, crossing her arms "It's because of Potter, isn't it?" She said with a small glare "Isn't it?"
Daphne propped open her book, showing the girl the page she was at. Apache Sage: A type of human wizard that has become part bird. The Sage is a type of wizard that is primarily physically adept when it comes to magic, making it near impossible to injure them but they lack long range abilities. However an Apache Sage is a form of physical transmutation that crosses a hawk with a man, making them able to fly and shoot their razor sharp feathers at their enemies from a distance.
These types of Sages are rated: XXXX. These creatures can sometimes be communicated with and convinced into a peaceful situation. However should communication fail, then these creatures are highly dangerous and should be left to wizards who specialize in this field 'Native Understanding' or if not the case then the 'Ferrum Clipeus, Statur Motus, Ardens, Carnem Exuentes." Speels are very helpful in these situations being powerful spells against this type of creature.
Then it showed a picture of a Native American with tribal markings all over his body, but his eyes resemble that of an eagle; the bright sickly yellow. Along his arms were feathers, claws where his nails should be and the feathers continued along to his waist.
Astoria raised a brow "What's an Apache?" She asked with a frown "Is that some type of bird?"
Daphne giggled a little, taking another sip of her tea "No, they were-"
"Girls! Dinner time!" Helen Greengrass called out, without another word Astoria shot out of the Library leaving her sister in the dust.
Daphne frowned, using a marker she kept her place it was an interesting section the Half-Breeds that existed all around the world. She stood up, setting the book next to her tea cup, straightening her skirt and shirt walked calmly down towards the dining room.
Both of her parents, her sister and surprisingly her Aunt Barbra Silver was at the table chatting quietly. Her father Hank Greengrass, the patriarch of the Greengrass family which included theirs, his younger brothers and a few cousins was best described as soft.
Hank was a slightly above average man in height, but he wasn't slender rather he was covered in muscle and fat making him a glorified giant. His brown hair was always combed to the left and cut neatly, he wore a pair of spectacles but the neatness ended there on his lower face was covered with a thick near black beard. Her father was a 'Teddy Bear' compared to most men his size, or stature; he was kind hearted, quick with wit and always smiling.
Her mother Helen on the other hand was a bit more firmer, an Ice Queen if you would but she hated that name. Helen was slender, slightly curved and average for height but she more than made up for her more average looks with her tongue. Helen had black hair, she kept it shoulder length and out of her green eyes so could see properly; which was why Astoria always had to wear clips.
Aunt Barbra was like day to her mother's night, her hair was bright blond like her own and her face was rather similar in shape. While she often visited, she was always happy to see her being she'd always tell a story from her travels as an author. It was often said that Daphne was a Silver and Astoria got the Greengrass parts of the genes.
"Aunt Barb!" She rushed over, giving the woman a big hug and took the empty seat next to her "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the Congo?"
Barbra chuckled "I was, until the tribe I was looking for found me and sent me packing with a rather hostile welcome, Love." She leaned over, kissing her on the head.
"Daphne, did you do anything other than read today?" Helen asked with a raised brow.
Daphne shrugged gently "I did weed the plants you asked me too, and watered the potted ones." She voiced what little cores she had, while they all knew a house elf or spell could do it; it would teach her 'life lesions'.
"Good girl." Helen smiled, cutting into her pork and taking a bite then frowning "You cooked again didn't you?" She asked her husband with a dull look.
Hank could only smile, rubbing the back of his head "Yeah, not good?" He asked with a small laugh.
"Try it."
Hank shrugged, cutting a rather large piece and chewing into it. First he looked rather impressed and then his face morphed into one of horror "Grab your coats! We are going out to eat!" He stood up, flicking his wand at the plates "To think that vanilla wouldn't work." He mumbled.
Helen sighed, rubbing her eyes and standing "You heard him, get your coats. We're going to Harvell's." She mumbled, that was the sixth time this month he'd tried to cook; and it was the tenth.
Barbra was smiling "Cheer up Hel, you're always so pouty." She walked over, looping an arm around her sister's shoulders.
"Guh, you're so mushy." Helen rolled her eyes.
"You love me."
"Begrudgingly."
Astoria looked up at Daphne, a small fearful look on her face "Will we be like that one day?" She whispered, gesturing to the women.
"Never." Daphne leaned down, kissing her head "I'd have long since stopped talking to you for us to be like that."
"Love you Daph."
"I love you too."
XX~XX~XX~XX
"So you have no idea." Ginny whispered, looking at the enlarged spider "I don't want to poison them."
"I highly doubt it is a poison spider, looks harmless." He mumbled back, looking down at the spider with her "Shall we?" He sent, giving her a bright grin.
Ginny nodded once, her smile mirroring his own and took off as he slowly levitated to spider up and up towards the second highest window. Harry had a look of harsh concentration "Alright, go." He whispered through to her.
He closed his eyes and could see the aging and worn stair case, she went up two flights and came to a door with a Cannon poster on it. She knocked a few times, then tried the handle "Ron" He could hear her say through her ears.
Within seconds the door was flung open, Ronald's hair was a mess sticking up at odd angles and his shirt was stained with drool "What you want Gin?" He mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"I wanted to show you the paper, the Cannon's placed!" She cried, and he could see the paper thrusted out to the shocked boy, who quickly darted into the room to his desk and turned on the light. Ginny just stood at the doorway, wand in her freehand watching the window.
Ever so slowly, the spider hovered at the opening and was gently levitated into the room. Through Ginny's eyes he could see what he was doing, making sure to move in the proper direction as she started placing a sticking charm on the latch.
"Hey! They didn't place, what the hell?" Ron mumbled, looking over at her.
"Oops?" Ginny laughed, shutting the door and the then she could hear him screaming as the spider was dropped onto his head. "Ah, that was fantastic."
"Oh, it gets better. Used the Copy-Cat spell on it too."
"You didn't!" Ginny turned to the door, hearing her helpless brother trying to open it. She couldn't help but start laughing, she quickly rushed down the stairs and outside. "That was brilliant!"
He gave her a high-five and smiled up to the window "Relax Ron! It's only a spider!"
"Piss off Potter!" Ron roared from the window "Get away! Bloody hell why isn't the door opening!" He screamed like a little girl again.
Harry smirked, before he felt a hand connect to the back of his head "That was rather rude Mr. Potter and you Ginevra, what would mother say." The tall and current oldest of the house said down at them, Percy.
Harry rubbed the back of his head "Come off it Percy, we were just having some fun." He mumbled.
"What if someone had fun with your biggest fear? Would it be so fun for you?"
"I don't have fears Percy." Ginny exclaimed boldly.
"Snakes."
Ginny shuddered at the thought "No fair! It's not fear! It's respect!" She barked at her older brother.
"Right, sure."
Harry shrugged at the young man's gaze "Don't know what I'm scared of, don't care to." He confessed with a yawn.
"Why?" Percy asked with a confused look.
"Then how can I be scared of it, after all I don't know if I am."
Percy laughed, shaking his head and walking off towards the home "Remember be back before mum and dad are back from the bank with the twins." He said before closing the door.
Ginny looked over at Harry, shoving him into the dirt and taking off "Race you to the pond!" She called.
"Cheater!"
He was about to give chase, when his snowy bright bird intercepted him and landed on his shoulder a rather large letter tied firmly around her talons. This caught him off guard, looking over at the bird who barked at him then whistled motioning to the package. On the card was flowing handwriting: To Mr. Potter, From Nick.
XX~XX~XX~XX
Hello Hello, how are my favorite readers doing today? I welcome you all to the next chapter of Slytherin and the first day of December and boy is it a cold one. So as you have read, we covered the interactions with Flammel, while he is much like Dumbledore he doesn't need to pretend to be nice in situations. So we'll see a bit more of the eccentric man, maybe a little bit more of the others home lives for the summer and then we'll be back to Hogwarts before you know it!
Now if anyone has any questions I am always open to share, the stuff that doesn't spoil the story or anything like that. If it's just something you don't understand or something that you missed, I'll be happy to fix it for you.
Take care! Demon.