Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle
11th May, 1993
When he arrived at the Great Hall, Harry noted it was still relatively empty; it was as expected as breakfast had only started fifteen minutes before. Harry immediately spotted the little lithe girl with dirty blonde hair sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table.
In his previous timeline, Harry had only realised his feelings for the strange blonde girl after he learned Occlumency from Croaker; by then Luna had already committed suicide because of all that she had suffered through while being held captive by those rabid animals in Malfoy Manor. Harry never had the chance to let Luna know how much she was loved. This time, it would be different, Harry promised himself.
Cassie had informed him that the elves had returned all her stolen items, and were constantly monitoring for any harmful pranks directed at Luna. However, Harry had only returned for less than two days in real time, and he wasn't sure to what extent the Ravenclaws had bullied Luna, so he decided to use his mage sight to check her over for any injuries as he approached her.
Harry had detected a number of old injuries which thankfully had already fully healed and he was relieved that she was physically healthy; he would still go over the record to find out anyone who had previously bullied Luna and make sure they understood that their actions have consequences.
"Hi, I'm Harry. Do you mind if I sit next to you?" asked Harry gently.
Luna looked up in surprise and she regarded Harry with her spaced-out grey eyes for a moment.
Luna Lovegood had not had a good time since she came to Hogwarts. No one in her house wanted to be friends with her, and she was teased and bullied constantly for her strange behaviour with the professors doing nothing to stop it. Therefore, it was quite a surprise for her when the famous Harry Potter approached her.
Like her childhood best friend, Ginny, who sadly wasn't talking to her this year, Luna grew up hearing the stories of the Boy-Who-Lived; but unlike Ginny, she wasn't obsessive and knew those stories were just that, stories. That didn't stop her wanting to meet and get to know the real Harry Potter though.
When she arrived at Hogwarts, she could instantly tell that Harry Potter was nothing like anything she expected. He was timid and nice, but hidden behind that, Luna could tell Harry had a certain strength within him that was unbreakable. When the attacks had started and people started to foolishly blame their hero for the attacks, Luna had vehemently defended Harry in her house, which had fallen on deaf ears and made herself a bigger target.
She also noticed that there were many strange creatures, many of which even she couldn't identify, that had made themselves at home around Harry; one particular species was clearly evil and feeding off from Harry's magic, and some others were clearly restricting Harry's enormous magical core.
When she looked up to see Harry right then, there were many things about him were different: for instance, many creatures were no long congregated around him, but there was a new species surrounding him hiding his true appearance. She decided to spend some time later to decipher all these strange changes; Luna did wonder if these sudden changes and her possessions miraculously reappearing around the same time was a coincidence. Luna did not believe in coincidences.
For now she would greet back to him, as he clearly held no ill intent towards her. "Hello Harry Potter. I don't mind you sitting next to me," Harry proceeded to sit himself down, and Luna introduced herself, "My name is Luna, Luna Lovegood, but most people call me Loony," finished Luna sadly.
Harry suppressed the rage at the callousness of those people, and gently put on hand on Luna's shoulder, so he could turn her to look him in the eyes. He said sincerely, "Luna is a lovely name. Ignore those who call you names; they are not worth listening to." Having said that, Harry was not going to take his own advice; anyone who had hurt his little moon, either emotionally or physically, would suffer his wrath.
Luna saw the sincerity in his eyes and she couldn't help but to trust him. "Thank you, Harry. No one had treated me this nicely since I arrived at Hogwarts. Nobody wanted to be friends with me because I can see the creatures that they don't believe existed."
"You shouldn't be treated badly because you are different. I would like to be your friend if you'd let me," said Harry gently.
Luna's eyes lost their spaced-out quality for a second; she reaffirmed that this wasn't a cruel prank. Moments later, a bright smile broke out from her face and Harry couldn't help but to smile back. "I would like to be your friend, Harry Potter."
"Thank you for giving me this chance, Luna. I understand how hard it is for you to make this leap of faith, and I promise you that you won't regret that you did." With that said, Harry started to pile breakfast on his plate while getting to know Luna again.
Suddenly, Luna asked, "Harry, how come you suddenly became much taller even though you don't look like it, and so much more powerful magically?"
If Harry was surprised by Luna's question, he didn't show it. Harry turned to her with a big grin on his face; Luna had just confirmed one of his suspicions about her. "You are truly a special girl, don't let anyone tell you differently." Luna blushed at Harry's praise, even though she didn't know what she did to deserve it; however, Harry proceeded to explain to her. "I think I can explain why you can see the creatures that others can't." Luna wondered how that got to do with Harry's changes, but she let him continue his explanation. "I have a glamour on to hide my true appearance, and only those gifted with a natural mage sight could see through the glamour I used. Perhaps some of those creatures you can see actually exist; in fact, I know the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks exist; you should tell your father to search for them in Norway. But I believe many other creatures you can see are actually magic; they represent different charms and enchantments, and you haven't learned how to interpret them properly yet."
Luna's eyes widened at Harry's explanation, if that was still possible on her already unusually wide eyes; Harry's explanation made so much sense. That was not to mention how Harry believed in Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and had told her where to find them. Given it was her mother who taught her about these creatures, Luna immediately came to the conclusion that her mother had the gift as well.
Harry noticed Luna had a sad smile on her face, and asked, "Are you thinking about your mother?"
Luna nodded, "How do you know?"
"I see the exact same expression in the mirror when I am reminiscing about lost loved ones. Sometimes I wonder which is worse: not having memories of them at all or having all those happy memories but knowing you won't make any new ones anymore."
"Have you decided yet?" asked Luna, curious about Harry's opinion on this.
Harry thought about it for a moment, trying to compare how he felt about losing his parents to losing Hermione and his other girls in his previous timeline. "I think in the short term, the latter is worse. But once you get over the grieving stage, I would rather have some of those happy memories than not at all. It is those happy memories that keeps me going, drives me to do better, so that I can live for them and when my time eventually comes, I shall be able to face them again with pride."
Luna could tell Harry was speaking from experience; initially, she thought 'them' was Harry's parents, but then she remembered how young Harry was when they died and therefore he would very unlikely to have any memories of them; she wondered who else Harry had lost in his short life.
Nevertheless, what Harry had just told her made a lot of sense; from now on, Luna would live for her mother's memories after nearly three years mourning for her.
Luna gave Harry a bright and teary smile. "Thank you, Harry!"
Harry didn't need to ask to know why she was thanking him; he gently took one of her hands in his own, and said softly, "Anytime, Luna."
Moments later, Luna recovered and decided to return to their previous topic. Being a true Ravenclaw despite what the others in her house thought, Luna asked, "Do you know where I can find the books on how to use my gift?"
"Yes and no," answered Harry cryptically, "Curse-Breakers use different spells to visualise magic, and they have an introductory book on how to interpret the visualisation. However, the full capability of the natural mage sight cannot be replicated by any charms, enchantments or rituals, and the gift is so rare in magical humans; none of the existing books on magic visualisation are really comprehensive. Besides, experience is a major factor in learning to use the gift.
"Given that there wasn't any good book on how to use the full capability of mage sight, after receiving the gift myself from one of my animagus forms, I wrote a guide myself that should be able to get you started. I will give you a copy of it later."
"Thank you, Harry!" said Luna gratefully. She was also wondering about the casual way that Harry had mentioned his animagus forms. She didn't know anyone could have more than one form, with at least one form clearly being a magical creature, let alone becoming an animagus at such a young age. Luna wondered if Harry could teach her how to become an animagus; she had always wanted to run around the forest as an animal. She was broken out of her musing by Harry.
"Don't thank me yet. As I said, the book could only be a guide; it would be good if someone experienced could teach you. While I have no problem teaching you about your gift myself, I know a friend who could do a better job. He is in the castle at the moment; how about I introduce you to him sometime later today? If it doesn't work out between you two, I am more than willing to teach you myself."
Luna nodded happily at Harry's suggestion; she could possibly gain another friend.
Just then, Harry saw a clearly irate Professor McGonagall march into the Great Hall.
By that time, the Great Hall was filled with students eating breakfast. Harry had noticed a number of people giving him strange looks, either for sitting next to Luna or because they were still of the opinion that Harry was behind the attacks. Harry just ignored them and carried on talking to Luna.
Nobody other than Harry seemed to notice the distinct lack of professors at the High Table. Harry's link to Cassie showed him that most of the staff were being checked over by Healers in the Hospital Wing, and Cassie had trapped the greasy bat in one of the staircases. It seemed that Poppy didn't want to waste any time.
Professor McGonagall stood on the raised platform for the High Table, and very effectively silenced the Great Hall.
"Students, your classes for today are cancelled," Some students cheered; the professor immediately cast a stern gaze at them to shut them up. "Use your time wisely to study for your end-of-year exams. And do not wander in the corridors alone, as the culprit for the attacks is still at large." The cheerfulness died immediately at that statement; some students cast their eyes towards Harry again, who just ignored the sheep.
When McGonagall stepped down and exited the Great Hall to return to the Hospital Wing for more scans, Harry turned to Luna again.
"Given you no longer have classes, how about we visit my friend now?"
Luna finished the last of her pudding, and answered enthusiastically, "Sure, Harry. Let's go!"
"My Lady," Harry stood up and offered Luna his arm.
Luna giggled, and looped her arm around Harry's, "Milord," returned Luna almost jokingly; she had seen Harry's disillusioned Lordship rings with her mage sight, but she couldn't decipher the exact shape of the rings yet.
As they left the Great Hall together, many people stared at them with a frown, but one particular pair of icy-blue eyes followed them brimming with curiosity.
Gringotts
11th May, 1993
High King Ragnok the Seventh, Chief of the Goblin Nation had just finished his morning exercise; as the leader of a warrior race, and despite being well over a hundred years of age, the High King showed his subjects why he was worthy of his title every day.
At eight thirty, the High King returned to his luxurious office to deal with the affairs of the global bank. The moment he settled down behind his desk, he was surprised by a flash of white flame. The High King was ready to swing his axe, but stopped immediately when he saw the white flame had left behind a pure-white phoenix.
Out of the few things the wand-wavers got right, one was the recognition of phoenixes as a species that should be revered; other sentient magical species recognized this even more than the wand-wavers.
Ragnok immediately stayed his axe and returned it to safety. He gave the beautiful phoenix a small but respective bow, knowing despite the magnificence of such a creature, phoenixes did not seek to be worshiped.
The High King took the envelope offered by the white phoenix with its beak, and he wondered who owned this majestic creature; he knew White Phoenixes were even rarer than normal phoenixes, and should be held in even higher regard.
The first thing he noticed on the envelope was that his name and title were written in Gobbledegook. This was definitely a surprise. The High King knew only a few wizards ever bothered to learn how to speak their language, but he didn't know any who could write it.
Being the leader of a nation, Ragnuk took the precaution to scan the letter despite the fact that it was delivered by a creature that was the ultimate representation of good. He proceeded to open the letter after the scan came back clean, knowing it would tell him the identity of this individual. Again he was surprised that the whole letter was written in Gobbledegook.
Greetings, Director Ragnok,
I apologize for contacting you directly. However, I believe this matter warrants the precautions I took to ensure this letter does not fall into the wrong hands.
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Harry Potter.
I have reason to suspect that Albus Dumbledore has conspired with some of your subjects to keep me and steal from my rightful inheritance. I would like to make an appointment with you to discuss these reasons in person, as I would like to give you a chance to do your own investigations.
To point you in the right direction, please investigate the goblin who replaced my family's old account manager as well as the one who authorised the replacement. I believe these two goblins are from the same clan, a member of which was the teller who greeted me during my first visit to Gringotts, who failed to point out that I should have my key.
Please let me know when we can meet at your convenience; as you can see, I have the means to get away from Hogwarts at any time. Hedwig will wait for your response.
May your enemies tremble at your feet,
Harry James Potter,
Head of the Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin, Heir Apparent of the Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter and Peverell, Heir Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gaunt, Heir Apparent of the Most Ancient Clan of Therion, Heir Presumptive of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Ravenclaw, Heir Presumptive of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.
Having read the letter, Ragnok knew immediately this matter required his utmost attention. For one, the young lord was clearly powerful, at least politically, and knew so himself; yet, he was respectful and lacked any sense of bigotry most wand-wavers had. By the way he addressed the letter, the young lord clearly showed that he knew and understood Goblins' customs very well. That was not to mention the young lord had a white phoenix.
If what the letter said was true, and the High King had no reason to doubt the young lord, Dumbledore's phoenix did not stay with the fool willingly, and that was even more criminal than stealing in his eyes.
It was also clear to Ragnok that the young lord knew exactly what was going on and which houses he would inherit from. He did wonder how he knew about the houses other than House Potter and House Gryffindor.
The Founders didn't have any vaults in Gringotts as the bank was established half a millennium after Hogwarts, but Goblin magic still allowed them to trace anyone's lineage back to much further than the Founders' time. Unlike other houses, the bank had no role in the passage of headship of any of the Founders' houses; how one received the headship ring of a Founder's house was only known by the holders of said rings. But, the bank was tasked to confirm anyone who claimed the headship of any Founders' houses using their magic. Ragnok was there when they confirmed Lord Charlus Potter's claim to the headship of House Gryffindor.
Clearly, young Harry Potter had followed his grandfather's footsteps. But Ragnuk was clueless about how he would inherit from the other houses, and a clan apparently.
The High King did know that if the young lord was able to claim the headship of House Peverell, it meant he had reunited the three separate Peverell bloodlines, and that was a very powerful house in its own right, both politically and financially. And someone in the Goblin Nation had to anger this clearly extremely powerful and wealthy young lord, who could probably bankrupt Gringotts. Luckily for him, the young lord seemed fair; the Chief of the Goblin Nation was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and would thoroughly investigate this matter personally.
The High King quickly wrote a letter back to invite the young lord to a meeting that afternoon, and he would start his investigations immediately.
Room of Requirement, Hogwarts Castle
11th May, 1993
Meanwhile, Harry had led Luna to the Room of Requirement, having made sure they weren't followed. The door appeared as he approached to Luna's amazement.
The pair were immediately greeted by Fawkes.
"Luna, may I introduce you to my friend, Fawkes."
"It's beautiful, Harry!" answered Luna in wonderment, she proceeded to introduce herself, "Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood."
"Fawkes is a he," corrected Harry.
"Sorry, Fawkes."
The phoenix just trilled and allowed Luna to pet him. Fawkes seemed to enjoy Luna's attention.
[Harry, thank you for bringing her here. She has a pure but lonely heart. I can tell you are already starting to drive away the loneliness from her. I like her and I wish to bond with her and help driving away her loneliness,] trilled the phoenix. Although Luna couldn't understand Fawkes yet, but his trills still brought joy to her.
"No problem, Fawkes. I am glad to help. I will let her know," answered Harry aloud.
By now Luna had turned to Harry; she carried on petting the phoenix. Luna asked, "You can understand him?"
"Yes," answered Harry simply.
"How?"
"It was my phoenix animagus form that gifted me with my mage sight; the spirit of my phoenix form helped me understand Fawkes," explained Harry. Luna just stared him in awe, she supposed only Harry could become a phoenix animagus by the age of twelve.
Harry continued, "I brought you here because I thought you might be interested to bond with Fawkes; he just informed me that he would like to bond with you. He would then be able to teach you how to use your mage sight."
Fawkes was surprised by Harry's last statement, but he definitely wouldn't mind teaching her.
Luna was definitely enthused to bond with Fawkes, "I would like that, Fawkes. Thank you for choosing me. But why wouldn't you bond with him?"
Harry chuckled, "Couple of reasons: one, I already have my beautiful Hedwig who probably would fight with Fawkes all day if I bond with both of them."
"I can hear you, Harry. I am not sure whether to smack you or thank you for that. You have a habit of praising me and insulting me in the same sentence," thought Hedwig to Harry indignantly.
"Please forgive me, girl. I have bacon for you when you get back," said Harry which seemed to successfully appease Hedwig. It amused Harry to no end that Hedwig's transformation to a white phoenix didn't seem to do much for her addiction to bacon.
"Two, I thought you could use another friend. I will always be your friend, Luna, but having Fawkes able to talk to you telepathically any time would cover those times that I can't be around," continued Harry gently.
Luna started to tear up, she hadn't experienced this much kindness since her mother died; even her father wasn't as thoughtful, as he was lost in his own grief. She enveloped her arms tightly around Harry's waist to bury her tear-stricken face in Harry's broad chest; Harry immediately returned the hug and rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly.
Harry could feel her tears soaking his shirt. As Luna's breathing calmed down somewhat, he brought her head up gently, but didn't let go of her. Harry brought his slightly calloused hand to her cheek, and rubbed her tears away with his thumb; he stared into her eyes and said, "Hey, I'm here now. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you since the beginning of the year. But I promise you from now on, I will always be here for you. No matter what."
Looking into his emerald-green eyes, Luna couldn't help but lose herself in them; especially since he had dropped his glamour upon entering this room, she could see his gorgeous eyes without his glasses. She then did something that surprised both of them, she kissed him.
Despite not using his active Legilimency, Luna was projecting her thoughts so loudly, his near-telepathic passive Legilimency skill was picking up her thoughts anyway. Harry smiled internally as he thought that if it was anyone else who had tried to read Luna's mind, they would get a massive headache. But even with his super-advanced Mind Arts automatically unscrambling Luna's thoughts, he didn't see the kiss coming.
Surprised he was, but nevertheless, Harry returned the tender kiss and pushed all the feelings he had developed for her but never got the chance to express in his previous timeline into the kiss. Another layer of sorrow was lifted from his soul, and he could feel his soul reaching for her.
The kiss didn't last that long; they were only twelve after all, well at least physically for Harry, but they both felt the connection and the longing for each other.
Harry asked a question he thought he already knew the answer to. "I'm not regretting the kiss at all, but why did you kiss me, Luna?"
"The Blibbering Humdingers had been telling me to since you started talking to me today. I guess now that I know about my mage sight, I suppose the correct explanation is that your magic had been telling me to. But Blibbering Humdinger is just so much better an explanation," deadpanned Luna a little disappointedly.
Harry smiled fondly at her, "Yes, it is. And you can keep calling it that if you want. You know, to honor your mother's memory."
Luna smiled brightly at Harry's idea, "Thank you, Harry. I will do that." After a pause, she continued, "The Blibbering Humdingers are also telling me that you will kiss six other witches, and I don't mind, Harry. I am happy to share you."
Harry didn't know what to say to that, Luna had always been blunt. So he gathered her in his arms again and mumbled, "Never change, Luna."
Luna just smiled into his chest, feeling so safe in his arms that she never wanted to let go.
"Now, let's get back to what we came here for," said Harry while still holding Luna against him. "If Fawkes initiates the familiar bond with you, do you think you can finalise it?"
Luna finally let go of Harry and turned her attention back to Fawkes. "I'm not sure, but I would like to try."
"Go on then, I will be able to see your progress with my mage sight, and I shall give you some assistance if you are struggling. But I'm sure you can do it on your own."
It turned out Luna didn't need Harry's assistance. Without the old goat interfering, a magical person with sufficient power, especially one who grew up in the magical world, could easily sense a familiar bond forming and instinctively finalize the bond.
Seeing Luna happily chatting with her new familiar, Harry discreetly went to a separate room in the corner provided by the Room of Requirement to check on his godfather.
Diagon Alley,
11th May, 1993
Rita Skeeter walked into her office at the Daily Prophet; her attention was immediately drawn to a rather thick envelope on her table. She wondered how the envelope got into her office, as the editor had all incoming owls to the Daily Prophet redirected to a mail sorting centre.
She knew she had made her share of enemies, so she did her customary scan for curses before she broke the seal. The seal was one she didn't recognize, and she had made sure she memorized the family crest of all the important families.
There were a number of things in the envelope, including a letter addressed to her.
Miss Skeeter,
I am sure you are wondering who I am at the moment, but who I really am doesn't matter. What does matter is the job offer I have for you. You see, my employers have a number of people they would like to see publicly destroyed; and despite your inability to report anything truthfully, you do have a way with words.
I would like to hire you to report a number of questionable deeds done by certain people using your position at the Daily Prophet. However, instead of making things up, my employers want you to report facts that can be backed up by evidence, evidence either I will provide you with or you will collect yourself using your special talent. Maybe one day you will learn how truths are so much more powerful than lies when used correctly.
In the envelope, you should find certified copies of academic records of several major magical schools around the world for the past fifty years. I am sure you can see the clear decline in the standards of magical education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since Albus Dumbledore became the Headmaster. That's right, the first person we would like you to target is Albus Dumbledore. (Hint: these records were supposed to be public, so why were they locked inside a cabinet in the Ministry?)
Consider this your audition. If my employers are satisfied with your work, we will make this a long-term arrangement and you will be well compensated according to the preliminary contract included in the envelope. I don't expect you to completely destroy Dumbledore's reputation with this little information, but I do expect you to get your readers to start questioning everything Dumbledore has done or claimed he has done.
You have till this Thursday (13th May) to publish your article before this generous offer is made to someone else.
Sincerely,
The Informant,
P.S. Remember, only report something as fact if you can back it up with evidence; if you have to speculate, make it clear in your articles that it is your opinion.
If your editor refuses to publish your article, you should owl me. Address the letter to 'The Informant' and the owls will find me.
Do NOT try to uncover my employers' or my identity, as you will not like the consequences; being an illegal animagus will be the least of your worries.
Padfoot had been asleep for over twelve hours straight in the Room of Requirement under time compression; he hadn't been this comfortable for God knew how long and he didn't want to wake up. But the smell of freshly roasted chicken was making his nose twitch; having not had any proper food for an equally long time, hunger won over comfort, and Padfoot pried his eyes open to confirm that he wasn't dreaming at the smell. Seeing he wasn't, he launched himself at the food literally a meter away from him.
Padfoot had transformed back to his human form as he started eating the delicious food. It seemed that the effect of his bath in his dog form had transferred to his human form as well; even his prison garb was clean for the first time in years.
So focused was he on the delicious food, the hungry man didn't even notice Dobby had silently Popped in and switched his prison garb with a set of comfortable and loose-fitting pajamas.
Half an hour later, Sirius had devoured all of the food given to him; only then did he notice a vial of potions with a note attached to it; the note read 'Drink this FIRST'.
"Oops!" responded Sirius in an entirely non-serious manner.
"Oops is right. I knew you wouldn't have noticed the vial before you finished the food, so I had my elf infuse the potion in your food," admonished Harry, who then banished the vial still filled with potions with a careless wave of his hand.
Seeing his godfather was not responsive, the reborn warrior carried on his admonishment, "You know you could have died from eating so much so quickly after starving for so long. Luckily I had foreseen your reaction to the food; the potions infused into your food will help in distending your stomach and digesting all that food you ate."
Sirius had been startled by the new voice; he didn't realise that Harry had been standing there observing his godfather since he had woken up. The old Marauder was just about to call out 'James' when he noticed many differences between the person in front of him and his best friend James. The person in front of him was much more built than James ever was, which was shown off by some sort of muggle exercise attire that James had never worn, although he was still shorter than James was since Sirius last saw his best friend. However, the biggest difference was his eyes: not only did the person in front of him not wear any glasses, but his eyes were emerald green rather than James' brown; they reminded him of Lily. It couldn't be Harry, could it?
"Harry?" asked the escaped prisoner tentatively as he slowly stood up.
It was clear to Harry now that his man-child of a godfather had not listened to a word of his lecture; he mentally shook his head at his godfather's antics. But he couldn't really blame the old dog either; his godfather had been falsely imprisoned for eleven years without any visitors other than the damned Dementors.
Harry walked over to Sirius with his arms open, and said, "Yes, it's me, Pa'foo. Come here!"
The two men embraced each other emotionally after being separated for so long; Sirius couldn't know it was much longer in his godson's perspective. Memories of his godfather falling through the Veil flashed across his mind as Harry let a few tears drop; another wound started to heal and the time-traveling warrior promised himself again that his loved ones would live for however long they wanted.
A while later, the two men separated, and tried to erase the evidence of their emotional acts. That was when Sirius noticed where he had been sleeping. The Grim-animagus erupted in laughter as he saw his pink fluffy dog bed with 'Padfoot' written above a pattern of a chew bone. A part of him was laughing at the rather subdued prank, but mostly he was happy that his godson had inherited at least some of the Marauder's nature, especially when he saw his best friend's son smirking in a way that reminded him so much of James.
When Sirius calmed down, his attention was drawn back to Harry's emerald eyes again. That was when he remembered how he left that hellhole called Azkaban, and the huge fearsome wolf.
"Was that you, Harry?" asked Sirius.
"Was what me, Sirius?" asked Harry back innocently. Sirius's Occlumency was adequate enough that Harry couldn't pick up his thoughts without the use of active Legilimency, but he had an inkling of what his godfather was asking.
"Don't act coy with me, Harry. That's my expertise," mock-lectured Sirius. "The big black wolf that broke me out of prison, was that you?"
The Marauders' heir smirked and said, "Oh, that's what you meant by 'that'. Why didn't you just say so?" The older Marauder huffed indignantly as his godson continued. "Of course it was me. You didn't think I would trust anyone else to break your mangy mutt's ass out of Azkaban, did you?"
As he finished, Harry transformed into his shadow wolf form and showed off his shadow elemental abilities by transporting using his own shadow to a shadow in the corner in the room.
"Blimey, Harry! Look at the size of you, even your uncle Moony would be intimidated by you! And your form is magical! Your father would be so proud, although not as proud as I am, as you obviously followed your brilliant godfather's footsteps and have a canine form," exclaimed the Grim-animagus excitedly and proudly.
Hearing that, the heir of the Marauders decided to tease his godfather and stop the swelling of his already giant head. He transformed to his other form with shadow elemental abilities. Unfortunately or fortunately, even during his years running away from Harry Hunting, his state of mind was never really prey; thus, none of his forms were prey of any kind either, which eliminated his chance of having any form related to his father's stag form. He would have to settle for something related to his mother's animagus form.
Until this day, the multi-animagus could not find out exactly what species his current form was. The closest related species was the Siberian tiger; however, his base colour was white instead of rusty-yellow. His black stripes were somewhat thicker, and he had two curved sabre-shaped and slightly longer, but not long enough to extrude out of his mouth, canine teeth. His tail seemed to be on fire, except the flames were black, and even his adolescent sized body was nearly twice the size of a fully-grown Siberian tiger.
For a shadow elemental species, his current form wouldn't be very good at concealment unless it was operating in a snow-covered forest. Fitting, as this particular animal spirit manifested during his time serving as a black-ops soldier for the Americans when he was operating alone in the Siberian mountains destroying Russian facilities.
His shadow tiger form was also not as agile as his shadow wolf form; however, it made up for this with its brute strength and power as well as having several additional ways to manipulate the shadows: the aforementioned tail was three meters long with its shadow flame capable to extend indefinitely and restrain or even consume anything in the shadow-flamed rope's path. The shadow tiger could also breathe out shadow flames from its mouth, encompassing its enemies in a dark and burning hell.
Sirius saw his godson transformed to an enormous tiger with black flames shooting out of its tail; he wasn't sure if he wanted to jump in excitement at his godson's accomplishment or piss himself in fear. He did make the same oath he made when Lily first transformed to a relatively normal Siberian tiger, and silently promised himself to never piss off Harry.
After he made his silent oath, the old prankster calmed down from his fear and a big grin broke out of face. "You have more than one form? And both are magical to boot! You don't do anything halfway, do you? I so wish your mother could see you now," said Sirius. He finished the last part wistfully, and with not a little sadness.
Harry returned to his human form, and embraced his godfather again. He really wished that he could let his godfather know that his parents were still alive, but Sirius' mental state wasn't really stable right then, and the calculating mage couldn't predict how the escaped prisoner was going to react. But then again, maybe knowing his parents were still alive could help Sirius heal, and it wasn't like he didn't have the magical power to restrain his severely weakened godfather, especially when his godfather didn't even have a wand.
Harry sat his godfather in a chair provided by the room, which would restrain Sirius without him knowing as well as constantly magically calm him.
Harry turned very serious and said, "Sirius, I am going to reveal many things to you, some of which you might not believe. Can you promise me that you will stay calm and not act impulsively like the way you did to land yourself in prison?"
Sirius cringed and knew his best friend's son mentioned his arrest to guilt him to do as his godson suggested. "I promise, Harry. So what do you want to tell me?"
The experienced mage decided to build it up slowly to see how his godfather reacted. "It should be clear to you by now that I know you didn't betray my parents, otherwise I wouldn't have broken you out of prison."
Sirius being Sirius, he teased back, "I don't know, maybe you wanted to put me in a false sense of security, and kill me then?"
Harry chuckled, "Well, I am glad you can joke about it." The time traveler turned serious again, and said, "I also know it was Peter who betrayed my family and it was him who killed those twelve non-magicals."
Sirius growled at the mention of Peter, but instantly calmed; obviously, the chair's magic was working. Now that he was calm and able to think, Sirius said with regret, "I shouldn't have gone after him; I should have insisted with Hagrid and look after you."
"Good, at least you are learning from your mistakes. Hagrid has a gentle but incredibly naïve soul; what he did was kidnapping of the Heir Apparent of a Most Noble and Most Ancient House, and he sent me to the Dursleys under Dumbledore's order against my parents' will. Sure he was just following orders, but so were Hitler's soldiers. I forgive him because he was the first person to treat me nicely since that Halloween night, but he was part of the reason that two of us suffered unnecessarily, so he'd better learn his lesson," ranted Harry.
Sirius was very upset despite being constantly and unknowing applied with calming charms. He would have ranted if his godson had not already done that for him.
The master Occlumens calmed down very quickly with his Occlumency. His Occlumency could keep his emotions under wraps instantly when he wished, but it wasn't designed to keep him constantly emotionless; Harry didn't want to live that way.
Sirius was just about to apologize for his part in Harry's growing up with the Dursleys when his godson cut him off. "Don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault, the old bastard would have removed you from my life anyway."
"I know why you wouldn't like Dumbledore for his sending you to the Dursleys, but I didn't expect this much hostility towards him. May I ask why?" asked Sirius.
"If you have to ask that question, I am guessing that Dumbledore didn't know that Peter was the secret keeper," stated the perceptive warrior. At Sirius' nod, Harry continued, "Well we will have to verify that by checking your memories. I will do that when I use my Legilimency to heal your mind from the effects of the Dementors later."
"You think Dumbledore obliviated me?" exclaimed the angry escaped prisoner, who tried to jump up, and only then did he realise he was restrained. He was calmed again by the magic of the chair and the Marauder had finally realised that particular function of the chair his godson had put him in. "Oh very Slytherin of you, having me willingly sit in a chair to be restrained and calmed magically. I don't know if I should be appalled or proud." Before Harry could respond, Sirius changed topics instantly when he realised something else his pup had said.
"Wait, you know Legilimency? And you know it well enough to heal my mind from however long I was under the tender mercy of the Dementors?" The battle mage just nodded as if that was not impressive at all. "How could you possibly know that if you grew up with the Dursleys? You couldn't be older than fourteen! That meant you only had three or four years of magical education maximum! Speaking of which, how did you manage your animagus transformation so young? Your father and I couldn't transform with the speed you were doing until our sixth year. And while I'm on a roll, where are we anyway?"
Silence dawned for a minute before the patient warrior responded, "You finished?" The old prankster didn't look even remotely embarrassed, but he did nod affirmatively.
"Good," continued Harry. "To answer your questions, yes, I believe Dumbledore did a number of things to your mind. While I have confirmed the old goat's signature for memory charms as well as a number of potions, I can't be sure what he did exactly until I look into your mind. I would say a lot, given how many questionable decisions you and my parents made that ultimately led to what happened that Halloween."
Sirius nodded in understanding; he knew he was impulsive, but even then, he had wondered why he did some of the things he did that eventually landed him in prison. Maybe Harry was right and the white-bearded bastard was responsible for the Marauders' more questionable decisions.
"As for my skill in Legilimency, let's just say my proficiency would make Dumbledore's skill look like child's play. As for how I am so good at Mind Arts as well as able to transform to my animagus forms, I will explain that when everyone needed to know is present; it's a particularly long explanation and I don't feel like explaining it too many times."
Sirius accepted that with a nod.
"By the way, I am only twelve; today's date is the eleventh of May, nineteen ninety-three. You have been locked away for eleven and a half years." It was obvious that Sirius was sad that he had wasted his prime locked away in prison, so Harry said the next part gently, "Padfoot, I hope this has taught you to never act without thinking again. It matters not whether it was Dumbledore's influence that made you chase after Peter; from what I learned about you, you were always impulsive and that impulsiveness would allow Dumbledore to manipulate you to do things you would regret anyway."
Properly chastised, the wrongfully-imprisoned man nodded seriously and Harry continued, "Cheer up; I didn't break you out to brood. Besides, if I can heal your mind, don't you think I would know how to heal the rest of you? But I am afraid no amount of magic could make you less ugly."
Sirius was hopeful for a second there before he adopted an offended expression; inwardly, he was glad for his godson's ability to make light of a sad situation. "Who are you calling ugly? You obviously haven't heard of my reputation with the witches."
"You mean the reputation you dreamt up!" countered the younger Marauder immediately. Before his godfather could continue, the battle mage changed the subject again. "There are still a couple of questions I haven't answered. Tell me, do you know about the Room of Requirement?" Sirius shook his head negatively. "That's where we are at the moment. It's a room in Hogwarts that can become whatever you require. Clearly my parents kept that knowledge to themselves; as Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's true heirs, they would have to know about this room."
Harry moved on before the old prankster could get too excited about the possibilities of pranks he could pull using this room or complain about being kept away from such a magnificent room. "As for why my hostilities and suspicions were all targeted at Dumbledore, tell me, does Dumbledore know you are my magical godfather?"
That one question made the devious man immediately decide that Dumbledore was an enemy. "Of course! The old bastard would have to know that I couldn't possibly betray your parents, as I would have dropped dead instantly instead of rotting away with the Dementors. And given that he was and still is the Chief Warlock, he had the authority to grant me a trial. That fucking bastard! He took twelve years away from me! He took twelve years away from us!" raged the escaped prisoner, who wanted to do nothing but to strangle Dumbledore with his own beard.
When Sirius calmed down enough, Harry said calmly but firmly, "Don't worry, Sirius. We will make the old bastard pay. I am not sure there's enough of him to pay for all that he has done, but I have it on good authority that he will not enjoy his so-called 'next Great Adventure'."
The harsh glint in Harry's emerald green eyes, as well as the vindictive tone his godson had spoken with, in such calm manner, had the older Marauder almost feeling sorry for the long-bearded bastard. Almost, but not quite.
His gentle demeanor returned again, and Harry said, "What I am about to tell you next will be the hardest for you to believe, but I swear to you that this is not a cruel joke."
Sirius carefully nodded and wondered what his pup had got in store for him.
"What do you know about the long-lost Battle Clan of Therion?" asked Harry.
What followed was a long explanation of what Harry had found out about his mother's ancestry. In short, Lily's father and mother were squib-descendants of the Ravenclaw and Therion families respectively. He then went on explaining how his mother had performed two rituals she found from the Therion Family Grimoire to save the Potters; he didn't go into any details of the rituals as those were sealed by family magic and could only be revealed by the current head of the clan to the outsiders, and the time-traveller hadn't claimed that particular inheritance in his current timeline yet.
When Sirius heard how James and Lily were still alive but in stasis, his emotions were all over the place. First, he was shocked. He was then in denial and thought Harry was living in denial. Eventually, he became hopeful that his best friend and his wife were still alive, and finally his pup managed to convince him they indeed were really still alive. All his sadness evaporated immediately, and he became very excited.
His godfathers' response reminded Harry of the Potter elves. "We should go revive James and Lily then! Come on, let's go!" exclaimed the excited man while he was jumping up and down, or as much as he could move while magically tied down to a chair.
Harry glared at his godfather without much effect, but he didn't really glare that hard as he could understand the old dog's eagerness. "Don't you think I would have already done that if I didn't have a good reason not to? Think, Sirius! You are acting impulsively again!" The wrongfully-imprisoned man wilted a little, but his anxiety was clear for all to see. "What would the rest of the Wizarding World think if my mum and dad suddenly showed up after being claimed dead for nearly twelve years without aging a day?"
The Black heir immediately understood the implications; he wasn't stupid after all. "They would declare them dark, especially your mother, given she was… is muggle-born, even though that's not really true. The ministry would try to arrest them and seize their vaults for 'inspection'."
"Precisely, especially with Dumbledore still in power. He would see their survival as a threat to all his plans and he would try to get rid of them by whatever means necessary." Sirius nodded in agreement; he had lost all his excitement. "What I am going to do is to contact two high-ranking ministry officials I know I can trust and arrange for them to witness their revival. This way they can testify that there is nothing dark about the rituals when my parents announce their survival if they do decide to live as James and Lily Potter in public again."
The older Marauder again nodded in understanding. He did marvel at his godson's self-control and thoroughness, but really, he had no idea how thorough his pup really was. Harry knew he would be able to have the support of at least 40% of the votes in the Wizengamot and the control of the Daily Prophet as well as any other major wizarding media outlet by the end of the summer at the latest, so he could both control the ministry's reactions and sway the public's opinions; having Amelia and Croaker witnessing his parents' revival was just an extra precaution.
"I am not sure how well you know these two, but the two ministry officials I will contact are Amelia Bones, the current head of the DMLE and Unspeakable Croaker, second-in-command of the Department of Mysteries. In fact, the letter to one of those two should be en route as we speak. As for how I know they can be trusted, don't concern yourself about that for now; the explanation for this goes with how I am so good with magic."
Looking into Harry's determined eyes and remembering how his godson had broken him out of Azkaban without breaking a sweat, Sirius decided to trust that his pup knew what he was doing. "If you are sure, pup, then I trust your judgment."
Harry smiled and said sincerely, "Thank you for your confidence in me, Padfoot. I should be ready to revive my parents by the end of this week or next week at the latest. I am just as anxious as you are if not more so to see them alive and well again.
"As for you, you need to stay here to get better both physically and mentally. This place will be perfectly safe until I can get your name cleared. I have changed the wards so that this room only grants access to those I allow to use the room.
"I have prepared potion and exercise regimes for you so you can recover physically; Dobby will ensure that you follow the regimes to the letter." Dobby Popped in at the moment Harry said his name, surprising the escaped prisoner with his appearance.
"Have house-elves gotten taller since I was locked up?" asked a shocked Sirius.
Harry laughed at his godfather's expression, glad he had gotten one over the much-more-experienced prankster. "I will let Dobby explain to you about that one once I am gone. Be warned, Dobby is family, so treat him well with respect." Dobby puffed up in pride as Harry said this. The battle mage handed the proud elf a conjured parchment, which detailed the regimes Harry prepared for his godfather. Dobby Popped away immediately after receiving his instructions.
"For your mental health, I will come by to spend an hour or so every day to work through your memories. And during that time, I will teach you to get better at Occlumency. While I doubt you will see the old goat or the greasy bat anytime soon, I can't have some of the secrets I will tell you or already told you to be discovered by anyone I haven't told. And I dislike relying on secrecy oaths."
"Why not?" asked Sirius immediately.
The centuries-old battle mage promptly explained, "If you swore a secrecy oath to me, a Legilimens with skill equal or greater than Dumbledore and Voldemort could still pull the information out of your mind. Whilst I am skilled enough to not risk your magic if I was the one using Legilimency on you, I doubt you would keep your magic if anyone else did it. My skill in Mind Arts is second to none on Earth, and that includes all sentient magical creatures."
Sirius wasn't sure if he believed his godson's last proclamation but didn't really doubt his pup either. After all, he had seen his twelve-year-old godson transformed to two different magical animagus forms, and people had said neither having two animagus forms nor having a magical form was possible.
Either way, the marauder didn't want to risk losing his magic, so he readily agreed to learn more Occlumency from his pup. Besides, this meant he got to spend more time with his godson; they had lost so much time already.
After Harry saw Sirius agreeing, the Marauders' heir decided to add an extra incentive for the old Marauder, "I will get your name cleared soon enough, and I will do my best to accomplish this without using the rat. If you are good and work hard to get better, the rat will be a reunion present for mum, dad, Moony and you!"
The wrongfully-imprisoned man immediately perked up, "Are you telling me you have the rat, pup?"
"Indeed I do, Padfoot. I have it secured and under a stasis charm. It will stay that way until your name is cleared; it's an insurance policy," explained Harry.
Once again, Sirius wondered about his clearly brilliant godson; his pup seemed to have a plan, and multiple contingency plans for everything. The older Marauder thought he might never get to prank his godson again, who seemed to be too careful to be caught out by anything. Then again, he always enjoyed a challenge.
Potter Farm, Cambridgeshire
11th May, 1993
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore finally got out of the bed after a fitful night's sleep; his sister's words repeated themselves in his mind over and over again, and his Occlumency was very little help in blocking them out. Right then, he felt particularly tired, just like he did the evening before. The old man decided to put off dealing with the Board of Governors for another day.
He then reached for his wand to summon his robes, and just then, he realised that he didn't dream about losing the Elder Wand. Doubts started to seep into his mind, as it seemed everything was working against him. But the manipulative man reaffirmed to himself, no, everything I did, I did for the Greater Good, and I will see to it that all my plans come to fruition.
He decided to spend a day to recover before starting to implement plans to get his job back.
Ministry of Magic
11th May, 1993
Little did the old man know, a storm was brewing against him, and many plans were working together so the self-styled Leader of Light would never get his job as Headmaster of Hogwarts back. Not if Rita Skeeter had anything to say about it.
The hated or loved reporter, depending on your perspective, hesitated just a little in accepting the mysterious job offer. She disliked the fact that she was no longer allowed to make up lies and report them as facts, but she thought if her new employer could supply information this good, she wouldn't need to make up lies. This 'Informant' was right in saying that truths were so much more powerful than lies.
She did wonder briefly who her new employer and her new employer's employers were, but she ceased that line of thinking quite quickly. Both 'the carrot' and 'the stick' were well presented to her; the illegal animagus didn't want to end up in Azkaban and she definitely liked her new information source as well as her new salary.
The popular reporter made good use of the Informant's hint and made her way to the ministry to do some more investigation in her animagus form.