Now here it is... The Dark Duo arrives in the alternate world. Or is it the real one? Enjoy!
oOoOoOo
"Say that again." Harrisons voice was calm but if one knew him you could hear the slight tremble in it.
"The... The Dark Lord... he's gone."
Anger. Hot, white burning anger. Harrison lashed out at the unfortunate knight that had brought him the message. His magic flowed over him, aggressively, threateningly. It formed a hundred small needles piercing his skin and heating his blood until it boiled in his veins.
It wasn't a nice death.
Gone! How could Marvolo be gone? Just like that? He was immortal, dammit!
The description of his knights didn't give him any clues either. A blinding white light was all they saw. The attack on the manor had ended in their victory and the six responsible enemy wizards who took part in the mysterious spell were executed on the spot. Stupid, stupid followers! Now they couldn't be questioned on the nature of the spell.
Harrison knew Marvolo was not dead. He couldn't die, not as long as he himself was still alive. The only way they could possibly leave this world was if they somehow shoot each other with a killing curse at the exact same time. And god, how many attempts were there to spread mistrust between them, to make them hate each other? It was all futile.
But now Marvolo was gone and no one knew were to find him. No one but Harrison.
The wizards forced himself to calm down. He pulled his magic back to him and concentrated hard on his occlumency shields. Soon he found himself in his inner mindscape. Not surprisingly it looked like the Slytherin common room in Hogwarts. That was the place that had been his first home. Here he had found comfort and even a sense of safety after the long, painful years in the orphanage. There had been little joy and even less love. The only person he could ever rely on had been his older brother Tom. Even though they weren't blood related, the fact that they were the only wizards, the only special children in the whole rotten place had bound them together stronger then blood. It was the same for Marvolo but he instead had chosen another mindscape – the Chamber of Secrets. Luckily it was easily reachable from his one. All Harrison had to do was stepping forward to the painting with the large Python, that strongly reminded him of Marvolos animagus form. Whispering his lover's full name – Tom Marvolo Riddle – opened the painting and with it the link they shared through their horcruxes.
The chamber was in chaos. Deep gashes were spaced over the entire hall, pillars had been crushed and from somewhere water pooled on the ground in front of Slytherin's statue like blood. He felt more then he saw a movement by his side and turned around. But it was only Nagra, the image of the great Basilisk that protected the chamber and that here, in Marvolos mindscape, symbolized his natural defense. Any intruder who came here by force would be ripped to shreds by the giant serpent.
Nagra didn't give him more then a glance before curling in front of the statue. Harrison didn't mind him either, instead stepping into the middle of the hall. It was unnerving and worried him what had happened here. Such an extend of damage would mean that his lover was in turmoil, confused, angry and maybe even scared. Harrison had never seen him like that and while it was an interesting though he didn't fancy it much. Nobody took away his Tom.
Harrison stepped forward to meet Nagra. When in a mindscape one could search for the secrets and memories of the person by browsing around the inner room. In order to read the surface thoughts however and, in their case, to look through the eyes of the other, one had to find the 'window'. In Harrisons mindscape the window was the ceiling. Looking up to it one could see what he saw like watching a movie. Toms window was positioned in Nagras eyes. Like a mirror they deflected what happened to him on the surface.
Used to this procedure Nagra allowed him to come closer until he stood directly in front of him. He could look through his eyes as he would with a binocular. The pictures he saw however, didn't make any sense.
Tom was in dark room, dozens and dozens of new books around him. He was preoccupied with his reading but Harrison could see an angry scowl on his face. Instead of books on dark magic and defense through, they were mostly on history. He saw some books on time travel and magical theory but there were also a lot of newspapers and even magazines!
That wasn't the strangest thing, though. Harrison recognized the room. And he knew for a fact that it didn't exist anymore.
It was over fifty years ago that Tom and him had gone to that old manor, searching for his muggle relatives. That day Tom had abandoned his name, insisting on Harry calling him Marvolo while his followers were to call him Voldemort. It was the day he had killed his father and his grand parents. It hadn't been planned that way. At first he just wanted to meet them, to know why they left him in that hellhole. And what had Tom Riddle Sr. done? He asked how much money he wanted. That was when Marvolo had lashed out.
He had probably expected Harrison to be angry at him for it. The younger one had always made an effort to sway him from his sadistic nature after all. But that day Harrison had been just as angry at the muggles and knowing that accusations were the last thing his friend needed, he had – he had burned down the whole place. Years later Little Hangelton had been one of the first muggle villages to be raided and destroyed. On that burned ground they had build Dark Manor, as a defiant reminder of their half blood origin, a symbol that they had overcome their painful past.
Riddle Manor was no more. And still it was clearly the place Tom was hiding in now.
Harrisons thoughts whirled around. What was the meaning of this? Did Marvolo somehow travel back in time? But the room looked old and dusty, not as bright as clean as it had been with the Riddles. Harrison knew the house had been build by them and still it looked like there hadn't lived anyone for decades.
A shiver ran down his spine. Marvolo was really gone. He was at a place none could reach him. Except, maybe...
Harrison took a deep breath. They had only done this once or twice. It was an incredibly uncomfortable way of traveling that usually left them in a... undignified pose. But it may be a way to reach him.
When apparating a wizard had to concentrate on a specific place. It had to be one he had been to at least once already to be able to properly picture it. However with their connection Harrison and Marvolo had been able to not to use a place but a person as the anchor. They were using their horcruxes to do so. Those pieces were still connected like a rubber band that had been stretched a long way. Now all this little trick did was to release all the tension so that the band would spring back into place. That way they had been able to apparate to each other even through the strongest wards. Apparation in theory could be seen as a dematerialization of the wizard after which he traveled with incredible speed to the place he wished to be. That was the main reason why they weren't able to pass wards. When using the horcrux connection however they didn't exactly pass any distance, they just... appeared. This method wasn't bound to a specific place and as long as the connection was open and he could feel the current Marvolo, it shouldn't be bound to time either.
Having made his decision Harrison closed his eyes and concentrated on the connection as much as he could. He could feel the horcrux pulsing inside of his chest like a second heart. Then he pulled.
Suddenly he was losing the ground under his feet. He could practically feel himself being thrown through time and space and the next thing he knew he landed on top of Marvolo, their bodies a twisted mess of limbs.
Marvolo let out a pained sound of annoyance as his head met the ground hard, before glaring at the intruder.
"Harrison!", he hissed angrily. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Checking up on your lazy ass", he replied sourly and freed himself of the mess.
"As impatient as ever, what the hell were you-"
"You were gone, Marvolo! No one knew were you were, what the resistance had done to you! And then I saw you at a place that shouldn't exist anymore, what was I supposed to think?"
Marvolo stared at him. He stared some more and slowly an expression Harrison hadn't known even existed in his repertoire formed on his face. Horror.
~What have you done?~, he hissed, not able to express that kind of feeling in English. "Harrison!" he stood up abruptly, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Please tell me you didn't use our connection to come here!"
Now hearing Lord Voldemort saying 'please' was such a unexpected move that Harrison just gaped at him for some moments.
Marvolo growled and let go of him, turning around and pinching his nose in barely controlled desperation.
"Have you any idea what you've done? Why didn't you at least talk to me beforehand?"
"If you wanted to talk you could have given me a message, could you not?", he snapped. "Now what the hell is this about?"
"The resistance... they threw me into an alternate universe, Harrison! It's like a parallel world, one were things went different... One were we don't rule Britain together."
"Well, that sucks. But-"
"Don't you understand!", he called angrily. "How many alternate universe you think there are? Hundreds! Thousands! Millions of universes! Every single time a decision is made a universe is split off. I could have easily gone back to you through the connection. It was the only reason I stayed, because I was curious, because I wanted to learn from this world. I would have been back with you at the end of the day. But now you're here too. Now we don't have any connection to our world anymore. Even if we somehow find a way to travel to another universe, which is like ten times as difficult as just traveling through time, how are we supposed to find our home universe?!"
Harrison gaped at him. "I – I didn't know that, alright? You could have fricking told be, it's not my fault you got carried away!" Although he doubted that had been the only reason he stayed. With that whole mess in his mind Marvolo had to have some doubts if it was even possible for him to return.
Marvolo let out an angry hiss and threw his book away.
"Either way", he said finally, "looks like we're stuck here for now. Finding a way back will need some time..."
"Why bother?", Harrison asked and sat down on a dusty old chair. "Let's just find past selves in this world and help them to conquer Britain. We were good as a team – but how much faster could we subdue the continent if there were actually four of us?"
"It's not that easy", Marvolo snapped. "This universe is different from ours – very much different. The decision that split off our universe... I'm not exactly sure yet but I might have found it. It was Albus Dumbledores decision to try to get the horcrux out of you when you were one year old."
Harrison stared at him blankly. "Does that mean..."
He nodded. "Exactly. You were never pulled back in time to live with me."
That... was unexpected.
"Wait, so that means... What year do we have again?"
"It's still the same date as in our world."
"So that would mean, I'm... I mean, my alternate self is like, what, five years old?"
"Make it six. But that's not the only difference." Marvolo pointed to a book named Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. "Because we did not rule together there was no one knowledgeable... or willing enough to bring me back either. My alternate self is still lurking somewhere out there waiting to be revived."
"That's horrible!"
"It is, isn't it?"
"I'm fucking six years old! Wait, who do I even live with then?"
"Is that the only part you got?"
"Well, I'm sorry but you did kill my parents, you kind of deserve it."
"Oh, thank you very much for you condolences!", Marvolo snapped sarcastically.
Harrison shook his head. "I still don't get it... Sure, death is an unpleasant matter, but with a whole five years of time you should be able to come back on you own account, shouldn't you?"
"What do I know? Maybe my alternate self is just stupid."
"Perfectly understandable, you didn't grow up with my genius to rub off on you", Harrison smirked.
"Very funny, indeed."
"I try my best."
"You know, if things doesn't work out with you emperor carrier this time, you could always go for being a comedian."
"Well, that is a though that crossed my mind before."
Marvolo shook his head. "Be that as it may, if we want to find a way back we need more research material. We need connections, the support of wizards who work in certain branches, money..."
"In short, we need to build up our network again."
Marvolo signed. "Yes, we do. We have to start over from the beginning. It won't be easy. We'll have more enemies then supporters in the beginning. Dumbledore, for example..."
"Dumbledore is still alive? Well, that wouldn't be too much of a problem. He was killed easily enough after all."
"I would have never though that laving his lemon drops with poison would actually work..."
Harrison grimaced. "Well, it was meant to be a prank more then anything else. It probably wouldn't have worked if it weren't for Snape giving him a fake antidote."
At that Marvolo snickered. "Yes, the old fool was so convinced that dear Severus would cling on the memory of his beloved Lily so much that he would never betray the light."
"He didn't take into account that Lily Potter sacrificed herself for me and that thus it was my life he wanted to protect. A life Dumbledore attempted to take from me when I was only one year old... He never really forgave the old man for it."
"That and Severus is just naturally dark. The mudblood was dead anyway, he probably only used her as an excuse to come back to us."
Harrison scowled. "I would appreciate it if you refrained from calling my mother a mudblood."
"But she was."
"That's not the point! I'm not calling your father an unworthy piece of filth either."
"I wouldn't have a problem with it if you did. It's the truth after all."
"No, you would only strangle me for reminding you of it."
"Maybe a little", Marvolo gave in. "Now, don't get off track again, We should make our plans now. We need a new identity, a background story and other resources..."
"Hey, I have an idea! Marvolo Riddle still had his followers, hadn't he?"
"Well, he was only going by the name of Lord Voldemort and his war was almost entirely brutal, not politic, but yes, he did have his followers. The Death Eaters."
"The what?"
"The Death Eaters. His equivalent for the Knights of Walpurgis, I suppose. Personally I think it does have a certain ring to it..."
"It sounds ridiculous. Who would ever fear the Corpse Crunchers?"
"Death Eaters, Harrison."
"That's the same! Anyway, if me not traveling back in time is the difference that triggered this universe, then our past selves would still be the only living parselmouths, right?"
"Yes..."
"So you could just pretend to be your own son, stepping out of the shadows after a long time of traveling, now that he thinks his evil father is gone for good. It would sway his old followers towards you and the Light... Well, it cant really do anything against you as long as you stay on the legal side of the law. And that you could easily do, at least in the first phase. Being a Parselmouth would be enough proof. You could also go through the blood tests of Gringotts, claiming his vaults which would give us the money we need. You're certainly old enough to have a son that is about the age we look like."
"My alternate self would certainly hate me for that", Marvolo replied. "Besides, such a thing would require for me to reveal my parentage, were the name Riddle comes from..."
"All the better. You could claim the title Lord of Slytherin. I know you always wanted to but by the time you were strong enough to pass the magical test Gringotts had isolated himself. This could be a chance for you."
"Is that what you want to do too? Claim the name of Lord Potter?"
Harrison shrugged. "By the time I found out who my parents were, I didn't need that title anymore. And now... Now it would be as is I'd steal it from my past self. Although I suppose he could inherit it from me again. Or something like that. I mean, it's totally believable that you never told anyone you had a son, but a new Potter appearing out of the blue would raise suspicions. Especially since they're so famous now. So no, I think I'll stay with Harrison Evans. But maybe I could pretend to be a relative on my mothers side, who was in truth a descendent of a long line of squibs originating from a small branch of Slytherin line... then I wouldn't have to hide my Parsel either..."
"To make it believable that such a long lost gift was found again in you you'd have to have at least one very powerful magical parent with a pure bloodline in tow."
"Aw, you're right. Then we are at Harry Potter again."
"I wouldn't say that." Marvolo pulled a big tome out of the pile he had at his feet. It contained numerous family trees of ancient wizarding families.
"See", he said, showing him the tree of the Blacks.
"Your grandmother paternal was a Black. That's close enough to claim a relation when it comes to Gringotts blood tests. And all the other Blacks today are either married females, dead, disowned, in prison or a mix of it. No one there to discredit you should you pretend to be a Black – stepping forward just now, after the recent death of Walburga Black", he pointed at the Data under the sign 'deceased' by the name in the book, "to claim your heritage and take upon the title of Lord Black. Which you hadn't planned beforehand cause you're a halfblood and if anyone knew of you you'd be disowned."
"That... could actually work", Harrison said, studying the book.
"Don't be so surprised."
"So that's what we'll be doing then? Harrison Evans-Black and Marvolo Riddle-Slytherin. The Dark Duo anew?"
"You know, I hate that nickname. I mean, we got it in school, how the hell did it stuck for such a long time?"
"That's because it's an awesome name. - Marvolo, even if we build up our old network again, be it in order to gain information to go back or to just rule over this world – what do we do with out past selves?"
"They're out alternate selves, not our past selves. And well, if I'm using his resources, my alternate self won't be very happy with me. I think we should get rid of him."
"But he's you!"
"He's not. I know myself very well, Harrison, and I can tell you as a matter of fact that I do not welcome concurrence."
"You welcomed me", Harrison pointed out.
"That's because you are...", he hesitated, "...special. In a way. This is different. I won't share the world with yet another powerful wizard, I refuse. And even if I didn't, then he would. Growing up without... you, he's even less used to sharing then me. Even is he accepted to help us in turn for having a new body he'd only search for a way to sent us back and, failing to find one, try to kill us. We can search for a possibility on our own without that risk."
"Alright... It's your choice, I guess. But what about my past self? I don't want to kill me!"
"It's your alternate self again, Harrison! I refuse to think of you as a six year old. The boy will likely be hailed as some kind of hero of the light." He tipped at another book. "They're calling him the boy-who-lived. Apparently because he survived Voldemorts Killing Curse. He's still young and impressionable though so we might be able to get him away from that path. Presuming we stay here for more then a few month that is."
"Alright then. I suppose that meas... Next stop is Gringotts, isn't it?"
oOoOoOo
Two days later Harrison stood in the middle of Diagon Alley and wondered what to do next. Claiming the Title or Lord Black had been no problem. He did have the blood relation after all. The goblins had been satisfied to see that the most ancient and noble house wasn't extinct yet. As per law when a family didn't leave a heir all their money went to the ministry after one hundred years. Having another Head of House meant that the goblins could keep the money a little longer. Even more so since Harrison had allowed them to manage the savings of 100,000 galleons on their own for the next five years. He didn't think he'd need it, not as long as he still had the family vault.
It earned him the reluctant gratitude of the goblins so they had agreed on his second demand. They allowed him to undergo their warding exam.
Professional wardeners were usually ministry employees but everyone knew that Gringotts had the higher standards. By taking that exam (and breaking a record with his scores, of course) he proofed himself to be an exceptionally wardener. It didn't matter that he had no OWLs or NEWTs to show. That way he could work as a freelancer, taking orders from whoever he wanted to. He had made a second contract with the goblins over it, however. If they got a job for him they'd contact him but it was his choice whenever or not he wanted to accept it. In that case the goblins got 20% of the pay. It was good enough to build up a reputation and establish himself as a member of this society.
Marvolo had gone a similar way. His wizarding family had been very poor. The Gaunts sold everything of value they had centuries ago. They did, however, still have a claim of the title Lord of Slytherin. They would have sold that ages ago too, if it weren't for the fact that in order to claim the title or to sell it, one had to undergo a number of tests set up by Salazar Slytherin himself. Only a parselmouth, of course, and only a very skilled, magically powerful wizard with lots of intelligence could ever hope to even survive, let alone pass it.
Marvolo managed easily.
Although the title didn't come with any money or possessions Marvolo did gain the right to claim one a seat on the Wizardgamot and on the School Governors Board of Hogwarts. Also he now had ownership over 25% of Hogwarts, which included he had the right to chose the Head of House for Slytherin as well as chose which subject that person taught. He also had a veto right for all teachers that were hired, meaning he could fire them at once too except in case two other owners voted against it. Since he was the only current owner in action, that point was void.
Since Marvolo had the same problem (namely a lacking of school-leaving qualification) he underwent another of Gringotts exams to prove himself as a professional curse breaker.
Although they both finished their exams on the same day Marvolo said he still wanted to do something else, acting all mysterious over it.
So that was why Harrison was on his own right now. Not knowing what else to do he decided that he could as well search for his past self. He was incredibly curious what he would be like. Yesterday he had asked the goblins if he had any living relatives. It turned out there were four cousins in total: Bellatrix Lestrange, married and imprisoned, Narcissa Malfoy, married with one son, Andromeda Tonks, married with one daughter and disowned and Sirius Black, imprisoned and disowned. It had come as quite a shock for him that Regulus Black, who had been his second-in-command and almost something resembling a friend to him, had died in this time line. He just couldn't figure out why that was.
When he had not-so-discretely asked about his relation to Harry Potter the goblins had only dryly answered that he was no closer related to him then the Weaselys. Who could have claimed the title just as easily, if they didn't seemed to be allergic to everything remotely dark. That was the downside of pretending to originate from a side branch of the family with parents that had lived on the continent for years.
Either way he didn't get any information out of them. Browsing through several books that described the story of little Harry defeating big bad Voldemort didn't help him either. Since he wanted to consult Marvolo before stepping out in the open he couldn't go to the ministry for the files. Out of pure desperation he started to search for his mothers side of the family; the Evans. Maybe they would know something about where their grandchildren went to?
A lot of confusing and memory charms were needed to get to the confidential files. Finally he found sixteen Lily Evans around the age of his mother in England. He didn't know if the date of death or marriage of muggleborn witches was recorded in the muggle world but he was lucky; there was indeed a Lily Evans married to a James Potter.
Unfortunately her parents were dead.
He had already assumed that much but it was still a disappointment. The only living relative was a certain Petunia Dursley, sister to Lily Potter who was clearly a muggle.
Deciding that since he already went so far he might as well check it out to the end. So Harrison searched for the Dursley's address in a phone book and apparated to Little Whinging.
Strolling down the path of Privet Drive he came to the Number Four. The house couldn't be discerned from any of the others in the street. There was no individuality, no sign that in that perfectly clean little house lived an actually family and not a bunch of robots.
Harrison stepped forward, glad that he had chosen his black traveling cloak today that was sporting buttons at the front over a gray vest so the outfit wouldn't attract to much attention in the muggle world.
He stood at the white fence irresolutely. Everything in him bucked against entering such a disgusting place. It was then that he saw a movement at the side and watching it more closely he saw a scrawny little boy bend over the rose bushes, pulling off the weeds.
Harrison stared at him. Without further though he opened the gate and came to stand next to the boy. At first the child who looked like four but Harrison knew he was six, didn't seem to notice him. But then, slowly, he looked up, jerking away from him.
It was astonishing. Harrison could see the resemblance immediately, even with the many differences they sported. Harry's hair was short and ruffled, a wild mob that was dirty with some leafs still in it from the gardening. Harrison's hair was also black and quite untamable but he had managed by letting it grow, binding it in his neck in an aristocratic way.
They had the same unmistakeably shade of killing curse green eyes, but while Harrison's were glowing with power and experience, Harry's were big and round. You could still see the shadow of innocence in them but there was also a great amount of pain, sorrow and above all, loneliness.
His glasses were big and round and cracked at one or two spots. Harrison remembered his life being quite blurred back in his childhood, until he had let his eyes be fixed when finding out about Hogwarts.
They had the same podgy knees, the same small build. But Harry was ridiculously thin, even more so then Harrison had been during to the meager meals the orphanage gave their children. His far to large second-hand clothes made him seem even smaller. His knees were dirty and sore from kneeling on the ground all day and his fingertips were bloody from having to tend the roses without gloves.
And there, barely visible behind his bangs, was the lighting-shaped curse scar.
"I-I'm sorry, Sir!", the boy said with a high, terrified voice.
Harrison asked himself what the hell he was sorry for. That kid was obviously not taken care of properly and he wanted to kill the people who did this to him so much.
"Don't be", he whispered and kneeled down by the boy.
"My name is Harrison E- Black", he said, correcting himself at the last moment. Claiming the title of Lord Black came with a new name and as a result a new pass, a far to good chance to pass up.
"Who are you?"
"I-I'm, uh, I'm just a boy", he murmured. "Do you want to go to my uncle? He's at work right now."
"I'm searching for one Harry Potter", he replied, mockingly looking around. "Have you seen him anywhere?"
"I dunno."
"Maybe you are him? You certainly look as though you could be", he said with a friendly smile.
"M-my aunt and uncle sometimes call me hairy..."
Harrison blinked. Could it be that this child... this child, that he – did not know...!?
"What is you name, young one?"
The child shifted uncomfortably. "Uh..."
"What do your relatives call you?", he tried a different approach.
"Well... boy... or hairy, or stupid, or brat, or freak!" His voice got louder with every word and now tears were springing from his eyes. "I'm a freak", he sobbed again.
Oh, those people would pay. Death wasn't bad enough for them! He wanted to torture them.
No, he told himself, not yet. One day, you will, but not yet.
Harrison stood up again.
"Is your aunt home, Harry?", he asked, forcing a smile on his face.
"Uhm, yeah, she's probably sleeping..."
He nodded. "Kid, your name is Harry Potter. I know that because you look just like your father. He was a relative of mine and so are you. I do not think that this place is suited for you. In fact, I would like to take you with me."
He smiled again, laying a hand on the trembling shoulder of the child. "Would you like to come with me, Harry?"
"I- I do!", he exclaimed and did it not tell you lots when a child agreed to just go with a complete stranger for nothing but a kind smile. "B-But... my uncle won't allow it, and... and I'm always so much trouble."
"Let me take care of that", Harrison said. "I will be back in an hour at most. You better pack your things, hatchling."
Harry scowled at the odd nickname, but didn't seem to have a second though over abandoning his roses, running to the house to get his things packed.
Harrison didn't lose any time either. Marvolo would probably skin him for it but he couldn't just let his past self stay in a horrible place like that. He just couldn't.
Harrison apparated back to London. Again his magic helped him to cross the normal hindrances and when he came back to Privet Drive he had the official documents for a muggle adoption with him. It was entirely possible that Harry Potter had two guardians, one muggle and one magical. But with him adopting Harry the muggle way both guardianships would automatically go to him, since he was a wizard. Harrison couldn't imagine that no precautions had been made for this case. Even though Harry was really special to the light, any Corpse Cruncher could have walked in here and talked the Dursleys into giving up on their nephew. Or just tortured them until they did.
That was at least what he had first though but when he went back to the house he spend more time on analyzing the magic surrounding it. He had to ask himself how he didn't notice it beforehand. The house practically glowed with magic from a set of very powerful wards. Blood wards, he recognized, one that was set to repel any and all dark wizards. Now, that certainly explained why the kid had been placed here. Harrison was dark himself but of course the wards wouldn't detect him. He was the one they were supposed to protect after all. Somehow. Coming back to the house he heard infernal shouting from within. He knocked at the door but over the noise nobody seemed to hear it. A quick Alohomora got rid of the problem.
"I don't want to hear anything of your nonsense!", a woman (probably Petunia) screamed.
"But it's true! The Sir came and said he'd get me to live with him! He said he was a relative!"
"You don't have any relatives, brat! Your parents are dead, nobody will ever come to get you. Who'd want such an ungrateful brat anyways?"
"But – but-"
"Go into your cupboard, boy! There will be no dinner for you today."
Cupboard!? Oh, this disgusting, worthless, big-headed piece of filth.
"Excuse me, Madame?"
Petunia turned around and, seeing him, her face became an ugly shade of green.
"My name is Harrison Black. I am a relative of Mr James Potter and thus I have a certain responsibility towards your nephew."
Petunia went from green to white as a sheet.
"B-But he has no other family!", she screeched. "It said so in the letter!"
"Which letter?", he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The – The letter that was with him when I found him on the doorstep."
"Well, I am sorry to inform you that Mr Potter was kidnapped from the house of his parents after their death from an unknown person, who will most certainly have to answer for his or her crimes in front of the Wizardgamot." Petunia almost fainted at the mere mention of something like a Wizardgamot. "Mr Potter was certainly not supposed to be here. It took me several years" - more like several hours - "to track him down." He forced a pleasantly smile on his face. "I understand that you had a lot of work with him – and from what I got from young Harry-", she grew even paler, "you weren't enjoying having to take care of him. That's why I offer you a solution."
He pulled out the documents and laid them on the table.
"Those are perfectly legal adoption documents. All I need is your signature. Then I will take Mr Potter with me and you never have to see him again."
Petunia hesitated for a moment. "I don't have to – but what about that man – Dumbledore? He wrote that I must keep him! I don't want any of your queer folk to turn up on my doorstep to ask questions!"
"Oh, so the kidnapper's name is Dumbledore?" He pretended to be surprised. "I thank you for that information. "I will certainly look into this. You don't have to worry about it."
Little Harry wisely kept his mouth shut although Harrison could see that there were thousands of questions on his tongue.
Since Petunia still seemed to sway between wanting to get rid of young Harry and fear of being exposed to even more wizards, Harrison helped her by subtly amplifying her wish to sign via legilimency. He might have slightly overdone it, he noticed, as she grabbed the paper, frantically searching for a pen. Harrison promptly provided one for her and a few moments later Harry Potter was officially his adopted son. The though was... weird, to say the least but one look at the little hopeful kid got rid of all doubts. It had been the right decision.
"Come on, Harry", he said and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Let's come with me to your new home – and then I'll tell you all about wizards."