Undone
by Healer Pomfrey
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC.
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thank you very much for the kind feedback on the previous chapter!
"Albus Dumbledore has taken over the guardianship over Harry in spite of the Potters' explicit wishes in their will," Buckbean informed Remus, "and he has signed a betrothal contract with the Weasleys. However, Amelia and I believe that Harry should be given the opportunity to at least get to know some witches of his age before making such an important decision."
"We could hold a birthday party for his tenth birthday and invite all witches of his age who aren't bonded yet," Remus suggested, giving Amelia a questioning look.
"Yes, that's a good idea," Amelia agreed. "The only problem is that we don't know exactly who's still available."
"That's easy for me to find out," Gwenlin supplied. "I can give you a list tomorrow."
"Maybe you can directly invite the children," Buckbean suggested, "so that the invitation comes from Gringotts in case anyone reports it to Dumbledore."
"Yes, that's at least much safer for Remus and me," Amelia sighed in apparent relief.
In the end, they agreed that Harry should write the invitation letter and bring it to Gwenlin the following morning, so that she could copy the letter and turn each of the parchments into a Portkey that would take the children to a beach on Goblin Island, where they were going to hold the party, so that no one would be able to tell Albus Dumbledore where to find Harry Potter.
Finally, it was time for Remus and Harry to leave for Potter Manor.
Remus carefully pulled Harry into his arms, before they stepped into the fireplace together to travel to their new home.
HP
Harry stumbled out of the fireplace, glad that Remus held him in a firm grip to prevent him from falling onto the marble floor of the large entrance hall, in which they found themselves.
Just a mere instant later, a group of strange creatures popped up in front of them, bowing deeply so that their large ears almost touched the floor.
"Master Harry and Master Remus, welcome to Potter Manor," one of them greeted the two wizards. "I am Gina, the head house-elf of Potter Manor," she then introduced herself.
"Hello Gina and everyone else," Harry spoke up and smiled, as he could feel excitement and happiness in the elves' emotions. "Will it be all right for Remus and me to live here in the manor?"
"Of course Master Harry, we're all very happy to have you here," Gina replied. "Would you like to eat something right away, or should we show you to your rooms first?"
Harry gave Remus a questioning look, noticing that he indeed felt a little hungry. Seeing that Remus seemed to leave the decision to him, he voiced the idea that something to eat would be nice.
Gina instructed one of the elves to guide the masters to the dining room, causing all the other elves to pop away.
Harry looked around in amazement. "Is this a castle?" he queried in disbelief. It was so big, and there were life size paintings of people all over the walls, and the persons were moving in their frames.
Remus chuckled. "It's almost as big as a castle, that's true," he admitted, apparently understanding Harry's excitement at the discovery of his ancestors' home.
Even one of the walls in the dining room was decorated with a huge painting of an elder couple.
"Good day Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Remus greeted the couple, before he turned to Harry. "These are your grandparents, Harry."
"Hello Remus dear," Harry's grandmother spoke up, seemingly delighted at their sight, only to add, "and Harry, my grandson. My, aren't you a big boy already?"
"It's about time that you brought Harry here," his grandfather added, causing Remus to apologize profoundly.
"Now sit down and eat your meal, dears," Mrs. Potter said in a soft voice. "You can explain everything later on."
"In the meantime, I'll go and fetch Lily and James," her husband added and vanished from the sight.
"Remus," Harry hesitantly addressed the older wizard, "these people aren't alive, are they?"
"No Harry," Remus replied, sounding sad. "In the magical world, people continue to live in their paintings. They have the memories of the person from the time when the portrait was made." He interrupted himself seeing that Lily and James slipped into the frame next to James' mother.
"Lily! James!" he shouted in clear enthusiasm. "I'm sorry that it took me so long, but I brought Harry to you."
"Harry, my baby," Lily said, reaching out as if she wanted to pull him into her arms.
"Mum," Harry replied, feeling thoroughly amazed at the sight of his parents. He rose from his chair and stepped closer to the painting, however, to his chagrin, he could not feel any emotions from the people in the painting.
During the meal, which was the best that Harry could remember to have ever eaten, he told Remus and his parents everything about his childhood with the Dursleys, causing the adults to become very angry.
"Harry," Lily spoke up in determination, "I need you to cast a spell at me that enables me to leave the manor."
"Sorry?" Harry asked in confusion, glancing at Remus.
"Lily," Remus replied on his behalf, "Harry doesn't know how to cast any magic, he doesn't have a wand yet, and where would you want to go? Remember that Dumbledore isn't supposed to know that Harry left the Dursleys let alone where Harry is."
"He's right Lils, you can't do anything before Harry is going to attend Hogwarts," James agreed. "I have a different question though. Where's Sirius?"
Remus stared at his best friend in surprise and what Harry assumed to be an expression of sadness. "Sirius?" he finally enquired in apparent disbelief. "He's in Azkaban for giving you out to Voldemort."
"No!" James and Lily protested, simultaneously. "Sirius wasn't our Secret Keeper. It was Peter," they informed Remus, whose expression turned to horror.
"That means he has spent the last nine years in Azkaban innocently," Remus moaned.
"Who's Sirius?" Harry spoke up, glancing from one adult to the other.
"Padfoot, your godfather," James replied, grinning at his son.
"I'm going to floo call Amelia Bones," Remus said in a flat voice and left the room, motioning Harry to stay.
HP
'I can't believe that I was still at the Dursleys' this morning,'Harry thought, when he listened to Amelia, Remus and his parents making plans about freeing Sirius, raising him at the manor and deciding on a suitable betrothal contract. 'So much has happened since then. I just hope it's not just a dream.'
Harry was almost half-asleep in his chair, when the adults finally finished their planning and Remus decided that he had to go to bed.
"Call Gina and let her take him to the master suite," James instructed his friend, who obeyed immediately.
HP
Harry only noticed that Gina popped up in front of him and reached for his hand, before he all of a sudden found himself in a large, beautiful room with the biggest bed that he had ever seen. The whole room was decorated in white as well as several shades of blue, and the wall opposite the door completely consisted of windows along with a door leading out to a huge balcony. Through the window, he could see a park and a lake, which looked very pretty in the evening sun.
"Master Harry, this is the master suite," Gina informed him, causing Harry to stare at the elf in disbelief.
"Excuse me, Gina," he stammered, giving her a helpless look. "Am I supposed to sleep here?" he asked, incredulously.
"Of course," Gina replied, smiling, as she pointed towards the bed. "The bathroom is through the door over there, and you'll find everything that you need in there. Clothes are in the wardrobe," she added, pointing to an enormous, wooden wardrobe right next to the door leading towards the bathroom. "If you need anything else, please call me at any time. Good night Master Harry."
"Good night Gina and thank you so much for everything. This is just too good to be true," Harry replied, feeling absolutely grateful towards the friendly elf.
A few minutes later, Harry was lying in the most comfortable bed that he could imagine. Through the large window, he could see the lake, where an animal – small, yet large enough so that he could see it – was playing in the moonlight. 'In the morning, I'll ask Mum and Dad what kind of animal it is,' he thought, as he drifted off to sleep, for the first time in his life feeling outright happy.
HP
In the morning, after a two-hour-breakfast together with Lily and James in their portrait, during which his parents informed him that they had never noticed an animal in the lake, Remus made Harry write the invitation for his birthday.
"You only have to put the names of the recipients in," Remus reminded him, "when Gwenlin tells you whom you can invite."
"All right," Harry replied, feeling very happy, even if slightly uncertain, at the prospect of having a birthday party for the first time in his life.
When he was done with his invitation, Harry returned to his room and properly dressed in a pair of blue trousers and a red T-shirt with a pattern of two cats that were playing with a ball of grey yarn, which he found in his wardrobe. There were more clothes inside than he had ever seen before. Trousers, T-shirts, sweatshirts, underwear and even pyjamas. What was even better was that everything matched him as if it had been made for him.
HP
Finally, Remus took him through the Floo to Gwenlin's and Buckbean's home on Goblin Island, before he headed to the Ministry of Magic to officially speak with Amelia about a possible trial for Sirius.
At first, Harry felt slightly anxious seeing Remus step in the fireplace so soon, however, a mere instant later, Jane and Kengo, Gwenlin's twin children stormed into the room.
"Hi Harry…"
"… we couldn't wait for you to come," they greeted him, smiling mischievously.
Harry felt that the girl and the boy were both truly happy to meet him, and he returned a friendly smile. "Hi," he said, shyly, before he hesitantly handed his invitation letter to Gwenlin.
"Very well done," the goblin commended him, before she made nine copies of his letter, which she placed on a table along with a quill and a short list with names. "I've found ten girls of about your age, who are not bonded yet. They are all witches of old, magical families."
Harry stared at the names of the list: 'Ginny Weasley, Millicent Bulstrode, Pavarti Patil, Padma Patil, Daphne Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Gwendolyn Prince, Su Li, Hannah Abbot, Lavender Brown'. Giving the kind goblin an energetic nod, he began to carefully copy each of the names onto one of the parchments, feeling glad that he had brought the pen which he had used earlier with him, as he eyed the quill in front of him with anxiousness.
Finally, Gwenlin attached the letters to an owl's legs and popped the owl away with an owl stick like Harry had observed her husband doing on the previous day.
"They will reply directly to you, so you'll know who's going to come for your birthday party," Gwenlin said, smiling.
"Are you up…"
"…to go and take a look…"
"… at Goblin Island?" the twins spoke up, eyeing him with clear eagerness.
"I'd like that," Harry replied, casting Gwenlin a questioning look.
"Of course dear, run along," the goblin reassured him. "The twins will show you everything."
"Do you mind…"
"… if we come to your party by the way?" Jane and Kengo asked after two hours of showing him around the island, causing Harry to chuckle once again at their strange way of speaking.
"Of course not, I'll be happy to have you there," he replied, having the impression as if he had already gained two friends. 'My first friends ever,' he thought, happily. 'They're really funny.'
HP
During the following two days, Harry received ten confirmations from the girls, whom he had invited for his birthday. The letters all sounded fairly alike, pointing out that they were happy to finally be able to meet him and that they were looking forward to the party. Only one letter was quite different from the rest.
'Hi Harry,
thank you so much for your invitation. If the nargles don't bite me before Saturday, I will make sure to attend, and I will see you here on Sunday anyway. Ah sorry Harry, since your mother died when you were a baby, you might not know this, but I am a Seer.
Anyway, I look forward to meeting you and your doggie on your birthday.
Love
Luna'
'How strange,'Harry thought and showed his letter to Remus.
"Ah Pandora's daughter," Lily spoke up, smiling. "Harry, she's going to be a wonderful witch, and yes, she's a Seer like me. I have seen a vision just after she was born, and I've told her parents about it. In fact, Pandora made me little Luna's godmother, but James and I didn't even live long enough to see her on her first birthday."
"A Seer?" Harry enquired, not exactly sure what it meant.
"A Seer is sometimes able to see scenes, which happen at some time in the future," Lily explained in a soft voice. "I even knew that we were going to die, which is why I insisted to have this portrait charmed just a day before. I have seen a couple of scenes involving Luna, and I know that she'll play a not unimportant part in your future."
"Don't tell him too much about his future yet," James threw in, sighing. "You don't want to worry him."
"There's one thing that you really need to know though," Lily continued, "Dumbledore will probably tell you that it was Voldemort who killed us."
"Yes," Harry agreed. "Buckbean said so."
"And yes, it's true, however, it's not," Lily said, smiling sadly at her only son.