I have to apologize for practically abandoning this story - I really have no excuse.
Margaret Luna Sullivan: Thank you!
Raven at Night: I must admit, he is my favorite character to bash. He makes it so easy!
Larka Rinna Luna: George, I read somewhere Ginny's middle name was Molly.
spellmugwump97: Thank you! I really have no excuse for my three-month delay - at all - and I understand about Dumbledore. The first time I ever saw a Dumbledore-bashing fanfic I was thinking, "How could anyone bash him?" and then I read it. I'll admit I am a die-hard Dumbles basher; though I can see why people like him.
D.A Member77: Thanks so much!
Cole the Demon Hunter: Thanks! Neville will be around shortly, but Ginny, Ron, and Hermione won't be around for a while.
faneka: Harry isn't going to have a split personality in my story (though that would be a really, really cool story). Hermione may or may not be one of the Dagworth-Grangers. I have to work out a few kinks. :)
Kai'ika95: Thanks! I spent a lot of time looking for a suitable name for Harry. I got tired of Harold. I'm glad you like it!
butterflyeyes20: You'll see!
ladysavay: Again, I really don't have an excuse for my inactiveness. I actually have a plot here, and I can tell why it looks like I'm vamping. I want to get the insignificant things out of the way, first, (like in this chapter; the next will come quickly to make up for that) so I can focus more on the action. The problem is, I have so many people that I have to take the time to write their reactions and fill everyone in on their backstories.
Twilighter786: Thanks! I really always felt there was more to James and the Potters that JK didn't put on paper. I mean, the Marauder's Map is like a glorified spy device that must've taken at least a year to complete. It's way too complicated to just be used for pranking. I can understand why Remus and Sirius (one a Black, one a werewolf) would be so suspicious, but I think that James couldn't simply that suspicious unless he had cultivated it somewhere. I doubt that level of suspicion comes naturally. Also, some good James/Lily alive fics are: Star Enchantress's: The Return of the Father; Lady Geuna's: Charmed Curses; grand admiral chelli's: Harry Potter and the Dream Come True; Lady Taliesin's: The Track of a Storm; sUnKiSsT's: To Rise Again; elizia25000bc's Harry Potter and the Gift of the Superi; Because-I-Got-High's Apparation; the-writer1998's Prongs Rides Again; BrieflyDel's Prongs Rides Again and Triskelion's No Higher Praise. I'm pretty sure all of them are on my "Favorite Stories" list.
Raven Potter Weasley: You'll see! I'm actually playing with the idea of only having adult pairings (AL/FL, LE/JP), but I'll see how it works out. I have to say, I really liked the stories I've read with Susan as Harry's love interest. (Mind you, I've only read, like, three.) I liked on your profile when you pointed out the love potion with Molly; and also about JK's feminist streak. I really didn't notice some of the things until you pointed them out about Snape's character and his Marauder interactions. And he accuses the Marauders of being murderers! He was a Death Eater! The job description says you have to rape, torture, and kill; at least that's how I see it. I also thought that Remus' family had to be purebloods or at least buy into it because of what his father was saying for him to get bitten.
Chapter Eleven
In Red
Harry learned that Potters had a very weird sense of humor, one that happened to fit him quite well.
There was a grand staircase in the center of each floor, and spiral staircases in all the towers. That being said, no one besides a Potter and their invited guests could get past or up the staircases. Apparently, if anyone who wasn't invited tried to get in, they found themselves rolling down the staircase, out the door, and down the hill; with a lovely addition of being trussed up like a turkey and sent flying into the middle of the lake.
On the first floor, to the right of the entrance hall were the formal rooms. The formal dining room, ballroom, parlor, and what James called the 'decoy study', which was filled with meaningless and worthless books and instruments. ("To make it look like we are amazingly knowledgable and amazing. As we are, of course.") On the right of the entrance hall were the guest chambers, eleven rooms that varied on size and elegance ("Depending on whether you like the person or not," James explained).
Behind the staircase were the 'family rooms' as James put it. They included indoor greenhouses with lavender, which made Harry sneeze ("You can thank great-great-grandma Delia for that"), the laundry rooms, the kitchens, mead cellar, and the root cellar (all for the use of the house-elves), the infirmary, the armory where Harry was shocked to see bows-and-arrows, swords, daggers, and metal armor along with dragon hide armor, staffs, wands, and warding crystals ("Don't tell your mother I let you in here," James muttered).
"I'll be teaching you how to use these," James explained. "You'll pick two non-magical weapons and another magical weapon to go with your wand. After all, what's life without some friendly stabbing?"
They saw the family dining room and family parlor, which was apparently where they had slept last night. They also saw the family ballroom.
Up on the second floor were nicer guestrooms, which were outfitted with a sitting room and more lavish materials ("For people you like," James explained).
The third floor was entirely a gallery. A fourth (1/4) of the floor was The Hall of Potters, which were all moving portraits of every Potter since Ivor, with a golden name plate that had the name, nickname, birth, and death dates, along with where they were born, and notable accomplishments they had achieved. The second fourth (2/4) was displaying statues and relics. The third fourth (3/4) were spoils of war and nasty, macabre things that Harry would associate with a Dark family, but since they were a Gray family, Harry supposed, it was only natural. The last fourth (4/4) of the gallery was completely filled with jewels. Gems of all different colors and size hung on the wall, in cases, on pedestals, and piled in mounds.
Harry gaped. "What?"
"We put our valuable jewels in Gringotts," James explained. "These are just for show."
Harry was feeling a bit light headed after that.
The library took half of the fourth floor up. It housed everything from old newspapers to the latest Transfiguration texts to potions books by Morgana, Mordred, and Merlin to books on the Dark Arts.
"Hermione would love this," Harry chuckled.
"Is Hermione a redhead?" James asked curiously.
Harry stared at his father. "She's a brunette. Why?"
"Oh, never mind," came the quick reply.
There was also a large potions lab, a room filled with scrolls covered in ancient runes and ingredients and huge cauldrons. Another was nothing but slabs of rock, dummies, clothing, ancient scrolls and tomes, and household items like a clock and stove, which James told him was the Arithmancy lab.
"You create spells with Arithmancy," James explained. "The different substances are for testing the spell out."
There was a dim room filled with stars and planet models for an Astronomy lab. There was also another greenhouse for Herbology which James pulled Harry away from ("Dangerous plants…what was Dad thinking…my baby could get hurt…"), and a room with a large basin in it and vials of a fluidly white substance swirling around.
"The Memories of History chamber," James said, "Those are memories and a pensieve. You put the memory in a pensieve and you can view it."
The last place James pointed out was an overlarge study. "That's the real study. The one downstairs doesn't have anything of worth, but this one has ancient texts, another pensieve, comfortable chairs, a great view, and all sorts of special stuff."
The fifth floor was Harry's favorite. There were four sections: a dueling chamber that could change scenery and moving, fighting dummies for accurate practice. James again had another overprotective fit and dragged Harry away. There was also another Quidditch pitch, half-sized this time, but could change weather and conditions to practice flying. There was also a field for things like football, baseball, and rugby, but were mostly used for practicing with "Muggle weapons". The last section had a pseudo-forest, along with a large lake used for swimming and picnicking during the winter. From what Harry could see, there was also a tree house and a rope swing.
On the sixth floor were more rooms, but instead of guest rooms they were lavish family rooms, for family and family friends with studies, small libraries, nurseries, and walk-in closets. Some even had ponds, like on the fifth floor, but a smaller scale.
The seventh floor was a bestiary. There were hippogriffs, Abraxan horses, knarls, crups, demiguises, gnomes, fwoopers, runespoors, pixies, fairies, and nifflers. There were even unicorns and a family of phoenixes! They were all roaming around a chunk of the real forest, with actual trees and grass and sunlight. It even rained; there were ponds and even streams. It took up the entire floor, with only pathways around it, backed up to the walls. Glass walls cased it in; which made it look like a huge terrarium.
James explained the difference between the fifth floor and the seventh was that the fifth floor was a completely empty of living things and the trees and all the plants were all in stasis, which made it a pseudo-forest instead of a real one. On the fifth floor, the only truly alive things up there were the grass (which was some type of experimental no-sunlight-darkness-grow grass, where the trees needed actual sunlight).
James also explained that the creatures on the seventh floor were all rescues and friends of the Potters. They treated the animals with respect and kindness and let them stay in the bestiary, protected. In return, the animals would give them their valuable horns, hair, feathers, and general by-products.
Harry had wanted to go in there, but James held a tight grip around his shoulders.
"Over my dead body you go in there, Harry James Potter," James said in a low voice. "You could get hurt, or burned, or bitten, or…"
James was babbling and Harry sarcastically suggested, "Or die?"
"Exactly!" James seemed genuinely pleased that Harry was grasping this fact so quickly. Harry vaguely what it would be like living with four madmen.
James dragged Harry back down the stairs to the sixth floor and to a tower situated in the northeast corner. Where a door would be, there was a large portrait of a forest at full moon, with a brown stag, a black dog, and a silver wolf running through the woods, playing and racing each other. The stag and the dog were as big as bears, but the wolf was the size of a baby elephant. Suddenly, there were some changes to it. A doe and a fawn came out of woods. The doe was white and brown with a reddish tint to it, with a white belly and white spots where the brown and white met. It also had emerald green eyes, bright and shining in the moonlight. She was standing protectively near the fawn.
The fawn was the same brown as the stag, but with white dots all over his coat and a tan belly that told you he hadn't reached adulthood yet. He had green eyes like the doe, but they were a dark green like the forest pine instead of her emerald green. Surprisingly, he didn't have a lightening bolt scar, but did have charcoal black markings around his eyes where Harry's glasses would've been. He had stubs for antlers and large ears that were almost bigger than his face. He was lithe and strong like the stag, but the fawn was still young. Though he seemed to dislike the over-protectiveness, he still needed it; he was still only as big as a German Shepard.
The wolf, dog, and stag turned towards the two newcomers. The stag immediately went over and stood with the doe in front of the fawn, but the dog and wolf simply joined in their protectiveness, the dog picked the fawn up by the scruff of the neck and carried him over to the where the wolf was now lying down. He plopped the fawn down, and wolf licked the fawn's head. The dog lay down contentedly next to it. The doe and stag both look disgruntled and irritated that their fawn had been taken from them, but the stag and doe both laid down in front of the wolf, dog, and fawn, putting their necks over the fawn's, effectively forming a circle around the fawn. The fawn seemed upset, but the stag nudged him and he put his head down, falling asleep.
Harry gazed, openmouthed at the portrait. He turned to his father. "Did you—?"
A faint blush appeared on James' cheeks. "The dog, stag, and wolf was my portrait. The doe and fawn—that's new. Don't look at me like that, I didn't! Anyway, this your tower."
Harry choked. "Tower?"
"The heir's tower," James said, ignoring Harry's disbelief. "You have to choose a password for the portrait so that only friends will get in. Something Death Eaters or unfriendly people and unwanted visitors won't get in," James snickered. "I remember the passwords I made were so bad that Mum stopped coming up to get me and just sent a house-elf."
Harry laughed and thought for a moment.
"No unwanted visitors, huh?" he asked thoughtfully. Then he leaned over to the portrait and said, "Voldemort is a snake-faced bastard who looks good in red and will ultimately bow down to the Marauders and co. before drowning in a bathtub while wearing pink lingerie and getting in on it with Snape."
James faintly green. "That is the longest password I have ever heard, but I promise you will have no Death Eaters or mothers knocking on your door."
Harry grinned at his father while watching the portrait. The stag, dog, and wolf all discreetly winked at him before the portrait slid open. Harry walked up a couple of steps and gasped.
He was in a circular room, with vaulted ceilings that rose thirty feet and were draped in red and gold, making it look like a tent, and there was also a scarlet carpet with red trimming on the floor. Bookshelves filled the walls, eight feet tall, leaving crown molding where the ceilings started to slope.
There were three doors in the room. One faced south, which was the exit through the portrait, and another faced west, leading to a spiral staircase. One faced east, leading up two steps to another room Harry couldn't see from this vantage point.
Between the south and west doors was a large fireplace, and over the mantle hung a portrait of the corridor outside the tower. ("For making sure no one knows what you're up to," James explained. Then his eyes narrowed, "Don't you dare use that on us, Harlow.") There was a mahogany coffee table, two squashy scarlet armchairs and a leather couch, filled with pillows and fluffy blankets.
Between the south and east doors was a large alcove with a professional-looking desk and high-backed, oak-carved chair with a red-leather seat that was standing in front of a large scarlet and gold stain-glass window. It was stacked with quills, ink, and parchment. There was a stand next to it with a cauldron on it and shelves filled with potion ingredients. A parchment was nailed to the wall, ten feet long, where you could write in the name of a potion and the instructions would come up.
Directly across from the exit, all the way at the back of the room, was a four-poster bed. The bedposts were carved with scenes, upon closer inspection, turned out to be battle scenes, and there was gold leafing on the head and footboards. It had scarlet and gold bedding: scarlet silk sheets that were turned down and the golden comforter had the Potter family crest stitched on it. There were fluffy scarlet and golden pillows and the scarlet curtains were tied back with golden ties.
Upon further exploration he found the door that led up two stairs was actually a walk-in closet, the size of an average bedroom. There was a fireplace and two armchairs opposite the door—though Harry couldn't imagine why they were there—there were racks of clothes, like in a store, sorted into sections: casual robes, dress robes, Quidditch robes, school robes, dueling robes, pants, shirts, battle armor…
There was a spiral staircase in the corner of the closet (Harry had a hard time thinking of this as a closet) that led down to the bathroom. It looked more like a pool, with its huge golden bath, and hundreds of different taps and black marble floor, ceiling, and walls. All the taps were accented in gold and there were fluffy, scarlet towels.
The door that lead to the spiral staircase lead to an owlery. It was filled with hanging golden perches and a large basin of food that sat in the middle. There were only about three owls, a black owl, a barn owl, and an aged snowy white owl.
James blinked, looking at the aged white owl and exclaimed, "Midnight!"
Harry stared as Midnight flew to James and cuffed him around the head with his wing. "You named your snowy white owl Midnight?"
"Not my owl," James grumbled. "Bloody pigeon is Lily's - OW!"
Midnight had landed on James' shoulder, only to dig his talons in deeply. As James swatted away the bird irritably (which only infuriated it more, nipping at James until he took leave out the window) Harry laughed, but it quickly died down.
"Dad…this is great…I mean, I'm really grateful, but I don't really deserve—"
James cut him off by wrapping him in a hug. "Being my son is more than enough reason to deserve a loving family, a nice room, and well-cooked meals. Do you understand me, fawn?"
Harry nodded and buried his head in James' shoulder.
"Go get dressed and meet us at the study—wait! I forgot! Misjiff!"
A small elf popped into the room. He had the signature green skin, tennis ball eyes, and floppy ears, but he was bouncing so fast he could give Dobby a run for his money. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that told everyone he was up to no good.
"A house-elf," Harry said, surprised. He supposed he shouldn't be, with the size of this castle. Who else would take care of it? The elf didn't look anywhere like Dobby had been. He looked healthy and happy, with a downy scarlet towel with the Potter family crest emblazoned on it.
"Have you seen one before?" James asked curiously. "This is your personal elf, Misjiff. There are house-elves for cooking, cleaning, gardening, etcetera. But Misjiff will accompany you to places like Diagon Alley, Gringotts, clean your room, and generally help you dress and run your errands. Kind of like a manservant."
"Wow," said Harry, bemused. Then he turned to Misjiff. "Hello, Misjiff. I'm Harry."
Misjiff bounced excitedly. "Misjiff knows Master Harry, Misjiff is beings a good elf! Misjiff is to serve Master and do as he wishes! Happy, happy, happy he is!"
His voice hit an unearthly pitch near the end and Harry winced while James chuckled.
"Whoa," Harry rubbed his ears. "He reminds me of Dobby."
"Dobby?" James asked curiously.
"A house-elf I freed," Harry snickered. "Dobby was abused and kept trying to help keep me safe, even if it meant going against his masters, the Malfoys. In the end I tricked them into freeing Dobby."
"Why would you need to be protected?" James asked, seemingly lightly, but there was an edge of apprehension in his voice.
Harry paused. He wasn't sure he really wanted to tell his dad right now. "Er…I'll tell you later," he said quickly.
James nodded in acceptance, but there was a look of slight suspicion on his face. James changed the subject.
"How did he live? House-elves are supposed to die after they're freed, or at least become severely sick," James frowned.
Crack.
"Did Harry Potter sir call Dobby? Does Harry Potter want Dobby as his elf?"
Harry and James spun around to face a very odd house-elf. He had Harry's old sock on his foot, a bobble hat on his head, and what looked like a child's denim jacket.
"Dobby?" Harry asked, confused. "What do mean 'as my elf'?"
Dobby looked at his feet, twisting his ears.
"Dobby is a bad elf," he muttered, "Bad Dobby!" He moved to bash his head on the coffee table, but Harry yelled, "Dobby, stop punishing yourself!"
Dobby stopped immediately and James laughed, finally realizing what happened.
"Harry," James said. "I think when you freed Dobby he bonded to you," James smiled at the odd elf. When Harry gave him an strange look, and James explained, "A bond means he recognizes you as his master and his line is now bonded to your family line. Now you have to accept the bond, if you want to. Otherwise he'll die, or get severely sick and lose his magic."
"Of course I will," Harry said, some apprehension forming in his mind. Like slaves…like how I was at the Durlseys… "I won't let Dobby die!"
Dobby's eyes filled with happy tears. "Harry Potter is a kind wizard!"
"How do I solidify the bond?" Harry asked James, shoving his worries aside for now. He'd make sure Dobby felt like part of the family.
"Say, 'I—your full name—hereby take Dobby as my house-elf and bond him to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter. So mote it be.'" James said.
Harry strained to remember his full name. "I, Harlow Jameson Charlus Andrew Evans Peverell-Black-Moon-Gryffindor-Potter, hereby take Dobby as my house-elf and bond him to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter. So mote it be."
A golden light swirled around Harry and suddenly Dobby was adorned in a Potter house-elf uniform.
"Master Harry is too kind!" Dobby wailed.
Harry looked slightly stunned with this and James took control of the situation, smiling kindly at Dobby, "Of course, Dobby. Misjiff, can you take Dobby and introduce him to the head house-elf and get him assigned a position?"
Misjiff bobbed up and down. "Come with Misjiff, Dobby!" Misjiff popped out, with Dobby not long behind, both with one final bow to their masters.
James chuckled. "Those are two very strange house-elves. Wait here," James instructed, running up into the dressing room. He sprinted back down seconds later and gently took off Harry's broken glasses. He handed Harry a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. "They're magical glasses," James explained. "I have a pair. They have night-vision, no scratch, no-break, never fall off unless you take them off or you fall into natural sleep or let someone take them off, and automatically keep up with your prescription."
Harry slid on the new glasses, which adjusted to his eyes perfectly, fitting his prescription a lot better than his old ones had. Apparently his eyes had gotten worse.
"Dad…thanks," Harry looked his father in the eyes. A lot went into that thanks that wasn't said, but James just frowned and wrapped him another hug.
"You don't have to say thank you, fawn," James whispered. "This is what someone should've been doing all along for you. Me, your mum, your Uncle Moony and Padfoot are just doing our jobs."
They pulled apart and Harry once again felt reassured by his parent's presence. James turned to the exit and the portrait slid open. "Get dressed, fawn, and ask for Misjiff to burn your fat whale of a cousin's old clothes. I won't have my son reminded of those bastards."
Harry grinned at his father, but there was a melancholy undertone about the Dursleys. Still, not letting it dampen his mood, he jumped up the stairs to the dressing room and stripped off the rags he was wearing, throwing them on the ground. Harry frowned and looked around, trying to select the most non-seventies apparel he could find. The end result was black trainers, jeans, a Puddlemere United t-shirt under casual, open-front, navy blue robes.
"Misjiff?" he called furtively, wondering if it would work.
There was crack and Misjiff appeared right in front of Harry. He bowed, "Yes, Master Harry?"
Harry grinned. "Misjiff…" he started. "I don't suppose you can travel outside of Potter Castle?"
Misjiff bobbed his head up and down. "Yes, Master Harry."
"Or duplicate things?"
"Yes, Master Harry."
"Or make people believe that what they see is something else?"
"Yes, Master Harry."
Harry had a hard time smothering his big ass grin. He handed the Dudley's rags and James' old clothes to Misjiff.
"Dumplestorffs made Master Harry wear rags?" Misjiff gaped. "Dumplestorffs not fit to lick Moldywart's scaly behind!" He picked up James' old clothes with disgust. "These is hurting Misjiff's eyes, Master Harry. Crime against eye-kind, these is, Master Harry."
Harry snorted in laughter. "Okay, Misjiff, here's what I want you to do…"
As Harry walked out of his chambers and down to the Grand Staircase to what he dubbed the "educational" floor, his big ass grin never faded once. Who ever said revenge was bad? Revenge was fun. He wasn't even physically hurting the Dumplestorffs - sure, their pride may be wounded, but who cared?
Harry's grin widened so much his lips nearly split in half. He would have to do this more often.
He opened the oaken door to the study, only to find his parents, Sirius, and Remus staring open-mouthed at six unmoving figures lying in various positions on the floor. To Harry's complete disbelief, one of them was—
"Neville?"
Lily carefully treaded to the study. She had a taken refreshing shower and Daisy, her house-elf, had twirled her hair into a sturdy but magnificent bun. Her lavender over-robes, white blouse and ankle-length skirt were comfortable. Her Ladys' rings glistened on her fingers, one for Potter, one Peverell, and one Gryffindor. Her wedding rings, one with two interloping golden bands with rubies and emeralds studded in them, and the other with a emerald and ruby twirled together slightly set on top on the ring. A necklace made of white-gold with a flower made out of amethyst shone on her chest and a bracelet jingled on her wrist.
All was fitting for Lady Potter-Gryffindor-Peverell.
She had been to Potter Castle before, lived there for two years, before they had had to go into hiding. Dumbledore had suggested they hide somewhere else. She clenched her fist so hard she drew blood.
Sirius and Remus had told her that there was something she needed to see on the scan she took. Lily was worried. What could it possibly be? Harry couldn't be cursed or anything, could he? Lily wasn't quite yet used to parenting a teenager; she was still only twenty-one herself, like James. However, that didn't mean she didn't love Harry or was going to let him run wild. She was going to try and be the best parent she could, even with her young age. It was strange for Lily to see her baby boy all grown up. Thankfully, during her pregnancy, she had gotten so overwhelmed she demanded James and her plan at all the rules, lessons, and expectations they would give Harry when he got older to the letter.
Lily figured her young age might even be helpful in some senses. She (unfortunately) remembered her teenage years like yesterday, so it was possible she connect on a closer level to him than if she was thirty-four.
Of course, there is another option…Lily squashed that thought immediately. That was not a possibility, it was selfish to use something so rare just to get to know her son.
Lily entered the study. It was a magnificent room, about as big as an average school gym, with mahogany bookcases that stood up to the ceiling and covered the east, south, and west sides of the room. The large double doors in the middle of the wall interrupted the west side, and the north wall had a large bay window that took up three-fourths of the wall. It had a window seat with a scarlet-and-gold velvet cushion.
Against the east wall stood the desk, a mahogany table with intricate carvings of the battles Potters had won. It was magically enchanted, every time a Potter won a battle (everything from duels to elections to battling depression), it would automatically be added on to the front of the desk, the other pictures shifting back. If there were too many carvings, the old ones shifted to a new piece of furniture (on the wood). By now, just about every piece of furniture in the castle was covered in carvings. Even some pieces in Potter Manor and Potter Bunker were.
The desk was filled with quills, parchment, and silver, spindly instruments. There was a golden perch next to it, where Midnight was already standing. The chair was high-backed and mahogany, carved like the desk with a red leather seat. In the corner behind it was a spiral staircase that was hidden neatly and practically invisible to anyone if you weren't standing right next to it.
There were groups of armchairs and tables against the most used sections of the bookcases, all stocked with parchment, quills, and ink.
On the south wall, a fireplace the size of a small car was brimming with magical golden flames, a mirror the size of an average window hung above the white-gray marble mantle. A couch, a love-seat (both red velvet), and three gold velvet armchairs sat facing the fireplace, surrounding a mahogany coffee table.
In the center of the room, close to the back of the couch a long, mahogany table ran, about the size of a dining room table. The head faced the desk and the end the door with about a good thirty feet in between each the table and the door or desk. There were claw-footed mahogany chairs with red velvet cushions; fourteen in all, two at the heads and six down each side.
The table was empty at the moment, but Lily knew that it would soon be filled with plans; battle plans, goals, schematics, layouts of houses, diagrams, and reports. We'll rid the world of you both, Lily thought fiercely. Voldemort and Dumbledore.
The decision to take action against Dumbledore and Voldemort had been decided before Harry left on the tour of the castle. Dumbledore had violated the Three Values, and Voldemort had also. Dumbledore reckons Voldemort's coming back, Sirius had said, the old coot is off his manipulative arse, that's for sure. But this…this he's got right.
You won't be in any more trouble, Harry, Lily thought intensely, I know I can't go against the Prophecy, but I'll sure as hell make sure you kick both their arses!
"Lily?" Remus called, walking in. He was wearing a white, button-up shirt and black pants, and a silver over-robe with the Moon family crest on it: a silver 'M' over a white crescent moon crossed with a silver dagger with a gold hilt. On the hilt was the family motto, Tantum digne naturalis. Lily didn't know what it meant, but it sent chills up her spine. Remus always got a kick out of wearing the crest; he said his parents would've had a fit. Lily could tell he was hurt by their betrayal, he - like Sirius - hid any sorrow they had under a mask.
"Lils? We need to show you something," Sirius said, walking in holding a scroll. Sirius looked more somber than Remus; something Lily always found disconcerting: that Sirius Black would be any less than buoyant. He was wearing black pants, a gray, button-up shirt, and black over-robes with gray embroidery and piping, sporting the Black family crest: two Grims, holding their claws and snarling, profile on each side of a black shield with a gray, horizontal stripe. A wand lay vertical on it, shooting three gray stars. Underneath read the family motto: Tojours Pur.
It made Lily slightly sick just looking at it.
"Sirius? Remus? I'm right here," she called, coming over to the door. "What is it? Is it about Harry?" she asked, panicking slightly.
Sirius and Remus exchanged glances.
"Let's wait until James gets here," Remus said carefully.
Lily frowned slightly. James had been very upset about something all morning, ever since that nightmare. Harry hadn't noticed it; he hadn't been around his father enough to know when something was wrong. That fact alone made Lily want to curse something.
It was quite obvious: James had been especially overprotective of Harry this morning. He had sat close to him and practically held his hand through out breakfast. Granted, Lily had basically done the same, but…
Something was wrong, very wrong.
James walked in, not five minutes later; as Lily, Sirius, and Remus settled into the armchairs near the fire. James sat on the love-seat next to Lily, wearing black pants, wearing a red button-up shirt that clashed rather horribly next to his golden over-robe that sported the Potter family crest.
"Good, you're here, James," Lily said, as he kissed her cheek. "Remus and Sirius have something to tell us." James looked curiously at the scroll and then his face muscles tightened, realizing what it was. He had forgotten about that.
"It's about the scan," Sirius said without preamble. "Look."
Lily took the scroll, looking at where Sirius had highlighted in red when she froze in shock, horror, and blindsided terror.
Basilisk venom.
Basilisk venom.
Basilisk venom.
The world seemed strangely blank as she stared at the scroll unseeingly. The two traitorous words bounced around her head like kids in a bounce house, over and over again, their meaning coming less and less clear each bounce.
They danced, flipped, and cartwheeled in her foggy mind, leering and laughing at her. The sting of the words was almost as venomous as the poison itself, seeping into her muddled mind; each second every letter took on a new meaning and she scarce believe she would hear the damned words and not faint with fright.
As a Healer, Lily knew her poisons. Mild poisons, deadly poisons, slow-acting poisons, fast-acting poisons, animal poisons; just about any you could name, Lily knew the ingredients and how to cure to it.
But, there was one poison that a cure was never found.
It was the most deadly poison there was, it killed within three minutes and literally set fire to the blood, turned bones to ashes, and muscles to jelly. No one had been known to survive it; even the person who slew the last basilisk in living history was killed right after because of the poison. Rumor was that phoenix tears could cure the venom, but no one could harvest phoenix tears. They had to be given willingly, the same thing with basilisk venom.
And her son, her son, her son got bit by that monster.
That meant that he had to be near a basilisk.
"Basilisk?" Lily squeaked, her voice not coming out at all as she had meant it to. James rubbed soothing circles on her back, which was helping, but she could hear him audibly grinding his teeth together. "BASILISK!"
"I think we should ask Harry," Remus suggested, though in the depths of his eyes Lily could see he was as shaken as she was. "He's coming down soon, and obviously alive."
The fact that her son could be anything less than alive burst Lily's temper.
"BASILISK! WHAT ON EARTH IS MY SON DOING NEAR A—DAMNED—BASILISK?" Lily roared, punctuating the last three words with curses aimed near the floor, leaving scorch marks. At the moment, she could care less, but she knew after she calmed down she would have a fit of self-scolding.
Before she could continue her rant, a funnel of golden light started to form, right between the end of the table and the door. She paused to look at it, her curiosity getting the better of her. The Marauders looked, too, and they picked their way over quietly. Before they could do anything, though, the light exploded.
The four shielded their eyes and backed against the door, watching from behind their arms as six figures came spinning out of the light and landing on the floor with an almighty thud. They all lowered their hands, shocked, but grabbed their wands warily. Before anything could happen, the door creaked open and Harry walked in behind the four of them.
"Neville?" asked her son's voice in shock.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or JKR's works.
Next up:
Confusion of the Century