Warning: AU for all the books, whilst it will follow them in some events.
AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
By
SilverSkies
CHAPTER TEN: Firsts
It was the first day and his timetable was… interesting, that is 'interesting' in the 'May your life be interesting'- Chinese curse meaning of interesting. Double Potions each Monday morning – with the Hufflepuffs, which really had Harry wondering why on Earth the Gryffindors and Slytherins were paired for that particular lesson. Naturally this was followed by two hours of Transfiguration before lunch…also with the Hufflepuffs, Harry was really questioning why the Gryffindors and Slytherins got stuck with each other for those particular lessons with first one Head of House and then the other… whoever timetabled the lessons was doubtlessly rather sadistic.
The Potions classroom was in the dungeons, and luckily an older student with a free period was willing to show them the way. Dark and dank the dungeons lived up to their name. The Hufflepuffs were huddled together – as if staying within a group could shield them from the harsh character of their surroundings. Harry had just seated himself at a desk with Goldstein, who was probably the least objectionable of the other Ravenclaw boys, when Professor Snape swept into the classroom black robes billowing out behind him and managing to cause one of the Hufflepuff girls to squeak in fright.
It wasn't long into the lesson that Harry knew without a doubt that Snape at the very least disliked him and more probably loathed him. Not long meaning reaching his name in the register and commenting 'Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity.' It only went downhill from there in his opinion.
"Potter! What is the difference between Clematis and Flammula Jovis?"
Clematis? Flammula Jovis? He'd never heard of them!
"I don't know, sir." Harry answered softly, from his peripheral vision he could just about make out the look of shock on Anthony's face. This wasn't a question his classmates were likely to know either.
Snape sneered, "Clearly fame isn't everything then Potter. Tell me, where might one find a bezoar?"
Bezoar – that sounded familiar to Harry. He knew this one, Bella… Harry became aware of Snape's intense stare fixated upon him, and started running through the various Occlumency exercises he knew.
"The stomach of a goat, sir. It will protect you from most poisons, sir." Harry said – most of his attention on maintaining his Occlumency.
Snape's eyes narrowed. "Correct. Though I don't recall asking for additional information. One last question to redeem yourself for your showing of ignorance: What might one conclude upon coming across a person unable to speak, with fluttering hands and dilated pupils?"
Some kind of poison? He had no idea. "I don't know, sir."
Black eyes glittered, "For your information, Clematis and Flammula Jovis are the same plant – also known as Upright Virgin's Bower."
Harry had the idle thought that Snape was the only teacher who could get away with saying 'virgin' without the class lapsing into giggles.
"The symptoms I spoke of are indicative of Belladonna poisoning. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"
Harry grabbed his quill and began writing down the information, glad to have the excuse to put his head down. Belladonna… He wasn't sure if he believed in coincidence. If nothing else, he needed to better his Occlumency, especially around Snape.
Harry Potter was in Ravenclaw, not quite what was expected, though both Lily and James were rather intelligent. Trying to get information from the Sorting Hat had been useless as it had once more reminded him that it's function was to Sort people into Hogwarts' Houses, not gossip about what others were thinking. Ravenclaw could prove quite troubling, but doubtlessly he was worrying needlessly and the boy would no doubt shine in his new House, getting lost in academics. Still, he had thought the boy would be in Gryffindor, or in Slytherin, which would have been a true cause for concern. No matter, he'd see what Severus thought of the boy later.
The boy's poise as he had been Sorted was something of an enigma as well. Just where had he picked that up? Yes, Harry Potter was proving to be rather different than expected – he'd have to check with Arabella later and see what observations she could offer to the picture he was building of the boy.
When Bella woke, it was to birdsong at some ungodly hour of the morning, a quick Silencio at the window and she fell back to sleep – or tried to at any rate. The knocking on the bedroom door wasn't exactly quiet.
"Bella! I know you're awake! Get dressed and we can get everything sorted." The shouting was easily audible through the door, though Bella wasn't certain whether her uncle meant for his next words to be heard, "then I can get rid of you."
Half-awake consideration gave two probable meanings – out of his house, or murder; further consideration as she dragged her weary self out of bed led to her deciding that it was most likely the former, otherwise he might have stayed with the family… and not hidden himself away.
A shower, a delightfully hot shower, woke her up. She was in Alphard's home. They'd Apparated here yesterday – and today hopefully they would work out the details of whatever arrangement they would make – Merlin only knew she wouldn't be getting something for nothing, even if this was family.
So it was that an hour later, (which was admittedly a long time to get ready, but damn it, she was entitled to some pampering of herself) she joined her uncle for breakfast. A breakfast after which she would end up attempting once more to convince him of her sincerity in her desire to aid Harry:
"I see." The frown on his face suggested he didn't, despite his words. "You… I must have finally succumbed to the madness inherent in our family… I'll do it, once you have convinced me of your reasons."
"Agreed. I trust it will not take overly long for you to reach a conclusion." Bella still found it odd trading stilted careful words with him – a need for such within the family was… almost distressing, though if it were Cissa or possibly Andy it would actually be distressing.
"No. I don't believe it will." He paused, "Perhaps you can tell me when and why Sirius decided to follow his younger brother's example."
"I… was most shocked to hear that Sirius was in Azkaban. I would never have believed that he was loyal to the Dark Lord." It was strange, Bella thought, Alphard looked almost hopeful of something.
"So as far as you know, Sirius was never a Death Eater?" He pressed her.
"What are you getting at, Alphard? Sirius is a convicted criminal, who betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord."
"And you are a loyal Death Eater who cares for Harry Potter."
"Touché." So she was acting as a bit of a hypocrite.
Alphard smirked before it collapsed into a familiar grin, "Actually Sirius wasn't convicted, no trial was held – though his killing of Pettigrew and those Muggles was fairly straightforward." He sighed, "Your loyalties are split – you think the Dark Lord is not dead, yet you are apparently looking out for Harry Potter. What are you planning Bella?"
Her expression froze, "That was a rather abrupt subject change, uncle. Makes one wonder…" she said before sighing herself, "I still believe the Wizarding World needs to change, furthermore my views on Muggles has changed as a result of actually living among them… though Harry's relatives are… eurgh! They are everything I stood and stand against. This world is too soft – there are some things, which should not remain unpunished." She had stood as she made her impassioned statements.
Alphard couldn't stop the rueful smile on his face as he said, "You haven't changed all that much have you? All adamant that change needs to happen, but not going far enough to figure out a way to make it happen… though I admit the latter isn't the easiest." Leaning forward in his chair, he continued, "It'll take a few days to perform an adoption ritual – I take it you have one in mind?" He had the satisfaction of seeing her nonplussed.
She nodded, eyes still wide in shock, "Yes."
"Do you have anything to occupy you while we prepare for it? You realise you owe me for this – giving up meat and purifying oneself has to be the most annoying part of rituals."
She raised a sardonic brow, "And you realise that as a former Death Eater, I will most likely have it worse? Purifying potions – eurgh!"
Alphard looked intrigued, "And when did you have a chance to taste those things?"
"…I was one of three sisters you know, that's rather useful in some cases, especially since we're so different, Cissa – blonde and pale, Andy – russet brown and more the English Rose, and myself – all dark hair and eyes." She rolled her eyes as she described her sisters and herself.
"So have you seen them since your escape? And how is it that I haven't heard of the escape of the vicious murderess Bellatrix Lestrange?" He was genuinely curious, there was obvious bad blood between her and Andy, but Narcissa?
Harry's other classes were better, even if he hadn't managed to turn his matchstick into a needle… he did manage to make it vaguely pointy, unlike Anthony who was his partner for the lesson, and had managed to make it soft… and floppy – much to the amusement of Corner and some of the other boys when he picked it up. Harry for his part, was frankly amazed Corner had already graduated from rather base humour to…rather base humour of a different sort.
Charms, however, was the best – not only was it with their rather diminutive Head of House, Flitwick, but they shared it with the Gryffindors – which meant he'd see Neville… and Hermione, who was somewhat of an afterthought for him.
How she had managed to be sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw eluded him, but he had to confess, if only in his own mind, that he was thankful she wasn't in the same House as he – she was a tad too enthusiastic and given her seeming incredible memory… well he didn't exactly need suspicions to be drawn upon him. His first conversation with the girl once they'd settled in had been nerve-wracking.
It had been their second evening at Hogwarts and he'd joined Neville to have a look around Hogwarts, discussing the subjects they'd had so far and commiserating each other with regards to Potions. Then Hermione had joined them.
"Hi Neville, Harry. How have you been finding classes?" The chirpy behaviour seemed a bit at odds with how she otherwise acted (barring her obvious excitement on the train) and thinking about it, Harry had an inkling as to why.
"Classes are fine, though Professor Snape doesn't seem to be particularly fond of me. How are you finding Hogwarts?"
And then he was treated to her enthusiastic rambling about the classes, magic, and the castle itself – interspersed with quotations from 'Hogwarts, A History', but notably lacking anything regarding the other students.
He ventured a question, "So what are your dorm mates like?"
She seemed surprised at his interest, "Well…Lavender and Parvati are nice, but all they're into, is boys, fashion and makeup – I mean really! At this age!"
Harry stared at her aghast. "Sure-Surely that's an exaggeration! They can't be all that bad…" he trailed off as the two in question walked past, arm in arm, giggling and flashing him flirtatious smiles. "Dear Merlin, they are that bad."
Hermione giggled herself, at the look of horror on his face, before sobering and saying, "At least you don't have to share a dorm with them."
"Ah, yes, but I have Michael Corner, which isn't all that pleasant either." He came back at her.
"Ha!" Neville crowed, "I have you both beat, I have to put up with Ron's snoring."
The other two just looked at him, "Silencing Charms work wonders." Hermione told him, before both Harry and Hermione offered to teach him how to Silence his bed.
"The Beast Within?" Alphard smirked at her, "I'm surprised you haven't learnt before now."
She gave him an assessing look, "How old were you when you learned?"
"Eighteen." His swift response, "Do you know what form you'll be yet?"
Bella sighed, and put the book down. "No. I'm getting rather frustrated with the whole thing. It's a damned useful thing to be able to do, but…" She let loose a slight growl at her lack of progress. She narrowed her eyes at him, "so are you going to tell me what your form is? Or do I have to guess?"
"I'd leave you guessing but I think you might hurt me. A wolf and you'll be interested to know that as Blacks, we tend to reflect that in our Animagus forms. Every Black animagus that I know of has been black in colour, even though it's rarely the norm."
"Black. Hmm. Any advice on how to determine your form?"
He looked at her appraisingly, "You should think about what you're like. For instance, I don't see you as a flighty sparrow type. You'd be a predator, like most of our family. What form that predator takes I have no idea. But once you know, I'm willing to help you…"
"Why? Because I'm Pack?"
He snorted softly in choked laughter. "I rather think humans have similar social instincts, but one's form doesn't rub off quite that much. You'd hardly see me marking my territory. Though the more time you spend in it, the more animalistic characteristics you may pick up."
"Right." She gave him a wry grin, "but I have to worry about finding my form first, rather than whatever traits I'd pick up."
AN: Apologies for the wait. My excuses: Ill, major project, ill, exams (still not over), evil chapter… A huge thank you to all those who reviewed, I'm sorry I didn't manage to reply to most of you… I'd be amazed at how many reviews I've received for the last chapter, but since it's been over three months…. Ack. This chapter has been hell, because it kept going wonky, but it's done now. Also it's not as long as the previous two… sorry, but it wouldn't go longer without forcing it, which I didn't want to do.
And I have a question for you gentle readers… What do you think Bella's animagus form is?
I want people to guess so I can laugh at how wrong they are… or go 'Nooo! I am so obvious!' either way… it's all good.
And I forget my other question. Though it looks like this summer I will be writing lots and lots… which is good.
Right. Left. stares at outline for chapter 11 So… I haven't started writing it yet…which is possibly a good thing, since I had half of chapter 10 written when I posted the last… then of course I had to re-write and re-write again. (mutters 'stupid timetables, timelines and plottiness!)
Thank you once more for reviews, and sorry again for the wait.