Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN:
Thanks to all of those who reviewed! There were some questions but none that I can answer at the moment, to not spoil the plot, so I have nothing to say this time, except: Enjoy! : )
Part I: Chapter 29
They arrived at King's Cross Station with all their things: their two trunks which were now quite heavy given that the Featherlight Charm had worn off, and the basket containing little Ulysses.
Leaving his friends behind at the orphanage hadn't been that much of a sorrowful experience, since Harry had missed Hogwarts much, despite everything, and couldn't wait to see his good friend Alphard Black again. Parting from Nagini had been another matter altogether.
Harry had felt very guilty for having to leave her alone for many months, once more. It saddened him greatly, and the little snake hadn't taken it well.
"Why can that thing," she spat in a furious hiss when Tom and him had been getting their things ready that morning, her yellow eyes glaring at the little Scorcrup that was placidly curled up on top of Harry's head, "go with you, and I can't? It's not fair!"
"As you well know, it's because you're a snake and snakes aren't allowed at Hogwarts," hissed Tom curtly, before he shot Harry a narrowed-eyed look. "Nor are Scorcrups, for that matter-"
"Ulysses is like a kitten!" interjected Harry defensively, crossing his arms over his small chest. "And cats are allowed, aren't they? They can't tell me I cannot have him!"
"We'll see," said Tom caustically, though his dark blue eyes had a certain gleeful glint in them, as if he thought Harry's beloved little pet would be kicked out of the school and he couldn't wait to greatly enjoy the event.
After that, the conversation had progressed to become a loud match of angered hisses between Tom and Nagini, and Harry had left his brother to deal with her.
Tom had promised her all sorts of things for when they came back for summer holidays, in repayment for abandoning her for the next months, but the little snake was utterly unimpressed and unmoved, only turning more enraged.
"Perhaps I won't be here when you return!" she had hissed in the end, her tone both furious and sounding deeply hurt. And without another word, she had flung herself out the window.
They had seen her quickly slithering down along a pipe, and then crossing the backyard to end up vanishing into the shrubbery.
Harry shook his head sadly at the recollection, but he was pulled out of his musings when Robert Hutchins placed a hand on his shoulder.
Alice had already fetched a trolley and both muggles had helped load their trunks and Ulysses' basket on it.
"Why don't you go on ahead with Tom, Alice?" said Hutchins gently. "I would like a word in private with Harry, if you don't mind."
Harry tensed at that, biting his bottom lip in apprehension. Alice gave them a curious look but was quick to comply, taking the trolley with her, and even though Tom followed, the boy shot them a suspicious, narrowed-eyed glance.
The moment they were left alone in front of the train station, Robert glanced down at him. "I'd like to discuss what you said the other day-"
"I'm sorry!" blurted out Harry, flushing and fretting nervously. "I know I shouldn't have said those things-"
"There's nothing you should be sorry about," interjected Robert, giving him a warm smile. The man then crouched on the sidewalk to be at his eye-level, putting his hands on Harry's small shoulders, as he added softly, "Everything you said is true. Alice and I have been talking about getting married, and about…" He trailed off, to then smile widely at him. "And we have every intention of adopting you and Tom the moment we are husband and wife. We've already talked about it to Mrs. Cole, and after many lengthy discussions, she saw things our way and has agreed to it. She already has the adoption papers prepared-"
"Oh, thank you!" cried out Harry joyfully, leaping forward to hug the man with all his power and love, feeling as if all his dreams were suddenly becoming true. His brother and him would finally have a family, and better parents than Alice Jones and Robert Hutchins he couldn't imagine or wish for.
The poor man had to stick a foot back to retain his balance and stop them from tumbling over on the street.
"You won't regret it!" promised Harry fervently as Hutchins chuckled and affectionately embraced him tightly.
"Of course we won't regret it," said Robert in amusement, gently pulling Harry backwards to gaze at him with eyes sparkling with fondness and contentment. "You must already know that Alice and I love you boys very much." His expression then turned grave, as he added quietly, "You must understand, it won't happen immediately. I have many things to settle beforehand. It will take me several months to have everything in order."
The man paused, and suddenly grinned. "I want to buy her a nice engagement ring for when I propose, and to get her a beautiful house as well." His lips twisted wryly. "The house I have at present at the back of my store is only fit for a bachelor, not a large family. So I still have to save money for a couple of more months…" He trailed off and chuckled under his breath. "Indeed, I've been saving for many years. I think I started in earnest since the first time I saw Alice. My heart must have known what I desired even before my head did."
A mite befuddled, Harry could merely blink at him. "So… um…"
"What I mean," said Robert, smiling warmly, "is that I've been looking at cottages for sale in Southend-on-Sea." He shot him an inquisitive look. "You boys like it there, don't you? You, at least, have much fun when we visit Old John. Would you like to live there?"
"Yeah!" breathed out Harry, his eyes wide with surprise and happiness. "It's great! I love the beach and the sun, and I could swim every day!"
"Thought so," said Hutchins, chuckling indulgently. "Alice likes the town too, and she enjoys the seaside just as much." He ruffled Harry's hair, as he added with a conspiratorial wink, "But let's keep it a secret between us, yes? I want the house to be a surprise for Alice. It's going to be my wedding present for her." He paused, his expression turning serious. "And don't tell your brother either. I know he can be a tad difficult. After I've proposed to Alice, I would like to tell him myself that we want to adopt you both." He shot him a concerned, quizzical glance. "Do you think he'll agree?"
At that, Harry bit his bottom lip anxiously. He hadn't even stopped to consider what Tom would think about the whole affair. In fact, he was quite certain that his brother would furiously refuse to be adopted by muggles, even if it was Alice and Robert.
A determined, fierce expression crossed Harry's face in the next second. It didn't matter. He would make Tom agree, or else. He wasn't going to allow his brother to spoil things for them. Alice and Robert were the best and kindest people they knew. And they even put up with Tom when he was in his nasty moods, with much patience and understanding, to boot.
"Don't worry," Harry vouched firmly. "Tom will agree."
"Let us hope so," muttered Hutchins quietly under his breath, before he smiled gently. "But yes, I'm sure that between you and I, we'll be able to convince him."
The man rose to his feet, to then give him a wide grin. "On another note, you'll be happy to know that Old John and I have already written to our acquaintances in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Our friends will start asking around about the Gaunts soon. I expect we should have some results in a couple of months."
"That's fantastic, thanks!" piped in Harry, giving him a beaming, grateful smile.
"It's our pleasure to help you, little fellow," murmured Robert softly, ruffling Harry's hair. "Now let's get going, or they'll start to wonder…"
After that, Harry felt as if he was walking on glorious clouds of sheer bliss.
Even Alice must have noticed something was up, because when they parted ways at the train station, Harry had given her a kiss on the cheek when she had leaned down to hug him.
She had blinked at him, looking both bemused and tickled with pleasure at the unexpected show of affection. Harry hadn't been able to help himself, feeling so filled with brimming love and gratefulness for her and Robert.
It wasn't until they were in the Hogwarts Express itself that his feet landed on earth once more. As they went down the corridor of a wagon, hauling their trunks, he noticed the many Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that greeted Tom from their compartments, waving and inviting him over.
Whether they were those to whom Tom had sold essays or acquaintances the boy had made for self-interested, devious reasons of his own, Harry didn't know. Regardless, he was quite satisfied and content when his brother gave them charming, gorgeous smiles but nevertheless made his excuses and kept following Harry. And at least they wouldn't be crossing paths with Olive Hornby and her flock of Ravenclaw friends, since those girls had remained at Hogwarts for the Yule Ball.
They even passed along one of the compartments occupied by some of their housemates. Only two of them took notice. Amidst Orion Black, Thaddeus Avery, Neron Lestrange, Priscilla Pucey and Capricia Carrow, Alphard Black and Abraxas Malfoy were the only ones who glanced at them through the window of their compartment's door.
Harry had let out little Ulysses from his basket by then, and the Scorcrup had been happily perched on his left shoulder when those two boys caught sight of them. Alphard shot him a covert grin, looking vastly satisfied at the sight, his expression softening as he glanced at his former familiar, while Malfoy blinked and then arched a pale eyebrow, curiosity and intrigue clear on his perfect, handsome features.
It was when Tom and he finally found an empty compartment for themselves that Harry realized why his brother had been so keen to stay with him instead of mingling with 'useful connections'.
"What did Hutchins want with you?" demanded Tom shortly, as soon as they stowed their trunks away and sat down, pinning him with a narrow-eyed gaze.
Harry huffed at that, before he said loftily, "Oh, nothing much. He just wanted to tell me that he and Old John Bryce have already written to their friends for the Gaunt thing."
"Nothing else?" pressed on Tom, eyeing him very suspiciously.
"Nope," said Harry with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, to then wholly ignore his brother as he played with Ulysses, chuckling when the little Scorcrup pawed and chased after the thread Harry had yanked out from his Slytherin scarf.
The first months back at Hogwarts flashed by in a flurry of activity.
The news of Dorea Black's betrothal to Charlus Potter had spread like wildfire. It seemed that the couple was on the lips of everyone in the school during the first few weeks, as the couple went around, openly hand-in-hand for the first time: Dorea Black looking quite self-satisfied and smug, her beauty resplendent with inner joy as well, while Charlus Potter looked mightily proud, strutting around with squared shoulders and swelled chest, when he wasn't carrying an absolutely besotted, dumb smile on his face, as he if didn't yet give credence to his good luck and couldn't quite puzzle out how he had managed to finally obtain his heart's desire.
The flutter of gossip that followed them was plentiful and expressed all sorts of sentiments.
"… Must she have everything? She walks around as if she was the prettiest and smartest girl in Hogwarts, and she's not! And she's a Slytherin to boot – she shouldn't be with a Gryffindor, it's not right…."
"…. I don't know what he sees in her. He's so handsome and brilliant, and such a fantastic Quidditch player, and wealthy and a pureblood too, he could have anyone! And he chose a Black? They're all mad and dangerous those, always doing all kinds of evil Dark Arts…"
"…. I heard they've been a couple in secret for ages! They had to, because Abraxas Malfoy's grandfather wanted Dorea Black for himself and the old wizard threatened he would kill anyone she married!"
"Oh no, it was her father who wanted her for himself! It's him who vouched to kill her and anyone else she chose! You know how those Blacks are, marrying each other, and doing incest left, right, and center - it's disgusting! Someone like that shouldn't be with our housemate, we must make Charlus see reason!"
"… What's so good about Potter, I would like to know! I've been courting Dorea for ages, sending her all sorts of gifts – I've spent a fortune, and all the while she rejected me because she wanted Potter? He's an idiot – not good enough to even wipe her shoes! Myself, on the other hand…"
"They make such a nice couple! They really look good together, and it's clear they love each other greatly!"
That last comment Harry had overheard from a group of Hufflepuffs. It had already become evident to him that even though some students of other Houses spurned them for being too good-natured, kind and simple, lacking ambition and wit, supposedly, they were nonetheless the only ones in the Castle that apparently could see the reality of the situation, instead of being misguided by prejudice, envy, or resentment.
Meanwhile, Charlus Potter seemed happily deaf to all criticism while Dorea seemed to vastly enjoy it, shooting vicious, smug smirks at the girls that glowered at her.
Thankfully, gossip about the couple was soon replaced with excitement due to the beginning of the Quidditch Season of Hogwarts. The House Teams had been arduously training during the first term of school and were finally prepared to start the competition for that year's Quidditch Cup.
The first match was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and Dorea had instructed Harry to watch the game so that he could see Gryffindors' Quidditch strategies and how their Chasers, especially Charlus Potter, played. He had orders to keenly observe and learn their flight maneuvers and Chaser tactics and formations.
Not that Harry needed any additional incentive; he wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Finally seeing a Quidditch match for the first time left him breathless and filled with awe, joy, and exhilarated thrill.
He hadn't been at the Slytherins' stands, since his housemates were cheering for Ravenclaw. Instead, he had been right smack in the middle of the Gryffindors, plenty of which had at first glanced at him suspiciously and with much mistrust, being Harry the only one in green and silver amidst gold and red. But as he yelled out encouragements and jumped up and down with Felicity and Felix Prewett, waving banners of Gryffindor House that depicted a ferocious roaring lion and such, the rest of the Gryffindors soon forgot his presence and cheered along with him, boisterously and so rowdy and loudly that Harry didn't think he had ever had so much fun in his life.
It was when he was making his way back to the Castle, with the Prewett twins and Algie Longbottom by his side, all of them excitedly discussing every little move made during the match and filled with pride and joy since Gryffindor had beaten Ravenclaw spectacularly, that two of Abraxas Malfoy's lackeys made their presence known.
Neron Lestrange and Thaddeus Avery used their big bulks to slam into the Prewetts and Longbottom, sending them tumbling down on the ground as they caged Harry in between them, while they began to spit out insults.
"Rooting for the enemy, Riddle?" snarled Neron Lestrange furiously, jabbing an elbow into Harry's ribs, so hard and violently that Harry didn't see it coming and gasped in pain. "And I thought that a filthy mudblood like you could sink no lower, you little traitor-"
A loud, spiting hiss resounded and little Ulysses instantly leapt from Harry's head to his shoulder, his spine arching and his puffed out tail instantly transforming. With a series of clacking noises, his tail changed into hard husks that clicked together, hooking forward, stinger poised and menacingly swaying.
"That's a – a …" spluttered Thaddeus Avery, instantly jumping backwards, his eyes wide with fear.
Neron Lestrange didn't look much better, the boy had paled and quickly withdrawn.
"I knew it!" Walburga Black was suddenly before him, her face twisted with rage. "I knew it was no mere kitten!" She fulminated Harry with her gaze as she demanded in a furious screech, "Where did you get a Scorcrup from?"
Harry didn't fail to notice how the girl shot a glance over her shoulder, eyes narrowed with much suspicion and anger, her gaze directed at her brother Alphard, who was several feet away with another group of Slytherins.
"It's none of your bloody business," retorted Harry coolly, as he grinned at little Ulysses and gave him a grateful pat on the head. The Scorcrup had now focused all his attention to the girl before them, tail still like a scorpion's and ready for attack. "But if you must know, my parents got him for me from Beasts and Vermin in Knockturn Alley."
Walburga narrowed her dark grey eyes at him, as she spat out, "You're lying! Scorcrups are very expensive and everyone knows that your disgusting muggle parents are paupers-"
"They've been saving for the whole year to buy me a good birthday present," interjected Harry airily, before he narrowed his eyes at her and bit out acidly, "Not that it's any of your damn business-"
"I don't believe you!" she hissed out venomously. "I think that-"
Harry snorted scathingly. "And I care about what you think because? Sod off, Black!" He made a move to bump his shoulder against hers so that he could help Felicity Prewett, who was still wincing on the ground from the hard shove Avery and Lestrange had given her.
He was yanked around when Walburga grabbed him by the arm, her eyes glinting viciously, as she snarled, "Even if he's yours, only cats, owls, and toads are allowed at Hogwarts. Not Crups and even less Scorcrups." She shot him a vengeful, nastily gleeful look, as she added poignantly, "I'll be telling Professor Slughorn and you'll have to get rid of it!"
And with that, the girl whirled around and made a mad dash towards the Castle, clearly with every intention of fulfilling her threat right away.
"Go ahead!" yelled Harry after her, chortling unconcernedly, as he then offered a hand to Felicity, which the girl took to pick herself up from the ground, blushing and softly thanking him.
Not that Harry noticed. He was crowing triumphantly inside his head, instead. He had been no fool. The first thing he had done when stepping into Hogwarts was to go straight to his Head of House's office.
He had already been there once before, when Slughorn had explained to Tom and him about the Statute of Secrecy and such.
The wizard's 'office' –an understatement if he had ever heard one– was very vast and spacious, filled with plush settees and sofas, and lavish tapestries and paintings and drapes of velvet cloth that hanged from the ceiling, arranged grandiosely, and with nice vases and all sorts of other decorations and trinkets.
Horace Slughorn was a creature of comforts, clearly, and his 'office' was certainly much different from Professor Tilly Toke's, which was small and simple.
The vast room even had a large cabinet of shelves filled with framed magical photographs, signed, displaying this or that famous figure of the Wizarding World: the inventor of that Potion or other, a Chief Editor of The Daily Prophet or famed columnist, owner of such and such racing-broom company, wizards or witches that had this or that influential or high position in the Ministry of Magic or Wizengamot, and so on and so forth.
Hearing the wizard speak of them, one would think their success in life had all been thanks to Slughorn, since the Slytherin Head of House gave much credit for his former students' triumphs to himself, and had carried on to blabber about all the nice gifts they sent him yearly, in gratitude, allegedly.
Slughorn had taken one look at Harry with little Ulysses perched on the top of his head as they entered the office, and the wizard had excitedly rushed around his desk to peer at them.
"Oho! A Scorcrup, I believe!" boomed Slughorn cheerfully, eyeing Ulysses with great interest, probably noticing their same coloring of eye and hair. "They are quite unique, fascinating little creatures." His eyes suddenly sparkled, as he rubbed his hands together. "I wonder if you would allow me to extract some of the poison it holds in its stinger. The venom of the Black Scorpion of the Gobi Desert is quite a rare, expensive-"
In that instant, before Harry could say a word, his familiar somehow got a drift of what the wizard's intentions were, because Ulysses jumped from Harry's head to his shoulder and arched his spine, spitting out a loud hiss as his fur stood up and his tail puffed out.
"Ah! I see the books didn't lie," said Slughorn, letting out a nervous chuckle as he quickly stepped backwards, safely away from Ulysses' range. "Has the intelligence and perceptiveness of a Kneazle as well!" He then shot Harry an entreating, persisting glance. "But perhaps, if you asked him nicely to allow me to-"
Another spit of a warning hiss, and Ulysses' tail swiftly transformed into a scorpion's, pointedly flashing the wizard with its stinger.
"I see. I'll take that as a refusal," mumbled Slughorn, his tone despondent and vastly disappointed, casting one last covetous look at Ulysses' stinger before the little creature regained his usual appearance and hoped back on Harry's head to calmly curl himself up in a satisfied manner.
The wizard released a mournful sigh before he beamed at Harry jauntily. "Well, m'boy, what do you require of me?"
"I want to make sure that I can keep him in the castle," said Harry at last, to then add vehemently, "He's really just like a kitten. He's harmless, truly!"
Slughorn gave him a skeptical glance at that, but Harry was quick to peer up at the wizard with big, teary green eyes, as he said piteously, "You and the rest of professors know that Tom and I are really orphans, Sir. We have so very little. And Ulysses here was a present from a good friend I have in Hogwarts. And I can't return him." He made his eyes go huge, as he added with a sniffle, "Surely I can keep him, please? He's the only thing I have."
"Yes, the Staff knows about your situation," said Horace Slughorn, his expression softening with sympathy as he patted Harry on the shoulder. He looked to be musing things over, and then he merrily winked at him. "I'll have a word with Headmaster Dippet to let him know about your request and sincere motives for it. I'm sure he'll agree to make an exception in your unique case."
And apparently Dippet did, because the following day Slughorn told him he would be allowed to keep his familiar at school, albeit with some stipulations.
"It's known that Scorcrups follow their owners' instructions to the letter, m'boy," said Horace Slughorn with a wizened air, before he added in a stern voice, "As long as you tell him to never attack a student or professor, no matter the circumstances, it will be quite alright."
Thus, Harry did as required, though it didn't stop Ulysses from spitting out threatening hisses and flashing his scorpion's tail when the situation warranted it. But the little creature only did that to bullying Slytherins, for the rest, the Scorcrup had become some sort of mascot, vastly fawned over.
Indeed, after he had been given permission by Dippet and Slughorn, he had carried Ulysses around wherever he went, and it had gained him an unexpected surge of popularity.
Girls and even some boys would stop him in the corridors, to giggle and croon at little Ulysses and pet his soft fur. And the little creature seemed to bask in the adoring and gushing attention, always pulling cute little stunts like mewling and purring and curling up or prettily yawning to show his tiny fangs and pink tongue or using his paws to softly pat at caressing fingers and coil his tail around wrists.
Moreover, the Scorcrup seemed to have taken an instant liking to Felicity Prewett. Every day in which Harry spent some time with his friends in Gryffindor Tower, little Ulysses immediately jumped into Felicity's arms and started licking her nose and cheeks, tickling the girl with his tiny rough tongue, making her giggle as she cooed at him, looking utterly enchanted and enamored, as she pressed her face on his soft black fur and scratched the back of his tiny ears and petted and coddled him.
Little Ulysses became like a loud purring machine at the mere sight of the girl, fact that seemed to delight everyone who witnessed it.
His Scorcrup was quite the little charmer, who clearly knew what he was about.
Furthermore, in exchange for Harry learning German, Tom had fulfilled his end of the bargain and had begun brewing the eyesight-correcting potion of Dorea Black's book. With the pouch of galleons Tom now knew came from Alphard, he had purchased by owl all the necessary ingredients, most of them from the apothecary in Diagon Alley. The eyes of a magical creature near extinction Dorea Black had once mentioned, had come from one in Knockturn Alley.
Then, with his own potion supplies of weighting scales, cauldron, and stirring rod, Tom had chosen one of the numerous empty rooms in the maze of corridors of the dungeons and had proceeded to begin brewing.
It would take six months, so Harry was well aware he would be taking the potion just before the school year ended. Not that he was in any hurry. Given the potion's rate of success and possible harmful consequences, he was in no rush.
And since Tom had been nice and taken care of the potion, Harry had further repaid him by asking the favor from Alphard.
"You want the Mind Arts books my parents have in their library?" said Alphard dumbfounded, blinking at him.
"Not all of them!" clarified Harry quickly. "Just one or two – whichever are the best. And I just need to borrow them for some weeks, nothing more."
Alphard shook his head, as he said, mystified, "But how did you know my parents have such books?"
Indeed, how did Tom know everything? His brother just seemed to have a knack for it. Though Harry suspected the boy must have been doing some heavy eavesdropping around their common room, and probably one of the Blacks had boasted to their friends about the libraries in their homes.
"Dunno," mumbled Harry, shrugging his shoulders. "I just heard someone saying so, I think."
Alphard shot him a piercing glance but didn't press the matter. His expression turned pensive, as he said quietly, "Well, we have many of those kinds of books. What are you interested in, exactly?"
"Legilimency and Occlumency," replied Harry promptly.
At that, Alphard's eyebrows shot upwards. "Gulping gargoyles! What on earth for? I haven't read about that myself but I know what they are!" He gave him an anxious look, as he added in a hasty whisper, "They are considered Dark, Harry. If anyone saw you studying those things it could mean trouble for you."
"We'll be careful, don't worry," said Harry soothingly.
"We?" echoed Alphard, before he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl on his face. "Ah, now I understand. It's for your brother that you're asking!"
"It's for both of us!" interjected Harry vehemently. "Fine, so he was the one of the idea. But he's told me that they are very useful so I agreed to ask you and to study them." He peered at his friend entreatingly, as he added in a soft voice, "Please, Al. It's me that's asking for the favor, not Tom."
Alphard deflated, his lips twisting wryly. "Alright, alright." Then he frowned and shook his head. "But I cannot possibly write to my father asking for those books. He treasures the Black Collection greatly and he would never send me one of its books to Hogwarts. Not to mention that if he knew I was lending them, he would have my hide."
"Oh," mumbled Harry in disappointment, his shoulders slumping. He released a heavy sigh. "I understand-"
"I didn't say I wouldn't get them for you, though," piped in Alphard, mischievously grinning at him. "If you don't mind waiting, I can get those books when I go back home for summer holidays."
Harry gazed at him, concerned. "But if you take the books without asking for permission first, won't your dad notice anyway?"
"Oh, certainly," said Alphard unperturbed. "But I plan to take them just before I have to leave for Hogwarts for our second year." He shot him a very toothy grin. "So by the time my father finds out, I'll already be back here. And he cannot punish me when I'm in Hogwarts, can he?" He rolled his eyes, and flapped a hand dismissively. "I'll get a Howler and that's it."
"Um…" said Harry hesitantly, shooting him a worried, rueful glance. "But I don't want to be the reason you get in trouble with your dad…"
Alphard let out a guffaw and then sniggered. "I'm always getting in trouble with my parents! One more time will be of little consequence." He patted Harry on the shoulder, and winked at him. "Don't worry. Everything will work out just fine, you'll see. I'll lend you those books next year and then I'll return them to my father by owl along with words of deep repentance and such." He chuckled under his breath. "I'll get a slap on the wrist and that will be the end of it."
"If you're sure," said Harry slowly, to then beam at him, "then thanks!"
Furthermore, soon after that, Harry was apprised of other good news.
One day during breakfast at the Great Hall, when he was seated amidst his first-year housemates, a flock of owls swept in, dropping newspapers as usually happened.
Given the sudden stream of gossipy whispers and animated voices that rose in the Hall, Harry took an interest and peered with curiosity at The Daily Prophet in Tom's hands.
At the front page there was a big moving picture of the Minister of Magic, Charlemagne McLaggen, with a forced smile on his face, yet his expression was clearly pinched. Right above it, in black, bold letters, the title of the article read: 'Dumbledore Wins Plebiscite! New Law Passed!'
Harry was instantly reminded of what Alphard had told him when they had been under Charlus Potter's Invisibility Cloak in Hogsmeade and had seen the Minister and Aurora Bones in The Three Broomsticks. Just as he recalled all the angry comments the Slytherins had made during the first term of school, regarding all the things that the law Dumbledore had been striving to pass in the Wizengamot entailed.
Apparently, through the plebiscite, the British wizarding community had voted in favor of Dumbledore's suggestions and the wizard had finally triumphed, trumping and thwarting McLaggen.
As the article explained, following the Law, a new department had been created in the Ministry of Magic: the Muggle Liaison Office, that had already placed a portrait of an inconspicuous wizard in Downing Street Number Ten, to take notice and hear everything that went on in the Muggle Prime Minister's office. The fireplace there had been connected to the Floo Network as well, and Minister Charlemagne McLaggen had already made use of it to pay a visit to his muggle counterpart and reveal the existence of the Wizarding World to him.
Harry almost choked on his bit of toast as he read that over his brother's shoulder, breaking into guffaws and sniggers. He could almost imagine it, Neville Chamberlain gawking and gaping as his fireplace suddenly burst into green flames, to then spit out a wizard covered in soot, with robes and yielding a funny-looking stick in hand.
It was a wonder he hadn't received a newspaper clipping from Alice with the news that the Prime Minister had kicked the bucket from a sudden nasty shock. Poor sod.
Harry shook his head in amusement and kept reading. Though the article didn't explain what Neville Chamberlain's reaction had been or what had been discussed between the two Ministers. It was just tilted as a success and 'the beginning of new era of Muggle-Wizarding Cooperation'.
Dumbledore's Law required all that, as well as-
"This is not to be borne!" spat Capricia Carrow angrily, throwing her newspaper with disgust on the table. "There goes the Statute of Secrecy! Now all those filthy muggles will know about us and they'll-"
"Only their Minister has been told," interjected Abraxas Malfoy coolly, arching a pale eyebrow at her. "It's not the end of our world as we know it."
Before her friend could retort, Priscilla Pucey said acidly, "It's as close as it can get." She glanced around and then lowered her voice to a mere whisper, hushed yet furious, "We all know what Dumbledore's Law's true purpose is. Now McLaggen will have no choice but to help muggles in case of war. It won't be as easy for him to make an allegiance with the Dark Lord. And we were counting on that - that his fear of the Dark Lord would make him cower like the pathetic, powerless wizard he is, and agree to a peace treaty!"
"What makes you think the Dark Lord wants peace with England?" drawled Abraxas placidly, his silver eyes glinting as his lips quirked upwards. "Truly, Pucey, I thought you had much more sense."
"What do you know?" breathed out Capricia Carrow, as she, Priscilla, and Druella Rosier leaned forward, as if they wanted nothing more than to pry all his secrets from his lips. "What has your grandfather told you?"
"I know much," said Abraxas, smirking at them widely, clearly savoring their desperation, "that I'm not allowed or willing to divulge."
Then the boy covertly shot Harry a glance, with silver eyes that seemed to be gleaming with a knowing, satisfied glint in them, as if Abraxas had come back from Winter Holidays with a wealth of new secret information and it was somehow related to him. Harry could only frown at the boy, puzzled and miffed.
Clearly not noticing the silver and green gazes briefly locking together in a silent battle of wills, the girls shot Abraxas a vexed glare at his response, before they returned to their Daily Prophets as they angrily whispered amongst themselves.
"I'm more annoyed about the changes in Hogwarts' curriculum," remarked Orion Black then, glowering at the newspaper article as his handsome features twisted with anger and contempt. "Care of Magical Creatures to be really left as a third-year elective? I thought they wouldn't dare! I enjoy that class. I don't see why I should suffer the lack of it just so that stupid mudbloods aren't shocked during their first year by knowing about 'dangerous' magical creatures. If they can't take it, then they shouldn't be here in the first place!"
"It isn't going to affect us," piped in Alphard Black, rolling his eyes at his cousin as he finished munching down a sausage. "The article says that those changes are only going to be implemented next year. So it's the new students that will have that class as an elective, not the rest of us."
"That's beside the point, Alphie," groused out Orion darkly, glaring at him. "It's the principle of the matter. New pureblood students will be affected, won't they, and all future generations as well - and all just to coddle mudbloods! As if their vile presence among us wasn't already harmful enough!"
Harry knew that if it had been a couple of months ago, Tom and he would have been the recipients of pointed Slytherin glowers at Orion Black's last comment about mudbloods.
However, it was clear to him that after Tom had carried on the 'first stages' of his 'plan' –the whole issue of selling essays to students of other Houses to prove to the Slytherins that it was smarter to have Tom working with them rather than against, besides having attacked Walburga Black with some unknown Dark Curse that not even Dorea had been able to heal easily, along with threatening their housemates with bodily harm if they kept bullying Harry– had changed things for them.
The additional presence of Ulysses, who had already proven his worth against the thickheads of Thaddeus Avery and Neron Lestrange who apparently hadn't taken Tom's words too seriously about not touching Harry, had become a further incentive for the Slytherins to watch how they treated the two 'mudbloods' in their midst.
Their housemates wholly ignored them for the most part, if they weren't approaching Tom for essays and tutoring sessions, gritting their teeth yet paying for in full. Tom was no altruist, after all.
Thus, the Slytherins acted as if Tom and he weren't seated at their sides, and carried on to discuss at length all the possible political ramifications of Dumbledore's Law and how it would affect their families' positions and clout, and whatnot.
From Tom, Harry only heard some words muttered pensively under his breath, "… this changes much…"
Not that Harry had any idea what his brother meant, because Tom wouldn't say, and Harry had other matters to deal with so he hadn't cared much.
Indeed, by the second week of March, just after the second Quidditch match in which the Hufflepuffs had pummeled the Ravenclaws –the Huffs weren't so kind after all, at least not in the Quidditch Pitch– he finally completed his map of Hogwarts.
Only a few finishing touches were required but he didn't want to make those in the presence of Professor Tilly Toke, who had helped him much and further taught him the rest of the charms he would be needing to tweak his map in private.
It was thus, that he was in the kitchens, staring proudly at his map. Ulysses was on the table, on top of a slab of meat much bigger than himself but which he was nonetheless attacking ferociously with claws and tiny fangs, hissing with pleasure at the taste and with tail happily swinging.
The house-elves had already become used to his familiar and were always quick to present a plate of juicy raw meat when Harry showed up with Ulysses.
At the moment, Harry was gazing at his map with a satisfied, smug grin on his face. It was perfect. As soon as he had opened it, the large piece of parchment had rippled and began to shift and morph, forming a model of Hogwarts' Castle.
Just how he had seen some people do with a sheet of paper with which they formed the shape of animals and such –the caregiver Karen was always doing that, to then gift them to the children of the orphanage– the parchment folded itself to become Hogwarts, as large as two heads put together, and turning nearly transparent so that everything inside could be seen: all the classrooms and floors, the small moving staircases, the Great Hall, the towers, the dormitories of the Four Houses, and such.
There were many labels that indicated what was what, as well. And small black crosses made of magic floated inside some small rooms – those that Harry had already checked for the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Those that he remembered, that was, because he had inspected plenty more but couldn't precisely tell, in the model, which rooms they had been.
Now that he was alone, he flicked his wand and uttered a charm. In a flash, a pale cord-like coil of magic appeared sticking out from the castle from the third floor, attached to a lump of parchment labeled as 'Gunhilda of Gorsemoor Statue'.
With another charm cast, the label 'Tunnel to Hogsmeade' appeared above the cord. Harry had every intention of being very thorough in completing his map. He expected he would be adding quite a bit as he continued his exploration of the castle.
All that he needed for the time being was a name for the map and key phrases to open and close it. Tilly Toke had said that all good mapmakers always enchanted their creations in such ways, so that they would only work for them. Harry had thought it was a rather brilliant idea. He didn't want anyone else knowing the secrets of Hogwarts he could come to discover.
He was precisely musing about what name and phrases he could use, when a voice startled him.
"I thought you'd be here! You weren't in the common room."
"Al!" gasped out Harry, scrambling to hide the map in time.
He wasn't successful, since Alphard instantly appeared beside the table and pounced, asking with much curiosity, "What's that?"
Harry ceased his attempts, and sighed as he presented it before his friend's gaze. "Erm… well, it's a map of Hogwarts."
"Really?" said Alphard excitedly, perusing it with his light grey eyes, before he gave him a quizzical glance. "What are you planning to use it for?"
At that, Harry stared at his best friend. Because, truly, Alphard Black was his best friend, even if they had known each other for just a couple of months. It was funny how those things worked.
Before going to Hogwarts, he would have said that Eric Whalley and Billy Stubbs were his closest friends, having known them for years, but things had changed now that he couldn't talk to them about the Wizarding World or Hogwarts. He had felt it, a sort of wall between them, when he had been in the orphanage for Christmas Holidays.
On the other hand, there were the Prewett twins, and even though he felt very close to them as well, Felicity and Felix had other friends, in Gryffindor, and couldn't spend all their spare time with him.
Alphard was different. The boy didn't have any real friends except him, and though they met in secret in the kitchens and couldn't openly go around the school having fun together, they still spent most of their time with each other, when Harry wasn't with Tom in the Dueling Chamber practicing Dark Curses from Grindelwald's Durmstrang textbooks or studying German.
Moreover, Alphard had done plenty of things for him, asking for nothing in return except his friendship. And it wasn't fair that Abraxas Malfoy, of all people, knew more about Harry than Alphard did. Granted, Malfoy had discovered the secrets all on his own, but still, it wasn't right.
Thus, he now peered at his best friend, giving him a long, considering look. In the next second, he made up his mind.
Harry gestured at the chair beside him, as he said gently, "Take a seat. I wanna tell you some stuff."
Alphard cast him a curious glance and was quick to comply, then gazing at him with much intrigue and interest.
"Tom and I don't have muggle parents, Al. We're orphans…" began Harry in a quiet voice.
And he told him everything he could.
About what Tom had told him about their mom, how she had given birth to them in a muggle orphanage and gave them their names to then die. How Tom had one day showed him a little snake he had found some years ago in the backyard of their orphanage, how Harry had realized that it wasn't that the snake could speak English but that he could understand her hisses. About Dumbledore's visit and how the wizard had reacted when he had seen Nagini and had heard them speak to her. About what the Sorting Hat had told Tom –he left out his own experience with the Hat because he still didn't understand much of what the Founders' judgments had been blabbering on about.
He also told Alphard about the magic he could see in the Castle and in some of the creatures they were shown during the class of Care of Magical Creatures, and then about The Pink Quill's article in The Witch Weekly and Mortimer Mullhorn's unfinished book, which all had led them to finally find out about John Gaunt during Christmas Holidays.
He left out any mention of Santi and the Grey Lady, because he didn't quite know how to explain that.
Throughout it all, Alphard gawked and gaped and choked and gasped, but didn't interrupt.
And Harry finally finished by telling him what had happened with Abraxas Malfoy and how the boy had realized that Tom and he were Parselmouths, looking for the Chamber of Secrets.
"He thought you were a golem!" cried out Alphard just as soon as Harry said his last word, as he choked on peals of guffaws and sniggers. Then the boy suddenly clamped his mouth shut and stared at Harry, with an astonished, dumbstruck expression on his face. "Then… you really are a Parselmouth?"
"I haven't lied!" snapped Harry, bristling defensively. "Everything I said is true!"
"I know," mumbled Alphard under his breath. "I know you wouldn't lie." He shook his head, looking dazzled. "But it's a lot to wrap my mind around, you know?"
And then the boy went back to stare at him with big grey eyes, still looking baffled and flummoxed.
Harry squirmed on his chair, feeling anxious and awkward. "Um… that's all I had to say."
Alphard blinked at him, and said very slowly, his tone of voice bewildered and perplexed, "So you and your twin are really descendants of Salazar Slytherin and you're looking for these Gaunt relatives that are also Slytherins-"
"Yeah," said Harry quickly, before he waved a hand dismissively. "But a good friend of mine is already helping us with that."
Alphard stared some more, then shook his head as if he was trying to sort his thoughts into some measure of order, and muttered pensively, "And Abraxas Malfoy saw how the Bloody Baron touched you without going through, and you have Magic-Sight-"
"Magic-Sight?" interrupted Harry, gazing at him nonplussed. "You mean that what I can do has a name? It's not some freakish ability, but a known one?"
"Of course," said Alphard matter-of-factly, perking up, "it's a magical trait, just like Parseltongue, and just as rare, at that." He shot him a befuddled, quizzical look. "Maybe that's why you went through the painting of the bowl of fruits. Maybe that's some other strange ability."
Harry blinked at him, to then shrug his shoulders. "Could be. I don't really know."
Alphard shook his head, muttered something unintelligible under his breath, and then his eyes suddenly sparkled and his face brightened as he piped in excitedly, "But, then, this is awesome, Harry! You're a true Slytherin and a Parselmouth and you're looking for the Chamber of Secrets!" He leaned forward to peer at Harry's map, as he added animatedly, "That's what all these black marks are for, right? Places you've already checked for the secret entrance?"
"Um, yeah," said Harry, a bit disconcerted by his friend's abrupt reaction.
Alphard beamed at him, shooting him a large grin. "Then I want to help! It will be so much fun!"
"Really? You do?" said Harry surprised, then widely smiling at him with much fondness.
"Of course!" said Alphard excitedly. "And Ulysses here can be of much help too." He affectionately patted the head of the little Scorcrup that was happily munching down what was left of his slab of meat. "The three of us can look for the Chamber of Secrets together!"
Harry's green eyes widened, and he gasped out happily, "The three of us! I know just what name to give it!"
In a flash, he whipped out his wand, gave it a flick, intoned the enchantment, and declared, "The Three Musketeers' Map!"
The words floated in beautiful silver letters just above the model of the Castle, baptizing it.
"The what?" Alphard stared at silver letters with a blank expression on his face.
"The Three Musketeers!" said Harry effusively, to then look at him with utter disbelief and groan, "Don't tell me you don't have those books in the Wizarding World?"
It had been one of his favorites stories. Back when Robert Hutchins had started bringing books to the orphanage -to read them to the boys putting it in his own words- and after having told the tales of The Iliad and The Odyssey, one of the many other books had been about the adventures of The Three Musketeers.
Harry even remembered how in those days he had played with his friends, breaking branches from the bushes so that they could yield the sticks as if they were rapiers.
Amy Benson had been Queen Anne, and at first, Eric Whalley, Billy Stubbs, and he had all wanted to be D'Artagnan. They had quarreled and bickered until Harry decided that, to be fair, none would be D'Artagnan, and that they would be instead the three brave musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. They had even convinced other children to play with them and had prodded each other with their sticks and shrieked and laughed as they all fought; Eric, Billy, and Harry against the other children who were the bad musketeers loyal to Richelieu.
In fact, Harry had even tried to rope his brother into their game, so that they could also have the evil Cardinal Richelieu. Really, Harry had thought his brother was perfect for the part. But Tom had shot him a look filled with scathing contempt and had gone back to his boring, stupid textbooks.
Pulling out of his reminiscences, Harry piped in excitedly, "They're fantastic! They're three men that guarded and fought for the King and Queen, and they had these funny-looking thin swords that were called rapiers, and they saved plenty of times the French Queen and King and the whole Kingdom from the evil Cardinal Richelieu's plots! They had loads of adventures and stuff."
"Oh!" said Alphard brightening. "Sounds good, I guess."
Harry nodded repeatedly, grinning widely. "You, Ulysses, and I will be like the Three Musketeers, because we'll go exploring together, having fun, helping each other, and things like that! And they had these words they always said before going to fight. Watch!"
Giddily chuckling, he tapped his map with his wand and cast a series of charms, muttering the phrases under his breath.
When the map had folded itself to look like a blank parchment, he gave it a tap, exclaiming excitedly, "All for one and one for all!"
It worked perfectly and the parchment rippled and morphed and shifted until it formed the model of Hogwarts, with the map's new name floating above in silver letters.
Harry gave it another tap, as he intoned merrily, "Adventure accomplished!"
And the Castle unraveled itself to become once more a blank piece of parchment.
"Nice!" breathed out Alphard admiringly.
Harry beamed proudly. "Pretty wicked, eh?"
"So when do we start looking for the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Alphard, so enthusiastic that he was almost jumping up and down on his chair.
"Tomorrow night," decided Harry, his green eyes sparkling and with a wide, happy grin on his face.
Alas, they hadn't been able to use the map then, because the next day March the fifteenth arrived, and left Harry devastated.