Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal

By: KKM

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or any associated characters. Harry Potter is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the Gorillaz or any associated characters/songs. Gorillaz are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Comments:

PersonaQeminod1: I think Harry is finding good friends within the band. He has a sense of being now and is finally starting to become independent. Thank you for reading!

nanoidManicist: Lol, you think so? Tell your friends! I'm really trying my best to combine my two favorite fandoms. I like good, long stories too so hopefully I can keep you entertained. Long comments like yours keep me motivated to keep writing so thank you for taking the time to tell me what you think.

Renamonreborn: Thank you for your support!

Last Time:

"Maaan, I knew you were gonna' do somethin' crazy," Russel said with a sigh, rubbing his forehead.

"I told you that I always get what I want," he replied with a snot. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to ward the building from more intruders."

"Bu' wot 'bout 'Arry?" 2D asked, with a nervous frown.

"Just leave him be for now. When I'm done, I'll talk ter him," Murdoc assured them as he pressed the button for the lift so he could go back to his Winnie and look up the proper spells he'd need.

Meanwhile Noodle had already snuck out of the room and had followed Harry to his room. When she cautiously opened the door, she found Harry upset and sitting on the edge of his bed staring at nothing. She bit her lip and slipped into the room and sat next to him in silent support.

"Thanks, Noodle." He muttered before becoming silent again. They stayed like that for a long while waiting until Murdoc would come.

Chapter 7: The Boys-Who-Were-Forgotten

A couple of hours had passed before Murdoc was finally heading down the hall toward Harry's room with a sigh of relief. Kong Studios was completely unplottable now and was surrounded by all of the wards he could find. He doubted that even the Ministry of Magic could find them now. He'd made Russel the secret keeper because he knew that nothing would be able to get past the bigger man.

Now that he was finished with that, he knew that Harry would most likely want to talk about what happened. Murdoc could clearly remember the curiosity looming in those emerald eyes as he'd argued with Professor McGonagall at the door. There was no use in hiding the past since he felt that he'd made his dislike of the woman as clear as she had her own for him. So instead, he was prepared as he paused in front of his new son's door with a strange looking homemade ceramic pot tucked under his arm.

"Oi, you still awake?" he asked redundantly. He'd already heard Harry and Noodle's quiet murmurs on the other side of the door before he'd made himself known. He shifted his weight impatiently as he heard Noodle's soft steps pitter-patter to the door before she threw it open and looked up at him. "Beat it, Squirt," he ordered, using his empty hand to ruffle her hair. It was one of the few times he'd seen her lately without her helmet. He laughed as her little face scrunched up in displeasure.

"Watashi no kami ni furenaide kudasai. Anata wa tsukemonodesu," she insulted as she swatted his hand away from her. Before she left, she turned and gave Harry a big smile and a thumbs up before disappearing down the hall.

Murdoc rolled his eyes and kicked the door shut with his heel. "Fuckin' menace," he muttered fondly before crossing the room and approaching Harry who was still sitting on the edge of his bed.

"What's that thing?" he asked as he watched the older man push everything off of his nightstand before placing the poorly made ceramic pot on it and dragging it closer to them. As he looked closer at it, the pot appeared to have some sort of symbols etched crudely all around it.

"It's a homemade pensive," Murdoc answered absently as he shoved his hands in his pockets obviously trying to find something. "Now where tha' fuck'd I put- Ah!" he smirked as he pulled a small bottle from his back pocket that held what looked like pearly water inside. He un-corked it and poured it into the pot before tapping his finger into the liquid causing it to ripple. Harry watched in fascination as with each ripple, the water seemed to pulse and glow.

Murdoc nodded at it, seemingly pleased with the potion's reaction before plopping down on the other corner of Harry's bed. "Now, I take it you've go' lots of questions?" he asked, quirking his brow at the boy.

"Well… yeah," Harry admitted, his face flushing a little as he tried to think of a way to pry without being rude.

"Out with it already, kid!"

"Alright, alright," Harry winced, his gaze moving back to the strange glowing bowl as he tried to get his words in order. "It's just that Professor McGonagall seemed to know you personally. Almost as if you were like me once…"

Murdoc let out a long suffering sigh and began to glare down at the bowl himself. He wasn't really a fan of sharing his personals but once again he reminded himself that this would help him gain a better relationship with the boy. He'd already come this far, so there was no reason not to get to know the kid properly. The blood adoption pretty much threw all of that out of the water so he'd have to get used to moments like these more often he supposed.

"I was li' you once," Murdoc admitted slowly, the frown lines at the corners of his lips seeming to deepen as he tried to think out how he wanted to explain this. His eyes darted over and met Harry's weary gaze. "My situation was a lo' like yers, in fact. I might even gander ter say tha' your uncle might've been a decent chap compared to my ol' Pop." When Harry looked like he was about to disagree, the green man spoke again. "In fact, if I hadn't been useful, he might've just sold me outright."

"Sold?" Harry repeated, narrowing his eyes as he tried to wrap his head around the idea.

"Oh yes," Murdoc nodded with a bitter tone. "Money was all tha' was important. Heh, he taught me that much, I suppose. When my brother an' I weren't stealin' an' dealin', we was performing instead. Different shows here an' there. That fucker even 'ad me singin' Pinocchio ter people. That's right, me - Pinochio! I was a ruddy joke to 'im. But I brought in the dough, an' that's wot he wanted. But when the money was tight an' my brother an' I weren't reelin' it in… that's the ticket, innit? Wot good were we to him 'cept maybe as punchin' bags every now an' then?"

Harry looked away as they lapsed into silence. Yes, his aunt and uncle had been cruel and he'd also been beaten, but they'd never stooped so low as to have him work as a sideshow for money. He thought about what he knew about Murdoc and how he acted. How would things have been different for the older man had he not been subjected to horrible things like that all of his life.

"Ah, don' think too hard on it," Murdoc waived his pity away. "I've been through some shit, but I've also dealt plenty of it. I've neva' been an innocent party to none of it. I still steal an' do plenty of stupid shit that could get me into loooooads of trouble," as he said this, his eyes rolled into a complete circle as if he'd imagined every bad thing he'd done encompassed in that one area. "I'm a bi' twisted, you see. Much as I dun' like the ol' fuck, I am a spiitin' image of my father. I love money, women, drinking, drugs, violence, you name it… but there's one big difference an' that's the real kicker. In some weird fucked up wayor another, I take care of my lot. Sometimes we don't live the nicest, but everyone has all they need and everyone is relatively safe here. No one starves. No one is left to fend for themselves."

"I can see that," Harry nodded, thinking about how Murdoc interacted with each of his band mates. There were times when none of them could stand each other and other times where they were all thick as thieves and Murdoc was in the center of it all. For all the horrible moods and behavior, he never could be accused of abandoning them. Sure, Harry had seen him stomp away from things like an overgrown child after being threatened to get his ass kicked, but later on he would return as if everything had been water under the bridge. "Unconventional, yet functional. But what does all of this have to do with Professor McGonagall?"

"Because to fully understand why she hates me, you 'ave to understand what she saw and why later on she'd 'ave drawn her own conclusions based on the rumors. Really, I don't suppose I blame her for tha' part. But I do fully blame 'er for leaving me where she did. She's no more a protector than a pussy cat's a lion."

Harry watched in wonder as Murdoc closed his eyes and tapped his temple with one of his long discolored nails. He made an odd swirling motion with his finger until a strange translucent wisp began to appear from thin air. Then he suddenly pinched the strand and tugged as his heavily drooping eyes opened to stare dispassionately at the strange substance grasped between his fingers.

"Did that just come out of your head?" Harry asked, somewhere between horrified and insanely curious about what he was witnessing. Murdoc looked up at him and nodded before tossing the wisp into the clay pot and stirring with the tip of his nail again.

"It's a memory," he explained as he pulled his hand away again. "A pensive lets you either store or relive memories at your leisure."

"How does it work?"

"All you 'ave to do is stick yer head in it an' open yer eyes." He responded simply, then gave a snort of amusement at Harry's incredulous gaze. "I promise you won't drown an' I'll be in there with you."

Harry nodded and teetered a bit in his seat as he looked down at the strange glowing liquid. Every now and then he thought he'd seen an image flickering just beneath the surface of the now constant ripples, but he wasn't sure. He bit his lip in a moment of indecision before nodding to himself and taking a deep breath before leaning over and dipping his face into the shimmering solution.

It wasn't wet feeling like he'd imagined it would be before touching it. In fact, it didn't feel like he was submerged into anything at all. At first he felt a coolness that tickled at his skin like peppermint, but then it was as if his whole being had passed through a portal of some sort. He could feel the magic and energy working around him as if he was suspended in time and space, but at no point did he feel terrified or uncomfortable as it encompassed him.

And then his feet touched the ground.

At first, the world around him was blurry and then the world seemed to pulse around him as it popped into focus and everything down to the tiniest detail became visible. He was standing in the middle of a narrow street that looked like it hadn't been paved in years. There were cracks all along the pavement and even the curbs looked worse for wear and had some crumbling on the edges. Every house looked worn and the lawns were uncared for. There seemed to be a permanent dark cloud hanging over the ratty old neighborhood and Harry found himself having trouble imagining it had ever been sunny here.

As he looked around, he couldn't help but to feel the pull of familiarity as if he'd seen this place before. Then he took in a sharp inhale of breath when he saw a street sign further down the rows.

"Spinners End," Harry read out loud breathlessly as his emerald eyes took in every boarded up window and broken fence post. "You were from here?" he asked wearily, turning around when he felt Murdoc's presence behind him.

"Not originally," Murdoc admitted, his mismatched eyes roaming their surroundings in boredom with a hint of what could have been loathing. "I was originally from Stoke-On-Trent. Me Mum had me inna' halfway house before I was dumped on me Pop's doorstep. Neva' did get to meet 'er. She died befo' I ever really go' the chance. Wasn't at all well in the mind let alone health-wise from wot I was told. She'd have neva' been able to take care of me. Me Pop was always on tha' move. We came 'ere when he was havin' a spot of trouble makin' money when I was around nine. We stayed fer 'bout three years before we ended up movin' again."

The whole time he spoke, Murdoc's voice remained strangely detached as if he was hosting a documentary on someone else's life. Harry had the strange feeling that he was trying very hard to pretend he was unaffected by being here. Harry was about to tell him that he didn't need to see these memories to believe him, when the older man's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked down the street passed Harry.

Harry quickly turned around to see a group of three walking toward them from the end of the street. There were two dark haired boys and a girl who was walking between them with long red hair. All of them looked around his age. Murdoc was the only one he recognized from the bunch. Not much had changed about his looks over the years it seemed. He still wore the same bowl cut hair and had a similar style to what he wore now. Harry was amused to note that the younger and the older version of the man were both wearing black long-sleeved thermals and jeans – the only thing that seemed to be missing from the younger's outfit was he did not yet have the golden upside-down cross. Young Murdoc's nose seemed to have been broken even back then making Harry wonder how young he'd been the first time it had happened. The main differences were that the little boy's outfit had seen better days and had several rips and frays. His younger self also only had dark brown eyes instead of mismatched and his skin was more of an olive toned tan instead of the green he sported today. But upon closer inspection, Harry could see the warning signs of abuse as the boy seemed unnaturally thin and gaunt. He also appeared to be limping a little, favoring his right foot when he walked, though it was barely noticeable.

In fact, now that he was looking, the other boy didn't seem to be much better off. This child was taller than both of the others and unnaturally pale. He had long greasy hair that hung limply to his shoulders and his eyes seemed to constantly be on the lookout for anything suspicious. He also had a rather large nose that Harry thought looked a bit like a bird's beak. He appeared to be somewhat tense as his hands were clenched in fists just visible under the sleeved of his oversized hoody.

The only one of the children that looked remotely healthy at all was the girl who was walking with ease between them as her bright emerald eyes glanced back and forth between her two rugged companions. She stood out in stark contrast with them in her tan colored long sleeved top with little brown flower patterns on it. It was then that Harry noticed that her jeans sort of looked like bellbottoms in a way and he silently wondered what year it was. He couldn't help but feel the girl was beautiful will her long flowing hair that reached mid-back. It was for the most part straight except for a single braid hidden between the strands on the left side of her head. There was something familiar about her, but Harry couldn't quite figure out what. He knew he'd never met anyone that looked like her before and yet he felt an internal tug as if he'd seen her before in his dreams.

She stepped ahead of them suddenly and turned around to face her two companions with a huff as she crossed her arms and eyed them critically. "Are you sure you should go back now? He's just going to take it out on you again," she said with a frown, her eyes locking with Murdoc's in fierce determination. Harry was briefly reminded of a lioness he'd seen at the zoo once protecting her cubs. This girl seemed to radiate the definition of protective as she continued gazing at the shorter of the two boys.

"Oh, bloody hell," the smaller Murdoc groaned, breaking eye contact as he rolled his eyes at her and let out a long-suffering sigh. "Not this rubbish again!"

"Lilly, we've been over this," the other boy frowned, raising his brow at her as he too crossed his arms. "If he doesn't go back it will be ten times worse. Think of what happened last time…"

All three children cringed at the reminder and Lilly shook her head, biting her lip. "But, it's not fair! No one deserves that, Severus," she tried to reason and then looked back at Murdoc and tried again. "You could stay with us. Mum and Dad really wouldn't mind. Severus has stayed before and they didn't have a problem with it." As she spoke, the boy with the long black hair sneered at her and let out a snort.

"Lilly, that's hardly the same. Tobias has Mum as a buffer. She calms him down when I'm away," Severus pointed out, then nodded to his now quiet friend. "Murdoc doesn't have that luxury. His brother's probably off somewhere too which means that no matter what, he's going to get the snot beat out of him. That's just how it is, Lils."

"He's right, love," Murdoc said finally. "But I'm used to it. S'alright. He'll get bored an' probably pass out afta' a time." When he shrugged afterwards, Lilly seemed to become more enraged and opened her mouth to say more but Murdoc interrupted her with a smirk. "'Sides, I'm Murdoc Niccals. Nuffin' could take me out, love. Afta' all, who'd be around to annoy you lot if I was gone?"

His arrogance had the desired effect as her frown cracked into an annoyed smile. "You're a right jackass is more like it," she muttered and launched forward to give him a tight hug. He stiffened immediately on contact as if he wasn't used to such pleasantries and patted her back awkwardly. Harry noticed that Murdoc's eyes quickly met the slightly jealous ones of Severus and smirked. But when Severus's eyes narrowed at him, Murdoc looked more amused than anything as if he was just taking a piss at his friend.

"That's enough of that," Murdoc grimaced and shook as if her affection grossed him out when she finally let him go. She merely giggled and rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Now fuck off, you two. It's getting' late."

Lilly gave him a reproachful look for his use of foul language, but nodded. "Fine, but come meet us at the park when you can. Don't wait a week like last time. It was torture." She gave him one last hug and then began walking back up the street.

Severus stayed a moment longer, giving his friend a look of silent understanding. They had a lot in common in this area of their lives and it was obvious that Severus understood the dynamic of Murdoc's abuse in a wat that their friend Lilly did not. "Take care, Niccals."

"Likewise, Snape." Murdoc said with a mock salute before watching as the boy swiftly turned away and easily caught up to the redhead with his long strides. Murdoc quickly turned away from their retreating forms and shoved his hands in his pockets before kicking a rock out of his way and reluctantly continuing his trek down the street. He never did see Lilly's worried gaze as she snuck one last backwards look at him before Severus tugged her away and they disappeared down a different street.

"That girl seemed really worried about you," Harry said, looking up at the older version of Murdoc who was still staring at the spot where the trio had been standing moments before. "Her name was Lilly, like my mother," he added thoughtfully, not really reading into it much more than that.

That seemed to snap Murdoc out of his daze as he barked out a laugh of incredulity. That was your mom, kid. Didn't you recognize her?" he asked as they began to follow young Murdoc back to his house. When the younger version slipped inside, Murdoc held Harry back and they waited. There was no reason to have Harry watch that part.

"B-but, I thought you said you didn't know my parents!" Harry exclaimed in wide-eyed confusion.

"I didn't really. I only knew yer mom for a few years when we wos kids. When her an' Severus disappeared to Hogwarts, I was shipped off ter a boardin' school called Sodsworth Comprehensive. Fell out of touch with her an' maybe talked the Severus a handful o' times after that before 'e drifted away too. It happens. I wasn't sore about it or nothing," he shrugged. They both tried to ignore the shouting and sounds of broken glass coming from within the home as they continued to stand there.

A few minutes later, the front door slammed again when young Murdoc came limping out and breathing heavily. His left cheek and eye were all bruised and bloody. He had a busted lip too. He sighed heavily and plopped down onto the top step of the rotting porch before pulling out a small hand rolled smoke and lighting it. He groaned out in pain as he inhaled and leaned back with a grimace.

"A joint," the older Murdoc answered Harry's questioning gaze. "I'd stolen it from my brother Hannibal's room earlier that day. It helped take my mind off of the pain." Harry nodded, a sad look crossing his face before looking back at the younger Murdoc. To his surprise, the boy was no longer alone. A sliver Tabby was pawing at him and nuzzling against his side. Harry's eyes widened with recognition.

"But that's-"

"Yes, you're not the only one she tries that shit on, kid." Murdoc said, his eyes narrowing as he cat seemed to help cheer his younger self up a little. "She came aroun' fer about a week before she made her true self known."

As he said this, the memory world around them seemed to jerk and Harry watched in fascination as everything seemed to fast-forward around him like someone had hit a button on a recording or something. When it suddenly stopped and stilled again it looked like it was nearing sunset on yet another cloudy day.

Harry spotted the same silver Tabby as it bounded down the street toward them and paused beside a big bush. The cat darted in, but a few moments later Professor McGonagall stepped out in a mahogany robe not unlike the emerald one she had worn on her visit to Kong. Her lips were pinched together with a stern look of apprehension on her features. Harry didn't think that she appeared all that thrilled to be there. He watched as she briskly walked up the porch stairs and knocked on their door twice.

A tall burly looking boy of about fifteen with a mean aura that strongly reminded Harry of Dudley answered the door and gave her a look of strong disdain. "Halloween ain't fo' anotha' few months, lady," he informed her rudely before attempting to slam the door in her face. "We dun' want none."

"I beg your pardon young man, but I won't be leaving until I've had a word with your father," Professor McGonagall said, sticking her foot in the door to prevent him from closing it. She gave him a challenging look as if daring him to say otherwise.

"Yeah, whatever lady. Daaaad, some crazy bint's at tha' door!" he bellowed before walking off leaving her to her own devices as she stepped into their shabby living area. She looked around in clear disgust taking in the stained walls and the lumpy couch. There was even a broken lamp in the corner that appeared to have a dusty cobweb tangled in the glass shards as if it had been there a while. There was some torn paper next to an old iron stove that was against the far wall. They watched as she looked around for a moment before plucking it up and sighing when she saw the familiar green scrawl.

"So, he did get it," she grumbled, stuffing the torn piece of paper into her pocket as she heard a shout followed by the loud booms of drunken steps coming toward her from a different part of the house.

Even though Harry knew nothing could happen to him in a memory, he couldn't help the small tremor of fear that was crawling up his spine. The sounds reminded him all too much of his uncle stomping down to his cupboard right before it was time for a beating. He subconsciously took a step closer to Murdoc and watched nervously as a very drunk looking man burst into the room baring his rotting teeth at the waiting professor before taking a swig of what looked to be vodka.

"F-fuck, do you wan'?" he slurred before letting out a loud and incredibly rude belch that made the old woman wince. Sebastian Niccals was a very weird looking person, Harry decided With his shabby looking top hat, frayed coattails, and greasy long hair, he sort of reminded Harry of an even stranger looking version of the Goth comedian Noel Fielding that Dudley was always raving about. Except there was nothing funny about this man. In fact, Harry felt that Murdoc's father looked a bit mad and unhinged. There was a wildness in his eyes that made him appear slightly dangerous.

"I am here to talk about your son, Mr. Niccals," Professor McGonagall said. Her right hand was hovering over one of her robe pockets in such a way, that Harry realized she must have kept her wand there. "I am from the boarding school you received a missive about. The one you seem to have used as kindling for your stove." She spoke in a rather blunt tone as she kept her eyes on his staggering form.

"Pah, Hogwash or woteva' it was?" he sneered, holding onto the doorway for support. Then he seemed to gain confidence in his ability to walk as he took a few steps toward her and laughed. "My kid ain't goin' ter some crackpot school, lady. 'Specially not fo' magicians. In case yeh haven't noticed, I've go' that part covered," he chucked, giving her a clumsy mock-bow.

"Oh I've seen exactly what kinds of things you teach your children," she replied, unable to keep the disgust out of her voice. "I assure you that the things you are teaching them have absolutely nothing to do with magic."

"Is tha' so?" Sebastian sniffed, spitting at the floor. "Look lady, magic ain't real. It's all a bunch of hokus pokas to ge' some ooo's and ahhh's before yeh peddle 'em out of money. Been doin' it fo' years, an we don' need your help!"

"Your child is gifted! He has a power that he needs to learn to control," Professor McGonagall insisted, trying not to let his drunken proximity intimidate her. "Myself and my colleagues can help with that."

"It's nothin' but a pipe-dream," Sebastian sneered gruffly. One of the floor boards squeaked behind them and he turned around so fast that Professor McGonagall jumped. "Ah, here 'e is right now. The gifted one, she called you." He laughed cruelly and grabbed his youngest son by the scruff of his neck as he pulled him from his hiding spot behind the doorway. "Do you think yer special, kid?" he growled, touching his nose to his young son's.

Young Murdoc tried very hard not to wince as his father's putrid breath assaulted his nose. "N-no, sir. Not at all," he muttered, refusing to make eye contact as he looked down toward the floor instead, his face flushing in quiet embarrassment from being demeaned in front of this stranger.

"Put him down this instant!" Professor McGonagall demanded, pulling her wand fully from her pocket this time and jabbing it in the air at him. "Law be damned, I am not above jinxing a foul Muggle like you."

"A wot?" Sebastian laughed, looking at her like she was daft. "It's a stick. Who gives a shit? 'Sides, look around you lady. Does it look li' we can afford your fancy little school here?"

"We have instalment plans," she said through gritted teeth, still pointing her wand at him.

"Fat chance, yeh stupid cunt. Twenty grand a semester… Fuck, I could think of much betta' shit to spend my money on. It ain't happening, sweetheart."

"Are you really so selfish that you wouldn't allow at least one of your children to be successful?"

"Oh, he'll be successful," Sabastian grinned evilly as he glanced back down at Murdoc who seemed to be trying to make himself as small and insignificant looking as possible. "But I will be tha' one reaping in the benefits. Murdoc 'ere can actually sing and play a guitar. He's useful unlike that otha' lump. Why would I eva' give my only cash-cow ter the likes of you? He'll hit it big one day an' we'll get out of this dump. You can't have him. I won't pay."

Professor McGonagall slowly lowered her wand and looked at Sebastian for such a long time that Harry wondered if she was trying to read the man's soul. Finally, she let out a shaky breath and looked down at the now fidgeting child. "Young man, what do you think?"

Murdoc looked startled that the old woman had even asked. But seeing the glare his father was giving him, he knew better than to show any interest. He stayed quiet and looked away again.

Professor McGonagall looked gave the child a look of disappointment and pity. "If that is your choice… then fine. If you change your mind, then perhaps we can work something out"

Harry thought he saw a look of guilt in her eyes, but he wasn't sure that he believed it. In fact, he kind of felt like she'd given up too easily. He'd seen the interest in young Murdoc's eyes and surely she'd seen that he was only trying to appease his drunken father. But instead she'd taken the easy way out. She hadn't even mentioned a scholarship or anything to try and entice him. It kind of made Harry feel sick to his stomach.

The sick feeling in his stomach only got worse when McGonagall disappeared through the front door and Sebastian rounded on his son. "Le' me make one thing very clear to you. You're mine and you will neva' be anything without me. Do you hear?" Murdoc went to nod his head yes when he suddenly yelped in pain and was sent flying backwards from how hard he'd just been backhanded. He wisely chose to stay on the floor and rubbed his cheek with a pained grimace.

"Tha' fuck you lookin' at? You want some too?" Sebastian growled when he spotted Hannibal watching cautiously from the doorway. When the older boy quickly vacated the area, he laughed before looking down at his youngest one more time. "Starting tomorrow I expect double profits outta' you, or you'll regret it. An' if I eva' hear one peep outta you 'bout that school I'll make sure you can't sit for a ruddy month."

On that note, the world shimmered around them again until Harry found himself sitting on his bed again staring at the silent much older Murdoc that he was familiar with.

"That was awful," Harry said quietly. "You're right, your father was a nightmare."

"You 'ave no idea," Murdoc replied in a low voice. "He was a right bloody bastard. I remember thinkin' he'd pop outta' nowhere and kill me someday when I finally got the balls to run away. He's dead now," he told Harry, not looking the least bit sad about it.

Harry nodded, then voiced what was bothering him. "I think Professor McGonagall knew that you wouldn't be attending when she came that night. Besides when your dad got handsy with you, she didn't even really try…"

"I don't think many would 'ave," Murdoc said honestly. "She'd been watching us a while and knew what kinds of bad business we were getting' in to. I think it was secretly a relief fer her that I wouldn't be going. They wouldn't 'ave been able to straighten me out. I was too wild. Any guilt she would 'ave had 'bout me probably died after the tabloids started reporting about my scandalous ways. Not to mention, most people wouldn't be caught dead near a Satanist."

"I guess, but it still doesn't change the fact that she practically abandoned you."

"True. But if she hadn't, I might not 'ave ever found my religion. The world had turned its back on me when I suddenly came across a book tha' changed everythin' for me," he told Harry, who was listening curiously. Harry had never heard anyone say anything positive about Satanism before. "After living my fucked up childhood and bein' spit at one to many times, I guess it just called to me. Most people don't understan' Satanism and they don't try to 'cause they think all of the philosophies are inherently evil. And yet, it offered me a sense of belonging I'd never had. I fucked up a couple of times and made shitty deals here an' there, but I suddenly had confidence and a backbone."

"I never really thought of it that way," Harry admitted, realizing then that Murdoc really was an actual Satanist and it wasn't just a ploy to build his image.

Murdoc nodded and continued to explain, "It opened my eyes. Did you know tha' in the Satanic Bible there's a commandment about takin' care of those you care for, but above all else one's self? When I wos younger I never cared because I didn't think I was worth it but now I know better," he paused and took a deep breath. "I'll admit, when I took you in it was fer selfish reasons. I knew who yeh were as soon as I saw the scar on yer head. But Harry, you've become someone I now consider part of my family whether we 'ad a choice or not," he flexed the hand that had the blood bond scar as he said this. "There will be plenty o' people like the Dark Lord and Dumbledore who will see you as nothin' more than a pawn and they'll play on your weaknesses. Don't let yerr past become a weakness. Use it to build a foundation of strength so you can tell all those wankers to piss the fuck off."

"I'll try," he replied with a frown. He wasn't honestly sure how he could go that, but he was really trying to move on from it. The abuse always lingered in the back of his mind like an oppressive shadow waiting to envelope him in his pent up emotions. But now he at least had someone in his corner who seemed to understand.

"You'll figure it out," Murdoc assured him, patting him on the shoulder before standing and scooping up his pensive and heading for the door. "Get some rest, kid. It's been a long day."

After Murdoc had left and the door clicked shut, Harry flopped back on his bead with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as if looking for answers. He still felt somewhat lost and not sure what to do about it. But very slowly he was starting to understand that he now had people who cared about him and wouldn't judge him anymore. He thought about what all had happened today and frowned. "I will not become a chess piece," he said to the empty room before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take him.

A/N: I feel like this chapter took forever to write. People kept interrupting me and I had a hard time getting away to speed-write it. The last part of this chapter from Sebastian until the end isn't my best writing, sorry. But I want to hurry up and get passed this chapter so we can more on to happier things. What did you think of Murdoc's past though?

Also, for those of you that think that Harry is being extremely reactive to certain situations and not as confident as he was in the books, it is because I want to show that Harry is still just a child and any child put in those situations is going to have some form of lasting affect on their psyche. He will become more confident and relax more later on, but everything is still fresh for him.

The next chapter will be really fun and happy to bring us out of this mood. We'll go to Diagon Alley next!

What the heck is Noodle saying!?

"Watashi no kami ni furenaide kudasai. Anata wa tsukemonodesu." – "Don't touch my hair, pickle man." (For those of you who maybe are more Harry Potter fans than Gorillaz, this is an inside joke within the fan base. Everyone refers to Murdoc as a pickle because he's green and has a sour disposition. My favorites are when he's depicted as "Murdoc Piccals" getting into fights with Pickle Rick from Rick and Morty – that shit's hilarious!).