I don't own this. And if you don't know that...

~FS

...

Chapter 4: The Sharps and Diagon Alley Part 2

...Or The Best (for Harry) and Worse (for Albus) Christmas ever

...Or Dumbledore is confused

...

Father straightened up, "Let's get our minds off of this. It's no good to dwell on the past too much." As Harry nodded, Antonio leaned next to Dad and whispered, "It may not be the pass." Father looked quizzically at his eldest son, who continued, "I know you've sensed the spirit wandering around." The older man nodded, "I've felt it. I can't figure out who it is though. It's barely anchored to this world." "Harry's scar is reacting to it." Father's eyes widened, "Fuck, That's bad." He glanced at Harry, who Veritas was trying to cheer up. "Did you tell him?"

Antonio shook his head, "If he knows, it's because he figured it out himself." Father pinched the bridge if his nose, "Alright, we'll just have to watch out for him." Father looked up, realizing, "Where are the Malfoys?" "They politely excused themself while you were comforting Harry. And on a side note," Antonio looked at his Father, "Are YOU alright?" The man nodded, pushing any pain he felt away, "Yes I am. Now then," He said to the boys, "Let's go back and meet up with Rachael and Lucius."

Antonio's eyes widened, "Oh shit, I forgot about Lucius. I let that nutcase wander off!" Father looked sharply at Antonio, "Find him immediately. We can't let him get into trouble." Antonio nodded and ran off. Dad turned to the now over-hopeful looking brothers. Sighing, He raised an eyebrow, "What did you two cook up now?" "Can we get some ice cream?" They said in unison. Father shook his head, laughing and smiled, "Fine, I guess we can take a quick break and get some." Cheering, the two dragged Father over to a ice cream shop and picked out their favorites. They sat at the counter, looking out at Diagon Alley.

A minute or two later, Antonio marched a tied up Lucius into the place and sat him next to Father, who raised an eyebrow at the scene. Antonio scowled at his younger brother who was smiling manically, "He was about to try and blow up a cauldron that he had filled with a fear potion in a shop." Father's eyes narrowed, "Lucius. I'm not even going to ask why you would do this. Mainly because I know why you would. You are grounded for a month. Apparate home, go to your room so I can talk to you later." Lucius smirked, "Oh don't worry Father, I can't wait for it." He was then untied by Antonio and with a devish grin, he Apparated.

Both adults sighed, Father's head was in his hands, "It figures that the son that's a sadist and is mentally ill is a freakin' masochist. I have to take so much effort just to punish him." Veritas and Harry looked at each other. They didn't know that their brother enjoyed pain as much as he enjoyed dishing it out. No wonder their attempts at payback never worked. Harry shrugged and went happily back to devouring his ice cream. Veritas watched; his little brother absolutely adored sweets. The blonde figured it was do to never being allowed them before coming to their house. Veritas didn't really want to think about his brother's abusive relatives; in fact, he didn't really even care about them at all. The bliss on his younger brother's face made buying it for him all worthwhile.

"What House do you all want to be in?" Antonio asked curiously. Harry shrugged, and kept eating for a moment before saying, "I don't konw. I'll probably just ask to be in whichever one Brother is in." Veritas' heart leapt at those words but he quickly asked, "You sure? I mean, I want you to be with me, but surely you have some idea?" Harry tilted his head thinking. "Well, Griffindor sounds nice. They seem like they'd be good friends and willing to stand by you. Then again," he said, taking another bite of ice cream, "Brother is the best friend I can think of and the Lions are all focused on the whole "Light is Good, Dark is Evil." So that's be annoying." Veritas nodded along with Antonio and Father. [I'd doubt they'd take kindly to the fact I'm your familar.] muttered Schlange. Harry nodded and translated for the others who agreed as well.

"Ravenclaw is all about studying and being smart. While I manage good grades, I doubt that's all I'd want to do." Veritas snorted a bit at the "manage good grades" part. In the same way Veritas was a natural and prodigy in combat and martial arts, as well as Sculpting and Forging interestingly, Harry was bloody brilliant with Potions and Charms. Father said the brunet probably had inherited those skills from his mother, who he heard was extremely skilled in both magics. This was in addition to his genius level IQ, ability to easily master "muggle" (math, writing, etc) subjects, and brilliant strategizing abilities. Veritas doubted even the brainiest Ravennclaw could outperform him.

Harry continued after attacking his ice cream again, "Hufflepuff sounds nice with its loyalty mantra, but all Houses have that in some amount. Slytherin is cunning and all that, and they care about the Darkness. But I've heard quite a few are stuck up, conceited jerks that enjoy hurting people. Kind of like Lucius, just not actually insane," he said, making a face at his mention of his brother. Veritas nodded, thoughtful, "Draco didn't seem too bad." Antonio chuckled; the brothers turned to look at him. "His parents were a few feet away and he was talking to the legendary "Boy-Who-Lived". Of course he'd be polite. Wait till he's at Hogwarts and then see how he acts."

Once they finished, they went out onto the street and found Rachael. The boys gasped as she approached them, grinning. She had two large birds with her in cages; One was a snowy white owl who was looking about while the other was a jet black hawk. "Merry Christmas boys!" She said, giving the owl to Harry and the Hawk to Veritas. Father raised an eyebrow at the Hawk. "I thought they were supposed to have owls?" Rachael waved that aside, "There's no specific rule or law. It's just normally only owls are smart enough to be trained. And wizards don't like change, so it's not really embraced. And I knew Veritas would adore this guy!" Harry looked enviously at the Hawk as she said that. Rachael leaned next to his ear and whispered, "I didn't forget about you. Don't tell Veritas; that bird is almost as smart as a familiar. She'll out perform that hawk every time."

Harry grinned widely at the large bird. Schlange slithered up to the brunet's ear, hissing a bit, [This wouldn't be my replacement, would it?] Harry smiled a bit guiltily, [I hadn't meant that. She's just really beautiful; it's not like she's a familiar or anything.] Schlange laughed a bit, [I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. Just remember who's your familiar.] Harry rolled his eyes at this, [Not that you'd let me forget anytime soon.] Schlange nodded at the white owl watching them, [What are you going to name her?] Harry looked curiously at the bird, "Hadn't thought about that... I'll name her... um... Hedwig!" Veritas nodded, thinking about the same thing, "I think I'll name my hawk... Ares!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the name, "Wow, uncreative much?" Veritas rolled his eyes. "Whatever little bro; Ares is still cooler than Hedwig." The hawk happily squawked making Veritas smile, "See! He agreed with me!" Harry could have swore that he saw Hedwig roll her eyes at this, even as Schlange chuckled next to his ear, [The jury has decided. That bird is an idiot.] Harry tried to restrain his laughter. Everyone else was chuckling at the exchange before Father, smiling, put a hand on each of their shoulders, "Boys, boys, they're both great birds. Now, we need to head home." Harry happily agreed; this was the best Christmas ever!

Meanwhile, in Hogwarts...

Dumbledore hummed to himself as he walked towards the Great Hall. This would be a glorious year. The Wizarding World's Saviour would return and he could mold the young boy into the perfect man to take on Tom. It really had his spirits soaring! "It's so wonderful, I'm even using that charismatic crap I say to myself!" Albus said and chuckled. If only the students could see him now; they would no doubt want to send him off to St. Mugo's for mental insanity. As he entered the Hall, a large black owl flew in. Looking curiously at the large bird, he took the note that it carried. It took off and quickly left, as if it did not want to be anywhere near the Headmaster. Albus raised an eyebrow. The envelope was high end and the seal made of black wax, depicted a Phoenix rising out of flames. He was unaware of the family that has such a seal, so he carefully opened it. Tom could have gotten Foreign wizards to send him a "suprise". In it was a note that Albus sat down and read.

To Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts;

Greetings. My sons received their letters today and I am pleased, thourghly pleased. Harry and Veritas were also extremely excited. I will visit you soon to discuss things in detail as my son is the well known Harry Potter-Sharp and I wish only the safest of conditions for my sons. I had planned on sending them to Durmstrang like the rest of my family, but at the recieval of your school's invitation, I decided it was best to send the to your illustrious school. As he is the hero of the British Wizarding Community, it seemed only proper to send him to you.

We will talk later in person. What time would be appropriate for you?

Thank you for your cooperation,

Alek L. Sharp

Head of The Ancient and Noble House of Sharp

CEO of Sharp Industries

Director of the Swiss Magical Education Department. (1)

The lemon drop in the Headmaster's mouth fell out as it hung wide open. Who was this person claiming to be Harry's father?! Harry Potter-Sharp; what in the world had happened? Dumbledore was under the impression he was still at the Dursleys, being, ah-hem, "toughened up". It was, of course, crucial that Harry saw Albus as the boy's own personal "Savior". The man was, after all, running the school that allowed him to escape his relatives; and with Albus being like a grandfather to him, he'd firmly gain Harry's complete trust. That was the only way the boy would willingly and unquestionly follow his orders and the "Hero-complex" Dumbledore would slowly develop. That drive to save everyone would make the boy their best bet to stop Tom once and for all.

Fingers drumming on the desk, he quickly called for Hagrid. It'd be the best really. He could ask Snape, but the man would hate his preparation time being interrupted, and he'd likely take it out on the very Muggles they needed the information from. Plus, the half-giant really did care for Harry and would happily find out what had happened to the boy. In addition to that, the groundskeeper's physically massive physique would probably intimidate that fool Vernon more that the cold and sneering Snape. Many students would disagree, but to a mere Muggle that was paranoid of anything odd, an eight foot man like Hagrid with his magic umbrella would be more than enough to do the trick.

Albus turned his attention back to the letter; specifically the signature. Alek L. Sharp. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded extraordinarily familiar, but he couldn't place it. Obviously the man was the President of the SMED; however, that must have been very recent, as he hadn't heard that yet. Then again, he didn't really pay attention to Switzerland, since it was always nuetral. Still, that name, "Sharp", seemed familar. He made a mental note to look it up on the way back to his office. He quickly Summoned a quill and ink and wrote a small letter back to this mysterious Mr. Sharp. Calling an owl, the man sent it off. Hopefully, he'd have answers soon. The Headmaster needed some answers before he could adjust his plans to take this into account. Whatever "this" turned out to be. The man sighed; This may have just turned into the worst Christmas ever.

Back in the Sharp Manor...

The boys chased each other happily, Veritas having grabbed Harry's Chocolate Frog and was playing keep away with a laughing Harry. The others watched amusedly. Father turned to Antonio, "Look after them for a few minutes. I'll be back. I need to go ask a favor of a friend." His eldest son nodded, happy to be in charge (for once) of two cheery and definitely not insane pre-teens unlike a certain blond that he had to watch over at Durmstrang. Antonio shivered; the messes that mad brother of his made. This past Halloween at the school was the worst yet. Rachael turned to head to her room, "I'll go write and submit my application to work at Hogwarts. I'll use my original surname so Dumbledore doesn't get suspicious." Like Harry, Rachael had been adopted by Alek. Her family, the Simmons, were a Wizarding family from the United States that had become good friends with the Sharps when they immigrated to Switzerland, where the Sharps' Manor is.

Rachael's family had been caught in an attack at the time just before the War. They had been on vacation in the UK when it had happened. There were no clues on the identities of the killers; Could have been Death Eaters, Werewolves, Vampires, or any of the large number of creatures that roam the world. Her mother, father, and brother who was a couple years older than her, had been killed. She had been young at the time; 6 or 7, about the same age as Harry when he had joined their family actually. She had taken a few years to open up; it had helped that it had been in the early summer when Antonio was around. He was her new older brother, though not necessarily a replacement for her birth brother. Still, Antonio helped fill the void she had found in herself after her family's deaths.

Alek smiled at his kids and then walked upstairs to his bedroom. Large and spacious, the room was inviting and open, yet still formal in appereance. Lying down on his large bed, he closed his eyes and disconnected his spirit from his body and went to another plane of reality, the Spritual plane. The man walked down the road of crystallized blood, pass the fields of black colored crops standing still in the breezeless air. He stopped in front of a dilapidated manor, smiling. Alek had to had it to the kid; no matter how many times he moved, Alek's friend always managed to find a exceptionally Dark looking property. He walked up to it and rang the bell. A hooded and silent figure opened the door. Nodding to each other, having seen each other quite a bit, the hooded butler let him in and pointed up at the study, indicating were his master was. Alek walked through a magnificent mansion, and to most people's suprise, not at all deteriorated on the inside, bright and, if not for the hooded butler, rather cheerful.

He knocked and heard a voice float out, welcoming him in. Alek opened the door and went in. There behind his desk, sat a young man, a teen by his looks. Black hair was combed back today. Normally the boy didn't care enough to comb it and let it hang, covering his eyebrows and the tops of his ears. His right eye glowed, completely black save for three red rings, one set inside another, that were inside it. It was the boy's Rank, the sign that he had accomplished the impossible; he had cheated Death. Alek smiled, and the boy smiled back, "Hello Ashe, how are you?" The teen stood up and walked over and shook his hand, "Excellent. I can see you are too; you don't look above 23." Which was true. Alek was in his forties in his normal form but was too vain to let his Avatar look anything older than that.

Ashe reached up and felt Alek's silky black hair, "You're just lucky that your powers allow you to change your Corporeal Form and Avatar's appearance." Every human has his Corporeal Form (his Physical Form) and his Avatar Form (his "Spiritual" Form). Most cannot change their look, especially their Corporeal form. The Darkness though changed that, as it healed a Deti t'my and let them live much longer than normal and gave them the ability shape their Avatar. Alek kept his physical body looking 40 or so as not to attract suspicion, but he felt much younger. That, at least, was his excuse for having his Avatar form look so young.

"Don't you mean you're lucky. You might not even want to look at me if I couldn't." Alek brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of the teen's face. "And you can't talk. You look like a teen even though you were born how many centuries ago?" Ashe snorted, "Only a hundred and fifty seven years. The perks of being Transcended (2), my friend." The boy sat on his desk, curiously looking at Alek, "So what do you need? You haven't visited in months," he said accusingly.

Alek sighed; he knew Ashe would be upset. The boy had no other friends in this world after all. He had to face the music. "I was busy! It's Christmas and I was preparing for my sons' Ceremonies. Speaking of which," he said slyly, knowing the perfect way to placate the dark haired boy's anger, "I have a present for you." Ashe's eyes lit up, turning to his only friend. Alek pulled out a ring like his own. Ashe raised an eyebrow at this, "Are you proposing?" Alek chuckled, "No, not yet," he teased, causing Ashe to blush, "I finally enchanted this ring correctly. With it, you can maintain your Corporeal Form again." Ashe gasped, gingerly taking it. He slipped it on, and smiled. When he had Transcended to the Spiritual plane as a young man, he had lost his body. To be able to have it back again...

A tear slid down his cheek. Damn it all, he hated crying. Ashe didn't want to admit it, but he was so lonely. He was one of the few Transcended, and the other were hermits... Or insane. Only Alek was able to be in both planes, and that was due to the Darkness. He was the only thing that kept the teen sane, giving his life new light after a sad, lonely hundred years of near complete isolation. If Alek hadn't stumbled across him when he had, Ashe might have gone insane himself. Now to be able to go between worlds, to Live again, it was a gift that surpassed his dreams. And then to receive it from Alek made it all the better. He smiled, happier than he had ever been, alive or dead. He hugged his only friend, so glad for the gift.

"Well", Ashe said backing up, "If it's Christmas, you need a present too ya know." Alek chuckled a bit, "I knew you wouldn't let me leave without giving me one." Ashe uncharacteristically giggled, "But of course. So any ideas?" Alek grinned, "Well, I think that having you in my world is good enough. Although I do need your help with something there." Ashe sighed dramatically, "Of course you don't want me there to just hang out," said the boy wistfully, longing just to spend a day with his only friend. "Don't worry, we can do whatever you want too," Alek said with a wink. Ashe blushed a bit at this. Damn; After a century and a half of isolation, he was a total submissive with his friend. He'd need to change that, Ashe thought to himself.

"Alright, let me make sure my stuff is ready and my house will be taken care of, then I can go. While I do that, tell me about your problem." Ashe said, quickly sorting through papers and preparing directions for his butler to do while he was gone. Ashe knew the hooded being would do it for as long as necessary. The wraith was bound to him in service after all. "Sure Ashe. You remember that Dark wizard I mentioned a couple times during my past visits...?"

...

NOTES: (1) SMED is my own creation; as there is no Magical Swiss governing body refrenced by J.K. Rowling. And, on a side note, the Sharps' have lived in Switzerland for decades, ever since the World Wars. Since the Swiss stay nuetral, it's the perfect place for the Deti t'my family to live.

(2) When I say "Cheated Death" I mean literally. Transcended individuals magically pass on, increasing their power immensely and gaining new abilities. Of course, none can go back, so it's kind of a waste. But, no one knows in the real world as none of the Transcended can go back! (Sucks for them, doesn't it?) You'll see Ashe's abilities in the future.

NEXT TIME: Dumbledore finds out what is going on (somewhat)...

Rachael gets a job and so does Ashe...

~FS