Chapter 6: The Heart of the Matter _
*Knock-knock*
Harry's head jerked up at the noise. He slid off the bed and opened the door to see Koga standing in the hall.
"Hey, kid. The others are waiting downstairs."
"Okay." Harry shut the door before following him. As they came off the stairs Harry broke away from Koga's path, saying over his shoulder "Be right back."
As Koga approached the table, Roarke turned. "Where's the kid?"
a nod in the general direction of the bar was his answer. "How is he?"
"He seems better. At least he was alert when he opened the door. On the way back earlier I don't think he heard a word I said."
"Okay. Figured it was my turn to provide the room." said an approaching Harry holding up a key. "Apparently Tom prefers spell-proof muggle locks. Smart man."
Everyone followed Harry into a back room. Once they were seated he started by saying, "I would like it if we got properly introduced. I know most of your guys names, but thats it."
"Very well." assented Derrick. "I am Derrick Novus. I'm the Master of the Shadows - one of the largest covens in England - and Head Speaker on the Council, which is a worldwide entity that decides the laws for the vampiric communtiy.
This is Roarke Orin, my second. Then there is Axis Wagner who specializes in intelligence gathering and, when needed, assasination. Next, Koga Akagami, strategist extraordinaire. Finally, Kurt Rhys, my war advisor. And you would be?"
Harry stared hard at the table, considering. Should he tell them the truth? Or should he use a psuedonym? They had admited to allying with Voldemort once, were they planning to do the same now? They would be deadly enemies. If they were to attack, he wasn't sure he was strong enough to survive. Especially not is such close quarters. They had the advantage. He lifted his head and scanned their faces. They would also make powerful allies and friends. Trust had to start somewhere.
"Alright, I'm 15 and attend Hogwarts. My name's Harry Potter." He was met with silence. Surprise was visible on each of their faces. Finally Axis managed a grin.
"Nice try kid. Hilarious. Now, who are you really?" he said.
"It wasn't meant to be funny." Almost simultaneously, Raorke and Kurt stood each going for their wand. Axis already had his out and pointed at him. Koga made no move and Derrick just stared at him. Finally, he jerked his arm out and to the side with his hand flat and palm facing down. Roarke and Kurt sat down - reluctantly - and Axis put his wand away.
Harry heaved a sigh of relief. They hadn't attacked. That was a good sign, right? "I understand that you probably have questions of your own now. I propose a simple exchange. I ask a question, then you ask a question."
Derrick nodded. "I believe its your turn then."
"What were the terms of your alliance with Voldemort?"
"Basically, we provided him with intel, supplies, a few fighters, and even a place for his DeathEaters to hide in case the Ministry caught on to them. In return, when he had control of the wizarding world, not only would laws be passed to integrate the various communities of magical creatures into the wizarding community, but representatives from each race of sentient magical creatures would be chosen to help decide on laws for the newly integrated communities. It would have put a stop to several small wars that have been going on between certain races for centuries."
"Alright gentlemen," said Tom as he walked in. "I took the liberty of preparing each of your standing orders. 2 pints A+ for Orin, 1 pint A+ for Koga, a pint of AB- for Axis - all standard temp - pint O- for Derrick at 96*, O+ at 99.3* for Kurt, and honeyed ham with mashed potatoes and side salad for young Harry." After he finished setting everything down, he turned to our young hero, "just make sure you drop off the key at the bar when you get ready to turn in tonight." he said before making his exit.
"So Harry, I believe we would all like to know why you don't flinch when you say his name." Derrick asked.
"Easy. Fear of the name only increases fear of the man himself. Not to mention its ridiculous." Harry said with a grin. "It's like fearing a chair because of who was sitting in it." There were a few snickers at this remark. "Now, I've heard that he's evil and power-hungry, but if he wanted to rule the wizarding world then he must have had a plan. What he would change or laws he would pass. What was that plan?"
"Thats a loaded question if ever I heard one. Other than the treatment of magical creatures, I know he had a problem with the current educational system. He wanted kids to start school earlier than current administration requires. He also wanted to have muggle-borns attend a different school for the first few years of their magic education. Magical creatures would be allowed in schools both as students and teachers.
He wanted his DeathEaters to take over the responsibilites of the different departments at the Ministry, but he alone would lead the council that would rule the enitre magical community in England. This detail was the cause of many arguments between him and his two advisors - Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape." Derrick noted the flash of recognition in the boys eyes at the names. It wasn't surprising that he knew of Snape, but Lucius? Definitely a question to ask, but later. There were more pressing matters at hand. "Why do you want to know all this.?"
A frown fell upon Harry's face and well-worn worry lines creased his brow. "For almost 14 years I've beed manipulated and controlled by someone or another. Last year, one of the manipulations cost the life of someone who I considered a friend. Someone innocent of the grand schemes and war-games of Voldemort and Dumbledore. I've done a lot of thinking this summer and a few days ago I decided to take matters into my own hands."
"And to do that you need to check-up on all the information that you've been fed up till now. Make sure your not operating on false intel." chimed in Koga.
"Exactly." he answered with a nod. "Now what can you tell me about Riddles' school for muggle-borns?"
"Well, It would have been a temporary thing. The first year or so of their magic education would be at this seperate facility. They would have extra classes that taught them about wizarding traditions, laws, and everyday life. The idea was designed to help them settle into life in the magic community. "
"There goes about half the things I've been told about him." Harry said, rubbing his temples. A lot of what he had heard about the 'dark' wizard had come from Hagrid. While he didn't believe for a minute that Hagrid was purposely lying to him, this reminder of the half-giant brought a whole other problem to light. Mainly that Hagrid was a dear friend - one Harry didn't want to lose - but he was strictly loyal to Dumbledore. He practically worshipped the man. If he was going to get Hagrid to believe him, to join him, then he would have to have a lot of 100% undeniable, unfabricatable evidence. And, when he finally believed, Hagrid would be hurt. Harry didn't like hurting his friends. "Dumbledore has a lot to answer for."
Derrick nodded, his gaze trained on the teens troubled face. "Indeed he does." Harry was too preoccupied to notice the looks being exchanged by his companions.
"What I find interesting, is that you were able to meet with us without interference. I can't imagine that old fool allowing it. Doesn't anyone know your here? I would have thought that he'd have someone keep an eye on you."
"No, noone knows I'm here. The Headmaster thinks that he has me convinced that I'm safe at my aunts house. He thinks that I'm too scared to leave on my own, so he didn't assign anyone to watch me. Since theres only a couple weeks till my birthday, and I know that the ministry stops tracking a persons magic a month before their coming-of-age, I just used my magic to collect my things and left."
"Why do they stop tracking a persons magic a month early?" chimed in Axis.
"Lack of staff and resources. Its not a very high paying department and it has terrible hours. Not only do they have to keep track of every underaged witch and wizard in the U.K., they also have to file paper-work for every coming-of-age and birth. They're almost constantly exhausted."
"How do you know all this?" asked Derrick.
Harry grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I've stayed over at my best friend Ron's house. His dad works at the Ministry. Whenever I had a nightmare I would head downstairs to the kitchen or living room. Sometimes he would be there and we would talk. And I believe thats two questions from Derrick and one from Axis."
At first, the two vampires just stared at him, but soon a slow smile appeared on Derricks face and Axis started to giggle. "Alright. I agreed to it after all. Ask away."
"Okay. What was your assesment of Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape?" Harry asked, genuinly curious.
"Hmm. I didn't really knkow either of them very well. We met only at the occasional meeting of Riddle and his allies, and even then they only really interacted with him." Derrick looked off to the side as he racked his brain for any details he could remember about them. "I remember that Lucius had a pretty wry sense of humor. I also remember that he can't shut up when he's drunk. There was this party to celebrate our victory at an ambush and he had had too much to drink. I found out a lot about him the other night." He couldn't help but smile at the memory. The sound of someone clearing their throat brought him out of his nostalgia. He turned to see an impatient Harry motioning for him to continue. He chuckled, but took the hint. "He talked about how he didn't like his wife. An arranged marriage, you know. I believe he was proposing a law banning arranged marriages. Not a popular idea among the purebloods, but he was worried that his wife would try to arrange the marriges of whatever future children they might have. He may not have liked her, but he does like children. He said that he always wanted to have a family. He really was an okay guy.
"Severus pretty much came across as a sarcastic arsehole, but he didn't seem like a bad guy. He was loyal to Riddle. In fact, the only time he wasn't sarcastic was when he was around Riddle. He cared about his friends, too. As scathing as I'm sure he was about it later, he was the one who pulled Lucius away from his embarassing conversation with me. Just in time too, I'm fairly certain he was getting ready to make a pass at me." at this, Harry started violently choking on his Butterbeer. Derrick gave a deep, sonerous laugh and Harry blushed at his reaction.
The smile, and blush, slowly faded from Harry's face. "On a more serious note, Riddle sounds like he was a good guy with a good plan. So, what changed?"
Derricks face turned solemn. "That celebration where Lucius embarassed himself, was for a victory against a group of Aurors that had ambushed us as we were returning from a congerence with a possible ally. We hadn't thought anything of the curse that a dying Auror had thrown at Riddle. We had made it back to his headquarters without any apparent effect we figured that it had failed. I remember he had a headache and left the party earlier because of it. he just took a pain potion and went to bed. He seemed better the next day. But from then on out he started to change. First his atitude and then his appearance. Before anyone knew it, we were slaves to a snake-faced dark lord who used us as tools to torture his prisoners. More often than naught, they were random innocents who had gotten caught in the crossfire of war they didn't understand. Some of the Deatheaters went insane, some wanted to leave, but were too afraid to attempt it. Some attempted it and were killed. Most became power hungry to survive, striving to excel at every little task to please him and gain his favor to avoid torture. Lucius stopped cracking jokes and started drinking more, but after the first two times he didn't say anything to Voldemort about the way things had changed. Severus just stopped talking. He gave only yes and no answers. Those two had always been more like friends to Riddle than mere advisors. I always thought that that was the only reason either of them stayed."
Harry nodded his understanding and sipped his Butterbeer. All of a sudden, it didn't seem to warm him up the way it used to.
Axis shifted in his seat. He hated awkward and sad conversations. "So!" he practically shouted in his desperation. "What was your question for me?"
A sly grin slid onto Harry's face. "This is completely off topic, but its been bugging me. Why are your eyes red?"
Axis actually blushed and everyone at the table started to snicker. "My original hair color was strawberry-blonde. I had decided that I wanted more 'strawberry' and used a potion. I was too lazy to go out and buy one so I chose to make it myself. However, I didn't have all the ingredients so I substituted a few ingredients. Apparently I substituted too many because when I drank it, this happened."
By the end of the story Koga was hunched over the table with his face burried in his arms. "We called him 'little red' for weeks. He hasn't gone near a cauldron since."
"Oh yeah? Well you've been embarrassed ten times worse!" called Axis in a manner reminiscent of a five year old.
"When?"
"The 'shampoo' incident." Axis said with a snug look on his face.
"Don't you dare!" said a paniced looking Koga.
Harry couldn't resist. He conspiratorily leaned towards the red-eyed vampire. "Tell me!" he faux whispered.
"Me and Koga were walking around muggle London on an errand. We passed one of those electronics shops with all those telly's on display in the window. As we were passing they played a commercial for a muggle product called Nair. I managed to convince him that it would be the same as going to a barber. You see, Koga's hair grows freakishly fast and he gets tired of making the trip to get it cut. So when I suggested that he put some Nair in his shampoo to prevent the trip, he eagerly agreed. You should have seen it. He was completely bald!" By this time everyone was laughing, except Koga - who was being held back from tackling Axis by Roarke - and Axis himself who had started walking around the room, calling out in a falsetto voice, "My hair! My thick, luscious locks!"
Tom had come and taken their dirty dishes before they had settled down enough to continue. "I only have one more question and then you can ask as many as you want." Harry said.
"And what question would that be?" Derrick asked.
Harry started to answer when it occured to him what Derrick had done. He gave him a smile and a nod before turning a hard stare on the table. "When he killed my parents, by that time, was there anything left of the man you had known?"
Through the deafening silence, Derrick looked our young hero straight in the eye and answered, "No. If there had been he wouldn't have been able to do it." he sighed and rested his chin on his fist. "I've gone over it again and again in my mind. Everything traces back to that night, and the only thing out of the ordinary then was the curse that hit him. Everything changed after that."
"Thank you. You've been completely honest with me. I happen to know first hand what a rare quality that is."
"Not at all. Now I have another question for you. We both know that you can't stay here long without someone or other discovering you. Why don't you return with us to my manor? I have several texts and old notebooks that document the facts of the first war. I'm sure you'd find them helpful."
"Umm...wow. I-I would like that very much!" for the first time since their interesting meeting earlier that day, Derrick - and the rest of the group - were able to see a real, 100% genuine smile on Harry's face. The result was dazzling. "I'm going to go take care of our bill and pack my things." he said as he rose from his seat.
"We'll meet you out back in... say ten minutes?" the young wizard nodded and left. As soon as the door had closed, Derrick turned to the others. "I don't think there's much that needs to be said."
"Agreed." gruffed Kurt. "The boy obviously could use some help."
"I'm not sure he's had the time to actually be a 'boy'. His actions are well thought out and he was very thorough in his questions." Koga stated. "When he did mention them, he didn't sound too fond of his aunts family."
"I think the fact that he ran away speaks to that. I'd hate to think that there were other reasons that he would want to run away other than to get out from under Dumbledores thumb." Axis muttered.
"The kid has a pretty good idea of what he's doing. He has a lot of potential. I whole heartedly agree with you." Roarke said.
"Very well then. We will all play our parts in informing the rest of the coven of the boys protected status. Koga, why don't you flu ahead and prepare a room for him. We'll wait and portkey in with Harry." Derrick sighed as Koga left. "Looks like we're in the middle of another war."
IMPORTANT! = I need all my readers input on this! What would you guys like Harry's magical inheritance to be? I'm open to suggestions, but here's my main ideas right now (be warned, they're not very original):
1) Some sort of elf - elemental, dark, light,etc.
2) cat (neko)/fox(kitsune)/wolf(ookami) person/demon/half demon
3) type of fairy
4) other - please specify.
A/N:) I know its not a very long list, but I've been working so hard the pst few days trying to get this chapter finished that I've pretty much burned out my brain. So ideas would be much appreciated. If I don't get at least 7 votes for one idea (whether or not its listed above. could just be an idea thats noted in different reviews.) then I won't continue until I do. Sry, but my brain needs a break. So, I will let you know when i have my own comp again, but until then I hope you enjoy the story.