Chapter 13
Once seated behind his desk in the library, Harry wrote down the prophecy word for word. Then he brushed his thumb across his amulet and in moments his family appeared around him.
Before Harry could even start to explain what had just happened, Auntie Eustice cleared her throat and gave Harry a rather disappointed look. "Since you forgot to assign someone to spy on Voldemort yesterday before you so suddenly dismissed us, I have taken up that particular job myself. You're welcome."
"Oh?" Lily floated over to Auntie Eustice. "What did you see? What did Voldemort do?"
Auntie Eustice took a moment to gaze around the circle of family, making sure she had everyone's undivided attention. "I saw a man who is very tall, and very handsome. Really, quite sophisticated." Auntie Eustice ignored Lily's loud noise of disbelief. "And he has a library! Not in the Muggle mansion he's staying at, though he has an interesting collection of books there as well. I followed him to his private home, a lovely cottage somewhere in the countryside, magically expanded on the inside, of course, and with one of the most amazing libraries I have ever seen. Truly magnificent."
"Yes, yes," Patroclus said with an impatient wave of his hand. "But what did Voldemort actually do?"
"Went back to his Muggle mansion with a few books and started reading a most fascinating treatise on the use of rhodium in alchemy, which you must procure, nephew, because the author just got to the point after a hundred pages of tedious research and your summoning made me miss it." Auntie Eustice gave Harry a flinty look.
Patroclus ran both hands down his face while heaving a deep sigh. Meanwhile, Dorea and Charis seemed mostly amused while Lily appeared close to blowing up right in Auntie Eustice's face.
"Dumbledore showed me the prophecy," Harry blurted, because he had no desire to sit through his family's usual bickering while there were real problems to be solved. He couldn't give two shits what Voldemort had done that day, though the library did sound intriguing.
"What prophecy?" Euphemia asked with a confused curve of her eyebrows. Most others had similar looks on their faces.
Most, but not all.
James and Lily looked utterly resigned as they floated closer to Harry's desk.
"You knew?" Harry asked quietly, unsure how he was supposed to feel about this. Apparently he wasn't the only one keeping secrets.
"Harry," Lily said with a sigh as she gave her son a pleading look. "You were so young when we first told you about Voldemort and the wizarding war."
"And later you had all that nasty business with Rylan," James added with a shrug while offering Harry a sympathetic smile. "And once you started rebuilding Sildar and it seemed that you'd be spending the rest of your life there it hardly mattered anymore."
"All right." Harry nodded few times, letting all that sink in. He could understand his parents' reasoning. It amused him that in some ways their reasoning was similar to his own reasoning of keeping V's origins a secret.
"Besides," Lily added. "Dumbledore only ever told us the first few lines of the prophecy, and they were so vague we were never even sure if they applied to you." Lily glanced down, smile slipping off her face. "Though I suppose Voldemort believed it enough to come after us."
"I got the whole prophecy right here." Harry waved the sheet of paper around a few times and at once he was crowded by his ghostly family members.
"Hold still, boy!" Auntie Eustice demanded. "Let us read."
When a few moments had passed, Harry decided to drop his metaphorical bomb. "I think it does apply to me. And to Rylan."
"It's been fulfilled!" Charis said, eyes wide in shock. "Harry, you're right. It all fits."
Again all his family members crowded around him to study the prophecy once more, but now with the knowledge that it might be about Rylan instead of Voldemort.
"Does it all fit, though?" James asked a little dubiously. "Thrice defied him?"
"How often have you been spying on Rylan without his knowledge?" Charlus pointed out with a snort. "That counts as 'defying' in my book."
"Exactly," Dorea agreed with a firm nod.
"There is a way to check if the prophecy has truly been fulfilled," Henry said, at once drawing everyone's attention to him. "You can visit the Department of Mysteries and see for yourself if the prophecy orb has dulled. The Unspeakables can tell you more about the whole process, I'm sure."
"I can just walk into the Ministry and knock on the door of the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked while pulling his to-do list closer so he could add this latest chore to it.
"I don't see why not," Bernadine said and several others nodded in agreement. "The prophecy pertains to you, so they should allow you access."
"It never hurts to ask," Euphemia added with a bright smile.
"All right," Harry said, leaning back in his chair with an enormous sigh. "But if this is true, then this whole Voldemort thing becomes moot."
James gave his son a stern look. "Voldemort is still a threat to this world."
Snickering, Harry gestured at Auntie Eustice. "Not according to her. Apparently the man likes to read boring books instead of dominating society nowadays."
"I never said that book was boring," Auntie Eustice objected at once. "Just a little wordy in places and the author took his time to get to the climax, that's all."
"Look," Harry said while he crossed his arms and looked up at his parents with a tilt of his head. "Should Voldemort start raping and murdering little kids, I'll send Keket after him, I promise. But until that time, I have other things on my mind."
"Such as?" Lily asked in a challenging tone.
"The tournament, for one. Sirius' illegal imprisonment, let's not forget that." Harry narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward. "Oh, and the fact that I'm a dark wizard now stuck in a world where half of the magic I regularly use would earn me an immediate death sentence."
"Wait, wait," Dorea said as she approached Harry, eyes wide in shock. "Sirius' illegal imprisonment?"
"Yeah," Harry sighed when his parents didn't reply to his summation. "He never got a trial before they chucked him into Azkaban."
"That is…" Charis pursed her lips tightly, while she shared a dark look with Dorea.
"I'm open to suggestions on how to get him cleared of all false charges," Harry said, because he honestly had no idea how to even start on that. He knew lots about the wizarding world, all from his family's many stories, but he wasn't necessarily familiar with who ran what in the Ministry at that time.
"Go to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and demand the man be given a trial," Patroclus said without reservation. "And do not accept no for an answer."
Harry added it to his to-do list with a small sigh. He had so much to do, just for himself, and his parents expected him to go and fight Voldemort on top of that, just for shits and giggles or something.
Of course, that wasn't entirely true. Harry knew very well that Voldemort was the man who'd killed his parents and for that he deserved to pay. Yet, it was such a long time ago and Harry had never really had to miss his parents because they'd been by his side for almost his entire life, so he simply didn't feel the need for personal revenge.
Not to mention that Voldemort seemed to have been motivated by a prophecy that didn't even necessarily apply to him.
Wait…
Harry sat up and looked around his family. "Dumbledore said that someone named Sybill Trelawney had spoken the prophecy in front of him. Then how did Voldemort find out about it?"
"Oh." Lily scrunched her face up in thought. "A Death Eater overheard Dumbledore, wasn't that what happened?"
"Yeah, I think so," James said, though he didn't sound entirely sure either.
"Huh." Harry wasn't sure what to make of that. A prophecy spoked to Dumbledore but conveniently overheard by a Death Eater and thus ensuring Voldemort would act on that prophecy. Yeah, Harry wasn't born yesterday. That sounded like something a great manipulator may have come up with, and by now Harry was certain that Albus Dumbledore was exactly such a person who loved nothing more than to pull other people's strings from behind the curtain.
So, Harry had to find out all he could about the history of that prophecy and the attack on his parents. He added it to his to-do list.
"All right." Harry pushed himself up from his chair, stretching his arms over his head. "Anyone anything to report from their missions?"
"I followed the phoenix," Charis said, which explained why Harry hadn't seen her around Dumbledore earlier. "That poor bird gets used like a common post owl, it seems."
"Dumb bird," V cackled from his elaborate perch beside Harry's desk.
"Anyway," Charis continued, wisely ignoring the interruption, since she'd been dealing with V and his comments for well over a century. "I am convinced that Dumbledore has no idea Moody is an imposter. And when I returned Dumbledore was pacing his office and ranting about being disrespected and disobeyed."
Harry outright laughed at hearing that. "Yeah, that was me. If that man thinks I'm a mindless puppet he can control he's in for a very big surprise."
"Harry…" Lily said with a rather tired look. "Dumbledore is not your enemy."
"And yet the man threatened to see me imprisoned for some of the magic I use," Harry said before dismissing his family back to their spying jobs. Let his parents think on that bit of information for a while.
As a rule, Harry was a guy who liked to get shit done. If something needed doing, Harry preferred to do it right away instead of drawing it out for no reason at all.
So Harry got his cloak, picked up his broom from the closet in the hallway, and left his castle. He flew towards Hogsmeade, since the wards around Hogwarts and the forest didn't allow apparition, while V flew by his side. Once he arrived in the village, Harry shrunk his broom and slipped it inside his satchel before making his way inside The Three Broomsticks.
"Greetings, good innkeeper!" Harry bellowed the moment he spotted what had to be Madam Rosmerta behind the bar. Harry had heard plenty of stories about her from his father. "I wish to make use of your fireplace for travel, but I haven't used this means of transportation before. Your aid would be most welcome!"
Harry liked to keep up his persona of a loud, slightly bombastic but good-natured man in public places, because he'd learned over the years that it made people more open to conversing with him while completely underestimating him, which suited Harry just fine.
It took a while after creating this alternate character that Harry realized he'd subconsciously based it on Bram the Red's public facade.
"I'd be happy to help," Madam Rosmerta said as she met him at the huge fireplace. "Mr…?"
"Ah, how rude of me. I am Harry Potter, recently returned to this world and feeling utterly lost in it." Harry offered Madam Rosmerta a rueful grin while slowly shaking his head.
"Mr Potter," Madam Rosmerta said in shock, hand briefly covering her mouth. "I'd heard about your return, of course, but I hadn't expected to see you in my pub so soon."
"It is a true pleasure to meet you. Might I know your name, good innkeeper?"
"I'm Rosmerta, and you can use my floo anytime, Mr Potter." This was said with a saucy little wink, to which Harry responded with a bout of booming laughter. "Where did you want to go, love?" Rosmerta said once Harry had calmed down.
"I have need to see your Ministry, as there's been grave injustice done that I must set to rights," Harry said in his most solemn voice.
"All right." Rosmerta grabbed a handful of floo powder, threw it in the hearth which burst into green flames, and she shouted, "Ministry of Magic." Then she gestured at Harry to step right in. "There you go, Mr Potter."
"My sincere thanks, Rosmerta. I promise you that I shall come taste all you have to offer as soon as I can." Harry gave her a cheeky grin before stepping into the flames. It had been a while since he'd been laid, and Rosmerta was a very beautiful woman. Harry might actually put some effort into that opportunity, but first he had to survive his first ever floo trip, which proved to be an absolute nightmare of ashes and soot.
Something spat Harry out onto a hard, stone floor while V landed on top of Harry's head with a loud squawk, feathers more than ruffled. It took Harry three seconds to realize he was lying face down on the floor of the Ministry's lobby, and to keep up appearances he started laughing as if he'd just been told the funniest joke ever.
Holy fuck, Harry was never travelling by floo again. He was going to get his apparition license that very day and he'd just make up some story about how he was suddenly able to apparate without any instruction.
"What a rowdy way to travel!" Harry proclaimed as he got to his feet, V chattering in annoyance on his shoulder. "It's almost as much fun as using those carts at the bank!"
No, it fucking wasn't. Those carts had actually been enjoyable. Floo travel sat somewhere between getting your teeth pulled without anaesthesia and getting kicked in the balls by a pissed-off bull.
"Good man," Harry said, addressing a wide-eyed wizard in bright blue robes who passed him by. "Where might I find the Department of Mysteries?"
"Er…" the wizard looked Harry over top to bottom a few times before gesturing down the large lobby. "There is a reception desk right beside the security desk. Ask there."
"My thanks!" Harry beamed a huge smile at the man before strolling towards the desks he needed. The young witch behind the reception desk also seemed rather impressed with Harry as she stuttered her way through giving Harry directions to the elevator. The wizard behind the security desk hardly looked at Harry, though, and merely registered Harry's wand, (12 inches, Cyprus and raven feather), without any comment and sent him on his way.
The elevators were fun in their own way. The people in it a little less so, because they all stared at Harry in open curiosity, never even trying to hide their rude behaviour. But Harry was used to being gawked at during his travels, so he merely kept up his good-natured persona and endured the experience.
The Department of Mysteries was situated at the end of a long, dark corridor, which ended in a rather boring, black door.
Harry banged his fist on the door a few times. "Wizards, I have need of your expertise!"
It took a few moments, but then a person in grey robes, large hood hiding their face, opened the door. "Yes?"
"My good woman," Harry said with a short bow. "I have heard there exists a prophecy about me, and I would like to see if it is fulfilled or not." Harry toned his loud persona down a little, but still put up a cheerful act to throw people off enough they hopefully wouldn't be wondering why Harry's magic felt so fucking dark.
"Name?"
"Ah, my apologies. I am Harry Potter, recently returned to this world."
That earned him a few moments of silence while the Unspeakable seemed to consider her options. "Fine. Come in." She stepped away from the door and Harry found himself in a large circular room, lined with identical black doors.
"Look, look," V crowed, hopping eagerly on Harry's shoulder.
"We have no time to look around today, my friend," Harry said to his companion.
"Also," the Unspeakable added with an audible sniff. "We're not a tourist attraction."
Harry couldn't stop a genuinely amused chuckle from escaping. "How right you are. Veles, you must simply learn to curb your enthusiasm."
Something prickled against the back of Harry's neck, something dark and enticing, that felt like death, and Harry desperately wanted to go explore it, thinking perhaps that was what V had reacted to. V was as in tune to all things necromancy as Harry was.
Before Harry could even think to ask the witch at his side if they maybe could take a look around a little bit, the Unspeakable led them through one door that looked no different than any of the others, but which revealed a room lined with cabinets, some opened to reveal paper archives. Interspersed were a few desks, all empty, as though they weren't used around the clock but only as needed, except for one.
Another Unspeakable sat at a desk full of papers, high stacks close to toppling over filling almost the entire surface. "Yes?" the Unspeakable asked, his face hidden by a grey hood as well.
"Harry Potter here to see his prophecy," the first Unspeakable said, and then without waiting for a reply she turned around and left the room.
"Are you really?" the Unspeakable asked as he got up from his desk.
"I am indeed, my good man!" Harry bowed at the wizard and offered him a jovial smile. "I heard there exists a prophecy about me, and I have reason to believe it is fulfilled. I am here to see if I have it right."
"Hmm." The Unspeakable gestured at Harry to follow him and led them through another door, which revealed a sight Harry had never seen before. It was a chamber bigger than any Harry had ever seen, dark and dimly-lit, and completely filled with shelves holding glowing glass orbs.
"Shiny," V cawed, head tilting this way and that as he took it all in.
Harry was doing much the same thing, to be honest, neck craning while he looked around in all directions. "I have never seen the likes of this before," he said in utmost sincerity.
The Unspeakable remained silent and led Harry to row 97 and then gestured for Harry to look around.
"There, there," V crowed, bobbing his head towards a spot a little bit down the row.
And indeed there sat a dull, dark orb with a tab attached that clearly said Dark Lord and Harry Potter. Harry was quick to pick up it did not say Lord Voldemort.
"Am I to understand it has been fulfilled, since it is blackened while most other orbs here are yet filled with light?" Harry asked as he turned to look at the Unspeakable, who had remained at the beginning of the row.
"Well observed. Please pick up the orb," the Unspeakable replied with a little nod.
Harry did so, and the orb felt like a small weight in his hand and nothing more. No flashy magic, no physical manifestations of fate coming for him, just a simple, glass ball, slightly cold to the touch.
"I would be interested to hear how you believe it was fulfilled," the Unspeakable said. "Some years ago, it suddenly turned black. Roughly 1,5 years after you disappeared, I believe."
"Ah, and what a tale it is!" Harry said as he approached the other wizard while V tried to peck at the orb in Harry's hand. "There existed a Dark Lord in the world I grew up in, one who grievously hurt and even killed many of my friends. Eventually I found a way to end his reign of terror."
"That tells me very little," the Unspeakable pointed out, disappointment clear in his voice.
Harry shrugged. "And yet it is the truth. My good man, I have no time to indulge your need for my entire life history today, as I have many other tasks to complete. But you have my sincere thanks in helping me solve this particular mystery. Might I keep this orb?"
"It is yours. Do with it as you please." The Unspeakable's shoulders were a little hunched as he led Harry back but to his credit he didn't further push him for more information. Perhaps the Unspeakables would have a few meetings about Harry's strange fate before inviting him over for a long interview. Harry couldn't help but think that the whole place stank of centuries of tedious bureaucracy.
Harry found no opportunity to sneak off and explore that curious sensation of death he felt about the place, no matter V pulled on his earlobe a few times in sheer frustration. Before he knew it, Harry found himself back in the lift and on his way to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Once there, Harry approached the first person he saw. "Good man, could you perhaps point me to the head of this fine department?"
The man looked around for a second, as though making sure he wasn't suddenly the target of a practical joke, but when nothing happened he waved down one of the corridors. "Madam Bones' office is at the end over there."
"My thanks!" Harry decided to tone down his jovial persona a little bit more, since he had some serious business to discuss, pun intended. He found the correct door easily enough thanks to the convenient nameplate on the door and he knocked a few times.
"Come in!"
Harry opened the door a crack and stuck his head inside. "Madam Bones, I am sorry to interrupt your no doubt busy day, but I am here on urgent business. My name is Harry Potter."
"Mr Potter," Madam Bones said in obvious surprise. She was a witch with short grey hair and wore a monocle. "Do come in."
"My thanks." Harry closed the door behind himself and sat down in a chair in front of Madam Bones' office. Bernadine floated behind Bones and she gave Harry a bright smile, which Harry was forced to ignore. Henry was somewhere in the building spying on Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic.
"What can I do for you, Mr Potter." Madam Bones seemed a bit apprehensive as she looked Harry over, and Harry wondered what that monocle was charmed to show. The last thing he wanted was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement snooping too deeply into his magical use. Then again, perhaps this was an opportunity to proactively lay down some protections against any future accusations of dark magic use.
"Madam, it has come to my attention that my godfather, Sirius Black, was imprisoned for crimes he did not commit," Harry said, deciding to not beat around the bush. He had the element of surprise on his side, and he wanted to make good use of that for as long as he could.
Madam Bones blinked a few times as she stared at Harry. "And how did you learn this information?"
"From my parents' good friend, Remus Lupin." Harry smiled as though remembering his parents filled him with warm nostalgia. "Though, I have also recovered some early memories of my parents during my studies into the mind arts. And I distinctly remember that the secret-keeper was Peter Pettigrew, not Sirius Black."
"Mr Potter," Madam Bones said, frowning as she thought about all the things Harry had just revealed. "If any of that was true, don't you think it would have come out during Black's trial?"
Gotcha! Harry made sure he looked the picture of regret. "If my godfather was actually given a trial, I'm sure it would have."
Now he'd really gotten Bones' attention, because she sat up straight at once and waved her wand at the door. "That is a fact we can easily check, Mr Potter."
A young man entered the office. "You called, Madam Bones?"
"Paul, get me the trial transcripts for Sirius Black at once."
"Right away, Madam." The young man was gone in a second.
"While we wait, there is one other matter you might be able to assist me with," Harry sat, leaning back in his chair a bit. "In Santika, where I grew up, we were taught all aspects of magic, and we used them, too, in our daily lives."
Bones gave an understanding nod as she looked Harry over again. Oh yeah, Harry was sure that monocle was showing her all sorts of things about what sort of wizard Harry really was.
"Now, I've been informed that in the wizarding world there are certain magics that are frowned upon, and still others which are downright illegal." Harry gave Bones a hopeless look. "Madam, this is all new to me. I have no idea what kind of magic I am allowed to use or not, and I do not want to accidentally break the law."
"Very wise decision," Bones said with a tight little smile. "I would hate to have to arrest you." Bernadine rolled her eyes before shaking her head.
"Exactly. I'd much rather stay out of trouble," Harry said with a loud chuckle. "So is there perhaps a list or a book that details exactly the laws I should obey?"
"Our department uses a comprehensive list of spells which are illegal. That might help you along," Madam Bones suggested while she seemed to relax a bit now that it was clear Harry wanted to 'better himself'. "There are also more elaborate lawbooks available in Flourish and Blotts, but they might be a bit lengthy to quickly get an idea."
"I would very much appreciate a copy of that list you use here," Harry said with utmost sincerity. He really didn't want to accidentally use some everyday magic and suddenly find himself in Azkaban.
Paul returned, face red and breaths quick and rasping, as though he'd ran a long distance. "Madam Bones…" Paul had to inhale a few deep breaths before he could continue. "We cannot find any transcripts. It's like they've never existed at all."
Harry leaned back in his chair with a knowing smile and waved his hand around in a gesture that said, 'I told you so'.
"Mr Potter," Madam Bones said as she got up at once, face set in a stern mask. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I assure you I will get to the bottom of this, and if Sirius Black truly never had a trial, I promise you I will see this rectified post haste. Paul will get you a copy of our list of illegal spells."
And before Harry could even thank her, Bones rushed out of her office. Bernadine floated after her while giving Harry a quick little wave, so Harry knew he'd get a detailed report of what was going to happen later.
A few minutes later Harry tucked the long, long list of illegal spells in his satchel and he made his way to the Department of Transportation. Much to his surprise no one there cared if Harry Potter shouldn't even know how to apparate. They apparently just assumed he could and that it made perfect sense that he'd come to get his apparition license, and half an hour later Harry had his license in hand and was ready to head home.
Harry bypassed the floo with large steps and headed for the visitor's exit, which landed him in a red, glass box in a huge street with tall buildings everywhere in what he now realized must be Muggle London.
Well, fuck.
The thing was, Harry barely remembered his time at the Dursleys, except for their determination to starve him to death while keeping him in a closet. Harry had no real memories of ever living in Muggle society, so suddenly finding himself standing in the middle of it was a little overwhelming.
"Loud, loud," V complained from his perch on Harry's shoulder.
The metal things that were zooming by were very loud. And very smelly. Cars. Harry remembered that they must be cars.
Harry realized that he was drawing lots of unwelcome looks from nearby Muggles who seemed to be equally fascinated and disgusted by his wild looks, his fur cloak and his oversized raven.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
It took Harry a few minutes of frantic walking to find a quieter street, while cars around him made loud noises and there were a lot of lights even though it was daytime, and so many people staring at him and the worst fucking part of all was that he wasn't even allowed to use magic on these Muggles or he would end in prison.
How was that any kind of fair? If a Muggle attacked him now, Harry wasn't even allowed to defend himself with magic, especially not with the kinds of magic he preferred to use.
"Go home," V urged with a caw.
"Yes, yes, working on it." Finally Harry found an empty little alleyway and the moment he entered it, he apparated to the gates of Hogwarts. There he pulled his broom out of his satchel, mounted it, and flew back to his castle as if a whole army of wild baroks were on his tail.
That had been a most unpleasant experience and Harry vowed to avoid the Muggle world from that moment on, no matter what.
Once home, Harry first went down to the kitchen to get some lunch, because his stomach loudly reminded him that it was time for some nourishment. Harry heated up a bowl of stew with a quick charm, and ate it at the kitchen table while he pulled out the pile of paperwork that was the list of illegal spells.
It was ridiculous! All rituals were illegal. All of them!
Any type of blood magic? Illegal!
Soul magic? Illegal!
Elemental magic? Illegal!
Weather magic? Illegal!
The list went on and on and on.
Harry couldn't believe it. "Igor, bring me some wine!" Fucking hell, he needed alcohol to deal with this.
Any kind of necromancy was an automatic death sentence, just like his family had always told him was the case. And here Harry was, a genuine necromancer who had walked the deathlands more times than he could remember, and if anyone ever found out they'd kill him for it.
Igor placed the bottle of red wine and a glass in front of Harry, who immediately filled and downed a glass before sitting back in his chair, releasing a frustrated sigh. But before Harry could spend some much needed time trying to find a solution to this problem, his wards told him people were approaching his castle.
Harry got up, downed half a glass of wine real quick, and then made his way to the front door. Just as he entered the hallway, a loud knock echoed through it.
When Harry pulled the door open he was greeted by Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom, all sporting eager smiles and expectant looks.