Chapter 22
Harry wasn't sure whether to laugh or punch Voldemort in the face, but he did find himself momentarily speechless. Of all the things he'd expected to happen once he teamed up with Voldemort, receiving an invitation to go to a formal ball at Hogwarts with the Dark Lord hadn't been one of them.
"No," Harry said when he finally regained the ability to speak. "Hell no."
Voldemort leaned a bit closer and gave Harry a look as though he was about to argue with him, but then he straightened again and offered Harry a crooked smile that made him look like an irresistible rogue. "I've got a month to convince you," Voldemort said, eyes narrowed but shining with ambition. "And I will."
"I already said no," Harry called after Voldemort.
"Come along, Harry," Voldemort said without a care in the world as he walked towards the staircase with quick steps. "I'd like to see how you reanimate that dragon."
"I'm not going to reanimate it, I'm going to resurrect it. There's a difference," Harry said, feeling a little insulted that Voldemort would think him only capable of animating dead things.
"What the fuck just happened," Sirius asked, his eyes wide and his face pale.
"Was that Voldemort?" Regulus whispered. "Asking Harry to a ball?"
"I find it's best not to ask too many questions," Remus said with a decisive nod. "It greatly reduces one's stress-levels while living on Magica."
Harry carefully held onto the carafe of Elixir of Life in his hands as he descended the stairs, having trouble keeping up with Voldemort's long strides. Keket met them inside the entrance hall and Harry showed her the carafe. "If you still want to be a dragon, that's okay, too. But if you want to remain a barok you just have to drink this."
In reply, Keket slunk closer to Harry and opened her wide mouth. Well, that was an obvious answer, so Harry smiled and carefully poured the elixir in while Keket gulped it all down. Once the carafe was empty, Harry stepped back and waited for something to happen.
Nothing did for a few, long moments while Keket simply stood still, but then she jumped eight foot in the air from standstill and let out a loud, victorious roar. At once she ran up the wall and across the whole entrance hall, scaring the crap out of Sirius, Regulus and Remus who were just walking down the stairs.
"So I guess it worked," Harry said with a chuckle while Keket bounced around the large room before all but flying out of the door, almost bowling Voldemort over, who stood waiting for Harry.
"Your friend will be able to enjoy her body for many years to come," Voldemort said as he fell into step with Harry on their way to the dragon. "How will you control the dragon now?"
"I'm going to put my second-cousin Rigel in it, if he wants to," Harry replied, quite amused by Voldemort's dubious expression.
"How are you going to summon his soul?" Voldemort asked with a contemplative frown as he glanced at Harry. "Summoning a specific soul is notoriously hard."
"Is it?" Harry asked, unobtrusively rubbing his thumb across his amulet. "I had no idea." Just then, Rigel appeared before them. "Oh, hey, Rigel."
Voldemort stopped walking at once, staring at the floating, shimmering figure with eyes so wide they almost bulged out of his head. Harry made sure to pour enough power into Rigel that he was visible for everyone. The last thing Harry wanted was for Voldemort to know that Harry could also summon his family members in a way that kept them invisible for all others. Let Voldemort come to all the wrong conclusions on his own without Harry jeopardizing his ability to spy on others.
"Hi, Harry," Rigel said with a happy little wave. Then he looked around in confusion. "Where is everyone else?"
Harry kept walking, ignoring Voldemort's obvious shock. "I just needed to talk to you for a second, Rigel. How would you like to be a dragon?"
Rigel's mouth sank open. "Be a dragon? Like how you put Rindyll's soul in the barok? What kind of dragon?"
"A Hungarian Horntail," Harry said with a smirk, thoroughly enjoying his cousin's enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I would love to be a Hungarian Horntail!" Rigel tilted his head as he floated beside Harry. "Where on earth did you get a dragon like that, though?"
"Took it home with me from the first task."
"Wait, the first task has already happened?" Rigel frowned in obvious confusion. "Why didn't you call me to see it? Or didn't you call any of the family?"
Harry glanced at Voldemort, who had just caught up with them again and who was staring at Rigel as if he was seeing something utterly impossible. "I've been busy," Harry said evasively.
"Sure, but you can call us in a second. We would have liked to see the first task, Harry." Rigel seemed rather hurt Harry hadn't let him witness the start of the tournament and Harry felt an uneasy churn of guilt in his stomach. "Can you at least call my parents now? I'd like for them to see me become a dragon."
They reached the dead dragon and Harry almost ran both of his hands down his face in frustration but then he remembered at the last moment that his entire face was still covered in green goo so he just groaned instead. Voldemort stood beside him, practically bursting with curiosity if the manic glint in his narrowed eyes was any indication.
Dammit, Harry was not a coward. He'd been a sheltered little swot once upon a time, but he'd never been a coward. And yet he was absolutely terrified to summon his family and tell them he'd thrown his lot in with Lord Voldemort of all people. Behind them, Sirius, Remus and Regulus arrived to watch the show. During the last week Sirius had pointedly asked Harry a few times where James was but Harry had changed the subject each time or simply left the room instead of offering Sirius an answer. Remus had just given Harry knowing looks, as if he was well aware of Harry's inner-struggles, but he'd never commented on them.
"Fuck it," Harry finally said, utterly tired of himself for not simply getting this confrontation over and done with. He brushed his thumb across the amulet and summoned his entire family. The sight of another eleven shimmering floating bodies appearing out of nowhere drew a shocked gasp out of Regulus while Voldemort was cursing quietly in disbelief. "Okay, everyone," Harry said while waving both hands. "Eyes on me, please. We're turning Rigel into a dragon today."
"A dragon?" Dorea demanded as she floated over to her son. "Wouldn't that be dangerous? Someone might try to hurt him."
Charlus snorted and shook his head. "Don't be absurd, Dorea. Who could harm him as a dragon? Let the boy have some fun."
"Yeah," Rigel said, giving his mother a pleading look. "I'd love to fly again, Mum."
"Where did you get a dragon?" James asked as he stared at the huge dead body before them.
Before Harry could answer, Rigel floated over. "Harry never invited us to the first task! I don't know why, but we've missed it. But he did bring a dragon home from the task, apparently."
"Harry," Lily asked quietly as she approached her son, head tilted in question. "Why didn't you let us see you compete?"
Again, before Harry could reply, someone else beat him to it. "I'd wager a guess that Lord Voldemort's presence here as something to do with it," Auntie Eustice said as she waved a hand at Voldemort, who at some point had conjured a comfy chair and was sitting in it, leaning back comfortably, one leg crossed over the other. When every single member of Harry's family turned around to look at him in shock, Voldemort gave them all a polite nod.
"Harry?" Lily asked, her voice tightening in panic. "Harry, what is Voldemort doing here?"
"Are you in cahoots with our murderer?" James demanded, getting right up in Harry's face. "After everything that man has done to our family?"
Fleamont looked utterly heartbroken as he stared at his grandson. "Harry, why would you do such a thing? Have you no care for our family? Our legacy?"
Hot anger spilled over inside Harry, fuelled by weeks of beating himself up about this situation. "What family?" Harry yelled, glaring between all his family members. "You're all dead! I'm all that's left in this world, because my legacy got left behind in Sildar when I was forced back here against my will!" Harry's parents lost some of their obvious anger, but Harry wasn't done yet. "I'm now stuck in a world where every bit of magic that comes naturally to me is illegal and will see me imprisoned or executed. I'm stuck in a country with such a corrupt judicial system that they were able to organize a sham trial for my godfather and sentence him to death without anyone kicking up any fuss whatsoever. I'm stuck in a world where some old manipulator expects me to fight for a prophecy that's already been fulfilled and was never about Voldemort in the first place. And I'm collaborating with Voldemort because he's a dark wizard, like me, who wants to see all of magic restored!"
Lily sighed and exchanged a conflicted look with James. "We were thoroughly disappointed in Dumbledore as well, Harry, for what he did to Sirius, but that's not a good reason to suddenly fight on the other side of the war."
"Haven't you been listening?" Harry snapped, patience utterly gone. "I'm not fighting in any war. I'm bypassing the war entirely because I don't care what happens in Britain. I've got my own country to run."
"Do you honestly believe Voldemort will stop fighting for control of Britain?" James asked while looking at Harry in obvious disappointment.
"I am sitting right here," Voldemort called out, raising his hand to draw attention to himself. "I can answer that question for you. Simply put, as long as there is a country where we can practise the magic of our choosing freely, I don't want to wage a war against anyone."
"We're supposed to believe that?" James asked, arching in eyebrow in disbelief.
"I do," Sirius said, much to James' obvious surprise. Sirius was sitting beside Regulus and Remus on a conjured stone bench and he gave James an even look. "Yeah, I'm not happy having to play nice with that bastard, but after what Dumbledore and the Ministry did to me I'm done with that side. And so far Voldemort has been reasonable, and whenever he tries to implement something stupid like blood-purity, Harry cuts him down at once. You should have some more faith in your kid, Prongs. Harry's been doing good here."
"I know Harry's a good kid," James said softly with an uncertain smile.
"It's just… " Lily sighed as she gave Harry a pleading look. "Time moves so differently when you're dead. One moment it feels like yesterday that Voldemort murdered us, and the next moment it seems like centuries ago. It's the same with Dumbledore's recent betrayal."
"It's hard to change your mind about anything once you're dead," Euphemia said with a knowing look at Lily. "Souls are set in their ways, and it's difficult to change those ways when you don't have a body with a nice set of brains to do your thinking for you."
"I suppose you're right," Harry said, hanging his head a bit, suddenly exhausted. "Mum, Dad, I don't want to hurt you, I really don't. But Voldemort can truly help make Magica an amazing country for all magical people and that's what matters to me now. I have no other choice."
"You could have just moved to any other country than Britain," Charis pointed out delicately. "Russia allows most dark magic, for example."
"I don't speak Russian, I know nothing about the culture, and then I'd still have to look over my shoulder for muggles whenever I'm out and about," Harry pointed out, wanting his family to understand why that had never been an option for him. "I wanted the magical people of this world to have a safe magical haven, just like I was able to give to the magical people of Santika."
"And it's a noble goal," Bernadine said while Henry nodded in agreement. "And I suppose we have to remember that we are dead and that ultimately things change in the world of the living with or without our input, as it should be."
Lily floated over to Voldemort and glared down at him with narrowed eyes, lips pursed in a tight line, arms crossed. "If you harm one hair on the head of my son, I will find a way to make your life utterly miserable, even from beyond the grave. Mark my words."
"I believe you," Voldemort said with a solemn nod. "I have no desire to harm your son. He is not my enemy. He never was, as it turns out."
"Talking about harming hair," Charis said as she moved closer to Harry. "Is that my burn-salve? Did that dragon get a good shot in before you killed it?"
"Dumb beard gone!" V crowed, apparently unable to stop gloating about that.
"Indeed." Charis gave Harry a large grin. "I suppose we'll see in less than 24 hours how handsome you are these days."
"Ugh." Harry rolled his eyes and turned his back on his family. Every fucking time they had to make things embarrassing, no matter what was going on. While Harry was well aware that there were still things left unspoken and that without a doubt many more discussions would be had in the future about Harry's new neighbour, for now at least a truce seemed to have been reached and that was all Harry cared about. "Rigel, come here! Let's make you a dragon!"
"Yeah!" Rigel punched both fists in the air as he rushed towards the dragon's body.
Harry walked around the circle one last time, making sure it was as it should be since he'd been interrupted a few times when creating it. He added the runes to activate it, sliced his palm with his pocketknife and pressed his bleeding hand against the runes to start the ritual. Harry held out his hands, pouring his power into the circle and into the dragon's body.
"Get in there, Rigel!" Harry kept powering the circle until he'd charged it enough to transfer the magic into the dragon, slowly but surely restarting the heart and the brain and all the other organs. He was not animating anything, he was bringing life back into a dead body. Rigel's soul found a spot to nestle into, but it wasn't a very good fit, since the dragon's original soul had been small and rudimentary and Rigel's soul was big and human. Still, Harry manoeuvred it into place and managed to anker it down so it would sit comfortably enough in its new body.
The dragon inhaled a deep breath, eyelids fluttering while smoke streamed from its nostrils.
"Alright, there you go, Rigel. You're a dragon. Congrats." Harry lowered his hands, healing his palm with a quick gesture.
"Did he just resurrect a dragon in less than five minutes?" Regulus said in disbelief.
"And stuck a specific human soul into it," Voldemort said with clear astonishment written all over his pale face.
"Once you know what you're doing it's easy enough," Harry said with a shrug. "It took me a good long while to learn it, though, and I have mucked it up at some crucial points in the past." Harry remembered how he'd failed to resurrect Rindyll after she'd been murdered. It was to that day Harry's greatest failing in life, as least to Harry personally.
Rigel the dragon slowly got up, long neck swinging wildly, thick legs trembling as Rigel got used to his new body.
"Wow," Sirius said, looking at his distant kin with a huge grin. "Now we've got a dragon guarding our borders."
Rigel the dragon raised his massive head and released a deafening roar, followed by a stream of fire. Even though they all stood a good distance away they could still feel the heat of the flames.
"Just keep those flames away from any human structures," Harry called out. "I've spent a lot of time moving and building everything. I don't want to redo anything."
Rigel nodded his head and then sat back on his haunches so he could flap his enormous wings. The wind it generated was so severe Harry had to brace himself for a moment as not to fall over. Rigel kept flapping and flapping his wings until he finally became airborne and he managed to rise a good six feet into the air before crashing down again with a loud thud.
"Just keep practicing." Charlus called out, looking quite chuffed to see his son as a dragon. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough."
Harry's stomach rumbled in a way that reminded him he hadn't eaten in many hours, so Harry addressed his family. "I'll see you all later." And with a stroke of his thumb across his amulet, he sent them away. To Voldemort it would seem that Harry returned their souls to the beyond, but Harry simply turned them invisible and sent them back to their original spying missions. He'd let that slack these past weeks as he worried about his family's reactions, and he knew that was a stupid thing to do considering Dumbledore's willingness to harm Harry and his loved ones.
"I'm exhausted," Harry said to the people that remained. "I'm going to eat something and then take a nap."
"Come have dinner with us tonight," Sirius said as they, too, got up. "At seven."
"Sure." Harry was about to walk back to his castle when Voldemort stepped into his path.
"When will we start my training to be able to do all of this?" Voldemort asked, looking down at Harry over his nose.
"Not today," Harry said with a chuckle and deftly stepped around Voldemort. "First you need to learn Santireen. All the books you need to read are written in it."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Give me a week."
"You know where to find me when you're ready," Harry called and then he hurried away before anyone else would try to stop him. Once inside his castle, Harry made a beeline for the kitchen and heated up some soup he'd made earlier that week.
"Went well," V cawed while Harry served him his own bowl of soup at the kitchen table.
"It certainly could have gone a lot worse," Harry agreed before eating several large spoonfuls of soup. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until just now.
"Dragon good." V flapped his wings. "Dragon keep safe."
"Yeah, we really do have some formidable defences now, between Rigel and Keket. And in a month we'll have a basilisk as well, though I imagine that's best left as a very last defence, since I don't think it can distinguish between friend and foe easily when using its deadly gaze."
Harry finished his food and then trudged up the stairs and was almost asleep before his head hit his pillow. He napped for almost three hours and spent the rest of the afternoon performing chores in his castle and starting the construction of his own grounds. Until now Harry's castle was surrounded by nothing but meadows, but Harry did want to turn his land into functioning grounds, so he started mapping things out, taking his time to decide what he wanted to create around his castle.
When Harry arrived at Black Manor later that day, Sirius greeted him with an amused smile. "You missed all the excitement this afternoon."
Harry arched a single eyebrow in response.
Sirius laughed, throwing his head back. "The whole of Spellbridge, all four streets of it, panicked this afternoon when Rigel finally figured out how to fly and flew right over their heads. He even knocked the chimney off someone's house."
"He did not," Harry said, unable to hold back a grin.
"He did. Remus went to explain to the good people of Spellbridge that this was a friendly dragon. And then he scolded Rigel and told him to be more careful. I never knew dragons could look guilty and remorseful."
"I am sad I missed that," Harry said with an amused shake of his head. "But I guess almost getting burned alive took it out of me and I needed to recharge."
"Understandable," Sirius said just as they reached the dining room where Regulus and Remus were waiting. "So when is that salve coming off? We've been making bets how much you'll look like James or not without that beard."
Harry rolled his eyes. "You're just going to have to be surprised tomorrow."
They enjoyed a delicious roast dinner prepared by Kreacher, who insisted in personally looking after his beloved Master Regulus. The elixir really had jumpstarted Regulus' recovery and he looked well on the way to being a healthy person again, but he was still far too thin. Thankfully, his appetite had returned and he ate generous portions of everything, so Harry figured he'd be back to his old self soon enough.
"Do you want a house for yourself?" Harry asked Regulus while they were enjoying some trifle for dessert. "Or do you want me to move a house here for you?"
Regulus shook his head. "I'm fine here. Sirius has already offered me the east wing for myself. And Kreacher will be emptying Grimmauld Place for us." Regulus tilted his head as he looked at Harry. "All magic is allowed here, correct?"
Harry nodded. "Correct."
"And you were planning to open a public library?"
"Yes. I've got part of the building up already, just have to fill it out inside and add furniture." Harry gave Regulus a curious look. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because Grimmauld Place has an extensive library, but many books in it are also found in the library here in the Manor," Regulus said and then seemed a bit embarrassed all of a sudden. "I'd be happy to donate these duplicates, and I'd also be happy to run the public library."
"You're hired," Harry said with a grin. It would be a great job for Regulus to start off with. He'd be able to take it easy at first, get to know the locals, and Harry had no doubt Regulus would take good care of the books. "I've been meaning to collect books for Magica's library."
Remus chuckled. "Are you planning on buying out the second-hand bookstores in Diagon Alley?"
Harry blinked and then shrugged as he finished his trifle. "I could do that, too, I suppose. But I was actually thinking of copying Hogwarts' library."
"Aren't those books protected against copying charms?" Sirius asked while glancing at Remus, who nodded in response.
Harry's smile was sly while he leaned forward. "But are they protected against Santireen magic?"
Remus' eyes widened while his mouth sank open. "Harry… that would be an amazing coup, to steal Hogwarts' library right from under Dumbledore's nose without him even noticing."
Harry laughed while leaning back in his seat. "As a champion, I have access to Hogwarts as long as the tournament goes on. It's in the rulebook. Even if he wanted to, Dumbledore can't shut me out of the castle. I'll start on it later this week."
They had brandy in the family sitting room, where a newspaper lay on the coffee table that proclaimed that Rita Skeeter, beloved reporter, was still missing without a trace.
V tilted his head as he stared at the newspaper while Harry sank down in a chair. "Dumb bug," V cackled, bobbing up and down on Harry's shoulder.
"Did he just say humbug?" Remus asked with a surprised look. "Have you been reading Dickens to him?"
"Dumb bug," V cawed while glaring at Remus. "Dumb bug dead."
Harry's cheeks burned while he sipped his brandy.
"Harry," Remus asked, finally connecting all the dots. "Did you have anything to do with Rita Skeeter's disappearance?"
"Yeah, I know I said she was a horrible person, but doing away with her entirely might be taking things too far," Sirius said while giving Harry a worried look.
"I had nothing to do with it," Harry quickly said, holding up his glass of brandy as if that would ward off more uncomfortable questions. "I swear it."
"Eat bug, eat bug," V cawed, sounding more than a little proud.
"Bug? As in an actual bug?" Regulus asked while he stared at V in disbelief.
Harry decided to reveal the truth because he didn't like the looks his friends were giving him. "Apparently, Skeeter was an Animagus. A beetle. She was stupid enough to land on my arm before I had that talk with Barty as Moody. I wanted to brush her off, since I sensed her human soul, but V ate her before I could stop him."
"Dumb bug dead!"
"I didn't know it was her," Harry said defensively. "But now that I do know, it's no loss to society. She had an utterly disgusting soul."
"That is how she always came up with all those scoops," Sirius said while gesturing at Remus. "She spied on people as an actual bug."
"Bit stupid," Regulus said in between sips of his glass of brandy. "Almost anything will eat a bug."
"Yeah," Sirius agreed and then he suddenly turned towards Harry. "This reminds me, I had a chat with James the other day, that you were never able to become an Animagus in the past because you didn't have the right supplies for that in Santika."
"That's right," Harry said, remembering how his family had urged him to try to find his inner animal even without all the necessary magical supplies he'd need, but it had never amounted to anything and Harry had given up on the idea entirely a long time ago.
Sirius gave Harry a huge grin. "Well, you can get anything you need to become an Animagus now, and I can help you."
Harry perked up. He had always loved the idea of being able to turn into an animal, especially after hearing his dad's many stories about the Marauders and their illegal ventures into the Forbidden Forest while in their animal forms. "Yeah, okay, I'd be happy to give that another try, a proper try this time."
"I'll get you some books," Sirius said with a satisfied smile.
Regulus cleared his throat. "Could I also…"
Sirius suddenly looked a little misty-eyed as he nodded at his brother. "Sure, Reggie, I'll teach you as well."
Harry spent another pleasant hour at Black Manor before heading back to his castle and going straight to bed. The next morning he took a long shower, washing all the sticky green paste off his face and body, revealing freshly healed pink skin underneath. Once he was dried he stood in front of the mirror and inspected his hair. There were a few big chunks burned off on his right side, right above shoulder height, so Harry got his wand and carefully sliced off all his hair at that height so it looked somewhat even again. But then he thought that looked weird, to have his thick hair hanging just below his ears without his beard there, which somehow made his neck look really thin, and so Harry tied his hair back into a low ponytail and then inspected his reflection.
That did look better. At once Harry looked much younger than before but that was probably fine since most people assumed he was around 28 or so. Now his face matched that assumption a bit better. And if he got tired of this look he could always grow his hair and beard back.
"Look good," V cawed while he inspected Harry's new look with a critical gaze. "Dumb beard gone."
"You're never letting this go, are you?" Harry sighed and went in search of some clothes.
The first order of business was supplying Rigel with a steady stream of food lest he start munching on Harry's precious Shetland ponies, so Harry went in search of his natural development officer.
"You never said there was going to be a dragon," Rachel said, looking wide-eyed and a bit panicked as she opened her door for him. "How am I supposed to arrange for enough animals for it to eat?"
"That's what I'm here for," Harry said as he seated himself at Rachel's kitchen table. Rachel made tea for them though her hands trembled slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't mention adding a dragon sooner."
"The Prophet this morning announced that your dragon went missing during the tournament," Rachel said as she served Harry a steaming cup of tea. "It's not much of a mystery where it went for us." Rachel sat down opposite him and suddenly smiled. "I like your new look, by the way. Now help me feed the dragon before it decides to eat us all."
After some discussion they decided to simply expand the sheep population so Rigel could eat as much as he needed.
"But the Soay sheep are a very rare breed," Rachel argued, armed with her collection of second-hand muggle books on sheep breeding and rearing. "If we introduce other breeds they will produce mixed breed lambs and ruin the lines."
Harry sipped his tea and shrugged. "I don't care about keeping the Soay sheep pure. I care about creating a hardy breed of sheep that can live freely on the island, graze the meadows and serve as food for Rigel."
"Who's Rigel?"
"The dragon." Harry grinned at Rachel's incredulous look.
"You've named it." Rachel shook her head as though she was terribly disappointed in Harry while rapidly paging through a big book of sheep breeds. "We should introduce some hair sheep rams."
"Hair sheep?"
Rachel nodded vigorously. "Hair sheep are sheep that shed their wool without needing shearing. That's what you want in a wild sheep. We can get ewes of several primitive breeds so they can all breed together and we can select the best offspring and serve the rest to the dragon."
"That's a great plan for the future," Harry said with an agreeable nod. "But that won't feed Rigel right now."
Rachel gave Harry a steady look. "Buy a flock of mules."
"Mules?" Harry frowned in confusion. "You want to feed Rigel horses and donkey crosses?"
Snorting, Rachel shook her head. "Mules are mixed breed meat sheep that are raised up for slaughter."
"Ah, okay, that works." Harry reached inside his satchel and pulled out a bag of gold which he slid across the table. "Get a large flock of those because I have no idea yet how much Rigel eats."
"I'll bring the receipts," Rachel said with a toothy smile.
After Harry finished his tea he strolled across Spellbridge towards Elder Street where Erika and Claire Keller-Mcintosh lived, an enterprising couple who had started a small furniture business. They bought cheap timber offcuts from sawmills in Britain and transfigured those into practical wooden furniture, everything from dining tables to bedframes. They'd built a simple but effective workshop and showroom combo in their backyard and were even offering people to pay for their furniture in small instalments, since plenty of werewolves who moved to Magica hadn't had steady jobs in a long time and therefore didn't have much gold to spend.
"I'd like to commission library shelves," Harry told Erika and Claire, who looked eager enough to accept the job. "Go to Black Manor and ask for Regulus. He's our new librarian."
With that out of the way, Harry decided to drop into Remus at the Town Hall to help with a new batch of residents that were arriving before putting the finishing touches on the library building itself.
"Harry!" Remus beamed at Harry when he saw him enter. "Merlin, you do look like James, but I see plenty of Lily in your face as well."
"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, ducking his head. "It feels weirdly cold without my beard, especially my neck." Harry rubbed his neck self-consciously.
"You'll get used to it." Remus shuffled some papers around on the desk while the sound of a portkey outside announced the first new resident of the day.
"Quirinius Quirrell," the man who entered said, making Remus look up in surprise.
"I came across some of your notes last year when I taught defence at Hogwarts," Remus said conversationally as he handed Quirrell the necessary contracts to read.
"Indeed?" Quirrell read through the papers. "Is there going to be a school here, too? I wouldn't mind teaching again."
"Eventually," Harry replied. "Right now we've got about 35 residents and none of them are kids."
"Then I shall be patient," Quirrell said and then added, when Remus offered him an address, "I shan't need a home. I live in Marvolo Gaunt's mansion."
Harry blinked, heart skipping a beat.
"Oh, we didn't realize Mr Gaunt lived with someone else," Remus said pleasantly while Harry stared at the man with wide eyes.
"I've lived with him for well over two years now," Quirrell said while signing the paperwork. "I just had to put my own affairs in order before moving here."
So Voldemort lived with another guy, and had done so for years?
What the fuck?
Harry did not like the sound of that but he had no idea why.