Harry had just celebrated his twelfth birthday and he was starting to lose patience. The garden was once again the best kept on the street, the house was gleaming and his homework was all done.
Fresh bruises adorned his arms where his uncle had repeatedly grabbed him, grinning sadistically as he squeezed the limb until his nephew winced before releasing him. Thankfully, he looked like he'd given up on the heavier punishments, no doubt afraid that wizards might find out if he was going too far.
And Harry was close to breaking down. Dudley had just chased him around the neighborhood with his gang. Sure, they never caught him, years of practice had made him fast and agile, but it was so degrading to have to run away from a bunch of muggle teens when he had the power to stop them. Damn the Ministry and the Trace.
At least his room was protected by a few runes carved into the door frame, and Dudley forgot what he was doing there every time he walked through the threshold. But outside, he was vulnerable.
He had managed to outrun the boys chasing him and was standing in the park, hidden between a wall and a large bush. Bent over, hands on his knees, he barely caught his breath. While his cousin was still fat and tired quickly, Piers had been taken in by his school athletics club and gained a lot of stamina.
That's when he heard the sound of a big firecracker. It sounded very much like the noises he had heard near the Apparition point in Diagon Alley. He straightened up immediately, on the lookout, scanning his surroundings through the foliage that hid him. There was no one in the park, the day had been gray and rainy and the mothers had kept their toddlers at home.
Footsteps drew his attention towards the exit of the park. A massive-looking man stood there, his head tilted slightly back, seeming to sniff the air.
After taking a deep breath, the man turned his head towards Harry, who flinched slightly.
- Found.
The word had been said calmly, in a hoarse voice. The gray haired man gave a wild impression and his amber colored eyes stared intently at Harry.
- Come out of your hiding place, Cub, a mutual friend sent me. I have been trying to approach you for several days but a barrier prevents me from accessing your house.
Harry weighed the pros and cons, his courage battling his self-preservation instincts. On the one hand, chances were the man had been sent by Voldemort, on the other it seemed almost natural, visceral, to distrust him. He looked around but saw no way to escape. The man was obviously a wizard so running in the opposite direction would be pointless. So he decided to pick up a stone, keeping it in his hand, which he held back, before stepping out from behind the bush. It wouldn't necessarily help if the man magically attacked him, but he had no other option.
- Who are you?
- My name is Fenrir, kid. Our mutual friend sent me with a message. He has used the item you know about and is doing better but he's not yet at his best. He has instructed me to deliver this to you to use for communicating with him. It's undetectable.
The man named Fenrir handed him what looked like a cord braided with particularly dark leather and set with two bright red stones.
- You wear it and say "Mirus" and you can chat.
- Mirus?
- Yup. Don't ask me why this word, he didn't tell me.
Harry, no longer having any doubts about the veracity of Fenrir's words, approached and took the bracelet. The man suddenly grabbed his wrist. He rolled up the boy's sleeve and an animalistic growl was heard when the bruises were visible.
- Kid, you want me to take care of the bastard who did this to you?
- Attractive proposal, but no thank you. I already have something planned for him even if it has to wait a few years.
- If you say so. If you change your mind, just say the word.
The proposal was accompanied by a predatory smile and Harry saw that Fenrir's teeth were sharp, ready to bite.
The man nodded before disappearing with a loud noise, startling Harry slightly. He put on the bracelet and then, seeing that dusk was coming, decided to go "home". He would wait until he was alone in his protected room before attempting to communicate with Voldemort.
As usual, he entered a house with no enticing smell. He expected it, it was no surprise, his aunt abhorred cooking. It made you wonder what Vernon and Petunia ate when he was at Hogwarts… He slipped discreetly into the kitchen, opening the cupboards and the refrigerator to start preparing dinner. His uncle was coming home from work soon and if the meal wasn't at least being prepared, things were going to be tough. He had enough bruises as it was, thank you very much.
Fortunately, he found enough to make a decent meal quickly. A chance for him that the burden of shopping fell to him, it was easier. Her aunt had no idea what ingredients to buy and the cupboards often ended up with completely incompatible foods that required him long moments of reflection before knowing what to do with them.
Vernon came home in a good mood, for once, and the meal passed calmly. His roast beef with sautéed potatoes pleased Dudley enough that he "forgot" to accuse his cousin of anything while he was scarfing his food.
It was therefore relatively early, after doing the dishes, that Harry found himself locked in his room. He made himself as comfortable as possible on the thin mattress of his bed.
- Good… Well, all I have to do is try. "Mirus".
As soon as he pronounced his first name, he heard a voice in his head.
- Ah, Mirus, it was time. I almost thought Fenrir could never give you my birthday present.
- Uh… Thanks for the bracelet. Mister Fenrir told me that you used the stone but you weren't at your best yet? Why Mirus, by the way?
He heard a hissing laugh. It was really strange to hear your interlocutor without seeing him and without holding an object like a phone.
- Oh, "Mister" Fenrir said that. Seriously, never call him that in front of him, he'll still remind you in ten years. Fenrir or Greyback is good enough. The bracelet you are wearing is a fairly old relic from my maternal family. Take good care of it, it is one of a kind. It will only allow you to communicate with the descendants of Salazar Slytherin. And I'm the only one still alive. And Mirus is your first name, no one knows it so no one will suspect who or whom I am talking about. Harry is a common first name among muggles but it is very rare among wizards.
- All right. What do you plan to do now? If you don't mind, of course.
- Before talking about that, tell me how you are currently being treated.
The tone was serious and Harry had no doubt that Voldemort would not hesitate to go after his "family" immediately if needed.
- So far so good. Nothing that threatens my health. I have runes engraved on my door so my bedroom is a safe place and I can work on my homework without problems. They think my stuff stays in school so they don't give me any problems.
- Perfect. It will be impossible for me to get you out of their house for the moment without arousing suspicion. And if I eliminate them, it is not sure that Dumbledore will not find an even worse place for you to live. I would like to send you additional books to expand your knowledge. I certainly can't take care of your training yet, but when the day comes, I want you to already have a certain theoretical level.
- I understand. I guess that makes sense. I can't go with a dark family without revealing my true nature to Dumbledore and he might stick me with a family like the Wealseys. And from what I've seen and heard from Mother Weasley, I'll pass. I just hope I don't have to come back here for too long. And for books, that would be a pleasure! I have finished all my homework and there is almost a month of vacation left. Plus, I've read all the books I bought last summer. I was afraid of being bored. However…
- However… ? What is it Mirus?
- I'm a little embarrassed to ask… My uncle made it clear to me that he refused to take me to London to buy my second year stuff. So I was thinking of using my owl to mail order but would it be possible for you to put the books you want me to study with? If my aunt ever sees the package coming, I'll have an excuse, I'll say a friend sent me some books and she won't know my school stuff is there.
- We should be able to work things out. Have everything delivered to Malfoy Manor, which is where I currently reside.
- Mal… Malfoy?
- Don't worry, I didn't tell them about you. Besides, I've searched a bit, interviewed Lucius and Narcissa, and they have no memory of a second child. Which is strange. Also, an elf overheard me and told me privately that he remembered that "Mistress" bore two children during her pregnancy and that he should have been the personal servant of the second child. But when the Malfoys returned from Saint Mongoose, they only had Draco. They had stayed there for a long time because magical twins are often fragile at birth, the magic of the mother being shared between the two fetuses during pregnancy. He deduced that the other child had not survived and the elves never spoke of this twin again. They removed everything that was duplicated so as not to hurt their masters who they assumed were grieving.
- Oh? So they knew they were having twins and prepared for the arrival of two children but they only came home with one without remembering the second? How it is possible?
- My theory is that they suffered an amnesia spell between your birth and their departure from Saint Mungo. What exactly happened, I have no idea. The Potters adopted you a few days before the Malfoys came home. Are they the ones who made them forget about the existence of a son? Did they find a baby left behind by its parents? We can only speculate at this time. I didn't know the Potters personally, but child theft, no matter the circumstances of the war, is nothing like what I've heard about them.
- Oh. It's better like that.
- How so?
- Well, if they don't remember Mirus, they couldn't have suffered from his disappearance. So good for them. And me, well that allows me to wait and see what I want to do. Draco is such a spoiled pretentious rotten brat… I don't know what the Malfoys are worth as parents but when I see how he behaves, I don't really want to.
- It's getting late Mirus. Place your order tomorrow, I should receive it in two to three days and then you will receive everything before the end of the week.
- Alright… How do we cut the communication? And do I still have to speak out loud?
- Haha! I see Fenrir didn't tell you everything. You can whisper, I'll hear you anyway. To cut off the call, simply say the activation word backwards. Tonight, you are the one who started the communication so I will tell you what will happen when I want to call you. You will feel the bracelet vibrate gently and heat up slightly. To accept the communication, you say "Mirus". If you can't answer, you ignore the call, the vibrations stop on their own after a few minutes. Good night Mirus. Surim!
Harry's ears tinkled at the sudden silence. He stared at the bracelet for a moment and a small smile appeared on his lips.
He had direct communication with the only adult he trusted at the moment, he was going to receive books he wouldn't have access to otherwise (let's be honest, Voldemort wasn't going to send him Light magic books) and he had a solution for his school stuff.
Three and a half weeks before the start of the school year and Harry was finally regaining the good humor he had lost when he left King's Cross.