Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Nine
Xerxes- Legend or History
Hogwarts
Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore was annoyed by the lack of updates on the situation in Xerxes. He had expected fairly frequent letters from the children to their parents regarding the new school year. The year had started a couple of weeks ago now, and the children had been writing home fairly often but so far the only thing they had managed to gather was that the Weasley daughter was disappointed they didn't play Quidditch and the Weasley son mentioned that they took muggle classes as well as magic.
Dumbledore agreed that it seemed rather pointless to train the children alongside muggle children. It was also potentially dangerous, though he didn't mention it in the meeting. He knew from personal experience how very dangerous muggle children could become, however, that was for Xerxes to learn the hard way since they had no intention of listening to reason. More importantly, he had wanted information on the condition of Young Potter, and that information had been sparse.
It was entirely frustrating that he had managed to have the boy right here under his thumb last year and they managed to snatch him back. Dumbledore regretted agreeing to allow the strangers into the school, not that the Ministry had given him much choice. They had been blinded to the idea that Amestris and Xing would wish to trade secrets. Dumbledore had not believed it though; he knew they guarded their secrets jealously. He himself had only ventured to Amestris a handful of times before being tricked into that unfortunate vow, but he knew they were a closed off and stubborn people.
He still had a hard time believing, even weeks after finding out, that Edward Elric was Nick's son. How could that stubborn boy be the son of such a brilliant and brave man? Clearly, he gained far too much of his mother and Nick never noticed. Either that, or that man who adopted him was a terrible influence. Now that Dumbledore thought about it, he felt that was likely the answer. After all, look at how Elric had influenced and twisted poor Potter. The poor boy didn't even know his own name! He had completely disregarded his people in favor of strangers that stole him from his fate.
Dumbledore sighed as he poured himself a drink, he decided it was time to send more spies. He was going to have to temporarily gift some of his teachers to Xerxes if he wanted any real answers. Perhaps then they would be able to convince the boy he belonged with Wizards, and he should come home.
London
Sirius had watched Diagon Alley for the last few weeks and had learned nothing of interest. He had kept an eye on the papers as well, and luckily nothing had come up, but it was time. He needed to break into Hogwarts and hunt down Pettigrew. He knew that Dumbledore would know where to look but previous attempts to get the information from him was pointless. He had even gotten as far as learning the name of the boy who had been shown to be holding that rat.
Weasley. Ron Weasley. His father worked for the Ministry and his mother was a full-time parent. They had a large number of children and were not very well off. Where exactly they lived however was what he needed to know. He had hoped to run into one of them and follow them home, but he had not had any luck, so he instead was going to demand Dumbledore tell him.
He felt like he had come to this decision before and somehow never gotten the answers he was looking for, but he had no idea why he should feel that way. Either way, he managed to apparate to just outside the school before he transformed into a large black dog and slipped between the bars of the gate. From there he had gone through all of the trouble looking for blind spots. Places it would be easy for him to hide, having spent most of his time as a dog. It would be even easier than London to find food, he knew Hagrid left food out at the edge of the forest for anything that happened along, there were also the house elves, always willing to feed anyone who came to the kitchens.
He made his way along the edge of the forest, for now at least avoiding Hagrid and his offerings. Sirius had eaten just before leaving London and would not be hungry again for a while. There were a handful of older students making there way back from the quidditch pitch, two of them with the same red hair as the boy in the photograph. Sirius stuck to the shadows as he followed them, listening carefully to their conversation.
"So, were your brother or sister any good?" asked a different boy with darker hair, who seemed to be the team captain.
"I don't see that it matters, with them not attending this year." Said one of the red-haired boys.
"Ron is good enough, so long as he isn't nervous." Said the other.
"Will they be back next year," asked a girl following behind, "or are they staying in that foreign school?"
"That depends on if they catch Black, doesn't it?" said the first twin.
"Xerxes isn't a good match, I think." Said the other. "Ron is complaining about the muggle classes. Ginny is mad they don't have quidditch."
"Wait they don't have quidditch?" asked the captain, Sirius slipped away before they could say anything else. Xerxes. He had heard of it in passing. It was a school hidden away in complete secret. Rumor had it, those with ill intent couldn't even properly hear its name. If the boy had been sent to that school, it seemed unlikely with those spells in place that THAT RAT was currently with him. Instead, he needed to learn where they lived and hunt it down there before its Pettigrew came into contact with the children again.
He shook his head. There was also the matter of Dumbledore and Lupin. He had doubts about both of them now. They were trusting Death Eaters. How could he trust they were willing to properly protect Harry then? He needed more answers. He needed to find Pettigrew. He needed to find a way to sneak into his mother's house and find funds and then he needed to find a way to Xerxes because if this Ron and Ginny had been sent there to keep them away from him surely Harry would have been sent there as well. Sirius couldn't rest until he knew Harry was safe.
Xerxes Academy
It was late Friday afternoon. Yuery had about an hour before he had to go home, but they had finished their lessons for the week, so he decided to tell the others the history of Xerxes. Not the school, the city. This was his family's history after all, and though they would cover it in class he wanted them to understand. They weren't from here; they didn't know the things no one spoke of the things that everyone seemed to know even though it was secret.
He also wanted to show off the ruins. He had asked permission from his uncle before they went, he had no desire to be grounded again. Alphonse had granted permission to wander the ruins as long as they stayed clear of the palace and the outer edges where construction was still underway. He leads Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, Draco, and Hiro through the gardens with Huan at his side and Anya following at the end to keep everyone together. Draco, along with Hiro, Huan, and Anya had already heard all of these stories and been to the ruins but were interested in coming along anyway. "This was once a great city in the center of the nation of Xerxes. It was the most powerful country in the region at that time, well known for its advances in medicine among other things. When Xerxes fell, the spell that hides us was cast." Yuery began as he made his way around the beds of vegetables towards the flowers along the edges. "My ancestors me from this city. We are the last of that family line, the sole survivor of the night Xerxes fell."
"How did it fall?" Hermione asked curiously.
"No one knows." Huan said. "Any who might, would not speak of it as looking into it is forbidden."
"We always heard a terrible experiment went wrong." Anya supplied from the back.
"Both of you a right." Yuery agreed. "I do know, more than most at least, but it is a forbidden subject. It was an experiment gone wrong I am free to say."
"How can an experiment cause an entire city to fall?" Ron asked wide-eyed at the idea.
"Technically, nothing actually fell. All of the people died. All at once, all of Xerxes not just the city." Hiro said, "All accept the Sage. He wandered from the ruins, dazed and near death when he was found by our future ruler Hiro and his family. They offered him aide and in exchange he helped Hiro in his quest for greatness."
"Interesting. Is this history or Legend?" Hermione asked.
"Both." Yuery said with a smile. "History and Legend are often very close. In this case, most of the story has been labeled Legend because so few know the details of the History."
"So then, what happened after that? Why would your family decide after so long to open a school here in the ruins?" Ginny asked.
"We built it here because no one else has claim to this land, it is ours by right as the only ones left. Why Uncle and Father decided this was the best location was easy. It was to honor their ancestors and because it is in the center of the countries that decided they wanted to create a school together making it easier for all of the students to arrive." Yuery said with a smile. "We have to stay away from the palace, but we can wander what was once the market to see what we can find. Professor Lupin lives around here too, just near the garden."
"Oh, I thought all the teachers lived at the school?" Ginny asked.
"Most of them do, but Lupin is more comfortable slightly away from everyone because of his condition." Huan said with a shrug. "He doesn't have issues most of the time but every month he needs to be isolated as he takes his potions to keep the wolf in check."
"Wait, he's a werewolf? But he's allowed to teach here. Does anyone know?" Ron asked.
"Everyone knows," Draco said with a shrug. "Everyone knows to stay away from his cottage and that he is infected. No one bothers with it."
"Werewolves are dangerous though." Ginny said. "Everyone says they are anyway."
"My Gran said werewolves all joined You Know Who during the war and mustn't be trusted." Neville added nervously.
"He isn't a bad one." Yuery frowned. "Plus, the potion keeps him safe and besides, he isn't the only werewolf around, but as far as I know none of the werewolves from Xing joined either side of the war."
"I can assure you, that I never joined the Death Eaters, though I did spy on them for a bit when I was younger. Were you given permission to be out here without an adult?" Lupin asked from behind them. Several of the children jumped but Yuery had noticed him a couple of minutes ago.
"Uncle said I could show them around as long as we stayed safe and stayed out of the palace," Yuery assured the Professor, "We were to leave you in peace as well. We hadn't expected you along the path."
"Clearly, judging on your friends faces. I take it that most of you were unaware of my status." Lupin said with mild amusement. A few years ago, he would have been embarrassed with it, and likely would have avoided the children altogether to avoid the conversation. Year of living in Xerxes and having contact with the experts in Xing had made him slightly more comfortable. He would never trust the Wolf inside him, as the experts all agreed was for the best, but he no longer allowed it to be his primary focus.
"We were telling the history of Xerxes, though it will be covered in class as well." Yuery said instead of responding to his question. "Have a good afternoon."
"I will walk you back now, it is nearly time for your portkey, and the others to go to dinner." Remus said with a smile, as he leads the children back through the gardens. "I believe time must have slipped away from you."