Well, I'm glad my new take on a Rising of the Shield Hero crossover has garnered interest.

A good chunk of this chapter was copied and pasted from Saudade, though the same can be said about the last chapter.

FAC FORTIA ET PATERE

CHAPTER 2:

EXILE

Harry had been taken by Raphtalia away from Croaker's office, the older man saying he had work to do. He wanted Raphtalia to show Harry the ropes. Harry was still uneasy, but for now, he decided to play along, albeit while keeping an eye out for any treachery.

What Raphtalia took him to seemed like a small study, complete with fireplace and bookshelves. "Sorry, I needed to bring you here," Raphtalia said apologetically. "Most of the rest of the Department of Mysteries is out of bounds to visitors, and even to me, there are plenty of rooms I'm forbidden from entering. And with good reason, I should add. So, you're Harry Potter. It's good to meet you."

"I suppose. I…I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but what are you, exactly, Raphtalia?"

"…That is a complicated answer. The answer to the question itself is simple, but…my people do not exist on your world, as you know it," Raphtalia said after a moment's hesitation. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but I was not born on Earth."

"…Are you an alien?"

Raphtalia tapped her lips with a finger in thought. "Yes and no. I do come from another planet, true, but humans exist there too, and my people can interbreed with humans. I'm not sure how that's possible. But it's more correct to say I come from another universe. You have read science fiction or fantasy?"

"Yeah, I know about parallel universes," Harry said. "Are you claiming to come from another universe?"

"As far as I know, that's where I was born. Our world…has various stages of development. Some parts, like the country I lived in, is closer to a medieval or Renaissance level of development, but other areas are closer to the Industrial Revolution. The country I lived in was called the Kingdom of Melromarc. My people are known as demi-humans, because we look human and can interbreed with them, but we have animalistic features. And we have traits in common with the monsters of that world. We can age to adulthood as we gain experience in combat…at least there. I have aged normally since coming here."

"…How did you come here?" Harry asked.

After a moment, she shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure of how, but…I don't like talking about it to strangers. It's painful. Let's just say I know the pain of being orphaned like you. Somehow, I ended up here about six years ago. Mr Croaker became my guardian, not quite a father, but…well, he has treated me very kindly. But…well, sometimes, I still wake up at night, screaming. Let's leave it at that for now."

Harry nodded. While he couldn't shake the notion that he was being played somehow, Raphtalia seemed sincere. "But why didn't you go to Hogwarts?"

"For a few reasons. Those of non-human heritage are looked down upon, even worse than Muggleborns," Raphtalia explained. "And my magic, and that of Earth, are somewhat different. I can learn a few general spells, as well as certain knowledge, and use rituals or create potions. But most of my spells are heavily inclined towards light and shadow magic, particularly illusion magic. When I go abroad, I usually conceal my ears and tail. Of course, I also think Mr Croaker is being somewhat overprotective of me. Much of his own family were murdered during Voldemort's uprising, and he views me, if not quite like an adoptive daughter, then perhaps like a niece."

"But why bring me in? He's already got you as an apprentice," Harry pointed out.

Raphtalia shot him a look. "…It's because he believes you are telling the truth, to some degree, about Voldemort's return. Oh, he wants more proof, but…he spoke to me at great length about you. I have to admit, I lapped up the stories about the Boy Who Lived, but he set me straight. You were raised by Muggle relatives, by all accounts, hardly aware of your fame, and your exploits at Hogwarts are more due to trouble finding you than you seeking adventure."

Harry thought of the times he did seek out adventure, and cringed a little. "Yeah, but…"

"Mr Croaker thinks that allowing you to be expelled from Hogwarts would leave you vulnerable. He's hoping Professor Dumbledore will agree. We're not asking you to fight Voldemort. That should, theoretically, be the DMLE's job, or that of Dumbledore. But this is a way to ensure that, if you're forced to fight, you're as ready as you ever will be. He seems to have a fixation with you, after all. But enough of that. Do you want some tea? We have a rather lovely House Elf called Mipsy…"

"I knew you'd be coming soon, Albus. Honestly, the only others who would have come sooner would either be Fudge or that pet toad of his."

Croaker looked up to meet the eyes of Albus Dumbledore, He of Too Many Names and Titles. Said eyes were not twinkling as they usually did. Croaker considered himself a good reader of men, and he knew that Dumbledore was angry and distraught in equal measure.

"I see that by your words, you wish to skip the formalities?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't keep any lemon sherbets or lemon drops in stock, if that's what you mean," Croaker said. "I never deal with formalities if I can help them. They're a waste of bloody time. So, first things first: how the bloody hell did you miss out on your Golden Boy's trial?"

"A matter came to my attention urgently from Professor Snape, and…"

"You missed out? Bloody hell, Albus, Snape is a Death Eater, and so is Lucius Malfoy and his coterie of cronies! I wouldn't be surprised if Snape's little matter was a deliberate diversion, to ensure Harry Potter was expelled and left vulnerable! You show that greasy-haired twat too much leniency, Albus. I don't care what trust you claim to hold in him, Lily always told me that he was never to be trusted."

"Severus is…"

"An arse and a bully who has done much to harm potion-making in this country ever since you allowed him to 'teach' children," Croaker retorted. "But we're not talking about him. You are here because of Harry. Are you going to force me to release him from the apprenticeship offer?"

"…No, I am not. In fact, I am grateful to you for acting so swiftly. We have not always seen eye to eye, Saul, but I trust you to do the right thing when the time comes."

"We're researchers, Albus, not bloody soldiers! Some of us can fight, but we're more interested in research, not politics or xenophobic lunatics! But the boy, he has so much potential, and I owe Lily a lot. Besides, my ward probably needs someone her age to talk to. And I know what you are going to ask. No, I am not going to tell him about the prophecy, not yet. Aside from the fact that he's quite emotionally volatile at the moment, there's also the matter of that thing in his scar." His gaze bore into Dumbledore's own as the older man's eyes snapped to his. "Why have you left it there?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Saul…"

"You know exactly what I mean, you senile antediluvian fart!" Croaker snapped. "You left a bloody Horcrux in Harry Potter!"

"How did you know…?"

"I used a spell, discreetly. I'd heard about the infamous scar, and wanted to see what was still present. Harry is the first known person to have survived a direct hit from the Killing Curse, and his mother may have used a ritual from the Department of Mysteries, so naturally, I thought I'd check. It took every ounce of my Occlumency ability not to react in front of him, let alone hex you within an inch of your life! If you had told us, we could have helped, Albus! Harry is far from the first-known Horcrux infesting a living being. True, they are extremely rare, but we have had cases before, and we successfully removed them. It's a dangerous procedure, with a good chance of death, but it's better than using Basilisk venom or Fiendfyre."

"But…the Unspeakables are not known for working outside the Department of Mysteries, Saul, or for playing the political game…"

"A boy's life is at stake, a boy who shouldn't have been thrown into such a messianic mythos in the first place! You may not have encouraged the myth of the Boy Who Lived, but you didn't exactly discourage it. And hasn't that backfired? Fudge thinks you're after his bloody position, which honestly would be an improvement, though half the Wizengamot would be an improvement over that fat twat! That Umbridge bitch is looking to get herself set up as a kingmaker! And we have the Death Eaters hidden in plain sight, slipping them both money to listen to their lies! Thanks to them, half the bloody wizarding community worldwide thinks that, at best, you're a senile fool and at worst, a megalomaniac, and that Harry is an attention whore! And don't think I don't know about how much you dithered when Grindlewald was rising to power. Blood pact or not, you could have done more!"

"I KNOW!" Dumbledore yelled back suddenly, before he repeated, in a more quiet, broken tone, "I know. But do you think it is easy, making the decisions where so many lives are at stake?"

"…No, it is not. But it only makes your fuck-ups all the more egregious," Croaker said. "Don't misunderstand me, it's not like I can cast the first stone. I messed up with Rookwood, for example, not realising he was a spy for Voldemort until it was too late. And poor Pandora Lovegood…if I had agreed to help her out, little Luna would still have her mother, instead of Xenophilus. He tries his best, but he is too often credulous. I have many, many regrets. But you want to prevent Voldemort from getting the whole of that prophecy that drunkard gave you, and you didn't even consider consulting me."

"…You make it sound easy to trust you, Saul. But we don't know who Voldemort has suborned. And you sound like you do not trust me."

"True, that. But I care about what happens to Britain, and to that poor boy that they just toppled off a pedestal he didn't want to be put up on. So, you and I are going to have a long and hard talk about what I can do to help you stop Voldemort. The boy shouldn't have to fight, even if he won't have that luxury with that monster gunning for him."

"…But how good are his chances to survive that ritual?"

"…Fairly good. Not as good as I'd like, there's still a good chance of killing him, but…odds are he will live."

"…Thank Merlin," the old man said, sagging. "One less thing to worry about, I hope. But if Fudge or his underlings get it into their head to…"

"The Department of Mysteries has considerable autonomy, ratified by international law, as you should know, being the Chief Mugwump of the ICW. As long as our experiments do no deliberate harm to sentient beings, amongst other things, each country's respective Department of Mysteries are not influenced by the Ministry that houses them. Fudge is a fool, but unlike some of the countries that have annexed their Department of Mysteries, we are not a dictatorship. Harry is not a wanted criminal, nor has he been convicted of any crime more egregious than using magic in front of a relative who should know. Recruiting him is nobody's business but my own."

"…You do know that neither Fudge nor his backers will see it that way."

"Of course. I'm sure Umbridge will be down here soon. That bitch never fails to attempt to throw her weight around, even though she doesn't have a leg to stand on, legally. But of course, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister is above the law. I'd bet money that, even if she didn't send those Dementors herself, she arranged for it. It's too convenient for two Dementors, supposedly under the Ministry's control, to attack Harry Potter, and near his residence to boot. Fudge would be too scared to attempt a literal assassination like that, even if Malfoy and his cronies tried. But Umbridge? Even if Potter survived, it gives her more ammunition for the Ministry's character assassination. And rumour on the grapevine is that she's angling to teach DADA at Hogwarts, trying to see if she can dig up dirt on you and/or Harry. Or at least become a High Inquisitor."

"I feared as much. Fudge seems to believe I am creating an army through the students at Hogwarts to overthrow him."

Croaker scoffed. "Bloody fool. I knew he thought you wanted his position, but this? You could probably take on him and most of the Wizengamot by yourself, you wouldn't need an army. Maybe the Order of the Phoenix, but an army of school students? It's Malfoy and his little social group of circle-jerkers who've planted these ideas in his brain, and Umbridge has encouraged it. And I know you, Albus. You're afraid of your own power, and have been since Grindlewald's rise. You're content with being Headmaster of Hogwarts, and those other positions they threw at you are secondary. But you're still a bloody fool, especially where two people in particular are concerned: Harry Potter, and Severus Snape. Thankfully, I can deal with the problems with Harry, but just some fair warning: if you ever send Snape down here, you will lose your spy in the Death Eaters. Oh, he'll still be alive, in the same way as a Dementor's victim is, but I refuse to allow him into this place."

"Saul, I had no intention of sending him here. And his loyalty to me is guaranteed."

"Because he had a hard-on for Lily?" Croaker asked. "You're banking on that? We study love here, as you well know, and one of the things about love, even true love, is that it can be corrupted into something darker. I know Snape leaked the prophecy to Voldemort, what he heard of it, and when he realised what he had done, he only asked for Lily to be spared. James Potter, I can understand, but Harry? That's the sort of man you're having as a double agent and a teacher, Albus, a man willing to murder, even if by proxy, an infant."

"Severus is redeeming himself…"

"His actions as a teacher say otherwise. He may not be wholly on Voldemort's side, but he's not on yours either. I don't think Snape is on anyone's side but his own. The fate of this coming war might be decided by a man with no loyalties but to himself, and it isn't Voldemort. Merlin help us all…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Raphtalia and Harry are gradually bonding, while Dumbledore's been called out on his questionable decisions by Croaker. This Dumbledore is not the villain of many a bashing fic, but a heavily-flawed old man who finds it hard to trust others with truly important matters, and makes pretty egregious errors. Croaker's far from squeaky clean himself, but he's got a better track record.

No numbered annotations this time.