I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
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Chapter 9: The New House of Black
"You know you still have a key, no need to use the doorbell," Sirius told Remus while letting him in.
"That would be quite rude of me, after all this no longer is my house and Diane wouldn't welcome me treating it like that's still the case," Remus told his friend while taking off his shoes. "Speaking of Diane, how are she and the little tykes?"
"Oh, they are all OK, although Diane's back feels a bit stiff, since she has to carry double the weight other pregnant women have to," Sirius said while leading Remus to the living room.
That had been a bit of a surprise when it came out after getting an ultrasound, that Diane was actually expecting twins instead of just one child. That had changed their plans significantly - it dawned on Diane that while with one child she could have returned to work full-time, that basically was impossible with two of them needing her attention. Not that she would drop out of her job, but it was a given the it no longer would be full-time for several years to come. She was more surprised how easily she'd accepted that.
Remus had joked that Sirius was working hard to make sure the Black line would continue. Sirius hadn't found that very funny, since when visiting Grimmauld Place for some documents, Kreacher had said pretty much the same thing. It had been a bit scary to see the elf being that happy. No idea how he'd known, but at least he didn't seem to mind that Diane didn't have even a drop of magic in herself, which was a new development. Perhaps seeing the line kept alive overrode all of the elf's prejudices.
"Oh, I knew I heard your voice," Diane called while getting up from the couch where she'd had a little nap. Being six months pregnant with twins was impossible to miss, considering how much her belly had grown. "And while I have to carry around additional weight and my feet kill me at times, I'm no invalid."
"Never said you are." Sirius clearly knew better than to even imply something like that.
These two really fit well together. Remus then took the offered seat. "Thanks for seeing me."
"You sounded really excited, like when you found out you made Perfect. What's the surprise then?" Sirius knew his friend too well, after all.
"I worked really hard on this and it'll take some explanation..." Seeing his audience nod their agreement, Remus decided to start at the beginning. "Well, the closer we get to the point where we have to explain to Harry about magic, the more I started to think about how the magical world is handling muggleborn students and it grew from there."
"Maybe you can explain about that? It never came up." Diane knew there was after all a good chance her children would inherit their father's magic, and thus the topic of magic school felt important.
"Gladly. Essentially, non-magical families with magical children only get notified of that very fact with the letter inviting the child to Hogwarts - which is two months before the school year starts." Seeing the astonished look Diane gave him, Remus knew what her reaction was. "I know, if looking at it, that's not very smart."
"You are serious?" It sounded like Diane had trouble to believe it.
"He is never joking about such things," Sirius added, seeing his wife was still in disbelief.
"You mean to tell me... that these families are kept in the dark until the last possible moment?" Diane had witnessed a few of Harry's bouts of accidental magic and couldn't imagine how stressful that had to be for a family that was in the dark about magic. "Who in all names made that law?"
"Actually, there is no law. That practice somehow started and continued until everyone said 'we always did it that way'. There's no law whatsoever about detailing when to tell the families about it." Remus himself had been astonished when finding out that fact. "That's the issue that made me aware of the effect it's causing."
"Enlighten us; I'm bad with these things." Sirius had never really thought about the issue, so he had little input on that.
"Essentially, telling them at the last moment severely handicaps these children. Have you ever wondered why children from pure-blood families seem to be ahead, despite the fact that many of them aren't that smart?" Hearing no answer, Remus knew he had hit dead-center. "It's because they can practice to their heart's content at home, shielded from the law, so they have a massive head-start."
"Oh... Thinking about it..." Sirius now remembered the lessons he got before Hogwarts. He never had thought much about it. "So it's illegal, but thanks to money and influence, the Ministry looks away. Does it mean they also do it over the summer?"
"You better believe it. Of course your parents denied it to you after your sorting. The funny thing is, there actually are legal ways for all of that, but clearly these pure-blood families don't care." Not that Remus was surprised by that litte fact. "Once I knew that, the idea started to grow in me. After all, the problem also extends to many other things children from non-magical families should know, but have no chance of knowing."
"Sounds like your idea grew quite big," Diane remarked, listening attentively to everything Remus was telling them.
"It riled me up how thanks to a lopsided system, these families not only are put under great stress, but these children never get the chance they deserve. The odds are artificially turned to their disadvantage," Remus explained his reasoning. "My idea however grew even further when I remembered that there are a number of magical families who also get screwed over in the process."
"No, let me guess, those that try to stay especially lawful and those that don't have the money to do something about it," Diane said, having a good idea where this was going. After all, in the end it always was the same, magic or not.
"Oh yes. Now, is it any wonder that despite the constantly shrinking number of pure-bloods, magical society is still so heavily favoring them?" There was no hiding how unhappy Remus was with his findings, especially since this only was concerning school.
"Considering how passionate you are about that, is how you were treated due to your medical history coloring your opinion a bit as well?" Diane asked.
Remus knew the question would come up. "I was lucky it could be keep secret during my school days. But yes, some bitterness how I was not given a chance once outside of school bleeds into it. Magical society is fond of its prejudices," Remus admitted.
"So, what IS the big thing you have planned?" Sirius asked, having enough of the anticipation.
Remus knew it was better not to no longer test his friend's patience. "Basically? I want to create a magical preschool."
"A what?" Sirius honestly had not expected that answer.
And thus Remus explained his plan in more detail.
As it stood, Remus had the idea of creating an institution, where future Hogwarts students from non-magical families and those magical families that would not disregard the law, could be made familiar with the magical world and magic itself, thus erasing the advantage the pure-blood students held. Also, since there was no law against it, it would help to tell the affected families early. The plan was to tell them two years before they would start Hogwarts - which of course meant that Harry would learn about it this year - and then use the time to teach them all they needed to know.
Remus also went into even more details such as how to fit it with the normal school times.
When he was done, Sirius whistled in awe. "Wow, you really thought this through. I also have an idea why you came to me with it."
"Yes. As great as the idea is, there are of course several roadblocks I have to overcome first. The most pressing problem of course is funding, as this will be very expensive and I don't have such financial clout. Also, there is lots of red tape to be done first, so the Ministry won't make trouble." Remus was all too aware of the problems his plan held.
"Don't worry yourself about money. I have no idea what to do with all the old money anyway, which is getting more each day due to investments raining profits into my vaults." Sirius then laughed. "That, and it would be sweet revenge on all fanatical Blacks there ever were that a chunk of the family fortune is used to help the very people they detest!"
"Oh, Sirius..." Diane however didn't even bother to hide that she got the humor behind it. It a way it would be a massive blow against everything the rich pure-blood circles stood for.
"Well, they would have never used their money for things like philanthropy and charity. Honestly, the money issue was why I came to you, since I knew you would like my plan." Remus then was silent for a few seconds. "However, considering the whole paperwork, I have someone else in mind."
"Really, who...?" Sirius then had an idea what Remus was hinting at. "You don't mean Dumbledore, do you? Not that I'm dead-set against it, but why him?"
"I know you have some remaining trust issues with him, but I also know Andromeda has supplied you with the news, so you know he has changed Also, he has many connections into the Ministry and is well-versed with political games and the bureaucracy." Remus knew Sirius had not entirely forgiven Dumbledore his errors, despite inviting him to his wedding. "I also need access to the Hogwarts Book of Attendance if I want to find my future students."
Yes, he erred, and I'm still angry he thought sending Harry to Petunia would be a good thing, but I have to let go of it... First Sirius took some calming breaths before he looked up. "This is where I have to set aside my pride for a more important issue, right?"
"I can't force you, but without Dumbledore's support, the project can't take off." Clearly, Remus doubted Sirius could be much help with the Ministry after his long absence. Not even money could make up for that.
Sirius felt Diane having taken hold of his arm, and the look she was giving him made it clear that she felt this issue was too important to let some old history get into the way. "You think we should visit him right away?"
Seeing that Sirius would go with it, Remus nodded. "Yes, the sooner the better, while the iron is still hot. Hm, that's one of these times I wish we had access to the floo, but I understand the security breach it could be. I hate long-range apparition."
"You only say that because you never were good at it. Didn't you even barf all over the tester's shoes?" Sirius remembered the incident all too well.
It seemed Remus did so as well. "You still remember that...?" he sighed. "Can't we go the shorter distance to Andromeda's house and use her floo?"
Seeing how Remus really was not keen on long-range apparition, Sirius relented. "It can't hurt to ask her."
o
"The atmosphere is different, that's for certain. A bit scary how much can change in mere ten years," Remus commented.
"Yes, Hogwarts on the surface is still the same, and Dora had been all too eager to tell me about all the changes that happened in the past years, but its the people that are different. Just looking at them shows me how much that part has changed," Sirius agreed.
They had first tried to floo directly to the Headmaster's office, but that fireplace had a security block and they of course had no idea how to pass that. Therefore they had to floo to Hogsmeade and walk on foot to the castle. Walking through the castle, they had seen the differences to their time in Hogwarts.
It was the students that were milling around, enjoying their weekend. During their time at Hogwarts, there still had been a sort of conformist pressure to adapt to the magical culture, which showed itself in how people dressed, although it had started to weaken at the end of their school time. Now however the number of students who were enjoying their leisure time in Muggle clothes had risen to a significant level. Perhaps almost half of the students they met, meaning that it not only was muggleborn students that got into the habit.
"Well, my dear late mother would've had a choleric fit had she seen this. She probably would have screamed about the contamination of wizarding culture," Sirius mused.
"Uncle Sirius?" They stopped when hearing a voice they knew. Indeed, there was Dora approaching them, accompanied by a redhead boy that looked to be her age. "That's a surprise. I thought you were unwilling to even set a foot into the magical world."
"Well, Dora, it's like all things you promise. Sooner or later you have to face the fact you can't keep it up:" Sirius then gave the redhead a lookover. "Oh, is this your boyfriend?"
"Oh no. Well, we tried, but it turns out Charlie here is in love with dragons, something I want to stay far away from, so we decided to spare us the heartbreak and let it stay at friends," Dora explained.
Charlie then introduced himself. "Charlie Weasley. You know, you are a bit a of legend, do you? I don't want to say it, but it's pretty much a given that one student will blab and you'll find your way into the newspapers again."
Sirius groaned at that reminder, while Remus spoke with Charlie. "Ah, the red hair should have been a dead giveaway. I've heard for the next decade there will always be a Weasley at Hogwarts?"
"Well, Mum really wanted a big family." Charlie didn't know it any different, a family with just one child was weird to him in turn. "I only hope they all find what they like the best."
"Maybe we can catch up later?" Sirius suggested when noticing Dora giving Remus a strange look for a moment. "We're on the way to Dumbledore for business."
"Oh, no problem." It was obvious Dora really wanted to talk more with him. "When you're done, just look for us in the great hall. Outside of mealtime it's after all good for spending time with others if they're not in the same house."
Sirius said nothing about the quick look Dora had given his friend. It most likely was nothing anyway. They then moved on to the Headmaster's office and encountered one of the new things; namely that the dead-end corridor with the gargoyle had been remodeled into an anteroom and thus they had to knock on a newly installed door and ask the secretary to announce them to the Headmaster.
"Headmaster, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin ask for entry. They say they had business to conduct with you," the secretary spoke into the magical intercom.
"Oh, this is a surprise." The Headmaster really didn't seem to have expected them to ever visit him. "Please let them in., Ms. Spencer."
If anything, it was a bit of a surprise how fast Dumbeldore had given them permission to enter his office. The way to his office was a familiar one for both men, as they had went it often enough - during their school time mostly due to something Sirius and James did. It still looked the same as the last time they had been in it almost eight years ago, the only interesting addition were the small silver instruments the Headmaster was at the moment inspecting.
The man then noticed them. "Ah, Sirius, Remus. It is truly a surprise to see the two of you here. Especially Sirius, since I remember he'd sworn to never again set a foot into this school."
"Well, it's like always, reality reminds us that it doesn't care about what we want," Remus remarked.
"It was kind of interesting as well. The atmosphere has changed in the school," Sirius remarked.
"Ah yes, something I noticed as well. Due to the war, the number of pure-blood students has fallen significantly. While half-bloods have declined a bit as well, the number of muggleborn students is rising steadily with each year. As Septima told me, it's a simple case of numbers, since the non-magical population is so vastly bigger." Dumbledore returned to behind his desk. "Of course not everyone is happy with these changes, or with me, since I reacted to it."
They didn't need to know any details. It actually was bizarre irony that the war that Voldemort started to cement pure-blood supremacy only resulted in weakening their position instead. Oh, not right away, but Hogwarts was a pretty good indicator what the future would hold, and that scared the conservative circles to no end. Sooner or later the pure-blood conservatives would panic and do something nasty to try and secure their eroding power.
Dumbelore then gave them a questioning look. "Now, I'm very curios what could bring the two of you to me. And be assured I won't ask any questions about Harry, as it's not my place."
And they did. The more they told him, the more interested the old man became, listening attentively. It took Remus a bit to present all of his plans, with Sirius adding to how he would take over financing the whole thing. After the issue of dealing with the Ministry was brought out, they waited how Dumbledore would react to all of it.
"Amazing..." He sounded genuinely impressed. "This all fits with my observations. You however know that this philanthropic approach will only anger conservative circles even more?"
"I don't care, if I can use all that old money for something good. That it also goes against these people is a bonus for me." Sirius clearly had made up his mind on it. Remus only nodded, looking quite determined.
"I would gladly help you. It's not only the bureaucratic work, but also the need to not attract any attention. The Ministry... has started to change and it is a good decision to come to me. I can get it done without anyone in certain circles being the wiser." He then looked thoughtful. "However, if I can make a suggestion? You should add a fonds for school equipment for families who otherwise would have difficulties to afford it."
Even though he didn't say it, all of them knew he held the Weasleys as a prime example. Good and just people, but with such a big family, sending all of them to Hogwarts could break their financial spine. It was widely-known and even Sirius had heard of it from Dora.
"An excellent idea. That would level the playing field even more." Sirius honestly felt even prouder that there was another way to use all that old money for a good cause.
"I agree. However, now that we all agree that this will be done, it'll take weeks to make the detailed plans, not to speak of starting the actual work." Remus had no illusions that it would take time, but the end result would be well worth it.
"Good, this will be a venture I will be proud of being a part of." Then however Dumbledore's mood dropped. "However, while you are here, there is another matter." Getting up, he took his pensive from its resting place and put it onto his desk. "Some time ago, Sybill made an important prophecy. A prophecy I need to share with both of you. Besides Sybill and myself, only Minerva knows its contents. Please listen carefully to it."
He pulled the memory out of his head and dropped it into the pensive. Out of the silvery fluid a picture of Trelawney's face appeared and repeated the prophecy of the Chosen Six to them. After the memory had finished there at first was silence, before Sirius asked the important question.
"That means Harry will be in danger, doesn't it?" That was most important to him.
"Sadly, yes. Voldemort sees him as a danger, and now we know his return will happen, regardless how he managed to cheat death." If anything, Dumbeldore looked a bit depressed by the thought. "You probably can understand a few parts of the prophecy."
"I certainly can understand the part about the 'rat-faced man'. So that is where he vanished to; looking for that monster to help him become alive again." Sirius again felt the bitterness over Pettigrew's treachery.
"What I don't understand is that part about the three canines. What could that mean?" Remus asked, trying to find rhyme and reason in the prophecy.
"I thought about it, and I can have an educated guess that considering the connection to Voldemort and thus Harry, two of the canines are the two of you." That made sense, since Sirius could turn into a dog and Remus was a werewolf. "However, I am at a loss about the third one."
"Perhaps another werewolf? After all, there are enough of those around." Remus didn't like the possibility of that happening. It had happened once in his youth and the nasty memory had bled over from the wolf.
"I'm wondering about these Chosen Six. There isn't much about them." Sirius had homed in on that aspect of the prophecy.
"To be honest, I do not know." Dumbledore let this hang in the air. "Just keep your eyes open and perhaps we will find the answer in due time."
They knew this issue probably wouldn't get an answer until it presented itself to them. For now they could do nothing about it, and instead would have to concentrate on their current plans. That was the annoying thing about prophecies.
...St. Grogory's Primary School, April 11th 1989...
Veronica sighed, again considering the ridiculousness of the situation. "And you are honestly asking the parents of every student in the class in order to find out what happened?" While she understood the confusion, the decision was baffling to her.
Harry, who sat next to her, also wondered about it, but also still couldn't make rhyme or reason of what had happened, though there was a suspicion.
It had started in art class, the last class of the day. Art class was taught by Mrs. Carver, an elderly teacher who was forced to wear a wig due to a medical condition that had caused her natural hair to thin out a lot. She was nice enough, but also so incredibly dull. While the students thought art was about expressing yourself and imagination, she treated it like calculating your taxes, making many think she would have been a better fit for math class.
He'd been bored to no end and wished for either the class finally be over or at least for something, anything to happen to end the boredom. That was was when Mrs. Carver's wig had suddenly turned blue and after being made aware of it, had freaked out. While that was the end of the lesson, it in turn caused the school to tell the students to stay until their parents arrived so that the situation could be cleared up.
They are looking for someone they can blame this on. How do they think any of us is supposed to have done that? Harry wondered, his cynical side adding its bit.
Veronica for her part had a good idea what had happened, but knew she could never say that. The teachers were going through one student at a time, and she had witnessed Petunia acting all scandalized that her son was included in the procedures. Thankfully, the Dursleys had left over half an hour ago, but by now her younger son, whom she couldn't leave at home due to his age, was getting bored with waiting, Mark looking like he would start doing foolish things soon.
The Headmaster looked at the wig on the desk, Mrs. Carver currently sleeping off the incident at the nurse station, then to Veronica. "Mrs. Evans surely you didn't expect this to happen out of nowhere?"
"No, but do you think a class of eight-year old children can do it, especially without the teacher noticing it while she wears it the entire time?" Veronica knew no one else had asked that question. "Also, the blue color is already fading."
Indeed, the wig was slowly returning to its natural color and the Headmaster looked perplexed. "Eh..."
Some minutes later, the three of them were leaving the school.
"Some people have nerves..." Veronica grumbled. She then noticed two people standing around, as if wondering if they were needed. Judging by the atrocious fashion sense, she had a good idea it were Obliviators who were sent because of the incident, wondering if they were needed, so she had to do something about that.
"Only now did they decide to simply sweep it under the carpet, after the color faded away, saying there is no lasting harm done. Typical..." She'd said that louder than normal and knew she had done it when seeing the wizards relax and start walk away, clearly feeling they weren't needed.
The walk home at first was silent, only for another strange incident to happen in the middle of the way.
Said incident happened when they walked by a man with a bizarre fashion sense - how else could you justify a violet top hat? - who suddenly gasped, then made some steps back to take off his hat and greet Harry overly formally while looking very excited.
Veronica rolled her eyes at how the day was going, knowing exactly that this had to be another wizard. "Harry, could you and Mark go ahead, please? There is something I have to set right real quick."
Harry knew if his Aunt spoke like that, she wanted no talk-back, as he had experienced it several times and knew that it meant not to push things. "Yes... come, Mark."
Veronica turned to the man as soon as the children were some distance away. "All right, Mister...?"
"Diggle, Dedalus Diggle." Mr. Diggle felt nervous, the looks the woman was giving him were not very friendly.
If anything, Veronica grew to look even more frightening, that was how annoyed she felt by now. "All right, Mr. Diggle. I know you are a wizard and that you recognized Harry. Give me a good reason why I should believe you won't spread the word around."
Mr. Diggle clearly was intimidated by her and began to stutter. "I-I... I'm friends with D-Dumbledore. He made it clear... would never forgive me if I do..."
Veronica was relieved that Dumbledore had spread the word in his circles to be hands-off about Harry. "Good, then keep it that way." Giving the man one final look to make sure he understood, she walked to catch up with the children.
Thankfully - especially for Veronica's nerves - nothing else happened on the way back. As soon as he was home and in his room, Harry had to think of the events of the day.
Truth to be told, ever since his inexplicable escape from Dudley, Harry had become more aware of strange things going on around him from time to time, the incident with the blue wig simply being the most memorable in quite some time. Straining his memory, he'd realized that this was happening for years, he just hadn't put any attention to any of it before.
Also, the man with the violet top hat was not the first person like that he'd met, though in the past he'd just thought of them as strange weirdos. Now however, after this incident and his Aunt reacting so strongly to the man simply greeting him so over the top, Harry wondered if something more was going on. His Aunt seemed to know, but no way he could ask her about it.
Being an eight-year old didn't mean being an idiot.
...Dumbledore's office, May 13th...
It had been lots of work; a bit over two months which they had spent on their respective fronts. Dumbeldore had been busy with the legal work, Sirius with the monetary aspect, and Remus with the practical aspects. They came together on the weekends and thankfully were spared another approach through Hogsmeade due to now being able to arrive through McGonagall's floo.
Still, the students did blab and the press had field days with speculation what could have caused Sirius Black to re-emerge from his self-imposed exile and visit Hogwarts so regularly. They had never met him in person and the Headmaster told the press that Sirius was simply visiting his relative at Hogwarts and it was a private issue. That was no lie, Sirius always visited Dora after business was done. Dora made the Headmaster ban the press from approaching her on Hogsmeade visits, not wanting to get bothered by them.
Today however, everything had changed. They could harvest the fruits of their labor.
"It is really done?" Remus asked when looking at the stack of documents resting on Dumbledore's desk.
"Yes, I did manage to get it all done without attracting any attention. It is all legal, but got buried so deeply in the bureaucratic process that no one without legal training will understand what actually happened, since no one saw the whole. Even then, they first have to know what to look for," the Headmaster said with some pride over his accomplishment.
It still had taken them over two months to get to this point.
After all, the whole thing had to be built from the ground up and Sirius first had to create a foundation that was well-fed with a chunk of the family fortune, which would exist on the magical and non-magical side equally, before any of the work with the Ministry could even start. And all the work Sirius and Remus were doing on their side, which by now was considerate, could have been for naught, if Dumbledore failed with the paperwork on the magical side.
However, thankfully as of this day, the whole thing was airtight and they could go ahead with their plans.
"You know... I better not ask you how many strings you had to pull to get that done. It's a bit scary how much influence you have if you want to get something done," Sirius commented, knowing how much Dumbledore hated to play political games.
"Oh, I don't dare to say it was easy. However, I did enjoy the challenge of doing it entirely the legal way, even though it'll look very convoluted to an outside observer." Dumbledore clearly seemed to have enjoyed the mental challenge.
"That means we can go ahead now." Remus looked very relieved that finally things would get into motion.
"And good thing we can. I think the owners of the real estate I have in mind are getting a bit annoyed I'm still stalling. Good that I no longer have to make excuses." Sirius indeed had found something that Remus had deemed ideal for their purposes.
"I still find it amazing how we managed between the three of us to create such a great work," Dumbledore remarked.
"To be honest, I was surprised how eagerly you went along with it," Sirius remarked, remembering the reservations he had at the beginning.
Dumbledore leaned back, looking thoughtful. "I learned, that it is impossible to stop change, and thus reasoned that it would be better to help it move along in an orderly fashion. I actually have to thank you, Sirius, since without your harsh words I probably would have ignored all the signs."
"You certainly have changed, Albus." It was a sign that Sirius was now using his first name. "Before, you always held your cards close. Now however, you actually share the crucial information. I just wish it wouldn't have meant all that Occlumency training."
Due to the fact that they would share certain secrets, it was priority for Sirius and Remus to protect their mind. After all, you could never know. While Remus had gotten it easily, testament of his intellect, Sirius had suffered from the fact that his original training had been from the Black family. His bad memories of the training had hampered his progress significantly.
"Well, now that we are moving along, I have to meet Minerva and study the Book of Attendance to find out which families to approach. It will be a complicated task to find out exactly where all those families actually live." Remus certainly was not looking ahead to that task, having an idea what McGonagall was going through each year.
McGonagall was the only other faculty member that also knew of their plans. She did enjoy a level of trust that the other teachers didn't. It did help that she also agreed with the idea, since she had seen first hand, how many difficulties the muggleborn students faced when starting Hogwarts.
"Sadly, the quill that writes the addresses on the envelopes only works for actual Hogwarts letters." Dumbledore looked a bit sheepish, as Remus had been quite peeved when finding out that little fact.
"What do you guess? How long until they realize someone is stepping onto their toes?" Sirius wondered, knowing what the reaction of the reactionary part of magical society would be.
"In my estimation, about three years. After all, you need one year before the first students arrive at Hogwarts, and it will take the conservatives about two more years to realize something is going on. By that time, however, the beneficial effects should be obvious," Dumbledore laid out his logic.
"They won't be happy, that's for sure," Remus added, having a good idea what the reaction would be. "Not that I care. The pure-blood faction enjoyed all these advantages for many years. They won't have any grounds to complain that we level the playing field."
"And Moony, you have to get used to the idea of working for me," Sirius reminded his friend.
"I know I'll need time to get used to the idea that you are my boss." Remus knew, since the foundation was financed by Sirius, it also would be him would would ultimately pay his salary. While it was weird, Remus knew he couldn't just work for the honor of it. At least it wasn't charity, but simply a normal salary for his new job.
"Don't worry, you won't be alone." Sirius of course had more than one teacher in mind for the project. Besides Remus, he also had found two muggleborn, a man and a woman, who despite excellent grades had fallen upon hard times and just recently started to look outside the magical world for job opportunities.
Both men said their goodbyes and went for the door.
"Any idea when the due date is?"
"No, but Diane hopes it's soon. These two are causing her back pains to worsen..."
For some more moments Dumbledore sat at his desk after the two men were gone, before he slowly stood up and walked up some stairs to the big window of his office. Looking outside, he could see that the weather was rainy. Yet, he didn't see it, being to busy with his thoughts. He only reacted when Fawkes landed on his shoulder, giving him an interesting look. Phoenixes were indeed mysterious creatures.
"Well, my friend, I said it before and now it seems to start to get more intense; a wind of change. Though what kind of change it will result in..." Dumbledore remarked, while continuing to look at the starting storm outside. "The future... the undiscovered country..."
...Little Whinging hospital, May 23rd...
Today was finally the day. Diane had already felt a bit strange the past few days, but shortly into the afternoon Diane's water had broken and a frantic call to Sirius later she had been rushed into the hospital, before the expecting father had thought about calling friends and family about the news.
That had been a few hours ago and they were still waiting for news, although they knew a birth can take its sweet time.
Harry for his part was somewhat familiar with the atmosphere, having already gone through it with Mark's birth, but now there were even more people waiting for news how mother and children were faring. Looking around, Harry not only could spot his entire family, but also Diane's father and brother as well as his Uncle Remus. All of them were eagerly waiting for news, as the only one allowed in there with Diane was Sirius as the father and husband.
"Diane's Dad will wear down the carpet if he continues doing that," Harry commented while watching Mr. Watson pace back and forth.
"Oh, don't hold it against him. My parents told me they would have done the same at Mark's birth, had they been able to be present," Thomas told Harry while watching Veronica entertain Mark.
"That's Dad for you. He never had been the most patient guy, and considering that not one but two grandchildren are on the way... Let's cut him some slack, alright?" Archie remarked, knowing his father too well.
"Ah." Harry didn't have anything to add to that.
While again waiting, Harry reflected that while he by now knew reasonably well about how babies grow inside their mothers, who then give birth to them, he still didn't know how exactly that started. He knew it took a man and a woman but that was it and the adults were frustratingly silent about it. Now waiting for the second time in his life for babies to be born, Harry felt rather ignorant and stupid.
There must be a book about that in the library. Now I really want to know why they make such a secret out of it, Harry thought, decision made.
In a way he envied Mark, who was distracted so easily, but perhaps that also was due to the fact that Mark was even younger than he had been at Mark's birth. The young boy clearly still was unable to understand what was actually going on and needed distractions so he wouldn't get bored. Harry wished he could be this oblivious right now, as the waiting was unbearable.
"Harry, is something wrong?" Veronica asked while Mark was busy with something. "You have that look which tells me you are thinking hard about something."
Harry should have expected her to notice - after all, she had raised him and thus knew all of the signs. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. Only something I want to read about."
Veronica gave him a look that told him she had a hard time believing it was just that, but then dropped it. She trusted Harry to not do anything stupid, after all. She then gave Remus a look. "Did Harry's birth also have such an audience?"
"Actually, no. Like their wedding, it was a very private affair. While James was with Lily, it was only Padfoot and me waiting." What Remus didn't say, was, that there had been the damn matter of the prophecy which had forced them to do so. Also, Pettigrew not being present - he had given an excuse - made sense in retrospect.
This caused Mr. Watson to stop his pacing. "I remember you saying they were loaded. I guess they had no wish to turn their private lives into a circus and attract social vampires who only want to be close to them for status and money."
"James loved that attention in his youth, but he did wise up later on and kept away from such people. Same goes for Sirius." Remus knew while that reasoning certainly had been the case for the wedding, the birth had been so private due to the threat of Voldemort.
"Sirius was pretty open about his financial situation, even if only to assure Dad that Diane has a secured life. I also understand he got most of it due to laws and not because his family loved him. Him still working for a living really impressed Dad," Archie remarked.
If anything, Sirius had been very honest about his life and current situation, only wording it in a way that left out magic and caused the Watsons made different conclusions. In their mind, Sirius came from a family with downright fascist views, which they had tried to force onto him, and finally managed to get free of them when a benevolent uncle left his fortune to him alone. There was no falsehood in that conclusion, just the factor of magic missing.
"It's the mark of an honest man. I'm still amazed he's that after he told me what kind of scumbags most of his family were. Thank goodness most of them are under the earth now. Though the two still alive are quite the characters, good thing we'll never meet them," Mr. Watson noted.
Of course Sirius telling them of his extended family also included the three Black sisters. While Sirius had only good things to say about Andromeda, his description of the other two was less than flattering. One of them held up the old values of the family and had married into a family equally as horrible. The other one had become a psychotic murderer and had been sentenced to life in prison. Yes, what a 'nice' family.
He then looked to the clock. "This is new for me. I was both times present when my children were born."
"You are not the only one," Thomas added. "After all, I also was present at my son's birth."
"And I also was there, obviously." From the laughter she let out right afterward, everyone understood the humor in Veronica's statement.
They continued talking, but the wait continued. The adults knew a birth could take long, but it still didn't fully erase their nervousness.
Finally, the door opened and Sirius walked out, looking like the happiest man on the world. "All of them are in good health, even if quite exhausted. Diane also first... eh..."
"No need, it's fully understandable that she first wanted to be presentable again." Veronica, having gone through childbirth herself, knew that it was messy and had to be done in not exactly a dignified position.
Sirius remembered Diane complaining it was a bit drafty down there after she was done. "Thanks, Veronica. All of you come and greet the mother and two additions to the family!"
He then guided all of them to the room where Diane was resting.
Diane indeed looked very exhausted, which was little wonder considering she had given birth to not one but two children, something that would sap the strength of even the strongest woman. Despite that, however, she looked incredibly happy, her arms being full with two bundles. That it was two children had been known months in advance, since after all this was reality and not a badly written story.
Seeing her husband bring in the others, Diane couldn't help but to give her father and brother a triumphant look. "Well, Daddy, Archie, no one can ever again accuse me of being only a woman on the outside. Not after I did the most feminine thing possible."
All of them came closer so that Diane could show them the two babies she was holding. "All of you, meet our two newborn children. This little rascal here on my right is Steve. He was born first, if that means something considering it was just a difference of ten minutes. And this little cutie here on my left is Kathleen. Don't let her current peacefulness trick you, she was very vocal when she got out."
The adults commented how cute the babies looked, while Harry, who honestly didn't see that appeal yet, instead was happy for Sirius and Diane. He also got experience what it was like to have a baby around, and considering they got two of them at once, he knew both of them would be very busy for the foreseeable future. He himself had only connected to Mark once he had been a bit older, so perhaps it would be the same with these two.
Mark on the other hand looked in confusion at the babies, then at the different color of their blankets, before returning their attention to them. "Can't tell them apart..." he finally admitted.
"No need to be embarrassed, son," Thomas told his son. "Newborn babies pretty much all look alike unless you have a good eye for the small things. It's later when they start to look more different from each other."
"Oh." To Mark, this actually made sense.
"Padfoot, I think you never thought you would be in this position, do you? I think the Sirius I knew in school would have never thought about having a family of his own," Remus mused.
"It's not like I had the greatest role models..." Sirius looked thoughtful, then turned his attention to wife and children. "Now that I think about it, over the past ten years I practically became a different person. I don't regret it, as I've gained so much."
"Oh yes, both of you have really cute children..." Veronica said, giving Sirius and Diane a knowing look. "As a mother let me tell you this: better prepare for your lives being turned upside-down, especially since you got two children at once."
Diane had noticed Veronica telling her that with a knowing smile. "Eh, it can't be that stressful, right?"
That caused Diane's father to laugh. "Oh, they all say that! Would you remember how much energy you cost your late mother and me, you wouldn't say that."
Diane and Sirius still were happy that they were parents, but the knowing looks from the three other people who knew what caring for babies entailed made them realize that perhaps they had been a little too optimistic concerning the changes in their lives. That certainly would be a much bigger challenge than they had anticipated.
o
Sitting at her desk, Minerva McGonagall wondered what some students were thinking after today's incident.
It had started when a student in third year somehow had managed in today's Transfiguration lessons to transform a cushion into a rat with razor-sharp metal spines. An animated rat, which then had run amok before she could undo the transformation. The end result were four students in the hospital wing and unnerved elves having to clean the classroom to remove the blood.
To her great shame, it had been one of her own lions who had caused this little disaster and now had to endure the fallout.
She looked up when she heard the scratching of a quill and knew right away that someone new with magic was born in the British Isles. That always was one of the events she liked, seeing the names of the next generation appear in the book.
Let's see who will join our school in eleven years... she thought while walking over to the book.
Seeing the new entries into the Book of Attendance in the pages for May 1989, she knew right away that she had missed something very important, though she couldn't fault Sirius for not contacting her. "I knew the due date was close..."
Steve Black
born: May 23rd 1989
Kathleen Black
born: May 23rd 1989
"Oh, he must be very busy today. I better wait until tomorrow before I tell him the news that his children were confirmed to be eligible for attending Hogwarts. No need to leave the man in the dark about that," she decided.
...12 Grimmauld Place, May 27th...
Now, normally Sirius tried to avoid setting foot into 12 Grimmauld Place, the house simply holding too many bad memories for him. Time had dulled the pain, but it still was far from an enjoyable experience for him.
However, today he had a good reason for entering the house.
Walking in, he still marveled at the difference a good cleaning and re-decoration gave the house. The house now looked much brighter, cleaner and in good repair, making him wonder why his parents had not bothered with such things during their lifetime, but perhaps their deteriorating sanity had been at fault there.
The atmosphere also was different due to removing many of the rather questionable decorations that no sane person would have wanted in their house. The overabundance of snake motifs had been drastically reduced, tasteless things like that troll leg umbrella stand were gone and there no longer was a morbid atmosphere after Sirius had told Kreacher to put the heads of his family into a room where visitors would not see them. Not to speak of removing all the actually dangerous stuff.
The house now again was fit for living in it.
Walking through the house to his goal, he almost ran into Kreacher, who was busy with disposing what looked to be a bunch of dead doxies. "Ah, Master! Everything is in good order, Kreacher made sure of that."
"Well, the house certainly looks good now. It not only is clean, but the atmosphere has improved significantly as well. While I don't plan on living here, it now is fit for being used for official things should I decide to meddle with the magical world again," Sirius remarked.
Kreacher certainly looked pleased to hear that. If anything, the past years had been good for him and that Sirius didn't micro-manage him had also helped to improve his opinion of his Master. "How can Kreacher serve his Master?"
"Oh, nothing in particular, just continue your normal duties. I'm here to inspect the family tapestry," Sirius told him.
"Ah yes... Kreacher has noticed the repairs." Of course nothing would stay hidden from the elf in this house.
Sirius knew what Kreacher was talking about. Some months ago, he had hired a proper professional enchanter to repair the family tapestry, which not only meant restoring all the people that had been blasted off it - himself included - but also modify it to no longer work according to the bigoted beliefs of old. Due to the birth of his children, he now wanted to inspect the results.
"It creates the question, if they valued the tapestry so much, why did they vandalize it by blasting people off it? It's now in the best condition in almost 200 years." Honestly, Sirius had never understood that particular habit of his family.
Kreacher tried to not show anything, but even he, who was utmost devoted to House Black, knew that the Blacks didn't have a history of being the most stable people. "Kreacher hopes the result is to Master Sirius' liking."
Seeing that Kreacher returned to his task of seeing if any doxies had escaped, Sirius made his way to the drawing room, where the family tapestry was located.
He'd never had much of a positive opinion of that particular piece of art, due to his parents forcing him for hours to no end to learn it by heart. Thus he knew all the most infamous ones like Phineas Nigellus, the most unpopular headmaster in Hogwarts history, his Aunt Elladora, who had started the barbaric tradition of beheading the house-eves once they became too old to hold a tea tray, and Araminta Meliflua, who had honestly thought she could get through a law legalizing Muggle-hunting for sport.
What a bunch of psychopaths. But now that thankfully is at an end...
The enchanter indeed had done great work in restoring all the people that had been blasted off the tapestry and in modifying it to show the new realities of the Blacks. Just a look to the most recent generations showed it.
For one, his restored entry now showed his marriage to Diane, something the tapestry would have never shown before, and also showed his only days old children Steve and Kathleen. Andromeda's marriage to Ted was also acknowledged and Dora - though with her full legal name - was now shown as well. Unlike before, their branch also would be shown further, once Dora would have children of her own. Dora's picture also was a nice touch, since it regularly changed her hair color
Toujours Pur... Hah, not anymore! Maybe I should rub that under Phineas Nigellus' nose. His portrait had been way too arrogant every time I was in the headmaster's office in my school days, Sirius thought.
His decisions however also influenced the other two branches that remained of the Blacks.
Since Narcissa had married Malfoy and he had cut her off, the tapestry would only show her children, but not her grandchildren and following, so it looked like that branch on the tapestry would end with Draco. While the same rule applied to Bellatrix, Sirius sincerely doubted that she and Rodolphus - or her with any other man - would ever have the chance to have any kind of offspring.
Bellatrix having children... Brrrr, horrible thought! He was glad she had remained childless.
The Blacks of old would have suffered a stroke seeing their precious tapestry now sporting a Muggle, a muggleborn and three half-bloods. Now that he was the Head of House Black, he had been very busy with doing the opposite of how things had been done before. This basically was an almost entirely new House of Black.
Being pleased with the changes, Sirius looked around, taking a closer look at the changes in the drawing room he'd seen before but never commented on.
All the dangerous stuff by now was gone and Kreacher had been busy with putting the more valuable family heirlooms into glass cases. It gave the room a bit the atmosphere of a museum. Sirius did notice various things from his past, while other stuff, like a heavily golden locket with an engraved emerald-covered S, was new. It was a reminder how much stuff the Blacks had amassed over time, since Sirius couldn't remember its origins.
Seeing Kreacher enter and start wiping the glass cases, Sirius had to comment about the setup. "Interesting, Kreacher. Should I ever entertain guests, they can take a look, but are unable to touch anything."
"Kreacher is glad to hear that and hopes Master will entertain guests in the future."
Sirius still found it a bit strange how polite the elf now was to him, but considering this was a massive improvement to his prior behavior, he wouldn't ask any questions. "Well, I must be off now. I'll leave you to you duties."
Watching Sirius leave, Kreacher turned his attention to the case with the locket as soon as he was out of the house.
He'd been afraid when his Master had inspected the items in the cases. However, seeing how Sirius had not commented on the locket, he'd clearly just shrugged it off as one of the many heirlooms of the Black family and paid it no further mind, much to Kreacher's relief. That meant that there would be no further problems on that front.
Sure, he still had no way to destroy the blasted thing - and he had tried all of his magic on it - but at least there always was a chance that something would come up in the future on that front. The thought helped him to keep his sanity despite his failure up to now to fulfill Master Regulus' last command.
...the Burrow, June 28th...
With the end of the school year came a festive mood to the Burrow. Bill, Charlie and Percy had returned from Hogwarts and the whole family was celebrating it.
The eldest of the Weasley children, Bill, had not only finished Hogwarts with honors, but also already got an apprenticeship with Gringotts to become a cursebreaker for them - a job that Bill always wanted. Goblins after all always took the opportunity to get valuables out of ancient magical sites, but the - justified - paranoia of those who created them often was a serious health hazard. Thus they always were on the lookout for talented people in that field.
Sadly, it also meant that he would move out starting next month, since the goblins were planning to have his apprenticeship in the field, which meant traveling a lot. Bill had accepted that part of the job, even if he didn't like it. He had lived his entire life with his family, so this would be quite the change for him and everyone else.
Now however the partying had wound down and Bill sat in a chair outside, watching the sunset. His life after all would change significantly for the first time in seven years. He would leave what was left of his childhood behind.
Hearing the door, he didn't need to turn to know who it was. "Hey, Ron. I knew you wanted to talk with me the entire time."
"How did you know it was me?" Ron wondered.
"I've known you your entire life, so please give me some credit. Also, the looks you gave me weren't difficult to miss." To Bill, his brother was an open book due to years of experience. "I can harbor a guess that me leaving in a month is what you want to talk about?"
Ron sat down into a chair next to his brother. "I've known it would happen. But now..."
"I know, only now it does feel real. I also know that change can be a scary thing." Bill knew that Ron had never known it being any different, so this was the first big change in his life.
Ron was silent for a few moments, confirming that Bill had been correct, before he spoke up. "Before, I always knew you would be back from school. Now it's different and I don't like it. Is it stupid to feel that way?"
"No, it's not stupid at all. In fact, I did realize that I won't see all of you for some time as well. It's not only you who thinks that change is scary, Ron. It goes against our beloved habits, which is something none of us like to go away," Bill explained.
Ron sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You have such an awesome future ahead of you. Then there's Charlie, who wants to work with dragons, even though Mum fainted when hearing it from him..."
"You are still bothered that you don't know what you will be good at?" Bill wisely stayed silent on the aspect of income, as he knew Ron reacted poorly to that.
If anything, Ron looked a bit depressed by the thought. "Yeah... Charlie and you are set. Percy has become a huge bookworm who collects good marks easily. Fred and George don't have a care and Ginny is already set to have everyone's attention. I have nothing."
"Ron, should you really already write yourself off at your age? When I was your age, I also had no clue at all what I am good at. It took me years to discover my talent... and don't even try to tell me you feel the pressure. This is about what you are good at, not trying to imitate us."
Ron tried hard not to again react harshly to Bill's words. He'd felt horrible about the time he'd screamed at Bill and didn't want to do so again. "Easier said than done, and if I am good at something one of you are good at, it will be no big deal because it's already been done."
While Ron did feel insecure due to that, it was not as bad as it could have been. His many contacts with people outside of his family during school hours did wonders to make him more open about such things. Had he been homeschooled, he would have stayed silent about his insecurities, allowing them to fester inside. Of course none of them, not even Ron himself, knew this.
"Some good advice, Ron: don't force it. Charlie and me, we only discovered our talents and passions over time. Keep an open eye out on things you are good at and listen to what others are telling you," Bill told Ron.
Ron trusted Bill's common sense and he nodded, hoping that whatever his talent would be wasn't something that his brothers were already good at.
Both of them returned to watching the sunset in silence.
...Hogsmeade, July 25th...
Some say that Argus Filch was a very simple to understand man, that his main goal in life was to make as many students as possible miserable. That however couldn't be further from the truth, Filch was a surprisingly complicated man. That was due to his past and status as a squib.
Being born to a magical family with no magic of his own, he had been disowned by his pure-blood family at the age of six and got raised by a Ministry-appointed guardian who didn't really care about him. Even his last name was not his own, as his former family had taken it away. 'Filch' simply was a last name he had been given to have one, it had no connection to any kind of family whatsoever. He had grown up with a great distaste of magic users and a society that looked down on him.
As an adult, he had been forced to do menial work - the dirty jobs that no one else wanted to do and that were paid horribly - with no option to leave the magical world due to having no skills that could have helped him in the Muggle world. That was, until a bit over 20 years ago, when the still new Headmaster of Hogwarts had offered him a job. It of course didn't help his mood to always be surrounded students and thus being reminded of what his life could have been, but it had been the only way to get the needed money.
However, his life certainly had taken an upturn with his new duties.
While Filch still was thinking wistfully back at the days he could give canings to students, being the school disciplinarian did have its advantages. Not only was he now the official primary source for the punishments given to these little snots, they also also had to treat him with much more respect, now that he was an integral part of the faculty instead of a caretaker. It gave him a satisfaction that actually made him content.
At the moment however it was summer and the school thus empty of students. This peace was something Filch enjoyed greatly. He was in no great hurry while walking to the entrance doors for his weekly visit to Hogsmeade. Mrs. Norris was being busy with taking a nap in the sunlight at the moment and held no desire to accompany him today.
Walking down the path to the village, his first goal was the post office.
Others might call him a bit paranoid that he didn't have his mail owl-delivered directly to him, but he had his reasons that he once a week walked to the post office and emptied the box for his incoming mail he got there. Ever since he'd once caught a student who had snooped around the mail an owl had dropped off in his office while he had been away for a moment, he was very careful.
"Hello, Ernie," Filch greeted the man behind the counter.
"Ah, hello Argus. Here for your weekly mail?" Of course Ernie knew that, since it had been a ritual for years by now.
"Yes, have something for me?" Filch asked.
"Here, three envelopes this time," Ernie said, handing Filch his mail. "Want to stay for the newest in town?"
Filch waved it off. "No, not today. Perhaps next time."
His next destination was the Hog's Head. While many found that Aberforth had a questionable clientele in his pub, not to speak of the somewhat shabby decor and Aberforth's strange fascination with goats, once you were part of their circle, you couldn't wish for a better alehouse. Also, many of his customers were not exactly welcomed by society; another reason he preferred the Hog's Head over the Three Broomsticks.
Entering, he quickly made his way to the bar. Aberforth did notice him. "Ah, Argus. Here for a good pint?"
"Yes, and make sure you use a clean mug," Filch told him. That was a running joke between them, considering the reputation of the pub.
Getting Filch his ale, Aberforth, seeing that no other customer needed service, stayed with him. "Well, Argus, I've heard many rumors you've become the terror of these little brats by now."
"You better believe it. Still amazing that many still think I'm joking. Well, they learn quick enough." Filch liked Aberforth, since he didn't judge him for his lack of magic. "It certainly gives me much satisfaction."
"I noticed. Your mood has improved significantly. Your new job is good for you, as your old one only made you miserable," the barkeeper observed.
"Oh yes, being fully in charge of punishing the little rule breakers really helps. Especially since their little tricks don't work on me anymore." Filch thought with glee of the first time a student had tried and his new amulet reflected the spell straight back onto the culprit. "This is perhaps the most pleased I've been in my life."
"Well, you certainly waited long enough to finally have the last laugh. Is the plan still on?" Aberforth asked.
"Yes. Saving as much as I can for when I retire, and then buy a nice house here and enjoy my retirement." While that wasn't very ambitious, Filch knew he had been born into a social dead end and thus had to be glad for the small things.
"Yes sounds..." Aberforth stopped when seeing someone enter. "Damn it... MUNDUNGLUS FLETCHER, I TOLD YOU THAT YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE!" he screamed to the newcomer while making a grab for his wand.
"But..but..." said Fletcher tried to defend himself.
"Oh no, looks like last time's lesson didn't stick! Time for a reminder!" Aberforth growled, raising his wand, while Filch quickly re-located to a table further away to save his ale.
In the ensuing chaos, no one noticed one patron slip away.
I've heard enough. Mr. Filch would no longer even consider my proposal. Too bad, having a man inside the school would have been great. Seems my information is out of date... the man thought while making his way to the nearest public floo.
He would reappear in a house in London that was empty, no one actually living in it, and then leave to report to his superiors.
...streets of Little Whinging, July 29th...
Strange to think it's only two more days before I turn nine years old, Harry thought while aimlessly walking through Little Whinging on a warm summer day.
Harry had found himself with time on his hands and due to the heat, it currently was unbearable in his room, even if the window was wide open - it actually made it worse. Thus he had tried to see if he could find anything interesting in the neighborhood and a bit further away - stuff that was interesting to an almost nine-year old boy.
Sadly, there was not much that could hold his interest at the time, the heat also making sure the streets were quite empty.
Perhaps the most interesting thing, which he had found some weeks ago, was the construction work being done to the old estate, which all children mockingly only called the 'red ruin'. It used to be the estate of some nobleman, built in the 19th century complete with farm buildings, and all of it being built with red brick. It used to be in the middle of farmland, but now it sat just a kilometer outside of Little Whinging. After all, the town had grown quite a lot in past decades. The estate had been given up by the family for at least 20 years, if not more.
Now however things were different and he had watched construction workers being busy with restoring the buildings and doing interior work. Judging by the heaps of brick rubble they had been carrying outside some weeks ago, they had knocked out some walls. He had been unable to get closer however, as the whole property was getting a matching brick wall as well, clearly to keep out people that were not welcomed. As he'd seen, however, work by now was almost done.
I honestly wonder who would buy that thing? I heard the family sold most of its farmland, Harry wondered while walking by the edge of Little Whinging, a little forest being to his right, while the houses were to his left.
Still walking, Harry knew everyone else was busy at the moment. His Uncle and Sirius were at work, his Aunt was busy with Mark, Diane had her hands full with the twins and Remus was feeling a bit under the weather and was probably sleeping at the moment, which, if he remembered right, always happened a few days a month. Remus had explained it was a chronic sickness and he'd learned to live with it.
Perhaps I should go home. Dousing myself with the garden hose sounds like a good option, Harry thought, knowing that meant going to the left soon.
Watching the street ahead, he saw a kid on a bicycle appear from the street that led home, who then drove towards him. Then he stopped when realizing who it was.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Harry gasped.
He'd vaguely remembered Dudley boasting days before the end of the school year that his parents had gotten him a new bicycle for his birthday (considering his old one broke apart due to his weight), and Dudley was now approaching him on said bicycle at surprisingly high speed. That of course put Harry into a nasty situation.
He was quite far from home and running away this time had no chance of success, since on a bicycle, Dudley not only was much faster than him, but also would last a lot longer. It seemed that Dudley had thought about it and perhaps even shadowed him until seeing a good opportunity. Running down the street was out, but Harry also saw the small forest on the other side of the street.
He can't follow me in there with his bicycle, Harry realized, then made a run for the trees.
"Oh no, you won't get away this time!" Dudley shouted, ditching his bicycle at the treeline while running after Harry.
Running through the tree rows, Harry knew Dudley was gaining on him. Not good, how can someone so fat be so fast?!
"Stop running, I get you anyway!" Dudley shouted while chasing Harry deeper into the woods.
Harry had no idea what to do when he reached a small clearing, and suddenly he almost stumbled over a root, only to get hit by Dudley from behind. Thankfully, he didn't fall, or Dudley would probably have started to beat him up right away. Barely managing to turn around, he was confronted with Dudley looking triumphant.
"Finally... You have nowhere to run now!" Dudley said with a predatory smirk, knowing he would go to enjoy what was coming next.
"All this effort just to be able to beat me up?! Why?!" Harry hoped this would gain him some time before the inevitable. Maybe he then would have an idea.
"Why, why?! My parents tell me you are a freak, that should be reason enough! You should have known your place, but no, you had to get me into trouble!" Dudley clearly seemed to actually believe that.
"I got you into trouble?!" Harry was a bit in disbelief at Dudley's declaration. "Did I ask you to hate me? Did I ask for you to torment me? That was all yourself, so don't you dare to blame me for what you did!"
Harry felt he was being suicidal. Actually enraging Dudley was a sure way to get beaten green and blue, but he honestly didn't care. After hearing such an irrational and downright backwards reason for why Dudley had been against him from pretty much day one, Harry couldn't help but to feel a severe anger bubble up within him, despite the danger he was in. It was like he didn't care any longer and just had to let it out.
"Shut your mouth!" Clearly, Dudley didn't like what Harry was saying.
"No, I won't!" Part of Harry wished he wouldn't have discovered his courage in such a situation, where it was suicidal. "I've seen enough to know your parents try to buy your love, but they do nothing about your behavior! You are a horrible person!"
"Shut up! Time for you to... w-what?" Dudley stopped all of a sudden, his anger snuffed out while looking around nervously.
At first Harry was confused what was going on, but then he felt it as well and his surroundings... started to change.
It was a sunny summer day with no clouds in the sky, but all of a sudden it was like a strange mist had arisen. All around them, the world seemingly started to lose most of its color, looking bland and washed-out. It looked very depressing, like all joy had been removed from the world. Also, the temperature seemed to drop significantly, and both boys shivered as much as in cold as in sudden fear.
"What... what is this?!" Dudley gasped, becoming more and more fearful with every second. "Cold... it's so cold..."
Then Harry felt it. "No..."
It felt like being thrown into cold water; a primal feeling growing within him telling Harry that he was in grave danger, yet something paralyzed him. Then he felt something worse happen. It felt like all positive feelings were being sucked out of him, and to his panic the only things that did remain on his mind were those things that made him feel miserable.
The worst thing was, Harry now felt like he would never become happy again.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"New Friends"
Notes:
Here the notes.
Hahahah! I BET you didn't expect that kind of cliffhanger, do you? Aren't I mean? Of course Harry is going to survive, but what actually happens is the real cliffhanger.
Now, the magical preschool had been in my plans right from the start. I found it insane to throw children right into the middle of it at Hogwarts without any preparation, considering how much damage magic can cause if not used properly. That also gave me the chance to have our friends meet much earlier without making up some contrived reason.
You didn't think Harry wouldn't have some weird incidents, do you? I tried to integrate them organically into the story itself.
Yep, Sirius and Diane are now parents times two. I think Sirius will be a good father because he know from his parents what NOT to do. As can be seen, the House of Black is thriving again, just not in the way it's late members wanted it to.
Now, while the locket is obvious, there is something else in Grimmauld Place that will be very important much later in the story. Can you guess what it will be about?
I think it says something that I can even give someone like Filch some good traits and make it understandable why his mood is bad so often.