Author's Note: Those of you that have watched Princess and the Frog will notice a few nods to it in this fic. I apologise in advance for my attempts at a Cajun drawl. Rated T just in case, enjoy!
Harry stared at the parchment in his hand in disbelief. 'They're expelling me, for defending myself? Enough,' he thought in disgust as he dropped the letter on the bed. He had had his life threatened on multiple occasions, and been forced to compete in the tournament against his will despite being underage, and now they expelled him for defending himself and Dudley? 'I'm not going to risk my life for them anymore,' he thought with determination.
An owl swooped through the window, delivering him a letter before disappearing again. He spotted the familiar scrawl of Dumbledore and dropped the envelope unopened onto the letter from the Ministry.
He heard the front door close and glanced out the window. The Dursleys were bundling Dudley into their car. Perfect. He pulled on his cloak and stashed his few unpacked belongings into his trunk. He fastened the lid, retrieved his wand from its holster, and shrank his trunk. 'In for a penny, in for a pound,' he thought with a shrug, before he shoved the trunk in his pocket and left his room without a backward glance.
He made his way through the house to the kitchen and out the back door the Dursleys always left unlocked. He closed the door quietly and pulled the hood of his cloak up, blending seamlessly with the darkness.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
Harry stepped through a stone archway. "Huh," he breathed.
"Be surprised it worked?" a woman asked with a Cajun drawl.
"Surprised I didn't fall over."
"The older forms of travel be…smoother than the modern," she answered with a smile. "Ah have t' confess ah be surprised to see you, not many be using the old forms these days."
"Then why are you here?"
"'Cause it be my duty, today anyway," she added with another grin. "Come closer, let me look at you," she coaxed, gesturing him closer. He closed the distance between them, and she scrutinised him closely. "You need t' be seeing mah grand-mère," she announced. "You be having some bad juju clinging to you."
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
"How are you feelin' cher?"
"Light," he breathed, then blushed.
The old woman smiled at him. "Can be that you don' realise how heavy a weight you be carryin' 'til it's lifted," she reassured. She looked him over. "Much better. You got the chance to start a new life, free of tha' weight. Goin' to have a new name too?"
His smile was bright. "Remy Noir."
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
The door to Grand-mère Odie's shop opened with a chime, and Sirius Black rushed in, expression desperate. "How can ah help you, cher?" Grand-mère Odie asked in concern.
"Please, I need you to help me find my godson," he pleaded. "I managed to track him to New Orleans, but there's too much ambient magic here for me to track him any further. I know from your reputation, if anyone can help me, it's you-"
She held up a hand and he cut off. "Remy," she called, "come out here, please cher."
"Oui Grand-mère?" he asked as he appeared from out the back. "Sirius?" he breathed.
"Pup!" He vaulted the counter, and tugged the teen into a fierce hug.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, even as he returned the hug. "It isn't safe."
"As if I could stay safe while my godson was missing," he retorted, letting out a relieved breath as the fact his godson was safe sank in. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he pulled back.
"Evangeline," Grand-mère Odie called, "come out here please cher."
"Oui Grand-mère?" the young woman responded as she appeared from out the back.
"Ah need you to watch the store, cher, ah need to do a cleansin'," she stated. She met Sirius' startled gaze. "You got some bad juju clingin' to you, cher."
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
Sirius blew out a relieved breath as the cleaning ritual came to an end. "What was it?" Remy asked in concern.
"Someone be cursing your godfather's recklessness to be heightened," she spoke with distaste. "Seems someone didn' wan' him to be in yer life, Remy cher," she added gently.
"I can think who," he muttered.
"So can I. Wait, Remy?" Sirius asked. The teen blushed.
"After he went through the same ritual, he chose a new name fer himsel'."
"Remy Noir," the teen stated.
Sirius tugged him into a hug, kissing the top of his head the moment the teen returned the touch.
"Will you be choosin' a new name for yersel' too cher?" she asked gently.
"Fleamont Noir," he stated. "Your grandfather," he spoke with a bittersweet smile.
Remy looked up at the Animagus hopefully. "Could I be your son?"
"It would be a privilege," he replied, voice full of emotion as he tugged the teen into a fierce hug.
He pulled back. "First, I applaud you for making a new life for yourself, but I know you. Eventually, you're going to feel guilty about not helping-" he paused, and the teen nodded. "So, I propose that we make sure the truth, about everything, is made known back in Britain, and then we start a new life together."
"Sounds good."
"Ah can help," Grand-mère Odie stated. They turned to her curiously. "Of all the souls tha' have stepped t'rough my door, y'all are the two tha' mos' deserve a good life. Tha' ah can' help with, but ah can help you make sure the truth is known, so y'all can get to work on makin' a live fer yoursel's."
"Merci Grand-mère," Remy spoke sincerely.
"Shall we get started?"
Author's Note Part Two: For those of you that are wondering, for the purposes of this fic, while Harry had spare time during the tournament, he looked up all forms of magical travel out of curiosity.