Chapter 23
"I know it needs the soul rune as nothing else I've tried will fit." Alex muttered.
Lapis snorted from where she sat across from him in the carriage, a book in her hand and once again with Alice's head laying in her lap. A scene that was becoming increasingly common due to the pair's shared memories of friendship and the increased time they spend together.
"I don't know why you feel the need to create a runic version of the Fidelius when you're almost capable of casting the spell itself." Lapis said with a roll of her eyes.
"The spell isn't perfect." Alex argued. "There's no adaptability to it; it's an all or nothing spell."
"Why would that matter?" Lapis looked up from her book, though her other hand kept stroking Alice's hair.
"Say I want to keep the location of the Luna Academy hidden under a Fidelius." Alex prompted.
"Then you would make the secret something like 'the Luna Acedemy is located on the moon.'" Lapis suggested.
"Right. Now say I want to bring someone to the Academy but I don't want them to know the location."
Lapis frowned. "Then they would enter the academy but be unable to understand it's location, be unable to perceive what is around them."
Alex shook his head. "No, from what I can understand from the literature; bringing someone to the location becomes either outright impossible if you're not the secret keeper or the act reveals the entire secret as if you told them outright if you are the secret keeper."
"Does it really matter?" Lapis asked after a moment's thought. "If we're bringing them to the Academy then we obviously trust them with the secret."
"I'm more thinking about emergencies or unintended tag-alongs." Alex admitted.
He leaned forward to show her the runic scheme he was brainstorming.
"See here." He pointed to a line of runes that branched from the central cluster. "By adding a modifying braid, I should be able to create an order of priority in the command so that only part of the secret is revealed."
Lapis looked over the work but only truly understood half of it. "So… they would know they're in the academy but not know it's location?"
Alex nodded. "They could look out the windows at the earth below and see or understand nothing."
"Which means we could bring someone in in the case of an emergency but still have the secret protected."
"It could also set a hierarchy to who inherits the roll of secret keeper. That way if we bring anyone else in, they won't become the secret keeper if the original one dies."
Lapis arched an eyebrow. "Isn't the plan to not to die anyway?"
Alex rolled his eyes. "Of course, it is. But right now, our primary insurance of not dying if hit with an AK is our theoretical phoenix resurrection and we can't be sure it works unless it's tested and we are NOT testing that. We also don't know how it will affect the secret"
"I still say not being hit with the curse is of greater priority."
Alex nodded. "I completely agree but…" Alex sighed. "I'm still paranoid about the idea of insta-kill attacks when we're not expecting it and I can't come up with an automatic defence until we get the soul ruin from Bill."
Lapis leaned back in her seat. "I still can't believe it wasn't in the Tower or the Academy."
Alex wasn't so surprised that they couldn't find it. "It's a rune that's intentionally kept out of public circulation. Honestly, I'm more surprised it's not outright forbidden or illegal to disseminate but more of a grey area in the law."
Further conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door to the carriage by a nervous girl with prominent front teeth and a mane of bushy brown hair.
"Good um, morning." He began hesitantly but then seemed to gain speed.
"Would I be able to join you? You're the only other students on the train and, well, I begged my parents to bring me early so I couldn't possibly miss the train but then I realised that there was no one else here other than the conductor and well, it would be ever so lonely to sit by myself especially if no one wanted to join me in my cabin. And are you reading a book on magic?" She finished now with a glimmer of brightness in her eyes. Whether from anxiety or excitement over a book neither Alex or Lapis knew. Alice, of course, was still dozing.
Alex smiled warmly at the timid young girl and shuffled along his seat to create room for her.
"Of course, you can join us. We were just discussing the various classes that open up in third year." He said gesturing to the copy of 'Runic Schemes Beyond your Dreams by Dash Strokes' that was sitting with his notes.
"Are you about to start your third year? Obviously, you're in Ancient Runes but you all seem so young. I assumed you were starting your first year like myself but these notes do seem incredibly complex so you must be at least third year or perhaps fourth. I wanted to purchase the introductory texts for Ancient Runes myself but my parents restricted me to only so many books." She finished with an annoyed frown.
Lapis couldn't stop herself and snorted trying to hide her laugh causing the girl to blush red.
"Don't mind her." Alex waved a hand at Lapis. "That was just a lot for one breath. Here, let me help you with your trunk."
Hermione — because who else could it be — blushed deeper but was incredibly relieved that they were still welcoming her into the cabin despite her nervous word vomit.
Alex pointed his wand at Hermione's trunk and levitated it into the overheads. He and the girls were coming into their magic more and more each day due to their assortment of perks and a simple levitation was not beyond any of them.
Hermione stared wide eyed at the display at magic which caused Alex to glance questioningly at Lapis.
"You didn't say the spell." A still giggling Lapis answered the unasked question.
"Right, shit, forgot." Alex muttered.
Hermione seemed a little shocked at the language. "Language."
"English." Lapis suggested helpfully.
Hermione harrumphed but then quickly remembered what had stunned her. "That was silent casting but I read that that's not taught until sixth year. That's incredibly impressive for a fourth year."
That caused Lapis to burst out in laughter again.
"Heh, we're actually first years like yourself." Alex said sheepishly.
Hermione's eye's widened dramatically. "Really?"
"Ah, yeah. It would be kinda lame to lie about that."
"Then how!?" Hermione almost begged, it was close though.
"Because he's a cheating cheater who cheats." Lapis grinned.
"Daphne!" Alex chastised her.
"What do you mean cheats? Cheating is wrong and unfair. How will you know how well you're really doing if you don't apply yourself properly." Hermione started to build steam.
"She doesn't mean cheat like that." Alex cut her off.
"Then how?" The bushy haired girl challenged with her arms crossed.
"What she's not saying is that non-verbal casting isn't confined by age; anyone can do it."
"But the books say it's incredibly difficult." Hermione argued.
"And you've never read something that was supposed to be really hard yet both understood it right away and had been able to do it?" Alex played on what he knew of her intelligence.
"Well… yes." Hermione admitted. "Algebra was supposed to be difficult but it really was just adding and substituting some numbers with letters."
"Right, and how old were you at the time?"
Hermione blushed. "Six."
Lapis whistled impressed.
"So not only did it come naturally to you but it was much easier than it was made to appear." Alex said.
"So… you're saying that magic comes naturally to you?" Hermione asked.
"That might be some of it. But my point was more that some things are not as hard as we're led to believe. What I just did was a levitation charm that's in the second chapter of our charm's book. To do it without saying the spell only takes concentration, willpower and practice."
"So, you do still need to study it." Hermione clarified as if a great wrong was once again put to rights.
Alex snorted. "I've been studying my ass off for the last few weeks. Ever since I found out about magic."
"Few weeks… you're a muggleborn like me?" Hermione asked.
"Technically, I'm a half-blood; my mum was a muggleborn. I'm muggle raised."
Hermione seemed to be getting confused.
Alex sighed, then stuck out his hand. "Let's start this again. Hi, This is Daphne Greengrass." Alex gestured to Lapis. "The sleeping beauty is Tracey Davis and I'm Harry Potter."
"Are you really? I've… I've read all about you." Hermione asked with a hint of awe.
"I should hope not. Some of those books are not fit for children." Alex chuckled, thinking of the 'Harry Potter' themed adult fiction he had found in the Tower, which meant that they were in circulation somewhere. "On a side note; 'Harry Potter and the Veela in Chains' was my favourite so far."
"Not those books!" Hermione blushed deeply. "No, you're in 'Modern Magical History' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' and 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.'"
"Really? Huh, the more you know." Alex shrugged it off.
"It's really very impressive." Hermione seemed shocked that Alex wasn't more enthused.
"Yeah, but honestly those books are likely full of either speculation or lies." Alex told her.
"What?! Books don't lie. They're books!" Hermione said with all the earnest sincerity of a near twelve-year-old.
"Except I've never spoken to any of the authors. Hell, I didn't even know about magic until a few months ago." Alex told her.
"Wha- how? You're Harry Potter." Hermione emphatically stated.
"Yeah, I am." Alex nodded. "And yet what I said is still true. Supposedly, I survived the killing curse, and that may be true. But how is everyone so sure?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it." Lapis piped in. "His mother and father were killed and then the Dark Lord turned his wand on an infant and…"
Hermione leaned in. "And what?"
"BANG!" Alice shouted from Lapis' lap.
"Ah!" Hermione, Lapis and Alex all recoiled from the loud exclamation from the smaller brunette who had, up until that point, still been dozing on Lapis' lap.
"Hehehe. Your faces." Alice giggled.
"That was rude." Hermione sniffed.
"But relevant." Alice said poignantly. "Supposedly, Harry here blew up a powerful Dark Lord and half of his bedroom when he survived the Killing Curse, all before he was even properly potty trained."
"Blew up?" Hermione asked.
"The wreckage of the house is a bloody tourist attraction you can go gander at." Alex grumbled.
Which raises the question." Lapis took back a hold of her point. "How does anyone know what happened? Harry's parents were dead, the Dark Lord disappeared and a baby was found by 'someone' in his crib with a facial scar."
Hermione's eyes flickered to Harry's forehead. That it was for the first time was a pleasant reminder of Hermione's attitude; more impressed by his literative presence than his famous facial disfigurement.
"Well… whoever found him must have seen what happened." Hermione said, though a little uncertainly.
"And they've never come forward to say on record?" Lapis asked.
Hermione frowned unable to come up with an answer.
"And like I said. No one's asked me what happened that night." Alex reminded her.
"So you didn't survive the Killing Curse?" Hermione asked.
Alex shrugged, "I might have, though I doubt it was anything I did. I reckon it was my mum. I found some old notebooks of hers that were bloody brilliant."
"Wow, really? I would love to read them sometime." Hermione said enthusiastically then release that she might be overstepping. "That is, if that's ok. I would understand of you wanted to keep them close."
Alex smiled. "I'm getting copies made so I'll have one made for you."
Hermione actually squealed a little and hugged him tightly. Alex could only marvel at his first
⦖⋄⦕
The train filled up with students as the morning wore on yet Alex hardly seemed to notice the gradual hustle on the platform outside the compartment's window as he was engaged in a great discussion with Hermione and the other two.
Hermione was absolutely brilliant. Certainly, she didn't have the breadth of knowledge she would gain through her years at Hogwarts but her mind, even now, was sharp enough to cut deeply. They spent most of the morning discussing magical theory, from the spiritual organ that was a witch's or wizards' magical core to the composition of spells and their incantations and wand movement.
Most of the talk was theoretical. Even if Alex and the girls had access to the Tower's collection of knowledge, they still had to read it. Most of their knowledge at the moment was practical in nature or pertinent to various projects they had each taken up. Still, Alex was finding that Hermione was already incredibly well read and was keeping up and even contributing new information to the discussion they were having.
It was only once the train whistle blew an extended call of departure and the carriage jolted as the train started moving that Alex realised how much time had already passed. Though, given Lapis' smirk, she had deduced what had distracted him so.
Alex didn't care. This was HERMIONE GRANGER. This loyal little bookworm was one of his first fictional crushes. It also didn't help that the girl was as cute as a button. She wore a white blouse under a grey knit jumper, a tartan skirt and dark grey leggings. Her hair was dark brown and fell in thick curls that had already become a bushy tangled mess which was more a symptom of a lack of hair product than anything to do with poor care. Typical of a child raised by professional dentists who likely steered her away from cosmetics. She only vaguely looked like Emma Watson at that age and the similarities were more that she resembled a young Helena Bonham Carter. That is to say that she was pretty and had striking cheekbones for a child.
Only a few moments after the train departed the compartment door flew open as a gangly, freckled, redhead poked his head inside to peer at each of them.
"Full." The boy muttered.
"Can we help you?" Hermione asked courteously.
"You ain't seen Harry Potter about have you? I wanted to say hi before we reached school."
Hermione twisting to look at Alex gave away the game before it even started. Alex raised his hand in a little wave and spoke. "Hi."
The newcomer frowned. "Ain't you supposed to have glasses?"
Alex rolled his eyes. For being so ignorant of the magical world as he grew up, the magical world was surprisingly updated with his appearance.
"Contact lenses." Alex replied. Which was a lie. He had simply substituted his much superior Gem eyes for Harry's. Though he did keep the vivid green colour because… well, they looked good.
At the redheads confused look Hermine took over the task of explaining what contact lenses were and how they were applied, much to the boy's growing horror and disgust.
"What kind of silly muggle came up with that? Blimey, you'd have to be a nutter to put little things in your eyes."
"Well, muggles can't just wave a wand and fix their problems, can they?" Hermione sniffed, affronted at the boy's attitude.
"Are you going to stand in the doorway all day?" Lapis asked with a sigh.
The boy only then seemed to remember that there were others in the cabin. He eyed Lapis and her neat and expensive clothes.
"You're Greengrass, ain't you?" He frowned then turned back to Harry. "You shouldn't sit with her type. She's from a dark family, you know. Come on, we'll find another compartment."
Alex cocked an eyebrow at the boy's temerity.
"Riiiight." He said slowly. "I'm actually good right here. These beautiful young ladies have been wonderful company so far, I doubt they'll suddenly attempt to murder me or such."
"But.." the boy started to say but was cut off as the compartment door slammed shut, pushing him back into the hallway.
The rest of the occupants turned to look at Alice with her wand out and pointed at the door.
"What?" She shrugged. "He was rude."
Alex and Lapis laughed though Alex noticed that Hermione was sitting there stunned with a blush on her face.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah…" Hermione shook herself slightly. "He was quite rude wasn't he."
"Ronald Weasley." Lapis supplied his name for Hermione's sake. "The youngest male of the Weasley family."
Hermione looked curiously at Lapis.
"The wizarding world is small and established families all at least know of each other." Lapis explained, drawing on her experience as Daphne.
"What did he mean by you family being dark?" Hermione asked.
Lapis sighed. "My family isn't Dark, it's more Grey than anything else. It refers to political leanings yet has, in the last few decades, become synonymous with various negative radical opinions."
"Dark families are generally traditionalist and isolationist politically but the term has become something of an insult given that the majority of those supporting the rise of Voldemort came from those families." Harry supplied.
Lapis nodded. "Technically Dark families support greater personal freedoms of religion and tradition, more rights within private properties and greater obligations to family. The, and pardon the pun, darker side of that is a support of various archaic practices such as marriage contracts, an innate social hierarchy."
"By which she means 'Pureblood' superiority and muggleborn subjugation." Alice piped in.
"They want to make muggleborns slaves?" Hermione gasped.
Alex nodded. "I looked into it where I could and in the beginning, and I'm talking a few hundred years ago, the idea held some merit even if it was an ethical quagmire."
Hermione turned shocked eyes to Alex.
Alex shook his head. "I'm talking about a time before and soon after the Statue of Secrecy when slavery was still a common practice around the world. There was a justified fear that muggleborns would betray the magical communities to the non-magical people. The movement was always about curtailing their power and freedoms to protect the magical world as a whole as well as preventing new 'muggle' ideas from corrupting their established society."
"But that's not fair." Hermione argued.
"I agree." Alex nodded. "That's where the 'Light' side came about. They pushed for greater integration of muggleborns into their society and the adoption of various progressive ideas taken from the muggles."
Hermione nodded along, obviously liking that stance much better.
"The problem was that they were often too progressive or heavy handed in what they were pushing as well as tainted by their own political agendas." Lapis remarked. "They tried for various extreme levels of reform which often impinged on the rights and liberties of the established wizarding population."
"The two factions have been back and forth for hundreds of years now and in the last two hundred or so years had actually settled down to a respectable balance between the two positions." Alex continued.
"The Grey." Lapis supplied.
Alex nodded. "The Grey is a relatively new faction that supports a balanced view between the two sides. It tries for a slower, more controlled, progressive movement while still allowing for various traditional outlooks, practices and rituals to be allowed on private properties. It also pushes for greater ease of trade between the muggle and magical world."
Hermione mulled that over for a moment. "So your family isn't racist?" she asked Lapis.
Lapis snorted. "My family isn't 'overtly racist' but they're not saints. My father does believe that muggleborns are of a lesser social tier and that they need to 'earn' their place in magical society. Load of hogwash if you ask me though."
Hermione looked like she was about to argue until Lapis' last statement.
Alice started rummaging through her bag. "It sounds worse than it is. It's more about wanting muggleborns to adapt to magical society rather than adapting magical society to their muggle upraising, which is difficult because magical society is slow to change and there are still various aspects of it that more reflect Victorian era ideals rather than modern twentieth century ones."
"Here." Alice presented Hermione with a copy of the 'Muggleborn Introduction Booklet' they had made from the jumpchain copy.
Hermione latched onto the book like it was a lifeline.
"That should explain the various politics and views of the society you now find yourself a part off." Alice told the girl.
"The main points are that certain families and people are going to have a negative view of muggleborns and that others are going to be much more accepting while still being horribly insulting." Alex said
Hermione tore her eyes away from the first few pages she had started reading to look at Alex. "What?"
Alex shrugged. "The Light talks a good talk but the decade has shown that they're more about maintaining the status-quo rather than actually improving the rights of muggleborns or the common magical."
"It's the stance of Albus Dumbledore as leader of the light to repress any and all change." Lapis said. "Which made some sense in the immediate fall of the Dark Lord to prevent a kneejerk reaction that would have caused more political problems, but now it just means that corruption and nepotism run rampant through the government and that people in political power can bribe their way out of prison for various crimes."
"To put is simply: the Dark are racists and bigots, the Light are patronising and superior, and the Grey follow the greatest evil of all…" Alice said.
"V-Voldemort?" Hermione asked timidly.
"Capitalism." Alice said gravely.
⦖⋄⦕
The rest of the train journey was fairly tame. Mostly it was a demurer conversation about Hogwarts, the differences between the magical and mundane world and various muggle novels they had read. Lapis also pulled Hermione into a discussion about various magical charms and potions for hair care that the girl was surprisingly interested in.
At about one in the afternoon, they were interrupted by the trolly lady passing by offering various magical treats and drinks as well as an assortment of actual meal options such as sandwiches and pies.
Alex turned purchased the group some chocolate frogs for the novelty of it then summoned a filled picnic basket full of good food when Hermione wasn't looking.
His response of "Magic" when Hermione asked where it had come from only got him a sour look and a huff. She still took the pork katsu sandwich he passed her gratefully though.
Soon after their, quite frankly, luxurious meal of katsu sandwiches, mini quiches and sliced fruit with a thermos of tea to wash it all down. Their compartment was once again invaded by another student, this time with two thuggish bookends.
"So, you're Harry Potter." The blond boy drawled. "Weasley has been saying up and down the train that you're here."
He looked over the other occupants of the carriage before turning back to Alex. "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Alice snorted and her muttered, "Bond, James Bond" triggered the others to laugh.
"Think my name's funny do you?" He sneered. "I know all about you, Davis. Think you'll follow you mother's footsteps and serve your betters on your knees?"
Both Alex and Lapis came to the feet with wands out.
"Right, look here you little tosser. You will not speak to my friends like that if you want to keep all your body parts attached to the rest of you." Alex said with his wand held up at Draco's throat.
Lapis kept her wand in a position between the two bodyguards though the tip glowed an ominous blue.
Malfoy tried to keep a brave front despite the wands pointed at him. "You need to learn, Potter. That some families are meant to serve. Greengrass is alright but the rest," and he leered at Alice and Hermione, "aren't worth much."
"You know what Malfoy." Alex said. "You're right. Some families are beneath me."
Draco started to grin.
"Families like yours." Alex said with finality and he pushed a little of his Thunderbird animagus form to the surface causing his hair to crackle with static and his eyes to shine with reflected lightning. He pushed the trio roughly out of the compartment with telekinesis causing them to fall into a heap in the corridor and then mentally slammed the door shut.
Alex took a breath then turned back to the silent group.
"That was hot." Alice said from where she remained seated the entire time.
Lapis just huffed her agreement with a small smile while Hermione nodded absently with flushed face.
⦖⋄⦕
"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over 'ere." Hagrid boomed as he held his lantern aloft to get the attention of the children exiting the train.
"Oh," Hermione breathed, eyes wide at the sight of the giant of a man.
Alex took her hand and pulled her out of the doorway of the train and towards the friendly giant.
"That's Hagrid. Nice enough bloke, real gentle with the kids." Alex said as she followed along after him, Lapis and Alice in their wake.
"Part giant too." Lapis said to the bushy haired girl. "Don't hold it against him though. He's been a kind and caring groundskeeper of Hogwarts since before out parent's time."
"Al'rite there, Harry?" Hagrid asked as the group approached along with the other first years.
"Bril' thanks." Alex grinned at the man.
"'Rite yeh lot, follow me an' watch yer step." Hagrid led them away from the station and along a dark path through the forrest.
After Hermione almost pulled him on top of her when she nearly tripped on an exposed root, Alex decided to make the trip a little easier for everyone and with a flick of his wand and a muttered "Lumos Stellaris" conjured a dozen small floating lights that followed over their heads, illuminating the hazardous path and causing Hermione to smile her thanks at him.
Alex dimmed the lights as Hagrid called out that they'll see the castle around the next bend and the sight of the castle with glittering windows across the dark lake when they rounded the corner was simply magical.
This, this is why I'm here, Alex thought to himself, thankful for being given the opportunity by Seraphina to fulfil this childhood dream.
"No more'n four to a boat." Hagrid informed them.
Which meant that Alex, Alice, Hermione and Lapis fit perfectly.
The trip across the lake was short even if it was memorable to the new student. The experience would be forever etched into their memories as the start of the Hogwarts Journey. The trek up an annoyingly long flight of worn stone steps to reach the castle proper would be remember less fondly.
Alex suffered through the McGonagall's speech about the houses and family and such while spending most of it considering the prim, older woman.
McGonagall in cannon was… confusing. She had moments of compassionate relatability and care towards Harry yet for the most part kept to the persona of strict enforcer of the school rules. She was supposedly a good friend of Harry's parents yet kept the poor orphan boy at arm's length, not allowing any real relationship to form between the except for that of 'liked authoritarian.'
The McGonagall of Rune Stone Path started out in the same vein yet within a year improved drastically as she actually tried to relate to the damaged young boy and support his emotional and mental health. The difference was receiving a firm kick the rear by Babbling on her shortcomings in relation to her treatment of Harry.
Alex wasn't sure what was going to happen now, and he didn't know what he wanted to happen either. He held less animosity toward the professor than the fic's Harry yet definitely wouldn't hold her to the same esteem as canon Harry would if she remained as distant as she did. Only time would tell, he guessed.
"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called him forth to put on the hat.
Ahh, yes let's see. Hmm… yep. Absolutely nothing. Empty as a cobbler's curse. The hat muttered into his mind.
Sorry about that. Can't really control that. Alex projected mentally at the hat.
You, Davis and Greengrass. The three of you are completely void of thought or memory. The other two would not explain the peculiarity of it. Perhaps you will care to enlighten me.
Alex gave the mental equivalent of a head shake. No can do, sorry.
Well, then I'll just have to sort you much as I did them. The hat informed him.
Where do you want to go? The hat asked.
That's it? Alex thought back. Just ask me what I want?
What else do you expect? Your mental protections have stumped even myself; and that's saying something, mind you. The hat's mental voice sound exasperated.
Will you follow the other two into Slytherin or have you other plans?
Oh, I have plans alright. Alex smirked at the hat, though it couldn't tell unless he projected it. But a question first. How much of this must you inform the headmaster of?
I am bound not to reveal what is discovered inside the heads of students. The had told him.
Great. Well… let's see. The current headmaster is a manipulative old fool who is endangering the lives of the students and myself in particular.
The hat was silent for a moment. Go on, Mr Potter. You have my attention.
He's obsessed with a prophecy about me and the Dank Wanker: Voldie, and intends to see me dead by the tosser's hand to fulfil the prophecy.
That… does sound a lot like something he would do. The hat admitted.
Alex projected his surprise.
Please, I sit in a room with him for most of the year. He is certainly a schemer with a god-complex even if he believes himself well-intentioned.
Then why haven't you done anything about him? Alex thought at the hat, a little peeved.
Because I'm a HAT. The sorting hat huffed. I sort students and protect the school various ways; there's not much I can do about a professor and their political machinations.
Right. You provide the sword of Gryffindor to those who would defend the school.
"HOW THE DEVIL DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" The hat exclaimed aloud, much to the surprise of everyone watching the sorting.
I know lots of things. Alex said mentally. I know where the Room of Requirement is, where the Chamber of Secrets is and that the headmaster is currently hiding a fake philosopher's stone on the third floor.
The hat let out a long, tired groan that had the hall whispering to each other as they tried to work out what was happening with the sorting.
What do you hope to gain by telling me this, child?
I might need your help when I go after the Basilisk and Voldemort. The Dark Tosser is going to make a go at the stone by the end of the year and I'm going to stop him.
You are a child. Why not tell one of the professors and let them deal with it?
Harry snorted. Because not only do I not have physical proof right now, Dumbledore has set it all up as a trap to ensure I encounter Voldie, he won't let anyone else interfere.
The hat seemed to shrink in on itself in thought, which was an incredibly odd sensation on Alex's head.
Very well. Should you call for me I will answer and should your cause be just, I will render what aid I can. The had promised.
Great. Alex mentally sent his rejoice. Then all that's left is the sorting. I'd like to go to Gryffindor, thanks. Hermione's there.
Very well, "Gryffindor!" it is. The had said, shouting out the house.
Alex was going to go join his new house but had one more thought before removing the hat.
By the way, how would you feel about becoming a woman? Alex sent.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" The hat exclaimed out loud.
⦖⋄⦕
Dumbledore watched with interest as this year's students were being sorted. There were many young heirs and children of prominent members of society in this batch of first years, yet perhaps most relevant was the young Boy-Who-Lived.
Dumbledore had many, many regrets in his, admittedly, long life, and sending the poor boy to live with the Dursleys was one of his greatest. Yet, needs must. The boy wouldn't not have been safe being fostered off to a magical family. No, Dumbledore grimaced at the thought of any one of the 'upstanding' families the boy could have been sent to. Half of them would have raised him up as a new Dark Lord to walk in the footsteps of the old, the other half would have used the child to push through changes that would have upset the delicate balance he was maintaining of magical society.
Dumbledore had decided that it would be best if he, himself, kept control of the Boy-Who-Lived, but it would do the world no good if he let the child grow wilful and defiant as the youth so often chaffed against the authority of those older and wiser than themselves.
The Dursleys offered a perfect solution. They would keep the boy humble and lower his confidence enough that Dumbledore would be able to lead the child and direct him down his proper path in the Light. And when all was said and done, ensuring another Dark Lord did not sprout under his very nose was of most paramount importance. For surely, one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord would also therefore have the power of a Dark Lord. No, better to keep the child humble and passive rather than let him become another Tom.
Dumbledore let out as sigh as the young Granger girl's sorting stretched into a hat-stall, there was also the other aspect of the prophecy to consider. Either must die at the hand of the other and yet neither were dead.
Dumbledore took a sip from his goblet and side-eyed the recently returned Professor Quirrell. No, neither were dead at all and when it came down to it better for young Harry to depart on his next great adventure so that others could step forward and defeat the Darkness.
Dumbledore's thoughts circled as he once more pondered his many regrets; Gellert, Tom, Harry, Gellert, Tom, Harry. He shook his head to push away the sick bile roiling in his guts and pay attention once more to the Sorting happening Infront of him. Harry Potter had just been called forth.
As the young boy walked forward to sit on the stool and don the hat, Dumbledore could only frown. The boy wasn't wearing glasses for one, and while he was small and thin as to be expected, he walked with a confidence and surety that was not.
Dumbledore chewed on these discrepancies to his usual reports on the lad's welfare as the anticipatory silences in the hall grew. Dumbledore also noted that Flopsy was agitated, twisting and turning on the boy's head. The hat had done much the same with Greengrass and Davis, but Dumbledore hadn't truly paid that much attention. Now though he wondered what was causing the sorting hat so much annoyance.
"HOW THE DEVIL DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Dumbledore, much like everyone else in the hall, recoiled at the hats sudden shout. What could be happening in that boy's head? Was he already corrupted by the lingering darkness Dumbledore had sense in his scar? Darkness that set his spine to shivering and cause him to dive in many a disgusting tomb to understand, yet so far too little to no success other than to know the magic was incredibly Dark.
Whispering spread around the students and the teachers were not much better, leaning towards each other to exchanged hushed comments. The only three silently watching Harry with un undisturbed focus were Quirrell, Snape and himself. Quirrell on orders from his lord and Snape was simply sitting their fuming, the vein on his forehead getting larger and larger, pulsing with an ever-increasing tempo as the time stretched on.
The hat's cry of Gryffindor had everyone relaxing or in the case of one particular table, cheering with great fervour at their acquisition of the child-celebrity.
Those cheers abruptly cut off as the hat again exclaimed out of nowhere. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
⦖⋄⦕
Hermione leaned into Alex as he sat down at the Gryffindor table amid the awkward looks and wispers of his peers.
"What did you do?" she hissed.
Alex smirked. "Just spoke to the hat for a bit, offered to turn him into a chick."
Hermione's face scrunched up and her mouth moved silently as she struggled to articulate the ridiculousness of Alex's response.
Dumbledore gave his traditional beginning of year announcements, including the obvious baiting of the mysterious third-floor corridor and then began the feast with the iconic random words.
The Hogwarts feast was as spectacular as described in the books and soon enough Gryffindor house got over their uncertainty of the Boy-who-lived and many of them were attempting to draw Alex into conversation or to ask him questions.
Alex fielded off any interrogations about that fateful Halloween by, again, pointing out that no one could actually know what happened that night because anyone there was either dead or a toddler. He impressed and aggravated those around him in equal measure by placing the responsibility of his survival on Lily, the supposed brightest witch of her generation. Many of the girls like that interpretation and many of the students who held sympathies to blood-status didn't.
Ron didn't redeem himself at all as he made a snide comment about Daphne and Tracey showing their true colours as slimy Slytherin snakes. Thankfully, Fred and George seemed to pick up that their youngest brother was putting his foot into it and were able to distract him before Alex could do more than verbally smack the redhead down.
Still, Alex enjoyed the feast more than he thought he would. Hermione was much a better conversationalist than most near twelve-year-olds tended to be and Fred and George were much funnier in person when you could really feel the joviality in their tone. Lavender was also surprisingly fun to talk to, she had a way of keeping the conversation flowing and quickly changing topics when people started to get too heated. Neville didn't say much despite Alex trying to draw him in but really only time could pierce that level of bashfulness.
Eventually though, the desserts disappeared from their plates and Dumbledore dismissed the students to their dorms. Alex and Hermione and the rest of the first-year Gryffindors waddled after Percy Weasley much like a group of lost ducklings latching on to the tallest directional aid.
Alex will admit that he would not remember the route taken to the Gryffindor tower at all and was going to need help to make his way back to the Great Hall the next morning. He wished a yawning Hermione goodnight and climbed the dormitory stairs to claim his own bed.
Not that he was going to get any sleep though. After claiming the four-poster canopied bed that his decoy trunk was placed at, Alex wished the other boys goodnight and shut his curtains to wait. Less than an hour later the dorm was silent but for the muffled breathing of the other preteens and Rons' heavy snoring as the long day and heavy meal had quickly put them to sleep.
Alex went through the progress to leave a weakened clone in his bed then ghosted through the curtains. He was intangible and invisible to anyone else in the dorm even if they had been awake to see. With a thought he activated the MMA function of his P-comm and directed the feed to his InSpecs.
The MMA or the Marauder's Map Application was the brainchild of Lyn during their extended period of study at the Tower before their departure for Hogwarts. She had noticed that the Marauder's Map didn't actually need to be at Hogwarts to function; showing the location of the inhabitants and the shifting of the moving stairs from half the world away. Literally half the world as they had finally narrowed down the location of the Tower to a forested island south of Japan.
Lyn had suggested that they livestream the map to all their P-comms from a central location so that they all could access it at any given time while keeping the physical copy safe. Alex had told Lyn that she now had all the same perks as he did and to have fun. Lyn had smiled then taken the idea and ran with it.
The map was now located at the Luna Academy on the moon and persevered within a plane of clear crystal that doubled as both a continuous scanner of the parchment as well as in incredibly advanced computer. Lyn had easily whipped-up a simple Gemtech program that would record the map, interpret the data and keep track of all the variables. This meant that their MMA had search functions, proximity notifications and a map-over-time function that could track and record routes of individuals. Alex had taken the app a step further by hooking it up to his own personal project from their study time.
Alex couldn't become the Runemaster that Harry was in the fic in only a few weeks. But he was getting close, even being stymied only by the lack of key runes and an applicable need. What he decided he could do was the simple reflection rune cluster that Harry had applied to his glasses at the end of second year.
The Reflection rune cluster wasn't complex, a single core rune linked to a surface-effect braid. Even then, it was capable of reflecting at least one instant-death glare from an ancient basilisk as well as reflecting attempted legilimency attacks with extreme prejudice, literally 'reflecting' the assault back at the attacker. Alex had put together a simple pair of crystal lenses with the rune cluster etched into the very molecular arrangement of the quartz glass and it had worked like a charm or well… like a rune. It was simple then to line the frame of the lenses with gemtech micro projectors that could be linked to his P-Comm for a simple HUD. This had then gotten him thinking of what other functions he could add to the lenses. By deconstructing the omnioculars purchased in Diagon Alley; Alex was able to integrate the magic based magnification, replay and caption functions. Only after he had spent hours recreating the enchantments and runes-clusters from the omnioculars did realise he had gone through a lot of trouble to rework functions that could easily be applied using Gemtech.
This had led to Alex attempting the mix the two methods together to a greater degree and honestly it was likely only through the Technomancy perk that he was able to merge the two disparate systems. The result was a sum greater than the two.
The newly dubbed InSpecs worked better than he could have though possible. Able to enable sight clearly in any light settings from solar-flare bright to the darkest and bleakest of nights. The lenses could zoom in to incredible detail while stabilising themselves to prevent the enlarged vision wobbling at the slightest movement of the head.
The tech had also fused together in ways that were completely unexpected, resulting in the magical recording function integrating with the Gemtech data crystals near seamlessly, meaning that Alex had discovered a way to permanently record images and sounds with magic and store them into crystals for later viewing. The image quality was, quite frankly, supernatural; and the data compression beyond belief. The glasses able to record and store three days' worth of completely lossless video or years of continuous recording at a quality equivalent to 1080pi. Almost a petabyte of data all stored in a half-carat diamond sized storage crystal.
Even then, the InSpecs were still an ongoing project as Alex really wanted to see if he could somehow enchant the things to actually produce some sort of 'Mage Sight.' So far, he had been unsuccessful as none of the rune combinations he had tried had fit so far. Alex was fairly certain he was missing something simple but as of yet had been unable to make a breakthrough. Additionally, he was also making a slow progress to reproduce the effect of Mad-Eye Moody's enchanted eye that could see through walls, trunks and clothes… Not that it was an incredibly important addition to the already awesome enchanted item but if he had the ability to see through the clothing of those around him then he damn well was going to use it. Because, well who wouldn't?
At the moment the InSpecs only drawback was their appearance which was mainly due to them being technically at the prototype stage. The lenses were simple quartz crystal yet the frames were moulded sapphire and pearl with a two small data-storage diamonds on the sides that really looked much flashier than he was hoping. Thankfully Alex was able to sidestep the issue of fashion by not actually wearing the things. Well… no, he was wearing them but he also wasn't. Having already fixed the root of Harry's poor eyesight, Alex didn't need to wear the glasses and risk losing them in the middle of a fight. Instead, he had utilised his Ghost Fusion ability to fuse the InSpecs into himself thus allowing him access to all the functionality of wearing them with none of the risks of losing them… or of looking like knock-off Rita Skeeter.
So it was that as Alex floated through the dormitory, he was being directed by a map-overly that only he could see and right in front of him, next to the dot representing 'Ronald Weasley' was another dot clearly labelled 'Peter Pettigrew.'
With a glance at Ron to reassure himself that the red-head was off in the land of Nod; Alex sent a silent stunner at the snoozing rodent. The rat didn't even have a chance to wake or react before it was stunned by the red bolt. Ron stirred in his slumber at the flash of light but didn't wake.
Alex levitated the rat towards himself and bubbled it just in case it woke. He retreated to his bed with the captured rat and once behind the concealing drapes he opened a portal to the dungeons of the Luna Academy and stepped through.
"Did you get the bastard?" Lyn asked as he exited the portal into the bare stone room.
"Easily." Alex held up the bubbled rodent.
"Little fucking perv." Lyn cursed at Peter.
Alex cocked an eyebrow at the girl.
Lyn sniffed. "He didn't do anything, I would remember with our Mind Arts perk, but I often found the rat hiding in my used clothing hamper, specifically among my panties.
Alex shivered. "Gods… and in both this fic and canon he wasn't found out until third year. You, Ginny, would have been twelve by then."
"And that was how he acted around me as a kid, who knows what he got up to at Hogwarts. Do the stairs to the girl's dorm even react to male animals?" Lyn scowled.
"I'm going to have to make sure he answers those questions when he's put on trial." Alex decided. "But for now…"
Alex levitated the bubble into the air then concentrated on his most prominent Ghost King magical ability and brought into being an empty portrait that crackled with purple energy. The frame sucked in the sleeping rat-bastard and resolved itself into a painting of a rad in a bubble. Alex then floated the portrait onto one of the surrounding stone walls where it stuck fast. The dungeons of Luna Academy weren't going to be made of stone and steel bars but instead a haunted portrait gallery.
Lyn eyed the painting for a minute then spat on the floor.
"Eww." Alex noted.
Lyn just rolled her eyes. "So, Sirius now?"
Alex nodded. "I could justify leaving him in that hellhole until I got to Hogwarts as it gave me an alibi but I can't justify leaving him there longer than that."
Together they walked through the near empty hallways of the academy occasionally passing a Pearl in the act of cleaning and once walking by a classroom where Moonstone was practicing giving a lecture on Charms.
Alex wasn't sure why the Jumper School of Magic had populated itself with Magic Gems but he assumed it was just Seraphina's touch at keeping things thematic. Still, it was better than trying to explain away the human styled NPCs that the Item's description mentioned.
Exiting the large castle on to the grounds gave Alex an opportunity to take in the sheer greatness of the Luna Academy and it's grounds. The castle looked nothing like it's supposed inspiration of Hogwarts. The building was an ethereal mix of traditional medieval architecture, Gem-style art-deco and Elsa's ice castle from Frozen. The stonework was a mix of several varieties of stone from white and grey solid opaque marbles and granites to clearer quartzes of pastel shades of blue, rose, and yellow.
The end effect was an airy series of lightly coloured spires that grew thin and tall from a more clustered base that made up the building proper. Glass-like bridges spanned between the thin towers and glittered like spiderwebs under the starlight and the light from the many windows of the castle. The grounds surrounding the monstrous edifice of magic were mostly gently sloping hills of lush green grass and colourful gardens with scattered stone and crystal edifices, gazebos, seating areas for the students to relax in or around. A few close-by glass buildings were the larger Herbology greenhouses though smaller ones could be found inside the castle proper on covered balconies. The already low hills flattened out further from the castle as they sloped down to large clear lake that surrounded the entire castle in the shape of a crescent moon. The horns of the crescent almost touching the castle and the majority of the castle grounds being within the centre area.
Lastly, any clear ground not used by building or tended field was taken up with a thick old-wood forest that extended past the lake and all the way up to the Gem-tech dome that maintained the environment. The dome was a Gem-tech device that created an adjustable environment within a semipermeable dome of energy allowing for the recreation of a typical earth-like environment. It was powered by a Gem-tech geothermal diffuser, the same crystal heart device that empowered the temple. It did have to be buried incredible deep (over one thousand kilometres) to reach the still molten core of the moon's interior but it would provide a much more stable and more importantly uninterruptable energy source than more conventional gem-tech power sources. Though, Alex did still scatter three Gem-light Converters around as additional redundancies.
With the constant power from the heavenly body's core, the dome was able to create a dome with a diameter of two-hundred kilometres or just over three thousand square kilometres of land and the verdant green terrain reached right up to that hard border where the shield separated vibrant land from the dead grey dusty landscape of the Luna surface. Given the size of the moon and the difference in the curvature of its' surface even from the highest point of the Luna Academy the moon's grey terrain couldn't been seen; the sea of trees stretching towards the horizon. It was something special to see the earth rising over a horizon of trees from the castle.
Alex could only appreciate the view of the castle for a moment as he walked briskly across the grounds to where a series of the blue-black Phase-ships he had built all the way back in the 'Steven Universe' universe were lined up in two neat rows. He hadn't had time to build a proper hanger for them yet but it was on the to-do list.
Boarding the shield shaped vessel, he quickly powered it up and mentally commanded the ship to plot a course for the north eastern coast of Scottland. Lyn settled into the co-captains' chair and took over monitoring local communications. Even though the Phase-ship was invisible and intangible by the time it left the dome over the Luna Academy, it was best to eavesdrop on the local chatter just in case someone reported something.
It only took minutes for the ship to travel at sub-light speeds to the Scottish coast, the intangibility of the craft made entering atmosphere incredibly simple and air resistance meaningless. Going off of old records found in the tower describing the discovery of the Azkaban fortress in the late 16th century prior to its repurposing as a wizarding prison in 1719, Alex piloted the ship towards where he suspected the wizarding prison to be. The fortress may have been unplottable and thus could not be found on any map, either magical or mundane yet Alex could follow the instructions of 'fifty-seven miles north-by-northeast off Knivestone of the Farne Islands.'
It took an hour of circling the area of apparently empty ocean before Lyn spotted the island prison first.
Azkaban was a forbidding fortress tower of black rock that jutted arrogantly out of the cold waters of the North Sea. The tower was thirteen stories tall and oddly triangular in shape with central hollow through the centre. The island was complete barren jagged black stone with only a small sheltered patch of dirt immediately next to the imposing fortress where prisoners were buried upon their deaths.
As a witch and wizard, the muggle repelling wards surrounding the prison did nothing to either Alex or Lyn and the anti-broomstick wards had no effect on the phase-ship whatsoever. It seemed that the magicals of Brittain never expected other magic users to attempt to reach the island by mundane methods of flight… for as much that an alien spacecraft built using the technology of sentient rocks could be considered mundane.
Though it was night, the entire area seemed darker than the surrounding empty ocean, and if you've ever been on the open sea at night then you would know how ridiculous that sounds. Still, in this small patch of sea the stars above that peeked through heavy cloud cover shone dimmer and the distant moon's light did not reach this forsaken place. The cause of the reduction in light was obvious. The multitudes of dementors that swarmed the prison affected the very nature of the world around them. The waters were more chill, the waves fiercer, the stone held none of the warmth of day and clouds perpetually blanketed the sky above.
"Brrr." Lyn shivered even in the temperature-controlled ship, the supernatural chill extending out on a spiritual level as the ship approached.
"Bring some of the Shadow Mage to the surface and touch your dementor form but don't actually change." Alex advised the red-head.
Lyn took a breath and shifted her internal magics towards the darker shadows and Alex could see how her shouldered relaxed as the dementor's now aura washed over her without affecting her. It was, of course, still there. It just didn't affect the two as they channelled energies that resonated with the dark magic creatures.
"So how are we going to find Sirius?" Lyn asked now that she was unaffected. "Will the point me spell work?"
Alex shook his head. "It might but we can't use any wanded magic's within the wards."
Lyn's eyes widened. "The wards stop magic? I couldn't find any books on wards within the tower that described wards that can do that."
"To the best of my knowledge, there are no wards that can suppress magic on an area this size." Alex admitted. "No, the wards just detect the casting of external magics not coded in as exceptions. The wardens register their wands and any spells not cast with a registered wand trigger the alarms."
Lyn nodded along to that explanation then frowned. "But Sirius could transform into Padfoot without setting the ward off?"
"Animagus transformations are internal magics along with occlumency, some runes, some divination techniques and potions."
"Potions are internal magics?"
Alex shrugged. "Ok, well, drinking them is. They draw partly on the magic of the drinker to fuel their effect. It's why most potions don't work on mundane humans but will work for hedges."
"… Hedges?" Lyn asked wondering what shrubberies had to do with anything.
"Squibs." Alex corrected. "Found a book in the tower on the differences between magicals and mundanes. Squibs used to be called Hedge witches and were pretty much accepted as part of the magical community until about six hundred years ago. They can do most magic except cast spells with a wand."
"Huh… so a squ- hedge witch can still brew a potion and carve runes?" Lyn leant back in her chair and considered that.
Alex nodded again. "Yep. And they used to be the majority of magicals. The ability to use wands appeared in Greece and Rome a little over four thousand years ago and spread from there. There's some speculation that the ability to use a wand it related to Atlantean heritage from the survivors of the sinking of Atlantis about eleven thousand years ago but magical genealogy records aren't so complete to actually prove that and it's not like witches or wizards would ever go get their DNA sequenced the muggle way."
"Huh."
"It's also why the majority of the wizarding world is European. The genes didn't really spread elsewhere so for a long time it was only European magicals who could wield a wand which gave them a huge advantage against native magicals of other lands."
"I guess that explains why the diversity in the books kinds sucked."
"Yeah, the only magicals from Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas capable of using a wand are descended from colonial European magicals."
"The more you know." Lyn said, causing Alex to roll his eyes. "You still haven't told me how you're going to find Sirius."
"Oh! Right, that." Alex linked himself to the ship and commanded it release the Spectre Drones as well as perform a set of various scans.
Lyn watched as the main viewscreen lit up with various data results and imagery. Part of the screen was dedicated to eight Spectre image-feeds that were already approaching the edifice of stone and despair. Other graphs were mapping data sets from ambient
temperatures to mineral composition. Only the mapping function that was trying to render a 3D visual of the prison seemed to be having any difficulty. It would map out about a third of the structure before glitching and having to start again.
Alex refined the scans to give up on trying to map the structure itself and instead had it record the relative positions of life signs and their movements. Soon enough he had representation of multiple dots stacked in a rough cylinder shape. The majority of the them were still and near equidistant from each other while a couple were moving in straight-ish lines while making a slow circuit. A few were gathered together at the base of the tower.
It was simple to then direct the Spectres to invisibly pass through the walls of the prison directly to each of the stationary life signs and as each Spectre recorded an image of a decrepit prisoner, their image was assigned to a life sign.
"Found him." Lyn claimed as she watched the process.
"How do you know it's him?" Alex asked.
Lyn pointed to the image of a large black dog curled up in a corner of a cell.
Alex facepalmed and refined the scans to only lifesigns larger than a rat yet smaller than a human. Two dots on the screen lit up; the large dog and a depressed looking dwarf.
"Alright, he's eighty-three metres in that direction." Alex pointed up and to the right.
"So let's go get him!" Lyn pushed.
"Just… a mo." Alex set another search perimeter for the Spectres to go confirm on the life signs on the floor Sirius was on and the ones above and below. "OK, Let's go."
It only took a minute for the two of them to leave the ship hanging invisibly in the night sky and to fly their way to the correct cell, using the telemetry sent to the P-comms to keep on target.
They phased through the thick stone walls with a shiver. Despite their currently incorporeal state they very walls of the prison felt filthy with spiritual grime. Both had similar thoughts of a long, hot shower when the night was done.
Sirius… looked not good. He was in his animagus form and was more skin and bone than hairy mongrel.
Lyn gasped at his poor health. "Oh you poor thing." She whispered with tears in in her eyes.
Not one to miss an opportunity, Alex pulled an empty vial from his P-comm and caught a teardrop from Lyn's cheek, the cold glass causing her to flinch away.
"Hey! Oh, good idea." She nodded.
They had all experimented with their various animagus forms and found that not everything was as easy as they thought it would be. Primarily, they'd found that phoenix tears could not be artificially produced. Spells that induced crying, cutting onions and physical pain did something that rendered the magical teardrops inert. They had to genuinely come from a true emotional response. Thankfully, sad movies or stories still counted so they could still elicit responses if they desperately need them but even then, the tears only remained magical for about seven hours and could not be stored longer than that. Alex had some ideas that a true time-stasis might work to preserve them but didn't have enough experience or knowledge to manipulate time as of yet so had put the idea on the backburner.
Alex approached the curled-up mutt and willed himself corporeal again, Lyn followed suit.
"Sirius… Sirius… wake up, Padfoot." Harry called out softly. The Spectres had indicated that moving life signs were patrolling guards and that none were nearby but Alex didn't want any of the other prisoners noticing their presence either.
Sirius woke with a heartbreaking whine that only a dog in pain can make.
He morphed back into his human form, his eyes wide and bloodshot as they stared at Alex in fear and longing.
"J-James? I'm sorry, James. It should have been me." The man sobbed. He glanced at Lyn who still looked like Ginny. "Lil's. Merlin, I-I-I'm sooo sor'y."
Alex and Lyn exchanged a pained look. Seeing a broken man like this was heartbreaking in many ways.
"Padfoot, it's going to be ok." Alex tried to reassure the man. "It'll be better now. You'll be safe now." He slowly approached the wreck.
"I'm ready. R-Ready to go with you now." Sirius half sobbed; half smiled.
Alex and Lyn shared another concerned look.
"But what about the Cub?. The Bastard is still out there, w-what if he gets Harry?" Sirus blinked, his demeaner becoming firmer less confused.
"Harry will be fine, I promise. But Padfoot I need you to do something for me." Alex wearily approached and produced a second vial from his P-Comm, this one filled with a clear dark purple fluid. "I need you to drink these."
"I-I'm sorry, James, so sorry. Anything!" Sirius gasped falling back into confused regret.
Alex pressed the vial with the phoenix tear to Sirius' cracked lips and let the single drop roll out, the magic of tear keeping the pearly drop together and not clinging to the glass.
As soon as the tear touched his tongue, Sirius spasmed and Alex had to lunge to stop the man from slamming the back of his head against the stone wall.
The man groaned as his pallor improved and his eyes became clearer even as tears stained with a strange black substance poured from his eyes.
"J-James? What? Who?" Sirius asked again, his voice clearer as his now somewhat focused eyes found Alex. "Harry?"
"One more potion, Padfoot." Alex encouraged the man and pushed forward the second vial.
It said something about how poorly the man was that even after drinking a fresh phoenix tear, he was still not completely with it, even if he was still much more cognisant than before.
"Right, sure." He managed as he flipped back the second vial and immediately dropped it as he went limp.
"What was that?" Lyn asked as Alex managed to catch Sirius as he slumped to the floor.
"Drought of the Living Death." Alex said while he focused on his Gem ability to create a crystal stretcher underneath the unconscious man. Crystal chains appearing to keep him strapped to the board.
"Because it will keep him alive and in stasis as we move him." Lyn nodded along proving that she had read many of the Tower's collection of books as well.
"Can you get him to the ship?" Alex asked her. "I've a couple of things I want to do before we go."
Lyn nodded and levitated the strapped down Sirius towards her.
"Meet you there." She lay a hand on Sirius causing them both to become invisible and intangible and floated them both out through the wall.
Alex didn't follow but instead pulled a small robonoid from his P-comm, the clear green crystal ball spouted legs and hopped down to the dirty floor before scooting to the corner where Sirius had been curled up. Alex fed the robonoid footage from his InSpecs and the Spectres and after a minute of the small thing collating the data it opened its top like a robotic eye. In a sparkling dazzle of light an exact replica of Sirius' emancipated form emerged from the light over the robonoid. It haltingly crouched down against the wall and picked up the tatted blanket that the dog-wizard had been sleeping on and wrapped the stained fabric around himself.
Alex walked around the semi-solid holographic projection to make sure it looked right from each angle. Nodding to himself in satisfaction he commanded a Spectre to remain in the cell so he could keep an eye on who comes to visit then floated out through the bars into the corridor beyond.
He pulled up the direction of the various life signs that he had made the ship take not off before he left. Each one highlighted with red, each one a prisoner with a Dark Mark.
Floating down the corridor to the next cell, passing an uncaring Dementor as he went. He arrived at the cell, this one claimed by a softly rocking woman with a rat's nest of hair and wide, crazed eyes. Alex entered invisibly while he pulled the next part of tonight's plan from his P-comm.
Bellatrix Lestrange didn't even notice as he fused the explosive vest into her very soul.
AN: It's been a long week. Already going to say that the next chapter and the ones after that might not be weekly for a while. Just got informed that my rent is going up and it looks like i'm going to have to move and as 'm sure you all know, that's a stressful and time consuming process.