Harry slowly got into a routine while inside Diagon Alley. Breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, followed by wandering the street, ensuring not to overspend at the stores.
He was about a week in, eating ice cream at Florean's Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
The crowds parted like water as Thanatos walked past, his mask placed firmly. Beside him was a blonde dark-skinned woman, around his height, with golden-white robes, who smiled at the people around them.
Harry sat up, now was his chance to get more answers. Sirius Black had plagued his mind for days like a bad smell, he needed to know more.
He ran over to the crowd, apologizing profusely as he pushed past the people.
Thanatos and the woman entered Flourish and Blotts, and Harry tried to follow, but the crowd pushed him back.
When Harry finally got into the shop, Thanatos and the woman were nowhere to be found, even after Harry searched the entire store.
The only thing he saw was a large dove that stared at him from one of the shelves, its golden eyes almost boring into his skull.
"Hogwarts?" The manager asked, walking up to him. "Come for your books?"
Harry stopped before shrugging and nodding. He was already here, might as well get his books out the way.
"Yes, I need-"
"Monster Book of Monsters?" The manager asked before walking over to a cage containing the books.
"Wait, I already have one of those," Harry said and the manager shrugged.
"Very well, what else can I get you?"
Harry stared at the Monster books. They weren't biting or snapping as Harry's copy did. In fact, they appeared as completely normal books, with the cover being the only thing that differentiated them.
"How did you do that?" Harry asked. "Mine keeps biting."
"Oh, this large chap, pretty scary fellow, came in the other day with this kind blonde woman," The manager explained. "Told us to stroke the spine. Thought she was crazy, I'll tell you, but I did it, and the books are like normal."
Harry blinked; did he mean Thanatos and the woman? But Harry had been here daily and hadn't seen either except for today. Even then, they'd disappeared the moment he entered Flourish and Blotts.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" The manager asked.
Harry snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "I need- er- Unfogging the Future."
"Ah, Divination," The manager said before leading Harry to the back of the shop.
He climbed a ladder and retrieved the book before handing it to Harry. "Very good for the fundamentals, crystal balls, and the such."
Harry, however, stared at one of the books on the display table.
Death Omens: What to Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming, stood proudly on the table. On its cover, stood a large black dog, eerily similar to the one Harry had seen at Magnolia Crescent.
"Oh, I wouldn't read that if I were you, you'll start seeing death omens everywhere," The manager told him, having followed Harry's eyes. "It's enough to scare anyone to death; definitely wouldn't recommend."
Harry continued staring at the book. There was something about it that felt familiar, almost like someone he'd known when he was younger but had forgotten.
The manager pressed the book into Harry's hands. "Anything else?"
Harry did a double take and ripped his eyes from the book. "Er- yes, I need Intermediate Transfiguration and Standard Book of Spells: Grade Three."
He got the books, and a few minutes later, he was outside the shop with his new books.
Harry's mind whirled as he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, absentmindedly bumping into people as he walked.
He collapsed onto his bed back at the inn and closed his eyes.
"That couldn't have been a death omen," Harry muttered. "Could it?"
He shook his head and sat up. "No, I was panicking when I saw that thing. Probably just some lost dog."
Hedwig hooted loudly, making Harry look up at her.
Beside Hedwig was a large dove, almost as big as Hedwig, with a note in its beak.
Harry blinked. He'd never seen a dove be used to deliver mail, who would even send him mail anyway?
He got up and the dove handed him the note, letting it go before singing a soft note.
Harry looked at the note, and his brows furrowed.
Hzr mvy huzdlyz, fvb nla xblzapvuz. Hzr mvy xblzapvuz, fvb nla ylclshapvuz. Aol zvbs pz hu lejlsslua opkly.
Harry blinked. The note looked like a bunch of gibberish, though it definitely looked like it was meant to say something.
He turned it over, and the other side held a detailed drawing of a werewolf, a stag, a large black dog, and a small rat perched on the stag's head.
Underneath were the words: In the shadows, I roam without a care, When trouble arises, I'm always there. I'm known as a thief, a troublemaker too, Tell me, dear friend, who am I to you?
"What the...?"
He looked up, and the dove stared at him, head tilted.
"Is this a prank?" He asked, holding up the note.
The dove sang a sharp note and shook its head, causing Harry to blink.
"Is the answer in the note?"
The dove flapped its wings and sang again.
Harry looked back at the note, trying to find something that could give him a clue.
"Hermione could probably figure this out," He muttered, wishing he had his friend here to help.
The dove sang a final note before flying off, leaving Harry more confused.
The next few days, Harry spent wandering the shops, though he failed to have any luck with the note. He eventually began to think it an elaborate prank, to get him to fret over nothing. Though, it wouldn't really make much sense for it to be a prank if nobody saw him look over it.
He began searching for Ron and Hermione, beginning to miss them desperately. Several days passed where Harry saw neither Hermione nor the Weasleys, despite constantly looking for them.
On the last day of the holiday, Harry went into the Alley, mostly to wander and stare at the Firebolt.
"Harry! HARRY!"
He turned and saw Hermione and Ron sitting outside Florean's, waving at him frantically.
"Finally!" Ron grinned at him as Harry sat down. "We went everywhere looking for you. Leaky Cauldron, Flourish and Blotts, Madam Malkin's, and they all said you weren't there."
"I got my stuff a week ago," Harry explained. "I've been staying here for the past few weeks."
Hermione stared at him with narrowed eyes. "So, it's true? You really blew up your aunt?"
Harry groaned somewhat. With the past few days filling his memory, he'd entirely forgotten about the Dursleys.
"Yes, but-" Harry explained as Ron started laughing. "-I didn't mean to. I just lost control of my magic."
"It isn't funny, Ron," Hermione snapped as Ron continued laughing. "Harry could've been expelled!"
"I thought I was going to get arrested," Harry sighed before turning to Ron. "You think your dad knows why Crouch let me off?"
Ron stifled his chuckles and shrugged. "Probably cause it's you? You're Harry Potter, why wouldn't they let you off?"
The trio eventually headed to Magical Menagerie since Hermione wanted an owl and Ron had said Scabbers wasn't feeling well.
Once Hermione had gotten her cat, Crookshanks, and Ron his rat tonic, Harry suddenly remembered the note.
"Hey, Hermione, does everybody use owls for mail?" He asked.
Hermione paused somewhat. "Well, owls are most commonly used due to their highly magical nature and ability to fly long distances," She explained after a moment. "But eagles are sometimes used by royals, rich, or otherwise important families due to their ferocious protection of any mail they deliver. Why?"
"You think anybody uses doves for that?" Harry asked again.
Hermione's brows furrowed. "No, I haven't heard of anyone using doves for mail. I think they're considered too small, but I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"
Harry explained the situation and fished the note out of his pocket before handing it to Hermione.
"The dove delivered that," He explained. "But I can't make heads nor tails of it."
Ron looked at it over Hermione's shoulder. "Bloody hell, mate. Looks like someone took a kid's drawing and wrote it down."
Hermione reprimanded Ron for the language without looking up.
"This is a Ceaser cipher, Harry," She said with a frown. "It translates to: Ask for answers, you get questions. Ask for questions, you get revelations. The soul is an excellent hider."
"What do you think that's about?" Ron asked, looking up at him.
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "That's why I'm asking Hermione about the doves."
"There's something on the back," Hermione stated, turning it over.
"Blimey! That's a bloody good drawing," Ron said as he stared at the picture.
Hermione's frown deepened. "A werewolf, stag, rat, and dog? What does that have to do with the message?"
"That's why I'm asking you," Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'd thought you know."
"...known as a thief, a troublemaker too..." Hermione muttered, reading the riddle. "A prankster? No, that doesn't fit."
Hermione thought for a second. " A MARAUDER!" She exclaimed before frowning. "But what does that have to do with this?"
At Hermione's exclamation, Scabbers, who'd fallen asleep, woke up and began clawing frantically inside Ron's breast pocket, even biting him once.
"Ow- ow- ow, quit it!" Ron snapped as he held the rat. "Look what you did, Hermione. You scared him."
"Sorry, Ron," Hermione replied, somewhat sheepish. "I forgot he was sick."
Harry looked at the note. "But what does the image have to do with a marauder?"
Hermione paused, staring at the note with such concentration Harry was half-surprised she didn't burn a hole through it.
"The soul's an excellent hider... dog, stag, rat, and werewolf... marauder," Hermione frowned. "I'm... I'm not sure."
Ron suddenly perked up. "Fred and George always talk about these pranksters called the Marauders. They were like these amazing pranksters back in the day. No one knows who they are, though. They just go by Prongs, Wormtail, Moony, and... Padfoot, I think."
"Well, if that's the case," Hermione stared at the note again. "You think the animals are them? Like the inspiration of their names?"
Ron shrugged, having been able to somewhat calm down Scabbers.
"Not sure, but what do they have to do with that ceasel cyphie thing?" Ron asked.
"Ceaser Cipher, Ron," Hermione corrected. "And I'm not sure. Maybe they made the Cipher?"
"Why would they use a dove, though?" Harry asked. "Why not just use an owl?"
Hermione thought for a moment. "Well... in many cultures, the dove is a symbol of peace. Maybe they wanted to tell you they come in peace?"
"But why Harry?" Ron asked, putting Scabbers back in his breast pocket. "Fred and George are the pranksters."
Hermione sighed. "I'm not sure, but we'll have to figure this out later; it's getting late and Mr. Weasley might start worrying about us."
The three headed over to the Leaky Cauldron and found Mr. Weasley inside, reading the Daily Prophet.
"Oh, Harry!" Mr. Weasley smiled as they entered. "How are you?"
"Fine, thanks," Harry replied as he sat down with Ron and Hermione.
Mr. Weasley put the paper down, and Harry noticed the image of Sirius Black on the paper.
"Still no luck with catching him?" He asked.
Mr. Weasley sighed. "No, they've put us all off our regular jobs to find him, but no luck yet."
"Maybe we could get a reward if we caught him!" Ron suggested. "It'd be good to get some money-"
"Don't be silly, Ron," Mr. Weasley cut him off. "Black is going to be caught by the Azkaban guards."
Mrs. Weasley entered soon afterward, followed by the Weasley twins, Percy, and Ginny.
They had dinner together, where Fred asked how they'd get to King's Cross, and Mr. Weasley told them the Ministry would be providing cars.
"Mr. Weasley, can I ask you something?" Harry asked over dinner.
"Of course, Harry!" Mr. Weasley replied. "What do you need?"
"Do you think Black acted of his own will the night he killed those muggles?" He asked.
Everyone at the table, but mostly Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, choked, albeit the two adults did it for separate reasons than the others.
Mrs. Weasley coughed harshly. "Well- how do- how do you know that, Harry?"
"A man told me Black and my father were like brothers," Harry explained softly. "He said they were best friends before Black turned suddenly. Do you think Black could've been under the Imperious?"
Everyone at the table choked more, and Mrs. Weasley seemed close to fainting.
"Harry," Mr. Weasley said gravely after he recovered. "Who told you these things?"
His stare bore into Harry's skull, seemingly rooting him to his chair.
"It was this tall man," Harry explained, somewhat nervous. "He said he was working on Black's capture as a favor to... he said something about a head of law, but I can't remember the name."
Mr. Weasley frowned. "Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, that's her. He said he was working on it as a favor to her. I met him when I was on the Knight Bus."
Mr. Weasley's frown deepened. "There's only one person that fits that description. I'll talk to him; he shouldn't be filling your head with that nonsense."
"But what if he's right?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.
"Harry, if that- man were right, Dumbledore would've known about it," Mrs. Weasley said a bit harsher than she meant to. "He's the greatest wizard alive."
Harry just nodded silently; something about that bothered him. Neither Mr. Weasley nor Mrs. Weasley argued against Black being a friend to his father, simply the thought he was innocent.
So they had been friends, Harry mused, but something had happened to make Black turn. He needed to find out what; the seed of doubt had planted in his mind, and there was no uprooting it now.
Dinner afterward was a somewhat awkward affair, with most of the older Weasleys and Harry all picking at their food. Talking about a mass murderer was bound to put anyone off their appetite.
Except for Ron, that is. He was still shoveling food into his mouth and swallowing just as quickly, with seemingly no time to breathe.
Harry climbed the stairs slowly after dinner, trying to ignore the stares from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as he did.
His mind swam full of questions, seemingly growing by the moment. If Black's guilt wasn't in question, then there had to have been a reasonable explanation for it, right? But why hadn't Thanatos mentioned it?
Everything Thanatos mentioned even went against that idea. The mention of the Imperious, the comment of there being no certainties, and the way Thanatos had worded his last statement.
'He's much more skilled than you, even if he isn't a Death Eater,' were the exact words. It almost implied that Black wasn't a Death Eater, simply skilled and dangerous.
Harry flopped onto his bed, his mind whirling so fast he was losing track of his thoughts. For a moment, Harry wondered if Hermione felt this way often.
So Black was skilled, dangerous, had broken out of Azkaban, and his innocence was doubtful at best. Harry couldn't imagine himself betraying a friend, and he was told he was like his father a lot; Black was best friends with his father, so it stood to reason that Black would share a similar thought.
There was no way they'd go from being the best of friends to enemies in just a few years, right? That's like if Ron or Hermione betrayed him a few years out of Hogwarts, or vice versa.
It had to have been something drastic, something severe that could've caused not only the betrayal but to have people so sure that it was him and not question someone betraying their best friend.
Harry sighed; he didn't have the answers yet. There were too many things missing; he needed to figure it out somehow.
The only way to do that was to ask Dumbledore or Thanatos, and one would probably react similarly to Mr. Weasley, and he didn't know where to find the other.
He turned in his bed, deciding to go to sleep. He wouldn't gain anything by overthinking, and he needed to be up early to reach King's Cross.
As Harry drifted into the world of dreams, his mind was filled with images of stags, dogs, and doves.