Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: Death's Prowler (Working Title)
Posted Date: December 01 2023
Inspiration: Prowler from Miles Morales's Spider-Verse
Tags: Post Hogwarts AU, Vigilante AU, Harry adopted by Sirius Black, Alive James Potter, Constant Vigilance Harry, Good Lily Evans, Bad Potters, Greater Good Dumbledore
Possible Challenges: Harry x Multi, Cult of Dumbledore, WBWL
Edward Remus Lupin, or Teddy to his close friends and relatives, let out a huff as he made his way by muggle transport through the neighbourhood of Bristol, his mind going through all that was going on with his family. His father was being too focused on pitying himself for being a werewolf and worshipping the altar of Dumbledore while his mother was too busy at her work or spying for the old man to actually care for him. Grandmother Andromeda was currently out of town, needing some time alone with Grandfather Ted to celebrate their anniversary and to get away from his parents due to their growing arguments over their relationship with the Potters and Dumbledore. In some manner, he could relate to his grandparents on that and wished they were around for him to stay for the long weekend. But he did have the next best option since his parents would have tried their properties first before going for the other option.
He got to the street that he was heading to, and within minutes, to the apartment building he was looking for. He grumbled seeing the lift evidently at the top floor and decided to just use the stairs to get to the apartment since it was only on the fifth floor. He quickly made his way up, went out the door and down the corridor, and finally got to the apartment belonging to the person he wanted to see. With a mischievous thought, he considered surprising that person by taking the spare key he had to enter the apartment and come up to scare him. With a chuckle, he grabbed the key and opened the door quietly to go through the door, only to let out a yell as he felt his legs getting yanked from beneath him and he found himself hung upside down with the door shut loudly. He waved his arms wildly before he saw a pair of slippers and long pants come into view. He stopped moving to let his body go still and turned his head to find the owner of the apartment looking him in the eye.
"Edward Remus Lupin, why are you here?" His godfather asked with a raised eyebrow. Teddy knew he needed to speak quickly if he started using his full name as opposed to his nickname.
"I need advice and to blow off some steam. And I wanted to prank you, Harry." Teddy spilled out the words while feeling a little light-headed from dangling upside down "Erm, mind letting me down? I am feeling really dizzy." The young man looked at him for a few seconds before sighing.
"Come on in then." The now named Harry did something with his hand to let Teddy down to the ground on his feet before he stepped aside to let him come through. "Remember to remove your shoes."
Teddy walked in after thanking him and visibly relaxed at the familiar layout of his godfather's apartment, being a big 2 room studio flat that had an open space concept to allow for the big kitchen and the dining table. The living room had a decent light brown couch that blended well with the decor, a flat-screen television mounted to the wall and a cabinet beneath it to hold some DVDs. A punching bag was off to the side with some reinforced partitions to ensure it did not go sailing off and hitting any of the appliances. A small room at the side served as his office, and another as his bedroom facing the nearby park that had a great view in the evening.
A very simple setup, yet it was more homely than his own home in his opinion.
"So how are Aunt Petunia and Uncle Dudley?" Teddy asked both as a genuine curiosity and a way to delay the matter. Harry gave him a look that told him he was not that successful but went along with it as he went to the kitchen where there were two pots cooking away on the induction stove.
"They are fine, they are going with my mother to see the arts gallery in Paris, Dudley is going to try his hand in the arts competition being held there." Teddy nodded at his godfather's reply. His uncle, Dudley Dursley, would have given people the wrong impression of being a brawler due to his build, but was surprisingly an artist who had some of his paintings displayed at certain art shows and sold at auctions that netted quite a fair amount of money. Aunt Petunia was also someone with an eye for details and money, often helping them to deal with the finances which helped when handling solid gold on their side of the world. And when combined with Aunt Lily's intelligence, the sky was the limit with investors crying from their ruthlessness.
"So, what is it you want?" Harry lifted the cover of the pot to check on the contents cooking inside, releasing a very delicious scent that made Teddy's stomach rumble in agony.
"Aside from wanting some food to eat based on that smell, I just want to get away from my parents." Teddy answered while wrapping an arm around his waist and glaring at his stomach. "Since my grandparents are out of town, I came here to hide out."
"Are your folks giving you a hard time?" Harry paused in his cooking to look at Teddy. Teddy sighed at that query.
"They are trying to get me to follow Dumbledore and the Potters. Again." Terry went to the punching bag and started hitting it in hopes of controlling his building rage. "You recall about their potion attempts?" Harry nodded with thin lips.
"Yes, Andromeda made quite the racket at your mother." Teddy snorted at the understatement of the century. His grandmother made it clear to everyone that her daughter and Lupin were effectively persona non grata with her and Ted, and offered Teddy a safe haven with them. Harry followed up with his offer of an extra bedroom to bunk in if he needed to have a sleepover, and that held some weight since he was Teddy's godfather.
Needless to say, things got dicey when the public found out through the rag called the Daily Prophet. At least the news was positive on Harry and his grandparents.
"Anything else? How about school?" Harry changed the topic. "Made any friends?"
"Well. Kind of." Teddy stopped punching the bag and moved to the kitchen just to see what he was cooking. "Most seemed intent on befriending the son of a friend of a war hero. Very few want to be buddies with a son of a werewolf. At least that is what I am getting given the questions about my mother and seeing what is going on from Brandon Potter." Harry hummed at that.
"Sounds like my nephew is not really holding back on fame." Teddy snorted while shaking his head at that remark.
"That is an understatement. Damn guy struts about worse than Scorpius and that guy is a chip off the old block if Draco Malfoy is what I am seeing so far." Harry winced at that while handing Teddy something to sample.
"Sounds like I would need to reign both him and his son in again as the Head Black." The man sighed heavily. "Let's go for something happier. So of the friends you have genuinely made, are there any girls that you might like?" Teddy was lucky to be by the sink as that question caused him to spit-take at it.
"Erm, well…" Teddy sputtered while clearing his throat.
"Oh, sounds like there is someone you like." The smile on Harry's face was similar to one a cat would use once it caught a canary and blamed the dog for the crime. "Anything you can tell me?"
"Erm, she is smart?" Teddy just spit out the first thing that popped into his mind only to have his eyes wide open and to slap his hands over his mouth.
"Smart girls are where it's at." Harry nodded sagely at this before raising an eyebrow. "Anything else?" Teddy had to groan a little at this. Harry was like a dog on a bone for times like this.
"She is a new girl from Ireland, and she is a Ravenclaw." Teddy tried to think of less incriminating items to speak of. "Her dad is an officer for the ICW Consulate and her mum is the Irish Ambassador. She is in the drama club."
"So, what's her name?" Harry asked while ladling some soup to let Teddy do another taste test. Teddy paused while taking the bowl.
"Well erm, you know, it is a work in progress. I am just laying down the groundwork, you know how it is." Teddy tasted the soup and hummed. "Could use some pepper. No need for any salt." Harry nodded and did just that, giving Teddy the chance to move back to the sofa to grab a book to distract himself from the question. "I just want to make sure it goes smoothly." Harry chuckled at that.
"Well, for someone who knows what to do, you should be familiar with the shoulder touch?" Harry smirked as he checked his cooking one more time.
"Shoulder Touch? Sure." Teddy scoffed as he fiddled with his book before glancing at the side. "But erm… I could use a refresher." Harry smiled as he closed the lid, lowered the flame, and then moved to the couch to take a seat.
"Well, if you are really interested in this girl, and the traditional methods don't work… This is how it is done in the states." Harry straightened himself a little as he illustrated the pickup method. "Tomorrow, or any other day, when you find her, you walk up to that girl without acting too posh, slow down to make sure you give her time and space if needed. If she is interested in what you are doing, she should not move away from you. That is when you go like this." Harry raised an arm to place a hand on Teddy's shoulder with his eyes looking at him and then said "Hey." with a smooth tone Teddy knew was guaranteed to get women following him based on the few times his godfather was with a lady friend. That tone combined with the accent was certainly enough to get the women going after him, even though Harry had no idea why they always act so crazy.
Susan Bones, Padma Patil and Daphne Greengrass came to mind when they were alone with him.
Funny that his godfather can be a potential playboy and not understand it. Aunts Lily and Petunia were scratching their heads at his obliviousness while Uncle Dudley laughed his head off.
And in the current situation, Teddy could only laugh a little from the advice. "Oh come on, no way! Are you serious about this?"
Harry chuckled at that while removing his hand. "I am not my late godfather, but yes, it works somehow. It is an exact science, mate." Teddy laughed a bit more on this before taking a while to breathe, something that took longer than needed due to his laughter that kept starting up when he looked at Harry who merely smirked at his reaction.
"Okay, okay. So I am supposed to walk up to her and go?" Teddy mimicked Harry's action and said "Hey."
"No, no, no. Not like that." Harry shook his head in good nature. "It's like this." Harry repeated his move and said "Hey." in that smooth tone again.
"Hey." Terry repeated trying to get the tone.
"No, it's 'Hey'." Harry moved his head slightly and spoke with slight emphasis.
"Hey~" Terry tried to force it out only to make Harry laugh at the attempt.
"Oh boy, I have a lot to teach you if you really want to get this girl's attention. Sirius would say that it is my duty to make sure any godson of mine has to have some game." Harry chuckled as he got up to check on the stove where the whistle from the cooker was starting to go off. He went to scoop out some food in two plates and brought them back to the couch, handing one over to Teddy. "Eat up."
"Thanks for the grub." Teddy took the moment to check the food for potions and poisons before eating. An odd method to do and considerably rude, but it was Harry who had demonstrated to him the dangers of potions that could be mixed into food and drinks before they were consumed by the unwilling target. He showed how some potions could remain inert until they were consumed, and a few that could be separated in different foods only to be combined in the stomach and thus become active. There were so many combinations that Teddy wondered how people got along in life without getting potions inside them by chance. Harry did grant him an amulet to check his food and drinks in areas when he was unable to do so. A minor complication came up when he returned to his home to eat some food only for the amulet to react around the food served by his parents. He had some bezoars on hand and took a small one before eating the food, with some laid aside to check if the amulet was detecting health potions by accident. And because Harry drilled him for this, he took some to people like grandma Andromeda and other potion masters to confirm the contents.
Let's just say the results from that evening were what led to the mentioned incident and one of the many reasons he was not wanting to be in the presence of his parents longer than needed.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry noted his expression.
"I was just thinking how much I appreciate your help." Teddy answered honestly. "You and my grandparents are there for me."
"Level with me." Harry lowered his spoon with his eyes narrowing at the wistful tone. Teddy placed his plate as he considered what to say.
"Remus and Nymphadora keep trying to get me to listen to Dumbledore." It was a testament to the strained relationship that Teddy would rather refer to his parents by their first names. "I don't know, it feels like they are incapable of thinking for themselves and that whatever decisions are made has to revolve around that guy. I mean, you and your group were the main fighters who took out Voldemort, yet everyone keeps pandering to your brother, his son and Dumbledore!"
Harry let out a soft sigh at that statement, a statement that had been repeated a few times by Teddy and a few others disgruntled by Dumbledore's policies to forgive those that had harmed others, yet the victims were left in the figurative ditch, and sometimes the actual ditch. "You have to remember that for all his bluster, he does have influence in the Ministry, no thanks to the fact he has been headmaster for so many years. Roughly three-quarters of the people would have been in school listening to him or the other professors, so they would look to him even with all the flaws known to all. A soft word here, a gesture in another place, and he gets results for whatever plan he has. The only reason he is not getting further this time round is because not all follow him or the Potters even if they won the war, people are put off by their attitudes."
"That may be the case, but the people should at least think for themselves, and certainly not be like my parents who would just do whatever he says regardless of others." Teddy took a big bite of the chicken with a bit more force than necessary. "I am still mad at how they tried to change my subjects in third year without telling me, stating I should not need to learn Arithmancy or curse breaking."
"Yeah, I remembered that. I bet they are regretting one decision though." Harry took a spoonful of his lunch to eat while Teddy smiled at that.
"True, their mistake is our gain." Teddy raised his spoon at that. "Best godfather I can get, and they can't even break the bond since it is set so firmly by Magic herself. Thanks to you, I can keep my subjects and add Healing to the list, and be placed in the advanced program."
"Anything for my godson. Within reason of course" The man reached out to mess with his hair, making Teddy whine a little about the hair but accepted the affectionate action. Teddy knew that Harry was only made the godfather in hopes of controlling him after his blood adoption by the late Sirius Black nearing the end of the war, and not by choice by Remus and Nymphadora, rather by Dumbledore trying to limit his actions for the war along with his wealth.
To put it nicely, not only did it not work, but the act of making him godfather would become their worst mistake, and Teddy's greatest gain.
A ring tone broke his thoughts and brought his attention to Harry who brought out his mobile phone and frowned at the device. "Problem?"
"Two. Firstly, your parents are trying to find you and have guessed you are here, or at least coming here. Lupin is being his usual self of playing Alpha and biting off more than he can chew by telling me to call them." Teddy groaned at that. "And I got a work-related call that I need to answer. But there is one piece of good news." Harry turned to Teddy at this point. "Your grandparents just sent word on whether you want to come with them on the trip. They sent a letter to you two days ago but they were not sure if you got it."
"I did not get any from them." Teddy hummed before scowling. "Then again, with Nymphadora doing the mail checks, it won't surprise me that she is withholding it."
"Well, you got it. Here." Harry passed the second phone he had brought out for him. "Use this to talk to Andromeda. Got it specifically for you to call me or your grandparents, but with some tweaks. They act like the communication mirrors but with better coverage."
"Thanks." Teddy was really grateful for the additional line of contact he could have for those looking out for him. Harry went to check on the cooking first to avoid it burning, then went to his office room to give Teddy privacy with his chat with Andromeda while he answered his work call. He made sure the door was closed with the silencing spells activated before pulling out a third phone from a hidden panel beneath a drawer. He typed the number and waited with his eyes closed. Three rings in, the call connected.
"A job just came in, Mister Prowler, we require your services with pest control from the Parkinsons and the McLaggans. Payment is set to usual pricing but open to negotiations."
Harry slowly cracked his neck and let out a breath before opening his eyes, the warm light meant for Teddy gone in favour of stern coldness. "I'm listening."