AN: This is a long chapter, In fact I think we have now passed 100k on the posted word count! #nobetawedielikemen
Enjoy!
Chapter 17 Distractions and Adults Being Adults
Harry slept fitfully that night, as the anticipation for Madame Bone's arrival ate at him. When the sun finally rose, he shuffled out of bed and dressed. Remembering that she would need to be added to the ward book before Remus portkeyed her here, Harry went straight for the office to add her name. Seeing that done, he woke Neville before heading down to the kitchen for some breakfast.
Hermione arrived shortly after he and Neville had finished eating. "You ready for today?" she asked them.
"I think so. We are gonna tell her everything. Well, mostly. Not the parseltongue bit. She's gonna watch some lessons, but she's going to wonder why a few kids are choosing to learn and do martial arts rather than sleep in and goof off all summer. Plus we owe her an explanation on why I don't trust Dumbledore."
"Except for the animagus stuff. We talked to Remus and Sirius last night. They said we should keep that bit quiet." Neville added.
"Makes sense. I hope she doesn't take our training the wrong way."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked
"Well we know Voldemort," Neville shivered at the name, "isn't really dead because you saw him possess Professor Quirrell. And we know there is a prophecy involving you two. I just don't want her to see all this as you training to be an assassin or something." Hemione said.
"I don't think the stuff we are being taught right now could be thought of as 'assassin training.' I mean we are mostly doing it so I can protect myself, but also so I can fix what Dumbledore broke. I know we wanted to be learning new and helpful things but my wand magic is still hard to control."
"True. If she asks, I think we just stick to that then."
Harry nodded. "Plus, Sirius said they would fill her in and answer her questions; he just wants us to focus on our lessons for today. I also talked to Ky and he's going to do an etiquette lesson tonight in place of our animagus stuff." he said.
Harry stood from the table as he felt the wards signal a new arrival. "Well. It's show time. She's here."
Knowing Remus would lead her out to their first lesson, and not wanting to be late, the trio made their way outside.
They passed Sirius on their way out, who looked to have had his breakfast out in the early morning rays. They traded good mornings and reassuring smiles with Sirius before greeting Master Sun.
Remus and Madame Bones joined Sirius at the patio table midway through the kids' warm up.
"I could tell Harry was hiding you, but I never imagined you lot were hiding out in the Potter Manor. This place was supposed to have fallen during the war," she said in lieu of a greeting.
"Good morning to you too, Amelia. Yes, I'm quite proud of that rumour, as I was the one tasked with making sure it was believed. When James went into hiding and his parents got sick it became important to make this place as safe as we could."
"When they told me we were going to the Moor, I didn't believe them at first. I had thought the home was burned and the collapsed wards had made the area dangerous," said Remus.
"Myself, Lily, James, and Firecrest were the only ones that knew the truth. We didn't tell the order."
Remus accepted this as Ameila made a slight face at the mention of the Order. Turning her attention instead to the kids who had just taken off for their warm up run around the pond.
"Who is that? Do they exercise every morning?"
"That is..a long story. But if you're willing to indulge us, we better start at the beginning."
Seeing her agreement Remus started. He told her about how he had happened upon Harry, Since she already knew the details of his running away. "As he was leaving I gave him my phone number and recommended he get in touch with Gringotts. I figured they must have a copy of the Potter's will on record and could help him, Lily would have gone spare knowing he was living with her sister. Anyway, he was staying with the Granger's when he found out about his relatives."
He continued his explanation on what they discovered in Gringotts. When he got to the prophecy, Ameila interrupted.
"I see why the Potters went into hiding, but surely that wouldn't be relevant anymore. You-Know-Who is dead. Harry stopped him, so it would have been fulfilled.
Sirius shook his head. "Voldemort was stopped that night, however that may be the "marking" part of the prophecy. He is not gone. In fact, Harry met him once more just a few months ago. In Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts? Surely not." Amelia insisted, aghast.
"Your department was not informed of this? A man died! A troll was set loose in the school and nearly killed a girl. They had a three headed dog locked in an unused classroom on the third floor. That led to an entire floor of devils snare! AND the door was easily UNlocked with a simple Alohomora."
"WHAT!? We were told a very different story. We were guaranteed there was NO possible danger to the children. Dumbledore said nothing about You-Know-Who or any of that."
"It seems Dumbledore used the Philosopher's Stone to lure Voldemort to the castle and-"
"HE USED A ROCK AS BAIT TO BRING A DARK WIZARD TO A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN?"
Seeing Harry look their way in alarm, Sirius put up his hand and shook his head. Harry reluctantly dropped back into his stance.
Remus quickly explained the troll incident, and then Harry's encounter with Quirrell at the end of the year. Amelia was incensed, "No wonder Harry doesn't trust Dumbledore." Seeing the two men exchange a look she gasped, "There's more?"
"Well now we need to shift back to the kids' trip to Gringotts. Dumbledore wanted Harry isolated for some reason. He's only ever received mail from Hogwarts or mail brought specifically by his owl that he got for his eleventh birthday," said Remus.
"What happened to all his other mail? The boy is a celebrity. Is that something the muggles could have hid from him?"
Sirius shook his head. "No, Dumbledore invented a spell to divert Harry's mail. We aren't sure where to. Gringotts were unaware and they had been trying to get in contact with Harry when his trust vault activated."
"I bet the Goblins were not happy about that."
"They were not. After verifying Harry was in fact who he said he was, they agreed to clear the ward off Harry for free. And this is where the shit hit the fan," Siruis answered, rubbing a hand over his face.
Together they explained how the Goblins had inadvertently ripped away two bindings, tracking charms, and whatever the mail ward was.
"His magic is still recovering. We are working through most of the first year's practicals and he has a ways to go. He can do all the magic. The issue is the consistency," Remus explained.
Seeing her understanding Remus continued, "Master Sun is here as a favour to help Harry get more in tune with his magic. We are seeing results, but they've only been learning for a short time. It took a little while after the rips healed for his magic to settle."
"I'd like him to be looked over at St Mungos. Possibly by one of their mind healers as well. I'm not sure if he was prone to panic attacks before all this, but he seems to be struggling with something similar now. I don't really know what it is or if it's related, but I'd like a professional opinion," Sirius said as his focus shifted to where Harry was.
"He hasn't seen a healer?"
"He was taken into the Tahtal'ard medical. The Goblins were able to see to the immediate problem and help him heal from that, but with everything that was going on we couldn't very well Waltz into Mungos. He's quite paranoid about Dumbledore and the possibility he will harm him further." Sirius answered firmly. The fact Sirius himself was still a wanted man went unsaid.
"They took him into Tahtal'ard?" Ameila asked, surprised.
Remus nodded. "He was evaluated there. They put him to sleep through the worst of it. They brought him up to a recovery room that I think was lodging for their travelling human employees, which is where I met back up with him before we came here."
"How bad was it? Two magical bindings. It's a miracle he made it through it."
Sirius grimaced. "Firecrest will be with us later this evening. He can recount it from his point of view if you'd like."
"So he faces You-Know-Who at school. And then not even two weeks later his relatives are killed. Then in the process of finding out what he should do, he learns of a prophecy, then accidentally breaks bindings put into place by Dumbledore, damaging his magical core. After which he hides out in his ancestral home?"
"He also realised I existed and was innocent. Found a way to locate me. Contact you and set all of this into motion."
"All while recovering and relearning to use his magic," Remus added.
Amelia removed her monocle and just watched impressed for a moment as the kids took off at a run for the pond. The men allowed silence to take them as they too watched over them.
When Harry and his friends returned to Master Sun, Amleia turned back to Remus. "Who are the other two children? Do they do this with him everyday?"
"That is Agusta Longbottom's grandson, Neville. And the other is Harry's best friend, Hermione Granger. Neville is currently staying with us while Agusta tends to her ill brother. Hermione's parents will also be here tonight, so you'll get to meet them, but she travels back and forth. She comes here after breakfast with her folks and then returns home for the night at dinner time. They work during the day so that worked out for everyone," Remus answered.
"And, no," Sirius added, "they do lessons together Monday through Friday, but take weekends off. Sunday nights have also become game nights, where the Grangers join us for dinner and games. Harry has also invited some of the Weasleys over for this weekend. He is quite close to the youngest three boys and he felt bad for worrying them."
"Do they know you're here? These parents and guardians?"
"The Grangers do. We were waiting to tell anyone else until it was announced I'm cleared. We didn't want to put them or Harry in any danger, but at the same time, it's important for Harry to get to be a normal kid and get to visit his friends."
Ameila nodded, thinking over all she had been told so far and all she had discovered in her investigation.
Soon they were all headed inside; the kids to get cleaned up and the adults to the library.
Amila spent the next part of the day observing Harry and the group dynamics. Occasionally she would walk around the library, even stopping to speak with the portrait of Harry's grandparents.
When they took a break for lunch, Amelia asked Hermione, "I heard you come everyday to join in on these lessons. How did that come to be?"
Hemione furrowed her brow in confusion. "Did you mean how did the lessons come about or my being a part of them?"
"Both I suppose. Mostly your joining."
"I was with Harry when the bindings on his magic were broken. It was scary and I was so worried when Harry collapsed. I had no idea how to help. We said we would figure everything out together and I was useless. But I love to learn, and when Harry said he wanted a teacher and summer lessons, I knew there was something I could help with. I helped him come up with a schedule and decide on what we would practise."
"Yes, I know much of it is getting his magic used to the spells he already knows, but today you were studying Runes. I don't believe that's offered until third year. Why study that now?"
Harry answered this. "I found a diary of my mum's. She was quite skilled in the subject and it was something I could start to learn that didn't require magic right away."
"So these lessons are for more than just your magical recovery."
Harry and Hermions shared a look. "You could say that. I spent so long not knowing this world even existed, or anything about my parents, that I just wanted to jump into it. We also have magical etiquette lessons and occlumency lessons. I was told those are things some magical families teach their kids from a young age. Runes was added like I said. Then we have charms, defence, and transfiguration that we are reviewing."
Ameila considered this as she picked at her lunch. Finishing her salad she looked to Neville. "And you? How did you come to join in?"
Neville looked startled to be questioned. "Oh. Well. I wrote Harry a couple letters. The first one I sent when I got home from Hogwarts. That one went unanswered. Then I was worried when they said he was missing. And so relieved when the paper said he was safe. I wrote to him again and he sent a note back. My great Uncle Algie…My gran has been caring for him. He and I don't really get along so she's been going to him. When Harry invited me to come stay with him, Gran agreed I could until Uncle is better."
"How do you feel about the lessons?"
"I'm just happy to be included. I..uh..Well I struggled a bit at Hogwarts. So it works out for me to go over what we learned. And the exercise in the morning is helping a lot with my balance. I don't trip as much. Runes is cool so far. I've already taken etiquette lessons so that's mostly just a refresher for me." Neville shrugged, unsure of what else to say.
She made a couple notes in her notebook and then asked Harry, "You said you would tell me how you magiked that paper to me."
The kids all grinned. "It was way scary when he sent one to me. One second I was cleaning my room the next I was holding a letter I was sure I hadn't picked up," Neville recounted.
Harry picked up his now empty water cup, placing it flat on his hand. Slowly it rose up into the air and shifted slowly across the table where it landed gently in front of Madame Bones. "Hermione and I found out I could do small things like that. With what happened, I can feel my magic differently. It takes a lot of concentration. We practised sending paper for like two weeks before I was able to do it consistently. But once I had it, it got much easier."
"So it's not a spell. You're essentially using wild magic. Interesting. That's very difficult to do. And you can send these charmed papers anywhere?"
"I don't really know for sure. Like I said, it took a bit before I was able to magic them further than across the room. You were the first person I sent something to with just a vague description of you. We weren't sure what would work, or if I needed to have met the person before."
"Interesting. Thank you again for trusting me, however I think you should keep that secret beyond anyone who currently knows. There are far too many people who would love to use that ability for their own gains. My department included."
"How do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Well, imagine having a way to track, locate, or trap someone that no ward or distance could stop. Or having a way to do any amount of harm from an untraceable location. People on both sides of the law would want that on their side if they knew it existed," she explained.
Harry paled slightly, and Hermione reached over and took his hand. "Remus told us not to mess with this too much. Said it could be dangerous. The only thing I can do is make stuff float and send the letters. Oh and I turned a butter knife into some scissors. But we only practised the letter thing so much because I needed a way to contact Sirius when we found out he was on the run and looking for me."
"You're not in trouble, Harry. I just wanted you to be aware of the danger so you are not taken advantage of. I'm glad Remus has advised you of how volatile wild magic can be. As I said, I will keep your secret and make sure the questions we ask in the tribunal are worded in a way that will not expose your secret to any more people, or be a part of the record."
She didn't ask any more questions after that, much to Harry's relief. She quietly observed their defence lesson with Remus and the following occlumency session with Sirius. Harry wasn't sure where she and Sirius disappeared to, halfway through the etiquette lesson, but they arrived back as Kylix was finishing up.
Sirius called Hermione over as soon as they had stood to walk her out to the gates as they usually did. She looked to Harry, who only gave her a slight shrug, and hurried over.
"I only spoke to your parents briefly about tonight, but could you please inform them our plans for tonight have been moved up slightly, and if they would return with you as soon as possible, we would be happy for them to join us for dinner."
Hermione looked further confused but nodded her understanding before joining the boys at the door. Once they were outside she asked, "Did we have plans for my mum and dad to be here today? I know Remus mentioned a campfire but I figured it would just be us and Madame Bones."
Harry shook his head. "Not that I know of, maybe she wanted to talk to your parents too? I had mentioned at the Leaky about having a campfire but we didn't really have time to plan one. Sirius said he had already arranged this, but I don't remember us talking about it."
They approached the gate and Hermione said "Well, I guess we'll see when I get back. Meet you back at the house?"
Harry nodded and soon Hermione was swept away.
"What do you mean this campfire is just for the adults?" Harry asked, outraged. He stood staring disbelieving into his godfather's overly calm face.
"I mean, myself and the other adults are going to have our own campfire, and the three of you are going to go upstairs and relax or play some games. Then we can all have dinner together," Sirius explained in a firm but patient voice.
"Why? Why wouldn't I-we," Harry amended at a sharp feeling from Hermione, "be included. If this is about us, we should be there!"
"Because you are 11 years old and the adults have things that need to be discussed. There is more to everything going on, Harry, not just your situation. I need you to trust that I can and will take care of you. If you have questions, we can discuss them later."
Harry looked like he wanted to argue more but he had no idea what to say. He felt betrayed. He felt like he was being babied or something. Harry had been through so much! He'd faced Voldemort twice! Yet he couldn't go to this stupid campfire because he wasn't an adult? He could handle himself! He deserved to know what was happening. When did they start keeping secrets from him?
Sirius watched the emotions wash over Harry's face and felt horrible, but he had to be firm in this. However, that didn't mean he couldn't be gentle with Harry. "Look. I can see how upset you look at this. Can you tell me why us having this meeting without you is so upsetting?"
Harry was quiet for a moment as he sorted out how he was feeling. "It feels like you're keeping secrets from me, and I feel like everything bad that's happened, happened because of secrets."
Sirius sighed heavily and looked at Remus, who returned a grimace that read He kinda has a point.
He dropped to a knee in front of Harry. "I can see why that is upsetting when you look at it like that. This isn't about keeping things from you, it's about protecting you from hard discussions or from discussions about bigger picture things. I won't ever keep something from you that has to do with you, or even me, because I agree that there should be no secrets between us. But you do not get to raise yourself, Harry. You want me to be here to do that job? I need you to let me, and trust these people you've brought into your circle."
Harry's eyes welled up with tears, but he nodded sharply and sank into Sirius for a tight hug. Sirius just held him for a moment before giving him an extra squeeze and pulling away. He wiped away a stray tear from Harry's cheek with the pad of his thumb. He gave Harry a moment to collect himself and stood to his feet, keeping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Okay. You three head upstairs. I'll send Kylix for you when we're finished, and we can have some dinner."
The trio rushed up the stairs, and Sirius turned to see all the other adults waiting in the hallway, just out of view, behind Remus. The Grangers looked sympathetic. Ameila looked impressed. Master Sun was hard to read, but Firecrest, whose arrival is what seemed to have set Harry off, was looking particularly proud.
Realising they had had more of an audience than he thought, Sirius cleared his throat, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. If I had known this was going to upset him, I would have discussed it with him sooner. Anyway, follow me." Sirius led them through the house past the dining room and guest suite. He came to a stop at the end of the hallway and ran his hand over a section of the wall. A breath later a door stood ajar in front of him. He gestured for the rest of the party to proceed inside.
The room was well lit. A long rounded table sat atop a plush deep burgundy carpet. Padded saffron coloured chairs circled the table. The room's walls were similar to the upstairs office. Warm walnut wood panelling came up about waist high and the wall above it was painted in a soft cream colour. The back wall had a small bar cart and a hung shelf with assorted decor. The wall to the left had a beautiful large landscape painting of what looked like a view of Moor from the veranda in springtime. The right wall, left blank.
As everyone filed in and took their seats, a pitcher of water and crystal glasses appeared in front of them. "Thank you all for coming. Before we get into everything I wanted to discuss, let me introduce you to Amelia Bones." Sirius gestured to where Amelia sat. "She's the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She's been looking over my case and is preparing a tribunal where I will be able to prove my innocence."
The others around the table that had not yet met Ameila quickly introduced themselves.
"We are Hermione's parents. I'm Helen and this is Dan. We are dentists. I have a specialty in oral surgery and Dan in paediatrics." When Amelia looked confused, Helen added, "Um Hermione said it's like a Healer in your world, but only for teeth."
"I am Firecrest. Senior Advisor at Gringotts and The Potter account manager."
"Master Sun. No fancy titles. I'm just here to help." The light smile on his face made his tone less serious.
"Amelia, did you want to ask your questions first?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, please. Helen, Dan, would you mind recounting for me the three days following you picking up your daughter at King Cross?"
Helen immediately began their story as they had for Sirius. When she got to the part about Harry confirming his abuse, there was a collective glower around the table. Dan filled in where he could. When they finished, Amelia asked Sirius, "Has Harry spoken any further to the extent of the abuse?"
Sirius shook his head. "Not in so many words. He's been hesitant at all physical contact. I think the only person that can hug him without him freezing up is Hermione. Earlier was the first hug he has initiated with me. Not that I think he's scared of it, just that he's not used to affection. He doesn't know how to react. He also is very sensitive if anyone around him shows any type of anger. He may have opened up more to Hermione, I haven't pushed."
"Seems like you two are bonding well from what I've seen today." Amelia paused to make a note in her book. "Mr. Firecrest, can you please recount the day Harry came into the bank?"
Firecrest nodded, steepling his long fingers in front of him. He told his story. Amelia only stopped him once to ask a question.
"May I ask why you took him into Tahtal'ard instead of calling the St. Mungos emergency floo?"
"The entire bank shook with magic when it happened. We had just found out he had been declared missing and Harry had been adamant before he was knocked out that he wanted to remain hidden. I didn't want to disregard his wishes. Plus I had to consider how it would look for the bank if we turned over a broken Boy Who Lived. I sent word to the Chief and he gave me clearance to bring the children into Tahtal'ard. I carried him straight to our emergency centre to have him looked over."
"Why bring the girl?"
Firecrest actually chuckled at this and the Grangers both hid embarrassed smiles. "That little witch would have torn the bank apart brick by brick if I even considered denying her. I was more concerned with Harry than arguing with her. As long as the healer deemed it safe for her to be near him, I had no qualms. Just asking her to be in the next room was a fight until I gave her a book. That held her over long enough for them to run diagnostics."
Firecrest finished recounting the rest of the day as Amelia made notes.
"Okay. Got it. And how about you Master Sun. How do you fit into all of this?"
"I simply came as a favour to the Chief."
"The Chief? Are you referring to Chief Ragnarok?" Ameila asked.
Master Sun nodded and continued, "The child was put through a traumatic experience. Though the goblins were not responsible for the bindings, they could be implicated in the harm brought to the boy. I'm just here to help. I provide check ups to his core to ensure it is healing and am here to ensure there are no lasting harmful effects."
Amelia gazed at him silently, as if gauging how truthful he was being. He met her gaze and said nothing, having said all he intended to.
Wanting to move the meeting along, Sirius asked, "Anything else you had Amelia?"
She shook her head.
"Good, I want to start with Dumbledore and Hogwarts." Sirius quickly filled all the adults in on the visit Harry had received from the house elf.
"We have since adjusted the wards to only allow Potter elves, so that closes that security gap. However, between Albus being an unknown and also a planned threat to Hogwarts, I'm not sure how I feel about Harry going back. What do you all think?"
"Hermione hasn't voiced an opinion yet, though I'm sure it will be to wherever Harry is. Personally, after hearing about their first year there, I'm not sure how much I trust them to handle a threat. But ultimately I think it comes down to the headmaster. We still have no idea why he did what he did, or if he is any kind of risk to them now," Helen answered.
"She's right. If he isn't actually a danger, there is still whoever killed his aunt and uncle. It might be better for him to be at school. Be able to be with his friends in a safe place. Assuming they take the warning seriously and it is actually a safe place," Remus pondered aloud.
"I agree with Helen. We want Hermione to get a good education, but not at the expense of her safety," Dan said.
"The main issue is this warning gives them, and us, nothing to go on. The word of a house elf we can't identify, that terrible things are being planned for Hogwarts, tells us next to nothing." Amelia pinched the bridge of her nose, allowing her monocle to fall away from her face. "It only tells us the place. Not the target. Not the scale. Not who. Not how. Not why. How do you prevent something like that? What precautions do you take outside the ones you do anyway?"
Looks were shared around the table before Sirius spoke. "You're right. We put a pin in this until we have more information." He waved his hand toward the blank wall and a cork board appeared. He wrote 'Hogwarts?' on a bit of parchment and using his wand, stuck it to the board with a small pin.
"Next we need to discuss the bond. It appears they have begun to feel each other's emotions, even from far distances. I have walked Harry through how to sort it out through occlumency, but he hasn't quite mastered it. He can fix it if it happens now but not prevent it," Sirius explained.
"Bond?" Amelia asked.
"Oh, right. Um, before Harry's core was able to heal completely, he had a bit of a fit. As I'm sure you have gathered, he and Hermione are quite close. She rushed in to help him. Remus tried to stop her but she got past him. When she grabbed onto Harry, it was like she syphoned off all the excess magic pouring out of him. Master Sun checked them over, other than her magical core being a little over inflated, Hermione was largely unharmed, but we worried a bond may manifest with the way their magic mingled."
"Are you certain? Wouldn't you need intent for that sort of thing? I wasn't aware magical accidents could create a bond."
Master Sun answered, "They often do not or cannot. We were not sure of anything. The only reason I even suspected such a thing was because I could detect traces of their magic lingering in each other. Though, hearing the stories here tonight, I think we have our answer. It was Hermione's intent. If she was focused on helping him, or not being parted from him, if that thought was her focus when she grabbed him, and his answering trust for her…well..I am not surprised a bond is developing."
"What are the lasting implications? Do you know what we should expect?" Helen asked, taking Dan's hand in hers.
"I would advise you to keep them together. Their magic may not take kindly to being separated right now."
"Like they need to be in the same home full time or?" Dan asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"No no. The routine they have now is sufficient. With your permissions I will begin checking them over a couple times a week after lessons. Nothing invasive, just diagnostic spells. I can perform them during their run. "
Dan and Helen had a quick silent conversation between them before they gave their consent. "That's fine with us. Thank you."
"I agree as well. I'll let Harry know about that after dinner tonight so he isn't taken by surprise," Sirius said.
Remus pulled another bit of parchment out and wrote "Voldemort" on it, using his wand he stuck that to the board. "Next up is what we are going to do about him. Now that we know he isn't dead, we need to be proactive about this. Where do we start?"
Sirius nodded. "I think we start with how he's still alive. We know he doesn't have a body, because he was possessing Quirrell and trying to get the Stone so he could get a body of his own."
"I can begin that research." Firecrest offered. "Through the bank I have access to a wealth of knowledge."
Sirius nodded. "Perfect. I can check the Black library as well."
"We should also look into other ways he may be able to come back. If the Stone is no longer an option, he will move on to something else," Remus suggested.
"You say Harry defeated this Dark Wizard when he was a baby. If his parents perished, and he was quite young, how do you know what happened?" Master Sun asked.
"Well, the Potters were found dead. The upper story of their home was blown apart. Harry was found alive with a permanent scar on his head in the shape of the wand movement for the killing curse. And all of Voldemort's attacks stopped, the dark mark he gave his followers had diminished. I guess now we know why they didn't disappear completely." Ameila answered.
Master Sun looked unconvinced but said nothing further.
"This is a good starting point. Once my name is cleared, I can work on this from the government side too. I'll be able to take mine and Potter's Wizengamot seats. Maybe get some funding to the Auror department and start working on the laws that helped him get an easy foot hold last time. That way if he does come back, we are better prepared." Sirius said.
Amelia replaced her monocle. "I'll definitely up the response time training. I think we have been too lax in peacetime. These aurors need to be ready to respond to threats quickly and effectively. I hope he doesn't come back, but if he does find a way, we need to be ready."
Seeing no more being put forth on that topic at this time Sirius continued, "Last thing we have on the agenda was supposed to be how to prove my innocence without getting my soul sucked out by a demon, but since we already are on that course, I'm not sure what more there is to discuss at this time, unless you have something Amelia?"
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius's dramatics with a fond smile.
"I do actually," she said. "With everything I've seen today. Everything I've heard. I can see Harry is struggling." She put her hand up to stop Sirius as he made to interrupt her. "I can also see, he is receiving all of the care and support he needs right here. I believe it would be to his further detriment if he were to be removed from your care."
Sirius smiled excitedly at Remus who was beaming back at him.
"I will honour my deal with Harry and name you his guardian at the tribunal, once you are proven innocent of course. My only provision will be that you are both looked at by a healer. I'm sure you will have a potion regime as well as some various therapy to fully recover from the dementors. The cost paid for by the ministry as a part of your recompense."
"Of course! Of course. That was the plan anyway. Thank you. I can't wait to tell Harry. Well, I guess that's all for now, we can do this again after the boys' birthdays." Sirius ran a hand through his hair as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Uh. Right, before we go eat, when can we do the tribunal? Where does it have to take place?"
"If you really wanted, we could do it after dinner. Or we can wait until morning. As to where, I can assume you don't want to have it here?"
Remus shook his head at that. "No, we don't want to add anyone else to the wards here or even have them know it's not really destroyed. The fewer that know, the safer this place is for Harry."
"We would be happy to offer our home, depending on the amount of people? Our dining room has seating for 12." Dan offered.
"The tribunal is seven, including myself. Plus Sirius and I would assume Remus would want to attend as witness."
Remus nodded in confirmation.
"Okay. I think the sooner the better, honestly. Plus the news will have to be put out to the paper and everything. I wouldn't want to go into Mungos and be cursed because they didn't know I was innocent."
"Someone from the ministry will escort you there the first time to ensure there is no issue. I have the press release for the paper and the wireless ready as well."
"The last thing, and this is not going to go over well, I don't want Harry to attend. He's going to want to. He may fight me on it like he did for this, but I know he will not handle hearing me talk about that night well. I'M not going to handle it well. I don't want him to be upset and I not be in a position to comfort him. Dan? Helen? Will one of you stay with the kids while it happens? Master Sun? I know you're staying here, but will you also sit with them while Remus and I are gone?"
Master Sun nodded. "I will. I may be able to distract them."
Dan and Helen played a quick game of rock/paper/scissors. Helen won, smiling triumphantly. "Yes, I'll stay with the kids, Dan will go with you." Dan chuckled under his breath, putting his arm around his wife.
"I would like to attend the tribunal if possible. I will need your ministry stamp to release the Black's full holdings as well as the transfer of the Potter assets named in the will to Sirius once he's cleared," Firecrest said.
"That works. If you wouldn't mind representing Gringotts, I can settle the recompense transfer as well. Save us all some paperwork and run around." Amelia agreed.
Sirius called for Kylix and requested he call the kids down for dinner. Everyone else stood from their chairs and took the short trek down the hall to the dining room. Sirius sealed the meeting room behind him as he left.
The sound of hurried footsteps announced the trio's arrival. Sirius noted Harry looked better than when they parted. Hermione hovered protectively and Neville followed close behind. Everyone settled in as the elves served the food.
"What did you three decide to do? Cards? Dominoes? Monopoly?" Remus asked.
"Mostly just talked. We weren't quite feeling up for games yet," Harry answered, not looking away from his plate.
Sirius cleared his throat, unwilling to wait any longer. "Well you'll be happy to know Amelia came to a decision." Harry looked up at Sirius with wide eyes. "She's agreed to make me your guardian," Sirius finished quickly, not wanting to worry Harry any further. He hoped the good news would stall the fight of not bringing Harry to the tribunal.
Relief flooded Harry as he and Hermione both visibly relaxed. "When are we doing it?" Harry asked.
"After dinner you three, Master Sun, and Helen will stay here, the rest of us will be going to the Granger's home to start the process."
"What do you mean? We can't be there?"
"Yes. Until all this is settled I'd rather you not leave the Moor. Plus the proceeding will only be the necessary people. It should only take a few hours. The two hour waiting period and the questioning. We'll be back before bedtime," Sirius tried for a cheery, reassuring tone, but Harry still looked like someone plucked his owl.
"Okay. Can Remus take a charmed paper so he can keep us updated? So we have some way to know if something goes wrong?" Harry pleaded. It wasn't nearly the same as being there, but better than being completely in the dark.
Sirius smiled at him. "I think that's a wonderful idea."
"Yeah! You can keep me company while they do all the boring stuff," Remus joked.
Once everyone had eaten their fill and the plates cleared away, the group divided. Everyone that was staying, toward the stairs and everyone that was leaving to the front door.
Remus jogged into the library to quickly charm a pair of parchment lengths. Passing the pair off to Harry, he took the portkeys Hermione offered him. The groups waved at each other before Helen began ushering the kids upstairs.
Not quite able to settle the nervous energy into a board game, Master Sun led the kids past the game room and out onto the veranda. They took seats as hanging lanterns flared to life; the sun having passed the horizon and only the last few dying rays casting a soft orange light over the moor.
Harry spread the parchment out in front of him so he could see if Remus wrote anything.
"I was thinking we could recap the lecture on Healing spells to bring Harry up to speed, as well expand a bit further," Master Sun suggested.
Hermione immediately nodded eagerly.
"Would you like to tell him what we covered, Hermione? That way I can evaluate what you remember and take over on expanding."
"Yes, Sir!" Hermione quickly opened her notebook and glanced at it briefly. "Well we started out learning that this is a difficult branch of magic without first having an understanding what parts make up our bodies and how they heal. Like the bones, muscle, tendons, skin, blood vessels, etcetera. This is because depending on what's injured or how bad, there are spells that heal specific things. So you wouldn't use a bone mending spell on a bruise or scrape. He taught us there are a few diagnostic spells we can learn to cast and learn how to read that will tell us what is injured on someone. And then there are also some first aid and triage spells that are more entry level that he may be able to teach us. But the diagnostic is most important, basically, so you don't just put a bandage on a more grievous wound. Like for internal bleeding or mis-set bone."
Harry knew better than to stare at the paper in front of him instead of listening to Hermione's lecture, so instead, he listened carefully, nodding in all the right parts. When she finished he repeated, "Know the body and how it works, Diagnostic first so you know what's hurt and how bad, then first aid if possible."
"Correct. Both of you. Next I need to caution you from using raw magic to heal. You may instinctively want to try it in the moment of seeing someone hurt in front of you. However this can be the most dangerous use of raw magic. Can any of you guess why?" Master Sun asked.
Neville tentatively raised his hand.
Master Sun smiled. "You don't have to raise your hand. Go ahead, Neville."
"Um, You said we would need a good understanding of how the body works for even specialised spells, but with raw magic, we would need even more because it's all about the intent? Like we would still need to visualise what we wanted, and if we couldn't do that clearly it may go wrong and hurt the person more than help them."
"Yes. Very close. It is mainly your intent. And it circles back to those diagnostics, say you see a gash to the upper arm and you use raw magic to heal all the skin and muscle, and your magic responds and quickly knits the skin back together and repairs the muscle, you keep pushing your magic until you can see no evidence of a wound before letting go. Now the wound is healed, the blood is circulating, the person isn't in pain, but now you've sealed up a contaminated wound and failed to heal the parts that allow the arm to move. The person may get a bad infection and never regain the use of their arm." Master Sun paused briefly for that to sink in.
"Now if a diagnostic is run on that same wound first, you would know exactly the extent of the damage and apply more applicable spells."
"Why wouldn't we be able to use raw magic after doing the diagnostic?" Harry asked. Surely if that spell could detail the issues, it would be enough to focus his intent on.
"Ah, that's a good question. It can be difficult to get the correct amount of magic to heal a patient completely with this type of magic. Few have the control or access to the amount of magic that would be required. The average healer would run the risk of becoming exhausted. And ones that can tap into the well that is wild magic, still run that risk, as it is not always an infinite source; it too has limits and varying degrees of concentration. The few that specialise in healing this way usually work in tandem with another healer, and also in conjunction with traditional healing spells."
"What if I just sent the magic in and didn't focus it on anything other than 'heal'?" Harry asked.
"While it may work to an extent, you run the same risk of something being missed. The main issue for most would be the amount of power required to do a complete job without dropping from exhaustion. It would take a vast amount of magic to do so in that way. Also there are times when things need to be healed in a specific order to heal it correctly. And if you heal it out of order it may cause more harm than good. This is why healing magic is so difficult, it can be very…what's the word… persnickety. You, Harry, would be a good example of good intent doing harm, clearing you of spells should have been a good thing, however the nature of those spells, they should have been slowly diminished, not just vanished. Raw magic would not know the difference. "
"How does working in a team help?" Hermione asked.
"One person to focus on an active diagnostic and to direct, and the other to focus the magic. Even still, pairs like this are very rare. There are maybe 3 worldwide. This is already a difficult branch of magic and few people have a close enough connection to magic to manage it with any success."
The trio all became contemplative at this. As Harry dropped his eyes to the table he saw Remus had scribbled at the top: Testing. Testing. Amelia just sent for the others, she warded the dining room when we got here and set Sirius up to start the clock on his two hours.
Harry grabbed a pen and wrote back: It's working! Has Madame Bones said who the others are yet? Is Sirius comfortable?
He's fine. Already whining that he should have chosen a more comfortable chair. He said to tell Hermione she was an adorable baby. Dan pulled out a photo album to pass the time.
Harry chuckled and pushed the parchment over so Hermione and Neville could read.
"He did not! He always does this , it's so embarrassing." Hermione hid her reddening face behind her hands.
Trying not to laugh, Harry wrote back: she said that's embarrassing. Lol, Write back when the others arrive?
Will do.
Master Sun returned their discussion to healing and continued explaining all the dangers and had them all vocalise their understanding of the risks of healing with raw magic. He went on to explain a basic diagnostic spell and the first aid/triage spell called Episkey.
At the conclusion of his lecture, Master Sun suggested they move inside. His lesson had the desired effect, the kids went in and sat down with Helen at one of the game tables.
Harry smoothed the parchment out before him again and saw Remus had begun to write again.
First set just arrived. Gwain Robards, Kingsley Shaklebolt, Rufus Scrimgeour, they work with Amelia in the DMLE.
Last few just walked in. Mafalda Hopkirk she works in the improper use of magic office. Athur Wesley, you know him. And last is Alastor Moody. He's technically only a ministry consultant now, but he used to be a Hit wizard. Like an auror but more specialised. He retired from full duty this last year and only helps with special cases and training now.
Glad they all made it okay. What's next?
Now we wait. They are all reviewing the evidence collected and Sirius is reading over the questions they are gonna ask once he's under the truth potion. They can't start until the whole 2 hours is up.
Below this, Remus had drawn in a small tic tac toe grid with a mini question mark beside it. Harry smiled at this and played a few games of this with Remus. After three, with Remus winning one and the other 2 being a draw, Harry wrote: Do you know how to play Hangman?
Harry himself had not played the game since muggle school, but it was the only thing he could think of that could work like this, plus he could get the others in on it to win. Remus must have known the game because he had drawn a small hanging stand and the blanks for a five letter word beneath it.
This proved to be the perfect distraction as everyone joined in, guessing letters and offering strategies. They had a great time, eventually escalating from single words to short phrases.
Helen had picked up that Dan was helping Remus as he had picked a phrase they used as a joke at work. She and Hemione were really good at solving the puzzle once Harry and Neville had guessed enough letters.
They had gotten competitive enough that even when Remus said the tribunal was officially starting, Helen was able to talk them all into playing just on their side so Remus could focus. They found a chalk board and some chalk in the art room and used that to continue their game.
Time seemed to fly by with a sufficient distraction. Master Sun had bid them goodnight once he saw they were in good hands with Helen. Offering to have one of the elves fetch him if he was required for anything.
After their games, Helen led the charge down to the kitchens to see if there were any snacks they could raid.
They were all enjoying butterbeer floats when Harry got the message from Remus.
We are finishing up. Not Guilty (of course.) Just have to finish the paperwork. See you soon.
How's Sirius?
Those are hard memories to talk about, but he did great. He'll be okay. Happy that this is done now. Just have to wait to announce it to the public. Arthur was quite surprised, thankfully I just spoke with him and he's still okay with the boys coming over this weekend. What are you up to?
That's good, Ron would freak if we cancelled. We are eating butterbeer floats.
Butterbeer floats? Like with ice cream?
Yes!
Idk how you do that much sugar. I would go into a coma. You're going to be literally bouncing off the walls. You did that once as a baby I'm pretty sure.
HAHA, no way. Even with magic that seems a little out there.
Okay fine, maybe not, but you DID enjoy changing people's hair blue. Padfoot did it as a prank to your dad once and you thought it was the funniest thing every time any of us came to see you, you turned our hair blue. Sirius almost made it permanent a couple times "I really think blue could be my colour, Moony" he would say.
Oh wow, I wish I could see that. Lol
I'll see if I can dig up a picture. I sent most of what I had to Hagrid for your album he put together. But I might have one somewhere, I'll look. Lily loved taking pictures with her dad's old polaroid.
I'd like that, thank you.
Anytime kiddo. Okay looks like they are just about done. Be home soon.
Harry stared fondly at the words in front of him. Hermione gently nudged his side.
"Oh, yeah. Um, Remus said all clear. They are done. Not guilty, just finishing up paperwork and then they will be back." Harry slid the paper over so Hermione could read it as he could feel the curiosity practically rolling off her. She sent him a grateful smile and began reading.
"Well finish up your floats and then we can head out close to the gates and play torch tag while we wait for them to return. Run off some of this sugar," Helen joked.
Seeing the boys' confusion, Hermione quickly explained the rules, and since they didn't have any torches, they would be using the Lumos spell. Helen would use the small pin flashlight she kept on her keychain.
This was how Remus and Sirius found them. Running and giggling like mad near the gates. Flashes of light followed by shouts of surprise or 'Got you!" and laughter. Helen spotted them first.
"Figured if I sugared them up, the least I could do was chase after them for a bit," Helen said slightly out of breath with a wide smile.
"Looks like you were a success. Also, cock-a-doodle-doo? Really?" Remus mocked.
"Hey, you were always guessing O last in the vowels and only guessed D once. It was strategic!"
Remus laughed. "Okay okay, I can admit when I've been bested. I'm a little rusty, I haven't played hangman in ages.
Together they rounded up the children and Remus returned Hermione's portkeys to her. The ladies said their goodbyes and headed home, while the boys all made for the house.
Sirius was quiet on the walk back. Harry and Neville were still slightly wound up, so Remus carried on joking and playing them as they made their way back to the Manor. Once there, they all paused in the foyer.
"Well, um. I'm going to head up for a shower. Meet you in our room, Harry," Neville said. Sensing this may be a family moment, he hurried upstairs to give them some space.
Harry shifted his weight foot to foot. "So everything is done? We're good? You're safe?"
Sirius smiled reassuringly. "We are and I am. Amelia made good on her promises. We have some appointments for the healers next week, both of us, but other than that, yes everything is done."
Sirius and Remus shared a look and Sirius sighed. "I have some things to tell you though. Let's sit in the family room."
They walked back and all took what was becoming their usual seats. "Now, as I told you before, Harry, I don't want to keep things from you. So even though we adults discuss something, I will still tell you the bottom line after if it pertains to you or me, yes?"
"Yeah, okay."
"Right. Well first thing is, Master Sun will be running diagnostics on you during your run. This will be to track the bond that seems to be developing between you and Hermione. He said it's nothing invasive and you likely won't even feel it being cast, but I wanted you to know that was happening."
"Okay, and what's he looking for?"
"Making sure there are no ill effects and tracking if it is progressing or not," Remus supplied.
Harry nodded so Sirius continued. "Next, we found out that Dumbledore found out about the tribunal. He didn't attempt to hinder it, per se, but he did attempt to be included. He has been attempting to get in contact with Amelia, most likely regarding your whereabouts, however she had been avoiding him. It helps that she is a very busy lady."
"How did he find out?"
"One of the people that was on the council, Shacklebolt, was not informed Dumbledore was not part of the plan. Dumbledore initially pretended to be in on everything, but when Shaklebolt realised he actually wasn't, he shook him off and told Amelia immediately. It was a small leak, as he didn't get much information that wasn't already widely known from him. Shack is a good auror, Dumbledore just knows how to get what he wants from people." Sirius ran a hand tiredly over his face.
"So no issues then? He just made a fuss that he wasn't included?"
"Yes and no. Remember how I said we have appointments at the healers? He also found out about that. It doesn't matter when we schedule that for, there are portraits in the hospital that report to the headmaster. Once we show up there, he will know."
"Can we disguise ourselves?"
"We will take every precaution we can, but there is a very real possibility he will have an opportunity to see you," Remus answered.
"This may work for us, as it gives us a safe place for this to happen. We knew it would happen eventually, at least this will be in our favour. We will have an auror escort to make sure everything goes smoothly, plus plenty of witnesses. We need to know if school is going to be safe for you to return, the only way we can do that is to talk to him. Now we can plan for it instead of him catching us by surprise," Sirius said.
Harry mulled this over. He really didn't know what his feelings were on Dumbledore. On one hand he was still a bit scared of what the headmaster might do, but on the other hand he was so mad, he wanted an opportunity to say he wouldn't be a puppet ever again. Plus if Sirius and Remus and an auror were there, then he would probably be safe.
"So," Harry began hesitantly, "It would be like a prank? On Dumbledore? He thinks he can surprise us, but we will surprise him?"
A slow grin stole over Sirius's face. "I like the way you think, Pup. We'll make a marauder out of you yet."
Remus rolled his eyes with a fond smile. "And here I thought I had grown out of pranking headmasters. We can discuss the specifics of that after the weekend."
Sirius nodded in agreement. "Too right. The Weasleys will be here tomorrow. Before we head to bed, Harry, did you have any other questions?"
This stumped Harry for a moment. He was never allowed to ask questions. The Dursleys detested questions. Harry was a freak and a burden with dead parents and that's all he needed to know.
Suddenly overcome with emotion Harry gave a quick shake of his head and made to leave. Sirius, unsure of what was happening, caught Harry by his sleeve to halt him.
Harry panicked and ducked, pulling abruptly from Sirius's grasp in the process, sending him tumbling to the floor. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't." Harry scooted away repeating himself incoherently, making himself as small as possible.
"Whoa. shh. It's okay. You did nothing wrong," Sirius immediately dropped to his knees and lowered his palms to the floor, staying just out of arm's reach. "Harry. You aren't in trouble. Can you hear me? It's Sirius, Remus is just behind me. We won't hurt you."
A gold mist began to settle over Harry. "Breath Harry. Just like Master Sun taught you. I'm right here, you are safe." Sirius repeated this twice more before Harry gave a shuddering breath and the mist began to fade.
It took a few minutes before Harry relaxed his tense position and saw Sirius in front of him. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Sirius shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Can I help you up?" He waited until Harry's hesitant nod before slowly offering his hand and pulling Harry to his feet.
"I don't want to upset you further or push you back into that headspace, so we can try to talk about what just happened a bit later if you'd like. For now, do you need anything?" Sirius asked.
Remus passed him a small bite sized chocolate sweet, which he took robotically. Stalling, he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. Once he swallowed he took another deep breath. "I…I'm not sure. I think I'd just like to go to bed if that's okay."
A realisation suddenly dawned on Harry and he turned abruptly, saying quickly over his shoulder as he ran from the room, "Oh no! Hermione!"
The two men shared a look of confusion before following after Harry. They found him scribbling down a note and as they entered he held it up and it disappeared from his hand.
"What just happened? Is she okay?" Sirius asked.
"I think Harry may be worried he has upset Hermione with what he just experienced in the other room. Yes? And the letter was to tell her you're okay?" Remus supplied.
Harry nodded sheepishly. "I got a sudden feeling of worry and..protectiveness? that wasn't mine. I realised she must have felt..me. I didn't want her to show up here and get in trouble with her parents or continue to worry."
"I should have waited for you to charm the paper," Harry added suddenly tilting his head, "I think she's annoyed she can't write back."
Remus chuckled and summoned a pair to charm for him. "I should make you a bundle of paper pairs for you so you have them ready."
Passing the finished pair over to Harry, Harry took one and quickly sent it on its way. Next he picked up his pen and wrote a message at the top.
"We can leave you to that then. But, are you okay for now? Is there anything I can do or get for you?" Sirius asked, drawing the conversation back.
Harry declined again so Sirius gave him a hug, told him not to stay up too late, and trailed behind Remus up the stairs.
Harry turned his attention back to the note before him.
You still feel off. You want to talk about it?
Not really, Harry wrote, I just had a bad minute. My magic still kinda feels like bees, it will pass.
Bees?
Yeah, like it's buzzing around. Unsettled. Idk how to describe it other than…bees.
Maybe when you go to the healers, you can tell them about it and they can fix it? Or tell you how to prevent it?
You know about the healers?
Dad filled mom and me in when we got home.
Oh. duh. …I don't want them to think I'm crazy though.
Idk I think after all you've been through they won't judge you for anything. Plus doctors are supposed to want to help, not judge you. And if you get a mean doctor, tell Sirius and he will find you the BEST doctor.
You think?
Yeah, he gives off that energy. Remember what he said about the parseltongue thing and the media?
True. That makes sense.
What about Remus? You two seemed to be getting on better.
Yeah, I feel like he's more of that person I caught a glimpse of when I first met him. Maybe because we are a ways from the next moon?
Maybe because we know his secret and he knows we aren't going to reject him. Must be comforting.
True. Harry paused with his quill hovering over the page; unsure how to put into words what he wanted to say next.
Harry? What's up? You can tell me. You don't have to, but I'm here.
I want to, I'm just not sure how to say it without it sounding…rude? But I'm kinda worried about seeing Ron tomorrow.
You think he'll feel left out?
A little of that for sure. But also the fact that he's my best mate and he's going to be the "last" to know everything. I don't want him to be jealous of Neville. Or you.
Idk. Just be honest with him and his feelings may be a little hurt, but if he really wants to be your friend then he'll come around. We can't change the past but we can make sure he's included now.
Makes sense. Thanks, Mi.
I should get to bed, I told Sirius I wouldn't stay up late.
I should be in bed too. Goodnight
Night
Harry sat there for a moment longer, thinking about what he could say to Ron. All he knew was that Ron was his first ever friend his own age. A friend that heard he wasn't going to get a Christmas gift and wrote home to make sure Harry had gifts to open Christmas morning. He seemed okay in his letters, so hopefully that meant they would be okay.
Harry dragged himself upstairs. He found Neville sitting up in his bed, reading what looked like one of the animal encyclopedias. He grabbed his pjs and quickly changed in the bathroom.
When he came back, Neville had put the book away.
"All good?" Neville asked.
"Eh, for the most part. Sirius is good and the press should be releasing info on the morning editions. The rest I'll tell you about when Ron gets here, that way I don't have to keep saying it."
"No worries, today was a long day. I'm exhausted, so I can only imagine how you must feel."
Harry nodded and settled into bed. He and Neville said their goodnights and put out the lights.
AN: Thanks for reading! FFN has really been messing up my formating and erasing all my breaks and bold/italics. it take twice as long to post here. So if it still doesnt look right and you want a better experience, try me over on AO3. same screen name and story title.
If anyone was really hoping to listen in on the tribunal and what was happening "off screen" let me know, If there is enough interest I can post it as a OS. Follow me on tiktok (same screen name) for updates and extra info. I'm trying to be more active to get this thing finished and posted.
www .tiktok kaystar742?_t=8qTGXNX5w8A&_r=1 [copy and remove spaces, add dotcom/ after tiktok, this platform removes it]
this chapter moved things forward a bit, I know everyone is waiting on the Weasley weekend. We will see how Ron reacts! Will he be the kid that sacrificed himself on a life-sized chess board, or the tosser that abandoned Harry over the Triwiz tournament? We shall see!