Author's Note: Hi! While this isn't my first fanfic, this IS my first time writing fanfic for Harry Potter, even as an active member of the fandom for years. I hope you enjoy this story, and comments/reviews are appreciated and welcomed!
This story will take place before Harry's third year, after the Marge incident. Also, I fully recognize there are accents written into the HP verse by Rowling, but in consideration of my inexperience with writing accents, and to prevent Grammarly from putting my head on a pike, I have elected to ignore them.
Harry had a death grip on the bed of the Knight Bus as the vehicle raced along Britain's streets. Had he any other way to reach the Leaky Cauldron, he would've taken it in a heartbeat; Quidditch was rough, but even the worst games felt like heaven compared to whatever this abomination of public transport was.
"Rough ride?"
Harry turned, seeing a tall man wearing a long coat standing at the foot of the bed. A mask covered half his face, and Harry could only see his eyes.
"I- I guess so," Harry replied, trying to be polite.
The man grunted as he sat on the bed beside Harry, and faced him.
"I believe you've heard of Sirius Black?" He coughed, his voice slightly rough, as if worn down from use.
Harry paused; was this man a muggle? Harry had only heard the name on the muggle tellie.
No, Harry had summoned the Knight Bus by raising his wand, so the man had to be a wizard. A Muggleborn then?
He nodded a bit, though it was almost indiscernible to his bouncing at the Knight Bus' movements. "I saw him on the news. He escaped from prison, right?"
The man nodded. "Azkaban to be precise. I believe you know of it?"
"One of my friends, Hagrid, got sent there last year for a bit," Harry confirmed.
The man's coal-black eyes seemed to grow darker. "Yes, I've heard of it..." He waved a hand. "Where are my manners? I am Thanatos Marime. I am here to work on the Black case, mostly as a favor to Amelia-"
"Who?" Harry blinked.
"Amelia bones," Thanatos replied. "Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, otherwise known as the DMLE. Think of her as a police chief; she's strict but fair, and you never want to get on her bad side."
"Anyway," Thanatos continued, leaning forward. "I understand your frustrations about Sirius Black, but it is ill-advised to go after him, Mr. Potter."
Harry did a double take. "How-"
Thanatos raised an eyebrow. "I have been doing this for years, Mr. Potter, I am capable of recognizing people. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody about you."
Harry eyed him suspiciously. "You're here because of Sirius Black, but what does have to do with me?"
Thanatos paused and tilted his head somewhat. "Do you not know about him, Mr. Potter? About his connection to your parents?"
Harry almost let his excitement about finding out things about his parents get to him.
Instead, he shook his head. "I was raised by muggles, I don't know much about my parents."
"Well, I suppose I should tell you, if just for you to understand," Thanatos mused. "Sirius Black was, in his youth, a friend to your parents, particularly your father, James Potter. They were like brothers. However, Black would go on to betray them to Voldemoi and kill another of your father's friends, Peter Pettigrew, along with twelve muggles."
Harry's knuckles were white from his grip on the bed, and his face morphed into a snarled mix of shock and anger. He didn't even notice the odd way Thanatos had said Voldemort's name.
"Why?" He ground out, knowing that blowing up at the man before him wouldn't bring any good.
Thanatos shrugged. "Some believe it was his inheritance, coming from the Black family. Others believe he went mad from the stress of war, and still others believe he might have acted under the Imperious."
The last word caused Harry to pause. "What's that?"
"The Imperious Curse is one of the three Unforgivable Curses," Thanatos explained calmly. "Usage of any of them on a human will result in a lifetime sentence to Azkaban. The Unforgivables are the Killing Curse, with which you are familiar. The Cruciatus Curse is a torture spell comparable to hundreds of red-hot knives, and the Imperious Curse, which overrides the victim's mind and makes them a slave to the caster, unable to do anything."
Harry shivered slightly; Thanatos' tone was cold as he explained, chipped like stone and almost haunting. The eyes were lifeless as if Harry stared at some kind of void instead of eyes.
"The Imperious in particular," Thanatos continued his explanation. "is tedious to detect. Not impossible, mind you, simply difficult, as it holds no outward signs except for glazing of the eyes. If Black were truly under this spell, then he'd be able to kill his friends, though he'd hold no memory of it."
Harry paused, and his brows furrowed. "So is he innocent?"
"That-" Thanatos stood as the Knight Bus stopped. "-is up for debate, Mr. Potter. No inspection has been done on his case, but there is no such thing as a certainty when it comes to a person's actions, simply the most common chain of events. Remember Mr. Potter, don't go after him. He is trained far better than you, even if he isn't a Death Eater."
With that, Thanatos disboarded the Knight Bus, leaving Harry with answers, but more questions than he could answer.
Harry blinked after the Knight Bus began moving again. How had Thanatos known all of that? It was one thing to have information about a famous criminal, but to know that Sirius Black had been friends with his father?
Thanatos had said Sirius Black and Harry's father had been like brothers, but why did Black betray him if that were true?
"Imperious..." Harry muttered, wishing he had Hedwig with him to send a letter to Hermione. She would know more about it than him.
Harry's brows furrowed again. If Black had been under the Imperious, why didn't the Ministry do anything? Thanatos had said it was only difficult to detect, not impossible, so it should've been spotted had it been true. Did nobody question his father's supposed best friend going rogue out of nowhere?
The thoughts continued to bother him until the Knight Bus jerked to a stop, nearly sending him flying, and the driver announced they'd arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry dismounted the Bus, silently relieved even as he thanked Ernie. The Knight Bus disappeared with a bang, and Harry was left standing before the inn with nothing but his trunk, Hedwig's cage, and his wand to him.
He walked in, not paying any mind to the hustle and bustle of the Cauldron. Even past nighttime, there were still people here, looking for a pint or five.
"Hey, Tom," Harry greeted the innkeeper with a smile.
Tom looked up and smiled. "Oh, bloody hell, Harry. Thank goodness you're alright. Here, do you want anything?"
Harry shook his head. "No, not right now, thank you."
"There you are!" A voice sighed, making Harry jump.
A hand landed on Harry's shoulder, followed by a somewhat frantic and portly man wearing a bowler hat.
"Harry, I'm glad you're alright," The Minister spoke to him like Harry was some old friend.
"Er, thanks?" Harry replied, confused beyond belief.
He'd seen the Minister last year, but given that it'd been under an Invisibility Cloak, it wouldn't be good to mention the fact.
"My apologies," Fudge told him after they'd entered a private room. "I'm Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. I'm sure you've heard of me."
Harry nodded. He could at least acknowledge that much.
"Well, I will say, Harry," Fudge began as he poured some tea that Tom had brought. "You had us all in a right fright when you ran off like that. I almost thought... but you're safe, that's the important part."
Fudge continued to talk to Harry, telling him that Marge had been deflated and that his aunt and uncle were willing to take him in during the next summer.
Oddly, there was no punishment for breaking the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, which didn't track at all with Harry's previous record with the Ministry.
After everything was settled, Fudge left to get a room for Harry, leaving him to his thoughts.
Something nagged at the back of his mind, telling him there was something wrong. Thanatos had told him about Black and warned him not to engage with the man, and now the Minister of Magic himself was involved? Just how dangerous was Black?
Harry frowned. There was something he was missing, he could feel it. There was something off about the way the Minister and Tom talked- as if they'd expected the worst.
Fudge reentered the room. "Well, Harry! Room Eleven's open; I'm sure you'll be comfortable there."
He cleared his throat a little. "Just one thing, and I'm sure you'll understand the concern. Don't go out after dark, and avoid Muggle London. We wouldn't want to lose you again, do we?"
Harry stared at the Minister, questions heavy on his tongue. "Is this about Black?"
Fudge nearly dropped his cloak, and his body stiffened like he was doing a high-level mannequin impression.
"Ah, well, you've heard..." Fudge laughed a bit forcefully. "No... no, no luck yet. But the guards are rather angry, I'm sure they'll get him quickly."
Harry's brows furrowed. "But that's not what I as-"
"WELL! I must get going now," Fudge smiled. "Enjoy the rest of your summer, Harry. I'm sure you'll find plenty to do here."
Fudge left without a word, and Harry was guided to his room by Tom, who also remained oddly silent.
"HEDWIG!" Harry cried as he entered the room, seeing the majestic owl perched on the window.
"Smart owl you got there," Tom told him. "Got here five minutes after you did. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
Harry was half-tempted to ask about Sirius Black, but a voice in the back of his head told him that would be like asking about Voldemort.
Tom left with a bow, leaving Harry alone with Hedwig.
"Hey, girl," Harry whispered as he walked over and stroked her feathers. "It's been a very weird night."
Hedwig squawked as if to say, 'I agree.'
"Something's not right, Hedwig," Harry whispered. "I'm not sure what, though."
The smell of polished wood filled his nostrils as he leaned against the windowsill, staring out at the golden-pink sky of early dawn.
"Do you know anything?" He asked her.
Hedwig chirped and almost seemed to shrug, making him sigh.
"Hopefully the rest of this year isn't as eventful."
Harry, without even removing his glasses, collapsed onto the soft bed and fell asleep, the stress and exhaustion overwhelming him.
High above the Leaky Cauldron, far past what any normal person would be able to see, flew a large crow staring down at the half-fixed building.
The crow flew in circles for a bit before it swooped down onto a nearby rooftop.
Thanatos transformed out of his Animagus form, crouching on the roof.
"Yeah, he's here," He muttered, touching an earpiece. "Safe and sound so far. When do you think we should move?"
"You'll be out there more," A woman's voice came through the earpiece. "Get him used to you. I might be too overwhelming for him in the beginning."
Thanatos smiled. "As if I'm not? The kid's only able to speak to me 'cause he's seen me before, albeit in a rather odd fashion."
"Yeah, but he's more likely to talk to you," The woman replied. "Especially after what you told him about Black. Stay on the lookout?"
Thanatos groaned. "I swear you're only keeping me out here so you can hog the shower."
He could almost hear the grin on the other end. "Maybe, but you wouldn't know that."
.
Author's Note: As you can tell, Harry's a bit more questioning in this fic. Mostly cause, in canon, he's shown to be somewhat smart. Not Hermione levels, but smart enough (and strong enough) to cast a Patronus at 13? C'mon, that's a pretty impressive feat. Also, he can be aware of things that interest him, so I'm just shifting his interests a little.