Tribe of mystics: Reworked

by Lord of mystics

This is a rewritten version of the earlier story of the same name. Some incidents in the story have been rewritten in detail so that any unanswered questions can be addressed.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N-Shout out to my brilliant editor, Hypergym who own touches are adding more shine to this rewrite.

BLACK TOWNHOUSE, LONDON

This was Harry's third time using the Floo network. After the turning, twisting, bumpy ride, the tall fireplace at the Black Townhouse disgorged him into the well lit kitchen. He promptly stumbled forward, landing face first, on the polished basalt floor, in a tangle of his own robes and a puff of ashes. At least he didn't have to worry about breaking his glasses anymore.

Seeing his epic exit from the floo, someone barked in laughter. Harry was more embarrassed than hurt from his spectacular exit. His face turned red as he pushed himself up from the floor and brushed off the ashes but all that was forgotten when he saw Sirius standing near him, laughing so hard that he had tears in his eyes, "Just like James, godson. He too used to make such dramatic exits from the floo."

Seeing Sirius, Harry leapt and threw himself into the older man's arms who embraced him. After having hugged Harry to his heart's content Sirius let go and turned to him, "Now that you are here, we have a lot to do in very little time. Come with me."

Saying so, he led him and others to a room, where there was a large table made of pristine black marble that could easily seat 20. There was a chandelier hung from the ceiling with candles burning in the sconces illuminating the room. This was the formal dining-room where the walls were of a lighter colour and the lights from the chandelier danced on the walls forming patterns of animals like a snake, a hippogriff, a basilisk (Harry shuddered remembering the one he had slain), a unicorn, a dragon and even a mermaid.

Turning to Remus, Sirius said, "How were the muggles? Did they give you any trouble? I hope you had some fun with them."

Remus smirked, "Oh yes, I had some fun alright! I wish you could have been there to see it, Padfoot. In fact, I did a few more curses in your honour. Mr. Harsh Vardhan was most helpful in suggesting some truly devious curses and hexes. If I did not already know better, I would have said that he was a marauder."

Then he proceeded in detail to tell all that took place at the Dursley's. By the time he was finished, Sirius banged the table with his fist laughing while Dumbledore tried to look stoic but his facade crumbled. When Sirius turned towards him, he lost his calm and started laughing too.

It took a while before everyone calmed down and Harry turned to Sirius, "What is this place, Sirius?"

"This Harry is the townhouse of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. For the foreseeable future, it will also be your residence, a place that you can call home."

"But how can it be my home? I mean I am a Potter but I am not a Black", Harry replied.

"You are every bit as much a Black as you are a Potter, Harry. You are the heir of three bloodlines that I know of. You are the heir of the Peverell and Potter bloodlines from your father's side. You are also the heir to the Black family because your grandmother was my great aunt and you are my heir being my godson", he replied.

"But Sirius, there may be others who have a better claim than me. I mean, sure you are not married now but you could marry and have a son. And that son can be your heir. Why would you make me your heir?", he asked.

"In our world, being a godson to a wizard or witch is tantamount to being as dear to them as their own son. If they don't have any children or can't have any children, the godson can inherit from them if the godparent wishes it to be so", Sirius started saying, his voice full of pain, "Being the guest of the Dementors for 12 years deprived me of the ability to have an heir. Even if I were to marry, I cannot procreate but that point is moot. I decided on you being my heir when Marlene was killed. She was the only one that I ever thought to marry and I definitely had no plans to have a bastard child."

Seeing his pain, Harry realised that Sirius did not ever have the chance to grieve for his losses. He lost everyone he held dear in the war and was then chucked straight into Azkaban, cut off from the world. He retreated into himself and Padfoot took control of him for the majority of those years. Now that he was out of Azkaban, he was mourning for all the loss he had suffered. Sirius lost a part of himself when James was killed and his love when Marlene was killed. He could not imagine having found someone who loved him that much and then having to live the rest of his life without her. At least, fate had spared him that pain. Sirius was still mourning and his heart bled for all the losses that he had suffered. May be, now that he was free, he would be able to move on someday.

Remus comforted Sirius. He looked as broken as Sirius did. Yet Remus was consoling his friend, patting his arm and telling him that it was all okay. He was another broken soul that Harry had never cared about. Yes, it was true that Remus had never sought him out in all the years since he was left at Privet Drive but now Harry began to understand his reasons for doing so. He was a werewolf and he was even afraid of his own shadow. Even when he taught at Hogwarts, he kept his distance from Harry but the way that he acted at the Dursleys told Harry everything about him that he needed to know. Harry recently read in a book that werewolves could not procreate amongst themselves and thus, in many documented cases, they were found to be fiercely protective of children that they came to see as their own. But he had to hear it from Remus about why he did not try to contact him even once.

"Remus, I know you don't socialise with people thinking that you can hurt them, but why didn't you try to contact me even once during all those years that I remained at the Dursleys?"

Dumbledore took the narrative at that point, "Let me tell this to you, my boy. When your parents were killed and Sirius was sent to Azkaban, it was the end of the world for him. You know, Sirius had a closer bond with your father James and Remus was more comfortable with Peter during their school days. His mother, Hope Lupin nee Howell, who was a very remarkable and kind lady had died shortly after your grandparents died. With his mother dead and your grandparents having died before them, he already was having a very tough time. That Halloween night, everything that he had worked for in his life ended and Remus had nothing left to live for. He was overcome by grief and found solace in alcohol. Lord Charlus Potter, who always saw Remus as his third son, left him some gold in his will but Remus went through it all in the next three years, drowning himself in fire whiskey. I tried to find him but he had given up on life, staying away from anyone and everyone who knew him in his past life. We learned nothing about him for the next three years. I don't know what changed but after that time, he turned up in front of the Gargoyle that guards the entrance to my office. He had changed so much that everyone had a hard time recognizing him. For one thing, he was so frail that he looked like he could be knocked over by a gust of wind. He had a beard which was quite dense and scraggly and bloodshot eyes, looking like a drunk would but he was sober that morning. The only one that recognized him was Minerva McGonagall and that only because she relies more on the senses of her feline form. He begged me to tell him where you were so that he could find you and care for you the way his brother James would have wanted. He had thought that perhaps Minerva would have taken you in or some other friend of your family did. When I told him where you were, well, I was scared because he almost lost control that day. He demanded that I let him see you but I knew of the peril that you were in and could not tell him. For the next 6 months, he hounded me with the request. Finally, I told him where he could find you but that he could not enter the house at Privet Drive due to the wards that were present at that place. He watched you coming and going to school and tried to introduce himself but balked at the last moment because if he did introduce himself, he had nothing to offer you. You looked so malnourished, beaten and worn out that he could not face you due to his shame. He thought that he had no right to give you hope for a life away from the Dursleys without having the means to do so.

That night, Remus left magical Britain telling me that he was going to seek his fortune elsewhere and went to Germany. There he did a lot of jobs but could not keep any of them due to his furry little problem. Germany is sympathetic to werewolves but they still register, track and keep records on them. Not wanting to give up his freedom, he never told them. He changed countries from time to time looking to make his fortune and kept me updated with his whereabouts. Time went by and you arrived at Hogwarts. He was in France when he heard of Sirius's breakout from Azkaban and it was there that I found him. For the last year, he has been trying to track Peter down after his escape from Hogwarts. When he heard about what happened at the third task, he rushed to your side."

Harry felt an intense stab of love for the werewolf who had given up so much for him. He stood up from his place, went to Remus and hugged him quite fiercely making Sirius smile. After Remus was able to calm him down, he moved back to his seat. Today he realised why James had called Remus his brother and he would be damned before he gave up on his family.

"So, the next point of order is," Dumbledore's voice broke him out of his musings, "What do we do next before you have to go to Bharat. There are certain things that must be done. We should decide the order of things and act quickly for time is short."

"I would like to meet my friends", said Harry eagerly, knowing this might be the last time he would see them for a long time.

"That is easily done, my boy", replied Dumbledore cheerfully "who would you like to meet?"

"I would like to see Neville, Susan and Hermione", he said eagerly.

"I am afraid you won't be able to meet Ms. Granger at this time because she already left Britain earlier this evening for France where I believe her parents have taken her for a vacation", Dumbledore said while pondering over the fact that Harry had not named Ronald Weasley among the friends he wanted to meet before he had to leave.

"Also you can meet Miss Bones tomorrow at the ancient manor of the House of Bones", said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, "In fact, I have an invitation to that effect for you and it is quite insistent, I suppose laced with compulsion charms done by Miss Bones, pestering me to tell you and not to fall to my old wayward ways."

Harry's face went red while others around him chuckled at the statement of the headmaster.

"Mr. Potter", said Harsh Vardhan, "we have 3 days before we will go. You can tend to all the business that you need to but I must insist that we have to make haste after 3 days from now. You can also meet Mr. Longbottom tomorrow. We have a little business in St. Mungo's where Mr. Longbottom and Dowager Longbottom have kindly acquiesced to allow me to see Frank and Alice Longbottom."

Harry was happy to hear that he would have a chance to meet Neville tomorrow and may be his godmother, no matter that she cannot recognise him.

"I must take your leave gentlemen", said Harsh Vardhana who simply vanished from the room. With the exception of Harry, this was a jaw dropping surprise for everyone there. Harsh was a powerful wizard. Surely, disapparating was no challenge for him. Why did this surprise everyone else?

Remus looked at Sirius with his eyes wide, "Umm Padfoot, did you by any means forget to raise the anti-apparition ward?"

"No Moony. I raised all the war wards. He should not have been able to Disapparate from here. Now that I think about it, he did not come in through the floo either. What do you say, Albus?", Sirius asked Dumbledore.

"There is little that is impossible for him to do, When I met him for the first time, he had just apparated into the castle, bypassing the entire ward scheme as if it didn't exist", Dumbledore said, "I believe we have just witnessed him performing the same feat. That did not look or sound like the apparition we ordinary wizards use. Then again, he is a Mystic. They have more ways and secrets than we will ever know. If one of them ever worked for The Department of Mysteries, they would never let him leave."

"Professor can you explain what you mean? I mean, what's this business about anti-apparition wards?", Harry asked.

Dumbledor explained, "First, as you know we have a means of travel called apparition. I believe muggles would call it teleportation. We bring instructors into Hogwarts every year to teach it to the students that are coming of age. Even among us, many never quite manage it or find it so uncomfortable that they prefer to travel by other means. Second, at Hogwarts, with the sole exception of the Great Hall during apparition instruction, it is impossible to apparate anywhere on the grounds because of anti-apparition wards. This is for the security of the students and the school. Third, we are at war meaning that the war wards of this place are active. An essential part of any war ward scheme is anti-apparition wards and the Black Townhouse is no exception, meaning that Mr. Harsh Vardhan disappearing like that was quite an amazing feat."

Suddenly there was a noise at the front door, signalling the arrival of other guests. Sirius stood, rubbing his hands and looking eager, "I believe the members of the Order of the Phoenix have just arrived."

As if on cue, the door opened and many people entered one after another into the dining room. There were Molly and Arthur followed by Bill, Fred and George, Severus Snape, a young woman with a heart shaped face and purple hair who tripped over something unseen, a big black man who was a hulking mass of muscles with a ring in his left ear, a witch with regal looks about her, another stern witch, Dedalus Diggle (he remembered the man he had met when he returned to the wizarding world in the Leaky Cauldron), an old and wheezy looking man, a square jawed wizard who had serious looks about him, Professors McGonagall and Snape, Alastor Moody looking gruff as usual, a little sneaky looking man who was going bald and to his immense surprise, Amelia Bones. The stern witch was casually looking around the table, her monocle in place.

"Now that we are here, this is the first meeting of the reconvened Order of the Phoenix", Dumbledore started in a professional manner, "There were many members in this order when it was first started who have since left us and we have been able to recruit a few new people in our ranks since we have reconvened. I believe that introductions are in order so we can know each other better.

He turned to Harry, "Harry, this is Nymphadora Tonks", he said indicating the young woman with the heart shaped face and purple hair, "She is the newest Auror in the forces of the ministry and she is a very powerful witch."

"Head Master, my name is Tonks", she scowled at the headmaster before turning to Harry, "Wotcher, Cousin". Harry had no idea how he was related to the woman but he decided to wait until introductions were done to ask any questions.

Dumbledore continued the introductions by first pointing to the big black man, "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, senior Auror and in-charge of the hunt for Sirius Black."

He then turned to the stern woman with regal looks, "This is Emmaline Vance, a hit-witch and sitting next to her is Hestia Jones, another Auror. Sitting next to Hestia is Elphias Doge, then Dedalus Diggle whom I believe you are acquainted with, the one next to him is Sturgis Podmore (the square jawed wizard) and the man next to Professor Snape is Mundungus Fletcher. I believe you are already acquainted with Madam Bones."

Harry exchanged polite nods with everyone while Dedalus Diggle enthusiastically greeted him.

"To get it out of the way, Madam Bones has declined to become a part of our Order because she is head of the DMLE but she has assured us of her support in all activities that would be necessary to stop Voldemort (the majority of people in the room flinched) and his death eaters. However, the said support doesn't extend to those members of this Order that resort to rule breaking or violating the law for their own personal gain.", Dumbledore said, glaring at Mundungus Fletcher, "Now the next point of this meeting is to induct new members. I was willing to induct Harry into the Order but the Order does not admit minors into its ranks so I can't make him a member. But today I am going to induct Mr. William Weasley and Misters Fred and George Weasley, who became of age this April. However let it be known that while I don't recruit Harry Potter into our ranks, he will be informed of all the developments that take place."

Molly objected, "No, they are still school children. You can't be serious (Sirius wanted to interject that he was Sirius). I will not allow this", she said with her arms crossed over her chest.

Harry wanted to insist that he join the Order but seeing Sirius give him a subtle shake of his head, he kept his silence. Inside he was fuming. Things didn't remain changed for very long. The adults around him were treating him like a child again, trying to protect him and keeping information away from him. It was grating on his nerves because Harry had done a lot to deserve to know every bit of information that the Order had. With the way the adults were deciding things as if he were not in the room, it would be a miracle if the adults did something for him without his asking.

Arthur, looking haggard and careworn turned towards her, "Molly, you know very well that you can't stop them from letting Harry know everything and if he chooses, to fight this war. People responsible for him have decided that he is eligible."

"No, Harry is just a child. He needs to play Quidditch, go to school, chase after girls and not worry about the war!", she ranted, "This is not his war. It is our responsibility to keep children away from the war and harm."

"Molly", Sirius started sadly, "in a perfect world, I would absolutely agree with you. I too want Harry to be a child and live as others his age do. In fact, Harry hasn't done even half of the things that we did in Hogwarts when we were his age. But this is not a perfect world. Voldemort (she gasped) is out there and has proven that he can get to Harry no matter what we do. Harry has already faced and defeated him four times and that is more than anyone else can say. We also know that he had luck on his side in all those encounters but we can't expect him to survive merely by luck. He is the only one who can defeat Voldemort for good. By pretending that we can keep him away from war then refusing to train or inform him, we can only harm him. Your concerns are valid but as his godfather, I have already agreed to do whatever it takes to make him the best wizard that he can be."

"But you have never been there to care for him, were you Sirius?", she said nastily, "I was there for him when he came to my home skinny, small and malnourished, not having known love.".

"Enough!", snapped Harry, "Mrs. Weasley, I appreciate everything that you and your family did for me but Sirius is my godfather. This is his decision. You will not speak to the blood heir of Black in that way and under his own roof to boot."

"Listen here, young man, I did not raise you this way. You will not talk to me like that.", she said sternly.

Molly was getting on Harry's nerves. The injustice of rubbing it in Sirius's face that he was in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit instead of being there to raise Harry; Saying that she raised him when all she had ever been able to do is show him a few weeks hospitality; and her pointless badgering to try and keep Harry out of the fight that only he had a chance to win. With all that boiling up inside of him, he was getting ready to really let her have a piece of his mind, but before he let loose, Snape of all people interjected, "Molly, Potter is the only one who can defeat the dark lord. Why can't you understand that? I am not in favour of letting children fight wars either, but look around you; this is the only real resistance that we are able to offer at the moment. We need a leader and Dumbledore cannot lead us anymore, he is not the same as he used to be and no one here is as powerful as Potter who can stand up to the Dark Lord."

Snape coming to his defence surprised Harry. Now that he did, he noticed some subtle changes in Severus Snape. He still carried the haughty look but the disdainful sneer wasn't there to see. There were dark circles under his eyes and his tone lacked its usual vitriol. He wasn't the only one that noticed because Sirius and Remus also looked surprised at this. He could see that Molly was going to open her mouth to deny his assertions but she was cut off before she began by Amelia Bones, "I think it is time that I make an announcement that I have been sitting on. Earlier this afternoon, I was able to obtain guardianship of Harry Potter by filing the appropriate paperwork with the ministry since I knew he would be leaving the care of the muggles today."

Harry was overwhelmed by this act of kindness that Madam Bones did for him. He had no relation with her. As far as he knew, she only knew him when Susan introduced him yet she had done this. He could not speak for some time as he sat there pondering, but then he regained his voice, "But how? I mean I am glad that you have done so much for me but do they not require something to grant custody?"

Amelia smiled at the confused teen, "Yes, they require authentication and some proof that shows that I have prior claim over anyone who can claim custody of you. But today, I was able to get access to the operative part of your parents' will which deals with your custody in case of their untimely demise. My brother Edgar Bones and his wife and their legal successors were named as prospective parties to take you in, in case of your parent's death in James and Lily's will. I believe the order of preference was Alice Longbottom followed by Sirius Black, then Edgar and Ellie Bones and their successors and lastly there was mention of Minerva McGonagall, not that her being on that list surprises me considering she was James'' godmother."

Minerva sniffed loudly and Harry saw the usually stern mannered stoic professor wiping her eyes furiously with her tartan handkerchief. Harry was surprised to see the usually stern professor crying but his mind was occupied with another thought.

"Will? My parents had a will?", his anger flared, "I didn't know that they had a will. Why wasn't I told about it?"

Dumbledore answered, "Harry, none of us knew anything about their will. One copy was with their solicitors, Tonks and Vaughan. That office burned to the ground about a week before your parents died. The only other copy was in your family vault at Gringotts. If I had known the contents of that will, I would have placed you with the Longbottoms or the Bones instead of your muggle relatives. Between them, your god-father and Madame Bones managed to persuade the Goblins to make a copy of that will for them and it has been executed. You will be given the original when you next visit the Goblins."

"But am I not going to Saint Mungo's with Mr. Harsh tomorrow?", Harry asked, "I mean I am going to meet Neville and see my godmother tomorrow, right?"

"You will go there and the day after tomorrow you are going to the bank. They have been pretty insistent on having you meet with them lately. It is not wise to anger those who take care of our gold", Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded. The letter he received from the bank had slipped his mind until that moment. May be, he should get it out of the way while he was at it.

Madam Bones continued, "We have digressed from the point, As I said, I am the guardian of Harry Potter now. And in my capacity as his guardian, I allow him to be acquainted with all the intelligence the Order has and I consent to him being trained for war. So I say so mote it be." As she uttered the last words, golden light surrounded her and then vanished into her body.

Molly sighed in defeat. Things were going to go bad soon and her efforts to save those she loved were amounting to nothing. She felt a motherly instinct when it came to Harry and all her children to keep them away from the ugly reality that was the war. She loved Harry Potter like she loved her own sons and wanted to save him like her children but no one backed her up. Sometimes, she had even dreamt of him marrying her daughter and becoming a part of the family seeing how smitten Ginny was with him. But that hope was dashed when Ginny was disenchanted because Harry failed to measure up to "The boy-who-lived" she knew from the books of her childhood. The reason for Molly's fear was that she had lost her brothers Fabian and Gideon in the first war when they were quite young and that hurt had never healed for her. She still missed those two who were mischief incarnate and didn't want anything of the sort to befall Harry or any of her children.

As she mused about what had been, Dumbledore started, "Now, if the new inductees would repeat after me, "I (state your name) hereby agree to join the Order of the Phoenix and to keep the secrets told onto me from anyone and everyone. I shall be loyal to the Order and serve it with all my power. So I say, so mote it be.

Having taken their oath of membership, the three new members were welcomed into the Order by Dumbledore and others who raised glasses of wine in salute to them. After the celebration quieted down, Dumbledore started again, "The next thing on the agenda is the Department of mysteries. We will have to keep a guard posted at the entrance to the department at all times. We will make a roster and keep a rotation so that every night someone different will have the duty to guard it to make sure that anybody who has no business being there cannot sneak in."

"What is the thing in the Department of Mysteries?", asked Harry.

"When we are able to determine that your mind is your own, I will tell you what is in the department of Mysteries. Until then, we will sit on this secret for a little longer", said Dumbledore cryptically and others smirked seeing Harry getting frustrated. It was not that they were getting any overt pleasure from this but they knew that Harry was growing up fast and there were only a few more moments that they could relish seeing him act his own age.

"Now that we have finished all the important business, this meeting is dismissed", Dumbledore said, "For the foreseeable future, this shall be the headquarters of the Order. Any information that you find leave it here with Sirius and he will let me know. There shall be a regular meeting of the Order every two days."

As the Order members left, Harry turned to Dumbledore, "Headmaster, I have some questions to ask of you."

"Sure my boy", Dumbledore said, "What are your questions?"

"It would be better if we do it in private", Harry said, "There are things that need to be asked and you may not want others to hear all of it."

As if on cue, everyone else left the room. Dumbledore locked the doors and then turned to Harry, "What are your questions?"

"Headmaster, as you know, I am the heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter which has an alliance, several centuries old, with other families like Bones, McMillan, Longbottom and who knows how many more. Being the last of the Potters, it is my duty to renew those commitments. You sent me to live with the Dursleys and I grew up not knowing anything about my family. In the last four years, you made no effort to teach me about these things. Why?"

Dumbledore stared at Harry over his half-moon spectacles for a moment before answering, "I hope you can forgive an old man his self-indulgence, Harry. You see, I wished for you to enjoy being a child for a time before you were introduced to all that. You could not sit on the Wizengamot until you became of age at any rate. As for the grand alliance, those families all split into different factions and scattered with the death of James Potter, the last Lord of House Potter. Thus, the grand alliance ceased to be. But, things have changed and now it is urgent that you take your place in our society and renew your family alliances. I fear that I have done you a great disservice by neglecting this part of your education until now."

"That was not for you to decide, Headmaster.", Harry said, "As a Potter, it was for me to decide what to do and what not to do. You didn't have the right to withhold that information from me. I want everything you know about the Great Alliance."

"And you shall have it. I apologise that I did not see to it sooner, my boy. I will try to make it up to you anyway I can", Dumbledore said earnestly, "I am an old man and I have often been blinded by hubris. Unlike you, I don't handle power well and tend to make irrational decisions. I made several decisions for you which were not good in hindsight."

"I am not going to forget this but in the present climate, I know that we need to be united. Now there are a few more questions that I want answered."

"What is it, my boy?"

"All those years at Privet Drive and I never received a letter from anyone until my Hogwarts letter came. Even then I have only received letters from my friends and family. I mean considering the level of craziness people show towards the boy-who-lived, I would expect to have received hundreds of them."

"When you were placed at Privet Drive, I took every precaution to protect you from harm. The night that you were left there, I erected wards around that place to keep out everyone and everything that might harm you. You know for yourself how a letter can contain a curse or a portkey. I met with some officials in the ministry and obtained permission to cast wards to redirect your mail to a room at Hogwarts. There, I examined each piece of mail personally. There were howlers that I chucked straight into the fire. Some letters were cursed, poisoned or contained portkeys. Those were turned over to the Aurors for investigation. The authors of those letters were identified, caught, tried and sent to Azkaban. The rest of your mail is still in that room if you care to go through it."

Harry muttered, "Too bad those wards didn't keep the Dursleys off me." Dumbledore had enough self-awareness to be embarrassed. Then louder Harry asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me that I had more than one account and that I receive quarterly statements from Gringotts?"

"Any and all letters were stopped from reaching you because too many owls in a muggle place could give away your location and compromise your safety", Dumbledore said, "And I know goblins send account statements but since you were little and I had to keep your fortune away and safe from your muggle relatives, I stopped them from getting through to you. However, the letters from the bank stopped when the last Potter Account Manager died 6 years ago. One of the things on my list was to get you acquainted with the bank and its procedures when you turned 15 this summer. Is there anything else that you want to ask?"

"No headmaster", Harry said, "I am content with the answers and I hope that there will be no more secrets between us from now on?"

"Yes, Heir Potter", Dumbledore said.

After that everyone took their leave while Sirius took Harry upstairs to Regulus's old bedroom which had been transformed by the elves working day and night. The room was decorated in cream coloured walls with Gryffindor crimson and gold accents. At some place, the badger yellow also could be seen. On the wall behind the bed, there was a crest. It was two Griffins in flight with wands crossed on a red background. There was another crest which was a simple triangle with a circle within and a drawn between the triangle dividing it and the circle into two halves.

"So Harry, there are a lot of things that I want to talk about", Sirius said, "But before that, tell me if you have any questions for me?"

"When did you meet my father?", Harry asked.

"As you may know, my grandfather Arcturus Orion Black was friends with your grandfather Charlus Fleamont Potter. They were not on friendly terms when they were in Hogwarts but their friendship started when both of them joined the war against Grindelwald. They fought together in the same company, saved each other's lives a couple of times and became fast friends. Charlus's sworn brother Jeremy Longbottom was also there in the war fighting in the same company and often kept them in check to prevent them from going overboard. When the war ended, Grandfather proposed marriage between Lord Potter and Great aunt Dorea Black. I met James when we were 4 years old but after that, I didn't see him again until we went to Hogwarts. Great Aunt Dorea took offense to something that my hag of a mother said and they never visited Grimmauld Place again. So, the first time that I properly met James was when we were going to Hogwarts and we instantly clicked."

"What's up with your enmity with Snape? I mean you all hated each other in school but why?"

"Coincidentally we met Snape on our first train ride to Hogwarts. He grated on our nerves from that moment on. It started with something inane about what houses we would be sorted into. He spouted some nonsense about every house but Slytherin being rubbish and behaved as if he were superior to us. You can see why that would offend 11 years old children. Later, the same trend continued. He treated others with disdain because he knew more curses than many students even in seventh year. Our banter got serious when he pulled his wand on us one day. I am ashamed to say that once it started, it got so bad that we tormented him for nothing. It didn't help that James was always vexed with him because Lilly was Snape's friend but she wouldn't give James the time of day. James, who was an only child, and born very late to Lord Potter was always cherished and pampered. His behaviour reflected that and it grated on Lilly's nerves. She thought he was a show off and nothing more."

While talking, Harry drifted off to sleep and Sirius tucked him into bed before retiring to his own room.

Black Townhouse, The Next Morning

While Harry was normally an early riser, the excitement of the previous day tired him out. Since he was on holiday, he planned to sleep in a bit. That night, he was troubled by nightmares of the third task. It was well past midnight when he finally properly went to sleep. Yes, sleeping in was the plan, but…

A big, black dog padded into the room, sniffing then licking Harry's face. Harry started awake and pushing Padfoot away with both hands, exclaimed, "Gross, Padfoot! What did you do that for?"

Padfoot turned back into Sirius and said, "If you don't get up now, you are going to be very late, Harry. Mr. Harsh Vardhan has already arrived and is waiting for you in the kitchen."

Harry rolled out of bed and spent the next half hour in the bathroom. Properly refreshed, bathed and wrapped in a bath-robe, he returned to the bedroom to get dressed. To his dismay, all that was left in his trunk clothing-wise were his school robes and his formal robe. All the Dudley hand-me-downs, his trainers, socks and underwear were gone. He was trying to figure out what to do because he needed to get dressed and did not want to keep Harsh Vardon waiting any longer than he had to.

A loud crack announced the arrival of a house elf carrying a shopping bag nearly twice his own size. Dobbie proudly announced, "Master's clothes!"

Harry took the bag and emptied it onto the bed. There were three robes, 5 shirts, 5 trousers, 2 belts and two pairs of boots which looked suspiciously like Dragon Hide. At the bottom of the bag were silk boxers, socks of silk, cotton and wool and a dozen monogrammed handkerchiefs. These clothes were of the highest quality that anyone could hope for. Without asking a question, he picked a pair of black trousers, a matching turquoise shirt and robe to wear. Tucking a neatly folded new handkerchief in Gryffindor red into an inner pocket to put the finishing touch to his ensemble, he asked Dobby, "Where did you get the gold to buy these clothes?"

"Master's dogfather be giving Dobby money and telling to buys clothes for master", said the elf.

"Why?", Harry asked.

"Dogfather said master cannot visit his Missy wearing rags", the elf replied.

"My missy? What are you talking about?", he asked. Instead of answering, the elf vanished with another loud crack.

Seeing the clothes reminded Harry that he was not paying Dobby for his services as Sirius paid Winky. He would have to correct that oversight soon.

When he arrived downstairs, Sirius was sitting at the dining table with Remus who was looking equally sleepy eyed as Harry, Dumbledore who looked fresh and Harsh Vardhan who was impassive as usual.

With a grin that showed his even, white teeth, Harsh asked, "Good Morning Mr. Potter, are you ready to tempt fates, start knocking down doors and in general cause mayhem?"

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled as the corners of his beard lifted while Remus smirked and Sirius snorted at the tone of the Mystic's greeting.

"Uh...", Harry gaped, at a loss for words.

"Very eloquent Harry, a come-back worthy of James.", Sirius chortled.

Harry could think of no come-back that would measure up to the standard of snappy set by Sirius. To act like his father in any situation made for very large shoes for him to fill. He was musing over an appropriate answer when Remus took pity on him, "Sirius is taking the mickey out of you, Harry. Take a seat. Let's eat."

After harry sat, the elves served a very generous helping of breakfast. They had pulled out all the stops to prepare a lavish meal for them and it went on enjoyably for quite a while. Harry was happy sitting at that table sharing a meal with the men present. Outside of Hogwarts, he never had the opportunity to share a meal with anyone except the Weasley's but this was better. He was with his godfather and uncle who loved him more than anything.

"Mr. Harsh, where are we going first?", Harry asked.

"We are going to St. Mungo's first to meet your godmother and your god brother Mr. Longbottom since Dowager Lady Longbottom has agreed to let me take a look at Neville's parents to see if something can be done about them" Harsh said.

"How are we going? I mean by floo or portkey or what?" he asked.

"There are many ways for us to get around but today we are going to fly, Mr. Potter", Harsh Vardhan said, smiling.

"You mean brooms? But wouldn't that violate the Statute of Secrecy, if we are seen", he said.

"Mr. Potter, while I enjoy the thrill of flying but I don't like to fly on brooms. I don't like something else to have the control of me. One can fly upon thestrals, hippogriffs, flying horses, flying cars and magical carpets other than brooms. I myself can fly like a bird but today we are going fly a motor cycle", Harsh said.

"What motor cycle is this?"

"When I graduated from Hogwarts, Prongs and I pooled our money together and bought a motor cycle. Over the next couple of years, I worked a lot of enchantments on it. That fateful night, I gave this motorcycle to Hagrid to bring you to safety from Godric's Hollow. Over all these years, I thought it was lost but now I know that Hagrid had it all along, keeping it at Hogwarts. Recently he returned it to me", said Sirius.

Harry was excited to know about the motor cycle, learning that it was once owned by Sirius and James Potter but what really fascinated him was that Harsh Vardhan could fly. To think that they could fly without any support would indeed be fascinating to learn. And it would be very useful in a Quidditch match. He resolved to at least persuade Harsh Vardhan to teach him how to fly without any support.

After breakfast Sirius took all of them to the garden. There was a shed in the garden in which the motorcycle was parked. In another shed, the hippogriff Buckbeak was tethered and eating dead ferrets. Harsh Vardhana brought the bike out. When he started it, the exhaust note sounded to Harry like the roar of the Hungarian Horntail that he faced last year.

Harsh chuckled as he remarked, "Semantics, Mr. Black. making the motor cycle sound like dragon roar. I wonder if dragon fire erupts from the exhaust?"

Sirius grinned impishly, "I was constantly adding modifications to it 13 years ago. Dragon Fire was next on the list, but I never quite got that far. Maybe I can get back to that now."

Harry took a seat in the side-car. Harsh Vardhan gave the accelerator a twist and the motor cycle was cruising through the streets, going around every obstacle as if it was not there. Harsh drove at a speed which scared Harry. Then, with a jolt, the bike lifted into the air. Harry was astonished at first, then eager to see what the bike could do, then concerned, he began, "uh, Mr. Harsh Vardhan, won't the muggles be able to see us? I mean we are flying on a motorcycle."

"Don't worry, Mr. Potter. We cannot be seen. One of the modifications on this bike makes it invisible to others. I believe you met one such car a couple of years ago", he laughed as Harry's face turned red, remembering the fiasco of the Weasley's Flying Ford Anglia.

St. Mungo's

The ride did not last long. The hospital was in the middle of London and they weren't very far from the place. Harsh landed the motor cycle in a deserted alley which looked like it was only frequented by the homeless. As they watched, two men seemed to appear out of thin air, dressed all in black muggle clothing and saluted the pair of them.

"Greetings master and Mr. Potter", said one in a deep baritone voice, "we have secured the area and there are no threats nearby. We met a few wearing mark of that abomination who were scouting the hospital and they have since been neutralised."

"Good work, Himvat. Keep them in captivity and torture them for any information which would be helpful for the Order of the Phoenix. After you have done that you should put them on the Marichika when it comes to port. For now, escort us to St. Mungo's and be very vigilant about it."

The two men bowed to them as Harsh took out a piece of wood bearing the Black crest which he put on the seat of the motor cycle. He muttered 'Activate' while touching it with his wand. It disappeared a moment later.

As Harry was ogling at the mystic, he answered the unasked question, "It was a portkey made by Sirius and took the motor cycle back to the townhouse. Now come along, Mr. Potter."

Harry followed them for a few blocks while navigating the busy streets of London. They finally stopped in front of a store which was boarded up. The windows were encrusted with dust and grime, the paint peeling and a faded sign on the front of the building read, 'Renovation in progress'. There was a mannequin in the only window that was not boarded up. It was dressed in a style suitable for muggles from the 1950s. Harsh approached the mannequin and spoke to it, "We are here to see Frank and Alice Longbottom, residents of the Janus Thickney ward."

Harry thought that perhaps Harsh was eccentric like Dumbledore to be speaking to a mannequin but to his astonishment, the dummy blinked as the glass turned into water and Harsh disappeared as he stepped through it.

Harry gaped at the spot where Harsh was a moment ago until one of the men prodded him, "Move along, Mr. Potter. We should not remain in open for long."

With a little hesitation, Harry stepped through and felt a cold sensation wash over him as if he had taken a cold shower but his clothes remained dry and he found himself standing in a place which looked like a reception area. Harsh stood there waiting for him patiently.

"Mr. Harsh, who are those men and what were the captives they were talking about?", he asked the mystic in a hushed whisper.

"They are my men and have been assigned to protect you while you remain in London", Harsh said, "as for the rest, I will brief you later."

There were a lot of people sitting in the reception area who looked at him as he passed through in Harsh's wake. They gawked at him, whispering among themselves. He could make out that some were in awe of him but there were others who were confused about him and a few were downright glaring at him. He could not understand the reason for their strange behaviour until his eyes fell on the headlines of that day's newspaper which read- "HARRY POTTER CLAIMS VOLDEMORT HAS RETURNED."

Suddenly, it all made sense to him. All these people were doubting him, some were hostile to him and some looked at him in fear. He sighed internally thinking of a very long battle ahead of him just like the second year. However, his musings were broken when a frail man, looking ancient even by Dumbledore's standards came up to him.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the old man bowed to Harry and said in a wheezy voice, "Mr. Potter! It's an honour to meet you. I am Octavius Ryne and I believe that you and Dumbledore are speaking the truth. I know that you and Dumbledore are not rumourmongers, as Fudge would have us believe. I believe that the monster has returned because I believe in you. You have lost so much at his hands that it makes no sense that you would lie about such a thing. And I also believe that you can send that monster to the pits of hell whence he came. In the last war, I lost my entire family to him. My son was an Auror who was killed by one of his lieutenants, Antonin Dolohov and my daughter-in-law was killed in a raid in Diagon Alley. I have only my grand-son left who is working in France as a technomancer. I have talked with him and he is ready to return at a moment's notice to your aid, when he is called upon. There are hundreds like me out there who believe in you. Send that monster to the pits of hell on behalf of every innocent who has suffered at his hands."

The old man, who was a total stranger to him had expressed so much faith in him that it overwhelmed Harry. The man had lost so much already and offering his grandson to him if he ever needed despite knowing that his grandson could die in the war. Harry had seen admiration from the public for him before this was very different and difficult for him to handle. He never had felt someone place such a heavy burden of expectations on him and he felt stifled under it. If it were only up to him, he would have failed or succeeded but from the man's pledge of allegiance, he had placed Harry in a place from where he could not afford to fail at any cost. Not knowing what words would comfort the man, Harry pressed his frail hands warmly between his and nodded to the man before he walked towards Harsh Vardhan who stood near the reception desk taking in everything that was said.

As Harry jogged to catch up with the mystic, another man stepped forward, "no matter what the ministry says, we are always with you. We believe you and Dumbledore and we will do anything in our power to help you in this war. Whenever you need me, just give a call."

Several others walked up to him as he walked towards Harsh. All of them had the same message for him.

By the reception desk, Neville Longbottom was waiting for him with his grandmother, Dowager Lady Longbottom who had stern features and wore a black gown and the "now familiar" stuffed vulture hat.

"Mr. Harsh Vardhan, may I introduce my grandmother Lady Augusta Longbottom, the regent of House of Longbottom", Neville said, introducing Augusta to them, "And grandmother, this is Mr. Harsh Vardhan, who is a healer and asked me to secure an audience with you."

Harsh took Augusta's right hand and pretended to kiss her knuckles, "Lady Longbottom, I am honoured to have met you at last. Your family and its history are a source of intrigue for people and the admiration that people have for your house is unparalleled. I believe Heir Longbottom has already acquainted you with the purpose for which I seek an audience with you. While I can't issue any guarantees yet I am very hopeful that with Mother Magic's blessings, I can cure Lord and Lady Longbottom."

In the last few days Harry had learnt that there were a few basic mannerisms that were to be observed between members of the pureblood families and followed suit.

He took her right hand and pretended to kiss her knuckles, "Lady Longbottom, it's an honour to meet you."

After he was done, she said, "Mr. Potter, our families have been in a long standing alliance with each other for ages. James was as dear to me as my own son, Frank. They were the best of friends at Hogwarts and he was not one to stand on formalities around me. You are like Neville to him and I am not about to have James's son follow these formalities with me. And you can call me Gran like Neville."

These words struck a chord within Harry for he felt a feeling of warmth engulf him.

She turned towards Harsh and started in a soft voice, "Firstly, please call me Augusta. I would be honest with you Mr. Harsh. In all these years since my children became residents of this ward, a lot of healers have seen them and prescribed a lot of treatment for them. I have tried everything and honestly, I have given up. I love them but I don't want to nurture a false hope. I decided to meet you only because you did a favour for Neville but since meeting you, a sliver of hope has arisen in my heart. Even if your treatment can't render them fully functional but they are able to understand things around them, House of Longbottom will owe a debt of gratitude to you. Over the years, I have been pained that Frank can't see his son grow up and Alice can't fuss over him as others mothers do for their children. For myself, I have a lot of memories of them for the rest of my life but Neville has barely known his parents. You know I tried to provide for him and raise him as best I can but somewhere I realise that I have failed in my duty. I kept looking for Frank's shadow in Neville without ever realising that he is his own person. When I gave him Frank's wand, I thought it fitting but it only resulted in embarrassment and ridicule for him at the hands of others.

She broke down as she reached the end of her sentence and Neville hugged his gran consoling her, "Gran, you have not failed. I am proud that I was raised by you and you have taught me everything that I need to know to make my mark upon this world."

"Lady Longbottom, I am not doing any favour to anyone. House Longbottom has done so much good for society that it will be a shame to not do everything in my power to help you. Besides, I owe a very old debt to your house which I can never settle. If I do this, maybe I would be able to repay a part of it", Harsh replied, his eyes staring far off in the distance.

"Alright, I will let you have a look at their condition", Augusta said, wiping her eyes, "In any case, Mr. Potter here deserves to meet his god mother even if she can't recognise him."

In the ward for permanent spell damage, which was situated on the fourth floor, there were beds lined up along the walls and occupied by witches and wizards alike. The headboards contained photos, letters etc. marking it as a personal space for that particular wizard or witch.

Harry could not help but notice a person in one of the beds. The man had long blond hair which used to be shiny and curled but hung dull and dirty now, his face sporting expressions of a baby. In spite of the changes, Harry recognised this man easily. This man had tried to remove his memory in his second year with Ron's broken wand but the spell backfired and erased his memory instead. This was Gilderoy Lockhart, the biggest fraud that Harry had ever known. The man had stolen works of many witches and wizards, erased their memories of their deeds and published them as his own. Harry had honestly forgotten about him and never expected to see him again.

Now that he saw the man lying dishevelled in a bed, he felt a small wave of pity for the man but next moment remembered what he was about to do and all feelings of pity vanished.

Lockhart saw him looking at him and beamed, "Hello! Have you come for my autograph?"

Harry looked at Neville and rolled his eyes. It appeared that some things did not changed despite whatever happened.

Before they could move on, Lockhart started throwing photos at him, "Take all of them. Put them in envelopes and give them to your little friends."

Leaving the photos on the floor, they walked to the other end of the ward. At the far end of the ward, a portion was curtained off and in that portion were Frank and Alice. They looked pale and their eyes were glazed and vacant. Seeing Neville, Alice's eyes lit up for a moment but it happened so fast that no one noticed it except for Harsh who was observing them very closely. Frank reached forward and held Neville for a moment before letting go, making Neville morose. Harry could not even imagine the pain that Neville must have felt all his life. Not having parents was something he could relate with but having parents who would never recognise you was incomprehensible for him. He was lost in his musings when he was startled by a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Alice looking at him closely before giving him a smile and turning away.

The healer in-charge of the hospital wing that day was Healer Lynn. She was an experienced healer having been there for 20 years. She watched closely as Harsh observed Frank and Alice and then turned to her.

"Healer Lynn, I believe you have received a letter of reference for me from Madam Pomfrey", Harsh said.

"Yes, she wrote me to ask me to let you diagnose them. Do you have any questions?"

"Is any treatment being given to them?", Harsh asked.

"No. When it is decided that a patient has no chance of being cured, they are sent to this ward and thereafter, no treatment is administered to them. Lord and Lady Longbottom are not being given any treatment at this time. The last treatment which was given to them on the suggestion of an American doctor was about 3 years ago but it was futile."

"I would like to perform some diagnostic spells on them," he said, "I assure you that they will be fine."

As she nodded, he took out his wand and started chanting and casting some spells at Frank and Alice. The chant went for some time before the results became apparent. An ethereal glow was surrounding them and little droplets of sweat could be seen on their foreheads. In fact, once or twice they even looked at him with a look of recognition in their eyes. Harry saw it but later dismissed it as a trick of the light because he could see no trace of those looks a moment later.

The healer picked her jaw up from the floor, "How do you know this? I mean I have read about this phenomenon in some really old healer books but I have never seen anyone doing it."

"These spells are very complicated and it will require time for me to be able to explain them to you", Harsh said, "If you so desire, I will meet you later and explain everything about it but right now, I am more interested in discussing the results with you."

"Yes, yes. I would like to discuss the results with you", she said snapping to attention.

"The good news is that they can be fully cured of this condition which has kept them in this ward. Their bodies, however, would take time to become as good as they were and it will take a long time before they can be fully functional. However, for this cure, I require a ritual chamber which can be fortified with runes so that it would be able to withstand the backlash that would be generated when they become conscious. Their magical cores are over saturated since they haven't been using magic since the attack on them. When they become conscious, the magical shockwave generated will be powerful enough to blow this building apart if it is not immediately contained. Even after that, we will need access to a ley line so that the magical shockwave can be absorbed in the ground. I need to prepare the room by engraving my own runes in the room so that it would remain standing despite what may happen", he said, "and I will need your assistance in the process since when they come out of their unconsciousness, they would be weak, disoriented for a while and of course, they would need proper medical care to make their body as fit as it was before they were attacked. They will need to be cared for 24 hours round the clock."

The healer who was excited a minute earlier immediately deflated hearing of his requirements, "We do not have any room like that. In fact, I think what you are describing is necessarily a ritual and we do not have any ritual rooms here. I can of course provide for a medi-witch who would take care of them restoring them to full health once they are conscious and I would like to offer my assistance in the healing."

"Pardon my interruption, but I could not help myself", said Augusta Longbottom who had heard every word that passed between them, "I think you need a ritual room where you can perform this ritual which would help to cure my children. In the hereditary seat of House Longbottom which is built on two ley-lines, there is a room which has been fortified for duelling and training and it can withstand any amount of magical backlash. You can engrave your runes on the walls there and after your treatment, I can keep them there and treat them. Thank you for your offer Healer Lynn but I will hire a house elf to look after them and administer them the treatment as per your schedule. You are of course welcome to come to check on their progress regularly."

"That will be fine with me, Lady Longbottom", Harsh said and then turned to healer Lynn, "You will ensure that they are unconscious and ready for transport by noon tomorrow. You are welcome to come for I will also need some assistance from you. And you are not to speak about it to anyone."

Harry and Neville just looked on while everything transpired. After they were done and leaving, Alice handed a Droobles gum wrapper to Neville who slid it into his pocket and a chocolate frog card to Harry featuring Albus Dumbledore, making him remember the first card he ever saw was of Dumbledore.

When it was time to leave, Harsh turned to Augusta, "Lady Longbottom, as you may know, the war is approaching. To stand against him and his army, we need an army of our own. Due to some workings of fate, Harry Potter has to face him at the end and defeat him. Harry will need people who can stand with him. I know of the Potter- Longbottom alliance and I hope to renew the old alliance and for that purpose I ask you to allow Neville to visit Bones Manor with me. It is time to shake the rust off the wheel before it can be jostled to move again."

"I understand what you are trying to say and I agree with your proposition", Augusta said, "Neville can go with you but please bring him back before sunset."

"I will be there at the gates of Green Hues as the sun goes over the horizon", he said and they started to leave.

"Mr. Potter", she called Harry, "I am sorry that I couldn't give you more time today and I really wanted to talk more with you. Charlus and Dorea were very dear friends of mine and I can tell you a lot of stories about them. You are invited to come to Green Hues anytime that you wish and I would really like it if you can visit tomorrow with him."

Harry nodded to her then he and others made their way out of the ward.

After leaving the hospital, the three of them were again shadowed by the two escorts who escorted them to the deserted alley, where Harsh took hold of their hands and vanished silently.

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS