Thank you my brilliant editor Hypergym. This rewrite wouldn't be the same without you
Gringotts
Amelia bones had a brief meeting with her account manager, Rip Torn where she handed over a parchment document to him with the ministry seal. As the Goblin scanned the document, she said, "I am here to inform you that, effective as of yesterday, I have assumed the guardianship of Harry Potter." She waited while the Goblin read the document.
When he met her eyes again, he said, "This appears to be in order. Is there any other business?"
Amelia replied, "Since I am already aware of the marriage contract between my niece, Susan bones and my ward, Harry Potter, I hereby absolve Gringotts of any responsibility to inform Harrold James Potter of the same. That shall be my responsibility when the time is appropriate."
"Indeed, Madam Bones", the goblin said, "Since Mr. Potter has not yet come to the bank to take up his inheritance, the bank was going to send a representative to him at his place of residence to inform him regarding the state of his accounts and obligations, including that very marriage contract before the end of this week. However, since you, as his guardian, wish to inform him personally, we will forgo that pleasure."
"And what of his accounts?" Amelia asked.
The goblin answered, "Gringotts holds them in trust until the young lord comes of age. Of course, you may count on our discretion in such matters."
What he didn't say was that guardian or not, she was not getting her hands on Harry Potter's fortune.
Amelia nodded approvingly, "Of course. As it should be."
Bones manor
The trio of Harry, Neville and Harsh Vardhan appeared out of thin air outside of a circle of giant trees. These trees were hundreds of years old, with thick trunks and radiated power. They could see a Manor house both grand and ancient in the middle of the circle. The perimeter of trees curved out of sight in both directions.
Following Harsh's lead, the three of them stood wating patiently outside of the ring of trees. After a while, Harry asked, "Why are we not going in? Or, for that matter, why didn't we apparate directly to the front door?"
"It is considered polite to give a chance to your host to refuse you admittance", Harsh explained, "We appear here so that Madam Bones can decide if she want to admit us in her manor. And not to mention, this is the house of the head of DMLE and she would be angry if we just appeared in her house without being invited in. I don't know how courageous you lads are but I draw my line where scary witches are concerned and if I can, I would avoid facing the wand point of a witch like her however the point is moot because she has raised anti-apparition wards around her manor".
Harry snorted, "Pull the other one. I mean, really, neither the anti-apparition wards of Hogwarts nor the Black Townhouse seem to concern you at all."
"Mr. Potter, I hope you do understand what a secret means. And if something is kept secret, it is for a good reason. Also if you are given a secret, it is your duty to keep it and guard it with your life, if you must. Never give away secrets, especially if it is not yours to give", Harsh chided Harry, "A true leader knows when to speak, what to speak and what not to speak."
Harry nodded. He felt embarrassed at his stupid outburst. He also realised that he had spoken out of turn and revealed something that the mystic didn't want revealed. As guardians of ancient knowledge, they would insist on secrecy. And if he kept opening his mouth, not only could he compromise their security, but they might also decide not to share any more of their knowledge with him. This time it was in front of Neville and Harry could count on him to keep it to himself, so no harm done. But, from now on, Harry would be a lot more careful about who was listening. He remembered how Hagrid had blabbed the secret of handling Fluffy during his first year at Hogwarts, compromising the security of the Philosopher's stone. Harry didn't ever want to be that guy.
Today's lesson was to operate in as much secrecy as possible. This guiding principle of the Mystics reminded him of one of the qualities of true Slytherins, unlike Malfoy and his posse. He also realised why Dumbledore played his cards close to his chest.
On the other hand, some things need to be shared. There was the fact that James Potter and Sirius Black kept it to themselves about who was the real secret keeper for the Potter cottage at Godric's Hollow. That led to Sirius spending 12 years of his life in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. If James Potter and Sirius Black had told someone else about Pettigrew being the secret keeper, perhaps Sirius would have been free and able to raise him like a son.
"Umm... Mr. Harsh Vardhan, is it possible to apparate in a place where there are anti-apparition wards?", Neville asked hesitantly.
"It is Mr. Longbottom but I am not sharing the secret with you", replied Harsh gently, "But to satisfy your curiosity, it is possible to apparate in a place where there are anti-apparition wards but that is not a knowledge that is readily available. You can guess how much havoc such an information can wreak in the world."
"Please call me Neville. I have been thinking about things you told us that day at Hogwarts and I have a few questions of my own. Would you be amenable to answer them?", Neville asked looking hopeful.
"Mr. Longbottom, I don't wish to turn you down but the thing is that my time is not really my own. I am but a servant of Mother Magic having been entrusted with a lot of duties by her which requires all my time and resources. I have a different life out of this healer routine that I am currently having. However, as I told Augusta, I owe to House Longbottom and I will make some time for you, say tomorrow, after the rituals are done. If you wish, we can have also young Mr. Potter present there when you are asking those questions?", he asked.
Neville's face lit up with happiness, "That would be great! I don't usually have much company during summer vacation."
Harry spoke, "As much as I would love to stand here and talk with you both about magic and things all day, aren't we supposed to go inside?", asked Harry, "I seem to remember that Professor Dumbledore told us that we are invited."
"As I said, we will go in but only after someone has been sent to escort us on the grounds of the manor as is the custom among wizards", replied Harsh.
Shortly thereafter, an elf appeared with a loud crack. This elf was short, even for a house elf with a petite frame, a small nose, not that it needed to be any bigger, and large, red eyes. When she spoke, her voice was high and squeaky, "I be Tweaky. Who's you sirs be?"
"Little elf, my name is Harsh Vardhan and I am accompanying Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom on an invitation from Madam Bones and Miss Bones", replied Harsh.
The elf was looking at him curiously. After a moment, the elf bobbed her head and squeaked again, "Old whizzy and sirs be follow me. I's be take you to Mistress and Miss."
"Umm, why did she call you 'old whizzy'?", Harry asked.
Harsh chuckled, "Story for another time Mr. Potter however I would rather that you do not ask questions every now and then. I will answer your questions but may be you can make a list of them?"
They followed the elf into the manor to the parlour where they were asked to sit and wait for their hosts. As they waited, Harry looked around the room which was quite spacious for a parlour. Along one wall were shelves that displayed numerous wands, each with a plaque bearing the name of the witch or wizard that once wielded it. A crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling which cast lights in varying shades and colours around the room. On another wall, there was a large crest which contained a Common Welsh Green dragon (Harry remembered the one from the tournament) in flight on a green background with a house motto inscribed thereon 'Beneath all the grandeur, we all are bones'. In places were portraits, some empty, some with their occupants, leaning against the frames, dozing.
Everywhere he looked there was dark, polished, carved trim and panelling. The carpeting was thick, deep and richly patterned. The sofas and matching chairs were bulky, solid and lavishly upholstered. Everything was old, expensive, impeccably clean and polished without so much as a single thread out of place. At school, Susan was just one of the students. She didn't lord it over people or put on airs, but this place simply screamed of old money and power. Neville, on the other hand, looked like nothing of this was new to him or the slightest bit interesting.
Harry was still taking it all in when a familiar voice interrupted his gawking. "Harry!" His head snapped around to where Susan stood framed in the doorway.
The vision took his breath away. Her wavy, burnished copper hair flowed all the way down to her tiny waist which was accentuated by her form-fitting white jeans. Her top was a silk of azure blue silk, matching her eyes that left little to the imagination. And framed by that glorious hair was an impish smile, that pert nose and the direct gaze from her eager, blue eyes that were unashamedly taking in every inch of Harry in return. Neville reminded everyone that he was still in the room by chuckling.
Observing Harry's outfit of blue silk shirt and cloak with tailored black trousers and dragon-hide boots, she giggled, "Really Harry! If I knew you were going to dress up, I would have put on something nice."
Harry's jaw made an audible click as he ceased his impression of a cod fish and stood up. He stammered as Susan crossed to where he stood, "Su-Su- uh, er, Miss Bones, you look fabulous!" and he reached for her hand to pretend to kiss the knuckles as he had seen others do.
When he looked around, he could see that Harsh Vardhan was smirking and that Neville was making a visible effort to suppress a laugh.
"Welcome Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom to Bones Manor", said Amelia Bones coming in through the door, "it has been a very long time since a Potter and a Longbottom have been together in this room."
"Madam Bones", said Harsh Vardhan stepping up to her, bowing and taking her right hand and pretending to kiss her knuckles, "I thank you for your hospitality. As I can see, even though House of Bones has given up so much in its service to Avalon but the splendour of your fabulous manor has not diminished. You have kept the place well- kept."
Amelia Bones smiled at him, "Thank-you Mr. Harsh though I insist that you call me Amelia. I do what I can to honour the legacy of my fathers and forefathers. Now I believe that the preparations for Mr. Potter's voyage are complete?
"Voyage? Where are you going Harry?", Susan asked Harry, who was still having difficulty connecting his brain to his tongue and chose to say nothing rather than engaging his foot with his mouth.
"This is a secret for the time being, Miss Bones. You are not to speak about it to anyone unless you have been permitted to do the same", Harsh said, mirth dancing in his eyes, "Mr. Potter has agreed to undertake a journey with me to do something that will prepare him for the coming war and this is the last time that you can see him before his birthday, I am afraid. The reason for his voyage is a secret and will remain so barring any necessity to disclose the same. I believe he can tell it himself by the moment he will find that he is able to use the ability to speak again."
As Harsh was speaking, Neville greeted Amelia formally and then Harry stepped up to Madam Bones and repeated as Neville did bowing and pretending to kiss her knuckles. He was thinking about these manners which seem to be prominent in pureblood families but so far, nobody had bothered to teach Harry about it. May be, he could ask Neville about it, later.
"So Amelia, do you have any other family members currently inhabiting this glorious seat of power of House of Bones?", Harsh asked Amelia.
Her expression turned melancholic, "No. I have a couple of cousins across the pond but they have been gone for years now and we have virtually no contact with them. They belonged to a cadet line which left about the time of the Grindelwald wars. For now, we are all that is left of us. Once a great and proud family, we are reduced to just the two of us. Two wars back to back dwindled our numbers. In the last war, I lost my siblings and their families. And I haven't lived here for too long in the past. After the last war ended, I lived in a mansion near London where I stayed until the night when Pettigrew was caught. This is the first time in 3 years that we have come to live at this manor."
"I realize that with the state of things as they are. I have also noticed that you have erected the war wards and anti-apparition wards which is the most sensible thing to do in times like these. And the war wards were precisely due to that reason that I chose to come like I did", he said.
Amelia laughed and said, "Since when have anti-apparition wards ever stopped you? If memory serves, Edward Bones wrote in his journal that you never cared for such trifles."
"Old Edward wrote about me?", he asked with mock surprise" 'I believe the man was going senile in his old age. I never thought that a man who looked so fearsome in battle would write in journals."
"Oh, you are such a charmer. He wrote about you", she said, amused, "you never cared for such niceties in the past."
Neville who had been quiet all this while said, "My Gran mentioned to me once how this manor was seeped in ambient magics and that it would need a legion of ward breakers to bring down the wards."
"Your Gran is right, Neville and it is for that reason that I moved in here. I do not intend to die in the coming war and I do not intend to see Susie come to any harm. This manor is fortified and the wards can withstand an assault for days before they can be broken down giving us time to escape", she informed them, "The floo here is barred for transportation and apparition is only possible outside the property lines. Given a contingent of men capable of holding a wand, we can hold our own long enough for help to arrive."
"Madam Bones…", Harry started.
"Harry, I am your guardian now. You must call me Amelia or Aunt Amelia.", she interrupted Harry.
There was a loud squeal as Susan caught her in a hug.
After a moment, Susan released her, blushing heavily, and Amelia was smiling at her gesture. Susie had been hounding her since she knew about the contract to secure guardianship of Harry Potter. It was natural that she could not control her emotions hearing that Harry was now Amelia's ward and could stay with them.
"Seeing your pleasant response to the situation Miss Bones", said Harsh Vardhan, his eyes glinting mischievously, "I heard of a very interesting tale of an invite apparently from you, addressed to Harry Potter given to the Head Master and he told me that the said letter was laced with compulsion charms so that he will not forget to give it to him. Would you happen to know anything about that?"
Susan went beet-red while Harry's cheeks burned with the embarrassment of the situation and Neville grinned like someone had given him a mega-gift but Amelia was scowling, "Susan Amelia Bones, did you use compulsion charms on the head master?"
Susan cringed at the tone but did not reply and Amelia reprimanded her niece, "Compulsion charms are illegal as you well know. I won't have my own niece doing such things. Don't let it happen again."
Harsh Vardhan turned to Neville then, "Neville, I have heard of another fascinating tale of a blond who looks upon you like you look on an exotic plant and yet you do not give her time of the day? Did your Gran not tell you that it is bad manners to hurt a lady?"
Neville blushed and stared at the ground as if wishing it would open and swallow him while Amelia snorted at the thought of how easy it was to embarrass the teens who were growing too fast for their age. If she had her way, she would have allowed them to be children, date people they like, fall in love, have fun with magic but that was not to be. A war was coming and the first thing that was usually sacrificed at the altar of war was innocence.
To divert attention away from them, Harry interrupted, "Amelia, what are the wands for?"
"House Bones has a tradition to showcase wands of its members who have brought glory to our house. It was started by the son of Wildred, who sat on the magical equivalent of the round table with Merlin. Since then, every generation has proudly continued the tradition. The House of Bones has had a long history of producing notable members. The latest wands to be added to this display were my brother Edgar's and his wife Ellie's.", she replied proudly.
Harsh Vardhan who had wandered to the shelf, was looking at a wand fondly, "I so fondly remember this wand that belonged to Wildred, one of the companions of Merlin. Rowan wood, 10 inches, unicorn hair, isn't it?"
Amelia was surprised at his description of the wand but nodded, "Yes, that is his wand. He was the founder of the House of Bones. But, how do you know that? It is family history."
He smiled ruefully, "Story for another time, Amelia but you would remember that Edward Bones was my friend? He told me a little about your family history."
While Amelia sensed that the man was not telling her something, she chose to let it go for the moment.
Harsh Vardhan continued, "Do you know of the war that we had fought together? It was somewhere in Russia where a Dark Lord was heavily recruiting in 1800's
when we raised an army against them. That was perhaps the last time that all the original members of the Great Alliance had fought together."
Everyone's expression was melancholic but no one commented on the situation and he started again, "We are digressing here. I wanted to ask you if you would take custody of Mr. Potter for now or he can remain where he is for the moment."
Susan immediately snapped, "Absolutely not! I will not let you leave Harry with those horrible muggles. They are the worst sort. I will fight you all, if I have to!"
Amelia frowned at her behaviour. While Susan was usually fiercely protective of others around her, she had never berated anyone like this. She had heard the rumours of the mistreatment of Harry at the hands of the muggles, bits which Susan had overheard; perhaps it was time to see if they were true but before that she needed to rein in Susan's anger.
"Susan Amelia, you will behave in a manner befitting a young lady and no, Harry Potter is not living with the muggles. He is living with his god father at the moment", Amelia said sternly to Susan.
Susan flinched before starting again, "If Harry has a godfather...".
Amelia cut her off with a stern glare, then addressing Harsh, "Mr. Harsh Vardhan, I will investigate the muggles and Harry's treatment at their hands but I need to know where to find them. Didn't they move recently?", she asked.
"You are right. They have left Privet Drive today but the house has been bought by goblins using their muggle liaisons and will be sold once you complete your investigations", he answered her.
"If they have left, how will we find them?", she asked him curiously and then suddenly realisation dawned on her, "no, no, don't tell me. I think I understand. Just give me the monitoring device to the tracking charms which have been set upon them and tell me if I have to exercise any caution."
Harsh's eyes were full of mirth as he retold the entire adventure at Privet Drive and he gleefully told them of the hexes they had set upon the muggles. He also recounted that there is an amazing witness in Arabella Figg, a squib who just lives on the next street.
While he was recounting his tale, Susan was smirking inwardly. Those horrible muggles will get their comeuppance once Auntie finishes her investigation. She had seen signs of malnourishment and abuse on Harry when he had come to Hogwarts. Every year at the starting feast, he looked like he was starved for the summer and she had heard of abuse and beatings which baffled her. Even in dark families, they rarely beat or abuse their children. Then how could a muggle do that to children. She wanted to give Dumbledore an earful for not doing anything about all the abuse that Harry had faced all the years and yet had stood tall. She was pleased when Harsh Vardhan detailed the hexes he had placed upon the Dursleys and thought of all the problems that they would face because of the hexes. While she was not a fan of bullying, she felt it could not happen to nicer people than Harry's muggle relatives. They had hurt her Harry. If she had her way, she would have cursed them within an inch of their lives.
"Amelia, I have come here to discuss some grave tidings which no third party should be privy to", said Harsh.
Madam Bones ordered the children out of the parlour asking Susan to show them around the manor.
"What do you want to discuss, Mr. Harsh?", she asked curiously.
"Madam Bones, do you know of a prophecy concerning Harry Potter and Voldemort (Amelia flinched). The prophecy was made in 1980 to Dumbledore who alerted the parents of the two possible prophecy children and they went into hiding. One was the Potters and others were the Longbottoms. Voldemort decided that Harry was the child of prophecy and went after him and you know the rest of the story. Now that the second war is almost upon us, you know who would be the target of Voldemort and his followers. Right now, since the minister is acting as a buffoon, Voldemort is hiding and gathering strength while the Auror force of the ministry is waning. Even if you get a 100 auror trainees tomorrow, you would not get them ready before the war by the way they are trained. What are you doing for the war?", asked Harsh Vardhan.
Amelia was surprised to say the least. James and Lilly Potter, Sirius Black, Frank and Alice Longbottom were part of her squadron in the war. She was their commanding officer. The war was at its peak when the five of them left the Aurors suddenly and went into hiding. It was quite a blow to lose them because the Longbottoms and the Potters had separately managed to face Voldemort three times each, including foiling an assassination attempt against the then Minister for Magic, Milicent Bagnold, and managed to survive with only minor injuries. It was that assassination attempt that finally persuaded her to allow the use of lethal force against the minions of You-Know-Who and stemmed the tide of death and destruction that was the war. With the Potters dead and the Longbottoms incapacitated and unable to communicate, over the last 14 years, she had often speculated about why they went into hiding. She had thought it was because both couples had new-born sons and wanted to keep their families safe.
Sirius Black had not fared well either becoming a resident of Azkaban for 12 years for a crime he did not commit. When she heard of him being accused of betraying the Potters, she could not believe those accusations but there was nothing she could do. He was sentenced to Azkaban by the war tribunal which had been set up after the war and Amelia at that time had believed that Sirius Black was given a trial.
When Harsh Vardhan told her about a prophecy, her speculations were over. There was a prophecy which fit both boys. That was the reason that both families went into hiding. And the imminent danger to their lives was the reason the Potters arranged a marriage contract with the Bones. But these answers brought more questions to her mind.
"How do you know of this prophecy? Do you know what it says?", she asked him.
"The prophecy was made in 1980 but at that time, there was no mention of whom it concerned except that it was about Voldemort. When we heard of his fall, we knew he is not dead so we made some discreet inquiries and conducted some investigations of our own in places which are bound to have some answers. We found our answer in your Department of Mysteries where the hall of prophecy contains a prophecy regarding Harry Potter and Voldemort (she shuddered again)", he replied.
"The Hall of Prophecy? But how did you get in there? It is supposed to have the best wards available which no-one can breach?", she asked, baffled with
the revelation.
"When has wards ever stopped me or people like me?", he asked her, smirking.
"People like you? What do you mean? Come to think of it, I do not even know much about you except what Dumbledore said in the infirmary", she said, frowning at him.
He laughed aloud, "We are a secret tribe which was founded more than a thousand years ago. We have been a source of intrigue, curiosity and disbelief through these centuries. A lot of people have tried to find out about us. In fact, Albus Dumbledore, when he was a young man, went searching for us but he did not find us instead he found a phoenix which bounded itself to him. Half of his fantastical powers come from him. He tried to find us for months and faced several obstacles we put in his path and he overcame all. We did not meet him deliberately because we knew he was trying to seek our secrets but we do not sell them. We realised that he would be a great wizard in future but our secrets exposed could put the world at great risk. After a long search, he finally gave up on us and returned to Avalon. Years later, Tom Riddle, another wizard from your lands came to find us and he defied Mother Magic in so many ways that we were appalled. While we do not categorise magic, he did not care for magic either. He did not revere it but used it as a tool. He reeked of foulest magics and we had to confront him because it is part of our job description, you can say. I personally went out against him and after a long and arduous duel of 2 hours, I finally was able to capture him. We would have killed him, if it was possible. Someone transgressing the sacred rules of magic is a criminal for us but he had several fail safe in place so he would not die. So, we obliviated him and left him in deserts of Sahara. Later that one came out as Lord Voldemort."
"Tom Riddle? That is his original name?", she asked dumbly.
He chuckled, "Of course his name is not Voldemort (She shuddered again). He is son of a squib of an old pureblood family and a muggle and was named for his father, Tom Riddle and maternal grandfather Marvolo Gaunt. His full name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"Gaunt!", Amelia exclaimed, "that family was supposed to be extinguished years ago when the son of Marvolo, Morffin was incarcerated in the high security cell at Azkaban for life. I heard that they were so inbred that their magic waned and insanity ran in their blood."
"I am afraid their last descendant is still alive and it is his death which will bring some peace to wizarding world and Harry Potter will be at the front of the opposing forces", he replied gravely.
"Harry? But Dumbledore is more powerful and experienced. It stands to reason that Dumbledore would have a better chance of standing against him. I do not think that Voldemort will be able or willing to face Dumbledore in battle", she said, agitated, "besides Harry will need much more training and experience to defeat him."
"Do not worry", he said assuring her, "he will ready when the time comes. This is where we come in and where you come in. Harry Potter will need to step up and become a force to reckon with. Right now, he is pretty powerful magically, almost as much powerful as Voldemort or Dumbledore but in the political arena, he is a novice. His biggest weapon on that body is that he is a Potter of Potter, in fact, he is the last Potter. I don't need to tell you about your own family history about Hardwin Potter and Edmund Bones forming the Potter-Bones-Macmillan alliance to defeat the Vikings. The Potters have always led that coalition. With the Potters gone, the members have scattered but nonetheless, it still exists. As guardian of Harry Potter, I wish for you to invoke the old alliance in the name of Harry Potter and start your political manoeuvring to ensure that the alliance is again sitting on the Wizengamot. He is also the heir of House Black and that can mean that he will also be able to lay claim to the loyalties of the vassals and allies of the House of Black. However, I only ask you to concern yourself with House of Potter for House of Black is solely Sirius's concern whenever he is free. Now that we are on it, how things go with Sirius Black's trial?"
She sighed, "Cornelius is making things difficult, no doubt with Malfoy's help. He is pretty adamant that we sentence Pettigrew to the Dementor's Kiss. He has tried to pressure me into doing so and he has threatened my position as Head of the DMLE so I am keeping it under wraps for now. I will need something to rein in Cornelius and I will have to keep quiet about Voldemort's return if I am to remain in my office. I don't really care much for that post but I can make some ground breaking changes in that position and losing it at this time would be most inconvenient. I will need to rein in Cornelius before he goes too far. The Aurors are also woefully understaffed and I will have to at least double their numbers before I can do anything else. And even if I do the impossible, getting budget and recruiting so many, they will still be green, inexperienced, undisciplined, nearly useless. I don't know what to do about this problem."
"When the Great Alliance sits upon the Wizengamot again and you feel that you are ready, call an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot", he said, "When the alliance convenes, you can threaten him with dire consequence as Regent for House Potter if he takes any action against you. In the meantime, do not even breath a word about Voldemort's return to people that you don't trust. Let them think that you believe the lies and propaganda pedalled by Fudge and his cronies. There is something more that you can do. Before you call the meeting of the alliance, brief them of the situation about Sirius Black and secure their support and before the emergency session, you can try to bring in families from the neutral faction by bringing in Lord Greengrass of the neutrals, who is their leader and a true politician. With Dumbledore on your side with the neutrals, you can get him free of all charges. If Malfoy or Fudge try to create any disturbance in the Wizengamot, simply use the will of the original houses of which there are only Black, Potter, Bones, Longbottom, McMillan, Greengrass, Sayre and Nott are left. With the will of houses on your side, Fudge cannot interfere and if you wish, you can wrestle Malfoy out of his seat since they have a non-permanent seat but I would advise against this. While you are trampling Fudge, have a motion passed to increase the Auror Corps and their funding. This should help you."
She frowned at the simplicity of the suggestions, "But how much use will a bunch of green Aurors be? What I need are warriors."
"Then you can simply use the best resource available to train them in combat. You have master Auror Mad-eye Moody with you, don't you?", he grinned at her which she returned.
"Now that we are done talking, maybe we can go and find the children and hope they are not engaged in some nefarious activities", he said suggestively causing her to flush red but nodded her head.
They found the three children outside the house in the pool. Harry was trying to swim, barely managing a dog-paddle while Susan was trying to teach him the basics. Meanwhile, Neville looked quite at home, turning fast laps across the deep end.
"Susan, I really don't know how to swim", Harry was saying, exasperated.
"But you were brilliant at the tournament", she replied innocently, "how did you swim like that if you don't know how to swim?"
"That was all in the Gillyweed I used. Dobby swiped some from Snape's personal stores. The stuff made me immune to the cold, grow webbing between my fingers and toes and grow gills, for Merlin's sake. I was half fish for an hour.", Harry replied grinning sheepishly.
"Susan, I think it is about time that you tell him that you suggested Gillyweed to Dobby, which by the way, came out of a book about Mediterranean herbs that the imposter Moody gave me," said Neville who was swimming near them, making Susan blush while Harry was staring at her open mouthed.
"Close your mouth, Potter or you will catch flies," she replied coyly and glared at Neville, "And it was supposed to be a secret, Longbottom. You will pay the price for your loose lips."
Neville actually flinched at her demeanour which made the adults chuckle and it was then that the teens noticed that the adults had walked out onto the pool deck.
"Susan Amelia.", said Amelia, in mock stern-manner, "we will have words later about your breaking rules. I never would have thought that my own niece has so little regard for rules."
"No, Auntie. No rule breaking here. I read those rules carefully. They clearly state that Harry was not permitted to ask for nor receive help from his teachers. There's nothing in there about other students, house elves or even adults outside of the faculty. So, I didn't break any rules", then she giggled, "Besides, you would never punish me."
Amelia whipped her wand out and shot a stinging hex at her which made her yelp in indignation then Harry and Neville started laughing until Susan dunked Harry's head below the water who dragged Neville with him.
After some more of their frolicking, the adults herded them inside and sent them off to change into dry clothes because dinner would be served presently. They followed their noses to the dining room where Harry looked upon the spread on the table and his eyes were wide with surprise. The amount of food on the table was enough to feed a small army. It was like one of the feasts at Hogwarts.
"Susan, I have noticed that Hannah has not been to the manor yet.", Amelia said, "Is everything fine between you two?"
"No", Susan said grimly, "She said that she was going to apologise to Harry for having doubted him, calling him a cheater and wearing one of those foul badges last year. She had a whole week after Harry came out of his coma until the end of term, we all rode the train together when we came home from Hogwarts and she still has not apologised to him. She will only be allowed to visit after she gives Harry a proper apology."
Although Harry was well aware of Hannah being one of the "Potter Stinks" brigade during the tournament, it hardly mattered to him. Besides her being Susan's best friend, his god-brother, Neville, was beginning to fancy the blond Hufflepuff. He would much rather let it go than come between any of them. He turned to Susan, "Susan, you don't need to be cross with Hannah for my sake. I am fine with her coming and staying here even if…"
Susan broke in emphatically, "Harold James Potter, I am not okay with it. You shall not have such a low opinion of yourself, neither should you ever allow others to walk all over you. She will apologize or I'm done with her. Is that clear?"
Thoughts chased through Harry's head. Nobody had ever addressed him by all three proper names like that before. It certainly had the effect of making him pay attention. Also, he had no idea until he saw Susan in a temper like that. He didn't know if he was more frightened by an enraged Susan or Voldemort. And finally, what she just said. She was trying to teach him about self-respect. Nobody had ever done that before either. And she was willing to sacrifice her best friend to get her point across. Harry gulped as he raised his hands, "As you wish, Susan. I won't ever try to tell you what to do again."
Amelia glared at her niece who was feeling embarrassed with her outburst.
The rest of the meal passed in silence and at last, Harsh offered to escort Harry and Neville to their residences which Amelia promptly accepted. As they were leaving, Susan kissed Harry on his cheek causing him to blush while the adults chuckled.
Black Townhouse London, the next day
Harry woke up feeling groggy and grumpy, not having slept enough after the previous day's adventures. Like yesterday, Padfoot was licking his face and wagging his tail.
"Gross Padfoot!", he said rolling the dog to the floor.
The dog changed into a madly grinning Sirius, "Morning Godson. Wake up. Don't be lazy.".
'What has got you so cheerful?", Harry grumbled.
Sirius barked his laughter, "It promises to be a fine morning, Prongslet and it would be a waste to sleep in."
"Prongslet?", he asked, confused to which Sirius replied, "James and I gave you that nick-name, but not for Lilly's ears. She heard it once and hexed us with a stinging hex so hard that it still hurts to think about it. And she was also not an early riser."
"Yeah well, some of us are humans Padfoot and not dogs", he said cheekily and ran to the bathroom shutting the door behind him before Sirius could retort.
Half an hour later, he entered the kitchen to find it full of order members. Kingsley was sitting with Moody conversing in low voices while Sirius sat at the head of the table chatting with Mundungus Fletcher.
Tonks sat by herself with her head down on the table. She raised her head when he entered. She looked at him delightedly and grinned, "Wotcher cousin."
Harry frowned, "Since I'm clueless about most things where our world is concerned, please remind me how are we cousins?"
She grinned at him, "You see my mother, Andromeda Tonks nee Black is a daughter of the House Black and Sirius's cousin. Your grandmother was her great aunt and so, we are cousins a few times removed."
Harry's mind was reeling that the wizarding world was so complex. A total stranger could be your relative but he perked up at the thought of having some family members he knew nothing about. Maybe, Sirius could fill him in later. Lately, Harry had been realising that there were so many things that he did not know about his world since he did not consider the muggle world as his own anymore. Studying at Hogwarts had kept so many things from him and his choice of friends had not done much to fill him in on all the customs, practices and social behaviours of this world. Now that he was living in this world, maybe he could learn them.
"Harry, you are looking so tired. Sirius told me you did not sleep well. I wonder why? Did the thought of a certain pretty red-head cause you to lose sleep?", Tonks teased him, waggling her eye brows suggestively.
"Red-head did you say? Oh my, my! He is so much like his father", said Remus, amused, who had just entered the kitchen, 'he also used to follow a red head so much she dubbed him 'arrogant toe rag' but James never stopped chasing her. As we all know, James conquered at last. May be Harry will be able to do the same. Good for you, Harry!"
Harry was blushing and mumbled something like, "She's pretty alright.", while the adults laughed at his predicament. Finally, Moody growled, 'All right, All right. Enough of these antics, you all. Leave the lad be now.'
After the ruckus died down, the Daily Prophet arrived bearing the news that Cornelius Fudge had recommended to the ICW that Dumbledore be removed but they refused since Dumbledore was given a place among Mugwumps of the ICW in recognition of his triumph against Grindelwald and the ministry had no authority in this.
The news created a round of murmuring at the table which was broken when someone knocked on the door of the townhouse at which the gathering immediately became quiet. A moment later, Harsh Vardhan walked in.
Sirius was looking at him with such incredulity on his face that he had to laugh, "Is there something the matter, Mr. Black?"
Sirius by now had found his voice, "Why are you knocking on the door? You could have just come in like you did yesterday? I mean anti-apparition wards don't even slow you down."
"What? You mean I should just appear in a room full of people armed to the teeth taking them by surprise when apparition is not possible there. It may work for you Mr. Black but not when a paranoid auror like Master Auror Moody is present", he said mischievously while Moody eyed him for a moment than glanced away warily.
"I would have thought you would always remain the brash, abrasive, hot headed Auror, Alastor", chided Harsh Vardhan, "but perhaps the humbling you got in Wiltshire got to you."
Alastor's head snapped up suddenly, his wand out but before he could say anything, he was disarmed. Harsh was standing, his wand levelled at Moody, his eyes full of mirth, "Constant Vigilance, Alastor."
Suddenly, Alastor barked out a laugh and standing, raised a salute to Harsh, "Indeed I have lost my touch if you entered here and my eye could not identify you."
They clasped each other's arms at the elbows and shared a one-handed embrace like old friends, leaving others in the room surprised.
"It's been too long, my friend", said Alastor, "I never thought you would live this long what with your propensity to chase dark lords and kill them."
"You two know each other?", Sirius asked, dumbly.
Harsh grinned at Moody, "Oh yes. You see there was one time when I had the chance to cross wands with Moody here who had it on his mind that I am a dark wizard and..." he was interrupted by Alastor who growled, "Alright, alright, you do not need to recount the tale again and embarrass me."
The others in the room laughed uproariously at Moody who was glaring at Harsh who was doubled up with laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. It was in this position that Dumbledore found them when he entered the kitchen followed by Minerva McGonagall.
Smiling, Dumbledore addressed them, "Good Morning everyone. It is delightful to see people laughing and spreading smiles around despite the grim outlook of the world outside. May I know the source of this amusement?"
Alastor, who had got over his irritation by now barked, "When I was a newly minted Auror, still green, wet behind the ears and pretty full of myself, I got wind of this dark wizard who was tormenting people. No other Auror was ready to take the case considering the dangerous situation. Never backing down from a challenge, I volunteered. During that case, I went through 3 partners who couldn't take it and they were perhaps the finest of Aurors during that time, Robert Jonathan, Carlos O' Pierre and Edward Curtis. It was during that case, I fought several individuals who were working for a dark wizard and in those days, I was sorely tempted to use lethal force, but restrained myself. Once while I was on the hunt I ran into this fine fellow," he gestured toward the Mystic, "and took him to be the dark lord. He tried to talk some sense into my hard head, but I was too excited to care and challenged him to a duel in the name of Merlin. He replied that he knew Merlin when he was a baby. I told him to pull the other one and laid into him with, if I do say so myself, a rather creative chain of hexes while calling him vile and an offence against magic. I had to think fast because he flicked every spell back while lecturing me for my poor manners. After that, he showed me such creative curses that I still don't know what some of them were to this day while he flicked back everything I sent his way. The guy just stood there, laughing the whole time. After about 45 minutes of that, I suppose he got bored. He hit me with a stinger of all things that took my shield down. Then he smacked me with a bone breaker on my wand hand and congratulated me for a fine duel. I figured a guy with a sense of humour like that couldn't be all bad and we've been friends ever since."
Everyone was laughing by now seeing how Moody was bested by a stinging hex and they could understand his mantra of constant vigilance. Harry was visibly excited hearing the story. Every time he heard something about the mystic, it fascinated him more and he just could not wait to start his training but that would have to wait for a proper wand, not that shadow replica of his old wand that was no better than a chopstick as far as he was concerned.
When Alastor did not speak for a few more minutes, Harry prodded him asking, "What happened to the dark wizard, Professor?"
Alastor growled, "Don't know much about Professor. Never got around to teaching you, did I? Turns out, this one had just finished the dark wizard and his band of merry men before he clashed with me. It still remains the only case where I did not finish the task that I was given. After we had reconciled our differences, I took the dark wizard's body and reported to the Auror headquarters. Turns out that scum was from some old pureblood family from Germany which is now lost in obscurity."
While they were contemplating Mad-eye's story, Sirius turned into a dog and started playing fetch with McGonagall. Remus was conversing in a low voice with Shacklebolt. Moody was talking to Harsh Vardhan, and Nymphadora was entertaining young Harry with transforming her features. Dumbledore pondered over everything that he knew about the mystics. Every time someone told of some experience of Harsh Vardhan, it added another layer to the mystic. He was an enigma, perhaps as much as Harry Potter who had been getting better every day.
For years, Albus had been trying to find the mystics who were mentioned almost in all folklores of the wizarding world, which was steeped in mystery and intrigue and they were not merely present in them but they played an active part. Their ways and their proficiency in magic was what prompted him to search for them, hoping to unravel some of the secrets which were lost in time, particularly the secrets of war mages. There were war mages in all the world but most of the powerful ones in Avalon had originated in one family, Peverell and that was one of the reasons that Dumbledore took special notice of young Harry knowing that if he was even half of what the Peverells were, he would be one of the most powerful wizards and by the time his core finished growing, Tom Riddle would look like a puny kid to him. His power levels were what had him worried since there was no teacher who could train him to wield that power with apparent ease. He knew that the Elder Wand in his robes was singing for Harry Potter and when the right time came, Dumbledore planned to give it to him.
Dumbledore had plans for Harry Potter. One of them was to find a way to extract the soul fragment without killing him. There was no way that he would have allowed Harry to die on his watch. Harry Potter was like a grandson to him and he would be damned if he allowed that to happen. He had a plan in Harry's fourth year to start preparing him, to train him to wield his power and arcane magics but things had been thrown into chaos when Harry was entered into the tournament and he had to postpone the idea. He had intended to take the summer holidays and find a cure for Harry Potter in ancient lands of magic such as Greece, Rome, Egypt and India but it did not come to that. When the mystic had offered his aid to train Harry Potter, he had no reason to refuse him. They would mould Harry Potter into the warrior he needed to be.
In the meanwhile, Dumbledore had plans to follow. First thing was to topple Cornelius off his chair and may be with Madam Bones's help he would be able to do that. Then they would install someone with the guts to make hard decisions in the minister's office. While Voldemort remained in hiding, they could use that time to build their forces. Because, according to Snape's report, Tom certainly was recruiting and preparing for his conquest. It had been long since he played in the political arena. With Sirius Black free, they would be able to do so much more in this war in a short time. In the meanwhile, Harry Potter would train to meet his destiny, that being to kill Tom Riddle.
Dumbledore's train of thought was interrupted when the kitchen door opened and a very haggard looking Hestia Jones entered. She reported gravely, "Head Master, last night Dorcas Meadow's brother was killed near his family home."
The table went silent. Suddenly, Sirius pounded the table with his fist, "Will we just sit here and let them walk all over us again?" He looked at Albus, his eyes filled with tears and his voice full of rage, "Albus, when will we strike back? Are you still going to insist on your stunning spells only policy?"
He simply looked murderous and Harry was scared of him a little. He had never seen Sirius looking so enraged and those who had, were once again reminded why he was a Black. The Blacks were very hard to enrage but once their fury awakened, they were unstoppable. Cautiously, every one of them scooted their chairs a little further from him making Remus chuckle and Sirius frown.
"Calm down Padfoot", he said gently, "others are getting scared. We don't want them to dub thee 'the Azkaban escaped crazy mass-murderer, do we?"
This made Sirius control his temper while Albus chuckled. Minerva was trying to look stoic, pursing her lips but her facade was crumbling. Harry was trying not to laugh while Nymphadora was looking amused.
Before Dumbledore spoke, all signs of amusement were gone from his face. He waited for silence and then began, "The taking of a life is a most serious matter. Those among us who have been faced with the choice of kill or be killed understand all too well what I mean. But, our numbers are dwindling and Voldemort and his followers have no compunction about taking life. Therefore, it is with deepest regret and great reluctance that I authorize lethal force. You will drill and practice these spells until you can cast them with the same speed and accuracy as anything in your repertoire. In the previous conflict, we lost far too many good people because they were not proficient with these spells when they needed to use them. Never again! This time, The Order of the Phoenix will give as good as it gets!"
When Dumbledore finished, everyone in the room, with the exception of Harsh, pumped their right fist in the air and shouted, "HEAR! HEAR!"
At that point, a babble broke out as the members of the order began to talk among themselves. While Harsh and Moody discussed approaches to training, Tonks, Remus and Sirius carried on.
Nymphadora who had been quiet all this while, turned to Sirius, "Damn, you are scary, cousin. At that moment I felt like my mother's anger had nothing on you. After today, I will be wary of you."
Sirius smiled at her words but said nothing while Remus said, "Since Albus agrees, I think it's time that you delve into that library of yours and find some fun stuff for us, Padfoot."
Harry who could not keep his silence exclaimed, "This place has a library!", which caused Sirius to laugh.
Remus grinned at him, "If you were a certain bushy haired Gryffindor witch Prongslet, I would have shown you the door by now."
Sirius guffawed, "Not that she can enter that place. It has blood wards protecting it and only one of Black Blood can enter the inner chamber where the more fun stuff is."
"But why restrict anyone access to the library?", asked Harry confused.
"Because Prongslet, the books in there contain a lot about the Black family magic and it should not be seen by others. Family magic is the legacy of a family, special spells which were developed by the family and for the family", replied Sirius.
"What about mine?", asked Harry.
"Your what?", Sirius asked him, confused by the question.
"My family magic. Didn't they have their own family magic?"
Harsh and Moody had broken off their reminiscing session when they understood what the other group was discussing, It was Harsh who answered this question, "Yes they did and it was mostly battle magic. Your family has had a reputation of warriors and the magic they possessed was not easily accessible. A lot of their magic is what you British Wizards call Dark Magic.", he finished, scowling.
"Dark? My family is not dark", Harry protested.
"I am not saying your family is dark. It's just that your family never classified magic as light or dark but they worshipped mother magic as it is.", replied Harsh Vardhan, "and that is why your family is rather gifted in family magics. You also have the Peverell family magic but it has not manifested any Potter Lord since House of Peverell was absorbed in house of Potter."
"Peverell", Harry repeated the word which caused his magic to surge within him.
"You are also the heir to the House of Black, Prongslet", Sirius chimed in, eagerly, "which means the Black family magic is also yours."
"Alright, I think you have all astounded Mr. Potter enough for today", declared Dumbledore, "it is time that he got on with his business for the day. You know he does not have much time to dilly dally."
At that moment, a tawny owl entered the room. It was a regal looking owl with a silk ribbon tied around its neck, a small copy of the Longbottom crest hanging from it. Harry relieved the owl of its burden and offered a treat which it gracefully accepted before taking flight once more. The letter was from Dowager Lady Longbottom.
"Dear Mr. Potter,
"I enjoyed making your acquaintance yesterday; however, in our haste I forgot to convey the location of Longbottom Castle to you. This letter is a portkey which will activate at noon and take you to the castle at the designated hour that being noon today.
I also failed to take the name or address of the healer who has proposed the ritual for today which will hopefully bring my children back to me. I would urge you to convey the message to him and to accompany you that I may be assured of your safety.
Augusta Longbottom
Regent of the House Longbottom"
Harry showed the letter to Harsh Vardhan who simply looked amused, "I will accompany you as she wishes through this portkey, Mr. Potter though I really do not need it. I have known the location of the Longbottom castle since the first foundation was laid down. But for this visit, I will play the ignorant healer."
Sirius snorted but looked sceptical, "Semantics, Mr. Harsh Vardhan. You are not a day older than 40."
Whipping out his wand, he levelled it at Sirius and mock frowned, "Are you insulting my age Mr. Black? You can ask Albus here what happens when one's age is mocked".
Sirius looked at Albus who winced as if in pain. He said, "It was the first time that I met master Flamel. He was a brilliant wizard but cranky. I once said he did not look like he could be over 500 years old. He made a point of it to hex me every time he got a chance or sometimes he pranked me. I never made that mistake again. I would advise you to take the risk at your own peril."
Sirius, the marauder that he was, raised his hand in a mock salute to Harsh, "I hereby challenge you upon a Marauder's honour to a prank war."
"Did someone say Marauder?", asked Gred Weasley, entering the room.
"Or prank war?", added Forge who had followed his twin.
"Head Master, we have come to report for duty.", they said together.
"And we find,", said Gred.
"A prank war", said Forge.
"And a marauder", Said Gred.
"Enough!", barked McGonagall, "you two are going to drive us mad with your twin talk."
"Oh, Professor McGonagall, how pleasant to see you", Said Forge.
"We didn't see you when we came in", Said Gred.
"Were you a kitten?", asked Forge.
"Or a tabby ca… Ouch!", Gred yelped as a stinger hit him in the backside and Forge dived for cover under the table from where Harry retrieved him still laughing at their antics.
"Misters Weasley & Weasley, what brings you here?", asked Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.
"Head Master, Percy walked out on us yesterday", said Gred grimly.
"Broke everyone's heart", added Forge.
"Even put ickle Ronnikins off his food", said Gred.
"Which clearly shows how dire the situation is", Said Forge.
"Considering he never leaves a morsel of food.", Said Gred.
"It is all rather sad", they said together.
Finally, the twins started telling about everything that had happened the previous day. How Percy had come home jubilant about getting a promotion in Fudge's office, how he insulted Arthur and how Molly broke down when he put the family down and how the Weasleys were getting ready to come to the headquarters of the Order.
The news of the Weasleys sent the elves into a frenzy and they immediately got to work setting up the place and accommodations for everyone. While this was going on, the twins again asked about the words 'Marauder' and 'Prank war' and how the Marauders were their role models.
Sirius, laughed at this, and addressed the boys, "I am a Marauder. One of the quartet which once used to terrorise Hogwarts (Minerva shuddered while Albus looked weary for once). I was Padfoot, my brother James Potter was Prongs, Remus here was Moony and the traitor rat was Wormtail."
The twins turned to Sirius and Remus in awe and in another moment, they were bowing and scraping, "We are not worthy, we are not worthy", making others in the room laugh.
Finally, when the commotion died down, they turned to Remus, giving him an appraising look, which put him on the alert, "So that's how you used to catch us!", said Fred.
"A prankster catching other pranksters.", added George
"It's sacrilege, my good sir", said Fred sombrely
"For honour's sake, we must declare a prank war upon you", added George.
"You are challenging a Marauder?", said Sirius with a mock-frown, "your challenge is accepted."
People in the house were beginning to dread being caught in the crossfire of a prank war while Harry was glad that he would be going away for the summer and would hopefully miss the whole thing. There may even still be a number twelve, Grimmauld Place, to come back to.
Almost as if reading his mind, Harsh whispered, "You are not escaping Mr. Potter. As it happens, I am myself very fond of pranks."
Tonks who was sitting beside Harry snorted while Harsh turned to Sirius, "Mr. Black, I accept your challenge. I assure you that by the time I return with Mr. Potter, you both parties will band together on my young protégée here." Harry cringed at this.
Dumbledore addressed the gathering, "While this is all very good, we have work to do. Harry, Mr. Harsh Vardhan will be taking you to Gringotts to claim your position in your family and the family magics. After that you have an invitation from Lady Longbottom to spend the day with them. Tomorrow you can return here and spend the day with your godfather before leaving for Bharat."
Harsh took his hand and disappeared into the shadows.
PLEASE LEAVE ME SOME REVIEWS. THAT IS ALL THAT I GET FOR WRITING STORIES FOR YOU ALL.