Moon Blessed

He watched as she rushed about the crib, hair flying and actions frantic as she muttered a chant under her breath.

A thud was heard from downstairs. She stifled a sob.

Conjuring a needle wandlessly, she pricked her finger, letting a drop fall upon the rowan crib. Invisible runes surrounding it in a three-metre wide circle lit up briefly before fading back into the surrounding. She banished the needle and healed her finger.

Footsteps could be heard making their way up the stairs. Tears streamed down her face.

"I love you, Harry. I love you so very much, my little clumsy bear. Remember that, alright?" She placed a kiss onto the forehead of the emerald-eyed child sitting before her. "Forgive me for leaving you so early, love." Another sob was stifled.

She turned to face the door that provided the only entrance to the room. The door that was blocked by a few haphazardly arranged furniture.

The footsteps stopped.

The door blasted open, furniture shredded to bits by the force of the hex aimed at them. A monstrous man stepped in, right arm wielding a wand that was starting to glow with a green light at the tip.

The wrongness in the man overwhelmed him even though he could not see the man fully with her blocking his view. There was a sense of nothingness, an absence of intelligence that even the beastliest of beasts possessed in him.

"Step aside girl and I will spare you."

"No, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl!"

"Please! Not Harry! Take me instead! Take me instead!"

"So be it then." A pale arm rose. "Avada Kedavra!"

She dropped, dead.

Harry Potter fell out of his sofa, displacing the Occlumency book that had been on his lap.

Dazed and overwhelmed by what he uncovered from deep within his mind, the little child remained upon the cold marble floor of his room.

She had…Oh, goddess…she had…

He felt something wet slide down his cheek. He glanced at his legs that had yet to morph into a tail, wondering if he was hallucinating the feeling. He touched his cheeks. His fingers came back moist.

Crying. He was crying. His brain registered the fact numbly. He'd never cried since he had been seven-years-old.

His thoughts returned to the memory he had recollected.

He had seen his mother. His mother. Albeit in her dying moments but still. And she had said she loved him. Him.

Harry curled up on the floor, thoughts conflicted.

He had hated his parents once, while he had been under the Dursleys' roof. It had been during the time when he had still been naïve enough to believe the lies he had been fed. The hate had not been as much as the hate he had had for the Dursleys – nothing could surpass his hate for his childhood abusers, honestly – but it had been strong enough for him to resent the thought of his parents mildly.

It was around his fifth birthday that he had let go of that hate.

His fifth birthday was a turning point of sorts in his life if Harry were to be truthful. That had been when he had wizened up and finally accepted the Dursleys were never going to like him, much less love him as he had often hoped. (The trigger for this had been them locking him up in his cupboard for two weeks straight if he remembered right). And with that useless hope gone, Harry had been able to see that everything the Dursleys told him was to always be taken with not just a pinch but a whole bucket of salt. It had been then that it occurred to him that perhaps his parents were not entirely as bad as the Dursleys had always painted them to be – if they had been bad at all. With that realization, he had come to the conclusion that there was no point in him holding a pointless grudge against people he had no knowledge about. He had not even known their names then due to his cruel relatives. What good would it have done him to continue hating faceless, nameless people at all?

That had been the first time he started dreaming up scenarios containing his parents. The dreams would often include them being alive, well and being the kindest people the world had ever seen. And it would always include him being loved and cared for by his parents. Those moments had been the highlights of the dreams, after all.

Then the wizarding world and the truth had come out on his eleventh birthday.

His resentment for the Dursleys reached new heights. But his liking for his parents grew.

The months following that had given him more reasons to like them.

From simple words like "He had been a natural at Transfiguration while she had taken to Charms like a duck to water" to "He was loyal to those he loved and she was a fierce protector of what she believed in" Harry learned bits and pieces about the parents he had long forgotten within his memories. He had taken in all those tiny tidbits greedily. The teachers and staff may have just been reminiscing but those had been more than simple descriptions to Harry who had, before then, never had anything to base his parents' personality before.

The want to know more had been like a raw hunger. Gnawing at him, as though seeking retribution for all the years he had unrightfully hated his dead parents. He had longed to know everything about the parents that he had been lied to about, that he had once given up liking due to his relatives' lies.

Harry curled his legs towards himself and hugged his knees to his chest as the thoughts within his head overwhelmed him.

Begged...she…for him…because….just because

The Mirror of Erised had been when he had first started loving his parents.

Perhaps it had been because that was the first time he saw them in his explicit memory. But he had finally had faces to attach to his parents' for the very first time. His father had been like seeing an older version of himself but his mother, his mother had been beautiful. Red hair, emerald eyes and a lovely smile directed at just him. Despite being an illusion she had seemed so real, so full of love. Harry had never had someone look at him that lovingly before, as though they would give their very life and soul for him.

"And she had given you exactly that," his inner voice said.

A choked noise disrupted the silence within his living room. It took Harry a moment to realize it came from him.

She had died for him. Begged to take his place to spare his life. Because she loved him.

It had been one thing to have heard it from those he had met. But to have finally remembered her and her actions was another thing entirely.

Another sob left his lips.

All those years he had spent wondering if anybody would care to love him and his mother had died protecting him without him remembering. All those years spent hoping yet hating on the two people who had probably loved him more than anybody else in the world.

The little boy curled up on the marble floor of his home, letting his tears fall silently as his mind replayed the memory he had uncovered over and over.

"I'm sorry I hated you once mother." A sob wracked through him. "I love you too."

His whispered confession was lost to the night.

Harry swatted his arm blindly at whatever it was that was poking him, refusing to relinquish his hold on sleep completely. A sense of annoyance that was not his washed over him. He opened his eyes blearily. White feathers filled his vision.

"Hedwig," Harry mumbled.

Wake up, Harry. It is the special day your humans celebrate. Your thirteenth year in life.

Harry blinked, before comprehending the soft words that had whispered across his mind. He bolted upright, causing Hedwig to fly off from where she had been perched on his chest with an indignant hoot.

"It's my birthday?" He looked up at the clock perched on his mantelpiece. The time showed that it was five minutes past midnight. Harry turned back to stare at his companion. She was now perched upon a pile of presents that she had obviously disposed upon his living room's sofa. Two more owls were seated beside her with one of them slumped against the sofa tiredly. "So that's why you disappeared for so long! You went to collect my presents."

Hedwig puffed her feathers, looking pleased. Grinning, Harry reached out to rub her affectionately before turning his attention to his two other guests. He recognized the Weasley family's owl to be the one that was slumped over. "Errol," Harry thought to himself, "That was what Ron had said his name was once."

Hurrying over to his kitchen and carefully filling a saucer with water – he had rather not sprout a tail just then – Harry brought it over to the old owl. Errol opened a bleary eye and gave a feeble hoot before gulping down the water that was offered. Harry gently rubbed the old owl's back as he waited for him to finish.

"Would you like to stay with Hedwig and me for a few days, Errol? You need to rest."

The owl seemed hardly surprised at Harry's ability to communicate with him. Harry figured Hedwig must have warned him about it.

Yes, please. Thank you human. A feeble hoot in thanks was given.

"Call me Harry, Errol. Just follow Hedwig to her perch once you feel up to flight."

Harry turned to the last owl, taking in the letter with a Hogwarts crest and messily wrapped package attached to its talons. He detached the deliveries from the owl, passing it a treat he had snuck from the kitchen while getting water for Errol. "Thank you, brother of air." Harry called out silently. The tawny owl gave a nod before taking off through the open window.

Harry turned back to the two owls still perched upon his sofa. He handed his Hedwig a treat and silently asked them to head off to rest, thanking them once more for delivering his post. Hedwig left swiftly with a pleased hoot and an affectionate nip at Harry's fingers after devouring her treat. A tired Errol followed after at a more sedate pace.

Once he was alone, Harry turned back to his post. He could open them then and there itself.

His gaze drifted to the Occlumency book laying a few paces away from him. Memories of his last attempt rushed back again.

Harry sighed. He would leave the presents for a later time. He was not in a mood to celebrate yet despite being touched at his Hedwig's efforts to ensure he finally had decent gifts on the day of his birthday and his own friends' thoughtfulness in spending time and effort to send him gifts.

His eyes rested on the Hogwarts letter resting atop the pile. That was another matter to be settled. He had yet to decide if he would return to Hogwarts this year. He wanted to but…

Sighing softly once more Harry Potter trudged up to the second floor of his home, intent on heading for his bed and falling back asleep. He would deal with his emotions, school matter and birthday later when he was more rested.

Minerva McGonagall looked up from the letters she was organising for the new muggle-borns as a snowy white owl flew and landed on her office desk. A snowy white owl that she was well aware belonged to one of her trouble attracting lion cubs.

She took the letter it carried in its beak, offering a polite "thank you". The owl in question gave a short bob with its head before flying off to sit on her windowsill to wait.

"So he wants a reply soon," she thought. She glanced back at the letter in her hand.

Albus had yet to tell her what happened in the meeting that occurred six days back. He had found over a dozen excuses to avoid both Severus and herself which were indicative enough that the man had messed up once again with Harry Potter.

Minerva sighed. She was frankly not ready to face whatever was within the letter despite being the Head of House of Gryffindor. If Albus had blundered it was likely he revealed that both Severus and herself were there when they finally discovered about the boy's childhood abuse. That probably would not have settled well with the lad, especially considering his childhood and Severus and her failures at looking out for him.

An impatient hoot startled Minerva out of her thoughts. She turned to look at the snowy owl only to be met with an unimpressed expression from said owl.

"Well, might as well get this over with," she thought.

Dear Professor McGonagall,

Due to certain medical reasons, I will be unable to continue my education at Hogwarts. However, I am reluctant to stop my schooling at Hogwarts just yet and my Healer has informed me that if certain arrangements can be made, I will be allowed to continue. Therefore I would like to meet with you to discuss the matter.

I will be free to meet you anytime from the 2nd of August at a time of your convenience. But to safeguard my privacy, the venue for the meeting will be Gringotts. Please do note that you would also be required to take an oath if necessary.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Lord Harry James Potter

PS: I would appreciate it if the Headmaster is not alerted to this matter until after our meeting. He does not have my confidence and I am not willing to discuss my personal matters with him. I am aware that as Deputy Headmistress you have authority to take his stead when he cannot be involved.

Minerva placed the letter away, hands pale and shaking.

This did not bode well.

Harry paused outside the neon green shop, face shrouded by shadows under his cloak's hood. Unlike the rest of the shops dotting the alley, this was by far the least threatening in appearance. Painted in dark green were the words "This & That" on a gold-coloured sign hanging off the top of the entrance. Intrigued by the display of a sofa hanging off the ceiling through the window, the thirteen-year-old decided to take a peek in.

"It should be fine," he thought with a quick glance at his new watch. "I still have four hours before I must report back to Jadeclaw for round two of allergy testing." Harry shuddered at the thought of returning back for the session. Sitting in a room, sniffing, touching and nibbling at various matters to test if he had developed any new allergies due to his transformation was not how he had planned on spending his day. The goblins, however, were too thirsty when it came to knowledge and refused to let him escape. Not that Harry minded much. It was just the boredom that got onto his nerves.

A bell tingled, signalling his entrance into the shop. Once inside, Harry understood the meaning of its name immediately. While he had originally believed the shop to have been a furniture shop, it was actually a shop of random items that certainly had no relation to each other. From the oak tree growing in the middle of the shop to the wardrobe that was … sauntering about the cluttered shop, the shop seemed to house anything and everything.

Whoever owned the shop certainly had no beliefs in organisation.

"Welcome."

Harry turned to the source of the soft-spoken voice. An old lady sat atop the countertop situated at the right corner of the shop, sipping lightly from a black mug. For an old woman, she had quite the quirky vibe. She was dressed in emerald robes made of silk and was wearing a pair of black dragonhide boots. Her left wrist was decorated with mismatched bead bracelets, along with plenty of other random charms. Her hair, however, was truly the most eye-catching feature. While it was silvery grey, indicating her old age, the bottom was dyed a deep aquamarine blue that reminded Harry of the ocean near his home on a clear sunny day. A small clip in the shape of a shell pinned her fringe away.

"This and that," Harry thought, "She's literally decorated with this and that as though she simply grabbed items closest to her while getting ready."

Harry grinned under his hood. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy this shopping trip. He glanced around the shop again, taking note of the curious items lying about all around the room from ceiling to wall to floor. Perhaps some of these would help to add a personal touch to his home. He certainly was not partial to having tea from the ceiling. And the plants at the far left also intrigued him. While he had disliked having to tend the Dursleys' garden, it had never been the chore that had made him unhappy. More the people he was doing it for. But now that he had his own home, perhaps he could own his own garden or even a greenhouse.

"You live in the middle of a forest. Why ever would you need more greenery?" his inner voice mumbled.

Harry ignored it. He was a free person and it was his birthday. He could indulge in some spontaneous wishes.

"Are you looking for anything particular, lad?"

Harry turned back to the old woman who was looking at him with a polite smile. She had settled her mug down and was sitting crossed leg on her countertop.

Harry blinked.

She seemed too youthful in her actions that her wizened appearance threw him off whenever he looked at her.

"Not really, Ma'am. Just looking for now." He glanced around the room again and watched perplexed as three gold umbrellas at a corner started fighting. Harry was certain he could hear mild curse words from where he stood. He turned back to the old lady. "But I'd certainly appreciate it if you could tell me about your unique products. I'm afraid I've never seen anything like them."

The old woman's smile widened. "Why certainly lad. And please, call me Lyria young man."

The next thing Harry knew was him being dragged off to the corner with the fighting umbrellas. Watching one of them belch fire at its companions as they approached, Harry grinned under his hood again.

This was going to be a very fun shopping trip indeed.

Harry stepped into Diagon Alley, slightly surprised to find it almost empty. Checking the time, he read that it was four minutes to eight-thirty. He had less than five minutes to get to Jadeclaw. The boy cursed mentally. Thanking his lucky start the bank was two minutes away from where he stood – he supposed he could make it in one minute if he had to run for it – the messy-haired boy started to brisk walk to his destination. Perhaps he got too carried away with Lyria's odd little shop.

"But who wouldn't? The shop was filled with wonders," Harry thought as he thought back to the goods he had purchased that ranged from fire-belching umbrellas to mismatched shoes that could help the wearer defy gravity. Perhaps half of them were not useful on a normal day but Harry was certain it would liven up his new home. It did get rather lonely now and then despite the peacefulness Harry got.

Besides, some of the good were too useful to pass up. Like the black leather trunk he had immediately purchased after hearing its description. Four library sections (with two already filled with thousands of interesting books from light to grey to dark magic), a potion lab (empty but that was easily solved), a style-it-yourself study where the magic he did with his wand would not be detected by the ministry (apparently being partially emancipated was not a good reason to allow a person to do magic outside of school), a forest section for pets to live in and also the normal section to keep clothes. The trunk's security feature of opening at Harry's blood was too good to pass up. The ministry had long banned such features on the regular trunks sold at Diagon Alley but they were sadly the most secure of safety measures.

It had cost him a fortune but it had been worth it.

He patted his leg, absently feeling his purchases that were shrunk and placed in the pocket of the jeans he wore under his cloak. It had been a really worthwhile trip indeed.

"And Jadeclaw will find it worthwhile to use your tail in is healing potions. Get a move on. The goblins do not appreciate tardiness and it is disrespectful for you to meet them late after all the help they have done."

Chastised by his own conscious, Harry took off at a run towards his destination. Three paces away from the entrance of the bank, he checked his watch again. A minute and a half. He had a minute and a half left. He could still make it on time. Jadeclaw's office was at the first floor, fortunately.

Slowing down to a walk and waving at the guards – Agrak and Eglig, his mind supplied – Harry let loose a slimmer of his magic to tidy himself up. His grin widened as he saw the guards notice his arrival and scowl. Antagonising them had become a tradition for him. Not as frequent as he annoyed Griphook but Agrak and Eglig were particularly creative in their verbal threats and Harry found it highly entertaining.

"Missed me you two?" He asked cheekily as he approached them, waiting to hear what new insult they had come up with while he had gone away on his shopping spree.

He saw Eglig opening his mouth to grunt out a response when it happened. A cloud shifted in the dark sky above. Harry stopped, one step away from the bank's entrance, as he was suddenly under moonlight.

He turned his back towards the goblin guards. He heard two gruff voices calling his name but Harry paid them no mind.

His attention was focused upon one thing and one thing alone.

"The moon looks beautiful," his inner voice murmured, a trance-like quality having entered its tone.

Harry agreed wholeheartedly. Shining against the dark sky, the full moon seemed to have an otherworldly feel to it.

"Just like when I was at the moon pool, last month," Harry thought.

The memory of the moon pool came crashing back to the forefront of Harry's mind. As he reminisced the feel of the water and magic caressing him, a strange longing grew within him.

Perhaps he should head for a swim?

Harry looked about him at the empty alley. He wondered if there was a lake nearby.

He felt a pull behind him and the sensation of water rippling filled his senses. The image of a lake filled his mind.

Into Gringotts it was then.

Harry turned back around and walked past the goblins guards who were frowning at him. He heard neither goblins' calls as he entered the empty bank.

All he heard was the water's call.

Agrak burst into the office of the Head Healer, sinking into a low bow to greet his elder. Unlike other times where he would wait for his elder's permission before rising for the bow, the stocky goblin stood up immediately, hand over heart to convey he meant no disrespect.

"Lord Potter needs help, Healer Jadeclaw."

A sense of dread overwhelmed Griphook as he followed the magical signatures of his colleague and his client.

They had headed deep into a part of Gringotts no one from the Wizarding populace was allowed to enter. In fact, no one of non-goblin race and blood was ever allowed to enter this area as part of strict goblin customs. If Harrison had entered the area this was likely going to cause for a chaotic situation. No matter how much the Goblin nation had come to tolerate and even like the presence of the young wizard, there were some boundaries the goblins could not vanish. He hoped Jadeclaw or Harison had a good explanation for what was going on.

Griphook halted as the next bend came about and he saw neither hide nor tail of either of his quarries. They had already travelled quite deep underground. Too deep. It would be unwise of him to not inform his King now. If he found out through other means it was likely Jadeclaw, Harrison and he would face their King's infamous wrath.

"Guardian Eglig."

The goblin who had been silently following him stood straight. "Yes, sir?"

"Lockdown the bank and inform his majesty that we may have a situation at hand. But make it clear that there is likely no actual harm intended. Until we find Jadeclaw or Lord Potter, we cannot be sure that the young child had intentionally meant to cross the boundaries of our nation's privacy."

"He did not, Master Griphook." Griphook raised an eyebrow at the usually quiet goblin's input. "He fell into a trance from what Guardian Agrak and I witnessed as the moonlight hit his skin. Since then he had been unresponsive to our calls be it verbal or mental."

Griphook resisted the urge to swear. Of course. The full moon! How could both he and Jadeclaw have forgotten? And Harrison was newly changed too. Oh this was a mess.

"You are aware of Lord Potters new ability?"

The stocky goblin nodded. "I have given my oath of secrecy to him as have Guardian Agrak ever since Healer Jadeclaw informed us of it."

"Good. When you alert his Majesty, inform him of what you witnessed and that this is likely a case of moon spell of some sort, considering the circumstances. He too is aware of the Potter child's change."

"As the elder wishes." Eglig bowed and left abruptly.

Griphook turned his focus back to his mission. He really had to get to Harrison soon, hopefully before he reaches where he is not allowed to enter.

"Earth bless us with luck, I hope the night does not bring blood."