Basil

Harry Potter turns Aunt Marge into the equivalent of a hot air balloon, and laughs with delight as she floats away. The horrible woman deserved it, and he thinks Aunt Petunia might secretly agree with him, if the small smile she covers at Marge floating away is any indication. Aunt Petunia might’ve hated his mother, but he thinks she might hate Aunt Marge just as much.

Still, Uncle Vernon is furious, and Harry runs and grabs his things, gathers Basil and releases Hedwig in a rush, Basil curling around his wrist as he grabs his trunk and yanks it down the stairs. He raises his wand at Uncle Vernon, who sees Basil raise her head from the end of it, and he backs off quickly, leaving Harry the space to escape.

Except he can’t think of where to go. He sits heavily on the curb. Mrs. Weasley might take him, but he’s not sure he wants to put more strain on their food and space again, he thinks they might even still be on their holiday in Egypt. Hermione, except it would take more muggle money than he could ever afford to reach her. He nearly laughs aloud at the idea of showing up at Draco’s, the expression on his father's face would almost be worth it. But Harry can’t really bring himself to do any of those things, to impose on any of them like that.

It’s just as he comes to that conclusion that the bushes across the road rustle, and Basil’s head snaps towards it, growing larger in size until she has to release his wrist and slide next to him. He raises his wand in automatic defense, but stumbles back when the head of a large black dog emerges. Basil flutters her wings, but just as suddenly, they still, and she leans back, tilting her head as if listening to the growls of the dog. The dog takes another step forward, and Harry steps back, tripping on the curb and falling over. The large dog is still moving, but before it can really get any closer a large blue bus suddenly arrives, and Basil shrinks back, curls around his wrist.

The night bus is almost more terrifying than the basilisk, but eventually they arrive at the Leaky Cauldron, and he takes shakes steps off the bus. He’s greeted by Tom, who leads him to a room where the bloody minister of magic is waiting for him.

“Harry my boy!” He says, voice almost sounding nervous. “Good to see you!”

And apparently it is because Harry isn’t even in trouble for turning aunt Marge into a balloon, in fact the minister seems so relieved to have Harry there and safe, he just skips right over it. It’s very suspicious to him, and if the way Basil tightens, to her as well.

It’s not until an hour after Fudge leaves that Harry remembers the dog, and he turns to Basil, who’s curled up on the bed, but already looking at him, as if she’s been waiting for him to remember.

“What was that dog?” He asks, and she almost seems to sigh.

“I don’t know, I don’t think it was a normal dog, not really.” She hissed back.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t speak dog, obviously, but it seemed as though it was trying to tell me something. Something about you.” She said, slithering towards him and reaching until she could fall across his shoulders. She curled up there, and the weight felt comforting to both of them.

“I wonder what.” He mused, before turning to look at the stack of school books the minister had apparently arranged for him ahead of time. One of them, he noticed, was moving, rustling in a way. He picked it up carefully, and was about to open the clasp when Basil suddenly smacked his hand with her tail. “Ouch!” He said, dropping the book and looking at her in surprise.

“You must rub the spine first.” She hissed, and he rolled his eyes at her.

“You could’ve just said so.” If she could smile, Harry imagined that’s what she’d be doing right now. He picked up the book and did as she said, the book calming instantly. He opened it to the first page and wasn’t very surprised to see it was for magical creatures. He closed it without looking further, and Basil huffed out her version of a laugh.

In the morning, down in the pub area of the Leaky Cauldron, he watched fondly from the stairs as Hermione and Ron argued against each other, a giant, ugly cat in Hermione’s hands.

“That thing almost killed Scabbers!” He was shouting, and Hermione indignantly defended her “cat”.

“Maybe don’t let Scabbers run away, Ron.” Harry called down, and they both turned to look up at him with large smiles.

“Harry!” Hermione said, while Ron grinned. He nearly ran down the rest of the stairs, and then straight into their arms. Over their heads he noticed Mrs. Weasley eyeing them, her eyes narrowed slightly, until she saw him watching and she looked away. Harry knew Mrs. Weasley actually liked him and Hermione very much, but he had a feeling the emerald green Slytherin sweaters all three of them were wearing still weren’t very pleasing to her. Mr. Weasley on the other hand, grinned at Harry from behind her, with a large wave.

“How was your summer, mate?” Ron asked, and they caught up over it all, up until the night before. Harry leaned in closer to tell them about the dog, but before he could finish, Mr. Weasley walked up to them.

“Er- Harry, mind if I borrow you for a moment?” He asked, and Harry really couldn’t remember talking to Mr. Weasley for more than a few sentences before, but he seemed very serious. He followed him around the corner, near the posted news papers about Sirius Black.

“Harry,” he began, “there are many people who do not wish me to tell you what I am about to say.” His eyes flickered towards Mrs. Weasly, and Basil shifted where she was curled around his bicep. “But I think it’s important to tell you the truth.”

“What is it?” He asked, understanding suddenly that whatever was about to be said would probably change his life.

“Sirius Black,” Mr. Weasley began again, Harry’s eyes flickered to the papers stuck to the walls, “escaped from Azkaban.”

“Yeah I read that, who exactly is he?” Harry asked.

“He was… a friend of your parents.” Mr. Weasley said softly, maybe expecting Harry to gasp or something. But Harry only nodded, so he continued after a short pause. “Many believe that he is the reason you-know-who was able to find your parents. They also believe he'll be after you.”

“Oh.” Harry said, looking away from Mr. Weasley. Basil squeezed him twice in comfort before relaxing again, and he looked back up at him. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Of course, Harry.” He nodded back, looking a bit confused by Harry’s lack of reaction, before turning towards his wife again. She looked disapprovingly at him and then at Harry with concern, before her eyes flickered to his sweater again, and she turned away, but not before he caught the narrowing of her eyes.

When he sat back with Ron and Hermione they asked what Mr. Weasley had said, but he told them they should wait for the train in the morning, to let Draco know at the same time. They weren’t very happy with that, but he refused to budge. He needed time to process on his own.

The day passed quickly, they spent some time in Diagon Alley, and Harry snuck away to Knockturn briefly, bought Ron a new book, full of the dark curses he’d been so fascinated with last year. He also found a good set of dark magic history books for Hermione and Draco to pour over together. It probably should have worried him a bit more that he and his friends were interested in these subjects, but it didn’t.

The train ride didn’t go exactly as planned, as the only compartment available that would fit them all had a man fast asleep under a cloak in it. But Harry whispered to the other three what had happened at the Dursleys and outside with the dog, and then explained about Sirius Black. Draco looked contemplative, while Ron and Hermione looked at him with worrisome eyes. After a moment a bit of that steely determination entered Hermione’s, suddenly making Harry feel a little bit safer. It was always a bit of a scary look, and he was grateful she was one of his best friends

“It doesn’t make sense.” Draco said suddenly, finally looking back up at Harry. “Look, my mother was a Black, cousins with Sirius. He left his family, he didn’t agree with anything about them, thought they were all prejudiced. He’d been burned from our family tree. He was in gryffindor for Merlin’s sake.”

“What are you saying?” Hermione asked, clearly as confused as Harry was.

“Based on what I know, Sirius Black couldn’t have been further from the dark lo-” he blushed at his slip up, “I mean you-know-who's inner circle, he would never have joined him. According to my family that was a shameful thing,” he rolled his eyes, “I know it sounds ridiculous but I just find it hard to believe he would have been working for him.”

“Huh.” Harry said, leaning back against the train wall. Basil wound around his neck, growing enough to add a nice cousin, and he patted her head fondly. But he noticed after a moment that she was staring at Scabbers with a sort of intensity he hadn't seen before.

“What?” He asked her. She looked away from Scabbers and spoke directly into his ear, as if afraid someone else could hear her.

“You remember what I told you about that dog not feeling like a dog?” She asked and he nodded. “I feel the same way about Scabbers.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know yet. I didn’t realise it until now..” She hissed, sounding irritated with herself. She shrunk again, sliding into his robe pocket to hide, apparently not wanting to talk anymore. He decided to keep her thoughts to himself for now.

They were about halfway there when the train slowed, and foggy darkness fell outside it. Ron pressed a finger to the window, but drew back sharply, telling them it was ice cold. They all jumped as a shadowy figure flew past the window.

Then, Harry heard the screams.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the compartments next to them, and then Harry saw why. Floating by was a large, cloaked creature, and when it turned to them Harry saw it had no face, only a large hole, like a mouth. He suddenly was freezing, and the lights around him began to dim. He felt Basil move frantically, moving under his shirt and towards his heart as if to make sure it was still beating, but it felt far away. As the light faded it turned, until he saw a green flash, the same one he often used to dream about, and then a woman’s scream.

When Harry woke, the others were watching over him while talking to the other man in their compartment. His raggedy appearance was in contrast to the way he spoke, as he handed Harry pieces of chocolate and explained that those creatures were something called dementors.

“They’re here for Sirius Black.” Basil whispered, curled up behind his ear again now that she knew he was okay. He repeated this in English, and Professor Lupin nodded sagely.

“Yes, I’d heard the ministry had dispatched some to Hogwarts.” He eyed Harry, but didn’t say aloud what they all knew he was thinking. That Sirius Black would come to Hogwarts for Harry, to finish the job as many thought. But all Harry could think about was Draco’s doubts about that.

When the train finally arrived, Madam Pomfrey was there, handing chocolates to students and looking angrier than Harry’d ever seen her. She tried to give them some, but they held up the last of the pieces Professor Lupin had given them.

Dumbledore seemed angry as well, although he hid it very well. His speech was light, but gave grave warnings about staying away from the dementors, and Harry could see the cool fire in his eyes as he talked about them. But just as soon as it was there, it was gone, and the welcome feast began.

Ron, of course, had no trouble eating. His plate was stuffed full and Hermione rolled her eyes as he wolfed it down like a starved beast. In contrast, Harry had barely finished a cup of stew when his stomach rolled again at the thought of the dementors. He didn’t eat much more, and he noticed a few others around the hall, doing the same thing, possibly feeling the same way.

But as classes started the next day, the dementors slipped his mind. Potions and Transfiguration were going to be more challenging than he thought this year, and then there was Care for Magical Creatures.

He was excited about Hagrid teaching, of course he was, but he was also aware that Hagrid’s sense of safe animals, and the rest of the worlds’ idea of safe animals were vastly different. And he was very unsurprised when the first thing they introduced them to was a large flying bird-beast.

He was also unsurprised when he somehow ended up the first volunteer, and then flying on Buckbeak’s back. Because these sorts of things always tended to happen to him. It was very thrilling, although terrifying as well, and he kind of felt like screaming into the sky. So he did.

Buck beak circled high above the school, and then turned back towards the forest. As he did so, Basil climbed down Harry’s arm, and then took what amounted to a giant leap off of him and Buckbeak. Harry’s heart sank into his stomach, but just as suddenly as the terror hit, Basil suddenly grew ten times, and her wings sprouted high. She kept pace with them easily, spinning through the air and dodging around Buckbeak, until Hagrid’s whistle called Buckbeak back. In an impressive twist, Basil shrunk as she dove, landing right in Harry’s robe pocket.

He wondered suddenly what it would be like to ride Basil herself.

Draco and Hermione were both scribbling notes, staring at Buckbeak in awe, while the other students continued to stay far back. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at them all, but he understood.

“How am I doing?” Hagrid whispered to him.

“Amazing.” He whispered back, smiling, but just then, Buckbeak gave a start and reared up.

Draco had moved too close for comfort, his nose in his notebook, without bowing properly, Buckbeak was frightened, or maybe offended, and before Draco could scramble back, came crashing down, his claws sinking into his arm.

Harry and Hermione were there first, Ron close behind, and they all watched in horror as blood started pouring down his arm. Hagrid gruffly pushed them out of the way, gathering Malfoy up, and began running towards the castle, the other three following as close behind as they could.

They had to send a letter to Draco’s father of course, and of course Mr. Malfoy threw a fit, even though Draco was healed within the hour with barely a scar left. But Mr. Malfoy was on a rampage, and Draco told them all the details as he got them.

Apparently he was planning on going around to the ministry education board and asking signatures for Hagrid to be fired, as well as Buckbeak executed. Draco was angry at him about it, as he felt it was his fault for getting too close to Buckbeak. He’d tried to explain to his father, but he wouldn’t have it. He looked defeated, and even the new books Harry and gotten him and Hermione did little to cheer him up. (Although, Harry did catch the two of them pouring over one a week later.)

It took time, Draco said, for his father to make his rounds getting signatures and being a ‘political menace’ as he put it, so he figured they had a few weeks, possibly months, before it would happen.

In the meantime, they had their first DADA class. To say Harry was unsurprised that Ron’s greatest fear was a large spider would be an understatement, or that Hermione’s was failing a class. But he was surprised by Draco’s. He watched as Pavarti Patil’s snake turned jack-in-the-box, evolved, twisting and reshaping, until suddenly Luscious Malfoy was walking towards him, his signature cane gripped tightly in his hand. Draco muttered “ridiculous” faster than anyone else, and Luscious sprouted horns and a nose like a deer, but Draco was already turning away. He stood close to Hermione and glared at the ground while she gripped his elbow.

Harry realised he was next, and tried to push thoughts of everyone else’s fears out of his mind, thinking of his own, but he settled too quickly on the dementors, twisting and reshaping before his eyes, and he was struck with that same fear from the train, almost paralysed with it. Before he could shake himself, even think to raise his wand, Professor Lupin was there. A shining full moon turned into a balloon, and he directed the bogart back into the cabinet, ignoring the protests of the other students. Harry however, was quite grateful, as he felt shaken.

As the days passed Harry’s focus became occupied with the dementors, and by extension, Sirius Black.

He and Hermione had tried to research him in the library, but there was nothing there, they couldn’t even find something akin to a muggle yearbook. The only thing Harry knew was that Sirius Black had been close to his parents, that they had trusted him.

Draco, Hermione, and Ron went to Honeydukes without him. He had tried to ask Professor Snape to sign his paper for him, but he had simply scoffed at him. He probably should have known better, but he was still disappointed and still feeling a bit put out. So, he took Basil to the Lake, with so few students still at the castle she was able to stretch herself, relax in the little bit of sunshine and fly over the lake briefly.

She was speaking to one of the lake folk, what could have been a mermaid or a grindylow, Harry really couldn’t tell from the distance, when she suddenly stiffened and flew back to him, shrinking down, wrapping around his ear.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked, reaching up to pet her with his finger.

“They saw that dog. The one in the bushes.” She whispered, shifting agitatedly.

“What, here?” He asked, ignoring the chill that ran down his back.

“Yes, but they said he wasn’t just a dog. He’s something else.” She slid down into his shirt pocket again, something that he was starting to realise meant she didn’t want to talk anymore. He huffed and stood, heading back toward the castle, when he heard someone shouting for him.

“Theo?” He asked, confused, until Draco, Hermione, and Ron materialised a few feet behind him.

“Your friends are so slow.” Theo drawled, Harry looked him up and down.

“Might have more to do with the length of your legs than with them.” Theo smirked at him, but kept walking, ignoring as Draco called out for him to stay.

“Hey, mate.” Ron said, holding up a bag for Harry to take. Harry opened it to see two chocolate frogs and a box of sweets he didn't recognise.

“Thanks!” Harry said, while they all headed inside, towards their dormitory. Draco was telling a story, something about Ron and slipping, but Harry was distracted by the crowd of people outside their common room door. Harry pushed forward, through the crowds while the others followed, until he reached the door. It had been slashed, something like claws against it, and it looked as though the hinges were twisted slightly, like a great force had tried to tear it open.

Dumbledore and Snape were there seconds later, investigating, when Basil slid from his pocket to his ear. He waited for her to speak, but she seemed to just be watching, waiting like him for one of the Professors to say something.

“It must be Black.” He barely heard Snape whisper, looking to Dumbledore and then to Harry, before turning back to the door.

“Lucky,” Dumbledore said, “that your door is so sturdy, Severus.” He turned then to look at the students gathered behind him. “Students, please head to the Great Hall. Professor Snape and I will investigate your dorms, and bring you back when it has been cleared. Do not go anywhere else but the Great Hall.”

The students shuffled awkwardly away, whispering to each other, and Harry let himself be pushed along with them, until he saw the bathroom, sliding inside quickly and letting the rush of students pass. After checking to make sure the hallway was empty, he slipped out and tiptoed back down towards the common room door. He leaned around the corner, just as Snape walked through and closed the door behind him. Harry huffed, realising he’d missed his chance to eavesdrop on anything more, and was about to head to the great hall when Basil moved.

“I’ll be back,” she whispered to him, “go to the Great Hall.” She slid towards the door, and shrunk herself smaller than he’d ever seen, sliding through the crack where the hinges had been bent. Harry watched until she disappeared, and then turned around, going to the Great Hall to tell the others.

By the time the professors came back, Harry was starting to worry. They ushered the students straight into the common room, and they all quickly dispersed to their bedrooms. Harry let out possibly the biggest sigh of relief when he saw Basil curled up on his pillow.

“I was worried.” He said, and she curled comfortingly on his chest once he lay down. “Did you learn anything?”

“Nothing new, just that they’re all worried he’s after you.” She sounded skeptical however.

“You don’t think he’s after me?”

“I think the truth is often not what we think.”

“Cryptic.” He said, rolling his eyes. She nuzzled his chin, but that seemed to be the end of it.

As the weeks went by and quidditch started again, Harry let Black slip from his mind. On the day of their match against Ravenclaw, he even forgot about the dementors. That is, until he was up in the cloud bank and they were suddenly all around him. He knew he was far from the pitch, but he was not far enough that he would’ve come close to the Hogwarts barrier.

That was his last thought before the lights around him began to dim again, and he felt himself lose his grip on his broom, falling as darkness descended and he heard that woman’s scream again.

When Harry awoke, Draco, Hermione, Ron, and oddly enough Theo were all sitting close to his infirmary bed. Their team was sitting on the other, now empty beds.

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed when she realised he was awake, and everyone’s eyes snapped to him. Marcus rose slowly, a bundle of branches in his arms.

“What happened?” He asked no one in particular. It was Ron who spoke up first.

“The dementors, Harry, they came to the quidditch pitch!” He shook his head angrily. “Dumbledore was furious, there’s a rumour he disapparated straight to the ministers office and yelled at him!”

“That’s just a rumour Ron, he didn’t really do that.” Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron huffed, crossing his arms.

“How would you know.” He muttered, but Hermione had moved on.

“They called the match a draw, so none of our stats have changed.” Draco said, and then looked at Marcus. “But uh, there’s something else.”

Marcus brought the pile of sticks closer, and a sense of dread filled Harry’s stomach. He laid them gently by his feet, and Harry gasped. His Nimbus 2001 was shattered, absolutely ruined. Harry felt crushed, but the sudden feeling of Basil sliding up his arm and towards his ear soothed him slightly.

“I’m not letting you get on a broom without me again.” She hissed at him, and it made him laugh inside. Outside though, he knew his face looked devastated. It was kind of funny that Harry had fought Voldemort twice but in this moment he felt more upset about his broom than that.

A few days later Madam Pomfrey finally, finally realised Harry. He beelined for the DADA classroom, and was relieved to find Professor Lupin alone.

“Sir,” he said, “may I have a word?”

“Oh,” Professor Lupin looked up from a moon chart, “of course Harry, come in. How can I help you?”

“Sir, I wondered what you could tell me about-“

“About the dementors?” He interrupted, and Harry nodded. “They’re a nasty species. Quite volatile really. They guard the prison Azkaban, I trust you are familiar?”

“That’s where Sirius Black escaped from, it's why they’re here, looking for him. Because they think he’s after me.” Harry responder, and Lupin nodded.

“Yes, but do you know why they guard Azkaban?”

“No, sir.” Harry shook his head.

“A dementor has a special power, Harry. They have an effect as if they are sucking all the joy, all the good things out of the world, out of a person. They guard Azkaban because they cause a sense of hopelessness, leaving prisoners incapable of escaping.” Professor Lupin took a deep breath. “And, they have a very keen sense for their prisoners, able to track them wherever they are. It’s what makes the prison so impossible to escape.”

“But Sirius Black did it.”

“Yes, that he did.” Professor Lupin looked very sad for a moment, as if lost in a memory, before he shook his head and looked back at Harry. “Now, Harry, Tell me what you really want to ask.”

“How do you fight off a dementor, sir? They seem to affect me much more than others and I would like to protect myself.” Lupin smiled softly at him.

“You sound like your mother.”

“You knew my parents?” Harry asked, surprised.

“Oh yes,” Lupin breathed deep, a soft smile on his face, “we were in school together, we were very good fiends. You look so much like James, except for the-“

“Eyes, I know.” Harry smiled, but Lupin shook his head.

“It’s not just eyes Harry, it’s your spirit, the way you hold yourself. Lily was smart, a very ambitious witch, much like yourself. She had a strong desire to learn. Many in our house thought she would’ve made a good Slytherin, much like you, if it weren’t for being muggle born.”

“Really?” Harry asked, surprised as no one had ever said anything of the sort to him before.

“Oh yes, Lily was absolutely brilliant, and completely brutal when she wanted to be.” He adopted that same look again, lost in a memory, before shaking himself out of it. “Right then! Dementors. There is one spell to fight against the dementors, but it is a very strong, advanced magic.”

“I’d like to try, sir.” Harry said firmly, and Lupin smiled again.

“Very well!” He clapped his hands together. “Why don’t we start just after the holidays?”

“Thank you, sir” Harry beamed, feeling better for the first time since he saw his broom.