R. A. B
30th may 1979,
Harry is it taken out of his meditative state by a tapping sound on his bedroom window. There is an owl outside there carrying today’s edition of the daily prophet. Harry gets up from the floor and moves towards the window to quickly allow the owl in the room so that no one in the muggle area gets confused at the strange sight.
Harry had taken refuge in a cheap muggle guest house just the next day of his arrival. He wanted to stay away from magical world until he learns Occlumency and has gotten a bulletproof background story about his identity. Till then he could not risk a repeat performance of what happened in the ministry when he collided with Dorcas meadows. He does not want anyone else getting suspicious of him. He takes the newspaper from the owl and offers it some owl treats.
Soon after finding a place to stay in muggle world, Harry had disguised himself and proceeded to visit every bookstore in Diagon Alley and hogsmeade. From there he bought books on Occlumency, legilimenncy, Veritaserum and family genealogy books. By the end of that visit, Harry had around two dozen books on his hand.
He started with learning occlumency and along with it he also started to read family genealogy books so that he can learn the names and basic details of the other Potters in wizarding Britain who could help him in establishing an airtight background story.
In the last 4 weeks, his mind shields have gotten quite strong. This time he did not pressurise his mind to hide back all the memories like he did during those disastrous lessons with Snape. He found that learning this art from books is much better in his case then someone teaching him specially at the very beginning. He has to agree that using the help of a trusted legilimens to try and check your occlumency Shields is quite helpful in the later stages of learning it. But Harry will have to perfect it on his own. He also started reading the books on legilimency so that he could understand the methods with which one can enter your mind so that he could learn prevention techniques for every such method.
Now that Harry is no longer a host of Voldemort’s soul piece, It has become much easier to control his mind. He thinks that it was altogether stupid to think that occlumency could have helped him protecting his mind from Voldemort when it was not the mind of the two of them that was connected but the connection of a Soul piece of Voldemort to Harry’s body.
So, Harry is now reasonably assured that his secret will remain safe and that no one can know the details about his future until he decides to share it with them. A great load of burden has been lifted from his shoulder as a result. Now he can carry on his task without worrying. Harry has also begun learning about ways to prevent revealing information when one is under the truth serum. But on that front he could only learn theoretically because he doesn’t have anybody else’s help who could dose him with it and then ask him questions to practice his control under Veritaserum. But it will do for now.
In his free time Harry also read through the past year newspaper of the wizarding world so as to get the understanding of not only the ongoing war but also about the general life in late 70s.
From the genealogy books, he learned that many members of Potter family lost their life in the war against Grindelwald. Thus, at present, the only Potters in Britain aside from his grandparents ( Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter) and James Potter are Charlus Potter, Fleamont's first cousin, Doria Potter his wife and their son Kayden Potter. Charlus and Doria Potter are in their early 70s while their son is a couple of years older than Harry.
Harry does not know what to write in the letter to them and how to ask for their help without sharing too much of details about himself much less about the future. He does not even know if he can trust these people. What if he is making a grave mistake by entrusting such a precious knowledge to the people he knew practically nothing about as all the potters were dead before his parents’ death in 1981. But he has no knowledge of what was the cause of their deaths. On the top of all this, Dorea Potter is a black by birth, she is the sister of Bellatrix’s father. How could Harry trust her when most Blacks are blood purist arseholes.
The only Black Harry knows for sure would not side with Voldemort is Sirius Black. Not even Regulus Black is making to the list because Harry is not sure why the young Black turned his back on his master to whom he had sworn allegiance. What kreacher told about his young master was in no way a conclusive help in understanding Regulus’s reasons. And even if he could trust that Regulus Black will keep his secrets safe, what reason does Regulus has to work with Harry and trust a practical stranger. He may as well decide to just leave and hide in some other country after Harry saves him from his much too early death. And even making sure that Regulus does not die in that cave is a difficult goal.
This is all too much complicated and Harry has not even begun working for his task. He is just hiding in muggle world. He has been too much cautious which is totally against his nature. He had listened to the Hermione in his head telling him to be alert and careful but that is stopping him from moving forward. Thus Harry had decided to stop listening to that voice and jump into doing at what comes to his mind.
And the idea that Harry has in his mind is to talk to Regulus Black, even though death had assured him that fate will make his meeting with young black, he wants to do something and this is the only thing that his gut feeling is telling him to do.
The young Black is in his last year at Hogwarts. He is the head boy along with Amelia Bones as the head girl from Hufflepuff house. Harry remembers her as the young formidable head of the department of magical law enforcement. In his time, she was the youngest person to claim the role at just 33 years of age. She was also the aunt of his classmate, Susan Bones. Black is also the quidditch captain of the Slytherin team holding the role as their seeker.
Harry had decided to follow his instincts. At this point anything is better than sitting around and worrying. He needs action. So, today being a day for hogsmeade visit for the students. He will go to the village and hope to find Black there to have a private chat. He has no further plan whatsoever, he will make as he goes.
He once again feels a pang at the reminder of how alone he is. In the last month he had no one to talk to, to eat food with, to share his worries, to simply get a hug from. He is really totally alone. The realisation that he had really left everyone behind just to make this world a better place hits him more heavily after a month of self isolation. He will never meet his friends. Even if he meets them, they will not be His friends. There will never be a golden trio. He misses them so much that it hurts to even breathe. He just prays he made the right choice.
Harry takes a quick bath and dresses up in one of the few new cloths he had bought.
He had decided to reach the village early on so that he can wait their for his target. He apparated there at 9:45 and set his camp on the window seat of hogshead bar because he knew that it will be less crowded because the students tend to go to the three broomsticks or to madam Pudifoot's. At least that was the case in the future. From his seat he has a clear view of the road that leads students to hogsmeade from Hogwarts.
At 10:15 students started crowding the village but the bar is comparatively empty as he had guessed.
He is at his third Butter bear, but still there is no sign of Black. It’s past noon now and the owner of the bar, who he knows is Aberforth Dumbledore is eying him suspiciously. He knows he might look a little crazy looking wistfully out the window. As if he is waiting for his lover. When the real reason is far from it.
Harry decides to have a late lunch while he is waiting, it is almost 3:00 and only two hours remain before which students will have to return to the school.
Harry sighs, disappointed that today he did not do anything productive. Each day of no work on his part is one day more of letting down Magic, who has chosen him as her champion to save magical people in wizarding Britain. Dumbledore’s training of his as a pig for slaughter has made him such that he hates to disappoint people who had placed responsibility on him especially responsibilities such big like saving people from a dark wizard.
Then he see a tall girl with reddish blond hair and hazel eyes, who looks quite familiar, but Harry cannot put his finger on it. She is walking speedily towards the shrieking shack.
Now, Harry knew he had no business following her, for all he knew she could be going to a secret rendezvous place to meet with her lover. But he was bored out of his mind and his gut feeling told him to follow her.
Ohh, how he wishes that he had his invisibility cloak with him. But alas the cloak along with the other two deathly hallows are there where they should be in this timeline. Thus, James must have it.
He walks towards the dilapidated building as discreetly as possible. Then when he reaches the corner, he casts a disillusionment charm on himself and then makes his way towards the backside of the building.
He peeks towards the side of the building and finds the same girl alone. No she was not really alone. Now she had a Raven sitting on her left shoulder and a parrot on her right shoulder. This is really strange. Harry was sure that the way the girl was walking with purpose that she was up to meet someone. Not two birds.
The raven then does something even more strange, it flies in front of the girl's right shoulder and seems to be having some talk with the parrot. Then the parrot fly towards the shack and enters it from the back window. While the raven flies a little ahead and seems to be making his way towards the Hogwarts entrance gate. The girl also starts moving. Harry, in his disillusioned state follows her after casting a wordless silencing charm on his shoes.
The raven does not go towards the gate of Hogwarts, rather moves towards forbidden forest. Harry is finding this situation super suspicious as the girl begins following the raven's lead.
Harry is in for another shock, as the girl seems to be walking towards the Womping willow and then she conjures a long stick and presses it to the tree's knot to stop it’s branches from moving.
Harry thought that nobody knew about this entrance of the shrieking shack as this place was only used by Lupin for his monthly transformations. Then why is this girl entering the most scared from building of Britain.
Harry, being the reckless Gryffindor that he is, he follows her without thinking it through.
Both times he had entered the shack, he had eye opening experience. The first time in his third year where he met Sirius and then when Nagini killed Snape at the same place. Why is this place linked to strange experiences of his life, Harry will never know.
Climbing the stairs and reaching the main room of the building, Harry gets the feeling of being watched. He takes out his wand and observes his surrounding. The girl is looking out through the window, the same one from which the parrot flew in but it is not present here in the room.
Then he hears footsteps approaching. So the person this girl was meeting secretly is finally here. But why did she go to the village if she knew that the only entrance to shrieking shack is through the Womping willow and the fact that there is no entrance to the shack from the village where she first went to.
Harry slowly moves towards a corner so that he is out of the way and waits for the scene to unfold. Once again checking that the disillusionment charm is still on.
Then suddenly from his right, a soft voice says, “finite.” And then his disillusionment is gone and the girl before him is pointing her wand at him. Harry quickly recovers from the shock that there is one more person in the room besides the girl in front of him and goes on to cast a shield around himself but before he could do that, a spell is cast to immobilise him. The sudden moment causes his wand to fall on the floor with a loud clatter. Harry is sure that this spell was neither cast by the first voice nor the girl in front of him.
The first one was cast by a girl, as the voice casting finite was definitely feminine, who must also be under disillusionment and was standing just on his right and the Immobulous was cast by someone else, most probably the one whose footsteps he had heard.
Harry comes to the harsh realisation that this was most probably an ambush. Three people who wish to harm him. Oh wait! Three people!
The raven and the parrot. So they were animagus. The parrot is the girl on his right who was already disillusioned and waiting for the first girl to arrive with Harry and the raven is the person standing at the room entrance, who had cast the Immobulous charm. From his vantage point where Harry is currently immobilised, he cannot see the person who entered the room. And the girl on his right is still disillusioned.
The girl on the front, following whom has caused all this trouble, reaches forward and picks his wand from the floor, then asks him, “Who are you? Why have you been following me?”. The charm is removed from his mouth so that he can speak and answer them
Harry speaks nothing. And really what will he tell, ‘oh just nothing. I was here to meet a guy who is most probably a death eater. Since, he didn’t come and I was bored out of my mind so I decided to follow you because my gut told me to do so.’ Yeah no. It is better to keep quite.
The girl on not receiving the answer cast a mild cutting hex on his leg that result to a sting and blood dripping from his new wound. Really Harry had had much worse. And nothing this school girl can do could be worse from what he had faced from actual death eaters who had lost their marbles in Azkaban and had become almost feral. Harry's entire life he has been bearing pain, whether physical or mental. It will not deter him into answering to these children’s questions.
Though, he also has to admit that these are no normal school kids if at least two of them are animagus.
The girl asks his name once again. Now telling his name is no problem but still Harry knows that he could not answer any further question which will surely come after. When he does not answers again, she cast a mild stinging hex on his other leg. Again amateur. Harry comes to the conclusion that even though she is getting restless from his silence, she is unwilling to hurt him. Must be a Hufflepuff.
It is clear that she is trying very hard to find out who is he and what is his motive behind following her. She is trying to get a good look of his face to find something. But the best conclusion she could come up will be that he is a muggleborn.
Harry knows that in wizarding world, people can be identified from their looks. Like red hairs are for Weasleys Or prewetts. Whitish Blond is for Malfoys. Grey eyes and curly black hair is for Black family members. Brownish blond is for Rosiers and lovegood etc.. But his appearance is such a fine merge of his parent's looks that no one can tell which family he belongs to just by looking.
Harry still has the lightening bolt scar on his forehead, although it’s a bit subdued now that the horcrux is gone. He still has his perpetually messy black hair. His mother's nose and warm skin colour, his father's face structure and height. The only thing that Harry changed was his eye colour. His eyes are much too similar to that of his mother thus people may be able to draw the dots. Not wanting to risk such, Harry had bought eye lenses and applied them. Now his eyes are of jade green colour instead of the earlier bottle green. Thus, for the ones who don’t know where to look at, he will not seem familiar at all.
The thing Harry does not understand is why the other two people who are with this girl not helping her in investigating and intimidating Harry into submitting to them. Why do they not want to be seen by him? Why are they standing in shadows when it is clear that this girl much too Hufflepuff to even hurt an insect much less a human.
When nothing works, she let’s out a frustrated huff and then casts a tickling charm.
The charm is strong as compared to the earlier two hexes which are now hurting even more because of the little movements he is making but still he is immobilized.
Harry knows that though a light charm, if cast long enough it hurts. And he is reaching that stage of hurt faster because the girl had cast a really strong charm in her irritated state. His insides are hurting too much from laughing.
Harry feels he will pass out because the girl will not cancel the charm until he gives her something to work on, when the girl on the right says, “Amelia, stop.”
Initially Harry is too busy trying to catch his breath to notice what is happening and why this person stopped this Amelia girl with such strong and determined tone in her voice. But still there is a sweetness in this voice which subconsciously reminds Harry of Luna.
When Harry blinks his eyes to blink away the tears that had fallen due to laughing so much that his lungs had started to burn, he sees a girl with very light golden blonde hairs, beautiful sky blue colour eyes is crouching before him. She is tracing the mark on his forearm with a light finger touch. Harry holds his breath and prays that this girl recognises the tattoo. Harry cannot afford to be killed by a bunch of school student and that too using a tickling hex. He has a dark Lord to tackle!
It is silent for a long moment then she gestures the fourth person in the room to come forward. The figure is hesitant at first, seemingly not wanting for Harry to see him. But then he moves forward slowly as if reluctant but still following his friend?
This is when Harry sees him. RAB. So, this must be why his instinct was telling him to follow this Amelia girl. Because she was meeting Regulus Black. He remembers him from the photo he had seen in his room while horcrux hunting. The boy after whom Harry had been here after all. Harry hopes that Black knows about this mark as he is from an old traditional family. His work will be so much easier.
The features of Amelia person are the same as the Amelia Bones, he had seen her whilst his trial in the summer before his 5th year. That is why Harry thought she was recognisable.
The girl other than Amelia and Regulus nods her head and then she points her wand at him and heals his injuries. Then cast a counter charm so that he can have his bodily movements back. Harry moves to sits up and corrects his glasses. It all feels too much surreal to be freed without a word.
The girl crouching before him brings her hand forward in offering which he uses to stand up.
“Hello, my name is Pandora Avery. It is nice to meet you.”
Harry, now reassured that he will not be cursed again, nods at her.
He moves his hand, palm up towards Amelia Bones, silently asking to give his wand back. She looks towards Regulus Black for confirmation. He scans his face then looks towards the mark on his forearm, frowns and then gives a slow nod after a moment. Harry keeps his wand in his hand, still not sure if he can trust these three.
“Do you know what this mark means?” He asks Black, already done with this day but still ploughing through, now that he had gotten hands on the man of the hour.
Black narrows his eyes, and answers reluctantly, “It is mother magic's mark. No harm should come to you, you are to be either aided or left alone.” Harry heaves a sigh, relieved that these people will not hurt him again and that Regulus Black has at least a little reason to trust him. If that is the case, seeking Black’s help can be easier.
“But you must understand,” Black continues, “that in time like these you should not have followed a respectable young woman from an old family. She got panicked and asked for our help. Had you told us who you are or why did you follow her or shown your mark to us in the least, we would not have any cause to bring you harm. Our sincerest apologies.” He gritted out, his dislike of harry clear in his stormy grey eyes. Not all sounding regretful that they had hexed him. Just not wanting to bring ire of mother magic by hurting the one who is marked by magic herself.
Harry smiles a little and gives a small nod to Amelia Bones. Knowing that he could not begrudge her hexing him when he had been keeping a trail on her.
Harry looks to the girl with Bones and Black. Pandora Avery. She is Luna's mum! Wow. She is a really beautiful girl just like her daughter. Her aura is peaceful, intelligent, inviting and calming. He feels that he can trust her the most in this room. He gives a huge smile, really happy at meeting her. Though her resemblance to Luna is a little overwhelming. “Thank you. My name is Harry Potter.”
Pandora smiles back and nods. Amelia is looking at him in suspicious. While Black's eyes flash in anger, why, Harry does not know.
Then he looks at Black and says, “I was actually wanting to have a word with you. Regulus Black. I was sitting in hogshead waiting for you, then I saw miss Bones and got the urge to follow her. I apologize. My intention was not to scare you. My instincts must have known that you will lead me to Black here.”
Bones looks at him and scans his eyes for honesty. When she is satisfied with whatever she sees in his eyes, she nods and gives him a small smile back.
“What did you want from me?” Black asks.
“A talk. In private.” He replies.
“No.” the reply comes from not Black but from the two girls present in the room.
The three seems to be having a silent conversation with their eyes.
Black sighs, “Say whatever you want here.” Seemingly falling to the whims of the girls.
“Look, I mean no harm to you. In fact, this is really important discussion for your life. And I don’t think you would like for the others to listen this. Please.”
Before Black can reply, Pandora interrupts. “Reg, either you talk to him in front of us or you will not talk at all. You know the mark means that either we help the one marked by magic or not get in their way. But that does not mean that he cannot and will not cause you harm. And him being magic's champion also does not mean that I will stop coming in his way if he even tries to lift a finger to hurt my best friend.” There was steel in her voice when she spoke. Harry knew that this girl is not to be trifled with. Her soft and sweet nature will not deter her from protecting her loved ones. And apparently, Regulus Black is one such name in the list. Her logic is also correct on the other hand. Harry also liked her straight forward nature.
Harry, on seeing that both the girls will not allow him to speak to Black in private, decides to be a little less straight forward in approaching Black.
“I want your help. If you agree that is. Also I want to warn you against going to a cave alone with only your house elf Kreacher accompanying you there as that could be quite a life threatening experience. I would like if we both could go together there to hunt down the locket. And lastly, the locket is not the only one.”
Initially Harry did not know whether this Regulus had found out about the existence of locket horcrux from Kreacher because he does not know the exact date of events in the past. So he spoke considering that when young Black comes to the conclusion of Voldemort having a locket horcrux, he will remember what Harry had said and understand the gravity of the situation he had found himself in and would try and contact Harry if he cares about his life. But in that case he would have appeared confused, not at all understanding what bullshit Harry is speaking. But no. Black's eyes are blown wide and his mouth falls open. So Black must know already.
Now that Harry observes carefully, Black is looking worn out with dark black circles under his eyes and skin sallow. He also appears to have lost weight recently because his robes hang on his frame a little. He is looking at Harry disbelievingly. Harry meets his eyes head on. Not wanting to appear a cheat or a con in anyway.
“Impossible”. Black mutters. “Who are you?” he asks him harshly, eyes red and narrowed and then in a whisper, “How do you know about the locket?”
“That is irrelevant at the moment, you just… ..”
“Like hell it is irrelevant.” Black shouts.
“Reg, what’s going on? Which locket is he talking about and what cave are you planning to go? You told me that you will make everything alright. What are you hiding Reg?” Bones appears to be distressed after listening to Harry hinting at Black’s mortal peril. Pandora’s reaction is not much different.
Black looks towards Bones with so much love and affection in his eyes that Harry feels he is interrupting something private and turns his head away to give them some privacy. So, Amelia was meeting her lover behind the shrieking shack. Harry following her may have lead to change in plans of the three of them. They must have decided to question Harry at somewhere even more private then the backside of the shack. Which is apparently how they are inside the building.
But who would have thought. Regulus Black and Amelia Bones. So, the young Black had died last time, leaving his lover behind. That is why Amelia bones from his time was single. She must have loved him too much to be attached to anyone else.
Pandora also comes to stand at Harry’s side to give the young couple a moment. “So, are you James Potter’s cousin or something?”
“Tricky question, miss Avery.” He says with a secretive smile. “Yes, you can say that we are related.”
She nods at his answer.
“Do you know occlumency?” he asks a little while latter. To which she nods again.
“And your friends. Do they know occlumency.”
“All purebloods know how to protect their mind, Potter. You would have known if you were one.” The reply comes from Black who has once again regained his composure. Once again back to his pompous, arrogant pureblood self.
“Better a half-blood then a pureblood who murders, Black.” Harry replies. And gives him a cheeky smile. Black does not show any reaction to his reply outwardly but his eyes flash showing his intense dislike for Harry. Oh well Harry can never stop himself from putting foot in his mouth. He wants Regulus Black to be on his side and that is not possible if he continues throwing jabs at him.
“Definitely related to the cocky self centred prick, James Potter.” Bones comments.
“I will like for all three of you to hide this conversation from anyone else. Your family, friends, lovers, relatives, associates. Irrespective of their allegiance, I want this meeting to stay hidden.” Harry looks at each three of them to make sure that they understand the gravity of the situation. “Black, when were you planning on..,… ..”
Amelia interrupts him and ask Black, “Reg, you still have not told us what is this cave you were going and why is this locket so important. I am scared Reg. You said you know how to end this war but Potter here tells us that your life is in danger. I wish you had agreed to run away from all this. I wish you didn’t have to join these .. these criminals. Like Sirius had ,… . …”
“Amy” Black heaves a sigh. “Please not this again. You know that I had to do what I did. And I can’t tell you and Dora anything more about this. It is already too much risky. I don’t even know how this Potter knew about it. It is impossible. I was always careful. And just because he also knows about the biggest key to end this war does not mean that we can trust him.” Black, for the first time since Harry met him looses a little control on his mask and his distress and suffocation about the situation he is struck in is quite visible.
He asks harry, “How do I believe that what you said is true. That there are more. What if this is not some trap set up by someone to check my fealty. Because no one should know about it.” Black is clearly agitated. Harry will have to give something to him to work on.
Harry puts his hands up in surrender gesture. “Ohk, ok Black, first you tell me when you were planning to go?”
Black answers after a few seconds, “Tonight. After meeting with Dora and Amy.”
Right, Harry thanks fate for making Harry meet Regulus today. Otherwise it would have been too late. That is what fate did. The strong gut feeling and the instincts leading him to this. Harry closes his eyes and thanks fate for her intervention.
“Ok, that’s good. So if you were directly going to go to pick up the locket then you must know this – ‘To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.’
This is not a trick Regulus. Only you knew about this note until now. I request you not to go to the cave and if you do please take someone to help you there. I know that we do not trust each other but we have the same goal. But also my secret is almost as big a secret as this one. I can’t tell you anything more until I can trust you. I know I am asking for too much while giving too little.”
Regulus appears to carefully understand each thing he said. Meanwhile, Pandora and Amelia are confused as to the cryptic conversation between him and Black.
“Did Dumbledore sent you? Are you working for him?” Amelia is the one who asks him this.
“No. I am not working for anyone. And I do not like Dumbledore’s methodology. As of now I am on my own.”
“This is a big task you have to see through, Harry Potter.” Pandora states.
“Yeah well. It is difficult to trust people in time like these. Especially when you come from too far away.” He replies.
Black finally comes out of his musings and says, “Tell me how many more are there?”
“Total there are six and the remaining part is in his own body.” Black pales listening to this and Pandora inhales sharply. Most probably the Ravenclaw had figured out what is going on. “Your death would have meant nothing.”
Black's eyes are suspiciously red, Amelia on seeing that her boyfriend? needs a moment, to get back his composure, shifts everyone’s attention on herself by asking Harry, “Are you a seer?”
Harry laughs hearing this. Seeing as a seer's words were the reason behind the trajectory that is his life. But he assumes that as Harry is telling them all these things that should not be known by anyone, him being a seer is more a possibility then him being from the future.
“No. I am not a seer. But whatever I have told you is the truth. Black can die in any other way apart from going to that cave. He is a death eater after all.”
“And you know how to destroy them?”
“I do. But I need your help in collecting all six of them.”
“I want to help.” Amelia says.
“Amy, You are not going anywhere near those… .”
“Me too. And we are not asking you reg. We are telling you.” Pandora interjects.
“For us Reg, please. After this is all over. We can be together. Don’t you want that.” Amelia said, taking Black’s hand in hers and an imploring look in her eyes.
Black closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Then he looks at his best friend and girlfriend?, knowing that the girls are not going to budge he nods with a frown marring his face.
“I do want to ask you something. Just to satisfy my curiosity. If you knew that your dying was a very likely outcome then why didn’t you tell anyone about it. I mean I know that you didn’t knew about the others and you thought that it was the only one but you at least knew that the war will never end until the locket had been destroyed.”
Black sighs, “No, I also thought of the possibility of other such objects but I had no lead on that. And about no one knowing about his horcrux? Well actually I did had a fail safe in place. If I lived, I would have researched more and if not, I had ordered kreacher to deliver my notes and research on this matter to an unspeakable whom I trust. They would know and would have carried the work on.” Black answers.
Harry’s feels his eyes widen at the implication. There was someone else in the past that knew. But why did they not do anything. Or were they on Voldemort’s side and Black trusted the wrong person.
“Who were you going to tell? What is the name of that unspeakable?” Harry asks.
“I don’t think it is of concern to you Potter.”
“Black, you do know that Voldemort has gotten his people in department of mystery right?”. All three of them inhale sharply and look at Harry with wide eyes, most probably at his taking the name of tom riddle. Harry rolls his eyes.
So, maybe the person whom Black trusted with this information was a spy for Voldemort and thus the truth about horcrux did not come to life until Lucius Malfoy released Voldemort’s diary in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts. Which was the first time that Dumbledore got the idea of Voldemort’s immortality.
“What?”. Thus, Black did not know that an unspeakable is secretly working for Riddle.
“who was going to get you notes on horcrux black? Who did you entrust this information with? Who was your fail safe and why did you trust them even more then your own girlfriend and best friend.”
“I knew that this was a too big of a secret. I had to protect Amy and Dora, I couldn’t tell them. I knew that someone else would be needed to help on it. It was bigger that either sides of the war. Then the whole blood purity matter. So, I thought that unspeakables would be helpful as this is not something even family as dark as mine knows about in much detail. So, I asked Kreacher to try destroy the locket and kill Voldemort himself but if he was unsuccessful then he was to deliver my notes to Dorcas Meadows.”
Harry feels earth shaking beneath him. So this is why Voldemort personally went to kill her. Most probably August Rookwood, who was the spy in department of mystery informed his master about what research Meadows was conducting but before she could do anything about it or inform the order she was also killed.
And there might be chances that she did tell her boyfriend Peter Pettigrew. Anything could have happened in that past. But if Lupin’s theory was true about the reason behind Pettigrew’s betrayal then if Meadows is saved then Voldemort will not have a spy among the order.
‘fuck' he thinks. So many mysteries and secrets which never were known by anyone in the future.
“I want all three of you to make an unbreakable vow to me that you would not reveal what we have discussed today to anyone else unless agreed by all four of us and that you will aid me in bringing down Lord Voldemort.” Harry says.
All three of them nod and Harry makes the vow with Black first where Pandora acts as a binder then with Bones. Black acts as the binder when he makes the vow with Pandora.
“We need to leave now, its time to return back to Hogwarts.” Bones said.
“Wait,” Harry said, then asked Black, “Do you have any contact with Dorea potter and her family?”
“No.” came the short reply. “Why?”
“I need a back story.”
“And what about your true back story?”
“It’s complicated. But why will anyone help me if they are suspicious of me and I can’t tell my real back story to anyone.”
“You do know that If you tell a Potter, either by birth or by marriage, anything confidential then they won’t be able to divulge it to anyone other than a Potter and that is also if it is necessary. Or are you not even a Potter really.”
Harry grits out his answer, “I am a Potter, black. The truth about my past has to stay hidden. It is important.”
“So, what’s the problem then. Any pureblood family and its members are bound to protect its secrets. The same is with the Potters. You write a formal letter. Asking them to meet in a neutral setting. Before sharing your precious past story, take out your wand and say ‘secretum familiae quoquo’. And your secret is safe with the Potters. Then they can decide to help you or not but it will stay within the family only.”
This was like the easiest solution of a problem Harry had been struggling for far too long. And Black says it all so nonchalantly. As if it is common. Or maybe it was. For the Black family. Or maybe Harry did not know and it was normal for all purebloods. The only purebloods he knew were the Weasleys and they were not that much into customs and traditions.
“And what if I tell them but they do not trust me that I am telling the truth?”
At this Black raises an eyebrow, no doubt thinking about what is Harry hiding that people will not believe him even after him telling the whole story. He sighed as if had been asked too much and answered. “There is another spell -'sola veritas praevalebit in populo meo', after this you can not lie to your family. But before that you will need to prove that you really are a Potter. So, in the letter, requesting the meeting, ask them to bring the family quill. You will have to write your real name on a parchment. If you really are a Potter then the writing will be in your own blood. It will show your real name and that of your parents and grandparents on both sides. If you are lying then the quill will suck all the blood from your body and you will die immediately.”
Harry is really amazed at learning this new thing about family magics.
“Wow. This is really great.” Harry laughs. “So, give proof of my real identity then cast the spell so that they will know I am speaking the truth and then cast the spell to stop them from telling it to anybody who is not a Potter by blood or by marriage. Amazing. This solves all my problem. You really are great Regulus Black. Kreacher was right. Thank you, really.” Harry says excitedly.
“When have you met my house elf?” Black asks. His tone going dangerously calm.
“Now where is the fun in that, Will tell you when it’s all done Black.” Harry says with a wink. Black rolls his eyes opens his mouth to question further. “I am not telling you anything. Also no going to big, dark caves, baby Black.”
Before Black could say anything he bids them all goodbye and leaves the shack quickly before he could be reprimanded for calling names and that too of the current heir of the noble and most ancient house of Black.