Ad libitum

“Hey kiddo. Everything packed? Ready to leave Durskaban?”

Harry looked up from the book he had retreated to the garden on Privet Drive with. The last few weeks had not gone completely without problems. The Dursleys, especially Vernon and Dudley, had tried everything to enforce their old behaviour. The teen, however, had refused to be provoked, which only made the two male Dursleys more resentful.

A grinning Tony stood in front of him, his hands casually buried in the pockets of his jeans. 

“Oh, yes, I do!” Harry slammed his book shut, ran into the house through the back door, past Aunt Petunia, up the stairs into Dudley's second room. Hedwig was sitting on her cage, rustling her wings indignantly at the sudden noise.

“We're leaving, Hedwig. You'll find me, won't you?”

Hedwig hooted and, as if to annoy his relatives one last time, flew out the door and out through the kitchen. Harry grinned, grabbed the handle of his trunk and joined Tony.

“So, where are we off to?”

Tony grinned wryly. "Hold on tight.”

Harry looked around in amazement and couldn't help making an admiring sound. Blackwood Castle was simply stunning. “Why didn't the Order set up their HQ here? Grimmauld Place is a depressing dark hole.”

“Simple,” laughed Tony. “True, Blackwood Castle is surrounded by even more robust protective spells than Grimmauld Place. To the extent that no one who hasn't been personally invited by the Duke of Blackwood can enter the estate. The same goes for the surrounding land. When the previous Earl dies, everyone is immediately expelled from the property, with only what is on the body, but retains the information about the location. Dumbledore would never have taken the risk of establishing the headquarters in such an uncertain location. He does not believe in the legitimacy of the Oath as a godfather. Dumbledore was not sure that my declaration that you were my heir would be given more weight by Blackwood magic than, say, Draco's family tree, whose lineage is more direct than yours. Without your adoption in magic and blood, this would be quite a cause for concern. Yet many forget that your grandmother was also a Black.

Draco's mother, however, is a Black by birth, as is Bellatrix Lestrange. If Draco were the next Duke of Blackwood, through him Bellatrix and Voldemort would have access to resources that should never fall into their hands. Dumbledore would rather take the risk that one of Avalon's last fountains of knowledge would be lost than that Voldemort and his people would gain access to knowledge known only to a few.”

Harry let what he had said run through his mind and then sighed. “I just don't understand Dumbledore sometimes. Sure I can see that we should prevent Riddle from gaining any more knowledge. But what if that very knowledge could be used to put Riddle and his people out of the way once and for all?”

“Knowledge is power,” Tony agreed with the younger man. “But not all power should be used and exploited without hindrance. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are, in my opinion, the best examples of that.”

Harry, who had always used the summer holidays with the Dursleys to educate himself in non-magical subjects, nodded in understanding. Hermione in particular was someone who lost sight of reality to some extent when it came to the knowledge she obtained.

So he decided that he would set up at Blackwood Castle ( after cancelling all but one of the previously extended invitations and knowledge of the location) and make use of what must have been an overly well-stocked library. Perhaps at some point he would invite his friends. But he really didn't believe in it. After all, Dumbledore's message had sounded like he was once again expected to spend his summer in the loneliness and torment that had been the stay with the Dursleys. But, that time was over and he had company, at least now and then since Tony had explained that although he would like to be with Harry more often, he still had to go to Rome for work. A new identity didn't build itself. Which Harry understood perfectly.

Tony glanced at the man next to him as they slowly followed the path together through the small hedge thicket on the grounds of Blackwood Castle where the apparation point was located. The other man was tense; after all, it had been a hell of a long time for him since he had last been on the estate. As the thicket gave way to a view of the mansion, Tony thought of the conversation they had had a few days ago and the reason why they were here now.

“I... I'm sorry I've been silent all these years. But my superiors were quite clear. I was not allowed to have any personal contact with anyone from my past. If I violated that, I would lose the protection they offered me. I couldn't risk that! I had accumulated knowledge that I could never allow to fall into the hands of the Dark Lord. And Dumbledore has made it quite clear that he will never overlook the Black name. But, you never wanted to believe me about that.”

“Reggie, Sirius is truly sorry for what he said then, believe me. We don't want to judge you either. But, how did you end up in Italy? Sirius was under the impression that you were okay with everything.”

Reggie, no Artaius, glanced sideways for a moment. “You're partly right. I still stand by some things, like keeping our traditions and that Mundane-born and those who grow up in the Mundane world need better supervision and integration. But I started to dislike the methods. Then, when I also learned what magics Voldemort was delving into, I made the decision to break away from him.”

“What exactly are we talking about?”

Artaius' gaze hardened. “He created Horcruxes!”

Tony looked at Artaius in shock. He knew roughly what a Horcrux was and the idea that someone had created several was just terrifying. Besides, it could complicate so many things, but it also explained the behaviour of a certain walking fashion sin.

“Artaius, we must... this is... Harry must be informed of this. He is a crucial factor in fighting the Dark Lord and if he goes into battle without that knowledge.... It would never end.”

Artaius nodded, then took a deep breath and sighed.

“Okay, I will talk to Tiberius. I think it's time my banishment from Britain was lifted, for the good of all.”

Tony nodded and hoped that Tiberius would agree to the course of action. Artaius would be an incredible asset in the fight against the Dark Lord and his followers. But their superior, of whom all knew only the alias Tiberius, was an incredibly suspicious personality. Who knew whether he believed that Artaius would keep to the other agreements, that he had really turned his back completely on his past.

“I need to talk to you, Harry.” The teen looked up from his book to see Tony standing in the doorway to the library with another man. “It's about two things. One is about Dobby and Winky and the other is about something Dumbledore has been keeping from you and you really need to know.”

Harry bookmarked the page and focused his full attention on the two men. Tony had announced a guest, which was why Harry had allowed him to bring someone, but the person was unknown to him.

“As for the first point, I know you meant no harm. But house elves without a bond to a wizard or magical family are in real danger. Without the regulating and calming effect that a bond provides, their own magic has a degenerative effect on elves - physically, psychically and magically. Of course, there are situations where this fact is exploited.”

Harry felt his stomach tighten. He had wanted to help Dobby, not put him in danger. “What can I do?”

“I suspect that Dobby has already made a tentative connection with you. But, since you didn't respond, he stayed at Hogwarts whose protective wards also have a regulating effect. But, this is not a permanent solution and Winky is in even more danger. I would therefore ask you to call Dobby to you and close the bond. When you have done that, ask him to bring Winky to me. I will offer her protection and welcome as my personal house elf. But before you do that, I want you to meet someone.” Tony pointed at the man beside him. Harry looked at him closely and thought he noticed some similarities to Tony. The dark blond hair was cut in a fashionable version of the Marine high and tight - slightly shorter at the sides than the rest. A neat, short full beard adorned his face and the look from his green eyes was intelligent but also reserved.

“This is Artaius Maël. He is my partner at the UICM. At least that's the official version.”

Would his life ever be without secrets, Harry asked himself cynically. “And what is the non-official version?”

“Nineteen years ago I made a decision that seemed perfectly right at the time and that was to influence my whole life. Sixteen years ago, I learned something that put my decision and my life in a completely different light and I was faced with the hard question of what I was willing to sacrifice and what I was willing to live with. I left my life behind, made everyone believe I had died and even involved Gringotts, who provided me with a new identity, which ensured that there was no indication of my survival. I became Artaius Maël, a name I chose to keep a small inner connection to my former identity. I started working for the UICM and built a new existence, a new life. But the most important rule was that under no circumstances was I allowed to contact my family or my old acquaintances.”

“Are we getting to the really secret thing now?” asked Harry, wondering who the man was that he was making such a fuss about it.

Artaius glanced at Tony and he nodded. The former identity was under a complicated secret spell, not unlike Fidelius. The effect was that Artaius was unable to pronounce his old name. Therefore, Tony would take over.

“Regulus Arcturus Black, son of Orion Arcturus Black and Walburga Black was pronounced dead at the age of eighteen.”

Harry looked from one man to the other, blinking in disbelief. “Regulus Arcturus Black? The younger brother of Sirius Black? If this keeps going on, we can start a dead wizards society,” Harry laughed bitterly and the two adults also grinned wryly. “But correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't Regulus a loyal follower of Riddle?”

“That leads to what Dumbledore is keeping secret and that also happens to be why Artaius left England,” Tony said honestly.

“Okay, take a seat and knock my socks off.”

They obeyed his request and the brothers - for Harry they would be that from now on - looked at each other questioningly, then Tony shrugged his shoulders.

“You know more about it than I do. Until you told me about it, that kind of magic was just a dark bugaboo.”

Artaius nodded and began to tell. About who Tom Riddle really was - which Harry already knew - and through what kind of magic he had tried to gain immortality.

“I don't know exactly how many Horcruxes he created, but from what Tonius told me, I assume at least three. Probably more, though. Two have already been destroyed, this happened relatively simultaneously. You'll have to get one for us, Harry, but that shouldn't be a problem. Once we have it, with the help of the Gidwerg, we can perform a ritual that will call all possible other Horcruxes to us.”

“The what, please?”

“Gidwerg. The people who run Gringotts?”

“I thought they were called Goblins,” Harry said uncertainly. In the relatively short time he'd been at Blackwood Castle now, it had become apparent over and over again that he had some pretty crucial gaps in his knowledge when it came to the magical world. Best example: that no one had informed him about how important it was for house elves to be connected to a magical family in reality.

“Goblins is a phrase used about two hundred years ago by a wizard who had lost a lot of money in dishonest dealings. The Ríjarl of the time, the leader of all the clans of the Gidwerg, found the term so amusing that he adopted it as a definition for those who work in the counter hall.”

“The Gidwerg are a proud people, often looked down upon because of their smaller stature,” Tony explained. “As you've already noted, ‘Goblins’ look different from, say, the account managers of the old families. These are just rather elaborate charms and are meant to dissuade customers from thinking stupid ideas. But if you ask me, this is by and large superfluous when you think about it more carefully. After all, what person in their complete right mind would voluntarily break into people's places with earned names like Sharptooth, Ironclaw, Steelneck or Wolfblade?” Tony shook his head in disbelief. Harry could only agree with him. It really was a stupid idea.

“Okay, so you think the Gidwerg would help us if I somehow got the third Horcrux. How you need to explain to me in more detail. What are/were the two that have already been destroyed?”

Tony turned fully to Harry and by the change in his voice pitch he could tell that he was now talking more to Sirius. “Remember the diary in your second year?”

Harry laughed scornfully. “How could I forget the stupidity of a little girl who nearly killed me? Her own father said to us that nothing and no one should be trusted unless it could be seen where the brain was and yet she pours her heart out over a bloody fantasy figure between the pages? She put the whole damn school in danger and didn't think for a second that there could possibly be a connection.” He took a deep breath to calm himself. “So, the diary was a Horcrux? Do I understand that correctly? What was the second one? Which, as you say, was destroyed at the same time.”

“We don't know how, and we'll probably never know why, but when Riddle attacked your parents and tried to kill you, that's when he involuntarily created another Horcrux that lodged itself inside you. Specifically, in your scar. Then, when the basilisk bit you in the chamber, you came so close to death for a moment that it was destroyed.”

“But why,” Harry tried not to panic, “why then did I get visions of him? Why, before I learned Occlumency, did my scar hurt so badly that I could hardly form a clear thought?”

“We suspect that it is an echo. It's nothing earth-shattering in itself and can be removed by the Gidwerg without any problems.”

Harry wondered why no one had brought this up before and voiced it aloud.

“Well, yes,” Artaius said with a laugh. “Dumbledore doesn't have a particularly high opinion of the Gidwerg. Might have something to do with the fact that he can't fool them. And it was a Dumbledore who lost the money then and subsequently lost his nerve in the middle of the counter hall. Dumbledore is an egomaniacal bully who wants to control everything and everyone around him.”

“Hagrid once said that Dumbledore could have been Minister but had no desire for the power.”

“Because he already has the post with the most influence,” Tony replied dryly. “He has been Headmaster for over 60 years and before that he was a teacher at Hogwarts. Countless students have been shaped and influenced by him, and in turn, the development and thinking of the country.”

“And not to forget his positions in the Wizengamot and the ICW,” Artaius added. “This allows him to influence laws and wield even more power at a national and international level.”

“Doesn't anyone see what he is doing? And how could it even come to this?” Harry shook his head in disbelief.

“A chain of events, to be honest. First there was the conflict with Grindelwald, then the First Wizarding War with Voldemort. Each time Dumbledore stood there as the great hero and everyone was grateful to him and didn't think much of it.”

Harry had a small eureka moment, but hoped he was wrong. He frowned. “Do you think he had something to do with it?”

“What do you mean?”

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. “Grindelwald was his friend. Dumbledore was the first contact for Muggle-borns in Riddle's time. What do you think the chances are that he had nothing to do with their development? That he didn't influence them in some way?”

The brothers looked at each other in amazement and it was Tony who recovered his speech first. “If that's the truth... The idea is terrible.”

“Even more awful than the fact that he has been an influence on young children for over 60 years?”

“Harry, it is different whether you influence what knowledge is taught or whether you actively create Dark Lords against whom you can then fight.”

“The only way to top that is to withhold knowledge that could have saved people. Dumbledore knew there was a spy in the Order. You don't want to tell me that he didn't know that Pettigrew was playing a false game. At least since Snape had his little fit of guilty conscience, he must have known about it. That begs the question, which one of them kept quiet and knowingly left the Potters in danger?”

Tony and Harry looked to Artaius and realised he was right. Dumbledore could have prevented the deaths of Lily and James and had done nothing.

“If Dumbledore thinks he can deal with me as he did before, he is sorely mistaken,” Harry growled. He could feel the hot anger rising inside him at Dumbledore and his behaviour and he thought he heard a roaring noise growing louder and louder in his ears. It was a sound he had heard many times before. The last time he chased Bellatrix Lestrange through the corridors of the Ministry and was about to use one of the Unforgivables.

“Harry, calm down.” Tony reached for his hand, trying to bring him out of his dark thoughts. Artaius had grabbed him by the shoulder and started shaking him lightly.

Harry took a few deep breaths and noticed the atmosphere in the room calm down. “What was that?”

Artaius laughed softly. “Never a dull moment with you lot, I suppose. Tonius, we have an elemental sitting in front of us.”

Tony made a shocked sound and Harry looked back and forth in wonder. Obviously something again that was common knowledge and completely escaped him.

“A what?”

“Elemental. As you know, there are different types of magic. Light, dark, grey are the most common and simplest classifications. But it would be more correct to say that there are different abilities. Natural Legilimency, Natural Animagi, Parselmouths, Magesight, just to name a few. Elementals are Mages to whom the ability to influence and control the elements is innate and therefore comes more easily. Often, but not always, several of these abilities are combined. Most often natural Legilimency and Magesight. With Tonius, even before his rebirth with Sirius, it was a variation of Legilimency, so that he could perceive the auras of all living beings - including NoMas. With you Harry, it seems to be the often occurring combination of Parselmagic and Elemental Magic. Something that must not be left untrained under any circumstances, as this can become dangerous. Emotional fluctuations can take on destructive proportions in extreme cases.”

“Lisbon earthquake,” Tony explained in response to Harry's questioning look. The latter gulped as he remembered what he had read about the events of 1755. Then he thought for a moment to calm himself further.

“You know, this provides an explanation for something that has never made sense before.” Tony and Artaius raised an eyebrow questioningly at the same time and Harry couldn't help a short laugh. “At the end of my first year at school, when I was trying to stop Quirrelmort from getting the Philosopher's Stone in his crazy possessed fingers, contact with my skin caused him pain and even burned him completely afterwards. Dumbster claimed it was a remnant of Mum's sacrifice. But, if that's really true, if her sacrifice is really supposed to protect me from harm, then why was Vernon never stopped when he thought I was once again breathing too loudly in his presence? Why were Dudley and his gang never stopped from their favourite pastime of harassing me? I can't imagine Mum would have been okay with something like that, and therefore her protection didn't activate.”

“No," Artaius agreed. “Lily Evans couldn't stand injustice and actually intervened on more than one occasion when Slytherins were being harassed by members of other houses.”

“You mean when Dad and his friends were about to cross the line into bullying again. No need to censor yourself to me. So, do you agree with me that Mum's sacrifice isn't as all-powerful as Dumbster always claims?”

“But, discovering your abilities has its drawbacks. You will never be allowed to play Quidditch in a competition again.”

Harry shrugged. “I've always been more about the flying and less about the competition itself anyway.” He thought for a moment and then laughed bitterly. “He said it was love. The power the Dark Lord doesn't know and that would help me defeat him. Dumbster said it was love and I would find a way. He kept me ignorant, withheld information and sent me in the wrong direction. That's over!” The green in his eyes intensified and Tony and Artaius were already bracing themselves for another outburst, but nothing happened. They realised that his reaction had a different background. Harry no longer trusted Dumbledore. In future he would think over and question everything the headmaster said several times and they both hoped that this would save him from too much harm. Too much of what the teen had had to experience in the last few years was the result of trusting Dumbledore too much.

“Okay, we need information about elemental mages and how to train those skills. Then we need to check and confirm that Riddle was either never a true Parselmouth or his abilities are somehow damaged. If he too is an Elemental, then we're screwed. And we can't pin our hopes on him being one of the few percent of Parselmouths who aren't Elementals.”

Harry and Artaius nodded in agreement and the younger grinned slyly. “If you want to spy on Death Eaters, use Dobby. He's got some axe to grind with the Malfoys in particular.”