The Woods & Weems
Sirius Black snuffled around the woods, his nose to the ground, wishing he dared sneak over to Nevermore to see his godson all dressed up for his date.
Poor kid, he’d been shopping for a blue suit. He was just as fashion blind as James.
James…
Sirius let out a whine, the ache of losing James still just as sharp fourteen years later as it was the day it happened. Maybe more so, now that Harry had stolen his photos of him. Not that Sirius begrudged him the theft, Harry deserved to see all the photos, but Sirius enjoyed pouring over them in his loneliest moments.
And bloody hell was he lonely. His only bright spots in his life were the times he got to spend with Harry.
Harry had been tiny, just eleven years old, when Sirius finally tracked him to the horrifying school his relatives shipped him off to. He’d been standing in the middle of the fenced in lawn behind the school, his arms wrapped around his skinny torso, and his eyes big and scared behind his glasses.
He’d looked so much like James, except also not at all like James at all.
Sirius dug a hole beneath the fence and slipped under, still small enough from his ten years in Azkaban to fit, and slowly made his way to Harry. There were a couple dozen boys on the lawns and Sirius barked roughly when one of them aimed a kick at him, but none of them were with Harry.
Poor Harry was sitting by himself, looking like the loneliest child to ever live.
Sirius slunk up beside him and lightened immediately when Harry gave him a small smile and began scratching his ears.
“Hi, buddy,” Harry whispered. He had a tiny voice, unsure and trembling. “Are you lost? You don’t want to be here.”
Sirius woofed and stared at Harry, drinking in all his features. He felt a piece of his heart click in place, the missing piece finally returning.
Not in the right way.
Sirius was a wanted escapee from Azkaban and Harry was a half-blooded wizard in a muggle school for troubled boys, but they were together…
Finally.
“Oi! Potter! Got yourself a friend?”
Harry’s fingers clenched in Sirius’ fur, yanking harshly, but Sirius didn’t mind the pain when he turned his head and saw a stocky boy storming toward them with a mean smirk on his face.
“Hi, Chase…” Harry said quietly, ducking his head when the boy and his cronies stopped right on the other side of Sirius. It didn’t take a genius to see that Harry was terrified of the kid, suddenly shivering and shrinking in himself.
“Finally find someone who can stand being around you?” the boy asked Harry, aiming a kick at Sirius that Sirius dodged, growling through bared teeth.
“‘M not doing anything wrong,” Harry said, backing away from the boy. Sirius snapped his teeth when the boy picked up a stick and started swinging it around.
“You’re always doing something wrong,” another one of the boys sneered at Harry. “Why are you so weird? Did your mummy drop you on your head? Is that where you got that scar?”
If that hadn’t been enough of a reason for Sirius to bite the little pricks, when the one named Chase swung the stick at Harry, smacking him in the side of his face, Sirius snapped.
After Sirius bit the little brat and chased away the others, Harry had given him a wide eyed look of awe while he rubbed the scratch on his face.
“Nobody’s ever stuck up for me before,” Harry whispered. He knelt down beside Sirius and hugged him, nuzzling his face in the neck of Sirius’ fur. “You’re the best dog ever.”
Ever since, Sirius had followed Harry around- place to place, trying to earn that title since he couldn’t be the best godfather ever.
Sirius was making his way back to his makeshift cave, trying to think of what day of the week it was. Saturday, maybe? It seemed like the days all ran together for him but it must be Saturday or Sunday if Harry’s school was hosting a dance. That meant Sirius had to wait another five or six days until he could see Harry in town again.
It was disappointing, but Sirius had waited ten years before, less than a week was nothing.
And… Sirius sniffed and his ears perked up… it sounded like there were people in the woods… maybe he wouldn’t have to wait at all.
Harry seemed to have developed a recent habit of hanging out in the forest that surrounded Jericho and Nevermore. It wasn’t one he had at the beginning of term, so Sirius suspected it had more to do with his new friend.
And Merlin, his friend was weird.
Which was rich, coming from the escaped inmate stalking his godson as a dog, but Wednesday Addams was a weird girl. She was always dressed in all black, even her school uniform which was indigo for everyone else, was dark grey and black. It was even worse when coupled with her monotone voice and dead eyes that sharpened every time they focused on Sirius.
Harry hadn’t seemed to question Sirius’ presence in his life, bless his soul, but Sirius didn’t doubt that Harry’s friend was suspicious of him. It would probably be in his best interest to avoid the girl, but he wasn’t always great at acting in his own best interests.
Certainly not that night when Sirius went to investigate the sounds of multiple people trekking through the forest and found himself snout-to-face with Harry’s friend Wednesday and a girl with pink and blue hair who he hadn’t seen before.
“Oh, is this Harry’s magic siphoning dog?” the pink haired girl asked. She reached out for Sirius and he twitched away, concerned by her question.
Magic siphoning??
Wednesday stared at Sirius for a moment with keen and pursed lips.
“It is,” she said. “I doubt he’s the monster though, let’s keep going.”
Sirius looked up to the sky for a moment, debating with himself. On the one hand (paw) he didn’t like that Wednesday was already creating theories about him that involved magic. On the other hand, if two girls were wandering about the forest looking for the Hyde that lived there, Sirius knew Harry would be devastated if his friend got hurt.
And that settled the issue for Sirius.
While the girls walked, mostly in silence, Sirius trotted along behind them with his tail wagging and tongue lagging.
No magic siphoning there, Sirius was just a lovable stray who happened to follow Harry around for the last four years.
*****
When Tyler had tried to get a tour of Nevermore from Harry, he hadn’t exactly meant a trip from the school’s loading docks to the principals office.
Tyler had seen Principal Weems around before. She came to the Weathervane once a week and had coffee and breakfast with Lucas’ dad, Mayor Walker. Weems was a formidable woman, not one easily forgotten.
And she’d definitely looked formidable when she had to call an ambulance for Lucas, who broke his arm after Harry pitched him, Brian, and Matt over a brick wall with some sort of supernatural power.
Which was awfully weird because Laurel swore Harry was a normie.
“Don’t you see? We needed an Addams descendent for the ritual, then a normie willing to accept his spirit. It’s Wednesday and Harry, those are the two.”
“Why would Harry accept his spirit?”
“Because surely he wants them all destroyed. They’ve done nothing but bully and isolate him for being a normie, just as the others have done to me.”
Tyler smirked to himself, it seemed like Laurel was wrong, which meant that Harry wasn’t needed for her plans after all. Plus, Harry had a hell of a lot more fight in him than Laurel might have assumed. He’d been just as pissed off as Tyler was during their fight with the boys from town who had probably been planning some way to ruin the Rave’N for the outcast students.
Harry didn’t look quite as tough when Weems led them straight from the loading dock to her office, and he looked pretty miserable at the moment, slumped down in his chair, fidgeting with his tie, but damn if it hadn’t been nice to see him ready to kick some ass.
“Hey, you know my dad isn’t going to like arrest you, right?” Tyler murmured to Harry. The two of them were alone in Weems’ large and fancy office, Weems herself had gone down to the main entrance to meet Tyler’s dad, who apparently she had on speed dial.
Harry shrugged his shoulders up and didn’t even look at Tyler.
“I attacked those kids,” he said softly. “I’m pretty sure it was illegal.”
Tyler picked his heavy wooden chair up by the armrests and scooted it right over by Harry’s so he could reach over and brush Harry’s arm with his hand. Laurel warned Tyler not to get close to Harry, and he’d seen the angry looks she sent him during the dance, but Laurel wasn’t in charge of Tyler-
Only Hyde.
“It was self-defense, they attacked us first,” Tyler told him. He tried to catch Harry’s eyes, smile reassuringly, but Harry wouldn’t even look at him.
“If we go to jail then we’ll probably share a cell, Dad says Saturday nights the jail’s always full of drunks, so really it could be another date,” Tyler joked.
That finally caught Harry’s attention and he looked over at him with his eyes wide and terrified- Tyler had never met anyone as easy to read as Harry was.
Harry opened his mouth then closed it, opened it again, closed it.
“I’m kidding,” Tyler said. He could hear footsteps storming closer, his dad’s heavy tread was easy to pick out. “We’ll just tell them the truth, they attacked us first, okay?”
Harry nodded then dropped his eyes to his lap, fingering a rip in his suit jacket slowly. As easy as Harry was to read, he was a damn mystery too and Tyler wondered if he’d ever figure him out.
Why had he been in lockup?
What were his powers he’d used to throw the boys across the alley?
Where did he grow up to get the British accent that stood out in a crowd?
And why did his moods shift quicker than Tyler’s own?
Tyler knew that he and Harry were the same the moment he saw Harry’s eyes and read the desperate sort of loneliness in them. Tyler just wished those eyes spilled Harry’s secrets as easily as they did his every emotion.
Laurel could warn Tyler away from Harry all she wanted, but Tyler didn’t think he’d be going anywhere.
*****
Enid shifted from side to side, nervous and cold, while Wednesday shined her flashlight in another cave.
“This is it!” Wednesday cried. She sounded excited, which totally tracked with what Enid had come to expect from Wednesday Addams.
Wednesday liked serial killers and mysteries, she hated to wear bright colors, and she was probably the funniest person Enid had ever met.
Oh, and Enid was probably crushing more than a little bit on her roommate, but that couldn’t be helped really. Especially not that night, when Wednesday hit Bianca because she insulted Enid and then danced with Enid so sweetly in the hallway.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t ‘so sweetly’, but she had danced to two songs instead of just the one they’d included in their deal, so Enid figured with Wednesday it was the action that counted because God knew she couldn’t guess at what the thought behind it was.
Does she like me? As a friend or more than a friend? Have I been like totally obvious? Is my hair messed up from the trees? Oh no, did I even brush my teeth today?!
Enid’s internal panic as she tried to remember if she brushed her teeth before the dance was broken by a flashlight being shined directly in her eyes.
“Are you coming or standing guard?” Wednesday asked.
Enid hesitated when she looked in the dark cave that Wednesday wanted to explore - let’s go find the lair for the giant monster killing people! So fun! - and bit her lip while she decided.
“I’m coming with you,” she sighed. Enid scratched the fuzzy black dog that had been following them, Harry’s, apparently, and gave him a serious look. “Bark twice if anyone’s coming, okay, boy?”
The dog woofed and Enid laughed nervously. She got her flashlight that Wednesday had packed for her from her jacket pocket and flicked it on.
“Are you sure it’s not already in there?” Enid asked, waving her flashlight in the deep and dark cave.
“Not at all, Xavier could have beaten us here,” Wednesday said. Enid rolled her eyes, Wednesday was soo sure that Xavier was the monster and it didn’t make any sense to Enid.
In Enid’s definitely not biased opinion, Xavier’s biggest crime was crushing on Wednesday. So it was probably for the best that Enid never mention her silly little crush.
No need for Wednesday to decide Enid was the monster next.
Enid held on the sleeve of Wednesday’s black jacket with one hand and her flashlight with the other.
“Watch your step,” Wednesday said as they stepped inside the cave. The rocky ground was steep and Enid was glad they changed out of their dresses and heels before going there. She definitely would have broken her neck if she’d tried to investigate in heels.
The further they went in, the darker it got. The tunnel entrance seemed to shrink around them and Enid really hoped there weren’t any snakes or spiders creeping around.
Or any giant monsters with sharp teeth and an appetite for human organs.
After what felt like an eternity, the tunnel widened and the girls stood in a dead end area probably half the size of their bedroom. Except their bedroom didn’t have rust and covered shackles chained to the wall…
… and Enid really hoped Wednesday didn’t get any ideas about new decor. The creepy murder board was bad enough. It was a good thing that Wednesday was funny and smart and secretly sweet or else Enid would have requested a room change the second that board went up.
“This is definitely his lair,” Wednesday said confidently. She was always so confident, Enid wished she could just say things and be certain of them. Even if Wednesday was wrong, like about Xavier, she never seemed to question herself, not like Enid did.
“Is that blood?” Enid asked, pointing her flashlight at a dark patch on the ground beneath where the shackles were.
“Hmm…” Wednesday shook off Enid’s grasp on her sleeve and stepped over to the wall. She touched the chains, yanking on them harshly. Enid jumped a little when the sound echoed eerily through the cave, but they didn’t yield any.
“The monster never took victims hostage, all the bodies were left in the scene where they were killed, so what are these for?” Wednesday mused. She bent down and scraped a fingernail through the dark patch on the ground. Enid cringed when she brought her finger to her nose and smelled it.
“It’s definitely blood, possibly the monster’s,” Wednesday said. She slung her backpack off her shoulder and began digging in it. “If we can get a sample tested, we could discover who the monster is.”
“That’s great,” Enid said genuinely. She didn’t like the idea of some creep going around killing people and stealing their organs. “And then we tell the sheriff?”
Wednesday glanced at Enid over her shoulder with a spark in her dark eyes that caused Enid’s stomach to flip.
“Then we interrogate the monster, discover what his goal is,” Wednesday said. “When will we ever have the opportunity to study a creature like him again?”
“Hopefully never,” Enid said. She held the flashlight for Wednesday while she scraped up flakes of blood with a knife then placed the knife in a plastic baggy. Enid was just hoping that they could get out of there without anything crazy happening, but then Harry’s dog started barking.
“You stay here, I’ll go check it out,” Wednesday whispered when Harry’s dog’s barks increased in volume and sounded nearly frantic.
“Oh, great, yeah, I’ll stay in the spooky cave covered in blood by myself, no big deal,” Enid whispered while Wednesday quickly stalked away. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from both fear and the cold. “Enid, you’re a doormat, you’re pathetic, standing in a cave where a monster lives just because some pretty girl asked you to go. What would your mom say?”
Enid knew what her mom would say- honey, have you wolfed out yet? To which Enid would say ‘no, mom, and I’m happy like this, really.’
And she would almost mean it.
Really.
Enid wavered between waiting, like Wednesday told her to, or chasing after her to make sure Wednesday wasn’t hurt. But then she sighed in relief when she heard footsteps crunching through the forest, returning to the cave.
Or, she had been relieved, until she smelled gasoline and an orange glow suddenly lit up the tunnel of the cave, trapping her.
*****
There had been many who told Larissa that she could do better, do more, than run the Nevermore school. But Larissa was a stubborn woman and believed in nothing as much as she did in protecting outcasts and giving them a future as bright as each of their unique spirits were.
And one of the brightest students that Larissa had ever seen sat before her desk with his head ducked low and his hands shaking every time the sheriff stepped too close to him.
Harry Potter was a marvelous student and Larissa knew that he hid quite a bit more power inside of him than he showed. Even with his outburst tonight, Larissa knew Harry was capable of much more power. If it wasn’t obvious, Larissa still had the letter that convinced her to take the boy within her school.
Principal Larissa Weems,
Greetings, I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am unsure if it will come as a shock to you to know that there are just as many students with magical gifts and histories as there are within your school with other unique gifts.
I am writing to you to seek out an arrangement for a wizard child. His name is Harry Potter. At present, he is incarcerated at a juvenile detention center for a murder charge. Before you allow this to turn you away, I beseech you to consider that this is a young boy with immense power who has undergone no training to control it.
If you would consider discussing it further, please reply to this letter. If you tie your reply to my owl’s leg, they will deliver it to me and we can speak in person soon, at your convenience.
Dutifully yours,
Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter was not the first child to enter Nevermore with a spotty and dark past, but he was certainly Larissa’s favorite. One day, the boy would be someone brilliant, powerful, and magnetic; he would be a shining example of a Nevermore graduate.
Until then, Larissa had a meek and mild boy, one who was terrified of the officer pacing behind him, to deal with.
“Harry, will you tell us what happened tonight?” Larissa asked Harry evenly. She cleared her throat and tapped beside her eyes when he glanced up at her, a silent reminder for him to look her in the eyes when he spoke.
Poor dear, someone in one of Harry’s many previously distasteful residences had convinced him that making eye contact was disrespectful. Even after three months at Nevermore with Dr. Kinbott seeing him weekly, it was still a difficult habit to break of the boy.
“We went outside to cool down and Lucas, Brian, and Matt drove up in Brian’s dad‘s truck,” Tyler, Sheriff Galpin’s son, said when Harry didn’t speak up immediately. “They started being rude and then wanted to fight. Harry was just defending himself, ma’am.”
Larissa smiled blandly at Tyler, amused by his defense of Harry. Francois had certainly never been so fond of her fellow outcasts, God rest her soul. Perhaps he had learned it from Donovan, who had certainly always been a staunch defender of his deceased wife and… possibly talented son.
“Thank you, Mister Galpin, but I was speaking with Harry,” she told Tyler before turning to Harry once more. “Harry?”
Harry’s shoulders raised and lowered with a heavy sigh before he picked his head up and looked Larissa in the eyes.
“It’s what Tyler said, ma’am,” he said, his voice so adorably soft and heartbreakingly terrified. “One of them swung at Tyler and I- I- something just happened.” Harry looked over where the Sheriff ended his pacing to lean against the fireplace and watch the boys with a solemn expression. “Please, sir, it was an accident. Am- am I going to jail?”
“Absolutely not,” Larissa told him firmly.
“Now hold your horses, Weems, one of those boys has a broken arm, his dad was talking about pressing charges,” Donovan said.
Larissa smiled and got to her feet, resting her hands on her desk.
“Is he? Quite interesting,” she said lowly. “Perhaps you should remind Mayor Walker that his son was trespassing when the incident happened. Harry had every right to defend himself.”
“Harry threw those boys over a brick wall and I want to know how,” Donovan thundered.
Larissa knew how, and she was inordinately pleased by it. It seemed as if Harry Potter was finally using the gift that he’d been granted.
“Dad, it was an accident,” Tyler said to his father. “Those guys would have kicked our asses a lot worse if Harry hadn’t uh… tossed them.”
“You watch your mouth,” Donavan snapped at his boy. “And you,” he pointed at Harry, “you’ll be lucky if I’m not back in the morning with a warrant for your arrest.”
“Be sure to make it a dual warrant, as your son was involved as well,” Larissa said with a slam to the desk with her hand. Harry had turned an alarming shade of pale, causing his thin face to stand out starkly against the black suit he wore.
“I will not have my students threatened in their home,” she warned Donovan, eyes blazing. “Mayor Walker’s son was here, with a truck full of paint, undoubtedly planning some heinous act against my students. He’s lucky that a broken arm takes time to heal, perhaps it will remind him to leave my school and these children alone.”
And if Mayor Walker wanted to push the issue, Larissa would remind him what the biggest tax paying entity in Jericho County was. If he wanted a war with Larissa, she would happily give him one.
And Larissa Weems was not a woman who lost wars.
Donavan puffed up indignantly, but he knew the cards were dealt. To push the issue with Harry would put Tyler under heavy scrutiny. And with the four recent deaths and Tyler’s parentage, Larissa doubted if Donavan wanted to have anyone looking too closely at his boy.
“Tyler, we’re leaving,” Donavan said finally. “Weems, I’ll let you know what the Walker’s decide.”
“You do that,” Larissa smirked as she sank back in her seat. She watched through curious and hooded eyes as Tyler bent his head toward Harry, whispering something that made Harry smile weakly and nod. As soon as the Galpin’s left, Larissa cleared her throat.
“Harry, is there anything you would like to talk about?” Larissa asked Harry kindly. It was difficult not to dote on the boy, as tragic as his past was. He simply had an aura that screamed ‘desperate for affection’ and Larissa hated to imagine he’d be taken advantage of for that.
Possibly by nosy busybodies with black pigtails and a penchant for trouble.
“No, ma’am,” Harry said to his lap. He lifted his eyes after a moment, and Larissa frowned at the glassy look in his eyes.
“Are you injured?” Larissa asked him gently. He had the beginnings of a bruise forming on one eye and a cut on his lip, it was negligent of Larissa to not take him for a checkup.
Harry’s lower lip trembled and he slowly removed his jacket. Larissa thought he was exposing an injury hidden beneath the black jacket, but he laid it on the desk and pointed to a rip down the side of it.
“My d- someone important bought this for me and I ruined it,” Harry said with a single tear trickling down his cheek and splashing on Larissa’s wooden desk. “I didn’t mean to hurt those boys and I didn’t mean to destroy this, ma’am.”
Larissa clicked her tongue and reached across the desk, grasping Harry’s hand tightly.
“Harry, dear, nothing is irreparable,” she told him, stressing her words. “Fix your jacket and it will be perfect once more.”
A quiet sob wrenched from Harry’s throat and Larissa unintentionally smiled when he cried, “I don’t know how to sew, ma’am.”
“Use your power, Harry,” Larissa told him. She nodded when he looked at her, anxiety brimming in his watery eyes. “Go on, I believe you can do it.”
Larissa sat back and smiled to herself less than an hour later when Harry left her office with his jacket fully repaired and the ghost of a smile on his lips.
Yes, Harry Potter was going to be the greatest graduate Nevermore had ever seen, she was certain of it.
*****
Enid coughed, the smoke making her dizzy and messing with her vision. She screamed again, desperate for Wednesday to hear her and go for help, but she’d never make it in time.
Enid was going to die alone in that cave, she just knew it.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” she whispered. Enid curled up as far away from the burning inferno of the tunnel as she could get and ducked her head in her knees. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Enid was going to die a disappointment to her family. If she could transform, maybe she could run through the flames without damaging herself too badly. But as a normie, she could never.
The flames burnt closer and the thick smoke made it impossible to see. Enid’s head spun and her stomach revolted, causing her to turn to the side and puke up bile. Enid rested her head on the cave wall and felt her body go weak while her brain and lungs filled with smoke.
She was glad Wednesday left. She hoped she was safe.
“Kid! Kid! Are you in here?”
Enid was hearing voices and she coughed weakly in response. Whoever was yelling, they’d never break through the flames. It was hopeless.
When Enid’s eyes fluttered closed and her cough burnt through her lungs just as harsh as the flames were burning closer to her body, there was a loud crack just inside the cave. Enid squinted and tried to see what it was, but there was too much smoke and the flames burnt too brightly. She was just so tired.
“I’ve got you,” a gruff voice said just before arms wrapped around Enid’s torso and her legs, lifting her with a grunt. “Bloody hell you’re heavy.”
Enid’s head lolled on the stranger’s shoulder and the last thing she saw before passing out was long black hair and pale skin.
If Enid survived, she’d have to tell Harry that maybe he wasn’t crazy after all.