A Large Silver Cage
Harry:
“Where is Raven?”
The voice that comes out of him is dark and deadly, a shadow crawling up his throat with claws and venom. He watches with a mean grin - more teeth than anything - as his father flinches on the bed. The bottle of fire whiskey falls from his hands and shatters on the hardwood floor. James lets out a small groan, like the shattered whiskey bottle is more devastating than the fact that Raven is missing.
Harry growls and stalks forward to grip the collar of his James’ shirt, “Where is she?”
James lets out a drunken chuckle, “Who? You’re l-little pet?”
He’s tired. He’s exhausted of people calling Raven a pet. She’s not a pet. She’s more. She’s his family, the one that has been there with him through the pain and the tears and the abuse. She’s been there every single day and if James doesn’t give her back, Harry will burn the world down. He will sacrifice every single person alive if it means she’s given back. He will adorn himself with ash and blood. Everyone will fear him. God will fear him.
He growls and shakes James’ collar, “Tell me where she is!”
When James’ eyes widen in shock, he realizes he spoke in parseltongue instead of English and he growls again. Harry goes to shake the man more, but James jerks back, flexing his hand, and with a quick wave of his wand, Harry’s thrown back into a wall and his head slams into the plaster. Dust falls around his head and something warm drips down his neck.
“What the fuck?”
Harry has to blink the confusion out of his eyes as he looks towards the door to see his godfather standing there with wide eyes, messy hair, and red Gryffindor pajamas. Charlus is stationed right behind him with similarly wide eyes. His hands feel around for his wand but catch on a shard of glass from James’ shattered whiskey bottle.
“Prongs -” Sirius starts before he shakes his head, gesturing towards James with a wand in hand, “I trusted you to take care of him and now you’re slamming him into walls with your magic? Have you lost your damn mind?”
He can’t help the grunt that comes out when he realizes that both Charlus and Sirius must have seen him get thrown into the wall like a ragdoll. That’s embarrassing.
“He tried to attack me!” James shouts, though his words start slurring and Harry can see Charlus looking at James like he doesn’t recognize his own father.
“HE IS YOUR SON!” Sirius screams, wand twisting, and some spell goes shooting out and streaming towards James. It’s only quick action on James’ part with a shield that saves him from whatever that spell would have done.
James gives Sirius a look of absolute betrayal. “What happened to us against the world Padfoot? What happened to the Marauders? Huh. Guess that was shit. Guess that meant nothing to you!”
“This is me putting a fucking boundary down. It’s us against the world, Prongs. Always has been and always will be. Unless you continue to keep abusing your fucking child.” Sirius’ eyes are wild with anger and Harry’s heir ring is practically ice as he tries to stand up. His legs stumble beneath him before he manages to catch himself, sneakily shoving the glass shard in his pants pocket. Sirius’s voice turns to a whisper, “You are acting like my fucking parents.”
James sags down onto the bed again at that statement. Harry doesn’t understand and quite frankly doesn’t care at the moment. He’s so confused and dizzy. HIs eyes fall to the floor and he sees his wand, laying under a pile of plaster, so he waves his hand and lets his wand fly up to him. It lands in his hand with a thud.
Sirius walks towards his quickly and wraps an arm around his shoulder to help him stand better. He can’t help but lean slightly into his godfather, practically slumping against the tall man. His eyes start closing without his control and he reaches up to his shoulders to -
There’s nothing there and his eyes slam open as he remembers why he’s in James’ room in the first place.
Raven.
Energy that doesn’t feel like his own fills his blood and his eyes snap open as he narrows his gaze on his so-called father. As terrible as it is to say, he can handle the abuse. The throwing and the screaming and the slapping. It’s nothing new. In fact, James doesn’t even measure up to Vernon and Petunia. Not even a little. What he can’t handle - and God does he hate to say that - is the fact that his best friend is missing and James knows where she is. He’s getting his answers. One way or another.
He twists his head side to side. Relishes in the feeling of his neck popping silently before he leans off his godfather and starts towards James.
“Harry. Harry, you need medicine and -” Sirius tries to stop him, but he’s spent his entire life dodging Dudley and Sirius’ hands fall on empty air. James braces with his wand ready and Harry’s aware enough to know that he can’t fight the man with magic. Not without being expelled.
He can’t physically fight James - whether the man is drunk or not. He’d never win and frankly, he doesn’t want to be embarrassed like that. So, he does the next best thing…the only thing that ever got him food from the homeless shelter he used to run to when Petunia would lock the food away from him for days at a time. Emotional manipulation.
He struts up calmly to James before letting a fake tear fall from his eye, “D-Dad, please?”
The word ‘Dad’ feels foreign coming out of his mouth as he stares up at James. It’s like his lips don’t know how to form that word, stumbling over the shape of it. This close he can see that he may have his mother’s eyes and hair, but his face is all James. It’s disturbing. It’s hideous and for a small, gut-wrenching second, he’s glad for his facial scars. They hide the connection.
James is obviously startled by the term and even blinks harshly for a few seconds. It’s all the time he needs.
His lips form a mean smirk and in less than a second, the glass shard is out of his pocket and slicing deep into James’ shoulder. Blood immediately swells around the wound and James shouts in pain. Harry’s quickly yanked back by Sirius and he can hear Charlus shouting, but his focus is on his father’s blood. It’s almost mesmerizing.
“Are you insane?” Charlus screams.
“Where is she?” He says calmly, completely focused. He’ll get Raven back, even if he has to drain his father of blood entirely, he will get her back.
“What the fuck are you doing, Harry?” Sirius says loudly, hands on Harry’s shoulders and borderline shaking him. Then there’s a distinct heavy weight on his shoulder that makes Harry think of safety and the Black raven caws violently. Sirius glances up before sighing at the bird, “Seriously?”
The raven caws again before reaching out to give a warning nip and Harry’s relieved when his godfather backs up and lets him go. There’s something building in his chest though. Something solid and strong and angry, oh so angry…
“I did -” He pants, “I did what needs to be done. If he is not going to tell me where Raven is, I will cut the answer out of him.”
There’s a new look in Sirius’ gaze. Fear and something else, something understanding and sympathetic. “You remind me of him…” Sirius whispers softly, voice a kiss in the air. It's so quiet. “You will not ever do that again. You could have killed him.” His voice is more of a growl now - a canine like noise that has him flinching.
James grunts out a chuckle, “You are in so much trouble. Go to your room.”
It’s so parental that Harry can’t help but laugh as soon as the man finishes speaking. “You think I care about being in trouble? I don’t give a damn about anything except finding my best friend.”
James explodes, “I do not know where the fuck she is, and I don’t care where she is. Perhaps she ran away. Perhaps she’s dead. Merlin knows we are all better off without her in this fucking house. That snake is the least of my fucking problems now, so - and I will only say this once - GET OVER IT.”
The Black raven caws in anger and Harry’s ring goes from icy cold to an inferno of heat and he knows that he will scar.
That strange feeling that was building in his chest explodes, leaving his chest to rain devastation upon the house. Instead of an inferno like he expected, it feels like a rockslide. Devastating and dusty and earth shatteringly beautiful all at the same time, ripping a gasp out of him. Every window in the room shatters and the floor cracks, shaking all the furniture. Cracks run up the walls, splitting into beautiful pieces of art. Art that showcases Harry’s rage and devastation. The house shakes and Harry grins at the pure power in his body.
“Where is she?”
James shakes his head, disbelief and fear on his face and Harry can’t help but rejoice at the fact that right now he’s got more power. That right now, he’s the strongest one in the room.
“I - I don’t know, promise.” James says as he stares at the destroyed room.
The Black raven caws and he knows that it’s almost the full truth.
The room shakes again, and the cracks get deeper, and a piece of the ceiling falls in, landing with a puff of dust on the floor between James and Harry, and the rockslide in his chest is almost a full earthquake now and he knows that it’ll only take him a few minutes to bring the house down on all of them. He’ll bury them in the rubble of the House of Potter and God, it’ll feel delicious.
“Molly took her,” James whispers, bracing himself against the wall. As if that'll save him. Pathetic.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, James?” Sirius shouts.
Harry doesn’t remember taking a single step or leaving the room at all, but between one blink and the next, he’s in front of the floo with his wand in one hand and the bloody shard of glass in the other.
His normal flicker of fear at the thought of traveling via fire is nowhere to be found as he steps into the ashy fireplace with a handful of floo powder and a destination in mind. When the powder hits the ground, green fire erupts around him. In the mirror across from the floo, he can see himself. Formal wear from the funeral, messy hair, blood splattered across his face, and danger written in his eyes.
Molly Weasley will regret ever touching his Raven.
“The Burrow!”
-
Fred:
It’s dark outside, which for Fred and George, is the best time to lay their pranks. Luckily for them, their parents are down in the den. It’s their nightly ritual to sit and talk with each other in front of the fire, sipping spiced cider with slow music playing in the background. Fred used to think it was romantic and something full of love - something that he had dreams of doing with his own love in the future. Until one night, a few years ago, him and George snuck down the stairs and listened - just to hear their parents arguing softly about money. It was devastating.
George trips on a step which jerks Fred out of his thoughts, and he reaches out a hand to stop his brother from falling and making even more noise.
“Shhh,” he says, and George sends him a dramatic glare.
“You’re the one that’s talking,” George whispers as they approach the door.
He pokes George in front of the door, which was a mistake, because George immediately retaliates. Thus began the great poking match of 1992. It’s chaotic but also incredibly quiet for the two of them. Then George gives one hard poke and Fred hits the door hard enough that it pops open. Immediately, they grin at each other and go to place their prank in place. Until he stops in his tracks.
Their parent’s bedroom is just as messy as it normally is with a large bed with patch-work quilts and lumpy pillows. There are clothes on the floor and knitting needles knitting by themselves. Their mother has a copy of her magic clock in the bedroom, surrounded by moving photos of the family.
The only thing out of the place is the large silver cage.
He looks over at his twin to see George has a shocked and scared expression on his face that Fred just knows is on his own face.
“Oh Merlin-”
“Is that -” He mutters.
“Raven?” They both say together and flinch at the same time when the snake rears up with a deadly hiss, striking at the metal. When the snake moves, he can see that she’s bleeding on one side from a long gash. Like she was cut by a knife.
Oh Merlin.
“Fred! George! I saw you guys coming up here!”
They both turn at the sound of Ron’s call and watch as their brother clambers up the steps to the room, stopping in the doorway when he locks eyes with Raven.
“Did you steal that damn snake?” Ron chuckles, “That’s bloody awesome!”
“No,” George starts.
“We didn’t” Fred finishes for his brother.
A look of confusion crosses Ron’s face before it goes almost entirely pale in fear. This is terrible. This is a disaster and while Fred loves his family to pieces, he knows that his mother is behind this. He also knows that his mother doesn’t see Harry as a threat, doesn’t see this action as an act of war, but he does. He knows, he sees Harry as dangerous. The breathing and walking definition of dangerous and ferocious.
“We’ve gotta get her back before he notices,” George mutters.
“We have to heal her first, George, look at her.” As if to emphasize his words, more blood comes seeping out of her wound and Fred has to hold back a gag at the sight.
Ron takes a step back, pointed thumb flying over his shoulder, “I’m going to - Imma go floo call Charlus. Hopefully, we can still get her back before this turns into a shit show.”
The fear in Fred’s body stops him from making a comment on his brother’s shift in attitude and language. “Good idea,” He mutters back as he and George look towards the snake.
A scream shatters the silent night.
“Too late,” George mutters unhelpfully.
The three of them race down the stairs, fast enough that Ron trips on a couple. When they screech to a halt in the sitting room, Fred sees his mother and father standing opposite of the floo where a bloody and bruised Harry is standing with a shard of glass in one hand and his wand in the other. The shard of glass is pointed at his mother and Fred’s heart clenches.
Footsteps pound on the stairs and he looks up to see Ginny and Percy coming to meet them.
“Perc, take Gin upstairs,” George says sharply.
“You don’t -” Percy starts but Fred’s scared and honestly has had enough.
“Now, Percy.” His words are sharp, and his tone is sharper, sharp enough that his older brother listens for once and dutifully takes their stubborn sister back up the stairs, ignoring all of her questions and demands.
“Where is she?” Harry yells and he flinches as the Burrow seems to shake as the boy speaks. It’s unnatural for someone to have so much power. Unnatural and terrifying.
“Now, Harry - this is entirely inappropriate. Not to mention disrespectful -” His mother starts and Fred’s heart drops. Now is not the time for his mother to try to demand respect from the boy.
“WHERE IS RAVEN?” Harry screams and his green eyes flash dangerously.
Before Fred’s mother can answer, the floo flares again and Severus Snape of all people emerges, dusting his clothes off as his eyes scan the room. The man nods at his dad before turning towards Harry.
“Harry,” Professor Snape calls, “Sirius sent me. Something about Raven?”
Fred watches as Harry sighs and runs a hand over his face as if this entire interaction is dull and not worthy of his attention or time.
“Yes,” the boy snaps, “James told me that Molly Weasley took Raven. I’m here to get her back.”
“I’ve done absolutely no such thing,” Fred’s mother shrieks when Professor Snape turns those beady eyes on her.
“I know she’s here,” Harry says calmly, “So unless you want me to bring this house down, you will take me to her. Now.”
The house shakes with his words and Fred can imagine it. He can see his mother arguing her innocence until she’s blue in the face. He can see Harry getting so angry that he uses that unnatural power of his to make the Burrow crumble. Fred’s home being destroyed in a matter of minutes because his mother won’t admit that she stole his Raven.
“Mum.” George says. Seems like his twin is in agreement.
“We literally just saw her.” He finishes and watches his mother turn those angry and disappointed eyes on them both. That look is so common that he’s unfazed.
However, the look that Harry gives him is not something he’s seen before. Those violent green eyes are piercing him, and Fred feels like he can’t breathe for a second. “Take me to her,” Harry whispers, which feels even more dangerous than him yelling.
“Okay,” He whispers back. When he starts heading back up the stairs, ignoring every instinct telling him not to turn his back on the dangerous first - no, second year - behind him, Harry, George, and Severus follow him. He can hear more footsteps join and knows his mother is following.
He can hear her whispering angrily to his father, but he’s too far to hear what is being said.
Outside the door, he turns back to Harry.
“Harry, before - before you see her,” He whispers, “I need you to promise not to kill my parents or my siblings or me and promise not to destroy my house, please.”
“Give me my Raven and I will see,” Harry’s words are as sharp as the shard of glass in his hands, “But if she’s hurt, I may kill you all.”
Oh Merlin.
-
Harry:
Every breath he takes feels like it’s ripping out of his body, shredding his lungs with each inhale and exhale. Fred’s taking too long to open the door, so he pushes past the taller boy to stumble into the room. His eyes lock on the cage immediately.
Raven?
Her hiss in his mind is weak, Hatchling. You found me.
Of course, I’d find you anywhere.
He walks closer, hands shaking as he opens the cage and running a trembling finger down his best friend’s scales. She’s cold, so cold. She’s bleeding and he sees a gash on her side as Raven weakly slithers up his arm and to his shoulders. She’s as heavy as ever so he stumbles a little at her weight. But she's bleeding. There's something in ringing in his ears and that same feeling as before in James' room is building up again. He's going to kill them all.
I will heal you, he promises her.
Of course, you will, my hatchling. Raven hisses in his ear, tongue barely flickering against the shell, Take me away from here, please.
Of course, he hisses back, I must get revenge first.
He’s been oddly numb this entire time, too full of fear for his snake to feel any true emotion. But now that she’s here and in his arms and hissing sleepily in his mind, fury fills him. It’s wild and uncontrollable and steals his breath. His cage of monsters breaks open and a growl is forced out of him. He locks eyes with Molly Weasley.
He’s going to kill her.
Severus steps directly in front of the woman with outstretched arms, “We can do this later. You can scream at her later. We must heal Raven now.”
Take me away, please.
“Do you hear me, Harry?” Severus says, taking another step closer.
He does hear the man, but his magic - his soul - is demanding revenge. It might kill him to let Molly Weasley get away with this unscathed. His grip on the shard of glass tightens until it cuts into his own skin. His own blood drips onto the floor and he can’t help but wish for Molly’s to join it.
Hatchling, Raven hisses, we must go now. I will not last much longer.
What did she do to you? He thinks, but of course Raven hears and responds.
I put up a fight. She’s trying to figure out what I am, what species of snake I’m becoming. Raven’s hisses are violent and angry.
And what are you, Raven?
Her next hiss freezes him, I am your friend on the verge of death. Please, take me home.
That’s what does it. Her honest words. Her plea. His fury quietens long enough for fear to join in the fray. If she dies, his world will collapse. Despite the fact that their only home is a massive castle far away from them, he understands. She doesn’t want to be in this hostile house any more than he does. And if he stays here to get his revenge, if he stays here to kill one woman, he could lose his best friend. The revenge he craves is not nearly as important as the life he needs to save. So, he nods.
“Severus, can you apparate us to someone who will heal her?” He asks the potions master sharply.
“Yes, immediately. Let’s go.” Severus wastes no time in walking forward and placing a hand on his shoulder.
Right before the feeling of being pulled through a straw engulfs his body, Harry takes his opportunity. Molly Weasley is looking directly at Raven with such disdain that his fury takes over again and his hand is throwing the shard of glass before his mind registers any movement. Right before he blinks out of existence with Raven and Severus, he sees the glass go deep in the woman’s eye.
-
Severus:
“That was incredibly foolish,” He mutters right as he apparates them safely to Sprout’s house. It’s a quaint little cottage in the vast hills of Scotland. The biggest thing about it is the vast and unnecessarily large garden.
Harry growls at him, but Severus doesn’t care. It was foolish and the boy should know better by now.
“That was revenge,” Harry grunts under the weight of his large snake as they walk towards the door, “It was necessary. I sent a message.”
“There are better ways,” Severus mutters, “You could have poisoned her or spread rumors to politically and socially ruin her. Instead, you threw glass at her like a muggle. She’ll be healed with no evidence of your attack within the hour.”
“Damn,” the boy mutters, “I had hoped that it would cause her to go blind. Besides, she should consider herself lucky I did not bring her house to the ground and kill her.”
“I’m sure she feels grateful,” His words are sharp, but he drops the subject. Truth be told, Severus would have killed the woman for such an action. The old magic is possibly the only thing to thank for the fact that Harry did not commit murder tonight.
The door opens as they approach, and Professor Sprout is there in an awfully bright set of yellow pajama robes and wand in hand. When the woman sees it is them, she steps out and practically runs to the boy.
“Harry?” She’s frantic, hands reaching out to touch but letting her hands fall short from actually touching the boy, “Are you okay, my dear?”
“It’s Raven, Professor,” Harry runs a hand gently across the snake’s back. Severus can hear the choked sound of the boy hiding tears, trying not to cry. “Can you heal her?”
“Oh,” the woman sighs, “Of course my dear.”
An hour later and the snake is perfectly healed outside of a long scar on her side. She’s currently curled up with Harry in a spare room in Pomona’s cottage. The room was a hideous shade of brown and yellow that left Severus’s eyes bleeding, but Harry had taken one look at it and practically collapsed into the bed. Raven had curled around the boy who had both hands wrapped around the snake’s body as they both slept, like someone would even attempt to take that snake from the boy now.
Severus is sitting in the living room with Pomona across from him on the other couch, feet tucked up underneath her. Both of them are drinking strong coffee that Severus thinks has been spiked just a little. He’s grateful for the warm drink and even warmer alcohol that’s easing the tension in his body that’s been raging in his body since Sirius sent that damn Patronus.
“He threw the glass in her eye?” Pomona asks for the third time.
“Yes,” he rubs his eyes, “and stabbed Potter with it in the shoulder.”
“Oh Merlin,” She sighs, “Whatever are we going to do with this child?”
“What makes you think I want any part?” He mutters uselessly.
“Severus,” She squints at him, “You may have everyone else fooled of your disdain for all students, but you care for the boy. You must train him, teach him.”
“I believe that is your job,” Severus snaps, “As his head of house, remember?”
“Oh, believe me, I am,” Pomona says after a long sip of her drink. The light from the fire casts waving shadows across the woman’s face and she looks dangerous. Dangerous enough that Severus feels a shiver run down his back. “I’m trying to teach him to trust and to understand that he is a child who needs protection. He’s never had protection before or an adult to trust, so it’s an incredibly difficult job. It is up to you to teach him control. Severus, he needs to learn to control his emotions and when to react and not react. Do you understand?”
Severus does understand because he had to learn the same thing at that age.
“Occlumency. You want me to teach a second year Occlumency?” He questions. It’s not impossible, but damn it all if he thinks it will be easy.
“The sooner, the better,” She mutters, “People are watching him. People are examining his every move and sound. He’s an enigma to them, Severus. That makes him dangerous.”
“Yes. But he’s always been dangerous.” He states, eyes locked on the fire, wishing that it would tell him the answers, give him a solution. “Plans have been changed since his re-introduction in the wizarding world.”
“You must, you understand?” Pomona urges and Severus closes his eyes at her tone. When he first heard that damn prophecy all those years ago, when he first realized his mistake and pleaded with Dumbledore for protection, he made a promise to protect Charlus, to put the Savior’s life above his own. Now, he’s making a promise to protect Harry. His life is about to become even more difficult than he could have ever imagined.
“I will do my best.”
-
Harry:
When he wakes, Harry finds himself and Raven curled up in a completely different bed than the one they fell asleep in. It’s the difference in the quilts that ultimately tells him something is different. He jerks up, wand in hand immediately. At his jerky movement, Raven lifts her head and hisses sleepily at the empty room.
Where are we?
Hatchling, rest. Raven hisses in return.
No, we are somewhere new. I don’t know where we are, he hisses back and his snake lifts her head and slams it down on his chest, the weight forcing him back on the bed with a huff.
Dog’s house, Raven hisses sleepily.
Sirius?
Raven hisses a confirmation, but that’s not enough for him. He’s tense and worried because he’s in a new house - a place he doesn’t know. He’s no clue how Raven is so calm, until a caw interrupts his miniature freak out. When he glances over, the Black raven is perched on a tall stand beside Hedwig.
The curtains on the window swing open in the breeze from the open window and moonlight pours into the room. It has dark walls and dark floors, but there’s a light-yellow fluffy rug on the floor that he aches to run his fingers through. Just looking at the color practically transports him back to his common room and suddenly - so immediate that his throat swells up - he’s filled with an intense desire to go home.
I’m getting up, he hisses and Raven moves slowly to let him get out of the bed, only to latch onto his hand and slither slowly up his body. She’s so heavy, but his eyes catch on her new scar, a thin slice of silver about a foot long on her body. That shard of glass in Molly’s eye will never be enough of a revenge for him. One day, he’ll let the woman’s blood drip from his fingers and he’ll paint Raven’s body with it.
Quietly, he leaves the room after giving Hedwig and the Black raven some soft pets. He really should name the raven and briefly he giggles at the idea of naming it Snake. Right outside his door, he’s pleased to see stairs. Once down the stairs, he turns in a circle to look at the large house with absolutely no idea where to go, until his eyes catch on a glint of light coming from an open door.
It’s a library, that much is obvious as soon as he walks in. A fireplace is nestled in one wall and the rest of the space is dedicated to bookshelves and piles of books, some piles taller than the actual bookshelves. It makes his heart flutter at the absolute knowledge in the room and he knows Theo would give his left arm just to walk into this room.
A book snaps shut and he jumps as Sirius rounds the corner of one of the piles with a broad smile. “Harry, you’re up!”
He nods at his godfather, too tired to really form words.
“Well, welcome to my home, Grimmauld Place.” Sirius says into the empty air around them, “Quite a terrible place if I’m being honest.”
He looks up sharply at his godfather’s words. Why would he live in a miserable place?
Sirius sends him a secretive smile and a slight wink, “But it’s home still. Tomorrow, I’ll give you the grand tour and you can invite all your friends over if you want.”
That one sentence. Those words, like Sirius is giving him the choice…something he realizes with a pang that he hasn’t really had since he’d left Hogwarts. It’s enough to bring a smile on his face and he curls up on the couch beside his godfather who pulls out an old ancient tome about transfiguration spells.
The fire crackles beside him and Raven hisses softly into his neck and his Heir ring is slowly warming his body. Sleep finds him again and when he dreams, oh he dreams of family.
-
The next morning finds Harry pacing in front of the floo, eyes locked on the empty fireplace. Any minute now, his friends will be here and just the idea of getting to see his family has the tension in his shoulders easing slightly.
Sirius had left around eight in the morning to go get everyone, because Harry couldn’t find it in himself to willingly get back in the fire.
He paces some more, feet trampling a worn path into the green carpet. They should be here by now. The only one he has seen since leaving Hogwarts was Neville and he’s desperate to see the rest of them. But it’s taking forever.
As soon as he just about decides to risk it and jump in the floo - damn the fire - to go and find his family, the fireplace erupts in green flames and Luna comes stumbling out. Immediately, he finds himself drowning in her hug.
Fairy, he says softly in his mind, I’ve missed you.
Oh, Luna hugs him tighter if that’s possible, I’ve missed you more. Sirius told me everything. Are you okay? How is Raven?
Scarred, but she’s fine. I’m fine.
Luna pulls back and he can’t help the small whimper he releases when she pulls away. He used to hate - despise - physical touch, and he still does. But there’s something so comforting about hugging his family, getting to touch them gently and have them touch him back just as softly, that he craves now.
His fairy graces him with a smile before her gaze is locked on Raven who is laying across one of the couches.
“Oh, Raven,” Luna says softly, walking up and laying a gentle hand on Raven’s lead, “I’ve missed you so much. Are you okay?”
Raven hisses back, a nonsensical sound of pleasure which makes him smile.
“She’s fine, Luna. I think she missed you,” He says softly.
“Well, of course she did,” Luna huffs playfully, “I’m her favorite.”
“Lies,” a new voice says, “Everyone knows Raven loves me the most.”
He jerks around quickly, startled that he didn’t hear the floo go off, to see Neville standing there in a Gryffindor red pullover and jeans. He moves quickly and practically wraps himself around Neville.
“Hey,” Neville huffs into his hair, “Missed you.”
“It’s only been - what? A day?,” He retorts.
“Oh wow,” Neville says, pulling back, “Can’t believe my own brother would tell me that I can’t miss him.”
Harry goes to respond, but a laugh cuts him off. Everyone turns to see Charlus in the doorway of the entry hall, glaring at them.
“How sweet.” Charlus mutters before he stomps off.
“I didn’t know he would be here,” Luna hums as she turns back to look at Harry.
He grimaces. Yeah, that had not been fun finding out when he had woken in the library this morning. He’d gone to get some breakfast, only to find Charlus and Dorea in the kitchen as well. Sirius had informed them that they would be staying with him until James had worked through some things. Harry has no problem with Dorea staying here at all, in fact he’s glad to have her. Lord knows she doesn’t need to be around James, ever if he has any say. But Charlus, well. Harry could give two shits where he is.
“Dorea’s here as well,” He says with a smile that Luna returns. While his family hates Charlus, they all find Dorea adorable and love her. He couldn’t have asked for a better family.
The floo sounds again and he turns in anticipation to see Draco and Theo fall out of the fireplace, right on top of each other.
“Next time,” Draco hisses, “We travel separately. That was stupid.”
Theo groans, “Yeah, well next time, don’t pull me in with you.”
“I did no such thing,” Draco huffs, “You fell into me.”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
Luna giggles which mean both boys snap their head up to look at her, “Come on, you too. Not even going to say hi before you start fighting?”
Draco’s up immediately, brushing off his pants and shirt despite the fact that Harry doesn’t see any dust or ash on them, “Hey Luna.”
“Hi Draco,” Luna grins and the Slytherin turns in a circle until he’s face to face with Harry.
“Harry,” Draco grins, before full on sprinting the few feet that separate them and throwing himself into his arms, “I’ve missed you.”
He grunts under the new weight and they both fall onto the couch. He grins and laughs as he pushes Draco off him, the blonde moving easily with a laugh of his own.
“Go on,” Draco grins snarkily, “Go hug Theodore,” he drops his voice in a whisper, “He’s missed you.”
He looks up to see Theo standing beside Neville and Luna, Raven already slithering around the three of them with happy hisses. Once he and Theo lock eyes, Theo grins wider and holds out his arms.
They hug and Harry feels seen. There’s something about the fact that Theodore has also been abused. Like recognizes like, and Harry is glad that he’s found someone he relates to. It seems Theo is too if the tight hug is anything to go by.
“Sirius didn’t say much,” Theo whispers in his ear, “But if you’re staying here, I can only imagine.”
“Mhmm,” Harry hums right back, knowing Theo’s smart enough that his imagination is right.
“Well,” the Slytherin chuckles, “Once Andvari’s big enough, I know who I’ll let him eat.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Murder is probably not what they should be discussing, but it is. Harry will kill anyone who lays a hand on his family, especially Theo’s father, and he knows while the rest of his family may not kill someone just yet, Theo is more than willing to kill for them.
He has someone willing to kill for him.
“Andvari?” He hums into Theo’s ear, “He’s okay?”
“Oh,” Theo chuckles, “He’s fine. Enjoying his freedom. He’s big now, about the size of a horse.”
“My god,” Harry breathes, “That’s exciting.”
“Yup,” Theo grins, “Want to go see him? I’m trying to convince him to let me ride him.”
“A truly terrible idea,” Draco mutters.
“I’m in,” He grins. There’s nothing he likes better than a terrible idea.
-
Unfortunately, to be able to see Andvari, Harry had to suffer the floo. But when he stumbles out, holding on tight to Raven and Luna - the only one that was able to convince him to stand in the fireplace with eyes shut and head firmly snuggled into her shoulder so he doesn't see anything -, he’s immediately inside the coolest place he’s ever been. It’s a massive castle complete with stone floors, stone walls, and massive old paintings. It’s dusty and dirty, for sure, but Harry knows that he could run around in this place for hours and find new things at every corner.
“This is…amazing,” He says to Theo who traveled there alone. His words are echoed by Neville and Draco. Luna giggles.
“Very full of whackitspurts,” She hums.
“Andvari?” He asks, eager to see their baby dragon who apparently isn’t much of a baby anymore.
Theo grins and leads them outside, only for them to get immediately greeted by a horse-sized, red as the setting sun, dragon.
“Andvari!” Harry calls to the dragon who lets out a weird noise between a chirp and a growl at the sight of him. He’s tackled less than a minute later. Raven hisses angrily at the movement, but without hesitation, immediately slithers her way onto Andvari’s neck.
But once that dragon hears Neville’s laugh, Harry might as well be trash on the side of the road. Andvari leaps off him to tackle Neville into the dirt, nose nudging the boy so hard Harry winces. It’ll probably leave bruises.
As soon as Neville is able to push himself back up, Andvari turns around with flare, unfurling long wings as if to say "look at how pretty I am" and blows a decent puff of fire into a tree, which immediately ignites. Draco jumps and Neville grins, snapping his fingers to put the fire out. While originally, he expected this to turn into one of the more idiotic things his family has ever done, it brings such a natural and wide smile to Neville’s face that Harry doesn’t think he can ever regret it.
Until all of them take a turn trying to hop on Andvari’s back, only to get bucked off.
-
Luna:
Five hours later, Luna finds herself sitting in the library with Harry, Theo, and Neville. After being bucked off Andvari multiple times, enough that all of them are sporting new bruises, she had suggested coming back to Sirius’s house and everyone agreed. Immediately, Harry had taken them to the library and now the boys are sharing a book; it’s an old book made of solid leather and old handmade pages about some seriously advanced defensive magic. She knows that Sirius was iffy about letting them read it but after being reminded of what they went through as a group at the end of the year, Sirius had handed it and three other books over eagerly.
She’s quite bored, to be honest. She doesn’t have the same drive currently to spend her afternoon on an old book of spells that they can’t even practice. In a few months, she’ll be back at school and then she’ll be just as eager to get her hands on the old book as the boys currently are.
“Luna,” Sirius calls and she gives the man her attention, “Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”
The nargles pull at her hair, desperate for her to follow Sirius, so she follows Sirius up three flights of stairs until they arrive at a bare wooden door. He gives her a short smile before opening the door and suddenly she’s in a sanctuary for her people. Seers.
It’s a circular room with large windows, including a skylight. There’s low tables and rugs and floor pillows everywhere. Large bookshelves hold books on the mystic arts and so many decks of tarot cards. Immediately, she ignores Sirius and walks into the room, lightly touching the decks and crystal balls and herbs and bones. So much magic is in the room that it brings tears to her eyes.
“I - I must do a reading,” She says as she turns to Harry’s godfather, “If I am allowed?”
“Of course,” Sirius whispers, “This room is yours to use.”
“Who used this room before?” She’s so curious because she can practically see impressions of them walking around, like a ghost. It’s divine.
Sirius clears his throat and when she looks at his eyes, he’s blinking away tears, “My - my brother, Regulus.”
“Regulus,” She whispers, and the effect is immediate. The room practically glows around her and a deck flies into her hands.
“He was a Seer?” She asks without a real reason. Anyone with a room like this has to be a Seer.
“He was - something,” Sirius mutters, “Mother was so proud to have him be the Seer in the family. The Black family always has had a Seer. When one dies, another is born.”
She hums in response and giggles when the deck of cards in her hands flutters angrily, like it’s demanding she sit down to do a reading.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Sirius whispers softly before closing the door behind him. She waits until his footsteps fade before she sits on the floor, directly under the skylight, deck sitting in her open hands. As she takes a deep breath, it feels as though magic is filling her lungs and when she breathes out, the deck shuffles itself in her open hands. Another breath has the cards flying into a spread. With a glance she sees that it's a simple yet powerful celtic cross spread.
A tear falls down her cheek. She’s never felt such amazing magic before. She’s never felt so powerful. Luna can feel hands on her arms, guiding her towards the cards, whispering interpretations into her ears.
As the first card flips over with another breath, she grins.
The ghost of Regulus Black sits across from her, sharing an identical grin.
-
Charlus:
Charlus flinches when he hears the floo open, knowing immediately who is walking into Sirius’s house. He had received the letter mere days ago and knows that today his failure will be shed into a new light. A disappointing, angry, and frustrated light. They’ve only been at Sirius’s a few days and he’s already desperate to go home.
Especially, since Harry’s friends don’t seem to ever fucking leave.
“Ah, Sirius, my boy, how are you?”
“Fine, Albus.” His godfather responds, “Here to see Charlus, yes?”
“Yes, we have a little get together scheduled for today,” the man’s voice drops into a whisper, so Charlus doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation, just the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway.
The door to the library is already open so he sees Professor Dumbledore before the man even steps foot into the room. He looks disappointed behind those half-moon glasses with a distinct lack of twinkle in his eyes.
Great.
“Uncle Albus,” Charlus says with a small, polite smile.
“Headmaster Dumbledore, in this setting, is preferred.” The man responds in a short voice as he takes a seat in one of the available plush chairs.
“Of course, my apologies,” Manners, Charlus, remember your manners, his mother’s voice echoes in his mind.
“I must say I had…high hopes for you at the end of the semester,” Dumbledore says gently and Charlus feels like his chest is sinking through his stomach. “I personally was training you. It seems as though that was all in vain.”
Charlus has to clear his throat to block the borderline teary tone of voice before he speaks, “I’m also disappointed with myself, Headmaster. I expected better of myself.”
“Well,” Dumbledore gives him a sarcastic smile and he can’t help but shiver, “I’d hope you are disappointed in yourself. Someone died due to your…inability.”
Failure. That’s what the man had wanted to say. That’s what the Headmaster should have said. Failure. That’s what he is. Surprisingly, anger rises up in him. Anger at himself, anger at his mother, and anger at the man across from him. No one seems to realize that this burden of failing to keep his own mother safe is riding on his shoulders and he will carry the weight of his “inability” for the rest of his life.
“Not only that, but Voldemort escaped. He’s alive, somewhere, somehow. Planning to do all sorts of dangerous, deadly, and devastating things to this world again.” Dumbledore continues, oblivious to the anger in Charlus’s body. The way that the anger is heating him from the inside out.
“Was all my time training you in vain, I wonder?” The man mutters, seeming not to care that Charlus can hear every word.
He snaps.
“Perhaps it was, Headmaster. Learning to do bombarda and basic shields is not enough to defeat the world’s darkest wizard, is it?” He shouts, “I did what I could and he still won.” His voice drops into a whisper, “He still killed her.”
“Do not blame me, child,” Dumbledore states calmly and in that moment, Charlus hates him, just a little bit. “I did my job. I am continuing to do my job. Why else would I be here? We are going to train you until you are sore and tired and desperate for a break. Until you instinctively raise your wand at any mention of Voldemort. Until you bleed with the desperation to kill that vile man. Do you understand?”
By the end of the man’s small speech, Dumbledore’s standing and staring down at him. He feels…weak and little. Just like he did when he was tied up and gagged on the floor of that dungeon. Just as tiny as he was when Voldemort took one look at his mother and struck her down with little care at all, like his strong, dangerous mother was just an annoying bug to crunch under his shoe.
“I…I will be better.” He says finally, though his mind is racing with thousands of things to say, to scream, to cry out. He just says he’ll do better, because he will, because he has too. The next person to die could be his sister or his best friend, or Hermione, or god-forbid his father. His drunk, emotionally unavailable father.
Dumbeldore seems to search his eyes for a moment, before he smiles that old, gentle smile, “Good. I do hate being disappointed in you. Let’s not have it happen again, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”