Dog days of Azkaban
October 7, 1989
Harry stretched as he opened his eyes and glanced around cautiously. This time there was no surprise bird waiting for him. He got up and went over to the window ceil. There Hedwig was perched with her eyes closed. He petted her head gently and received a glare from the owl in question. Harry merely grinned and got ready for the day. He brushed his teeth quickly and started the tub. After taking off his shirt the nagging feeling like he'd forgotten something overcame him. That was when he saw a red-rimmed black mark on his shoulder. Death...that was where Death had touched him. The geas spoke of a mark. Turning ever so slightly in the mirror he saw it. It was the same mark that was on his ring...the same as the vault floor. What did it mean? Well, one thing was for sure he'd have to do some research. Yesterday seemed so surreal like a dream...and yet it had happened. He could still feel Death; the entity wasn't anywhere nearby right now. He none the less still felt their connection...their bond. Harry bathed quickly and dressed hastily.
Heading downstairs Harry ordered breakfast and added another night. He still hadn't received word from Goldaxe about his papers. Harry was planning on going out later to check all the same. His skin was starting to prickle with paranoia. Was it really paranoia if people really were out to get him? Going back upstairs he set up the table with a notebook, calligraphy pen, and the large tome from the Mortis vault.
He was planning on reading it and taking notes up until lunch. After which Harry was planning on going to Gringotts. He grabbed Percival's box in time for the food to appear on the other side of his table.
"Morning Percival is the furball awake?" Harry asked.
He downed his morning potions and started mixing honey into his tea.
"Morning...he is indeed awake. Loki has been playing tag with me for a while. I think he's grown slightly bigger, most likely from all his trips outside the box." Percival replied.
Harry caught sight of Loki who had been climbing up the outside of Percival's coat. Loki did look a little bigger, the little Niffler no longer fit entirely in Harry's hand. Loki climbed out of the mirror landing on his feet. He shook his fur much like Harry had seen a dog do once. Loki let out a yawn and started investigating the table. He almost stopped to steal Harry's pen but noticed his bowl of greens. Today Loki had asparagus stalks, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and sliced mushrooms. Harry smiled as Loki dove in literally rolling onto his back. He had a cucumber slice clutched in his paws. His little tail sweeping the bottom of the bowl and kicking up a mushroom chunk. Which he caught with his clawed paw deftly. Before unceremoniously shoving it into his mouth. Harry giggled at Loki's antics.
"So, are you going to tell me about what all that was with Fawkes yesterday? You told me everything about Death and the vaults. But not why we ran to a different place." Percival said, curiously.
"Sorry the whole Death thing was way more important. No, I figured out who Fawkes was bonded with. And took no chances and moved us immediately. I'm really hoping my papers will be ready today." Harry said, anxiously.
He took a bite out of a strawberry loving the burst of flavor on his tongue. Maybe he'd try more strawberry things.
"It was definitely smart to move Inns at least. But you kind of got distracted, Fawkes?" Percival asked.
"Fawkes said he lives in a place with a lot of magical signatures. That could be a magical school, right? Fawkes also said that he recognized the magical signature. You said Dumbledore was rumored to have a Phoenix. You also said that Dumbledore was friends with Grindelwald. And when you told me about how you were imprisoned. Percival you said that he said it was for someone else. Grindelwald could've simply killed you to take your place. Instead, he used you to test his creation out. And I asked Fawkes if he could get you out of the box. He said no because there were runes to prevent Phoenix travel into the box." Harry said.
He sipped his tea as the information sunk into Percival.
"Dumbledore." Percival said.
The man let out a heavy sigh.
"Exactly! I'm also going to spend the day researching and cataloguing the runes on your box. Well, that is if I don't have my papers and portkey after lunch. I'm visiting Gringotts afterwards." Harry said.
He grimaced oatmeal definitely wasn't going to be a favorite food. But none the less Harry choked down half of the bowl. Loki finished his breakfast and let out a burp. He unceremoniously waddled across the table. And disappeared into one of Harry's coat pockets. Percival must've really worn the little guy out. Gathering up the breakfast dishes Harry placed them on the extra chair. He would need all the space he could get. Once settled he said bye to Percival until later. Sitting in a box had to be boring. Watching Harry read all day had to be just as boring. He opened the tome up.
Hogwarts-Dumbledore
Albus was a very frustrated man indeed! And the reason why, one Harry James Potter. He'd had the Order wandering around the Dursley's street. They had hoped that one of the neighbors had seen something. But none of them had seen anything out of the ordinary. They had even tried several tracking charms and had come up with nothing. It had gotten to the point where Albus had to contact Severus.
For all of his skills he just didn't know the muggle world that well. Severus however had grown up there living down the street from Lily. Despite the other man's attitude Albus trusted him implicitly. Severus had run into trouble before even making a report. The Order and Albus had come to the conclusion that they should report Harry missing. The boy knew nothing of his magical heritage. And thus, would have to rely on his knowledge of the muggle world. That was assuming Harry ran away and wasn't kidnapped. But that was also assuming Harry was alive... There were plenty of reasons why tracking spells won't work. Death...was simply the direst.
The prophecy orb was still intact if nothing else. So Albus had been wrong about the identity of the prophecy child or Harry was still alive. Anyway, Severus needed a recent photo for the muggle authorities. And they had to ask the Dursley's for one. It devolved rather quickly from there. Vernon had flown into a rage saying: " We don't keep pictures of freaks here in our home!". Which had set off Severus and Petunia got involved. Thank Merlin Alistair had gone with him. He'd had to stun Severus and the Dursley's. Apparently, Vernon had tried to lunge at the potions master. And after Severus had cooled his temper enough. Alistair released him. The sneering man then proceeded to use Legimency on them.
Whatever he'd seen had changed Severus's demeanor. Or so Alistair had told him upon returning back. They left and retrieved a school photo from Harry's primary school. After filing a report, they returned with little to show for their time. Severus was more restrained than usual and didn't even sneer. Albus himself had witnessed only the events in Petunia's mind. And they were awful...was it worse seeing Vernon's too? Did more happen to Harry than what even Petunia knew? Either way Albus had made a dire miscalculation.
He hadn't taken Lily and James seriously. They had been adamant about never sending Harry there. But Albus had thought that it was an exaggeration. James had never had contact with muggles before. So, he just thought it was James merely being overly dramatic as he tended to be. And as for Lily, he had thought it may have been sibling rivalry. In the sense that their relationship had fallen apart due to jealousy. Surely Petunia and Vernon weren't as bad as she had said? Even after he'd seen her mind. It was as if the information hadn't sunk in right away. Albus supposed that it was due to shock. Magicals tended to treat children as incredibly precious. The birthrates among magical communities had dropped significantly.
And that was over the past sixty years or so. So, to know that a child was treated like that was shocking. He winced physically and mentally as he remembered two other boys he'd failed. Severus and Tom flashed before his eyes. Albus had viewed the muggle world through rose tinted glasses. He'd placed the muggles up onto a pedestal thinking the world of them. And looking back at all the accusations from those boys. It sickened him greatly wondering if perhaps Severus and Tom hadn't been exaggerating. Would they have turned out the way they did if he'd intervened?
Despite all that he had achieved Albus had still failed. Sighing he thought of his other problem. The Elder wand had disappeared near the same time Harry had. It was as if events had snowballed. Even as he scrambled to fix his mistakes Albus still hadn't made a difference. As he gazed into the depths of the orb on his desk. Albus wondered if he should just quit while he was ahead. Sighing he stood and prepared to leave. He needed to pick up the Potters to try one last thing.
Lord Caspian McMillan p.o.v.-
He groaned as he finally sat in his office chair. The last few days had been brutal! Caspian had worked back-to-back cases. Why were so many people getting into trouble recently? Opening his eyes he growled in annoyance. His desk was already precariously stacked tall with files. But the very center, which was always clean for work, was now piled high with mail. Shaking his head Caspian grabbed his scotch decanter. After pouring himself a generous amount he grabbed the first envelope. It was from Gringotts, that was strange as all Gringotts mail ended up at his home.
Was there something wrong with one of their accounts? Unfolding the letter carefully he sipped his scotch. Caspian nearly choked seeing the name on the letter before him. Surely that couldn't be right? Surely the man had been tried with everyone else! Flabbergasted and feeling like he more than earned his drink. He tossed the contents of it back feeling it burn. The bitter taste settled on his tongue.
If this was right, then it was positively scandalous! The Ministry would be shamed! Caspian quickly penned a letter to Madame Bones to request any trial transcripts. It was the simplest way to figure out if the letter was true. And if there were none than he'd request a trial immediately. Nobody deserved Azkaban unless they were truly guilty. If this was true than Sirius Black hadn't been tried. And nothing was worse than unlawful imprisonment...except for the unlawful imprisonment of a Pureblooded heir. Old Arcturus was barely hanging on as was and would no doubt die in a few years. The Blacks were one of Britain's oldest families. Neigh they were one of the oldest wizarding lines in the world. Oh, this was going to be interesting.
Harry p.o.v.-
He stretched in his chair after finishing the last sentence. Harry wasn't done with the tome though he was halfway into it. It was rather fascinating. It detailed the origins of Death and by default his siblings. But it was mostly about Death, Harry had stopped at the heading that said: The brothers three, the Peverell encounter." The Peverell's had been mentioned frequently throughout the tome.
They always seemed to be bound rather close to the entity. Sliding a hand into his pocket Harry felt for Loki. Panic shot through him as he realized Loki wasn't there! Just then a clinking noise sounded from the bathroom. He turned on the light to find Loki being his ridiculous self. The little Niffler had upended the shampoo container into the tub. And had managed to fill the tub with water. He'd done all that without Harry noticing he was gone. Loki was floating on his back shining one of Percival's galleons with soapy paws. Loki's eyes locked onto his as the cheeky little rodent blew bubbles at him.
Giggling Harry swatted them away and kneeled down by the tubs edge. Harry scooped up some bubbles and blew them back at Loki. Loki glared at him indignantly and responded with a wet paw slap to Harry's cheek. Harry glared back and dunked Loki under the water. Leaning back on his legs Harry saw Loki surface. This time Loki hopped up onto the ledge and stopped near Harry. Loki shook out his fur causing Harry to splutter in mock outrage. He chased Loki into the bedroom and tackled him onto the bed.
Loki wasn't so easily defeated as he climbed down Harry's shirt. He started laughing as paws scrabbled at his stomach. Wiggling around like a wild thing he finally caught Loki by the scruff. Harry decided to return the favor. As he cradled Loki in his arms on his back. He tickled Loki's furry belly. A squeal left Loki as his little legs flailed, he tried to get out of his arms. Grinning Harry finally let Loki down. Loki started to groom his fur not even paying attention to Harry. Shaking his head Harry went to get another shirt. He really needed to ask Percival about spells for his clothes.
He had to change any time anything happened to his clothes. Which was usually Loki's fault. He opened Percival's box told him he was going to Gringotts. And caught Loki again stuffing him through the mirror. Percival huffed in mock annoyance as the wet rodent dropped down into his arms. Shutting the box quickly Harry grabbed his bag and went out the door. Something was strange...It wasn't readily apparent until Harry noticed a flyer stuck to a shop window. Surprise flowed through him to see his school picture plastered all over. He was now officially missing in the wizarding world. Harry shook his head at the caption on a newspaper that was left carelessly on the ground.
It too had his picture and had declared him missing. Harry almost choked on a laugh when the article said his family 'missed' him. Were the wizarding people really that gullible? His so-called family would sooner kill him than want him back. Happiness flowed through him as he realized something. If he was no longer related to his mother than he wasn't related to the Dursleys. He dropped the paper in a rubbish bin. Afterwards he made his way to Gringotts and noticed those people again. That twinkly eyed old man and the two cloaked people. Minding his business and trying not to draw attention. He took the steps two at a time and got in one of the lines. Harry noticed the old man and the cloaked people had also come into the bank. Were they following him? He tamped down on the instinctual panic and kept his gaze to the front.
Harry finally made it to the teller and asked for Goldaxe. The weird old man and his friends made it up to the counter as Harry disappeared. Now he sat in Goldaxe's empty office nervously wondering who those people were. He couldn't help but feel like they were important somehow. The door creaked open as Goldaxe shuffled in and sat at his desk.
"Little lord, it's good that your here today. I was going to send the owl post to you. I received word from the American Ministry, you are all set for your move. I also received correspondence from Ilvermorny. They have accepted your application, and you will be attending their school once you turn eleven. They will send you a list of supplies and a portkey to the castle. I also have your portkeys." Goldaxe said.
The goblin handed him a necklace with two pendants on them. The first stone was a teardrop shaped blue stone. The second was a pendent with a familiar symbol on it. It was made of a dark stone with a silver backing. Etched in gold threads was the sign of the deathly hallows. Death's mark....
"Both portkeys are permanent so you can use them as many times as you please. But first you have to smear your blood on each to let it be absorbed. That way the portkeys will be useable by nobody but you. Your magic doesn't just flow through your body little lord. It flows through your blood as well. It's why blood has so much power. The portkeys will absorb your magic and blood. Keying them to you and only you. The blue stone is keyed to your home in America. And the dark pendent is keyed to Peverell castle." Goldaxe said.
Harry nodded in understanding. Good then today or tomorrow he would leave the country. He had zero intentions of ever returning. But somehow, he just knew that he would have no choice to. Goldaxe pushed a folder forward: inside Harry discovered muggle identification papers, a muggle passport, muggle emancipation papers, and his wizarding identification papers. Nodding, absently Harry shoved the folder into his bag. He put the two portkeys in his pocket he'd have to buy a chain for it eventually.
"Oh, I also received word from Lord McMillan he'd accepted Mr. Black's case and is investigating. I don't know what he has and hasn't discovered as of yet. But I thought you'd like to know all the same. Is there anything else I can help you with little lord?" Goldaxe asked.
Harry almost mentioned Percival's box but bit his tongue. There was too much going on and Harry hadn't even catalogued the runes on the box yet. It wasn't so much as the runes being trouble as it was Death...The things Death had implied about the runes. Had made him wonder if it would even be worth mentioning to the goblins. Unless they could help him get an audience with Grindelwald. Otherwise, there wasn't much the goblins could do.
"No, that's all I came for today thank you so much. May your gold always flow." Harry said.
Getting up Harry left Goldaxe's office only to nearly be run down. A frantic looking goblin pushed passed him in a rush. What the hell was that about? Shaking his head Harry left the bank to return to his hotel.
Griphook's office-Gringotts
Griphook rubbed his temple as he felt a headache coming on. The previously thought deceased Potters were in his office with Albus freaking Dumbledore! The goblin the falsified their death documents would pay! It was treasonous to alter Gringotts's official documents.
"What do you mean he doesn't exist! I gave birth to him myself!" A hysterical Lily Potter screeched.
"Lady Potter, that may be so. But the family tree doesn't lie Harold James Potter is no longer on it." Griphook said.
Lord Potter stood suddenly.
"It's bloody impossible! He's my son he should be on there. What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?" James shouted.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and pull James back down into the chair next to him.
"Griphook is there any other reason why a person wouldn't show up on a family tree?" Dumbledore asked.
"There are only a few possibilities that I can think of that would wipe someone entirely from a family tree. The most obvious is death though his name would still be listed on the tree. The next would-be total disownment. When done properly by magic the person is wiped entirely away. The next that comes to mind is that he magically changed his name. Only Harry himself can change his name magically. The problem with this is that the child is nine years old. Not only that he is unaware of his magical heritage. Which eliminates this possibility rather soundly. And the last is the least likely. It's so rare that some of the goblins only speak of it as a fable. That fable is that a divine being or entity has hidden his presence. There are stories from the other Gringotts branches. They say that occasionally a divine being will take an interest in a human. They go on to mention the human in question usually vanishes. They become impossible to track no matter how hard one tries. But those are just fables, no goblin in centuries has mentioned one of these stories." Griphook replied.
Dumbledore's eyebrows merged with his hairline a knowing look in his eyes. Interesting.... James and Lily looked at him in disbelief.
"So that's it? There's nothing we can do unless we find him, or we find his body?" James asked, dejectedly.
The man was tense his brows pinch his teeth grinding.
"Yes, I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do to help." Griphook replied.
A sob tore itself from Lady Potter as she sank to her knees. Lord Potter bent down to comfort her. But she smacked his hand away a look of fury on her tear-stained face.
"This is your fault! I trusted you! You said he'd be okay! You said that Dumbledore had a plan that Harry would be safe! You promised me! You swore that Dumbledore could be trusted to protect him! And...and he's gone!" Lily shouted.
Lord Potter shrank away from his devastated wife. The man looked lost like he didn't know what to do. Dumbledore was also looking at her sadly a look of shame on his face. The older man looked so tired. These foolish humans...Griphook sat back in his chair as he waited for them to gather themselves. Would humans ever learn to stop toying with other people's lives?
Harry-
Harry had just finished sketching a drawing of Percival's box. It wasn't very detailed, but it wasn't bad either. He'd just finished copying down all the runes he could see clearly. The nagging thought that Harry had missed something wouldn't leave. He remembered Percival mentioning that some runes were invisible. That one had to use magic just to reveal them. Frowning Harry channeled a small amount of magic to his fingertips.
He didn't want to activate anything. He just wanted to see what was unseen. Just on the underside of each rose petal was a rune. Annoyed that he'd missed them Harry awkwardly copied the runes one-handed. As the runes would disappear if he wasn't touching the box. Rotating the box gently he finished copying the runes. After that Harry picked up where he left off with the tome. The brothers encounter with Death was interesting in that it didn't match the legend. The Peverell's were necromancers for generations as it turned out. Not all of them were 'gifted' with the same abilities.
So far since his meeting with Death, Harry hadn't manifested any strange abilities. Well, aside from the fact that all foreign text turned into English when he looked at it. But that most certainly wasn't death magic. Anyway, the brothers had earned the Hallows as rewards for serving Death. It further went on to say that the Hallows were scattered around. That the artifacts hadn't been together since the brothers. Which puzzled Harry as all three items were in the vault.
"Your claim is simply stronger..."
Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. A shadow moved from the darkness of the bathroom. It solidified into Death's cloaked figure.
"My claim...?" Harry asked.
"Yes, it doesn't matter if my gifts are in the possession of others. As a blood Peverell your claim is always stronger. Only someone of your bloodline can become the Master of Death. It's why no one can truly master them. Why no one can ever manage to get all three...When you claimed the Peverell lordship your claim was the only one that mattered. So, the Hallows appeared in the Mortis vault. Where they waited for you alone Harry." Death replied.
So that explained that...but what had they done in Death's service? What could gain favor enough for the exchange of such powerful artifacts?
"I could tell you that, but I know you aren't ready little master. No, I will sit and wait I alone have all the time in the world. When you are truly ready to learn...to embrace my gifts...We will talk again." Death said.
Harry watched as Death seemed to be swallowed by the shadows that manifested him. Disturbed and restless Harry shut the tome and gathered up his things. After carefully making sure everything was packed. Harry left the room key on the nightstand. He fished his two portkeys out of his pocket. He pricked his finger rubbing the blood into the blue teardrop stone, he whispered the name of his destination.
Nausea was the first thing he felt before feeling like he was being sucked through a tube. His vision blurred and his body ached from feeling compressed. And as suddenly as it had happened it had stopped. Harry landed on his hands and knees hard. He struggled to keep his lunch from earlier down. Blinking slowly to clear his sight Harry realized he was in the woods. Sucking in a shocked breath he carefully stood. Once he was sure that he'd remain standing Harry looked around. He almost fell again when he turned around and nearly smacked into a statue's snout. Backing up Harry let out a surprised gasp. The statue looked like a gaunt skeletal horse with leathery bony wings unfurled behind it.
And beyond the statue was a house...well at least that's what it was supposed to be? Harry hadn't seen any manors in his life, so he wasn't an expert. But there were definitely no houses like this in Surrey. It was huge and white with a lot of windows. Large white columns stood tall near the large black door. Gold lanterns were lit hanging in a row across the ceiling of the porch. Is that what one calls it if it's a manor? Looking around he realized Goldaxe was right there were absolutely no neighbors. Miles and miles of dark forest stretched in all directions. Not wanting to find out if the forest was inhabited. Harry quickly made his way to the large front door.
With great trepidation he grasps the large ring on the lion door knocker and let it fall. Goldaxe had said nobody was living here but the house-elves. That being said Harry didn't just want to waltz in. He could end up scaring a house-elf or activating a security ward by accident. A popping noise on the other side of the door sounded before it opened. An older looking elf opened the door. He had white hairs growing out of his large floppy ears. His nose was long and his fingers spindly. He wore a little suit that looked a lot like one of Vernon's. It had a black bowtie and a small silver pendent pinned on the jacket. Death's sign showed starkly against the silver pendent.
The creature frowned for a moment before a smile graced his thin lips.
"Little master?" It asked.
"Uh, Hi I'm Valerian but everyone calls me Harry. I'm going to be living here now." Harry said.
As an after though he let the elf see his hand baring the Lord's ring to light.
"It is so nice to see that the family we serve isn't gone. You must be hungry from traveling little one. I am Ferid head house-elf and will see directly to your care. Please let me take your coat and bag up to your room. While you eat the other elves will unpack your things and make everything clean." Ferid said.
The elf made a gesture with his hand to follow him. Once Harry could see beyond Ferid he gasped. In the center of the room was a table with beautiful white lilies in a red vase. The floor was made of black stone...marble maybe? It made the table look like it was floating on a dark sea. A large staircase rose up and branched off into a two-way hallway. The walls were a dark emerald green with gold filigree patterns. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling above. A banner hung above the staircase baring the family sign. A small statue of a hooded figure stood at the top of the stairs. In one hand was a carved skull in the other was a carved raven. The blade of a long-curved scythe was attached to a long handle that ended at the curve of one of the statue's elbows. It was leaning there carelessly as the stone Death held out the other two objects.
An amused noise came from Ferid as the elf decided to help Harry out of his coat. After taking the coat, he handed them off to another elf. One Harry hadn't even noticed was there. He let Ferid lead him to a side door that Harry hadn't even noticed. Down a hallway with multiple doors stopping at the second door. Inside there was a long wooden table. It was cherry wood or perhaps a dark walnut? Either way it was gorgeous and made Harry nervous. Everything here looked so...expensive. Even though it was all his now and he could easily replace it. It still made Harry weary about it. He'd never been in a place this nice.
Ferid not so subtly pushed him to a chair at one end. It was set up for one person to sit. The plates looked unbearably delicate sitting in front of him. The goblet in next to the plate was beautiful. It had glass rose vines encircling the stem where one held it. He noticed that there was more than one set of silverware. Why were there so many forks and spoons? Weird. Maybe it was a wizard thing? He could always ask Percival some other time. Food appeared on his plate as he blinked. Herb encrusted chicken breast, buttered asparagus stalks, and fluffy white rice.
Selecting the first fork that touched his hand Harry dug in. He was hungrier than he previously thought. After finishing his plate, he was astonished to see another plate appear. He was stuffed already. A slice of tart appeared on his plate. The crust was golden brown, and the fruit was a beautiful orange. Never having eaten a tart himself Harry decided to try to eat it. He'd only ever seen pictures of them before. Harry was the one who used to cook for the Dursley's. So, cookbooks were about the only book his ex-aunt would never scold him for reading.
To his delight it was peach flavored. Now more stuffed than before Harry asked Ferid to take him to bed. He could explore the manor and grounds tomorrow.
Sirius- Azkaban Prison
He shivered trying to huddle as close to the stone wall as possible. His frame was thin with his bones standing out alarmingly against his skin. His nails were long and jagged. His hair long, greasy, and matted.
Sirius had long since lost hope that he'd be let free. Anyone who knew him surely wouldn't think he did it. Or at least that was what he'd thought. Hell, he'd thought his trial would clear it all up. That it would all go away like a bad dream.
Oh, how naive he'd been to think that. Trial...oh that was laughable! He'd never left his cell since the day he was arrested. They hadn't even questioned him. They shoved him in without looking back. And that had hurt. Sirius knew them...had worked with them...had joked with them.
And it was like none of that had mattered. The betrayal had cut him deeply. Nobody had come to visit him. Not a friend...not his lover...not even a damn guard! It was unforgivable...if he ever got out Peter was a dead man.
That little runt had ruined his life. And had taken James from him. James was his brother in all but blood. And he was gone torn away. Gone because that little coward couldn't keep his promise.
He idly wondered how old Harry was now. Time was a hard thing to measure here. Pulling his knees up to his chest. Tears left streaks down his filthy face. Screams sounded down the hall. A chill to the air stirred. Quickly he turned into Padfoot and huddled to the wall.
A dark hooded shape passed by the door. It hissed making him whimper. Miserable and tired he laid down. And as the screams subsided, he fell into his nightmares.