Chapter 4
"Where is Nagini?"
"I -- I don't know, my Lord. She set out to explore the house, I think...."
"You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail. I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly.
"...My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"
"A week. Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over."
"The -- The Quidditch World Cup, my Lord? Forgive me, but -- I do not understand -- why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"
"Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So, we wait."
"Your Lordship is still determined, then?"
"Certainly, I am determined, Wormtail."
"...It could be done without Harry Potter, my Lord."
"...Without Harry Potter? I see...."
"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy! The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! it is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard -- any wizard -- the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while -- you know that I can disguise myself most effectively -- I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person-"
"I could use another wizard, that is true...."
"My Lord, it makes sense. Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected-"
"And so, you volunteer to go fetch me a substitute? I wonder... perhaps the task of nursing me has become more wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"
"My Lord! I -- I have no wish to leave you, none at all-"
"Do not lie to me! I can always tell, Wormtail, you are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me...."
"No! My devotion to your Lordship-"
"Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"
"But you seem so much stronger, my Lord-"
"Liar. I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your care. Silence!
"...I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail -- courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath...."
-------
Harrison woke up because of the pain in his scar. And he had just watched a tiny homunculus kill a Muggle.
What the f*** was going on? Why was he having visions of Voldemort?
Harrison took a moment to quickly go over what he had just seen, so he didn't forget. He'd call Sirius and Remus as soon as possible.
Voldemort and Wormtail were discussing a plan. They had mentioned the Quidditch Cup. They had already murdered a woman... Harrison couldn't recall her name... and they were planning on using Harrison for something, and then killing him.
F***. Why couldn't Voldemort just leave him the f*** alone for once?!
Harry got up and pulled the mirror out from under the loose floorboard. "Sirius Black."
It took longer for the man to respond, probably because it was so early, and it was Remus who opened the call, looking worried. Sirius was blinking groggily.
"I had a vision about Voldemort," Harrison said before they could say anything.
Sirius cursed, and Remus looked grim. "I need coffee," Sirius muttered, getting up.
Harrison told Remus as much as he could remember from the dream, sparing nothing, not even that Voldemort was planning on killing him. The man listened intently, a protective look on his face. Harrison could swear that his eyes were turning gold.
"...and he killed the Muggle man, and I woke up with my scar burning," Harrison finished.
"S***," Sirius swore again.
"I think Voldemort might be going to try to use you in some ritual to bring him back," Remus said slowly. "Probably to partake in the same protection Lily put on you when she..."
"S***," Harrison muttered. "Why can't I have a normal year for once?"
"It's the Potter curse," Sirius said wearily. "'May you live in interesting times.' The Malfoys and the Blacks gave them that one."
Harrison swore again. "What am I gonna do?"
"You'll need to learn more spells," Remus said swiftly. "Definitely Occlumency-"
"-the h*** is Occlumency?"
"-and probably get some protective jewelry."
"Occlumency protects your mind from being viewed," Sirius explained.
"People can read my MIND?"
"A mind isn't a book, Harrison," Remus corrected. "It's more of... a movie with subtitles?"
"Whatever," Harrison complained.
"I'll send you more books." Remus paused. "What did you think of Arithmancy and Runes, anyway?"
"I'd be s*** at Arithmancy," Harrison answered, ignoring Sirius' snigger, "and Runes looked b***dy awesome. I already sent a note to Professor Babbling. And asked that queer library if they had any other Runes books I could read."
Remus nodded. "Excellent. You'll be called in earlier to take an exam, to figure out which class you can join."
"I have so many books to read," Harrison grumbled. "I still need to order that book Hackblade told me about, How to Pureblood for Dummies. Why do they have a Muggle-themed pureblood book?"
Sirius grinned. "It's technically written for purebloods or half-bloods with titles raised in the Muggle world. The only reason they wouldn't know pureblood s*** is if they grew up outside of the wizarding world. The author thought they might have some fun with it."
Harrison snorted.
"I can help, too, if you like," Sirius said innocently.
"Sirius, aren't you crap at acting like a pureblood?" Remus sighed.
"Yep, but I'm not crap at knowing the perfect way to politely insult someone," Sirius said brightly. Harrison cackled, feeling much better.
They talked a bit longer, and Remus finished with, "Don't go anywhere alone, stay vigilant, and be careful, cub."
"But don't forget to have fun," Sirius added, earning an exasperated glare from Remus.
-------
"A letter's arrived," Uncle Vernon said nastily. "About you."
Harrison raised an eyebrow.
Vernon pulled a letter out of his shirt pocket and cleared his throat.
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,
"We have never been introduced, but I am sure you have heard a great deal from Harry about my son Ron.
"As Harry might have told you, the final of the Quidditch World Cup takes place this Monday night, and my husband, Arthur, has just managed to get prime tickets through his connections at the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
"I do hope you will allow us to take Harry to the match, as this really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; Britain hasn't hosted the cup for thirty years, and tickets are extremely hard to come by. We would of course be glad to have Harry stay for the remainder of the summer holidays, and to see him safely on the train back to school.
"It would be best for Harry to send us your answer as quickly as possible in the normal way, because the Muggle postman has never delivered to our house, and I am not sure he even knows where it is.
"Hoping to see Harry soon,
"Yours sincerely,
"Molly Weasley.
"P.S. I do hope we've put enough stamps on."
Harrison resisted the urge to pinch his nose. She had to use the word normal.
"Right," he said before Vernon could say anything, "I'll just go and tell my godfather that I'll be going to the Quidditch Cup. I've got a letter up there for him and I want to send it off."
Vernon went white, both with rage and fear. "I haven't said you can go, boy!"
Harrison smiled sweetly. "Well, unless you want me to add that onto the charges of child abuse...."
"ABUSE?" Vernon snarled, raising his fist. "WE'VE GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING, BOY!"
"Yes, you have," Harrison said in a very cold voice, making the man freeze. "You've beaten me up multiple times. You've broken probably all of my bones. You locked me up in a cupboard and starved me multiple times. You made me do every single chore in the house because you're all lazy s**ts. I thought my name was Freak until I went to primary school. You never give me any clothes that fit me, and these glasses aren't the right prescription. Don't get me started on what Dudley's done to me."
The man went purple. "You-"
Harrison had his wand out in the blink of an eye. (He was so glad he'd learned how to pick locks.) Vernon froze again, the color draining from his face. "You know," Harrison said pleasantly, "while I can't use magic out of school, I can use it in self-defense. I think stopping my abusive uncle from breaking several of my bones again counts as self-defense, don't you, Uncle?"
Vernon gulped.
"Now, unless you want me to tell my godfather that you won't let me go to the Cup..."
"Fine," he rasped. "Tell those -- tell them you're going."
Harrison's wand disappeared again, and Vernon bolted.
-------
Dear Ron,
I recently discovered that my full name is actually Harrison James Potter, and I think I'd like to be called that instead of Harry.
Anyway, my uncle has graciously given me permission to go to the Quidditch Cup. Luckily, by the time the Department of Child Protection finishes their inspection, I won't have to deal with them ever again.
There's stuff I have to tell you and Hermione, by the way -- stuff I can't write in a letter.
See you this afternoon at five.
Harrison
Harrison sent basically the same letter to Hermione -- adding that he had decided to replace Divination with Ancient Runes -- and then called Sirius and Remus again.
This time, it took a lot longer. When the mirror opened again, Remus was there, looking a bit flushed, and there were a few red marks on his neck. Harrison could hear the shower running.
"I, uh, sorry," Harrison yelped, almost shutting off the call.
"No, cub, it's fine," Remus said quickly, blushing harder. "What is it?"
"Ron's dad got tickets to the Cup, they invited me to join them," Harrison said, looking anywhere but at Remus.
"WHAT?" came Sirius' excited shout. Harrison watched Remus turn even redder out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, I'm going to stay with them for the rest of the summer," Harrison said. "I just -- I just wanted to tell you that. Um-"
"We'll talk later," Remus promised, and the mirror call shut off.
Harrison really didn't want to know what they'd been doing.
With a sigh, Harrison started packing his things.