—HelloDarkness07
——
9th August, 1991:
Sirius Black III couldn't believe this was happening.He was free. Finally, after 10 long years of waiting for his well deserved death, he was free. And not just that, but Peter Pettigrew was taking his place in Azkaban, surrounded by the very Death Eaters he had been hiding from.
For the first time in a decade, Sirius has gotten a good night's sleep, not plagued by nightmares the Dementors brought forward to feast upon.
As he looks around his private room in the Janus Thickey Ward, Sirius found himself once again pinching himself, not believing it all to be real still.And supposedly, he has his very own godson to thank for that.
Harry. Dear sweet baby Harry, a little genius.
No one knows how he did it, how he managed to give the DMLE enough evidence to convince them, but here he is, free.
Sirius chokes out a laugh, tears streaming down his face.
"All good, Sirius?" A familiar voice asks, making him turn towards his favourite cousin, someone who he believed he would never see again.
Andromeda Tonks, no longer Black, sat on the stool next to his bed knitting a sweater, no doubt for her daughter Nymphadora. It was a bit odd to see her do it by hand, when her mother Druella used to just order one readymade from whatever shop was trending.Walburga on the other hand never bought Sirius anything. Orion did that for them.
Sirius just nods, and after wiping his eyes, he asks, "Do.. Do you know when he's getting here?"
There was no point in explaining who 'he' is. The same person responsible for getting him out, his godson, Harry.
Harry had written to Sirius, asking for forgiveness for not freeing him sooner. Sirius was just thankful that he is actually free again. It doesn't matter when it happened.Andromeda sighs, and turning to the clock on the wall, she says, "I have heard that he is very punctual, and so he should be here by 5. Please have some patience, Sirius. Just wait for a few more minutes."
"I did my waiting." Sirius coarsely says, his throat still unused to talking. "Ten years of it, in Azkaban. A decade I haven't seen my godson, Andi. A decade."Andromeda holds his hand, running her thumb over it, and says, "I know, Sirius. I know. God knows I cannot stay apart from Nymphadora for even a few months. Now that she's out of Hogwarts she'll stay with me forever."
Sirius chuckles involuntarily, and says, "Until she finds a job, moves out, and then marries."
Andromeda promptly smacks his hand softly, and admonishes, "Please, Nymphadora is still a child. She'll marry once I'm actually old enough to be a grandmother and not a moment before that."
Sirius wisely chose not to point out her current age, deciding to instead ask something else. "And what about him? Did Remus write back yet?"
And that was another regret to Sirius.
Remus.
Someone Peter had him convinced was the real traitor. Sirius needed to apologize to him, face to face. But alas, as Andromeda confirms, Remus hadn't written back yet. He wondered where the wolf was hiding his furry butt.
Soon, the minute hand struck 12, and like clockwork, a double knock sounded on the door. Andromeda turned to look at Sirius with a questioning look in her eyes. He swallows his nervousness, and nods, prompting Andromeda to call out, "Come in."
The door opens, and in walks a boy looking exactly like James to Sirius. Except his eyes, green, brighter than even Lily's, glowing with knowledge and Power. Just one look in them and Sirius could tell that it really is true. Harry is a genius who freed him.
"Harry.." Sirius chokes out, his voice barely a whisper.Harry nods at him, closing the door behind him, and says, "Mr Black. I hope you're alright."
Sirius nods, and for a moment he stays silent. He cannot help it, he is seeing Harry for the first time since that night.
"I.. I'm sorry!" Sirius says, his voice a whisper at first. "I'm sorry, Harry." He says again, louder. As tears flow freely down his cheeks again, he says, "I.. I should have taken you with me and run away. Not handed you off to Hagrid. It's because of me that you had to live with.. her. I am sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry."
Harry stares at him, and for a moment Sirius worries that he will hate him after knowing it. That he will go away and never meet Sirius again. He instinctively moves his head to stare at his lap, clutching at the bedsheet.
"Mr Black.. I know. It's okay." He instead hears Harry say.
Sirius snaps his head up, unable to believe if he heard correctly.
"I know." Harry repeats with a sad smile. "I know all that happened that day, maybe once you're healthy again I'll show you how. The only fault I saw in you that day is your inability to think clearly when faced with intense emotions. I do not fault you for that fully, though, as I understand that most regular people do the same.""It's.. I don't understand." Sirius says, confused. Is he being forgiven?
Harry walks forward, throwing a small nod to Andromeda who stands up and moves towards the door, and pats Sirius on the hand twice. "The point is, you don't have to wallow in guilt from now on. You're far away from the Dementors and as long as I'm alive you will never go back. For now, I want you to focus on getting better."
Sirius nods, unable to say anything. He stares at Harry for a few more seconds, and then wipes his eyes. He says, "I.. I heard you live at Godric's Hollow. If you.. if you feel like you don't have a choice in where you live, I have a house. In London. At Grimmauld Place."
Harry frowns, making Sirius think that he has offended the boy in some way. He is just about to open his mouth to apologize, when Harry says, "Whatever happened that Halloween night, the cottage at Godric's Hollow is my home. And I appreciate the offer, truly. But I have just met you, Mr Black. I would love to visit your home once you move out of here."
Sirius, thankful that Harry was not offended, lets out a wet snort, and says, "It's dark, gloomy, and unless my grandpa Arcturus was wrong in his last letter, my mother has decided to have her portrait permanently attached to the wall. Trust me, you'd hate it. I don't even know why I suggested the Godforsaken place."
Harry has a thoughtful look on his face, and says, "That just makes me curious. Get well soon, Mr Black, now I do want to visit this house of yours."
"Sirius." Sirius suddenly says. Blinking, he continues, "Call me Sirius. Or Padfoot. Mr Black was my father."
Harry smiles, and offers his hand for a shake. "Hullo, Sirius. You can call me Harry."
Sirius smiles back, happy to finally have this moment. He just hoped Remus came back to his life too.
——
Peter Pettigrew was enjoying himself. It was just him, and Sirius, and Remus, and James, and of course Lily. They were in the great hall, having breakfast, which for some reason struck odd to Peter.
They were laughing, making jokes, playing pranks on Snivellus, and for once, he was not the target of their meaner jokes.
Peter was content. Happy.
"Peter." James suddenly says from beside him, making him turn away from Snivelus who was hanging in the air, pants stuck on his ankle. Peter turns to James, and immediately feels a stabbing pain in his chest. Eyes wide, he looks up at James, betrayed, who just stares coldly with disgust, and asks, "Why did you betray us, Peter?"
Another stabbing pain, Lily.
"Why did you betray us, Peter?"
And another. Remus.
And another. Sirius.
"Why did you betray us, Peter?" They all say.
And then another stab. His mom.
His mom..
Peter stared into her eyes, unable to believe how hurtful they looked. How disgusted the eyes of his beloved mother looked, as they stared at him.
And then, Peter dies, unable to live after so much blood loss.
Peter wakes up with a start, sweating despite the cold air in his Azkaban cell making him shiver. A fresh wave of despair hits him, and he remembers the pain in his arm when he received the Dark Mark.
This has been his life now for the last 4 days. Ever since the bloody Aurors caught him, pumped him full of Veritaserum for his sham of a trial, and summarily threw him in Azkaban. The constant pain, the fear, the despair. All because of the Dementors that guard this prison.
And that's not even counting the amount of taunts he has heard from the Death Eaters all around him whenever they are sane enough to realize he's there.
"How did it feel?" He suddenly hears from right outside the cell, making Peter flinch.
In a place with only screams and cries for company, a normal question shocks him silent. Peter turns his head to look outside, wondering if one of the human guards had come up to taunt him. Maybe if he's fast enough he can steal the guard's wand and make a run for it.Peter Pettigrew, the first Wizard to break out of Azkaban.
"Hm.." he hears the person say again. "It seems you haven't learned your lesson yet. Well, back to the nightmares for you."
Peter Pettigrew is enjoying himself. It is just him, and Sirius, and Remus, and James, and of course Lily.A stab.
Another.
His mum stabs him.
Peter Pettigrew dies.
Peter Pettigrew wakes up with a start, his hand pressed to his chest, unable to shake the betrayal from his heart. His mother stabbed him. His mother killed him. Not once. Twice.
"How did it feel?" The same voice as before asks him, and Peter finds himself now really afraid.
He stares at the shadowed figure standing outside his cell, barely able to make out the green glowing eyes.
"Lily?" Peter rasps out, his heart beating loudly.
"How weak. Here for 4 days and you've already lost your mind. Can't even differentiate between the voice of a man and a woman." The man says as he takes a step into the moonlight.
"H-Harry? Is that you, dear boy?" Peter says, and starts standing up only to find himself blasted at the back wall of the cell. "B-b-but. How?! How are you-"
"Here? What does it matter to you, Wormtail?" The boy, and it is most definitely Harry, says.
"H-help me, Harry! Help me! Your mum, your dad, they wouldn't want this!" Peter pleads, hoping that the young boy might have his mother's compassion.
Alas, Harry is neither his mother, nor his father.
Peter finds himself pulled in the air towards the cell door, stopping barely a foot away from Harry, who glares at Peter through the bars and says, "They wouldn't want this? Oh, I assure you, they most definitely would. People forget that you did not just betray James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort, you betrayed me too. Their son. You.. wormtail.. betrayed your friends' only son to the Dark Lord. And no parent can tolerate that."
Peter is thrown back to the back wall, and he crawls forward, having felt that the Dementors don't affect him near Harry. He doesn't know why, nor how, he just needs to get near Harry.
Harry grins at the man's whimpers, and says, "You betrayed me, you betrayed my family. You will die for it. But before that, you will be betrayed. Again, and again, and again. Everyday till your life gives out, you will be betrayed."
"No!" Peter rasps, jumping up to grab at Harry. Alas, his hands slam into a magical barrier around his cell. "No, no, no! Not again! Please, not again! I'll do anything! Please! I had to do it! You don't know him!" Peter cries, his hands grabbing at the barrier.
Harry raises an eyebrow, and asks, "Anything?"
Peter stops his rampage and nods rapidly. "Anything," he agrees.
"Then suffer." Harry simply says, and starts to walk towards an orange glowing portal that forms behind him. "Not that you will be doing that for more than a week."
As Harry Potter leaves Azkaban through the portal, Peter Pettigrew starts feeling his eyes close. He slaps himself, not wanting to see it happen again.
But between Azkaban's Dementors and Harry's curse, his own body betrays him and he falls asleep.
Peter Pettigrew is enjoying himself. It was just him, and Sirius, and Remus, and James, and of course Lily.
"Mum?" He asks with tears in his eyes, as he wakes up with pain in his chest, and a chill in his bones.
——
16th August, 1991:
"FILTH! SCUM! MUGGLE LOVER! Blood traitor!" A loud voice greets them as soon as Harry and Sirius step foot inside the dilapidated house belonging to the Black Family.
"Damn, I really hoped grandpa was lying." Sirius mumbles to himself, as he limps forward, rushing to close the curtain on the offending portrait, leaving Harry to walk behind him.
Harry takes a moment, even as Sirius's mother continues her screaming, to observe the house. Just as he had seen from the outside, the house is uncared for, but he can tell that once it had a very gothic look to it. As expected from a supposed Dark family.
Seeing that Sirius is still struggling to close the curtain on his mother, Harry sighs, points his hand at the portrait and says, "Move, Sirius."
Sirius blinks in confusion, but seeing Harry with his hand ready, steps back. Harry focuses on the portrait, and on his magic, and sends a green burst of magic without saying a spell. The green burst hits the portrait with a splash, and then.. nothing.
Absolute silence.
Sirius stares at the portrait.
"She is… silent," he states the obvious. He then turns towards Harry, a look of wonder in his eyes, and says, "I can't remember the last time I saw her and she wasn't screaming her head off."
"So she was always this charming then?" Harry asks, more than a bit annoyed at the woman.
Harry loves his mothers, both Cynthia and Lily. But if either of them screamed like Walburga Black did in the form of a portrait, he too would have run away from his home.
Sirius snorts, and walks down the stairs, limping only a little. He says, "With me and Regulus, yes. With her brother's daughters on the other hand, you would have thought Bellatrix was born of her loins the way she spoiled the bitch."
Harry does not know if he should say anything to that. He has deduced by now that Sirius has a lot of issues from his childhood that he still needs to deal with. The dementors have just worsened them over the decade.Sirius shakes his head then, and says, "And I still can't believe you're using wandless magic. Why have you not bought a wand yet?"
Harry scoffs softly, as he approaches Walburga's portrait himself to study it, and says, "I've used my parents' wands. My father's was barely 83% efficient while my mother's was 89% at using my own magic in spells. With my hands, meanwhile, I can get 100% efficiency with only negligible loss in speed."
To demonstrate, Harry's hand raises up and hovers over the portrait which is still silently screaming. Invisible to anyone's eyes, magic emits out of the hand and probes the portrait, studying it, studying the magic behind it.
"Efficiency." Sirius scoffs, as he stares at Harry "You don't use a wand for efficiency, you use it because, well excluding the fact that wandless magic is supposed to be almost impossible for regular folk, it's easier. Once you use a wand that matches you, you'll understand."
"I doubt that." Harry says, and then frowns. "Now how about that. Your mother was a wily one, wasn't she?"
"Yup." Sirius confirms. "What'd you find? Can you get rid of her?"
Harry brings his hand down, and with an insulted look he says, "Of course I can. But the question isn't if I can, it's if I should." He continues before Sirius can open his mouth again to ask another useless question, and says, "Your mother died in this house, yes? Well, she did something, something which bound the portrait with the barriers around the house. As long as the barriers stand, so does the portrait."
"But.. you said we can take it down. I don't want to get rid of the wards around the house just so I can be rid of her." Sirius exclaims, pointing at the portrait.
Harry frowns, and says, "Sometimes I wonder if your freedom was even worth the annoyance you bring me."
"Hey!"
Shaking his head, Harry says, "The thing is my not-so-intelligent godfather, your mother was not smart enough to close one tiny loophole that almost always is a thing with spells like this. Isolation." He then points his hand at the portrait, and a blast of green magic shoots out of his palm, striking and then covering the portrait. Seeing the silent Walburga start panicking and screaming again, Harry waves his hand towards her, and says, "There. The portrait is now isolated from the wards. You can do whatever you want with it now. Punch it, destroy it, burn it. I'll be exploring the house while you do that."
Sirius looks as if Christmas has come early, and even as Harry starts walking up the stairs, he yells, "You're the best godson, Harry!"
He then turns to his mother's portrait, and whispers, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy watching you burn like the witch you are, mother."
Harry, who had heard the last words, can only shake his head. He knew Sirius had a harsh childhood, had heard it from both Andromeda and Sirius himself during their first meeting, but to wish for his own mother's portrait to suffer? And to watch it? Oh well, Doom is not one to judge.
He finds the first door in the hallway on the first floor and opens it, only to find a dust filled bedroom which has been unused for at least a decade. A guest room, more likely than not. It takes two more such rooms, only one of which shows signs of being lived in, before Harry finds the first locked door.
Harry makes a note of which room it is, and moves on, knowing to talk to Sirius before breaking into a room in his house.
"NO! No! Dirty Master must not harm Mistress! Kreature won't let him!" He suddenly hears coming from downstairs, followed by the sound of splashing water.
"Goddammit! Kreature!" Sirius yells back, followed by a thud.
Curious, Harry turns around and walks down the stairs, only to stop at the scene in front of him.
The stairs were wet, and so was Sirius, holding his wand up high, pointed at the portrait of his mother. The woman in question was huddled in the centre of the portrait, making herself as small as possible owing to the fact that there were burn marks on all four sides.
He calls them burn marks, but it was as if Sirius had systematically set fire to the portrait to make her suffer as much as possible. There was water on it too, no doubt the real reason why water was here in the first place. She was still silent, which was good for them, because Harry was neither interested in hearing her screams, or her curses.
What was new, however, was the tiny ugly creature standing defensively in front of the portrait, hand pointed at Sirius.
"Kreature!" Sirius shouts. "Get out of the way!""Dirty traitor master orders Kreature." The House Elf bemoans, and Harry can just see him struggle with keeping his hand up. "Kreature serves the noble house of Black. But the filthy master was thrown out. Name removed from the family tree. Kreature won't let the traitor destroy the Mistress!"
Sirius grins, and says, "Grandpa made me his heir anyway, you dumb elf. Now shut up, take two steps to the left and watch me burn that portrait without making a single noise."
The elf chokes, but even he knows that he cannot reject a direct order. With tears in his eyes, he takes two steps up the stairs, and stays silent even as Sirius continues with his work.
"Incendio!" He casts, with a cruel and satisfied look in his eyes, watching his mother's portrait silently scream as it burns to ash.
Harry simply watches the pair. The tearful elf, who is silently sobbing, his hand held to his heart. And the cruelly abused master, finally getting much needed vindication.
It takes a minute for the portrait to burn completely, all the while Sirius watches with a sense of peace in his eyes. But when it does burn down, it leaves nothing but ash on the ground, and a black mark on the wall.
"I assume there is some history here." Harry says, pointing towards Kreature the Elf, who is gathering the ash in his hands.
Sirius nods slowly, and answers, "Kreature was my mother's elf. He punished us at her commands, cursed us, yelled at us, kept us locked in our rooms."
"Bad master deserves all the punishment he can get." The elf says from his spot, standing up with all the ash bundled in his pillowcase.
Harry nods, and says, "I feel a bit bad for him, but well, one abused kid to another, I understand why you had to do it. I do doubt however, if you'll be able to trust this one in your house from now on."
"Trust?" Sirius scoffs. "I didn't trust him even when I was a child. But I do know that whatever his differences with me may be, he will continue to serve the bloody House of Black to his full capacity."
"Not that he has done a good job of it till now, of course." Harry mumbled to himself, staring at the dust and grime still accumulated in the house.
Sirius snorts in amusement, and says, "Yeah, it has gotten a bit out of hand. Not to mention the bloody dark magic the house is steeped in. Oh.. are you okay? I can't believe I forgot, you don't feel any different, do you?"
Harry scowls, and answers, "No, it takes a lot more than a little Dark Magic to corrupt me. I just assumed that this is how it was supposed to be from what you've told me."
Sirius frowns at him in concern, and says, "Are you sure?" Harry just nods, so Sirius continues, "Well, my family is a lot on the Darker side. But no one wants children to be born with extra fingers, or one less eye, or with rot in their face. And trust me, it has happened before. So all the Dark Magic is usually confined to the Ritual Rooms or the training rooms. But my mother.. well she was not exactly a sane person to begin with. It will take a few months for me to put the house back together enough for me to not have nightmares when sleeping."
He then shakes his head, "Anyway, lets go to the Dining room and then I can give you a proper tour of the house. Kreature! Go and make tea for Harry and I! And make it a normal tea, no creative add ons, you hear?"Kreature, who had been gently cradling the ashes in his pillowcase of a uniform, sniffs once and says, "Dirty Master is Master now. At least knows how to behave like a proper pureblood. Kreature will bring the tea." And then he pops out of existence.
Harry stares at the spot Kreature was just in, and says, "Someday, when I have more free time, I would love to study his magic. I can't put my finger on it, but it is very different from the way you use magic."
"Sure, mate." Sirius cheerfully says, and leads Harry towards the dining room, so they can sit comfortably and talk.
"So," Harry begins, as they sit down on opposite chairs. "There was a reason I asked for this meeting today, your visit to this house being just an excuse."
"I figured." Sirius says with a dip of his head.
Harry nods in thanks, and asks, "Firstly, do you know who has my father's Cloak of Invisibility?"
Sirius nods, frowning in confusion. He says, "Yeah, Dumbledore has it. James gave it to him a few days before they went into hiding. I think Albus asked him for it but I'm not sure."
Harry scowls, and says, "Great, so the old coot is still hiding it from me. I'll deal with him later. Next, the Pottery. I need you to tell me where it is."
"I'm.. sorry, Harry. But I'm not the Secret Keeper." Sirius says stupidly.
Harry rolls his eyes, and says, "My Grandfather Fleamont put the Pottery - the family castle - under the fidelius charm after his nephew's death. He told just two people the secret, my grandmother and my father. At both of their deaths, the secret passed to my father. He in turn, shared the secret with my mother first, then you, then Peter Pettigrew, and then Remus Lupin. And once my father and mother both died, the secret passed to the next earliest person to know of it. You. So.. give me the secret."
"Wha- hold on! I have like a dozen questions right now. How do you even know all this? The Pottery is under the fidelius, how do you even know it exists? I mean I wasn't going to hide it from you but how? Thirdly, how do you know all that you just told me, including the series in which the secret was shared and to whom!" Sirius rambles, and stares at Harry, wide eyed.
"I have an artefact that allows me to peer through time." Harry simply says, as an answer to all those questions, causing Sirius to fall silent, mouth open with even mkre questions forming in his mind. "It however, does not allow me to listen to the secrets that are not explicitly shared with me. Somehow the Fidelius Charm trumps Time Magic. Which is, thankfully for you, the only reason you are outside Azkaban."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"WHAT!?" Sirius exclaims, standing up and throwing the chair back with his movement.
Harry raises an eyebrow at Sirius's explosion, and says, "I showed the Head of DMLE exactly what happened that Halloween Night. How do you think that happened?"
Sirius grabs his hair with both his hands, and says, "No, no. Okay, first of all, you can just look back in time? In the past? Like you've seen your parents and your baby self living happily in Godric's Hollow before Voldemort came and ruined it all? Really? Time Magic?! Secondly, you freed me only because your Artifact can't break the Fidelius? Are you kidding me?!"
"I assure you, I don't kid. And it's not the only reason." Harry says, amused at the emotions showing on Sirius's face.
Sirius shakes his head, and says, "Explain, please for fuck's sake. Explain."
Harry nods, not bothered at all this time, and says, "It's all pretty simple, really. I learned about the existence of the Pottery from two main sources, Bathilda Bagshot, and a portrait of one of my ancestors. But neither of them could tell me where it was. I already had my Chronoscope ready, because I needed to get my stuff back, see. I used it to see if any of my family ever mentioned it, and saw moments in time which were inaudible to me. I tracked those moments down, and soon managed to gather that the Pottery was hidden by the fidelius charm and the inaudible moments were the secret being shared by the keeper. Then I studied up on it, tracked down in which order the Secret was shared by my father once he became the Secret Keeper, and voila, I find you, the latest Secret Keeper.
"I always had doubts about your guilt in the events of that night, so I looked some more, found you were innocent, found Pettigrew, and a few days later, you're chilling in St Mungo's, while Peter Pettigrew rots in Azkaban. So I would have always used my Chronoscope to free you, I just found a second excuse once I learned you were the Secret Keeper."
As Harry finishes his simple explanation, Sirius finds himself dumbfounded, a bit emotional too. "You.. are such a smart boy. Lily would be so proud of you."
"Yes, I know." Harry nods. "Now, the secret please. In writing."
Sirius groans, and waves his wand, summoning a piece of parchment, a pot of ink and a quill from somewhere. He writes on the paper, and moves it towards him. Harry takes it, reads it, and nods with satisfaction.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." He says, and he means it.Sirius waves his hand, and says, "Hey it's your castle. To be honest, I haven't even seen it yet."
"I'll take you there once I move the majority of my stuff there." Harry says, not willing to take him there right now. Not for the first time. Maybe once he has made the castle his own.
Sirius accepts it, albeit reluctantly. The very short silence is then broken by Kreature, who brings two floating cups, with a teapot hovering over his head followed by a bowl with cubes of sugar.
"That.. should not have taken him this much time, correct?" Sirius asks Harry, staring at his cup of tea with a look of suspicion.
Harry, who is staring at his own cup with disdain, thanks to the pungent smell oozing out of it, looks up at Sirius and says, "Drink that at your own peril. Because I'm not."
"Yup, me neither." Sirius nods and waves his wand, vanishing the tea in both the cups. He then glances at Kreature's disappointed face, and then at Harry's annoyed one, and says, "There is a tea shop right around the corner though. Or there was one, 10 years ago. Let's just go there."
"Forget it." Harry says, breaking Sirius's heart with the rejection. "No offence to you, but your elf has spoiled me off of tea for today. I think I'll just go home now."Harry stands up, places the parchment with the secret in his pocket, and nods at Sirius. He says, "Will see you around, Sirius. Take care."
Sirius nods back with a smile, and says, "Goodbye kid, and you too."
And then with a soft crack of disapparition, Harry is gone from his home, and Sirius is alone once again. Silence follows, broken only by the clatter of Kreature gathering the cups and the teacup.
But this time the silence is different.
Heavier.
Sirius sighs, leaning back in his chair. The Dark Magic of his home, his lone presence, feels suffocating to him. He glances at the clock, barely 5:30 PM. Then at the empty chairs at the dining table. And finally at the cold fireplace.
This..
He doesn't like this. He doesn't like this place.
'Well Andi did say come whenever you need anything. Right now, I just need to not be by myself.' Sirius thinks to himself, and walks up to the floo pot by the fireplace.He just hoped she did not think too bad of him for showing up unannounced.
"The Pottery is located on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow, inside the woods near the River Dart."
Harry reads the words and then looks up at the Castle standing in front of him. So close, yet it is only now that he finds it.
Turning towards the Doombot, Harry says, "Good work, James."
James, the new designation for the Doombot, nods in thanks, and says, "I also learned where the Cloak of invisibility is. Apparently dad gave it to Dumbledore at his request. Not once has the old man mentioned it."
Harry frowns, and shakes his head. "It is your problem now. Deal with him as you see fit. I don't want to waste too much time here."
Harry then starts walking, and with a gentle touch of his magic, pushes the heavy gates to the Castle open. Wind rushes towards him, and Harry obediently opens his arms wide, letting the magic caress him.
He smiles, recognising it for the same magic that is present in the cottage. Potter family magic.
Harry takes a deep breath, and says, "I am home."
——
17th August, 1991:
It was finally time. Too much has happened, too much to deviate the events and delay this. But not anymore.
Doom is in his full body armour, green glowing eyes, metal covering every inch of his skin, while a dark green demonic cloak floats behind him ominously. For once, it is not being restricted in any way.
He stands in the dungeons of his castle, a room that he had converted to hold just his Time Platform.
And there will be no more interruptions, no more surprise visits. Not Dumbledore, not the Sorcerer Supreme, not even Dormammu himself coming will stop Doom from taking this step.
Doom raises his left forearm in front of him, and taps at it with the fingers of his right hand. "Commence sequence TP003. Set target 49.4743N -2.5066W, 16th July 1538." He orders, and walks up the stairs towards the Time Platform.
"T minus 15 seconds." A voice calls from the speakers set up all around him.
He turns his head to look at James, who is keeping an eye on the computers, to make sure nothing goes wrong at any step.
Doom calls out to him, "James." When the Doombot turns towards him, he says, "You are Harry now till I return. Try to have some fun with your life."
Harry nods, and bows with a smile. "I will keep you updated, Doom. Enjoy the past."
"Oh I most definitely will." Harry says.
And soon the timer gets to zero, and in a bright burst of green light Harry disappears from the year 1991, and appears in a whole another century.
——
16th July, 1538 AD:
Harry finds himself tanding in the woods of Herm Island, barely a hundred meters away from a single wooden house belonging to a hermit.
Harry walks towards the house confidently, and bangs on the door twice. It takes a few seconds for the door to be opened by an annoyed man in his thirties, who looks down at the armoured boy in front of him, and asks, "What'd ya want?"
Harry senses the fear oozing out of the man, thankful for his decision to bring his Cloak of Terror with him.Smiling inside his mask, he says, "Potions Master Zygmunt Budge. I have come a long way to learn from the best Potions Master in all Time."
He then dips his head a little, and says, "Teach me, Master Budge."
——
A/N: Lets just say that Doom has already learned all the languages he might need in his journey.
This chapter felt like a rollercoaster. I edited the part at Grimmauld Place like 5 times. Nothing felt suited to my story till this. Sorry if I rambled a bit.
Let me know if anyone caught the hidden secret about Pettigrew's punishment or that entire part of the story. Maybe it's obvious, maybe it's confusing, but guess!
Continue reading and feel free to comment or message me in case of any questions!
Thank you!Tata!