Summary:
The King of Cups
On this card shows a well-dressed man leaning on a tombstone, one hand raised holding a cup, as if he was toasting to the coming future or saying goodbye to a haunted past. At his feet lays a large and shaggy black hound as a stag and doe graze in the background upon some hills teeming with wildflowers.
Notes:
Welcome back to the fifth chapter of The Heir and The Champions, where our much-beloved Marauders get a bit of screen time, Nymphadora demands answers, and we start our journey back to Hogwarts to get into the meat of this story. So, without further ado,
Andromeda Tonks, The-Den-on-the-Hill
The last few weeks have been trying for Andromeda, to say the least, dealing with Sirius' Godson was like walking on eggshells, or through a muggle minefield. It wasn't as much words as it was the tone of voice, too soft and careful with the boy and he'd get this look on his face like he was both mad and sad about something, too harsh and the boy would start flinching, and Andromeda didn't know which one was worse. That's not even touching upon what had happened between Harry and Nymphadora, whatever that was because neither would talk about it. She had come home from a late day at work to Nymphadora rushing out of the house via the floo saying something about going to meet up with Charlie for drinks and Harry had come back inside an hour after that covered in sweat and dirt asking(Stammering as he did) where Dora was. Every time Dora came over for a family dinner, Harry had asked if he could eat in his room, which Andromeda didn't have a problem with, the best thing that come out of it, whatever {it} was, was the name and county that Nymphadora had supplied Edward with.
Nymphadora had explained how she got it out of Harry, to Edwards's surprise and Andromeda's pride, it seemed like her little badger had some scales after all. Edward was ready a few days later with all the paperwork and a grin to move forward with everything he prepared to make the life of one Vernon Dursley very, very, uncomfortable for a while.
It was a few days after Nymphadora had passed along the name that Harry's friends had come over on Andromeda's day off, the bushy-headed one, Hermione, had tackled the boy in a hug as soon as she saw him and had almost started crying telling Harry how much she had worried over what he had done before she started to berate him for doing it all together. Ronald had greeted her before stepping in and calming the girl down before the three of them left to go on a walk, it had reminded Andromeda why she hated teenage drama. The oddest thing happened before Harry's friends were set to leave that evening, Hermione had produced an Envelope marked with the Hogwarts crest and handed it to Harry.
"What's this?" Harry had asked, taking it from the girl before looking it over.
"It's your grades from last year, it came with the school shopping list the day we left for the world cup," Hermione had informed him, with an eager smile, "I haven't looked at yours yet, so go on and open it," she said hopping in place a bit in her excitement.
"Come off it, Hermione," Harry says with a sigh, "We both know what they're gonna be," His tone sounded a bit sad and defeated to Andromeda.
But Hermione just smirked at him, "Do we?" she asked, sounding as if she already knew as Ronald shakes his head.
"C'mon mate, might as well open and show her," Ronald said with his own smirk, "She's been dying to know all week," he says with a roll of his eyes.
Harry just sighed before opening up the letter and pulling out the paper and unfolding it, as he looked at the paper his face shifted through a range of emotions before settling on one of shock and confusion. Hermione had peaked over the paper before squealing and throwing her arms around Harry, but the boy barely seemed to notice it, too busy looking at the piece of parchment like it was lying to him.
"But, ...but I'm not…," Harry said, words checking in his voice about what he was looking at.
"I told you, Harry, I told you they were wrong," Hermione said, tears in her eyes, "This is the proof," she had said as Ronald looked on with a smile of his own before walking around to take a look at the grades and clapping Harry on the back.
"Good job, Harry, You beat me," Ronald said with a laugh.
They had left soon after that, and Andromeda had gotten curious about it all and had sneaked a peak at the grades herself.
Transfiguration - EE
Charms - A
Defense Against the Dark Arts - O plus
Herbology - A
Potions - EE
History - P
Divination - P
Care of Magical Creatures - O Plus
In the end, Andromeda didn't bring it up with the boy, she doubted the boy would care about what she had to say, nor would she tell Sirius about it, because she knew he cared little for grades and focused more on practical applications of magic. But as September first drew near, so did the day the Tonks family plus Harry would go see Sirius, it was scheduled for August 31st and, to Andromeda's knowledge, would be the first time that Harry has seen Sirius since the end of the last school year. But like everything with the boy, it was hard to get a reading on how he was feeling about it, he seemed excited, if not a little scared whenever it was brought up. But as the morning of the 31st came, and the sound of Nymphadora apperating into the garden echoes throughout the house due to the wards, Andromeda looks up from her section of the Daily Prophet to check the time. Nymphadora was a bit early but that wasn't a big deal, with her daughter's greeting of "Wotcha!" as she walked, tripping a bit on the step inside the house Andromeda turns to her daughter.
"Good Morning, Nymphadora," Andromeda says with a warm smile as her daughter rolls her eyes at the use of her full name as Andromeda stands and walks over to her.
"Morning, Mum, where's dad?" Nymphadora asks as she hugs her mother.
"He and Harry are getting ready, they should be out in a bit," Andromeda informs her, before walking back over to the table, "There's still a bit of eggs and sausage if you're hungry, dear," the older woman offers.
"Thanks, Mum, but I ate before coming," Nymphadora says with a smile as she sits with her mother to wait for her father and Harry to get ready, they make small talk over current events and the going-on in Nymphadora's life, the young metamorph was excited to take the final Auror exams this December and was being pushed hard by the man who had taken over her training after Alastor retired, Kingsley. Apparently, he was working on helping Nymphadora overcome her clumsy nature, which, shocking no one, wasn't working out as well as he hoped.
Before long Edward joined them, giving a fond kiss on the cheek of his daughter, "Morning Dora, ready to go see Sirius?" he asks with an easy smile.
"Yup," Nymphadora says, popping the P at the end, "I've got a boatload of things I want to get out of him today," she says with a smirk as Edward chuckles and Andromeda rolls her eyes. Give her an inch and Nymphadora will make it into a mile, "Speaking of Sirius, where's the little Bludger at?" Nymphadora asks, speaking of Harry, she had started calling him that since the day they started to act awkward around each other.
"In his room last I checked," Andromeda says before checking the time once again, before standing, "Might as well get him, Its all most time anyway," Andromeda says before walking down the hall to the guest room, stopping before the closed door and knocking gently, "Harry, it's almost time to leave," she calls through the door, and just a few moments later it swings open to reveal the boy. He was dressed plainly, in a simple black shirt with dark green cargo pants and his boots and the leather jacket that Andromeda has yet to see him without. When Molly had spoken about the boy's eyes, she wasn't exaggerating, they had a haunted look to them as if he had seen too much too fast too young, he had an old soul as Edwards' mother would have called it. The boy avoided eye contact if he could help it, always looking away or to his feet in a way that seemed like something he had learned somewhere, every time Harry does it Andromeda had to hold back a sigh; she really needed to talk Sirius into getting the boy to speak with a mind healer.
"Are you already?" Andromeda asks, watching Harry nod, not speaking as he normally does. She really hopes Edward buries the man who did this to the boy, as much as Andromeda disliked drama and complications, she would not sit back ideally and let such abuse go by without being punished.
Before long the Tonks family plus one Potter was crowded in the sitting room by the fireplace before Edward takes a pinch of Floo powder before stepping into the fireplace and calling out "Saint Mungo's, Sirius Black's Room," and tossing the powder down and disappearing in a flash of green flame before Andromeda turns to Harry.
"Did you catch all that, Harry?" Andromeda asks, and Harry responds with a nod, "Well, go on, you next, and try to remember not to breathe in but exhale so you don't get ash in your mouth," she tells him and Harry nods before taking a pinch of the lime green powder before taking a breath and walking into the fireplace and repeating the words that Edward said before he vanished too. Hopefully, this didn't end up like how Molly said the last time the boy took the floo.
Andromeda turns to her daughter, holding out the urn holding the powder, but Nymphadora doesn't reach for it, instead, she asks a question.
"Listen, Mum," Nymphadora starts out, making a face of uncertainty, "I need to ask a favor…" she trails off, looking at her mother like she had just caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.
Andromeda just raises a brow at her.
Harry Potter
Harry hated magical travel as much as it hated him, he had kept his eyes closed as he went through the flow until he felt himself spin to a stop before getting spit out of the fireplace, tripping over the lip of it, and going crashing into the room and landing on his face. He lays on the floor and groans at the pain before pushing himself up, thanking Artemis for making his new glass both unbreakable and permanently sticking to his face unless he took them off. He was halfway up before he felt someone grab his bicep, and before he could jerk away from the familiar feeling he hears an equally familiar and kind voice speak.
"Easy there, Harry, quite the spill you just had," the voice says as Harry looks up at the worn, scared, and kind face of Remus Lupin smiling down at him.
Harry blinks and with the help of the man, stands "Professor Lupin," Harry greets the man before Remus chuckles.
"I'm not your Professor anymore, Harry," Remus says with a smirk, "Remus is just fine," he says before patting Harry on the shoulder fondly as Harry smiles back at him, "But pleasantries aside, it's good to see you again Harry, I know Sirius is excited to see you too," the man says with a smile.
"Oh, um, w-where is he?" Harry asks, looking around the room, the room was small but richly decorated in dark woods and red wallpaper with gold trimming, other than a large desk covered in parchment work and thick binders and folders, there were six large comfortable-looking armchairs squeezed into the room all placed around the fireplace. There were two doors in the room, one to the back near the desk and one closer to the fireplace made from dark oak and brass fittings, along the opposite wall was a larger charmed window showing a field of rolling green hills and a cloudy blue sky. Harry could practically feel the buzz of ambient magic in the room emanating from the outside of the door, it felt like the ministry or Hogwarts to a lesser degree.
"He just went to the bathroom," Remus says, as he gestures to one of the chairs for Harry to sit down in, "He should be right out," He says with a smirk, "Unless he fell in that is," The werewolf says and Ted snorts from his own seat. The floo flares twice and Harry watches Andromeda step out first, almost tripping over the same lip that Harry did, then Dora, who did trip over the lip before popping back up as if nothing had happened.
Ted chuckles in his seat before looking over to Harry, "And they say they're nothing alike," he says before winking at Harry as his wife and daughter glare at him in good nature.
Before long the door by the desk opens up and everyone in the room turns to look at the man who steps out, Harry had barely recognized him from one a few months ago. He no longer had the pale waxy skin and long dirty dreadlocks from his years spent in Azkaban, while still long, his dark black hair now stopped just under his ears, and his skin while still pale had a much healthier look to it. The wild beard he had was gone, now replaced with a short and neat goatee, his cheeks were fuller and his gray eyes were no longer dark and sunken in, but bright and alight with a sparkle of mischief but Harry could see there was still a haunted look behind it all. His clothes were clean and muggle, a pair of blue jeans and a Rolling Stones band shirt with a pair of dark leather boots, Sirius Black looked around the room with a smile before his eyes landed on Harry, and then his smile lit up like a thousand-watt bulb.
"Harry Potter," Sirius says with the same smile before taking big strides to cross the small as Harry stands up from his chair. Harry couldn't lie to himself, to other people, sure, to his friends, to the Weasleys, and anyone else who asked him if he was okay. It was and always would be "I'm fine," but in truth, it was hardly the case. Harry had thoughts and fears that plagued him, Returning to the Dursleys was always the major one, he didn't want to go back to that house with those people, to go back to being the freak. Sirius was his escape from them, but he wouldn't lie to himself with the thoughts that Sirius would go back on his word and decide to send him back, or that he wouldn't get custody for some reason and Harry would have to return. But as Sirius crossed the room before sweeping him up in a hug and squeezing Harry to himself, most of those fears vanished as the jacket he wore and the man who had given it to him wrapped around him protectively without him flinching at the touch, Harry knew that everything was going to be okay, and he returned the hug.
"It's so good to see you again, Kid," Sirius whispers as he hugs Harry for the first time in forever.
"It's good to see you too, Sirius," Harry says back with a small smile of his own before they break apart and notice everyone looking on with a smile.
"Well, come on, sit, sit," Sirius' says gesturing to the seats, before sitting down himself and Harry falling into the chair next to him, "I want to hear how your summer went and all that, how have you been enjoying Andy's," he asks all at once and notices Harry's slight flinch.
"Ms. Tonks has been, um, fine I guess," Harry says scratching the back of his head, not really knowing how to tell him just how uncomfortable being there made him.
"Fine," Andromeda intersects, "Is a way of putting it, and Harry, Dear, I told you it's okay to call me Andromeda," she says looking over at Harry before turning back to Sirius, "Harry has been nothing but polite, respectful, and helpful," she tells her cousin.
"Well, that's good to hear-" Sirius begins to say but is quickly cut off by Andromeda.
"But," she says, "You should have left him with the Weasleys, the boy has been nothing but a nervous wreck since he walked through the door and while I do not mind having him around, he was uncomfortable, which made me uncomfortable in my own home," she says with a flat look at Sirius. Harry tries to mumble out an apology but Andromeda turns to him, "Harry, it isn't your fault, you're allowed to be uncomfortable in a stranger's home, I'm not blaming you for that," Andromeda says in a soft tone of voice to keep the boy calm, she waits to see Harry nod his head before turning back to Sirius.
"He was far more relaxed in Molly's tender care than my own, and that's not even touching upon what happened between him and Nymphadora, whatever that was," Andromeda says bluntly while looking at a sheepish Sirius.
Sirius looks over at Harry who was fidgeting in his seat next to him and sighs out, "Shit," he curses before rubbing a hand across his face and looking away from Harry for a moment, "Looks like I screwed the pooch there," he mutters out before looking back at Harry, "I'm sorry kid, I-I wasn't in the best state of mind when I made that decision, I had just heard what happened at the world cup and I freaked out when I tried to contact Molly to find out what had happened, and she didn't even know there was an attack and she freaked out, which freaked me out even more," Sirius explains leaning back in his chair, his explanation trailing off as Harry just shrugs, muttering it's fine to him.
"What happened between you and Harry?" Remus asks, looking over at Dora, who just shrugs.
"Oh, you know, just a normal shopping trip turned to assault and battery, nothing too out of the norm," Dora says with a pleasant smile as the four older adults turn to her, before looking at Harry with various looks of shock and curiosity on their faces.
"There, There we-were some g-guys, and um, th-they were f-following D-Dora, and um,..." Harry stumbles and stutters through his explanation looking everywhere but at the people in the room before trailing off.
"We got separated in London somehow and some creeps started following me," Dora explains while looking right at Harry, "When I was about to deal with them myself, Harry comes out of bloody nowhere and proceeds to beat seven shades of shit out of all three of them before I had to step in and stop HIM before he went any further," Dora explains before leaning back in her cheer, never looking away from Harry.
"Well, that's not good," Ted says with a sigh, rubbing his own face before looking back at Harry, "While I am thankful that you helped Dora out, even though she didn't need it, it's a bit…worrying that she had to stop you, Harry," Ted says picking his wording carefully.
"I'm, I'm s-sorry, I was just, mad, and um, and…" Harry says, hating how everyone was looking at him, he trails off because how could he begin to explain what the Hunt was, let alone Artemis?
"Are these…gentlemen, okay?" Remus asks, not wanting to sound crass.
"Oh, yeah, gave them some first aid and hexed their bits, but they were out cold and breathing," Dora says with a shrug, she was upset with what Harry had done, she was upset with how far he was willing to take it.
Sirius snorts at the hexed bits parts, "See, no harm, no foul," he says as he crosses his legs and looks over at Harry in his seat, lips pressed in a thin line as he watches his Godson fidget even worse than before, "Other than that and the world cup, done anything else this summer, Harry?" Sirius asks, hoping to move on from something that Harry wasn't ready to talk about by the looks of the boy.
Harry shrugs at the question, "Fine, I guess," he says, "Went on a hunt, went to the Weasleys, nothing much," he tells Sirius, who narrows his eyes a bit.
"Went on a hunt?" Sirius asks with a raised brow, "With, ah, gods, what was her name? The girl in the silver jacket?" Sirius says, snapping his fingers and looking at Remus.
"Atalanta," Remus supplies with a smirk, "I'm surprised that you don't remember her name, she did kick you, Twice," he says before chuckling.
Harry's head snaps to Sirius, "And you survived?" he asks, a bit shocked.
Sirius looks back at Harry, a growing smirk on his lips, "Bear-ly," he says and chuckles a bit at his joke as Andromeda snorts too.
"Ancient myth puns aside Sirius," Andromeda says, "Are you really going to brush over what has happened over the summer?" she asks, before Sirius turns to look at her.
"Yes, I am," He says with a shrug as Harry sighs out in relief, "What happened, happened, no need to go over it and make Harry uncomfortable before he's ready to talk about it," Sirius says, trying to move past it, but Andromeda just looks at him without blinking before turning to her husband.
"Ted, dear, could you run out and grab a pizza or curry for us and some drinks?" Andromeda asks, "We'll be here for a while yet and I don't want to miss lunch, and Witch-Father knows Sirius is probably sick of hospital food, take Harry and Remus with you, that way everyone likes will be covered," she tells him, giving him a look.
Ted just nods, "Sure, I know a place or two around here," He says as he stands, motioning to Harry and Remus to follow him, Harry stands after a moment of hesitation, and Remus soon follows after sharing a look with Sirius. The room falls into an awkward silence as the two men and Harry get up and leave.
Sirius Black
"Oh, fuck, here we go," was the thought in Sirius' head as he watches the door close behind Ted, Moony, and Harry and sighs out.
"What is it, Andy?" He asks looking back over to the woman in question.
"What is it? What is it!?" Andy says, her voice growing a bit louder, a bit sharper as she spoke, "You were just told your Godson almost killed three more people and your reaction was to brush it off, I would have thought you would be a bit more worried about him committing homicide AGAIN," she tells him.
"The first time was Death Eaters," Sirius says back, "They barely counts, and I don't want to start talking about this stuff unless Harry is ready to talk about it, he doesn't even know me I doubt he'll feel comfortable spilling his guts about it," Sirius says as he stands up, running his hand throw his hair.
"Sirius," Andy says in a no-nonsense tone of voice one would use on a child, "The boy needs help, he needs a mind healer like the one you're seeing, he's damag-" she tries to say but Sirius cuts her off.
"You don't think I don't know that!" Sirius snaps at Andy, turning to face her, "You don't think I know he's damaged, all you have to do is look him in the eyes and you can tell, don't sit there and tell me that, I know what those fucking muggles did to him, Everything they did to him!" he yells, "But unless he wants help, we can't help him, he'll need to want it, that was the first thing Healer Quinzel told me when we started my sessions," Sirius tells her, a hard look in his eyes.
"The best thing I can do right now is to make sure he has a home when he's not at Hogwarts," Sirius says as he walks over to the mantel and leans on it with both hands, and looks into the hot coals inside of it, "To give him the family he never had, that he should have had, to make him feel safe in hearth and home," he whispers to the burning coals more than the two women in the room. He swore he wouldn't fuck it up this time, and if Hestia was willing, he won't.
The hearth crackles and pops as Sirius looks into it as a warmth comes over him.
Andromeda grows quiet for a moment, sighing out softly, "Speaking of the muggles," she says softly, "Nymphadora here proved that she was a Black by blood and got a name out of Harry, Vernon Dursley from Surrey," she says and watches Sirius nod.
"Surprise you actually got it out of Harry," Sirius says, "But, yeah, the last name sounds familiar, why are you telling me this?" he questions.
"Edward already has the paperwork drawn up to investigate him for suspected child abuse and child neglect, his accounts, his home, his job, everything," Andy tells him as Sirius turns back to her with a grim face, "I doubt we'll prove anything without a testimony from Harry, but it will make life very uncomfortable for him for a long while," she tells him before waiting for his response.
Sirius paces in front of the hearth, stroking his goatee, thinking for a moment, "Dumbledore might step in," he says as he paces.
"Why would he step in to protect them?" Dora asks, "As far as I know he goes after people like that harder than anyone else," the Auror in training says, honestly curious.
"In most cases, I wouldn't doubt it," Sirius says, "But Harry isn't most cases," he says, stopping to sigh and rub his face with both his hands, "That Halloween, when Voldemort showed up at the cottage, he forced Lily's hand and she cast a spell to ensure Harry's protection for the next person who had tried to harm him, but it was less a spell more of a ritual," Sirius says and Andy gasps, understanding.
"Lily sacrificed herself," Andy says in half horror and half amazement, "She used herself to fuel the ritual," she says, as Dora's eyes go wide.
"What the hell kind of ritual is that?" Dora asks, she knew of ritual magic, of course, they had to study it in her seventh-year Defense class to prepare for some of the nastier aspects that the Dark Arts could do, but she had never heard of one like that.
"As far as I know, which is what Dumbledore explained to me after my trial and after I broke his nose, one based on Love and Blood," Sirius admits as Dora gawks at him for what he just admitted to, "He used what he could understand from the ritual to create a ward based on Lily's blood and creating, what was supposed be, a safe house for Harry where none from the outside could touch him," Sirius explains as he continues to wear a hole in the floor.
"But he didn't consider the threats inside of it," Andy says in understanding, and Sirius nods.
"The wards will fall around this time next year, but until then the magic is still active, and by this time next year Harry will be moving into Grimmauld Place behind the Black family wards, something that wasn't an option last time," Sirius says before stopping and looking over at Andy, "The thing is that the blood ward that protected Harry can be recreated so long as a place that houses Lily's blood still stands and the one who shares that blood is still alive and Harry is underage," Sirius explains, "I wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to use that as a backup plan if, Gods forbid, things go south and I die," he says as Andy nods slowly in understanding because from what she knew of Albus Dumbledore, that sounds just like what he would do if he had to.
"Is Vernon the one the ward needs to charge?" Dora asks, and Sirius shakes his head.
"No, that would be Lily's sister," Sirius says.
"Then let's just go after Vernon Dursley," Dora says as the other two people look at her, "What? You said Dumbledore MIGHT get involved if we go after the person who was helping charge the blood wards basically, okay fine, we just go after the husband, it's not a lethal blow and not the person Dumbledore would want to protect, we don't win but we also don't let them off the hook," she says looking between Sirius and her mother.
"I don't know who you are, young lady, but I like you much better than my own daughter right now," Andy says, and Sirius snorts in amusement as Dora swats her mom on the shoulder with a grin on her face.
Andy turns back to Sirius, "What do you think? Regardless, I know Edward will be doing it, but I would feel better if this had your seal of approval," she says looking at Sirius.
With lips pressed into a thin line, Sirius nods, "Go for it, just don't tell Harry about it, I don't know how he'll react," he says as Andy nods.
"Wasn't planning on telling him anyway, Sirius," Andy says with a smile before standing up and looking down at Dora, "Now young lady, I have gotten everyone else out of the room without them being suspicious and I will be leaving, you have thirty minutes, no more no less, I'll keep them away," she tells her daughter much to Sirius confusion before Andy walks over to the door that leads out into Saint Mungo's proper and a flash of green covers the door in a silencing charm after it closes.
Sirius looks back over at his younger cousin who had a smile on her face full of poison, and Sirius realizes he was trapped in a room with an almost fully trained Auror with no wand.
"So," Dora begins, "Tell me, dear cousin, what do you know about Harry having Silver eyes, a spear, and can move faster than a normal Wixen can quick-step without using any magic?" she says, her smile never leaving her face.
"Oh, bollocks," Sirius thinks to himself before trying to think of a way out of this conversation.
Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express, September first.
Harry sat in the last compartment on the left-hand side of the Hogwarts Express looking out the window to the rolling green hills flying by out the window snacking on a tin of homemade biscuits looking relaxing as Ron was playing chess against himself (He had already beaten Harry and Hermione three times each,) Hermione had left to go used the restroom a few minutes ago. Harry's thoughts were back in London with his visit with Sirius yesterday, after Ted, Remus, and he got back from grabbing Pizza from around the corner of the hidden hospital, they were met by Andromeda in the entryway who started to making small complaints about what they had decided to get, Ted had this knowing smile on his face as he argued with his wife before they finally went back to Sirius room for the rest of the afternoon. Other than Dora giving him odd looks out of the corner of her eye, it was mostly peaceful as they chatted and joked all afternoon before finally leaving with Sirius giving him one last hug and telling Harry he would be seeing him again sooner than he thought, whatever that meant.
Ted had brought him to platform nine and three-quarters the next morning just in time to see the Weasley family coming in through the barrier with Hermione, they were just about to load up on the train with their luggage before Harry had felt a tug on his jacket, he had turned to find the little blonde girl he had rushed to the hospital wing last year behind him, she had blushed as she handed him a tin telling him that she had baked them for his birthday but didn't want to send them by owl because she didn't know where he lived. Harry accepted them with a smile and a thank you before blushing deeper and running off into the crowd. They were a bit stale but he wasn't one to turn down a tin of biscuits.
He turns his head to watch Ron move a rook across the board before shaking his head and moving it back, "So, what do you think Bill and Dad were talking about before we left?" Ron asks as he eyes the chessboard again.
Harry shrugs, "Don't know, they said we'd find out once we got to Hogwarts, so no reason to just wait," he says.
"Yeah, but that's no fun," Ron says, "We can at least try and guess before we get there," he says as he turns to look at Harry, "and knowing our luck it's gonna be exciting," Ron says with a smirk.
Harry sighs before letting his head fall back on the headrest of the seat, "Please don't even joke about that, I would just like one quiet year," Harry says with a shake of his head and Ron snorts.
"My bet is it's gonna be something about the Dé Danann," Ron says looking back at his chessboard.
Harry knows the only member of the Dè Danann that could be associated with Hogwarts and shivers in fear, he hadn't told either Ron or Hermione about his trip to the Land of Shadows, about Scáthach, or what had happened there. Even remembering the events would almost put him in a state of panic, if he never saw the Land Ever-teeming with Death or its Queen ever again it would be too soon, he had never been so close to death in his life as when he was there, and didn't want to go back anytime soon.
"Gods I hope it's not," Harry mutters, just as the compartment door slides open and Hermione returns, as Harry looks over at her, He is instantly on guard. For one, the look in her eyes spoke of trouble as her lips were set in a thin grim line as she looked to him and then to Ron, whose wand immediately slid into his hand. Secondly, she wasn't alone.
Two people were with her, neither was dressed in Hogwarts robes but Harry knew they were familiar by their faces, they were in his year and both in Slytherin, but he couldn't put names to the faces. One stops at the compartment door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed and one hand out of sight, and by his tense posture, holding a wand, while the other one walks into the compartment with his hands relaxed and by his side.
They both dressed as if they came from money, all puffy blouses made of silk and high collar jackets and nice embroidered vests and formal slacks. The one leaning against the doorframe wore mostly back with purple and gold trimming with gold buttons, he had sharp cheekbones and a pointed nose on a handsome face, baby blue eyes, and mocha-colored skin with hair shaved so close to his scalp he almost seemed bald. He had a crooked smirk like he was used to getting what he wanted and knew just how to get it.
The one who walked into the compartment was dressed in mourning black with dark brown roots and knots embroidered from the hem of his coat leading up a short way, he was pale with the same features as Sirius' face but with long brown hair braided and knotted hanging over his right shoulder with a few strands hanging down his face, the oddest feature was his eyes, one was a dark brown and the other a bright green, he had a soft but welcoming smile on his face that Harry immediately distrusted.
The one that had invaded the compartment spoke, "Good afternoon, Gentleman," his voice was thin and wispy, cracking in a few places as he spoke, his smile never leaving his face.
"Ron, Harry," Hermione says, looking at Harry in warning, "This is Theodore Nott, we're in the same year, and he wanted to come to have a quick word with Harry," she says before looking over at Ron, as he starts to scoot down the bench he was on, almost like he was moving to make room for their guest that also put him behind Theodore. Harry narrows his eyes at the newcomer before hanging his right arm off his lap, ready to snap his own wand out at a moment's notice.
"Thank you, Miss Granger, for the introductions," Theodore says before motioning toward the other boy, "and to continue them, this fine fellow here is Blaise Zabini, a good friend of mine," Theodore says, and Blaise merely nods his head to the all in greeting, but no one nods back as Hermione sits down next to Harry, moving the tin of biscuits over, her hand moving to the pocket that held her wand.
"Do you mind if I take a seat?" Theodore asks, and Harry shrugs before he does just that right across from Harry, "I wonder Mister Potter, if you know who I am?" he says, the smile never leaving his face, "I mean sure, we're in the same year, and I've certainly heard of you, but I don't think I've even had the …pleasure of speaking with you," Theodore says, his lips quirking a bit as he spoke.
Harry shakes his head, "No, not really," He says looking the boy across from him in his eyes, "Not much of a, ah, people person, really," Harry says as he leans forward a bit in his seat.
"Not a people person," Theodore says with a slight scoff and a smirk, "I would say that's a bit of an understatement from what I know about you, but allow me to clear this up and tell you why I'm here all in one fell swoop," he says as he too leans forward putting his arms on his knees and interlocking his fingers, looking Harry, unflinchingly in the eyes.
"You killed my father, Mister Potter," Theodore says, the polite smile finally dropping from his face, "And I'm here to take care of the blood debt you incurred to my family by doing so," he says as Ron stiffens in his seat and Hermione draws her wand.
Notes:
Chapter done!
Oh, shit, not even at school and trouble is already brewing for our best boy!
The next chapter should be fun, we get to resolve the tension above and move on to the unforgivable's, then introduce the champions.
What did Nymphadora learn? Oh, she learned a lot from Sirius, most of it she only half believes him about.