In one room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, laughter rang lightly—thin but real. Harry sat with Ron and Hermione, legs draped over a worn armrest, talking about nothing particularly important. It was easy conversation, almost normal. Almost.
But beneath the floorboards, behind a heavily chard door, a very different discussion was underway.
The Order's eting
"They're whispering about him in the Ministry," Moody growled.
"The Ministry made fools of themselves," Kingsley said bluntly, arms folded across his chest. "Potter tore them apart, calmly. Efficiently at that. A lot of people are angry that he got away so to speak."
"He is a child," Molly snapped. "He's a boy who's been through too much."
"Then he needs to stop acting like a brat and follow what he's told," Snape sneered from the corner. "not wander around and cause death with his absence, and now he leaves and cos back power pouring out of him, untrained and dangerous. We need answers."
Sirius leaned forward. "You want answers? Try asking without sounding like a Death Eater on probation."
Snape's smile was thin and venomous. "If you weren't protected by this farce of a house, Black, I would teach you—"
Sirius stood suddenly. "Try. Please. Give a reason."
"Enough." Dumbledore's voice cut across the room, weary but unshaken. "This is not helpful."
The room fell silent.
Dumbledore folded his hands. "We all saw what happened at the trial. The magic that clung to him. There is no doubt in any of our minds that sothing has changed within Young Harry."
"Yes, it's like his magic now has weight to it," Kingsley added quietly. "suffocating and heavy."
"Because it does," Lupin muttered. "just being in his presence sets off the wolf."
Dumbledore nodded once. "Sothing has changed. I intend to speak with Harry tomorrow. To find out what really happened to cause such a change. We need to know, with Voldemort's return, we must be at high alert. Severus What is he planning."
Snape sneers at black before turning back to the headmaster to answer him. "Nothing that has been told to any of the Death eaters as of yet, but he's not been happy with Lucius Malfoy."
"What did Malfoy not kiss the right foot" Sirius quipped, at the man earning him another sneer from Snape who seed to want to retort before Dumbledore silenced both of them with a look.
"Continue Severus"
"As I was saying, Apparently he had given Lucius sothing important to keep and he's lost it and boy was the dark lord angry, he even considered killing Malfoy before deciding against it."
"Hmmm, what do you think it was about" the old goat asked as he stroked his beard, his normally twinkling eyes no longer sparkling.
"Not sure but apart from that he has been in a very good mood in fact and no doubt planning sothing soon."
"I see. well, I would like you to update us if anything changes on the matter." He said as he rose from his seat "I believe that is all for now and I have an important eting regarding the ministry and the ICW."
"What about the ICW?" Arthur asked.
Dumbledore looked tired. "They are handling a larger issue. Sothing that happened recently that has gotten them frightened. I can't yet say more."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
"Anyway I suggest we give Mr potter so space, I'll speak to him when I return," Dumbledore said again, voice quieter. "Alone."
The eting ended. mbers began to file out. Sirius remained seated, eyes shadowed in thought.
Finally, he stood and left the room.
Upstairs, Harry was still talking with Ron and Hermione when Sirius stepped in.
"Harry. A word?"
Ron glanced at Hermione. She gave a subtle nod.
Harry stood. "Sure."
They walked in silence through the winding halls of Grimmauld Place. Past the various rooms. Past the portrait of his mother that Sirius ignored. Down a side corridor, Harry hadn't explored before.
Sirius opened a door into a small study—dusty, half-forgotten. Books lined the walls. A cracked fireplace sat cold.
Sirius didn't sit. Neither did Harry.
"I'm not going to ask what happened," Sirius said at last. "You'll tell if you want to."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "That's a change."
"I'm trying," Sirius said, almost sheepishly. "I'm not good at this. Being the adult. But I'm trying."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Sirius looked up, and for once, all the smirks, all the swagger fell away.
"I just want to know you're okay."
Harry's face softened slightly. "I'm… okay. Better than before."
Sirius gave a short laugh. "Good...Good and sorry for not trying harder to reach out to you when you needed to."
"It's..well I'm not going to say Okay because it wasn't" he said making his Dogfather wince. "But i forgive you anyways."
Thank you. I was kind of afraid when you first ca in you looked like a thunderstorm waiting to happen."
"I am," Harry said. "But only if I have to be."
Sirius nodded. "Good. That's enough for now."
They stood together for a mont, two shadows cast by a world they no longer fully belonged to. Godfather. Godson.
They talked for a while with him tel Sirius about the things he had done in hogwarts and sirius tell his tales with his parents too.
They spoke for a while before Harry decided to return to his room. He sat there in silence for a bit.
Then a sound broke the silence.
A soft vibration.
Harry blinked and reached into his pocket, pulling out the small, sleek device the Mage Association had provided.
A phone.
It was a shock when he was given it because he didn't thing phones worked around magic but that was in harry potter world, campione didn't have that promblem so the world combine had to have a good reason and it did.
According to Sigurd, the reason was because of high concentration of magic in the air that ssed with technology.
Winx all live in a huddled area, that was a concentration of magic and that seems to interfare with the tech around but mages don't really because they are mostly intergarted with the mundanes and so they don't all live in a certain area reducing the magic around the but even with that the phones were a master piece by a past mage who intergarted runes that help filter of the high maic around it allowing it to fuction properly.
His thumb tapped the screen.
[Incoming Call – E. McAlister]
The na wasn't familiar, but the source was unmistakable.
"Harry Potter," he said answering the call.
A voice answered, crisp, polite.
"Your Majesty, this is Evelyn McAlister. Mage Association, Departnt of Special Phenona. I have been told to inform you of the eting that the International Confederation of Wizards have called."
Harry's eyes narrowed.
"What is this about?"
"We Have done as asked and kept all unaffiliated parties from finding out your identity but the incident and the power felt had people poking around and now word has gotten out of a new campione."
Harry exhaled. "I see and what has the association done?"
"We haven't taken any asure besides the block you have order but want to confrim give you might be affected by the decision made sir."
aning, that they didn't want to make a mistake without frist at least trying to inform him and try to make it look like he gave permission if things don't go as planned.
"Very well, I understand. I want you to keep my na out of the matter, informing them of a new campione is not a big deal as look as my na is not ntioned," he told the man. "I'm I understood." His voice low and cold. He really didn't want that now.
"Clear sir."
————————————————————
If you want to read ahead and access 5 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link:patreon/Phantomking785
User Comments
0 comments from readers