Harry's training had suddenly become a lot more focussed when he had discovered that he was supposed to be navigating a maze. Firstly Sirius had taught him several different locator and compass spells to ensure he would be able to navigate the maze, and assuming that it could not be so simple as just being a maze they had to travel through they had started to work on some basic ward and curse-breaking spells. It wasn't anything particularly difficult, Sirius only knew a few, and there weren't many books on the subject in the Hogwarts library, but as it was something that was only touched on in NEWT's he was reasonably confident that there would not be any major wards in the maze, and just being able to identify them and know a few spells to break them would be an enormous help/
The third main area they had been working on was dangerous magical creatures and how to contain and otherwise ensure you were able to pass them unharmed. Given the identity of the first task, combined with the Champion's lack of curse-breaking knowledge it stood to reason that they would be facing a variety of creatures and the more Harry knew about magical creatures the safer he would be. They had included Remus in these lessons as Sirius was well aware that while he knew a decent amount about Dark Creatures Remus was the expert and he knew spells that Sirius had never even heard of, much less seen performed.
Discover moreCollecting Vintage ComicsReading Manga SeriesFan fiction platformCreative writing coursesApp store marketingBetween the three of them, and Hermione's recommendations when it came to the library they thought they had come up with a workable strategy which combined both Harry's spell knowledge and techniques to use in the maze. They had already agreed that he would use the same combination of scent removing, silencing and disillusionment charms that he had used for the dragon, with the logic being that if the creatures didn't know he was there they wouldn't attack making him safer overall.
They had still managed to find time though for the weekly animagus lessons which was why Harry was currently sitting cross legged on the floor of the sitting room in Sirius's quarters. He'd nearly managed the transformation, he'd managed to transform each part of his body separately but he was still having a bit of trouble transforming his entire body at once. He was still ahead of Hermione and Ron, although he thought that it would only take Hermione a week, and Ron a couple after that until they were at the same stage as he was now.
He felt himself getting frustrated, he'd managed every single individual transformation, and even some simultaneously but he still couldn't manage the full transformation. There was no logical reason why he should have been unable to do so, and frankly it was getting beyond irritating. Focussing his magic inwards he pushed again, trying for the full transformation. When that attempt also failed to work he let out a sound which was a mix between a sigh of frustration and a growl of annoyance. "Why won't you work damn you?" he muttered irritated.
Discover moreApp download campaignsAuthor resourcesMobile app subscriptionCookiesAuthor toolsThen all of a sudden he felt the magic rush powerfully through him and before he had even had time to process what was happening he was lying on all four paws, his tail sweeping slowly from side to side. There was a moment of complete blank shock. How on earth had he managed the transformation when he hadn't even been trying but he hadn't been able to do it in all the previous weeks when he had been trying as hard as he could to achieve what he'd managed to do in a fit of pique?
His musings were interrupted and the room above him broke out in cheers. Instantly he ducked his head, trying to bring his paws up to cover his ears. He discovered, in possibly the most uncomfortable way possible just how sharp a wolf's ears were as he tried desperately to block out the explosion of sound which had erupted in the room as his father and friends had realised he had achieved it.
No more than a second later the noise level abruptly dropped and Harry removed his paws form the vicinity of his ears, looking up with as quizzical a look as a large black wolf could manage. He quickly caught sight of his father quieting his friends and cautiously directing them to the back of the room before he approached him warily. "Harry can you understand me?" he asked quietly.
Not knowing quite how to reply Harry let out a coughing bark and he tried to nod his head. The movement felt strange but it conveyed the message and he saw Sirius straighten, relief in his eyes. "Try standing for me pup," he instructed, "I know you have transformed once before but I don't think you were really conscious of it then, and I can tell you that having four paws and a tail takes a lot of getting used to."
Discover moreFan fiction communityMobile fanfiction appFiction writing guidesBooksBook recommendationsA little perplexed by the instruction – he knew how to walk and stand, and he had done so while in wolf form before, Harry tried to clamber to his feet and just as quickly fell flat on his face. A roar of laughter caused his head to snap up, and he saw the figure of his best friend nearly bent double with laughter. However what Ron had forgotten to do was get out of range of the wolf and quick as a flash Harry lunged forward catching the hem of his friend's robe in his teeth and tugging.
With a sudden yelp of surprise Ron fell to the floor, landing nearly on top of Harry in a tangled mess of arms, legs and paws. Grumbling indignantly Ron detangled himself with a "Bloody hell Harry, what on earth did you do that for?" Harry replied with another coughing bark although this one sounded suspiciously like laughter even as he gave his friend's robes another tug, sending him sprawling once again.
Sirius had been watching indulgently as the two boys had been messing about, remembering fondly what he and James had got up to when they had first discovered their forms but now he intervened. "Ron, stand back and Harry behave yourself, you still need to learn how to walk." The proud grin on his face took any possible sting out of the remark and Harry looked up, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in what he thought was a smile even as Ron stood, brushing himself off although he cast a wary look at the wolf, moving away to a safer distance, his face flushing red as he took in Hermione's giggling.
Satisfied that the two boys had settled down, at least for now Sirius turned his full attention to his son. Patiently he began to talk Harry through the process of walking and soon the wolf was up on its feet, albeit supported by Sirius and no more than a few minutes later Harry was walking around quite happily unaided. Sirius let him explore for a few more minutes, making sure Harry got a good feel for his wolf form before he tapped the child on the shoulder and instructed him to change back.
A minute or so later the wolf blurred and in its place was Harry. He stood for all of two seconds before collapsing boneless onto the floor. Deftly Sirius helped him up and led him to the sofa and Harry sank down onto the cushions gratefully as his father handed him a large bar of chocolate. He'd been expecting the collapse, the transformation took a lot of energy, especially the first few times when you were unused to the change and he had been keeping a large supply of chocolate on hand ever since Harry had become close to the transformation.
As he nibbled on the chocolate Harry felt his energy levels return slowly. They were nothing like they had been before they had started to practice but he knew it was nothing that supper and an early night couldn't cure. He glanced up as he saw Hermione join him on the sofa, "That was brilliant Harry!" she exclaimed and the words were echoed by Ron. Harry grinned in response and they quickly lapsed into light hearted banter until Sirius shooed them to the Great Hall with a stern instruction to eat a large supper and to go to bed immediately afterwards. That was one command Harry had no intention of disobeying.
Slowly the weeks crept by and the Third Task got closer and closer. Dumbledore's attention remained firmly fixed on the tournament and on the articles in the prophet that had slowly but surely been eroding his political clout in such a way that it was extremely difficult to retaliate and as such he had missed the fact that the school was gradually slipping away from him. This lack of attention had only been helped by the fact that Sirius had sprung his diversion scheme on him a few weeks ago. It would fall through in a week or so but it had achieved its purpose. Dumbledore's eyes and mind had been wholly occupied by his scheme leaving him blind to how the school was falling through his fingers.
Sirius was extremely glad that he had delegated the responsibility of Hogwarts to Flitwick and McGonagall, they had sounded out the entire staff that they believed would be able to be trustworthy – regretfully Hagrid was not included in these discussions because as much as they all liked and respected the half giant it was well known that secrets weren't safe in his hands, especially if one added alcohol to the mix. Virtually the entire staff was on board now and those that weren't on in the schemes themselves at least knew enough to rally their support behind McGonagall.
Sirius hadn't been part of those negotiations although he was aware that all the longstanding professors who were aware of the situation had got together for a staff meeting when Dumbledore was busy at the ministry and they had discussed and got together to decide who they would back to be Headmaster and who they could all live with in that role. Sirius didn't know quite what had happened there, although he had been told that everyone had come to the same decision, even Serverus and they had decided to back McGonagall.
Sirius couldn't fault their logic, although she was Head of Gryffindor Minerva treated all students equally except when it came to matters of Quiddich where she shamelessly supported Gryffindor and as the other Heads did exactly the same nobody held it against her. She had already been shouldering the administrative details the Dumbledore had been neglecting, she was a superb teacher and with no ties to the Ministry or the pureblood faction there was no chance she'd pander to them and her first and only priority would be the school.
And once that decision had been made, although the students, except for Harry, and Dumbledore remained thankfully oblivious, the school had been quietly mobilising for the takeover. The documents needed to elect a new Headmaster by a Founder's Heir had been found and filled in by Harry, ready to be used the instant Dumbledore was removed and each individual teacher knew precisely what they were going to do.
The instant Dumbledore was removed as Headmaster several things would happen at once, firstly the papers would be ratified and filled, instantly promoting McGonagall to the position of Headmistress, the school would also simultaneously be sent into lockdown and all the students summoned to the Great Hall. All the floo connections would cut off and the whole staff would rally together and the notices of a new Headmistress would be sent out precisely 24 hours later. The lockdown would serve a double purpose, firstly it would prevent the Board of Governors and the Ministry from getting involved whilst allowing lessons to continue and secondly it would mean that no information would get out the Wizarding World until they were completely sure that they were secure.
Of course it would be obvious that it had been planned as soon as the news got out but by that point it would be too late to do anything and there would be nothing the Ministry or the Board of Governors could do to interfere. He wasn't naive enough to think that there wouldn't be any repercussions, anything from the Ministry trying to stir up trouble but Filius and Minerva had studied the Charter extensively.
Legally the Ministry had no control over Hogwarts, it had been something the Founders had tied into the very being of the castle and the school, as long as a heir opposed the Ministry there was nothing the Ministry could do, and while Sirius knew the Ministry was corrupt they would not stoop to murder, the death eaters who walked free might, but it was difficult to murder a person when you didn't know who to murder and as Harry's identity was being kept from the public and the Ministry, they had no target. All they would know that there was a heir and that they opposed what the Ministry were planning. It had only been when the founder's lines had appeared to fade into oblivion that the Ministry had begun to interfere in Hogwarts, detailing what could and could not be taught for example.
Filius and Minerva had been overjoyed when they had discovered that benefit of Harry appointing a Headmaster, and opposing Ministry interference. They had both gone to school when fewer things had been restricted by the Ministry and during their years at their posts they had seen many branches of their subjects fall away, banned or regulated and they couldn't wait to bring those classes back.
Animagus classes for the seventh years, ritual magic and warding, spell creation and healing were all electives that they planned on bringing back to mainstream education. They would have to hire new teachers of course and there had been worries surrounding budgeting but the older staff members had been firm, "We offered those classes before," McGonagall said bluntly, "There is no reason that once the Ministry cannot interfere that we should not offer them again."
Everything was ready, the only thing that was left was to remove Dumbledore as Headmaster and that was being left to Sirius. Between Remus and himself they had been steadily eroding his power base until there was little support for him left to remain in his positions. It was odd Sirius mused, that they had done nothing to remove or threaten the man's reputation, if fact they might have even strengthened the loyalty many people felt towards the meddling old fool but because of that loyalty they were called from his removal from those offices which 'burdened' him.
Sirius had to enjoy the irony. Dumbledore was being removed from his influence in the Wizarding World because of his huge influence in the Wizarding World and the dedication and loyalty he had carefully cultivated. He had built himself up to be the infallible leader, and hero of the Wizarding World and it was through the careful manipulation of everything he had worked towards the he would be removed from the dangerous position of authority he held.
The only thing he had to do was make the right call for his dismissal. That was riding on Sirius, he would give the order as it were, when the time was right and Dumbledore would be removed but he had to be careful. He had the support of the majority of the Wizarding population, and the support of many people that wanted to see Dumbledore's influence reduced for many reasons and not all of them good. But Hogwarts would not fall into that vacuum and the Wizengamot, thankfully had not fallen either.
Griselda Marchebanks had been elected to the office of Chief Witch and Sirius was pleased by the selection. Clever, tough as nails and had absolutely no ties to the pureblood movement, she was also fair and would obey the laws, a typical Ravenclaw if there ever was one. She was not as modern as he would have liked but there was no denying that she would deal with the Wizengamot and the petty squabbling that was politics with a firm hand. If she didn't wasn't a liberal in her approach then it couldn't be helped. With the current crop preventing any pro-pureblood legislation getting past and keeping that body on that straight and narrow, weeding out the corruption that infested it would be a miracle and if she could manage that he would applaud her.
But that didn't change the fact that the responsibility of deposing Dumbledore had fallen to him and he was acutely aware that if he did this wrong he would be dramatically increasing the danger Harry was in and that was something he could not, would not let happen. Well he thought grimly, he would just have to make the right decision and it was something he was not going to get wrong. He was not going to endanger his child.
Dumbledore frowned as he stared unseeingly at the door at the far side of his office. He was ready to damn Sirius Black to hell and back. Not only had he managed completely and utterly successfully to remove Harry from his influence and control almost completely with him acquiring his freedom and then blood adopting the boy, he was also proving a thorn in his side as the recent weeks had shown him quite clearly.
He couldn't begrudge the child the happiness and love he had found in having Sirius as a parent, not when he had been made painfully aware of what the boy had been forced to endure at the hands of his relatives, and not when he knew that love was the most powerful magic that the child could have, and with his suspicions that it would prove to be the power he knows not but he could and certainly did begrudge the loss of control and the disruption to all of his perfectly laid schemes and plans.
And speaking of disruption, he sighed again as he thought of the previous two weeks. He had been waiting for Sirius to make his move, and he couldn't say he had been surprised when he had but there had been something a little wrong about it. On the face of things it had appeared to be precisely what he would have expected from Sirius, a reckless move, which while it could have been effective it could easily backfire, but without any cost to himself or Harry.
It had started off simply enough, and he hadn't clued in until really very recently and during those two weeks when he had not clued in he had treated it like and real threat, and he still had to focus a large portion of his attention on it because while it was unlikely that the scheme would actually cause him damage there was still the possibility that if it got outside his control that it could do so and that was not a risk he was willing to take because the consequences if Sirius managed to pull it off would be dire.
The man had applied to the DMLE for a restraining order to be given to Albus Dumbledore which would require him to forgo any and all contact with Harry Potter, and deal with all school related matters through Minerva McGonagall in her capacity as Deputy Headmistress. He was in no doubt that Sirius had taken this step when he had discovered what had happened in Harry's detention. He wasn't so naive as to think that the child had not said anything to his guardian, particularly as it was becoming painfully obvious that Sirius was about the only adult the boy trusted completely, and it was true that he had first received notification of the application a mere week after Harry's detention.
That restraining order and the subsequent investigation had taken a lot of time, and there was still the verdict to come in a couple of days time. From the penetrating questions he had been subjected to – though thankfully no veritasium had been used – he had gathered that Sirius had spoken very frankly to the Aurors about why he was trying to get the restraining order, although the man had not as far as he could see said anything about horcruxes and his original plan to have Harry sacrifice himself for the Good of the Wizarding World.
He was pleased about that, it showed that even though Sirius Black was opposing him the man still understood that there were some things that were far too dangerous for the general public to know about and in a similar vein he had noted, that although there was a brief mention of the case, no details of why or what had happened to Harry had appeared in the media. However in this case he knew that the fact that information had not been made public was that Sirius wanted Harry's life to be kept private and it was probably also at the behest of the child himself because Dumbledore knew that Harry was a very private, and indeed shy boy and he would hate for his life to be splashed over the front pages of the prophet and if it hurt Harry Black would not contemplate doing it. He had learnt that much about the man, nothing you could do or say would ever make him hurt his child.
He might have admired that quality in Sirius and the love that had prompted him to take that action if he had not been working in almost direct opposition to him and that the love had been the driving force which had scuppered his plans and schemes. Not only had the investigation been uncomfortable and demeaning as it forced him to bring up issues that had been dead and buried and it made him justify his actions to people who did not understand that what he had done was sincerely for the best.
Yes he hated the fact that he would have had to sacrifice Harry to allow Voldemort to die but that madman had killed so many and if he was not stopped he would not rest until magical society was wiped out. He had to be stopped and in that situation if the only thing that was able to stop him was a sacrifice then he had to make a sacrifice. He could remember the old stories when in order to appease magic a child had to be sacrificed. Nobody had wanted to but it had been the only option and the consequences that would happen if the sacrifice was not made would be too terrible to comprehend. But now, when he had been the only one who was willing to make those judgements they came in and passed judgement on him, saying there could have been another way, he should have looked but when there was no other way and that he had sincerely been doing everything he possibly could to save the Wizarding World.
It rankled and rankled more than he gave it credit for, not that the restraining order stood any hope of passing, his reputation and the numerous favours he had called in would see to that, but still having to justify his actions was an unpleasant and humiliating experience. Who were they to sit in judgement when all they had done was cower in their homes and refuse to fight?
It had been the fact that the restraining order had had virtually no chance of passing that had alerted him to the fact that something was not right. The scheme had appeared to be classic Sirius, reckless, not thought through but not something that would endanger Harry but he had slowly begun to realise that it was too classic to be real.
The scheme and the order had been what he would have expected from the man before he went to Azkaban and he had seen too clearly how Azkaban had changed him. The Sirius he knew now had changed, no longer was he the rash youth that had stalked Hogwarts's halls, he was much more cunning, he planned more and above all he never did anything in regards to Harry that he didn't know would work out. Black was clever, he may have hid it during his time at Hogwarts but it was obvious to anyone who knew him well and there was no way he could not have known that such as case stood no chance of being found in his favour.
It was that thought that had led to something very uncomfortable to stir in his mind. The court case he had been so caught up in, that he had placed all his spare attention in had been nothing more than a diversion, placed there to draw his attention away from what Black was actually planning and he was forced to admit that it had worked perfectly. He had been so caught up in that scheme that he had lost sight of everything that had not needed his immediate or his continued involvement leaving him blind to whatever scheme Sirius was actually going to pull. And that thought worried him.
Harry shifted nervously from foot to foot as he waited outside the side chamber. McGonagall had come and spoken to him during breakfast to tell him that his family were coming to see him in the tournament and he was to wait for them here until they arrived. That had been enough to worry and confuse him. The Dursleys were the only family he had apart from Sirius and he knew that his father unfortunately had to teach this morning. It was only the fact that he knew that the Dursleys were currently enjoying their stay in the Goblin Mines that had prevented him from vanishing up to the Room of Requirement to practice in the last few hours.
A few minutes later McGonagall came over and addressed the Champions, "Your families have arrived," she told them briskly, "They are waiting for you in the side chamber." Her words were greeted with thankful smiles by the rest of the champions but Harry felt a stone settle in his gut, even though the Dursleys weren't going to be there he knew that there would be nobody waiting for him and that hurt. He had grown up as the little orphan boy and freak and even though Sirius had been the best father he could have asked for and had removed the vast majority of that hurt it still couldn't erase all the hurt and a small child's wish for a family.
Reluctantly he followed the other Champions through the door only to be met by a grinning Remus. "Moony?" He blurted out in shock. The werewolf just slanted him an amused smile. "Who else were you expecting cub?" He asked softly, "Padfoot is teaching but he was determined you wouldn't be the only champion without a family cheering you on in the stands and keeping you company today."
Harry felt a wave of love rise up in him as he realised what his father had done and he smiled at the Marauder. In all honesty he hadn't expected anyone to be there for him when his father couldn't be and the fact Remus was, and that his father had asked him to. He may have still been a little uncomfortable around Remus, but he could safely say that he was the person after Sirius that he trusted the most. He had written to him throughout the year and hadn't abandoned him even when he had found out about the Dursleys and that was a huge positive in Harry's book.
The werewolf gave him a quick embrace before turning him towards a second group of people that had hung back waiting for him to greet Remus. Harry followed him, slightly confused as there was nobody else he had expected to see but before he could get very far he was engulfed in a motherly hug. "How are you then?" Andromeda Tonks asked as she stepped back and looked him over with a critical healer's eye.
"I'm fine Aunt Andi," Harry replied quickly, "I've been taking all the potions you left me," he couldn't help but pull a face at that, "And Dad won't let me miss a meal and he makes sure I get plenty of sleep." The woman looked at him sternly for another moment before pulling him back into a hug.
"Good to hear you little monster," She told him, ruffling his hair affectionately. Harry grimaced and ducked out of the way of the incoming hand. He had seen Andromeda quite a lot over the summer as she had visited almost weekly to check his health and chat with Sirius, and even once he was at Hogwarts those visits had continued, albeit monthly instead of weekly.
He thought it had been the on the second visit that she had told him to call him Aunt Andi because she was Sirius's cousin. That name hadn't really stuck until Christmas though but when she had heard of the adoption she had put her foot down, telling both of them quite sternly that, "Sirius was the only other Black in my generation that hasn't gone bad and I have precious little family left so that now you are my cousin's son you are my nephew and you will from now on always call me Aunt Andi, is that quite clear young man?"
There hadn't been much they could say to that, and Harry found that he didn't mind having her as an Aunt. Certainly she was nothing like Aunt Petunia, she was more like Sirius, stubborn as anything, wouldn't take no for an answer, good to the core and she loved her family more than anything. It felt nice to have good female figure in his life, because although in previous years Molly Weasely had tried to fill that vacuum in his life he had always found her fairly full on and overbearing and that had overwhelmed him on more than one occasion.
He snapped his mind back when he realised that she was talking to him and he hadn't been paying attention, "Ted won't be coming – he couldn't get away from work but Nyphandora has come..."
The rest of that sentence was drowned out by an indignant cry, "I've told you Mum! It's TONKS!" Harry spun round to see a lithe young woman, he guessed that she was in her early twenties standing a bit behind them and glaring daggers at her mother, her hair bright red. However the moment her eyes landed on Harry they lit up and her hair sprang upwards into what Harry would soon learn was its normal shape and colour of spiky bubblegum pink as a huge grin spread across her face.
The next thing Harry knew was that he was being hugged happily. "I've wanted to meet you since the summer and Mum said I have a new proper cousin," Tonks babbled excitement shining through every single word. She released him and Harry blurted out the first question that sprang to mind.
"What on earth did you do to your hair?" The moment he said it he clamped his mouth shut, worried that he'd just offended her but Tonks just laughed.
"I'm a metamorph, I can change my appearance at will which is dead useful, the downside though is that it makes me dead clumsy."
"No 'Dora, that's natural I'm afraid." Andromeda put in and Tonks spun round to glare at her mother, but in the process she tripped over her own feet and ended up in a heap on the floor. Harry just stared at her incredulously for a few seconds before he cracked up. Blushing the metamorph clambered to her feet and pinned him with a glare although her pink hair gave away the amusement that bubbled just beneath the surface. Harry stopped laughing immediately but Tonks just rolled her eyes and transformed her face to look like Harry's had for a moment.
He couldn't help but blush and Tonks's laugh rang out and he scowled half heartedly but her laughter and bubbly personality were infectious and soon the whole group was laughing.
The rest of the day passed in a very enjoyable fashion and Harry slowly found himself becoming more and more relaxed in his family's presence. Tonks was almost impossible not to like and when his father joined them after lunch it was almost possible to forget what would be happening that evening as for the first time in his life he enjoyed spending his afternoon with his family, not a family that was borrowed but one that was completely his.
Hi all, hope you all enjoy the update. I know this is quite a bit shorter than some of my other chapters but I wanted to deal with the maze and the graveyard in the same chapter and that would have made it far too long.