Harry sat in a private room waiting. Rook lounged nearby, seemingly uninterested in whatever was happening. A gentle knock at the door preceded it opening. The familiar, if slightly younger, face of Rita Skeeter stole a look into the room. Her eyes locked onto Harry before she scanned the room to see they were alone, and a wide smile crossed her face.
"Mister Potter." She beamed hurrying into the room. "I was shocked to receive your letter. Honestly, I half expected this all to be a cruel joke."
Harry sat up in his chair. One thing he had not thought about taking over his younger body were the awakening hormones. Mentally, he was an adult, but physically, his body was in the stride of puberty. He couldn't help but admire the way her iridescent green dress hugged her curves.
Rita sat down across from him. She quickly putted out a quill and parchment that began to scribble.
"Rita Skeeter. Interview with Harry Potter." She stated. "May I ask you about Sirius Black and your thoughts? How do you feel about a group of Dementors being assigned to Hogwarts?"
Harry held up his hand. The quill froze in place.
"Miss Skeeter."
"Rita." She cut in.
"Rita." He nodded. "I'm fine with a dicto-quill, or handwritten notes, but I'm not going to continue this interview with one of those."
Rita gave him an impish grin. "You're a clever one."
She plucked the quill and replaced it with a standard dicto-quill. "Rita Skeeter. Interview with Harry Potter. Please state your name for the record."
"Lord Harry Potter. Heir to the House of Black." Harry stated.
Rita gasped. "Do go on."
"That is the issue I wanted to discuss with you today." Harry continued. "Sirius Black is my godfather by way of magical contract. The document is simple to acquire. I have no idea why it wouldn't have been brought up as evidence. Any half-competent representation would have done so at his trial."
"Indeed." Her eyes flashed. "I don't mean to insult you, but even with the power behind your name, there are those who would question the validity."
Harry produced a parchment. "This is a copy of the contract. I picked it up from Gringotts this morning. It states in simple terms that Sirius Black is to look after me as though I was his own son if something were to happen to my parents. Not only that, but his magic would also be stripped if he harmed me, or conspired with others to do harm to me."
He slid the parchment over to her. "That would make it really hard to sell my parents out to Riddle. Don't you think?"
"Riddle?" Rita asked.
"Voldemort." He clarified. "His name is Tom Riddle. He's a half-blood, you can look that up in the student records at Hogwarts."
Rita flinched at the name. "Are you certain?"
"He told me himself." Harry shrugged.
"You spoke with he-who-shall-not-be-named." Rita gasped.
"A shade of his." Harry clarified. "This previous year a diary with a powerful enchantment gave power to a sliver of his spirit. It latched onto a victim and leeched the life from them. Once he gathered enough power, he used it to release a basilisk to attack muggle-born students. Just like he did about fifty years ago."
"You're saying that the ghost of Tom Riddle, who is the true name of…" She took a breath. "Voldemort. Summoned a basilisk and attacked the school."
"Just this past year." Harry nodded. "People don't know?"
Rita shook her head.
"How?" Harry stared at her. "Students were petrified. One almost died. I almost died fighting the basilisk."
"You fought a basilisk?" Rita practically yelled.
"Don't worry." Harry patted her hand. "I killed it."
"Harry. May I call you Harry?" She continued without letting him reply. "You're, what, twelve now? You want me, and the rest of Magical Britain, to believe that you not only fought and killed a basilisk, but you spoke with a specter of V… Him and lived to tell the tale?"
Harry rolled up his sleeve to show the new scar. "This is where the basilisk fang bit into my arm." He ran his finger along the top edge. "This is where the phoenix tears landed to fight off the venom. I'm in talks with Gringotts to harvest the basilisk. I can get a copy of paperwork for that if you'd like." He paused. "I could probably take you down there with a photographer too."
Rita stared at him. She looked at the quill furiously writing his words.
"If a portion of what you are saying is true-"
"It is." Harry sighed.
Rita took a deep breath. "I did not expect this at all. A fluff piece about The Boy Who Lived and how he was dealing with the escape of the man who killed his parents. That's the piece I was ready to write. I come in here and not even ten minutes you've given me proof that Sirius Black might be innocent, you dropped the history of the most feared Dark Wizard of our time, and then you just happen to finish up telling me about how you killed a basilisk that was terrorizing Hogwarts. This is going to make my career. No more gossip column. Real journalism." Her eyes took on a predatory edge. "If you were a couple of years older… Mmm, the things I would do to you." She paused. "Strike that from the record."
"Don't tempt me." Harry took a deep breath.
"Your thirteenth birthday is this year?" Rita leaned back in her chair.
Harry nodded.
"If I remember correctly, and I do, the last living Lord of an Ancient and Noble house can claim their full place once they turn thirteen." She looked over him like a piece of meat. "It's one of those old rules set in place to protect bloodlines in danger of dying out." Rita leaned forward, staring into his eyes. "Look me up handsome."
She stood.
"Leaving already?" Harry asked.
"You've given me a lot to research." Rita shot him a sultry grin.
"I trust you won't turn this into a fluff piece?" Harry met her gaze. He let a touch of his true power pulse as he spoke.
Rita shuddered. "No fluff needed, sugar. You're sweetened the pot plenty."
With one final hungry look, she fled the room. Harry chuckled. He looked over at Rook who was staring up at him. Harry tried to keep calm. He had grown so accustomed to Sirius/Rook be around that he hadn't even thought before revealing how powerful he truly was. Even then, he didn't let it all out.
"I'm almost a teenager." Harry shrugged. "I can show off for older women."
Sirius/Rook woofed.
"Oh please." Harry shook his head. "Like you've never done anything stupid to impress a bird." He paused. "Do dogs try to impress ladies?" He shook his head. "I do not need to start thinking about the courting habits of canines.
Sirius/Rook let out a short series of barking laughter.
"Laugh it up, fuzzball." Harry sighed. "There's a magical pet store a few stores over that would love to give you a fancy new look. I hear they have a special where they can dye pet hair to whatever color you want. You'd look very pretty with pink fur and a poodle cut."
The dog stopped. He glared up at Harry as he let out a sound that wasn't quite a growl, or a whine but somewhere in the middle.
"You know I'm bluffing." Harry laughed. "I'd have to be seen with you."
Sirius/Rook scoffed.
"Are you looking forward to coming to Hogwarts with me?" Harry asked.
The dog instantly perked up.
"Don't go into the forest." Harry warned. "It's infested with giant spiders."
Sirius/Rook chuffed.
"It's true." Harry said. "I saw them with my own eyes. They tried to eat me and my friend Ron. We were saved at the last minute by an enchanted car." Harry stopped. "Damn that sounds weird to say."
The duo fell into an easy silence.
"I rented this room for another hour." Harry finally broke the silence. "I didn't expect her to rush out like that. They're supposed to be bringing by some food soon too." He looked at his companion. "Mind if I tell you my strange life so far?"
Sirius/Rook hopped to his feet. The dog deftly sat in the chair that Rita had recently vacated. He put his paws on the table and leaned forward looking intently at Harry.
Harry cleared his throat. There was an odd lump forming in it that was making it hard to speak.
"So." He let the word out slowly. "The night my parents died I was dropped off at my aunt and uncles house. I didn't find out until I was eleven that they were killed by an evil wizard. Magic was just something in storybooks and my relatives hated it. Any time I did accidental magic I would get punished."
Sirius/Rook growled.
"They're different now." Harry put a hand on Sirius' paws. "You've seen them yourself. It wasn't their fault. I found out recently that there was magic placed around the house, and on me, that made them like that. Not just them either. It was a subtle series of spells that made people focus on the negative aspects of interacting with me."
Sirius/Rook tilted his head to the side.
"A powerful wizard put them on me when I was a baby." Harry explained. "It wasn't until I claimed my Lordship that the enchantments were broken."
Sirius whined.
"It gets worse." Harry sighed. "The wizard that did it was incredibly skilled at magic that altered peoples' minds. Changing their memories, influencing their behaviors, and all that. I think that plays a part why Rita didn't know about the basilisk. There were students who were petrified, people had to know." Harry shook his head. "My relatives changed once the enchantment was broken. It was drastic too."
"That's just something I found out recently." Harry continued. "I got my Hogwarts letter. Hagrid, he's a half-giant and works at the school, took me to Diagon Alley. We went shopping. He bought me Hedwig as a birthday present. Hagrid is a little." He thought for a moment. "I don't want to say stupid, more absentminded. He doesn't realize that most people don't find deadly animals to be cuddly. Being half-giant gives him a soft spot for creatures. He's the one who let the giant spiders loose in the forest."
"My first year he also put a Cerberus in the school to guard the Philosophers Stone. He also tried to hide a baby dragon in his shack." Harry chuckled. "For some reason Dumbledore, that's the Headmaster at Hogwarts, decided to put the Philosophers Stone in the school for safe-keeping. The evil wizard that killed my parents was after it to heal himself. He had possessed one of his followers that managed to get a job teaching at the school. Long story short, we fought, I killed him, and the stone was safe."
"I wonder if people know about that." Harry muttered. "I'll mention it to Rita the next time we talk."
Sirius woofed.
"What?" Harry tried, and failed, to contain a blush. "She's a good resource if she's on my side."
Sirius stared at him.
"Fine." Harry rolled his eyes. "She's hot. Back to the story. I killed the possessed teacher, Riddle, that's the evil wizards real name, was turned back into a smoke-specter type thing and fled. No idea where he is now. I asked Dumbledore to stay at the school over summer, my relatives were still under the spell and they were not people I wanted to be around. He said no. I went back to their place to find that my uncle had put bars on my window and locks on the outside of my door. Dobby, before he worked for me, showed up and warned me not to go back to Hogwarts."
The elf in question popped into the room.
"Harry Potter called?" Dobby asked.
"Sorry." Harry said. "I'm telling Rook here my life story and your name came up."
Dobby nodded. "Dobby tried to protect Master Harry Potter. Dobby dropped a cake on a muggle lady and then turned the doorway into stone."
"You also charmed a bludger to chase after me." Harry added.
Dobby winced. "Dobby thought it was a good idea at the time."
"I know." Harry chuckled. "You were desperate to protect me. You're an amazing friend, Dobby."
Dobby smiled brightly. "Thank you, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby will be going back home now."
"See you in a bit." Harry waved at the elf. He turned back to his furry audience once Dobby vanished. "Back to the story. Turns out my elf friend was trying to protect me from his former master, Lucius Malfoy."
Sirius growled.
"I know. His name even sounds like a bastard." Harry smiled. "Lucy slipped an enchanted diary into a student's basket when they weren't looking. That was the one I told Rita about. It was the first horcrux that Riddle had made all the way back when he was still a student at Hogwarts. Back then he released a basilisk, just like this time, but the first time he managed to kill a student rather than just turning some to stone. He left notes around the school about 'The Heir of Slytherin'. A few days later I learned that I was a parseltongue, and guess what? Slytherin was one too. Naturally, everyone suddenly thought I was the one turning muggle-born students to stone. They seemed to forget that my mother was a muggle-born and I was good friends with one too." He stopped. "That was probably some of the spells put on me too. Not all of it. Like I said, it made people focus on the negative things." Harry shook his head. "Long story short, with some help I figured out where the basilisk was, went down, and killed it. It kind of killed me in the process, but I got better. Phoenix tears are amazing. I used the basilisk venom to destroy the horcrux and that about catches us up."
Sirius sighed.
"I know." Harry leaned back in his chair. "Saying out loud sounds crazy. Now Sirius Black has escaped a magical prison, which was supposed to be impossible. The magical government is scrambling to catch him, and someone had the bright idea to allow Dementors around the school." Harry groaned. "It took me all of five minutes to find out that Sirius was my godfather. Everyone knew that he was friends with my parents. They say he was their secret keeper. Why wouldn't they check the records? Not only that, my parents' will is sealed for some reason. Someone is putting a lot of effort into keeping the truth hidden. I think it's the same person who put the spells on me, or at least someone working with them."
Someone knocked on the door. Harry was up out of his seat with his wand drawn. He had pulled the chair in front of him at some point.
"Lunch service." The voice came from the other side.
"Come in." Harry took his seat, but held on to his wand.